Lidgate’s The Meat Cookbook Review and Giveaway

April 24, 2016 by Jenny Hartin 48 Comments

Meat lovers rejoice Lidgate’s The Meat Cookbook – is set to be released on May 3rd. Lidgate’s is a fifth-generation butchery shop in West London and draws countless cooks, chefs and meat lovers daily. Danny Lidgate wrote this book to share Lidgate’s meat know-how with the world. More than a cookbook, the author assures us that “It will also help you to discern a good butcher, choose the best meat, find out how to cook it and learn how to cut and carve it.”

Danny’s father, David took over the family shop in 1959 when he was just 19 years old due to his father’s illness and subsequent death. David was more interested in rugby than meat but he swiftly developed his skills and natural instincts. Danny, who is David’s oldest son, now runs the business and has written this cookbook to deliver the Lidgate’s secret to success to homes worldwide.

The book is organized by protein type with an introduction telling Lidgate’s history, meat-buying basics, storage, home butchery and more. Besides the chapters on Chicken, Lamb, Beef, etc. there are chapters on Special Occasions and Stuffings, Sauces, Stocks & Sides. A sampling of recipes include Breast of Lamb Stuffed with Almonds and Apricots, Harissa & Smoked Paprika Koftas, a gorgeous Pesto Saddle of Lamb and Layered Pork & Apple Pie.

The photographs are plentiful including step-by-step process photos, the instructions detailed and the recipes are varied and appetizing. Carnivores and food lovers alike will love this book and garner a tremendous amount of information from the knowledgeable Lidgates, both past and present.

GIVEAWAY: I have a copy of this book for one of you! To enter the giveaway – leave a comment telling me about your favorite meat dish. Sharing the post is appreciated. The giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. A random winner will be chosen on May 12th. Good luck. Random Number Generator picked #14 Jordan Rando!

Thanks to Mitchell Beazley for providing me a review copy of this title.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Tart

April 24, 2016 by Jenny Hartin Leave a Comment

I was playing with puff pastry when inspiration hit. A chocolate covered strawberry tart! Being the compulsive that I am, over a week ago I went and picked up everything needed for the tart.

Then inspiration left, the fickle bitch that she is, and being the procrastinator that I am, the strawberries sat in the fridge – perfectly good strawberries no longer picture perfect – turned into a strawberry jam/sauce of sorts on Friday. So I headed back to the store on Friday and came home with two more quarts of strawberries to create this tart and to make chocolate covered strawberries for the emergency hospital who took final care of Snowball (our American Eskimo) who left us last Saturday.

The first picture above is a chocolate tart, the picture below is a tart with a layer of fresh strawberry jam/sauce covered by a layer of chocolate ganache – the strawberry addition cuts through the richness of the tart. Here is a tutorial from The Kitchn on all things you need to know about ganache if you have never made it before.

I made a rough puff pastry dough for the tart above but the tart below was made with a store part pastry dough and is just as delicious.

I hope you try it.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Tart

Ingredients

Strawberry Jam
2 quarts of strawberries, cored and cut in half
1/2 cup of sugar
Juice of one orange
Zest of one orange
Chocolate Tart
1 thawed good quality puff pastry dough
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
1 cup of the strawberry jam above (or good quality jam)
1 pound of good quality chocolate, chopped
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder
Pinch of salt

Instructions

For the strawberry jam, combine all ingredients in medium sized heavy bottomed sauce pan. Turn heat to medium, stir ingredients once and let mixture come to a simmer. The strawberries will start to break down after about 20 to 30 minutes. If the strawberry mixture is too thin - continue to cook on high simmer until sauce thickens. When the mixture is at the right consistency for your use. Turn off heat. Allow to cool a few minutes. Use an immersion blender or a masher to break down the strawberries even further. Place mixture in jar and refrigerate once cooled.

For the tart.

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll out the puff pastry slightly. I used a round 9 inch tart for the first tart and then a rectangular pan for the second. Choose which tart pan you wish - and place the dough in the pan, gently fitting it to the sides, Cut off any excess. Using a fork, dock the dough and then apply an egg wash over the dough. Bake for roughly 25 to 30 minutes, checking after 15 minutes. It will rise and you can use the fork to release some air if needed. After the dough is golden brown --- remove from oven. Allow to cool for five minutes and then press gently down any risen area. Set aside to cool.

Remove the strawberry jam from the fridge to bring to room temperature.

For the ganache, place the chocolate into a bowl with espresso powder. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, bring cream to a simmer. Carefully, pour the simmered cream over the chocolate, allow it to sit one minute and then stir the mixture until smooth.

Once the tart crust has cooled, spread roughly a half cup to a cup of the strawberry jam on the crust. Then carefully spread the ganache on top of the strawberry layer - spread out evenly with an off-set spatula. Allow to set up.

Garnish with chocolate covered strawberries and shaved white chocolate.

Refrigerate the tart until ready to serve.

https://thecookbookjunkies.com/chocolate-covered-strawberry-tart/

Haven Homestead – #Giveaway

April 12, 2016 by Jenny Hartin 68 Comments

Recently, I ordered a beautiful cherry wood Spurtle from Haven Homestead and it arrived after an email exchange with the folks at Haven Homestead (Lindsay and Christopher Hodge). The Hodges noticed The Cookbook Junkies signature on my email and graciously offered to sponsor a giveaway of their products and Lindsay’s Homestead Recipes cookbook to you.

Chris and Lindsay are doing their best to create a haven where education, responsibility, regeneration and caring can abound, and they want to help others to do the same.

Chris just started his etsy shop where he sells his wood crafts. He is a certified permaculture designer, and he teaches several sustainable living courses on their homestead. Lindsay is an indie author, writer, and photographer.

Check out Haven Homestead for more about their fascinating life, and for more information on leading a sustainable life yourself.

Now for the giveaway: Chris and Lindsay are offering the following:

1st Prize: A spatula and spurtle set and a copy of Homestead Recipes by Lindsay Hodge.

2nd Prize and 3rd Prize: A copy of Homestead Recipes for two readers.

Each book comes with a $2 off coupon to use on their website. I’m hankering for one of their cutting boards – they are gorgeous!

To enter the giveaway: 1) Visit Haven Homestead’s Facebook Page (a like is not required, but appreciated) and leave a comment telling me you did. 2) Share this post on Social Media and leave a second comment telling me you did so. The giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only. A random winner will be chosen on April 30th. Good luck. Random Number Generator picked #18 Tom Schutta who won the tool set, #29 Mary Beth Johnson and #2 Linda Gordon who both won a recipe book.

Disclaimer: I purchased my spurtle and love it. Chris and Lindsay sent me three cookbooks and a set of tools to giveaway.