Now that autumn's here, it's time to update The Treehouse menus to include some of that great new season produce.

New to the menu is a delicious courgette and roasted squash salad, with wholewheat pasta, toasted cashew nuts and spiced pumpkin seeds, as well as a lovely risotto with Eshott-grown mushrooms.

Risotto is often a dish people are nervous to make, but it's really quite easy.

Just make sure you have the correct rice and a decent hot stock and you can achieve the perfect result.

Why not try making a lovely pumpkin risotto this Hallowe'en?

Autumn cabbage is ready to harvest in the Roots and Shoots garden here at The Alnwick Garden. It makes a great accompaniment to duck.

A dish I love to make is pan-fried duck breast with creamed cabbage and celeriac, chestnuts and caramelised pear.

Also ready in the Roots and Shoots garden are our winter root vegetables – carrots, parsnips and turnips. There are lots of great ways to serve these and use up the glut in your garden.

Try making a winter vegetable coleslaw, the carrots and parsnips really work in a coleslaw and you could add other seasonal vegetables such as beetroot, celeriac and cabbage.

Coleslaw is a great recipe you can play around with and use up all the left-over vegetables you have. For a great winter salad finely slice some carrots, a mandolin is the best way to do this, and mix with olive oil and coriander and season.

Or simply roast the carrots, parsnips and turnips in a roasting tin with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper for a great accompaniment to a traditional Sunday roast.

The Sunday lunches we serve in The Treehouse have ever-changing menus which always include delicious local meats as well as fish, seafood and freshly-prepared seasonal vegetables.

If you fancy a Sunday afternoon treat, the desserts are really special. A favourite of mine is the Lindisfarne Mead poached pear and frangipane tart.

We're really looking forward to the festive season in The Treehouse. Call in for a Christmas lunch with family or friends or spend a lovely evening by the roaring fire.

I've been busy planning the menus, including some great locally-inspired dishes such as home-made parfait of chicken livers I'll serve with a red onion chutney and brown ale bread.

There's also pan-fried loin of estate venison with buttered mash, seasonal braised red cabbage and a green peppercorn jus. Of course I will be serving a traditional turkey dish, but to make it a little different I'm chargrilling an escalope of sage and onion marinated turkey, and serving it with Christmas colcannon potatoes and homemade cranberry relish.

Happy cooking this autumn and winter.

RECIPE 1: Ham Hock Terrine

2 pig's trotters, each chopped into 3 or 4 pieces
A 1kg unsmoked ham hock
300g fatty pork belly
2 small onions, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 large glass white wine
1 tsp redcurrant or crab apple jelly
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 shallots finely diced
2 carrots finely diced
1 stick celery finely diced
1 handful coarsely chopped parsley

Wash the trotter pieces under cold running water, then place in a medium-sized, heavy pan, along with the hock, belly, vegetables and herbs.
Pack everything in as well as possible, then pour in the wine and enough cold water to cover.
Place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface, turn down the heat to its lowest setting, then simmer as gently as possible for an hour and a half.
Remove the hock and set aside to cool.
Continue to cook the trotters and belly for a further hour and a half, or until the trotters are tender and the skin falls away from the bone.
Remove the meat and set aside.
Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve lined with muslin or a clean tea towel into a clean pan. Bring to the boil, reduce by three-quarters, then stir in the fruit jelly. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.
Lightly cook the finely diced vegetables in a little butter, without colour, allow to cool.
Pick all the skin and meat from the trotters and the meat from the hock and belly, chop roughly into pieces about 1cm square and put in a bowl.
Add vegetables and chopped parsley Pour over the reduced cooking liquid, stir and check the seasoning again. Pack into a terrine (or several ramekins or a medium pudding basin), place a weight (or weights) on top, then leave until completely cool.
Chill for at least a few hours to set before serving (ideally a day or two).
Serve with crusty bread, and cauliflower piccalilli.

RECIPE 2: Lindisfarne Mead Poached Pear and Frangipane Tart

Poached pears
4 pears, peeled, cored and halved
175ml Lindisfarne mead
250ml water
550g sugar
2 lemons, zest only
2 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon

Frangipane
100g butter, softened
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
100g ground almonds

1 sweet pastry case (23 cm or 9 inches)
Raspberry jam
Icing sugar
Handful flaked almonds

For the poached pears, make stock syrup with all ingredients except the pears. Allow to cool.
Place pears in cool stock syrup in a suitable pan, cover with greaseproof paper, bring to the simmer, place a small plate on top of the pears to keep them under the syrup, cook for about 3-4 minutes, allow to cool in the liquid. By then the pears will be tender.
To make the frangipane, cream together butter and sugar until pale. Beat in eggs and then fold in ground almonds.
Melt the raspberry jam until soft, spread evenly over the base of the pastry case, allow to set, evenly spread the frangipane into the case, place the pears on top and lightly press into the frangipane, sprinkle with flaked almonds and dust with icing sugar.
Bake in oven at 170C for 40-45 minutes until frangipane is golden and firm to the touch.
Serve either warm or cold. We use Beckleberrys cinnamon ice cream with ours.