Wednesday 30 January 2013

Cauliflower Cheese with the Easiest Cheese Sauce Ever

Put a cheese sauce on anything and it suddenly becomes the best thing ever to cross my lips!  I remember having broccoli with cheese sauce as a child - anything to get kids to eat their veggies - and loving it.  In England, cauliflower cheese has taken over the little green trees and is often present at a Sunday roast dinner.  My husband loves cauliflower but I'm not it's greatest fan.  A few weeks ago, in an effort to compromise (it's what marriage is all about, right?) I made cauliflower drowned in this wonderful (incredibly easy) cheese sauce.


Making a roux isn't as hard as one might think but that fancy French word is enough to put people off.  My aim here is to encourage cooking, full stop.  When I came across this recipe on the BBC Good Food website, I had to share it.  Anyone can make this - even the girl I once knew who boiled potatoes but forgot to put the water in and only realised when her house started to smell like burning (ok, maybe not ANYONE).  But if you can concentrate for 10 minutes, and stay by the stove, you can have a homemade cheese sauce in no time (well, in 10 minutes).


Basically, you whisk milk, flour and butter continuously until it melts and everything combines and thickens.  Then take it off the heat and stir in the cheese.  Done!  Pour it over the cooked cauliflower and bake in the oven until it bubbles and browns.  A delicious side dish to any meal.  And it doesn't hurt to score a few brownie points with the hubby (if I serve this with a steak - I'm golden!)


Cauliflower Cheese

1 head of cauliflower, cut into pieces
500ml milk
4 tbsp flour
50g butter
100g cheddar cheese, grated (I used a mixture of strong cheddar and 5 counties)
2-3 tbsp breadcrumbs (optional)

Boil or steam the cauliflower until cooked.  Place cooked cauliflower into an oven proof dish and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 220°C.  In a saucepan, add the milk, flour and butter and whisk quickly while slowly bringing the contents to a boil.  Everything will combine and the sauce will begin to thicken.  Continue to whisk for a further 2 minutes as the sauce becomes quite thick.  Remove from the heat and stir in most of the cheese.  Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, sprinkle the breadcrumbs (if using) and remaining cheese on top and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the dish has browned.

Adapted from BBC Good Food

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Roasted Blueberry Cupcakes With Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I like to purchase foods that are in season - for one, they taste better and they are usually cheaper.  Also, they tend to be grown closer to home, carbon footprint and all that.  Although, when a couple of weeks ago,  blueberries were in store and on sale, I broke my code and went for them.  As predicted, they were grown no where near the UK (Israel I think) and weren't the best tasting blueberries I've ever had - I don't think any will ever compare to those picked myself in Northern Ontario, where I grew up.  But, they were cheap.  Win some, lose some.




Blueberries are great sprinkled on cereal or porridge, in smoothies or just eaten as they come but I really fancied making something with them.  All sorts came to mind; cake, muffins, pie (oh my).  But after a little browsing on the interwebs I went with my favourite treat, cupcakes.   I looooove cupcakes.  I can't stress this enough.  I love the scene from Bridesmaids when Kristen Wigg's character makes that one little cupcake, because sometimes just one is enough (well, that's not quite true but it's really all that I need).  I've often made 12 to 24 or even more because that's just what that recipe yields without ever thinking that I can actually cut the recipe by half or quarters and make far less.  It finally clicked - make 6!  When I told the hubster of my ingenious idea he had a bit of a "well duh" kind of look on his face but I ignored it, being quite pleased with myself.  Now I didn't have to eat more than I should. 



Now I was pretty proud of that little discovery (it's the little things people) but what I'm really pleased about is finally getting the cream cheese frosting right.  Sadly it wasn't on this particular batch of cupcakes.  Actually I'm not not sure what I will bake to go with the bowl of frosting I have sitting in my fridge (banana cupcakes?) because in wanting to share a cream cheese frosting recipe that works, I just made some!   When I last made cupcakes the frosting went a little bit wrong and it still wasn't perfect for these little blue lovelies.  I shared my frosting woes with my mother who suggested I forget the butter altogether and mix only cream cheese and icing sugar, saying "that's how I've always made it!"  Why didn't she pipe up months ago?

Anyway, it turned out perfectly - definitely won't be dripping down the side of the cake.  I'll need to make something to go with it, and quick, before I eat the whole lot with a spoon!  Although I used low fat cream cheese so it's not too bad, right?


Maybe I'll nip out to Morrison's and see if they still have blueberries on sale - now that I have the perfect frosting!



Roasted Blueberry Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 6 (or so)

Cupcakes 
1 cup fresh blueberries (plus mroe for garnish, if using)
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons of milk, if needed 

Spread the blueberries on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated oven at 220°C for about 10-15 minutes or until the berries start to pop and burst. You'll want to eat these with a spoon but wait little grasshopper, it will be worth it. Set them aside to cool and lower the oven to 200°C.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. With a spoon, stir in the flour and baking powder until fully incorporated. Scrape those luscious blueberries and all of their juices into the bowl and stir into the mixture, breaking down the berries as much or as little as you like - I left a few chunky pieces but you can use an electric mixer to fully break them down instead. Add a little milk if required to ensure a cake batter consistency. Spoon into cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes (12-15 in a fan assisted oven!) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre cake comes out clean (but not until the tops have browned).

Adapted from Sweet Peony originally from How Sweet Eats

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 1.5 cups of frosting

125g of cream cheese
about 2 cups of icing sugar 
1 tsp of cinnamon

Combine the cream cheese, cinnamon and 1/4 cup of the sugar with a hand mixer until the mixture is no longer lumpy.  Stirring with a wooden spoon, continue to add more sugar a little at a time until the frosting reaches desired consistency.


Monday 21 January 2013

Living Under A Rock

So where the heck have I been these past few years?  Why didn't anyone tell me what I was missing!  Or was I told but I chose not to listen?  Well never again!  I will jump on future bandwagons and go along for any ride.

The first ride I took last week was Dexter (that doesn't sound right).  Why has it taken me 7 years??!  I needed a new television addiction and decided to go with Dexter from the beginning.  It's sooooo good!  I mean, you probably already know that because you're down with the kids and know what's going on.  I live a sheltered life with basic freeview and series from the States take longer to appear.  Even if they are played merely a week later than North America, Facebook "friends" will have posted a spoiler or two.



I'm making good progress here - 3 days and onto the 3rd season.  And it's making me more productive - I've ironed pretty much everything in the house (though I've ignored the husbands request to iron his underpants); fixed 2 pairs of broken earrings; finished my first complete item of clothing, a skirt I started at a sewing class 2 years ago; hemmed the husbands pants he bought 4 years ago; sewed the missing 4 buttons on my winter coat and embroidered the beads on shirt that fell off.  Make do and mend - or watch Dexter and mend.

I've been a little less productive with the blogging though since I use my laptop to stream the episodes to my television and only managed this one post last week.  I haven't slacked on the cooking part though - a girl's gotta eat to keep up her television and mending stamina!  So I have a back log of recipes to share that I hope to get through but with 4 seasons left to watch, I can't make any promises - but really I should savour the Dexter experience and take my time - plus for the last two nights, I've been in cahoots with a serial killer and dismembered bodies are not what I would call "sweet dreams".


One of the recipes I got to during a brief Dexter intermission was for kale chips (or crisps in the UK).  Over the holidays I read this article about the trends in food blogging that should go - I wasn't aware there were trends, I just share what I like -  and I know this was meant to be a little tongue and cheek but when she said that everyone has made kale chips, I wondered where I was when THAT bandwagon went by?!  I had to try them - everyone else has.  Sometimes I like to be a sheep.  And the bonus of being the last to know is that there are plenty of people out there who can tell you how to do it.  I used a combination of this blog and this video (skipping the nutritional yeast) to point me in the right direction.



I could only find pre-washed, pre-chopped (can we not do anything ourselves anymore?) kale at my supermarket.  I layered it between some paper towels, pressed down gently and left them there for one Dexter episode to dry them out.  I then massaged some olive oil into the leaves and made sure every inch of the kale was covered, sprinkled with sea salt and spread them evenly on a baking sheet. The pieces were small and so took only about 10 minutes in a hot oven to crisp up.


Hard to believe but these actually taste like crisps (or chips)  I have wondered for years why there couldn't be a great tasting treat with a very low calorie content, and here it is.  And weirdly, it's also on Big Guy's Bite on the food network, as in right now as I type - big tough looking Guy Fieri is ripping up kale leaves and making kale chips with his son.  It's probably a few years old though knowing how long it takes to get programs from overseas.  So I'm still the last to know.  Or maybe you are?

Right, off to eat kale chips (crisps, whatever) and watch more Dexter - I'm going to need to find some other television friendly crafts to make - who knows, by season 7 I could have a full on king sized quilt made.  I should learn to knit.




Tuesday 15 January 2013

Roasted Pepper and Garlic Soup

It snowed!  It finally snowed!  It happens about once a year, usually in winter, though this is often dubbed "The Big Freeze" by the media.  People panic, lose the ability to drive or be able to leave the house because they are "snowed in" by two centimetres of the fluffy white stuff.  Working in an office a few years ago, I was the only one who made it to work in the morning and I had walked the 45 minutes to get there.  Leave it to the Northern Canadian to get to work in the snow.  It stems from my mother never allowing us to take a "snow day" - if the school was open, we were going and a few feet (yes feet!) of snow weren't going to stop us.  So you can imagine how confused I was to be alone in the office and find out the culprit was a few centimetres of snow.

 


We had to get out quick yesterday before it melted.  We drove up to the hills in hopes of some good shots but the fog had other plans. 


A little stick throwing and fetching...


And once back home, the husband and I had one of our psychic moments as he asked if I fancied soup and a grilled cheese for lunch while I was in the process of googling roasted red pepper soup recipes.  He was thinking more along the lines of open a tin of Heinz but I swore it wouldn't take me long and a half an hour later we had this:


When I get an idea for something I'd like to make, I begin by searching for recipes to see what ingredients are similar and where in the recipe has the chef put their own spin on it.  If an ingredient is present in most recipes I take that as a must and the others I feel I can play around with.  With this soup it was pretty much peppers across the board but every recipe differed on the rest of the ingredients.  So I decided on a tri-coloured pepper soup, with garlic and tomatoes - it's what I had in and I preferred to keep most of the red peppers I had on hand for stir-fries later in the week, like this one.


I also like to have a look at timings; how long should this roast for, how long should I cool this etc.  I thought 20 minutes for the peppers but searching for a few recipes had me doubting myself - one said 8-10 minutes, another said an hour??  I stuck with my 20 minutes at 200°C and did the peppers and garlic together and they turned out just perfect.  I drizzled a little olive oil and salt and pepper over both sides but roasted them skin side up.


If patience is something you possess, I'd suggest letting the peppers cool before peeling but since I feel no pain (and possess very little patience) I went straight in there - the little orange one refused to shed it's skin so I let it keep it, and my fingers couldn't really take the heat anymore.  The garlic popped right out of their little shells, they were so much more co-operative.


I then fried a little red onion in some oil, added the peppers, garlic, a little dried thyme, a tin of chopped tomatoes and some chicken stock to cover.




I let it simmer for about 10 minutes, let it splash up on the walls, whizzed it with a handheld blender and served it up alongside a grilled cheese.  It tasted so creamy and lovely, almost like I'd poured cream in it.  Though we both agreed a cheese sandwich was not its best compliment and that a crusty bread or crunchy plain salad would be much better.  The cheese just seemed to bring out the bitterness of the tomatoes.  Not sure if the parmesan cheese on top had anything to do with it either.


Now this is where you put your own spin on it - swap red onion for white, add some celery and carrots, stick to one pepper colour, choose different seasonings, maybe basil or oregano, add more peppers and omit the tomatoes.  There are so many options with soup, which is why I've chosen to share this one as this blog acts like my own recipe book.  I will definitely be making this soup again, just as it is!!

Friday 11 January 2013

Upside-Down Toffee Apple Brownies

I may have over-indulged slightly over the holidays but I'm not going to cut out tasty treats completely just to compensate; balance people, balance!  Following our delicious stir-fry from the other night, I made a delicious dessert from my one pot cookbook.  See - balance, healthy dinner means a little dessert won't hurt - and it was made with apples so it's sorta healthy too.  Kinda.  Not really. 

I noticed after I took the brownies out of the oven that my oven mitt has apples on it!

I love when cooking a complete dish can be done in one pot.  This recipe sort of fibs that.  Yes - the complete dish is made in one pot...

Toffee sauce and sliced apples

Top with brownie mixture

Bake until golden brown.
But you do require a second pot to make the sauce...



 And  two bowls to mix the brownies.  One for the dry ingredients, one to beat the butter and sugar.


 It's more of a 4 pot recipe but definitely worth the extra washing up!  Even the husband liked it and he's not one for desserts.  So a win, for sure!

Upside-Down Toffee Apple Brownies - adapted from Love Food One Pot Cookbook

Toffee Apple Topping
85 grams brown sugar
55 grams butter
1 apple, cored and thinly sliced

Brownies
115 grams unsalted butter
15 grams brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
200 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
 2 apples, peeled and grated

1.  Preheat over to 180° Celcius and grease a 9 inch square tin or use a sillicone baking tray.

2. To make the topping, melt the sugar and butter together in a pan on a gentle heat, stirring continuously until bubbling and a toffee-like consistency.  Pour at the bottom of the prepared tin and arrange the apple slices on top and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one a time, and beat.  

4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices into a bowl and then fold into the mixture.  Stir in grated apples and then pour into prepared tin.

5. Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes (30 minutes for a fan assisted oven) until set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean and top is golden.  Cool for 10 minutes, turn out onto a plate and slice into squares.

Modifications:
Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of mixed spice instead of the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
Add in a handful of chopped nuts.


Wednesday 9 January 2013

Pepper Beef Stir-Fry with Leeks and Red Pepper

I've been on a major organising kick, new year and cleansing and all that - I've been finding a lot of my inspiration at iheartorganising.  There are a few local shops where I can find bins and baskets and anything else for corralling clutter and they are so close that I can just pop in whenever I need something.  Not wanting to stock up on anything I don't really need I've gone in everyday this week to pick up a few things here and there.  Today, after telling the woman I was organising mad and buying up all the containers in town (in case she recognised me from Monday and Tuesday's multiple trips, I felt I had to explain myself) she then complemented me on the bag I was carrying - it's got a very fun and bright pattern on it and easily recognisable but I haven't seen anyone with a similar one.  She then told me how she'd seen about 3 of them this week.  No lady - it was me.  I wasn't kidding when I said I'd been in the shop everyday this week! (several times).


So it's January and you're sticking to your "eating healthy" resolution - no?  I'm trying, I really am.  I mean, I didn't make that resolution but I try to eat healthy on a regular (somewhat regular) basis.  I love a stir-fry; a great way to get loads of veggies and protein and monitor the carbs.  I usually make my own sauce but it often only involves a splash of soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and a sprinkling of whatever spices I feel like at the time.  I picked up this cookbook by Hamlyn a few years ago in a discount bookstore (I've tried to find it online with no luck) and it has some great stir-fry ideas inside. 


My husband loves a beef stir-fry but I've always found the meat really chewy - turns out good steak prevents that.  It's a little on the pricey side but only a little is needed and it tastes so good.  And still cheaper than a restaurant!  This recipe called for fillet (which is the only steak we will eat - though not often) but I went for a sirloin because it was cheaper and would serve the same purpose.  It also called for mangetout and spring onions but the supermarket was out so I opted for leeks and spinach for the greens and they worked perfectly - even if the hubs thought the leeks were a "little waxy".


There were a few steps, and a lot of removing and returning things to the pot which I thought might make it less fast (yet still delicious) but it was quick.  First, I got all of my ingredients ready.


I then cooked the red pepper, leek, chilli and ginger until soft and then removed them from the pot.  I kept my cutting board nearby to return the veg (and later the meat) to and from the pot.  I gave it a quick rinse between chopping the meat and adding the cooked food to it but since it's beef I wouldn't be too worried.  If I had been cooking chicken I would have definitely used a fresh dish.

I dry fried the Szechuan pepper and then crushed it using a mortar and pestle.  I had said during the Big Kitchen Cleanout of 2012 (well one of I think 3!) that I would get rid of the mortar and pestle if I hadn't used in in 6 months.  I bought it at least 3 years ago, used it once (it didn't particularly do the job very well) and it sat in the cupboard for ages.  I was tempted to get rid of it last week when I did a charity shop drop off but I'm glad I didn't!


Then I fried the meat with the crushed pepper and once it was all browned I removed it from the pot.  Then came time for the sauce.  I mixed cornflour and water, added soy sauce and sugar and more water and then heated it to a boil.  I cooked the noodles at this point since they only take about 4 minutes.


I returned everything to the pot with the sauce, added the spinach and stir-fried until the spinach had wilted and everything was heated through and served over noodles. 

This served two but to make enough for 4 add more veg and twice the amount of meat but keep the sauce measurements the same.  Ours was really saucy because I followed the directions from the recipe in the book which served 4 but I cut the meat and veg down by half.


Pepper Beef Stir-Fry with Leeks and Red Pepper - adapted from Hamlyn Fast and Delicious serves 2

200 grams sirloin or fillet steak
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 green chilli, finely chopped and deseeded according to taste (I left them all in - super spicy!)
1 inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 large handful of fresh spinach 
1 tablespoon Szechuan pepper 
1 tablespoon cornflour
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons soft dark brown sugar

1. Place the steak in the freezer for about an hour, until just frozen and then slice thinly.

2. In a large wok, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.  Add chilli, ginger, leeks and red pepper and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until softened.  Remove the vegetables from the wok and set aside.  Wipe the pan dry with paper towel.

3. Dry fry the Szechuan pepper over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes, tossing gently.  Crush the fried pepper using a mortar and pestle.

4. Heat the rest of the oil in the wok and add the meat and pepper.  Fry on high for about 2 minutes or until all the meat has browned.  Remove and set aside with the vegetables.

5.  Boil a little water in a kettle.  While waiting for the water to boil, add the cornflour to a measuring jug and mix with 2 tablespoons of cold water.  Once blended, add 2 more tablespoons of cold water, soy sauce, and sugar.  Stir and add boiling water to make up to 300ml (1/2 pint).  Pour the sauce into the heated wok and bring to a boil stirring continuously until glossy and thickened.  Return the meat and vegetables to the pan and add the spinach.  Stir-fry until heated through and spinach has wilted.  Serve over rice, noodles or eat on it's own.


 Choose your eating irons!


This stir-fry had a great flavour - very spicy!  It was simple and took less than a half an hour from start to finish.  Excluding the hour it took to slightly freeze the steak, but it made it much easier to slice and I can't believe I hadn't done it before!

Monday 7 January 2013

Challenges For The New Year

The holidays are definitely now over.  The tree is down (bye bye Bailey's) and the husband has gone back to work.  It was a great two weeks spent together but lately, with the fresh start January seems to bring, I have been thinking about New Year's resolutions.  I know I'm a little late but there was no way any changes were going to be made with lingering Christmas treats and the hubs still on holidays.  Resolutions like, "live more simply" and "lose weight - for good this time" are the ones that come to mind but I really want to strive to achieve those things all the time and not just in January - cause you know they'll get broken!  Instead, I've decided to give myself a few challenges; things that I've wanted to do but just never seem to get around to it.  My hope is that by noting them down here for everyone else to see, might just light the fire under me to get them crossed off the list!  I've kept them food related but included a couple of personal ones, because I like to share and to keep that fire going.

1. Make fresh pasta.
My mom used to make us fresh pasta as children - we were so spoiled with the stuff that when she served us dried spaghetti we protested that it was, in fact, NOT spaghetti and wondered what kind of crap she was trying to pull.  She was very quick at it too and made it look so easy, telling me a few weeks ago that she could have it made by the time the water boiled, though for my attempt I think I will set aside an entire afternoon.  For our wedding, we (OK I - because the hubs will never ever make pasta) received a pasta machine.  Six months later it still sits in the box in a kitchen cupboard.  2013 will bring us fresh pasta, for sure.

2. Make bread.
And not with a bread maker.  Actual homemade bread.  It can't be that hard.  In an ideal world (one where my house is always spotless and the sun shines all day) I would bake fresh bread every morning - ah.  Sounds silly, and probably will never happen, but with only two of us it makes sense; most often the loaf goes mouldy before we get half way through it.  What a waste.  Plus, I hear, the needing of the dough can be quite therapeutic and we can all do with a little therapy now and again.

3. Make a lemon meringue pie.
When your husband pushes you aside to fix the meringue you, the domesticated one, hath destroyed, you know you gots problems.  I will not be bested in the kitchen by a man who thinks a complete meal is anything on toast.  This is also one of the few desserts my love will eat so being a good wife I thought I should add it to the list.

4.  Make pierogies.
This one is on here because I just can't find them anywhere.  You'd think with such a high Polish population that this wouldn't be an issue but I can't source them anywhere.  I haven't put in a great deal of effort into the search but they aren't at my local supermarkets and I don't know of any specialist shops in the area.  If I could find them already made, this would get crossed off the list as I hear they can take all day to make and about 5 minutes to eat.  So, maybe not my most ambitious resolution as I'm ready to give it up if there's a bag of frozen pierogies to be had.

5. Make homemade dog treats.
Yep - let's face it.  I'm one of those people.  I treat my dogs like children except for the part where I put them I put them in a cage and leave them home alone - I probably won't do that with children (sarcasm reads on the internet right?).  I've seen some tasty? treats on the Pinterest for pups and thought it would be nice to try though I don't think I'll be making a habit of it - they eat crap off the street afterall (interpret that as you wish).

So, 5 little challenges to complete in a year.  If they don't get done, I will be one sad sack of a food blogger.  Sad.  I plan to add more throughout the year though and if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment below.  I'm not saying I'll do any of them (you're not the boss of me!) but I will definitely consider any and all challenges!

A couple of non food related challenges:

1. Finally get some refresher driving lessons.  I've got to get over the fear of tiny roads and roundabouts.  Plus, public transport in this country is terrible and my chauffeur husband is fed up.

2. Sew more complicated items than a tablecloth and some curtains.  I'd like to make myself some dresses and cute things for the little kiddos in my life.  I have the tools and the knowledge, I just need more of that fire I guess!

What do you resolve to do for 2013? 

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Cheers to 2013!!

Happy New Year!!

I don't want to take down the tree.  I might have to stop having Bailey's in my coffee every morning.  I'm keeping a close eye on the hubs to make sure he doesn't put that nasty semi-skimmed in it but at some point I'll have to go back to having coffee the boring, non-alcoholic way.

It has been a quiet Christmas but we had a few visitors after the day itself, one being my cousin and her fiance who came to stay with us at the weekend.  It's so wonderful to have family nearby and makes spending Christmas at home so much more Christmassy.  They brought with them the greatest gift of all; booze, lots of it!!  And more specifically, all the fixings for a fancy shmancy drink.  They brought this on all their travels over the Christmas holidays and I might just have to adopt this for future travels.  It's a great gift to your host and a nice way to introduce them to a new cocktail or treat them to an old favourite they had no idea they could get their hands on in this foreign land.  Thanks guys!!

One was very English - A trifle shot!  He's English, she's Canadian and there's just something about that match that makes it a perfect one!  I've never attempted to make a trifle but something tells me this shot is a heck of a lot easier - though there was some discussion about which alcohol goes in first and something about pouring it over a spoon.  Anyhoo, it was delish!  And the perfect ending to our meal when all you want is a little taste of something sweet (and, well, when you've spent the last week eating every last Toblerone in sight).


In order to be able to tell you how to make it, I've just taken one for the team and tried it out myself and it goes a little something like this: pour the Chambord (a raspberry liquor) in first, then pour the Dooley's (a toffee liquor) over the back of a spoon so it goes down the side of the shot glass and settles on the bottom, under the Chambord.  Using the same spoon technique, pour double cream and it will settle on top.  Down the hatch!  I could honestly skip dinner and have a few more of these.  I may or may not be developing a problem here.

The Canadian cousin brought the fixings below.  Not as well received by the English they visited but I was thrilled!!


A CAESAR!!  With CLAMATO!!  If you're Canadian, you're probably as excited as I am.  If you're not, you are utterly disgusted.  Clam and tomato juice, gross.  Friends of the world wide weberino, it's not gross.  It's damn tasty and it's at Sainsbury's!  I obviously haven't tried hard enough to find my Canadian favourites.  It's taken me 5 years to find canned pumpkin and cocoa though that's my own fault for not asking anyone in the shop! 

The only time I have seen Clamato juice outside of Canada was when I went to Portugal in 2010 with one of my best gal pals (from Canada and who also has an Englishman in her life - see?! Great matches) and we came across a little Canadian bar (which the visiting cousin had also been to before me - it really is a small world!).  The Canadian (of course) bar owner imported Clamato juice to make Caesars.  They were 5 euros each and well and truly worth it but we were a little upset that our responsible nature (I have some - a little) had us leave our bank cards at the hotel and bring only 20 euros each with us, which however, was still enough to get us dancing on the benches in the bar.  What can I say, cheap date.


Anyway, my cousin mixed the cocktails and I added the garnish.  Teamwork, people!  Standard garnish is celery but I love a dill pickle.  It's a great drink to start the night with and also one that permits daytime drinking.  It's also been known to be a good hangover cure, most likely due to the fact that you're just jumping back on that drunken horse.  On a completely unrelated note, I'm off to Sainsbury's.



Caesar Cocktail

1.5 ounces of vodka
3-4 drops of tabasco sauce
splash of worcestershire sauce
pepper
celery salt
lime wedge
Clamato juice
ice
celery or pickle

Rim the glass with a lime wedge and celery salt.  Add ice, vodka, tobasco and worcestershire sauces, sprinkle of pepper and top with Clamato juice.  Stir and serve with a lime wedge, celery stalk or a pickle (or anything else that takes your fancy).  Drink up!






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