How to Make Perfect Baked Potatoes

Who doesn't enjoy a nice jacket potato now and then? I certainly do! For me, the perfect baked potato has a dark, crispy skin and a soft, fluffy centre and doesn't need anything fancy to fill it - just a generous knob of butter, a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkling of grated cheese. 

For the best results bake potatoes in the oven not the microwave and don't rush them - they need time to develop that soft centre!

Here are my tips to making perfect jacket potatoes:

1. After washing, allow the skins to dry out completely.

2. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork.

3. Rub the skins with cooking oil.

4. Place the potatoes directly on the shelf of the oven - not on a baking tray.

5. Bake in a hot pre-heated oven at 220°C / 475°F / Gas Mark 7 for approx 1½ hours but they may need a little longer depending upon the size.

6. Serve immediately while the skins are still crisp.

Mini Cheddar Bites - great for snacking

June this year is a great month for sports fans - the sports I like to watch that is. The French tennis open is on at the minute (with Andy Murray through to the quarter finals so far), the football World Cup will kick off in Rio on 12 June and then the Wimbledon tennis tournament will start on 23 June. Fantastic!.

In our house this will no doubt mean the usual shouts of encouragement being hurled at our TV (along with lots of other expletives that I really couldn't repeat here) in the belief that it'll somehow make a difference to the performance of the players. Not to mention the utter devastation when England inevitably get knocked out of the World Cup by Germany on penalties again! I am a realist though - England haven't won the World Cup since 1966 and are not likely to this year so I'm going to try to enjoy it and not get too carried away. I am rooting for Andy at Wimbledon though - it would be great if he could win two years in a row :-)

Lots of sport also usually means lots of eating, drinking and snacking in front of the TV so I thought I'd share this recipe for mini cheddar bites. Incredibly cheesy, a little bit chewy and a touch spicy, they're perfect to have with a glass of beer or wine while cheering your team (or player) on.

Mini Cheddar Bites with Chives and Cayenne

Notes: This recipe was inspired by one of my favourite blogs Ms Marmite Lover although I have adjusted the recipe slightly with the inclusion of Cheddar Cheese, Chives and Cayenne Pepper. I have also used olive oil in place of butter. Feel free to try different cheeses in this - I think Parmesan would be lovely too. Also, omit the Cayenne if you're not keen on spice. If you don't have a small cutter, just use a shot glass. I found that part of my icing set fitted the bill!

Makes approx 50 small 2.5cm biscuits.

Ingredients:

200g grated cheddar cheese
100g plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tsp chopped chives or ½ tsp dried chives
40ml olive oil
1-2 tbsp milk or water

Method:
1. Put the cheese, flour, salt, cayenne and chives into the bowl of a food processor with a chopping blade. Whizz for a few seconds until well blended.

2. Add the oil and blend for a few seconds more until it is well combined.

3. Add the milk or water 1 tbsp at a time and blend until the dough forms a lump. Turn out onto a floured board, wrap in cling film and chill for half an hour.

4. When the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured board and with a floured rolling pin until it is approx ¼cm thick and use a cutter (see notes above) to cut small circles out of the dough.

5. Place the dough circles on a baking tray covered with greaseproof or parchment paper. Prick them all over with a fork and then cook in a pre-heated oven 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 for 12-15 minutes until golden. I found it useful to turn the tray around half way through the cooking time to ensure even cooking.

6. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Chicken with Grapefruit Sauce - a throwback to the 1970s

As a child growing up in the 1970s I was exposed to all kinds of weird, wonderful and, dare I say, exciting food...Angel Delight, Dream Topping, Vesta Chow Mein, Arctic Roll and Smash instant mashed potato to name a few. I've come to the conclusion that being fed these instant foods explains why I now crave good, home cooked food that doesn't contain a whole lot of additives and E numbers. I probably overdosed on them as a child!

Despite my memories of all these dehydrated foods (just add water) I do think that the 1970s was the decade where good, interesting food began to emerge and started to capture the imagination of the masses.  Although I don't remember any of these dishes making it to our dinner table until the '80s at least, I wanted to share just a few of the foods that were really popular at the time and that, for me, define 1970s cuisine:

Duck a l'orange

Trout with Almonds

Prawn Cocktail

Beef stroganoff

Chicken Kiev

Scampi (with chips in a basket)

Coq au Vin

Baked Alaska

Black Forest Gateau

Vol au Vents

Lobster Thermidor (but only if you were particularly well-heeled)

And who could forget... cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks stuck into a potato or an orange covered in aluminium foil!

This recipe has something about it that takes me back to the days when pairings of meat and fruit were seen as the height of sophistication. It isn't from a 1970s cookbook - I have adapted it from one that appears in one of my favourite cookbooks 'Cooking Outside the Box' by Keith Abel (of Abel & Cole fame) from 2006. The original recipe uses blood oranges to flavour the sauce but I've made it with grapefruit instead. The sauce is sharp and fruity and goes really well with pan-fried chicken - delicious! 

If you would like to try this, make sure to get the full experience by putting on some music from c1976 to listen to while you eat it!

Chicken with Grapefruit Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp flour
50ml white wine
Juice of 2 grapefruit
Salt and pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:
1. Make the sauce first by melting the butter in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until it is translucent. Stir in the flour and cook for a further minute then add the wine and the grapefruit juice.

2. Season with salt and pepper and allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes until it thickens. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

3. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and fry them in the olive oil for 6-8 minutes per side, or until they are thoroughly cooked through. This will depend upon the size of the breasts. 

4. Once cooked, transfer to serving plates, carve and serve with the grapefruit sauce poured over.

Delicious with spinach, sauteed potatoes or buttered cabbage.