BISTRO 1847 MANCHESTER (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

I'm not a vegetarian, however having lived with a pretend one for nearly nine years I've become accustomed to eating many a meat free meal and a lot of my blog recipes are veggie friendly. I do get frustrated that some eateries are off limits due to a lack of veggie options that Jon actually likes (risotto and goats cheese are a no no) so Bistro 1847 is a godsend. Whenever we have visited in the past there has always been top notch meat free farye that is so beautifully presented and delicious that it makes you wonder why you ever need a slab of meat on your plate. With the arrival of their new Autumn menu we decided it would be a great time to see if their new dishes excelled as much as those we had enjoyed so much in the past. Sure enough, it was once again an absolute treat!

THE SPLENDID SAUSAGE COMPANY (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

A friend and I braved the crazy weather in Manchester this week (thanks to the passing hurricane Gonzalo!) to party at Lady GaGa's #Artrave tour. For pre-dancing nibbles I suggested a trip to the Splendid Sausage Company having spotted it on my travels during my last visit to Manchester and having looked over the menu of delicious hot dogs, burgers, fries on our train journey up to the city we were both absolutely ravished and hoping that the food lived up to our expectations. Thankfully I can tell you that it did, so much in fact, we may of stuffed ourselves silly!

MASSIVE CHEESY MUSHROOMS

It's terrible when your going on holiday and you need to empty your fridge unless your going to waste all that delicious fresh food. Sometimes though using what is left in your fridge can throw up some surprising delicious treats and this is how these cheesy mushrooms came about. Using some left over portobello mushrooms, some "heading towards its expiry date" mozzarella, throwing in some oils and herbs and lacing with hot jalapenos, these delicious veggie treats make a great change from your standard Sunday roast.

POSH CHEESY BEANS

I do love a good bit of cheesy beans on toast for breakfast on a weekend. Proper dirty start to the day that. With this recipe though I got a tin of cannelloni beans, some spicy chorizo and a hand full of plump mushrooms and elevated them with a tin of chopped tomatoes and a cheesy crumb topping to something you could be proud to serve on the dinner time for a nice winter tea time treat. If you think you need something to warm your cockles tonight then this will proper do the job!

STICKY + NUTTY TOFFEE PUDDING

Earlier in the month I showed you how to make a delicious chocolate orange sauce. Now you need the perfect pud to pour it over and here it is in the form of a beautiful sticky toffee pudding laced with chunks of pecans for added crunchy goodness. It's essentially an all in one mix so as long as you have all the ingredients and a stick blender you can have this gorgeous pudding rustled up in no time. Pour over the sticky toffee topping and you are in pure pudding paradise and that's before you have even added that scrummy chocolate sauce.

HALLOWEEN "PUMPKA-PIE"

I had quite a bit of pumpkin left over from making my pumpkin spice muffins so I thought whilst I'm enjoying my new found fondness for those orange boulders that I'd give the classic pumpkin pie a whirl. Using my favourite sweet pastry recipe and topping with a layer of delicious dark chocolate this is more suited to serving as a pudding at a Halloween themed dinner party (or after Thanksgiving dinner if your one of my American chums!). It's defiantly a more grown up treat that you can enjoy whilst the little ones enjoy their candy hauls.

MATTYB'S CHRISTMAS CHILI+TOMATO CHUTNEY

My Xmas preparations continue with the batch of my lully chili and tomato chutney. I have made this chutney for the last couple of years now and last year I think I got the recipe spot on. I sat late in the evening and was in heaven spooning it onto ham and cheese and just devouring the lot. It truly is heavenly. What's great is that you can create a large batch in October, leave for the flavors to really meld together and then decant into smaller jars to hand out to your friends and family as gifts in December. It's the chutney that keeps on giving.

HALLOWEEN PUMPKA-SPICE MUFFINS

I can't remember a time when I'd actually eaten pumpkin (Pumpkas as the kiddies used to call them!) so with Halloween around the corner I

thought it would be a perfect time to give some a whirl. With the success of my Christmas muffins I thought I'd give them a trick or treaters twist and give them a more spooky slant. This time I'm frosting my muffins for a sweet treat and adding some delicious pumpkin spice to really make them pop. Your little ghosts and ghouls won't be able to resist. 

CHRISTMAS CRANBERRY MUFFINS

Yaaaaaaay! Christmas is coming. Cards and wrapping paper are creeping onto the shelves and adverts are beginning to appear on the TV. It got me in the mood to bake with some classic Christmassy flavors, cranberries and mixed spice. You have to have a little tipple at Christmas though so I've soaked my cranberries in some Amaretto overnight for an adult punch to these deceptively innocent looking breakfast muffins. After one bite, those comforty Xmas flavours and smells will transport you straight to the 25th December!

SIMPLY SODA BREAD

 

Sometimes it's good to go back to basics. With all the fancy bakes I've done over the years I realised I hadn't made a simple loaf of bread before. So that is what I have done and it's equally satisfying to watch the loaf rise in the oven and come out beautifully golden and smelling delicious. This soda bread is simple, quick to prepare and when sliced and warmed under the grill, absolutely delicious smothered in jam and butter. You'll never want to buy a shop bought loaf again!

BOOZY CHOCOLATE ORANGE SAUCE

How does one make cake even better. Why you serve it with a sauce of course. You could simply pour over a shop bought sauce of some sort but you can't really get that many flavours to suit your need down at your local supermarket. If your really out to treat yourself or impress some guests without breaking the bank why not make this delicious orange and Amaretto chocolate sauce. So decedent and boozy its defiantly one for the grown ups and once you've cracked this recipe you can change it to create an array of flavoured chocolate sauces.

MATTYB'S "3C" LOAF

I came across a recipe for chickpea and tomato bread in Jack Monroe's book "A Girl Named Jack" this

week and really liked the sound of it. I began to look into how you can add more flavours into bread dough and it lead me to experiment and create this cheese, chili and chickpea (the "3C's") tomato bread. It's a unique bread full of nutty warmth and earthy flavours and if your a fan of hummus I think you'll go crazy for a slice so why not try something new and different today! You only live once after all!

JON'S COMFY CARROT AND PARSNIP SOUP

 

The cold nights are starting to creep in. What could be greater on a chilly evening than a big bowl of homemade soup. That's what's greeted me when I came home this evening. Jon had been slow cooking parsnips, carrots and spices to create this beautiful soup that smelt amazing when I walked through the door. It doesn't get better than that really does it! I just had to share his recipe with you so you can feel all lully and toasty inside too! You can all thank him later!

MATTYB BAKES OFFERS - 15% OFF TICKETS TO THE BBC GOOD FOOD BAKES AND CAKE SHOW

The BBC Good Food Bakes and Cakes so is this month and I'm so excited to be going down to check it out! They have notified me of a brand new offer for discounted tickets which I'm happy to share with you now. Find out more about the show by clicking below:

 

The BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes Show, sponsored by Lexus, launches at the beautiful Business Design Centre in Islington, London from 25-27 October 2014.   Bringing the popular BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes title to life, the show will be packed with baking, bread-making and cake-crafting demonstrations, free master classes, and hundreds of products to get you baking like a pro.

PLUS!  Don't miss out on seeing your favourite baking stars, LIVE at the show!  Every full day adult ticket includes a seat for the Bakes & Cakes Theatre, where you can watch Mary Berry, Mich Turner, John Whaite, Paul Hollywood, and other expert bakers in LIVE 30 minute baking and technique demos.

Whether you're new to baking or a seasoned baking veteran, the BBC Good Food Bakes & Cakes Show is the perfect place to meet bakers, cake-crafters and confectioners, learn new skills, and pick up all the essentials you need to develop your home baking hobby.

 


Tickets are now on sale and by clicking this link and quoting 15PO  you can receive 15% off tickets! 

 
So what are you waiting for - get your tickets today and you could spend a whole weekend in the company of your baking heroes. I'll be going to sample the treats on offer and I hope that I'll be able to see you there!

*Offer valid on Adult and Concession standard advance tickets only.  Offer ends 24.10.14.  †Standard Bakes & Cakes Theatre seat included per advance standard ticket, subject to availability. Gold seats available for £3 extra per person. All admin and transaction fees included. Ticket terms and conditions apply. Not all celebrities appear on all days, check the website for details. Information correct at time of print. Good Food® Good Food logo© BBC Worldwide.

 

TOFU YAKI SOBA

I love Asian food and one of our guilty pleasures is to take a trip to Wagamamas for a big plate of Yaki Soba. Looking for some inspiration for a pack of tofu we had sitting in the fridge I took inspiration from our many trips there and created a tofu yaki soba so that we could enjoy this little treat from the comfort of our own home. It required a bit of work waiting for the tofu to press and marinate but your patience will yield fabulous results, creating a dish bursting to the brim with tastes of the orient.