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Bread and butter pudding

This is a modern version of an old favourite, served at a restaurant called Bradleys in Swiss Cottage. A stone's throw from the Hampstead Theatre the space is packed in the evenings, but lunchtime is a different matter.

With only a couple of tables occupied you get the full attention of the serving staff and even, as I found, a chat with the chef.

There are several menus to choose from: a two or three course menu, an `a la carte menu, and the specials of the day, which often include sea bass, duck or tortellini - all served with excellent vegetables: asparagus, fennel, gratin dauphinois etc. To go with your starter comes a tray of warm rolls, fresh from the oven.

Now back to the dessert. The individual bread and butter pudding (above) was hot, creamy and crisp on the top - miles away from some stodgy offerings which have more bread than 'sauce'. The secret according to Chef Simon Bradley, is that they use challa bread or brioche to make it lighter.

I decided to follow the recipe he gave me (originally from Chef Gary Rhodes - find it here) and I took care to use the required mix of double cream and warm milk and 6 eggs (but only two whites). After a cooking time of 30 minutes the individual puddings were puffed and crisp on top. They do lose this when served cold and you can see below what mine looked like:

The Gary Rhodes version has been tweaked by Chef Simon Bradley, who changed a few details. I suggest you book a table for lunch and enjoy his modern British food. He might let you in on some other secrets!

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Butter pastries - give it a whirl

I first put these up on my You Tube Channel GRANNY JUDY COOKS about two years ago. It got about 45 views.   Since then the total number of views has gone up to more than 20,000.   

Puff pastry is considered hard to make. Few of us try, choosing instead to buy it ready rolled.  These are more cakey than crisp, but the idea of spreading butter on to the raw pastry, folding and rolling again, with the addition of sugar and raisins, is the same technique. The result is a pastry that you can’t buy in supermarkets or bakeries.

I’d be interested to know if any of you would like to give it a try. If you do, you will have taught yourself a new and valuable cooking skill. 

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Chicken with Marsala wine and mushrooms

The breasts of one large chicken will make a great meal for about three people. The only other things you need are a few tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper, some oil for frying and a pack of white or chestnut mushrooms. To make the sauce use several tablespoons of Marsala or sweet sherry.

Do give it a go. 

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If you enjoy cooking and want to surprise your friends, have a look at the next 3 videos on my channel - coming up soon.

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Chocolate brownies

Most people have tried to bake brownies but they rarely come out perfect. The trick here is to undercook them so they are soft in the middle. The whole process takes little more than half an hour and the baking time is about ten minutes. It’s difficult to give exact timings, since ovens vary so much. A fan oven set for 180 is equivalent to 200 C or 400 F, but the secret is to be careful at two stages.

First when melting the chocolate (with some oil) - do it gently, either in the microwave, stopping every 30 seconds, or in a bowl over boiling water on the hob. Either way you’re aiming at a melted chocolate mixture that is ready for the rest of the ingredients.

Then when the mixture has been spread into a lined tin, watch the baking time carefully.  They may be done in ten minutes, but remember they continue to firm up after they are removed from the oven. 

Bon appetit.

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Take a gift - fresh tomato sauce

Why would you buy big tomatoes (off the vine) at this time of year? The answer: if you want to make a surprisingly good sauce in ten minutes.

There are a few tricks here in my video: how to make the skins slip off without any trouble, how to add the two main flavourings and finally how to cook the sauce, either on the hob or in the microwave, - all of this done really quickly.

This is the  2nd of my 3 ‘Shorts’ featuring a ‘gift’ - taking something to a friend, together with the recipe and the one ingredient you might not find in your home.

Hope you give it a try. 

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Take a gift - Almond biscuits

My new idea when cooking, is to have in mind someone else.  If  you are invited to a friend’s home for lunch or dinner, instead of chocolates or flowers, take something homemade.  As well as the finished product, add recipe notes and one item they might find hard to find in their kitchen.  In this case it’s flaked almonds.  Everything else would be easy to find.

Coming up soon: two more fun recipes that can be gifts.

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Shorts No. 2 Chestnut stuffing for roast chicken, duck or turkey

For those who are still unsure about cooking the bird, here in about a minute, are the details of how to make the stuffing and put it under the skin, making sure the breast is succulent and the air can circulate during the cooking.

The full recipe comes at the end.  You can double the quantities if you are having more than six guests.

Happy Christmas to everyone

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How much time do people want to spend choosing what to watch? For many of us, the length of a video is crucial.  In a recent one, by mistake I used a piece of music and forgot to remove part of the track: the result was that the video time came up as 16 minutes!  I immediately had to remove the video because, who would want to begin watching if it is that long?

That got me thinking.  What people really want is speedy results. There are thousands of videos out there with no visible person, a repeated (often tiring) sound track, but excellent hints about how to make the cake or object in question.

So my experiment is called ‘Shorts’.  The first is one minute long and tells you how to make a brilliant loaf cake, then serve it in buttered slices. Having the recipe clearly there at the end should answer any questions you may have. 

I do hope you try it. 

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Chocolate and orange magic

Many of you might have enjoyed a treat from the supermarket aisles - a Chocolate Orange.  This is fine.

But, if you’re looking for a dessert for a few friends and you don’t have much time - plus one of them is vegan, here is an idea I think you will enjoy.

It’s something I used to call Chocolate Delice, but it’s just a chocolate pot - dark chocolate melted and mixed with cream. To go with it I show you how to take a few oranges or clementines from the bowl and transform them into something that looks special.

(Sorry for the mistake about the length of the video: it’s not 16 mins but 3 mins.40)

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Peppers stuffed with rice

It’s easy, stylish and tasty. Plus it’s vegan, vegetarian and dairy free. A simple starter, side dish or part of a main course. 

As with most of my YouTube videos, it needs little skill, just attention to detail. So, make sure the chopped onion is really fried - it makes all the difference. Half cooked onion adds nothing to a dish, slowly browned onion is full of flavour. 

The second part of the video shows a quite different presentation. Instead of just filling half red peppers with the rice mixture, here the rice is formed into a circle, which is then enclosed with strips of peeled Romano pepper, specially sweet and tasty. 

I do hope you give it a try.

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Here is the intro to the recipe for Chocolate Apricots. I hope it will make you want to try them - either making them, or just enjoying the eating.

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Chocolate apricots and Stuffed dates

These are the easiest things to make.  Together with the stuffed dates which are in the same video, you can eat them at home, or take them as a gift to friends. 

What could be more cheering than to receive a present in troubled times?

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The food department of the flagship store of M & S in London has a large display at the bottom of the escalator. There in front of our eyes is the message: 'Christmas is not far away'. I think it might have mentioned the number of weeks which distracted me so I didn't check how many.

Coming up at the end of October is Halloween. This display is far more appropriate. It's a lavish selection of pumpkins arranged in a shop that used to be called Clifton Greens in Little Venice, London. Now it's name has changed to All Greens. Here is how they describe themselves:

"Like stepping into a Mediterranean market, each of our sites hosts an impressive selection of exotic and seasonal fruit as well as the very best vegetables and herbs."

Here are a couple more pictures: artichokes and assorted lettuces etc. then herbs, spring onions and red onions for salad.

Enjoy the autumn (fall in USA). It's a long while till Christmas.

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Home-made wine in 15 minutes

Here’s the follow up to what I put up yesterday.  It really is a fun idea.

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Judy Jackson talks about Israel

I hope my many followers will understand why I am - for 2 minutes - changing from a discussion about food and cooking to the situation in Israel, which is home to one of our sons. 

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Welcome to all my new followers. I thought you might like to see something from the past: the origin of many of my cookery thoughts today.

With most of us searching the internet for quick ideas and short videos without comment, there is, I believe, still room for reading a recipe in a book.

It was hard to choose just one from A Feast in Fifteen Stories and the one I settled on is purely for fun and to surprise your guests.

So give it a try and if you like the idea of the book, go on Amazon to see the special really inexpensive deals they have.

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