home made take away favourite

When I was growing up we hardly ever had takeaways; in rural areas takeaway meals aren’t the convenience food they are sometimes seen as. Our nearest take away anything was a half hour round trip, so we tended not to bother. With the exception of my first year at university, when  I really went to town, I still don’t indulge too often. I can’t begin to  explain my youthful excitement when I realised that not only was I surrounded by different options but I could RING THEM AND THEY WOULD DELIVER MY FOOD TO MY DOOR!!!!!

A couple of stone and a good chunk of my student loan later I realised something had to change! However; I still believe that sometimes, when you can’t be bothered to cook ( yep it does happen); a good takeaway ( or a deliciously bad one) is a thing of beauty. One of my favourite dishes is Singapore Noodles. The Man and I have a Chinese takeaway about once a month but because the place we go to does amazing salt and chilli chips I don’t order it in case I slip into a carbohydrate coma.

I use this Nigella recipe minus the chicken stock (too wet) and the dried shrimp (a bugger to find round here) and use an assortment of whatever vegetables we have in. It’s very easy, quick and tasty. Even living in the centre of town it’s almost as quicker to make than walking to the Chinese. To save time I put the noodles in a bowl of boiling water and leave them there while I’m cooking the rest and they are cooked by the time the rest is done. Voila!

nettle risotto with stilton and crispy bacon

We are still eating our way through the frozen nettle pesto and to be honest it is becoming a challenge to reinvent it to keep it interesting. Stilton and bacon are a pretty winning combination, although not an especially healthy one, this meal would be perfect as a mid-week treat after a bad day at work.

I make up a basic risotto with 1.25l of stock and 200g risotto rice and then throw in two cubes of the pesto when the rice is nearly cooked. The main thing here is getting the bacon nice and crispy. Before putting starting to cook the risotto, I pre heat the oven to 250°C and lay the bacon; 3 rashers per person, (it must be streaky for this to work),  on a cooling rack on a tray. It’s also important to make sure the rashers don’t over lap, this will stop them crisping and they will just be chewy (not desirable)!

Oven the oven is up to temperature the bacon should take 30 min to crisp up but will need a few minutes out of the oven to crisp up completely, so you will have loads of time to make the risotto. When it’s ready, crumble the bacon and Stilton over the risotto and maybe add some salad leaves in a nod healthy eating!

elderflower and summer berry sponge

This was my contribution to the Clandestine Cake club gathering in Kilburn. It is an elaborate looking cake but is actually relatively easy with no difficult techniques to master, as long as your batter doesn’t curdle and you leave the oven door shut for 2/3 of the cooking time I think this recipe is pretty straight forward and looks great and tastes light, fruity and summery.

I used duck eggs in the sponge for the first time, I was at home with my parents Mum said my grandmother always bought duck eggs for baking as they are richer and give cakes more oomph (technical term). The cornflour in place of some of the normal flour is also an heirloom tip to improve the texture of the sponge. This recipe can be scaled down by remembering that a basic victoria sponge has equal weights of butter, flour and sugar.

Ingredients

Sponge

250g caster sugar

250g unsalted butter (very soft)

4 duck eggs (or 250g weighed in shells)

225g self-raising flour

25g corn flour

12g baking powder

2 tbsp elderflower cordial

3-4 tbsp milk (or enough to make a silky batter)

Filling

2 tbsp mixed berry jam

130 ml double cream

2 tbsp of elderflower cordial (or to taste)

200g raspberries

100g small strawberries halved.

Topping

3 tbsp icing sugar

3 tbsp freeze-dried raspberries

Method.

Pre heat oven to 190 °C grease and or line two 8” cake tins.

Sift or mix together the flour, cornflour and baking powder.

With a hand mixer or plenty of elbow grease cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Then mix in half the eggs and flour, cornflour , once this has combined add the other the rest and mix again until it forms a stiff ish batter.

This method should stop it curdling but if it looks as thought it is, add a little more flour and mix that in. Add the elderflower cordial and milk, the amount needed may vary but the batter should be loose and silky looking. Divide between the two cake tins and bake, it should take approximately 30 minutes at 190 °C but as my oven is temperamental it took longer and I had to cover the top of the cakes to stop them colouring too much, but you will know when they are done when the start to pull away from the sides of the tin and a skewer comes out clean.

Turn out when cool enough to handle and cool full on wire racks.

When cool spread jam over one of the sponges. Whisk together the elderflower cordial and cream until stiff and spread on top of the jam. Next layer on the fruit, neatly if you like or randomly, it doesn’t really matter. Then place the second sponge on top. To make the top nice and pink ( and cover up any imperfections you might want to hide, push the icing sugar and dried raspberries through a sieve over the top layer. Voila.

clandestine cakes

I must confess, Come Dine With Me is a guilty pleasure of mine but I sometimes find myself shouting at the TV when someone cooks something they have never tried before for an audience of people, what could possibly go wrong there? Well that’s more or less what I did this weekend when I made my contribution for the Clandestine Cake Club in Kilburn. Luckily it worked and it took its place alongside about 13 others with the theme “Cake Porn” (beautiful cakes).

a few beautiful cakes

I didn’t know quite what to expect, but once I got over the shock of being greeted at the door by Lynn the host and a lady from Radio 4 wielding a microphone ( I didn’t swear my Mum would be so proud) I was given a lovely cup of tea and was immersed in cakey conversations. Whilst the Clandestine Cake Club is non competitive it was nice to get some tips and feedback from other keen bakers as we set about demolishing the cakes.

gorgeous!

demolition job

Ms Marmite Lovers Rainbow Cake

We tried to sample as many creations as possible but I didn’t get anywhere near the record of 11 slices.  Invaded the home of Ms Marmite Lover who valiantly tasted each cake from a sumptuous cheese cake to a lovely light meringue and raspberry affair.

It was interesting to discuss the reasons for the resurgence in home baking; from the Nigella effect to finding comfort in a recession to baking as a feminist activity. We also ate cake! Loads of it! All gorgeous and lovingly made and at home time people divided up the leftovers to sample at home. I loved the chocolate cake with salted caramel filling, but didn’t get to try as many as I would have like so I’m sure I missed out on some crackers! Cake Clubs are springing up all over and Lynn is an a great ambassador for the appreciation of the sometimes overlooked cake, and an enthusiastic supported of people who want to start-up their own club. If you are interested in running one get in touch, or keep your eyes peeled for one coming to a town near you!

a most unusual tea party

I should have written about this ages ago but the past couple of weeks have been a blur of work and lurgy so the blog has taken a bit a back seat. Now the haze of olbas oil is clearing and I’m no longer fuelled almost entirely by lemsip it’s time to catch up!

The Secluded Tea Party is a twist on the traditional British tea party and part of the ever-growing supper club movement. I met its host, the glamorous  Ms Sue Flay, at a food bloggers conference (more accurately on the tube home afterwards) and was so taken with the idea I’d been longing for an excuse to go. It’s quite a way from Windsor to Cambridgeshire where the Secluded Tea Party is run but an engagement party, sort of down the road (actually further than I thought) gave The Man and I the perfect excuse.

On booking we knew it was going to be a Crafty Tea Party but that actual activity and location were a mystery until a few days before which made the event feel like an exciting adventure. Finally the big reveal came, we would be pottery painting at Crafty Monkey in St Neots (yep quite a way from Windsor). After a long but scenic drive The Man and I arrived, not quite sure what to expect, but were made to feel extremely welcome by Ms Flay and Chrissy the enthusiastic owner of Crafty Monkey. After introductions and a quick run through of techniques we were off, decorating our own tea cups and saucers.

A blank canvas.

The painting was a great icebreaker, getting everyone talking and laughing and was incredibly absorbing and whilst I’m sure we were all really looking forward to the gorgeous spread which was waiting for us we had to be actively encouraged to down brushes and get stuck in.

Can you see the concentration?

Sue had laid out an impressive spread of finger sandwiches, some with a gorgeous garlic jam which I must try making, onion and creme fraiche swirls, beautifully light scones with jam and cream, a stunning carrot cake and some seriously indulgent oreo truffles. All washed down with a selection of delicious teas from Tea Box, my favourite was whisky and ginger; and all served on beautiful vintage china.

Light and fluffy scones

amazing oreo truffles

china envy!

the nearly finished article

After tea we drifted between finish our painting and grazing on the lovely food, chatting together happily as we did.

The whole afternoon was perfectly pitched, relaxed, friendly and fun and run by a wonderful host who is also a very talented baker. The Secluded Tea Party re invents itself in new venue and has some exciting events coming up including a very intriguing Zombie Tea Party, I’d definitely recommend going to one of Ms Sue Flays events for fun and fabulous food, the truffles alone were worth the journey!

chilli, the ultimate comfort food?

Comfort food is a deeply personal often emotional subject, and I think comfort foods change at different stages of our lives. If you’d asked me as a child what my comfort food was it would have been ice cream, jelly or maybe chocolate blancmange ; definitely not chilli ! When I was younger I refused to eat anything spicy, my Mum likes to remind me that she would dutifully set aside a portion of non chillied chilli for me, before adding spice for the grown ups. It wasn’t until I made curry at school that I realised I quite liked spicy food. I haven’t looked back since. I pride myself on making good chilli both meat based and vegetarian and am always looking new recipes to try.

My latest trial is a keeper. A lamb chilli from U.S.A by Sheila Lukins a weighty 604 page encyclopedia of down home american cooking, it was a bargain on Amazon and I can see it becoming a firm favourite. The corn bread and zesty picnic slaw are also from the same book and routed the meal firmly in the southern states (and thus not for slimmers). The chilli was everything I want in a chilli, spicy and hot but not eye watering, savoury but with a hint of sweetness thanks to the addition of molasses. Ancho chilli and a bottle of beer give it a deep, rich earthy flavour which develops over the long slow cooking period. It isn’t speedy comfort food! I also think it would work as a meat free recipe with lentils or a mixture of beans rather than lamb.

The cornbread is recommended with it in the book and makes it feel very American, I love its sweet taste and slightly sandy texture alongside the chilli, but can see that others might find it odd at first. It was my idea to have the slaw with it, partly because I thought we should have some fresh veg to balance the meat and carbs! As it doesn’t use mayo like many coleslaw recipes it was very light and fruity with a dressing based on orange juice, a nice balance to the richness of everything else, a is a bit of healthiness on the side.

This was a truly epic chilli, if I had a freezer I would make a vat of it so I could have some on hand for emergencies and emotional crises, I know things would feel much better with a plateful of this in front of me. What’s your go to meal in times of need?