Bingo Wings and Brown Paper Packages

Princess Party Cupcakes

clairetiptop — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 10:27:42 +0000

110g/4oz butter or margarine, softened at room temperature
110g/4oz caster sugar
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g/4oz self-raising flour
1-2 tbsp milk

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4 and set the cupcake cases out on a baking tray.
2. Make sure the butter is soft before you start. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix together until it looks fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and mix them in.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
5. Add into the cupcake cases
6. Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until just risen and form to the touch.
  
  When they have cooled down decorated I did mine in a princess style perfect for a Princess Party!

Googly eyed bee

clairetiptop — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 07:11:11 +0000

Meet Dave the googly eyed bee.

Meet Dave the googly eyed bee. I made him and seven others for the home corner in my classroom. Simple to do.

1. Paint a polystyrene ball yellow allow to dry.
2. Paint black stripes on allow to dry.
3. Stick googly eyes on.
4. Fold wings in black card and stick on.
5. Attach paper clip and use wool to hang up.

6. Name bee mine is called “Dave”.

Octavia the Octopus no sew crafting !

clairetiptop — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:01:57 +0000

Meet Octavia the bozz eyed Octopus she’s shy .

Meet Octavia the bozz eyed Octpus.

So simple to make.

1. Take a pair of gloves (don’t have to match)

2. Turn the thumbs inside.

3. Stuff gloves with old material etc. You can stuff more material at the top to make a more curvy octopus than I have.

4. Put one glove onto the other(sew for extra security)

5. Put eyes, lips and a bow on if you wish.

Simples you now have Octavia the bozz eyed Octpus

Missaspi Mud Pie

clairetiptop — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 11:29:58 +0000

I left Mr T and J to their own devices whilst I went with my lovely friend to the Paralympics.

I thought they would be surveying on shop bought cakes and puddings but ooooh no they made a cake/pudding.

They made the Missiapi Mud Pie tap the dish and the calories fall off but what is life if you don’t have a little indulgence once in a while.

75 g butter
150 g chocolate digestive biscuits
150 g dark chocolate sandwich biscuits, such as Oreos

135 g plain dark chocolate, broken into squares
135 g butter, cubed
3 large eggs, beaten
1 tbsp light soft brown sugar
25 g cocoa powder, sifted
150 ml double cream

Chocolate Philadelphia and Strawberry Cheesecake

clairetiptop — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:54:08 +0000

I entrusted my cheesecake recipe to my husband and he made it with Chocolate Philadelphia he was ably assisted by an OxO whisk which is an essential piece of kit to any kitchen. The Oxo whisk cut the preparation time down by half.

Ingredients175g shortbread biscuits for extra flavour try using lemon or ginger shortbread biscuits
50 unsalted butter, softened
300g Chocolate Philadelphia
200 fromage frais
225g strawberries, roughly chopped

2. Beat together the cream cheese and froamge frais until smooth and thick. Add the strawberries to the cheese mixture with the melted white chocolate and mix. Spoon the cheesecake filling into the biscuit case. level the top and chill for about 4 hours until set.1. Put the shortbread in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin until they resemble breadcrumbs. mix the biscuits crumbs together with softened butter and press firmly onto the base and sides of a 20cm springform tin. Refridgerate until needed. melt the white chocolate in a bowl in the microwave and set aside until needed.

(Disclosure I was sent the OxO whisk for review )

Pulled Pork with Sticky Beetroot & Red Onion

clairetiptop — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:47:27 +0000

Pulled Pork with Sticky Beetroot & Red Onion

Ingredients

For the Pork

3-5kg Pork shoulder joint

1 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tspn cumin powder

1 tspn fennel seeds

2 tbsp olive oil

generous pinch sea salt & pepper

1 bottle cider

300ml stock (chicken, pork or veg)

For the Beetroot

3 large beetroot (tennis ball size)

2 large red onion

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 sprigs fresh thyme (chopped)

For the dressing

creme fraiche

pinch of lightly toasted & crushed cumin seeds

squeeze of lemon juice

salt & pepper

Directions

Pulled pork

- Pre-heat oven to 240

- Pour boiling water over skin side of meat then pat dry (this helps with creating the perfect crackling!)

- Mix all the dry pork ingredients with the olive oil and rub into the meat

- Place the meat in a roasting tray – pouring the bottle of cider into the bottom of the tray

- Put the pork in the oven for 30-40 minutes to crisp up the crackling

- Turn the oven down to 130 and cook for a further 30 minutes

- Remove the tray from the oven and add the stock to the bottom of the tray – cook for a further 2 hours.

-After the 2 hours – remove the tray from the oven and cover with a double layer of tinfoil, return to the oven for a further 3-4 hours (depending on the size of joint) until the meat crumbles

- Take the pork out of the oven and rest for at least half an hour (under the tinfoil)

- When the pork has rested use 2 forks to crumble the meat and serve in a lovely roll with the sticky beetroot & red onion, creme fraiche dressing and some rocket or watercress.

Sticky beetroot

- Leaving the skin on the beetroot boil for 30-40 minutes

- Peel the skin off and cut into 8 (about the same size as an orange segment)

- Slice the red onion and mix with the beetroot and all the other ingredients in a roasting dish

- Cover with foil and roast for approx 1 hour at 200 or if cooking at the same time as the pork 2-2 1/5 hours at 130.

(Disclosure the recipe & photo are from Packington)

Pulled pork with Sticky Beetroot & Red Onion

Dressing

- Mix all the dressing ingredients together – can be kept in the fridge until ready to use.

Green Pepper and Ham Omlette

clairetiptop — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:07:35 +0000

Ingredients

2 full slices Ham cut into bite-size pieces
4 eggs
¼ cup grated strong or mature cheese
4-5 strips of Green pepper
6 basil leaves
¼ cup of milk
Salt and pepper
Butter for frying

1. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk to combine.

2. Add the grated cheese, peppers, basil and milk to the eggs, stir together and season.

3. Heat a medium sized non-stick pan and add butter. When butter is melted and bubbling add the egg mix, it should fill out to the edges of the pan, turn heat to medium-low and leave for 8 minutes.

4. Using a butter knife or spatula gently lift away one side of the omelette to see if the mix is firm on the bottom. It should be a nice gold colour and lift away easily from the side of the pan.

5. When the bottom is set, place the omelette in the frying pan underneath a pre-heated grill for 3-4 minutes.

6. When the top is gold and the omelette is firm all the way through slice it into wedges and if you wish serve with a seasonal salad.

Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble

clairetiptop — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:17:49 +0000

Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble

Ingredients
10 Sticks young forced rhubarb
115 gram(s) caster sugar
45ml stem ginger in syrup, chopped for the crumble
100 gram(s) (3 1/2 oz) butter, softened
100 gram(s) (3 1/2oz) demerara sugar
175-200g 96-7oz) plain flour
To serve
Ice Cream or double cream, custard if desired

Photo courtesy of the lovely Mark who has a blog here . The things he does with his garden is amazing . I only wish I grew my own rhubarb given the price of it in the shops!

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas4. Cut the rhubarb into 5cm (2in) pieces and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle with 4 tbsp water and the caster sugar and roast for 10 minutes. Once the rhubarb is cooked, remove it from the oven and sprinkle the ginger over it. Mix together and place in a ovenproof dish about 3-4 cm ( 1 1/4-1 1/2 in) deep.

Photo courtesy of the lovely Mark who has a blog here

2. To make the crumble, combine the butter and sugar together in a bowl until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then mix in the flour.

3. Sprinkle the crumble over the rhubarb and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove allow to cool slightly and serve with ice cream or double cream or even custard, if desired.

Enoki Mushroom Salad

clairetiptop — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:41:01 +0000

Enoki Dream

Serves 2

Ingredients :

Enoki Mushrooms

Cucumber and other salad item sliced

Red Pepper Sliced

Sliced sausage

Put the Enoki mushroom on a baking tray and put in the oven for 25 mins around 180 c

Slice red pepper , sausage ,cucumbers etc to suit taste

Let them cool down

Add the red pepper cucumbers to them

Add the Feta cheese and if you wish you can add some ready made croutons

You can mix and match the salad items you wish to this dish , Enoki mushrooms are very meaty and very filling.

White Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake

clairetiptop — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:19:43 +0000

White Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake

Ingredients175g shortbread biscuits for extra flavour try using lemon or ginger shortbread biscuits
50 unsalted butter, softened
200g melted white chocolate
300g full fat or medium fat soft cream cheese
200 fromage frais
225g strawberries, roughly chopped

A lush Strawberry

1. Put the shortbread in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin until they resemble breadcrumbs. mix the biscuits crumbs together with softened butter and press firmly onto the base and sides of a 20cm springform tin. Refridgerate until needed. melt the white chocolate in a bowl in the microwave and set aside until needed.

2. beat together the cream cheese and froamge frais until smooth and thick. Add the strawberries to the cheese mixture with the melted white chocolate and mix. Spoon the cheesecake filling into the biscuit case. level the top and chill for about 4 hours until set.

(Strawberry photo of Mark Willis )

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