Celebrity Masterchef winner Sophie Thompson Q&A

I have a surplus of beetroot grown by DH. I loathe the "Enlgish" pickled beet. Are there any other means of preserving them, without the over-vinegared stuff?

I always have a glut of green tomatoes at the end of the summer and I have tried several green tomato chutney recipes over the years with limited success, do you have any other ways of using green tomatoes.

Do you have a favourite recipe that you wish you'd included in your book....but didn't?

Hello Sophie
How many cookery books do you own....how often do you use them..and do you have a favourite?

Well done, Sophie. Now, my q. The gas oven failed yesterday and it will take time to replace it. Two fresh, 1.6k herb-fed chickens were too big for my slow cookers. I grabbed a large, stainless stock pot for this emergency, froze one chicken, and cooked the other on a bed of quartered carrots, celery, onions and thyme. A half bottle of white wine followed to keep moisture in. However, although I saved it from burning at the 3-hour point, the vegetables were too darkly browned for the light white wine/thyme gravy I wanted. I removed the (beautifully-cooked) chicken and washed the carcasse, chucking out the over-cooked vegetables. Some of yesterday's chicken will be served warmed up, today, with Turkish walnut sauce and salad. The rest cooked overnight in the slow cooker and has become a splendid stock. As I plan to do this again next weekend with the second, now frozen chicken - and oven-top cooking seems a good compromise against 7+ hours in a slow cooker - what would you suggest for hob-top cooking? A different recipe would also be welcome. NB Organic Bone stock is strongly recommended for those with bone density problems.

We go out to one of the chain restaurants that sells carvery but the yorkshires are huge and completely tasteless.

I would like to know how to make perfect yorkshire to go with a roast beef?

How do I make my chocolate cake moist, it always seems a bit dry? Could I add syrup in place of some of the sugar. Would this work?

are there any good recipes using mouldy bread/?

See my post of Wed 12-Aug-15 12:23:41 on the "Old-fashioned food" thread, jonnyald

I appreciate that your Dad is called Eric and of course it's not unusual to name a child after it's father. However, is there some mischief in you to call your other child Ernie? If so, have you thought ahead to what any third child might be called? Maybe Des?

Which of your 'easy' recipes would you recommend to a keen but sadly untalented baker to guarantee to Bring Me Sunshine?

Congratulations, Sophie, on winning Celebrity Masterchef 2014, and on your exciting new book.

I'd like to ask you a few general questions, if I may ......

QUESTION ONE:- You've had a long and distinguished career performing in television, theatre, and cinema. How different, and how much of a challenge, was writing as compared to acting?
QUESTION TWO:- Do you have a personal favourite out of the recipes in your book? And an all-time favourite recipe ?
QUESTION THREE:- Reading the synopsis, your book appears to be a mix of your own recipes, as well as ones from your friends and family. Are they all original recipes, or a mixture of original and adapted?
... and finally ...
QUESTION FOUR:- How much of an 'honour' was it to win the 'Inside Soap Best Bitch Award'?

Hi Sophie,
I love making bread the traditional way. How can I vary the crust, please?

Gill

What's the best way to cook roast beef? I like it well done but it's often tough. My daughter says put it in a casserole dish with an inch of water. Does this work? When we go out for Sunday lunch the beef is always tender and I wish I could achieve the same.

Well done Sophie on all your recent success. I'm keen to try out from your new book.

Meantime can you advise on an "equipment" problem?

We've just moved house and the kitchen in our new house was deliberately laid out to only have a gas hob! There is no oven or grill of any description.

Previous owner loathed oven-cleaning, and everybody I ask for advice simply falls about laughing in disbelief.

I so miss having my old electric fan oven, and use of a grill, but having just bought the house, we can't afford a new kitchen just yet.

I need an interim and versatile solution for cooking a regular sit down evening meal for four grown-ups.

What kit (if any) would you recommend Sophie as an economical and efficient stopgap - there's nowhere to slide in a stand alone cooker, although there is plenty free counter top, and hob has five gas rings.

I'd value your thoughts on what to do, and would love to hear back from you.

Hi There
I would like to know what would you say is the best way to store home made cakes?
Many thanks Nannienet

My darling hubby and I eat homemade traditional food on a daily basis and would love to keep the handed-down recipes alive but it is so difficult to encourage the Grandchildren to eat this type of food as at home they have working parents with very little time who do not cook as a priority and rely on frozen fast foods most of the time. I feel the blandness of convenience food spoils their ability to taste properly and the excess suger added to foods that do not require sugar as an ingredient only confuses their tastebuds as they have sweet expectations of every food.My question is how can I get them to like and appreciate good food?

Would love to know- when you have some time and you're not cooking for others what would you choose to cook for yourself as a FAVOURITE, meal?

I would love to enter for Masterchef but honestly how hard is it really in the professional kitchen? I would be a bundle of nerves and so scared I would make a complete hash of everything.

What is your view on the popularity of baking sweet goodies given the increase in obesity and diabetes from too much sugar?