Scratch

Here you will find older scratches, musings and other detritus that once were located on the front pages, but have now faded.

Filed away here to collect dust and cobwwwebs in perpetuity, links may break, facts may change and data may corrupt.

On occasion I may come down here to tidy, but for the most, I prefer to leave the past where it lies.

Monthly Archives

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Paella

Nummy Paella. The wonderful thing I've always found about Paella is that no two places make it the same. It is very flexible so if you don’t have the exact ingredients or if you find some of them hard to get hold of, substitute them for something similar.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes for shellfish.
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
½ red pepper, boiled until soft and then cut into long thin strips
2 medium-sized tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
100g peas, cooked
200g prawns
200g small clams
200g squid
12 mussels
350g rice (I prefer to use long grain)
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
a pinch of saffron strands
a sprig of parsley, finely chopped
olive oil
About 800ml water

Instructions
Prepare the mussels, clams and prawns as required.

Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan.

Add the onion, green pepper and carrot and fry gently for about five minutes.

Add the chopped tomato and squid (with the tentacles) and fry on a low heat for another ten minutes.

Add the rice and stir well to make sure that it is thoroughly coated.

Add water (or stock), clams, garlic, saffron, and parsley and bring to the boil. Season with salt. Put a lid on it, turn the heat right down and cook very slowly for about ten minutes.

Add the prawns mussels, peas and red pepper and leave for another ten minutes - checking that it has enough water.

Once the rice is cooked and the mussels have opened, it is ready to eat.

Buche de Noel

Hmmmm... Chocolate

Serves: 12 (or 1 if you try hard)

Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
5/6 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff. Refrigerate.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. In large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, and beat until whites form stiff peaks. Immediately fold the yolk mixture into the whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioners' sugar. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, and turn the warm cake out onto the towel. Remove and discard parchment paper. Starting at the short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes.

Unroll the cake, and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down onto a serving plate, and refrigerate until serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Roast Beef and Bernaise Sauce

Hmmmm... Meat...

Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour

Ingredients
Meat:
1 ½ kg (3-3 ½ lbs) Striploin beef or 3 ribs of beef on the bone
1 tablesp. black peppercorns
1-2 tablesp. olive oil

Bernaise Sauce:
125 ml (¼ pt) wine vinegar
6-8 black peppercorns
1 bayleaf
1 sliced onion
3 egg yolks
1 teasp. mustard powder
150g (6 oz) butter, at room temperature
1 teasp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teasp. tarragon (fresh if available or ¼ teasp. dried)
Salt to taste

Instructions
Meat:

Set oven Gas Mark 6, 200°C (400°F).

Place the beef on the roasting tin, crush the black peppercorns coarsely, and sprinkle over the fat of the beef, pressing them in quite well and drizzle over the olive oil.

Place the meat in a hot oven for 15-25 minutes per lb, depending on how you like the beef cooked. Reduce the oven to gas mark 4, 180°C (350°F) after the first 20 minutes.

Baste the joint well during cooking.

The Sauce:

While the meat is cooking, start on the sauce. Put the vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaf and onion into a small saucepan and boil until the mixture has reduced to about 3 tablesp. and set aside.

Now whisk the egg yolks and mustard together in the top of a double saucepan of simmering water.

Stir the vinegar mixture through a fine sieve on to the egg yolks. Add a tablesp. of water and beat over hot, but not boiling water, using a wire whisk.

Add the butter, a knob at a time, still whisking after each addition until all the butter is in and the sauce has thickened. Add the herbs. Keep warm. The finished sauce should have the consistency of whipped cream.

When the meat is cooked, slice and pour a little sauce around each portion.

Drool and gorge.

Cream Of Garlic Soup

A lovely soup, guaranteed to keep the Vampires from the door.

Serves: 8

Preparation time: 10 mins preperation then 40 mins cooking time.

Ingredients
2 pounds onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cups garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1.5 quarts chicken stock
1 bouquet garni (parsley stems, thyme sprigs and bay leaf, tied together)
2 cups stale French bread, torn into 1/2" pieces
1 cup half and half (or 1/2 cup whole milk with 1/2 cup heavy cream)

Instructions

In a 4-quart, heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the butter and oil. Stir frequently over low to medium heat until the onions are a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and bouquet garni and bring to a boil.

Stir in the bread cubes and simmer for 10 minutes, until the bread is soft.

Remove the bouquet garni and purée the soup in a blender.

Strain the soup through a medium strainer, reheat and whisk in more chicken broth if the soup is too thick for your taste.

Add the half and half, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Original recipe courtesy of Gumbo Pages.

Seafood Chowder

This is a thick, rich chowder style soup, and it's a good way to get some fish in your diet even if you're not a big fish eater.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
2 fresh fish filets, boneless and skinless, cut into bite sized pieces
250 g (approx 8 oz.) fresh, uncooked prawns (shrimp)
1 small can of crab meat
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 - 1 cup milk
1 litre (1 quart) prepared vegetable, chicken, or fish stock
100 (approx 3 ox.) butter (or margarine or other equivalent)
1/3 - 1 c all purpose flour

Instructions
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add in celery and onion, cook over medium heat until onion is just translucent.

Slowly add flour, a little at a time, stirring and cooking as you go. This part is a little tricky, as you want to have enough flour to make a nice, thick, cooked roux to thicken the soup. Ideally, you want to use equal parts butter (or equivalent) and flour. The trick is to get the flour cooked through until it forms a firm ball when combined with the butter and chopped vegetables. The roux should be a nice deep golden color when cooked.

Slowly stir in stock to the roux, adding a little at a time so it's mixed throughout. Add the crab meat and stir through.

At this point, you need to decide how much milk to add. I mostly do it by "eyeballing" it. I like my soup quite thick, so I don't usually put much milk in.

Allow the soup to cook over a low heat for ten minutes or so, stirring constantly, just until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the fish, allow to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the raw prawns (shrimp) and allow to cook an additional 3 -5 minutes.

Remove promptly from heat. Season with fresh pepper to taste. Serve with a nice crusty bread, fresh rolls, or croutons.

Variations
Optional: Stir in a handful of grated cheese (approximately half a cup) immediately before serving, after soup has been removed from heat.

You can use imitation crab instead of real crab meat, but it gives a different consistancy and flavor (it's still good, it's just different). You might also try scallops instead of prawns, or try substituting a can of clams in place of the crab meat.

Red Fruit & Frangipane Tart

This was first experienced a while ago, courtesy of an alternative Birthday Cake. Once cooked, this tart will last a few days in a tightly sealed tin - that's if you can keep the hordes away. You can use the base for the tart with other fruits in season, such as apples, plums, peaches, apicots and black cherries.

Serves: ? Perhaps 8

Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Cooling: 1 hour 30mins

You will need a spring based cake tin 30cm (12in) in diameter, a large mixing bowl, food processor electric mixer and a small saucepan.

Ingredients
For the Pastry:
175g Plain Flour
85g Unsalted Butter
3 Egg Yolks
85g Caster Sugar
3-4 Drops of Vanilla Extract
Pinch Of Salt

For the Frangipane:
175g Unsalted Butter
140g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
175g Ground Almonds
1.5tbsp Plain Flour
2 Drops of Almond Extract

For the Topping:
100g Raspberries
100g Blueberries
100g Redcurrants
100g Blackberries
125g Caster Sugar
100g Apricot Jam
Juice of Half a Lemon

Instructions
Sift the flour into the food processor and add all th remaining pastry ingredients. Mix in short bursts, until the pastry forms a ball. Wrap in Clingfilmand place in the fridge or cool place for an hour.

Grease the cake tin and then line the base with some greaseproof paper. Roll out the pastry to 1cm thick and put it onto the tin. The pastry will be delicate to use. If it breaks up, just press it together again - it will not spoil the end result. Return the pastry to the fridge and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. Preheat the pven to 200C/gas 7. Place greaseproof paper over the pastry and fill with rice or baking beans and place in the oven to bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper and return the pastry to the oven for a further 5-7 minutes until golden brown.

To make the frangipane, mix the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until creamy and twice the volume. Add the eggs, ground almonds, sifted flour and almond extract and mix together. Fill the pastry case with the frangipane, pushing into the outside so that the edges are full and the centre is concaved. Place all the cleaned and washed red fruits into a mixing bowl and sprinkle with 100g sugar, and then pout the fruits into the tart.

Place in the oven and bake at 200C/gas 7 for 30-40 minutes, until the top becomes golden and the fruit begins to pop and swell. The juices from the fruit will start to seep into the tart and the frangipane, but will set once cooled. Take the tart from the oven and leave to cool for a good thirty minutes. Release the sides of the tin and remove, leaving the base intact. Cool for a further hour.

To make the glaze, place the jam in a heavy-based saucepan and place over a medium heat. Melt the jam, add the lemon juice and cook at a simmer for 4 minutes. Then push the mix through a fine sieve. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the glaze over the fruit and around the edges of the tart.

Leave to set - about 30 minutes - and serve.

Banoffee Pie

Banoffee Pie is surely up there with ambrosia as the food of the Gods and is surprisingly easy to make.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 4 hours for the toffee, then 15 minutes, plus chilling

Ingredients
400g tin condensed milk
150g digestive biscuits
75g butter
3 large bananas
284ml carton double cream
Dark chocolate, to decorate (I use Cadbury's Highlights: Fudge)

Instructions
Put the can of milk, unopened, in a large pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and boil for 4 hours, topping up with boiling water from the kettle as needed. Remove and leave to cool.

Put the digestives in a clean plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the biscuits, mix, and press into the base of a 20cm flan tin. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Open the can of condensed milk, which will have turned to toffee. Spread this over the biscuit layer.

Peel and thinly slice the bananas, and arrange in a layer over the toffee. Finally, whip the cream until thick and spread over the bananas. Decorate with either dark chocolate or like me, a sprinkling of Cadbury's Highlights: Fudge.

Eat, Saviour, enjoy.

Repeat as necessary.

Recipe

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