Here is a new year’s resolution for you. How about planning to have more family meals together. I always enjoy them so much and the rib of beef is that bit special. It is one of the best cuts and it is on the bone so it keeps flavour and stays succulent. Plus it is good value. To achieve the best flavour, always allow a joint to come to room temperature before roasting.

There are so many variations of recipes for roast potatoes, but I have never found one I like better than this. It is tried and trusted, so I hope it works as well for you.

Bread and butter pudding is an Irish country kitchen classic. It was originally a way to use up leftover bread but has developed a lot since then. It is one of my sister Sharon’s favourites, and it took me a while to convince her to use fruit and lemon. More recently, the twins and my mother-in-law Eileen are enjoying it. To make it even more delicious, try making it with day-old croissants or brioche.

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Happy cooking.

Roast Rib of Beef on the Bone with Crispy Roast Potatoes

Serves four to six

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp English mustard powder

2 tsp sea salt flakes

1.5kg (3lb) French trimmed rib of beef on the bone, tied with string

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, quartered with root intact

2 large carrots, halved lengthways

675g (1½lb) potatoes, halved or quartered

1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves (not peeled)

Small handful soft thyme leaves

2 tsp plain flour

400ml (14fl oz) chicken or beef stock

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Creamed horseradish, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F/gas mark 8).

2 Heat a small frying pan and toast the peppercorns until aromatic, then place in a pestle and mortar and grind until cracked. Mix in the mustard and salt. Wipe the meat with damp kitchen paper and rub with the mustard mixture.

3 Pour the olive oil into a roasting tin and add the onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic and thyme, tossing to coat. Season to taste, then push the veg to the edges and sit the beef in the middle of the vegetables. Roast for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6) and roast for 10 minutes per 450g (1lb) for rare, 12 minutes for medium-rare and 20 to 25 minutes for well done.

4 Take out and baste halfway through the cooking time and quickly turn over the roast potatoes.

5 Remove the beef, onions and carrots from the tin and place on a platter. Cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Pop the potatoes and garlic into another roasting tin and continue to cook in the oven, removing the garlic cloves if they are starting to catch and burn.

6 To make the gravy, pour the juices from the roasting tin into a jug and leave the fat to settle on top, then skim off the fat and discard, reserving the juices. Stir the flour into the roasting tin, scraping the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon to remove any residue, then gradually stir in the stock and reserved juices. Place the tin directly on the hob and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring. Pour through a sieve into a gravy boat.

7 To serve, carve the rested beef into slices and arrange on warmed serving plates with a dollop of creamed horseradish. Add the roasted onions, carrots and potatoes. Hand around the gravy separately.

Fruity Bread and

Butter Pudding

Serves four to six

4 eggs

300ml (½ pint) milk

150ml (¼ pint) cream

Finely-grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out

50g (2oz) caster sugar

250g (9oz) sliced white bread (6 slices)

75g (3oz) butter, softened, extra for greasing

75g (3oz) ready-to-eat dried prunes, finely chopped

75g (3oz) sultanas

Good pinch of freshly-grated nutmeg

4 tbsp marmalade

Icing sugar, to dust

Pouring cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Lightly butter an ovenproof dish that’s about 25cm x 16cm (10in x 6in) and 2.5cm (1in) deep.

2 Beat the eggs, milk and cream together in a large jug. Mix together the lemon rind and juice, vanilla seeds and sugar in a small bowl and then add to the egg mixture, beating lightly to combine.

3 Spread the slices of bread with the softened butter and cut off the crusts, then cut into triangles.

4 Scatter half of the prunes and sultanas into the bottom of the buttered dish and arrange a layer of the bread triangles on top. Pour over half of the egg mixture, pressing the bread down gently, then repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients and sprinkle the nutmeg on top.

5 Place the dish into a roasting tin and fill with warm water until it comes three-quarters of the way up the dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until just set.

6 Meanwhile, sieve the marmalade and then heat it in a small pan. Brush the top of the cooked pudding with the marmalade to form a nice glaze when it comes out of the oven. Dust lightly with icing sugar.

7 To serve, cut into slices while still warm and arrange on warmed serving plates with pouring cream or ice cream. CL