The Cotswold food year

2012-02-09T13:56:00.001Z

Couple of cakes we served back in Jan for a working lunch:

Coconut and passionfruit cake - see link to recipe here

Pinepple tarts - from this recpie with a little lemon curd on the base

Pineapple upside down cake

2012-02-09T13:40:00.005Z

So many years since I'm made one of these - I had a great passion for pinepple when young. So much better when you make it with fresh pineapple. Sadly it was for a lunch delivery so I never even got to taste it - such is life in the kitchen.

Used this recipe.

30th birthday canapé cookery event - learn how to make canapes in your own home

2012-02-03T00:14:00.002Z

Dear James,

I just wanted to say a big thank you to you and Gill for such a fantastic day and evening on Saturday. The canapé making was absolutely brilliant and everyone really enjoyed it. The food in the evening was delicious.

I will certainly be recommending you to people in future and I expect we will be back at the house at some point.

Many many thanks again and please do pass my thanks on to Jill and the 2 waitresses.

Best wishes,

Victoria

Another cookery event success! We seem to be going cookery event mad - this canapé one was followed by a corporate one 3 days later and the next canapé one is a week on Saturday - rock and roll!

For this one we went for a mix of The Apprentice and Hell's Kitchen - I did a few canapé demonstrations at the beginning to help everyone out, then we split the group into 2 teams in two different places in the kitchen. Then those 2 teams had to split themselves into teams of 2 or 3 to take on one canapé each (we gave them recipes in a recipe booklet), do all the preparation (enough for about 20 portions to have later) and do one good one as a display canapé which would be judged at the end in a grand finale. After this we were going to serve their own creations as canapés mid evening before also serving their evening dinner party.

With so many people to go round helping out & showing things to, clearing up a bit in between we didn't really get too many pics - usual story, too busy. I'm hoping one of the party might send some ;)

Cold Canapés

Sushi– vegetable and cooked prawns

Sushi making corner

Using their initiative they came up with a creamy wasabi paste to add to the sushi. The 2 sushi teams were most excited - they'd both always wanted to know how to make it........

One canapé chef decided to marinade smoked salmon in pickled ginger juice. When I saw it I thought it would make a great wrapping for the sushi. So prawns and spring onion were wrapped in nori and this became the centre - turned out very well!

Mini beetroot rosti with smoked salmon and dill mustard

Rush hour at the stove. Play nicely now! Beetroot rostis are in progress. I gave away my rosti tips. The last rosti was a large whole pan size which magically disappeared - some people couldn't wait for their canapes.

Hot Canapés

Saffron risotto balls

See these above next to the ginger-smoked salmon wrapped sushi. They had to make risotto from scratch. When we ran out of space on the stove one pair used the microwave. Innovative!

One guest took the name of the recipe 'risotto balls' and went off on a tangent...... her results are x-rated. Won bonus points though!

Mini Yorkshire puddings with roast fillet of beef
Everyone's favourite canapé. Think that's definitely one they'll be trying at home - you get the recipe booklet to take home.

Spoon of scallop wrapped in pancetta with asparagus puree and shitake mushroom

Searing scallops

2 different presentations from the 2 teams. We had to judge on presentation and also taste. The first one looked more messy, but had more puree so you got more of the asparagus flavour. The second looked much better - less is more - but you missed out a bit on the apsaragus hit..... judging's not easy..... :)

Related posts

Corporate cookery event - learn how to cook your own dinner party

Results time!

Corporate team building cookery event - cook your own dinner party!

2012-02-01T18:00:00.003Z

Go team!

Team photo. Eyes left! Someone else was taking their photo next to me on an iphone - I tried the iphone, phew - technology!

Last night's team building cookery event at Hill House. "If only we worked together this well back at work" said one. They were cooking their 3 course evening meal from scratch in 2 hours. Everyone seemed to have a great time - it's amazing what you can do in such a short time when you work as a team!

Grilling prawns

We split the group into 3 teams - one team each taking a course each. Starters and desserts being prepared in the main kitchen and the main course in the second kitchen at the back of the house. We had made them a recipe booklet with all the recipes they needed and some plating up tips, so 'all' they had to do was come up with a plan of action and make all the components of their course come together at the right time. Gill and I were on hand to give them guidance and show them techniques, but they were in control.

Making carrot ribbons on the mandolin - no cuts. Note the glass of wine on the table there - cookery events are great!

With all the preparation ready, it was time for the teams to check the football score quickly before sitting down for dinner. Each of the 3 teams were in charge of bringing their course together so were back in the kitchen to plate it up.

Finishing touches on the starter

Starter

Trio of fish starters

Crab salad with pink grapefruit, salmon ballottine wrapped in smoked trout and grilled tiger prawns with fennel and apple salad

Prawns are the last thing to go on the starter. "Service!" "Oh that's us!"

Main course

Free range chicken wrapped in pancetta

Garlic roast potato parisienne

Roast carrot ribbons with cumin seeds

Ras-el-hanout roasted cauliflower

The turn of the main course team. "So what do you want me to do?" I ask them "Gill's here too - what do you want her to do?" There's not much time because the food has to go out hot and they have to decide where everything goes on the plate without it looking overcrowded. They bring it off pretty slickly.

The dessert team - glazing the lemon tart - everyone's favourite job!

Last thing to go on the plate is the orange sorbet - the first thing the dessert team had made at the start of the evening. It just froze in the nick of time. Special touch on the tirimisu - a nip of amaretto on the top.

Dessert

Trio of desserts

Glazed lemon tart

Shotglass of amaretto& coffee tirimisu

Homemade orange sorbet

1001 Kitchen tips #68 - Avoiding a cake wreck - how to save a cake mix that has curdled

2012-01-22T18:51:00.001Z

Looks like my new year's resolution to finish work before midnight is falling by the wayside already - this was made sometime around 1am the other day.

Coconut and passionfruit cake

When a blogger offers their handy hints on the recipe 'Don't overwork the batter' - don't ignore it!
I'm not a pastry chef - as I went to college on my days off I neatly avoided the pastry course, and became more of a larder specialist. Everything in the pastry/ dessert line I've either learned from my mum and grandmothers (they had us cooking from the moment we could stand on a stool at the worktop without falling off it) or I've taught myself. So I tend to learn by trial and error. The other day it was the turn of error to make an appearance.......

Woops - curdled cake mix

I had ignored the recipe and creamed the butter and sugar and then added the eggs - probably too fast (it was late). Adding lemon juice to that doesn't help.

Don't worry however - all is not lost. There's always an answer:

Normally when adding flour it brings the cake mix back to life & it is saved. However this recipe had only a minimum amount of flour - not enough to bind it.
Try adding cornflour - like thickening sauces, it can bring cake mixes together. Only a little though - you don't want to make it heavy. Cornflour works better for this than normal flour as it's lighter.
Add a little warm water - this can sometimes bring it back - the same way you can save a split hollandaise.
If all that fails (it did) - I found you can stick the kenwood mixing bowl over the gas flame for a few seconds [obvious note - needs to be a stainless steel bowl - the plastic ones have a tendency to melt in a gas flame]. This gives it a little heat which softens the butter a little - this brought the mix back together with a little whisking and saved the cake!

All in a morning's work.

Related

See other 1001 kitchen tips

Surprise birthday party catering in Droitwich, Worcestershire - Childrens party, trio seafood, whole dover sole and assiette of desserts

2012-01-16T19:57:00.000Z

"Suprise!"
"I've always dreamed of this!..... Getting caterer's in."

It's always good when everyone can keep it a secret right till the last moment. Last Saturday it was for a special birthday in Droitwich and the birthday girl's husband and the rest of the family had kept it a secret right to the moment they turned up back at their house after being out for the afternoon.

Children's tea

Firstly it was time for a (grand)children's sitting at 5:30 before the evening kicked off.

Macaroni cheese - everyone's favourite comfort food

Finishing touches on the knickerbocker glory

Adults meal

Canapés to start (2 of the 5 below)

Mini burgers in homemade carrot and cumin buns

Spoon of seared scallop, asparagus puree and shiitake mushroom

Starter - trio of seafood starters - Homemade salmon gravadlax [on cauliflower and fennel coleslaw], smoked halibut and marinated artichoke, spoon of crayfish and mango

Then for the main course it was a split - some of the family had grilled fillet steak, a couple had asked for whole dover sole (it was the birthday girl's favourite). It's something you hardly ever see on a menu - you have to go to five star hotels & michelin restaurants. Rick Stein would do it. We could do it too. It's been a while - we used to do 10 or so a day at Claridges. Always around 10:50pm we'd get the room service dover sole orders, just as we were due to finish at 11pm - great for a bit of waiter-chef banter. When you were on the fish section Saturday was dover sole day.

Whole dover sole - whole before prepping at the house - head and tail come off , roe taken out,, de-scaled and then washed & dried.

Cooked meuniere - that paella pan has more than one use - these were 1 lb weight each - so needed the biggest pan possible.

Deboned after cooking and put back together, with the pan juices strained into the lemon beurre noisette spooned on top. So delicious. Should have made it 3 ;)

Birthday assiette of dessert. The chocolate writing went down so well we had to clean the plate around it after the meal so it could be kept!
Shotglass of eton mess, shotglass of raspberry sorbet, strawberry meringue roulade, spoon of sticky toffee pudding and glazed lemon tart

Lime and lychee sorbet

2012-01-07T08:03:00.000Z

Wooooooshhhhh!

That was the sound of Christmas and New Year flying by.

A wedding on the 23rd, so many Christmas lunch deliveries on the 24th, a fully catered 3 day private booking over Christmas eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day near Cirencester, another Christmas Day event, then straight in to New Year's eve eve and New Year's eve parties. Boom!

This sorbet from Christmas Eve was a hit. Something simple among all the other feasting. Recipe from here. I used rose cordial rather than rosewater - hence the pinkish tinge. Didn't use egg white either - keep it safe as I didn't have pasteurized white on hand. I might have added a bit of gin as well. Maybe.

Too long since I had had lychees - they make this sorbet nice and 'creamy' - try it! Would be a good one for an assiette dessert too.

Assiette of mini desserts and mini cheese courses

2011-12-23T23:33:00.002Z

Hmm. Shall we go for cheese or dessert? Dessert or cheese? Decisions. Decisions. For this party we did both. On the same plate.

When I found this goats cheese cheesecake with strawberry granita recipe, @michaelnatkin also suggested another of his previous blog posts and I tried the cheese with wine jelly - in this case using Blacksticks Blue and mulled wine jelly (mulled wine is a necessity in December).

The goats cheesecake I adapted from our normal cheesecake recipe (without the sugar of course), but because of the goats cheese didn't add cornflour - it sets just fine without.

Base

125g Digestive biscuits

50g Unsalted butter

Filling

270g Cream cheese/ ricotta

330g Goats cheese

2 1/2 Eggs

120 ml Creme fraiche

Chopped fresh thyme

(follow the cooking instructions on normal cheesecake recipe link above). I made these in muffin cases - so only took around 20 minutes cooking in oven.)

On the other side was shotglass of eton mess, lemon meringue pie and spoon of sticky toffee pudding.

You can either eat this the french way - the cheese items before the dessert or the other way round.

Cooking lessons in your home and team building / hen party cookery events

2011-12-18T14:25:00.002Z

Looks like the first cookery lesson of 2012 will be on this aga:

It's going to be for the boxer's owner - a birthday present from her husband. We were there last night cooking a birthday meal.

Our whole business is built on things clients have asked for - catered dinner parties in the first place, weekend catering packages, assiette desserts, whole lamb roasts - they've all come from clients' requests. As have cookery lessons, demonstrations and team building events.

Each cookery lesson, demo or cookery / team building event is designed around what the individual clients would like. They have included:

How to prepare lobster and crab from live to a finished dish demo for a couple of corporate dinners (this was their starter).

Preparing pigeon (still in feather) and pheasant from scratch to their finished and plated up meal - stag party event. A different team of stags also helped prepare and plate up each course in the kitchen.

Barbecuing tips - a summer event naturally. Another popular hen party one.

Cook your own dinner party - popular one for groups of friends and hen parties

Home cooking lessons - I have taught clients with a range of abilities from beginners who want learn the basics to advanced cooks who want to give their home cooking more of a proffessional look. During making a series of dishes we normally discuss top tips, practical advice and all the answers to the cooking questions they've always wanted to know.

Ones coming up in January:

The cooking on a aga one (above)

A Hell's Kitchen style comp for a hen party - I'm going to be doing a canape demonstration then we're going to be splitting the hens into 2 groups and they're going to be resposible for making their own 5 types of canape for their pre-dinner drinks based on the demo. Then we get to judge the 2 teams at the end.

A corporate team building event where we are going to split the group into 3 and each is going to be responsible for a different course - complete with recipes and guidance. Then each team will be back in the kitchen when it comes to plating up their course.

Birthday dinner preceding a cookery lesson

This dinner party we cooked for last night was for a birthday - during which I announced to the birthday present of a cooking lesson in the home.

Another outing for the seabass and cauliflower poached in saffron with cauliflower gremolata dish I created on Tuesday

Honey and lavender marinated butterflied leg of lamb, aga cooked dauphinoise potato, french beans wrapped in pancetta and roasted carrot ribbons

Then it was time for the fake dessert. Family traditions are great aren't they! Apparently this is their family custom - no birthday can go by without a caterpillar cake!

At this point I also made the birthday present announcement - I'l be coming back in January and we're going to be doing a cookery lesson with your aga!

Then time for the real dessert:

Assiette of desserts - each addition being watched carefully should any crumbs drop. This one was: lemon meringue roulade, shotglass of tirimisu, raspberry shortbread, mini blueberry cheesecake and spoon of crème brûlée

Is that someone's alarm going off? Nope - the tweeting sound comes from up there! A kitchen full of wildlife is always fun.

Catering for a 40th birthday party - seabass and cauliflower poached in saffron, Grilled calves liver and bacon, Pineapple tarte tatin

2011-12-14T12:39:00.004Z

The dining room end of the kitchen at Wellacres had been transformed by the time we got there:

We have cooked for this family around the same time every year since 2007 when Wellacres first opened for business. This time it was for 2 meals - last Saturday night, and then this special birthday last night. Great to see them again - among my favourite people to cook for.

As we had cooked for them so many times before it was nice to try something different for them.

Seabass and cauliflower poached in saffron and white wine with cauliflower gremolata

Firstly cauliflower was poached in white wine and chicken stock with a healthy amount of saffron just before we left, so the saffron flavour and colour would infuse into the cauliflower. Once we got to the house, I drained that liquid onto seabass fillets (Fillets were largish so 8 did 12). This was poached just before the guests were about to sit down.

Gremolata - fine grated cauliflower, lemon zest, fine grated garlic, chopped parsley. The gremolata sprinkled on top gives you a great fresh flavour.

Grilled calves liver and bacon with creamed potato, grilled organic portobello mushrooms, vine tomatoes and bearnaise sauce

The birthday girl's favourite is calves liver and bacon - so that is what we did!

The calves liver I started grilling on the grill pan as they started to eat the starter - last minute is best with calves liver. Where a lot of people go wrong with cooking liver at home is they cook it for ages till it's dry and tough. Much better when it's cooked quick - after grilling I just flashed it through the oven once they had finished the starter. It did create a bit of smoke in the kitchen - but luckily the smoke alarms at that house are very well behaved and we ventilated with the windows. Makes a good bit of 'kitchen theatre' while you're eating though as well as making a better result.

There's spinach underneath the tomato - healthy living and some chantenay carrots and bearnaise sauce was served on the side - feast!

Pinepple tarte tatin with pina colada ice cream

While the apple or banana tarte tatin are so popular, I also like this pinepple version. So did the guests. When you hear "Wow!" "Oh my God!" and "Yum!" while everyone's eating you know things are going ok. The pina colada ice cream was a hit as well. While I've done malibu and coconut ice cream before, this version was even better. After the hass sour cocktail Ms Marmitelover made at the avocado meal I helped with I discovered a new love of cocktails. Pina colada has to be on the top ten most popular - so why not turn it into ice cream!

Pina Colada Ice Cream

Combination of my Baileys ice cream recipe and Nigella's pina colada ice cream. The lime juice adds a neccessary zing.

400ml tin coconut milk
500ml double cream
300ml pineapple juice (ish)
200g caster sugar
Juice 3 - 4 limes. Maybe more
Toasted dessicated coconut

Heat a ladle full of the cream with the sugar till sugar melts. No combine with the rest of the ingredients and chill in fridge. Churn in your ice cream machine till it starts freezing - takes a bit longer than other ice creams because of the alcohol content.

Need an ice cream machine? See 2 I like (at opposite ends of the cost scale) here.

Related posts

Thai style seabass with pinapple and cucumber salad
Baileys ice cream
1001 Kitchen Tips #22 - Chargrilling tip - I used for the liver so it didn't stick to the pan

Chicken liver parfait with celariac, parsnip and apple remoulade and cranberry chutney

2011-12-11T21:17:00.001Z

So what is the difference between pate and parfait?

Chicken liver parfait with toasted homemade poppy and sesame seed bread

Well someone had to ask didn't they (it was one of the guests actually who was passing through the kitchen as we were clearing up after the dessert).

A - Pate is more course - and with chicken liver pate normally made with the chicken livers being fried first and blended with all the other ingredients once cooked. Parfait tends to be more moussy (this one certainly was) and smoother, and the livers are blended raw and then cooked. Blending it with the eggs adds a lot of air - air makes it lighter.
Also you get a much better colour with this recipe - i.e. blending the livers with the other ingredients first and poaching it in a bain marie. Once it's cooked it stays a nice pinky colour. Pate made with blending the sauteed livers is more grey/ brown.

Cranberry and pear chutney pre-cooking

We made this for a dinner party last week. The host couldn't make up her mind on a starter, and eventually requested this. It had been a while since I'd made chicken liver parait - and with such a busy few years and a few moves my original recipe from the Lygon Arms days (which was originally from Mosimann in his Dorch days). Anyway - I found this recipe and it worked really well. The above version is wrapped in pancetta and cooked in a terrine mould. Cook it to 74 oC on the temp probe to be safe (see link below).

Link to cranberry and pear chutney here. It's a new Christmas fave.

Related posts

Game pate en croute
Smoked salmon pate
Using temperature probe
Some other terrines

1001 Kitchen Tips #67 - Mulled wine tips

2011-12-11T17:05:00.001Z

Hey look at the time - it's mulled wine o'clock!

Mulled wine - is there anything better to warm you up on a winter's day. Well ok maybe hot chocolate with brandy - but that's another story.

Here's some mulled wine tips I've learned from the expert:

Numero uno - don't buy those mulled wine spice packs - waste of money. A small amount of spices which you've most likey already got in your store cupboard and an extportionate price because they're brought for presents. Also the spices in the 'mulled spice packs' are normally quite dull in flavour - just use the whole spices in your cupboard.
Sugar - Mulled wine must contain sugar for complete cold weather salvation. I've often tasted some that other people have made - too sour. It should be warming - like sweet tea. Demerara sugar is best - bit more flavour than white sugar. Alternatively add honey.
Secret ingredients? Add a few glasses (or more) of port to your mulled wine. Not only deepens the colour, but also the richness. Gives your mulled wine much more life.
Additions - it's all about the additions! We're talking additions of the spirit variety here. Brandy is a starting point - adds a kick. Or calvados adds a similar kick but appley flavour. Also sloe gin gives it another great dynamic. The one I made above contained Cointreau and Creme de cassis. I tried another version with ginger wine last year - very good.
Never boil mulled wine - apart from boiling of the alcohol you also dull the flavours - and that's what it should be about
Tastes even better the day after! If you can manage to leave it alone overnight, cover with cling film and let it infuse. Warm up the next day and it has even more flavour.
Don't through the fruit away! If you've simmered apples & oranges in the mulled wine to give it flavour let them infuse in it overnight. The next day they make a great dessert with greek yogurt.

Mulled wine recipe - well this is the one I made yesterday at least. Next time probably different.

Red wine - I used 1 1/2 bottles

Port - I used about 1/4 bottle?

Cointreau - few generous glugs

Creme de cassis - few generous glugs

3 Satsumas chopped - didn't have oranges

1 Lemon chopped

Whole cloves - about 6

Whole cinnamon sticks broken up a bit - 2

Generous grating of nutmeg

4 Whole allspice crushed

4 Peppercorns (go easy!)

4 Bay leaves (preferably fresh)

Demerara sugar - to taste.

Mulled wine jelly - Add 1 sachet of gelatine (or 6 leaves) per pint.

Related

See other 1001 kitchen tips

Butternut squash and parmesan epi bread

2011-12-11T16:29:00.001Z

Epi bread - something I've been meaning to try for ages.

I made these rolls for a party we cooked for last night. Was this the 5th or 6th time we'd cooked for them? Such great people to cook for.
To the basic bread recipe I use I added roasted butternut squash, onion, sage and grated parmesan.
There's a quick youtube vid I checked out below just before I snipped them to refresh the memory.

Snipped & left to prove.

Will work on the points a bit next time........

What is epi bread? Read more here.

See more bread photos on our facebook bread album.

Cinnamon, raisin and candied orange bread crown

Snail and clover shaped bread rolls

BNT - bacon, nettle and tomato brioche crown

Onion knots

Thyme bread

Pesto bread twists

Chelsea buns and chelsea bun bread and butter pudding

Tapas delivery for a hen party

2011-12-06T18:18:00.001Z

I <3 accounts!

Grilled tiger prawns piri piri - always popular when we do them. Grilled and them mixed with piri piri sauce.

Spot the sarcasm. Luckily my dad does most of the accounts - keep it in the family - but while reviewing the invoices this afternoon I found this event from November that I hadn't blogged - that's November 2010 (so far behind).

Stuffed peppers - finish in the oven to crisp the parmesan/ breadcrumb topping

Stuffed tomatoes as well

Garlic and herb ciabatta croutes - top with sautéed mushrooms (seen below)

Sautéed mushrooms with shallots, garlic and chives. Heat & top the garlic croutes (above)

Chorizo and corn empanadas - see them being made in this post: http://bit.ly/ai7F08

Meatballs in white wine & tomato sauce

Soda bread (see recipe here) and honey and fennel seed semolina platt (see that one here)

Spanish style lamb cutlets

Baked cannellini beans to go with lamb cutlets above

Paella
An old family recipe which I've updated slightly. Maternal grandparents had a spanish friend who lived in the UK in the 60's - and it was passed down through the ages in his family. It was served only at special occasions - and for special people. This one was made without seafood as there were some members of he group who couldn' t eat it.

As I used belly pork in the paella I cut off the skin first to make crackling which you can serve with it - it's everyone's favourite part!

There! Do you think that was enough?

Related posts

Catered tapas event for a hen party
Meze starter for a hen party

Pre and post wedding catering at Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire - hog roast and breakfast

2011-12-05T14:48:00.001Z

If you want to make a big impression - it doesn't come bigger than Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire - we're just 20 minutes away.

We cooked for these two events with Party Angels running front of house at Chandos Hall at Sudeley Castle (that's it below) the night before the couple's wedding as guests arrived, and the Sunday morning after the night before with other dinner parties going on elsewhere on the Saturday night.

Friday night mini hog roast

There are times when you don't want to go the whole hog - they do feed up to 150 people after all. Another way we serve it for some people is to cook joints of pork rather than a whole hog - this also greatly reduces the price - never a bad thing the night before a wedding :o) Whole roasts chickens are also popular - so you can mix and match.

Gloucester Old Spot/ Berkshire breed pork from Home Farm in Bredons Norton

Crackling from the pork shoulder and leg is taken off after they have been cooking for 7 hours and crisped up - see crispy crackling kitchen tip

7 hour pork leg cooked in cider - so soft it's melt in the mouth: makes the perfect bap!

Cranberry and pear chutney - just going on to cook - a variation of this recipe, but also with chilli, fresh ginger (giving it a kick), spices etc.

Salad of grilled butternut squash, chickpeas, beluga lentils, pomegranate and shaved fennel

Spinach, St. Agnes cheese, cherry tomato and black olive salad

Roast pepper cous cous

Sunday breakfast

"Uhhhhh! So ready for this!" - guest on Sunday morning. Heavy night? Lol.

Go on - treat your body to a little fruit on a Sunday morning

Toasted homemade bread - sesame & poppy seed and granary

How do you cook breakfast for 50 with one small oven which only fits 3 trays and a small hot cupboard? Bacon steam-roasting (above) over pans of boiling water. There's an answer to everything - just takes a bit of pre-planning.

Gloucester Old Spot/ Berkshire breed bacon and sausages from Home Farm in Bredons Norton - hey make their own & you can tell - they're the best!
Hash browns made from jacket potatoes and caramelised red onions
Oakfield organic portobello mushrooms
Scrambled Burford Brown eggs
Vine tomatoes

Finished off with danish pastries - it's Sunday after all.......

Pick up your Cotswold Christmas tree and take it home with you - wedding guests' car.

Breakfast menu
Brunch menu

Related Posts

English breakfast delivery

Continental style breakfast delivery

Breakfast muffins
Brunch - top 5 flavours

Chef in Venice #9 - Baked figs with gorgonzola and honey

2011-11-30T20:20:00.001Z

Simple things are often the best!

After a full day walking round various biennale mind = blown. Time to chill out in the garden. This garden (below) happens to be in the beautiful Palazzo Zenobio who were hosting I think 4 country's pavilions. Another quirky contempory opera video from Iceland - great. Out in the garden though we found a pommegranate growing (see it middle right?) - food is never far away........

They were waiting to close the doors behind us in the end - you have to make the most of these things. On the way back we picked up some figs - it would be rude not to after all......

Related Posts

Previous Venice postings

1001 Kitchen Tips #66 - How to glaze lemon tarts without a blow torch

2011-11-27T02:52:00.001Z

That's what I love about aga's - so versatile!

Yes - that's right - fill the lemon tart, sprinkle with demerara sugar and flip it upside down direct on the aga plate for around 5 seconds. Not a job for the faint-hearted. Lift it off carefully with a palette knife and flip it right side up again on to a tray.

It does make rather a lot of smoke though - not something you want to do in a house where the smoke alarms are super sensative - we did this at Wyelands earlier.

Afterwards just scrape the sugar remains from the aga plate, scrub it down and it's like back to normal - aren't aga's great!.

I have the feeling this would also work for creme brulee - as long as it reached to the top of the dish so it made contact with the aga plate.

Lemon tart with raspberry coulis and raspberry sorbet.

N.B. - Only sprinkle the demerara sugar on top one layer of sugar crystals thick - shake off any excess before turning upside down on the aga top. What I found was that it is the top layer of sugar which caramelises - if there is too much sugar on top the top layer stays stuck to the aga plate when you lift it off, rather than on your lemon tart.

Related

Lemon tart recipe
1001 kitchen tips

Chelsea buns and chelsea bun bread and butter pudding

2011-11-24T13:22:00.001Z

Chelsea buns - it's what Sundays were invented for!

This was for a Sunday brunch delivery all the way back in January this year - I'd been meaning to make them for years. So easy too! Used this recipe.

Ready to prove

In the unlikely event you have some left over.... what about turning them into bread and butter pudding?

In the pot in the middle of this assiette of desserts - chelsea bun bread and butter pudding 22 January 2011, Hill House

See more bread pics on our facebook album

Related posts:

Normal bread recipe & spelt bread

Gluten free nettle soda bread

Soda bread - buttermilk vs. vinegar & water

Cinnamon, raisin and candied orange bread crown

Snail and clover shaped bread rolls

Onion knots

Thyme bread

Quail egg benedict canape & assiette dessert

2011-11-20T13:44:00.001Z

When the kids are away the parents will play! "Wwwwoooooooo!" "Wwwwwwooooooooooooooo!" "Oh food?! Is there any need for that tonight?"

Well that's the record broken for the loudest party we've ever done - beats even the rowdiest hen party. Way to go!

The 2 waiters had to go either end of the drawing room at the same time by the end - the husbands were camped at one end and the wives at the other. The men seemed most offended when we took this plate of quail egg benedict to the wives' side. While I was getting the starter together guests kept coming up asking how it was done - how could you get so many poached quails eggs ready at the same time?

As with everything else with dinner parties it's all down to the 3 P's - Preparation, preparation, preparation. I had poached them just before leaving. There's a great article here on how it's done which I found via someone's tweet (can't remember who now) - same way I've been doing them since my first breakfast shifts at the Lygon Arms. Drop them into iced water, then re-heat them just before serving for a couple of minutes in just off the boil water.

The muffins were cut out & topped with ham, cut with same size cutter. As we had an aga at our disposal at Wyelands House in Chepstow I just dropped them in the simmering oven for a few minutes. Meanwhile the hollandaise was warming in a bain marie - if it's thick let it down with a little warm water so it's easy to spoon on top of the eggs, but not too much so it runs off and onto your guests' evening dress. Then warmed quail egg goes on top of the muffin & ham and hollandaise on top.

Make sure you do plenty of spares - one is never enough.......

Dessert

Their assiette of dessert - they had it all - canapes, 2 courses, then an assiette dessert. This one was chocolate tart, glazed lemon tart, spoon of creme brulee, raspberry lavender shortbread (heart shape) and lemon meringue pie.

Chef in Venice #8 - Roast guineau fowl with sauteed apples, gremolata and a honey and lemon dressing

2011-11-08T20:25:00.006Z

Just what you need after a day pounding the Venetian streets in search of the more obscure Biennale exhibits dotted around various houses, palazzos & churches. If truth be known these are often the most exciting. Found a great youtube vid below of someone who seems to have done a 4 day tour of the Biennale - great holiday memories.
Cooked on a potato trivet - the secret being all the roasting juices are absorbed by the potatoes, while at the same time the bird isn't sticking to the roasting tray. Keep the potatoes and re-use them another day, or serve them with it - so flavoursome.

I went for the light touch with this - no heavy red wine sauces/ gravies need apply. Instead, a gremolata (lemon zest, grated garlic, chopped rocket) sprinkled over the top and honey, lemon, mustard, prosecco, olive oil warm dressing bathing it. Light and refreshing! Underneath sauteed raddichio treviso (keep it local) and soft polenta. Thinking it could be adapted for a wedding dish some time in the future.

Salad of smoked salmon, beetroot and beluga lentils with dill mustard dressing

2011-11-06T04:58:00.005Z

As served earlier at Park Hall in Kidderminster. Going for the scattered approach. Fennel and radishes continue to be my favourite salad garnishes it seems.......

Thai theme meal for a hen party

2011-10-28T18:27:00.012+01:00

A few weeks before we had done a similar meal for the same organiser (but different set of guests). This time round they chose a similar menu - must have been good last time round.

Satay - prawns, pork, chicken & lamb

Prawn crackers - much better when you fry your own. The hens delved straight in.

Thai beef salad - love the purple carrots ......

Seabass poached in soy, chilli and ginger

Thai green curry from this amazing recipe. None of this left - always a good sign!

Thai style trio of desserts - Mango sorbet (amazing how everyone loves sorbet - so refreshing), black rice pudding and pinepple pastries - see links to recipes here.

Related posts

Pan asian menu for a hen party

Chef in Venice #7 - Poached eggs with parma ham on toasted ciabatta

2011-10-25T19:41:00.024+01:00

"We should write a 'survival guide to Venice on a budget'" said my friend last week.

Chiesa St. Barnaba..... at 8am (early start that day)

Chapter one would certainly be titled 'Cook for yourself'. Self catering should mean just that - it's hard to get out from a restaurant under €100 for 2 - and believe me, everyone you meet will like to tell you so, and that's before they start on the price of drinks. But go to the local Billa supermarket and markets in campo St. Margherita (not the Rialto - that's where tourists go) and that €100 goes a long way!

This was breakfast one day - poached eggs with parma ham on toasted ciabatta. When you're traversing the Ventian streets in search of Biennale exhibits you need a decent start

The eggs were supposed to be for making pasta - hence the vivid orange yolks. Didn't stretch to making pasta - it was a holiday after all - but they were rather good like this!

Don't forget the coffee though - it starts every Italian's day. It also has to get a mention in surviving Venice on a budget - make a macchiato at your place and it's going to be around 10 cents vs €2 - €3 (most often around the €3 mark) when you are out and about. Might be wonderful coffee (actually nobody makes it like the Italians, but still.......

Related Posts

Previous Venice postings

Beat the double dip recession - £5 off per person Sunday to Friday!

2011-10-25T17:42:00.000+01:00

Planning a last minute Christmas dinner party at home? Staying in is the new going out!

Click on the picture above to link to more info.

For our catered meals we set up at your home, cook, serve and clear away afterwards leaving you time to spend with your guests.

We have hundreds of happy customers - hear what they have to say here.

Assiette of desserts on our dinner party menu

* Does not apply in some holiday houses.

Wedding thank you letter

2011-10-06T16:00:00.003+01:00

All vegetarian buffet lunch year 4 - new cakes & salad

2011-10-03T14:56:00.019+01:00

4th year running - can't be bad!

As they let me come up with menu choices I try and add in new things each year. This year there were 2 vegans as well - so we had a few different things for them as well.

Black forest cupcakes Who can resist the old classics? From recipe here.

Blackberry and apple shortcake

I raided a few recipes from over here - the first being this one. If you want a recipe you know is going to work go for one on a blog - you know it's tried and tested :) I just added blackberries as well.

Individual tirimisu cheesecakes - quite possibly the ultimate cheesecake flavour!

Base
250g Amaretti biscuits

125g Unsalted butter

Filling

270g Ricotta

270g Marscapone

120g Caster sugar

2 1/2 Eggs

180 ml Creme fraiche

2 1/2 tbsp Cornflour

2 - 3 tsp Coffee essence

2 - 3 tsp Tia Maria

For method see normal recipe. The amaretti biscuits seem to soak up more butter than others - so you need more butter. I also did a vegan version - with nice biscuits and the same kind of filling but using alpro soy dessert with coffee essence & tia maria set with gelatine.

Vegan beetroot and chocolate cake. From recipe here. Last minute. com topping was sweetened soy milk with vanilla thickened with cornflour.

Pineapple puff pastry tarts - "That was lush!" said the guy we had helping us with the washing up. Eevryone had to try one. He was right. They were! Recipe again from here. I tried adding a bit of lemon curd under the pineapple slices. Seemed to work well. Other than that - maybe you could try frangipane. These literally came out of the oven and went straight on the road - can't beat that for freshness. So busy didn't manage to get a photo of finished tart - this pic actually comes ©Ms Marmitelover from this event we did.

Cauliflower, fennel, red onion and radish salad. Earlier in the year at a dinner party we were serving I had made a cauliflower and fennel coleslaw when those were the only ingredients we had left, and we had found ourselves with a little bit of extra time as guests sat down late. It seemed to work very well, and I tried it out as a salad here bound with mustard vinaigrette. A few basil leaves finish it off.

Benedict bars

Another hit. These were the two off-cut pieces. A photo at dusk earlier tonight - now you see why I'm a chef not a food photographer. Another recipe via Lucy made in this case with hedgerow jelly from Dove Cottage in Broadway made from berries picked from the local fields.

All vegetarian buffet 2009 (new vegetarian ideas + vegan cakes)

All vegetarian buffet 2010 (vegetarian salad ideas - my favourite was the tex-mex)

Anti pasti meats with baked ricotta and grape and olive compote

2011-10-03T13:45:00.003+01:00

Set up for a Friday night delivery a few weeks ago - nice when you arrive at your Cotswolds holiday cottage on the first night of your weekend and your meal is ready for you.

For a smaller party - with baked ricotta

Grape and olive compote (no pic yet) was one of those things you make and think 'why haven't I ever made this before?'. Was rather nice. Recipe came from here.

Salt beef with french bean and red onion salad & sherry dressing

2011-09-28T19:54:00.008+01:00

"That's the best thing I've seen come from this kitchen since I started" Sean said on Saturday.

It helps when you get to know the farmers. I called them up Monday night after getting back from a delivery to see if they had any brisket to make this - it needed to be marinaded that night in time for the weekend. There's no time to waste.

So I went over, and rather than just give me the brisket they actually marinaded it as well - with the same secret recipe they use for their amazing bacon. Vacuum packed it marinades so much faster.

Then it goes in cold water with carrots, onions, leek, parsley stalks, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns. Left in the oven between 3 and 7am it was ready just in time for a ton of bacon and sausages to go in the oven for a breakfast delivery - 24 hour kitchen.

French bean salad - french beans, red onion, artichoke, ceaser style dressing with Maille sherry vinegar.

Blurry blackberry photo of it being plated up:

Didn't finish there though. As Sean was packing up at the venue the host had spied a bit of the beef left over and asked to keep it for the next day. Must have been good!

Treacle tart

2011-09-28T19:15:00.005+01:00

Emptying the camera and found this from a Sunday lunch Hannah and I cooked in February for my favourite regular customers near Stratford and their friends.

As always, a recipe turned up just in time. I had lost mine, but a couple of weeks before I was making above treacle art, along came this great recipe.

Pan asian theme menu for a hen party in Wickwar, Gloucestershire

2011-09-26T16:26:00.025+01:00

From one crazy busy week to the next. So after clearing up from The Underground Restaurant's outing at Bestival.... .... it was an early ferry from the Isle of Wight (was that 8am or 7:15am?) back on Tuesday, then back to London to unload. I had been back in Kilburn only 2 minutes before I got a text message from one person 'I quit....', 5 minutes later a phone call from another who'd been to the doctor & been diagnosed with tonsilitis (off for 3 days) so it was back to business as usual. Time to call in the back up troops - mum & brother. Someone else also worked with me on the Thursday till 3:30am - the latest he'd ever been up - saved!

This was one of the twelve events we pulled off that weekend - the first of two events we're cooking for this particular hen party - another one in October. This one was set up as a delivery for them to serve theselves (didn't get photos of everything - uber busy), but the next one we're cooking & serving.

It's funny how many times you meet the same people on different friend's hen parties - it's one hen party to the next for some :)

Selection of crispy spring rolls - marinated duck with vegetables, sweet and sour pork with vegetables, and chicken served with suitable dips

pictured here raw before being coated - we coded them sesame, poppy & ras el hanout

Lamb in black bean skewers Actually this photo is from 2007 - but similar thing.

Selection of sushi dishes
also from a previous sushi post - but again similar thing with avocado & vegetables & cooked prawns (see more here)

XXX

"Buffet Style" selection with three different types of Main Courses:

Vietnamese beef salad

My take on this recipe.

Noodles with tofu and green vegetables Yes - tofu can be made to taste nice! (All in the marinading of the tofu)

Chinese Noodle Pancakes with asparagus
Thai vegetable noodles with coconut-lime prawns

XXX

Trio of desserts
Taiwanese Pineapple Pastry (Feng Li Su)
Talk about freshness - these were made and out of the door in about 45 minutes. Amazing recipe came from here

Mango Sorbet

Thai Black Sticky Rice Pudding

Of everything my favourite using thai black sticky rice - simple things are often the best. From this recipe.

Wedding catering near Ross on Wye and Great Whitcombe near Gloucester

2011-08-29T16:48:00.033+01:00

At the end of May we catered for a wedding near Ross on Wye where the groom ran a farm in his spare time and had kept one of his Highland cows for his own wedding. A few months on it was his son's turn to get married and we used the same beef (some cuts which weren't used last time were frozen) to make matador pie.

Smoked salmon terrine starter - what a classic

Matador pie with grilled butternut squash, rocket, feta and pommegranate salad and new potatoes with chives.

Meanwhile..... over in Great Whitcombe near the Roman villa we were cooking for a wedding of 141 on another farm.

Going for the healthy option. The bride and groom had requested crudites and homemade breadsticks with hoummous and dips.

Grilled mohito prawns with marinated vegetable salad - from our James Bond theme night.

Halloumi wrapped in fresh vine leaves (the came from Dove Cottage in Broadway) - an idea from MsMarmitelover at Camp Bestival.

4 whole roast lambs from Home Farm, Bredons Norton. Started carving in the catering marquee here while the guests were eating the starter and the rest of the team plated up the accompanying salads before wheeling up one of the roasting machines to the marquee to carve in front of the guests. This always adds a bit of theatre, and that way you can see it is whole lamb.

2 lambs on one roasting machine

Some of the wedding guests provided half of the desserts - they brought along their own homemade cakes. A couple of them needed a little finishing off - like this one. We were in charge of the strawberries and cream (such a popular wedding choice) which accompanied it.

SS - Susie and Sam, your bride and groom!

Hire a barbecue chef for a wedding

2011-08-29T15:17:00.007+01:00

Wow 3 weddings in a week? This feels like it was about 2 months ago, but apparently it was just 6 days ago. Everyone loves a Tuesday wedding (good excuse for a day off work) and what can be more relaxed than getting all your friends and family to a holiday cottage and cooking up a barbecue?

The bride for this wedding happened to work at M&S so provided all the food as well as organising the whole event herself - with help on the day before and on the day from an army of friends & family volunteers. So all that was left for us to do was turn up with the barbecue and get cooking!

Bouncy castle in the background for the kids - great idea. For the bigger 'kids' too.

Their own cupcakes being finished while we set up their salad buffet

Flower power!

2011-08-22T21:06:00.008+01:00

So if you saw someone stopped in the middle of the road on a country lane near Bath one night after 11pm in June at full moon picking flowers using his van headlights - it might just probably have been me.

I got a good two bags of elderflowers that night - the bag above was one of them, just saw them shining in the headlights on the side of the road and had to stop. As you do. There's no time to waste in this business.

After soaking in water they lasted (along with another couple of bag's worth picked along the old railway in Tewkesbury) a good two months worth of parties & weddings for elderflower poached salmon / chicken (see more of that here: http://www.thecotswoldfoodyear.com/2007/06/chicken-in-elderflower.html)

Also in June we did a few parties at Upper Court, and it seemed wrong not to use the flowers in their kitchen garden. A month previously it had been the chive flowers that had gone on the dishes we made, now it was the turn of the sage and mint flowers which were abundant at that time - taste amazing too!

Spinach, herby cream cheese and smoked trout roulade canape - with flower.

Sage flowers on strawberry meringue roulade

Sage flowers also on tirimisu

Grilled scallops with nettle and chorizo risotto and nettle pesto

2011-08-09T13:36:00.003+01:00

So in after a couple of days cooking at Camp Bestival with Ms Marmitelover it was back up the M5 from Dorset to cook for this wedding and set up 4 other events, before heading back down to Dorset at 5am on Sunday morning - busy.

The risotto is made with pearl barley rather than rice - adapted a recipe from here.

There's lots more photos from this event on the facebook album here: Wedding 30 July 2011. Forgot to take pics of the canapes though - so much going on.

Thai style lunch near Stratford-on-Avon

2011-07-19T22:35:00.008+01:00

A birthday celebratory meal for my longest standing repeat customers and all made fresh once I got to their apartment. They had recently had thai style sea trout in a restaurant in Cirencester and had enjoyed it so much they wanted to try it again, so I tried it with the local trout from the trout farm.

Thai style canape starter

Shotglass of thai style crab salad
Prawn and vegetable rice paper wrap
Spoon of larb - this was a revelation when Adam first made it after his Thai trip - thai fish sauce, minced pork, loads of lime, lemon grass, ginger, fresh mint & coriander thrown in at the last minute. Unbelievable. We served a couple of seconds of this too.
Thai style chicken satay with satay dip which also went with the prawn wrap

Main course - Trout in coconut milk baked en papillotte with lemon grass, lime, ginger, garlic, basil (fresh from the garden of one of the guests) and coriander

Coconut and lime pilaff rice and thai style stir fried vegetables topped with roasted rice.

Cooking en papillotte means you get all the aromas as you open it at the table. It also keeps the fish wonderfully moist.

Trio of Thai style desserts

Tab tim grob - a variation on this recipe (maybe red food colouring needs to be more). I left them guessing what this was till the end. Water chestnuts - who would have thought it? It's so light and refreshing - just what you need on a warm day.
Gluay ping - grilled bananas in palm sugar syrup - popular street food. See more info here . Cooked these on the grill pan while they were eating the main course - charred flavour worked well. Helps if they're slightly underripe.
Chocolate and mango mousse - a variation on this recipe

With coffee

Khanom Mo Gaeng

This was Hannah's contribution - she had been making this while I packed up 3 other events going on on the Sunday morning.

Again we left them guessing what this was. What? Shallots on top of something sweet? Sounds strange, but tastes so good.

We had started off with this recipe, but among the million other ingredients passing through the kitchen that weekend had forgotten to cook the mung beans, but had some chestnuts we were using for something else so made a little substitution - isn't that how all the best things are found?

Amaretti and (Dairy)milk chocolate cheesecake

2011-06-27T20:28:00.009+01:00

If it was a dessert popularity contest cheesecake would have to be right up there on the podium.This one was requested by the bride for last Saturday's wedding - what a great choice. We made it with an amaretti biscuit base and a variation on our normal cheesecake recipe - no cornflour (the chocolate thickens it), half and half ricotta and marscapone (instead of cream cheese - keeps it light) and dairy milk - 3 of the large bars did about 13 cheesecakes.
There's more pics from the wedding over here.

Barbecued herby chicken wrapped asparagus & barbecued pears with yogurt, honey and fresh coconut

2011-06-21T17:13:00.009+01:00

Browsing a few new ideas a few months ago I came accross this one and loved it straight away. Think the hen party we served this for did too.

The barbecued poached pears were something I tried out last year for another hen party - that time making a large bowl they could serve at the table. This one was plated individually. As we had some fresh coconut from around I grated that over, and picked some sage flowers from the herb garden.

Cooking a whole highland cow for a wedding near Ross on Wye

2011-06-17T01:13:00.021+01:00

Well - not a whole cow obviously, just part of it - it was only 85 people after all.
"Do you know anything about cows?... We've just brought some".

The bridegroom has his own farm near Ross-on-Wye which he fits in in between being a solicitor. He and his farming business partner (also doubling as best man) keep a few highland cattle and had saved one for his wedding. The best man brought it up to us in their refrigerated trailer straight from the abbatoir where it had been hanging for a month and butchered. Wow - even I was amazed how much meat you get from one cow. It's amazing to see so much beef in one go. We sorted through it - a lot he took back to sell - they have a group of regulars who wait for each cow to come back to the farm and then normally by it by the eighth - have a look over here. It was easy to see why - absolutely some of the best beef you will ever see. Apparently they had been farming sheep together for years, but then one day business took the bridegroom past a sale of highland cattle - and the rest is history.

Cuts of beef

Left to right - Top rump, fillet, mince

Left to right - whole sirloin, shin, tongue

Starter

Herb pancakes filled with wild mushroom and asparagus, fennel and radish salad

3 hours making pancakes on the day of the wedding - far longer than expected, but fresh is best!

White wine sauce on top.

Normally we do this as a vegetarian main course, but they chose this as a starter for everyone instead so we made a small starter size version.

Main course

Highland beef cooked 5 ways

Roast filet, rib and sirloin

Meatballs ragout

10 hour slow cooked brisket

Shin and chuck tagine

Braised tongue

It's roast beef - but not as you know it.....

Dessert

Trio of raspberry desserts

Raspberry tirimisu in shotglass

Chocolate and raspberry tart

Raspberry sorbet

Photographed as Joe was half way through finishing plating up. There's a complete pic here

Catering for a birthday party in a bedouin marquee

2011-06-16T17:24:00.014+01:00

"So what have we got?....." asked one of the guests
"I chose all my favourite things" said the host, whose birthday it was, just behind her. That's what birthdays are for isn't it!?When your parents live in such an amazing house which lends itself to entertaining, it seems crazy not to use it. We were cooking in their garden - felt uncannily like camping, but that might be more because we were based in our own tent which has seen some times - the night of the heaviest ever thunder storm going overhead ('that lightning is getting rather close') is rather memorable - it's a hardy tent.

Thai chicken curry

Lamb tagine - see more here

Lamb cutlets with hoummous

Patatas bravas

Basmati rice

Asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon

Tex-mex salad in crisp taco bowls (see more here)

The whole night was about a relaxed atmosphere - the inside of the marquee was decked out as a bedouin tent with comfy floor-level chairs around the side where guests could sit and eat - or stand outside as the weather went in our favour. No waiting staff - we just served from a buffet.

I also found out in real terms the benefits of the hard flooring we get in normal kitchen marqee tents. As the evening ran on the oven was sinking deeper and deeper at the front into the grass till it was on a serious lean. So finishing the chicken and lamb dishes on the top, they started edging forward and forward as I was doing something else on the adjacent table. And then.... phew - good job I have lightning reactions.....

Dessert

Dessert was a relaxed affair too - Japanese spoons of creme catalan and rosewater scented fruit salad in watermelons (less fruit is more - pineapple, mango, strawberries, blueberries and some of the watermelon middle)
Then, as the daylight faded down, the music faded up and so the real night began - what a perfect summer's night event.

Grilled leeks wrapped in pancetta

2011-06-05T19:50:00.005+01:00

Makes a nice vegetable accompaniment - doesn't everything taste better wrapped in bacon?

I did these at the end of March - time on the photo is 6:13am - it was a rather long day.....

So on the grill pan to get the bar mark flavour then add white wine & season, cover with foil and finish cooking in the oven till soft. Then when cool wrap in pancetta and roast in the oven. You get the pancetta flavours seeping into the leeks - what could be better?

Salad of grilled butternut squash, rocket, feta, pommegranate and black olive

2011-05-22T20:41:00.008+01:00

Oh is that a feather boa?

It was a 20's theme for one of the hen parties we cooked for on Saturday just outside Chipping Norton . I had cooked for the organiser's friend at another hen party the Saturday after new year - amazing how word of mouth spreads :)

7 hour slow cooked shoulder of lamb (see more here) was on the menu - one of the most popular dishes. This salad goes relly well with it - and it all dissappeared on Saturday - always a good sign. Butternut squash goes on the grill pan (see tip for grilling it by clicking photo below) and is then roasted to finsh cooking & diced into thick chunks.

You don't need a recipe surely - it's not (ahem) rocket science.....

How to start a restaurant or supper club in your own home

2011-05-19T21:57:00.005+01:00

Well these people will know because they've been there, done it and got the apron:It's on this Saturday 21st May - get there (the place where the UK underground restaurant movement all started). I went to a previous event there - the food bloggers conference in February. If I ever find time around my 7 day a week schedule I might even put some of it into practice.
Why would you ever go to a normal conference again? Much more intimate - you feel much more part of it, and you actually get to interact with the speakers, you get to meet up with all those people you've 'met' online but never seen face to face and get to meet some great new people, and of course, with this one you'll get first hand evidence of a home restauarant service - home cooked lunch included. There'll be home restaurants accross the nation in no time.

Click on the picture above for info & ticket info.

Beetroot, nettle and feta filo tart with beetroot pesto

2011-05-15T16:19:00.007+01:00

"Nutter!"That's what the guy walking past me on the old railway called me yesterday. Result! Obviously he's not used to people picking nettles. Probably not tried nettle risotto I guess. Doesn't realise what he's missing out on!

I was picking bare hand though that might have something to do with it - the experienced nettle picker doesn't need gloves - it's all about the minute hairs on the nettles, like cats you can't stroke them the wrong way or they let you know.

The nettles for this tart were picked a couple of weeks before - the day after the royal wedding for a royal wedding themed hen party.

Photo by Party Angels who were running front of house so slickly

Just before serving them I went in to the kitchen garden at Upper Court to find chives to use on the main course and found their chive flowers in full bloom (mine had still been closed when I'd left home), so I picked some of these and sprinkled these over the starter.

Quick recipe -

Cut out filo pastry to fit tart cases - need 4 layers of filo per tart. Brush each of the 4 layers with melted butter and fit to the tart case (using foil tins is nice and easy). Diced cooked (not pickled) beetroot, sauteed nettles (see my nettle tips here) and feta. Liason - egg and cream/ milk combo (3 eggs to a pint (450 mls) and work on about 50 mls per person) + seasoning, ground nutmeg & whatever herbs you can find in the garden. Bake around 15 - 18 mins till set. If the pastry is burning on the edges before the filling in set cover it with foil. They are best cooked and served - re-heating in oven doesn't give best results.

Beetroot pesto - see here. Sounds strange to begin with, but is really good.

Related posts:

1001 kitchen tips #21 - Top nettle picking tips

How to cook nettles
Courgette and nettle fritters with nettle pesto

Open ravioli of cod, asparagus and mozzarella gratinated with parmesan, wild nettle pesto

Pearl barley risotto with wild nettles, roasted purple sprouting broccoli, artichokes and nettle pesto (This was part of a week long event - scroll down to Thursday on this link)

The BNT brioche crown (that's home cured bacon, wild nettles and home grown tomatoes - an epic)

Beef olive with nettle, sun dried tomato and basil stuffing

Beans on toast (or if you prefer: Homemade gluten free nettle bread with beer baked cannellini beans and nettle pesto)

Irish style potato (and nettle) pancakes for BBC Radio Gloucestershire St Patricks Day

Catering for the Royal Naval Association 40th Anniversary Dinner 2011 in Tewkesbury

2011-05-05T15:40:00.012+01:00

Photo courtesy of Party Angels who were running front of house operations

".... the only thing is there's no kitchen...." said the organiser of the event (he had been at the hog roast we had served at Basepoint in Tewkesbury last year). After cooking in all manner of locations over the years, this was not a problem, just a challenge.

A bar table becomes a work bench for the night

So the evening before the royal wedding we converted the back room (above) of the Royal British Legion Club (who are also tied in with the Naval Association) from a bar room to a make-shift kitchen. No cooking facilities of course, so it was just a matter of choosing the right menu which could be served up without need of a cooker. Mind your head though - this is a 1500's building so very low oak beams.

Salad of honey and mustard roast salmon, king prawns and jersey royal potatoes with yogurt and dill dressing

This had to be the second closest event we had done (the first being the hog roast a couple of units down from us), which greatly helped the logistics. I cooked the salmon absolutely at the last minute while Hannah and Ethan took the first load of equipment to the venue. Cooking it so close to the time means it stays fresh and moist once cooked. Put it in the fridge and it goes hard and dense - makes such a difference as we found out on the night.
Jersey royals are mixed with mayo and spring onions, hiding under the salad with fennel, radish and orange.

Main course - well, so fast we forgot a photo. But rave reviews were coming back before they had even finished. Brisket of Home Farm (about 5 miles from venue) Hereford beef cooked in Cotswold Way ale with new potatoes, french beans and red onions and chantenay carrots. The beef had been cooking for 10 hours on 160 oC the day before. This meant it could be sliced cold at the venue and re-heated in the chafing dishes as could the veg which had been pre-cooked in the afternoon. The chafing dishes are more powerful than you think - light them early and rather than just keeping things warm they can actually warm them up. I took the temperature probe along as well, and was able to give the dishes a helping hand on the top of the mini baby belling electric oven we took along (handy bit of kit).

Rhubarb and custard crumble tart with Cotswold clotted cream

Searching for a dessert I came accross this amazing recipe which had great reviews. It also gained amazing reviews from the guests that night too. It's like combining 2 all time favourite rhubarb desserts in one. I also added rosewater to the custard and used my trusty pastry recipe (link here) for the pastry cases. One of the comments underneath the recipe had suggested adding almonds to the topping as well which I did - a nice addition, and also bulks up the topping so it is enough.
It makes such a difference when things are homemade it seems - this tart had been a labour of love that afternoon, and came out of the oven just in time for the salmon to go in. But the amount of work paid off when we had so many happy diners. The one pictured above was the last piece, pictured after all the others (better looking versions) had been served. This one went to the couple who run the bar.
As my house is virtually opposite the venue we were able to use the oven there for the pies while the guests were eating the main course. In fact some of the rhubarb used actually came from the garden, so about 200 yards ish - that's locally sourced ingredients.

A few bread rolls the night before

Meze starter for a hen party near Stratford-on-Avon and trout and asparagus en papilotte

2011-04-11T18:20:00.022+01:00

You've got to love hen parties! They had a special guest at this one - didn't say much though, some people are just 2 dimensional I guess.
The other one serving them cocktails in the lounge however, was much more.... er 3D and talkative. It must have been warm in the house though - he wasn't wearing much.

They had asked for a meze style starter served in the lounge while they had drinks.

Hoummous

Baba ganoush

Aubergines are cooked on the gas top. First saw them being cooked like this by Madonna's personal cook. Totally transforms them & gives it the smoky flavour. Used this great recipe again.

Olives

Stuffed vine leaves

Grilled halloumi

Spicy meatballs

Tzatzkiki

Homemade taramasalata

As the main course was trout I had a few trout roes on hand. Taramaslata is just one of those things I'd never tried making till about 4:15pm on Saturday. But wow - it's so amazing. So different to those lurid supermarket versions you can buy. I mixed the fried trout roe with smoked salmon and made a smoked salmon taramaslata - adapting this recipe (I used cream rather than cream cheese).

Watermelon, feta, red onion and olive salad

Homemade flat bread and grissini

First time I had made the breadsticks - how did it take so long? I often see shop brought ones in the holiday house kitchens that we work in - people must have brought them for the night before. Making your own is so much better.
These ones were sesame, onion seed and some dusted with ras-el-hanout. I also did the same varieties of crisp flat breads (below) rolled out thin so you can snap & share. There was also a sun dried tomato, olive and herbes de provence foccacia.
As we had 3 other events going on, this was one of the last jobs to do and time was running by then, so I forgot to dock the first flat bread - bottom right. It bubbles if you don't.
Trout and asparagus en pappilote

Trout with asparagus, fennel, red onion, dill, cherry tomatoes, ginger, garlic and a generous splash of vermouth.
With grilled vegetables - aubergine, courgette, field mushrooms, peppers and globe artichoke slice.
Ever since the underground food bloggers conference where Ms Marmitelover served up spaghetti con vognole en papillote I've been hooked. I've also just noticed I had the greaseproof/ foil combo the wrong way round. Oops. You live and learn......

Grilled butternut squash, pommegranate, rocket and coconut salad
This also went with the trout. Normally it's with feta, but as they had feta with the meze I shaved some fresh coconut over this instead. They seemed to love it - another winning dish.

Asparagus wrapped in pancetta with gremolata

2011-04-08T19:48:00.007+01:00

Another starter we served over Cheltenham race week. And another one that's been popular since the moment we first served it.
You wrap the asparagus in pancetta raw and then bake it, so as the asparagus cooks it takes on the flavour from the cooking pancetta - totally delicious. After wrapping the french beans in pancetta, this seemed the next thing.
Fennel and radish is the salad garnish de jour.

Some other asparagus dishes we've done:

Honey roast Gloucester Old Spot/ Berkshire cross gammon cooked in Piddle in the Hole ale

2011-04-06T18:04:00.010+01:00

Cooking gammon in cider was a revelation from Carol Webb about 5 years ago. Looking for new bistro menu ideas in January this year, Ethan suggested gammon and it morphed into this & has been very popular from the moment we first served it.
The gammon from Home Farm (they have a new collie puppy btw - so cute) starts off being braised in the wonderfully named ale brewed around 15 miles away for 7 hours - so it is meltingly soft.
Then glazed with honey and spices and roasted.
The juices and some of the reduced cooking liquor is made into a beer, honey & mustard dressing to go with it.

This particular gammon is from Cheltenham race week (18 events in one week - amazing) and the clients wanted it cold with a selection of salads - a nice simple meal after travelling to the Cotswolds from Ireland. It must have been good - they re-booked for next year's Cheltenham week, along with the other week-long party we served.

Traditional waldolf salad which they requested.

Beetroot, lentil, rocket, fennel and radish salad. Healthy living.

Canape spoon of seared scallop with asparagus puree and shiitake musroom

2011-03-30T03:37:00.007+01:00

Well this seemed to be a hit. Almost as much as the mini burgers - but not quite. It's been 2 years since Nick posted this, but I knew it would make a good canape one day. Simple ingredients - just very good. This was one of ten canapes we served for the wedding reception, then it was back in the evening to serve their dinner party - fish trio, beef wellington and an assiette dessert, while a few other parties went on elsewhere. Quite a day.

1001 Kitchen Tips #65 - Quick way to heat your plates before you plate up - especially if you have full ovens

2011-03-25T22:03:00.006Z

They say you should learn at least one thing from everyone you meet. Well this tip is one I picked up last week and used again tonight (69 covers down, 117 tomorrow & meagre 37 Sunday).

HEAT YOUR STACK OF PLATES IN THE MICROWAVE!

Yes. 3 - 4 mins on high power. Easy when you know how.

There is an aga accross the courtyard in the Coach House at Broad Marston Manor, but a stack of plates in the microwave in the main kitchen though seemed much easier than lugging plates between kitchens (had ovens full of food funnily enough). And it so works - without burning the waiting staff. Now is that a good thing or bad?

St. Patricks Day 2011 at Upper Court

2011-03-22T10:18:00.005Z

Just loaded pics over on the facebook page here. Will update here sometime, but right in the middle of 3 really busy weeks.

1001 Kitchen Tips #64 - "Can I sear a steak on the griddle and then wait a few hours before finishing it in the oven - for entertaining guests."

2011-03-21T11:56:00.007Z

Someone just found the blog through googling that very phrase. And as Obama would say - 'yes you can!'

Flame grilled steak

It's something I've been doing since a few months after I started the business. Originally I used to take the steaks raw and the grill pan and do them there. Of course, soon I found that every time we did that the smoke alarm in whatever house would go off straight away - and this really ruins the party atmosphere.

So since then I sear them on the griddle pan in my kitchen, blast chill them and keep them cool in the fridge till they are ready to be packed & then transport them in the refridgerated van. When we get to the venue they just need to be finished in the oven for c 12 - 15 minutes for medium (fillet) (slightly less for rib eye if they are thinner) - normally put them in the oven as we serve the starter. When done to the desired 'doneness' you can take them out the oven to rest, then flash them back in the oven before serving for 2 - 3 mins to re-heat.
If you are doing this is at home the advantage is, as well as breaking the prep in two, you also have a few hours for the smoky smell wafting through the house to dissipate - much better when you are entertaining guests.

Note - steak should be kept in the fridge till needed after searing and cooling - you want to keep your guests safe.

Grilled fillet of beef with chilli and garlic baked chickpeas, french beans wrapped in pancetta and rosti potato
Click on photo for more about this dish

Edit

Bah - I forget such details ;) No - course not. Just let them cool down (preferably on a cooling rack over a tray - this collects any dripping blood) after searing on the grill pan, then when cool you can refrigerate them. Covered with cling film of course, and on the lowest shelf in the fridge in case they drip blood over the rest of the fridge contents. How about that?

Assiette of desserts (including pimms jelly)

2011-03-14T03:02:00.004Z

"Ooooh - that tastes just like summer!" said one guest

Shotglass of Pimms jelly
Mini lemon meringue pie
Spoon of sticky toffee pudding
Mini rum baba
Mango sorbet

The assiette of desserts we serve has become rather legendary since we started doing it 3 years ago. Each one is slightly different depending on what the guests choose. After doing the pimms jelly with barbecued lavender scented strawberries last year (see here - scroll down to Monday evening), I thought I would try out the Pimms jelly on the assiette too. There's a recipe here if you really need one.

Mango sorbet normally goes in a shotglass - but there was last minute panic packing up. Although we had over 140 shotglasses a few years ago to do a wedding we were down to 10 (breakages & some left at a delivery still to pick up). Just enough to set the jelly, but none left for the mango sorbet. So it was a quick dash into Cheltenham on the way to the venue. But, while the 3 supermarkets we tried all had loads in stock last year, now they had none. Apparently they only stock them for Christmas. Pah - some of us do fancy dining all year round. I did find these black egg cups in Waitrose though - and I think they look rather good against the white plates. Might carry on using these now.

Related posts

Other assiette of desserts
Assiette of desserts facebook album
Lemon meringue pie recipe

1001 Kitchen Tips #63 - How to hold vegetables down on the grill pan

2011-03-01T16:14:00.007Z

How annoying it is when you find a new kitchen tip and realised you could have saved yourself so much time and hassle over the years previously. Like this one I discovered last Saturday.

Grilling butternut squash can be troublesome - you need to hold it down on the grill or it barely makes contact - just warps in the middle the way fish does.
All you need is a weight on top - like a second grill pan you've been given. This pushes the squash (or whatever else you're grilling) onto the grill so you get the grill marks and more inportantly, the taste. This way you can leave it to itself for a few minutes and carry on with the other 10 things you're trying to do at the same time.
Then you just need to turn them over.

Related posts

Other 1001 kitchen tips

1001 Kitchen Tips #22 - how to grill fish without it sticking to the grill

1001 Kitchen Tips #59 - how to grill onions

Poached whole salmon for The Underground [Pop Up] Restaurant at the Fire and Knives Magazine Mixed Grill event

2011-02-14T02:49:00.012Z

Parking at £0.40 FOR SIX MINUTES! That's when you know you're in central London.Poached whole salmon - what a classic. Due to there being just one domestic size cooker at Conway Hall for 70 people whole dressed salmon and truffle potatoes en papilotte couldn't have been better. Normally for a buffet you might do one. On this occasion it was 5. Ms M sure never likes to do anything by halves.

To get the salmon in the aga they needed to be curved slightly - this seemed to give them all a different 'personality' (well it looked like it at 3am when this was posted at least). I'd found this pic the night before - which is actually a ham, but used the same idea for the salmon. This seemed really good, until I realised how time consuming trimming those lengths of cucumber skin actually was. And then there was the waiting for the aspic to set. Another labour of love.

Rewind slightly and while the salmon were cooling and Ms M was out last minute shopping it had been soup time. This scallop soup recipe turned out great - half the scallops were used in the soup leaving half to be cooked on the salt blocks by Josh (see pic here) in the room in front of the guests while Ms M was speaking. There's a lot more about cooking on salt bricks here.

Rewind even earlier to Friday morning, and Ms Marmitelover had been making real blancmange and baking huge meringues to make meringue swans - 18 egg white versions - so 1 between 20 (ish). These were great fun to put together on the day. And I now know which way round swan's wings go. That's a swan not a shark (cue Jaws theme tune).

It all made for a great interactive meal - with the scallops being cooked in front of the guests, the soup being poured at the table, the salmon being carved at the table (Josh and I helped one table each while others had their own designated carver) and then the desserts which guests could cut into and serve themselves. The very ethos of the home restaurant taken into a hall in Camden. And everything was fresh and homemade - what more could you ask for?

Working alongside 2/3 of Blanch and Shock (Mike's off-cam to our right)

Queen of puddings ii

2011-02-07T11:49:00.006Z

They always say the old things are the best. They're right too!The queen of puddings is one of the first things I blogged here - back in March 2006 when I was setting up the business and after a couple of months break was getting back into the kitchen.
No idea what happened to the recipe I used then - but now I use this one.
Apparently it's origin can be dated back to the 1600's - they knew about comfort food back then.

Cake (or bread) crumbs, milk, yolks, sugar baked in the dish, jam spread on top (raspberry in this case) and meringue piped on top.

Pheasant ballottine

2011-02-07T10:17:00.006Z

Last of the season from the nearby Overbury Estate.Quite a labour of love. When you're de-boning pheasants you also need to take out stray bits of shot too. And the legs have fine bones which also need to be removed. All these bones can be roasted and made into stock for the sauce.

It helps to have 2 people doing this - I was removing the main bones, legs and wings and Hannah was removing shot and the fine leg bones, and the removing the leg meat from the skin.

Leg meat was chopped, mixed with sage, onion, mix spice, prunes, few breadcrumbs to bind and rolled up.

FAQ - What does ballottine mean?

De-boned and rolled into a cylindrical shape with a stuffing in the middle.

Like this is looks much nicer plated up. Plus you get to use the bones for the sauce.

Sweet potato, feta and coriander ravioli

2011-01-27T00:13:00.006Z

Kneading pasta dough? What a revelation that was all those years ago. My first pasta attempts at 14 struggled to stay together and were rather rough - and I learned a bit by trial and error. The right flour helps too. Also semolina to dust the table - prevents sticking.

Saffron pasta dough:

350g flour ('OO' or strong white - there's some great chefstalk on the subject here)
4 eggs
Saffron steeped in hot water then chilled out
1 tsp salt

Filling:

Roast sweet potato
Red onion sauteed in butter & cooled
Feta diced
Coriander (fresh)
Ground coriander seed
Lemon zest

Related post:

Homemade marmite XO farfalle poached in miso

White and dark chocolate marbled cheesecake

2011-01-21T00:34:00.006Z

Possibly the only thing I managed to snap on New Years eve - should have been wearing rollerskates in the kitchen that day!

On a mission to make as many different cheesecake variations as poss (there's some here as well as a basic recipe) I found this variation (recipe alert) in the summer and thought it would be ideal for NYE.

As it was part of a chocolate trio - with white chocolate and orange mousse in a shotglass and dark chocolate and raspberry tart (like the one below we served back in May 2010) - I made these in cake cases. Don't forget the great tip from Marg's blog http://bit.ly/c1QCI8 - brush the cases with oil to stop the cheesecake sticking to the case.

So so pushed for time, so I took the bases and mix and made them when we got there. It's always good when you turn up at the venue and the guests are at the singing stage already :)
Once the cheesecakes had cooled I stuck them in the fridge - and they just cooled in the nick of time. You can't beat it for freshness.

Kale with pomegranate and toasted cashews

2011-01-17T23:15:00.004Z

"Whooooosh!" That was the sound of New Year's eve and new years day flying by.

Bit of deja vu - saw NY eve in on the M50 - same place, same time as 2 years before (the year before had been the M40 overlooking the fireworks in High Wycombe on the way back from Highgate, London). Then it was back to the kitchen to clear up the carnage from the 101 cvs we had served and get ready for the last 3 parties of the Christmas season - NY day lunch and 2 dinners in the evening. Oh and an hour's rest.

With all this going on photos were the last priority. I did manage to grab this though (documentary evidence rather than flashy pic) - at lightening speed as we served up New Yrs evening at Hill House. So tasty. It was another thing I had found on Boxing day adapted from this recipe (no yogurt but with grated nutmeg). Pomegranate molasses are now a storecupboard essential (also used with sprouts on Christmas day). At this party we served the kale with seabass and fillet of beef and the other party had it with lamb shank stargazy pie and coq au vin.

Roasting the kale you get lovely crispy bits - that's where the flavour is!

Mentor

2011-01-14T11:19:00.007Z

Hearing the voice after some 6 years or so is quite odd - it's kind of seared on the memory.... in all tones & volumes.
Working for him for 6 years was life changing - in terms of motivation, organisation, technical skills, team leading and confidence I guess. Oh and in terms of cooking too.
I think he tried to offer me a job in a roundabout way when he moved from Claridges to the Ritz but I was quite happy where I was at the time - there was one more bit to do.
It led to what I do now - and that's something I really enjoy. As I always say to the people I cook for as they're hanging around the kitchen - it's much better now cooking in these wonderful houses - a different one each week. And I actually get to meet the people I cook for. And how can you compare dashing through the Cotswold vilages, calling in at farms on the way to pick up ingredients to commuting through London in the packed tubes each day?

See full interview here: http://www.thestaffcanteen.com/featured-chef/mr-john-williams-executive-chef-the-ritz-london/

Baked sweet potato and black beans

2011-01-13T01:03:00.009Z

So we got Christmas Day through and I spent all night washing up and clearing the kitchen after 3 days of carnage. Then first thing Boxing Day morning it was all systems go on the admin front again - catching up with email, invoices, printing menus and labels, and, oh yes, organising everything for the 260 covers we were serving over the following 5 days (fitted a wedding meeting in too).

I came accross this recipe for sweet potatoes which I really liked and just put it together in a slightly different way.

Sweet potatoes you buy can tend to be rather large. But hunt around and you can find small ones. These were prob 4cm diameter and 12 - 15cm long (120g per person exactly). So without peeling I cut the very ends off and then cut them in 3. Rolled in olive oil and seasoning & sat up on a baking tray with silicon mat and roasted in the aga for about 40 mins till soft.

Leave them to cool slightly (unless you want to burn your fingers) then scoop out the middles with a tea spoon (serrated grapefruit spoon is ideal). Then you can mix with the black beans, onion, chilli, garlic, lime etc. and then re-fill the potatoes. You can either keep them warm in the simmering oven of the aga or just flash them back in the roasting oven for 5 minutes before serving. And any scraps of potato that happen to fall on the floor will be hoovered up by Sally the dog.

Wonderful old oak beamed house to cook in - we served these in Tiddington just outside Stratford on Avon. This was the fourth time we've cooked for them, the first being their wedding 4 years ago. This time (can you tell what the special occasion was?) they had been called back from their Christmas away early because of burst pipes due to the freezing temperatures which may also have had something to do with 1/2 the kitchen lights being out of action (hence bad pic - good excuse no?). What is it with kitchen lights?

Christmas 2010 - Deliveries in Bristol and the Cotswolds, and cooked and served in-house in Tewkesbury & Cheltenham

2011-01-05T19:55:00.016Z

2010 - Busiest ever Christmas & new year ever!

(Brockhampton nr Cheltenham Christmas Day 2010)

So Christmas eve it was down to Bristol, then back towards the Cotswolds delivering Christmas lunches. Then Christmas Day it was 2 Christmas lunches - Gill doing one and me doing the other. The fact that it was also the coldest December since records began and we were deluged with snow was not so amusing - but luckily we have a good sense of adventure.
Florence (right) who greeted us & kept us company in the kitchen was a cutie!

Game terrine (Overbury Estate pheasant and venison). With my Kenwood blown up & at the repair shop and the borrowed one too new for my ancient Kenwood attachments, it was back to the vintage mincer to make the game terrine. Another inheritance from Nana's old kitchen - so probably dates back to the 40's or 50's. This was the mincer that once made the old luncheon meat pie.....
I had made a fig, lemon and lavender chutney (adding figs to old recipe) and there was a little winter vegetable salad to go with it. What a feast!

These grilled prawns were for another delivery. Back in the summer I had tried out the Donal Skehan mohito chicken recipe on the barbecue and had throught it would be great with prawns too. I halved the marinade and used some of it to marinade the prawns and the rest to make a dressing to go with it. I had pre-grilled the prawns to get the grill flavour on the outside and then they just needed to be heated in the oven on the day.
This went with some of the veg salad as above. Nice take on a prawn cocktail!

So a few days before Christmas I finally found out how much I am worth (see left) - I had thought it would be a bit more though :(

After de-boning the Home Farm turkeys (see how to do that here) I spread the skins with butter, orange zest, lemon thyme and ras-el-hanout. That should give it a flavour injection as it cooks!

Gingerbread house on the side table at the house I cooked at on Christmas Day. The clients had left their mugs in the kitchen ;o)

With all the festive food filling their fridge, they had gone into overspill outside. At -12 oC it was far colder than keeping it in the fridge anyway. Of more concern was it icing up!

The cold didn't dissuade all the guests from going out in the garden and firing off fireworks & setting off chinese lanterns. What a lovely way to end Christmas Day!

Christmas Day menu

Related posts:

Christmas 2007
Christmas Day 2008
Christmas Day 2009
Sunday lunch in the Cotswolds

Sunday lunch menu

Turkey ballottine
Mince piesGloucestershire Echo article, Christmas 2007

Melting moments fishcakes

2011-01-05T19:13:00.004Z

Cod and salmon fishcakes with a cube of mozzarella rolled into the middle.

This was part of a delivery meal back on 21st December - the delivery was going to get there whether I had to take it the last couple of miles on a sledge or not. That last single track country road up to the house is rather isolated.

As it turned out getting there was fine. Evening meals for 2 days delivered. But then, on the way back, I had to reverse into a passing place to allow someone coming the other way to pass. As soon as they passed I went to pull out, then found I was stuck - wedged into the snow. Well and truly. Luckily I'm prepared (after an incident in the Welsh hills when I was 19) and carry a spade, blanket and thermos in the van. Also had the walking boots on which helped. Managed to dig the van out, but still no traction - was -12 or something by then. So I laid the blanked under the front wheels and after a few attempts managed to stall it onto the blanket to get some traction. Half an hour later I was back on the road. The delivery route which normally takes just under 2 hours took 4 hours overall - but there you go. Come floods (drove through floods half submerging van & car in 2007), snow, ice, extreme heat (road was melting earlier in summer), we'll be there. We don't give up & we don't close - whatever happens we'll be there.