Organic Cotswold Brie Brioche

These Brioche Parisienne buns make for an interesting cheese course!

For my tasting menus I used to try and introduce people to all the amazing ingredients you can find in the Cotswolds. Once, in between dropping off frozen meals around Stow-on-the-Wold I stopped by Kirkham Farm near Upper Slaughter where they make Simon Weaver's range of cheeses. One of the workers stopped production to serve me. Interesting to see how it's made, and the volumes!

That's the great thing about the Cotswolds - you can pick ingredients up straight from the farm - always interesting to hear production stories first hand.

Here they are in action!

Brie Brioche Recipe 
You can make these plain, without the cheese. Or change the brie for chocolate chips or date & walnut. You can use fresh yeast, but I found Doves Farm instant dried yeast very easy to use and easy to keep on hand.
I got the brioche tins from a charity shop back in 2006 - charity shops are great places to find kitchen equipment bargains.
The recipe I use is from the Bread book by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno which I have modified slightly to make in my trusty Kenwood Mixer rather than making by hand. I started off making bread by hand, but then I was making so much I couldn't keep up and turned to the mixing machine for help.

Stuff
375g Strong bread flour - try Shipton Mill
2 1/2 tsp Dried yeast
2 tbsp Caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp Salt
5 eggs, beaten up
175g Unsalted butter, softened + extra to brush the brioche tins
Eggwash - either whole egg and a drop of water, or just the egg yolk with a dash of water
Organic Cotswold Brie, cut into pieces - judge the size by the size of the brioche tins

Things

1. If you're using a mixing machine with dough hook, add the flour to the bowl with the dried yeast , sugar and salt. Add the beaten eggs and mix on the slowest setting for 10 minutes to knead till the dough is soft and elastic.
2. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 - 1 1/2 hours till risen and doubled in size. Knock back, then leave for 10 minutes. 
3. Add the softened butter and mix in on slow speed. Once the butter is incorporated keep going on slow speed for 5 minutes for a second kneading, then rest for another 5 minutes. 
4. Grease 10 brioche tins (8cm diameter, 5cm deep) with the extra softened butter. 
5. Divide the dough in to 10 pieces with a pastry scraper. We're making these into cottage style buns, so then cut each of those 10 pieces into 2 so you have one large piece for the base and 1 small piece for the top - roughly 3/4 and 1/4. 
6. Roll the brioche base in your hands till round and smooth. Place in the greased brioche tin.
7. Place a piece of brie on top as the picture above and press down slightly so it stays in position. 
8. Roll the smaller brioche dough ball and sit it on top of the brie. Press down slightly so it sticks to the base. Make sure the piece of brie is covered by dough. 
9. Allow to prove for 30 minutes-ish. This depends on the heat of room the dough is in - if it's cold it takes longer, if it's a hot summer's day it will be faster. They should double in size.
10. Brush the tops with egg glaze. Place on a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 oC until glossy and golden. Turn out and leave on a wire rack.

Note:  Oven temperature may vary depending on your oven. The original recipe says 220 oC. I found 200 oC worked well in my Blue Seal Turbofan oven.

For the brie brioche buns above I served them with an extra slice of brie so you've got the contrast to the baked one in the brioche. Then garnished with caramelised orange, pickled fig, pickled cherry, walnut and dried barberries (from the Turkish shop).

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Barbecue for your open day in the Cotswolds

Bringing a bit of summer to your open day, like this one last Saturday at JCB in Hereford

Unlike other catering companies we use charcoal barbecues so you get that authentic flavour & aroma. 

 You only need a few sales of these beauties on your open day to make the whole thing worthwhile!

This is the most high-tech JCB around right now. What a mean machine - a 4 year old boy's dream!

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Afternoon Tea Catering in Hardwicke, Gloucester

Forget the evening meal, the best thing next to a brunch menu has to be afternoon tea, surely?

Feedback from a recent wedding 😀

It's always good to know a chef! These guests that we know were having family over for afternoon tea, so we volunteered out services, if we could photograph the food we were serving.

They say less is more, but on this day it proved that actually, more is more.......

 Afternoon tea is all about the best sandwiches, but simple works best, as you don't want to confuse the taste of the tea too much. 

Here we have ham & watercress, Smoked salmon & chive marscapone, beef & rocket, cucumber & cream cheese and everyone's favourite egg & cress

Savoury style homemade crumpets with parma ham and lemon chutney

We normally serve  a couple of savoury items along with the sandwiches, scones and cakes - it's the way my Grandmother used to do it, so I kind of keep the family tradition going!

Homemade lattice sausage rolls - everyone's favourite when they go out slightly warm from the oven!

Melty chorizo and gruyère cheese danish. 

Last year I went on a croissant & danish pastry making day course. Making your own is time consuming, but infinitely better quality and taste. Plus you get to choose your fillings!

  

 Fondant fancies. 

Blue food!

 Chocolate eclairs - you can't beat them!

 Double chocolate torte - dark & milk chocolate

Chelsea buns. Tear them apart at the table.  

 Fruit tartlets

 Jammy dodgers

These should actually come with a warning label - HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! I finished off the spares in one go that night......

Recipe comes from Ms Marmitelovers Afternoon Tea book.

 Rose and lemon flavoured macarons

Individual lemon meringue pies

 Pecan pie

 Ubiquitous scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. 

At the end of the day the simple things are often the best, and you can't beat a good scone, right?

Vanilla, blackberry and pistachio danish. 

Also great to eat on the go. Just saying........

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Your Christmas Day Lunch Delivered To Your Door In The Cotswolds

What do mean you haven't worked out who's cooking Christmas Lunch this year?!

Days Until Christmas

Don't worry though - we've got that covered. Either delivered chilled on Christmas Eve with simple heating instructions for you to heat and serve yourselves, or you can relax with family and friends while our chefs and waiting staff cook and serve it up for you in your home on the day itself!.

Find more details here.

Trio of Fish Starters - Home Cured Salmon Gravadlax,, Smoked Halibut & Crayfish with Mango

We use Norfolk Black turkey which gives you a much better, almost gamey flavour, together with Gloucester Old Spot chipolatas and bacon. Maris Piper potatoes are roasted in goose fat and rosemary, and sprouts are cooked with chestnuts and bacon because everything tastes better with bacon, right? (vegetarian alternative also available). Parsnips are roasted with Cotswold Bees Borage Honey, and your turkey gravy is made from the turkey bones after we have de-boned all the Christmas turkeys. Everything is prepared for maximum flavour - just the way it has been for the last 10 years.

Homemade Christmas Pudding with Crystallised Redcurrants and Brandy Sauce

Our Christmas pudding is made from my Gran's old recipe which dates back at least 100 years - so it's well tried and tested, Not everyone is a Christmas pudding fan of course, so we also have other options for you.

But what will your guests think about you not slaving over a hot stove all day on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day morning? We have one regular client who passes our food off as her own to her guests - just transfers it to her own dishes. That's the way to do it - you deserve it!

Over the years we have done deliveries in the Bristol, Oxford, Worcester, Bath, Stratford-on-Avon, Cheltenham area. If you're around here at Christmas, we still have a few bookings left available - but get there quick before it's gone! Find out more and how to contact us here.

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Hog Roast in Bishops Cleeve, near Cheltenham

A couple of years ago we catered for this couple's wedding. Now it was the then-bride's parents significant birthdays they wanted us back to cater for this event to be a hog roast and barbecue.

Gloucester Old Spot hog roast with Longhorn beef burgers and Gloucester Old Spot sausages - what a winning combination!

Because we're doing so many hog roasts now around the Cotswolds we now have our own double hog roast machine so we can cook 2 hogs at the same time feeding up to 400 + with a couple of legs put in there as well. And to serve it in we have our heavy duty gazebo. As good as the hog roast is, there's always some guests who like the old traditional Longhorn beef burgers and Gloucester Old Spot sausages, so we've added those in on a lot of pig roast events this summer too!

The venue was their virtually brand new office complex - a converted pub.

An office with it's own bar - some people's dream, right? None of the beer taps are connected - that's the only thing. Look good though. So the event took place in their field behind. I did get to try out their office oven though - the first time it had been used. Still all shiny and new - you don't see ovens like that very often!

Old prescription books from the clients' grandparents who found the pharmacy business - it's come a long way since then!

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Suckling pig ballotine with chestnut stuffing

WARNING - CONTAINS IMAGES OF A CARNIVOROUS NATURE!

"Lastly my brother has a small farm of pigs, and would like to provide a suckling pig to be cooked for Saturday night, can we provide this?" said the email. You know me - how could I say no?

This little piggy didn't go to market

This was for a significant birthday for the host's mother and family - all 3 generations at Pedington Manor (quickly becoming my new favourite house) near Stone, Gloucestershire.

After preparing so many duck and chicken ballottines over the years, removing the bones from a suckling pig is no different really - slightly larger, but not enormously so. Big enough that you have to saw through the neck though (tmi?). 

After also deboning the trotters I roasted all the bones to make the accompanying sauce with some stock left for the following day for their Sunday lunch which we also served. 

Then the meat from the legs & shoulders & belly I combined with sausagemeat, chestnuts, sage, onion, mixed spice, five spice and orange zest to stuff it. Then rolled up and scored the skin with a stanley knife to get the crackling going, before tying with string.

Then just singe a few hairs with the blow torch. I rest it on a potato trivet to stop it sticking to the bottom of the roasting tin - and this keeps the pig away from the fat. Also makes the most amazing potatoes in the process.

Wilbur is off to the venue! The resting time makes for much more succulent meat.  

A slice of the resulting suckling pig ballottine. We served it plated as a  main course with dauphinoise potato, red wine braised cabbage and chantenay carrots. 

Platter of seconds. In the end we decided not to serve the head on there as well - might be a bit off putting on the middle of the table, so we left it for them to have later.

So what was the verdict of the family? "Perfect!" said the guest who had supplied the suckling pig. Their mother whose birthday it was was intrigued when she walked through the kitchen, how to de-bone it, as she was wanted to try it too. Maybe I'll have to give lessons.......

Related posts

Hog roast

Whole lamb roast

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Corporate team building cookery event - cook your own dinner party!

Go team!

Team photo. Eyes left! Someone else was taking their photo next to me on an  iphone - I  tried  the iphone, phew - technology!

 Last night's team building cookery event at  Hill House. "If only we worked together this well back at work" said one. They were cooking their 3 course evening meal from scratch in 2 hours. Everyone seemed to have a great time - it's amazing what you can do in such a short time when you work as a team!

Grilling prawns

We split the group into 3 teams - one team each taking a course each. Starters and desserts being prepared in the main kitchen and the main course in the second kitchen at the back of the house. We had made them a recipe booklet with all the recipes they needed and some plating up tips, so 'all' they had to do was come up with a plan of action and make all the components of their course come together at the right time. Gill and I were on hand to give them guidance and show them techniques, but they were in control.

Making carrot ribbons on the mandolin - no cuts. Note the glass of wine on the table there - cookery events are great!

 With all the preparation ready, it was time for the teams to check the football score quickly before sitting down for dinner. Each of the 3 teams were in charge of bringing their course together so were back in the kitchen to plate it up.

Finishing touches on the starter

Starter

 Trio of fish starters

Crab salad with pink grapefruit, salmon ballottine wrapped in smoked trout and grilled tiger prawns with fennel and apple salad

Prawns are the last thing to go on the starter. "Service!"  "Oh  that's us!"

Main course

 Free range chicken wrapped in pancetta

Garlic roast potato parisienne

Roast carrot ribbons with cumin seeds

Ras-el-hanout roasted cauliflower

The turn of the main course team. "So what do you want me to do?" I ask them "Gill's here too - what  do you want her to do?" There's not much time because the food has to go out hot and they have to decide where everything goes on the plate without it looking overcrowded. They bring it off pretty slickly.

The dessert team - glazing the lemon tart - everyone's favourite job!

Last thing to go on the plate is the orange sorbet - the first thing the dessert team had made  at the start of the evening. It just froze in the nick of time. Special touch on the tirimisu - a nip of amaretto on the top. 

Dessert

Trio of desserts

Glazed lemon tart

Shotglass of amaretto & coffee tirimisu

Homemade orange sorbet

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Cooking lessons in your home and team building / hen party cookery events

Looks like the first cookery lesson of 2012 will be on this aga:

It's going to be for the boxer's owner - a birthday present from her husband. We were there last night cooking a birthday meal.

Our whole business is built on things clients have asked for - catered dinner parties in the first place, weekend catering packages, assiette desserts, whole lamb roasts - they've all come from clients' requests. As have cookery lessons, demonstrations and team building events.

Each cookery lesson, demo or cookery / team building event is designed around what the individual clients would like. They have included:

• How to prepare lobster and crab from live to a finished dish demo for a couple of corporate dinners (this was their starter).


• Preparing pigeon (still in feather) and pheasant from scratch to their finished and plated up meal - stag party event. A different team of stags also helped prepare and plate up each course in the kitchen.


• Barbecuing tips - a summer event naturally. Another popular hen party one.


• Cook your own dinner party - popular one for groups of friends and hen parties


• Home cooking lessons - I have taught clients with a range of abilities from beginners  who want learn the basics to advanced cooks who want to give their home cooking more of a proffessional look. During making a series of dishes we normally discuss top tips, practical advice and all the answers to the cooking questions they've always wanted to know.

Complete with recipe booklet

Ones coming up in January:

• The cooking on a aga one (above)


• A Hell's Kitchen style comp for a hen party - I'm going to be doing a canape demonstration then we're going to be splitting the hens into 2 groups and they're going to be resposible for making their own 5 types of canape for their pre-dinner drinks based on the demo. Then we get to judge the 2 teams at the end. 


• A corporate team building event where we are going to split the group into 3 and each is going to be responsible for a different course - complete with recipes and guidance. Then each team will be back in the kitchen when it comes to plating up their course. 

Contact us for more details.

Birthday dinner preceding a cookery lesson

This dinner party we cooked for last night was for a birthday - during which I announced to the birthday present of a cooking lesson in the home.

Another outing for the seabass and cauliflower poached in saffron with cauliflower gremolata dish  I created on Tuesday

Honey and lavender marinated butterflied leg of lamb, aga cooked dauphinoise potato, french beans  wrapped in pancetta and roasted carrot ribbons

Then it was time for the fake dessert. Family traditions are great aren't they! Apparently this is their family custom - no birthday can go by without a caterpillar cake!

At this point I also made the birthday present announcement - I'l be coming back in January and we're going to be doing a cookery lesson with your aga!

Then time for the real dessert:

Assiette of desserts - each addition being watched carefully should any crumbs drop. This one was:  lemon meringue roulade, shotglass of tirimisu, raspberry shortbread, mini blueberry cheesecake and spoon of crème brûlée  

Is that someone's alarm going off? Nope - the tweeting sound comes from up there! A kitchen full of wildlife is always fun.

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