Food Review - Whittards Hot Chocolates

The nights are drawing in, the temperatures are dropping and the leaves are turning colour. We wake in the morning to find our cars wet with condensation. Autumn is well on the way and winter won't be far behind.

Long walks with the dog; returning home to the warmth of the family and a centrally heated house.  Remove those outdoor clothes and shoes, slide your feet in your slippers and pop on the kettle. Grab yourself a mug, a spoon, some milk and a tub of a Whittards Luxury Hot Chocolate. Add a few marshmallows to the top of your drink, curl up on the sofa, cuddle your mug to warm your hands up and enjoy!

For that added luxury treat, why not heat up your milk and mix that with the hot chocolate powder in place of boiling water.

In recognition of Chocolate Week, Whittards recently sent me some tubs of their Hot Chocolates in variations of Luxury White, Mint and Chilli flavours along with a tub of mini marshmallows to sprinkle on the top.  My favourite is the Mint, but for an added warmth the Chilli is certainly the way to go. My daughter's favourite is by far the white chocolate variation. 

I was sent the tubs of Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows free of charge from Whittards. I was under no obligation to write a blog post as part of receiving these.

Chicken a la King

An old recipe I copied down from a magazine in the late 1980's when I first got married was for the very 'exotic' Chicken a la King.  We thought we were so sophisticated when we sat down to our meal in our first house and it's something we've enjoyed eating every so often since then.  My apologies for not being able to give credit to the original recipe writer, but it's been with me for over 25 years on a scrappy piece of paper.  I've changed it slightly as I really don't like mushrooms, so they're no longer in my own version of this recipe, but please feel free to 'add the fungus' if you so wish!

4 Chicken breasts, skinned
40g Butter
10ml Oil
1 Onion, diced
100g Mushroom, sliced (not on my plate!)
2tbs Cornflour
60ml cold Water
20ml Tomato purée
Black Pepper to taste
250ml Chicken stock
1tsp dried Basil
2 Tomatoes, skinned & sliced
150ml Single cream
1/2 Green Pepper, sliced
1/2 Red Pepper, sliced

1. Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Heat the butter & oil in a frying pan.
3. Fry the chicken on both sides until golden.
4. Remove the chicken breasts to a casserole dish and set to one side.
5. Fry the onions and mushrooms (if using) until softened, but not coloured.
6. Mix the cornflour and water together until smooth.
7. To the pan, add the tomato purée, black pepper, stock and cornflour/water and bring to the boil, continuously stirring until thickened, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
8. Add the basil, sliced tomatoes, cream and sliced peppers and stir through.
9. Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts and cover with the lid.

10. Place your casserole dish in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Serve with roasted potato and sweet potato wedges with broccoli and cauliflower.

I'm entering this 'old favourite' in to the Community Cooks Competition with the Central Co-Op.

I received a gift voucher from the Central Co-Op with which to purchase ingredients for my competition entry. 

Tomato Sauce Pizza Tipping

It's incredibly easy to make your own tomato sauce pizza topping and then, using any leftover, stir it into your pasta or spruce it up with mince to made a base for your bolognese sauce to go with your spaghetti.  This is how easy it is:

45ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1.25ml (¼tsp) Chilli flakes
2 x400g tins of chopped Tomatoes
2.5ml (½tsp) Sugar
Splash red wine (if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it!)
Basil stalks, chopped

1. In a large saucepan, heat your oil and cook your onions for 10 minutes until transparent and soft.
2. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes until cooked, but not brown.
3. Add the chilli flakes, chopped tomatoes, sugar and wine.
4. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer then taste and season as required.
5. Add the basil stalks.
6. Cover and simmer for 1 hour until thick.
7. Blitz until smooth.

*Use to top your pizza dough, or transfer into a clean Kilner jar and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
*To make your bolognese sauce, brown mince, and onion and garlic then stir through the sauce and heat until piping hot.

Yorkshire Pudding the Rosie Way

For as long as I remember, mum always lovingly made us a Sunday roast dinner with home made Yorkshire puddings.  Though I always make mine by eye and estimate my quantities, just the way mum taught me all those years ago, in order to publish a recipe for you, I've had to translate my 'eye' into measurable quantities, so here goes!

30ml Oil (vegetable, rapeseed or olive oil - you choose your favourite)
125g Plain flour
2 Eggs
150ml Milk
Pinch salt
½ medium Onion, chopped

1. Heat your oven to 240˚C.
2. Pour your oil into a 25cm/10" square Pyrex dish and put it into your oven to heat up.
3. In a bowl, add the flour, eggs, milk and salt.
4. Beat or whisk until smooth and lump free.  The consistency you're looking for is that of single cream.
5. Stir in your chopped onion and set to one side to rest.
6. When the surface of your oil is shimmering, but not smoking, reduce the oven temperature to 220˚C and give your batter a quick stir.
7. Quickly remove the dish from the oven, but keep the oven door open for as short a time as possible.  It's ESSENTIAL to keep as much heat into the oven as is possible.
8. Pour the batter into the dish. It should sizzle as it hits the hot oil.
9. Swirl the batter around and up all sides of the dish. This will help it start to rise up the dish as it cooks.
10.  Quickly open the oven and place your dish straight back in, closing the door before the heat escapes, then DO NOT open the door until it's cooked.
11. Stand back and watch your Yorkshire Pudding cook. You can see when it's cooked as it'll be risen into golden crowns and be an amazing golden brown colour.

* I always cook my Yorkshire Pudding in a Pyrex dish as you can guarantee that it'll get wonderfully hot ready for your batter to go straight in and then it also won't stick.
* Have your oven door open for the shortest time possible.  Don't open it, take out your dish and leave it open whilst you pour your batter into it and then return it to the oven.  It's essential that you keep that oven HOT so it starts to cook the instant that it goes in.
* Reserve a couple of tablespoons of your Yorkshire Pudding batter to transform your meat juices into the most incredible tasting gravy by following yesterday's recipe.

Meat Juices Gravy

When you've gone to all the effort and cost of making a roast dinner with a light and crispy Yorkshire Pudding, using whatever is your favourite meat, what better way of using those unctuous juices than in a proper gravy, the way my mum taught me to make it.

Meat Juices from your roast (approx. 250ml)
1 stock cube/Knorr stock pot
45ml (3tbs) Yorkshire pudding mix
30ml (2tbs) Bisto gravy powder
200ml Cold Water
2 or 3 splashes of Tabasco sauce

1. In a saucepan, place your meat juices and stock cube/stock pot.
2. Bring to the boil until your stock cube/stock pot is fully dissolved.
3. Mix the Yorkshire pudding batter mix and your Bisto gravy powder into a paste then add the cold water and mix thoroughly.

4. Pour this into your meat juices and bring to the boil, stirring continuously to prevent lumps forming, until thickened.
5. Add additional boiling water, if the gravy is too thick.
6. Turn the heat down to a simmer and taste.

7. Add a couple of splashes of Tabasco and taste again.  Add an additional splash of Tabasco, one at a time, until you've got the most amazing flavour that you can imagine.
8. Serve poured generously over your Sunday roast!

*It's essential that you stir your gravy continuously when you pour in the Bisto thickened batter mix, or lumps will form as it cooks unevenly. If you don't and the worst does happen, then whisk briskly until they've been broken up. Lumpy gravy is not appetising in the slightest!!!

Sunday Dinner

Traditionally when we grew up, mum always made a proper Sunday Roastof a joint of meat, vegetables, roast and/or mashed potatoes with a light and crispy Yorkshire pudding and home made gravy.

Since I married many, many years ago and then with a growing up family of our own to feed, it's our favourite meal of the week.  Family time to enjoy amazing food, lovingly prepared, to be the final meal of the weekend before the working and school week commences the following day.

I've broken my Sunday roast dinner down for you into three parts:

The pork and sage stuffed chicken.

The gravy.

The Yorkshire pudding.

Just add your vegetables, sit down around the table with family, friends and loved ones and enjoy!

Rosie

x

Pork and Sage Stuffed Chicken

I don't generally buy stuffing mix as it's really easy to make yourself. The only time that I do use it is as a crumb coating for chicken portions, but that's for another day. Today is all about getting stuffed!

1 medium Onion, finely chopped
225g Pork stuffing meat
4tbs dried Breadcrumbs
1tbs dried Sage
2tbs boiling water
1 whole chicken

1. Oven to 190˚C/170C ˚fan.
2. In a medium sized bowl, add all of the above ingredients and thoroughly mix together with your hand (or for those of a squeamish nature, you can use a spatula).
3. Use the mixture to stuff your chicken cavity.
4. Weigh your stuffed chicken and cook for 25 minutes per 500g plus an additional 25 minutes.
5. To check if your chicken is cooked through, pierce the thickest part (generally where the leg joins the body.  If the juices run clear, then your chicken is cooked.  If there is still some colour to the juices, cook for another 25 minutes and check again.
6. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
7. Serve with gravy made from the meat juices.

*The pork stuffing meat I've used here is the type that you get in a long plastic tube, sealed at each end with a metal clip, usually about 450g in weight.  Alternatively you can use ready made sausages which are your favourite and omit the Sage.

Vanilla Loaf with a Rhubarb, Lemongrass and Ginger Jam Swirl

Having only 3 sticks of rhubarb left in my garden and knowing there wasn't anywhere near enough to make my husband's favourite crumble with, it had to be used in something as a flavour element, so what better way to do this than with a loaf cake, made with locally produced Rapeseed Oil instead of butter.

Jam
3 sticks Rhubarb, washed
30ml Bottle Green Ginger and Lemongrass cordial
2.5ml Ground ginger
50ml Water
15ml Demerara sugar
2.5ml Nielsen Massey vanilla paste
Cake
225g Self Raising flour
225g Caster sugar
180g Farringtons Mellow Yellow rapeseed oil
45g Single cream
1.25ml Baking powder
2.5ml Nielsen Massey vanilla paste

1. Heat the oven to 180˚C.
2. Without peeling your rhubarb, cut it into 2cm pieces.
3. Add to a saucepan with the cordial, ground ginger, water, sugar and vanilla paste.
4. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened.
5. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
6. In a large mixing bowl weigh out the flour, caster sugar, rapeseed oil and cream then measure in the baking powder and vanilla paste.
7. Beat on a high speed until thoroughly combined and light.
8. Divide the cake mix into 3 cardboard loaf pans (mine were from America and were 6.5cm x 18cm x 5cm deep)

9. Divide the rhubarb and ginger jam into 3 and spoon onto the top of each of your loaves.  Swirl the jam through gently to distribute and create a pattern when it's cooked.

10. Bake for 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the cases.

12. These can be served from the cases or presented as a gift, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a ribbon.

Aldi Wines

Thanks to Aldi's PR company, I was recently sent a box of wines and beers to review.  The box included:

Grapevine Tempranillo Ganache Rosé fron Spain.

Toro Loco ('Crazy Bull') red from the Tempranillo grapes.

Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere from Chile.

Freeman's Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

Bavaria Beer from Holland.

Having now turned 18, my son was able to help review the drinks this time and poured himself one of the well chilled bottles of the Bavaria Beer, whilst pouring the other bottle for his dad.  They both enjoyed the drink while sitting in the garden on a sunny Saturday afternoon. My husband says it's got a lovely clean and fresh hoppy taste which he'd certainly go out and buy more of ready for warmer days to come!  Hopefully we'll we haven't quite seen the last of those days and may get a couple more before the season is out!

I went for a glass from the chilled bottle of Rosé.  A perfect drink for a lady, don't you think?  So cool, calm and collected and such a pretty colour too!! It's a crisp, clean tasting wine that's light and fruity on flavouring.  A thoroughly refreshing glass of wine, in my opinion.

The red Toro Loco is a full bodied, fruity red with loads of body.  Perfect to enjoy with a meal or just on its' own. Totally enjoyed by himself as he's my red wine drinker in this house.  A glass, poured and savoured whilst chilling listening to music is his idea of a relaxing end to the working day.

Cheers!  Here's to opening the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Sauvingnon Blanc.

The wines and beers were sent to me free of charge by the PR company representing Aldi.  I was not under any obligation to review the products sent to me, favourably or otherwise.  All opinions are those of my husband and myself.

Meatballs with a Spicy Chilli Sauce

Similar to my other meatball recipe, I made this today but had a play with the sauce to spice it up using a Knorr Mixed Chilli Flavour pot.

2 medium Onions

3 cloves Garlic

Generous handful of fresh herbs (I used basil, sage, thyme, oregano & parsley)

2 eggs

100g Dried breadcrumbs

500g Minced Beef

Sauce

Small handful of fresh basil, sage & oregano

540g Passata sauce

1 medium Onion

4tbs tomato ketchup

1tbs Tomato purée

2tbs Cider vinegar

Knorr beef stock pot

Knorr mixed chilli flavour pot

Extra Virgin Olive oil

1. In a food processor, place the onions, garlic cloves, herbs and eggs.

2. Blitz until they form a thick, foamy paste.

3. In a large bowl, place your breadcrumbs and mince.

4. Pour your onion, garlic, herb and egg paste onto the mince and breadcrumbs and mix together thoroughly, using your hands.  Then wash your hands.

5. Without the need to wash the food processor bowl, add the sauce herbs, Passata and onion.  Blitz these together until they form a smooth sauce.

6. Pour your sauce ingredients into a large saucepan and add the ketchup, tomato purée and cider vinegar.

7. Mix the Knorr beef stock pot in 500ml boiling water until dissolved.

8. Add this to the sauce mixture with the Knorr mixed chilli flavour pot (I only used half of the chilli pot, but add more or less according to your own personal taste).

9. Bring the sauce ingredients to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.

10. Roll your meatball mixture into small balls, about 2cm in diameter.

11. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs all over.  It's best to do these in batches so that they brown and don't steam.

12. Transfer your browned meatballs to the sauce and shake the pan to coat.

13. Repeat until all of your meatballs are in your sauce mixture.  Try to avoid stirring the sauce so that you don't break your meatballs up.

14. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add your chosen pasta shape. Return to the boil then simmer until cooked to your liking.

15. Drain the pasta and add to your serving bowl.  Spoon some meatballs and sauce over your pasta.
16. Serve with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.