My Perfect Barbecue

It's getting to that time of year, when the evenings are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer and we're all realising that we can cook and enjoy the outdoors again.  With this in mind, and in association with the Central England Co-Operative, I've come up with some delicious ideas that you can use to cook yourself a tasty meal to enjoy outdoors with a cheeky glass of wine (or two).

Beef Burgers:
500g Lean minced beef
1 medium red onion
¼ Red pepper
¼ Orange pepper
Bunch coriander
Salt and Pepper to season
30ml Double Cream

1. Finely chop the onion and the peppers.
2. Chop the coriander.
3. Place the mince, chopped onions, pepper and coriander into a large bowl.
4. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper.

5. Mix together thoroughly and shape into 6 burgers.

6. Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge.
7. Cook on the barbecue until thoroughly cooked through.


Sausage Wheel:
1 Pack of Cumberland Sausages
3 long metal skewers (or use wooden ones that you've soaked in water)

1. Untwist the individual sausages and distribute the meat evenly throughout the skin.
2. Roll gently into a spiral.
3. Skewer through from one side, through the centre and back through the other side, evenly using your three skewers.

4. Brush the surfaces with oil and barbecue until cooked through.


Chicken, Pepper & Red Onion Skewers

1 Chicken breast, cubed
1 Red onion
¼ Red pepper
¼ Orange pepper

1. Cut the top and bottom off the onion, then stand it on one of the flat edges.
2. Slice vertically through the onion into 6 wedges.
3. Cut the peppers into pieces the approximate size of your onion wedges.
4. Thread the pieces of chicken, onion and pepper alternately onto the skewers.
5. Brush with a little oil and barbecue until the chicken is cooked.


Pineapple Salsa:
175 Pineapple in natural juice
4 Spring onions
50g Red pepper
15ml Cider vinegar
15ml Dark brown sugar
60ml BBQ sauce
5mm Root Ginger.

1. Chop the pineapple, onions and pepper.
2. Grate the ginger.
3. Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and heat through for 10 minutes.

4. Serve hot or cold with your cooked burgers and sausage wheel.


Soured Cream Mint Dressing:
100ml Soured cream
15ml Concentrated mint sauce

1. Mix the soured cream and the mint sauce together thoroughly.
2. Serve with your cooked meats and salad.

I served my burgers in warmed pitta breads, which I spread with the soured cream mint dressing and stuffed with salad.

I was provided with vouchers from the Central England Co-Operative to purchase ingredients to make my BBQ meal.

Saffron Bakewell Tart

Saffron is a spice from the Crocus genus of flower.  The flowers grow 20-30cm and each bear up to four flowers.  Each flower has three vivid crimson stigmas (strands).  These 'strands' are collected and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and a colouring in foods.  Saffron is generally sold by weight, which as you can clearly imagine, it takes an awful lot of those stigma strands to produce a single gramme of the saffron we use in the culinary world. This makes it the most expensive spice in the world. Currently Iran produces approximately 90% of the world's production of the saffron that is in use today.  It takes approximately 80,000 saffron flowers to produce just 500 grammes of finished saffron.

Saffron has a hay like fragrance and contains a pigment which gives a golden yellow colour to dishes.  It has also been used to dye fabrics and textiles as far back as the 7th Century and has been traded and used for over 4,000 years.

I was recently sent a sample of saffron to try from the Premier Saffron company who import their hand picked saffron from Iran.

Pairing perfectly with almonds, I re-created the traditional Bakewell Tart to include some saffron, thereby adding a slightly different, but subtly delicious tasted.  Here's how I did it:

Pastry
225g Plain flour
50g Lard
50g Butter
25g Caster sugar
30ml (approx.) cold water

Filling
5-6 strands Saffron
15ml Milk
125g Butter
125g Caster sugar
150g Ground almonds
75g Ground Rice
2 Eggs
2.5ml Almond essence
45ml Raspberry jam
Flaked almonds to decorate

1. To make the pastry, cut the lard and butter into small cubes and add them to a large bowl containing the flour and sugar.  (I use half lard and half butter to give a 'short' crisp pastry, as taught to me by my nan and my mum).
2. Rub them together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs (it helps to keep the pastry cool and the butter and lard not to melt if you only use your finger tips).
3. Add the cold water, a little at a time, until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
4. Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
5. Heat the oven to 190℃, and place an upturned rectangular baking tin in to heat up (this will help prevent your tart from getting a 'soggy bottom'.
6. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out to an even thickness to line a 20cm square tin.
7. Retain the pastry trimmings for decoration.
8. Return the pastry lined tin to the fridge to chill whilst you prepare the filling.
9. Place the saffron strands onto an oven proof plate and heat in the oven for 4-5 minutes until warmed (this helps the flavour and colour release from the strands).
10. Warm the milk gently then add the warm saffron strands.  Stir and leave to infuse for a few minutes. The milk will turn a summery pale yellow colour.
11. In a large bowl, place the butter, caster sugar, ground almonds, ground rice, eggs and almond essence.
12. Add the milk and saffron mixture and beat until well incorporated.
13. Remove the pastry case from the fridge and spread the jam evenly over the base.
14. Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case, over the top of the jam.
15. Re-roll the pastry trimmings and use to decorate the top of the Bakewell Tart.
16. Sprinkle with flaked almonds to decorate.

17. Place in the oven on top of the upturned baking tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the pastry is cooked.
18. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove the tart from the tin on to a wire cooling rack and leave until cold.

19. Slice and serve with custard or simply on its own with a cup of tea.

The saffron adds a very subtle flavour to the Bakewell Tart and marries perfectly with the almonds.

I was sent a pack of the saffron strands from Premier Saffron to try.  I was under no obligation to create a recipe or to link to their website as a result of receiving the sample.

Chocolate Cake for Easter

The most indulgent chocolate cake to grace my table is this one that I made in collaboration with the Central England Co-Operative.  Unlike most chocolate cakes, it's not dry as it has evaporated milk in the recipe.  It's slathered in a rich and creamy chocolate ganache and is decorated with rather a lot of chocolate mini eggs along with some decadent praline animals.

It's certainly not a cake you'd make every week, but for special occasions and a little indulgent treat, this is the cake sure to be a hit with any chocolate lover.

All of my ingredients were sourced from my local Co-Operative, and where possible, FairTrade ingredients were used.

Cake:

300g Self raising flour

340g Caster sugar

40g Cocoa

150g Butter (room temp)

3 Large eggs

110g Evaporated Milk

80g Water

5ml Vanilla extract

Ganache:

200g Dark chocolate

100g Milk chocolate

250ml Double cream

Decoration:

Cadbury Mini eggs (my cake took 9 bags)

Box of Co-Operative Spring praline chocolates

1. Heat the oven to 180℃.

2. Grease and line two 20cm/8" cake tins.

3. In a large bowl place all the cake ingredients.

4. Mix together for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

5. Divide equally between the two cake tins.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

7. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out into a wire rack to cool completely.

Whilst the cakes are cooling, now is the time to get your ganache ready. 

8. In a saucepan, break the chocolate into squares and add the cream.

9. Heat very gently until the chocolate has melted, stirring frequently.

10. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl, then set aside to cool and set.

11. When the cakes are cold and the ganache has set, use ¼ of the ganache to sandwich the cakes together.

12. Place the cakes onto a serving plate and use the other ¾ of the ganache to thickly coat the sides and top of the cake. Don't worry about it being perfectly smooth and pretty as you're going to decorate the sides and top with lots and lots of mini eggs.

13. Starting at the bottom, place a row of mini eggs all around the cake, adding extra layers until you either run out of mini eggs, or you've covered the sides completely. 

14. Decorate the top of the cakes with the spring praline chocolates.

You won't want a large slice of this cake unless you're a raving chocoholic with the sweetest tooth known to man, so this cake will certainly go a very, very long way indeed!  You could even (perish the thought!) share it with friends and neighbours, as I did!

Happy Easter, enjoy my recipe xx

I was sent a voucher from the Central England Co-Operative to buy ingredients with which to create a recipe for them.

    

Aldi's best budget bake - Tiramisu cupcakes

Having been invited to take part in a food blogger challenge to celebrate Aldi Specialbuys Home Baking range which are on sale from Sunday 15th March 2015, we each received a hamper containing some of the range of kitchenware that would be on sale in store, along with a voucher with which to buy our ingredients.

Spurred on by the contents of my hamper, I chose to make some Italian Tiramisu inspired cupcakes and duly nipped out to Aldi to buy my ingredients: Eggs, self raising flour, caster sugar, butter, ground almonds, icing sugar, soft cheese, Amaretto, chocolate sprinkles and cupcake cakes. From my store cupboard I added almond extract and a splash of milk along with some coffee.  Here is how I made them:

For the Cakes (Makes 12):
4 Large free range eggs
140g Self raising flour
200g Caster sugar
200g Butter, softened to room temperature
80g Ground almonds
5ml almond extract
30ml milk
For the icing:
50g Butter, softened to room temperature
50g Soft cheese
250g Icing sugar
20ml Espresso (or very strong) coffee
15ml Amaretto
1 tub Chocolate sprinkles

1. Preheat the oven to 190℃.
2. Line a 12 hole cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

3. Place a large bowl onto your scales and add your eggs, reset the display to zero, then weigh in the flour, caster sugar, butter, ground almonds, almond extract and milk.

4. Using an electric mixer, thoroughly mix your ingredients together until light and fluffy.
5. Divide the mixture between your cupcake cases, making sure not to overfill the cases more than ¾ full.
6. Bake on the centre shelf of your oven for 15-18 minutes until lightly brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean.
7. Remove the cupcakes to a cooling rack and leave until cold.

To make the icing:
8. Place a large bowl on to your scales and weigh in the butter and soft cheese.
9. Remove the bowl from the scales, and using your electric mixer, beat these two ingredients together until fully combined.
10. Place the bowl back on your kitchen scales (reset the display to zero) and weigh in the icing sugar.
11. Measure in the espresso coffee and the Amaretto.

12. Starting slowly to prevent a huge dust storm of icing sugar, combine the icing ingredients together.
13. When the icing sugar is fully combined into the butter, soft cheese, coffee and Amaretto mixture, increase the speed then beat for 5 minutes until pale in colour, and light and airy in texture.

14. Spoon this into a disposable icing bag fitted with a star shaped nozzle (I used a Wilton 1M nozzle).
15. Pipe the icing onto the top in spiral pattern.
16. Sprinkle generously with the chocolate sprinkles.

17. Put the kettle on. Make yourself a coffee. Grab yourself a cupcake and enjoy your creations!

From my hamper I chose to use:
12 hole cupcake tin £1.99 This is a lovely and deep, teflon coated, non stick tin. What makes it even better is that you can put it in the dishwasher after you've used it! Always a bonus in my eyes being someone who hates washing up and tries to avoid it/delegate the task at all costs!

Slimline Electronic Kitchen Scales £6.99 These have an easy clean, stainless steel finish, are lightweight, slim and have an LED display.  They're powered by an easily available CR2032 battery (which is included). Not only do they weigh in both imperial and metric weights, but they have the added feature of being able to weigh fluid ounces or millilitres of both milk or water at the touch of a button; truly functional and cook friendly.  With the added 'tare' function, you simply weigh your ingredient out, press the button to return the scales to zero and weigh out each additional ingredient in the same way.  Again, this really does appeal to me as I can weigh all my ingredients out in one go and into one bowl; saving washing up!

Double Oven Gloves £2.99 Part of a co-ordinated range of matching products, these are 100% cotton with a 100% polyester filling.  They're a generous 18x92cm in size and more than big enough for the largest of hands whilst not being too large for little hands like mine. The hanging hook allows you to keep them handy near you oven and they're washable too.

Party Butler cake container £4.99 The ideal solution to storing and transporting your cakes, snacks or pizzas.  It's make from temperature resistant plastic which means you can easily clean this in the dishwasher (bonus!) It's the perfect size to store 24 decorated cupcakes, whilst the two integrated, fold down handles, mean that you can easily carry your bakes to share with friends and family.


I also received but haven't yet used:
Train silicone baking case £3.49
Measuring Jug Digital Kitchen Scale £6.99

The hamper and contents were provided to me free of charge from Aldi UK.  I was also provided with a gift voucher with which to purchase my ingredients to create my #BestBudgetBake recipe.

Potato Topped Chicken and Leek Bake

A delicious meal of chicken and leeks in a white wine and cream sauce topped with thinly sliced potatoes, sprinkled with cheese and baked until golden.  What more can I say?  Except sumptuous!

25g Butter

15ml Rapeseed Oil

2 Leeks, finely sliced

4 Chicken Breasts, cubed into bite sized pieces

15ml Chopped fresh parsley

30ml White Wine

60ml Single Cream

Salt and Pepper to season

4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced (3-4mm)

25g Butter

50g Cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃.

2. Melt the butter and the oil in a large pan.

3. Gently sauté the leeks until softened.

4. Add the diced chicken and cook gently for 5 minutes.

5. Add the chopped parsley, wine and the cream

6. Season to taste.

7. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

8. Meanwhile bring a large pan of water to the boil and drop the sliced potatoes in.

9. Boil for 4-5 minutes until starting to soften.

10. Pour the chicken and leek mixture into a large ovenproof dish.

11. Drain the potato slices and layer on top of the chicken and leek to cover completely.

12. Dot with the butter and sprinkle the grated cheese on top.

13. Cook for 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbling on top.

14. Serve with steamed vegetables.

I cooked and paired this dish with a Central Co-Operative Fairtrade 2013 Pinot Grigio which I reviewed on my post {here}

My Perfect Valentine's Day Meal - Fillet Steak in a Worcestershire Cream Sauce

This recipe is some 20 odd years old.  I know this because it was from a meal I had way before my eldest was born and he's now 19 and studying at University!  The story goes that my husband and I went out for dinner one night and I ordered a fillet steak in a Worcestershire Sauce from the menu.  It was sublime, so I asked for the recipe. Needless to say, Chef was more than a little reluctant to give away his recipe, but he did give me the list of ingredients, without the quantities, so I had to set about creating this myself.  I've 'toned it down' a little with the addition of cream it's a bit tangy for my daughter without, but either way this is one delicious dish.

If the way to a person's heart is really is via their stomach, then this surely is the way to get you there.

To create my Valentine's dish for 2 is as simple at this....

15ml Rapeseed oil (I recommend locally produced Farrington's Mellow Yellow)
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 Fillet steaks
50g Mushrooms, sliced
5ml Plain flour
1 Knorr Beef Stock Pot
125ml Boiling water
15ml Worcestershire Sauce
5ml Tomato puree
Salt and Pepper to taste
30ml Double cream

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan until it lightly shimmers.
2. Fry the onions until lightly golden in colour.
3. Add the fillet steak to the pan and braise the on both sides until cooked to your preference, then remove the steaks from the pan to rest.
4. Lightly fry the mushrooms until browned.
5. Dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water.
6. Add the flour to the frying pan and mix to absorb all of the oil.
7. Add the Worcestershire Sauce and tomato puree to the pan and mix.
8. Gradually add the stock, stirring constantly until thoroughly mixed and no lumps are present.
9. Add the double cream and stir through.
10. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
11. Return the steak to the pan and heat through.
12. Serve.

I chose to serve our dinner with Potato Dauphinoise, Sweet Potato Fondant and roasted mixed vegetables. (Click on the links to take you to my recipes for these dishes).

I created this meal for the Central England Co-Operative.  I was sent a voucher with which to purchase my ingredients. All of the ingredients above were sourced from my local Co-Op.

Sweet Potato Fondant

This can be made easily with either sweet potato or normal potatoes, but I really love the added flavour that sweet potatoes bring to a meal and cooked this way is certainly no exception.  It's incredibly simple and incredibly tasty too.

15ml Rapeseed Oil (I recommend Farrington's Mellow Yellow)
50g Butter
1 large Sweet potato (enough for one or two slices per person)
1 Knorr Chicken stock pot, dissolved in
75ml Boiling water
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Peel the sweet potato.
2. Cut in to 2cm (1") thick rounds.
3. Heat the oil and the butter in a pan until the butter is foaming.
4. Add the sweet potatoes to the pan, flat side down and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown in colour.
5. Carefully add the stock to the pan (it may spit a little, so be careful).
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until tender and cooked through.
8. Serve with some of the cooking liquid spooned over the top.

To add a decorative element to your plate, why not try cutting the potatoes with a shaped metal cookie cutter?  Hearts and flowers for your loved one, or into a character for your children to make mealtimes interesting whilst still giving them one of their 5 a day.

This is the perfect vegetable accompaniment to so many meals and goes beautifully with my Valentine's Day menu of Fillet Steak in a Worcestershire Cream Sauce.

Enjoy! x

Potato Dauphinoise

I'd find it difficult to completely cut carbohydrates from my diet and my own personal philosophy in life is a little bit of everything (that you're not severely allergic to) can't do you any harm.  I find it sad that so many people profess to be allergic or intolerant to so many foods when really they just don't know for sure and are just guessing at what is upsetting their digestion.  I can speak from experience here as I was advised that I was wheat intolerant for over 5 years, removed it from my diet completely, but still suffered.  Only upon proper medical food allergy testing did they actually find out that my demon food was to be egg white, and on cutting that out of my diet, my life and health improved significantly.  But I digress, this is about a recipe not me on a soapbox, so here it is...

Serves 4

Little knob of butter to grease your dish
200ml Double cream
250ml Milk
2.5ml Nutmeg, freshly grated
1 Garlic clove, peeled and flattened (not crushed)
4 Large potatoes
100g Gruyere or Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Heat the oven to 190℃.
2. Butter the inside of a 20cm deep square dish.
3. Add the cream, milk, nutmeg and garlic clove into a large saucepan until boiling.
4. Meanwhile peel the potatoes, and using a mandolin (I thoroughly recommend the Oxo Good Grips Hand Held Mandoline), slice into 3-4mm thicknesses.
5. Reduce the heat under the cream and milk to a simmer and add the sliced potatoes.
6. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes, gently stirring occasionally to prevent the slices sticking together or catching on the bottom of the pan.
7. Remove the potato slices with a slotted spoon to the buttered dish to create a relatively level surface covering the whole of the dish.
8. Remove and discard the crushed garlic clove.
9. Pour the milk and cream mixture over the potatoes.
10. Sprinkle with cheese.
11. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown on top and the potatoes are cooked.
12. Serve sliced into portions.

A wonderful, creamy and rich vegetable dish to serve with so many meals.  If you're watching you calories, then reduce the cream and replace this with milk, but be prepared to lose some of the taste if you do!

Serve this with my Fillet Steak in a Worcestershire Cream Sauce recipe for a decadent meal.

Wine Review - Central Co-Operative - Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc

My wine review this month for the Central England Co-Operative We Like Wine blog is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from Villa Maria.

The Villa Maria vineyard started in 1961 when George Fistonich, at the age of 21, leased 5 acres of land from his father in Auckland, New Zealand.  His first harvest of grapes the following year, in 1962, saw him produce his first wine under the Villa Maria name. In the 1980s, Villa Maria instigated the first grape grower bonus where grapes were no longer paid for based on quantity but on the quality of the grape. Export began in 1988 and the winery became an accredited member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) in 1995.  The new Marlborough winery opened in 2000 and the following year, Villa Maria decided to move 100% to screw caps and became a cork-free zone.  In 2009, George Fistonich was awarded the country's first Knighthood for services to the New Zealand wine industry.  The brand has continued to evolve since that day in 1961, from that single handed business, to a company that operates from three sites in Auckland, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough, employs over 250 personnel and exports wine to over 50 countries worldwide, whilst still remaining a family owned business.

This 2014 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc produced from grapes sourced from vineyards across the Marlborough region has a beautiful, very pale straw colour and an incredibly fresh smell.  Close your eyes and inhale the citrus undertones of the acidic fruits.  Raise the glass to your mouth and savour the sharpness of the gooseberries, the citrus notes and the balance of melon and passionfruit. It's the perfect accompaniment to white meat and fish so we chose to serve it with my Chicken and Leek Stroganoff.  They say that you should never cook with a wine that you wouldn't drink.  Well, in reply to that, I say buy two bottles of this so there's plenty left to drink and enjoy before, during and after you've cooked and eaten.

I wish 2015 to be happy, healthy and prosperous for you all.  I raise my glass to you all. Cheers!

I was sent a voucher with which to purchase a bottle of white wine. I chose the Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc currently priced at £11.25 (Price as at 15/12/2014).

Chicken and Leek Stroganoff

I've previously reviewed Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food book that I bought for my husband.  There are several recipes in there that have become firm family favourites and that my husband often cooks for us; this recipe being one of them as it's quick, tasty and very easy to prepare. Leeks give a wonderful flavour to a meal - coming from the Allium family which includes the onion and garlic, their flavour is much more subtle and delicate.

This recipe is based on Jamie's from his book.

2 Large leeks
4 Chicken breasts
2tbs Olive oil
20g Butter
250ml White wine (if it's not good enough to drink, it's not good enough to cook with)
100ml Water
15ml Wholegrain mustard
300g Basmati Rice
Bunch fresh, flat leaved parsley
300ml Single cream
1/2 Lemon
Salt & pepper

1. Put a large pan of lightly salted water on to boil.
2. Wash your leeks then cut them lengthways into quarters, from top to bottom, then slice across the stems (whites and greens) into 1cm thicknesses.

3. Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces, approx. 1cm x 2cm .
4. Heat a large frying pan and add the olive oil and butter.  Heat until melted.
5. Add the leeks, wine, water, mustard, salt and pepper.
6. Stir together then bring to the boil and cover loosely with a lid or foil.
7. Put your rice in your boiling water, stir once and return to the boil.  Simmer uncovered for 10-12 minutes (according to packet instructions).
8. Chop the parsley, leaves and stalks, finely.
9. Add the chicken, parsley and the cream to the frying pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

10. Drain the cooked rice.
11. Add the juice of your lemon half to the stroganoff and stir just before serving.
12. Place a pile of rice on your plate and add a generous couple of spoons of the stroganoff.

Serve with a perfectly chilled glass of the white wine that you used to cook this dish with.

Quark Winterberry Wobbly Cheesecake

I was invited to take part in a Mistletoe and Quark food blogger challenge to come up with a recipe using the Lake District Dairy Co. Quark.  Originally I intended to make a cheesecake but the final outcome is more like a pannecotta; with that hint of a wobble (a bit like my thighs, some may say!) and one which I'm very pleased with too.

As a lover of things tart and not too sweet, this is what I created:

150g Digestive biscuits
10ml Ground Cinnamon
90g   Butter
4       Gelatine leaves
60ml Orange juice
200g Light Philadephia
500g Quark
200g Icing sugar
5ml   Nielsen Massey Vanilla bean paste
250g Cranberries
1       Orange, grated zest and juice
75g   Caster sugar

1. Line a 20cm/8" spring form tin with baking parchment.
2. Crush the Digestive biscuits and add the ground cinnamon.
3. Melt the butter, pour onto the biscuits and cinnamon then mix thoroughly.
4. Tip the biscuit and butter mix into your prepared tin and press well down into an even layer.
5. Place into the 'fridge to chill.
6. Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5-6 minutes until softened.
7. Heat the orange juice in a small saucepan until warm.
8. Squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and add to the warmed orange juice, then heat together gently until the gelatine has dissolved.  Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
9. In a large bowl, whisk together the Philadelphia cheese, Quark, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste.
10. Gradually pour in the orange juice and gelatine mixture in a slow stream whilst continuing to whisk until combined.
11. Pour this Quark mixture over the chilled biscuit base, smooth the top and leave in the 'fridge to set overnight.
12. In a saucepan, place the cranberries, orange zest and juice with the sugar.
13. Bring to the boil then continue to cook on a simmer for 15-20 minutes until the cranberries have burst and the mixture is thick.
14. Pour this cranberry sauce into a bowl, cover and leave until cold.
15. Remove the cheesecake from the 'fridge and pour over the cranberry sauce, spreading out to an even layer.

Serve chilled and enjoy the sharpness of my wobble!

I was sent a box of chilled Quark with which to create my low fat, tasty seasonal dessert to enable me to take part in the Food Blogger Challenge.  

Venison Tagine

We love venison as its such a rich and lean meat that's full of flavour and I was lucky to have been given a 3kg haunch of venison a while back by a colleague in exchange for making her daughter's Christening cake. Her husband shot and butchered the venison, so I can be sure of it's provenance.

After boning the joint of meat, I divided it and used one portion to make a tagine in my slow cooker as follows:

500g Venison, cubed (you can use beef or lamb if you prefer)
30ml Rapeseed oil
2 Onions, sliced
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1tbs Ground coriander
1tbs Ground cumin
2tsp Ground ginger
1tsp Ground cinnamon
250ml Beef stock
400g tin Plum tomatoes
100g Dried apricots, chopped
2tbs Ground almonds
400g tin Chick peas, drained and rinsed

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan and fry the venison in batches until browned.
2. Transfer the venison into the base of your slow cooker.
3. Gently fry the onion & garlic in the pan for 5 minutes until softened, then add the ground coriander, cumin, ginger and cinnamon and fry gently for 2 minutes.
4. Add this onion & spice mixture to your venison in the slow cooker.
5. Pour your stock into your frying pan to deglaze and heat until just boiling.
6. Pour this stock mixture over your meat and spice mixture.
7. Add the plum tomatoes, chopped apricots, ground almonds and chick peas.
8. Stir well then place the lid on top.
9. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 12 hours or on medium for 8 hours.

Serve with cous cous and a little fresh, chopped coriander to garnish.

Brown Banana Muffins

Having bought a couple of packs of reduced price bananas (20p for 5!) recently and not wanting them to go to waste, I've slightly changed my Banana and Choccie Chunkie Muffin recipe, which incidentally was the first ever post on my blog back in May 2011, to produce these:

Instead of using butter, I've substituted it 80% for Farrington's Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil and 20% milk.

280g Plain flour

5ml Baking powder

5ml Bicarbonate of soda

2.5ml salt

125g Soft brown sugar

3 large, over-ripened bananas (about 450g peeled weight)

1 egg, beaten

90ml Rapeseed oil

60m Milk

Fan oven: 170°C.

1. Line a deep, 12 cup, muffin tin with tulip paper cases.

2. In a large bowl place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar.  Mix these together thoroughly with a fork to get some air into the dry mixture.

3. In another bowl mix together the mashed bananas, beaten egg, rapeseed oil and milk.

4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add all of the wet mixture.  Mix both together quickly for no longer than 20-30 seconds until just combined.  Make sure that you scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl properly to incorporate all of the dry mixture but DO NOT BEAT the mixture or worry about small lumps.

5. Fill each muffin cup to about 3/4 full.  This will then make 12 muffins.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are slightly browned and spring back when touched.

7. Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack until cool.

I also made up a batch of blueberry muffins using oil and milk as the butter substitute, so I'll share the recipe shortly for those too.

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!!!

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.