Oven Thermometer

Not an exciting blog in any respect but helpful...I hope. Home baking is very much back on the agenda. Even the most fearful cooks are mustering up the courage to bake the odd cake or a batch of scones from time to time but still, there aren't enough of us doing it. I think 'fear' with baking is due to the looming issue of precision and it is true that a few grammes of butter out here or a bit of over beating there can mean the difference between a cloudy-light cake or something that resembles a shot putting discus. After a few baking disasters, most of us give up the ghost and shop for what we need rather than powering through and who can blame us?

You'll be happy to know that it's so often to do with tools and nothing to do with you at all. My own baking revelation came after I invested a couple of quid in an oven thermometer; a gadget you might like the idea of but can't really see the point because your oven temperature gauge does that for you, right? I wish. When I bought my latest oven, everything was going wrong from soggy Yorkshire puddings to cremated parsnips; sure signs that my oven was either firing on all (and then some) cylinders and burning really hot, or, not really getting up to temperature at all.

Needless to say, if your baking is a bit of a damp squib get yourself an oven thermometer. There may well be other baking hurdles but baking at the right temperature is a brilliant place to start.

Good old Lakeland! http://turl.ca/gfbrjo

Cheap as chips. This version from Nisbets will do the job perfectly well too http://turl.ca/udou

Strawberry Shelly Shortcake

I'm not usually one for biscuits; especially bought ones but I love making them and there are of course exceptions to anyone's rule. Shortcake/Shortbread - hay schmay - they're almost identical and much more lovely if you bake them yourself. This recipe doesn't have that condensed sickliness or compacted, pavement slab hardness that I associate with British shortbread. These little sweethearts have a light, crumbly, melt in the mouth texture that is just gorgeous. As it's nearly Valentines I've pushed the boat out and used a heart-shaped cutter (jazz hands) and although 'tis not the season for strawberries, what would Valentines be without them? I'm convinced that if you serve this up for your loved one on Valentines Day, his or her heart will melt...just a little bit. Amore! Amore!

INGREDIENTS:

Shortcake

240g salted butter (room temp)

110g sugar (more for dusting if required)

250g plain flour

30g rice flour

20g corn flour

Macerated Strawberries

500g strawberries (washed, de-hulled & cut in to 1cm sq)

50ml balsamic vinegar

25g icing sugar

Fresh basil (a few finely shredded leaves)

Pink peppercorns (milled)

Double or clotted cream for serving

METHOD:

Shortcake

Turn the oven on to 140 degrees and line a shallow baking tray with baking parchment.

Beat the sugar and butter until light, pale and fluffy. Add the flour in three stages and incorporate to a damp, sandy, semi-ball. Wrap the mixture in cling and set aside at room temperature for half an hour. Lightly dust your work surface with flour, form your mixture in to a roundish shape and roll out to approximately 1cm thickness. Using whatever pastry cutter you have, cut out your shapes and place on the baking parchment. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until pale gold and light. Sprinkle with sugar whilst still warm. I prefer not to do this.

Macerated Strawberries

Mix the shredded basil and chopped strawberries together, lay the mixture onto a plate and drizzle the vinegar over the top. Make sure all the pieces are coated by rolling them around a little bit. Then, dust over the icing sugar and freshly milled pink pepper. Leave for an hour to do their stuff.

ASSEMBLY:

Once your shortcake is cool enough you can start to assemble them along with the strawberries into something worthy of dessert status. Strain the juice from the strawberries and place them on top of the shortcake. If you can make a quenelle of cream to sit on top, go for it. Otherwise, just dollop and go.

TIPS:

*Don't panic if you don't have any pink peppercorns. Black or rainbow work just as well.

*You can make the shortbread a day or two in advance so long as it's kept totally airtight.

*Omit the basil from the maceration of the strawberries if you just can't deal.

Adapted from a recipe by John Campbell

It's cold out! It's hot chocolate time!

I've been making hot chocolate in the same way for as long as I can remember ie as soon as the penny dropped. Some things don't warrant a recipe, they're about preference and they're instinctive. I feel this way about a lot of classic food. I've never in my life looked at a recipe for Yorkshire Pudding, for example. I make them the way my Mum did, and she, the way her Mum did because that's the way we like them. I did however do a little hot chocolate research ahead of a demonstration I'm preparing for and to save you the horror and hassle of producing something that is either laced with sugar, glucose or (heaven forbid) drinking chocolate powder, I decided to share my original and unchanged recipe with you. It's SO easy...there's no weighing, measuring or faffing required and the entire thing takes 5 mins from start to finish.

Needless to say use the best dark (upwards of 65%) chocolate and 100% cocoa powder you can afford and say 'ta ta' right now if you're on a diet ; )

INGREDIENTS:
Full Fat Milk (1 mug per person)
100% Cocoa Powder (1 heaped teaspoon per person/per mug of milk)
Dark Chocolate (1 handful of broken chocolate pieces or buttons per person/per mug of milk)

METHOD:
Pour a roomy mug of milk in to a pan (bar a tiny bit) and turn up the heat.
Heap the cocoa powder into the leftover milk, mix well to create a paste and add to the milk in the pan.
As the milk and cocoa paste warms up a little throw in your chocolate pieces or buttons, very gently stirring all the while until all the pieces have melted.
As soon as the milk begins to boil, turn the heat down to its lowest setting and if you have a mini electric milk whisk give it a good blast for aeration and froth. If not, you can achieve a good aeration by pouring the hot liquid into a flask and shaking it like your life depends!
Pour and slurp

OPTION:

If you absolutely *must* have sugar, add to taste at the end

For an extra indulgent texture, use 1/3 single cream to 2/3 whole milk

If you really feel like going for it, dollop some whipped cream and grated chocolate on top.

TIP:

Make up extra mixture, leave until stone cold and whizz up in a blender with some crushed ice (if required) for the most indulgent chocolate milkshake you've ever tasted. I kid you not.

St Melons

We're approaching summer, I'm in one of my favourite places in England, Whitstable, and I'm craving salty sweetness on a lighter note. After a looooong afternoon sleep today I woke up thirsty and famished. I had all the ingredients to hit the hungry spot and within 5 minutes I was eating.

There's no recipe required for melon and ham. Age-old and thrown together, so long as the melon is tender and juicy and your ham, properly aged and flavoursome you'll have an instant mouthwatering hit on your hands. Just melon and ham no longer satisfies me these days..unless I'm in Spain or Italy eating THE best ingredients at their optimum. I always involve some kind of cheese and a dressing for embellishment...and a maybe a bit of bite.



ingredients:
Aged Serrano or Parma Ham
Cantaloupe Melon
Buffalo Mozzerella
Balsamic Vinegar (Aged and sticky)
Smoked/lightly salted Almonds (flaked or whole)



Method:
Cut half the melon in to nice big chunks
Tear open the mozzerella place on and in between the melon
Drape over the ham however you wish
Drizzle with balsamic and throw over the nuts

To test a Melon for ripeness bang its bottom with the palm of your hand and listen for a hollow sound, it should also feel dense and heavy. If its a corker you'll be able to smell the flesh outside of the rind and the base will give a little when pressed.



Honeydew and Galia melon are also lovely here but I'd steer away from Watermelon. You could also use lovely ripe peaches if melon absolutely isn't your thing and parmesan and rocket work a treat too.

Try these guys for smoked nuts if you don't have a good market close by http://tiny.cc/9m8ae

Trulee it is Brulee

Creme Brulee...gorgeous, velvety, creamy deliciousness and super easy to make using the cooker top method.

I was taught to cook the custard mix in a shallow oven bain marie. I love creme brulee this way but waiting to find out if your custard has any air bubbles around the sides when you take it out of the oven is agony. As far as I'm concerned, a single air bubble ruins the whole experience. The mix can also become too firm which doesn't have a very pleasant mouth feel.

So, here is a really simple way to cook and set the custard without the faff and bother of the bain. You still have to have your wits about you but I promise the results will blow you and your guests away. The texture of this mix is a little different to the bain marie method, more gooey but no less delightful.

I set my custard in something pretty. Any excuse to get my beloved china out and I'm in! You can set yours in any old vessel..even a large one that everyone can dive in to. If you want the sugary topping, make sure it's mega heat proof.



Ingredients: Serves 4
4 large egg yolks
3 tbsp caster sugar (plus more for the top) I usually only go for 2 tbsp because I'm not a sweet fanatic
1 pint/500ml double cream
1 vanilla pod
Raspberrys
Icing sugar

Custard Method:
Heat the cream in a heavy bottomed pan on a moderate heat. While that's on the go beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. When the cream is just below boiling point (important) pour it over the egg and sugar mixture, stirring all the time. Slit open the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds, adding them and the now empty pod to the bowl.
Place the bowl over a pan which is half full of simmering (not boiling) water and stir and scrape with a rubber spatula until the custard thickens. Don't be tempted to put the mix directly on to heat, the whole thing will scramble.
Pass through a sieve into your four vessels.
Once completely cold, cover and chill. To get the best texture from this mix you should make it the day before and chill in a very cold fridge for at least 24 hours.

Sugar Topping Method:
If you have a blow torch just go for it.
If not, put your grill on to its highest setting and wait for at least 15 minutes
Place the pots on a tray (as near to the grill bars as possible) and wait for the sugar to bubble and you're away.

I'm not a fan of the traditional sugary topping - too sweet for me. I eat with raspberries and a fine dusting of icing sugar.

Whodunnit?

Selling my chocolates face to face with my customers is so unbelievably rewarding and invaluable to me. If you are a small, niche producer and like me you think, obsess, dream and even have nightmares about your product there's nothing quite like receiving an instantaneous thumbs-up for your efforts.

Showing your product at food festivals, fairs and farmers markets is a brilliant barometer of how good your product is. There's nowhere to hide and nothing to separate you from the customer comments and facial expressions other than your flimsy stall so you better be ready and be as confident as you possibly can be with your product before you brave the unapologetically opinionated masses.



About 10 years ago I became a devotee of the organic movement and a little later became concerned with food production, provenance and trading ethics and I've talked a little bit before about my experiences with sourcing fine, organic and ethical chocolate; that I found almost impossible. I digress. While I'm sensible enough to know that not everyone shares my view and that in fact I'm in a minority, my extensive consumer research all but proved that a niche/gourmet food buyer (the kind of person who enthuses about food and attends farmers markets and food events across the country in search of quality or simply for something different) would absolutely be concerned with pesticides, trading ethics, E numbers etc. Not so. Not a single customer has asked me if my chocolate is ethical, organic, natural, whether it contains E numbers and so on and I have to say I'm surprised. When I'm researching and sourcing ingredients or conceptualising a new flavour I'm often so preoccupied with the aforementioned that it's small wonder I ever produce a solitary truffle.



So, reporting back from ground level I can tell you unequivocally that what the customer really wants to know is if you have made the product yourself. "Are you the producer?" and "Did you make this yourself?" are the two most common questions I'm asked. You could put this down to geography or demographics of course and maybe time will tell a different story but all of this has really made me think. Media and marketing groups muddy our perceptions more than I ever thought possible. There is still nothing and no better way of measuring your product than good old fashioned face to face customer contact and I hope that will continue to thrive.

For more information on excellent farmers markets and food festivals in your area please do not hesitate to contact me. You can meet me and sample my chocolates at the Speciality & Gourmet Food Market in Nottingham and various places around the country, all year round. For more information, regular updates and exclusive chocolate offers visit

http://www.boutiquearomatique.com/market/

Sign-up today!

Love, Shelly

Sausages & Lentils a la Nigella et Rosanna

I can't quite believe it now but I'd never eaten lentils outside of an Indian restaurant until about seven years ago. If you came from 'up North' lentils were suspiciously and unfairly derided as sandal and sock-wearing fodder; reserved only for chanting prats - their words, not mine. It's a cliche but my life pretty much turned upside down when I moved to London and thank GOD it did.

I made my lentilly fateful trip to The Epicerie (attached to Conran and Orrery) on Marylebone High St one lunchtime, it was nearing the end of the day and pretty much the only thing left to take out was puy lentils with smoked sausage and beetroot.

http://www.orreryrestaurant.co.uk/restaurants/orrery/epicerie



Clinging to the counter with hunger I went for it and never looked back. I'm a big Nigella Lawson fan and I return to one of her lentil recipes (in part) again and again which is the one I'm sharing here. The other half of the dish is inspired by my lovely friend Rosanna. We had the funniest time on her gypsy themed hen on a barge on the Oxfordshire waterways. 10 girls, copious prosecco and a whole load of dressing up = ACE! The highlight for me however was Rosanna's gorgeous lentil dish...I ended up finishing off everyone else's plate...no change there then!

Ingredients: Serves 4:
3–4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
Sea Salt
500g Puy lentils
1 fat clove garlic - skin removed
8 really good quality sausages - anything with tomato works well and preferably Italian
100ml red wine
50ml water
Very fresh flat-leaf parsley for sprinkling - curly parsley will not do
Few tbsp of ricotta cheese
Very good raspberry or sherry vinegar
Plain/non pickled whole beetroot, quartered

Method:
To cook the lentils, put 2–3 tablespoons of the oil into a good-sized saucepan (and one which has a lid that fits) on the heat and when it’s warm add the chopped onion. Sprinkle with salt (which helps prevents it browning) and cook over a low to medium heat till soft (about 5 minutes). Add the lentils, stir well and then cover generously with cold water. Bring to the boil, then cover and let simmer gently for half an hour or so until cooked and most, if not all, the liquid’s absorbed. I don’t add salt at this stage since the sauce provided by the sausages later (and which will be poured over the lentils) will be pretty salty itself. So, wait and taste. You can cook these in advance.

When either the lentils are nearly ready or you’re about to reheat them, put a heavy-based frying pan on the hob, cover with a film of oil and add the bruised garlic. Cook for a few minutes then add and brown the sausages. When the sausages are brown on both sides – which won’t take more than 5 minutes or so – throw in the wine and water and let bubble up. Cover the pan, either with a lid or tin foil, and cook for about 15 minutes. Using a fork, mash the now soft garlic into the sauce and taste for seasoning, adding a little more water if it’s too strong. Courtesy of NL.

Drain the lentils well and transfer to a roomy serving bowl. Add the beetroot and a whole bunch of roughly chopped parsley and very gently amalgamate. Sit the sausages on top and pour over your gravy. Drizzle with a little olive old and sprinkle over your preferred vinegar. For the finale, add a few good blobs of ricotta on top.



Don't be tempted to use pre-cooked, tinned lentils. Fine if you have to use them, I just think they're always a bit too soft, boggy and waterlogged. I've swapped Rosie's sherry vinegar for raspberry, just because I tried it and it worked a dream.

Colemans works excellently well on the side.