Steak, Home-Made Chips and Bernaise Sauce

Oh Valentines Day here you are again, as far as I am concerned it's just an excuse to over indulge in food and hopefully receive a lovely bunch of flowers. I actually made this steak, chips and bernaise sauce a few days ago and I'm not really sure what I'm going to make for tonites dinner yet, may even make this again as it his favourite!
This is such an easy and delicious meal to make for your partner, theres not many who don't love a rare steak, roast tomatoes, delicious home chips and indulgent bernaise sauce.

Steak

2 Good quality steaks of your choice of cut
Salt & Pepper
Butter &Oil

Tomatoes

Vine tomatoes or larger
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Fresh Rosemary

Chips

Potatoes
Veg or Sunflower Oil

Bernaise Sauce

3 tbsp white vinegar
1 Large shallot diced
3 free-range egg yolks
225g Melted Butter
Tarragon Leaves finely copped


The first thing you need to do is get your oven on and get the tomatoes in having sprinkled them with sea salt, pepper, olive oil and sprigs of rosemary. Put them on around 180 and cook for an hour.
Peel and Chop your potatoes and get the oil on, rinse and then dry your chips and when the oil is hot enough put them in the oil for around 5mins and then take out and leave to get on with your bernaise. Start by putting the vinegar and diced shallot into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Now strain the vinegar into a heatproof bowl and add the egg yolks and put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk together until thickened and light in colour. Now gradually add the melted butter, whisking constantly. Season with  black pepper and salt if needed, then add the chopped tarragon leaves. Now put your chips in for their second fry and get the pan nice and hot ready for the steaks and add some butter and a dash of oil, season the steaks with salt and pepper and when the pan is searing hot put the steaks on to cook. Get your tomatoes out of the oven and arrange everything on a plate and put some bernaise sauce in little pots or dish for dipping chips and steak in. God it is so yummy, I adore bernaise sauce, I want to dip everything in it!

 HAPPY VALENTINES DAY  XXX

Squid Ink Rissotto with Chorizo stuffed Squid

 
I have never cooked with squid ink before but saw some for sale in a fishmongers stall in Brighton market so thought I would buy it with no idea of what to do with it! I figured squid probably go's well with squid ink and had chorizo and risotto rice so risotto it was! I adapted a recipe from Waitrose website for the stuffed squid.


Stuffed Squid

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
60g chorizo sausage, chopped
1 red chilli, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Squid cleaned, tentacles chopped

a pinch of saffron (optional)


Squid Ink Risotto 

1¾ pint Chicken Stock

50g Butter 

I onion finely chopped 

1 Garlic cloves

250g  risotto rice

125ml White Wine

2 sachets squid ink

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by cleaning and preparing your squid if this has not already been done for you and I will say that having several smaller squid would be better than one big one like I used but that's is all they had! Next soften the onion in oil for 5 minutes then stir in the chorizo, chilli and garlic and cook for a few mins and then blitz in the food processor. Stuff your squids with the chorizo mix and secure at the ends with cocktail sticks ready to pan fry when the risotto is ready.

I'm not going to tell you how to make a risotto as I am sure you all know how to do that and do not need me to tell you how! When the risotto is nearly ready start pan frying your squids, and depending on the size of them can take anything from a few minutes up to 6.  Be careful not to overcook the squid and you can just pop the tentacles in the pan in the last minute of cooking. This could be a really nice thing to serve at a dinner party as it looks amazing with the black, white and red!

Beef Bourguignon

It has been snowy and magical, I love the snow so much, I love the way it makes the whole of the UK stand still. In any other country people would still go about their normal lives but not here, oh no....Quick it's snowing panic buy, panic buy, shut the schools, don't leave the house, woman get's some snow on her head, front page news ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
When it's freezing outside we all crave hot comfort food and beef bourguignon is perfect for this. I adapted Gordon Ramsey's recipe for this and it turned out perfectly and I really do recommend using shin beef, it's the perfect cut for this. I served mine with buttery mashed potato and celeriac, yum.

3 tsp goose fat or Butter and a splash of oil
 600g shin beef , cut into large chunks
100g smoked streaky bacon , sliced
350g Whole peeled shallots or pearl onions, peeled
250g chestnut mushrooms (about 20)
2 garlic cloves
1 bouquet garni
1 tbsp tomato purée
750ml bottle red wine

 I peeled my shallots, quartered my chestnut mushrooms, added the smoky bacon and sauteed everything in some goose fat.

I covered my chunks of shin beef in seasoned flour, browned in batches and then added them to the pan. I then added my bouquet garni, tomato past, red wine and 100ml of water and left to cook on the hob for about 2 hours half covered and then I transferred it to the oven totally covered for a further hour and a half. 

The long slow cooking of this bourguignon makes the meat literally melt in your mouth, so utterly delicious, especially when served with a pile of steaming butter celeriac mash.

Coconut Chicken Satay Wraps

I love chicken satay!!!!!!!!!  It's quick, easy and delicious and a great mid-week dinner or lazy weekend lunch.


Marinade

Tin of coconut Milk
Sliced shallot
Red chilli (with seeds)
Stick of Lemon Grass
Fresh tumeric
Ghalangal
Light Soy
Fish Sauce

Satay Sauce

The left over marinade ( strained)
Red chilli
Shallot
Garlic
Peanut Butter
Sugar
Fish Sauce
Lime Juice

You will also need some sliced chicken and wraps also salad items like cucumber, lettuce, tomato and corriander.


I marinaded the chicken in a tin of coconut milk, a stick of lemon grass, chilli, shallots, fresh tumeric, galanghal, ginger, light soy sauce and fish sauce. I covered the chicken in the marinade and put it in the fridge for fours hours. and if you plan ahead put it in over night.

I sliced up some peppers and red onion and roasted them in the oven with a bit of ground nut oil for around half an hour, the reason for the ground nut oil is it's tasteless and you don't want a Thai peanut sauce and olive oil together, yuk.

To make the satay sauce I drained the chicken and discarded all the bits from the marinade and put the coconut milk marinade to one side. I started by gently frying garlic, chilli and shallot for a few mins and then added the marinade and bought it to the boil as it had raw chicken in it.
I then turned it right down and added the peanut butter, some brown sugar,a dash of fish sauce and the squeezed a lime into it.

I was going to take pictures of the wraps and their construction but was to excited about eating them and forgot!! x

Chicken, Sweetcorn and Coconut Soup

Wow University is hard work, I didn't realise how much writing I would have to do...ridiculous.
I never been more busy in my whole entire life, if I'm not at Uni writing things then I'm at work and don't seem to do anything else at the moment. I almost forgot I had a blog, but tonite I am free!
Yesterday I made the traditional Sunday roast and so today I thought I would make a stock with the chicken carcass and use the leftover meat to make a soup.
I boiled the carcass in water along with carrots, onion, celery, peppercorns and bay leaves for around two hours.


Ingredients.

Home made chicken Stock
Roast Chicken shredded
Noodles
Corn on the Cob
2 Red Chillies (with seeds)
Knob of Ginger cut into thin batons
Small can of Coconut Milk
Splash of Mirin
Splash of Fish Sauce
Handful of Coriander















Slice the chillies and ginger, add a splash of mirrin and gently cook in a deep sided saucepan for a few minutes. Then slice the corn off the cob and add that to the pan along with the stock, coconut milk and the noodles and cook for around 4 minutes. Add the shredded chicken at the last moment so it can warm through and season with some fish sauce. Ladle into bowls and put some fresh coriander on the top. This is a great way to use leftovers, it's really good for you and the home-made chicken stock makes it taste extra amazing!















Hopefully it won't be so long until my next post but I do have four essays to do starting with sustainable fishing. x

Tomato and Mascarpone soup with Cheese and Tomato Toasties

Lord God it is bloody freezing down here in Brighton and I can't seem to stop eating tomato soup with cheese on toast at the moment. It is such a gorgeous combination though isn't it...cheese and tomato.
Especially when the cheese is all melted and dipped in hot home-made soup, yum. I only cooked enough to make a couple of bowls so feel free to increase the measurements to cook for more people.

1 tin of good quality tomatoes (I used CIRIO)
4 Medium Vine Tomatoes
2 Carrots
1 Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
A Dollop of Mascarpone
Pinch of Sugar
Olive Oil
Basil Leaves
Cracked Black Pepper

All you need to do is chop the onion and carrot into small pieces, crush the garlic and fry gently in the olive oil until they are soft and cooked through being careful not to burn the garlic. Next add your vine tomatoes with the skin and seeds removed and fry for further few minutes and then add your tin of tomatoes and simmer all together for around 15 Min's. Now add some torn basil and a big dollop ofmascarpone and transfer to a blender or just use a stick one and blend until smooth. Then put it all back in the pan and heat gently. I drizzled some olive oil and tore some basil on top of the soup. I served mine with cheese and tomato toasties which I used my trusty toasted sandwich maker for with lovely cheddar and sliced tomatoes. It is the perfect winter warmer and satisfying enough for a lovely cosy supper by the fire (if your lucky) or otherwise maybe the radiator.

Lot's of Home-Made Bread

I have a confession to make, I had never made bread before and I really do think it's one of those things I should have done already but I always thought it would be hard and it turns out it's actually rather easy, horray!
I am currently studying 'Culinart Arts's' at university and in my lesson this week we spent four hours making different types of bread from the book 'Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads' by  Richard Bertinet and I absolutely loved it.

My lovely french stick, it was a but thin but tasted great.

Small milk rolls that I made with some left over dough.

This is a garlic, rosemary and sea salt foccacia which I made using a dough that I added semolina and olive oil to.

These are lovely little bits of dough stuffed with home-made pesto. I believe they are French but have totally forgotten what they are called!

This pretty bread is called 'Fougass' and is on the front cover of the book 'Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads'

Another lovely bread that is made by shaping your dough in to a French stick type shape and then getting a pair of scissors and snipping it down the middle and pulling the snipped parts to each side.
I am definitely going to be making bread as often as I can now I know how easy and rewarding it is.

Warm Halloumi and Harissa Salad

 













 

Here is a very simple recipe for a tasty warm halloumi salad that I think is just right for the weather, rather cold  but with some lovely sun!

Halloumi sliced ( I had 4 slices But I'm greedy)
One Red Onion
Sweet long Red Pepper
Small Vine Tomatoes
Harissa
Chopped Mint


It's just a case of pan frying the onion and peppers in a spoon of the harissa, using some of the lovely oil you get in the jar with it and cook for around five minutes before adding the tomatoes, which I sliced in half. You want the onions to almost caramelise so they get that lovely sweet flavour and when this has happened put the contents of your pan onto a plate and put the sliced halloumi in the same pan and fry on both sides. When the halloumi is all crispy on the outside and a but soft in the middle, lay it on top of your onion, pepper and tomato mixture and sprinkle over some chopped mint.

My lovely friend bought me a jar of home made harissa from a lady at her local farmers market in Lewes, East Sussex.

The harissa give the halloumi a lovely golden colour a bit like saffron, very pretty.

Chilli Jam

I know it's only October but I have started to think about Christmas already and how I can be a bit more frugal this year with the whole present buying thing. I always tend to go over board and so have decided to make every ones presents in the form of little food hampers.This is a really easy recipe for chili jam that I got from Nigella Lawson and this the first addition to food hampers!

• 150 grams long red chilli pepper
• 150 grams Red peppers
• 1 kilograms Jam sugar
• 600 ml cider vinegar

 First thing you need to Sterilise your jars and leave to cool, I did this by washing them in boiling hot water and washing up liquid and then put them in the oven for around 10mins on a low temperature.
To make the chilli jam first cut-up the chillies and put into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Next add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a pan over a low heat without stirring and although it is tempting to stir you must make sure you don't!
Next you need to add the chilli-pepper mixture into the pan and bring to the boil, then leave it boiling for ten minutes and after that take the pan off the heat and allow it cool-
After about 40 minutes or when you can see the jam is beginning to settle ladle into your jars and seal tightly.
It's a really easy recipe and looks gorgeous, when it's closer to the time I will cover with fabric, tie a ribbon around them and attach a tag with the date I made the chilli jam.

Chocolate Cookies with White Buttons & Mars Bars

I used the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook for my basic chocolate cookie recipe but decided to add large white chocolate buttons and melted a mars bar in the chocolate and butter mixture to make them extra amazing. But I made a stupid mistake when it was to late to do anything about it, I forgot to put the butter in..nooooooooo. They were already in the oven when I realised my mistake and it was to late to do anything it. They were surprisingly okay and had a strange chewy meringue texture, I defiantly recommend not forgetting the butter!

Makes 12 Cookies

50g Unsalted Butter
450g Dark Chocolate
170g Soft Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
85g Plain Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 mars bar Chopped
1 Pack of Large White Buttons

Start by pre-heating your oven to gas mark 3 or 170c and then put your butter and half your chocolate in a heatproof bowl over gently boiling water to melt.

Put your eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat until well mixed, and then in a separate bowl sift your flour, salt and baking powder and slowly add your chocolate mixture a small amount at a time until well combined. At this point stir in your chocolate buttons!

Get two baking trays and put baking paper on each one, I use a small amount of the cookie mixture in the corners of the tray to hold the paper down. Put 6 equal amount of the mixture on the trays and make sure you leave enough room for the cookies to spread.

The cookies need 10/15 minutes in the oven or until they look glossy and the surface has begun to crack, I forgot to add the butter to mine because I am a fool so they don't look as good as I was hoping but they worked very well broken into pieces over vanilla ice cream.

Pulled Pork

I have been making pulled pork lot's recently, having been inspired by a place called 'BBQ Shack' in Brighton that does proper US barbecue food including ribs, brisket, burgers, chicken, mac n cheese and even something called an armadillo egg which is a cream-cheese stuffed jalapeño, wrapped in spiced sausage meat and then held together with bacon, it is so good! I love their pulled pork and really wanted to make it at home myself and the result was amazing, granted you have to marinade over night and then slow cook for as long as you possibly can but it is so worth it.
I bought something called 'Old Bay' seasoning which you can only get in the USA and it added a really nice flavour having not used it before but it is not something you have to use.

Bone in pork shoulder
Old Bay Seasoning
Molasses
Smoked Paprika
Mustard Powder (Coleman's)
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Crushed Chipotle chillis
Fresh ground black pepper

BBQ Sauce

Here's the Old Bay seasoning I used as part of my dry rub.

First I covered my pork shoulder in the dry rub and I know it's not traditional but I then smothered it in a really good BBQ sauce before covering in clingfilm and leaving to marinade in the fridge over night.

I cooked my pulled pork for nearly eight hours the next day on a really low heat in the bottom of the oven.

It literally fell off the bone and was so tender, I put some little yellow peppers in about halfway through cooking and they were a really tasty addition.
I served my pulled pork with macaroni cheese, jacket potatoes, coleslaw, salad and lot's of BBQ sauce.
I can't recommend doing this to a shoulder of pork enough, quick do it!!!

Stuffed Butternut Squash

I always seem to make butternut squash into a soup with ginger and coconut or I roast it and mix it into a risotto, I never stuff it. I realised I had accidentally bought another pack of Feta cheese by mistake whilst already having a pack in the fridge and so thought a stuffed butternut squash with feta was in order.

One butternut squash
Large Red Chili
Garlic
Pack of Feta cubed
One courgette
Field Mushroom
Yellow or Red Pepper
Onion
Thick bacon (optional)
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
Salad to Serve

I started by slicing my butternut in half, chopping a chill and crushing some garlic which I spread on top and then drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled some salt.

I also chopped my veg and tossed in some olive oil and let that gently roast in the oven on a lower shelf and around 10mins  before it was due to come out I added my chopped field mushroom.

Near the end of the cooking time, I grilled my bacon and added that to the veg. I scooped out the flesh from the butternut squashes and mixed everything together including the feta and then put them back in the oven for around 15mins.

In an ideal world I would have sprinkled the top with Parmesan and breadcrumbs but I had neither so had to do without.

I ate it with salad and it was very filling, a great mid-week yummy dinner.

Cornflake Tart

I had never heard of Cornflake tart before but when my Boyfriends Auntie mentioned it, I had to make it.
I think it's a bit of a School dinner pudding but all I know is, it tastes amazing and I love it!
Your meant to use shortcrust pastry but I had a role of puff in my freezer so used that and it was very nice indeed!

Role of shortcrust/puff pastry
110g Golden Syrup
55g Butter
90g Cornflakes
25g Muscadova Sugar
100g Good quality Strawberry Jam
Pinch of salt

I started by blind baking my pastry using baking beans for 20mins in the oven and then when it was cooled slightly I spread the base with slightly warmed through jam.

To make the filling melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and salt together. Once the sugar has dissolved, fold in the cornflakes, making sure that all the cornflakes are coated in the syrup and put them in the pastry case.

I baked it in the oven for about 10mins and then left it to cool for about 15mins so the filling didn't melt out. Apparently your meant to serve it with custard but I chose vanilla ice cream instead, I do love hot and cold together!

Cheddar & Marmite Sausage Rolls

Oh the absolute joy of being able to blog again, it has been such a horrible two months trying to replace stolen items and have back and forth pointless exchanges with the police. The people who broke into our house have not been found and I'm guessing they never will be which I am not surprised about, the bastards, I hope their extremities drop off and they contract the black death..
Anyway enough of that it is done and you move on, I have been cooking and baking more than ever and I believe it to be because I am starting my 'Culinary Arts' degree in just a couple of weeks and am beyond excited, but this is not exactly a culinary masterpiece that I am giving a recipe for, but who doesn't like sausage rolls? And of course you can make your own puff pastry for this but I had ready made in the freezer so that is what I used. Also I am using an iphone to take these photo's so bare with me while I try to make them look half decent!

Role of shop bought puff pastry
Good quality pork sausages, skinned
Grated Cheddar
Marmite
1 Egg beaten

I mixed my sausage meat with grated strong Cheddar and a rather large dessert spoon of Marmite as it looses a bit of it's flavour when cooked.

I spread a layer of Marmite on the pastry before laying my meat mixture on top.

I like my sausage rolls quite big but make them smaller if you like, I brushed them with beaten egg before putting in the over at around gas mark 6 for 20 minutes.

And here they are, the Marmite makes the pastry get a gorgeous sticky savoury goo around the edges and they were lovely. Great things to make with kids or for lunchboxes.