My first (potential) pop up

I’ve been invited to host a pop up at The Roker Hotel in Sunderland, a beautiful beach front location in Roker, Sunderland, a stone’s throw from my house.

The proposed date is Saturday August 3rd and there will be two sittings to be confirmed.

I’m planning on 5 courses and the price is to be determined.

Early stages at the minute but I hope to have this confirmed and be able to start selling tickets within a week.

For anyone interested here’s the menu I’m proposing. I’m not the kind of chef who'll make a veloute out of asparagus so if you're looking for foams and all that carry on I’m not your girl.

Any comments welcome at the bottom. It would be helpful to know what people would pay per head? the price will be determined once the manager has priced up the event.

thanks

Pre Starter:

parfait. toasts. jam
Chicken liver parfait served in mini kilner jars, topped with red onion jam. with a thin toasted sourdough

Starter:

panacalty
But not as you remember it. home corned beef, potato and onion gratin, black pudding crumble, rich beef stock

Fish:

scallop. celeriac, truffle, apple
Pan fried local king scallops with celeriac and truffle puree, apple salad, apple caramel

Main (the dish I cooked on MasterChef:

venison. potato. beetroot. blackberries. chocolate
tea smoked venison, creamy buttered mash. Beetroot and blackberry puree, rich game gravy finished with a hint of bitter chocolate to enhance the flavours of the dish

Dessert:

chocolate. pistachio. cherry
Chocolate delice with a brownie base, cherry coulis, pistachio ice cream, biscuit, chocolate mousse
 

MasterChef chocolate mousse

Rich and decadent, this is the mousse I made on MasterChef and is an utterly luxurious; it's the perfect naughty treat for a Christmas dinner party and a fab alternative to a Christmas pudding as dessert on the big day!

  

Ingredients
Serves 4

75g sugar

1 vanilla pod split lengthways with the seeds scraped out OR 1 tsp of good vanilla extract

100ml double cream

2 eggs separated

1 tbsp cocoa powder

40g unsalted butter

150g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces (this will make it easier to melt)

1 tbsp of your favourite liquor (optional)

Method

Set a large bowl over a pan of simmering water; make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Add half the sugar and the egg yolks, the cocoa powder and the cream and whisk continuously until the mixture thickens. Make sure you whisk all the time or the eggs will scramble. This won't take any more than 3 minutes.

When the mixture has thickened a little and is the consistency of thick custard, take the pan off the heat and add the cubes of butter, the vanilla seeds and all the chocolate. Stir until fully incorporated.

Stir in your liquor if you're using.

In a separate, spotlessly clean bowl (this is important) whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 37g of sugar a little at a time, and continue to whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy and meringue-like.

Fold the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture, slowly; you don't want to knock any of the air out!

Spoon the mix into your preferred serving bowl(s) and chill until set for a few hours or so. This can be made the day before no problem.

Top with whipped cream, more chocolate, red fruits, anything you like :)

Leek puddin

This is a real Northern favourite of mine.  I had planned to do it in the final of MasterChef but i was shit out of luck and didnt make it ha!!

I especially like it with pork but simialrly i love it leftover with cold mashed potatoes,  kind of like my own little bubble and squeek!  Seriously this is fantastic! Its like a soft sweet stuffed dumpling with a crisp top!  A must for any pork lover!! If your a veggie use veggie suet.

Ingredients
Serves 2
100g self raising flour
50g suet
2 leeks
a good knob of butter
a glug of double cream, about 50-100mls
30g of strong cheddar cheese
1tsp of your favourite mustard,
Salt and pepper

Method

Pre heat oven to gas mark 5 (190)

Make the suet up by mixing the flour some salt and pepper and the shredded suet and binding the mixture with a little water until its slightly sticky and comes together in a ball.

Clean the leeks, thinly slice them and sweat them in a large pan with a little olive oil and the butter.  Put a lid on the pan.

Stir in the cream, cheese and mustard, check for seasoning, if it needs more pepper go for it.

Roll the suet out on a floured surface to no more than 2cm thick,

Line 1 large or 2 individual pudding basins with the suet (don’t forget to lightly grease the pudding basins and don’t forget to leave some suet for the lid)

Fill the suet lined pudding basin with the leeks mixture.  Wet the edges of the suet and place the lid.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes for individual puddings or 40 minutes for a large pudding.  The top should be crisp and bubbling on the edges.

Turn out the puddings, they always come out clean as the suet is very thick and the basin will have been greased.

Enjoy with pork and mash YUM!

Rib eye steak

Dinner tonight, after the most lush day off ever was rib eye steaks from Northumbrian Quality Meat, they have been my butcher for years and their meat is outstanding, ive previously recommended them, they are on my likes section of my website check them out.  If they are a little to far check out Donald Russell too, equally superb!

So there realy isnt  much to cooking a steak, I had to do one in the pressure test of MasterChef and this is the method i used. 

First you take your steaks (this applies to any meat for that matter) out of the fridge a good 30 minutes before you want to use it, this relaxes the meat and brings it to room temperature. think of it like this, if you've just got in from the freezing your usually all huddled up like this baffoon below - your muscles are all tense until you get back to normal - well its the same principle for your meat.  It needs time to get back to the temperature its comfortable at and that way you'll get the best flavour and texture from your meat.

So, next you want to get your pan as hot as humanly possible, season the meat liberally with salt and pepper and a little oil then whack it in the pan, set  your timer for 2.5 minutes and LEAVE it alone. Step away, leave the pan on high, open a window for the smoke and leave it.

After 2.5 minutes flip the steak, and again leave it for another 2.5 minutes.

Nearly there, hang on in, so 2.5 minutes have passed, turn the heat off, whack about 50g of butter into the pan and as it melts spoon the juices over the steak, this is called arabouche in France and basically means to baste in butter. Do this for around 30 seconds and then remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest somewhere for around 5 minutes to relax the meat, this is the most important step in the whole process, and like before it relaxes the muscle to create a tastier more tender piece of meat.

Home stretch - serve the steak with a sauce that you have made in the pan you took the steaks out of, something simple like the peppercorn sauce in my accompaniments section, or a red wine jus or something.  Nice and quick.

the finished article, black and blue steak,

Peppercorn sauce

This is the sauce i had to do on MasterChef during the 10 minute pressure test, which i aced, theres one thing i can do and thats cook a friggin good steak! The sauce is really quick and is a perfect accompaniment for steaks or roast beef.  Remember when making this that pepper is a spice and it benefits from being gently dry fried to release its full flavour.

Ingredients
Serves 4 portions
300mls double cream
A few tablespoons of whole black peppercorns (if you don’t have whole, ground from the pepper mill will be fine)
50mls of brandy
1tbs Dijon mustard

Method
If not already ground - grind up the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar or in a pan with a rolling pin or hammer.

If you have previously cooked steaks make the sauce in the pan after the steaks have been cooked.  That way you get the flavour from the steaks in the sauce.
In a hot pan gently fry the peppercorns for 30 seconds to release their flavour.
While the pan is piping hot add the brandy, this de glazes the pan i.e gets all the flavour from the bottom of the pan.  BE CAREFUL when doing this as the brandy may flame up, if it does don’t panic, it will go out itself after a few seconds when the alcohol has burned off.
After a few seconds (don’t let the brandy reduce to nothing but it should be reduced by aprox half the volume) add the cream to the pan and turn the heat down to its lowest setting.  If you are using an electric hob, take the pan off the hob for a few seconds while the heat reduces so you don’t boil the cream.
Stir in the mustard, warm everything through and serve.

Mahoosive Vicky Sponge from MasterChef W.I Episode

This is the recipe for the now infamous Victoria Sponge i made for the Womens Institure episode of MasterChef.  Its a British Classic and was named after Queen Victoria, who favored a slice of the sponge cake with her afternoon tea.  Theres nothing special to it, its a cake in its simplest form however its the method you need to get right.  Adding things in a particular way and not overbeating the mix are golden rules which cant be broken during this cake!  Enjoy!

The recipe below is for 1 cake to be cut in half and filled, however if im being honest, the one i did at the WI and how i do it at home is to double the quantities below and sandwich two massive cakes together! 

Ingredients
Makes 2 cakes to be sandwiched together to serve aprox 8 slices
225g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
200g self raising flour
25g corn flour if you don’t have corn flour just use all self raising
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (don’t use essence its rubbish and tastes of chemicals)
4 large free range eggs beaten
1 tea spoon of baking powder

Method
Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4
Butter 2 20cm spring form of loose bottomed cake tins, if you don’t have either just line a normal 20cm cake tin with baking parchment so the cake can be easily released.If you only have 1 tin, dont worry just whack all the mix in 1 tin and increase the cooking time by 10 minutes.
SO.....Use a hand mixer to cream the butter and the sugar together until pale.
crack the eggs into a seperate bowl and lightly whisk to break up
Beat in the eggs a little at a time, probably 3 additions should be fine.
Sift over the flours and baking powder and fold in using a large metal spoon or spatular.
The mixture should be of a dropping consistency - if it isn't, add a little milk.
Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean.  If you have only done 1 cake it'll take around 35-40 minutes.
Allow to stand for 5 minutes before turning on to a wire rack to cool.
Tip the first cake upside down so your working on a level surface which is better for the filling.
Fill the cake with jam, lemon curd or whipped cream and berries.
Whack the top of the cake on, dust with icing sugar and serve with a nice cuppa.

MasterChef, the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter, via some pasta for tea....

GOD Ive been busy week this week. Unusually so, theres been boobie cakes, pasta making courses, sugar spinning demonstrations, book signings, bakery meetings, my regular orders, a trip to London, 50 sticky toffee puddings to make for the Ideal Home Show official invitation and oh yes the new series of MasterChef, the ONLY thing i have sat down for this week!


I dont mind the new format, its HARD going though, but then i suppose the contestants have had weeks if not months to perfect the dish that they present to John and Greg so they shouldnt really be slipping up and serving lumpy mash tatie, but at the same time they are all ameturs with no experience so anyone with a glimmer of hope should have been put through in my opinion to see how they progress..

I made this for tea last night, super quick pasta dish which consists of smoky bacon, mozarella, cabbage, parmesan and a bit of the pasta cooking liquid.  Think its a Jamie Oliver recipe i have tweeked.

If you want the recipe shout, although its blindingly simple...

Tonight im back in the kitchen working my mejool date magic on my sticky toffee puddings, did i mention i recently won an independant taste test against the best in the business. The beehive bakeries sticky toffee pudding cake out on top with 71% of the vote.

Im entering my secret recipe into the Gold Taste Awards this spring, fingers crossed.