York Food Festival 2012

Feasting on foot

I was delighted to be a Corporate Friend of the Food Festival this year.  Having not attended with the children before it was equally as exciting to feed their foodie enthusiasm.  Deciding to take the Taste Trail was an interesting option.

Crowded and chaotic the main route of the festival was tricky with kiddies and I don't think i've come across so many foodies in one place before!  Everything from Ceps to Champagne, smoked cheese to edible diamonds and surf to turf - something for everybody but where does a food fan start?

At my Cooking Shows I often ask my guests what their favourite food is, mine is simply cheese!  The kids indulged in making chocolate lollie pops with York Cocoa House whilst I sampled some of the Festivals favourite Yorkshire cheese including Monks Folly (produced by Shepherds Purse Cheeses).  Looking like a goats cheese it is actually made with pasturised cow's milk and has the most sensational creamy texture with an delicate edible rind.  The young fresh flavour changes as the cheese matures apparently, but it has to be said it wouldn't have the chance in my house! 

 

 

Salami and pasta didn't quite captivate us as much as the Bluebird Bakery where we all fell for the scrummy Fruit and Nut loaves, stuffed with your 5-aday we can't wait to toast it and smother it in butter!!!!  The savoury danish and foccacia left us drooling too.

Other stall which left us with memorable flavours were the smoked cheddar at Lincolnshire Poacher Cheeses - lovely chap who took the trouble to explain all things cheesey to the kids!

 Onwards along Champagne Street - should have got the train so I could have enjoyed a flute or two..... The next best thing in my book are diamonds and I was fascinated by the edible ones I found along with scrummy chocolate covered Cake Pops.  Produced by MCSP Design Ltd a Pickering based firm who manufacture edible cake decorations, these fab little gems are certainly a jewel in any cake decorators crown.

Vampires? No not in York - too much garlic there!  I am so intrigued by these magical little bulbs.... or in the case of Baby Elephant Garlic, no so little!  Healthful, flavourful and versatile - simply wonderful.  I wasdelighted to see The Garlic Farm from the Isle of Wight were present - we are looking forward to visiting them whilst on holiday next year on the island.

 Smoking houses were present too - these fabulous kippers were from The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse (as visited by the wonderful Hairy Bikers) - I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow!  Served lightly poached with a bit of brown bread and butter - just to die for!!







Salmon - my favourite fish - the king in my opinion, was present too.  Filletted in front of your eyes and divided into chunky steaks you couldn't wish for fresher or better looking fish!

Wolds Cookies from Driffield know their oats and presented us with some fabbie samples and we voted the milk choc chip our favourite!


Many people don't like mushrooms - my daughter being one of them - however, the rest of my household love tucking into these tender morsals.  You can follow this company on Twitter@AutumnHarvest1  
Sensational selection of fresh and dried and so good answering awkward questions like "why are those mushrooms yellow?"  I can't wait to get my next mushroom risotto cooking!



Hampers of Yorkshire were exciting - a fairly new company who are using locally produced products - can't wait for Christmas, had a sneaky peak at their website and there are a couple of their ideas on my Santa list!  Talking of Santa - Christmas just wouldn't be same without gingerbread and where better to get a kit from The Gingerbread House company - they even do children's parties, how cool is that!

Chilli is one of those amazing ingredients which can either enhance or overpower - and everyone's palette is different.  The One Stop Hot Shop was on our list of must visit places.  My son, who has quite a taste for hot stuff, had a bit of a mind blowing experience!  Starting at the cooler end of the scale he quickly worked up to the Smiling Assassin - a ketchup style sauce which would work brilliantly with a sticky chicken style dish - with a kick.  Not satisfied with steam seeping out of this ears he ramped it up to the hotest of the range, known as Smart Arse!  The picture is of him trying to get cool air into his mouth!  Let's hope the name is not revisited by the poor little chap tomorrow!


 Next the Taste Trail - we loved exploring the different foodie shops who were offering tasters and discounts - we didn't manage all of them (my map reading let us down despite them being in close proximity!!)

The Fudge Kitchen's Raspberry fudge - soooooooo good!

Top spots for us were the fabulous Fudge Kitchen (too yummy for words!)  A soft fondent style recipe which apparently dates back to 1830.  Thank the Lord it survived!!  The Yoga Tea at the Hebden Tea Company reminded me of Christmas and has a stong sense of cinnamon - refreshing, reviving, relaxing and rediculously yummy!  Fourboyz Dessert Cafe served the most scrumptious Mango gelato icecream.  Not to mention the the cruncy taster of Fish and Chips at The Cross Keys.  Final call of the day was Rafi's Spice Box - divine curry mixes (which can be ordered online and frozen) and spice blends for your curry of choice made in front of you.  I was delighted that the children got to identify and learn about the different spices - the lady was sweet with them - didn't ask her name but if you are that Spice Girl and you are reading this, thank you.

The most sublime oils and vinegars we discovered as we tasted outside VomFass - the rasberry balsamic was just heaven and I could dive in and swim several laps of a vat!  However, the must have for me was the Mango Balsamic with Chilli Oil and when I dashed into the shop and announced to the lady I simply needed some and I was going to drizzle it over my vanilla icecream the shop fell into stunned silence!  I cannot wait to get my icecream maker rumbling and ripple this sublime liquid through it.  (No, I am not pregnant but just know it will be superb!)

The thing I enjoyed most about the day was the welcome and the time the "trail providers" were prepared to give was generous - there was never the feeling of "oh not another browser!"  To everyone who welcomed us and fed us today - we have very full tummies and have had the best day ever.  See you next Food Fest.

A good days shopping!

Mum's Summer Drinks

The Summer holidays may be over and the kids back to school but the Summer feeling lives on!  Hot sun, water fights and raging thirst.  I scourered my recipe book shelf for my Mum's old recipe collection which dates back to before she married.  I was devestated that I couldn't find it and cried when it appeared on a different bookshelf!

The cooling, refreshing flavours I so desperately craved were homemade Lemonade and Gingerbeer.

Join me in my childhood indulgences and enjoy part of my youth!

Mum's Lemonade

Ingredients:

4lbs sugar
1 quart water
2oz Tartaric acid
2 tsp essence lemon to 1 gill water

Method:

• The water and the sugar are mixed first and heated (but not boiled)
• Then cooled - when almost cold again add in 1 gill of water, Tartaric acid and lemon essence
• Stir well

Mum's Gingerbeer

This wonderfully sociable "grow and share plant" works in a similar way to a friendship cake, you divide it and pass a bit on to someone you care about.

Ingredients for the Gingerbeer Plant:

2oz Bakers yeast (or 1/2oz dried yeast)
1/2 pint tepid water
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp ground ginger

Feeding the Plant:

• Every day for 6 days add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp ginger
• Every 7th day strain the liquid off the plant and keep the plant and the liquid
• Dissolve 1lb sugar in 1 pint of boiling water
• Add 4 pints cold water and the juice of 2 lemons
• Add the liquid strained from the plant and bottle
• It's better drunk after 7 days

To the Plant that is left:

• Add 1 pint cold water and mix well
• Divide into 2 equal parts, keep 1 half and either give or throw the other half away
• To the part you have kept add 2 tsp sugar and 2 tsp ginger and continue as above for 6 days

Happy Yorkshire Day

Yorkshire born and bred - we are a special breed us Tykes!  Associated with real ale, whippets, flat caps and ferrets, Yorkshire folk are reknowned for being "careful with their brass"!  In other words we spend wisely.....

The county of Yorkshire is divided into North, South, East and West and, combined, is the largest county in England. Referred to as "Gods own country" it is certainly a diverse and special location. It's a wonderfully friendly place to visit and has many traditions and folklore peculiar to the area.  To learn more visit www.yorkshire.com

Each year on 1st August we celebrate Yorkshire Day.  This particular recipe, a personal favourite, is not widely available outside of the North East of the county and the Yorkshire Dales.

Yorkshire Curd Tart

Yorkshire Curd Tart is a specialty tart from the beautiful county of Yorkshire in Northern England. This variation of cheesecake is made with fresh curd as a way to use up left over fresh curd from the cheese making process. The Yorkshire Curd tart is also filled with currants, and egg as makes a delightful teatime treat or warm as a filling and delicious pudding.

Fresh curds can be bought from a dairy but are becoming more difficult to get hold of, however, making your own is easy. To successfully make curds you will need to plan ahead as the best are achieved overnight.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1.2 litres/2 pints full cream milk
• 2 tbsp rennet
• 4 oz/100g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 oz/50g fine/caster sugar
• 2 medium eggs, well beaten pinch of salt ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch salt
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• 1 rounded tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs
• 2 oz/50g plump, seedless raisins
• 2 oz/50g currants
• FOR THE PASTRY
• 4 oz/125g all purpose/plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 2oz/ 55g butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and lard
• 2 - 3 tbsp cold water

Preparation:

Making Curds

• Place the full cream milk into an Executive Saucepan and gently bring to blood temperature (98°F/37°C). Remove from the heat and stir in the rennet and leave in a cool place (not the fridge) to set.
• Once cooled and set, gently break up the mixture using a fork, into large chunks. Line a large sieve or Colander with fine muslin or cheesecloth and place over a large bowl.
• Spoon the chunks of curd into the sieve or colander and leave to drain for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Pastry

• Heat the oven 325F/170C/Gas 3
• Place the flour, butter and salt into a large Stainless Mixing Bowl.
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
• Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry.
• Wrap the dough in Clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.

Tart

• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board to ¼ inch/5mm thick. Grease and then line a 1½”/4cm deep, 8 inch/20cm deep tart tin with the pastry. Prick the base all over with a fork. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Line the tart case with baking/greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Cook for 15 minutes or until the pastry is a pale golden color. Leave to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and light and pale in color.
• Tip the curd mixture from the sieve/colander into the creamed butter; add the beaten eggs, salt, nutmeg, allspice and beat well until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Finally stir in the breadcrumbs, raisins and currants.
• Pour the curd mixture into the prepared tart case and bake in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.
• Leave the tart to cool, then serve.

Yorkshire Curd Tart is best eaten slightly warm. Always eat the tart within 24 hours of making. 

Recipe taken from   http://britishfood.about.com

My Mum's Strawberry Jam

I just love using my Granny's old brass jam pan when I make jams and chutneys - there is nothing quite like it! It's over 100 years old and will have seen some concoctions in it's time. Here's my favourite recipe for Strawberry Jam.

Ingredients

2lbs strawberries - slightly underripe is fine
1 1/2lbs preserving sugar
Juice of 2 large lemons
Knob of butter
(Liquid pectin if you feel the need)

Method

• Wipe and hull strawberries using the Core 'n More.
• Cut the strawberries on the Cutting Board using the Utility Knife and layer with sugar in jam pan.
• Squeeze juice using the Citrus Press and add lemon juice.
• Cover with tea towel and leave overnight so sugar draws the juice from the fruit and dissolves.
• Next day, slowly heat until sugar fully dissolves.
• Add a knob of butter as this will disperse some of the scum.
• Bring to rolling boil for 5 - 10 minutes or until, when tested on a cold saucer, the jam wrinkles.
• Skim off the scum if necessary.
• If you need to add additional pectin, remove from heat for a few minutes and stir in prescribed quantity.
• Let stand for 15 minutes so the fruit doesn't sink when you bottle it.
• Whilst the jam is standing, heat the clean jars in the oven to sterilise them.
• Ladle the hot jam into the hot jars. (Using a jam funnel makes transferring the hot jam safer and cleaner!)
• Top the jam with a waxed disc (you can dip it in brandy first if you feel the need - personally I would drink the brandy and just use the wax disc, but each to their own!!!)
• Put the lid on and leave to cool - the shelf life is 2 years but I bet it doesn't stay there that long.....

Mad Hatties (Local and Lovely)

Isn't it great when you stumble across a gem - you know, that unexpected sparkle on a grey day which brings the smile back to your face and reinstates any lost serenity!

The other day I had the pleasure of lunching at Mad Hatties and it truly is a gem!  A traditional tea shop with the "ooh" factor.  As soon as you step inside you step into a glittery world of gifts galore.  Trinkets, boxes, mirrors, metal wall art and more made me "ooh and aah" many times!  Carol was in Wonderland for sure...

At the rear of the gift shop are the tearooms, two rooms inside and outdoor seating in an airy courtyard
which is adjacent to the car park.  A simple menu but good food which was thoughtfully and creatively presented.  Soup of the day was Cauliflower Cheese, arrived in a mug and was, as they say at Mad Hatties, scrum-diddly-umptious!  Served together with toasted sandwich, crisps and sweet little cup of coleslaw and an attractive side salad, it was great value.   My only "picky" comment would be that the Hot Chocolate - despite being delicious and full to the brim with naughty calories, could have been warmer!

The friendly service made for a very happy treat - soon to be repeated.  Thank you for brightening my day.

Contact Mad Hatties:

01723 364 884

Email:

info@madhatties.co.uk

Address:

Mad Hatties
445b Scalby Road
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
YO12 6UA