The July Course from the Premier Enclosure viewing terrace

Every year my blogging seems to follow the same kind of pattern. Summer starts to roll around (yippee!) and, by mid-June, I'm easing into some new-found freedom after I've finished organising the annual Eat Cambridge festival (a fortnight in May which involves indulging in A LOT of excellent local food and drink, plus many long, hard days spent planning and organising and then hosting events). After a few weeks' break from what feels like constant eating and, in between bites, snapping photos to share on social media, I'm getting itchy fingers again - reaching for my phone to Instagram my latest culinary creation, or being tempted by a new foodie opening, and finally finding time to put my laptop down and eat out again. Around this time of year, I find SO much that is good about being a food blogger: beautiful summer produce from our garden and local farms; good evening light for taking photos of supper recipes; and gorgeous sunny days spent exploring the many great eats in our local area. Fantastic timing, then, that this weekend's stunning weather (and a very rare free Saturday to enjoy as a family) saw us donning our fancy threads and venturing over to Newmarket for a day at the races to check out the Summer House Restaurant at Newmarket Racecourse's July Course. And we were so glad we did. We had a blast! Read on to find out what we thought of the food (and more)...  

I've tried to recreate a healthy(ish) version of fried chicken many times, and this simple coating of seasoned panko breadcrumbs and oven-baked chicken thighs is the one I keep coming back to. It is so easy to make and has that ever-so-pleasing crunch when you bite into a piece and find the succulent thigh meat inside which is SO close to the real decadence of proper fried chicken. I'd recommend buying the best quality chicken you can manage, and leaving the bones in the thighs for more flavour.

One of my favourite ways to cook lamb is slow roasting - long and very gently until the meat falls off the bone, deliciously tender and full of flavour. This recipe for lamb shoulder with a Korean-inspired marinade is a real feast but requiring very little effort, as the glorious slow-cooked meat does the hard work and all you have to do is prepare a few simple accompaniments. Make time to marinade the lamb shoulder overnight and cook it slowly until it pulls apart at the touch of a fork. The delicious result is well worth the wait: soft juicy pulled lamb with Korean sauces soaking into sticky sushi rice, topped with sweet hoisin sauce and a hit of chilli from sriracha, all wrapped up in a little gem 'scoop' with a crunch of cucumber and spring onion in each mouthful! Yummmmmmy. It is messy, but very tasty, and a real crowd pleaser. My recipe serves four greedy people. Get stuck in...