Chicken and Chorizo Risotto

I love this risotto... but completely forgot to take a photo!

Chicken and Chorizo Risotto

Serves 2 (Easily doubled)

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts – chopped and either fried off or grilled till cooked

3 uncooked chorizo – diced

160g Arborio Rice

1pt Hot Chicken Stock

1 White Onion – diced

2 Garlic Cloves – chopped or 1tsp Garlic Puree

1 Large glass white wine

1tbsp Chopped Fresh Basil or 1tsp Dried Basil

1tbsp  Butter

1tbsp creme fraiche

2tbsp grated Parmesan plus extra to serve

Salt and Pepper- to season

1. Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add onion, chorizo and garlic and fry until soft and the chorizo has let out some of its juices.
2. Tip in the rice and coat with butter and onion. It should slightly glisten. Add wine and bubble until the wine has reduced.
3. Add in a ladle at a time the chicken stock. Let each amount be absorbed by the rice before adding the next. Repeat until rice is cooked. You may not need all of the stock.
4. Fold in the basil and the cooked chicken. Heat through. Season to taste.
5. Before serving fold in the grated parmesan and the creme fraiche. Serve hot with more cheese if you wish!

Raspberry and Vanilla Madaleines

It's been a while since I posted.  Sorry peeps! My new job has taken up a lot of time but I have really enjoyed it.  It's great to be involved in so many new projects there.

But things have quietened down slightly and as it's a bank holiday baking was on the agenda.  I made a raspberry angel delight cheesecake with an Oreo crust. And these Raspberry and Vanilla Madaleines.  An adaptation of a traditional Madaleine recipe from Michel Roux Jnr. I have recently purchased a Madaleine tin so this was an excellent opportunity to try it out. 

Makes about 15

Ingredients
100g Plain flour
100g Butter melted and slightly cooled
100g Caster sugar
1tsp Baking powder
2 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla extract
About 15 raspberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180. Beat eggs and sugar till fluffy. Grease tin and dust with flour lightly.

2. Add vanilla extract, baking powder and flour. Pour in butter. Beat to a thick batter.

3. Leave batter to rest for about 30 mins.

4. Fill tin mould 3/4 full. Pop a raspberry in the centre of each and gently push down.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden around edges and risen.

6. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Chocolate Fridge Cake

So my last day came and went on Thursday. I was sad to say goodbye to a number of people I now call friends. But onwards and upwards and my new job is a promotion so too good to turn down! As I said I would I made cake. Always a good thing in my book! TheVictoria Sponge was similar to the recipe I made for cupcakes last month. The cornflake and jam tart however was an epic fail I brought wheat and rice flakes, not cornflakes. The result did not taste very good! So I will have to try again with the right ingredients! I did make the Chocolate Fridge Cake though. Recipe below:

Ingredients:

100g Butter

200g Milk or Dark Chocolate - whichever you prefer!

4-5 squeezes of Golden Syrup (about 4 - 5tbsp)

225g Chocolate Digestives - roughly chopped

A bag of Malteasers (the sharing bags about 135g) - roughly chopped

A bag of Munchies (the sharing bags about 125g) - roughly chopped

Method:

1.   Line a square tin with parchment.

2.   In a heavy bottomed pan melt together the milk chocolate, syrup and butter on a low heat until melted and glossy. Set aside to cool slightly.

3.  Add all your chopped ingredients to the melted chocolate and mix. Pour into a tin and set in the fridge.

4.  Cut into squares.

Vanilla and Jam Cupcakes

I had two celebrations this weekend - my friend Caroline moved to Northampton and I accepted a new job offer. So I decided to bake some cupcakes (any excuse for cake!). One of mine and Caroline's favourites is Victoria Sponge so I decided a cupcake with Vanilla Icing and Jam in the middle would be a winner.



Makes 12

Ingredients:

Cupcakes -
180g Self Raising Flour - sifted
180g Caster Sugar
180g Butter or Stork - softened
1tsp Baking Powder
3 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
Your favourite jam

Icing -
200g Unsalted Butter - softened
400g Icing Sugar - sifted
Colouring or decorations if you want



Method:

Cupcakes -

1.   Preheat oven to 180/ 350/ Gas 4. Line a tin with cupcake cases. Set aside.
2.   Cream butter/ Stork and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.
3.   Add in eggs a little at a time. If mixture curdles add a little flour.
4.   Fold in flour and baking powder.
5.   Put a heaped tbsp of mixture into each cupcake case. Bake for a couple of mins This will help seal the bases so the jam wont sink too much.
6.   Put half a tsp to a tsp of jam in the centre of the cupcake base (amount depends on the size of your cases). Top with more cake mixture until about 2/3rds full.
7.   Bake for approximately 20mins until golden and fluffy. Cool completely.

Icing -

1.   Beat sugar and butter until combined. If a little stiff add a couple of tsp of milk. Add colouring if using.
2.   Spoon or pipe icing onto cupcakes and top with chosen decorations.

***Don't make the mistake I did if premaking your icing in advance - take it out to soften before you need to ice the cakes. I didnt and struggled as a result!

***You'll notice I also topped some with good old chocolate spread! An easy stand by for cake toppings!

Corned Beef Hash

A cheap and cheerful comfort food favourite. Just what's called for in this weather ad was perfect for when I got in from a run cold and wet! It's quick, cheap and easy to make. I've done my recipe for one as it was just for me, but it's easily multiplied!

Ingredients:

1 Potato - cubed and lightly boiled until al dente

Half a white onion - chopped

Splash of Worcestershire Sauce or Hendersons Relish

Salt and Pepper

Clove of Garlic - chopped

About 80 - 100g Corned Beef (a quarter of a 340g can) - chopped

Knob of butter

Method:

1.   Parboil potato cubes and drain. Leave to dry off for a few minutes.

2.   Melt butter in a large pan and fry onions and garlic until soft. Tip in the potatoes and combine. Fry until potatoes are starting to turn golden.

3.   Add corned beef, seasoning and Worcestershire Sauce/ Hendersons Relish. Combine and fry till golden.

4.   This is the basic recipe but add whatever you fancy to it. This time round I had some mushrooms and a green pepper so chopped them up and put them in. I serve mine with a poached egg on top and ketchup on the side. A friend of mine loves his with cheese on top. So go with what tickles your fancy!

 

Smoked Mackerel and Cream Cheese Tagliatelle

Having gotten in from work and a class late and being starving I didnt feel much like waiting for my dinner to cook. Pasta dishes are always a good stand by and as I am attempting to be good during the week fish was on the menu too! I just threw together a few ingredients from the fridge, freezer and cupboard. It actually tasted lovely!

Ingredients:

Half a white onion - finely chopped

Garlic puree - about half a tsp

Squeeze of lemon juice

Handful of mushrooms - chopped
Handful of frozen peas

A couple of smoked mackerel fillets - poached in water and rough chopped

A heaped tbsp light Philidelphia

Handful of spinach - chopped

Some fresh dill - chopped

Tagliatelle

Method:

1.  While fish is poaching and pasta cooking fry onion in a little oil. Add mushrooms.

2.   Add cream cheese, garlic puree, dill and lemon juice. Add a little hot water if too thick to make a sauce. Add peas to the pasta a few minutes before its finished cooking.

3.   Add mackerel to cooked and drained pasta and peas. Stir through spinach - it will wilt with the heat of the pasta.

4.   Stir through the sauce and combine to coat.

5.   Serve!

 

Golden Syrup Pudding

After a day's sledging to take my mind off a few pieces of bad news I decided comfort food was in order. With the ingredients I had in the cupboard golden syrup pudding was the one!

 

 

Ingredients:

 

100g Butter -softened
100g Caster Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
100g Self Raising Flour
6 - 8tbsp Golden Syrup

 

 

Method:

 

1.   Preheat oven to 200/ Gas mark 6.

2.   Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.

3.   Add vanilla extract.  Fold in flour. Combine well.

4.   Pour syrup into a  greased baking dish. Spoon over sponge mix.

5.   Bake for about 35 - 40mins until risen.

6.   Serve with whatever accompaniment you fancy!

 

 

Angel Delight Ice Cream - Review

Everyone who has read this blog knows I do like my Angel Delight. So I was pretty excited (I even did a little dance in Morrisons!) when I spotted they now have a version especially for ice cream. Well I had to give it a go! I purchased the strawberry and butterscotch versions. I followed the instructions to a tee and you only need a hand whisk and 150ml semi skimmed milk.

I am pleased to report it actually tastes okay. Granted it's never going to be the same as Ben and Jerry's, but for a quick stand by and fairly low in fat it did the job.

Smoked Fish Risotto

Risotto is much easier to make than people seem to think. And as it only takes about 30 minutes it’s a great midweek meal. Once you’ve made it the first time you can switch the ingredients about-different meats, herbs, or make it veggie instead. Just keep the basic rice, onion, and stock combo the same.

Serves 2 (Easily doubled)

Ingredients:

2 Smoked fish fillets (I use smoked trout or haddock usually)

150g Arborio Rice

1pt Hot Fish or Chicken Stock

1 White Onion – diced

2 Garlic Cloves – chopped or 1tsp Garlic Puree

1 Large glass white wine

1tbsp Chopped Fresh Dill or 1tsp Dried Dill

1tbsp Butter

1tbsp creme fraiche

Salt and Pepper- to season

1. Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add onion, and garlic and fry until soft.
2. Tip in the rice and coat with butter and onion. It should slightly glisten. Add wine and bubble until the wine has reduced.
3. Add in a ladle at a time the stock. Let each amount be absorbed by the rice before adding the next. Repeat until rice is cooked. You may not need all of the stock.
4. Fold in the dill and the fish. Heat through. Season to taste.
5. Before serving fold in the creme fraiche.

I am trying to get extra veg into my diet so I added a handful of diced mushrooms, asparagus,a handful of chopped spinach and a handful of peas. Italians don't usually add cheese to fish dishes whether it be a pasta or rice based one, but food is for enjoying so if you want to add some grated parmesan go for it!