Every year christmas evokes memories of such delights as the festive ham, pies, pastry and other such indulgent treats. I therefore thought I'd share with you a recipe for a pie at christmas, a christmas ham and how the two interlink.
To start with the pie (which is based upon a spiced pork pie recipe) is made with hot water crust pastry. Do not be afraid. I was fearful the first time I made this pastry, and it didn't help that it was a Gordon Ramsay's recipe that seemed to suggest everything that could posibly go wrong. Since then I've discovered that there are some simple rules to hot water crust pastry...namely:-
Don't fiddle with it too much
Don't worry about rolling it out for the base, sometimes pushing the pastry into the bottom of the tin is more effective.
If it cools too quickly and begins to crack, pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds maximum, and hey presto it becomes soft and pliable again
It was whilst I was simmering my ham for christmas, that I hit upon the idea of using the ham stock, simmered with a pigs trotter for a tasty jelly for my pie. It works really well, and means you get little or no wastage. Anyway onto the food.
For the ham you will need
1 x 2kg ham, uncooked
3 bay leaves
2 carrots
4 sticks celery
10 peppercorns
4 juniper berries (optional)
cinnamon stick
1 bulb garlic sliced in two
1 onion roughly chopped
For the glaze
4 tbsp marmalade
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
Begin by placing the ham in a large stock pot, adding all of the other ingredients and enough water to cover the ham - bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 1.5-2 hours. You may need to top up the water occasionally - if so, use hot water from a kettle to avoid slowing down the cooking process.
Once the ham has been simmered, remove and leave to cool slightly. Remove the outer rind, leaving the thin layer of fat intact. Don't worry about studding the fat with cloves - however do score the fat in diamonds as this helps the glaze to get into the ham.
Place the ham onto a roasting tray, mix the glaze ingredients together and smear all over the ham. Bake at approximately 170oc for 45-60 minutes, basting occasionally. Allow to cool and enjoy.
Now, onto the pie - if you don't want to make a christmas pork pie, then use the ham stock to make a ham and lentil soup. Anyway, for the pie you will need:-
0.5kg minced pork shoulder
some of the rind from the ham, very finely chopped or minced
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
170g of the ham you have cooked, cut into small 1cm chunks. If you do not have any cooked ham then use panchetta or bacon.
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
salt and black pepper
half tsp nutmeg or mace
In a frying pan gently fry the onion and garlic until the onions are softened and translucent. Allow to go cold, and using your hands, mix the pork, rind, onions/garlic, spices, ham (or panchetta/bacon) and season with salt and pepper. Set the mixture aside
For the pastry you will need:-
450g plain flour
1 tsp salt
200g lard
200ml water
Heat the oven to 200oc
In a saucepan place the water and lard and bring to a simmer. In a bowl place the flour and salt making a well in the centre. Add the lard/water to the flour and salt and mix well - your hands are probably best for this.
If the pastry is very warm and pliable, don't even attempt to roll it out, either allow it to cool slightly or using your hands, push the pastry into the base of a greased tin (I find a 20cm loose bottom, sprung side cake tin works well).
Once you have lined the cake tin, place the meat mixture into the pastry case, but do not press the mixture down, you need gaps inbetween the meat for the jellied stock. The mixture should almost reach the top of the cake tin. Roll out the top and cover the pie, sealing the edges with water. Cut a 1cm diameter hole in the top of the pastry case, to allow steam to escape and for pouring jelly into the pie later. Brush egg yolk over the pie.
Bake for the first 30 mins at 200oc, then reduced the heat to 170c and bake for a further 90 minutes. If the pie becomes too brown, cover with foil.
For the jellied stock you will need:-
Approx 1 litre ham stock, or vegetable stock.
1 pigs trotter (or at a push you can use gelatine)
Whilst the pie is cooking, bring the pigs trotter to a simmer in the ham stock and simmer for approximately 2 hours, topping up the water if necessary. Strain and set aside.
If using gelatine, strain the stock, heat up gently and melt 2 gelatine leaves in the stock. Set aside.
Once the pie is cooked, remove the pie from the tin (easier if you're using a loose bottom or sprung side tin) and return to the oven for approx 5-10 mins to crisp up the outside. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for approximately 20 minutes.
Whilst still warm pour the jellied stock into the pie - you may need to top this up several times as the jelly finds the gaps inbetween the meat filling. This is much easier with the stock made with a pigs trotter as if the jelly sets, a quick 20 seconds in the microwave brings is back to liquid.
Allow the pie to go cold, wrap in greaseproof paper and chill - try to leave it for at least 24 hours to allow the jelly to settle, and the flavours to mix. Enjoy in chunky slices with pickles and chutney.
Happy eating
Cath
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Friday, 29 August 2008
Lemongrass and Ginger Cake
Thought I'd share this recipe with you. It was recently entered in the UKTV Food's Market Kitchen 'Bake a Cake' competition, and I'm pleased to say has won. This lovely cake will be made on an episode of Market Kitchen to be aired soon.
LEMONGRASS AND GINGER CAKE
Lemongrass, although unusual in a cake gives a lovely perfume to the cake, and the ginger provides the necessary kick. Due to the amount of ginger, I'd suggest that this is more of an adult cake, as it may be a little strong for children.
The cake developed as I was making a lemon cake, and came across my lemongrass and ginger cordial and thought I'd give it a whirl. It works well
Ingredients
175g butter or margarine
3 eggs
175g self raising flour
half tsp baking powder
75g stem ginger in syrup finely chopped Reserve some of the syrup
1 tsp ground ginger
10 tbsp lemongrass and ginger cordial (I use Bottlegreen)
Zest of one lemon
125g sugar
1 stick lemongrass, bashed
50g caster sugar
2 tbsp water
Method
1 Preheat oven to 180oc. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin. Add baking powder to self raising flour and sieve. Set aside
2 Make the cake by using the creaming method, beating butter and sugar together until creamy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, adding one third of sieved flour with each egg.
3 Stir in the ground ginger and stem ginger and mix well. Finally add approximately 4 tbs lemongrass and ginger cordial.
4 Pour into the lined cake tin and bake for approximately 45-55 minutes, if using a fan oven check after 35-40 minutes. If a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean then its done.
5 Whilst the cake is still warm make the syrup. Pour the remaining lemongrass and ginger cordial into a saucepan, add the bashed lemongrass, lemon zest and approx 1 tbsp syrup from the stem ginger and sugar. You may wish to add 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
6 Whilst the cake is still in the cake tin pour over the flavoured syrup and allow to cool. Once cool and the cake has absorbed the syrup, remove from tin and enjoy.
This is more of an adult cake than one for children. Leave the cake for 24 hours and the flavour intensifies.
Feel free to send over some of your cake recipes - I love trying new flavours
Cath
LEMONGRASS AND GINGER CAKE
Lemongrass, although unusual in a cake gives a lovely perfume to the cake, and the ginger provides the necessary kick. Due to the amount of ginger, I'd suggest that this is more of an adult cake, as it may be a little strong for children.
The cake developed as I was making a lemon cake, and came across my lemongrass and ginger cordial and thought I'd give it a whirl. It works well
Ingredients
175g butter or margarine
3 eggs
175g self raising flour
half tsp baking powder
75g stem ginger in syrup finely chopped Reserve some of the syrup
1 tsp ground ginger
10 tbsp lemongrass and ginger cordial (I use Bottlegreen)
Zest of one lemon
125g sugar
1 stick lemongrass, bashed
50g caster sugar
2 tbsp water
Method
1 Preheat oven to 180oc. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin. Add baking powder to self raising flour and sieve. Set aside
2 Make the cake by using the creaming method, beating butter and sugar together until creamy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, adding one third of sieved flour with each egg.
3 Stir in the ground ginger and stem ginger and mix well. Finally add approximately 4 tbs lemongrass and ginger cordial.
4 Pour into the lined cake tin and bake for approximately 45-55 minutes, if using a fan oven check after 35-40 minutes. If a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean then its done.
5 Whilst the cake is still warm make the syrup. Pour the remaining lemongrass and ginger cordial into a saucepan, add the bashed lemongrass, lemon zest and approx 1 tbsp syrup from the stem ginger and sugar. You may wish to add 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
6 Whilst the cake is still in the cake tin pour over the flavoured syrup and allow to cool. Once cool and the cake has absorbed the syrup, remove from tin and enjoy.
This is more of an adult cake than one for children. Leave the cake for 24 hours and the flavour intensifies.
Feel free to send over some of your cake recipes - I love trying new flavours
Cath
Monday, 4 August 2008
Smoking Food
For me, smoked food has always been a favourite. I'll happily pay a little extra for smoked duck breast, chicken, cheese and fish. Maybe its memories of campfires whilst in scouts as a teenager, but I jut can't get enough of that lovely earthy flavour. For Christmas, I bought my husband a day smoking course at Smoky Jo's in Shap (www.smokyjos.co.uk) , and managed to buy a place for myself and muscle in on his present. On saturday we visited Smoky Jo's not quite sure what we would learn, but certainly eager to pick up useful hints and tips. We'd tried smoking fish in a wok over tea but almost blinded ourselves, we own a smoker but our first attempt ended in a fire...so as you can see, we needed as much help as possible.
Visit Smoky Jo's and you'll be given a warm and hospitable welcome by Jo and Georgie who run courses in their beautiful home, complete with accommodation. Former owners of a local smokehouse in the area there isn't anything these two don't know.
Our day started with simple brining of chicken, designed to keep in moisture and ensure you have a succulent end result. After brining the chicken we flavoured some trout and salmon. The course allows ou to really let your imagination go wild, and experiment with flavours. The surprising element is that some flavours which may be pungent, barely come through once smoked, and some other subtle flavours are very evident in the end result.
After a few flavour attempts, we were introduced to the smokers...I say introduced as they have names, and each have their own character in the way they smoke, flavour and cook the food. Jo and Georgie obviously have some professional smokers (looking like large bbqs some with a separate hot box for cold smoking) but best of all is Freddy the filing cabinet - absolutely ingenious (check it out on their website), who can produce hot and cold smoked goods in each of his 4 drawers.
So what did we sample on the day? Well for me the absolute stars were the smoked sausages - important to use a sausage with a high meat content, but these were sublime. My husband liked smoked mushrooms, and is currently thinking of using portobello mushrooms and creating a smoked mushroom pate. We also enjoyed smoked trout, hot and cold smoked salmon, peppers, aubergines, nuts, scallops, prawns and mussels and cheese.
I'd recommend this course to anybody interested in finding out about food smoking, not only is the scenery breathtaking, the owners delightful and the food excellent but its a fabulous way to spend a day.
To Jo and Georgie, thanks for a great day
Cath
Visit Smoky Jo's and you'll be given a warm and hospitable welcome by Jo and Georgie who run courses in their beautiful home, complete with accommodation. Former owners of a local smokehouse in the area there isn't anything these two don't know.
Our day started with simple brining of chicken, designed to keep in moisture and ensure you have a succulent end result. After brining the chicken we flavoured some trout and salmon. The course allows ou to really let your imagination go wild, and experiment with flavours. The surprising element is that some flavours which may be pungent, barely come through once smoked, and some other subtle flavours are very evident in the end result.
After a few flavour attempts, we were introduced to the smokers...I say introduced as they have names, and each have their own character in the way they smoke, flavour and cook the food. Jo and Georgie obviously have some professional smokers (looking like large bbqs some with a separate hot box for cold smoking) but best of all is Freddy the filing cabinet - absolutely ingenious (check it out on their website), who can produce hot and cold smoked goods in each of his 4 drawers.
So what did we sample on the day? Well for me the absolute stars were the smoked sausages - important to use a sausage with a high meat content, but these were sublime. My husband liked smoked mushrooms, and is currently thinking of using portobello mushrooms and creating a smoked mushroom pate. We also enjoyed smoked trout, hot and cold smoked salmon, peppers, aubergines, nuts, scallops, prawns and mussels and cheese.
I'd recommend this course to anybody interested in finding out about food smoking, not only is the scenery breathtaking, the owners delightful and the food excellent but its a fabulous way to spend a day.
To Jo and Georgie, thanks for a great day
Cath
Monday, 14 July 2008
Eating with the Enemy (again) and a culinary trip to edinburgh
At last, came back from a weekend in Edinburgh and received a letter confirming that the telly programme Eating with the enemy (see earlier blog in March 2008) will finally be aired from Monday 21st July 2008, 4.30pm on bbc2. The north west heats are the first.
So back to Edinburgh. Well being a foodie it wouldn't be a weekend unless it involved eating and drinking and this weekend certainly did. Mark and I had spent a weekend in Edinburgh some years ago in 2003 and found a delightful restaurant called 'Off the Wall' off the Royal Mile. We planned to be utterly predictable and visit their again however its now an Indian Restaurant (even though their website is still up and running).
Anyway we decided to research eateries before heading to Edinburgh and couldn't help but be impressed by a restaurant called the Witchery on the royal mile next to St Giles Cathedral and close to the entrance to the castle www. thewitchery.com. This restaurant has one of the most efficient booking systems ever. You select your date and time and number of guests, book in online and receive an e-mail and text message confirming your booking. You can also provide e-mail addresses for your eating partners and they receive an invitation. Finally the day before you will receive a phone call to confirm that you are still able to attend - excellent.
So onto the food, I ordered wild rabbit and toulouse sausage terrine (with a carrot slice in the terrine showing an excellent sense of humour from the chef) and Mark ordered ceviche of western isle scallops and oak smoked salmon. Both utterly delicious. The scallops were flavoured with lime juice and had just the right amount of sweetness. The terrine was a triumph, full of flavour and moist.
As a main course we decided to order the chateaubriand of borders beef for two that came with some jenga chips (square chips piled a la jenga) and bearnaise sauce. Now we fell at the first hurdle when the waiter asked how we'd like our chateaubriand for two - Mark said medium rare and I said rare. We compromised on rare (yessss) and Mark had the more well done slices. It was truly delightful, cooked to perfection, a beautiful silky and slightly acidic sauce, accompanied by portobello mushrooms flavoured with tarragon that complemented the bearnaise sauce very well.
The Witchery is not a cheap eatery, however its dark and seductive interiors and panelling, excellent service and wine list that resembles the encyclopedia britannica is awe inspiring. My only complaint - the bread came as we were part way through our starters. If thats the only complaint, then thats not so bad. Dinner for two, including bottled water and a bottle of Lirac came to £116 - and worth every scottish penny.
So what other culinary delights did we sample in Edinburgh? Well, as our hotel booking did not include breakfast (we'd rather explore and eat out) we had a fabulous breakfast in The Royal MacGregor pub on the Royal Mile on saturday morning. soft scrambled eggs and black pudding on toast, beautifully cooked and served with a smile. the contrast being on Sunday we breakfasted in Garfunkles on the Royal Mile and had scrambled eggs you could sole shoes with, no seasoning, no toast, and I suspect that reconstituted egg played a small part in the breakfast - such a disgrace that I was forced to complain (yes for the 4th time in my life) and the eggs were comped. Memo to self, in future if we have a good breakfast on one day, eat there again!!
On saturday evening we'd read some great reviews about Fischers Bistro in Leith and planned to eat there on saturday evening, but it was fully booked. So off to the Royal Mile again we went and found an absolute gem. A restaurant called Wedgewood. I can't find a website, but you can find rave reviews on www.toptable.co.uk/Wedgewood-Restaurant. We walked in off the street with no reservation and were delighted to get a table straight away. The restaurant is contemporary in design, has quiet music in the background and a decent view of the kitchen. Run by Lisa and Paul, this is an oasis of calm.
I ordered sticky sesame beef for starter which was soft, not really sticky at all but had a decent amount of sesame oil, soy sauce and honey to give it a boost. My only criticism that the dish was messy to eat and I had a trail of sauce leading from the bowl to my lap (where thankfully my napkin caught the torrent). Mark had crab and salmon tiene which he pronounced as very light and refreshing although the wow factor may have been missing.
We were given a complementary course as a palette cleanser and this one little glass completely blew our socks off. This is why the Wedgewood is so good. We were presented with little shot glasses that contained raspberry sorbet at the bottom, topped up with ginger ale and topped with lemon sorbet and a raspberry. Ok, you may not think this is anything special, but let me tell you, its the most delicious and unusual palette cleanser I've encountered in a long time, so simple and yet so bloomin fabulous.
For the main course I ordered crisped sea bass which came with garlic potatoes and green beans - beautiful fish cooked to perfection and seasoned so well I didn't even glance at the salt and pepper pigs on the table. Mark ordered the venison with a juniper and peppercorn jus - however the waitress did not ask him how he would like it cooked. Luckily it came just on the rare side of medium, which is how Mark would have ordered it. He was suitably impressed.
We were asked to sign the visitors book as it was our first time and were happy to do so, discovering that 2 days prior the Raconteurs had been in the restaurant...well if its good enough for the Raconteurs.......
Dinner for 2 including a lovely vanilla bottle of chablis and water came to around £80.
I'm certainly not suggesting that the only decent eateries in Edinburgh are on or around the royal mile, its just that we were staying in that area and gravitated towards the hustle and bustle of the royal mile. Given more time in edinburgh we'd have sought out some eateries further afield.
Cath
So back to Edinburgh. Well being a foodie it wouldn't be a weekend unless it involved eating and drinking and this weekend certainly did. Mark and I had spent a weekend in Edinburgh some years ago in 2003 and found a delightful restaurant called 'Off the Wall' off the Royal Mile. We planned to be utterly predictable and visit their again however its now an Indian Restaurant (even though their website is still up and running).
Anyway we decided to research eateries before heading to Edinburgh and couldn't help but be impressed by a restaurant called the Witchery on the royal mile next to St Giles Cathedral and close to the entrance to the castle www. thewitchery.com. This restaurant has one of the most efficient booking systems ever. You select your date and time and number of guests, book in online and receive an e-mail and text message confirming your booking. You can also provide e-mail addresses for your eating partners and they receive an invitation. Finally the day before you will receive a phone call to confirm that you are still able to attend - excellent.
So onto the food, I ordered wild rabbit and toulouse sausage terrine (with a carrot slice in the terrine showing an excellent sense of humour from the chef) and Mark ordered ceviche of western isle scallops and oak smoked salmon. Both utterly delicious. The scallops were flavoured with lime juice and had just the right amount of sweetness. The terrine was a triumph, full of flavour and moist.
As a main course we decided to order the chateaubriand of borders beef for two that came with some jenga chips (square chips piled a la jenga) and bearnaise sauce. Now we fell at the first hurdle when the waiter asked how we'd like our chateaubriand for two - Mark said medium rare and I said rare. We compromised on rare (yessss) and Mark had the more well done slices. It was truly delightful, cooked to perfection, a beautiful silky and slightly acidic sauce, accompanied by portobello mushrooms flavoured with tarragon that complemented the bearnaise sauce very well.
The Witchery is not a cheap eatery, however its dark and seductive interiors and panelling, excellent service and wine list that resembles the encyclopedia britannica is awe inspiring. My only complaint - the bread came as we were part way through our starters. If thats the only complaint, then thats not so bad. Dinner for two, including bottled water and a bottle of Lirac came to £116 - and worth every scottish penny.
So what other culinary delights did we sample in Edinburgh? Well, as our hotel booking did not include breakfast (we'd rather explore and eat out) we had a fabulous breakfast in The Royal MacGregor pub on the Royal Mile on saturday morning. soft scrambled eggs and black pudding on toast, beautifully cooked and served with a smile. the contrast being on Sunday we breakfasted in Garfunkles on the Royal Mile and had scrambled eggs you could sole shoes with, no seasoning, no toast, and I suspect that reconstituted egg played a small part in the breakfast - such a disgrace that I was forced to complain (yes for the 4th time in my life) and the eggs were comped. Memo to self, in future if we have a good breakfast on one day, eat there again!!
On saturday evening we'd read some great reviews about Fischers Bistro in Leith and planned to eat there on saturday evening, but it was fully booked. So off to the Royal Mile again we went and found an absolute gem. A restaurant called Wedgewood. I can't find a website, but you can find rave reviews on www.toptable.co.uk/Wedgewood-Restaurant. We walked in off the street with no reservation and were delighted to get a table straight away. The restaurant is contemporary in design, has quiet music in the background and a decent view of the kitchen. Run by Lisa and Paul, this is an oasis of calm.
I ordered sticky sesame beef for starter which was soft, not really sticky at all but had a decent amount of sesame oil, soy sauce and honey to give it a boost. My only criticism that the dish was messy to eat and I had a trail of sauce leading from the bowl to my lap (where thankfully my napkin caught the torrent). Mark had crab and salmon tiene which he pronounced as very light and refreshing although the wow factor may have been missing.
We were given a complementary course as a palette cleanser and this one little glass completely blew our socks off. This is why the Wedgewood is so good. We were presented with little shot glasses that contained raspberry sorbet at the bottom, topped up with ginger ale and topped with lemon sorbet and a raspberry. Ok, you may not think this is anything special, but let me tell you, its the most delicious and unusual palette cleanser I've encountered in a long time, so simple and yet so bloomin fabulous.
For the main course I ordered crisped sea bass which came with garlic potatoes and green beans - beautiful fish cooked to perfection and seasoned so well I didn't even glance at the salt and pepper pigs on the table. Mark ordered the venison with a juniper and peppercorn jus - however the waitress did not ask him how he would like it cooked. Luckily it came just on the rare side of medium, which is how Mark would have ordered it. He was suitably impressed.
We were asked to sign the visitors book as it was our first time and were happy to do so, discovering that 2 days prior the Raconteurs had been in the restaurant...well if its good enough for the Raconteurs.......
Dinner for 2 including a lovely vanilla bottle of chablis and water came to around £80.
I'm certainly not suggesting that the only decent eateries in Edinburgh are on or around the royal mile, its just that we were staying in that area and gravitated towards the hustle and bustle of the royal mile. Given more time in edinburgh we'd have sought out some eateries further afield.
Cath
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Brew Your Own - one step closer to The Good Life
For many a year my nickname amongst friends has been Barbara, aka felicity kendal from the Good Life. Not that I resemble her in any way possible, but more because I've always loved living life with a nod to the alternative and environmental way. I've composted for many years, attempted to grow fruit and vegables (as per my previous post). I've finally met my 'Tom'. Thats my husband Mark, who is also interested in some of the above, but prefers to investigate the technical aspects of alternative fuel.
Finally, after a break of over 15 years I've made a return to one aspect of the Good Life, and thats home brew. My father used to make home brew when I was a child, mainly beer and some wine and was also a champion pickler, and I guess some of it has rubbed off. I first flirtered with home brewed wine some years ago and mainly as the concoction produced was so awful it could strip paint and kill small mammals, I gave it up, only to return to it this year. The trigger was a birthday present I purchased for my twin brother, a home brew cerveza kit. I then purchased another beer kit for my husband, and a wine kit for a friend's birthday, before taking the plunge and having a go myself.
So what's happened so far. Well I can categorically say that wine kits have improved significantly in the last 15 years and are now a by-product of some vineyards, keen to cash in on this profit margin for their excess grape juice. My garage is currently straining under 60 bottles of wine and 15 litres, with another 22 litres in production. My first attempt was a small 6 bottle kit of Heron Bay Italian Amarone - delicious. Followed by plum wine, zinfandel, barolo, chablis, bordeaux etc. The favourite by far being Beaverdale White Bourgeron, a white burgundy which is absolutely fantastic. On brew at the moment is a Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc which I await with eager anticipation.
I have to say that my decision to return to home brew has nothing to do with cost, I'm a member of a wine club and still order wines in this way, but the sense of pride and achievement you have when you've made something that tastes great is just the same as if you'd cooked a banquet for friends...its priceless. The obvious cost savings are a bonus, especially when the wine tastes so good. I'm lucky enough to have 2 home brew shops nearby, Leyland Home Brew in Lancashire http://www.leylandhomebrew.co.uk/ and the Grape Vine in Pemberton, Wigan. However for a great selection and range you can't beat http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/.
So what next. Well having understood the wine making process a little more through the use of kits, my next step is to progress to what I would call 'fresh' wines, using damsons and perhaps elderflower. I have my fruit press at the ready and am just waiting for the harvest. I'll keep you posted.
Cath
Finally, after a break of over 15 years I've made a return to one aspect of the Good Life, and thats home brew. My father used to make home brew when I was a child, mainly beer and some wine and was also a champion pickler, and I guess some of it has rubbed off. I first flirtered with home brewed wine some years ago and mainly as the concoction produced was so awful it could strip paint and kill small mammals, I gave it up, only to return to it this year. The trigger was a birthday present I purchased for my twin brother, a home brew cerveza kit. I then purchased another beer kit for my husband, and a wine kit for a friend's birthday, before taking the plunge and having a go myself.
So what's happened so far. Well I can categorically say that wine kits have improved significantly in the last 15 years and are now a by-product of some vineyards, keen to cash in on this profit margin for their excess grape juice. My garage is currently straining under 60 bottles of wine and 15 litres, with another 22 litres in production. My first attempt was a small 6 bottle kit of Heron Bay Italian Amarone - delicious. Followed by plum wine, zinfandel, barolo, chablis, bordeaux etc. The favourite by far being Beaverdale White Bourgeron, a white burgundy which is absolutely fantastic. On brew at the moment is a Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc which I await with eager anticipation.
I have to say that my decision to return to home brew has nothing to do with cost, I'm a member of a wine club and still order wines in this way, but the sense of pride and achievement you have when you've made something that tastes great is just the same as if you'd cooked a banquet for friends...its priceless. The obvious cost savings are a bonus, especially when the wine tastes so good. I'm lucky enough to have 2 home brew shops nearby, Leyland Home Brew in Lancashire http://www.leylandhomebrew.co.uk/ and the Grape Vine in Pemberton, Wigan. However for a great selection and range you can't beat http://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/.
So what next. Well having understood the wine making process a little more through the use of kits, my next step is to progress to what I would call 'fresh' wines, using damsons and perhaps elderflower. I have my fruit press at the ready and am just waiting for the harvest. I'll keep you posted.
Cath
Friday, 6 June 2008
Everything's rosy in the garden...grow your own
Ok, ok so to some people it may be that I'm just jumping on the bandwagon of celebrity chefs and their desire for us all to grow our own - in reality, its probably because I have a bit of a thing for Hugh Fearnley Whittingstal, but one thing's for certain, he's absolutely right, and growing your own thing is the new black!
I've always had a dabble in veg growing, but have stayed close to the odd carrot (literally, in 2006 I only managed to grow one carrot, bugs bunny must've scoffed the rest), and plenty of tomatoes and potatoes. I lay claim to a damson tree in next door's garden that leans over our fence. Other than that, I'm seriously short of becoming Barbara to Tom in 'The Good Life'.
However, this year is different, and I decided to buy some raised bed kits (these are wonderful, cost approx £38 for 2 x 3ft by 3ft plastic raised bed frames from Dobies Garden Centre online). Piut plastic sheeting on the base and fill with compost - our own from the compy bin. So what's growing in the garden at the moment:-
an absolute abundance of salad leaves including rocket, wild rocket, lollo rossa and catalogne - of the cut and grow variety, so we eat 2-3 plants one week, and 2-3 the next week, by which time the first plants have re-grown.
Lots of peas and beans, both heritage variety from garden organic. www.gardenorganic.org.uk - join them and the heritage seed library and you can swap seeds (EU regs state they cannot be sold for lots of bizarre reasons) and bring back some heritage veg varieties.
Potatoes - aaran and charlotte, both early and late crop
Safe, chives, bay, mint and oregano
Tomatoes - several varieties including baby sun
Courgettes
Onions and for later in the year, sprouts
whilst I'm no Percy Thrower, I was amazed at how much I could cram into these 2 little plots, and how well they've thrived. Its not an expensive hobby, but is very rewarding and doesn't take up too much time once the seedlings have been planted out.
I'm looking forward to fresh peas and beans and veg this year, and the continuation of the salad plot.
Cath
I've always had a dabble in veg growing, but have stayed close to the odd carrot (literally, in 2006 I only managed to grow one carrot, bugs bunny must've scoffed the rest), and plenty of tomatoes and potatoes. I lay claim to a damson tree in next door's garden that leans over our fence. Other than that, I'm seriously short of becoming Barbara to Tom in 'The Good Life'.
However, this year is different, and I decided to buy some raised bed kits (these are wonderful, cost approx £38 for 2 x 3ft by 3ft plastic raised bed frames from Dobies Garden Centre online). Piut plastic sheeting on the base and fill with compost - our own from the compy bin. So what's growing in the garden at the moment:-
an absolute abundance of salad leaves including rocket, wild rocket, lollo rossa and catalogne - of the cut and grow variety, so we eat 2-3 plants one week, and 2-3 the next week, by which time the first plants have re-grown.
Lots of peas and beans, both heritage variety from garden organic. www.gardenorganic.org.uk - join them and the heritage seed library and you can swap seeds (EU regs state they cannot be sold for lots of bizarre reasons) and bring back some heritage veg varieties.
Potatoes - aaran and charlotte, both early and late crop
Safe, chives, bay, mint and oregano
Tomatoes - several varieties including baby sun
Courgettes
Onions and for later in the year, sprouts
whilst I'm no Percy Thrower, I was amazed at how much I could cram into these 2 little plots, and how well they've thrived. Its not an expensive hobby, but is very rewarding and doesn't take up too much time once the seedlings have been planted out.
I'm looking forward to fresh peas and beans and veg this year, and the continuation of the salad plot.
Cath
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Ice cream...sticky toffee pudding ice cream
I'm having a bit of a mad ice cream time at this moment in time - losing patience with the weather, I decided to declare summer as truly arriving in mid April, dig out my ice cream maker (attachment for the kitchen aid), that hubby had bought for a christmas present and set about making ice cream. So out came the sheet of paper and away went the inspiration...... until Mark my hubby once again made one of his culinary genious suggestions, sticky toffee pudding ice cream. You see he always does this Mark - when I was trying to come up with a fishcake recipe for eating with the enemy last year, effortlessly Mark came up with cod and brown shrimp - my addition was just to add samphire and lemon/garlic.
So Mark to the rescue. I'd recommend you try this recipe, it looks a bit long-winded, but lets look at the benefits, not only do you end up with ice cream but also a slab of sticky toffee pudding - how much motivation do you need!
Ok, so firstly its time to make the sticky toffee pudding. This recipe was given to me by Lou from Runshaw College, and its a mega recipe - best to make it a good 4 days in advance, as if you wrap the cake in tinfoil and put it in the fridge it gets stickier and stickier by the day...delicious.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
For the pudding
150g dates
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
25ml water
200g self raising flour
30g butter
3 eggs
100g sugar - golden caster sugar is nice, or try half golden and half demarera
Chop the dates into small pieces and place in a saucepan with the bicarb and water, bring to a simmer and leave to cool (the bicarb breaks down the dates, and the dates make the cake extra moist). Cream the butter and sugar and add the flour and eggs a little at a time - finally stir in the date mixture. This is not a cake mixture, but rather a batter, so it will be runny. Place into a lined loaf tin and bake at 180oc for approximately 40-50 minutes. Once baked and allowed to cool, resist the temptation to scoff, wrap in tinfoil and place in the fridge to become sticky.
Now for the ice cream.
300ml single cream
150ml milk
4 egg yolks
Vanilla pod (or 1tsp vanilla extract)
1 pot toffee flavoured yoghurt
Caster sugar to taste (approx 50g tbsp)
A good slab of sticky toffee pudding
Plus 50g caster sugar for caramel
Begin by heating the single cream and milk until it just reaches scalding point. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and 50g sugar. Pour the warm milk/cream onto the egg/sugar whisking thoroughly. Transfer back into the saucepan and stir gently until the custard thickens. At this point either add your vanilla pod and seeds, or vanilla extract. Leave to cool. when cool, refrigerate for a good 5 hours.
When you are ready to churn your custard in an ice cream maker, stir in several large chunks of sticky toffee pudding - these will break down and look like a dodgy weatabix breakfast, but fear not. As the ice cream thickens, stir in a few more chunks of sticky toffee pudding cake, and allow to stay whole.
I found that it was nice to make a quick caramel and cool this, before stirring in the shards of sugar - if you freeze it immediately after the caramel is added, they tend not to melt. To make the caramel add approx 50g caster sugar to a dry frying pan and heat. As the sugar melt, rotate the pan (do not stir using a metal spoon) until the sugar turns into a light brown caramel. Pour onto a greaseproof sheet (very important) in a baking sheet and allow to set. Once set, bash into little caramel pieces and stir into the ice cream (or you can keep them in a plastic bag and sprinkle over the top of ice cream to serve).
If you want to add butterscotch sauce (and lets face it who doesn't?). Then you will need:-
250ml single cream
50g butter
50g dark brown sugar
(sorry, there's no low fat version)
Heat the sugar, cream and butter in a pan until it melts and the mixture turns into a light golden caramel sauce - allow to cool. Its nice if you add a tiny bit of rum to this recipe. You could pour this sauce warm overthe ice cream, or even stir a little bit into the ice cream mixture.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, then do not fear. Make the ice cream custard and allow to cool for a good 4-5 hours. Transfer into a plastic container and freeze for one hour - remove and stir well breaking up the ice crystals. Repeat this at least 4 times and you'll have lovely smooth ice cream.
Remember to remove from the freezer a good 10-20 mins before you need to eat it or you'll not only break your spoons you'll break your teeth.
See you
Cath
So Mark to the rescue. I'd recommend you try this recipe, it looks a bit long-winded, but lets look at the benefits, not only do you end up with ice cream but also a slab of sticky toffee pudding - how much motivation do you need!
Ok, so firstly its time to make the sticky toffee pudding. This recipe was given to me by Lou from Runshaw College, and its a mega recipe - best to make it a good 4 days in advance, as if you wrap the cake in tinfoil and put it in the fridge it gets stickier and stickier by the day...delicious.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
For the pudding
150g dates
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
25ml water
200g self raising flour
30g butter
3 eggs
100g sugar - golden caster sugar is nice, or try half golden and half demarera
Chop the dates into small pieces and place in a saucepan with the bicarb and water, bring to a simmer and leave to cool (the bicarb breaks down the dates, and the dates make the cake extra moist). Cream the butter and sugar and add the flour and eggs a little at a time - finally stir in the date mixture. This is not a cake mixture, but rather a batter, so it will be runny. Place into a lined loaf tin and bake at 180oc for approximately 40-50 minutes. Once baked and allowed to cool, resist the temptation to scoff, wrap in tinfoil and place in the fridge to become sticky.
Now for the ice cream.
300ml single cream
150ml milk
4 egg yolks
Vanilla pod (or 1tsp vanilla extract)
1 pot toffee flavoured yoghurt
Caster sugar to taste (approx 50g tbsp)
A good slab of sticky toffee pudding
Plus 50g caster sugar for caramel
Begin by heating the single cream and milk until it just reaches scalding point. In a bowl whisk the egg yolks and 50g sugar. Pour the warm milk/cream onto the egg/sugar whisking thoroughly. Transfer back into the saucepan and stir gently until the custard thickens. At this point either add your vanilla pod and seeds, or vanilla extract. Leave to cool. when cool, refrigerate for a good 5 hours.
When you are ready to churn your custard in an ice cream maker, stir in several large chunks of sticky toffee pudding - these will break down and look like a dodgy weatabix breakfast, but fear not. As the ice cream thickens, stir in a few more chunks of sticky toffee pudding cake, and allow to stay whole.
I found that it was nice to make a quick caramel and cool this, before stirring in the shards of sugar - if you freeze it immediately after the caramel is added, they tend not to melt. To make the caramel add approx 50g caster sugar to a dry frying pan and heat. As the sugar melt, rotate the pan (do not stir using a metal spoon) until the sugar turns into a light brown caramel. Pour onto a greaseproof sheet (very important) in a baking sheet and allow to set. Once set, bash into little caramel pieces and stir into the ice cream (or you can keep them in a plastic bag and sprinkle over the top of ice cream to serve).
If you want to add butterscotch sauce (and lets face it who doesn't?). Then you will need:-
250ml single cream
50g butter
50g dark brown sugar
(sorry, there's no low fat version)
Heat the sugar, cream and butter in a pan until it melts and the mixture turns into a light golden caramel sauce - allow to cool. Its nice if you add a tiny bit of rum to this recipe. You could pour this sauce warm overthe ice cream, or even stir a little bit into the ice cream mixture.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, then do not fear. Make the ice cream custard and allow to cool for a good 4-5 hours. Transfer into a plastic container and freeze for one hour - remove and stir well breaking up the ice crystals. Repeat this at least 4 times and you'll have lovely smooth ice cream.
Remember to remove from the freezer a good 10-20 mins before you need to eat it or you'll not only break your spoons you'll break your teeth.
See you
Cath
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