Tomato and buffalo mozzarella tart

Tomato and buffalo mozzarella tart
Originally uploaded by anneskitchen

Sorry for delay since last post, the month has flown by! I am undergoing, again, a job change and shortly starting at my new company so things have been a little manic! A further post will follow but I wanted to add this recipe which used some lush Buffalo Mozzarella I picked up at the recent Masterchef Live event in London, from Laverstoke Park. The mozzarella is a different beast from the cheap balls I normally get, its milky, salty and soft and melts beautifully.

Not an exact recipe as such as nothing measured but easy enough to follow! Its a lovely tart made using a sheet of puff pastry, then topped with sliced ripe organic tomatoes (best can get out of season!), 2 tubs buffalo mozzarella roughly sliced, freshly grated parmesan and fresh basil leaves shredded, added both before and after cooking, also glazed with a mix of balsamic vinegar and evoo, about 30 mins in hot oven. Best served hot with a herby type salad.

Mini custard battered xmas pudding bites

mini custard xmas pud bites
Originally uploaded by anneskitchen

Yes, you did read the title correctly!! Its a little different, however all the good for it!

Over on the UKFBA boards recently, a competition was posted to get creative in the kitchen with 'Matthew Walker' Christmas Puddings.

Now I am a real lover of Christmas pudding and so when my package of pud's arrived, also along with some horrible weather today, I decided to experiment! After drawing up a list of possible ideas, I put my apron on and got creative, and here is the results. I should say 'was' though as I've eaten them all!

Best served warm. I believe cream would be fabulous accompaniment but alas I have nothing remotely suitable, I suppose I will just have to make more, sigh ;-)

In a bowl, mix 4 tbsp plain flour, 2 tbsp birds custard powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, 6 tbsp milk, until mixed and creamy. Chop into 6 triangles a 100g 'The Pudding', lightly dust in a little flour. Now heat a deep fryer/ suitable pan with sunflower/ vegetable oil, until a cube of bread browns in about 30 seconds, dip the pudding chunks in the batter, coat thoroughly and carefully put into the hot fat, fry until lightly golden and drain on kitchen paper.

These make lovely, warm, fruity, slightly boozy little bites and I can see them becoming a regular treat this Christmas!

Welcome to my world

The lovely Debs of Deb Cooks.. interviewed me this month, please check out her blog for all the gory details :)

Many thanks Debs :)

Jaffa Drizzle Loaf

I saw this recipe a while back and had snagged it, however it appeared again in a little booklet with Good Food this month and reminded me to make it as we had family over for dinner this week.

This cake has a really lovely texture, with a delicious orangey scent. The chocolate is supposed to be drizzled over, however mine had other idea's so I smothered it instead, which I feel was a much better result! I think next time I will up the orange juice amount but overall it was a very delicious cake.



Ingredients

140g butter , softened
200g self-raising flour
1 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
200g golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
6 tbsp milk
finely grated zest 1 large orange

TO FINISH

3 tbsp orange juice
50g golden caster sugar
50g dark chocolate

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 1.2-litre loaf tin. Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl and beat with a hand whisk or wooden spoon for 3-5 mins, until light and fluffy. Spoon the mix into the tin and level the top.
Bake for 40-50 mins, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Meanwhile, heat the orange juice and sugar gently in a small pan, stirring until dissolved. When the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and spoon over the orange mix. Leave to cool in the tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Break up the chocolate and melt over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave on Medium for 1-2 mins. Drizzle over the cake and leave to set.

White Onion Soup - A tribute to Keith Floyd

I'm sure I am not the only one who was saddened by Keith Floyd's passing, I loved watching his programs, mainly for his unique style of cooking, which made me feel quite at home in the kitchen, complete with a glass of wine, whilst cooking :)

I had planned as a tribute recipe to Keith Floyd, to make his Prawn's with chilli and coriander, (hoping to make very soon as it sounds so good!) however due to a few dinner guest changes, this glorious White onion soup ended up being first. This soup is so easy, delicious and will be a regular make here! It allows onion fan's to really get a lovely, oniony hit but within gentle, creamy, velvety surroundings. This recipe is taken from the book 'A splash and a dash' by Keith Floyd.

This is also my entry into the blogging event being held by Julia at A Slice of Cherry Pie and James of Back to the Chopping Board in tribute to Keith Floyd.



Not sure on recomended servings but I halved it and it serves 3 as a starter

Ingredients

50g unsalted butter
4 Spanish onions
2 celery sticks, stringed and finely chopped
50g plain flour
300ml milk
900ml good, hot chicken stock (I used a AWT chicken cube, worked well)
Nutmeg (I didn't add as not huge fan in savoury dishes)
S&P to taste

Garnish:
Single cream
Parsley (I didn't use)

Heat in a saucepan a little of the butter with 1 tbsp water, add the onions and celery, cover and sweat until nice and soft (15-20 mins). Blitz in a food processor/ Liquidizer.

Using the same pan, heat the remaining butter, add the flour and cook gently until creamy (a roux), add trhe milk slowly, whisk until smooth and thick, add back the onion/ celery puree and the stock, heat through until smooth. Season with nutmeg, s&p.

Garnish with a swirl of cream and parsley. I used homemade croutons, in lieu of parsley and think they work very well, made me think of bread sauce...:)




RIP Keith, I've raised a toast to you this evening :)