Thanks to everyone who has supported my blog by reading it and leaving comments over the last year, you're what keeps this blog going.... Happy new year everybody!
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Happy Christmas!
I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! This is The Best Christmas Pudding I Have Ever Tasted soaked in brandy and set on fire, it was just as good as I hoped it would be!
Thanks to everyone who has supported my blog by reading it and leaving comments over the last year, you're what keeps this blog going.... Happy new year everybody!
Thanks to everyone who has supported my blog by reading it and leaving comments over the last year, you're what keeps this blog going.... Happy new year everybody!
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Christmas gift ideas
A couple of weeks ago Nick from vouchercodes.co.uk challenged me to find a really great gift for foodies. The challenge was broad, I could choose anything at all from coffee machines to waffle irons, pots and pans to food hampers, I even considered a hot dog rotisserie although I came to my senses and quickly abandoned that idea! So what did I choose?
Eventually after much thought and trawling the web I settled on a genuine Italian Imperia pasta machine. You might be thinking it's an odd choice, you quite likely have a pasta machine long forgotten at the back of a cupboard probably next to the bread machine and the smoothie maker. I decided to go for a pasta machine quite simply because I love pasta, it's proabaly my favourite food of all and I like the idea of being able to make my own. It also allows me to be creative, I have plans to try flavoured pasta such as tomato or spinach or herbs.
For the first test run of the pasta machine I went for the simple option, I wanted the pasta to be the star of the dish and not so much the sauce, although of course it still had to be delicious! So my old friend and standby pasta carbonara it was.
Pasta carbonara, find the recipe here.
I was really very impressed with the Imperia pasta machine and think it would make a great gift for food lovers, especially if they love Italian food like I do! What do you think of my choice? What would your perfect foodie Christmas gift be?
Of course no pasta dish would be complete without wine! vouchercodes.co.uk are offering £15 off a £50 spend here. My thanks go to vouchercodes.co.uk for setting the challenge and providing the pasta machine. Thanks!
Eventually after much thought and trawling the web I settled on a genuine Italian Imperia pasta machine. You might be thinking it's an odd choice, you quite likely have a pasta machine long forgotten at the back of a cupboard probably next to the bread machine and the smoothie maker. I decided to go for a pasta machine quite simply because I love pasta, it's proabaly my favourite food of all and I like the idea of being able to make my own. It also allows me to be creative, I have plans to try flavoured pasta such as tomato or spinach or herbs.
For the first test run of the pasta machine I went for the simple option, I wanted the pasta to be the star of the dish and not so much the sauce, although of course it still had to be delicious! So my old friend and standby pasta carbonara it was.The pasta machine can make four different types of pasta with the attachment I have (you can buy different attachments for ravioli, fusili etc), lasagna, papardelle, tagliatelle and linguine, I chose tagliatelle this time around.
Making the pasta was much easier than I expected it to be, once you've made the dough (just flour, eggs and salt) you simply pass it through the rollers progressively rolling it thinner and thinner until it is as thin as you want it the put it through the cutters and out comes beautiful fresh pasta!
Making the pasta was much easier than I expected it to be, once you've made the dough (just flour, eggs and salt) you simply pass it through the rollers progressively rolling it thinner and thinner until it is as thin as you want it the put it through the cutters and out comes beautiful fresh pasta!
Pasta carbonara, find the recipe here.I was really very impressed with the Imperia pasta machine and think it would make a great gift for food lovers, especially if they love Italian food like I do! What do you think of my choice? What would your perfect foodie Christmas gift be?
Of course no pasta dish would be complete without wine! vouchercodes.co.uk are offering £15 off a £50 spend here. My thanks go to vouchercodes.co.uk for setting the challenge and providing the pasta machine. Thanks!
Sunday, 13 December 2009
A Merry Christmas Tray from Interflora
I have been very fortunate recently to have been sent lots of yummy things to review, last week I received a fantastic selection of Christmas goodies from none other than Interflora - the flower people.
It was a revelation to me that Interflora did anything other than flowers but having sampled a selection of their food in the form of a Merry Christmas Tray I can honestly say I was impressed. I was sent both red and white wine, mince pies, choc chunk and orange oat biscuits, fudge, amaretto flutes, mixed fruit and nuts and a Miniature Christmas cake.
The tray came really well packed in a black cardboard box, in fact it was so well packed I had trouble getting it out! The good news once I'd found a way in was that everything was in perfect condition inside and really well presented too.
I haven't managed to try everything thing yet but I can report that the fudge is wonderfully rich and buttery, a quick glance at the ingredients revealed that it contained only real butter with no margarine or vegetable oil in sight - something I was exceptionally pleased about.
The mince pies were particularly good too, according to the box they are hand made and I think it makes a difference. The pastry was delicate and flaky with good flavour and most importantly of all there was plenty of mincemeat filling. The wine and cake are being saved for Christmas day, at least they are if I can resist them that long!
It was a revelation to me that Interflora did anything other than flowers but having sampled a selection of their food in the form of a Merry Christmas Tray I can honestly say I was impressed. I was sent both red and white wine, mince pies, choc chunk and orange oat biscuits, fudge, amaretto flutes, mixed fruit and nuts and a Miniature Christmas cake.The tray came really well packed in a black cardboard box, in fact it was so well packed I had trouble getting it out! The good news once I'd found a way in was that everything was in perfect condition inside and really well presented too.
I haven't managed to try everything thing yet but I can report that the fudge is wonderfully rich and buttery, a quick glance at the ingredients revealed that it contained only real butter with no margarine or vegetable oil in sight - something I was exceptionally pleased about.
The mince pies were particularly good too, according to the box they are hand made and I think it makes a difference. The pastry was delicate and flaky with good flavour and most importantly of all there was plenty of mincemeat filling. The wine and cake are being saved for Christmas day, at least they are if I can resist them that long!
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Christmas puddings, the best I have ever tasted!
This year stir it up Sunday fell on the 22nd of November, that's the day when traditionally everyone makes their Christmas puddings with all the members of the family taking turns to stir it up! In typically disorganised fashion I missed the 22nd by almost two weeks but I always make the puddings and this year was no different, I was just a bit late!
Stir it up!Christmas pudding can be a bit heavy and hard to eat especially if you try to eat it right after Christmas dinner like we always do in my family, in my search for the perfect pudding I've tried lots of different recipes in the past some better than others. The most successful was a recipe from Riverford Organics called The best Christmas pudding I have ever tasted, with a name like that I had high expectations, thankfully it didn't let me down.
Like a lot of traditional British puddings Christmas puddings are cooked by steaming, the mixture is spooned into a pudding basin, covered tightly and placed in a pan of simmering water (lid on) and steamed for two to three hours. If you have never made a steamed pudding before it can be a bit daunting but it's really very easy, once you've made your mixture you can just leave them gently simmering while you go and do other things. Just don't let the pan boil dry!
The puddings waiting to be steamed, I won't see them again until Christmas day.
Like a lot of traditional British puddings Christmas puddings are cooked by steaming, the mixture is spooned into a pudding basin, covered tightly and placed in a pan of simmering water (lid on) and steamed for two to three hours. If you have never made a steamed pudding before it can be a bit daunting but it's really very easy, once you've made your mixture you can just leave them gently simmering while you go and do other things. Just don't let the pan boil dry!
The puddings waiting to be steamed, I won't see them again until Christmas day.I wouldn't say that this makes a 'light' pudding but it is lighter than normal, it's also sweet, fruity, boozy and delicious. I changed the recipe slightly by switching some of the raisins and sultanas for dried apricots, you could use all kinds of dried fruits, cherries, cranberries or figs would be good. You could also add nuts such as walnuts or pecans, the recipe is really flexible.
The great thing about making Christmas puddings is that they keep almost indefinitely, in fact the flavour gets better over time so the earlier you make them the better!
Find the recipe here.
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Christmas flavour ice cream
Christmas is undeniably on it's way now, it's time to put up decorations, buy presents, write cards and if you haven't already done it make the cake.
We were talking about Christmas at work last week and some gave me a idea for an ice cream recipe, she said that if you take some store bought vanilla ice cream, leave it to soften, then mix it with a jar of mincemeat it makes a really delicious Christmassy treat.
I really liked the idea and I'm sure it's delicious with store bought ice cream but I wanted to make the whole thing myself, so that's what I did! As well as making the ice cream myself I also added a hefty glug of brandy for good measure, not only does it make it even more Christmassy it helps stop the ice cream from freezing rock solid too.
When I served this I was told it tastes like Christmas cake which is exactly what I was aiming for, mission accomplished!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
For the custard ice cream base:
We were talking about Christmas at work last week and some gave me a idea for an ice cream recipe, she said that if you take some store bought vanilla ice cream, leave it to soften, then mix it with a jar of mincemeat it makes a really delicious Christmassy treat.
I really liked the idea and I'm sure it's delicious with store bought ice cream but I wanted to make the whole thing myself, so that's what I did! As well as making the ice cream myself I also added a hefty glug of brandy for good measure, not only does it make it even more Christmassy it helps stop the ice cream from freezing rock solid too.When I served this I was told it tastes like Christmas cake which is exactly what I was aiming for, mission accomplished!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
For the custard ice cream base:
- 3/4 pint whole milk
- vanilla extract
- Two large egg yolks
- 1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 30-40g caster sugar
- Half a pint of double/heavy cream whipped to soft peaks
- 450g micemeat (recipe here or buy some)
- Brandy
- To make the custard pour the milk and vanilla into a saucepan and gently bring to a simmer, don't let it boil.
- Meanwhile beat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour/cornstarch together in a large mixing bowl.
- Once the milk is up to heat pour a little into the egg yolk mixture and quickly beat it in.
- Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over a very gentle heat stirring constantly until it coats the back of a spoon. Don't leave leave it unattended for even a minute or it will burn, curdle or both!
- Once made cool the custard completely before continuing.
- Once the custard is cool fold it into the whipped cream, add the mincemeat and brandy to taste. Be careful not to add too much brandy or your ice cream will never freeze! 4-5 tablespoons should be enough.
- Churn the mix in an ice cream machine or put into a tub in the freezer and beat every hour until frozen.
Monday, 16 November 2009
Christmas goodies from Able and Cole
There's a house just down the road from me that always have their Christmas decorations up by the beginning of November, it seems strange to me that anyone would want to start celebrating so early. I always try to leave all things Christmassy to the last minute, that way the novelty and excitement hasn't worn off by Christmas day!
Of course sometimes there are exceptions to the rule and this year was one of those times. Able and Cole offered to send me some 'Christmas goodies' to try, sausages wrapped in bacon and some cranberry and orange relish. The goodies arrived on Friday well packed in an insulated box full of ice, so far so good...
I cooked a mini Christmas dinner on Sunday -that's a roast chicken to me and you- to eat with the sausages and relish and put them to the full Christmas dinner taste test.
Sausages wrapped in bacon sometimes quaintly called pigs in blankets are one of my favourite Christmas foods, I actually much prefer these to the turkey! Normally I'd make my own but after trying the sausages from Able and Cole I'd be really happy to serve theirs. Whenever I buy sausages the first thing I check is the meat content, anything below 70% and I don't buy them, the sausages I had to try came in at 85% so no problems there. They had a really good texture and were perfectly spiced with coriander, nutmeg and pepper. If you're looking for something to serve with your Christmas dinner this year I can highly recommend these.
Next up was the cranberry and orange relish, I really loved this it made the perfect accompaniment to the sausages and chicken. Normally I would serve traditional cranberry sauce on Christmas day, this relish is quite different but I would say even more delicious. The flavour is far more complex than normal cranberry sauce, you can clearly taste the orange but there are also subtle spice flavours in the background, I'm sure I could taste cloves and star anise in there. The texture is thinner than cranberry sauce in fact it's almost pourable but that's no bad thing at all especially as the cranberries are left whole making this quite a chunky relish. As well as being perfect for Christmas I can imagine pairing this relish alongside pork, sausages, bacon or poultry.
Of course sometimes there are exceptions to the rule and this year was one of those times. Able and Cole offered to send me some 'Christmas goodies' to try, sausages wrapped in bacon and some cranberry and orange relish. The goodies arrived on Friday well packed in an insulated box full of ice, so far so good...
I cooked a mini Christmas dinner on Sunday -that's a roast chicken to me and you- to eat with the sausages and relish and put them to the full Christmas dinner taste test.
Sausages wrapped in bacon sometimes quaintly called pigs in blankets are one of my favourite Christmas foods, I actually much prefer these to the turkey! Normally I'd make my own but after trying the sausages from Able and Cole I'd be really happy to serve theirs. Whenever I buy sausages the first thing I check is the meat content, anything below 70% and I don't buy them, the sausages I had to try came in at 85% so no problems there. They had a really good texture and were perfectly spiced with coriander, nutmeg and pepper. If you're looking for something to serve with your Christmas dinner this year I can highly recommend these.
Next up was the cranberry and orange relish, I really loved this it made the perfect accompaniment to the sausages and chicken. Normally I would serve traditional cranberry sauce on Christmas day, this relish is quite different but I would say even more delicious. The flavour is far more complex than normal cranberry sauce, you can clearly taste the orange but there are also subtle spice flavours in the background, I'm sure I could taste cloves and star anise in there. The texture is thinner than cranberry sauce in fact it's almost pourable but that's no bad thing at all especially as the cranberries are left whole making this quite a chunky relish. As well as being perfect for Christmas I can imagine pairing this relish alongside pork, sausages, bacon or poultry.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Winemaker's grape cake
A few years ago I planted a grape vine against the wall in my garden. At the time I didn't really expect it to do that well, England isn't isn't known for it's grapes after all!
I couldn't have been more wrong, it seems that in cold damp England grape vines can thrive, mine has gone wild climbing up the wall, over the windows and along the washing line! What's made me really happy is that it's also produced a bumper crop of beautiful purple grapes.
Although the grapes were deliciously sweet enough to eat out of hand I'd seen a few recipes for grape cakes that sounded really interesting. We don't really cook with grapes in England so this idea was totally new to me.
The recipe I settled on was from Epicurious.com called winemakers grape cake, what really drew me to this recipe was the use of olive oil rather than butter which not only gives the cake a wonderful texture but a delicious flavour too.
The lived up to all expectations being both perfectly soft and moist but full of flavour too, the little grapes were like bombs of flavour that exploded when you bit into them. A fantastic cake!
You can find the recipe HERE.
I couldn't have been more wrong, it seems that in cold damp England grape vines can thrive, mine has gone wild climbing up the wall, over the windows and along the washing line! What's made me really happy is that it's also produced a bumper crop of beautiful purple grapes.
Although the grapes were deliciously sweet enough to eat out of hand I'd seen a few recipes for grape cakes that sounded really interesting. We don't really cook with grapes in England so this idea was totally new to me.The recipe I settled on was from Epicurious.com called winemakers grape cake, what really drew me to this recipe was the use of olive oil rather than butter which not only gives the cake a wonderful texture but a delicious flavour too.
The lived up to all expectations being both perfectly soft and moist but full of flavour too, the little grapes were like bombs of flavour that exploded when you bit into them. A fantastic cake!You can find the recipe HERE.
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