Delicious, easy recipes by Jay Wadams
Welcome to
Days of Jay
I'm Jay, cookbook author and food photographer.
Days of Jay is my website, where I share easy, delicious recipes for home cooking.
My recipes are packed with photos and useful tips and tricks to help you as you cook. They are all inspired by healthy, seasonal ingredients and my travels across the globe, especially in Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and Australasia.
I am so excited to have you here, so let's dive in and get cooking!
Welcome to
Days of Jay
I'm Jay, cookbook author and food photographer. Days of Jay is my website, where I share easy, delicious recipes for home cooking.
My recipes are packed with photos and useful tips and tricks to help you as you cook. They are all inspired by healthy, seasonal ingredients and my travels across the globe, especially in Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and Australasia.
I am so excited to have you here, so let’s dive in and get cooking!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Well, the countdown is until the year’s end, and Christmas is just around the corner. Check out some of my most popular Christmas and festive recipes below!
No festive table in Germany would be without a big pot of braised red cabbage, flavoured with apple, cloves and juniper berries. Depending on where in the country you are, this could be called Rotkohl or Blaukraut and it is the perfect accompaniment to roast goose.
Beautifully bronzed Roast Goose is one of the most impressive festive meals. The dark and succulent meat is wonderful served with a rich gravy, red cabbage and potato dumplings, ideal for family celebrations like Christmas dinner. Brining the goose ensures that the meat is perfectly juicy and seasoned. Yum!
Speculaas or Dutch Spice Cookies are a wonderfully old fashioned Christmas treat and so delicious! These light and crisp cookies are full of fragrant and exotic spices, perfect for the festive season.
There’s nothing quite like the delicious aroma of a freshly baked Christmas Fruit Mince Tart to let you know the festive season has really begun. With brandied fruit mince and a buttery almond pastry, this recipe is perfect for a Christmas feast.
My easy recipe for making traditional Oktoberfest Lebkuchenherzen or Gingerbread Hearts at home. Hang these brightly decorated hearts around the neck of your sweetheart (or eat and enjoy!)
German Christmas Stollen is always a real treat during the holiday season. Made from an enriched yeast dough, loaded with rum-soaked fruit and candied peel, Stollen is delicious served with a cup of coffee or a warming mug of Glühwein.
Sweet, juicy and fragrant with a cinnamon sugar coating, Fried Apple Rings or Apfelkücherl are one of my favourite German Christmas market treats. You don’t have to stand around in the snow to enjoy them though, with my simple batter they are super easy to prepare at home.
One of my favourite Christmas bakes is Cinnamon Star Bread. With the delicious flavour of cinnamon rolls, this sweet bread recipe makes a beautiful loaf to feed a crowd. It is also actually much simpler than it looks, relying on clever cutting and twisting of the layers of dough to achieve the beautiful design.
Possibly the tastiest of all German Christmas cookies, Vanillekipferl are, crumbly, buttery crescent-shaped cookies, scented with heavenly vanilla. Yum!
Perfectly tender, rosy roast beef is easier than you think! Slow Roast Beef produces juicy, delicious beef every time.
The Latest Recipes From My Kitchen
Discover my latest and greatest recipes below, or use the search function to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Seared Duck with Pomegranate
Juicy duck breast served with a sweet and sour pomegranate sauce. Seared Duck with Pomegranate is a delicious meal for two or perfect for a dinner party. Serve with jewelled couscous for a showstopper dinner.
Asparagus and Lemon Risotto
Creamy, rich risotto with fresh in-season asparagus and bright zingy lemon. The perfect meal for two.
Stifado (Greek Beef Stew)
This rich and sumptuous recipe comes from my good friend Deirdre Guthrie, owner of the Gardens of Irini in Bellapais, Cyprus. The secret to this dish is the long, slow cooking time, which makes the flavours extraordinarily intense and the meat meltingly tender.
Turkish Bread (Ramazan Pidesi)
Pillowy soft, golden brown bread with a crunchy topping of nigella and sesame seeds? It can only be Turkish Bread or Ramazan Pidesi. This delicious bread is so simple to make and is perfect for filling, stuffing, dipping and more.
Chicken Marbella
The Silver Palate’s Chicken Marbella is a fabulously retro dish bursting with Mediterranean flavour. The sweet, sour and salty combination of olives, capers, red wine vinegar, prunes and garlic has won fans for generations and for good reason – it’s delicious!
White Chocolate Macadamia Blondies
White Chocolate Macadamia Blondies are, in my opinion, even more delicious than a classic chocolate brownie. With a gorgeous caramel flavour and a soft, fudgy texture, the glorious combination of white chocolate and macadamia nuts is simply irresistible.
Shrimp, Watermelon and Feta Salad
Shrimp, Watermelon and Feta Salad is a glorious mixture of textures and tastes, with cool watermelon perfectly pairing with garlicky shrimp, salty feta cheese and a pop of chilli. This simple recipe is summer on a plate!
Hot Cross Buns
Deliciously sweet and sticky, my easy Hot Cross Buns recipe is perfect for baking this Easter. Serve generously slathered with salted butter.
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