Candied Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's Monday and I'm baking as per usual! Today I'm baking two batches of cookies.

Firstly, I'm using up some super ripe bananas to make my "Banana, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies", but due to me using all my chocolate chips in my next recipe, I've decided to make these cookies without chocolate and therefore suitable for vegans (unlike my next cookies). You can find my recipe for these here:
http://fallingjess.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/banana-peanut-butter-and-chocolate-chip.html

Secondly, I fancied being a little different and decided to try "Candied Bacon and Chocolate Chip Cookies". Not a cookie you see every day over here in the UK but something that appears to be very big in the States. You should get around 15-30 cookies from this recipe dependent on the size!

Ingredients for Cookies

290g - Plain Flour

260g - Chocolate Chips

100g - Butter (Melted slightly and cooled)

  65g - Brown Sugar

  65g - Caster Sugar

1.0 tsp - Vanilla Essence

0.5 tsp - Baking Powder

1 - Egg

Ingredients for Candied Bacon

130g - Brown Sugar

5 - Bacon Rashers

Method for Candied Bacon

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Line a tray with foil and place bacon onto tray

3. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of bacon and bake for 18-25 minutes or until crispy

4. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the bacon is cooled chop finely.

Method for Cookies

1. Reduce the oven to 170 degrees

2. Mix the butter and sugars together

3. Add vanilla essence and egg into the mixture and beat until light and creamy

4. Add the flour and mix well

5. Mix in the diced candied bacon and chocolate chips until combined

6. Place into balls and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

And the finished product, drum roll please..

Easter Egg Eggtravaganza...

Sunday 20th March 2014 is Easter Sunday. Which left me thinking what can a foodie blog about... Simple really, CHOCOLATE EASTER EGGS!! Everyone has a favourite whether it be Mars Bar, Milky Bar, Cadburys Chocolate Buttons or any of the regular eggs found in your local supermarket.

My mission: Find eggs you won't find on down the Easter egg aisle. Whether its for a loved one, a friend or just for yourself; I aim to help you find the best!

Lets begin my Easter egg hunt with...

Hotel Chocolat

With an eggcellent range of eggs and gifts Hotel Chocolat have thought of everything. With eggs and gifts to fit every price range. I struggled to pick my favourite amongst Hotel Chocolat's Easter selection. After tough deliberation my recommendations are:

1. "The Half & Half Ostrich Egg"

For £75.00 why not indulge in this beauty. This enormous egg is half milk and half dark chocolate. It comes with a collection of 29 milk and dark chocolates and also has 6 foil wrapped egglets hidden in the box. If this is not a chocolate lovers heaven I will eat my Easter bonnet.

2. "Egg on Toast Lick"

This quirky Easter lolly is perfect as a little gift or a treat. It's milk chocolate decorated with a white chocolate egg and looks delightful. Get this beauty for just £2.00

3. "Easter Pick Me Up"

A fantastic selection of Hotel Chocolat's seasonal specialties. Containing 6 of their Praline Bow Tie Bunnies, 6 Salted Caramel Egglets and 4 Raspberry Zinger Egglets. All these fabulous mini treats for £13.00

4. "The Splat - Dark Chocolate Easter Egg"

It's not your typical looking Easter egg but this beauty is a mixture of dark chocolate and a colourful white chocolate splat. Buy this egg for just £12.50

Find many more fabulous Easter treats on their website,

http://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/shop/easter-eggs

Not On The High Street

It's no yolk that this amazing and unique website sells more than just edible Easter gifts! It is a brilliant website with a vast selection of individual and personalised gifts. My favourite edible gifts are:

1. "Personalised Chocolate Easter Eggs by Cocoapod Chocolates"

Why not make Easter special with this gorgeous egg with 12 solid chocolate blocks that can be personalised to whatever your heart desires. You can even pick the colour of the foil and ribbon. This egg comes in at £19.90 plus delivery.

2. "Fudge Kitchen Easter Hamper"

This alternative Easter gift will set you back £40.00 but it just simply outstanding. This hamper will suit the tastes of any food connoisseur. Containing peanut butter chocolate, vintage fudge chocolate, chocolate indulgence gourmet miniatures, chocolate caramel fudge sauce and cookietastic Easter cookie jar.

100s of chocolate Easter gifts plus many other Easter presents and kits can be found on
http://www.notonthehighstreet.com

Bettys

Have a look at this eggtraordinary Easter egg from Bettys, established in 1919. Bettys is a family run business which began with a young orphan who traveled from Switzerland to England to make his name.

1. "Dark Chocolate Yorkshire White Rose Easter Egg"

This stunning handmade Swiss Grand Cru Easter egg is beautifully decorated and would make a perfect present. This egg is priced at £26.50

2. "Easter Egg Hunt Bag"

What a beautiful gift for for any expectant Easter egg hunter. The bag is full of a selection of praline and milk chocolate eggs made in Belgium and a Swiss milk chocolate egg. Priced at £11.50 I think this Easter egg hunt bag is great value for money. 

More edible Easter ideas can be found on Bettys website which is
http://www.bettys.co.uk/Easter,122.aspx

Truly Chocolates
Truly Chocolates is a Business Awards Winner, established in October 2011. It fills the void in the market for quality and novelty chocolate gifts. Offering anything from chocolate shoes to chocolate tea cups. They have a eggtraordinary Easter collection perfect for any chocolate lover.

1. Solid Easter Egg




















This impressive 400g solid Easter egg is available in milk, dark and white chocolate. Or if you are feeling extra naughty you can have a mixture of two! This impressive solid egg is yours for just £10.00. Once ordered it will be with you in 3-5 days.

2. 3D Giant Bunny

This masterpiece weighs in at 300g and is made to order in Truly Chocolates finest milk chocolate. This yummy bunny will set you back £4.75, an extremely reasonable price for such a beautifully crafted piece.

Why not have a look at their website for more unique and novelty chocolates:
http://trulychocolates.co.uk/
Or follow them on twitter for more information on their products @trulychocolates

Sweet Trees and Gifts By Curly
Vicky creates these unique and beautiful sweet trees, with prices starting from just £8.00. With the company based in Wales, they will post to customers but at their own risk. This luxury and bespoke sweet tree maker has had famous customers such as Katie Price, who ordered sweet trees from her new perfume launch, kissable. These Easter sweet trees will make you super popular with all your friends and family, and will be the talk of any Easter party.

Sweet Trees and Gifts by Curly are currently constructing their website. However, you can order through their Facebook which is:

https://www.facebook.com/SweetTreesAndGiftsByCurly

Or for more information follow them on twitter @sweetsbycurly 

To any of my loved ones reading this I am pretty sure I deserve all of the above! Pretty please!! I really hope this blog has helped your Easter egg selection. I hope I achieved my mission and opened your eyes from the repetitive and generic egg selections available in most supermarkets. Let me know if you treat yourself or a loved one to any of the eggs above, but please remember it is polite to share!!

For more Easter inspiration why not have a look at my blog on the Cadburys Creme Egg Brownie,
http://fallingjess.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/creme-egg-brownies-do-they-live-up-to.html 

Pancakes

With Valentine's Day out the way, what's next to look forward to? For anyone who loves food the answer is simple, Pancake Day.

Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday is on Tuesday 4th March this year. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent (time to give up all the naughty sins again, bye bye fizzy sweets). It's date is determined by Easter and therefore changes yearly.

To make your Pancake Day the best yet, I thought it would be my mission to scowl the internet for unusual pancake recipes. For all the recipes shown below there are many variations on the internet, so don't be scared to mix things up a little.


Oat Pancakes
- 4 egg whites

- 1/2 cup of dry rolled gluten-free oatmeal (ground into flour)

- 1/2 cup of almond milk

- 2 tbsp coconut flour

- 1 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/4 tsp baking soda

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

This recipe is suitable for those who are looking to be a healthy, serve with fruit to make it even healthier!

Peanut Butter Pancakes
- 1295ml Whole milk

- 250g All purpose flour

- 113g unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled

- 100g Granulated sugar

- 63g Peanut butter

- 1 tbsp Baking powder

- 1 tsp Salt

- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon

- 1 tsp Vanilla extract

- 2 Large eggs

If you are feeling devilish why not add chocolate chips into this recipe!



Two Ingredient Pancakes
- Two eggs

- 1/2 a cup of mashed bananas

This is by far the lowest calorie recipe that is until you add the chocolate sauce! They are surprisingly good, but do not expect this to taste like a regular pancake...

They look (minus the banana lumps) and smell similar to normal pancakes whilst cooking.

I chose three toppings for my pancakes:

- Banana and honey

- Nutella

- Peanut Butter

Chocolate Pancakes
- 250ml Milk

- 100g Plain flour

- 15g Coco powder

- 1 egg

- 1 egg yolk

- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil (plus a little extra for frying)


Toppings
And as for pancake toppings, everyone has their favourite. Mine is lemon and sugar. There is so many options, whether it be sweet or savoury. 

On my search of the internet I found what I believe to be an American website listing 102 pancake toppings for National Pancake Day. I've picked 5 of the most unusual ones below, I wonder if any of my readers will be brave enough to try them:

- Goats cheese and strawberry jam

- Blue cheese

- Roasted nuts with soy sauce

- Sausage gravy

- Caviar

If like me you are not brave enough, why not take a look at their website to find the more normal pancake toppings http://foodiesunite.com/2011/02/102-pancake-toppings-for-national-pancake-day/

If you already know that you'll get frustrated, be too tired or too lazy to cook; why not book yourself in to a restaurant and get someone to do all the hard work for you. Such as My Old Dutch, with 3 restaurants spread out over London situated in Holburn, Chelsea and Kensington. Visit their website to see the menu, http://www.myolddutch.com/

Why not share your recipe ideas and photos, add them into the comments. Have a happy Pancake Day!

Banana, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

This afternoon I fancied baking more cookies! I think I am starting to develop a baking addiction...

This is a great recipe that makes beautifully soft cookies, that are so simple to make and are that delicious you will keep going back for more and more and more... This recipe is also suitable for vegans, that's if you remove the chocolate chips. I made 20 cookies out of the mixture, but depending on the size you make your cookies, you could get around 30.

From start to finish you should allow around 1 hour and 30 minutes to make the cookies. I know it seems long but the mixture needs to chill for around 1 hour in the fridge, I guess if you are really busy or impatient there is no harm in using the freezer! Preparation time is approximately 15 minutes and the same again for baking. 

Ingredients

165g - Plain flour
130g - Peanut butter (smooth/crunchy - your choice)
125g - Mashed banana (preferably ripe)

100g - Caster sugar

70g   - Brown sugar

40g   - Chocolate chips

1.5 tsp - Vanilla extract
1.0 tsp - Baking powder

Method

1. Place the banana and peanut butter into a bowl and mix well. Add in the brown sugar, caster sugar and vanilla extract until smooth (obviously if you use crunchy peanut butter the mixture will not be smooth). Combine the flour and baking powder and mix well. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips, cover and chill for around 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Line baking trays with baking parchment. Roll the mixture into balls and place around 5cm apart.

3. Bake for around 11 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the tray before moving to wire rack to cool completely.

The cookie mixture rolled into balls prior to baking 

The finished product

My top 5 chain restaurants...

As much as I love small, quirky and independent restaurants, sometimes they don't please everyone. When I say everyone, I mean the fussy eaters. Everyone knows a picky eater. I therefore feel that a chain restaurant just screams ease and guaranteed satisfaction from all members of your dining party. Sometimes its better to play it safe than sorry.

I decided to rank my favourite chain restaurants in order with number 1 being my most loved chain. 

In 5th place... Las Iguanas

I love the freshly prepared Latin food. Their menu boasts everything from Tapas to Mexican food, even food from Brazil and beyond. With such a vast choice of starters, mains and deserts there is something for everyone.

I'm a lover of all things Mexican, so highly recommend their holy guacamole (nachos) and fajitas, I personally prefer the chicken version but they also offer marinated strip-steak, shelled prawns and a vegetarian option of three mushroom. A new addition to the desert menu is churros, I NEED to try these, they sound pretty amazing. 

For me living in Colchester (Essex) my closest Las Iguanas is Lakeside or one of the many restaurants in London. Well worth a trip in my opinion.

The menu is so reasonably priced, with mains starting from £7.50, you really can't go wrong. What makes Las Iguanas even better is that Sunday - Wednesday between the hours of 12-7 there is happy hour on a choice of 12 alcoholic cocktails (such as Cuba Libra, Dark N' Stormy and a Mango Collins) and 3 non-alcoholic cocktails.

Why not have a look at their menu online and see what Las Iguanas have to offer, www.iguanas.co.uk

In 4th place... Wagamama

Wagamama is famed for its Japanese inspired cuisine. Wagamama's praise themselves on fresh, fast and fun food. My favourite fact about this restaurant is that Wagamama stands for naughty child or one who is wilful and determined in Japanese. I do understand that its not a restaurant for everyone with the shared benches and the dishes arriving at different intervals. I guess it's a little like marmite, you either love it or hate it!

The fast and delicious food is enough to make most customers, like me, come back time and time again. All the dishes are adequately priced. My favourite main dish on the menu has to be chilli men served with soba noodles. If I'm feeling particularly naughty I like a side dish or two like spicy squid or edamame.

Wagamama's even offer a great selection of super healthy juices such as super green juice and root juice.

If you think its something you'll love why not take a look at the menu, www.wagamama.com

In 3rd place... Zizzi

You can't really go wrong with Italian food and I personally think Zizzi's is best of all the Italian chains. They offer a great selection of pizza's, pasta's, salads and calzone.

The menu is full of lower fat, healthier alternatives to the usual greasy pizza's, such as the skinny pizza bufala. My favourite however has to be the pasta, I love a carbohydrate overload! In particular the penne della casa, a naughty dish filled with cream and oven baked with cheese.

Zizzi's also has a great selection of wines and soft drinks, my preferred soft drink has to be San Pellegrino limonata.

In Zizzi's you are guaranteed to get great value for your money, with them offering great deals and vouchers on many online sites such as voucher cloud. 

If like me your suddenly in the mood for an Italian why not take a look at their menu, www.zizzi.co.uk

In 2nd place... Nando's

Anywhere I can use a loyalty card I'm hooked and dam this has now become one good loyalty card. What could you possibly not like about Nando's; there is chicken, refillable drinks, loads of sides and the biggest variety of sauces imaginable.

Everyone knows what they'll have at Nando's before they walk through the door. Mines a medium chicken pitta, chips and salad. Occasionally I treat myself to olives too! It's safe to say Nando's has upped in price but who could possibly complain, you still eat for around £15.00 - that's unless you have a bottomless pit as a belly. If that is the case I strongly advise you to eat the frozen yogurt!

For the 0.01% of you who hasn't been to Nando's before take a look at their menu online, www.nandos.co.uk

And the winner is... TGI Friday's

TGI's wins the title of my ultimate chain restaurant, I mean have you tried their Cajun battered shrimp? Its mouthwatering. With walls covered head to toe in memorabilia and service with a smile (occasionally even a balloon hat or a song if its your birthday). TGI's originally started in the States as a singles bar in 1965 but now is a great place to go with your friends, family and loved ones.

The menu is literally any meat eaters heaven. It has everything including steak, chicken and ribs. My weakness is their American grills, just wow. Pretty much every dish comes with a Jack Daniels option which makes great food brilliant! You can't forget about the TGI burgers, they are amazing. TGI's even has the choice of Mexican and Italian dishes. They now also do Tapas (not the Spanish kind!) - 3 for £12.99 or 5 for £15.99.

Main meals start from £8.99 for the vegetarian dishes with the most expensive being £21.49. It does seem a little costly but like you'd expect of an American style restaurant the portion sizes are huge!

Not only do TGI's serve up great food, they have cocktails to die for! With a vast range of skinny cocktails, rum medleys, stylish martinis, fizzy cocktails and many many more! My advice when you go, ensure you aren't the designated driver!

Have a look at their website and see where your closest TGI's is, trust me its well worth a visit www.tgifridays.co.uk

What's your top 5 favourite chain restaurants? Comment below and see if we reach the same verdict!

Question: What do you call four Mexicans in quicksand?

Answer: Cuatro, sink-o

Apologies for my appalling joke, had to get your attention somehow!

Do you fancy a little Mexican food in your life? Bored of the basic dinner kits? Well why not try my take on this low fat, simple to make and delicious Mexican dish, a black bean and chicken chilaquiles.

Typically a dish that real Mexican's eat for breakfast or brunch. Chilaquiles are really a Mexican version of of a lasagna. I found a recipe online a few weeks ago and varied it to my own tastes. You'll find my recipe below:

Ingredients:

- A dash of extra virgin olive oil (or if you are super healthy low fat spray)

- 1 large thinly sliced onion (I prefer red onion but the choice is yours)

- 1 pepper (I used red, but whatever colour you have available will suffice)

- A handful of mushrooms

- 1-2 small red chillies (depending how much heat you can handle)

- 3-5 garlic cloves (more if you want to keep the vampires away!)

- 4 chicken breasts, thinly sliced

- 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

- Enough chicken stock to cover

- 1 jar of salsa

- 8-10 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch strips

- Enough cheese to cover the top (cheddar, Mexican cheese, whatever takes your fancy!)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with oil. Add onion and cook until lightly browned. Add garlic, chilli and the chicken. Allow the chicken to cook through. Add in the peppers and mushrooms.

3.Add chicken stock and salsa to pan, followed shortly but the black beans. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5-10 minutes (or until sauce has thickened), stirring occasionally. Here I added a dash of tomato puree just to thicken it up a little.

4. Place half of tortilla strips in bottom of a large(ish) baking dish coated lightly with oil. Layer half of chicken mixture over tortillas; top with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 200° for 10-15 minutes or until tortillas are lightly browned and cheese is melted or browned and crispy if you prefer

This goes perfectly with homemade guacamole, sour cream, re-fried beans and a nice salad. If that's not fulfilling enough for you why not add some Mexican rice. If you cook your own version of this recipe why not leave a comment and share your variations with me, attach a picture too!

Luxury Granola Cookies

Tonight I decided to make a "healthy" luxury granola cookie - basically most of the good cookie ingredients minus the chocolate! I used Harvest Moon strawberry crisp, a luxury style granola. These are perfect snack for someone with a sweet tooth and goes well with a good cup of tea.

They are dead simple to make with the preparation taking less than 15 minutes. The ingredients make 20 small cookies or if like me you are a little greedy, 10 big cookies!

Ingredients

115g of unsalted butter

45ml of golden syrup

115g of demerara sugar

175g of luxury granola (muesli)

90g of self-raising flour

1tsp of cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line trays with baking paper.

2. Put the butter, golden syrup and sugar into a large pan and heat gently. Stir the mixture constantly until the butter has completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat then stir in the granola, flour and cinnamon. Ensure the ingredients are well mixed and put aside to cool.

3. Place spoonfuls of the mixture on the baking paper, slightly apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are beginning to brown around the edges. Leave to cool a little on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. (Or if your like me eat when it's still a little warm!)

You can vary your recipe to whatever tickles your fancy, including chocolate if you are feeling a little naughty! I took a few pictures shown below of the preparation process and the finished product.

The butter, golden syrup and  demerara sugar just before melting

The full mixture as its cooling

My very large luxury granola cookies pre-baking

The very moreish finished product.

Why not send me pictures of your "healthy" cookies and share your variation of the recipe in the comment section below.

The food is good, I'm not kidding Yew!

After a recent visit to the Yew Tree, I decided to give it a cheeky review and run it past my 3 key points of dining out:

1. How much is it going to set me back?

2. Is the alcohol affordable?

3. What's on the menu?

 

My lesser half and myself ventured here after craving a Sunday Roast. The Yew Tree was a pub that holds fond memories from past family meals and I was hoping it wouldn't disappoint. The Yew Tree is a beautiful, picturesque, traditional pub in the village of Great Horkesley and is part of the Chef and Brewer chain.

 

I started my meal with a bubble & squeak which was delicious. The potato cake was well complimented with a free range egg and succulent hollandaise sauce. My lesser half had sticky beef noodles, which naturally I had to taste and must say it was pretty moreish. Was such a generous portion and would have done most people for a main meal!

 

Being a Sunday it would have been rude to order anything but one of the their roast dinners. The choice being gammon, rack of pork loin, topside of beef or Norfolk turkey breast. We both decided on the topside of beef with all the trimmings which was cooked to perfection. Being the fatty I am, I also added pigs in blankets and cauliflower cheese from their vast selection of scrummy sounding side dishes. My only criticism would be the roast potatoes, they were a little small and lacking in crispiness. Unfortunately we were both stuffed and couldn't manage a desert.

 

For those with children they also offer a great children's menu with starters, mains and deserts!

 

So in answer to my three points:

1. Very reasonably priced:
    - Starters ranging from £3.49 - £6.49
    - Mains ranging from £8.99 - £15.99 

    - Deserts ranging from £3.29 - £5.99

2. I was unfortunately the designated driver on this occasion so stuck to the diet coke however looking at the wine menu your averaging around £4.50 for a 175ml glass. They also over cask ales, ciders and soft drinks. I'd say they are all adequately priced.

3. I attempted to get your taste buds tingling with my review above but why not have a look on their website for the menu. As well as upcoming events and deals such as signing up to their online club and receiving a free starter or pudding. http://www.chefandbrewer.com/pub/yew-tree-great-horkesley-colchester/c1249/

Will I ever be the next star baker...

I do not claim to be he Great British Bake Off's next star baker, but I am a lover of baking anything sweet and sickly. Whether it be cakes, brownies or cookies; I adore baking anything that will give me a sugar rush. Unfortunately, minus cookies, my baking attempts usually fail! It would be safe to say I'm better at cooking than baking, but that won't stop me! A weekly bake is fun and can be a great way to relax.

I like baking different things and trying things that are new or a craze. Google and blogs are a great source for finding new recipes. However my favourite baking recipes are in "The Cookie Book" brought for me by my lesser half for Christmas. It has over 200 recipes for cookies, biscuits, bars and brownies. I think he was hinting he wanted me to bake more cookies as they are his favourite. That and the cookie cutters from my mum, I'm sensing a trend.

In my opinion cookies and brownies need to be slightly under baked, so gooey and soft in the middle and the more chocolate the better.

Unfortunately, I lack the finesse of decorating cupcakes, they always look like they've been decorated by a small child, but they always taste good! This is my downfall as its true you really do eat with your eyes. Some of my baking efforts can be seen below (excuse the cupcakes!):

Green and Lilac Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes
(I know JARG isn't a word! It's the initials of my family!)

Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Cookies

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Crème Egg Brownies

(The recipe I used for this can be found in my previous blog here: http://fallingjess.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/creme-egg-brownies-do-they-live-up-to.html)

With Valentines day quickly approaching and Mother's Day just around the corner (Sunday 30th March) why not treat your loved one to a baking course. You can find many courses online, I've done a little research for you and a few companies offering courses are shown below:

• Squires Kitchen
  Many courses starting from 27th February through to the end of the year, all suitable for beginners. Prices starting from £125.00
  http://www.squires-school.co.uk/courses/topic/cookery/limit:16
•  Cinnamon Square
  Winner of the home counties round on ITV's Britain's Best Bakery are offering many Masterclasses from cupcakes to macaron, chocolate to pastries. Prices starting from £66.67http://www.cinnamonsquare.com/masterclasses.html
• Newlyns Farm Shop
  Offering many courses including cakes and tray bakes with prices starting from £135.00http://www.newlyns-farmshop.co.uk/book-a-course/

I hope this little blog will make you hungry, inspire you to bake or if like me feel motivated to attend a baking course. If it has share with me your baking efforts, recipes and tips.

Everyone loves a curry...

It's the weekend which means one thing, a takeaway. When buying a takeaway there is only ever one option for me, that option is an Indian.

 

Buying a curry within a group, whether it be friends or families, can cause many unforseen challenges and minor difficulties:

1. Pay for what you eat or go Dutch

2. How many rices? There is always too much or too little. What's the perfect amount?

3. Where to order from? Everyone has their favourite Indian, mines the Way To The Raj in Marks Tey, Colchester.

4. One dish each or mix and match. Which leads me beautifully on to my favourite point..

5. My favourite line whilst deciding what to order: "What are you having? Oh, sounds nice, can I try a bit of that?".

Anti-sharers would agree with Smithy's opinion from the highly entertaining BBC comedy, Gavin and Stacey. Watch that beautiful moment again here,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xaq4nN2QwEI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 

However, that's not my opinion. I am a curry sharer, much to the outrage and disbelief of the lesser half. I like to pick at different things and mix it all together into one big curry mound. I get jealous if I order a curry and someone else's looks or smells better. It's safe to say there is only one thing worse than curry envy and that's a dodgy curry.

 

Where I live no well known takeaway delivers and that even includes domino's if you order online. No its not the Outer Hebrides, (but if you ask my friends sometimes the lack of signal makes it feel like it is) it's just a village on the outskirts of Colchester. So when the girls came over last night we ventured on to Just Eat to review our options, as according to their advert they will even deliver into space. The list of Indian's on there I'd never heard of, that feeling of regret and risk kicked in, should I have just gone to pick one up from my favourite curry house? Due to a few of our financial situations we were swayed by one curry house, Rice 'N' Spice, offering a very tempting 25% off.

 

An hour later there is a knock at the door, our curry arrives and like a pack of ravishing wild animals we are ready to dig in and and demolish the curry. The curry itself was alright, no complaints there. The taste was pleasant, the nann cooked just right and the onion bhaji was gone in seconds so it must have been tasty. However, the condiments were lacking.  The mango chutney and mint dip left me feeling disappointed, it was extremely runny and lacking in flavour. The papadum's were a fail and didn't fulfil my hopes and expectations due to their flimsy ways, meaning I couldn't use them to spoon up my remaining curry. Although, the cucumber riaita was tasty, but that's just yoghurt and cucumber so you can't really go wrong there.

 

Overall I found my curry a pleasant experience, whether that be down to the company, or that fact that I was that hungry I could have chewed off my own arm! This The temptation of delivery and the discounted price swayed my decision this time, will it happen again? I don't think so, stick with what you know and like, collecting a takeaway isn't the end of the world!

Creme egg brownies, do they live up to the hype?

Well there was only one way to find out, in the words of Great British Bake Off's (or GBBO as us fans called it!) Mel and Sue... BAAAKKKKEEE!

I was thrown into the madness of this Easter delight by a friend who lacks baking skills (sorry JB!) and was intrigued by this sweet treat. She bombarded me with this recipe http://scarletscorchdroppers.com/2013/03/12/creme-egg-brownies/ (many other's are available online) and gave me no choice of a healthier bake, even though we were both "healthy eating" (it has eggs in it right?). As a result we popped out and got the necessary ingredient's from Sainsbury's (other supermarkets are available!).

My Advice

1. Follow the recipe to the gram - no free styling!

2. Bake your brownie so it's still gooey and delicious in the middle

3. Freeze your mini crème eggs - I've heard on the grapevine this avoids them melting and leaves them with a gooey, soft yolk effect centre

4. If you have a sweet tooth and hate waiting around, speed up the baking process and make use of the marvellous invention called the freezer!

5. Cut them small - they are far too sickly!

The Baking Process

The finished result:

In my opinion they lived up to the Easter hype and were far tastier than I expected. If you lack a sweet tooth avoid at all costs as this is a recipe designed to make you teeth rot.

If you give this particular bake a go why not share you opinions and pictures on my blog!

5 restaurants that are sure to make you love struck..

To avoid Valentines Day 2015 being a M&S ready meal for one, have a read of my top 5 restaurants (in no particular order) to splurge some pennies on your significant other... I know researching can be a pain so I thought I would do it for you, call me your blogging fairy god mother!

1. The Stockwell Arms, Colchester

www.thestockwellcolchester.com

The host of my recent date night come pay day treat. A medieval restaurant and real ale hall that boasts electric atmosphere and fine dining. Probably my favourite date night restaurant with a menu full of sharing platters making the occasion a little more special, like the 16oz Striploin or the Stockwell Sharer (this one is impressive as its served on a long medieval style banquet board). The food is sensational and accompanied by homemade treats such as walnut butter, honey mustard and barbeque sauce. Even serving a surprise amuse-bouche (a French term translated literally as a "mouth-amuser") in between courses. I will be honest, with alcohol it can be a little pricey, but you really get what you pay for and it's worth every penny for a special occasion. The quality of the food is sensational, the service is attentive and the renovated building its self is beautiful. I noticed that they are offering a Valentines Day menu of 4 courses (one is prosecco) for a bargain price of £35 per person or if you would like accompanying wines (aka a wine flight!) the price increases to £50 per person. Take a look at their Valentines sharing menu on their website and if your other half is super special splash out a little and take them to The Stockwell.

2. Olio Italian Restaurant, Chelmsford

www.olio-italian-chelmsford.co.uk

I experienced Olio's for the first time last Sunday and it's safe to say I will be a returning customer. As my dining experience was part of a birthday party we sat in the downstairs restaurant, highly recommended to enhance the party atmosphere, but that is straying from the Valentines Day point! The upstairs restaurant is romantic, quaint and very Italian. The food was outstanding. Their menu varies from pastas to pizzas, with a wide selection of specials. My recommendation is the mixed fish platter and if you are not a fishy person the lamb shank. The authentic Italian restaurant is hosted by friendly and conscientious staff. On average with food and drink I recon you are looking at around £35 per person, very reasonable.

3. The Warehouse Grill, Colchester

www.thewarehousecolchester.com

Lover of steak - check. Enjoy a good burger - check. Love a good cocktail - check. Well this is your ideal place, with a website stating "surely the best burger in town", the warehouse grill never disappoints. With an impressive grill based menu of ribs, steaks and burgers its safe to say you won't leave hungry. When at a grill based restaurant it would be rude not to eat a rare steak with all the sides, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. The quality of the food and cocktails is superb and excellent value for money. The Warehouse Grill is also boasting a Valentines Menu online, a 4 course meal (one being a Mango and Passion fruit Bellini) for a moderate £37.50.

4. Il Padrino, Colchester

www.ilpadrinocolchester.co.uk

Literally translated as The Godfather so you know it's going to be good! Straight from the word go my advice is when booking to request a table downstairs, it alters the atmosphere of the restaurant completely. Downstairs (or the lower floor) is an old brick wine cellar and is perfect for the romantics amongst you. The authentic Italian food is to die for with a vast menu of pastas and meat dishes, with a specials board plucked out of every fish food lovers dream (if its on there go for the Spaghetti Lobster - its scrummy!). All food is seasonal, so the specials are constantly changing. There is a special Valentines Menu, a 3 course meal finishing off with tea or coffee for £39.95. So to sum it up its reasonably priced, delicious and romantic - spells a perfect Valentines night out to me!

5. Hudson & Hudson, Colchester

www.hudson-hudson.co.uk

I have heard many great things about this new artisan kitchen and larder, especially constant appraisal of their Sunday roast. I have yet to dine in Hudson & Hudson, but have spent a few pennies buying peanut butter chocolate from their on-site larder. The service was brilliant, even wrapping up my goodies in brown paper packaging, making it a perfect gift for my lesser half. Their range of savoury snacks, cheeses, speciality teas, jams, sauces and chutney's is mouth wateringly magnificent. If the restaurant is as good as their larder, then they are on to a winner! They are even open for breakfast from 7:30am, can it get any better? I will be checking Hudson & Hudson out very soon so stay tuned for a review.

I hope my brief reviews have aided in you Valentines decisions and dilemmas. Go ahead book one now or it might be your last Valentines as a couple!! Stuck on choosing one? Well why not spread the love over a week and go to one every night, simples! If my lesser half is reading this, in my opinion, I think I deserve the latter!