Choux Paste

This is the mix you use when you want to make profiteroles, a nice finish to a Sunday roast.

Choux Paste

568ml Water

227g Unsalted Butter

Pinch of Sugar

258g Strong Flour

7/8 Eggs

Method:

1. Place water and butter in a saucepan; bring to the boil until butter has melted.
2. Sieve flour and sugar together, add to the boiling liquid, mixing until fully absorbed and mixture.
3. Cleans itself from the sides of the pan.
4. Allow to rest for five minutes, beat 7 eggs in a bowl, add half the amount to the paste mixture and Combine.
5. Add the remainder of the eggs, beating in until a dropping consistency is achieved.
6. Cover the mixture and allow to rest for five minutes, use as required
7. Pipe onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper at 205 degrees/gas mark 6 for 30-35 minutes

Macaroons

These are great, you can do them in whatever colour you like, mix it up. You could serve these after a dinner as a petit-four or as something you produce to show off a bit. Either way you should give it ago they are great! once they are done you can leave them in the fridge even put them in the freezer, just allow them to thaw out a little before serving.

This recipe makes 15 portions.

100g Icing Sugar
56g Ground Almonds (*Blitz to a powder for smooth finished texture)
26g Cocoa Powder*
2 Egg Whites
5 Tsp Castor Sugar

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150/gas mark 3
2. Sieve the icing sugar, ground almonds and cocoa powder into a bowl.
3. Whisk the castor sugar and egg whites to stiff peaks. it is to this you add the colouring.
4. Using a piping bag and a small nozzle, pipe out circles about 1 inch in diameter. 
5. Pipe onto a tray lined with grease-proof paper.
6. Leave to rest on the tray for 25 minutes or until a skin develops.
7. Bake for 8 minutes until firm. They should also have risen in the oven.
8. To check they are cooked leave to cool for a few minutes then break in half the inside should be chewy and the outside crunchy.

*Optional

Filling:

125ml Double Cream/ Single Cream
120g Chocolate
15g Butter

Method:

1. Melt the butter and the chocolate together.
2. Allow to cool.
3. Whip the cream til its stiff but not over-whipped! if you do over-whip your cream you can add some un-whipped  cream to it and fold it in.
4. Fold the chocolate mix into the cream and using a piping bag pipe some onto one side of the macaroon and sandwich with another macaroon - like Oreos. Kind of!

Christmas

I haven't written in a while, getting the college assignments finished right now, I said I would be putting up some Christmas recipes - this is a great one to use instead of Brussels sprouts at the Christmas dinner, it has a different flavour, the inside is filled with peas and bacon and shredded cabbage its then cooked in chicken stock perfect if you don't have time to be standing around and watching the stove.

More Christmas(sy) Recipes To Come..... Ho Ho Ho!!

Braised Cabbage With Smoked Bacon and Peas

This is a perfect side dish for Bacon and Cabbage or or with Duck a  L'orange - which is what i have served it with. The filling in the cabbage is so rich with flavours and then the cooking process itself gives a totally different flavour, it is perfect if you don't really like cabbage as its mixed with other ingredients. This should serve 4

2 Streaky Rashers

2 Cloves Of Garlic

1 Cabbage

Rosemary

Cracked Black Pepper

Salt

Method:

1. Remove the outer leaves and set aside for the parcels,
2. Roughly chopped the inner cabbage leaves
3. Sauté off lardons bacon add rosemary and garlic. 
4. Add the peas
5. Add the outside leaves of cabbage then tie neatly. 
6. Add stock and steam for 1 minute.

*Be Careful, you don't overcook the cabbage as it can become soggy, and the inner ingredients can turn to mush.

Time

I  knows it has been a while since I had written but with Christmas, College and a new addition to the house .. a brand new puppy we call Millie (or as I call Millie the monster) who loves to distract me by attempting to eat the laptop or to join in with the typing. But coming up to Christmas I will try to put up some festive recipes and when I finish up fro college and the pup finally settles I hope to be back to the one a day recipe I had before.

Poached Pears with Raspberry Coulis and some Fresh Strawberries

This dish is really simple and you can have most if it ready before hand, the raspberry coulis will last up to up 5-7 days in the fridge and of course this time of the year raspberries can be expensive you can substitute with strawberries of you want and then serve with some fresh raspberries. Allow 1 pear per person.

Stock syrup is made up of : (This makes 1 litre)
400g Castor Sugar
900ml Water
100ml White Wine
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
2 Vanilla Pods (Optional)

Method:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to the boil, this would make a great stock syrup you could have for making sorbet. 
2. For poached pears peel the pears and place in the stock syrup and the longer they are left in the better, allow to come to the boil. 
3. Remove from the heat and leave the pears in the stock syrup.

Raspberry coulis/Strawberry coulis when I make this I usually use frozen as they are available all year round and can be quite inexpensive and then I would serve with fresh fruit of either. 

200g Berries

50g Castor Sugar

50ml Water

Juice of 1/2 Lime

Method:

1. Put a small saucepan on the heat
2. Add the water and sugar and allow to cook down to an almost light caramel colour 
3. Then add the berries and stir well 
4. Add the juice of the lime and allow to reduce
5. Strain (Optional) and set aside

Now in the image I have a sugar basket this can be technical to make;

1. You need to get a small saucepan and add 200g of castor sugar and just enough water to soak up the sugar and put on a high heat
2. It should turn a light caramel after about 3 minutes and then without stirring gentle spin the saucepan to mix all together 
3. There will be a slight burnt scent when you dip the base of the pan in cold water to cool down the caramel
4. Then well oil the underside of a ladle and using a fork dip in the caramel and quickly flick over and back over the ladle (careful the caramel is about 200 degrees if you get in on your skin trust me it is very sore!)
5. It cools very fast and then just carefully twist off the ladle
6. If the caramel becomes to hard to use just put back on the heat and repeat the process