Hi this is ME....on English Potted Meats and things, Tuesday, 18th March 2014.

English Potted Meats, as  for Potted Beef, is a roasted meat, plus flavourings, either shredded between two forks or blended to a choice of coarseness, potted up in a container, like a Ramekin or similar and given a clarified or melted butter seal to keep it moist and fresh.  You can then store it in a cool larder on a slate slab or shelf, if you are the lucky owner of such an old-fashioned larder, or 'fridge or even freezer (if nowhere else).

Just potted beef with its covering of melted butter for home eating

We have been potting meats or things for a very long time, an age-old English food tradition, along with Brawn, food timbales, or moulds and such like food, also puddings as blancmange or shape, as it was sometimes named, set in a mould and turned-out to serve.  Food set in an aspic jelly and turned-out, asp jelly poured into pies and terrines for setting under a 1 kg. weight, and when set and cold, for turning-out onto a patterned serving dish, for the cold buffet table.  Or the English Ham and Egg Pie set with aspic and when cold and ready for serving, proudly set on a separate serving platter and sliced for presentation with the hard-boiled egg whole, then sliced.  Or a wonderful meat Terrine, in a raised pastry case, set with aspic jelly, weighted to set.

I used to own a wonderful brown Elizabeth David lidded Terrine, bought from her London shop, oh years ago go, now.  Cherished and loved, imagine my horror on discovering my beautiful Terrine had suffered storage breakage during a house move.  No blame to anyone - it was just a casualty of removal from one home to another, but I was heart-broken....

Today for lunch I had two slices of my Sourdough Bread made with my own home-made sourdough starter - oh boy, there was fun to be had in the making of that!  So toasted home-made Sourdough bread, spread with a small dollop of Hellmann's Mayo, topped with a liberal dollop of my home-made Potted Beef, cosily snuggled beneath a crisp, butter seal (just melted butter for home consumption) but, if you make Potted Beef to give as lovely kitchen presents for Christmas or, just because occasions! - then do clarify your butter for a really super-home "professional" finish.

And catching up with today, Tuesday, 15th April, 2014..............this one has been left to brew!

Yesterday's cooking of Panettone yielded brilliant results from both recipes - Paul Hollywood's beautifully enriched mixture containing five eggs, milk and butter, and with Anne Sheasby's less enriched but just as delicious recipe, which is a much simpler and quicker Panettone to prepare, prove and bake.  I rather suspect her recipe will be made more often - I do like Panettone so much, and so does my family in Australia.  Can't wait to visit and make Panettone "down under!"???

Here are the results of my kitchen fun yesterday...making Panettone!

Just turned out nicely.......

Super-nicely munching....

My Panettone proving nicely!

Daisy

Panettone revisited - Monday, 14th April, 2014.

I'm making another batch of Panettone again, meaning actually to make just one, a repeat of the Paul Hollywood recipe tried at the end of March and eaten with much relish.

However, this morning, knocking back the dough after it's overnight firm-up time, the dough appeared much less responsive than before and, I have this pet theory which believes a second-time make of any recipe always presents differently to the first make, so it's akin to beginning a completely new project.

I'm really not sure how my mix will prove and, as the bake is required for our book club eats evening this evening, I've made another stab at the other Panettone recipe from "Bread" by Anne Sheasby.  The first bake was unfortunately disappointing in that the dough did not perform well.  It didn't rise and my daughter queried its very identity, for the cooked dough was round and squat and not at all recognisably Panettone!  However, its taste was good and a spell in the freezer in no way diminished this Panettone's munch-ability.

Actually, in the end I made Anne Sheasby's recipe twice, one a true repetition and a second bake with cherries and a few strands of saffron; I do like cherries in enriched dough recipes!

So now I'm playing the waiting game for my three mixtures, wondering which one will first rise to the occasion for baking in  time for tonight's gathering.

Bread is such an elemental, basic food, one to get to grips with, needing  little time and attention but delivering  an excellent product for the whole family.  Fresh, newly baked bread, encourages everyone to the table and gives good satisfaction for daytime snacks, brilliant breakfasts, and crumbs of comfort for all.

Well, almost all, for unfortunately, those of us we shouldn't eat too much bread or, even worse still, those who cannot eat any wheat-based bread at all.  I do hope to improve all of my bread making skills, both regular and gluten-free types, and enjoy the whole process, one way or another!

I've just looked at my three dough mixtures and I'm pleased to tell you all three are proving nicely.  My Panettone must be cooked by 6.30pm giving still a little more proving time, so all is well for another thirty minutes and then, well, I must decide how to proceed.

Here's a photo-shot of my proving dough mixtures -

My version of Paul Hollywood's recipe

My lst bake version of Anne Sheasby's recipe

My 2nd bake version of Anne Sheasby's recipe with cherries and saffron

I'll tell you how my mixtures turned out in my next blog later this week.  In the meantime, I shall be looking into other breads and, of course, its the Formula One GP in China this weekend, which the dear SO is eagerly anticipating, looking forward to the race.

Mmm! I wonder what bread they eat in China?!!!

Byeeee!
Daisy

Beef Stew, Beef Chilli and Spaghetti Bolognese.....!

We've just enjoyed deep bowls of beef stew hurriedly cooked in the pressure cooker.  The meat was seared and browned, vegetables, stock and seasonings are added, then the ingredients are pressure cooked for about eight minutes.  Its delicious.  We've used Sainsbury's diced been with tinned tomatoes, red kidney beans, potatoes, beef stock cube stock and a small amount of Sainsbury's beef gravy granules.

Last night, we road-tested my super-quick beef chilli recipe, even making a couple of improvements, which were much appreciated; such as using less stock for a slightly drier and more compact meal plus a doubling up of the amount of spices used.

We sliced one large onion and softened it in two tablespoons of hot Rape Seed oil for about six minutes, then added four smashed and skinned  garlic cloves, one tin of plum tomatoes and a tin of red kidney beans, sliced carrots from a bag of ready prep'd mixed veggies from Sainsbury's  - because this is a super-quick recipe!  Next, for the spices, one teaspoon each of chilli powder, cayenne pepper, cumin and sweet paprika plus marjoram or oregano, and one teaspoon of sugar.  Of course, don't forget a littler sea salt and ground   black peppercorns and a tablespoon of Sainsbury's beef gravy granules.  You can omit this if you prefer but it gives a darker colour to your finished dish!

Stir well to amalgamate over a good heat for about two to three minutes then add one beef stock cube and a good splash of boiling water.  Afix the lid onto your pressure cooker, bring up to 15lb. pressure, set your timer for five minutes and turn down the heat under your pan, so that all you get is a soft hissing sound.

When you timer sounds, remove your pan to the kitchen sink and run a slow stream of cold water over the lid until the pressure has been released, which will take just a few minutes.  Remove the lid and test a little of the hot meat and sauce, and serve at once into warmed bowls over hot rice with vegetables and enjoy.

You can add soured cream and mango chutney if you like to, I do, but its great just as it is and this is how I eat it for a speedy mid-week supper, any time!                                                                                            

Do check with your pressure cooker instructions and follow their recommendations.   If you haven't such a cooker, then just leave your beef in a hot over for between twenty - thirty minutes until done and piping hot.

For the rice, I like to keep tubs of cooked mixed rice and veggies in the freezer ready to use whenever needed.  Just add a little boiling water to your mixture, then micro-wave defrost for six minutes, followed by   five - ten minutes cooking on full heat to piping hot.  Home cooked rice and veggies are perfectly OK to freezer-store in small amounts for future use,  just as long as your initially-cooked rice is cooled within ninety minutes and only then stored as fully cold.  Also, a left-over rice dish should be either 'fridged-stored overnight and eaten cold the following day with salad and cold meat or cheese or discarded..  Never leave your rice dish out overnight as it will be unsafe to eat, so if you have some remaining from a meal, store in your 'fridge for a cold item the following day or freezer-store, once completely cold, for a future meal.

Our Spaghetti Bolognese is just  happy memory now - it was good - but I'll be cooking it again soon and will write about it then, with the recipe.  

Happy eating...!

Daisy