St Andrews Day - Traditional Scottish Recipe

30th November is the celebration of the feast of St Andrew throughout the world. St Andrew patron saint of Scotland, legend has it, was crucified on an X shaped cross - the Scottish heraldic term being a 'saltire', which can be seen on the Scottish flag.


Why not join in the World Wide Ceilidh online for a bit of fun? Or create a traditional Scottish dish - Cullen Skink? source:www.scotland.org


What you need: 1tbsp vegetable oil , 1 leek (chopped) 1l. fish stock, 200g. peeled potatoes (cubed), 300g smoked haddock fillet, 1 bay leaf, pepper, 2tbsp whipping cream, chopped chives. large stock pan, slotted spoon, liquidiser

1. Warm the oil in a pan, add the chopped leek, cover and gently cook for a few minutes until soft.
2. Add the stock, bay leaf, potato and haddock. Season lightly with black pepper.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the haddock from the pan with a slotted spoon. When the fish is cool enough to handle, remove any skin and bones, then flake the haddock back into the pan.
5. Blend a ladle full of the soup in a liquidizer and return to the pan.
6. Stir in the double cream and simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes.
7. Add more black pepper if necessary, then sprinkle with the chopped chives and serve.

Serve with crusty bread. Have an enjoyable St Andrews Day on Tuesday! 

Jane :)

Chicken Bake Recipe - Really Easy And Tasty Family Supper Dish

Chicken Bake 

This is a lovely supper or dinner recipe that all the family will love. It's easy to make and is really tasty. Great as an alternative to takeaway as it's cheap, and can be made using kitchen cupboard ingredients. The breadcrumbs can be dried ones from a tub or use up old bread leftovers. If you use a blender or coffee grinder on your left over bread and then freeze for when it's needed - this gives a better taste than dried ones, too. You can create this as  a gluten free dish by using Kallo organic stock cubes and gluten free bread (suitable for coeliacs) made into breadcrumbs.

What you need: a bunch of spring onions (chopped), 4 cloves of garlic, small red onion, 500g chicken breasts (in finger sized pieces), mixed herbs, salt & pepper, olive oil, vegetable or chicken stock cube and 7floz /190ml hot water, 2tsp ginger, brown breadcrumbs, Large rectangular casserole dish.

Pre- heat oven to 350°F/ 176°C / Gas Mark 4.

Peel and chop red onion into small cube sized pieces.Peel and chop garlic cloves. Fry red onions in olive oil add garlic and cook until onions are softened and browned. Add to casserole dish. Fry meat until cooked and add to dish. Season, sprinkle over ginger and chopped spring onions. Make up stock with cube added to water, mix well and pour over chicken and onions. Put into oven. Bake for 15 mins - remove from oven using oven gloves. Turn up oven to 425°F/ 218°C / Gas Mark 7. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the food, drizzle with olive oil and return to oven for 10 mins to crispen. 

Serve warm with steamed vegetables or you could even try adding pasta to the dish to make a one pot supper.

Enjoy  :)

Come Dine With Me In Style

I love watching the TV program 'Come Dine With Me' - the voice over chap Dave Lamb is absolutely hilarious. He manages to reduce everything that occurs into quippy one liners, always tongue in cheek and sometimes very scathing but always extremely amusing.
Sometimes the foods is a bit hit and miss and the diners hover between being obnoxious or completely dim-witted. It’s curious how a table of five strangers turn up to dine and hope to build a brilliant relationship over a mediocre meal. The theme of the programme is that four or five people invite guests in turn to their home to sample a taste of their culinary expertise. After each evening during the week the other diners score the host or hostess on the event.
The score reflects upon the entertainment value, the food, how it’s presented and how welcoming the host was. This is always very amusing as everyone gets to slate the host or hostess and ridicule their menu choices and completed dishes. Bearing in mind most of the guests are by now well imbibed, the comments are always much different to what was said during the actual show in front of the other diners. As I say, hilarious.
It started getting me thinking though, what would my guests score me on for my evenings entertaining, if pushed to do so? Well I’m always careful to cook something that I’ve cooked before and ask before hand for any allergies or dislikes. I hate being stressed in the kitchen and so would always cook something that I liked doing and that wouldn’t require me being tied to the cooker all night. After all entertaining isn’t about you being a chef it’s about enjoying your guests and the food.
I tend to go for a starter that can be pre-prepared and isn’t time sensitive (guests aren’t always on time) like soup with home baked breads or stuffed mushrooms. That way you can meet and greet, settle your guests and then pop out for the starter at a convenient time.
Dessert is also a good choice to have prepped up earlier – dishes such as fruit brulee, good old fashioned tipsy trifle or tarte tatin can easily be cooked and left until after the main course is finished.
 I always think that little touches like sparkling cutlery and glassware (use steam from the kettle on glasses and polish with a glass cloth) create a lovely ambience. Flower arrangements, although simple also add a touch of elegance.
Last Christmas I designed little place card holders from small gift bags in gold with an angel name card sticking out of the top. I just found an ethereal angel picture on the web, printed onto card and then added each diners name by hand in gothic fonts. The bags were then filled with a scroll with information on the guests name and what it meant and a few famous people of that name, some after dinner mints and a small gift. This went done really well and proved to be very entertaining.
My top tips for anyone attempting a Come dine With Me would be; create a simple tried and tested menu, use the correct catering equipment and pay attention to the finishing touches like crockery, linen and flowers. But above all else – enjoy! 
You can find any equipment you need on this brilliant website here.

Bonfire Night Food New ways - with bangers and spuds

I think we can all remember those lovely Autumn Bonfire Nights of our childhood. A great big roaring fire,which gave you glowing cheeks from standing so close. The smell of gunpowder and fireworks, wellington boots and mittens. And remember, remember on the 5th of November hot jacket potatoes, sausages in a bun and warm tinned soup, lovely?

Things have changed - the fireworks now resemble rocket launched missiles and the bonfire is banned due to health and safety. But it's still a great time to gather together family for an autumn food feast. Don't ban the sausages and tatties but serve them up in a way that's sure to be a hit with all of the family (even awkward Uncle Angus).

Create a dish of hot and sticky sweet and sour sausages. Preheat oven to 190 deg.C / 375 deg. F/ Gas 5. Place some really meaty sausages into roasting tin with a drizzle of oil all over and cook for 15 - 20 mins. Meanwhile mix honey, wholegrain mustard, pinch of mixed spices and small chunks of pineapple together in bowl. Once sausages are light brown pour over honey and mustard mixture. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes until brown and sticky. Remove and leave to cool. Serve with crusty bread wedges.

And here's a new take on jacket potatoes.

Bake 1 to 2 potatoes per person in the oven for approximately 1.5 hours. Make sure they are cooked and really soft - check by inserting knife. Take out of oven leave to cool and then cut open. Fry off the bacon bits in a pan until crispy. Mix soft cream cheese with herbs, crispy bacon bits and  spring onions in a bowl. Scoop out potato innards and mix with the cream cheese mixture. Spoon back into each 'shell' place on plate and garnish with chopped chives - delicious.

Enjoy your Bonfire Night celebrations. All the catering equipment you need for these any many other autumn recipes can be found here.