The 3 Musketeers

Tonight Izzy was lucky enough to have her 2 best buddies come over and join her for dinner. The 2 Isobel’s (aka Mackie & Wrighty) and Easton have been friends since birth and it is such a joy to watch them grow and interact together. Izzy is always so excited to see them both and there are cuddles and kisses all around. Check out this photo and you can see for yourself! Have you seen 3 cuter kids?!?

The 3 Musketeers - love, love, love them!!

For dinner Meredith and I quickly put together Parmesan Chicken Goujons with mashed sweet potato and peas. This went down a treat and I stood at the bench tucking into the left over chicken dipped into tomato sauce. Scrummy!

Parmesan Chicken Goujons (courtesy of Rachel Allen – Rachel’s Favourite Food at Home)

Ingredients:-

600g boneless & skinless chicken

50g plain flour

Salt & pepper

2 eggs, beaten

100g breadcrumbs

50g parmesan cheese, finely grated

You can either cook on the hob or in the oven – I went for the oven.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Cut the chicken into goujons the size of a big finger. Place the flour in a mixing bowl or in a plastic bag with some salt & pepper. Place the beaten eggs in another bowl.  Mix the breadcrumbs and finely grated cheese together and place in a bowl or bag as well.

Toss the goujons in the seasoned flour, making sure they do not stick together, then remove. Shake off the excess flour and dip them in the beaten egg. Remove from the egg, letting the excess drip off, and toss into the breadcrumb and cheese mix. Shake off the excess and lay the goujons n a plate.

Drizzle the base of a preheated baking tray with oil (I didn’t use any oil at all) and lay the floured and seasoned goujons in a single layer. Bake in the oven for 12-18 minutes, turning the goujons over halfway through (forgot to do this!), or when golden on one side. When they are completely cooked , remove from the oven and serve.

A success I think!

This is such an easy recipe. I remember my Mum crumbing fish in the same way and once you have done it once you don’t need a recipe at all! It’s so quick – it takes minutes and has to be better for them than frozen chicken nuggets. Well, I hope so! Finished off with juicy slices of watermelon…..

Good girl Mackie!!

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Muffins are magnificent!

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for our family and I am finding being in the kitchen so therapeutic and as strange as it may sound, a real place of healing for me. Can’t be a bad thing huh? So this may explain the blogging splurge!!

You have to love Saturday mornings – what’s not to love! This morning was a ‘Mummy & Me’ morning as Daddy had a 6am tee off and so we got up and decided to make muffins and then take them to the park to eat after having a scoot!

Izzy's job!

Triple (or Double, in this case!) Berry Muffins (courtesy of Bill Granger – Simply Bill)

Ingredients:-

120g unsalted butter, at room temperature

225g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons  natural vanilla extract

170 ml sour cream

210g self raising flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

sea salt

150g mixed berried (I only used blueberries & raspberries)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line twelve 125ml muffin holes with paper muffin cases.

Cream together the butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla and sour cream and mix well. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt and mix until almost combined. Add the berries and gently fold through the mixture. Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for 25 minutes until golden.

These are delicious muffins – over the course of the day Izzy has eaten way too many!! We caught her up at the table half way through another one having helped herself. Cheeky girl!

In the Park

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La cena era deliziosa (The meal was delicious)!

Looks like I am back on a roll and after finally doing some groceries I am prepared for an exciting week in the kitchen!

Tonight’s dinner certainly was delicious – and once again, easy!!

A frittata is such a versatile dinner and once you have made one and know the base ingredients you can chuck in whatever you have lying in the fridge.

I found this recipe from Rachel Allen and without a doubt I will be serving it again. Even Izzy devoured it so that is a good sign on the road to ‘family favourite’.

At this stage there is no chance that Izzy will even consider salad – ‘no green stuff Mummy’ – but I prepared a quick basic salad of red chard & lambs lettuce (from a bag of course!) and some of Sam’s (our lovely neighbour) tomatoes which were lovingly grown in his greenhouse. While we were in Scotland we drove past Moniack Castle (www.moniackcastle.co.uk) and stopped into the shop where we purchased some Wild Garlic sauce along with some jellies to be used with game meats. I mixed some of the garlic sauce with olive oil and used this to dress the salad. Worked really well.

Potato, Chorizo & Feta Frittata (courtesy of Rachel Allen – Favourite Food at Home)

Ingredients:

250g potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1cm pieces

6 tbsp olive oil (I only used about half of this)

1 onion, peeled and sliced

8 eggs

100ml single cream

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram (I used Mint – have very rarely actually found Marjoram)

125g chorizo, sliced

125g feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, or until just cooked. Do not over-cook or they will go mushy. Drain and set aside.

Heat a 25cm ovenproof frying pan, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil and the sliced onion, cover with a saucepan lid and sweat over a gentle heat until soft and slightly golden. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl, add the cream, 1 tsp salt and the marjoram. Stir in the sliced chorizo, the cooked onions and potatoes.

Heat 3 Tbsp of oilve oil in the frying pan. When it is hot, pour in the egg mixture and stir briefly to distribute the ingredients evenly. Top with the crumbled fet cheese. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until set in the centre. Remove from the oven and allow too cool a little before sliding it onto a large serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

For a vegetarian option you can leave out the chorizo. You can also substitute the potato with butternut squash.

P.S – Had a beetroot brownie today and I think it tasted better than yesterday! No ice cream or cream needed. Go figure!

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Beetroot Brownies? Sounds Interesting…….

A new cook book caught my eye recently and how could I not buy it with a name like ‘Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache’ – what a divine name!! Written by Harry Eastwood – one of the women from ‘Cook Yourself Thin’- and full of delicious cake & pudding recipes but with a twist, Shunning traditional recipes full of butter, sugar & flour Harry has experimented with using ingredients such as ground almonds, rice flour and vegetables. Definitely worth a try!

First up I decided to try the Forbidden Chocolate Brownies. I love Harry’s description – ‘This recipe is dangerous. Sinful & completely irresistible, this brownie is so wicked that you could drown in it. Like a bad man, this is a girl’s deathbed. If it were poison, you would still be glad you’d tried it’.

So the recipe goes something like this…………..

Forbidden Chocolate Brownies (courtesy of Harry Eastwood – Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache)

Ingredients:

400g topped, tailed and peeled raw beetroot, cut into 2cm dice

100g hazelnuts

3 medium, free-range eggs

220g light Muscovado sugar

1/4 tsp salt

150g dark cooking chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), broken into squares

2 tbsp white rice flour

70g good quality cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the top

30g chopped hazelnuts

Preheat the the oven to 160C. Line the base and sides of your tin with baking parchment. Once it is in place, lightly brush the parchment on the base and sides with a little vegetable oil.

Cook the diced beetroot in the microwave for 10 minutes in a heatproof bowl with a small splash of water, covered in cling film.

Whilst the beetroot is cooking, whizz the hazelnuts to a powder in the food processor. Take the time to grind them up as much as you can manage, even if this means blitzing in several stages.

Whisk the eggs, sugar & salt with a hand-held whisk in  a large mixing bowl for 5 minutes until tripled in volume.

Next turn your attention to the beetroot. Drain the water from the cooked, hot beetroot and bend to a puree. Add the chocolate squares before re-covering the bowl with cling film and setting aside. You need to make sure that the beetroot is piping hot or it won’t melt the chocolate. If the beetroot is cooled too much, simply heat it up for 1 final minute in the microwave before proceeding with the next stage of the recipe.

Beat the powdered hazelnuts, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract into the fluffy egg mixture until well combined.

Add the beetroot and melted chocolate puree to the mixture and fold through until fully incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle the 30g chopped hazelnuts over the top. Cook in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool the brownie in the tin for 20 minutes before cutting it into individual brownies and serving.

The verdict? Well I like them – there is a distinct taste and they certainly are rich. I think that they need some ice cream or cream served alongside…..but perhaps that defeats some of the purpose of a ‘healthier’ version! Izzy’s reaction, after being bribed to eat her dinner with chocolate cake, was yuck….but I do think that maybe it was a little too rich for her 2 year old taste buds. James’ reaction was ‘Nice’ and so I batted back with ‘Better than normal choc brownies?’ – the answer ‘No’. I still reckon that ice cream will make all the diiference – absorbs some of the richness!

We were lucky enough to have Aunty Amy cook dinner for us last night – yummy chicken wraps! Thanks AJBD!

Aunty Amy cooking dinner.

Yum yum!

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Scottish Inspiration

This morning I stared at my recipe books stumped – what to make for dinner? Then my eyes hit Nick Nairn – why not continue with the Scottish theme?. Nick Nairn has produced a great recipe book – all Salmon recipes and therefore appropriately called ‘Nick Nairn’s Top 100 Salmon recipes’. A quick flick through and I came across Salmon Crumble with Lemon Courgettes. A great mid week supper – a handful of ingredients and ready in less than 30 mins. Perfect! I don’t hesitate to use the ‘A’ word, or should I say ‘A & E’ for this recipe as well – a good one for adapting and experimenting with herbs and spices!

Salmon Crumble with Lemon Courgettes (courtesy of Nick Nairn – Top 100 Salmon Recipes)

Ingredients:-

4 x 140g salmon fillets (preferably Scottish!!)

For the crumble topping:

85g fresh breadcrumbs

25g parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mixed herbs (parsley & basil)

2 tablespoons melted butter

freshly ground sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the lemon courgettes:

3 tablespoons olive oil (I use about half this)

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 medium courgettes, thinly sliced

juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200C. Grease a baking tin with butter and lay the salmon fillets inside.

Put all the crumble ingredients into a bowl and lightly rub together until large lumps begin to form. (I just blitzed it all in the Magimix). Sprinkle evenly over the fillets and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until crisp and golden. If theya re not golden enough after this time, finish off under the grill – you don’t want the salmon to overcook.

Meanwhile, make the lemon courgettes. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Throw in the courgettes and stir-fry for 3 minutes until beginning to colour and soften. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.

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Taking over Auntie Laura’s kitchen

Well it has been a few weeks now since I have been in the kitchen, slack I know!!  James, Izzy & I have been in Scotland for the last 10 days where we have enjoyed some R & R and hospitality courtesy of Robert & Laura. It was a very relaxed break and we just tiki-toured around the gorgeous countryside and spent the time between Aberdeen and the seaside town of Nairn. It was great to spend time with R & L and  also James’ cousin Gillian and her family and for Izzy to have the opportunity to spend time with her Scottish rellies.

The Wright's at Loch Ness

On our final night in Aberdeen I took over Auntie Laura’s kitchen (and boy, did I make a mess – luckily I had a couple of sous chef’s on hand to clear up!). Laura took on the starter and what could be more Scottish than Haggis, Neeps & Tatties with a whisky sauce. Since my first taste of Haggis, quite a few years ago now, I have been a fan. I think the secret is not to think about what it actually is – yum!

Auntie Laura's starter - delicious!!

The main course was Roast Beef with various accompaniements. It was sort of successful. James and I decided a while back that this winter is going to bring with it the challenge of mastering the Roast Dinner. There is some work to do. On this occasion I referred to Gordon Ramsay’s Sunday Lunch. My first mistake was not taking into account the fan oven and therefore cooking it too quick on the outside and a bit rare on the inside. Gordon’s recipe also calls for a Red Wine gravy and to be honest it was a bit of a palaver and not worth the effort. There was so much liquid it would have been the next night before it reduced to anything particularly gravy like – so we renamed it a red wine jous…..

My big success was the Yorkshire pudding – a first attempt too. Instead of individual ones I made one large one and it turned out fab. Gordon’s recipe below.

Yorkshire Puddings (courtesy of Gordon Ramsay – ‘Sunday Lunch’)

Ingredients:-

225g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs, beaten

300ml milk

about 4 tbsp vegetable oil

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs and half the milk and beat until smooth. Mix in the remaining milk and leave the batter to rest.

Once beef is cooked and resting increase the oven to 230C. Put 1 tsp oil into each section of a 12 hole tray and put into the oven on the top shelf until very hot (almost smoking).

Whisk batter again. As soon as you take tray from the oven, ladle in the batter to 3/4 fill the tins (it should sizzle) and immediately put back in the oven. Bake for 15-20 mins until the Yorkshire puddings are well risen, golden brown and crisp. Don’t open the oven door until the end or they might collapse.

Success!

Finally the main was served. Really need to work on my timings – thank goodness for Laura’s hostess trolley!

Slàinte mhath (for non-Gaelic speakers 'Cheers')

It was getting late and we still had dessert to eat. Luckily I had it all prepared earlier and it was easy peasy! Gordon provides a good crumble recipe and it can easily be adapted with whatever fruits are in season. I don’t use the word ‘adapt’ often as I am strict recipe follower!

Strawberry, Peach & Ginger Crumble (courtesy of Gordon Ramsay – ‘Sunday Food’)

Ingredients:-

3 ripe peaches

300g strawberries, hulled and quartered

2 pieces of stem ginger in syrup, drained and finely chopped

2 Tbsp sugar

Crumble:

50g toasted hazelnuts

70g plain flour

pinch of ground cinnamon

25g cold butter, cut into small pieces

50g demerara sugar

(Strangely the recipe also calls for 2 tbsp caster sugar in the crumble – but no instruction when to add this??)

Heat the oven to 200C. Halve, stone and roughly dice the peaches, then put them into a dry non-stick pan with the strawberries, ginger, sugar and 2 tbsp water. Cook over a high heat for 2 mins until the fruit is slightly softened but not mushy. Tip into a bowl and allow to cool.

For the crumble, lightly crush the hazelnuts in a bowl with the end of a rolling pin. In a large mixing bowl, stir together with the flour and cinnamon. Using the tips of your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir through the crushed hazelnuts and demerara sugar.

Spoon the softened fruit into four wide ramekins or individual baking dishes (I used one large bowl but as it was quite deep the fruit spilled over some of the crumble so best wide and not too deep). Top with the crumble mixture, scattering it evenly, and stand the dishes on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 mins until the topping is golden brown and crisp.

Leave the crumble to stand for a few minutes before serving, with cream or creme anglaise (although I prefer vanilla ice cream!).

This could definitely become a family favourite – easy – tick, tasty – tick, easy to experiment with – tick….

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Upside-down plum cake

I had never cooked a cake in this way – I had to re-read the recipe a number of times to make sure I really was supposed to cook it in a frying pan – sounded a bit strange! Easy to make and the resulting cake is moist and scrumptious. It is a real treat – the sort of cake you need to eat with a fork and a nice hot cup of tea. Perfect!

Upside-down plum cake (courtesy of Bill Granger – ‘Simply Bill’)

Ingredients:-

850g plums

50g unsalted butter, softened

115g caster sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cake:

100g unsalted butter

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

155g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preheat he oven to 180C. USe a sharp knife to slice the cheeks from the plums and discard the stones. To make the caramel, melt the butter in an ovenproof 28cm frying pan over low heat. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until dissolved. increase the heat and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until golden and caramelized. Transfer the plums to the pan and cook gently for 2 mins.

To make the cake, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt over the mixture and beat until smooth. Beat the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until stiff. Fold into the mixture with a metal spoon. Spoon over the plums in the pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula.

Bake for 40 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to rest for a minute before carefully turning out and serving with cream or creme fraiche.

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Louise learns to cook!

My friend Louise has recently bought a house with Adam and as happens when you leave your parents home she is tasked with the joy (or chore, depending on your perspective!) of learning to cook. She has been doing great and this week was very proud of her efforts – even taking a picture to show me. Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food is a great cook book to start with as has a good range of dishes for both the beginner and the more experienced cook, for two people or for a family.

I thought Louise’s efforts were definitely worth a blog and so here are the pics and the recipe!! Well done mate!

Minced Beef Wellington (courtesy of Jamie Oliver’s ‘Ministry of Food’)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

1 potato

2 cloves of garlic

2 large field or portobello mushrooms

olive oil

4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

a big handful of frozen peas

1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic

500g good-quality minced beef

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

plain flour, for dusting

500g puff pastry, chilled

Preheat the oven to 180C. Peel and chop the onion, carrot, celery and potato into 1cm sized dice. Finely grate the garlic. Clean and roughly chop the mushrooms so they’re about the same size as the other veg. Place all the veg into a large frying pan on a medium low heat with 2 lugs of olive oil. Pick the rosemary off the woody stalks, finely chop them and add to the pan. Fry and stir for around 8 minutes or until the veg soften and colour lightly. Add the frozen peas and cook for another minute. Put the vegetable mixture into a large bowl to cool completely. Crack the egg into a cup and beat it up. Add the minced beef to the bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper and half the beaten egg. With clean hands, scrunch and mix up well.

Lightly dust your clean work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll out the puff pastry so it is roughly the size and shape of a small tea towel. Dust with flour as you go. Turn your pastry so you have a long edge in front of you and place the mince mixture along this edge. Mould into an even, long sausage shape. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little of the beaten egg. Roll the mince up in the pastry until it’s covered completely. Squeeze the ends together – it will look like a big Christmas cracker! Dust a baking tray with flour and place your Wellington on top. Brush all over with the rest of the beaten egg. Bake in the preheated oven for an hour until golden.

Looks like it was big hit with Adam! Delicious!!

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