Quiche Lorraine Meets Carmen Miranda Recipe

The traditional Quiche Lorraine is one of those dishes that comes into its own when summer has arrived and the sun is high in the sky.

Easy to cook and easy to eat, Quiche Lorraine has a satisfying and mouth watering savoury taste. It has enough body to be served simply with just a lightly dressed salad. It is filling satisfying and very moreish.

Most importantly, this Quiche Lorraine recipe can be made the evening before when it’s cooler and be enjoyed the following day in the sunshine when it’s too hot to cook. It can be served both warm or cold.

Quiche Lorraine, although simply delicious, is basically just an egg and bacon flan with a bit of cheese. Definitely easy home cooking that is for sure.

Try out our updated and supercharged version which we designed tried and tested only last week. We found it to be totally amazing and even more tasty and satisfying than the original version.

Quiche Lorraine meets Carmen Miranda is a fusion of a classic French dish with added Iberian ingredients, Chorizo (Spanish) or chouriço (Portuguese) etc. It also has a recipe origin that goes back to Germany where the original Quiche were supposedly made.

To us it tastes of summer anywhere in the world, and is definitely towards the top of our pile of easy home cooking summer recipes.

Ingredients.

1 x Ready made 23cm (9″ in old money) Shortcrust pastry case. (Of course you can make your own. But, nearly every supermarket sells these nowadays, and the quality is so good it is worth using them to save time and energy when it’s hot).

125g/4oz Thinly sliced Gruyere Cheeese.

170/6oz Bacon (unsmoked) fried in its own fat and chopped into pea sized pieces.

85g/3oz Cooked Chorizo sausage diced into pea sized chunks.

1/2 Spanish sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) Chopped Finely.These are the long pointy red peppers that can be found on the shelves of virtually all modern supermarkets.

125ml/5fl.oz Single Cream

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

The Method – Lorraine Meets Carmen.

Place the shortcrust case on a baking sheet.

Arrange the Gruyere cheese slices over the base of the pastry case.

Sprinkle evenly over the bacon, chorizo, and the red peppers.

Mix together the eggs, cream and the salt and pepper.

Pour the egg mixture into the pastry case to cover the Quiche Lorraine filling.

Bake in the centre of a preheated oven. 200C/400F for around 35-40 minutes or until the filling is golden and firm to the touch.

Remove Flan from the oven and leave for 5 minutes to rest.

Remove quiche carefully from baking tin and place onto wire rack to cool for a further 10 minutes if serving warm. If serving cold later, leave until cooled and place in refrigerator until needed.

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30 second food and drink quiz

Just a quick food and drink quiz. Should take no longer than 30 seconds to complete. Let us know how many you get right!

We will be adding new quizzes from time to time. Subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated.

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Food & Drink Quiz – Ladder Format

Try this fab food & drink quiz. As you progress the levels get slightly harder. Just for fun, but look out for our special prize competition coming soon. Subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated.

How did you do in this first food & drink quiz?

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Food Poisoning – Make sure it doesn’t happen to you!

by Tina Ainsworth

If you have ever had food poisoning you will know it is certainly no laughing matter. Ever had a ‘dodgy tummy’ and just put it down to ’must be something I ate last night’? Chances are that it probably was! Most food poisoning symptoms are only mild so normally go unreported. New research by the Food Standards Agency (2014) has reported that more than 500,000 cases of food poisoning a year are from known pathogens (a disease-producing organism) and double that amount from unknown pathogens.

Which foods would you say were most likely to be linked to food poisoning?

Top spot goes to poultry meat, second spot to produce including vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, and third spot goes to beef and lamb.

The subject of food poisoning is a vast one and one that every cook should be aware of. You want your guests to remember how delicious your food was, not how long they spent in hospital as a result of eating it! So this will be the first in a series of articles looking at different areas of food poisoning and how it may occur. Check out this page regularly for my latest posts.

What is food poisoning and how can it occur?

Food poisoning can be defined as an acute illness which can come on suddenly caused by recently eating contaminated or poisonous food. Symptoms include one or more of the following; stomach pain, diarrohea, vomiting and nausea.

How does food become contaminated?

There are several ways food can become contaminated.

Here are a few examples:

* Storage – not storing food correctly or at the right temperature, particularly the storage of meat and dairy products. Stored incorrectly allowing cross contamination etc. OR leaving cooked food out at room temperature for a long period of time and then eating it.

* Cooking – food not being cooked correctly i.e. under cooking or not being cooked to the correct core temperature. Adequate cooking normally kills bacteria.

* Poor Food Hygiene – contamination caused by the person not washing their hands properly.

* Food Preparation – for example, cross contamination caused by not washing a chopping board used for raw meat and then using the same board for bread or any ready to eat items. Storing raw meat above ready to eat items and juices dripping on the food below.

* Freezing and thawing – food, in particular poultry, that has been frozen and not adequately thawed before cooking, food left out to thaw at room temperature for a long period of time, food that has been thawed and then refrozen.

How can you prevent it in your home?

There are four main areas that can help prevent food poisoning:

Cleanliness –

* Keep surfaces and kitchen utensils clean.

* Wash and dry your hands properly as already outlined in our previous food safety article.

* Do not prepare foods for other people if you have sickness and/or diarrhoea

* Cover sores and cuts with waterproof plasters.

* Replace dish cloths and used tea towels on a regular basis.

Cooking:

* Food should be cooked thoroughly, especially meat. It should be cooked right through and piping hot in the middle. This also applies when re-heating food.

* Do not re-heat food more than once.

Chilling:

* Chilled food should be chilled and not left out at room temperature.

* Your fridge should be kept between 0c and 5c and remember to keep the door shut! If your fridge hasn’t got a temperature gauge then maybe invest in one that can be placed in the fridge.

* Leftover food should be cooled as quickly as possible and then refrigerated. This can be done by placing it in another cold dish and placed in a cool area (covered of course to protect from those summer flies!).

Cross-contamination:

* Make it a habit to wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw uncooked meat or fish

* Separate raw and cooked or ready to eat items.

* Make sure uncooked meat is stored in an airtight container at the bottom of your fridge.

* Make sure you use separate dedicated chopping boards for raw and cooked ready to eat products.

* Wash utensils after preparing raw foods.

* Keep food covered when standing out in the kitchen to prevent contamination by pests such as flies.

Which food groups are most likely to  give you Food Poisoning?

This group of foods we call High Risk Foods. You should pay particular attention to these because these are the foods that are most likely to cause you and your family, friends and guests food poisoning. They are foods that are ready to eat, that don’t need any further cooking and foods that are perfect places for bacteria to live and grow.

Examples of high risk foods are:

* Cooked meat and fish

* Gravy, stock, sauces and soup

* Shellfish

* Dairy products such as milk, cream and soya milk

* Cooked rice

Our next subject in this food poisoning series will be a seasonal one (when the weather allows, that is)….The Summer Barbecue!

Until then, Cook Safe, Keep Safe!

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Homemade tomato soup – easy cheat recipe

There really is nothing quite like homemade tomato soup to brighten you up if you are feeling a bit down or under the weather. The taste of the Mediterranean. Thoughts of sunshine, blue skies, crystal clear seas and warmer climes. All from a little bowl of soup!

Tomato soup is one of the biggest , if not the biggest selling variety of all canned soups found in supermarkets.

There is nothing wrong with eating ready made canned soups for a quick meal for one when you are on your own. However, if you have guests, or holding an informal dinner party, opening a can and warming the contents doesn’t demonstrate much effort on your behalf. They will know!

Never fear. There is a way around this. Cheat!

Question? What tastes exactly like homemade tomato soup but isn’t actually homemade?
Answer. The tomato soup made using this recipe.

I served this soup for contractors for years in my friends hotel. Most days the feed back and comments on the homemade tomato soup would be enough for me to keep cheating with the soup, and saving myself hours of time without risking the guests being dissatisfied. It went down a storm. Many guests actually saying it was the best tomato soup they have ever had. Fact!

I’m not saying it’s not worth spending the time slow roasting tomato’s etc., and putting the time and effort into making a proper homemade tomato soup. What I am saying is when time is short this is a really close second in taste and so much easier.

Ingredients

1 can good quality shop bought tomato soup
1 can good quality chopped tomato’s
1 clove of garlic – crushed.
1/2 Onion very finely chopped or puree in a blender.
Bunch of fresh Basil
Salt & Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning.
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Add the extra virgin olive oil to a large pan over moderate heat.
Add the onion & Garlic, increase heat slightly and cook until onion has completely softened but not coloured.
Add the cans of tomato soup and chopped tomato’s stir until blended.
Finely chop and add a handful of fresh basil leaves, pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper.
Continue to cook until soup is piping hot and flavours have combined. Usually around 5-10 minutes. Don’t allow soup to boil as it will impair the flavour.

Serve in a warm bowl decorated with a few basil leaves and an extra grind of black pepper.

Perfect cheats homemade tomato soup. Would you tell your guests the truth ?

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Home Cooking – old fashioned easy to make recipes

Home cooking is a massive part of many people’s lifestyle. Home cooking is all about food that is prepared, and cooked from easy to make recipes, and shared around the family table or in front of the television . Good old-fashioned home cooking makes memories.

Many people are surprised how simple it really is to produce good nutritious family favourites. Just by using quality ingredients and simple to follow easy home cooking recipes anyone can do it.

It is not necessary to have all the latest hi-tech kitchen and cooking equipment, to be able to produce healthy, tasty and comforting home cooked food that all the family will love.

Online home cooking sites.

Search Google or other online search engines for home cooking recipes, easy home cooking recipes, granny’s favourite recipe, or something similar there are thousands and thousands of results returned for food and recipe blogs and websites. Almost all offer their own versions of old-fashioned easy home cooking recipes for you to try. Search some of your childhood favourite recipes and give them a go.

Our Grandmothers and their predecessors didn’t have this luxury of being able to make a few clicks, and be told what ingredients they needed. What quantities they should have. How to make the recipe step by step. Tips to make cooking easier, and sometimes even where to get the ingredients from.

Our ancestors relied on being taught to cook by friends and family.  They were handed down scraps of paper with scrawled recipes on dating back many years, with only the most basic instructions to rely upon.

Often recipes were collected and saved in recipe scrap books or stored safely and securely in an old biscuit tin , or something similar.

Home cooking favourites

The list of home cooking favourites is endless, and depending on which part of the country you live, the list of variations for each recipe is enormous. The only thing in common is generally they are all easy to make recipes.

examples of home cooking recipes include such dishes as homemade cottage pie,  roast beef dinners, home baking such as sausage rolls, pasties, cakes and bakes. The list goes on and on. Ask some of your older relatives which home cooking meals were their favourites as a child and they will fondly recall recipes. They will tell you who made it for them, and when and where they used to eat it.

Home cooking brings back memories of childhood, and families united by good food .

What home cooking delights were you favourites as a child?
.

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Mussels recipe – with spaghetti and tomato sauce

Mussels are a gift from the ocean, the edible jewels of the sea.

Mussels are one of those foods that after trying for the first time, you wonder why you have not been enjoying these marvelous molluscs sooner.

This easy mussels recipe is fragrant, delicious, elegant, and one of those meals you simply don’t want to end.

One of the most important things with any mussels recipe is to ensure they are cleaned correctly before cooking.

This may sound daunting but in fact is very easy. We have added a video below from Becky Selengut to show you how!

This mussels recipe is suitable for a weekend supper treat, or a dinner party with family and friends.

Ingredients

•1kg fresh mussels.
•400 grammes spaghetti or linguine.
•1 cup dry white wine.
•handfull fresh parsley or dill, finely chopped.
•2 large cloves garlic. crushed.
•1 red chilli pepper – deseeded and finely chopped.
•1 can good quality Italian chopped tomatoes.
• good quality extra-virgin olive oil.
•Sea Salt & Freshly ground black pepper to taste.

How to make this delicious mussels recipe

First job is to clean and de-beard the mussels. Check out this video for easy step by step instructions.

It Really is as simple as that!

1.Place a large saucepan onto a medium heat setting. Add a small glug of olive oil and one of the garlic cloves. Lightly fry the garlic. When the garlic starts to change colour remove from pan with a slotted spoon.

2.Add the cleaned mussels to the pan, let them sit for a minute or two then add the dry white wine. (I find it necessary to try a small glass or two of the white wine at this point, just to be certain of its taste and quality…and sometimes even three!)

3.Cover and let cook for about five minutes all the mussels have opened. Make sure you check and discard any that don’t open. Transfer the cooked mussels to a separate dish and drain the mussels liquid into another bowl.

4.Pour the reserved liquid through a sieve or a jug covered with muslin to remove any grit and particles. Retain the cooking liquid in the bowl for use later in this mussels recipe..

5.De shell the mussels, using an empty shell as a pair of small tongs to remove them

6.In the large saucepan add a small glug of extra virgin olive oil and warm over medium heat.

7.Add the other clove of garlic and chilli pepper to the pan. When the garlic changes colour, as before, remove it from the pan and carefully add the chopped tomatoes. Allow the tomato sauce to cook gently for around ten minutes.

8.Add a ladle full of the mussel cooking liquid and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

9.At this point add the mussels into the sauce, cook for a further five minutes. Remove Pan from the heat and set aside.

10.In a large saucepan add enough water to sufficiently cover the spaghetti. Bring to the boil, add a couple pinches of salt and cook for the amount of time advised on the pasta packaging. check one minute before advised time to make sure it is still firm to the bite (al dente). Nobody likes soggy, overcooked pasta. Drain the pasta in a colander or sieve, reserving a ladle full of the cooking liquid for the sauce.

11.Reheat the sauce slowly over a low heat and add the pasta. Gently combine the pasta with the sauce until evenly coated. If your sauce is too thick and claggy, let it down and loosen it slightly, with some of the reserved cooking liquid. Add just a little at a time until you achieve the required consistency.

12.Scatter over the chopped parsley or dill. Add a few grinds of black pepper.

Voila the perfect mussels recipe.

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Barbecue Ribs – Easiest & Stickiest Recipe

Since my childhood I have always adored the sticky meatiness of good home cooked barbecue ribs.

I have eaten many varieties and variations of sticky barbecue ribs in even the most unlikely parts of the world. I have tried barbecue ribs that are extra meaty, some that are extra sticky, and some that were neither meaty or sticky!

This simple barbecue ribs recipe uses basic store cupboard ingredients,and meat you can find from almost any butcher or supermarket.

I know this is my own version of a recipe, but I honestly believe it really does take some beating!

Ingredients For The Easiest And Stickiest Barbecue Ribs

500g carton or jar of Passata (sieved tomatoes).
2 large garlic cloves peeled and crushed.
2 tbsp soy sauce.
1 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce.
1kg meaty but lean pork ribs.
3 tbsp good quality honey.
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce.
1  good grind of freshly ground black pepper.
1/2 tsp English mustard

Easy Cooking Method

Heat oven to 200C standard/fan oven 180C/gas mark 6.
In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except for the pork and mix well until creating a thick and scrummy looking marinade/sauce. Ready for the barbecue ribs to be coated in.

Put the pork ribs into the bowl with the sauce and toss them with your hands to make sure they are coated evenly.

Carefully, transfer the ribs to a shallow roasting tin or ceramic oven dish. Pour over the rest of the sauce. Cover with alluminium foil, and let the ribs and sauce stand for five minutes.

Roast the barbecue ribs in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.

After 35 mins remove  from oven.

Remove Alluminium foil, and cook uncovered for a further 50 minutes until thick and sticky

During this extra cooking time, turn ribs and coat in sauce at least twice.

Check that barbecue ribs are piping hot and cooked all the way through before serving.

The Perfect Easiest Stickiest Barbecue Ribs

More about Pork Ribs

Tell us what you think of this recipe?

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Eton Mess – The easiest summer recipe ever

Summer is here and the weather is getting warmer and stickier. Cooking large hot meals and homemade, time consuming puds, at this time of the year, is only for the hardy.

Many of us in summer are looking for light, simple and quick recipes to keep us satisfied during the next couple of months.

There are many easy summer pudding recipes using delicious fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. The choice is endless. Nothing beats the sheer simplicity and satisfying taste and texture combination of Eton Mess.

Eton mess is traditionally served at Eton college during their annual cricket battle with long time rivals Harrow.

The name Eton Mess as a dessert, has references that can be found well back into the 19th Century.

There is probably no easier dish to make than Eton mess which is more of a construction job than cooking, but nevertheless a beautiful dish, and many peoples favourite summer food.

Eton Mess Ingredients

1 punnet of fresh juicy strawberries.

A good sprinkle of sugar.

A dash of ruby port.

Good quality shop bought meringues, broken up.

Double cream, softly whipped.

How to make the easiest dessert ever

In a large bowl, slightly break up/mash the strawberries with the sugar and the ruby port.

Add the broken meringues and combine.

Finally fold in the whipped cream and you are done.

Pile the Eton Mess mixture high in your favourite dishes or dessert glasses.

Eton Mess Variations

There are many suggested variations for an Eton Mess recipe. Whether it remains an Eton Mess when the recipe changes or not is another thing, but many of the variations are equally delicious.

Try using raspberries as an alternative to strawberries, or have both for an extra summery taste.

Some time ago I followed the original recipe but added a large scoop of vanilla ice cream to the melee. This is my favourite way to eat this dessert by far.

Vanilla extract or essence can also be added to the cream before whipping.  The possibilities are endless.

Do you have a variation to this dessert you would like to share?

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Burger Recipe – Simply Homemade

Burgers come in all shapes and sizes with every household having their own “secret burger recipe”.

No barbecue or summer get together is complete without a juicy home made burger, eaten alfresco with friends.

I remember, as a child, watching my mother making delicious homemade burgers with this very easy burger recipe and a that point realising today must be barbecue day.

Barbecue day meant people, fun, and lots of scrummy food.  In front of us would be laid a plethora of barbecue favourites. Homemade coleslaw, crispy oven baked potatoes, an array of cold meats, Sausages sizzling in their skins, various marinated meats, and poultry cooked and passed around the hungry crowd. It was always gratefully received by everyone.

Like any occasion there is always a star of the show, at barbeques and birthday parties , the homemade burger is usually the brightest star, and the most eagerly awaited.

Burgers are as individual as people and there are no limits to which toppings you can add to your burger to make it unique. Try smoked bacon, mushrooms, onion rings and gruyere cheese (my personal favourite) , or even plain salad leaves tomato and cheese. Be inventive with your burger recipe, it adds to the enjoyment.

This delicious but very easy to make burger recipe uses no fancy hard to find ingredients. It is very easy on the washing up, and keeps them coming back for more.

Burger Recipe Ingredients

540g/1lb 3oz lean minced beef.

1/2 tsp ground Cumin.

1 onion1 tbsp Dijon mustard.

2 cloves garlic – peeled.

salt and freshly ground black pepper.

A large splodge of quality tomato ketchup.

1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce.

1/2 fresh red chilli  de-seeded.

1 slice of white or wholemeal bread.

Making the Burgers

In a  food processor, add the slice of bread, cumin, pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whizz all these ingredients together for 1 minute, then empty into a large mixing bowl.

Next, add to the food processor bowl, the onion, chilli & garlic and blend together until fully combined. Scrape contents into the mixing bowl containing the breadcrumb mixture.

Next, add the minced beef to the bowl breaking it up as you go so there are no large lumps.
Add a really good splodge of tomato ketchup, the mustard and the soy sauce. This not only flavours this burger recipe but binds it together and stops it cracking.

This is where it becomes fun. Make sure you wash  your hands thoroughly and dry them on a clean towel.

There is no other way with this burger recipe than to get stuck in. Mix the contents of the mixing bowl with your hands, in a kneading, mixing motion. Patting the mixture down gently to press it together from time to time so it binds. Don’t press it too tight as this will ruin the texture of the burgers. Continue mixing until you are completely certain all ingredients are evenly mixed.

Divide your burger mixture into four, make them into ball shapes and flatten with the palm of your hand, and shape to make individual burger patties.

Cooking Burgers

When cooking this burger recipe ensure the barbecue or other heat source is on high heat. Apply high and direct heat to your burger and cook it as quickly as possible.

To ensure your burger remains juicy, you should only flip the burgers once, as the more you flip your burger, the more you lessen the juices in your burger and it becomes less succulent.

Cooking time

Burger cooking time varies greatly and depends on many things such as how hot your barbecue and griddle pan is. Usually, burgers can be cooked on a barbecue in 10-12 minutes flipping in between. But, whatever you do, make sure your burgers are cooked thoroughly and are piping hot all the way through before eating them. If in doubt invest in a digital food temperature probe, they are inexpensive and can be purchased on ebay

What’s your favourite burger toppings?

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