Sticky Sausages!

 

Sticky Sausages

 (much better than honey & mustard!!)

Ingredients:

2lb little sausages

2 tablespoons of clear honey

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon tomato purée 

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

Few drops Tabasco.

 

This recipe was passed on to my by my friend Heather and was definetly a winner at her drinks party!

Put sausages in roasting tin. Mix everything else together. Pour mix over sausages & toss them around to cover them in the mix. Bake at 200degC for 20-25 mins. Turn sausages several times to keep coating them in the sauce.

I make sure I make plenty!!

Me Ol' Fruitcake!!

 

Ingredients

• 400 g mixed fruit (with cranberries and apricot)
• 250 ml water
• 250 g butter  - melted in the microwave
• 350 g sugar
• 260 g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs (small - medium)

• Preheat oven to 160°C (140 fan)) conventional. Line a 20 or 22cm square cake tin with greaseproof paper.
• Place dried fruit and water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Boil  most of the liquid has been absorbed.
• Remove from the heat and add the melted butter. Stir through until all the butter is mixed in. Add the sugar and stir in well. Set mixture aside to cool for 20-30 minutes. 
• While the mixture is cooling, sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Once the mixture has cooled down, add the sifted flour and baking powder and stir together with a large spoon. Add the lightly beaten eggs and vanilla extract and continue to stir until everything is fully combined.
• Pour the mix into the prepared baking tin. Bake for about 1 hr 25 minutes or until the middle is cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. I like the top of my cake quite dark but cover with foil is that is not to your taste. Last time I left the cake in the over as it wasn't cooed and turned the heat off. After we returned from the pub, the cake was perfect! Allow to cool in the tin for 15-20 on a wire cooling rack to continue.
• Once cooled, cover the cake with cling film and place in an airtight container - or like me, you can delve straight in. The cale gets better if left overnight!!

Spicy mixed nuts

 

Spicy Nuts

 

Ingredients:

1kg mixed nuts - walnuts, hazlenuts, cashew, pecan etc etc

75g butter

50 ml water

100g soft brown sugar

2 tbsp chinese 5 spice

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp chilli powder

 

Heat oven to 180 degrees

 

Melt butter in a pan with all the other ingredients. Stir until dissolved. Add nuts & cook stirring frequently for 5 mins. Spread on baking tray & cook for about 15 mins but check that the nuts are not overcooked. Leave to cool (they should be hard and not sticky), separate the nuts & add more salt if you like them a bit saltier. Enjoy

Tomato Ketchup

 Around this time of year we end up with a glut of tomatoes and its difficult to decide what to do with them. This year, I've made batches of tomato ketchup and although I say it myself, its very good!!

Ingredients:

• 3kg of ripened tomatoes
• 1 tsp of celery salt
• 1 tbsp of salt
• 2 tsp of paprika (spicy)
• 250gm of granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 300ml of white wine vinegar

After washing the tomatoes and removing any stalks, chop them and simmer in a pan to pulp up the tomatoes. Don't worry about skinning and deseeding - this will be done in a bit. 

When fully pulped, using a fine sieve, pass the pulp through the sieve and then, in a clean pan, add the remaining ingredients.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir occasionally.

Reduce the puree until it is nice and thick and then ladle out into sterilised bottles.

Duck, Pork and Chicken Terrine

This recipe was from Gordon Ramsey on the BBC Food website. I have modified it and it is still fabulous. Serve with mild cornichons and a glass of sweet wine.

Ingredients:

• 200g skinless duck breast
• 200g skinless chicken breast
• 150g pork tenderloin
• fillet
• 2plump garlic cloves
• peeled
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 tbsp Armagnac
• brandy
• 2 tbsp olive oil or butter, plus extra for greasing terrine
• about thinly sliced rindless streaky bacon (dry cure is best) or pancetta
• 1kg best quality sausage meat
• 150ml double cream
• 4 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 1 tbsp chopped thyme or rosemary

Prepare duck and chicken breasts and the pork fillet by trimming off any sinews and fat. Smash the garlic with the back of a knife to crush roughly. Mix the meats in a bowl with the garlic, thyme, Armagnac, oil and pepper (no salt at this stage). Cover and marinate in the fridge for 24 hrs.

Drain the meats from the marinade, which can be discarded, and cut into chunks of about 1.5cm then season slightly.

Grease a 1kg terrine or loaf tin well. I tend to use two small loaf tins as this does make a decent quantity of  terrine. Arrange strips of bacon on the base and up both sides with enough overhanging to fold over. You will have a double layer of bacon on the base. Set aside.

Soften the sausage meat in a big bowl with a wooden spoon, then work in the cream and chopped herbs. To check the seasoning, shape a tbsp of the mixture into a patty and fry in a little oil for 2-3 mins, then taste and add more salt and pepper to the bowl, if needed.

Mix the marinated meats into the sausage meat. (if you can, use 85% fat free sausage meat but don't worry if you can't. Scoop the mixture into the terrine, pressing down well. Pull the overhanging bacon strips up and over to cover or cover with strips if the strips are a little short.

Heat oven to 180C/fan. Double-wrap the terrine top in foil, pressing well into the sides and twisting the ends to seal. Place in a large, deep-sided roasting pan and pour in boiling water to reach halfway up the sides. Bake for 1.5 hrs, until the meat feels firm on top when pressed - keep an eye on the water level! Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then chill overnight. (Depending on the meat, there will be liquid and you can pour this off into a bowl and discard) If you use 2 tins like me, freeze one and enjoy the other as soon as you want!!

Serve in slices with cornichons,  chunks of crusty bread and a glass of desert wine!

Mac 'n' Cheese - With Asparagus & Peas

 I got this recipe from Waitrose Food Magazine and as we had plenty of Asparagus I thought I would try it. It is certainly better than a standard Mac 'n' Cheese! The recipe was slightly modified!!

Ingredients (serves 2):

Topping:

• 20gms of Panko breadcrumbs
• 20gms of Parmesam cheese - grated
• 50gms of cheddar cheese - grated

Macaroni mix:

• 175gms of macaroni
• bunch of Asparagus - chopped into 3 pieces
• 100gms of frozen petit pois peas (defrosted)
• 20gms of unsalted butter
• 50gms of cheddar
• 2 tbsp of plain flour
• 250ml of whole milk
• 75gms of basil pesto

Mix together the topping mix so it is well combined and then set aside.

Precook the macaroni in salted water until a few minutes before ready and then add the peas and asparagus.

Next make a cheese white sauce with the milk, flour, butter and cheddar. I use a Thermomix for this but it is easy enough to do in a pan. At the end, add the pesto

When the sauce is ready, mix in the drained pasta and vegetables into a dish and then sprinkle with the topping. Grill the dish for 8-10 mins and allow to cool for a little before serving. 

You can add chilli to the topping and also stir in some lemon zest into the sauce but I didn't add the zest. Enjoy with a glass of crisp white wine.....

Catalina Salad Dressing

If my memory serves me right, this dressing used to be made my Kraft and my mother used to buy it in Safeway - many years ago. This recipe is quite close to it - at least from what I remember!! It is both sweet and tangy.

Ingredients:

• 660ml of tomato ketchup

• 74ml of sugar

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 4-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

• Dash ground turmeric

• Dash cayenne pepper

• 125ml of canola oil

Place the first ten ingredients in a blender. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream.

Curried Monkfish & Cauliflower

  This recipe is very much a ‘by taste’ one and so the quantities are variable to taste etc. I normally serve this as a started as it is quite rich with the fish and lashings of butter!!

Ingredients (serves 2):

• Monkfish tail (de boned and film removed) approx 300gms
• Banana shallot finely diced
• 150gms (ish) salted butter
• Large handful of cauliflower florets
• Mild curry powder - Large tbsp
• Almonds - toasted 2 tbsp (or hazlenuts if you have an alergy!)
• Sugar - ½ tsp (ish)
• Salt pepper to taste

Melt half of the butter in a frying pan and soften the shallot. Add monkfish pieces and curry powder, stir well. Whilst cooking, lightly steam the cauliflower florets then drain and add to the pan with the remaining butter. Season to taste and add a small pinch of sugar. Finally stir in the nuts and serve.

Pork Meatloaf

This is an easy recipe and the end result is comfort food!!

Ingredients:

• 45gms of Panko Breadcrumbs
• 500gms of minced pork
• 8 slices of prosciutto or smoked streaky bacon
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• 20gms of grated parmesan
• 1tsp of dried Herbs de Provence
• 1 tsp of dried Oregano
• (The choice of hebs is down to your own taste)
• 1 beaten egg
• salt & pepper to taste

Set oven to 190degC or 170degC fan

Whilst the oven warms up, put the onion, garlic and a couple of slices of prosciutto into a food processor and blitz. (if you want you could use smoked streaky bacon) In a mixing bowl add the pork, breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan, herbs and the blitzed onion, prosciutto and garlic. Add seasoning and then mix well with your hand until the ingredients are well mixed. 

Line a tin (bread/loaf tin will work) with the rest of the prosciutto and then put the mix into the tin, pressing down well to make sure there are no air gaps. Put the loaf tin into a baking tray and add boiling water to the tray so it covers half way up the tin.

Bake in the oven for about one hour. 

The meatloaf can be served warm (sliced) with your choice of vegetables or cold (cliced as well) with a salad.

Roast Boned and Rolled Mutton Shoulder (marinated)

 This recipe came about as we got half a sheep for the freezer and decided that we had better eat some of it!! The shoulder was around 2Kg before being boned and some of the fat removed. The recipe is based on that weight. The fat pieces can be rendered down and used for roast vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 2kg Lamb/Mutton Shoulder - bones and rolled and some fat removed

Marinade items:

• 6 cloves of garlic - peeled and crushed
• zest of one lemon and it's juice
• 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp of soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp of salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• Sprigs of rosemary (wedged under the string used to roll the meat)

Put the lamb in a zip seal type bag together with the pre mixed marinade and if possible, leave in the fridge overnight or longer - turning and mixing every now and then. Once out of the fridge, roll the joint and tie with string. I retain the crushed cloves of garlic and put inside the meat before being tied up.

Set the oven to 200 degC (180 degC fan) and cook under well sealed foil. I tend to rest the joint on onion slices - this then enhances any gravy that I make from the juices.

Roast for approx 2 to 2.25 hours and then remove the foil and brown up for a further 1/2 hour.

Remove from the pan and rest, covered with the foil and a cloth on top of the foil. You can then pour off any further fat (keep) and leave the juices in the pan to be used for the gravy. I tend to add stock and cook it down and maybe add a little redcurrant jelly.

Serve with your favourite roast veg etc.

Mirabelle Plum Jam

 We are very lucky to have a Mirabelle plum tree in our garden and the jam from the fruit is by far the best plum jam I know. 

Ingredients (makes about 10 jars of jam)

• 200ml water
• 2kgs of whole Mirabelle plums - then de-stoned
• 1.6kgs sugar
• 2 Tbsp of lemon juice

Simmer the water and fruit until soft (ish) - this should only take a few minutes. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until completely dissolved. As the jam starts to bubble, a foam appears on the surface (as per the photo). I remove this with a spoon during the process. Get the jam on a rolling boil for around 20 mins, stirring occasionally,  until the temp is around 103-104 degC or until a bit of jam wrinkles on a cold plate.

Put the cooked jam into sterilised jars, seal and allow to cool down.

My favourite partner for this jam is a croissant - enjoy!

Raspberry and Redcurrant Jam

 We look like there will be quite a bumper crop of raspberries this year from the garden and so we need to make space in the freezer. Thus some of last years raspberries are being used for this jam and of course, the last of this years redcurrants! The result is a slightly sharper jam that is not too sweet and is one of the best I have ever tasted.

Ingredients:

• 200g of Redcurrants
• 1.15 litres of water
• 1.8kgs of Raspberries
• 2.25kg of sugar
• (makes about 3.25kg of jam)

In a suitable pan, add the redcurrants and set over a low heat. Once the juice starts to flow, add the water and bring to the boil. stir and simmer for about 15mins. Strain the contents of the pan and squeeze the redcurrants through a muslin bag. Discard the pulp left behind. The total volume of the juice should be 900ml - top up with water if less or boil for longer to reduce.

Add the juice back into the pan together with the raspberries and simmer for 10mins. Add the sugar and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

Boil the mixture for about 15 mins until the temperature is 104-105 degC. (a thermometer or cold plate test will do!)

Remove from the heat and skim the surface for any 'scum'. Transfer to sterilised jars, seal and label!

You will not be dissappointed!

Redcurrant & Mint Jelly

The redcurrants are now over but I did manage to save mine from hungry birds using netting. Out new bush seems to be growing well. I used a garden mint from our garden but unsure of the variety.

This recipe combines mint and redcurrant and is delicious.

Ingredients:

• 500g of redcurrants
• sprig of mint
• 500g of sugar
• juice of half a lemon (15-20ml)
• 10 mint leaves finely chopped
• 500ml of water

After you have washed the redcurrants and mint, put the currants, sprig of mint and water into a suitable pan and boil. 

Simmer and press the fruit in the pan to help the fruit to break up.

Cool and then strain the mix through a muslin bag over a bowl overnight but do not squeeze the bag.

Put the strained liquid, sugar and lemon juice into a pan and gentle cook until all the sugar has been dissolved.

Rapid boil the mixture for approx. 15 mins until the mixture reaches the setting point (104-105 degC). I use a thermometer but a cold plate test can also be used.

Remove from the heat, remove sprigs of mint and stir in the chopped mint.

Pour into sterilised jars and seal.

This jelly is, obviously, great with lamb! The Mint is subtle. If you like more or a mint flavour, add more sprigs whilst boiling.Enjoy!