Special Considerations

Hash Browns

Hash Browns

We had loads of potatoes left and no bread for breakfast, so hash browns were the perfect answer.
Ingredients

4 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
1 egg
Some oil

Method

Grate the onion and potatoes into a clean towel
Squeeze the towel until all the excess liquid comes out of the vegetables
Pour the dried veg into a bowl
Beat the egg, pour it into the bowl and mix
Heat the oil in a frying pan
Place [...]

Clementine Cake

Clementine Cake

We had five clementines that were over ripe and about to go off. So I did what anyone would do in my position and Googled for help. Nigella Lawson came to the rescue with a butter-less and flour-less recipe that was intriguing as it was difficult to cook. It took a long time, and, as [...]

Gluhwein

Gluhwein

At the German market in Edinburgh, some traders were serving hot “fire punch” or Gluhwein for £3 per mug. As they also offered the only shelter from the cold, we went in and were offered Lebkuchen (or German biscuits) to have with our wine. It was delicious and even if you don’t have a giant [...]

Moussaka

Moussaka

Moussaka is a bit like a Greek version of lasagne but instead of pasta layers and beef mince, you use aubergine layers and lamb mince. I had always imagined that moussaka was really difficult to make and had been putting off doing it for quite some time. But after looking through various different recipes I [...]

Beef Steak with Goat’s Cheese Butter

Beef Steak with Goat’s Cheese Butter

Scotch beef steak with goat’s cheese butter from the Scotch Beef and Lamb website – I picked up this recipe from the Taste of Edinburgh Festival whilst learning about local produce North of the border. Scotch beef has a brilliant reputation and I’ll be trying out this recipe with some sirloin steak from the local butcher’s this week.
Cooking [...]

Parma Ham Risotto

Parma Ham Risotto

Risotto is much easier than you might think. I was initially put off by reports of having to stir it for an hour or some such myth – most arborio rice these days simply takes 20 minutes of stirring and makes a cheap and easy meals if you just have it with onion, peas and seasoning. This [...]

Spiced Pear Tatin

Spiced Pear Tatin

Pears make a lovely summer dessert and are best served with cream and tea outside on a warm day. This recipe was handed to me at the Taste of Edinburgh Festival by the “Discover the Origin” stand – a campaign which aims to increase awareness of unique, area-specific foods such as Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Parma Ham.

Ingredients
6 large firm [...]

Fudge Cookies

Fudge Cookies

Thorntons have sent another handy recipe and they say “These are so easy to make that you can enlist the help of the kids. Be careful that they don’t eat the Thorntons Fudge Cubes whilst your back is turned! We love today’s recipe… it’s a yummy, scrummy picnic box treat! This recipe makes approximately 30 cookies”.

Ingredients

225g [...]

White Chocolate Mousse

White Chocolate Mousse

Another recipe courtesy of Thorntons.
Ingredients

100ml single cream
1 vanilla pod split length ways and seeds scraped
250g White Belgian Chocolate
284ml double cream
3 medium egg whites
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Put the single cream, vanilla pod and seeds in a pan over a medium heat.
Bring to just below boiling, then set aside for 15 minutes to infuse.
Discard the vanilla pod.
Meanwhile, gently melt the white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl [...]

Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

I got this chocolate cupcakes recipe from Thorntons. Chocolate cupcakes are great for children’s parties and for bringing as presents for hosts.

Ingredients for Cupcakes

40g of Thorntons Dark Chocolate Block
55g salted butter
110g light muscavado sugar
100g self-raising flour
1 medium egg
70ml evaporated milk
70ml warm water

Ingredients for Icing

100g of Thorntons Dark Chocolate Block
100g soft butter
125g icing sugar

Method for Cupcakes

Pre-heat the oven to 180°c/gas mark 4
Melt the chocolate to a runny consistency (approx 1 minute [...]

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