Today started off cold and raw, with heavy sleet as we walked the dogs. I then went to see my therapist for the first time in 2 years, as I felt I needed some help. She is a very caring person, but she comes armed with sharp, pointy sticks and poked me with them. It was a very emotional session, leaving me feeling wiped out and in need of comfort. Fortunately, the day brightened up and this afternoon was blue and silver and bright as we walked on top of the downs. Anyway, comfort food for tea!
Toad in the Hole (Mary Berry Aga Cook Book)
8 large sausages
100g plain flour
sat
2 eggs
225 ml milk
Take 8 large sausages and place them in the small roasting tin, and hang the tin on the second set of runners in the roasting oven for approx 10 mins. Turn the sausages over.
Meanwhile, prepare the batter. Measure the flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and stir in beaten eggs and milk to give a smooth batter. Pour the batter over the sausages and return to the roasting oven for a further 25 mins until the batter is well risen, crisp and golden brown.
I am serving the onion gravy (from the chiller cabinet in Waitrose and Branston Baked Beans - much nicer than Heinz in MHO.
Chocolate and Strawberry Swiss roll (Secrets of Aga Cakes - Lucy Young)
4 eggs
100g caster sugar
75g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder
Filling
This recipe needs a proper Swiss roll tin (33 x 23 cm). I find lining tins fiddly and annoying so invested in different sizes of bake o glide so I no longer need to do this. If you don't have any, cut an oblong of non stick baking parchment just larger than your tin. Grease the tin, then line with the baking parchment, pushing it nearly into the corners to fit.
Whist your eggs and sugar until the mix is light, frothy, increased in volume and when the whist is removed, the mix that drops off leaves a trail. Sift the flour and cocoa into the mix, carefully folding in using a metal spoon.
Tip mix into prepared tine, spreading or tilting the mix into the corners.
Pop this onto the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven and bake for 8 mins until just shrinking away from the edges of the tin.
Take some more baking parchment a little larger than the size o the tin, place on the work surface and sprinkle with caster sugar. While still warn, tip the cake onto the sugared paper. Loosen your bake o glide or parchment and peel away. Make a score mark 2 cm in from a shorter edge, but do not cut right through.
Roll the cake up firmly with the parchment inside. Start the roll from the scored end and tuck this scored piece of sponge in tightly to make a roll. Leave until stone cold.
When stone cold, carefully unroll the cake, remove the parchment and spread with jam. Whisk the cream until stiff and fold in the strawberries. Spread this mix over the jam.
Re-roll the cake tightly, in the same way you rolled in to begin with using the parchment to guide you. Sprinkle with a little more sugar, if needed.
Keep in fridge, but eat as fresh as possible.
Friday, 16 December 2011
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Duck with sour cherry chutney, roast potatoes and stir fry cabbage & bacon
Today, after a heavy session of present wrapping, I felt we needed a special supper. I had found a lovely 2.5k reduced price Gressingham Duck and this was to be the centre piece. I decided on Duck with Sour Cherry chutney, as I had all the ingredients to hand!
Recipe (will serve 2 with some duck left over)
1 x 2.5k Gressingham Duck
Sour Cherry Chutney
2 tbs olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
75g dried sour cherries
50 ml balsamic vinegar
350g jar of Morello cherry conserve
1 star anise
Roast Potatoes (as many as you like!)
Cabbage and Bacon
Savoy cabbage, halved and cored, then finely sliced
100g pack of Lardons
Pierce the skin of the duck all over with a skewer. Place the duck on a rack in the kitchen sink, and pour over 2 full kettles of boiling water. Pat dry with a kitchen roll. This will release the fat under the skin of the duck so you end up with a crisp, non fatty result.
Put the duck on a rack on your large roasting tin, season with sea salt and freshly milled black pepper. Put in on the bottom rungs of the roasting oven, and roast for 1 hour 30 mins. Then remove it to Simmering Oven to rest.
Meanwhile, peel, halve and par boil your potatoes, drain, return to pan, replace lid and shake - hard. Tip into the roasting tin underneath the duck in the fat and roll them around then to roast for 1 hour. Once you have removed the duck to the Simmering oven to rest, move the potatoes up to the top of the Roasting oven.
Heat the oil in a pan on the simmering plate, then soften the onion for about 10 mins. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce, bring up to a simmer. Pop on lid and put in Simmering oven to continue to cook until you need it.
To serve the duck, turn it over and with a good pair of kitchen scissors, cut either side of the backbone and remove it. Turn the duck back over and flatten it slightly now remove the legs as you would a chicken. Now remove the breast, with a sharp knife, cut along either side of the breastbone, keeping your knife close to the bone and ease the breast meat away from the bone.
Heat some oil in a wok and fry the lardons on the simmering plate until they release their fat. Then move over to the roasting plate. Tip in the finely sliced savoy cabbage, and stir fry until bacon is crisp and cabbage is coated.
Recipe (will serve 2 with some duck left over)
1 x 2.5k Gressingham Duck
Sour Cherry Chutney
2 tbs olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
75g dried sour cherries
50 ml balsamic vinegar
350g jar of Morello cherry conserve
1 star anise
Roast Potatoes (as many as you like!)
Cabbage and Bacon
Savoy cabbage, halved and cored, then finely sliced
100g pack of Lardons
Pierce the skin of the duck all over with a skewer. Place the duck on a rack in the kitchen sink, and pour over 2 full kettles of boiling water. Pat dry with a kitchen roll. This will release the fat under the skin of the duck so you end up with a crisp, non fatty result.
Put the duck on a rack on your large roasting tin, season with sea salt and freshly milled black pepper. Put in on the bottom rungs of the roasting oven, and roast for 1 hour 30 mins. Then remove it to Simmering Oven to rest.
Meanwhile, peel, halve and par boil your potatoes, drain, return to pan, replace lid and shake - hard. Tip into the roasting tin underneath the duck in the fat and roll them around then to roast for 1 hour. Once you have removed the duck to the Simmering oven to rest, move the potatoes up to the top of the Roasting oven.
Heat the oil in a pan on the simmering plate, then soften the onion for about 10 mins. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce, bring up to a simmer. Pop on lid and put in Simmering oven to continue to cook until you need it.
To serve the duck, turn it over and with a good pair of kitchen scissors, cut either side of the backbone and remove it. Turn the duck back over and flatten it slightly now remove the legs as you would a chicken. Now remove the breast, with a sharp knife, cut along either side of the breastbone, keeping your knife close to the bone and ease the breast meat away from the bone.
Heat some oil in a wok and fry the lardons on the simmering plate until they release their fat. Then move over to the roasting plate. Tip in the finely sliced savoy cabbage, and stir fry until bacon is crisp and cabbage is coated.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)