Valentine's Meal

The oven is broken. Disaster. Every time you try to switch it on, it beeps and dies. So when it came to Valentine's Day, and it was my turn to cook, we swapped our kitchen for my parents-in-law's brilliant kitchen in North Wales. Space, a dishwasher, and a gorgeous aga-style cooker, perfect.

I was very nervous about this menu. I had tried to go fairly simple, but I was constantly aware of how much the food, particularly the beef, had cost. So I was pleased when it seemed to turn out ok. The only disaster was a red-wine sauce I attempted: I totally forgot about it and it burned to black in the pan.

So this was the menu. My camera had run out of batteries so I haven't got any photos of my own.

Pan-roasted scallops with tomato salsa
I served the salsa in the scallop shell - might be a bit cheesy but we liked it!

Ingredients


2 tbsp Olive oil
100g cherry tomatoes
40g pitted, drained black olives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ bunch coriander, leaves only
½ bunch basil leaves
1/2 lemon, juiced
6 scallops (hand dived if you can get them), coral removed.

Method: How to make pan-roasted scallops with tomato and herb salsa

1. First, place a small saucepan over a gentle heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the oil. Add the pitted black olives, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir over a low heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Hold the stalks of the coriander and basil together and slice down with a sharp knife to shave off the leaves. Discard the stalks, gently roll the coriander and basil leaves into a ball and chop. Add the coriander and basil to the salsa and stir to combine.

3. Roll the lemon on a chopping board to soften it and release the juices and then chop in half. Add the juice of half a lemon to the pan, stir and set the salsa aside to allow the flavours to infuse.

4. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat until smoking hot and then add one tablespoon of olive oil. Lay the scallops out on a board, pat dry with kitchen paper and then season one side with salt and pepper.

5. Think of the frying pan as a clock face and add the largest scallop (seasoned side down) in the twelve o’clock position. Continue adding the scallops clockwise working your way round 1,2 3 etc until you get to 12 again. Season the unseasoned side of the scallops and after 1-2 minutes or when the underside is turning golden brown, with a palette knife or spatula, flip over the scallops starting with the scallop you placed in the twelve o’clock position. Squeeze the other half of the lemon over the scallops and give the pan a good shake to ensure even cooking.

6. After 1-2 minutes or when the scallops are golden brown on all sides, tip the pan onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.

7. To serve, lay out four small plates and place a large spoonful of the salsa in the middle of each plate, arrange 3 scallops on each plate and serve immediately.

Beef Wellington
This is really delicious with the parma ham, which kind of melts into the pastry. Make sure the beef is rare and well-rested.

Ingredients


400g Beef fillet
400g Flat mushrooms
4 slices Parma ham
English mustard for brushing meat
200g puff pastry
2 Egg yolks
Approx 8 Charlotte/New potatoes
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 Sprig thyme
Purple sprouting broccoli

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Mustard vinaigrette, optional

Method: How to make beef Wellington

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200c.

2. Heat some oil in a large pan and quickly fry the seasoned beef all over until it's brown. Remove and allow to cool. The point of this is simply to sear the beef and seal all those juices in, you don't want to cook the meat at this stage. Allow to cool and brush generously with the mustard.

3. Roughly chop the mushrooms and blend in a food processor to form a puree. Scrape the mixture into a hot, dry pan and allow the water to evaporate. When sufficiently dry (the mixture should be sticking together easily), set aside and cool.

4. Roll out a generous length of cling film, lay out the four slices of Parma ham, each one slightly overlapping the last. With a pallet knife spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the ham.

5. Place the beef fillet in the middle and keeping a tight hold of the cling film from the outside edge, neatly roll the parma ham and mushrooms over the beef into a tight barrel shape. Twist the ends to secure the clingfilm. Refrigerate for 10 -15 minutes, this allows the Wellington to set and helps keep the shape.

6. Roll out the pastry quite thinly to a size which will cover your beef. Unwrap the meat from the cling film. Egg wash the edge of the pastry and place the beef in the middle. Roll up the pastry, cut any excess off the ends and fold neatly to the 'underside'. Turnover and egg wash over the top. Chill again to let the pastry cool, approximately 5 minutes. Egg wash again before baking at 200c for 35 - 40 minutes. Rest 8 -10 minutes before slicing.

7. Par boil the potatoes in salted water. Quarter them and leave the skin on. Sauté in olive oil and butter with the garlic and thyme, until browned and cooked through. Season. Remove the thyme and garlic before serving.

8. Serve hearty slices of the Wellington alongside the sautéed potatoes and purple sprouting broccoli.

Molten Chocolate Babycakes

Ingredients

350g dark chocolate, good quality
50g unsalted Butter, softened, plus a little more for greasing
150g caster sugar
4 large Eggs, beaten
1 pinch Salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g plain flour, or Italian 00 flour
1 carton double cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6 and place a baking tray into the oven. Lay 3 dariole moulds on a sheet of baking parchment, draw around them, remove and then cut the discs out as marked. Then press them all into the base of the tins.

2. Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Cream together the butter and sugar and gradually beat in the eggs and salt and then the vanilla. Now add the flour and when all is smoothly combined scrape in the cooled chocolate, blending it to a smooth batter.

3. Divide the batter between 6 moulds, then whip the baking tray out of the oven arrange the tins on it and replace in the oven. Cook for 10-12 minutes. Then take out and place on either a small plate or shallow bowl.

4. Serve with a dollop of double cream.

I don't know what separates this from a chocolate fondant, but this was really easy, it did work just as the recipe (a Nigella) said it would. I had to use a muffin tin (what are dariole moulds????) but they worked fine! Now if only I could learn to take food photos like this...

Chocolate Buns

This was the January challenge from Fresh from the Oven. I was very nervous about it: I had never made creme patissiere before, let alone anything that you had to roll up and slice before baking. But I loved the idea of the chocolate buns and was pretty excited to have a go.

I was very grateful that the instructions were so reassuring about kneading the dough. I probably had to knead this for at least 20 minutes before it was manageable, but it did eventually get there. It needed a lot of space - I had to clear the toaster, the fruitbowl and the bread bin off the work surface to get it all laid out.

The creme patissiere was great, much easier than I thought it would be. Having done some research, I've found that the flour stabilises the eggs so they don't curdle. The vanilla pod just makes it really lovely. I didn't add the cocoa to the custard because I wanted the creaminess, and I thought it would be a bit too chocolatey.

The other thing I found was that there was so much creme patissiere, I only really needed half. Perhaps I didn't stretch the dough out wide enough though. And chopping the rolls up was messy.

But the biggest reason why I won't make these again is that I don't know when to eat them! They're not dessert, they're too rich for breakfast and too big for a snack! The best time was on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee when you're having a late lunch. But that's only once a week. And I made 24!

Chocolate Buns


250g full fat milk
15g fresh yeast
500g strong bread flour
60g unsalted butter at room temp
40g caster sugar
10g salt
2 large eggs
25g good quality cocoa powder
200g chocolate chips, milk or plain, or a mixture
2 eggs beaten with a pinch of salt for an egg wash

Creme Patissiere (recipe follows)

15g cocoa powder

Pour the milk into a pan and warm gently until it is about body temp - it should feel neither warm nor cold when you dip your finger into it.

To mix by hand, rub the yeast into the flour using your fingertips as if making a crumble. Rub in the butter, then add the sugar and salt, then the eggs, milk and cocoa powder. With the help of a plastic scraper, lift the dough onto your work surface. Even though the dough will feel quite soft and moist (and look like thick, sticky porridge) do not add any flour to the work surface.

Begin to work the dough, slide your fingers underneath it like a pair of forks, with your thumbs on top, swing it upwards and then slap it back down, away from you, onto your work surface (it will almost be too sticky to lift at this point). Stretch the front of the dough towards you, then lift it back over itself in an arc (to trap the air), still stretching it forwards and sideways and tucking it in around the edges. Keep repeating this sequence.

As you work the dough it will start to come together and feel alive and elastic in your hands. Keep on working until it comes cleanly away from the work surface, begins to look silky and feels smooth, firm but wobbly and responsive.

Now you can flour your work surface lightly, place the dough on top and form it into a ball by folding each edge in turn into the centre of the dough and pressing down well with your thumb, rotating the ball as you go. Turn the whole ball over and stretch and tuck the edges under. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rest for 45 mins in a draught free place.

Make the creme pattissiere.

Once the 45 mins are up, use the rounded end of a scraper, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and, with a rolling pin, gently flatten it into a rough rectangle. Spread the chocolate creme patissiere evenly over the dough and sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Starting with one of the longer edges, roll the dough up until it resembles a Swiss roll. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 2cm slices and place them on their sides on a baking tray. Glaze with a little egg wash and leave to prove for 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 hours until the buns have roughly doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 250C.

Glaze again and put into the preheated oven, turning the heat down to 180C. Bake for 10-15 mins. As the chocolate dough is quite dark it can be difficult to tell when the buns are properly baked, and you need to take care not to under bake them - the best way to tell when they are ready is to lift one gently with a spatula and check that it is firm underneath.

If you don't want to bake the buns all in one go, you can freeze some. When they are cut, just before proving, put them on a small tray in the freezer and when they are hard put them into a freezer bag. To use them, take them out, leave to prove overnight and bake in the same way.

Makes 24 buns

Creme Patissiere

In a bowl whisk together 6 egg yolks, 70 g caster sugar and 50g sifted flour. Put another 70g sugar into a saucepan with 500g (500ml) full fat milk, a vanilla pod split lengthwise and seeds scrapped in and the remaining cocoa powder. Place over a low heat. Leave until the first bubble appears, then remove from the heat. Whisk 1/3 of the milk into the egg mixture, then add the remaining 2/3 of the milk and stir again. Pour back into the pan and put back on the heat. Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of mins, stirring constantly to ensure that the cream does not burn on the bottom. Pour into a dish to cool. Sprinkle a little icing sugar or flakes of butter on top to prevent a skin forming.

from 'Dough' by Richard Bertinet

A spicy chilli for a chilly day

Yesterday, we went into the Peak District to enjoy the snow. In Manchester, it's getting grey and sludgy, but out in the hills, there is a pure, white, unspoiled blanket of snow. It curves and undulates, creating a bleached, almost desert-like landscape. The sky was a clear, bright blue, and the brilliance of the snow was spectacular. We climbed up Mam Tor, where we could see right out across the hills. Gorgeous.

We got home tired, wet and very, very cold. Tim's scarf had actually frozen in place. So we needed something warming and filling. Chilli it was.

For a long time, I wasn't keen on chilli. Maybe it was the spice, maybe it was the beans. And although I wouldn't say it's my favourite now, it has definitely grown on me.

I also made a cornbread, which is something I have wanted to try making for a while. I saw the packed of cornbread flour in Tesco's, and threw it in to the trolley. It made the chilli a real treat.

Chilli

2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cardamom pods, crushed slightly
1 red pepper
500g miced beef
1 tin chopped tomaoes
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
4 tbsp tomato puree
125ml water
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 red chilli

Chop the onions and fry them gently in some olive oil. Add the garlic and the spices and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Chop the pepper and add to the onion. Add the minced beef, breaking it up in the saucepan. Brown the minced beef and then add the tomatoes, the ketchup, the puree and the water. Bring the mixture to the boil. When it boils, sprinkle over the cocoa powder and stir well.

Leave to simmer for at least an hour. Around 10 minutes before serving, finely chop the red chilli and add to the meat, reserving some to sprinkle on top of the dish.

Serve with rice, and cornbread if you like. Scatter some finely-chopped chilli on top of the meat.

Cornbread

1 egg
125ml yoghurt
2 tbsp oil
30g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp salt
250g cornmeal

Whisk together the egg, yoghurt and oil. Then sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Finally, fold in the cornmeal. Pour and scrape the mixture into a tin (I used a 20cm round silicone tin, which was perfect) and bake for 25 minutes at 200C.

Cranberry and Orange Muffins

I had these on my 'to-bake' list over Christmas, but after spending most of Christmas Eve in the kitchen, I couldn't face doing them. The snow has kept me off work today and yesterday, so I had a chance to make them.

I made them with 150g fresh cranberries, which was delicious, mostly because I had the packet in the fridge. The muffins themselves were really light and not too sweet. I had run out of muffin cases so I buttered the inside of the muffin tin. It seemed to work and at least you don't get the rubbish!

Christmas Morning Muffins



200g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
75g demerara sugar
good grating fresh nutmeg
1 clementine or small orange
approximately 50ml milk
60g unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
150g dried cranberries

12-bun muffin tin

for the topping:

2 teaspoons demerara sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6.

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb and sugar, and grate over a generous amount of fresh nutmeg.

2. Squeeze the orange or clementine juice into a measuring jug, then pour in milk on top till it comes up to the 150ml mark. Add the melted butter and the egg, and beat to combine.

3. Pour the jug of liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir till the ingredients are more or less combined, remembering that a lumpy batter makes light muffins.

4. Last of all, lightly fold in the cranberries and fill the muffin cups. The amount of cranberries specified here makes for heavily fruited muffins; if you want them sparser, use half the amount.

5. Mix together the demerara sugar and ground cinnamon and sprinkle over the tops of the muffins.

6. Stick them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes

The Thali Cafe

I was listening to Radio 4 yesterday and happened to catch a repeat of their Food and Drink awards. When the award for Best Takeaway was announced, I was really pleased to hear that the Thali Cafe in Bristol had won.

The Thali Cafe has a brilliant take-away system, which we enjoyed when we visited my sister-and-brother-in-law last year: when you buy your curry, you buy a 'Tiffin' Take-Away tin, which holds three curries and a portion of rice.

What a great, eco-friendly idea! No waste, no sticky leakage, and the food stays hot. Plus, the menu and the food are delicious. If you're in the Bristol area and fancy a curry, please go there!

New Year's Resolutions

Or, rather, a post on hopes, dreams and plans for the next year.

Last year was crazily busy. This time last year, I wasn't even engaged, let alone married. Over the course of 2009 I've got engaged, planned a wedding, got married, been a bridesmaid for my sister, moved house and done all the normal things of having a fairly stressful, high-pressure job. For most of the year, I've been running around looking slightly like a headless chicken, sorting out venues, invitations, furniture, plastering walls, planning, marking, rushing, rushing, rushing.

So this year, I would like a little bit of consolidation. A little bit of stability. A little bit of rooting. Not that I want to sit around and be boring. But a chance to spend my free time doing things that I am interested in, looking at the options, trying new things. I would like to make the most of my evenings, weekends and holidays. All the general stuff that fills up the weekends, like sorting out your car insurance or cleaning, I want to get that stuff out of the way so that I can do stuff I really enjoy. I guess it's about time management. I guess it's about prioritising. I guess there is a little bit of organisation hidden in there somewhere.

There are a few areas that I want to focus on. They don't mention losing weight or getting fit. It's more about expanding horizons. I'd like to take control of our garden. At the moment, it has some lovely decking. And then it has a long stretch of scrubby, scruffy grass. With a shed plonked right in the middle of it. Even if it only means I have something more interesting to look at when I'm doing the washing up, it'll be better than it currently is, and it might mean that I gain some skills in the process.

I'd like to climb a mountain. Not a particularly big one, but one that I've chosen to climb, rather than be dragged up it by parents or teachers. Perhaps it's a sign I'm becoming a grown up.

I'd like to become a more adventurous cook. There are some things that scare me in the kitchen: Oysters, Souffles, Jams, Offal. So I'm going to try to tackle these fears.

And I'd like to become a slightly better blogger. I'm going to aim for twice a week, but I may not make it. After all, I can't let it take over my life now, can I?

Stollen

I'd never made Stollen before, and this was my first Fresh from the Oven challenge.

I'm definitely not an experienced bread-maker away from the bread machine, but it seemed close enough to a cake and it was a good first challenge. Stollen is a traditional German cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season, when it is called Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen. There is a roll of marzipan running through it which is supposed to represent the baby Jesus in the manger. It's amazing how these tenuous connections were formed.

The dough was incredibly sticky - I wondered if the egg should be added before the second kneading. Also, our temperamental oven started playing tricks, and the outside was slightly scorched, but inside it tasted really good. I have to admit I substituted ground almonds for the flaked almonds as I'm not very keen on things with a nutty texture, but I was glad I had a go.

Stollen


based on a Simon Rimmer recipe

100ml/3½fl oz warm milk
6g (1 sachet) fast action yeast or 2 tsp dried yeast or 20g fresh yeast
pinch salt
1 tsp caster sugar
225g/8oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp ground mixed spice
200g/7oz mixed dried fruit (including glacé cherries)
25g/1oz flaked almonds
50g/2oz unsalted butter
1 free-range egg, beaten
250g/9oz marzipan


To finish
rum
25g/1oz butter, melted
50g/2oz icing sugar

Method

1. Place the milk and yeast into a bowl and mix well. Leave to sit for 5-6 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, sift the salt, sugar, flour and mixed spice into a large bowl. Add the dried fruit, almonds and butter and mix well then stir in the yeasty milk and mix well.

3. Add the egg and stir to form a dough. Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes, then cover and leave to prove for 20 minutes. Uncover the dough and turn out onto a clean, floured work surface. Knock the dough back to reduce the volume, then knead the dough for 3-4 minutes.

4. Push the dough out by hand into a flat oval shape about 23cm x 18cm/9in x 7in. Roll the marzipan into a sausage shape about 6cm/2in shorter than the dough. Place the marzipan into the centre of the dough, then fold over the sides of the dough to seal in the marzipan. Then fold in the ends of the dough to contain the marzipan and help give the dough shape. Place the stollen seal-side down onto a greased baking tray. Cover and place somewhere warm to prove for one hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 180C/365F/Gas 4. Place the stollen on the baking tray into the oven to bake for 40 minutes, or until golden-brown and cooked through.

6. To finish, remove the stollen from the oven, brush with the rum then melted butter and dust liberally with icing sugar immediately. Allow the stollen to cool, then serve in slices.