Pineapple Ice Cream

I adapted this recipe from one I found in a book, which reliably informs me that this is in fact Sherbet, not Ice Cream.  Did you care?  I thought not!

Ingredients

200g sugar (you can use 20-30g of granulated sweetener instead, but it makes the ice cream a little grainy in texture)

4 pineapple rings from a can, plus 4-5 tbsp of the juice/syrup

2 large or 3 small egg whites

150ml double cream

Method

1    Place the sugar in a pan with 240ml water and heat gently until the sugar dissolves.  Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes to get a sugar syrup.  Allow the syrup to cool for about 30 minutes.

2    Blend the pineapple rings and juice to make a pineapple puree.  I used a stick blender, but use a food processor or blender if that's what you have.

3    Whisk the egg whites until they are white and frothy (but still liquid - we're not making meringues here!)

4    Combine the pineapple puree, cold sugar syrup and egg whites, then finally stir in the double cream.

5    Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn as per the manufacturer's instructions.  When done, you can store this in the freezer for up to a month.

Alternatively, pour your mixture into a freezer box and freeze for 3-4 hours.  If you are doing it this way, make sure you stir the ice cream well every half hour or so, to stop ice crystals forming in your ice cream.

Enjoy!

Sausage and Egg Muffin

Let's start by saying this isn't really a recipe, more of a tip or review!  I really like the breakfast menu at McDonalds, and in particular, the Sausage and Egg McMuffin.  But can I justify £2.19 for what is essentially a snack?  I've been experimenting for a while now, and have finally come up with my own version that tastes better and is much cheaper (about 65-90p).  Mainly, it's been about finding the best tasting ingredients.  By the way, I do my main shop at Tesco, but I promise I have tried products from all over the place - it's just a coincidence that the Tesco products win for me!

Sausage

It's surprisingly hard to find these.  I tried Lorne Sausage (the flat square sausage from Scotland).  I tried taking the meat from a normal sausage and squishing it into a hamburger shape, and also adapting the sausage meat in various ways.  There was also a sausage patty that Iceland sells - which I didn't rate at all, very fatty yet still somewhat tasteless.  All of these were OK, but didn't taste exactly how I would like.  The winner here is Tesco frozen Pork and Herb Sausage Patties (£2.30 for 6) which are delicious.

(A special shout out to my own Vegetable Roll here too, it is absolutely delicious in a muffin, but not the same as the Maccy-Ds :-) )

Muffin

Almost all English Muffins you can buy taste pretty much the same.  However, for this 'recipe', it is really important to (a) toast them and (b) butter them.  I have found two in particular that are fab - Warburtons (80p for 4) is the cheapest 'good' one I found.  But the very best muffin for me is Tesco Finest Cheese and Black Pepper English Muffins (£1.30 for 4) - the extra flavour is worth the extra cost!

Cheese

I know people will hate me for this, but 'real' cheese just isn't right on this!  You can bleat on about it all you like, but you need the more plasticky cheese single for this!  The very best ones are from Dairylea, but there is so little difference I usually use the cheapest ones, like Creamfields Singles at the bargain price of 50p for 10.

Egg

I've done lots of experiments with eggs for muffins!  The closest to the real thing is to buy an egg ring and use it to fry the egg in a frying pan.  A good alternative for me was to crack the egg into a ramekin and bake it in the oven.  But here's the controversial bit - I don't like the egg in the McDonald's version.  McDonalds *do* have an egg that I like, more of an omelette, but they only use it in their breakfast wraps and bagels.  So I crack my eggs into a shallow tapas dish, beat them up, and microwave them for 1-2 minutes.  Omelette-y goodness is a massive improvement!

Ketchup

Only one ketchup exists - Heinz.  Discussion over.