Christmas Baking!!

I love Christmas and a big part of this is all the lovely Christmas baking. I can't go by a Christmas without making a Yule Log or lots of mince pies.
The Yule Log recipe I use is James Martin's and it is really good. It's a bit tricky to assemble but don't worry too much if it breaks up as you can cover it all in the chocolate coating. Also when making the chocolate coating make sure the melted chocolate has cooled well enough before adding the cream, as otherwise it will all drip off. I also think it tastes better two days later.
The recipe is:
175g dark chocolate
6 medium eggs
175g caster sugar
Filling:
85g dark chocolate
200ml double cream
Topping:
200ml double cream
100g dark chocolate

Melt the chocolate. Then separate the eggs. Add the caster sugar to the egg yolk and beat until light and fluffy. Whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Then once the chocolate has cooled add this to the yolk and sugar combo and put over a heat until blended. Then fold in the egg whites. Pour into a swiss roll tin, which has been lined with greaseproof paper, and cooked on gas mark 4 for 20 minutes until light to touch. Once cooked put a dry towel on the tin and then a cold wet towel on top. Leave to cool.

Then tip it onto greaseproof paper and take off the other paper. Spread the melted chocolate for the filling onto this. Then the whipped double cream. Roll it up using the paper.

Then melt the topping chocolate and when it has cooled add the cream. Stir and then spread on top. A moreish chocolate dessert.

Another recipe I like doing is chocolate and chestnut biscuits.
The recipe is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/28/chestnut-chocolate-cream-biscuits-recipe
I do find them tricky to make. Firstly finding chestnuts but this year there seemed to be an abundance of tinned chestnuts so it wasn't so bad. I used puree chestnuts. Then the rest is quite self explanatory. Although I would say make the biscuits quite thick.

The mince pie recipe I use is from an old cook book.
The ingredients are 200g self raising flour and 100g butter and cooled water. Rub the butter into the flour until like breadcrumbs. Then gradually add cold water and mix with a round end knife until it is like a dough. I think it is better to chill it but the other day I rolled it out straight away. This makes 12 mince pies. I always use Robinson's mince meat from a jar.

I also made these chocolate cupcakes, as a gift. I didn't try the cake but the icing was amazing! Very rich :)

The recipe is here: http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/hummingbird-chocolate-cupcakes.html

A Taste of Christmas

I went to the Taste of Christmas last Sunday at the Excel Centre with Penny. It was a really good day, with lots of samples from Fudges cheese straws to Chat-en-Oeuf and Longue-Dog wine to Alex James' cheese (eurgh) to Propercorn. We were snacking all day. It was pretty busy but not too bad and I got a few presents sorted. Found an amazing energy drink called Pussy Drinks Ltd and also a great yoghurt called The Collective Yoghurt. The passion fruit one is great but even the Christmas pudding one was nice!

We also saw a food demo by Jean Christophe Novelli, who was really good. I can't believe he is in his 50s. His hair is so dark! He is a bit obsessed with getting rid of saturated fats so he told us that when he roasts a goose he steams it first and then the fat comes out in the water. He also makes a vegetable stock by chopping lots of veggies and putting them in a pan with loads of garlic. And then I lost him a little bit but he then takes them out of the water... and does something else with them! Handy.
We also caught a glimpse of the Fabulous Baker Brothers who are lovely!!
It was a good mix of samples and demos, but it wasn't all that Christmasy! I was expecting more Cranberry sauce.

Thumbs up to Pizza Express' new Calzone

I went to Pizza Express in High Wycombe before panto on Monday night. I went for the new Calzone on the menu and it was amazing.
It is served with pesto in a little pot and seasonal salad with red pepers with santos tomatoes, drizzled with a house dressing, which was really fresh. The Calzone Prosciutto Pesto was with Ham Hock, roasted red onion, baby spinach, roasted mushrooms, mozzarella and grana padano with a gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce. It was huge! See picture and was so full of flavour and bursting with filling. It was really satisfying and I was very impressed. I would recommend.

A winter warmer pudding

My pops is also a big Bread and Butter fan so I cooked this recipe from an old pudding book, which I have cooked many times before. Again it is an easy recipe and tastes really good and goes very well with a big dollop of cream.
The recipe:
Eight slices of white bread, crusts removed, and buttered and cut into triangles
100g currants
1 Vanilla pod
500ml milk
50g caster sugar
3 eggs
1tbsp demerara sugar
Layer the bread in a shallow dish and sprinkle currants inbetween the layers. Meanwhile put the vanilla pod in the milk and bring to the boil then leave to infuse for an hour.
Mix together the caster sugar and eggs then pour the milk over the eggs and mix together.
 Pour onto the bread and butter then leave to stand for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with the demerara.
 Next cook for 35-45 minutes at 160 degrees celsius until it is crispy and golden.

The other pudding is a Christmas Pudding, which is a closely guarded family recipe!

An amazingly easy chocolate cake

It was my dad's birthday and he is a bit of a chocolate fan. So I went for a birthday cake of chocolate. This is so easy to make! There is no butter involved and you just throw everything into a bowl and stir.
It cooked well and then I decorated it the next day. I used Bournville dark chocolate which was fine. And then decorated with white and mike chocolate swirls, which worked a treat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/easy_chocolate_cake_31070

The result was moist and chocolatey and very rich so you only need a slither.

From a rather "hairy" breakfast to the delights of Betty's in York

Betty's Rosti

THE delights of York were on offer over the weekend, but it was a bit of a mixed bag from a rather ‘hairy’ breakfast to the delights of Betty’s Tea Room.

With a weekend away with the uni girls we arrived late on the Friday night, so headed out for breakfast on the Saturday. We found a cafe called Rioco in Feasegate. We weren’t too picky as we were pretty hungry but the menu seemed ok.

We ordered breakfast items which seemed reasonable. The drinks arrived pretty promptly but then the food took ages to come. When Natasha’s omelette breakfast arrived , it was complete with a hair which was sent back.

I had a bacon and tomato sandwich which was fine. The bacon wasn’t as crispy as I liked but it was only £2.80. Then the second omelette breakfast arrived, complete with egg shell.
When we complained it was handled really badly and the manager was rude and did not apologise. He just stormed out and blurted out something about he can help an egg shell then back to the kitchen again.

Not a good start and I wouldn’t recommend this place.

For dinner we went to The Punch Bowl in Stonegate, York. Everywhere was really busy and this place was no different but the service was excellent.

I went for the Wild Boar Burger (£9.50), which was topped with chorizo sausage and served with skin on chips. It was delicious- the burger was thick but not too dry and had a distinct but not overly strong flavour. The chorizo added to the flavour perfectly and it was served in a fresh bun with fresh lettuce. The chips were also good.

The others had Scampi and King Prawns (£7.50), Fish and Chips (£10.50), Cottage Pie (£8.95) and Smoked Haddock Risotto (£9.95), which all went down well. Excellent pub with good atmosphere and good food.

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toasted muffins at Betty's

The next day we went to the famous Betty’s Tea Room. We were told Sundays were a better bet in terms of how long we had to wait. We did have to queue but it wasn’t too long in the end, although I had a rather keen middle aged woman stood closely behind me. I had my rucksack on and she tapped me on the shoulder and sneeringly said: “Excuse Madame, You appear to have a lethal weapon on your back.” I looked at her in confusion and then she pointed at my bag.  But besides that the rest of the experience was very pleasant.

The waitress was neatly dressed and polite. We ate downstairs in the wood panelled room. The cup of tea was lovely and I went for one the specials, which was a potato rosti served with bacon and chicken and cranberry. The cranberry’s were large and juicy and the rosti was cooked perfectly. It was a good start to the day. It was about £10.50, which wasn’t too bad. A pot of tea was £3.25, which is a bit absurd, but it is all served very nicely. The others went for more breakfast things like Poached Egg on Toasted Muffins and Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs on Toasted Muffins, which were all equally good. Betty’s is a great place to go and I can see why it is so popular.

Feeling sleepy we all headed home on the train with snacks. In conclusion Betty’s  = good, Rioco= not so much.

From dim sum to sea bass to a lot of prawns

Panang

I had an amazing week last week of eating out and enjoying some really good grub. Although it did start with Pizza Hut it then went onto some good home cooking by my parents from a mixed grill to amazing Roast Pork with either better crackling and a good curry.

I had the week off with Tom and we then went to Chichester for two days.

Dim Sum

On the Tuesday night we went to St Pancras which has a row of restaurants to choose from. We went for the Lemongrass Thai Restaurant (http://www.lemongrasssussex.co.uk/thai/) which was packed, which we thought was a good sign.

I went for Kanom Jeep (Dim Sum) for starters (£5.25) which are steamed dumplings with water chesnuts, minced chicken and prawns. They were a light start to the meal and we really tasty. I then had Gaeng Panang, with beef (£7.95). I love this curry. It is a mild, coconuty curry but is full of flavour. Tom went for a Thai seabass dish, which also looked really good.

Prawny

The next day we went out for lunch in a cute cafe called Tudor Rose restaurant and tea rooms in Arundel. I had a prawn sandwich (my favourite kind). It's a nice cafe, which was again full, served on chintzy china and cute decor.
In the evening we went back to St Pancras and this time to Masala Gate (http://www.masalagate.co.uk/) which is an Indian restaurant. I went for Chicken and Lamb Shaslik with Garlic Naan. The place was full and the service was good. We really enjoyed it. Tom had Dohari, which is chicken Tikka cooked with minced meat, herbs and spices. I would definitely recommend this Indian if ever you are in Chichester.

The following day we were back in High Wycombe.

But on the Friday I went to The White Hart in Beaconsfield with Lara (http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thewhitehartbeaconsfieldoldtown/). I had heard lots about this pub but I had never been. It was so busy and had a really friendly, welcoming atmosphere and nice decor.
There was an offer on for Fish Friday, which was two courses with a glass of wine for £15. It was really good food and nice wine.
I went for the prawn cocktail for starters which was served in a large glass. The prawns were fresh and tasty and a good classic. Lara went for mushroom focaccia, which looked good although she was worried about tinned mushrooms! I don't think they were though.

Sea bass main

For the main course I had whole sea bass, with peppers and tomatoes and herb crusted potatos. It was delicious. The sea bass was perfectly cooked and left me satisfied. Lara went for the Tuna burger, which looked a bit hefty, but still good.

Prawn cocktail

The next day Daiz and Matt came to visit and we went to Noodle Nation in High Wycombe (http://www.noodlenation.com/restaurants/high-wycombe). I love this place. It is cheap, quick and tasty. I went for the Kung Po chicken with egg fried rice, while Matt went for a bit of duck yellow bean and Daiz for Thai Green Curry.

The next day for lunch we tried to go to The Crown in Penn but it was fully booked and when the Royal Standard at Knotty Green failed we went to the Mayflower at Hazlemere. (http://www.themayflower-hazlemere.co.uk/) It was the Sunday roast menu (£7.95). D and I had chicken, which was really good as it was a good hunk of chicken perfectly cooked with crispy, tasty skin, served with parships, creamed leeks, roast potatoes and Yorkshires. Matt had a bit of food envy as he went for pork, but still all good. Although a few more vegetables would have been welcome.

This week I will be eating at home I think! 

Rosti on top of a pie- I prefer mash

BESIDES nearly grating my fingers away this is relatively easy to make. I am more of a Cottage Pie fan myself and this didn’t change my opinion too much. I followed the recipe to the T, although I did make a foolish mistake.

It says to cut the potato and swede into chunks. Make sure they are big chunks as you later have to grate each chunk. It was hard work for me as the swede was all too small!

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1897692/swede-and-potato-rstitopped-shepherds-pie

The rosti is quite unusual for the top of a pie. I think I prefer creamy mash but it makes a change and a change is as good as a rest as they say...

It also has quite a bit of your five a day in so good for hitting that target. I did manage to keep my finger nails in tact too.

Stodgy pasta dish to warm me up...

IT’s basically a lasagne. But it is a bit different and really good stodgy food to warm you up on a cold evening. This dish makes me very happy.

It’s another Good Food magazine recipe. My new housemate has a pile of the magazines and I am enjoying trying some of the recipes.

Here’s a link http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1363652/beef-cannelloni

Before it went in the oven

I more or less followed the recipe, except I halved the meat filling section. I meant to halve the topping but I forgot, but it seems to fine to make the whole of this. I probably used 450ml of milk and 100g of soft cheese. I also used mozzarella on the top instead of parmesan.

I also doubled up the cannelloni tubes so there are two layers and this seemed to work ok. I served it with salad. It’s really filling so a bit portion is not needed. As usual it is a bit tricky and time consuming stuffing the cannelloni tubes but it is worth it. Enjoy!  

Cheap mid week dinner....

THIS is a good recipe but not amazing. It is cheap and easy to make but I wouldn’t rush to make it again. It is another Good Food recipe:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1897691/chicken-and-chorizo-traybake

I used dried thyme instead of rosemary. I didn’t have as much chorizo, which I think you should have as I felt something was lacking. The chicken skin was really crispy though, which was really nice. It doesn’t taste quite so good when warmed up in the microwave though!

The potato was also not very well cooked- oops. So I would cut it quite thin. Otherwise a good mid week meal.

If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake....

NATIONAL Baking Week starts tomorrow  so what are you going to bake? Try this banana bread which I cooked this week from the BBC Good Food magazine. The recipe is by Great British Bake Off judge, Paul Hollywood, who apparently some people think is fit!

It’s really easy to cook and I had all the ingredients in my cupboard. I used marg instead of butter and I didn’t put walnuts in. I also chopped up some chocolate instead of using chocolate chips. Everything else was the same.

The chocolate adds a new twist to banana bread and makes it that little bit more naughty.

Get your pinnies on!

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1916658/banana-walnut-and-chocolate-chip-loaf

A night at the oldest freehouse in Britain!!

I had an amazing weekend of eating, throwing all my healthy eating from last week out of the window! It started with a late-night Chinese on Friday, and then on Saturday I went to meet Jenni for lunch. We met at the Elephant and Castle tube station, and walked down to Borough to Joe's Kitchen in Marshalsea Road. It was packed and has an amazing breakfast menu. I went for the poached egg on English muffins with bacon and hollandaise sauce, which was £9.25. And I had orange juice and lemonade (£2.95), which was really nice.
Jenni went for the poached eggs, bubble and squeak with bacon, with hollandaise sauce. (£7.75).
Then in the evening went to The Royal Standard of England in Knotty Green which is supposed to the oldest freehouse in England. It's an amazing pub and one I would definitely recommend. I went there with Tom and his family. I had the mussels for starters, which were ok but they weren't creamy enought for me, although there was lots of them! I then had fish pie, which was really good followed by Eton Mess. Overall a really good pub meal.
Then to top it all off Tom and I went to O'Neill's the next day and I had the All Day Irish Breakfast (£6.95). It was actually really nice! Better than I expected. The sausages were really tasty as was the white pudding, which I love.
I went to bed with a very full tummy on Sunday night. All good food.

Quick links to some good recipes- pie to paella!

Two links to some good easy recipes. The first one is for a chicken and mushroom pie. The only difference I did was use ready made puff pastry to make it even easier, I even used rubbish wine but it was still nice.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_and_mushroom_pie_01035

The second one is paella. This is a better one than the other paella on this site. I much preferred the taste. Probably the chorizo helped which I bought from Abergavenny Food Festival. I also just used king prawns rather than mixed seafood.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4021/easiest-ever-paella

And finally I had a really nice meal at The Rose and Crown in Porthcawl, Wales. I had pork belly with chips and carrots. Really tasty- perhaps the crackling not quite as crisp as it could be but still really yummy. Nice atmospher too and good menu.

http://www.roseandcrownporthcawl.com/eat-and-drink?iD=127068

Itsa meatball night!

IF you love meatballs this is the recipe for you! I found it flicking through Good Housekeeping. I think it is a Lorraine Pasquele recipe. You wouldn't normally think of meatballs with a sweet and sour sauce but it works really well. I made this for my family so as usual when my dad is around I used double the meat. It was very filling!

For the meatballs:
12 large herby sausages
150g dried breadcrumbs
1 medium egg
2 tbsp veg oil
1 garlic clove (chopped)
1 red pepper (finely sliced)
425g tinned pineapple chunks (i got in syrup)
75g tomato ketchup
75 ml balsamic vinegar
3 squidges of runny honey
Juice of one lime

For the rice:
450g long grain rice
Veg Oil
75g roasted and salted peanuts ( roughly chopped)
Half a bunch of spring onions, finely sliced

1. Get the meat from the sausages, stir in the breadcrumbs and add the egg and seasoning. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Roll the meat into walnut sized balls and add to the pan. Cook for eight minutes until brown. I had to do it in batches as there were so many and I took them out to keep them warm in the oven.
2. Then add the garlic and pepper to the meatball juice. Then add the pineapple juice and I put all the pineapple in. Add the tomato ketchup, vinegar, honey and lime juice. Simmer for eight minutes. I then tried it and it nearly blew my head off so I added more honey. Stir in occasionally.
3. When the rice is cooked, tip into a pan. Add a drizzle of oil and seasoning and nuts.
4. Add the meatballs back to the sayuce and then serve with rice.
5. Sprinkle with the onions and serve!!

Amazingly meaty and delicious. A winning meatball recipe.

The Glastonbury of Food



Mum and I enjoying our puddings

Abergavenny Food Festival is huge now! I went there at the weekend to see what all the fuss was about with my mum and Auntie Sue. It has areas dotted all over the small market town packed with stalls selling loads of delicious food and drinks. There are also talks throughout. It is SO busy and you have to get your elbows out to make your way through the crowds but once you got into it, it was fine.
The first talk we went to was with Jekka McVicar, who is the Queen of herbs! It was really interesting and I found out about how parsley is amazing for digestion and can be cooked like spinach, how sage is good for a sore throat and for memory, fennel good for high cholestoral and mint is also good for digestion. I should have taken a note book as there was so much to learn.


My goodies



The second talk was with Pierre Koffman, who introduced pig trotters to Chelsea in the 70s. He is French and is a top chef. He was interviewed by Great British Menu judge, Matthew Fort. They were both interesting to listen to and spoke about how far British cuisine has come.

And to the food!!! I had Venison Chilli and Nachos and Cheese for lunch, which was amazing. The chilli was quite delicate and not too rich. Later for pudding I had a Banana and Butterscotch crepe, which was good but not amazing. Finished off with Satay Chicken!

There is so much choice and it was hard not to get too excited and buy everything. Instead I bought Borage Honey, which is deliciously sweet and light, Bath Pig Chorizo (amazing), Brownies, some fish pies, mixed olives and Raspberry Cassis, which is so tasty but a bit pricey.

I love Abergavenny Food Festival and hope to go again next year.

Aubergine and Coconut Curry....

I was meant to make this for Kat but never did as my head was too fuzzy. So as I had the ingredients I gave it a go. It is a good curry- I love aubergine so it's good for me. It is not very spicy but that probably depends on the amount of chilli you use.
The ingredients are:
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
A walnut sized piece of ginger
1 red chilli (the recipe says two green)
Coriander powder (the recipe says half a bunch of fresh coriander)
Groundnut oil
2 Aubergines (The recipe says one!)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp groun coriander!
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 x 165ml coconut milk

Whizz the first four ingredients in a mixer, then add the coriander (fresh or spices). Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the aubergine until golden and softening. Take it out of the pan.

Add the puree to the pan and cook for five minutes. Add the dried spices and cook for two minutes. ANd then add the lime and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Return the aubergine and cook for 10 minutes. Then serve with rice. Yum!

Confit of duck and amazing goose fat chips!

I went to a cookery class for work back in February with Miles Nixon, the head chef at The Aubergine at the Compleat Angler in Marlow. It was a great day and it is only until now that I decided to have a go and making something from it.
I made the Duck Leg Confit for Tom and I. Basically get two duck legs. Cut about an inch from the knuckle beacyse the meat will put together as it cooks. I placed them in a stockpot and then put a small tub of goose fat over it. Put pepper and salt over it and some dried thyme and two garlic bulbs, then wrap foil over the top so it is all snug. Then cook for FIVE hours in the oven at 110c. When it is cooked the duck will easily come away from the bone. Put it in the fridge once cooked. Then when it come to serving heat some of the fat in a frying pan and fry on either side until crispy. The result is tender duck with crispy skin. The way duck should be!
Then I tried my own chips. I only had baked potatoes so I cut them into wedges and then boiled them for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile I put some of the goose fat in a tin and then put it in the oven. Once it was hot I put the potato in and seasoned. I cooked them for about 50 minutes. They were so good!
I served these with the duck and green beans. Overall a rich dinner but very good. One for Henry VIII.

These really are bloomin' brilliant brownies

I love this recipe for Brownies, which can be so tricky. It's a Jamie Oliver recipe and makes gooey moist brownies, which last for ages! Over a week!

The recipe is here:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/bloomin-brilliant-brownies

I pretty much followed the recipe except I used a bigger tin. I didn't put in the cherries or nuts, and it didn't miss out!

I also used Lidl dark chocolate, and not Fairtrade! And it worked.

Also when you cook them don't overcook! It is all too tempting with brownies. Mine were firm to touch but if I pushed it would easily have cracked, but that is ok.

Make these brownies NOW.

Bank Holiday eating

My dear pal Kat came to High Wycs to visit over the Bank Holiday and did we fill our bellies! We went for a Cream Tea in the village of West Wycombe at the Community Library. They do it every Sunday during the summer and it was AMAZING. For the pricely sum of £7 we got quiche, a round of sandwiches (prawn and chicken and stuffing for me and cheese, prawn and egg for Kat), a walnut and carrot cake for me and coffee cake for Kat, and if this wasn't enough a scone with jam and clotted cream. It was great- so full it hurt.
I also cooked some brownies but will do a separate entry for those.

Mmmmm pie

The next day we both fancied pie (we had stinking hangovers) and we went to the Chequers Inn in Great Missenden. I had a great steak and ale pie, which I couldn't quite finish, with good home made chips and nice veggies. Kat had a brie, cranberry and maybe mushroom combination in pastry. These both hit the spot. It is a nice friendly pub and reasonably priced and one I would recommend.

A taste of south America.

Peru and Japanese cooking?

This is another Olive recipe, which I cooked for my family when I was home. I got a bit flustered at the end as there was quite a lot to do but it was worth the effort. It is a South American themed meal of Chilli Cumin lamb skewers, Biro Biro rice and sweet potato fries.

For the lamb skewers, which has a Japanese influence with Mirin and rice vinegar, as apparently there is a large Japanese population in Brazil and Peru.

600g lamb neck fillet, cut into chunks- although dad got more than this because he loves meat and it still wasn’t enough.

Marinade

3 tsp cumin seeds

1 red chilli

250ml olive oil

4 cloves garlic

3 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp rice vinegar (both of these are found in the world food section)

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp salt

Then toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan then add the chilli, garlic and half the olive oil. Heat gently for 5 minutes. It says to tip into a blender, but I didn’t have one so I just then mixed in the other marinade ingredients. I marinated the lamb all day.

Then in the evening I put it onto skewers and cooked under a hot grill for about 15 minutes until brown.  

The prep of the onions!

Then onto the biro biro rice:

400g basmati rice

4 tbsp olive oil

1 diced red onion

4 chopped spring onions

Shallots:

Oil for deep frying

2 small shallots

50g plain flour

200ml milk

Cut the shallots in half and then slice. Dip them in the flour, then the milk, and flour again- it’s a bit messy. Then fry in deep oil until browned.

Cook the rice. Then heat the oil and soften the red onion before adding the rice, spring onions and dried parsley. Check seasoning then put in a bowl and put the shallots on top.

Then for the sweet potato fries all you need is two large sweet potatoes, oil and paprika and sea salt.

Cut the sweet potatoes into thin fries and put in iced water for 15 minutes. Put the oven to 180C, fan 160C/ gas 4.

The finished product on super retro plates

Put the sweet potato chips on a baking tray and cover in oil. I cooked them for about an hour but this was too long. I think 45 minutes would be ok. Once cooked sprinkle with sea salt and paprika and serve with the rice and lamb skewers.

The best fish and chips in the world?

During a walk with Tom we went to The Frog at Skirmett in Bucks. I had heard they served the best fish and chips in the world. Quite a hefty statement, I hear you say, but I had to give them a go. And they are pretty special. The batter is light and crisp and not greasy, as it can so often be. The fish flaked off and was so tasty. The chips were good and well salted. It was served with half a lemon which seemed a bit over generous but welcomed. And the home made tartare sauce was a delight. For £12.50 these fish and chips were pretty special and some of the best I have ever had. Quite possibly the best, although I have to admit I cannot remember every portion I have ever had of this Great British treat.

Good veggie burger recipe

Sweet potato and Quinoa (or cous cous when the supermarket sells out) burgers

Another Olive recipe! You just can’t go wrong with this. And a vegetarian one too. Ooo eer.

I cooked them for Penny and I  and they are SO easy to make. You will need:

50g quinoa if you have any but I used cous cous

2 large sweet potatoes

1 tsp ground cumin

A pinch of chilli flakes

Parsley (I used dried parsley- about half a tbsp)

2 finely chopped spring onions

1 egg yolk

Plain flour for dusting

Oil for frying

4 rolls

Avocado

Soured cream

Chilli sauce

Cook the cous cous according to the packet. Then drain and cool and pat dry with kitchen towel. Cook the sweet potatoes in the microwave until tender and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Then add the cous cous, spices, spring onions, parsley, and egg yolk and make four patties, so the recipe says but I made six!

Then cool in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Heat some oil in a pan. I used olive. Dust each burger with flour and cook for about 5 minutes each side until crispy!

Put in the rolls with avocado slices, soured cream and chilli sauce. I served with oven chips and Penny’s lovingly prepared salad.

These are good, tasty burgers. Also! As an alternative you can roll the mixture into small balls and serve in pitas for a falafel-type snack. Yum.

Good roast at the Hit Or Miss

After Penny and I got very lost in the rain and having to drive rather than walk we went to the Hit Or Miss in Penn Street. I had seen good reviews for this place and they were right. It was Sunday lunch and it was really busy, which is always a positive! There was a limited choice as it was Sunday- either turkey, salmon, beef or lamb and a vegetarian option. One course is £11.95. We both went for the beef, which was excellent. It was my kind of beef- with lovely fat on it full of flavour. There was a good selection of vegetables from cauliflower, carrots, parsnips to roast potatoes and some vegetable type sweet potato thing which we didn't even know what it was! Yorkshire pudding was not up to my mum's standard but you can't have it all. A thoroughly good roast!

Baba Ganoush- exploring Moroccan food

HAVING always wanted to try Baba Ganoush my dream came true (!) when I went to Ayoush in Bourne End. This Moroccan restaurant has two other restaurants in London and Eton and is worth a visit.
Lara and I had a Travelzoo voucher so it was £29 for a mezze and a cocktail each, which normally comes to about £60.
The cocktail was amazing. We both had Arabesque, which is Absolut citron vodka, creme de fraise, champagne and strawberries. It was deliciously sweet and far too easy too drink. It is normally £10 which seems a bit overpriced though!

Then onto the food. It is served on two large platters with naan bread. I was worried it wouldn't be enough to satisfy my hunger but it certainly was.
So to the Baba Ganoush. it is roughly chopped grilled aubergine mixed with tahina, garlic,
fresh lemon juice and olive oil. If you like aubergine you will love this and is very moreish with the bread as was the home made hummus.
We also had vine leaves, which were stuffed with rice, lemon juice and olive oil. They were ok but I am not a massive fan as I am not keen on the slimey texture. There was also something called Labna which is tangy soft cheese made from yoghurt with finely chopped cucumber, fresh mint and olive oil. I am not a massive cheese fan but this sauce did not taste cheesy.

There was also fatoush which is a

Lebanese speciality - crispy salad and toasted pieces of bread,

lettuce, radish, mint, tomatoes, spring onion in sommak herb, olive oiland lemon dressing. This was really fresh and went well with some of the heavier items as did the

Foul Akhdar which are green broad beans in tomato sauce, garlic, cumin, coriander and olive oil.

On the hot board there was good ol' Falafel, which is always a winner, Lamb Samboussek, which is like a samosa and really tasty, chicken wings which weren't that great- the meat tasted a bit cheap!

The mini mergueze was amazing- this is grilled North African spicy sausage and tasted like kofta.

There were two cheese items, which I was not a massive fan of as I don't like cheese A LOT. The Cheese Samboussek, were pastry parcels filled with feta and were edible but the Cheese Balls were not good! They were made from goats cheese and were so strong. I left that.

But on the whole the food was great and I love have a good selection so this really suited me. The service was also excellent so I would definitely recommend this chain- just avoid the cheese balls.

A good summery cake for all

I FORGOT to take a photo of this cake when I finished it but I think the photo I took shows the proof is in the pudding! I made it for my niece's Christening and seemed to go down well.
It is another Olive recipe. That magazine is a winner and I would recommend it for any food lovers.
This time I made a Raspberry and Apricot Ripple cake. It's quite easy to make and I had Tom's help too.

The recipe is:
175g butter
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
225g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp creme fraiche
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g raspberries
Topping:
500ml whipping cream
200g mascarpone
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 jar apricot jam

The oven goes to 180c/ fan 160C/ gas 4.
I butter and lined a 23cm springform cake tin.
Then you beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs in one at a time, and when I do this I always add a tbsp of flour. Then fold in the rest of the flour. Add the baking powder and when it is all mixed in beat in the creme fraiche and vanilla. Fold in the raspberries. I tried not to break the raspberries up too much.
Spoon into the tin and then level. Bake for 50-60minutes. I took it out after 50 minutes and afterwards I wasn't sure if the very middle was cooked but it seemed ok even if it did collapse a bit- I just filled it in with the topping!
Cool in the tin for five then tip out to cool.
For the topping whisk the cream with the mascarpone. Add the icing sugar and then add the apricot jam and swirl it in. I didn't use the whole jar as it was quite apricoty!
The dollop it on the top and it makes a very summery morish cake. Give it a go.

Anyone for tea? And a rather large scone

AS it was Lara’s birthday we went for a very nice Afternoon Tea at the Red Lion in Henley. It was a Groupon offer for £29, so I was a bit worried they would skimp but it was lovely.

The hotel is on the banks of the River Thames in Henley. It is a lovely old hotel with tasteful decor, nice old beams and comfty chairs.

It was really quiet when we arrived and initially had to endure the stares of an old couple who didn’t have any conversation. But once they left it was thoroughly pleasant.

Starting with a glass of very nice bubbly, we then tucked into smoked salmon, tomato and ham sandwiches.

Next was a strawberry jam tart with lots of cream and a shortcrust pastry base. The lemon sponge cake was very nice, as was the fruit cake.

The fruit scones were thick, maybe a little too doughy, but otherwise very good. And with lashing of cream and jam it was incredibly tasty.

It did tip me over the edge and I had to lie in the sun to relax!

This is a good Groupon and I would recommend this hotel.

Phew! Holiday eating out from Porthcawl to the New Forest

I was off work last week and went to Porthcawl with my parents and enjoyed some very good meals! On the Tuesday we went to The Jolly Sailor in Newton, Porthcawl. We sat in the bar area, which was friendly and homely. The landlord told us their emphasis was serving home cook food and told us there may be a slight delay as it is all cooked onsite.

Beef and chorizo pie



Waffle goodness



Both Dad and I went for the chorizo and beef pie, which are provided from a deli in Cardiff. It was served with chips and green beans. The pie was delicious with a peppery crust and plenty of meat in the filling. The chips were crunchy and cooked well and you could tell the green beans were fresh. All very good and very filling! So filling I could only have a bite of mum’s pudding of waffles with toffee sauce and icecream, which was also really nice.

Chicken and ham pie

The next day we went to a National Trust property called Dinefwr House and Castle. I find National Trust restaurants always do good food and this did not disappoint! I had another pie (fatty boom boom) and went for the chicken and ham pie served with new potatoes, carrots and peas. My parents had the lamb version. The peas and carrots tasted like they had just come from the garden as they were so fresh and flavoursome and the pie, as the picture shows, was really thick and tasty.

Calamari

Then the following day I was treated to dinner out again when we went to The Pelican in Her Piety at Ogmore-By-Sea. I would definitely recommend this pub. It had friendly staff, warm decor and a good menu. There is a tapas menu and then they update the specials board regularly of which there are about 15 options.

Cajun chicken

I had calamari for starters, with a garlic dip. It was huge portion and was from the tapas menu. It was a bit pricey (£7.95) for a starter but was very tasty. The squid was a bit tough, but I don’t actually mind this too much although some people won’t like it. Then for the main course I had a huge portion of Cajun chicken marinated in yoghurt and Cajun spices, with thick chips, salad and onion rings. It was such a big portion I really struggled but was really good. Mum had hake, which she loved and dad enjoyed his lamb burger. For starters they had king prawns and sardines- all very good. This is a great pub and the house red is also very nice. I had to go home for a lie down.

Venison burger

Not content with eating out three times in one week Tom and I ate out on the Saturday when we were camping in the New Forest. We stayed at the Ashurst campsite, which has the Forest Inn an easy stroll away. I was quite controlled for once and only had a main course. I went for the venison burger, with homemade chips. Venison makes a good burger. It has a strong flavour but is not overbearing. Tom went for good ol’ fish and chips- also good! The comfortable surroundings made a welcome break from the rain and this pub has a good range of drinks.

Phew! What a week of eating out. Also discovered strawberry and cream mini cupcakes by The Fabulous Bakin’ Boys. These are lush! And easy to pop in your mouth. Nom nom nom. Available from all good supermarkets J

The best ever paella?

I haven’t cooked paella before so it’s hard to say. However it was very good and healthy. There’s no chorizo- just prawns and chicken. It’s another Olive recipe. How much do I love that magazine?

It says to use chicken thigh fillets, which are probably really tasty, but I used breast. I also didn’t put a green pepper in. And I used that Marco Pierre White stock which he advertised, as I thought I better get a bit more than a stock cube. Oh and I used mange tout instead of runner beans but these worked really well.

So the recipe is (which serves two very generously!), 1 clove garlic chopped, 2 chicken breasts, salt, 1 red pepper sliced, 100g mange tout, 2 large tomatoes, 200g paella rice, saffron (a few strands), 1 tsp paprika, 500ml fish stock, 125g king prawns.



Just added the rice



Put olive oil in a shallow pan (I don’t have a paella pan) and fry the garlic and chicken for a minute, then add salt, pepper and mange tout, cooking gently. 

It’s a bit weird as you have to grate the tomatoes. So you cut them in half, scoop out the seeds then grate them onto a chopping board until you only have the skin left in your hand. Odd! Add the tomatoes and cooked until it looks thick and concentrated.

Then add the rice, saffron and paprika. I was a bit excited about buying the saffron. It said to toast the saffron by wrapping it in foil and holding it under an open flame for under a minute. I ended up with two black threads of saffron so I decided to not toast it! Stir well and cooked for two minutes then add the fish stock. Bring the mixture to the boil and make sure you don’t stir the rice- just shake the pan.

Add the prawns and simmer for five minutes until the rice forms a crust on the pan. Take off the heat and cover with foil.

The finshed paella in shadow

It was really tasty. It had a delicate flavour and was not overpowering. I thought the mange tout was good with it and the chicken was well cooked. Have a Spanish themed evening and crack open the sangria!

Who doesn't love a bit of cannelloni? Or a lot...

THIS is another Olive recipe and it works a treat- cannelloni with spicy sausage and spinach. Tom and I cooked it together and it is really easy to make.

You need:

The finished product

Six herby sausages, with the skin removed

1 tsp fennel seeds

A pinch of chilli flakes

300g chopped spinach

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

Plum tomatoes, 2 x 400g tins

1 tsp sugar

250g cannelloni tubes

250g half-fat crème fraiche

50g cheddar cheese

50s parmesan

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and then pinch off the sausage into the pan and cook until browned and just cooked through. Add fennel, chilli and salt and pepper and cook for a minute. The fennel gives a really nice flavour to the sausage and it’s not too overpowering. Add the spinach and cook until it’s wilted and take off the heat.

Meanwhile in another pan, Tom cooked the garlic for a few minutes, added the tomatoes and the sugar and simmered for about 15minutes. Stir a third of the sauce into the sausages. Heat the oven to 190c/fan 170c and gas 5.

Then here comes the tricky bit- stuff the cannelloni tubes with the steaming hot sausage goodness! Use a teaspoon to make it easier.

Lay them in a dish then pour over the crème fraiche which has the cheddar cheese mixed in. Sprinkle with parmesan and cook for about 30 minutes.

The result: a bubbling feast of sausage goodness. Makes me hungry thinking about it.

Plated up