Warning: Food talk inside. Kitchen Supply shops for Jam/Jelly/Canning supplies?

You can get smoked paprika in Sainsbury's in the sort of unusual foods section. It comes in a little square red and gold tin.
 
Evening Ladies

Another busy day, and the Group EHO around for his 6 monthly check on us. Always a bit stressful. Things were fine though. Had 2 tastings today, one was short and sweet for a corporate dinner and the other 2 hours later was quite long, but lovely . A wedding for next year June. She is English and he is Iranian - lol drove a porsche so obviously no money worries. Still they were the sweetest couple and loved everything they tasted, then we had to whittle it down the to final choices for what they will have on the day. I do love doing weddings and wedding tastings!!

The presentation went off really well I believe and they loved the food. It was for a tender for a new contract. I have been trying to remember exactly what I made. Basically the concept is a Cafe with fresh simple food. So there was the home made iced teas, lemonade and pink lemonade. Huge cheese platters with UK cheeses like Gubbeen, Hereford Hop and Cashel Blue. Smoked fish platters with hot smoked salmon, seared mackerel, poached salmon, smoked salmon, beetroot gravadlax and lemon pepper gravadlax. Meat platters with whole honey roast gammon, whole pastrami, salamis, roast beef, mortadella, bressola, smoked chicken, smoked duck, and parma ham. 3 composite salads: Griddled pear, with walnut, red, white and belgian endive, slow roasted med veg with thyme, rosemary, roast garlic , rocket, pousse and red chard; slow roast butternut, caramelised red onion, pine nut, fine beans and mixed leaves. Some open tarts with wild mushroom, ricotta and thyme, Kidderton Ash goats cheese and sweet cure bacon, and slow roasted onion, Large quiche with roasted med veg and stilton, baby quiches with salmon and creme fraiche, and wild mush with bacon. Lots of cutsey jars of chutneys and relishes, Fat sarmies made on various types of bloomers - sun dried tomato, sweet onion, herb, and wholegrain. Lol there were some other bits, but they escape me now. Have another tasting to do tomorrow for the Blackrock Masters Tennis at the Albert Hall in December so hoping that goes well too.

Finally have my fresh/frozen cranberries for my pear, cranberry and orange xmas preserve. So will hopefully get to make that over the weekend, my new jars are just winking at me saying "fill me up with good stuff"

Oooh also made 200 cupcakes today for a wedding cake, giving them gold dust and tiny flowers, so should be pretty nice. Have put aside some of the mackerel and salmon for when I am on RTM, Really yummy, I am drooling at the thought :) I guess it is the one bonus of working in this industry :)

How are you all, have you been cooking up a storm?

Jez
xx
 
Oooh, so jealous of the Xmas cake making, will have to put mine off until back from holiday, but am setting aside a weekend for that, and the xmas mince. Please, please send pix of the candied citron. And also please, please send me the Xmas cake recipe you are going to use, because it sounds amazing and I would love to give it a try.

Also pictures of all stages of cake making, especially one of you stirring it and making your Xmas wish!!!

Am very excited, have put a Christmas jam on tonight, it is smelling wonderful - Pear, cranberry and orange, with loads of zesty bits. Hahahaa I am feeling very Nigella. Also planning a plum and cranberry chutney with star anise tomorrow night when I get back from the wedding.

On the food note, loads of the meats and fish from the presentation were not used, so have my self some nice vac pacs of mackrel, salmon and chicken for the RTM. Have also got some nice bits for Mom and Dad of things I can't eat. I just cannot stand food going to waste!!!

Well Jam is bubbling nicely, but need to go give it a stir.

Jez
xx
 
Yum yum dribble dribble
:eating:

I've been doing my impression of being a Civil Servant all week, so no time to play.
Busy week-end ahead. I'll have to get my food fix from you ladies.
Enjoy xx
 
The new dress and shoes are fab SB!!! Btw BL you should get some muslin/cheesecloth from a cooking shop or haberdashers/fabric shop. If you have probs let me know I can order it by the roll via work. I do know my sis got some from a kitchen shop though. My other alternative is 2 j clothes placed over each other in opposite directions through a very fine sieve. I am guessing you need this for jelly and this seems to work fine for me.

Jez
xx
 
Got it today Jez....lol....this is funny. I called the shop, and this is how the conversation went:

"Hi - do you carry CHeescloth?"

"What?"

"Do you have cheeseclothin your shop?"

"A cheese grinder?"

"No, Cheesecloth, either that, or MusliM. To wrap a Christmas cake in"

"Yes, we do have MusliN. And cheesecloth"

"I said MusliM, didn;t I?"

"Erm...yes, you did" <chuckle>

"Bit ironic wouldn;t it be - to wrap Mulsim around a Christmas Cake!?" :D

So it is for wrapping my cake. And may try with jelly too.


I tried inventing a jelly tonight - I had leftover syrup from cooking the candied citron.

SO, I cut some Lavander, and steeped in in the syrup, and then strained it and made Lemon Lavender Jelly. :) Waiting to see if it sets - its doubtful, so may have another go Sunday. But I can't wait to see what it is like. Sounds lovely, light and delicate.

I got loads to play with this weekend!! Happy cooking girls!
 
Sounds awesome BL!! Love your Muslim Xmas Cake story!! Brilliant :)

OOh forgot to say, for the first time today, I saw someone I hadnt seen in 3 months, and they literally did not recognise me!!! Had to remind them who I was!!! They still looked blank, then it kinda clicked and they were like "ooooh what has happened to you, you are so skinny!!!?"

I was so chuffed!

Jez
xx
 
Love your story and your blue picture bl, glad you are enjoying the cookiing up a storm.
Beware all Muslims as Christmas approaches...............

Jez, thanks for your kind comments.The skirt is silk and feels so slinky on.I love it.

Good for you, isn't it fab when someone doesn't recognise you?
Congratulations.
Have a lovely week-end girls xx
 
Hey gals...

Here is my Candied Citron adn my Lemon-Lavender Jelly. :)

4661-albums1760-picture10721.jpg
 
I can't make my cake today! DOH! I did not read the recipe properly, and the dried fruit has to saok overnight in liqour! I should hae known that! DOH!!! So it will be tomorrow.

So - today, I ventured to the kitchen shop and bought myself a Maslin Jam Pot - 8 quarts of stainless steele gleam! Its beautiful!! Bought lot of other little gadgets too! :D And a pretty apron. Hah! Me in an Apron!! SB - I really AM going to get kicked out of the bike club! :rotflmao:

I have an enormous pile of strawberries all washed and hulled ready to be jammed tonight....making another batch of Lavender Jelly now - and going to marinate all the button mushrooms I bought yesterday.

I love this - I really am enjoying myself so much! Going to have lots of nice pressies for people this year, and going to send a few jars of jam home to California with my hubby to give to my dear ol mom. :)

Chilled night tonight - hubby is working - so will stay in, make the jam and who knows what else I will find to can! :D

Hope you are having a good day!!

Oh - the cake called for Dark Rum, but I didn't have any, so I am using Brandy - reckon that will be alright?

xx
 
Brandy should be just fine hun, or whiskey or anything similar. Sooooo excited to hear how the cake baking goes. Lavender jelly sounds divine. We def need a pic of you in the apron slaving over the hot stove ;P How are you marinading your mushrooms?

Jez
xx
 
Shrooms!:

235 ml red wine
120 ml red wine vinegar
80 ml olive oil
25 g brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 g crushed red pepper flakes
35 g red bell pepper, diced
455 g small fresh mushrooms, washed and trimmed
25 g chopped green onions
0.4 g dried oregano
3 g salt
0.5 g ground black pepper


Strawberry jam did not set very firm - I have heard that about Strawberry - but the taste is gorgeous and when I give it out I will give people the option of putting it on Ice cream as a thick sauce if they find to too runny for jam. But its beautifuL!
 
Further to the jam......

Ya know when you get to the part about hard boiling for 3 or 4 minutes, or whatever - I find when I get it really boiling it climbs right up and I have to turn the heat down or the whole lot will boil over. Even in my new huge pot, I had to immediately scoop out a portion into a second pan as I could only keep it on med low heat to stop it spilling over? Should I be using medium heat and taking a longer time to get to a boil? I was hoping the huge pot would solve this.

I wondered if having to turn it down for it to back off, then back up again is messing up the stting factor?

Any ideas.
 
Morning you little early bird!!!

Not sure why I am awake quite so early, but I have to pop in to work this morning so might aswell get it out of the way.

The shrooms sound amazing. Are you bottling them too or just keeping in the fridge as a little snack?

Re the strawberry jam, mine also never set very hard, but It does have loads of fruit and I quite like the sort of gloopy consistency it has with the berries. My mom's seems the same too, so probably that is just the way it is.

Re the pot. I have exactly the same scenario, just seems to boil over if I turn the heat up and I am using a big pot. The only pot tha would prob work is an industrial one which would never fit on my stove! However I found once I got it up to the boil, then turned it down to med, it continues to boil quite nicely. When it is turned off , before I jar the jam, if it give it a stir, it still brings it back to the boil, so the heat is still there. I am guessing this means all is fine. I think it is like when boiling cream, unless it is very low heat it will always boil over. Something to do with how sugar reacts to heat?? I doubt it is having an effect on the setting point. The other suggestion for soft fruit jam is to use 1 grated apple in it for the pectin or a few goosberries (the uk type) as they are really high in it and it should not affect taste at ll.

Jez
xx
 
Jezz!!! I need help!!!

I just was getting started with the cake - and I think something is wrong with this recipe - look at the ingredients - or lack of - certainly does not seem like it iwll make much of a cake with the tiny amount of flour, 1 egg, etc....

Coul d this be right??

SOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
 
Can I ask you knowledgable ladies, if I'm making blackberry jam, can I substitute the sugar for candarel? Would it still set ok and still preserve ok?
 
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