The Parmo Pizza

Monday, 30 November 2009

Remember the epic post about Parmos? Well, I've taken things a step further and recreated another Teesside favourite of ours. This is the Chicken parmo in pizza form and it's truly delicious.
When we were living in Middlesbrough, there was only one take away that we knew of that made parmo pizzas. A place on Linthorpe Road that otherwise wasn't really worth a visit somehow came up with the genius combination of bite size pieces of breaded chicken, an unhealthy amount of grated cheese all atop a pizza base covered with cheese. Beautiful.

These are pretty simple to make really. All you need to do is make some chicken nuggets, one quantity of basic pizza dough in your bread machine and a pint of cheese sauce. you then just assemble everything together and bake in the oven.

Ingredients
For the chicken:
400g diced chicken breast
1 egg, beaten
Generous helping of golden breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Bash the diced chicken with a rolling pin until flat. Coat in the egg and follow with breadcrumbs. Fry in the preheated oil until crispy and cooked through. Drain on kitchen roll while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

For the white sauce:
14g (1/2 ounce) butter
14g (1/2 ounce) plain flour
1/2 pint milk
Salt and pepper
Generous handful of grated cheese

Place the first three ingredients into a pan and bring up to the boil whisking constantly until smooth and thick. Season to taste and stir in the cheese until melted.

For the pizza dough:
235ml water
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
350g white bread flour
1 tsp yeast

Place the ingredients into the bread machine pan in the order listed and set the machine to "dough." Roll the dough into two medium pizza rounds and place each on a baking tray.

Method
Spread the white sauce over the pizza bases evenly making sure to go close to the edge of the crust. Tear the chicken pieces and spread evenly over the bases. Cover the pizzas with plenty of grated cheese and any extras you may like (herbs, chillies, pepperoni - whatever you can think of) and place in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and saliva inducing. Enjoy.

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Lemon Cheesecake Cupcakes

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

As you may be aware I was responsible for making some gorgeous cupcakes for my brother's birthday last weekend. I was really unsure which flavours to go for so I had a bit of a think and decided I needed a chocolate, a fruit and something else.

The fruit came in the form of lemon. I really like lemon in desserts. The sharp citrus matches perfectly wit the rich butter and counteracts the sweetness of the sugar.

These were a bit of an experiment actually. I used the Red Velvet recipe and tweaked it to make a lemon cheesecake flavoured cake. I used good quality lemon curd in the middle of the cakes and topped them with a lemon cream cheese frosting that was to die for. The lemon curd did sink a bit in the batter but it didn't really matter. There was a lovely lemony gooey centre/bottom to these cakes and they were a big hit at the party!

Ingredients
195g plain flour
85g butter, softened
225g sugar
1 large egg
Grated zest and juice of 1 1/2 lemons (you'll use the other half a lemon in the frosting)
3-4 drops yellow food colouring (optional)
1 jar (400g) of good lemon curd (you may not use it all)
3/4 tsp salt
175ml milk + 2 tbsp lemon juice (or 175ml buttermilk)
3/4 tsp cider vinegar
3/4 tsp baking soda

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and line muffin tray with 12 paper liners.
In a small bowl, sift the flour and set aside. Combine the milk and lemon juice in a cup and set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat well.
Add the lemon zest and a little yellow colouring if desired.
In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.
In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.
Place a generous spoonful of batter into each muffin case and top with a spoonful of lemon curd. Cover the lemon curd with more batter so that it is sealed in. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting I used this recipe as I needed it to be pipeable (is that a word?) and this guaranteed that it would be. As has become the norm I've converted the measurements to metric and added my alterations. This is also for 12 cupcakes rather than 24.

Ingredients
65g butter, at room temperature
115g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225g icing sugar
Zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp lemon curd

Directions:
Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.
Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
Add the zest and lemon curd and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

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Red Velvet Cupcakes

Saturday, 21 November 2009

Red Velvet Cake is a rich, moist cake with a distinctive red colour popular in the Southern United States. Traditionall it got its colour from a chemical reaction between cocoa and vinegar. Due to the modern processing methods now used to make cocoa, this reaction doesn't occur so red velvet is now much more likely to include red food colouring to get its rich colouring.

You don't really find red velvet cake in the UK unless you're at an American bakery. I've been spying it on blogs for years and figured now was a good time to have a go at making it myself. I chose to do it for the cakes I made for my brother's birthday and did some research into recipes. I didn't manage to get a decent picture of the colour of the cakes so you'll just have to believe me until I make them again.
This recipe from Epicurious came highly recommended. I halved the batch and frosted with a simple vanilla buttercream though a cream cheese or cooked roux frosting appears to be more traditional. This is the halved batch with metric measurements and my alterations.

WARNING - Wear an apron when you make these or you WILL get covered in red colouring, no matter how careful you are.

Ingredients
195g plain flour
85g butter, softened
225g sugar
1 large egg
3 tbsp red food coloring
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
175ml milk + 2 tbsp lemon juice (or 175ml buttermilk)
3/4 tsp cider vinegar
3/4 tsp baking soda

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and line muffin tray with 12 paper liners.
In a small bowl, sift the flour and set aside. Combine the milk and lemon juice in a cup and set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat well.
In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.
In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.
In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

There is quite a lot of washing up to do after this recipe but it really is worth it. The cakes are tender and moist and come out a beautiful shade of red. Top these with a bright white frosting to enhance the colour of the cake.

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Mocha Cupcakes with Chocolate Kahlua frosting

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

This is the first of the three cupcake recipes from my brother's birthday. I realise they're a bit late in coming on to the blog but I've been busy with work things and haven't really had a chance to update. While I've got some free time, I thought I'd get the ball rolling.

I've made these cakes before but this is the first time I've been able to use instant espresso powder and get a true mocha flavour. It was amazing. These cakes are actually pretty simple to make and they bake with a flat top so they're extra easy to frost afterwards. The chocolate flavour is rich and deep and the espresso adds a lovely bitter coffee edge. The frosting works perfectly to create a creamy chocolatey and slightly boozey flavour that complements the cupcake perfectly.
The original recipe can still be found here at Culinography, but I halved the batch as I only needed 12 cakes and changed the measurements to metric to make things a little easier.

Ingredients
225g granulated sugar
75g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
120ml natural yogurt
110g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 rounded tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
175ml water
2 tablespoons espresso powder
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 12 cup muffin tin.
On medium speed, cream together the sugar, butter, and eggs until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the yogurt.
In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt.
In a measuring cup combine the water, coffee and vanilla.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/sour cream mixture with the coffee mixture. Mix thoroughly.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Remove cupcakes to wire rack and cool before frosting.

For the Kahlua Frosting I used this recipe from Group Recipes. This is a half batch with metric measurements.

Ingredients
Pinch ground cinnamon
3 tbsps boiling water
1 tbsps Kahlua
450g confectioners' sugar, sifted
40g cocoa powder
4tbsp butter, softened

Method
Place the cocoa powder In a large-ish mixing bowl & pour in the boiling water & Kahlua.
Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the cocoa comes together into a soft mass.
Add the butter & mix with an electric mixer on lowish speed until the mixture is soft & well mixd, 30 seconds.
Stop the machine.
Add the confectioners' sugar & cinnamon & beat with the mixer on lowish speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 min.
Increase the mixer speed to medium & beat until the frosting lightens & is fluffy, 2 mins more.
Pipe or spread onto cupcakes and enjoy!

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Spiced Root Vegetable Soup

Thursday, 12 November 2009

It's November. It's autumnal outside with the leaves turning red and gold, the clouds turning grey and the air turning damp with fog. It's most definitely comfort food season.

All I could think about for the past few days is how much I wanted some soup. Seriosuly. On Monday I nearly bought a soup when I went to see my brother in Norwich. I settled on sharing a panini with him but he said the soups are excellent (so I might have one next Monday). Al and I went food shopping yesterday and I seized the opportunity to buy loads of vegetables. I could have used the slow cooker to cook the soup overnight so that people could take it to work for lunch but I wasn't organised enough last night. Instead I decided to make it fresh for lunch and ensure there are enough leftovers for my dad to take to work tomorrow.

The soup is warming and hearty. The spice is subtle and allows the vegetable flavour to come through. The carrots and parsnip make it sweet and aonce blended it is think and substantial. Perfect with crusty rolls or bread.

Ingredients
4 medium carrots
1 large onion
2 medium parsnips
A chunk of swede (it's impossible to tell how much I used. I just hacked a chunk off and chucked it in)
1-2 tbsp oil
2-3 tsp cumin powder
2-3 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp turmeric
1 heaped tsp balti paste
Enough vegetable stock to cover the vegetables in your pan (I used home made chicken stock as I had some in the freezer to use up)
Plenty of black pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Method
Chop all the vegetables into similar sized chunks (so they cook at the same rate) and place in a large saucepan with the oil. Fry gently for 5-10 minutes.
Add the spices and paste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Pour the stock over the vegetables until it mostly covers them.
Put a lid on the pan and let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Take off the heat and blend with a stick blender or liquidiser until smooth.
Add plenty of black pepper and lemon juice to taste.
Ladle into bowls and serve with bread and real butter.

It really is that simple. It takes about 30 minutes tops to get this soup ready to eat and it's delicious.

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Cake Decorating

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

It's my brother's 30th birthday today (Happy Birthday!) and we celebrated on Saturday with lots of beer and cake (of course). I had said that I'd make him some cakes as a present and set to work thinking what to do for decoration.

Chris is a metal head. He has been for as long as I remember. I figured I needed to include this somewhere in the cake designs. I had a bit of a search on the internet for images and I went to my local cake decorating warehouse to see what I could find.

I used black muffin cases which I actually really liked. They don't get greasy like the paper ones can and they held their shape really well. I bought some ready made black sugarpaste bats as a something simple to add to 12 of the cupcakes and they turned out great.

I then decided that I'd use lettering on 12 of the cupcakes and rolled out some red fondant icing and cut the letters out using cutters. I did this a couple of days before baking the cakes so that they'd have time to dry out a bit before I put them on the cakes.

Finally I decided to make little fondant hands for decoration on the final 12 cakes. I found a hand template online and resized it before printing. I coloured some white fondant with some pink and yellow colouring to get the skin tone I wanted and then rolled it between two sheets of parchment paper. I lay the paper hand template down and pressed it into the fondant to make sure it stayed put. I followed the outline with a sharp knife and then bent the fingers down to make the right shape. I also tried to add a little detail with a cocktail stick and it kind of worked. I had also thought of adding some black nail varnish with a food marker but, having tried it on a spare hand, I didn't think it looked great. I left the hands plain and let them dry over night.

I transported the cupcakes 160 miles on public transport. I would never have been able to do that until I bought a Cupcake Courier. It holds 36 cupcakes or muffins in a strong and sturdy plastic casing. There is limited movement and enough height allowance for icing and decorations. I'm actually really pleased with how well the cakes held up and very pleased with my purchase. My model also has flat inserts so that you can carry other treats like brownies and bars in it too.

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Slow Cooker Recipes: Steak and Kidney Pie

Sunday, 1 November 2009

Every week we make a list of what's on the menu for the days ahead. We then write a list, take it shopping and only need to top up on things like milk, bread and chocolate during the week. My mum had written that we'd have meat pie one day that week. We normally buy two separate pies for the family so I decided I'd make one that everyone would like.

I found some ready cut stewing beef and pigs kidney in the butchery department of Morrisons. They were packaged together and I grabbed a couple of packs to make sure I had enough. I'd never cooked with kidneys before and wasn't entirely sure what I was letting myself in for but I was keen that I could work it out. I've made fruit pies hundreds of times before so I was sure it would be a pretty similar adventure.

Stewing steak likes long, slow cooking. The handy hint on the package of meat said it needed 2-3 hours so I decided I'd stick the filling in the slow cooker and save myself some work. It smelled awful. There was a strong scent of urine from the kidneys and I was really worried we'd need to go and get a take away if this didn't work out. I decided to persevere and used the usual seasonings and herbs for a decent stew.

The result was amazing. I used a cake pan in order to squeeze loads of filling in and have an awesome filling to pastry ratio. I used ready made puff pastry that had been sitting in the fridge waiting to be used and it was a little difficult to work with. It all turned out perfectly and I'm keen to make more meat pies in the future. My dad said it was the best steak and kidney pie he'd ever tasted (and he's tasted quite a few!).


Ingredients
700g stewing steak and kidney mix (cubed)
1 onion, roughly chopped
10 button mushrooms, quartered
1tbsp mustard powder
1 beef stock cube, crumbled
2 bay leaves
Worcester sauce
Salt and pepper
Enough boiling water to come halfway up the meat - though you could use a good stout for a different flavour)
Puff Pastry (you can also use shortcrust)

Method
Place the onion and mushrooms into the slow cooker.
Brown the meat and kidneys (in a well ventilated area) and add to the pot.
Follow with the rest of the ingredients.
Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8-10
Taste for seasoning, remove the bay leaves and place the mixture into a wide dish to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180C
Roll the pastry out and lay into a loose bottomed cake tin (make sure there's enough left for the lid)
Fill the pastry with the cooled meat mixture - don't be afraid to cram it in there!)
Egg wash the edge of the pastry, cover with the lid and seal tightly.
Egg wash the top of the pie, cut a cross in the centre to let out the steam and then place the pie onto a baking sheet to minimise mess.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden and piping hot throughout. Slice carefully and serve with chips or potatoes and the vegetables of your choice.

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