I happened to read the other day that only 13 per cent of people go out on a Saturday night and I was quite surprised to hear it.
At the weekends I prefer to take the dog for long walks, sort the house out and do the shopping. Come Saturday evening it is quite good just to ask some friends round for a very informal evening with easy to cook food, a good bottle of wine and perhaps a DVD or just a good chat.
To prevent ‘Saturday Night Fever’ I keep the menu very simple and apart from laying the table in an informal way – no posh candles, only paper napkins to save the ironing, no starter to restrict washing up and I make my friends help themselves to the main course and the pudding, half out of laziness but also to keep the atmosphere informal.
The trick is to do simple dishes but they must taste delicious.
A dear friend of mine used to have ‘boil ups’‚ on a Sunday night but the only problem there was that in the boiling pot went tinned sardines, tins of kidney beans and whatever else he had in the cupboard, so although it was always fun to see him, the general consensus was that it would have been better just to meet for a drink, or better still, just to have a chat.
So on that note here are two winter warming, homely and tasty dishes to serve on the casual Saturday evening.

COTTAGE PIE
Serves 4
Ingredients
One onion, peeled and
finely chopped;
One tablespoon oil;
350g 12oz lean minced beef;
One tablespoon flour.
50ml/two fl oz red wine – optional;
Two tomatoes.
One dessert spoon tomato ketchup;
One teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce;
One splash of Tabasco sauce;
Salt and freshly ground black pepper;
One teaspoon of oregano.
1 teaspoon thyme;
350g/12 oz potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped;
125g/four oz celeriac, peeled and roughly chopped;
50g/two oz butter.
75ml/three fl oz milk.
50g/two oz Cheddar cheese, grated.

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C 400F or Gas 6. Put the onions and oil into a saucepan and cook slowly for five minutes. Add the meat and stir over the heat for one minute. Add the flour and while stirring add the red wine and a little water.
Score the tomatoes and plunge them into a bowl of boiling water for one minute or until the skins split. Run under cold water to remove the skin, chop up the flesh and add to the meat along with the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, salt, pepper and herbs and stir well.
Cook slowly over a low heat for about five minutes and then set aside.
Cook the potatoes and celeriac in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain and return to the pan.
Add the butter, salt and pepper and mash both vegetables, adding a little milk at a time until light and fluffy.
Put the meat into an ovenproof dish and smooth over. Cover with the potato and celeriac mash, smoothing and flicking the top with fork. Sprinkle the cheese over the mash and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

GRAPE BRULEE
Serves 4
350g/12oz seedless red or green grapes, halved;
A generous splash of Grand Marnier;
300ml double cream; whipped;
120g/four oz dark brown sugar;
One dessert spoon of caster sugar.

Method
Put the grapes and liquor into a china quiche-style ovenproof dish and stir. Top with the whipped cream and chill in the fridge for at least one hour. Preheat the grill to a high heat.
Mix the two sugars together in a bowl and then sprinkle over the cream topping. Place under the hot grill and leave until the sugars melt and slightly caramelise watching all the time that it does not actually burn and start smoking.
Either serve warm or chill again in fridge until ready to serve.

Clare’s Kitchen
41 Chalcot Road
Primrose Hill
NW1
Tel: 020 7586 8433
www.clareskitchen.co.uk