Blood orange curd
An easy, tangy curd that’s as delicious spread on toast as it is spread thickly in the middle of a Victoria sandwich, or makes a fabulous orange meringue pie Makes about three 240ml jars.

200ml blood orange juice (about 3 oranges), squeezed and strained
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed blood orange
125g unsalted butter
400g granulated sugar
2 whole eggs plus 2 yolks, well beaten

Put the juice, zest, butter and sugar in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl over a pan of just simmering water. As soon as the butter has melted, and the mixture is hot and glossy, pour in the beaten eggs through a sieve and whisk with a balloon whisk.
Stir the mixture over a gentle heat until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 12-15 minutes – a sugar thermometer should read 82-84C . Pour immediately into warm, sterilised jars and seal. Use within three or four weeks and keep in the fridge once opened.

Blood orange syllabub
Serve as a dessert in its own right with a sweet crisp biscuit or as a quenelle standing proud on a tart tartin. However you use it, it will add drama to your supper. Try a trifle!
½ a pint of cream
20g of caster sugar
15ml of sweet white wine, dessert wine is perfect
Zest and juice of one good blood orange
Whip the cream and sugar to soft peaks and add the wine and blood orange juice and zest.

Hot smoked trout and Jersey Royal potato salad

200g smoked trout. Black Mountain from Abergavenny is very tasty
100g new season small Jersey Royals
100g peppery water cress or rocket
2 spring onions
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp crème fraiche
Squeeze of lemon
Fresh parsley and or dill

Wash the potatoes gently in water removing the mud. Boil a pan of salted water and plunge the potatoes in, boil for 10 minutes or until tender to the point of a knife.
Whilst the spuds are cooking finely chop the spring onions and mix with the mayonnaise, crème fraiche, lemon and fresh herbs. Lightly toast the sunflower seeds in a dry frying pan and add. Drain the spuds and immediately dress. Flake in half the trout and two thirds of the watercress and spoon onto the plate, topping with the last of the trout, watercress and a splash of olive oil.
Additionally you could add soft boiled quails eggs or hard boiled chickens egg and as I have just got chickens in my back garden I am having fresh free range eggs in mine. The chickens are another
story!

We can buy all things in the supermarkets all year round but to eat our more local gems you do have to follow the seasons. The early season potatoes in the shops now are small and very tender, they are in season
now. The later season ones (late May – early June) are larger and have more flavour, both are fabulous.
Look to buy unwashed potatoes; they travel better wearing a jacket of earth!

To make the crosses
100gr strong white flour
Pinch of salt
25 gr melted butter
125ml of warm water

The sticky glaze
75ml water
1 tbs caster sugar
Pinch of cinnamon

To make the buns, add all the dry ingredients together and combine well in a large bowl. In a jug mix all the wet ingredients and pour over the dry, mix with your hands to form a dough and turn out to knead onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 5-8 mins. Lightly oil the big bowl and plop the dough back in. Cover with loose cling film and a tea towel and leave for a couple of hours to double in size. ( this is a great time to go and feed the ducks!)
Knock out the dough and split into 14-18 small buns, work each one into a round and place into a lightly oiled large roasting pan about an inch apart. Again cover with cling film and a tea towel and leave again to almost double in size about an hour or so. ( this is a great time to put your feet up, all that kneading is hard work!)
To make the crosses place the flour and salt in a bowl and combine with the melted butter and water to form a sort of thick batter, put this into a piping bag and pipe crosses on each bun. Don’t worry if they look chucky or ugly when they come out of the oven they look home made a full of caricature.
Bake in a hot oven – 210oc for about 40 mins, they will release from the bottom and sound hollow when you knock their bottoms, just like a loaf of bread.
Whilst they are in the oven put the water sugar and cinnamon into a pan and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for 3 mins, as soon as the buns are out of the oven glaze them in this liquor with a pastry brush.
Eat straight away or toast in the morning and tell me Home made does not ROCK

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/food-in-wales/eating-in/2012/03/31/comfort-food-with-emma-jenkins-nettle-risotto-91466-30661198/

This might sound like an odd comment but all the delicious food is being prepped for someone else. As outside caterers we prepare food as far as we can, but only cook it once it is on site, fresh for the client.

This means that the kitchen is full of half cooked, under cooked, mid prepared, portioned, sealed grub and is definitely not for our lunch.

On the other hand containers of sweet morsels are left over from events, so we might have eight brownies, sesame seed brittle covered in dark chocolate, the edges of a white chocolate cheese cake, the crust of a carrot and orange cakes all waiting temptingly on little saucers or tupperwares. Often by midday I can have drunk so much coffee and nibbled so many sweets that it will take me until the 10pm news to calm down!

Bethan is making chocolate ganache truffle which will be set and cut into hearts and doused in organic cocoa powder for our Valentine diners’ petit fours at Pencoed House Estate. Luckily I am not in on Monday so will not be tempted by the truffle off cuts but if you are tempted by our Valentine dinner please visit our website.

If your dining at home this Tuesday or just want to spoil your partner with homemade chocolates do give these a try, they are simple, can be easily personalised with different flavours and are far more romantic than bought chocolates.

Chocolate truffles

Makes about 12-16 truffles – depending on size, shape and how many off cuts you nibble on the way!

8 oz 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate

4oz  double cream

1 oz  unsalted butter

Flavour options

1 teaspoon cognac, Cointreau, cherry brandy, dark strong coffee,  stem ginger syrup – plus a nugget of chopped stem ginger, zest of an orange, half a finely chopped red chilli – to taste

Grate or thinly chop the dark chocolate.

Heat the cream in a pan and when boiling turn off the heat and add the chocolate and butter, beat until smooth, rich and glossy.

You can add optional flavours at this stage when is all glossy.

Line a thin tray with cling film and pour the ganache into this to set overnight in a cool place but not the fridge.

The next day either cut the ganache with a small heart pastry cutter and cover in cocoa or cut into squares and place a sliver of stem ginger on the top.

It can also be rolled into balls and covered in chopped nuts. Rolling is probably the hardest as the ganache will melt in your warm hands.

Be creative and keep an eye out for a small pretty box to put them in, tie with a ribbon and seal with a kiss

The day was grey, bland, the wind still and the tide far out. Only a fresh, gooey chocolate eclair with its crispy golden choux pastry, piped cream and glossy chocolate topping lay on the beach in its crimped white baker’s paper.

Ewan looked up and down the beach, first close by and then further out into the unbroken flat horizon and back down to the éclair  placed on the sand. No footprints or marks gave any hints as to how it arrived there.

The sky was grey with nondescript clouds. Little waves lapped in the distance and there was nothing and nobody anywhere except the fresh, inviting chocolate éclair. He picked it up, sniffed it, spun it round, in every way it was perfect. He lifted it to his lips, silence all around, and gently peeled back the crimped paper and took a delicious large bite deep into the chocolate, choux and cream.

Suddenly a wire ripped up from the beach, Uwan clenched his cheek as a hook had embedded deep into his skin and begun to pull him towards the ocean. He fought to get away but was weak from the pain of the hook and was pulled into the shallows. No one was around to help and into the ocean he was pulled , he flipped and kicked about fighting for life and then he was gone.

Hooked, line caught and gone, everything went silent and still!

Chocolate éclairs/profiteroles makes 10/20

150ml/5 fl oz water

50g/2oz butter

60g/2 ½ oz plain flour

2 eggs

Pint vanilla cream

75g/3oz dark chocolate

Pre heat the oven to 200C

Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the cold water. On a gentle heat melt the butter into the water, turn up the heat and bring to a rapid rolling boil. Sieve the flour onto a sheet of paper and picking up the edges shoot the flour into the water, turn off the heat and beat for a couple of minutes, it will form a paste. Allow to cool slightly, beat in the eggs one at a time.

You will end up with a soft drop consistency.

The size you pipe or spoon the mixture is a matter of taste, although I recommend keeping them delicate as when filled with cream and chocolate they are very rich. Pipe onto a well greased baking sheet or greaseproof paper. Sprinkle the tray with a little water, just shaking it off your finger tips.

This helps create extra steam which will help puff the chouxs. Place in the oven and after five minutes turn up the heat to 220C for a further 15-20 minutes, again the rising heat helps the choux to puff.

When cooked the choux will lift from the tray and feel really light.

Whip the cream, adding vanilla and sugar to taste

Melt the dark chocolate in a small bowl over simmering water.

Pipe the cream into the cooled éclairs and dip the tops into the melted cream

Just don’t give any to the fish.

I LOVE January. Detoxing comes easily and relaxing in new Christmas pyjamas on the sofa seems like the fitting reward for staying in drinking green tea evening after evening.

Exercise is not a chore, it’s promoted everywhere and it’s what we DO in January to fight the festive flab. Besides, it’s chilly at this time of year so working up a sweat is a reward! But the true reward for me in January is that by detoxing and working out I can cook and eat as much food as I like – as long as it’s healthy.

Thick and creamy leek and potato soup, homemade bread, oat and honey cookies, vibrant green, slightly salty pea and ham soup, cheese straws with crispy bacon snacks, sherry and caramelised onion tart, roasted pumpkin puree risotto, fish pie with parsley sauce, porridge and nuts, ham with piles of garlic sautéed sweetheart cabbage, avocados on toast, oh I am in January heaven.

Sherry and caramelised onion tart

• Line an 8 in tart case with pastry and bake blind.
• 3 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• A small knob of butter
• A splash of olive oil
• A good slurp of sherry or marsala
• 2 eggs
• Salt, pepper
• Fresh chopped parsley,thyme or sage

Oat and honey cookies

Makes about 15 cookies

• 1.5 oz soft butter
• 2oz soft dark brown sugar
• Tablespoon runny honey
• 1 egg
• 2 oz plain flour
• Pinch of salt and baking powder
• 6oz good quality oats
• 2 oz chopped apricots

And if this is not working for you in January try highlights!

It is filled with fruit, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and a twist of marzipan running through it. It is traditionally made with yeast but this quick recipe of mine is easy and has none of the rising elements in it. Stollen improves with age so  make it this weekend and it will be perfect for Christmas Eve.

The history of stollen dates back to the 15th century when bakers were told by law that during Christmas the use of butter was not allowed, only oil, but this made the cake hard and tasteless. Prince Elector Ernst of Brandenburg and his brother Duke Albrecht wrote to the Pope in Rome in 1450 asking for the use of butter. Oil was also expensive and hard to come by. Pope Nicholas V denied their request. Five popes later, Pope Innocent VIII, in 1490 sent a letter known as the Butter-Letter to the prince which granted the use of butter without having to pay a fine, but only for the Prince Elector and his family and household. The ban on butter was completely removed when Saxony became Protestant in the 16th century.

Merry cherry berry Christmas stollen.

• 100g butter
• 125g golden caster sugar
• Zest of one orange
• ½ tsp ground cardamom, cinnamon and cloves
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 free range egg
• 150g natural fromage frais
• 325g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50g ground almonds
• 150g cherry/berry mix – available from any supermarket
• 150g marzipan
• Splash of rum, melted butter and plenty of icing sugar

- Beat the butter, sugar, zest, spices and salt until a smooth paste and then beat in the egg and fromage frais. Sieve in the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and berries and mix to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.

- On a floured surface pat out to an oblong shape about 20cm/10cm. Roll the marzipan into a thick sausage shape with your hands and lay it in the middle of the dough. Roll the dough over the marzipan and stick the edges together with a little water. Place on a non stick baking tray and bake in a pre heated oven at 170C for about 40 minutes.

- Push a skewer into the loaf and remove from the oven if the skewer comes out clean. The stollen should be golden brown and slightly cracked on the top. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with rum and then lashings of melted butter, the cake drinks these in easily. I find it very pleasing!

- When the Stollen is cool brush again with melted butter and dust heavily with icing sugar. It now looks very much like a German or Nordic cake. Wrap it in greaseproof paper and tin foil for three to four days. Place it on a wooden board, lightly dust again with fresh icing sugar and garnish with a sprig of holly.

Eat it with a cup of tea or spiced mulled warm wine. It’s the perfect start to the festive few days.

Go left field. It could be rabbit meatballs braised with prunes and cinnamon, or a Thai chicken meatball flavoured with lemon grass, ginger, chilli, finished with coriander. You could even make Christmas meatballs from turkey mince flavoured with cranberry, star anise, in a redcurrant and port sauce

In Afghanistan, they make meatballs and call them koftas, serving them in soups, like a dumpling. The Vietnamese call them pho, in the Philippines they call them bloa bloa and in Brazil they are almôndegas. As far as I can tell every country makes them, using the simple technique and flavouring them to suit their tastes and the ingredients they have around them. They can be fried, braised, steamed or poached, you can’t fail.

Recently I had friends coming for dinner and some turkey mince in the fridge

I’d had a busy week and had not made the shops so I went to ej walk in fridge with the had none of the chilli and lemongrass I had in mind. But I did find shallots, button mushroom , sage, parsley and pancetta. I was not disappointed, in fact I was inspired.

Turkey meatballs

• 350g minced turkey meat
• 6 shallots, peeled, felt whole
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Fresh sage
• Fresh parsley
• 50g pancetta
• Salt and pepper
• Splash of wine (optional, water will do)
• 1 tbsp flour
• Olive oil and butter
• ½ pint good quality stock ( a cube will do)
• 150g button mushrooms
• 2 good tbsps creme fraiche

- Smash the garlic, shred half the sage and parsley, slice the pancetta really thinly and add to the mince along with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour onto your board or worktop.  Squidge the mince with your hands and shape into small balls, drop them onto the floured board. Roll them again, if the process gets sticky flour your hands too.

- In a pan heat the oil and butter and fry the balls. I add them seven or eight at a time and shake the pan rather than trying to turn them with a spoon as this could make them break up.  When brown remove them and continue cooking the batches  until all are done.

- Deglaze the pan, this just means adding a splash of wine or water to release the caramelised bits on the bottom. Splash the pan again with olive oil and butter and fry the shallots and        button mushrooms, chuck the meat balls back in and add a half pint of stock, simmer for 20 minutes.

- Turn off the heat and add the creme fraiche. Add the rest of the chopped sage and parsley and serve with mash, spaghetti or rice. What a truly versatile dish!

It is basically Italian meringue set with gelatine and lightly flavoured with vanilla.  Don’t be put off by the words Italian Meringue, don’t be put off by the sugar thermometer, if you like cooking give it a go, I was a mallow virgin too!

Ingredients

• Makes about 45 marsh mallows
• 4 ½  sheets  leaf gelatine
• 225 g caster sugar
• 1 small tbsp liquid glucose
• 100 ml water
• 1 large egg whites
• Little splash vanilla extract
• icing sugar
• cornflour
• Red food colouring

- Lightly oil a shallow baking tray, about 20 x 10cm and dust it with sieved icing sugar and cornflour.

- Knock out any excess

- Soak the gelatine in 70ml cold water. I added one at a time till all the leafs were soft and in the small amount of water.

- Put the sugar, glucose and water into a heavy-based pan. Bring to the boil and continue cooking for about 12-15 minutes  until the mixture reaches 127C on a sugar thermometer.

- When the syrup is up to temperature, carefully slide in the softened gelatine sheets  one at a time and their soaking water into the syrup.

- Watch out it will bubble up so take. Pour the syrup into a heat proof jug.

- Whisk the egg white until stiff, preferably with an electric whisk in a mixing bowl, but i used a hand whisk. Continue whisking while slowly pouring in the hot syrup.

- The mixture will become shiny and start to thicken. Add the vanilla extract and continue whisking for a good 10 minutes, the mixture will become so  stiff it will hold its shape on the whisk.

- Spoon ½ the mixture into one end of the prepared tin.  Add a splash of red food colouring to the other half and whisk for another minute.

- Spoon the pink marsh mallow into the other end and smooth with a wet palette knife if necessary.

- Leave for a couple of hours to set.

- Dust the work surface with icing sugar and cornflour.

- Loosen the marshmallow around the sides of the tray with a palette knife, and then turn it out on to the dusted surface.

- Cut into squares and roll in the sugar and cornflour.

- Store the marshmallows in an airtight container.  I am not sure for how long it would last as I only made mine last night but I don’t think they will last that long anyway When I told Molly this morning there was Home made marsh mallow down stairs she did her excited dance, a bit like the Hakka only faster!!