IN SEASON NOW

artichoke, beetroot, broccoli, butternut squash, celeriac, celery, chicory, chillies, courgettes, fennel, garlic, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce & salad leaves, marrow, parsnips, peppers, potatoes (maincrop), pumpkin, radishes, rocket, runner beans, shallots, swede, sweetcorn, tomatoes, truffles (black) [i], truffles (white) [i], turnips, watercress, wild mushrooms
apples, bilberries, blackberries, elderberries, figs [i], grapes [i], medlar, pears, plums, quince, redcurrants
almonds [i], chestnuts, chives, cob nuts, hazelnuts [i], oregano, parsley (curly), rosemary, sage, sorrel, thyme, walnuts [i]
beef, duck, goose, grouse, guinea fowl, hare, lamb, mallard, partridge, pheasant, rabbit, turkey, venison, wood pigeon
clams, cod, coley, crab, dab, dover sole, grey mullet, gurnard, haddock, halibut, hake, herring, lemon sole, lobster, mackerel, monkfish, mussels, oysters, pilchard, plaice, pollack, prawns, red mullet, sea bass (wild), sea bream, skate, squid, turbot, winkles

Pumpkin pie

Veg

 

Ingredients

For the pastry

• sweet short crust pastry case (or a packet of ready made sweet short crust pastry with 40g/1½oz crushed pecans mixed in.)

For the filling

• 450 g/1lb prepared weight pumpkin flesh, cut into 1in/2.5 cm chunks
• 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk (use the white for another dish)
• 3 oz/75g soft dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 10 fl oz/275 ml double cream

Preparation method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Use a shop bought sweet crust pastry case, about 9 inch/23 cm diameter and 1½ inches/4 cm deep.
3. To make the filling, steam the pumpkin then place in a coarse sieve and press lightly to extract any excess water.
4. Then lightly whisk the eggs and extra yolk together in a large bowl.
5. Place the sugar, spices and the cream in a pan, bring to simmering point, giving it a whisk to mix everything together. Then pour it over the eggs and whisk it again briefly.
6. Now add the pumpkin pureé, still whisking to combine everything thoroughly.
7. Pour the filling into your pastry case and bake for 35-40 minutes, by which time it will puff up round the edges but still feel slightly wobbly in the centre.
8. Remove the pie from the oven and place the tin on a wire cooling rack. Serve chilled (stored loosely covered in foil in the fridge) with some equally chilled créme fraïche, but warm or at room temperature would be fine

Roast wild duck with blackberry sauce and celeriac purée

in season

Ingredients

For the celeriac purée

• 300g/10½oz celeriac, peeled, chopped 3cm/1½in pieces
• 600m/21¼fl oz full-fat milk
• pinch sea salt
• 40g/1½oz unsalted butter
• squeeze fresh lemon juice

For the blackberry sauce

• 150g/5¼oz blackberries
• 1 clove
• 2 juniper berries, crushed
• ½ fresh bay leaf
• small sprig fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp sugar
• knob of butter
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 50g/1¾oz field mushrooms, sliced
• 100ml/3½fl oz ruby port
• 100ml/3½fl oz red wine

For the duck

• 2 wild ducks, cleaned
• 2 tbsp duck fat

To serve

• caramelised diced apple
• blackberries
• deep-fried celeriac crisps

Preparation method

1. For the celeriac purée, place the celeriac, milk and the salt into a heavy-based pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, or until the celeriac is tender.
2. Drain the celeriac, reserving the milk. Leave in the colander for 5 minutes to drive off any excess steam, then purée in a food processor or blender until smooth, using a little of the milk to help get the right consistency.
3. Heat a frying pan until hot, add the butter and cook until it is a light nut-brown colour, then remove from the heat and stir into the celeriac purée with the lemon juice. Cover and leave to one side.
4. For the blackberry sauce place the blackberries in a bowl and sprinkle over the clove, juniper berries, bay leaf, thyme and sugar and set aside.
5. Melt the butter in a small pan and fry the shallot and mushrooms over a medium heat for 5 minutes, or until softened and light golden-brown. Stir in the port and wine and carefully set alight (CAUTION: stand well away from the flames), then add the blackberries and a pinch of salt.
6. Gently simmer the sauce for 10 minutes, then purée in a blender or food processor. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and set aside.
7. For the duck, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
8. In a large frying pan on a medium heat, fry the ducks on their legs in the duck fat for 7 minutes each leg, or until pale golden-brown (this is to give them a head start as they need more cooking than the breasts).
9. Carefully turn the ducks onto their breast-side, and fry for 1 minute until golden-brown all over. Transfer to an oven tray and roast for 10 minutes for medium-rare or 13 minutes for medium, or until the ducks are golden brown all over and the flesh is still lightly pink.
10. Remove from the oven and leave to rest breast-side down. This is so that the juices will collect around the breasts, baste them and keep them moist.
11. To serve, carve the ducks onto a large plate, serve the celeriac purée in a small pot on the side and spoon the sauce over the meat. Garnish with your choice of fresh blackberries, caramelised apples and celeriac crisps.

Blackberries- sourced from the hedgerow.

Apples- from Ardandan Estate Cardross.

Duck- from Ardandan Estate Cardross.

Celeriac- from Ardandan Estate Cardross.

http://www.rampantscotland.com/besteating/best_eating_ardardan.htm

Task 3

 My 5 must have kitchen items would be;-

1. wooden spoon- for mixing ingredients together                                  
2. saucepan- for cooking all sorts of food                                                  
3. chef 's knife- for cutting food properly and must be kept sharp                                      
4. chopping board- colour coded chopping boards are used for different kinds of food              
5. whisk- necessary for mixing ingerdients together                                                       

Task 2

My new television show would be called celebrity showcase.

On my show I would have celebrity guests from big brother who would talk to me about their favourite food and I would ask them about their time on the programme and if they enjoyed themselves and what the food was like.
I would ask them what kind of food they enjoy and ask them to prepare and cook their favourite recipe and I would be helping them.

cook the books

gordon ramsay

Gordon ramsay has written  17 books.

Gordon Ramsay – How to Cook a Perfect Steak

This recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay’s F Word -
Gordon Says “don’t be afraid to cook a steak on the big night. If you follow these simple rules, it will be easy. Let the pan get nice and hot. If there’s no heat in the pan, there’s no color. If there’s no color, there’s no flavor”. Make sure the steak is relaxed, meaning it’s at room temperature. A relaxed steak will cook quicker, and won’t be stone cold in the center. Ingredients needed to cook a perfect steak couldn’t be simpler, so grab a steak next time you’re at the market, and treat yourself to a delicious meal.
Keep in mind, stove cooked steaks can produce lots of smoke while cooking. Open the windows before you start, and turn on the exhaust fan.
Ingredients:

• New York Steak (or your preferred cut)
• Salt
• Freshly Cracked Pepper
• Butter
• Neutral Oil (flavorless cooking oil)

Directions:
Use a generous amount of salt and pepper to season the steak, and gently press it into the meat with your fingers. The thicker the cut of steak, the more salt and pepper you will need.
Use a heavy pan for cooking steak. Cast iron pans work best for this particular meal. Get the pan nice and hot, then add the oil. Wait for the oil to heat up, it should just start to smoke before adding the steak. Add the steak and push it down in the center with your fingers to ensure the entire steak is touching the bottom of the pan.
It’s very important to only flip the steak once during cooking. Moving the steak around while cooking it will only drain it of essential juices and lead to a less than desirable result. For rare, cook 2-3 minutes on the first side, then flip the steak. About 1 1/2 minutes into the second side, melt butter into the pan. Spoon the butter over the steak, ensuring to cover the entire steak. When the steak is just about finished, turn it onto it’s back, fat side down. Cook for about 30 seconds to reduce and soften the strip of fat. Remove steak from pan, and baste again with butter from the pan. Leave to rest, then slice if desired.
You can test doneness of the steak by comparing the firmness of the steak to parts of your hand. Rare is on your thumb muscle, near your palm, medium is near the outer edge of your thumb, and well-done is where your wrist meets your hand. Watch the video for a visual explanation of firmness. Embedding is disabled on the video for some reason, but you can watch it by clicking the link.
F Word
How to cook a perfect steak.


hairy bikers

The bikers have wriiten 9 books.

Info

Serves: 5 (302 calories/portion)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 500g lean minced beef (10% or less fat)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1–2 tsp hot chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 150ml red wine or extra stock
• 300ml beef stock, made with 1 beef stock cube
• 400g can of chopped tomatoes
• 400g can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• flaked sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Method

1. Place a large non-stick saucepan over a medium heat and add the beef and onions. Cook together for 5 minutes, stirring the beef and squishing it against the sides of the pan to break up the lumps. Add the garlic, 1–2 teaspoons of chilli powder, depending on how hot you like your chilli, and the cumin and coriander. Fry together for 1–2 minutes more. Sprinkle over the flour and stir well.
2. Slowly add the wine and then the stock, stirring constantly. Tip the tomatoes and kidney beans into the pan and stir in the tomato purée, caster sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Season with a pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
3. Bring to a simmer on the hob, then cover loosely with a lid. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mince is tender and the sauce is thick. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.

jamie oliver

jamie has written 14 books.

This pudding is chocolate heaven! The original recipe idea for it came from my mate Ben, the head chef at Monte's. I've changed it round a bit to make it easier to make at home.

Melt 125g chocolate with the coffee, then pour into small ice-cube moulds and freeze until hard. Take 6 small 3-inch pastry rings, dariole moulds or cappuccino cups and grease well with some butter. Place in the fridge while you make your sponge mixture. Melt the remaining chocolate with the butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, then in a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with the sugar until firm. Fold the yolks into the cooled chocolate and butter mixture, then add the almonds and flour. Finish by carefully folding in the egg white mixture. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Take your moulds out of the fridge and spoon a little mixture into each one, then push in a cube of the frozen coffee and chocolate mixture. Cover with the rest of the sponge mixture so each ice cube is completely enveloped. Bake in the preheated oven for about 18 to 20 minutes, then remove carefully from the moulds while hot. Serve immediately sprinkled with hazelnuts.



  ingredients

• 455g best-quality cooking chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
• 50ml hot espresso or good strong instant coffee
• 125g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 6 eggs, free-range or organic, separated
• 200g caster sugar
• 100g ground almonds
• 100g rice flour
• 1 small handful chopped hazelnuts, toasted

 

 

post 1 dinner party

Guests- Billy Spencer
             John smith
             Ross Dolan
             Craig Dolan
             Elvis
             Mrs Hair
  
I have invited Billy, Ross and Craig as they are good friends. Mrs Hair was my history teacher in school and she was one of my favourite teachers and I used to bake cakes for her. Elvis and John are invited to entertain the guests with singing and dancing.

Menu:

Starter:   Butternut squash soup

or

Pate and crackers with salad leaves

Main:   Steaks served with roast potatoes, steamed broccoli and carrots

or

Roast pork with yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, steamed broccoli and carrots with gravy

Desserts:  Banoffie pie

or

Raspberry Bavarois