Sorry for not being about...

Hi all

Thought I'd pop up a quick post to say sorry for not being around lately. Have been away on a short holiday in Suffolk. We stayed in this great self-catering place ran by 'Grove cottages'

Here are some pics, they even leant us a marked-up map of where the best pubs were - Genius!

 

 Promise to make bake and post soon! Mx

  

Crumpets!!

Have been asked to make more savoury items for the blog, one of which is crumpets. Only the other day I saw the 'Hairy Bikers' make them on their show! So I had a go myself this weekend :D as a Valentine treat for Pete! 

Here is how his brekkie looked:

**Oh yeah and he even got another batch of his fav chocs too!!**

video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t639VluKVAA

RECIPE
350ml/12¼fl oz whole milk
225g/8oz strong white flour
125g/4½oz plain flour
1 x 7g/¼oz sachet fast-action dried yeast
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
150ml/5¼fl oz warm water
butter, for greasing, plus extra to serve

METHOD
1. Warm the milk in a saucepan very gently until tepid.

2. Sift the flours into a large bowl and stir in the yeast, salt and sugar until well-combined.
3. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and stir in the warm milk. Beat well with a wooden spoon for 3-4 minutes, or until the batter is thick and elastic.
4. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in a warm place for an hour, or until the batter has doubled in size.
5. When the batter has risen, mix the bicarbonate of soda with the warm water, and beat the mixture into the batter for a couple of minutes. Set aside to rest in a warm place for a further 30 minutes. By this time the mixture should have risen and be covered with tiny bubbles.
6. Heat a flat griddle pan or large heavy-based non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat.
7. Generously butter the insides of four crumpet rings or 9cm/3½in chefs' rings and place them onto the griddle or into the frying pan. Warm the rings for a minute or two.
8. Using a dessertspoon, drop three large spoonfuls of the crumpet batter into each ring. It should come around 1.5cm/½in up the sides of each ring, but no more. Cook for 9-12 minutes, or until lots of tiny bubbles have risen to the surface and burst and the tops look dry and set.

8.Carefully lift off the rings - it shouldn't be too difficult as the crumpets will ease back from the sides when they are ready. (Use an oven glove and take care as the crumpet rings will be hot.)
9. Flip the crumpets over with a spatula and cook on the other side for a further two minutes, or until golden-brown. You can keep these crumpets warm while the remaining batter is prepared, or serve immediately spread with lots of butter.
10. Cook the remaining crumpets in exactly the same way as the first, washing and buttering the rings well before re-using. The crumpets can also be cooled and then toasted.

Tip: When you come make the last few crumpets, you may find that your batter thickens and the bubbles find it harder to burst. If this occurs, simply help each one on its way by pricking lightly with a cocktail stick.

I served them with grilled bacon, baked cherry vine tomatoes & mushroom with two poached eggs. Was seriously pleased the eggs! Used a splash of white wine vinegar in the boiling water before popping the eggs in. It really made a difference :O)
Oh and due to all my work I decided to have some tasty raspberry jam on mine!

aMAZEing Biscuits!

These were the biscuits we devoured before entering the maze. I was so busy taking photos the girls even tried to loose me!! Can you believe it :-O 

Linzer Biscuits

Originally, Empire biscuits were called German biscuits or Linzer biscuits.  But because of WWII, it was renamed to Empire biscuits.... Or you might know them similar to Jammy Doggers! 

50g Chopped hazelnuts

225 plain flour

75g Golden caster sugar

150g Butter, diced

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1 Egg yolk

4 tbsp Seedless jam

Sifted Icing sugar

Place the nuts in a food processor and process with half of the sugar from the recipe until finely ground. Set aside.

Put the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl or a food processor. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips or process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the ground hazelnuts and lemon zest (make sure the lemon zest is nice and fine), then mix in the egg yolk an bring the mixture together with your hands to form a firm dough.

Divide the ball into two and wrap in cling - place in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour (Trust me this will make your life easier!).

Lightly roll out one half of the dough on a lightly floured surface (or even better on the cling film it was wrapped in) until it is around just under 1cm thick. Stamp out 5.5cm circles using fluted round biscuit cutter. Transfer to a parchment covered baking tray. Use a small heart / star shape cutter to remove 2.5cm hearts or stars from the middle of half of the biscuits.

Bake in batches at 160oc for around 10-12 minutes each, or until pale golden brown, then repeat with the remaining dough.

Leave the biscuits to harden on the baking sheets for 2mins once out of the oven. Then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.

Place all the top halves (with the cutouts) together and sieve icing sugar over the top of them. Put the seedless jam into a small saucepan (you might want to add more jam, it's up to you) and heat slightly so in becomes a bit more runny. Divide the jam evenly between the centers of the base biscuits and spread thickly, leaving a border of the biscuit showing.

Cover with the icing coated top halves, being careful not to mess the icing sugar up too much.

Enjoy!!

A Picnic For A King!

 So this weekend we went on a 'winter picnic' to Leeds Castle!! It's actually in a little village called Leeds near Maidstone, not in 'Leeds' at all....

Anyho I was put in charge of sorting out a picnic. The menu consisted of:

Sarnies

Ham & Mustard

Cheese & pickle

Eggg mayonaise & cress on homemade tomato parmesan bread

Home-made sausage rolls (recipe below)

Choco chewy bites (recipe in previous post)

& Linzer biscuits (will post them soon...)

Tasty Homemade Sausage Rolls
(People have been at me for ages to make these!! Here you go)
recipe:
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• a sprig of fresh sage, leaves picked
• a handful of breadcrumbs
• fresh nutmeg, for grating
• 6 good-quality pork sausages (used Porkie Whites - with recommendation from Bert Bouwens)
• 250g ready-made puff pastry
• 1 egg
• a little milk

method:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook gently for about 20 minutes until soft and golden brown. Add the sage leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more and then spread out on a plate to cool.

With a sharp knife, slit the skins of the sausages and pop the meat out. Put it in a mixing bowl with the cooled sage and onion mix and the breadcrumbs, then scrunch well with your clean hands to mix together.

On a floured work surface, roll the pastry out into a big rectangle as thick as a pound coin and cut it lengthways into two long, even rectangles. Roll the mixture into sausage shapes with your hands and lay along the centre of each rectangle.

Mix the egg and milk and brush the pastry with the mixture, then fold one side of the pastry over, wrapping the filling inside. Press down with your fingers or the edge of a spoon to seal the join.

Cut the long rolls into the sizes you want and space them out on a baking tray. Brush with the rest of the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through. Serve and watch grown men fight over them, it's actually quite amusing!

 

Wearing two Grannies Inc wooly hats (they're the stripy ones)

Chocolate Rose cake

After receiving such a fab teatowel off Lacey I decided to surprise her with a cake, to say thank you. 

It's a new recipe, I haven't tried before... One of the 'healthy cakes' that are made using vegetable instead off butter/oil. Can you imagine a healthy chocolate cake!! Yum

 

This is one of Harry Eastwood's recipes, I've made a couple of her cakes now and they've turned out rather good. I must say though it isn't half strange some on the veggies you use but HEY if it works it works! And following the response from Lacey's studio and can safely say I think it was a success!! :D

 

Chocolate Rose Cake

Recipe

3 Free-range eggs

160g Golden caster sugar

200g peeled & grated Butternut Squash

120g Rice flour (I use Doves)

3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp Salt

125ml Buttermilk (you'll find this near the cream in the supermarket)

Chocolate Icing

50g Unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar, sieved

50g Mascarpone

4 tsp cocoa powder

Pre-heat the oven to 180oc . Line two 18inch sandwich tins with parchment and rub the sides with a bit of butter, so it doesn't stick.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl for 4 full minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the grated butternut squash, followed by the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the buttermilk before beating again one last time to make sure that all the ingredients are well introduced to one another.

Pour the mixture evenly into both tins, then place in the middle of the oven for 30minutes (Now don't open the oven before 20mins! but do check around 25mins, depends on your oven...)

Once cooked, remove the cakes from the oven, unmould, peel off the baking parchment and leave to cool down completely on a wire rack.

Whilst the cakes are cooling, start on making the icing (do not put the icing anywhere near the cake until it's stone cold). Beat the butter with 100g of the sugar in a large mixing bowl. You will need to work them together patiently, using a back of a spoon. It will seem like an impossible task at first, but they will eventually turn into a lovely paste.

Once you reach this stage, beat vigorously for 10 seconds to loosen the butter even further. Add mascarpone, cocoa powder and salt, as well as the remaining sugar. Beat once again to combine.

Spread half the icing on each sponge, placing one on top of another. Then cut the stems on several rose at around 2cm and place on the cake. Volia!

A light chocolate cake in more ways than one :D

Hitherto a chilled-out Sunday

So this weekend we decided we hadn't enough energy to do the whole Sunday Roast thing. So thought we'd make ourselves that 'spiced beef casserole we'd given to the the 'Day's' the previous weekend.

As this recipe takes 2 hours to cook in the oven we made it the day before, which allowed us to go for a chilled out coffee at "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" cafe.

I have to say the do a ruddy good hot choc there as well a good cuppa tea.
As you can see, I've managed to keep up the knitting, not far to go now! Think Pete's starting to get a bit worried that I am actually gonna finish it, and he will actually wear it!! :D

Pete was working on some new sketches for his new series...

Soon we started to feel a bit hungry so headed back to get stuck into the tasty casserole. The recipe is my sisters and I'm yet to have found another that comes anywhere as near as good! It is LUSH!

 

Weeze's Spiced Beef Casserole

Recipe:

1.5kg Stewing / casserole beef

4 Onions sliced

Oil

1 clove of garlic crushed

225g  Field Mushrooms

25g Plain flour

half tsp ground ginger

1 tsp curry powder (when I'm not looking pete usually adds more!?)

1 tsp Muscavardo sugar

1 pint beef stock

2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

salt/pepper

Horseradish - as much as you want :)

Directions:

Brown the meat in oil making sure the oil is HOT first, then drain the meat onto some kitchen roll. Keep same oil hot and add the onions, mushrooms, garlic and more oil if needed. Fry for 4 mins.

Then add the flour, spices & sugar whilst stirring continuously for 2 mins. Add stock a little at a time and then bring to the boil.

Place the meat back into the dish and mix it up. Place the dish in a pre-heated oven at 170oc for 2 hours - Watch the casserole if it becomes a bit dry & add more water if this happens.

Once out of the oven add seasoning & Horseradish to taste.

Enjoy!!

We had ours with rice and Kale (our new fav veg! Lush with pepper and butter). Also after trying many different Horseradish's we think Colmans is the hottest & tastiest. If you think there is a better one, do let me know. Mx