Monday 30 July 2012

Parmesan-Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe


Parmesan-Butternut Squash Risotto Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS
6-8 cups chicken broth (In this case I cooked some turkey in the pan first and added approx 1 cup of water whilst cooking to make my own broth)
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
2-3 Green Onion stalks, finely chopped
2 cups butternut squash, peeled, and finely diced
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped chives or garlic chives
Salt


METHOD

Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan.
***In this case, I had several turkey steaks that I wanted to incorporate so I cooked them in the Crafond 24cm first and added approx 1 cup of water and covered for about 10 minutes until the turkey was cooked through and the juices, water and butter were blended to make a broth.
Add onion and butternut squash.  Cook for about 5-8 minutes with lid on to help soften the squash.
Add rice and a cup of warm water to the onion and squash. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine. Cook, stirring constantly until wine has been absorbed by the rice or evaporated. Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. ** In my case, I already had the broth in the pan so if it looks dry I add about a half a cup of warm water lightly seasoned with garlic salt.  Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth or seasoned water at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes.
During the last minutes of cooking, add remaining tablespoon of butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan, and chives. At this point the rice should have a creamy consistency. Serve with remaining grated Parmesan.


Serves 4 to 6.



News and other updates:

If you haven't already seen it, check out this gorgeous review from our friends at the Living North Fair! 

Keep watch as our next recipe will be the winner of our Recipe Contest!  Good luck to all those who entered!


Thursday 19 July 2012

Company Review - Meals in Fields

Cam-fire, campingGood day everyone, hope you are all keeping warm and dry! Good news, summer is on the way... FINALLY!

We wanted to do something different this week and give a review on a really great company that was recommended to us at a show. The company, Meals in Fields, not only lured us in with their interesting name, but pleasantly surprised us by their beautiful website and unique services.

After taking a good look through the site we fell in love. The real meat and potatoes of Meals in Fields, is that they want to provide a comprehensive directory for our camper, caravan, boating, rambler, and hiker community, with recommendations on where to stay, shop and dine whilst out and about in the UK.
Non-stick CookwareThe site contains so many features, but the one that we really loved was the online cookbook. The recipes were perfect for caravans, campers, and boaters as many were one pot dishes and were mindful that there is little space in a caravan or boating kitchen. Many of the recipes offered would be perfect for use with one of our Castey Plancha plates or Crafond Saute Pans as they are so versatile and because of their non-stick, the pans are able to be cleaned easily.
Another great thing about this cookbook is that the dishes are based on local ingredients from the retailers and farm shops nearest you. They even have a directory of all the farm shops per county and if a farm shop isn’t listed you can request to add it to their directory.

Needless to say we really think Meals in Fields is a great company and recommend their directory and recipe book to all our customers as the perfect companion to our Perfect Pans.


Friday 13 July 2012

Fruit Smorgasbord Crumble


Let's try a dessert this time!



If your family is like mine, no matter how hard I try, they never seem to eat all the fruit I buy. It always goes bad or sits in some forgotten fruit drawer until I either cut it up to feed to our bunny or I toss it out. After several weeks of this I decided that I should start cooking the fruit so I created what I call, Fruit Smorgasbord  Crumble, using whatever left over fruit I have available. With this one, I used some left over blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, apples and raspberries. For the crumble, if I don’t have enough of the other ingredients blend in some left over muesli for that crunch, however I didn’t need to do that this time. 

Ingredients:


Cookware used:
Perfect Pans1324- 24cm Saute' Crafond Perfect Pan
Mixing bowl

Fruit Filling:

100g White Sugar (to taste)
5-6 Apples
210g Blueberries
80g Strawberries
50g Raspberries
50g blackberries
3 tablespoons of Water


Topping:

75g Butter (room temperature)
150g Plain Flour
100g Brown sugar
2-3 teaspoons of Cinnamon

Method:
Core, peel and slice the apples or any other fruit. I like to cut raspberries and strawberries as it releases the juice better. 

Combine the  fruit, water and sugar to your 24cm Crafond Saute pan. Place on the hob covered with the lid on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until fruit is bubbling and soft. 


Mix with spoon to evenly distribute flavours. 

Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the butter. Rub the flour and butter together until it looks crumbly and the butter has been evenly dispersed through the flour. Add the sugar and mix together to ensure that everything is combined.



Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top the cooked fruit using a fork to even out the distribution but don't press it down.

Sprinkle the cinnamon over the top of the topping. 

Cook in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes or until lightly golden brown.Remove the detachable handle while cooking in the oven. 

I topped mine with some powder custard for speed purposes, although this goes really nice with some vanilla bean ice cream!

 Serves 4-6


Thursday 12 July 2012

RECIPE COMPETITION

COMPETITION TIME EVERYONE!
Claim your chance to receive a FREE, Castey 30cm Saute Pan

To enter, please email katrina@perfectpans.com favorite recipe, including Ingredients used, Method, and 3 photos showing the cooking stages and final dish. No nutritional info needed, just the basics and we can tweak any photos or verbiage if needed. The winners recipe will be featured on our blog, as well as on perfectpans.com.
 





 *The Castey 30cm Saute Pan is suitable for both Induction and Non-induction hobs. This competition will end July 31st and the winner will be announced on Facebook. Please send your name, address, telephone number, and email address along with your recipe.  
 



 GOOD LUCK EVERYONE AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT YOU SHARE!

Wednesday 11 July 2012

EASY THAI RED CURRY RECIPE


Curry Recipe Created by Perfect Pans

Easy Thai Red Curry Recipe



This Thai Red Curry Recipe is fragrant and sumptuous, and can be made anywhere from mild to red-hot, depending on your taste. It starts with a homemade Thai red curry paste which is easily put together with your food processor or blender. Add coconut milk, chicken, and some vegetables, and you have a healthy and hearty curry dish that will awaken your senses!


Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves 3-4

COMPLETE RECIPE PREPARED IN OUR CRAFOND 24CM SAUTE


Non-stick cookware
Ingredients:
• 1/2 medium whole chicken, cut into parts, or equivalent of breast or thigh
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 8 chopped spring onions
• Few handfuls of mushrooms
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute bay leaves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick (OR add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon to the sauce)
• handful fresh basil and coriander/cilantro

Non-Fat cookingRed Curry Sauce:
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2-3 Tbsp. minced lemongrass or 3tbsp ready prepared from a jar.
• 1 thumb-size piece of ginger, grated
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1-2 fresh red chilies, sliced, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. tomato ketchup or cooked tomato puree
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1+1/2 to 2 Tbsp. chili powder, depending on how spicy you want it
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, + more to taste
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice




Non-Fat Cooking, Perfect PansPreparation:
1. Cook mushrooms in the pan then place chopped chicken pieces in to seal slightly.
2. Place all curry sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process well. Pour the curry sauce over the chicken. add kaffir lime leaves/bay leaf and cinnamon stick, mixing everything into the sauce. Cover and cook for30 minutes on a medium heat. Note: if you prefer more sauce, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup good-tasting chicken stock. 
3.  Add the bell pepper and spring onions, stirring them into the sauce. Return curry to the heat for 15 minutes, or until both chicken and vegetables are well cooked.
4. Do a taste test, looking for a balance of flavors. If not salty or flavorful enough, add up to 1 Tbsp. more fish sauce. If too salty, add more fresh lime juice. If too sour, add a little more brown sugar. If too spicy, add more coconut milk. If not spicy enough, add a few fresh-cut chilies or dried crushed chili/cayenne pepper.
5. Ladle the curry into a rice circle on a plate or serve in a dish with your rice separately. Now you are ready to eat