REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

I am sure I have mentioned before that I am a HUGE Reese's peanut butter cup fan. In fact my greatest food find of this year is the Reese's chocolate peanut butter spread....it has revolutionised our weekend breakfasts as the whole family loves it. In fact I rarely had breakfast before.....now I can't get enough....which is really not good for my figure especially as I have it with both baguette and butter! 

Anyway my daughter Bella and I made a board on Pinterest last week dedicated just to Reese's and this is one of the recipes we came across. It was very easy to make, it took about 15-20 minutes and then needed to be chilled in the fridge overnight. 

Ingredients for 25 squares:

397g tin condensed milk
300g white chocolate
200g peanut butter
25g butter (can be salted or unsalted)
100g icing sugar, sifted
Around 200g mini Reese's peanut butter cups
Around 150g Reese's Pieces (You can add more or less if you want)

Line a tin/dish with baking paper. The recipe recommends one that is 9 x 9" however mine was 10 x 7". I don't think size really matters (this time!), just use what you have. 

In a heavy based saucepan, mix in the white chocolate, peanut butter, butter and condensed milk. Melt on a very low heat so the chocolate doesn't get stuck on the bottom and burn, and that all the ingredients combine together. It might take a while but it is important to do it over a low heat. Mine took around 10 minutes. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

Sift the icing sugar and beat well. I just used a spoon rather than an electric mixer. Once completely combined, add in most of the peanut butter cups and Reese's pieces and fold. Keep some left over to sprinkle on top.

Pour into the baking tin and smooth over the mixture. Sprinkle with the rest of the Reese's and press in. Put in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours but ideally overnight.

We did try the fudge after a few hours in the fridge and it was good but it was much better after it had set overnight. Once set, cut into squares and enjoy. Our squares were obviously very large!!

I love Reese's and I love fudge so this combination was the dream!! My only alteration I would make next time is I would probably add some big Reese's peanut butter cups too....in my opinion you can never have enough. I also added some of this fudge to my bowl of ice cream last night which I highly recommend if you are a little piggy like me!!

ITALIAN SEARED BEEF

I have many Jamie Oliver books although I will admit I am not crazy about his recipes. They generally taste very good however I find he always needs so many ingredients and they aren't written in a very straightforward way.....not like my beloved Fay Ripley!! Anyway - good news - in the Sunday Times last week, Jamie shared a few recipes that only need 5 ingredients - heaven for me. Plus they are quick ones too, this one took about 15 minutes. I did alter it slightly as my husband thought it looked a little "light"!

Ingredients for 2 people:

2 tbsp pine nuts
400g rump steak
2 heaped tbsp green pesto
90g rocket
40g Parmesan

Put a large non stick frying pan on a high heat, toasting the pine nuts as it heats up, tossing regularly and removing when golden. This is quite a quick process so watch the pine nuts carefully.

Cut the fat off the rump and chop it finely. Place it in the pan to render and crisp up.

Meanwhile place some cling or greaseproof paper over the steak on a chopping board and bash with a rolling pin or mallet until the steak is about 1cm thick. This tenderises the meat as well. Season generously.

Scoop the fat out of the pan and place to one side. In the same pan, sear the steak for 1-2 minutes on each side (depending on how you like your steak cooked) but ideally you want it golden on the outside but still blushing in the middle. I did Pascal's for a couple of minutes as he likes his steak as rare as possible (still mooing in fact) whereas I prefer mine a little more cooked. Once ready, remove to a board/plate and cut into strips.

Spread the pesto between two plates, add the rocket and steak, and finally scatter over the Parmesan, pine nuts and crispy fat (if you like). Drizzle with some olive oil and serve.

This was a beautiful dish, so simple yet so flavoursome. Individually all the ingredients are strong flavours, yet they mesh so well together. Whilst it felt like a proper supper, it didn't sit heavily in your tummy due to the lack of carbs. Perfect for my husband as he needs to increase the protein intake and cut the carbs which isn't easy when you are a pasta fiend!!

RAREBIT CAULIFLOWER STEAKS

My husband needs to eat less sugar and less carbs....basically his two favourite things. Whilst I believe I am healthy and in pretty good shape, I could do with a little more "clean living" however I love comfort eating, covering everything in cheese and I am addicted to milky coffee with sweetener. 

Anyway the sun was shining yesterday so we decided to barbecue some beef to up our protein intake and then as a side I made these rarebit cauliflower steaks. This is a recipe from Olive magazine although I omitted the beer (!) and it took about 25 minutes.

Ingredients for 2 people:

1 large cauliflower
25g butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
100g grated mature cheddar
1 tsp wholegrain or Dijon mustard
1 small egg yolk
A couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C / fan 180C / gas mark 6.

Chop the cauliflower in two down the middle and then cut a thick slice from each half to make 2 steaks. You will have some cauliflower left over - we ate this dipped in hummus.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Season the cauliflower steaks and then fry on each side until golden. This took about 8 minutes.

Lift the steaks onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 10 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Next time I will cut the stalks off the the cauliflower steaks as they are pretty tough.

Meanwhile put the cheese, mustard, egg yolk and Worcestershire sauce (if using) into a bowl and mash together. Season once again. Spoon the cheese mix over the cauliflower steaks when they are ready and grill for 4-5 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

These were really good and could be a meal in itself. I love welsh rarebit, it is something we had at weekends for lunch during my childhood and using cauliflower here is certainly a healthier version. I reckon my daughter Arabella would also be a fan. A great alternative side dish.

BAKED FETA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND GARLIC TOAST

We have barely done any entertaining since our baby was born almost a year ago and I have forgotten how much I enjoy it. In the past year I think I can count on one hand the nights I have stayed up post 9pm! However last night we had our friends Hard and Fran round for supper and so I decided to cook a couple of new dishes. The first one being this baked feta which I did as a starter / canapé whilst we had some drinks. The recipe is from Olive magazine and it was very easy and it took about 25 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 people as a canapé or 2 people as a starter:

Olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
200g feta
4 slices of sourdough
1 clove of garlic, halved
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
A few leaves of oregano, chopped (I didn't have some so just used dried leaves)

Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6.

Drizzle a little oil in the bottom of a oven proof dish and then add the tomatoes, the feta and season. Add a dash more olive oil and then cover with foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Just before it is ready, toast the sourdough, rub with the cut side of the garlic (you don't need to rub too hard - a little goes a long way), and then drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Remove the feta from the oven, drizzle with some balsamic vinegar (I was a little heavy handed here) and sprinkle with some oregano.

If you are into presentation, I would definitely recommend fresh oregano leaves as it will make the dish look so much better. Even though I had used dry herbs, this was still mouthwateringly tasty and I am very pleased to say everyone enjoyed it. It was a little messy to eat - my husband Pascal suggested next time I use bigger slices of toast - but I don't think it mattered. According to my daughter, making a mess is a sign of food appreciation!

This would also make a great lunch and you could serve it with a green salad.

SMASHED CHICKPEA & FETA SALAD

It was so good to see the sun today; like true Brits we were immediately in our flip-flops, the paddling pool was out and a barbecue planned. 

In my family, there is always a disagreement over what side to serve with the meat - I like a vegetable kebab of mushrooms, courgettes, onions and peppers. However that is my daughter Arabella's idea of hell. She would normally opt for something simple such as chopped cucumber but that is far too boring for me. Pascal's ideal would be a pasta or potato salad but I try and push him to something a bit lighter as neither of us are "summer body ready"!! So instead today we compromised on this salad which I found in Olive magazine. It took about 15 minutes in total to prepare.

Ingredients for 4 people:

Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp of olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 small red chilli, seeded and diced (optional - we left this out)
2 x 400g tin of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 a cucumber, diced
12 baby plus or cherry tomatoes, halved
100g feta, crumbled
A small bunch of dill, parsley or mint, chopped (I used mint as that is what we had in the garden)

In a large bowl, lightly mash the chickpeas with a potato masher or the end of a rolling pin. I didn't realise I was meant to rinse the chickpeas first and thankfully it didn't seem to make too much of a difference. Add the onions, cucumber and tomatoes.

In a separate bowl whisk together the lemon juice, 4 tbsp of olive oil, cumin seeds and chilli (if using) and season generously. Then pour into the chickpea mix and toss together.

Leave to marinate for 5 minutes and then stir through the feta and herbs to serve.

This was a super successful salad. We are all huge hummus fans (despite the effect it has on my husband's bottom) and so love chickpeas. This tasted very fresh and flavoursome and I loved the Greek salad aspect - feta is one of my favourite cheeses. I think my daughter Arabella would have preferred it with goat's cheese which would also work. This was a perfect barbecue side however it would also work on it's own as a main with or without some fresh bread depending on how good (or naughty) you are feeling!