I had some leftover chicken which I wanted to use up, from having roasted Nigel's chicken last night.  (It's a very very very good roast chicken recipe by the way, moist and tender, and scrummily browned!)  I could have done any number of things with it . . . but then . . .

 

I got to thinking back to when I was a girl.  My mother used to host the odd luncheon party at our home.  Usually I was at school when these events were going on, but I got to watch the preparations . . . and if she was doing finger sandwiches, I got to eat the crusts that were cut off.



They always tasted so good for some odd reason.  She'd have thrown them all into a bag and we could just snack on them after school.  There would be little brown bits of bread with egg salad clinging to some of them . . . and perhaps deviled ham to others . . . scrummy yummy.

 

I always watched her preparations with longing.  I could hardly wait to grow up and have these kinds of parties of my own.  Those ladies would sit down to feasts of finger sandwiches, and perfection salad . . . crisp and flakey biscuits slathered with deliciously creamy Chicken à la King . . . tea breads spread with butter, and tiny tarts filled with lemon or jam, or pretty . . .  sweet berries, sitting atop the pastry like little coloured jewels.

 

Everyone was all prettied up in their nicest afternoon dresses, pretty little hats, patent leather purses and pumps . . . the air was filled with laughter and giggles and women's chatter.



Of course when I worked as the Chef at the Manor, I got lots of practice at cooking for luncheons . . . there was never anything as simplistic as this Chicken à la King dish . . . those were ladies of a different class . . . not for them simple things . . . their tastes ran more to smoked salmon, and rich soups . . . fancified salads, and terribly fiddly desserts . . . most often the plates would come back to the kitchen . . . hardly touched . . .

 

Not that the food wasn't par excellence . . . but rich women don't really eat do they . . . they taste and then push the food around on their plates . . .  all the while longing to actually eat what was there, but fearful of looking like a glutton in front of the rest or putting on an ounce . . . sad really.

 

Anyways, it was fun for me to get to stretch my abilities and cook all those different things . . . but my heart longed for simpler times, and simpler ladies . . .

 

or was I only looking at things through rose coloured glasses . . . and the fancies of a daughter's memories??

 

Todd and I feasted on this tonight.  We both enjoyed . . . a bit indulgent yes . . . but worth every delicous morsel.  Once in a while you just have to treat yourself.

 

I don't know why dishes like this have gone out of fashion . . . it's really very, very good.

 

*Chicken à la King*
Serves 2 to 3
Printable Recipe

Delicious chicken in a well flavoured velvety sauce, served over baking powder biscuits or flaky patty shells.


6 white cupped mushrooms, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
3 TBS red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 TBS butter
1 1/2 cups velouté sauce
2 poached small chicken breasts, cut into cubes (1 cup of meat)
1 medium egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 TBS dry sherry
2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
fine sea salt and ground white pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large skillet.  Add the mushrooms and chopped bell pepper and saute until softened, without browning.  Add the sauce along with the chicken breast meat.  Gently heat through.  Remove 1/4 cup of the sauce and use it to temper the egg yolk, carefully, beating constantly.  (Add it a little at a time so as not to create scrambled egg.)  Return the yolk/sauce mixture to the pan along with the sherry, the parsley and heat through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Spoon over split warm baking powder biscuits or flaky patty shells.

Todd's niece June and her boyfriend Jason drove up from Essex to visit us this past weekend. What a sweet and adorable couple they are. We were really pleased that they came up to spend a few days with a couple of old fogies like me and the Toddster!!



While I was waiting for them to arrive I thought to myself, I'd love to bake them something *WOW* just to make their visit that little bit extra special!



And then I thought to myself, I'll bake them my Lemon Drizzle Cake, which is sooo easy and yet sooo yummy!



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not turn my easy peasy Lemon Drizzle Cake into Lemon Drizzle Fairy Cakes, and then bake them in white polka dotted pink cases??? Coz something called a fairy cake and in a white and pink polka dot case just has to taste much better than a mere cake, doncha think???



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not fill these lucious little fairy cakes, each one . . . with an extra little dollop of lemon curd???



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not cover that crunchy lemon drizzle soak . . . the one that soaks itself into the heat of the finished cake and makes it all scrummy yummy . . . why not cover that drizzle soak, with an equally as scrummy lemon drizzle icing???



And then I thought to myself . . . but why leave it at that??? Why not decorate each moist lemon drizzle fairy cake, stuffed with lemon curd, glazed with a crunchy lemon sugar glaze, and drizzled with a lemon drizzle icing . . . with some cute little Lemon Jelly Slices???



And so I did.



Yum!



*Lemon Drizzle Fairy Cakes*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe

Lucious lemon flavoured fairy cakes, filled with some lemon curd, and then soaked with a lemon sugar mixture and then finally topped with a lemon drizzle icing and some sweet little lemon jelly slices! Oh so Scrummy Yummy!!

For the cakes:
140g self raising flour (1 cup)
4 ounces butter (1/2 cup) (115g)
115g caster sugar (2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs
2 dessertspoons of lemon curd
the grated zest of one lemon
more lemon curd for filling the fairy cakes

For the topping:
the juice of 1/2 lemon
2 TBS caster sugar

For the icing:
4 ounces icing sugar (1 cup) (no need to sift)
the juice from the other 1/2 of the lemon

To decorate:
mini lemon jelly slices

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Line 8 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

Put all the fairy cake ingredients into a food processor. (with the exception of the additonal lemon curd to be used for filling the cakes.) Blend together for 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Dollop about 1/2 of the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Top each with about 1/2 teaspoon of additional lemon curd, then cover with the remainder of the cake batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.

While the cakes are still hot, and before removing them from the tin, mix the lemon juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves somewhat. Prick the cakes all over with a toothpick and then carefully spoon the lemon/sugar mixture over the top, allowing it to soak in. Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing from the tin to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the icing, whisk together the icing sugar along with enough juice from the other half of the lemon to make a drizzeable icing. Spoon this over top of the cooled cakes and then top each with a couple of lemon jelly slices. Delicious!!

For the past seven years I was employed as a personal chef at Brenchley Manor down in Kent. It was a dream job for anyone that loved to cook as much as I do . . .



I got to stretch my abilities and skills cooking for large silver service dinner parties and cocktail parties . . . and scrummy lady's luncheons . . .

Always a cook, and never the guest . . . kind of like always being the bridesmaid, but never the bride!



Nevermind . . . today I was invited to a delicious ladies luncheon and, now that I am retired and no longer working . . . I could actually attend!

Oh, but it was nice to be on the receiving end for a change!!! I did so enjoy it . . . a delicious strawberry and spinach salad, with feta cheese and these lovely toasted candied almonds . . . a scrummy chicken and broccoli casserole, a pretzel salad . . . and a variety of yummy desserts.



I was asked to bring something chocolatey for dessert and I quite happily oblidged! You all know Todd hates chocolate desserts, and I just love an excuse to bake and sample them!



If there is one thing that lunching ladies like, it's chocolate anything. I often made these delectable little Brownie Bites when I was working for the ladies' luncheon parties. Perfect little bites of Brownie goodness . . . wrapped in scrummy chocolate ganache and decorated to your hearts content.



I had a bag of little chocolate drops from Hotel Chocolate that I was just itching to use and a variety of some other sprinkly decoratey little things that seldom get to see the light of day! (White Chocolate stars, Mixed Chocolate Curls, Cocoa Nibs, Hundreds and Thousands. Let your imagination guide your creativity!!!)



Oh look . . . what's that???

Mmmmmm . . . a lone brownie bite, slightly imperfect and decorated with some sea salt . . .

We can't have that can we? A lone brownie bite decorated with sea salt, all on it's own with no partners in it's crime . . . so to speak . . .




What's a gal to do??? Why . . . I came to it's rescue of course!!



Oh . . . I know . . .

I am a very naughty girl!




*Itty Bitty Brownie Bites*
makes 36 to 40
Printable Recipe

One, two, three bites they're gone!

For the Bites:
4 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened slightly (1 cucp)
14 ounces granulated sugar (2 cups)
4 large free range eggs
1 TBS vanilla extract
5 1/2 ounces of plain flour (1 1/4 cups)
6 ounces of milk chocolate, chopped into small bits
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into bits

For the Ganache Coating:
8 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped
250ml of cream, heated to the boiling point (1 cup)
2 TBS golden syrup (light corn syrup)
2 tsp vanilla extract

To decorate (if desired):
a variety ot chocolate bits, sprinkles and decorations

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter and flour several 12 cup mini muffin tins very well. Melt the chocolate for the brownie bites and then set it aside to cool to room temperature. You don't want it to be warm at all. Stir in the vanilla.

Cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Beat the eggs together and then slowly beat them in until combined totally. Drizzle in the cooled chocolate and vanilla mixture, beating it all the while until it is well combined. Fold in the flour just to combine and then fold in both types of chocolate bits. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups by generous teaspoonfuls. You don't want to overfill them. (You may have to wash the pans and recoat and dust to finish using all the batter up after baking the first lot, so be prepared.)

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golossy and dry on top, and just set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes, before carefully dumping them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. (This is where you will realize how well you did or didn't butter the pans!) Cool completely before proceeding.

To make the ganache, break up your chocolate and place it into a narrow, but deep bowl. Stir the syrup and vanilla into the hot cream, mixing it in well. Pour this over the chocolate in the bowl and stir to melt the chocolate, whisking it all together until completely smooth. Using a fork and spoon dip the brownie bites into the ganache, coating them on all sides and allowing the excess to drip off. Place on a wire rack over top of some baking paper and leave to set. You will want to add any sprinkles etc. to the tops before the ganache sets completely. Don't refrigerate or your ganache will cloud up, and you want it to be nice and shiny.