how to fix a baking disaster - make magic cookie dust!

Magic cookie dust

Another day, another baking disaster. Welcome to my world.

These days I don't panic, although there is usually quite a lot of swearing involved and occasionally the quaffing of cooking sherry, to aid the recovery process. But usually I don't panic too much. 

I had made the dough for some spicy ginger biscuits. The dough was chilling and I had just put my oven on to pre-heat. My wits were wondering again; although to be fair, I think I should be blaming Eddie Mair, the Radio 4 journalist. He has an awful lot to answer for.

me derby kell is well and truly stuffed! slow roasted beef brisket in ale with carrots and mushrooms - with Adnam's Broadside

where's the beef?
(carrots, mushrooms and beefy ale!)

There is an old music hall song from the early 1900s with the catchy refrain of "boiled beef and carrots", which was song by the Cockney artiste, Harry Champion (of "Any Old Iron" , "I'm Henery the Eighth, I am" and my favourite "A Little Bit of Cucumber").

christmas baking:traditional bread pudding (or my cheat's christmas pud! )

traditional British bread pudding
(or my cheat's guide to Christmas pud!

A Best of British blog challenge!
These days if you say "bread pudding" most people assume you are talking about "bread and butter pudding" - layers of sliced stale bread, dotted with dried fruits and butter, and soaked in a custard sauce, before baking. While bread pudding is another member of the frugal baking club as it is made with breadcrumbs and dried fruit, it is actually more like a cake than a pudding and is, to my mind, even nicer.

christmas baking: kruidnoten (dutch christmas spice biscuits)

kruidnoten: Dutch Christmas spice cookies

I have never met a spice biscuit that I didn’t like and these little cookies are an absolute treat. While these cookies are popular in the Netherlands at Christmas, they are packed full of all the spices that we like in Britain too.

I suspect though that these kruidnoten are probably strictly for the grownups as despite the sugar and golden syrup they aren’t actually very sweet. They are fragrantly spiced with a distinctly peppery flavour and a hint of bitterness coming from the cocoa powder. Which I imagine, if you have children, means all the more for you!

winter warming pea and parsnip soup with bacon

pea and parsnip soup

I have mentioned before, that while I adore parsnips, I am not always convinced by parsnip soups awash with curry spices, although Nigel Slater's spicy parsnip soup is one of my absolute favourites. I was on a mission to create a parsnip soup recipe that didn't include the usual suspects.

Did you know that peas and parsnips are kissing cousins in the world of flavour compounds? No me neither. But it turns out that they both contain one of those completely unpronounceable compounds, which accounts for their affinity with each other. (OK, its 3-sec-butyl-2-methoxypyrazine - aren't you glad you asked!)

what's in season: december

winter cherry tomatoes!

How did it get so late so soon?
Its night before its afternoon.
December is here before its June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
Dr Seuss, 1904-1991

You may be wondering why I am illustrating this seasonal December post with a photograph of cherry tomatoes. What have tomatoes got to do with December in England? Nothing usually. However, I found these tiny little tomatoes when I was clearing away some garden debris destined for the compost heap. As I saw the flashes of red through the mound of branches and leaves, I thought they might be some kind of berry and decided to pull them out to feed the birds. Except they turned out to be cherry tomatoes. I didn’t even know I was growing these cherry tomatoes, which I managed to save from the first frosts of winter. I love these kinds of surprises, especially in the dying days of November.

thai-style tuna fishcakes

Thai-style tuna fishcakes

These little fish cakes explode with the flavours of south east Asia – garlic, galangal, chilli, lime and lemongrass. Mine may not be particularly authentic, but they are quick and easy to make and taste delicious with a bowl of ginger-spring onion or chilli noodles, or a spicy noodle soup. They also make a fabulous party nibble with a chilli or soy dipping sauce.

how to fix a baking disaster: bread and butter pudding

bread and butter pudding

In the scheme of things, flooding, war, hurricanes or volcanic eruptions, my baking misfortune is hardly a disaster. But in the sense that things in my kitchen took a decided turn for the worse, it was a definite catastrophe!

I had found a recipe for a yeasted fruit loaf that I thought might be seasonally festive. It was based on a recipe found in an unpublished 18th century manuscript and was crammed full of dried fruit and spices. So far, so good. I did think that it was more a case of a lot of fruit held together by a little sweet dough, but hey ho.

sambal: what is it? (a clue - not a style of music, dance or a football player!)

my sambal condiment

Every so often I take a photograph that I really like. It’s never because of any technical artistry (because I haven’t any), but usually because of the colours. Yesterday’s posting on Hainanese chicken and rice with condiments is the perfect example of something I liked that you didn't get to see. I posted a picture of the whole dish and in the corner you can see a shallow bowl of sambal. The food was photographed outside (largely because I still haven’t got the hang of indoor photography). But it was cold and windy outside, so it was literally a case of point, click and run inside with the tray of food as quickly as possible. Brrrr!

hainanese chicken rice - proud to be a random recipe!

Hainanese chicken rice

I'm feeling a bit lucky right now. One of my favourite lucky numbers has always been 22. l like the symmetry of it but it is also the day of my birth. So when Dominic at Belleau Kitchen announced that this month's Random Recipes was to be based on the day of your birth. It is also the 22nd Random Recipe competition, so since that is my birthday it rather kicked me into action. (I wish I could say I was 22 years old, but that boat has sailed!)

time to make christmas mincemeat (it's almost stir-up sunday)

Christmas mincemeat 2012

Just in case you may have forgotten, this Sunday (25th November) is Stir-Up Sunday, which according to tradition is the last day to make mincemeat and puddings; giving them time to mature and be ready for Christmas. So this is a little reminder to check your cupboards for supplies and make sure you have everything you need. And if you have never made it before, all I can say is, give it a go. It is very, very simple to assemble (no cooking required) and the end results are delicious.

Since in past years, I have been a little lazy about this, both last year and this year I have decided to get my act together and have already made mine. (I'm not being smug, just relieved that I managed to get organised in time!)

what do you get when you cross celeriac rémoulade with coleslaw? a wonderful winter salad

celeriac winter salad

The King of the One-Liner, Henny Youngman's advice "If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late" has been a personal code of practice of mine for many years, but last Sunday I had absolutely no excuse for oversleeping, sadly, except for sheer laziness.

But when I woke up I had that sinking sense of something important is supposed to be happening and I can’t remember what it is, accompanied by a heart-in-mouth feeling. I looked at my clock, blanched, leapt out of bed and hurtled to the kitchen in my jammies to wrestle a very large bird from fridge to oven, without any of the usual niceties.