RED HOT RICELLA SALSA

So as with every Christmas I got a great selection of new cookbooks as presents. Two of my favorites were Nigella Lawson's new offering and Rick Stein's Road To Mexico. Both are fabulous and both also contained a recipe for a roast tomato salsa. I didn't know which one to try first so I decided to bang both the recipe's together to create a "Ricella" salsa (see what I did there!). I've taken the red peppers from Nigella's recipe and combined them with the lime and coriander leaves from Rick's and the combination really works well.

WIN A COPY OF THE LIVERPOOL COOKBOOK

 Released on October 20th, The Liverpool Cook Book brings together the very best of the city’s burgeoning food and drink scene; from a fantastic array of independent restaurants, to cafés, pubs, delis, producers and suppliers. The book is the 16th in the series of regional ‘Get Stuck In’ guides by Meze Publishing, who were recently crowned Best Newcomer at the Independent Publishing Awards and I'm very excited to be able to offer you all chance to win your very own copy of this fabulous book:

THE CAKE AND BAKE SHOW 2016

The Cake & Bake Show, in association with Argos, brings the nation’s best loved bakers, chefs, TV personalities, cake experts and enthusiasts together under one roof in a celebration of all things baking. Arriving at ExCeL, London from 7-9 October and EventCity, Manchester from 10-13 November, the UK’s only dedicated baking show promises a delicious array of culinary activity, inspiration and entertainment. Five of the biggest celebrity names in the baking world will be headlining the show this year and visitors will be able to see them on live on stage, sharing their skills and expertise;

CLEAVER EAST DUBLIN (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

There were exciting times last week as I took my very first trip over the Irish sea to the capital city of Dublin and such a special city break away demanded an equally special evening meal to celebrate. Having been online to hunt out some fabulous places to go for a nibble, we spotted Cleaver East, a restaurant right in the heart of the city centre created by chef Oliver Dunne. We decided that it looked like the perfect place to enjoy a relaxing dinner in the city especially after spending most of the day traveling over from Liverpool and so we headed off to see if the goods on the menu were as delightful as they sounded.

TOM'S KITCHEN ST KATHERINE'S DOCK (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

I've been a fan of chef Tom Aikens ever since I'd seen him on the Great British Menu so I was excited to find out that I would be staying close to one his restaurants, "Tom's Kitchen" during our recent stay in London. Would it live up to my high expectations? We headed off to St Katherine's dock to find out.

WAHACA LIVERPOOL (MATTYB RECCOMMENDS)

In my third ever blog post I spoke about how I wanted to visit a Wahaca in London as I'm a fan of creator Thomasina Miers fabulous Mexican street food cookbooks. Imagine my delight then when I heard they were opening a branch right over the road from my workplace in Liverpool city centre. As part of a glut of new restaurants opening inside the reinvigorated Stockton's building on Hanover Street, it was a given that I was going to go and check out this new restaurant when it opened. Having visited on opening week, I went again after work on a mild February evening to see how they were faring 3 months on!

CAPRESE-FIED GNOCCHI GRATIN

One of the finest lunches I had whilst on holiday was a delicious Caprese salad. Creamy mozzarella and beautifully vibrant and sweet tomatoes with fresh basil leaves all drizzled with olive oil, it was like someone had sent it down from heaven. I decided to take those flavors and add them to a classic Nigella Lawson recipe for gnocchi gratin and this is how my Caprese-fied gnocchi gratin came to be. I know you should have favorites when it comes to your children but this is definitely of my babies that I'm most proud of.

ASALIAN STIR FRY

That's right folks, we're going fusion on MattyB Bakes today with this Italian inspired stir fry that

uses fresh basil to really give this quick evening meal some real pizazz! I got the idea from Ching Le Huang's new book (buy it! Its brill!) and whilst basil might not be something you would expect in an Asian dish but it does work really well. Add in the stir fry holy trinity of garlic, ginger and chili and you are onto a winner. Whats better is that once you have prepped all the veg, you can this this done from wok to plate in less than 30 minutes!

"THE CAKE AND BAKE SHOW 2015" BAKE COMPETITION

The Cake & Bake Show is introducing a bakes competition for enthusiastic

home bakers. It can be anything from Eric Lanlard's profiteroles, Paul Hollywood's bloomer to Gregg Wallace's Sticky toffee pud 

JINJUU LONDON (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

Having really enjoyed chef Judy Joo's recent Korean Food Made Simple series on the food network we were delighted to see she had just open I new restaurant in London. With plans to head that way we booked a table to go and sample her delights for ourselves. The experience began before we had even left our Liverpool home when in the morning we received a call from Laura to confirm our booking. Having booked the table a couple months back it was great to get a call to reassure us that our table would be waiting for us. We could now make our journey to the capital with no worries.

MEET THE STARS OF THE CAKE AND BAKE SHOW 2015

MattyB Bakes is delighted to help announce the dazzling line-up of celebrity ambassadors appearing the Cake and Bake Show 2015. You won't believe the incredible guests they have in store for you!

HAIRY BIKERS CHILI SALAD BOWLS (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

Check these bad boys out! Don't they look incredible! They are crispy tortillas filled with lettuce, chili, fresh tomatoes, spring onion and grated cheese. They are one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. I cannot take credit for creation of the idea though. That goes to the Hairy Bikers. If you have never seen any of their Hairy Dieters books then this is my public service announcement to tell you that you need to go and buy them immediately. Trust me, it'll be one of the best things you ever do with your life!

LIBERTY TAVERN (MATTY B RECOMMENDS)

The Bubble Rooms in Woolton Village was always a fab place to eat and drink so we were sad to see that it had closed this year. However, when we heard it was getting a revamp by top chef Simon Rimmer we were excited to see what changes would be made. There was only one way to see if his changes would still make this venue a top place to visit, go and check it out for ourselves!

MEET MARY BERRY FOR AFTERNOON TEA!

The BBC Good Food Bakes And Cakes Show is drawing closer and today they have released details of a fantastic competition where you could win the chance to have afternoon tea with the legend that it Queen Mary Berry Of Cake. If you think you have got what it takes to make a cake or bake good enough to win, give the official press release below a read for a guide on how to enter. Good Luck!

JAMIE'S ITALIAN LIVERPOOL (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

When it first opened in Liverpool  I loved Jamie's Italian, I had the pleasure of going for a meal at their pre-opening and was so impressed with the food and the service. It felt like we had something special that was fitting for the new Liverpool One area of the city centre. 

Sadly, we went last year and were disappointed with the quality of food. The spark had gone, it felt like I could of been in any bog standard Italian chain restaurant and with so much choice and quality in Liverpool I was doubtful that I would be returning anytime soon. So when I was sent a money off voucher to try out their new summer menu and with plans to go and eat out before going to the arena, I thought I would give them another shot. Maybe they were having a bad day and with a new menu behind them perhaps some of that old magic would return. Well, I'm pleased to report that it most defiantly has!

MATTYB BAKES OFFERS - 25% OFF TICKETS TO THE BBC GOOD FOOD BAKES AND CAKE SHOW

 

MattyB Bakes is really taking off and I'm so happy to be in the fortunate position to be able to offer you - the beautiful people who have started reading,following and supporting my blog the fantastic opportunity to save with an exclusive 25% discount of tickets to the BBC Food Bakes and Cakes Show

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 EBPAR1  you can receive 25% 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!

TED'S ROLLS (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

I've never been one for making bread. I could never get my dough to rise properly or the bread would be too doughy or burnt. So many things can go wrong. However over the last two weeks I have been making these incredible bread rolls affectionately called "Ted's Rolls" created by Sarah James - author of the fantastic blog "Tales From The Kitchen Shed".



Not only are the rolls deliciously soft inside with a beautiful golden crust but there is also a heartwarming story behind their inception which truly inspired me to give the rolls a go.

SAVORY SEMOLINA SURPRISE

After enjoying a delicious Craving Curries rogan josh on Saturday I was left with a dilemma of what to do with the vast amounts of leftovers that we had in the fridge. Portion control is an issue in this house!

After doing a bit of research I came across this delicious looking recipe for a spiced semolina cake by Anjum Anand. If you haven't heard of her before I suggest you hunt out her books or TV shows as they contain lots of simple and easy Indian recipes that anyone can try at home. She defiantly get the thumbs up from me. I've adapted her recipe slightly to suit my tastes and this is the one I'll be sharing with you today.

The surprise in my title is that for something containing semolina which for a lot of people brings up images of minging school puddings, this is actually incredibly delicious and incredibly simple to make. Serve a slice or two with a dollop of your leftover curry instead of rice and you have a great new take on the Indian curry night.

"COCO LOCO" SHORTBREAD SLICE

 

 Me and shortbread do not get along! I have such a hard time trying to get it to the right consistency and will normally end up over baking it. However when I first made this recipe for what I call “CocoLoco” shortbread crumble, my faith in my baking skills were restored.

A beautifully baked shortbread base with oozing fruity filling and a yummy frangipane topping with the tropical taste of coconut running throughout! It’s absolutely scrummy and will certainly brighten up any day! I've played a round with this recipe a lot and have perfected the perfect base and filling mixture that I will share with you now below.

LUCHA LIBRE LIVERPOOL (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

So The Mexican Night In is complete! The plate of chili I had to the left - hoovered up in no time

 But what if you want the Mexican experience but don't want to go to the hassle of cooking. This is my number one Mexican restaurant suggestion as well as where I would love to visit next time I'm being lazy and crave good chili!

Lucha Libra:

 If your ever up in Liverpool (or Manchester now I believe) please visit Lucha Libre. Not just your typical restaurant, the small restaurant tucked away in the back streets of Liverpool growing increasingly popular in the city. Capitalising on the lack of any decent street food in the city (come on Liverpool, get with the revolution!) they serve fresh Mexican treats washed down with their amazing flavoured frozen Margarita's which are worth a visit on their own.

 The decor inside is brilliant, giving that authentic Mexican street feel whilst the relatively small inside gives it a great atmosphere when busy. The seating is brilliant for all occasions - raised booths which are ideal for families, cosy two seaters for first dates and long bench areas for groups of friends looking for something to eat before heading down into their Maya night club in the restaurants basement for more of those amazing cocktails.

As for the food, this is proper Mexican street food. All the food is fresh and light, miles away from the stodgy burritos you can get in other restaurants. To the right are there sharing platters - this is what we have every time we go as you get a little bit of everything (the menus too good to possibly decide on one thing). We always choose the veggie platter which at the time of writing consists of: 

•  Veggie Tacos with marinated grilled halloumi
• Maria Sabina with mushrooms, herbs and spinach
• Veggie Tostadas with black beans and beetroot puree
• Veggie Empanadas with butternut squash and goats cheese

All absolutely delicious and perfect for sharing with your dining companions - it's the item I recommend but f you do love your meat then carnivorous versions are available

Hopefully they will continue to expand so that more people get to sample their Mexican treats but if you are planning a night out in Liverpool and are in a Mexican mood, Lucha Libre is my number 1 choice. 

Check out their full menu on their website here

Bucket List Restaurant: Wahaca

 

I never watched the series of Masterchef when Thomasina Miers won. I saw her first on her fantastic show Mexican Food Made Easy. This lead me onto her book of the same name and later Mexican Food at home. Both are fantastic buys and I'm looking forward to her new book, Chili Notes.

We often visit London and it baffles me why we have never taken time out to visit Wahaca. If the food is half as Delicious as what is in her books then it will defiantly be one to come back too. This is top of my bucket list and I hope I can write up about my experience visiting their on in the very near future.

How about you? Are there any mexican restaurants you would recommend in a heartbeat. Post your recommendations in the comment box below or drop me a tweet!