Despite the mass splattering of red decorations sputtered over every street in Singapore in readiness for Chinese New Year my focus for the week was on preparing a party feast for Russian New Year, all be it a late one.

Russian cuisine I admit would not be one of my chosen Mastermind topics however this was nothing a few evenings with Google could not change, or at least help with.   Well that and a Russian cookbook from the 1990s my mother thrust into my case as I bounded out the door a few weeks before.

Whilst the host and I enthusiastically went through the menu I tentatively mentioned that from what I could gather Russian cuisine centres on dill, vodka and sour cream.

“Da“! They explained “Da, Da, wery good, you have it “!

(Ok – they don’t normally speak in a Russian accent but I felt it added to the story).

With this concept nailed here was our party’s menu:

Cocktails

Russian mules  – vodka, ginger beer, lime

Cosmopolitans  – vodka, cranberry, triple sec and lime, garnished with orange.

Canapés

Smoked salmon blini with sour cream and caviar

Smoked herring on cucumber slices with dill and apple.

Main

Beef stroganoff with rice

Satsivi – Roasted chicken with garlic, coriander and saffron

Fish Po Azovsky  – baked fish with white wine, spinach, stewed tomato and parsley.

Sides

Beetroot, smetana and walnut salad

Russian Potato salad

Cucumber and radish salad with dill, sour cream and spring onions

Dessert

Apple Sharlotka

White Russian Ice cream with chilled vodka coffee syrup

Chocolate and ginger torte

Midnight snack

Potato, mushroom and cheese pirozhki

Some of the dishes took on a more Georgian slant as they have slightly more ingredients incorporated into their cuisine like the coriander and saffron in the chicken dish.   The star and saviour of the midnight munchies for many of us were the pirozhki , small bread parcels that can be stuffed with meat, cheese or vegetables. These little beauties should make a midnight appearance at all good parties and will certainly be appearing again on my menus over 2016.

The rest of the week was spent cooking for (slightly less wild) dinner parties, shopping at various markets and eating steamed dumplings.

I confess after my time out here I am slightly in love with dumplings especially the Xiao Long Bao  (pictured above) which traditionally contain pork and a scalding hot liquid that bursts into your mouth once you bite into the steaming little juicy morsels.

For this postcard recipe as much as I would like to share with you the pirozhki I feel I should be giving you a far more Eastern inspired recipe like the Matcha eclairs I made one night for dessert. Matcha is a powdered green tea from Japan and China.  It lends a superb green colour to dishes and has a delicate, delightful, exotic  and somewhat unusual taste.  It works extremely well in noodles, ice cream, kit-kats and eclairs.

By the end of the week, having eaten as many dumplings as I could and everyone feeling thoroughly well fed and entertained it was time for me to once again pack my bags and head on to the next adventure…

This Week

Every party should have: pirozhki

Vodka and champagne drunk: xxx (private chef code of conduct and Asia’s top lawyers deny me from divulging these figures)

Modes of Transport: boats, planes , MTR , MRT.

We are listening to :From Russia with Love and  Ra Ra Rasputin (very loudly)

Dumplings consumed : 36

Its all about : dill and sour cream

Matcha Green Tea Éclairs

Yes this is a multi stage and multi bowl washing up extravaganza BUT incredibly delicious and makes a rather interesting and light dessert.

Éclairs

50g butter cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing

150 ml water

65 g plain flour

1 dsp caster sugar

2  eggs lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 220 °C

Line a large flat tray with baking paper.

Place the butter and water in a small saucepan to melt the butter and bring the water just to the boil.

Take off the heat, tip all the flour and sugar in at once and stir.

Once in a ball return to a low heat and cook for a couple of minutes stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for about 10 minutes – this stage is really important as if you add the eggs in when the mixture is two hot your éclairs are doomed.

Once the mix is cooler add 2/3s of the eggs and beat till combined. You want to form a paste you can pipe and it still holds its shape so add as much egg as needed.

Scoop into a piping bag and pipe out 12  strips about 7 cm long, two strips wide and two layers high  – leaving space in-between each eclair 

Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the oven to 170 °c and bake for a further 15 – 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and pierce each éclair at one end with a skewer to release the steam and leave to cool on a rack.

Matcha Créme Pâtissèrie

500 ml whole milk

1 vanilla pod

3 egg yolks

100 g caster sugar

60 g cornflour, sifted

2 tsp matcha powder, sifted

35 g butter, cut into cubes

Weigh out all the ingredients

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the scraped seeds and the pod. Gently bring to a boil.

In a bowl whisk the egg yolks with sugar then add the corn flour and matcha.

Whisk in the just boiled milk (discarding the pod) then pour back into the

saucepan.

Using a spatula and occasionally a whisk slowly cook the mix for a couple of

minutes. It should be think and by the end not taste of raw corn flour.

Take off the heat and stir in the butter. Scrape into a bowl , cover with cling film

and leave in the fridge to cool completely.

White chocolate icing

Make this just before you are ready to use it.

100 g white chocolate

1 tbs double cream

Melt the white chocolate with 1 tbs double cream in a pan on a low heat till smooth .

Matcha green dribble

1 tbs icing sugar

1 tsp matcha

1 – 3 tsp water

Mix the icing sugar and matcha together and stir in enough water to create a paste that can be dribbled.

To assemble

Cut each éclair lengthways, fill a piping bag with the matcha crème pâtissèrie  and pipe a good layer onto the bottom half then place the back the top of the eclair 

Spoon on top a thin layer of white chocolate icing. Leave this to set then dribble over some green matcha icing.

Nest stop, Dorset….

The post Matcha Eclairs with white chocolate icing recipe appeared first on Philippa Davis.

To play the king…

I spent a fun New Year cooking in a chalet in Val d’Isere, and despite the lack of snow I made sure there was no lack of cake.

Cooking for ski parties is another one of those jobs, like the shooting ones, that allows you to be fairly liberal with the butter and cream. I do find myself being slightly less precious about seasonal and local as when you are 1800m up in a snowy mountain, choices can be fairly limited. In these sorts of resorts though there are generally excellent butchers, green grocers, cheese shops and even decent fishmongers – although I drew the line at buying spider crabs from Japan.

Around New Year in various places in Europe, including the south of France, you will see stacks of ‘Galettes des Rois’ eagerly being bought and taken home. This ‘King Cake’ is said to celebrate Epiphany – the visit from the three Kings to Jesus.

There are several variations including ones with candied fruits, frangipanes, bread like casings, flaky pastry and spices. Inside each there is hidden a trinket said to represent baby Jesus and who ever gets the slice with it in gets to play King for the day and apparently has to make it their shout when buying next year’s cake. Back in the day a fava bean was used and then more recently a little plastic or porcelain figurine– unfortunately due to modern bakers not wanting to be blamed for choking anyone they will now often leave the trinket out for customers to hide themselves.

For New Year I baked a Gallette de Rois for the group and hid a hazelnut in the cake as my King. The children especially were keen to dive in and I was rather amused as the second youngest had their slice, didn’t find the nut then asked,

“so what happens if no -one finds the nut”?

“I guess we will just have to be a democracy” says eldest.

The nut was found, we crowned the King and celebrated the rest of New Year in regal style.

This week:

Every chalet should have: a deep bath

2016 running butter total: 10 of 10

2016 running egg total: 43 of 43

I’m traveling by: plane, trains and busses (sadly not skis)

I’m loving: My scenic walk to the boulangerie

Galette des Rois

2x 25 cm circles of puff pastry

1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbs milk

50 g ground almonds

70g ground hazelnuts

1 whole hazelnut

100g catser sugar

2 tbs honey

120g soft butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp almond extract

50g plain flour.

Pre heat the oven to 180°C

Beat the butter, almonds, ground hazelnuts, honey and sugar together for a couple of minutes.

Then whisk in the eggs, spices and extracts and finally the flour.

On a large baking sheet lined with baking paper lay one of the circles of puff pastry brushed with the yolk mix on both sides.

Pour the almond mix into the middle leaving one inch from the edge.

Poke the whole hazelnut somewhere into the batter.

Lay the second pastry circle on top.

Crimp the edges and poke 5 small holes in the top (to allow steam to escape.

Lightly score with a pattern (I chose the fleur – de –lis) then brush the with egg yolk.

Bake for 30 mins by which time the pastry should be puffed up and golden.

Serve warm or cold (I like mine with cream but that’s really not done in France).

Who ever gets the whole nut gets the crown!

Next stop … Singapore.

The post Recipe | Galette des Rois appeared first on Philippa Davis.

 Tackling picnics…

“There is something a little unusual we would like you to do this time Philippa”
“Oh, yes?” Thought I, not entirely sure what my client was going to ask.

For the last few years I have been booked to make the journey to the boating heaven of Itchenor and prepare a post shoot dinner, arm the client with a selection of dinner party dishes they can whip out from the freezer when needed over the coming year and cook for a few casual family dinners.

“We have been invited to THE Rugby on Saturday, we would like a pre match tailgate picnic.”
“THE Rugby”? Thought I, quickly trying to remember which match that might be.

Part of the fun as a private chef is being exposed to so many different worlds. I have learnt more about the finance sector, the fashion industry, the art world, a bit on taxidermy, and a lot more on Scottish estates than I ever expected. I have found it useful and interesting to do a bit of homework on these varied matters hence my monthly diverse reading material ranges from Tatler to the FT and may include riveting reads like A Practical Guide to Algorithmic Strategies and Trading Systems and The Grouse in health and disease (ok the last two are still sitting by the bed). Rugby I am ashamed to say I know very little about.

The plan was to drive to Twickenham, find somewhere nice to dine then off they would go to the match and then later that night we would return home in a state of celebration or misery (sadly we all know how the story ends).

The picnic was a complete success despite on the way up a few anxious calls to those with local knowledge as to where we should have the picnic. There were good suggestions like a secluded little green patch they knew on the river bank by the Thames and less good ones like the local sports club car park or a friends driveway. We ended up in Bushy park , Richmond. The sun was almost ready for setting, the night was barmy warm for an October evening and the numerous stags who were rutting provided an unusual soundtrack to our al fresco dinner.

Within minutes tables, chairs, table cloths and hampers had been unloaded from the Landrover, champagne corks had been popped and the feasting had begun. The pre-rugby picnic menu read as follows:

Canapés
Crab on toast with lemon, parsley and chilli
Smoked salmon pate with crudités
Cheese pastry swirls

Main
Slow roast shoulder of lamb with cabbage, caraway, pine nut and yogurt salad, hummus, chilli sauce and flat breads.
Lobster brioche rolls

Dessert
Chocolate caramel brownies
Fruit Kebabs

I wasn’t quite sure of the precedent for a pre match picnic. Would it be like the ones at Glyndebourne where everyone tries to out do each other with candelabras and gulls eggs or would it be more a case of just making sure they eat some wholesome nosh as the nights can get a little wild at such events. I opted to go on the elaborate side. Personally I think if you are going to make the effort to go on a proper picnic you might as well go all-out on the food. Choose a few dishes you can tuck into straight away with the welcoming drinks and then maybe something like a chunk of meat that can be theatrically carved at the table.

Passers by certainly were impressed with our spread and unfortunately so were their dogs with the slow cooked lamb bone, we even diverted the attention of a stag for a few moments before he spied his lady deer conquest across the park.

Picnic successfully consumed and the merriment underway the clients headed off to the match. We all now know what happened within the next few hours in the sad part of this tale but I wasn’t sure how bad they would take it and how moods would be for the journey back home.

To help cheer things up I had at the ready trays of home made sausage rolls, glasses in the side doors and wine at the ready. This coupled with an impromptu Queen’s Greatest Hits sing along and an education in Pink Floyd led to a very entertaining and fun ride home. For the record, I was driving and was stone cold sober but in full voice nevertheless!
So overall the day was a great a success and greatly enjoyed by our party. Yes we may have lost the rugby but we certainly did it in style.

This postcard recipe is for my chocolate caramel brownies, damp and with a serious chocolate kick they will theoretically keep for at least 4 days, that’s if you can resist.

This week

Every home should have : a hamper

I’m driving: a BMW X5 and a Landrover

I’m loving : Royal park picnicking

I’m learning: about Pink Floyd

Dogs who tried to join picnic: 5

Owners who tried to join picnic :3

Chocolate Caramel brownies

Makes 12 squares
line a 20 x 20 cm brownie tin with baking parchment
250g 70% dark chocolate
250g salted butter
250g soft light brown sugar
4 organic eggs
1 tbs coco powder
130g plain flour
3 packs of Rolos

pre heat the oven to 170°
Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
With an electric mixer whisk the eggs and sugar together till thickened and at least doubled in volume ( 4 – 5 mins).
Fold the egg mix into the chocolate then fold in the coco powder and flour.
Poutr into the tin and scatter with the Rolos.
Bake on a low shelf for 30 – 40 mins (you want the slightest of wobbles in the centre to make sure they remain moist.
Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares.
You can take them out a little earlier from the oven then pop in the fridge for a few hours if you like your brownies to have a very fudge like texture.

Next stop, the Land of Macbeth…..

The post Chocolate caramel brownies appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Caught between a midge and …

Within minutes of arriving at the lodge in the Highlands I was faced with a dilemma.  It reminded me of the funny quandary questions children often ask like:

Would you rather be chased by a herd of angry elephants or a pack of hungry wolves? Or would you rather have to run 100 miles carrying a bicycle or swim 100 miles wearing roller skates and a riding hat etc.

My choice was:

Would I rather be eaten alive by midges or keep the kitchen window shut and practically boil alive in my Autumn attire.

I took my chances with the midges for a bit until we had regulated the inside temperature but with them being particularly ferocious this year I wonder in hindsight maybe I should have just got back into my summer kit despite being in the Highlands in late September and it exposing more flesh to midge attack.

I used to have a sure fire way of avoiding midge bites, which was to slap on Avon Skin So Soft every morning – as recommended by the Army and anyone used to being Summer / Autumn savvy in Scotland.  I was put off however when I fairly recently lent out a bottle to have it quickly returned suggesting that it wasn’t the best thing to put on oneself, as it smelt of oil used by strippers.  I didn’t enquire further…

My week in Scotland was cooking for a party of stalkers.  Having done a fair few of these kind of jobs now, I felt I knew the drill.  Big cooked breakfasts, groaning table spread of hams and cheeses, buns and sweets to take as pieces on the hill, afternoon tea consisting of freshly baked cakes and lashings of tea served by roaring fires and a hearty evening meal to help refuel after their 7 hour day stalking up, down and across mountain and moor.

Everything was as expected, accept for the breakfasts. In the entire week I didn’t make one traditional cooked breakfast.  There were boiled eggs galore, a really delicious quinoa style porridge that I was inspired to make with almond milk, toasted nuts, grated pear and orange soaked raisons, a few American style pancakes, 2 kippers and 1 round of eggs benedict, but no requests for sausages / bacon  / mushrooms etc.  I guess this really shows that even in the most traditional of set ups peoples tastes, ideas and approach to food really are changing.

Stalking – the managed and selective shooting of deer – is generally seen as part of the essential management of a healthy and sustainable deer herd.  With no natural predators numbers must be kept in balance with what the delicate habitat can support. As deer are prolific breeders numbers can quickly grow to the point where, unchecked, they will cause significant crop, tree and flora damage as they expand their range to seek out food sources especially in the winter months when starvation sets in due to excess numbers. Maintaining the size, balance and welfare of the herd proportionate to what the hill can naturally support is the objective of any good sporting estate and this takes much effort, skill and expenditure to achieve which is partly offset by the revenues generated from stalking.

The stalkers or ghillie  (the persons accompanying the guest up the hill) job is to lead the party (generally of one or two ) to within range of the animal so it can be safely and cleanly shot.  They have to know which ones are eligible for shooting, often the older or weaker ones, and get themselves into a safe position so a clean and successful shot can be taken.   This can mean walking and crawling for hours in what may seem the wrong direction so no one is seen and the wind doesn’t carry the stalkers scent and alert the deer/stag.

With such full-on days you can see why it is so important on these weeks to be well fed.  The hills are super steep, the weather can be hot, cold, misty or raining (possibly all of them within the hour when in Scotland), and there is only one way up and down and that is by foot.

Afternoon tea is one of the best moments for me as I love it when the guests arrive back rosy cheeked, exhilarated and exhausted from the day but when they see the roaring fire, hot pots of tea and big slices of cake, massive smiles of delight break out and the stories from the day’s adventures begin.

For this postcard recipe I would like to share one of my current favorite afternoon tea treats, a spiced banana and maple syrup cake.

 This week

Stags shot : 1

I’m driving: a VW Passat estate  – favourite hire car I have had, there is a little tiger in the engine and its as smooth as a peach to drive BUT sadly their turns out o be a devil in the exhaust.

Cooked breakfasts eaten: 0 (!?!?%@**)

I’ve learnt: 1724 tonic is the cream of the crop when it comes to a perfect G and T.

Every lodge should have: at least 2 roaring fires.

The in vogue gift for your host: home grown veg.

Banana cake with maple syrup and honey

 For me this is the perfect banana cake, not too sweet, hints of spice and not too dense.

 3 ripe bananas peeled

2 tbs orange or apple juice

130g room temperature salted butter

2 free range  / organic eggs

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ nutmeg – grated

2 tbs maple syrup

100g soft brown sugar

250g SR flour

Pre heat the oven to 170 ° C

Grease and line a 1 ltr loaf tin.

 In a free standing mixer beat the bananas till mushed, add the juice, butter, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, syrup and sugar and beat for a couple of minutes.

 Stop the mixer. Scrape down the sides then beat for another minute.

 Stop it again, add all the flour in one go and then beat on a low speed for 1 minute and the mixture is totally combined.

 Scoop the batter into the loaf tin and bake on the centre shelf for 40  – 50 mins or a cake skewer comes out clean.

Next stop,  I’m making a pre rugby match feast at Twickenham, Australia vs. England.

The post Spiced banana cake with maple syrup and honey appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Food fit for a …

You don’t walk in Washington DC, you power strut. Well that was my conclusion after the first couple of hours there. In all my travels I have never seen so many dashing three-piece suits, secret service police (helpfully labelled with ‘secret service’ on their jacket) and impressive museums, galleries and exhibitions. I admit my reason for power strutting was usually to make my next restaurant booking but it was fun to join in with the vibe.

The city has been home to 43 different presidents (although Obama is the 44th president, Grover Cleveland was elected on non consecutive terms so is counted twice). In-between running the free world, working on international relations and dealing with political scandal, they of course all had to eat and being president generally means you get to indulge in your peculiarities and preferences.

I can not tell a lie but George Washington, the first of them did not cut down his fathers cherry tree as was popularly believed, he did however love a cherry pie.

Thomas Jefferson was what we would call today a ‘foodie’. When he travelled he wrote intricate notes and would bring back pieces of kit like waffle irons from Amsterdam and have staff bring him back what was then exotic ingredients such as Parmesan from Italy and figs from Marseilles. He would also keep charts of what was in season and no doubt if instagram had existed would have been snapping his daily dinner.

Abraham Lincoln according to records held outrageously elaborate banquets although himself was a very plain and disinterested eater but had a soft spot for apples and large quantities of coffee.

Physicians had to be called in and the staff trained in studying Woodrow Wilson’s diet as there was great worry at his lack of weight. He did however love home made strawberry ice cream and charlotte rousse BUT bizarrely was also keen on having two raw eggs in grapefruit juice for breakfast, an idea I wont be trying on any clients soon.

Calvin Coolidge was adamant chickens were only tasty if they lived next to the kitchen door, so had them directly outside the backdoor of the White House. The meat had a rather unusual fragrant quality which was eventually explained by realising the coup had been placed directly where Teddy Roosevelt’s had had his mint garden.

Herbert Hoover and his wife were very lavish and never worried about food costs or seasonality just providing it was the best. He was keen on lobster so would have loved my recent dinners in Boston!

Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor were rather rebellious and were noted for serving hot dogs to our HRH for lunch on one visit. This is pretty cool but what I love even more is that they were so fond of doughnuts they even had them for breakfast. Not partially healthy but if you cant have what you want when you are president – when can you?

Harry Truman and wife were not fussy and staff noted very affable when it came to dining but she was keen to up the standards of cooking so bought in some new top chefs into the kitchens.

At the time Julia Child was hitting the screens, JFK was in power and America was embracing French cuisine. It is not clear if the man himself was keen in this trend but we do know he always wanted soup for lunch and inevitably had to be reminded to eat at dinnertime as was so engrossed in his work.

Nixon got the USA obsessed with Meatloaf (the food not the band) as his wife would make it once a month for the family. Peeked with curiosity the public were keen to have the recipe for themselves and so the office printed a stash of thousands to hand out on official White House paper.

George Herbert Walker Bush hated broccoli and was bold enough to publically admit this, much to the outrage of broccoli farmers who then sent 10 tons of the stuff to DC (this was then used to feed the needy).

In more recent times we have had Bill Clinton who is allergic to milk and chocolate but loves fast food, George W Bush who is not practically interested in food but has a soft spot for pretzels.

Then there is president Barack Obama who is said to be keen on burgers, hot dogs and generally American style food. He did once answer when asked what was his favourite food say broccoli but it is not clear how true this is. . Michelle Obama is heavily involved in the campaign to reduce obesity in children and has planted a vegetable garden at the white house, which I hope is nowhere near the helipad.

And the next president? Well we shall have to wait and see but I would be greatly surprised if they didn’t enjoy this postcard recipe of these very American chocolate chip cookies.


Chocolate chip cookies

For me a cookie should have a crunch on the outside and be chewy in the

Middle, this recipe when cooked right gives you exactly that. You can use

different flavoured chocolate like, chilli, orange or mint depending on your

 225 g room temperature salted butter


200 g granulated sugar


220 g soft brown sugar


2 large free range eggs


10 ml vanilla extract


375 g plain flour


5 g bicarbonate of soda


10 ml hot water

2 tbs cocoa powder


300 g chocolate cut into small pieces

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F /175 °C degrees

Beat the butters and sugar till smooth.

Add the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the bicarb and hot water then add to the batter.

Add the flour and coco powder and briefly mix in.

Finally add the chocolate chips

 Line a baking tray with baking parchment then drop large spoonful’s onto

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are just browned.

Next postcard is from back in Boston…

The post Recipe | Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Appointment with Devon

 This week I’m using my ‘little grey cells’ with my trusted chef friend from Devon to solve a West Country problem, but first….

  It is once again the foodie world equivalent of the Oscars (though probably involving shorter heels and less double-sided sticky tape) and voting will soon close for the annual Observer Food monthly awards.

I would be delighted if you would like to nominate Philippa Davis postcard recipes into their ‘Best Food Blog’ category.

Nominations can be made by following this link   

http://www.theguardian.com/observer-food-monthly-awards/ng-interactive/2015/apr/09/observer-food-monthly-awards-2015-voting-form

Voting closes 30^th June.

A huge thanks and appreciation for you support,

Philippa x

And now….

 Having successfully painted the Emerald Isle red, I moved on to give the West Country a turn.  Steaming through the rural landscapes I arrived in Devon with pearls and twinsets at the ready, home to Agatha Christie and supposedly cream teas.

 On the wild off-chance that you are unsure of what a cream tea might consist of, by my standards its scones (freshly baked unless you want raised eyebrows), clotted cream, strawberry jam and naturally lashings of tea.  Our problem was which should be applied to the scone first, the cream or the jam ? So with Poirot and Hastings like dedication, we set about our task.

For something so charming as a cream tea there is actually a dark undercurrent of controversy. There have been bickering’s, petitions and strong words exchanged as to where it originates from and so who can actually lay claim to being the true home of this afternoon treat. We did a bit of research and with Devon and Cornwall being the main contenders (and my affections lying in Dorset) I’m not going to get too concerned and am going with it’s ‘a West Country thing’.

Scones themselves most likely originate from Ireland so no points to either county there. Clotted cream was most likely bought over from what’s now Lebanon and Syria to Cornwall in approximately 500BC by the Phoenicians who where in search of tin.  The recipe was given in part exchange for the metal (an excellent trade I think) and so again neither county edges into the lead.

Moving onto the practical side we both made a batch of scones. ‘Hastings’ with her heirloom Devon secret list of ingredients that produced a super rise and me with my recipe that although I am unsure of its origins has faithfully helped me produce over18,000 of the little fluffy light morsels over the last 6 years (I’m not exaggerating and got my Ph.D. maths friend to check my figures).

  Luckily for our friendship it was not the best scone recipe which was in dispute. The real contention we were focusing on was  how to assemble the scone once made.

In Devon they like to slather the scone with cream then top with jam but in Cornwall they insist on doing it the other way round.

We diligently tried both and after much tasting, considerations, note making and debate I concluded….who cares!? As long as its piled high with both it’s totally delicious.

 My Devon friend tried to be a little more opinionated and swayed to her county ways of doing things but I did notice whilst my back was turned ‘the incredible theft’ happened and the Cornish style one disappeared with only a scattering of crumbs remaining.

 I will happily leave you to dictate how you assemble your scone but for this postcard I give you my scone recipe.

 This Week

I would love: you to vote for Philippa Davis postcard recipes as the Best Food Blog in the Observer Food monthly VOTE 

Every good West Country home should have: clotted cream and strawberry jam at the ready.

Scones eaten: too embarrassed to say.

Mysteries solved: 0 (I know, Agatha would have been disappointed).

Modes of transport :Sea Tractors, boats, trains, Flybe flights and a nanny wagon.

Scones

Scones should be eaten on the day of making which should not be a problem as they generally disappear within minutes…

(Make approx 6)

8 oz Self raising flour plus a little extra for rolling)

1 tsp. baking powder

2 oz caster sugar

2 oz cold butter

110ml cold milk plus 1 tbs.

To serve clotted cream (Rhodas from Cornwall is my favorite), strawberry jam and loose leaf tea in a cup and saucer.

Pre heat the oven to 190° C

In a bowl briefly whisk the flour with the baking powder and sugar.

Grate in the butter using the large side of a grater.

Mix in using our fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Pour in the milk and bring together into a ball (you can add a splash more milk if needs but DO NOT over handle the dough).

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out the scone to 2 cm thick.

Cut them out and place them on a baking sheet so almost touching and lightly brush with milk.

Bake for 10 mins or until risen and slightly golden

Once cooked leave to cool for a couple of minutes then split open horizontally and slather with clotted cream and strawberry jam in which ever order you see fit.

 Tips

To help your scones give an even rise;

1)   Dip your cutter in between each scone into a little bowl of flour, this prevents sticking and gives a more even rise.

2)   Do not twist your cutter, plunge straight down and up – this again helps with an even rise.

3)   The scones seem to form a better shape if once cut you turn them upside down on the baking tray before cooking.

4)   Cut your scones close together to get the most out of your dough without having to re roll and over handle it.

Next I’m heading off to cook for a 4 day party extravaganza for 100 revellers….

The post Recipe |Scones appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Goodness, gracious, great balls of…. Power.

 You can follow me on twitter and Instagram for more photos and snippets of my week

Twitter : phollowphilippa

Instagram : phollowphilippa

I have had a very exciting (manic) week cooking for a fashion shoot involving  one of the worlds superest supermodels and one of the UK’s most fabulous designers. I had been called into action rather last minute so at double speed I whipped up some menus, started the ordering, booked my flights and began to pack.  With a couple of hours to go before leaving I get a call.

“Hi Philippa , is it possible to make a few changes to the menu….”?

“Sure,” says I “ What would you like “?

(flexibility and being uneasily flustered  is a must in my line of work).

“You know all the food has to be vegetarian..”?

“Yes, sure that’s no problem”

“…And can you make some vegan”?

“Sure”

“…and some sugar free”?

“….? Ok.”

“…and can you make some gluten/wheat free,  sugar free , chocolate vegan quinoa cookies”?

“Erm…..”

This job was clearly going to be a fun challenge and very much involve up to date food trends and interests. Alarm bells began to ring as the location was rather remote and I imagined the local shop would not stock ingredients such as quinoa and goji berries. Time to call in some expert help to do a last minute emergency shop.

My mother, who is knowledgeable in these matters,  was happily eating her Sunday lunch until I bounced into the kitchen and kidnapped her to drag her to Waitrose.  Giving her a job brief on the way I instructed her to grab anything I may find useful for the week and humbly apologized for not listening closer when she had told me about all this stuff before.

I had never used half the things she was popping into the trolley; coconut oil, soy yogurts, these things called chai seeds (apparently they are all the rage) agave syrup (vegan sugar alternative), almond milk (who knew they had breasts?)…. I tell you I have never had such a trendy looking trolley. It was bizarrely exciting to think of the new possibilities ahead.

Having done a fast pick in the local woods of tender wild garlic and knowing I had ordered enough other fruit and veg to start a market stall I felt in a good position to combat any requests that could arise during the week.

With any job I like to have an arsenal of tricks up my sleeves, and particularly with fashion and film shoots there is an array of people to feed.  Members of the cast and crew are likely to sneak into the kitchen at any time hoping you have this or that. There is the more health conscious model, actors, designers, make up artists who crave healthy treats (like afore mentioned quinoa chocolate wheat free vegan cookies) and then there is the hard grafting runners, technicians and location managers who really need a big bowls of pasta and lumps of caramel chocolate to keep them going from dusk till dawn.  With many of the crew used to city life where you can get anything pretty much at any time it is always best for the catering department to be well prepared.

So upon arrival first on the to do list was to make this stash of treats and snacks.  My mother had shouted at me before I dashed through airport security not to forget ‘it’s all about power balls!’ (yes, odd looks from fellow passengers did ensue).  For anyone who doesn’t know, they are healthy balls that can replace sweet treats made of nuts and dried fruit. They are sugar free, vegan friendly, paelo positive, and yet supposedly delicious…Ill be the judge of that I thought!

It turns out that power balls are delicious (actually vegan chocolate quinoa cookies aren’t half bad either).  So I made a stash of each and waited in anticipation for someone to pop into the kitchen looking for something special…

Within 1 ½ hours of arrival the charming tailor came in

“Hi darling, don’t suppose you have any energy bars, we are starving!!”

“Well as a matter of fact,” I beamed “How about some power balls?”

‘Oh super!” he cried, grabbed a handful and dashed off back to the shoot.

The power balls were clearly a success as a runner was sent in for another handful only ½ hour later and I realised my mother was right, it is all about power balls.

This week:

Fashion envy levels : High

(Surprisingly) delicious gluten/vegan treats made: 9

Bacon sandwiches requested and denied: 11

Bunches of herbs used :54

Power balls

These are really are a tasty healthy treat and with no sugar, gluten or dairy they are basically guilt free…

The measurements are a rough guide as you will see when making them if they need more dry or wet ingredients.

Date, brazil nut and goji berries

250g dates ( with stone removed)

75g brazil nuts

75g whole blanched almonds

1 tbs  goji berries

50g desiccated coconut

Soak the dates in boiling water for a couple of minutes till just soft. Drain well.

Blitz the nuts in a food processor till finely ground then place in a bowl

Blitz the drained dates till roughly a paste.

With your hands mix the dates with the almond and add the goji berries till you have a manageable “dough”.  Add more nuts or dates if necessary.

Shape into balls (slightly smaller than a golf ball) and roll in the coconut.

Then they are ready to eat!

Store in a cool dry place in a sealed container.

This recipe has huge possibilities so once you get the hang of them try different ingredients like;

Mango, ginger, lime and almond

Or

Apple, fig and hazelnut

 Next postcard from London and on giving my first cookery class…

The post Receipe | Power balls appeared first on Philippa Davis.

The sweet life…

Having spent the last few days helping a family prepare for the excitement of Easter I don’t mind saying I have learnt a thing or two.

 – Children + unrestricted access to  chocolate = A big mess

 – You can take the Chocolate out of the kitchen…but the kids will still find it

 – Rice crispies and longhaired dogs don’t mix.

These helpful lessons came about as, having finished my original assignment to do the essential weekend shop e.g. milk , fruit, tonic(lots) and prepare some meals that were suitable for reheating over the Easter weekend, I had some time spare. My client suggested I may like to do some baking with the kids, something chocolaty for Easter perhaps?

“Can we make our own Easter eggs?!” says child 1 (aged 4)

Tempering chocolate with a 4 year old was certainly not in my training manual but not wanting to crush their young ambition and generally enjoying cooking with kids I persuaded them that chocolate covered rice crispy cakes would be just as good, plus we had the ingredients to hand.

Now, I am no Mary Poppins, I have no formal training in the art of junior crowd control but how hard can making some rice crispy cakes be with 5 under 6 year olds be?

Sadly I think the family dog may have been more successful in keeping things under control, though on the plus side they all seemed to have a great time (apart from the house keeper who had to be drafted in and help clean up the mess).

Rice crispies flew ALL over the kitchen, toffees disappeared every time I turned my back and tiny chocolate handprints appeared on most surfaces. Slightly mortified at the chaos we had caused I was greatly relieved when the mother swooped in, delighted they were having such fun and then took them out to the garden to hose them down (I made that last bit up but I imagine it would have been the quickest method of cleaning them up).

The idea of including rice crispy cakes in my blog didn’t impress me at first, extremely simple to whip up and seen as often rain in the weather report. They are not haute cuisine.

BUT (and it’s a big one) on reflexion how many really good ones do you eat? Cafes, including the classy ones, often make them too hard and not to sound too harsh but school fetés and kids parties often dish up a crumbly mess.

So this postcard recipe gives you the perfect rice crispy cake with a salted chocolate topping , excellent if you want to be the envy of the school bake or take some treats to work (yes I saw you raid the cupboard Mr X).

 Rice Crispy Cakes with salted chocolate

 Makes about 20

150g chewy toffee

150g marshmallows

150g butter

175g fresh rice crispies

200g milk chocolate

50g white chocolate

a sprinkle of good sea salt

You will need a tray approx. 16 by 20 cm by 2.3 cm deep lined with baking paper.

Place the toffee, marshmallow and butter in a large saucepan (trying not to eat any)

Slowly bring to the boil, giving it the occasional whisk.

Once fully melted take off the heat and add the rice crispies. Stir well

Pour into the tin leave to set a little (5 mins) then flatten, you can use a potato masher or another tin.

Leave to cool for about 15 mins.

Meanwhile melt the chocolates in separate bain maries (bowls set over simmering water).

Pour the melted milk chocolate over the rice crispy mix and spread evenly.

Then in Jackson Pollock style flick over the melted white chocolate (you can drag a wooden kebab stick in lines across the chocolate to create more swirls).

Sprinkle over a pinch of sea salt and leave to set before cutting into pieces – we used this time to pick the rice crispies out of the dog.

Note

This keeps for about a week if you haven’t eaten it all by then

This is definitely a treat and due to its revolting high sugar and fat content (plus the added salt) I wouldn’t recommend it making a regular appearance in their diet.

Next I am heading to Lanarkshire for Easter.

The post Recipe | Rice crispy Cakes with salted chocolate appeared first on Philippa Davis.

I am looking for someone to share an adventure……..

That’s what she should of have said, but instead she merely asked:

“Can you drive”?

“Sure” said I… “Where”?

She smiled and pointed to the moors and beyond…..

I confess I was warm and comfy in the snug shooting lodge, happily finishing the icing on my coffee and sour cream cake to serve later with lashings of hot tea.  However the picnic lunch I had prepared for the Guns had to be taken to the farthest bothy in the land and so we packed the trusty Land Rover and boldly headed off into the depths of Mordor ….

Ok I admit all the fresh air may have been getting to my head and although it wasn’t quite as epic as the Hobbits journey ( no dragons, goblins or forest dwelling spiders) it was as an adventure none the less.   The first obstacle was a long narrow bridge across a ferociously  gushing river burn– with only a rabbits tale tail of width either side to spare, we somehow made it across.   Next came a long steep climb into the hills with a shear drop one side and a track filled with crevice like pot holes, we slowly edged our way up and made it to the top.   What a view I thought, I could see for miles (although I also remember thinking I could also see there was no bothy for miles) ….

It really was extraordinary scenery and I was beginning to quite enjoy the drive when I swung a left, headed down a hill  only for me to spy my next challenge.

My heart was beginning to sound like the flutter of a grouse’s wing, the adrenalin building up .  Apparently I had to drive through a torrent of a burn.  No idea how deep it was or if there were any more pot holes under the water to deal with I remembered my training (thanks dad) from having to drive in last year’s floods in Southern England and crept on through.

 “Go back?” I thought. “No good at all, go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do!  JRR Tolkien.

As my companion was cheerfully telling me the bothy lay beyond the next horizon I  reflected on the brief I had been given for this job  – “food that is easily transportable”.  Definite understatement.  I nervously kept glancing in the back to check all the bouncing boxes of goodies we had packed were still intact.   I also remember thinking as the rattle of the cutlery box got louder and louder as we picked up speed over the straight parts of track that this would be a great way to make a dry martini.

Eventually arriving at the bothy we jumped out and began to unload the feast. At that point Gandalf ( or I could have misheard his name and maybe it was Randolph) appeared from the other direction in his tweeds to help.  A thorough sweep, a few tartan rugs and a roaring fire set the perfect tone for a warming lunch on the hill.  There were flasks of leek, potato and chive soup, slices of marmalade roasted ham, a hearty salad of  roasted autumn vegetables and quinoa,  almond tarts,  wedges of cheese and jars of chutney.

I admit it was quite bizarre waiting in the middle of nowhere, in a hut with a huge table groaning with food, then suddenly seeing about 15 Land Rovers hove into view, pull up outside and disgorge their tweed clad cargo to have their lunch, then set off again.   I am going to call it “Extreme Picnicking” .

We made it there and back again in one piece and I admit I enjoyed it so much I quickly volunteered the next day to go back  up to the moors with the lunch having found a new penchant for off road driving.  However while I am back at the lodge and have Wi-Fi let me share with you my baked/ roasted ham recipe that although you might not need for any picnics during what time is left this year it would make a great addition to your Christmas spread.

This week

I am off – roading in a Land Rover defender

Dragons slayed  – 0

Extreme picnics cooked for 5

Times driven through pot holes- 87 ( I dodged no. 21 on the way back)

Ham eaten  – 16.4 kilos

Things learnt  – Philippine saying   – shake the tree before you sweep the leaves.

Every home should have…a distant bothy.

 Marmalade Baked Ham

A 3 kilo one makes about 20 thin slices

1 large  uncooked Ham joint (I find most joints I buy do not need a pre soak to get rid of the salt but worth asking your butcher).

2 apples cut in quarters

500ml dry apple cider

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp juniper berries

2 tsp black pepper corns

 200g marmalade

Place the ham in a large pan with the apple, cider, cloves, juniper berries, pepper.  Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and put a lid on. Cook for 20 mins per 450g.  If the liquid level drops below the ham top up with boiled water. 

Once cooked carefully take out (reserve the liquid as it makes a great stock for pea and ham soup) take off any casing, skin and most of the fat. Score in a diagonal pattern.

Smear the marmalade onto where the fat was and roast in a pre heated 200°CCoven for 15 minutes or until the marmalade has caramelised.

Leave somewhere cold to cool completely ( about 4 hours) then slice thinly as and when needed.

Next postcard recipe from Perthshire…

The post Recipe | Baked ham with marmalade glaze appeared first on Philippa Davis.

Happy as a clam…

Arthur kept me up for most of the night, boisterously crashing around and showing off and with repeated spectacular flashes I began to wonder if he would ever let me get to sleep. I must confess I was slightly relieved that he was not quite on the scale that was first rumoured but impressive none the less…

I think I may have forgotten to mention as a carry on from my last postcard that :

a)     Cooking for the party in London went very well and a jolly good time seemed to be had by all (rolled veal escalopes stuffed with ricotta and black olives might be a new summer party food favourite of mine).

b)     I have headed across the pond for a few weeks and am now as happy as a jumping bean in Boston, Massachusetts

c)     Arthur is a Tropical Storm that has been tormenting the East coast of the US.

On a recent trip to France I was chatting to the lady in the bakers about cooking and she asked me what kind of food I made. I said Middle Eastern/Mediterranean/British and some American influence.

“American she said “? Raising her eyebrow so much so I thought she may have been practising a Roger Moore impersonation. “Ha !”she said “Americans don’t have real food”

Well I have to say that French bread lady has been proved very wrong. In and around Boston there are some amazing produce and dishes. There are some of the best lobsters you will ever eat, clams that are super sweet and that come in a number of varieties (the happy looking steamer clam below is a new favourite that get steamed in beer then dipped in butter for serving), some fantastic local farmers markets, corn that is definitely some of the tastiest in the world and home of the Boston cream pie.

To celebrate the 4thJuly I thought I would make my first Boston Cream Pie. I had never made one so started looking up recipes. I promise you at least 70 % of the ones I found started with ‘take one packet of cake mix and a box of ready made custard’ which wasn’t quite what I was looking for. When I did find one that was more from scratch I had to read it several times over to get the various steps and although it only takes 18 minutes to cook it takes 30 mins to wash up all the pans you use to make it.

Was it worth it? I can’t say it will become a regular baking choice for me but with a light airy sponge, thick cold custard and a chocolaty rich topping it is delicious. So just in case you fancied a washing up extravaganza that comes with a glorious celebration cake this postcard recipe gives you the Boston Cream Pie.

This month also brings the start of my new commission as the cookery writer for The Field Magazine. A great publication for anyone interested in shooting, stalking, gun dogs, fishing and other rural pursuits. My recipes appear in the monthly magazine and will also appear online at http://www.thefield.co.uk .

Boston Cream pie

Custard

470 ml single cream

100g caster sugar

5 egg yolks

2 tbs cornflour

50g salted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Heat the cream with 60g of the sugar and the vanilla.

In a small bowl beat the yolks, the other 40g sugar and the cornflour.

When the cream has come to a simmer and the sugar has dissolved pour the cream onto the egg yolks whilst whisking then pour all the mixture back into the saucepan.

Keep whisking on a low heat until the mixture is thick.

Take off and transfer to a bowl. When cool cover with cling film and store in fridge till set ( at least 4 hours).

Chocolate Frosting

50 ml double cream

30g caster sugar

120g dark chocolate, chopped up

120g milk chocolate, chopped up

Heat the cream and sugar until it comes to a simmer.

Take off the heat then then stir in the chocolate/

It should all melt with in a couple of minutes.

Leave to cool and thicken giving it a whisk every 20 mins.

(It should take about 1 ½ hours to cool and thicken ).

Sponge

100g plain flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

3 tbs milk

50g salted butter

150g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 large eggs

Pre heat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line two 9 inch cake tins.

Heat the butter and milk in a saucepan until it just comes to a simmer

In a bowl whisk the flour and baking powder together

Separate 3 of the eggs

Whisk the 3 whites with 75 g of the castor sugar until soft peak stage.

In another bowl whisk the other 2 eggs with the 3 egg yolks and the other 75g of caster sugar until thick ( best done with and electric whisk ).

Gently fold the egg whites into the beaten egg mix, fold in the flour then pour the warm milk/butter into one side and gently mix.

Gently pour into the cake tins and bake for 16 – 18 mins. (the cake should bounce back if lightly pressed)

When done take out the oven and immediately take out of the tin and cool on a cake rack.

To assemble the cake sandwich the sponges with the custard and top with the cooled thickened chocolate frosting and after you have finished the washing up you can ‘have a nice day’!

This cake keeps surprisingly well covered overnight in the fridge.

The post Boston Cream Pie appeared first on Philippa Davis.