New Website and Youtube Channel

Hello everyone,
I would like to say thank you for your continued support over the last 4 or so years, I'm aware that I haven't kept on top of posting for a while now. I am launching a new website on 1st March 2019 (this Friday) and I would be delighted to give you a preview. The site is www.acooksbestfriend.co.uk and offers recipes for all occasions, and treats for you to make for your dog. Many recipes will include video instructions for those who prefer to watch their recipes. These videos will go live on Youtube and then be added to the website that same day. Please do sign up to receive notifications of new recipes.
Thank you once again and I look forward to you joining me on this new journey,
All the very best,
Lily

Amaretti Biscuits

You can never have too much chocolate (though I have given it up for March)

Leiths is more full on and my kitchenette more tiny than I could have imagined 6 months ago. After cooking all day and then going home to write time plans and read up on the next day's demonstration I'm afraid to say that writing more about food on my blog has rather flown out of the window. That doesn't mean that I've forgotten all about it and I am sorry not to have written sooner. The guilt that I haven't updated you has finally gotten too much and so here I am, hiding from the sudden cold snap and finally putting pen to paper again.

Sometimes the simplest toppings are the best

I've just finished my second term. I can't quite believe how fast it's going. Recently I had a Dem about setting up a catering business and must admit that I'm intrigued by the idea. While I do still want to work for a food magazine or two it would be nice to stretch myself by catering for small events. You heard it here first. If you want a willing if slightly green cook to impress then email me!

Fruit Tarts

My repertoire has expanded to include all sorts of recipes and ingredients that I wouldn't have gone near before starting the course. I can cook kidneys, mushrooms and prawns with aplomb  (I still don't  like eating them though). I've learnt the seasons for game, the coagulation temperature of eggs, and how to skin a rabbit (it just comes off like a glove). I have sipped wine, single variety olive oils and stock. I have scoffed all manner of tasty morsels in the name of education.

Game dem - not for the faint hearted!

Now we've improved and are more confident in our skills more freedom has been allowed with regards to what we cook. Recently there have been "Chef's Choice" veg accompaniments, biscuits, and tart toppings. I  believe this is leading up to a creative day with rabbit or duck where we have to use as much of the animal as possible to create something exciting. And beautifully presented of course.

Christmas poached pears with hazelnut praline and chocolate drizzle

I've been falling down on my presentation recently and no matter how hard I try or how happy I am with my plating the teachers always say something along the lines of 'that wasn't quite what we meant', or the killer comment 'it's just a bit rustic'. I'm learning to roll with the punches and take photos of how it's rearranged but would really like to get it right just once. If anyone has any tips or books that could help then I'd be most grateful.

Flatbreads with perfect griddle marks

Going back to the biscuits, they were to be served with blackcurrant ripple ice cream and I chose  to make sweet little amaretti. They went well with ice cream and would make a lovely bite to go with coffee or to give as a gift, wrapped up in cellophane and tied with a ribbon.

Amaretti and ice cream

Amaretti Biscuits

Oven 170*

Makes about 20

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: about 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 large egg whites

caster sugar

ground almonds

1 lemon

Icing sugar to dust

Method

Heat oven to 170*

Sieve almonds

Zest lemon and add zest to sugar

Beat egg whites with an electric whisk until they hold medium-stiff peaks

Fold the almonds, sugar and lemon zest into the egg whites. They will look like the egg whites have lost all the air but don't worry about it

Dust your hands with icing sugar to stop the mix from sticking then roll the mixture into small balls (I weighed mine so they were all 20g but this isn't necessary, just try to make them the same size)

Place spaced apart on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment or a silpat (a reusable non-stick baking sheet cover)

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the oven until golden brown, and crisp on the outside with a chewy centre. They'll come off the paper/silpat cleanly when cooked through

Leave to cool then serve with ice cream or coffee

My first (very boozy) Christmas Cake

New Beginnings

Stop press. After years of wanting to go to Leiths School of Food and Wine, I start on Monday. I have my uniform, books, and equipment, now all I need is my timetable.

Text books for Leiths

Being completely honest with you, I don't know what form this blog will take while I'm studying there. I know I've been remiss in not posting much during my final year at Manchester, however, I hope that being surrounded by food will make it easier to write a quick post than when I was besieged by French essays. If you want more regular updates then check out my Instagram @GorgeousGateaux where there'll be lots of photos of my daily life.

Mustn't let my hand cramp

Just after my exams ended I attended the wedding of my friend Malyha and was honoured to make her wedding cake. It was a nerve-wracking exercise but, with the help of her family, I think we pulled it off and the cake made it the journey to London in one piece.

We Won an Award!

As you might have guessed from the sudden trailing off of posts, my writing gig at The Mancunion has mostly come to an end. In fact, in less than a week my time at the University of Manchester will be over and then it's on to pastures new.

My last essay! And the most interesting

Currently I'm procrastinating grammar revision and thought I'd let you know about an exciting development. As you might know, Miriam and I are co-editors of the food and drink section at The Mancunion and a couple of weeks ago we won Best Section during the 2017 Celebrate Week Awards ceremony. This is quite impressive (and slightly surreal) when you consider the fact that we've only been editing the pages since January.

The award itself

Porky Dreams at Lunya

I first wrote this review for The Mancunion but liked it so much that I thought I'd post it here. I'm trying to develop my "voice" as taught by Karen Barnes (editor of delicious. magazine) on the All Hallows Farmhouse food writing course I went on back in October. What do you think? Have I struck the right note or would my report card say "could do better"?

- - -

There’s a little hotel tucked in the hills near Ronda in Southern Spain that my parents have been going to since before I was even a thought. In fact, my grandparents stayed there the first year Molino del Santo opened. We returned last Easter for some much needed R&R and to enjoy their phenomenal food. It was there that, for the first time, I ate secreto ibérico, a succulent cut of shoulder from acorn fed pigs.

Mix and Match Stir Fry Ideas

How are you? This grey weather is getting on my nerves but the occasional bursts of sun and warmth remind me spring isn't too far away, and in fact it is now March! Today I handed in 2,000 words of my dissertation for feedback, which means I'm a quarter of the way through and it's all going well.

Rose Harissa Dal

Exam results are supposed to come out today but no one seems to know when so I thought I'd distract myself with a new post. Other than that, my week has gone well. I've finally put pen to paper on my dissertation (a comparison of French and English food magazines) and am looking forward to seeing where it goes. I went to an amazing pizza place in Manchester last week, Rudy's, which I cannot recommend enough. I'm beginning to visit the last places on my "to review for the top 10 piece" list that I've been working on since 2013! I plan on uploading it before I graduate (which is scarily soon; I only have 15 weeks until my time in Manchester is over) and then I can start one for London in my new Moleskine travel guide.

Classic Chocolate Cake

Get your chocolate fix with this strikingly simple chocolate cake. 

Who doesn’t love cake? This is a great basic cake recipe that everyone should know. I remember the first time I made a cake, my mum helped but didn't know what to do when the eggs curdled, so we rang my dad (who was at work) and badgered him to instruct us remotely. That cake turned out well and ever since I've remembered the mantra four, four, four, and two (4oz sugar, 4oz butter, 4oz self-raising flour and 2 eggs)  or six, six, six, and three (6oz sugar, 6oz butter, 6oz self-raising flour and 3 eggs) for a sandwich cake, ever since and it has proved invaluable when a cake is needed in short order.

Topping the cake with a simple ganache elevates a simple cake to a whole new level and will impress anyone.

Mix up your mince

This is another post that was originally published in The Mancunion and has been adapted for you all.  If you ever make bolognese but want to do something different to spaghetti or cottage pie then this is for you. I've taken a family staple and suggested different ways to serve it. If you've got a family or are cooking for a group then you could always make a double batch and try a few different options. The bolognese on its own is good for freezing and you can add more vegetables to your taste, I often add diced peppers at the same time as the carrots or frozen peas for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Do you ever make a big pan of bolognese (the English kind, not the proper Italian stuff, I've yet to make ragù) and then realise you’re bored of eating it all up before it goes bad? Well, never fear, here are some ways to switch things up.

This is my basic recipe for bolognese

Serves 4

The Perfect Temperature

Here's my review of 63 Degrees in Manchester's Northern Quarter. It's a great little place with an interesting set menu. This review was first published in my student newspaper, The Mancunion, of which I am now co-editor of the Food and Drink section. The student newspaper is the largest of its kind in the country and comments on everything from politics to films to food. If you want to keep up with what I write there then make sure to check out this link. If you're Manchester based then the paper comes out weekly on a Monday and is available from the Student Union and other locations around campus.

Photo credit: 63 Degrees

Any time a family member drops by Manchester for a visit it turns into a food extravaganza. I look at my restaurant wish list, pick one or two that are out of my price range and hope they’ve got a table free. Last weekend was no exception. Mum arrived on Friday to homemade mac and cheese (a guilty pleasure) before ramping up to The Day of Food. Saturday was to involve lunch at 63 Degrees, supper at El Gato Negro (chef’s table no less, although that did mean eating at the unfashionably early time of 6.15pm) and to top it all off, drinks at The Refuge. Believe you me, if I could have fitted brunch in there I would have! Instead we made do with croissants and homemade jam. Between all of this bounty, we explored the Christmas markets, nibbling on Dutch baby pancakes sprinkled prettily with icing sugar and shopped to our hearts content (ok, about 30 minutes before the crowds beat us).

Chicken Katsu Curry

EDIT: This post has been rewritten for clarity and superior taste. I have also changed the photos as my photography skills have vastly improved since February 2015 (when this was originally posted)

Originally I made a healthy version of chicken katsu curry, baking the chicken with only a tiny spray of oil, but then I realised that sometimes only butter will do! Now, I pan fry the breadcrumbed chicken to get the golden colour and then bake in in the oven to make sure that it’s cooked through. It’s a great meal and really straightforward to make. For those who don’t like spice - this is as mild a curry as you can get, but no less flavourful for it.

Jam

This is a piece I wrote for the wonderful writing class I attended at All Hallows Farmhouse last month. It's about making jam with my grandma, who now enjoys jam made by someone else (aka me).

Making Mascarpone

This weekend I attended a food writing course at All Hallows Farmhouse in Dorset, taught by the wonderful Karen Barnes of delicious. magazine. I learnt how to improve all aspects of my writing and I hope that you will see changes going forward. There will now be a section on my blog devoted to pieces that I feel are more than just recipes, such as memories, stories and listicles (10 things you may not know about spices coming soon). Below is a 200 word exercise written after Lisa, from All Hallows, showed us how easy it is to make Mascarpone.

Don't Say Never Trust A Skinny Cook: 'Light' Butter Chicken

Author's note: This was first published back at the beginning of 2015 and my photography and food styling skills have improved dramatically since then, so I thought it was time to update! These images are the result of a highly enjoyable lunch. Keep checking back to see more favourites updated with mouthwatering images. 

Dipping Sauce

I've been back in Manchester for a fortnight now and having a blast. Classes start in a week, though I already have a ton of work to do for one module, Serialised Crime. So far though, I've mainly been hanging out around food. A friend and I went to a fair on Saturday, where the most amazing chocolate was being sold (dormouse chocolates). On Sunday I entered a baking competition in which I sadly didn't get though to the second round but I lost to some truly amazing looking cakes so I'm not too upset.

New And Improved

I've been umming and ahhing about uploading this recipe for ages as it already exists in a different form on my blog. It's this Spanish omelette recipe from September 2014. I finally decided to post it in part because of the improved photography and in part because I think this recipe is better as I've been able to tweak it over the intervening 20 months.

There's more butter and salt involved and this omelette cooks slower and for longer, it will probably take 45 minutes to make properly and serves two.

Decadent Boost Brownies

I gave up drinking diet coke at the start of June and genuinely haven't missed the stuff but when I tried to stop eating chocolate at the same time then that was a whole different kettle of fish! In an attempt to get temptations out of the house, I made these brownies with all of my chocolate and sold them for charity (Cleft Palate). The results were extremely more-ish and went down well with all who tried them.

You don't have to use Boost bites, instead you could pick any of the sharing bags of mini chocolates. Maltesers . . . twirls . . . even chocolate buttons. I had a mix of twirls and boosts in my cupboard, which gave a lovely richness and texture to the finished brownies.

Comfort For All Seasons

We recently changed our internet provider and I’m afraid it’s been rather out of the frying pan and into the fire, so you’ll have to excuse the strange timings of posts - I might go to a cafe and schedule a few posts for the upcoming weeks, just until the internet settles down and behaves.

The weather has been weird. A few days ago it was so muggy I thought I was in a colder version of Singapore, and today it’s been drizzling for all it’s worth. I know Glastonbury weekend means rain but this is June, not October. Make your mind up, weather! I’m struggling to know what to cook - something hearty to guard against against the chill or a light meal to keep the heat at bay? Fortunately I stumbled upon a solution by way of Anna Jones’ cookbook A Modern Way To Eat. It’s a red lentil and spinach dal, topped with roasted sweet potatoes. Thee result is filling enough for the wettest, coldest day but still light and palatable in warmer climes (perfect for the Indian weather then, really). 

À Bientôt, Poitiers

Poitiers' impressive town hall

I’m sitting in La Rochelle airport as I write this, waiting for my flight home to Southampton, still in shock that my ERASMUS year is now officially over. While it doesn’t quite feel like it was only yesterday that I pitched up in Poitiers and dealt with a flooded flat within the first week, it certainly doesn’t feel like it was nine months ago!

The river that meanders alongside Poitiers

In between packing and avoiding the May showers, I took some photos so that you could all see where I’ve been living. I’m going to miss the fantastic markets when it comes to finding good, and cheap, produce but I won’t miss the cobble stones around town when they're slick with rain. 

Impress Your Guests

I used to make this dish for my family when I was younger and recently revived it for my 22nd birthday (have I mentioned I'm 22 enough recently?!). It's a straightforward meal that is perfect for dinner parties as the prep can all be done in advance. Just make them up until the point you have to cook them in the oven and put them in the fridge instead. Shove them in the oven 30 minutes before you want to eat and enjoy a drink and nibbles with your guests.

I love the idea of effortless dinner parties and yet never succeed. One eye fully made up and frantically stirring a sauce with one hand while laying the table with the other. My friends find it hysterical, and my parents ask why I don't do dishes where everything is prepared well in advance. I suppose I like the challenge, but also I seem to have no concept of timing, and consequently run late for everything.