The "vin" in this dish is wine, and while most Anglicised recipes use red, I prefer white. According to The Art of Eating, an insightful quarterly publication from the United States, the French actually use their local wine for this dish - so in Alsace, for example, it would be coq au riesling. Australian chardonnay and semillon can be a bit too woody, so use lighter examples or riesling.

1. Heat half of the butter in a large deep frying pan over medium heat and fry the chicken pieces until well browned on all sides - you may need to do it in two batches. Add the prosciutto and cook for one to two minutes, then remove all the meat to a plate until needed.

2. In the same pan, fry the onion and garlic gently for about 10 minutes. Add the brandy and cook until the liquid has reduced. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat for two minutes. Stir in the wine and thyme and continue to simmer for as long as it takes to reduce to about one-third of the original volume, then add the stock.

3. Return the chicken to the pan, placing the carrot and celery on one side under the liquid. The liquid should cover the chicken (add more water if necessary). Season with salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste.

4. Return to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the breast meat from the pan and reserve.

5. Fry the mushrooms and onions in the remaining butter to moisten and let them colour. Drain on paper towel and leave to one side. After cooking the chicken for a further 30 minutes, add the mushrooms, and onions if using. Keep covered and cook for about 30 minutes more, or until the meat is tender. Return the breast meat and prosciutto to the pan. Remove the thyme stalks, carrot and celery before serving.

Note: Jointing a chicken into 10 pieces is an easily learnt art - get your butcher to show you how it is done.

Serves 4.

The quantities of water and chicken, as well as the cooking temperature, are all important aspects in this recipe. Bigger chickens will take longer to cook and will require more water; don't take the chicken out of the pan for at least an hour after the heat is turned off, or the chicken may not be cooked through. You could also toss in a carrot and some parsley stalks if you have them.

1. Put four litres water in a very large saucepan or stockpot over high heat. Add the leek and salt, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

2. Add the whole chicken to the pan, bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Cover the pan, turn off the heat and let the chicken cool in the stock for one hour.

3. Strain the liquid off and use for stock. It should keep well in the refrigerator for one week, and stored in an airtight container in the freezer for three to four months. Store the poached chicken in the refrigerator for up to four days to use in soups, sandwiches, salads or for a light lunch.

Variation: I like to use two cobs of sweetcorn, the well washed stems and roots from a bunch of fresh coriander and the tops of a bunch of green spring onions in this for a sweeter, more aromatic end result. You can also eat the corn, or use it in the stock to make soup.

Note: If you don't have homemade chicken stock, I'd rather, in most recipes that call for it, use water rather than anything else. If you've got good, pure, fresh ingredients in a dish, a bought stock - with all its strange additives and not very natural flavour - will compromise these flavours. I often make a very quick stock from onion peelings, a bay leaf and thyme simmered for 20 minutes, rather than use bought stock.

Makes 4 litres.

My mum's cheese biscuits are simply the best cheese biscuits in the world.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Put the butter and flour in a bowl and use your fingertips to rub the butter in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor if you like.

3. Add the salt and cayenne pepper, then knead in the cheese until just combined.

4. Press the mixture out as you would shortbread into a rectangle about 5mm thick all over. Cut into 2cm squares or diamonds and place on the trays.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden. Allow to cool, then try and eat just one! Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks (if you're strong-willed).

Serves 10 with drinks.

Fresh trout is so cheap, yet so delectable; perhaps it's a tad subtle for our tastes these days. The resolute flavours in this dish, however, go wonderfully with trout, particularly the hard-to-find brook trout. Pretend you went freshwater fishing.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Lay four slices of prosciutto next to each other on a clean work surface so that the long edges are slightly overlapping. Lay the trout across the prosciutto to cover the length of the fish, except the head and tail, and wrap the prosciutto around to enclose. Repeat with the remaining prosciutto and trout.

3. Melt 20g of the butter and brush onto the trout. Place the trout in a shallow roasting tin and roast in the oven for about eight to 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Place on a serving plate.

4. Heat the remaining butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the pine nuts and toss to brown slightly. When the butter turns a nut brown colour, add the sage leaves and remove from the heat. Keep tossing and add the lemon juice. It will fizz and froth, so just keep shaking the pan to stop it burning.

5. Pour this butter mixture over the trout and devour immediately. I'd probably drink a semillon with it. As the wine flows, you can tell everyone about the D'Meure chardonnay - the one you've heard others on the river talk about, but have never actually seen.

Serves 2.

I have tested various quantities of this recipe several times to come up with one I really liked. It's bigger on cocoa than most, and might frighten the children. It has been suggested that one teaspoon of instant coffee in the sauce mixture makes it even better.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 1.5 litre capacity casserole dish.

2. Mix the flour, cocoa and sugar in a bowl, then pour in the milk and egg and stir until it turns into a nicely even, wickedly dark batter. Fold in the butter and pour into the base of the dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top, dust with the extra cocoa, then tip the boiling water over the top.

3. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 35 minutes (the sides should be bubbling). Cool just a little, before serving with cream or ice cream.

Serves 6.

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