Chocolate chip brioche pudding

Naturally inspired by Nigella, this chocolate chip brioche pudding was the stuff of dreams. It was so easy to make too. Nigella's recipe uses stale bread like a French stick, but because we didn't have any, but I spied chocolate chip brioche buns in the supermarket and I couldn't resist. This serves 6 people generously. 

Ingredients:

1 pack chocolate chip brioche buns, cut into small pieces

3 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

1 pack milk chocolate chips or 1/2 packet each of white chocolate chips and milk or dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup light brown sugar

A few teaspoons demerera sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade

In a pie dish, add the brioche pieces and chocolate chips. In a large mixing bowl, add all the remaining ingredients except for the demerera sugar and whisk together until blended. Pour the liquid mix over the brioche and gently push down the bread into the liquid. Set aside for 20 mins. Sprinkle over the sugar and bake in the oven for 50 to 60 mins or until the top is golden brown and ouffed up, and the custard is set. 

Butternut squash and saffron risotto

This was my first foray into the world of risottos and this one in particular sounded both relatively straightforward and interesting. I liked the sound of the combination of flavours with this. I would say now that if you don't want to use the butternut squash to think about portion sizes as the squash really bulks this up. This served two of us, greedily, for an evening meal, and gave us leftovers for another lot. At the end of the recipe I'll give some information on how to revive a leftover risotto.

This is adapted from an Ina Garten risotto recipe which can be found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/butternut-squash-risotto-recipe/index.html

Ingredients (serves 4):
1/1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
6 cups of chicken stock - 4 cups stock and 2 cups water is fine as well
1 tablespoon butter
6 slices pancetta, sliced into small pieces
1/2 cup minced shallots (optional as far as I'm concerned. I'm made it with and without and can't taste too much of a difference)
1 1/2 cups carnaroli rice
1/2 white wine
A couple of saffron threads (the original recipe says to use a teaspoon but I found even this small amount to be too much. It's strong stuff)
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

On a baking tray, spread out the butternut squash pieces, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, smoosh around a bit and put in a preheated oven at 200 degrees centigrade. Bake for about 35 minutes or until cooked through and slightly browned on the outside.

Put the chicken stock in a pan and put on a medium heat until warmed through.

Heat a large pan on a medium heat and melt the butter. Add the pancetta and diced shallots (if using) and fry until the pancetta fat crisps slightly and the shallots are translucent. Add the rice and stir to coat the rice grains in the fat. Add the wine and cook for about two minutes. Add two ladles of stock and the saffron, salt and pepper to taste. Stir continuously until the stock is absorbed into the rice. This will take some time so don't worry if it doesn't seem to be absorbing at first. When the rice has absorbed the liquid add another ladle of stock and repeat the process. Keep doing this until all the stock has been used and the rice is cooked through and tender. The risotto should have a creamy texture when cooked. This process may take between 30-40 minutes. Take the risotto off the heat and add the cubed butternut squash and the parmesan, reserving a little parmesan for people to add at the table if they wish.

Tori kara age (Japanese fried chicken)

This is from the Wagamama cookbook and is very easy to make and delicious served with lime and a nice glass of cold beer. Using chicken thighs means the meat won't dry out which can be a problem if using chicken breasts. I've changed the recipe slightly to make it simpler, with fewer ingredients.

Ingredients:
4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cubed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons cornflour
vegetable oil, for frying
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Mix the soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and add the chicken pieces. Marinate for as long as possible but it doesn't have to be more than an hour or so if you're pressed for time. In another bowl, mix the egg, herbs and cornflour until you have a smooth batter. Add the marinated chicken pieces to the batter and coat well. Fill a large pan with enough oil to shallow fry the chicken pieces. Heat to 180 degrees centigrade or until the oil bubbles when you add a small amount of batter. Fry the chicken pieces, in batches if needed, for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Remove onto a paper towel to drain, and serve with lemon wedges and soy sauce for dipping. 

You can buy the Wagamama cookbook from Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Wagamama-Cookbook-DVD-Hugo-Arnold/dp/1856266494/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365000124&sr=8-1.

Quesadillas

Quesadillas are one of my favourite lunchtime meals because they are easy to make and a good way of getting lots of healthy, nutritious ingredients to taste amazing. You can put anything you want in a quesadilla, so this is just an idea to make a healthier, more nutritious version. Loaded with lots of fresh ingredients, 1 tortilla can even serve two if you are really trying to keep your portion size down. But I would eat the whole thing.

Ingredients (makes 1):
Half an avacado, peeled and cubed
3-4 small tomatoes, e.g., cherry tomatoes, cubed
Half a small red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 spring (green) onion, roughly chopped
Handful grated reduced fat cheddar cheese
Handful shredded cooked chicken (totally optional - just if you have leftovers)
1 flour tortilla
1 teaspoon oil

Method:
Heat a large frying pan or griddle on a medium to high heat. Add a drop of oil to the pan and using a paper towel brush around the pan to evenly coat. Place your tortilla in the pan and, on one half of the tortilla, spread the cheese in a thin, even layer. Then add the rest of your ingredients, just to half with the cheese. Using a palette knife, take a look at the underside of the tortilla. After a couple of minutes on the heat, it should be browning up nicely. If not, keep cooking it until it starts to brown. Fold the tortilla in half so the empty half covers the half with the toppings. Press down to "seal" the tortilla a little. The ingredients will start to stick together thanks to the melting cheese. It won't be perfectly stable so when you go to flip it over, some ingredients might fall out into the pan, but you can put them back in again. Once flipped, cook on the other side a little more, and then remove from the pan. The cheese should be melted and everything should be nice and warm. Your tortilla will hopefully be crispy. Cut into triangles, squares or whatever you want and then eat.




NB: I had about a teaspoon of refried beans leftover from something else which I also used in this recipe. I couldn't really taste them in the quesadilla so I left them out of the ingredients list, as I don't think it would be worth buying/making refried beans for this unless you specifically want to include them, in which case I would add more to really get the flavour of the refried beans coming through the other, fresher tasting ingredients.

Chicken noodle soup

It's the 1st October and I have the reddest nose this side of the North Pole. What I thought was a passing sore throat has become a fully fledged cold. I'm surrounded by tissues and all I want is a simple clear chicken noodle soup. I had mine with bread for double carbohydrate heaven. If you have the time/energy of course you can make your own stock and cook your chicken but this is a shortcut version which tastes very good indeed.





Ingredients (serves 4 generously):
A few stalks of celery, cubed
A couple of carrots, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little more for the noodles
Salt and pepper
1 clove fresh garlic (optional)
A few cups of cooked chicken (I bought a cooked chicken and took the meat off the bone)
1 tub of ready made chicken stock and the same amount of water
1 chicken stock cube (optional)
Small handful fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Fettucine or other egg pasta/noodles (as much or as little as you want)

Method:

Fill your kettle and boil. Add the olive oil to a large pan on medium heat. Add the celery and carrot and season with a little salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables begin to soften. Mince the garlic clove and add to the pan. Stir for a minute and add a little stock or water to the pan to stop the garlic from burning. You don't want to colour the veg, just soften it slightly.

Add the tub of stock and then with the hot water from your kettle, fill up so the water level is about three quarters of the way up the pan. You can use all stock rather than half water/half stock, but this was just to make the soup more affordable. If you feel the soup needs more flavour, add a stock cube and stir in. Bring the soup to the boil and reduce to a simmer.

Add the chicken and cook for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables have cooked through and the soup has increased in flavour. Season further if needed. In the meantime get your pasta on. Add some oil to the cooking water to stop the pasta sticking together. When it is al dente, drain.

Stir the parsley into the soup. Add some noodles to your bowl and pour over the soup.

Chicken salad with pecans and pancetta

I'm obsessed with pancetta at the moment. Salty pig strips can only ever be a good, addictive thing. Even when they are referred to as "salty pig strips". It isn't the main event in this recipe but it adds a wonderful luxuriously salty note to what otherwise is quite a subtly flavoured salad. I've adapted this from an Emeril Lagasse recipe:

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 bag of mixed salad leaves (the lazy, and therefore best, way)
6 slices pancetta, chopped into small strips
2 chicken breasts, poached and chopped into bitesize chunks
1 clove peeled garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
Salt and black pepper
1 cup good quality mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
A handful chopped fresh parsley
A couple of pinches of chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 cup whole pecans

Heat a frying pan on high heat and add the pancetta. There's no need to add any oil - the pancetta, as it frys, will render down and become crispy and golden. Once it is cooked to your liking, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

In a large bowl, add the cooked chicken breast chunks, the garlic, the celery, red onion, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, parsley, tarragon and pecans. Add a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix until well combined. Taste for seasoning.

Split the salad leaves between two plates, spoon over the chicken mixture and top with the pancetta.

Homemade cheeseburgers

 

I'm going to blame the blurriness of that picture on the fact that I was really hungry and just wanted to eat the deliciousness that was this burger. It had nothing to do with my terrible photography "skills"

What can I say? These are tasty and really easy to make. Using a griddle plan helps to get some nice charring on the burgers.

Ingredients (serves 2):
2 burger buns (I like sesame seeded 'cos I'm old school)
1/2 lb steak mince
A good splosh of Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 slices of cheese (I used Jarlsberg)
4 slices tomato
4 iceberg lettuce leaves
2 gerkins, sliced lengthways into strips
Condiments:
I made a makeshift burger sauce with ketchup, mayo and diced gherkin but you could use any sauce you wanted
Ketchup

In a large bowl add the mince, egg yolk, minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Add a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. With clean hands, gently mix the ingredients until they are just combined (squishy!) Try not to over-mix as this can toughen the burgers. Pour a tiny bit of olive oil into your hand and take half the mixture. Form into a ball and then squish down to create a burger. Place on a plate and repeat the process with the other burger. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Take the burgers out of the fridge about ten minutes before you want to cook them. Heat a griddle pan on high heat. Take the burgers and with your fingers just rub a bit of olive oil on them. Adding the oil to the meat instead of the pan means they shouldn't smoke as much. Add to the pan and watch them sizzle. Cook for a few minutes without moving so when you flip them they should have griddle marks on them. Flip and cook on the other side. Turn right down to low and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the gerkhin slices to the tops of the burgers, then top with a slice of cheese. Place a large saucepan lid on top. This will circulate the steam around the burger to help them remain moist and melt the cheese.

Toast the burger buns. To the heel of the bun spread sauce of your choice, then top with lettuce and tomato. Add the burger with the gerkhins and gorgeous melted cheese, then top with more sauce and the top of the bun. Eat with gusto and some napkins.