Cheesy crumpets

Out of all of the days of the week Sundays are possibly my favourite! On these days I love lingering over breakfast with a pot of tea and the morning papers; however in my case it is typically the Saturday Guardian, as I never get around to reading it all on one day!

This morning Chris and I treated ourselves to cheesy crumpets using up some of the left over Christmas brie (leftovers are one of the great throwbacks from the Christmas season)! This is actually a breakfast treat that friends of mine from Bristol re-introduced me to during the course of last year. Their version included the addition of marmite before adding the cheese, which for marmite lovers out there is really very good and definitely one to put on your list!

I am sure everyone has their own method for making these; however my technique is as follows…

• Toast the crumpet under the grill on both sides.
• Add sliced brie to the top of the crumpet and place back under the grill until the cheese is starting to bubble.
• Remove the crumpet and spread the cheese as evenly as possible over the crumpet.

[now for the naughty bit] …

• Spread a small amount of butter over the top of the cheese, this will melt into the cheese and make the crumpet go all gooey.
• Season with a little salt and pepper then eat whilst still hot…

Yum… I hope your Sunday mornings are all special in your own ways!


T :-)

Indulgent (if a little lazy) roast duck with potatoes and green salad!

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all! I hope everyone had a great Christmas break and that you are all feeling nice and refreshed for the new year ahead!

As a very special treat (and one that my husband and I had been trying to enjoy since our 1st wedding anniversary on 19th December 2010!), we shared a roast duck supper on the final evening of our Christmas break. I had been really keen to try this recipe since seeing it on Nigella’s Kitchen show before Christmas, however due to difficulties tracking down duck legs over the Christmas period and then social commitments we were unable to try this out until the final day of our holiday. Having now tried this dish I can honestly say that it is one of the easiest meals that I have ever made and also one of the tastiest!

The recipe follows and includes a great Italian proverb for preparing the salad dressing, which I recommend trying as it can be used for any salad. We enjoyed this dish (and not just because it had taken no time at all to prepare) with a bottle of Marks & Spencer Pinot Noir from the Mediterranean region of France. A lovely medium bodied wine with a good level of acidity that offset the richness of the duck very well indeed!

NB. The following recipe is adapted from a Nigella Lawson one.

Serves 2 people

Preparation time: 5 mins for the duck and potatoes, 5 mins for the salad

Cooking time: 1hr 30mins

Ingredients:

For the duck and potatoes

• 2 Duck legs
• 2 Baking potatoes
• A few sprigs of thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

For the salad

• 1 bag green salad (we used watercress)
• Olive oil
• Vinegar (red wine is best, however a white wine or balsamic vinegar would work just as well)
• Salt

Method

For the duck:

1. Preheat a fan assisted oven to 180 oC.

2. Seal the duck legs on each side in an oven proof pan (I used a frying pan that can be put straight into the oven).

NB. You do not need to add any oil to the pan, as the duck legs contain plenty and will start to release this during the sealing process.

3. Chop the potatoes into thick slices and then into quarters.

4. Take the pan off the heat and place the potatoes around the duck.

5. Baste the potatoes in the oil released from the duck.

6. Place a few sprigs of thyme into the pan.

7. Season the duck with salt and pepper.

8. Place the pan into the oven for approximately 1hr 30mins.

NB. The Nigella recipe says cook for two hours at 200 oC, however as I was using a fan assisted oven I dropped the temperature by 20 oC and found that the duck was ready after about 1hr 30mins.

For the salad:

1. Place the washed green salad into a bowl.

2. Add salt, vinegar and oil to taste and stir.

NB. Nigella used an Italian proverb to prepare the salad dressing, which I absolutely love and will be using for most salads from here on!

Italian Dressing Proverb

Four people are needed:

A wise person for the salt

A generous person for the olive oil

A stingy person for the red wine vinegar

A patient person to toss until every leaf is evenly coated (cc. 35 times)

Additionally a fifth person can be added:

A wealthy person to add a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Enjoy!! T :-)))

Sunday dinner with friends in the Slad Valley

Okay this is not the most recent Sunday, however I was browsing through my phone piccies and found the one below taken at an amazing Sunday dinner in October chez Lucy, and thought I would write a few words of thanks!

Lucy lives in the Slad Valley in a typically rustic farmhouse, which is one of my personal favourite areas of Gloucestershire and a perfect setting for a very substantial roast beef dinner! Lucy had managed to procure a humongous rib joint of beef from a butcher friend and cooked a full Sunday roast with all of the trimmings. My favourite dish was the red cabbage, which reminds me of Christmas - my most favourite time of year! Also post dinner there was one of my all time favourite desserts, a homemade apple crumble, made with fresh apples picked by Lucy's fair hands from the trees outside the kitchen the same morning!

Just to the right of the picture is my lovely husband Chris who is in conversation with my equally lovely friend Julia, only you will have to imagine she is there as I have not got her in shot! Our generous hostess Lucy is next to Chris and the rest of the table is a mixture of joint friends of ours and friends of Lucy's. A great bunch of people and I think everyone will agree a great evening!

Anyway thank you Lucy for cooking one of the best roast dinners I have had all year. Especially big thanks for the apple crumble, Julia and I had first dibs and it went down far too easily!! Seconds were pretty much a given and it was probably just as well we had to head off fairly early! Looking forward to returning the favour soon.

T :-)

Monday looms and brings with it the first full week in my new job!

So... this coming week will be the first full week in my new corporate worldy job! I have just finished eight interesting (at times) and fun filled years as an energy risk analyst with British Energy and am now starting my new role as an internal auditor with EDF Energy. Slightly daunting, however I am a big girl now and just have to suck it up and get on with it! When I think about it most ladies my age have full time jobs, households and kids to manage so what am I really worried about? A husband and adorable kitty are my only ties, so I can really embrace the opportunity and enjoy myself! I have no idea what to expect yet, well... that's not completely true (!) I do have an idea of what the new role will entail, however this is the first time in my career to date that I will be working with new people in a new environment... A little daunting at the moment, however I am sure in a months time I will be completely settled in (fingers crossed...)!


One of the great parts of my new role is the opportunity to travel and with that the chance to try lots of exciting new foods, wines and to meet new people. Already I have a two day trip to Scotland scheduled for this month, a trip to Paris in November and weekly visits to London. I have had lots of advice from colleagues already doing the weekly commute, most of whom knowingly tell me that I will soon have to get used to eating on the go and all the badness that comes with that (!), however I am absolutely determined to make sure I fit in healthy and interesting foodie experiences! Time will tell I am sure, however for the moment I am almost far too excited to eat!

T :-))

Baked Camembert...

I have always wondered what baked Camembert is like and this Friday I finally got around to trying it!

I used the following simple recipe...

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients: 1 Camembert, 2 sliced garlic cloves, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
2. Take the Camembert out of its wrapper and place back into the wood (sometimes with a cardboard base) box.
3. Place the Camembert on a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray.
4. Pierce the top of the Camembert and insert pieces of sliced garlic and fresh thyme. NB. I like to use lots of garlic (i.e. 2 cloves), however you can adjust for your own personal taste.
5. Sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
6. Place in the oven for 10-15 mins, or until the cheese is melted.
7. Serve with warmed french loaf and a glass of full bodied red wine!

Chris and I shared one between us with a small french baguette and it was a perfect portion size for two. I loved the softened garlic slices in with the cheese and the thyme gives a subtle infusion of flavour. I will definitely be making this again soon... such a simple dish to make and really, really tasty!

T :-))

Eating out, what is the best way to split the bill - equally or pay for what you eat?

Payment of the bill often seems to be a sensitive issue when dining out and while reading up on this recently on the web, I came across lots of views on the best approach… split the bill evenly… work out what each diner has spent… split the food equally and the alcohol only between those partaking… let the most sober person work it out… so many possibilities, but which one is the best?

My husband and I often eat out at various bars, restaurants and cafes in the Cotswolds and depending on whom we are with the etiquette around how to split the bill varies. With close friends we typically split the bill equally and make an allowance for people who are not drinking, which to be honest pretty much never happens with our friend group! With close family a parent usually picks up the bill (!) or we split it equally, while with extended family we often go down the calculators at the ready route. I always find in this instance that it is a good time to enjoy a final glass of wine, while a more zealous family member diligently works out to the penny exactly what everyone owes. At least doing it this way avoids the not enough money from some people saga!

Unless we are out with the usual crowd, I always think it is a good idea to decide at the start of the meal what the group want to do with the bill. That way everyone knows at the outset what to expect and any potential awkwardness and unspoken questions such as "I am the only one not drinking and they have ordered another bottle of wine... I wonder if they are expecting me to pay towards that?" are taken away and everyone can focus on enjoying the meal and the company.

Anyway, my own personal preference is splitting the bill equally (making an adjustment for the non-drinkers) and if we absolutely have to go down the pay for your own meal route I recommend leaving it to the most sober member or the group while you sit back and enjoy one final drink!

What do you think is best? Split it or pay your own?

T :-))

NB. Coming soon the controversial issue of should you tip and if so how much?!?!?

Peanut butter chocolate fudge (little pieces of heaven)!!

Close friends of my husband and I call Sundays "Lazy Sundays" and devote the whole day to easy living, before their hectic work week begins - I wholeheartedly endorse this idea! Last Sunday inspired by their example I decided to look for a quick and easy sweet treat to make at home using ingredients I already had in the flat. Perusing the web I came across lots of recipes for peanut butter chocolate fudge. Peanut butter is one of my favourite toppings to spread on toast, crumpets, sandwiches and just about any other type of bread product, so when I came across the recipe and realised I had all of the ingredients to hand (well most of them anyway), I could not wait to try it out! Being a little short on caster sugar I made up the difference with granulated sugar. This made the fudge slightly grainy, however it still tasted really good and my husband's and my colleagues in our respective offices (aka my food guinea pigs) did not complain and the fudge soon disappeared... I am also going to put this one on the list to make with my girl guides this winter, as being young ladies they love anything to do with chocolate and this is right up their street!


I came up with my own version of the recipe (adapted from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/easiest-peanut-butter-fudge/Detail.aspx)...

1 cup of icing sugar
1 cup of chocolate pieces (I used giant chocolate buttons)
1 cup of smooth peanut butter
1 cup of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla flavouring (optional)


Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, add the butter and stir until melted. Take the chocolate and butter mix off the heat and stir in the peanut butter, icing sugar and teaspoon of vanilla (optional). Mix until smooth and then place the mixture into a greased 8x8 inch dish and chill until firm. When completely set cut the fudge into little pieces and store in an airtight container.


A few ideas I am going to try out in my next batches are...

• Using crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth
• Adding a teaspoon of something alcoholic (possibly cherry brandy, as I love this and think the rich flavour would work well)
• Swirling melted white chocolate through the mixture after it has been placed in the setting tray to create a marbled effect

This was a really lovely little recipe to make and went down well with everyone who tried it. I will definitely be trying this one out again soon!


Happy sweet making!


T :-))