THE time will come when we are invaded by turkey and ham and have it coming out our ears and on our plates until sometime in February. However, the humble, if often over indulgent, turkey Christmas dinner can get a hard time for lacking in flavour and pizzazz. That is something I hope to tackle next week as we run inti Christmas full blast. But in the meantime, I hope to bring you a few tasty treats to bring us nicely up to the festive season. Two this week include these chicken cakes and gnocchi dishes.

Spicy chicken cakes

These were a few food pics that I had on #thetwitter during the week and here are the recipes for just some quick comfort foods.

Salt and pepper Squid

This is a great little fast food dish of salt and chilli pepper squid with a mango salsa.

WHAT TO DO

Simply deep-fry rings of fresh squid coated in breadcrumbs with chilli flakes, sea salt, a tablespoon of cornflour and cracked black pepper.
Deep fry the rings in hot oil until crispy and serve with a dollop of Natures Bounty Mango salsa….. a personal favourite at the moment.

Picnic risotto balls
HAVE you ever made too much risotto? I know I have and I also know that it doesn’t reheat well despite your best efforts.
Thankfully there is a recipe that allows you bring the leftovers to life.