River Cottage Hugh FW....my hero......pavlova hint

I have just been listening to the cute and scrummy Hugh from River Cottage and he has given me, okay the entire world actually, a hint for meringues which I would like to share to create a fab meringue.....simply, add 2 tblspns of caster sugar per egg white and not the usual 1 tblspn of sugar.....I must try it out.

My new post....Blogtastical Banter

Here is my new blog....I hope you enjoy it.....http://blogtasticalbanter.blogspot.com/

Quentin Hepburn's pasta

I must include this lovely recipe which Quetin Hepburn returned from London with which her good friend showed her how to cook and it was a real hit.

Ingreds: pasta, a large bunch of fresh basil, a tub of Philly cheese, cooked chicken chopped into 2 cm cubes (optional), salt and pepper to taste, olive oil.

Blend basil, oil and cheese in blender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Drain. Combine blended basil etc, chicken to the pasta. Enjoy.

Still a little potty

It has been too long since posting any yummy things here so here I go again. Having moved from our house to an apartment, I have brought with me my pots of herbs.....no one will ever take them away from me. I also accrued a couple of extra and here is my Tarragon and Sage additions. I have utilised Sage well with our new chicken recipe and it couldn't be easier if it tried! Try and leave it to marinate overnight in the fridge but this is not mandatory.

The marinade:- A diced red onion or two, plenty of good olive oil, chopped sage, thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Chicken, any cut will do or whole if you wish.

Simply combine ingredients together (omitting chicken for now). Make sure you have plenty of oil mixed in. Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish and smother the herb mix over the chicken. It is best to let this marinade overnight but as my family can't wait for the overnight marinading, allow it to sit for a few hours (in the fridge) and cook in oven at around 180c for approx 45mins to an hour, depending on your oven. I serve this simply with a potato in it's jacket with some fab sour cream on top along with a great salad. This is really yummy.

Creme Brulee....far too easy

Now I know some of you will say that this is not the true creme brulee...and you are right. So get yours eggs, milk, vanilla pods etc etc out and stand over a double saucepan for quite some time or just do it without any of that fuss like this.

Make your own custard or even easier, buy it in a carton at the local grocery shop (make sure it is at room temp). Pour it into a heatproof dish eg individual ramikins or a larger dish such as the one on the left. Cover the top with Demerera sugar (not fine Brown sugar) and place under grill on high, being careful to watch the top as it will bubble and then brown and can burn easily if you are not keeping an eye on it. (Alternately use a browning torch which are now available from various kitchen shops). Remove from grill and allow to return to room temp when it will harden and serve with some lovely berries in season and a sprinkle of icing sugar....absolutely delicious.

Pound Cake or should we say Grams Cake!

Yes, it is true, this cake was named Pound cake due to it's ingredients consisting of a pound of this and a pound of that...hence should it be the Grams cake due to metric conversion?

Oven temp: 180C

Ingreds: 250 g butter, 250 g caster sugar, 3-4 eggs (depending on size), 1 tspn vanilla extract, zest of 2 lemons, 250 g SR flour,

Icing: Philadelphia cheese (approx half a block or 1 tub of cheese), lemon juice, icing sugar.

Butter, flour and line a square cake tin with baking paper. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Add eggs, one at a time, then the lemon zest and vanilla. Sift the flour and fold it in to the mix. Pour out into prepared tin. Cook for 40-50 mins until golden on top and knife returns clean when poked into centre of cake. (This cake can be frozen prior to icing).

Icing: Mix cheese and a couple of tablespoons of juice and enough icing sugar to give you are firm icing consistency. Ice cake when cooled. Absolutely delicious!

Tomato Marmalade

This is my interpretation of traditional fruit marmalade. I have a glut of home grown cherry tomatoes now and I wanted an alternative to tomato sauce. I make a lot of lamb fritters with left over roast lamb to make the fritters. I think they need a slightly sweet accompaniment to them to give them a lift so this is my recipe and it tastes fantastic.

Ingreds: Butter and oil (the mix prevents the butter from burning), finely sliced red onion, brown sugar, Balsamic vinegar, cherry tomatoes cut in halves or quarters.

Method: Melt butter and oil in pan, add onions and saute. Add a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar, Balsamic vinegar and all the tomatoes. Cook on high to reduce the liquid to thicken it, approx 15 mins, stirring occasionally.

This is wonderful served on toast or savoury biscuits too. I have served this wonderful marmalade on top of haggis on biscuits.....my Scottish hubby absolutely loves it this way.