Dulce de leche filled cupcakes.

Ingredients

150g Plain Flour

150g Caster Sugar

150g Softened Butter

1 397g can Carnation caramel

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

130ml milk (preferably whole milk)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp sea salt, ground (x2)

Frosting

1 pack Philadelphia cheese 200g

caramel (remainder of the can)

1/2 tsp ground sea salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chopped salted peanuts

Cupcakes can be dainty pretty things, and it is for precisely this reason that I usually avoid making them. But it's Christmas, so what the hell, cupcakes it is!

Preheat the oven to 170. Add sifted flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter to a mixing bowl. Mix with paddle attachment. Then pour in half of the milk and mix together (do not overbeat!)

       In a separate bowl whisk the eggs with the remaining half of the milk. Add vanilla.

         Pour this into the flour mixture with the mixer on slow speed, mix until combined. The mixture should be lump free and all ingredients properly combined.

                    Use an ice-cream scoop to ensure all cupcakes are the same size, and add mixture to cases (I used silicone ones here).

                        Bake for approx. 25 mins (start checking them after 18-20 mins). A cake skewer should  come out clean.

 

                                                
                                                                          The cupcakes will be pleasingly golden on top.

                                                                            Remove from cases and place on a rack to cool.

                                         

Using a small knife, carefully cut a cone-shaped round from the top of the cupcakes.

                                 Beat the caramel with a spoon to make it less thick, then add a dash of vanilla extract and  approx. 1/2 tsp ground sea salt (I used a pestle and mortar to make the salt finer for even distribution). My intention here was not a salted caramel, but if that is your aim add more salt to taste.

Add around a teaspoon of mixture to the cavity. Then cut off the tip of the cone shaped cut-out and put the lid back on, lightly squashing it down.

             

To make the frosting whip the cream cheese and the remaining caramel together with vanilla and salt.

Top the cupcakes with frosting using a spoon or a pallet knife (or piping bag if you are so inclined). Decorate with edible glitter and any other decorations you like. The frosting is quite wet and may start to dribble down the sides (these are messy little things to eat, but no matter).
  

I serve these cupcakes on a platter with a bowl of chopped salted peanuts for people to sprinkle on top. The cupcakes are quite sweet and the salted nuts really cut through the sweetness whilst adding a crunchy element. Serve with a nice strong cup of tea.

Smooth Cranberry Sauce

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Tis that time of year again when I can happily potter about the kitchen for hours experimenting with this and that (more on my Dulce de leche cupcakes later). Despite my efforts last year, I really wasn't happy with my cranberry sauce. I like it smooth and blended it well to achieve the desired consistency, however this resulted in a bitterness that no amount of sugar could cure. New method employed this year, and I am much happier with the result.

Ingredients

500g cranberries

500ml water

350g sugar



     Add cranberries and water to a pan. Heat until soft (they will pop in the pan).

Pass  through a sieve.

                                                                       You will be left with a smooth liquid.

Pour back in the pan and add the sugar, stirring to dissolve. This will look like a huge amount of sugar, but the cranberries do need it.  Bring to the boil. At this point pass it through a sieve again, and that's it.

Decant into serving bowls (this recipe made 3 small bowls). When cool, cling and refrigerate; it will set quite quickly.

This was sweet but not sickly and still retained a tartness from the cranberries. Bring on the turkey!



Heston's Triple Cooked Chips

As the name of this blog would suggest, I absolutely love chips. Everything from French Fries to soggy vinegar-doused chip shop chips, but none more so than thick, hand-cut, super crispy chips. I have attempted to create this sort of chip before, but never quite got past 'medium crisp' to 'super crisp'.

Ingredients

Maris Piper potatoes
Groundnut / Grapeseed oil
Sea Salt

  
In search of chip perfection, I turned (naturally) to Heston and his golden chip beauties. There is no getting away from the fact that this recipe is a bit of a palaver, but you can prepare up to a certain point in advance leaving the last fry until the last minute. 

Having peeled the potatoes the first challenge was to cut them to the right size and to keep this size consistent to ensure even cooking. My ideal size was as above, however due to annoyingly irregular shaped potatoes (and nothing at all to do with poor knife skills!) I ended up with a range of different sizes as follows:

 Bugger. Resolving to do better next time, I carry on. Rinse the potatoes under running water for around 5 minutes to get rid of the starch.
 

Next cover with cold water and simmer for around 20-30 minutes or until almost falling apart. At this stage I would normally add salt to the water but the recipe didn't say to do this, so I obediently left out the salt.

 Once cooked, carefully remove the chips and arrange on a rack. When cooled a bit place in the freezer for at least an hour.

Then heat groundnut or grapeseed oil (around 10cm deep) to 130° and fry the chips in batches (making sure not to overcrowd the pan) for around 5 minutes.

The chips will still be pale at this stage. Drain on kitchen paper then place on a rack and put back in the freezer for at least an hour. You can prepare up to this stage in advance leaving the last fry until you plan to serve.

                            Finally heat the oil to 180° and fry in batches until golden (about 7 minutes).

                                                    Sprinkle generously with sea salt.

Despite the irregular shapes, these were everything you could ever want from a chip. Fluffy in the centre, super crispy on outside and deliciously salty. Definitely my most successful chip cooking to date and well worth the effort. Let the gorging commence!

Penne al Mascarpone

There is nothing much that cannot be improved by the addition of cheese, in this case mascarpone. I love its rich and creamy texture, and have unashamedly used a shed load in this recipe. It's well worth the calorific content, I assure you.

Ingredients

olive oil
1 red onion
1-2 chillies
1 clove of garlic (small)
1 tin plum tomatoes
1 tub mascarpone 250g
Parmesan
penne
basil

Serves 2 (generously)

                                      Soften the chopped onion in olive oil with some salt

                                         Add 1-2 chillies...

and one small clove of grated garlic

  

Next add 1 tin of plum tomatoes, then fill the empty can about 1/4 full with hot water and add to the sauce. Season. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-15 mins on a low heat to reduce. Then taste and add a little sugar if the tomato flavour is too acidic.

 Once reduced, stir in the mascarpone and a small handful of grated Parmesan until combined. Blitz till smooth(ish) with a hand blender.  Mascarpone can be quite bland and it's really important to taste and adjust the seasoning at this point. 

 Add cooked penne to the sauce (when the pasta is still a little undercooked).

To serve: Grated Parmesan, black pepper, and some torn basil leaves.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

This southern Italian sauce (roughly translated as tart's pasta) is one of my favourites. First and foremost it's big on flavour, spicy and salty. It can also be made from ingredients I usually have hanging about. Perfect.

Ingredients

Spaghetti
1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
2 small red chillies, chopped
1 400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers, chopped
2 tablespoons black olives (11)
parsley

Fry the chopped onion in olive oil with a little salt. After about 5 mins add sliced garlic and cook on a low heat for 3-5 minutes.

              Add chopped anchovies and chillies, cook for 3-5 minutes. 

Chopped tomatoes go in, with 1 tbsp red wine vinegar. Bring to boil then simmer.

 Reduce sauce a bit, then add olives and capers.  If necessary loosen the sauce with a bit of the cooking water from the pasta.  At this point I fish out the large slices of garlic (well the ones I can see).

Drain the pasta when it's still a bit undercooked, then stir into the sauce. The ingredients are quite salty so I don't usually need to add any extra.

No need for Parmesan on this one (unless you want to). Finish with black pepper and parsley (I ran out of parsley and really missed it). Buon appetito.

Chicken One Pot Wonder.

There is something to be said for simplicity, putting everything into one pot and forgetting about it. I often make this on the weekend ready to eat mid-week (tastes even better after a day or two). Seasoning, particularly on something like this, really does determine whether the dish succeeds or fails so no skimping on the salt!

Ingredients

10-12 Chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)
Olive oil
Flour
2 1/2 Onions, chopped.
2 cloves Garlic, sliced
Thyme
Mushrooms, 400g
1 can plum tomatoes
chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato purée
250ml red wine

Lightly coat the chicken pieces in well-seasoned flour (dusting off the excess).

Fry in batches for a few mins each side until golden, remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Next  fry onions sprinkled with salt in the olive oil / chicken fat in the pot. It's worth taking the time to do this slowly and until the onions are going brown (about 15 mins) , then add the sliced garlic and cook for another 5-10 mins.

When the onions are done, transfer to a bowl. Turn up the heat and add a little more oil if necessary, add mushrooms and cook on a high heat until golden brown (any fans of Anne Burrell will know that "brown food tastes good!"). Season mushrooms.

Turn the heat down and return onion and garlic mix to the pot, adding thyme. Then add plum tomatoes, tomato purée and red wine. Fill the empty tomato can with water and chicken stock (1 1/2 times), add to pot. Bring to the boil. Season.

The liquid should just cover the chicken pieces. Cook in a low oven (160) for about 1 1/2 hours). The chicken should be very tender and moist.

When it's ready, remove the chicken from the pot. Bring sauce to the boil then simmer to reduce a bit  (about 15 mins). Return chicken to pot.

Serve on basmati rice with a dollop of yogurt on the side.

NB

I keep the skin on whilst cooking for flavour but remove before eating.



Weekend Scrambled Eggs.

To some degree I am a creature of habit. Well not habit exactly, more like someone who appreciates short term traditions. My weekend scrambled eggs have become just such a tradition and weekends wouldn't be weekends without them. Simple, quick, and delicious- the perfect lazy breakfast.

Ingredients

3 eggs
cold butter
double cream (or crème fraiche)
lemon

Add 3 eggs to a pan with a few blobs of cold butter. I don't whisk, just give it a good stir with a wooden spoon or spatula.

    Add pepper and stir periodically, taking the pan off and on the heat so as not to overheat.

When the eggs are to your liking, add a drizzle of cream (about 3/4 tablespoon, this will also cool the eggs down) and some salt.

In my opinion the absolute must-have with scrambled eggs is lemon, a very generous squeeze changes everything. Season again with salt and pepper, and that's it. Roll on Saturday.