Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Christmas Starter idea

Goats cheese and spiced pear salad

I tasted this in a restaurant one night and thought ‘I have to make this’. It was first time I had tasted goat’s cheese… yum!! The dressing is as close as I could remember and after a few attempts this one worked best. I have put in recipe to use spices of your choice, I use whatever jumps out at me when I open the cupboard. You can simply use All Spice!

Serves 4:

Packet of filo pastry

2 tins of quartered pears

300g Goat's cheese

fresh rocket

Pine nuts

Sun dried tomatoes

All spice

Dressing:

50ml balsamic vinegar

Splash of soy sauce

Splash of oyster sauce

Tablespoon of honey

Sea salt & black pepper

Glass of red wine

Glug of olive oil

Method

Open and drain the pears, cut the quarters into half again and sprinkle well with spices. Place on an oiled baking tray and bung into a preheated oven of 180ºc. They will take 30 mins or so to soften up and coloured.

Take out the Filo Pastry and follow the instructions on the packet. Season the Goat's cheese with black pepper. You are looking to make parcels with a goat’s cheese filling. However you wish to parcel them up is up to you. Place in oven for 15 mins or until they are nice and golden and crispy.

In the meantime making the dressing couldn’t be easier. Pour the glass of wine into a pan and boil until it has reduced by at least half, take of the heat. In a clean empty jam jar pour the rest of the ingredients in, season well and with the lid tightly on give a good shake. Add in the cooled, reduced wine and shake again. It will be ready to spoon over. Toast the pine nuts.

To plate up, place a handful of washed rocket leaves on centre of plate with the goat’s cheese parcel on top. Place the spiced pears around in clock number fashion with the sun dried tomatoes. Sprinkle over with toasted pine nuts and spoon over some dressing.

Sunday, 4 December 2011

Smells Like Christmas

Mulled Wine

There is nothing like the smell of mulled wine about the house to really get me into a Christmas mood. It just fills the house with every scent that sums up this time of year. When the weather outside is frightful then a glass of this will warm the cockles of your heart. There is no point in boiling the life out of all your wine and boiling off the alcohol so that's why its best to make a syrup at the start then add the rest of the wine to it and just keep warm.

3-4 clementines

1 lemon

1 lime

1 cinnamon stick

1 nutmeg

2 star anise
3 cardamom pods

3 bay leaves

6 cloves

1teaspoon of vanilla essence

275g caster sugar

2 bottles of good red wine

Method

With a speedy peeler, peel large sections off the clementines, lemon and lime.

Add these to a large pot and squeeze out the juice of the clementines, lemon and lime with your hand. Add the sugar and a glass of red wine and turn up the heat. To this add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods, bay leaves, 1 star anise and grate in the nutmeg.

Stir in well and bring to the boil and rapid boil for about 5 mins or until thickened then turn the heat down to half and add in the rest of the wine along with the 2nd star anise.

When heated keep it warm and just ladle out into glasses to serve. (If topping up with more wine just add more sugar to taste)

Mulled Wine

And there we have it, a taste an smell of Christmas with this wonderful mulled wine

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Breakfast Pizza

Now you may be thinking, ‘what is healthy about a pizza for breakfast?’, let me explain… Pizza dough is bread, the same mix will make a loaf of plain white bread, it is just rolled out and baked different. For most people it is normal to have grilled or baked sausage, bacon, pudding, mushrooms with eggs for breakfast, along with bread, a tomato based sauce and a little cheese… well here it is combined in all its glory. I see this as a treat breakfast or a brunch, I normally make it when I have visitors, just so they have something they are not used to seeing and by God it never fails.

I have used a boiled egg, sliced, but there is nothing stopping you from frying a regular egg then cutting it up and putting over as a topping or crack a few quails eggs over the top.

Makes up to 6 pizzas:

500g strong flour

300ml skimmed milk

1 sachet of baker’s yeast

Pinch of salt

Per pizza:

2-3 sausages

2-3 rashers

1-2 boiled eggs

4-5 mushrooms

4-5 slices of black pudding

Pasta sauce

Cheddar cheese

Method

Heat milk gently in a saucepan, add the yeast and stir until dissolved.

Sift flour and salt into mixing bowl. Make a well in middle and add the milk with dissolved yeast.

Mix together using a spoon, it should be quite sticky. Empty out onto a lightly floured work surface, kneed it for 10 mins and bop back into bowl and cover with Clingfilm for 20 mins+.

Punch out the air, it can be used right away or wrap in Clingfilm and keep in fridge.

When using pull off a ball smaller than a tennis ball and roll it out as thinly as possible, don’t worry about perfect circles.

Part-grill the sausages, rashers and black pudding and cut up into bite sized pieces, slice the mushrooms.

Pop the base onto an oiled pizza tray and lightly spoon on some pasta sauce, grate a small amount of cheese of your choice over the top (I just use low fat cheddar), add the toppings.

15-20 mins in a HOT oven will make a lovely crispy breakfast pizza.

Tuile Baskets

Tuile Baskets

These little baskets not only look great but taste so good! They dont have to be made into baskets if you dont want the hassle they can be kept as wee biscuits instead.

Makes 20 biscuits or ten baskets:

125g of flaked almonds

125g of caster sugar

2 drops of vanilla extract

25g melted butter

2 egg whites

20g of plain flour

Method

In a mixing bowl combine the almonds, sugar, vanilla extract and egg whites.
Pour in the melted butter and stir well. Cover with cling-film and place in the fridge overnight.
The next day sift in the flour and stir until well incorporated.
On a non-stick baking tray spoon out small amounts and flatten out to a thin layer with the back of a spoon.
Bung into a preheated oven at 150 degrees for about 18-20 mins, they should be golden all over.
At this point they can be left as biscuits, however if you want baskets shape them in little bowls or ramekins while they are still warm.
When cooled fill with freshly whipped cream and top with berries of your choice.

Beer Battered Fish and Chips

Homemade battered fish n’ chips

Homemade fish n’ chips can sound and feel daunting until you actually try it out. I can promise that after you see how easy and tasty it is you’ll be hooked (excuse the pun). Delicious served with mushy minted peas.

Serves 4:

4 medium fillets of white fish (cod, haddock, whiting etc)

Sea salt & black pepper

1 litre of good vegetable oil

1kg scrubbed potatoes skins left on

8oZ of plain flour and some for coating

3 heaped tablespoons of baking soda

284ml of a good beer/ larger

Method

1. Making sure the fillets are free of bones cut them into 2-inch wide strips. Season well and set aside. Preheat oven to 150ºc.

2. Thinly chip the potatoes, skins and all.

3. To make the batter, in a mixing bowl sift in the flour, add a pinch of salt and baking soda. Pour in the beer/larger and whisk together looking for a double cream consistency. Let it foam up or rise.

Half fill a wok with good quality vegetable oil and put it on a medium-high heat (it shouldn’t get too hot too quick).

Pop a chip into the oil, if it rises to the oil is ready. Remove the chip. Dip a piece of fish into a shallow bowl of flour, coating it right round then straight into the batter, again coating it fully. Carefully lower it into the hot oil. You could maybe have 2 or 3 pieces in at the one time. Give them a few mins ant turn them over in the oil using kitchen tongs. Once golden on both sides remove carefully (again) onto a baking tray and pop into the oven. (This will both finish the cooking off and dry off some of the oil making it dry and fluffy not oily and soggy).

Repeat for remainder of fish. Once fish are all into the oven carefully put chips into the fish oil. When golden remove using a large slotted spoon.

Serve with wedges of lemon, salt and plenty of vinegar.

Red Cabbage

Braised red cabbage and bramley apple in cider vinegar

This is a gorgeous accompaniment to any pork dish. It is sweet but has a sharpness that really works. Even my dogs love it!!

TIP: Wear gloves while shredding the cabbage, as the dye can be hard so scrub off your fingers.

Serves 4:

1 small red cabbage

1bramley apple

150g butter

150g light brown sugar

150ml cider vinegar

Pinch of ground white cloves

1 cinnamon stick

Sea salt & black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºc

Cut cabbage into quarters, core and finely shred. Peel and core the bramley apple and finely slice it. Set aside.

In an ovenproof saucepan add the butter, vinegar and sugar and dissolve the sugar over a medium heat. Add in the cinnamon and cloves and season with salt and pepper.

Toss in the cabbage and apple coating it all. Place lid on saucepan or wet crumpled greaseproof paper and bung into oven.

Bake for about an hour stirring occasionally until tender and the apple has all but dissolved. Lift off the lid or paper and bake for a further 10-15 mins so the remaining liquid has reduced to a syrup.

3 fine chicks!

Mother hen has been very busy showing the chicks the ropes, how to look for food and scratch around the earth for a good spot for a dust bath. it has been very enjoyable viewing.