Italy- Pizza

A Little History:

Pizza is a traditional oven baked, flat bread created in Nepal in Italy and has become an icon of Italian cuisine. The word "Pizza" is derived from the Latin verb Pinsere, which means to press. There are many theories on how the pizza came to be. One of the most interesting is that the pizza was first made in 1889 by a chief who was ordered to make a dish for the Princess Margherita, he made three dishes with basil, tomato and mozzarella to represent the Italian flag. She enjoyed it so much the dish was named after her. 

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of strong white bread flour 
• 1/2 a teaspoon of dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt 
• 145 milliliters of warm water
• 30 milliliters of olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons of passata
• anything you want to put on your pizza! (I put one ball of mozzarella, 8 pieces of parma ham and a handful of fresh basil)

  

Method:

1. Put the flour in the bowl and put the salt and yeast on different sides, sometimes the salt can kill the yeast or slow it down, then make a well in the middle of the bowl and pour in the liquid and mix with your hands until you get a soft but not sticky dough.

 

2. Knead the dough either by hand for ten minutes, or for five minutes in a mixer with the dough hook on. Then bring the dough together into a small flat ball and place on a large baking tray (which has been floured). Make the dough a flat as you can, leave to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. Whilst this is rising preheat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade/ 425 degrees fahrenheit/ gas mark 7.

 

3. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a round 30 cm circle, prick holes all over the dough. Spread the passata leave 2 centimeters from the edge, then add your toppings! Once you have all your toppings on the top drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes (I went half way and did 17 minutes!) until the pizza is golden brown.

Serve with a simple rocket salad, a glass of sparkling water and enjoy the feeling of being like an Italian mama!! This is really super yummy and easy to make, the best thing is it doesn't take long at all and you feel satisfied when you eat it. Its also great to make with kids as they can put anything on it, cheese, ham, pineapple, play dough and my little pony hair....... 

Next time Ill be going to Poland (so going back on myself, I know I said that in the last blog but I realized that I forgot Italy! how could I do that? That's where most of my favorite foods come from) and a top ten things I have to have in my kitchen (and some of the things on there are quite different!) Thanks for reading!!!! 

Portugal- Portuguese Custard Tarts

First of all:

Sorry this a little late again but I had something very important to pick up on the day I was meant to be writing in the form of GCSE results and spent the rest of the day talking to family on the phone and getting my nails done!!!! 

A little history:

Egg custard tarts (or Pastel De Nata) was created in the 18th century by Catholic Monks in the Jerónimos Monastery. The monastery would create large amounts of eggs and wouldn't know what to do with the egg yolks, so they came up with the clever idea of making pudding and so the egg custard tart was born!!! 

Ingredients:

• 300 grams of shop brought pastry 
• 120 grams of caster sugar 
• 2 medium egg yolks and one egg white (that means you have to separate the eggs ewwwww.....!)
• 20 grams of cornflour
• Pinch of salt
• 350 milliliters of full fat milk
• 1/2 a vanilla pod 
• 1 cinnamon pod
• 40 grams of unsalted butter
• flour for dusting
• butter for greasing

Method:

1. To make the custard, whisk 60 grams of sugar, the egg yolks, corn flour and salt altogether in a bowl until combined and nice and smooth then put to one side. Put the milk in a deep saucepan with the cinnamon stick (if you snap this in half you get more of the flavor) and the vanilla pod, bring up to the boil and then remove from the heat. Add a quarter of the milk to the egg mixture, whisk as you add. Then return the mixture to the pan of milk.

2. Put the pan back on a gentle heat and cook, making you are stiring all the time, until the custard becomes yummy and thick. Then take off the heat immedtaly and beat for a one minutes to get rid of any lumps, then pass the mixture through a sieve, then stir in the butter until melted, then cut out a circle of baking paper and put on top of the custard to stop a skin forming and leave to cool completly.

3. Lightly butter a 12 muffin hole tin and put to one side. Dust your work surface with flour and flour the rolling pin, take your pastry and roll it out to 20 cm by 30 cm, then roll into a Swiss roll and cut into four pieces, then cut each piece into three pieces and roll out into a disk and pop into the tin. Then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, this means you can also chill for 30 minutes with your chosen beverage and biscuit!

4. Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line the pastry with baking paper and then fill with baking beans (or rice or pasta if you don't have them). Bake blind for 8-10 minutes and then remove the pastry and pop back into the oven so they can dry for a couple of minutes. Set the pastry aside to cool and reduce the oven temperature to 160 degrees Celsius.

5. Whisk the egg white in a clean, dry bowl until the egg white is still peaks, then gradually whisk in 50 grams of caster sugar. Then gently fold the custard into the egg whites and then add the custard to the pastry cases, you should add about three quarters of the mixture. Then bake for 25 minutes or until the custard is risen like a cloud and the pastry is cooked and more golden then a golden egg from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

These are so good and also got huge praise, these are so simple to make but also deliver wow factor! Dust with a little icing sugar before serving these hot or cold, if you don't like cinnamon then leave it out and that can be applied to the vanilla.


Next time I will be heading to Italy. I will be making  pizza, so time to release your inner Italian! I will also do a top ten list of things that I have to have when I cook and you may be surprised what I have on the list!


Thanks for reading!!! :)

Top Ten cook books

Finally!!! I got my act together and wrote this!!!

This is a post that I have been planning for a long time and have never got round to writing! We all need a recipe in order to make something, whether it's yours, your nan's or a TV chef, we have got a recipe that we like to make! We as Brits love a cook book, last year alone spent over £39 million on them and I have several cook books that I use, so I thought I would share with you my favourite cook books and my favourite thing I like to make from them, enjoy!!

Even Pusheen Cat loves cook books!!! :)

10: The Usborne Cookbook for beginners 

 

This was the cookbook that started my love of baking and cooking! I got this as a present for my eighth birthday and was amazed by the pictures of all the food that was in there, they had everything that I liked, from mexican food to big chocolaty sinful cakes. I remember looking at the pictures fondly and thinking "Wonder if I can do that?" and so I tried and failed a few times but eventually got the hang of baking and cooking and I've never looked back. 

This book is perfect for the beginner in baking or for children, like my eight year old self. With easy to follow instructions and a great picture guide on learning baking skills such as beating eggs, this is a must for the amateur baker!

Recipe to make: the super yummy mega moreish marble cake (thats what I call it, its just marble cake in the book!) really easy and super stunning when you cut into it! 

9: Fairy Tale cookbook by Lucie Cash

This book is a bit of an oddity that I picked up whilst holidaying in Guernsey, but a lot of great fun! The chapters in this book are centered around much loved fairy tales such as Snow White, Cinderella, Peter Pan and Alice In Wonderland. With its wonderfully simple recipes, great wit and beautiful drawings, any dish you make from this book makes sure your dinner party ends "happily ever after" (p.s. sorry but I can't guarantee your prince will burst through the door and whisk you off into the sun set on a white horse, if so WHERE'S MINE?!)

Recipe to make: White rabbits syllabub- This is wonderfully creamy and tangy and super quick so if you are "late for a very important date!" this takes no time at all to whip up at the last minute and take to a tea party! 

8. The Great British Bake Off- Showstoppers

Ahhh, one of my favorite telly programme's (funnily enough as I am writing this, the next series starts tonight!)

This book is adapted from the third series and all the wonderful and breathtaking bakes that were made, including a stunning raspberry and lychee tart with little pink macaroons on the top. It also includes the judges technical challenges including Paul Hollywood's infamous 12 plaited loaf, which got all the bakers in knots! I suggest that this book is better for confident bakers as some of the recipes in it are quite tricky!

Recipe to make from this book: Tea cakes, a lot of effort and hard work but it really does pay off! 

7: Fay Ripley's Family Food

 

Actress turned cook, Fay Ripley's cookbook is brilliant for any family and her recipes are fool proof! With chapters covering all sorts of foods, you will never be out of ideas for tea. The book has tips for those with babies, adults and even what to do with the leftovers, all delivered with charm and wit! This is a lovely book written by a lovely lady! 

Recipe to make from this book: Dan's "bung in the oven" bolognese, this is soooo yummy! I could eat it every single day for the rest of my life! So easy to make and you can leave it in the oven and pop out for a coffee, it's great to make when mates are coming over! 

6: The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo 

If you want French food without the fuss, then this is the book for you! Rachel Khoo shows us how to make classic French food, sometimes with a modern twist, or with a simple approach. The perfect beginners guide to french cookery, plus she wears the most beautiful dresses in this book so its worth just having a look to see them!

Recipe to make from this book: Raspberry and Lemon Curd Madeleines, super yummy, sticky and moreish! I love the tang of the lemon curd and raspberries! (If you want to make plain Madeleine check out my recipe!)

5: Miss Dahl's voluptuous delights by Sophie Dahl 

 

Model turned cook, Sophie Dahl shows you indulgent food for the entire year with some recipes that I only save for special occasions! Beautifully written and the most amazing entries to each season of the year, plus all of the recipes uses ingredients that are in season, so not only will you be eating nice food, you will be doing the planet a favour! 

Recipe to make from this book: I have two particular favourites and I can't choose. It's either the vibrant, rich and earthy beetroot soup which you can make batches off and then freeze or the strawberry carnation pudding, which looks like it has walked out of Barbies kitchen due to its bright pink colour - the texture is amazingly strange but super moreish. My aunt makes this for me when she sees me as she knows how much I adore it! 

4: Jo Wheatley A Passion For Baking

One of the winners of the Great British Bake Off, Jo, gives you easy baking recipes that you can make at home for any time of year and has a special chapter specifically aimed for baking with children, perfect for future chefs! Her recipes are easy to follow but always deliver a sense of pride. For me, Jo is the domestic goddess, step aside Nigella!!

Recipe to make from this book: Custard creams you have not eaten a custard cream until you have eaten these! Absolute heaven!

3: Jamie's Minstry of Food By Jamie Oliver

This is the book that got me to really like Jamie Oliver. Now, for those of you who are not aware, this book went with a controversial television series. Oliver wanted to show the effects of processed food on health and how anyone can learn to cook in 24 hours. He went to Rotherham in England and took a handful of people and taught them how to cook in order to spread the recipes on. He also looked at the effect that obesity is having on the UK, this included him going to a special obese ward in a hospital where they use mechanical equipment to lift people on to specially made beds.

I love this book because of all the areas it covers. So, if you don't know how to cook its a great beginner's guide with different food cultures and techniques. It's also good if you want to improve on a certain area of cookery such as Indian cuisine. I also love this book as the idea of the Ministry of Food is nothing new, it was set up during World War II so people knew how they could use their rations effectively but also to prevent malnutrition in the country (like what happened in World War I). The Ministry of Food would hold big events, host radio programmes and give out leaflets to help and encourage people to pass the recipes on to others. So the book also gives you a little history of British home life during the war, but also British food.I love a bit of history!! If you can also watch the TV series, I highly recommend it, because it's extremely interesting! 

Recipe to make from this book: The vanilla cheesecake with raspberry coulis, this is so delicious but also so simply, sweet, tangy just my kinda pud! 

2: Sam Stern's Cooking up a storm

 

Sam Stern is a teenage cook whose target market is people his age, with great and exciting recipes, it's a perfect way to get someone to start cooking. Want proof? Well this book was bought for my brother and now he can cook several things from this book including curries, toasties, wrapped chicken, chocolate mousse and um, 'fry ups' (his favorite!).

 This book is easy to follow and is written in a way that makes it relaxing for the teen mind! I use this book all the time to cook for my mates as they can be quite fussy. This book addresses that and gives you a sense of ease for cooking for fussy friends! It is a great book for helping uni students learn to cook and even better, you can wipe the pages so if you drop your bacon from your fry up on the book, no sweat, just wipe it off! 

Recipe to make from this book: Spinach, sweet potato and chickpea curry. This is so divine! My brother used to make this for me all the time when I was a veggie, so yummy and good for you, it's great for a 'meat free' night or wooing your veggie hippy boyfriend/girlfriend! Even full blown carnivores (such as my dad) will enjoy this! 

And now for the moment you have all been waiting for! My favortie cook book is......*drum roll*............

1: Lorraine Pascale's Baking Made Easy

Here it is!!! Lorraine Pascale is my baking idol and she makes the most gorgeous, scrumptious bakes for all occasions! Whether it's a simple cookie or a set of stunning macaroons, Pascale shows you how to make the easiest recipes and how to add the wow factor! Perfect for any level of bakers and great for those who are interested in starting to make bread!

Recipe to make from this book: Oreo brownies, these are heaven in a bite - so gooey, chocolaty, sweet, and absolutely delicious - everyone will love these!!!

Thank you very much for reading! What is your favorite cookbook? Do you disagree with the top spot? Next time I will be making egg custard tarts from Portugal and I'll have to think of another top ten!