Dids – the meringues and ice cream for the Susan

Once again you have options – you can cheat and buy tubs of ready-made meringue kisses. The quality of the ready-made varies, some are better than others, some are powdery and overly sweet, some not so but disintegrate as soon as you look at them – a slight exaggeration may be!

If you want to have a go and make your own here's my basic meringue recipe :

4 fl oz egg whites – from large eggs

225g/8oz caster sugar

As is always my mantra, get yourself sorted before you start whisking.

Your oven should be pre-heated 90fan/110c/Gas ¼ – very cool/very slow.

Cut your parchment to size for two baking sheets measuring 30x30 cms.

You'll need a large, squeaky clean mixing bowl, a plain nozzle and a piping bag. If you want to be sure you've got a squeaky clean bowl then wipe it with a drop of lemon juice and let is dry before use.

Whisk your eggs whites until they are stiff – the old fashioned way of testing whether they are stiff enough is to tip the bowl upside down over your head – if the mixture doesn't move it's ready! Add half the caster sugar and whisk again until stiff. Fold in the remaining sugar. Your mixture is now ready for the piping bag.

The great thing about disposable piping bags is that you can cut them to size. The end of the bag is snipped to fit your nozzle. Fold the bag over your hand – it enables you to have a steady hold on your bag. Spoon the mixture into the bag until two thirds full and gently ease the mixture towards the nozzle expelling any air. Twist the top of the bag and hold and then use your other hand to steady the nozzle end.

Place a tiny blob of mixture in each corner of your baking trays and “glue” your parchment to the tray.

Holding the nozzle approximately 4cms above the tray squeeze the bag gently and then tilt the bag away in an upward direction so that you create a little kiss curl – hence “kisses”!

Bake for 45 minutes.

Peel the kisses gently from the parchment.

This recipe will give you approximately 40 kisses. You can store them in strong ziploc type bags or in tins lined with parchment with well fitting lids. Store in a cool, dry place – NOT in the fridge and they'll keep for 2 weeks – if they last that long!

If you're stuck for something to do whilst at home and you're planning your own “Susan” it's your made ahead “store cupboard” element.

Finally, another make ahead store cupboard element, this time for the freezer.

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff, like pipeable whipped cream.**

2. Spoon the mixture into a lidded freezer-proof container and free for at least 6-8 hours or until firm.

** My variation – take a box of your Sticky Toffee Sauce or use a jar of shop bought salted caramel sauce (260g) and fold into the mixture to give a marbled effect.

I've made this ice cream so many times I've lost count – my tip is take it out of the freezer and let it soften a little before you serve it with your Susan.

You can make or buy elements – the world is your ice cream wafer. If you choose the make it yourself route the benefits are that, for example, the meringue kisses and the ice cream can be made well ahead, stored or frozen. All that remains is for you to arrange and serve your Susan with minimum effort and maximum wow factor.

It goes without saying that these are just a few of my ideas for a Susan – designed to inspire you to create your own!

Next up … a stand-alone, never fail idea

Dids … the sprinkles and the sauce for the Susan

Both the sprinkles and the sauce are secret weapons!

You could of course cheat by buying ready-made sprinkles like rainbow confetti or, as I knew them back in the day “hundreds and thousands” both of which have one major thing in common – pure sugar. You can get organic sprinkles made from natural ingredients on-line.

My favourite home-made sprinkle is praline - largely used for adding to and flavouring cream, ice cream, butter cream or whatever takes your fancy. You can use it in large pieces or shards or blitzed into a coarse powder. It keeps well so long as you transfer it into an air-tight jar. Should the mood take you it can even be blitzed into a paste.

Praline

75g/3oz almonds, unblanched

75g/3oz caster sugar

Place the sugar into a frying pan (I used a pan measuring 28cms/11” in diameter) and then the almonds on top. Heat the sugar and almonds on as low a heat as possible. Resist the urge to prod/stir/mess with! Patience is eventually rewarded the sugar begins to melt and when the almonds begin to “pop”, and your sugar is a good colour - turn it out onto a non-stick sheet (or oiled slab if you want to be posh). The melting of the sugar takes approximately 20 minutes.

Leave the praline sheet where it is until it is well and truly set. You can then break it up and blitz into a coarse powder or as you wish. It's stating the obvious I know – you'll get 175g/6oz of praline.

Please note that when blitzing you will need ear plugs and warn anyone nearby that isn't totally deaf they soon will be – it's worth the noise – like I said “tiny bits of twinkling toffee”!

Next up … the sauce :

Sticky Toffee Sauce

4oz unsalted butter

8oz soft brown sugar

2oz chopped stem ginger (optional)

10 fl oz double cream (or whipping cream)

Heat together the butter, sugar and ginger. When dissolved add the cream.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring.

The stem ginger in this recipe is optional but it makes a good addition when serving the sauce as an accompaniment to nursery puddings and ice cream.

One batch of the recipe produces approximately 539g of the sauce, or, over two portions to fold through ice cream. It can be frozen for convenience.

Once again you can cheat and buy a ready-made sauce. A shop bought sauce is usually approximately 260g per jar but you'll find it's sweeter than home-made. It's well worth the 15 minutes making your own.

Now for the meringues and ice cream for the Susan ...

Dids – recipes for the Susan

Here's a selection of drizzles for the “Susan” :

You can never have enough compotes or coulis recipes in your culinary arsenal – they are quick and easy to make and have a gazillion uses – the usual suspects like toppings for pancakes, cereals and yogurt. They are a perfect dressing for desserts – giving that much needed sharpness - quick and simple over ice cream too.

The compotes and a coulis too :

Blueberry Compote

250g blueberries – defrosted if frozen

100g caster sugar

juice of one small lemon

Pop the blueberries and the sugar into a medium sized saucepan and cook gently until the sugar melts and the mixture begins to thicken – add your lemon juice. This should take approximately 15 minutes. Stir occasionally taking care not to break up the fruit – this is a marathon not a sprint – be patient – it's only 15 minutes. If you must walk away from the stove then make sure you've got your timer around your neck.

When the mixture is cooked leave it to cool – then spoon into the clean jar you've got ready!

Cherry and Raspberry Compote

350g cherries, stoned – can use frozen

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon (2 tbsps)

150g raspberries – can use frozen

4 tbsp water or juice from defrosted fruit

Pour the water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place on a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until they have released some juice but are not overcooked. If you are using frozen cherries you will have the fruit juices when defrosted – use this juice instead of the water and reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then blitz the compote and pass through a sieve. You'll get 400ml. Chill before serving or divide and freeze a portion for another day.

Strawberry compote

500g ripe strawberries, hulled

4 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the strawberries in half – or quarters if large – place in a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer. Cover and cook for 3/5 minutes until dark in colour and syrupy. Compote can be store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. Again you can split the batch into two and freeze one for a rainy day.

If you prefer a smooth compote blitz and pass through a sieve.

As you can see it's not a difficult recipe, hulling the berries, i.e. removing the green leaf on the top and the stalk below, takes a little time but it's worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife and cutting in a circular motion – carefully - will do the job just as well.

Raspberry Coulis

200g strawberries, hulled and halved

200g raspberries

75g icing sugar, sifted

Heat the fruit in a large pan for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. Add the icing sugar and continue to cook the fruit for a further 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, add a splash of water if necessary to loosen the coulis. Strain through a sieve pushing the fruit through with the back of a spoon and set aside to cool. Fridge until needed.

Actually you could call the coulis either raspberry or strawberry since it contains equal amounts of both.

I think that just about covers the compotes!

Up next … the sprinkles and the sauce for the Susan

Dive in desserts – aka Dids!

In this utopian dream we have of gathering with friends and family from our existing dystopian state you'll definitely need a dive in style of dessert!

You could spend a while creating a fancy dancin' posh pud but if you choose this route you might want to check your pantry for ingredients and whether or not you'll be able to get any that you do need since availability has been random nay bizarre during these testing times!

What follows is a series of ideas – a pick and mix!

You could consider a “Lazy Susan” principle - those of us who are of a certain age will remember them from the 60s (in my case) and I think Tupperware produced something similar which they called a “Party Susan”. In other words a large central circular platter with different compartments for different treats, sweet or savoury. There were also larger and very popular versions of a turntable - practical too – usually found in Chinese restaurants which made sharing banquets easy and fun.

Steal the idea - create a central turntable with small, colourful and pretty bowls and/or jugs of sweet treats – your own pick and mix - where everyone can dive in and create their own bowlful - you could use funky, disposable (and safe) pots for serving. Believe it or not the “Susans” are still available! The downside is if you invest in one they'll probably only have five or six “serving” spaces. Anyway, you don't have to spend dosh – I just wanted to paint a picture to give you ideas.

Here are my suggestions for your “Susan” :

Choices of texture and crunch, colour and above all flavour that you know your friends and family enjoy are the most important and similarly the size of your “bowls” is relative to the number of guests. You'll always be able to refill them as it all vanishes before your very eyes!

Lets begin with probably the most popular – that most of us love – chocolate.

Bowl 1 or may be 2!

Two recipes that immediately spring to mind are Hokey Pokey

and the recent Flourless Chocolate Cake – both of which

are perfect to cut into small cubes for bowls

with each of these you have tempting morsels that will

not disintegrate and an instant chocolate hit - if you know

that your guests are chocoholics you could make both

Chocolate Hokey-Pokey

75g unsalted butter

100g pecan halves, roughly chopped

sea salt flakes

300g dark chocolate

2 tbsp golden syrup

3 x 40g Crunchie bars

Heat a small knob of butter in a pan and when foaming, tip in the pecans with a pinch of sea salt flakes. Stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or till toasted – you will smell them when they are ready. Tip the nuts into a bowl and leave to cool.

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt, in a medium pan, with the rest of the butter and the syrup, stirring. Once the chocolate mixture is smooth, take the pan off the heat. Bash the Crunchie bars (in the wrappers – less messy!). Add the Crunchie pieces, along with the toasted pecans, to the chocolate mixture. Gently mix together before transferring to a square foil tray - 23x23cms (or cake tin if you prefer to wash-up).

Leave to set in the fridge – a minimum of four hours. Once set, remove from the tray and cut in half, repeat and keep going until you have small pieces to suit the size of your serving bowl.

The Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe and photos too were posted on the 2^nd May 2020.

Bowl 3 :

A drizzle (aka a compote or a coulis) to go with – serve in small jugs

if you have them or a large one if not – as for flavour – the choice

is yours and I've included some recipes

Bowl 4 :

For texture or crunch you could use Amaretti biscuits, crushed to

a crumb or left whole – nuts of your choice, chopped or left whole

Bowl 5 :

A sprinkle is essential! By sprinkle I mean a real one like blitzed

praline – a sprinkle of gold – tiny bits of twinkling toffee

Bowl 6 :

Sticky Toffee Sauce gets a big tick!

Bowl 7 :

Fresh fruit in season – at the moment strawberries and

raspberries are good, add some fresh pineapple, segmented oranges

whatever floats your banana boat!

Bowl 8 :

Meringue kisses – make your own or cheat – I won't tell

Bowl 9 :

Lets not forget the ice cream!

If you want to make certain elements ahead and freeze or store (as with meringue kisses) you can save yourself time, take short cuts or cheat – it matters not.

Coming up … selected recipes from my store for the “Susan” and more ideas too!

The holiday that never was ...

Last November we booked flights to make a long overdue visit to our dear friends in North Carolina, scheduled for May 2020 ... here's what happened next. 

 Click here to download.

Nasi – zhuzhed up

The easiest way to show the “zhuzh” is to give the recipe again and underline the alternative ingredients.

Here goes :

Nasi Goreng

Serves 4-6

3 eggs

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp oil

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder – instead of using chilli

powder use ½ tsp of sambal paste *

8oz (225g) cooked rice – instead of using plain rice, use bags

of frozen rice with added veggies *

6oz (175g) cooked chicken or turkey meat, diced

6oz (175g) peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

instead of using soy, sugar and lemon juice use

60ml of soy sauce and 120ml of Kecap Manis *

6oz (175g) cooked wafer ham, thinly sliced

instead of using cooked wafer ham use cooked

shredded ham hock *

black pepper

Beat the egg lightly with the 1 tbsp water. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or frying pan. Pour in the egg and cook until set underneath, flip it and repeat. Slide the omelette out of the pan on to a board, roll up into a cigar shape and slice into strips – set aside.

Add the vegetable oil to the wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder* and fry until lightly browned. Add the rice* and cook for a few seconds then stir in the chicken and prawns. Cook for 2/3 minutes.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar and lemon juice* together, then stir thoroughly into the rice mixture. Stir in the ham* then season to taste with pepper. Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with the omelette strips.

Optional sides :

Add a dish of chopped honey roasted cashews

Add bowls of soy and Kecap Manis for extra drizzle

Add a stack of small thin wraps – small wraps are easier

to control for little fingers

Add a stack of Little Gem lettuce cups – ideal for

filling with the Nasi and devouring – you'll save on

cutlery too!

Whichever variation of The Gorengs you choose the principle is the same – it's the perfect vehicle for using leftovers and adding treats like prawns and ham hock. It's quick and easy to produce and so satisfying to place a large wok full of deliciousness on the table with additional sides – more chopped cashews, bowls of soy, kecap manis, a heap of small thin wraps and a stack of Little Gem lettuce cups.

I think that has just about covered The Gorengs – here's a couple of photos of the zhuzhed version :

a perfect “dive in dish”

Time for more “dive in” ideas - next up desserts.

Nasi – but not as we know … or

… a variation on a theme.

Here's an alternative “fish” Nasi recipe :

Nasi but not

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder or sambal paste

8oz (225g) cooked rice

6oz (175g) cooked salmon fillet, flaked

6oz (175g) smoked salmon, finely sliced

6oz (175g) peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

120ml Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)

60ml dark soy sauce

4-6 hard boiled eggs, quartered

black pepper

Serves 4-6

Add the vegetable oil to a wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder and fry until lightly browned. Add the rice and cook for a few seconds then stir in the salmon and prawns.

Mix the kecap manis and soy sauce together, stir into the rice mixture, then season to taste with pepper.

Add the eggs, folding in gently, serve immediately, straight from the wok.

You can adjust the amounts of fish/seafood to your own personal taste – bearing in mind that you have two elements to replace from the original recipe – chicken and ham – 175g each plus 175g of prawns. You are adding hard boiled eggs and although these are a garnish they are definitely an integral part of the dish since the sauce is quite punchy and the fish quite salty so they play an important part in the balance.

Once again though, make it your own – adjust to suit yourself, if you want more prawns then adjust the amount of salmon accordingly. The great thing about this recipe is that it is a “leftovers” dish i.e. everything in it, apart from the onion, garlic and chilli and the sauce, is already cooked.

It's quite “kedgeree-esque” in that both contain fish and boiled eggs and both started life as breakfast dishes – now you have a choice – Asian or Indian!

Finally … the zhuzh