Who likes pancakes?

Who doesn't like pancakes? I remember pancake day when I was little, me and my 3 sisters trying to eat more pancakes than the other - mum making pancake after pancake! I think why I still love pancake day it because it makes me feel like a kid again, that and you cant beat a good pancake!

Here is my easy peasy lemon squeezy pancake recipe:

Ingredients

• 110g/4oz plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
• 50g/2oz butter

1. Wisk all of the ingredients in a large bowl until light an fluffy.
2.  Heat up a frying pan with a small amount of sun flour oil. Add one ladle of pancake batter (I like my pancakes really thin but you can change the batter amount depending on what you would like) and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is covered.
3. Leave the pancake to cook untill the pancake comes loose, you can use a spatula to check its turned a golden brown then flip over! It wont take as long to cook on the other side.
4. Serve with lemon and sugar - or the topping of your choice!

Roasted butternut squash, bacon and thyme risotto

I love risotto, so easy and you can throw in it what ever you have lying around. As my veg box has been stuffed full of butternut squashes I have come up with this winter warmer!

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• a few sprigs of time leaves picked off the stalks
• 1 pack of smoked bacon
• 3 large knobs of butter and 2 tbsp olive oil for the risotto
• 1 chopped onoin
• 400g/14oz arborio (risotto) rice
• 1 glass white wine (optional)
• 2 pints hit stock (chicken or vegetable)

Serves 4

Recipe

Peel, de-seed and chop the butternet squash. Put into a roasting tray and toss in the garlic, a good glug of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 180c oven for 30-40 minuets until softened and becoming golden in colour, once cooked set aside (you can do this while the risotto is cooking). Then fry the chopped bacon until crisp and set aside.

Melt the butter with the oil in a pan on a medium heat, add the onions and cook for 10 mins on a low heat until softened and translucent, add the garlic and cook for 5 mins.  Add the rice and stir for about a minute until the grains are coated with the oil and butter. Pour in the wine and stir continuously until it has cooked into the rice. Add a good ladle of hot stock and and season well with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down so the stock is simmering gently. Keep adding ladles of stock as it cooks into the rice, stirring and moving the rice around in the pan. 

After about 15-20 minutes the rice should be soft but still have a bit of bite left in it. The texture of the risotto should be thick and creamy, but not too loose. Add extra stock if necessary. It may seem tedious standing and stirring but the end result will be worth it.

Remove from the heat, stir through the buttnernut squash and bacon. Season with salt and pepper and leave with the lid on for 5 minuets to become thick and creamy.

Serve with parmesan and home made garlic bread - perfect!

Blue cheese dip

I think I am becoming addicted to blue cheese, a night without it is just not quite right! I had a girls night in with the girls from work and I had to bring this. Great for crudities, crackers, crisps, chicken wings and much more.

Ingredients

• 100g blue cheese
• 142ml soured cream
• 2 tbsp mayo
• 1/2 the juice of a lemon

Recipe

1. Mash the blue cheese in a bowl (its nice to have smallish lumps for easy dipping).
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and serve!

Nice and simple, should keep in the fridge for 3-5 days if you don't eat it all at once!

A classic panna cotta

I made this on a Sunday for my Grandfather (also know as Elvis) and my Grandmother Di, who I do not see as often as I would like! I wanted to make something to impressive and fun, this was definitely it! Any questions please ask me, it was very simple to make, easy and fun!

Ingredients

For 8 people

For the panna cotta:

• 6 gelatine leaves
• 500ml milk
• 500ml double cream
• 2 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped out
• 50g sugar

For the sauce:

• 225g sugar
• 350ml water
• 600g raspberries

Method

1. For the panna cotta, soak the gelatine leaves in a little cold water until soft.
2. Place the milk, cream, vanilla pod and seeds and sugar into a pan and bring to a simmer. Remove the vanilla pod and discard.
3. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, then add to the pan and take off the heat. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved (this will be done quite quickly but if your not sure have a hunt with a fork!).
4. Divide into 8 ramekins and leave to cool. Place into the fridge for at least an 3 hours, until set (depending on size).
5. For the sauce, place the sugar and water into a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
6. Take the pan off the heat and add half the raspberries. Using a hand blender, blend the sauce until smooth (do this over the sink as it can get rather messy - as my boyfriend would tell you who had to tidy up the mess).
7. Pass the sauce through a sieve into a bowl and stir in the remaining fruit (This is a definite must for the dinner party look).
8. To serve, turn each panna cotta out onto a serving plate, if the wont come out hold the bases in hot water for a few seconds), and then spoon over the sauce...yum.
   
   
   
   
   

Birthday Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For the cake

• 225g/8oz plain flour
• 350g/12½oz caster sugar
• 85g/3oz cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 free-range eggs
• 250ml/9fl oz milk
• 125ml/4½fl oz vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 250ml/9fl oz boiling water

For the chocolate icing

• 200g/7oz plain chocolate 
• 200ml/7fl oz double cream

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm/8in sandwich tins.
   
   
   Watch technique0:33 mins
2. For the cake, place all of the cake ingredients, except the boiling water, into a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, or electric whisk, beat the mixture until smooth and well combined.
3. Add the boiling water to the mixture, a little at a time, until smooth. (The cake mixture will now be very liquid.)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Divide the cake batter between the sandwich tins and bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
5. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely, still in their tins, before icing.
6. For the chocolate icing, heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over a low heat until the chocolate melts. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth, glossy and thickened. Set aside to cool for 1-2 hours, or until thick enough to spread over the cake.
7. To assemble the cake, run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the cake tins to loosen the cakes. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins.
   
   
   Watch technique0:32 mins
8. Spread a little chocolate icing over the top of one of the chocolate cakes, then carefully top with the other cake.
9. Transfer the cake to a serving plate and ice the cake all over with the chocolate icing, using a palette knife.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Recipe from the BBC website

How to make chilli and herb infused oils

This christmas I have decided to make some tasty treats for my family and friends. A great gift for any one who cooks (or eats) is infused oils, easy to make and they look great too! Below are my recipes for chilli and basil infused oils.

Chilli Oil

Ingredients:

• 100g red chillies
• Extra green and read whole chillies for decoration
• 1 Litre groundnut oil
• 2 tbsp paprika

1. Remove the stalks from the chillies and chop them (I kept them quite big as you have to strain them out of the oil after and this made it a bit easier). Add the chillies to a large pan and add the oil.

2. Heat the oil gently until it nearly reaches 120 oC, then simmer for 15 mins (don't let it get any hotter I would definitely recommend getting a cooking thermometer for this!).

3. Remove from the heat, cool slightly and stir in the paprika. Leave to cool completely, then strain with a sift.

4. Sterilise some bottles (the best say to do this is put them on a really hot wash in the dish washer) and fill them with the whole chillies and top up with oil. You can use these straight away for cooking, in soups and salads or just dip some crusty bread in it!

Basil Oil

Ingredients:

• 1 Litre Light Olive Oil
• 150g Basil

1. Heat the oil gently in a pan until it reaches 40 oc (you will need a cooking thermometer for this!).

2. Lightly bruise the basil and put it into warm sterilised bottles (the best say to do this is put them on a really hot wash in the dish washer). Pour in the warm oil and then seal. This oil will be ready in 3-4 weeks, use within 3-4 months after this the bails will become slimy.

You could also try these oils with rosemary, coriander or thyme with lemon.

Fluffy Fairy Cakes

This recipes is so easy and makes great cakes every time, they look so pretty with the strawberry jam too!

 You will need:

For the cakes

·         150g Softened Butter

·         150 g Granulated Sugar

·         3 Beaten Eggs

·         150g Self-Raising Flour

·         1tsp Vanilla Extract

·         1tbsp Milk

For the decoration

·         50g Softened Butter

·         75g Icing Sugar

·         2tbsp Strawberry Jam

·         Icing Sugar, for dusting

Makes 12 cakes J

1.      Preheat the oven to 180c / 160c fan assisted / gas mark 4.

2.      Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

3.      Gradually mix in the egg, alternating with the sifted flour, then add the milk and the vanilla extract.

4.      Divide into 12 cupcake cases and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and springy. Then transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool.

5.      Mix together the butter and the icing sugar for the butter cream filling, beat until smooth.

6.      Slice the tops off each cake and fill them with the butter cream. Cut each sliced top in half and arrange on the top of the filling to resemble butterfly wings, then spoon a line of strawberry jam in between the wings for the body. Lightly dust in icing sugar and your done!