Chicken Chasseur

Really fancied winter comfort food tonight while the wind and rain lashed around outside . I served the casserole with creamy mash and green beans. Cosy :)

Ingredients
2-3 Chicken breasts chopped
2 onions sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
I tbsp oil
100g mushrooms sliced
1 carrot sliced
2 tbsp flour
100ml white wine
300ml chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Bay leaf
I tsp dried tarragon

Method
Fry the onions in the oil over a medium heat until they colour them add the chopped chicken and fry until browned.

Next add the crushed garlic and stir in. Add the flour so it coats the onions and the chicken then add the wine (if using) and stock stir until a smooth sauce is formed.

Add the carrots, mushrooms, bay leaf and tarragon. Bring the casserole to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer on a low heat for about 15mins. Add seasoning to taste and serve.

Quick Sausage Meatball Goulash

Goulash is a slightly spicy paprika and tomato sauce with peppers originating from Hungary. It is 'softened' with the addition of yogurt which also gives it a nice tang.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1 onion -chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped or crushed
6 good quality sausages
3 peppers -any colour or colours you like, sliced
100g mushrooms- sliced
1 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/4 -1/2 tsp chilli powder
2tbsp tomato puree
1/2 chicken stock cube
200ml water
salt to taste
2-3tbsp natural yogurt or soured cream

Method

In a large pan or wok, fry the onions and garlic until soft over a medium heat.
Remove the skin the sausages and break into meatball pieces add these to the pan and cook until browned. Add the peppers, mushrooms, paprika and chilli and mix well. Next add the tomato puree, stock cube and water. Let this simmer for a few minutes before tasting- the salt content of stock cubes vary enormously so taste before adding any salt if needed.
Continue to let this simmer on the a lowish heat for about 5-10 minutes or however long it takes to cook some rice to go with it.

Just before serving, stir in a couple of tbsp of natural yogurt.

Apple Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Summer went into Autumn too quickly for my liking this year. Autumn too is fading fast into Winter with all the Christmas festivities approaching. This is definitely an Autumn recipe- Enjoy.

Ingredients
Cake Batter:
3oz Softened unsalted butter
10oz Golden caster sugar
8 1/2 oz Plain flour
1 level tsp Mixed spice
2 Large eggs
8 1/2 fl.oz Full fat milk milk
1/4tsp Vanilla extract or paste

Apple Filling:
2 Eating apples- peeled and chopped
knob of butter
2 tbsps caster sugar
juice of 1/4 Lemon

Maple Frosting
3oz Full fat cream cheese-at room temp
3oz Unsalted butter- at room temp
9oz Icing sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Maple syrup

chopped up fudge to sprinkle on top (optional)

Method

Preheat the ovent to 190 degC (170 degC fan, Gas Mark 5)

Place all the ingredients for the apple filling in a small saucepan, cover and cook over a medium heat until softened stirring occasionally. Leave to cool

Place the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and mixed spice in a free standing mixer or use a bowl with a electric hand whisk. Mix until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Measure the milk into a large jug then add the eggs and the vanilla extract. Beat lightly and add 2/3 of this egg mix to the dry  ingredients. Mix until a thick batter is formed then add the rest of the egg mix. Whisk on high/medium speed for a couple of minutes until everything is incorporated.

Pour the cake batter into cupcake/muffin cases in a muffin tray. Bake for 18-20minutes.Check the cakes after this time with a skewer. If a skewer inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean then the cakes a re ready, otherwise give them a couple of minutes more.

Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile make the icing. Mix the butter with icing sugar first in a mixer or with a hand held electric whisk. Then add the cream cheese and the maple syrup and mix on a high speed for a couple of minutes until a smooth paste is formed. Transfer to an icing bag with a star nozzle.

When the cakes and filling are cool, cut out the centre of the cakes about 2/3down and 2cm diameter- save these 'plugs'. Add a teaspoon of apple to each cake then replace the tops. (You may have to trim the bottoms of the plugs to make them fit)

Ice the cakes with the cream cheese frosting in swirls. Alternatively the frosting can be spread onto the cakes then swirled about with a flat knife. Sprinkle with fudge pieces.

Ta dah!







 

Tomato & Basil Flatbread with Chicken

We made this at my Pampered Chef Party- So easy!

Ingredients

1 roll of ready made Pizza Dough/ 1 packet pizza base mix
2 ripe tomatoes sliced
Olive Oil
75g Cheddar cheese
50g Parmesan cheese
100g cooked chicken breast- cut into small pieces
1 clove garlic crushed
Fresh Basil leaves


Method


Pre heat Oven to 180deg C
Unroll Pizza Dough onto greased baking tray
Brush with a liitle olive oil and bake for 10mins.
Meanwhile mix the cheeses together with a tbsp of oil, garlic, chicken and some torn basil leaves.
Remove the pizza from the oven and
Spread this mix over the pizza
Arrange the tomato slices and the cooked chicken on top.
Drizzle with some olive oil and place back in the oven for 5-10mins until the cheese bubbles.

Bruleed Caramel and Vanilla Custard Danish

Ingredients

1pk all butter puff pastry (I might try and make my own one day- when I'm retired!)

Tin Carnation caramel (or dulce la leche)

150ml milk

1egg yolk

1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling

4tsps cornflour

1tsp vanilla paste

75mk double cream whipped until thick

Egg wash (an egg beaten with a little water)

Makes 12 round danish

What to do

Pastry

Preheat oven to 200deg C (non fan 220deg C)

Roll out the pastry to about 5mm thickness.

Using a 9cm cookie cutter cut out rounds and transfer to a greased baking tray.

With a 5cm cookie cutter make indents in the centre, taking care not to cut all the way the through. This will be the part that gets removed for the filling. Brush the rounds with the eggwash and Bake for 15-18mins until puffed up and golden, remove from oven and allow to cool.

They are supposed to uniform and flat but mine turned out a bit wonky!

Custard

Whilst the pastry is cooking start the custard by heating the milk and vanilla paste gently until nearly boiling.

Mix the egg yolk with sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the cornflour and ensure its blended -it may help to add a drop of cold milk

Add the hot milk to the egg, sugar & cornflour mix slowly, stirring continuously. Return the whole lot to the pan and heat gently whilst stirring until it thickens to almost a paste. Transfer to a shallow dish and cover with baking parchment/ greaseproof paper. Allow to cool completely. Once cool whisk in double cream.

Assembly

With a sharp pointy knife remove the centres of the pastry.

Fill first with a tsp or so of the caramel then top with the custard until up to the top and smooth off.

Sprinkle caster sugar overt he surface and using a blow torch caramelise the sugar or put under a hot grill for a few minutes. Be careful as the pastry catches quite easily

Leave to cool for a few minutes then pop then into the fridge for at least 15mins to allow the custard to chill. it ends up warming whilst caramelising the sugar.

But if like me you may just want to devour one straight away!

YUM!

'Domed' iced cupcakes

I made these for the Jubilee but the method can be used for any occasion

You will need -

1 batch of plain cupcakes
200 mls double cream whipped until thick
3/4pk of sugar paste icing block
raspberry jam
Buttercream - coloured red for this occasion



Start with some plain cupcakes

I used the recipe below and the all in one method for mine. Makes 12-16 cupcakes

6oz each of butter or margarine, caster sugar, and self raising flour
3eggs
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients together using an electric handwisk or a freestanding whisk, until smooth light and fluffy.

Spoon out into cupcake case about 2/3 full and bake at 180 deg C (gas mark 5) for about 20mins. test with a wooden skew to see whether they are cooked. ~If the skewer comes out clean they are done, if it has any liquid cake mix on it they will need a few mins more.

Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Once they are cold, cut out little a round in the centre of the cake about 1.5cm diameter  and down to a  depth of 1.5-2cm the using a pointy knife. lift out the round and keep. Fill the centre with some raspberry jam (about 1/2tsp) the place the cut out cake round back. You will probably need to trim a little off the bottom of the cut out so the top of the cake is level

Next add a blob of whipped double cream on top

Knead the sugarpaste until pliable then roll out on a surface dusted with icing sugar. Aim for a thickness of 3-5mm. Cut out rounds using a 3"pastry cutter.

Place these rounds carefully over the whipped cream and gently smooth downwards to the edge of the cupcake.

Decorate as desired- I used red buttercream, made up with 3 1/2 oz butter, 6oz of icing sugar and red food colouring paste.

Purple Kitchen Chicken Curry

This curry is Punjabi style. It tastes & smells fantastic! Have with rice or chapattis/rotis or even pittas. (I always keep some pitta breads in the freezer when I'm too lazy to make chapattis)

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil

2 or 3 onions depending on size, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed through a press

1 tsp cumin seeds

finely grated root ginger about 2 full tsps

1 green chilli,  finely chopped. (more if you want it extra spicy)

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsps salt or to taste

400g tin plum tomatoes*, 

1heaped tsp garam masala

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

3 skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

 some boiling water

It looks like a long list but it doesn't take that long to make - about 45mins

*I try to use good quality tinned tomatoes in a rich tomato sauce. These will be riper and sweeter. If you use the cheaper varieties (i.e when the expensive ones aren't on offer) add about 2tsps of tomato puree with the tinned tomatoes. Or you can always use plain passatta sauce

What to do:

Use a large pan or wok and start by frying the onions in the oil over a medium heat until softened and they begin to colour. Add the garlic and the cumin and stir.

Let this cook for a further couple of minutes then add the grated ginger and the chopped chilli. Stir well and add the salt and the turmeric. It may start to stick to the bottom so reduce the heat and stir as it cooks a bit more. 

Add the chicken and fry in the onion and spices until cooked all over i.e not pink. then add the peppers.

Blitz the tomatoes with a blender until smooth, you don't have to do this but I prefer to. Add the tomatoes to the pan along with the garam masala and stir in. Top up with with about 150ml of boiling water. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for 15-20minutes, stirring occasionally.

Check the chicken is cooked through by cutting a piece in half. If it is still pink inside cook for a further 10 mins - make sure the curry is bubbling slightly on the simmer.

Once ready add the chopped coriander and serve!