Foodie Friday - Eggplant Parmesan

I never used to like Aubergines as a child; Then I tried the most amazing Eggplant Parmesan at Rockefeller Centre in NewYork last year.

This week's recipe is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but tweaked a little bit... I made a few shortcuts as we were too hungry...

The recipe will feed 4 people


Ingredients List:

• 3 large Aubergines
• Olive oil
• Malden Sea Salt (but you can use other salts of course). Leave seasoning out if making this for your baby - I left a corner in the dish for our bubba and didn't use any Salt and Pepper there.
• Ground Black Pepper
• 1 jar of Tomato sauce - this is the cheat... if you want to make your own sauce, please do (Or go to Jamie Oliver's recipe)
• 3 large handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese
• 150 grams Buffalo Mozzarella (optional)

Preparation:

• Slice the Aubergines into thick, 1 cm slices (removing the stalks) and put a side.
•  Heat up your grill / griddle pan / BBQ - whichever method you use, the pan needs to be really hot.
• I prefer to oil the Aubergines rather than the pan BUT Aubergines are like sponges so only oil them once you are ready to grill otherwise they will soak up the oil and will not taste nice.
• I grilled my Aubergines on the barbecue. Just before grilling, put some Olive oil in a bowl and place one slice at a time, coating both sides. Only coat as many as you can fit in one batch of cooking.
• Grill the Aubergines until nicely coloured and charred.

• Meanwhile, heat up the Tomato sauce
• Once the sauce is ready and you have grilled all your Aubergines, get an oven proof dish (Earthware type dish / Pyrex etc) 25 x 15 cm.
• Put a small layer of Tomato sauce, then thin scattering of the grated Parmesan cheese, season if you wish, followed by a layer of Aubergines.
• Repeat until you have used up all the ingredients, finishing up with the Tomato sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
• If using Buffalo Mozzarella, tear it and spread across the top.

• Place the dish in the oven, 190 degrees  / 375 Fahrenheit / gas 5, for about half an hour until golden.

This dish is best served immediately but can be served later if need be.

Bon Appetite

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Foodie Friday - Parmesan Drumsticks

This week's recipe is a quick mid-week fix. I made it this week for the first time and decided it deserved a post. 5-10 minutes of prep, easy peasy.

This recipes will feed 2 adults
I served mine with giant couscous and Salad.

Ingredients list:

• 7-8 Drumsticks
• 50 grams Butter
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 115 grams Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp Paprika
• 1 tbsp dried Oregano
• 1 tsp dried Parsley
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees (if cooking immediately)
• Melt the butter on the stove and pour into a large bowl
• Add the Olive Oil to the butter and stir well
• In a separate bowl place the Parmesan cheese, Paprika, Oregano, dried Parsley and season with Salt and Pepper

• Lightly oil a baking tray
• Working with one drumstick at a time, place in the bowl containing the butter and oil and coat well
• Transfer to the bowl with the dried rub ingredients and coat well
• Place the drumstick on the baking tray until all are in place

• At this point you can place the tray in the fridge for few hours, which will actually help the rub stick better to the meat. Make sure to remove from the fridge about an hour before cooking
• Cook in the oven for about 35-45 minutes, turning the drumsticks half way through cooking. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your drumsticks. Check the meat is ready before serving. If needed, continue cooking for few more minutes
• Serve and Enjoy

Bon Appetite

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Foodie Friday - Tomato Salad

Simple. Easy. Delicious.

That's all the intro this beautiful salad needs. I made it for the first time this week and we polished it off so quickly that I didn't even get a chance to take a photo... use your imagination guys

Ingredients List:

• Cherry Tomatoes, chopped in half (or quarters if using the larger variety of Cherry Tomatoes)
• Red Onion, small, diced finely
• Fresh Mint leaves, handful, roughly chopped
• Salt
• Olive Oil
• 2 tsp Lemon zest

Preparation: 

• On a serving dish or a bowl, place the Cherry Tomatoes, diced Onion and Mint leaves.
• Just before serving, season with Salt, drizzle Olive Oil and sprinkle the Lemon zest.
• Serve and Enjoy

Simply a great side salad dish.

Bon Appetite
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Foodie Friday - Schnitzel

Continuing with our culinary trip around the world, today's recipe is of Austrian origin. Its the Schnitzel. This lovely, juicy fried breaded chicken breast is one of my favourites (like most of the recipes I posted so far) and it really takes me back to my childhood. My mum and my nan have their own versions but this in my own twist on it.

The following recipe will feed 2 very hungry adults or 4 normal portions

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, enough for shallow frying the chicken breasts
4 large Chicken breasts, butterflied
Flour
2 Eggs, beaten
Bread crumbs
Seasoning, Salt and Pepper

Notes

• You can also cut the chicken breasts into thick strips before coating them  - kids love it.
• Bread crumbs - for best results use Panco bread crumbs (Japanese shavings) but can also use store bought Bread crumbs, sold in every supermarket. You can make your own by using stale bread (alternatively dry fresh bread in the oven) and blitz in a food processor until you have crumbs.
• You can add grated Parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs but this will brown quicker so you will have to finish the cooking process in a pre heated oven, 180 degrees for about 15 minutes.
• Best served with Potato chips or mash but can be served with Rice, Noodles, Pasta or Salad.

Preparation

• The Chicken should be butterflied or alternatively, use a meat hammer to flatten it out so it cooks evenly. I prefer to butterfly it to avoid tearing the meat.
• Pour Flour into large plate and season with Salt and Pepper.
• Place the beaten Egg on another plate.
• Pour Bread crumbs into yet another plate. 
• Heat the oil in a skillet / frying pan until it is hot enough but not burning. If you have food thermometer, it should be 180 degrees. 
• In the meantime, dip each Chicken breast in Flour, coating both sides.
• Next, dip each Chicken breast in the beaten Egg, coating well on both sides.
• Finally, dip each Chicken breast in the Bread crumbs, coating well on both sides. Depending on which Bread crumbs you use, you can "double dip": after the first coating in Bread crumbs, dip again in the beaten Eggs and in the Bread crumbs - This will work well with the Panco crumbs but not so much with the fresh Bread crumbs.
• Once the oil is ready, fry each coated Chicken breast on both sides, until golden.
• Transfer onto a plate with paper towel to absorb any oil and sprinkle with Salt.
• If your Chicken breast is slightly thicker on one side, check it is cooked before serving by making a small cut in the thick end. If not cooked, cook in a pre heated oven, 180 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
• Serve and enjoy

Bon Appetite

Foodie Friday - Paella

Inspired by the lovely summer weather at the beginning of the week, I have decided to make a Chicken and Prawns Paella for this week's Foodie Friday. You can create a variation of these by changing the Chicken, Chorizo and Prawns. You can create a Sea food Paella or a meat-fest Paella...

Ingredients
60 ml Olive Oil plus extra for frying the chicken
1 large Onion (white), diced
200 grams Chorizo, cut into cubes
250 grams Paella rice
3 Garlic cloves, crushed (optional) 
1 tbsp Tomato purée
1 tsp ground Paprika
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced or cut into strips
1500 ml Saffron infused Chicken stock - see below for preparation method. 
1/2 glass White Wine or Vermouth
300 grams Chicken -  Breast, Thigh or both. See detailed below for preparation method.
300 grams King Prawns, raw
Chopped flat leaf Parsley
Lemon wedges to serve

Saffron infused Chicken Stock
Re-heat or make hot chicken stock. Add a good pinch of Saffron. Saffron is not the cheapest ingredient in the world but it is a key ingredient in this dish. I say good pinch as I leave it up to you how much to use.
Simmer and keep it hot if using immediately. Otherwise, let it cool and keep in the fridge or freeze for future use.

Grilled / Fried Chicken
Grilled or barbecued Chicken adds a different dimension to this dish but you can also fry the Chicken if that is more convenient. To prepare the Chicken, firstly dry each piece (whether using breast or thigh), season and rub Olive oil all over it. Grill, barbecue or fry your Chicken until nicely coloured on the outside but not cooked through as we will finish the cooking process in the Paella dish. We don't want to dry out the Chicken. Once rested, Cut into strips.

Preparation

• Add Olive oil to a large pan or Paella pan, if using one.
• Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the Onions. Stir to ensure all Onions are coated with the oil. Cook on a medium heat, cover and leave for 5 minutes until the Onions are cooked, soft and translucent. Make sure the Onions aren't beginning to colour.
• Add Chorizo and stir.
• Add the Rice to the pan and fry for 4 minutes until the edges of the grains are white but not coloured or starting to burn.
• Add the Garlic and Tomato purée.
• Add White wine, allow it to reduce down.
• Cook for 5 minutes, ensuring nothing burns. Add Olive oil if needed. 
• Sprinkle Paprika and stir.
• Add Bell Peppers and stir.
• Add hot Saffron infused Chicken stock, ladle by ladle, so there is just enough liquid to keep the Rice moist, but don't drown it. Once the liquid is absorbed, add more stock. Make sure not to let the Rice dry out. Keep adding stock until the Rice is cooked.

• While the Rice is cooking, prepare the Chicken. Please see above for preparation method.
• Add Prawns and Chicken strips (or any other ingredients you wish to add).
• Cover to ensure the Chicken doesn't dry whilst we finish cooking.
• Season to taste.
• Add Parsley and squeeze one wedge of Lemon directly into the pan and stir.
• Serve with a wedge of Lemon and a drizzle of Olive oil (optional)

Bon Appetite

Mummy Monday - To Bib or not to Bib

My daughter is still very young and we have not started the weaning process yet, so today's post will not be a very detailed review of bibs; at the moment, I use bibs for drooling and burping and have yet to put them through a rough test - tomato sauce and pasta I hear you say...

Instead, today, I wanted to share 2 unusual bibs I have been using recently which I think I really useful:

• Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature milk feeding bibs
• Mum2Mum's Bandana Wonder Bib

Let's start with the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature milk feeding bibs

These are suitable from 0 months and have an extra absorbent dribble catcher which helps when milk feeding, in case of leaks or spillages. 

The bib is made from 65% cotton and 35% polyester and is machine washable at 30 degrees but not suitable for dryers.

Fairly soft fabric, even after few washes, with a thicker absorbent band which wraps around the neck, under the chin.  It has a velcro neck fastening and because it fastens so close to the neck, it protects cloths from smells and stains as well as getting wet when dribbling. This also helps eliminate rashes and protects baby's skin.

Good size, feels nice and most importantly its close enough to the neck to protect the skin and clothing.
BUT - these do absorb quite a lot and so get wet and soaked very quickly!

Moving on to Mum2Mum Bandana Wonder Bib

This bib is quite unique and I love the look, feel and most importantly how great this bib is.

The bib is made out of 100% cotton, super absorbent towelling with a nylon back so even if the bib gets really wet, cloths and skin stay dry. Great idea!

Machine washable at 40 degrees and dryer safe.

The bib can holds up to a 1/4 cup of liquids and protects against Eczema.

It has 2 fastening settings and according to the label is suitable from 4 months to 3 years. 

This bib is in a shape of a bandana so it look cool and does not cover all of your child's outfit, just the chest area, where you need it.

Great bib that protects against reflux, Eczema and dribbles and look really cool.

Once my baby start on solids and crucially starts making more mess, I will update you on how these bibs perform as well as review other bibs which are more suitable for eating.

If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

Stay dashing
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Foodie Friday - Pizza

Today's Foodie Friday recipe is nothing fancy or complicated. It is a simple dish but ohh so lovely

Home made Pizza is one of life's simplest pleasure and is it not as hard to make as you may think. This is also impressive when entertaining and you can get your guests involved too - build your own Pizza theme...

This recipe will make 2 large Pizzas or 4 small individual portions.

Ingredients list:

• 500 grams 00's Pasta flour or strong Bread flour
• 2 tsp quick Yeast
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 350 ml Water
• Mozzarella cheese (I use Buffalo Mozzarella)
• Tomato Passata (or Pizza topping sauce)
• Dried Oregano
• Toppings of your choice

Preparation:

• In a large bowl (or the bowl of a mixer) combine the dry ingredients of the dough; Flour, Yeast, Sugar and Salt and give them a stir.  

• Add Olive oil and water and combine to form your dough. Kneed for around 10 minutes or use a mixer on low speed for about 5 minutes until your dough is elastic and not sticky. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour; if the dough doesn't seem to come together, add more water (but add a little at a time as you don't want it too sticky).
• Once your dough is ready, shape into a ball and place it back in the bowl. Cover with a lightly oiled cling film and place in a warm place for an hour or so until the dough rises.

• Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. If you are using a baking stone, place it in the oven now.
• Divide the dough into the desired number of Pizzas.
• Rolling your dough ball to the desired size and shape. 
• I use a Pizza peel (looks like a shovel) so at this point I tend to place a non stick baking paper / Parchment paper on the Pizza peel, sprinkle flour to avoid the pizza sticking and then transfer the shaped dough onto the peel - this makes it easier to place the Pizza in the oven. If you are using a baking tray, place non stick baking paper on your tray and sprinkle flour. Place your dough on the tray.

• Spread Tomato sauce on the dough.
• Sprinkle Oregano
• Place sliced / torn Mozzarella cheese
• Add toppings
• At this point you can sprinkle a little bit Olive Oil but make sure you stay within the borders of the Pizza. If the base gets wet, it will stick!

• Place in the oven - if using a stone, slide your Pizza (together with the baking paper) onto the stone. If using a baking tray, place in the middle shelf.
• Bake for about 10 minutes but keep an eye on your Pizza - depending how thick your base is. Thin Pizza will be ready in about 8 minutes, thicker might take 12-15 minutes.
• Once the cheese has melted and your Pizza achieved the desired colour, take it out of the oven. 
• Remove the baking paper. I slide a palette knife under the Pizza to ensure the base didn't stick during baking.
• Serve and enjoy

Bon Appetite