RICE CUSTARD PUDDDING

I made this for my dad after watching a Michelin Star chef do it for his restaurant and why yes this has taking rice pudding to a whole other level it is not your traditional rice pudding and scare blue!  There was not skin!  

This is much richer and more of a creme englaise custard rice pudding, in its own right a gorgeous pudding but the main reason is that the skin is missing, and I know for some of you traditionalist this is a big part of your rice pudding, this I will work on, yuk! from my dad’s point of view it is the best bit and essential.  But with all that said, my family still gobbled it all down with delight.

Ingredients

(serves 2)

90g pudding rice

90g sugar

250ml double cream

250ml full fat milk

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

5 egg yolks

Wash the rice several times and place in a pan with the cream and milk, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for approx 20 minutes until the rice is cooked, meanwhile place the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla paste in a bowl and whisk until light and fluffy.

Take two ladles of the rice milk from the cooker and add to the egg yolks mixture, whisk quickly to incorporate, add the rest of the rice milk and mix well, add everything back to the saucepan and cook gently for a further 2 minutes and then serve.  If you want a hint of skin place the rice pudding under the grill for a couple of minutes, this will not give you that traditional thick baked skin but might be a compromise.

HOMEMADE HOT PIRI PIRI SAUCE

Homemade Piri Piri Sauce

This fabulous hot sauce is a great favourite of mine, I like to marinate chicken in this sauce and will serve it as Piri Piri chicken burgers, roast Piri Piri chicken, which is great in salads, tacos and wraps.

Homemade Piri Piri Sauce

2 red peppers roasted 

1 red onion charred

4 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 lemon zested

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

1 habanero or scotch bonnet chilli (more for hotter)

1 tsp smoked sweet paprika

11/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tsp black pepper

1 bay leaf

Finishing ingredients 

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 lemon zested 

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

1/2 cup olive oil

Roast the peppers and onions on a plancher flat top or skillet, charring all over, deseed the peppers, in a blender purée the charred peppers and onion, add the garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, habanero, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper, purée to a smooth sauce.  Pour the puréed sauce in to a saucepan add the bay leaf and gently simmer for half an hour, remove from the heat and leave to cool, transfer the sauce back to the blender, add the remaining finishing ingredients the lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, purée and finally drizzle in the olive oil while the blender is still running.  That's it, adjust the seasoning if needed and keep any left over in the fridge.

MOTHERS DAY CHEF’S BREAKFAST EGGS BENEDICT

A chefs breakfast for my mum on Mother’s Day, I love being a executive chef as I know what needs to be done and I got to instruct (boss)! my dad around the kitchen making this perfect eggs benedict for my Mum, with eggs from our legbar hens, home cured ham from our own pigs, spinach from the garden and homemade butter my mum makes this is a truly special breakfast.

Ingredients 

(serves 2)

The Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks

1/2 a lemon juice

200g hot melted salted butter

1 pinch black pepper

1 tbsp finely chopped chives

The Benedict

2 English muffins toasted

4 tbsp butter

100g spinach

2 slices top quality ham

4 poached eggs

50ml white wine vinegar

This is a cooking all at the same time breakfast, so you need octopus arms, it comes together fast so be ready to serve.  Bring two saucepans full of water to a rolling boil, place 50 ml white wine vinegar in one and the other one of the saucepans needs to double as a double boiler for cooking the hollandaise sauce, place a third saucepan on a medium heat and add the butter to melt and stay hot.

Crack the eggs individually in to small bowls you can poach the eggs first and then 30 seconds before serving drop them back in to the hot water off the heat to warm back up, this really helps lower the pressure on bringing this whole dish together at once.  To poach the eggs whisk the water creating a vortex in the centre gently slip one egg in count to 30 then slip the second egg in poach the eggs for two minutes, remove and place on a plate to one side.

To make the hollandaise place the egg yolks in a glass bowl with the lemon juice, place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk the egg yolks keep whisking for about 30 seconds the egg yolks will fluff up and thicken, remove the bowl from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter this is now done, leave to one side.

Place 2 tbsp of butter back in to the saucepan, place on a medium heat, add the spinach and stir this will only take one minute to welt.  Place the muffins under the grill to toast, butter generously and place on your plates, top with the spinach and ham, meanwhile place the poached eggs back in to the hot water off the heat and place the hollandaise back over the double boiler for 30 seconds whisking all the time, take the hollandaise off, season with black pepper, take the poached eggs and place on top of the ham on the muffins and spoon over the warm hollandaise sauce, sprinkle with chives and that’s it, enjoy this breakfast of chefs.

PIRI PIRI SAUCE HOMEMADE

Succulent moist tender piri piri spiced and sauced roasted chicken, this is a winning dinner you can serve it as a roast, shred it and stuff tacos or build a salad bowl and any left overs for sandwiches and wraps (but there is never any left overs)!

Prep time 5 minutes / Cooking time 50 minutes / Resting time 20 minutes

Ingredients

(serves family 4)

1 organic or free range chicken 1.5kg 

(I find this bird goes further than the cheaper alternative and higher welfare)

1 bottle nandos hot Piri Piri sauce (homemade recipe below)

1 tbsp sea salt

1 tsp white pepper

2 tbsp Piri Piri dry spice (recipe below)

Piri Piri Dry Spice Mix

Blitz everything in a processor 

6 fresh chillies 

2tbsp dried chillies

4 cloves of garlic grated

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

So simple, take your whole chicken, un-teather and squash flat ish, sprinkle with salt, pepper and the piri piri dry rub spice mix then pour all over with your hot sauce the pop in the oven 200 degrees C / 385 F for 20 minutes then reduce the oven temperature 180 C / 350 F, cook for a further 30 minutes, remove from the oven, cover and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes but more like 20 minutes, it really does make a huge difference to the juicy, moist succulent tenderness of the chicken.  That's is...below my family's favourite tacos.

Homemade Piri Piri Sauce

2 red peppers roasted 

1 red onion charred

4 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 lemon zested

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

1 habanero or scotch bonnet chilli (more for hotter)

1 tsp smoked sweet paprika

11/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tsp black pepper

1 bay leaf

Finishing ingredients 

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 lemon zested 

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 

1/2 cup olive oil

Roast the peppers and onions on a plancher flat top or skillet, charring all over, deseed the peppers, in a blender purée the charred peppers and onion, add the garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, habanero, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper, purée to a smooth sauce.  Pour the puréed sauce in to a saucepan add the bay leaf and gently simmer for half an hour, remove from the heat and leave to cool, transfer the sauce back to the blender, add the remaining finishing ingredients the lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, purée and finally drizzle in the olive oil while the blender is still running.  That's it, adjust the seasoning if needed and keep any left over in the fridge.

ICE BOX COOKIES

How cool are these ice box cookies always ready to cook from a minutes notice straight from the ice box (how cool is that!)

Prep time 15 minutes / Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients 

(Makes 50)

345g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

200g caster sugar

1 lrg eggs

225g butter

150g cherries or mixed peel

1tsp vanilla paste

Executive Chef Oscar

I just love to cook, food is a gift that makes your friends and family know they are thought of and loved.  

Method

In a large bowl cream the butter until soft and smooth, add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy, add the egg, salt and vanilla and mix to combine, mix the baking powder and salt with the flour and slowly fold in to the creamed butter.

Divide the biscuit dough in half and using parchment paper form the dough in to two rectangle logs.  Wrap in the parchment paper and place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days, or place in the ice box for up to a month.  If cooking from frozen leave the biscuit dough to come up to temperature for 15 minutes before slicing of your biscuits.

To Cook

Pre heat your oven 180 degrees C, baking biscuits from the fridge slice off as many biscuits as you want, place in a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until lightly brown, once cooked place on a cooling rack and leave to cool, if you can! 

Ta da the gorgeous finished biscuits, this batch for my nan.

CORN CHEESE

I stumbled across this brilliant Korean spin off from Mac n Cheese, one spoonful in and it was a winner dinner with my gang!  Gorgeous creamy cheese sauce, peppered with crispy sweetcure bacon, fresh red Serrano jalapeños and grilled corn off the cob with the ultimate cheese pull!

Prep time 20 minutes / Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

4 corns on the cob

4 rashers sweetcure bacon unsmoked

1 red Serrano chilli fine diced

50g butter

50g flour

400ml - 600ml full fat creamy milk

100ml double cream

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt 

1 pinch white pepper

200g cheddar grated

100g Parmesan Reggiano finely grated

100g mozzarella grated

50g fontina optional

Bring a pan of water to a rolling simmer, season the water with sea salt, add the corn on the cobs and simmer for around 15 minutes until the corn is tender, drain and remove the cobs, leave to once side to slightly cool, then carve off the corn from the kernel and reserve to one side while you make the bechamel sauce.

In a cast iron skillet or hob to oven casserole dish melt the butter then add the flour and stir to combine, add 400ml of the milk and whisk until smooth, add the cream and leave to gently bubble away meanwhile heat a skillet medium hot add a glug of olive oil then the chopped bacon and sear until crispy, add the chopped Serrano chilli and the corn stir to combine.

Back to the bechamel sauce, add all the cheeses but only half of the Parmesan, stir in until melted, if the sauce is too thick add a little of the reserved milk to loosen, next add the sweet corn mixture and mix, top the dish with the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until bubbling and browned off, serve immediately. 

SWAMP SOUP

I love the swamp, I love gators and I love Cajun!  This good for you green soup is really tasty but very swamp looking which is super cool too, no alligators were harmed in the making of this soup!  A good soup for Halloween fun.

Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients 

(serves 2)

1kg petite pois peas

1ltr chicken stock

Himalayan sea salt 

White pepper

Bring the chicken stock to a simmer, add the peas and simmer for 10 minutes, blitz with a stick blender, taste and season with salt and pepper.  Leave to stand for 5 minutes and the peas will separate and sink to the bottom off the stock!  Stir to combine before eating...