wannabeTVchef.blog

A BRITISH ICON MAKES ITS COMEBACK AT HARRODS THIS SEPTEMBER

The iconic Hovis Little Brown loaf, first introduced in 1886, is making a comeback, in response to demand for traditional British bakery bread that’s tasty and naturally healthy.

The Hovis Little Brown Loaf is a delicious, unsliced, wholemeal loaf, which has the Hovis logo embossed on both sides. Available exclusively from Harrods’ in-store bakery from 1st September, the loaf is priced at £1.05, and will be sold nationwide throughout supermarkets later in the month.

A couple weeks ago I was approached and asked if I was willing to quantify how well know I was on the web.... they call it your web footprint.

Being the HAM that I am.... after all my blog is shamelessly called wannabe I agreed to online form filling to help them correlate my on line fame.

Well when the people at QDOS first got back with me they gave me a rating of 1709, which meant nothing to me so off I went to the site and had rummage around.

Well after I compared scores with others I felt my score was too low so I wrote to them and sent them lots of links to my presence on the web. You see even my newspaper sells back copies to archival newspaper sites, so a reporter anywhere in the world if they had my name could access my web footprint.

Well QDOS got back to me and have since upwardly adjusted my score to
QDOS 3083!

Which means I'm more famous on the web than the Hairy Bikers!! (The Brits will know whom I talking about). In-fact a certain celebrity chef that goes by the name of Gordon only got a QDOS5154.

And talking of Gordon have you seen this link?
http://www.littlegordon.com/

Perhaps it’s an age thing but although I love chocolate, chocolate ice cream leaves me cold. For me a good vanilla ice cream takes some beating if you find one that both tastes good and is not like reading the contents of a chemistry set. Most people shy away from making ice cream and I do admit equipment manufacturers seem to offer very little choice when it comes to ice cream makers. Even in professional circles machines usually start at about £750 ($1400). But wait you don’t need a machine to make good ice cream just a little patience.

So if you like vanilla ice cream you will love clotted cream ice cream because the taste is well……. deluxe creamy!!! I’ve been promising my sister this recipe ever since I made it so I’d better press on.

8 egg yokes
250g (10oz) clotted cream
200ml (2/5 pint) milk
300ml (3/5 pint) Double Cream
1 large vanilla pod
100g (4oz) caster sugar

1. Place a stainless bowl into one of your freezer compartments.
2. Split open your vanilla pod; scrape the seeds into a non-stick medium sized saucepan.
3. Add the pod itself and the milk and cream.
4. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat and allow to stand so the liquid takes on a good vanilla flavour.
5. Place your egg yokes in your machine-mixing bowl and add the sugar.
6. Whisks the yokes and sugar for a couple of minutes.
7. Remove the pod from your cream/milk mixture and save* then whisk the liquid into the egg yokes.
8. Pour the mix back into a clean larger non-stick saucepan and put on a medium high heat. Stir the mixture constantly making your spatula/spoon is touching the base of the saucepan. Because this has a high ratio of egg yoke this mix will thicken quickly. It does not need to boil or you will have scrambled eggs.
9. Once it has thickened enough to coat the back of your spoon remove from the heat and strain back into your mixing bowl.
10. Whisk the custard mix until it is cool and slightly thickened.
11. Pour into you frozen bowl and place back in the freezer.
12. Allow the custard to begin to freeze and then whisk it to break up the ice crystals then place back in the freezer.
13. Once your ice cream is about half set fold in the clotted cream and spoon the mixture into a plastic storage container and freeze.
14. This process takes time but once the freezing process begins you can do other things and come back to it.
To Serve
Serving homemade ice cream does require you putting it in the fridge for about 25 before to make it soft enough to scoop. However, the taste and the texture will make it all worth it. I have to confess when I made this ice cream for a family lunch I ended up quietly taking home the leftovers when no one was looking!!!

*For those unfamiliar with clotted cream the BBC have a pretty good glossary that explains what it is just click here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/glossary/c.shtml?clotted_cream

This post will have both a recipe for the cookies then later today I will add my secret clotted icecream recipe that some of my colleagues have been trying to sweet talk me out of for years.

Florentine Cookies © Kevin Ashton 2007

I have to confess I don’t know the origin of these delicious cookies but I can tell you the first time I saw them was in Amsterdam many years ago. For some reason it’s not widely know but Holland has some very skilled chocolate artisans. People who could make anything out of chocolate or marzipan, from very realistic fruit to miniature scrimshaw work. In deed the artistic competition was so fierce that unveiling your new creations to the public was akin to a art gallery opening a new exhibition. So jealously guarded were these unveilings that for several days before hand they would cover up their shop windows. I walked past one such shop window and found to my disappointment several dusty sheets and groups of rusty tools and lengths of thick chain sitting on a woodworker’s bench. On closer inspection I realized that everything in the window even the wooden bench was actually made from marzipan and chocolate.

100g (4oz) unsalted butter
150g (6oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) honey
70ml ( ¼ cup) Whipping cream
pinch of salt
grated peel of ½ lemon
180g (7oz) sliced almonds
40g (1 ½ oz) finely chopped candied orange peel
10 maraschino cherries halved
100g (4oz) melted dark chocolate 70%
100g (4oz) melted milk chocolate

1. Grease 2 or 3 baking trays and line with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 175 C gas mark 3 ½.
2. Mix the butter, honey, cream, salt and lemon peel in a medium non-stick saucepan.
3. Bring to the boil and then cook on a low simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the saucepan.
4. Remove from the heat and add the sliced almonds and candied orange peel.
5. Place heaped teaspoons of mixture onto the prepared baking trays spacing them well apart then flatten them slightly using the wet back of a spoon.
6. Bake Florentines for 10 minutes or until they are golden brown.
7. Press a drained half cherry on each cookie after you take them out of the oven.
8. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes then use a oiled cookie cutter to make the cookies circular (if necessary) then transfer to a cooling rack
9. Spread some of the dark chocolate onto half the cookies on the non-cherry side, then use the milk chocolate to coat the remaining cookies.
10. Just before the chocolate sets use a fork to make a swirl pattern on them.

Chef’s Tip
Melt the chocolates in your microwave, using short blasts for 20-30 seconds at a time until smooth and melted. Keep the chocolate warm by covering with cling film.

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More and more people are buying real vanilla pods to use in their cooking rather than use various kinds of vanilla essences, some of which have no real vanilla in them at all. Though the price has come down in the last few years here's a way to get further value out of your vanilla pods.

Instead of throwing away the pods once you have scraped out the seeds put them into an airtight jar and cover with caster sugar (bakers sugar). In a week or two the sugar takes on a lovely vanilla flavour.
I like to use this vanilla sugar when I make custard to make the most wonderful deluxe custard.

*Even if the vanilla pods have been cooked in the sauce, just wash them well in very hot water and dry well on paper towels for several hours before adding them to the sugar.

If you caught any of my BBQ masterclasses around the UK, you know you can cook anything from whole chickens and shoulders of lamb to pizza and cheesecake on a barbecue - if you know how to control the heat. For this recipe, your BBQ needs a lid and you'll also need a disposable aluminium roasting tray. The tray needs to be placed underneath the grill bars in the middle. If your barbecue is charcoal, place the coals around the tray. If your BBQ is gas, leave the centre gas jet off and put the tray in the middle.

INGREDIENTS
1tbsp olive oil
1 .5kg rib (3lb) Rib of beef on the bone
100g (4oz)oyster mushrooms
1 large portabella mushroom
125ml red wine
30g (1.5 oz)butter
1.5tbsp plain flour
2 rashers smoked bacon finely diced
500ml (1pint) beef stock
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 small shallots diced
1 level tbsp tomato puree

METHOD
1. Set up and light your barbecue as per the above instructions.
2. Slice mushrooms into large pieces then fry together with bacon in a non-stick frying pan, until golden brown.
3. Turn the heat down, add the butter and shallots and cook until the shallots are soft. Stir in the flour and stir occasionally until the flour has lightly browned.
4. Transfer the mushroom mix to a non-stick saucepan, gradually add the beef stock a ladle at a time so it stays smooth.
5. Finally add the wine, garlic and tomato puree, stirring in well, then simmer for 40-50 minutes.
6. Rub on a little olive oil and then season the rib of beef with salt and pepper on both sides.
7. Position the rib of beef over the aluminium roasting tray and close lid of the BBQ. In doing this you're creating an oven and can cook the beef to your desired taste (I prefer my beef medium rare so the beef when pressed should still have a little spring in it). If you have a meat thermometer, cook the beef until it reads 145F.
8. Allow the meat to rest before carving then pour over a little of the sauce.

CHEF'S TIPS
The purpose of the disposable aluminium roasting tray is to catch the fat running of the meat and thus avoid flareups.
As you can see from the photo I like to serve this dish with dauphinoise potatoes. If you want to add a lttle extra smokey flavour to the beef soak 1 handful of small hickory wood chips the night before in cold water. Just before you put the Rib to cook drain the wood chips and sprinkle them directly onto the charcoal.

THIS dish of thinly-sliced potatoes cooked in garlic-flavoured cream is one of my favourites and goes particularly well with grilled or roasted meats. The hardest part of the recipe is slicing the raw potatoes thinly but if you have a slicing gadget like a mandolin it will take no time at all.

*You'll need an circular earthenware dish that is approximately 25cm in diameter and about 6.5cm deep - (that's about 10"inches diameter and approximately 2.5 inches deep).

INGREDIENTS
750g baking potatoes, peeled
250ml double cream
125ml milk
1 sprig of thyme
2 large cloves garlic
30g butter
75g grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD
1. Slice the potatoes no thicker than 4mm and preheat oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Make it 180C if your oven is fan-assisted.
2. Grease your dish well with half the butter.
3. Combine cream, milk, thyme and remaining butter in a non-stick saucepan and simmer gently.
4. Crush garlic and add to sauce, stirring occasionally to prevent cream from boiling over.
5. Cook slowly for about 20 minutes to allow garlic to infuse into the sauce, then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
6. Strain sauce into a clean container, making sure to press sauce through the strainer so you lose very little then season with salt and pepper.
7. Saving your best slices for the top, begin to lay potato slices in an overlapping fashion in bottom of oval dish.
8. Sprinkle over a little of the cheese then cover with another layer of potato slices. *Use all of the cheese before you get to the top layer.
. Repeat this process, making your layers as neat and as even as possible until you used all of your potatoes (you need to leave at least 6mm-8mm to have room for the liquid).
9. Press down potato slices firmly and evenly as you can then carefully ladle the cream sauce over them.
10. Cover the top with a buttered parchment paper circle and bake on the middle shelf, placing a tray underneath to catch any drips.
11. Cook the potatoes until they are tender (about 50 minutes)then remove the paper circle and put back on the top shelf until it is golden brown. Most of the milk and cream should be absorbed into the potatoes.

CHEF'S TIP
Potato dauphinois stays hot for a long time so allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. This will allow the dish to set and thus make it easier to serve. You can even reheat this dauphinoise in the microwave so you can prepare it the day before. Just cover the dish with clingfilm first to help keep the moisture in.

Tip of The Week
Starting today I will be posting little recipes or cooking tips once a week, so if there's a recipe your not good at and you want to improve ask your question.

This week I was asked for some tips on home-made pesto. Leading a busy live I don't always get time to make pesto from scratch but my indoor basil plants were getting too big and you just know that home made is going to taste better than shop bought.

Homemade Basil Pesto

100g (4oz) Large unbruised Basil Leaves
50g (2oz) lightly toasted pine nuts
75g (3oz) Grated fresh parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic roughly chopped
200ml extra virgin olive oil
1Tbsp chopped finely fresh parsley (optional)

In a large mortar and pestle
Grind up the pine nuts and the garlic until you have smooth paste.

Then slowly add a few basil leaves at a time and pound them into a silky smooth mixture.
At this point we are going to transfer the mixture to my food processor to finish the pesto off.
Of course we could have done the whole process in the food processor but we would never get as smooth that way. Using this old fashioned method it also bring out a richer greener colour.

Now that the basil paste is in your processor slowly add the parmesan cheese and the parsley on a high speed. Drizzle the olive oil on a lower speed, a little at a time. When you have finished adding all of the oil your pesto should be quite thick.Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Spoon the pesto into a re-sealable glass jar and refridgerate.
Some times I thin the pesto down further with more olive oil, then I can pour into a salad oil bottle.
Shake it before dressing the salad.

Ps. The purpose of the parsley is to increase the rich green colour, but if you use a Mortar and Pestle you probably wont need the.

Cilantro for those that don't recognise the name is what Coriander is called in America and other Spanish-speaking countries such as Mexico. Only when the plant goes to seed do they call it Coriander.

Compared to other countries Tuna is less popular in the UK. Too often it is still overcooked in many kitchens that makes it dry. Blue fin Tuna is considered the best and is highly prized by Japanese cooks who use it for sashimi. When very fresh Tuna is firm and quite red in appearance, one might say almost blood red. The older the Tuna the browner the fish becomes.

Mediterranean flavours, spices, chillies olives and oriental flavours all work well with Tuna, just avoid rich creamy sauces. It's better to buy small thick Tuna steaks than thinly cut big steaks, which may easily get overcooked.

4 x 150gr (6oz) Tuna steaks
Zest and juice of 1 ½ lemons
2 Tbsp chopped Coriander
100ml Olive oil 2 dessert
1 Beefsteak tomato
1 ½ washed bags baby spinach leaves
1 Good pinch of Saffron
16 live clams
1 Teaspoon coriander seeds
50ml white wine
2 dessertspoons olive oil

1. Grind the coriander seeds into a fine powder.
2. Place the saffron in a teacup and cover with 2 teaspoon of boiling water.
3. Scrub the clams in cold water making sure the clams are all tightly shut.
4. Place the clams in a stainless steel saucepan and pour on the wine.
5. Cover the clams with a lid and cook over a medium high heat until the clams are open.
6. Lift the clams out of the cooking liquor and wash to remove any sand or grit. Keep the liquor and allow it to cool.
7. Whisk the lemon juice and zest into the olive oil, and then add the fresh and ground coriander.
8. Remove the seeds from the Beefsteak tomato and cut into a small even dice.
9. Add the tomato to the dressing and then whisk in the saffron.
10. Season the dressing with salt & black pepper then add a little of the reserved clam stock.
11. In a non-stick large frying pan wilt the spinach with 1 dessertspoon of olive oil and season. Keep the spinach warm and allow to drain.
12. Rub the tuna steaks with the remaining olive oil and cook on a hot Char-grill for 3 minutes on each side, adding the clams during the last 2 minutes.

To Serve
Divide the spinach between 4 dinner plates, and then top with the tuna steaks and clams. Spoon over the dressing and serve.

Chef's Tips
Of course if you wish you could cook the tuna indoors using a griddle type frying pan

*As always please feel free to ask questions if there is some part of this recipe you don't quite understand and want help with.
regards
kev