He plays pee-po

I was going through some old photographs earlier and found this one that I had totally forgot about. Have you ever seen anyone more handsome?




photograph by me

Spicy corn relish

We made this over the weekend to serve on top of pan fried seabass and Mexican green rice. This taste combo is one of my absolute favourites right now. The freshness of the greens in the rice combined with the spice and sweetness in this relish is amazing and we never make anywhere near enough.



To make this spicy little number, you will need:

2 ears of fresh corn (which should give you approx. 1 and a half cups of kernels)
2 tbsps olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsps minced ginger
2 jalapeno chillies (adjust depending on your heat tolerance), finely chopped
1/2 a red bell pepper, deseeded and cut into small pieces
1/2 a green bell pepper, deseeded and cut into small pieces
1 ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tbsps dark brown sugar, more to taste
2 tbsps cider vinegar
3 teaspoons of thai sweet chilli sauce
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
3 tbsps coarsely grated dry-roasted peanuts
3 tbsps chopped fresh coriander

Start by removing the kernels from your corn. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan and add the shallots, garlic, ginger and chillies. Cook over a medium heat until soft, approximately 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the corn, red and green bell peppers and tomato. Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the corn and peppers release their juices and these juices start to evaporate.

Add the brown sugar, vinegar, sweet chilli sauce, salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender and the relish has thickened and is richly flavoured. Stir in the peanuts and coriander and cook for another 2 minutes. This relish should be highly seasoned so at this point check that the seasoning is to your liking. Serve this relish hot or cold with almost any kind of seafood, poultry or meat. This relish will also keep for up to 5 days in the fridge in an air tight container.

Original recipe from Steve Raichlen's Barbecue! Sauces, Rubs & Marinades

Raspberry frangipane tarts

To make these gorgeous, sticky, sweet, spongey little tarts, you will need:

100 grams of ground almonds
100 grams of softened butter
1 free range egg
90 grams of golden caster sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 orange
200 grams of raspberry jam
6 small shortcrust pastry cases
Icing sugar, for dusting
Clotted cream, to serve

Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 5. Crack the egg into a mixing bowl and add the almonds, butter and caster sugar. Grate in the zest of half the orange and add the vanilla extract. Using a spoon mix everything together until combined.

Next, lay out the pastry cases onto a baking tray. In each case spoon 1 teaspoon on jam, then 1 heaped teaspoon of the frangipane mixture, then another teaspoon of jam and another heaped teaspoon of the mixture. Spread the layers out a little as you go. Don't worry about being too neat. It's nice to let the jam ooze out through the frangipane when cooked.

Place the tray on the middle shelf in your oven and cook for 20 minutes. When ready the top of the tarts should be golden brown and oozing with a little of the jam. Serve warm with a large dollop of cream and a dusting of icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Pineapple caramel cheesecake

This cheesecake is delicious and creamy. Nothing like you've experienced with a store bought cheesecake. I recommend that you make this one. The pineapple caramel topping sauce is amazing and satifies the sweet tooth.



You will need:

40 grams salted butter
140 grams of plain hob nob biscuits
225 grams of caster sugar
2 tbsps cornflour
750 grams of good quality cream cheese
6 large free range eggs, seperated
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
150ml double cream
150ml sour cream
pinch of sea salt
zest of 1 lime

For the pineapple caramel:

a large knob of salted butter
200 grams of fresh pineapple, cored and peeled and cut into small chunks
a pinch of sea salt
225 grams of caster sugar

Preheat your oven to gas mark 2. Now go ahead and lightly grease a spring form cake tin with some butter and line the sides and base with baking paper.

To make the base, melt the butter and blitz the biscuits in the food processor. Mix these together until combined and then gently press the mixture evenly into the base of your cake tin. Now, if you want to put some of this mixture onto a spoon and place that in your mouth, go ahead, it's fine. Promise. Place your base in the fridge to chill for a while.

Now mix the sugar and cornflour together. Beat in the cream cheese, egg yolks and vanilla extract. Unless you have an arm like Popeye, you will need an electric whisk for this. Gradually add both the sour and double creams as you whisk. Add the salt and lime zest and mix to combine.

In a seperate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff and form peaks. Then with a large metal spoon fold them carefully into the cheese mixture. You want to keep this light and fluffy so fold very carefully. Pour the mixture on to your chilled base and place in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the cheesecake is lovely and golden on the top. Don't worry if your cheeecake cracks on top, this is the look we're after. Once the cake is cooked, turn off the oven and leave it there to cool completely. Then and only then, remove the tin and baking paper.

To make the caramel, melt the butter in a small, hot pan and fry the pineapple until golden. Season it with the salt and 1 teaspoon of the sugar as you go. Remove from the pan and add the rest of the sugar along with 100ml of water. When the sugar has completely dissolved, turn the heat right up so that the sugar bubbles and turns a deep, golden colour.

Turn the heat down and add another 140ml of water. Be careful that the caramel doesn't spit. Once the sugar has dissolved again, the syrup will start to thicken. Add the pineapple and pour a little over each serving of cheesecake.

Delicious.

Recipe adapted from Thomasin Miers' Mexican Food Made Simple

Santa Pez

Can you tell that I'm getting in the festive spirit?

My Ultimate Festive Find

My! What are these?

Shiny Brites you say? Never. Yes...yes, they are.

I've wanted some Shiny Brites for a very long time now but could never justify the huge shipping costs to get them over to me here in the UK (where they aren't available *sob*). So, can you imagine my utter surprise and plain girlish excitement when I walk into a home store last Sunday and as I'm milling through the festive isles looking at all the glittery, shiny baubles I spot this packaging that I know so well? I tell you, I nearly knocked over every person in my way as I sprinted, yes sprinted, over to the shelf that these were on. I couldn't believe it, there in my hands I was actually holding boxes of Shiny Brites. Naturally, I had to buy them all. Didn't I? I did.
You may be asking 'What are Shiny Brites?'. I shall tell you. Shiny Brites are a popular American christmas decoration originally founded by Max Eckhardt just after the Great Depression, now reproduced by Christopher Radko. These lovely little decs are pure Christmas to me. Traditional and festive in every way. I shall be decorating my tree with these until I'm old and grey.

Tee hee.

A slightly belated Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin carving, decorating mantles, hanging bats, baking cakes, making Halloween garlands, dressing up, giving treats, Chinese takeaway and old Abbott & Costello movies. I hope everyone had a bewitching Halloween.