Hooked on cooking – Dessert design… choose a theme

It can be anything the cheflets like – they may need inspiration – a word of warning though, it shouldn't be too ambitious – it needs to succeed.

To explain myself the example I've chosen is The Yellow Brick Road from The Wizard of Oz.

The road shown is made from marzipan, rolled quite thinly. The beauty of using marzipan is that if you do make a mess of it you just roll it into a ball and begin again. A small tip – a dusting of icing sugar on your surface will help. Give each cheflet a cake board together with a quarter of the block of marzipan and a rolling pin – their road should be rolled directly onto the cake board. They could reproduce the road shown or they could make a crazy paving, using circles made with cutters of different sizes. The road doesn't have to be straight, there are no rules.

When each portion of road is completed the boards should be placed on the paper table cloth, wherever they like. My only suggestion is that each board has roughly the same amount of space surrounding it.

The cheflets next job is to weigh 25g of desiccated coconut into a ziplok bag – squeeze a large blob of green food colouring into the coconut, carefully expel the air and seal the bag. Work the colouring into the coconut – this will take a minute or two, rubbing the bag between your hands – the coconut absorbs the colouring and the more you work it the more even a colour will result.

  

The table cloth on your shopping list IS the base for the dessert – no bowls, no plates – fingers only but, you might want to make sure you've plenty of serviettes/napkins or, if you must, then spoons or forks – it defeats the object of sticky fingers and I can testify that when I did do this, the grown-ups loved it too.

Hooked on cooking – having a party?

We're now three weeks in to “hooked on cooking” and I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that you've had a surprise or two and you now having budding “cheflets” eager and raring to attack the next challenge.

Will you be having a summer get together/party/BBQ – any or all of the above?

I know that lots of people bring desserts on such occasions, but I have an idea that your cheflets might like.

This might take a little organisation ahead of the game but nothing that will be difficult to get hold of, nor cost a lot of dosh!

Do you have a table going spare – it can be as big as you like – you'll see what I mean shortly.

First up, here's your shopping list :

Next time you're in the supermarket/cheap shop pick up a paper table cloth – the stronger the better, you don't want the sort you can see through, it'll just fall apart and won't be suitable for the purpose I have in mind.

Pick up three or four squeezy bottles – like the ones illustrated below.

As illustrated these are really handy for a drizzle of whatever takes your fancy.

To continue with your shopping list :

Cake boards - £1 each – square or circular, depending on the shape of your table. If you have four cheflets creating, then one each.

Marzipan – one 500g block should be sufficient, preferably the golden kind – to be divided between 4.

Desiccated coconut, green food colouring and 4 ziplok bags.

Pack of 4 large chocolate muffins and 4 food bags.

1 bag of white mini marshmallows.

1 can of Carnation cook with caramel.

4 small (cheap and cheerful) paintbrushes suitable for children.

Whilst not compulsory you might want to make sure you've the ingredients to make Rocky Road and Malteser Cake.

Okey dokey, lets get on with the masterpiece!

Hooked on cooking – Dessert design …

… make a mess!

Lemon Eton Mess

(per 2 students)

2 small lemon yogurts (120-160g per pot)

2 meringue nests

Jar of good quality lemon curd **

2 tsps lemon juice

200g strawberries

(a large punnet weighs 400g, perfect to

divide between 4 students)

Sharing one large mixing bowl tip in the yogurts.

In a separate bowl spoon 1 generous tbsp of the lemon curd and stir in the lemon juice.

Put half the lemon mixture into the yogurt, you want a rippled effect so go slowly! Repeat, but leave the bowl with a little mixture left – all will be revealed!

One meringue nest per student plus a ziplok bag or a food bag large enough to be secured – you won't get bits of meringue flying around this way – crush the meringue into chunks – you don't want sugar dust! Fold into your mixture. Hull*** the strawberries and cut into four, fold into the yogurt and lemon curd mixture. Spoon into picnic plastic of your choice.

The remaining mixture in the bowl is then drizzled over the top.

Bits and pieces

You could have a mixture of strawberries and raspberries, or any other fresh fruit in season.

**You could get your students to make their own lemon curd – see Microwave Lemon Curd in Luscious Lemons but the process will need supervision so may not be suitable for younger students.

***Hull means to remove the green top and the small stem in the centre of the strawberry – you can buy a strawberry huller but it's just as easy to do, carefully, with a paring knife. See the photos below to illustrate.

Optional extra - decorate with chopped nuts – pistachios would be a good choice - texture and colour too.

There are lots of yogurt options – lemon flavoured and lemon curd versions to choose from - low fat or not – bear in mind that low fat usually means high sugar. A “small” yogurt weighs 120g but you can get slightly larger versions at 160g.

A pack of 8 meringue nests has a long shelf life, so any leftover won't be wasted.

Let the mess begin!

Hooked on cooking – Burgers with a difference

This is not for the Rendang curry purists out there – its my variation. If your students and family like a burger that's outside the box then this could be it!

Rendang style burgers

Per 2 students

500g (1.1lb) turkey mince

50g(2oz) tomato paste

2 popped garlic cloves or 2 crushed garlic cloves

1 tsp star anise powder

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp Worcester sauce

50g shredded (or dessicated) coconut

1 tsp mild curry powder

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

plain flour for shaping and dusting the burgers

You may need an egg to bind

Rapeseed or vegetable oil for shallow frying

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the remaining ingredients (excluding the egg) and mix well. The omission of salt and pepper is deliberate – there's enough of both in the ingredients. At this point your mixture may be too wet. If it is, sprinkle a little plain flour over the mixture and fold in gently – if the mixture is too dry then use your egg. I made these burgers recently to the recipe given above and I didn't use the egg. A lot depends on where you get your turkey mince from, there will be differences. You don't have to use turkey mince but it is a healthier option.

Heat the oil gently in a frying pan. With damp hands weigh the mixture into 50g or 100g portions. Roll the mixture into a ball and then flatten into rounds and shape gently into a burger. Heat the oil in a frying pan, seal the burgers on a gentle heat, turn and repeat. At this point you have a choice, you can continue to cook the burgers in the pan on the hob, if you have an oven-proof pan, pop it straight in the oven or you can transfer, when sealed, to one of my famous foil dishes – 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15/20 minutes.

Rendang style Sauce

100 ml coconut cream

50ml water

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp curry powder

(I used mild)

1 tbsp kecap manis

(also known as sweet soy sauce)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat and

serve. Can be made ahead and re-heated.

The sauce is optional but if you're creating a monster burger for hungry hordes serve on toasted burger buns or the brioche version - then you can add any of the usual extras – cheese slices, crispy bacon, top with a fried egg and then drizzle with the sauce to complete – clearly not for the health conscious!

Make sure there are plenty of napkins/serviettes around.

“Outside the box” in more ways than one and hopefully the fact that it's a burger may distract those who need a little encouragement to try something new – here's hoping!

Hooked on cooking …salsa for the burgers

Something to serve as a side or as a topping on your burgers :

Pineapple and Sweetcorn Salsa

1 x 432g tin pineapple pieces,

drained

*2 red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped

3(ish) spring onions, finely chopped

small bunch of coriander, leaves only, chopped

finely

(if fresh not available, ½ tsp of ground coriander)

salt and black pepper

50g sweetcorn (defrosted if frozen)

Put the pineapple pieces into a bowl. Add the spring onions, coriander leaves and chillies, season with salt and black pepper, mix well.

Whiz a quarter of the mixture in a food processor until smooth. Add back to the remaining mixture and add the sweetcorn.

*If you know that chillies are too hot for your students, substitute with Romano peppers, chopped finely.

This salsa is quick, easy and colourful – a great way to practice knife skills for your budding chefs and it's also a great introduction of different flavour combinations.

Enjoy!

Hooked on cooking – burgers it shall be!

So far we've covered the pizza and the sandwich. I know I mentioned the burger too so I think, in the interests of holding the students interest lets do the burger.

It's the same recipe as for the meatballs :

Burgers

Per 2 students

500g 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.

The easiest way of making uniform burgers is to weigh whatever amount you wish – 50g or 100g depending on size of appetites - with damp hands. Using a large frying pan, heat the oil gently and seal the burgers on both sides.

At this point you have a choice, you can continue to cook the burgers in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 20 minutes.

Serve on burger buns or a brioche version, toasted – add a cheese slice for a cheeseburger.

Wrap in a square of greaseproof paper and a serviette – your very own fast food!  

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!