We are coming into Strawberry season here in the UK now, and I will put my hand up and say that Strawberry season is one of my favourite food seasons. 

One thing I have always been fond of is tinned salmon and tuna, not so much other tinned fishes myself, but the Toddster really loves Sardines and Mackerel.   I was really pleased recently to receive a fabulous Bumper Pack  from the people at John West containing a lovely variety of their newest products.  I used some of them to make these lovely Salmon Melt Sliders,  the recipe of which I will share with you today, but first  . . . a little  bit about what was in this truly fab hamper!

John West offer a range of succulent fish products soaked in different flavours including tuna, salmon, mackerel, sardines and crab amongst others. We’re also excited to introduce our season and stir; tender chunks of fish with a flavour to add taste to your dish as well as our brand new steam pots. These are the perfect lunchtime snack for work or home.

 

My very British Husband is quite fond of telling me that eating peanut butter and jam together is completely insane.  That didn't stop him from scarfing down three of these as soon as I had them finished though!  (Me thinks he is a bit of a porkie pie teller and that he secretly LOVES the combination as much as I do!)



Could it be that I have finally indoctrinated him to my wild and wooly North American ways????  Could it be that his veins are beginning to run a tiny bit  with peanut butter and jam???  I like to think so at any rate!  This is a combination I love soooo much!  It's that sweet and salty thing!

 

Today I decided to indulge it by making little peanut butter cookie cups.  I was going to make them snickers cups . . . but then I got sidelined by the Thames Jubilee Pageant and so I just filled them with jam before baking and then topped them with a quick buttercream icing.  I wanted to sit and watch all the fun!
(Oh my but it was fabulous!  I've never seen anything like it.  Everyone was turned out beautifully.  I thought Kate was just gorgeous, as always, and the Queen looked positively radiant!)

 

This is the type of thing I would positively make for Her Royal Majesty, did she ever chance to drop in for tea.  I would want to bake her something to with her cuppa that was ludicrously North American and what can be any more North American than Peanut Butter and Jam!!  (I don't think she'd enjoy porqupine . . . not really.)

 

Crisp peanut butter cookie cups . . . baked with a sweet dab of jam in the middle . . . then topped with a peanut butter flavoured butter cream frosting.  Oh so scrummishly moreishly decadently good!!  Bet YOU couldn't eat just one either!

 

*Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie Cups*
Makes about 36
Printable Recipe

Tasty little peanut butter cookie cups, filled with jam and baked until crispy and then topped with a peanutbutter flavoured buttercream icing when cool.  M-O-R-E-I-S-H!!

For the cookie cups:
200g of flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
172g of unsalted butter at room temperature (3/4 cup)
135g of creamy peanut butter (3/4 cup)
96g of caster sugar (1/2 cup)
100g of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
1 large free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla
seedless raspberry jam

For the frosting:
6 TBS unsalted butter at room temperature
100g of icing sugar (3/4 cup) sifted
135g of creamy peanut butter (3/4 cup)
3 TBS heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Have ready several mini juffin tins.  Spray with some nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and peanut butter until thorougly combined.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Whisk together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda.  Stir this in to make a soft dough.  Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Place one in each muffin cup.  Press in with the bottom of a rolling pin, or a pastry damper to make a shell.  Fill the centres with about 1/2 tsp of jam.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  They should be lightly golden brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove and set on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the frosting, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.  Spoon or pipe a little dab of this frosting into the centre of each cookie cup to cover the jam.  Allow to set completely.

Alternately the cookie dough can be rolled into walnut sized balls and pressed flat with a fork on a lightly buttered baking tray.   You can then bake them for about 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  Put together with a layer of jam and a layer of the peanut butter flavoured buttercream!

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  If you can eat just one, you're a better woman than I am!!

 

 In any case if you didn't want to go to the trouble of making these as cookie cups, you could just bake them as regular peanut butter cookies and then sandwich them together with some of the frosting and some jam!

 

 

 

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Over the past few weeks I have been watching a great cookery series on Channel 4 in the afternoons called Cookery School, a daily cookery competition which helps to transform ordinary home cooks into exraordinay home cooks! I have really been enjoying it. Each week the show follows the journies of six home cooks . . . their ups and their downs . . . their failures and their successes . . . as they compete against each other in a battle to be in the finals.

The novices have to master and cook three recipes during each show under the expert tutelage of Chef Richard Corrigan, and Chef/Presenter/Writer Gizzie Erskine, who encourage them along, and teach them skills that can easily be mastered by any home cook . . . a brilliant combination in my opinion!

As with any good cookery show, there is also a companion cookbook available to purchase, so that you can cook along at home. Whether you are a beginning cook, looking to learn some new skills . . . or a learned cook, looking to advance your skills, Cookery School can help.




Julie contacted me early in February, and asked me if I would like to receive a complimentary copy of the book to review and I jumped at the opportunity. I love to cook and eat. Passion Number one . . . I love cookbooks, Passion Number two . . . and I love learning new skills and stretching the ones I already have, Passion Number three.




I have been following along with the show, and have been really impressed with the instruction given. I was very excited when the book popped through my post box on Friday. I could hardly wait to get stuck in!

It's large book, but quite manageable, and very attractive. Containing over 100 recipes and divided into chapters covering starters, fish, meat and puddings, it's just loaded with step-by-step photographs to help to teach you all the main techniques needed to master each of the dishes.

From knife skills and chopping, to clarifying . . . filleting a fish or jointing a chicken, to mastering creme anglaise . . . there is something in here for everyone, no matter how basic or advanced your skills may be. With further notes on equipment and ingredients, and an informative glossary on cooking terms and techniques, this book has it all, and will have even the novice cook, cooking like a Michelin Star Chef at the outset. I think it's just brilliant!



I chose the Cream of Onion Soup with Cheese and Ham toasties as my first recipe to cook from the book. Listed in the chapter of starters as an intermediate dish I felt it was something I could easily cope with and also something that I thought Todd would enjoy.

There is a lovely looking picture of the dish adjacent to the recipe and skills taught in the recipe are noted in red in the upper right hand corner of the recipe page. With a delicious sounding introduction I found all the instructions to be concise and very easy to follow.



This is a dish that I would very happily make again. It wasn't too fiddly and used ingredients that I have in my kitchen most of the time, including the herbs which I keep in my garden. I did have to use dried marjoram as I didn't have that, but it didn't seem to have an adverse affect on the taste of the finished dish. The recipe didn't say whether the ham for the toasties was to be used whole or julienned. I decided that julienned ham would be a lot easier to handle, and I was right.

They were very easy to put together and toasted up perfectly following the instructions in the recipe. Crispy and buttery on the outsides without being greasy, and stogged full of lovely ham and gooey cheese on the insides. The only thing I would do different the next time, would be to add a bit of honey mustard on the inside of the bread rounds, rather than egg, but that's because I love the tasty of honey mustard with my ham and cheese! (That could be the Canuck in me, I don't know!)



The soup was wonderfully rich, and full of flavour. Simple ingredients, simple techniques . . . far out deliciousness!! Wow, it had a beautiful velvety texture with a subtle sweetness from the onions that was quite, quite ooooofully scrummy! I loved the extra texture that the thyme oil garnish gave. The thyme was slightly crisped . . . with a lovely fresh herby flavour, just perfect with the soup.

The two together were just wonderful. As we were eating it, I thought back to my days working as a Personal Chef down South in Kent . . . my boss would have loved this. I could easily see it having been served at one of the ladie's luncheons with a rocket and watercress salad on the side, and a few chive blossoms floating on top of that beautiful soup, amidst the herbed olive oil.

There are lots of beautiful recipes in the book and I can tell you, I have more than a few bookmarked to try. The Apple Tarts with Pecans and Maple immediately come to mind, as does the Pork and Fruit Wellington . . . and then there are the Griddled Leeks with a Honey and Mustard Dressing and the Rhubarb Crumble Soufflees. Oh it all sounds so delicious doesn't it???

This lovely book was released for publication on the 3rd of March (Penguin HB, £20.) . Recipes here extracted from 'Cookery School', brought to you by Channel 4 with recipes by Richard Corrigan. Do check out the program too, if you already haven't. It's set to run for 8 weeks, so early days yet and still lots to catch up on. It airs weekdays on Channel 4 at 2:05 p.m.

You know what??? I have so much confidence in this book, that I believe that even my Todd (whose idea of cooking is having a tin opener in one hand and a tin in the other) could cook something from it and that is my next challenge! Look for it on here soon!!! It should be a lot of fun!!




*Cream of Onion Soup with Ham and Cheese Toasties*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This soup is rich and slightly sweet and very delicious. The toasties, buttery and scrummy! It is important that you sweat the onions without colouring them, so that they melt down. Richard suggests that you may also use the ham and cheese toasties as a big crouton!

For the soup:
50g of unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
2 TBS olive oil
1 kg of white onions, peeled and thinly sliced (2.2 pounds)
1 TBS fresh marjoram leaves
2 TBS fresh thyme leaves
900ml of chicken stock (3 3/4 cups)
150ml of double cream (2/3 cup)
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the cheese and ham toasties:
8 slices white bread
1 free range egg, beaten
40g of sliced honey roast ham (about 4 slices), slivered
40g of gruyere cheese, grated
40g of unsalted butter (scant 1/4 cup)
2 TBS vegetable oil

Heat a large saucepan and add the butter and half the olive oil for the soup. Tip in the onions, marjoram and 1 TBS of the thyme leaves, once the butter has melted. Soften the onions for about 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Add the chicken stock and allow to simmer, uncovered for a further 10 to 15 minutes. You don't want it to reduce.

To make the toasties, roll out the bread slices to about 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3 inch rounds using a sharp cutter. Brush one side of each with some beaten egg. Put a little mound of ham and cheese on top of 4 of the slices. Top with another round of bread, egg side down. Press gently around the edges to seal. Brush the outside of each with more egg.

Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Once the butter starts to foam add the sandwich rounds. Fry on both sides over medium low heat until nicely browned and toasted. Keep warm in a low oven (120*C/gas 1/2).

To finish the soup, put into a blender and carefully blitz until smooth. Alternately (my favourite) blitze until smooth with a hand held stick blender. Pass through a seive into a clean pan. Whisk in the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat through without boiling.

Add the remaining TBS of oil in a small saucepan. Add the remaining TBS of thyme leaves and cook for about one minute. Set aside.

To serve, divide the soup equally amongst 4 heated soup bowls. Drizzle with the warm thyme oil and serve the toasties on the side, or float one in each as a crouton.