Cheesy Bacon Wraps

Naughty but nice little Saturday morning snack. Quick and easy to make - highly customisable!

I've gone for the classic bacon and cheese version here.

Ingredients

1x pack of ready rolled puff pastry

6x slices of bacon

1x beaten egg 

150g cheddar cheese shavings

A handful of finely grated Parmesan 

Method

Cut the pastry into eight squares.

Make light incisions in the corners then flip over.

Brush some beaten egg around the edges.

Lay a slice of bacon diagonally.

Squirt a little ketchup across the bacon then cover generously with cheddar.

Fold in from the sides before brushing all over with egg wash.

Sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan.

Flour a baking tray with fine semolina and then bake the wraps in a hot oven for 10-12 mins.

That simple.. Enjoy!

Buckinghamshire Bacon Clanger

Katie's school project, Summer Harvest, gave me a challenge to find a local dish.

I discovered a recipe for Buckinghamshire Bacon Clanger (or Badger); a dish which I believe is based on the better known Bedfordshire Clanger; a steak meat version.

Ingredients

225g Cooked Ham

450g Self-raising Flour

225g Suet

25g Butter

1x Clove of Garlic - finely chopped

4x Shallots - finely chopped

200g rindless unsmoked streaky Bacon

Some cold water, to mix
Freshly ground Black Pepper

Method

Heat the butter in the pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Cook on a low heat for around 10 minutes until soft. Cut the ham into small cubes then add to the pan, stirring through for a couple of minutes, then set aside.

Now add the flour and suet in a mixing bowl combining the two by gradually adding the water until a soft dough ball is achieved. Now roll out the dough on a floured surface creating a large rectangle.

Lay the bacon strips across the pastry before spooning the ham/onion mix on top.

Taking one end, roll the pastry firmly, tucking in the edges. 
Finally, dress the top with a few slices of the bacon. 

Place the Clanger in a preheated oven at 200c and bake for 40 minutes or until the top starts to brown.

I've served my Clanger with Maris Piper Potato and Braeburn Apple Gratin, with a little Cabbage shaped in a food ring.

Peach and Mandarin Tart

Experimenting here with pastry and fruit. Starting with a little shortcrust pastry..

Place the pastry circle over a springform cake tin; push it up against the inside edges of the tin. Bake it until it starts to brown then load it up with any soft fruits, pushing the edges back as you go. I didn't use quite enough fruit to prop up the sides.
Save a little of the juices from the fruit cans; add them to a pan and bring to the boil, adding a little brown sugar along the way. Once you have a nice gloopy syrup, pour it over the fruit and return it to the oven until the pastry is nicely browned. 
Adding a little (or a lot) of double cream over the top to finish.

New Kenco Millicano

Kenco Millicano

Okay, so I was drawn in by the novelty value of coffee-in-a-can and the fact that it was on special offer; £3.00 for 55 cups.. or five and a half pence a cup.
It's Kenco's first wholebean Instant Coffee, using both instant coffee and finely-milled beans.
The bonus is that it's really nice! Not whishy-washy like freeze dried and not as intense as a proper filtered coffee, but sitting somewhere nicely between the two.
Prices range from £2.25 to £3.99 a tin, plus you can buy refills by the bag. So, let's see what happens to the price once the introductory offers are gone!

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

A super creamy classic I could eat all day! It's not the length of time it takes to make, but the constancy in stirring which stops you getting on with other things. Put aside an uninterrupted hour and your palate will be rewarded.

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients
500g Chicken Breast
250g Arborio Risotto Rice
250g Chestnut, Shiitake and Oyster Mushrooms
2x Echalion Shallots
750ml Good quality Vegetable Stock
250g Mascarpone
100g Buffalo Mozzarella
40g Unsalted Butter
50g Fresh Rocket
50g Parmesan Shavings
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
Sea Salt and White Pepper
Olive Oil

Method
Add a splash of Olive Oil to a non-stick pan, then the chopped Chicken Breast. Lower the heat and stir until cooked through; add the roughly chopped mushrooms. Pop a lid on top. Cook on a low heat for about five minutes then set aside.

Finely chop the Shallots and add with the butter to a non-stick pan. When the butter is foaming and the Shallots have softened add the Rice, stiring well until the Rice is fully coated.
Now add the wine and keep stiring until most of it has cooked off and evaporated.
Add a ladle of stock and stir frequently until most of the stock has evaporated; repeat this process until all of the stock is gone.
Now add the chicken and mushroom to the rice. Spoon in the Mascarpone and then shred in the Rocket and Mozzarella. Fold it all together and serve with a squeeze of Lemon Juice and Parmesan shavings.

Creamy Venison Tagliatelle

In need of some comfort food, full of flavour, I discovered these finest Venison sausages with orange zest, garlic, ginger, juniper berries and Merlot.The other ingredients add loads of flavour; the cream and cheese softens the dish, adding a healthy amount of indulgence.

Creamy Venison Tagliatelle

Ingredients
6x Venison Sausages
200g Bacon Lardons or Pancetta
4x Echalion Shallots
2x Portobello Mushrooms
150g Curly Kale
40g Wild Rocket
150g Buffalo Mozzarella
500g Fresh Tagliatelle
50g Unsalted Butter
300ml Crème Fraiche
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

Method
Grill the sausages for 15-20 mins then slice longways. Set aside.
Boil the pasta with some salt and oil until a little al dente, drain and set aside.
Chop the shallots, mushrooms, kale and rocket.
Add some oil and the butter to a large pan and then the shallots, as the last of the butter is melting. Cook the onions on a low heat until softened, then add the lardons. After a couple if minutes, add the mushrooms. As they start to soften, add the kale. Mix well and cook for about five minutes.
Now add the pasta and the mozzarella. When the cheese has melted through, throw in the sausage, rocket and Crème Fraiché and fold it all together.

Cost
Serves 4 for about £10

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

My first attempt at this festive classic.
Ingredients
400g Pumpkin Flesh (from 2x medium Pumpkins, seeds removed)
275ml Double Cream
1x 9in Shortcrust Pastry Case
75g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
1x tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
2x Large Eggs, plus 1x Yoke
Method
Steam the Pumpkin flesh and sieve out excess water. 
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. 
Using a pestle and mortar, grind the spices. 
Simmer the cream, sugar and spices in a milk pan, then pour over the eggs. Add the Pumpkin flesh and mix well.
Pour the mixture into the pastry case and cook at 180c for 35-40mins

Toffee Apples

I'd always wanted to make these, even though I don't know anyone who likes them! In the spirit of Halloween, these are dead easy.
Ingredients

Toffee Apples

250g Demerara Sugar
110ml Water
1/2 tsp Malt Vinegar
2x tsp Golden Syrup
Method
Scrub the apples using boiling water, then remove the stalks; dry well, then push wooden skewers in to the stalk end.
Heat the water and sugar until dissolved, then add the vinegar and syrup.
Boil the mixture until thick and syrupy, then dip each apple in, turning to fully coat, letting any excess toffee run off before placing the apple on some baking parchment to set.
Take care not to burn the toffee, as you can see in the image, the darker apples were dipped last when the toffee had started to burn.

Bobotie from South Africa

Bobotie pronounced [bɒˈboʊti]

Babotie

As a lover of Cottage and Shepherd's Pie, this instantly caught my eye. There's no mash involved but instead, custard!
I've omitted from my version some of the original ingredients; almonds, apricots, sultanas/raisins and chutney, as I found the dish quite sweet enough without these.
Ingredients:
400g Lean Ground Beef Mince
400g Lean Ground Lamb Mince
2 tbsp Sunflower Oil
2 Large Diced Onions
2 Allspice Berries
2 tbsp Malt Vinegar
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Splash of Light Soy Sauce
2 Slices of White Bread
1 Cup of Full Fat Milk
1 tbsp Madras-style Curry Powder
1 tsp Tumeric Powder
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Sea Salt
A liberal grinding of freshly grated Black Pepper
3 Eggs
4 Bay Leaves
Method: Pan fry the oil and onions until softened and transparent. Add the ground meat and continue cooking until the meat starts to brown.

While the meat is cooking, soak the bread in the milk. Once the meat is nicely browned, squeeze most of the milk from the bread and crumble it into the frying pan. Reserve the milk for the custard topping.
Now add the Soy Sauce and Malt and Balsamic Vinegars to the pan. Using a large pestle and mortar grind all of the remaining ingredients (except the Eggs and Bay Leaves) and add to the pan. Stir through for a minute and then remove from heat. Transfer to a greased baking dish large enough so that the mixture sits about one to one and a half inches thick. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon so that it is flat and without gaps. Whisk three eggs in a bowl with the milk and then pour over the meat mixture. Top with bay leaves and bake at 180°C for about an hour until the top of the Bobotie is golden brown.  Serve with some potato-based products and vegetables

Cost: Most of the ingredients come from the store cupboard, with the only real outlay being for the mince - the above recipe serves four at a cost of about £2.50 per person, including accompaniments. 

Potted Salmon

Potted Salmon with Melba Toast

This is simply delicious!

Ingredients

‎300g Skinless Salmon Fillets
1 x Small Unwaxed Lemon
1 x Bay Leaf
50g Butter
100g Smoked Salmon Slices
100g Full-Fat Soft Cheese
A handful of fresh Dill, feathery leaves stripped from the stalks
2 x pinches freshly ground Black Pepper
1 x pinch snipped Chives to garnish

Some Melba Toast

Method

Put one of the salmon fillets in a small saucepan and pour over enough water to cover. Peel a wide strip of lemon zest using a vegetable peeler and add it to the pan. Drop the bay leaf into the pan and bring the water to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 6 minutes. Drain the salmon, transfer it to a plate and leave to cool.
Cut the second salmon fillet into small cubes, each roughly 1.5cm square – about the size of a dice. Put the cubes in a clean pan with the butter and set over a low heat. When the butter has melted, cook the salmon cubes for 2–3 minutes or until just cooked through, turning once. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Flake the poached salmon into chunky pieces and put in a food processor with the smoked salmon, soft cheese and dill sprigs. Finely grate the zest of half the lemon onto a board and scrape it into the food processor. Add plenty of black pepper.
Blend the fish mixture until almost smooth, removing the lid and pushing down once or twice with a rubber spatula. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Using a slotted spoon, add the cooked salmon cubes, reserving the melted butter, and fold them in very gently.
Spoon the salmon mixture into a preserving jar or small ceramic dish. Pour over the melted butter (used to cook the salmon cubes), leaving any sediment at the bottom of the pan. Garnish with tiny bay leaves, snipped chives or sprigs of dill, cover and leave to set in the fridge. Eat within 2 days.

Meeting The Hairy Bikers

I was lucky enough to meet Si and Dave, The Hairy Bikers, at their book signing in Welwyn Garden City. Nice blokes; asked me how the Argonauts were!
The book, 'Mum Still Knows Best', is a follow-up to 'Mum Knows Best' and contains a great selection of recipes gleaned by touring the country in the quest for ordinary Mums and their families' favourite recipes. This book will keep me busy as there are so many recipes I want to try. Watch this space!

You can follow Si and Dave on their website.. http://www.hairybikers.com/

Chef Katie

Katie makes her debut in the Kitchen; rolling out some pastry.

1st Halloween Pumpkin

Katie all dressed up for her friends Halloween party before terrorising the neighbours with some Trick or Treating!

Katie and Dad's first attempt at carving out a Halloween Pumpkin. Of course we saved the seeds for planting in the Spring, but sadly, no pumpkin soup this time round.

Chicken Pie

Chicken and Mushroom Pie

This family favourite is simple and inexpensive. 

As ever, I've used chicken thighs with added leek and mushrooms, but you could add whatever you like; Boiled ham with the chicken creates a prefect combination.

Method: Score the chicken thighs deeply, two or three times. Season with salt and pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil. Pop in the oven and cook until the juices run clear; the skin should be crispy and golden. When cooled, remove the skins (this makes a tasty little munch on it's own). Now remove all of the chicken meat and set aside. Take a pan with a little oil and gently fry a generous amount of chopped leeks and mushrooms. When this mixture has reduced, add the chicken back to the pan; turn up the heat a little and mix through a tin of Campbell's Condensed Mushroom Soup. If the mixture appears dry, just add some water. Transfer the ingredients from the pan to an oven dish, or two.

Take some premade puff pastry; roll-out and cut to the size of the oven dish; place it over the top of the chicken mix and crimp the edges. Brush with egg and place in the oven on a medium heat until the pasty becomes golden. Serve with mash or chips and some veg of choice.

Cost: I started with about 1.5Kg of chicken thighs, a tub of mushrooms, two leeks, pastry and the soup. This should give you about six portions at about £1.25 a head. Add a few pence for your accompaniment.

Classic Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognaise

According to UKTV Food's 'Market Kitchen', Spaghetti Bolognese is the UK's favourite dish to cook at home. I can see why; it's pretty simple to make and can feed an army with relatively inexpensive ingredients. Can you really go wrong with a Spag Bol? I suppose it depends on your taste-buds. It may in essence be a relatively quick meal to create, but 'quick' does not always do the bolognese justice.

I take up to 90-minutes to make mine. I have been known to caramelise my onions in butter and at the end of cooking I will add cream or mascarpone. Not only does this make the meal very fattening, but it also makes it very heavy. Indulgence is one thing, but go too far and this dish could leave your dinner-party guests curling up next to the cat for a little snooze.

A bit of history: The dish originated in Bologna, Italy, and was generally made with green tagliatelle, as opposed to the the classic spaghetti we are all used to. It was a modest dish of pasta with ragu and it didn't contain as much tomato as we use today. My preference is to use a fresh pasta, but any good dried pasta works well too. The Italians often add a number of other ingredients, as I do, but for my Classic Spag Bol I wanted to keep the fat content down and return to the original meat and tomato flavours that have made this dish so popular. 

Other authentic ingredients might include pancetta, celery, chopped sausage or liver, and red wine. I've tried it with Chorizo, but found it a little overpowering.

Method: Chop up some carrots into 3-4mm thick discs and boil. Then set aside.

Take 1x large white onion, 1x large red onion, 4x cloves of garlic; chop them up and add them to a pan containing 2x tablespoons of heated olive oil. Brown the mixture and then turn the heat right down and cook for about 10-minutes until it's all soft. Remove from the pan and wipe the pan down. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and, once hot, add 750g-1kg of good lean beef mince. Brown the mince and then mix in 2x beef stock cubes and a generous amount of tomato puree plus a good splash of light soy sauce. Now season and add some chopped fresh or dried parsley. Add in the cooked carrots and a large portion of sliced button mushrooms. Lower the heat and let this all cook through until the mushrooms have reduced. Now add 4x cans (1.6kg) of chopped tomatoes; mix through and cover. If the heat is low enough I would now simmer this for 30-45 minutes. (Original Ragu's were simmered for up to 5-hours!) What happens is that the tomatoes melt down into a lovely sauce. If you find the bolognese still a little dry, add a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of warm water. At this stage it would be good to taste the bolognese, as it can be quite tarty; just add a few splashes of cold milk to soften the flavour.

Serve with pasta of choice, adding salt and olive oil when cooking your pasta to flavour and stop it sticking.

Accompany with garlic bread and a sprinkle of grated parmesan on top.

Cost: Probably about £10 for the lot, but when you consider this will provide two large portions as well as up to half a dozen for freezing, it's great value for money.

Plenty for the freezer

Savoury Beignets

Plain Cheddar Cheese Beignet

Beignet [bε.ɲε] - literally French for Donut. 

They are usually made from deep-fried dough with a filling made from fruit or vegetable. With mine I've opted for a savory version.

Method: After reviewing a dozen recipes, I settled on James Martin's. It doesn't contain as many of the ingredients found in the original Cafe Du Monde - New Orleans version, but it does serve as a great 'quick-up' dish. 

Simply add water and butter, with a little sugar to a pan; bring to the boil, add the flour and beat it into a firm dough. Remove from the heat and beat in some finely grated mature cheddar and a couple of eggs so that you have a paste. Season well with salt and pepper, then spoon into a pan of hot oil and fry for five minutes.

with Mushroom

with Chorizo

I've tried three varieties; plain cheddar, mushroom and chorizo. 

Cost: Very much based on the limits of your imagination. This is one of those dishes where you'd expect to have most, if not all of the ingredients, in your store cupboard.

Home Economics

Not since the second world war, and I'm not quoting from personal experience :-) have people genuinely considered how to keep the costs of their weekly shop down; Not counting past recessions where deep fried chips became the order of the day, driving the current trend in obesity. In reality we are a million miles from the black-market trading of groceries which was common-place in the 1940's, but we are mindful of the rising costs of particular items due to a plethora of international issues and incidents. Therein lies one of our first problems, or dependencies; imported food.

I like spring onions; also known as scallions or salad onions; I'm always amused to see that they have come from as far away as Mexico. How hard is it to grow these in the UK? Green-thinking aside, the cost of transport is going on my shopping bill... or is it?

This week's fruit and veg shop: Spring Onions (Egypt), Broccoli (Spain), Apples (France), Bananas (Ecuador), Grapes (Chile or India), Mushrooms (Poland), Carrots (Israel), Leeks (Turkey)

I did look to see if they had any UK varieties, but sadly not.

Are the only UK-grown greens the "Organic" variety; which are invariably more expensive? With limited exceptions, almost all of these greens can be grown all year round. Is it about economies of scale in the producing countries or is it simply because in the UK everything is over-priced and under-quality, due to a greedy labour-force and high-taxing Government.

To help combat the economic hardship in the new millennium I'm trying my hand at growing-my-own; modestly starting with the much loved Spring Onion (Allium fistulosum L.), albeit a Japanese variety called Tokyo Bunching

Onions often referred to simply as Negi. 

These seem pretty hardy; certainly no problems with this year's mild spring weather. More to follow (hopefully) once I pull my first crop.

Chicken and Leek

Not too dissimilar to the Pork Pan Fry dish. I used chicken thighs for this and found the flavour and texture to be much better than chicken breasts, although it does take longer to prepare.

Chicken and Leak

Method: Skin and bone the thighs, dice and then coat the chicken in seasoned flour. Pan fry with a good amount of olive oil until cooked through, adding a couple of cloves of chopped garlic near the end. Remove from the pan.

Fry some leeks and red onions in olive oil at a low heat until caramelised. Return chicken to the pan and then slowly add a 1/2 pint of veg or chicken stock, cooking through until there's only a little gravy left.

Served with long grain rice.

Cost: This is the good part; I picked up 800g of thighs for under £2. Once skinned and boned I was left with 465g of tasty meat.  Less than half the price of chicken breasts and a much tastier part of the chicken. Easily under £1.50 per serving.

Pork Pan Fry

A simple Sunday lunch of pan-fried pork and mushrooms, with asparagus and mash. Finally got the opportunity to use some of the Rosemary growing in my garden. Glad I didn't use too much as it does give a very distinct flavour.

Apologies for the poor quality images - shot on my 2mp mobile phone.

Method: Place the cubed pork into a bag or mixing bowl with the finely chopped Rosemary, add a tablespoon of flour and seasoning; coat well and add to the pan containing a good amount of heated Olive oil. Brown the meat and remove from the pan. Sauté some mushrooms and garlic with a little oil, then return the pork to the pan. Gradually add 1/2 pint of veg stock and bring to the boil. Add some mash and veg and lunch is served!

Cost: The asparagus accompaniment pushes the cost up, but assuming any green veg will do, the cost per serving is about £1.50 (OK, so I got the pork at a good price; £3 for six medallions - it pays to shop around!)

Vegetable and Pasta Bake

This may officially become Katie's favourite dish; spaghetti, cheese and broccoli (yep, she loves her greens!) I added asparagus and petit pois to keep the green theme going.

Vegetable and Pasta Bake

Method: Cook pasta, adding broccoli and asparagus for five minutes at the end of cooking and the petit pois once drained. Whip up a cheese sauce with milk, flour, butter and cheddar; throw it in with the drained pasta and veg. Add a layer into a large oven dish.

Pan fry a chopped onion with a tin of tomatoes and layer over the pasta. Add the final layer of pasta veg and some grated cheese on top. 5 mins under the grill and viola!

Cost: It really depends on where you shop, as prices vary wildly out there, but I would say about £1.50 per large serving.

Katie Blue Eyes

Braving the chilly weather and what was left of the snow, we ventured out to Furzton Lake to feed the ducks. Between the sun and the snow, Katie's eyes were perfectly lit. Here I've removed all the colour from the image, except the eyes.

February Snowfall

I haven't seen real snow like this in a long time; snow that falls day after day, not just in one afternoon.

There's something eerie about the way it transforms the landscape; a sort of forced uniformity everywhere; with few cars on the road, a certain tranquility descends on the neighbourhood, punctuated by the excitable laughter of children and the scrapes of a shovel on a drive. As the days wear on, the snow feels like an icy straitjacket; isolating us from normal life; blinding us with constant white light.

Of course, snow brings with it the opportunity to build a snowman. Not to be outdone, Michelle rolled her ball the length of the street, narrowly avoiding disc-slippage in the process; I finished it off with a cheeky little face.

Within a few days 'snowy' was a soggy mess, but we were able to venture out and see beyond the white wilderness. Okay, so it's Bletchley, not Bergen, but it's interesting to see life grind to a halt due to a little of the white stuff.

What made me laugh today

Picasso's full name..
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.