Salamagundi

Breakfast Kedgeree

2012-02-10T20:50:00.000Z

Kedgeree is also sometimes known as kitcherie, kitchari, kidgeree, kedgaree, or kitchiri.

Ingredients
Smoked haddock – one large or two small fillets
(Preferably not dyed if you can get it. The dye adds nothing to the flavour!|)
Basmati Rice – 200gm
Eggs – 4
Onion – 1
Fresh Parsley – 3 tablespoons, chopped
Peas (frozen) – small handful
Curry powder – medium strong - ½ tablespoon
Juice of half a lemon
Double cream – 3 tablespoons
Bay leaves - 3
Sunflower oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Butter

Method

Poach the haddock in 500ml of water with the bay leaves for eight minutes. Remove the haddock and drain but keep the water as it has now acquired the flavour of the fish.

Add the rice to the water and boil vigorously, with a lid on, for 8 minutes then leave to stand for two minutes by which time it should be cooked but you may wish to check and if necessary give it another burst of heat.

Medium hard boil the four eggs and peel and quarter.

Boil the peas until cooked.

Finely chop the onion and cook in 40 grams of butter and a tablespoon of sunflower oil until soft.

Flake the fish and add it to the onion with the curry powder and peas.

Stir gently and add the rice and chopped parsley and fold in the quartered eggs. Add the juice of half a lemon and plenty of black pepper.

Finally, stir in three tablespoons of double cream and dot the top with butter. (That's the really healthy bit!)

This can be served straight away or left over a very low heat and stirred (gently) occasionally for the late risers!

Some new saucepans

2011-12-20T19:46:00.000Z

I've treated myself - with the help of my brithday present from GB.

Baked Apple and Custard

2011-09-26T18:09:00.000+01:00

Ingredients:-
Apples
Sultanas
Soft brown sugar
Butter
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Mixed Spice

(Ready made custard)

Method:-

I haven't mentioned quantities in the ingredients because I have this annoying habit of not measuring things! Also - it depends how many apples you want to do! I used about a pound and a half of apples for this.

Peel the apples and slice fairly thinly.

In a frying pan gently heat 4oz butter, a couple of tablespoons of soft brown sugar, and add a generous pinch of cionnamon, the same of mixed spice and grate in about a third of a teaspoon of nutmeg.

Add the apples and a handful of sultanas and cook over a gentle heat for about seven or eight minutes, stirring to ensure all the apples are covered with the liquid.

Pour into an oven dish and bake in a moderate oven for 35 minutes.

Serve straight away and add swirls of cold custard.

If preferred you can heat the custard but I like the mixture of hot and cold in this dish.)

Any left-over can be kept in the fridge and had another day.

Nutty Flapjacks

2011-08-20T00:45:00.011+01:00

Ingredients:-

4oz Margarine;
4 fl.oz Clear Honey;
3oz Muscavado Sugar;
8oz Rolled Oats;
2oz Walnuts (chopped).

Method:-

Melt the margarine, honey and sugar in a pan. Stir in the oats and walnuts and mix thoroughly. Put in a greased 7" x 11 " shallow tin and smooth the top with a pallette knife.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in the tin for two minutes and then cut into fingers. Cool completely before removing from the tin. Makes about 20.

Kitchen Hints

2011-08-16T09:51:00.001+01:00

Stuck paper - Paper that is stuck to wood can be removed by moistening it with baby oil After a few minutes it will peel away easily. The sticky residue left by those awful labels on new items can be removed by a patent ‘sticky stuff remover’ like this one available from Lakeland.

Burnt stew - If food burns in the pan never stir it up -tip it into a new saucepan leaving thc burnt bits at the bottom. Add more liquid if necessary and if it still tastes burnt add some more seasoning - pepper, chilli powder or Worcester sauce.

Burnt Saucepans - Put a tablespoon of washing powder into the pan, fill up to the burn mark with warm water and leave to stand for an hour. Wash in warm soapy water - pan will be as good as new.

Frying - Heat the pan gently before adding butter or oil - this reduces the chances of the food sticking. Sprinkle a little salt in the pan to slop spitting. Add a spoonful of oil if cooking in butter to stop the butter burning.

Beans and Pulses - When cooking dried beans and pulses do not add salt until the last minute as it toughens them.

Cabbage - A piece of bread or a dash of lemon juice added to the cooking water will cut down the smell of boiling cabbage. If you boil the water before adding the cabbage and cook for only ten minutes it won't go soggy.

Carrots - To improve tinned carrots - sauté them for a minute or two in l oz butter with a pinch of sugar, a squeeze of lemon, a dash of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Celery - To crisp celery stand the stalks in iced water for half an hour before serving

Lettuce - When making a salad always tear the lettuce - cutting with a knife will make it go brown.

Salad Servers - Wooden salad servers are better than metal because they don't bruise the leaves.

Cheese Sauce - Make a cheese sauce more interesting by adding a sprinkling of dry mustard, a pinch of cayenne pepper and a dash of lemon juice.

Cider - When cooking with cider (and it makes an excellent base for a stew) use an enameled or porcelain-lined pan because an iron or tin one will turn the cider black.

Mustard - If you ever mix your own mustard do so with cold water and leave it at least ten minutes before serving to allow the flavour to develop.

Onion Stems - If you grow your own onions or spring onions, you can use the stems like chives for flavouring soups and stews.

Parsley Butter - Chop three tablespoons of fresh parsley very finely. Rinse a mixing bowl with hot water and. using a fork, work the parsley into 4 oz (l25 gms) of butter and a few drops of lemon juice. Chill until firm and serve with hot vegetables or fish.

Parsley - As an alternative to chopping it you can keep it in the freezer and then when you want it you can just crumble it into bits,

Sugar - One ounce (loz) of white sugar is a level tablespoon full.

Flour - One ounce (loz) of flour is a heaped tablespoon full.

Steaming – If you steam anything (like puddings or vegetables) put a marble in the pan - it will rattle and warn you if the pan boils dry.

Smelly Hands - If you get something on your hands that makes them smell and won't just wash off - such as fish - rub some dry mustard powder on them and then rinse off under warm water.

More fishy stuff - Wash utensils in cold water after using them for fish, especially smoked fish - it gets rid of the smell.

Egg Whites - Rub the cut side of a lemon half around the inside of the mixing bowl before cracking in egg whites and when you whisk them you'll get a much better volume - the acid stabilizes the foam. Ideal for meringue mixtures.

Satsuma Beef

2011-08-10T14:29:00.000+01:00

Preparation Time – about 15 minutes plus 30 minutes marinading; cooking time 15 minutes. Serves 2 to 3.

Ingredients:-
1 piece of rump steak - about 12 oz (375g)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 shallots, cut lengthways into chunks
7 fl oz (200ml) water
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons red wine, sake, or dry sherry
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
1-2 tablespoons sugar
3 satsumas, peeled and segmented (or mineolas if satsuams not available)
1 bunch coriander, chopped, to garnish

for the marinade –
grated rind of 1 orange
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 teaspoon sugar

Method

Slice the beef into thin strips against the grain. Put the strips in a ceramic dish. Whisk together the marinade ingredients and pour over the beef, stirring to coat thoroughly. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat a wok or heavy frying pan. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, swirl ir around the wok, add half the beef and stir-fry over a high heat for 3 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate using a slotted spoon. Add another tablespoon of oil and stir-fry the remaining beef ion the same way. Transfer to the plate.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok, then add the shallots, water, soy sauce, wine / sake / sherry. Sprinkle in the chilli and sugar and season to taste. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced.

Return the beef to the pan and toss vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes until all the ingredients are combined and coated with sauce. add about two-thirds of the satsuma segments and toss quickly to mix.

Serve hot, garnished with the remaining satsuma segments and the coriander.

Cauliflower Cheese and Bean Bake

2011-06-14T04:12:00.000+01:00

A vegetarian dish from TV chef Brian Turner.
Serves: 6
Preperation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS
• 1 x 500g/ 1 lb 1½ oz cauliflower
• 40g/ 1½ oz butter
• 40g/ 1½ oz flour
• 250ml/ 9 fl oz double cream
• 125ml/ 4 ½ fl oz Milk
• 175g/ 6 fl oz Lancashire cheese
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 dash of tabasco sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 40g/ 1 ½ oz Parmesan cheese, grated *see my footnote
• 1 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 x tin of tomatoes
• 1 x tin of cannellini beans
• 1 x tin of chickpeas
• Sprigs of parsley to garnish

METHOD
• Sweat the onion and garlic until softened.
• Pour in the tinned tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the cannellini beans and the chickpeas and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
• Pour into a greased pie dish.
• Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Cut the cauliflower into even-sized florets and plunge in the boiling water. Cook until just tender before draining in a colander and reserving about 125ml of cooking liquid.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over a low heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring all the time, for about 2 minutes. The flour should take on a slightly toasted aroma. Preheat the oven to 180C/ gas 4.
• Pour in the cream and bring the sauce to the boil, whisking out any lumps as it heats. Add the milk, whisk once more to combine, and remove from the heat.
• Add the Tabasco sauce, mustard and seasoning, followed by the cheese. If sauce is too thick add 2 tbsp of the cooking liquid from the cauliflower.
• Arrange the cooked florets in a dish, heaping them up into a dome. Gently pour the sauce over, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cauliflower has heated through and the cheese topping has melted and browned.
• Garnish with a few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley.

* Parmesan - I dislike Parmesand and consequently use some other hard cheese to top it or perhaps a bit of Red Leicester or Cheddar. If using Parmesan always use fresh Parmesan and grate it yourself - it is less obnoxious than the pre-grated stuff you can buy in a tub. That smells and tastes like baby-sick!

Resurrection

2011-06-06T07:57:00.001+01:00

I'm making an attempt to resurrect my blogs. I don't have a recipe to hand but I do have some advice - courtesy of Norton Priory:-

Stewed Damsons

2010-09-11T11:44:00.002+01:00

Ingredients

1lb Damsons
4 dessertspoons sugar
(I like my damsons reasonably tart but if you like them sweeter you can add more sugar)

I hadn't had stewed damsons in years and was delighted to see them in the greengrocers the other day. This serves three.

Method
Put 350 fl oz water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the damsons and the sugar. Simmer for about ten minutes until they are starting to burst out of their skins. It's that simple.

Serve warm with warm custard or cold with cold custard. As a child I used to mix the damson juice with the custard to make great swirls of colour. When Mum used to make them for us we all used to save all the damson stones and then go through the counting rhyme (in theory to see who you were going to marry or what you were going to become) - “Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief'. This was followed by when one would marry - This year, next year, sometime, never.

It was silly but we always did it. Some people then counted them again to find out other things:-

What will I be (if you were a girl)?

Lady, baby, gypsy, queen.

What shall I wear?

Silk, satin, cotton, rags (or silk, satin, velvet, lace)

How shall I get it?

Given, borrowed, bought, stolen.

How shall I get to church?

Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart.

Where shall I live?

Big house, little house, pig-sty, barn.

Cooking Cabbage the Delia way

2010-08-20T17:58:00.000+01:00

Fresh cabbage lightly cooked is full of goodness, packed with vitamins, minerals and flavour and it’s not expensive.

Cabbage should always be eaten as fresh as possible – it loses nutrients if stored for too long. An unwrapped fresh cabbage should look bright and crisp, with its outer leaves intact (often if it’s had its outer leaves removed, it was because they were limp, which is not a good sign). The heart should feel firm and the leaves should squeak as you pull them apart.

To prepare cabbage: with a leafy variety such as spring greens, it’s best to discard any tired, floppy outside leaves, then separate the other leaves down to the central bud and place them one by one on a flat board. Then, using a sharp paring knife cut out the stalks, running the point of the knife down each side. When the stalks have been removed, pile the leaves on top of each other and, using a larger knife, shred the cabbage into strips, then do the same with the centre bud to shred that, too.

For a more compact variety, such as Savoy, once the outer leaves have been discarded, halve and then quarter the cabbage lengthways, then cut out the hard core from each quarter and discard. Finally, slice thinly across each quarter to shred it.

I have tried every method under the sun for cooking cabbage and I am now convinced that boiled cabbage needs plenty of water. The secret is to shred it quite finely and cook it briefly in rapidly boiling water. What I do is pack it down quite tightly into a saucepan, sprinkle with salt, then place the pan over a high heat, pour in boiling water from the kettle, which re-boils instantly, and time it for 3-5 minutes.

The one way to tell if it’s cooked is to bite a piece, as you would pasta. Then tip it into a colander and squeeze out as much excess water as you can, using a saucer to press the cabbage down. Then turn the saucer on its side and use chopping movements to push any excess water out.

Serve it straightaway in a hot bowl, tossing it with a minute amount of butter, and season it with salt and pepper. One medium-sized cabbage will serve 4 people.

From Delia On-line

Cooking cucumber

2010-08-17T11:56:00.000+01:00

Most people think of cucumber as a salad ingredient but it can also be cooked as a vegetable.

Peel cucumber and slice in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds and chop into C-shapes about one third of an inch wide. Put butter in frying pan. Add the cucumber and season with salt and pepper. Fry gently for about three to five minutes.

If cooking in a stew or curry you can leave the skin on so that it doesn’t disintegrate.

Cooking scallops

2010-08-11T20:08:00.010+01:00

"Assuming your scallops are sparklingly fresh (and if they're not, you shouldn't buy them in the first place) they don't actually need cooking at all - they can be eaten raw as sashimi. Now you may not want to do this, but the point is, short cooking time is fine and in fact better.

Of course it depends on the size of the scallop as to how long it needs to cook - and whether you are cooking just the meat or the meat plus the orange-pink coral - the coral takes less time to cook. This is why many top chefs remove the coral before cooking. The coral doesn't have to be wasted - it can be pounded with butter to make scallop butter - very nice on grilled fish - or left to dry overnight in a very slow oven and crumbled over finely sliced and stir-fried cabbage or seaweed.

However, my advice on cooking the scallop meat is to get a heavy based pan very very hot - leave it on the heat with no oil or butter for several minutes. Rub the base of the hot pan with a block of butter and add your dried scallops (dry them beforehand on kitchen paper).

Take a look at the pan-side after 30 seconds - is it crusting nicely? If so, turn it over and give it another 30 seconds. If not, give it another 10 secs then turn it.

The key to this is really to get that pan hot hot hot before you cook - otherwise the scallops will stew rather than fry and caremelise nicely.

(SS’s notes – if you want you can add lemon juice to the frying pan and many people will halve the scallops).

And another thing - please please please use hand-dived scallops. They're much more expensive but the alternative involves dredging the bottom of the sea bed and removing everything from it - meaning there's no breeding ground for scallops or fish for years to come."

Richard Leader

(The above scallops were cooked with samphire, cabbage and salmon.)

Cooking Marsh Samphire

2010-08-09T20:07:00.000+01:00

Marsh samphire has vibrant green stalks, similar to baby asparagus, with a distinctively crisp and salty taste. It can be used raw in salad, though it tends to be very salty so it is more often boiled or steamed for a few minutes. Samphire is at is best in July and August. Buy bright, fresh looking plants with no signs of wilting. Wash thoroughly under cold running water before eating. Trim off any root. Buy samphire as you need it - it doesn't keep for long. If you must, tightly wrap and refrigerate for not longer than a few days.

Pop into a pan of boiling water for one minute, drain and toss in butter. Or steam over a pan of boiling water for a couple of minutes and serve with melted butter.

(Though there are two types of samphire - marsh and rock - only marsh samphire is widely available. Rock samphire has a rather unpleasant smell and flavour. Occasionally you may also find jars of pickled samphire in gourmet shops.)

P.S. I quite like snacking on it raw! Lovely.

Crumpets

2010-06-29T15:56:00.000+01:00

CRUMPETS

Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, divided
1 egg
1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar; let stand for 5 minutes.

Add the milk, 1 tablespoon butter and egg; mix well.

Add flour and salt; beat until smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Brush griddle and 3-in. metal rings or open-topped metal cookie cutters with remaining butter. Place rings on griddle; heat over low heat. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into each ring. Cook for 7 minutes or until bubbles begin to pop and the top appears dry. Remove rings. Turn crumpets; cook 1-2 minutes longer or until the second side is golden brown. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack and toast before serving.

(Thanks to Cynthia for pointing me in the direction of this recipe.)

Wine-poached Chicken

2010-06-12T14:05:00.000+01:00

Serves four

Ingredients
3½ fl oz white wine
9 fl oz chicken stock
1 fl oz white wine vinegar
2 ¼ fl oz extra virgin olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
zest of 1 lemon
tsp sugar
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove – peeled and sliced
4 chicken breasts – with skin removed
Yellow pepper – sliced into small strips
6 Cherry tomatoes
3½ oz watercress
1¾ oz sultanas or raisins
1¾ oz toasted pine nuts
salt and ground black pepper

Method
For the Chicken Breast
1. Bring the wine, chicken stock to the boil in a saucepan with half the lemon zest, the bay leaf and garlic.

2. Reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering. Add the chicken and poach for 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and set aside to cool in the poaching liquor.

For the dressing
1. Remove half of the poaching liquor and place in a saucepan. Heat until the volume has reduced a bit and whisk in the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, the rest of the zest, and sugar until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve
1. Place a handful of watercress (or other salad such as Rocket), yellow pepper and tomatoes on each plate and top with the poached chicken.
2. Sprinkle on the pine nuts and sultanas and drizzle over the dressing.

Tuna Burgers and Niçoise-style Salad

2010-06-03T19:12:00.000+01:00

Serves four.

Ingredients
For the Burgers
2 tins Tuna in sunflower oil with the oil drained off
5oz Breadcrumbs
1 Egg white
1 Shallott – peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp Chopped fresh Mint
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper

For the Salad
8 fl oz Extra virgin Olive Oil
4 fl oz Sherry Vinegar
(or White Wine Vinegar with a teaspoon of caster sugar)
4 Eggs – hard-boiled and quartered
4 oz cooked fine Beans
8 Cherry Tomatoes – halved
Handful Watercress – roughly chopped
2 oz Green Olives – pitted
2 oz Seedless Green Grapes
1 tbsp chopped fresh Chives
Salt and Black Pepper

Garnish
Handful Watercress

Method

Blend the tuna, shallot, egg white, breadcrumbs, mint and cumin until well combined and then season.
Shape the mixture into four large or eight small burger shapes.
Put in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.

For the salad – whisk the oil and vinegar in a large bowl, add the remaining salad ingredients – except the eggs - and mix until well combined. Season to taste and then add the eggs but do not stir again.

Fry the tuna burgers for a few minutes each side until golden brown.

To serve, put some of the Niçoise salad in a circle around the plate. Put a little bit of Watercress in the middle and place the burger on top of the Watercress.

Hash Brown

2010-02-18T06:23:00.000Z

There are many ways of cooking hash browns. This is not only one of the simplest but, of those I have tried, the one which yields the best results.

Ingredients:-
1 pound potatoes (about 2 large potatoes)
2 tablespoons oil, such as sunflower
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:-
Scrub the potatoes. They do not need to be peeled. Grate with a shred-size grater. Heat a 12-inch frying pan, preferably non-stick, over a medium-high heat. Add the oil and butter. When hot, add the potatoes and push down with a spatula to spread evenly in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper - be generous with the pepper. Fry until the bottom is browned and crispy (about 5 minutes). Do not try to flip until it is browned, or the potatoes might stick. Flip the potatoes, in sections if necessary, and fry another 5 minutes, or until browned and crispy on the other side. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200° F oven.

Do you have a favourite hash brown recipe you'd like to share?

Pancakes

2010-02-16T17:09:00.002Z

It’s Shrove Tuesday so I thought you might like a pancake recipe. This quantity of ingredients make about 8 pancakes.

Ingredients
4 oz plain flour
2 large eggs
7 fl oz milk
3 fl oz water
2 tbsps melted butter
Pinch of salt
A spot of butter for the pan.

Method
Add the water to the milk.
Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and break in the eggs.
Begin to whisk the eggs –lightly with a whisk or fork, gradually incorporating the flour from the edges.
Gradually pour in the milk and water while continuing to stir and whisk the flour. When all the liquid has been added run a fork around the edges to ensure all the flour has been absorbed.
Whisk thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Add the two tablespoons of melted butter and stir it in.

Melt a teaspoon of butter in a frying pan and pour out the excess onto a saucer. Make sure the pan is quite hot and pour in a small cupful of the pancake mixture. It should be enough to cover the bottom of the pan but not to flood it. Cook for thirty seconds or so and then lift the edges. I rarely bother tossing the first pancake since it often seems to stick. I just turn it over.

Slide the pancakes onto a warm plate, cover with foil and keep in an open oven (or put on a pan of boiling water) until you’ve done all you need.

Once the second pancake is in the pan the amount of melted butter has been reduced to just the right amount for cooking the pancakes without them sticking so these can be tossed.

Serve with sugar and lemon juice or ice cream and maple syrup.

Apple Scone

2010-02-15T07:32:00.000Z

Main Ingredients:
One medium cooking apple - shredded or finely chopped
8 oz (250g or two cups) self raising flour (all-purpose flour with baking powder)
½ teaspoon salt
Level teaspoon baking powder
2 oz (60g or ½ stick) butter
2 oz (60g or ¼ cup) castor sugar
Up to ¼ pint (150ml or half cup) milk

Ingredients for glaze:
A little milk
1oz demerara (light brown) sugar
Cinnamon

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 200C (400F or Gas Mark 6).

Peel and core the apple and then finely chop. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Then rub in the butter followed by the sugar and finely chopped apple and mix. Add milk until you have a soft but not sticky dough.

Roll out on a floured surface to about ¼" thick and 8" round and mark into 8 wedges. Place on a greased baking sheet, brush the top with milk and sprinkle with the demerara (light brown) sugar and cinnamon.

Bake in the pre-heated oven at 200C (400F or Gas Mark 6) for around 20 minutes. Serve the apple scone warm with butter.

Liver with mushroom sauce and straw chips

2010-02-06T19:08:00.000Z

Ingredients
One piece of Calf’s liver
Three slices of Bacon
Mushrooms
Onion - 1/4 chopped
Small pickled onions
Cream
Marsala
Herbs
Beef stock
Flour
One large potato

Liver is usually over-cooked which not only toughens it but also can add a bitter taste and chalky texture. This turned out to be the best liver I had ever eaten with the added bonus of having cooked it myself.

Method

For the Liver:-
Lightly coat the liver with flour and fry in a very hot pan with a little oil and butter for 2 minutes each side then leave to rest for at least five minutes. The end result should be liver which is pink inside (and therefore tender and tasty) but resting it ensures that it does not bleed when cut as any juice is re-absorbed into the meat.

Straw Chips:-
Peel the potato and cut off the rounded ends and sides leaving an oblong block. Cut into narrow slices and then cut the slices into narrow strips. Try to keep the size of all the chips consistent.
Heat the chip pan and cook for a couple of minutes until golden brown.

For the sauce:-
Gently fry the onion in oil and butter. Add the mushrooms (I used dried porcini mushrooms which I soaked for 20 minutes beforehand – that gave me some extra juice for the sauce). Add the bacon. Pour in half a glass of Marsala or red wine and flame it to burn off the alcohol. Add herbs (I used some fresh parsley and some dried Mixed Herbs). Add half a cup of beefstock and half a cup of cream and gradually reduce until you have a thick and creamy mixture. If you have the ingredients ready to hand the whole process takes little more than five minutes so you can do this once the liver is cooked.

Serve, eat and enjoy!

Rich Ruby Port and Vodka Christmas Cookies

2009-12-13T17:23:00.000Z

Based on an idea freshly stolen from the Sandi – with thanks :-)...

Ingredients
1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup or brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Rich Ruby Port
1 bottle Vodka

Method
Sample the Port and the Vodka to check quality.

Take a large bowl,check the Port again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink..

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one peastoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the vodka is as good as the port, try a cupfull to test.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit off the floor..

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters just pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the Port to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who geeves a sheet. Check the vodka again. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Port, check all the Vodka has gone and make sure to put the stove in the wishdasher.

Cherry Mistmas !

Beans and Things

2009-11-24T12:29:00.013Z

When I was at college it was not unusual for me to need a quick meal between coming home from lectures and zooming out again to socialise. One of my stand-by meals was baked beans. The standard way of serving baked beans is simply to heat them in a pan and pour them over a piece of toast. But rarely did I do them this way. Usually I added another ingredient – Imagination! I still do this today when I'm feeling lazy.

Among Ingredients that you can add to spice up your Baked Beans are:-

Pickled onions;
Spring onions;
Pickled gherkins;
Mixed herbs;
Chopped ham;
Chopped Spam or tinned ham and pork;
Small pieces of cooked chicken;
Chopped tomato;
Cherry tomato;
Tinned Tomatoes;
Garlic;
Red pepper;
Green pepper;
Yellow pepper;

And you could always top the mixture with a poached egg!

Method:-

Open the tin of beans and pour into a saucepan.
Add the other chosen ingredients;
Heat, stirring as necessary;
Serve on toast or with French bread and butter.

Can’t get easier than that!

Helen's Nut Roast – with and without (cheese)

2009-11-21T06:07:00.000Z

Ingredients
Mixed nuts (e.g., walnuts, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, almonds, cashews) - 250g
Shallots - 100g
Chopped tomatoes - 400g tin
Egg - 1, beaten
Dried thyme - 0.5 tsp
Dried sage - 0.5 tsp
Dried mint - 0.5 tsp
Parsley - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Marmite or other yeast extract - 1 tsp blended with 1 tsp boiling water
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Black pepper
Optional - Cheddar cheese - 100g, grated

Butter / margarine for greasing tin

Method
1) Dry fry the nuts, stirring gently, until golden and fragrant, taking care not to burn. Remove to a bowl and leave to cool.
2) Blend the nuts in a food processor until thoroughly ground.
3) Drain away some of the liquid from the tin of chopped tomatoes.
3) In a large bowl, combine the ground nuts with all the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
4) Preheat the oven to 180° / gas mark 4. Grease a loaf tin with butter/margarine.
5) Scoop the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for around 45 minutes, until firm and golden. Cool slightly, then turn out.

Note 1 - I have tried it both with and without the cheese and prefer it without. It tastes a bit too rich for me with the cheese and also remains a little bit sloppy.

Mote 2 - As an alternative to making your own nut mixture you can use a 250gm packet of Co-op Truly Irresistible Roasted Mixed Nuts. These will not need dry frying and can simply be ground.

Note 3 - Can be eaten hot with vegetables or cold with salad or bread and butter.

Note 4 - WARNING - May contain nuts !!!!!

Decorating a Plate

2009-10-07T00:23:00.001+01:00

I have been trying to learn the art of decorating a plate in the fancy style that chefs often use. If you are going to try doing it you need to spend plenty of time practising. The chefs make it look easy but it isn't. Obviously the food used for the decoration has to match the food on the plate as regards taste but if you are looking for particular colour ideas you could try some of these these.

With Green
Take a bunch of fresh herbs such as Parsley and Sage. Immerse them in boiling water for 20 seconds. Strain them and put straight into ice cold water. Put the herbs into a blender and mix with some light oil such as rapeseed oil. Add some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and blend again. Bottle the resulting liquid and stopper it to keep it fresh. Use a paintbrush to put it on the plate or simply dribble it into a round spot.

With Red
Tomato Ketchup

With Orange
Barbecue Sauce

With Yellow
A slice of Lemon

With Yellow
Sweetcorn.

With Purple
Mash some beetroot and put it into a piping bag.

With Brown
Brown sauce.

With Brown for a dessert
Choclate sauce

With red for a dessert
Strawberry sauce.

Mushroom, poached egg yolk and micro-salad starter

2009-10-05T08:02:00.005+01:00

Ingredients
I large flat mushroom per person
1 egg yolk per person
Butter
Rocket
Water-cress
Spinach
White wine vinegar
Whole grain mustard
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Method
Prepare the micro-salad by putting a mixture of rocket, spinach and water cress in a bowl. In a separate bowl put two teaspoons of white wine vinegar, a teaspoon of mustard, a tablespoon of olive oil, some freshly ground black pepper, and sea salt and mix well. Pour over the micro salad.

Gently fry the mushrooms in butter.

In a large pan heat water and add two teaspoons of white wine vinegar. Swirl the water around in the pan until it has a momentum of its own. Carefully drop the egg yolk in the centre of the water and cook briefly until lightly poached.

Serve the mushroom with the egg yolk on top and then loosely drape the micro salad on top.

(Note – in these photos, which were an early experiment, the salad was placed on top without any dressing. Using a dressing on it improves it, in my opinion.)

Fish Pie

2009-09-16T18:17:00.004+01:00

There are lots of different fish pie recipes on the web and a few in my cookery books. Not that I use my cookery books very much nowadays. Noting down recipes from TV programmes or the web into my own book has rather replaced the old-fashioned cookery book in my life. This is the recipe I have used for a long time (except that the eggs are an additional touch added recently after tasting Spesh's fish pie).

Ingredients

1 fillet cod
1 fillet smoked haddock
i fillet salmon
(about 750 gram of fish in total)
Parsley sauce to make 1/2 pint.
500 ml Whole Milk
1 stick Celery
I Carrot
Peppercorns
½ Onion
2 hard boiled Eggs.
1 kg Potatoes
2 oz Butter
Frozen Petit Pois or Garden Peas
Parsley
A Bay leaf
Salt
Pepper

(On the go:- back left the potatoes boiling; front left the fish gently cooking; front right the petit pois. Ignore the pan on the back right; that's a separate dish - a beef stew).

Method
Chop the onion and celery. Add these to the milk with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs of parsley and a few pepper corns.
Add the fish to the milk mixture in a medium saucepan. Bring to the simmer (making sure it doesn’t boil over), cover and turn off the heat. The fish will cook in the hot milk.
Hard boil the eggs.
Boil and mash the potatoes, adding the butter and some salt and pepper.
Heat the petit pois or garden peas in boiling water.
Take the fish out of the milk mixture and gently flake it – but not too finely – into an oven dish.
Chop the boiled eggs and add them to the fish. Add the petis pois. Add a couple of sprigs of chopped parsley.
Sieve the milk mixture throwing away the solids (the celery, carrot, onion, bay leaf and peppercorns) and pour i/2 pint of the flavoured milk over the fish and egg.
Make the parsley sauce and add it to the oven dish.
Very gently stir the mixture a couple of times to mix it together without breaking the fish up too much.
Cover with the mashed potatoes.
Place in a pre-heated oven on 200°C / 400°F / Gas 6.
Cook for about 25 minutes until the mash is going golden brown on top and the fish sauce is bubbling up the sides.

Apple and Sultana Crumble

2009-09-10T17:33:00.003+01:00

Ingredients:-
For the fruit:
8 medium apples – peeled and chopped
1 oz soft brown sugar
2 cloves
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 oz sultanas
2 tablespoons water
3 teaspoons lemon juice

For the Topping:
4 oz wholemeal flour
4 oz plain white flour
5 oz soft brown sugar
3 oz butter at room temperature
1 level teaspoon baking powder.

(I actually use 4 oz of wholemeal flour, 2 oz of plain white flour and 2 oz of gram flour. Gram flour is a flour made from ground chana dal, a legume otherwise known as chickpeas. I think it just gives a slightly different texture to the crumble.)

Tinned custard

Method:-
Place the apples and water into a large saucepan, adding the sultanas, sugar and spices. Cook gently until the apples are soft and fluffy. Spoon the mixture into a pie dish.

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle in the baking powder, then add the butter and rub it into the flour lightly, using your fingertips. Then when it all looks crumbly, and the fat has been dispersed fairly evenly, add the sugar and combine that well with the rest.

Sprinkle the apple mixture with the crumble topping. Using a fork, even it out but don’t press it down. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes in a medium oven (gas mark 4; 350°F; 180°C) until the topping is golden brown.

Serve with hot or cold custard.

Recipe for humour

2009-09-10T05:50:00.003+01:00

How come when you mix water and flour together

you get glue?..

and then you add eggs and sugar...

and you get cake?

Where did the glue go ?

NEED AN ANSWER?

You know darned well where it went!

That's what makes the cake

Stick to your ass..

Chicken Soup

2009-08-20T05:30:00.002+01:00

Ingredients
4 large potatoes
1 large carrot
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
100 gm noodles
3 chicken stock cubes
1 chicken breast
! small packet croutons

Method
In a very large pan bring to the boil 3 pints of water. Add the chicken stock cubes and continue to simmer and stir on a low heat throughout the rest of the process.
Dice one potato into very small cubes and put them in the water.
Grate the other three potatoes and add them.
Grate the carrot and add it.
Grate the onion and add it.
Crush the garlic and add to the mix.
Add the noodles.
Lightly fry the chicken breast in oil. Cut it open when there is a chance that it is cooked. If not completely cooked continue to fry until it is. (The more lightly it is cooked the more tender it will be.)
Cut and tear the chicken breast into tiny pieces and add to the soup.
Continue to simmer with the occasional stir for half an hour.
Remove from the heat and insert a stick blender. Lightly blend, leaving some of it thick so that there are some potato pieces and noodles left whole.

Serve with croutons.

Makes enough for six as a snack or as a meal starter. Any not eaten at the time can be frozen for the future - ideally in individual portions for snacks - or kept in the fridge for three days.

(There are, of course, many variations of this such as using left-over chicken; adding sweetcorn; using only half the amount of potato, carrot and onion and blending strongly prior to putting in the noodles to give a thinner, chicken noodle soup.)

Florentines - of a sort

2009-07-08T08:46:00.002+01:00

These are my attempt at making Florentines like the ones found in the Woodlands Centre at Stornoway. They aren't the same by any means but they are acceptable. when I perfect the recipe I shall post it again.

Ingredients:-
2 oz butter
1 tablespoon syrup
3 tablespoons golden granulated sugar
1 tablespoon mixed dried fruit - mainly sultanas
½ tablespoon chopped almonds
½ tablespoon glace cherries - chopped
15 squares of chocolate
10 squares of chocolate for drizzle
Cornflakes

Method:-
Melt the ingredients - excluding the cornflakes and chocolate for drizzle - in a large saucepan. Then add cornflakes and turn slowly - trying not to break up the cornflakes but to cover them with the mixture. Try to add enough cornflakes to absorb all the mixture without adding so many that some cornflakes remain uncovered.

Spoon out onto greaseproof paper and mould into roundish shapes. Allow to cool. Melt the 10 remaining squares of chocolate and drizzle them over the 'Florentines'.
Put in the fridge to cool down for a while. Store in an airtight container.

MUSHROOM & BACON TOAST

2009-04-07T21:07:00.002+01:00

Ingredients

2 oz butter
3 rashers bacon
4 oz button mushrooms
1 tbsp parsley
seasoning
4 slices bread
2 oz soft fat cheese

Method

Melt half the butter in a shallow pan; add chopped bacon and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, parsley and seasoning. Cover the pan and cook gently for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender.

Toast the bread on both sides. Spread with butter and cream, cheese. Sandwich in pairs and spoon the mushroom and bacon over the top.

BREAKFAST RISSOLES

2009-04-05T15:20:00.001+01:00

Ingredients

Hard-boiled Egg
Mashed Potato
Cooked Bacon
Tomato Sauce
Cornflakes
Mixed herbs
Beaten Egg
Seasoning

I haven't put quantities in this recipe because it never occurs to me to weigh things. In the case of the ones I made today there were 2 hard boiled eggs; three good-sized rashers of bacon and about four medium-size potatoes worth of mashed potato. That amount made enough for five rissoles.

This is just designed for breaklfast or brunch but if you wanted a more substantial meal you could serve them with baked beans, beetroot and pickled onions or with a green salad.

Method

Beat together the hard boiled eggs, mashed potatoes, chopped cooked bacon, a splodge of tomato sauce, a teaspoon of mixed herbs and salt and pepper. Make into rissoles, dip in the beaten egg and cover with mashed cornflakes. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Food for thought

2009-04-03T20:58:00.001+01:00

I really enjoy cooking (when I’m in the mood) but it tends to be a spur of the moment thing and because I often feel better in the morning than the afternoon or evening I tend to cook in the morning. The end result is that I am often stumped as to what to cook. I have all these grand ideas but unless one shops in advance for the fresh ingredients the range of meals available to cook is limited. Perhaps this partly explains why a lot of my cooking is improvised.

I have decided I am going to be a lot more disciplined in future and choose at least two recipes that I want to make each week and then ensure I have shopped for all the ingredients. (Note that the word try did not appear in that sentence – I’m going to do it. Power of positive thinking and all that.)

LAMB PILAFF

2009-03-11T06:55:00.002Z

This quantity serves 2. Serve with a green salad if desired.

Ingredients
2 oz butter
1 onion
1 clove garlic - crushed
12oz boned leg of lamb, cut into cubes (or you can use minced lamb)
2½ oz long grain rice
½ pint lamb stock or vegetable stock
seasoning
generous pinch mixed herbs
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1½ teaspoons dried marjoram
½ tsp ground allspice
½ a red pepper - chopped
1 tbsp sultanas
1 tbsp chopped almonds
2 tomatoes

Method
Chop the onion finely and fry gently in the butter until soft.
Add the crushed garlic clove.
Add the meat and rice and stir well until the meat is browned.
Add the stock, allspice, mixed herbs, marjoram and seasoning.
Bring to the boil then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Peel, skin and slice the tomatoes and add them to the meat.
Add the parsley, sultanas, red pepper and almonds.
Cook for a further 25 minutes or until the meat is tender and the rice cooked.

Tips
To skin tomatoes, pop them into a bowl of boiling water and the skin will burst. Take them straight out again and with use a sharply pointed knife to remove the skin.
To freeze this dish – cool it quickly and freeze in a plastic container for up to 3 months.
As an alternative you can use diced chicken - which may not take quite so long in the cooking. It's a chicken version starting to simmer (and just about to have its lid back on) in the photo.

STUFFED ONION

2009-02-17T11:15:00.002Z

Serves two – serve on a bed of green salad.

Ingredients
2 large Onions
3 fl oz Olive Oil
3 fl oz Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp Honey
Freshly ground black Pepper
Salt
4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
4 oz fresh breadcrumbs
3 oz butter
3 oz flaked almonds
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 clove Garlic, finely chopped
Green salad to serve.

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C

2. Remove the onion outer skins and cut each to half way with a sharp knife. Then cut again to half way at a right angle. You should now have a cross shape that goes half way down the onion. Then make another two cuts to a quarter of the way down forming eight divisions but not separating the onion at all.
3. Put the onions in a roasting tin and drizzle the olive oil over them. Season with salt and pepper and place the sprigs of Thyme across the top.
4. Cover the tray with foil and put in the oven for an hour.
5. Remove the onions from the oven and take the foil off. Drain away the olive oil and pour the rice wine and honey into the roasting tin. Return to the oven until nicely roasted – about 15 to 30 minutes.
6. In a dry frying pan, gently toast the almonds without burning them.
7. Pre-heat the grill. Put the breadcrumbs, butter, flaked almonds, parsley and garlic into a bowl and mix well.
8. Remove the onions from the oven. open out the leaves a bit and press the filling into all the spaces.
9. Grill under a hot grill for 3 to five minutes or until golden brown.
10. Serve on top of a bed of green salad.

MSG

2009-02-17T05:06:00.001Z

I don’t like Monosodium glutamate. I have known for years that if I eat a dish (usually a take-away) that has too much MSG in it I get a migraine. I also get an upset stomach (not related to the migraine stomach). The potential ill-effects caused by MSG were first described in a medical journal as ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome'. Symptoms including numbness and palpitations were reported shortly after visiting a Chinese restaurant. Such claims have never been specifically linked to MSG however, and could be due to common allergies to ingredients like peanuts and shellfish. MSG has been linked to many conditions including migraines, asthma, depression and Alzheimer's, but has never been isolated as a cause. Huge amounts of MSG have been fed to humans without causing ill-effects, and MSG is considered a safe additive by every government which tests these things. For all its testing I’m pretty sure it has an adverse effect on me and interestingly I have a neurodegenerative disease and MSG has now been implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and Huntington's disease.

I have now heard rumours that MSG lacerates your taste buds – that’s how it enhances flavours. The problem is that the taste buds then scar over and that reduces their effectiveness in the future. I don’t know if there is any truth in the rumours but it’s one more thing to put me of it.

All in all I think I shall continue to avoid it – after all, my cooking must be pretty poor if it needs a chemical additive to make it eatable.

RISSOLES

2009-02-15T12:57:00.003Z

This creates about five medium sized rissoles.
As an alternative the tuna fish can be replaced by a tin of corned beef (chopped and broken into small pieces) or 6 to 8 oz of grated cheese (Cheddar or Double Gloucester preferred). I never weigh cheese so I hope I’ve got the amount right!
Serve with salad or baked beans.

Ingredients
Four large potatoes or the equivalent
3 oz butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/3 cup plain white flour
Flour to cover lightly
2 tins of Tuna Fish (in oil or brine as preferred)
Salt
Fresh ground pepper

Method
Boil the potatoes and mash well with 2oz butter.
Drain the oil or brine from the tuna fish.
Add the flour and tuna fish to the potato, season and stir well.
Cover your hands in flour and take a small handful of the mixture (ouch, hot!) and pat it into an oval about three quarters of an inch (2cm) thick, then add a sprinkling of flour to the surface.
Put the other 1oz of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and heat it up.
Put the rissoles in the frying pan and turn occasionally until both sides are a crisp golden brown.
Serve with baked beans or a green salad.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

2009-02-14T00:33:00.000Z

Don’t try doing this at a moment’s notice. It takes a fair while but hopefully you’ll find it’s worth it. It also sounds complicated but it is actually just a lot of easy stages. This serves four.

Ingredients
900g/2lb chuck steak, cut into 5cm/2in cubes
500ml/17½fl oz red wine
100g/3½oz bacon lardons
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
30g/1oz plain flour
30g/1oz tomato purée
250ml/9fl oz chicken stock
16 small shallots
300g/10½oz button mushrooms
50g/2oz butter
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh parsley, chopped
rice or boiled potatoes

Method
1. Place the beef, red wine, thyme, bay leaf and garlic into a large bowl. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least two hours, preferably overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 3.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon lardons and fry until crisp and golden-brown.
4. Remove the beef from the marinade. Reserve the marinade liquid for later. Add the beef to the pan and cook until brown on all sides. Remove the beef from the pan.
5. Add the onion and carrot to the same pan and fry for 5-6 minutes, until softened.
6. Return the beef to the pan and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Sprinkle with the flour, stir well and cook for a further two minutes.
8. Add the tomato purée, stir to combine and cook for four minutes.
9. Add the wine marinade and the chicken stock and bring to the boil.
10. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for two hours.
11. Towards the end of the cooking time, melt half of the butter in a frying pan over a low heat. Add the shallots and fry for 10-12 minutes, until golden-brown all over.
12. In a separate frying pan, melt the remaining butter and fry the mushrooms until golden-brown all over.
13. Remove the beef casserole from the oven and carefully strain the sauce into a clean pan. Reserve the beef and vegetables. Bring the sauce to the boil and cook to reduce the volume by half.
14. Return the reserved beef and vegetables to the pan of reduced sauce and add the cooked shallots and mushrooms. Simmer for three minutes, stirring occasionally.
15. To serve, spoon equal portions of the beef bourguignon onto warmed plates. Garnish with parsley and serve with rice or boiled potatoes.

VEGETABLE SOUP

2009-02-12T00:02:00.003Z

This is a simple way to use any vegetables that are getting past their best. The end result can be frozen in portions and brought out whenever you fancy some soup.

Ingredients:
1 Leek
5 medium Potatoes
5 Carrots
1 tin Chopped Tomatoes
5 teaspoons Bouillon
2 tbsp Pearl Barley
2 tbsp Red Lentils
½ tbsp Mixed Herbs
1 Clove of Garlic
Any other vegetables you want to use – for example, Green Beans, Broccoli, Onion, Peas, or Cabbage – but, in my experience not Swede, Parsnip or Brussels Sprouts as they seem to ‘turn’ the flavour.
Note you can get Vegan Bouillon so this can be a real vegetarian recipe.

Method:
Peel and chop the vegetables fairly finely.
Bring to the boil 3 pints water.
Add the Bouillon and stir.
Add the tin of tomatoes (or rather the contents of the tin!) and some freshly ground pepper.
Chop the Garlic clove finely and add to the water.
Add the Pearl Barley and Lentils and simmer for ten minutes.
Add the remainder of the vegetables.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and test for taste. Bouillon is salty so it is doubtful that you will need to add salt.
Using as hand blender, thin the soup to your own preference. Be CAREFUL – remember that the soup is almost at boiling point so do not splash your hand. Note that the soup will thicken as it cools so you may want to add a bit more boiling water at this stage. So long as you don’t add too much water it should not alter the taste too drastically.

This shows two different thicknesses of soup according to the amount of blending and additional water.

JUMP-IN-THE-PAN CHICKEN

2009-02-08T16:55:00.000Z

A simple recipe that gives you plenty of exercise preparing the meat and jiggling the frying pan.

Ingredients:
3 skinless chicken breasts – around 150 g each
2 tbsp plain flour
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp capers, well rinsed
125ml dry white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
(To serve, green salad)

Method:
Place each chicken breast between two sheets of cling film or greaseproof paper and bash flat with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Make it as thin as possible, almost breaking up.
Tear the chicken into little rags with your fingers, and toss lightly in the flour, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, heavy-based frying pan. When hot, add the chicken, scattering the pieces so they don’t clump together. Instead of stirring, move the pan on the heat and flip the chicken pieces until lightly golden, so they jump in the pan.
Add the garlic, bay leaves, capers, sea salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat, add the wine, and return to a high heat. Let the wine bubble away, again jiggling the pan like crazy.
When there is only a little wine left, add the lemon juice and parsley leaves, and jiggle the pan until the sauce comes together and looks creamy. Serve immediately.

Bacon and Garlic Pasta

2009-02-02T07:00:00.000Z

I have been reminded that it is a while since I inputted any recipes so here’s a quick pasta meal to be going on with –

Ingredients
8 oz smoked bacon
4 oz garlic cream cheese (such as Boursin)
5 fl oz single cream
4 oz frozen peas (defrosted)
12 oz pasta such as penne
olive oil
salt and pepper

Method
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water; drain and drizzle over a little olive oil to stop it from sticking together.
While the pasta is cooking, grill or fry the bacon until crispy, then drain on kitchen towel and cut into very small pieces.
Melt the cream cheese in a saucepan with the cream and keep stirring until smooth.
Add the peas and baocn to the sauce and mix well.
Season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the pasts to the saucepan and continue to heat and stir over a low heat until the mixture is thoroughly hot again.
Hey presto, that’s it...

Stollen

2008-12-23T06:48:00.001Z

I had some Stollen in Thornton’s Coffee Shop the other day and decided to buy one for Christmas. Not a single shop in Heswall had any so I headed for the recipe books and despite a shelf full of books found not a single recipe. So it was off to the web. Lots of recipes, including one from Liverpool chef Simon Rimmer so I had to choose his. Here it is, slightly adapted by me, now cooling in the kitchen...

Ingredients
3½ fl oz warm milk
2 tsp dried yeast
pinch salt
1 tsp caster sugar
8 oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp ground mixed spice
7 oz mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, mixed peel, glace cherries)
1 oz flaked almonds
2 oz butter
1 free range egg, beaten
9 oz marzipan
1 oz melted butter
2 oz icing sugar (or caster sugar)

Method
1. Place the milk and yeast in a bowl and mix well. Leave to sit for 5 – 6 minutes.
2. Sift the sugar, flour, salt and mixed spice into a mixing bowl.
3. Add the fried fruit, almonds and 2oz butter and mix well.
4. Add the yeast and milk mixture and mix well.
5. Add the egg and stir to make a dough.
6. Knead the dough for 5 -6 minutes, cover and leave to prove for 20 minutes.
7. Uncover the dough and turn out onto a clean, well-floured, work surface. Using your hands knock the dough back to reduce the volume, then knead for 3 – 4 minutes.
8. Push and roll the dough out by hand into a flat oval about 9 x 7 inches.
9. Roll the marzipan into a piece about 7 x 2 inches. Place the marzipan into the centre of the dough, then fold the edges of the dough to seal in the marzipan.
10. Place the stollen seal-side down onto a greased baking tray. Cover and place in a warm spot to prove for 1 hour.
11. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ Gas 4 / 365°F.
12. Place the stollen on the baking tray into the oven to bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
13. To finish, remove the stollen from the oven, brush with melted butter and dust with icing sugar.
14. Leave to cool then serve in slices.
15. (May be served warm by re-heating in microwave for a moment and can be accompanied by a dollop of thick cream or ice cream if so desired.)

Eggnog

2008-12-15T06:22:00.003Z

I’m not supposed to drink alcohol. Firstly it gives me migraines (or should I say more migraines) and secondly it clashes with about six of the tablets that I take. Normally I don’t miss it. A glass of wine with the occasional dinner would be nice but the price is not worth it.

However, as Christmas comes around I begin to fancy a drink. I love liqueurs. I also love eggnog. At this moment I’m absolutely dying for an eggnog (and I haven’t even had breakfast yet!)

So, instead of having an eggnog I’ve settled for looking at all the recipes I could find and deciding which I would like best. I’ve settled for this recipe.

There are a number of websites totally devoted to eggnog and whilst I haven’t explored this one I love the way the topping has been put on in shapes.

Chips (British Chips!)

2008-12-13T18:23:00.000Z

The ideal chip is crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. My Mum always used to peel and cut the chips well in advance of the meal and leave the chips soaking in water. I always assumed this was just to save time when she came to make the meal itself. Instead it seems there was method in her madness (so to speak). Leaving the cut potatoes to soak for at least two hours reduces the starch content.

The chips should then be patted dry and deep fried in hot fat (150°C) for about six minutes. Then they should be taken out and drained on paper towels to remove the excess fat. A couple more minutes of frying with the fat at a higher heat (180°C) should create the perfect British chip.

Cheesejacks

2008-12-06T19:13:00.001Z

I came across this recipe on Nan’s Blog. I anticipated that my son would love them. He didn’t – I just wish I’d eaten them all straight out of the oven as I was tempted to do. Next time I won’t leave him any!

Ingredients
1 ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 ¼ olive oil
1 ¼ rolled oats
1 egg

Method
Beat the egg, then add the oil and beat again.
Stir in the cheese and the oats.
Put in a greased 8in x 8in baking tray.
Put in the oven at 180°C for about 40 minutes.

In my view they are best eaten warm.

A speckled egg

2008-11-23T12:52:00.002Z

Having commented about how long it was since I saw a double yolker I just realised also how unusual it is nowadays to see a speckled egg. When I was young eggs ranged through all shades of brown and white (can you have shades of white?) and were variously speckled or unspeckled. This one – in a tray of two and a half dozen – was the only speckled one I’ve seen in ages. Why? Are speckled eggs less marketable for some reason?

Incidentally, I have since learned that Richard had a double yolker a week or so ago. That means we probably had two in the same batch.

PEANUT BUTTER BREAD

2008-11-21T21:58:00.003Z

How’s this for an ideal breakfast toast with marmite or base for Welsh Rarebit? Or you can just eat it on its own as a soft and fluffy bread. Once again it’s a bread machine recipe.

Ingredients
Water – 300ml (11fl oz)
Peanut Butter – 3 tbsp
Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
Strong White Flour – 450g (16oz)
Dried Skimmed Milk Powder – 2 tbsp
Salt – 11/2 tsp
Castor Sugar – 2tsp
Fast-acting yeast - 11/4 tsp (1 sachet)

Method
Pour the water into the breadmaker bucket.
Add the peanut butter, olive oil and about half of the flour.
Sprinkle on the salt, castor sugar and skimmed milk powder.
Add the rest of the flour.
Mound the yeast in the centre.
Put the bucket back in the breadmaker and set the menu to 1 or basic white. Set for a light crust and 1kg.
Leave the machine to do the rest...

Double Yolk

2008-11-19T00:57:00.000Z

Well, that hasn't happened to me for years (literally). About 1 in 1000 eggs has a double yolk so it isn't all that rare. In some countries, markets sell cartons of double yolked eggs. If you reckon on using about nine eggs a week, as we do, then you would expect to get one every two years. But it is certainly many years since I had one despite always using free range eggs and not battery ones.

Double yolkers happen when ovulation occurs too rapidly or when one yolk somehow gets "lost" and is joined by the next yolk. Double yolkers may be laid by a pullet whose reproductive cycle is not yet well synchronized or, occasionally, by a heavy-breed hen, often as an inherited trait.

You can also have no yolkers (cutely known as 'fart' eggs!), double shelled eggs, eggs without shells, eggs of weird shapes and even a five yolker - which made the Guinness Book of Records.

Photo courtesy of © Michelle Byerly

An egg within an egg happens when an egg that is nearly ready to be laid goes backwards and gets a new layer of albumen covered by a second shell. This extremely rare example of an egg within and egg comes from Michelle Byerly, of Jasper, Texas. The egg was laid either by a Buff Orpington or a Black Australorp in early 2004. The internal egg had no yolk.

According to where you live, a double yolk can mean anything from an forthcoming wedding to a financial windfall to a death in the family. I think I like the middle prospect best!

So would a double yolked egg produce twins, I wondered? The answer, it seems, is probably not, the presence of the two yolks would generally lead to an unsuccessful hatch because the nutritional value of the white is insufficient for two embyros.

PORK ROLL WITH CRACKLING

2008-11-18T00:24:00.001Z

I bought some pork roll the other day but it had virtually no fat or skin on it so I asked the butcher to add some. This he did, tying it around the roll with string. (This was after he had weighed the roll and told me the price so I didn’t get charged for the crackling). The end result was a superb piece of tender meat with great crackling and a fine accompaniment – a variation on one of Simon Rimmer’s from ‘Something for the Weekend’.
Serves 4 but you may want to add mashed potato to make it really filling.

Ingredients
1kg/2lb 4oz pork belly, ready-rolled
2 tsp vegetable oil
200g/8oz smoked bacon cubes (lardons)
500g/1lb 2oz cabbage, chopped
50g/2oz butter
100ml/3½fl oz white wine
200ml/7fl oz double cream or Elmlea
2-3 tbsp sea salt
juice of one lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
gravy
fresh parsley, chopped

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Make deep cuts in the pork belly skin at 2cm intervals
3. Rub the sea salt and lemon juice into the skin of the pork belly. Place into a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/360F/Gas 4 and continue to roast the pork for about one hour, or until completely cooked through.
5. If you are serving it with mash – put the potatoes on to cook with twenty minutes to go.
6.About fifteen minutes before the meat is due to be finished, heat the oil in a large pan. Add the bacon cubes and fry until crisp and golden-brown.
7. Add the cabbage and butter and cook 3-4 minutes, until the cabbage starts to wilt.
8. Add the wine and the cream and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the mixture has reduced to a thick sauce.
9. To serve, remove the pork from the oven and carve into thick slices.
10. Place a large spoonful of the cabbage mixture onto each plate and top with slices of the pork. Drizzle with a little gravy and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

How high is your Yorkshire?

2008-11-15T20:44:00.001Z

After much research The Royal Society of Chemists (RSC) has published guidelines saying a pudding has to be more than 4in (10cm) tall. According to scientist John Emsley, another ingredient for success is native Yorkshire blood. He said: "It's the instinct of people born and raised in Yorkshire. You can tell if the cook has the right touch." The judgement followed an inquiry from an Englishman living in the USA who e-mailed the society seeking scientific advice on the chemistry of the dish following a string of kitchen flops.

According to the RSC the pudding should always be served as a separate course before the main meal, and the best gravy made from the juices of a roast joint should be used. When I first went to Leeds I discovered that Mrs Smith with whom I lodged for a while was a great cook. Evening meals, when I was there, were first class but Sunday lunch was the piece de resistance. Like all good Yorkshire housewives she served Yorkshire pudding and 'proper' gravy as a separate course before the main meal. The original theory is said to have bene that it was to fill up the belly and save money by serving less of the more expensive main course. Mrs Smith didn't seem to realise that was the objective and served the most enormous Yorkshire Pudding - halved between us, followed by a huge main course and then a big (and usually equally filling) dessert. Sunday afternoons were spent snoozing. It's the only time in my life I've been over 81/2 stone!

For my recipe for Yorkshire Pudding mix see Toad-in-the-Hole.

CHOCOLATE FOR BREAKFAST

2008-11-12T04:52:00.003Z

Here's a super starter to the day from MissPrism.

Heat up a mugful of milk in a small saucepan. Break up 40g good dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids is best - if it's any stronger you have to add sugar too, and three ingredients is more than I can cope with at breakfast time).
Switch the hob off sos's you don't burn the house down, then put the chocolate in the hot milk and whisk it like billy-o until there are no lumps left. Pour the hot chocolate into a mug and drink it.

Breakfast is healthful
and chocolate is breakfast;
you do the logic.

(MissPrism's "Somewhat old but capacious handbag" blog can be accessed from the side panel of my Rambles from my ChairBlog)

A WHOLEMEAL BREAD

2008-11-02T15:43:00.002Z

This is a basic wholemeal bread recipe using a bread-maker.

Ingredients:-
350ml (12 fl oz) water
2 tbsps olive oil
450g (16oz) strong wholemeal flour
1½ tsp salt
1¼ tbsp soft brown sugar
2 tbsp dried skimmed milk powder
1 sachet (2 tsp) fast-acting dried yeast

Method
Put the water into the bread-maker bucket. Add the oil and half the flour. Sprinkle with the salt, sugar and dried milk. Add the rest of the flour and then put the yeast in a small well in the centre.
Replace the bucket in the bread machine ands set the menu (usually no 1; 1kg; medium crust).

Press the button and let the machine do its work.

When the bread is cooked, carefully shake it out of the bucket (being careful not to burn your hands in the process) and put it on a wire tray to cool. After an hour cut and eat!!!

TOAD IN THE HOLE

2008-10-16T12:56:00.003+01:00

This serves three or two hungry folk! Ideally the batter should be made the day before but it doesn’t suffer too much from being made at the time.

Ingredients
8 Pork Sausages
4 rashers streaky bacon halved lengthways
110g (4oz) Plain White Flour
300ml (½ pint) Milk
2 Small Eggs
8 long thin slices of cheese
½ tsp Salt
Gravy granules made up to 1 pint.

Method
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then make a well in the centre and break in the eggs.
Mix in half the milk using a wooden spoon and work the mixture until it is smooth; then add the remaining milk. Season. Beat or whisk until fully combined and the surface is covered with tiny bubbles.
Allow to rest for 15 minutes and whisk again before use.
Preheat the oven to 230°C; 450°F: Gas 8
Fry the sausages and bacon in a pan to lightly colour them and remove excess fat.
Put the sausages and bacon to one side and place the fat in a small roasting tin or Yorkshire Pudding dish adding a little oil, if needed, to bring the amount of fat up to about 4 tbsp. Heat the fat until smoking hot then pour in the batter.
Add the sausages and place the strips of bacon on top with the cheese slices on top of the bacon.
Place into the hot oven and bake for about 5-10 minutes at 230°C; 450°F: Gas 8, then reduce to 200°C; 400°F: Gas 6 and bake 15 to 25 minutes or until the batter around the sausages has risen and is a deep golden brown.
Serve immediately or the pudding will deflate.

If you are like Richard and I you will want plenty of gravy to accompany this dish! Jo prefers it without. (Observant folk will notice the example in the picture doesn't have eight sausages and the bacon and cheese weren't laid out perfectly. I had not originally aimed to do it for a blog posting - the principal objective was to eat it!)

NOT SIMPLY ICE CREAM

2008-10-16T12:41:00.002+01:00

Sometimes you want a quick and easy dessert to follow a complex dinner menu. Ice cream is hard to beat and when you add a couple of blackberries, some chocolate or strawberry sauce and a brandy snap it can look and taste first class. And it only takes a minute to put out. Of course, if you’re really out to impress you can add a flake as well!

CHOCOLATE SABAYON

2008-10-13T00:45:00.001+01:00

Originally I had intended to only post about recipes I had made but this one from recipes4us seemed so gorgeous that I couldn’t resist posting it here at the start of Chocolate Week, even though I have never made it. It serves four ordinary people or two chocaholics.

Ingredients
4 Egg Yolks
3 tbsp Caster Sugar
120ml/4fl.oz. Sweet Sherry
100g/4oz Dark Chocolate, shavings or coarsely grated

Method
1. Put the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl and whisk until the mixture is light and creamy.
2. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, add the wine and continue to beat with a whisk until the mixture becomes thick and forms soft peaks.
3. Remove from the heat then add the chocolate and mix gently.
4. Spoon the Sabayon into individual glasses and serve immediately.

(Don’t forget that the left-over egg whites can be used for meringues.)

WALNUTS ON THE SIDE

2008-10-11T14:51:00.001+01:00

I love Walnuts and Jo’s brother Brian gave us some produce from his allotment the other day so I invented "Walnuts on the Side" and had it with a Steak and Kidney Pie. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Unfortunately I didn’t take much notice of quantities – I tend to just chuck stuff in when I’m ad-libbing. The following would serve two.

Ingredients
150gm of roughly chopped walnuts
6 small new potatoes
3 small carrots
80 Beans – fresh from the pod
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Soy Sauce
Sea Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Method
Cut the potatoes into quarters and chop the carrot into small cubes. Put in a pan of boiling water with the beans and simmer for five minutes. Roast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a low heat for five minutes. Then add a tablespoon of olive oil and continue stirring.
Add a generous splash of balsamic vinegar, another generous splash of soy sauce, and season with the salt and pepper.
Drain the vegetables and add them to the frying pan.
Stir occasionally over a gentle heat for ten minutes.
The pan can then be left, heating it up occasionally, for as long as you want while you make whatever the Walnuts on the Side is to accompany.
P.S. I think I’ll add some Parsnips next time as well!

AFELIA

2008-10-05T10:18:00.001+01:00

One of my favourite Greek dishes. Ideally the meat should be prepared and marinated overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients:-Pork fillet – cut into cubes
1 lemon
2 heaped teaspoons coriander seeds
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic – crushed
½ pint (275ml) dry white wine
Salt
Black Pepper – freshly milled
Rice
Green Salad

Method:
Put the pork in a shallow dish and sprinkle with salt and freshly milled black pepper. Pour the oil over the meat and then the juice of the lemon. Then pour over 2 tablespoons of dry white wine. Crush the coriander seeds (in a mortar and pestle – it’s a about time you used it for something). Sprinkle the coriander seeds and crushed garlic over the meat and stir the ingredients together. Cover with a (clean) tea towel and leave overnight in the fridge.

Make a green salad and put the rice on to boil.

Melt oil in a large frying pan and when its nearly hot add the marinated pork and cook over a medium heat. Keep turning them over and when browned add the rest of the white wine. Let it bubble for about ten minutes and reduce to s syrupy consistency.

Serve the pork with the rice and a green salad.

CORNFLAKE CRUNCH

2008-10-04T05:01:00.003+01:00

This was Mum's recipe and provides one of the easiest, sickly sweet cakes you could hope to come across.

Ingredients
6oz Butter
6 tblespoons Syrup
9 tblespoons Sugar
½ lb cooking chocolate
Cornflakes

Method
Slowly heat the 6oz of butter, 6 tablespoons syrup, 9 tablespoons sugar and ¼ pound of chocolate in a very large saucepan. When mixed, add crushed cornflakes and continue to mix well. All the cornflakes should have some of the mixture but the overall effect should be one of a sticky mixture rather than a wet one. Turn out into baking trays and press evenly. Cut into shapes. (You can use square, oblong or round trays - the latter give segment-shaped pieces.) Leave for 1 hour to cool..

DOUBLE HADDOCK PIE

2008-10-02T18:20:00.002+01:00

Note this recipe takes some time to prepare because the first part needs to be allowed to cool before the topping is added and the pie goes in the oven. Overall, I would allow over an hour. Nevertheless, it is well worth it!

Ingredients
350g (12oz) skinned smoked haddock fillet
350g (12oz) skinned unsmoked haddock fillet
2 leeks, sliced
50g (2oz) butter
50g (2oz) plain flour
600ml (1 pint) hot milk
salt
black pepper
juice of ½ a lemon
2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill
3 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
1kg (2 1/4lb) potatoes, peeled, cut into even sized pieces
300ml (1/2 pint) milk
2 heaped tablespoons grainy mustard
75g (3oz) mature cheddar cheese, grated

I prefer undyed smoked haddock - there is no difference in the flavour but I don't see any point in eating chemicals for the sake of it!

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
Butter a 2 litre (3 ¼ pint) shallow pie dish, about 6cm (2 ½”) deep.
Cut the fish into 1cm (1/2”) pieces, discard any skin and bones.
Boil the leeks in salted water for about 5 minutes and drain well.
Melt the butter in a good sized pan, add flour and cook for a few moments not allowing it to colour. Whisk in half the hot milk and allow to thicken. Whisk in the remaining hot milk and whisk until smooth. Add the fish and a little salt and pepper. Cook over the heat for 2 minutes stirring at all times. Add dill and chopped egg and turn into the buttered dish. Spoon over the leeks and set aside to become completely cold and firm.

Boil the potatoes in salted water till tender, drain and push the potatoes to one side in the pan. Add the milk and let it become hot, mash the potatoes with the milk with a potato masher then whisk in the mustard.
Season.
Spread the mash over the cooled fish and scatter with the grated cheese.
Stand the dish in a large roasting tin (just in case it boils over).
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.

FLAPJACK

2008-10-01T04:55:00.000+01:00

Ingredients
4 oz margarine
4 level tablespoons golden syrup
3 oz granulated sugar
8 oz rolled oats
¼ teaspoon salt

Method
Grease a shallow tin about 71/2 inch sq. Put margarine and syrup in a saucepan over low heat until melted. Remove from heat and add sugar, oats and salt. Mix thoroughly. Turn into greased tin and cook in a very moderate oven (mark 3; 170) for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then cut into 12 bars. Place on a wire tray to finish cooling.

PEPPERMINT CREAMS

2008-09-26T06:45:00.002+01:00

Ingredients
1 Egg White
450g (1lb) Icing Sugar
Peppermint Essence or Oil of Peppermint

Method
Beat the egg white until frothy but not stiff.
Sieve the icing, adding enough to produce a fairly stiff mixture.
Add a few drops of the essence or oil.
Knead the mixture into a firm paste and roll on a surface dusted with sieved icing sugar.
Cut into rounds or form small balls and flatten. (Alternatively use sweet cutters or a very small pastry cutter shape).
Place the peppermint creams onto rice paper (edible) or on parchment or greaseproof paper.
Place in a warm place to dry for 24 hours.
Store in an airtight container.

SPANISH CHICKEN

2008-09-23T05:24:00.003+01:00

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
6 waxy new potatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper
12 cherry vine tomatoes
3 shallots
pinch Saffron
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 chicken bouillon stock cube
175 ml dry white wine
small jug water, to add as required
olive oil
salt and pepper
butter
Steamed Spinach to serve

Method
Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
Add the peeled and halved potatoes, peeled and halved garlic and the peeled and sliced shallots, then sauté for a few minutes.
Add the large pieces of chopped red pepper, season with half a stocxk cube and a pinch of saffron and sauté for another minute.
Add the cherry tomatoes and sauté a little more.
Add the water to just cover and simmer.
Cook slowly to reduce the water and cook the vegetables, stirring from time to time to break up the tomatoes.
Once cooked the water and olive oil should emulsify and the peppers and the potatoes should be tender, the latter with a lovely yellow colour.
This can be left over a very low heat to simmer.
Meanwhile, fry the chicken in a frying pan seasoned with dried rosemary, salt and pepper in a little olive oil and butter for approximately 8-10 minutes until cooked.
Serve the fried chicken thighs with the saffron vegetables and steamed spinach on the side.

BRANDY BUTTER

2008-09-22T06:39:00.002+01:00

Yes, it’s getting nearer to that time of year again... Only 81 baking days to Christmas! But who says you can’t eat rum or brandy butter all year round?

Ingredients
4oz (110g) unsalted butter
3oz (85g) dark brown muscovado sugar
4 tbsp brandy

Method
Mix the ingredients well until completely combined,. Store, covered, in the fridge. Eat!

For rum butter substitute 4 tbsp of dark rum for the brandy.

NUT BREAD

2008-09-20T08:58:00.000+01:00

Ingredients
2 cups white flour
2 cups wholemeal flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup sultanas
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2oz margarine or slightly softened butter
1 tbsp syrup
1 cup milk (or a wee drop more)

Method
Finely sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Rub the fat into the flour. Add all other ingredients, milk and syrup last. Mix well.
Put in a 10"x7"x2" tin
Bake in the middle of the oven – gas mark 6 (200°) for 50mins to an hour – test with a skewer. When it is done the skewer should come out clean – that may mean leaving it until the outside is almost burned. Turn out onto a wire tray and leave to cool.
Serve with butter in fairly thick slices. Keep in an airtight container.

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

2008-09-20T08:01:00.000+01:00

Ingredients
8 chicken drumsticks
300g flour
2 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1 tsp salt
500 mltre buttermilk (Buttermilk can be created by adding lemon juice to milk and leaving for ten minutes).
750ml veg oil

Method
Cook the chicken in water for 20 – 30 mins with the bouillon. Skim off any excess fat / bubbles. (Use resulting stock for soup)
Cool chicken pieces in fridge for ½ hour
While chicken is cooling mix the garlic, cayenne, parsely, thyme, salt and flour. Submerge the pieces in buttermilk and roll in the seasoned flour.
Deep fry in hot oil (A few at a time so the heat isn’t lost)
Remove and place on a wire tray to drain.
Serve while hot.

CELERY AND WALNUT SALAD

2008-09-18T16:27:00.000+01:00

INGREDIENTS
½ a 270g bottle of sandwich spread
2 medium carrots
1 medium potato
2 sticks celery
¼ onion
¼ red pepper
2 mushrooms
1 tbspn sultanas
2 tbspn walnuts
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground pepper

METHOD
Dice the potato and one carrot and boil for ten minutes. Drain.
Grate the other carrot and finely chop the pepper, onion, mushrooms and celery. Coarsely chop the walnuts.
Mix all the ingredients together, slightly mashing the boiled potato and carrot in the process.
Cool in the fridge.
Serve as a side salad with just about any cold meats, green salads, etc. Serves three. Simply double quantities for huge portions or to serve six.

My Recipes

2008-09-18T15:19:00.000+01:00

This should really read "my" recipes since few of them are really mine - they have been collated from a variety of sources. In fairness (to myself) a number of them are original or contain original twists. I also rarely do anything the same way twice - a fact which sometimes disappoints Richard who says - "I liked that Sausage Pie you did last week", hoping for a repeat and being mystified when it turns out to be completely different.

These recipes do all have one thing in common. They have been tried and tested by me and I enjoyed them. Failed recipes, like the food, go on the compost heap of life.

It will take me a while to upload all my favourite recipes so here, while you wait, is a slice or two of Apple Scone. You can have it with or without butter, warm or cold. Please enjoy..