Tuesday 19 August 2014

GBBO - Florentines


Ill have to be honest and say that Florentines aren't something I would usually think of making. Firstly they look very fiddly and secondly they contain mixed peel and I am not really a huge fan, but in the spirit of following the technical challenges I set out to make these little biscuits

First of all I melted the butter with the Demerara sugar and golden syrup



Then chopped the nuts and measured out the peel and the cranberries

 
Then (painstakingly) weighted out every individual one to make sure that there were 18 individual biscuits
 
Then baked until golden brown

While cooling I melted the dark chocolate



Then Ben and I slathered the choc on the top

 
All in all I think I did ok. They are not as difficult to make as I thought and look really quite impressive so I am pretty pleased with them. I have even made another batch to take to a dinner party tonight as it looks like a nice thing to take along with wine. I think they may become a regular bake in our house!
 
Next week I think its Croissants, although not yet confirmed.
Recipes and more information Bake Off

 

Monday 18 August 2014

Foodie Penpals July


This is hands down one of the best parcels I have received - it was fantastic! It was from Christine at http://diaryofadashingfashionista.com/



 
First of all was a big afternoon in kit, I have never seen anything like this before but it contains all different spice blends to make an entire barbeque!
 
 
 
Things like hot wings spice, things to add to potato salad, even an ice tea mix! It comes with a menu and a shopping list to have the perfect party for 8. Wait for a blog post later in the month where I shall be testing out the kit
 
Secondly there was this very cute little bag "eat me" I love Alice in Wonderland so have stolen this idea for a themed party in the future! I wont tell you what was inside in case you get invited :-)


Finally 3 tea pigs teas. We are definitely a tea household, I think on the last count Ben had about 10 different types of breakfast tea that he alternates so these cute little boxes were gratefully received. I have tried the crème caramel rooibos and it was delicious, I am looking forward to trying the rest.



 
 
Thank you so much Christine for a wonderful wonderful parcel!


Thursday 14 August 2014

Great British Bake Off


I love bake off! Its such a great show and although I was a later adopter (I only started watching last season) its now a staple in my planner. I haven't been baking as much recently so I have decided to test myself this year by making every one of the shows "technical challenges".

 

Week One - Cherry Cake

 

A Mary Berry classic recipe that is seemingly easy but getting the cherries to suspend in the cake can prove tough. They can sink to the bottom of the cake or, as was the case with one contestant, chopped too small can completely disappear!

 

I gathered all the ingredients



Off I went - Unfortunately my Bundt tin was a bit too big so I had a very thin cake and it cooked quicker than expected. This also meant it was a little dry but I was happy with the result and it was certainly gobbled up by friends!

 


Next week Florentines!
 

Thursday 20 February 2014

D'Gust

So it’s been a while since I have blogged! I guess life has got in the way a bit recently but I am now determined to get back on it and have a lot more posts in 2014!

One that I have been meaning to write for a while is about a restaurant in Spain that we go to. In fact Ben insists that we go – every time! My Parents love it, my Bestie loves it, and everyone loves it! The service is impeccable, the people are lovely and the food is amazing. Ill do this review on the “Menu Del Dia” which, translated, is the day menu and a set menu provided every day. It’s a cheaper way of eating there as works out about fifty euros including wine! So here goes…

The Amuse Bouche

Today’s was a tiny chicken leg in a very fragrant BBQ Sauce with fresh Rosemary


 Tasted divine – would definitely order this as a course!

The offered a choice of starters, I went for the salad
Ben went for the calamari served with a special paste – he said it was really good, crisp, light and the paste complimented it greatly

Then the palate cleanser – Sorbet, very refreshing – Mint flavour which I had not tried before


For main I opted for the Duck – this was stunning crisp on the outside and rich and meaty inside! Perfection! Served with lovely seasoned Potatoes and fresh veg.

Ben opted for the Lamb which he said was beautiful, it certainly looked it!



Finally dessert – although we were stuffed we managed a little bite of Crème Catalan or Crème Brulee – perfect ending to an amazing meal.



Miguel (the owner) then sent us over a glass of “43” – Sublime! If you are ever in the vicinity you have to pop in, such a lovely restaurant! Blog to follow on the A La Carte Menu! KX

Thursday 31 October 2013

Foodie Penpals - October Reveal Day!

I was so excited for this month after last months went a little askew! I was paired with Tracy from her blog “It’s not easy being Greedy” (brilliant blog – go check it out and see what she thought of what I sent her) this is what I sent her – I think she liked it.

Tracy's Blog



Claire from Claireys Fairy Cooking was given the task of sending to me. I’m sure this isn’t easy as we give them the advice – we are happy with anything! Claire sent the most wonderful Parcel in an autumn theme all wrapped in lovely tissue paper J


 
Inside was a mixture of treats

There was as follows



 
-         Hot Chocolate – 3 Different Types, 2 Special Options and one melty one. I loved the options ones where there were different toppings but Ben’s Favourite was the melty one – I am sure that is because of the Fudge – He loves it!
-         Crasins – Cranberries soaked in Pomegranate juice – so scrummy and lovely on my cereal in the morning
-         Roast Potato seasoning – Claire said she was introduced to this by a Penpal and loved it – I have yet to try it yet but I cant wait looks lovely
-         Raspberry and Rhubarb Jam – going to use this to make some jammy cup cakes and Claire also provided some Halloween themed cup cake cases for me too!
-         Mini Chutney and Jam – really unusual flavours, looking forward to trying these out when I make ham and maybe the Jam with some more Cupcakes
-         Chestnuts – Had to be, she said, in an Autumn parcel, this is great from me as I have a lovely Jamie recipe for pie with chestnuts in the pastry – so going to be having that again soo
-         2 Fruit Shots from Whitworths – I haven’t seen these before and they look lovely – think they may become a regular in my shop!
-         Finally (seriously was a HUGE parcel!) some Chocolate

 
Thank you so much Claire for a lovely lovely Parcel!


P.S. Happy Halloween Everyone!



Wednesday 9 October 2013

September Reveal Day :-)



A bit late as the parcel was delayed from Lithania but we received a lovely packet of goodies from Valerija. I was at work so Ben opened it and quickly sent me pics. So this is our haul!

Firstly some scrummy looking chocolates! They are white chocolate with nuts on, Ben somehow managed not to dive straight into these (I have no idea how!) But we did have some when he got in from work last night with a cup of hot chocolate.



Next was some tomato and cheese pasta. I think it’s a bit like a pasta and sauce thing that we have here so looking forward to trying that as a quick supper

Then there was a salad dressing spray – what a brilliant idea! It combines oil and vinegar in a bottled spray – looking forward to trying this out!



The rock salt and sea salt combo in a jar was intriguing and as I was making roasted new potatoes last night I combined some of this with some Rosemary from the garden and made some yummy potatoes! Will definitely get a lot of use out of this.

Finally was (what I think) is dried chillis – I have asked Valerija to confirm – but look really exciting to try. Thank you so much Valerija for a lovely Parcel! 

If you want to try foodie penpals please see link here ----à    Foodie Penpals

Kx



Tuesday 8 October 2013

The Shurlock Inn

Shurlock Inn

So as Ben gets evenings off midweek instead of weekends that’s when we tend to venture out, this weeks ‘date night’ was off to The Shurlock Inn on the way to Twyford. I had heard on the website that this was the night of their new menu so was a little dubious of going on the first night. Didn’t matter, in fact we would never have know it was the first night of something new. Lots of lovely options on the menu – too many infact! They all looked so delicious! I opted for the Glazed goats cheese served on a rocket, beetroot and toasted walnut salad. This was AMAZING – unfortunately my phone won’t take pictures at the moment but a picture would not capture the awesomeness to be honest. Ben had homemade duck terrine, with pink peppercorns and bay leaves, served with plum and orange chutney and toast – he said this was lovely but perhaps a little too big.

For main I had good old pie and mash with a cream sauce, again, this was lovely although for my (random) taste the mash was a bit too hard but much better when smooshed up with the gravy. Ben had Rib eye which he said was really good and served with sautéed potatoes which was a nice change from chips.
For dessert (although no room we had to try them) I had about 3 bites of the White chocolate banoffee pie which had the perfect balance between fruit and yummy biscuit with the white chocolate cream – lovely but too big. Ben had Apple and rhubarb crumble served with custard which although came out nuclear hot Ben said the flavours were really good.

So all in all we would definitely recommend the Shurlock inn – really really good but make sure you book because they do get really busy! Oh and at the moment they are on the Tesco Club card boost voucher deal!


Kx