Dinner #3

This post is going to be short, so I apologise. I'm very tired, and have already written one blog post tonight! 

I confess I may have not cooked tonight's dinner in the best way possible, as I was too busy talking to my fiancé about his day, and left the pan simmering for too long. But it sure was tasty with a fiery kick of chilli!

Dinner tonight was Toulouse sausage cassoulet with a kick of chilli. It proved very easy to make by frying the onions and garlic, and then adding the tomato puree, cannelloni beans, thyme, bay leaf, seasoning, a whole chilli, chicken stock and cherry tomatoes. The grilled Toulouse sausages with their rough fibery texture and herby taste, are served ontop of the simmered cassoulet. This is where I went wrong, the simmer time was 20 mins, and I must have simmered for 30 mins. Anywhos, it was delish but very spicy (I shouldn't have stabbed the chilli too many times and pushed the seeds out into the pan because I thought I could handle it..oops!)

I got in!

Today is a day for celebration. I've been keeping this a secret for the past week, but I can now tell you, since I found out today, that I've been accepted at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in London! It's a dream come true. I can't believe I am actually going. The shock hasn't really hit me yet, especially the fact of what's to come next January! It's going to be intense. The Patisserie Diplome is what I have enrolled into, and since i've chosen the fast-track route, the first three months is going to be 30 hours a week, and the last 3 months 15 hours a week. But I can't wait to get stuck in, meet the chefs and the rest of the students. I'm sure you'll here me talking about my journey on here, as I really appreciate and love reading blogs such as http://theaspiringbaker.wordpress.com/page/3/ and https://sinmatok.wordpress.com for writing our their time at LCB, which really helped with my decision and has given me a great insight already. 

Eek! So here's to the start of a new, potentially scary, hard-working, life enhancing, dream-come-true (cheesy I know) path in life!!

Cheers! 

Dinner #2

Tonight's dinner from Hello Fresh was the absolutely succulent Vietnamese Chicken Skewers with Ginger Rice.

After a hectic day, I came home to preparing this dinner, which proved to be very simple; cutting everything (garlic, ginger, onion, kaffir lime leaf) and then marinating the chicken, which I did for half an hour instead of ten minutes, as I was waiting for my fiancé to arrive home before I started cooking. The meat ended up melting in the mouth (chicken thigh is definitely better than breast), once cooked on skewers under the grill. 

The ginger rice was interesting. I'd never added chicken stock to my rice before, and nor had I fried the rice in oil and ginger before adding the water - what a cool idea that I may have to adapt and try with other recipes/ingredients.
The only thing was that the rice was meant to be cooked for ten mins and then left to stand for ten mins, however I felt it needed an extra 15 mins as mine wasn't fully cooked. When it was it still had a bite, which we like anyway. 
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed this dish - top marks i'd say (it was definitely the added broccoli that swung it!)

Starting a 'Fresh'... dinner #1

Last week I discovered something that has turned out to be really a great thing. I was browsing through my November copy of The Simple Things, and out dropped a £25 off voucher card for Hello Fresh, another one of those recipe box schemes I thought. However, tempted by the money off, I decided to try it out. A box of 5 meals for £49, and then £25 off, making it £24 for 5 meals, is a bargain! 
The only downfall is delivery, as you they could come anytime between 8am and 5pm, so you kinda have to be in, or ask someone else to pick it up for you, like a neighbour. I was in, so all was okay. 
It arrived, and the joyous moment of opening the box was so exciting! I ripped it open and what stared at me was a bundle of fresh ingredients, all neat and organised in little sections, all the right quantities (the spices were in their own little pots, all weighed out ready!)

It's not that I don't like cooking, as it's obvious I do! It's just a brilliant thing if you are busy and don't have the time to sort out what you are eating. 
So this week I'm going to aim to show you what I've been eating from my box, and what my thoughts are after 5 days.

Last night we ate Mediterranean Hake with Pommes Mousselines (basically posh mash potato!) It was scrumptious. The hake was apparently supplied by the same supplier that the Queen uses...ohlala. And couldn't I tell!! It was yummy, and the portions of hake given were very generous! The Mediterranean sauce consisted of onion, garlic and yellow pepper, then passata and thyme. It was then poured onto the fish and popped into the oven to bake. I don't think I need to explain how to make the mash! 

If you like the sound of Hello Fresh, check them out here: wwww.hellofresh.co.uk

I also have been given a code for a friend to have £20 off their first box, so if you are interested, let me know! First come first serve basis, obviously. 

Indulgent Nutella and Banana Loaf

Yesterday was a day spent experimenting in the kitchen. I knew I had to use up some bananas that were going brown, and so banana loaf popped into my head. With the help of the last of the Nutella, this slightly more indulgent, and incredibly moist loaf was created. 

I can actually say this recipe is my own and it's so easy to make with my all-in-one method. I can't wait to find more ways to adapt it/change it/add to it etc. Watch this space! 

Type of tin

2Ib loaf tin

Ingredients

225g/1 cup of sifted plain flour

100g/ 1/2 cup of demerara sugar

80ml/ 1/3 cup of semi-skimmed milk

2 small bananas, mashed

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 medium egg

3 tbsp/ 1/4 cup of Nutella, plus extra for spreading on top

Method

1. Weigh out all of your ingredients and pop all of them into a bowl or mixer. Grease your loaf tin with butter.

2. Mix until the mixture is free of lumps, and is smooth. 

3. Melt the Nutella in the microwave for 20 seconds (or more/less depending on your micro) until almost runny.

4. Pour the Nutella into the mixture and carefully fold in, to ensure you create that lovely swirl design once baked.

5. Carefully pour into the tin and bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown and cooked through (test with a skewer in the middle - it's done when it comes out clean).

6. Cool for a couple of minutes, and then lift out onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

7. Once cooled, spread the rest of your Nutella to your preference, on top of the loaf. 

Micro Roastery, Canterbury

I had been admiring this place for a long while, and had heard so much about it, that I thought I would give it ago today, in order to cure my coffee pang. All the good things I heard were true. The place is amazing. All the coffee is sourced directly from the farms all over the world, and the beans are freshly ground depending on what coffee you are having. 

After many indecisive minutes, staring at the large beans dispensers hanging on the wall, I asked for the Barista's advice. She recommended the Brazilian bean and for it to be brewed in the Air Press (I think that's what it's called!) The coffee came like an Americano with no milk, and when I tasted it, it didn't need sugar. It was so mellow and easy to drink. 

During my coffee, I picked up one of the books displayed to read, which was a guide all about coffee. I learnt that the proper way to brew coffee with a Moka is to:

1. Make sure the water is hot when you fill it up. 2. Pre-heat your hob. 3. Brew with the lid open. 

I have been making my coffee wrong the whole time!! 

After my coffee and a nice chat about different grinds with the Barista, I decided to purchase the next level of intensity up, which she recommended was the Kenyan bean. 

The Kenyan coffee in its humble packaging. 

This evening I decided to give the new way to brew with a Moka a go. 

It tasted great with the Kenyan bean. Very smooth but aromatic. It wasn't strong and overpowering. Brewing this way made the coffee come out a lot more, and more concentrated. It tasted a lot fuller and flavoursome. 

I think next time I will try the next level of intensity and report back! Let me know if you visit the Micro Roastery, and what your thoughts are on the coffee. Happy brewing! 

Chocolate-y goodness

Hi readers,

I just wanted to share with you the most gorgeous, thick hot chocolate that I drank last night. 

I picked it up from Waitrose (I wasn't even looking for hot chocolate, but I couldn't resist!) My fiancé and I love the GU puds as  they're great when you are feeling lazy, and the chocolate just oozes out, so I thought I'd give this ago. And I was right. It was to die for. Try it out and let me know what you think! 

Perhaps you have tried a hot chocolate that is worth shouting about? I'd love to know as I'm always on the look out for the perfect hot choc.

Game pie, and a disaster

Oh what a day of cooking it has been! I started out with the plan of making the game pie (which has actually turned out to be just Venison, as that's all I could get) and then for the rest of the day to be for applying for more jobs and general housework (oh what a bore). However this did not happen. I couldn't stop staring at all the apples filling up our fruit bowl. I've never made apple conserve before, and I had just bought some Kilner jars...hmmm...

Next thing you know it, I'm scanning through my copy of Larousse Gastronomique (my second love!) for that apple conserve recipe I saw (by the way, you may see many more recipes from that book, adapted or not, pop up on this blog). Now despite some of my apples being different varieties, and that I don't have the proper equipment such as preserving pan or tongs to pick up the boiling hot sterilised jar, it turned out...badly. Another thing you will notice, is that I didn't fill up the whole jar. I didn't have any smaller jars, so it had to be that one. This meant I had to refrigerate it straight away after it cooled, since there's such a big gap between jam and lid, there's more room for things to go wrong, such as discolouring and the vacuum not vacuuming properly! Well things did go wrong. Here's my result:

What went wrong

My jam is rock hard.

I think because I added a Monin ginger syrup to the sugar and apples, the syrup caramelised and hardened. Please, if anyone has any other ideas of why this could be, do tell! I have no idea how I will get this out of the jar now. Smash it? 

Game Pie

I said to myself that I will only record recipes of my own in this blog, however I've realised that great recipes come from adapted recipes. This is why I've decided to share with you my outcome and opinion on the Game Pie recipe from Abel and Cole. 

I'm very happy with the outcome. The sauce was lovely and rich; the venison melt in the mouth. I didn't make my own puff pastry as I know its a faff, and if Mary Berry is okay with using frozen, it's okay with me!

The only thing I would say about this recipe is that its rather long winded. It required you to brown the game beforehand, take it out, brown the mushrooms and bacon, then make the sauce in the same pan, re-add the game and simmer for half hour, assemble in the pie dish and then wait to cool, and then put in the oven. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I think that the venison and sauce could be made at the same time, and I don't think its necessary to allow it to cool before putting in the oven. I didn't bother as I got hungry! 

Jess x

Let us celebrate British food

Instead of launching into the normal introductory first blog post, I thought I'd write about something more meaningful; our nation's grub (see the about me page if you do want to know more about me!).

What a scrummy English roast dinner from Deesons British restaurant in Canterbury.

British Food Fortnight began on the 20th September and finishes this week on the 5th October (gosh where has time gone). I know I'm a little bit behind, but I thought since i've just started this blog, why not make my first recipe a celebration of British food: pie! The Hairy Bikers love them, and so do I (also my fiancé will be really happy!) So tomorrow you can expect a pie recipe to pop up here - please do try it and let me know what you think. 

A bit about British Food Fortnight

It all began in 2002 around the same time as the Harvest Festival, after the nation realised there was no event to celebrate our English food heritage. British Food Fortnight does this is in all its glory, and celebrates fresh, seasonal and regionally distinct food.

You can also get involved in BFF. See British Food Fortnight's list of 14 ways to do so. 

Let me know if you do get involved in anyway! 

Happy British Food-ing!!

Jess x