Fat Bread Sticks

I made these bread sticks to go with the onion and cider soup i made for dinner.
They were great for dunking in the soup and soaked the soup up well, without getting soggy!!


You can use any topping for the bread sticks.
I used cracked black pepper, smoked sea salt and poppy seeds.

Cooking time 20 minutes
Prep time 1 hour

Makes 12 bread sticks

Pre heat oven 200c, 400f, gas mark 6

1lb Strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1x 7g sachet of easy dried yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
250- 275ml warm water
Oil for cling film
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Poppy seeds, sea salt, cracked black pepper, or whatever you are using to top the bread sticks with.

Dust 2 baking trays with flour.

Put the flour, yeast  and salt into a bowl with the warm water and mix till it comes together, if kneading by hand, knead for 10 minutes, if doing it in a machine knead for 5 minutes with the hook attachment. It's ready when the dough springs back to the touch.

Cut into 12, roll into balls, then roll into sausages.

At this point you can twist the dough, or leave them as they are, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 - 45 minutes.

Brush with the olive oil and sprinkle the toppings on them, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool and enjoy!!


They are also good with dips and olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Cheese and Pesto Scones

These scones are delicious!!! Just spread with butter.......

They are light and fluffy inside and have a crisp and crumbly crust. They are very much like what Americans call biscuits, especially the ones from The Red Lobster Restaurants, in America.



Pre heat oven 180c, 360f, gas mark 5

Makes approx 16 scone

2 cups Self raising flour plus extra for dusting

3 tsp baking powder

Large pinch salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1½ cups of grated cheddar cheese

¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp vegetable oil
125ml full fat milk

1 egg beaten

75ml pesto homemade or shop bought, i used homemade, recipe follows.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

In a second bowl mix all the wet ingredients together.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix till it all comes together, add more milk if too dry.

Dust board and pat dough down till about 1 inch thick, cut out scones, keep doing this with left over dough till you run out.

Place on a greased baking tray and bake in middle of the oven for 15 minutes.

Pesto Recipe

2 Cups of fresh basil leaves packed

⅓ Cup toasted almonds

½ Cup grated parmesan cheese

½ Cup olive oil 

3 Garlic cloves

Salt & pepper

Put all in a blender and pulse till blended, but not too smooth, season to taste.

Franks in Blankets

I had some pastry left over from making the Poor Man's Wellington and some frankfurters in the fridge so i thought id make some Franks in Blankets.

I first had these when we lived in America and loved them, there is something about a cheap frankfurter wrapped in pastry.

I like them dipped in Chilli Ketchup and American Mustard...yummy!!!!

It's tacky but tasty!!

They are so simple to make, i feel like a fraud posting the recipe.....

Pre heat oven 200c, 400c, Gas Mark 6

Prep time 10 minutes
Cooking time 12/15 minutes

300g Puff pastry
8 Frankfurters
1 Egg beaten
Flour for dusting

Roll out pastry to approx 20 x 16 inches.

Brush the pastry with the beaten egg, lay the frankfurters on the pastry two high and cut the pastry wide enough to roll around the frankfurters, then roll around the frankfurters and seal with egg.

Cut each roll into 8, brush with egg, and put on to a baking tray approximately 2cms apart.

Bake in the oven for 12/15 minutes, until golden brown.

Poor Mans Beef Wellington

I found this recipe in one of the food magazines i subscribe to, and thought it looked good, so decided to add it to my weekly menu.

Basically it is a meatloaf wrapped in pastry with a layer of mushrooms.
I served it with roasted potatoes, vegetables and a red wine and mushroom ju.

The meatloaf was moist and juicy and had a lot of flavour, the sage came through in the mushrooms and the pastry was lovely and crisp.

I would have put some chilli in the meatloaf, but i was serving it to my 2 year old son, so omitted it this time.

Pre heat oven 200c

Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 1 hour

1 kg Minced beef
100g Tomato ketchup
3 Eggs
2 Onions finely chopped
1 Red chilli finely chopped - optional
Small handful of sage leaves
Small handful of parsley leaves
2 Garlic cloves finely chopped
25g Butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
200g mushrooms finely chopped
300g Puff pastry

Mix the mince beef with the ketchup, 2 of the eggs, onions, half the garlic and half the herbs and the chilli if using, season, then form into a sausage shape and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Let it cool, turning it over half way through cooling so the juices disperse through the loaf.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms with the rest of the garlic and herbs for 5 minutes, drain off any excess liquid, let cool.

Roll out the pastry and brush the inside with beaten egg, spread the mushrooms over the pastry, then put the meatloaf on top.

Cut strips in the pastry and braid the pasty, brush with egg and bake for 30 minutes. Cover if it starts to brown too quickly.