YD Cook Book for MND Research

[Queen Scallop]

I cooked this one for Frosty last week and he said it was good enough to post, so here goes:

Ingredients
2 free-range, organic chicken breasts (I like to know I'm eating a hen that
was happy - at least for a while!)
1 sizeable knob of butter
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 liberal splash of white wine (or 2 glasses)
half a teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice
8oz of double cream
the zest of an unwaxed lemon
fresh chives

Method
Melt butter in a big frying pan.
Add the breasts and cook for 8 minutes, turning frequently, until browned all over.
Then add the garlic, wine and 5 spice and cook for a further 8 minutes.
Add the cream and lemon zest.
Reduce the heat and cook until done (test the chicken breasts with a skewer until juices run clear.)
Sprinkle with chopped chives to serve.

I served this with steamed green beans and sauted new potatoes. For a tasty twist, saute the potatoes, which have been sliced, with some rosemary and thyme, transfer to an ovenproof dish and cover with diced dolcelatte. Bake in a medium oven until cheese has melted all over the lovely golden spuds. Yum!

Frosty ain't the only one who can cook in this house, folks - although he has, as I type, taken over the Sunday roast I was going to do, and is talking of trying something new with the potatoes. I'm quite excited..... Well actually he said he was popping into the kitchen to do something with his spuds and I hope that's what he meant!

[gerbil]

Ingredients

This serves 4-6 with a salad. Otherwise adjust quantities as needed.

400g cherry tomatoes
Fresh thyme
Fresh basil
Dash of balsamic vineger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
200g Riccota Cheese
150g Goats Cheese
150g Parmesan Cheese
100g Baby Spinisch Leaves
12 sheets of pasta; 12.5cm * 10cm
Shaved Parmesan
I usually also add a variety of roasted meditarian vegetables

What to do with the ingredients

In a roasting dish heat up some olive oil in the oven at Gas Mark 7/220c/425f. When the oil is hot throw in the tomatoes and roast for about 10 mins. Then add the Thyme, Balsamic Vinegar, Garlic and seasoning. Roast the lot for another 15 mins. At the end of this time turn the heat down to Gas Mark 4/180c/350f.

Meanwhile you need to make the filling for the canelloni. For this wash and drain the Spinach leaves. If your me you will then want to shred the leaves a bit. Then mix in a large bowl the Parmesan, Riccota and Goats cheese. Add the spinich and seasoning.

Make your cannelloni. I use fresh lasagna sheets cut to size but you could use either dried sheets or even canelloni tubes if you like. The main thing i suppose is to end up with a tube in which to put your filling. If you are going to use dried pasta of any type your going to have to cook it first as there is not enough liquid in this recipe to cook the pasta.

Place a dollop of the filling on one of the sheets and then roll it into a tube. There you have your canneloni.

When the suace has roasted for the approriate time pour enough of the juice to grease the bottom of an oven proof dish and place your filed tubes into the dish. Then pour over the rest of the suace.

Return to the oven for 5 mins to heat through and serve with what ever you fancy.

God, i'm hungry now

[Odin]

Originally Posted by frosty the snowman

Ok, you want simple? Here's a nice simple light lunch dish. Cheesy aubergine slices.

So why did you have a cheese sarny for lunch yesterday???

[frosty the snowman]

Originally Posted by Odin

So why did you have a cheese sarny for lunch yesterday???

You think I'd take a cooker to a nautical archaeology course?

[Buoyant Babe]

I usually make a huge roasting tin of this and then I have enough left over for a good few lunches too!

In a large roasting tin, mix:

1 butternut squash, pared and cored and cut into chunky strips
1 red and 1 green peeper, deseeded and cut into long strips
2 large red onions chopped into chunky bits
A good number of button or chestnut mushrooms, either whole or quartered
3 Vine Tomatoes cut into six each/or a punnet of cherry tomatoes

Dressing

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 dsp pesto
1 dsp sundried tomato paste
1 dsp each dried oregano and parsley
A good glug of balsamic vinegar
1 dsp granulated sweetener
Ground sea salt and fresh black pepper
Chilli flakes - if I feel like it

Mix the dressing together and pour over the vegetables - stick your hands in and make sure all the veg are coated. Cook in a hot oven until the butternut squash is tender - about 25-30 minutes.

[Queen Scallop]

Originally Posted by Odin

So why did you have a cheese sarny for lunch yesterday???

Because I made it for him! And it wasn't just a cheese sarny, it was a malted granary roll, lightly buttered and generously filled with mature, organic farmhouse English Cheddar.

And further to my earlier post about Frosty taking over the kitchen tonight:
the meal was superb - tender, juicy, pink-in-the-middle beef, perfect al dente veg, and his spuds are truly peerless..... We are now retiring, elegantly stuffed.

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by Queen Scallop

Because I made it for him! And it wasn't just a cheese sarny, it was a malted granary roll, lightly buttered and generously filled with mature, organic farmhouse English Cheddar.

And further to my earlier post about Frosty taking over the kitchen tonight:
the meal was superb - tender, juicy, pink-in-the-middle beef, perfect al dente veg, and his spuds are truly peerless..... We are now retiring, elegantly stuffed.

Jeeez.... i am getting dead jealous of the sourthern contingents ability to cook.
Lunch today was beans on toast, with chicken casserole for dinner.

[frosty the snowman]

Nonsense my dear, your macon sandwich was a triumph! Anyway, this is easy and delicious. Why not get your teeth into my crabby spuds?

Serves 2

1kg baby new potatoes peeled.
200g white crab meat
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
75g grated parmesan (more if you like).
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the vinegrette

1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup groundnut oil
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
salt and pepper

First bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes, let the water come back to a gentle boil and cook for 8 minutes. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, whisk together the ingredients of the vinegrette. When cooked, remove the potatoes from the pan and drain.


Dry the pan, put it back on the heat and put in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot but not smoking put the potatoes back in. Stir them round to coat them, then break them up with the back of a fork, but not too much. You're not mashing them. Take the pan off the heat. Pre heat the grill.

Stir the crab and spring onion into the broken up potatoes and drizzel over 2 or 3 tablespoons of the vinegrette. Season with salt and pepper. Put the mixture in a shallow ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with the parmesan and grill until the cheese browns. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve warm.

[frosty the snowman]

Before I go all posh again, how about my way of doing fish, chips and mushy peas.

Serves 2.
200g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 haddock (or other white fish) fillets, skinned
200ml beer of your choice
pinch of curry powder
3 teaspoons course sea salt
black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

1/2 kg large desiree or maris piper potatoes, peeled
olive oil
salt
2 sprigs rosemary

2 cupfulls frozen peas
clove of garlic peeled and crushed
juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Set the oven to 200/gas 6. Cut the potatoes into even sized chips. Cook them in a large pan of boiling, salted water for 4 minutes then remove, drain and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Put the chips on a large oven tray in a single layer (or use 2 trays. If you do this make sure you alternate which oven shelf they're on half way through cooking). Drizle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and rosemary leaves. Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes until golden, turning a few times to ensure even cooking.

Meanwhile pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Mix the salt and curry powder well and sprinkle on the fish (both sides). Do the same with the pepper.

Cook the peas in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Drain them and put in a blender or food processor with the garlic, juice of 1 lemon and white wine vinegar. Blitz until mushy. Season and keep warm.

Seive the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Whisk in the beer until the mixture is quite thick and sticky. Heat a deep fat fryer to 180. If you don't have one use a wok or chip pan. Dip the fish in the batter to completely coat it in a thick layer. Put it carefully into the hot oil and fry for a few minutes until golden, turning once. Drain and serve with the chips and mushy peas.

[ScubaSue]

Reminds me of my favourite joke