Sunday 27 October 2013

Once On The Lips Forever On The Hips


FUDGE IT!
Quite literally

A Saturday night in calls for pure and utter indulgence...

Roly's Fudge...it's crumbly!

"Creamy, crumbly textured fudge, made using only natural ingredients. A fantastic feast for fudge fanatics"

https://rolysfudge.co.uk/

A cold Autumn night in can't happen without a hot chocolate with Baileys...

Made by my awesome house mate Matt :)

http://www.baileys.com/Gateway/

Go on and treat yourself...

Saturday 26 October 2013

Beef Stroganoff Remade

Serves 2


#Stroganoff

Ingredients

350g rump steak, trimmed and cut into strips
25g unsalted butter & a dash of olive (prevents the butter from burning)
2 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
Half an onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Half a red & half a yellow pepper, sliced into strips
120g assorted mushrooms (Chestnut, button, chanterelles or your favourite type)
25ml white wine
2tbsp of wholegrain mustard
100ml creme fraiche
50ml double cream
Chopped parsley to garnish
Salt & pepper- to taste

Note: tbsp= table spoon

Method

  1. Trim and cut your rump steak into strips. Place the meat in a bowl and mix/rub in a tbsp of wholegrain mustard, a clove of crushed garlic & seasoning. Place in the fridge whilst you prepare the remaining ingredients.
  2. Prepare/slice up your onion, peppers and mushrooms. (On a medium flame/heat)
  3. Heat half the butter and oil in a frying pan, gently fry your mushrooms & the remaining garlic 'till they have a little colour on them. Set aside once cooked.
  4. Using the same frying pan add the rest of the butter & oil, fry the onion and peppers 'till glossy.
  5. Turn up the heat. Add the beef and cook for 2-3 minutes, stir constantly so all the meat is browning. 
  6. De glaze the pan of all the sticky meat juice with the white wine, bubble & reduce.
  7. Return the mushrooms to the pan.
  8. Lower the heat, add the creme fraiche, double cream and the last tbsp of wholegrain mustard.
  9. Heat through. Adjust seasoning and stir through the parsley.
  10. Serve either with rice or noodles. Personally I like it with some fresh baked bread so I can mop up the creamy sauce-divine!

ENJOY :)

I'm a huge lover of mushrooms. Whether it is mushroom soup, mushrooms on toasts or mushrooms in a risotto I just can't get enough of them.
How do you use mushrooms? Any recipes you'd like to share with me?

Go foraging but be safe, here's a helpful website: http://www.wildfooduk.com/

Friday 25 October 2013

In a Blink of an Eye

This week has flown by, where has it gone?

Last weekend was my 21st Birthday and here's a little recap of what I consumed.

Friday afternoon: I received the most beautiful edible flower bouquet you could imagine.

The large cupcakes were caramel flavoured and the smaller ones chocolate.The cupcakes were visually stunning as they were delicious & moreish-divine!
Thank you Mum & Dad
I also received a box of 6 strawberry flavoured cupcakes that my amazing sister won for me, thank you Tash :)



 

Friday night: Dinner at Piccolinos Birmingham

  1. Mojito
  2. Calamari Fritti, fried calamari, roast garlic mayonnaise & lemon- delicious!
  3. Farfalle al Salmone, smoked salmon, asparagus, lemon & herb mascarpone- rich but over seasoned for my liking. Note to chefs, don't season to your taste! There are condiments on the tables for a reason, let the customer season the food.
  4. Tiramisu- average, nothing to talk about. It is so disappointing that pastry chefs are in lack in most restaurants. I love to finish my meal with a memorable scrummy dessert and not something that leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

    Overall it was an average dining experience. My expectations were set too high! Not sure if I'll go back. However, I signed up with Individual Restaurants loyalty card and have £20 to spend in one our their restaurants, bonus! Next place to try out "Bank".
    http://www.individualrestaurants.com/
Saturday: Fry up, cupcakes, coffee cake, paella and MORE cupcakes <3

What are your favourite bakes or recipes you like to cook at the weekend? Or where do you like to go out and treat yourself?

Thursday 17 October 2013

Winter Warmer

 The cold nights are starting to creep up on us. It's come to the time of year where we start piling on the calories from the heavy meals we consume.

Here's a recipe that will comfort and warm you. Full of fresh and healthy vegetables.

Minestrone

Yummy in my tummy

Ingredients

350g prepared mixed vegetables (onion, leek, celery, carrot, parsnip, cabbage)
25g French beans
20g butter
20g tomato puree
1 tsp. sugar
1 lt. of either chicken or vegetable stock
Bouquet garni
25g pasta shells or spaghetti (broken into pieces)

Pork balls (optional but amazing flavour)
40g bacon, chopped finely
10g chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, crushed

Extra chopped parsley to garnish
Salt & pepper

 

Method

  1. Wash and trim all the vegetables. Thinly slice the onion and celery. Cut the French beans diagonally into small diamonds. Cut the remaining vegetables into small flat rounds or squares.
  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan on the hob, low heat. Add all the vegetables EXCEPT the French beans. Sweat the vegetables for a few minutes so they are gorgeous and glossy (no colour).
  3. Stir in the tomato puree and the tsp. of sugar, cook for one minute. (The sugar takes the edge off the tomato puree).
  4. Add your made up stock, bouquet garni, bring to the boil and simmer for approx. 20 minutes, with the lid on.
  5. Whilst the soup is simmering make up your pork balls. Bind together the chopped bacon, parsley and crushed garlic together. Form into pea size balls. Place in fridge 'till ready to use.
  6. After 20 minutes of simmering add the French beans and pasta, cook for a further 5mintues.
  7. Drop in your pea size pork balls, place lid back on top and cook for a further 2minutes.
  8. Remove off the heat, take out the bouquet garni and adjust seasoning to your taste.
  9. Finish with chopped parsley.

Serving suggestion: Fresh home made bread, selection of cheeses and (my mums home made) chutney.

What indulgent meals do you make during the Autumn/Winter season?




 

 

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Clearing the air


I feel like I need to apologise to you. I jumped straight into my blog without giving you any background information about why I'm actually writing this blog. So instead of sleeping in on my day off I got up to write.

I'm currently a first year uni student at University College Birmingham (UCB) previously known as "College of Food". One of the modules on the course is "Food practice and application", this module consists of taking fairly basic recipes and adapting the ingredients/methods to how we want. So this is where most of my recipe ideas will be coming from. And I hope you will try the recipes out!

http://www.ucb.ac.uk/home.aspx

The other reason why I'm writing this blog is because I want to go into the journalistic side of food. So writing up recipes for magazines, reviewing new foods or food equipment that have come out and writing food critics. I was encouraged by my house mates to start the blog to help me get into the flow of writing and maybe get a slight heads start in my career.

So I'm not trying to do anything special or fancy. I don't want to come across as one of those bloggers who thinks they know it all as I've read blogs like that and it gets my blood boiling.
Hope that cleared things up for you as it did me.

So...

Questions for you readers: Is it possible to be food obsessed? Because I think I may be. What role does food play in your life? Any thoughts...?


My first love: food








Tuesday 15 October 2013

Focaccia



Ingredients:
 
400g strong white flour
5ml salt
1 sachet easy-blend yeast
250ml hand-hot water
2 garlic cloves crushed (optional but adds great flavour)
 
Topping- Half a red onion sliced and cooked in a tsp. of olive oil, one sprig of rosemary finely chopped and 8 black olives sliced.
Why not get creative and pick your own toppings?

Oven: Preheat to 220C, Gas 7

 
Method:
  1. Dissolve the easy-blend yeast into the hand-hot water, leave for 5mins until frothy.
  2. Sieve the flour into a bowl with the salt. Gradually add in the yeast/water mixture until it forms a ball.
  3. Knead the dough for 5mins until smooth and elastic. It should stretch when pulling it.
  4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and let prove for 30mins in a warm place.
  5. Whilst the dough is proving prepare the garlic to go in the dough as well as the toppings.
  6. Knock back the dough once it has proved and add in the garlic. Roll out and make small indents into the dough with your thumb. Let prove a further 15mins on an oiled tray covered in cling film.
  7. Once the dough has proved add the toppings.
  8. Place in the oven for 10-15mins until baked. You know it is baked as it will sound hollow when you tap it on the bottom.
 
Serving suggestions: Serve warm with balsamic vinegar or flavoured oils to dip it in.

Speciality breads in Tesco