I’ve just finished watching Season 2 of Dexter and I must say that I was literally gripped.
The whole idea of gratifying a serial killer is sick in some way. The likable murderer. Is there such a thing? How I love the irony of it all… a serial killer with work ethics. Here is a very tasty taster for Season 3, I can’t wait!!!
My hero! :grin:
I don’t usually go for fruit desserts but this particular recipe has exceeded my expectations. A beautiful apple tarte with great fusion of spices and flavours taste amazing especially served with vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
- 3 large Pink Lady apples
- 250g ready made puff pastry
- 50g cold unsalted butter
- 50g caster sugar
- 2 cardamom pods
- Vanilla Ice Cream
Filling:
Prepare the apples, peer core and quarter them, then lay out on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Leave to dry uncovered for a few hours, preferably overnight. Don’t worry if they turn brown as that will be covered with caramel.
Tarte Tatin:
Prepare a 20cm shallow oven proof pan. Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut out a 24cm round, using similar sized plate as a guide. Lift onto a baking sheet and chill while you prepare the filling.
Cut the butter into thin slices and scatter over the bottom of a 20cm oven proof pan. Sprinkle over the sugar. Arrange the apple quarters neatly around the pan with one in the middle.
Place over a medium heat until the butter,cardamom pods and sugar have melted and formed a light caramel. Carefully shake the pan from time to time to ensure that the apples are well coated with the caramel and are evenly brown. Leave to cool..
Then preheat the oven to 200ºc. Drape the pastry over the appls and carefully tuck the edges down the sides of the pan. Place the pan in the hot oven and bake for 15 minutes. And then lower the setting to 180ºc and bake for another 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. Leave to cool.
To serve, turn the tarte tatin onto a serving plate and serve with generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Now summer holidays are here, kids can run riot and take over your quiet days. I never found it easy organising days out. If you’re like me who has two or more kids there’s always bound to be some kind of argument about who wants to do what and where. So I have compiled a small list of places to go just in case you need a little bit of inspiration.
Giffords Circus – every kids likes to go to the circus, well I did anyway, I think I only been once and I thoroughly enjoyed it though I never been to keen of animal acts just plain talent and unbelievable stunts. Giffords Circus comes with a twist, it’s Victorian style, so all acts are dressed in the olden days costumes which adds to the originality. Once you enter the big top, you are in another world. And the best thing of all is that they also have a restaurant which serves up three course meals ranging from organic and local produce.
Chatsworth Country Fair – Is a three day event celebrating the countryside. With so many activities to chose from. From cooking demostration, military vehichles, crossbows, ferrets, sheepdog trials, and many many more. Im sure this event will prove popular with adults and childrens alike.
Dinosaur Adventure – Educate the kids about their favourite scaley creature! The park itself is set on a 100 acre woodland with lifesize dinosaur models and activities. Discover tribes and creatures on their Neandethal Walk. There are plenty to do, from volcanic crazy golf, karting and adventure playground. And when they have wind down from that why not take them to meet the creepy crawlies or maybe a walk in the secret animal garden!
Kids Week – Do you have a budding mini thespian? From 15-29th August 2008, London’s West End theaters open their doors to offer kids aged 5-16 free tickets to top shows, activities and workshops! From Phantom of the Opera, Disney Lion King, Mama Mia, Grease… and so much more!
I have always been a great lover of Indian food, and have always searched for that perfect curry recipe. It’s a great favourite in my house. Surprisingly it’s really easy to make don’t be daunted by the long list of ingredients. If you’re like me, who likes to cook and experiment with different dishes you should already have some of the basic spices mentioned on the recipe.
I tend to use lamb, my personal preference. I usually ask my butcher for the shoulder and he chops the meat with the bone to my desired size. However,you can use whatever type of meat you want or even make a vegetarian version.
LAMB CURRY (serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 2lbs lamb meat cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 30g butter
- 2 onions finely chopped in blender
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 6 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 chillies
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tbsp ground cumin
- 1½ tbsp garam masala*
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1 pint beef stock
- 200g plain greek yoghurt
Method
1. Heat a large wok or saucepan and add one tablespoon of the vegetable oil and butter and then the lamb. Cook over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the lamb is golden-brown, then remove and set aside.
2. Reduce the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the onions, garlic, chillies and ginger and fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden and softened.
3. Add all the turmeric, garam masala, cumin and chilli powder and fry, stirring well, for one minute.
4. Add the flour and cook for a further minute.
5. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk and heat to bring to a simmer.
6. Add the lamb and enough stock to just cover the lamb. Stir well.
7. Heat the mixture until simmering, then cover and cook on a low heat for about one hour, or until the lamb is tender and cooked through. (If you have a slow cooker, I would recommend to use this at this stage and cook it for as long as you want, or until the meat just falls off the bone)
8. Add the yoghurt, season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir well.
* You can make your own garam masala with the following
Cumin, coriander, cardamom, black pepper and cinnamon,caraway, nutmeg and bay leaves
This usually goes down well with the children. A home made fried chicken is always popular choice. I tend to serve it with salad as a healthy option.
I find that buying chicken breast fillets are pretty expensive. The cheap option is to debone chicken joints to use with this recipe. It’s more fiddly to do, but I find it more tastier.
For the sweet chilli sauce I usually buy the ready made ones in my local Chinese/ Filipino store.
Chicken Escalopes with Sweet Chilli Sauce & Summer Rice Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken about 3lb jointed into 8 pieces (boned and skinned)
- 1 small white loaf (crust removed)
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley & tarragon
- 2 eggs beaten
- Sunflower oil for frying
- Place chicken fillets between 2 sheets of cling film, then tap the fillets with a rolling pin until they have increased in size by half.
- Dice the bread and process in a food processor to crumbs, then transfer into a wide bowl. Season the escalopes with salt and pepper. Brush them with mustard and sprinkle each with some of the chopped herbs.
- Dip the escalopes into the beaten egg to coat on all sides.
- Turn the escalopes in the breadcrumbs to coat well. Heat both pan and 1cm oil before adding the meat. Fry the escalopes in the oil for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on paper. Set aside.
Rice Salad
- 5 cups long grain basmati rice cooked and cooled.
- 100g cooked garden peas
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1/2 red pepper
- half chopped red onions
- chopped chives
- 1tbsp chopped parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
- sesame seeds to sprinkle on top
Mixed all the ingredients above, then add salt and pepper, sprinkle sesame seeds on top before serving.
