Chocolate torte with coffee semifreddo: Recipe and playlist

Hello folks, I’m back after another hiatus. Unfortunately Food Glorious Foods has had to pay for my piles of work, revision, deadlines and work experience in London. I’ve now learnt the meaning of ‘Living For The Weekend’. Who would have thought those two glorious days tacked on to the end of a week could mean so much and go so quickly? Joining the throngs of commuters in the Big Smoke has gone from a novelty to the norm in just a few weeks and I’ve already found myself getting annoyed at slow walkers, dilly-dalliers and tourists with giant maps and bags… I need a little break from the routine so I shall take a few hours, do a spot of cooking and delve back into the world of my blog.

In true ‘stressed-out’ fashion, it has to be something devilish and I can’t really think of anything better than warm chocolate torte served with coffee semifreddo. It’s squidgy and decadent, but you’ll be pleased to know you can grab a decent-sized slice and not feel disgustingly full!

I’ll start with the torte, and the semifreddo will follow (shortly, I promise!).

 

Olive and sun-dried tomato stuffed chicken: Recipe and Playlist

This cheeky little main course is actually quite easy to do, but gets a pretty good reception so it’s a good one for a dinner party or to impress friends. There are loads of variations you can try too – substitute the stuffings for cheese and herbs, or go Italian and stuff with mozzarella, tomatoes and basil. Perhaps try mushrooms, or spinach and dates – the possibilities are endless.

Mozzarella and tomato puff pastry tart: Recipe and Playlist

The Food Glorious Foods blog hiatus is over. Many apologies for my lack of posting. Without ranting too much, I was debit-card-less for about three weeks and consequently living out of the freezer and off Heinz tomato soup (as much as I love it, there’s only so much one can take).

However, one (slightly too large) Asda shop later and the cooking is back on the go.

Here’s a simple recipe to re kick-start everything: a mozzarella, tomato, basil and pesto puff pastry tart. It looks tasty, tastes tasty and is generally tasty.

It makes a great starter, a light lunch, or make a giant one to demolish for a main course.

 

Cheshire Cooks, Cookery School With Rooms – One Day Culinary Course

Last week I was lucky enough to spend the day at Cheshire Cooks, Culinary School With Rooms on their one day culinary course.

Last summer while on work experience at Cheshire Life magazine, I had the pleasure of meeting Phillip Martin of the Green Bough Hotel and see the cookery school in progress. It was great to now see it completed.

The kitchen at Cheshire Cooks (Image courtesy of Cheshire Cooks website)

Churros: Recipe and Playlist

So Christmas has swiftly passed for another year. The turkey’s been eaten and the chocolates are basically gone. Having received Lorraine Pascale’s Baking Made Easy and Annie Rigg’s Gifts From the Kitchen as part of my Christmas-kitchen stash, I have since been salivating over the recipes. As if being a model wasn’t enough for Lorraine, she’s gone on to be a successful food writer and television cook. She owns bakery Ella’s Bakehouse in Covent Garden and is still skinny – I’d love to know how she does it!

After visiting Spain a few times during my teenage years and always enjoying the artery-blocking Churros, I was thrilled to find a recipe for them in Baking Made Easy. For anyone who hasn’t experienced them before, they’re basically tube shaped donuts dipped in sugar and served with a hot chocolate sauce. Heavenly. Perhaps make them before the January diet really kicks in (no-one starts for the first couple of weeks do they?).

Homemade sweet chilli chicken pizza: Recipe and playlist

I’m really off takeaway pizzas at the moment. Perhaps it’s the time I spent in Italy over summer eating the world’s best pizzas on a basis more regular than I care to admit, or perhaps it’s just that they never really match up; the dough is always stodgy, and the cheese is always one giant, solid lump of tasteless mush. That is unless it’s Domino’s, but then there’s the 2713 calories (!!!) in a large pizza to contend with.

When stressed, making your own dough is rather cathartic. Imagine the dough is someone’s head you’re not particularly happy with, and you’ll have the best dough you could ever wish for.

Following this recipe, your pizza will taste miles better than most takeaway pizzas you could get, it will be cheaper, healthier and you’ll have that deep satisfaction that you made it all yourself with little effort.

Enjoy!

Food bloggers unplugged

Thanks to Nicki at Cardiff Bites for suggesting I write one of these. Although I don’t need an excuse to rant about food, this has given me a good one.

Christmas music in Cardiff’s independent eateries

Music and food in the Welsh capital

Some people love it, some people absolutely hate it, but whatever your opinion, there’s certainly no avoiding it. Christmas music is blasted into our ears and souls from as early as September these days. Maybe it is to be expected, but how do you feel when you’re eating in a restaurant from November onwards and Christmas music is playing?

Changmai noodles: Recipe and playlist

This recipe is a bit of a re-imagination (if I can call it that without offending). I first tried this at Tampopo and absolutely fell in love with it. I’m a big fan of fresh Asian flavours and this Changmai noodle soup (or curry with lots of sauce) is a lovely, hearty dish that is filling and delicious. A great meal for this time of year which takes little effort, but packs big flavour.

Purple Poppadom restaurant launch

Restaurant openings and launches in this economic time can be very tricky. You really need to nail it and promise something different – especially in a city already full of Indian restaurants. Yet for Anand George’s Purple Poppadom – a nouvelle-Indian restaurant, I don’t think this will be a problem.

Anand George, award-winning Indian chef, was responsible for bringing the culinary delights of Mint and Mustard to Cardiff, as well as Chai Street. He has also worked in some of the most prestigious five star restaurants in London and Mumbai.

So what makes Purple Poppadom so different?