Review: Rice Krispies Fish Fingers & Tangy Mayo

Alright, so how about those fish fingers up there? Fish sticks, for my American buddies. If you play a food word association game and the word given is British or United Kingdom, chances are the food associated word that comes up will be fish and chips. It's what Brits are known for. It's one of the things that inspired me to come to England in the first place. And after eating some unbelievably good fish and chips in Whitby, it's one of the things that's kept me here.

You can't go wrong with juicy, flaky cod battered and fried. Served with a portion of salty, hot chips? Get out of town! That thimble of cool, tangy mayo just takes it all to a whole 'nother level.

Before I go any further, allow me to explain the purpose of this post (and the others like it that will crop up). I've been asked to review kid-friendly recipes on the site Great British Chefs. How awesomesauce is that?! In these reviews, you'll find loads of photos (a lot more than normal) and loads of opinions and no actual recipe. Instead, there'll be a link where you can find the recipe, straight from the Great British Chefs website. Got it? Good! Let's dive in!

---

Rice Krispies Fish Fingers with Tangy Mayo 
by Marcello Tully
When choosing this recipe to review, I was intrigued by the idea of dunking fish in cereal and then deep frying it. In theory, it's understandable why it works and I could envision the crunch but the skeptic in me needed a little bit of convincing! That (and my aforementioned affinity for fish and chips) spurred me to have a go. I'm certainly glad I did!

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "What?! A chef wrote this recipe?!" and 10 being "That's why they pay him/her the big bucks!":

Overall recipe: 9
I found that I needed a fair few larger quantities of ingredients than the recipe called for. This is even after halving the amount of fish to accommodate my family.

Overall taste: 10
I loved the crispiness of the fish fingers and the sharp tang of the mayonnaise.

Overall concept/technique: 10
It had been about 2 years since I made any homemade mayonnaise, so I loved the methodical whisking involved. (Even though I may have muttered under my breath at some point that I hated making mayonnaise! I truly enjoyed it.)

Ease of recipe: 8
While the recipe wasn't hard to follow, it was ... laborious. There was no estimated preparation time given and I badly underestimated how long it'd take me to get everything done.

Ability to do what it says on the tin:10
I was expecting fish fingers hugged by lightly crushed Rice Krispies and a sharp mayonnaise and that's exactly what I got. I wasn't expecting a troubleshooting message about mayo splitting. Luckily, I didn't need it, but it was nice to know what to do just in case!

Thoroughness of recipe: 8
As I mentioned, I had to increase the quantities of flour, cereal and egg. I halved the amount of fish and three adults and a toddler still struggled to finish it all!

Reaction of my kid: 10+
Are you kidding me? My 15-month-old didn't even leave a stray sesame seed on his plate!

Potential kid involvement: 9
Older kids (school age) would love to be involved with the dunking (egg, flour, cereal) and younger kids (pre-school age) would love to crush the cereal.

Likelihood to try other recipes by this chef: 10
I'm intrigued by anyone who'd marry fish with kid's breakfast cereal.

Willingness to go to this chef's restaurant after trying this recipe: 10
Again, intrigue has won me over. Plus, I've had a cheeky peek at his restaurant's menu and those slow-roasted beef cheeks sound amazing.

Gluten Free Skillet Macaroni Bolognese (Hamburger Helper Copycat)

We've had a whirlwind week in the Nibbles household. Both husband and son were ill with viral infections and there were loads of work commitments on for me. To top it all off, the heating element in our stove went out and we've since been living off of quick dinners. But through setbacks come some of the best things in life. That is exactly how this recipe was born.

On the day I made it, we were meant to be having lasagna. Needing a quick replacement, I threw this together. You could call this a hamburger helper copycat, except this has so much more flavor and it tastes like proper food. I've always found that Hamburger Helper somehow always tastes like balmy nights in the dorms at college instead of something I'd want to present to my family.

Call it what you wish. It's just delicious and easy and ready in under 20 minutes. And is a perfect antidote to spaghetti without all the saucy heaviness.

---

Ingredients:
For the macaroni bolognese
1 cup mixed frozen mushrooms
1 cup shredded cheese
2 tsp tarragon
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 tsp oregano
4tbsp passata
300g lean pork mince
400g gluten free uncooked macaroni noodles
Sunflower oil
Salt and Pepper

---

All right, let's cook:
Toss the frozen mushrooms in a saute pan over medium heat and allow to unthaw. Meanwhile, put some water on to boil to cook the macaroni. Once the mushrooms have begun re-absorbing their liquid, sprinkle in some tarragon. If the pan is getting too dry, drizzle in some sunflower oil. Once cooked, remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
Add more oil if necessary and brown the mince, seasoning it with a little salt and pepper, the garlic and oregano. Cook until brown, about 4 minutes. By this time, your macaroni should be ready. It needs to be slightly underdone as it will continue cooking in the skillet. Strain your macaroni, reserving some of the starchy cooking water.
Tumble the mushrooms back into the saute pan with the mince and herbs. Toss the macaroni in as well and stir to combine. Spoon over the passata, a little more salt and pepper and a bit more sunflower oil if the pan is too dry. Don't be heavy-handed with the oil.  Sprinkle over half the cheese and stir well.
All the mix to cook and bubble away for about 5 minutes or until the macaroni around the edges starts to go crispy and form a nice crust. Sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and leave for a further 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Link Party: Tasty Tuesday #3 Plus Features

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I'm excited that you're interested in sharing your delish dishes with the blogging community through my link party. While last week's party was a little on the small side, I'm hoping this week's party is going to be a little bigger! Either way, I'm sure we'll have fun peeking around new blogs and taking a look at new recipes. 

As always, I'd love it if you helped to spread the word about this party by inviting your blogging buddies to participate. Don't forget to grab a participator's button to display on your blog where you see fit. Also, if you've been featured, swipe a snazzy button from here for your blog/newsletter.

---

Featured from last week's party
Because of a mistake in last week's party, posts weren't displaying properly! So here are two of my favorite recipes shared.

 

How amazing does that look? 

 

I love this smoothie & I've made it twice since posting the recipe

---

A few rules of the party

1. Follow Anyonita Nibbles socially (however you'd like) and let me know so I can do the same in return!
2. Visit other links in the party. Leave a comment stating that you stopped by. (We all love to read comments, so share the love!)
3. Spread the word; grab a participator's button and display it on your blog.
4. Link to your recipes--no giveways or promos, please.
5. As a participant, you acknowledge that photos from the post you link may be distributed as a part of the Tasty Tuesdays Feature and/or across my social media platforms. If this is the case, all photos will be credited back to your sites and posts and credit will be given.

All right, here we go, party people!

Gluten Free Wicked Southern Comfort Vanilla Bean Frappe

This has been one busy, tiring week. On Thursday, an unexpected parcel arrived addressed to Anyonita Nibbles. Intrigued, somewhat giddy, I ripped it open and found, along with a note from a publicist, this glorious unreleased cookbook, "Wicked Good Burgers" by Andy Husbands, Chris Hart and Andrea Pyenson. Thumbing through, I was elated and ecstatic and wanted to make pretty much every recipe on display.

But, since I do my meal planning a month in advance, all the meals for the rest of March are sorted and groceries bought. So I couldn't justify going over the food budget to swap the recipes around. I've already started April's menu, however and four of the recipes (so far) are from this book.

While I couldn't make a main from here, I wanted to make something. In the back of this 208-page book is a small final chapter. The chapter I always look at first when thumbing through a cookbook--desserts. The first one up is for this easy but delish vanilla frappe. I know what you're thinking: you need a recipe for a milkshake? No, you don't. But I did need a recipe for good, think milkshake. The kind of milkshake that makes your palate cry out for a burger and plate of salty fries. I did need a recipe for a wicked, alcoholic milkshake and I'm happy to have found this one.

Before I jump into the recipe, allow me to clue you in on some particulars from the accompanying press release:

• Wicked Good Burgers is published by Fair Winds Press and will be available for purchase April 2013
• Wicked Good Burgers is the second title in the Wicked Good franchise as established by chefs Andy Husbands and follows last year's debut, Wicked Good Barbecue
• Inside, you'll find tips on making the Perfect Burger, how to Sous Vide at home, an unbelievable Scallop and Shrimp burger, Buttermilk Onion Petals and Duck Fat Fries. To wash it down, there's Ginger Beer Float and of course, the Wicked Vanilla Frappe.

---

Ingredients:
For the frappe
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds removed
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ounce Southern Comfort Original
1 1/2 cups good quality vanilla ice cream
6 ounces (175 ml) very cold milk

---

All right, let's blitz:
Pour the milk into the blender followed by the scraped seeds from the vanilla bean.
Add the vanilla extract, Southern Comfort and ice cream.
Blend for 45 seconds to 1 minute until the mixture is thick and smooth. 
Sip and enjoy.

Of course, you can leave the Southern Comfort out if you prefer and you'd still end up with a pretty tasty milkshake.

Gluten Free Classic French Onion Soup

It was my intention to save this post until after summer. But, as snow falls here in Manchester and weathermen toss around words like "blizzard" and "apocalyptic" (Okay, that last one was just me.) I think a misplaced winter warmer should go down well for those of us in the firing line.

This soup is a family favorite. We have at least twice a month in winter, sipping it slowly with slices of toasted baguette, sprinkled with cheese floating about or, more simply, with a good crusty cheesy roll for dunking in at whim.

Blogging as a Guest + Foodies Festival Contest

I'm being featured on This Silly Girl's Life today! It's a fantastic blog and I'm proud to be offering up a guest post of one of our most viewed recipes. Be sure to go check it out!
Click the picture to be taken directly to the blog and remember to show some love.

Thanks, Dana! 

---

In other news, the good people at the Foodies Festival have sponsored this post and this competition! Enter the competition below for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the amazing Foodies Festival in Tatton Park near Manchester on 18 May 2013.

We'll be attending the festival and we think it'll be great to see you there! Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gluten Free Tame Dragon Chicken

Oh, this chicken. Over the years, I have heard many a people refer to this chicken (a recipe written by Nigella Lawson in her cookbook, Kitchen) as being one of the greatest chicken recipes there is. I love Nigella. Love. But, I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with this recipe.

When I view the word dragon I immediately think of ultimate heat. The iconic fire-in-the-belly hutzpah of a veritable force to be reckoned with. Toss that word in as an adjective for food and things start to get exciting. As my palate has developed, I've learned that I love spicy food. I'm capsaicin crazy, actually. So perhaps my love of chili peppers is marring my view of this recipe? But, for me, this wasn't fiery.

This was ... all bark and no bite. Fur coat, no knickers. Pardon the pun, but: smoke with no flame. In fact, while tasting the marinade for this, I chucked loads of ingredients at it! I kept the pepper seeds that Nigella tells you to discard and still, at best, the spice was muted and demure. Three or four wings in, I started to feel a slight tingle around my lips and thought, Finally! It's getting spicy! But no. That was it. If you don't like too much spice, you'll love this. These are my tweaks on Nigella's recipe. Although, I'm going to have to go back and spice it up even more in the future. Much to my spice-cautious husband's chagrin.

Link Party: Tasty Tuesdays #2 plus Features

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I'm excited that you're interested in sharing your delish dishes with the blogging community through my link party. While last week's party was a little on the small side, I'm hoping this week's party is going to be a little bigger! Either way, I'm sure we'll have fun peeking around new blogs and taking a look at new recipes. 

As always, I'd love it if you helped to spread the word about this party by inviting your blogging buddies to participate. Don't forget to grab a participator's button to display on your blog where you see fit. Also, if you've been featured, swipe a snazzy button from here for your blog/newsletter.

---

Featured from last week's party
Here are the top three clicked and on or commented posts from last week's party! Well done to you guys for uploading enticing recipes to tempt us all with.

With the most clicks and likes of the party, our Star Partier this week is:

Lucy at Super Golden Bakes and her Hazelnut Praline Cupcake--well done Lucy! Doesn't that beautiful cupcake just make your mouth water? Nom.

With equal numbers of clicks and likes, we round up the party with both:

Shauna at Ready2loseweight's fab fish dish and

Annie at Annie's Noms genius brownie stuffed into a chocolate chip cookie!

---

A few rules of the party

1. Follow Anyonita Nibbles via Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Twitter or by subscribing to my RSS Feed and let me know so I can do the same in return!
2. Visit at least two of the links in the party. Leave a comment stating that you stopped by. (We all love to read comments, so share the love!)
3. Spread the word; grab a participator's button and display it on your blog.
4. Link to your recipes--no giveways or promos, please.
5. As a participant, you acknowledge that photos from the post you link may be distributed as a part of the Tasty Tuesdays Feature and/or across my social media platforms. If this is the case, all photos will be credited back to your sites and posts and credit will be given.

All right, here we go, party people!

Gluten Free Maple Banofee Tart

This Maple Banoffee Tart is like a banoffee pie, but without the heavy cream. It's just as rich, indulgent and moreish as a banoffee pie, and is a little bit more labor intensive. You reap a handsome and flavorful return for you hard work, though, as this tastes a lot better than a traditional banoffee pie.This tart would be perfect to prepare either in the morning before a dinner party or the day before. It tastes better as it "ages" in the fridge and, to my surprise, the base gets crumblier and almost cookie-like.

This recipe was developed for My Secret Kitchen using their unbelievably delicious maple caramel sauce. I'm sure you could recreate this using ordinary caramel, but it would be missing the alluring maple undertones.

---

Ingredients:
For the tart
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 slab 70% dark chocolate
2 ripe bananas, sliced
6 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Maple Caramel Sauce
180g Stork or unsalted butter
200g sugar
240g gluten free plain flour

To serve: good quality vanilla bean ice cream, extra Maple Caramel Sauce and a few ripe berries.

---

All right, let's cook:
Melt the Stork or butter in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir in the sugar with a wooden spoon until dissolved. Do not allow to boil. Pour into a mixing bowl and mix in the maple caramel sauce.

Allow the mix to cool slightly before adding the egg, flour, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Stir until incorporated. Cover and chill in the fridge for an hour or so.

Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 180C. Pour the mix into a 24cm fluted flan pan. And bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Once baked, arrange the banana slices over top and grate over as much of the dark chocolate as you'd like. Put back into the refrigerator for at least four hours. 

Serve with a drizzle of maple caramel sauce, a scoop of good quality vanilla bean ice cream and a few berries.

Gluten Free Melt in your Mouth Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

When the weather starts getting warmer in North Carolina, barbecue grills start coming out from their perch beneath covers, patios and porches and take their rightful place in the backyard. It's normally around this time of year when my dad would announce that we would be having ribs the next coming weekend. He'd dig the huge black and silver flocked roasting tin from my mother's jungle of kitchen equipment and hoist a xylophone of uncooked pork ribs into its cavity.

Standing at the kitchen sink like some sort of meat sorcerer, he'd sprinkle the raw slabs with a concoction of seasoning salt and spices. Quietly, he'd cover the pink flesh and bones and allow them to marinate either overnight in the fridge or a few hours on the counter before taking them to meet their fiery end on the grill's grate. That night we'd feast on perfectly flame-cooked ribs, steaks and chicken. No fingers went unlicked as we hungrily devoured the bounty of barbecued meat.

You know as well as I do there's no comparison between flame-grilled meat and broiled meat. But earlier this week, when Manchester was still wrapped in a flurry of wintry weather, I craved summer and barbecue ribs. The best I could do was the slow cooker and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the results. The meat really does melt in your mouth. The sauce is moreish and I guarantee that you'll hear one of two things around your dinner table when you serve this: the silent enjoyment of eating a dish too good for words or the satisfied moans and slurps that accompany any flavorful meal.

---

Ingredients:
For the ribs
1/2 cup Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce (it's gluten free, y'all!)
1 cup water
2 pounds pork ribs
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

For the barbecue sauce
a bit more Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce

---

All right, let's cook:
Combine the paprika, cumin some salt and pepper on a shallow plate. Roll each rib in the mix--depending on the size of your ribs, you might need more spices. Set aside.

Pour the barbecue sauce, water and Worcestershire sauce into the belly of the slow cooker.

Gently place the ribs in the water, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Once the ribs are done, ease them out of the slow cooker using tongs and place them in a serving dish deep enough to hold the sauce. Be careful, though! The meat will be so tender that if handed roughly, it'll just fall off the bone.  Cover with foil. and get on with the sauce.

Pour the leftover liquid (and any bits of meat that have fallen from the bone) from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Top up with a bit more Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce and allow to bubble away and come to the boil. Keep the pan on while you get on making side items. You're looking for the sauce to reduce by about 1/3. Once reduced, pour back over the ribs and serve straight away.