...from the football perspective you understand. We had to go to try it - what with Dad being eighty-something and from Norfolk. It was certainly worth the trip, simple and stylish with a no frills friendly local service and good home-made food. And they certainly pay attention to their bookings as the birthday card was a complete surprise.  We had champagne, a three course menu with two very nice wines for around £39 a head, and so as a tribute we feature Delia on our Dish of the Day.

After a lovely family visit to her restaurant at the Norwich City Football ground, we felt we had to honour her contribution to the world of cooking. She had left a signed birthday card for Dad and after that he was as happy as Larry!  This recipe comes from Delias Vegetarian collection which can be found on her website. It's full of other delicious seasonal recipes that just want to make you stay at home and cook. Apologies to all Ipswich supporters but really there's no competition - is there?

          

Winter Vegetable Pie with a Parmesan Crust

8 oz (225g) each of butternut squash, celeriac, sweet potato and carrots -  cut into small cubes

8 oz sliced leeks

Freshly grated nutmeg

4 oz (110g) Gruyere or Emmental cheese – grated

1 egg beaten – to glaze

Salt

For the pastry

1 oz (25g) finely grated Parmesan

4 oz plain flour

Pinch salt

1 oz vegetable fat

1 oz softened butter

For the sauce

1.5 oz (50g) butter

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

1.5 oz plain flour

1 pint (570ml) milk

Freshly grated nutmeg

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

2 oz Gruyere or Emmental cheese – grated

1 oz Parmesan, grated

1 dessertspoon each of finely chopped rosemary and thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper.

Method

First of all place the butternut squash, celeriac, carrots and leeks in a steamer (the sweet potato is added later on). Pour in some boiling water from the kettle, add the freshly grated nutmeg and some salt, then cover and steam the vegetables for 10 minutes. Now add the chunks of sweet potato and steam for another 10 minutes, or until the thickest parts of the root vegetables feel tender when tested with a skewer. Then tip all the vegetables into a large bowl and allow them to cool.

Meanwhile, make the sauce and the pastry. For the sauce, melt the butter in a smallish saucepan and add the onion. When you've stirred it so that it's nice and buttery, let it cook on the lowest possible heat for about 20 minutes. It's important not to let it colour, so give it a stir from time to time. Now, using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour until smooth, then add the milk a little at a time, switching to a balloon whisk and whisking well after each addition. Now season the sauce with nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste, and let it barely simmer for 5 minutes. After that, stir in the grain mustard, the cheeses and the herbs. Then leave to cool.

To make the pastry, first sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a large bowl, holding the sieve up high to give it a good airing. Then add the lard and butter and, using only your fingertips, lightly and gently rub the fat into the parmesan and then sprinkle in some cold water - about 1 tablespoon. Start to mix the pastry with a knife and then finish off with your hands, adding more drops of water until you have a smooth dough that will leave the bowl clean. Then pop the pastry into a polythene bag and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

When you are ready to cook the pie, preheat the oven to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C). Carefully mix the steamed vegetables with the sauce and pile half of the mixture into a pie dish. Now sprinkle half of the Gruyere (or other cheese) from the filling ingredients over the top and then repeat with the remaining mixture and cheese. Next, roll the pastry out into a circle on a surface lightly dusted with a little extra flour, and as you roll, give it quarter turns to keep the round shape. Next, cut a 12 inch (30 cm) circle out of this pastry. Roll out the leftover trimmings and cut a ½ in (1 cm) strip to go around the edge of the dish.

Now dampen the edge of the dish with water and place the strip of pastry around the rim, pressing down well. Dampen the top of this strip and then transfer the circle of pastry, rolling it over the rolling pin, to the dish and press it lightly and firmly over the edges to seal. Next, using the blunt edge of a knife, knock up the edges, then flute them using your thumb to push out and your forefinger to pull in again. Then make a hole in the centre of the pastry lid to let the steam out, and brush the surface with beaten egg. Now place the dish on the baking sheet and bake it for 25-30 minutes on the centre shelf of the oven, or until the pie is bubbling hot and the pastry is golden brown and crusty.

From the London Ice Sculpture Festival at Canary Wharf, and there was lots of food too including jerk chicken wraps, curry, a cheese stall and huge meringues.

Thrifty nose to tail eating – well those of us who are from the farming community have been at it for years, but now everyone is doing it. More of us will be eating offal and the bony cuts of meat in pearl barley stuffed casseroles in 2012. Look out for lamb belly, hearts, tails, tongues and gizzards. Last year Waitrose announced that it was to expand its range to offer lamb heart, lamb and veal sweetbreads and veal tail, and pigs’ ears and ox cheeks are already appearing in restaurants everywhere. Now I have moved one of my local restaurants is called Brawn (there are lots of local restaurants - it's London - even the cinema is a recommended place to eat) and currently has braised lamb belly with bitter leaves, trotters and beans, and home-made pork scratching on the menu.

Eastern European food – shops are already appearing all over East Anglia and we have one in Bury. I’ve tried the flavoured beers and bought a very nice piece of smoked bacon. Look out for Polish, Hungarian and Russian dishes. We will be making more preserves and pickles just like they do and we already have sourdough bread.

Barbecue-ing  – Jamie Oliver has had a mixed response to Barbecoa – the menu has burgers, ribs and a very heavy barbecue sauce that isn’t as nice as my own home-made one. If you don’t know how to make barbecue sauce you need to learn it fast. Freshly made burgers in good bread stuffed with loads of salad and home-made pickles are IN whatever time of the year it is.

Sharing tapas style portions – goodbye three course meal, we are ordering five things and sharing them. This way, restaurants can make their portions a bit smaller, we don’t get so full and can still have a starter, main course and dessert – but between us. We used to just order two starters but now it’s official – it’s ok to share.

Casual dining – white cloths are going, counters are coming. We still want good service but without the formal dining. We don’t mind sitting at a large table with someone we don’t know and a great salt-beef sandwich from a van is fine.

       

Salted caramel, and churros with hot chocolate sauce – if you haven’t tasted either of these yet you should find or make some now.  The recipe for the caramel sauce (and printed labels so you can give it to all your friends) is here. Yes, she's a mom not a mum but I love the pictures - if you like Nigella she's got a food-porn version.

A Suffolk woman with a passion for travel, all things chocolate and an old ice cream van called Jimmy has been scooping up awards and commendations all over the foodie world this year.  A founder member of Eat St - a collective of street food vendors that sell from a variety of vans all over the country at festivals, markets and parties - she is a chocolatier who sells the best quality ingredients from Choc Star.  Looking forward to seeing more like this but have only see my local fish and chip van so far...

According to Forbes magazine, Rachael is the top earning celebrity chef in a top ten chart that features Gordon Ramsey at number three. She is worth $18 million and leapt from small-time cable stardom to Oprah-esque success. She began winning audiences with catchphrases like "Yum-o" on her first Food Network show, 30 Minute Meals, in 2001. Today she has four Food Network programs, including Tasty Travels and $40 a Day. Her nationally syndicated, Oprah-backed talk show, Rachael Ray, is averaging 2.6 million viewers this season, and her Every Day With Rachael Ray magazine has 1.5 million readers. She endorses Dunkin' Donuts too! You've probably never heard of her - but here is one of her recipes - in American.

   

Granma Evelyn's Christmas Hermits

Ingredients

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup raisins

1 cup dates, chopped

1/2 cup jarred maraschino cherries, chopped

1/3 walnuts, chopped

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons boiling water

2 1/4-2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.  In a large bowl, cream the shortening, adding the sugar gradually. Add the eggs, fruit and nuts. In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water; then add this mixture to the shortening mixture. In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, allspice, cinnamon and salt. Add the flour mixture to the main bowl and stir.

Drop the batter in rounded teaspoons, about 1 inch apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve and enjoy! Makes 30 - 40 cookies.

My first mince pies of the season filled with Mum's home-made mincemeat and boy was it worth the effort.

...wherever I go I see Suffolk produce. Belly of Blythburgh pork is being roasted in the local pub, Adnams and Aspalls are everywhere. The Sunday market on Colombia Rd is selling roast turkey rolls wirth stuffing and cranberry - organic of course - and I think finally we might be seeing the end of those revolting over-iced cupcakes in favour of a nice bit of crumpet. It should be served on old Denbyware so if you've got anything like this at home - it's coming back!

Are you eating out in Suffolk? Do you have an opinion about local food and can cook a bit yourself? Fancy joining us and writing for suffolkfoodie? We would welcome your input if you do. Just e mail us here and we will tell you how.

  

Emily worked as a waitress at The Chalice when it was open in Bury and was so enthused by the cooking that she now makes home made food every day. Here is her favourite autumn recipe.

Autumn Butternut Squash and Pancetta Risotto

1 Butternut Squash

 1 Onion

  Knob of butter

  300g of Pancetta

 200ml of White Wine

 Stock cube or fresh stock

 300g of Risotto rice

150g of spinach

  Pine nuts and Parmesan to serve

How to do it

Cut Butternut Squash in half and remove seeds and pulp. Roast on tray until soft with crushed garlic and drizzle with oil. This should take around 30 to 40 mins depending on the size. Dice one large onion, add to heavy bottom pan and sauté with a large knob of butter. In a frying pan, fry pancetta until crisp and brown, add the onion and risotto rice and fry rice for 2 minutes, add white wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Make a litre of stock, keep this simmering in a small saucepan, and add a ladle full at a time to the risotto. Stir until it is absorbed then add a further ladle full. Keep adding more stock, a ladle at a time, until the rice is soft, it may take a little more or a little less depending on the brand of risotto rice. Once the rice is soft add spinach leaves and spoon the butternut squash out of its skin in to the risotto. Stir until spinach is wilted and the squash is mixed in.

Serve with pine nuts sprinkled on top and shavings of delicious parmesan.