My Chicken Pot Pie

I make my pie in a cast iron flat pan kind of like a paella pan but deeper but you can make the filling in a sauce pan and transfer it to a pie dish. Im just lazy about washing up and like to make as little as possible (although after a baking spree my husband would be inclined to disagree with that claim)

 

This is a really simple dish which is why my kids love it, its not complicated or full of a thousand ingredients.

 

The quantities you use for this pie depend greatly on the size of the pie you want to make. My pie dish (paella pan) is about 16 inches in diameter, and about 4 inches deep so the quantities below are designed for that pan. to make a smaller pie simply reduce the quantities across all of the ingredients.

 

I used:

2 large packs of chicken thighs approx 1.1kg each bone in skin on.

4-5 thick rashers of bacon

approx 1 tbsp plain flour

3 chicken stock cubes

boiling water

1 pack pre made puff pastry (i never make my own puff pastry its just too damned time consuming!)

salt

pepper

chopped sage or other herb of your choice.

 

Yes that really is all you need!

• Put the chicken thighs in a large pot.
• Crumble over stock cubes, cover to 1cm above meat with boiling water.
• Bring to the boil.
• Turn the heat down slightly and simmer for around 45 mins or until the chicken thighs are cooked through.
• Remove the chicken thighs from the stock and retain the liquid.
• Allow to cool and remove the skin and bones from the meat, set the chicken meat aside.
• Cut up the bacon into strips, In a frying pan, or in my case in the Paella dish saute the bacon in a little olive oil until browned slightly.
• add the flour and cook on a medium heat, stirring all the time for approx 2 mins til the flour absorbs the fat in the pan.
• Using a ladle add a little of the retained stock at a time to the flour mixture until a thick-ish sauce has been created. Stir continuously to avoid lumps.
• Add the chicken to the sauce.
• Roll out the pastry on a floured board
• Put the chicken and bacon mixture into your pie dish
• Put the rolled out pastry over the top, crimp, stab a hole in the centre to allow steam out during cooking.
• Cook on gas mark 6 until the pastry is brown and risen (approx 20 mins)
• 
   
 

 

 



My 'Whip it up quickly' Chocolate Cake

Occasionally I need to whip up a cake at short notice and as I am not one to present people with a cake that does anything other than make them salivate on viewing it, I tend to have this on standby.

 

8oz Unsalted Butter or Margerine (I use stork)

8oz Caster Sugar

4 Medium Eggs (or in my case 2 medium eggs and 3 bantam eggs)

 

Please note that bantam eggs are like rocking horse poo (virtually impossible to aquire) unless you know someone who keeps bantams or you keep them yourself, If you are lucky enough to fall into one of the latter two categories, when baking I follow the rule of thumb that 3 bantams eggs is equvalent to 2 medium eggs and so far it has not failed me.

 

7oz self raising flour

1oz really good cocoa (I use green and blacks but you can use whatever brand you like)

1 tbsp of milk

1tsp of instant disolved in 1 tbsp of hot water

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or something else vanilla-esque eg essence)

1 tub of betty crocker vanilla fudge frosting

 

My method uses a free standing mixer but I will write the instructions as though by hand because I am aware that not everyone is lucky enough to have one or bakes enough to justify the expanse of buying one.

Prepare 2x 8inch sandwich tins and preheat the oven at gas mark 5 or equivalent temp

• Cream together the sugar and butter til it is light and fluffy (this can take a while and an electric hand whisk can be your friend here).
 
• Add the eggs and 1 tbsp of the flour and whisk until fully combined (the flour stops the mixture curdling which can effect the rise of the finished cake).
 
• Add the disolved instant coffee and vanilla bean paste.
 
• Sift the remaining flour and cocoa powder together into the wet mix and combine using a folding action (please google this if you arent sure as its important to keep the air inside the cake and avoid over working the flour.
 
• When the mixture is fully combined, divide between the sandwich tins and level the mixture using a spatula.
 
• Bake for approx 25-35 mins (this depends greatly on your oven) to check if the sponge is cooked insert a skewer (i use a bamboo one) into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean the cake is cooked. If you dont have a skewer press the top of the sponge gently with a clean finger and if it springs back it is cooked, if it gives slightly it needs to go back in the oven. If your cake is not cooked return it to the oven for 4-5 mins then check again (it can go from uncooked to over done in less than 5 mins)
 
• Allow to cool in the tins for around 10 mins, then turn them out onto a wire cooling rack, it is important to have them on a rack like this because it allows the air to circulate under the cake allowing for even cooling and avoiding a steam build up within the cake which can effect the final product.

• When the cakes are cooled fully smear a little of the frosting onto the surface of your plate or cake stand to stop your cake sliding off. put the least pretty cake on the bottom with the top facing up. smear with the frosting and pop the second cake on top in the same way. Top with the frosting and decorate to suit you. I used fresh strawberrys with mine but you can use anything you like. A cadburys flake crumbled up or some malteasers dotted around the edge might be nice... or both! Whatever its up to you, have fun with it! If its fun to make then it will be fun to eat!
  
   

 



Paul Hollywoods Savoury Couronne

I initially saw this on Paul Hollywoods T.V. Programme 'Bread' and it immediately sparked my interest...

 

I love a challenge even when it poses what would appear to be impossible technical issues. Most would say I'm ambitious, I would say I'm bloody stupid!

 

So I set about making this couronne despite the fact that Mr Hollywood has stated both in his T.V. programme and the accompanying book (yes I had to have it) that this recipe is for the advanced baker.

I have only had successful loaves of bread in the last month or so having finally mastered the art so would hardly call myself an advanced baker but sod it here I go!

 

I cant keep calling Mr Hollywood by that name it takes too long to type.

(May I call you Paul? Yes? Cool!)

 

O.K. so I opened the book at the relevant page which I have found is always a good place to start...

I ran down the list of ingredients and made sure that I had everything I needed having bought supplies the previous day. I opened the fridge to discover that my darling husband had eaten more than half of one of the packs of parma ham 'because I wanted ham' (you can imagine the language that spewed forth from my mouth dear reader, I confess it was not pretty or lady like and I may have promised physical damage to his person.)

 

So i collected together the remaining  parma ham, the mozarella, strong white bread flour and other ingredients and set to work.

 

The recipe for the brioche base of this bread is actually quite simple to make and I quickly got to the stage of the first rise, I popped it into a lightly oiled tupperware tub and got on with the other recipes I'm going to be featuring shortly. An hour later I faced what can only be described as a baptism of fire.

 

I should have taken photo's at each stage but to be honest I didn't want to get dough on my camera!

 

I popped the risen bread dough onto a lightly floured work surface (what is lightly floured anyway? whenever I 'lightly flour' something everything sticks to it and I end up getting both annoyed and extremely messy!) rolled it out into something resembling a rectangle and (get me I'm flash) tacked the side nearest me to the work surface (this is basically squishing the edge of the dough into the worktop so that it doesnt wiggle around like a loony while you are trying to work with it).

 

I laid what was left of the parma ham onto the dough, tore up the mozarella (feeling all mama mia about myself and tossing it at the dough with what I thought was flare but what was actually me looking a total wally) I then stepped outside...

 

No I wasnt running away from it, I was on the hunt for some basil that wasnt dead or dying because it turns out that my green fingers arent actually green they are septic. Herb hunt over, I scattered the paltry few leaves I had managed to find that didnt look too pitiful over the dough, grated on some parmesan and looked at it with something akin to dread...This is it...The bit i saw on the T.V. and thought to myself 'I can do that...' It doesn't look so easy now...

 

Deep breath!

 

I rolled the dough towards myself enclosing the ham, cheese and basil within...

 

I gently rolled the 'sausage' stretching it slightly as I went to achieve the correct length...

 

Cut the 'sausage' lengthways down the middle AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH why am I so tense?????

 

Turned the half 'sausages' upwards so that the filling was facing the ceiling...

 

Grasped each end in my hands firmly and...

 

 

WAIT! This is NOT going to work!!!

 

(To myself) Get a grip woman its only bread dough, its not going to bite you!

 

So in the end instead of doing the ultra flash ultra cool Paul Hollywood flick of the wrist and spin the dough through the air to achieve the twist, what I actually did was gently (ever so gently, pathetically gently in fact) hold the ends together at one end and turn it as quickly as I could while praying that the filling stays in place, and then twist at the opposite end in the opposite direction...

 

I did it! well it looks sort of like Paul's (he did say I can call him that, see above) couronne and thats good enough for me. Now I have to get it on the baking sheet to prove and I panic...

 

How the hell am I going to move that without it falling to bits?

 

I know...(rummage in the cupboards) I have a steel thingy I use for moving sponge cakes, no idea what its called but it looks kind of like a wonky guillotine blade. I slide the wonky guillotine under the bread and lift it up while sliding the baking tray underneath (this is no mean feat people, I should have had a standing ovation for this but alas I got none)

 

Set aside to prove for approx 1 hour...

 

Bake at 200 degree's (oh bugger whats 200 degrees in gas mark again?... gets out android phone and looks up gas mark temp conversions... wait one site says gas mark 7, another says gas mark 6....Check my Delia Smith book for the conversion table in the front (thank you mum!!!!).....Grrrrr Delia says 7, O.K. lets go with that.

 

(This temperature debate was going on about half an hour previously to my putting the bread in the oven because as we all know Preheat Preheat Preheat!!)

 

Popped the bread in the oven and forced myself to walk away...

 

The resulting loaf looks like this...

 

Please note: DO NOT try to take this off the baking sheet before it has cooled for a while or you will be convinced you have a dreaded 'soggy bottom' when in fact its the cheese making an escape. I'd suggest waiting for around 15 mins before you move it to the cooling rack.

What a clever girl I am!

HaHa!



Feed The Neighbours Too Soup

My own recipe so for that reason I have no reservations in sharing the full list on ingredients and not worrying about plagiarism!

 

 

This is basically a 'Souped up' (get it?) Version of my family favourite butternut squash and chorizo soup which is very much what it says it is:

 butternut squash, chorizo sausage and onion sautee'd in olive oil. vegetable or chicken stock cook until squash is tender, attack it with a hand blender (or in my house wizzy wizzy thing) until smooth, add smoked paprika and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Wait! you are getting 2 recipes for the price of one here!

 

Anyway...

Feed The Neighbours Too Soup Contains....

1 Large butternut squash (deseeded and chopped into cubes approx 1 inch in size, rough guide here no need to get the ruler out)

175g asparagus chopped into 1 inch bits (the only reason its that quantity is that is the amount that was in the packet i bought in sainsburys)

2 chorizo rings (either mild or picante-hot, choose whatever suits your palette) chopped into 1/2 inch bits

2 large white onions chopped roughly

600g cherry tomatoes (again its what i had in my fridge so use as a rough guide)

260g spinach (the amount that was in a pack from sainsburys)

1 large-ish sweet potato chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 tbsp garlic puree or equivalent of chopped garlic

3 heaped tsps of harissa paste

5 chicken stock cubes

3 heaped tsps smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

gallons of water (no i mean it if you cook in my quantities you will need approx 10 pints of water)

 

 chuck the veg and chorizo (not the spinach) into a mahoosive stock pot (mine is pretty big but you can reduce quantities to suit your equipment)

with a good glug (accurate measurments as you can see) of olive oil, dont use extra virgin olive oil unless its all you have in the cupboard, its more expensive than basic olive oil and you dont taste any difference in the finished product so why spend the extra pennies?

Sautee the veg and chorizo for about 10 mins and add the garlic and harrissa.

Sautee for another few mins then add the stock cubes and water.

Turn the heat up and bring to the boil. Moderate the heat to a simmer and leave it alone for about 45 mins. (check its not bubbling over now and then)

When the vegetables are tender add the smoked paprika and attack it with the wizzy wizzy hand blender thingy until its smooth. throw the pack of spinach at it and wizzy wizzy one more time. stir it well to make sure you have no lumps of anything hiding at the bottom of the pot and season to taste.

 

I know you see chefs on tv going on and on about seasoning your food properly but believe me it is vital. Taste the soup as you season because you can always add more seasoning but you cant take it away!

Butter a couple of rounds of lovely crusty bread (you might want to try the white cob loaf recipe from Stacey Stewarts book, I like to replace half the flour with wholemeal flour for flavour but do whatever suits you) and tuck in! I'm off to eat mine now... Happy cooking!

 

 

 



Lemon and White Chocolate Muffins

Lemon and white chocolate muffins

 

From Jo Wheatley's book 'Home Baking'

 

 

I was having a nose through the cook books at our local supermarket (if my husband loses me he always checks where the cook books are first) for inspiration for a new blog when I came across Jo Wheatley's 'Home Baking and surreptiously slipped it into the shopping trolley hoping my husband wouldnt see it and launch into another long whinge about the amount of cook books I have. ( Its not that many honestly!!!!) Can I just say in my defence he does not whinge when he is eating the resulting food....

 

In fact I can see him in the kitchen as I type eyeing up the muffins still warm on the cooling rack! Anyway i digress... Book got spotted, whinge ensued and as many people who know us will testify usually happens a bit of a comical bickering match took place which ended in me feigning a serious strop while he collapsed with laughter at the till.... We are really very entertaining and I'm sure the cashiers dont forget us for a while!

O.K. back to the muffins, I picked up the book this morning looking for something I can make for my sons when they come home from school. I don't even get a 'hello mum' before they start asking for something to eat... 'Mummmmmmmm is there something to eat???' If the answer is no then 'Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwww you are ruining my life and starving me!!!!' (I'm shaking my head in dismay as I type this with a half grin on my face because I have the mental image) My children are obviously starved....(uh huh sureeeeeeeee)

 

My trusty old mixing bowl collection complete with measuring cups i dont use because i use my stainless steel ones (but they were so pretty i had to have them) and my flour shaker which was a charity shop find!

 

 

Anyway to combat the usual fridge raiding ruffians appetites i found the recipe for lemon and white chocolate muffins. Now one of my sons is autistic and very very fussy but if i dont tell him there is lemon in it (lemon is fruit and therefore the devil as far as he is concerned) i am hoping that he will only notice the white chocolate and eat them anyway.

Im not kidding this kid can spot a finely chopped herb or citrus fruit zest at 100 paces!

The recipe couldnt be simpler, dry ingredients into a bowl, wet ingredients into a jug whisk wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients, mix the two and voila!

 

I found this set of scales in sainsburys, a steal at £15!

 

Sooooo, here are the bits I struggled with.......90g of unsalted butter melted......yeah but do I need to cool it before I add it to the egg because surely that will start cooking it, thus rendering it incapable of doing its job in the cake (i think its enriching and binding but who the hell knows? - actually I do im just being facetious hehe)

Secondly add the lemon zest and lemon juice to a mix containing milk? Oh hell to the no! Seriously? Ummmm K....

I will give you a tip dear reader if you embark on making this recipe, get everything weighed out in advance because the only way to do the jug of wet ingredients is damned quickly and get it in with the dry ingredients as fast as your lil arms can get a mixing. Or if you are like me and have a food mixer as fast as your food mixer can mix it......which lets face it is pretty darn fast.

 

Lemon and White Chocolate Muffins

 

I cooked them on the mid to low shelf in the oven, I probably could have done with putting them a little bit higher to get a more golden brown top and maybe even a better rise but, here they are in all thier glory, my first attempt at lemon and white chocolate muffins!

 

 

 

 

 



Cot Tidy For Mini Me!

 

 

 

As a parent i can testify to the fact that when you have a child of any age mess is an inevitable part of the package. Mum's the world over fight a daily battle to keep organisation or at least some semblance of it in hand.

I am an avid crafter and in one of my craft magazines i came across a pattern for a cot tidy and while the particular pattern they used didnt appeal to me the idea did. I know you can buy these in such places as mother care etc but they are costly and rarely fit things you actually need within the pockets. So I set about making a cot tidy that would suit my particular needs.

 

Firstly I thought about what we need to have to hand during the night for feeds, nappy changes and so on, i broke it down to the essentials which for us are these:

Nappies

Wipes

Barrier cream (nappy rash cream)

Bottles

 

O.K. So four essential pockets.....

 

I measured the end of the cot and decided how big each pocket should be by simply putting a pack of baby wipes on top of my fabric and using that as a guide for that pocket and well you get the picture...

 

O.K. Mini me has a nautical themed cot so i wanted to stick with this theme while keeping the colours bright and simple. I chose navy blue, white, red, and light blue as my main colours and set about what would end up becoming something of a mission for me.

 

Hemming the backing fabric

Fighting with the sewing machine, it won!

Choose your design and pin the peices in place on the pocket, after trimming the top with bias binding or hemming.

I used a zig zag stitch around the edges of the applique but you can hem the peices individually if you arent as lazy as me...

I wanted this pocket to fit a pack of baby wipes so i made is as deep as a full pack. Sewing the corners twice to make them strong and snipping off the excess fabric inside....

Note this is my second attempt because i did it the wrong way around the first time and had to unpick it...D'oh!

 

Inside the corners

Red bias binding to go around the edges (Bias binding is a good way to neaten up rough edges if hemming isnt your forte)

Stitching the pocket into place on the backing fabric

Close up... Me getting flash with the camera

Next pocket... I decided a life saver would be good here as not only does it go with the nautical theme but there are times during a 4am feed that I could do with saving!

 

 

Pleated pocket

Hem the sides with a running stitch (I double folded mine to avoid rough edges) 

 

Add on the applique and pin in place while you zig zag sew or hem them into place

Trim the top with bias binding to hide rough edges or hem as with the sides

Pleat the bottom (but not the top or you wont get anything into the pockets)

Trim with bias binding ( i also stitched down the pleats to add definition but this isnt essential)

Golden rule to sewing: Iron Iron Iron!!!!!

 

Simple pocket with ribbon sewn on in running stitch then hemmed before sewing onto backing fabric in a running stitch

Another pocket that requires corners...this time i got it right first time!

More bias binding across the top and around the sides

Make a button loop by stitching some bias binding together and attaching to the pocket with a running stitch

Attach to the backing fabric in the same way

 

This is what it looks like at this point arent I clever!!

I embellished the last pocket with my sons name and a few buttons i had hanging around (Its a good job home made upcycled chic was the look i was going for because there is nothing professionally made about this!)

The finished article (yes i know I need to change the time and date on my camera I just havent figured out how yet!)

 

I enjoyed making this and I hope that it lasts the test of time and my sons can use it for their children and tell them their nanna made it! Awwwwww

 

 

 



New Book!

 

 

While in Tesco this week i picked up a copy of Paul Hollywood's 'How To Bake'. Through watching many many many cooking programmes on T.V. I know that his methods often vary from those of other bakers such as his slow proving method when baking bread. Mr Hollywood has waxed lyrical on numerous occasions about the benfits of this method and how it improves the flavour of the finished loaf. So I figured I would give his book a go...

 

My first impressions on picking this up are the monotone photography which in many cases could prove boring but in this case i have to admit it works. I am normally an advocate of photographs full of colour and interesting staging but Paul Hollywoods book uses simpler staging to good effect. Secondly there is the content in the first few pages, Paul Hollywood does something not many other chefs have bothered to do. He clearly and concisely lays out information on each basic ingredient in bread, explains what it does, why its needed and the effect on the finished products dependant on the quantities each ingredient is used. He then goes on to give clear and simple descriptions of the main flours used in baking today, what they are made of, their protien content, what this protien content means to the finished article and why the protien content is important. Until reading this (and remember this is the first few pages of the book) I was utterly clueless as to the science behind baking. I knew that formulas had to be followed but i had no idea why. I am certain that while I go on to test out recipes from this book over the next few weeks that I will find a new clarity in my baking. Simple things like explaining that stone ground flour is better because stones produce less heat during the grinding process than mechanical ones and by doing so preserve more nutrients in the grain.... Before this i just thought stone ground meant ' I'm a posher flour so buy me!' Simple explainations like this bring clarity to the mind of the home baker and dispell so many myths and clear up many questions you didnt even know you had. Well done Mr Hollywood on suprising someone who has read many hundreds of recipe books over the years within the first few pages.

Stand by for recipe testing results to follow.