Farmersgirl Kitchen

Sunday, 19 October 2014

Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood at BBC Good Food Show Scotland 2014

Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood

Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood were definitely the stars of the BBC Good Food Show Scotland this year. I attended the show on Friday 17th October, this was my first show in Scotland and the first time as a GFS Blogger, so let me tell you all about my experience.

Mary and Paul opening the show and at the Supertheatre

The show was opened by guess who? Yes, Mary and Paul stepped up with the giant scissors to cut the ribbon and start the show. They were also first up at the Supertheatre where they entertained the packed theatre with great recipes and the kind of banter that you have come to expect from watching The Great British Bake Off and the spin off Masterclasses.

The Showguide and Recipe Collection

I was super-impressed by the Showguide and Recipe Collection. Not only was it well laid out, with the floor plan and event timetables, featured right at the front, but it was also full of recipes featured in the shows and some extras too. There was a full A-Z listing of all the producers and a product guide which was also helpful.

The Good Food Show Bloggers

One of the real pleasures of the day was the chance to catch up with the other Good Good Show Bloggers. A special treat, and one of the main reasons I wanted to attend the show, was meeting Christina Conte of Christina's Cucina. Christina and I have been friends through Facebook but, although Christina is of Scottish/Italian descent she lives in California, so we had never met in person. Christina was visiting the show as part of a series of events including the Scottish Baking Championships and The World Porridge Making Championships Speciality Award which she won with her Sticky Toffee Pudding Porridge.

Other BBC Good Food Show Bloggers in attendance on Friday included Rachel from A wee pinch of sugar, Emma from Food and Drink Glasgow, Michelle from Ananyah, Paula from Get Stuffed, Julie from Breakfast at Julie's and Pam from Glasgow Food Geek.

Just a few of the producers at the BBC Good Food Show, Scotland clockwise from the top left Heck Food (fabulous sausages which previously featured at Farmersgirl Kitchen in some chorizo burgers I made from a Nigel Slater recipe); local to me in the SW of Scotland, Waulkmill Cider from Langholm; Seed and Bean Chocolate from Cornwall and Award winning David's Chilli Oil.

Across the top: sauces, mayonnaise, mutard chutney and relishes from Le Mesurier; The Little Veg Company, a veg box delivery company in Glasgow and the West of Scotland; Scotia Spice, authentic Punjabi Cookery School and Spice Kits and the bottom photo shows Gusto Artisan Foods purveyors of a wide range of oils and vinegars.

Once I knew I was going to the BBC Good Food Show, I was on a mission to get my 30+ year old Fast Cakes by Mary Berry signed by Queen Mary herself. Although I have been baking since I was a child, this is the book that really gave me confidence to bake and also the understanding of baking to allow me to experiment and create my own cakes and bakes.

The rules for book signings are pretty strict and only certain books could be signed. I saw one poor girl who had stood for 30 minutes turned away because she had a Bake Off Book rather than a Mary Berry book. I bought Mary's latest book, Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect, to be signed and given as a gift (that's why I'm not showing it here) and slid my old, cake batter splattered and scribbled on book underneath. I was nervous as I approached the table, wondering if I would be refused the signature. However, I need not have worried, as I handed over the new book, I explained about Fast Cakes and there was no problem at all. Mary signed and gave me a big smile, then continued working her way through the long queue.

Janice meets Paul Hollwood

After the 2.30 pm Supertheatre show, the bloggers had the opportunity to go back stage for a photo opportunity with Paul Hollywood. There was no opportunity to speak to Paul or to Mary, who was there only fleetingly, on her way to the Interview stage. I have to say I was hugely impressed by Mary Berry's stamina, she had few breaks and still looked fresh - she is the ultimate professional.

Overall it was a great day out and I can thoroughly recommend it. The Scottish show is over for this year, but there are still loads more BBC Good Food Shows that you can visit in the coming months.

Labels: BBC Good Food Show, chilli, chocolate, Christina's Cucuna, Food, Glasgow, Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood, Scotland

Thursday, 18 September 2014

Win tickets to the BBC Good Food Show Scotland

The BBC Good Food Show Scotland runs from 17 - 19 October at the SECC in Glasgow. It's going to be a fabulous show for food lovers, there's the Bakes and Cakes Village, the Supertheatre shows and interview stage featuring celebrity chefs Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, James Martin, Ajmal Mushtaq Tom Kitchin and John Torode.

I'm also excited to introduce you to some of my foodie friends and fellow bloggers who will be demonstrating at the show:

Christina Conte of Christina's Cucina who will be coming all the way from Los Angeles
Emma Mykytyn, freelance writer and one half of Food and Drink Glasgow
Stuart Vettesse, who bakes and blogs at Cakeyboi, one of the top baking blogs in Scotland.

There will be hundreds of exhibitors and a producers village where you will discover a range of speciality food and artisan produce.

I'm going to be there on Friday 17th, as a Good Food Show Blogger, and will be reporting back on my foodie adventures at the show. If you would like to come along to the show too, then I have a couple of exciting options for you.

I have three pairs of tickets for the show (does not include Saturday or Supertheatre seats) to giveaway. Just enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below, leave a comment and share as required

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to guarantee your tickets, then I can also offer you a 20% discount until 3rd October, just use the code BL20 when you order your tickets.

Labels: discount, giveaway, Glasgow, Good Food Show Scotland, James Martin, Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood, Ticket

Monday, 13 January 2014

The Great Sport Relief Bake Off and Emma Bridgewater

Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton, singer Michael Ball and actress Samantha Bond are among the celebrities competing in The Great Sport Relief Bake Off this month.

Judged by cookery writer Mary Berry and master baker Paul Hollywood, 16 celebrities will compete across four shows on BBC Two from today, Monday, 13th until Thursday16th January.
The other celebrity bakers include broadcasters Emma Freud and Johnny Vaughan, Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner, and actresses Jane Horrocks and Doon Mackichan.
Also taking part are Olympic champion long-jumper Greg Rutherford and former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan.

Impressionist Alistair McGowan, former Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton, Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright, Desert Island Discs host Kirsty Young and singers Rochelle Humes, from The Saturdays; and Jamelia complete the line-up.

Quintessential British pottery maker Emma Bridgewater has created two limited edition aprons for Sport Relief 2014. One of the designs will be presented each night to the winner of ‘The Great Sport Relief Bake Off’ and both designs are available to buy exclusively from Sport Relief official partners, brands-for-less homeware retailer HomeSense, TK Maxx stores,TKmaxx.com and sportrelief.com throughout the UK from January 13^th 2014.

There’s been a resurgence in home baking across the nation and the apron is a great opportunity to be part of the baking movement whilst supporting a great cause.

Emma Bridgewater says: “After the success of our Emma Bridgewater range for Red Nose Day we were delighted to be asked to create something for Sport Relief 2014. Our two new aprons feature our signature black and white hand drawn design, encouraging everyone to be a sport and get involved. Whether it’s sport or baking it’s the taking part that counts – but this way everyone gets to take home a trophy.

The team at Emma Bridgewater are very passionate about Comic Relief and I know they are already looking at this year’s Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games too… I personally quite fancy a swimming challenge.”

A spokesperson for HomeSense and TK Maxx added: “We are delighted to be working with Sport Relief and Emma Bridgewater again and supporting the good work that Comic Relief does both across the world and in the local communities where we have customers and stores.”

Since 2002, Sport Relief has raised over £195million. As one of the UK’s biggest fundraising events, Sport Relief brings the entire nation together to get active, raise cash and change lives. The money raised from the apron will be used to help transform the lives of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people –both on your doorstep in the UK and around the world. So join in the fun and games and be sure to grab a limited edition Emma Bridgewater apron before they’re all scone!

Don’t miss out on your very own limited edition Emma Bridgewater apron and help raise money for Sport Relief 2014, from HomeSense and TKMaxx.com

Details and Prices:

£12.99 with at least £6.50 going to Sport Relief

Apron featured on ‘The Great Sport Relief Bake Off’

I was not paid for this post and am promoting it to support Sport Relief.

Labels: Apron, bake off, Emma Bridgewater, GBBO, Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood, Sport Relief, TK Maxx

Tuesday, 31 December 2013

Your favourites and mine 2013

Last year I did a round up of blog posts for the year, choosing the recipe with the most page views for each month your favourite, and the one that I like best, my favourite. I enjoyed writing the post and you, dear readers, seemed to enjoy it too. I've excluded those posts which had major giveaways as those do rather skew the page views! Many thanks to all who viewed and/or commented and to the hosts of all the challenges that I have entered.

January

A soup of bacon and celeriac from The Kitchen Diaries II

Your favourite post in January 2013 was the launch of Dish of the Month, a blog challenge to cook the recipes of Nigel Slater.

My favourite was the Croque Monsieur Whoopie Pies from Let's Make Whoopies by Sophie Gray all part of Breakfast Club and Shake up your Wake Up Farmhouse Breakfast week.

February

Your favourite was this Rye and Spelt Bread and my review of Paul Hollywood's book 'Bread'

My favourite was Mon Cherry Amour Cupcakes from Le Cookie by Michael Benichou.

March

Your favourite was The Marmalade Awards where I met up with Sue, from A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate and Vivien Lloyd - The Jam Mistress!

My favourite was the birthday cake I made for my Mum's 80th, decorated with crystallised edible flowers.

April

Your favourite was my Random Recipe for April - Treacle Bites

My favourite was this Rhubarb and Orange Frangipane Tart, a recipe I got from Dom at Belleau Kitchen.

May

You favourite was my Rhubarb, Mango and White Chocolate Almond Cake which was an entry for We Should Cocoa.

My favourite in May was the Kugelhopf which I made for Alphabakes. I have to say this is probably my overall favourite of the whole year, it was quite a labour of love and tasted so good.

June

Your favourite was this White and Green Cabbage with Coconut Chillies and Ginger from the Farm Shop Cookbook.

My favourite is the Vanilla and Coconut Cake I made from the Clandestine Cake Book for Tea Time Treats.

July

Your favourite was Cherry Frangipane Ramekins based on a Nigel Slater recipe for Dish of the Month.

My favourite was the Chocolate Lime Ice Cream I made using Mackays Lime Curd.You can see that my OXO Good Grips Ice Cream Scoop is well used!

August

Your favourite in August was the Cicchetti I made from Valentina Harris and Lindy Wildsmith.

My favourite was the Beef, Red Pepper and Lime Burgers from Miranda Ballard's Burgers and Sliders. I'm not much of a burger person but these were so good.

September

Your favourite in September was Dish of the Month, Lamb Pot Roast and Peach, Bramble and Almond Crumble

My choice is an old favourite with a twist, my Summer Falls into Autumn Pudding.

October

Your favourite in October was the Chelsea Buns I made from The World's Best Cakes book.

I've chosen Braised Scotch Lamb Shanks in Red Wine as my favourite, I cannot begin to tell you how good they were!

November

Sloe Cordial was a popular post in November and I can now report that it went down very well with the recipients!

I loved these Hot n Smoky Cheese and Tomato Wraps, quick and easy to make and very tasty.

December

My Virtual Christmas Party was a favourite post in December, I even won a prize from Pidy for these canapes!

It may not be the most photogenic of dishes, and I didn't think you could really improve on baked red cabbage, but Spiced Ginger Red Cabbage made with Mackays Spiced Ginger Preserve was even better than I expected.

Thank you so much for visiting Farmersgirl Kitchen in 2013, I hope you will return to see what I am cooking and baking in 2014. I'll be back to wish you a Happy New Year and tell you about my future plans tomorrow.

Labels: 2013, Burgers, Dish of the Month, Farmersgril Kitchen, ice cream, Kugelhopf, Mackays, Nigel Slater, Paul Hollywood, review, rhubarb, Scotch Lamb, summer pudding, Vanilla and Coconut Cake

Tuesday, 5 February 2013

Paul Hollywood's Bread - A review

Paul Hollywood’s Bread:

How to make great breads into even greater meals

Paul Hollywood is the ‘man of the moment’ as far as baking bread is concerned. I remember watching him on Good Food Live, he was a natural performer, something which has been confirmed by his popularity as co-host with Mary Berry on the Great British BakeOff. I reviewed Paul’s first book ‘How to Bake’ in November 2012 and at the time was surprised at the range of recipes included in the book. The same can be said of ‘Bread’, not only does Paul teach you exactly how to make a variety of breads, but for each one there is a spin off recipe which shows you how to make a fantastic meal of it. The book also ties in with the forthcoming BBC2 television series so you can also watch Paul make the recipes and then make them yourself.

The book has six chapters, each with five bread recipes – plus the spin-off recipes for main courses. What sets this book apart from the other bread making books I own, is that each recipe has a comprehensive step-by-step guide in photographs.

The Chapters
I've named some of the bread recipes and their plus one, the accompanying recipe

Classic Breads including: Bloomer plus Grilled Vegetable Picnic Loaf, Rye; Ale and Oat Bread plus Kent plum and apple chutney; Rye and Spelt Bread plus Pork, chicken and pistachio pate

Soda Breads including: Stout Bread plus Smoked Salmon Pate; Cheddar and Rosemary Scones plus Beef Cobbler; Soft Treacle Parkin plus Parkin Crumble.

Flatbreads including: Pitta Breads plus Souvlaki and Cypriot salad; Maneesh plus Baba Ganoush; Corn Tortillas plus Tortilla tower.

Continental Breads including: Ciabata plus Panzanella; Pizza Base plus Parma Ham, Fig and Gorgonzola pizza AND Tartiflette pizza; a trio of Biscotti plus Biscotti with Hot Mocha dipping sauce.

Sourdough: Sourdough Starter, Basil and Coriander Sourdough plus Roasted Tomato and Fennel Soup; White Chocolate and Raspberry Bread plus Summer Pudding with White Chocolate Cream.

Enriched Breads: Danish Pastry Dough plus Emmenthal, Onion and Mushroom Pastries; Sicilian Lemon and Orange Sweet Bread plus Limoncello trifle; Lardy Cake.

Who is it for?

This book is ideal for both beginning bakers who will appreciate the step-by-step photographs and those who would like to expand their repertoire. I’ve been baking bread for a number of years but probably stick to the same recipes and reply too much on my bread machine. When I have a little more time I plan to try the sourdough and enriched bread recipes, I feel confident that following Paul Hollywood’s instructions I’ll be able to make these more complex recipes.

Pros

Step by Step photographs

A range of recipes at different levels of complexity

Recipes for meals to accompany the breads

Ties in with the BBC2 TV series

Cons

There are many more ‘in depth’ bread books

Ease of use

Very easy to use with clear instructions and added value with photographs

Paul Hollywood's Bread is published by Bloomsbury on 14th February 2013
RRP £20
Online store price £12

Rye and Spelt Bread

I made the Rye and Spelt Bread which uses the 'sponge' technique where you make a little bit of dough and leave it to rise overnight, then add the rest of the ingredients the next day. I've never done that before and was a bit trepidatious, however it worked perfectly well.

The dough was left to rise again after kneading for 10 minutes. Once it had doubled in size, it was folded and then rolled and placed in the tin, then left to rise again.

I used the one of the delightful Vintage Collection tins from George Wilkinson Great British Bakeware it is made in Lancashire and this premium range has an innovative & exclusive long life coating. GlideX is bonded directly onto your ovenware to ensure it keeps performing like new every time. It is scratch resistant, flake-resistant and virtually indestructible. Tested rigorously by Wilkinsons, GlideX outperforms all other non-stick brands.

I served the Rye and Spelt Bread with Carrot and Coriander Soup. I do think the bread dough recipe could probably have done with a little more liquid, it is quite a tight, dense loaf. However, that may just be the rye flour. I will certainly make it again as it has a great taste and is good on it's own or with a little butter, and it makes very good toast.

Labels: Bloomsbury Publishing, Bread, George Wilkinson, Great British Bake Ware, Paul Hollywood, Rye and Spelt Bread

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

How to Bake Paul Hollywood's Christmas Cake

What do you think about when you think of Paul Hollywood? Oh stop it, you naughty readers. If you were behaving yourselves, you might think of baking but more specifically, baking bread. Certainly, I associate Paul Hollywood with bread baking rather than cake baking. So I was surprised and delighted when I received a copy of his book 'How to Bake' to review, to see that there were indeed lots of bread recipes but also lots of other bakes too.

How to Bake by Paul Hollywood

Getting started with Bread is a great way to start, it’s a comprehensive guide to baking bread covering everything from different types of flour, through techniques and tools. I liked the use of step by step pictures as well as written instructions.

Basic Breads covers white and wholemeal loaves in different shapes and variations, soda bread, flat breads, Italian breads and even crumpets.

Flavoured Breads moves us on to introducing savoury and sweet ingredients into the dough, some lovely recipes for bread sticks, Coriander, olive and onion bread, Bacon and Cheddar loaves, Pecan loaf and Hot Cross Buns.

Sourdough Bread is a real challenge for any baker but Paul takes us through all the steps and makes it sound achievable. As well as basic sourdough breads, he offers recipes such as Sour olive bread, Muesli and banana sourdough and Lavender honey and toasted almond sourdough. So many tempting flavours, it makes me really want to give this a go!

Croissants, Danish & Brioche takes us into the realm of sweetened yeasted dough, there is a lot of technique involved in making these sweet breads and they can be time consuming. If you are worried about technique there is a double page spread of photographs showing how to make the croissant dough, they are clear and easy to follow.

Biscuits, Puddings and Cakes and now we come to the chapter which surprised me, however it’s clear that these recipes are just as important to Paul as the bread. Sweet and savoury biscuits, strudels, Baklava, crumble, soufflé, cheesecake, chocolate cake, muffins, brownies, Buche de Noel and Christmas cake.

Tarts and Pies

If you’ve seen the Great British Bake off, you will know that pies are something Paul is passionate about. In this chapter Paul demystifies pastry making with recipes and techniques for different types of pastry and recipes for everything from Lemon meringue pie to hot water crust pork pies.

Who is it for?

How to Bake is a book for anyone who wants to bake, whether you want to learn how to make bread for the first time, to extend your repertoire or challenge yourself to try something new.

Pros and Cons

Pros

I loved the step by step photographs and there is also a photo of every recipe. I like to know what I’m aiming for. The introductions to each chapter make you feel that you are really getting the benefit of Paul Hollywood’s years of experience

Cons

It’s a big book and quite heavy, but that is a very little ‘con’ and only relevant if you are trying to read it in bed!

Ease of use

The instructions are easy to follow, there is quite a lot to read at the start of each chapter and it’s worth reading this through before diving into the recipes.

Worth buying?

I would recommend this book, it is well thought out with techniques explained clearly in words and pictures, definitely worth buying.

As I hadn't yet made my Christmas cake, I decided to try Paul's recipe, the photograph above is from the book.

Christmas Cake

Makes at least 16 slices / prep 1 hour, plus pre-soaking fruit / bake 3–3½ hours
This is a classic, richly fruited Christmas cake – deliciously moist and
substantial. It tastes wonderful just as it is, but of course the addition of
marzipan and snowy white icing make it much more festive and spectacular.
You can either make your own marzipan, or use a good-quality bought
one. The same goes for the icing.
450g sultanas
225g raisins
225g dried apricots, chopped
115g prunes, chopped
55g glacé pineapple
225g glacé cherries, chopped
225g chopped candied peel
115g blanched almonds, toasted and very roughly chopped
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
70ml brandy
225g unsalted butter, softened
200g light muscovado sugar
5 large eggs
280g plain flour

To finish
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 quantity marzipan (see page 255), or a 500g packet ready made marzipan
Icing sugar for dusting
1 quantity royal icing (see page 255), or a 500g packet ready-to-
roll royal icing

1. Combine all the dried and glacé fruit, candied peel and almonds in
a large bowl. Add the orange zest and juice, and the brandy. Mix well,
cover and leave for several hours or overnight.
2. Heat your oven to 150˚C. Line the base and sides of a 20cm round deep
cake tin with a double thickness of baking parchment, cutting it so that
it stands a good 5cm proud of the top of the tin.
3. In a very large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for
several minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time,
adding a little of the flour with each to prevent the mixture splitting.
Stir in the fruit mixture. Sift the remaining flour over the mixture and
fold in, using a large metal spoon. Spoon the mixture into the prepared
cake tin and level the surface.
4. Bake in the middle of the oven for 3 hours, then check by inserting
a skewer into the centre – if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
If not, give it a further 15–30 minutes. Leave the cake to cool before
removing it from the tin.
5. When your cake is completely cooled – and ideally after a couple of days
– you can marzipan and ice it. Warm the apricot jam gently in a saucepan
with a splash of water to thin it down, sieve, then brush all over the cake.
6. Roll out 300g of the marzipan to a large circle, about 4mm thick. Using
the cake tin as a guide, cut a round of marzipan to fit the top of the cake
and position it. Roll out the other 200g marzipan with the trimmings
and cut 2 long strips to fit around the side of the cake. Position these,
then smooth the marzipan and mould the edges together.
7. If you are using ready-to-roll icing, roll it out on a surface lightly
dusted with icing sugar to a thickness of about 5mm. Lift it over the
marzipan, smooth down and trim off the excess at the base.
8. If you are using homemade royal icing, smooth it over the cake with
a palette knife. You can leave it smooth or swirl it into peaks with the
back of a spoon or your palette knife, as you choose. Leave to set.
9. Wrap a ribbon around the side of your Christmas cake and finish as you
wish with festive decorations.

Here is my cake, it is much lighter than the one I usually make but it is packed full of fruit. There seemed to be a lot of mixture, too much for my 20cm tin, so I baked the remaining mixture in a small loaf tin.

The advantage of this was that I was able to taste the cake without cutting into my Christmas cake! In fact the cake cuts very well as the texture of the cake is quite dense but moist and not over sweet. As an apricot and prune fan, I particularly enjoyed the dried fruits. I'll be interested to see how the cake matures.

How to Bake by Paul Hollywood is published by Bloomsbury RRP £20, Popular On line Retailer £8.86

Thanks to Bloomsbury for the opportunity to review this book

Labels: apricots, book review, Christmas Cake, cookery book review, Great British Bake Off, How to Bake, Paul Hollywood, prunes

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