American Style Breakfast Pancakes

• 115g/4oz self-raising flour
• half a tsp baking flour
• 2 large eggs, separated 
• 125ml/5fl oz milk
• pinch salt
• 400g/14oz fresh blueberries
• vegetable oil, for brushing

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl and make a well in the middle.

Place the yolks and the milk into the well in the flour mixture and whisk to create a smooth batter. The batter should be the consistency of double cream. Add a little milk if necessary, although you ma not need it all.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt, until still peaks form when the whisk is removed.

Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Heat a heavy, non-stick pan over a medium heat and brush it with some vegetable oil.

Pour two tablespoons of the batter into the pan, smoothing it out into a circle. Cook for one minute,or until bubbles start to form on the surface, then add a handful of blueberries and cook for another minute. Turn the pancake and cook the other side for one minute, or until golden-brown. Remove from the pan and serve in a warm plate.

Repeat with the remaining batter and berries and serve immediately.

Origins of Pancake Tuesday

Pancake Day is always celebrated on a Tuesday and is also known as Shrove Tuesday. Pancake Day celebrates the start of the Christian celebration of Lent where Christians give up something for 40 days to empathise with Jesus Christ when he was sent into the wilderness for 40 days and nights and tempted by the devil.
During Lent people would fast, so the day before, Shrove Tuesday, households would use up food items in the house such as sugar, butter, milk and eggs. Pancakes were easily made from these ingredients and provided essential nutrients before the fasting period. Eggs would not be eaten thereafter until Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at Easter, a period of Forty Days.
The first pancake recipe was in a cookbook dating back to the year 1439. The earliest true recipe was recorded in Apicius, a collection of Roman recipes thought to be from the fourth or fifth century AD - it suggests serving them with honey and pepper, which sounds pretty good to me. In fact, you could trace a rather delicious map of the world in pancakes - from Russian buckwheat blinis to can't-be-too-thin French crepes, lacy Indian dosas and fluffy American breakfast pancakes.
As long as you don't stress the batter, treat it tenderly and don't overmix it (particularly if you are adding seasoning) you should be fine.

Pancake Tossing
Flipping your pancakes is part of the tradition, though it's not a skill that comes naturally to us all. Wait until your pancake is cooked on the underside and hold the frying pan loosely in your hand, keeping your wrist very relaxed. Flick your wrist sharply upwards and the pancake should (in theory) land back in the pan.

Mardis Gras
The French name for Shrove Tuesday is "Mardis Gras" (or "Fat Tuesday") and has been assumed by countries all around the world to celebrate pre-Lenten indulgence and decadence. Mardis Gras is celebrated at the world-famous carnivals of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and New Orleans in the USA.

Did You Know?
Napolean considered dropping a pancake while tossing to be bad luck, and used this to explain his troops' failings in Russia.
In Iceland, the day is known as "Sprengidagur" ("bursting day") as on this day people would eat as much of the delicacies that were forbidden during Lent as possible.
The name "Shrove" comes from the archaic English word "Shrive", which means "to confess".

Yummies for Your Pancakes

Crepe Suzette

• 150ml/5fl oz orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges)
• 1 medium orange grated zest only
• 1 small grated lemon rind and juice
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp Grand Marnier
• 50g/2oz unsalted butter
• a little extra Grand Marnier, for flaming

For the sauce, mix all the ingredients - with the exception of the butter - in a bowl. Now melt the butter gently in the frying pan, pour in the orange juice mixture and allow it to heat very gently. Now place the first crepe in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangular shape, give it a  minute or so for it to take on he flavour of the sauce.

You can flame them at this point f you like , by pouring a little extra liqueur into the pan and gently tilting towards the flame, be very careful at this point as not to burn yourself or to spill any of the sauce onto the flame. Once the flame has died out, serve immediately on warmed plates.

Pancakes with Walnut Cream/Butterscotch Sauce

• 200g light muscovado sugar
• 160g unsalted butter, diced
• 800ml double cream
• 3tbsp sifted icing sugar
• 2tbsp brandy
• 2tbsp coffee essence or vanilla essence
• 6 tbsp chopped walnuts

Butterscotch Sauce

Put the sugar, butter and 250ml of the cream in a pan over low heat.

Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat slightly, cook for 3/4 minutes without stirring, set aside but keep warm.

Filling

Whip the remaining cream and fold in the icing sugar/brandy/essence and 3 tbsp of the walnuts.
Take a pancake and spread a quarter with a dessert spoon of the cream mixture, fold in half and in half again to enclose the filling.
Sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and drizzle with the warm butterscotch sauce.

Traditional

• caster sugar
• lemon juice
• lemon wedge
• melted butter

To serve, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice, caster sugar and melted butter. Fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up. Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.

Chocolate Sauce

• 55g/2oz caster sugar
• splash of hot water
• 30g/11/4oz cocoa powder

For the sauce, whisk the sugar, water and cocoa together in a small pan over a gentle heat. Add extra water depending on how thick you require the sauce.

To serve, transfer the pancakes to a serving plate and drizzle the chocolate sauce over.

Banoffee Pancakes

• 4 normal bananas
• 25g/2tbsp hazelnut chocolate sauce
• 90g/6tbsp banoffee toffee sauce
• vanilla ice cream to serve

Place the pancakes in foil in a preheated oven to warm the pancakes.

Warm the banoffee sauce in a small pan. Slice the bananas lengthways and add to the pan. Heat until the sauce is bubbling around the hot bananas.

Remove the pancakes and spread a layer of chocolate spread onto them, place four pieces of banana and some banoffee sauce on each pancake. Roll up the pancakes and place on a warm plate.

Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on to each plate and serve.

Last Minute ideas to Brighten Up your Pancakes

• cinnamon sugar (caster sugar mixed with ground cinnamon)
• Vanilla Butter (unsalted butter mixed with vanilla essence)
• Maple Syrup
• A selection of your favourite fruits and vegetables
• Your favourite chocolate bar, slightly melted and used as a filling

Gluten free and Vegan Pancakes

Gluten-free pancakes

• 100g gluten free plain white flour
• 2 eggs
• 300ml milk

Mix together the flour, milk and eggs.

Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan and as it starts to smoke pour in just enough batter to thinly cover the base of the pan. Cook until golden, then turn the pancake over and cook the other side until golden. Stack the pancakes on a plate and, if you are not eating them straight away, layer them up using grease proof paper and cover with cling-film or foil to stop them from drying out.

Vegan Pancakes

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp oil
• 2 cups soymilk
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the soymilk and oil, mix well until combined. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Continue to cook as above.

Pancake Tuesday!

Every year I always look forward to making pancakes at home with my mother; it's a tradition we kept up in our house and when I was young I would eat them until I felt sick! I loved Nutella on them but sometimes my mother would make savoury pancakes filled with rashers and they were always a treat! Below are some recipes from our very own chef Simon, with something for everyone-whether you are a coeliac, a vegan or simply not confident in the kitchen.

Fool Proof Pancakes-approx. 12 pancakes

• 110g/40z plain flour sifted
• Pinch of Salt 
• 2 eggs (free range if possible)
• 200ml milk mixed with 75ml water
• 50g butter
• 1 medium orange zest
• 1 tbsp caster sugar

Step by Step Guide to the Perfect Flipping Pancakes

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do.

Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don't worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, scrape any stray bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, and then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, similar to the consistency of pouring cream.

Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan, cool slightly, spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a jug and set it aside for cooking. Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter, strain the batter into a clean bowl, cover it and set aside the mix for at least 30 minutes.

Next get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and now dip some kitchen paper in the remaining melted butter and wipe it across your pan.

To start with, do a test pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of bater, which should be approximately 2tbsp of  batter. It's helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the pan in one go.

As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should only take about half a minute or so to cook; you can lift he edge with a palette knife to see if it's taken on a nice golden colour. Flip the pancake over with your palette knife - the other side will only need a few seconds - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.

Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate resting over a pot of simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

Chocolate/Chilli Fondue

Ingredients
150ml double cream
225g, 70% dark chocolate
1 diced chilli, seeds removed
2tbsp dark rum
Your favourite fruits-strawberries, bananas, pineapple, you could also try almonds, marshmallows, all cut into bite-sized chunks
Cocktail sticks

Method
-Simmer your cream in a pot over a low heat
-Add your dark chocolate, chilli, rum
-To serve, transfer to a nice serving bowl, or if you like you can serve in the pot

Tip-if you transfer to a serving bowl, it will cool quicker and set, so keep a pot of simmering water on the stove. When it does start to set, simply place the bowl over the simmering water for a minute or so until it melts.

Valentine's Mains

Chicken, Vegetable and Chorizo Casserole
Ingredients (makes 2 portions)
2 large sliced red onions
125g diced chorizo
2 sliced red peppers
2 sliced yellow peppers
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 chicken stock cubes
1/2 red chilli, sliced
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 can red kidney beans
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Fresh coriander, chopped
2 avocados, diced

Method
-Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius
-In your casserole dish, sweat off your onions in a bit of oil, 2/3 minutes
-Add your chorizo, continue cooking for a further 2/3 minutes
-Now, add your peppers and cook until nicely coloured
-Next, add your tinned tomatoes, followed by a tin of water
-Add the fresh tomatoes, stock cubes, oregano and red chilli
-Now, season your chicken thighs and place into your casserole dish
-Top with the kidney beans, gently bring to the boil, put the lid on and place in your pre-heated oven when ready.

Cooking time is approx 40/50 minutes. To serve, remove lid, sprinkle the chopped coriander and diced avocado on top.
Place the dish in the center of the table with two warmed plates, optional extras such as mash or salad

Valentine's Starters

Tapas/Antipasto Style Starter
suggested options
-Your favourite pate/toast
-Selection of cold meats, prosciutto, Parma ham (even your ordinary sandwich ham!)
-Olives/nuts/sundried tomatoes
-Grilled ciabatta, plain or with goat's cheese/garlic/tapenade/brie etc
-Your favourite smoked fish e.g. salmon, mackerel, trout etc
-Even some homemade potato wedges with a sweet chilli dipping sauce
(2 rooster potatoes, cut into 1/8, salt, pepper, herbs, spices, olive oil, roast in hot oven)


To Serve
Arrange and serve on a wooden chopping board, drizzle with a touch of olive oil.

This starter can be tailored to suit the needs of whoever you're cooking for; it's no fuss , straightforward and looks impressive.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Cocktails

So, the Day of Love is upon us (as is Ferris Wheel Appreciation Day). If you don't fancy heading out to packed restaurants, why not try your hand at impressing your loved one?
I have spilt our Valentine's blog into four posts-cocktails, starters, mains and desserts. Try your hand at these and help set the mood!

Valentines Cocktails
Martini
3 dashes orange juice
50ml vodka
20ml dry vermouth
2tsp grenadine
twist lemon
Ice to taste

Method: Combine all together, shake well, serve in chilled glasses

Vodka/Cranberry Twist
200ml vodka
200ml cointreau
600ml cranberry juice
400ml orange juice
zest 2 limes
crushed ice

Method: Combine all together, shake well, serve in chilled glasses

Strawberry Twist
100g strawberries hulled/halved
50g caster sugar
bottle chilled champagne

Method: Blitz the strawberries/sugar, add a drop of water if needed,place in chilled glasses, add bubbly