Venison with a Rich Redcurrant Sauce

Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", means the origin, or the source, of something.  The term was originally used for works of art, but today it is a word that we apply particularly to food. Since the Bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak in the 1990's we have, rightly, become more fussy about the origins of our food and in particular our meat.

I had the good fortune to be given two venison steaks, the provenance of which could be plotted from living creature to plate. I had never cooked venison so I was a little apprehensive at the start, I thought that the rules that applied to beef steak would probably apply to venison steak, thankfully, I was right. I used vegetable oil and a small amount of butter to sear the meat prior to cooking in a hot (200° C)  oven for about 20 minutes.

What you will need:

For the meat:
2 venison steaks
tblsp oil
2oz butter

For the Sauce:
100g mushrooms sliced thinly
3 rashes of chopped streaky smoked bacon
200ml red wine
50ml port
50ml brandy
1tsp Marmite (strange but try it!)
1tsp ketchup
1tsp redcurrant jelly

Potato, Parsnip and Parmesan Bake

This is a great accompaniment to any meat dish, I particularly like it with a roast dinner.

You will need:

for the initial simmer;
1 large or two medium sized potatoes peeled and cut into ½ cm slices
2 large pasnips peeled and cut into ½ cm slices
1 pint / ½ litre of milk
salt and pepper

In the baker;
The parcooked potatoes and parsnips
150ml milk
100ml creme fraiche
50ml double cream
100g parmesan grated
100g white breadcrumbs
20g butter cubed



Again I have used a smaller stoneware baker from the Pampered Chef http://www.pamperedchef.biz/sarahkelly

Risotto with Butternut Squash and Smoked Bacon

Risotto is traditionally a labour intensive dish (personally I have never felt the desire to labour) however with a stoneware baker that I bought from a Pampered Chef party it is possible to make creamy rich risotto in the oven, with a fraction of the effort.

Prior to baking I mixed together the rice, onion, garlic, butternut squash, bacon, sage and chicken stock in the baking dish.

You will need:

1 box Arborio rice
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely diced or pressed
salt and pepper
3 chicken stock cubes made up to about 2 ½ pints
one whole butternut squash, cubed
6 rashes of streaky smoked bacon, chopped
small carton double cream
50g grated parmesan
a dollop of butter



Again I used a number of Pampered Chef products - the chopper really is fantastic. If you are interested in any of the products please follow this link:  http://www.pamperedchef.biz/sarahkelly

I feel certain that the true risotto connisseur would turn his aching back on this recipe but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and this eats rather well.

Masterchef 2010

Dear Greg and John,

I am blond and young. I also use too much salt in my food.

Yours Sincerely
Young Blonde Lady

Dear Young Blonde Lady,

You're through to the quarterfinals!

Yours Lustingly
Greg and John

My Guilty Pleasure

I have a bit of an obsession, besides food of course.

Recently I was invited to a Pampered Chef party, having never heard of it I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a bit like an upmarket Tupperware party with kitchen gadgets instead of plastic boxes.

The party was great, so I went to another, then 'hosted' one of my own.  The products,  from superb knives to stoneware baking dishes and every other kitchen gadget in between (including a fabulous chopping device that actually works) are all high quality and aesthetically pleasing.

One of their baking dishes called a stoneware baker is great for making one pot dishes including risotto, which I am going to demonstrate in the next video recipe.

If you are interested in finding out more about any of the Pampered Chef products that I have used please follow this link. http://www.pamperedchef.biz/sarahkelly

Cupcakes

I bought a cake decorating kit the other day at a Pampered Chef party and in the following video recipes you will find the results of my labours.



For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 180°C

125g butter softened (I would stress the need for butter here and not margarine it really makes a difference)
125g caster sugar
2 large eggs
125g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tblsp milk



For the icing:

150g softened butter
250g - 300g icing sugar
1 - 2 tblsp milk
¼ tsp pink (or indeed any colour which suits) food colouring




The cake decorating kit is a Pampered Chef product, if you are intersted in this or any of the Pampered Chef products please follow this link http://www.pamperedchef.biz/sarahkelly

Petite Chef

Check out this site. I'm on it too.