Rocky Road Biscuits

I had a lovely start to the week with a very impressive lunch in Battersea Park with Dr Feggetter & Lesley. The ladies brought the most amazing array of Smoked Salmon, Prawns, Fillet Beef, homemade Chocolate Mousse & Strawberries. After all that food & two glasses of wine, the rest of the afternoon at work was a complete right off, but well worth it. It was a slow start to the week on the cooking front, but it accumulated at the weekend in a marathon session of jam jars, sugar & puff pastry & chocolate. Happy days.

The Houseboy has been in Australia for the last two weeks celebrating his dad's 60th & this has brought some interesting points to light. Firstly, the flat has never been so immaculate, secondly i've not tripped over a pair of socks in days & thirdly as much as i love cooking, i've realised that for me its all about cooking for other people. Don't get me wrong, i still ate (the end of the world would not prevent me from eating) but i pretty much lived off veg stir fries, cheese & Merlot. I'ts just so much better when you have someone to show off to. He's back tomorrow morning (yay) & i have already prepared one of his favourite meals for tomorrow evening, Lamb Shank in Red Wine Sauce. 

Rich Tea Biscuits

On Saturday morning i had a jam making session (therapy for nearly dying at spin class again) i starting off with my Chili Jam recipe which i love making, it literally goes with everything & then had a crack at a sweet jam. About 18 months ago i tried my hand at making Bramble Jam for the first time. It was an unprecedented disaster & very disappointing. I ended up with a jam so thick you could cut it into cubes & was so sweet that one mouthful would have your teeth begging for mercy. When the lovely Rosie & i were moving my belongings across London in a van, i accidentally dropped a jar on the pavement. The jar shattered but was almost perfectly held together by the super glue jam. A fail of epic proportions.  Anyhoo, we all have the odd off day in the kitchen so i gave it another go & this time it was a success! I stuck with plain old raspberry & it turned out nicely. I'm already coming up with different ideas on unusual combinations. Rhubarb & Ginger Jelly anyone?

Toasted Hazelnuts

Sunday afternoon was spent with the ladies at a baby shower for Mrs Philips. Everyone brought along delicious dishes & it was my favourite kind of afternoon, a good chat, lots of yummy dishes & champagne. I made homemade Sausage Rolls with honey mustard & finely chopped apple & the biscuits below. The Houseboy & i found amazing little baby booties with the Union Jack flag on them. He's going to the best dressed baby in London!

Baby Shower Fare

This is a recipe from a great little book titled 'Cookie Magic' by Kate Shirazi  i thought it looked fun & a little different. I made a few changes, by toasting the hazelnuts & adding a few sultanas. They are very sweet but incredibly moreish. 

Ingredients:

• 225g plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 75g caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 175g unsalted butter
• a wee bit of milk

•  300g milk chocolate
• 200g mini marshmallows
• 100g hazelnuts
• 100g raisins (optional)

Method:

To bake the Rich Tea Biscuit base start as follows. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the butter & rub it using your fingertips until you have a consistency like fine breadcrumbs. Add enough milk (a dessert spoon at a time) until you have a firm dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface, try to make as thin as possible. Cut with circular cutter, prick all over & place on a lined baking tray. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden. 

Making the topping is a bit messy but great fun. Start by toasting the hazelnuts either in a hot pan or in the oven. Take the chocolate & break it up into little pieces in heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the heat isn't too high, you don't want to burn the chocolate. That would be mean & disappointing. Once fully melted add the hazelnuts, marshmallows & raisins & mix in well. Gently spoon the mixture on top of the biscuits (make sure the biscuits are cool) The chocolate is a bit like glue so you can pile it up nicely. Try and leave an edge round the mixture. Leave to set fully in the fridge before getting involved. 

The Jams

Spinach Bucatini

Spinach Bucatini

After a whirlwind of exciting travels, it’s back to reality in London Town & sadly back to the gym. My first spin class on return was shear torture….After what seemed like an age i looked at the clock thinking that there would be, at most, 5 minutes of the class to go, i nearly bloody fell off when i realised that we were only 10 minutes in. Sad times. I'm trying to stick to healthy food, which when i get into the swing of it is easy. Falling off the wagon is also easy.

 

Last week saw us celebrating the lovely Liam’s 30th (it’s the year of the 30th) at the East India Club on St James Square. The Canadian room were we ate was filled with history & perfect for the occasion. The food was great. A set menu, it kicked off with Mushroom Soup. I have to say it’s one of those dishes that i tend to avoid as like many things like wine or seafood when it’s good it’s amazing & when it’s bad it’s terrible. This, i’m happy to say was good. Rich, earthy & importantly a perfect consistency (lumpy mushroom soup is a sin) Even the non mushrooms eaters enjoyed it. The main was another winner, you simply can’t beat Roast Beef with all the trimmings. Dessert was a huge & beautifully decorated cake. After all that food all i wanted to do was sleep but i managed to perk myself up & head to Sketch for a cocktail or two.

 

Mrs Rhodes' Victoria Sponge

This weekend past saw me head back to the bonny Scottish Borders for my cousin’s very belated 21st. I can say now, it was well worth waiting for! There was a fancy dress theme of the letter H, so i went as a hot air balloon (like you do) I love a good fancy dress party & always try to make my outfit from scratch, this time i definitely had luck on my side, as i didn’t actually try the whole thing on until i got to the party! There were some amazing outfits, hicks, hoovers, hulks, hen parties, even a ham sandwich made an appearance. It was certainly a night of dancing & frivolity. Mrs Robinson made a very smart looking air hostess complete with drinks tray & suitcase, Mrs Rhodes & Jerry threw caution to the wind & attended as head boy & head girl... Sunday was spent recovering, eating homemade cake & going for a walk. It's always so nice to get 'proper fresh air' as Mrs Rhodes always says. 

 

Home

The Houseboy was absent on my blog cooking night, so this is a quick dinner for one, which also would work for ten. As with a lot of my recipes it can be adapted, especially the amount of garlic used. I am well aware (hard not to be with the Houseboys moaning) that i somewhat over use garlic, but I cant help it! Anyway its good for your blood & nobody likes a vampire… The quantities below are for one person.

 Ingredients:

•     75g-100g bucatini
•     3 large handfuls of spinach
•     5 tbsps of creme fraich
•     1 –3 cloves garlic (as little or as much as you please)
•     3 tbsps grated parmesan
•     1 tbsp butter
•     s&p

  

Method:

 

Start by putting on the pasta to cook as per the packet instructions. Then have a glass of wine (it’s that easy a recipe) Gently cook the garlic in the butter, garlic is annoyingly easy to burn & once burnt turns very bitter, so make sure you keep the heat low. Shred the spinach & add to the pan. Wilt quickly & then stir in the crème fraich, parmesan & season according to taste. Once the pasta is ready (i like the throwing on the ceiling test) drain well & quickly mix the sauce in. Serve with an extra sprinkling of parmesan. See? Easy peasy.

Dressed as Hot Air Balloon

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce.

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Another month past & very luckily another trip, this time to Portugal. I didn't really look into the culinary side of the country before heading off, but on arrival i certainly was not disappointed. The Portuguese love their food with fresh fish, shellfish & pork being the main staple, along with amazing little pastries which are eaten most afternoons. (It’s a darn good thing i don’t live there; i would be the size of a house very quickly) Restaurant wise we worked mainly off Lonely Planet's Portugal guide & with one exception it was foolproof.

We started the trip a couple of hours north of Lisbon at Praia D’el Rey a swish golf resort on the coast where i played my first & possibly my last round of golf ever. Despite only playing 9 holes, the Houseboy pointed out i swung enough for 18...I will however remind him of his performance at the last hole, Tiger Woods need not worry. We then  travelled down the west coast following Mr & Mrs Brown in their campervan the ‘Silver Bullet’, we spent a week visiting picturesque villages, stunning beaches & enjoying some fantastic meals. We spent a fun half day learning to surf, which was interesting....i did enjoy it & managed to stand (crookedly) up twice, but i was dunked so many times i couldn't think straight. I also now realise why you never see a fat surfer....its really hard work! 

Grilled Prawns & Clams in Spicy Sauce

The best lunch we had was definitely at 'Casinha do Petishco' on Rua da Oliveria in Lagos. An unassuming place when you enter, this restaurant serves wonderful traditional dishes at decent prices. Thank god we didn't get starters as the main courses were truly enormous! Mr Brown's dish of the day was a White Bean & Calamari Casserole which as large as it was delicious, i could have quite easily fed three people. I chose a Grilled Prawn & Clam dish which was served with an amazing spicy tomato sauce. The secret to great yet simple dishes has to be the freshness of the ingredient & it was evident that all the produce was the freshest you could find.  

Delicious Antipasta

On arriving to at South coast we continued Pastelaria Chicca in Luz was definitely a huge highlight. The lovely & enthusiastic owner is deeply passionate about food, carefully explaining the options & raving about the ingredients &, with good cause. All ingredients are organic, free range & as fresh as you can get. The vegetables are locally grown & delivered each morning by an old lady called Fatima who calls the shots on whats available. We all ended up having three courses & there was certainly more than one highlight. The Houseboy's Caramelised Onion & Chervil Tart was the first winner to be served with lovely crumbly pastry & deliciously sweet onions. My main was also another great choice. Aberdeen Angus Fillet Kebab which was served was nine amazing little salads. Carrots cooked in Orange Juice with Sesame Seeds, Sauteed Aubergine in Garlic & Sweet Picked Red Onions to name but a few.

Chocolate Tart with Pistachios

We had been warned that the puddings were amazing & we were certainly not disappointed…I had the most delicious Chocolate Tart with Pistachios, the saltiness of the nuts cut through richness of the chocolate perfectly, although, even i struggled to finish the generous portion. (well only slightly struggled to be truthful) The Houseboy's Pecan Tart was another winner, sticky, sweet with crisp pastry there was not a crumb left. All the desserts were served with home made Vanilla Cream. Now im back im trying to be healthy so no puddings for me, im glad that the last one i had was so amazing!

This week's recipe is not Portuguese, but is very good. The beauty of it is you can adapt it to make it your own, add some fresh chilies or maybe some pancetta to the sauce, or finely chopped shallots to the meatballs. Play around & have some fun.

Ingredients:

          Meatballs:

• beef mince
• breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• finely chopped parsley
• 1 medium red chili (optional)
• s&p

       Tomato Sauce:

• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bottle passata
• 1 tin plum tomatoes
• 2 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 glass of red wine
• 1 sprig of rosemary  
•  s&p

To make the sauce, start by finely chopping the onion & garlic, gently cook them over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic otherwise it will taste bitter. Add the remaining ingredients & give it a good stir. Turn the heat down low & let is bubble away, checking regularly to make sure that its not sticking at the bottom. Cook until its nice & thick. While the sauce is cooking you can start on the meatballs. Place all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl & mix together using your hands, making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Shape into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball. Gently toss them in a little flour & then quickly brown them all sides. Remove from the pan & cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes, check every so often to make sure they are not drying out. If you want to, you can cooked the meatballs in the tomato sauce, just make sure they don't disintegrate. Serve with penne pasta  or spaghetti.

 

View up to Castle at Sagres.