The best magazine photos

Set out your stall!

Makes life a lot easier.

A useful piece of kit for an even base.

Looking good.

Looking better still!

I'll report back on the frozen bars …

The best magazine … that's gratis and a grumpy old cook.

Most supermarkets have a give away magazine, usually monthly or seasonally. To the best of my knowledge there's only one supermarket in the UK that charges for the privilege and that is Sainsbury's. You can generally find something of interest in all of them but my award for the best is Waitrose Food (WF).

In the April edition – p111 – “The Sweet Spot” gives a recipe for Lemon curd crumble bars, described as a zesty, springtime treat from the WF test kitchen.

I suppose the recipe attracted my attention for two reasons, lemon and crumble – a perfect combination. I did what I always do, set my stall out and prepped all the ingredients so that I could get stuck in whenever I felt like it.

Here's the grumpy old cook bit. The recipe calls for a 325g jar of lemon curd. Oh goodie I thought - I was given a really posh organic lemon curd Waitrose Duchy Organic Sicilian Lemon Curd to be precise – I'll use that. When I took it from the pantry I was not impressed to read that it weighed only 320g. You may think I'm being picky – may be you're right – but if I'm “road testing” a recipe for the first time I follow it to the gram.

I then made matters worse and went on a “curd hunt” and pulled out Waitrose Orange Curd and M&S Sicilian Lemon Curd – guess what – they both weighed 325g.

I feel almost guilty criticising particularly since I think the WF mag is excellent. I realise that originally the “Duchy” label was acquired from The Duchy of Cornwall – in other words Prince Charles and I know that it supports The Prince's Charities. It may be that it goes with the territory but it makes no sense that you're selling what is now a Waitrose product that doesn't fit the WF recipe. Moan over!

I shall now “get a life” as they say! Here are my notes – try making your lemon curd in the microwave – it's faster – check out Saturday 11^th February 2017 – Sweet week – The lemon curd dilemma for the recipe.

I have frozen the bars – watch this space to see what happens.

I served the bars as a dessert, warmed with home-made ice cream – went down a storm!

P.s. If you're not able to pick up a copy of the magazine check out www.eatyourbooks.com and check out Waitrose Food Magazine April 2017 for the recipe.

Photos coming up - see if you're tempted.

Gallimaufry photos

The comments :

“I love chicken served this way, tender small slices of breast and the gravy is delicious”.

It matters not whether it's broth, gravy, jus, or sauce – so long as it takes good – it's whatever floats your gravy boat – that is beyond bad – I apologise.

Gallimaufry – Hints and Tips

First up, the potatoes. You'll notice that the recipe calls for red new potatoes. Have a look for “Albert Bartlett Apache potatoes – great for roasting or mashing in their skins”. I've found them in 600g bags. The majority of the larger supermarkets carry more varieties these days - another example is Ruby Gem, found at Waitrose.

Next the tapenade. You can do whatever is more practical – I always have a jar of black olive tapenade in my store cupboard and my favourite is M&S Black Olive Tapenade – it also has an excellent best before date. If you're feeling adventurous have a go at making your own. It's easy.

Coarse Tapenade

1 tbsp drained capers

85g pitted olives

1 tbsp olive oil

Two anchovies, chopped finely

1 roasted garlic clove

1 dessert spoon of lemon juice

Blitz all the ingredients. The trick is to stop pulverising whilst the mixture is coarse – it gives texture to the dish and not mush.

Then there's the stock. You can thicken it if you wish – as it is it's more of a broth. If you are a “gravy” person and prefer a little more substance then mix 1 tsp of cornflour with a drop or two of water and add gradually to the stock as you're warming it through. Note to self – don't be tempted to add anything else – whether to the stock or to the gravy – your stock is already infused with garlic and oregano, not for nothing do I call it liquid gold.

Here's another idea. This recipe makes me think of the perfect supper for a duvet/box set day. How romantic to make one huge plate to share … I'll leave that with you.

Finally – you still have two chicken legs, wings etc., leftover from the slow cooking. Strip the legs and wings of meat, bag and freeze – don't forget to mark the bag. Use the chicken in cooked pasta with Alfredo Sauce or as part of a mid week frittata or last but by no means least you have your protein element for your chicken salad wrap – with mango or raita dressing for lunch the next day – there will probably be enough chicken for two wraps – just in case you're feeling generous. If you have time then tip the remaining chicken bits into a large saucepan, cover with water – bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes strain and boom – chicken stock. Freeze it in small amounts – you'll be pleased you did. If you are short of time then bag the remains and freeze it for making stock for soup whenever the mood takes.

Food for thought – I hope!

Chicken Gallimaufry

Chicken Gallimaufry

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, sliced at an angle

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

350g red new potatoes, halved or quartered

should be 2cm ish.

Half a lemon cut in half

135g baby leeks, topped, tailed and cut into 1.5cm pieces

1 tbsp tapenade - 15ml

110g fine asparagus

Salt and pepper

Chopped flat leaf parsley to garnish

Pre-heat oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7.

Put the potatoes and lemon wedges into the foil tray you set aside after the slow cooking (or a medium roasting tin if you prefer) and toss with 1 tbsp of oil, season and roast for 20 minutes.

Turn down the oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Snap the asparagus to remove the woody ends – they should be of a similar size - then blanch, plunge into ice cold water and pat dry. You can prep ahead if you wish, then box and fridge.

Toss the leeks in the remaining tbsp of oil and add to the potatoes. Add the tapenade and fold through. Bake for 10 minutes then add the blanched asparagus for 5 minutes, fold in gently.

Whilst the potatoes et al are baking warm the stock – you should get 250ml from your chicken after straining.

To assemble, divide the potatoes, leeks and asparagus between two large bowls – plates will do. Top with the sliced chicken breast – one breast per serving - and add a liberal drizzle of the stock. A sprinkle of parsley to garnish and a wedge of lemon too.

Chicken gallimaufry – or a warm chicken salad, whichever you prefer.

Photos on the way!

Spring has sprung …

… we hope! It is supposed to imply that it has stopped snowing, it's getting warmer, the blossom is out – renewed hope and all that. After the wettest Easter for a long time you wouldn't hold your breath just yet!

We have to start somewhere so here goes - what's your opinion on salad? For people of a certain age the word “salad” is the stuff of nightmares and conjures up visions of limp lettuce leaves, a slice of boiled egg, ditto tomato and a spring onion – oh and if you're lucky salad cream too.

I have decided to make a salad seem more interesting - our next foray will be revisiting warm salads – I know that's a contradiction since salad is meant to be a cold dish – as I'm very fond of saying, “rules are made to be broken”. Henceforth my more interesting name for a warm salad is a “gallimaufry”. I already have a series of “ hodgepodge” dessert recipes on the blog - both words mean jumble or a medley if you prefer – we now have gallimaufry for the savoury and hodgepodge for the sweet.

First up is Chicken Gallimaufry but, before we get to chapter and verse - you know I'm always extolling the virtues of slow cooking and in particular slow cooking a whole chicken – you'll need one for the following dish. Check out the chicken label on the blog and then “Slow, strip, strain and stock for the recipe – it will take you all of 5 minutes to prepare and then it's left to its own devices for 8 hours.

You can slow cook the chicken ahead to suit your own schedule.

There are two important elements though that need attention – when your chicken is cooked remove it from the cooker and place it in a foil tray measuring 24x24cms - with sides, to cool. Strain the stock through a sieve into a jug, allow to cool, then cover and fridge.

If you have fingers that are impervious to heat then take both breasts off the bone, cool, wrap or box and then fridge. Wrap, box and fridge the remaining chicken – don't discard the foil tray or the remnants of stock left behind – it's a perfect roasting tin.

All over bar the shouting as they say, recipe up next.

Perfect pastry for pies

A quick question – do you buy ready-made pies for emergencies and are constantly disappointed? One thing is for sure they are not cheap so if you finish up with only half a filling and the remainder is fresh air it's not good. That's why I make my own – it doesn't have to take forever – it's not a competition and you don't have to go learn the art of pastry making – cheat, buy the sheets – either puff or shortcrust – make it easy on yourself!

If you feel brave you could have a go at batch cooking and freezing your own pies – there's every shape and size of foil pie dishes known to man to suit everyone – single deep dishes, shallow versions and larger too. Equally there's the same choice of enamel pie dishes too or ceramic if you prefer. The world is your lobster – you can spend very little or mega bucks. Personally I find that foil is convenient and doesn't take up too much space in my freezer although I do get that you wouldn't want to serve a glorious pie for a supper/dinner party in a foil tray so may be treat yourself for special occasions.

If you wanted to try making your own pastry you could do a lot worse than making a pie with wholemeal pastry. I can definitely confirm that the recipe I use is kind and does everything it should and more. It freezes very well.

Wholemeal pastry doesn't generally get a great reaction – I think it goes way back to when you could use it for crazy paving! Here's an extract from a message my friend and student M sent me after a recent class :

“… M has had her mind corrected on the wholemeal pastry, the Homity Pie made a lovely lunch next day. The wholemeal pastry that I had previously was dry and crumbly but this was delicious ...”

What does make a difference is the quality of the flour – I use Doves Farm Organic – I'm sure there are others, it's just a guide.

Wholemeal Pastry

200g plain wholemeal flour

100g unsalted butter

pinch of baking powder

ice cold water to bind

Rub the butter into the flour and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs, then gradually add a glug of water and use a round bladed knife to bring the pastry together.

You can use a processor to reach the breadcrumb stage if you prefer – I'd then tip the pastry into a mixing bowl and add the water by hand. Rest the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Using the Rummage Pie recipe as a template, line, fill and top your pie dish but don't egg wash - freeze. (By the way you can freeze ready-made pastry sheets in pies if they have come from your fridge, in other words “chilled”). Double wrap in foil. You can cook straight from your freezer, egg wash and then bake in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 40 minutes – turn after 20 minutes and check after 35 – ovens vary.

The cooked Rummage Pie freezes perfectly if you've any leftovers. Freeze in portions to suit. I normally take the pie from the freezer and fridge in the morning to re-heat as above for 20 minutes.

Live dangerously – give it a go and think how virtuous you'll feel when serving up your own comfort food.