Coq Au Vin....Simple but Oh So Delicious!!

Hello My Lovelies,

I thought it was about time that I shared my Coq Au Vin recipe with you all! Coq Au Vin is a lovely little stew made with Chicken Pieces (I use Thighs or Drumsticks), Shallots, Pancetta, Thyme, Baby Button Mushrooms and most importantly really really good quality Red Wine!! If you won't drink it, don't cook with it is a rule I have always followed!

I like to serve this simply with some nice crusty baguette pieces which are just perfect for soaking up all the lovely sauce!

You can add more or less pieces of Chicken depending on how many people you have to feed, or just if you have some serious Chicken fiends over for dinner!

So here it is:

Coq Au Vin Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 Chicken Thighs/Drumsticks
• 25g Butter + A little extra to finish off the dish
• 10 Shallots (Peeled & Whole)
• 300g Baby Button Mushrooms
• 160g Pancetta (Diced)
• 5 Garlic Cloves (Peeled & Crushed)
• 2 Tbsp Dried Thyme
• 500ml Red Wine (I use Merlot)
• 500ml Chicken Stock
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. In a large heavy based pan on a medium heat add the butter, Chicken and shallots and cook until the Chicken and shallots are a very light brown colour, then remove the Chicken to reserve for a later stage.

     2. Stir in the crushed Garlic.

     3. Add in the Pancetta and Thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes.

     4. Add in the Mushrooms and turn up the heat to high.

     5. Add the Red Wine, Chicken Stock and Balsamic Vinegar.

     6. Add in the browned Chicken pieces, bring up to the boil then leave to simmer for 25-30 minutes

         until the Chicken is fully cooked through.

     7. To finish add a knob of Butter and season with Salt & White Pepper.

                                                               Enjoy!! 

Until Next Time.... xxx

Chicken, Pancetta & Pea Risotto

Hello My Lovelies,

I'm a great lover of using up leftovers, so with that in mind I had some leftover chicken and decided to make something with whatever was in the fridge.

So that was the birth of my Chicken, Pancetta and Pea Risotto!

This is a lovely creamy risotto and would work well with any leftovers you have in your fridge! I had leftover Chicken drumsticks which I shredded, frozen peas but any frozen veg would work and a packet of diced pancetta. I used some lovely chicken stock from Essential Cuisine, once you have used their stock you will never go back!

So here is the recipe for you to try and if you have any leftover risotto you can make arancini with it!

You can easily double the quantities if you need to feed more people.

Chicken, Pancetta & Pea Risotto Recipe

Serves 2 as a main meal or 4 as a starter

Ingredients:

• 140g Arborio Rice
• 80g Frozen Peas (Cooked)
• 2 Chicken Drumsticks (Cooked & Shredded)
• 160g Pancetta (Diced)
• 2 Shallots (Finely Diced)
• 1 Clove Of Garlic (Finely Diced)
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Mixed Herbs
• 125ml White Wine
• 500ml Essential Cuisine Chicken Stock
• 25g Parmesan (Freshly Grated)
• 25g Butter
• Season with Salt & White Pepper

1. Heat Olive Oil in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat.

     2. Add in the Shallots, Pancetta and Garlic and gently fry for 2-3 minutes

     3. Add the rice and fry for another 2 minutes until rice is coated nicely in the oil.

     4. Add in the Wine and turn up the heat until reduced by half. (doing this will burn off the alcohol)

     5. Turn the heat down to medium and start to gradually add in the stock, a ladle at a time

         stirring constantly so the rice doesn't stick.

     6. Now add in the Shredded Chicken, cooked peas and the Mixed Herbs.

     7. Simmer until the rice is soft but still has a little bite to the texture and has soaked up the stock.

     8. Finish off the risotto with the butter and stir in the Parmesan.

     9. Season to taste with the Salt and White Pepper

    

                                                                              Enjoy!!

Until Next Time.....

New exciting opportunity!! Collaboration with Silikomart!

Hello My Lovelies,

So its has been a while since I last posted but I am back with some uber exciting news!

I recently started a collaboration with a fantastic Italian company called Silikomart, they a fantastic company with amazing product and in the next few weeks I will be showing you exactly what I have created with the products they have sent me for testing.

Here is just a little sneak peek of some of the products they have sent me

See you soon and keep your eyes peeled for uses and reviews on these upcoming products!
xxx

Sweet Cinnamon French Toast

Hello My Lovelies,

French Toast is always a massive winner in my household at the weekend, something simple, yummy and filling to start off any weekend!

Now this morning my Mr says to me he's needs something yummy to makan (eat) so I whipped these up in under 10 minutes! 

All you need is some thick fluffy white bread, eggs, cinnamon and sugar and you are ready to go!

This recipe makes 4 slices but you can easily multiply the ingredients to make more.

Ingredients:

• 4 Slices of Thick White Bread
• 4 Large Eggs
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp Caster Sugar

To Serve:

• Maple Syrup
• Icing Sugar

1. Take a bowl large enough to lay a piece of bread in.
2. Pre-heat a large frying pan to medium hot (big enough to fit 2 slices) with a couple knobs of butter
3. Crack the eggs into the bowl and give them a quick whisk to combine the whites and the yolks
4. Add in the cinnamon and caster sugar
5. Whisk until all combined
6. Take a piece of your bread and lay in the mixture to soak then turn over, then do the same with the next piece of bread.
7. Once pan is hot enough lay 2 pieces of the soaked bread into the pam.
8. Cook until both sides of the bread are golden brown.
9. Repeat steps with all pieces of bread until you have no mixture left.
10. Sprinkle the hot french toast with icing sugar and maple syrup.

Enjoy!!

Until next time...

Paprika, Rosemary, Garlic and Thyme Chicken and Potato Wedge All-In-One Tray Bake

Hello My Lovelies,

On Thursday I was stupidly busy caking away and the Mr had a very long day doing Parents Evening at school (he's a teacher and any stupidly long day does not make him happy!) and one hour before he was home I realised I had some Chicken drumsticks in the fridge and had not planned anything, which I must tell you is most unlike me! I normally have my meals planned down to a t!

So I decided to make up a bung it in the oven type of dish!

So The Paprika, Rosemary, Garlic and Thyme Chicken and Potato Wedge All-In-One Traybake was born!!

This is a fantastically easy and tasty dish! You take everything bung it in a roasting tray give it a mix round so everything is coated, and a shake halfway through cooking then serve!! Its really that simple! You can add more veg to the mix too, next time I'm thinking of adding carrots to the mix as I just love roasted carrots!

Now you can up the amount of potato and chicken depending on how many you need to feed but as there are only 2 of us 5 drumsticks (2 and a half each!) is more than enough for us.

Ingredients:

5 Chicken Drumsticks/Thighs
3 Medium Desiree Potatoes (Peeled and Cut into wedges)
1 Onion (Peeled and Quartered)
3 Tbsp or a Good Glug Garlic Infused Olive Oil

Spice Mix:

2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
2 Tbsp Dried Thyme (Ground in a pestle and mortar)
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Dried Rosemary(Ground in a pestle and mortar)
2 Tbsp Chili Flakes
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp White Pepper
1 Tbsp Onion Powder


(Just mix all the herbs and spices together in a small bowl)

1. Start off by putting the Garlic Infused Olive Oil in the bottom your roasting tray

2. Add in your Chicken, Potatoes, Onion pieces and any other veg you may want to add

3. Liberally sprinkle over the spice mixture and give it all a woodge round (mix) to make sure everything is coated in the oil and spice mix

4. Bung in the oven at 200 degrees (celcius) for around 40-45 minutes giving a good shake round halfway through cooking.

Job Done!!

Serve with some extra veg or a nice salad


Until next time...

My Uber Gooey Super Chocolate Brownies!!!

Hello My Lovelies,

So over Christmas and New Year I was bombarded with requests for Chocolate Brownies. There is nothing quite like the warm, gooey deliciousness that is the Chocolate Brownie!

I have tried so many recipes in the past but they were just too cakey and believe it or not alot of recipes don't actually contain chocolate just lots of cocoa powder which can make them quite dry and nothing like the brownies we all know and love.

So I developed a recipe that contained a bit of both: Packed with chocolatey goodness and enough cakey qualities to be able to pick up this American treat with ease.

These make great gifts popped in a cellophane bag and tied with a pretty ribbon

So here it is my recipe for My Uber Gooey Super Chocolate Brownies:

Ingredients:

• 65g Plain Flour (sifted)
• 250g Salted Butter (chopped into cubes)
• 200g 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (chopped)
• 80g Cocoa Powder (sifted)
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 360g Caster Sugar
• 4 Large Eggs

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180^oC
2. Grease and line a square cake tin with baking paper
3. In a bowl over simmering water melt the butter and the chocolate together 
4. In a seperate bowl mix together the dry ingredients
5. Once chocolate and butter mix has thoroughly melted gradually add in the dry mixture a little at a time until completely combined. (It may look a little grainy at this stage but that is absolutely fine)
6. Now add in one egg at a time thoroughly mixing making sure each egg is fully incorporated
7. Once the mix is silky smooth pour the brownie mixture into the greased and lined cake tin
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes
9. Test with a skewer, the skewer should still have some mixture on it as you want these nice and gooey
10. Once cooled completely, remove from cake tin and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Until next time...

Perfect Yorkshire Puddings Every Time!!

Hello My Lovelies,

I know for alot of people the words Yorkshire Puddings strike fear into the hearts of home cooks up and down the country!

When I first started attempting to make Yorkies over 5 years ago now they were shocking! They would never rise and were stodgy and greasy, and my darling Fiancé will never let me forget the time I had run out of plain flour and decided it would be just fine to use self-raising instead (BIG NO NO!). These will always be dubbed in my household as 'Yorkshire Cakes'.

Luckily now my yorkies are perfect everytime! The big secret is SMOKING HOT fat! Whether it oil, lard, beef dripping or goose fat it needs to be smoking hot otherwise they simply will not rise.

So here is my recipe for my Yorkshire Puds! Light and crispy with the signature hole in the middle for holding all that yummy gravy...mmm gravy.

Make 12 individual Yorkshire Puddings

Ingredients:

• 4 Large Eggs (weighed)
• Equal weight of Milk
• Equal weight of Plain Flour
• Pinch Of Salt & Pepper
• Fat/Oil Enough to just cover the bottom of each well
• Muffin Tin with 12 holes

1. Heat the oven to 230 degrees
2. Weigh the eggs in a large batter jug and add equal weights of milk and flour
3. Season to taste (you can even add in herbs at this stage)
4. Whisk thoroughly making sure the batter has no lumps
5. Leave to stand for at 10 minutes
6. Place the fat into each well of the muffin tin and heat until the fat is smoking around 20 minutes
7. Give the batter another quick whisk
8. Turn oven down to 210 degrees
9. Add the mixture to each well of the muffin tin (ensuring you hear a sizzle), around three quarters full.
10. Leave to cook until golden brown for approximately 20-25 minutes

Enjoy with your favourite Sunday dinner

Waffles! Tasty Waffles!

Hello My Lovelies,

For those of you who follow my facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/SitaMeenaSaysJomMakan 
you will know my darling Fiancé bought me an Andrew James Waffle Maker for Christmas (something that I have coveted for some time now)

So with that in mind once the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year was over and I was back in the comfort of my own home (and kitchen...yay!) I decided it was time to try out my beautiful and shiny new kitchen gadget.

As you can imagine I was rather excited about using my new gadget, not knowing how it would go I just got stuck in! The first few I made were dreadful (but tasted sooo good!), not knowing I needed to spread the batter around quickly (because the waffle maker is hot so they started to cook right away!) I had what I can only describe as bald in places waffles! Not so pretty I can assure you... however they still tasted yummy so we gobbled them up straight away with some maple syrup!


If you don't own a waffle maker (get one you won't be disappointed!) you can easily use a frying pan or a griddle pan to cook them in, obviously you won't get the same shape or pattern on them but they will still be delicious. You just need to cook them long enough to be golden brown on both sides and fully cooked in the middle then cut into stripes and enjoy!

Now this recipe will make around 10 Full Waffles in a Waffle Maker this size and shape. 

Ingredients:

• 250g Plain Flour
• 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 3 Tbsp Caster Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs (lightly beaten)
• 425ml Whole Milk
• 115g Butter (melted)

1. Pre-heat your waffle maker to the highest heat setting
2. Mix together your dry ingredients in a large batter jug
3. Whisk in the eggs, milk and butter until well combined and the batter is nice and smooth
4. Ladle (not quite a full ladle) miture into each well of the waffle maker
5. Close waffle maker and cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown on both sides
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all of the batter is used up.
7. ENJOY!!

Any leftover waffles can be frozen or popped into a ziplock bag and re-toasted to crisp up again!! 

I like to have these as a simple dessert with strawberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream or as part of a breakfast with bacon, scrambled eggs and maple syrup!

What ever your favourite combination is enjoy it!!

Until next time....

xxx

Christmas Food Gift Ideas

Hello My Lovelies!

Ok so this post is late.....super late! But better late than never!

I figured this Christmas (or the one just gone..oops!) I would put my talents to good use by coming up with Foodie Gifts.

Now you may have already seen a previous blog on my Cookie & Cream Fudge which went down a storm so I'm going to share some ideas with you on what I produced for Christmas 2012!

First up I can tell my house was fudge central! Everyone went crazy for the stuff including getting me to make it for their loved ones for Christmas too!! I did a variety of different flavours and once you have mastered making fudge (not toffee which to be honest in the beginning is what I kept making) then the world of flavour combinations is your oyster!

A few flavours I experimented with that were huge hits and a few old classics:

• Cookies & Cream
• Strawberries & Cream
• Baileys
• Banoffee
• Rum & Rasin
• Vanilla
• Mint Choc Chip
• Lemon Meringue Pie

 Banoffee Fudge

 Cookies & Cream Fudge

 Packaged Up!

 Strawberries & Cream Fudge

Baileys Fudge

Other goodies I made as gifts this year were biscuits, cookies, brownies, blondies, sweetie flavoured vodka and my amazingly zingy lemon curd!!

Watch out for blog on my other Christmas Gifts!

Until next time....

xxx

Deliciously Moist Chocolate Cake

Hello Lovelies,

For many years now I have being trying to perfect my chocolate cake recipe to be light yet moist and there have been some dense messes along the way!

Finally after all this time I have found the perfect balance chocolatey lovliness and a light and airy sponge

This is now the only chocolate cake recipe I ever use (including using this for my chocolate cupcakes) even the raw cake mix tastes soooo good and must admit to wanted to just eat it before I've even put it into the cake tins!

I know its naughty but I defy anyone to tell me they can resist cake batter!!

This is a lovely and simple all in one mix and if you want a truly decadent choccy cake then of course you must cover the whole thing in a wonderful, rich chocolate ganache......mmmm ganache!!

So here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

6oz Butter (softened)

6oz Soft Brown Sugar

5oz Self Raising Flour

1oz Cocoa Powder

½ tbsp Baking Powder

Pinch Of Salt

3 Large Eggs (lightly beaten)

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 tbsp warm water

1. Pre-heat oven to 180oc/gas mark 4

2. Mix together butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, eggs and golden syrup.

3. When all mixed through add 2 tbsp of warm water and mix again.

4. Spoon into muffin sized cake cases and cook for 18 minutes or put in a sandwich tin/s and bake for 25-30 minutes for a cake until cooked! (insert a skewer into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean its done!)

5. Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely!

Then fill with your choice of filling and away you go

:)

 Pic 1: Being left to cool straight from the oven

Pic 2: Filled and Covered in Chocolate Ganache 

 Pic 3: As Cupcake (straight from the oven)

Pic 4: The finished chocolate cupcakes!

If you are looking for a 2 layer sandwich sponge cake just double the recipe and pop the mixure into 2 sandwich tins and bake!

Until next time....

xxx

Cookies and Cream Fudge Recipe

As Christmas is fastly approaching I have been pondering what homemade gifts people may like, and have been dabbling in the world of fudge, this one has proved to be a massive hit in my household.

These will last 2-3 week in an airtight container, so if you do package them in bags do it as close to the time as possible.

Creamy soft fudge with chocolate cookies going all through it! what could be better and who doesn't like cookies??

Perfect as homemade gifts! Package in a cellophane bag and pop a christmassy ribbon on it and you are set!

Enjoy My Lovelies!!

xxx Sita Meena xxx

Ingredients:

• 500g Caster Sugar
• 500ml Double Cream
• 3 tbsp Liquid Glucose
• 75g Butter
• 10 Chocolate Cookies Of Your Choice (I made my own but oreos would be perfect)

1. Place a large bowl in the fridge.
2. Heat the sugar, double cream, butter and liquid glucose in a heavy-bottomed saucepan (use the largest one you have as it will bubble up a lot).
3.  Once all the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil and keep stirring constantly until it reaches soft ball stage.
4.  Remove from the heat straight away and whisk like mad until slightly thickened.
5. Pour into a cold bowl and whisk the mixture to cool and thicken – this took me about 10 minutes by hand.
6. Tear up the cookies or chop into rough piece and fold most of the pieces through the mix, but reserve some pieces.
7. Pour and spread into a greased and lined 8×8″ square tin, stud the top of the fudge with the remaining cookie pieces.
8. Leave to set at room temperature.