Degustabox: a monthly box of edible treats (review)

I love receiving nice things in the post, who doesn't? I recently discovered a company called Degustabox that will send you a monthly parcel of edible treats - all recently or about-to-be launched products from both leading and smaller brands, but these are full sized products, not samples. The box costs £12.99 a month including delivery, or £11.99 a month if you pay biannually. It's definitely good value as the contents are worth around £20. If you want to only order one box you can cancel after that and not have to buy another.

This all sounds like I've been paid to advertise this service but I haven't - I came across it via a friend and subscribed and have had two boxes so far, both paid for out of my own money. I liked the idea - and the contents - so much that I wanted to share it with you!

The first box I received in August had a voucher for Moma Bircher Muesli - as they have to be stored in the fridge, which is good if your box ends up sitting on your doorstep or with a neighbour all day. As I had just moved house I didn't get around to redeeming the voucher however.

I also received a packet of brioche croissants and one of pain au lait; these are both ready to eat from the packet so were a great help on the first few mornings in our new house when we didn't have much in the way of fresh food and hadn't unpacked the crockery!



There was a box of apple and pear juice from Cawston Press, which was lovely:

And two pots of Schwartz Flavour Shots, something I hadn't come across before. One was for Mexican fajitas and the other Spanish paprika chicken. The little pots have a blend of herbs, spices and seasonings in a paste and oil; you heat the paste in the pan and add the oil along with your chicken; for the Spanish paprika chicken, you also add onions and a tin of tomatoes. It was delicious!

 


Dr. Oetker edible cupcake cases - I'd already found these in the supermarket and used them to make these incredible banoffee cupcakes. The edible cupcake cases aren't cheap but I recommend them for the occasional bake as they are so different and a lot of fun!

Caribbean Twist Strawberry Daiquiri- really refreshing and fruity, with an alcoholic kick that isn't too strong.

Mexican Dave's tortilla chips- handy to have something like this in the cupboard for when you have the munches, and the subtle flavour means they would pair well with salsas and dips.

Berry White fruit drinks - quite an unusual flavour and not as sweet as most other soft drinks or squashes and these count as one of your five a day.

A little heart shaped tin of Lindt chocolates which brought a smile to my face! It was a shame these were solid chocolate and not filled with caramel though...

And for my second box at the very end of September, there was an intriguing new product I hadn't seen before: Carnation 'Cook with it'. From the makers of condensed milk, this is a lighter cooking sauce for savoury dishes that resembles single cream but has less fat. I've used it in a homemade curry which worked really well and I'm planning to try it out in a spaghetti carbonara this weekend.

Burts Lentil Waves - like crisps, but made from lentils. I received three packets - sour cream and chive, lightly salted and sweet chilli. I was a bit dubious but these tasted really good; very crunchy and a healthier alternative to crisps.

Bahlsen 'Pick Up' - a chocolate biscuit with a very thick layer of chocolate sandwiched between two biscuits, these reminded me a little of Prince chocolate biscuits that I've eaten in Europe. They are really satisfying- did I mention the extra thick layer of chocolate?! - and didn't last long in my house at all!

Crabbie's alcoholic lemonade - I've seen their alcoholic ginger beer before but I think the lemonade is new. It's just on the right side of the sweet and sharp spectrum and while I don't particularly hold with the idea of adding alcohol to soft drinks directly - I was never one for alcopops even as a teenager - it tasted pretty good.

Jordan's Simply Granola - I don't usually buy Jordan's cereal but that might have to change. This granola is simply oats with a little honey - when I buy museli I often find myself picking out bits I don't like. This comes in a resealable bag that lasts ages, and tasted great layered with yogurt and fruit for breakfast.

Elizabeth Shaw dark chocolate mint thins - I don't like mint so my boyfriend will have these; which reminds me, he hasn't spotted them in the cupboard yet!

Righteous salad dressings - a new brand, I was sent three little pots of salad dressings that are made using 100% natural ingredients. It's a bit cold for salad now so I used the blue cheese dressing as part of the filling in a baked potato. It was lovely!

Little Miracles drinks - a blend of tea and fruit juice. The tea gave it a slightly odd flavour and I wasn't a huge fan of these but I think it's more of an acquired taste and can still see the brand being successful.

I'm looking forward to finding out what is in October's box -  to purchase a Degustabox yourself sign up via this link.

Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies

 

This month's Food 'n' Flix challenge is hosted by Evelyne at Cheap Ethnic Eatz and she has chosen the Tom Hanks movie The Terminal. The film is ten years old now but the story is still relevant now - it's about a man who is trapped in JFK airport as a revolution takes place in his home country meaning he is denied entry to the US, as they no longer recognise his nation, but he also cannot return to his home country. It is partly inspired by a true story. The man, Viktor, is forced to live in the airport and befriends various employees including an air hostesss played by Catherine Zeta Jones, and manages to get on the wrong side of a customs official played by Stanley Tucci. The way the story plays out is at times heart breaking but the ending - which I won't give away - is incredibly uplifting, and probably not what you would expect.

The idea behind Food 'n' Flix is to make something inspired by the movie. Given the airport setting I toyed with the idea of making airline food, but don't have particularly good memories of anything I've eaten on a plane! I've reviewed a couple of restaurants where I've eaten in airports and have had pretty decent meals and thought about recreating one of those, but wanted my entry to be more closely tied in to the film.

Viktor is closely attached to a Planter's peanut can in the film, which he carries around with him as if it is very valuable - for reasons that are explained later in the film. Planter's is a famous American brand of peanuts, now owned by Kraft, and even though we can't get it in the UK (as far as I am aware - I've never seen it anyway) I have heard of the Mr. Peanut character. Admittedly that's largely due to an episode in season one of Friends where Chandler and Joey discuss whether they would rather be Mr. Peanut or Mr. Salty!

Anyway, I decided to make something using that other famous American peanut brand - or rather, peanut butter brand. My boyfriend's mum recently went to America and brought me back a literal bagful of goodies (including some Grumpy Cat merchandise!), among them several bags of American candy as she knows I love to bake with it. She gave me two bags of Reese's Pieces candy - peanut butter pieces in a hard candy shell which look a bit like M&Ms.

I wasn't sure how to best use them in baking so had a look at the Reese's website, and they have loads of great recipes. I chose a fairly easy one using ingredients I already had in the store cupboard, and made these peanut butter cookies.

These make about 12 large cookies (the recipe says it makes about 30 cookies but I obviously made mine very large!)

You need:
1/2 cup margarine or softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup Reese's Pieces candies


Preheat oven to 175C and line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugars then mix in the peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour and the salt, then stir in the Reese's Pieces candies.

Drop a heaped tablespoon full of the cookie dough onto the baking sheet and spacing each one well apart, place five or six balls of cookie dough on each baking sheet and press down gently.

Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes then allow to cool on a wire rack. You want to remove the cookies from the oven while they are still a little soft, as they will harden as they cool, and they are best when they are still a bit soft and chewy in the middle.

These tasted lovely and even my boyfriend, who doesn't normally like peanut butter, wanted to try them and said they were fantastic. Since I've still got a lot of the Reese's Pieces candies left, I might have to make them again!

I'm sending this to Food 'n' Flix, hosted by Evelyne at Cheap Ethnic Eatz. I think Viktor might even relinquish his hold on his Planter's peanut can for one of these cookies!

I am also sending this to Cook, Blog, Share hosted by Lucy at SuperGoldenBakes.

The theme for October's Treat Petite is 'trick or treat'. While more kids do go trick or treating in the UK now than when I was a child (we never did), it's still very much an American thing and since Reese's Pieces are a very American candy, and I think kids would be quite happy to receive these as 'treats', I am entering these cookies in the challenge. It's hosted by Kat at Baking Explorer and on alternate months Stuart at Cakeyboi.

'Comfort food' is the theme chosen for this month's Biscuit Barrel challenge by Laura at I'd Much Rather Bake Than. There's something about a chewy cookie with the salty sweet tang of peanut butter which means these definitely fall under that category for me!

Epic 5-Layer Chocolate Cheesecake, Cheesecake Factory Style

My boyfriend and I moved into our dream home in August. It didn't look much like our dream home for the first month (and still doesn't really) as we immediately undertook a huge redecorating project. We didn't like the dusky pink carpets (or the fact that they had carpeted around wardrobes so when they took the furniture, there were sections of floor in two bedrooms with no carpet at all) so decided to get wood flooring throughout the house. It also needed a fresh coat of paint and it seemed a lot easier to do that before the new floor was done, meaning something of a race against time before the floor guys started. We also realised it made a lot more sense to redecorate before we unpacked, as it was a lot easier to shift boxes. So it was only six weeks in to living in the house that I finished unpacking the kitchen and made it useable and look nice; our bedroom is almost done but the other rooms in the house are still full of boxes!

Needless to say I hadn't made any cakes while all this was going on, and hadn't even been doing that much 'proper' cooking. I always felt that the first cake in my new kitchen needed to be a showstopper and something really memorable to mark our new lives in our new home. So no pressure then!

I knew it had to involve chocolate as my boyfriend wouldn't want anything less, and I've always loved cheesecake. Since visiting the Cheesecake Factory in America (I have eaten there four times now - not all on the same trip!) I have been obsessed with recreating their particular style of cheesecake. There are various copycat recipes on the internet and I previously made this Oreo cheesecake, which was very good but it was a baked cheesecake and didn't have the same creamy texture that I remembered at the Cheesecake Factory.

This recipe is for their Godiva cheesecake, as you are supposed to make it using Godiva chocolate, though it says at the end of the recipe that it would taste pretty much the same using any chocolate such as Hershey's -I think not! Godiva chocolates are Belgian and in my opinion taste very different to Hershey's which of course is American. But as I couldn't get hold of any Godiva chocolate, I used Tesco Finest 74% dark chocolate.

This cheesecake tastes much, much better than the Oreo cheesecake I made - and that one was pretty great. In fact I think this chocolate cheesecake- which I am calling my five-layer chocolate cheesecake, due to the way I decorated it - is quite possibly the best thing I have ever baked. And that's saying something. It has a cake rather than biscuit base which works really well and is something I will do again.

It takes pretty much all day to make as you have to allow a few hours chilling layers; I actually made it over two days as I started it one day but went to bed with toothache in the afternoon so had to finish it the next day!

I altered a few of the ingredients slightly and converted the measurements from US to UK.

Here's what I did.

You need:
For the cake base:
200g plain chocolate
225g butter
125g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated

For the chocolate cheesecake layer:
400g cream cheese
3 eggs
65g caster sugar
100g plain chocolate

For the chocolate mousse layer:
100g milk chocolate
400ml double cream

For the chocolate ganache layer:
100g plain chocolate
150ml double cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp golden syrup

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1 cup sugar^[3]
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs, separated^[4]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Cheesecake Filling Ingredients

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened to room temperature^[5]
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Godiva melting chocolate

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups Godiva melting chocolate
• 14 ounces cold heavy cream^[6]

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ganache Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter^[7]
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Toppings

• 1 square of Godiva chocolate for each slice (optional)^[1]
• Whipped cream (optional)

Recipe by CopycatRecipeGuide's Food Editors

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.^[5]
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
3. Melt the chocolate, vanilla, and butter for the flourless cake in a double boiler.
4. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar.
5. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.
6. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add remaining sugar, and beat to a stiff peak.
7. Fold in the egg whites.
8. Start the cheesecake filling by melting the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.^[3]
9. Beat remaining ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth.
10. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan; carefully top with cheesecake batter.
11. Bake for 40-50 minutes until firm.
12. Chill for at least 4 hours.^[7]
13. Make the mousse by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat to cool.
14. Beat the cream until somewhat thick. Beat in the melted chocolate until soft peaks form.^[6]
15. Layer the mousse over the top of the cheesecake and chill.
16. Start the ganache by adding the chocolate and butter to a food processor.
17. Boil the cream with the sugar.
18. Add the cream mixture to the food processor, add vanilla, and and process.
19. Refrigerate until the ganache is spreadable, then spread over the cake.
20. Refrigerate until chilled through.
21. Slice the cake into 12 equal servings.

- See more at: http://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Cheesecake_Factory_Godiva_Chocolate_Cheesecake#sthash.aMLnmo15.dpu

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1 cup sugar^[3]
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs, separated^[4]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Cheesecake Filling Ingredients

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened to room temperature^[5]
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Godiva melting chocolate

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups Godiva melting chocolate
• 14 ounces cold heavy cream^[6]

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ganache Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter^[7]
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Toppings

• 1 square of Godiva chocolate for each slice (optional)^[1]
• Whipped cream (optional)

Recipe by CopycatRecipeGuide's Food Editors

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.^[5]
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
3. Melt the chocolate, vanilla, and butter for the flourless cake in a double boiler.
4. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar.
5. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.
6. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add remaining sugar, and beat to a stiff peak.
7. Fold in the egg whites.
8. Start the cheesecake filling by melting the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.^[3]
9. Beat remaining ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth.
10. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan; carefully top with cheesecake batter.
11. Bake for 40-50 minutes until firm.
12. Chill for at least 4 hours.^[7]
13. Make the mousse by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat to cool.
14. Beat the cream until somewhat thick. Beat in the melted chocolate until soft peaks form.^[6]
15. Layer the mousse over the top of the cheesecake and chill.
16. Start the ganache by adding the chocolate and butter to a food processor.
17. Boil the cream with the sugar.
18. Add the cream mixture to the food processor, add vanilla, and and process.
19. Refrigerate until the ganache is spreadable, then spread over the cake.
20. Refrigerate until chilled through.
21. Slice the cake into 12 equal servings.

- See more at: http://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Cheesecake_Factory_Godiva_Chocolate_Cheesecake#sthash.aMLnmo15.dpuf

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1 cup sugar^[3]
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs, separated^[4]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

- See more at: http://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Cheesecake_Factory_Godiva_Chocolate_Cheesecake#sthash.aMLnmo15.dpuf

Start by making the base; grease a 9-inch cake tin - the loose-bottom kind is best. I have one with a glass base which is great for serving the cake from. Preheat oven to 175C.

For the cake base, melt the butter and chocolate in a small pan over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool (though not set). Then separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with half the sugar in a bowl.  Fold in the chocolate mixture.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and add the remaining sugar. Fold this in to the chocolate mixture and spoon into your prepared tin and level off.



Next make the cheesecake layer. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie or microwave and leave to cool but not set. Beat the cream cheese, eggs and sugar in a bowl then mix in the melted chocolate.

Pour this layer on top of the raw cake layer in your prepared tin and put the tin in the oven for 45-50 minutes.





When baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool- do not remove the cake from the tin so it will take a while to cool down. When cold enough to put in the fridge, chill for at least two hours or overnight if desired.

To make the chocolate mousse layer, melt the chocolate in a bain marie or microwave and allow to cool but not set. Beat the cream in a bowl until you have peaks then stir in the melted chocolate. Spread over the top of the cheesecake.

To make the ganache, heat the cream in a pan until almost simmering (don't allow it to boil) then add the chocolate in small pieces. Add the butter and golden syrup as well. Remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate has melted. Allow to cool a little so the mixture isn't hot but is still a pouring consistency. Pour over the top of the cheesecake and return to the fridge to set for 1-2 hours.



I decorated my cheesecake with caramel-filled Hershey's Kisses which my boyfriend's mum had brought back from her recent trip to America, but you could use any kind of chocolate decorations e.g. chocolate curls, other chocolate candy, grated chocolate etc.

As Paul Hollywood would say, you can see the lamination!

This is up there with - if not above - the best cakes I have ever made. It's incredibly calorific but so rich you can only eat a tiny slice (unless you are my boyfriend, who can manage a bit more!) but really just amazing. I'm already planning a similar version but with a caramel layer!

I'm sending this to Cook Blog Share, hosted by Lucy at SuperGoldenBakes, as it's an opportunity to share anything you have made.

The theme for this month's Love Cake, hosted by Ness at JibberJabberUK, is 'dark'. This recipe uses dark (plain) chocolate and is also a dark, decadent dessert perfect for winter evenings.

I think the dark layers of this cheesecake would also work well for a sophisticated Halloween dinner - and if you wanted to make it a bit less sophisticated you could decorate the top with spooky decorations like bats. For that reason, I'm sharing this with We Should Cocoa, which has a Halloween theme this month. This time it's hosted by Hannah at Honey and Dough; the challenge was started by Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog.

Meal Planning Monday - week 42

I'm a sucker for pretty stationery and love notebooks, sticky notes and so on. I went into Paperchase last week to literally just buy a pencil (for scribbling notes in my choir music) and ended up spending £8 on this magnetic meal planner. How cute is that?!

Each week is a page that you tear off afterwards - I prefer this to the wipe-clean kind even though it is less economical, because I always find the pen that you get with the wipe clean boards runs out or goes missing, and this just looks neater. And if you really wanted, you could keep each week's page for future reference!

It also comes with a shopping list notepad (in the far right of the picture) which is really helpful. My only quibble is that Saturday and Sunday are smaller boxes but it's at the weekend that I do more cooking and plan lunches as well as dinners, so I would prefer to have more room for those days, not less!


We are both back at work this week and at the moment have no social events or evenings out planned, but I feel I have neglected my friends lately in favour of redecorating and my boyfriend and I could use a 'date night' as we haven't had one for ages (unless you count the evening we went round Ikea!). So this week's meal plan may change as and when I arrange to see people. However, I've just read there are tube strikes planned for this week from Tuesday to Thursday so maybe I won't plan to go out after work at all!

I am sharing my meal plan with At Home With Mrs M for her 'Meal Planning Monday' blog hop as I usually do. This time she has started a new regular slot called 'Meet the Meal Planner' and the first person to take part is yours truly. So if you're interested in finding out more about how and why I do my meal plans, head on over to her site and read this.

Monday
I'm at a choir rehearsal in the evening so my boyfriend will have dinner at his mum's

Tuesday
I have to go to some after-work drinks so will be home a bit late and need something quick so have bought frozen pizzas.

Wednesday
Chicken curry for him, prawn curry for me

Thursday
I'm out at a work colleague's leaving dinner so my boyfriend will probably have dinner at his mum's

Friday
Tacos with potato wedges

Saturday
Lunch spaghetti carbonara
Dinner Slimming World cheesy broccoli and potato bake from 'Comfort food that slims' with sausages (Quorn sausages for me)

Sunday
Lunch baked camembert with crusty bread - yes, I know that doesn't really fit with Slimming World...
Dinner Slimming World Mediterranean chicken tray bake from 'Comfort food that slims'

Cake and Bake Show Masterclass: Eric Lanlard

I had high hopes for the Cake and Bake Show masterclass with Eric Lanlard, but my heart sank a little after I took another masterclass earlier that day (with Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes) and realised that it wasn't actually  hands on and instead I would be watching a demonstration. I also wilted a little inside when I found out Eric was demonstrating how to make shortcrust pastry - I had expected something more fancy from the master patissiere. I also wasn't thrilled when I queued early enough (half an hour before it started) to make sure I would be in the front row this time, after not getting a very good view in the Mike McCarey masterclass, then three people pushed in at the last minute which meant I was relegated to the second row. Not off to the best start!

But I needn't have worried - I still had a good view, though I apologise for the quality of the photos, it was near-impossible to not have someone's head in the way from my *second row* position (I'm still annoyed about that!). While shortcrust pastry might sound simple, there are all sorts of tips and tricks you need to know, and it is such an important basic, forming the foundation of so many bakes, that it's imperative to get it just right.

Also, Eric Lanlard - who I knew very little about other than that he's French - turned out to be charming and very funny in person. He peppered his demonstration with anecdotes, including several about his cat - the moment that he declared his life revolved around baking and cats, I was hooked!

Eric described how when he started as a pastry chef - a fairly elevated profession who tend to look down on 'mere' bakers - he expected to be making things like croquembouche from the start, but instead was told to make basic pastry for the first six months. While Mary Berry would raise her eyebrows at using any shop bought pastry, Eric declared there are two kinds of pastry you are allowed to buy without shame - filo and puff. Both are really hard to make yourself and Eric confessed he has never made his own filo!

Eric prefers not to use a mixer when making pastry and said there is a "sexiness" about "getting your hands dirty" (swoon) - you do need to be able to feel the texture as you rub in the ingredients. And speaking of ingredients, "don't even think about using the M word" - margarine. For Eric, it has to be butter all the way.

I learnt some very useful tips like the fact that as baking powder is an active ingredient, and the only difference between plain flour and self-raising flour is added baking powder, if you leave self-raising in the cupboard for a long time the baking powder will die and your cake won't rise. Also, you shouldn't overwork your pastry dough as this will activate the gluten, which is what makes the pastry shrink.

Eric also had a lot to say about the merits of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste - knowing how he feels about vanilla essence now, I wouldn't dare present him with anything using that or vanilla flavouring! He claims to be able to even smell the difference and compared vanilla flavouring to car air freshener (and worse).

When rolling out your pastry, make sure it is bigger than the dish you intend to line; if you stretch pastry to fit, it will shrink back as it cooks. You should place the pie tin straight on the oven shelf, not on a baking tray, to avoid the infamous soggy bottom.

Eric is a big fan of clingfilm and mentioned it several times; for instance lining a pastry case with greaseproof paper when you are baking blind can damage the pastry and he prefers to use food-grade clingfilm.

Eric spent an hour showing us exactly how to make shortcrust pastry dough and line a pie tin - the fact that it took a whole hour to cover that just goes to show how much is actually involved in making perfect pastry!

Island Chicken

This month's letter for Alphabakes isn't an easy one - i. Other than icing, not a huge amount springs to mind. I made Idaho potato cake last time the letter came up for Alphabakes in March 2013 - quite an original idea, I thought. This time I was at a bit of a loss, and hadn't unpacked any of my cookery books since moving house (though they now have their own bookcase in the kitchen which is a joy to behold!). I had a browse around on the internet and came across a dinnertime recipe called 'island chicken'. Which island though, I don't actually know!

This is quite a zingy recipe using vinegar (trust me, it works); the soy sauce makes me think the island in question might be somewhere in Asia but with other ingredients including paprika, celery salt, cloves and rosemary I don't really know. If anyone has a guess as to the origins of this recipe, please let me know!

As I was making it I was a little dubious about how it would taste but it was really nice and I would definitely class this dinner as a success.

I largely followed the recipe from the link above, but missed out the beaten eggs which you dip the chicken in before you breadcrumb it, as it was already wet enough from the marinade. I also didn't have any rosemary and didn't use the green pepper for the 'gravy'.

Also, I used chicken thigh fillets which are fairly small so the chicken didn't need anything like the hour in the oven that this recipe calls for; I think I had it in there for less than half that. I served it with vegetables and mashed potatoes.

The marinaded chicken

In breadcrumbs, about to go in the oven

making the sauce

and serve

I'm sending this to Alphabakes, the challenge I co-host with Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker, as the letter I have chosen this month is I.

s chicken pieces
1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered clove
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
2 eggs (beaten)
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper - See more at: http://www.ex-designz.net/recipedisplay.asp?rid=2810#sthash.4pQ7zflR.dpuf

Restaurant Review: Chopstix, Leicester Square

Imagine Alien, the classic sci-fi Ridley Scott-directed movie starring Sigourney Weaver.... re-enacted on stage by a bunch of Dorset bus drivers. Imagine them fluffing their lines, giggling (themselves) over the special effects and reciting some of the most famous scenes in a thick West Country dialect - but then imagine an audience who loved every minute, chanted the character's names as they died, offered stage direction ("project your voices more, we can't hear you!) and gave a standing ovation at the end. And there, ladies and gentlemen, you have the one-night-only performance of Alien On Stage at the Leicester Square Theatre by Paranoid Dramatics, who are indeed based at the Allendale Community Centre in Wimborne, Dorset, where they work as bus drivers. 

When I heard about this I knew we had to go - my boyfriend is a big sci-fi geek and since he moved in with me has steadily been "educating" me in the classics. So we've worked our way through all the Alien films, all of Star Wars (which I had seen before, but -whispers- never really liked), Predator, Predator 2, Predators (the plural, and confusingly the third in the series), Alien vs Predator, and Aliens vs Predator: Requiem. What I want to know is, when does he have to start watching the collected works of Drew Barrymore and Reece Witherspoon?

I have to admit though that I've thoroughly enjoyed having my movie repertoire broadened (possibly with the exception of the Star Wars one with Jar Jar Binks). I wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived at Leicester Square to see the show, having read that it was being performed by an am-dram group. They stuck to the script religiously - even when their microphones failed and we couldn't hear them, or something was lost in translation in the thick dialect- and closed the curtains repeatedly for minutes at a time while they shifted scenery backstage. 

The actors brought real heart and soul to the characters, so much so that when Dallas, the captain, was shuffling along the heating ducts towards the alien and (the audience knew) certain death, there were shouts of "No, Dallas, go back!" and "It's behind you!" (there were times when this felt more like a pantomime) and when he died there were glorious chants of "Dal-las, Dal-las, Dal-las". The chest burster scene was highly anticipated and as Kane entered the dining room, having apparently recovered from his close encounter with a face hugger, the outline of a large contraption underneath his t-shirt was glaringly obvious. 

As the audience began to laugh good-naturedly, Kane also began to laugh, and it took the cast a few seconds to compose themselves. When the alien burst from his chest it was somehow still unexpected, and cleverly done. Similarly, I had been expecting the full-size alien to be made from a few painted egg boxes and a bit of bubble wrap, but the costume - designed by Pete Lawford - was very impressive, and when it first appeared - not on stage but unexpectedly behind the audience, leaning over an unsuspecting couple in the back row - also quite frightening.

By the end of the production the cast and crew had the audience eating out of their hand. Any heckling was good natured throughout- I suspect from people who had seen the show before, as it was performed in the same Leicester Square venue for one night last year - and the way that they turned a movie set in outer space full of special effects (even if these were 70s special effects) into a stage show was nothing short of miraculous. I even began to wonder whether some of the deadpan delivery and wooden acting was playing up to the audience as there was a degree of self-awareness and tongue-in-cheek behaviour. And I don't mean to say these people were bad actors - they are far better than I would have been - but they were quite different from the usual performers you see in Leicester Square. By the end of the show the group of bus drivers from Dorset had most definitely won over their audience, and took their bows to a standing ovation and pleas to "do Aliens [the sequel] next!"

At least the show was rather more successful than my dinner plans. My boyfriend and I intended to go to the Big Easy, which I had been looking forward to for weeks if not months, but he ended up having to go into the office to work that day. I headed to Covent Garden in the afternoon but as I arrived, found he was still in the office with no idea when he would leave. As it got to the time of our restaurant booking, I had to call and cancel, and spent the next hour and a half browsing around the shops in Covent Garden. I then realised I only had about twenty minutes to get some dinner to headed to Leicester Square and thought Burger King would do at a push - but instead stumbled across a noodle takeaway and restaurant called Chopstix. 

 

My boyfriend doesn't like Chinese food so we never go to Chinese restaurants together; with that in mind I decided this would be a good opportunity, even though I wasn't expecting the highest quality. The food is ready-cooked and keeping warm in big glass containers, each labelled with the name of the dish. The food is served in a cardboard box - even if you are eating in - and is priced at £5.50 for a base of either noodles or rice and one 'topping' (e.g sweet and sour chicken) or £6.50 for two toppings. I was after plain rice, but only saw egg fried rice or white rice with peas, so when I asked the server if they had plain rice he pointed to the latter. I said I didn't like peas and he said he would try to pick them out while serving me a portion - you can't fault him for trying to problem solve. I went for noodles instead, which were delicious. The sweet and sour chicken less so - it had a fairly manufactured taste. But it was hot, and filling, and fast - I finished my meal with a few minutes to spare and made it to the theatre just in time. Luckily so did my boyfriend, who had managed to leave work and made it to the show.

Slow Cooker Baked Potato

I haven't used my slow cooker for a few months since I moved in August, so was inspired by the Slow Cooker Challenge on Farmersgirl Kitchen to dig it out. Janice, aka Farmersgirl, has an open theme this month so I had a look around on other blogs to find something that would be fairly easy. I came across a couple of recipes for jacket potatoes done in the slow cooker - it never occured to me to bake them like that. Jacket potatoes take a good 1-2 hours in the oven depending on size (I like to choose the biggest potato I can find) and in a slow cooker they take pretty much all day: about 4 hours on the high setting, or up to 8 hours on the slow setting, which the other bloggers recommended. However, I wanted a baked potato for lunch and wasn't getting up that early in the morning, so I did mine on the high setting.

One useful tip I came across was to wad up little balls of tin foil and place them on the bottom of the slow cooker, and the potato (wrapped in foil) on top. This stops the bottom of the potato from being in contact with the base of the slow cooker and developing a brown spot.

I rubbed the potato with a little oil before I wrapped it in foil but that was all I needed to do. Four hours later I had a beautifully soft potato. The skin didn't crisp up which I do quite like, but then sometimes in the oven I find the skin crisps too much and is inedible (I really enjoy the skin of a baked potato though I know a lot of people don't).

I was in the mood for a sour cream and chive filling but didn't have any sour cream or any chives. Instead, I had a little pot of blue cheese salad dressing so I mixed some of that with a spoonful of mayonnaise and two spoonfuls of fat free natural yogurt, and added some chopped parsley (the only fresh herb I had) on top. It tasted lovely!

I wouldn't normally bake a jacket potato in the slow cooker over doing it in the oven if I was at home, but the beauty of the slow cooker is that you can put it on then go out all day. So if you want a baked potato with your dinner but don't want to wait an hour or more after you get home from work (if like me you aren't home until 7pm) rather than having to do it in the microwave I would definitely recommend doing it in the slow cooker. And the blue cheese and parsley filling was very tasty!

As already mentioned, I'm sending this to the Slow Cooker Challenge, hosted by Janice at Farmersgirl Kitchen.

Using a slow cooker is also more economical than using the oven and potatoes are cheap as chips (literally) so I am sending this to Credit Crunch Munch, the thrifty cooking challenge hosted by Hannah at A New Addition on behalf of Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All.

The Pussycat Riot - Fighting Internet Censorship

 

Sometimes it seems the internet was invented for cat videos. I'm definitely a mad cat lady and love to watch YouTube clips of kittens rolling around and am a big fan of Grumpy Cat. But there are countries and governments which aren't so keen on letting their citizens giggle over the piano playing cat or the one that looks surprised when it has its tummy tickled. Not only that, but they don't give their people access to information about what is going on in the outside world, or allow them to discuss news and current events on social media, as a form of suppression.

The Pussycat Riot aims to help change that. No, not the Russian protest punk rock group - that's Pussy Riot. Pussycat Riot is uniting the cats of the internet, because after all,Freedom is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Cats know everything.

According to The Pussycat Riot, about 4 million cat pictures and videos are shared on the internet every single day (and not all of them are from me). As it says on its website, "However, cuteness and humour aside, what all of the cats on the net also represent is something within ourselves: our right to be grumpy on a Monday, our right to play the keyboard at inappropriate moments, and our right to sit, content, in a tiny cardboard box. Internet cat content is a symbol of our freedoms."

 Using the hashtag #ThePussycatRiot they want to raise awareness of the issue of internet censorship and have enlisted various famous internet cats (and presumably their owners), including one of my favourites Princess Monster Truck (check out the website if you don't know who she is) and have asked bloggers who are also cat owners to 'join the revolution'. They sent me a selection of badges and a bandana which you can see my cat Tilly modelling here, though she is rocking it as a scarf more than a bandana.

You can show your support for the campaign by tweeting with the hashtag #ThePussycatRiot or purchasing one of the products from their online shop - they have an amusing line in litter trays bearing the image of certain world leaders!

The Pussycat Riot, established by global VPN provider HideMyAss.com, calls on cat owners to protest against regimes that deny their citizens the right to access websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter; which not only robs them of news, ideas, opinion and knowledge, but also prevents them from experiencing the innocent delights of online cat pictures and videos.

Masterclass: Mike's Amazing Cakes

Mike of Mike's Amazing Cakes

At this year's Cake and Bake Show in London I took a masterclass with Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes, a US bakery that is known for producing elaborate three-dimensional cakes for weddings, birthdays and other occasions. He can often be seen on the television channel the Food Network, though I have to admit when I signed up to the class I had never heard of him before - I gathered he was famous though and was interested in what he was going to demonstrate!

I hadn't been to the Cake and Bake show before or booked a masterclass at any similar shows so I had been expecting a small group of us - maybe 12 people - to be learning and creating something under Mike's supervision. Unfortunately that wasn't the case; instead there were about 50 of us sitting in rows, watching Mike do a demonstration at the front. And what's more, he wasn't actually making a cake, but showing us pictures of a cake he had previously made.

Now, I know that sounds like it was rubbish but in fact I learnt a lot. There's no way Mike could have made even part of the cake he was demonstrating in the 45 minute session as he was showing us how to make a standing up dog.

The photos I took are terrible as I was seated several rows back and couldn't see what Mike was doing directly, and had to watch instead what was projected onto a screen, but there were still people's heads in the way and the bright screen doesn't come out well in photos. However, I wanted to share with you a few of Mike's tips and a broad explanation of how to make a 3D cake, without giving away any of his secrets of course!

It never occured to me but a large freestanding 3D cake can't stand up by itself... you need a solid structure to build it around. Mike actually makes his out of MDF and styrofoam, and of course covers any parts that will come into contact with cake.

Here you can see a diagram of the model Mike built for the dog; he measured and drew a sketch from a photograph, enlarged it on a photocopier and laminated parts of it to use as a template.

The type of cake itself is important; sponge cake is too light and won't support the structure (in this case, the dog's head) so he recommends pound cake - I'm not sure what we call that in the UK but I know madeira cake is good for carving. Rather than use a lot of fondant for creating shapes like the dog's head, Mike likes to use modelling chocolate, and he says if you use fondant put it in the freezer to harden it.


He built up the cake layer by layer and then sculpted the sides - you can see the dog's body taking shape here.

Don't try to cover your whole cake with fondant in one go if it's an unusual shape with little details; instead do it in two halves and then work the seam together until smooth. Mike recommends using Massa Ticino fondant but it's not cheap.

Here is the dog with the limbs attached (all made out of modelling chocolate) and then covered in fondant.

Rather than knead colour into the fondant Mike airbrushes his models at the end which allows him to build up layers of colours. I might have to look into airbrushing!

This is the finished cake, doesn't it look amazing? It was just a shame we only got to see a picture and not the real thing!

Meal Planning Monday - week 41

 I have most of this week off as well as last week, to continue decorating and unpacking and being home while we have various bits of furniture delivered (though our sofas have been delayed for another week, thanks Furniture Village!). My boyfriend is back at work though.

Monday
lunch slow cooker baked potato inspired by this recipe and maybe also this one
Dinner I'm at choir rehearsal so will take a sandwich, my boyfriend will have dinner at his mum's

Tuesday
lunch homemade carrot and coriander soup
Dinner fish pie for me, sausage and mash for him

Wednesday
lunch hot dogs
Dinner Island chicken from this recipe

Thursday
lunch homemade macaroni cheese
Dinner curry to use up rest of an open jar of sauce

Friday- I'm back at work
Lunch sandwich
Dinner pizza

Saturday - my boyfriend has to work this weekend so I'm home alone, should be able to do some more unpacking
Lunch if I'm home alone, probably pasta or tinned mackerel on toast
Dinner toad in the hole I keep putting on the meal plan but not getting around to making

Sunday - boyfriend possibly at work again today (sigh)
 lunch bacon sandwich if he's here; if I'm home alone I might make Slimming World cauliflower cheese soup
Dinner roast chicken