Recipes By Month Archives - Page 30 of 42

Christmas Spiced Tea

December 13, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 22 Comments

I rather like tea. There are times where no matter how terrible the situation a cup of tea can remedy it in an instant. If the first cup doesn’t work then you move onto a mug. If the mug is failing to turn that frown around then you move onto a larger receptacle. And so on and so forth until the only solution is to fill a bath tub with warm tea and have a little soak. That way you’ve got the best of both worlds.

No matter what the tea there is always an appropriate occasion for it. For example I would start the day on a strong single blend, have an Earl Grey in the afternoon and a fresh green tea in the evening. Each to their own I reckon. Over the festive period I find my tea consumption reduced in favour of mulled wine, sloe gin and hot chocolate. Of course, I don’t start pouring gin over my cornflakes but you get the picture. In order to feel festive and start wading through the mountains of tea I have acquired over the last few months it was time to try making a Christmas tea. read more

Cranberry, Cointreau and Clementine Sauce

December 9, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 26 Comments

cranberry, cointreau and clemantine sauce (1 of 9)

Christmas cannot be a cranberry free zone; this versatile berry can be paired with both sweet and savoury things. Not only is this fruit a great all rounder but it makes itself into a sauce in no time. As the cranberry transforms so simply into a sauce it lends itself to interference, by you, to turn it into something new and exciting. This recipe is for my cranberry sauce with Cointreau and clementine which is extremely delicious when used as a mini pie filling, or, as I like to call them: festive puffs.

You will need (for the cranberry sauce):
200g cranberries
80g sugar
50ml water and 50ml clementine juice, mixed together
Splash Cointreau

Put all the ingredients into a pan and cook for five minutes until the cranberries start to burst. If it looks a like there’s a little too much moisture (I find cranberries to vary a lot in their water content) then cook for a few minutes more to evaporate some of the water. Put the cranberry sauce into a bowl and leave to cool. I’m not sure it gets much simpler and this sets to a lovely dolloping consistency. read more

Crispy Chilli Beef Stir Fry with Purple Kale

November 30, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 20 Comments

You know when only a take away will do? I get that feeling sometimes and short of actually eating said take away there’s not much else that can fulfill that craving. The issue I find is the subsequent guilt after consumption because I always order too much and somehow eat it all anyway. At least that was before I made this stir fry. This has everything I want when I’m craving a take away but using my own ingredients. I’d like to think it’s healthy but I’m not entirely convinced.

You will need (for two):
150g beef cut into strips
A few tbsp flour, seasoned with salt, pepper and cayenne
Groundnut oil
A few large purple kale leaves, cut into thin strips
1 large chilli, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4 spring onions, sliced
3 tbsp dark soy sauce mixed with 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Noodles to serve

Get a wok on a high heat and add about 1cm of groundnut oil. While the oil heats up mix the beef with the seasoned flour until it’s all coated. When the oil is smoking add the beef and fry for about a minute or until cooked and crispy. Remove the beef from the wok and place to one side. Pour away any excess oil but leave a little to cook the vegetables.
Add the kale to the wok and fry for about 30 seconds before adding the chilli, garlic and spring onions. After a minute or so add the soy sauce mix and then put the beef back in. Serve on top of some noodles.
A tip: this stir fry tastes great because everything is cooked in smoking oil but this can lead to slight choking as the kitchen fills with smoke. I would put the extractor fan on full blast and tape down any toupées. read more

Chocolate Covered Salted and Sweet Popcorn Bars

November 20, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 23 Comments

I love popcorn. I don’t know what it is that makes it so addictive that you carry on eating it even though you know it’ll be stuck in your teeth for hours afterwards. I think popcorn is responsible for starting a lot of arguments; queuing at the cinema inevitably results in the question, “Salted or sweet popcorn”? and the ensuing debate afterwards discussing the merits of both flavours.

If I had to choose it would be sweet. Fortunately I no longer have to make this decision as the ingenious people from Toasted have made the ultimate popcorn; sweet and salt. If ever there was a day to rival the invention of sliced bread it has to be this. Never again do we need to decide and end up wishing we’d had the other. This popcorn deserved to be treated to something a little special.

You will need:
300g milk chocolate (I used Milka with Daim)
A few large handfuls of popcorn (salted and sweet ideally)
100g white chocolate read more

An Autumn Picnic 3 of 3: Caramelised Pears with Crumbled Parkin

November 6, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 21 Comments

A picnic must always have something sweet to round it off; a jam tart or two, some chocolate biscuits or even a slice of cake. This being an autumn picnic meant that the sweet must have a seasonal feel. Pears were an obvious choice but you can’t finish a picnic with just a pear that would be akin to having a carrot instead of a birthday cake. No, these pears needed some warmth and caramelised pears seemed just the ticket.

Parkin is a traditional cake eaten on Bonfire Night so I made some a few days before the picnic as I had heard it is a cake better left before eating. This would be the perfect accompaniment to the warm gooey pears. read more

An Autumn Picnic 2 of 3: Garlic Butter Mushroom Burgers

November 4, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 14 Comments

By now those picnic attendees that are left will be crying out for some sustenance and these garlic mushroom burgers really hit the spot; they are warm, juicy and full of flavour. There are several reasons why I chose to use mushrooms rather than meat: you don’t need to take an extra pan, minimum effort is required for delicious results and I think they are actually nicer! Also they sit happily on the BBQ needing barely any attention so you can get on and enjoy the picnic without having to stand and watch over them.

You will need:

4 large mushrooms Garlic butter (butter, garlic, parsley and black pepper) 4 bread rolls

I prepared the butter before I left by crushing three garlic cloves into about 50g butter and mixing it together with a few sprigs of chopped parsley and some black pepper.
Take the mushrooms and wrap them (gill side up) in some foil so they are completely covered. Put the parcel onto the edge of the BBQ, so it is not directly over the heat, and leave them to soften in their own juices for about 20 minutes. When they are soft put a little of the garlic butter onto the mushroom gills and leave the parcel open so that some of the moisture evaporates. After about five minutes toast the buns on the BBQ and put a mushroom in each bun. read more

An Autumn Picnic 1 of 3: Spiced Cider and Sticky Chilli Sausages

November 2, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

Who doesn’t love a picnic? The optimum picnic is of course one where the sun is shining, the birds are singing and everyone has some food that they enjoy. This perfection can normally successfully be achieved in summer where there are lower risks of rain, wind and cold. However, that’s not to say you can’t have a picnic in the autumn; as long as you’re a bit clever with what you make. The idea of this autumn picnic is to encourage you to embrace the outdoors even when you might think outside entertainment is over. In the next three posts I’ll be showing you the recipes I created to keep everyone warm and fed on a blustery afternoon adventure. I did actually make this picnic outside; you can find some pictures of it on my Facebook page, and everything I needed for it fit into a picnic set and one other small bag (two saucepans and some foil). The only additional piece of equipment you need is a BBQ or stove; both to cook the food on and to warm your hands and guests.

To kick the picnic off to a good start I made some spiced cider. The reason for this was twofold; it’s a marriage made in heaven when mixed with cinnamon and I thought if my guests drunk a little cider they might get their cider jacket on and forget it’s cold.
When the BBQ is good and hot, put the cider into a saucepan and add a few cloves, a stick of cinnamon and some star anise. Keep on the heat until lovely and warm and then pour into cups and warm up your hands and your insides.

Celeriac Remoulade, Venison and Sourdough Open Sandwich

October 29, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

Celeriac remoulade venison sandwich ingredients - All That I'm Eating

I don’t wish to be cruel but a celeriac is never going to win the most attractive vegetable of the year award. To make up for its less than enticing characteristics you would have thought Mother Nature would make it easy to get inside, peel it like an orange for example, but the skin of a celeriac is as tough as old boots. That’s not to say it’s not worth the effort, the hand cramp and the awkwardness; it’s a great root to take some frustration out on.

Celeriac has a wonderful flavour, sweetness and crunch and it is at its best (in my opinion) when raw. Uncooked root vegetables must be dressed, it would be rude otherwise, and a classic celeriac remoulade is something I’ve always wanted to try. For me the remoulade needs to have creaminess, some acidity, freshness and a little mustard heat. Combine that with some lovely venison, peppery rocket and tangy sourdough and you’ve got yourself a match made in heaven. read more

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares with Vanilla Salt

October 25, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 16 Comments

vanilla salted marshmallow crispy cakes - All That I'm Eating

Sometimes I feel like I need to let my inner child out and indulge in something so wonderful and absorbing that I can think of nothing else. I wanted to make some marshmallow rice krispie squares, as I had made them once before with great success, but this time they needed to be even more sensuous and luxurious. Thus, these chocolate coated marshmallow rice krispie squares with vanilla salt were born. A bit of a mouthful both to articulate and masticate. I’m sure lots of people claim to have been on the salted caramel scene before it became fashionable but I was not one of them. No. I was on the salted chocolate scene when I was a teenager enjoying nothing more than alternating a ready salted crisp and a bite of chocolate. I have to admit that I thought it was weird and no one would really ‘get it’ hence why I never made stuffing my face with crisps and chocolate in quick succession a public matter. Now is the perfect time to publicise my secret salted chocolate love affair as I have recently been made aware of Vanilla Salt from Halen Mon. They kindly sent me a tube to try for myself.

You will need:
50g butter
300g marshmallows
120g rice krispies
100g milk chocolate
Vanilla salt

Start by warming the butter and marshmallows over a low heat until melted. Stir in the rice krispies. Put the rice krispie mixture into a greased dish. Those three steps sound wonderfully simple and they do result in exactly what you’d expect them to, however, it’s the bit in the middle you want to watch out for. Once the rice krispies are in it’s a countdown to see how quickly you can distribute and deposit them before you end up like I did. I have never met anything as sticky as this; it could have stuck greaseproof paper to a non-stick frying pan if it wanted to. During the transition from pan to dish the marshmallow underwent some sort of metamorphosis. It changed from being silky and smooth to stringy and awkward. If you had walked into the kitchen at this moment you would have thought I was preparing far too early for Halloween in making my marshmallow cobweb costume. I had to use my hands to scoop the mixture into the dish and then realised I myself was part of the marshmallow mixture and much time and gentle coaxing was needed to extract myself from the tangled web of mallow. If nothing else make this just to have ten minutes pretending you are Spiderman.

Let the mixture cool before you portion it up. Melt some milk chocolate and either dunk or dribble the chocolate onto each square. Let the chocolate cool for just a minute before sprinkling the vanilla salt crystals over the top. You want the crystals to stick to the chocolate but not to dissolve into it. Leave to cool.

I knew what to expect from the rice krispie square before I wrapped my teeth around it but I was really surprised at how the other flavours and textures turned this into an incredibly generous treat. Imagine: firstly your teeth crunch slightly on the chocolate and salt and then sink down into a pink pillow of fluffy marshmallow interrupted by the crisp cereal. Then you get the mouth coating that only chocolate can provide interspersed with sweet and chewy marshmallow and the crunch of the rice krispies. Finally there is the unctuous vanilla salt rounding the whole thing off. This is a treat for all the senses. read more

Pears Poached in Elderberry Wine

October 21, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 21 Comments

Pears are funny things. They make us wait for that moment of perfect ripeness and when it occurs we have to eat them immediately. I had two conference pears in my fruit bowl. Every time I went into the kitchen I could see their skinny, stalked tops just poking out over the bowl looking at me, testing my patience. These pears seemed to be staying forever firm; even after four days there wasn’t a whisper of softness. Pears poached in red wine is a classic but not something that I’ve ever tried. If anything was going to soften these pears it was being simmered in alcohol. Not just any wine mind but Elderberry wine. Poaching pears is incredibly simple, takes around half an hour and is brilliantly tasty. I also quite like how the pears look afterwards; slightly over to one side almost as if they are drunk.

You will need:

2 firm pears 1 bottle Elderberry wine 100g sugar

Start by putting the wine and sugar into a pan and bring it to a simmer. While you wait for the wine to warm peel the pears and cut the bottom off so that they will stand up when cooked. When the wine is simmering add the pears and leave for 20-30 minutes or until soft when tested with a skewer.

Remove the pears when they’re soft and then turn the heat up on the wine. Boil the wine until it has reduced to a thin syrup. Depending on the ferocity of your flame and how much evaporated while the pears were cooking this can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Bear with it though and don’t give in to impatience; pears in wine soup would I’m sure be delicious but it’s not quite what you’re after. Serve the pears with their syrup. read more