Dinner party recipes from Claire Macdonald

By Xanthe Clay Published: 7:05AM GMT 18 Feb 2010

Fail-safe and fuss-free: Isle of Skye based cookery writer Claire Macdonald with her husband Photo: LEWIS J HOUGHTON

"Maybe I should have married a Campbell," muses Lady Macdonald of Macdonald as she stirs a pan of olive-oil infused shallots and fennel. "I"d rather have been a tin of soup than a burger."

In fact, Lancashire-born Claire Macdonald has been happily married to Lord Macdonald of Macdonald (known as "Gog" to his wife) for 40 years. Thirty-seven of those have been spent running Kinloch Lodge on the banks of Loch na Dal on the Isle of Skye.

Twice-baked Parmesan and walnut souffl�s Italian sausage, fennel and roasted tomato gratin with cannellini beans Marmalade tart Ginger pastry Poached and roast clementines Return of the dinner party

It"s an isolated spot from which to build a reputation as a food writer, but Claire is nothing if not determined. As she shows me how to cook a stress-free dinner party in her huge kitchen-cum-cookery school, she explains: "I don"t think things fall into your lap. You have to work hard in life."

For 27 years, she was the only cook at Kinloch Lodge, where she built a loyal following. Now, Roux-trained chef Marcello Tully runs the restaurant, cooking the haute cuisine dishes that earned Kinloch a Michelin star last month.

Claire continues to run cookery classes, passing on her fail-safe recipes for delicious dishes as well as tips and advice. Emptying jars of cannellini beans into a sizzling pan of tomatoes, shallots and fennel, she explains: "Beans in jars are better than in cans. I don"t know why, they just are. And roasting the tomatoes before adding them to the mix is really worth the effort."

Her attitude to dinner parties is as comforting as she is. "You don"t want to impress people, you want scrummy food that you can do in advance. Nothing kills the atmosphere more than an exhausted host."

Kinloch Lodge, Sleat, Isle of Skye (01471 833333; www.kinloch-lodge.co.uk; www.claire-macdonald.com)xanthe.clay@telegraph.co.uk www.twitter.com/xanthecooks

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