Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts
I confess to being a huge fan of chicken wings. Back home at the local Chinese buffet the chicken wings were always my favourite dish on the menu, and I think everyone else's as well because between them and the sweet and sour chicken balls it was always hard to get any because the dish would empty almost as soon as it was filled!
Sausage rolls are very popular over here in the UK. You will see them for sale in all of the bake shops and cafes and of course at most pot lucks/parties, etc. there is usually the obligatory tray of sausage rolls to feast on.
People really like them. Myself, I am not overly fond of shop bought sausage rolls.
There's usually a too high pastry to sausage meat ration on them, and more often than not they seem to use cheap and nasty sausage meat in them. I can't abide cheap and nasty sausage meat! It's pasty and fatty and just ugh . . .
That's not a problem when you make your own Sausage Rolls however! You can make sure that there is more meat than pastry, and you can make sure that the meat used is quality!
I first had these at my friend Joy's about ten years ago when Todd and I popped down to South Wales for a weekend visit. Joy had made these for lunch and they were absolutely fabulous!
Delicious and meaty with just the right proportions of meat and pasty, they are also very easy to make.
Probably a lot easier than you think . . . especially if you use ready made puff pastry!
You simply mix raw sausage meat (removed from the casings) with some chopped onion, bread crumbs and an egg.
You will want to use a nice spicy sausage, or at least I do. Cumberland are my favourite!
Then once you have the meat mixed together, you just shape the mixture into logs, roll it up in the pastry, cut, glaze and bake in the oven. Easy peasy!
The egg glaze gives them a really lovely colour. They are great served warm or cold or at room temperature.
They are perfect for parties, or for picnics or even to pop into lunch boxes. They also freeze very well.
I hope you will give them a go!
If you want to really make sure you have a lovely flavoured sausage meat, why not make your own? I tell you how here. It's really simple.
*Joy's Sausage Rolls*
Makes a dozen 
Shape each third into a log the length of the strip
of pastry, by rolling it between your hands a bit. Place it down the
centre of the pastry strip. Brush one long edge of each pastry strip
with some of the remaining beaten egg.
Roll the pastry up over the meat
to cover, allowing it to overlap. Press gently closed, turn over and
flatten slightly with your hands. Cut each strip into four evenly sized
pieces.
Place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Brush
the tops with the remaining beaten egg and then snip a couple of times
with a pair of kitchen scissors to vent.
Cook in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Delicious!
I love September. It always reminds me of when my children were growing up and it was back to school time. I always endeavored to have something delicious to pop into their sac lunches, or waiting for them when they got home from school. I love to bake and my kids loved to eat what I baked. No kiddos in my home anymore . . . but that doesn't stop me from baking. Today I baked these lovely Lemon Butterfly Cakes using a recipe that I picked up on the Flora Baking Pages.
Their most famous product is their Vanilla extract. Started in 1907 in the United States, this family-owned business has gone from strength to strength. Want to know the secret of their super high quality? They use a cold-extraction process, slowly and gently extracting every bit of flavour from the beans, without harming them using heat. They also have quite a variety of other pure extracts, including coffee, almond, chocolate, lemon, orange, peppermint, orange blossom and rose water. I was sent a bottle each of the orange blossom, vanilla and rose water.
Like I said, I use the Vanilla all the time so there is nothing really new about that, but this was my first time using Rose Water or Orange Blossom Water. If you are a fan of turkish delight you would already be familiar with the flavour of Rose Water as that is the predominant flavour in that lovely sweet treat.
Sweet and fragrant Rose Water is an elegant steam distillate of rose petals. Its delicate floral notes are perfect in Middle Eastern, Indian and Greek cuisine and offer a wonderful accent to delicate French pastry glazes and creams. In addition to pairing well with vanilla, cream, white and dark chocolate and mild cheeses such as Brie or cream cheese, this water blends nicely with fruits like strawberry, raspberry, lychee and mango. Rose Water can also elevate sweetened hot water or milk and is a delightful way to flavour sugars and cookies.
I did a search on line and came up with a recipe by Sophie Grigson for a delicate sounding Almond Cake with a Rosewater and Lemon Syrup. It almost sounded Greek with its flavours and of course the texture of the cake very much reminded me of a special Greek Cake that one of my friends back home always made. I fell in love with it the first time she made it, and I fell in love with this cake as well.
It's incredibly moist . . . and rich. You start it in a cold oven, which means that the outside surfaces bake first, leaving the centre with an almost damp and incredibly squidgy texture, all of which is greatly enhanced by the Rosewater and Lemon Syrup which you spoon over it as it is cooling . . . a bit at a time so that it soaks into the cake, adding to it's wonderful depth of flavour and richness.
The syrup had an almost perfumed quality, not at all unpleasant in the least. The lemon and rosewater went together beautifully. I simply dusted the top of the cake with a bit of icing sugar to serve. I thought a nice dollop of crème fraiche or Greek yogurt would go perfectly with this, and . . . quite simply, it did.
*Almond Cake with a Rosewater & Lemon Syrup*
A deliciously moist and different cake. Very easy to make. The cake is started in a cold oven, so no need to preheat.
For the cake:
45g slightly stale bread crumbs (3/4 cup)
200g caster sugar (1 cup)
100g ground almonds (1 cup plus 3 TBS)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
200ml sunflower oil (13 1/2 TBS)
4 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
For the syrup:
100ml water (3 1/2 fluid ounces)
the juice of one lemon
85g caster sugar (7 TBS)
1 1/2 TBS rose water
Butter an 8 inch round cake tin and line the base with paper. Set aside.
Mix together the bread crumbs, sugar, almonds and baking powder. Beat together the oil and eggs and add them to the dry mixture, beating them in well.
Stir in the lemon zest and pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Put the cake tin in a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake is a nice brown colour and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before
removing to a plate.
Make the syrup while the cake is cooling. Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Allow to simmer for 3 minutes.
Pierce the surface of the warm cake all over with a skewer. Spoon the syrup over top. Allow the cake to cool completely, spooning the excess syrup over top again from time to time until it is completely absorbed.
Serve the cake cut into wedges along with some plain Greek yogurt, creme fraiche, mascarpone cheese or clotted cream.
Watch this space!
Many thanks to the folks at Nielsen-Massey and Joanne for sending these to me. In a few days I'll show you what I have done with the Orange Blossom Water!
( a picture of our decorated lounge 2012)
If you're looking for a fabulous appetizer or spread for your party buffets and dinners this holiday season, look no further. This one is the best! It's easy, impressive and quick to make . . . and it always goes down a real treat with anyone who tries it. They always want the recipe.
I often made this as an appetizer for the many dinner parties I catered when I worked at the Manor. It was a real favourite with my bosses and their guests.
It combines simple ingredients together to create a fabulous rich spread that goes very well on breadsticks, crackers, toasted baguettes . . . and I confess . . . spread onto celery sticks. (A fab way to munch on the leftovers. )
You don't need to use best quality smoked salmon . . . I usually use the smoked salmon scraps you can buy in the shops. You are going to chop it coarsely anyways, and the scraps are already chopped for you.
The leftovers are also fabulous spread onto slices of sour dough bread that you toast to a golden brown under the grill. A squirt of lemon and a few grinds of pepper and you have a fabulous lunch . . . all the creamy pink deliciousness melting into the toasty crevices of the crunchy toast is quite, quite irresistible.
*Smoked Salmon Spread*
Makes 2 cups
Printable Recipe
This is the perfect Christmas treat. Serve it with breadsticks, crackers or slices of toasted baguette. Deliciously different!
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (340g)
1/3 cup dairy sour cream (40g)
6 dashes of Tabasco sauce
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 spring onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
3 TBS capers, rinsed and drained
8 ounces smoked salmon, coarsely chopped
3 TBS chopped fresh dill, or 1 TBS dried dill tops
fresh ground black pepper to taste
fresh dill to garnish
Put the cream cheese, sour cream, Tabasco sauce and lemon juice in a food processor. Blitz to combine. Add the spring onions, capers, salmon, chopped dill and pepper. Pulse to blend. Scrape into a serving bowl. Garnish with the dill and serve chilled or at room temperature. Fabulous!
Way back in December I was thrilled to receive a gift from Pampered Chef. My friend Julie is a Pampered Chef Consultant and she very generously gifted me with the Pampered Chef Trifle Bowl to try out, just in time for Christmas!!
This was something that I had long wanted to have, and I was over the moon to be given it! I was not disappointed either. It arrived very quickly and in perfect condition, thanks to the expert packing and delivery service. It far exceeded my expectations in every way. It is just gorgeous! The clear glass shows off your creations elegantly.
This is the part that really surprised me. It is two parts! I hadn't expected that. Every other trifle bowl I have seen has been all in one piece, hard to store and difficult to fit in the refrigerator. The Pampered Chef trifle bowl has a unique, removable stem that helps you easily and conveniently transport, refrigerate and store the bowl. This also gives you the option to use just the bowl, if you're so inclined. Bonus! So , it's like getting two items for one. It also has a lid which is an added convenience, especially when you have made your dessert ahead of time and you want to store it until you are ready to serve it. Double Bonus!
Quite unlike most trifle bowls, the bowl itself has a flat bottom, which lends itself to a beautifully even presentation. The layers will not sink in the middle and the clear glass sides allow you to present your dessert in the most beautiful way.
I can see, too, that it will be most useful in salad season. I do a wonderful layered salad and the clear, tall sides of this nice piece of equipment will showcase this tasty dish beautifully! I can't wait! I can see where it will also be very useful for layered dips such as my Mexican Dip or my Greek Dip.
But then again, it's not only good for food. I can see where it would be so easy to create a beautiful table centrepiece with it. With it's removable stem set in the centre of the bowl and a pillar candle set on top of that, and surrounded with flowers, or seashells, pebbles, Christmas balls . . . you name it, there are endless possibilities to be able to use this unique and beautifully crafted piece of kitchen kit! Thanks so much Julie and Pampered Chef for having given me this fantastic opportunity, but then . . . it gets even better!!
I have always wanted to host a Pampered Chef Party myself, but for one reason or another just haven't been able to do so. I have often purchased their products though, and I have to say that I love them. They are real quality. I don't know what I would do without my Measure All measuring cup (It measures in both American and British measurements) and I just adore my Deluxe Mini Muffin Pan which bakes 24 mini muffins at once! (especially now that I have a larger stove to cook them in!)
When I worked at the manor, I didn't really get to know many people in the village where I lived, and I was always so busy working, that I didn't have a lot of free time to do things like hosting parties anyways . . .
Since I moved back here, I also don't know a lot of people, but I have really been wanting to have a party! It's a great way to meet my neighbours, and to get to know people a bit better, plus have some fun as well. Who doesn't like good food, cooking demonstrations and great kitchen kit??? So here is what is going to happen.
I am hosting my VERY FIRST Pampered Chef Party, here at my home, on Tuesday the 25th of January! It's all so very exciting! I have invited everyone I know to come, but that's not the best part.
You will also have the opportunity to come to my party, via the net. (Unfortunately at this time it is only possible if you live in the UK.) For a limited time, you will be able to visit my online Party page and place orders there that will go towards my online party.
What you have to do:
First hop on over to Julie's page . . . HERE.
Once you are on Julie's Page click on the Shop Online link. Once there, it will tell you that there are two ways to shop, first if you've been invited to a show . . . (This is the one you want)
This is where you have to put my name in the host area:
Marie in the first bit, Rayner in the second bit . . . then click . . .
it will then list my show as a hyper link . . . click on it and shop away.
Now I want to add a little twist to the show. Because all of you online shoppers won't have the fun of getting to meet me and Julie in person, and because you won't be able to taste any of the delicious food that will be served on the night, or see the demonstrations . . . nor will you be able to win anything from the raffle etc., I, personally, am going to put the name of anyone who places an online order into a hat and pick a winner from them all, who will then receive from myself . . . a five card selection of my own personally designed and handmade Greeting Cards (Your choice), a Pampered Chef Season's Best Cookbook and a Mini Measure All Cup. It's a win/win/win situation!
Julie is also also offering a £25 voucher to spend in the new brochure for anyone who joins her team or recommends a friend or family member who join her. The voucher will be issued once they or their friend has qualified as a Pampered Chef consultant. (completes their 4th show!) All they need to do is contact her through her Pampered Chef page!
I wish that all of you could actually come to my home and attend the show in person, but I know that's just not possible, so this is the next best thing. If any of you do live in the Chester Area, and would like to attend, e-mail me on mariealicejoan at aol dot com and I'll give you all the details and directions of how to get there.
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