With himself being absent from the family home, it was time for me to play. He used to be away from home all the time but now rarely, so this was chance for me to play around ( in the kitchen of course).

Himself, is the king of Oysters Rockefeller, and in future, I think I will leave it to him! However, I was in “Whole Foods” and they had beautiful oysters and I couldn’t resist. BUT, I had almost forgotten that he was not around and so it was left for me to shuck them. Oh No ! Now I do have the best ever cheats oyster tool, but even so, it still takes time and I only had nine of them. When he makes Oysters Rockefeller he adds a little bit of this and little bit of that, one has to say it is his Pièce de Résistance, and in future I will leave the task of making them for me.

Another dish I played around with was buffalo mozzarella in a spicy tomato sauce.This I had on the Girls Golf trip to Catalunya in the summer and it was really delicious, and oh so simple to recreate at home.

To recreate this yummy dish, which can either be a starter or a main, with salad, I took some pre- prepared sauce, either as above or arrabiata sauce. I added some stock or cream to thin it a little, some chopped spring onions, some chopped chillis and finally some chopped coriander. Just heat the sauce and pour into a bowl and add the buffalo mozzarella, 1/2 of one if for a starter or a whole one for a main course.

And finally another attempt at my favourite cheese tart. I managed at last to get the recipe from Fred at La Grange in Morzine. I know before I even step a foot in the door that this is exactly what I will order. Once upon a time it was my starter but nowadays, I have it as my meal along with some potatoes and salad, it is perfect.

Using either bought or your favourite pastry recipe or even a bought pastry case, it needs to be baked blind , which means weighting down the pastry which has been lined with grease proof paper and filled with some form of baking beans. Bake for about 20 minutes at about 180 C. Remove from heat and add one chopped onion.

For the filling

400 grams Abondance cheese

250 grams Gruyere, Emmental or Beaufort cheese

150 grams of Tarentaise! Actually I have failed to find this cheese, I asked on the local market and they told me that it is a goats cheese which is more or less only in season in the autumn, consequently I used some hard goats cheese.

4 beaten eggs along with 250 mls cream and 1 oz flour, grate all the cheese add it all to the cream and eggs, a protein nachos of nutmeg and another of cinnamon and bake for about 25 minutes at 200 C or until golden brown and firm to touch. Best eaten warm with a salad.