Sneak Peek at the Cookbook

I thought I'd share with you one of the recipes from my forthcoming book. I hope you like it!

Watermelon, Blueberry and Mint Salad



This is a sweet yet refreshing salad, quite lovely when the sun is shining. The orange flavour is fairly subtle, you probably wouldn’t even taste it if you didn’t know it was there, but it helps to bring out the flavour of the watermelon and blueberries and gives them a delicately sweet, glossy coating.

Serves 4-6

1/2 watermelon
200g blueberries
Juice of 1 orange
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
A handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped

Using a sharp knife carefully remove the skin of the watermelon. Chop the flesh into bite sized pieces and put it into a big bowl along with the blueberries.

Heat the orange juice and sugar to bring it up to a boil and then gently simmer it, stirring occasionally, until it reduces by half and is a little syrupy. Allow it to cool and then pour it over the fruits, tossing them to cover them all in it.

You can serve the salad straight away but it’s even better if left for half an hour or so to let the flavours further develop.

Sprinkle the mint over just before serving.

Checking In

I’ve been conscious that it’s been a while since my last blog post but I was rather taken aback when I saw that it’s been almost two weeks. Where on earth has the time gone? It’s most definitely time for a quick update.

Aside from being incredibly busy at work, I’ve of course been working hard on the book, writing and testing recipes and weaving them together with words in the chapters. The other day I printed out the manuscript, or rather, typescript, as the Art Director at Absolute Press pointed out to me that it's now known as (sorry Matt!) and as I read through it I, dare I say, quite liked what I'd written. Not all of it, naturally, and the pen was busy with crossing out and adding words, but nether the less I felt that this was a book in the making that I, at least, would like. And I guess that's the best I can do. I'm something of a perfectionist and as such I'm my own worst critic, so this was a rare and nice moment for me.

I have more blog posts somewhere in the junk room that is my head: I want to tell you about the launch of a new cruise ship that I was invited to and the meal I had on board (until then you can read about it here, here) and here), new cook books I've recently bought or been sent to review, how the UKFBA market stall has been going, and what I've been cooking lately. I also have a video post to put together of a recent trip to Whitstable. So, lots coming up in the next few weeks.

And now, with my glass of white wine and the scent of vanilla floating under my nose from the candle on my desk, I bid you a good night and turn back to the book.

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of August

This month's bag is full of heat, even if the British summertime isn't. What can you come up with using these ingredients?

Chicken
Chilli
Garlic

Entry Details
Make a dish using the ingredients and blog about it then send an email with ‘In the Bag in the subject line to asliceofcherrypie AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk by Monday 31st August with the following information:

• your name
• a link to your post
• a picture of your dish

Rules

Here are the loose rules - but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:

1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients 'in the bag' for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer.

2. Participants can include any extra ingredients that they see fit.

3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged "In the Bag".

4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month's host before the closing date.

5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.

Swirling Caramel

I’ve been making lots of delicious caramel lately, whilst testing recipes for my forthcoming book. Caramel is made by heating sugar until it melts and takes on a deep amber colour. There are two ways of making it: wet and dry. Wet is heating sugar and water together and dry is heating just the sugar. I’ve been using the dry method.

Making caramel can be a tricky business but I’ve learned that if you follow a few golden rules, if you’ll forgive the pun, you’ll have little trouble with it. It’s a great thing to know how to make and it can transform desserts into quite spectacular dishes.

Golden rule # 1

Be careful and never touch or be tempted to taste hot caramel.

Caramelisation occurs when sugar reaches around 170c - much higher than boiling water - and it can quickly get a great deal hotter, so never take your eyes off sugar or caramel that’s on the heat. Caramel sticks to everything, including skin, and is scalding hot so will burn you terribly. It will spit and splutter when liquid or butter is added to it so hold it at arms length, wearing an oven glove, if you need to do this and take care.

Golden Rule # 2

Be patient.

You need a medium high heat to make caramel. You don't want to heat the sugar too quickly; it needs to be controlled. I set off my fire alarm by heating it too quickly and the smoking was quite alarming. It can take around 10 minutes from start to finish so take your time. Nothing will appear to happen for quite some time but wait and watch; it will get there.

Golden Rule # 3

Get the caramel to the right point.

You need the flavour of the molasses in the sugar to come out to give the special taste of caramel and you need to be confident enough to allow it to reach a deep, golden amber colour for that to happen, so you don’t want to take it off the heat too soon – if you do the caramel will be too sweet. Equally, however, it can quickly overcook and take on a bitter taste. If you’re unsure the best thing to do is to take the pan off the heat, check the colour and put it back on if necessary. You could also have some water in the sink ready to plunge the pan into to cool it down if it starts to cook too much. Your nose, as well as your eyes, will tell you when it’s reached that wonderful caramel stage.

Golden Rule #4

Heat the sugar evenly.

Once you’ve poured the sugar into your pan shake it so that the sugar forms and even layer, and while it’s heating shake the pan every now and then so that the sugar dissolves evenly, otherwise you may end up with bits of it cooking quicker and burning before it’s all turned to caramel.

Golden Rule #5

Decide before you start if you want hard set versus liquid.

Once your sugar has turned to caramel you can use it as it is, pouring it over nuts as in the recipe on page (X) for example, and it will set hard. Alternatively you can add butter, water or cream to the hot caramel – carefully, see rule #1 – to give you a liquid caramel such as a creamy sauce. Either way make the decision before you start making the caramel; once it’s off the heat it will quickly start to cool and harden.





One final thing: to clean a pan of caramel fill it with water and bring it to the boil, which will dissolve the caramel.

I’m no expert on the making of caramel and there are more complex instructions out there and other factors to take into consideration, but these few rules should set you out on the right foot.