Conversion Charts

I have, German cookbooks, English cookbooks and American cookbooks all use different measurements, Grams and Kilos, Pounds and ounces and Cup sizes. My scales have either the metric or imperial weights and I can switch between the two, I also have the proper cup sizes and a jug with all the measurements on it including fluid cups, so any recipe is no problem for me, I am never going to struggle trying to convert the measurements… It has occurred to me that my posts flit between all of the measurements, depending on where I got my resources from, and that not everyone would have all the equipment that I do, so I thought I would try and do a few, conversion charts of my own. I have checked online, and no one page has the same equivalents, so I have used the ones that I have been using up until now.

1 cup of flour	150 g
1 cup of sugar	225g
1 cup of brown sugar	175g
1 cup of butter	225g
1 cup of currants	150g
1 cup of raisins	200g
1 cup ground almonds	110g
1 cup golden syrup	350g
1 cup uncooked rice	200g
1 cup cheese	110g
1 stick of butter	110g

 

225˚F	110˚C  cool
250˚F	120˚C  cool
275˚F	140˚C   very slow
300˚F	150˚ C   very slow
325˚F	160˚ C   slow
350˚F	180˚ C   moderate
375˚F	190˚C    moderate
400˚F	200˚ C   moderately hot
425˚F	220˚ C   hot
450˚F	230˚ C   hot
475˚F	240˚ C   very hot˚

Fluid Cup (U.S.)		Litres		Pints (IMP)
1		240ml		0.42
2		470ml		0.83
3		710ml		1.25
4		950ml		1.67
5		1.18l		2.08
6		1.42l		2.5
7		1.66l		2.91
8		1.89l		3.33
9		2.13l		3.75
10		2.37l		4.16

 

Sausage Bake

I am continuously on the lookout for new and exciting flavour combinations and because so much had been - NOT ALLOWED - anything is new to me. Cherry tomatoes may have been bought every now and again with the sole purpose of being eaten out of the packet. If I'd attempted to cook them, I would have been met by screwed up faces. Now that I am free to cook almost anything, I can experiment all I wish - and I do. I'll admit that I haven't always enjoyed everything, but with a new philosophy of anything goes I can honestly say I am no longer missing out.

 

Tomato and Sausage Bake

700g ripe cherry tomatoes

1tsp each of dried thyme, rosemary and oregano

1 bay leaf

 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped

4 of your favourite sausages

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

 

Salt and pepper to taste

1.       Preheat your oven 190˚C/375˚F, place all the tomatoes and the sausages into a roasting pan, if you can place all your tomatoes in one tight layer and then sprinkle all the herbs on top, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar then season with salt and pepper. Carefully toss it altogether making sure that the sausages remain on top. Put it in the oven for 30 mins, take it out give it a good shake and then return it to the oven for 15-30 minutes.

2.       If the sauce is too loose when you remove it from the oven, remove the sausages and place the roasting pan on the hob and reduce the sauce a bit, to the right consistency. Return the sausages to the sauce and serve with crusty bread, rice or mashed potato.

 

 

Chicken and blue cheese salad

One of my most favourite things to eat is a baby leafed green salad, and BBQ'd something, whether it be brats (the sausage kind, not the annoying child kind) burgers, fish or lamb. I'm not too fussed, but I love the contrast between hot freshly cooked barbequed meat and the cool salad. I get bored though of the same green leaf salad and salad dressing though, so I'll mix it up with chorizo, pomegranate, pinenuts, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes even grapes or apples depending on what I have on hand at the time. This next recipe is lovely and definitely fills all the boxes I have just mentioned.

  Chicken and Blue Cheese Salad

1 bag mixed salad leaves

2 cooked chicken breasts thinly sliced

2 pears, peeled, cored and wedged

25g walnuts, roughly chopped

55g crumbled Roquefort

For the dressing

3tbsp red wine vinegar

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

¼ tbsp. caster sugar

1tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and black pepper to taste

1.       Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a jar with a lid, seal and give it a good shake, test for seasoning and if needed give it a little extra salt and pepper.

2.       Mix all of your salad ingredients, not the cheese. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad between the four bowls and then sprinkle with the blue cheese.

PIZZA

I love pizza; it is one of my favourite junk foods. For me when I am feeling blah, or poorly or just have midnight munchies I always go for a bread type snack, something about it is just comforting, reminds me of the better times when it was just me and my Mummy. I love toast for example, hot and slathered with lots of lightly salted butter or margarine like Utterly Butterly. As a child St Ivel Gold was my favourite. My Mummy didn’t buy it very often but when she did it was a welcome rare treat. I associate it with happier times I remember watching her one day buttering her toast and she looked at me smiled and said “Every now and again, Rebecca, there is nothing nicer than hot toast with lots of melted butter” I have to agree. I also believe that this was the beginning of my ‘dough’ obsession; I still savour every bite and feel comforted when I eat it.

The best pizza I have ever eaten was in America of course, Papa John’s BBQ Chicken and bacon ranch, whenever we ordered pizza that was what it would be and the garlic butter dipping sauce, heaven! As with most things in life I have discovered that all good things come to an end, eventually. America was one of them, I felt at home there and if it had been possible for me to stay I would have done. Never mind there is absolutely no point dwelling on that, I have brought lots of experiences away with me and different ideas about food that would never have crossed my mind before, and thankfully I am able to replicate the Chicken and bacon pizza that we loved so much. I have made three of these pizzas the first two were simple, one with ham the other with shrimp, all three were with store bought pizza base. I had made an attempt at pizza dough but it was too sticky and stuck to EVERYTHING, I did manage to get some of it on to baking paper (also a bad idea) and baked it to see what it would have tasted like… I wish in one way I hadn’t bothered, 95% of it was glued to the baking paper and therefore inedible but that little bit we did try was delicious, in fact I would go so far as to say that it was the best I had ever tasted….. Oh so bitter sweet disappointment. I will try again, I am just not quite brave enough yet. The BBQ was my favourite, sods law though I’ve lost the recipe, it very nearly captured the Papa John’s pizza, I even managed to make the garlic butter dipping sauce….. Gutted…. Here are the other two recipes though.

PIZZA

2 store bought pizza bases (unless you can make your own)

150ml tomato sauce

2 balls mozzarella torn into pieces

A bunch of basil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Olive oil

2 handfuls of rocket

The juice of ½ a lemon

9 slices of prosciutto

100g cooked, shelled shrimp

Parmesan to serve

 

1.      Preheat your oven to 220˚C/430˚F. If you are making your own pizza base now would be the time to do that. Working quickly, spoon enough tomato sauce to cover the pizza base, into the middle and working towards the edges spread it evenly out, leaving the outside edge clear. Scatter the pizza with mozzarella and basil, season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.

2.       Bake your pizzas in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the base is golden and crisp.

3.      Take the pizza out of the oven and drape one with the prosciutto and scatter shrimp on the other, scatter the rocket over both and a squeeze of lemon juice another drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle on some Parmesan…

Prawn Curry

As far as food is concerned America has ruined me. America's value for money and choice far outweighs that here in the UK and Germany, as a rule I have to travel to two or three supermarkets to get the bits I need, where as in America I could get everything under one roof. It's not just the supermarkets though. Restaurants tend to be rubbish in comparison too, whether it's pizza, Chinese or Curry for example to name but a few. The UK and Germany just doesn't compare, the question now though is where does that leave me? Well I suppose that leaves me with two options, 1) forget it and find something else, 2) Work at finding a recipe that will replicate the meals we ate and enjoyed out in America. I’ve opted for option 2 and in the long run I am saving money by not buying takeout food that I won’t enjoy.

 

Prawn Curry

 

500g raw, peeled shrimp

1 un-waxed lemon, juice and zest

4 cloves of garlic, mashed with a pinch of salt

1tsp salt

1tsp turmeric

3tbsp Olive oil

1 roughly chopped onion

½ tsp chilli powder

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp garam masala

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 lime, juiced

 1.       In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, lemon juice and zest, a ¼ of the mashed garlic, the salt and turmeric, gently rub the lemony mixture into the prawns and then leave to marinate a little, about 10 minutes.

2.       Heat half the oil in your wok or skillet, add the remaining garlic and the onion, cooking for about 5 minutes. Then add the spices, cook for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, cover (it is likely to spit) and stirring once or twice, let it boil for about 5 minutes.

 3.       In a small skillet, add and heat the remaining oil. Remove the shrimp from their marinade and using kitchen paper pat them dry, fry the shrimp over a medium heat until they turn pink, this should only take a few minutes, over cooking them will result in rubbery chewy shrimp yuck!

4.       Finally once the shrimp are cooked add them to the tomato mixture along with the lime juice, heat through and serve with boil fluffy rice.

 

 

 

Surf and Turf meatballs

In all honesty I've no idea anymore what attracted me to this recipe, nothing about half and half mince and shrimp seems at all appealing to me. I have moments where it seems like a good idea at the time, but later maybe isn't. Anyway for whatever reason I decided that this was the recipe and I set to work making it. Truth be told apart from my usual meat blunder - resulting in mini-meat toblerones instead of balls, it's actually quite delicious and the shrimp bits add an interesting texture to the meat. The chilli flakes give this dish a little bit of a kick but it's not too intrusive on the more delicate palette, although I am not to sure how willing I would be to try this out on a small child with fussy eating habits, meatballs or not.

 

Surf and Turf Meatballs in Sweet and Sour Sauce

325g half and half mince

325g raw shrimp, shelled and finely chopped                         

½ tsp red chilli flakes

2 spring onions/scallions, finely chopped

2tbsp light soy sauce

2tsp sesame oil

1tbsp corn flour/corn starch

1tbsp olive oil

For the sauce

2 cloves garlic

½ tsp ginger powder  (you can use up to an inch of peeled and grated ginger, I don’t  because I am allergic)

¼ tsp chilli flakes

100ml pineapple juice

2tbsp light soy sauce

1tbsp white wine vinegar

3tbsp tomato ketchup

2tbsp soft brown sugar

1tbsp corn flour/corn starch mixed with 2tbsp water

 Boiled rice to serve

1.       In a large bowl mix together the mince, prawns, chilli, spring onions, soy sauce, sesame oil and corn flour. Once it is mixed really well , make divide the mixture up in to chestnut sized balls.

2.       In a wok, if you have one or a skillet heat the oil and fry the meatballs until browned all over. Now from the sauce ingredients add the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 more minutes.

3.       Now add the pineapple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes, then add the corn flour mixture you made, stirring continuously for about 2 minutes until thickened.

 

Serve on a bed of rice.

 

 

 

Cheese filled sausages, with creamed leeks and potatoes

I would definitely class this one as comfort food, homey and delicious. It's one of the recipes from my Anthony Worral Thompson book, I am not a huge fan of the man, for various reasons, but his book is very good. I'm of the opinion that if you only read things you are a fan of, you'll never experience anything new. Life is so short and people, I am guilty of this too, spend too much time worrying about what other people will think, or not doing something because it is unfamiliar and out of their comfort zone. I think we miss out on so many things because of this, and for what, saving face? Logically it makes no sense, to learn is to evolve, but to learn we must experience everything, even the stuff we find boring, scary and hate. 

 

Brie Filled Sausages on a Bed Of Creamed Leeks and Potatoes

 

For the sausages

 

1 tbsp. olive oil

8 of your favourite sausages

225g brie

2tbsp mango chutney

8 rashers of prosciutto

 

For the leeks and potatoes

 

450g new potatoes, 1/4

450g leeks, washed and shredded

55g unsalted butter

1tsp thyme

150ml double cream

salt and ground pepper to taste

 

 

1.       To begin with you will need to heat your oven to 180˚C/360˚F.

 

2.       In a heavy based skillet, heat the oil, then add your sausages, brown the sausages but don’t cook them all the way through. Take the sausages out of the pan and set aside to cool slightly.

 
3.       Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender, then drain. Using the skillet you used for the sausages, cook the leeks in the butter and thyme, until they are softened.

 

4.       In the meantime, cut a pocket in each of the sausages and put a thin slice of brie into each pocket, and spoon a little of the chutney on top, finally stretch each of your bacon rashers and wrap them around the sausages making sure to close the open pocket, so the cheese and mango doesn’t seep out during cooking. Place them into an oven proof dish.

 

5.       Place the sausages in the oven and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the sausages are cooked all the way through and the bacon is crispy.

 

6.       When the potatoes are cooked add them to the leeks and pour in the double cream, cook until the cream has thickened this should take about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper.

 

7.       Plate the potatoes and leeks and top with the sausages.

 

 

 

 

 



Cook Books Galore

Blog note book (I now have a 2nd)

I have all my blog notes prepared and I am seriously behind since we moved back to England I have been finding it difficult to find the motivation to do anything, it's not been an easy year. So anyway I am very behind and because of that some of my posts are slightly too dated and I am having to alter them slightly to make them more current this one started off like this, "As I have mentioned before I am a bit of a cookbook fiend, my books are slowly taking over the bookshelf." Well that bit is dated because my books HAVE taken over the bookshelf and spilled over into a second, upstairs on the landing. I'll admit that whilst I have seen some peoples collections are far more extensive than my own, mine is probably going to be a life long hobby. A few years ago my cookbook collection was weak at best, and compiled of books which I had managed to pick up for a euro or two, or those that had been passed onto me either by my mother or grandmother. I was able to save a few but a lot got left with my ex, he has probably disposed of them by now as that's what he does with books. During that time cooking was plain, boring and a chore, stick the occasional 20 euro in my hand and I would go and buy a pair of shoes or a handbag, to cheer me up. Pointless really because I always wear the same shoes and use the same handbag. Now that I cook and I am learning all the time about new things, my money is better spent on cookbooks. As I use all of them all none of them go to waste. Unlike when I buy a pair of shoes or a new hand bag that I'll never wear or use.

95% of my books are a calculated resource, bought for one reason or another, most of my books have lots of additional information in them, about food, how to prepare it and tips and tricks. I find different books bring a whole wealth of different cooking knowledge to my table. My books are slowly but surely covering everything about cookery. When I originally wrote this blog out I had 87 including my magazine collection, that's since grown to 188, including my magazine collection - I have put most of them in folders so they are advertisement free, with the exception of a few which are advert free so although sold as a magazine, they are like little paper back books. If you are like me and like to have lots of information about cooking as well as the recipes themselves, it's worth looking around - one author is likely to give you some information you can glean from, two may give you two different opinions. Take an army of cooks and their opinions and ideas, are more likely to give you a whole wealth of invaluable knowledge, whilst I prefer the books with added text, even those with just recipes can teach you about techniques if you read them properly. For example one of the books told me that my "Baking Issues" maybe because my hands are too warm and gave me some ideas on how to rectify this, it was great to know what the problem was, I just didn't know why it was an issue. I was to later find out from Delia Smith that if the fat becomes too oily (through melting) because the rubbing takes longer and everything is too warm. What happens is that it coats more flour grains than it should. This means that the flour can't absorb enough water and the pastry will crumble and be difficult to roll out." This is just one example.

Heston Blumenthal, explained how certain flavours cut into each other and that all our senses make up the taste. It covered about 30 pages in total but was a very interesting read. I could go on for hours about what chefs like Nigella, Jamie Oliver, Tara Ramsay and Anthony Worral Thompson have taught me to name but a few but I'd be here for hours, but what I will say is that each book serves a purpose a little research and a quick flick through of the book (if you are buying in store) will help you to chose your books wisely, don't forget Amazon have customer reviews read the good and the bad to make an informed decision - I recently almost bought a book because of all the good reviews and then read the bad ones and changed my mind. You have to read the reviews and judge by what's written if it will serve your purposes. 

Tagliatelle with broccoli in a cheesy sauce

Jamie Oliver - My personal opinion of this man is that his heart is in the right place and I think his agenda is quit clear. He is a man on a mission and fair play to him, he's in a position to help people, advise and show. I have read a couple of his books now and can't help but feel a little sorry for him when people criticise him, because I feel these are people who make a split decision, about him and his agenda before hearing him out. He's not saying don't eat pizza, burgers or cookies - or whatever your favourite 'junk' food may be. He is saying eat healthily, in moderation and to eat fresh ingredients wherever possible and to treat yourself every now and again to the things you enjoy. He IS promoting a healthy lifestyle. I think he is wonderful and I am super impressed with his determination and resolve, the more of his books I read the more I realise that he is an advocate for good, tasty food, that's healthy.

Yes, good quality, organic ingredients play a huge part in most of his recipes, but the implication is not that YOU MUST, but the best that YOU can afford. You can't argue with that ethic! I changed this next recipe ever so slightly because I was in Germany at the time, and had to allow for the ingredients I was able to get locally, but it was very good despite my alterations.

Tagliatelle with Broccoli In A Cheesy Sauce

 

olive oil

500g fresh tagliatelle

 

for the cheese sauce

 

 

250ml crème fraiche

150g Philadelphia

150g parmesan, freshly grated plus extra for garnish

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

400g broccoli

2 large free range eggs (you want the yolks)

1tsp dried mixed herbs

 

1. First get a big saucepan of water on the hob and get it boiling, next using a bain-marie add the crème fraiche, Philadelphia and parmesan with a pinch of salt and pepper, slowly melt the chesses. While the cheeses are melting prepare your broccoli, wash it, and cut the florets into bite sized pieces.

 

2. Once the cheeses have melted remove from the heat, then put your broccoli and pasta into the saucepan of boiling water. Cook the pasta until it is just cooked through. Now is the time to whip the egg yolks and your mixed herbs into the sauce. Take a few tbsp. of the pasta water and place to one side, then drain of the rest of the water, return the pasta to the pan and add your sauce, quickly mixing it all up. If the sauce is a little too thick add some of your reserved pasta water, only a little at a time, you want it to be loose but not so loose it is watery, don't forget to taste it for seasoning and adjust it if need be. Serve and garnish with a little parmesan.

 

Jamie Oliver also drizzles a little extra virgin olive oil over his, but I am not a huge fan.. Try it and let me know what you think.



Posh Mussel Gratin

Any kind of shellfish is a winner in my book and I am constantly looking out for good recipes, that way if I happen upon some decently priced shellfish I have a rough idea of what I am going to do with it. I found this one in one of my most used cookbooks while looking for something else - I didn't give it much thought but it must have been fate or something because when I went shopping a few days later I found mussels. I admit I was a little dubious at the time of the quality but beggars can't be choosers I suppose - as the saying goes.

Whilst I am certain that the best quality ingredients are going to give you the best results I am also a firm believer in the 'It's what you do with the ingredients' theory, that counts. This recipe would be great as a starter at a dinner party, shared with friends or even with a salad as a main. It's a great recipe in my opinion, it tastes great and looks elegant without too much effort.

I used Vodka instead of white wine, mostly because I rarely have any wine in the house and almost always have Vodka, besides Vodka cream rocks. You could use either, or even try Vermouth. Vermouth is a good thing to have on hand because it doesn't go off for a few months, so keeps longer and you can use it instead of wine. I also use Port or Sherry instead of red wine.

Mussel Gratin

 

150ml Vodka

1 shallot, finely diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

3kg large mussels, cleaned

300ml light cream

3tbsp parsley, finely chopped

salt and black pepper to taste

30g of bread crumbs

2tbsp melted butter

 

1. In a large saucepan (with a lid, which you will need later), place the vodka, shallot, and garlic bring to a boil and then gently simmer for about 2 mins.

 

2. Now add the mussels and put the lid on the saucepan, (make sure it is on properly) now return to a boil, for 5-6 minutes, shaking the saucepan often, until the mussel shells have all opened.

 

3. Using a sieve drain the liquid into another saucepan and put the mussels into a bowl, throw away any shells that haven't opened as they are no good, don't be tempted to try and open them, just get rid of them.

 

4. Bring the strained liquid to a boil, then gently simmer until it has reduced to nothing more than a few tbsp fulls, three to be exact. Now add the cream and heat through, but don't boil. Mix in half the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

5. Next remove and throw away the top shell of the mussels, and in a circular pattern place the other half of the shells in to an oven proof dish. Pour the sauce over the mussels, sprinkle over the bread crumbs and the butter. Cook under the grill (broiler) for about 5 minutes, or until golden which ever comes first, then finally sprinkle with the remaining parsley.