Chef Wise

There’s so much for the kids to love at Planet Hollywood this half term. Let’s start with their own special menu featuring the yummiest dishes EVER and it includes unlimited soda (coca-cola, diet coke, Schweppes lemonade, Fanta and still water) amazing value at just £8.95 for drinks, a main and a pudding. So what else is there for the kids?          Halloween weekend FREE face painting from 4pm – 9pm We always have a ready supply of crayons and colouring-in sheets Throughout the entire restaurant you will find huge multi-purpose plasma screens – where else can you justify letting your kids watch telly whilst they eat? Watch clips from trillions of Disney and other age-appropriate movies Sing along and watch music videos of the most exciting pop stars in the charts And over Halloween age-appropriate spooky movie and music clips from shows like Corpse Bride and Mad Scientist will have your table laughing and screaming trick or treat...

Now this is a recipe that will take you a lot of bowl but once it has frozen down you will have a soft scoop ice cream that you can make about a million ways and in hundreds of different flavours. Basically if you whisk the cream make the meringue   and fold it together that is the basis for a ice cream.  You do not need to churn it or go back and see if it has worked.  Every time have made it like this it just has worked. All I will say is that you need a lot of bowls. You will need. 330g/11oz caster sugar 72ml/2½floz water 6 egg whites 300ml/10fl oz whipping cream Dash of vanilla essence 6 egg yolks 290ml/½ pint full cream milk 450g/1lb dessert apples 1tbsp dark soft sugar 1tdsp butter 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp mixed spice First, take your apples and dice them.  It is up to you if you take the skin off.  Put the butter, mixed spic, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a pan along with the ap...

Now it could be said that the simplest things in life are some times the best and with this recipe you will find it easy to make and popular with young and old alike. So if you want to make a sweet treat for a party or just for the kids lunch box or your own have a go at this. You will need the following. 125g/4½oz soft unsalted butter 300g/10½oz dark chocolate 3 tbsp golden syrup 200g/7¼oz digestive or shortbread biscuits 100g/3½oz mini marshmallows 2 tsp icing sugar Now start by taking you biscuits and breaking them up roughly in a bowl.   You want frailly ruff crunched lumps not a smooth crumb just a bit of a bash should do you. Then add to them the mash mellows and toss them together. Now you can use any biscuit you like really but I prefer to use either the digestive or shortbread as I like the texture of the biscuits.   However, id did once try this with chocolate bourbon biscuits and it was very nice. Now take a s...

This is a creamy classy cheesecake that I think must have come from America but probably did not.   It covers so many things as it used things that are in season and also you could make it for Halloween or thanksgiving if you are in charge of any dinner parties fro any of those occasions.   And even if you are not give it a go as it does make a rather nice cheese cake all the same. You will need. 112g/4oz digestive biscuits 112g/4oz ginger nut biscuits 60g/2oz butter Juice and zest 1 lemon 340g/12oz roasted pumpkin 225g/8oz caster sugar 450g/1lb cream cheese 1 tsp ground cinnamon 2.5g/½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 4 eggs 90ml/3fl oz double cream 90ml/3fl oz natural yoghurt Now for my base on this recipe I have used two kinds of biscuits.   You classic digestive and you ginger nut.   The two kinds been broken down and mixed together just add a little some thing more to the b...

One thing that as a kid I always liked and would always ask fro if I saw them was a toffee apple.   Something about caramelised sugar and the apple just working so well together that no matter what combination you put it with it just works. And to get it on a stick and just bite in to the hard crisp toffee otter and the apple in the middle perfect as a taste sensation   You will need, 225g/9oz Demerara sugar 110ml/4floz water 0.5 tsp vinegar 2 tbsp golden syrup 25g/1oz butter 6 apples 6 wooden skewers, for holding the apples Once again this is all about melting sugar and knowing when it is ready so the best tool for the job is a sugar thermometer. But if you do not have one the sate that you want the sugar to be at is what is called hard crack. To tell if you have reached this stage, you take some of the boiling sugar and dip it in cold water, it should harden immediately.   What you are looking for is hard but not sticky.   That ...

Now to make your own marshmallows you do nee a sugar thermometer so you can get the right temperature when bring the liquids to the boil. I do not know if you can do this by eye and I am sure that you can but I do not know, as I have never tried to do this.   My guess is that you can as it is rather like making Italian meringue but as I have one, I will say use a sugar thermometer or borrow one. You will need 450g/1lb caster sugar 1 tbsp liquid glucose 200ml/7fl oz water 2 large free-range egg whites 9 gelatine sheets, soaked in water until soft Bash of vanilla essence 1 tsp oil Corn flour and Icing sugar for dusting Take your sugar, glucose and water and get this in to a   heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring it to the boil and then place in your sugar thermometer. Keep boiling till the temperature reaches 127c/260f.   Now this is roughly what you call thread or feather stage when boiling sugar.   To know when it is right take a little of ...

This is a recipe for Halloween or Bonfire night, some thing that you can make with the kids and that will hopefully go down very well with them.   I know that when I have made them they have gone down rather well and now with the added attraction of popping candy, chopped almonds, sprinkles and chocolate they have taken on an almost professional standard.   What you can do is set the honeycomb silicon moulds and stick a lolly stick in it.   Or you can set it on a tray and break it up in to ruff shapes latter.   325g/11½oz caster sugar 50g/2oz honey 125g/4½oz glucose syrup 4 tbsp water 1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda 200g/7oz good-quality milk chocolate 250g/9oz hundreds and thousands (optional) 250g/9oz popping candy (optional) 250g/9oz almonds, finely chopped (optional) Now like making jam you want a bigger saucepan than you think for reason that I will go in to latter. To make the honeycomb get your sugar, honey, glucose syrup and wate...

Well it is that time of year when you are probably thinking of all kinds of parties and the next big one is Halloween.   Now as far as recipes go I am not giving any actual recipe s here but I am going to give a few ideas that you could do.   The good thing is that you can go a little over the top and do a whole load of things that sound disgusting and that is the point.   Most of the names and idea are things that I have seen and made to go on Halloween menus.       For your first bites   Halloween Brochette, made with garlic, diced pumpkin, yellow and red tomatoes, onion, Black Olive tapenade, and basil pesto.   You get the grilled red yellow or orange of the tomatoes and pumpkin on a black or green paste. Shredded Brain Spread, heat crabmeat spread with onion, chives, cheese and a touch of horseradish and served with toasted bread. Dusk til’ Dawn Massacre, cheesy nachos with jalapeno peppers, chunky Salsa, Sour cre...