Chapter Four:

With my blog I want to stress the importance of comfort food or true home cooking.

In our daily lives we always need food. Food is the source of our energy, for some our happiness, and it is used for occasions in which we come together as families and friends.

It is the tool we use to come together and talk about how stressful our days are and how interesting we find different facts. Whatever the occasion, food is the key to our social functioning of our day to day lives.

I am really interested in chefs who explore their nostalgic and 'comfort' essence of cooking. There are loads of different famous television chefs across our screens today who go to town on the theme of home cooking and take it to new heights. Nigella is one of those chefs who really takes cooking into a different perspective, and also my Nan loves of bit Mrs Lawson. 

Also, the feeling of the 'comfort' in cooking is 
what most people crave when we are feeling
low and worn out. Or if we just really fancy a
'pig out'! My Nan although not just with her 
cooking, she likes to enjoy the 'comfort' I can
put into cooking. One of my favourites and my Nan's favourite dish is the Spaghetti alla Carbonara. I always make this dish with her when I venture back home to the wonderful treasure that is Bristol.This is one of my favourite dishes ever since I was younger as well, which to some people can be rather tricky dish to get right, as explained later on. I find this is a dish that I can use my culinary skills that my Nan taught me to show off and also to treat my Nan to a night off from cooking!

I always find with Nigella even though she uses some ingredients in recipes that are probably really hard to find in shops, she does really simplify and break down the steps of cooking really incredible food. In my last post I created my Nan's favourite Victoria Sandwich in which I really took into perspective the 'fun' of cooking and how enjoyable it can be. Nigella makes the daily struggle of cooking for the 'light-hearted' chefs and puts the fun back into the chore and tiresome process of making roast dinners or long slow-cooking dishes. In addition to putting the extra sense of comfort and soul into food.
(Nigella's recipe from her website)

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-127

This recipe always as sinful in calories that it is, still gives me that guilty feeling of "oh my lord this is so scrumptious, I want seconds!". My Nan always allows me to make this for her and she always says she likes the little twists I make, even if it is adding just some extra black pepper to give it an extra kick. I do add in extra types of cheese just to splurge into the real 'comfort' eating zone, especially if I have had a hellish train journey back to Bristol. However the only slight worry this recipe brings to everyone's minds, even Nigella's, is the fact that after beating the 4 eggs and parmesan mix, you add them raw with the other ingredients such as the cream. Now some people find this is the real 'art' of getting the dish perfect, some people don't use the eggs and, as Nan may think, they have 'chickened' out, if they don't use Nigella's method. My Nan has this wonderful sense of taste and she can always tell what is in certain recipes. I think this is a real talent in cooking as you can test what and how you know is going into your meal and you know what to enjoy.

Here is a video clip of Nigella Lawson on an American Television show promoting the recipe which also features in her book "Feast".

 

Here are our results:

Good hearty and delicious food like this, is the essence of true home cooking. This is what I really love and admire chefs who strive to help this survive. Would you rather go to a restaurant, or eat this creamy, heavenly meal in the comfort of your own home? Mrs Marsh would agree, and cooking this dish together is one of my fond memories and definitely one of hers. She was so delighted we made this when I went to home to see her, she even attempted a second bowl! To help share this among the family, add some selection of garlic breads to go alongside it. 

My Nan really admires chefs like Nigel Slater, Rachel Allen and Jamie Oliver who all include in their works the capturing of the essence in your home cooking. I feel that with my Nan's recipes I get a sense of home when I make them and when she cooks them everyone comes together.

 The Third Chapter

Here in this post I have re-created my Nan's all time favourite and rather scrumptious.....

The Victoria Sandwich.

With this recipe I want to share the memories I have of making this cake, as it always reminds me of birthdays and special occasions.

With this cake I have also put my own twist into the recipe's ingredients.. instead of whipping cream I have used clotted cream. It gives the cake a completely different flavouring to the filling..... it is West Country Clotted Cream. (I wanted to put a bit of 'home' back into the recipe).

The Victoria Sandwich is a British favourite of the afternoon tea party or of the birthday get-together. It is really simple to make, even those who do not have the best culinary skills turn into Mary Berry with this recipe!

• 200g caster sugar
• 200g softened butter
• 4 eggs , beaten
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 tablespoons milk

For the filling....

• 
  100g of Clotted Cream
• 340g jar good-quality strawberry jam
• icing sugar, to decorate 
• TIP: set your oven first- heat your oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together- melt the butter a little bit before adding this in.

Add the baking powder and self-raising flour

Whisk all the four eggs together in a jug to add to the mixture.

Then add the two tablespoons of semi-skimmed milk. 

Mix till you get a smooth batter-like consistency. 

This is the part where those who wish to lick the bowl may do so. However if Mrs Marsh is around when this cake is being made, don't try it! Trust me, I remember trying to as a child!

Spread the mixture equally as possible into the sandwich tins.  Then put into the pre-heated oven for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. 

Tip: to check it is cooked through push your index finger onto the cake and if it bounces back it is ready to take out. 

Put the two sandwich cakes onto a wire rack to cool for a good half an hour.

Spread the filling on the two sides, one cream one jam.

 I haven't done mine as neatly as Mrs Marsh, however she would say I'm more of a Nigella...

Then place one on top of the other as quickly as you can!

Et voila! Here is the outcome to my efforts. 

What is also interesting is the Good Food website uses the same amount of ingredients and I have added the link to the blog for you to look at and compare. They do use a buttercream for their filling, however I think my addition of the Clotted Cream gives the cake a little twist of the West Country into it.

 http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1997/classic-victoria-sandwich

Jamie Oliver on his website:

http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com/recipe.php?title=classic-victoria-sponge-with-all-the-trimmings 

He has a different version to my Nan's recipe however he includes a similar step by step guide to making his version. He even adds fresh strawberries!

So here you can try Mrs Marsh's, Good Food's or Jamie's. 

I vote for Mrs Marsh's!

The Second Chapter

On the course we have been studying the classic Mrs Beeton and her works "Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management". 

In lectures we studied specific recipes and one which sprung to mind was the mushroom dish Mrs Beeton has in her chapter on the usage of Vegetables in various recipes. 

After some discussing with Nan and my Grandad Nicholas, he decided he wanted an input to my blog. Now what is rather amazing is that he has given me the family heirloom that has been passed down through many Marsh generations to study and experiment with. 

 This is like a huge encyclopedia of facts and figures which includes the "Household Cookery Book".
What is really interesting is that both Mrs Beeton's book and Nicholas' "A Book of A Million Facts" include an alphabetically listed and structured recipes that are popular. Both works teach the reader the absolute basics until you have gained the fine skills after much practice!

Mrs Beeton's Recipe

My Grandad's Household Cookery Book Recipe

Ingredients for the recipe minus the lemon juice.

Here I have added two teaspoons of cream cheese and the required amount of butter. I have left the stems on as it helps hold the butter.

After 20 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. They are baked, buttery and delicious!

THE FIRST CHAPTER.

Welcome to my blog...

I'm Annabel and when deciding what to do with my blog I decided to look no further than my own home and family.

This is my blog dedicated to the recipes and cooking that I personally love, of Mrs Maureen Marsh also known as my Nan.

My Nan has been THE major influence in my approach to food and cooking. From a very young age I was cooking with Nan and Mum for fun and would generally help out in family mealtimes, or trying to cause havoc, depending on what age I was. As I got older I wanted to learn the recipes Nan would make with me and so she taught me from scratch, every step of the process, even down to perfecting the ingredients. 

I want to explore the ways in which my Nan developed her cooking and I have been given the actual recipes themselves...

Here are many recipes and lovely dishes I will try out and some traditional West Country and Irish cookbooks which my Nan adores.

I feel food is a huge part in the interaction of family, the social bonding over the cup of tea and biscuit is simply just a mere part of our human daily lives. We need food to survive and we use food as a tool to please and share with loved ones.

So here is to the next instalment to the blog.....stay tuned.