Hooked on cooking – dessert design

Following on from the idea of using the Smoothie Cups with lids here's the first “dessert design” to fill them.

Nothing is set in stone and free expression brings creativity and fun – all you need to provide is the wherewithal. You can spend whatever your budget allows.

Here's my basic recipe – use it as a template :

Pantry Parfait

(or pantry trifle)

Chocolate walnut cake

OR

Chocolate muffins

OR

Chocolate swiss roll (M&S the best)

Morello cherry conserve

(M&S 340g £1.70)

Chocolate ganache - 250g dark chocolate

& 360ml double cream

Chopped sour cherries and chocolate chips

for decoration

As a rough guide, allow 75g of cherry conserve per person. Melt the conserve gently adding a drop of water to loosen. Allow to cool.

For the ganache heat the cream over a medium heat, bring just to the boil, then pour over the chocolate whisking until smooth. Allow to cool before use.

To assemble, slice the cake, cut into thin rounds and layer it with the cooled conserve – you can have any many layers as you wish.

Add a spoonful of ganache and sprinkle chopped sour cherries and chocolate chips to decorate.

Suitable substitutes :

Use fresh fruit in season – i.e. strawberries together with strawberry jam, instead of cherries.

Mix fresh fruit with tins or cartons of pie filling, available from larger supermarkets and in various flavour combinations.

Finally, to avoid the plastic “glassware” tipping over, “glue” the glasses to the work surface with a small amount of Blu-Tack or, a damp j cloth will help keep them reasonably stable and avoid any mishaps.

You could provide a can of cream – the kind that they can shake and spray to finish off their creations. This is quite obviously not meant to be the healthy option, it's meant to get your students' attention for the more adventurous stuff to come. Your main aim is to keep them hooked!

Hooked on cooking – picnic plastic!

A little imagination goes a long way – especially when it doesn't cost lots of dosh. Have a mooch around your cheap and cheerful stores – method in the madness – receptacles that don't cost the earth but make excellent containers for building trifles or whatever you'd like to call them. I give you my latest find, Smoothie Cups with lids – 8 per pack – cost £1.

If you don't want lids then you can get packs of half pint and pint measures for the same price.

You could introduce a touch of competition and if you are “supervising” a group of say 4, then get someone else to judge the best and give a small prize – in the interests of impartiality, it shouldn't be you!

You don't have to spend dosh at all if you have a stash of empty jam jars – clean of course. Safety may be an issue depending on the ages of your students.

There's a huge selection of all sorts of picnic plastic out there, especially if your intention is to save on washing up – which, by the way, is the responsibility of your students – not the Supervisor!

Hooked on cooking – the main event!

Ringing the changes, today's session will be cooking supper for tonight.

The recipe that follows is easy and makes really tasty meatballs, together with a tomato sauce. All you'll have to do later on is cook the spaghetti – can't be bad! As a rough guide 450g of minced meat will give you twelve meatballs, so if you've four students with 450g per two students, you'll have 24 meatballs in total – this is not an exact science since your students are new at this and the sizes may vary!

Meatballs

450g minced beef, pork or turkey

*salt and black pepper

*garlic – either 2 tsps of paste or 2 cloves, crushed

*mixed herbs or garlic Italian seasoning – a generous sprinkle

*half a tsp of chilli

*heaped tbsp of tomato paste

*1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

Rapeseed or vegetable oil for shallow frying

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the remaining ingredients marked *, mix well. At this point your mixture may be too wet. If it is, sprinkle a little plain flour over the mixture and fold in gently.

Use a teaspoon as a measure and heaped with mixture, roll it between your hands and set aside on a board. When the meatballs are ready, heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry on a low heat, gently and carefully shaking the pan to ensure they are evenly coloured – use tongs if you are accident prone! Seal the meatballs in batches - 8 at a time and then transfer to an oven-proof dish or foil tray ready for later – cool, cover and fridge.

When you are ready for supper later in the day place the dish or tray containing the meatballs in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 and complete the cooking for 20/30 minutes – this time will vary depending on the sizes of the meatball – ensure that they are properly cooked – cut a larger one in half to be sure. Whilst the meatballs are in the oven cook your spaghetti and warm up the tomato sauce.

It may be that your students won't be interested in the tomato sauce element – it depends on their attention span – but it's easy to do and takes no time at all – in fact the sauce will improve with “standing” so if it is the case that you are making the sauce you can make it the day before, cover and fridge - after all your students have supplied the main event!

Tomato Sauce

500g sieved tomatoes or the equivalent in cans of chopped tomatoes

1 medium/large onion, chopped finely

garlic clove or tsp of minced garlic

1tbsp olive oil

knob of butter

vegetable stock pot and 250ml of boiling water

oregano or garlic Italian seasoning

black pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

Melt the olive oil and butter in a saucepan, add the onion and fry gently until soft then add the garlic. Add the oregano or garlic Italian seasoning and black pepper. Then add your stock pot and boiling water so that it melts, add the tomatoes and sprinkle on the tsp of sugar. The sugar is meant to balance out the acidity that one sometimes gets with tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes.

N.B. If you want to add extra depth you can add a tbsp of tomato paste. I would suggest that you taste your sauce before you simmer for 20 minutes. If you add paste then the simmering process will cook it out and its important that you do this - it tastes horrid if you don't. A lot depends on personal taste and how good your tomatoes are.

Here's hoping your students are hooked and the rest of the family too!

Hooked on cooking!

Two small pieces of advice. If your time is “fluid” in that you can change any plans to suit yourselves then check the weather forecast – if it's going to be a great day, use it – when it's not good - cook! Design your students' cooking sessions for the mornings – if you leave it until the afternoon they'll have lost any enthusiasm and would much prefer to sit with whatever game and/or device is flavour of the month!

Since you've only just embarked on your mission to create the next culinary genius – be smart – let them be creative with their lunch today.

Definitely up there with the pizza and burger culture is the sandwich – in this case a toasted version. Most people (that eat meat that is) like a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, here's my suggestion and if you have non meat eaters omit the ham and by the way, if you are watching the pennies then don't use Gruyére cheese, use a mature cheddar instead.

Croque Monsieur

aka posh toasted sandwich

aka signature sarnie

Serves 2

4 slices of medium sliced wholemeal bread

2 tsp Dijon mustard

75g (3oz) Gruyere cheese (grated)

2 slices of ham – wafer ham works well – as good a quality as you can afford

30g (1½oz) unsalted butter

Use funky cutters!

Preheat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4

Spread ½ tsp of mustard over each slice of bread.

Spread half the cheese on two slices of bread followed by the ham, remaining cheese on top. Sandwich together with the other two slices of bread.

Cut out the shapes chosen.

Heat the butter in a frying pan until foaming – fry your croque monsieur on a gentle heat for 1-2 minutes on each side and transfer onto a baking sheet – repeat until all your croques are ready, place the sheet into the oven for 4/5 minutes and then serve.

The benefit of using cutters is that each student can choose their own – easily identifiable when out of the oven and ready to serve – no arguments. If, like me, you've a huge box full of assorted cutters you might even have initials – even better.

So, some supervision is required for the final stage – note to self – don't forget a sandwich for you!

Lets make afters

My first “afters” offering in “get them hooked on cooking” is Pinwheels. Once again minimum work in the way of prep for the supervisor, only a few minutes and the night before works well for me! No stress and maximum fun for the budding chefs.

Pinwheels

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed in fridge (375g)

15g butter, melted

50g dark chocolate drops (or finely chopped)

25g ground almonds

25g dried cherries, finely chopped

25g craisins, finely chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp milk

Preheat your oven 180c fan/200c/Gas 6. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or similar. Unroll the pastry sheet and lay with the short sides left and right, you are going to roll to form a log.

Brush the surface of the pastry and melted butter then scatter the chocolate and ground almonds leaving a border at the top end of the pastry to enable you to “glue” the log when rolled. Then scatter the cherries and craisins over the chocolate and almonds. Carefully roll up from one of the shortest sides as tightly as you can forming a log.

Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 12 even slices. Place on the baking tray and brush with the remaining butter, then the beaten egg mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden.

Fondant Glaze

75g icing sugar

2-3 tsps boiling water

Pour the boiling water slowly over the icing sugar in a small bowl while stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon. Pour in only enough water to make a creamy mixture that has the consistency of pancake batter. Cool. You need to make sure the mixture isn't too stiff, you need to be able to drizzle the glaze over your pastries.

Here's some helpful illustrations and the end result.

Take a tip or three :

Use the greaseproof wrapping with the pastry sheet as a base to roll the pinwheels.

Place a damp j cloth on your worktop and then the sheet on top – it will avoid it ending up on the floor!

When you get to the stage of slicing into 12 portions mark the roll in the middle, and then each half again (i.e. quarters) and then divide each quarter into 3 – there's a fighting chance of reasonably even pinwheels.

I warn you – these will vanish at the speed of light – it's a good idea to have two batches 1 x 2 kids.

Lets make lunch

If you've ever had to cope with grumpy teenagers then a crucial ingredient in the “hook” is speed – not for nothing do we call it “fast food”.

In this spirit, first up is the Stromboli previously mentioned in the blog. In my opinion it cannot fail – it suits young and old alike – if you're overwhelmed by the size of a whole pizza Stromboli does away with this problem because you can help yourself to as many small slices as you wish.

In your “supervisory” prep ahead you might like to think about providing a range of toppings so that the kids can choose whatever they want to fill their stromboli. For example, ham, pineapple, chicken, sweetcorn, olives, salami, pepperoni, mushroom, peppers, onions, greenery of your choice i.e. baby spinach, blah blah! You get the picture – you know best the likes and dislikes of your charges.

Here's the recipe again for ease of reference :

Stromboli

400g prepared pizza dough or ready-made base

4 tbsp tomato paste

100g thinly sliced salami

120g baby spinach

100g thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

Generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic Italian seasoning

Pre-heat your oven 220fan/200c/Gas 8. Place a large baking tray in the oven.

Place a dampened J cloth on your work surface. Place a piece of baking parchment on top of the cloth – it will stop it sliding – make sure you leave enough to get hold of – you're going to lift it onto the hot baking tray that's in the oven at the moment. Unroll the pizza dough gently on the parchment.

Spread the tomato paste onto the base. Add the slices of salami, followed by the spinach and then the mozzarella and sprinkle with the oregano or garlic Italian seasoning. Roll up the base from the shortest side and brush with the olive oil - make sure it's seam-side down when placed on the tray.

WITH CARE remove the tray from the oven and then carefully lift the parchment and the rolled up pizza onto it. Place back in the oven for 20/25 minutes until golden brown – check at 20 minutes.

When removed from the oven slice into portions to suit and serve.

Choose any of your favourite pizza toppings to create your own Stromboli – the fastest pizza ever.

Asda for the prepared pizza dough - £1.30 per 400g pack.

If you want to know what it looks like, check out Salad revival Italian style: Stromboli for the salad.

When an unstoppable force...

... meets an immovable object

In this instance the immoveable object I'm talking about is a younger person (and it varies in age) who doesn't consider it cool to cook!

I think it matters therefore what you choose for the first session – you need to get their attention and pizza is not a bad place to begin. Just in case there are doubters out there saying - “junk food”. I concede that there are elements that may be considered junk but it's being assembled with fresh ingredients as you'll see.

If your children have friends who are interested and you can manage 4 it creates a great atmosphere and they get so interested in what they are doing they forget to fall out or squabble! If you have sufficient space and a friend to perch with you and help supervise then the more the merrier but 4 would be a good place to start. It also gives you two groups of two – plenty of food for everyone to share.

A word to the wise - I'd like to suggest that if you're going to try “hooked on cooking” during the holidays you might deliberately cook more protein than you need over a weekend. It doesn't really matter what sort – chicken, lamb, beef - all will be revealed.

A little prep goes a long way – ingredients you'll need won't be difficult, unusual or expensive.

Any kitchen kit required really depends on the ages of the kids – you can buy wooden spoons, rolling pins et al for small hands quite easily these days and inexpensively too.

Knives however are a different kettle of fish and you may be surprised to know that there are knives specifically designed for childrens' use when learning to cook. Check out “Kiddi Kutter Childs Safety Knife” www.lakeland.co.uk. This product is suitable for age 3+.

Lets get on.

Have some fun …

… with the kids and get them hooked on cooking!

Whether you're a parent or grandparent you can't avoid the fact that it's that time again – aargh – the school holidays. It may be that as a parent you are taking time off, shortening your working days or are fortunate enough to have parents to call upon to help with care.

If you are responsible for child care then I take it that under normal circumstances – budget permitting, you may send the children to a holiday club or something similar. If not this route then may be a day out here and there.

Whatever the circumstances, how about getting the kids hooked on cooking. I'm not talking Michelin Stars here but we all have to start somewhere and, if you get them interested now, think how much money they'll save when they go off to University – or wherever life may take them – if they can cook for themselves.

Picture yourself perched on a kitchen stool supervising (with your coffee or tea) - not only are the kids learning, they are preparing their own lunch and yours too - which they'll take great pride in serving – believe me when I tell you this!

Depending on the ages of the children then obviously the amount of supervision required varies.

This summer – even if it's only a couple of days a week – why not let the kids make their own lunch and supper too, each with a dessert and on different days to avoid boredom - who knows – it just might catch on.

So be prepared to let them get down and messy.

Sit back and watch the fun and think of the money you'll save too!

Nasi – but not as we know it!

I mentioned in The art of disguise… fish about substituting the cooked chicken with thin strips of smoked salmon and/or smoked salmon flakes and the ham with 4-6 hard boiled eggs, chopped.

Here's an alternative “fish” Nasi recipe :

Nasi but not

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder

8oz (225g) cooked rice

6oz (175g) cooked salmon fillet, flaked

6oz (175g) smoked salmon, finely sliced

6oz (175g) peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

2 tbsp Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

4-6 hard boiled eggs, quartered

black pepper

Serves 4-6

Add the vegetable oil to a wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder and fry until lightly browned. Add the rice and cook for a few seconds then stir in the salmon and prawns.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar and lemon juice together, then stir into the rice mixture. Stir in the ham then season to taste with pepper.

Add the eggs, folding in gently, serve immediately, straight from the wok.

You can adjust the amounts of fish/seafood to your own personal taste – bearing in mind that you have two elements to replace from the original recipe – chicken and ham – 175g each plus 175g of prawns. You are adding hard boiled eggs but I see these as garnish but definitely an integral part of the dish since the sauce is quite punchy and the fish quite salty so they play an important part in the balance.

Once again though, make it your own – adjust to suit yourself, if you want more prawns then adjust the amount of salmon accordingly. The great thing about this recipe is that it is a “leftovers” dish i.e. everything in it, apart from the onion, garlic and chilli and the sauce, is already cooked.

Check out the summertime deals around at the moment – salmon fillets and smoked salmon are part of the picnic passion – always assuming we ever have any decent weather – a soggy bottom is not nice!

A little summerthing extra …

… for your strawberries and cream/ice cream

Strawberry & Almond Soup

250g strawberries, the riper the better

2 tbsp icing sugar

3 tbsp water

3 tbsp Amaretto liqueur

Top your strawberries and cut into quarters, straight into your blender. Add the icing sugar and the water and blitz until you have a purée.

Pass the purée through a sieve and then add the Amaretto liqueur. Cover and “fridge”.

Serve tipped over strawberries and ice cream, vanilla ice cream on its own or even over a plain cake.

Thanks to Niki Segnit and “The flavour Thesarus” where I came across this recipe. It didn't have a title so I gave it “soup” since it's messes with your senses - ice cream and soup!

It's a really quick recipe and here's what it looks like.

You could toast some flaked almonds and sprinkle over the soup for added texture!

What the girls said …

“the food is amazing, inspiration for cooking, food for thought”

“wonderful flavours and textures”

“quick, easy, tasty”

“always a sign of good food – silence!”

“soda bread was delicious with the goats cheese, sour cherries and honey – beautiful!”

“pretend risotto with pasta, it was lovely”

“orzotto even better than risotto – much easier”

… and back to the bread

The girls loved the speed with which the loaf went into the oven. No proving, no faffing around. We deliberated as to what additions could be made – nigella seeds, chopped walnuts, olives, to name but three. Continuing with the weekend treat theme, think also of the quality issues – how virtuous can you be?!

Give some thought to the E numbers in processed bread – there's one for colouring the crust, another for extending the shelf life, another for making sure the crumb stays soft – aka an emulsifier – added enzymes to ensure your overall loaf stays soft – I could go on!

“Artisan breads” are very trendy nowadays – one thing is certain, you'll pay for the privilege – you are entitled to ask, politely of course, how your “artisan” loaf was baked and therefore to make sure it is what is says on the fancy waistband wrapper you so often see.

I realise that the rapid soda bread recipe is not an authentic “sourdough” the real McCoy (i.e. the real deal) takes at least 16 hours – but whose got that sort of time?! Personally I'd rather know what ingredients – and the fewer the better – were in my loaf, humble though it may be. In the unlikely event that you have any of your loaf left I can confirm unreservedly that it toasts brilliantly.

A memo …

… to the BBC Good Food Show Summer and to whoever is responsible for doling out the fast food concessions.

To: BBC Good Food Show Summer – Complaints and Feedback

From: Me

Re: Visit to BBC Good Food Show Summer – Birmingham 16^th June 2016

I set down below an excerpt from my post entitled A Grand Day Out … take a tip, as follows :

... with limited choices we chose a crepe from a concession near the picnic areas – sweet or savoury – we opted for the savoury @ £6 per crepe – expensive, although tasty enough. What I didn't realise until it was too late was that the two small bottles of water purchased at the same time – at £2 each – gasp - was from Costco – for those not familiar, a membership based cash and carry which bears the Kirkland name. I can't tell you yet exactly how much they cost per bottle but rest assured I'll be backing up my mouth as soon as possible – if I had to guess probably in the region of 20p per bottle – watch this space.

I was very generous with “in the region of 20p per bottle”.

I have now completed my research. The bottles of water are sold in packs of 40 – each bottle is 500ml. Cost (including VAT) is 1.6p per 100ml – 8.025p per bottle which, if my arithmetic is correct, results in a mark up of 2492%.

Everyone is entitled to make a profit and lets not forget it's hard work but there's a limit and there's a vast difference between what is reasonable and absolute daylight robbery.

I did try to pass my research to “Contact Us” “For complaints and feedback regarding the show see our CUSTOMER CHARTER”. Sadly “File or directory not found … might have been removed … name changed or is temporarily unavailable.”

So, my final effort is to email general enquiries bbcgoodfoodshow@riverstreetevents.co.uk – I'll keep you posted!

Back to work … dessert

... is based on a quick and easy recipe using a fruit that is in season – apricots.  If you're using fresh fruit then you'll need at least 8 apricots i.e. 4 halves per person, stones removed – more if you want!  Apricots have a short season and can be unreliable, so here's a recipe that uses a store cupboard ingredient i.e. the tinned alternative.

Caramelised Apricots

Serves 4

1 x 420g tin of apricots, drained

40g unsalted butter

50g soft light brown sugar

25ml Amaretto liqueur

8/10 amaretti biscuits, crushed

Pre-heat oven 180 fan/200c/Gas 6

I used my trusted frying pan that is suitable to use in the oven.

Melt the butter on a medium heat, add the apricots and then the liqueur.  Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the fruit and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or sorbet works well too.

Verdicts to follow with “what the girls said”.

Back to work – Main

Orzo

Anyone out there heard of orzo?  No, it's not some fancy swordsman, that's Zorro, nor is it a spirit drunk in Greece – that's ouzo!  Orzo is in fact a type of pasta.  It looks just like large grains of rice.

Do we like risotto – yep, I think we do.  There's only one major problem with risotto – to cook it properly you need time to give it tender loving care.  Not a quick supper dish.  Well, recently reading a copy of delicious. I came across a recipe called Summer minestrone and pancetta orzotto.  Give a recipe a fancy schmancy title and I automatically think complicated – in this case not at all!

Orzotto

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

260g orzo pasta

500ml vegetable stock (or chicken)

juice of 1 lemon

200g frozen petit pois

2 tbsp fresh pesto

bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

extra pesto and slices of lemon to serve

salt and black pepper

Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for 2/3 minutes.  Stir in orzo and cook for 1-2 minutes and then add the stock all at once.  Simmer and stir occasionally for 7/8 minutes until nearly cooked.  Stir in the lemon juice and the frozen peas.  Simmer for 2/3 minutes until the peas are cooked then add the pesto and the parsley.  Season to taste and serve with extra pesto and a squeeze of lemon.

This dish lends itself – serve as above as a vegetarian dish topped with grated parmesan.

Add 80g of diced chorizo or cubed pancetta with the onion at the beginning of the recipe for meat eaters.  The original recipe contains pancetta and uses chicken stock.

  

Sprinkle with bacon bits and parmesan – if you serve the bacon bits in a separate bowl then everyone can help themselves - you can serve vegetarians and meat eaters too.

I made the vegetarian version but served it with a chicken breast on the side – it vanished.  You can't say it isn't versatile!

If I've ever had risotto leftovers I've turned it into arancini (aka rice balls stuffed with cheese) but whichever way you look at it it's a lot of work especially for a quick supper.

Anyway, waffling over, I divided the orzotto leftovers into foil trays with lids and “fridged”.  I ate my portion two days later, warming it through in a 160fan/180c/Gas 4 oven for 15 minutes (only because I was warming something else) and tipped it into a warmed bowl – the orzotto was as good as the night I made it, sprinkled liberally with parmesan of course – it would be rude not to!

Note to self – next time I'm going to add chestnut mushrooms with the onion.

Orzo pasta is on my permanent pantry staple list – make it your own, whatever you fancy, you will not regret it – in addition it makes a great lunch box – cold or hot.

If by any chance you do have leftovers you can't use it will freeze, boxed or bagged for up to a month.

I make no apology to the risotto purists out there – there's plenty of room orzotto too!

P.s. You can buy gluten free orzo.

Back to work!

It's all very well gadding about all over the place but it's time to get back in the saddle.  It's a bit like waiting for a bus – you wait for hours and then two come along at once – a London trip and then Birmingham in the same month!

So lets crack on – it's Class time again

Remember the Soda bread rapido mentioned in Beautiful bread - this will be my appetiser.  I shall make a loaf late afternoon so that it is still pleasantly warm, ready for my guests to enjoy and then demonstrate another.  Just imagine the aroma when they walk into the dem room!

It would be pretty miserable just serving up slices of bread – fresh though it may be.  So I decided to have two options to taste test.  The first is lemon curd – the microwave version.  A small gift – a pot of their own to take home if they don't want to use it during the evening.  My alternative is soft goats' cheese and tart montmorency cherries chopped finely – enough to sprinkle over the cheese and finally an optional drizzle of clear honey.  You could use fresh cherries at the moment since they are in season – don't forget to stone them!  The cheese and cherries would make an excellent crostini topping.

Oh, by the way – re the soda bread - instead of dusting your baking sheet with flour, try semolina.  Likewise sprinkle semolina over the top of the loaf before baking to give a really crusty loaf – deep joy.

Freshly baked bread always makes me think of home-made lemon curd – a little strange since I don't really have a sweet tooth – I think it's the satisfaction of producing jars of it – comfort food at its best.

Here's a photo of my luscious lemon curd.

What a great weekend treat – turn the oven on to pre-heat on your way to the kettle - it only takes 30 minutes.  If you weigh out your flour, salt and bicarb the previous day you just add the buttermilk and in it goes – it'll be ready before your second mug of coffee or tea!

… and finally - Perfect Pies and the Garlic Farm

My final contributions from the Good Food Show begin with Simple Simon's Perfect Pies. I'm convinced it's a “North of Watford” thing – I've always been addicted to good pies – they don't have to be vegetarian, far from it – just good.

The best way I can illustrate the variety here is to show a couple of photographs taken on the day.

I came away with 2 x cheese & onion, a butter bean & brie and fresh & smoked haddock with leek and white wine sauce. The lady on the stand said that these pies are intended to be a meal in themselves – a weenie bit sceptical since I would always serve other stuff with a pie, if only veggies.

We ate the cheese & onion pies a day later, freezing the remaining two for a later date. They were delicious and the lady on the stand was spot on – they are a meal in themselves, or in my case, two – I saved half for the following day.

Fast forward a couple of weeks – pies defrosted according to instructions and 25 minutes later supper is ready.

The verdict for the butter bean & brie and the fish pies was not as good as the cheese & onion. The puff pastry is excellent and consistent in all them but the fillings were disappointing in the butter bean and fish. It may be of course that I was just unlucky anyway if you want more information check out their website – www.simplesimonspies.co.uk.

If you love garlic and use it regularly try the Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk for lots of different varieties and sizes and other products too. Be careful though - it's a bit like buying herbs and spices but if there are enough mates then it would be worthwhile sharing an order. Don't forget that you can roast your garlic and freeze it.

Check out the photo – elephant garlic - seriously!

In conclusion, there's so much to cram into a day at the Show I'd venture to suggest a little planning is required to make the most of it – have a great time!

Goodies to go … savoury

… and the latest fashion

seems to be Himalayan Salt Blocks of all shapes and sizes. You know that old adage “you learn something every day” - well did you know that an expert in all things salt is called a Selmelier, I assume from the French for salt being sel!

I leave you to make your own mind up – here's a snapshot of what you can do with your salt block and other salt products.

If you use spices and herbs and all things ancillary thereto then check out Fox's Spices 01789 266420 email: sales@foxs-spices-ltd.co.uk and ask for their mail order catalogue – seriously comprehensive. Bear in mind the lifespan of herbs and spices is limited so don't get carried away because it's cheaper than the supermarket – it's only cheaper if you're going to use it! You could buy and share with your friends, then it really would be economical. I use star anise powder and it's difficult to get where I live so I was delighted to come away clutching my fresh supply.

Here's a couple of photos of their latest products.

Oh and just a thought – if you have a present to buy for someone who loves their food then you should have a look at Fox's Gift Selections – there are loads to choose from – Country Kitchen Herb Gift Selection – Indian Spice Gift Selection – Garlic Fiends Treasure Trove …....

Happy shopping!

Goodies to go … sweet

A few selected goodies picked up at the Show … for those who have a sweet tooth, here are a couple of offerings.

Have a look at Flapjackery they had flapjacks that would satisfy even the sweetest tooth! Have a look at the information below. I came away with two completely different versions – one apple crumble flapjack and the other millionaires flapjack. The crumble version was a treat for my husband, who demolished it. The millionaires version I did sample – a little too sweet for me but again the remainder vanished the following day so I think it's a fair to say they are fab.

What did strike me as a great idea – if there's anyone out there who has family starting university in September/October it would make a great “going away” gift – practical too!

My next contribution is a little more healthy. I give you the Good Full stop healthy fruit and nut bar. The bars come in different flavour combinations – have a look at the selection in the photo below and if you're interested then their information is in the following photo.

Me, I came away with two flavours to try Cherry & Maple and Choc & Orange. They had samples of the whole range at the Show – verdict – yes please. For me, perfect to stash in the handbag or briefcase for emergencies.

Tom's recipes!

Recipes for two out of the three dishes demonstrated are mentioned in the programme. The one that I thought was the stand out is not, so now is the time that I say that I don't care if everyone thinks I'm obsessive because I carry a small journal around – I wrote as he spoke, here it is :

Tray bake chicken

Heritage tomatoes

Pinch of dried oregano

1 medium red onion

1 tbsp dried polenta (used as a thickener)

sliced salami

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

one buffalo mozzarella

2 chicken breasts

drizzle of olive oil

black pepper and pinch of salt

fresh oregano for garnish

Pre-heat your oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6

Choose an oven proof casserole approximately 24x24cms square x 6cms deep which should serve 4-6 depending on size of appetite.

I realise there aren't any quantities given but it matters not. Think of this dish as a pizza without a base. It's all about layers :

cut your tomatoes in half or quarters depending

on size and place in the casserole

sprinkle with dried oregano

peel and slice the red onion thinly – layer

on top of the tomatoes

sprinkle dried polenta over the tomatoes and

onion – the polenta serves as a thickener as

the dish cooks

add a layer of sliced salami

add finely sliced garlic

tear and add the mozzarella

slice two chicken breasts at an angle and arrange

on top of the mozzarella

add a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper

and a pinch of salt

Garnish with fresh oregano

Bake for 20 minutes and serve whilst hot

The second recipe was the Pork & feta burger with cucumber and olive salsa. Not for the faint hearted. At the end of the demo – aided by his trusted cameraman who did his best to interfere constantly – it may sound cheesy but it made a change to have fun watching someone who clearly loved what he was doing but didn't take himself too seriously.

Mr. Kerridge has also gone up a notch or two since, having completed the demo and arranged the burger he began to giggle and said “here is the pork burger with a cucumber, feta and olive salsa” - he'd forgotten to include the feta in the burger mix so included it in the salsa. He could have said nothing – other than those on stage, no-one would have known – how refreshing, not that he made a mistake, he said so – hurrah for Tom!

Both this recipe and that of the blackened Cajun redfish are in Mr. Kerridge's book “Tom's Table”

I would definitely go see Tom Kerridge again – he was soooo ordinary and nice in the best possible way.

BBC Good Food Show - Supertheatre

Can't say I was mega excited at the thought of seeing a celebrity chef but, for the sake of £3 for the ticket it seemed churlish not to – you could hardly call it expensive especially compared to the cost of the bottled water! I promise I won't say another word on the subject – for the moment.

Booking ahead and as early as possible will get you the chef you want at a time to suit you. We went on the day the show opened and to the first session at 11.00 a.m. Tom Kerridge was the man and before I go any further I have to say it was the best £3 I've ever spent. A really nice guy, together with his partner in cooking – also lovely – together with the funniest cameraman I've ever seen. It matters not where you sit since there's a big screen above the stage.

The banter was entertaining and when Mr. Kerridge mentioned Paul Hollywood's name there was more than a murmur from the audience. You can imagine what the reaction was like, when a few minutes later he came striding onto the stage and took part in the “question and answer” audience participation element. Much as it pains me to say this, since I am not a Paul Hollywood fan, I have to give credit where it's due – he was great and didn't try to steal Tom's thunder.

There's also BBC Good Food Stage (sponsored by Lakeland) which gives a combination of interviews and demonstrations from lots of celebrities starting at 10.30am and the latest spot begins at 4.30pm. There are no tickets, so free – it's a first come, first served basis.

Timetables of both the Supertheatre and the Food Stage were available and I'd imagine it will be a similar format for the November Show.

Never let it be said that I don't keep you fully informed – the next BBC Good Food Show is 24-27 November at Birmingham NEC.

On Tom's demo menu was

Blackened Cajun redfish

Pork & feta burger and cucumber and olive salsa

Tray bake chicken

Three dishes in 30 minutes or so is not bad going.

Guess what's coming next!