Deadly Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients
1/4 pint double cream
1/4 pint milk
4oz butter
1 lb granulated sugar
3 1/2 oz dark chocolate
NB: The higher the cocoa content and lower the sugar content of the chocolate, the nicer this will be.

Method
Put everything except for the chocolate into a very large pan (trust me) and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the mixture to a rolling boil. (A rolling boil is when the mixture doesn't stop bubbling when you stir it)
The mixture is "cooked" enough when:
You get a bowl of cold water, and when a teaspoon of the mixture is dripped into the water it goes into a "soft ball" - Although unless your bowl is deep, it's more like a soft gooey blob.
Pour the mixture into a 20x20cm tin which has been well greased and put it into the fridge.
Once it has set cut it into squares.

Note: This fudge is not actually deadly, that's just a funny name.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Ingredients
100g soft margerine
100g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour
2 eggs
100g dark chocolate
50g soft brown sugar
50g chopped nuts (it seems any sort will do)

Method
Get a large bowl and throw in the margerine, caster sugar, flour and the two eggs.
Beat this together to form a smooth, thick mixture.
Melt the dark chocolate.
Add the dark chocolate, nuts and brown sugar to the mixture and stir in with a spoon.
Pour the mixture into a greased, lined, 20cm square baking tin.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.
Allow to cool, then cut into at least 16 pieces (I went for 32!)

Salsa

Ingredients
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 onion
3 cloves garlic (optional)
1 red chilli (or more if you like)
half a courgette
oil
balsamic vinegar
1tsp brown sugar

Method
Finely chop the courgette, onion, chilli(s) (de-seeded for less hot salsa) and garlic.
Heat the oil in a small frying pan and add the chopped vegetables (not the tomatoes)
When the vegetables have begun to soften open the tin of tomatoes and drain off the excess liquid. Add the pulp to the pan. Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar to taste.
Simmer for at least 20 mins.

Crispy Salmon Fillets

Ingredients
Salmon Fillet (one per person)
½oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½oz plain flour
4/5 leaves of fresh basil (dried basil will do, ½tsp in this case)
75g pasta (per person)
Frozen vegetables of your choice (I used peas, sugar snap peas and baby sweet corn)
1tsp oil

Method
Add the pasta and the frozen vegetables to a pan of boiling water. (Pasta twists take about 10 minutes, but refer to the packet for other shapes.)
Put the flour and grated parmesan on a plate and mix them together. Spread out the mixture to cover the plate evenly.
Roughly chop the basil and sprinkle over the plate.
Place the salmon fillet(s) onto the flour-cheese-herb mixture on the plate and press down lightly. Turn the salmon fillet over and press down once more. The fillet should now be coated on two sides with the mixture. (You can coat all sides if you wish)
Heat up the oil in a frying pan large enough to hold your salmon fillet(s)
Lower the temperature in the pan to make sure that you don’t blacken the cheese.
Place the fish in the pan. Wait for about 2 minutes.
Turn the fish over. If the side which has been heated is not golden brown, after two minutes, turn the fish back over. If not, after two minutes turn off the heat to the pan.
Turn the fish onto each bare side once for a few seconds.
Serve by the side of the pasta.
If you’re feeling extravagant, mix a teaspoon or two of the pesto (mentioned below) through the pasta before serving.

Note 1: If you prefer your fish well done, rather than just cooked, leave the heat on while you colour the bare sides.

Note 2: This also works well under the grill, you should only cover the side of the fish pointing up, and you can cover the other side half-way through the cooking time.

Basic Pesto

Ingredients:
1 handful Fresh basil
1.5 oz pine nuts
1.5 oz grated fresh parmesan
3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Method:
Put all of the dry ingredients into a hand blender and whiz them up. Add the oil as necessary to form a paste, continue to whiz the mixture.