Supper pudding – scrumptious crumble!

Here's the thing – do you ever get a layer of uncooked crumble topping between your fruit and the top?

Here's my answer. Grab two or three handfuls of the crumble topping and scatter on a baking tray. If you'd like specific measurements – 250g. Pre-heat your oven 170fan/190c/Gas 5. Set your timer for 10 minutes and turn the crumble and repeat. Set aside to cool, then box and you're ready!

the crumb on the tray – before and after

the crumb boxed

Cooking your crumble topping in this way and then adding to your fruit before cooking eliminates the uncooked layer. It also smells absolutely delicious!

Finally the crumble recipe given is huge – 750g. You've used 250g so you have a 500g stash ready for your freezer.

You'll never make a crumble topping the old way again.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and the best bit - making new friends!

After a hectic entertaining month it's time to sit back, relax a little and start thinking about December.

The supper pudding

I struggle with choosing which pudding to serve, probably because I don't have a sweet tooth. Back to basics again, it's Autumn so a pudding to fit the season. A rummage in the freezer is up next and bears fruit – literally – a tray full of roasted rhubarb and my last box of the latest batch of vanilla ice cream. Rhubarb crumble here we come!

Because my rhubarb is already roasted all I have to do is prep the crumble topping. Once again this can be made ahead, bagged and fridged.

I always use the same crumble recipe which is one of Nigella's tweaked :

Crumble topping

150g cold unsalted butter, diced

250g self raising flour

150 demerara sugar

200g pecans blitzed to a crumb – not a dust

Rub the butter into the flour - you want a crumble with texture. Add the sugar and the pecans and mix well. Bag and set aside, ready for later.

The evening before I remember to take the rhubarb out of the freezer and fridge it to defrost.

My next decision – how to serve the crumble – ramekins it is! The dimensions are 9cms x 5cms (3½”x 2”).

On the day fill your ramekins with rhubarb, cling film and place on a baking tray, return to the fridge until ready to bake.

Just to help you – here's the ramekin :

When I've taken the Posh Cottage out of the oven I turn it down to 170fan/190c/Gas 5 – ready to bake the crumbles for 20 minutes.

Here's a couple more photos :

ta dah!

Finally, a crumble tip!

The Posh Cottage – assembly and a couple of photos!

On the day, slice your cooked baked potatoes – with or without skin.

Take the steak pie base out of the fridge a couple of hours before you intend to bake it.

Arrange your sliced potatoes on top of the steak, then add a generous sprinkle of grated mature cheddar cheese. Add black pepper – no salt required, it's already in the cheese.

good enough to eat, the steak retains it shape and the colour

of the gravy is perfect

here's a miniature version of the Posh Cottage

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 and bake your Posh Cottage for 40 minutes – check after 30 – it's a deep dish pie and should be piping hot with the potato and cheese topping slightly crispy around the edges and golden cheese.

Serving the Posh Cottage with whatever veggies you'd choose, at the table, is the best decision, paying attention when they say stop. They can always return for more!

An informal supper is the most relaxing get together, all the food is on the table at the same time and your guests can help themselves to whatever takes their fancy – a second helping may be?

My last October soirée …

and it's supper for new friends who've not visited until now. I did follow my own rules and asked if there were any dislikes … “a struggle to even pretend that we enjoyed a meal with liver, kidney, squid or octopus!” My reply … “rest easy - absolutely no chance!”

Homework done I decided on a “Posh Cottage”. A Posh Cottage is my version of a cottage pie made with slow cooked cubed steak in a thick gravy, topped with sliced cooked baked potatoes and garnished generously with grated mature cheddar cheese. All that is required is assembly of the elements and pop into a pre-heated oven so that you can enjoy a pre-supper drink with the guests.

It's Autumn and a perfect time to put your slow cooker to good use and to its fullest potential.

Steak Pie Filling

1kg/2.2lbs braising steak or stewing steak, cubed

glug of rapeseed or Canola oil

2 x Knorr beef stock pots

2 heaped tbsp tomato paste

You'll need a square pie dish/casserole 23x23x6 cms (9”x9x2½”).

The day before. Heating a glug of rapeseed oil in a large frying pan I sealed my steak in batches, seasoning each batch with salt and black pepper – don't overload the pan, you'll finish up with stewed grey steak – not a good look! Add beef stock pots and tomato paste to the residual juices, melt the pots and cook out the tomato paste then add 750ml of water, mix well and bring to the boil. Add the stock to the steak and slow cook for at least four hours.

Remove the steak from the slow cooker and place in the pie dish. If your gravy is too thin then bring it to the boil and gradually add a little slaked cornflour - thicken to taste. Cover the steak with gravy but don't drown it - cover, cool and fridge. Reserve any remaining gravy in a jug, cover, cool and fridge.

The day before pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 and bake four large jacket potatoes spiked with a paring knife and wrapped in foil – check after an hour, they may need another 15 minutes – test by inserting a paring knife which should ease in and out of the potato. Set them aside to cool then bag and fridge until required.

Grate mature cheddar cheese, bag and fridge.

Assembly and a couple of photos next …

Ham hock … the photos

The ham hock comes from Waitrose in the cooked meats chiller. To help you find it :

Here's one pouch, flaked, ready to add to the croque with hock!

This is the perfect addition to your winter store cupboard. You get two pouches and so very convenient. I split the pack and freeze one for future use. You can of course cook your own ham hock but if you're stuck for time here's the answer!

You don't have to play cards – Saturday night supper with Strictly Come Dancing or, this weekend, F1 qualifying in the USA – whatever is your passion.

P.s. They demolished the soup and the croques with the hock - another croque was ordered as a lunch treat the following day – what more can I say.

The croque with hock

I'm sure you've heard of a Croque Monsieur – it's a baked, or more popularly, fried sandwich which forms a crispy crust but an oozing filling in the middle. Croque literally means “crunch” from the verb “croquer” - “to bite”. The croque is the perfect partner for my soup with a hat. This is not just any old sandwich!

There are heaps of different variations of the croque. My most recent gives you a short cut too if you're pressed for time. I assembled the sandwiches in the morning, ready to be completed in the evening.

Croque with hock

for 4 sandwiches

8 slices of medium wholemeal bread

4 tsps Dijon mustard

75g each of Gruyere and mature cheddar cheese, grated

1x90g pouch of cooked ham hock

1 medium onion, preferably sweet or mild flavour,

finely sliced and left raw

60g unsalted butter

Spread ½ tsp of mustard over each slice of bread. Spread the cheese onto 4 slices of bread followed by the onions and ham hock. Sandwich together with the other 4 slices of bread.

At this stage place your stack of croques on a large sheet of foil, wrap tightly and fridge.

When you're soup is in the oven :

Heat half the butter in a frying pan until foaming – you'll get two sandwiches in your frying pan – fry for 1-2 minutes on each side and then pop the croques onto a baking sheet and into the oven whilst you repeat using the remaining butter and two sandwiches.

You may think the onion would be harsh to the palate but I assure you it isn't, provided you use either a sweet or mild variety. The sharpness of the onion cuts through the richness of the cheese.

I should say too that I divided the 90g of ham hock between three of the croques, the fourth without the hock is for me – wrapped separately. It's no hassle to serve with or without!

Soup and a sandwich … with a difference

Soup is a perfect choice it can be made ahead and in fact benefits – flavours are enhanced and given a chance to develop.

I chose one of my favourites – Carrot, Coriander and Chickpea – if you'd like the recipe, check out the Soup label Sunday 3rd February 2019.

If you fancy doing something different and have individual cauldron shaped soup bowls, give your soup a puff pastry hat. You don't have to stress, use puff pastry sheets. For four bowls you'll need 2 x 320g sheets – two “hats” per sheet with left overs. Freeze the leftovers for another day.

If you're interested in the soup bowls, they are sometimes called “lion head soup bowls” and have a capacity of 600ml approximately. They have a fat body and a narrower top. Check out Le Creuset Stoneware Lion Head Soup Bowls if you fancy treating yourself!

Pre-heat your oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7. Your soup should be cold – pour into the bowls leaving a gap of 2/3 cms at the top. This prevents the soup bubbling through the pastry when heated. Cut out four circles from the sheets that are slightly larger than the bowl and drape over the filled bowls. Make sure you've cut air holes in the pastry. Brush the pastry with beaten egg then bake for 15 – 20 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden – serve immediately with your sandwiches.

Speaking of sandwiches …