A Glug of Oil....

Vegetables in Chinese Brown Sauce - Just like the Takeaway!

2012-01-27T08:35:00.003Z

Baby Pak choi, Bean-sprouts, Skitaki mushrooms, Carrots and Spring onion cooked in a tasty Chinese style sauce. After much experimenting, I think I've finally cracked the recipe! This sauce tastes just like the sauce in the dish called 'Happy Families' you get from a Chinese takeaway.

'Happy Families' is a dish that usually has a bit of everything in it, so there's something for everyone to like keeping the whole family happy!
So very simple to make and I'm thinking this has to be healthy and I can't see where the calories in this dish would be. I suggest you serve with some nice egg fried rice to add a few calories to your meal!

It takes no time at all to prepare a few vegetables and mix a few things together for the sauce. Then, heat up your wok or stir-fry pan and your ready to go!

Print Recipe

To serve 2 you will need:

2 baby pak choi - sliced lengthways
2 fat carrots - sliced into 5mm slices
a handful of bean-sprouts
4 or 5 Skitaki mushrooms - sliced
3 spring onions - sliced
1 inch ginger - peeled and thinly sliced to make about 2 teaspoons
1 fat garlic clove - very finely chopped
2 glugs of groundnut (peanut) oil

To Make the Brown Sauce:
1 tablespoon corn flour
1 and a half teaspoons of fish sauce (Nam Pla - from any good supermarket in the Oriental grocery section)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
a pinch of white pepper
150ml water
1/2 a tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil

How to do it:
Mix the brown sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat up your wok and add the groundnut or vegetable oil until it’s really hot.
Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds.
Throw in the prepared vegetables and stir-fry for a minute.
Give the sauce a quick stir and add it to the vegetables in the wok.
Continue to stir-fry until the sauce thickens a bit and by which time the vegetables should be perfectly cooked - not overcooked.

Serve immediately with some nice egg-fried rice or whatever else you fancy.

Weight Watchers Cinnamon and Cider Baked Apples - Video Recipe

2012-01-27T07:45:00.002Z

With the Weight Watchers ProPoints system you can have this delicious Cinnamon and Cider Baked Apple dessert and even have a scoop of light vanilla ice cream with it too!

Read on to win a great prize with the new Weight Watchers Supper Club.

The new Weight Watchers book 'Complete Kitchen' is easy to follow and there are no tricky cooking instructions or strange ingredients. Just a book packed full of seriously nice looking dishes and is the ultimate guide to cooking food the Weight Watchers way.

With 145 simple-to-follow recipes within nine chapters - ranging from basic stocks & dressings to Sunday roasts, leftovers & sides, to the more budget conscious ‘Everyday Value.’

Recipes include roast fillet of beef with red wine sauce, garlic mushroom and rustic bean bruschetta and chocolate cherry cupcakes and these lovely cinnamon and cider baked apples.

Watch Me Cook Cinnamon and Cider Baked Apples!

You can also Watch Me Cook Smoked Haddock and Potato Parcels
from the same book and that was really good!

Win a Great Prize with Weight Watchers Supper Club:

As you may have already seen, they have just launched the new Weight Watchers Supper Club app on Facebook:
The idea behind the Weight Watchers Supper Club is that it lets you enjoy your food, while losing weight in the process. There are a variety of healthy and delicious recipes in the app which are all easy to cook and these are perfect for
hosting a family dinner or a Weight Watchers Supper Club.

To Start a Supper Club:

All you need to do is create an event and invite friends to enjoy all of
the tasty culinary creations. We are also looking to encourage people to also shake the recipes up a bit by adding their own special ingredients and then
take a photo, sharing their creation with others. Hosting your own Supper club will also mean that users of the app can also enjoy the pleasures of cooking
and hosting a dinner party and by uploading your photos you could also be in the running to win a fantastic prize!

Join in the fun at Play Weight Watchers

Like them on FaceBook

Follow them on Twitter

Honey Glazed Chicken with Chinese Five Spice - Easy Recipe

2012-01-22T11:58:00.002Z

Good roast chicken is delicious, but there are times when you just fancy something different. So, why not liven up some chicken portions with my Chinese Five Spice sticky glaze?!

Seeing as I made this up as I went along you can do the same, so if you'd rather have Indian flavours, use Indian spices - it's entirely up to you.

Just remember, runny honey is the way to go if you want your chicken sticky.

It takes just a couple of minutes to mix together a few bits and bobs to make a glaze. Of course you can use any kind of chicken portions you fancy, I just happened to have drumsticks.....

Top Tip!

Lots of kitchen paper is necessary for sticky fingers!

Print Recipe

You will need:
6 or 8 chicken drumsticks - skin on

For the Marinade
2 tablespoons (a good squeeze or two) of runny honey
1 tablespoon of groundnut (peanut) oil
3 fat cloves of garlic - very finely chopped
a knob of ginger - very finely chopped to make about 2 teaspoons
2 heaped teaspoons of Chinese five spice
1/2 a tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
a tablespoon of Hoi-sin sauce
a tablespoon of Mirin (Japanese rice wine)

How to do it:
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow bowl. Using a sharp knife, make a few slashes in the skin of the chicken and
add them to the marinade, mix about a bit to coat them well.
Cover with cling film and pop them into the fridge for at least an hour - over night would be better.
Turn them in the marinade now and again if you remember - just to get them nicely coated.
Remove the chicken from the fridge at least 15 minutes before you're ready to cook.
Preheat your oven to 200C/400F of Gas 6
Now, you can either pop the chicken onto a shallow baking tray or use a disposable foil tray like I did.
The honey just washes off - far easier than washing up a baking tray! Drizzle with a bit of the remaining marinade.
Then into your preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes - or of course, until they're properly cooked through.

Lovely Valentine's Day Gifts Delivered from Hotel Chocolat

2012-01-19T09:34:00.003Z

Valentine's Day is just around the corner (Tuesday February 14th) and Hotel Chocolat have a fantastic range of Valentines Day Gifts that can be ordered online and delivered to your Valentine's door!

The Sleekster Love Selection Box not only looks good but it tastes good too. Paul (the husband and official taster of all things chocolate) says once again Hotel Chocolat chocolates are the best!
So far he's tasted one of each flavour and can't fault any of them.

Priced at just £22 and contains 26 chocolates and truffles all with amazing fillings:

Champagne and cherry, fruity blackcurrant and strawberry, liquid caramels, stunning hearts, luscious lips and much more.

Personally, I think the 'Sleekster' boxes are a great idea to send as a gift because you don't have to worry about the person being home for the delivery - the long slim box will fit through most letterboxes!
Every gift from Hotel Chocolat is delivered with a gift card including your personal message.
Thank you to Beth and of course Hotel Chocolat for sending me these to try.

Online Good Food Delivered to your Door from Flavrbox

2012-01-19T07:12:00.002Z

I love farmers markets and so I'm quite excited to find out about this newish company called Flavrbox. Imagine having a farmers market online where you can browse an excellent range of top quality food at your leisure and have it delivered to your door?!
Flavrbox has made this possible and they have a great range of different foods to offer. From bread boxes including a delicious sounding fig and walnut bread, exciting foods in the meat section - Dorset air-dried beef, wild boar chorizo with red wine and dry-cured green bacon are just a few examples. Cheeses, condiments, sauces, spices, oils and more can all delivered to your door.

Flavrbox was started by a group of friends who wanted to do something about the food industry. Seeing as they love discovering new things and also love food, they created something that we can all enjoy together. Great quality food from small independent farmers and other food producers.

Their aim is to help independent producers develop their presence, both online and offline and earn a good living from the great work they do.

Flavrbox is offering readers of this blog a 10% Discount!
Just enter this code: GLUGOFOIL-FLAVRBOX

They will also soon be launching a 'Discovery Box' and by signing up to their newsletter will get you an early bird discount!
and have lots of other exciting things planned for the future so please check their site often to find out more.
You can follow Flavrbox on Twitter
and Facebook too!

Pork Stir-fry with Hoisin and Orange Sauce

2012-01-15T11:50:00.003Z

Very tasty, slightly sweet and so good to eat. As we all know stir frying has to be one of the easiest cooking methods going. This recipe came about just because I had an orange sitting there in my kitchen doing nothing. Pork and orange sauce came to mind, but I wanted rice and I wanted stir fry!

Don't be put off by the list of ingredients - they're all available from any good supermarket. Sake will be found in the wine and beer section. Mirin will be in the Oriental grocery section and is as cheap as chips. Well, that's how it is in the UK anyway!

Top Tip! It's so worth buying pork fillet for this as it just melts in your mouth.

Print Recipe

To serve two you will need:
a wok or a large frying pan
a glug or two of peanut oil (ground nut) for stir frying
450g Pork fillet - sliced into thin strips

To make the marinade - mix together in a medium bowl:
1 teaspoon cornflour
1/2 a tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 garlic clove - very finely chopped
a pinch of white pepper
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 a tablespoon Sake (Japanese rice wine)
1/2 a tablespoon of Mirin (kind of a sweet rice wine)
1 tablespoon of runny honey

To make the sauce mix together in a small bowl:
juice of one orange and the zest of half the orange
2 tablespoons of soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon of Mirin
1/2 a tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 heaped tablespoons of Hoisin sauce (like Mirin and Sake this is available in a jar from any good supermarket)
2 tablespoons of water

You will also need:
1 red chilli - de-seeded and very finely chopped
1 red bell pepper - de-seeded and sliced into thin strips
1 medium red onion - thinly sliced
1 carrot - sliced thinly using a speed peeler or just cut into thin matchsticks
2 spring onions - sliced into strips

How to do it:
Add the thinly sliced pork fillet to the marinade, cover in cling film and leave as long as possible - over night in the fridge
is good or at least an hour. Whatever, remove from the fridge at 20 minutes before cooking.
Drain the marinade from the pork and heat up a glug of oil in your wok. Tip the pork in and stir fry for just a couple of minutes.
Remove the pork and set aside - don't fuss if it isn't cooked, it will be in a moment.
Wipe the wok clean with kitchen paper and heat up another glug of oil.
When it's piping hot, add the chopped chilli, sliced peppers, red onion and carrot. Stir fry for just a minute or two.
Now add the sauce and cook for a minute before adding back in the pork.
Stir till the mixture starts to thicken slightly - but remember you do want a little sauce so don't let it dry up!
Now add the sliced spring onion - keeping a few bits back to garnish.
Serve immediately with some nice rice.

Food and the Recipe Delivered to your Door - from HelloFresh

2012-01-13T12:18:00.002Z

Now as you know I love both cooking and food shopping!
But I must say I really like the idea behind HelloFresh - they deliver recipes and all the ingredients to make them straight to your door. I think HelloFresh is excellent for anyone that usually buys ready meals. I'm sure most people would feel much more like cooking if they had all the ingredients in front of them, along with an easy to follow recipe.

So, if you happen to hate food shopping, or just simply don't have time and would like an healthy diet for your family then you will love HelloFresh!

How it all works:

Every week they'll send you amazing recipes and all the ingredients you need to prepare them.

Choose your Plan:
Select the number of meals per week and how many people are in your household.
Changing the way you shop and eat couldn't be easier:
Then, choose the number of meals you would like to receive per week and how many people are in your household.

FREE Home Delivery!
Your recipes and groceries will be delivered Monday evenings between 5pm and 9pm.

HelloFresh make life easier for you:
Your ingredients will be delivered straight to your door on Monday evenings.
The best thing is the delivery is included in the price!

Become a Master-chef:
All the recipes have been created by world-class chefs and nutritionists.
The recipes are simple and straightforward and they don't take any more than 30 minutes. You don't even need any fancy kitchen equipment.

Enjoy!
You can start enjoying delicious home-cooked food and spend more time with the people you care about.
Sit back and enjoy yourself and spend quality time together at a family dinner or with your partner.

Sounds good? Then pop over to HelloFresh and have a look.

HelloFresh can also be found on FaceBook and Twitter

Chicken Roasted with Lemon and Garlic - Quick Midweek Meal Idea

2012-01-10T13:33:00.002Z

A simple roast chicken becomes something special when it's roasted with lemon and garlic the perfect combination. But with the addition of a few herbs to the baking dish, you have a perfectly delicious midweek meal that can be conjured up in less than an hour from start to finish!

You can of course, use chicken portions (skin on) if you can't be fussed with cutting a chicken in half or simply want to feed more than two greedy people.

Print Recipe

You will need:
a smallish chicken
a few glugs of olive oil
4 or 5 nice fat cloves of garlic - squashed (no need to peel)
2 lemons - halved
a few sprigs of thyme
a sprig of rosemary - leaves picked
a few sage leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to do it:
Preheat your oven to 220C/425F or Gas mark 8
Cut the chicken in half down the backbone using a large and very sharp cooks knife. Flatten the chicken as much as you can buy pressing down with the palm of your hand. Pour the olive oil into a large dish - enough to take the chicken, add the squashed garlic cloves and the juice from two of the lemon quarters. Throw those in along with the other two lemon quarters.
Put in the sprigs of thyme, rosemary and sage leaves along with a good seasoning of salt and black pepper.

Turn the chicken over in the oil to coat it nicely.

If you have the time, you can leave the chicken like this for an half an hour or so. Now put the chicken in a roasting tin, skin-side up and roast for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the skin is nice and golden and is cooked through.
Serve with whatever takes your fancy - a nice jacket potato perhaps?
Or a simple salad.

Vegetarian Stew with Potatoes Parsnip Swede and Chestnuts

2012-01-09T08:30:00.000Z

A really tasty stew of potatoes, swede, parsnip, carrots and onions cooked in a lovely rich Marsala sauce. The addition of some fantastic smelling juniper berries really make this dish. Roasted chestnuts are then added along with some mushrooms. A perfect warming and filling vegetarian meal.

Crusty bread is vital for dipping and mopping.
This is my titivated version of Nigel Slater's 'Hearty Party Hotpot' from his television series Simple Suppers.

Now, I used chicken stock, but of course vegetable stock is the way to go for any vegetarians out there. I added potatoes to my version just to make it more of a meal.

I found the timings given in the original recipe over at the BBC website to be slightly wrong. I know I added potatoes which take a while to cook, but the carrots and swede were in no way cooked through in the total of 35 minutes given. So with that in mind, this is how long mine actually took!

Print Recipe

To serve 4 you will need:
a knob of butter and a glug of olive oil
2 onions
a few new potatoes - skin on and cut into quarters
sprig rosemary
pinch salt
2 teaspoons juniper berries
2 carrots
1 parsnip
½ swede
5 tablespoons Marsala wine
2 tablespoons plain flour
150g chestnuts - ready roasted and vacuum packed
2 bay leaves
500ml vegetable stock - I used a Knorr chicken stock pot
freshly ground black pepper
4 chestnut mushrooms
handful dried porcini mushrooms - rehydrated in warn water for about 20 minutes
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly

How to do it:
Roughly chop the onions and slowly soften in a large, heavy cast iron or flame proof casserole with a little butter and olive oil.
You can throw in the potatoes at the same time as they will take a while to cook anyway so they might as well get going.
Pick the leaves from a sprig of rosemary and chop finely. Tip the chopped leaves into a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt and the juniper berries.
Give them a good bashing then add to the onions and potatoes.
Now chop the carrots, swede and parsnip into hearty sized chunks, and add those to.
To start to make a sauce, tip in a few glugs of whatever Marsala wine.
Add a spoonful of flour and stir in allowing it to cook through and thicken the sauce.

Add the chestnuts, bay leaf and stock, season with freshly ground black pepper, then leave to simmer for 40 minutes with a lid on.
Quarter the chestnut mushrooms; then add them to the pot along with a handful of rehydrated porcini.
This will give the stew a lovely depth. Now for the finishing touches to the sauce add a spoonful of wholegrain mustard and redcurrant jelly, and let it all simmer gently with the lid on for about an hour and a half.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping and mopping.

Minced Beef Hotpot with Beetroot and a Nice Crispy Potato Top

2012-01-04T14:32:00.003Z

Wondering what to have for dinner tonight - how about my minced beef hotpot with a layer of beetroot hiding underneath the lovely crispy potato top.

The top layer of potatoes end up being nice and crispy, while the potatoes underneath have soaked up the lovely juices from below.
Making it up as I went along and having some cooked beetroot in the fridge, I thought what a marvellous idea it would be to add beetroot to my hotpot!

Well, it worked and I'll be making this again!

You really do need a mandolin slicer to make this dish work. Don't under estimate how long potatoes take to cook this way unless they are wafer thin. A mandolin slicer comes in handy so many times in the kitchen, so if you haven't got one - buy one this very day!

Print Recipe

To serve 2 you will need:
a suitably sized oven proof braiser dish with a lid
olive oil
500g good quality (low fat) minced beef
sea salt and black pepper
1 large onion - peeled and finely sliced
2 nice fat garlic cloves - peeled and finely chopped
a pinch of dried thyme
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
1 x 400g tin of tinned tomatoes including the juice
a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce
a Knorr stock cube - dissolved in 200ml boiling water
a dollop of English mustard
plus a good handful of cooked carrots - roughly chopped
3 medium sized floury potatoes - such as Maris Piper or Kind Edward - peeled and very thinly sliced using a Mandolin slicer
2 medium sized cooked beetroot's - you can buy them already cooked but make sure they're not in vinegar

How to do it:
Put a large frying pan over a high heat and add glug of olive oil and throw in the onions and garlic. Cook slowly for about 20 minutes till nice and soft.
Now add the minced beef and break up using a wooden spoon. Cook over a medium heat till the beef is nicely browned.
Add the tomato purée and cook for a minute. Now add a pinch of thyme and the tin of tomatoes - including the juice.
Let that cook down a bit then add the Worcestershire sauce along with the beef stock and a dollop of English mustard.
Turn the heat down and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the mixture has thickened up. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes if it doesn’t seem quite thick enough.
Once it's done remove it from the heat and put it into your casserole dish and stir in the cooked carrots.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F or Gas 4
Meanwhile, slice the beetroot and layer over the top of the minced beef mixture.

Now, give the mandolin a clean and slice the potatoes.
Layer the potatoes over the top of the beetroot, carefully seasoning as you go - be very careful not to over do it with the salt as you will need to season every layer.
On the final layer sprinkle again with salt and pepper then drizzle over a tiny amount of oil.

Pop a lid on (the lid is necessary or the potatoes will burn before getting cooked through). Cook in your preheated oven for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Test the potatoes by inserting a sharp knife, they should be getting on for done, if not return the dish still covered to the oven.
Once the potatoes are cooked through, remove the lid and again return to the oven with the lid off for about 20 minutes so the potatoes can brown and crisp up nicely.
Serve straight away while it's piping hot.

Need Help Sticking to a Diet to Lose Weight?

2012-01-04T09:58:00.001Z

Are you reading this because you want to loose weight?

If so, it might help to follow the blog of someone else that's also about to lose weight. It might be you just want someone you can share your highs and lows with. My brother's fiancée Amanda would love to hear from anyone that like her, is starting a diet.

It maybe you've recently lost weight and can share your secret.

Ps: Amanda hasn't asked me to write this post. I just thought it would help spread the word about her new blog called Less Lardy than Yesterday.

You can also follow her on FaceBook.
All the very best Amanda - we know you can do it! x

Chocolate Ice Cream Bombe - Dessert

2012-01-02T15:32:00.000Z

Chocolate lovers will just love this dessert - rich chocolate ice cream encased in slices of chocolate Swiss roll and topped with even more chocolate!

It's really, really easy to make too - continue reading for my step by step picture instructions!

So the next time you have people round for dinner, it's well worth giving this a go.

Top Tip!

To find out how big your glass bowl is (or any other bowl or dish for that matter) simply fill it up with water and however much water it takes to fill it - that's the size it is!

Print Recipe

You will need:

a 2 litre glass bowl

a good amount of cling film

enough chocolate Swiss roll to cover the side and bottom of bowl (at the time of writing Tesco sell a great big one for just 95p) a billy bargain!

a tub of whatever ice cream you fancy - I used Carte D'or (Chocolate Inspiration)

a bar of dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

How to do it:

Start by lining the bottom and edge of the bowl with big sheets of cling film - enough to be able to cover over the top when the bombe has been made.

Slice the Swiss roll and put one slice in the bottom of the bowl and carry on building it around the edge (just one layer).

Now remove the ice cream from the freezer and leave it out for about five minutes - you just want it to be pliable.

Be careful that it doesn't defrost completely as you should never refreeze ice cream.

Spoon the ice cream into the lined bowl and fill to the top. You will need the whole tub.

Now cover the top with more Swiss roll slices to the ice cream is completely encased.

Don't fuss that it doesn't look too amazing at this stage. Now bring the cling film over the top of the bowl and using a small plate or your hands, flatten it down to squash the ice cream and Swiss roll to the shape of the bowl.

Some ice cream will ooze out of the top but don't be worrying about it.

Now, be putting it in the freezer for at least 4 hours before you serve it.
Or of course, you can leave it there till you need it!

When you are ready to serve:

Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Using the cling film, pull the bombe out of the bowl and put it on a serving plate. And leave for just a couple of minutes before pouring over the melted chocolate. Slice with a big sharp knife.

Below: Is this a big enough portion?

Excuse the dodgy pictures but the finished pictures were taken on New Years Eve, when lets just say, I'd had at least a couple of glasses of red!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas Turkey Curry - Easy Boxing Day Meal

2011-12-28T07:15:00.001Z

With loads of leftover turkey from Christmas - what to do on Boxing day?
Make a nice curry of course!

Nothing tricky, just a quick dinner ready in less than 30 minutes that looks good and tastes good too. You can of course make this at any time during the year with leftover chicken from the Sunday roast.

To serve 4 all you need to do it add more turkey and another tin of tomatoes and perhaps another small dollop of curry paste, everything else can stay the same.

Print Recipe
To serve 2 you will need:
2 big handfuls of cooked turkey - 350g
a good sized knob of butter - 30g
a glug of olive or vegetable oil - not quite a tablespoon
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2.5 cm knob of fresh ginger - peeled
1 or 2 fresh green chillies - de-seeded
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
1 x 400g tin of good quality tinned tomatoes including the juice
2 teaspoons of garam masala
2 good tablespoons (or to taste) of Patak's Jalfrezi curry paste - you can of course use Madras or Balti paste or whatever takes your fancy

1 fresh tomato - quartered
a small handful of freshly chopped coriander

How to do it:
Throw the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies into a food processor and whiz up for a few seconds until nicely chopped.
Of course if you don't have a food processor you can chop then very finely by hand - then get one asap for your next curry - marvellous invention!
Heat up the butter and oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli over a medium heat stirring all the time.
You want it to just start to colour but not burn.
Once that's done you can add in the cumin seeds and curry paste, again stirring for another minute.
Now add the tin of tomatoes including the juice.
Stir for a few more minutes then throw in the cooked turkey and the fresh tomato.
Cook over a medium heat adding a little water so it's not too thick.
Once everything is piping hot have a taste and add more curry paste if you need to.
Sprinkle the chopped coriander over the curry and serve with some nice rice and naan bread.
Please note: This recipe is NOT suitable for freezing as the turkey will have been reheated twice.

See my review of this Cuisinart mini food processor.

Mulled Wine - How to Make the Best Recipe Ever

2011-12-26T07:33:00.003Z

Some mulled wines can taste like medicine, which is not what I was looking for and neither are you I'm sure. After searching many recipes, Jean-Christophe Novelli's was the one. Lovely vanilla, star anise, cinnamon, lemon grass, cardamom pods, bay leaves and cloves, what's not to like?

I did titivate his recipe, but only very slightly......

Jean-Christophe added a pomegranate to his but the shop had sold out.

So with my way of thinking as Port also begins with a 'P' I thought a glass of Port would substitute nicely! I also added dark Muscovado sugar.

Just look at all the lovely spices!

Please don't buy really cheap wine or this won't taste half as good.

Print Recipe

You will need 2 saucepans and the following:

1 x 75cl bottle of Merlot

150ml Port

Spices:

2 cinnamon sticks - broken in half

2 whole lemon grass - remove the very outer leaf - pierced with a fork and sliced into 3 inch sticks

3 bay leaves

8 star anise

1 vanilla pod - split down the middle to show the seeds

12 cloves

7 cardamom pods - very lightly bashed with the back of a knife to open them slightly

You will also need:

a good amount of honey - say 100ml

*1 tablespoon of dark Muscovado sugar - optional

8 slices of fresh ginger root

1 orange - washed and quartered

1 lime - washed and quartered

How to do it:

Pour the Merlot wine and the Port into one of the saucepans and slowly heat up.

It is really important not to let it boil so keep an eye on it.

When a sort of foam appears on top, remove it carefully with a spoon and discard. This will take a little while but it's important to do this.

Put the other saucepan on to heat up till it's nice and hot then throw in all the spices and the lemon grass. Stir for just a few moments so nothing burns before adding in the honey. It will sizzle so be careful, almost immediately, throw in the ginger slices and orange and lime quarters.

Turn the heat down.

With the wine still hot, ladle in a bit at a time till it's all in the saucepan.

Put a lid on the saucepan and continue to heat the mulled wine mixture gently, never letting it boil.

Leave it to cook for about 10 or 15 minutes and have a taste. Add the *Muscovado sugar if you think it needs it.

Then that's it - you're all done.

Strain the mixture to remove all the spices and bits and pieces and serve hot.

The Best Cranberry and Port Sauce - Very Easy to Make

2011-12-21T14:44:00.000Z

Seriously easy Cranberry sauce with port. This recipe makes enough for loads of people.

All you need is Cranberries, port, a saucepan and a few other bits and bobs and you'll have the best cranberry and port sauce ever!

Don't forget this can be made in the week before Christmas and stored in a sterilised jar in the fridge. On Christmas day, just remove it from the fridge in the morning so it comes to room temperature before serving with the dinner.

Print Recipe

To make a good amount you will need:

350g pack fresh cranberries - washed and drained

130g caster sugar

175ml port

4 inches of cinnamon stick

finely grated zest and juice of half an orange

How to do it:

Get a medium sized saucepan and throw in the cranberries along with the sugar.

Heat it up a bit then add the port, orange zest and juice along with the cinnamon stick.

Simmer gently, stirring now and then very carefully so you don't break off bits of cinnamon stick.

The cranberries will start to break open and release their lovely juice. Once this happens keep simmering until it has reduced down a bit and the sauce looks glossy and a bit jammy. remove the cinnamon stick and discard. Have a taste to see if you need more sugar - although my guess is you won't need to add any more.

Balsamic Glazed Beetroot and Carrots - Marks and Spencer Christmas Food

2011-12-17T14:41:00.000Z

Another fantastic idea from Marks and Spencer this Christmas!
Beetroot and Chantenay Carrots roasted with a Balsamic and Honey Glaze.
Of course, as soon as I spied them I had to have a go at making them myself.

Just a few minutes to mix up a bit of Balsamic vinegar, honey and a couple of other bits and bobs. Minimal preparation - just throw the vegetables into a foil tray and your ready to roast.

Add the glaze towards to end of cooking - what could be simpler?......

Apart from popping down to your local Marks and Spencer of course!

Print Recipe

As I couldn't get raw beetroot I used pre-cooked beetroot (be sure to get it without vinegar). I wasn't sure if it would end up being cooked too much but it was fine.

This recipe will serve two but you can easily double everything to serve 4 to 6 people.

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F or Gas 6

You will need:

A shallow disposable foil tray - much easier to wash up (so you can use it again) as the honey will stick to a normal baking tray.

**8 Chantenay carrots - top and tailed

2 medium red onions - peeled and quartered

2 medium sized beetroot's

a small handful of freshly chopped flat leaved parsley
a glug of olive oil

a pinch of salt

To make the glaze just mix the following together in a small bowl:

a couple of glugs of olive oil - not quite 1 and a half tablespoons
1 tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of Muscavado sugar (light brown sugar)
2 tablespoons of runny honey
a squeeze of garlic purée
a tiny squeeze of lemon juice
a good pinch of black pepper
Once mixed together have a taste and add a little more olive oil but only if it really is too thick looking - it should be 'thickish' as it's a glaze after all.

Throw all the vegetables into a foil tray along with the chopped parsley and a pinch of salt and a glug of olive oil. Gently mix together to coat the veg.

Pop the tray into the oven on the middle shelf and cook for about 20 minutes, then give the veg a stir, popping it back in to cook for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and insert a sharp knife into the carrots and beetroot to check they're nicely cooked through, if not back in the oven they go for another 5 minutes or so.
When you're happy with them, give the glaze a mix and pour it evenly over the vegetables. Gently mix to coat everything and put it back into the oven for another 5 minutes.

**Please note as my Chantenay carrots were big fat ones, I did put them in a bowl and microwave them on high for 2 minutes - nothing worse than undercooked carrots!

I served mine with my Ultimate Cheesy Mash (without the cheese) and a nice bit of steak.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Goats Cheese - Recipe

2011-12-16T10:28:00.001Z

Oozy goats cheese dripping down bacon wrapped chicken makes for a seriously good meal. Serve with crispy garlic and lemon roast potatoes (link to my recipe below) or of course, whatever else you fancy.

Very easy to do and can be prepared in advance, wrapped in cling film and stored in the fridge ready to cook later.

Print Recipe

To serve 2 you will need:

2 nice fat skinless chicken breast fillets
6 to 8 rashers of dry cured smoked streaky bacon
a glug of olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
5 slices of goats cheese - rind left on is best or it will melt too quickly

How to do it:

Lay the chicken fillets on a board and sprinkle over a small pinch of pepper on each. Wrap in bacon using 3 or 4 rashers to cover each fillet, remembering anything left not covered in bacon will dry out during cooking.
Part the bacon a little bit and cut a deepish slit horizontally in each fillet.
Wrap each fillet in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This will help them stay in shape.
When you're ready to cook remove them from the fridge and discard the cling film. Pop them onto a baking tray (I'm a huge fan of those foil disposable ones) although that said I do re-use them after throwing them in the dishwasher.
Sprinkle with another small pinch of black pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Put them into a Preheated oven of 200C/400F or Gas 6 for about 30 minutes. Cut just one of the goats cheese slices in half so you have two half moons.
Remove the chicken from the oven and insert one half moon into each slit you made in the fillets, pushing it into the slit as much as you can. This will melt into the chicken within minutes of you now popping it back into the oven to cook for another 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes remove the chicken from the oven once more and top each fillet with the remaining slices of cheese. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.

Return to the oven for a further 5 or 10 minutes by which time the chicken should be cooked through (please check) and the cheese is starting to melt.
I served mine with crispy garlic and lemon roasted potatoes. The recipe in the link includes chorizo which you can leave out as you already have bacon!

Twinings Tea - Nothing Quite Like a Nice Cuppa

2011-12-15T17:04:00.000Z

Sometimes there's nothing quite like a nice cup of tea!

After indulging on all the lovely food over the Christmas period, I bet at some point, most of us will want a nice cup of tea......
Even if we do have it with more Christmas cake!

Twinings have a great range of Christmas tea gifts including a rather nice Mulled Spiced tea caddy.

Tea doesn't have to be just a drink you have in the morning, evening or whenever else you fancy. Tea can be used in loads of recipes such as, tea bread or a cake made from fruit that has first been soaked in tea.
Did you know you can even use tea leaves to smoke food?

You can buy tea online over at the Twinings website.

How to Carve a Turkey - Colman's Masterclass Video

2011-12-14T15:31:00.000Z

One of the best things about Christmas dinner (or any roast dinner for that matter) is the gravy.
I recently reviewed Colman's instant gravy paste and it certainly got the thumbs up from me! To serve up professional looking plates of food on Christmas day, be sure to know how to carve your turkey!

It's one of those jobs everyone wants to have a go at, but not many people actually know how it ought to be done.

Colman's have come up with a Turkey Carving Masterclass Video, which is really worth watching.

Colman’s top 10 tips for carving the perfect Christmas turkey:

Once you’ve carefully prepared your turkey, leave it to stand for 20 minutes before you carve.

Put the turkey on a solid, clean chopping board and make sure you have a sharp carving knife and meat fork

Cut the kitchen twine off the legs and discard – try not to get your Christmas bests dirty as the twine can often spring off when cut!

Remove each leg by cutting through the joint where the leg attaches to the body.

Separate the drumstick and thigh by cutting each leg through the joint (wiggle the leg to locate the joint).

Don’t rush to remove the wings just yet - this will make the turkey very unstable for the rest of the caving – the wings act as stabilisers!

Run your fingers along the thigh and shred the meat from the bone – look out for the ultimate turkey gem – the Oyster, this is usually the butchers favourite

Using a knife and your fingers, loosen and remove the wishbone (this makes it easier to cut off the breast meat), and to make your wishes come true this Christmas pull the wishbone with your friends and family!

Carve the breasts across the grain. Cut only what you think you’ll need for the initial round of servings, leaving the rest of the meat on the carcass. The meat loses moisture once it’s sliced

Serve with lashings of Colman’s Instant Gravy!

No Fuss Honey Roasted Parsnips - Perfect for Christmas Dinner

2011-12-12T16:35:00.001Z

Honey roasted parsnips are so very simple to do, yet the supermarket will slap on more money just because they've done them for you. Disposable trays are a marvellous idea and can actually be washed if you wish, so you can reuse them.

I find there's no need to mess about parboiling the parsnips beforehand they cook up nicely without all that fuss.

Print Recipe

To serve 4 you will need:
2 nice fat parsnips - cut into wedges
a disposable foil tray
a glug or two of olive oil
a good dollop or two of runny honey
salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to do it:

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F or Gas 6
Top and tail the parsnips then peel, cut into wedges and remove the core part.
Throw them into a disposable foil tray - much easier then messing about trying to get the burnt honey off a real one.
That said - I find the foil tray will wash up nicely anyway as the honey doesn't seem to stick as much as it would on a proper roasting tin.
Drizzle over the honey and olive oil along with a good pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
Give the parsnips a good mix up and roast on the bottom shelf (you can do this whilst your roast potatoes are cooking on the middle shelf) for about 40 minutes, or until the parsnips are golden and tender. Turn them half way through cooking.

Christmas Cooking Ideas and Recipes for a Perfect Christmas

2011-12-11T07:46:00.001Z

With Christmas just 2 weeks away, it's about time we all got a grip of what we're doing about the food! Here are just a few ideas of nice things to serve before, with and after your Christmas dinner.

Starting with the Starter!
How about Feta, Pistachios and Leaves Dressed in Honey and Balsamic?
Now this is too easy to do and can be put together in next to no time.

If you’re having Turkey, what size do you need?

Based on about 500g per person:

6-8people: 4kg turkey
8-10 people: 5kg turkey
10-12 people: 6kg turkey
If you’re getting a big one – do you have room inyour oven? The tray you’re thinking ofcooking it in may not fit your oven - yes that happened to me last year so it’sworth checking that now!
I always aim tohave too much turkey for sandwiches later on in the evening. If you have way too much left, you can alwaysmake a curry on Boxing Day or even freeze some.

The website ‘I Love British Turkey’ has defrosting times,cooking times and how to carve your turkey so that’s worth having a look at.

I always like to have a nice bit of pork loin or gammon too. Last year I baked cured pork loin with Madeira and Honey Glaze.

The Vegetables:

Flavoured butters can be made in advance as they will keep for acouple of months in the freezer. Iparticularly like Jamie Oliver’s flavoured butter with CrispyBacon, Chestnut and Sage.

Or you might fancy Jamie’s Thyme,Cumin and Orange Butter to add to carrots. Now that’s really nice!

Dessert:

Not everyone likes Christmas pudding, soif you fancy something different, what about a nice DarkChocolate and Orange Cheesecake with Grand Marnier?

What about these TinyToblerone Cheesecakes?

Or TobleroneSnowballs

Served with a Liqueur Coffee perhaps?

I hope this post has given you a few ideas.

Wishing Everyone a VeryMerry Christmas

And All the Bestfor 2012!

Seriously Good Coleslaw - easy to make

2011-12-04T06:06:00.001Z

Coleslaw, easy to make for a Christmas or New Year's eve party.

I used to hate coleslaw and couldn't think why anyone would want to eat such a thing! However, I suppose it's because I'd only ever encountered the stuff that comes in a plastic tub from the shop that was made at the very least, a few days ago. Now when you have a go at making it yourself you end up with something completely different.

With the addition of a few bits and bobs to the shredded veg you can whip up a great big bowl in next to no time. If you are making it for a Christmas or New Years eve, party you can just double the amount.

There are no exact list of ingredients, nor measurements. If you want precise measurements then this is not the place to find them.

Just add whatever else you fancy. I always use Hellmann's mayonnaise as I think it really is the best out there, same with the yoghurt, 'Total' is the way to go.

Print Recipe

*One thing to remember is don't make this any more than a couple of hours in advance or the cabbage will go nasty and taste like the stuff shops sell.

To make a nice big bowl you will need:

2 big handfuls of white cabbage - shredded

1 big handful of red cabbage - shredded

1 small red onion - thinly sliced

1 big fat carrot - grated

a pinch of salt - to taste

a dollop of 'Total' Greek natural yoghurt

a good few dollops of Hellmann's mayonnaise

How to do it:

Put the shredded white cabbage only into a bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Drain and run cold water over it till it's completely cold. Drain well and tip onto a nice clean tea towel and pat dry.

Put that along with the shredded red cabbage, onion, carrot and a small pinch of salt into a nice big bowl. Give it a good mix then add a dollop of natural yoghurt. Now add Hellmanns mayonnaise a dollop or so at a time, mixing as you go till you get the right amount to go with the amount of veg you have in the bowl. Taste so see if you need more salt, one final mix if you added any.

That's it you're all done.

Crispy Chunky Fish-Cakes with Tartare Sauce

2011-12-01T06:59:00.001Z

You can't beat a nice chunky home-made fish cake served with Tartare sauce - again, home-made of course!

Thick chunks of flaky fish coated with crispy crumbs - what's not to like?

These are big fat fish cakes and even greedy me couldn't eat two!

Print Recipe

For the Tartare Sauce:
    130 ml Hellmanns mayonnaise
    a good tablespoon capers - roughly chopped (rinsed and drained of salt or vinegar)
    4 or 5 small cocktail gherkins - roughly chopped
    about two teaspoons of creamed horseradish
    about two teaspoons Dijon mustard
    1/2 a small red onion - very finely chopped
    about a tablespoon fresh parsley - finely chopped

Fish Cakes to serve 4:

400g skinless and boneless cod or haddock fillet
2 nice looking bay leaves
4 white peppercorns
250ml milk
2 medium sized Maris Piper potatoes - peeled and cut into even sized chunks
salt and pepper to season
1 lemon - zest only but keep the lemon for a little bit later in the recipe
plus another lemon - cut into wedges for serving
about a tablespoon fresh parsley - finely chopped
about a tablespoon of chives - snipped into small bits using scissors
2 eggs - lightly beaten and put onto a large plate
handful of flour - for shaping the cakes
3 slices of bread - whizzed up in a food processor and then lightly toasted in a dry frying pan - to make them extra crispy
4 glugs of vegetable or sunflower oil - for frying

How to do it:

Start by making the sauce - Why? Because you will need to add a dollop to the fish cakes. If you don't like Tartare sauce, you obviously won't be making it - in which case you will still have to add a dollop of mayonnaise so be sure to buy some!
Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
Get a nice sized frying pan and lay the fish in it. Add the 4 peppercorns and bay leaves and pour over the milk.
Cover with a lid or a piece of kitchen foil and bring to a boil. Now lower the heat and gently simmer for 4 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and let it stand - lid still on for 10 minutes and the fish will finish cooking.
While that's happening, put the chunks of potato in a saucepan and cover with water adding a good pinch of salt.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 or 15 minutes or until tender, but make sure not to over cook or they'll go to mush.
Carefully lift the fish out of the milk with a slotted spoon and put on a plate to cool - check to make sure the 4
peppercorns aren't hiding amongst the fish - they should still be in the milk. Can't be having whole peppercorns in your fish cakes!
Drain the potatoes and leave for a minute or two to dry out a bit.
Now tip them into a bowl, and mash the potatoes with a fork - you're looking for a light, dry fluffy mash.
Now add in a good dollop of the Tartare sauce you made earlier - you did make it didn't you?! If not just add a good dollop of mayonnaise.
Mix it into the potatoes along with the lemon zest, parsley and chives. Season well with pepper and add salt to taste.
The potato needs to be nicely seasoned or your fish cakes will taste of nothing.

Drain any excess liquid from the fish and grind some pepper over it, then flake it into big chunks into the bowl with the potatoes.
Using your hands, gently lift the fish and potatoes together so they just mix - take care not to let the fish will break up too much.
Put to one side and cool.
Now with the beaten eggs on a large plate and lightly flour a board.
Spread the toasted breadcrumbs out on another large plate.
Divide the fish cake mixture into four. On the floured board, and with floured hands, carefully shape into four cakes
to about 2.5cm thick.
Sit each cake in the egg - one at a time, and brush over the top and sides so it is completely coated. Now put the cake onto the crumbs, patting the crumbs on the sides and tops so they are lightly covered.
Transfer to a nice clean plate, cover with cling film and chill for 30 minutes (or up to a day ahead). Don't skip this bit it help the cakes
to stay in shape whilst cooking.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. To test when ready, drop a piece of the dry breadcrumbs in - if it sizzles and quickly turns golden
brown, it is ready to use.
Fry the fish cakes over a medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden.
Serve with the rest of the Tartare sauce adding a tiny squeeze of lemon to it to taste. Lemon wedges would be good here too, for squeezing.

Empire Roast Chicken - Jamie's Great Britain

2011-11-22T14:21:00.001Z

Jamie's Great Britain is a seriously good book, I'd say it's his best yet.

There's a TV series to accompany the book being shown on Tuesday's on Channel 4
Recently he cooked up Empire Roast Chicken. The chicken is smeared with a paste made from delicious spices mixed with a natural yoghurt.

I didn't want to cook a whole chicken so I made the same paste mixture and used chicken thighs instead. I think you'll agree it still looks good - and it was!

Print Recipe

You will need:
1.4kg free-range chicken or you can do as I did and use chicken thighs, boneless or bone in with the skin on
    1 heaped tablespoon each finely grated garlic, fresh ginger and fresh red chilli
    1 heaped tablespoon tomato purée
    1 heaped teaspoon each of ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala and ground cumin
    2 heaped tablespoons natural yoghurt
    2 level teaspoons sea salt

Freshly chopped coriander to serve
**If you are cooking a whole chicken (and not portions like I did) you will also need a whole lemon

How to do it:
Slash the chicken’s legs a few times right down to the bone. Get a roasting tray slightly bigger than the chicken, then add all of the marinade ingredients and mix together well.
Put on a pair of clean rubber gloves, then really massage those flavours over and inside the chicken so it’s smeared everywhere. Don’t be shy! Ideally marinate overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6
**Stab a lemon that you have just boiled in boiling water for about 15 minutes so it's piping hot, now stab it a few times with a sharp knife and put it right into the chicken’s cavity.
Put the chicken into a baking dish and cook on the middle shelf for 1 hour 20 minutes or so - until cooked through.

**If you are using portions put them on a baking tray and the cooking time will be reduced. They will take about 50 minutes.

Once the chicken is cooked, move it to a board and carefully peel off the dark charred bits to reveal perfect chicken underneath.

Serve immediately and sprinkle with the chopped coriander.

Now although the chicken is delicious, you MUST serve it with Jamie's Bombay-style Potatoes. What do you think?!

Bombay-style Potatoes - Jamie's Great Britain

2011-11-20T09:06:00.001Z

After seeing Jamie cook up 'Empire Roast Chicken' on the Channel 4 series 'Jamie's Great Britain' for his latest book of the same name, I just had to make it. It has to be said he comes up with some amazing ideas - these Bombay potatoes are the best!

Who can resist these?

Jamie said: "Ask any British person what their two favourite meals are and I reckon most people would say their mum's roast chicken, and a curry. Well, welcome to Empire Roast Chicken, a combination of both of those things. Your friends and family are going to love it. I love it. You will love it."

I agree with him, his Empire Roast Chicken was so, so good and will be my very next post.

As there are only the two of us, I did a smaller amount of potatoes, 4 cloves of garlic and only one tomato, but I used the same amount of everything else.

Print Recipe

Recipe taken from the book 'Jamie's Great Britain'

You will need:

800g new potatoes
    sea salt and ground pepper
    1 lemon
    2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
    a knob of butter
    1 heaped teaspoon each of black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric
    1 bulb of garlic
    1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced
    2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
    1 small bunch of fresh coriander

How to do it:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6

Halve any larger potatoes, then parboil them in a large pan of salted boiling water for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes then let them steam dry.
Put a sturdy roasting tray over a medium heat and add the olive oil, a knob of butter, the mustard and cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric – work quickly because if the fat gets too hot the mustard seeds will pop everywhere.
Put the bulbs of the garlic straight into the pan, with the sliced chilli and chopped tomatoes.
Add your drained potatoes to the tray, mix everything together, then season well.
Finely slice and scatter in the coriander (stalks only), keeping the leaves in damp kitchen paper or a bowl of water for later.
Put the potatoes into the oven for about 40 minutes to 45 minutes - give them a stir half way through.
When you're ready to serve them scatter over the coriander leaves.

Here's a sneak preview of the Empire Roast Chicken, although Jamie cooks a whole chicken and I used portions.

You can read my review of Jamie's Book here.

Spicy Burgers with Colston Bassett Stilton Cheese Melt

2011-11-18T07:21:00.001Z

Nice fat spicy burgers, each topped with a thick slab of Colston Bassett Stilton

melted in the oven so the cheese runs down the side of the burger. Add skinny chips to the plate and your all set to tuck in!

Of course the Stilton cheese doesn't have to be from Colston Bassett, but having recently received some in a Seasonal box courtesy of Knorr supplied by Forman and Field once we'd tried it we have to say it is the best Stilton ever!
We love it - not too strong, nice and creamy, just perfect for cheese and biscuits......and topping burgers of course!

Now I said the word spicy when describing my burgers, but it is of course, up to you how much spice you want - just add less chilli.

Print Recipe

To make 2 nice fat burgers you will need:
250g lean beef mince
1/2 a slice of bread to make crumbs
1 medium red onion
2 fat cloves of garlic
1 red chilli of medium heat - de-seeded and finely chopped
1/2 a green chilli - again of medium heat, de-seeded and finely chopped
a pinch of sea salt
2 good pinches of freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of chilli powder
a splash of Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk - lightly beaten
a glug of olive oil for frying

You will also need:
2 thick slices of Stilton cheese
2 burger buns - lightly toasted

How to do it:
Whiz the bread (half a slice of sliced bread will do) in a food processor to make breadcrumbs and put them into a mixing bowl. Now whiz the onion and garlic - till finely chopped and add those to the bowl.
Add the beef mince to the bowl and throw in the chopped chillies - I urge you to at least put half a chilli in for flavour.
Season with the chilli powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper along with egg yolk.
Mix well with a fork, using a cutting motion. Be careful no to over mix. Why? Because the burgers will have no texture to them and become over processed and horrid.

Top Tip!
At this point, why not take a small amount of the mixture and fry it in a frying pan then have a taste so you're happy with the seasoning!

Cover a flat tray with greaseproof paper, put fill cooking rings (mine are 9cm by 3cm) with the meat mixture. If you don't have cooking rings, then of course you can shape into burgers with your hands.
Press down with a spoon till they look nice. Now cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so they hold their shape.
Remove them from the fridge 10 minutes before you want to cook them.

Preheat your oven to 20OC/400F or Gas 6
If you have a frying pan that can go into the oven use it - just saves transferring the burgers to a tray to melt the cheese.
Heat a glug of olive oil in a nice big frying pan.
Pan-fry allowing about 4 minutes on each side for medium burgers. When the burgers are done to your liking, pop a thick slice of Stilton on each burger and pop your frying pan (or transfer the burgers to a tray) into the preheated oven for a minute or two till the cheese melts.
You can of course pop them under a grill, just don't burn the cheese.

When they're nicely done, serve the burgers in toasted burger buns topped with whatever else you fancy.

Skinny chips are the way to go here I think!

Ps: If you're in the UK you still have time to enter my competition to win a Christmas Seasonal Box for yourself, just click here.
Ends on Wednesday 30th November.

Slightly Spicy Nice and Saucy Chicken and Pepper Casserole

2011-11-17T13:19:00.001Z

A nice, warming, easy chicken - almost one pot dinner. Totally made up by me, myself and I when I had nothing better to do one day!

You can serve this with some nice rice or crusty bread, or of course whatever else your fancy. If you can't be bothered to use a griddle pan, you can always roast the veg on a tray in the oven instead. But I love the look of the griddled vegetables (see over).

Print Recipe

Serves 2 very greedy people - 4 if you add a bit more chicken

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F or Gas 4
You will need:
Put the following into a bowl along with a glug or two of olive oil and a small pinch of salt and pepper
and mix to coat everything nicely - put to one side.
1 red bell pepper - sliced into 1 inch strips
1 green bell pepper - sliced into 1 inch strips
2 red onions - cut into wedges
1 courgette - sliced diagonally

You will also need:
6 or 7 boneless chicken thighs with skin on with a small pinch of salt and a good pinch of black pepper rubbed onto the skin along with a really tiny amount of olive oil.
a nice shallow casserole that can go both on the stove top and into the oven
3 fat garlic cloves - chopped finely
1 green chilli - sliced
a few sun-dried tomatoes - rehydrated in warm water for about 30 minutes and then sliced into thin strips
a good squirt of tomato purée (tomato paste in the US)
150ml chicken stock made from half a Knorr stock cube
400g tin of good quality cherry tomatoes - including the juice
a splash of Balsamic vinegar

How to do it:
Get yourself a griddle pan - if you don't have one you can use a big frying pan.
Put the chicken skin side down and cook for about 10 minutes over a medium high heat so the skin starts to colour.
Now turn the chicken over and cook for another 10 minutes. The chicken will not be cooked through at this stage but it will get cooked in a bit.
Remove the chicken and set aside.

Wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper and heat up your pan again so it's really hot. Throw in the contents of the bowl - peppers, onion courgette.
You really want the peppers to get a few charred black spots on them - but of course, don't let everything burn.
Once they all look a nice colour tip then into a shallow casserole (that can go both on the stove top and into the oven).
Now put that on the heat and stir in the garlic, sliced chilli, re-hydrated sliced sun-dried tomatoes and the tomato purée and cook for a minute or two, stirring all the while.

Pour in the chicken stock and the tin of tomatoes including the juice. Give it all a good mix.

Pop the part cooked chicken on top skin side up and cover with a lid. Put the casserole into your preheated oven for about 40 minutes.
Now remove the lid and cook for another 20 minutes or so until the chicken is nicely coloured and cooked through.

To serve, remove the chicken and put onto your serving plates and keep warm while you do this next bit.

Add a splash of Balsamic vinegar to the vegetables along with a little cornflour dissolved in a very tiny amount of water to thicken
if you need to. Taste and adjust the seasoning. You can add a pinch of sugar if you need to. You're all done now so you can serve this with the chicken.

Top Tip!
I don't use cornflour to thicken casseroles, I'm a bit of a fan of McDougalls Thickening Granules......a marvellous invention as it dissolves instantly and
there are never ever any lumps.

Joseph Joseph Baking Set - a Review

2011-11-13T08:58:00.001Z

Find Me a Gift is......well, a great place to find gifts!

They have an excellent range of gifts to suit everyone including lots of lovely Christmas Gifts.

I was very kindly sent this Joseph Joseph Baking Set to review:

So, what's in the box of this Baking Set?

There's a wooden adjustable rolling pin, a silicone spatula and pastry brush and also a timer.

The spatula and pasty brush can go into the dishwasher with no fear of the colours fading - I have other Joseph Joseph kitchen utensils and they're still like new.

And how you not just fall in love with the colours?!

I don't do much baking, but as you know I do make a nice pie now and again.

So this baking set will be really useful as the adjustable rolling pin has 3 rings to change the thickness of your rolled pastry. Simply twist off the ends to change the thickness - marvellous!

The timer is easy to use - just twist the bezel for the correct minutes and seconds (up to 1 hour).

The only pesty thing with the timer (nothing to do with the product) but it comes with a sticker on the face of the timer. Obviously you have to remove this before using. Well, it must be stuck on with super glue!

However, this is easily remedied as I have a top tip for such pesty stickers:

Remove the sticker as best you can, then simply spray with a little furniture polish and leave it for 10 minutes.

Now the sticky goo will wipe off quite easily with a clean cloth!

Like all the other utensils in the Joseph Joseph 'Elevate' range, the Spatula and Pastry Brush have a special built-in ledge to keep them from touching the work surface not only improving hygiene but there's less mess too!

See how it holds the brush from touching the work surface - a great idea!

Find Me a Gift offer next day delivery and my baking set arrived very well packaged too.

Thank you to Jo at Find Me a Gift for sending this baking set - I love it!

Leftover Christmas Turkey Curry - MPW Recipe for Knorr

2011-11-12T16:02:00.001Z

Marco Pierre White has come up with a lovely mild curry recipe using up any leftover Turkey you might have this Christmas. This exclusive new recipe by Marco won't be available on the Knorr website until December, but I can share it with you now!

Don't forget Marco has a great range of other recipes over at the Knorr Recipe page on their site.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of fruity curries, but this one was actually really very nice indeed and all the fruit in it has to be good for you! It's really easy to make and of course you can use leftover chicken if you wish.

Print Marco's Recipe courtesy of Marco Pierre White for Knorr

As of 1st December you will be able to watch Marco making this recipe and get top tips on cooking over at the Knorr website.

I was very kindly sent a truly amazing Seasonal Box from Forman and Field courtesy of Knorr. Containing not only a Free Range Kelly Bronze Turkey but loads more Fantastic Christmas food!

A BIG thank you to Knorr, Jen and Neil for the fantastic seasonal boxes I've been sent over the past months and the great day we spent with Marco Pierre White. And of course to Forman and Field for supplying such great food!

Apple Strudel - Marks and Spencer Copycat Recipe

2011-11-05T17:36:00.001Z

Almost everyone in the UK will have seen the Marks and Spencer advert for their apple strudel on television and I think nearly everyone has tried one!

Although I'm not one for desserts (I'd rather have two dinners personally) I had a go at making it myself.

Now I'm so not into pastry or baking but the result (although it didn't quite look like the M&S one) tasted GOOD said Paul the husband!

By the way, if you haven't seen the advert you can see it here.

Print Recipe

To serve 4 or (2 greedy people) you will need:

800g Bramley apples - peeled, cored and cut into 2cm chunks
zest of 1 lemon and the juice of half the lemon
120g Sultanas
4 or 5 tablespoons of Dark Rum
75g unsalted butter - melted
5 tablespoons soft dark brown sugar
270g (6 big oblong sheets) of ready made filo pastry
Icing sugar - for sprinkling

You will also need:

a pastry brush and a baking sheet (very shallow tray) and a big sheet of greaseproof paper.
Using a piece of kitchen paper, butter it so the strudel doesn't stick and put the paper on the baking sheet.

How to do it:

Soak the sultanas in the rum in a very small bowl so the sultanas are more or less covered and put to one side.
Now if you can leave them over night this would be good - if not as long as possible.
You really want the sultans to soak up the rum and get nice and fat.
When you're ready to make the strudel
Put the apples into a bowl along with the sugar and the zest of the lemon and the juice of half the lemon.
Drain most of the rum from the sultanas and add to the apples. Stir it to mix nicely.
Now melt the butter in a small saucepan and put to one side.

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F or Gas 5
Get yourself organised first! Clear a space on your worktop (making sure it's nice and clean).
Lay the greaseproof paper on the baking sheet and brush the paper with melted butter.

Filo pastry tears easily so be careful - lay one oblong sheet out on the paper and brush with the melted butter and lay it on the greaseproof paper.
Repeat with another sheet - laying it directly on top of the first one.
Now get another sheet - again bush with butter. This time lay it the opposite way - so you have a sort of cross and again repeat so you've now used four sheets and have a cross shape which consists of two layers of pastry laying opposite ways.
Drain the liquid from your apples and sultanas and put them onto the pastry keeping the mixture to the middle in an oblong shape.
If you happen to have too much mixture - discard it (you won't have loads too much just a little if any). If you try to put too much in your strudel will just ooze everywhere and be a mess.
Bring the two ends on the left and right of the oblong to cover the end of the apple mixture.

Now bring the top and bottom over in folded pleats.
Don't fuss too much as long as the apple mixture in encased.
Now fold over the top (again in pleats) the other two sheets of pastry the top of the strudel.
Dust with icing sugar and pop into your preheated oven (remember it must be preheated or the timings will be up the creak).

Bake on the middle shelf for 30 minutes before having a look to see if it's nice and golden brown - if it is, insert a sharp knife into one of the folds of pastry so it doesn't show and see if the filling is piping hot.

If not pop it back in and check again in 5 to 10 minutes time. I'll leave the judgement to you as everyone's oven is different.
Serve immediately with ice cream, cream or whatever you fancy.

Competition to WIN some Fantastic Christmas Food!

2011-11-04T11:54:00.004Z

With Christmas just a matter of a few weeks away, imagine winning this fantastic prize courtesy of Knorr and supplied by
Forman and Field.
One lucky person will not only win a Free Range Kelly Bronze Turkey worth £74 but all the trimmings for a perfect dinner will also be included!

But it doesn't stop there!

Assorted seasonal vegetables (enough to serve 6 people) Keta Caviar and Colston Basset Stilton - yes, and there's more! An exclusive recipe for Knorr by Marco Pierre White with the extra ingredients to make it!

A great range of recipes by Marco can be found over at the Knorr Recipe page on their website. Did you know there is also a range of cooking tips and Marco Pierre White's Masterclass to be found.

Contents of the Prize are as Follows:

Fresh Free Range Kelly Bronze Turkey - 4-5kg and serves 8-10

Trimmings pack (includes Chestnuts, Suffolk Bacon, Stuffing and Chipolatas) - for 6

Assorted Seasonal Vegetables - serves 6

London Cure Sliced Smoked Salmon - 200g

Keta Caviar - 100g

Colston Bassett Stilton - 500g

an exclusive recipe for Knorr by Marco Pierre White with the extra ingredients to make it.

Please be sure to read the following information carefully:
*The competition will end at 3pm on Wednesday 30th November 2011 and the winner will be announced here in this post.

*The winner must be at home (or someone else be there to sign for it) to receive their prize on Wednesday 7th December 2011 - This date can not be changed.

*The prize can be sent to a work address as long as you are there to sign for it.

*I will contact the winner at close of the competition via email. The winner will need respond before Thursday 1st December (as I will need to forward their delivery details to the supplier, so the prize can be sent out).

*The prize can only be delivered to a UK address that includes the full postcode.

The winner will be picked at random by the supplier of the competition.

To Enter:
You can either leave a comment below or email me.
For a 2nd Entry:
Tweet this post using the Tweet button below and tell me you've done so in a separate entry including your Twitter ID
If entering via a comment please make sure I can view your email details so I can contact you if you win. Some people have theirs hidden, no worries if yours is, but you will then have to contact me if your name is here as the winner at the end of the competition.

Good Luck Everyone!
Competition now CLOSED!
And the winner is.......Suzy Hill @homelovingal

Congratulations Suzy!!
Thank you to everyone that entered - there were 881 entries in total.

Pop Over to Glug of Oil FaceBook Page and Like!

Horseradish Mash with Caramelised Onions and Sausages

2011-11-03T14:07:00.003Z

There's nothing like a good dollop of mashed potato to cheer anyone up!
But the addition of horseradish turns into something amazing. That alongside caramelised onions and some nice fat sausages and you're really talking!

Good quality butchers sausages are vital - none of those 'low in fat' things with the meat so minced up you have no idea what it is - not for me anyway.

The secret to making proper caramelised onions is they can't be hurried or rushed in any way at all.

Long, slow cooking over a low heat without stirring for a good while is what makes the onions soft and releases the natural sugar in them.

The result will be nice, brown onions that are almost gooey.

Print Recipe

(caramelised onions and horseradish mash)

For 2 good helpings of caramelised onion you will need 3 large onions - remember they look a lot until they're cooked.
There's no real recipe just peel and slice the onions, add a glug of olive oil along with a knob of butter to a frying pan and heat it up.
Throw in the onions along with a pinch of brown (use white if you don't have brown) sugar and cook (uncovered) over a low heat for about 20 minutes before stirring them. You will need to keep an eye on them but they shouldn't burn if the heat is low.
Stir a little then leave them again for another 20 minutes before stirring. Altogether they might well take 50 minutes to go nice and brown and gooey.

For the Horseradish mash:
Again, no recipe as it's too simple. Make your mash potato in the usual fashion, making sure it's seasoned nicely. Once it's nicely mashed stir in a little horseradish, add a little at a time to your taste.
Remember you can always add more but you can't remove it once it's in so go carefully. Two teaspoons to two large servings of mash should be enough or you won't taste the rest of your dinner!

Quesadillas made with left over Chilli con Carne

2011-11-02T11:39:00.002Z

More economising going on here - I'm getting good at this! As I had some Chilli con Carne left over the other week Quesadillas came to mind. Of course it had been frozen once it was cold, popped it into a plastic tub and into the freezer it went.

So, you can either have the same dinner again a week or so later, only easier than the day you made the chilli.

Or of course, you can think up something else to do with your left over chilli.

For anyone wondering they are pronounced kay-sah-dee-yah

(simples)!

Of course you may not have any left over chilli in the first place. If that's the case you must be making Jan's Chilli Con Carne this very day. Make enough of course, so you do have leftovers then next week you can have Quesadillas in minutes!

Print Recipe

First of all: Get everything prepared and ready to go and if you're making for more than two people you might want to use two frying pans at once and a more concentration!

You will need:
some left over chilli con carne
a pack of soft floured tortillas I used the Chilli and Jalapeño ones- I like the make 'Discovery'. There are 8 and can be frozen so your won't waste any.
a few dollops of salsa
a handful of spring onions - thinly sliced
a good handful of grated mature Cheddar cheese
a small glug of vegetable oil - for frying the tortillas
a few dollops of soured cream
a few sliced jalapeño peppers (I use 'Discovery' brand they're in a jar and available from any good supermarket)

How to do it:
For the purpose of this, I'm writing as though you used four tortillas to make 2 quesadillas which will equal 8 triangles.
Put the left over chilli in a saucepan and heat up over a low/medium heat. Be sure that it's piping hot.
Now, get you non-stick frying pan at the ready and just wipe the surface with olive oil - using a sheet of kitchen paper to spread it evenly.
That's all you need , is the surface of the pan to be very lightly coated - not a big oil slick!
Heat up the pan and throw one tortilla into the pan and cook for just a minute then turn over. Put that to one side and quickly do the next one.
Repeat until you've used all four tortillas - re oil the pan if you need to. I doubt they'll go cold as they cook really quickly.
Now put a tortilla on each serving plate and cover with the hot chilli and add dollops of salsa, soured cream and jalapeño peppers, grated cheese and sliced spring onions.
Place another tortilla on top of that making a sandwich and press down on it.

Cut into quarters and serve immediately.

Top Tip! I find it easier to cut the quesadillas into quarters using kitchen scissors.

Cauliflower and Tomato Cheese with Cayenne Pepper Crispy Crumb Topping

2011-11-01T17:01:00.003Z

The other day I happened to have half a tin of tinned tomatoes (left over from something or other) and when I popped into Asda I saw cauliflowers were a major bargain at 50 pence!

So, cauliflower and tomato cheese came to mind as I got to use up the tinned tomatoes too - yes I'm economising!

Another thing, I had a few slices of bread left, fit only for breadcrumbs or the bin........Cayenne pepper toasted crumb topping just had to happen!

Print Recipe

Pre-heat your oven to 200C/400F or Gas 6
To serve 4 (or 2 greedy people) you will need:

For the Crumb Topping:
1 of two slices of getting on for stale bread including the crust (torn into smallish pieces)
a small glug of olive oil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the Cauliflower Cheese:
1 good sized cauliflower - cut into florets, rinsed
65g butter
65g of plain flour
450ml whole fat milk
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
150g strong matured cheddar - grated
a pinch of salt

How to do it:
Start by heating up a frying pan with a small glug of oil and throw in the cayenne pepper and the torn up breadcrumbs.
Move about continuously until they are browned all over. Remove from the pan and put to one side.
Now, get your cauliflower cooking in plenty of boiling, salted water and partly cover with the saucepan lid. It will take about 12 -15 minutes.
Cook until you can easily insert a knife into it so you know it’s cooked - take car not to over cook as you will end up with mush.
Drain the cauliflower well and put it into a lightly buttered oven-proof dish - use kitchen towel to run a knob of better over the inside of the dish.

Now get the cheese sauce on the go:
Melt the butter and add the flour and cook, stirring all the while for a couple of minutes over a low heat. Why? Because if you don't cook the flour your sauce will taste floury and will also be lumpy.
Over a low heat, whisk in the milk into the flour and butter in about 3 goes and bring to the boil - stirring all the while.
Remove from the heat and stir in the mustard and most of the cheese into the sauce and season with salt to your taste. Keep back a small amount of cheese for sprinkling over the top in a bit.
Stir well making sure the sauce is free from lumps and bumps.
Pour the cheese sauce on top of the cauliflower, then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cook in your pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes and then sprinkle over the toasted cayenne crumbs and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes until piping hot, golden brown and bubbling.

Result? Scrummy yummy cheesy goodness - well there is veg in there somewhere amongst all that cheese!

Of course you can leave the crumb topping off if you don't fancy it.

NEW Colman's Instant Gravy Paste - a Review

2011-10-31T17:38:00.005Z

Colman's have just instant gravy paste in tubes! Made with real meat juices and available in all major supermarkets in Beef, Chicken and Onion flavours.

Made with busy mum's in mind just a squeeze of a tube, some boiling water, a bit of a stir, and you have gravy in an instant!

Now, it has to be said (dare I say it) I'm a bit of a Bisto fan when it comes to instant gravy, and I really thought nothing else could match it.
Although I'm really into cooking, there are times when you need gravy - and you need it like now!
Colman's beef gravy paste is seriously good and I've now been converted from Bisto. You really honestly, can taste the difference.

On Sunday we tried the chicken one and that too was really good, I'd say it was the next best thing to making your own gravy from scratch with the juices from the chicken. All the gravy pastes smell delicious too!

My only criticism is this: Although the taste of all the gravy pastes is very good, even after adding more than the suggested amount of gravy paste, you do still end up with a 'thinnish looking' gravy. However, the taste is still very, very good and so I wasn't too fussed - taste is everything after all.

The onion gravy really smelt of onions when the boiling water was poured on, and that too also tasted good. When trying the onion gravy, I did only make some up in a small jug just to taste it, but it really needed bangers and mash to go with it!

Colman’s Instant Gravy Paste is free of any nasty preservatives and artificial flavour enhancers. RRP is £1.59 and it comes in 130g easy-squeeze tubes, which provide approximately 5 servings.
Thank you to Neil for sending me some to try.

Pan-fried Chicken with Indian Style Flavoured Butter

2011-10-27T14:16:00.002+01:00

Oooh now this was yummy - Pan-fried chicken with Indian style flavoured butter.

After making Banita's Indian Style Fish and Chips the other day, we loved her Tandoori butter! So, I titivated it a bit and came up with Indian style flavoured butter.

Perfect for chicken, fish or whatever else takes your fancy!

Print Recipe

This amount of butter will make enough to use it again another day. Don't forget you can always freeze it and it will defrost perfectly.

To serve 2 you will need:

2 nice fat skinless chicken fillets

1/2 of a Knorr chicken stock cube

a small dribble of olive oil (yes a dribble, not quite a glug)!

1 teaspoon of curry powder

For the butter you will need:

130g unsalted butter - at room temperature so it's nice and soft

1 red chilli - de-seeded and finely chopped
1 green chilli - de-seeded and finely chopped

1 lime - juice and zest

2 teaspoons garlic paste
2 teaspoons ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala

How to do it:

In a small bowl put the Knorr stock cube in along with the curry powder and a dribble of olive oil. Mix together - best way is with two clean fingers. Mix till the stock cube has dissolved properly and you have a nice thickish paste.

Rub most of the paste on the 'nice looking' side of the chicken. Leave the chicken to come to room temperature before cooking.

While that's happening you can make the butter:

Get a small bowl and very finely chop the chillies and add to the bowl. Use however much chilli you like but at least use half of one.

Add the zest and juice of the lime along with the rest of the ingredients and the softened . Mix together with a bendy knife or mash with a fork until it's mixed together nicely.

Heat up a frying, or grill pan big enough to hold both fillets. Once it's nice and hot put the fillets in (nice side down). Spread the rest of the paste over the side that's facing upwards. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes before turning and cooking for another to 12 to 15 minutes. The time really does depend on how fat your chicken fillets are and how hot your pan is - so I'll leave it to you to check on how they're doing.

*Don't have the heat up too high or the chicken will just be tough.

Serve as soon as they are nicely cooked through with a generous scoop of butter.

If you want to make a larger amount of flavoured butter you can see how to make it into a nice shape here.

Dress the Board Pan-fried Chicken and some rather nice chips

2011-10-26T12:07:00.003+01:00

This is along the lines of Jamie Oliver's Dress the Board Steak that I made the other day using my choice of ingredients.

What a marvellous idea I thought it would be to chop different dressing ingredients then add them to pan-fried chicken.

Served with my home made crunchy chips and a little salad, you have a nice easy meal ready in no time at all.

Parsley, Garlic, Lemon, Red Chilli, Honey and Spring Onion....Yum!

Print Recipe

To serve 2 you will need:
2 nice skinless chicken breast fillets

a little olive oil
freshly ground black pepper and sea salt - I always use Maldon sea salt

For the dressing:
a handful of flat leaved parsley - leaves only
1 or 2 red chillies - seeds removed
2 big fat cloves of garlic
2 spring onions
juice of half a lemon
a glug of extra virgin olive oil
a good drizzle of runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to do it:

Season the chicken fillets on both side and rub over a little olive oil.

Leave them to come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking.

Heat up a frying pan big enough to hold both fillets. Once it's nice and hot put the fillets in and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes before turning and cooking for another to 12 to 15 minutes. The time really does depend on how fat your chicken is and how hot your pan is - so I'll leave it to you to check on how they're doing. *Don't have the heat up too high or the chicken will just be tough.

While they are cooking you can make the dressing.

Put all the ingredients onto a nice big wooden chopping board - apart from the oil, lemon and the honey.

Chop away until everything is finely chopped and looking lovely. Drizzle over the olive oil, lemon and honey and mix together with the knife.

Once the chicken is nicely cooked through, remove from the pan and place on the board for a minute or two to rest. Cover both fillets with the chopped dressing and serve immediately with whatever you fancy.

*The roughed up looking chips were actually chips gone wrong but they actually turned out rather nice indeed!

You can find out just how to mess your chips up here!

Indian Style Fish and Chips - Tesco Real Food Cook Off

2011-10-26T10:53:00.002+01:00

Last nights episode of Tesco Real Food Family Cook off saw Kate Watts up against Banita Ludhor.

I thought they both did really well and I loved everything they cooked!

Before I'd seen the show last night I'd been asked to pick a recipe and cook it! As I'd previously cooked Banita's Spicy Chicken Kebabs, I went for Kate's 'Indian Style Fish and Chips'.

I didn't have a picture to go by but Kate's recipe was really easy to follow and I have to say I will be making it again.

By the way, the Tandoori butter that goes over the fish is soooo good!

The twist to this dish is said Kate, there is no batter and no chips!

As both teams ended up drawing with the same overall score, it was down to celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott to make the final decision.

As a result Banita's team have now gone through to the final which will be shown next Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel 5 where Banita will be up against Filipa Kay. Readers of this blog will know I cooked Filipa's Piri Piri Chicken.

I was sorry to see Kate go but well done to both teams - excellent recipes!

If you'd like to make this dish, pop over to Channel 5 and have a look at Kate's recipe.

Christmas Gifts from Hotel Chocolat

2011-10-25T15:51:00.003+01:00

Christmas is just around the corner and Hotel Chocolat have a great range of Christmas Gifts. They also have a Stocking Fillers starting at just £5

I was recently sent the Sleekster Classic Christmas Selection, what an amazing box of chocolates!

Don't you just love the look of them?!

The Sleekster Christmas Selection sells for £22 which is excellent considering the quality. These chocolates really are different and a cut above any other brand out there.

With a range of fillings from Simple Milk Truffle and Rum Truffle to Champagne Truffle. There's also Mulled Wine, Christmas Mess, Cinnamon Praline, and Gingerbread Truffle too!

The Zesty Marzipan Star is even dabbed with edible gold!

Other interesting fillings include Star Anise and Salted Caramel, Chilli Truffle and Ginger Cheesecake and more. In case you are wondering, it is suitable for vegetarians.

Another thing I personally like about the 'Sleekster' range of boxes, is that the box is just the right shape to fit through most standard sized letterboxes. So, you can surprise someone with your gift without the worry of them being out when it arrives. After all, if you have to ask them if they'll be in, it kinda gives the game away!

Pop over to Hotel Chocolat and have a look for yourself.

Thank you to Beth and Hotel Chocolat.

Jamie's Great Britain - Book Review

2011-10-21T13:53:00.000+01:00

As you probably know Jamie Oliver's latest book titled 'Jamie's Great Britain' is out. You can see the TV series to accompany the book, which starts Tuesday 25th October at 9pm on Channel 4 and I will be tuning in!

Now, this book isn't all traditional English food as I thought it would be. Might be just me but that's what I was expecting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find it isn't, because as I do like a bit of variety!

As it says in the book: It's more 'British' food that a result of centuries of invasion, exploration, colonisation and immigration which has created a unique and wonderful food culture within our small island home.

That said, inside the book you will find classics such as Steak and Kidney Pudding that has Marmalade and Cheddar listed in the ingredients, which although sounds a bit odd, I bet it's good. It certainly looks it!

Pictures taken from the book Jamie's Great Britain:

Jamie's Rainbow Salad looks amazing:

There are a huge range of recipes from 12-hour Rabbit Bolognese, Seared Scallops with Crispy Black Pudding and Clapshot, Crispy Roasted Fish-cakes, Roasted Veg Vindaloo, 'Kate and Wills' Wedding Pie to good old Cornish Pasties and Lincolnshire Poachers Pie.

Lots of puddings to be found in this book too!
Flapjack Crumble, Apple Pepper Pot Cake, which even me that 'don't do puddings' is thinking looks rather yum!
Along with this Elderflower Summer Pudding.

Don't you think it looks lovely - so colourful:

All in all, this really is yet another great book from Jamie and if you were to buy it, I really can't see you being disappointed.

A big thank you to Pete for sending me a copy.

Make a Wish to the Fairy HobMother

2011-10-21T12:14:00.001+01:00

The Fairy HobMother is out and about doing great things - granting wishes wherever she can. Her real name is Jenny and she works for Appliances Online who sell a fantastic range of Cookers including this rather nice Electrolux EOB53000X and other white goods.

Jenny has a great job making some wishes come true!

All you have to do is leave your wish in the form of a comment below, and you never know, it might just be granted!

Look what arrived in the post for me today, a Belling Media Chef - you know how I just love gadgetry!

Perhaps now we have this Paul (the husband) might even be able to cook the dinner one night and what's more, it could even be edible? No, I won't be holding my breath - bless him!

Thank you Jenny at Appliances Online for sending me this.
*Don't forget to make your wish and The Fairy HobMother could visit you too!

Spanish Tortilla with Olives and Chorizo

2011-10-20T14:51:00.002+01:00

I was recently sent some olives to try from 'Olives from Spain'

Now, I never used to like olives but since going to Spain and Greece I've got to love them!

A few facts about Olives:

Olives have been around for thousands of years, appearing in one of the earliest cookbooks ever discovered! This was a 2000- year old text by a Roman named Apicius.

Olive oil has traditionally been used as fuel and was even used to light the earliest Olympic Torch.

Olive trees can live for more than 1,500 years and grow to a maximum of 50 feet tall.

Omar Allibhoy who has teamed up with Olives from Spain to educate the UK public about the great taste and versatility of Spanish olives. He has now exclusively developed five delicious recipes, using the finest olives from Spain, to show us Brits how to get creative in the kitchen with this wonderful ingredient. Here's one of Omar's recipe, which I must say looks really yummy!

Print Recipe

Spanish Tortilla with Olives and Chorizo:

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
You will need:
3 large potatoes for frying
1 Spanish onion
Spanish olive oil for deep frying
8 large free range eggs
225g of hot chorizo sausage
1 handful of pitted Spanish olives (green olives)
Salt to season

Directions:
Peel, wash and thinly slice the potatoes and cut in half into the shape of half moons.
Repeat this with the Spanish onion.
Pour olive oil in a deep frying pan over a high heat - use enough oil to just cover the onion and potatoes.
Once the oil is hot, drop in a slice of onion and this should start frying immediately. Cook the onion for around 10 minutes until golden and then add the sliced potatoes. Stir occasionally for at least 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and cooked through.
Drain the oil from the potato and onion and mix in the egg and place in a separate dish. Let it rest for 10 minutes while you cook the chorizo and olives.
Chop the chorizo into chunks and halve the pitted olives.
In the same frying pan you have used to cook the potatoes use a medium heat to cook the chorizo for 1 minute, followed by the olives for just 15 seconds before adding this to the potato, onion and egg mix.
Season and stir slowly.
To make the tortilla place a non-stick pan over a medium heat and drizzle in a drop of olive oil.
Pour the tortilla mix into the pan and lower the heat. After 4 minutes use a large plate to cover the pan, hold it tightly and flip the tortilla onto the plate. Slide the 'non-cooked side' of the tortilla back into the pan to cook.
Note: if it is the first time you have flipped a tortilla, you might want to practice with the plate and an empty pan first.
Note: Depending on the size and depth of the pan cooking time may vary.
Tip from Omar:
I recommend eating the tortilla when still a little runny in the middle. Each tortilla is different, after trying them different ways you’ll find the one you love the most - but this one is my favourite for sure.

**Pictures supplied by Olives from Spain.

Omar is sharing his tips and tricks on how to make the most out of Spanish olives on-line over at Olives from Spain so pop over and have a look.

Thank you to Susan and Anni for the lovely olives.

Find Your Nearest Pizza Restaurant - Fast!

2011-10-19T13:48:00.003+01:00

Nearest Pizza is a new website and is a really easy way to find pizza restaurants like Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Strada and Zizzi in your local area.
I found this site very easy to use. You simply go to Nearest Pizza website.

Type in your post code or town and press the ‘Search’ button. I used Wolverhampton for this example.

A second later a map shows the pizza places dotted around on the map along with the name of the Pizza places found including their address and telephone numbers at the side.

As you can see on the right hand side there’s also an approximate distance to each pizza place from the actual place you searched for.

You can browse a list of Popular UK Locations for example, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds etc.

There’s another search box that would be useful if you live or work in the capital, you can view London. On that page you'll find London broken down into areas for example: City of London, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea etc.

So next time you want to know where your nearest pizza place is, remember Nearest Pizza.co.uk

Chicken and Vegetable Pie - Leftover Roast Chicken Recipe

2011-10-17T16:48:00.002+01:00

Seriously easy chicken pie made from leftover chicken from your Sunday roast. Nothing tricky nor fancy, but this pie is a gooden!

Just serve with some nice mashed potatoes and a little more gravy (if your a gravy kind of person) and that's it, dinner is done!

Print Recipe

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F or Gas 6
To serve 2 you will need:

an handful of frozen mixed vegetables - cooked in slightly salted water, cooled under a cold tap then drained well
a good squirt of tomato purée (paste in the US)
a teaspoon or two of Pimenton (Spanish paprika) or hot paprika - to taste
two good handfuls of nice roast chicken - from your left over Sunday dinner
300g ready made puff or shortcrust pastry - will need to be out of the fridge at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using
a little flour for dusting the worktop when rolling out your pastry
* optional - a sprig of thyme used only to make a hole in the centre of the pie before cooking
a lightly beaten egg yolk

*Don't do this bit till your actually ready to put the pie together or the gravy will go like glue!
Find a jug and boil the kettle. Add about 3 heaped tablespoons of 'Bisto Best Rich and Roasted' chicken gravy granules to the jug and pour on about 400ml of boiling water, stirring all the while.

How to do it:
Put the chicken into large frying pan over a medium heat, pour in the hot gravy and stir in the cooked and drained vegetables. Stir in the tomato purée and a teaspoon of Pimenton or paprika to your taste.
Give it all a good stir. You can add a little more hot water if you need to, but remember you want a nice thickish gravy as it's going in a pie.
Dust the worktop with a bit of flour. Roll out the pastry so it's about 6 to 8mm thick.
Now you must leave the pastry to stand for about 5 minutes before continuing. The only reason I know such a thing is because it says so on the packet - something to do with the pastry being less lightly to shrink when it's cooking.
Pour the chicken and veg mixture into your pie dish.

Brush the lip of the pie dish with a little of the beaten egg and lay the pastry over pressing it down so the pastry sticks to the dish - you can use a fork or your fingertips - unless of course you're all tricky and can do something more amazing - unlike me. Trim off any excess pastry.

You can, if you feel the need to make fancy leaves or do as I did and cut out the word PIE to decorate the top.

Whatever you do you will need to make a small hole in the middle so the steam can escape. You can just make a hole or use a sprig of thyme like I did in an attempt to make it look all professional!

Brush the pastry with more of the beaten egg (or you can use milk) and bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until it looks nice and golden and the inside it piping hot.

Jamie's Dress the Board Steak with my Roughed up Chips

2011-10-15T10:52:00.003+01:00

Yes you read right, roughed up chips is what I'm calling my chips!
If you like the crispy, crunchy rough bits that are to be found on good roast potatoes you'll love these chips.

An age ago now Jamie Oliver made what he called 'dress the board steak' I remember how good it looked and have been meaning to make it ever since. But like a lot of things it's getting round to it and last night I did just that.
I used my own version of herbs and stuff to 'dress the board' and of course you can do the same.

If you're stuck for something for dinner tonight and love steak, this is the way to go!

Here's how it works:

You make a dressing on a big wooden chopping board of chopped up herbs, chillies, garlic and whatever else like along with a glug or two of olive oil. You then season your steak with a little black pepper and salt and pan-fry in the usual manner then you put the steak on the board to rest covering with the dressing.

Slice the steak and serve with whatever takes your fancy.

I served mine with Jan's roughed up chips, mushrooms, salad and a nice tomato. I like steak medium rare but it's up to you to cook it however you prefer.

The roughed up chips are just potatoes peeled and sliced into chips. Patted dry then thrown onto a large, shallow baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and a season with a good amount of sea salt and a little black pepper.

Pop them into a preheated oven 230C/450F or Gas 8 on the middle shelf.

Now, whilst they're cooking, keep turning them every 15 minutes or so without being too careful with them so they get just a little broken. They'll take about 45 to 50 minutes depending on how thick you cut them. Scrape off any loose bits of potato off the tray and serve with the chips - they're the best bits!

Print Recipe
(including roughed up chips)

To serve 2 you will need:

2 nice sirloin steaks (or any other steak you like to eat)

olive oil

freshly ground black pepper and sea salt - I always use Maldon sea salt

For the dressing:

a handful of flat leaved parsley - leaves only

a few sprigs of fresh thyme - leaves only

1 or 2 red chillies - seeds removed

2 big fat cloves of garlic

juice of half a lemon

a glug or two of extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to do it:

Put the steaks on a clean plate and rub all over with a little olive oil and black pepper. Now leave the steaks to come to room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. After that time you can season the steaks with a little sea salt. If you put salt on at the beginning the salt will start to take out the juices. It's vital the steak or any meat is at room temperature before cooking if you want it to be nice and tender.

Meanwhile, you can make the dressing:

Using a nice big wooden chopping board, put all the ingredients onto the board except the olive oil and lemon juice.

Chop away till everything is nice and small - no one wants a huge lump of chilli or garlic in their mouth!

Now add the squeeze over the lemon juice and add a couple of glugs of extra virgin olive oil. Mix together using the side of the knife and leave to one side till your steaks are ready.

Remember when cooking steak, always oil the steak and not the pan, or you'll just have a smoke filled kitchen.

Heat up your pan - I use a grill pan as I like to see grill marks on my steak!

Make sure it's really hot, then throw on your steak and cook till it's to your liking. The time of course depends on the thickness of your steak, how hot your pan is and how you like your steak cooked. For that reason I won't go into too much about cooking times.

For medium rare I cooked my steak for about 2 or 3 minutes each side.

Remove from the pan and place the steaks onto the board and cover them with the dressing. Leave to rest for a 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving straight away.

Serve with my roughed up chips:

Potato and Chorizo Crush with Pan-Fried Chicken and Wilted Spinach

2011-10-13T07:31:00.001+01:00

We love chorizo, we love potatoes, so what a marvelous idea I thought it would be to put the two together and make potato and chorizo crush.

Served with pan-fried chicken along with spinach that I'd washed, drained then stir- fried in a hot pan along with a little chopped garlic, salt and nutmeg.

So simple and yet so good.

Print Recipe

For the Chorizo and Potato Crush you will need:
a chorizo ring, chopped into small pieces then fried till nice and crispy then put to one side.
as many potatoes as you need, boiled in lightly salted water until you can easily insert a knife - just be careful not to over cook them or you'll end up with mush.
a small knob of butter
a very small handful of freshly chopped parsley

When you're potatoes are cooked, drain them well and put them into a bowl. Using the back of a fork, crush them and
add in the chorizo along with a small knob of butter. When they look suitably 'crushed' stir in the parsley and they're done!
Serve straight away with whatever you fancy.

For the Garlic Spinach:
a huge handful of spinach ends up looking like a very small amount once it's wilted. So with that in a mind you need a couple of big handfuls for two people.
Wash and drain the spinach well. No need to completely dry the spinach as it will need a little water to cook.
Heat up the tiniest amount of olive oil in a large frying pan along with one finely chopped clove of garlic
taking care not to burn it. Immediately throw in the spinach and a pinch or two of salt and a pinch of nutmeg.
Stir-fry for just a minute of two and that's it - you're all done.

Spicy Chicken Kebabs and Cambodian Chicken - Tesco Real Food Cook Off

2011-10-09T13:01:00.001+01:00

As part of a team of food bloggers involved with the Tesco Real Food

I was asked to make two recipes from the Channel 5 show 'Real Food Family Cook Off' shown Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm.

If you've been following the programe you'll know that this week was the turn of Banita Ludhor to take on Jonny Thomson.

Banita made Spicy Chicken Kebabs, while Jonny cooked up Cambodian Chicken with Pineapple Fried Rice.

So there I was armed with a huge amount of lovely ingredients and my kitchen looking like food heaven, I cooked one dish one night, and the other the next!

Banita's Spicy Chicken Kebabs were seriously delicious and had a lovely salad to go with them too:

Then there was Jonny's Cambodian Chicken - a very colourful mix of flavours.
The pineapple rice was really yummy and a meal on it's own!

Both of these recipes can be found over at Tesco Real Food 'Cook Off'

As this weeks program has already been shown, you will know that Banita has gone through to the next round and sadly Jonny hasn't. But well done Jonny for getting this far - great stuff!
If you missed this weeks show and want to catch up you can see the full episode here.

Competition - Win a Luxury Italian Cooking Kit courtesy of Galbani® worth over £350

2011-09-28T13:28:00.003+01:00

One lucky reader of A Glug of Oil will WIN an Ultimate Italian Cooking Kit courtesy of Galbani® worth over £350!!

Containing an Italian fresh pasta maker, Alessi Spaghetti Tongs and a whole host of Harvey Nichols food goodies.
Plus six month’s supply of Galbani® Dolcelatte® and another six month’s worth of Galbani® Mozzarella cheese - delizioso!

COOK AND SHARE LIKE THE ITALIANS DO, WITH GALBANI®

From steaming spaghetti bolognaise to scrumptious pizza, layers of decadent lasagne to zesty bruschetta – Italian food is rich, varied and always best shared with loved ones.

Now Italian food lovers have the chance to win an Ultimate Italian Cooking Kit that will kick start their Italian culinary skills, plus an entire year’s worth of delectable Italian cheese, thanks to Galbani®, Italy’s No. 1 cheese.

Luxury Italian Cooking Kit courtesy of Galbani® worth over £350 containing a whole host of delicious food from Harvey Nicols, an Italian Fresh Pasta maker, Alessi Spaghetti Tongs, a Galbani® cheese board and six month’s supply of Galbani® Dolcelatte® and ANOTHER six month’s worth of Galbani® Mozzarella cheese.

Also included in the prize are the following from Harvey Nichols:
Balsamic Vinegar
Catucci Man Tea Towel
Chargrilled peppers
Fiano 2009 (wine)
Pesto alla Genocese
Mixed Olives in Olive Oil
Antipasti Mushrooms
Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Spaghetti Caddy
Tomato and Rocket Pasta Sauce

Whether you are looking to infuse a dish with Italian authenticity or try something new, Galbani® cheeses are authentically made in Italy to satisfy the most diverse warm cooking needs. From creamy Dolcelatte®, to fresh and milky Mozzarella, indulgent Mascarpone to light yet creamy Ricotta, Galbani® cheeses form an essential part of everyday modern cooking.

To be in with a chance of winning the Ultimate Italian Cooking Kit,

all you have to do is name the tricolours which make up the national flag of Italy:
*Please note you can either leave your answer in a comment below or send it to me in an email with the subject 'Galbani Comp' - not forgetting to include your name.

A) Blue, White and Red

B) Black, Red and Gold
or C) Green, White and Red

This competition will end on on Friday 14th October at 3pm.
The winner will be picked at random by Galbani® (suppliers of this fantastic prize) and the winner will be announced here and if possible contacted by email by myself.

Competition Now ENDED - and the winner is.......

'E Sellings' entry via email.
Congratulations to you!!

Competition Terms and Conditions can be found here.

Lamb with Boulangère Potatoes - Recipe

2011-09-23T14:45:00.004+01:00

Melt in the mouth lamb cooked in a lovely rich white wine and rosemary sauce topped with boulangère potatoes. Potatoes cooked this way soak up the lovely sauce on the bottom and are nice and crispy on top.
Whats not to like?

Marks and Spencer sell Lamb Boulangère in their 'Bistro' range and after seeing it the other day I thought, I could make that!
It's along the lines of Lancashire hotpot, but the wine and rosemary in the sauce makes it a little bit more fancy.

Print Recipe

To serve two you will need:
a few knobs of unsalted butter at room temperature
a glug of olive oil
400g neck of lamb fillet - cut into bite size pieces and seasoned with a little black pepper
1 large onion - diced
2 big carrots - peeled and sliced
25g plain flour
a splash of Worcestershire sauce
150ml dry white wine
280ml of hot chicken or lamb stock - made from 1 Knorr stock cube
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of freshly chopped rosemary leaves only - divided into two
a pinch or two of dried thyme - use fresh if you have it
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
Potatoes (as many as you fancy) say 4 peeled and sliced really, really thinly (best to use a mandolin slicer)

How to do it:
Preheat the oven to 170C/325F or Gas 3
Using a nice big frying pan, heat a glug of oil and a knob of butter and brown the lamb.
When that's done tip the lamb and any juices into a braiser dish or shallow casserole and set aside.
Without washing the pan, add another glug of oil and a knob of butter and fry the onions and carrots over a medium heat,
stirring now and then, until getting on for golden (golden not burnt)!

A wooden spoon would be good here - sprinkle over the flour and allow to cook for a couple of minutes, stirring to cook the flour.
Now add the white wine to deglaze the pan and cook over a medium heat until the wine has cooked down a little bit.

Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a pinch or two of dried thyme and half a tablespoon of the rosemary - keep the other half tablespoon for the potatoes in a bit.
Pour in the hot stock and bring to the boil. Season with a little sea salt and nice amount of black pepper.
Add all of this to the braiser dish or casserole along with a bay leaf.

Arrange the sliced potatoes on top of the meat and brush with a little butter making sure you lightly season the layers of potato as you go with a little salt and pepper and a very tiny amount of the rosemary. Be careful not to go too mad with the salt.
Cover the casserole with it's lid or some tightly fitting foil, and place in the oven for about 2 and a half to 3 hours.
After two and a half hours, check to see if the potatoes are cooked though by inserting a sharp knife. Return to the oven for another half an hour if they're not cooked or the whole dish will be ruined.

When the potatoes are done, melt the remaining butter and turn the heat of your oven up a bit to 200C/400F of Gas 6 - remove the lid or foil from the casserole and brush the potatoes with the melted butter.
Put the dish back into the oven, uncovered for about 1/2 an hour to brown the potatoes. As you're dishing this up try to remove the bay leaf.

Serve piping hot.

Good Energy - Low Carbon Cooking Recipes

2011-09-22T17:03:00.002+01:00

Good Energy have recipes that have been prepared by top chef Arthur Potts Dawson with a view to reducing the carbon footprint when cooking.

Lovely Autumn/Winter recipes from Good Energy are:

Pictures supplied by Good Energy -

you didn't think I'd had serious photography lessons over night did you?!

Ham and Apple Pie:

A bit like Shropshire fidget pie - which I've been meaning to make for an age now.

Sweetcorn, Chilli and Coriander Griddle cakes:

Ps: I will be these making asap!

Chicken with Fennel, Sweet Potato and Thyme:

and a Lemon Ricotta Cake:

Good Energy has teamed up with green chef Arthur Potts Dawson to produce a guide to inspire consumers to make better choices about how they buy, store and prepare food; alongside some seasonal recipes which can help you cut carbon without compromising on taste. Arthur shares Good Energy’s passion for ethical and ecologically sourced food. And energy.....

For a copy of 'Good Energy Good Kitchen' containing these recipes and more, please email customeradmin@goodenergy.co.uk or you can visit the Good Energy stand at The Real Food Harvest Festival (23rd – 25th September).

You can visit Good Energy for more information.

Top tips on low carbon cooking!

Start local: Buy fresh, organic, locally-sourced ingredients. Your food will have traveled fewer miles to your table and organic food is less energy-intensive as it doesn’t require pesticides and fertilisers which need to be both manufactured and sprayed

Eat less meat: Swap meat for veggies a couple of times a week. Meat generally has a large carbon footprint because of the energy required to feed, graze and transport the animals.

Don’t peek: Every time you open the oven door the temperature drops, which means your oven must work harder and use more energy to return it to the required temperature

Cover up: Use lids on your pots when cooking, the captured heat value can save you up to three times the energy utilised by an open pot. Glass lids will allow you to view the cooking progress and reduce condensation in your kitchen

Buy energy-efficient: Support your efforts by choosing energy-efficient alternatives to your kitchen essentials. Pop over to the Good Energy Shop for some great offers!

Take your time: If you are preparing a delicate dish that needs to cook slowly – use a slow cooker which cooks at a lower temperature. Slow cookers use over 40% less energy than conventional ovens

Chill out: Think about how you use the fridge and freezer. Take foods you’re going to be cooking out of the fridge and bring them up to room temperature before putting them in the oven to reduce cooking times

Cook in bulk: If you’re baking a potato, why not bake a pie too to utilise as much of the heat produced as possible. Or make double the quantity you need and freeze the rest for another time.

Don’t cook at all: There are so many dishes you could prepare that require no cooking at all, so why not give your oven the night off every once in a while.

Tesco Real Food Family Cook Off - Piri Piri Chicken

2011-09-21T10:48:00.002+01:00

As part of a team of bloggers involved in the Tesco Real Food Cook Off

I was asked to make a recipe from last nights Channel 5 show 'Real Food Family Cook Off' shown Tuesdays at 7.30pm

I made Filipas Kay's Piri Piri Chicken with chips and salad - very yummy it was too!
Having no picture to go by and having not seen the program at the time of making this, it was a challenge for me too!

So, armed with all the ingredients, it was time to get busy in the kitchen.

The Piri Piri chicken was served with chips although I did wedges:

And a nice salad with beef tomatoes and olives to go with it:

Was we full afterwards? Yes we were!

I made one very minor alteration to the recipe and that was to add a squeeze of lemon to the salad dressing.

Filipa's recipe can be found over at Channel 5

Good Luck Filipa - I'll be watching the show next week!

Now, on a different note, if you're reading this blog then chances are you love cooking and are looking for something for dinner tonight? Well did you know Tesco are running a promotion in their stores at the moment and you can buy all the ingredients to make Roast Chicken with Tarragon Cream Sauce for just £5 now that's what I call a Billy Bargain!

Pop over and have a look at Matt Dawson's Cook-along!

Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy Food and Cook-Along Too!

2011-09-21T10:30:00.000+01:00

Hungry?

The recipe book by 'Innocent' is full of lovely looking recipes that are not only quick, but easy too.
This book shows you how to make delicious healthy food at home and get the kids involved in the kitchen at the same time.

We don't have any children but if we did I'd be sure to get them in that kitchen, and get cooking as early as possible!!

Seriously, I personally think too many parents feed their kids junk food. With most, I believe it's just a case of simply not knowing how to cook in the first place. Your whole family will benefit health-wise from you learning to cook a few basic recipes and cooking yourself is far, far cheaper than buying ready meals.

Here are three short videos (of recipes that are in the book) showing just how easy it is to cook and to get the kids involved too!
The first video shows 'Veggie Burgers' that contain six different vegetables - a great way to get your kids to eat veg:

The next video is 'Fruit-mess':

The last video is 'Chop chop Salad' which serves one and a half portions
of your 5 a day - can't be bad!

Hungry? is published by HarperCollins Publishers and can be purchased in any good bookstore and of course via Amazon.
Thank you to Josephina for sending me a copy.

Huge Yorkshire Puddings

2011-09-19T15:49:00.000+01:00

If you want huge Yorkshire pudding this is how! By mistake I used self raising flour instead of plain and the result is HUGE Yorkshire puds.

I shouldn't think they'd win me a prize for looks but hey ho - they were crispy and they did rise!

As you can see they took over the tin (and the oven too)!

Print Recipe

Preheat your oven to 220C/425F of Gas 7

For two huge Yorkshire puddings! You will need:

80g self raising flour
2 eggs
50ml milk and 50ml water mixed together
a pinch of salt
vegetable oil - beef dripping or duck fat would be better

A Yorkshire pudding tin - mine was 4 hole with each hole being about 3 inches round.

How to do it:

In a bowl sift in the flour and salt.
Whisk in the eggs and add the milk, when it's all whisked nicely pour it into a jug - just because it's easier to pour.

Put 2 tablespoons of oil into 2 of the holes and heatit up in your preheated oven for a couple of minutes until the oil is very hot.

Pour the batter into the two holes of the pudding tin and pop it straight into the oven - middle shelf as they will RISE because of the self raising flour and touch the top of your oven! Without opening the oven door leave them to cook for 20 minutes when they should be nice and huge! Serve immediately.

Toblerone Snowballs

2011-09-17T15:32:00.003+01:00

At the time of writing it's a little bit early for Christmas stuff, but I made these the other week - they were the result of an experiment that went wrong!

Toblerone snowballs, truffles, sweets, whatever you want to call them, here they are.

I discovered that when you add runny honey to melted Toblerone it immediately goes like stiff sticky goo, but fear not - this is how my Toblerone snowballs are made!

Print Recipe

Get yourself a plate and put a few tablespoons of unsweetened dessicated coconut on it.

Melt 150g of Toblerone in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water).

Remove from heat and stir in just half a tablespoon of runny honey - it will immediately go like stiff sticky goo - but fear not!

Let it cool for a few seconds - just long enough to handle although it will still be quite hot and roll into 8 to 10 balls.

Rolling each one as you go in the coconut. Just heat it up again if it becomes unworkable.

Transfer to a baking sheet or plate lined with greaseproof paper and leave to set in the fridge for an hour.
That's it - your done.

Tiny Toblerone Cheesecakes - Three Ways

2011-09-14T18:08:00.000+01:00

Calling all Chocolate Lovers - There's a great competition with a fantastic prize to be won over at the Toblerone FaceBook Page.

It's so easy to enter, all you have to do is upload a recipe to My Toblerone that you've made using Toblerone - simple!

Of course, I'm not entering the competition myself, but to get you all inspired I made these individual no bake Toblerone Cheesecakes each using a different filling of White, Dark and Milk Toblerone Tinys.
So with that said - what will you make?

Chocolate Delight have agreed to give away the following prize:

A one-on-one chocolate workshop, where the winner will learn how to make truffles using Toblerone chocolate including one nights stay at the Chocolate Boutique Hotel

Get thinking, come up with a great recipe and you could be the winner of this fantastic prize.
Continue reading for my cheesecake recipe.

Print Recipe

To Make 3 Tiny Cheesecakes:

3 metal food rings 2.5 inches in diameter and 2 inches in height
a cooks blowtorch
a sheet of greaseproof paper large enough to sit all three food rings on
1 medium sized bowl
3 small bowls
8 Hobnob or Digestive Biscuits
35g unsalted butter, plus a little more for greasing
250g tub of Mascarpone cheese
1/2 a tablespoon of icing sugar
50g or 9 white Toblerone Tinys
50g or 9 milk Toblerone Tinys
50g or 9 dark Toblerone Tinys
You will also need 1 more of each Tiny chocolate to grate over the top of each cheesecake before serving.

How to do it:

Put the greaseproof paper on a tray small enough to go into the fridge.
Lightly grease the inside of the food rings and sit them on the paper on the tray.
Crush the biscuits, either by using a food processor or by putting them into a plastic bag and give them a bash making sure they're finely crushed.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the biscuit crumbs and mix well.
Using a teaspoon, divide the mixture between the three food rings and press the biscuit down till it's nice and firm, otherwise your cheesecakes will fall apart later on.
Put the food rings into the fridge for at least 45 minutes - as the butter cools the crumbs will set.

Meanwhile, put the Mascarpone and icing sugar into the medium bowl and mix well.
Put a different flavour chocolate in each of the small bowls and pop each bowl, one at a time into the microwave for just 50 seconds to a minute until the chocolate begins to melt - taking care it doesn't burn.
Remove from the microwave and give it a stir.
Repeat with the other two bowls.

Divide the Mascarpone mixture between the three small bowls (83g in each) and mix well.
Remove the cooking rings from the fridge and put a different mixture into each, pressing it down as you go. Smooth off the tops and pop them back into the fridge. They will need at least 8 hours or overnight since the filling is only of Mascarpone and chocolate and needs to set properly.

When you're ready to serve, leaving the cheesecakes in their rings, grate a contrasting chocolate over the top of each cheesecake.
Carefully remove them from the greaseproof paper and onto a serving plate.
Using a cooks blowtorch just for a few seconds around the edge will help them remove from the food rings easily - use a tea towel to handle them as the metal rings will now be hot!
Serve immediately.

Chicken with Tarragon and Marsala Mushroom Sauce

2011-09-14T14:32:00.003+01:00

Now, I've made Tarragon sauce before, but this is my best recipe for it yet.

Forget the rest this really is the bees knees of Tarragon sauce recipes!

The sauce was an experiment and I'd say the use of Marsala instead of the usual white wine really makes this recipe.

Of course you can serve more than two - just double the recipe ingredients for four.

Marsala wine is available in any good supermarket and can be used in many other recipes. If you can't get it, or simply don't want to buy it, just use a sweet white wine instead. The sauce, I'm sure will still be delicious - just not as good as this was - sorry!

The Marsala I used is Pellegrino Garibaldi Dolce Marsala Superiore DOC, (sweet).

Print Recipe

To serve 2 you will need:
2 frying pans - one big and one medium sized
8 skinless chicken mini fillets
a few chestnut mushrooms - sliced and halved
1 medium onion - finely diced
3 tablespoons of sweet Marsala wine
200ml chicken stock - made from half of a Knorr stock cube
300ml Double cream - must be double cream (heavy cream in the US) of the sauce will split
fresh Tarragon - 2 sprigs
fresh Tarragon leaves only - chopped to make a good handful, say 4 tablespoons
unsalted butter
olive oil
salt and black pepper to season

How to do it:
Heat up a knob of butter and a couple of glugs of olive oil in a big frying pan - non stick of course.
Throw in the onion and cook over a medium heat till it's nice and soft but not coloured.
Now pour in a good couple of glugs of Marsala (say three tablespoons) and let it bubble away for a couple of minutes, by which time it will have reduced to almost nothing left.
Add in the stock and two sprigs of Tarragon and let the stock bubble away to reduce by half.
When it has, remove the pan from the heat and remove the Tarragon sprigs and throw them away. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the cream and chopped Tarragon and let the sauce simmer over a low heat while stirring gently, just for a few minutes.

Turn the heat off and get on with the chicken:

First season the fillets with black pepper but not salt.
In the other smaller pan heat up another glug of oil and a small knob of butter and only when it's nice and hot throw in the mushrooms
and chicken mini fillets. Cook for about 5 minutes or so till the chicken fillets are almost cooked and starting to go golden.
Now heat up the larger pan (the one with the sauce in) and tip the chicken and mushrooms into it.
Cook over a medium heat, stirring gently all the time to bring the sauce from the edge of the pan to the middle so it doesn't burn. Have a taste and add more black pepper and a little salt if you need to.
Then, when the chicken is nicely cooked through that's it!
Serve immediately with broccoli and baby new potatoes or of course whatever else you fancy.

Dominos Firenze New Gourmet Pizza - a Review

2011-09-14T10:57:00.000+01:00

Not too long ago Domino's pizza introduced 'Gourmet Specials'. With three different pizzas in the Gourmet range - which to choose?

We went for the Firenze.

*Firenze - Ventricina Salami, Pepperoni and Peruvian Roquito Peppers.

Other pizzas in the Gourmet range are:

*Florentine - Baby Spinach, Sun-blush Baby Plum Tomatoes and Greek Feta Cheese.

*Rustica - Chicken breast strips, naturally smoked bacon rashers, baby spinach and Sun-blush baby plum tomatoes.

Now, they all come on a fresh thin crust base which is nice, but we (me and the husband) both prefer the Domino's classic base.
The good news is, when I ordered our chosen pizza, 'Firenze' I discovered you can have the classic base without extra cost - marvelous!

What did the Firenze taste like? Paul loved it! He really liked the slight heat from the peppers and as he's a pepperoni addict he was one happy fella.

I thought it was a bit greasy (remember this is just my personal opinion) because I thought there was a bit too much pepperoni and salami.
I think it could have done with say half the pepperoni and some nice green bell peppers. By the way, in case you don't know bell peppers aren't hot at all. Roquito peppers have a nice heat without being really hot, so don't be scarred of ordering this pizza thinking it will be chilli hot, it won't - you'll be fine!
The next Domino's pizza we order will be the Rustica - can't wait to try it!

If you've never ordered a Domino's pizza before you can read a previous post of mine on just how easy it is.

Find Me A Gift - Joseph Joseph Kitchen Utensils!

2011-09-12T16:09:00.000+01:00

Find Me a Gift - what a great site! They have a huge range of gifts to suit everyone.
Joseph Joseph are well known for their good looking products, all of which are of high quality. I was very kindly sent this Joseph Joseph Kitchen Utensil Set to put to the test in the kitchen!

They not only look good and are very well packaged too.

And don't you think they look good hanging in my kitchen?!

So for the test:

I discovered they can stir a curry for an hour or so, then go in the dishwasher and come out pristine - no discoloration whatsoever!

Another thing I really like about them is the way they're designed to minimise mess by having weighted handles and tools rests keep tool heads off of the work surface - marvelous idea!

Also I found they rest nicely on the side of a frying pan - and yes, this was the curry I made! Some cheaper utensils would be stained afterwards.

They have comfortable, soft-grip handles and are suitable for all types of non-stick cookware. The tool heads are heat resistant up to 240ºC/480ºF

This set consists of:
Flexible Turner, Slotted Spoon, Slotted Turner, Soup Ladle, Spaghetti Server, Solid Spoon and is available from Find Me Gift

Thank you to Jo for sending me these - I love em!

Steak and Kidney Pie with Black Sheep Ale

2011-09-08T10:51:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I felt the need (as you do) to make steak and kidney pie with ale. Now, you either like kidneys or you don't - simple. If you don't like them don't put them in and you'll still have a delicious steak pie.

My addition of Black Sheep Ale in this I think really made it something special. The gravy (even though there was only a relatively small amount) tasted good - really good.

Once again - not the best of pictures but I can't be letting my dinner get cold just to take a picture - blog or no blog sorry! Trying to take a picture of something that's steaming hot is near on impossible.

Lambs kidney's don't take very long to cook at all so having read a recipe by Gordon Ramsay and found he adds them in at the end I did the same - what a marvelous idea!

You can use Ox kidney but as I understand it they take longer to cook so you will need to add them into the casserole along with the meat as you would normally.

Anyway, on with the recipe....

Print Recipe

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F or Gas 4

To serve 2 you will need:

a pie dish - mine is 0.7 litre
and a suitably sized lidded casserole dish that can go on the stove top and into the oven

30g plain flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g braising steak - diced into 2cm pieces
a big knob of unsalted butter
Olive oil - for cooking
1 large onion - chopped
1 good tablespoon tomato puree (paste in the US)
a good dollop of English mustard (Colman's of course)
170ml Black Sheep Ale
120ml beef stock - made from almost half of a Knorr stock cube (don't use OXO it won't taste the same.
1 nice looking bay leaf
a sprig of fresh thyme - leaves only
a good splash of Worcestershire sauce
3 chestnut mushrooms - quartered
4 lambs kidneys - remove all the nasty white bits (best to use scissors) then chopped into pieces

300g ready made puff pastry
1 egg yolk - lightly beaten to glaze

How to do it:
In a shallow bowl or plate mix the flour with a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Roll the steak pieces in the seasoned flour to coat evenly, transferring the pieces to another plate as you go.
Now you can wash up the floury mess before continuing - you didn't make a mess? I did!

Melt a big knob of butter and a small glug of oil in a large, heavy-based casserole dish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Fry the steak pieces over a medium-to-high heat until browned all over.
You can do this in two batches if you have to, transferring them to a plate as you go.
Adda little more oil and butter if you have to until all the meat is nicely browned.

Now add a little more oil to the casserole and and fry the onion until softened and a nice light golden colour.
Add the tomato puree and stir for a couple more minutes then stir in the mustard.
Now pour in the ale and stir for just a minute or so before adding in the stock. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze.

Put the browned meat back into the pan and add the bay leaf, thyme and Worcestershire sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and pop it into your preheated oven for about 2 and a half to 3 hours by which time the beef will be lovely and tender.

**If you are using OX kidney then you might want to add them in now as they take longer to cook than lambs kidneys. Check it every now and then and giving it all a good stir.
Just as it seems nicely done, stir in the mushrooms and kidney and return to the oven for 15 minutes.
Now you can transfer the mixture to a 0.7 litre pie dish. If you do have gravy left then keep it and heat it up to pour over when you're ready to serve.

Turn the heat up on the oven to 200C/400F or Gas 6.
Brush the lip of the pie dish with a little of the beaten egg.
Roll the pastry to about 0.5mm thickness and about 4cm larger all round than the dish.

Place it over the top of the pie dish and scrunching and tucking it around the edge of the dish - nothing fancy needed (I can't do fancy) and it'll taste the same however you make it look around the edge!
Just make sure you press down the edge to seal.
Using the pastry trimmings, you can make leaves if you want to.
Make a small hole in the center of the pie to let the steam escape as it cooks.
Insert a few sprigs of thyme in the hole and pop on your pastry leaves.
Brush the pastry with the beaten egg then bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

Serve with some nice creamy mash and peas or whatever else you fancy.