So for something fun for friday, and something you can do with kids...
Take a tin of spaghetti in tomato sauce and pour into a pan and gently cook. You don't want to boil off the liquid.
In anther saucepan of water cook a large frankfurter (it needs to be a thick one..no pun intended).
Just before the frankfurter is cooked, pour a few teaspoons of green food colouring into the spaghetti and stir in.
Take the frankfurter out and take one end. Slice into it making 8 "legs". These should run to about 1/3 of the way up the frankfurter.
Pour the spaghetti into a bowl and rest the frankfurter on its legs. Using a well known brand of squirty mustard, draw a face onto the top of the frankfurter...serve and watch your kids enjoy
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Thirsty Thursday - Mojitos
Sorry for the lateness in the posting. Work has been absolutely manic this week, which, in a recession is always a good thing. So anyway, Thursday is thirsty Thursday. A time for a drink, and I was wondering how often drinks that people see in the movies sometimes become popular in the bars and clubs.
I remember how I often thought it would be cool to drink a vodka martini, shaken of course. But lets be honest, it wasn't that cool. But for just that short moment you felt like James Bond.
The again, James Bond also gave us the Mojito. Well technically it was Halle Berry, but what is a Mojito? Well for a cocktail it is fairly simple to make
Take some fresh mint leaves and put them in to the bottom of a glass. Crush them to release the flavours and oils. Mix with 3cl of lime juice and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add 4cl of white rum (dark rum doesn't work as the colours do not match). Add some ice and shake to mix the flavours. Strain into a fresh glass, top with soda water and a sprig of mint and serve.
Sit back, kick back and relax...
I remember how I often thought it would be cool to drink a vodka martini, shaken of course. But lets be honest, it wasn't that cool. But for just that short moment you felt like James Bond.
The again, James Bond also gave us the Mojito. Well technically it was Halle Berry, but what is a Mojito? Well for a cocktail it is fairly simple to make
Take some fresh mint leaves and put them in to the bottom of a glass. Crush them to release the flavours and oils. Mix with 3cl of lime juice and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add 4cl of white rum (dark rum doesn't work as the colours do not match). Add some ice and shake to mix the flavours. Strain into a fresh glass, top with soda water and a sprig of mint and serve.
Sit back, kick back and relax...
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Worldwide Wednesday - Tiroler G'rostl
The Austrians are a surprising people when it comes to food. They truely utilise the food that they have around them, well that and fish. Some of their cuisine is good hearty simple faire, but tasty and simple to cook.
This dish I first came across when I was 15 or 16. We were on a visit to a preserved farm village and as part of the tour they served foods that are typical of the Austrian farms in the 1700s. This dish, with a few variations, is based on that first dish that I tried.
1 medium onion
8oz meat ) vary amounts to suit
1lb potatoes ) your appetite
Dripping or lard
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 bayleaf
Meat gravy or stock - a few spoonfuls
Salt and pepper
Slice onion finely. Cut the meat into fairly small pieces. Peel and slice the potatoes and boil until just soft, drain. Heat some of the lard and gently cook onion then add the meat and cook. Add salt, pepper, bayleaf, caraway seeds and enough gravy to just cover. Simmer. Keep an eye on the liquid level add more if necessary but not too much. In a frying pan melt some lard and add the sliced potatoes and fry until crisp and brown on both sides.
I usually serve noodles with this, cook as instructions on packet. It is essential that the meat and potatoes are kept separate until served. Don’t forget to remove the bayleaf before serving.
Put potatoes on plate first then the meat and cover with the noodles.
You can poach an egg and add this on top, which, if not hard poached (i.e. solid yolk) adds another dimension to this dish.
This dish I first came across when I was 15 or 16. We were on a visit to a preserved farm village and as part of the tour they served foods that are typical of the Austrian farms in the 1700s. This dish, with a few variations, is based on that first dish that I tried.
1 medium onion
8oz meat ) vary amounts to suit
1lb potatoes ) your appetite
Dripping or lard
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 bayleaf
Meat gravy or stock - a few spoonfuls
Salt and pepper
Slice onion finely. Cut the meat into fairly small pieces. Peel and slice the potatoes and boil until just soft, drain. Heat some of the lard and gently cook onion then add the meat and cook. Add salt, pepper, bayleaf, caraway seeds and enough gravy to just cover. Simmer. Keep an eye on the liquid level add more if necessary but not too much. In a frying pan melt some lard and add the sliced potatoes and fry until crisp and brown on both sides.
I usually serve noodles with this, cook as instructions on packet. It is essential that the meat and potatoes are kept separate until served. Don’t forget to remove the bayleaf before serving.
Put potatoes on plate first then the meat and cover with the noodles.
You can poach an egg and add this on top, which, if not hard poached (i.e. solid yolk) adds another dimension to this dish.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Technical Tuesday - A simple white sauce
Although the title says simple white sauce, trust me, the humble white sauce is anything but that. It is a powerful foundation for many dishes, and, poured over cauliflower or brocolli, a lovely evening meal in winter time. Home made macaroni and cheese (not the packaged american stuff) can be made or broken with the right white (cheese) sauce.
The first time I was taught to make a white sauce, it was 1, 1 and 1. I.e. 1oz of butter, 1oz of flour and 1 pint of milk. So if we translate that into metric, we are looking at
25g butter
25g flour
600ml mile
At a basic level, take a very clean saucepan. Melt the butter in the pan gently, you do not want to make the butter brown (buerre noisette), but gently melted.
When the butter is melted, slowly add the flour and using a metal balloon whisk, stir the flour in. The idea is to make this a smooth paste, but if there are a few small lumos that doesn't matter too much.
Take the pan off of the heat and slowly mix in the milk, using the heat of the pan to help the sauce combine. Keep stirring until you get a smooth sauce and then return the pan to the heat.
Gently bring the sauce to the boil, stirring continuously. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring. Season to taste (salt and pepper).
The sauce is now ready. Simple? Yep, in the words of Alexandra Orlov....semples.
So, how do you make this sauce special? Add some cheese...cheddar, stilton...even a red cheese to add some colour. Maybe mix the sauce with some cheese, pour over some cooked pasta and tuna flakes...bake in the oven to get a crispy top....tuna pasta bake.
The first time I was taught to make a white sauce, it was 1, 1 and 1. I.e. 1oz of butter, 1oz of flour and 1 pint of milk. So if we translate that into metric, we are looking at
25g butter
25g flour
600ml mile
At a basic level, take a very clean saucepan. Melt the butter in the pan gently, you do not want to make the butter brown (buerre noisette), but gently melted.
When the butter is melted, slowly add the flour and using a metal balloon whisk, stir the flour in. The idea is to make this a smooth paste, but if there are a few small lumos that doesn't matter too much.
Take the pan off of the heat and slowly mix in the milk, using the heat of the pan to help the sauce combine. Keep stirring until you get a smooth sauce and then return the pan to the heat.
Gently bring the sauce to the boil, stirring continuously. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring. Season to taste (salt and pepper).
The sauce is now ready. Simple? Yep, in the words of Alexandra Orlov....semples.
So, how do you make this sauce special? Add some cheese...cheddar, stilton...even a red cheese to add some colour. Maybe mix the sauce with some cheese, pour over some cooked pasta and tuna flakes...bake in the oven to get a crispy top....tuna pasta bake.
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Toasted Pear, Watercress and Stilton Sandwiches
The humble sandwich. The staple of most lunchboxes, and sometimes the most boring food of all time. In most countries we are conditioned that a sandwich is some form of filling between two slices of bread (wholemeal if you want to be healthy).
So let us challenge this concept for the first post. This is munchies monday and sandwiches fit perfectly.
Ingredients
Fresh Bread Loaf
Watercress
A pear
Blue Cheese (or goats milk cheese)
Method or Madness
So let us start by taking a pear, peel it carefully and slice it thinly, about half to a centimetre thick. Crumble up the blue cheese,
Slice the bread and toast it on one side. Flip the bread and lightly toast on the second side (until it is firm to the touch).
Lay the slices of pear onto the lightly toasted side of the bread. Top with a handful of washed watercress and the crumbled blue cheese. Place back under the grill and toast until the cheese has started to melt. Remove, slice and serve.
The saltier nature of the blue cheese (or the goats cheese) is well balanced with the sweetness of the pears and the peppery taste of the watercress.
So let us challenge this concept for the first post. This is munchies monday and sandwiches fit perfectly.
Ingredients
Fresh Bread Loaf
Watercress
A pear
Blue Cheese (or goats milk cheese)
Method or Madness
So let us start by taking a pear, peel it carefully and slice it thinly, about half to a centimetre thick. Crumble up the blue cheese,
Slice the bread and toast it on one side. Flip the bread and lightly toast on the second side (until it is firm to the touch).
Lay the slices of pear onto the lightly toasted side of the bread. Top with a handful of washed watercress and the crumbled blue cheese. Place back under the grill and toast until the cheese has started to melt. Remove, slice and serve.
The saltier nature of the blue cheese (or the goats cheese) is well balanced with the sweetness of the pears and the peppery taste of the watercress.
Monday, 31 August 2009
Veggi Samosas
Ingredients
125g wholemeal flour
250g white flour
125g peas
125g carrots
125g potatoes
1 large onion
2 green chillies (deseeded)
2 cloves garlic
1 small ginger root
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cumin powder
1 lime
A few leaves fresh coriander
Salt
Oil for frying
Method
Dice the carrots and potatoes into similar sized cubes. This will help even the cooking time.
Chop and brown onions in a little oil. Leave them a little translucent if you want more onion taste. The smaller the onion, the stronger the flavour.
Mix spices into a paste (a pestle and mortar is great for this). There should be enough natural juice in the ginger, garlic and chilli that you will not need to add any more liquid to the spice mix. Be careful when chopping the chilli, as the oil can get in your eyes and cause irritation.
Meanwhile, sauté carrots, peas and potatoes with the onions.
Add spices and a little water. Cover and leave to simmer at a low heat until vegetables are cooked and liquid has reduced. The key is to ensure the potatoes and carrots are slightly softened and not raw, as the final cooking step will not really cook these any further.
Sprinkle with lime juice and add a few leaves of coriander finely chopped.
Mix the two types of flour in a large bowl, with a pinch of salt and a little oil and water. Roll into a ball, then divide into smaller balls.
Roll out fairly thinly and cut into circles about 10cm across. Place some of the mixture into the centre of one half of the circle and fold over. Dampen the edges and seal the samosa/
Fry at a low heat in oil.
Serve hot or cold with a chilli sauce, or minted yoghurt.
125g wholemeal flour
250g white flour
125g peas
125g carrots
125g potatoes
1 large onion
2 green chillies (deseeded)
2 cloves garlic
1 small ginger root
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 cumin powder
1 lime
A few leaves fresh coriander
Salt
Oil for frying
Method
Dice the carrots and potatoes into similar sized cubes. This will help even the cooking time.
Chop and brown onions in a little oil. Leave them a little translucent if you want more onion taste. The smaller the onion, the stronger the flavour.
Mix spices into a paste (a pestle and mortar is great for this). There should be enough natural juice in the ginger, garlic and chilli that you will not need to add any more liquid to the spice mix. Be careful when chopping the chilli, as the oil can get in your eyes and cause irritation.
Meanwhile, sauté carrots, peas and potatoes with the onions.
Add spices and a little water. Cover and leave to simmer at a low heat until vegetables are cooked and liquid has reduced. The key is to ensure the potatoes and carrots are slightly softened and not raw, as the final cooking step will not really cook these any further.
Sprinkle with lime juice and add a few leaves of coriander finely chopped.
Mix the two types of flour in a large bowl, with a pinch of salt and a little oil and water. Roll into a ball, then divide into smaller balls.
Roll out fairly thinly and cut into circles about 10cm across. Place some of the mixture into the centre of one half of the circle and fold over. Dampen the edges and seal the samosa/
Fry at a low heat in oil.
Serve hot or cold with a chilli sauce, or minted yoghurt.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Simple Quesadilla
I first tasted Quesadilla's in the US at Applebees. Such a simple and yet tasty dish. And relatively easy to make. Crispy on the outside, with delicious melted cheese inside.
Take a flour tortilla and open it out. Layer the whole tortilla with ham, smoked or normal ham works well. Grate half of the tortilla with your favourite cheese. Smoked cheese works really well with this dish. Although avoid cheese that melt at high temperatures.
Fold the tortilla in half and brush both sides with a light covering of oil. Place into a hot griddle pan (or frying pan) and cook for 1 minute. After a minute flip over to the other side and then remove. Slice and serve.
Take a flour tortilla and open it out. Layer the whole tortilla with ham, smoked or normal ham works well. Grate half of the tortilla with your favourite cheese. Smoked cheese works really well with this dish. Although avoid cheese that melt at high temperatures.
Fold the tortilla in half and brush both sides with a light covering of oil. Place into a hot griddle pan (or frying pan) and cook for 1 minute. After a minute flip over to the other side and then remove. Slice and serve.
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