Monday 15 February 2016

Apple Pancakes - How To Make







Apple Pancakes

Bored with plain pancakes?
Here is a way to jazz up simple pancakes using a couple of apples.
Core and cut two apples into chunks.
Put into a saucepan with a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a splash of water.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon and a couple of Cloves and leave to simmer until the apples are soft.
Remove the cloves and add a handful of chopped Almonds to the mixture.
Check the sweetness of the apples as now is the time to adjust the seasoning.
Spoon the apples over the pancakes and roll them up..
Place into a gratin dish and cover with the left over apples and bake in the oven at 150 centigrade for 10-15 minutes or until they look like the pancakes are crisping up.
Remove to cool a little before serving with Vanilla Ice-cream and a sprinkle of Icing Sugar over the top.







Simple Pancakes - How to Make







How to make delicious simple pancakes for Shrove Tuesday.

Ingredients
200 ml Milk
100 gms plain Flour
2 Eggs
Caster Sugar
Jam
Lemon Juice

Try this with Nutella, mashed Banana or any other filling you like.









Tuesday 9 February 2016

Mustard & Honey Glazed Roast Gammon - How to make





How to make a Honey and Mustard glazed roast Gammon

Ingredients to Boil
1 Smoked Gammon Joint
2 Celery sticks roughly hopped
1 Onion roughly hopped
2 Leeks roughly hopped
12-15 Pepper Corns
2 Bay Leaves

Ingredients to finish roasting Gammon
Cloves to stud the diamond pattern
1 cup of Orange Juice
1 tblsp English Mustard powder
2 tblsp Honey

Method to boil the Gammon
Put the Gammon in a stock pot with the vegetables and then top with two litres of water and bring to a boil than turn down to a simmer and simmer for two hours.
Leave to cool in the stock.
When cool, remove the Gammon from the pot. Remove the skin leaving a small layer of fat. You can serve this as it is or prepare the joint for a further roasting in the oven to enhance its flavour.

Method to finish roasting the Gammon
Remove the skin from the Gammon and cut a diamond pattern in the fat with a sharp knife.
Stud the diamonds with Cloves.
Mix the Honey and Mustard. If it is too thick, slacken with a little hot water.
Put tyhe Gammon in a roasting pan.
Add the Orange juice to the pan and then brush the diamond pattern with the Honey and Mustard sauce. Keep basting every ten minutes while roasting in the oven.
The fat will go golden with the basting but be careful not to let the Honey mixture burn.


A tasty home made Shepherds Pie - how to make


How to make Spicy Chinese Plum Sauce




How to make Spicy Chinese Plum Sauce
2 lb Plums - remove the stones and simmer in a splash of water until reduced and the flesh is soft.
4 cloves of garlic finely diced or crushed.
1 Shallot finely diced
2 tablespoons of Ginger finely diced or grated.
2 tablespoons of Chili Bean Sauce
1 cup Mucavado Brown Sugar (250 ml)
2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice
1/4 cup of Soy Sauce (65ml)
1/2 cup Rice Vinegar (125 ml)

Add all the other ingredients into the Plums and bring to a boil and then turn to a simmer and leave for 30-40 minutes.
Use a stick blender to blend the mixture and then pass through a fine sieve.
Sterilize jars and the lids and add the Plum Sauce to the jars and seal with the lids. Use a Pyrex jar to pour or a Jam Funnel.
This will keep for 6 months in the pantry.