Welcome

Reaching the final of Masterchef 2007 was a rollercoaster of emotion, with huge highs and lows, but I loved every minute and learnt a huge amount. I owe a great deal to John and Gregg who had faith in my ability when I did not believe in myself. Since competing on the programme my life has changed considerably. I now write cookery columns for two magazines, give cookery demonstrations and am just working on my 13th cook book - unlucky number for some but not for me!!! I love all forms of country cooking, using seasonal and locally sourced produce. This blog is to enable me to share with you a few of my recipes and baking ideas. Enjoy Hannah xxxx

Tuesday 3 July 2007

Another weekend...a little bit more cooking! On Saturday, I had the privilege of doing a cookery demonstration at Ridgeway School in Bedfordshire www.ridgeway.ik.org - the school defines itself as a school for "Very Special Children" and provides an amazing facility for both kids and parents. I was so impressed by the warmth of the school and saw some wonderful music and dance performances. The school was filled with amazing art work and my favourite was this swan which the children had made to celebrate the millenium.
On Saturday evening we attended a concert by Kimbolton School Chamber Choir. I made a few canapes for the interval (watermelon, mint, olive and feta (posh cheese on sticks) and smoked salmon tarts) . The classical music was wonderful but I think our favourite pieces were Surfing USA - chamber music style - and a wonderful rendition of Tears in Heaven - which gave me goosebumps!
Sunday was spent preparing for the next photo shoot with Country Kitchen Magazine which took place last night - 4 smoked salmon and 4 quince recipes. I think that my husband will be quite glad that this is now over as we have eaten nothing but smoked salmon and quinces all week!!!! We manage to photograph the quince sorbet in the garden and it looked positively summery - despite the constant rain! Quince cake, pork and quince casserole and quince brandy were also on the menu, together with a smoked salmon and caramelised onion slice, potted smoked salmon, a summer (!) salad and salon fillets with a smoked salmon and asparagus sauce! We had a feast last night after the photo shoot eating all 7 dishes and drinking the quince brandy!

1 comment:

Celia Hart said...

Gosh you've been so busy! That sounds like quite a feast you had after the photo shoot.

We made the quince brandy from the recipe on your blog - it's amazing! .... I had tasted something similar before - then I remembered 'Bechers' - or more exactly Becherovka - a drink I was introduced to in Czechslovakia in the 1980s. http://www.becherovka.cz/en/

Celia