Apple and Strawberry Crumble

Posted on January 3, 2011 by admin

Enjoy this apple crumble as a summery desert. Try with a little strawberry coulis or strawberry ice cream to make it even more refreshing.

Ingredients:
175g of plain flour
85g of dark brown sugar
85g of cubed butter
3-4 apples
1 punnet of strawberries

Directions:
1) Preheat your  oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

2) Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and mix well.

3) Peel and core the apples. Chop the apples into fine slices. Pop the apples into a baking dish.

4) Hull the apples and chop them in half. Sprinkle the strawberries over the apples.

5) Sprinkle the crumble over the top of the fruit and put into the oven for 30 minutes.

Source: Apple Crumble Recipe.

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Gingerbread Pancakes

Posted on November 29, 2010 by admin

These are a lovely, lighter way to enjoy gingerbread if you don’t like the heavy cake. Try with some treacle or a little golden syrup mixed with lemon juice. Absolutely fabulous on cold winter mornings.

Ingredients:
175ml milk
125ml brewed coffee (cooled)
250g plain flour
250g light brown sugar
125g wholemeal flour
115g unsalted, melted, and cooled butter
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:
1. Whisk together the eggs until fully combined. Whisk in the milk, coffee, and butter. Once everything is fully combined, set this to one side.

2. Put the sugar into a bowl. Sift the flours, spices, bicarb and salt together and add to the sugar.

3. Stir the egg mixture into this dry mixture and then leave this to one side for around twenty minutes.

4. Heat some oil into a pan until almost smoking.

5. Pour the batter into the frying pan in small ladleful’s. Fry until bubbles appear in the batter, then flip over and cook the other side until browned nicely.

6. Serve warm, straight from the pan.

Source: Gingerbread Recipes.

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Golden Scallops with Black Pudding

Posted on November 24, 2010 by admin

Black pudding has a rich, spicy flavour which is an ideal bed for the delicate scallop. The curried cauliflower puree incorporates both the spiciness of the pudding and the creamy nature of the scallop meat, and ties the whole dish together. A single malt whisky would accompany this dish perfectly. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
Half a black pudding, cut into scallop sized discs
6 scallops, cleaned and corals removed
1/2 a small cauliflower
100ml cream
150g butter
A good pinch of curry spice
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Boil the cauliflower in the milk until you can put a knife through it (this should only take a few minutes). In a food processor, mix this together with the cream and blend until smooth. Sieve to remove any lumps.

2. Heat the butter and curry powder and a pinch of salt until the butter turns golden brown, then combine with the puree.

3. In a separate pan, heat the oil over a medium flame and fry the black pudding, turning frequently, until both sides of the discs are crisp. Remove them and place them on kitchen paper to drain.

4. Turn the heat up as hot as possible and brush the scallops with oil. Season lightly and fry for 1 minute on each side until golden brown and crusty on the outside, yet soft in the centre.

5. Set three black pudding discs per plate with a scallop on top of each, and surround with puree.

Source: Scallop Recipes.

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Gooey Fudge Brownies

Posted on November 23, 2010 by admin

These are deliciously fudgy brownies, gooey in the centre and perfect with a cup of tea. They’ll keep quite well for around a week wrapped in foil in an airtight container, so that gives you even longer to enjoy them. Get the kids involved with this recipe there’s lots of stirring off the heat so it gives them a chance to become familiar with ingredients and cooking without you having to worry about them burning themselves on the stove.

Ingredients:
300g dark brown sugar
225g butter (use butter specified for baking)
100g dark chocolate
100g plain flour
20g milk chocolate
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5.

2) Line and grease the insides of a 20cm square cake tin.

3) In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the chocolate (broken into pieces) and the butter together, very slowly.

4) Once it’s melted and there are no lumps at all, take it off the heat and add in the sugar.

5) Stir gently until most of the sugar is dissolved.

6) Stir in the eggs, one by one. Don’t whisk them in as the mixture is likely to curdle. Once one egg is combined fully, add the next.

7) Add in the vanilla extract.

8) Sift the flour and salt together. Add this to the mixture and stir gently until everything is fully combined.

9) Pour this mixture into the tin.

10) Cook for around 35-40 minutes or until set on top.

Source: Brownie Recipes.

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Mashed Peas and Herbs

Posted on October 31, 2010 by admin

This recipe is a great replacement for mashed potatoes. It’s thick, fluffy, and has a hint of butterbut unlike potatoes, it’s got a great color and spring fresh quality.

Ingredients:
2 cups green peas
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 clove garlic
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add peas and cook until bright green, about 3 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a food processor; add remaining ingredients. Pulse until lightly pureed. Serve warm.

Source: Peas Recipe.

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Cherry Apple Blondies

Posted on August 9, 2010 by admin

The traditional blondie recipe, a chocolate-less version of the brownie, gets a summer makeover in this recipe. Fresh apples and cherries make for a tart and tangy dessert bar that will have the whole neighborhood over for samples.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted
1 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1 cup pitted, halved cherries
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9×9 inch baking dishes.

2. In a large bowl, beat together melted butter, sugar, and eggs until fluffy. Fold in apples, cherries, and pecans.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture until just blended. Spread batter evenly in prepared baking dishes.

4. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each dish comes out clean.

More like this: Cherry Recipes.

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Beet and Mixed Potato Cakes

Posted on July 26, 2010 by admin

Potato cakes are a favorite in English cuisine, and here they get kicked up with a flavor and color boost. Grated beets and sweet potatoes add marvelous hues of orange and red plus a healthy boost of fiber and nutrients. These can be served for breakfast or as a delicate appetizer for entertaining.

Ingredients:
1 beet, peeled, shredded (about 1 cup)
1 sweet potato, peeled, shredded (about 1 cup)
1 potato, peeled, shredded (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro
¼ cup flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, as needed
Sour cream, for serving
Chopped fresh chives, for serving

Directions:
1. Place beets, sweet potatoes, and potatoes in a coriander over a sink. Squeeze out liquid with hands. Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Add herbs, flour, egg, salt, and pepper; mix to combine. Using about ¼ cup at a time, form into flattened potato cakes, about 2-inches wide and ¼-inch thick.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium. Ass cakes, a few at a time, to skillet, and cook until lightly browned on each side, about 4 to 5 minutes total. Repeat with remaining cakes, adding more oil as needed.

4. To serve, spoon a dollop of sour cream over cakes and garnish with fresh chives.

Source: Beet Recipe.

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Yummy Tiramisu

Posted on January 1, 2010 by admin

Ingredients:

5 separated eggs
5 tsp of sugar
4 cups of espresso
3 tbsp of brandy
3 tbsp of sherry
1 pound of mascarpone cheese
3 packages of ladyfingers

Method:

You will want to begin by beating the egg yolks with the sugar until it becomes light and lemon yellow in color. Now you will beat in the cheese a little bit at a time until it is creamy and smooth. Now beat the egg whites with a wire whisk until it is fluffy and stiff. Now you will blend the egg whites with the egg yolk and cheese mixture. Then pour the liqueur into the cooled coffee. Dip one side of the ladyfingers into your coffee mixture and line a pan with the dipped ladyfingers. Then pour in half of the cheese mixture. Layer the remaining ladyfingers on top and cover them with the remaining mixture. Now you are going to put the pan into your refrigerator for it to chill. You will want to let it chill for about 5 to 10 hours. Once it is nice and chilled it is ready to be taken out, cut into pieces and served. This is a very tasty dessert that everyone will go crazy for. You can serve it with sliced fresh fruit for an added touch and to make it look extra nice and presentable. If you have been trying to find that perfect dessert for just about any occasion, then you have found just the thing to make.

More like this: Tiramisu Cake.

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Homemade Pizza

Posted on December 29, 2009 by admin

Ingredients for the dough:
1.25 envelope of active dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
3 cups of flour
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp shortening

Ingredients for the sauce:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 can of tomato paste, 6 oz
½ cup of chopped onion
6 ounces of water
½ tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of ground pepper
½ tsp of garlic powder
¼ tsp of dried basil
½ tsp of dried oregano
¼ tsp of dried marjoram
¼ tsp of ground cumin
¼ tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions:

You will want to take out a small sized bowl and dissolve the yeast in warm water and let it stand for about ten minutes or until it is creamy. Take out a larger bowl and combine your flour, salt, and shortening. Then stir in your yeast mixture. Once the dough has pulled together, take it out and place it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 8 minutes. You want it to become smooth and elastic textured.

Now you will want to lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough into the bowl. You should turn the dough so it all gets covered in the oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow it to rise for about 45 minutes. Heat oil in a small sized sauce pan placed over medium heat. Sauté your onion until it is tender. Then stir in your tomato paste and water. Season it with the sugar, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, basil, oregano, marjoram, cumin, chili powder and red pepper flakes and simmer it for 15 minutes.

The final step will be for you to divide the dough in half and spread it onto pizza pans. Cover each of the dough with the sauce and any toppings you choose. You will bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is done.

Source: Pizza Recipe.

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Simple Sponge Cake

Posted on November 11, 2009 by admin

List of ingredients:

100 grams of caster sugar.
100 grams of self-raising flour.
3 medium eggs.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 190C.

Grease a 23cm round cake tin.

In a bowl, whip together the eggs and sugar until fluffy.

Fold in the self-raising flour.

Pour into the greased cake tin.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top of the sponge cake springs back when gently pressed.

Allow to cool in the cake tin over a wire rack.

Source: Sponge Cake Recipes.

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