Churros and Hot Chocolate

This is something I have been wanting to make for ages, but hadn't got my butt in gear and got on with it. Then last week I get home and Stokesy has pulled it out of the bag.......Churros and Hot Chocolate on the table................wahoooooooo! And check out the vague heart shape....aaaah....there goes his reputation.....sorry Stokes!

Anyway, I am pleased to report that they were absolutely delicious. Nice light churros (dinky doughnut) and thick, rich hot chocolate with a hint of chilli.

So Men I suppose you'll want to know how to make them for your ladies

Serves 4 - Ready in 20 minutes

For the chocolate
225g plain chocolate, with at least 60% cocoa solids, broken up
800ml full-cream milk
Large pinch chilli powder (optional, but recommended)

For the churros
Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
100g plain flour
150ml full-cream milk
2 medium eggs, beaten
50g caster sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1. In a large, deep pan, heat the oil for deep frying the churros to 190°C or until a piece of bread takes 30 seconds to colour. Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan130°C/gas 2.
2. Bring the milk and 150ml water to the boil in a pan, add the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cool slightly, then gradually beat in enough egg to make a smooth but stiff, glossy mixture.
3. Roll the batter into your desired shapes. Bust out the hearts, you know you want to! Fry for 4-5 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden brown. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto a baking tray lined with kitchen paper. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and toss with the churros gently until lightly coated. Pop in the oven to keep warm while you cook the rest.
4. Bring the milk to the boil in a small pan. Add the chilli powder, then take the milk off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Then add your chocolate, stirring until completely combined. I used my little cappucino frother to get some foam going. Stokes used it to spray the walls with hot chocolate, oops! Pour into hot mugs.
5. Dunk churros into hot chocolate and sink into sugar induced warm snoozy feelings

© delicious. magazine

Big Porkin' baby

Last night in France meant it was time for us to get creative, think up (squabble over!) our own 2 course menu then cook it over the day for service in the evening.

On the menu tonight madame et monsieurs....

Main: Braised pork belly with crunchy crackling with mushroom and walnut duxelle, on potato rosti....and ON THE SIDE roasted carrots and green beans with garlic butter

Dessert: Chocolate souffle, salted caramel icecream with walnut shortbread

I think we did pretty well, worked in perfect synchrony as a team..hahaha not too much squabbling anyway. The pork was absolutely gorgeous, melt-in-the-mouth, we did it in the sous-vide at 80degrees for 18hrs.

I've since done it for a cookery school using the following method. I overheard 1 woman say it was the best pork she has ever tasted..wahooo!

Method: Pork belly in roasting tin on top of 3 stalks of celery, water up to just below fat/skin line. Cover with greaseproof, then tin foil. Into oven at 170 for 1 hour, then 140 for 1 hr, then 120 for 3 hours, then I had to go to bed so I jut switched the oven off and left it in.In the morning I just took it out, removed the skin and did the crackling thing with it, then removed the bones from the belly before reheating it. It was super-tender and v delicious....oh and I did loads of SALT and fennel seeds on the skin.yum!

Sorry the France posting is 1. late 2. all out of sync......I'll get more pics up over the next couple of weeks........i promise miss!

Beet and chocolate cake

Here's a lovely squidgy beet and chocolate cake. I confess that sometimes I just make it without the beetroot because I can be bothered cooking them. Then I just grate some beetroot into the icing sugar to give bright purple (natural coloured) icing.

This recipe will be in the brochure for the Food & Drink Festival over here on 26/27th September.....but here's a sneak preview

Ingredients

For the cake:
230g self-raising flour – from Laxey Glen Four Mills
100g cocoa powder
200g caster sugar
100g dark chocolate
125g butter – courtesy of Isle of Man Creameries
250g cooked beetroot – nurtured by Robin of Purely Plants Produce
3 large eggs – laid at Staarvey Farm

To serve:
350g blackberries – from a hedgerow near you
250ml double cream – courtesy of Isle of Man Creameries

Method

Preheat the oven to 1800C . Butter and flour a 18cm (7in) round cake tin.

Sift together the flour and cocoa, then mix in the sugar. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a very low heat. Puree the beetroot, whish the eggs then stir them into the beetroot. Add the beetroot and chocolate mixtures to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before turning out of its tin. Serve with a scattering of blackberries and big dollop of double cream.

Choccy love bomb

My Friday night schedule was a private dinner party for a family, the night before their daughter's wedding. With romance in the air I added some luuurve decorations to their dessert of chocolate pots. I didn;t have any mini piping bags so had to make my own, a tip for you...remember to fold over the opening at the top....I didn;t so covered myself in melted chocolate. oops

Show recipes - Southern and Royal - Part 2

Sticky beef stir-fry with cabbage and cashew nuts - Serves 4

o 2 tbsp vegetable oil
o 2 x 200g Manx sirloin steaks, trimmed of fat + thinly sliced
o 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
o 2.5cm piece fresh ginger, finely sliced into strips
o 50g unsalted cashew nuts, chopped
o 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
o 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
o 3 tbsp light soy sauce
o Pinch of chilli flakes
200g Manx green cabbage

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the beef, in 2 batches, and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove the beef and set aside.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and cashews and stir-fry for just a minute, then add the sweet chilli sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, chilli flakes and 100ml water.Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage to the sauce and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then return the beef to the wok to heat through

Queenie stir-fry with spring onion - Serves 4

o 1 tbsp Ellerslie Farm rapeseed oil
o 1" root ginger finely sliced
o 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
o 2 bunches Manx spring onions, finely sliced
o 24 Manx Queenies
o 50ml soy sauce
o 50ml water
o 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Method
1. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan, add the garlic, ginger and spring onion and fry for a minute or two until softened.
2. Then add the queenies and cook for a further 2 mins until they have browned slightly, add the soy and water, taste add more water or soy if required then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Eat immediately!

Ground lamb with Hoummos and pine nuts - Serves 4



o 2 tbsp pinenuts, lightly toasted
o 3 tbsp Manx rapeseed oil
o ½ large Manx onion
o 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
o 170g Manx lamb, minced
o 1 tub of hoummos – ooh a Delia-style cheat!
o Sprinkling of paprika
o A few leaves of Manx flat leaf parsley

Method
1. Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat and lightly toast the pine nuts.
2. Remove from the pan and set aside
3. Add the olive oil to the pan and gently fry the onion until golden. Add the cinnamon.
4. Now turn the heat up and when the oil is sizzling add the lamb. Use a fork to the break up the lamb. You want it to be nice and crispy/browned.
6. Add the pine nuts and remove from the heat.
7. Put the hoummos into a serving dish and layer the lamb mixture on top. Sprinkle with paprika and the leaves of parsley. Great with pitta bread

Edith’s choc chip cookies - Serves 4

4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
5oz plain flour
1/2tsp baking powder - thoroughly mix with the flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz porridge oats
6oz chocolate, smashed into big pieces, use your preferred ratio of dark:milk:white

Method
1. Put all ingredients except the chocolate into your mixing bowl and mix/Kenwood until combined.
2. Add the chocolate and fold in gently using a large metal spoon. Arguments frequently occur in my house due to over stirring and the breaking up of the chocolate chunks. Hmmmm
3. Put big blobs of the mixture onto your baking sheet (use silicone paper) then bake in the oven at 180 for 12 minutes. Great with cream

DTL Girls - NIght out at Relish

The girls from DTL (Dept of Tourism and Leisure) came over to Relish on Friday night for some R&R. This came in the form of Massaman curry and Chocolate Truffles......plus they got to check out Stokesy in his pinny. Down girls!

We started with a chocolate tasting, well they had been at work all day, I didn't want any of them fainting on me. Next we made the curry paste and did veg prep. Then they learnt the secrets of seasoning Thai-style. A sprinkling of coriander, roasted peanuts and perfectly sliced limes completed the dish.

After dinner the girls shaped then dipped the truffles in more chocolate, making sure they did plenty of tasting along the way. Now that's what I call a Friday night!

Don't get in the way of these ladies

If you see a group of ladies gathered around bowls of melted chocolate and semi-formed truffles do not attempt to disturb them. You can see the focus on their faces.

Rob took the truffles a stage further after this picture and decorated them with beautiful chocolate swirls and finishes. Unfortunately my chocolates had a...errrmm.......accident and didn't want their photo taken. Okay the real reason....they were all tucked up safely in my bag to come home. I was planning to share them with Stokey when I got back to the rock. But.....I was on the train to London and got a bit hungry. So I went to the train station shop, the trauma of being face with the reality of 'normal food' after two weeks of gorgeous food, it was so depressing! I think I had a choice of Ginsters pasties or a packet of Monster Munch. So, not wanting to pollute my body with E numbers...........the chocolate truffles sacrificed themselves for the greater good. Mmmmm they were so good :o)

Final dish for Day 1 - Chocolate Pot

Mmmmm now you know that I am rather keen on a good chocolate dessert. This was simple to make (Dark choc, cream. Amaretto and Amareti biscuits) then you just have to ponce it up with these little chocolate decorations (real word for these is chocolate run-outs, check me out with all the chef terms). You just go for it with your little piping bag and create! These are definitely going on my new menus, I think they look beautiful.

Cookies and Ice cream

Evening All. I hope you're enjoying your Friday night. I was enjoying mine but now I am sad because dessert is over :o( it was soooo delicious and I could've eaten lots more. Unfortunately I made the mistake of inviting hungry Basil round for tea *mental note* sometimes friends are not welcome.

Displayed above is the excellent combination of homebaked choc chip cookies with Waitrose white chocolate ice cream. The cookies are made to Edith's recipe (Edith lives up the road from me, she is Dutch and does very good baking). So to make Edith's cookies.....oh apologies for ye olde measurements, she wrote the recipe down like this and I've never bothered to convert:

4oz butter
4oz caster sugar
5oz plain flour
1/2tsp baking powder - thoroughly mix with the flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz porridge oats
6oz chocolate, smashed into pieces, use your preferred ratio of dark:milk

i like to make these completely by hand. Squish together the butter and sugar, then add your flour + baking powder mix. Squish again. Add the egg + vanilla extract. Squish. The mixture will be very sticky. Finally add the oats and choc chips, give it a final squish.

Roll into walnut size balls and put onto a lightly floured baking sheet. Into a 180 degree fan oven for 12 minutes. These are very good on their own, but even better with the icecream. Yum.

And to dessert - Chocolate Amaretti Cake

Oooh look at that. Now that is what I want to end my day with. Rich, moist, dense and chocolatey.

This recipe was taught to me at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Rachel Allen was doing the demonstration that day, so whilst the female half of the audience drooled over the food, the male attendees.....well I think you can guess what they were drooling over.

Torta di Ciocolatta

Mmmm more party food. This is the posh version of the Chocolate Danger I wrote about earlier in the week. Whipped butter/chocolate/eggs encasing toasted almonds, hazelnuts and crushed biscuit. One of the latest additions to my catering menu. Testing to perfect this recipe was really tough.

Mmmm chocolate danger

Warning: This stuff can lead to sugar coma.

Really simple to make. I'm a bit naughty for not including recipes/amounts etc so here you go:

225g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
50g cocoa powder, sieved
70g raisins
275g digestives, roughly crushed
200g dark chocolate100g milk chocolate

Line a cake tin or baking tray with greaseproof paper and butter the inside of the paper.
Put the butter, golden syrup and cocoa into a saucepan and heat until everything melts together. Mix thoroughly.
In a large mixing bowl put the digestives and raisins, then pour over the butter mixture. Mix very thoroughly so that everything gets coated in the mixture.
Tip into your prepared tin/tray, smoothing down the top. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Melt the dark and milk chocolate, either in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave or over a very gentle heat. Stir until smooth then pour over your biscuit mixture in the tin.
Put it back into the fridge and chill until your topping sets (about 20 minutes). Cut into rectangles and enjoy the feeling of your cholesterol rising.