Really how many new tricks and recipes can there be?  Obviously there are new ingredients, methods of cooking and books catering for all manner of ethnic cuisines.

I like a nostalgic wade through my old books, and cooking from them reminds me of happy childhood meals at both sets of Grandparents’ tables, surrounded my family.

Mrs Beeton’s Cookery Book

Mrs B is a classic and well loved writer, known for her book of Household Management.     Despite its small (5″ x 7″) size this book packs in 1,200 recipes, and promises to be a “handy reference book which will solve all the housewives’ problems”.  All the recipes have been “examined by a fully qualified expert in domestic science … always with due regard to economy”, perfect for these recession ridden days.

Succinct in words, the book gives clear instructions for cooking almost everything (I am fairly sure that salsify does not feature in my other cookbooks) with information on when fresh produce is in season.    Chapters are dedicated to different types of dishes, including invalid cookery – eel broth or toast water – to a more appetising coddled egg.

There are menus planned for you, and sections on folding napkins, how to treat your servants and a guide to labour saving devices, including the vacuum cleaner which must be oiled every 3 weeks.

Given the propensity amongst some foodbloggers to cook pigs’ heads last year, the appearance of a calfs’ head on the recipe pages does not look too out of date.

I imagine to many a newly married woman the book was a godsend.

O level Cookery

I am not quite old enough to have taken O Levels, and my  school deemed me too academic to be allowed to study Home Economics for GCSE.   Given the path my life has taken I rather wish I had, and then studied Home Economy at university.

This books covers everything including nutrition and associated biochemistry, methods of food production, methods of cooking and the science behind them.    It explains why you do things and the science behind it.

It is my go-to tome for pastry and batters, and who would not be proud to make a pie as good as the one on the cover?

Cook Happy

Published in 1945, Cook Happy, is charmingly illustrated and whimsically written, no doubt in an effort to lift the mood after WWII.   It is unashamedly aimed at newly married women, and contains delightful phrases such as “When a man and woman marry, there closes behind them the door of the thrilling maze in which they met”, this makes me smile.

After advice on how to deal with every sort of meal – with guests ranging from the Important Man, our Rich Friends, Nice People – very dull, the book contains nutritional advice, and then dietary tables.   Rather exciting (and unusually) the chapters are in reverse order starting with puddings, cakes, cookies & candies, jams and fruit.   Rather less of the book is devoted to savoury recipes, with a chapter on Salpicon “The word is pronounced ‘Sal-Pee-Kon’ and if you feel like it, you can give a French intonation to the final syllable”

All the recipes are utility based, using dried eggs and margarine, notes are given “for better times” encouraging the use of fresh eggs and butter.   I am thankful to live in better times, and awed by all who fed their families during the war and rationing.

Marguerite Pattern’s Book of Cakes and Baking

Published in 1961 and containing a massive 600 recipes, I imagine that this is the only baking book that many people ever owned.   All though the photography is of its era, and styling has greatly changed there are many similarities with modern books, which just goes to show that there are only so many ideas.    (There is also a maypole cake in both books)

Spot the difference - Marguerite Patten 1961, Fiona Cairns 2010

In the introduction Patten expresses delight at the continued interest in homebaking, and urges everyone to go forth and bake, which just goes to show that nothing really does change.

Variations are a plenty – there are more than 20 – scone recipes for example, and there are tips on how to successfully ice and decorate, including how to make a piping bag.   Apart from some modern decorating techniques,  some pâtisserie, and sourdough (if you are inclined) you actually would not need another baking book.

In all these books I am struck by just how much information that there is in them, how concise and tightly emitted they are, how little white space there is on a page and importantly how relevant they are to me today.

What is your favourite vintage cookbook?

Just when I thought that I was done with the Valentine giveaways another one pops up!

Love Tub are a new chilled pudding, simply microwave for 30 seconds and it cooks to a rich deliciousness.   Yum!

Fuss Free Flavours has teamed up with Love  Tub and I am delighted to have a hamper worth £60 for one lucky reader, so they can share the Love Tub love.

• Moet Chandon Champagne
• Hotel Chocolat Chocolates
• £10 M&S food voucher
• Bear (soft toy)
• Love Tub samples

And apparently from tomorrow (1st Feb) there will be 15,000 free puddings up for grabs on the Love Tub Facebook page.

Win A Love Tub Valentine’s Hamper worth £60

How To Enter

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• Please read the rules below
• Closing date Midnight 11th February 2012

How Rafflecopter Works (short video)

• If there is no form hit refresh (f5) and it should appear
• If it still not working check that your computer is running Javascript
• You need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf making it really easy to enter!
• For information on how to find the url of your tweet click here
• Really want to win the prize? Come back every day for bonus entries via Twitter

For more prizes see the giveaways page on both Fuss Free Flavours, and Fuss Free Living

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

1. This giveaway is open to all readers over 18 who live in the UK.
2. The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter (which uses random.org) and announced on this page.
3. The winner will be contacted by e-mail, if they do not respond within a 7 days another winner may be chosen.
4. There is one prize of a Love Tub Valentine’s Hamper.
5. I am running this competition in good faith on behalf of Love Tub, who will be responsible for sending the prize to the winner. Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. They reserve the right to substitute the prize for one of a similar type / value if the prize above is not available.
6. Instructions form part of the terms and conditions
7. Entries using any software or automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified.
8. No cheating. Please do follow the instructions. I will verify the winning entry and check that you have commented / tweeted / subscribed etc. Anyone who cheats will be disqualified.
9. There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries, including bonus daily entries. Follow the instructions in the form above. If you already like / follow comment in the Rafflecopter widget and let me know to get your entries.

Good Luck!

Love Tubs are available in Sticky Toffee Pudding and Chocolate Pudding flavours, for £1.29 per 100g from selected Sainsbury’s stores.   Many thanks to Love Tub for providing this prize.

Recipe: Coffee Crème Caramels

From WeightWatchers the Complete Kitchen by Tamsin Burnett-Hall

29 ProPoints values per recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

150 g ( 5 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
A kettleful of boiling water
500 ml (18 fl oz) skimmed milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water

1) Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2/150 degrees C/fan oven 130 degrees C

2) To make the caramel, place 100g (3 1/2 oz) of the sugar in a saucepan with 4 tablespoons boiling water. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved

3) Increase the heat under the pan and boil the syrup for about 5 minutes or until it is a rich golden brown. Don’t stir (as it may cause the syrup to crystallise and solidify); instead, shake the pan occasionally

4) Pour the syrup into 6 150ml (5 fl oz) ramekins and swirl to coat the base of each.

5) Add the milk and the remaining sugar to the syrup pan. Bring to a simmer

6) Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a bowl then add the hot milk and the dissolved coffee.

7) Place the ramekins in a large roasting tin then add boiling water to come halfway up the outside of the ramekins.

8) Strain the egg mixture into the ramekins, pouring it through a tea strainer or sieve to catch any eggy threads

9) Bake in the oven until the crème caramels feel just firm to the touch when the centre is pressed gently. Use a turner or wooden spatula to lift the ramekins out of their hot water bath and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

10) To serve, run a knife around the edge of each ramekin to release. Place a plate on top then swiftly turn the plate and ramekin upside down, giving them a shake to loosen the crème caramel from its mould.

Cook’s tips

The crème caramels are baked in a hot water bath (also known as a bain marie) to give them a lovely smooth texture. Because the water can’t rise above 100 degrees C, it keeps a steady temperature so they can’t overheat and curdle as they bake.

If there are any lumps of caramel stuck to the saucepan, simply add water and bring to the boil to dissolve them. This is much more effective than trying to scrub them off

Recipe reproduced with permission from WeightWatchers.

Many thanks to WeightWatchers for the cookbook and video camera to make the film.

Couture Chocolate, by William Curley really does contain everything that you could possibly want to know to cook or bake with chocolate, or to become a proficient chocolatier.    Read my full review here.

Jacqui Small, the publishers of Couture Chocolate have kindly set aside 3 copies for Fuss Free Flavours readers so you can indulge your passion for chocolate in your own kitchen!

Many thanks to Jacqui Small Publishers for this prize.

Win 1 of 3 copies of Couture Chocolate by William Curley

How To Enter

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• Please read the rules below
• Closing date Midnight 29th February 2012

How Rafflecopter Works (short video)

• If there is no form hit refresh (f5) and it should appear
• If it still not working check that your computer is running Javascript
• You need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf making it really easy to enter!
• For information on how to find the url of your tweet click here
• Really want to win the prize? Come back every day for bonus entries via Twitter

For more prizes see the giveaways page on both Fuss Free Flavours, and Fuss Free Living

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

1. This giveaway is open to all readers over 18 who live in the UK.
2. The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter (which uses random.org) and announced on this page.
3. The winner will be contacted by e-mail, if they do not respond within a 7 days another winner may be chosen.
4. There are 3 prizes of a copy of Couture Chocolate by William Curley.
5. I am running this competition in good faith on behalf of Jacqui Small Publishers, who will be responsible for sending the prize to the winner. Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. They reserve the right to substitute the prize for one of a similar type / value if the prize above is not available.
6. Instructions form part of the terms and conditions
7. Entries using any software or automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified.
8. No cheating. Please do follow the instructions. I will verify the winning entry and check that you have commented / tweeted / subscribed etc. Anyone who cheats will be disqualified.
9. There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries, including bonus daily entries. Follow the instructions in the form above. If you already like / follow comment in the rafflecopter widget and let me know to get your entries.

For another chance to win this prize hop over to Maison Cupcake.

Good Luck!

I thought that I was done with the Valentine’s giveaways, but there is just about time to sneak one more in!

For this last one, I have a selection of Valentine’s goodies from Chococo! I’ll be reviewing them just as soon as my samples arrive.

Chococo: The Sweetheart Box (£37.50)

If you’re looking for a big gesture to show how much you love your other half this Valentine’s Day then this Sweetheart Box will do the trick! It’s literally choc-full of Chococo’s delicious chocolate goodies and includes a box of nine handmade chocolates in a special Valentine’s box with a pink lid (150g); a Honeycombe Heart (100g) dusted with edible gold; a pack of Raspberry Pavlova Milk Chocolate Clusters (100g) and a bag of dark chocolate cocoa pods (100g).

As an extra bonus Artisan chocolatier Chococo is offering all Fuss Free Flavours followers a 15% discount when ordering Valentine’s chocolates from the Chococo website. The code to use for ordering online is LOVEFUSSFREE and is valid from now until Wednesday 8th February 2012. The offer is valid for any of the chocolate products listed on the Chococo website, is non-transferable and can only be used online. Tel: 01929 421777.

Win Chococo’s Valentine’s Sweetheart Box of Chocolates RRP £37.50

How To Enter

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• Please read the rules below
• Closing date Midnight 7th February 2011

How Rafflecopter Works (short video)

• If there is no form hit refresh (f5) and it should appear
• If it still not working check that your computer is running Javascript
• You need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf making it really easy to enter!
• For information on how to find the url of your tweet click here
• Really want to win the prize? Come back every day for bonus entries via Twitter

For more prizes see the giveaways page on both Fuss Free Flavours, and Fuss Free Living

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

1. This giveaway is open to all readers over 18 who live in the UK.
2. The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter (which uses random.org) and announced on this page.
3. The winner will be contacted by e-mail, if they do not respond within a 7 days another winner may be chosen.
4. There is one prize of The Chococo Sweetheart Box.
5. I am running this competition in good faith on behalf of Chococo, who will be responsible for sending the prize to the winner. Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. They reserve the right to substitute the prize for one of a similar type / value if the prize above is not available.
6. Instructions form part of the terms and conditions
7. Entries using any software or automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified.
8. No cheating. Please do follow the instructions. I will verify the winning entry and check that you have commented / tweeted / subscribed etc. Anyone who cheats will be disqualified.
9. There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries, including bonus daily entries. Follow the instructions in the form above. If you already like / follow comment in the rafflecopter widget and let me know to get your entries.

Good Luck!

Thank you to Chococo for providing this fantastic prize!

After the saga of producing my video for Welsh lamb, you would have thought that I would not have signed up to make more?    Well once I had found the right software to use the process became far easier, so I agreed to make a few more.

Here is the first of two films I have made for WeightWatchers, cooking recipes from their new book, The Complete Kitchen.

Recipe: Zesy Coriander Pork with Stir Fried Kale

From WeightWatchers the Complete Kitchen by Tamsin Burnett-Hall

9 ProPoints values per recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 heaped tbs finely chopped coriander
250g / 9oz lean pork fillet, cut into 1cm slices
Calorie controlled cooking spray
1/2 red chilli deseeded and sliced
1 garlic clove – crushed
2.5cm / 1″ fresh root ginger grated
175g / 6oz kale – washed, destalked and chopped

Mix the lemon zest and coriander together on a plate and press the slices of pork fillet into the mixture to coat.  Heat a large non stick frying pan and lightly spray with the cooking spray.

Fry the pork for 2 minutes on each side or until cooked through then transfer to a plate to keep warm.

Add the chilli, garlic and ginger to the frying pan and stir-fry for 1 minute.  Add the kale and stir-fry for 4-5minutes until tender.   The kale will collapse as it cooks, so do not be alarmed by the large amount when you first put it in the pan.

Serve the kale with the zesty coriander pork.

Recipe reproduced with permission from WeightWatchers.

Many thanks to WeightWatchers for the cookbook and video camera to make the film.

I cannot belive how fast the year is galloping past, and we are at the end of January.

Month end also means Fresh From the Oven reveal date, where this month we were challenged by Silvia and Ivan from mushitz, to make bread using the Tangzhong method.

Tangzhong means water roux – and the method was popularised in the 1990s by Yvonne Chen’s book “The 65º C Bread Doctor”.    By making a roux you develop some of the gluten before the bread is baked, and the resulting loaf is very fluffy soft and tender.

The bread was indeed, fluffy, soft and tender and delicious, but was also the stickest dough I have ever worked with, not something that I would have liked to attempt without Fifi, my new and already very loved stand mixer with her trusty dough hook.

I will be making this one again, maybe stuffing the loaf next time.

Thanks to Silvia and Ivan for a fantastic challenge.

Recipe: Tangzhong Bread

Adapted from Christine’s Recipes

For the Tangzhong:

• 30 gr flour;
• 150 gr cold water.

For the Dough:

• 350 gr strong flour;
• 5 gr instant yeast (or 15 gr fresh yeast);
• 55 gr sugar;
• 5 gr salt;
• 1 egg;
• 125 gr milk (buttermilk works too);
• 120 gr tangzhong;
• 30 gr butter, melted and cooled.

For Glazing:

• the rest of the tangzhong – it adds gloss and nice golden colour to the crust during baking.

Prepare the tangzhong. Whisk together cold water and flour (there should be no lumps) and cook over low heat (stirring all the time) until the temperature reaches 65ºC.

If you don’t have a thermometer – no problem – cook until the spoon you’re stirring with leaves a trace. The mixture should have the consistency of something in the middle between crème anglaise and pastry cream.

Leave the tangzhong to cool down at room temperature before using it.

Prepare the dough. Dissolve yeast in the milk. Combine together flour, sugar and salt then add in milk with the yeast, tangzhong and egg. Use your hand or stand mixer equipped with the dough hooks to mix all the ingredients into a soft dough then add in the butter. Let the mixer do the kneading part for 15 – 20 minutes. You can say if the dough is ready by tearing a small piece of it and stretching it to a very thin membrane before it tears. Cover the bowl and leave it to become double in bulk.

Knock the dough down on a lightly floured counter top, give it a quick knead just to let the gas escape, then form it as desired – a loaf or small buns. Transfer to buttered loaf pan or lined with paper sheet pan if making buns. Cover with plastic wrap and let it double in bulk again.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Brush with the rest of the tangzhong and bake for around 30 – 35 minutes until nicely golden.

I blow hot and cold with food television.   I watched all of MasterChef last year, but this year simply cannot be bothered.   Last year’s eventual winner, Tim Anderson, was a safe bet of reaching the final from when we first saw him.  Sara Danesin, wowed John and Gregg by lifting her excellent Italian cooking to the level of fine dining, and becoming a finalist has enabled her to leave her job as an intensive care sister and establish a new career in food.

I was delighted to receive an invitation from Garofalo Pasta, to have lunch with Sara in her beautiful home in the shadow of York Minster and to talk about pasta, recipes and MasterChef.

Great food requires great ingredients which Sara is passionate about.   Her focus is on simplicity, combining the flavours and foods of her Italian heritage with the principles of fine dining to create dishes that are special, but also non cheffy, delicious and not intimidating.   Sara glows with health and energy (she runs marathons), she is as passionate about eating food that is good for you, as she is about the quality of her ingredients.

Garofalo linguine with red mullet ragout - Click image for recipe

London to York is a long way to travel for pasta, even when cooked by a Masterchef finalist, so I was keen to find out what makes Garofalo so special.     As with many other matters, Italians are divided on the subject of cooking pasta.   In the North it is cooked for longer and is far far softer, in the South cooking time is shorter, and al dente can veer towards the crunchy end of the pasta cooking spectrum.    What is in general agreement is that it is better to buy quality pasta.   Sara uses Garofalo pasta – with poetic style she said “it makes my heart beat”.  (There is an entire science on the pasta and sauce matching, try watching this video (with music) on the Geometry of Pasta – the art of matching sauce to shape.)

It is fabulous pasta, granted it is more expensive than your bog standard supermarket own label, but it is not a fair comparison.   The Garofalo is darker, more substantial and becomes part of the dish, rather than a vehicle to ferry the sauce from plate to mouth.     Made in Gragnano near Naples there is exactly the right climate for drying the pasta, which incidentally results it in being lower GI (here I need to check why).   Garofalo uses the finest durum wheat which results in pasta that has more flavour (the plain pasta tasted distinctly nutty),  texture and shape.  Served more al dente than I am used to the pasta was chewy and had substance without being the hard work that cheaper pasta can be to eat when it is served al dente.

I very rarely say this after having been entertained by a brand, but, I am a convert.    The Garofalo is miles superior all round, and when cooked properly and served al dente I certainly will be satisfied with less pasta on my plate.

Sara Danesin's Pasta Norma - Click image for the recipe

Lunch over, and coffee in hand, we chatted about MasterChef, for Sara, a life-changing process.   She applied for the programme after a particularly bad day at work, having reached the final she took John and Gregg’s advice to “Go out and make the most of your talent” and rebuilt her kitchen to enable her to change careers and to work  “feeding people”, running her cooking classes and her Dining Club the second the final was aired.  She said with that opportunity you have “carpe diem“, grab it and work on it and reap the benefits.  I feel if Sara were not cooking full time, she could also be a life coach, she made me realise I need to stop, think, and then get on with it in life.

I have cooked for John and Gregg in the past and found it a pretty nerve wracking experience, and I am full of admiration for anyone that subjects themselves to the full Masterchef process.   Sara talked about the filming of the programme, the flight to Australia, where they had to ignore John and Gregg who were also on the plane to keep identities of the finalists secret.  Her tears in Australia were mainly caused by insomnia, tiredness and jet lag, she would be walking on the beach at 3am for example, whilst both Tom and Tim were able to sleep.   Some of the behind the scenes stories make me even more impressed with all the contestants, the pressure, and the sheer amount they learn on their journey.

 Fuss Free Flavours was the guest of Garofalo.  Many thanks to them and to Sara for a lovely and inspiring day.   

Galofalo pasta is available from Ocado (where the wholewheat is currently on offer) and selected delis nationwide.

To book Sara’s Dining Club or to learn more about her cookery courses visit her website here.

Valentine’s Day marches forever closer,  my the last in my series of Valentine’s giveaways is from Interflora.

Here’s a gift that combines so many favourites: a beautiful rose plant, irresistible chocolates and fine champagne. Presented in a lovely wicker basket, it will mark any occasion perfectly. The roses are ready to plant – but not before a chocolate or two, and perhaps a celebratory glass of champagne.

The split willow basket contains a vanilla rose plant with a 75cl bottle of Lionel Derens champagne and a 120g box of luxury Maison Fougère chocolates.

A wonderful prize to share with the special someone in your life.

This champagne gift basket is available from Interflora for £49.99

Many thanks to Interflora for providing this prize.

Win A Luxury Champagne Giftbasket from Interflora

How To Enter

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• Please read the rules below
• Closing date Midnight 7th February 2012

How Rafflecopter Works (short video)

• If there is no form hit refresh (f5) and it should appear
• If it still not working check that your computer is running Javascript
• You need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf making it really easy to enter!
• For information on how to find the url of your tweet click here
• Really want to win the prize? Come back every day for bonus entries via Twitter

For more prizes see the giveaways page on both Fuss Free Flavours, and Fuss Free Living

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

1. This giveaway is open to all readers over 18 who live in the UK.
2. The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter (which uses random.org) and announced on this page.
3. The winner will be contacted by e-mail, if they do not respond within a 7 days another winner may be chosen.
4. There is one prize of a Luxury Champagne Valentine’s Gift basket.
5. I am running this competition in good faith on behalf of Interflora, who will be responsible for sending the prize to the winner. Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. They reserve the right to substitute the prize for one of a similar type / value if the prize above is not available.
6. Instructions form part of the terms and conditions
7. Entries using any software or automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified.
8. No cheating. Please do follow the instructions. I will verify the winning entry and check that you have commented / tweeted / subscribed etc. Anyone who cheats will be disqualified.
9. There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries, including bonus daily entries. Follow the instructions in the form above. If you already like / follow comment in the Rafflecopter widget and let me know to get your entries.

Good Luck!

This is a very special giveaway, not only is it my 100th, but these are also very special chocolate brownies, made by my friend Charlotte the founder of Go Free Foods.  This would make a very special Valentine’s present for someone with certain food allergies.

Go Free Foods was founded in response to Charlotte’s partner finding out that he was severely intolerant to wheat, gluten and dairy.  Finding it hard to buy great baked goods Charlotte devised her own recipes and so Go Free Foods was founded.  I am lucky in that I do not have any food allergies or intolerances, although I am aware of the difficulties that some of my friends have and the necessity of reading every label when you shop, and questioning every time you eat out.

Not only are the cakes and bakes free from wheat, gluten & dairy they also use fantastic quality ingredients, whilst avoiding nasties such as margarine and transfats.