As you know, I was recently invited to participate in a competition being hosted by British Turkey alongside Peppadew to find Britian's best recipe blogger. They asked me if I would mind devising some dishes using both British Turkey and Peppadew peppers. The winner will be crowned at the British Turkey Awards being held at the Savoy this September.

 

That is something I love to do more than anything else when I am cooking . . . creating new recipes, using my favourite ingredients. They don't always work out, but more often than not I am quite pleased with the results.

 

Much like these delicious turkey steaks that I cooked the other day. I used Parmesan cheese to coat them and then I flash fried them until the cheese got all scrummy golden brown. You want to cook them quickly as you don't want the turkey to dry out.

 

Don't be tempted to flip them before the cheese on the bottom has turned golden brown though . . . it will stick to the pan and that's not what you want. You want all those crunchy golden scrummy bits to be stuck to the turkey steaks!!



 I used a mixture of chopped Peppadew peppers, chopped tomatoes,  red onion and parsley to create a delicious relish to serve with the turkey steaks.  It was colourful and very, very scrummy  indeed.

 

Oh my the two together tasted really, really good. I served this with some steamed herbed baby new potatoes.  Todd had two helpings! I love to see a man with a good appetite, don't you?

 

Parmesan Crusted Turkey Steaks with a Tomato and Peppadew Relish.  Quick, easy and oh so scrumdiddlyumptious!  I hope you'll give this a try!  (It's also very healthy!)



*Parmesan Crusted Turkey Steaks with a Tomato and Peppadew Relish*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Tender and moist turkey steaks, crusted with salty Parmesan cheese and served up with a tangy Tomato and Peppadew Relish!  Quick and Delicious!

For the Relish:
a punnet of cherry tomatoes on the vine (several large handfuls)
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
5 or 6 peppadews coarsely chopped
a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

For the Turkey Steaks:
400g of thinly sliced turkey (about 1 1/4 pound)
360g of Parmegiano Reggiano Cheese, grated coarsely on large holes
of a box grater (about 2 cups)
freshly ground black pepper
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

First make the relish.  Chop the cherry tomatoes into quarters and place them into a bowl, along with the chopped red onion and peppadew peppers.  Chop the parsley coarsely and toss in along with a few pinches of coarse sea salt and a good grind of black pepper.  Drizzle with a bit of Olive oil and toss together.  Set aside to macerate while you cook the turkey.

 If your turkey steaks are not of equal thickness, place them between two sheets of cling film and flatten them with a rolling pin, until they are all the same thickness.  Be judicious as you don't want to tear your meat.  Place the Parmesan cheese into a large shallow bowl.  Season the turkey steaks generously with black pepper on both sides  Press each side of the steaks into the cheese, pressing it onto the turkey with your fingers to help it to stick.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet, over medium high heat.  Add the turkey steaks,a few at a time, and cook for several minutes on each side until the cheese is crisp and golden brown, and the juices run clear.  Be careful not to over cook them.  Don't turn over before the first side is golden brown in colour.  Keep warm and repeat with the rest,  until you have cooked all the turkey steaks.

Place the turkey steaks onto a heated platter and spoon some of the relish over top to serve.  Pass the rest at the table.

 

It never hurts to have something in the house that you can pick up for a quick breakfast on those mornings that you are in a rush and don't have a lot of time for faffing about. Something that you can put together at the weekend, store and then rely on  for a tasty and filling breakfast on-the-go during those busy weekdays that we all have far too often!

 

This is one of my old reliables from my Big Blue Binder. Not only is it delicious, but it's also very, very healthy and  virtually fat free, believe it or not!   That can't be bad!  Free from fat and abundant in flavour. It's win/win!!

 

Chock full of goodness, with hearty oats and wholemeal flour (if you so choose), the sweetness of honey and a bit of brown sugar, toasted nuts, and sweet/tart dried cherries and apricots.  There is only a slight hint of cinnamon flavour, which of course you could increase if you really wanted to.



I like to add an optional glaze of lemon juice and granulated sugar as a personal  preference.  It also helps to keep the nuts on the cake.  I just use about a quarter cup of golden caster sugar and the  juice of half a lemon, which I pour over the cake as soon as I take it out of the oven.



This is a sturdy bread, which makes it a lovely breakfast bread, and quite suitable for toasting under the grill.
It is also a great picnic bread, sliced and put together with some cream cheese in the middle.  Oh so scrummy!

 

I bake it up, slice it into slices, then put it back together with pieces of parchment paper between the slices and then I freeze it in an airtight plastic container.  That way all I have to do is to grab out as many slices as I am wanting to serve and the rest stays safe in the freezer ready to  indulge in at another time.

 

I do hope you'll give this delicious breakfast bread a try.  I think you'll agree with me.  It's a real winner!  Oh, I do so love dried cherries and apricots.  They are my only weakness . . .



*Dried Cherry, Apricot and Almond Breakfast Loaf*
Makes one 2 1/4 pound loaf
Printable Recipe

Perfect to bake at the weekend and then serve for breakfasts during the week, toasted and spread with a bit of butter and honey.

50g old fashioned rolled oats (1/2 cup)
300ml of semi skim milk, warmed (a generous 1 1/4 cups)
240g of self raising flour (2 cups)  (You can use white or wholemeal, depending
on how healthy you want this to be.)
1 tsp baking powder
125g of dried cherries (3/4 cup)
50g of diced dried apricots (1/3 cup)
75g of soft light brown sugar (1/3 cup packed)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 TBS Acacia honey (runny)
1 large free range egg, beaten
5 TBS flaked toasted almonds, divided

Preheat the oven to 180*C./350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter and line a 2 1/4 pound loaf tin with baking paper.  Set aside.

Measure the oats and fruit into a large bowl.  Add the warm milk.  Allow to stand for about 10 minutes before proceeding.  Sift the flour, cinnamon and baking powder together onto a piece of parchment paper.  Stir the brown sugar, honey and beaten egg into the oat mixture.  Stir in the flour mixture, mixing together well.  Fold in 3 TBS of the almonds.  Spread the batter into the lined tin, smoothing the top over.  Sprinkle the remaining 2 TBS of flaked almonds on top.

Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until the loaf is risen, golden brown adn a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.  Store in an airtight container. 

To serve, cut into slices and lightly toast under the grill.  Butter and serve with a drizzle of honey.  (Of course you can always just cut it into slices to eat plain.  It's good either way.)

I was recently invited to participate in a competition being hosted by British Turkey alongside Peppadew to find Britian's best recipe blogger.  They asked me if I would mind devising a dish using both British Turkey and Peppadew peppers.  The winner will be crowned at the British Turkey Awards being held at the Savoy this September.

 

I love figuring out new recipes and new ways to use things, so I was quite happy to comply.  We eat a lot of turkey in this house and we love Peppadew peppers.  A pizza just isn't a pizza for me unless I have chopped peppadew's on it, and as a woman who is always trying to keep my weight down, turkey is a natural and healthy choice.

 

We are great lovers of turkey burgers, so I thought I would create a tasty turkey burger.  We also love hot Buffalo Wings, but they are bad, bad, bad for you.  All that fat and skin, is a no no.  I decided that I would try to create a tasty turkey burger which would encompass a lot of the delicious flavours from Buffalo Wings and yet at the same time remain relatively healthy.

 

I think I might have just managed it.  These turkey burgers are not only incredibly delicious but wonderfully moist.

 

I flavoured them well with a delicious combination of warm spices and herbs . . . along with some grated onion and finely chopped celery and Peppadews.  The Peppadews give them a little bit of sweet heat and colour.  I browned them and then pan basted the finished burgers in a delicious buttery hot pepper pan sauce.  This is where the real heat comes from . . . but it's not obnoxiously hot, just tasty hot.

 

Popped onto toasted buns with some lettuce and drizzled with a tangy blue cheese dressing, these are fabulously tasty and satisfying on many levels.  Todd declared them the best turkey burger he's ever tasted!

 

That made me smile.  I do hope you will give them a try.  I think you just might agree.  That would make me smile too.  ☺  Delicious, easy and the perfect choice for a family pleasing supper any time of year.

 

 *Buffalo Turkey Burgers*
Makes 4 servings
Printable Recipe

Moist and delicious turkey burgers with a bit of a bite, sauced with a lovely blue cheese dressing and served on a toasted bun.  Fabulous!

500g of lean turkey mince (about 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey), at room temperature
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp dried savoury
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried sage leaves
pinch of fennel seeds
pinch of coriander seed
pinch cayenne pepper
generous grating nutmeg
1 TBS finely grated fresh onion
1 stalk of celery, along with it's leaves, very finely chopped
4 peppadew mild pickled peppers, finely chopped

To Baste:
2 TBS unsalted butter, melted
2 fluid ounces hot sauce (1/4 cup.  I used Cholula)

For the Sauce:
250ml of prepared ranch dressing (I used Newman's)
4 ounces of crumbled blue cheese (1/2 cup)

To finish:
Toasted buns
fresh lettuce leaves
Celery sticks (optional)

 

Whisk together the ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles.  Cover and chill.

Place all of the herbs and spices into the bowl of your pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder.  Place the turkey mince in a bowl.  Add the ground spice mixture and mix together well with your hands, using a gentle touch.  Stir in the grated onion, chopped celery and chopped peppadews.  Mix together gently.  Shape into 4 equal sized patties.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Spritz with a bit of oil.  Add the turkey patties.  Cook, for six minutes per side, until nicely browned and the juices run clear.  Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Wipe any residue out of the pan with paper towels.  Add the butter and hot sauce.  Melt together, swirling gently.  Add the turkey patties back to the pan and turn to coat well with the hot sauce/butter mixture.  Keep warm.

Split your buns, lightly butter if desired and toast under a hot grill.

Place the bun bottoms onto each of 4 plates.  Top each with some fresh lettuce leaves and one turkey pattie.  Spoon some of the blue cheese sauce over top.  Add the toasted top of the bun on the side. Garnish with some potato crisps and celery stalks if desired.  Serve hot.



Peppadews are delicious whole sweet and piquante peppers.  This type of piquante pepper was first discovered in early 1993. The name is derived from "Pepper" and "dew". The flavour of the Peppadew fruit is sweet, with mild heat, that is not at all unpleasant. The fruit is processed for removal of the seeds and reduction of the heat, and then pickled and bottled, with a most delicious result.  We love them!  They are available in the pickle section of most grocery shops.

When I was a child, it was a real treat if my mum made us fried potatoes for supper. She didn't prepare them very often, but when she did we were in seventh heaven!!

She always used leftover cold boiled potatoes, which she would peel, and then slice very thin. Next she would heat butter in her old wearever aluminum skillet and add the potato slices, only adding as many as would fit into it at one time, in an even layer.



She'd stand there patiently turning them over and over in the butter, until they were gilded golden brown and crispy all over. Seasoned simply with some salt and pepper, there was no better taste on earth or in heaven!!



There were never enough. We could have eaten them until they came out of our ears. My poor mum. She really did stand and slave over a hot stove to make them for us. What a treasure she was and is!!



I still make fried potatoes from time to time, but I don't use leftover boiled potatoes now. I have found that if you cut them up and then cook them in a pan with a lid on for about 8 minutes or so, that is long enough to cook them through and then you can begin the business of browning them.




I don't pare them either, leaving the skins on for extra taste and fibre. I also probably don't use as much butter as she did either, my modern day healthy conscience not allowing me to indulge that whim to it's fullest . . . They are still a rare treat, and they are still a deliciously scrummy treat. Once in a blue moon? Why not!!



Paired up with some deliciously lean Danish Bacon Chops they make a fabulous supper dish. A poached or fried egg goes fabulously with this as well, if you are feeling really indulgent.

Well . . . what are you waiting for??? Go ahead, you only live once!! (And you can take each other out for a long walk afterwards!)




*Bacon Chops and Fried Potatoes*
Serves 2

The amounts I am giving here are for two people, but can be very easily multiplied to serve more. It's a no brainer really.

2 danish bacon chops, cut about 1/2 inch thick
12 new potatoes, washed, thencut in half and then sliced into half moons
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 knob of butter and a splash of oil
salt and black pepper to taste (Go easy on the salt as bacon can be salty)

Prepare your vegetables. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add the butter and oil. Once the butter starts to foam, toss in the potatoes and onions, and stir to coat them with the butter/oil. Lower heat and then cover with a lid. Cook for about 8 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove lid and increase the heat, and cook, stirring until they begin to brown. Push the potatoes to the side and add the bacon chops. Cook them for about five minutes per side, until nicely browned and cooked through. Season the potatoes to taste with a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Divide amongst two heated plates and serve.

Note - an egg goes very well with this if you really want to go whole hogg!!

 

 On Saturday afternoons, I usually like to bake us a little bit of a treat.  Sometimes it's something which is spectacularly decadent, and other times it's something simple . . .

 

But, you know . . . simple doesn't necessarily mean that it's not spectacular does it???  This beautiful loaf here today is a hidden gem.  Quick and easy to make . . . but oh soooooooo moreishly scrummy.

 

It bakes up nice and moist . . . the moistness coming from the muscovado sugar . . .which also helps to give it a beautiful colour



Then there is that lovely warm and spicy flavour that comes from a hint of cinnamon in the batter . . . oh, this does smell heavenly when it is baking.  One can hardly wait for it to come out of the oven . . .  you don't have to wait too long though, as it bakes up rather quickly for a loaf, only 30 to 35 minutes in total . . . not long at all.

 

This is when the patience comes in though . . . because you then take a nice warm, maple and cinnamon flavoured syrup and pour it gently over the whole loaf . . . allowing it to settle in and make itself at home, which only adds to the moistness and the overall appeal of this lovely loaf.

 

You will want to be patient though and allow it to cool completely before you slice into it.  This gives time for all that lovely syrup to soak deep into the loaf, adding a furhter dimension of tastiness . . . that as a whole makes it very, very scrummy indeed.

 

Can this get any better???  I think not!!!



Wait . . . sliced and spread with softened butter . . . you are in heavenly bliss.  Trust me.  Heavenly . . . buttery, cinnamony, moist loaf cake bliss.  Quite simply impossible to resist.

 

*Cinnamon Drizzle Loaf*
Makes one 9 by 4 inch loaf
serving 8 people
Printable Recipe

A delicious loaf..  Moist and lightly spiced with cinnamon with a scrummy cinnamon/maple flavour drizzle which is poured over the warm cake, soaking in and making it even scrummier!

175g butter, softened (3/4 cup)
85g of caster sugar (1/3 cup)
85g of dark muscovado sugar (7 TBS)
3 large free range eggs, beaten
1 heaped tsp of ground cinnamon
175g of sifted self raising flour (1 1/2 cups)

For the drizzle:
125ml of pure maple syrup
1 large cinnamon stick broken in half
3 TBS water

Preheat the oven to 180*C./350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a 9 by 4 inch loaf tin and line with parchment paper.  Butter the paper.

Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and creamy.  (You may have to rub the muscovado sugar with your fingers first to break up any lumps)  Beat in the eggs, a little bit at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Sift together the flour and cinnamon.  Gently fold this into the creamed mixture with a large metal spoon, using a cutting motion, until all is amalgamated.  Spoon into the  prepared loaf tin, smoothing the top over.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake is risen and springs back when gently touched on the top, or a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

While the cake is baking, about 5 minutes before the cake is done, combine all the drizzle ingredients in a small saucepan and gently heat until it all smells cinnamony.  Remove the cinnamon stick and set aside for the moment.

Pour the drizzle syrup over top of the warm cake, allowing it to soak in as you pour.  Allow to cool in the pan completely, before turning out onto a serving plate.  If desired you may decorate with the cinnamon stick pieces, but do remove before serving.  Cut into slices to serve.

 

 awww . . . don't you just want to give her a teensie weensie bite???  She is also very hard to resist!

As luck would have it I began my weekend with some fresh raspberries that I wanted to use up and a stale loaf that was not in it's prime. The weekend is usually a time when we have ourselves a bit of a treat for breakfast and so I decided to do us a baked french toast casserole, but with a bit of a difference . . .



Baked French Toast casseroles are a little bit like bread puddings I think . . . not quite as sweet, but it's a very fine line that divides them in my opinion.



Whilst one is a total pudding/dessert . . . the other is meant to be a main course . . . and what a lovely main course it can be.



I like to think it's a bit healthier . . . baking your French Toast rather than frying it . . . don't you??? There is not a lot of butter used, except to butter the baking dish, and of course you could opt to use a really healthy kind of bread if you really wanted to . . .



But if you are like me, in for a penny in for a pound. A sturdy white loaf works beautifully. With a layer of Maple syrup on the bottom of the dish, a vanilla and lemon flavoured custard . . . tart red raspberries scattered throughout, and a crisp crunch on top of demerara sugar, this is a winner on all counts.



Of course you could be really hedonistic and top your serving with a huge dollop of clotted cream . . . but I'm being good these days. Low Fat Greek Yoghurt was my choice of topping today.



Delicious. Simple. Easy. Satisfying. The perfect Saturday morning breakfast.



*Baked French Toast with Berries*
Serves 6 to 8
Printable Recipe

Who doesn't love French Toast, or Eggy Bread as it is sometimes called. This is a simple easy version that is delicious and allows you to enjoy some time with your family and guests rather than keeping you chained to the stove.

750ml milk (a generous 3 cups)
4 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp softened butter
80ml of pure Maple Syrup (approximately 1/3 cup)
8 to 10 slices of day old bread, crusts removed and torn into chunks
2 handfuls of berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, black currants, etc.)
2 TBS demerara sugar (turbinado)

To serve:
Greek Yoghurt or Clotted Cream

Prreheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 10 inch round oven proof casserole dish. Set aside.

Whisk together the milk, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla.

Drizzle the maple syrup over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with a layer of bread. Scatter some berries over top of the bread. Top with another layer of bread, and berries. Repeat until all is used up, making sure you have some berries on top. Pour the egg mixture over top. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or so. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until set and lightly browned. Serve warm with some Greek Yoghurt or if you are really feeling indulgent, clotted cream.