Year 8 have been busy with Healthy Eating week, where they learnt about where their food comes from.  Their practical lesson was Pasta Salad:

Year 9 have been making Wiltshire Pasta Bakes:

 

and One Pot Chicken dishes

 

This week has been spent learning about Seasonal Foods

 

To demonstrate their knowledge and understanding Year 8 students were then asked to design a seasonal muffin for their practical element this week

KS4 have been sitting their exams this week and have done well! A good framework to build on ready for Year 11.  They have been busy making Tandoori Chicken; Quiche and Trifles.

 

Jamie Oliver's Home Cooking Skills

Some of the Year 11 students have completed their BTEC Home Cooking Skills and as part of their course wish to share their recipes.

Jordan's menu consisted of homemade sausage rolls a homely chocolate cherry gateau

Sausage rolls
450g sausage meat (or sausages removed from skins)
1 onion
salt & pepper
500g block of puff pastry
1 free range egg

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
2. Peel and chop onions finely, add to the sausage meat and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Roll the puff pastry out into a large rectangle, then cut into two long rectangles.
4. Place a layer of sausage meat mixture down the middle of each pastry rectangle, then brush each with beaten egg on one edge.
5. Fold the other side of the pastry over onto the egg-washed edge. Press down to seal and trim any excess. Cut each pastry roll into 8-10 small sausage rolls.
6. Place the sausage rolls onto a baking tray and transfer to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crisp and golden and the sausage meat is completely cooked through

Chocolate cherry gateau

225g/8oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

225g/8oz caster sugar
160g/5½oz self-raising flour
5g/2¼oz cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
4 medium eggs
40g/11¾oz jar of morello cherry jam
2 x 80g/2¾oz packs of sweetened dried sour cherries
100ml/3½fl oz cranberry juice
500ml/18fl oz double cream
50g/2oz dark chocolate, coarsely grated
fresh cherries, to decoratePreheat the oven to 190°C/375F/Gas 5. Grease 2 x 20cm/8 in loose-based sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment.

1. Put the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and eggs into a bowl and whisk until smooth and thick.
2. Divide the batter between the prepared cake tins and spread it out evenly with a rubber spatula.
3. Bake for 22–25 minutes or until the cakes are nicely risen and just beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tins. Remove them from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack. Take off the lining paper and leave the cakes to cool.
4. For the topping , put the jam in a saucepan with the sour cherries and cranberry juice and place over a low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until the jam has melted and the cherries are beginning to swell. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.
5. Whip 300ml/10fl oz of the cream with an electric hand-whisk until soft peaks form.
6. Add cream quenelle when plating up your slice of gateau

Jess' Macaroni Cheese and Fairtrade crumbly banana pudding

Macaroni cheese
700ml full-fat milk
350g macaroni
50g butter, plus a little extra for greasing
50g plain flour
175g mature cheddar cheese, grated
75g Sliced ham
50g parmesan, grated

1.Prepare the pasta: In a small pan, cook the macaroni according to pack instructions until just soft, but still with a little bite (this is called al dente in Italian). This will take about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, then run under the tap and stir to stop the pasta sticking together.

2.Make a roux: (A roux is simply flour and fat, cooked together, then used to thicken sauces.) Heat oven to 190C/ fan 170C/gas 5 and butter a 25 x 18cm ovenproof dish. Melt the butter in the medium pan. When foaming, add the flour, then cook, stirring constantly, for 1 min on a low heat.
3.Finish the sauce: Slowly stir the milk into the roux until smooth. Simmer for 3-4 minutes , stirring often, until the sauce has thickened and has a coating consistency (run your finger through the sauce on a spoon – it should leave a trail). Remove the pan from the heat, then add the cheddar, ham and mustard powder. Season, then stir until the cheese has melted.
4.Assemble and bake: Mix the cheese sauce through the macaroni to coat it well, then tip into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan and breadcrumbs over the top, then bake for 15-20 minutes  until golden brown and bubbling. Serve piping hot on its own or with a green salad.
Crumbly banana pudding75g of sugar
157g of margarine
225g of self- raising flour
100g of porridge oats
2 medium bananas (mashed)
25g of  sultanas (optional)
Caster sugar (topping)

1. Warm your oven to 200°C
2. Cream the sugar and margarine together
3. Cut in the flour and oats to make a crumbly mixture
4. Sprinkle half into a baking tray (12 by 8 inch) and press down lightly
5. Spread over the bananas and sprinkle the dried fruit
6. Sprinkle the rest of the mixture over and again press down
7. lightly Bake it for 25 to 30 minutes until golden
8. Sprinkle with caster sugar
9. Wait until it cools (if you can) and cut into appropriately sized portions

Sam's menu consisted of a homemade pastabake and decorated sponge for afterwards:

 

Pasta Bake

•100g (4oz) cooked lean Wiltshire ham(or other cooked meat/fish) cut into small pieces (this could also be vegetables of your choice)

•175g (6oz) pasta shapes e.g., macaroni, penne etc.
•50g (2oz) butter
•200g (7oz) Cheddar cheese, grated
•50g (2oz) plain flour
•600ml (1 pint) semi-skimmed milk
•25g (1oz) fresh breadcrumbs (optional)

1.Heat the oven to 190 º C, gas mark 5.

2.Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 7-9 minutes until just tender, drain and place in ovenproof dish.
3.Grate cheese and chop ham
4.Put the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan on stove.  Use the ‘all-in-one’ method, whisking all the time until the sauce comes to the boil and thickens.
5.Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring all the time.
6.Remove from the heat and add ¾ of the cheddar. Stir until melted and then add the ham.
7.Pour sauce over the pasta, scatter over the remaining cheese and the breadcrumbs.  Place on baking tray.
8.Bring to the front and get your pasta bake grilled

Sponge Cake
325g butter
325g plain chocolate
2 tsp vanilla extract
325g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
450g light soft brown sugar
5 large eggs
300ml soured cream
For the icing
250g butter
350g icing sugar, sieved
50g cocoa, sieved
2 tbsp milk
Decorations
2 chocolate Flake bars
2 packs of mini eggs

1.Preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 4. Base line a 20cm round and a 18cm square cake tin.

2.Put the butter and chocolate into a saucepan and stir over a very gentle heat until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
3.Sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the sugar, breaking up any lumps if necessary. Beat together the eggs and soured cream and pour onto the flour mixture. Add the melted chocolate and mix all well together until smooth.
4.Divide the mixture equally between the two tins and bake in the oven for about 55 mins - 1 hour. A good way to check that the mixture is equally divided is to put a cocktail stick into each mixture and the levels should be the same.

Robynne' chicken cordon bleu served with a dessert of rich chocolate brownies

Chicken Cordon Bleu
1x Chicken Breasts
1 slice of ham
75g of grated cheese
25g flour
1 egg, beaten
50g breadcrumbs
1  tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. butter

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Pound chicken breasts to thin them out.
3.Sprinkle each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick. dip into flour, then beaten egg and finally roll in the breadcrumbs to coat.
4.Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from oven, and place 1/2 cheese slice on top of each breast. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove toothpicks, and serve immediately

Brownies
»3 eggs, lightly beaten
»¾ cup gluten-free plain flour
»200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
»1 teaspoon vanilla extract
»200g of unsalted butter, chopped
»1 cup of caster sugar
1 tablespoons cocoa powder

.1 Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Break up the dark chocolate. Put into a heatproof bowl and melt gently.

2. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool until needed.
3. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of a food mixer and beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla essence.
4.Spoon the cooled melted chocolate onto the mixture then mix in thoroughly. Sift the flour and cocoa onto the mixture and gently stir in.
5.When completely combined spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly.
6.Bake in the heated oven for about 20 mins until firm to the touch but still a bit fudgy. The chocolate will continue to cook slightly for a few mins after coming out of the oven.
7.Remove the tin from the oven and set on a wire cooling rack. Leave the chocolate brownies to cool completely before cutting into pieces. Delicious eaten warm with ice-cream. Store the brownies in an airtight container and eat within 4 days.