Hollandaise Sauce

 I have always been a bit to frightened to make hollandaise sauce as the few time I have it has gone wrong, but at last I have made it with no problems by following Nigel Slaters recipe from his book 'Appetite' which I recently bought and absolutely adore. It's not your run of the mill recipe book, if you are the kind of person who loves reading cookery books like a fiction book then this is perfect and I urge you to go out and buy a copy, I spent the whole day reading it from cover to cover....

Hollandaise Sauce from 'Appetite' by Nigel Slater

3 Large Egg Yolks
250g Butter
Half a lemon







Put a pan of water on to boil and find a glass or heatproof china bowl that will fit neatly into it without actually touching the water. Add the yolks and a splash of water. Whisk, pouring in the melted butter, slowly.




When the sauce thickens up whisk a little faster. Once it is thick and creamy, squeeze in a little lemon juice. And if it starts to curdle either add an ice cube or a splash of boiling water and that should do the trick according to Nigel!




And what better way to enjoy hollandaise sauce than with egg's benedict? Well with the new season asparagus actually but the shops had all sold out..

Beef Shin Ragu

Beef shin is one of my favourite cuts of meat, It's amazing in slow cooked stews and pasta sauces and I would choose it over stewing or braising steak every time as I think it has more flavour and falls apart a bit more easily. Here is really easy recipe for a ragu sauce to go with pasta which I think is great food for the weather were having, it's not cold but bloody rainy!
Although this is a very easy dish to prepare and cook you need a whole day to do it as it's takes around 4/5 hours to cook but is very very worth it.

800g Beef Shin cut into chunks
2 Large Carrot
2 Large celery sticks or several smaller ones
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
A tin of good quality tomatoes
A handful of cherry tomatoes
A squidge of tomato puree
2 bay leaves
2/3 sage leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle of half decent red
500ml of good beef/chicken stock
Parmesan/Pecerino to sprinkle on top





 Fry the beef in batches so it brown's and does not steam and then remove the it to a plate, and set aside.


Add the diced vegetables and herbs to the casserole dish and sweat them gently for 10-15 minutes until soft but not coloured.


Return the meat to the pan, and add the wine, stock, and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, then half cover it and simmer on the stove top for around 4/5 hours or you can put it in the oven if you prefer






When it's done serve with pasta, salad and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan

Cherry Fridge Cake

At last I have the internet again, it has been nearly a month without it and to be honest I didn't really miss it that much but it has been frustrating not being able to blog. I hated the thought of my blog just sitting there looking like she had been abandoned! Anyway enough of that and here is a very simple and very delicious recipe for a fridge that cake that I have adapted from 'The Hummingbird Bakery' cookbook.

400g Unsalted Butter
200ml Golden Syrup
100g Cocoa Powder
800g Digestive Biscuits
200g Raisins
10 Glace Cherry's
100g Milk Chocolate
100g Dark Chocolate

 






 Melt the butter in a pan
 

Then add the golden syrup and cocoa powder

 Next crush the biscuits

Mix the cherry's and raisins together and put the chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl along with the bars of chocolate broken into chunks

Put it in a baking tray and leave in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight

Yummy yummy fridge cake, I love the texture of the biscuits,cherry's and raisins.
So easy to make with little effort but it is not healthy in ant was what so ever and hard to not keep eating strait from the fridge! I heated a slice up and had it with clotted cream ice cream, also not good for your health!