Nothing ventured … nothing gained

Okey dokey, lets get this show on the road, here's my Granola Gravel – Take 1 recipe :

Granola Gravel – Take 1

250g dark chocolate

150g M&M's hazelnut spread

175g soft butter, unsalted

4 x 15ml tbsp golden syrup

350g Granola – mixed sizes

200g glacé cherries

Put the granola into a freezer bag and bash gently with a rolling pin so that you get different sizes.

Break the dark chocolate into small pieces, or use chocolate buttons made for melting and tip them into a heavy-based saucepan to melt with the M&M's spread, butter and syrup over a low heat.

Take the pan off the heat and add the granola and cherries. Turn the mixture carefully so that all the ingredients are coated with the syrupy chocolate.

Tip into a foil tray (I use a tray bake size – 31cms x 8.5cms x 3cms or 12” x 17½” x 1¼” in old money ) smoothing the top as best you can, although it is not meant to be perfectly flat.

Fridge until firm enough to cut, which will take about 3 hours. Take the set block out of the tray. With the long side in front of you cut it into half – set one aside. Slice 6 slices down and 4 across so that you have 24 squares – this will give you a good sized cube – cut smaller if you prefer which will obviously give you more. Repeat with the remaining half.

Freeze for up to 1 month.

If it lasts that long!

Chapter, verse and verdict next up.

Messing about in the kitchen …

I'm always thinking of new stuff to pass on to you and it's amazing what can set off a particular train of thought. Recently I was picking up spices at one of my favourite places – Daily Bread Co-operative Limited in Northampton – if you haven't visited you have to put this gem on your list! Have a look at www.dailybread.co.uk. On my way to pay I walked past cereals of all kinds but right in my eye line was their own Granola. I bought a large bag – I love the stuff as a cereal but that wasn't why I bought it - I thought the Granola would be a great ingredient for another variation on a theme of Rocky Road. Hmm.

Before I continue with the story and the recipe(s) I should introduce my latest purchase which figures in this latest recipe. Crispy M&M's – it's described as chocolate hazelnut flavoured spread with coloured crispy pieces. Hey sometimes you've just gotta do what you've gotta do.

Do I have your attention?

The story continues … stay with me!

The BBB – bits and bats

The joy of this dish is that you can make it what you want. It's perfect for a working week supper – as I've said, make sure you take the BBB out of the fridge before you leave home and place it somewhere covered and cool during the day. All you have to do when you get home is turn on the oven whilst you're pouring yourself a well earned glass of something and then pop it into the oven for 40 minutes or so. Set your timer to add whatever to go with – baked sausages or serve cold with slow cooked gammon and a salad. The dish then stands (or rests if you prefer) for 10 minutes so in effect you've 50 minutes to multitask – or relax. A quick shower and change into your pjs – job done!

You'll love the aroma from your oven, it's nothing short of yum.

Have a look at it after cooking :

Now for the bits and bats – this dish would be great for a brunch, great cold for lunch at the office with salad and some Asian Spiced Salmon Saturday 14^th May 2016 – The F Word … “It's too boring”, as part of a picnic or you can fancify it – my new word – it seems to fit what I'm trying to say to you. You can use a smaller cutter and place a portion in an individual pot, like this :

The cutter used is 8cms/3” in diameter

Perfect as a side or even as a starter but … a warning note ... it is filling. I realise that portion control is personal I just thought I'd mention it!

In the hope that we may get some decent weather soon, it's time for some ideas for portable food but before we begin, a treat me thinks.

The BBB result!

Check this out :

Out of the oven – left to stand for 10 minutes

Cut out a generous portion for supper tonight – I used

a cutter 10cms/4” in diameter

I had sweet baby peppers which I diced and fine asparagus tips which I snapped and blanched for 30 seconds. To complete the dish I decided to use 125g of diced chorizo. I fried the chorizo on a medium heat and as it began to colour I added the peppers and the asparagus.

Here it is :

Supper is served!

What was the verdict?

There it was – gone!

I rest my case!

The BBB – Assembly

… and step by step photo guide :

Layer the bread, overlapping

Soak the bread in the egg mixture and the onions

Sprinkle the layer with half of the grated cheese

Add another layer of bread

Add the remainder of the egg mixture

Complete the dish with the remaining grated cheese

Wrap the dish in cling film and fridge. Fast forward to the following morning … don't forget to take it out of the fridge to allow to come to room temperature or keep covered and in a cool place if you're leaving for work and won't cook until later in the day.

The result up next!

The BBB – Hints and Tips

The BBB is a large savoury dish – it will serve 4 huge appetites and 9 smaller – the small measuring 7.5/8 cms or 3”x 3” in old money.

You might be saying to yourself “I never have that much French bread/baguette left over, let alone stale”. That's fine – say hello to the latest addition to your Store Cupboard – the part baked baguette. If you've never used the product now might be a good time to start. Each pack contains 2 baguettes and weighs 300g, it takes 12 minutes to bake.

Let the baguettes cool, then cut into small slices – you'll get 12 per baguette. You won't use the ends, or heels as they are known.

You can make this dish what you want it to be – veggie as per the recipe, add ham hock, sausages, bacon or whatever you fancy for a mid week supper. If you want to be a little more fancy to serve as a brunch or a supper fry diced chorizo, set that aside and then use the oil to stir fry thin slithers of baby sweet peppers and fine asparagus (I blanch it for 10 seconds after having snapped the stems and discarding the woody unappetising ends).

Lets begin with the photo guide :

You could use a foil dish if you want

to save on washing up!

The sliced bread showing the heels to

discard

Whisk your eggs, cream et al

Add your finely sliced spring onions

I said it was a cheese fest!

Now we're ready to assemble!

The next WWS idea – the Strata …

… or as I call it “Bread and Butter Brunch” - “BBB”. Strata meaning layers is an American breakfast/brunch dish – a sort of savoury bread and butter pudding but not any old mush – this is a cheese fest too.

This dish has so many uses, I hope you'll find it invaluable for your collection in the “Crowd Pleasers” category. Use it for a working week supper but equally for a weekend breakfast, or as part of a larger brunch. The best part is that you prep this dish ahead and fridge it, ready to bake the following day. How easy is that!

All you have to decide is what to serve with it.

The late Spring Bank Holiday is at the end of May – I discover it's now called “Summer Half Term”, anyway if you want ideas for a weekend brunch, this is the recipe for you.

Here's my recipe :

BBB

(or Bread and Butter Brunch)

French stick (225/250g), preferably stale,

sliced

6 large eggs

200ml milk

200ml sour cream (or double will do)

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

salt and black pepper

Bunch spring onions, finely chopped

100g Mature cheddar

175g Gruyere

100g Red Leicester

(all cheese grated and mixed together)

Chopped chives to garnish

Your serving dish should be approximately 24cm square – greased if not non-stick.

Whisk together thoroughly in a large bowl the eggs, milk, cream, mustard, salt and black pepper. Stir in the spring onions.

Arrange half the bread in the dish, overlapping slices to fit. Pour over half the egg mixture and sprinkle with two thirds of the cheese. Cover with the remaining bread, again overlapping the slices. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread, gently press down to help the bread absorb the mixture. Sprinkle the top with remaining cheese.

Cover with cling film and fridge it overnight.

In the morning take the BBB out of the fridge and uncover so that it can come to room temperature, ready to bake at lunchtime.

Preheat your oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6.

Bake for 40/50 minutes or until puffed and golden. Check after 40 mins.

Let it stand for 10 minutes to set the “custard” before serving. Sprinkle with chopped chives.

The first batch of photos plus hints and tips coming up.