Beef Cobbler

 

Ingredients

900g (2lb) Stewing Beef, trimmed
600ml (1 pint) Beef Stock
600ml (1 pint) Red Wine
2 Onions
2 Large Carrots
1 Small Leek
1 Large Stick Celery
1 Small Parsnip
1 Clove Garlic
6 tbsp Oil
2 tbsp Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 Bay Leaf
½ tsp Caster Sugar

Cobbler
225g (8oz) Flour
225g (8oz) Cheddar Cheese
25g (1oz) Butter
2 Eggs
2 tbsp Milk
1 tbsp Parsley
1 tsp Prepared Mustard
1 tsp Horseradish

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 220°C: 425°F: Gas 7.
Trim any excess fat from the beef and cut into chunks.
Peel and chop all of the vegetables.
Heat half the oil in a large saucepan.
Season the flour with salt and pepper.
Lightly coat the pieces of beef and fry in batches until golden brown.
Remove and place into a casserole dish.
Add the remaining oil and brown the vegetables adding the caster sugar,
Remove and add into a casserole dish.
Add the stock to the saucepan to deglaze, pour into the casserole.
Add the wine and bay leaf.
Cook and covered for 1¼ hours.
Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
Rub the butter and mustard into the flour
Add the parsley and three quarters of the grated cheese.
Mix the egg, milk and horseradish together.
Fold into the flour mixture.
Remove the casserole from the oven, adjust seasoning and thicken with a paste made from flour and butter if desired.
Divide the cobbler mixture into 8 portions and place on top of the casserole .
Top with the remaining cheese.
Increase the oven heat and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Fig Bread and Butter Pudding

For my good friend Sharilyn. (sourced from archives on the net)

 

 

Ingredients

200g/7oz butter
1 ready-made brioche loaf, sliced
200g/7oz Demerara sugar, plus icing sugar for sugaring the dish
150g/5oz figs, halved, soaked in brandy for at least one hour (preferably overnight)
500ml/17fl oz double cream, plus extra to serve
3 free-range eggs, beaten
3 free-range egg yolks, beaten
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out
100g/3½oz caster sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Butter the brioche slices generously, then cut the slices in half diagonally to create triangles.
3. Grease a 30cm x 20cm/12in x 8in ovenproof dish, then sprinkle with a little Demerara sugar. Place the brioche slices into the dish so that they fit together snugly, layering until you have added all of the brioche.
4. Sprinkle over half of the Demerara sugar, then add the figs. Finish by sprinkling over the remaining Demerara sugar.
5. Place the cream into a saucepan and place over a medium heat until just boiling, then remove from the heat.
6. Place the beaten eggs and egg yolks into a large heatproof bowl. Gradually add the hot cream, whisking constantly.
7. Add the vanilla seeds and caster sugar and stir to mix well.
8. Carefully pour the cream mixture over the brioche slices, until the dish is almost full, then leave to stand for at least 30 minutes.
9. Place the pudding dish into a large roasting tin, as deep as the pudding dish. Add water to the roasting tin until it is halfway up the sides of the pudding dish, then carefully place into the oven to bake for 40 minutes, or until the custard sets.
8. Serve in the dish at the table dusted with icing sugar and with double cream poured over.

Baked Pork Chops With Parmesan Crust

 

 

Baked Pork Chops With Parmesan Sage Crust

Ingredients -

1-1/2 cups Italian Flavoured Breadcrumbs
1 cup grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese
1 tablespoon Dried Rubbed Sage
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon grated Lemon Peel
2 Large Eggs
1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
4 Bone-in Centre-Cut Pork Loin Chops (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Add Italian flavoured breadcrumbs, grated fresh parmesan cheese, dried rubbed sage, cumin, and grated lemon peel in glass pie plate.

3. Stir to combine.

4. Add eggs to medium bowl, whisk with fork until well beaten.

5. Place flour in shallow bowl or on plate.

6. Season flour with salt and pepper.

7. Dredge pork chops in flour. Shake off excess flour.

8. Dip chops in breadcrumbs.

9. Add pork chops to breadcrumb mixture and roll to coat all surfaces.

10. Add butter and olive oil to heavy ovenproof skillet. Heat over medium high heat.

11. Add breaded pork chops to hot skill. Cook 2 minutes per side until well browned.

12. Place skillet in preheated oven.

13. Bake 20-25 minutes, until pork chops are crispy on the outside.

DUCK CASSEROLE

Ingredients

• 2 pheasants or 2 ducks
• 20g butter
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks celery
• 1 large garlic clove
• 2 rashers streaky bacon
• 500ml red wine
• 300ml good chicken stock
• 3 juniper berries
• 1 clove
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 black peppercorns
• Few sprigs of fresh thyme
• Small piece orange peel or ½ papaya, de-seeded and chopped
• 10g dark chocolate, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC/Gas 4.

2. Cut each pheasant or duck into 4 pieces. Melt the butter in a casserole dish and brown the pheasant or duck pieces lightly; you might have to do this in 2 batches. Remove the meat and add the chopped onions with a good pinch of salt. Cook for about 10 minutes until soft and brown, stirring occasionally.

3. Chop the carrots, celery, garlic and bacon, then add to the casserole and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add a good splash of wine to deglaze the casserole, scraping up any bits stuck on the base.

4. Return the meat to the casserole along with the remainder of the wine and the chicken stock. Heat through, then add the juniper berries, clove, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and orange peel or papaya. Put the lid on and transfer to the oven for about 1¼ hours, or until the meat is cooked.

5. If you prefer an even richer, thicker sauce, pour off half the liquid into another pan and reduce briskly before returning to the casserole dish. Lastly add the grated chocolate, stirring in thoroughly, tasting as you go. You might want to add a little more! For a touch of South America, add a teaspoon of mild chilli sauce or a tablespoon of papaya jam with the stock.

Somerset pork chops

Ingredients

• 1/4lb butter
• 4 boneless pork loin chops
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 large onion, sliced into thin rings
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 Cox apple, cored and cut into thick rings
• 1 red apple, cored and cut into rings
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/8 cups dry cider
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large heavy skillet, over medium-high heat, melt half of the butter. Fry the pork chops on both sides until a nice golden colour. Transfer the chops to a 2 quart casserole dish with a lid, and sprinkle with thyme.
3. Melt the remaining butter in the pan, and fry the onion and garlic until tender. Transfer them to the casserole dish. Fry the apple rings in the pan for a few seconds on each side to give them colour, then remove to the casserole dish. Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Spoon any excess fat from the frying pan and pour in the apple cider. Stir to remove any flavourful bits from the bottom. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then pour over the pork chops and apples in the dish. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake the casserole, covered for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the pork chops are cooked through. Remove the pork chops and apples to a serving platter and stir the cream into the juices. Serve sauce over pork chops.

Asparagus and pumpkin risotto

Ingredients

• 400g pumpkin
• 1 onion, sliced
• 350g Arborio rice
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves only
• Approx 1 ½ litres hot chicken stock
• 1 large cloves garlic, sliced
• 6-8 large asparagus spears
• 8 baby asparagus
• 100g sheep's cheese, grated
• Truffle oil to drizzle
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1.Pre-heat the oven to 190˚C.

2.Peel and chop the pumpkin into small cubes. Place in a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven until soft - approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove and keep warm.

3.Lightly fry the onion and garlic in hot olive oil until softened, then add the rosemary and cook for a further minute. Add the rice and stir for approximately 2 minutes until the grains begin to turn translucent. Add a ladleful of stock and stir until all the stock has been absorbed. Continue adding and cooking out ladles of stock until the rice is creamy and tender.

4.Meanwhile remove the woody ends from the larger asparagus and chop into inch long pieces. Steam the asparagus over a pan of boiling water until tender – roughly five minutes for the larger spears and three minutes for the baby ones. Once cooked, immediately plunge into ice cold water

5.When the risotto is almost done, mix through the grated cheese, pumpkin and chopped asparagus continue to heat through for a minute or two. Drizzle with a little truffle oil, finish with a grind of fresh pepper and serve.

David Grayson Quote

"Talk of joy: there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread --- there may be."
David Grayson
'Adventures in Contentment' (1907)