Author: Sarah Miles

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It’s been a cookin’ Easter!

Well, Easter is just about over and I have not stopped cooking!  In a good way, but non-stop!
Good Friday was with the MiL so I escaped having to do anything very much.  But on Easter Saturday I made fresh tagliatelle, Easter cupcakes, blueberry tart and porcini sauce.  All the aforementioned have been cited on my blog before so I won’t bore you with the details, but it was all go in the kitchen!
On Easter Sunday we said Hallelujah!  To Ms Lisa Faulkner.  I made her roast leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary, her mint sauce, her Nanna’s nut roast and her creme brulee.  All were mighty fine and scoffed with much enthusiasm, although the mint sauce wasn’t very minty…more of a hollandaise, so next time I shall step up the mint!
Before
After

It never gets as much ‘press’ as Christmas but actually, on the cooking front, it is almost as busy really!  A big fat roast, guests to entertain and feed plus egg hunts to organise.

I also broke my Lentian fast of ‘no wine in the week’ with the most gorgeous bottle of white burgundy.  Heaven…

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend; shame about the weather!

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My Top 5 Kitchen Gadgets

Ever grateful for some help and gadgetry in the kitchen I was inspired to share with you my top 5 kitchen favourites.

1.  Kitchenaid

I hummed and haahed about getting this, trying to convince myself it was far too much money (and SO much cheaper in the states!) but eventually I succumbed and I am SOOO glad I did as culinarily* speaking I could not live without it.  Besides looking beautiful, it mixes, kneads and whisks with elegance and gusto.  I went for the basic model, not the artisan as the old bank balance couldn’t quite go the extra £s but it is still absolutely brilliant.  Love, love it, love it.

*Not sure this is actually a word, but it should be.


2.  Silicone pastry brush

Funky, tactile and no more hairs to pick out!


3.  Bake-O-Glide

This stuff is marvellous and another thing introduced to me by the domestic goddess herself (alas, not personally).  It is basically a sheet of non-stick.  You can bake on it, line cake tins (there are ‘specially cut templates you can buy), dishwash it, use it over and over again.  No more cutting out bit of curling greaseproof paper or scrubbing oven trays!

4.  Salter Electronic Scales

These are light, accurate and slip nicely into the drawer!  You can keep resetting to zero as you add ingredients which is brilliant and means you don’t have to keep measuring things in different pots.  Mine are battered, spilled on and quite old but still on their first set of batteries and working as well as ever.

5.  Cath Kidston Apron


Now, I am a huge Cath Kidston fan anyway and it really doesn’t matter what kind of apron you have but  I like to feel kitschy whilst I cook!  And you may think an apron is by the bye, but I really use mine!  It protects my clothing, has large stuffable pockets for cloths, spatulas and even the odd egg shell.  It also serves as an oven glove from time to time.  And there’s something comforting about wearing an apron, a bit like wearing your dressing gown.  Is that just me?  Ahem…Taxi!
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Chilli Con Carne

This is a delicious recipe taken from Lorraine Pascale’s ‘Home Cooking Made Easy’.  I have had a few dodgy chillis in my time, but this one (for me) has just the right kick to it and is tasty too.  Serve with rice, bread or, my fav, on a bad of tortilla chips, sour cream and guacamole.  Yum…
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Easter Cakes

These gorgeous little cakes are the Easter version of my usual vanilla cupcakes. The recipe is simple, and always makes moist, tasty sponge and creamy icing – they taste divine, I promise!
To make the cakes (about 12-18 depending on case size!):
Mix 80g softened unsalted butter, 280g caster sugar, 240g plain flour, 1tbsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt in a mixer until like breadcrumbs.  In a separate jug mix together 240ml full fat milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and 2 large free-range eggs.   With mixer on a slow speed, gently add the milk mixture to the dry mix until blended then give it a quick whizz until the batter is smooth.  
Pour the batter into muffin/cake cases, about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 12-15 mins at 190ºC (170ºC fan oven) but do check according to how your oven bakes!  I turn my trays around halfway through for even baking, but that’s up to you.
Cool on wire rack.
To make the icing:
Mix 500g icing sugar with 160g softened unsalted butter until like breadcrumbs.  Slowly add a mix of 55ml of whole milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla essence.  You can add a drizzle more milk if you like – find the consistency you want.  When the cakes are cool, pipe a swirl of icing on top.  I like to use the Mr Whippy nozzle, but again – up to you!  Decorate with Smarties mini eggs – these are bright and shiny and look great on these cakes.
Eat, enjoy and impress your friends.  Well, your friends’ kids anyway!

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Nigella’s Spanish Chicken – Olé!

It’s fiesta time in our house tonight!  Well, not exactly.  It’s been a long day and I needed to cook something easy, quick and very tasty.  This recipe is all of that – shove the ingredients into a roasting tin and pop it in the oven for an hour.  Out comes the delicious flavours of Spain!
I halve the recipe and modify it to fit with what is in the fridge, so here is how I made tonight’s Spanish Chicken (based on the Nigella recipe in ‘Kitchen’ which is infinitely more eloquent and probably more delicious).
Add a slug of olive oil to a roasting dish and add 4-6 chicken thighs/legs.  Rub them in the oil and place them skin side up.  To this add one large onion roughly chopped, 225g of baby new potatoes, 100g of chorizo cut into 4cm chunks and a sprinkling of dried oregano.  Then sprinkle the zest of one orange over the top and bake at 220ºC (or 200 fan) for about an hour.  I baste the mixture every 20mins to keep it moist.  Serves 2.  You can have it with a green salad, but usually we just eat it as is, or with some crusty bread.  Oh, and a nice glass of rioja of course!

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I almost choked on my museli this morning as I discovered I have been shortlisted in not one, but TWO categories of the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging Awards!!  SOOO chuffed and a little bit proud of myself which, let’s face it, doesn’t happen very often.
Anyway, this is my shameless plea to please vote for Hello Wall in the Fresh Voices category and What Would Nigella Do? in the Tasty category.  Especially Hello Wall though, as it has been a sanity-saver to me these last 7 months….
Link is below and voting is anonymous and takes about 30 secs.  If you could spare me 30 seconds of your time I would be very, very grateful.


Click here to vote for me  *offers cupcake but NOT as bribery, no never….*