BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Mary Norwak in her book English Puddings, Sweet & Savoury, tells us that this pudding has been popular for more than two hundred years and appears in many eighteenth-century cookery books. As with all old recipes, there are many variations.
Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver lace their bread and butter pudding with Bailey's cream liquer, Gary Rhodes uses eight egg yolks and ½ pint of double cream. There are now recipes for chocolate bread and butter pudding. All of these variations have helped to re-invent the bread and butter pudding, by modernising this old nursery favourite.
On a personal level, I have been scarred for life, by being given badly made bread and butter pudding. The most common faults are the custard separating and currants having been placed on top of the bread and these have burnt during cooking. they then resemble rabbit droppings!!
This particular recipe, whilst not entirely traditional, is a good everyday bread and butter pudding, and one that even I will eat. On a light hearted note, if you look at the photograph of the slice of bread and butter pudding, you will see that there appears to be only three currants. I assure you that there were others and that these were hidden amongst the layers of bread and custard. I think this is possibly called uneven distribution!!
For this recipe you will need medium sliced bread that is about two days old. It is important to use full cream milk and also butter to spread on the bread, otherwise it's really not worthwhile making as it will taste just the same as the one put before you when you were a child and we don't want that - do we!!!

I have slightly adapted the recipe from the original.

HAMLYN COMPLETE COOK

ISBN 0600601986 - Page 501

SERVES: 4 (but I'm afraid to say, mostly 2)

40g soft butter
4 slices of medium sliced white bread, crusts removed
1 tablespoon of apricot jam
50g sultanas, raisins or currants
450ml full cream milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Grease a 1.2 litre ovenproof serving dish with some butter.
3. Butter the bread and spread with the apricot jam. Cut the slices into small triangles. Layer 8 triangles of bread in the dish, sprinkle with the fruit, top with the other 8 triangles of bread.
4. Place the milk and sugar in a saucepan and heat to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs. Strain the mixture over the bread and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
5. Place the dish in a roasting tin and fill with hot water to halfway up the sides, bake in the oven for 45 minutes, increase the heat to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 for a further 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden on top and just set. Serve at once.

MUSHROOMS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

This recipe is very easy as lots of the best recipes are. These look stunning served with steak or poultry. Or, how about serving them on a thick slice of toasted bread with some of the cooking juices poured over.
I have cooked lots of sweet and savoury dishes from this book and find it is one of those books that you keep going back to, time and again. Good Housekeeping have some brilliant recipes in their books - try them for yourself.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING NEW RECIPE BOOK

ISBN 0007116918 - PAGE 238

SERVES: 6 people (can easily be scaled down)

6 large flat or portabella mushrooms
oil for greasing
2 finely sliced garlic cloves (optional)
6 sprigs cherry tomatoes on the vine
3 tablespoons olive oil

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan oven/Gas Mark 6. Put the mushrooms into a greased roasting tin, scatter over the garlic, arrange a sprig of cherry tomatoes - still on the vine - on top of each mushroom, then drizzle with olive oil.
2. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
3.Take the foil off the mushrooms and continue to roast, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes.

Fabulous.

SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND ROSEMARY

This recipe is a particular favourite of mine. It can be cooked both in the oven and on the barbecue (It is best to cook the chicken in the oven before finishing on the barbecue). This is one of those never fail to please recipes, and so I think that makes it perfect.
We aren't talking about pretty here with this recipe, we're talking about a beautiful golden chicken that is moist and tastes delicious. When you put the chicken onto your table it really is a wow! moment. To see this chicken in all its glory click onto the photograph for a better view!

I have been asked about the pretty jug in the photograph. This was bought from Clive Ramsays Deli in the beautiful Scottish village, Bridge of Allan. Basically, this jug holds 'liquid gold'! We were looking around the deli and were literally seduced by the place. I bought lots of goodies and my husband also chose some things. The jug holds extra virgin olive oil. I went outside whilst my husband paid and when he came to me he had turned 'a whiter shade of pale', and said the bill was a lot more than he had expected! The culprit was the jug of olive oil. Being in holiday mode I hadn't paid much attention to the price, but I just loved the jug. I kept very quiet and hoped and prayed the contents were going to be OK. What a relief the extra virgin olive oil within the jug is fabulous and I use this specifically when I am making Nigella's Ultimate Greek Salad!!

NIGELLA LAWSON FOREVER SUMMER

ISBN 0701173815 - Page 136

SERVES: 4 people

When I have seen Nigella spatchcocking a chicken on television, she does it with a glint of mischievousness in her eye, and tells us how she loves a bit of DIY surgery!!
Anyway, this is how to do the spatchcocking, which is very easy. First take the chicken, breast side down, cut through all along one side of the backbone. Then cut along the other side of the backbone, remove this. Turn the bird the other way up and press down as you open it out. Hey presto! one spatchcocked bird.

It is best to marinade the chicken the day before you want to cook it.

1 spatchcocked chicken (2-2.25kg)
3 long sprigs fresh rosemary
juice of lemon, plus more lemons to serve
1 red onion
100ml olive oil
Maldon Salt

1. Put your spatchcocked chicken into a large freezer bag. Pull the needles off 2 sprigs of rosemary and drop them on top. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice, put the empty shells in the bag as well. Cut the unpeeled onion into eighths and add these to the bag. Pour in the olive oil and tie up the bag and place in the fridge.
2.Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 210° C/Gas Mark 7.
4. Lay your chicken, skin side up on a tin lined with foil, along with the lemon husks and onion pieces, add the remaining sprig of rosemary torn into a couple of pieces, tucking them between the leg and breast. Cook for about 45 minutes, the chicken should be crisp skinned and tender.
5. Take the chicken out of the oven, cut the chicken into four pieces and arrange these on a plate, along with the onion, pour over any syrup juices from the tin and sprinkle with Maldon salt. Cut a lemon or two into quarters and scatter these around the chicken.
6. Serve with Nigella's Ultimate Greek Salad.

Since writing this post I have added two more Spatchcock Recipes:

Spatchcock Chicken with Gremolata served with a Wild Rice and Pepper Salad

Spatchcock Chicken with Lemon, Oregano and Paprika served with a Crunchy Rice Salad

SWEET LEMON BROWN-BUTTERED APPLES

A very easy recipe, so come on have a go at this one. The apples both taste and look wonderful. The sauce in which they are cooked has a hint of toffee.
I must confess, I didn't make the lemon brown butter because there was plenty of sauce in the dish in which the apples were cooked. The recipe calls for red apples, but as you can see in the photograph mine were green, as these were the only ones I had in the house!!

MARIE CLAIRE - FLAVOURS DONNA HAY


ISBN 0864119925 - PAGE 50

SERVES: 4

4 sweet red apples, halved
60g butter, chopped
50g demerara sugar

lemon brown butter:
125g butter
2fl oz lemon juice
4 tablespoons sugar.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/(350ºF)/Gas 4. Place the apples in a baking dish, cut-side up, and top with butter and demerara sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, basting frequently until the apples are soft.
To make the lemon brown butter, place the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow the butter to slowly simmer until it smells nutty and has turned golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and sugar. Return to the heat and stir for 2 minutes.

Place the apples on a plate and spoon over the lemon brown butter. Serve warm with ice cream or Greek yoghurt.

Everyone will love these!

FETA, TOMATO AND ROSEMARY FLOWERPOT BREADS

There is something wonderful about making your own bread and that 'thing' is talked about with passion in books dedicated to the art of breadmaking. Whatever that 'thing' is, it is individual to you, be it the kneading, watching the bread prove, the aroma from the bread cooking or a magnificent loaf of bread when it comes out of the oven.
Bread never fails to please, especially if it has been made by your goodself.

Andrew at SpittoonExtra is hosting the challenge Waiter there's something in my ............bread and this recipe is taken from the April 2007 Delicious Magazine.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/Gas 7.

1. Take a 240g tub SunBlush tomatoes, drain, reserving 1 tbs oil and 8 tomatoes. Chop the rest.
2. Make the dough by sifting 500g strong white bread flour and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl. Stir in a 7g sachet of fast action yeast. Make a well in the centre and gradually mix in 250ml warm water, the reserved 1 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary and the chopped tomatoes. Knead, then knead in 150g crumbled feta.
3. Shape into 8 balls and place into 7cm terracotta pots that have been oiled and floured, or cut out 9 inch squares of parchment and line the flowerpots. Prove for 30 minutes. Top with more feta and a reserved tomato, and push in a small, wet rosemary sprig. Bake for 25 minutes.

The advantage of using the parchment is twofold, firstly it makes removal of the bread from the pots easy and also the tomato doesn't slide off the dough onto the baking tray because the parchment stops this!!

These were very easy to make and tasted wonderful.

For further reading on bread I would recommend - Baking with Passion by Baker & Spice.

SYRUP SPONGE

This challenge is to reassure Sam from becksposhnosh that English food is well worth consuming and that we have 'proper puddings' that are reassuringly comforting.
In the Cotswolds way back in 1985 The Pudding Club was set up for pudding lovers and is still going strong today. The Club meets at
The Three Ways House Hotel in Mickleton, Chipping Campden.
The Club's philosophy is 'A little bit of what you fancy does you good'. Wonderful words of wisdom.
All of the puddings are served with lashings of Bird's Custard and apparently they have got through hundreds of gallons of this!
I have made individual puddings, no doubt the Pudding Club would go for the large pudding option.

THE PUDDING CLUB

ISBN 0747220492 - Page 96

Serves: 4 to 6 people

Take 120g each of butter and caster sugar, cream until light and fluffy. Sift 120g self-raising flour and add this to the creamed mixture along with 2 beaten eggs, a little at a time, beating well. Put 2 tablespoons of golden syrup into the base of a buttered 1.1 litre pudding basin, and pour the sponge mixture over the syrup. Cover securely and steam for 2 hours. For the individual puddings use four greased 175ml pudding basins and steam for 45 minutes.
Serve with Syrup Sauce and custard.

Syrup Sauce - 1 dessertspoon cornflour, 150ml water, 2 tablespoons golden syrup, juice of ½ lemon.
Mix the cornflour with a little of the water, then add all the other ingredients. Heat in a small pan, stirring all the time, until the sauce thickens. Serve hot.

For further reading see English Puddings, Sweet & Savoury by Mary Norwak.