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.