Ackworth – Eat Bake Blog GB

Lemon Drizzle Traybake – #zestybaker

Aug 9, 2016Oct 11, 20162 Comments

Never baked Lemon Drizzle before yesterday but a dear colleague is moving on to new challenges and this cake is her favorite. It’s taken me a while to find the elusive 30 x 23 cms tray that Mary Berry uses (if you follow me on twitter you may have caught my grumblings). I was tempted to pimp this but i’m playing safe today.

So what next…

Grease and line your 30 x 23 cms tin with baking parchment/paper (remember, if you use larger tin you wont get the same rise). Line your tin I and heat your oven to 140°c (fan) or Gas mark 3 then weigh out and prepare your ingredients but hold on for the crunchy topping.

You will need

225g Softened Butter
225g caster sugar
275g Self-raising flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons of milk
finely grated rind/zest of 2 lemons

For the crunchy topping you will need

175g granulated sugar (beware not to use a finer grade or you will not get the crunch)
Juice of 2 lemons (beware to to use large lemons – read on to see why)

Measure the butter, caster sugar, SR flour, baking powder,eggs, milk and lemon zest/rind into your bowl and beat until well blended. Remember your butter must be soft to touch before your start this process.
Turn your mixture into the greased/lined tray and gently level
Place the tray in the oven on a middle shelf for 35-40 minutes – or until the cake has pulled back from the sides of the tin and if you gently press the middle if fingertips you see it spring back
Leave the bake in the tin to cool for five minutes.
When times up, turn it out on a cooling rack and carefully peel the parchment/paper from the base and leave to cool further
Make your crunchy topping by mixing the granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl to give a runny mixture
Spoon this over the cake while it is still warm
Cut into squares once cold.

Lemon Drizzle Tray Bake by EatBakeBlogBG

Lessons learnt

My oven was slightly too hot – school girl error – always check your temperature or expect that doming.

The lemons, despite being fabulously juicy, produced a lot of juice which is never a bad thing. However I think the amount of juice they produced took the crunch from the topping – too much juice to sugar. It could also have been that the bake was too warm and melting the sugar . What I do know is that baking is a learning curve and next time I will measure juice to try and find that perfect mix and use a more averaged size lemon. In the meantime a cheats sprinkle of granulated the morning after gave these the crunch they deserved.

Big juicy lemons – too much juice to sugar for the topping

Every cloud has a silver lining as these lemons gave me an incredibly zest and moist lemon drizzle and I look forward to baking this again but next time with some savory thyme.

Hope you like this and my pictures and if you try this with a twist then please share your thoughts.

If you like my blog why not follow me on Twitter or Instagram.

Louise x

EatBakeBlogGB

Return to Ego (@Beverley Arms Ackworth)

Apr 29, 2016Apr 29, 2016Leave a comment

We returned to Ego on Thursday as we needed a pick-me-up and I really fancied a good steak.

Thankfully, Ego were able to accommodate us at short notice which was a surprise as they are incredibly popular mid-week which I attribute to their specialist offers. Tonight was Kebab night, and before you ask I do not mean Donner, I could have been tempted to falter from my desire for steak.

We were greeted cheerily by one of the hosts and were offered a choice of table by the window (I much prefer this area, as I am not a fan of some of other areas of the restaurant which have a little too much atmosphere).

We do rate Ego and the main reason is for the great staff, they are warm and friendly and when it counts bold and not afraid to deal with issues where so many hide or mismanage. The customer service skills of this team are a credit to the restaurant and their infrequent weakness in the kitchen are forgiven for deftness of the front of house team.

The food ordered was the chicken Liver and rosemary pate and deep fried brie for starters. Then for our mains I ordered the fillet steak with skin on chips and David ordered the lamb rump with risotto and green and spring onion pesto.

The starters we served, the pate was very chilled as before I wish the kitchen would hold this back and let it reach somewhere near room temperature. Maybe if they made this in a terrine and served a slices this could achieved. If you like me believe certain foods taste best at certain temperatures you might like this article . The pate as it warmed tasted great, although the rosemary as not detectable – I am assuming this rosemary was only present in the butter used to seal the pate. The marmalade of chilli tomato as a side was left by me but it was very much enjoyed by David – he preferred this with his creamy brie over the orange and apricot marmalade he was served.

Our mains were served and the steak looked good. It was cooked to order medium-rare with a lovely rocket garnish a garlic dressed plum tomato and a dish of skin on chips. The fillet had good crunch on the outside with a pink and rare centre. I get so fed up of being served overcooked steaks #Cowshed

The only extra not welcome on this plate was the huge chip – which is not on my shoulder! Shame the chef let a meal leave his kitchen like this.

David’s dish of Lamb Rump was tender and cooked medium and sat on a rich and creamy risotto finished with zesty pesto (and no chips in sight).

Our bill came to £50 which included 3 drinks and after our Ego discount was applied.

The quality remains to be good at Ego one day I look forward to them having local produce on the menu. We will continue to support our local restaurant and hope that the kitchen team can raise their game to mirror the A team working front of house.

If you’d like to read more of my food adventures your can follow me on Twitter or Instagram.

Louise

Meals for Michael – Creamy and Spicy Carb Fest

Mar 22, 2016Leave a comment

I was asked today by David to share for our friend some of my favourite meals. The easiest way to transfer recipes to those that ask for help could be to send them the respective cook books but in this case as the person in question is an avid reader of my blog and twitter I thought to salute their support by blogging instead.

Proper Blokes’ Sausage Fusilli from Jamie Oliver’s Cook

2 heaped teaspoon of Fennel Seeds (don’t leave this out Michael its key to the dish)
1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes (you cannot cheat and use powder!)
Olive oil
600g or a pack of Cumberland Sausages (removed / squeezed out of their skins)
1 tablespoon Oregano (use a heaped dessert spoon if you don’t have a tbsp)
Glass of dry white wine (not for drinking while making)
500g Fusilli ( you need the spirals to hold the meat)
Grated Parmesan (two good handfuls)
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (dried does not cut it)
Zest and Juice of a lemon (Jiff will not do, but if you do cheat don’t try and grate it)
Knob of butter (only you can define what a knob is)

You will need a skillet pan or maybe a small wok for this.

Crush/smash up the fennel seeds until broken up and put to one side
Squeeze the meat out of the sausages throwing away the skins
Heat some oil in your pan
Place the meat into a pan and start to break it up with a wooden spoon, keep working the meat for a few minutes until it starts to colour to a brown
Then add the fennel seeds and chilli (watch out the vapours can whack you in the face)

Your are trying to make the meat look like minced meat
Cook for a further 10 minutes keeping the meat moving until it begins to crisp
Put your kettle onto boil while you are doing this
Add the Oregano (tablespoon) stir once.
Add the white wine (if you’ve not drank it); lemon juice and zest; turn the light down to low
Cook your pasta
If the meat is looking dry add a spoon or two of the pasta water
Chop the parsley and grate the Parmesan if you have not already
Drain the pasta, toss the meat in to the pasta or vice versa, add the butter stirring to coat
Add the parsley, and Parmesan and serve into warmed bowls
If you love Parmesan like we do grate a bit more on top.

Now this is an odd side dish, but if you like carbs with carbs here you go..

Potatoes Dauphinose

We love this french classic and it is best eaten on the night it does not reheat well. You can do 50/50 and use milk as well as cream if the ladies in the house prefer the lighter version.

Peel 1kg of potatoes (we only use Lady Balfours)
300ml Double Cream
3 Cloves of Garlic
Freshly Grated Nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon) or leave out
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Generous mill of black pepper

Peel the potatoes and put into a bowl of cold water
Chop the garlic or crush into fine pieces
Pour cream into a large bowl; add garlic, pinch of salt, black pepper and nutmeg (if you want it
Grease an oval bowl about this size, well with butter
This size should suffice for this amount of potato
Slice the potatoes as finely as you can
Ideally the potatoes need to be this thin to give the best and fastest result.
Once the potatoes are sliced work fast to layer them in the dish, side by side, making layers upon layers, keeping flat .
When you have run out of potato slices pour over the seasoned cream.
This is the look you are trying to achieve when your slice into the Dauphinoise
Press down gently with a fork.
Place into the oven on the middle shelf for 50-60 minutes at 160°c

Eat with sighs of ooh and aahh.

Happy cooking Michael and if you need to consult on any of the above my number is only at the rate of £1.00 per minute from a land line.

Love Louise x

EatBlogBakeGB

Sunday Chorizo Brunch from Delia Smith

Feb 28, 20162 Comments

Isn’t it funny how we can forget about dishes in our repitoire and they disappear into fond food memories. Well today, I decided to revisit this wonderful dish that I disovered via my first food hero Delia. My bookshelves are full of her books but this new wonder foodie resource DeliaOnline has become a go to for me.

Delia recommends a shallow gratin dishe measuring 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, which will hold one or two eggs I use my Falcon enamel round pie dish or the recatangular version.

You will need the following ingredients:

75g of Chorizo (today I used a cheat)
Red pepper (cut in half, quarters then sliced thinley into lengths)
Onion (medium sliced in spears)
2 Cloves of Garlic (chopped)
4-5 Really ripe tomatoes *
3-4 free range eggs
50g Cheddar or any good melting cheese
Shot of Dry Sherry; this is optional
Salt and pepper

Method

Step 1 turn your oven on to 180ºc (fan) or gas mark 4.

Step 2 deseed the pepper, remove the white flesh cut in half, then quarters and slice finely into lengths.

Step 3 Peel your onion and cut in half and cut into thin spears.

Step 4 Boil your kettle and put the tomatoes into a large (1 litre Pyrex jug) and cover the tomatoes. Within 1 minute they will be ready to be skinned. Some of the skins might be difficult to remove, I leave the odd bit on. (Delia removes the seeds I prefer to leave the seeds in; each to their own).

Step 5 next chop the tomatoes into pieces and then finely chop the garlic.

Step 6 heat a pan (I used a small wok for this dish) with about a tablespoon of oil (I used rapeseed) when the oil is hot add the chorizo pieces to brown them off, I added a slug of Oloroso Sherry just to make it that little bit more spanish. Once cooked off I then place these into the dish I am going to use.

Step 7 Add the onion and pepper to the pan and cook on a high heat, until they are starting to soft with brown edges – this will take about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickeness of the slices.

Step 8 add the chopped tomatoes and garlic and cook for 1 minute more and return the browned chorizo to the pan. Give it a good turn around to meld all the flavours.

Step 9 season well with freshly ground salt and black pepper.

Step 10 take the pan off the heat heat and place the mixture in the dish. Break your eggs into the dish (as I am using a one pot I space these out equally) . If you use indiviudal dishes then sit you eggs side by side on top of the mixture.

Step 11 now you should have the mixture with eggs sat on top so season and sprinkle each one with your grated cheese.

Step 12 place the dish or dishes on the baking sheet on the top shelf of the oven to cook for 12-15 minutes (or a little longer, depending on how you like your eggs).

Thanks for reading my blog and I would love to read your comments. If you like my blog then you can follow me on Twitter @EatBakeBlogGB or read my restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor.

Happy blogging.

Louise x

© EatBakeBlogGB / Louise Winder Food & Travel all rights reserved.

The Shrove Tuesday Files

Feb 9, 2016Feb 9, 2016Leave a comment

Who doesn’t love Pancakes. It’s one of my first positive food memories that repeats through my life. My mum made great Pancakes and always served with a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of Jif Lemon (not sure why we never had fresh lemons). I have carried on that tradition on, until recently as I’ve started having pancakes as a treat breakfast.

This morning I was feeling a bit flat after a great weekend in Brighton with my nephew and as an emotional eater I didn’t want my usual Bran Flakes. So inspired by the great American series The X Files the truth was out there…

The Pancake recipe I used was this recipe :

● 135g Plain Flour
○1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
● Teaspoon of Salt
○ 2 Tablespoons of golden caster sugar
● 1 Large Egg (free range)
○ 4.5 fld Oz Milk

Then I decided to mix it up with
● 1 Teaspoon of ground cinnamon
○ Handful of Sultanas

The method is simple
Put flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon into a bowl (I prefer to use my Pyrex Jug it makes it easier to decant.)

Crack the egg into the middle and start to mix in.

Then add the Milk mixing as you go until you have a thick batter.

Next melt a nob of butter in your pancake pan and add this to your mix and stir in.

Finally add your Sultanas and leave the batter to rest. An hour if you can and if you have no patience like me, then five minutes; this let’s the ingredients meld together and the starch molecules in the flour are absorbing the liquid in the batter making the batter thicker. This causes them to swell and gives the batter a thicker, more viscous consistency.

Then I use peanut oil to oil the pan and put it on a low light.

I use a tablespoon as measure for each pancake (most recipes suggest a ladle)

I cook until I see air bubbles then turn (this should take about 1 to 2 minutes)

Then serve with or without Maple Syrup (other brands are available but this was on offer).

I loved these and as a huge fan of Cinnamon they will be a new Sunday treat .

Tonight we will be having traditional pancakes unless I’m out voted!

Hope you enjoy your Shrove Tuesday.

If you like my blog please follow me on here or Twitter @LouiseWinder

Love Louise X
Louise Winder Food & Travel

#EatBakeBlog

Posted from WordPress for Android

The Shrove Tuesday Files

Feb 9, 2016Leave a comment

Who doesn’t love Pancakes. It’s one of my first positive food memories that repeats through my life. My mum made great Pancakes and always served with a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of Jif Lemon (how seventies). I have carried on that tradition on until recently.

This morning I was feeling a bit flat after a great weekend with my nephew and as an emotional eater I didn’t want my usual Bran Flakes. So inspired by the great American series The X Files the truth was out there…

The Pancakes recipe I using this recipe :

● 135g Plain Flour
○1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
● Teaspoon of Salt
○ 2 Tablespoons of golden caster sugar
● 1 Large Egg (free range)
○ 4.5 fld Oz Milk

Then I decided to mix it up with
● 1 Teaspoon of ground cinnamon
○ Handful of Sultanas

The method is simple
Put flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon into a bowl (I prefer to use my Pyrex Jug it makes it easier to decant.)

Crack the egg into the middle and start to mix in.

Then add the Milk mixing as you go until you have a thick batter.

Next melt a nob of butter in your pancake pan and add this to your mix and stir in.

Then I use peanut oil to oil the pan and put it on a low light.

I use a tablespoon as measure for each pancake (most recipes suggest a ladle)

I cook until I see air bubbles then turn (this should take about 1 to 2 minutes)

Then serve with or without Maple Syrup (other brands are available but this was on offer).

I loved these but i am a huge fan of Cinnamon Tonight we will be having with the traditional pancakes unless I’m out voted.

Hope you enjoy your Shrove Tuesday.

Louise x

#EatBakeBlog

Love Louise X
Louise Winder Food & Travel

#EatBakeBlog

Posted from WordPress for Android

#EatBakeBlog Seeking Brownie perfection

Jan 20, 20164 Comments

Ever since I dined at the Saddleroom in beautiful Coverdale over a year ago I have been trying to recreate this brownie which was a little piece of heaven.

Ingredients used:

Pack of unsalted butter (250g)
250g golden Caster Sugar
225g dark muscovado sugar
100g cocoa powder
4 large eggs (whisked)
100g Self Raising Flour
85g Blanched Chopped Hazelnuts
4 Tablespoons of dark rum (or leave out)

Equipment you will need : scales, large glass bowl (about 20cms in diameter), pan to sit the bowl on, good heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, fork or whisk, baking parchment (greaseproof paper) and a square bake tin (21cms or 22cms).

The method. I writing this bullet pointed as I think it makes it easier to follow, but first heat your oven to 180C or if a fan 160C (equivalent Gas mark 4) and lightly grease a square non-stick baking tin and line it with baking parchment /greaseproof paper.

Weigh out your ingredients first and beat the eggs – this makes the process easier, leaving you to focus on baking rather than weighing (I lay them out in order of use it helps me when I am doing new recipes it keeps me focused on where I am)
Put a pan of water (about a 1/4 full) on to simmer and place the glass bowl that sits neatly on top making sure the water is not too high that it is touching the bottom of the glass bowl.
Cut the butter into 8 pieces and place in the bowl
Add both sugars and the cocoa and stir regularly so it doesn’t stick until the sugar is dissolved and you have a rich chocolate mix.
Take the bowl off the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes
Add the beaten eggs bit-by-bit into the mix until you have a smooth and glossy mix.
Stir in the self raising flour and chopped hazelnuts and the rum and mix until you cannot see any flour (really scrap down into the bottom of that glass bowl).
Pour the mixture into your lined tin.
Place in the oven on a middle shelf and bake for 35 minute or longer if needed (check by putting a skewer (or a sharp knife) into the mix our looking for a slightly clean blade.
Remove and leave to cool in the tin – this is really important; your brownie is still cooking and developing its flavour.

Turn out only once it is cool. I turn it out onto a board so I have the base upwards it makes cutting it easier as the top should be crunchy and it will crumble.

Your Brownies should keep in an airtight (I use an old biscuit tin lined with greaseproof paper) for about 3 days and we are sure it tastes better on day 2. This is still the best brownie I have made but I am still seeking the chewy perfection.

Eatbakeblog Hazelnut Brownie — Hazelnut Brownie by EatBakeBlog

Thanks for reading my blog and if you like this then please show your support and comment below or share on social media.

Louise x

#EatBakeBlog

#EatBakeBlog won’t jack on Flapjacks

Jan 14, 2016Jan 14, 2016Leave a comment

It has been a while since I made these sticky oaty bars and in my efforts to use up the sugar in the house and continue with my attempt to remove it from my daily life it seemed like a good use of our cupboard staples.

Why I am doing this today after stepping on the scales since before Christmas is beyond me, as the news was as grimmer than I’d expected. Not since ten days in Vegas back in 2010 have the scales creaked as much.

This time I used this recipe from my recently purchased book Mary Berry’s Baking Bible see page 191 for her Fast Flapjacks. I made same minor tweaks as I had no demerara sugar so I used the following ingredients:

225g / 8 oz Butter (unsalted)
100g / 3.5 oz Caster Sugar
125g / 4.4 oz Soft brown sugar
275g/ 10 oz Porridge oats (organic)
100g (3.5oz) Sultanas

With the butter and sugars melted, the oven hot and ready to go, I mixed in the oats and sultana’s into the greased tin, flattened and popped this sticky buttery mix it into the oven.

Now our favourite baker tells us to cook for about 35 minutes, so knowing our furnace of an oven (which would incinerate you, as soon as look at you) and I took them out at 30. But alas it was too late – the Flapjacks are beyond what I call golden (think the dress – we all have our own colour charts)

Now, I know David will tell me they are perfect (he is too kind plus I am sure worries if he critiques I may give up) but I know better so next time it will be 25 minutes and I will invest in a thermometer to try and seek a more golden offering.

Thank you for reading if you like my blog then please follow me on twitter @LouiseWinder

Louise x

#EatBakeBlog

It’s no Ego trip (Donaster Road, Ackworth)

Jan 13, 2016Apr 29, 2016Leave a comment

This review focuses on our first impression of Ego at the Beverley Arms and a few comments on our subsequent visits.

We booked in on day 3 of trading at the newly opened Ego at the Beverley Arms. We arrived at 730pm and were quickly seated our drinks order was taken about 15 minutes later. There is a lovely buzz about the place with a hint of chaos from a new team which added to the excitement and anticipation. I am craving an excellent restaurant locally and hope this fits the bill. However they clearly can seat over 100 covers so I hope they have the experienced team to handle this with their extensive menu.

Around 745pm we placed our order from the a la carte menu ordering the Chicken and Rosemary Pate and Moules Marinieres to start. Followed by Moroccan Lamb Tanjine and Iberian Belly Pork, served on a bed of spinach with black pudding.

The starters arrived around 15 minutes, they were nicely presented (although no finger bowl for the Moules!). The Pate was very chilled so the flavour was lost and the toasted bread was not really toasted. The moules, a starter portion was served in a main course bowl #disappointment. The upside was they were juicy and the mariniere sauce was creamy with just enough garlic so they can be forgiven what I see as teething problems. I do hope the Head Chef orders some small pots to avoid disappointing their diners.

The main course arrived an hour after our initial order. The Moroccan Lamb was well presented in the Tajine.

The was no shortage of olives in this dish, the cous-cous, as promised was lightly buttered (and very fluffy), the vegetables were tasty in the rich sauce, the lamb however as tougher than you’d expect for a slow cooked dish. There was plenty of tzatziki and corriander to compliment. Overall this dish was tasty – however – I think it is overpriced at £15.95 considering the lack of provenance and the average quality of the lamb.

David enjoyed his belly pork – the sauce was rich and pork was tender and had a wonderfully crisp top. Again though the pricing is high, you can find similar dishes and more plentiful plates for less (consider this is not served with any vegetables or carbohydrates).

The Dauphinoise Gratin was a fraud it was more like Lyonnaise Potatoes; in summary it was cheesy potatoes – not the wonderfully rich creamy garlic dish you’d expect.

Dauphinoise Potatoes at £3,25 (that’s a desert spoon for reference)!

It was quite late by the time we finished our mains so we did not order a further course or coffee.

Overall we were not bowled over by Ego at the Beverley Arms, I think the Ego brand may think they are stronger than they are. In my opinion they have some evolving to do. We paid over £50 (inlcuding a small carafe of red wine) and in my experience I have paid less for more. In future, we will dine on their special nights as their main course prices match that of a an established city restaurant with great service.

Our second experience was on the steak night this improved upon our first visit. The latest visit was for a family meal for 8 which was better than our first trip but still a long way off, stronger service is needed again the gap between starters and mains was noticible with no apologies and we were left alone far too long with regards to drinks orders as not all the party were wine drinkers.

I give Ego 3 out of 5 and hope that this soon will improve and would recommend you try but if you are too a keen cook you may wish to book in for a specials night first.

If you like my reviews you will find more on Trip Advisor or follow me on Twitter @LouiseWinder

Louise x

#EatBakeBlog

Time to ditch the junk by #EatBakeBlog

Jan 13, 2016Jan 13, 2016Leave a comment

It’s been a wonderful Christmas; I lost nothing and gained plenty, plenty of weight that is. So much so I am afraid to step onto the scales as I know it will make me cry. So here I am again making my new years resolutions (I am always a week later than most as my Birthday is early January) and wondering why I am doing this again when it will only end after a few weeks. This time it will be different as the gym is not an option at the moment so it has to be about what I put in. I am going back to basics and will now on remember treats are something you have infrequently not once a day or even worse a side to every meal.

Treat one of the first words behind this in the Thesaurus is celebration

So today I will be reading Get the Glow written by the beautiful Madeleine Shaw – and starting to make the first steps to Ditch the Junk or my daily treats; which for me will mean saying goodbye to my longest serving friend – sorry I mean crutch, which for me is the salty and fatty crisp. I won’t lie I am scared as crisps are to me is what butter is to James Martin so I fear for my nearest and dearest during this detox period!

Today the juicing commenced – not my usual recipe as this was a unplanned moment but it’s a start. I do love my Breville Juicer it is has been reliable for a number of years (touch wood) easy to use and as importantly to dismantle and clean (I still wish we had a dishwasher so this wasn’t a consideration). If you are considering juicing then I’d really recommend you consider the Breville.

This healthy sweet treat was made from three small Braeburns, a carrot, two beetroots and three sticks of celery.

Tomorrow I will be trying the “drink your five-a-day” (see page 260 of Get the Glow) and if all goes well that will be a regular on the menu.

Thanks for reading and if you like my blog then please show your support and retweet or comment below.

Louise x

#EatBakeBlog

So what next…

Lessons learnt

Like this:

Like this:

Now this is an odd side dish, but if you like carbs with carbs here you go..

Potatoes Dauphinose

Like this:

Method

Thanks for reading my blog and I would love to read your comments. If you like my blog then you can follow me on Twitter @EatBakeBlogGB or read my restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor.

Happy blogging.

Louise x

© EatBakeBlogGB / Louise Winder Food & Travel all rights reserved.

Like this:

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It has been a while since I made these sticky oaty bars and in my efforts to use up the sugar in the house and continue with my attempt to remove it from my daily life it seemed like a good use of our cupboard staples.

Like this:

Like this:

Like this: