Or just simply known as Roast Beef in English, is one of my favourite things to cook. I cook it the French way, based on a simplistic French recipe that needs little ingredients but tastes amazing! I’ve cooked this numerous times and each time, with a different style of potatoes… creamy buttery mash or rosemary roasted. The beef literally melts in your mouth & the combination of flavours are amazing. A must try for any meat lover.

Ingredients:
1 kg Roasting Beef (I used good quality Silverside today)
4 cloves of garlic
A bunch of fresh rosemary & thyme
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp crushed garlic (out of a tube or jar, to be lazy!)
A little butter
Salt and Pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 240°c for 15 minutes then turn down to 180°c.

2. Make a few holes in the roast and add the crushed garlic. Rub the butter, fresh thyme, rosemary, mixed herbs, salt and pepper forming a crust.

3. Wrap the beef in aluminium foil & roast in the oven for 50 minutes until it’s nicely pink in the center. If it’s too pink, add 10 more minutes onto the cooking time and test it. I’m not a fan of a meat being too bloody so this cooking time is perfect for me (after numerous calculations!).

4. Let the beef stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing thinly.

5. Make a jus using the juice and herbs from the roasting tin, adding a little red wine, salt, pepper & 1/2 tsp of cornflour to thicken.

6. Serve with your chosen sides & enjoy!

Sadly I completely forgot to take a photo of dinner once it was all plated up with mixed vegetables & my garlic rosemary roast potatoes. Instead, here is a photo of the dish the last time I cooked it with creamy buttery mashed potatoes

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 5 people (but hey you can cook it for yourself & have tons of leftovers!)

The latest blog I have become addicted to is that of Chrissy Teigen who not only is an exquisitely beautiful model & John Legend’s girlfriend but is also an amazingly hilarious food blogger & cook. I came across her blog while ago & now can’t wait to read what she has to say next. One afternoon at work while bored, I read her entire blog and couldn’t help but laugh my head off one minute, then the next drool at photos along with recipes she posted.

One recipe I have been dying to try is Yum Nua, a quick & simple Thai Beef Salad which she made with her sister, who are part Thai. It is literally so simple & fast that no one should have any excuse NOT to try it. You can customize the dish to suit your individual taste which is great for picky people! I had to edit the recipe a little for the UK Supermarkets & my preference but you can see the original here.

“This dish really epitomizes Thai cooking. Done properly, it embodies everything Thai food should be; balancing the principles of thai cuisine. The key to Thai food in general is combing salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. You should not be able to identify whether this dish is more or less of one particular flavor, hence creating the perfect balance”. ~ So Delushious

Ingredients:
Sirloin/Fillet Steak
1 small Red Onion, sliced
Handful of Coriander Leaves, chopped
Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
2 Limes, juiced
1 tbs Brown Sugar
1-2 tbs Fish Sauce
2 Red Thai Chillies (use more if you dare!)
2 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

Method:
1. Fry/Grill your steak how you like it. I made mine medium, not a huge fan of it moo-ing at me on the plate but the lime juice will continue to cook it for you. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before slicing it. Add the steak to a bowl.

2. Put all the non-vegetable ingredients into the bowl with the steak & toss it altogether

3. Add the vegetable ingredients, tossing again & tasting to see if it’s how you like it. As Chrissy stated “Tasting as you go is the most important part. You are eating it, so add more fish sauce if it needs more salt, more sugar if it is too lime-y”.

4. Place on a plate with mixed lettuce leaves & tuck in while still warm. Yum Yum Yum!

Everyone who knows me & reads my blog knows that I love to cook. When I was approached & asked if I wanted to review products from an online meat company The Blackface Meat Company who were going to send me products to cook with, I instantly said YES!

The Blackface Meat Company believes passionately in the link between a healthy landscape and the highest quality meat. The two are so closely bound that the flavour of our products is of the land itself: the heather and the berries; the wild grasses and fresh waters of the burns found in the most beautiful, unspoilt regions of Britain.

We are a small family business, rearing Blackface sheep and Galloway cattle on our heather clad hill farm in the South West of Scotland. We supply a wide range of high quality, oven-ready game from selected Scottish estates and we also source slow grown ‘Iron Age’ pork and Christmas turkeys from nearby farms. This is the lamb, mutton, game, beef and pork enjoyed by our ancestors, now available all over the UK via our efficient home delivery service.

We are also long term, trusted suppliers to some of London’s best-loved restaurants, including The Ivy, Fergus Henderson’s St. John and Rowley Leigh’s Cafe des Anglais.

All of the meat from Blackface is traceable. They breed and rear their own beef, mutton and lamb. Game is sourced from various selected estates within Scotland known to the company so that they can know the quality of the produce they handle. They also source pork and turkeys from local suppliers. The meat is then matured in a traditional way where it is hung at controlled temperatures to develop flavours and tenderness. Blackface can also butcher meat to your requirements free of charge for your ease (which is great if you hate cutting raw meat like I do hahaha!)

As previous stated, Blackface run an online ordering service selling a variety of different meats. All meats bought are then sent out vacuum sealed within insulated boxes with ice-gel packs to help keep the meat cool. On top of that, they also have full cooking instructions and recipes on their website for their produce which will complement their meat. You can also call them to place an order as well which is pretty good if you aren’t too sure about online meat shopping or want some advice before purchasing. It would be ideal for Christmas & New Year time!

I was sent 1 kilogram of Blackface Mutton. I haven’t had mutton for years, I think the last time I had it was when I was a little kid living in Singapore & our old maid Suriya who was from Indonesian used to make us mutton curries. Yum! Mutton has a very unique taste, very powerful tastes and can be cooked & served just like lamb. It’s best slow cooking it for hours to achieve the best tenderness.

There were a few little hiccups when I was sent the products, the Use By date stated July, so I sent a panic email to Kathryn over at Blackface incase it was the wrong order. She stated that the labelling machines were playing up but the meat was within it’s Use By date & was only packaged the day before. Panic over. Everyone makes mistakes.

With the mutton, I decided to make Achari Gosht which is a Pickled Mutton Curry from India & Pakistan. I love curries so what better use of the meat than one of my all time favourites! The recipe is pretty straight forward & the end result is amazing! The meat turned out extremely tender with amazing flavours. Mutton is starting to come back into fashion within the UK & is a great alternative to Beef & Lamb. Blackface makes it so easily available to you along with lots of other products at great prices. Huge Thumbs Up!

Ingredients:
1 kg Diced Mutton
6 Whole Red Chillies
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Onion Seeds (stocked at Asian supermarkets)
5 Cloves
7 tsps Mustard Oil
4 small Onions, chopped
2 inch piece of Ginger, chopped
5 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 tsp Turmeric powder
4 medium Tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Dry roast the red chillies, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, onion seeds and cloves separately. Cool slightly and grind coarsely to create your masala powder.

2. Heat the mustard oil in a thick-bottomed pan until starts to smoke, cool and heat it again. Add the onions and sauté until brown. Add the ginger and garlic and continue to sauté. Add coarsely ground masala powder. Cook for half a minute, stirring all the time. Add mutton, cook on high heat till mutton pieces are well browned. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt and mix well. Cook till oil leaves the masala.

3. Add two and half cups of water, bring it to a boil and cover. Cook on medium heat till the mutton is almost done. Add tomatoes, place everything into an oven proof dish & cook at around 160 degrees for 1 hour (or longer if you wish depending on tenderness).

4. At the end, add lemon juice and mix together. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot garnished with coriander leaves & rice.

I love Indian food, a lot. Growing up as a kid in Asia & the Middle East has made me a food snob when it comes to Chinese & Indian cuisine. I came across this recipe a while ago & have made it numerous times since. It has since become one of my favourites to make. Not only is it super quick to make, it’s easily adaptable in the sense that you can use Chicken or Prawns while making it & it’s amazingly tasty! The recipe below is my adapted version of the original by The Hairy Bikers.

Ingredients:
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1-2 red chillies, chopped (you can remove the seeds if you want, but I love them)
2 garlic cloves
4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp methi/fenugreek powder
1 tbsp water
½ tsp ground turmeric
500g chicken breasts
200ml coconut milk
1 lime, juice only

Method:
1. Blend the onion, chilli, garlic and ginger to a paste in a food processor.

2. Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, mustard seeds and fenugreek powder and fry for 20-30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the onion, chilli and garlic paste and fry for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the chicken breast and cook for 5-6 minutes until cooked. Add the water, turmeric and cook for another few minutes. Add the coconut milk and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4. Bring the mixture to a simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until the coconut has warmed through and the chicken fully cooked. Squeeze the lime juice on top, serve with some basmati rice & sprinkle some chopped coriander on top.

Chinese food. I love it. Plain & Simple. Every since living in Singapore as a kid, I can’t get enough. Trouble is, growing up in Singapore has also made me extremely picky about the type of Chinese food I eat. I detest a lot of the UK Chinese Takeaway’s who serve sticky congealed goo & try pass it off as authentic Chinese food. Luckily, I have a local Chinese Restaurant who serves amazing food but ultimately, I prefer cooking my own using authentic Chinese recipes, that way I know exactly what’s in it & that it’s fresh!

My latest favourite Chinese recipe? A quick & simple Fried Sweet Chilli Chicken originally by Ching-He Huang, one of my favourite Chinese chef’s around at the moment. I edited her recipe a little & below is my edited version. The recipe will also work amazingly well with Prawns which was also a childhood favourite of mine from Singapore, complete with oodles & oodles of chilli sauce!

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts, sliced into goujons
4 tbsp Cornflour
2 Egg whites
500 ml Groundnut oil for deep-frying (or use Vegetable as alternative)
1 Pinch of salt and pepper
3 tsp Lazy Garlic (or use 4 garlic cloves, crushed)
3 tsp Minced Ginger (or slice an inch piece of fresh root ginger)
2 Medium Red Chilies
6 tbsp Sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp Light soy sauce
The juice of 1 Lime

Method:
1. Season the chicken pieces with salt and white pepper. Combine the cornflour and egg whites to make a batter. Heat a wok over a high heat and fill it to one-third of its depth with groundnut oil. Heat the oil to 180°C or until a cube of bread dropped in turns golden brown in 15 seconds and floats to the surface.

2. Dip the chicken slices in the batter, lower into the oil and deep-fry for about 5 minutes until crispy and golden. Lift out using tongs and drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Pour the oil from the wok through a sieve into a heatproof container.

3. To make the sauce, wipe out the wok and heat over a high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the drained oil and, when it starts to smoke, add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the chilli sauce, soy sauce and lime juice. Mix well.

4. Return the chicken to the wok and turn to coat in the hot sauce, serve immediately with some white rice. End result? It’s amazing, leaving you wanting more & more!

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins
Serves: 2-3 people

For some reason, every time I have a day off from work, I want to bake. It might be because I have a crazy stressful job & baking to me is a stress relief, not just a hobby. Every time I bake, I bake tons then give a batch to my next door neighbours & then the guys I work with. The other day I was requested to bring in some goodies as it’s been a while since I have. So, I decided to try something new…. Oreo Truffles & Banana Muffins. The result? AMAZING! I posted photos on twitter during the baking process & nearly everyone is asking for the recipe so I thought that I should get my butt into action & blog them ASAP! I hope that you all enjoy them & make them for yourself, if you do, let me know how you got on

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:
2 packs of Oreo Cookies (Morrisons in the UK are currently doing a deal on them, 49p instead of 99p, bonus!)
1 tub of Cream Cheese
300g White Chocolate, Melted

Method:
1. Crush Oreo’s using either a rolling pin or a mini food processor (I did, much easier plus I’m lazy!) and stir in softened cream cheese. Mix together well. Try & resist sticking your finger into the mixture. It’s addictive!

2. Roll the mixture into small balls with your hands (Warning! It’s messy!) and place on a baking tray which has wax paper on it to prevent sticking. Pop into the fridge for around 10-15 mins to set a little bit.

3. Melt chocolate in the microwave until melted (be careful it doesn’t burn!) and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and place on the baking tray. I then used some crushed Oreo’s to sprinkle on top.

4. Leave to set & then pop into the fridge. Quick, Easy & To Die For!

Banana Muffins

Ingredients:
120g Walnuts
230g All-Purpose Flour
150g Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
115g Unsalted Butter, melted
3 Ripe Large Bananas, mashed well
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line a 12 muffin baking tray with muffin cases.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts.

3. In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. Do not over mix the batter, over mixing the batter making the muffins rubbery!

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake for around 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for five minutes and then remove muffins from the Baking Tray. This makes approx 12 muffins.

I love this recipe, generally because it’s so frikin quick & easy to make for something that tastes amazing! Anytime I’m making chinese food, I always want to have a prawn dish as they are my favourite shellfish, ever! Next time you have prawns & want to try something different, try this!

Ingredients:
120g grated coconut
2 tbsp dried chilli flakes
12 prawns, shelled and deveined
100g cornflour
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Salt & Pepper

Method:
1. Mix together the coconut and chilli. Dip the prawns in the cornflour, then into the egg whites and finally into the coconut/chilli mix. Shake off any excess, but make sure each one is well coated.

2. Deep-fry until golden brown, drain on kitchen paper, season with salt and serve piping hot along with rice & sweet chilli sauce

Quick & Easy!

This is currently one of my favourite things to make, it’s great if you are not in the mood to cook something that takes a long time to prepare & make. This can be done in under 30 minutes & tastes to die for! I have tried the recipe using Chicken as well & tastes just as great! *drools*

For the beef
• 4 sirloin or frying steaks
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp chopped ginger
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper

For the sauce
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200g French Beans
• 1 Red Pepper Sliced
• 1 Large Red Chilli
• 1 tbsp Dried Chilli Flakes
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 200ml hot water with Vegetable Stock Cube
• 2 tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water

1. Cut the steak into strips into a mixing bowl. Mix the crushed garlic with the five spice powder, soy sauce, wine and seasoning. Pour over the beef and set aside for a while.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok, add the beef along with its marinade and stir fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes, until just cooked.

4. Tip in the French Beans & Peppers and stir fry for another minute before adding the chillies, soy sauce and rice wine. Stir briskly for another 30 seconds or so.

5. Pour in the hot water with stock cube and bring the sauce to the boil.

6. Add the cornflour and water mixture to the pan while still over the heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until thickened.

7. Add in a packet of Fresh Egg Noodles, approx 200g & mix throughly with the beef for another 2 minutes & serve. You could alternatively serve with rice instead.

Ingredients for Chicken Escalopes
4 skinless chicken breasts
10-12 fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
12 black peppercorns, crushed
8 tbsp plain flour
2 free-range eggs, beaten
150ml milk
250g fresh breadcrumbs
180g unsalted butter
1 lemon

Method:
1. Sandwich each chicken breast between two sheets of cling film. Using a rolling pin, flatten each chicken breast until it has widened & become thinner. Remove and discard the cling film. Season the chicken escalopes with the chopped parsley and black pepper.

2. Tip the flour into a bowl. Beat the eggs and milk together in a separate bowl. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs onto a plate. Place each chicken escalope in the flour and shake off any excess. Dip each floured escalope in the egg and milk mixture, then place it in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

3. Heat half of the butter in a frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add two of the breaded chicken escalopes, in batches, and fry for 4-6 minutes on each side, or until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden-brown and the chicken is cooked through (the juices will run clear when the chicken is pierced in the thickest part with a skewer). Remove the breaded escalopes from the pan, plate it with salad (or couscous, which I did) & squeeze lemon juice over the escalopes along with serving a wedge of lemon on the side.

Quick, Simply & Yummy as hell!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the urge to bake these cupcakes. I never made them before but had seen photos around the internet so I thought I’d recreate it at home. The result was AMAZING! They are so cute, I gave boxes to my friends who gave them the thumbs up. Now you can create them too

FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs

ICING, FUR, MOUTH, NOSE & EYES
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bottle of red and blue food coloring
Milkybar buttons
A packet of cookies (I use Oreos)
Black Icing pens (can buy at any supermarket, or use melted chocolate)
A packet of coconut shavings
Orange Peanut M&M’s for Elmo’s nose

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. line the cups of a muffin tin with paper or foil liners. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a liquid-measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla; set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by milk-vanilla mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, approx 20 minutes (I timed it perfectly at 18 mins). Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before the next stage.

For the icing you will need to split this mix after making it then dye it the shade you want if making cookie monster and elmo. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat unsalted butter, confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in up to 1/2 cup more sugar or a few more teaspoons of milk as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. Makes enough for 12 cupcakes. After the icing has been made, add 1/2 the bottle of food coloring to dye it blue (and red).

For the fur, put some coconut shavings into a bowl and mix in the remainder of the food coloring to turn it blue (and red). You may need to use another bottle of food coloring depending on how many cupcakes you want to make.

ASSEMBLY
Take the cooled down cupcake and cut a mouth shape in it in a crescent shape & take out the cake slice so that there is a hole (think fairy cake but on the side). Roughly ice the cupcake with a spoon to cover the entire cupcake then dip the iced cupcake into the coconut to add the fur. The hard bit is remembering where you made the slit so use your thumb on the casing as a guide so you remember where to slide in the cookie.

For the mouth, cut a cookie in half (or use an entire one!) and push into the dug out hole, the icing should set it in there nicely as well.

For the eyes, get your milkybar buttons and put little black icing dots on them then push them into the top of the cupcake. If need be, add some blue (or red) icing to the back of them so they don’t fall off.

For Elmo’s nose, put some icing on one side of the M&M and push into the cupcake just below the eyes.