And so the holidays have ended again and, despite a week of working every night after the kids have gone to bed, I'm still working away this afternoon and having a mass panic. Or at least, I'm having a mass panic about working away and yet seem to be writing a blog post (thanks Niece #1), all the while cooking a tomato sauce to go with my girls' beans and sausages (none of that tinned rubbish for my girls*) and roasting vegetables to go on wraps this week.

I'm also sat next to a sandwich, which in theory will be delightful but....I sat the (frozen) ham on the buttered bread to defrost. It hasn't. I put some of the aforementioned roasted vegetables on the ham to rush it on. It hasn't. The bread is now a little 'self-toasted' after having sat out too long. Oh dear.

But to make me look a little better in culinary areas, I made a lovely Chateaubriand on Thursday (for 4) and was telling a chef about it last night and he was very impressed I'd even tried it - but for those of you who aren't adventurous chefs, it really wasn't that hard - really just a roast. I wiped it dry, smeared in olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and seared on all sides for literally a minute or less. Then it went in the oven at 190' for about 20 - 25 minutes. I covered it in fol and left to sit for 15 minutes and then served with chips and garlic mayo - was a beautiful piece of meat, I have to say. Followed it up with iles flottantes, one of my all time favourites.

So, thanks Niece #1, you made me lose 20 scarce minutes of work time, but I'll forgive you! Now off to eat my sandwich. Cross fingers that the ham has defrosted....