Treats of the week

So last week I had 6 reasons why I should be fatter but now it's gone down to 3 - so that's a good sign right? :p

White chocolate, blueberry/blackberry cupcakes

 The white chocolate cupcakes with blackberry/blueberry icing were lovely - in fact one of the best i've made I think. And everyone who tried them agreed so must be good! :p Form the green & black's chocolate cookbook that Kat and Tash bought me for my last bday. The fruit is squished and added to the icing which gives it that fantastic purple colour and piped into the cakes. The white chocolate is cut into small chunks and then added to the cake batter. I think next time I might melt the chocolate so it had an all over flavour not just bursts.

Tash's pink and sparkly cupcakes
















As  it's Tash's bday it had to be pink and very girly. I made a chocolate sponge (from the devil 's food chocolate cupcake receipt i tried recently as it was so nice) and then pink butter icing with 'pearl' decorations. glitter and pink sugar. they looked great - shame the camera doesn't pick up the sparkles!




Sunday morning welsh rarebit muffins

This is from  'Nigela bites' book and i've made them before a few times but not in ages. I used half spelt flour so it had an earthy taste that went well with the cheese and Worcester sauce. Would definitely recommend them - warm from the oven with a slab of butter - great stuff.

The Soup Off! Blue Pumpkin VS Roasted Butternut Squash

 

Tanya's thoughts:

I like pumpkin soup, I like butternut squash soup - but which is better? :p Actually this is incredibly easy as we didn't like the pumpkin soup :( I followed Tana Ramsey's recipe for pumpkin soup where you fry then boil the chunks of pumpkin with garlic and rosemary - once it was cooked, blended etc - it only tasted of rosemary :( Very disappointing as it looked exciting (although it wasn't blue inside - obviously that would have made it more exciting!) and the texture was lovely and silky.

I've made this butternut squash soup recipe a few times before - again by Tana Ramsey (didn't even click that both recipes were hers until writing this). And it's lovely. Roasting the squash first just really brings out the sweetness of the vegetable. It's a time consuming soup - well over an hour to make it. But the real winner in all of this was the cheese scones I made as an accompaniment for this soup. I found a recipe online: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8877/cheese-scones and it uses vegetable oil rather than butter to make it healthier. Anyway who cares - they tasted lovely and rose really nicely.

James's thoughts (Well I'll write on his behalf)
He said that the pumpkin soup smelled like weed :/ And he obviously liked the squash soup and scones as took leftovers with him to work. :)

Cheese, coriander, spring onion Quesadillas

Tanya's thoughts:
I've always loved quesadillas and have experimented in the past with these but this is the best recipe for them ever. Such a good combination of flavours and a good vegetarian lunch/dinner. Always good as my mum is a vegetarian. This is another recipe by.....James Oliver (how did you guess?) http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/quesadillas-with-guacamole And this is the one photo I was disappointed with - it doesn't look great but believe me tastes fantastic - have put my photo next to the one that was in Jamie's book - see practically no different?? :p


 









James's verdict:
(I'll ask him later, he's too busy geeking it up :p)

Melanzane (Aubergines in tomato and cheese)

Tanya's thoughts:
~Wipes the drool from her mouth~. Yes this is one of my favourite dinners. James's mum Sue normally makes this. So I've have made this a few times now and generally follow Jamie Oliver's recipe:http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/melanzane-alla-parmigiana-aubergine but instead of frying/griddling the aubergine slices, I boil them for about 4 mins. This is Sue's method and I think it definitely makes the aubergine less tough and makes the whole texture of the dish become more lasagna sloppy (meant in the best possible way). Would be good to know other people's serving suggestions for this. We normally have it with a green salad, nice bread with plenty of different flavoured oils to dip the bread in.

James's verdict:
"Very tasty."

Bacon and Parsnip Pasta

 













Tanya's thoughts:
A classic Jamie Oliver recipe. I say classic as I have made this hundreds of times, even James does this one too now. I'm sure all my friends will recognise this too. It's easy to make and really tasty- the parsnip sounds weird but don't let it put you off, it's great, i use a peeler so the slices are really thin. Have even linked it for you: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/parsnip-and-pancetta-tagliatelle-with-pa

 













James's verdict:
"Always a favourite"

The Perfect Return...

...With the Perfect Quiche Lorraine
 (Serves 6 or just myself and James)










Babbled Intro:
 Ah this is just devine. This makes the best pastry. The original receipe i stole (shhhh) used cream but I swear it tastes just as nice with milk as a substitute plus it means its something you can whip up easily, at no extra expense and you don't feel like the biggest fatty in the world. However having the whole quiche to yourself is a bit greedy. Not naming any names. James. Oh well just did.

Ingredients:

pastry:

250g plain flour

125g butter

Few drops of water to combine

Mixture:

3 large eggs

280ml milk

150g cheese (whatever you have - mixture of cheddar and parmesan is lovely)

200g bacon

1 tbsp chopped chives

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of round nutmeg

 Method:

• Make the pastry by rubbing the butter into the flour and icing sugar then add a bit of water to combine. 
• Roll out on a floured surface and then line a tart/pie case. Prick the base well.
• Leave the pastry case in the freezer for 20 mins then cook in a 200c preheated oven for 10 mins. (Freezing it slightly keeps it shape so you don't have to faff around with those baking beans). After baking it blind, leave to cool.
•  Cut the bacon into chunks and fry until slightly crispy (my personal preference, I don't like fatty bacon)
• Whisk the eggs, milk, chives, nutmeg and black pepper.
• Scatter the bacon on the bottom of the pastry case, then scatter the majority of the cheese. Then carefully pour the eggy mixture onto it. Foloowed by the rest of the cheese on top.
• Bake for approx 30 minutes until the top has colour.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 mins and then micture will have firmed up. I prefer leaving it to cool completely and then puting it in the fridge.

My conclusion/review.
One word - lush.

Croque Monsieur? Oui, s'il vous plaît!

Fancy ham and cheese toasties - french stylie (Serves 2)

Babbled intro:

I’ve been wanting to make this for ages, I’ve done the bastardised version of course - just plain old cheese and ham sarnie grilled. But the proper version, with the thick cheesey mustard sauce is such a taste sensation. Decent ham made the world of difference too. I would point out that I took one look at the recipe and thought that one round each wouldn’t be enough, but trust me, it is.  Can you believe the turning point to making me try this was watching the new Meryl Streep film 'It's complicated'.

Ingredients:

50g butter, really softened
4 thick slices white bread
1 heaped tsp plain flour
5 tbsp whole milk
1 egg yolk
2 tsp Dijon mustard
75g Gruyère, grated

2 slices oak-smoked gammon ham or a similar ham

Method:

• Butter all the slices of bread then place face down on a chopping board.
• Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat and add the flour. Stir them together until they are blended, then add the milk gradually until the mixture has become smooth and thick enough to spread. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the egg yolk, the mustard and the grated Gruyère, then beat the sauce until the cheese has melted.
• Spread the Gruyère mixture over 2 unbuttered sides of the bread. Put the slices of ham on the cheese-topped slices. 
• Take the other slices of bread and place one on each of the cheese-and-ham-topped slices. Press them down lightly. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the sandwiches for 2-3 minutes on each side until they have turned golden and crisp. Remove them from the pan, cut into diagonal halves and serve.

My conclusion/Review:

This is lovely, buttery and rich – a really naughty lunch which probably should be balanced with a healthy green watercress salad. But curled up, on a sofa in front of the TV on a cold Saturday afternoon it was the perfect meal. I would definitely do it again.

James's verdict:

"7/10 - lovely, but one round would probably do it (otherwise you're being greedy!)."