Simple steps to take the stress out of entertaining
Lisa Gatenby didn't bat an eyelid when she couldn't get smoked trout for the pâté she was planning to make for the stress-free entertaining workshop. She just used smoked salmon instead.
"Things don't always go according to plan when you are cooking and it is important not to let this shatter your confidence," says Lisa.
"Having seen programmes like Masterchef, many people think cooking at home is bound to be stressful. Entertaining is not a competition. It should be as relaxed and fun for the cook as everyone else."
Lisa is a qualified chef and also has a PhD for research into whether free school meals actually improve children's diets. She now manages the Cooking Communities Project at Leeds Trinity University College, Horsforth and runs after-school cooking clubs.
Today, Lisa and her colleague Gill Hooper are taking me through a dress rehearsal of their stress-free cooking workshop, developed along with a portfolio of other events including corporate cooking days and courses for parents who want to learn how to cook with their children.
"On our stress-free cooking course, we teach our students how to plan a menu in advance, and to prepare as much beforehand as possible," says Gill.
"Many dishes, such as Coq au Vin actually improve if they are made in advance.
The workshop is run in a bright, spacious modern kitchen and students work in pairs with Lisa and Gill on hand to help out.
It includes making starters, main courses and desserts which Lisa and Gill take in turns to demonstrate.
Lisa showed me how to create a seasonally-coloured red pepper hummus and smoked trout pt, both of which can be prepared ahead of time.
"Finishing touches like a delicate garnish of lime and coriander on the pt and warming fresh bread are very important when entertaining," says Lisa.
Gill gave a tower of light, crisp meringues a seasonal twist. She splattered it with a rich dark chocolate sauce rather like a Joan Mir painting. She then transformed it with shiny amber physalis berries, holly and a dusting of icing sugar.
"We also encourage students to taste the food they have cooked," says Gill
"As part of the day, students sit down for lunch to sample and discuss what they have cooked over a glass of wine."
Smoked trout pt
Serves 4 as a starter
2 smoked trout fillets
50g cream cheese
1 tbsp horseradish sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Place the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.
Taste and adjust seasoning before putting the pt into bowl. Chill in the fridge and serve with slices of warm, fresh, crusty bread.
Red pepper hummus
This can be made at the last minute – just make sure you've always got the ingredients in stock.
Serves 4-6 for a starter
350g jar roasted red peppers
410g can chickpeas
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tbsp cream cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp fresh lime juice
Sea salt and ground black pepper
1 lime cut into wedges
Sprigs of fresh coriander
Drain the peppers and chickpeas and place into the bowl of a food processor. Add the paprika, cream cheese, oil, garlic and lime juice. Blitz until smooth and adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve on slices of toasted ciabatta and garnish with a tiny wedge of lime and a sprig of coriander
Maple roast chicken with potatoes and thyme
Gill says: "This is a basic dish which can be adapted for vegetarians by substituting pieces of torn-up mozzarella cheese for the chicken. The vegetarian version also works well with the maple syrup and mustard dressing".
Serves 4
750g small new potatoes, halved
2 red onions, cut into wedges
1 bulb of garlic, separated into cloves, but not peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 heaped tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 large red pepper, deseeded and cut into large pieces
2 medium courgettes, halved lengthways and thickly sliced
Sprigs of fresh thyme
4 chicken leg portions
Sea salt and black pepper
Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Place the potatoes, onions and garlic in a large roasting tin, season with salt and pepper and dribble with one tbsp of olive oil. Mix well with your hands to make sure all the vegetables are lightly coated with oil. Roast the vegetables for 15 minutes.
Add the pepper, courgettes and thyme to the vegetables in the roasting tin and arrange the chicken portions on top. Mix the maple syrup with the remaining mustard and 1 tbsp of olive oil and spoon over the chicken.
Roast for 45 minutes to one hour until the chicken is golden and sticky and the vegetables are tender.
Christmas meringues
"The trick with meringues is to use really fresh egg whites and to beat the sugar and eggs whites until they form tall shiny stiff peaks" says Lisa. "Use 50g of caster sugar to one egg white".
Serves 4
3 egg whites
150g caster sugar
150ml double cream, whipped
For the chocolate sauce:
150ml double cream
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
85g dark, cooking chocolate, broken into small pieces
Physalis (Cape gooseberries), sprigs of holly and icing sugar to decorate
Preheat the oven to 150C/gas mark 2 and line two baking sheets with silicone paper.
Place the egg whites in a bowl and whisk until they form stiff white peaks. (You should be able to turn the bowl upside down without the egg whites dropping.) Whisk 1 tbsp of caster sugar, at a time, into the egg whites. Use an electric whisk to do this. When the mixture looks, glossy and white use a tablespoon to drop little mountains of meringue onto the baking sheet – about eight per sheet.
Place the meringues in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 125C/gas mark 1. Cook the meringues for an hour and a half and then turn off the oven. Leave them in the oven until it is completely cold so that they have time to slowly dry out.
Place the chocolate pieces, cream and sugar in a small heat proof bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water. When the meringues are cold, dip the flat side of each meringue into the chocolate sauce and sandwich together with whipped cream.
Construct a tower of meringues and splatter with the remaining chocolate sauce. Decorate with physalis, a sprig of holly and a dusting of icing sugar.
The next Stress Free Entertaining Workshop runs on Saturday, November 28 between 10am and 3pm at Leeds Trinity University College, Horsforth. Price 45. To book a place, email l.gatenby@leedstrinity.ac.uk or call 0113 283 7100 x 351.
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