Listening to Lana in the Kitchen
Apple Sourz Jelly shots
For parties, pre drinks or even grown up’s ice cream and jelly. You can use variations of spirits and flavours for this recipe. I decided to use apple Sourz for that extra zing.
Ingredients
75ml Apple Sourz
1 sachet of powder jelly mix (I used lime)
3/4 of a pint of boiling water
Squeeze of lime
Add the sachet of jelly mix to a jug then fill with the boiling water to 3/4 of a pint. Stir until dissolved. Then add the spirit of choice, stir several times. Pour into shot glasses, shooters or object of your choice and leave in the fridge to set. Will roughly take 40 mins to set. ENJOY!
Tip: try not to get booze crazy as the jelly will not set if you pour too much into the mix!
Ham & Pea Soup
Occasionally at home we buy a big joint of pork when we fancy it. Buying a joint of ham is cost effective and i find a lot nicer than packet ham. This would last us for just over a week. We add the the ham to salads, sandwiches, sauces and even.. you guessed it! An old favourite Ham egg and chips!
To cook the ham
Normally when you buy any type of a joint of meat the label will have some kind of cooking guidelines, which will give you an idea of time and temp depending on its weight. To cook the pork i place the meat in a deep heavy duty pan and fill with boiling water. Make sure the water is at least 2 inches above the meat. Put the hob on a medium heat and bring to the boil, then simmer for an hour and a half. Remember to skim the top off the water for any foamy impurities. Once the ham is cooked remove from the pan and leave to rest with a foil blanket.
Tip: Don’t add any extra salt!
For the soup
Pour away at least a quarter of the stock. Add one chopped onion to the salty stock and leave to boil for 5 mins. Then add the frozen peas. Boil for a further 6 mins. The ratio between Peas and Water should be Pea 3/4, Water 1/4. When the time is up blend the mixture till smooth and silky. Crumble over some cooked ham and a twist of black pepper. There you have it! Ham & Pea Soup!
Ingredients
Frozen Peas 500g (Roughly)
Bacon Joint 1kg (Roughly)
1 Onion
Black Pepper to season
Bon Appétit!
Professional 24cm Stockpot Review
Beautiful!
I purchased this amazing stockpot about six months ago. I was in Tescos with my mum wondering around the home department. I was already looking in other shops for Maslin pan for making jam and ones that i found were quite expensive. So we were looking at the pots and pans and i picked up a cheap one for around £15 because i was getting tired of looking. But mums being mums she convinced me to put it back and have a look at the better quality ones which is where i found this Stockpot! This Pan is a thing of beauty! It has copper bottom for all of you Food perverts out there, which means the copper conducts the heat evenly. It is big enough to cook almost anything, I mean anything! So far i have cooked wondrous things in there including Jam, and i wouldn’t normally be able to do so in a standard pan. Its deep enough for soup, stews, pasta, rice, curry, noodles, potatoes, jam etc..
It is part if the Go Cook Professional Range and has a 25 year Guarantee.
Not to be crude its a good looking piece of kit!
I paid roughly £35 for this pan which in all fairness its a little bit extra to pay but it will it a lot longer than the £15 job!
Link : Professional 24cm Stockpot
This review is of my own personal opinions and is in no way endorsed.
Classic Martini
The name’s Eats.. Eats&Treats
Our first Cocktail of Cocktail Friday is.. Drum roll please..
The oh so sophisticated Classic Martini
You will need
Handful of ice
10ml/1/2 fl oz Dry Vermouth
65ml/ 2 1/2fl oz Gin
Slice of Lemon Peel or Green Olive
Place the ice into a mixing glass, pour the vermouth over the ice and stir 6 times only, just to coat the ice with the vermouth. (This is just to take the edge off the alcohol and help make the drink rounded and smooth.)
Discard the vermouth, add the gin and stir 16-18 times – any more and it will dilute the drink, any less and the flavours won’t have fully married together
Pour into a Martini glass and garnish with either a lemon twist or an olive.
Recipe Found on BBC Food
COCKTAIL FRIDAY
At home we have introduced Cocktail Friday!
Each week we will be shaking, stirring and sipping a different cocktail.
Keep posted for recipes to follow!
Josh’s Chocolate Orange Cake
My boyfriend is constantly scoffing chocolate orange segments, so i decided to make a cake inspired by his favourite chocolate.
Terry’s
Ingredients
200g Self Raising Flour
2 Medium Eggs
200g Caster Sugar
2 Jaffa Oranges (zest of one)
150g Chocolate Chips
250g Unsalted Butter
For the filling
150g Icing sugar
1o0g Unsalted butter
2Tbsp Cocoa power
For the Ganache
200g Plain Chocolate
150ml Double cream
To Decorate
Chocolate shards
Chocolate orange segments
Pre heat the oven to 160c on a fan setting. Because the cake has so much moisture from the orange juice the cake needs to be slow cooked. Separate the egg whites, whisk till light and fluffy using an electric whisk then put aside. In a separate bowl beat together the egg yolk, sugar, butter,2/3rds orange juice and zest till light and creamy. Sieve in the flour and stir in to the mixture. Add the chocolate chips. Finally add the egg white and stir in gently. (Doing this will make the cake light and fluffy). Add the cake mix to two greased and lined equal sandwich tins (we used two 12 inch sandwich tins). Put in the oven for roughly 30 mins, do the skewer test, if raw cake mix shows leave in the oven for an extra few minuets. Remember the cake is a very moist one so there will be some crumbs on the skewer test and the steam will continue to cook the cake as it is cooling down. Carefully remove the cake from the cake tins, drizzle over the remaining orange juice and leave to cool completely. While the cake is cooling prepare your filling and topping. in a bowl, add the butter, cocoa powder and icing sugar. Beat till smooth. Taste to check if the consistency isn’t grainy and it there is enough cocoa in the mix. Now for the topping! Ganache is a brilliant recipe. Once mastered you can use it to create homemade truffles, cake toppings, chocolate sculptures.. the list is endless. All you need is double cream, good quality chocolate (we used 80% Dark Chocolate) and a non stick milk pan. Break the chocolate up in to a bowl. Bring the double cream to the boil (just before it spills over the sides), pour the double cream over the top of the chocolate and mix until the chocolate had completely melted. Now the cake has cooled fill and assemble. Pour over the ganache and fill in any holes with a pallet knife. Leave to set or if you can’t wait DIG IN!
Yummy!
Croque Monsieur
For me Croque Monsieur is a posh version of cheese on toast. If your fed up if the average cheese on toast and want to spice things up literally then this is a perfect easy dish for you to try.
The classic Croque Monsieur consists of:
2 Slices of Bread
80g Gruyere Cheese
2 tsp of Dijon Mustard
2 Slices of Ham
30g Unsalted Butter
The original recipe is absolutely delicious. To make, spread the mustard on one slice of the bread then fill with the cheese and the ham. Top the sandwich with the other slice of bread. Heat the frying pan with the butter, melt until it starts to bubble. Add the sandwich to the pan and fry on either side until golden brown on each side. Once golden brown, transfer from the pan to the oven until the cheese has melted. Cut in half and enjoy a french beauty.
If you don’t have Gruyere Cheese or an easier option.
2 Slices of Bread (i prefer thick white)
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 Slices of Ham
80g Cheddar Cheese
A spread of butter on each slice
The classic Croque Monsieur dish in my opinion is faultless and is why it is a classic. But if you want a less time consuming recipe, don’t have the right cheese or simply don’t want to wash up the pan, here is an alternative easy recipe.
Add both slices of bread to the toaster, cook until golden. Spread the butter on one side on each slice, then the mustard. Top with the ham and the cheese and transfer to the grill. Once the cheese has melted, slice and enjoy!
(TIP: I tend to eat them as open sandwiches as they can be dry)
Double Chocolate Pot
The Chocolate Pot is one of the easiest desserts out there to make, it is a dessert that you will keep coming back to. Its delicious, easy and is sure to impress your friends!! Ingredients 225g dark chocolate, finely chopped 50g white … Continue reading
Fresh Basil Pesto
Fresh Basil Pesto Pesto is mainly served with pasta, but it is also great with chicken, fish, other meats, drizzling over pizza and any antipasti. Great hot or cold! Ingredients: Large handful of fresh Basil Salt & Pepper Olive oil … Continue reading
