This week was Black Pudding and Foie Gras, by Andrew Pern. This is the lovely cookbook from the lovely Star at Harome pub. The pub had a fire and had to close. I think I’ve read that they intend to reopen sometime, at least I hope that’s true and not just wishful thinking on my behalf. Like with many “cheffy” cookbooks, you have to be selective in what you are going to attempt, but often they have little gems of simple recipes hidden amongst multiple pages of demi-glace and clarifying of stock :). This week we had a couple of fantastic recipes and one that would have been great had I not used some less than in perfect condition suet. First up was Hartlepool Natural Smoked Haddock “Cassoulet” with Haricot Beans and a Hawes Wensleydale Herb Crust. Sadly it was tricky to know whether the haddock was from Hartlepool nor was Hawes Wensleydale available on Ocado but in spite of these challenges, the dish was awesome. We’d done something similar a few weeks ago but the Smokey haddock flavour really pushed this ahead. Definitely one to do again. Next up was Shallow-Fried Posh Fish Fingers with Pea, Lettuce and Mint Vinaigrette. Wow. What a brilliant variation on the humble fish finger. The hot smoked salmon was brilliant with mash in a breaded finger shape. Delicious. The final dish was Steamed Steak and Kidney Suet Pudding with Hambleton Stout and Onion Juices. No Hambleton stout so I used one from my home town, Huddersfield. The filling was wonderful but I used some suet that was past its best. I’ll definitely do this dish again as the filling was wonderful and the pastry would have been – it was so so easy to make too. Oh well, we live and learn on the cookbook shelves.