Just Gorgeous...

I love how my daughter will eat anything. As soon as she starting eating solids, I let her try everything. Today you put a plate of whatever you want in front of her and she is the happiest kid on earth. Can you believe she'll go straight for the broccoli or green beans before eating the yorkshire pudding for Sunday Dinner? Perfect child!

Here she is enjoying what is there to be enjoyed .... food glorious food!

Toad in the Hole

After getting laughed at once again by my other half for wierd English names for things, I must admit translating literally Toad in the Hole into French suddenly struck me as a ridiculous name for food! So as we all do nowadays, I googled it and many answers came up but I like this one the best!

From World of Vince.com 

"It's TURD in the hole....not TOAD! My ancestors in Yorkshire were peasant farming stock and have passed the recipe down through our family for generations and I have it in black and white!

The dish originated as absolutely anything that could be cooked in a cheep batter pudding when times wher hard. Nobody can eat a toad, they are poisionous! It's a Yorkshire farming joke to ncall it Toad, not Turd and became popular with sausages because they are cheap and the tasty fat is absorbed into the batter.

One of the county's leading experts on strange names for national dishes is Glenn Croft in Essex and I recommend any doubters contact him."

Anyhoo, to prove to him that it was actually a delicious, tummy stuffing meal, I got cooking.

Ingredients

1 pack of pork/beef sausages
1 large onion, chopped
4 tblsp olive oil
500ml/1/2 pint milk
2 eggs
110g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
2. In a large oven proof dish heat the oil in the oven
3. Add the sausages and onions, covering them completely with the hot oil
4. Bake for 15 mins

Meanwhile make the batter

4. Sift flour and salt into a bowl
5. Make a well in the centre and into it break the eggs
6. Beat the eggs with a wooden spoon, gradually drawing the flour into the centre
7. Beat in the milk little by little until the batter is smooth
OR bung it all in a mixer and whizz, leave to stand for 10-15mins
8. Pour the batter over the sausages
9. Bake for 15 mins , until risen and golden brown

Serve with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes.

Serves : 4
Preparation time : 20 mins
Cooking time : 30 mins

The Perfectionment of Gravy

Every woman* has their own gravy recipe and every recipe is perfected over the years and generations. My Mum's gravy is fabulous, she NEVER EVER gets it wrong and whenever I compliment her she always says practice makes perfect.

My gravy making skills are being perfected over time, and as always Mum is right the more I make it the better I get at it. Also, after a sneaky little question to my Mum about a year ago, I've had perfect gravy every time!

So I will share with you now my tips to get that perfect, thick gravy.

Ingredients

3 heaped tsp Bisto Original Powder & 2 tblsps of Yorkshire Pudding Mix
OR
3 heaped tsp Bisto Original Powder & 1 heaped tblsps of Plain/Corn Flour
OR
4 heaped tsp Bisto Original Powder
1 Beef Oxo Cube
1 glass (about 250ml) cold water
The fat from the meat you've cooked OR 3 tblsp of fat from a jar/dripping OR 2 tblsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Method

The gravy should always be made at the last minute as it should always be served piping hot.

This is also a great way of reheating any of the food that may have cooled down by the time you get to the table.

However, before preparing the rest of the meal you can get a head start by mixing the Bisto, Yorkshire Pudding Mix/Plain/Corn Flour with the cold water and leave to one side. Crumble and mix the Oxo cube into a pint of boiling water. Leave to one side.

When you're ready to make the gravy

1. Heat the fat/oil in a large saucepan til piping hot.
2. Pour in the Oxo water, Bisto mix and salt & pepper.
3. Stir constantly and bring to the boil.

TIP

If the gravy isn't thick enough add more Bisto or Flour but YOU MUST mix in a little cold water before adding to the pan otherwise it'll turn straight into lumps and won't thicken the gravy at all.

4. Serve piping hot!

Extra little tips for the best gravy -

The better quality meat you use the tastier the fat will be and therefore make a better gravy. If you are using a dry meat like chicken or turkey add some goose fat or dripping or olive oil, if that's all you have to hand, to enhance the flavour.

I strongly recommend using Bisto powder and not granules. The granules tend to leave a bitter aftertaste and are very difficult to make a smooth creamy like gravy.

Use beef or veal stock cubes rather than chicken or vegetable, again this enhances the flavour of the gravy.

Why Oxo and Bisto? Well it's just traditional!

* I say woman because Sunday Dinners and Gravy are very much a woman's domain. It's been a tradition in Britain for centuries to pass down the recipe from mother to daughter. To be perfectly honest, making a Sunday Dinner requires a huge amount of multi-tasking to get everything cooked to perfection at the same time and still hot when everyone gets to the table. My Dad tried it once and he had to admit it was a nightmarish task best left to the capable juggling hands of a woman!

Merry Christmas

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and Santa was kind to you all. We were no less than 18 for Christmas Dinner! On the menu was

Starter

Smoked Salmon
King Prawns
Foie Gras
Onions Agrodolce

Main Course

Duck
Chestnut, Prune and Apricot Stuffing
Roast Potatoes
Cabbage
Carrots
Brussel Sprouts
Yorkshire Puddings
Gravy

Dessert

Christmas Cake
Christmas Pudding
Mince Pies
Galette Breton

The Kid's Table

Feasting

Giant Plates

and on Boxing Day morning, a full English breakfast with all the trimmings!

Yorkshire Puddings

Ingredients

110g/4oz plain flour
2 eggs
290ml/ ½ pint milk
4 tblsp beef dripping (fat)/2 tblsp oil
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
2. In a Yorkshire Pudding tray (see above picture) pour evenly the beef dripping/oil
3. Heat in the oven until very hot

Meanwhile

4. Sift flour and salt into a bowl
5. Make a well in the centre and into it break the eggs
6. Beat the eggs with a wooden spoon, gradually drawing the flour into the centre
7. Beat in the milk little by little until the batter is smooth
8. Pour the batter into the Yorshire Pudding tray (see above picture)
9. Bake for 15 mins , until risen and golden brown