Delia's Chicken Basque (for dinner with my Dad)

Original Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 x 3½ lb (1.75 kg) chicken,

jointed into 8 pieces (or drumsticks)

2 large red peppers (or whatever colour you have)

1 very large or 2 medium onions 

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

5 oz (150 g) chorizo sausage, skinned and cut into ½ inch (1 cm) slices  (for this I used half a pack of the ready sliced ones and that worked fine)

2 oz (50 g) sun-dried tomatoes in oil 

2 large cloves garlic, chopped 

1 level tablespoon sun-dried tomato paste 

½ level teaspoon hot paprika (I used smoked paprika here instead)

brown basmati rice measured to the 8 fl oz (225 ml) level in a glass measuring jug 

10 fl oz (275 ml) chicken stock (or stock made from Marigold vegetable bouillon powder) 

6 fl oz (170 ml) dry white wine 

½ large orange, cut into wedges (clementine or satsuma)

1 level teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 oz (50 g) black olives (pitted if you prefer) 

salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method:

1.      Start by seasoning the chicken joints well with salt and pepper. (I would suggest that you get your chicken on and cooking as soon as possible as it takes some time to brown through, before you do your chopping, preferably in a flat pan of some sort)

2.      Next, slice the red peppers in half and remove the seeds and pith, then slice each half into six strips. Likewise, peel the onion and slice into strips of approximately the same size.

3.      The dried tomatoes should be drained, wiped dry with kitchen paper and then cut into ½ inch (1 cm) pieces.

4.      Now heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the casserole and, when it is fairly hot, add the chicken pieces – two or three at a time – and brown them to a nutty golden colour on both sides. As they brown remove them to a plate lined with kitchen paper, using a draining spoon.

5.      Next add a little more oil to the casserole, with the heat slightly higher than medium. As soon as the oil is hot, add the onion and peppers and allow them to brown a little at the edges, moving them around from time to time, for about 5 minutes.

6.      After that, add the chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic and toss these around for a minute or two until the garlic is pale golden and the chorizo has taken on some colour.

7.      Next, stir in the rice and, when the grains have a good coating of oil, add the sun-dried tomato paste, paprika and chopped thyme.

8.      Pour in the stock and wine, and add some seasoning. As soon as everything has reached simmering point, turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.

9.      Add a little more seasoning, then place the chicken gently on top of everything (it's important to keep the rice down in the liquid).

10.  Finally, place the wedges of orange in among the chicken and scatter with the olives.

11.  Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook over the gentlest possible heat for about 50 minutes-1 hour or until the rice is cooked but still retains a little bite. Alternatively cook in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C), for 1 hour.

      I have to say that this is the first Delia recipe which I have ever followed and it has to be the most easy step by step, so well detailed, but in no way patronising recipe which I have ever followed. I highly highly recommend her. I am now definitely a fan. 

Enjoy! x

My Grandma Jo's cake method...

This is a method for making perfect sponge cakes of any flavour past down through our family, from my wonderful Grandma Jo, who I miss very dearly, may she rest in peace, I hope I make her proud. 

She who always welcomed us with a fresh cake and pot of tea to whenever we turned up at her house. 


Basic ingredients for every flavour of cake:

eggs
self raising flour
margarine or butter
caster sugar

Method:

The secret to this wonderful recipe is "measure to the eggs"

Regardless of how many eggs you decide to use, weigh them, with shells on, at the beginning, write down the measurement and weigh all of the remaining above ingredients to that measurement.

Preheat your over to 160'C

Mix marge/butter and sugar first

Then add the eggs and flour

Mix thoroughly until you have a lovely smooth mixture

This will make a very nice cake, just as it is, but now you have the choice to add whatever flavouring you like. Here are some of my favorites:

• For chocolate, add 4 heaped spoons of coco powder
• For classic victoria sponge add a teaspoon of vanilla extract
• For ginger and raisin add a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger root and a good handful of raisins (this is the option which I went for today as you will see from my photographs)

Mix your chosen flavour into the mixture well. 

I recommend that you use a food processor/ food mixer/ or electric whilst to get the smoothest quickest outcome, though elbow grease will do just as good a job, just might wear you out a little. It is definately fun to do it by hand if your cooking with children though.


Ladle/ spoon your mixture into a pre-prepared cake tin or cake cases.

Place into your hot oven for 15-20 minutes. Test your cake/s when you think they're done by putting a clean knife into the middle. If the knife comes out clean then it's done, if it comes out dirty then it need a little longer.

 

Serve and enjoy!

 

Lamb Braised in Milk & Fennel like things!

The recipe which I was going to try this evening was Simply Recipes' Lamb Braised in Milk with Fennel, however fennel was missing from my food delivery so I'm just going to try it with a variety of different fennel like things, namely fresh garden herbs, dried tarragon and fennel seeds.

Here is the original recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or chopped)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley (or whatever fresh herbs you have)
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed (use mortar and pestle, or chop finely with a chef's knife)
• 2 cups milk (or one mug)
• 1/2 cup (small pot) heavy cream (or single)
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 onion

• 2 cups farro (can substitute brown rice) - one mug of brown rice served two adult portions + two lunch/child portions
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1 In a large (5 to 6 quart) thick-bottomed Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil on medium high. Pat dry the lamb pieces. Season well with salt and pepper. Working in batches, place lamb pieces in the pan (do not crowd). Do not stir. Turn only once a side has browned. Brown all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.

2 Reduce heat in pan to medium. Add remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the diced fennel and cook a few minutes until softened, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Add the garlic, onion, parsley, crushed fennel seeds. (I shock up my fresh herbs, jarred tarragon, fennel seeds and a little olive oil in my flavour shaker here until they were a paste before adding them all to the pan)

3 Add the meat back into the pot. Add the milk and cream. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, add the sprig of rosemary, cover. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until meat is tender.

4 While the lamb is cooking, prepare the farro (or brown rice). The farro will take about 45 minutes (brown rice takes 25mins) to cook, after which it can be kept warm, so time accordingly. Rinse farro through a sieve until the water runs clear. Add it to a large, thick-bottomed saucepan. Cover with about two inches of water and add about a tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, partially cover and let cook for 45 minutes or until tender. Drain of excess water and set aside until you are ready to use it.

5 Once the lamb is tender, remove the pieces from the pot and set aside. Discard the rosemary. Bring the milk cream sauce to a boil over high heat and reduce to about 2 cups. Working in batches, purée in a blender (or with an immersion blender) until smooth. (When puréeing hot liquids in a blender it's best to work with relatively small amounts, filling just maybe a quarter of the blender. Otherwise the pressure can blow the top off the blender and make a hot mess.) Return the sauce and the lamb to the pot and if needed heat until warm through.

 Step 5 is optional...

Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Before serving, stir in the fresh chopped parsley.
Serve the braised lamb over warm farro.

I will let you know how I get on....

The trick is, no matter what you are cooking/ planning to cook never panic, improvise instead!

I saw this recipe through a posting on Facebook and I liked the idea of it. That was enough to make me want to cook it. 

I, as I said before, initially planned to cook as per the recipe but the fennel was missing from my food delivery, so I had to get creative...I know what sort of taste fennel is, it's like an aniseed sort of flavour, so I started thinking about what I did have. I did have the fennel seeds, as per the recipe, and I did have jarred tarragon so I knew I would use those. Again I didn't have the specific fresh herbs listed in the recipe but I did have some other ones, so I went out to my garden and cut myself some oregano, thyme and rosemary, and I knew these would work together so that is what I have used instead.

Here are my ingredients for tonight:

This mentality goes for equipment too, always ask yourself; "what do I have?" rather than the opposite. Think about what you have used in similar recipes which worked well and have the confidence to give it a go. 

More examples: I don't have  a mortar and pestle but I do have a Jamie flavour shaker which I barely ever use so I decided to use that.


I don't have a dutch oven/ on hob casserole pot but I do have but I do have a tagine, and I know how delicious dishes are cooked in my tagine so again thought I'd give it a go.

 

This was delicious. The one tip I have is to add the cream at the end as I found that by adding it with the milk, as it said in the recipe, it curdled somewhat when I did it. 

 

Cat's Smoked Bacon, Courgette and Sweet Pepper Risotto

This was sent to me by my lovely friend Cat, who is currently taking a year of being a governess for a rich Russian family and jet setting round the world as a result - lucky lady!

This is my first time of cooking this recipe, so I hope it goes to plan and does the original justice. I will upload the details and photos when I'm done...Here's the ingredients and method which I'm going to follow:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
175g (6oz) button mushrooms, sliced
250g (9oz) arborio or other risotto rice
900ml (30fl oz) chicken stock, home-made if possible, hot
salt and freshly ground black pepper
225g (8oz) smoked streaky bacon, cut into strips
275g (10oz) small courgettes, diced
25g (1oz) butter
50g (2oz) parmesan, grated, and a few shaved slices
chopped fresh parsley

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan on the Boiling Plate (I used my cast iron Le Creuset wok here), add the onion, garlic and red (green or yellow) pepper, and saute for a few minutes. Toss in the mushrooms and cook for a further minute.
2. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes. Pour 750ml (25fl oz) of boiling stock and season.
3. Cover with the lid and transfer to the Simmering Oven for 25 minutes (here I left the mixture in the wok but got it to a simmer and put the lid on, I kept it simmering on the hob and that worked fine). Check and stir once during this time, bringing back to the boil on the Boiling Plate, and adding more stock if necessary.
4. Fry and brown bacon on the Boiling Plate in a large non-stick frying pan. Remove and put on to a plate.

Add the courgettes to the fat in the pan and fry until just tender. Put to one side with the bacon.
5. Test the rice: it should be soft on the outside but still have a little bite in the centre. Return to the Boiling Plate to reduce if there is excess liquid. Add the butter, grated parmesan, the bacon and courgettes.

Check the seasoning and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley (or any other fresh herb of choice) and shavings of fresh parmesan if liked. 

Conclusion - Yummy! - Thank you Cat! xx

Good Food Banana & Blueberry Muffins

We had some over ripe banana's in the fruit bowl, as I'm sure every household does, and I can't bare to see food go to waste so I looked up this recipe.

I don't like bananas myself, though Adam is a big fan, and definately seemed to like the ones which I brought him straight from the oven and this recipe makes enough to take some to work too.

 Ingredients

• 300g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g light muscovado sugar
• 50g porridge oats , plus 1 tbsp for topping
• 2 medium bananas , the riper the better
• 284ml carton buttermilk
• 5 tbsp light olive oil
• 2 egg whites
• 150g punnet blueberries  

  Method:

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Tip the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Hold back 1 tbsp of the sugar, then mix the remainder with the flour and 50g oats. Make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until nearly smooth. Stir the buttermilk, oil and egg whites into the mashed banana until evenly combined.
2. Pour the liquid mixture into the well and stir quickly and sparingly with a wooden spoon. The mix will look lumpy and may have the odd fleck of flour still visible, but don't be tempted to over-mix. Tip in the blueberries and give it just one more stir. Divide the mix between the muffin cases - they will be quite full - then sprinkle the tops with the final tbsp of the oats and the rest of he sugar. Bake for 18-20 mins until risen and dark golden. Cool for 5 mins in the tray before lifting out onto a rack to cool completely.

Using yogurt
Buttermilk's natural acidity helps to lighten muffin mixes and increases the rise. It's usually available in the dairy section of supermarkets, but if you can't find it, use low-fat plain yogurt instead (a mild bio yogurt is best) or skimmed milk with a splash of lemon juice.

Beetroot Chocolate Fudge Cakes (from Cook Yourself Thin)

I've been wanting to try this one for a while. Though the original recipe makes one large cake I'm opting for the cupcake option.... hope it works... they're currently in the oven so I will keep you posted....

Ingredients:

The cakes

• 250g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• 250g light muscovado sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthways and seeds scraped out
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons clear honey
• 40g self-raising flour
• 40g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 25g cocoa powder
• 50g ground almonds
• 250g raw beetroot, peeled and finely grated
• 100ml strong black coffee
• 30ml sunflower oil

Nutritional Information

Per serving:
305 calories

The topping

• 150g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 tablespoons strong black coffee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 tablespoons clear honey

Method:

1. Preheat a conventional oven to 160ºC, or a fan-assisted one to 140ºC. With the help of a brush and a tiny bit of sunflower oil, grease the surface of a round 20cm diameter by 8cm high loose-bottomed tin and set aside.
2. Melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until all dissolved, then set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, the scraped-out vanilla seeds, the maple syrup and the honey for three minutes with an electric hand whisk until pale and quite fluffy.
4. Gently fold in the flours, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cocoa and ground almonds until fully incorporated.
5. Using some kitchen paper, dab the grated beetroot thoroughly to remove some of the excess moisture. Fold in the beetroot, cooled chocolate, coffee and oil with the help of a spatula until thoroughly mixed together.

I bought precooked beetroot, not realising  till I got home that the recipe said raw. It seemed to work fine though. Precooked beetroot clearly can't be grated but one of the great things about my Kenwood food processor is the mini bowl which you can attach inside the larger one for smaller jobs throughout the recipe. So I chopped the beetroot into a grated-like consistency through using the blade attachment on the small bowl.  

In the above picture, you can see the mixture in my Kenwood food processor, the ready chopped beetroot and the chocolate melting nicely in the bowl ready to be mixed in...


6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook in the middle of the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. After this time, cover the cake with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

I used my smallest ladle to ladle the mixture into muffin cases. I then baked for an hour, tested and then baked for a little longer on a lower heat. You need to monitor the cooking as it really does vary from oven to oven and will take less time in individual cases too.

7. Test the cake by inserting a skewer (or knife) into the centre to see if it comes out clean (although this cake is so moist that even when the cake is fully cooked, the skewer comes out looking slightly messy). Leave to cool on a wire rack.
8. To make the fudge topping, melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then remove from the heat and add the coffee and the vanilla essence.
9. At this stage the chocolate will seize up slightly, but it will relax back once you add the honey and gently mix in.
10. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes before icing the cake. Cut the cake through the middle and ice it in the centre and on all sides.
11. Decorate the top with whatever you fancy, but I like using pink flowers, such as tulips or roses, which I plant into the cake with a bit of stem left on. 

  

Tips

1. Leave yourself plenty of time to make this cake because it is quite a lengthy recipe.
2. The cake is best eaten when it is still slightly warm. It is also really important to ice it at the last minute or the icing can lose its shine.
However, it would freeze beautifully providing you put it away before icing. Simply defrost when needed and ice at the last minute.

My Savoury Pancakes

This is a recipe for pancakes that I memorised from a children's cookbook we had at home growing up and it honestly never fails, which begs the question, what is with people using pancake mixes! I really don't get it, especially as there are only 3 ingredients to the batter!

Batter ingredients:
100g of plain four
250ml of egg + milk

Filling:
 For the filling, the world is really your oyster. If you like you can just go for lemon and sugar, which is delicious.
I tend to go for a variety of left overs from my fridge but usually some sort of meat, vegetable and cheese, and herbs (fresh if possible) for something extra.
This time I went for peppered salami, smoked ham, Edam sliced thinly, green olive, red sweet pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes.

Method:

1. Put a large none stick pan on the hob to heat up with a good swig of good olive oil
2.Weigh your flour in a large mixing bowl
3. In a measuring jug crack your egg and then pour your milk until you reach 250ml
4. Pour your milk and egg into the mixing bowl with the flour and whisk until you get a lovely smooth batter
5. Sort out and cut up whatever your filling is going to be 
6. Ladle one ladle  of batter into the hot pan and quickly lift the pan and rock it to make sure the batter spreads out evenly and fully across the surface of the pan
7. Watch for the change in colour, its subtle but you will recognise when it changes colour across the whole pancake and this is the tell tell sign that it is time to turn it
8. If your brave, flip it, or if, like me, you're not then you can turn it with a spatula
9. Place your filling in a line down the middle of the pancake, turn your heat down to half heat whilst you're doing this
10. Fold both remaining sides across the filling
11. Slide in onto your plate and place that plate into a low heat oven whilst you cook the other one (oven at around 60'C is just fine). Repeat the process.
Enjoy!

NB: This quantity of batter should make 4 large pancakes

TIP: Eggs are often labeled with a best before date a month or two before they actually go off, the fail safe way to check whether your egg is safely usable is to drop said egg into a glass of cold water if it sinks it's OK if it floats then its off. You would know instantly if it was off when you cracked in any case as it really would stink.

Rachel's Chicken Kiev with Sauté Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

I thought it was about time that I cooked a chicken kiev from scratch. It was a childhood favourite of mine and a favourite of Adam's too. We had the shop bought one last week - it was okish, but I knew it would be so much nicer if I knew I cooked it from scratch myself.

My lovely friend Katie bought me this recipe book for my birthday or Christmas and I have been meaning to cook something from it ever since:

My Ingredients:

I halved everything in the original recipe as I was just cooking for the two of us and I used Matzo Meal instead of breadcrumbs as it was what I had in and it worked a treat!

Recipe:

Final Dish:

This recipe does take time, but I do definately think its worth the effort. Wasn't massively keen on the potatoes, to be honest but I think I might try the oven alternative next time. I loved the kiev and definately would recommend trying it to anyone. I also think it would be nice with a side of summer salad. Enjoy!

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Update : April 2010

Just tried this dish again but this time I did the potatoes in the oven, as suggested on the second page of the original recipe. This really worked much better - and is how I will do it from now on. Please find updated photo below:

 

Chicken Soup for the Soul

So simple and so comforting. My Mum and her Mum always referred to it as Jewish Penicillin which I have always thought was an excellent name for it as it really does make feel better when your feeling one degree under.

Take the chicken bones/carcass left over from roast or Maple Chicken perhaps. Put in a big pan with an onion and any other veg you like, any left over cooking juices, salt and pepper to taste:

Add water, right to the top of the pan. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and keep it simmering as long as possible, a few hours if you can. This process is a lot quicker if you have a pressure cooker, which I am yet to get, but my Mum tells me it takes 45 mins to get a perfect stock, so I think I will definately invest in one at some point.

Once you have boiled it for as long as you can, strain it off to get your stock. At this point you can just keep it and freeze it for any recipes which require stock.

Or you can go on and make it into Chicken soup - I usually do this by adding a packet or two of cuppa soup, but you can add noodles, veg, chicken pieces, possibilities are endless.

Maple Chicken with Greek Potatoes

The chicken part of this recipe has been adapted from Nigella's Maple chicken 'n' ribs taken from her "Nigella Express" cookbook. The potatoes are my own invention, inspired by a holiday to Kefalonia a couple of years ago....

Right first the Maple Chicken:

Ingredients:

8 pack of chicken drumsticks
250ml/8¾fl oz apple juice, as sharp as possible
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, halved
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and cut in half

Method:

1. Place the chicken drumsticks into a couple of large freezer bags or into a dish.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients, squeezing everything together well before sealing the bag or covering the dish.
3. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight or for up to two days. (half a day works also - that's what I did on this occasion)
4. Take the dish or bags out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6/ 180C fan
5. Pour the contents of the freezer bag or dish into one or two large roasting trays, making sure the chicken is skin-side up.
6. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the ribs and chicken are sticky and golden-brown and completely cooked through.

Ok Greek Potatoes:

These want to go into the oven once your chicken has been in for half an hour. I therefore timed the first 20mins for the chicken and then I prepared the potatoes ready to go in 10mins later.

Ingredient:

1 large potato or 2 small ones per person
1 teapoon of fennel seeds
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
good swig of olive oil
good shake of mixed herbs
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Mix in a small dish all ingredients other than potatoes:

 

2. Chop your potatoes into bite size pieces, I personally don't bother peeling them but its entirely down to personal preference

3. Put your potatoes in a roasting dish and pour over your oil mix, now get your hands in there and turn everything over well until the potatoes are thoroughly coated:

 

4. Put in the oven for 45mins or until crispy, shaking/turning occasionally

Final dish:

 

(tip:  when you serve strip the chicken off the bone and spoon over the cooking juices - delicious!)

Don't forget - no need to waste the bones, why not boil them up for some lovely chicken soup for the soul!