(Yes, this IS my kitchen.)

I posted a question on my Facebook Page a few days ago asking people what they wanted to see here on the blog.  I was really pleased with the answers I got and happily I had already cooked some of the things you wanted to see so I have created a bit of a round up of those ones here today.  The rest I will have to cook one at a time as my budget and time fits!

Also if you didn't particpate in that survey on my Facebook Page, feel free to post your requests in the comments section at the bottom of this post.  I will endeavor to fulfil them at some point!



Someone asked for a good risotto recipe.   This is a recipe for a really delicious oven baked Chicken and Broccoli Risotto.  Not traditional, but very good.  The recipe for that is HERE.  



Then there is my recipe for a dessert type of risotto . . . Vanilla Risotto with Oven Roasted Pears.   You can find that recipe HERE.  It's really good.  You will want to have small firm pears for this.



This is my recipe for a Traditional Victorian Sponge or Victorian Sandwich cake as it is sometimes called.  You can choose to use all butter in it if you wish, or half butter and half margarine.   All butter will yield a slightly heavier cake.  Both versions are good.  It all depends on whether you are a purist or not.   The cake you see here was made with half and half.  You can find my recipe HERE.



Rice Pudding comes in several different kinds.  This one is one which is cooked on top of the stove and is simply rice and a bit of sweetener and milk.  You can find that recipe HERE.  It is quite simple to make and is really very good, if I don't say so myself.  



Then there is this version, which is a Danish recipe which I clipped out of a newspaper yonks ago and is my absolute favourite rice pudding.  It, too, is cooked on top of the stove, but includes a delicious cherry sauce and is flavoured with almond, cinnamon and cardamon.  You can find that recipe HERE.



Then there is this absolutely delicious version of rice pudding which is baked in the oven.  This is Todd's favourite one.  It too is simple and very creamy.   You can find that recipe HERE.  

Someone asked for a good recipe for Yorkshire Puddings.  Over here you can buy them ready made and compared to homemade they are not quite as good.  Homemade ones are infinitely better.   This is my FIL's recipe.  He was a career cook in the Canadian Military and these are THE best.   Seriously.  But you have to follow the directions exactly.



*Yorkshire Puddings*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

I wonder who it was that discovered that with just a little flour, milk  and eggs you could create something that is so crispy, light and delicious!  Sunday lunch just wouldn't be Sunday lunch without a couple of these on the plate.  These turn out perfect every time, as long as you follow the directions to a "T."  Not hard to do really as they are very simple.

2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups milk, at room temperature (315ml)
1 cup flour (140g)
a little oil or dripping

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before beginning.  Beat your eggs together in a large measuring jug until very light.  Whisk in the milk.  Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt.  Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients all at once, pouring them into the well, and then whisk them in, slowly incorporating the dry mixture from the sides until you have a smooth batter.  Now, this is the important bit . . . COVER IT AND LET IT SIT ON THE SIDEBOARD FOR ONE HOUR.

Preheat your oven to 230*C/450*F. .  Place a small amount of oil or dripping into each cup of a 12 cup muffin tin.  Place the tin into the hot oven to heat up until the fat is hot and sizzling.  remove from the oven and quickly divide the batter amongst each muffin cup, filling them about 2/3 full.  Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until well risen, browned and crispy, reducing the oven temperature by 10 degrees every five minutes.  Serve hot with plenty of gravy!!


 

Toad in the Hole was a recipe which I posted in the very early days of this blog, hence the picture which is not so good.  I've learned a LOT since then, but that doesn't mean that this recipe isn't delicious.  You can find my recipe for it HERE.   You can't beat a tasty Toad in the Hole with Mash for a super supper, with plenty of bisto gravy.   Stodgy, delicious and comforting!



Then there was Sausage and Bacon Toad in the Hole.   A delicious version made in individual casserole dishes, with sausages wrapped in bacon, wedges of onion and of course that crispy batter pudding base.   Fabulous with mash and gravy.  You can find the recipe HERE.  



A delicious invention of mine called Pundit Pudding, which is a mixed grill served in a plate sized Yorkshire pudding.  There is a piece of tasty rump steak, a grilled sausage, some gammon and a small chop served in each yorkshire pudding, along with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes,  with plenty of gravy, greens and potatoes on the side.  Not for the faint of heart.  Find that recipe HERE.  



Beer Battered Fish.   You can't beat a tasty Friday night supper of fish and chips.  This is a lovely  batter for on fish.   Light and crisp with beautifully flakey and moist fish inside.   Find that recipe HERE. 



And to go with it the tastiest Tartar Sauce you could ever want to eat.   Right HERE.  Rich and creamy and filled with herbs, capers, gerkins and just a touch of horseradish sauce for a bit of a spark!  We love this.  Once you have tried it, nothing else will do!

When you are ready to fry your chips heat your fat to 120*C/250*F.  Add the chips in batches, without crowding the pan.   Blanch in the fat for 5 minutes, just until cooked through.   Remove, pat dry and drain on paper toweling.  Once you have blanched all the chips raise the temperature of the fat to 160*C/320*F.  Fry the chips again until crisp and golden brown.  Drain well, season with some salt and serve immediately.

That's it for this time, but stay tuned as I will be cooking up all of your other requests soon! 

 

I have to say that one of the Toddster's favourite meals has to be a good old pork chop.   Nice and thick, with a good round of fat along one edge.  I like to slash the fat at 1/2 inch intervals.   This helps the chops to lay nice and flat in the skillet when I cook them, and it gets all crispy and brown too.  I confess that I am not adverse to treating myself to a small bit of that succulent crispness  . . . I know, naughty girl.



I think the most delicious and succulent pork chops are the old fashioned bone in rib cut. You get the tender loin meat along with some tasty rib bits that are just yum yum yum!

I happened to be in the grocery store the other day picking up a rib roast for work, when I noticed the meatman cutting up a rack of pork into chops and they were just so darned good looking I had to pick up a couple for Todd and myself.

You know how it goes . . .



Anyways, these were absolutely wonderful. I cooked them up yesterday, all panfried and nicely browned, with crispy bits of fat clinging to the edges, and then finally roasted with some lightly sauteed apples laid out on top and crumbly bits of stilton.

Fabulous, darlings . . . just fabulous. A real marriage made in heaven . . .




*Perfect Pork Chops with Apples, Sage and Stilton*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is simple but impressive and gives you perfectly cooked pork chops every time. I like to use a good porkchop, like a rack pork chop. Delicious!

4 8-ounce pork chops, preferably free range
sea salt (I like to use smoked)
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and sliced into thick wedges
1 TBS butter
fresh sage leaves
3 1/2 ounces of good Stilton cheese, crumbled



Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Slash the pork fat along the edge of the chops all the way to the meat. Fan open. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add some olive oil and allow it to heat while you season your chops well on both sides. Cook the chops in the hot oil until they are golden brown on both sides and the fat is crispy, some 3 to 4 minutes. I always hold them up with a pair of tongs fat side down to make sure the fat gets really crispy. Remove them to a shallow metal baking dish. Add the butter to the pan and then add the apples. Fry gently until golden, but still fairly solid. Fan these out on top of each pork chop. Scatter some sage leaves over top. Place into the oven and roast for 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven, scatter the stilton over top. Pop back into the oven long enough to melt the cheese.



I like to fry some tender sage heads in the pan drippings until crispy and garnish the finished dish with them.

One might be forgiven for thinking that this looks quite un-remarkable . . . boring and understated . . . plain and un-imposing . . . proof positive that you must never judge a book by it's cover . . . for if you were to . . .



Judge this particular book by it's cover . . . and give it a pass, you'd be missing something quite, quite wonderfully delicious.



For underneath that plain brown wrapper, lies one of the most beautifully moist and delicious banana loaves you could ever want to eat . . . each bite is an explosion of wonderful banana flavour, all moist and rich and buttery . . . and if you have added the toasted nuts (and I highly recommend that you do!) you have the added crunch and extra texture of something decidedly scrummy!



It's delicious sliced when cold, and spread with softened butter. It goes down a real treat, I promise you this. But . . . here's a little secret . . .



Pop some into the toaster, or under the grill, and toast it until it is gilded brown and crunchy on the edges . . . then spread it with cold butter . . . the butter melting into all that golden crunch. Just look at those doubly toasted walnuts . . . oh so yummy . . .



The Toddster just loves this.   And, I confess . . . I do too.   I think I would rather have a few toasted and butteres slices of this for breakfast more than anything else . . .  even more than cold pizza.



*Sour Cream Banana Loaf*
Makes one 9 by 5 inch loaf
Printable Recipe

Deliciously moist with a great banana flavour. I like to add toasted walnuts to mine, but you can add pecans or even chocolate chips.

4 ounces butter at room temperature (1/2 cup)
7 ounces caster sugar (1 cup)
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
6 1/2 ounces plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 medium bananas, peeled and mashed
125ml of sour cream (1/2 cup)
Optional:
2 ounces chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (1/2 cup)
or
3 ounces chocolate chips (1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line it with baking paper. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.   Stir in the vanilla.  Whisk together the flour, soda and salt and then stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in the mashed bananas and the sour cream until combined. Stir in the nuts if using. Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth over the top.

Bake for 1 hour until well risen and firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Tip out of the pan onto a wire rack. Carefully peel off the paper and tip back upright. Let cool completely before cutting. Wrap airtight to store.

Note: This is lovely served at room temperature, sliced and spread with butter. Or, toast it in a toaster until the edges get crisp and golden and serve it hot and spread with butter. Delicious!

Prerheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.   Using a heavy based flameproof casserole, brown the sausage in the oil for about 5 minutes.   Remove to a plate.  Add the bacon lardons to the pan along with the onion.   Brown for 5 minutes.  Add the thyme, mushrooms and garlic and cook for several minutes longer, until very fragrant.  Sprinkle with the flour and then slowly whisk in the apple juice.  Bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper.   Return the sausages to the dish, along with any juices.   Cover tightly.   Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.   Serve hot and spooned out onto heated plates along with the buttery mash and veg on the side. 

I love muffins.  I love them even more than cupcakes.   Cupcakes are nice, but they don't stay with you as long as a muffin does.  Muffins are heavier and when you eat one, you feel satisfied.  A muffin is a meal that feels and tastes like a real treat. 

 

I saw a joke poster the other day that said that once you lick the frosting off a cupcake that turns it into a muffin . . . so that made it a healthy option.  I beg to differ on several fronts.  A cupcake can never be a muffin . . . muffins aren't cake.   And a muffin can't be a cupcake, not if it's a true muffin that is . . . they are two completely different animals.  Mind you . . . that is only my opinion.



They also differ greatly when it comes down to mixing them up.   Cupcake batter is mixed like cake batter . . . you cream the fats and sugars together first until light and then you beat in the egg (s) . . . adding the dry and wet ingredient alternately and normally mixing to a smooth batter before putting it into the tin (s).

 

In making a muffin generally you mix together all the dry ingredients together in one bowl . . .  all the wet in a measure . . .  and then you add the wet to the dry and mix just to combine.  Lumps are ok and in fact an overmixed muffin is tough.   The best muffins come from a batter that's only been lightly used and mixed together.  Muffins tend to have a much heavier texture than  cake and taste wonderful served warm with some butter or even jam, depending on the flavour of muffin. Corn muffins served hot with butter AND jam are a marriage made in heaven . . .



I used to own my own coffee shop and I baked and sold tons of muffins each day.  The favourite was the carrot muffins, with the banana ones following closely at their heels.   The third place was a toss up between blueberry muffins and these delicious chocolate chip muffins.   Of course that could vary as well . . . with taste.   Some people would crawl through fire to get a good chocolate chip muffin.

I am one of those.



A Chocolate Chip muffin lover.  These are the best.  I add chopped walnuts to mine and sometimes I even add sultanas . . . but then again I have been known to add those to my chocolate chip cookies too.  It's a matter of taste, but if you are looking for a great basic chocolate chip muffin that is moist, and stogged to the hilt with chocolate chips, look no further.   These chocolate chip muffins are quite simply the best.

In my opinion.

 

11 ounces milk chocolate chips (311g)
1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts, pecans or walnuts (optional) (57g)






Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Generously grease 12 large muffin cups, or line with paper liners.  Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.  Whisk in the sugars, until the mixture is well blended.

In another bowl, stir together the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.  Blend together well.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and then add the milk mixture all at once.  Stir together just to combine.  It doesn't matter if the batter it lumpy.  All you want is the dry ingredients to be moistened.  Fold in the chocolate pieces and the nuts, if using.  Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the tin to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Serve warm.

These also freeze very well.  To re-heat from frozen just pop the frozen muffin into the microwave on a piece of paper toweling and zap it for about 30 seconds.

This is a cake that I have always wanted to try, having seen them in bake shop windows . . . but I never had the dariole type of tin molds that you need to bake them in . . . so I despaired of ever being able to bake them . . . at least until I saw this recipe!



Adapted from the cookery book, Women's Institute Cakes, by Liz Herbert, this particular recipe does away competely with the traditional tin molds!



Baked in ordinary paper muffin cases, these are simple and uncomplicated. There's no buttering or flouring of molds . . .



The paper cases peel very easily off the cakes, which are then simply coated in sieved jam and dessicated coconut.

Mmmm . . . soooooo scrummy yummy!

I hate to admit it, but I inhaled two of them quite accidentally . . . before I knew what was happening.



The rest have been put under lock and key . . .

Unfortunately I have the key, tee hee! (Or should I say luckily!!) I'm soo, soo bad, I know . . .but in a very good way.☺ ☺ ☺




*Cupcake Madeleines*
Makes 14
Printable Recipe

A variation of the traditional English Madeleines, except using paper cases instead of the tin molds normally used. Quite, quite delicious!

4 ounces butter, softened (1/2 cup)
4 ounces soft margarine (tub) (1/2 cup)
4 ounces caster sugar (a generous 1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
4 ounces self raising flour (1 scant cup)
1 TBS milk

For the topping:
2 ounces dessicated coconut (1/2 cup)
4 to 5 TBS red fruit conserve, sieved
7 glace cherries halved

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Place 14 paper muffin cases on a baking tray. Set aside.

Cream together the margarine, butter and sugar until soft and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, making sure each addition is throughly incorporated before proceeding. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour and continue. Once the eggs are completely beaten in, fold in the flour and just enough of the milk to make a soft batter.

Divide the mixture equally amongst the baking cases. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cakes are completely cooled, remove the paper cases. Place the jam into a small bowl and warm slightly in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Place the coconut into another bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin coating of jam over the base and sides of each cake. Roll them into the coconut to coat the jammed surfaces. The top of the cakes is now the bottom. Place on a wire rack to set. Brush the bottom of each of the cherry halves and use to garnish the middle of each cake. Enjoy!!

What a completely miserable yukky day!! It's windy and rainy and not nice at all. Not fit for man nor beast as the Toddster would say . . . a bit depressing wot!

Just the perfect day for a fruity pudding . . . served up all warm and stodgy from the oven.



This is one I found in the Good Granny Cookbook, by Jane Fearnley Wittingstall. This is a favourite book of mine. It's chock full of traditional, family friendly and delicious recipes. Our kind of food.



No pretention. Just plain and simple ingredients presented in a plain and simple way. Tried and true's of a Granny. Wholesome and delicious.



Just the kind of food for a rainy day. Comforting and tasty. This pudding apparently is a Devonshire favourite! That's probably why they recommend Clotted Cream to be served with it.



Mmmm . . . you can't beat a buttery pudding, filled with tart apples and sweet blackberries (my addition) topped with a healthy dollop of rich clotted cream. This was like a little ray of sunshine on a very cloudy and miserable day. It can rain any day it wants to if this is waiting at the end of it all! (ok, maybe not every day.)



*Apple and Blackberry In and Out*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Apparently this is a real favourite in Devon when made with just apples. I added Blackberries because they taste good, and they always look so pretty when paired with apples.

8 ounces self raising flour (2 cups)
4 ounces shredded beef suet (1/2 cup. You can use grated ice cold butter instead)
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
a large handful of blackberries
1/2 pint of milk (about 1 1/4 cups)