Cinnamon Rolls

I spend too much time on the internet (I am a blogger after all), I'm addicted to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you name it, I'm on it. So, as you can imagine I also love Pinterest, I spend absolutely ages on there looking at pictures of other peoples food. One thing that comes up all the time is cinnamon rolls, god knows how many times I've 'pinned' them, looked at the recipe and decided I am too lazy to make them. But this weekend my uni friend Laura came to stay, and after a long list of things I suggested doing, I suddenly realised we could bake. After a not so long internet research trip we decided on cinnamon rolls. I wish I hadn't waited so long to make them! They're so easy, taste delicious and make your house smell like actual heaven (really, if I die and heaven doesn't smell like freshly baked cinnamon rolls, God has some explaining to do). I have absolutely no idea about anything to do with 'bread' baking (it always goes wrong) so I used this recipe and have since fallen in love with her blog, it's full of amazing recipes. So I've popped the recipe on here in metric measurements for all of us in the UK to enjoy and made a few little changes to the method! So... Enjoy!

Makes around 16

For the dough

1 packet of dry yeast
230 ml warm milk
75g golden caster sugar
110g butter
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
550g flour

For the filling

75g melted butter
225g brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the frosting

100g icing sugar
Enough water to make it in to a thick mixture (I never measure)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Start by tipping the dry yeast in to the warm milk in a large bowl, add a tea spoon of the golden caster sugar and leave for around 10 minutes until it's all bubbly. 
2. Then add the caster sugar, butter, salt and eggs and mix with and electric mixer until well combined. 
3. Add the flour and fold it, mixing until it forms a dough. 
4. Tip the dough out on to a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, until you have a lovely smooth dough. 
5. Pop the dough back in to the bowl, cover it with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place to rise for at least an hour (it should double in size).
6. Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees then tip to dough on to a floured surface and roll out in to one large rectangle! (21 inches by 16 inches).
7. Once it's rolled out brush the butter all over it, then mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle it all over!
8. Cut up in to around 16 even sized slices, then pop them in to a greased 8inch baking pan (I put 7 around the outside and 1 in the middle, which fit perfectly!)
9. Then pop them in to the oven for 15-20 minutes.
10. While they're baking, make up the icing by mixing the icing sugar with water and adding the vanilla extract. 
11. When the rolls are golden brown, remove from the oven, cover them in icing and eat (they taste best fresh from the oven)

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ASK Italian Master Class with Theo Randall

Last week I was invited to a blogger master class at ASK Italian in London. We were invited along to try some of their new dishes created by their expert friend Theo Randall and try our hands at making their new stand out starter, Panzerottini. I was really inspired by Theo's love of authentic ingredients and could tell that a great deal of effort goes in to researching, choosing the ingredients and creating the dishes.

Theo talking about the authentic Italian ingredients.

First of all we were shown how to make the Panzerottini, which are yummy little dough balls stuffed with cheese and chilli (there is a meaty pancetta option too). Theo explained that he'd first discovered them on a trip to Italy, and thought they had the potential to become a unique addition the the starters on the menu. The head chef Fari showed us how to make them, (and he made it look so easy!) then we had a go at making them ourselves (I was no Fari, mine turned out too big and obscure shapes).

After our attempts at making the Panzerottini we were brought a fresh batch to try. They are ridiculously delicious and addictive, I could quite happily polish off a whole plate by myself. They're baked in a stone oven and only take a few minutes to pop up and bake (my kind of fast food).

Next we got to try the Spaghetti Al Pomodoro, a simple pasta dish with Santos tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil. It had a beautiful fresh flavour and proper chunks of buffalo mozzarella on top, which always goes down well with me! 

After the pasta, two of the pizzas were brought out to try, I don't have a picture because they weren't veggie, but they smelled phenomenal, I will definitely be trying a pizza on my next visit to ASK! After the pizza came the most indulgent flour-less chocolate cake, the Chocolate Amore. I don't even have to tell you how good this was, I think the picture says it all.

You'd think we would have had enough after that amazing feast, but no! There was still once last dish to come, the desert sharing board with chocolate and almond cake, Italian cheesecake and warm almond, plum and pistachio tart served with Alphonso mango sorbet.

I left feeling inspired, very full and planning my next trip to Ask to try more of the new dishes on the menu!

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Baked Camembert, Walnut and Mushroom Fricassee at Nelson Street Resturant

As you may or may not know, I detest mushrooms, but there are some exceptions such as when vegan Emma cooks them (she has a magical mushroom touch) and the other day when I went to take some pictures at the restaurant that my brother works at. While taking the pictures I got to try the baked camembert, walnut and mushroom fricassee. Well, I think the picture says it all, who wouldn't want to eat that! So I just thought I'd share this beautiful cheesy picture for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy.

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Sweet Potato and Aubergine Katsu Curry

Over the last 2 weeks I've been house/pug sitting for my mum's friend. It was like a dream because 1. I got to pretend to be a housewife 2. I got to look after Bentely the pug aka the cutest and most mischievous dog ever 3. She is a lovely, lovely lady who filled the fridge with vegetarian food for me! I was pretty excited about this fridge of food and what I could cook from it, but there was also something in there that I've never cooked with before, an aubergine. I know what you're thinking, Hef, you're a vegetarian, how have you never cooked an aubergine before. Well, I used to think they were a bit gross, bordering on mushroom territory (ewwww). So I wasn't really sure what to do with it. I thought about when I've eaten it in other meals and the one that stuck out was Katsu curry. I freaking love kastu curry, I could eat it all day every day and I've been wanting to make it from scratch for a while so I decided this was the perfect opportunity. I based the sauce on Gizzi Erskines recpie, but made it vegetarian and added some more veggies (why not, eh?). I tried making it twice this week, once frying the vegetables and once baking. I prefer them baked, so that's what I'm going with. Sorry for the not so great quality of the picture, Mr Hef told me to 'stop taking pictures and eat your dinner' and like a good housewife, I did (haha).

Serves 2

For the sauce

A bit of olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tbsp curry powder
300ml vegetable stock
1 tsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce
1 bay leaf
A large pinch of garam masala

For the vegetables

Olive oil spray
1 free range egg, beaten
100g seasoned plain flour
200g panko breadcrumbs (this is an estimation, I am extremely messy and get them stuck every where so you may need more or less)
1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced in to thin circly shapes
1 aubergine, chopped to the same width as the sweet potato

And some sticky white rice to serve!

1. Start by pre heating the oven to 180 degrees and setting up your egg, seasoned flour and panko breadcrumbs in separate bowls then pop to one side
2. Heat a little olive oil in a sauce pan, then add the onion and garlic and sweat on a low heat for 2 minutes. 
3. Then add the carrot, pop the lid on and leave to soften, stirring occasionally. 
4. While the carrot is cooking away, prepare a large baking tray by spraying with olive oil, then take your slices of sweet potato, first coating them in the breaded flour, then dipping them in egg, then covering them in the panko bread crumbs.
5. Place each one on to the baking tray and spray well with the oil and pop in to the oven for around 30 minutes.
6. Go back to your sauce and add the flour and curry powder and mix in well. 
7. Slowly pour in the vegetable stock, bit by bit and stir well to avoid any lumps occurring. 
8. Add the soy sauce, bay leaf and honey, bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. 
9. After 20 minutes, remove the bay leaf from the sauce and add the garam masala, then pop in in to a blender and give it a good whizz so that there's no lumps left. 
10. Remove the vegetables from the oven (they should be lovely and golden brown) and pop on to your plate with some sticky white rice, cover it all with the sauce and enjoy! 

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