Posts by: alc28

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

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!

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!

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?

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.

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'd go for anything which fits the one bite rule for canapes, if you can't put in your mouth in a oner don't serve it, also i think most spanish tapas are good, you could try little bruchettas topped with hummus, olive tapanade, tomatoe and basil, goats cheese etc

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

If you have a sainsbury's near by with a deli counter then they are very good at doing sandwich platters, platters with sausage rolls/pork pies/quiche etc, also if you want something sweet then thier bakery do boxes of mini brownies, dohnuts, cookies etc you get about 20 or so in a box and they are normally on 2 for £3.50 (don't quote me on the price though!). You could go for that option meaning all you have to do is order and pick up the day before, no cooking or washing up, great or what?

how about buying some mini meringues top with some whipped cream and fruit (eg raspberry or strawberry) or you can buy mini pastry case's and fill with a dollop of brought chocolate mousse and drizzle with choc sauce.

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

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

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

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 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!

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 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

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

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

This may sound wierd bu how about a mini veg crumble you could put egg plant/courgette/toms, you wouldn't need a lot as a starter but with the tomato ice-cream it would be like friut crumble and ice-cream but for a starter instead of a pudding

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!

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!

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

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

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!