Smoked Mackerel Pate

It has been some time since I made Smoked Mackerel Pate, I can't imagine why as we all love it. Usually I make it with cream cheese but today I went for a lighter version and it was very good, served on toast with a little side salad.

The smoked mackerel  and the lemons came from Aldi, who have a great range of produce.  The Smoked Mackerel is Scottish fish from the North East Atlantic and cost only £1.59 for 200g.



Smoked Mackerel Pate
serves 3-4

200g Smoked Mackerel, skin removed
2 tbsp 0% fat Greek Yogurt
1 tsp Creamed Horseradish
Juice of half a lemon

Place all the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.

That's it, so simple but packed full of flavour. 


I served the Smoked Mackerel Pate on toast, but it would be equally good on oatcakes, a crusty baguette or even as a topping for a baked potato.


I am entering this dish for Tea Time Treats, as this month the theme is ' Toast, on Toast or Toasties'.  Tea Time Treats is the Linky Party for tasty tea time treats which is run in alternate months by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Janie at The Hedgecombers.


I'm also adding the Smoked Mackerel Pate to the Credit Crunch Munch Linky as it was a very thrifty dish with the mackerel only costing £1.59, half a lemon only 12p and the yogurt and horseradish would also cost only pennies. Credit Crunch Munch is the frugal food recipe sharing challenge developed by Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla over at Fab Food 4 All  This month is is hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary 

Labels: Credit Crunch Munch, fish, lemon, pate, smoked mackerel, spread, Tea Time Treats, toast

posted by Janice @ 20:09 17 Comments

Lentil, Cheese and Stuffing Loaf

In my pre-Christmas online shopping spree, I mistakenly ordered a couple of packets of dry stuffing mix rather than ready-made stuffing. By the time it gets to Christmas my cooking mojo has usually expired in a puddle of goose fat.  I threw them in the back of the larder and popped into the shop for the stuffing I wanted. However, once all the festivities had passed, I found the stuffing again and one of the things I like to use dried stuffing for is to bulk up meatloaf, it acts like breadcrumbs and adds flavour too. This time however, I decided to make a non-meat version, based on a couple of different Lentil Loaf recipes.

Lentil, Cheese and Stuffing Loaf
serves 6-8

180 g red lentils
240 ml liquid (I used wine, but you could use cider or water)
130g pack of stuffing mix, reconstituted as per packet instructions
135 g grated hard cheese (I used a herb cheddar)
1 egg, beaten

1. Place the lentils and the liquid in a pan and add just enough water to cover the lentils.  Bring to the boil and allow to cook almost until tender and until the liquid has been absorbed.
2. Mix the cooked lentils with the reconstituted stuffing, beaten egg and the grated cheese.
3. Line a 400g loaf tin with silicone paper and fill with the mixture.
4. Cover with buttered foil and EITHER bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about an hour, taking off the foil ten minutes before the end of cooking to brown the top OR place the tin in a slow cooker, pour boiling water around the tin (bain marie) until it is about half way up the tin and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

I cooked mine in the slow cooker which kept it really moist, the texture is quite close and it cuts really well when cold.  I served it with gravy, but you could also serve with a tomato sauce.


The Lentil Loaf is also really good cold and makes a great packed lunch with some homemade coleslaw made simply with grated carrots, sliced red cabbage and a little leftover cream cheese dip from New Year as dressing. This was my lunch today and I really enjoyed it.

I'm entering this for Tea Time Treats the blogger event organised by Janie at The Hedgecombers and Karen at Lavender and Lovage.  The theme this month is Packed Lunches and it's being hosted by Janie.
I'm hoping it also fits with Cooking with Herbs  Great British Store Cupboard challenge, another challenge from my friend Karen at Lavender and Lovage.  Karen is asking us to use ingredients from the store cupboard as well as including herbs. As the cheese contained herbs and the stuffing mix contained sage, I think it should qualify.

I'm also entering the Lentil Cheese and Stuffing Loaf for Credit Crunch Munch  organised, and this month hosted, by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All  It's a thrifty dish, uses things that are in the store cupboard AND makes a great packed lunch!

Labels: cheese, Cooking with Herbs, Credit Crunch Munch, frugal, Lentil loaf, packed lunch, Stuffing, Tea Time Treats

posted by Janice @ 19:44 24 Comments

Holy Moly - Guacamole!

Sometimes you just want a simple lunch, not too much work but something delicious all the same.  Avocados are really good just now and even thought the one I used had been 'ripe and ready to use' a week ago, it was still perfect no bruising and it mashed down in a really pleasing manner. Combined with some pitta bread and salad, the simple lunch became a feast.  It would also work well as a DIY picnic, just put the guacamole in a plastic box and pack the bread and salad separately.

Perfect Picnic Guacamole
1 avocado, stone and skin removed
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1/2 a small chilli
2 tomatoes, de-seeded and finely chopped
1/2 lime
handful of coriander leaves, chopped

Place the avocado in a bowl and mash roughly with a fork.  Add the spring onion, chilli and tomatoes. Squeeze in the lime juice, add the coriander leaves and mix all the ingredients together.  Serve in a bowl or scoop into a plastic box to take on your picnic.



I'm entering the Perfect Picnic Guacamole for Tea Time Treats where the theme this month is 'Picnic food'.  Tea Time Treats is run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Janie at Hedgecombers.  Guacamole is also appropriate for The Spice Trail where are off on a 'Beach Barbeque', guacamole is a great accompaniment to a barbeque, imagine barbequed steak or chicken in a tortilla with salad and guacamole, delicious!  The Spice Trail is the challenge run by Vanesther at Bangers and Mash and there is a prize of a copy of Nigella Summer.

Labels: avocado, chilli, guacamole, lunch, pitta, salad, Tea Time Treats, the spice trail

posted by Janice @ 19:23 9 Comments

Hugh's Honey and Peanut Butter Flapjacks

There was nothing in the biscuit tin.  There was nothing in the cake tin. I wanted something sweet now what did I have in the cupboard that would make a quick and easy sweet treat?  I always have oats, dried fruits and a mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds that we use in our bread, so I went looking for a FLAPJACK recipe and found this one by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in River Cottage Every Day:

Honey and Peanut Butter Booster Bars

Labels: apricots, cranberries, dried fruit, flapjacks, honey, Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall, oats, peanut butter, raisins, Tea Time Treats

posted by Janice @ 19:51 25 Comments

Strawberry and Champagne Aphrodisiac Cheesecakes for Valentine's Day

Baking is off the agenda at the moment with my temporarily limited kitchen facilities. So I had to think creatively to 'cook' up some Valentine's treats.

Duerr's sent me a jar of their limited edition Aphrodisiac Jam, as well as containing strawberries and champagne it has some Horny Goat Weed added which is, apparently, a natural viagra!

 

Strawberry and Champagne Aphrodisiac Cheesecakes (no bake)

Makes 4

6 McVities Digestive biscuits (crushed)

50g butter, melted

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

100g full fat cream cheese

1 teaspoon caster sugar

100g Duerr's Aprodisiac Jam

Whipped cream (optional)

four silicone cupcake cases

 

 

1. Mix the crushed digestives with the butter and cocoa powder.

2. Divide between the four cupcake cases and press up the sides to create a cup, refrigerate for at least half an hour until firm.

without cream

with cream

Four Seasons Food Feburary Challenge is 'Food from the Heart' the challenge from Delicieux & Eat Your Veg and hosted this month by Anneli at Delicieux.

Let's Cook Sweet Treats for Valentine comes from Simply.Food and is all about preparing delicious treats to woo your loved one.

The theme for Tea Time Treats is chocolate so I'm sneaking this in as it does have a teaspoon of cocoa powder in the biscuit base! Tea Time Treats is the blog challenge run by Lavender and Lovage and The Hedgecombers and this month it is hosted by my friend Karen at Lavender and Lovage.

Family Foodies is in the mood for 'luurve' and this cheesecake is as good a foodie cuddle as you could possibly want. Family Foodies is the challenge run by Eat your Veg and Bangers and Mash

I was provided with a jar of Duerr's Aprodisiac Jam I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.

Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash

Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash

Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash

 

Labels: champagne, Cheesecake, Duerr's Jam, Family Foodies, Four Seasons Food, strawberry, Tea Time Treats, Treat Petite, Valentine's Day

posted by Janice @ 22:43 22 Comments

Tortilla Bake

 
We love to eat fajitas. I buy the tortillas and the fajita spice mix and sometimes also the box of Nachos with their sachets of topping.  Sometimes I buy the salsa, sometimes  I make it, but I always make my own guacamole and have little bowls of sour cream, roasted peppers, cheese, salad and kidney beans.

When my sons were still at home it was their favourite meal and there were never any leftovers.  But now there are fewer of us, so last night there were three tortillas left, enough chicken for one and a few bits and pieces in each of the other bowls.  Just about enough for one person's lunch but not really enough for a meal.

As I am not really baking just now, all the bakeware having been packed away for the kitchen work, I have a bit of an overload of eggs.  We get our eggs from a colleague of my husband's and half a dozen beautiful free range eggs arrive every Monday.  Usually I've used them all before the next delivery but they are starting to stack up.  So eggs seemed like a good way to go with my recipe development!



Tortilla Bake (serves 2-3)

2-3 Tortillas
1-2 tbsp kidney beans
1 tbsp soured cream
1 -2 tbsp tomato salsa
1-2 tbsp roasted sweet peppers
1-2 tbsp  chicken cooked in fajita spice mix
1-2 tbsp guacamole
150g hard cheese (cheddar)
4 eggs
100ml semi skimmed milk
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Grease a round pie dish with butter or oil.  Lay one torilla in the base, add the cooked chicken, place another tortilla on top and cover with the beans, cream, salsa, chicken and guacamole.  Place the final tortilla over this. (If you only have two just make a big sandwich).
2. Beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl, season and pour over the tortilla layers.
3. Cover with foil and leave to rest in the fridge for 2-3 hours to let the egg mix soak in.
4. Heat the oven to 180C
5. Grate the the cheese over the top of the tortillas.
6. Replace the foil and bake for 20 minutes until the egg is almost set.
7. Increase the oven temperature to 220C
8. Remove the foil and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the cheese is browned and melted.
9. Serve cut into wedges with salad or vegetables.






Tea Time Treats is a blog challenge run by my friend Karen at Lavender and Lovage, this month it is being hosted by Jane at Hedgecombers and the Tea Time theme is 'EGGS'.


This is a new challenge for me, I found it in the list on the Food Blog Diary.  Cheese is integral to the success of the Tortilla Bake and the theme for Cheese Please, this month, is Comfort Food and Winter Warmers, so I think this cheesy supper dish definitely fits the bill!

Labels: brunch, cheese, Cheese Please, Chicken, eggs, fajitas, leftovers, lunch, No Waste Food Challenge, supper, Tea Time Treats, tortilla

posted by Janice @ 07:30 12 Comments

Chelsea Buns and The World's Best Cakes Review

I've never made Chelsea Buns before but was not daunted by the sweet dough after making the Kugelhopf which turned out so well.  I'd also been watching the contestants on the 'Great British Bake Off' making sweet doughs the other week and it reminded me that I should make something like this again.

The opportunity came in the form of The World's Best Cakes by Roger Pizey, one of the finest pastry chef's in Britain, according to Marco Pierre White.

About the Author
Roger Pizey is a celebrated baker and patissier with over twenty five years experience at the cutting edge of cooking.  He trained for two years with Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in London before joining the charismatic Marco Pierre White as his Chef Patissier.

About the Book 
The World's Best Cakes is a collection of globally inspired classic bakes from national favourites such as American Boston Cream Pie and British Chelsea Buns to exquisite small treats including Russian Tea Cakes and French Madeleines.

The book is a Masterclass in baking, regular readers will know that I own many baking books and, over the past year, I have reviewed quite a few books on cakes and baking.  All I can say is GET THIS BOOK ON YOUR CHRISTMAS LIST.

Roger Pizey takes you through all the Basic Techniques you will need. shown in step by step pictures.  Every recipe is accompanied by stunning photographs, often two for each bake, the whole cake and a slice, or a variation e.g. Victoria Sponge and Fairy Cakes.

The recipes themselves are clearly laid out with the ingredients and each instruction in the process clearly numbered.  There is also a paragraph about the recipe and some recipes have variations too.

Another feature of the book is the pages on 'Where to Eat Cake' in various cities around the world. 

For me, the standout recipes in this book were the Raspberry Angel Cake, Willie Harcourt-Cooze's Cloud Forest Chocolate Cake,  Pastel de Chocolate Mexicano (A Chilli Chooclate cake), Espresso Marble Cake, Olive Oil Cake with Peaches, Richard Corrigan's More Stout Than Treacle Cake, Basbousa (a Semolina cake), Banana Cheesecake, Mustikkapiiraat (Finnish Blueberry Buns), Cinnamon Bear Claws and Christopher Farrugia's Maltese Prinjolata.

Are you getting the picture?  I could go on and on because every cake looks fantastic and fascinating and so, so delicious that I want to make them all.

Pros
Well written recipes, beautiful pictures, lots of cakes I've never even heard of, let alone made, before. The step by step basic techniques is easy to follow and there is also a section at the end of the book called 'Baking Basics' which includes recipes for Creme Anglaise, Creme Patissiere Royal Icing, Chocolate Ganache etc. 

Cons
Not really a book for a beginner baker, the recipes are clear enough but there are many which demand more technique, fine if you have a little experience of baking and want to expand your repertoire. 

The Verdict
I'm sure you have gathered that I like the book and I would certainly recommend it, plenty of inspiration for all those baking challenges. And it's not just me who is impresssed:

@FarmersgirlCook I bought the world's best cakes book as u said its gd. Wow. It is one of the best bks I have seen. Simply stunning.

— Deon van Schalkwyk (@dvans88) October 18, 2013

Chelsea Buns
Makes 12
For the yeast starter:
15g (1/2 oz) caster sugar
85g (3oz) strong flour
300ml (10floz) full-fat milk, slightly warmed
25g (1oz) fresh yeast

For the dough:
675g (1lb 8 3/4 oz) strong flour
a pinch of nutmeg
140g (5oz) butter, cubed
1 egg
85g (3oz) caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
finely grated zest of 1 lemon

For the decoration
50g (1 3/4 oz) butter, melted
50g (1 3/4 oz) caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
50g (1 3/4 oz) currants
65ml (2 1/2 fl oz) Stock Syrup

For the Stock Syrup
Makes 65ml (2 1/2 fl oz)
65ml (2 1/2 fl oz) water
65g  (2 1/4 oz) caster sugar 

1. To make the yeasty mix, stir the sugar and flour into the milk in a pan, then add the years.  Keep it warm until it froths up and then drops.
2. To make the dough, sift the four and nutmeg together in a bowl then rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Next make a well in the centre of this dry mixture.
3. Whisk the egg, sugar and lemon zest into the yeasty mixture then tip this into the well and mix until the dough is smooth, silky and slightly elastic.  Allow it to rest for 1 hour wrapped in clingfilm.
4. Grease and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
5. on a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to a square shape about 4 cm (1 1/2 in) thick, then brush with melted butter, Sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and currants over the surface.



Of course, I cheated!  I didn't have any fresh yeast, so used Fast Action Yeast, put all the dough ingredients and the starter ingredients, substituting the dried for fresh yeast, into the bread maker and put it onto the dough programme.  You could use your stand mixer with a dough hook, or just place it all in a bowl and mix by hand.   The dough still came out silky smooth and the buns were well risen and tasted great.

 The World's Best Cakes by Roger Pizey
Published by  Jacqui Small LLP
RRP £30
Available for £15-16 at online retailers


I'm entering these Chelsea Buns for Tea Time Treats, the blog challenge run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Kate at What Kate Baked.  The theme this month is Sweet Breads and Yeast Breads, so my Chelsea Buns fit perfectly and, believe me, they are a treat!

Labels: cakes, Chelsea Buns, Cinnamon, dough, Roger Pizey, sweet bread, Tea Time Treats, World's Best Cakes

posted by Janice @ 15:20 7 Comments

Chocolate Chunk Melting Moments

Melting Moments are a classic biscuit/cookie that are really simple to make and you generally find that you have everything you need to make them. They are supposed to be topped with a piece of cherry like the ones in the Tea Time Treats badge below, however I didn't have any glace cherries in my baking supplies, at first I thought I'd leave them plain, then decided that everything is better with a little chocolate added so added a chocolate chunk to each biscuit. If I'd thought about it before I might even have replace some of the flour with cocoa powder, next time!
The theme for this month's Tea Time Treats is Flapjacks, Oats and Traybakes
Tea Time Treats is a monthly blog event run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Kate at What Kate Baked
Melting Moments (makes 18-20)
75g (3oz) soft margarine
75g (3oz) caster sugar
half a beaten egg
a few drops vanilla extract
25g (1oz) rolled oats
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
a handful of rolled oats to coat
50g (2oz) dark chocolate, cut into chunks
1. Heat the oven to 160C, 325F, Gas 3.
2. Grease to baking sheets or cut baking parchment to fit
3. Beat together the margarine and sugar until creamy, then work in the egg and vanilla extract.
4. Add the oats and flour and work until you have a soft dough.
5. Divide the mixture into about 20 pieces and roll into balls, you might find this easier if you slightly wet your hands.
6. Roll the cookie dough balls in rolled oats and place 5 cm (2in) apart on the baking sheets. Flatten each piece of dough and place a chunk of dark chocolate in the centre of each.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the biscuits are pale golden brown.
8. Cool on a wire rack

Labels: biscuits, chocolate, cookies, Melting Moments, oats, Tea Time Treats

posted by Janice @ 21:35 9 Comments

Peach Melba - a Retro Tea Time Treat

Peach Melba is a simple dish of fresh peach served on icecream with a raspberry sauce. But famous French Chef, Auguste Escoffier knew what he was doing when he created this dish for Australian Opera Singer Dame Nellie Melba, because the ingredients complement each other perfectly.
I halved the peaches and took out the stones, then poached them gently in a sugar syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part water) for about 5 minutes on a low heat, slip off the skin and chill. If you have really fresh peaches you can just pour boiling water over and slip off the skin.
I always feel it's a bit of a shame to push the fresh raspberries through a sieve, I don't mind the seeds and like the fleshy pulp, so I just crushed my rasps with a fork and added a teaspoon of icing sugar.
Serve the peaches on a scoop of vanilla ice cream and spoon over the raspberry crush or sauce.
I'm entering this for Tea Time Treats, the challenge run by Kate of What Kate Baked and Karen at Lavender and Lovage. This month's theme is Ice Creams, Jellies and Chilled Desserts
This dessert also fits the theme of Summer Puds for Four Season Food run by Anneli at Delicieux and Louisa at Chez Foti

Labels: Ice Cream. Dessert, Peach Melba, Peaches, raspberries, Tea Time Treats

posted by Janice @ 12:25 7 Comments

Cherry Frangipane Ramekins - Dish of the Month

Nigel Slater might not recognise this recipe as one of his, but it is an adaptation of the Plum (or greengage) and almond tart from the July chapter of The Kitchen Diaries II.

I was planning to have some homemade icecream for dessert (more of that in a later post) but my ice cream machine bowl appears to have a leak and is not working properly, so it needed longer to freeze.  I had about half an hour before I needed a dessert, so had a quick look through The Kitchen Diaires for inspiration and found this recipe.

I didn't have time to make pastry and had no plums or greengages, but I thought I could bake the frangipane in a ramekin and had a punnet of lovely ripe cherries that would do in place of the plums.

Frangipane is a mixture of butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds and a little flour.  I've posted other recipes that include frangipane before such as Rhubarb Bakewell Tart,  Pear and Blackberry Frangipane Tart and most recently the Belleau Kitchen Rhubarb Frangipane Tart.


I can certainly recommend this recipe, it was quick, easy and very satisfying, especially served warm with a big scoop of Madagascar Vanilla Icecream.

As well as being my Dish of the Month, I am also entering this for Tea Time Treats as this month's theme is Fresh Fruit.   Tea Time Treats is a monthly blogging event that showcases treats from our favourite meal of the day: teatime! Hosted alternate months by Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Kate from What Kate Baked. 
Karen is hosting this month and you can read all about in her blog post Fresh Fruit Treats.


Frangipane also begins with F so fits with the Alphabakes Challenge run by Ros at The more than occasional baker and Caroline at Caroline Makes.

• Make a Dish of the Month from ANY recipe by Nigel Slater
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen or A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate
•  Use the Dish of the Month logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @serialcrafter or @Heavenona_plate and #DishoftheMonth and we will re-tweet it to our followers. 

Rules:

• If you own The kitchen diaries II please do not publish the recipes on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from the BBC Food website, please link to the recipe on BBC Food rather than publishing the recipe.  Likewise recipes on the Guardian Lifestyle website.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: cherries, Cherry Frangipane Ramekins, Dish of the Month, Fruit, ice cream, Nigel Slater, Tea Time Treats, The kitchen diaries II

posted by Janice @ 20:34 11 Comments