Handmade Chocolate Truffles

I haven’t finished buying my presents, I'm the most disorganised I have ever been. Trying to panic buy imaginatively on a shoe string budget is difficult to say the least. Count yourself lucky if I bought your present in advance! The ones still to get are going to be interesting to say the least! I was reading in the papers today about the worst Christmas presents ever which included a brother wrapping up a half used bottle of washing up liquid for his sister and another brother giving his sister a cereal bowl from the kitchen that he just went through and got when it was his turn to hand out gifts... Another boy got a shirt from his uncle in the post, but it was old and worn and not even clean, and brown with brown stripes... haha!

So I must try harder than that. Making things is the answer I think, I have a plan I think, and in case any of you are in the same predicament I thought I'd share these chocolates which I made last year and are pretty tasty, make them boozy and they are even better... You just need some chocolate and some cream and whatever flavours you choose, pop to the shops and start melting...

They are a Nigel Slater recipe that you can mix and match in coatings and flavourings to suit. I made rum, cardamom and plain versions, rolled in icing, chopped nuts and cocoa...

 

Chop 225g of good quality dark chocolate into small pieces and put it into a heatproof bowl. Heat 135ml of cream gently in a pan then when it is hot pour it over the chocolate and stir until it is melted. Put the mixture in the fridge to chill, for about an hour, then remove heaped tablespoons and roll very gently into little balls. Then roll them in cocoa, icing or chopped nuts, chocolate sprinkles or dip them in melted chocolate and leave to harden into a crisp chocolate shell... whatever you fancy... This will make about 25 little truffles.

 

For flavoured truffles add the flavour to the cream while you are heating it. You can use spices; some crushed cardamom seeds, a cinnamon stick or a vanilla pod, allow the cream to cool with the spices still in, then strain it and reheat to add to the chocolate. Or you can add booze, a splash of brandy or rum, whatever takes your fancy. People may enjoy them more than used washing up liquid or dirty shirts...

Stilton, Walnut and Honey Chicory Cups

It's started hasn’t it... The decadent Christmas onslaught of eating and drinking. I've had to print off a wall-chart of December to keep track of everything going on, most of which seem to be eating and drinking in different locations at all hours of the day... I've already had a work Christmas party which basically involved hours and hours of wine, I’m still feeling the after effects; another drinks party in the country, more civilised this time... and I have four more parties before the weekend even begins... I need to eat fruit and sleep lots to last the distance I think... 

I like the amount of tradition at this time of year, everyone seems to have little things set in stone that they always do and places they always go, different from each other. I like to invent new traditions too, Christmas Eve Eve supper is one of mine, by the fire in the house. Twixmas is another, a few friends and family over for a lunchtime drink and bite to eat between Christmas and New Year.

I'm looking forward to it all though, it's lovely seeing lots of friends and being all festive. I have food plans for some more potted pheasant, some smoked pheasant terrine, pickled grapes and roast duck. Some Christmas hot toddies and a few new canapés too. I'm going to read recipe books and watch television and cook, I'm quite excited...

These are my new favourite seasonal canapé, I think I have persuaded myself they are healthy because they aren't something balanced on fried bread, or something stuffed in a mini Yorkshire pudding... A little chicory cup laden with Stilton, honey and toasted nuts. Do not underestimate a canapé in a salad cup, they are really, really delicious! And they have the added bonus of being very simple, you just toast some nuts, sprinkle some Stilton and drizzle some honey... easy!

Simply toast some walnuts in a dry pan until they begin to brown, 50g will make about 20 canapés. Then divide 3 chicory heads into separate leaves, you can use red or white chicory, both are delicious. Roughly crumble about 50g of Stilton equally between the leaves. Then top the walnuts and Stilton with half a teaspoon of honey per leaf. You can add a tiny pinch of rock salt too if you fancy... The bitter chicory is delicious with the creamy cheese, sweet honey and toasted crunchy nuts, simple but amazingly tasty...

 

Roast Topside of Beef with Black Pepper, Mustard and Celery Seeds

I have some new butcher friends, they popped up to say hi on Twitter a while ago now and invited me to go and have a look round their place, which I gladly accepted. I've always been interested in butchery and have long harboured intentions of taking some kind of course one day, to learn the basics at least... 

 

Freeman’s started as a family business in South Shields in 1953 and is still run by the grandson's of the founder, albeit as a much bigger operation in the middle of Team Valley these days. Robert showed me round, to where the meat arrives, how it's labelled and tracked so they know exactly which farm every piece has come from, which abattoir it was slaughtered in and when it arrived with them. Into the giant fridges with huge cuts of meat hanging from rails, followed by a demonstration from butcher Darren of how to cut out a sirloin steak and how to cut a Barnsley chop. I had a lovely time, and sadly couldn’t stay long enough to see more, but will definitely return... 

 

So as if that wasn't good enough already, this week Robert turned up with a Christmas meat hamper for me... Christmas come early! This is the first year that they have sold hampers on line, you can have a look at the whole range here, from little ones to huge ones, full of turkey, gammon, topside of beef, duck, pork loin, sausage meat and pigs in blankets. All delivered to your door for free, if you order before the 21st December.

 

So this weekend I roasted the beautiful piece of topside beef. I crushed a tablespoon of black peppercorns and bashed them up in a pestle and mortar with a tablespoon of mustard powder, a teaspoon of dried thyme, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of celery seeds, then mixed it all with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and spread it all over the outside of the meat. I roasted it at 190°C for 47 minutes... That is 12 minutes per 450g for medium rare, mine was possibly more on the rare side but that's how I like it. Make sure you rest it properly, covered in foil for 30 minutes. I served it with a big dish of Pan Haggerty potatoes, the little pigs in blankets and lots of vegetables, followed by an apple and walnut crumble. It felt almost like Christmas...

 

 

Mini Butternut Spice Muffins

These little muffins have been popping up all over in the past few weeks. I think I can make them with my eyes closed now. I have served them at both Supperclub nights, with an array of other little puddings alongside them such as tiny boozy Campari jellies and Chocolate and Chestnut pots... Then when The Journal got in touch to say they would like me to put together some Christmas canapés for their next edition of Taste I thought they would be perfect as a tiny sweet canapé.

 
I created four different canapés for the article, a chicory leaf cup with Stilton, toasted walnuts and honey, a mackerel and horseradish pate, a parma ham and chestnut pastry roll and these little fellas. So even though it was early November I was up in the loft looking out the Christmas decorations and setting my dining table with a Christmas party scene, ready for the photographer on a Sunday afternoon, it all felt a little bit surreal! The photos all looked lovely, much better than mine, and you can see the full article and all the recipes here.

I fed the photographer as many as I could, but then owing to the fact that it wasn't Christmas and there was no actual party happening TLI and were left staring at about 80 tiny bite size pieces of food... We made a little dent in them, but ended up taking the rest to work, as much as I love canapés it was just too much, even for me...

 
So to start preheat the oven to 200°C degrees and grease your mini muffin tin with a little butter. Then peel and chop half a butternut squash into chunks and put it in to roast for about 15 minutes or until its soft, it doesn’t need any oil or anything on it. You can also use pumpkin or sweet potato too, I've used an onion squash also which was lovely...
  
This makes about 24 mini muffins or 12 large ones, I prefer the tiny cute ones. Next mix together 125g of plain flour, 110g of sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ a teaspoon of ginger, ½ a teaspoon of nutmeg and ½ a teaspoon of salt. Cut 50g of room temperature butter into small pieces then mix it through the flour and spice mix with your fingers until it's like breadcrumbs.

 
When the butternut squash is done mash it with a fork and allow it to cool. Then in a separate bowl, mix together the squash, 120ml of evaporated milk and 1 beaten egg. Pour the squash mixture into the flour mixture and add a handful of raisins, then fold gently until mixture is just combined. Pour the mix into the greased muffin tins, about half 2/3 full into each. Then sprinkle the tops with a mix of cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg. Then bake for about 15 minutes, until golden.
The spices are delicious in the warm little butternut buns, sweet bites of raisins and a crunchy sugary spice top make them my favourite little pudding at the moment.

Supperclub Number Two

Supperclub time came around again so quickly, it's like a little whirlwind new project that is yet to get any less exciting... This time all twenty places sold out in a few hours... The venue was the same, Ouse Street Arts Club, it's a perfect spot, cosy and inviting and all the guests seemed to love it. I served pulled pork again, with all the trimmings, homemade beans and buns, my own BBQ sauce and coleslaw with apple and toasted seeds... To start the smorgasbord had a new star, juniper and wood home smoked potted pheasant, a bit of a triumph if I do say so myself, I'm very glad I made too much and have a few pots left to see me through the festive season...

So I thought I would share a few pictures, I'm already planning the next one so watch this space for details. I also need to share the recipes for the mini butternut muffins, my new favourite tiny pudding, as featured in last weeks Journal Taste. And not forgetting the hot toddies with whisky, ginger, spices and citrus, perfect winter party warmers...

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Curried Parsnip Soup and Ouseburn Open Studios

I'm going to be hanging out at Ouse Street Arts Club again this weekend, as part of Ouseburn Open Studios we are one of 8 venues opening their doors to members of the public. The Ouseburn Valley is the creative heart of Newcastle and on the last weekend of November the much-anticipated Ouseburn Open Studios event sees venues open their doors, offering a unique chance to come and see inside the studios of over 200 artists and designer-makers.

At the Arts Club we have set up an art-mini-mart with work to buy from the lovely Amy Dover, Laura Sheldon, Prefab77, Muro Buro, Bubblegum Vegas and Louise Green. There are some amazing prints framed and unframed, cards, T-shirts, ceramics, jewellery, dresses and tote bags for sale. Totally unique Christmas presents, I might have to do a spot of shopping myself... We also have a tiny pocket cinema showing a range of short films all weekend.

I will be manning the fort and also providing sustenance; Curried Parsnip Soup and Sausage Stew will be on hand to warm you up, with coffee from the Ouseburn Coffee Company by the cup and the bag too...

I discovered this parsnip soup last week when trying to decide what was a fitting end to the parsnips I grew myself this year. It is a simple yet delicious soup that will hopefully keep all the Open Studios visitors warm and full. A rich earthy parsnip soup with spicy curry and garlic, delicious.

Peel and chop 4 large parsnips and 1 onion and add to a baking tray with a big glug of olive oil. Add a clove of garlic still in its skin and 2 teaspoons of medium curry powder, along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Then roast at 200°C for about 20 minutes or until golden and soft.

Then add the contents of the tray to 600ml of chicken stock, scraping everything you can out of the baking tray for extra flavour. Then simmer the roasted parsnip mixture in the stock for about 10 minutes. Allow it to cool slightly and check to see if it needs any salt or pepper then blend until it's smooth. I added a tablespoon of crème fraiche at the end for extra creaminess. These amounts will serve 2. The rich earthy parsnip is delicious with the spicy warm curry, just the thing to warm you up as winter approaches...

Partridge in a Paper Parcel

Mr. Hedworth is a mean shot... this means that most weekends at this time of year there is a knock at my door late on a Saturday afternoon, and on opening I'm greeted by a hand clutching a brace of pheasant or duck, or if I'm lucky a partridge and occasionally what feels akin to winning the lottery a couple of woodcock... I love this time of year. I currently have two duck and two pheasant in the freezer and the same again hanging in the porch; god knows what my neighbours make of me... We ate two little grouse last week, with bread sauce and sauté potatoes and this week was the turn of the partridge. My second favourite game bird... the wonderful woodcock will always win...

Last year I made an Italian dish with the partridge, with a beautiful rich meaty tomato sauce, chestnuts and grapes, a delicious dish. This year I turned to Elizabeth David and a somewhat simpler dish that didn’t involve sieving sauces. Partridge en Papillotes, which involves searing the partridge in butter until crisp, then wrapping up in greaseproof paper with butter, bacon, thyme, salt, pepper and orange peel and cooking in the oven, simple but totally delicious. I made a sticky chestnut and pancetta lentil dish to go alongside and my very own home grown parsnips and beetroot roast until golden. I was so proud when I dug them up to find actual full grown vegetables!

Unfortunately I didn’t quite get my timings right, so we sat down to raw partridge the first time round; everything had to come off the plates, back into their parcels, back into the oven, whilst keeping everything else warm. It was a palava to say the least. Next time I'll just do what Elizabeth tells me and keep my own opinions to myself...

So start with your partridge, cut in half, you can ask whoever you get them from to do this for you, or go at them with a pair of shears like I did. Allow one bird per person, they look pretty tiny but you get a surprising amount of meat from them. Heat a knob of butter in a frying pan and when it is hot add the birds and pan fry them for 8 minutes, start skin size down, until it is crisp and golden, then turn them about half way through. When they are done season them with salt and pepper, some fresh thyme leaves and a few slices of orange peel and leave them to cool.

To make the lentil dish I slowly cooked diced onion, carrot and celery with a sprig of thyme in butter until soft, then added diced pancetta, a chopped clove of garlic and some diced chestnuts and continued to cook until sticky and delicious, about half an hour. I cooked lentils until they were soft in chicken stock and the liquid was all but gone, added some shredded cabbage to cook through towards the end then stirred through the sticky chestnut and pancetta mixture. This turned out to be a bit of a triumph, I'll definitely be making it again!

When the partridge has cooled cut a strip of greaseproof paper large enough to wrap it up, spread some butter where the partridge will sit, add a slice of bacon, then sit the partridge on top, making sure you put the orange rind in too. Fold the paper over the top of the meat and then fold over and over round the edge until the package is sealed. Then pop them in the oven at about 160°C for 15 minutes. When you get them out of the oven make sure you check them so you don't end up sitting down to raw partridge like I did! Let them rest for 5 minutes under tin foil before you serve.

I served them, eventually, with the pancetta and chestnut rich delicious lentils and my very own home grown parsnips and beetroot. The partridge were delicious, rich and gamey, especially the legs, the parcel was full of buttery juices to pour over the bird and you get lovely hints of thyme and orange. Long may the game season continue, I'm filling the freezer to keep me going...

The Grazer's Joe Beef inspired Bonfire Supperclub as it happened...

'Come to a pop up feast in a shipping container' I tweeted and a day later 20 people were booked in to do just that. Who knew people were so keen to dine in a little metal box in the Ouseburn? It was a long time in the planning, thinking about menus, styling and imagining who might actually want to come. Much of the menu was inspired by Joe Beef, a Montreal institution I'm determined to one day visit, and my favourite cookbook of sorts right now; full of smorgasbords, home smokers, oysters and sausage martinis, right up my street...

Then suddenly there was a date set, the emails came in and Supperclub was launched. The Ouse Street Arts Club venue is a project imagined and realised by xsite architecture and friends as a 'meanwhile' use for a small derelict piece of land in Newcastle's Lower Ouseburn Valley. With cutting, welding, begging and borrowing complete it fell to me to host the first formal event of a curated programme for the space.

People began arriving just after seven, there was a bit of polite chatter which quickly passed as guests settled in. There is a lovely atmosphere at the Arts Club I really enjoy hanging out there; the fire was burning, music playing, hot toddies were on hand. A delicious cocktail of whisky, ginger ale, fresh lemon, orange, honey and cayenne pepper to warm the cold arrivals. It wasn't long before it was noisy and warm... My nerves lasted much longer than the guests, I was hugely anxious, probably until very near the end, I put it down to being the first event and hope that next time I might feel a touch more relaxed.

The table was laid ready with smorgasbord starters as people sat down; homemade salami, one red wine with walnut and the other garlic and fennel. They have been hanging in anticipation for the past month, and were delicious, rich and spiced, really good. There were pickled mackerel rollmops, sweet cucumber pickle and horseradish crème fraiche with lavosh crackers to dip. A dill and mustard potato salad and my new favourite discovery Beer Cheese. A Joe Beef recipe which blends, blue cheese, quark and cream cheese with beer, garlic and paprika, my only regret being that I didn’t make enough for myself this time round... but there is always next time...

TLI was a welcome arrival with the steaming pulled pork, after a quick pork run back to Jesmond; three shoulders of pork that had been cooking slowly for 9 hours. The locally produced meat from Freeman's butchers just fell apart, soft sticky and delicious. I calmed down a little at that point, perhaps the glass of red wine helped. The pork was taken to the table alongside secret recipe beans, my own special BBQ sauce, creamy coleslaw with apple and toasted pumpkin seeds and fresh white home baked buns. For all my planning I forgot to serve the cinnamon apple crisps, thankfully they worked out fine as a sweet crispy addition to pudding...

Loud laughter and chatter filled the shipping container, the windows had steamed up and the woodburner was puffing out wood smoke and keeping us all very warm. Pudding was a collection of Campari and Orange jellies, Pumpkin Spice Muffins and Chocolate and Chestnut pots with coffee and a splash more wine. We ended the night dancing round the fire in a shipping container watching fireworks over Byker and eating left over pulled pork. A pretty lovely evening all in all.

For info on further Supperclub events please see the Markets and Supperclubs page: click here.

Photography by Greg McCarthy