July 1, 2015
comment 0

July 4 – Star Spangled Dessert- Red, White & Blue!

IMG_0784

Calling all party goers!

What to  make for the  after BBQ/party dessert? I have a  great recipe that’s so quick and easy to make… 4 easy steps to prepare, even quicker to eat!

My Red, White & Blue Eton Mess! A mess? Are you joking? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen? It’s not a mess but super delicious.

Eton Mess is a dessert eaten at the famous school Eton College, on the River Thames down the road from HRH Queen Elizabeth II and Windsor Castle. We are in Royal company!

Ingredients - definitely Red, White & Blue

                                   Ingredients – definitely Red, White & Blue

Ingredients

Fresh strawberries

White meringues ( shop bought is fine)

Fresh blueberries

Fresh double ( heavy) cream suitable for whipping

Edible decorations ( be creative as you dare!)

Preparation

Whisk that cream until thick

Whisk that cream until thick

1. Wash the fruit and drain

2. Whisk the cream until thick ( don’t over whip otherwise you’ll get butter!)

3. Crush the meringues into bite size chunks ( a bit of size variation is good)

4. Mix together & decorate in red white & blue

Enjoy!

July 4 Red White & Blue Eton Mess Dessert

July 4  – Star Spangled Dessert -Red White & Blue Eton Mess

July 1, 2015
comment 0

July 4 – A Side Order of Cowboy Chow for the BBQ

A BBQ can’t be all Meat and no Veg!

The Raw Ingredients

The Raw Ingredients

In my family barbecues, I’ve found that after cleaning the grill and preparing the meat, I often have little time left for the rest. I like the shortest cuts to beautiful tasty food, which can be thrown together in less than 10 minutes and this salad is a classic of that genre!

In supermarkets here in the US they have something called Cowboy Caviar.  It’s a sort of Bean salad mixed with other things and a few unmentionables too (they do like their chemistry sets here!)  But, it looked good and a couple of years back, I decided to play with some ingredients and replicate it in a fresher more nutritious form.  Ever since, this side salad has gone down a treat with my family and our guests.

I’m sure you’ll find this wicked fresh salad with it’s great crunch, mix of flavors and bright colors as moreish as my lot do!

Cowboy Caviar

Ingredients 

All chopped up

All chopped up

  • 1 x Red Sweet Pepper – diced into small pieces
  • 1 x Green Sweet Pepper – diced into small pieces
  • 1/2 x Red Onion – diced into small pieces
  • 1 x Cup of Flat Leaf Parsley medium chopped
  • 1 x tin of Black Beans (drained)
  • 1 x tin of Sweet Corn (drained)
  • 2 x tbsp Wine Vinegar (feel free to use flavored – such as raspberry)
  • 3 x tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice of Half Lemon, to give it zing
  • Salt N’ Pepper to season

  Preparation

  • If you’ve read my previous posts, you should be able to guess – Yup, chuck the lot in a big bowl, mix and ‘abra-cadabra’, the salad is done.
Cowboy Caviar Ready!

Cowboy Caviar Ready!

Chow down Cowboys & Cowgirls, y’all! The ‘Caviar’ is ready to eat. It’s great with the barbecued meat I’ve posted recipes for this last week

For my final July 4 post, coming soon – something for the folks who like a drink but pine for something a little exotic…..

June 29, 2015
comment 0

July 4 – BBQ Part Deux – It’s a Steak Out with Chimchurri!

There’s nothing that tastes better on a hot summer evening than a medium rare barbecued T-Bone Steak, but there is one big question:  What is the perfect Steak Sauce to accompany it?

Supermarket shelves are full of various brown-colored, gooey liquids promising this and that, but for my part, there is only one thing that delivers and it is not available on the shopping aisles

Steak fresh from the BarbieAnswer?  Chimchurri Sauce

Argentinians serve this amazing sauce with the beef they are famous for.

The first time I tasted it in combination with a Steak,  I was simply blown away by the flavor, which is both tangy, tart, familiar, fresh and beautifully spicy and simply works!

Since then, I’ve always thought a Steak incomplete without it.

This is how I cook Steak & Chimchurri Sauce for my family.  I hope you enjoy it as much as they do!

 

Ingredients for 4

For the Steak:

  • 2-3 x T Bone Steaks (2-3 lb)
  • 2-3 x Tbsp Olive Oil (depending on quantity of meat)
  • Maldon Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
  • A dash or two of Worcester Sauce
All the ingredients needed for a frresh Chimchurri Sauce

All the ingredients needed for a fresh Chimchurri Sauce

For the Chimchurri Sauce:

  • 1 x Cup of Flat Leaf Parsley
  • 3/4 x Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon of pepper sauce such as Cholula Hot

 

Preparation

Oil + Worceser Sauce + Steak = Marriage made in Heaven

Oil + Worcester Sauce + Steak = Marriage made in Heaven

  • Mix the Olive Oil with the Worcester sauce and then rub into both sides of the Steak, season with salt and pepper
  • Place all the Chimchurri ingredients into a food processor and blitz them for about 10 seconds, or until they are evenly blended
  • Swiftly cook both sides of the steak straight on the hot grill of your BBQ
  • Charcoal mixed with hickory wood chips will give it that American smoke imbued taste.  Aim for a little bit of pink thru the center and some nice black lines seared in the meat.
  • Serve immediately!
Chimchurri Sauce - the best a Steak can get

Chimchurri Sauce – the best a Steak can get

Slice the steak and dip each chunk into the Chimchurri sauce and for a moment one can just imagine that you are with the Argentinian Gauchos (cowboys)  eating their evening meal by a bonfire deep in the Argentinian pampas under a blanket of stars….

Why not try this Steak & Chimchurri with my version of Cowboy Caviar?  See the next July 4 post for details