Donut/Muffin

A long time ago I ate a muffin. This was, however, no ordinary muffin. I'd just finished a long walk in the Yorkshire Dales and was relaxing in the car park at Kettlewell when I was offered a muffin. Honestly from just looking at it I was a little underwhelmed. There was no thick frosting, no chocolate chips, in fact it looked very plain indeed with just a light dusting of sugar. I took one bite though and was stunned. I had taken a bite from a muffin but it tasted as if I was eating a donut! This donut-muffin hybrid has since entered into myth as I've never tasted another one and neither has anyone else I've talked to about it. I'm not entirely sure why, but last week the mythical muffin reared it's tasty head in my mind and I decided that it was time to figure out a recipe for baking my own.

I knew that I didn't already have an appropriate recipe, otherwise I would have made the muffins before, so I went out and hunted around on the web. I found quite a few different recipes and cobbled a few together to match the ingredients I already had in the house. Once I had settled on a recipe I went straight to the kitchen to cook. Making the mixture didn't take very long but then I had a nervous 20 minute wait before I could taste one. They looked like muffins, but they tasted like donuts. Success!

If you want to try making your own Donut/Muffin hybrids then I've added the recipe I used to the cookbook. Enjoy!

Fussy Eaters

I'm sure that most of us know at least one fussy eater. You know the kind of people; I don't eat anything that's green; I don't like oranges; salad, not a chance!

When I was growing up my brother was the fussy eater (sorry David but you know it is true), whilst I'd eat anything you put in front of me. There are of course things that I'll eat because someone else has cooked, but that I don't particularly like. Specifically I don't like sprouts. No matter if they are boiled or steamed they just turn out inedible. But of course it isn't the food but how it is cooked that is usually the problem.

Take my brother for example, the only type of potato he would eat as a child was chips. My Mum refused to always cook him chips but we found that if we steamed or boiled potatoes then sliced them up and stir fried them for a few minutes he would eat them as they kinda looked and tasted a bit like chips. Well it turns out if you stir-fry sprouts, following this recipe, they also become an edible food-stuff -- although I'm guessing the shallots and Parma ham help!

Pomegranate, Cranberry and Pepper Jelly

Some of you may remember a previous post in which I mentioned the difficulty in finding an ingredient. I had found that sauce made from red wine and pomegranate, pepper and cranberry relish went really well with venison steaks, but that I couldn't find any more of the relish. Well my jar of relish finally ran out and I still haven't been able to buy anymore. So last weekend I decided that I'd just have to make an alternative.

I hunted around the web but couldn't find an appropriate recipe so I took suggestions from quite a few places to come up with a recipe for Pomegranate, Cranberry and Pepper Jelly.

Last night we tried the jelly in the sauce (served with beef rather than venison) and it was superb. It wasn't quite as hot as I would have liked (hence putting pepper last in the name), but I can tweak that a little when I make a future batch.

As an added bonus I had some cranberries left over so I decided to try and make my own Cranberry and Orange Muffins. Eaten warm from the oven they were superb. Even cold I think they are better than the one I bought in Starbucks!

The Whole Pumpkin: Part 2

Yesterday I cooked a pumpkin. Not just a little bit of a pumpkin either. I cooked everything but the stalk, pith and skin. It was a long but worthwhile afternoon in the kitchen.

I toasted the pumpkin seeds, which I then used as decoration on top of pumpkin soup which we ate for starter. I also made a pumpkin pie which we ate for desert. The rest of the pumpkin was roasted and made into puree which I have frozen ready for making more pies or soup in the future.

Unlike last time I tried cooking a pumpkin yesterday was a success. Everything was edible and I didn't end up wasting lots of pumpkin or my time!

Big Block of Cheese Day

No I'm not talking about American politics (fictional or non-fictional) but rather a big block of cheese from my freezer.

You may remember that back in November I mentioned that one of my all time favourite desserts eaten in a restaurant is Wensleydale and Ginger Cheesecake. The Hawes creamery provides the recipe so you can cook it yourself but it means finding a rather large (500g) block of Wensleydale Cheese with Ginger. For a month or so I have had just such a chunk of cheese sitting in the freezer waiting for me to have the time to make the cheesecake. So last Saturday was Big Block of Cheese Day.

From prior experience of making cheesecakes I altered the recipe a little and can honestly say that I think it makes a better version than the one in Hawes. If you want to try making the cheesecake yourself then my adapted recipe is in the cookbook and if you can't find the cheese locally you can mail order direct from the creamery.

Venison Steaks with Pomegranate, Pepper and Cranberry Relish

As well as buying pheasant, partridge, wood pigeon and pies from Manor Farm Game we often buy venison haunch steaks. I've experimented with a number of sauces to serve with the venison but (as often happens) the simplest sauce to make turned out to be the best.

Simply place a large tablespoon of Pomegranate, Pepper and Cranberry Relish (from New England Cranberry) in a small pan with a glass of red wine. Gently heat the sauce until the relish dissolves into the wine.

The sauce is wonderful and as you can tell really easy to cook. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anywhere to buy more of the relish (the shipping means buying direct isn't practical). We bought the original jar from a company that doesn't seem to sell it any more. So does anyone know where I could buy more of this wonderful relish, a similar sounding relish, or does anyone have a recipe for making such a relish?

Hot Milk

When you have a cold and a sore throat (as I do at the moment) there are many remedies you could take. For example, Lemsip is supposed to help both your throat as well as providing some pain relief. Personally though I much prefer a simpler home remedy.

Add a tablespoon of golden syrup to a mug of hot milk and stir well. Then grate copious amounts of fresh nutmeg on top. Wrap up warm, relax and drink your milk. I promise you will start to feel better!

Creamy Asparagus Pasta

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 garlic glove
200g young asparagus
180ml double cream
two handfuls finely grated parmesan cheese
400g fresh tagliatelle

Cooking Instructions
Peel the garlic clove and place in a small pan with the double cream. Gently heat the cream almost until boiling and then remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

Remove the tips from the asparagus and then finely chop the stems. Boil the chopped asparagus for about 10 minutes until soft. Remove the garlic clove from the cream and then add the boiled asparagus and parmesan cheese. Using a hand blender, blend the asparagus, cream and cheese together to make the sauce.

Cook the fresh tagliatelle (usually about four minutes in boiling water) and the asparagus tips together. Drain the pasta and place on a plate. Spoon the sauce on top and serve.

Flapjacks

After my previous disaster I finally got around to making another batch of flapjacks, so I can finally post the recipe that you have all been waiting for! As some of you can attest to, this recipe really does make very good flapjacks.

Ingredients (makes 12 flapjacks)
4oz margarine
4 rounded tablespoons of golden syrup
3.5 oz granulated sugar
8oz rolled oats
a pinch of salt

Cooking Instructions
Put the margarine and syrup in a pan and heat gently until the margarine has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the oats, sugar and salt.

Carefully press the mixture into a greased 12"x7" shallow tin. Cook at 160C (325F) for between 30 and 40 minutes until golden brown.

Immediately on removing from oven cut into 12 with a round bladed knife, but do NOT attempt to remove from the tin. Allow the tin to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then gently remove the flapjacks and place on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Bangers and Mash with Red Wine Gravy

I assume everyone knows how to make mashed potatoes and how to fry a sausage so the recipe will only deal with making the red wine gravy. To make a full meal I'd suggest serving with the sugar roasted alliums from the previous post.

Ingredients
1/2 pint of red wine
1/2 pint of vegetable stock
1/4 pint Balsamic vinegar
2 tsps plain flour

Cooking Instructions
Put the red wine and stock in a pan and simmer to reduce the volume by half (to 1/2 a pint). Mix the plain flour into a paste with 2 tbsps of cold water. Add the balsamic vinegar and flour paste to the pan. Whisk vigorously until the sauce thickens.

Note: This amount of sauce is usually way more than we need for a single meal, however, it freezes really well. I usually freeze it in ice cube bags and then defrost and reheat as much as I need at a later date.

Sugar Roasted Alliums

I guess this post should really have been entitled "Sugar Roasted Leeks, Onions, and Shallots" but that doesn't have the same ring to it. I'm not giving exact amount for this recipe as I do different amounts each time based on the vegetables I have to hand.

Ingredients
Leeks, peeled and chopped into inch long pieces
Onions, peeled and quartered
Red Onions, peeled and quartered
Shallots, just peeled
Olive Oil
Demerara Sugar

Cooking Instructions
Place the vegetables in a roasting tin. Drizzle with the olive oil and then sprinkle a generous amount of demerara sugar over all the vegetables.

Place the roasting tin in an oven at 200C (400F) for 35 to 40 minutes. Be careful when serving as the oil and sugar in the base of the pan gets very hot.

Blue Cheese Burgers

Ingredients (makes 4 burgers)
800g minced beef
1 medium onion
1 large stick of celery
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp mustard powder
12 1cm cubes of good quality Stilton
4 burger buns

Cooking Instructions
Finely chop the onion and celery and place in a bowl along with the mixed herbs. Mix the mustard powder with 1 tsp of cold water and then stir this into the dry ingredients. Using your hands work the minced beef into the other ingredients until everything is well mixed.

Form 1/8 of the mixture into a burger sized disk place 3 of the cubes of Stilton on top of the burger. Use a further 1/8 of the mixture to double the depth of the burger sealing the cheese between the two parts. I actually do this using a loose bottomed 10cm pork pie tin -- push 1/8 of the mixture into the tin then drop in the cheese and add the remaining 1/8 of the mixture, push down firmly to seal, and finally push up on the loose bottom to remove the burger.

Wrap the burgers in grease proof paper and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Cook the burgers by frying gently until they are fully cooked through (depending on thickness this can take quite a while). You shouldn't need to add any oil/fat to the pan as the meat will release enough juices during cooking to prevent the burgers from sticking.

Serve in lightly buttered burger buns with a generous portion of chips.

Roast Beef and Sweet Red Pepper Sandwiches

Following on from the Roast Chicken Risotto this is another "leftover" recipe, although this one was invented in my kitchen!

Ingredients
12oz roast beef
1 large onion
1 large sweet red pepper
4 large white bread rolls

Cooking Instructions
Cut the beef into strips about 3cm long by about 0.5cm wide. Cut the onion into sixths and then slice each sixth to give pieces which are essentially 1 sixth of an onion ring. Cut the sweet red pepper into similar sized pieces. Basically all the pieces of beef, onion and pepper should be similar sized, but to make it clear (if my instructions haven't done that already) then take a look at the chopped ingredients.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a frying pan and soften the onion and pepper for about 10 minutes. Add the beef and continue cooking until the beef is thoroughly warmed through. If everything is getting a little dry then add a spot more olive oil.

Serve in lightly buttered white bread rolls and enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
1 large onion
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
2 green chilies
1 teaspoon dried oregano
8 corn tortillas
175g white cheddar cheese
1 large pot of sour cream

Cooking Instructions
Pre-cook the chicken breasts for 45 minutes by wrapping them in foil with a few chunks of butter and placing in a pre-heated oven at about 190C (or the bottom of the roasting oven in an AGA). Once cooked allow to cool and then chop into bite sized chunks and set aside.

Finely chop the onion and gently soften with a little olive oil in a large frying pan (the diameter of the frying pan must be slightly larger than a tortilla to make a later step easier). Once the onion has softened add the chopped tomatoes and oregano. Finely chop the chilies and add these as well. Stir well bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and allow to cool for a minute.

Place the pre-cooked chicken in a bowl with a couple of large spoonfuls of the tomato sauce and stir well. Now take a tortilla and place on top of the tomato sauce in the frying pan for a few seconds so it softens by soaking up a little of the sauce. Now place one eighth of the chicken on the tortilla and roll the tortilla into a tube. Place the rolled up tortilla in a greased tall sided baking tray. Repeat for the remaining seven tortillas until they are all in the baking tray. Now pour the remaining tomato mixture over the rolled up tortillas. Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the top of the tomato mixture. Now place the baking tray in a pre-heated oven at about 200C (400F or the bottom of the roasting oven in an AGA) for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling nicely but not burnt.

Use a spatula to lift the tortillas out of the tray onto plates and serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.

Roast Chicken Risotto

I'm not entirely sure where this recipe originated from but it has been a firm favourite for as long as I can remember. This is a "leftover" recipe and so the ingredients list tends to vary a little each time I cook it. For example, you can vary the amount of roast chicken, at Christmas you could use leftover roast turkey, and if you don't like mushrooms it works just as well without them. The ingredients list is exactly what I used last time I cooked this.

Ingredients (Serves 2)
14oz roast chicken
l medium onion
2 tomatoes
8 fl oz long grain rice
6 mushrooms
1 large handful of frozen peas
20 fl oz chicken stock

Cooking Instructions
Finely chop the onion and gently fry in a little olive oil in a large frying pan.

While the onions are frying skin and dice the tomatoes (to skin a tomato score the skin with a sharp knife then place in a bowl of water for a minute, remove from the water and the skin will slide off), peel and slice the mushrooms, and chop the roast chicken into bite sized chunks.

Once the onion is soft add the rice and tomatoes. Fry for a minute or two to ensure the rice is nicely coated with oil. Add the chicken stock and stir. Bring to the boil and then simmer with a lid on for about 15-20 minutes adding more stock if necessary.

Add the chicken and mushrooms and stir thoroughly continue to cook with the lid on for about ten minutes. Once you have added the chicken cook the frozen peas. Once everything is cooked stir the frozen peas into the risotto and serve.

Strawberry and Cream Shortbread Stacks

Ingredients (Serves 6)
4oz unsalted butter
2oz caster sugar
6oz plain flour
1 large punnet of strawberries
1 large pot of double cream

Cooking Instructions
Beat the butter until soft with a wooden spoon. Beat in the sugar and then the flour. Form into a paste using your hands.

With some extra caster sugar lightly dust a work surface and then roll out the mixture to a thickness of about 3mm.

Use a 3inch cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits and place them onto a lightly greased baking tray. You should have enough paste to make 12 shortbread biscuits, and as each of the final deserts requires 2 you should be able to serve 6.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 150C (300F or Gas Mark 2), remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Wash, hull and quarter the strawberries. Whip the cream until thick and then fold in the quartered strawberries.

Assemble each desert by placing a single shortbread biscuit on a plate dollop a sixth of the cream and strawberry mixture on top and then place a second biscuit on top.

Jacket Potato with Chicken, Leek and Bacon

Ingredients (Serves 1)
1 chicken breasts
1 leek
2 rashers smoked bacon
1 heaped dessert spoon of flour
¼ pint of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard
1 dessert spoon of crème fraîche

Cooking Instructions
First dice the bacon, chop the chicken breast into bite sized chunks, and thinly slice the leek. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and gently fry the bacon and chicken. When the chicken is almost cooked add the leeks and continue to cook until the leeks are soft and tender.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan and stir through. Pour in the stock, stirring constantly as the source thickens. Stir in the mustard and crème fraîche. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, for a few minutes while the crème fraîche melts into the sauce.

Spoon over a jacket potato and serve.

Chinese Chili Chicken

Ingredients (Serves 2)
2 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon cornflour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg white
1 large green chili
1 large red chili
A 1 inch long piece of root ginger
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Cooking Instructions
Mix 1 tablespoon of the oil with the cornflour and egg white in a large bowl. Chop the chicken into inch sized cubes, add to the bowl and stir to coat all the chicken pieces.

Remove the stalk and seeds from the chilies and chop finely. Peel the ginger and chop into very small cubes. Chop the two peppers into pieces about 2cm square.

Heat the remaining oil in a wok and once hot add the chillies and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes. Now add the coated chicken pieces and stir to ensure that the chicken doesn't get all stuck together.

Continue to cook until the chicken is fully cooked through and then throw in the peppers. Cook for a further few minutes to soften the peppers then add the soy sauce and white wine vinegar (note that these are likely to spit as they are added to the wok). Cook a little longer until most of the fluid has evaperated, then serve on a bed of rice.