OMG This Must Be THE Best Omelette Ever!

Sorry about the over the top title to this blog, I was going to call it Crunchy Chorizo Flecked Omelette but you know how it is – we have to try harder and harder to make ourselves noticed on social media and saying ...

“Mm, that was rather nice” 

probably wouldn’t do it!,

This rather nice omelette has been evolving over some time and, in fact, I have written about it in its earlier stages before but details below.  

This is just a quick post to tell you of a great idea I had …

I am very partial to chorizo and have often added it to my favourite omelette but the other idea I had a brilliant idea.  Instead of adding the chorizo to the filling I coarsely chopped it and gently cooked it slightly in a little oil in the proposed omelette pan.

I then cooked the omelette in accordance with instructions here so that, over the higher heat, the chorizo crisped up and flecked the outside of the omelette.  Good idea of what?

Gorgeous Omelette Recipe

There I go again!

This omelette filling has been evolving for some while …

~   Thinly slice a red onion and cook like this.
~   When the onions are soft but not caramelising add 2 or 3 small new potatoes, thinly sliced, plus just a splash of water.  Replace the foil covering and lid (you need so see how to cook the onions, here!) and continue cooking till they are completely soft.

~   These days I then stir in half a teaspoonful of smoky, medium hot chipotle paste, which I get from Asda.
~   Whisk up 2 eggs and make the omelette (with the chorizo as above) and, when the egg is almost cooked, add the oniony/potato/chipotle mix and grate over some mature cheddar cheese.
~   Fold in half, pour out a glass of red wine and eat.

This is a great way of making the most of a little leftover chorizo but, of course, omelettes are great for making the most of all sorts of leftover foods which, as you may know, are something of a passion with me!

See here for detailed instructions on making an omelette 

and 

See here for more about my book on cooking delicious meals with leftovers.

Penne in a Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce with Roasted Pears

Firstly, an admission ~ I wanted to refer back to the post about this lovely blue cheese pasta recipe which I wrote in 2010 but the whole thing seems to have disappeared!   So, instead I referred back to my old Sudden Lunch! files and have repeated the whole thing, virtually verbatim, here! 

I had lunch for dinner last night - makes a change! The reason being that I was out all day and was absolutely starving, darlings, by the time I got in. So, my evening lunch was whipped up quickly out of a few things I had laying around the place, notably some award winning and scrummy Cornish Blue Cheese and some Butterscotch Roasted Pears. I was not that surprised, therefore, when I made this dish as it is an old standby of mine. 

Please pin for future reference!

Years ago, at work, I did a dessert of Butterscotch Baked Pears. It sold well but I found I was left with a couple of portions; too small an amount to offer on the evening’s menu but too big to throw away. (Actually, I think almost everything is too big to throw away – I can’t abide waste, my dears, which is why I wrote Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers.

Anyhoo, the upshot is that I stirred the pears into a Gorgonzola sauce I had made, and it was divine. One customer trailed sadly after me for weeks until I gave him the recipe (I was a little embarrassed).  The reason I had some of these pears laying around last night is that I was making some Butterscotch Pear Ice Cream (see Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine for the recipe!).


The basic Pasta in Blue Cheese Sauce recipe, for which I now use the wonderful Cornish Blue, goes thus …

Penne Pasta in  Blue Cheese Alfredo – for 2

200ml double cream

15g butter

25g freshly grated Parmesan

50g crumbled Cornish Blue Cheese (or Gorgonzola, Cambozola, Stilton, etc)

salt and pepper to taste - I myself, personally, would be heavy on freshly ground black pepper

225g (raw weight) penne (or other) pasta - cooked

~   Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, till the butter has melted into the cream.
~   Add the 50g of shredded Parmesan and the blue cheese and stir till melted.
~   Slowly bring almost to a boil, then immediately turn down the heat and simmer gently, still stirring quite a lot but only for a minute or so, maybe less, till you have a smooth creamy sauce.

~   Toss together with the cooked pasta till all hot.

~   Stir in a handful of butterscotch baked pears or, perhaps, sprinkle with crunchy toasted walnuts.

Butterscotch Baked Pears

500g ripe but still a little firm pears – about 4

85g butter

85g soft light brown sugar

pinch of salt

~   Preheat oven to 180ºC/350°F/160ºC fan/gas 4.
~   Peel and core and halve, slice or dice the pears according to how you intend serving them.
~   Put the butter, sugar and salt into a shallow oven proof dish and heat in the oven for a few minutes till melted.
~   Turn the pears in the buttery goo to coat.
~   Cover with foil and bake for about 45 - 60 minutes till the pears are tender and reclining in a butterscotch sauce.

Serve with ice cream or cream, in cakes, pancakes, etc. or add to the above pasta dish.

A Genius Idea for Food Scraps

~ Food Collections ~

I have written before of the sheer handiness of having collections of this and that but it is worth repeating and going into more detail.  

Collecting your scraps saves money, avoids food waste, allows for spontaneity and can make you happy with the delicious food you make! 

The idea is simple – group together similar scraps and leftovers in the fridge or freezer, as appropriate, and add to them till you have enough to make something delicious.  For instance …

Bread Scraps

I always keep bits of unwanted bread in the freezer, they can be used in so many ways. Here are some of them …

~  bread pudding
~  French toast pancakes,
~  stuffing,
~  breadcrumbs
~  croutons
~  bread sauce, and
~  7 interestingly different ideas for leftover bread

Cheese Scraps

I keep this collection in a box at the back of the fridge. Wrap the cheeses loosely in parchment or greaseproof paper and then store in plastic bags in the box. A scrap of cheese can be good added to egg dishes, mashed potatoes, pasta sauces and so on. Here are 64 ideas for leftover cheese I wrote about earlier! 

Pastry Scraps

Every time I make my real man a pie (just about weekly) I add the pastry trimmings to my collection so that I can make these delicious pastry recipes.

Raw Meat Trimmings

Steak in particular – when cooking professionally and cutting up a whole tenderloin or sirloin etc. any good quality trimmings and undersized pieces I used to make Peppered Steak Salad. 

Other meats - when there are enough scrappy bits I make stock.   Better quality trimmings, both raw and cooked can be added to soups, stir fries, risotto, pasta dishes etc.  Sometimes if the meat is all good quality but a little fatty I make burgers, they are very easy. Not necessarily beef burgers, however, here is a great recipe using pork trimmings ...

BBQ Pork Burgers

2 rashers bacon – I like smoked
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dark brown sugar
½ tsp salt
500g good quality pork scraps – minced or fairly finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
BBQ sauce

~   Coarsely chop the bacon and cook, preferably in its own fat, till crisp.  Drain on kitchen roll.

~   Mix together the next 3 ingredients.

~   Form the chopped meat into two or three burgers.  People sometime ask me what I add to burgers to keep them together e.g. egg or breadcrumbs but the answer is Nothing. Just munge it lovingly together and all should be well.

~   Rub the burgers with the sugar mix.

~   Brush with a little oil and grill or pan fry till crisp and golden and cooked through – it can be a bit risky under cooking pork.

~   Brush with BBQ sauce and pop back on the grill for a minute or two.

~   Serve on buns drizzled with more BBQ sauce and a great addition is a spoonful of coleslaw on each burger.

Seafood Scraps

Freeze in two separate collections – raw and cooked.

A gorgeous use of varied fish scraps, both raw and cooked, is my Seafood Chowder but there are lots of other good ways to use them; fish cakes, salads, risotto, pasta dishes, fish pâté and more – over 30 ideas in my Creative Ways to Use up Leftovers.

Leftover Nuts

This last one is not quite a collection! I use nuts in all sorts of dishes so buy bags of mixed roasted salted nuts and pick out specific nuts as needed. I have almonds and hazelnuts with yogurt and muesli for breakfast, add cashews to curries and salads and to this excellent popcorn recipe. Brazils I give to my real man as I don’t like them and pecans tend to accumulate as I have no specific plans for them.

When I have enough set aside I make something lovely such as the biscotti in my last post.

Several of these ideas are included in Creative Ways to Use up Leftovers together with loads and loads of other ideas for over 450 possible leftovers.

Great Preview Here

What to do with the Most Wasted Foods in the UK

I have just read another article in the Huffington Post about food waste in the UK.

According to point 8 in the article the most-wasted foods and drinks are bread, potato, milk, fizzy drinks, fruit juice and smoothies, poultry, pork, ham and bacon, cakes and pastries. Well, let me tell you something …

… actually several somethings.

Bread Scraps

See here for 7 Interestingly Different Ideas for Leftover Bread, for instance this Melted Onion Panade.

Leftover Potatoes

See 8 ideas for leftover baked potatoes here  and how to make wonderfully named and delicious Krumplinudli from mashed potato is here.

Surplus Milk

Interestingly milk seems to last way, way longer than its Use By date to no detriment whatsoever.  See here for details and you might think again before throwing the stuff away!

~   Leftover milk can be frozen – it is not great for drinking once thawed but is fine in recipes which is easier if you freeze in ice cubes.
~   Make milkshakes – especially useful if you also have “leftover” ice cream!
~   Add to mashed potatoes
~   Make rice pudding
~   Poach some fish in it.
~   Turn leftover milk into buttermilk for baking by stirring 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 240ml milk.

If your milk has separated, lucky you – it is surprisingly easy to make lovely cheese.

Leftover Fizzy Drinks

~   Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays and use them to cool down further fizzy drinks without diluting them!
~   Make Sorbet - partially freeze the fizzy beverage then either break up the crystals with a fork or similar or run through the food processor. Add a little suitable alcohol (it must be a spirit and use 50ml per 250ml of fizz) such as rum with coke or Cointreau with fizzy orange and re-freeze.
~   Rumour has it that using soda drinks in baking works but I haven’t tried it. If you have let me know how it went!

Leftover Fruit Juice

~ Freeze, as above, as ice cubes for the same reason.
~ Mix in a little icing sugar and use to glaze cakes.
~ Toss summer fruit in a few spoonsful of orange or other suitable juice 30 minutes before serving.
~ Cocktails - many cocktails include fruit juice, see this article on BuzzFeed and have fun!
~ Make a delicious sauce for your dinner! See point 8 here on how to deglaze a pan and use whatever juice goes well with your meat or fish e.g. apple juice with pork, cranberry with turkey, lemon with fish etc. 

Tomato juice is a rather special case, I suggest you either add it to soups and stews or make a …

Bloody Mary

Per person

90ml tomato juice

45ml Vodka

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco

black pepper

a stick of celery with leaves

~ Fill a tall glass with ice.

~ Mix together the tomato juice, vodka and lemon juice and season to taste (as us food writers say) with the Worcester sauce, Tabasco and black pepper.
~ Pour over the ice and bung in the celery!

Leftover Smoothies

I’m afraid I am flummoxed with this one, other than freeze it, and don’t think I am alone. Here are someone else’s smoothie ideas but they are somewhat tongue in cheek!

Leftover Poultry, Pork and Ham

Throwing away leftover meats of any kind is absurd, there’s so many ways to use them; sandwiches, stir fries, soups, salad, risotto, pasta, pizza and so on. Why anyone would chuck it is beyond me –

As a taster, so to speak, here is a lovely way to use up ham – Haluski. 

Leftover Bacon – a rather special meat!

See here for an utterly wonderful use for leftover bacon – Bacon Salt which is great for making all sorts of dishes bacony! I am absolutely delighted with this.

Too Much Cake – ridiculous, who throws away cake?

Good ideas are – add crumbled cake to ice cream, trifle, make cake pops, cake truffles (details in Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers) or make cake croutons (dice the cake, toss in melted butter and then bake in a medium oven till crisp and golden) to serve with desserts.

Leftover Pastries

Now this is a tricky one, especially without knowing what sort of pastries, but if I had such a thing leftover I would probably freeze it and have a think. Or maybe eat it and have a coffee.

Do croissants qualify as pastries? They make lovely French Toast (much better than made with bread), good in bread pudding of the custardy sort, as are Danish pastries, and they also make great croutons.

Now then, don't you wonder what ideas I have for the other 450 potential leftovers in my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers?

Great Preview Here

My Definition of the Verb "to frazzle"

I have been frazzling things in the kitchen for years but whilst preparing this post I looked up “frazzle” in the dictionary for the correct meaning; apparently the primary definition is ...

“to put in a state of extreme physical or nervous fatigue”

I probably did frazzle some of the kitchen staff, including myself on occasion, but that’s not what I mean.

The other definition I found is ...

“cause to shrivel up with burning”

I might have done this too once or twice but I wouldn’t recommend it.

My own personal definition of frazzle is ...

“to fry shreds of an ingredient till crisp”

This sort of frazzling is a great way of using up and enhancing a little bit of this or that to create a snack, cook’s treat, garnish or component of a dish.

I was prompted to write post this by a couple of experiments we did in the pub kitchen where I am now employed making desserts – firstly we sliced a Chantenay carrot lengthways and deep fried it.  Drained, cooled and salted the slices were both pretty and delicious.  

Yesterday, as I peeled a whole case of apples to make loads of apple crumble (the season is upon us – yikes!), I wondered what would happen if we deep fried some of the peelings.  So we did and they were crisp and lovely with caster sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, I think they will be showing up quite a lot on the menu.

I don’t think I have frazzled either of these in the past and have no photos of the above experiments but I have frazzled the following ...

Sweet Potatoes 

To frazzle these I first peel the sweet potato and then using the potato continue peeling until I have a pile of sweet potato ribbons. More ideas for delicious sweet potatoes here.

Leeks

These make a lovely crunchy garnish for creamy leek dishes (see a few great ideas for leeks here). Cut a leek into long thin strips, rub a little cornflour (aka corn starch in the US) through them to help them go crips and deep fry for a few minutes till golden. Lift out of the oil with a skimmer and drain on kitchen roll. Sprinkle with a little crunchy sea salt.

Sage and Parsley

Just drop clean and dry sage leaves or parsley sprigs into hot fat for literally a few seconds, 2 or 3 will probably do it. Drain on kitchen roll and sprinkle with sea salt. Bacon and pork, savoury apple dishes, onions, butternut squash and blue cheese will all benefit from a sage garnish, and the parsley is a great garnish for fish dishes in particular and most other savoury dishes too.

Frazzled Onions which I usually call Onion Grass on menus. 

This is a quicker, easier and in my opinion nicer alternative to making onion rings. 

~   Peel halve and thinly slice onions into half-moons.

~   Toss together with seasoned flour – the easiest way to do this is in a bag.
~   Shake off excess and deep fry the onions.
~   Drain well and season.

Chorizo

Fry coarsely chopped, julienned or shredded (or any other shape) chorizo in a little olive oil till crisp.  Remove from the oil and set aside on paper towel to cool and crisp. Sprinkle on salads, soups, pasta dishes, fish and anything else that takes your fancy.

DON’T throw the oil away it will be infused with chorizo and great for drizzling on things such as soup or fried eggs, for instance.  See here for lots more on chorizo including purpose made chorizo oil. 

Prosciutto

Pretty well the same goes with Prosciutto for instance Tagliatelle in Asparagus “Pesto” with Frazzled Prosciutto.

Chicken and Duck Skin – Grattons and Gribenes

These are delicious crispy morsels made from duck or chicken skin. See here for how to make grattons and gribenes and use them to garnish soups, salads, pâtés and general duck dishes or just nibble on them.

Pancakes

Leftover pancakes are great cut into strips, fried till crisp and used to garnish whatever you fancy.

This is just one good way to use up scraps, bits and pieces and leftovers – I have written a book containing literally hundreds of good ideas, suggestions, recipes and tips ~ have a look at my leftovers cookbook Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers.

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while, by the way, my computer has been having a problem but he’s OK now.

OK - that's all for now, enjoy the sunshine! Let me know if you think of anything else that could do with a damn good frazzling!

10 Delicious Reasons to buy Real Parmesan Cheese

I work with a guy, Graham, who despite limited cooking facilities is pretty interested in cooking for himself and eating well. I suggested he try making Alfredo Sauce which is so quick, simple, easy and yet absolutely delicious. See here for easy Alfredo Sauce recipe.

When I got to the Parmesan bit he asked if the ready grated would work or would he have to buy it in the piece and I related to him a tale I had heard years ago of grated “Parmesan” being made of grated umbrella handles. 

I thought I’d try to find the truth of the matter. I wondered if it was an urban myth but was surprised to find that not only is it true; a guy in Italy in 1969 was in fact doing the dirty deed but, furthermore and coincidentally, the matter seems to be trending!

Apparently the FDA recently found that  one company’s “100% grated Parmesan Cheese.”  was a mixture of other cheeses and cellulose. So they went on to investigate other grated “parmesan” producers and you can read what the FDA discovered here.

According to the Guardian it probably won’t kill you but, call me a foodie if you will, I want more from my food than just surviving the experience and expect you do to. So my answer to Graham is:

“Buy the real thing”

Here are 10+ good reasons to buy delicious real Parmesan cheese …

1.      Peppered Parmesan Popcorn

Simples – just toss freshly popped corn with butter, freshly grated Parmesan and lots of freshly grated black pepper. 

Here’s a tune to listen to while you pop! 

2.    Add Parmesan to Pangrattato

You might not know what I am talking about but see here for this Quick Cheap Easy Way to Improve Almost Any Meal.

3.    La Macronade

This is basically hot cooked pasta tossed with the rich juices from a meaty stew and layered up with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan. Finish with a layer of parmesan (and I don’t think it’s traditional but I’d add a handful of breadcrumbs to the top layer for extra crunch) then grill or pop in a hot oven till the top is golden.

4.   Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Polenta – enough for 4

700ml vegetable stock
145g cornmeal

2 teaspoons roasted garlic - see here for how to roast garlic 

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

~   Bring the water to a boil and stir in the Oxo cube, if using, till dissolved.
~   Slightly moisten the cornmeal till it is the texture of wet sand (this is a trick to keep the polenta smooth taught to me by a girl I used to work with, Cardella,  in the West Indies - for which I thank her).

~   Add the wet cornmeal to the boiling water and stir in thoroughly.
~   Turn down the heat and simmer stirring almost all the time, it will thicken quite quickly but still needs to simmer for another 10 minutes or so till completely cooked.
~   Stir in the roasted garlic and the cheese, taste and season (I like lots of pepper) and serve immediately topped by something delicious and savoury.

Leftover polenta is delicious fried by the way - 7 ways to use leftover polenta here.

5.   Salad of Roasted Pears with Shavings of the Best Parmesan you can find

1 not quite ripe pear per person
20g butter per person
½ tablespoon soft light brown sugar per person
½ tablespoon of sherry or balsamic vinegar per person
tender salad leaves
some great Parmesan in the piece

~   Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 2.
~   Peel the pears, remove the core, and cut them into wedges.
~   When the oven is hot put the butter and the sugar into an appropriate sized ovenproof dish and heat in the oven till the butter has melted.
~   At the pear wedges and toss to coat.
~   Cook for about 10 minutes till tender.
~   Remove the pears from the pan and set aside to cool somewhat.
~   Stir the vinegar into the juices in the pan, taste and season and also set aside to cool.
~   To serve toss a handful of salad leaves per person in the juices and arrange on plates or in a bowl.
~   Arrange the pear wedges on top and then using a potato peeler shave a generous amount of Parmesan over the salad.

6.   Mushrooms on Toast with (Black Garlic if you can get it) Alfredo

Mushrooms in Black Garlic Alfredo recipe here.

7.   Stir into soup as in this Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Soup from my soup recipe cookbook which gives one key recipe plus all the info I can think of and 60+ soups based on the key recipe.

8.   Parmesan and Garlic Butter 

Just add freshly grated Parmesan to garlic butter and use in all sorts of fabulous ways such as ...

     ~   garlic bread
     ~   swirl into hot soup
     ~   chill and slice to top steak, chicken, fish etc.
or asparagus!
     ~   serve on corn
     ~   spread in appropriate sandwiches
     ~   pop in a jacket potato
     ~   add to mashed potato
     ~   after pan frying something and setting aside to rest stir the butter into the juices  for a quick sauce
     ~   add to pasta or risotto
     ~   etc.

Read more about compound butters here.

9.   Asparagus & Parmesan Sauce or Pesto

Cook asparagus till tender but not at all mushy and purée with butter and Parmesan cheese for a simple sauce or with the classic Pesto ingredients; garlic, Parmesan, olive oil and pine nuts, to be almost authentic. Stir through cooked peas, hot pasta or serve as a dip.

10.   Don’t throw away Parmesan rinds!

~ Simmer in tomato sauces or soups, as is traditional when making Minestrone, or in any sauce or soup that you would grate Parmesan over.
~ Parmesan broth – simmer rinds in chicken or vegetable stock together with your choice of flavourings for an hour or more. Strain and use the broth in soup, sauces, and risotto.
~ Marinate in olive oil together with flavourings such as herbs, garlic, black peppercorns or chilli. Discard the rind and use the oil to drizzle or dip.

As you may know I am a bugger for leftovers so please see here for 64 Ideas for Leftover Cheese many of which can be made with Parmesan (plus a Joke!)