Jamie Oliver Cast Aluminium Range Grill Pan by Tefal - Review

Tefal Jamie Oliver Cast Aluminium Range Grill Pan
measures 29cm x 25cm

I've just had an induction hob fitted in my kitchen and this grill pan is perfect, although the pan can be used on all other heat sources too.  My old pan can't be used on induction and I've been looking round for some time now to get a replacement.  The options are either cast iron which are very heavy, or a few others which were lighter to handle but I wasn't convinced they would last or cook very evenly. This pan is more lightweight than cast iron and very strong and sturdy. Tefal is a trusted name and a brand I have used before and I knew I was going to be in for a treat when I was offered the pan to review.

Grilled salmon, crushed peas with mint and potatoes boulangere

Grill pans encourage me to cook healthier food, I came back from my annual holiday a couple of weeks ago and now thinking ahead to all the Christmas food I'm about to consume, I'm going to try and plan my meals carefully.

The pan is very roomy and you can easily cook four to six salmon steaks or chicken breast fillets at the same time.  Salmon takes about 3 or 4 minutes each side to cook.  I always oil the food and not the pan and this pan only requires a minimum of oil because it is non-stick. The underside of the handle is silicone for a non-slip grip and it stays cool too.

The pan has the patented Thermospot which is a great feature, simply put the pan on the heat and wait until the red pattern on the spot in the middle of the pan disappears and becomes a solid red spot. The pan will be at the optimum heat to sear and cook.

Parmesan chicken with griddled sweetcorn

Delicious grilled pineapple - simply baste the pineapple with honey 

Chicken marinated in soy sauce, Worcester sauce and brown sugar

The pan is really easy to clean. I cooked the pineapple in the pan first, let the pan cool a little and then gave it a quick wash in soapy water. Afterwards I cooked the chicken - any debris in the pan comes off easily with soapy water.

The base of the pan 

Oven safe to 260ºC - meat can be seared on the pan and then finished cooking in the oven.
Pro-metal hard non-stick interior.
Metal utensils can be safely used, excluding whisks and knives.
Heats quickly.
Even heat distribution.
Food stays beautifully moist.
Hand washing recommended - not a chore though because debris comes off easily.

Available from Debenhams - Price £70

Thank you to Tefal for the grill pan.

Foodie Christmas Gifts 2013 - Part One

Prestat Snowman Christmas Bauble filled with sea salt caramel truffles - this fabulous bauble is definitely one for the grown ups. The luxurious truffle centre is encased in a 70% cocoa chocolate truffle shell.  All Prestat chocolates are made by hand in London. They were awarded a second Royal Warrant by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in her centenary year.
They can be bought either from their online shop or at selected retailers rrp £6.75

The Glenrothes 'Select Reserve' Malt Whisky - a very special Whisky.
The Glenrothes malt whisky is bottled by 'vintage' and not by age which is the first ever in the whisky industry.  Their master distiller will only bottle the whisky when it has matured and reached its peak of perfection.  The shape of the bottle stands out and many are complete with a handwritten signature from the master distiller. Owned by Berry Bros & Rudd who are Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchants, they are the Wine and Spirit Merchants by Appointment to HM The Queen and The Prince of Wales.
43%ABV - £38.00/70cl.  Stockists: Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda.

The Ideal Home Show Cook Book - This is the first recipe book from the Ideal Home Show brand, and features over 100 delicious recipes for all occasions, from starters through to drinks!  Recipes include rich and warming root vegetable soup, roast butternut squash risotto, ginger and ripple ice cream to hot chocolate with a spicy twist. All of the recipes have a photograph showing the finished dish.

The fool proof instructions and clear layout mean that it works for everyone, no matter how experienced a cook they are, and it’s divided by seasons, so you can pick recipes using the freshest seasonal ingredients. There is a very useful section at the end of the book 'Finishing Touches' showing how to give our food the restaurant look. It’s also priced at just £15, making it an affordable gift. The book is only for sale through the Ideal Home Show website and at the Home Shows themselves. The Ideal Home Show at Christmas, Earls Court runs from 13th to 17th November 2013.

Scarlett & Mustard Dazed & Infused Oils in Basil, Truffle and Dill
They have a new range of Dazed & Infused Oils which are all made with English cold-press extra virgin rapeseed oil. Foodies will love these amazing oils for cooking or finishing dishes. I like to use them in bread making, pasta sauces and risottos but please visit their website for more ideas.  Sauces, marinades, dressings and oils are made with only the best stuff they can find.
They have recently won two Great Taste Awards 2013 and are available in Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and Patridges amongst other retailers.
Infused Oil gift sets - rrp £15 for the 100ml bottle set from the Scarlett & Mustard online shop.

Traditional Smoked Salmon from John Ross Jr - one of the last remaining traditional smokers (they use brick kilns dating back to 1857) and are the supplier to the Queen and the Royal Network of Kitchens. They've held the Royal Warrant for 25 years and were one of the key participants in this year's Coronation Festival, which took place in the Royal Gardens of Buckingham Palace. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without salmon on the table and this one is a winner with a great flavour and texture.
The 200g pack can be found in all Waitrose stores and Ocado priced at £6.49.

Carluccio's Ciottoli Di Torrone - Chocolate Torrone Dragee
Cocoa dusted balls of almond and honey torrone(nougat). The honey is made from a special blend of five varieties including one from the Venetian lagoon which is know for its slightly salty flavour. These will look stunning as a centre piece on top of a special cake. Tastefully packaged and affordable luxury for Christmas - 120g rrp £6.95 available from Carluccio's online shop or restaurants.

Oxfam Carved Antique Leaf Wooden Bowl - Perfect for the dining table.
Oxfam’s Carved Antique Leaf Wooden Bowl is hand carved out of distressed wood by Fair Trade producers in India. Sustainable materials are used to help reduce the environmental impact, supporting small-scale farmers or social enterprises. The money raised is used to help Oxfam’s vital work fighting poverty around the world.
Available at selected high street shops nationwide. To find your nearest shop visit www.oxfam.org.uk/shopfinder  Price: £12.99

Thank you to everyone for sending me samples for the Christmas Gift List.

Nigel Slater's Smoked Haddock with Potato and Bacon

You will definitely need more sauce on your plate than this!

We would happily eat this tasty meal any day of the week, my husbands name for this is 'posh fish and chips' and I agree.  Dyed smoked haddock is our choice because it always looks good on the plate.

A pan of fabulous bacon and chips

Smoked Haddock, cream, bay leaves and peppercorns

There is a very generous amount of sauce, we didn't waste one single drop - dunk some fabulous bread into any remaining sauce.

The Smoked Haddock with Potato and Bacon recipe can be found on the Guardian website.

I am entering this into Dish of the Month challenge hosted by Janice at Farmers Girl Kitchen and the host for June is Sue at A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate.

Smoked Haddock with Bacon and Leeks

I remember going to a 'posh' restaurant and being served undyed smoked haddock. They served the fish on top of a mound of mashed potato.....I've never forgotten how dull that meal looked.  It's definitely dyed smoked haddock for me every time!

There are a lot of buttery juices after the fish has cooked, I placed my cooked new potatoes and leeks in the tray and turned them in those fabulous juices.  This is a quick and tasty fish dish with only a few ingredients, it was really delicious too.

You will need:

Serves: 4

50g softened butter, 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, few rashers streaky bacon, 4 smoked haddock fillets, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly ground pepper, 2 chopped leeks.

1. Place the butter into a bowl, add the chopped herbs, mix together.
2. Grill the bacon until crispy, drain and set aside.
3. Put the fish fillets onto a foil lined baking tray, grease the foil and spread the herb butter over the fillets.
4. Sprinkle the lemon juice over and season with black pepper.
5. Grill for 6 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
6. Cook the leeks in boiling water, drain. Add to the tray in which the fish has cooked and coat with the buttery juices.
7. Crumble over the reserved bacon.

What's for Dinner? Second Helpings - Review

What's for Dinner? Second Helpings has been written by mum of four, Romilla Arber.  It is the only cookery book in the UK where all sale proceeds go directly to charity.  The Food Education Trust is a charity, established by Romilla in 2008 to promote the benefits of a balanced home cooked diet, through the teaching of cooking skills to children and adults. One of the projects the Trust has been involved with enabled a school to build and equip a kitchen.  They now have cookery classes where members of the community go into school and help, a cookery club and also a breakfast club for the children.  The Food Education Trust is currently funded by the profits from her previous book What's for Dinner? 

Romilla Arber isn't a chef, she is a busy mum of four children and she recognises the need to cook healthy food for her family.  There are 767 pages in the book and features a recipe for every day, every week and every month of the year.  All of the photographs in the book are outstanding and there is a photograph to accompany the majority of the recipes.  This is a book for the home cook and will help with all the weekly meal plans.  The recipes are put together with a balanced diet in mind - plenty of fresh vegetables, four meat meals a week, regular amounts of fish, pulses and cereals.  Romilla has included lots of fabulous recipes for puddings, cakes and biscuits - home cooked are always best.

The book cover and the image of this raspberry and chocolate cake shows the quality of food styling and photography.  

The hope is that What's for Dinner?Second Helpings will inspire us to cook at home and to also plant the seed in our children's minds that cooking at home every day is a normal part of life and one of it's great pleasures.  As a Mum, albeit of grown up children, I know from experience children will never like all foods we give to them, but the opportunity to eat and experience home cooked food is always best. Romilla is very wise, and planting the seed to cook from scratch, so we know exactly what goes into the food we eat, is something children will take with them into adulthood and then pass on to their own children.

The recipes in the book are to serve six but can easily be adapted.  An example of recipes: Pork with Noodles, Thai Style - Baked Meatballs and Potatoes - Salmon Burgers - Fillet Steaks in Pastry with a Vegetable Medley.  Sunday is pudding and cake day - Baked Peaches and Raspberries with Lemon Mascarpone - Chocolate Gingerbread with Chocolate Icing - Sticky Toffee Pecan Pudding with Toffee Sauce - Chocolate Chip Cookies.

A small selection of easy to follow, everyday recipes, I cooked from the book:

Plum and Raspberry Cobbler

My fruit cobbler tasted delicious and the cobbler was light in texture, although the plums didn't seem to want to cook (ripen at home plums never ripen!),  I covered the cobbler with foil and the plums eventually cooked, my raspberries by now didn't resemble raspberries, but this is home cooked food, it still tasted delicious and was definitely worth the wait. To see the fruit cobbler looking stunningly beautiful I recommend you take a peak at the photograph in the book!

Cod and Leek Gratin

A very easy to make gratin - the sauce is simply creme fraiche and cheddar cheese mixed together. We really enjoyed this quick and delicious meal.

One-Pot Chicken Curry

This was a lovely and tasty mid-week meal. The curry wasn't too hot and adding potatoes made the curry more substantial, the addition of peas and tomatoes is an easy way to get more veg on the plate.

Leek and Blue Cheese Risotto

I love risotto, it's a great standby and can be made from just a few ingredients.  Providing you have arborio rice in the store cupboard, then recipes like this can easily be adapted. The risotto was really tasty and a winner.


Price:  £25.00
ISBN No. 978-0-95709-350-8
Park Family Publishing

Thank you Li.

Smoked Haddock and Leek Risotto

I'm not one for take out meals but on occasions I feel lazy, can't be bothered, can't get into the zone and can't even think what to make. On these occasions I always feel guilty, but then I do have a husband to feed! Left to me it would be a plate of leaves and a spray of balsamic vinegar, but then as I said before, I do have a husband to feed, and I don't think he would be very impressed with a plate of leaves.

For all the above occasions risotto saves the day. Risotto fills you up and as long as you have some arborio rice, a glass of white wine and some chicken stock you can make a substantial meal. Hopefully, you will have some Parmesan cheese to grate over the risotto too.

Risotto isn't the prettiest of meals but taste wise it takes some beating. Risotto costs less than a take out, takes less time than if you have to fetch it and won't hurt your wallet either.

I have a clever kitchen gadget which makes mine in 25 minutes from start to finish, a present from my husband, and so on lazy days and can't be bothered days it's risotto for us.

This delicious recipe is from Olive Magazine and can be found on the BBC GoodFood website.

A few more lazy day risotto's:

Lemon Thyme, Prosciutto, Pecorino and Goat's Cheese Risotto
Porcini and Spinach Risotto
Nigel Slater's Leek Risotto with Parmesan Crisps

Creamy Haddock Gratins

I made four of these lovely little gratins and they were one of the best dinners we had this week. They were a bit of a faff to make and I seemed to use every basin and saucepan in the kitchen, I managed to run out of work surface and made a mess everywhere too. There wasn't a space in the kitchen to take the photograph of the gratins and so I had to run outside and photograph them, it was so cold outside they cooled down straight away, looked a little sorry for themselves and had to be rescued with a few grilled cherry tomatoes placed on top to cheer them up.

The lack of preparation was because I had planned to cook salmon but somehow the salmon managed to get lost. I know I bought it, I found my receipt - I looked in the fridge, the freezer, in the car....I can only think it must have got fed up and swam back to the river. Or, it's still in Sainsbury's, but I felt too embarrassed to ring up and ask if they had found some salmon hanging around. Mr W said forget about the fish, but how am I supposed to forget about the fish that somehow managed to get lost between the supermarket and home?

It's been a week of losses, Mr W lost the remotes to the DVD and the hifi, he also fell asleep in the cinema and he nearly lost me when he started snoring! I have also lost some Tupperware containers which I use to put small amounts of sauces into for the freezer. It's also been a week of frustrations, we have invested in new technical wizardry and I am now on techie overload.

Mr W thinks we may have entered a new chapter in our lives ...........

This recipe is by the Hairy Bikers from the television series Mums Know Best and is on the BBC Food Website.

Forman and Field Gift Hampers

An email came asking if I would like to receive for review a sample hamper courtesy of Forman and Field - the answer is always going to be, yes please.

The hamper is delivered in a sturdy heavy duty box insulated with polystyrene. The contents are kept cold whilst in transit with gel ice packs to keep everything in tip top condition until you unpack. Receiving and opening a hamper is a joyous occasion it's such a treat. The hamper was large enough for the two of us, and packed and presented superbly, which added to my delight.

I was sent a list of useful Tasting Notes regarding the contents they had selected specially for me. I knew from reading food magazines they supply their smoked salmon to the finest restaurants. I hadn't realised though they also sell online products from the finest independent producers too.


I was spoilt with Genuine Wild Smoked Scottish Salmon which needs to be savoured more or less as is to fully appreciate the taste. I served mine simply with a few peppery leaves, a squeeze of lemon and a piece of brown bread. The salmon wasn't too salty or smoky, neither was it oily and tasteless, but simply melts in the mouth. I have yet to try the London Cure Smoked Scottish Salmon but I am looking forward to another indulgent treat when I try this too (it's in the freezer waiting patiently for Christmas).


Potted Lobster is something that I had not eaten before, it came in a small reusable kilner jar. This is a gold medal winner and one of their customers' favourites. This is cooked lobster, they pick out the best bits and pot it with clarified butter. The tasting notes suggest taking it out of the fridge to come to room temperature and serving this as a starter for a posh dinner party or, as I did, serving it on toast so the butter melts into the toast - I had made bread the day before the hamper arrived so that I had some homemade bread, this bread makes fab griddled toast to go with posh potted lobster. This was one of our favourite items from the hamper.


Hand Carved Alderton Ham from a family producer in Nottinghamshire. This was sliced and prepacked ready to serve. The ham had been steamed and baked on the bone with an old fashioned marmalade glaze, we ate this with a green salad and the ham was definitely the star on the plate.

A Selection of Neal's Yard Dairy Cheeses - when I go to London I always queue up to go in here and love sampling the cheeses whilst I am waiting. The selection of cheeses arrived in waxed paper, which is how I wrap my cheese too, and this was appreciated because it stops the cheese from sweating. Beenleigh Blue is a new cheese to me and has a strong tang, in my case though, too strong a tang. The Colston Bassett on the other hand is a creamy cheese I am used to eating and this can do no wrong on my cheeseboard. There was a cheddar and also Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire, these were superb in taste and very reliable choices for the cheeseboard.

Mrs King's Pork Pie one of Borough Market's real food heroes. This is the first time I have eaten this pork pie, I originally came from Melton Mowbray and all I have ever known are the pork pies which are made in the town.


The mince pies are made by Master Chef Michael Nadell and the pastry is buttery, soft, and the contents within will please and satisfy all mince pie lovers. Both the brownie loaf and banana bread are presented in little wooden loaf boxes, wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon. The brownie loaf is very rich and you only need a small slice to satisfy your brownie needs, the banana loaf was a little dense for me but Mr W said he enjoyed his. Pure Indulgence Chocolates from Paul Wayne Gregory are handcrafted dark chocolates for chocolate lovers, mine were vanilla pod, salted caramel and spiced praline, they were silky, smooth and superb.


Lemon Curd presented in a small reusable kilner jar, I ate this sweet, lemony curd on toast as a breakfast treat and it certainly didn't disappoint. The Christmas Pudding - this coming weekend we will be eating the pud, and to reheat, all we have to do is put it in the microwave for 5 minutes.

The hamper was a perfect introduction to some of the delights Forman and Field have to offer and because every item is premium quality you simply can't go wrong.

Forman and Field have a Special Offer running at the moment, just £5.00 p&p for standard delivery and this runs until 30th November 2011. The amazing thing is you can order as little or as much as you like.

AGA Cookshop and Review: White AGA Berndes Ceramic Coated 24cm Frying Pan

AGA Cookshop have supplied this fabulous light weight white AGA Berndes cast aluminium frying pan with a ceramic coating which is suitable for all hob heat sources, including induction. The pan also has a heavy gauge 6mm base to provide optimum heat and absorption and distribution. The pan has a removable handle for oven use, is very easy to clean and comes with an 8 years warranty. A lid can be bought for the pan as an optional extra. This is a top of the range pan and is a classic beauty, modern and timeless. The pan will look special in any kitchen.


It is recommended by the manufacturer the pan is lightly greased before every use. I lightly greased the pan and found this was sufficient to ensure food didn't stick but simply slides off. Hand cleaning is easy or the pan can be put in the dishwasher.


Egg in Toast - Not any old egg on toast, lightly grease the pan, put a small amount of butter in the pan and heat gently until melted. Take a piece of good quality bread (I made mine), tear out a sizeable piece of bread put into the pan and toast, turn the bread over, break the egg into the hole and cook gently (a piece of foil covering the pan or a lid will help cook the egg on top). Keep on checking the egg and then serve. My husband says this is the best egg and toast ever! There was neither sticking or burning on the base of the pan - the brown in the pan is a puddle of butter and a few browning crumbs from the bread.


Smoked Haddock in Butter and Creme Fraiche Sauce - I greased the pan first, and again no sticking and the pan cleaned easily. There are no hotspots with this pan which means you can cook at a gentle heat and everything cooks at the same time. Sauces will also pour from the pan easily because the pan has sloping sides.


Berry Slump - this is simply a bag of frozen fruit sprinkled with a small amount of sugar and topped with a sponge mixture and some flaked almonds sprinkled over. Once again, a very happy husband, he loved this recipe.


Again, I greased the pan before using which is a great tip for using all pans. The pudding was cooked in the oven without the handle and as you can see from the photograph the fruit didn't stick to the pan even though I changed my oven setting to fan. Sometimes berry fruit fillings turn to jam and stick to the pan.

Berndes were founded in 1921 and the German family is celebrating it's 90th anniversary in 2011. Berndes revolutionised the market for cookware with a pan made of cast aluminium and non-stick coating. Berndes developed into an innovation leader in manufacturing non-stick cookware.

The AGA Cookshop sell cookware, kettles, kitchen tools, electricals, tableware, bakeware, textiles, books, cleaning and storage products and have a fabulous online shop. AGA Cast Iron Cookware is made in Coalbrookdale foundry, Shropshire (not far from where I live), and they also make the castings for both AGA and Rayburn Cookers.

Thank you to AGA Cookshop and Rebecca.

BEEROASTER CHICKEN AND SALMON WOOD WRAPS

Ever thought about cooking Beeroaster chicken? I have been writing my food blog for over three years now and have seen this method of cooking chicken on numerous food blogs, somehow I never seemed to get around to having a go.

Clive from Cookequip sent me the Chicken Beeroaster Deluxe which comes complete with a tube, drip pan and vegetable clips - this is by far the safer option for using this method of cooking.
The Beeroaster can be either used in an oven or a barbecue with a closed lid.


The Beeroaster comes with a cooking guide and recipes.

The tube can be filled with beer, ale, wine or fruit juice to flavour the chicken and to add to the flavour experience a rub can be sprinkled on the outside of the chicken and also inside the cavity.

I poured beer into the tube, rubbed Cajun seasoning over the outside of the chicken and lowered the cavity of the chicken onto the tube until the legs reach the bottom of the drip pan. Then the Beeroaster was placed onto the barbecue and a couple of potatoes were put onto the vegetable spikes. We then closed the lid of the barbecue and cooked the chicken for 1½ hours, the potatoes took 1 hour, you can also put corn onto the vegetable spikes and this takes about 20 minutes to cook.

The skin was golden and crispy, the meat was tender, moist and flavoursome. You don't even need to baste the chicken, it just takes care of itself - couldn't be simpler!

My husband is taking a keen interest in the Beeroaster and next year I'll be putting more postings on here with recipes. I'm sure the man in your life won't mind opening a bottle of beer now and then, so that you too can have Beeroaster chicken!

SALMON WOOD WRAPS

Beech Wood Wraps come in a pack of six - Beech wood gives the food a sweet and mild flavour and is an ideal choice for cooking fish and seafood.


Halved spring onions were placed onto the wrap then topped with salmon and anointed with soy sauce. Sprinkle with brown sugar, red chilli and grate over some ginger. I served the cooked salmon with a vegetable stir fry and the salmon was extremely moist and delicious.


Here is how to use the Wood Wraps: Presoak the wraps in water then pat dry. Spread olive oil onto the area where you will be placing the food, this is to stop the food sticking to the wood wrap.

Place the food onto the oiled area and wrap around the food. Tie with string or a spring onion leaf (I tried the spring onion for photographic purposes but got in a mess!!). Place the wraps onto a baking tray and then into an oven 180°C. My salmon took about 20 minutes to cook. Remove the string, open up the wood wrap and serve.

There are many wood wraps to choose from, including a pack containing cherry, cedar, maple, oak, walnut and beech, enough to keep any cook happy!

A few more ideas for using wood wraps are on the Cookequip website.

SMOKED SALMON AND CAMEMBERT CHEESE COOKED ON A STOVETOP SMOKER

As a newbie to smoking food, I decided to start with salmon fillets and a Camembert cheese. These took the same amount of time to cook which is approximately 15 minutes. Baby new potatoes dipped in smoked Camembert was a revelation, and will be made many times again, also the salmon was deliciously moist and smoked. I chose to use Alder Wood Chips, which came supplied with the Stovetop Smoker.


The food smoking possibilities are endless. Cheese, tomatoes, pork chops, chicken, fish, seafood, sausages and potatoes - just to name a few options. Any foods you may think will benefit from searing after smoking can then just be placed onto a griddle pan.

My husband has decided he is going to use the smoker on the barbecue, load it with sausages, potato wedges and vegetables then finish cooking them on the barbecue. He is coming up with ideas now - anything to do with the barbecue and you soon get his interest!

I've had a few requests from him such as smoked salmon fishcakes and smoked tomatoes, maybe these can be part of my next stovetop smoker posting.

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the Oven Baking Plank sent to me by Clive of Cookequip, this time it is the turn of the Stovetop Smoker. I have been sent the Gourmet Edition - Mini Smoker which can be used indoors on the hob, or outdoors on a barbecue.

The smoker is made from stainless steel and consists of a base where you put a small amount of wood chips, next you insert the drip pan and top with a food rack. Put your food to be smoked on the oiled rack and slide the lid to close. Cooking instructions and recipes are on a separate booklet included with the smoker, also included are a couple of tubs of wood chips to get you started. After use the inside of the smoker will turn black but this is normal and means you are using it!


The smoker comes with a cooking guide explaining the matching of wood chips to certain types of food, I chose to use Alder and the book explains this is a mild wood ideal for smoking salmon, seafood and vegetables. Although Alder isn't recommended to smoke cheese I found it was a suitable match.

Smoking food is all about tweaking - which wood chips you prefer to use, the quantity and also how long you prefer to smoke your food. I am at the beginning of the learning curve with smoking and from time to time I will come back with a few photographs of food I have smoked.

CEDAR WOOD OVEN BAKING PLANK REVIEW AND RECIPES

Clive from Cookequip has sent me a collection of interesting premium quality products to review for him.

Camerons Large Cedar Wood Oven Baking Plank.
Camerons Chicken Beeroaster Deluxe with Vegetable/Potato Clips.
Camerons Smoker (as used by Mat Follas on Masterchef and also demonstrated by him on ITV's This Morning Show this year).
A huge selection of Wood Chips to use in conjunction with the Smoker or for using on the barbecue to flavour food.
A pack of 6 Beech Wood Wraps.
Recipe Book

Reviews for the above products will be appearing on here shortly, so please pop back and read how I/we got on, because my husband has also taken a very keen interest in using these too!

I will be revisiting these products after the first initial reviews have been posted, so please look out for future recipes, including some from the Recipe Book.

CEDAR WOOD OVEN BAKING PLANK

The first product I have chosen to review is the Large Oven Baking Plank which is made of Cedar wood.

The Large Oven Baking Plank measures 38mm x 267mm x 432mm, but there is also a smaller version. There are two bolts which run through the width of the plank and these must be kept tight. If cracks appear then it will be necessary to tighten the stainless steel rods which go through the plank.

The Cedar wood imparts a subtle flavour to the food and you will also find your food stays moist. Also, because you are using very little oil, it is a very healthy and low fat way to cook food.

Presentation of food is always important and you can take the Oven Baking Plank to the table and serve straight from it (always take care because the board is very hot and retains heat, do not place the Oven Baking Plank directly onto any surface).

The first, and most important thing to do, is oil the hollow cooking area on the Oven Baking Plank with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (this will help prevent cracking). Next, you place the Oven Baking Plank into a cold oven and set the temperature to between 180°C and 200°C, depending on what you choose to cook. After 10 minutes you can then pop your ingredients on to the board to cook for your chosen time.

After you have used the Plank you must let it cool down completely, then wash with soapy water. Leave to dry completely and then oil the complete Plank.

With the onset of winter and the barbecue season over (unless you have a BBQ with a lid), the Oven Baking Plank adds another dimension to oven cooking. I'm always looking for other ways to cook food and I am now definitely an Oven Baking Plank convert.

Click on all of the photographs for a close up view of the product .

PORK CHOPS WITH SAGE, ON A BED OF ROSEMARY AND THYME WITH ROAST POTATOES



Put the oiled board into a cold oven for 10 minutes at 190°C.

Meanwhile, parboil the roast potatoes and then simply spray with olive oil.

Take your Pork Chop and press a sage leaf on to the meat, season with pepper. Lay a bed of thyme and rosemary leaves on the board and place the pork chops and potatoes on top, along with a red onion. Cook for approximately 1½ hours until the meat is tender.

The meat was deliciously moist and tender and had a subtle Cedar flavour. The kitchen is filled with Cedar aroma whilst the food is cooking and everything smells delicious.

MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES WITH MELTING BRIE


Same method as outlined above - simply rub two tablespoons of olive oil into the baking area on the Oven Baking Plank and place the plank into a cold oven and set the temperature to 190°C. After 10 minutes place your chosen food onto the plank.

You will need: 175g baby new potatoes, 1 red onion cut into wedges, 1 large sliced courgette, black pepper, ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary, 4 tomatoes sliced into wedges, 2 slices of Brie, basil leaves to garnish.

Cook the potatoes for approximately 15 minutes and drain, lay a bed of rosemary and thyme on the Plank, add the potatoes and wedges of onion and spray with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle over the cumin seeds, cook for 45 minutes.

Add the courgette slices to the board and cook for 15 minutes, now add the tomato wedges and cook for 10 minutes.

Lastly, add the Brie slices and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the Brie has melted slightly. Season to taste.
NOTE: Don't be tempted to use Light Brie as I did because it just won't melt!

All of the vegetables cooked perfectly and again had a subtle Cedar wood flavour.

SALMON STEAKS WITH COURGETTES AND CHERRY TOMATOES


Again, oil the hollow on the Oven Baking Plank and then pop into a cold oven at 190°C for 10 minutes. The courgettes take approximately 45 minutes to cook (you can see from the photograph I didn't give mine quite long enough to colour up, but I am learning).

Add the cherry tomatoes to the board 15 minutes after the courgettes went on. Add the salmon portions for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Season the fish and vegetables and serve with slices of lemon.

The fish was beautifully moist with a subtle Cedar wood flavour and definitely benefited from this way of cooking.