"Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love."
~Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, 19th century French Diplomat, on how he liked his coffee

If you are a purveyor of facts and witticisms concerning all things to do with the kitchen, eating and cooking have I found the book for you!  I was recently sent this lovely little book, The Kitchen Magpie, written by James Steen, and I have fallen completely in love with it.

As you know I love to cook and eat, but that is not where my fetish for all things food ends . . .  I also have long loved collecting little tidbits of folklore and fascinating facts about the same.   Yes, I am the person that not only wants to know why the chicken crossed the road, but what it did when it got there, and yes . . .  I often sit and have conversations with myself trying to figure out just what it was the inspired the first person to combine eggs, sugar, flour and leavening to create the first cake.

"You crack an egg and some of the shell falls into the mixing bowl.  Don't worry, don't fret and don't dip your fingers in to retrieve the piece of shell.  Simply place the shell in your hand into the bowl and close to the fragment.  Magnetism brings the two back together and the broken piece can be easily removed from the bowl."

If you are playing trivial pursuit and you fall upon questions to do with anything culinary, I'm your man, or woman as it were!

 

And I am not alone . . . in James Steen I have found a kindred spirit as it were.   He's as obsessed with all of this stuff as I am, difference being he had enough forethought to write and compile it all into a wonderfully witty and entertainingly interesting book!!

With 22 chapters covering everything from kitchen First Aid to The Cheese Board, it is a wealth of information, with handy tips and hints, curiosities and scrumptious contributions from Mary Berry, Michel Roux Junior, James Martin, Antonio Carluccio, Marco Pierre White, Ken Hom and many others.

Have you ever wondered why you can eat the blue mould in cheese and not on bread?  How do you cure the Black Death?  Wanted to make Pizza but don't have an oven?  Why the best raspberries come from Scotland?  Who was the reluctant cook who wrote a best seller?  What is the world's best hangover cure?

All these questions and many, many more are answered on the pages of this delightfully entertaining and informing little book.  I just love it!  It IS a delicious melange of culinary curiosities, fascinating facts, amazing anecdotes and expert tips for the food-lover!

The Kitchen Magpie
Author:  James Steen
Published by Icon Books UK
ISBN 978-184831663-8
UK £12.99  Canada $22.99  USA $22.95
Published 15 May, 2014

It is also available as an e-book £7.99

Follow James Steen on twitter @jamesssteen100

James Steen is an award-winning journalist, food writer, author and ghostwriter. He has a deep fascination for both the cook and cooking, and collaborates with great chefs.  He ghosted the autobiographies of Marco Pierre White (The Devil in the Kitchen), Raymond Blanc (A Taste of My Life" and Keith Floyd (Stirred But Not Shaken).  His other books include Marco Made Easy and Kitchen Secrets.  He is a consultant to small-but-pioneering food companies, and contributes to a wide variety of publications.  James lives in London with his wife Louise and their children, Charlie, Billy and Daisy.

 



National Vegetarian Week will soon be upon us so what better time to try out some meat-free meals. To celebrate all things vegetarian, Very Lazy and The English Provender Co. have come up with some veggie-friendly recipes that will please friends and family and let those meat-eaters in on what they’re missing.

Taking place from Monday 19th to Sunday 25th May National Vegetarian Week is a chance to try out some new dishes and experiment with some fantastic flavours. With the help of Very Lazy and The English Provender Company why not cook up some tempting recipes as part of healthy meat-free lifestyle.




Makes 8 pies 
Printable Recipe 

A delicious seasonal vegetarian pie. 

30g butter (2 TBS)
 250g field or chestnut mushrooms, sliced (generous half pound)
 1 tsp Very Lazy chili (optional)
 1 tsp Very Lazy garlic
 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
 3 tbsp English Provender wild cranberry sauce
 70g stilton, crumbled (Generous half cup)
 100g chestnuts, crumbled (1 cup)
 375g ready rolled shortcrust pastry (1/2 pound)
 1 medium free-range egg yolk, beaten  

Preheat the oven to 200*C/4))*F/ gas mark 6.  

Melt the butter in a frying pan. Fry the mushrooms over a high heat until soft. Add the garlic and chili and cook for another 40 seconds.  Place in a mixing bowl and stir in the rosemary, wild cranberry, stilton and chestnuts. 

Cut out 8  (4-inch) circles from the pastry and place in a muffin tin. Place 2 tbsp of filling into each pastry case. Cut out 8  (3 1/2 inch) circles and press these lids onto the pies. Brush with egg, then cut small steam holes in the lids. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.  




*Caramelized Red Onion and Feta Tartlettes*


Forget hours of gentle simmering, our Very Lazy Caramelised Red Onions allow you five more minutes leisure time. As featured in Delia's - How to Cheat at Cooking!   RRP £1.79

 

Naturally delicious with traditional roast turkey and the perfect accompaniment to duck, goat's cheese and even apple pie.  RRP £1.89

For more information and more recipes do check out English Provender.

 

I had some French Bread that needed using up today and I fancied some French Toast for breakfast. But I didn't want the same old same old.

 

I thought I might like to stuff it . . . but once again, I didn't want the same old, same old.  Then I spied a tasty jar of lemon curd in my cupboard.  (I usually make my own, but I always have a jar of ready made to hand as well, coz . . . I'm a lemon curd addict!!)

 

I've seen French Toast stuffed with fruit and cheese and ham and all sorts, but I've never seen one stuffed with lemon curd . . . and so I thought I thought why not!!  I'll go for it!

 

And so I did . . . stuff it with lemon curd that is.  And deliciously so . . .

 

I served it up with some fresh Strawberries.

 

It was good . . . very, very goooood!  'Nuff said.



*Lemon Stuffed French Toast*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A wonderful way to use up stale bread, with a tangy lemon curd filling.  Serve with some golden syrup and fresh berries for a delightful breakfast treat!

One (16 ounce) loaf of french bread, unsliced
295ml of milk (1 1/4 cup)
3 large free range eggs
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
a jar of lemon curd
unsalted butter and vegetable oil for cooking

To finish:
Icing sugar to dust
an assortment of fresh berries
golden syrup (optional)



Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 2.  Butter a baking sheet.  Set aside.

Cut the bread into  8 equal sized, each about 1 inch thick.  Cut a pocket into each  piece of bread, using a serrated knife, carefully slicing into, but not all the way through.  Spoon about 1 dessertspoon full of lemon curd into the pocket created in each piece of bread.

Whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Dunk the stuffed slices of bread into the egg mixture, allowing them to soak it up for several minutes, turning to coat it evenly on both sides.  You want it saturated, but not falling apart.

Warm 1 TBS of butter and 1 TBS of oil together in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.  Cook the slices of stuffed bread in the heated fat until golden brown and lightly crisp on one side, flip over carefully and brown and crisp the other side.  Place them onto the prepared baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remainder, using more butter and oil as necessary.

When all the toast is ready, place it onto heated plates and dust lightly with icing sugar.  Serve immediately with some fresh berries and  golden syrup (if desired.)

Todd just loves his Banger's and Mash. If I want to make him happy, that's all I have to cook up. He could eat them more than once every week!



I do think they have lovely sausages over here in the UK. . . well the best quality ones at any rate. The el cheapo ones are just plain nasty . . . but you could say the same thing about cheap sausages anywhere in the world. Full of fat and fillers, they are just horrible. There's no denying it.



But there is nothing tastier or more beautiful than a really good Butcher's sausage. I've said it before and I'll say it again . . . you can tell a good Butcher by the quality of his sausages!! We've got the best here in town, I think. R & J Dodd . . . there, I said it!



I picked up a pound of his lovely Pork and Chive sausages yesterday and I wanted to do something special with them, without destroying Todd's fancy . . . you know the old Banger's and Mash thing.



Anyhoo . . . I took the premise and I ran with it, glazing the sausages in a deliciously sticky sweet, fruity and spicy glaze and pimped the mash up with some chives and buttermilk. I love taking the boundaries of the traditional and stretching them!



Todd thoroughly enjoyed. Mission accomplished. He didn't even miss the Bisto.



*Sticky Bangers with Buttermilk and Chive Mash*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This ain't yo mama's bangers and mash!

1 pound good quality butcher's sausages
2 dessert spoons of mango chutney
2 dessert spoons of apricot preserves
2 dessert spoons of grainy Dijon mustard

For the mash:
2 pounds floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
( a maris piper, or a russet type of potato)
2 ounces milk (1/4 cup)
2 ounces butter (1/4 cup)
4 to 6 ounces of buttermilk (1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1 bunch of chives, finely chopped
salt and black pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add about a TBS of oil or less, just enough to coat the pan and allow it to heat up. Add the sausages in one layer, reduce the heat to medium and cook, turning frequently, until nicely browned all over and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime place the potatoes into a pot of lightly salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until fork tender and then drain well. Place back into the saucepan and shake over the residual heat of the burner to dry out. Mash well with a potato masher. Beat in the milk, butter and buttermilk until ight and fluffy. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the chives. Keep warm.

Stir together the mango chutney, preserves and mustard. Turn up the heat under the pan of sausages. Pour the mango mixture over top. Heat to a boil and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the sausages are lightly glazed and sticky, but not burnt. Remove from the heat.

Divide the sausages and the mash amongst 4 heated plates and serve immediately along with your favourite vegetable. (Todd likes peas and carrots. He's so predictable!)

Season the slices of chicken breast to taste and dredge lightly with flour, patting it into the meat and shaking off any excess.  Heat another splash of olive oil in the pan.   Add the sage and cook for about a minute and then add the chicken slices, presentation side down.   Fry over medium high heat until they are golden and then flip them over and brown the other sides.

Add the wine and return the tomatoes to the pan along with the capers and parsley.  Let it bubble up a bit and evaporates somewhat.   Cover with a lid and set aside off the heat for several minutes before serving.   The juices of the chicken should run clear.   Divide between two heated dinner plates.  I like to serve with boiled and buttered new potatoes. Simple and delicious.

Note - This can easily be doubled or even tripled if you have a pan large enough.   Don't worry about the wine, it bubbles off.  If you really don't want to use it you can use chicken stock, or even water.

 

I usually always have puff pastry lurking in my freezer.  It's one of my store cupboard ingredients and it comes in really handy for both sweet and savory bakes.  It makes a lovely topping on a pot pie and it makes beautiful sweet scrolls . . . like these delicious Sunny Morning Scrolls.



I had a jar of lemon curd in the refrigerator that needed using up and we have had such a run of beautiful sunny days recently, I decided to put the two together and came up with these delicious Breakfast pastries.

 

They were very easy to make.  You just unroll your puff pastry and spread it with some lemon curd to the edges . . . easy enough.   Then I chopped some sultana raisins and toasted pecan nuts together in the mini chopper and sprinkled them on top of the lemon curd, prior to rolling it all up in a nice tight roll.



After  that I used a nice sharp knife to cut the roll into 8 thick slices and placed them onto a paper lined baking tray.  Still easy, right?   Smush them down a tiny bit with the palm of your hand and brush them with an egg wash.  (An egg yolk beaten with a bit of water, simple.)   A final sprinkle of crunchy demerara (turbinado) sugar and they were ready to be baked.



In all honesty I am a bit like a child when I have something like this in the oven, watching them puff up as they bake, through the glass in the oven window.  It's like magic.



Once baked I create lemon drizzle icing to drizzle over them, sort of like gilding the lily I suppose.  They would have been quite lovely without it, but with it . . . well . . . see for yourself.  Is that not magnifique???   Are you drooling yet?  I thought so!  Just like little rays of sunshine.  Fresh flavours.  Easy to make.  So delicious!

 

Put your pecans and sultanas into a food processor and blitz a couple times until they are coarsely chopped.  Set aside.



Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.  Remove from the oven.  Let stand on the baking sheet for about 5  minutes then scoop off onto a wire rack.  Whisk together the glaze ingredients, adding only enough lemon juice to the sugar to make a drizzable mixture.  You may only need about a teaspoon of juice.  Drizzle decoratively over top of the buns.   Serve warm.

Delicious indeed!!

Generally speaking at the weekend I like to bake the Toddster a delicious teatime treat.  Something that I know he will enjoy and that I wouldn't normally bake for him.  He's very fond of scones . . . the problem is so am I.   What to do about that??  I don't know.  I bake em anyways, even if they do get in my mouth.

 

This is a simple recipe, using ordinary things and my most favourite ingredient of all fresh blueberries.  So good for you with their vitamins and anti-oxidents!    Once the dough is made for these you just pat it into a round, place it on the baking sheet and then cut it into wedges, pushing them apart gently for baking.  So good.

 

They bake like a dream and there is no faffing about with cutting them into rounds etc,  all the dough gets used up, so there's no waste.  No tough scones from having to re-roll and cut, etc.



These puff up really nicely, and are stogged full of lovely coconut and lime flavours which go really well with the blueberries.

 

These are beautiful served with a nice cuppa and some blueberry jam . . .  but lemon curd is my chosen poison, and I eat it whenever I can.   I know . . . I'm repeating myself here, but blueberries and lemon are such perfect partners!



Just look at that crisp  coconut and sugar gilding  the top of these delicious bakes!  So good!



And all those blueberries.   So tasty!  Nice.  Nice.



The delicate crunch of coconut and sugar, the sweetness of blueberries, the tang of lime.   What's not to like about these??

 

Store in an airtight container.