Farmhouse Cookies

I really like these warming cookies around Christmas time. There's something about the cinnamon and nuttyness of them that makes me want to light a fire and watch 'The Snowman'. It's a really basic recipe that takes no time to make... and even less time to clean up.

Makes a batch of 12 cookies

Ingredients

70g of plain flour,

70g of wholegrain self raising flour,

85g of muesli,

1 egg,

2 tablespoons of butter or margarine (melted),

A shot of vegetable oil,

170g of golden muscovado sugar,

2 teaspoons of vanilla essence,

A big dash of cinnamon,

A small handful of crushed walnuts (optional),

The zest of half a lemon or orange (optional).

  

Method

·       Preheat an oven to 190c.

·       Mix all the dry ingredients apart from the sugar.

·       Mix the melted butter, oil, egg together.

·       Mix the sugar in with the egg/oil.

·       Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.

·       Now add flavourings such as the vanilla and lemon or orange zest.

·       Lightly grease 2 baking trays and spoon the mixture onto them, forming 

6 balls on each tray.

·       Using a fork, press down the cookie lumps and lightly smooth the edges to 

make them resemble cookies.

·       Bake in the centre of the oven for 12 minutes.

·       Once baked leave on a wire rack until cool.

White Chocolate and Lemon Tart

Here is the white chocolate and lemon tart that I said I was making. 

Basically the recipe isn't much different from the "Easy Chocolate Tart", just a few tweaks here and there. Obviously the main difference is the replacement of dark chocolate with white and the lemony flavour. Hope you like it!

Makes one large tart

Ingredients

300g of white chocolate (broken up)

30g of butter

60ml of boiling water

a tablespoon and a half of lemon flavouring

200ml of double cream

170g of white mini marshmallows (Don't use the pink ones as they turn the mixture peach)

Shop-bought or pre-made pastry case

Method

1. Place all the chocolate except 2 pieces (for grating), marshmallows and the butter into a decent sized pan (if you have a heavy bottomed pan then use that to minimize the risk of burning anything.)
2. Pour the boiling water over the ingredients in the pan.
3. Stir over a low heat.
4. When the ingredients are almost fully melted take of the heat and leave to cool slightly.
5. Add the lemon extract to the cream and whip until stiff peaks can form.
6. Check if the chocolate is cool enough (I stick my finger in it and if I can keep it there then it's cool enough. But I can get away with that as it's only me and my girlfriend who eats it. If it's for others then I suggest measuring it by having a taste.)
7. Mix in the whipped cream to the chocolate until thoroughly combined.
8. Pour into pastry case
9. Refridgerate for an hour.
10. Once refridgerated, finely grate the white chocolate over the top.

Note

 

Goes great with single cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Red Hot Buffet Review

So Amy and I went to 'Red Hot Buffet' in Leeds city centre today. We have been there once before but weren't really looking at it from a critics point of view. I am not going to go into too much depth as it's only really a mini review of the restaurant. So here goes...

The Good:

• The serviece was reasonable. The staff were friendly and helpful but could benifit from speeding up a little.                        
• The quality and portions of the meat were terrific. Amy tried the salt and pepper chicken wings and the prawns. The chicken wings tasted like they were fresh off the BBQ and the prawns were coated in a fresh seafood sauce that complimented them beautifully.
• Another good point would be the choice that is offered. With food from seven different countries and the option of a meal freshly prepared in front of you at one of their live cooking stations, you are spoiled for choice.
• Amazing range of well presented desserts.
• The interior is warm, spacious and welcoming with certain areas being themed, which is always fun!
• They also make a decent latte.

 

The Bad:

• Apart from the ice cream, the desserts were not kept chilled.
• This isn't really a bad thing it is more something to be wary of. Some of the food (more so the vegetables) werent what they seemed, for instance I tried some sweetcorn that tasted slightly like an mint aero bar and some broccoli that tasted as if it were boiled in a salted wine. Amy tried the corn on the cob and found it overspiced and overcooked. Now I am aware that these dishes are from all around the world, i'm not ignorant to that, but I think that they should state a little more clearly how they have prepared it eg. boiled in wine or fished from the fiery depths of hell.

The Bottom Line:

 Overall the experience was brilliant and for the price, well worth it. They may let themselves down in certain areas but make up for it ten-fold in others. I would give it an 8/10.

A shot from the interior of the section of the restaurant we were sat in.

A few of the amazing mini desserts on offer.

I suppose this isn't really relevent but I loved this cool glowing sink in the restroom!

Going to 'Red Hot Buffet' in Leeds today

So i'm going to Leeds' 'Red Hot Buffet' this afternoon with Amy and will be posting my first amateurial review of the food and venue by tonight. May be able to snap a few pictures too!

Home-made Stock

I find stock to be very useful as it can be used as a base for both gravies and soups, and if made from scratch I think it has an undeniably better taste than its granuled counterpart. I am all for cutting corners and choosing the easy option but when it sacrafices taste, that's when I stop. It's easy to make stock anyway, and there is a huge sense of satisfaction when you're done!

Makes a generous amount for 4 to 6 people.

Ingredients

1 large onion (halved, with skins)
1 large carrot (unpeeled, halved)
1 clove of garlic (unpeeled, unchopped)
1 large leek (stork and root removed)
2 vegetable stock cubes
12 whole black peppercorns
1 large pinch of salt
carcass or bone of selected meat (with fat and gristle left on)

Method

1. Boil 1.7 litres of water in a pan
2. Add 2 vegetable stock cubes
3. Add the carcass/bones
4. Add the rest of the ingredients
5. Bring to the boil in the pan
6. Reduce heat to a low simmer with the lid on and simmer for 1 hour.
7. Once cooked seive the stock from the other ingredients
8. Cover with lid/clingfilm and place in the fridge until chilled
9. Once chilled remove the fat that has collected on the top of the stock.
10. Cover the stock and use when needed.

Notes

1. Instead of chilling the stock to remove the fat you could also line the seive with kitchen roll and seive through as normal and this will catch the excess fat.

2. Other vegetables can be used such as celery, parsnips, red onions and chillis - should you want to add a bit of spice. Because the stock is quite versatile it lends itself to most vegetables, it just depends on what type of flavour you prefer.

3. Once the meat of the meal you are cooking is ready, you could pour the juices from the meat directly into the stock to add more flavour. You could also add cornflour to thicken.

4. Can be frozen.

I know... I shouldn't play with my food...

Scrambled Eggs

Now I know that a post devoted purely to scrambled eggs seems silly. "Scrambled eggs, anyone can make it!" and that's true... but can you make it well? I'm somewhat of an egg fanatic and believe that as long as there are eggs in the vicinity, a meal can be made. I honestly panic a little bit if there are no eggs in the house, It's true, and I also think that there is no better way to use them than to make scrambled eggs. The problem is that people often find it hard to get the balance right so that the eggs are not snotty or rubbery. To help those who struggle with this issue here is a recipe and a few tips from my Mother...

Makes one large portion

Ingredients

3 medium eggs,

a knob of butter,

50ml of double cream,

50ml of full fat milk,

pinch of salt.

Method

1. Crack the eggs into a fair sized bowl or measuring cup and whisk them.
2. Slowly whisk in the milk and cream.
3. Stir in the salt.
4. Put the egg mix in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat.
5. Add the butter.
6. Stir slowly but continuously.
7. Lumps of egg will begin to appear.
8. Take the eggs off of the heat when the main body of the eggs are cooked but with a very small snotty film over them. (Mothers Wisdom: The reason they must be taken off of the heat at this stage is because the eggs continue to cook for a minute or two after being removed from heat. If they are kept on the heat, chances are, they will begin to sweat out the moisture leaving them rubbery and overdone.)
9. Keep stirring until the faint snottiness in the eggs dissappear.
10. You're done! Put on top of toast, with a breakfast or however you like them.