Celebrity Masterchef winner Sophie Thompson Q&A

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

Gill

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'?

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?

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

are there any good recipes using mouldy bread/?

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?

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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?