BBC Good Food Show Birmingham 2014

On Thursday uni took us to to the Good Food show for the day. We had to meet at super early and took the coach all the way from Sheffield to Birmingham, though mighty traffic! 

We arrived and decided to be tactical with our day and worked our way up and down the Isles looking at the stands and tasting lotsa yummy food!

At 11 we went to the Cakes and Bakes stage to watch Phil Vickery do some gluten free cooking. Seeing as I should follow a gluten free diet I found it very interesting as I struggle to bake now I shouldn't eat wheat products (I still do, and suffer the consequences but it's worth it for a slice of cake now and then!). However Phil gave lots of tips of what to add to the batter to make it fluffy and not dry. Phil cooked a plum cake and then a plain sponge (but with ricotta cheese?!!) topped with a sticky coffee and brandy glaze! I would definitely try both and may have to invest in Phil's gluten free baking book!! 

We them continued to look at the stalls. I was too scared to take pictures of the stalls as I was told off for taking pictures before, so didn't really get many of the day!

However a couple of stalls stood out to me. The gluten free baking stand called Delicious Alchemy had the most amazing brownies!! This company make a number of gluten free baking kits and also bread mixes and porridge. I will be putting in an order for Christmas I think!

Additionally the Tarte and Berry stand looked fantastic, I follow them on instagram and it was great to see the actual stand and the products they make. 

The final stand was Curry Dave's Naan Bread Pizza, I think this is such a fabulous idea and the pizza tasted delicious. I love curry and I love pizza so this is the perfect combination, I will most definitely be buying this in store. 

At 2 we had tickets to the Hairy Bikers show, personally I didn't think it was that great and wasn't amazed by what they cooked! I am only a fan of their Asian cooking book, which is excellent by the way! I didn't really find any of their jokes funny and have been to better live shows at previous Good Food shows. 

Overall I had a fabulous day out and enjoyed it all! xoxo

Easy but delicious Weekend Meal

Last weekend I cooked for my family, for some reason (don't ask!!) my family absolutely love chorizo. So when I came across a recipe for Chicken and Chorizo pie I just had to make it.

The recipe is very simple, but soo delicious. It also looks great so is perfect to serve at a dinner party.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
10 chicken thighs, skin and bone removed
2 onions, chopped
200g chiroiza, skin removed and slices into discs
50g plain flour, plus a little for dusting
100ml dry sherry, or white wine
600ml chicken stock
150ml single cream
large pack parsley, chopped
500g pack puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Method:

1 - Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish. Brown the chicken thighs until golden, then transfer to a place.
2 - Add the onions to the dish and cook for 5 mins until soft, then add the chorizo and cook for 2 mins until the orangey oils are released into the pan.
3 - Stir in the flour for 1 min, then add the alcohol and bubble for 2 mins until most has evaporated.
4 - Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, cover with a lid and simmer for 40 mins, or until tender.
5 - Using a slotted spoon, scoop the chicken pieces out of the pan and transfer to a place. Use two forks to shred the meat into chunk bite-sized pieces.
6 - Meanwhile, add the cream to the pan, increase the heat and bubble for 10-15 mins until the liquid has reduced to a white sauce consistence.
7 - Add seasoning and return the chicken to the pan along with the parsley.
8 - Transfer to a pie dish (roughly 20cm x25cm) and place a pie funnel in the centre.
9 - Set this aside to cool whilst you prepare the pastry
10 - Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin.
11 - Brush a little beaten egg around the rim of the pie dish, then using your rolling pin to help lift the pastry over the dish.
12 - Trim away and excess pastry, then pinch the edges with your forefingers and thumb to crimp.
13 - Brush with a thin layer of beaten egg, and use the left over pastry to decorate.
14 - Bake for 45 mins or until golden brown and the filling is piping hot.

For dessert I make the easiest ever shortbread!

Ingredients:
Plain flour, 200g
Butter, 200g
Golden caster sugar, 50g plus extra for dusting

Method:

1 - Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4
2 - Whizz the flour ad butter in a food processor
3 - Add the suagr and whizz until the mixture is crumbly
4 - Press the mixture into a buttered fluted 22cm round tart tin with the back of the spoon
5 - Bake for 30-35 min until golden brown
6 - While still warm, cut into wedges, prick with a fork and dust with caster sugar
7 - Leave to cool completely in the tin

Enjoy baking both of these at the weekend, especially on a cold winters day! I often serve the shortbread with a mousse, such as lemon posset or passionfruit mousse.




*both recipes from BBC Good Food

Venetian Duck Ragu

I had lots of holiday to use up from work, so on one of my days off I decided to treat the family to this duck recipe for dinner!

We rarely eat duck in or family (usually only when we have a Chinese takeaway, duck pancakes mmm!!), so this was a treat! Additionally this is a very authentic Italian recipe, and we love Italian food in my family!

I stumbled across this recipe when it was the feature recipe on BBC Good Food website and the picture caught my attention. It is one of the most flavoursome pasta recipes I have ever made, and this will be because it is left to simmer and bubble away for 2 hours! It is simply divine!

Ingredients:

4 duck legs

2 onions, finely chopped

2 fat garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp plain flour

250ml red wine

2x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube, made up to 250ml

3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped

2 bay leaves 

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp milk

600g paccheri or pappardelle pasta

Method: 

1) Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the duck legs and brown on all sides for about 10 mins. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5 mins until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute , then stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for a further minute. Return the duck to the pan, add the wine, tomatoes, stock, herbs, sugar and seasoning. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 2 hrs, stirring every now and then.

2) Carefully lift the duck legs out of the sauce and place on a plate – they will be very tender so try not to lose any of the meat. Pull off and discard the fat, then shred the meat with 2 forks and discard the bones. Add the meat back to the sauce with the milk and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10-15 minutes while you cook the pasta.

3) Cook the pasta following pack instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water, and add the pasta to the ragu. Stir to coat all the pasta in the sauce and cook for 1 minute more, adding a splash of cooking liquid if it looks dry. Serve with grated Parmesan, if you like!

Buon appetito!! xoxo