This time of year is for enjoying yourself, stuffing your face and generally being a little indulgent - or it is in our world!
One of my highlights of this time if year is Laura's cooking. Throughout the year Laura will create all kinds of masterpieces but this is pie season and my wife makes a wonderful pie.
Last year Laura perfected a chicken, leek and sweet potato pie and this year upped her game and made it for a pre-family gathering we hosted for 6 people. Here is the recipe for 4 people:
Click to enlarge
To increase the recipe for 6 people Laura roasted a whole chicken then used the breasts and thighs. The juices from the chicken were then added along with the chicken into the mixture of sweet potato, leeks and sweetcorn.
For 6 people we used 6 small/medium sweet potatoes and 3 leeks.
Depending on how you like your pies (we like ours encased in pastry) a roll of pastry was used on the bottom and another on the top. If you just like a pie with a top (is it a even a pie????) then just use the one roll on top.
My Mum and Dad are staying with us for six weeks, before they set off traveling Europe again, and I've set about making as many memories and making up for as many occasions as possible while they are here.
We've been to Bistro Pierre to celebrate Sarah's birthday, we have been to the Cotswolds to see the lavender, and we have plans to go back to Bistro Pierre for a six course menu for Dad's birthday next month.
For Fathers Day, Dad was in the USA, so last weekend I made him his favourite pie as a belated gift.
Strawberry and rhubarb pie is absolutely delicious - sweet but with a hint of tang, soft and warming - I'd recommend it in strawberry season of course, but even in the winter I believe this pie would hit the spot! Best served with a pot of my Mum's homemade custard, of course.
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Strawberry + Rhubarb Pie
Makes: 1 x 9 inch pie
Ingredients:
1 nine inch pie tin
2 pints of strawberries
1 pound of rhubarb
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of plain flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 shortcrust pie crust (I used a premade one that rolled out, and cut the extra to make the lattice on top)
1 egg white for brushing the top of the pie
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar for garnish
Recipe:
1. Chop the strawberries into quarters, and the rhubarb into thin pieces, about 1cm thick. I peeled off the rhubarb skin that came off as I chopped in case it affected the texture of the end result, but if you don't want to, I don't believe it will make a difference.
2. Mix the strawberries and rhubarb with the cup of sugar and then the plain flour. Leave for 30 minutes.
3. While you are waiting, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C, and prepare the pie crust in the pie tin, and cut the remaining dough into strips (I managed 9). You do not need to prebake the pie crust.
4. Add the vanilla extract and cinnamon to the strawberry mixture, and put it into the pie crust.
5. Create the lattice on top of the pie, brush with egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
7. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving. Eat with custard or ice cream, either way it's magnificent!
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Dad loved this pie so much he has requested that I make one more before he goes travelling in September. I'm happy to oblige!
In honour of British Pie Week, we teamed up with Jus-Rol™ to create a dinner perfect for these cold evenings (Spring, where are you??). It is delicious, straightforward, and with the help of Jus-Rol™ (all of the yummy pie crust with none of the hassle of creating it yourself!) it's ready on the table in less than an hour including baking time!
Also if you have a dog, she will be very envious!
Sarah had a long day in London, so I thought I'd treat her to one of her favourite dishes - my girl loves a pie. We have been obsessed with sweet potato lately, so I had to include that, and I knew she'd love it even more if it had chicken in it, as we are eating vegan during the week at the moment, it was a real treat for her!
Yummmm
I made sure to decorate with pie crust hearts - the way to the heart is through the belly!
It smelled amazing, so she was excited from when she walked in the door - and it was so good that she tried to tempt me into giving her the second portion - I resisted so she could enjoy it again today!
Something tells me I'll be making this again soon, and maybe experimenting with other pie fillings, always with Jus-Rol™ of course!
Click the receipe to enlarge!
Please let us know if you give this recipe a go - I'd love to hear how it turns out!
*Disclaimer - Jus-Rol sent us a voucher to enjoy some of their products, however as a loyal product user I requested them, and all opinions in this post are completely my own.
I think it's fair to say we are dreading the thought of putting on proper clothes and starting Veganuray but with new years always comes new starts and we are getting ready to go, go, go.
However before we do we are using up all our leftovers and thought we'd share one particular recipe that worked out really, really well!
We shall call it: Laura's Left Over Delight! The original recipe can be found in 'the great potato cookbook' by Readers Digest.
Makes 2 big pasties or 4 small
Ingredients:
2 cups (250g) of plain flour (all-purpose) flour,
1/2 cup (125g) cold butter
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of flavouring (thyme / rosemary)
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup of iced water
Filling:
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
250g part boiled Potato (peel and dice first)
400g of meat (chopped into small pieces, we used our Christmas beef)
1 cup of leftovers (sprouts, onion, carrot, parsnips, stuffing etc etc)
Salt & pepper
Step 1: Make the pasty casing
Sift the flour into a bowl with salt and flavouring. Add the butter and using your fingertips make a crumbly texture. Work in the water slowly until it becomes a smooth dough.Make it into a ball and put in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.
Cheat - if you don't want to make your own or don't have the ingredients, you can purchase a sheet of puff pastry in the refrigerated section of the supermarket and divide it in two pieces!
Step 2: Fill
Roll out your pastry into two equal rectangles, about 2/3 cm thick.
After boiling your potatoes, divide them into two piles and place onto the top half of each pasty.
Divide up your leftovers and meat, pile on top of the potatoes. Fold the bottom half over the top and seal them with a fork the whole way around. Pierce the top a few times with a fork to let the steam out in the oven.
Step 3: Cook
Put the pasties onto a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked and golden.
Step 4: Eat
Serve with gravy for maximum deliciousness!!
This delicious recipe for pull apart bread has been tried and tested by us twice now and it worked perfectly each time! (And it's always gone within 1 day!) There are plenty of similar recipes and depending on your herb collection you can add whatever you would like.
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons
active dry yeast 1 + 1/3 cups
warm water 2 tablespoons
olive oil 1 teaspoon
salt 3 and 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour 4 tablespoons
(1/4 cup) butter, melted 1/4 teaspoon
dried rosemary 2 cloves
garlic, grated 1/4 cup grated
Parmesan cheese
Directions:Using a stand mixer add yeast and water and mix
using a dough hook.
Mix until the yeast mixture becomes foamy then let
it stand for 5 minutes. Add the olive oil, salt, and flour, and mix on low
speed until everything is combined.
Increase the mixing speed to medium and knead dough
for 5-6 minutes, or until it is elastic or slightly sticky.
If you’re not using a stand mixer-
poor you J, we got lucky
with the wedding presents, you can mix
the ingredients in a large bowl, then knead the dough by hand. You will want to
lightly flour the surface you are using until the mixture is elastic to touch
it should take no longer than 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough, however you made it, into a
lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with or a kitchen towel or a tea towel, then
let it rise in a warm place for 1 1/2-2 hours, until doubled in size.
In a small bowl, combine melted butter, rosemary, and garlic.
Lightly oil your hands and make small balls out of the dough. Dip the balls in
the butter mixture, and place on them in a circle round the edge of the bottom
of the cake tin (we put a small ceramic dish in the middle to make it a bundt
tin).
Once you have placed one layer of dough balls in the cake tin sprinkle on
1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Continue layering the dough balls and cheese until
you have used the mixture. Cover the cake tin and allow the dough to rise again
until doubled in size; this will take around 30 minutes.
Preheat
oven to 175 degrees C then bake the bread for 25-30 minutes, or until golden
brown.
We added marinara sauce for this, but at different times have also dipped in the leftover butter/garlic mixture, olive oil with vinaigrette, and a nice chutney.
As you probably know, I am following the keto diet during Project Wedding Dress, introduced to me by Bridesmaid Julia, and I am loving it. Because I can eat hella cheese.
This past weekend, I decided to try out some keto-tastic recipes, and have not been able to get them out of my head. Delicious!! So I thought I'd share with you.
Saturday night I made keto pizza. Because what is Saturday night without junk food, anyway? Or at least pseudo junk food! Check this baby out:
It was so hot it steamed up my camera
Julia gave me the recipe for the crust - I translated it to the following.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups mozzarella or similar
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut flour (though Julia used 3/4 cup almond flour and 1 egg, works just as well!)
seasonings (I used garlic powder and salt)
1 dash of water
Microwave the mozzarella and cream cheese until melty and pliable
Mix the egg and flour with seasonings
Mix it all together (you may need to microwave it a bit to get it to mix better)
Spread on parchment paper pretty thin, bake at 190 C until a nice light brown
I wouldn't bother with a proper crust, I tried to do it but then got out more sauce to cover it, as it was a bit different of a texture to regular pizza.
Once you've got the base, cover with sauce, cheese and your favourite toppings!
It was delicious, and I could only eat half of it, perfect for Sunday leftovers!
Then, on Sunday I made some breakfast muffins for the week. They are so delicious, and even with broccoli and olives in them, Sarah requested some for her to eat! That, my friends, is saying something.
I found the recipe on Pinterest, and changed it according to what I had in the cupboards. I'll put that recipe in here, but obv put whatever you'd like in it!
Makes 8 muffins
Ingredients:
2 slices of salami, sliced into small bits
1 cup broccoli florets (or other veggie)
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons of cream cheese
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
10 or so olives, sliced
salt & pepper to taste
half a cup of cheddar cheese, grated
Boil the broccoli until soft, cut into smaller pieces
Mix everything together
Spray non-stick onto a muffin tray, and fill as many as you can until about 1 cm from the top of each
Cook at 190 C (I cook everything pretty much at 190) for 10 minutes, or until slightly toasted
Just seriously amazing. And only like 75 cals / 0.5 carbs per muffin! Go on, have 3.
But, I also had an epic Pinterest fail this weekend. I tried to make 'Better than Goldfish' keto crackers, and... well, I'm not sure what I did wrong, except potentially not put the batter in the fridge long enough?
Anyway, here's what it is supposed to look like, and what it ended up looking like.
It's just too ugly not to laugh, really.
I'm 29.8 pounds down again, and am hoping to break into the 30s this week. Only 8 weeks to go until the dress fitting. Feeling and looking better than I have in ages, and am generally loving it.
Wow, I promised to put this up a loooooong time ago - sorry about that! But as the cold weather is closing in (is everyone going to hate me if I hope for this to happen really soon?), I'm gifting you with the perfect accompaniment to every autumn/winter dish you want to cook this year.
They are simple, look fancy and are stunningly delicious - without further ado, here's my recipe for Swedish roast hasselback potatoes.
What you'll need:
1 medium-sized potato per person
A small amount of the following:
Olive oil
Butter
Garlic cloves
Pepper
See, easy enough, right? You can add on lots of different things, but I'll talk about that at the end.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C (425 degrees F). Wash the potatoes thoroughly, but do not peel. Place on a chopping board flat side down, and make incisions from one end of the potato to the other, almost the whole way through, but so the potato holds together at the bottom. These cuts should be about half a thumbnail apart (we use really scientific measurements here in Laura's kitchen).
Step 2: Slice the garlic thinly, and scatter them between the potato slits. Spread butter on top of the potatoes, drizzle olive oil on them, season with salt and pepper, and stick them on a baking tray in the oven.
Step 3: Bake for 40 minutes, or until they are golden brown on the outside, and soft on the inside.
You can eat these on their own, with melted cheese and bacon, or with pretty much anything you'd put in a normal baked potato!
(Seen here with Laura's gorganzola stuffed, bacon wrapped chicken)
Wow, it has been a really long time since I have done a recipe! However, I made some fantastically amazing sweet potato chips yesterday, so I thought - you should definitely make them!
What you'll need:
Sweet potatoes - 1 small one per person
Garlic, about 1/2 clove per person
Olive oil, drizzle
Salt & Pepper to taste
Step 1: Wash and peel the sweet potato, and cut into chip shapes (however you'd like) - place the chips into a bowl.
Step 2: Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes, and mix to cover.
Step 3: Microwave garlic for 10 seconds (to soften and bring out flavour) then chop into small slices. Add to the potatoes, sprinkle salt and pepper, mix well to coat.
Step 4: Place on a baking tray, heat on 200 degrees Celsius (395 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Step 5: Eat. And make more. Because they are delicious!!! Maybe put them with a main dish.
The scrummiest sandwich - Chicken Burger with Camembert & Cranberry Sauce on toasted baguette!
This isn't really a recipe it's more the tale of how to make a simply scrumptious sandwich!
What you need:
Chicken burger (breaded or naked)
Cranberry Sauce
Camembert Cheese
Baguettes (our choice is the half-baked)
Step 1:
Cook the chicken breast until ready
Step 2:
Warm or cook the baguette
Step 3:
Cut the chicken breast in half and place side by side in the baguette - place slices of Camembert cheese along the burger and grill until the cheese is suitably melted.
Step 4:
After your cheese is suitably melted take out the grill and add as much or as little cranberry sauce as you want.
Have you heard of Man vs Food? More importantly, have you seen Man vs Food? Chances are, if you have access to a TV or the Internet you will have seen at least a clip of this show. This programme has become a firm favourite of ours after a marathon of episodes watched back to back over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
The concept is simple Man (Adam Richman) vs Food (all kinds meats, sandwiches, pizzas, desserts), and Adam introduces us to the best of each food he has found, or been told about. We appreciate this may old news to our American readers, as the show first aired back in 2008 - and in fact we saw our first YouTube clip way back in 2009, but once they put back to back episodes on our TV it caught our attention. Using light hearted humor mixed with a dash of charm and a pinch of wit, Adam brings a smile to our face with every episode. Time well spent!
The great thing is, this is NO diet programme, in fact, bigger is better, as long as it tastes AMAZING! And from a UK point of view, it is eye-opening to see so many family run, local restaurants. If you live in the UK, or have ever visited, you may have noticed we have a lack of 'unique' businesses. We don't have the American mentality of 'driving to food is fine', we like our food accessible by foot. That means businesses that can afford town centre rents win, and that's always the chains - it's a shame but it's true. In fact we do have a few restaurants that you would drive too but guess what - they're chains too- Toby's Carverys, Harvesters etc etc. Actually that might be a little harsh- if you head out from the main cities you are more likely to find more variety, and we have take-aways that tend to be locally owned. Us Brits just don't love good food enough to drive to it so we rely on chains that have enough money to keep outlets open. Such a shame but if you are in Europe and want good food there's always Italy, France - in fact most European countries except the UK.
The show is also a great way to 'see' America, as Adam travels across the country you get to see the different types of culture in different states and how that impacts the food. From North Carolina, where they love their food BBQ'd, to Alaska, where they eat burgers made of Caribou, in Portland, Oregon, their 'alternative-ness' means the Voodoo doughnuts (sorry, donuts) prove popular and in New Jersey, they love their Italian influenced specialties!
We are now planning an epic food road trip - what better way to cross America than filling up on mouth-watering, delicious food! Before we head out on a road trip though, there is a starting point so close to where we are spending Christmas that it would be rude not to mention it. In fact, it features in the first ever episode we watched - Big Jud's in Boise Idaho! Famous for it's 2lb burger....check it out:
We are making it a family trip :)
The show even won rave reviews from the critics, and from the reaction we got when we mentioned it on Twitter we guess it's a popular choice:
The Los Angeles Times noted that the Travel Channel received its highest-ever ratings for a new debut with Man v. Food. They highlighted the show as an example of other networks moving in on the traditional turf of the Food Network
In the Star-Ledger, television critic Alan Sepinwall wrote "It ain't deep, and it certainly ain't healthy (I could feel my arteries clog just from watching), but it's fun."
Features reporters Thomas Rozwadowski of the Green Bay Press-Gazette said that "playfully eager host Adam Richman has won me over" and that "it's all in good fun."
Rumour has it that Adam retired and after four seasons there will be no more - but for those of you still hungry, check out Diners, Drive-In's and Dives, as recommended by Mary B, our newest follower! The show might not have Adam, but the food looks just as good.
EXCITING AND IMPORTANT UPDATE!! We just saw that it just so happens Adam is doing a Man vs Food Nation set of specials, starting TONIGHT!! What are the odds, right?
In the USA, its on at 9/10c today on the Travel Channel, so watch it!! And for us UK fans, we will have to wait a bit, or utilize internet tv. Oh how we love Adam, we are SO excited by this news!!
Are you a fan? Are there any other shows we have missed and should be watching?
