Bread and Butter Pudding

Saturday 25th September 2010

Well the hygiene inspector is coming on Monday, and the kitchen has had a much needed sort out. The bread tin was full of bits and bobs of stale bread, so it was meant to be, bread and butter pudding for tea.

Butter to grease a small roasting tin/glass dish, generously.

Bread, 6 slices white, crusts removed, cut in triangle quarters, well buttered.

sultanas, large handful

nutmeg, optional

Arrange the buttered bread in layers with sultanas (and nutmeg if using) sandwiched between them. Pour over the whisked egg custard mixture:

milk, whole preferably, 150ml

cream, (can substitute milk if feeling guilty), 150ml

egg yolks, x3

egg, whole x1

sugar, x3 tbsp

vanilla, extract, x1 generous tsp

Squash bread into the custard and leave to stand at least half an hour (or in 10 minutes...). Sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons of sugar. Place in a pre-heated oven at 150C. Standing the dish in a roasting tin half filled with boiling water. Cook for about 20-30 minutes. The custard should be a bit thicker and slightly runny - and the top crisp.

Amanda

Nantgwynfaen

Courgette Pickles

2nd September 2010

The kids have gone to school and now is the time to address the current courgette situation!

Courgette Pickles

courgettes, 1.4kg, trim, slice thinly

onions, 450g, trim slice thinly

sea salt, 225g

water, 2.5L

Place courgettes and onions in a non-metallic bowl. Dissolve salt in

water and pour solutions over the vegetables. Weight down with

plate, to keep them submerged. Leave to stand for 24 hours.

Rinse under cold running water, drain and dry on kitchen paper.

Place in empty preserving pan.

white wine vinegar, 450ml

sugar, 225g

mustard seeds, 2tsp

celery seeds, 1tsp

allspice, whole, 1tsp

Mix these remaining ingredients (not courgettes and onion) in

a saucepan. Stir over a low heat, with a wooden spoon until the

sugar has dissolved. Pour over courgettes & onions.

Leave to stand 1 hour.

Put the pan on the heat and boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat.

Transfer the vegetables to warmed sterilized jars to within 2.5cm

of the tops. Pour in the vinegar to cover by 1.25cm.

Seal the jars, label.

Keep in a cool dark place, leave 2 weeks before eating.

Fills about 2x 750ml jars.

Great on burgers and in cheese sandwiches.

Creamed Butternut & bonus Butternut Soup

Friday 1^st April

Good Friday

I always seem to use butternut when it is going off, you know, when you just have to use it up and can’t leave it another day. It is the wrong time for butternut, and it’s a bit weary from being stored, so it is prone to getting bad bits, anyway, needless-to-say that bit was cut out and chucked. I invented this recipe, and was driven by sheer laziness, what I had to hand was used as I couldn’t be …. to cross the yard to the farm shop to stock up properly. Shocking, but true.

Creamed Butternut & bonus Butternut Soup

Equal quantities of :

butternut (bad bits chopped out), peeled and diced &

potatoes, peeled & chopped

stock cube, organic, chicken, half per person

garlic, half clove per person

water, boiling, enough to cover the veg

Boil for about 20-30 mins until tender. Strain and KEEP stock. Mash, and add:

cream, or crème fraiche, a couple of dollops

salt

pepper

It is more of a cream than a mash, very nice with fish and greens – very pretty, good orange colour, beta carotene galore.

Serve the stock (next day) as ‘soup’, seasoned with S&P and cream, really winning….

There was only one thing wrong with these two dishes, there wasn’t enough, it just went… really easy, really quick, really delicious.

Amanda Nantgwynfaen

Gary’s Scones

Wednesday 24th March 2010

B&B Welcome Tea

It was the sweeping outside that was the stick that broke the camels back, if the back was the time…. It just ran away, and before I knew it, the B&B visitors had arrived, and the scones weren’t even in the oven (if I’m honest they were purely fictitious at this stage). I then ran around like a headless chicken looking for Gary: “Gary, Gary Gary Rhodes, where the devil are you? I neeeed you…..” Found him in the nick of time, hiding on the window sill with his marmalade. Scones were in the oven in 5 and out in 10 (plenty of chat ensued to hide the delay)…

Gary’s Scones (Oh Gary, you are wonderful)

This is nearly his recipe,

flour, self-raising, 1lb

baking powder, 1tsp

salt, pinch

sugar, 2oz

butter, 4oz

sultanas, 2 handfuls (optional, not popular with the smallies)

milk, 250ml approx

Mix dry ingredients & butter to crumbs, stir in sultanas then, add milk to bind into wettish dough. Flour table and rolling pin. Roll out dough to 2cm thick (thickish). Use 2 inch pastry cutter. Makes about 12 (or 8 big ones). Brush with beaten:

egg (optional), but it makes it really golden and luxurious.

Bake on 200°C fan oven for 10 minutes. Eat warm with homemade jam and a nice cup of tea.

Gotcha Gary, now you can’t hide from me, I can just google you into my world whenever I need to now, so hide on as many window sills are you want!

Amanda Nantgwynfaen

Sauté (roasted) Garlic Potatoes

Wednesday 24th March 2010

B&B Dinner

Ken invented these, and tho they are liberally cooked in butter, they are too heavenly to feel guilty. Good with steaks and chicken shoe(s) …

Sauté (roasted) Garlic Potatoes

Cooking Time 1 hour

potatoes, peeled and diced 2cm square (exactly approximately roughly etc)

herbes de provence, 1 tbsp

olive oil, 2 tbsp

butter, 2 large knobs

salt, 2 tsp

pepper

Roast for 20 minutes on 200°C turn potatoes and add:

onions, diced ¼ per person, approx

Roast for 20 minutes more, turn potatoes and add:

garlic, 1-2 cloves crushed

Roast until golden brown, crips on the outside, soft in the centre. If you can’t be bothered to add the onions and garlic later, they will burn so it is worth the trouble (and it is best to keep turning the potatoes anyway).

Amanda Nantgwynfaen

Chicken Shoe

Wednesday 24th March 2010

B&B Dinner

(Chicken) Chasseur doesn’t really mean footwear (though it could have referred to meat which was tough as ‘old boots’) anyway, it means ‘hunter’ in this case, and it was probably made with some tough old game bird, so imagine the even better results with a pert juicy young (but not cruely young) organic local chicken… more than 10/10 was awarded. It tastes quite smart and expensive, but cunningly uses the cheaper cuts. By cooking with the bones on and skimming the fat at the end, it’s not unhealthy either. If there is any chicken left, it is nice cold the next day (without the gravy, of course).

Chicken Shoe

Preparation time 2 minutes

Cooking Time +4 hours

chicken, thighs, wings, legs, skin on

butter, 60g

onions, x2, finely chopped

mushrooms, button 125g

white wine, ¼ bottle

brandy, 2 tbsp

tomato paste, 2 tsp

chicken stock, 250ml

herbs de provence, 1 tbsp (or chopped fresh tarragon & parsley)

flour, 1 tbsp mixed with a little cold water to a paste

Bung it all in the pot, put lid on firmly and bring to gentle simmer and bake on 200°C for half an hour. Reduce heat to 100°C for rest of baking time (a few hours). Half an hour before you want it ready, carefully lift the (extremely tender) chicken pieces onto a baking tray and pour the gravy into a jug. The fat will rise to the top. After 15 mins or so skim the fat off and place kitchen towel over the top to clear the rest of the grease. Meanwhile, heat the grill and grill the chicken pieces on both sides until brown and crisp – approx 5 minutes each side. Serve with the (reheated) gravy, sauté garlic (roasted) potatoes and greens.

Amanda Nantgwynfaen

Spotted Dick

Wednesday 24th March 2010
B&B Dinner

It wasn’t the spotted bit - it was the dick bit that caused the stir. The children were so disgusted with the name they became quite hyper and I had to firmly hand them the dish towel which sobered them right up – they had been quite raucous and were disturbing the visitors romantic night out… The dishtowel did the trick, AND got the washing up done too! I have to hand this one to Gary Rhodes, thanks Gazzer, I had to drop the suet tho’, couldn’t fancy it (and I added an egg, as it was there and broken and all). I used to do a chocolate version of this (without the spots) for Cai when he was allergic to dairy & egg. It was the only vegan cake that held together, I made a turtle birthday cake once, but that’s another recipe for another day….

Spotted Dick

butter (or suet if you must), 5oz,
flour, self raising, 10oz
sugar, 3oz
egg, 1 (optional)

Mix ingredients in Magimix until fine powder is reached, add:

currants, 4oz
lemon, finely grated zest of 1
milk, 185ml approx

Pulse (do not mix as the currants will crush) until soggy blob. Line bowl with non-stick baking parchment, blob in the blob. Cover with more parchment and put lid on (saucepan lid). Steam on trivet for 1 or 2 hours – a slow simmer is OK. Serve with custard or cream. Naughty, but nice.

Amanda Nantgwynfaen