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Archives for September 2012

Brussels Sprouts – A delicious Idea

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Brussels Sprouts. Love them or hate them?

Far from the overcooked, soggy mush you may remember from childhood, these crisp and tasty vegetables are versatile, healthy and delicious!

They are fantastic grilled and drizzled with balsamic. This recipe is perfect for a festive party and is guaranteed to impress your guests and have them coming back for more!

Ingredients

1 pound small Brussels sprouts, rinsed of any dirt
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 400.

Slice the Brussels sprouts in half, lengthwise. Don’t trim the ends, as they’ll hold together better with them.

Toss the sprouts on a rimmed baking baking sheet with the oil and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Bake for 40 minutes total, but start checking around the 25-minute mark. Toss them around too.

In the meantime, chop up the prosciutto into small chunks. Heat a frying pan over medium-high. Add the prosciutto and saute for about 5 minutes, until nice and crispy. Set aside.

Remove the sprouts from the oven and let them cool about 5 minutes, or until you can handle them.

Using toothpicks, slide on a sprout half, followed by a slice or 3 of the ham, then bookend it with another sprout half.

Continue until you have about 32 mini skewers.

Arrange on a platter and serve immediately.

Shepherds Pie Bites

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Another of our favourite comfort foods is that classic British dish, the humble shepherds pie.

This clever idea is great for individual, party size portions.

Bake some large potatoes until the skins are crisp and make up your shepherds pie mix. When the potatoes are crisp, carefully halve each one scoop out the soft innards to create little ‘boats’

Place the scooped potato innards into a bowl, using a fork or potato masher, mix in a pinch of salt, some butter and black pepper.

Fill the emptied potato shells with your meaty mix and top each one with a scoop of your seasoned potato mix.

Sprinkle with cheese and pop under the grill for just a few minutes until the cheese has melted. Scatter with a few finely sliced spring onions.

Viola! Mini shepherds pie bites.

Sample Tasting Menu

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We have been busy preparing samples for a menu tasting at a potential new venue. The owner wanted to trial some of the dishes we offer.

We prepared this delicious beef carpaccio with horseradish snow and wild mushrooms –

We also selected everyone’s favourite, our trio of desserts. Creme brûlée, Chocolate brownie pot and Eaton mess-

These dishes not only taste delicious, but they look fantastic too. We thought they would be a great showcase of what we can offer for weddings and events. We think they were suitably impressed. We’ll let you know how we got on!

Some 5 Star Feedback!

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Recently, we catered for the wedding of a lovely couple, Louise and Paul. They sent some fantastic feedback-

“I wanted to say a huge thank you for such an amazing wedding. It was so personal and all our friends have said that it was a stunning venue. You have such a fantastic team. Everyone was raving about the caterers, they were absolutely fantastic. Someone even compared the meal to a Michelin star!”

Thanks Louise and Paul! We really enjoyed being a part of your fantastic wedding and we are thrilled that you and your guests were so impressed by our food.

A Magical Tipi Wedding

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Yesterday we catered for beautiful wedding in Prestatyn, rural Wales. The happy couple Paul and Ellie, selected a gorgeous Tipi tent provided by Event-in-a-Tent.

Inside, long tables were beautifully decorated with pretty wild flowers and elegant rustic touches and as the the evening fell, twinkling lights gave it a lovely romantic vibe.

Co-ordinated by our good friend Andrea Swift at Fabulous Day wedding planning, the event had a sweet vintage feel to it all.






Ellie, our lovely Bride had organised a pilot stunt show for her husband and guests. The pilot flew the plane all the way from Oxford to perform! It was fantastic to watch and added a really different and exciting feel to the day.


Sticking with a quirky style, our food was served in a brilliantly unique and unusual style. 9 willing guests were selected as carvers and each one was given an apron, chopping board and slipper of delicious roasted JJJ Heathcotes beef. They then carved the beef to the other guests on their table. Each of these selected carvers did a brilliant job and obviously had lots of fun. The beef was served with Yorkshire puds, roasted veg and a Merlot Jus.

A fantastic day was had by all and we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it!

Homemade Hot Chocolate Favours

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These cold Autumn days get us thinking about comforting food and drinks. We love a bit of fresh hot chocolate on a cold day. This simple recipe for homemade hot chocolate mix is ideal to keep in your cupboard at home. It’s also perfect for winter wedding favours when served up in small jars with pretty labels.

Makes 4 cups powdered hot chocolate mix.

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 cup whole/2% milk

Sift together all dry ingredients. Store in airtight containers. If you are making up portions for gifts or favours, we suggest using pint-sized mason jars and topped with a circle of fabric and a raffia tie.

A small tag with these instructions attached would be perfect – to make hot chocolate: “Add 1/4 cup of mix to the bottom of a mug. Heat 1 cup of milk until hot but not boiling. Pour milk over cocoa mix while stirring or whisking”

A Beautiful Orchard Wedding

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On Saturday we catered for a beautiful, unusual wedding in Nantwich for a fantastic couple, Hannah and Andy.

Hannah and Andy chose to hold their ceremony in their own family orchard before dining in a fabulous marquee, provided by Purple Rain Weddings.

The weather was absolutely perfect! warm and gloriously sunny without being too hot. The ceremony was laid back and relaxed with an elegant, country feel.



After the ceremony, we served a selection of canapes so guests could chat and enjoy the gorgeous weather and lovely surroundings. Later, a relaxed sit down meal was served ‘family style’ from large bowls placed centrally on the tables. Lucky guests were able to help themselves to-

12 hour braised shin of beef in red wine with roasted root vegetables
Chicken roasted with and wild mushroom and white wine sauce
and Sweet potato and aubergine gratin in a tomato fondu

All served with a panache of seasonal vegetables with Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper and crushed new potatoes with herbs and spring onions.

For dessert we served hand made individual apple crumble using apples from the very same orchard where the service was held. What a lovely, personal touch!

Evening guests were treated to a Staffordshire Hog roasted on the spit for over 6 hours, with natural pork jus, handmade apple sauce and a sage & roast onion stuffing.

A fantastic day was had by all and we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it.

Leek & Potato Soup

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Leeks are in season just in time for Autumn. This warming, hearty soup is perfect for these chillier days.

Ingredients
3 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced or diced
5 leeks, trimmed, cleaned, then thinly sliced, including the tender green part
Salt to taste
4–6 tbsp. whipping cream
2–3 tbsp. minced fresh parsley or chives

Method
1. Put potatoes, leeks, salt to taste, and 8 cups of water in a large saucepan over medium heat and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender, 30-40 minutes.

2. Mash vegetables in the soup with a fork, or blend with a hand blender. Correct seasoning with salt.

3. Off heat, just before serving, stir in the cream by spoonfuls. Pour soup into a tureen or soup bowls and decorate with the herbs. Add a little freshly ground white pepper, if you like.

Delicious!

Thankyou!

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Recently, we catered for Victoria and Hass’ wedding. As well as a more traditional wedding breakfast, we put on a wrap bar in the evening. This sort of evening food always goes down well, it offers the later guests something substantial whilst the daytime guests can nibble as they please and keep the energy up for the dancefloor.

We received this lovely thank you note from Julie and Nick –

“Hi Adam

Just a quick note to thank you & the team for helping make Victoria & Hass’
wedding day so special. The main wedding breakfast looked amazing & was
absolutely delicious as well and all served in a perfectly professional but
very friendly way. I personally couldn’t squeeze in any of the evening wrap
bar but I heard lots of comments about what a good idea it was & delicious
as well!

Thanks again – it’s been a pleasure,
Regards
Julie & Nick”

We are so glad we could help to make the wedding extra special. A big thankyou for the feedback and a huge congratulations to Hass & Victoria!

Roasted Tomato Soup

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Autumn is upon us, the cooler days always get us in the mood for a bit of warming comfort food. This delicious, roasted tomato soup is perfect!

6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup whipping cream

Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.

In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the stock, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.

Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve with cheesy toast croutons. Delicious!

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