Winifred’s chutney

Chopping and stirring is all that is required for this chutney, as in no cooking. The quantities are also easy: typically it’s work out the weight of the prepared cooking apples and match with the weight to other ingredients. Winifred was my great aunt Moira’s cook and part of our extended family throughout her life. She made all wedding, christening and Christmas cakes. A fabulous lady. 

In theory the chutney will keep for a couple of years. It gets eaten way before then in this household.

In a large bowl combine equal quantities by weight of peeled, cored and finely chopped cooking apples, finely chopped onions, roughly chopped sultanas, stoned and chopped dates (don’t use the preprepared ones out of a bag as they have added sugar), soft brown sugar with cayenne pepper to taste.

Add malt vinegar - millilitres of which match the number of grammes of the other ingredients for example 500ml if using 500g of apples.

Cover the bowl. Stir the contents each time you are passing it over the next 24 hours. 
Pot into sterilised jars. 
Leave to mature for a month before eating.

Orange Drizzle Traybake

I was needing to find a tray bake or similar for a fundraising event. Lemon drizzle is my favourite type of cake and as I had an orange this recipe caught my eye. It went down very well at the event! 

Line a 20cm square tin with baking parchment and heat oven to 180C.

Zest and juice an orange. 

Cream together 135g soft margarine and 135g caster sugar until light and fluffy.

Add 2 eggs - one at a time - beating well in between each.

Fold in 135g self raising flour. Add the orange zest and half of the juice and combine. Pour into the cake tin.

Wrap a foil collar around the tin - this helps get an even flat bake. Bake for 20 minutes or until springy to the touch, pale golden brown and well risen. 

Whilst it is baking in a small bowl stir together 55g granulated sugar with the rest of the orange juice.

When the cake has cooked, remove from oven and its foil collar but keep in tin. Brush the sugar and orange juice mix over the cake (a pastry brush is good for this). The orange juice will moisten the sponge whilst the sugar will sit on the top and cool and dry to a crunchy glaze.

When cool lift from the tin and cut into evenly sized slices. The recipe I based this on suggested a brief 15 minute spell in the freezer prior to removing from the tin to firm the cake up.

Sheelagh’s chicken - aka Guildford chicken

My mother’s recipe (which she originally got from someone who lived in Guildford). Serves 8-10 so good for large gatherings especially if you ask each of your children, of which she has four - to make one each. If making ahead of time then the base freezes well. I have also successfully frozen it with the topping on, as in prior to the last step of cooking in the oven. 

If you cook the chicken by poaching them then you also get a good stock for soups and other recipes!

4lb cooked chicken (2x4lb chickens or 3x3lb chickens = 4lb cooked meat) chopped into bite size pieces
4oz butter
Small onion chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
0.5lb sliced mushrooms
4oz flour
1pint milk warm
1 rounded teaspoon of celery salt
1 level tsp salt
Cayenne pepper
0.5 teaspoon dry English mustard
4oz mature cheddar grated
1 cup dry cider
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Topping:
9oz grated cheese

2oz butter melted

4 cups white breadcrumbs

Cook onion in butter until soft. Add mushrooms, garlic and flour. Cook for a few minutes stirring to avoid sticking and browning. Gradually blend in the warm milk and then the cider. Simmer for 5 minutes until creamy consistency. Add grated cheese and seasoning (salts, mustard and cayenne pepper to taste) and combine with the chicken. Put in a shallow dish.

For the topping, toss breadcrumbs in the melted butter. Add the grated cheese. Mix well and spread over the chicken. Cook at 180C for about an hour.