Pork chops with mushrooms and cream

This is one of mamma spoon's faves too, pork chops with mushrooms, cream and mash! Probably one of the simplest of dishes I've made but definitely one of the best!

Crucials

Pork chops (ideally with bone)

Packet of mushrooms

Potatoes

One lemon

One and half spoonfulls of plain flour

One clove of garlic

Salt and Pepper

Butter

Pot of Double cream

Fresh basil (o)

Pork prep

• Preheat the oven at 200 degrees
• Fry the pork chops in butter on both sides and season with salt and pepper until they brown

• Whilst they are frying chop up the mushrooms into quarters 
• When the porks browned both sides place it on some foil on a roasting tray - make sure the foil is big enough to pack up when the mushrooms  are done
• Fry the mushrooms in the same pan that you fried the pork
• Crush in the garlic and add to the mushrooms with some black pepper and fry gently
• When the mushrooms are soft, turn off the heat and add one and half spoonfulls of plain flour
• Mix the mushrooms up until all the flour has disappeared and squeeze in a whole lemon and mix
• Then put the mushrooms on top of the pork chops in the foil
• Pour the double cream over the pork chops and wrap the foil over into a parcel so its all sealed
• Add some fresh basil on top (o)

• Place into the oven on 200degrees for approx one hour and a half 
• Peel the potatoes and boil to mash with butter and cream

Serve with veg of choice, we had brocolli and sugar snap peas. OMG soooooo delicious! 

Sunday Roast!

Fancied a roast today! Perfect Sunday, up at 9:30am prepared the chicken, long walk around Beckenham with Darvill, bumped into Rudi and Amy, met Mirek in the Woody with Missy, left him to watch the footy with Cleavers, went home to crack on with dinner, mum popped by to pick Missy up and we chilled with a Roast and a Chateauneuf-de-Pape. Ahh just how Sundays should be!

Crucials 

Maris Piper Potatoes
One chicken
One lemon
Fresh Basil
Fresh Coriander
Chunk of ginger
Chilli flakes
Chilli powder
Parmesan (o)
Salt and Pepper
Three cloves of garlic
Butter
Olive Oil

Chick.. Chick.. Chick.. Chick.. Chicken!

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
• Melt a knob of butter in the microwave, add a glug of oil
• Chop up the basil and corainder and add to the butter
• Crush the garlic and mix it all in
• Squeeze half a lemon and season with salt and pepper
• Add some grated parmesan and mix (o)
• Add a small spoonfull of chilli flakes
• Make pockets under the skin of the chicken breasts and slice into the chicken meat
• Repeat for the legs
• With a spoon put the mix under the skin of the chicken and rub it all in, until all the mix is nearly gone, then rub the remainder over the top of the chicken
• Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of chilli powder over the top
• Put the other half of the lemon up it's bum!
• Leave to stand if possible!

• Put it into the middle of the oven and roast for approx 2 hours until skin is crisp
• Every half hour, spoon the juices over the chicken
• After 45mins of the chicken being in the oven boil the potatoes
• When they're nearly ready drain them and put a lid over and carefully shake the pan so they fluff up
• Put a knob of butter and glug of oil into a roasting tray
• Add the potatoes and coat them with the buttery oil
• Spoon out some of the chicken juice and pour over the potatoes
• Switch the chicken to the bottom of the oven and the potatoes in the middle
• Roast until potatoes are crispy

Serve with buttery baby corn and carrots..Mmmm

Forking Fish Pie!

I made this dish last week and have just remembered that I hadn't put it up as Le Cornu requested!

I know it's a bit odd but when I'm hungover as well as always craving something containing minced meat, I also really crave a good mash potato topped fish pie! This recipes a classic and a goodun and inspired by the lovely Steph Tiller!

Top tip essential: Steph's top tip -  Make the sauce thicker than you think it should be

Crucials:
One lemon
Fish Pie mix (haddock, salmon and cod)
Eight king prawns (I use raw)
Three eggs
Coriander (although Parsley would be better)
Salt & pepper
Potatoes
Peas
Milk
Butter
Plain flour
Two spoonfulls of creme fraiche or double cream (o)


Fish filling

• Add the fish (excluding the prawns) into an oven proof dish and cover with milk, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle in some fresh coriander. 
• Cover with a lid and put into the oven for approx 15mins on 200degrees
• At the same time peel and boil the potatoes
• And hard boil the eggs (approx 8 minutes boiling)
• Gently fry the onions and squeeze half a lemon in so they are soft
• When the fish is done, drain the milk and keep to one side in a measuring jug
• Break the fish up a little and add it to a deep pyrex dish

• Cover the fish with the fried onions and add in the raw prawns in between the mix
• The potatoes should be ready now so mash them up with some butter and a spoonfull of cream
• Now make a roux by adding a knob of butter to a small saucepan, once the butter has melted add some plain flour slowly and mix it quickly to make a paste then little by little add the fish milk stock and keep stirring so it gets thicker, repeat this until you've made a white sauce for the fish. 
• Once the white sauce looks ready with no lumps add a spoonfull of creme fraiche or double cream and stir - make sure the sauce is thicker than normal
• Finish it off by squeezing the rest of the lemon in and season with salt and pepper
• Pour the sauce over the fish and give it a gentle stir
• Cover the fish pie with the mashed potato and bake in the oven until the top is all golden and crispy - approx 35mins

Serve with mange tout and fresh peas. YUM! x

Casserole a'la Boeuf Spoons

This has got to be one of mum's best sooo delicious and warming and just perfect for  a lazy January Sunday! Never made it before so rang mum and scribbled the briefest of instructions down on a post it and just added my little extra bits :-)

Mirek said it's one of the best meals I have ever made :-) and of course i asked him what was wrong with all my other dinners!

Top Tip Essential: when making the sauce, make sure you make a roux with flour and cold water if you need to thicken it up later when the sauce is in
- Also you can pretty much add any veg you have into this dish, just remember to fry the onions up first
- A joint of beef costing £8 will make enough dinner for 5/6 people
- (o) = optional

Crucials

Joint of beef
One onion
Six mushrooms
Six wild dry mushrooms (o)
One large carrot
One Red Pepper
One Star Anise (o - but a fab tip from Heston!)
Pinch of smoked paprika (o- this is very strong so make sure its just a pinch)
Salt & pepper
Plain Flour
Pint of cold water
Olive Oil
Two beef stock cubes
One chicken stock cube (o)
Small glass of red wine
Approx 20 peppercorns
Three large bay leaves

La Casserole Prep

• Set the oven to 160 degrees/gas mark 3
• Chop all the veg (carrots, mushrooms, pepper) up into small pieces and put aside. Keep the onions separate as you'll need to fry these first

• Slice the Beef joint up into slices approx 1/2 an inch thick
• Coat each slice of beef in plain flour

• Pour a glug of oil into a large frying pan and on a low heat fry the slices of beef until they start to brown around the edges, season with salt and pepper on both sides (this takes approx 8 mins)

• When they are done put them to one side and add the onions to the frying pan with the meat juices
• Fry gently until soft
• Add the rest of the veg and fry gently until they are all softened

• Then add one big spoonfull of plain white flour and stir so the veg is all coated
• Pour in the cold water and keep mixing until it all forms a sauce consistency
• Break in the stock cubes and keep stirring
• Add the star anise (o) bay leaves and all the peppercorns
• Add the red wine and keep stirring
• If the sauce is of the consistency you like then fab, if you need it to be a little thicker then take a tiny amount of flour and mix with the same amount of cold water and pour into your sauce stirring it in until smooth
• Add in a pinch of smoked paprika (o)
• Keep cooking the sauce for approx 20 mins
• Season to taste 
• In a large casserole bowl or pyrex dish add some of your sauce mixture, then add a layer of the beef slices
• Continue to layer.. sauce..beef...sauce and cover the dish then put it in the oven
• Cook in the oven for 3.5 hours

Serve with creamy mash potato and choice of veg, we had baby carrots and asparagus and i was so excited about it I forgot to take a picture of it plated, but this is what the leftovers look like. Hearty and really yum!