As a keen amateur chef I have been motivated to modify or create recipes to suit my taste , some of which have become family favorites ..........

TURKEY DRUMSTICK CASSEROLE......
Seeing these huge turkey drumsticks in supermarkets for 99p seemed to me a bit of a challenge......
.......how to make something pleasant and edible from these.....
My first attempts at simply roasting them were not too pleasing , however long and slow
they were cooked in a roasting bag or under foil they always turned out a little tough and
chewy..........I could see why they were sold for 99p..........but not to give up...
Eventually I found a way to cook this inexpensive dish and make a good meal for four
people......
Using a really sharp knife , remove all the meat from the bone , then carefully separate
the various layers of meat which each have a silvery skin which has to be removed . Where
each of the muscles terminates in a hard white nylon like tab , slide the knife along and
remove as much of the 'nylon' and the silvery skin as you can . After a serious 1/2 hour
with a truly sharp knife , preferably on a wooden block , you can end up with a pile of
good lean meat . This silvery skin can be quite tough , but if you have good finger nails
..you should be able to pin a corner down to the wooden block , and slide the knife flat
along the surface separating the skin from the good meat with a slight slicing action .
When you have all the meat separated , place in a small casserole dish (it has to go
in the fridge) along with at least two cloves of garlic (just crushed flat a little and the outer
white paperlike skin removed) . Add enough red wine to just cover the meat and add any
herbs you may have.......not too critical....herb-de-provence , oregano , bay leaf etc....
place in the fridge overnight if possible....it is best with a lid on as it does produce quite
'gamey' aroma . You can stir it around from time to time .
Later the next day place a stewpack ( usually easy to find frozen , a mixture of vegetables)
in a large saucepan and add enough chicken stock to start it boiling . There will usually be
some water from the melted ice if a frozen pack is used , but it will need some boiling water
or chicken stock to get it started . Do not add so much that the vegetables are immersed
or floating . At the same time I remove each piece of turkey meat and brown it quickly in
a hot pan . When the stewpack is boiling happily , add the browned meat and the wine
etc. from the casserole dish to the saucepan , and reduce the heat .
Here you have a choice , you can leave it to simmer on a low heat in the saucepan
..or transfer the contents to a slow cooker if you have one , or tip it all back into the
casserole dish (or a larger one) and cook in the oven on a low heat . The idea is to
cook it gently for at least one hour , as the mixture reduces and dries out a little....add
more red wine to keep all the ingredients just covered . If you would like mushrooms in
it they are best added towards the end of the cooking time or they break up .
During the cooking the 'gamey' aroma will diminish a lot .

TEX-MEX Chicken.......
This a recipe inspired by a beef dish which I once had , which was cooked overnight in a
bonfire ..........to feed four/five people...........chop a medium sized onion and cook gently in
a little oil in a large frying pan(can use a saucepan if you prefer)cut a red pepper into small
slices about an inch or two long and add to the onions , when these have softened a little..
say 5 minutes , add two tins of plum style tomatoes ...these are usually 400g tins and
might be sold whole or chopped .
You will need four or five chicken breasts , cut them up into bite sized chunks ie. something
like the top joint of ones thumb and brown them at a high heat in a separate pan...........I do
a few pieces at a time and add them to the tomato mix as they become ready . When all the
chicken is in with the main mix add about one third of a bottle of bar-b-que sauce . There are
various brands around but we have found the HP CLASSIC one does work well..Most are sold
in 400g squeezy bottles , so add about 100g at first and stir it in and taste from time to time .
The tomatoes will taste a lttle 'raw' at first but after say 20 minutes you will have a good
indication of the final taste . This is very much a personal thing but around one third of a bottle
is usually agreeable . The mix has to cook gently for about one hour , at which point the sauce
should have have thickened and the true taste developed . The mix will need stirring frequently
towards the end of this time as it may stick to the bottom of the pan .
.....serve with rice or even pasta.......

EASY CHICKEN SATAY................to make 1/2 pint of the mixture , stir 185 grams of smooth peanut
butter with two tablespoons of dark soy sauce..........add a heaped teaspoonful of the Schwartz
Thai 7 Spice........(these are the little jars of dry spices and herbs available from most
supermarkets .........I actually have to use a small coffee spoon as my teaspoons will not go into
the jars , but two of my coffee spoons adds up to a heaped teaspoon)...........add just enough
sunflower oil to make a mixture which is the consistency of double cream.............this should be
around 90 ml of oil but of course all the quantities can be adjusted a little .
The mixture can be used on whole chicken breast , this works best if the meat is scored across
with shallow cuts with a sharp knife , smeared with the mixture and allowed to marinate in a
fridge for a while before grilling......
To make the satays on a skewer for use on a Bar-B-Q , cut the chicken breast into strips about
1/2 an inch or 15cm square , if using bamboo skewers soak them in warm water for 10 minutes
to reduce burning , I find it best to hold the strip of chicken with your fingers curled around it , and
gently introduce the skewer from one end . As you twirl the skewer and push it in further , you can
feel if the skewer is tracking straight through the middle . After all the skewers are made
up...drizzle some of the mixture over them , then pick up the top one and smear the mixture
evenly all over with the back of a spoon . You do not need a thick coating , it will only drip off onto
the Bar-B-Q and create flames . If you have time to marinate them in the fridge that will enhance
the flavour ......
Try to cook them after the flames have died down on the Bar-B-Q , as the mixture can ignite
and direct burning can alter the flavour . If the chicken pieces are too thick it may not cook
correctly in the middle....I always cut one open to check .
ENJOY........


French Bread and Butter Pudding or Banana Croissant Pie/Brulee.....
This is a great way to use all those left over croissants......it can be so tempting to go for the offer in the Supermarche where you get a bag full of croissants for a couple of euros....but they go a bit stale and dry quickly , and the use by date is usually a week at most.......
French custard is sold as 'creme anglais' ..you can find it in supermarche's next to the cake mixes.....it usually has the suger already included and I find it a little too sweet........a workable combination is one satchet of creme anglais added to a rounded tablespoon of good old Birds Custard Powder in one and a half pints of milk.......sterilized milk works ok.
ingredients....
three croissants..
two bananas..
1 pint of custard.....(550ml)
nutmeg and/or cinnamon
options...
brown sugar
baileys
lemon juice
condensed milk

In a medium casserole dish , cut all the croissants into about half inch (1 to 1.5cm) slices and lay down in the bottom of the dish..
Pour over custard made up a little on the runny side(extra milk).....press down gently with the back of a large spoon to help expell the air from the pockets and help to saturate the croissant pieces.......
Slice a banana and lay the pieces down on top of the croissants.....one banana just does one layer in my dish..........
Add a second layer of croissant slices and add custard again as before............
Add a second layer of banana......ideally you should add more custard to just cover this layer of banana , but it is not critical......
Place in an oven set to 130-180 degrees C.....and bake for half an hour........again not critical . This helps to soak the custard into the croissants even more and softens them...................it can be expected to set the custard on top ...

Can be eaten hot or cold........the banana flavour permeates the custard very nicely.........
A very light sprinkle of cinnamon and/or nutmeg on the first or second layer of banana adds a nice touch........
If you did add enough custard to get a smooth flat top........sprinkle brown sugar all over and melt with a kitchen blow lamp or carefully melt under the grill........this is the brulee version.....
For a Christmas touch or for a dinner party etc. pour a small wine glass of Baileys over the bottom layer of croissants.....
Another variation is to add a mixture of an eggcup of lemon juice mixed with an eggcup of sweetened condensed milk to the bottom layer....this gives a really nice lemon tang too........(the same mixture of lemon or lime juice is used in key lime pie)..this is even nice without the banana.......

TURKEY CHILLI CASSEROLE
This is a great winter warmer........
INGREDIENTS
500g turkey thigh meat (since the above 'Turkey au Vin 'recipe was done , the turkey thighs have doubled in price to around £2 , but the diced turkey thigh meat is often about £2.50 for 500g(currently £4.34 per kilo) , so it is easier to use the diced meat......)
500g frozen casserole vegetables.....
two 400g tins chopped tomatoes
one or two 400g tins kidney beans.....if they are in water drain off half of it.........
one rounded tablespoon granulated(or any)sugar.....
one desert spoonful balsamic vinegar.......
three teaspoonsful mild chilli powder........
three bay leaves....
PROCESS
brown off the turkey meat in a hot pan to seal in the juices......meanwhile place all the other ingredients in a large saucepan or stock pot (Tescos £12.50) over a low heat....
as the meat is ready add it to the saucepan.....(if you try to brown too much at once it cools the pan ).....
..it may take a while to come to the boil as the vegetables have to thaw out first if frozen.........
..when it reaches the boil turn to a low heat , or transfer to a slow cooker , and leave for three hours....
if you want to add mushrooms put them in for the last half an hour , or they disintegrate........
..check the seasoning........??....more chilli..????....

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