Category: Cooking

Crescents can be stored in an airtight container for about 3 weeks; they can be frozen for about 2 months. This recipe is not suitable to microwave.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 tablespoons castor-sugar
• 125g butter
• 1/2 cup packaged ground roasted hazelnuts (hazelnut meal)
• 2 egg yolks
• icing sugar (to serve)

Method:

1. Sift flour and castor sugar into bowl, rub in butter, mix in hazelnuts & egg yolk.
2. Knead lightly on floured surface until smooth.
3. Roll teaspoonfuls of mixture into 7cm long sausages, shape into crescents.
4. Bake on lightly greased oven trays in moderately slow oven (160 degrees) for about 20 mins or until lightly browned.
5. Sift icing sugar over warm crescents, lift onto wire racks to cool.

Makes about 30.

Serves 4

Ingredients;

• 2 small carrots, very thinly sliced
• 1 small green pepper, de-seeded & cut into small strips
• 4 level teaspoons finely-chopped canned pineapple
• 6 spring onions or shallots, chopped
• 4 tablespoons syrup from can of pineapple
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 level tablespoon  clear honey
• 1 oz (25gm / 1 teaspoon) brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 level tablespoons cornflour
• 1/2 pint (250ml – 1  cup) chicken stock
• salt & pepper
• 1 oz (25gm) flaked blanched(white) almonds
• 1oz (25gm – 1/2 teaspoon) butter
• 1 freshly-roasted chicken (1 + 1/2 kilo)

Method;

1. put carrots into saucepan with green peper, pineapple & spring onions
2. Stir in pineapple syrup, soy sauce, honey, sugar and vinegar
3. Slowly bring to boil and simmer for 5 mins
4. Meanwhile, blend cornflower to a smooth cream with the chicken stock
5. Add to saucepan and cook, storing until sauce comes to the boil and thickens. Season with salt & pepper. Add almonds and butter. Leave over very low heat.
6. Quickly cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and put into a warm serving dish
7. Coat with sweet-sour sauce and serve straight away with freshly boiled rice or noodles

Ingredients

• 250 gm pitted prunes
• 3 tbsp cognac / brandy
• melted butter for greasing the form/mould
• 3 tbsp flaked almonds to prepare form (to sprinkle on form to make sure the cake doesn’t stick to the form)
• 4 eggs
• 1 + 1/4 cups caster sugar
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
• 1 + 1/4 cups thickened cream
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1 cup walnuts
• icing sugar for dusting
• 3 tbsp cherry jam
• cocoa

Method;

1. cut up & soak them prunes in brandy
2. dust tin with melted butter and sprinkle flaked almonds
3. beat eggs with castor sugar and lemon rind until thick & pale
4. stir in cream & gently fold in flour
5. remove about 1/3rd of the mixture
6. combine jam & cocoa, plums and walnuts and stir into remaining mixture
7. spoon into prepared mold
8. pour plain mixture into mold
9. stir with knife to get marbled effect

(need a few last steps here…)

Steak (300g sirloin)

Medium heat
Drizzle with olive oil
Sprinkle with sea salt & pepper
8 min – medium rare (4 min each side, rotate 90 degrees each 2 min)
16 min – medium
32 min – well done

After cooking, brush with oil & thyme
Sprinkle with sea salt

Rare

– lean cut (eg. eye fillet)

season with salt & pepper over medium-hot grill
3-4 mins on each side

Medium

t-bone
4 mins on each side
rest for at least 2 mins

Well done

rump steak
salt & peper
when firm to touch take off grill
should be grey-brown all through