One of my favourite food related movies has to be "Waitress" it's full of beautiful imagery and has a cute little story to match! The story is based around Jenna who is a waitress, trapped in an unhappy marriage, her one escape is creating and baking the most amazing, inventive pies you could imagine. If you haven't seen this great movie make sure to go out and rent it, it's not deeply intellectual but it's a warm, clever and cute one which serves a purpose, here's the trailer:
I was searching on the internet a few weeks ago for some of the fantastic recipes from the movie and it turns out when the movie was first released, promo cards were printed with 5 of the pie recipes! I stuck the link up on my twitter and it got a great reaction with lots of retweets, so much so it inspired a group of us on there to start our very own blog event! So I would like to proudly introduce to the first monthly:
We had originally planned to just bake the pies from the movie, but as time went on we thought it would be great to try and start something that others could join in too. So I hope you enjoy this post, and stick a comment below and let me know if you would be interested in joining us next month for the great big pie bake off!
Check out the other bloggers and their pies from the movie: Lori: Recipegirl - I Can't Have No Affair Because It's Wrong & I Don't Want Earl To Kill Me Pie Sandie: Inn Cuisine - I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby Pie Tiffany: The Nesting Project - Falling In Love Pie Patsy: Family, Food Friends- Baby Screamin’ Its Head Off In The Middle Of The Night; Ruinin’ My Life Pie
Marshmallow Mermaid Pie
This is definitely a once a year pie, it is most likely one of the most unhealthy desserts I have ever cooked in my life! Saying all that, it is delicious and extremely therapeautic to make. This is the orignal recipe but I used digestive biscuits in the place of graham crackers and toasted dessicated coconut on a baking tray in the oven.
Serves 8 9 graham crackers 1/2 Cup sweetened, flaked coconut, toasted 5 tablespoons. butter or margarine, melted 34 marshmallows (8 oz.) 1/2 cup whole milk 1 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, grated
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine coconut and graham crackers in food processor until coarse crumbs form. Combine crumbs and butter with fork. Press to bottom and side of 9-inch pie plate. Bake 10 minutes and cool on wire rack. Heat marshmallows and milk in 3-qt. saucepan over low heat until smooth, stirring constantly. Remove saucepan from heat. Cool completely (30 minutes.) In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold marshmallow mixture into whipped cream with grated chocolate. Spoon filling into cooled crust. Refrigerate pie at least 3 hours or overnight. Top with mini marshmallows, maraschino cherries and rainbow sprinkles.
I have over one hundred cookbooks in my possession and although I love to flick through them for ideas and inspiration, I have rarely cooked a recipe exactly as it is written. One of my new years resolutions was to cook my way through some of my favourite cookbooks and seek out the best recipes! I made these chocolate caramel squares recently and they went down a storm!
Bill Granger's Chocolate Caramel Slices (Recipe from Bill Granger's "Holiday") This fantastic and highly addictive recipe comes from Aussie chef, Bill Granger and it makes possibly the most delicious chocolate caramel slices you will ever taste. The addition of coconut here gives a great extra texture and flavour.
Makes about 20 squares 125g plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 90g dessicated coconut 115g caster sugar 125g butter, melted
Filling 100g butter 100g brown sugar 397g tin of condensed milk 2 tablespoons of golden syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping 150g dark chocolate
Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease and line an 18 x 28cm baking tin. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the coconut, sugar and butter and stir together well. Press firmly into the base of the tin and bake for 12 minutes, or until light golden. To make the filling, put the butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, golden syrup and vanilla in a saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes , or until light golden. Pour evenly over the cooked base, then return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. Once the caramel is cool, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted (or melt the chocolate very carefully in a microwave oven). Spread the chocolate evenly over the caramel and place in a cool place to set, before slicing into squares.
Grand Marnier: blended cognacs with orange essence
Speaking of tradition, it's as good as written law around here that when there are fresh, local strawberries on hand there must also be strawberry shortcake. So, we had back to back shortcake. The second time 'round though I needed it to be an easily transported dessert to bring to a party. Cake form seemed like the perfect way to go, all assembled and easy to head out with. Playing on the orange tones of my first orange-rosemary shortcake, I incorporated some Grand Marnier to lend a sweet citrus flavor to the whipped cream. Also, instead of a plain vanilla bean cake, I made a rustic cornmeal cake to add pleasant texture and sweetness from the fresh milled corn.
Cornmeal cake with Grand Marnier vegan whipped cream and fresh berries
One note though, as pretty as it is to have the green tops on the strawberries topping this cake, it's a total suckers move and I implore you to resist it! I can't tell you how many ways in which I should have known better, but the beauty of the berries with the tops still on conspired to drag me down as I opted, thoughtlessly, for aesthetics over eating. A choice that meant I later had to sit, shamefaced, as my friends picked berries out of the mess of whipped cream to remove the tops, which of course they couldn't enjoyably eat. Sigh.
Strawberry rhubarb pie with cornmeal pâte sucrée
I tried to make it up to them though with my favorite pie, strawberry rhubarb. Following the thought about cornmeal and strawberries, which worked so well in the cornmeal shortcake, I made a tender pâte sucrée with cornmeal and coconut oil instead of margarine or oil. The coconut was a very mild flavor influence on the end result and worked surprisingly well in the crust which was wonderfully flaky, light and tenderly sweet against the tart fruit filling.
Fresh strawberry jam filled rambutan mochi with Thai basil sauce and strawberry powder
Last year I served my strawberry rhubarb pie with basil ice cream, but this year my basil is not incredibly bountiful. My lemon verbena could swallow up the yard, but the basil is sort of a no-go. It's sad. There is enough to work smaller projects with though, so I made a dessert that caught my eye in Johnny Iuzzini's Dessert FourPlay a couple months ago. In the original version, Iuzzini fills strawberry mochi with strawberry rhubarb compote and serves it with basil fluid gel. I took some liberties to make the dessert a little faster to assemble and different in flavor, pairing my fresh strawberry jam filling with a freeze-dried rambutan mochi (reasoning that if I find an affinity between strawberries and lychees, rambutans would work as well) and serving it with Thai basil sauce. My mochi technique could use some work (I blame the leakage on my imperfect motor control with a hand still swollen from carpal tunnel release surgery) but overall, I adored this light little dessert and its intriguing Southeast Asian flavors.
Chocolate spiced baby banana pudding with strawberries
A more straightforward, classic pairing between strawberries and chocolate was something I noticed had fallen by the wayside this season. I guess I've been taking my chocolate pretty straight these days and have been in a particular rut with the super dry, dark and lovely 84% Theo single origin bar from Ghana. So good. But I digress. Feeling that these amazing strawberries could make chocolate even more magical, I whipped up a very random pudding of organic baby bananas, dark chocolate, anise, chilies, cinnamon, nutmeg and espresso salt, sweetened with date syrup and topped with fresh berries. It was meant as a quick treat of no consequence but was so good, I'm pledged to make it again and actually write down every element of the recipe since several friends have proclaimed it's one of the best things ever, period.
Breakfast with berries and nibs
After finally getting my strawberry and chocolate fix, I realized that I'd sort of been enjoying the two together all along in my breakfast bowl. Homemade cocoa nib granola with fresh berries isn't quite chocolate dipped strawberries, but it's more than satisfying at seven am.
Almond crust mini tarts with fresh fruit, nibs and lemon verbena
Thinking about how nicely nibs complemented strawberries, I sprinkled a few Taza chocolate covered nibs into my mini tarts. They provided a nice bittersweet crunch against the fruit and buttery almond crust.
Almond strawberry cheesecake
Almonds are a natural complement to strawberries. Their rich sweetness and lightly bitter edge are perfect against tart berry notes. And there's a reason why strawberry cheesecake is so popular; sweet tangy cheese has its richness both cut slightly and complemented by each bite of berry. So, an almond crusted and amaretto spiked cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries glazed with hot strawberry syrup and sprinkled with almond slices seemed like just the thing.
Whole wheat English muffin with farmer's cheese and strawberry rhubarb jam
I've had a lot of semi-successful vegan cheese-ish substances around lately as I've been experimenting to find one that really suits me. None of them are perfect, but with a good amount of fiddling, they've all turned into tasty additions to desserts and ice cream bases. The mixture that I turned into cheesecake was also spun off into a nice mellow farmer's cheese that went wonderfully with fresh strawberry rhubarb jam (again from the Joy of Jams, but with much less sugar than called for).
bagels fresh out of the oven
In fact, I made several jams from the new book: plain strawberry, strawberry rhubarb and strawberry kiwi. With such deliciously fresh tasting jams are hanging around the house, it seemed pretty much obvious that I needed to make a delicious delivery mechanism for them. So when King Aurthur flour had a free-shipping deal, I refilled my stock of organic high gluten flour and made a batch of bagels from the Bread Baker's Apprentice, some coated into sesame seeds and some streaked with pasilla chili powder and topped with chili lime Hawaiian sea salt.
Brunch at Dara's with everyone's delicious contributions: homemade bagels and jam, fennel seitan, chicory in tahini garlic sauce, roasted potatoes, beet orzo and melon with mint
Toasted and spread equally with fresh made jam and strawberry cream cheese, these were a delicious promise that the joy of strawberries in season can last as long as the jars of jam do, even if we've only got another week or two to enjoy them fresh.
If you follow me on twitter, you will probably be sick of me talking about it, but we (Industry) are currently on tour with JLS for their tour dates in Ireland. It makes a stark contrast to all the cooking I have been doing lately! The one question I have been asked the most since the book came out is which I prefer, the singing or the cooking, and to be honest after Saturday night, when we performed in Dublin's o2 arena, the singing gives the cooking a good run for its money! Though I think I will always have that hunger for performing on stage, it is just one of the most amazing feelings to stand in front of a crowd that size and sing! All the excitement and nerves aside, I have been managing to eat really well despite the lack of time, and these noodles are just one of the dishes which have kept the band well fed the last few days.
Crunchy Peanut Satay Noodles I am a huge fan of Asian flavours, and I absolutely love exploring Asian supermarkets to find new weird and wonderful ingredients. Noodles are one of my favourite things to buy there, and there are so many varieties to choose from thin rice vermicelli to the thick chunky udon noodles I use in this dish. You can use whatever noodles you can get your hands on for this recipe, and don't be afraid to experiment with the veggies, just use what you have, Chinese cabbage, carrot, or bok choy all work really nicely here. The beauty of this recipe is that it is just basically combining all these fantastic flavours with noodles and fresh veg which gives it that extra crunch factor!
Serves 2 400g of udon noodles 1/2 cucumber, sliced thinly 1 red pepper, sliced thinly 5 spring onions, sliced finely diagonally A handful of salted peanuts, roughly chopped
For the peanut sauce: 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil 1 clove of garlic, finely minced 1 small thumb sized piece of ginger, finely minced 1 small chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 200ml coconut milk 3 tablespoons of soy sauce Juice of 1 lime 3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter
Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the pack, rinse under cold water, drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a small sauce pot, add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for about 30-40 seconds stirring continuously. Add in the coconut milk, lime juice, peanut butter and soy sauce. Bring to the boil, stirring to melt the peanut butter, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the cooked noodles to a large mixing bowl and add in the spring onions, red pepper, and cucumber. Pour in the peanut sauce and toss all the ingredients together until combined. Serve with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts and some extra sliced spring onion.
On Monday I took the train up to Jonkoping to visit my best buddy Jonathan and his lovely family! Jonathan and I were in a boyband together a few years ago and we always had similar interests so ever since the band went its separate ways, we have always been in touch! He was in the Swedish version of Eurosong and released his second album this year so he's a bit of a celebrity over here!
Celeb status aside we spent the day baking! Every year his whole family traditionally do a huge amount of baking of Christmas goodies ahead of the big day, so by the time I arrived there was already a room full of cakes and treats! We made a gingerbread and blueberry loaf, the makings of a gingerbread house and these calorific but oh so worth it Peanut Butter Snicker Squares!
Peanut Butter Snicker Squares This snickers recipe makes delicious squares which are miles better and totally different than the commercial bars you can buy in the shops, way more chewy, crunchy and chocolatey and totally worth it! We used 100g of white chocolate and 100g of milk chocolate when we made these and swirled the two together to get a super marbled effect to make our squares a little unique.
Makes about 20 squares 200g of smooth peanut butter 100g of caster sugar 200ml of golden syrup 100g Special K flakes 100g coconut flakes 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar 200g of chocolate
Place the chocolate in a bowl over a small simmering saucepan of water and allow to melt gently. In another saucepan, over a gentle heat, melt together the peanut butter, sugar, and golden syrup until runny and smooth. In a large mixing bowl, toss the Special K flakes, flaked coconut, and vanilla sugar until combined. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon stir until everything is nicely combined. Turn the mixture out into a 2 inch deep baking dish and spread out evenly pressing down with the back of the spoon. Pour over the melted chocolate and place in the fridge for a few hours until firm.
Cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes! They just never fail to impress, no matter how many different types I make. These blackberry vanilla cupcakes were no different and only lasted a couple of hours in the house.
I had my little cousin Maisy (AKA the cupcake queen!) helping out, she totally enjoyed it and didn't complain once, despite me dragging her around the cliffs blackberry picking for 3 hours beforehand! I actually made the frosting a little too runny in an attempt to use up the coulis, but I kind of like the dramatic effect it gave the pics. Yup that was my sad attempt to cover up a mistake! But you'll let me away with it right?
Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes
(Recipe adapted from Coconut & Lime) This recipe makes delicious, light and moist cupcakes with a fruity taste.
Makes 12 cupcakes For the cupcakes: 1 cup flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup blackberry coulis
For the frosting: 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted 2 tablespoons blackberry coulis Blackberries for decoration
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 180c. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.
In another bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and blackberry coulis. Add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer and mix on low speed until just combined. Mix in the blackberry coulis/milk mixture. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated. Do not over-mix.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared paper liners. Bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and blackberry coulis in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth and well blended. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired and garnish with fresh blackberries.
Frosting Cocktail Glasses In 3 Easy Steps In my opinion, you have to have frosted glasses if you're having cocktails! They just take a normal cocktail to whole new heights. The good news is that if you have never frosted your own glasses, it is so easy, take no time at all and will totally impress your guests. If you can get your hands on some coloured sugars, or dessicated coconut you get a little bit more creative, but for now just use a little caster sugar to practice!
1. Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass twisting as you go. 2. Pour caster sugar on to a small plate. 3. Dip the glass in the sugar and voila, a perfectly frosted cocktail glass!
We got back from Turkey last night and are already feeling the cold! I'm going to be posting a little bit about each place we sailed through over the next two weeks and I have over 2000 photo's to sift through and edit so I'll be sticking them up too.
I also have some very exciting news about the book- tomorrow is the first official photoshoot complete with food stylist and photographer! We have spent most of the day preparing for tomorrow and all I can say is it's a stark contrast, going from tanning in 30 degree heat to prowling through boxes of peppers for the most photogenic, within hours of stepping off a plane! We have been cooking all day and the first shots will be taken tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping to feature a few behind the scenes pics later this week.
For now here is my travel log day 1 to 3! The pictures are more foodie related as the days progress so stay tuned and Enjoy!
Orhaniye The whole holiday was booked through Sunsail an English based yacht charter company, and unlike previous visits to Gocek, we decided to explore the new base of Orhaniye. After a long day which started in the early hours at Dublin airport, and a fairly erratic drive from Dalaman airport we finally arrived at our destination of Marti Marina, Orhaniye, in one piece. I always find it a bit disorientating arriving somewhere in the dark, but even the dim light could not disguise the fact that Marti Marina looked very much like a boat yard, and the website featured a hotel overlooking the marina. However on closer inspection the hotel was still in the process of being built and the building site gave the impression that the builders had given up and left a long time ago! But this was not our problem, in little under a few hours of well needed sleep, we would be on the water sailing, the overlooking building site, a distant memory. We picked up our yacht, a Cyclades 42, which would be home for the next two weeks and gave it a quick once over before hitting the pillow. The marina itself is fully functional with Shower and Laundry facilites, a small supermarket, a salt water swimming pool, and two restaurants overlooking the bay. After a briefing at the sunsail office, picking up provisions in the supermarket, and a quick application of much needed suncream we were out sailing. Two of the best things about a sailing holiday, is that you are outdoors practically all the time, surrounded by fresh air and with the water being so warm and clear, you find yourself in and out quite regularly to cool off from the sun’s heat. The second, you get too see so much, travelling to a brand new destination everyday!
Dirsek Our first stop was Dirsek, a stunning little bay, surrounded by tall dry mountains, about an hour’s sail south from Orhaniye . There is a small restaurant in the bay which is run by the owners, who quite inconspicuously live in tents along the edge of the water, adding to the hands on feel of the place. Boats can anchor in the bay and tie a line ashore or the restauarant offers lazy lines along a jetty. We arrived at around lunchtime and got straight in for the first swim of the holiday, the water is so clear that you can see the bottom even at about 9 meters up, this makes great conditions for snorkelling, which quickly became my new favourite activity! We motored in to the restaurant with the small dighy which comes with the boat and arrived to a scene of what I would describe as controlled chaos. The regular chef had been rushed to the dentist with some major dental urgency and a happy go lucky waiter had been drafted in as the sorry individual who was set to take up the reigns. Guests are invited to go into the kitchen and choose from large table of meat and fish for their main course. On the opposite counter, large glass dishes full of cold starters are spread out in a large row for guests to choose from.
Roast Aubergine in Tomato Sauce, Cooked Green Beans with Yoghurt, Olive Oil and Garlic, Boiled Potatoes with a simple scattering of Parsley, Fried Corgettes, A sort of Onion, red Pepper, and Chilli Salsa, Cooked Spinach and Yoghurt topped with a sprinkle of Paprika, Cheese wrapped in Filo Pastry, and Tzatzichi were among the many dishes which made up the Turkish Mezze, a term coined to describe this massive selection of dishes. The restaurant charges a set price for the Mezze and you can choose whatever dishes you want in a buffet style, it’s a brilliant way to get a chance to try all the different flavours.
Now it’s not often that I feature sickly romantic moments between myself and Sofie, apart from the picture on the "About" page, but after dinner we lay up on deck and watched the stars. I know, I know, pass the bucket, but in our defence, with the only unnatural light coming from the restaurant in the distance, it was practically unmissable. I have never seen stars as amazing as on that night, and as we lay flat on our back it was as if we were wearing 3D goggles, with every last twinkling light jumping down at us. What a perfect way to end a great day.
Monastery of Panormitis, Simi Our next stop was a long sail to the Greek island Of Simi, just on the border of Turkish waters. It was an extremely strange little port, whose mystery was heightened further, when we discovered the pilot book had absolutely no information about it. It seemed to be less of a town and more of a church with surrounding accommodation, we only came across one restaurant, there could have been more. The change from Turkish to Greek waters was quite significant in terms of cuisine and for dinner we ate a pretty standard fare of Calamari, Moussaka, Souvlaki, with large side dishes of Tzatzichi. The large abbey sits right on the water front and is lit up quite impressively at night, the whole bay has a white painted walkway which goes from the abbey right the way around and up the hill to a large old windmill which overlooks the bay.
After a bit of googeling I discovered that the Monastry is Greek Orthadox and dates back to 450 AD. It is the largest on the island and is also considered one of the most important.
Apart from a few small shops, there was a bakery which sold fresh bread in the morning and had extremely tasty coconut macaroons topped with cherries. We left the following morning for a long and bumpy sail to the small Turkish town of Datca...
As you might have guessed, if you are a regular reader of the blog, I have a major thing for zingy Asian food! It all started when I was a lot younger, when my grandmother bought me a simple Chinese cookbook. At that stage I had already worked my way through most of the cookbooks in our house but had never tried to cook any sort of Asian food. Ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, coconut milk, and the rather peculiar looking star anise were all foreign to me, as a curious youngster. I took it upon myself to become immersed in this little book, being brave and cooking the most strange sounding dishes first, in order to get a taste for the vast landscape of this cuisine. From fortune cookies to spring rolls, from Thai green curry to sushi, I really gave everything a go and even though they may not have all turned out quite to plan, the process in itself was totally enjoyable and left me with a fascination for Asian culture and recipes.
I have still never been anywhere in Asia and it is my absolute dream to travel, eat and photograph my way across the continent, well maybe that's a little ambitious, maybe just the main places to start with. I don't know when it's going to happen, but it will, and when it does I want to be ready for it so, I'm putting together a hit list of places to visit, people to see, and food to eat. If you have any good suggestions for recipes, stunning places to visit, interesting stories, photos or all of the above, let me know in the comment section or drop me a mail.
Mini Aromatic Duck Salad This a slightly adapted version of one of my favourite recipes from my cookbook. It's fairly similar, the only difference really being that, I serve the salad in mouthful portions on baby gem lettuce leaves here. Apart from the duck don't be too concerned about the salad ingredients, anything goes here really, things like bean sprouts, shredded Chinese cabbage, finely sliced snow peas are all perfect also. You can get amazing aromatic duck breasts in the frozen section at good Chinese supermarkets, which only require roasting time in the oven for delicious results.
Serves 4 2 aromatic duck breasts, cooked and shredded 2 carrots, thinly sliced 6 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal 1 red pepper, thinly sliced Baby gem lettuce leaves, to serve
Dressing: 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil Juice of 1/2 lime 1 teaspoon of fish sauce 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the duck, carrots, spring onions, and red pepper to the bowl and toss with the dressing to combine. Arrange baby gem lettuce leaves on a serving platter and add spoonfuls of the duck salad to them. Serve straight away, or refrigerate the duck salad and assemble when required.
