Banana Blondies

After suffering from "one of those days" I fancied making something that was sensationally sweet and fabulously fudgey. Following my recent love for my Raspberry and White Chocolate Blondies, I trawled the internet for something just as yummy but a little different, that is when I stumbled across Banana Blondies. Blondies are pretty much white chocolate brownies and for those of you who aren't aware BROWNIES ARE SO LAST YEAR!! This recipe very naughty but contains banana so that's at least one of your five a day right?

How do I make these delicious treats I hear you cry?

Ingredients
100ml Double cream
225g   Caster sugar
225g   Plain flour
200g   White chocolate
200g   Unsalted butter
100g   Soft dark brown sugar
  50g   Toasted flaked almonds
    3     Bananas, chopped
    1     Egg
    1     Vanilla pod
¼ tsp  Baking powder

The Ingredients

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Place the sugar, cream and 100g butter into a saucepan for 5 minutes to form a thick sauce. Allow the sauce to cool slightly and add the bananas, chopped.

2. Melt the remaining 100g butter and the white chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of water.

3. Into a large bowl beat the egg with the brown sugar and vanilla seeds from one vanilla pod. Once mixed fold in the white chocolate mixture.

4. Next sieve the flour and baking powder and gently fold. At this point add the banana mixture and flaked toasted almonds.

5. Place the mixture into a lined baking tin and bake for about 35 minutes.

The Finished Product

I will admit they do not look the most appetising but they are honestly incredibly scrumptious. Why don't you give this mouth-watering recipe a go and send me the pictures of your Banana Blondie attempts!

Chocolate Fridge Cookie

The simple yet delicious "fridge" cookie. Utterly scrumptious and incredibly moreish! These rich chocolate cookie slices are super easy to make and will make you stupidly popular with your friends and family! 

Ingredients

275g - Milk chocolate

130g - Unsalted butter

  90g - Digestive biscuits

  90g - White chocolate

This is just a simple and basic recipe for you to play around with and alter to meet your taste buds! Why not mix things up a little and swap plain digestives for chocolate digestives or add mini marshmallows, like I did. You could also add other tasty treats such as mini eggs or creme eggs to make them suitable for Easter treats. You can also vary the chocolate type whether it by dark, milk or white, or use flavoured chocolates such as fruit and nut or peanut butter. 

Method

1. Line a 450g tin with baking parchment.

2. Break the chocolate up and place it in a heat proof bowl along with the butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir gently until melted. Then allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes.

3. Using your fingers, break the digestive biscuits into small pieces.

4. Chop the white chocolate into small pieces.

5. Stir both the biscuits and white chocolate into the the cooled, melted chocolate until combined.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and pack down gently.

7. Chill the cookie for 2 hours or until set

8. Once set remove the cookie from the tin and cut into slices using a sharp knife. You should get around 10 slices, obviously that could be more or less dependant on how greedy you are!

Why not give these a go and send me pictures of your variations.

The Godfather of Italian Restaurants.

Il Padrino is a quaint Italian Restaurant situated in Church Street, Colchester, Essex. Il Padrino is literally translated as The Godfather so you know from the word go it's going to be good.

The authentic Italian food is to die for with a with a vast menu of pastas and meat or Carne dishes. An example of the pasta dishes would be the delicious "Rissoto con asparagi", which is arborio rice cooked with fresh asparagus, shallots, white wine, cream and parmesan cheese. A meat or Carne dish that is highly recommended by my lesser half is "Petto di anitra al Grand Marnier", which is roasted breast of duck served on a sweet mashed potato topped in a Grand Marniere sauce.

The specials board is plucked out of every fish food lovers dream, over flowing with mouth watering starters and main courses. My favourite specials have to be Fausto's Seafood Special and the Spaghetti Lobster - they are both incredibly scrummy!

    The Spaghetti Lobster

My only advice 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 any occasion whether it be a family meal or a date night.

Unfortunately, on my last visit I unfortunately fainted and left the bill paying to my lesser half, he informs me he spent £30.00 per head! I would like to say a massive thank you to the staff who were brilliant and looked after me incredibly well. However, I am venturing there again on Friday 28th March so I will edit my blog and run it past my three trusty questions:

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

2. Is the alcohol affordable?

3. What's on the menu?

Have a look at Il Padrino's website for menus and upcoming events: http://ilpadrinocolchester.co.uk

 

If you venture to Il Padrino why not share your thought, opinions and pictures with me! And don't forget to check back for my full review.

Hudson and Hudson, so good they named it twice!

My Sunday evening involved me feeling extremely full and satisfied after a late afternoon lunch at Hudson and Husdon in Colchester, Essex. Hudson and Hudson is a hidden gem situated just off the main road. It's a beautiful artisan kitchen and larder, which is suitable for any occasion.

Let's run Hudson and Hudson past my three trusty questions:

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

They are currently running an amazing value set menu of two courses for around £16.00 or three for just £19.00. Obviously myself and my lesser half decided, being the fatties we are, on the three courses. The overall cost? Two three course meal's, a side dish, a soft drink and a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc for £50.75. Incredibly reasonable for the amount of food we consumed!!

2. Is the alcohol affordable?

Yes! Approximately £6.00 for a large glass of wine and the possibility to purchase your favourite bottle to take home from the on site larder. Can it get any better! From their twitter account I noticed they are offering a delicious variety of cocktails. Hudson and Hudson also have a vast variety of beers and wines.

3. What's on the menu?

Being the set Sunday lunch menu there was a choice of approximately three dishes for each course. My choices were, for starter, a delicious duck liver parfait accompanied with warm bread. For mains, I decided on the beef. It was accompanied by a huge Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, a giant carrot, a scrumptious ham and shredded cabbage dish and me being the piggy I am, ordered a side dish of cauliflower cheese. The cauliflower cheese was one of the best I have ever tasted, and what made it even better was my lesser half dislikes cheese so I had the whole dish to myself! The beef itself was well cooked and melted in the mouth, unfortunately mine was a little fatty, but nothing to affect my overall opinion of the meal. For desert I indulged in a chocolate fondant accompanied with Chantilly cream and cherries, a incredibly naughty dish but oh so delicious.

I would recommend Hudson and Hudson for a Sunday Roast, a tasty treat from their larder or a evening out over the weekend. Their website is still under construction but I advise you to keep checking and subscribe to their mailing list, http://www.hudson-hudson.co.uk you can also keep up to date by liking them on Facebook or following them on twitter, @HudsonandHud 

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!