Lamb Roast with Aubergine and Broad Beans

Mid week Roast.

Hope I'm not teasing you too much with this, but tonight was a little simple for us. Nice Lamb Roast (Yes, it's still that kind of weather). Nothing overkill. Just a lovely Aubergine Puree. With freshly cooked Broad Beans.

Enjoy!

So would you like to know how to make a good Aubergine Puree? Let me know, and I'll have a word with Chef! 

Coffee & Doughnuts Part2- Coffee Custard

So now you know how to make great doughnuts, Here is the perfect match for them. As stated previously, Coffee and Doughnuts are perfect buddies. With that in mind, here is your coffee custard.

900ml Cream

30g Sugar

140g Chicory Essence (coffee flavored Syrup)

15 yolks

Separating 15 Yolks. Yep. Count 'em!

Bring Cream to the boil. Meanwhile, place coffee essence, sugar, and yolks into a clean bowl and whisk till combined. Pour boiling cream into bowl of coffee mixture and whisking thoroughly. Pour cooled mix into a terrine mould and skim off any bubbles on the surface. 

All the bubbles will start to surface as it cools down. You'll need to skim them of the top so that the custard is smooth and has a consistent texture the whole way through.

Taking out the extra bubbles makes for a smoother custard

ClingWrap before putting the lid on

Now cover with cling film (This is important so that no water can enter the terrine dish otherwise the custard will split as it cooks), and place the lid on top. 

Bains Marie the custard for cooking

Place the terrine dish in a water bath to cook in the oven at 145 Degrees C. Fan Forced (time approx: 40mins). OR 160 degrees C without Fan (time approx: 30mins).  

*From the Chef: Checking the custard is easiest by giving the terrine dish a gentle shake. If you find the custard ripples (like a liquid), it’s not ready yet. Ideally the Custard should Wobble. When it does, It’s ready to be taken out of the Oven. Leave it out to rest and cool down.

Coffee & Doughnuts (Gluten Free Naughtiness)

The American Cop shows would have you convinced that Coffee and Doughnuts are the high point in any drama! Well they were right in the fact that Coffee and Doughnuts go together as good as Starsky and Hutch, and packs the same kind of attitude as Marcus and Mike Lowry from Bad Boys.

Here we are making Gluten Free Doughnuts! 


250ml Water
65g Butter
125g Plain Flour (Gluten Free flour works better in this recipe)
3 Eggs

Gently bring to boil the water and butter. Add the flour, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove the pan from the heat, and let it cool slightly. Mix in your eggs one by one until fully combined.

Gluten Free Choux Pastry People!

Take a pot approximately 15cm in diameter and pour in vegetable oil till roughly half way. Allow this oil to heat to 160 degrees C. Place the mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle attachment. Pipe 2inch (5cm) lengths at a time into the pot and fry until golden brown. Use a Holy Spoon to remove the doughnuts from the oil safely. Place onto paper towel to drain any excess oil. 

These are Mini Doughnuts. Little bite Size Monsters, that you can have a few of or a few more depending on your mood of course. They are so lovely to eat when they are fresh. Nice and crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle!

Sugar & Cinnamon

Once they have been fried, Dunk them into a bowl of Sugar & Cinnamon. Toss them through and make sure they are nicely coated. Try not to eat them all at once... Don't say you were not warned!

So the Coffee Flavoured Custard will come next entry! Serve them together for an ultimate little treat to share with Friends!

Quiche. Perfect for this kind of weather...

Don't quite know where you guys are, but the weather has chilled out again and we are dealing with light snow flurries and icy winds. We are having an easy Quiche tonight. Not one for being shy when it comes to ingredients, Chef always puts loads of goodies in!

You can put Anything into it, and better still you can have it over a few days. Take it to work for lunch, or dinner after that late night shopping trip to get your outfit for the weekend.

Cook you base first. That way it'll be ready when your prep is done. 

So get your Quiche base organised first. You can easily buy this pastry at any super market. If you need gluten free be sure to find a good recipe. Some Gluten free pastries can break quite easily. Just be sure that when you roll the pastry out over your dish, fill in any breaks or gaps with the pastry by hand.

Prepping for the Quiche. Onions and Mushrooms

Make sure you cook off all your ingredients. Added Bacon

Add loads of cooked Spinach! The more ingredients, the better

As you cook your ingredients, simply add them to a large bowl once they're done. That way you get an idea of what's ready. If your having a little improvisation day, then doing this will give you a chance to taste and see if you want to add anything else!

Crumble up Fetta

By this stage, You should mix everything in really well. Don't be afraid to get messy with your hands. It's more fun that way, trust me!

Once you're done putting all the cooked ingredients together, it's time to pop in your eggs. Now I have been saying the more ingredients the better. The other reason being, is that you don't want a very "eggy" Quiche. It's not as flavoursome (to me)...

Pour all that yummy goodness into your pastry tray. We've used a 10inch tray, and cooked for around 30 minutes. Temperature was at 160degrees Celcius. Always check though! 
You want your Quiche to have slight colouring on the top once it has been cooked. In the picture below, you can see the difference, compared to the previous shot.

THE BEST- Look at all that flavour

Cocktail Hour: Spiced Rum & Apple

Getting all Experimental with the Alcoholic stuff...

Ready, Set? 
Watch this for a Magic Trick!

Making Rum Spheres...

Draining the excess water

In goes the Spiced Apple Foam

There you have it. Spiced Apple & Rum Cocktail!

Served as a Shot. When you have it, the Rum Ball is squeezed against the roof of your mouth. As it pops, you get hard rum mixed with your Spiced Apple Foam. 

Pass another Please!

Chocolate Almonds- your own piece of Chocolate Heaven!

Who doesn't love Roasted Almonds? Chocolate. Roasted. Almonds?!
Even just roasting your own Almonds are great, and a really good snack! 
Well, they are fantastic and easy to make at home. Just get your preferred type of Chocolate. We use Lindt most of the time. I love a good Dark chocolate, but Chef not so much. Sometimes he will mix Milk chocolate and Darker chocolate together, so we both stay happy!

Always melt your chocolate well. The technique is simple enough. Have a pot of simmering water on the stove and use a metal bowl over it. This allows for good heat to melt your chocolate, but it will prevent it from overcooking.

If you buy Almonds from your supermarket, they are best if you roast them first. That way you know they have an awesome crunch to them, and they will stay that way rather than becoming soggy within a couple of days.