Cooking

Around Britain Cookbook Giveaway #Ad

June 19, 2020 by Erica Hughes 32 Comments

Around Britain Cookbook

I don’t know about you, but during lockdown I’ve been doing a lot more cooking (and a lot more reading). I’ve been trying out quite a few new recipes too while I’ve had the chance. It’s great to have a bit more time to do that and I’m hoping I’ll have some new favourites to add to my regular repertoire of meals. To find inspiration I’ve been looking through my cookbooks and I’ve been tempted by a few new cookbook titles to add to my fairly extensive culinary library. The Around Britain Dairy Cookbook caught my eye as a potential one to join my trusty cookbooks. I love the fact that it focuses on areas of Britain and their local dishes often using local ingredients.

From the orchards of the South East to the lochs of Scotland, each region harvests its own food and creates its own dishes. In the Around Britain Dairy Cookbook you’ll find:

130 mouth-watering recipes
Clear and easy to follow methods
Triple tested recipes for success
Eight regional guides
A colour image for each recipe
Cook’s information

around britain cookbook scotland It’s published by the Dairy Diary, the first edition of which was produced in 1982 and since then more than 30 million copies have been sold, making it Britain’s best-selling home diary.

I’ve a copy to give away to readers. Enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries allowed.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw using the competition widget.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes at the end of Sunday 12th July 2020.

Win A Around Britain Cookbook

MEATER+ Review and Giveaway

July 19, 2019 by Erica Hughes 35 Comments

We cook quite a lot of meat here. I often cook a Sunday roast for the family and sometimes we have a roast chicken in the week. It can be tricky to know whether meat is cooked or not and I usually have to guess or start probing away with my hand held thermometer. The problem with checking with a standard meat thermometer is that you have to get the joint out of the oven. It can be heavy and of course when you open the door some of the heat escapes. Wouldn’t it be great if you could know if something was cooked without getting it out and poking holes in it with a meat thermometer to be sure.

So I loved the idea of Apption Labs’ MEATER+ the world’s first truly wireless smart meat thermometer, designed to help you cook meat to your exact liking each and every time. I love the idea of avoiding over or under cooked meat and getting the cooking times right first time, every time. I was very pleased to be sent one to try out.

The MEATER+ is a wireless meat thermometer that lets you monitor how your meat is doing in the oven from an app on your phone, so there’s no opening the door to let out the heat or lifting of heavy joints in and out of the oven to check on progress. It works just like normal meat thermometers, except it communicates with your phone via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the Cloud, depending on your setup. Just use the app to see the temperature of the meat and that of the oven while it carries on roasting or grilling.

The bamboo case also acts as the charging station. There’s a place to hold the thermometer when not in use and a small LED light that indicates the battery life. If the light comes on, that means battery power is strong enough to charge the probe. It runs on an included AAA battery. Apparently you can recharge this battery up to 100 times without changing the battery. The silver and black meat thermometer is about the size of a standard biro. There’s a line etched on the thermometer so you know how far to insert it into the meat. You do need to make a bigger hole in the meat than if you are using a normal meat thermometer, but the difference is you aren’t making multiple holes.

meater app To make the MEATER+ run you need to do is download the free app to your phone, and follow the prompts to pair the two via Bluetooth. You can get the app from either the AppStore or Google Play. I downloaded the IOS version with no problems. The app makes it very easy for you as you select the type of meat you want cooked and it automatically knows what temperature that type of meat needs to be to be cooked properly. As well as the obvious beef, pork, lamb and poultry, there’s also a fish option. You can choose how you want your meat cooked (medium, well done, etc.) and you can set up alerts to advise you how the cooking is going.

Unlike most temperature probes, which just read the internal temperature of whatever you poke them into, the MEATER+ measures both the internal and environmental temperatures. You shove the pointy end into the meat, but that black tip isn’t just a handle is also a thermometer and it measures the ambient temperature around your joint of meat. Tracking the ambient temperature is part of the algorithm that tells you exactly how long you must wait until you can eat. The MEATER+ includes it in its calculations of rest time and residual cooking time. The 50m range means you can be elsewhere in the house and be able to check on progress without going to the kitchen.

If you’d like the chance to win one for yourself, enter via the Gleam widget below.

Competition Terms and Conditions

1. No bulk, third-party or automated entries.

2. Entrants must be aged 18 years or older and resident in the UK.

3. The winner or winners will be chosen by a random draw.

4. Promoter is responsible for fulfilling the prize and full contact details of the winner will be passed onto the promoter to enable prize fulfillment.

5. The winner’s name may be published on this site.

6. Competition closes on 11th August 2019.
MEATER+

How to cook the ultimate homemade fish and chips

July 9, 2018 by Erica Hughes 7 Comments

How to cook the ultimate homemade fish and chips

After a long and tiring week at work, you’re probably not looking forward to slaving away in the kitchen – but then again, you might not fancy forking out your hard-earned pennies on eating out, and you can’t bring yourself to face the queues at the takeaway. Well, why not treat yourself to a delicious homemade version of a Friday-night classic?

Pure indulgence

A British stalwart since the mid-19th century, fish and chips can be a highly satisfying source of vitamins as part of a balanced diet, as well as a rewarding, meat-free indulgence – and if you’re looking for a healthier alternative to your local chip-shop offering, why not try making your own? You can recreate a tasty take on this seaside staple from your kitchen with minimal effort, saving yourself a trip out – not to mention a few pounds (and calories!).

Ready in just 20 minutes, McCain’s flavoursome Triple Cooked Chips provide the perfect accompaniment to a crisp-baked cod or a succulent slice of haddock. And with a pre-prepared sachet of seasoning in every pack, you can switch on the oven and switch off your brain as you nestle in for an evening in front of the television, or get ready for your evening out, knowing that a satisfying meal for the family is less than half-an-hour away!

Fish is a simple and delicious meal, and these triple-cooked chips take away the time and painstaking effort needed to make your own. So, have a break from complicated cooking and try this simple yet delicious recipe for a long-standing family favourite.

Ingredients (for four people)

4 cod fillets

1 packet of McCain’s Triple Cooked Chips

300g frozen peas

Salt and pepper

Half a lemon

Parsley

1 knob of butter

Cooking oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 230°C/220°C Fan/Gas Mark 8
Remove the chips from their packaging (don’t forget to remove the sachet of seasoning)
Tip the chips on to a preheated baking tray, spreading them evenly, and place on the top tray of the oven for 18-20 minutes, turning every now and again until they are crisp and golden
Lightly coast the base of a non-stick frying pan with cooking oil and put over a medium heat
Gently pan fry a cod fillet (skin-side down) for 2-3 minutes until it is golden and crisp
Flip the fillets and fry until the reverse side has crispened and the flesh becomes opaque
Place the frozen peas into a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water and simmer for three minutes
Squeeze half a lemon over the fish fillets and sprinkle with parsley
Remove the chips from the oven, open the sachet and sprinkle the seasoning over them
Drain the peas and mash or blend them with salt, pepper and butter until creamy
Serve up your delicious homemade fish and chips!

This is the perfect tea-time option if you’re facing a rapidly disappearing evening. To give the meal an extra kick, add a side of tartar sauce, or simplify your dinner by switching out the fresh fish for a couple of breaded fillets to slip in the oven alongside the chips for a satisfying and healthier takeaway alternative.

Next time you’re trawling the aisles on your weekly shop, racking your brain for what to put in your trolley, why not take a trip down the frozen food section and grab a couple of boxes of chips to slip away into a draw of your freezer. so next time you’re stuck for the energy or motivation to decide what to eat, you’ll have an easy, taste bud-satisfying solution waiting for you.