The size of sloes varies from year to year and tree to tree, last year the sloes near to me were big and fat and this year they are half the size, they should be a deep bluey purple colour and the flesh in side should be green with a small stone in the middle (they are kind of like tiny plums but incredibly sour), sloe are ideally picked after the first frost so that the skins become 'bletted' making it easier for the gin to get into the flesh once they have been pricked with a pin.

What i do though (to get the sloe gin going earlier) is to pick the fruits before the frosts and freeze them, let the fruits defrost fully then bash them up with a rolling pin to split the skins then add them to the gin with the sugar

I got one last christmas from sainsburys and i'm sure i saw them in tesco, i think it is one of those cakes which is purely seasonal

This maybe a little late but how about trying a American baked cheesecake, the recipe below is good, just replace the butter, cream cheese etc with dairy/lactose free ingredients, and instead of the sour cream topping you could do mixed berries or cherries.

[link]

Hope it helps a little

Once you have boiled the they are nice marinated (ideally the beets are still warm) in a good balsamic vinegar with a few crushed juniper berries added and a tiny bit of rose water, leave to macerate for a few hours and serve with salad and roasted salmon, yum yum yum

Gun powder tea is the best for mint tea, add 4-6 mint leaves to a pretty glass along with a tsp of sugar and top up the glass with the fresh brewed tea and leave to infuse for a few minutes, the Moroccans along with most middle eastern countries like their tea and their coffee to be very very sweet, its worth trying the tea a few times times to find out a level of sweetness that you may like.


I spent a few weeks in Jordan a couple of years back and found their coffee (Arabic style), after getting over the language barrier i found out that it is flavoured/brewed with cardamon. The coffee itself is very strong (maybe a bit stronger than espresso)and lots of sugar is added again., its served in espresso style cups, a note though if you do go to Morocco and have arabic coffee DO NOT drink the last mouthful as you will end up with a rather disgusting mouthful of coffee/cardamon grounds!

Adrian,
Stocking light and dark corn syrup would be great as it almost imposable to find a substitute for it over here, golden syrup and treacle are far to thick

How about some little baklava's and you could serve some fresh fruit, or you could serve poached pears in honey syrup with a sprinkle of pistachios.
After just looking through an arabic cook book i have seen a very nice sounding pud which is a Saffron and Cardamon creme caramel served with butter cookies. All the puds in this book seem to be fruit based or pastry's soaked in syrup.
Don't forget the most important ending to your meze, fresh brewed mint tea, yum

I think like everybody on this thread if Ina were to come to the UK i would definitely make the journey, fingers crossed she will be over here sometime next year, i think she may be surprised as to how many fans she has over here

Homelovingirl, you'll find the recipe on page 200/201 of her back to basics book, its called french chocolate bark

Azelia i t dream of having a kitchen like that, my other half has said if we every win the lottery then i can have one, guess my dream is never going to come true

Homelovingirl, i'm sure it was called chocolate bark

Like everyone else has said please tell Ina how much she is loved over here in blighty and ask her to please come and visite as she would be a sure sell out.

Adrian is your shop in Bath?

It's a bit meatbally but mix with pork and beef mince, onion, garlic, herbs, egg, bread crumbs and make a meat loaf, top with tomatoe sauce

I know this is very late and doesn't really forfil hat you have asked for, but there are 2 places i would recomend, 1st go to Anstruther for fish and chip (with chippy sauce!) there are quite possibly the best tasting fish and chips in the world, and 2nd go to Crail (just down the road from Anstuther) and go down to the harbour, there is a tiny shed/shack which sells fresh lobster and crab cooked to order, (or you can take away live ones) or fresh dressed crab, you can then sit on a big wooden bench over looking the harbour dipping lobster and crab in seafood sauce/butter/lemon juice, the shellfish is fantastic. Just remember totake loads of baby wipes to clean up with and a bottle (glass of course) of irnbru to drink.
Sorry again as its not what you asked for but i thought i'd share the love for these great seafood places.

Azelia that sounded good, Ina's butterflyed chicken with lemon,garlic and rosemary works a treat on the BBQ or even in the oven on a rainy day

First off i would like to say how refreshing the last few pages have been with out all the criticism from certain members, is been great to read.

To all you budding Ina Garten fans out there and especially JenJen24 as you live pretty close, there is a shop in Bath (it does mail order) which stocks BC products just follow the link below.

[link]

Also JenJen24 you want the mixer put it on your wedding list and get someone else to pay for it or ask for vouchers for your favourite cook store, (there is a great one in bath),

From a past trip to america i did have some kosher salt, when i had nearly run out i did a little trial ( very sad i know, but hey thats me) and i found that fine ground ses salt is a very good substitute for kosher salt. its more of a mild tasting salt with no real harsh after taste like table salt.

I know its hard to believe but different salts ie sea, table, rock all have very different tastes, and they are very good in there own right depending on what you are cooking but i would go with fine sea salt for most things as it has a salty yet mild taste.

Hope some of that helps

I don't think anybody, no matter how much they like Ina's food and her, would cook it everyday, i do how ever think that people watch her show to gain inspiration for their day to day cookery, i am certainly one of those people and like the majority of people who do that understand that, yes, she adds a lot of salt, butter, oil and every other ingredient to the dish that she is cooking but then a lot of her dishes are designed to feed at least 6-8 people maybe even 8-10 people, so when you start to look at the calorie content it is greatly reduced and not near to the 1000kcal as previously stated in this thread.


I have taken ideas from another program called 'Healthy Appetite', and if i can i use half low fat yogurt and half light mayo in dishes, or oil along with butter instead of all butter i will, also perhaps using half the salt she recommends then taste and add more if need be, there are simple solutions around what a lot of people call her high fat recipes if you just take the time to use your brain and be a cook instead of a drone who thinks that a recipe is a law to be followed to the letter, I'm sure Ina would not mind a little creative influence with her recipies.

The best place to look for her recipes is the food network site

If you google Ina Garten one of the things which is said about her is that she is Jewish yet doesn't keep Kosher, IE: she eats pork and dairy with meat.

Read the following link to find out a bit more about Ina, it really is quite interesting

[link]

Inas Back to Basics book is fantastic, try her parmesan and thyme cookies they are great as pre meals nibbles with a glass of wine yum yum.

Yes i know they are bad but who cares there are so many other things i have to worry about a treat every now and then makes things worth while.

Heres to Ina and all of her sticks of butter and cups of sugar, keep up the wonderful work of keeping food fun and tasty

I can see your point Lynn, however straight after The Barefoot contessa there is a program called healthy appetite which shows you how to cook almost fat, salt (and every other bad thing) free!

I think however Ina Garten isn't on a one woman crusade to make everybody over weight and ill, i think it just takes a little common sense when it comes to making her recipies, for example when she call for a stick of butter to fry some onions use a little with a bit of oil, when she says to add 1 table spoon of salt use a tsp and then add more if needed, just cutting back on a few of her weights and measures can make it healthy.

Also if you notice the qty that she is making they are very large so if you cut it down to serve 2 people maybe there wouldn't be as much bad things in there.

And if all else fails don't cook any of her recipes or stop watching the program as it seems to be making your blood pressure soar!

8oz of stale bread,
1/2 pt milk,
4oz sultanas,
2oz mixed peel,
3oz sugar,
1tsp mixed spice,
4oz melted butter,
1 egg,
sugar for topping,


Cut away any hard crusts from the bread, break into pieces and put into the milk to soak for about 1/2 to 1 hr, set the oven to gas 4 or 180c and grease a 23cm square cake tin.
Squeeze the excess milk from the bread, put in a bowl and break up any lumps with a spoon. Put all the other ingredients into the bowl with the bread and mix very well, adding a little more milk if needed (it doesn't look very nice at this stage, in fact it look awful but it will taste good). Put the mixture in to the tin, spread out and bake for roughly 1 hour. remove from the oven and sprinkle with sugar.
Its really nice served hot with custard or cold with a big mug of tea.

I had a look at it when i was shopping last night, its a mix of salt, pepper, garlic, chilli, paprika and various herbs, schwartz do a version as well called 'season all'.

Glad to help

Every simnel cake i have ever seen, made or had has always had the 11 balls of marzipan/chocolate eggs or frosted primrose flowers on, the reason why Judas is missing is because he betrayed Jesus for 40 pieces of silver, it is really a traditional easter cake.

Is this for just main meals or for all your meals?
I think it may be possible for your weeks main meals but not for the others, at the moment sainsburys are doing the feed your family for a fiver recipies which are designed to feed a family of 4, so you could make 4 of those meals for £20 and as it just feeding the 2 of you them you can have the left overs another night (ie night 1- dish 1, night 2-dish 2, night 3-dish 1, night 4-dish 2, night 5-dish 3 and so on), if it was a pasta dish though i would recommend making the sauce/topping and the cooking the pasta when you need it.

Below are are few sites which may give you ideas on how to use left overs and recipies for cheap and healthy meals.


[link]

[link]

[link]

[link]

I hope some of these sites help if you need any further ideas or help i may be able to find some more info.

My hubby has just given me an early birthday pressie of Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics book and it is fantastic, the recipies are very easy to follow and the photographs of the food are gorgeous, there are so many more recipies than what are ever shown on her shows and one of the good things is the UK versions of her books give you a little conversion chart in the front to help you convert the recipies. I would recomend her books to anyone who loves cooking, even if your just starting out or your a bit more advanced.

A Stick of butter is 115g and a table spoon is 15g

I'm mot entirely sure whats in it but i did see a tub of it when i was in sainsburys today it was in the herbs/spices/salt/pepper section, below is a link to it, it appears to be a Caribbean seasoning, maybe something along the lines of jerk seasoning, hope this is what you were looking for or at least similar.

[link]

I have recently bought some liquid smoke, purely because i like the smell and have never seen it before but now i have no idea of what to do with it, any suggestions?

Thanks for any help

I use this site quite often, they are fast and reasonably priced, if you register they will send you emails when they have promotions like buy on a certian date and all postage is free.

[link]

A stick of butter is roughly 4oz or 115g if thats any help

Your reply had gone up and now its gone (at least from my screen) weird stuff it going on at uktv food

The last time i tried to put a post up mentioning the above sites it never went up on the board, i tried several times, and i never used any rude words in the post, it was a little while ago maybe the moderator was having a bad day or didn't like me!

I know you can buy her books from a certain on line auction site and also an Internet site which sounds like a river (sorry can't type the names as last time i did the moderators wouldn't post my reply, not sure why )

Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) did a recipe using Brisket, it was slow cooked for a few hours with carrots, onions, tomatoes it looked really good, see the link below for the recipe, you may want to reduce the qty's though as this recipe feeds 10-12 people

[link]

If you have one near you Hobby Craft do quite a few different things for cake/bun decorating with a wide varity of bun cases

go to this site and click on cooking it will give you hints and tips on how to cook there is also a cooing time calculator to help, remember though to bring your turkey up to room temp first and that all ovens vary slightly so keep an eye on it whilst cooking towards the end.

[link]

Hope you enjoy them again, i'm turning mine in to place cards for Christmas day, on each biscuit i'm ice-ing the persons name and then they can be eaten with coffee afterwards, like you though i will be halving the mix as i don't think i can ever face than much gingerbread again and niether can my poor oven!

I hope you get this before you start making the biscuits, i made them last year and they are very good but you will get a lot more than 25 biscuits. You may possibly get 25 if you make them the same size as side plates, i probably had in the region of 40-50 and had to set up a production line in my oven to cook them all. They were very nice though and all of hubbys work mates loved them as we couln't eat them all!

I don't think it was meant to get your Christmas cooking tips from more of a bit of nostalgic fun for this time of year, i for one think it was great, lets have more of Fanny Cradock's wild green food and her cooking in and evening gown!

The chicken did look a bit anemic, did you notice she has also coloured the mash potatoes around the edge of the platter green which she was placing the chicken on! at least she was trying to be a bit festive.

I have just finished watching Fanny Craddocks Christmas Cooking program from 1975 on UKTV Food, and all i can say is how fantastic and funny it was. I've even booked it to record tomorrow to cheer myself up again!
Both me and my hubby agreed she was very scary (even more than Gordon Ramsey) and felt slightly sorry for her poor aide Sarah which she barked orders at, but it was so nice to see something new (yet old) and funny to UKTV Food.
I don't think i will be trying any of her recipes though, the bright green brandy butter studded with glace cherries and angelica was very scary thought along with her sweet mince meat omelette!

Old Thatch,
I think they are restocking the faux gras again in waitrose if your interested, i saw a mention of it in a magazine the other day

How about the American cocktail sauce for seafood, it's tomato with a horseradish kick, this recipe is great just follow the link below.

[link]

cheers guys

I recently purchased a fresh horseradish root and i am never going to use it all before it goes bad and i'm loathed to bin it, does anybody have any ideas of how i can extend its life or a recipe to use it in which will keep for a while, also can it be frozen?
Thanks in advance

After soaking my gammon i boil it cola ala Nigella and the de-skin and the glaze for half an hour in the oven, i don't know what the cola does to the joint but it tases fantastic

your welcome

This is a link to a site which somebody posted about a year ago it has almost every possible ingredient in cups hope it helps another time

[link]

I had a thought the other day, you could make some mulled apple juice or add some finely ground spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg etc to the apple puree.

I have only been posting on this board for a year, but after reading this thread i wish i had found this site sooner.
It seems like a real community was built on here which i definitely think is lacking now.
Maybe if there was a 'live' chat area again more people would join and post,

Hold on i think i may have found it follow the link below,

[link]

How about these, you could take out the orange liquor, add a more cranberry and a dash of vanilla extract, I'd have a play around and see what tastes best.

[link]

You can get them at

www.americansweets.co.uk

This is my first year buying a goose from there but my aunt get hers from there every year and has done for the past 8 years or so, i spent one Christmas there and had the goose and it was fantastic.
If you live near to London they have a stall at the Borough Market this weekend, that's when i'm getting my goose from them, saves on the postage or travel to get the bird and is also a great excuse to go and buy loads of goodies from the market

I am having goose this year as well, I'm buying mine from a place called Seldom Seen Farm, on their web site it gives you lots of handy hints for cooking goose, what to serve with it and the size you may require, just follow the below link

[link]

I think it was cinder toffee or honeycombe, all you need is the following:

100g caster sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

place sugar and syrup in a pan and mix together, place on heat and let it dissolve, DO NOT stir the mixture you can swirl it in the pan but do not stir, once it has melted add the bicarb and then mix, it should start to foam, pour onto a baking sheet, i lined mine with a non stick reusable baking sheet but you could use a few layers of cling film, leave to set them break up,
The toffee can go sticky if left out, but i coat mine in melted chocolate after its broken up to make it last a little longer its a bit like a crunchie

At last a new series of the Barefoot Contessa, it's great to see Ina back with more fantastic ideas and recipes. I loved her idea for edible cookies with peoples names on them for place setting cards, that's now what i have decided to do for my Christmas day lunch settings.

Try ebay, i typed in pineapple flavoring in to the search and it comes up with a few sellers, try the international one though as the uk ones are for fishing!

Unfortunately you need to wait till next year (sow seeds between march and June) to plant beetroot, i grew the candy cane stripe beetroots this year and they were fantastic so sweet and crisp in salads. If you want to buy different varieties i think the best place is farmers markets if you have one near to you, they are the most likely people to sell them.
Here is a link on how to grow your own

[link]

I find freezing work great for the both of them, chili's after freezing though aren't great for garnishes but are great for curry, pastes and sauces, the ginger is also easier to grate as freezing it helps break down the strands (or so i have been told)

You could always freeze your chilli's, they aren't to good for garnishing food with but if you need them for chilli con carne, curry or pastes they work just fine, you could chop and freeze in ice cube trays or freeze them whole

I started to roast my garlic before making humous, as like you cornetto i found it to garlicky, just roasted the cloves with out peeling them then squeezed the pulp into the blender, it gives it a nice garlic flavour with out the harsh raw garlic flavour.

[link]

[link]

[link]

Above are a few web sites for diabetic Christmas recipes, the first two are American so may need converting a little, unfortunately the UK doesn't seem to have many sites, hope they are of some help though

This is not quite Japanese but i mix a little wasabi with beaten egg when I'm making fish/chicken goujons it gives it a nice kick

How about potted shrimp, you can make it the day before, don't need to heat and serve with brown bread and butter and a small salad garnish, if you can't find brown shrimp you can use small prawns,
There is a recipe on this site for potted shrimp.

I did a bit of searching and i think i may have found what you need, i tried putting in jelly squares, jelly petit fours, jelly sweets and like you came up with nothing till i found that they are called pate de fruits and found these few sites for you, if they aren't what your looking for type in 'pate de fruit recipes' or 'british pate de fruit recipes' into you search engine and you should find some sites with what you are looking for. Hope they help

[link]

[link]

you need to scroll quite far down for the one above

[link]

I have also decided not to cook turkey this year and gone for goose instead. After trawling sites looking for happy, skipping, pampered turkeys the price of them knocked me over. I decided to get a Seldom Seen Farm goose instead (it was featured on Rick Steins Food Heroes), my aunt has been getting one for years and the are the best goose i have ever eaten, and they are happy, skipping, pampered little geese. The good thing about it as well is that they have a stall at the Borough Market at the end of November so i get to have a trip to the market to pick up my goose and buy loads of other yummy things

You could marinade it in you favourite marinade and place on the oven rack with a roasting tin on the shelf under neath to catch any fat/juice etc, that way it will get crisp around and not end up stewing in its own juice, admitedly it takes a bit of cleaning afterward but it does look bbq'd

I normally put mine in once i have added the sugar and it has disolved, remember not to let the base of the thermometer touch the base of the pan or you will get a false reading

You can buy buttermilk from most supermarkets, its normally where the cream,creme fresh and sour cream are kept.

After trail and error and research i have discovered that making small batches with fresh young cabbage is the way forward, how ever it only lasts for up to 2 months.
You need to discard the outer leaves and the centre stalks as the heart makes the best pickle, shred finally and layer it with salt on a large flat dish and cover with a towel over night, rinse off the salt and drain thoroughly, pack into jars and cover with cold vinegar, leave for a weak but use with in 2 months or the colour and crispness will go.
You can add a couple of slices of beetroot to help with the colour.

If you can't find un-waxed lemons, give the waxed ones a good wash in some hot water, when you can see the dimples on the skin and it smells like a lemon the wax has gone.

Rose hip syrup:

675g hips
2 litres of water
350g granulated sugar.

Mince the rose hips or process coxxxxly, place in a pan with 1.2 litres of water.
Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 15 mins.
Strain through a jelly bag, then return the pulp to the sauce pan and cover with the remaining water.
Bring to the boil again, then cover and put aside for another 15 mins.
Strain the juice through a jelly bag as before.
Put all the juice into a clean sauce pan and bring to the boil.
Reduce to about 600-750ml.
Add the sugar and stir till dissolved, then boil for a further 5 mins.
Bottle and sterilise.

To sterilise your syrup,
Put the syrup in warmed bottles, filling them within 2.5cm of the top, screw the lids on loosely, stand the bottles on a trivet or on a piece of wood in a large pan, fill the pan with cold water until it comes up just above the level of your syrup in the bottles. Heat the water to 77c/170f and maintain this temp for at least 30 mins, remove bottles and screw the top on tight and label when cool, it should now keep for up to 2 months.

Have fun

Nigella Lawsons book 'Feast' has a section dedicated to halloween with great ideas for food, i admit it is slightly geared towards childrens partys but isn't halloween ment to bring out your childish side!

I've done a serch on the internet and i think both of you are going to be out of luck as they are very hard/expensive to find in the uk, it appears to be due to import regulations.
Maybe if you know anyone which is heading ast for a holiday then you could get them to bring you some back, just remember to check with customs first

[link]

[link]

I found a couple of recipes on the net the second one uses almonds instead of hazelnuts though

I know this is a bit early to be thinking of christmas but i'm wanting to make my own christmas puddings this year to give out in food hampers which i'm making for friends and family.

I have never made one before and was wondering if anybody had a good tried and tested recipe (maybe one which has been handed down through the family) or maybe a recipe for one which is a bit exotic which i could have, i know there are lots on the internet but as there are so many i don't know which one to chose.

Thanks for any help

You can buy them in most large supermarkets now in their home sections, i have seen them in sainsburys, tesco and asda

I like to cook them the way i do butternut squash, i peel and chop them in to large chunks then coat them in a bit of olive oil, salt/pepper, cumin, garlic and a squeeze of lemon and lime juice and roast till tender. Or you could mash them the american way with some brown sugar, orange zest and orange juice, or mash with some roasted garlic.

I remembered where i saw the recipe it was in bbc good food magazine, i found the web site and it has the recipe on there and a couple of others as well, here is the link for you.

[link]

[link]

This link is to an site which sells american products in the uk, on its site it has various ingredients which nigella lawson used in her latest book 'nigella express' if you scroll down a bit it has orange extract which is what she may have used.

i would put a thin layer of semi set jelly then a layer of strawberry then top with some more semi set jelly, the last thing you want to do is put anything warm on to the cake, have you thought about doing an american cheese cake topping with the sour cream topping and fresh strawberries
[link]
this link gives you a good recipe and all you have to do is top with fresh strawberries

[link]

[link]

Above are a couple of sites which both bobs baby and old thatch might find interesting, I remembered seeing something in a magazine called 'faux gras', it could be the way forward to being able to enjoy the flavour with out the cruelty, i have never tried foie gras as i have always thought it cruel but may be if i see this product then i may give it a whirl

As a rough rule of thumb 1 inch is equal to 2.5cm, 25cm is roughly equal to 10 inches.

250mm x 300mm (10mm=1cm, sorry for teaching you to suck eggs!) is a rectangular tin, which is 25cm x 30cm which is roughly equal to 10 inches x 12 inches.

Hope that helps a little

i have found a few sites which may help you,

This one has a 3 possible different ways

[link]

This one is an American site but its easy enough to convert the measures

[link]

And lastly this one is from a diabetic web site

[link]

Fingers crossed that some where you maybe able to find a good recipe

there is a away you can freeze them for roast potatoes,

Place the potatoes in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 8-10 Min's until they are just tender around the edges.
Thoroughly drain the potatoes, then return them to the pan and shake to roughen up the edges (this will help them crisp up), heat the potatoes for 1 minute to dry them.
Once fully cooled place on a tray so they are not touching and freeze them, when frozen seal in a bag.
Cook the potatoes from frozen at 200c/gas 6 for 1hr 15 Min's turning occasionally in the hot oil.

Hope it hellps a little

I have tried to find that recipe but i have had no luck, there are a few recipes on the uktv food site for courgette fritters in which you grate the courgette though and also if you check out the baking competition there are a couple of cakes on there which contain courgette or zucchini as the Americans like to call it, it might make a quite interesting alternative to always having savory courgette,
Sorry i couldn't find that recipe but if you find a recipe for American sweetcorn fritters you could substitute the corn for courgette.

I agree with you lisa fish, mama1 you were slightly rude, but to save any more scuffles i did a simple serch on the internet for you (all i typed in was 'where to buy vine leaves in the uk' into the search engine) and this a link which i found for you, as you do live on main land uk they wil mail said items to you, even next day if you are desperate for them.
If you do have a waitrose near by to you they also sell them,
I hope this helps, all you have to do is click on the link below!
[link]

Its a strange place to get it from but you can get maltose from chemists

I'm wanting to get a book with paella recipes for my sister for christmas and was wondering if anyone could recomend one,

Cheers

there is a thread further dowwn this page about vine leaves with ideas of where you can get them

[link]

[link]

[link]

Above are a few sites which tell you how to season your wok, they are basically all the same, but you can do a bit of trial and error to find the best way for you. ,D,

I've just been serching high and low for the recipe which i had but can't find it, itsn't that always the way
From what i remember though the courgette was shredded and was in a batter along the lines of an american sweetcorn fritter, so i don't think it would matter not having the skin on each bit, but one thing i do remember doing was salting the grated courgette and leaving for 10 mins to get rid of some of the water, just like you would do with cucumber for a rita.
I will endevour to serch for the recipe and no dout drive hubby mad as i pull the study apart in the process ,D,

I think its one of the things us Brits do best is good ole stick to your ribs puddings, give me a good pud any day over some fancy little desert ,D,

[link]

Found this one in the uk, i have purchased stuff from this site before any they are good, very quick to ship the items

[link]

The above link does ship to the uk but isn't cheap,

[link]

The above link doesn't do maple extract but does a variety of other maple products like sugar which could help to enhance to flavour and they also ship to the uk

Courgette fritters are nice

How about bread and butter pudding with custard, chocolate sponge with chocolate custard (more school dinner but good all the same)

*or* for a cold treat jelly and ice-cream *or* baked alaska

I myself have never tried them but i found this recipe in one of my grans old hand written cook books if its any help:

Stuffed Heart Casserole

2 large **or** 4 small lambs hearts
4 oz fresh bread crumbs
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 tbsp melted butter
1/2 level tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper
2 tbsp seasoned flour
1 oz lard
1pt stock
12 small white onions
8 quartered carrots

Wash the hearts, make a slit in the top, remove any tubes/gristle and wash again.
Fill with the stuffing made from the bread crumbs, onion, butter, ginger and seasoning.
Tie the hearts firmly into their original shape with string.
Dredge with seasoned flour and brown quickly in the hot lard.
Place in a casserole dish with the stock and cover.
Cook in the centre of the oven at gas 4/180c for 2 1/2 hrs, basting and turning from time to time.
Add the carrots and whole onions for the last 45 Min's of cooking time.

As i said i have never tried this but it must have been good for my gran to write it down, let me know how you get on with it, i'm sure my gran would be happy to see one of her recipes being used all these years on ,D,

how about egg mayonnaise! i can't even remember the last time i saw that on a menu!
A melon cocktail with a marachino cherry for decoration ( i think thats a bit 70's though)
Or theres good old soup

to pickle samphire you will need:
900g/2lb of samphire
50g/2oz of cooking salt
1.2 litres/2 pints of distilled or dark malt vinegar

wash and dry the samphire, then place half in a bowl and cover with half the salt then place the rest in and cover with the remaining salt. cover and leave in a cool place for 24hrs.
drain the samphire in a colander and rinse well under cold water, drain and then dry thoroughly and pack in to warmed jars, bring the vinegar to the boil and pour over the samphire making sure its completely covered, cover and leave for at least a week befor using.

I think one of the reasons behind most produce being flown in is due to the fact as a nation we now want everything at all times of the year instead of being happy with what the seasons produce, there was once a time when having fresh strawberries in December was unheard of, but as air travel has developed the world has become smaller and more assessable.

Another thing i feel which has lead to things being flown in to this country is EU rulings of things having to be a certain shape and size, if you go to a FM you are pretty hard pushed to find all the onions the same size and perfectly round!

Maybe a (part) solution is if we all started to grown some of own own food, I'm not talking the proportions of Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall but even a window box growing herbs and salad leaves is a start and that would help cut a few carbon foots prints surely?

oops forgot to add that red current vinegar is also great on salads and easy to make just substitute raspberry for red currents

I know that you don't want red current jelly but i make a raspberry and red current jam which is lovely and keeps for a long while, its sweet from the raspberries yet slightly tart from the red currents,

I also found a recipe for a cordial type thing called red current shrub, from what I've read its a Victorian recipe, they use to drink it diluted in hot water to help with sore throats and to ward of colds, you can use it for a sauce for sponge puddings, ice creams or rice puddings, you can even use it in sweet and sour dishes. It can be diluted in cold sparkling water of sparkling wine as well.
[link]
the above link is for raspberry shrub but you can substitute red currents for raspberries, the only down side to this recipe is that it will only keep for a few weeks but it can be made from frozen fruits as well as fresh.
Hope some of this helps if any

You should try to let chutney mature for at least 2-3 months being stored in a cool dark place,don't forget to label and date the jars, i always try to let mine mature for that time, once opened though if its kept in the fridge some of mine have lasted for a few months, it can't have gone off as i'm still here to tell the tale!

I did see then in waitrose if you have one near by

Chutneys are of Asian origin, it comes from a Hindustani word 'chatni' meaning strong sweet relish, they arrived in Britain at the end of the 17th century, the earliest one being piccalilli. As ever us Brits got hold of a good thing and did a bit of trial and error and came up with our chutney of today (a sweet and sour condiment) to accompany cold meats and cheeses and is really a good way to preserve fruits and veg through salt, sugar, vinegar and spice.

I do have a recipe some where for a courgette chutney which has orange in it, i suppose its a bit of mediterranean chutney, if you want it say and I'll dig out out then post it

I have just got a book called 'White trash gatherings' by Kendra Bailey Morris, it contains everything you could want to know on how to through your very own american white trash feast, as well as recipes it has some very funny tales from the authors youth, i haven't finished reading it yet but the half i have read is fantastic.

I already feel sorry for my hubby as every time a buy a new cook book i have to try every recipe in it and this book tells you how to cook everything from squirrel through to salads containing marshmallows! I think i may just have to try making buttermilk biscuits!

PS i don't intend to kill any squirrels in my pursuit of culinary fame

Does any body know where i can buy corn syrup in the UK? or a good substitute, i am wanting to make a Jack Daniels pecan pie and the recipe calls for dark corn syrup, it does say at the end of it that golden syrup doesn't make a good substitute so I'm a bit stuck.

Thanks

Did anyone see the series on bbc2 called 'supersizers go....', it was a food series where 2 people lived and ate what was available from that era IE: the Elizabethan period, i only managed to see the last 2 episodes and thought it was a fantastic program, does anyone know if they are going to be repeated or if they are going to make another series?

Maybe with the bad reviews about MK being posted on here the produces will do anything to draw viewers in to watching the program including showing a bit of cleavage

I love Christmas but hate the run up to it, i do make my cakes though in October but other than that i try to bury my head until the begging of December, then i turn in to an over active child (it drives my husband mad!) i will decorate the house, put Christmas songs on the stereo, White Christmas in the DVD player, drink far to much mulled wine (that could be the reason for me being over active ), run around the shops like a loon trying to find the right presents for everyone and all of this because its one day of they year that my family are able to get together from all the far flung corners of England and are able to sit down together to eat.
We don't very often have turkey, we normally try to have a cut of meat that we don't normally have or can afford, as turkey is so available through the year now it doesn't really seem like a treat.
Like every one we over eat on Christmas day but i do try not to buy to excess,

Has anyone else noticed that when they go food shopping for Christmas that people are over buying, the supermarkets are shut for one day of the year and you see people on Christmas eve with trolleys which have 6x 4 pints of milk, 10 loaves of bread, 4 bags of carrots, potatoes, sprouts and tins and tins of chocolate. I can bet you any money you will see the same people in there on boxing day buy more food, I can understand buying these qty's if you are feeding the british army, but, do people think there is going to be a mass disaster on Christmas day?

I am pretty new to gardening and have just had my garden transformed from a scabby patch pf grass to a lovely place with flower beds (yippeee) and was wondering what veggies i can plant now to be able to crop in a few months a through the winter, any help would be greatly appreciated

I made her lemon cake this weekend and it is the best i have ever tasted, (it does make 2 loaves but they can be frozen,) the cake is so moist and zingy my husband and the guys who are doing my garden love it, they have gone through one and a half loaves of it!

To get the recipe go to the food network site and search for lemon cake

Oh dear Jamie36 i fear you may need to get out more, watching cats poop in your garden, what fun you have!

This is for any cat owners out there who wish to try stop their cats from making a mess in others gardens, always make sure you have an in door litter tray, the reason behind this (if people who have cats have any understanding of their pets will know) is cats like to poop where there is a bit of privacy (like most humans we don't like people to watch us do our business!) so the tray needs to be kept in an area where there is no high house hold traffic and easily accessible, also it needs to be cleaned out on a very regular basis as a cat does not like to do its thing in a dirty tray.

Sorry for the next bit being off the subject of gardening,

And as for the posts saying that cat owners don't love their pets as they let them out at night and don't care for their safety this is totally untrue, during the weekday i don't let my cat out as we currently live on a building site only on an evening and weekends does the cat go out, and he is never put out for the entire night, only when i get the cat in on a night do i go to bed, and i have had some very short nights sleep because of this. I have never had to swerve/brake sharply due to a cat in the road, maybe if people took a bit more consideration and time whilst driving they wouldn't have to either, the only time i have had to brake sharply for an animal is when a dog owner let it little dog off the lead and it ran out onto a busy roundabout near to my house, the place was kaos as the little rat ran riot with the owner trying to catch it.
It upsets me when people say that all cat owners are evil and irresponsible, taring us all with the same brush, it would be like me saying that all people who complain about cats are animal hating busy bodies, when i clearly know that is not the case.

Being a cat owner reading some of these posts i feel quite disgusted at some peoples views about cats, unfortunately cats can not be trained as a dog can be (as they do have a bit of intelligence, sorry to dog owners!), my cat is litter tray trained and (as far as i know) will only go in there, even if he has been out all day he still comes in and does his thing in the tray, which i have to say costs me a lot of money on litter but as i got a cat its an expense i have to pay,
None of my neighbours have complained that the cat mess' in their garden, if any thing he helps to keep other cats from messing in their gardens as it his territory.
Unfortunately (and i can hear the response already) cats are cats and they will do what they will, they are not animals which can easily be controlled like dogs, it very hard to put a lead on a cat and take it for a walk and pick up its mess, trust me i have the scares from trying!

Does any one have a good recipe for vanilla ice cream i have searched on line and there are so many i can't decide which one to make, i don't have an ice cream maker so any tried and tested ways would be very much appreciated

Thanks

Sorry maybe i was a little hasty with my response, i haven't used it befor and only posted by what i have heard, i have just done a bit of quick reserch on the matter on the internet and there is a big devide in wether or not to grease the bakeware, some people are saying there is no need (mainly sales people) then there are people who say you need to as when you take the cake out you can lose the thin browned outer layer if your recipie is low in fat content, also to add more confusion there are people which say that cakes etc have cook unevenly and need an extra few mins in the oven.
By the sounds of it i think it maybe a bit of trial and error to find the best way to use the equipment.
Sorry for not really being any help

When using silicon bakeware there is no need to do any greasing or buttering of the pans as they are 'non-stick'

Maybe Halumi cheese as it is salty instead of bacon (if it is the main part of a dish)

If its any help sainsburys organic mayo uses free range eggs and also M&S use free range eggs and chicken in all thier produce

Semi-sweet chocolate is normal everyday plain chocolate and bitter-sweet is plain chocolate above 70% coco solids (the good stuff)

I think many countries have a version of baklava, my sister in law is Bosnian and they have a version of it as well it may have a different name yet it is basically the same dish.

I think we can all agree though that where every it origanated from it is a very fine and tasty dessert

As Matt the chef said supermarkets for reductions are great, i do it all the time, even if you aren't going to use the stuff straight away most things can be frozen for another day,
One thin which i find cheap quick and easy is a veg bake, cook a load of veg (its normally whats been lurking in my fridge for a while!) till just tender, cover with a cheese sauce (please nobody criticise at the next bit) you can buy powdered cheese sauce to save time, add a tsp of whole grain mustard to pep it up, sprinkle over some bread crumbs and grated cheese and bake till golden and bubbly, i love it with brown sauce or gravy

It can be eaten alone, but i do ice it (if the mood takes me!), the qty's are a guess as i put them together and mix,
- 100g of soft cream cheese (mascarpone is fine but so is philly)
- 50g of soft butter
- 1tsp vanilla extract or some orange zest
cream together till smooth the add icing sugar till you get the right consistency (smooth and easy to spread), i often rough chop some pecans to sprinkle over the top

I use orange juice as carrot and orange seem to go well together

Being in the forces myself i know how your son feels but you do get use to them and they can be tasty, the boil in the bag meals are designed so that they can be eaten hot or cold so you don't have to worry about trying to light a fire or to try to find water where water is scarce, they are also designed to have enough calories/nutrients for a soldier for 24hrs and then some, for what they are they are very good, and after living in a field for 2 weeks they are very tasty, something i always take to make them a bit better is a bottle of Tabasco sauce and a bottle of Schwartz season all (it has salt/pepper/garlic/chili/paprika and other herbs) to try to pep up the taste.

A lot of my friends myself included take something extra like super noodles and rusks (yes the baby biscuits) are good for snacking on, malt loaf is good for breakfast, you can just eat it with nothing on it and it has all the good stuff like malt to set you up for they day.

I'm sorry to say that these meals have been designed for soldiers and they contain everything we need for a day of very heavy graft, i have no doubt that your cooking is far better than any rat pack but it may not provide the same calorie intake as the bag meals.

On a less savory note the meals are also designed to help lessen your toilet habits by helping you to absorb more food and bung you up slightly ( sorry its sounds foul)

There are many different types of meals, from everyday through to kosher, halal and vegetarian, maybe your son could fib and say he is veggie next time and see if they any better.

I have no idea if this has or hasn't help but i hope it has even if it is just a little

This may or may not help as i have never tried it on a cooking pot but here goes, i'm in the RAF and when we get a rifle which is covered and i'm talking up to 2mm thick in carbon from firering we soak the parts in malt vinegar, it disolves the cabon and makes it easy to clean away, ok it does smell like a bag of chips for a while but it doesn't damage the metal or its coating, maybe it will work for your pot as well!

Over the past few month my husband and myself have noticed a change in heniz beans for some reason they seem mushy and they just don't taste the same, we have now switched to shops own brand which are both cheaper and more tasty!

I would treat it like filo pastry if its what i'm thinking of, keep under a damp cloth and brush with a little water, melted butter or egg wash, fingers crossed it won't break

You can get pumpernickel bread in most super markets i have seen it in waitrose, Salisbury's and tesco's, it comes pre-sliced have a look around where the muffins, pitta breads and other specialty breads are

Maybe a tsp of red current jelly, it saves my gravy if it tastes a little bitter

I have seen Dean the digger driver on a TV program called 'takeaway challenge' ( i think it was called that) its where a celeb chef has to prepare a takeaway meal for a better price, cook it faster and make it taste better than someones fav takeaway, he is the shopper for the chef and the delivery driver, i can't remember though what channel its on.
I have also seen Steve Wallis (well i think its him) working in the kitchen on the latest great British menu on bbc2.
Sorry i have been so vague but I'm sure its them

If you go to page 5 of the recipes message board i put a carrot cake recipe on there a while back and it never fails for me.

every now and then i like curry ketchup to go with bratwurst, as i don't get through much i mix curry powder with ketchup till i get the flavour i want and it tastes great

you could mix loads of fresh herbs (mint, parsley, coriander) and some pine nuts through couscous and serve with BBQ lamb or grilled chops, you can buy some really nice moroccan rubs for the lamb

Good luck and let me know if its any good then i shall give it a go

There is no problem with making the butter cream the day before, when ever i bake a cake and use butter cream it keeps well for a few days in and airtight container

I have just been shopping and remembered your post, one of Waitrose's monthly recipes is Dorset apple cake, you can either pick up a recipe card in store if you have a Waitrose near by or go on line to their web site, i have just checked and the recipe is on there, hope it help you on the quest to the purfect apple cake

Hi there,
I'm from York but moved a few years ago, whenever i go home to visit i go to one of these restaurants.

-Blue Bicycle on Fossgate for Bistro food
-El Gaucho on Walmgate for great Argentinean steaks (good for men as the menu has a lot of meat, they do have chicken and fish but not to much!)
-Cafe Concerto on High Petergate for traditional food (their chicken liver pate is to die for, so is their potato salad, and all of the deserts) I have been going there since i was about 14 years old and the food has always been excellent, the hot chocolate is good to warm you up after a day of sight seeing!

I would recommend you book these place though as the fill up very quick.

I hope this helps, when i call home next I'll ask if there is any new places which meet my mothers approval then let you know.

If you do try any of these please let me know what you think

You can use brown baking parchment, you can get it from any super market, its not expensive, only a couple of pounds for 8-10 metres

I saw some in Hobbie craft if you have one near you, every thing from plain white one, ones with smiley faces and even gold and silver ones, they also have lots of different sizes

Hi there,

I know that halal meat has to be slaughtered in a certain way and it seems to be a rather non stressful way of slaughtering an animal, but does anyone one know if before the animal is killed it has to be kept in a certain way ie: free range/organic. Where i live there are a lot of halal butchers and was wanting to try them as the meat always seems fresh and looks very nice (its not sweating in plastic!)
Any help on this topic would be a great help, thanks in advance

Does anyone have an idea of where i can get a frying pan or recommend one which i can put in the oven for thing like frittas, i have serch hi and low and every one i have seen can not be put in and oven, do i need to get just a plain old cast iron one?

Thanks for any help

When ever i have bought herbs in pots i leave them with the packing around them and give them a really good water leave them over night then re plant the in a container on my patio (make sure they have plenty of water though when the weather gets hot) i have found that they last the whole summer that way and when they start to get to big and i can't use them i chop and freeze them for use in the winter months, as the plants arn't to dear i don't mind buying fresh every spring

i made her apple crostata last week end and it was fab, i have never been very good at making pastery but this worked a treat, yum yum yum!

heat (needs to be hot but not hot enough for frying!) your oil and add whole garlic cloves, cook for a few mins then leave to cool and you should get garlic flavoured oil

ooops for got to add, if you don't like coffee just add a tsp of vanilla extract instead

I have a hand haeld whisk/blender by breville its endorsed by anthony worrell thompson and ha 3 whisking attachments and it is fantastic, it helps me make some of the lightest cake i have ever made.
Check out delias web site for her coffee cake very very easy and it has never failed for me!

I have to say i have yet to buy one of Nigel Slater's books but i am an avid fan of his column and recipe's from the sainsbury's magazine, i recently made his lemon curd, which i have to say (even though i may blow my own trumpet) was the best lemon curd i have ever tasted. I am going to have to start collecting his books.
Thanks to ginger-nut i am going to try to search out the time life good cook series, how ever i feel my husband is going to need to build some more shelves to house my ever growing collection!

If you can get sorrel, dill or parsley sauce are always good with fish cakes or maybe a salsa verde, i think it depends on the type of fish cake

I can't remember the recipie but try serching for Jewish apple cake, it is lovely and so moist

I have so many favourite cook books i have no idea where to begin, i think at the moment though it has to be 'Food To Die For' By Patrica Cornwell, it is a spin off from here crime novels and features her main characters favourite recipes.
I have also started to collect kit-ch/retro books which are now possibly out of print, i have just got a copy of Liberace Cooks and can't wait to try some recipes from the late 60's into the 70's.

PS if any one can recommend a good retro cook book please let me know

It may sound silly but you are using plain flour and not self raisingif not that then, maybe your biscuit dough is to wet or try rolling out the dough a little thinner. I have found using a shrewsbury biscuit dough or easter biscuit dough works well, just take out the spices and dried fruit and replace it with a flavour that you want ie a bit of lemon/orange zest or take out a spoon of flour and replace with coco powder.

I worked in hotel many many moons ago and the only place that tips came from was the hotel resturant and bar which i worked in, we had to give up all our tips and they would go in to a pot behind reception and at the end of the year instead of giving people a bit of a bonus the owners split the tips between everyone who worked there (cheap or what?) (house keeping, reception staff, night porter everyone), it worked quite well for you if you had only worked there a few weeks as they just split them even between everyone, but for us poor souls which had put the work in we lost out, when i got to resturant manager though i just let the guys keep what ever they were given!

Thanks rosti that's helped me as well, i have garlic growing in several of my window boxes, when i planted them i threw away the instructions saying when to harvest (I'm so stupid sometimes )
Thanks

I have recently taken to collecting kitch/retro cook books, i have just managed to get a copy of Liberace cooks and have also got a WWE (wrestling) cook book. I'm wanting to get some more as i find them so interesting to read and see what was cooked in different decades, can anyone recommend a cook book(s) which i should maybe try to track down.
Thanks for any help

frying off some panchetta or bacon lardons and adding them with the chestnuts to sprouts is yummy

oh yeh forgot, a good brownie recipie:try Nigella Lawson's Feast cook book for a great brownie recipe, its called snow flecked brownies, when i make them my husband and nephews destroy them in seconds

there is a really nice fish restaurant just as you get to London road after going over Magdalen bridge but i can't remember the name (sorry) also most of the Lebanese restaurant's are good if you fancy something different. sorry i can't remember names though

8oz SR flour
1 level tsp mixed spice
8oz soft marg or butter
8oz brown sugar
4oz sultanas (i soak them in orange juice for 1/2hr first)
4oz carrots peeled & grated
4 eggs
1 table spoon of milk or orange juice
zest of 1 orange (optional)

8-81/2" round springform cake tin, base-lined

set oven to gas 4 or 180C, sift flour & spice into a bowl then add all the other ingredients and mix till a soft dropping consistancy.

Pour into the tin and smooth top till level, bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hr or untill firm to touch in centre (to begin with it looks like it isn't going to rise but it does!), leave to cool in the tin.

This cake is moist enough to last up to 5 days in a tin.

This recipe also works well for carrot muffins just keep an eye on them as they only need about 40 mins in the oven.

Hope this helps

I know its a late idea but maybe for next time they visite, when ever i'm in brum i love going to selfriges food court as they have so may different choices, there is on food bar hich i always go back to and that is the chinese one there crispy duck salad with hoisin sauce is gorg how ever i recomend you ask for the sauce on the side in a tub as you can add as much or as little as you want, they often do a lunch special as well, you can get a starter a main and a drink for about £8.

I love BC, her recipies are things that you could eat every day and you don't need to be a top chef to create. Have to agree that TR is gorg, just a shame for us girls why are all the good ones gay or married?

Any how can anyone tell me if any of BC's recipies have every started without or do not contian a stick of butter?

You may all be disgusted by this but it does taste good i promise, I like to add a spoon of Branston Pickle to my spag bol, may sound strange but it works!

Brown the pheasants in a heavy casserole with a little oil and butter then set aside, next brown off some baby onions, chunks of carrot and celery in the same pan, add a spoon of plain flour (helps thicken the gravy) and cook out, put the pheasants back in the casserole and add chicken/veg stock (they don't need to be covered but about 2/3 the way up the bird), a slug of port, a dollop of red current jelly, bay leaf, some thyme and salt and pepper, cook in the oven at about 150-170 oC for about an hour or till the birds are cooked, serve with the gravy and veg from the pan along with fresh crusty bread and butter.

This recipe isn't the most stylish (I like to call it rustic!) but i doesn't half taste good

Sorry not to exact with the weights/qty but i just kind off throw things in!

I wonder if anyone can recommend a hand held grater ideal for removing zest from citrus fruit, I see all the chefs on TV using them and have brought several myself (I think i have the worlds largest collection of graters now and none of them work ) and none of them seem to work, please help as i seem to be wasting a lot of money on this quest