There’s something you need to know about these turnovers. Although they are most excellent for using up leftovers they are more than worth baking up in their own right. Am I the only one who couldn’t say no if offered Smoked Cheddar and Pickled Onion Turnovers? Didn’t think so. Perfect for using up roast or mashed potatoes, pickled onions or chutneys and whatever hunk of cheese you have lying around. Completely versatile and a little bit too tasty to believe you can knock them up out of some odds and ends.
Marshmallow Rice Krispie Yule Log
I tried making a traditional Yule Log a few years ago. It was somewhat stressful. Apart from the fact that my butter is never warm enough and I always lose patience and mix it up anyway and deal with the consequential sponge that turns up the whole process is fraught with danger. The rolling up, unrolling, spreading of cream, re-rolling and hoping for no cracking then furiously patching it up with ganache, chocolate flying all over the place. It’s all a bit much for me; I’d rather be sipping a G&T and relaxing rather than cleaning ganache off of the kitchen tiles. That’s how my Marshmallow Rice Krispie Yule Log came about. It’s easy to make and you can fashion it into any shape that you like; the more dexterous amongst you may wish to attempt an actual reindeer.
2016 Christmas Food and Gift Guide
This year’s Christmas food and gift guide is full of different products to try! A little collection of tasty treats and foodie gifts to give you a few ideas. If I find anything else I think is worth popping on I’ll be adding to this list over the next few weeks. I’ve got wreaths, crisps, chocolates, prepared veg, dessert tea and a hamper to get you started.
Herb wreath from Rocket Gardens
I love this, I think it’s such a lovely idea and something different to hang on your front door. Made from bay leaves, rosemary and chillies and made in Devon you can actually use the herbs over the coming weeks in all sorts of recipes. RRP £29.99 deliveries available from w/c 12th December.
Granny’s Oat Biscuits
When I was young I baked with my Granny at any opportunity. She’s got mad cooking skills and will beat anything together that looks like it’s not going to work, portion up a raw chicken to freeze in the blink of an eye and somehow manages to produce amazing food from seemingly nothing. Safe to say, she knows what she’s doing. However, we made these biscuits once together and, thanks to a timely phone call from my Mum, somehow both forgot to add any sugar to the dough. We made some very successful crackers but it wasn’t quite what we were aiming for. Almost 20 years later I thought it was probably time to give Granny’s Oat Biscuits another try.
New in the Kitchen November
November has certainly let us know it’s arrived! The weather has definitely got colder and the trees are all almost bear. That means that the cooking has changed in my kitchen. It’s all about comfort food, being clever with leftovers and slow cooking at the weekends. I have been trying out some new products this month too so here’s what’s new in the kitchen November.
Lee Kum Kee sent me a few of their sauces to try. The Kung Pao chicken (in the pouch) was really good for a chicken stir fry with bean sprouts and cashew nuts. You use a little of the sauce to marinate the chicken before you cook it so it’s good for a quick weeknight dinner. I really like the packaging on the bottles of oyster sauce and sesame dressing, they’ve cheered my cupboard up! The sesame dressing is particularly good over steamed carrots.
Burley Manor – An Autumn Weekend Escape
This was a gifted stay and meal.
A night away is a real treat; one where you have gone far enough that you’re away from home but not so far that you get bored of driving. The New Forest is much closer to me than I had previously realised (how I’ve not recognised this before is quite astounding) and a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of day to day life so I was really looking forward to a stay at Burley Manor.
The hotel
Based in Burley, in the New Forest, Burley Manor is a wonderful, big old house that has been transformed into a modern hotel. There have been some new bits added so there are more rooms but as they are no taller than one story and red brick like the main house you don’t even notice they’re new. Throughout the lounges, dining room and conservatory (and most of the rooms too) you have an uninterrupted view of the beautiful New Forest countryside; which when we arrived was straight out of a Countryfile calendar complete with deer and everything.
Lime, Thyme and Quince Gin Cocktail
I made my quince gin as a way to use some of those delicious fuzzy fruits that grow in the garden. The gin has come out a wonderful, pale canary yellow colour and makes a divine gin and tonic. It is in fact so delicious that it deserved a mix up of its own, something to complement the quince’s distinctive flavour. I love using herbs in drinks and puddings and I wanted to add a botanical twang to this drink. A Lime, Thyme and Quince Gin Cocktail is the way forward. Trust me.
Ingredients
You will need (per drink):
Balsamic Roasted Vegetables and Lemon and Black Pepper Cod with Birds Eye
When I’m thinking of ways to treat myself in the middle of the week I like to try and make my life as easy as possible. I prefer to make things where everything is cooked together, or use the same tools. For example I would always try to steam any vegetables over potatoes or pasta that I’m cooking, or if I’m roasting something I try to put everything in the oven. That’s what this meal is all about; grabbing a few bits and bobs from around the kitchen and lifting a meal into something delicious. So, instead of going for a standard fillet of fish, I tried the Lemon and Cracked Black Pepper Lightly Dusted Cod from the Birds Eye ‘Inspirations’ range and works so well with sticky balsamic roasted veggies.
Bar Centro Gothenburg
First and foremost I must start by telling you that all the food in Gothenburg is really rather good. My top tip is to make sure you eat out with as many people as possible so you can nick food off their plate to try everything. Luckily we were travelling in a pack of four (the OH, his sister and her husband, and me of course). We ate out for almost every meal and whether you are in a coffee shop with some excellent kanelbullar, an Italian deli (Fratelli Gridelli) which makes just three pasta dishes (all of which were incredible) or a restaurant with a view (Gothia Towers I’m thinking of you) they know what they’re doing. The meal which stood out the most for me was the one we had on the first night at Bar Centro. Coffee shop by day, bar and tapas by night.
Quince Gin
Having put quinces through their baking paces (adding them to crumbles or baking them with honey) I wanted to see how else I could use them. Steeping them with gin seemed like a logical step; the unique flavour of quince I thought would work really well, and it does. I set about making some quince gin and I made a little film about it too. It’s the first film I’ve made and I have a new YouTube channel too, check it out below!
I love the light golden colour that the finished gin has and the delicious, almost tropical taste, the quince gives. This is just the tipple for cold, dark nights with your thickest slippers and a cosy blanket.
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