Ingredients:

360g flour
4 tsp baking powder
100 g butter
85g caster sugar
100ml milk
2 eggs
115g sultanas

Method:

Sieve the flour and baking powder together

In a separate bowl mix the butter and sugar until they form
breadcrumbs & add the sultanas

In a third bowl mix the eggs and milk until combined

Combine the contents of the three bowls to form the dough

RoIl the dough to a 20mm thickness

Cut the scones to desired shape and size

Rest for 1 hour

Egg wash the tops and bake at 200°C for 10 minutes

2 egg whites
100g/3½oz caster sugar
160g/5½oz desiccated coconut
1 tsp grated lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4.

Use your hands to mulch the egg whites, sugar, coconut, lime zest and juice in a bowl until they lightly come together.

With wet hands, press the mixture into a flat, square shape about 1cm/0.5in high.

Use a small upturned liqueur glass to cut out small rounds, and place on a lightly oiled or nonstick baking tray.

Bake for 12-15 minutes in the centre of the oven until very lightly golden, just touched with colour.

Cool the macaroons on a wire rack, serve with lemon/lemongrass sorbet

Method:

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Line 2×18cm/7in cake tins with baking parchment

Use a hand mixer to cream the butter and the sugar together until pale.

Beat in the eggs.

Sift over the flour and fold in using a large metal spoon. The mixture should be of a dropping consistency - if it isn’t, add a little milk.

Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes before turning on to a wire rack to cool.

Sandwich the cakes together with jam, lemon curd or whipped cream and berries or just enjoy on its own.

Ingredients:
340g/12oz ground almonds
340g/12oz caster sugar
4 eggs, whites only
30ml/1fl oz amaretto liquor
butter, for greasing

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.

In a large bowl beat the egg whites until firm.

Mix the sugar and the almonds gently into it.

Add the amaretto liquor and fold in gently until you have a smooth paste.

Place some greaseproof paper on a baking sheet lightly brushed with butter.

Using a teaspoon place small heaps of the mixture approximately 2cm/¾in apart. as they will expand whilst cooking.

Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown.

For the trifle:
(Serves 10 - 12)

Ingredients:

The lightly crushed amaretti biscuits
150ml/5fl oz sweet sherry
1 tbsp amaretto
4 tbsp blackberry or raspberry jam
450g/1 lb fresh blackberries
450g/1 lb fresh raspberries
85g/3oz toasted flaked almonds
600ml/1 pint ready-made custard

For the syllabub topping:
125ml/4fl oz sherry
2 tbsp brandy
1 lemon, juice only
55g/2oz caster sugar
425ml/15fl oz double cream
freshly grated nutmeg

To garnish:
2 oranges, grated zest only
85g/3oz flaked almonds

Method:

Lay biscuits in the base of a deep glass dish. Spoon over the sherry and amaretto and leave to soak in for a few minutes.Warm the jam until it is runny then pour over the soaked sponge and biscuits. Sprinkle the fruit and flaked almonds on top then pour over the custard.

To make the syllabub topping, place the sherry, brandy and lemon juice into a bowl and stir in the sugar until it dissolves.

Pour in the cream with a pinch of nutmeg. Whisk together using a wire balloon whisk until it holds its shape. Don’t over-whisk, or whisk too vigorously, as the cream may split.

Spoon the syllabub over the trifle and chill, preferably overnight.

Just before serving, scatter with the grated orange rind and/or flaked toasted almonds.

225g/8oz self-raising flour
100g/4oz butter
150g/5oz caster sugar
450g/1lb fairtrade bananas (the softer the better), peeled and mashed
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
175g/6oz mixed dried fruit

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. 

Mix all the ingredients except the dried fruit together. You can do this in a food processor or by hand in a basin.

When they’re all thoroughly mixed, add the dried fruit. Spoon the mixture into a 1kg/2lb non-stick loaf tin, spread it out evenly and bake it for one and a half hours. The loaf is done when a skewer pushed into its middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack, then slice before serving.

artichoke | aubergine | beetroot | broad beans | broccoli | carrots | courgettes | cucumber | fennel | french beans | garlic | kohlrabi | leeks | mange tout | marrow | onions | peas | peppers | potatoes (maincrop) | radishes | rocket | runner beans | sorrel | sweet corn | watercress

FRUIT & NUTS

apricots | blackberries | blueberries | damsons | greengages | loganberries | melons | nectarines | peaches | plums | raspberries | redcurrants | tomatoes

MEAT

lamb | rabbit | wood pigeon

FISH & SEAFOOD

cod | crab | dover sole | grey mullet | haddock | halibut | herring | john dory | lemon sole | lobster | mackerel | monkfish | plaice | salmon | sardines | scallops | sea bass | squid

There are five basic ingredients for a traditional punch - alcohol, spice, sugar, water, fruit - and its name comes from the Hindi word for five, panch.

So, first things first, Sangria isn’t a way to use up cheap and nasty wine! The predominant taste is that of the wine and if you start off with a bad taste, you’ll end up with a bad taste! So you want to choose a medium to good wine as your base. And allow time for the wine to absorb the flavours of the fruits.
This is a fairly basic Sangria recipe which leaves plenty of scope for you to add brandy, orange liqueur, ginger ale - whatever you have to hand - to vary it.

• 1 bottle dry red wine 
• 1 tablespoon sugar 
• 2 large oranges 
• 2 large lemons 
• 2 medium peaches 
• 1 cup soda

Slice 1 orange and 1 lemon. Squeeze the juice from the other orange and lemon. Peel and stone the peaches, and cut into chunks. Put the fruit slices and juice into a punchbowl with the wine and sugar and mix well. Leave in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready to serve, mix in the soda.

Mackintosh’s produced a buffet to match the occasion with delicious offerings including bar-marked breast of Guinea Fowl with butternut squash gnocchi, fresh salmon ‘en-croute’ with wilted baby spinach and pea, mint and summer truffle risotto cakes served with sharp lemon crème fraiche and chilled egg yolk ravioli.

It was a fantastic day out which hopefully will be repeated in 2009 and for many years to come!

The growth in popularity of farmers’ markets over the last few years is a reflection of the continuing interest in local produce. When farmers’ markets first starting cropping up a good few years back, who could have guessed that they would become so popular?

For many the local farmers’ market is now part of their weekend routine for it offers an enjoyable way of doing something which has unnecessarily become over the years a stressful, unpleasant task - their food shopping. Farmers’ markets give the public somewhere to go to find great local produce all in one convenient place, and more than that - in my experience, they are usually very happy affairs with plenty of samples on offer for greedy shoppers!

It is essential that we all support our local farmers’ market so they continue to grow and prosper. Farmers in this country have had a rough time during the past decade especially, and this renewed interest for local produce can only be good for the industry as a whole.

Not only do farmers’ markets offer a great place to buy your food and drink, they also represent something lacking in lots of towns and villages today: a buzzing sense of community. Farmers’ markets connect people in a way that supermarkets just cannot compete with: stallholders happily chat with shoppers about the origins of their produce, and shoppers take something home and enjoy it twice as much just for having had that added insight - and if this is something you have yet to experience, then we strongly recommend you check out your nearest market immediately!

Read the full article here or the transcript below:

July is the month for entertaining: garden parties,
terrace cocktail dos and summer balls. But while
they’re fun to attend, are they as fun to host? As
guests are knocking back champagne and scoffing
down the hors d’oeuvres, can you really enjoy your
own party when you’ve got to think about how long
you can even converse with anyone before the next
round of blinis start to burn? Not to mention all the
work that goes into planning and preparing exactly
the right food menu.

Hors d’oeuvres, canapés, finger foods, amusebouches
– whatever you choose to call them, they’re
tricky little treats to manage on your own. From
the ingredients you choose to the presentation, the
outcome will reflect on you as a host – and, in some
particularly tough circles, as a human being. Hors
d’oeuvres should be perfectly punchy mouthfuls and
should never erupt, dribble, crumble or otherwise
fall apart when picked up.

Enter west London-based catering service,
Mackintosh’s, a family-run company taking finger
food to new heights. Offering creative and inspiring
recipes, Chiswick husband and wife team Nicky and
Cindy Mackintosh sure know how to throw a party.
With inventive ideas such as the “bangers and mash
ball” and “lemon meringue launches”, Mackintosh’s
is fast becoming west London’s most talked about catering and event company.

In an industry where fancy design and
experimental cooking are now taking a back seat to
a more traditional approach to dining, Mackintosh’s
is setting the trend for brazen finger food. “When all
is said and done, nothing beats honey and mustardglazed
sausages dipped in mash,” says Cindy.

Formerly owners of Chiswick’s beloved
Mackintosh’s Brasserie, the power couple began
catering after the restaurant’s closure in 1999.
“Running a restaurant is seven days a week and
often 24 hours a day, but at least with the catering company, we have a little more time to ourselves”
says Cindy. Using the same organic and ethical food
suppliers, Mackintosh’s opted to stay local as their
catering company evolved and expanded. From the
canapés to the drinks, styling, venue choice and
entertainment, Nicky and Cindy do it all.

Earlier this spring, the fashion house Mulberry
chose Mackintosh’s to impress their clients for an
evening of star-studded schmoozing, as celebrities
nibbled on wilted sorrel, fresh pea and emmental
tartlets. More recently, Mackintosh’s showed off
their culinary skills with a taste of the Deep South
for the premiere of the West End musical, Gone with
the Wind. The 700 guests were greeted with creole
jambalaya, southern sausages in cajun sauce and
mini pecan pie sweeteners.

But what of summer diets and guests trying to
keep to their beach body regimes? “Anything deep
fried such as our delicious lemon risotto balls should
be avoided, of course,” says Cindy with a twinkle in her eye, “but our marinated prawns served on a
spoon and the watermelon boxes filled with crab are
perfect indulgences to still allow you to slip into that
bikini.” Nicky, the company’s director and executive
chef, has been preparing a delicious summer menu.
“We’ll be serving salads at our events this summer,
such as a beetroot carpaccio with goats’ cheese
mousse, beetroot jellies and red chard cress.”

Whether it be a private prawn skewer picnic,
crab salad conference or white chocolate wedding,
Mackintosh’s has mastered the art of throwing
exceptional events. This is the family that has got
everyone talking passionately about their food and
most certainly already has your mouth watering.