Monthly Archives: July 2015

Challenge No. 27 – Knickerbocker Glory

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This challenge was suggested by Dave, my better half.  We will be celebrating our 7 year anniversary this weekend and a common theme throughout our relationship has been Dave saying “what you’ve never tried/seen/heard this or that”.  Until Dave, I hadn’t tried hotdogs from a tin or corned beef, I hadn’t seen The Breakfast Club, ET, Jurassic Park (to name but a few films that escaped my childhood) and I’d never heard of the Smiths.  But for once, it was my turn to educate Dave; whilst he suggested this challenge, he’s never actually had a knickerbocker glory! This has now been corrected.

A knickerbocker glory was a common treat throughout my childhood and it instantly makes me think of my nan.  My brother and I used to go and stay with my nan every summer and she would always make us this yummy desert.  There was however a caveat, we could only have it if we pronounced it properly! We soon learned to say knickerbocker glory without stumbling 🙂

When I started looking for recipes to make this challenge, I realised they are all very different and really what I wanted to do was recreate my nan’s version.  I text my brother and mum to see if they could remember what was in it and after some input from them both, we decided on the following ingredients:-

  • Vanilla ice cream
  • Strawberry jelly
  • Fruit (fresh or tinned cocktail mix)
  • Strawberry sauce
  • Whipped cream
  • Hundreds and thousands

Edited - ingredients

I always remember my nan using tinned fruit cocktail, although I think she would use fresh fruit if she had some in.  I opted for the tinned fruit because this is what came to mind when I tried to remember my nan’s version 🙂

I also cheated a little and used shop bought ice cream but if you’re feeling adventures why not check out Challenge 19 to see how to make ice cream from scratch without an ice cream maker! Just leave out the rum and raisins, unless you want a more adult version of the knickerbocker glory.

Another important aspect of the knickerbocker glory is the serving dish.  I didn’t have anything suitable at home so popped out and bought some special glasses which reminded me of the ones my nan used to use.

Anyway, with all the elements ready, I started building my knickerbocker glory.  Firstly, I added a little bit of ice cream.

Edited - layer 1

Then I added some jelly.

Edited - layer 2

Next up I added some fruit (I drained off the liquid first).

Edited - layer 3

I then put in a little strawberry sauce.  I added more ice cream, jelly and fruit to fill to the top of the glass.

Finally, I added my whipped cream, topped it with some more sauce and then sprinkled over a handful of hundreds.

Edited - done2

Doesn’t it look pretty! 🙂

Now I know this didn’t take much skill but it does hold so many fond memories for me that it was nice to be able to share it with Dave.  He loved it by the way, although he managed to get in a right mess trying to eat it!

Coming up next week, Challenge No. 28 – homemade pizza.  I hope to see you then.

  

Challenge No. 26 – Chilli Con Carne

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This challenge was suggested by my dad and I was really happy to have a go at this one.  Dave and I quite often have chilli con carne but I always cheat and use one of the sachet powder mixes.  Dad’s suggestion was the final push I needed to actually have a go at making it from scratch.

I did a little google search and found a huge selection of recipes to choose from.  If I’m honest there were too many and I didn’t know which one to go for.  Eventually, I opted for this one by Susie Amy.

To make this recipe you will need the following:-

  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 500g/1lb 2oz good-quality beef mince
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 red peppers, diced
  • 1 heaped tsp chilli powder
  • 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
  • 1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 x 400g/14oz can red kidney beans, drained
  • 2 x 400g/14oz cans chopped tomatoes

I also added 160g bacon lardons and I left out the kidney beans because neither Dave or I like them.  The bacon always adds a lovely taste to my cheats chilli con carne and I thought it would be a nice edition.

Edited - ingredients

I had planned to make this on a Sunday so I could give it a nice long slow cook but my parents decided to pop up for a last minute visit and we went out for dinner because they had eaten chilli con carne the night before.  I therefore ended up making this after work on Monday night.

I started by frying of the bacon lardons in a little oil in a large frying pan. Whilst the bacon was cooking, I started chopping up all the vegetables, making sure they were nice and small. 

Edited - bacon Edited - veg

Once the bacon was nicely browned, I tipped them into a big sauce pan along with the fat they had released.  I then returned the frying pan to the heat and added the beef.

Edited - beef

I then added all the vegetables (except the garlic) to the saucepan with the bacon and let this cook over a medium heat for around 10 minutes to soften.  After about 8 minutes, I added the crushed garlic. 

Edited - veg in pan

Once the vegetables were soft, I added the spices and some salt and pepper.  I gave it a good stir and then let it cook for 5 minutes.  At this point, I contemplated adding another ingredient.  I thought it would be nice to add some paprika, however, I decided to stick to the recipe.

Next up I added the browned mince to the saucepan along with the tinned tomatoes.  I brought the mixture to the boil, covered it with a lid and let it cook for one hour.

Edited - all in

With everything done, I served up with some rice and we tucked in.

Edited - served up

Dave and I both agreed this was really nice but to be honest it just tasted like a slightly spicy bolognese.  Personally we like our chilli a little thicker and smokier.  Next time I’m going to try adding some smoked paprika and perhaps take the lid off part way through to allow some of the moisture to escape.  My cheats chilli con carne is really good (even if I do say so myself, although Dave and my friend Nikki will also vouch for this!) so it was always going to be tough trying to make something as nice from scratch. 

This is the first recipe I’ve tried in Challenge 52 where I really wasn’t very happy with the result.  The recipe did however make enough for another four portions and chilli is better when its been left for the flavours to blend and strengthen.  So, I now have four portions of chilli in the freezer to try another day.      

Coming up next week, Challenge No. 27 – knickerbocker glory! 🙂