Chicken

Pineapple Salsa with Del Monte

29th November 2016 by Rosie

What better accompaniment to go with my Jamaican Jerk/Cajun spiced chicken breasts than with a warm, fresh and fruity pineapple salsa? This is quick and easy to make and can be served hot or even cold with a picnic or sandwich filling to go with some cooked meats too!

175g Del Monte canned pineapple in juice
4 Spring onions
50g Red pepper
15ml Cider vinegar
15ml Soft brown sugar
60ml Barbecue sauce
5mm Fresh ginger, grated
50g Canned sweetcorn, drained

Chop the pineapple into small pieces.

Slice the spring onions thinly.
Chop the red pepper finely.
Add these to a small saucepan with the cider vinegar, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, ginger and sweetcorn.

Heat gently for 10 minutes until the peppers have started to soften.
Serve hot or cold.

Perfect served as an accompaniment to my Jamaican Jerk/Cajun Spiced chicken breasts, along with a baked potato, sweet potato and fresh broccoli.

I used the tin of pineapple sent to me from Del Monte recently to make this meal.

Home Made Jerk Seasoning

28th November 2016 by Rosie

If you read my post on Saturday, you’ll see that we grew our own chillies this year, dried them and made them in to a hot & fiery chilli powder. Using a small amount of that powder, I made my own Jamaican/Cajun jerk seasoning. WOW!!! what a difference to the shop bought, commercially available stuff. It’s got punch and power and a lot of heat. I’m glad I didn’t put loads of powder in to it!

5ml Chilli powder
3cm Fresh ginger
4 Garlic cloves
5ml Ground cinnamon
5ml Ground coriander
2.5ml Ground nutmeg
15ml Soft brown sugar
2.5ml Dried Thyme
1 lime, zest and juice
30ml Dark rum
30ml Rapeseed oil

Place all the ingredients above in a spice mill.

Blitz together until fully combined and smooth.

Pour this mixture into a medium sized bowl.
Score your chicken breasts and toss them into the spice mixture, making sure that it penetrates the flesh to infuse the seasoning into the meat.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for a couple of hours, until ready to cook.
When ready to cook the chicken, place the breasts into a hot pan, with a little rapeseed oil and cook on both sides until the chicken is cooked.

Serve with my pineapple salsa for a tasty dinner.

Meaty Mac’n’Cheese with Cathedral City

10th June 2016 by Rosie

Cheese. Cheese. CHEEEEEESE!!!!! Do you know what? I think I should have been born a mouse! I want you to go on a little journey with me. C’mon, it’s easy, just close your eyes… think of a ~~whole block~~ little bite of mature cheddar cheese from the West Country. Think of closing your mouth as your teeth sink into the cold, delicious, taste bud tingling creaminess….. Oh! Sorry! I lost myself for a moment there! HAHA! Back to being serious, because that’s what I am (honest!)

Did you know that over 20% of the country eat cheese at least once every 4 days? 55% of us choose the cheeseboard over dessert (I’d have both, if I’m honest, whilst over 65% of the national always have cheese in their fridges? No wonder it’s the Nation’s favourite ingredient!

So, what better way when the British summer is just beginning and it’s still cold and rainy outside like the deepest, darkest depths of winter, than to make a hearty meal to serve at the dinner table for all to tuck into, because almost two thirds of us prefer to enjoy a meal around the table with family and friends, and what better ingredient to use than Cathedral City mature cheddar cheese? I know of not one reason why!

15ml Rapeseed oil
100g Pancetta, cubed
2 Chicken breasts, cubed
200g Macaroni
10ml Plain flour
5ml Dijon mustard
50ml Chicken Stock
300ml Creme Fraiche
200g Cathedral City Mature Cheddar cheese
Ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 200℃.
In a large pan, gently heat the oil.
Add the pancetta and the cubed chicken breasts and cook for 5-10 minutes until starting to colour.
Whilst you’re browning the meat, bring a large pan of water to the boil.
Add the macaroni to the pan of boiling water, stir, reduce to a simmer and leave to cook for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour fairly evenly all over the browned pancetta and chicken and stir to coat thoroughly.
Add the mustard and the chicken stock and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
Add the creme fraiche and heat through, but do not boil.
Grate the cheese (sneak yourself a bite – go on; you’re working hard and you deserve it! You must also eat that last little, annoying, bit of cheese that you can’t grate if you value your nails and fingertips.

Stir through 150g of the grated cheese until melted.
Drain the macaroni and stir this through the pan of pancetta, chicken and creamy cheese sauce.
Season with pepper to taste.
Have another taste, just to make sure that the grating didn’t interfere with the delicious taste of the cheese! Sprinkle (what’s left) of the cheese over the mac’n’cheese.

Place into the oven for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden, crispy and bubbling beautifully.

Share with the family if you really must, but make sure they leave you some for a indulgent, tasty snack later!

Most importantly, you must always remember the rules of cooking with cheese;

Taste a bit as soon as you open the packet.
Taste a bit more as you prepare it at every stage of the recipe… just in case!
Only share the finished dish, if you really must.
Find Cathedral City on Facebook and find out what kind of cheese lover you are.

So, now I’ve shared my #CheeseRules with you because I truly to #LoveCheese tell me what are yours? C’mon, enjoy cheese and ‘Welcome to the Club’

The recipe was adjusted to feature and include Cathedral City Mature Cheddar Cheese. I received a voucher to purchase ingredients for this recipe.

Stoves Winter Recipe Creation

8th February 2016 by Rosie

As a member of the BBC Good Food Show Blogger Community, and having worked on a previous Stoves UK recipe re-creation, I was again invited to take part and cook up a storm in my kitchen, with inspiration received from the live demonstrations that the chefs give at the shows. I sat in the audience and watched the very talented Phil Vickery cook eels, but I’m not brave enough to try those slippery little suckers (I used to go fishing with my husband, so know their habitat and slippery/slimy persona). Instead I chose to do two recipes which can both be found on the Stoves Recipe website: (I have not re-published the recipes here; merely the method of preparation, as neither recipe is mine, but I have provided the links to them which you can find on the Stoves website).

Gusto’s pan-fried Chicken Breast with Creamed Leeks and Butter-fried Gnocchi

Following the recipe (link above) and having sealed my chicken breasts until golden, before placing them in the oven to cook, I then sliced my shallots and crushed my garlic, sweating them off until softened but not coloured. I added my sliced leeks to the pan and continued to sweat the vegetables before adding the cream, reducing the mixture and stirring through the oregano and mascarpone.
To my pan of boiling water, I dropped in my gnocchi, removing them when they floated to the top to signify they were cooked. They were then added to a pan of olive oil and butter and cooked until golden.

The chicken breasts are served on a bed of the creamed leeks, surrounded by a tumbling of the gnocchi and gives you a dinner worth of a fully tummy and an empty plate.

Well, I say a full tummy, but you’re never too full for a delicous dessert, are you? So, for my dessert I chose to make A Glug of Oil’s Limoncello Cheesecake using a bottle of Pallini Limoncello.

I lined my springform tin with baking parchment (it makes it easier to remove it from the tin to serve). I crushed my Oaties biscuits (Tesco’s own Hob Nobs) and melted my butter, then mixed them both together, pressing this into the base of my tin, before placing it in the fridge to cool.

The mascarpone, lemon curd and lemon zest, along with the lemon juice and Limoncello (I added 5tbs, not the 2tbs that are recommended in the recipe), all went into a bowl and were beaten together until thoroughly combined and smooth. This was then poured over the chilled cheesecake base and placed back into the fridge to set overnight.

The lemon slices are candied in syrup for the decoration.

Remove your cheesecake from the tin to a serving plate and serve chilled.

As part of the BBC Good Food Show Blogger Community, I was invited to take part in the Stoves UK cook along, for which I received a Tesco gift voucher to purchase ingredients.

Pineapple Salsa with Del Monte

Home Made Jerk Seasoning

Meaty Mac’n’Cheese with Cathedral City

The recipe was adjusted to feature and include Cathedral City Mature Cheddar Cheese. I received a voucher to purchase ingredients for this recipe.

Stoves Winter Recipe Creation

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