Slow, strip, strain and stock

In the blog “Autumn Planning” you might remember I suggested slow cooking a whole chicken – it sounds so boring – here's where I hope to convince you otherwise.

A quick recap on the recipe :

1 chicken – between 1.5kg – 1.75kg

1 chicken stock pot

2 tsps of garlic paste or 1 garlic stock pot

generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic

Italian seasoning

Place your chicken in the slow cooker and mix the stock pot with the garlic paste and spread over the chicken. Sprinkle with the herbs. Switch your slow cooker to the low setting and leave it for 8 hours.

8 hours later and we begin. You won't get a crispy skin from the chicken – if it's your thing then you'll find the cooked skin (already flavoured with the garlic/stock paste and oregano) peels off quite easily. Place the skin on a non stick baking sheet and into a hot oven – 180fan/200c/Gas 6 – for 15 minutes, check and turn, repeat if necessary.

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker carefully – I used two fish slices slid under each side, meeting in the middle and lifted carefully onto a shallow dish or a tray with sides, preferably lined with foil. It matters not whether you strip your chicken immediately or cover, leave to cool and fridge until the following day - when you've more time. What is important is that you strain your stock through a sieve into a jug – cool, cover and fridge.

I'm sorry you can't smell the stripped chicken and stock.

One thing is for sure, it'll be the most effective ten minutes prep you've ever done and the results and choices you have given yourself are anything but boring!

Photo guide to follow and chicken choices too!

Your “BFF” - your best friend … your freezer

In Autumn Planning I talked about filling your oven when it was turned on.

It's a similar principle with your freezer – it's your best friend – it's the keeper of all your hard work and effort but, best of all, with a little thought and forward planning you'll be able to produce your own home cooked food effortlessly and with a certain aplomb – courtesy of your BFF!

It's not just about freezing main meals, it's about freezing virtually everything you make, bake or cook.

As an example, the most recent recipe from “The Little Book of Chocolat” gave us the fridge cake. Quite apart from freezing the biscuits – if you've any left! I mentioned at the time that the remains looked like the outline of a jigsaw puzzle, not to throw away but to box and freeze and that all would be revealed.

I hope you're with me so far, you've already made a batch of the Mascarpone ice cream. Take some of the biscuit pieces, let them defrost and then pop into your mini Kenwood chopper and blitz to a crumb – not too fine that it becomes a dust – you want substance – now known as “biscuit blitz”.

Sprinkle over your ice cream, top with fresh fruit – ideally. Frozen fruits - raspberries, fruits of the forest, cherries - to name but three - are now easily available – another valuable addition to your freezer dessert menu!

Another ice cream of the no churn variety

I cannot claim the credit for this addition to our ice cream repertoire – it is courtesy of delicious. Magazine – consistently brilliant in my humble opinion! If you are making a Christmas list for yourself you could do worse than add a subscription.

Mascarpone no-churn ice cream

Whisk 150g mascarpone with 170g condensed

milk and ½ tsp vanilla extract (or bean paste).

Pour into a container suitable for the freezer

fold in 1 tbsp of your favourite fruit purée, then

freeze for an easy ripple ice cream.

Freeze for minimum of 4 hours and allow to soften

for 10/15 minutes before serving

I added 1.5 tbsps of good quality lemon curd and served the ice cream with raspberries and then added a shortbread biscuit or two.

This ice cream is full of flavour and a silky texture, not sickly as with some ice creams. I've already mentioned that my friend is over from the USA – who has become an enthusiastic student. He does not do desserts other than ice cream and so considers himself to be a connoisseur in this field – a perfect taster! The recipe is winging its way to the USA as we speak – enough said I think.

Note to self – you might want to consider doubling the recipe – I think you'll be glad you did.

Biscuit taste test!

“Taste tested” the biscuits – the decorator was hard at work when I asked him if he had a sweet tooth - “no, not at all” he replied. I asked if he'd like a couple of biscuits to take home, to sample?

No problem!

The empty box was returned the following day – one eaten, “loved it - especially the combination of the tart cherries and plain chocolate with the cocoa dusting”. “Saving the other biscuit for tonight”. Needless to say he went home with four more biscuits for the freezer.

Rose had a play date this week with Tuli – seven month old collie – gorgeous girl. V, Tuli's Mum sampled the biscuits - “they are delicious”.

By the way, the “fridge cake” or “biscuits” whichever you prefer - freeze very well. Freezing them is also a great way of hiding them!

We are now over half way through the nine recipes I flagged in “The Little Book of Chocolat” and there hasn't been a recipe so far that hasn't made the grade.

An absolute bargain!

5 down 4 to go – the photos

Here's the usual step by step guide :

The bain marie

Blob your chocolate glue

Stick your parchment to the blobs

Pour your biscuit mix into the tray

Tip your biscuit out of the tray – how clean is that parchment?!

Dust your biscuit with cocoa

How good do they look?

The remains … the jigsaw puzzle.

5 down 4 to go – hints and tips

Following Rosette's Chocolate Fridge Cake here's my twopenceworth.

Instead of bashing the biscuits with a rolling pin – clip the end of the bag and roll the biscuits gently into a crumb, turning the bag and repeating – you get a much finer more even crumb and you won't split the bag and pebbledash the kitchen!

Use unsalted butter.

I used tart Montmorency cherries and chopped them finely.

Blitz the pecans in the baby Kenwood processor if you've invested (mentioned in The kit, the crumble and the ice cream) – you'll get a more even texture.

Glue your baking parchment to the tray using a spatula dipped into the melted chocolate mixture – i.e. before you add the biscuit, fruit and nuts. A small blob in each corner of the tray will do the trick. A “blob” is a serious culinary term not to be confused with “splodge”.

“Blob” – a drop of anything soft and round.

“Splodge” – a big or heavy splash.

You'll need blobs - not splodges - sorry, got carried away.

The paper will stay where it's glued!

You'll find that after you've cut out you're preferred shapes you'll have bits leftover – they look remarkably like the outline of a jigsaw puzzle. Box up the bits and freeze – all will be revealed.

By the way I cut 15 large biscuit hearts, measuring 6cms in diameter at the top and 5cms in length to its point – they measured 1cm deep. I also cut 5 tiny “make weight” hearts – hey, you know I don't like waste. Actually the tiny hearts are perfect if someone would like just a taster rather than a larger biscuit.

Although the recipe is called “fridge cake” I'd call it “fridge biscuits” - I'm probably nit picking – the introduction to the recipe does mention biscuits – don't expect anything soft and “cake” like – just moreish!

Photos on their way!

It's that book again ... 5 down 4 to go

Here's the next contribution from “The Little Book of Chocolat” continuing to hit the chocolate spot!

Rosette's Chocolate Fridge Cake

… This recipe is so easy that even a child can make it – in fact, I know from experience that the task of destroying biscuits by hitting them with a rolling pin can become so popular with children that it's hard to make them understand that it isn't always necessary. There are many variations on this basic recipe – here we've used raisins and pecans, but almonds and cherries work well too, as do sultanas and orange peel.

Takes 2½ hours – Serves 12

250g digestive biscuits

300g dark or milk chocolate broken into small even-sized pieces

100g butter

100g golden syrup

100g raisins

100g pecans, chopped

Line a 30x30cm shallow baking tray with baking parchment.

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a bain-marie, mixing until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the digestive biscuits, raisins and pecans, and mix well, coating everything in the chocolate syrup.

Put the mixture into the prepared tray, push down and flatten the top Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours. Remove from the tray, dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder and cut into 12 squares (or hearts, or stars, if you prefer).

As is my usual routine, there are hints and tips coming up and photos too.