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