Alphabakes - December 2015

Are you feeling Christmassy yet? I don't know about you but I always seem to do more baking around Christmas time, as I'm making edible gifts for friends, and there are some things that just seem right to make at this time of year. Last year I made mince pies, chocolate orange trifle, vegan tiramisu, Viennese apple strudel, chocolate truffles, eggnog cheesecake, candy cane chocolate hearts, peppermint bark and so much more. Hopefully you already...

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Meal Planning Monday - Week 49

Monday Leftover beef from Sunday for me (had to defrost two pieces and the other half didn't like it) and a burger for him to cheer him up after a few things went wrong at the weekend! Tuesday fish and veg for me, gammon for him Wednesday At cake decorating course Thursday butternut squash stew from freezer for me, sausage and mash for him Friday chicken kiev and chips Saturday lunch: proper Welsh rarebit (must remember to buy crusty bread...) Dinner:...

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Ferrari Formula 1 Race Car Birthday Cake

This is a great - and not actually that difficult - cake to make for anyone who likes race cars, Formula 1 and so on - whether that's your toddler nephew or your grandfather. I made this cake for my dad's 60th birthday as my sister and I were giving him a driving experience in various cars including a Ferrari around Thruxton racetrack so it seemed quite appropriate! You can use any type of cake for this - it needs to be fairly robust so something...

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Lamb Chop with Pomegranate Sauce

I was a little daunted when I came to look for a recipe from Abu Dhabi for the next round of Formula 1 Foods, but luckily happened across the website of Time Out Abu Dhabi which had a recipe feature. I really liked the idea of the sticky date cake with caramel sauce, but it sounded a bit too similar to the Christmas pudding I recently made, and didn’t think I could get hold of hammour (a type of fish I’d never heard of) and while there are almost...

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Restaurant Review: Roosters Piri Piri, Epsom

Did you see the Martian? It’s a great film – one I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy, as my fiancé said it was based on a science fiction book he’d read and enjoyed but was quite technical – but it was really very good. Matt Damon is excellent and quite possibly in line for an Oscar nomination and the storyline – which at times often involves little more than ‘man trying to grow potatoes’ – is fascinating. We were pretty busy the weekend it came...

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Two-Pastry Fish Pie

I was given a pack of Jus-Rol shortcrust pastry and another of puff pastry to take home after attending an event recently and decided to use them - both of them - to make a pie. I've never used more than one type of pastry before but thought that the shortcrust would work well on the bottom, and the puff pastry on the top to make a lattice. So this is more of an idea than a recipe post, but it worked pretty well so I want to share. Take an...

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F1 Foods Brazil Round-Up and the next challenge: Abu Dhabi

The most recent Formula 1 Grand Prix took place in Brazil, though perhaps it wasn't quite the right time of year for bloggers to be inspired by Brazilian food or cocktails - I have to admit, images that spring to mind involve sunshine and beaches and it's very cold here in the UK today! But there is plenty more to Brazilian cuisine than just that, as I found when I discovered this condensed milk cake or bolo de leite condensado. Unfortunately it...

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Pad Thai and Ozeri Wok Review

Often we go to my mother in law's on a Saturday night we have a takeaway from her favourite Thai place and we both always order the same thing - Pad Thai. I've never actually made one before but was given more confidence from doing a Thai cooking course recently, even though we made different dishes. And when I was sent a wok to review by Ozeri it seemed the perfect thing to cook. I followed Felicity Cloake's recipe in the Guardian for the perfect...

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Meal Planning Monday Week 48

There were lots of changes to last week's meal plan as I had to work late on several nights so this week I will try and do a lot of the things I was going to do last week! Monday Thai meal I was going to make last Sunday but didn't Tuesday salmon and veg for me, chicken tikka portions for him or spaghetti Bolognese Wednesday out at a cake decorating class so will take a sandwich Thursday sausage and mash Friday chicken pie Saturday Lunch:...

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Travel Reviews: Memphis, Tennessee, Part 1

Leaving Nashville, we drove the few hours to Memphis, where we were spending the next three days.    River Inn of Harbor Town   Harbor Town is a posh, quiet area just outside central Memphis only a few minutes from the Arkansas state line (which we crossed just so we could say we had been!). The houses around here are lovely and look quite expensive, and the town square has a few upmarket shops and a hairdresser.   The hotel is...

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