Easter Cooking, Part 2 - Beef Brisket

I love American style food for feeding a crowd of hungry people and this beef brisket recipe, which as it cooked made a delicious BBQ sauce, didn't disappoint over the Easter weekend. It is inspired from a Gordon Ramsay recipe.

First you will need a 1.5 kg good quality beef brisket joint from the butchers or supermarket. Start by making a dry fun using 4 tsps of smoked paprika, 2 tsps mustard powder, 2 tsps of cayenne chilli pepper, 2 tsps celery salt and salt and pepper. Rub into the meat.

Preheat the oven to gas mark one, about 110 degrees. In a hot pan using a glug of oil seal the meat on all sides and set aside. Take 3 large onions and slice, fry in the meat juices with 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of tomato puree until the sugar is caramelised and onion soft. Tip the onions and juice into a large roasting tray and place the sealed meat on top. Next de glaze the pan with 300mls of lager and pour into the roasting tray. Add 2 bay leaves, 350ml beef stock and seal the tray tightly with foil. Cook for 3.5 hours basting occasionally with the juices. When the meat is soft rest it for 15 mins on a plate and reduce the sauce in the roasting tray adding a glug of white wine vinegar. The meat is then ready to slice into chunks, pour over the tasty sauce and serve with homemade coleslaw and potato wedges.

Carly xx

Easter Cooking - Part 1 - Ham

Ham has long been a popular Easter eat with good reason; it's versatile and tasty as both a main meal and for leftovers days after in sandwiches, pies or with the simple egg and chips!

Cat first inspired me to try her version- ham cooked in cider. Me and my foodie partner in crime at home Fallon then discovered Nigella Lawson's ham in coke recipe and our household unanimously voted this recipe as their favourite so now it is a holiday staple.

First select a good quality uncooked smoked gammon joint which will feed everyone at your table. I prefer to buy as big a joint that I can afford as it will then make more than one meal. This Easter I cooked a 2.7kg joint for us ( 2 girls and 2 very hungry men) and a 75g joint for my parents as a gift.

Start by bringing the joint to the boil in cold water. Once the ham is at boiling point drain the water and rinse the scum off. Then place a handful of peppercorns, 3-4 bay leaves and 2-3 quartered red onions in the pan with the ham and cover with coke. The 2.7kg needed about 1.5 litres in my pan. Bring to the boil and simmer, topping up with boiling water from the kettle when required. ( The meat should always be covered).
Allow approximately 30 mins cooking time per 500g.
When ready the meat will have begun to fall off at the edges and be firm. The coke also makes the meat quite dark.
Next if serving straight away or if serving cold, transfer to a baking tray and cover with 3 teaspoons of mustard and 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar
(depending on size of joint) marinating all over to create the glaze. Bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 mins until the glaze darkens. I find the joint cuts best when cool so allow to rest if serving warm.

To serve we like to make baked Anglesey eggs which is basically hard boiled eggs covered in a cheese and leek sauce topped with mash!

Delicious!

Carly x

Spring Picnic, Part 4 - Easy Lemonade

Oh my gosh, I never realised how easy it was to make your own lemonade and boy was this yummy and refreshing! I found the following recipe on good old BBC Good Food but made a few changes as per suggestions made by reviewers. With just unwaxed lemons, caster sugar and water (I mixed still and sparkling), its unbelievably easy though I think I would try making it with less sugar next time. It will definitely be gracing my table this summer!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Catherine x

Spring Picnic, Part 3 - Sausage Rolls

For my picnic contribution, I decided to make sausage rolls but with a slight difference. I found a recipe for Summer Sausage Rolls on BBC Good Food, and after reading the many positive reviews, decided to give them a go - These have chicken, smoked bacon and sundried tomatoes in and they tasted great. The only changes I made was to use dried herbs instead of fresh basil and I did turn them over 5/10minutes before the end. I did find it quite hard to tell if they were cooked because the tomatoes gives the meat a pink colour, so they were in the oven longer that it states on the recipe…but I will definitely be making these again, they were tasty with great flavour and overall, rather easy.

Catherine x

Do You Love Food Festival - Great Missenden

Over the Easter weekend, Cat and I had the chance to pop over to the Do You Love Food Festival in Great Missenden.  I have visited a few of the Do You Love Food Festivals in the Buckinghamshire area but its always great to see what new products are on the scene.  The Great Missenden location was small compared to the others in Gerrards cross and Henley but that didn’t stop us from filling up on the free tasters of sweet cheeses, yoghurts, jams and much much more. Its great to be able to chat to the people behind the products and find out what is being produced on our door step!

We didn’t come home empty handed either, I spoilt myself with some passionfruit syrup (by Blossoms Syrup), with no additives, this makes a great addition to yoghurt, cakes and drinks especially prosecco. It is rather thick but it would be great in cocktails! Catherine was even given the tip of adding to water and making ice cubes and using on babies with sore gums.

Catherine - This was one of my first food festivals and I really enjoyed checking out the lovely food products. I decided to buy some scotch eggs, made by Kirsty's Kitchen, for the hubby and I; Smoked bacon and a beetroot and carrot flavour - I must say these were the best eggs that we have ever had.

I also picked up some conserves by The Chef's Pantry, Banoffee and Morello Cherry and Almond conserve.  These are very sweet but are great served with greek yoghurt and fruit.

You can find more information about the upcoming food festivals here.

Still to come:

- More picnic recipes
- What we made over Easter
- Baby Shower cakes

Carly and Catherine xx

 

Spring Picnic, Part 2 - A Frittata Offering

With a love of all things Italian, I couldn't resist making 'La Fritatta’ for my picnic offering. The variations are endless and they’re ridiculously easy and quick to make. Perfect for the cook who is short of time...and ingredients! Fortunately, I had just enough ingredients left in the fridge and cupboard to whip up a favourite recipe which has graced my family table many times; Mediterranean Tuna & Vegetable Frittata.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 courgette / sliced
1 red pepper / sliced
1 Spanish onion / chopped
1tsp herbs de prevance
200g tin tuna in brine / drained
4 eggs
3 tbsp milk
50g mature cheddar cheese / grated

Heat half the oil in a saucepan and add the courgette, red pepper and onion. Sautee over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft. Stir through the dried herbs and tuna chunks. Heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan and when hot, transfer the vegetable and tuna mix over. Lightly beat your eggs with the milk and a little salt and pepper and pour over the sauteed ingredients, when the egg mixture starts to set, remove from the heat. Sprinkle the cheese over the frittata and place the pan under a pre-heated grill until cooked through and golden in colour. Invert onto a plate and serve hot or cold.

Being a rather un-organised cook though, I hadn't allowed enough time for the frittata to cool completely before having to wrap it up in foil for transportation. The result: A somewhat soggy-centered frittata. It delivered on taste at least...!

Charlotte x

Spring Picnic, Part 1 - A Picnic Loaf

The sandwich; a lunchtime staple for so many but I often wondered if the robust yet simple snack was really worthy of a Great British Picnic! With problematic soggy fillings and uneaten dry crusts, i was delighted to discover an exciting alternative - picnic loaves!

Start by choosing your bread. I went for a French boule but the varieties are truly endless, rye bread, sour dough, poppy seed and nut varieties or even sweet bread! If feeling brave or a clever bread maker like Charlotte you could make your own from scratch! I would advise using a loaf which is fresh, has a firm crust and is an even shape to make life easier.

The first step is to make the lid. Cut into the bread leaving a 1.5-2cm outer edge all the way around. Lift off the lid carefully and remove excess bread stuck to it. Then hollow out the inside. A spoon or your fingers works well to do this to the edges but remember to maintain the integrity of the outside and underneath crust as this will support your many fillings. With the excess bread you can blitz to breadcrumbs to use in other dishes or cut into cubes and bake with good quality olive oil and herbs to create delicious croutons for salads!

Next comes fillings. Again endless possibilities here. This time I went for egg mayonnaise on the base followed by alternate layers of ham, garlic sausage, cheese and finally a top layer of roasted med veg. Delicious!
In the past I have used sauces between the layers such as mustard mayonnaise or pesto. Take care with foods that release water - cucumber and mushrooms or avocados which discolour.

Next press down firmly each layer and make sure each layer of tasty filings reaches the edges. Some recipes say to weight down the loaf for a time before applying the lid and wrapping firmly in cling film or foil but I don't find this necessary. Fill well and evenly and a sharp knife cuts through the layers allowing everyone to enjoy the fantastic sandwich!

Carly x

 

Happy Easter!

Hi, it’s Catherine again - here with a quick review on Easter Biscuits, another recipe from the one and only Mary Berry, found on the BBC Food site; for recipe click here. I must admit I recently made these biscuits for Mother’s day, as I wanted to make a batch of simple biscuits that I could bag up to be given as presents and these looked great.

The recipe was pretty easy and I managed to make more than what was stated. I only made one change which was swapping the currants for sultanas (for personal taste).  For the ones iced, I didn’t have a piping bag so spread the icing with a knife (that’s why there’s some lumps) - They looked great in a little bag, tied with ribbon and went down a treat.

Happy Easter everyone, we'll be back after the weekend with recipes and ideas for a Spring picnic!

xxx

Cut and Come Again Cake

I believe it’s always nice to have cake or biscuits available at the weekends, especially when family and friends could be visiting, and with Easter upon us, what better reason to bake this yummy fruit cake.

The Cut and Come Again Cake, recipe from Mary Berry, from Mary Berry’s Baking Bible is simple and I love simple recipes. I was passed this recipe from Charlotte, as its a regularly requested cake in her household. As you can see from the photo, I believe I may have left it a bit too long in the oven as it came out slightly on the dry side however it was still tasty and all eaten the following day after baking the night before.

What was good about it is you can put all the ingredients in all together, mix and pour into a greased deep tin; ingredients were changed slightly from original recipe: 350g self raising flour, 1 1/2tsp mixed spice, 175g butter, 175g muscovado sugar, 3 large eggs, 375g dried fruit and 3 tbsp milk - I added a little extra cinnamon and also sprinkled some sugar on top before going in to the oven (180oC/ Fan 160oC/ Gas 4) for just under 1 1/2 hours, though I recommend checking after an hour. I think next time, as there will definitely be a next time, I would just go for all sultanas as I’m not a big fan of currants but this recipe is so easy, you can really play around with it.

Catherine x

Welcome to the Local Larder!

Three ladies, three kitchens, one blog!

We hope to talk food, review recipes, check out restaurants and spread the word about local food and what’s going on in the Buckinghamshire area.

Mix in a few visiting guests, some food course reviews and hopefully lots of pretty photos..

A little bit about us..

Carly - With a background in midwifery and forensics, Cary has always enjoyed visiting food markets and trying out new restaurants; checking out those places with Michelin stars (to see what all the fuss was about). Her enjoyment for cooking has since grown due to having her own home, and with now just getting engaged and starting a new job, it’s amazing she still finds time to cook, bake and experiment.

Charlotte - When she's not crafting TV and Film, Charlotte can be found creating new dishes in the kitchen. In fact it was the kitchen that sealed the deal for her in the new home she's just bought! An experimental cook, every time she opens the fridge or cupboards she is wondering what she can make, re-create and re-invent. Always on the lookout to gain inspiration and hone her culinary repertoire, she's attended many cookery courses in and around London and loves nothing more than putting her new found skills to use, cooking for family and friends. Cakes and bakes are close to her heart and with a dream of owning her own coffee shop in the future, she is an avid supporter of local independent bakeries and cafes which she believes have an important place in the community.

Catherine - An illustrator, children’s book reviewer and a creative assistant, married and expecting her first child very soon, Catherine still finds time to bake and try out recipes. She especially likes to find recipes that are simple, often one pot dishes - the simpler the better is her motto. Though not as experimental as the other two, Catherine likes to try out online recipes, often choosing items for their photographic appeal, as food photography is another love of hers, she will often be the photographer for any food outing or occasion.

Coming soon:

- A visit to a local food Festival - Great Missenden 
- Spring Picnic and some simple food/drink suggestions
- Cakes for a Baby Shower
- Easter baking

Hope you enjoy and thank you for visiting,

Love Catherine, Carly and Charlotte xxx