Recipes from a passionate cook & foodie
It’s very easy to be seduced by the decorative artistry of a cake, the tremendously thick and tasty icing and the beautifully arranged toppings is enough to make anybody’s mouth water. However, just like you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t judge a cake by its sweet sugary trimmings. As my sincere Grandma use to say without a hint of irony “It’s what’s inside that counts”. I’m the first person to hold my hands up and admit that I have often neglected those … [Read more...]
I adore cheese, passionately. English, French, Greek and Spanish cheeses in particular (and those are expressed in no particular order). Each and everyone have their strengths. The full bodied cheddars, crumbly wenslydales and cheshires of my home. The full bodied cheeses of France. Then, oh my, my favourite cheese of all time the crumbly, tangy, and salty goodness that is Greek Feta. My new home too has the most exceptional matured cheeses, and if you havent tried mahon or other "quesos … [Read more...]
Flour - this can be used in three ways to make a roux, a beurre manié or simply mixed with water or milk. Roux - this is made by melting the butter and mixing in the flour then cooking over a medium heat for 5 minutes. The “classic†recipes tend to call for equal quantities of fat to flour but many prefer more fat than flour which not only gives a richer flavour but also allows the roux to be combined with the liquid far easier. I prefer a lighter sauce and on average use 37 … [Read more...]
Ingredients 50 g (2 oz) butter 100 g (4 oz) icing sugar, sieved 2 x 5 ml spoon (2 tsp) hot water Method Beat butter until soft, gradually beat in icing sugar, water and any flavouring. For Variations of traditional butter cream - try Vanilla: Add a few drops of vanilla essence to the mixture & mix well. Chocolate: Add 1 tablespoon of sieved cocoa powder with the icing sugar. Coffee: Dissolve 1 teaspoon of instant coffee in the hot water. Orange or lemon: Add finely … [Read more...]
I was so intrigued to be asked this question via email that I just had to answer. I have only made butter once or twice in my lifetime, but both times it was so easy and the results so effective that I was sure I would never go back to bought butter again. Butter, as you are probably aware, is produced by churning cream until the fats separate from the liquid (buttermilk) and the butter is in a semi-solid state. Now the butter you buy in the supermarket is more often than not made by … [Read more...]
I have received so many hits for this I thought I would address it with a few handy tips for cooking this under-rated vegetable [besides utilising it in my cottage pie recipe of course] Preparing Swede Always handy to have a potato peeler to hand for this. Peel it the same way as a potato, slicing off the root end first with a knife. Then just cut the swede into suitably sized chunks. Mashed Swede Cut it into 1 inch dice and steam for about 10 minutes, or until tender, then whiz to a … [Read more...]
Next time you have a barbecue try soaking wood [the sweetest smelling the better] in water and placing them on the coals. The soaking of the water slows down the burning, and allows the wood to work its magic on your food. Place some peaches or any fruit you fancy on the griddle and cook as normal. You will find your fruit has a wonderful vanilla flavour when done. Why? The molecular and chemical structure which gives Vanilla its flavour also exists in wood. By soaking your wood … [Read more...]