Cheeky Bites

Easy Family Recipes

Tested on a family that complains. Loudly.

These are the recipes we actually cook at home.

Not the ones we photograph and then order a takeaway.

Easy family recipes, tested on a family that will tell you, loudly, when something's not right.

Every one started with the serious versions, and kept only the bits that work.

So the lasagne has no lake in it, and the spatchcock chicken is on the table in half the time.

There's a burger with five ingredients, not ninety. Oliver counted. Aaron recounted. Twice.

Even the butter you spread on things comes from one pot of cream and ten minutes of shaking. Mild arm ache. Worth it.

Family dinner ideas for a Tuesday, puddings for a Sunday, and the odd thing Isaac swears he invented.

Each one tells you what can go wrong before it does.

New ones land most weeks. Usually after somebody's burnt something.

18 recipes and counting. Newest: Homemade Burger Recipe - Five Ingredients, Not Ninety

Easy family recipes sketch: chilli Oliver smashes a burger, pizza Isaac builds a lasagne, potato Aaron carries roast chicken
Isaac has been told twice about the sauce.

Family dinner ideas, newest first

Thick cheeseburger outside a butcher's, chilli Oliver with a five-item list, jacket potato Aaron with a long receipt
Updated 13 min read

Homemade Burger Recipe - Five Ingredients, Not Ninety

Five ingredients: 20% fat beef mince, salt, pepper, a bun and a slice of cheese. Weigh it, dent it, chill it, salt it at the last second and cook it...

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Crackling roast pork at Stonehenge: chilli Oliver carves while toast Erin claims the first piece
Updated 11 min read

Slow Roast Pork Shoulder - Britain's First Christmas Do

Britain's first big midwinter party was a pig roast near Stonehenge. Here's the modern version: low and slow, then a blast for proper crackling.

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Homemade Christmas pudding with a blue flame and holly, chilli Oliver presenting it, toast Erin claiming the first slice
Updated 13 min read

Christmas Pudding Recipe - Everyone Stirs, Everyone Wishes, Nobody Tells

Soak the fruit overnight, let everyone stir and wish, steam for six hours, then wrap it up until Christmas and reheat it for two. One pudding for 8, with an...

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Homemade butter block on a bamboo board, toast Erin with a butter knife, black dog Dexter hoping for a slice
Updated 10 min read

How to Make Homemade Butter - One Pot of Cream, Ten Minutes, Mild Arm Ache

One pot of double cream, a whisk (or a jar and strong arms) and about ten minutes. Whip it past whipped cream until it splits, drain off the buttermilk, wash...

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Homemade aioli in a stone pestle and mortar with potatoes and carrots, chilli Oliver dunking, garlic Eesha impressed
Updated 13 min read

Aioli Recipe - The Posh Garlic Mayo (and the Cheat's Version)

Garlic pounded to a purée, an egg yolk, then olive oil whisked in drop by drop until a spoon stands up in it. Plus a two-minute cheat with a jar...

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Bonfire night food: glossy toffee apples by a bonfire, chilli Oliver, toast Erin in her tiara, jacket potato Aaron
Updated 10 min read

Bonfire Night Food - Toffee Apples, Jacket Spuds and a Flask for the Fireworks

Toffee apples that crack like glass: dewax the apples, boil the toffee to 150C, dip, twist and leave them to set. Plus a slab of black treacle toffee, jacket potatoes,...

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Garlic mushrooms on toast in a creamy sauce, carried by chilli Oliver while pizza slice Isaac sneaks a forkful
Updated 10 min read

Garlic Mushrooms - Creamy, on Toast, Gone Before You Sit Down

Creamy garlic mushrooms that come out golden, not grey: a wide pan, hands off for the first minute, garlic in last, then cream, lemon and thick sourdough toast.

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Homemade garlic bread on a board, chilli Oliver tearing a slice and toast Erin in her tiara claiming the end piece
Updated 11 min read

Garlic Bread Recipe - Crunchy Outside, Squidgy Middle, Breath Like a Dragon

A baguette sliced almost through, stuffed with soft butter, fresh garlic and parsley, baked in foil then uncovered until crisp. Plus a cheesy one, an air fryer one and a...

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Cream whipped for vanilla ice cream by chilli Oliver, holding the vanilla, as jacket potato Aaron hugs a boxed machine
Updated 12 min read

How to Make Homemade Ice Cream - No Machine, No Churning, No Nonsense

Three ingredients, no machine, no churning: whipped double cream folded into condensed milk and vanilla, frozen into a smooth, scoopable tub. Plus how to scoop it like a pro and...

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Herby butter log sliced onto crusty garlic bread: chilli Oliver and garlic Eesha beside the board
Updated 10 min read

Garlic Butter Recipe - Five Minutes, One Bowl, Everything Tastes Better

Soft butter, fresh garlic crushed straight in, parsley and a squeeze of lemon. One bowl, five minutes, no cooking. Roll it into a log for the fridge or freezer, or...

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Gingerbread men iced with white smiles and buttons on a cooling rack, toast Erin pinching one, chilli Oliver watching
Updated 11 min read

Gingerbread Men Recipe - Biscuits That Keep Their Legs On

Crisp-edged, properly spiced biscuits from a golden syrup dough, rolled to an even thickness and chilled so every man keeps his arms and legs. Plus icing that pipes neatly and...

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Hot chocolate frothed by chilli Oliver with a handheld frother while toast Erin hugs a marshmallow mug
Updated 11 min read

Hot Chocolate Recipe - Proper Stuff, Not Brown Dust in Hot Milk

Proper hot chocolate from real dark chocolate and whole milk. Make a little cocoa paste first so there are no lumps, never let the milk boil, and froth it before...

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Crisp meringues filled with cream and berries, toast Erin pinching a raspberry while garlic Eesha raises an eyebrow
Updated 13 min read

Meringue Recipe - Crisp Outside, Chewy Middle, No Weeping

Four egg whites, caster sugar added a spoonful at a time, a little cornflour and vinegar for a chewy middle, and a long slow bake. Plus what the peaks should...

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