The Snookerbacker Blog

The date has finally arrived – I have been counting every minute of every hour of every day for the past 3 months and finally at approximately 11.00 hours we will be heading off on our glorious honeymoon in ….wait for it. ….WALES !!!

For one whole week there will be no TV, no mobile phone signal and most of all no internet access. I can’t believe I am going to have a my husband’s undivided attention for one whole week and we are off to climb mountains, stroll along streams and go for hearty pub grub whilst staying in the plush accommodation of a 1970′s caravan with our Whippet (the spaniel is staying with his nan as he’s quite old and a bit of a pest) and I can’t wait.

Before you all gasp with shock and try to work out how to handle your Snookerbacker withdrawal symptoms I thought about how I could help you to fill that black ball hole and the void you will feel without your daily snooker fix for a whole week.

To help with this I would like to offer suggestions that will keep you occupied and your partner happy for the interim period.

My proposal is to spoil your partner by cooking some snooker inspired food. Try these simple recipes and you could throw in the odd anecdote or two, it might help you feel like you’re not going through this stressful period alone…

I have painstakingly cooked and researched some snooker recipes, there are five starters, main courses and desserts for you all to enjoy while we are away.

The Starters:

Rocket Salad

‘Rocket Ronnie’ Salad

This salad must be prepared and eaten straight away for best results as like the Rocket himself if left alone for a long period it can wilt and get a bit frayed at the edges.

Ingredients

3 bags fresh rocket

1 punnet mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

3 red peppers, sliced

1 medium-sized red chilli, sliced

Handful of fresh basil leaves, ripped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Rind of 1 lemon

Juice of half a lemon

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Parmesan cheese

Preparation method

Sauté mushrooms in butter and oil for 5-7 minutes, or until tender. Combine the mushrooms, rocket, red peppers, chilli, basil, garlic and lemon rind in a large mixing bowl. Toss. Add lemon juice and oil to salad and toss well. Top off with Parmesan shavings.

Campbell's Meat Balls

Marcus ‘Campbell’s Meat Balls’

If you are feeling quiet lazy and have not the time for any preparation Campbell’s Meatballs is the meat you would love to eat.

Ingredients

14oz minced lamb

1 onion, finely grated

3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste

2oz dried sour cherries, chopped

3½oz pine nuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped

½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp ground allspice

½ tsp ground cumin

1 free-range egg white, lightly whisked

Small bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped

Small bunch fresh mint, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Preparation method

In a large bowl, mix together the minced lamb, onion, garlic, sour cherries, pine nuts, paprika, allspice and cumin. Add the egg white and mix again. Stir in the chopped fresh herbs and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Using your hands, shape the mixture into golf ball-sized balls. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs over a medium heat a few at a time, turning occasionally, for ten minutes, or until golden-brown on all sides and completely cooked through.

Soup of the Day

‘Soup of the Ryan Day’ – Leek, Gorgonzola and Rosemary soup

Soups can be quiet bland and need a lot of seasoning. Like Ryan, I recommend that you add a lot of flavour and a bit of spice to make this soup a seasonal winner. Adding bamboo shoots is optional.

Ingredients

4 rosemary sprigs

2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

4 medium-sized leeks, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 pints hot vegetable stock

7oz gorgonzola cheese, or similar vegetarian blue cheese, roughly chopped

½-1 tsp Dijon mustard

Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bread, to serve

Preparation method

Lightly bash the rosemary sprigs with a rolling pin to help release the powerful aroma and flavour when cooking.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir in the potatoes and rosemary. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 4-5 minutes. This will create some steam in the pan, preventing the potatoes from sticking to the base. Stir in the leeks and garlic, and then cook for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften.

Add the stock and bring to a simmer, leaving it to cook for 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat, take out the rosemary sprigs and stir in the gorgonzola cheese and Dijon mustard. It doesn’t matter if the cheese doesn’t melt completely as you now need to place the soup into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper, making sure you taste the soup first as gorgonzola is quite a salty cheese. If the consistency seems too thick, add some extra vegetable stock to loosen.

Serve with some fresh bread while the soup is still hot – walnut bread is really nice – or if you’re not eating it straight away, gently reheat, being careful not to let it boil as this will give the soup a grainy texture.

The Bolton Stud

‘Tony Knowles’ Bolton Prawn Cocktail

What else can be said about a 1980’s Icon – just like TK. A popular choice in Bolton’s Phoenix Club. Let’s not fancy this up. Serve 1980’s style in a cocktail glass.

Ingredients

1 Packet of shop bought pre cooked small prawns

1 Jar of Seafood Sauce

1 Iceberg Lettuce

1 Lemon

Babycham (amount optional!)

1 cocktail cherry

Music Spandau Ballet CD whilst preparing and during eating

Preparation Method

Put on CD, open a bottle of Babycham, pop in the cherry and enjoy

Mix the pre cooked prawns with seafood sauce. Slice Iceberg lettuce and place in cocktail glass. Add prawn mixture and decorate with a wedge of lemon. Sit back and relax to the soothing sounds of the new romantics

Darlin's Mussels

The Darlin’ of Dublin Bay Mussels

I am sucker for an Irish Man (Mr SB is half Irish) and I have an appetite for Mussels – This is my perfect Dublin dish. Eat saucy with lots of dippy bread. This classic dish that uses beer instead of wine as a flavour – a great variation.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1-2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

2¼lb mussels, cleaned and de-bearded (broken or opened ones discarded)

1 bottle beer

2-3 tbsp finely chopped, parsley for garnish

Preparation method

Heat a large, lidded saucepan and add the olive oil.

Add the shallots and garlic and cook for one minute.

Add the mussels and pour in the beer. Mix through, turn up the heat and put the lid on.

Cook, shaking the pan every now and again until all the mussels have opened and are cooked. Remove any mussels that remain closed.

Spoon into serving bowls with the juices, sprinkle with parsley and serve with rustic bread.

Main Courses:

Jester's Red Leicester

The ‘Jester from Red Leicester’ Pasta

The strong, reliable and housewife’s favourite choice of cheese. A tummy filler with satisfaction guaranteed just like the Jester when he’s in full flow.

Ingredients

1oz butter

1oz plain flour

500ml milk

½ block cheddar cheese, grated

1 Onion – chopped

½ packet of cooked and drained macaroni pasta

Pepper (to taste)

Preparation method

Melt the butter in a saucepan- add the flour and cook for about three minutes, or stirring continuously. Gradually add the milk. Once all the milk has been incorporated, reduce the heat to low add chopped onions and simmer for about three minutes. Add the cheddar and pepper stirring continuously to incorporate and serve.

King Prawn

‘Mark’ King Prawn Curry

An energetic and lively dish just like Mark. You could even have a little dance when you’re making it!

Ingredients

2oz raw tiger prawns, shells off and de-veined

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp sunflower oil

1 onion, grated

½ tsp ground turmeric

6 whole cardamom pods, lightly crushed to split open

1 tsp chilli powder

1 cinnamon stick

3 garlic cloves, finely grated

1in piece root ginger, finely grated

Small bunch fresh coriander

6 fl oz coconut cream

Salt

Preparation method

Toss the prawns with the lemon juice in a shallow non-metallic dish and leave to marinate while you make the sauce. Heat a heavy-based pan with two tablespoons of the oil and then add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured, then add the turmeric, cardamom pods and chilli powder. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant, stirring constantly.

Stir the remaining oil into the pan with the cinnamon, garlic and ginger. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic and ginger have softened and are cooked through.

Reserve a few coriander sprigs for garnish and blend the remainder with the coconut cream in a mini food processor.

Stir into pan with the onion and spice mixture until well combined, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1-2 minutes, then stir in the marinated prawns and season with salt. Continue to simmer for 1-2 minutes until the prawns are just cooked through and tender, stirring constantly. Garnish the curry with the reserved coriander sprigs and serve with rice or chapattis.

Fish for the Captain xx

‘The Captain’s’ Fish Pie

You have to have a lot of love for this dish. It’s a classic. It’s stable and will leave you full and satisfied just as The Captain would like it. He needs all his energy to keep up his Captain’s Log. Though like anything pleasurable you may need a nap afterwards.

Ingredients

2lb baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

¼ pint single cream

2oz butter, plus extra for greasing

Salt and white pepper

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

8oz skinless, boneless haddock fillet & 1lb salmon, cut from the tail piece, skinless and boneless

Squeeze lemon juice

4 hard-boiled eggs, shells removed, quartered

For the parsley sauce

3oz butter

Large bunch of parsley, leaves only, finely chopped

1oz plain flour

1 pint milk

Splash of single cream, to taste

Preparation method

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until soft. Drain well and mash. Add the cream and butter, and then season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Mix well until smooth and creamy. Taste, adding more seasoning if required, and then set to one side.

For the parsley sauce, heat the butter in a heavy-based pan over a very low heat then stir in the parsley. Cook for about ten minutes. Add the flour and stir well. Cook, stirring regularly, for about three minutes. Do not let the mixture brown.

In another pan, bring the milk to the boil. Pour this into the “roux” (the butter and flour mixture) a little at a time, whisking or beating after each addition until completely smooth. Whisk in single cream, to taste. Bring the sauce to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over a low heat for 5-6 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and generously butter a deep ovenproof dish.

Cut the haddock and salmon into serving piece, lay in the dish, season lightly and squeeze over a little lemon juice. Pour the hot parsley sauce over the top; place the quartered eggs evenly over the sauce and spoon over the mashed potatoes and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is crisp and brown.

Trump Steak

Pan Fried Judd Trump Steak

As with good wines and good beef a dish best served matured just like Judd who is maturing in front of our eyes and may be served best with age.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

1 potato, peeled and cut into thick chips

For the steak and egg

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 rump steak

1 free-range egg

Preparation method

Heat a heavy bottomed saucepan, one-third full of vegetable oil, until a breadcrumb sizzles in it. Add the potato chips and deep-fry for 8-10 minutes, until crisp and golden. Carefully remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels.

Heat the oil in a non stick-frying pan. Add the steak and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, for medium, or longer, according to personal taste. Remove the steak from the pan and allow to rest for a few minutes. Using the same pan the steak was cooked in, crack the egg in and fry for 2 minutes, until the yolk is set.

To serve, pile the chips up onto a serving plate and serve the steak and fried egg alongside.

Chicken Nuggets

Chicken ala ‘Nugget’

Golden and crunchy with a bit a sauce and hey presto you have a Davis Nugge! One for a bit of childhood nostalgia for the more mature bloggers.

Ingredients

225 g white bread

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1 egg

125 ml milk

900 g chicken, boneless

Preparation method

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Slice the bread, and toast until light brown. Break up into pieces, without taking off the crusts. Grind to fine crumbs in a food processor. Add the garlic powder and paprika and process again. Place in a large plastic freezer bag or tip into a deep tray.

Beat the egg in a large bowl with the milk, and add the chicken pieces, in batches if necessary. Drain the chicken from the egg mixture, and toss in the breadcrumbs – coating the crumbs evenly around each nugget.

Arrange the crumbed chicken on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes until golden and cooked through. Serve straight away, accompanied with a tomato sauce.

Desserts:

Sweetie x

‘Spotted Ding’ Pudding and Custard

If you are feeling a bit lost and need to settle into a new environment this traditional pudding will make you feel right at home. I hope Ding is beginning to settle in here with some good honest grub like this English classic!

Ingredients

10oz plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

5oz shredded suet

3oz caster sugar

4oz currants

1 lemon, zest only

200ml milk

Butter, for greasing

Shop prepared custard

Preparation method

Place the flour, baking powder, shredded suet, caster sugar, currants and lemon zest into a bowl and mix to combine. Add the milk and stir to make a soft dough.

Grease a pudding basin with butter and spoon the mixture into the basin. Cover with a piece of folded greaseproof paper. Tie around the edge with string to secure the paper and place a damp tea towel over the top. Tie once more with string to secure the tea towel. Place the basin into a large lidded saucepan and fill the pan two-thirds of the way up with water. Cover with the lid, bring to a boil and simmer for one hour.

Pour over the custard and serve at once.

Could get Messy.

‘Ebdon’ Mess

This dish has a good sense of humour as food critics may say …just like Peter… well you have to have for those songs!

Ingredients

200ml double cream

1 tbsp icing sugar

2 baby meringue nests, crushed

3oz strawberries

2 tbsp mint, chopped

Squeeze of lime juice

Preparation method

Whip the cream and icing sugar in a bowl to form soft peaks. Fold in the meringue nests.

Blend the strawberries with the mint and lime juice in a mini-blender until smooth, to make a coulis.

Fold the coulis into the cream mixture to create a marbled effect. Spoon the Eton mess into a tall serving glass or dish and serve.

Peachy Cream.

Robbo’s Peach Melbourne

Sweet, sunny, ripe and juicy just like my golden boy.

Ingredients

½oz caster sugar

3½oz mascarpone cheese

¼ vanilla pod, seeds removed

1 peach, peeled and halved

5 raspberries

For the coulis

1 tbsp caster sugar

2½oz raspberries

Preparation method

Place the sugar, mascarpone and vanilla seeds into a bowl and mix together.

Lay one peach half on a plate. Top with the mascarpone mixture and then sandwich with the other peach half. Decorate with raspberries.

For the coulis, place the sugar and raspberries in a food processor and blend to a smooth sauce.

Drizzle the raspberry coulis around the Peach Melba and serve.

Whip to the Wind

The Wind’s whipped cream and strawberrys

What better way to whip your cream than by a whirlwind a perfect accompaniment to any fruit dessert.

Ingredients

1 punnet of strawberry

1 carton of whipped cream

1 flake

A good dash of strawberry liquor

Method

Soak strawberry in strawberry liquor or a liquor of your choice

Whip the cream a la whirlwind style

Pour cream all over strawberry’s and crumble a flake on top.

Bananaman

Harold’s Banana Split

If you need potassium pick me up just like Harold did this may be the dessert for you, if you run out of banana’s give Dave a call and he’ll sort you out!

Ingredients

1 banana, peeled and cut in half lengthways

2 scoops vanilla ice cream

1 handful raspberries & 1 handful strawberries

1oz dark chocolate, melted

2 tbsp milk

1 digestive biscuit, crushed

Preparation method

Place the banana into an oblong serving bowl and place the two scoops of ice cream on top. Scatter over the raspberries and strawberries.

Mix the melted chocolate together with the milk until well combined, and then stir in the crushed biscuit. Spoon the mixture over the banana. Decorate the banana split with the grated chocolate

If all else Joe Swail’s or if you feel like you can’t Jamie Cope – call a take away and put it on the Michaela Tabb!

Bye

x