Saturday night supper

For the GOM, in front of the football (soccer USA)

Depending on what you fancy, the following is either a “Snug Shepherd” or a “Cosy Cottage” – minced lamb for the shepherd and minced beef for the cottage – pie that is!

A Shepherd or a Cottage

700g minced lamb or beef

1 tbsp rapeseed oil (Canola USA)

2 tbsps Madeira

2 tbsps Ruby Port

2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce

2 tbsps tomato paste

2 lamb or beef stock pots

50-100 ml water

Using a large frying pan and preferably one that is suitable for transfer to the oven. Heat the oil and then add the mince and brown, turning until thoroughly browned. Add the Madeira and the Port and bring to the boil for 2/3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and the stock pots and mix well until absorbed and melted.

Your filling should not be too dry but not too wet either. You should be able to see tiny puddles of liquid. If you need to add water then add it gradually – you can add more you can't remove it!

It's difficult to predict how much fat there'll be in minced meat. Lamb, generally speaking, will have more than beef.

You can transfer the filling into a foil tray or, as I did, leave it in the frying pan.

As a guide, my frying pan that is suitable for hob and oven is 28cms in diameter – 3 very large appetites or 4 normal.

I feel the need to describe the “puddles” :

See them glistening – not too wet but definitely not too dry.

Next - to mash or not to mash, this is the question!

Food critics …

… come in all shapes, sizes and ages.

When I began the blog way back when, I wrote about the GOM – almost always when we were in South Carolina. GOM sounds like a character that would sit well in a Tolkein novel - nothing so literary – it's simply “grumpy old men”!

For those of us of a certain age GOM don't need an explanation. They do however have their uses. My GOM are ardent cruciverbalists – they love crosswords and not just your ordinary garden variety such as appear in newspapers - they are what I refer to as “Chinese crosswords” - they may as well be written in mandarin!

These days the GOM could be in South Carolina or Northamptonshire in the UK – geography doesn't really matter - they are totally absorbed in their craft and for me it's an ideal time to “taste test” any new recipe.

Bring on the tandoori chicken salad.

No ceremony, no explanation just “please clear the decks – lunch is ready”.

One thing is for certain there's no sitting on the fence with an opinion from these two, thumbs up or thumbs down!

Well that went quite well – three things – silence, an empty bowl and “excellent” - I'll take that. Silence implies “I'm busy, this is great”, an empty bowl speaks for itself and the spoken comment is the cherry on top of the cake or in this case the dressing on top of the salad – that's terrible – I do apologise!

Lunch went so well that there's another new dish for supper, thank you boys.

I realise, by the way, that the word “salad” means cold and boring to many. I hope this salad will be an exception since it has heat in the tandoori tikka element but perfectly balanced with the Italianesque dressing.

Give it a go, I don't think you'll regret it.

Step by step salad photos

Experiment with colours – have a look at the small sweet peppers - see photo below

 

Now it's looking good

Now it's looking even better - there are some dishes that just scream “eat me I'm delicious!”

On the strength of this recipe I've treated myself to the book “Beyond Brilliant” and it is winging its way to me as I write. Lets see what else it has in store for us!

A step by step chicken tikka guide

The colours are vibrant and stunning – just as they should be.

Do I have your attention?

Radio Recipes - 22nd January, 2018

As promised here are the recipes and the bits and pieces mentioned during my chat with Bernie Keith, on his Radio Show, The Bernie Keith Show, BBC Radio Northampton on Monday 22^nd January, 2018 at 10.10am. If you fancy a listen after its aired have a look for the 22/01/2018 show on this link.

If you liked the idea of the “muddle” here's the “recipe” and a couple of photos too.

The Muddle

Choose a dish or bowl that's not too large

Warm the chocolate pudding, one large dessert spoon

in each bowl

One scoop of vanilla ice cream

3 or 4 pieces of Rocky Road

or Chocolate Hokey Pokey

Drizzle with a small ladle of compote

Then there's the chocolate pudding :

Marianne's Chocolate Pudding

from The Little Book of Chocolat by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde

Takes 1 hour/ serves 6-8

unsalted butter for greasing dish

75g caster sugar

40g unsalted butter, soft

1 egg

40g cocoa powder

150g self raising flour

120ml semi skimmed milk

Sauce

180g soft dark brown sugar

200ml water

40g cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Heat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4. Rub the inside of a 1 litre ovenproof dish with a little butter.

In a bowl, place the sugar, butter and egg and whisk until blended. Add the cocoa powder and flour along with a little milk and blend until smooth. Add the remaining milk and mix in, then transfer to the buttered baking dish.

To make the sauce, place the sugar, water and cocoa in a small saucepan. Heat gently and mix until dissolved. Add the vanilla extract, pour over the top of the cake mixture, place in the middle of the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

In a perfect world you'd make this and serve it immediately – it's my preference to be able to prep a pudding ahead but the downside here is that the sauce is absorbed more than one would want. It's the gooey consistency that's crucial.

Here are my suggestions on both counts.

I made the dessert ahead and froze it – the result was good but you might want to add more “goo”.

Defrost the pudding and then warm in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 15 minutes.

Make an additional quantity of the sauce – it only takes minutes and then divide it equally between the foil containers – you've created a triple chocolate pudding.

Try single cream instead of vanilla ice cream.

The recipe states it serves 6-8 – I'd be inclined to say 4-6 but of course it depends on how greedy your chocoholics are.

Cherry and Raspberry Compote

350g cherries, stoned – can use frozen

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

150g raspberries – can use frozen

4 tbsp water or juice from defrosted fruit

Pour the water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place the on a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until they have released some juice but are not overcooked. If you are using frozen cherries you will have the fruit juices when defrosted – use this juice instead of the water.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then chill it well before serving.

You can keep the compote as is or blitz in a processor and pass through a sieve – purely a matter of personal preference – some people aren't fond of raspberry pips.

Sticky Toffee Sauce

110g/4oz unsalted butter

225g/8oz soft dark brown sugar

50g/2oz chopped stem ginger (optional)

10 fl oz double cream (heavy USA)

Heat the butter, sugar and ginger – gently. When dissolved add the cream.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring.

One batch of the recipe produces 540g of sauce, or, over two portions – one to fold through a batch of home-made vanilla ice cream – based on the ice cream recipe which is on the blog.

It freezes too!

This is an excellent recipe and I'd wager that you'll not be buying a ready-made version once you've sampled this one.

Hmm – another element you could add to the “muddle”?

Chocolate Hokey Pokey

75g unsalted butter

100g pecan nuts roughly chopped

pinch of sea salt flakes

200g dark chocolate

100g milk chocolate

2 tbsps golden syrup

4 x 32g Crunchie bars

Heat a small knob of butter (from the 75g) in a medium frying pan and when it foams tip in the pecans with the sea salt flakes. Stir them over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until toasted – you'll be able to smell them when they are ready. Tip the nuts into a bowl and leave to cool.

This element can be made ahead.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt, in a medium saucepan with the rest of the butter and the syrup, stirring. Once the chocolate mixture is smooth take the pan off the heat. Bash the Crunchie bars (keep them in the wrappers – less messy!). Add the Crunchie pieces, along with the toasted pecans, to the chocolate mixture. Gently mix together before transferring to an 18cm round or square foil tray 24x24cms (or cake tin if you prefer to wash up!). You could also use a standard foil tray bake.

Leave to set in the fridge. When set cut in half and then continue to cut each half into 2cm strips and cut each strip so that you have 2cm squares. This will give you 80 pieces of hokey pokey.

If you feel that it's too much like hard work to assemble ingredients then when you've a spare ten minutes do your “mise en place” - French as you may have guessed – literally “put in place”. In other words get yourself organised – ahead of the game. You're far more likely to make the hokey pokey if you've toasted and salted the pecan nuts and weighed out the chocolate. You'll enjoy bashing the Crunchie bars.

You could if you felt so inclined make your own honeycomb – since I'm suggesting a treat I'm not sure that by adding another element and making it a smidge more faffy you'll appreciate my efforts!

To those who say “I don't like dark chocolate” and therefore wouldn't make the hokey pokey do me a favour – try it. I've never been a fan of dark chocolate and so have compromised the two to one ratio. Make sure your plain chocolate is between 50 -70% cocoa solids in other words not so strong and bitter that it'll make your teeth itch – if you know what I mean.

You have the sweetness too in the Crunchie bars and the balance is just right.

Have a glance at the photos below.

If you liked the thought of the “muddle” then you might like the “Hodgepodge”. There are three different versions of a “Hodgepodge” - Easter Emergencies A Hodgepodge, Hodgepodge – take 2 and Hodgepodge … again. The Compote Compilation will give you the recipe for a Blueberry Compote.

Happy days – hope you're inspired to try.

www.miammiamcookery.com

Things you should know …

… about spices and stuff.

Are you dipping your toe into Indian Cuisine, as it were? If it's a yes, then here's few pointers.

Unless you have a group of friends that will share, don't buy large quantities of spices because it's cheaper that way. It's only cheaper if you're going to use them. Spices lose their strength over time and they should be kept in a cool, dark place in containers that have tight fitting lids. If you really become hooked you could always treat yourself to a spice tin.

Using the chicken tikka salad recipe as an example, you'll know that you need two medium sized mixing bowls for the spice mixes and a jug for the yoghurt. Use kitchen kit that is not new, especially if you use plastic bowls. Spices will stain plastic and will also taint no matter how hot your washing up water. This need not be an issue – just wash dry and store them separately – preferably bagged and keep them for your Indian recipes.

Remember my old friend the foil tray – ideal for cooking your chicken and then disposing afterwards.

Oh and an added bonus – if you are thinking about a New Year health kick – substitute the full fat yoghurt for low fat – hey it's no great sacrifice.

Step by step photo guides coming next.

What's your salad bag?

For this dish mine was a forage in the fridge and I rescued :

Half a bag of baby new potatoes

(if you can get Cornish so much the better)

cooked, peeled and then cubed – approximately

8 potatoes

Iceberg lettuce – broked into small pieces

Large sweet red pepper, de-seeded and sliced

finely

cherry tomatoes, halved

one medium sweet variety onion, sliced

finely

I chose a large white bowl for the salad and began with the lettuce and then sprinkled the remaining salad ingredients, topping with the chicken pieces and finally drizzling with the dressing.

Think about scaling up your salad - as it is it's a lunch and in particular easy to transport so would be great if you're on the move or just to take to the office.

Add more ingredients to the salad and serve with a flat bread of your choice for a supper – you don't have to make them if it's too much pressure!

With the variety and choice of salad ingredients and types of bread to choose from the world really is your lobster – I know I'm predictable – I just love the expression!

The dressing … to go with the chicken salad

Who would have thought you'd be drizzling a quintessential Italian combination of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar – a marriage we already know is made in heaven – with another Indian classic – tandoori chicken tikka.

The dressing

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1½ tbsps balsamic vinegar

1½ tsps brown sugar

¼ tsp coarse black pepper

¼ tsp cumin powder

pinch of salt

Whilst the chicken is cooking, with a whisk mix together all the dressing ingredients and leave to one side.

A few thoughts so far :

I'd wear gloves when you coat the chicken – turmeric and chilli will stain your hands as well as equipment.

Make sure your “oven tray” has sides – unless you have a burning desire to clean your oven!

I used soft dark muscovado sugar in the dressing.

I marinaded the chicken from 11am – 7.30pm. It's very important that you cover the chicken marinade and keep it in a cold place. If you keep it in your fridge then bear in mind it's raw chicken and as such should be kept on the bottom shelf and more importantly that it is kept away from cooked food.

When the chicken is cooked I know you'll want to taste it – cook's privilege after all – a lot depends on your palate and that of your guests but tasted on its own you may find it a tad hot. I'd suggest that before you rush to judgement wait until you've assembled and tasted the completed salad.

A word about the “heat” of the spices. Remember recipes are meant to be a guide they are not set in stone. If you find the spices too powerful don't let it put you off – try reducing the green chilli paste, turmeric and red chilli powder from 1½ tsps to 1 tsp each.

It's personal taste after all – it's whatever suits you.

Chicken salad … but not as you know it.

I've had this recipe in my “try tray” for months – it comes from Dipna Anand, co-owner of London's Brilliant restaurant.

As is my usual procedure, here's the recipe exactly as I found it :

Tandoori chicken tikka salad

Serves 4

700g (1lb 8oz) chicken breast, cut

into chunks

Marinade

1½ tbsps ginger and garlic paste

½ tsp salt

1½ tsps green chilli paste

2½ tbsps white vinegar

5 tbsps vegetable oil

1½ tsps turmeric

1½ tsps red chilli powder

1½ tsps cumin powder

2 tsps garam masala

160g (5½ oz) Greek yoghurt

or low fat version

For the dressing

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1½ tbsps balsamic vinegar

1½ tsps brown sugar

¼ tsp coarse black pepper

¼ tsp cumin powder

pinch of salt

In a bowl mix the chicken pieces with the ginger and garlic paste, salt, green chilli paste and the white vinegar and leave to one side.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the oil and turmeric. Add the red chilli powder, cumin poweder and garam masala to the bowl then mix well before adding the yoghurt. Combine the mixture thoroughly.

Add the chicken pieces to the yoghurt mixture. Use your hands to ensure the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the yoghurt marinade. Leave the chicken to marinade for at least an hour. You may leave it in the marinade overnight, this way the chicken will absorb all the flavours thoroughly.

Once the chicken has been marinated, place the pieces on an oven tray. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 20-25 minutes.

I have a good feeling about this recipe - I know I've said this before - but only when deserved – I'm sorry you can't smell this.

MWM – the photos

Set your stall out!

The all important paste.

Looking good.

Looking even better!

MWM Curry – sides and asides

It's confession time – I don't “cook” rice - at least not when I'm in a hurry. I do have an absolute foolproof pilau rice recipe which I will definitely share at a later date but, in the interest of speed, frozen rice is another compulsory staple for your freezer.

You can make it special. I love rice with sultanas and flaked almonds. Soak 110g (4oz) of sultanas in apple juice overnight – they become plump and juicy. Toast 110g (4oz) of flaked almonds.

Depending on the appetites, work on the basis of 180g of rice per person. Whilst your rice is “cooking” in the microwave, heat 1tbsp of vegetable oil in a large wok, add a finely diced onion – a sweet variety is great – add the cooked rice and toss together. Drain the sultanas and add, along with the almonds. My final tweak is to add marrowfat peas – drain a can, rinse, pat dry and add to the rice. You've got colour and texture too. As a guide a small can gives you 180g drained weight. If you're not a lover of marrowfat peas try petit pois or red kidney beans. Serve immediately with your curry.

I said in “MWM Curry – there's more” you don't have to use chicken. Try the “kofta canapés” recipe and add the tiny meatballs to the curry sauce.

If you've not seen what the koftas look like, check out “Canapés, meatballs and burgers” for photos.

“The kit to go with the koftas” will give you an onion salad.

By the way – it's definitely worthwhile making your own raita – check out this photo and the cost!

Look after the pennies ...

MWM Curry - there's more

For your next magic trick – how to pull a rabbit out of a hat, at the drop of a hat!

You can serve the curry on the day you make it.

You can set it aside in a cool place, in the frying pan (covered of course) overnight or long enough for it to cool and, more to the point, to let all those aromats do their thing.

You can “box” the curry into portions to suit and freeze it.

When I made the dish I had half the amount of the chicken fillet but I made the sauce as the recipe states. I separated the chicken and added half the sauce and froze the remaining half to use at a later time. Thank you freezer – again.

You don't have to use chicken. You could use fish or prawns.

You could just make the curry sauce and freeze it – preferably in amounts that will suit you. Don't forget the curry flavours will continue to develop whilst frozen.

That's how you are able to produce a curry, unflustered, at a moments notice, when friends drop by and you invite them to stay for supper – hey presto.

A great recipe for your “back pocket”.

Hope you're not feeling so gloomy!

Post holiday blues …

… feeling gloomy after all the festivities – time for some simple stuff I think!

Indian cuisine is fantastic – each region specialising in its own style – for me the vegetarian food is definitely up there in my top five.

I'll stop waffling – here's my New Year gift to you – basically a creamy chicken curry :

I first came across a version of this recipe years ago by Madhur Jaffrey, here's mine :

Malai wali murghi

(aka MWM)

1.35kg/3lb chicken fillet, diced

*1½ tsp salt

*2 tsps cumin

*2 tsps coriander

*½ tsp turmeric

*½ tsp cayenne pepper

ground black pepper

6/7 garlic cloves or equivalent paste

2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled

and chopped finely or equivalent paste

300ml water

6 tbsp vegetable oil

110g onion, chopped finely

175g passata

1 tsp garam masala

200ml double cream (heavy USA)

If you are using raw garlic and ginger then blitz them in a blender, add a drop or two of the water and blend until smooth. Alternatively mix both the garlic and ginger pastes together.

Mix the spices marked * above.

Using a large frying pan add the vegetable oil and heat. Seal the diced chicken on both sides and set aside.

Fry the onion for 2/3 minutes and add black pepper. Add the garlic and ginger paste then the spices and fry for 2/3 minutes. Mix the passata with the remaining water and add to the mixture. Add the sealed chicken fillet, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

To complete the dish add the garam masala and the double cream and mix.

There's more ...

The proof of the pudding …

… is in the photos.

Looks ordinary

Looks much better with the sauce

Looks overcooked

I promise you it isn't. It has a crusty top exactly like a brownie and you can see the sauce around the edges.

You can see the glistening pudding – this has been frozen, defrosted and is reading to warm and to add more sauce if you like – your choice!

6 down 3 to go … what to look out for

As has been my routine with previous recipes from this wonderful “Little Book” here's a few hints and tips.

I used unsalted butter and semi-skimmed milk. My sugar was ordinary caster sugar – my brown sugar was the soft dark variety and I used vanilla bean paste.

In a perfect world you'd make this and serve it immediately – it's my preference to be able to prep a pudding ahead but the downside here is that the sauce is absorbed more than one would want. It's the gooey consistency that's crucial.

Here are my suggestions on both counts.

I made the dessert ahead and froze it – the result was good but you might want to add more “goo”.

Defrost the pudding and then warm in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 15 minutes.

Make an additional quantity of the sauce – it only takes minutes and then divide it equally between the foil containers – you've created a triple chocolate pudding.

Try single cream instead of vanilla ice cream.

The recipe states it serves 6-8 – I'd be inclined to say 4-6 but of course it depends on how greedy your chocoholics are.

I always think that if you're going to indulge you should make a good job of it!

Remember the book … 6 down 3 to go!

Just when you thought I'd forgotten all about it.

This next extract from The Little Book of Chocolat by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde is definitely in the top ten for chocoholics, so, without further adieu :

Marianne's Chocolate Pudding

This rich, double chocolate pudding is named after my editor, a true chocoholic, who can always be relied upon to choose the most indulgent chocolate desserts (while I tend to opt for the cheese board!).

Takes 1 hour/ serves 6-8

butter for greasing dish

75g unrefined caster sugar

40g butter, soft

1 egg

40g cocoa powder

150g self raising flour

120ml milk

Sauce

180 unrefined soft brown sugar

200ml water

40g cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 160fan/180c/Gas 4. Rub the inside of a 1 litre ovenproof dish with a little butter.

In a bowl, place the sugar, butter and egg and whisk until blended. Add the cocoa powder and flour along with a little milk and blend until smooth. Add the remaining milk and mix in, then transfer to the buttered baking dish.

To make the sauce, place the sugar, water and cocoa in a small saucepan. Heat gently and mix until dissolved. Add the vanilla extract, pour over the top of the cake mixture, place in the middle of the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Hold that thought!

The muddle photos

I know I'm always saying your freezer is your best friend – hopefully the following photos will back me up!

Stating the obvious, the pudding, the ice cream and the rocky road all came out of the freezer.

I love these pots, just the right size for this type of dessert.

You must have heard the expression “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”? Literal meaning, that you can only judge the quality of something after you have tried, used or experienced it.

I think you'll like this “store cupboard” pudding!