Silicone Baking Mat & Rolling Pin

My Mum was kind enough to buy me this set from QVC and it’s brilliant! The mat is massive and has loads of useful information on it like measurements, weight and temperature conversions.

The best thing is it sticks to the table so that when I’m kneading or rolling dough it doesn’t move about, unlike the pastry board Steve’s Mum uses.

The circles in the middle are great as I can easily see how big to roll out my circle. Because the mat and the rolling pin are silicone I didn’t need to add extra flour to prevent sticking.

It was also a breeze to clean them in soapy water.

You can also put the mat in the oven but I didn’t try that as it’s a bit big!

All in all though, a fantastic addition to my cooking! Thanks Mum! x

Mandy’s ‘Healthy’ Cajun Calzone & Dough Balls

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I totally made up this recipe for the filling and I’m calling it ‘healthy’ because there’s no fattening cheese. I basically used tomatoes and ½ fat crème fraiche to make a creamy sauce so that the filling ingredients wouldn’t be dry. I have to say that for a total experiment it worked really well! I will definitely make this again as it’s a great way to use up leftovers and it was actually tastier than the pizza.

I made up the dough as per this pizza recipe and I used half the dough for the calzone and the other half I used to make dough balls (like the ones you get from Pizza Express).

• Makes: 1 calzone to serve 2 people and 8 dough balls
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C
• You will need: at least 2 baking trays 

Calzone Filling Ingredients:

• 1 small chorizo sausage, chopped into small pieces
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• handful leftover roasted butternut squash chunks*
• leftover sliced and roasted red onion*
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• 2 heaped teaspoons Cajun seasoning (I used Bart’s)
• 2 heaped Tablespoons ½ fat crème fraiche 

Calzone Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C and place a baking tray in the oven to get hot (or ideally use a pizza stone!)
2. In a large non-stick pan fry the chorizo (no need to add oil) until crispy and the chorizo has released its oils.
3. Add the mushrooms and fry until soft.
4. Add the tomatoes with a splash of water, cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes until they have broken down.
5. Add the butternut squash, onion and spinach (or any other vegetables you want), the Cajun seasoning and the crème fraiche and mix thoroughly. Set to one side to cool whilst you roll the dough.
6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 10 inch/25cm circle and so that it is about 3mm thick.
7. Spread the filling onto one half of the circle, brush the edge lightly with water, then fold over the dough and pinch to make a semi-circle pasty shape.
8. Lift the calzone onto a baking tray and place this tray on top of the preheated one in the oven.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown (I spread some leftover garlic butter over the calzone 5 minutes before the end of cooking). 

DOUGH BALLS:

1. Portion the other half of the dough into 8 even sized balls and roll so they have a smooth surface.
2. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Serve with garlic butter (1 clove of crushed garlic mixed with 1 Tablespoon softened butter). 

*To roast the butternut squash and onion I just cut the squash into chunks and the onion into 8 wedges, tossed in a little oil and dried rosemary, then roasted on Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for 45 minutes, turning occasionally.

You might also be interested in: Homemade Pizza

Yorkshire Parkin

MUNCH RATING: 1/5

I’ve never eaten this before, so I had no idea what it would be like. Parkin is essentially a northern version of gingerbread, but it tends to be more moist and it improves and gets stickier if left for 24 hours after baking. I don’t know how authentic this BBC Good Food recipe is, as it’s quite different to other Parkin recipes I’ve got (this one has oats in it, but no egg).

It is definitely a sticky cake and it was nicer served warm with hot custard! I’m not sure I’d make this again because it has a funny smell, which I can’t really describe! But I like my cakes to smell enticing so this isn’t one of my favourites by a long shot!

• Makes: 16 squares
• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 45 minutes
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 2/300°F/150°C
• You will need: 8 x 2½ inch square tin, greased and lined with baking paper 

Ingredients:

• 175g (6oz) plain flour
• 200g (7oz) caster sugar (I reduced to 150g and it was still sweet)
• 125g (4½ oz) porridge oats (I used Quaker)
• 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 200ml (7fl oz) semi-skimmed milk
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 110g (4oz) butter
• 2 Tablespoons preserved stem ginger, chopped (optional) 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 2/300°F/150°C.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl, then mix in the sugar, oats, ginger and bicarbonate of soda.
3. In a small pan, gently bring the milk, butter and golden syrup to a boil until the butter has melted.
4. Beat the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the stem ginger if using.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes.
6. Leave to cool, then cut into 16 squares.