I am all about garlic, and mushrooms for that matter, and this is one of those random dishes that I really miss from home. A lovely mushroom, coated in garlic butter, breaded and deep fried. Oh my they are perfection, dipped in some garlic mayo or sweet chili sauce what could be finer? I had pretty much forgotten all about my love of deep fried mushrooms until I decided to try them out myself. They were actually super easy to make, and the taste was undeniably amazing. I think mine were far superior to any I have had before, did I get lucky or am I just brilliant? Who could say for sure, either way I nailed it. The best part was that The Fat Boyfriend doesn’t even like mushrooms, so he had one and very generously let me eat the rest. It was the best day ever!

Ingredients

10 – 12 Mushrooms (but feel free to double up, you wont be sorry)

1 stick of butter

5 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon of fresh parsley

A pinch of salt and pepper

1 egg beaten

3 tablespoons of flour

8 tablespoons of panko crumbs (or bread crumbs)

1 teaspoon of paprika

500ml of soy bean oil (enough to cover your pan, at least an inch deep)

Directions 

1. To make the garlic butter, melt the butter in a saucepan and crush or grate the garlic into it. Add the parsley, salt, and pepper, and let it cook for a minute before removing from the heat. Add the mushrooms to the melted butter and give it a good stir to make sure they are coated. Let the mushrooms sit in and soak up the butter while you do the next step. Take a plate or tray and put a piece of grease proof paper on it. Then put the mushrooms on the paper and put them in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. The butter will freeze and keep them coated.

2. When the mushrooms have set, sprinkle on the flour and toss them in it a little and then pop them back in the freezer while you prepare the egg and bread crumbs. Put the beaten egg in one bowl and the breadcrumbs and paprika in another. I usually make a nice breadcrumb mix using panko crumbs, nutritional yeast, some oats, and some quinoa. I feel it gives a nice range of textures but just plain panko crumbs is fine too.

3. Put the soy bean oil in a wok or large pan and heat it to about 180 degrees (if you don’t have a thermometer this is about medium on a gas range). Dip the mushrooms into the egg, making sure they are completely coated. Then gently toss them in the bread crumbs. I usually find it’s easier to coat them all first and set them on a tray before frying so you aren’t trying to do three things at once. Fry them in small batches for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown. Then remove and drain on a piece of kitchen roll before serving with your favourite dip. Voilà breaded mushrooms.

Easter is a special time of year where you are encouraged to eat copious amounts of chocolate. In England Easter is a our second biggest family food filled holiday after Christmas. The stakes are always high and only the best will do. I had planned to make a full on lamb roast and then have this for dessert. However instead of going out to buy my lamb I got drunk instead, which is why I only have dessert to show you. But it’s better than nothing right?

This is probably the richest and most decadent dessert I have ever made. In fact I only could eat 2 pieces in one go which is practically unheard of for me. Especially since I was hungover, which is when I usually gorge like there is no tomorrow. Despite the many layers involved this is actually a pretty easy dessert to make and it will be sure to wow your friends, or yourself. Because sometimes we all deserve a treat. For the brownie do as much work as you like. I used my box mix but feel free to bring out your best brownie recipe.

Ingredients 

Brownie

65g of flour

45g of cocoa powder

200g of white sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

100g of chocolate chips

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 a cup of oil

Cheesecake filling 

400g of cream cheese

400ml of whipping cream

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

200g of icing sugar

5 tablespoons of peanut butter

3 tablespoons of nutella

10 mini Reese’s peanut butter cups to decorate

Directions 

1. Weigh out all your dry ingredients if you haven’t got a pre-made mix you made earlier (a la Blue Peter)

2. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper or skip this if you have decent bake ware.

3. Measure the oil and add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk. Then add to the dry ingredients and mix until the mixture is combined. No need to over mix here. You can also add in any extras at this point, for ideas see my note at the bottom.  Then pour into your tin and bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on how you like it) or until a tooth pick comes out clean(ish). Allow to cool for an hour. If the brownie is still warm it will melt the cheesecake layer.

4. While your brownie is cooling make the cheesecake layers. Beat the cream cheese and vanilla until soft. In a separate bowl whisk the cream until it forms stiff peaks, then gradually mix it into the cream cheese so you don’t get lumps. Then mix in the icing sugar until smooth.

5. Take one third of the cream cheese mixture and mix in the Nutella. Mix the peanut butter into the other two thirds. Then chop the Reese’s peanut butter cups into chunks. To assemble put the peanut layer on top of your brownie, smooth down then top with the Nutella layer, smooth down then scatter over the peanut butter cup pieces. Then leave to refrigerate for at least 3 hours. The longer you leave it the more integrity it will have. Although I wouldn’t blame you for eating it after an hour  as it requires a lot of restraint to wait out the time :)Happy Easter everyone!

Oh brownies I do love a brownie, good, bad or even mediocre. I’m even prepared to eat slightly burnt ones that have fallen on the floor. Now don’t get me wrong I love the luxury of an out and out decadent brownie which is stuffed to the brim with melted chocolate and butter like this one. But sometimes my fridge is bare of butter and chocolate. That’s where a box mix fix comes in. I will always pick them up if I see them on sale but rarely seems to happen these days. However I just found out you can make them for virtually nothing at home. If you get your chocolate chips for free on i-herb like I do then you are laughing. Just measure out your ingredients, chuck them in a zip-lock bag and just put add eggs and oil when you are ready to go. I decided to be a little more fancy and store mine in jars because a) I didn’t have any zip-lock bags b) jars are cool and c) I have a lot of jars which I went mad buying after first discovering Pinterest then subsequently never used. It’s suggested to give away these cuties as gifts, I’d probably have to adjust the size of the recipe and not eat them myself but a good idea in theory.

So you may have noticed that my brownie is a little rustic this week, mainly because I dropped it on the floor. Did I have a little cry about this, yes, yes I did. I have made brownies for the past 3 weeks in a row intending to write a post about it but the first one I burnt beyond repair (but still ate), the second one got eaten before a picture was procured and this one was dropped and slightly burnt, but I decided to suck it up and show it to you anyway as we all make mistakes and it doesn’t make me a bad person. It just means that the damn temperature gauge on my oven is broken and I drop things sometimes.

Ingredients

65g of flour

45g of cocoa powder

200g of white sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

100g of chocolate chips

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 a cup of oil

Directions

1. Weigh out all your dry ingredients and put them in a mixing bowl or store them in a zip-lock bag or jar for later.

2. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper or skip this if you have decent bake wear.

3. Measure the oil and add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk. Then add to the dry ingredients and mix until the mixture is combined. No need to over mix here. You can also add in any extras at this point, for ideas see my note at the bottom.  Then pour into your tin and bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on how you like it) or until a tooth pick comes out clean(ish).

When your brownie is done leave to cool for ten minutes before removing from the pan. Under no circumstances drop the brownie on the floor and have a tantrum like I did. It’s seriously not cool past the age of 27.

This is a quick and easy brownie recipe that you can whip up in minutes with minimum effort when you are in the mood for a treat. It’s not the kind of brownie I’d try to make if I wanted to impress other bakers. Don’t get me wrong it’s still yummy just not amazing. You can pimp it up in various ways, add nuts, a couple of spoons of peanut butter, some white chocolate chips, or my latest favourite is to add a teaspoon of the orange extract that I bought on i-Herb. Can’t beat orange and chocolate goodness. You could also use this brownie base for a variety of other desserts like my Chocolate Trifle or Peanut Butter Brownie Cheesecake.

So you may have noticed I’ve got a bit smoothie crazy lately. Which I have. Because smoothies are delicious and healthy. I have one for breakfast almost every day. The bluenananut smoothie is insanely delicious, which is why I keep it as a bit of a treat, while still having lots of goodness in it too. Blueberries seem to be in season at the moment and I’ve been finding them everywhere. I even got one of the little boxes for a mere 2,000 the other day. The peanut butter I used was the amazing white chocolate kind from i-Herb but use the regular stuff if you have it. Or you could do a scoop of the peanut butter powder instead. I also used some of my Pure coconut water to give it a tropical taste and get some much needed electrolytes.

Ingredients 

2 bananas

a handful of blueberries

1 tablespoon of peanut butter

200mls of coconut water

100mls of milk (optional)

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients into your blender and blend.

2. Pour smoothie over ice and drink!

I’m not sure if this is a cheesecake or a dessert but either way it’s completely delicious. A soft chewy chocolate brownie which would be good enough on its own, layered with a a thick peanut-butter cream cheese layer then topped off with a chocolate and nutella ganache. The saltiness of the creamy peanut layer really helps cut through the richness of the brownie and the topping. If you are a peanut and chocolate lover then this is the dessert for you. The brownie recipe is from David Lebovitz and is considered to be one of the best brownie recipes around. I will definitely be using it again next time I make my brownies.

Ingredients

Brownie

8 tablespoons (115 g) unsalted butter, cubed

2 ounces (60 g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped.

1 cup (200 g) sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (75 g) nuts, chopped

1/4 cup (25 g) chocolate chips

1/4 cup (35 g) flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Peanut cheesecake layer

200g of cream cheese

5 heaped tablespoons of peanut butter

200ml of cream (whipped until thick)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

Nutella Ganache

3 tablespoons of Nutella

100g of milk or plain chocolate

100ml of cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC.) I decided to bake my brownie in the same pan I was planning to serve it in. So line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with baking paper, leaving the overhang over the rim of the pan. This is so you can remove the brownie layer after it’s done.

2. In a medium saucepan set over very low heat, melt the butter and the chocolate, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar, then mix in the eggs and the vanilla extract.

3. Stir in the nuts and cocoa chips, then the flour and salt. Scrape the mixture in the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until the brownies feel just-set in the centre. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cool, lift the brownies out of the pan by grasping the baking paper. Peel off the paper then put the brownie layer back into your serving dish.

4. Make the cheesecake layer by mixing together the peanut butter, vanilla, and cream cheese until smooth and combined. Then fold in the whipped cream until thoroughly mixed. Then spread this layer over the brownie and pop it into the fridge to set whilst you make the ganache.

5. To make the ganache put the chocolate, cream and Nutella into a glass or metal bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water. Stir until all the chocolate and Nutella have melted and you have a thick glossy chocolate sauce. Take the bowl off the heat then stir for a minute or two to help it cool, then pour over the peanut cheesecake layer. Put the whole think back in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set. When its done, cut into slices and serve or eat it straight from the dish with a big ass spoon a la fat girl. Voilà the peanut butter brownie cheesecake, the deliciousness of two desserts combined into one super dessert.

Last Sunday morning I was lying in bed trying to decide what to have for my breakfast. I was craving french toast, but wanted to amp up the volume and change it up a bit so I hit upon that old British classic, bread and butter pudding. What could be better than lovely custardy french toast slathered in even more, lovely vanilla custard. Part breakfast part dessert; I am not ashamed to admit that I ate the whole thing over the course of the day whilst watching episodes of Columbo on Netflix. I’m not sure if I should be rather ashamed that I am turning into my Nan, but I am not. It was a lovely way to spend the end of the weekend on a cold rainy day. Next time I might add a few berries or some Nutella to mix it up.

Ingredients

French Toast

1 1/2 loaves of bread (Morning toast bread from Paris Baguette)

300ml of cream

300ml of full fat milk

3 eggs

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

4 tablespoons of sugar

Half a stick of butter (for frying)

Custard

6 egg yolks

1 egg

75g white sugar

25g of flour

4 teaspoons of corn flour / cornstarch (They sell it in all Korean supermarkets, it’s got a picture of corn on the front)

500ml of milk

1 tablespoon of Vanilla syrup

A few drops of vanilla extract (you can use the extract, the syrup or a vanilla pod)

Directions

Cut your loaf into 3/4 of an inch thick slices. I made mine using a fresh loaf but if you let it go stale for a day I am told it’s even better. In a large bowl beat together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla until mixed together. Heat your pan to a low/medium temperature and throw in a knob of butter. Dip a slice of bread into the custard mixture, let it soak up those juices, then turn it over to do the other side and throw it into the frying pan. Depending on the size of your frying pan you will be able to cook 2-3 slices at a time. After a few minutes it should be golden brown on the bottom side. Flip it over and do the other side for a few more minutes. Making sure that the custard has set in the middle, remove from the pan and cook the remaining slices. When all of your french toast is made, cut into triangles and arrange in your dish. Then make the lovely custard.

To make the custard whisk your egg yolks and egg with the sugar until it has become a very pale yellow. Whisk in the flour and corn flour until it has combined then set aside. Heat the milk and vanilla on a low heat until it has just started to boil then take it off the heat and whisk for 30 seconds. Slowly mix the hot milk into the yolk and flour mixture until it has combined then pour it into a saucepan. Put the custard on a very low heat and whisk it continuously until it begins to thicken. This will happen all at once so make sure you keep an eye on it or it will curdle. Once it’s thickened into custard you can remove from the heat and pour it all over the french toast.  Sprinkle the top with sugar and bake in the oven at 180ºC for about 20 minutes, until the sugar has browned and you have a lovely bread and buttery goodness on your hands. Serve with extra maple syrup if you have a seriously sweet tooth.

I love these babies so much, I had to share them with you. They are insanely easy to make and taste just like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but bigger! I love peanut butter and chocolate combinations, it’s possibly my favourite sweet pairing. I’m pretty sure I could manage to eat peanut butter cups all day long. However here they are just so pricey and hard to find. It’s easy enough to make them yourself but with the double chocolate layers it can take a while to make them. This way they are made in 10 minutes. The only hard part is waiting 40 minutes for the chocolate to set. I love them so much I already finished the entire pan, and have already bought the ingredients to make a second batch, except next time I’m going to add Nutella too! I shall let you know the results.

Ingredients

200g digestive biscuits (called Digest)

226g of butter (2 sticks)

3/4 of a jar of peanut butter

3/4 of a cup of icing sugar

150g of chocolate (I used 3 dove bars)

4 tablespoons peanut butter

Directions

Line a square tin with a layer of grease proof paper and set aside. Crush the digestive biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs. Melt the butter on the stove then stir in the biscuit crumbs. Stir in the peanut butter and icing sugar until you have a golden paste then pour into the tin, and level off with a knife. Put in the refrigerator to chill while you make the topping.

Melt your chocolate in a glass or metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, then stir in the 4 tablespoons of peanut butter. Pour the melted chocolate on top of the peanut mixture and leave to set in the fridge for 40 minutes to 1 hour. You can lick the bowl to help comfort you during the long wait. Pull the paper out from the tin and cut your delicious treats into slices and devour. Voilà peanut butter bars in an hour all from a quick trip to your local Korean supermarket.

This sandwich is the holy grail of grilled cheeses. It requires a lot more effort than a regular grilled cheese but boy is the pay off worth it. The spectacular taste of French onion soup all contained in sandwich form. It was so good that the second I finished mine I looked over to my boyfriend to see that he had half of his left. I almost ripped it right out of his hands it was so good. Now sadly this sandwich doesn’t come cheap as the Gruyère and proper bread can set you back a fair whack, about 20,000. It also takes a good 30 minutes to caramelize the onions, but every second spent by the stove will be worth it when you bite into this glorious creation.

Ingredients

4 slices of really nice bread

2 onions

120g of Gruyere cheese

1 glug of olive oil

1/2 a stick of butter

1 tablespoon of white sugar (optional)

Directions

Start by chopping your onions into thin slices. Heat your frying pan to medium then add a glug of olive oil and a a knob of the butter. When the butter has melted add the onions.They will take around 30 minutes to caramelize so be patient. Never leave your pan’s side even for a second. Stir them regularly to make sure they are getting an even coverage. They should be golden brown when they are done but not burned. While your onions are cooking, grate your Gruyère. I find that the Korean onions don’t brown as much as I would like, so if you want add a tablespoon of white sugar about 20 minutes in to help them out a little. When the onions are done remove them from the pan and place in a bowl. Butter one side of each piece of bread Then put two slices of the bread butter side down in your frying pan. Then top each slice with a quarter of the grated cheese.

Then add the caramelized onions.

Finally add the last of the cheese and place a slice of bread on top butter face up. Heat your pan to medium, and cook for a few minutes on one side before carefully flipping it over to cook the other side. The bread should be golden brown and the cheese should have melted. When they are ready, serve and devour. Voilà the best cheese sandwich you are ever likely to have.

In France they call it pain perdu, in America French Toast, and in England the far less glamorous eggy bread. A few days ago I  discovered that I am absolutly amazing at making French toast.  I have to confess that I haven’t really eaten my fair share of french toast over the years but it is now one of my favourite foods. In England we’re not really a fan of sweet things for breakfast. We like a savoury start to the day. A bowl of crunchy nut corn flakes is as crazy as we get. However when my bestest friend in the world came to visit  me last week, she introduced me to this fabulous phenomenon. We had some pretty amazing French Toast at the W in Taipei and some hideously awful dry crap at a well-known restaurant in Itaewon which will remain nameless. After tasting that dried up piece of cardboard I knew I could do better. So I set upon making my first batch, and suffice it to say, I nailed it. It almost makes me want to set up a restaurant just to sell my own Fat Girl French Toast to the masses. You too can make amazing French Toast, all from the comfort of your own home with little to no cooking skills needed. It’s so easy a monkey could make it, so wow your friends the next time you have them over for brunch. The key is using good bread. I picked up this loaf of morning toast from Paris Baguette (3,000). It’s half way between a croissant and bread and is perfect for French Toast goodness.

Ingredients

1 loaf of bread (Morning toast bread)

300ml of cream

300ml of full fat milk

3 eggs

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

4 tablespoons of sugar

Half a stick of butter (for frying)

Directions

Cut your loaf into 3/4 of an inch thick slices. I made mine using a fresh loaf but if you let it go stale for a day I am told it’s even better. In a large bowl beat together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla until mixed together. Heat your pan to a low/medium temperature and throw in a knob of butter. Dip a slice of bread into the custard mixture, let it soak up those juices, then turn it over to do the other side and throw it into the frying pan. Depending on the size of your frying pan you will be able to cook 2-3 slices at a time. After a few minutes it should be golden brown on the bottom side. Flip it over and do the other side for a few more minutes. Making sure that the custard has set in the middle, remove from the pan and cook the remaining slices. Serve with berries, maple syrup and, if your feeling extra naughty, throw on some whipped cream or ice cream. At this point a bit more cream really isn’t going to hurt. Voilà the fattest French Toast in town!

I have been meaning to write this post for quite some time now. Mussels are insanely cheap in Korea right now and what better way to use them, than in this classic French dish. Coming from a family that lives by the sea, my mum regularly whipped this up for us at home. It’s very easy to make and you should be able to find all of the ingredients in your local Korean supermarket  It tastes great and also looks very impressive. It’s always been one of my dinner party favourites, so if you’re unfamiliar with it give it a try.

Ingredients

1.5kg of Mussels (roughly two packages from the mart, mine were 2,000 each)

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

30g of butter

200ml of cream

200ml of white wine

2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley

1 lemon (cut into  wedges)

A glug of olive oil

Directions

Clean and wash your mussels thoroughly in cold water. Remove any beards that are still left on them and discard any mussels that are open. Finely chop the onion and garlic then fry in the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan for a few minutes until softened. Next,add the mussels and the glass of wine to the pan and put on the lid. Steam the mussels for about 5 minutes until they have opened. Remove the lid and pour in the cream and parsley. Mix to make sure everything is coated then remove from the heat.  Throw away any mussels that have failed to open after steaming. Put the mussels into bowls and top with a wedge of lemon. Serve with the finest crusty bread from Paris Baguette. Voilà, moules marinères, the most luxurious way to eat the fruit of the sea!