A rapid roast!

Sunday lunch is a moveable feast – not just served at lunchtime – recently ours was 6.30pm. If you're not careful you seem to finish up in the kitchen faffing and messing around all day.

Your prep is the same whenever you are serving so, here's my basic menu and my take on the quickest and easiest way to produce it :

“roast” pork

crackling

“gravy” from the pork

apple sauce

sage and onion stuffing with apple

roast parsnips with maple syrup

roast potatoes

Instead of “roasting” a joint use your slow cooker and cook a piece of boneless shoulder – pulled pork if you like but not shredded finely. It takes 8 hours and the beauty of it is that once it's in the slow cooker it needs no attention until you remove it 8 hours later. Once removed wrap the shoulder in foil and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. You are left with delicious juices and all that's required is to add slaked cornflour to the meat juices and whisk.

If you are a lover of crackling then ask your butcher to remove the skin from the shoulder, you can cook it in a preheated hot oven later in the day.

Slow cooked shoulder of pork

Serves 4-6

1.5kg boneless shoulder of pork

(skin and rind removed for crackling – optional)

2 tsp sea salt flakes

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

100ml good quality apple juice

1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp water

As mentioned above, ask your butcher to remove the skin and rind, and leave flat (in other words discard any string), dry with kitchen roll. Mix the salt, sugar and paprika and rub half of it over the pork.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown on all sides. Place the pork in your slow cooker, pour over the apple juice and cover with lid. Cook on low for 8/9 hours.

Remove the pork, wrap in foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Whilst the pork is relaxing add the cornflour (mixed with the water) to the sauce in the slow cooker. You can also add the remainder of the seasoning if you want extra zing in your “gravy”. Each time you pass the slow cooker give it a stir.

Pull your pork with two forks into large pieces – do not shred.

Ps. If you wanted another entry for your culinary dictionary, “slaked” means the mixing of a thickening agent – in this case cornflour – with water. Hey - you never know when this may come in handy!

Back in the day ...

… and the ultimate opportunity presented itself for a “taste test”.

Do you remember when it was the custom to take cakes into the office on your birthday?

Coincidentally it happened to be H's birthday so I sent him off with a tin of the Fruity Fudge Snap.

The absolute best is a comment like “I like these too much” you know the sort of thing, when you can't pass the tin without collecting a biscuit en route. Weak willed I know but who cares!

Just before I go, have a look at this photo :

I appreciate it looks underwhelming – and you'd be right – however, there's nothing more frustrating than measuring syrup accurately and then leaving half of it behind in the jug.

Here's the answer – a drop of vegetable (or sunflower) oil in the jug and then wipe out with kitchen roll, leaving a film of oil. When the time comes to add the syrup it pours straight from the jug leaving virtually nothing behind – hence the boring photo.

I do realise I need to get out more.

Photo guide – Between the Sheets

Here they are :

Give it a try, you know you're tempted!

Radio Recipes - 30th October 2017 - BBC Radio Northampton The Bernie Keith Show

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 30^th October 2017 at 10am

First up :

Fun Stuff

Between the sheets

No – not the cocktail of white rum, cognac, triple sec and lemon juice – sorry to disappoint!

It's sheets of baking parchment for easy chocolate biscuits the kids can make.

Chocolate biscuits

Takes 2½ hours

250g digestive biscuits

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

100g unsalted butter

100g golden syrup

100g tart cherries or cranberries, chopped finely

100g pecans, chopped finely or blitzed to a crumb

icing sugar or cocoa to dust

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag, clip the end and roll with a rolling pin until you have a fine crumb. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup in a bain-marie, mixing until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the digestive biscuits, cherries (or cranberries) and pecans - mix well, coating everything in the chocolate syrup.

You will need :

4 x sheets of baking parchment -

45cms x 30cms

a pastry board as large as the parchment

Place a sheet of parchment on your board, divide the mixture in half and place one half on your parchment. Place another sheet of parchment on top of the mixture and press down then roll out thinly – 0.5cm approx. Take the board with the mixture between the sheets to the fridge and slide straight onto the fridge shelf. Repeat with the remaining sheets and mixture. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Peel off the top sheet of parchment and dust with icing sugar or cocoa, then cut out your biscuits in shapes of your choice. I managed 25 biscuits per batch, 50 in total although this will vary depending on the size of cutter used.

The final bonus is that you finish up with a “jigsaw” of chocolate biscuit bits. Bag or box them and freeze. Blitz them as required for a crumb to sprinkle over your favourite ice cream.

Next up, the tiramisu, here's the recipe :

Orange Tiramisu

Serves 4 large or 6 smaller

servings

Grated rind and juice of 2 medium oranges – 200ml

plus an additional 4tbsp of juice if you are not

adding alcohol

(as a guide one medium orange has 4tbsp of juice)

20fl oz whipping cream

20 sponge fingers or Madeira cake

4tbsp caster sugar

225g Mascarpone cheese

2 tbsp orange curd plus extra to decorate

2oz chocolate flake crumbled to decorate

For the adults

4 tbsp Cointreau or other orange liqueur

plain chocolate chips to decorate

If you are using orange liqueur then substitute it for the additional 4tbsp of orange juice in the recipe.

Mix the cream carefully with the caster sugar and mascarpone, then whisk with a hand mixer to thicken, gently fold the orange curd into the mixture so that it gives a ribbon effect. If you're using a hand mixer use the blades to fold through the curd.

For one large tiramisu and using sponge fingers, a rectangular dish is the best shape. Dip the fingers into the syrup and arrange in a row, then add the mascarpone mixture and repeat.

For the kids, bash a chocolate flake in its packet so that it doesn't fly all over the kitchen worktop, open carefully and sprinkle over to decorate. If you want grown-up “sprinkles” use plain chocolate chips or grate a plain chocolate bar to decorate instead.

Cling film and fridge until you're ready to serve.

The success of this recipe is in its versatility – kids love it – a welcome, refreshing change from the coffee version. I suppose it doesn't go down too well with the tiramisu purists but who cares – surely the whole point is to give people food that you know they are going to love.

If anyone wants to know the chapter and verse - for the small, individual servings I used small glasses with a capacity of 160ml – they measure 7 cms in diameter and 7 cms deep. They benefit from being made ahead – time to soak up all that lovely syrup – and the alcohol too if you are indulging in a grown-up version.

The small servings are given height using a circle of cake soaked in syrup at the bottom of the glass and then circles of soaked cake to line - the filling is spooned (or piped if you are proficient) into the centre and topped with another circle of soaked cake. Add a teaspoon of curd to the cake top and then sprinkle with the chocolate – the curd “glues” the chocolate in place. The size of the cutter used is 4cms in diameter and the cake should be 1cm slices approximately.

You can buy plastic sundae dishes with lids that also double as a base exactly the same size as the glasses. A practical solution if you are giving a party for both adults and children and less washing up too! When you are ready to serve, remove the lid and clip to the bottom to create your sundae dish.

I buy these sundae dishes from SCS Packaging in Orchard Road, Finedon. Aladdin's cave!

SCS Packaging, Units 1 & 2, Orchard Road, Finedon, Wellingborough NN9 5JG – 01933 681681 – www.scspackaging.co.uk

By the way - you can make your own orange curd in the microwave – recipe below, it takes 12 minutes max!

Microwave Orange Curd

4 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks

170g caster sugar

2 tsps finely grated orange rind

185ml fresh orange juice

125g unsalted butter, cubed

Put the butter, rind and juice in a large microwave-proof bowl. Cook on high for 3 minutes. Add the sugar to the bowl and stir for 1 minute until it has almost dissolved. Return to the microwave and cook on 100% power for 2 minutes, stirring every minute.

Beat the eggs and the yolk together, then whisk into the mixture, a little at a time.

Cook on medium (40% power) for 10-12 minutes, whisking every 2 minutes, until the curd thickens.

Ladle into hot sterilized jars, cover and seal. When cooked, fridge and use within 2 months.

Notes :

This recipe is based on an 800 watt version. For microwaves with a different wattage, adjust cooking times as follows, 900 watt – subtract 10 seconds per minute. 850 watt, subtract 5 seconds per minute, 750 watt, add 5 seconds per minute. 700 watt, add 10 seconds per minute.

You don't have to go to the trouble of making your own curd – you can buy it from most supermarkets these days. A word to the wise it varies in price and taste. Waitrose produces its own brand and it gets my vote on both counts.

Autumn Stuff

Chillier mornings mean we begin to turn our attention or rather tummies, towards comfort food. Somehow it's more of an effort to produce hot food – what follows is me “banging on again about getting yourself organised!” If you're in the kitchen make the best use of the time – what I call the “whilst I'm at it, I might as well” principle.

If you have turned on the oven, fill it.

Here's what I do. Bake half a dozen jacket potatoes – they don't take up too much space if, for example, you're cooking a roast. Prick them and wrap in foil – bake for an hour – check – depending on the size they make take a little longer. Set them aside to cool and then bag and fridge.

Wrap 500g of fresh fish of your choice in foil, bake for 15 minutes. Your oven should be set at 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Set aside, cool and fridge, ready to turn into a fish pie.

If you are cooking a roast, get into the habit of prepping extra veggies – you won't be sorry. Bag your extra roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots et al when cooled and fridge, ready for a savoury crumble.

Slow cook a whole chicken – it takes 10 minutes at the most to place the chicken in the cooker and then spread with garlic and a stock pot (mixed to a paste) then sprinkle with oregano.

Grate mature cheddar cheese - bag, box and fridge. Grate Parmesan too – bag, box and fridge.

Make a sauce that will go with so many things it can't possibly fail – this really is the quickest and most amenable sauce you'll ever make. It only has one downside and that is that you cannot microwave it – it will split. Don't say you haven't been warned! In my view it's a price worth paying.

Alfredo Sauce

2 tbsp unsalted butter (50g)

400ml double cream

100g freshly grated Parmesan

freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, until the butter has melted, then stir in the Parmesan. Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.

The sauce can be made ahead and fridged or you can freeze it too.

A note or six

Half the recipe given serves 2 with 225g of uncooked pasta.

Traditionally there are no additions to Alfredo although sometimes

it may be served with peas.

Add to mushrooms to serve on toast

Use as a sauce over chicken or fish

Pour over roasted veggies – especially leftovers

Serve drizzled over asparagus

If you decide to freeze the sauce use small containers

(check out the baby aisle in the supermarket)

you won't waste it – you can always take out another

I mentioned getting into the habit of cooking extra veggies – cut them into similar size chunks, pour over the Alfredo sauce and complete with “3p topping”.

3p savoury crumble topping

Serves 4/6

mix together 100g Panko crumbs, 50g Parmesan

and a generous sprinkle of Parsley

Preheat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Perfect for a vegetarian meal but could be served with meat or poultry if the mood takes.

I can only tell you that by spending a little time planning your shopping list to produce quick, easy and tasty food not only saves you time it saves you money too – you're less likely to throw random stuff into your shopping trolley real or virtual - that you'll never use.

The plan is that you've the beginning of suppers for the following week that will take minutes to pull together so that when you arrive home feeling like you've done 10 rounds with a champion boxer - the last thing you want to do is have to think about food.

Food should be a pleasure – it should make you happy!

The trouble is we live our lives at warp speed – constantly chasing our tails, juggling balls, whatever the description they mean the same. There are not enough hours in a day and it's so easy to resort to the ding of the microwave and a processed meal or rely on takeaways.

Please don't think that I'm being a pain in the posterior – everyone indulges in one or the other or indeed both, from time to time.

In the spirit of “fast” or “takeaway” food - how about Friday night is pizza night – your own – sort of. These days you can buy good quality frozen pizza bases - all you have to remember is to take the base out of the freezer.

Try this on for size :

Pizza bianca

Use leftover cold Alfredo sauce, spread on a pizza base, add mushrooms, black olives and Italian meats of your choice – or diced chicken

Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and ditto of oregano and bake

in a preheated oven at 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 20 minutes until hot and bubbling

This pizza takes no longer to assemble than the telephone call to the takeaway and infinitely cheaper and, take my word for it, tastes great.

Enjoy!

www.miammiamcookery.com

Between the sheets

No – not the cocktail of white rum, cognac, triple sec and lemon juice – sorry to disappoint!

It's sheets of baking parchment.

This is for those of you who like it really sweet and is my variation on the “Fridge cake” recipe. Is it a biscuit – is it a sweetie – you decide - I'd best describe it as fruity fudge with a “snap” texture.

250g digestive biscuits, crushed into a fine crumb

300g good quality white chocolate, broken

into similar size pieces

100g unsalted butter

100g golden syrup

100g cranberries, finely chopped

100g toasted almonds, blitzed or finely chopped

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, cranberries and almonds - mix well, coating everything in the chocolate syrup.

A quick reminder about toasting almonds. Preheat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 5 minutes. I set my timer a minute at a time – checked and gave the baking tray a shake - the colour of the almonds is up to you but don't forget them or you'll be really cross!

You will need :

4 x sheets of baking parchment -

45cms x 30cms

a pastry board as large as the parchment

Place a sheet of parchment on your board, divide the mixture in half and place one half on your parchment. Place another sheet of parchment on top of the mixture and press down then roll out thinly – 0.5cm approx. Take the board with the mixture between the sheets to the fridge and slide straight onto the fridge shelf. Repeat with the remaining sheets and mixture. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Peel off the top sheet of parchment and then cut out your “fruity fudge snaps” in shapes of your choice. I managed 25 biscuits per batch, 50 in total.

The final bonus is that you finish up with the same “jigsaw” of fruity fudge snap bits. Bag or box them and freeze. Blitz them as required for a fudge crumb to sprinkle over your favourite ice cream.

Photo guide coming next - not one crumb wasted!

A glug

I know that I mention “glug” frequently. For the uninitiated I feel I should explain, since recently I've defined “blob” and “splodge”.

A glug refers to liquid, usually oil or alcohol too in my culinary book. If you want to be reasonably accurate then a glug is what I'd call a generous tablespoon.

I appreciate that if you aren't particularly confident with this cooking malarkey then you would want the comfort of a more exact measure. Cooking is about personal taste, recipes are meant to be a guide not strict rules. As you gain confidence then you'll feel better about “flying by the seat of your pants” adding a drop of this and/or a pinch of that to make your own variations to favourite dishes to suit your taste and that of your family and friends.

There is however an exception that proves the rule and that is when you are baking – be it bread, cakes or desserts. Baking is a science and exact measurements are imperative for a good result.

The obvious example I can give you is that if you are making bread and you “dust” a board with flour to knead the bread then you're adding more flour to the recipe and in turn the finished loaf will be altered.

Ovens vary – get to know yours. Pay attention - bake and cook too at the correct temperatures given otherwise you won't get a good result, chemical reactions won't happen as they should and you'll be disappointed.

Not for nothing, back in the day, was it called “Domestic Science”!

Feedback and photos … the pie

Back to classes after the summer break. My aim, as always, is to inspire and make life easier for busy people.

On that note, the chicken and mushroom pie took centre stage, here's the filling

here's the topping

… “the chicken pie was to die for … sublime … and lovely”.

Definitely worth adding to your “speed week menu”. My friend and student M said that she was going to serve the pie in individual pots as a main course for a dinner party. I think I rest my case - there's no law that says you have to complicate food, keep it simple and keep your sanity!