COOKBOOKS GALORE

I was shopping in Milton Keynes last week and came across a shop rather like the now sadly defunct Julian Graves. They had a special opening offer on walnuts, so I bought a large bag - nuts are good for you, anti-oxidents, omega 3 etc! I wanted to make something different to use some of them, and came across a recipe for a walnut tart. It's from a tourist brochure I picked up somewhere in France, and this recipe, I was informed, is a speciality of the Périgord region. It brought back memories of when we lived in France, and my neighbour had a prolific walnut tree and would give my a huge carrier bag full. The only problem was you had to shell them all! At least the ones I bought were shell-free. Preheat oven 200C/gas6               A tart dish about 23cm or a flan tin with a loose bottom. For the shortcrust pastry -  125g flour, 75g butter, 25g caster sugar, 1 egg yolk, a pinch of salt and 25ml water Make the pastry and line the tart dish o...

I love recipes using apples, and I made this tart for dessert when my children came last weekend. It's unlike the usual French apple tart, as it has cream in the filling with the apples. It comes from a leaflet I picked up somewhere, several years ago, when we were in Alsace, and I've made it many times since. Preheat oven 190C/gas5               You need a large fluted and greased flan tin [preferably with a loose bottom] - 24-26cm. For the pastry : 170g flour, 1 tbspn caster sugar, pinch salt, 125g cold butter cut into cubes and 2 tbspn cold water. Rub the butter into the flour to which the sugar and salt have been added. Add the water and make into a ball. Cover in clingfilm and put into the fridge for about an hour. Roll into a circle, and use the rolling pin to fit the pastry into the flan tin. For the filling: You need 4 apples  - I used Granny Smith, but you could use Golden Delicious or Braeburn, but not Bramleys, as they don't ...

My family love Brownies and I usually make this recipe  from Suelle's great blog 'Mainly Baking', but have a look there and you'll be spoilt for choice for Brownie recipes. I wanted to try something different and, as often happens, I had a couple of pieces of fruit in the bowl that needed using - this time pears. So I decided to make a brownie base, then a layer of chopped pears and finally a crumble topping. I didn't use Suelle's basic recipe this time, but one a friend gave me. For the brownie part  you need - 200g dark chocolate, 50g flour plus 1 tspn baking powder, 150g butter [melted], 3 eggs and 125g caster sugar  For the crumble - 75g flour, 80g caster sugar and 120g soft butter You also need 2 pears, peeled, cored and cut into cubes. Preheat oven 180C/gas4                 Grease a brownie tin - mine is about 25 x 20 cm [ or 10" x 8"] Brownies - melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave or over simmering wa...

This is a very quick and simple appetizer  I made for New year's Eve. I used Roquefort cheese as that's what I'd bought, but Blue Stilton, Bleu d'Auvergne etc would do just as well. You need 1 pack puff pastry, 200g blue cheese, 1 egg and some chopped nuts - I used a mixture of walnuts and hazelnuts whizzed in a blender, but not too small. Roll out the pastry; beat the egg and cheese together and spread over the pastry. Sprinkle over the chopped nuts. Roll up the 2 long sides towards the middle then cut into 2cm slices. Bake on a tray lined with baking paper for about 15mins at 200C/gas6. Not a wonderful photo, but only had a chance to take one before they all disappeared! A tasty appetiser, and one which you could easily vary - change the cheese, add herbs, add chopped up bacon or ham. The list is endless. I liked the combination of the blue cheese and nuts - different textures, the nuts adding a bit of crunch. Must have a problem with my fan oven, as some...

January 6th is Epiphany, when the Kings came to visit Baby Jesus, and in France you have a Galette for the Kings.  It's a tradition to put a fève or bean in the centre of the galette, and whoever finds this in their slice is King or Queen and wears a gold crown [which is given with the galettes when you buy them in the baker's or supermarkets in France]. I made 2 galettes to take to my French conversation group today - one traditional one and one to which I've added some apples - not traditional! For the traditional one you need: 2 packs puff pastry 125g ground almonds 100g caster sugar 100g melted butter 2 eggs beaten + one beaten egg to egg wash the top For the apple version you just need to add 2 eating apples [I used Gala], 1 tspn cinnamon, a knob of butter and 1 tbspn caster sugar Preheat oven 220C/gas7      A baking sheet covered with baking paper Roll out the 2 packs of pastry and cut a large circle out of each. Put the caster...