Top 3 Knives For Every Kitchen
When you think about all the kitchen gadgets and tools we have the knife is probably the tool we use the most. Veggies, meat, fruit and bread get chopped, diced and sliced on a daily basis so we should invest in the best knives we can. And they really are a sound investment that with a little care will last you a lifetime.
The world of knives is huge and everyone will have their favourites and opinions on which are the best. We have a few different brands in our line up at home but you can’t go wrong with the classic WUSTHOF. They’ve been making knives since 1814 and even after 200 years they are still family run and produce only in Solingen, the City of Blades. They have over 1,200 knives in their range at various price points. We carry a wide selection and always recommend you hold the knife in your hand before you buy to make sure it feels right for you. Something to look forward to when we can open the shop again!
With so much chose it’s sometimes confusing as to which knife you need for the job. If you have a chef’s knife, a paring knife and a serrated knife you will pretty much be covered for all your kitchen prep needs. Yes, there are other types – peeling, butcher, pruning, fillet and many, many more – but for now we’ll look at the most used.
Top 3 knives for every kitchen
Chef’s Knife
This is probably the most useful and most used knife in the kitchen and the ultimate multitasker. You can chop your fruit and veg, slice your meats and fish (but don’t use for peeling, carving or butchery). Depending on what feels comfortable for you an 8 – 10 inch chef’s knife will handle most jobs with ease. This is one we recommend you invest in as much knife as you can afford.
Paring knife
The paring knife is small but mighty! It steps in when the chef’s knife is a bit too big for the job like mincing garlic, peeling fruit and veg, hulling strawberries – all the prep work that is a little more detailed. Try to resist using the paring knife to cut harder vegetables like carrots, potatoes or parsnips as the smaller blade has less weight than the chef’s knife and won’t slice through as easily. You don’t have to spend a huge amount to get a great paring knife, somewhere around the £20 mark will give you a lot to choose from.
Serrated knife
A serrated knife is underrated and often just seen as a bread slicer but they do so much more. Next time you’re slicing tomatoes use your serrated knife. Pineapples, melons, peppers, citrus fruit – get slicing with your serrated knife #lifechanging. Anything that’s a tad more slippery the jagged edge of the serrated knife will grip better, whereas the chef’s or paring knife can slide across the surface. The serrated knife is a slicing tool so use a saw action for best results.
Whichever knife you use, keeping it sharp is key. We offer a knife sharpening service in the shop and can take care of almost any knife. If you want to sharpen at home, there are now many different knife sharpeners on the market and we can help find the right one for you.
Any questions? Please feel free to give us a call on 01728 723757 or email chris@krcookshop.com- we here to help and make sure you get the product that best suits you. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Kitchen Range & Cook Shop soon!
Cooking with Chris – Leek, goat cheese, walnut & lemon tart
I had a little nut tree…♫
There is an old saying that nothing grows under a walnut tree. This is clearly not true, but recently I have found out that a more correct version should be ‘some things won’t grow under a walnut tree’. We have an established bramley apple tree which for the past few years has never failed to produce a heavy crop, until this year, all the apples are misshapen and the leaves are virtually non-existent. A lilac close by also shows signs of distress. In the vicinity of the apple and lilac we have a young black walnut tree, about 10m tall. After some research I have found out that walnut trees, particularly the American black walnut, produce a chemical called juglone. This chemical is poisonous for some plants, especially apples and lilac! Apparently, walnut trees are allelopathic, which means they will try and suppress other plants with chemicals to try to gain an edge on them. Needless to say our black walnut’s days are numbered, I won’t be too sad as it is an alien to this country anyway. So now it is just a matter of catching my chainsaw when it is in the mood to start.
Try this quick and easy tart to use up any leftover walnuts!
Leek, goat’s cheese, walnut and lemon tart.
Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
25g butter
2 medium leeks
2 tbsps. chopped thyme
zest of 2 lemons and juice of 1 lemon
375g pack ready rolled puff pastry
200g soft spreadable goat’s cheese
50g walnut pieces
little chopped parsley to serve
Method
Heat oven to 220C. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, then add the butter. Once sizzling, add the leeks and cook over a medium heat until softened but not coloured. Stir in the thyme and half the lemon zest, then increase the heat. Add the lemon juice and cook for about 30 secs until the lemon juice reduces, then season well. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Unroll the pastry and lay on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment or equivalent. Lightly mark a 1cm border around the edges with a tip of a sharp knife, then prick the base all over with a fork. Spread the lemony leeks on top of the pastry, within the border. Crumble over the cheese, scatter with walnuts, then season with pepper. Drizzle with some olive oil, brushing the edges with a little oil as well. Put the tart in the oven for 15-20 mins until the pastry puffs up around the edges and is golden brown. Scatter with parsley and the remaining lemon zest. Serve hot, warm or cool.
~ Chris
Weber Smokey Mountain 47cm Smoker
Despite the heavy snowfall we’ve had in Framlingham recently, Spring really is on the way which means summer isn’t far behind and we can once again look forward to warmer days, lighter for longer nights and being outdoors as much as possible. It also means it’s BBQ season and time to get your grill on! Although, being a huge fan of all things smoked and grilled we don’t let the weather stop us and often grill on a cold winters night.
One of our favourites here at The Kitchen Range & Cookshop is the Weber Smokey Mountain 47cm smoker. It’s the perfect all rounder whether you’re new to using a smoker or a seasoned (see what we did there!) pro, you will really enjoy this piece of kit.
The Weber Smokey Mountain has the capacity to cater for about 10 people but performs just as well for smaller needs and even though it can smoke a feast it doesn’t take up too much garden space – H104cm x W48cm x D53cm. It has two triple plated cooking grates which allows you to fit a joint of meat on each level. The bottom water pan sits above the coals and regulates the temperature inside the smoker as well as creating a moist atmosphere within the chamber, making your food perfectly tender and allowing the smoke flavours to penetrate deeper.
Easy to Fuel Up
Adding your fuel source to the chamber is easily done during the cooking process via a handy aluminium fuel door on the front of the smoker, allowing the temperature to remain consistent at all times. There is a mounted thermometer so you don’t have to remove the lid and there is also a silicone sealed hole for the cable of a remote thermometer for you to keep an eye on things from a distance (handy for cooking in the winter!). The Weber Smokey Mountain holds its temperature really well and can be relied upon to be accurate every time, so no second guessing if the food is ready. The heat deflector under the barbecue means the base will not scorch your lawn or decking area.
Being made by Weber the smoker is built to an exemplary standard and the porcelain-enamelled steel is guaranteed to last for years. To help keep your Weber Smokey Mountain in tip-top condition we include a free cover.
For more information on this great smoker please visit our website here.
At home our Weber Smokey Mountain is in frequent use and we have mastered some pretty tasty recipes, so please don’t hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions or need some tips on how to get the best out of your smoker. Give Chris a call on 01728 723757 or email chris@krcookshop.com.
One day we will all be able to gather again and have friends over for barbecues and drinks, and when that day comes you will be ready to wow the masses with your Weber Smokey Mountain delights.
Cooking With Chris – Flippin’ Pancakes!
Easter falls quite early this year, making Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day occur on 16th February. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the start of the Christian fasting period of Lent. To this end, all the eggs, flour, milk, butter and lard needed to be used up; the easiest way to do this was to make pancakes. The word ‘shrove’ comes from the word ‘shrive’, meaning to be absolved after confession. Pancake Day is one of our oldest traditions that can be traced back to Anglo-Saxons times. I can’t quite remember that far back, but I can remember Mum making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, hers where about half an inch thick, and served with sugar and lemon juice. The juice was the ‘Jif’ kind, coming from a squeezable plastic lemon. It wasn’t until the seventies that I actually held a real lemon in my hand!
There are many recipes using pancake ingredients around the world. This Spanish one for Churros is Trisha’s favourite.
Churros
Ingredients
250ml water
2 ½ Tbsps. Caster sugar
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsps. Vegetable oil or lard
125g plain flour
oil for deep frying
100g caster sugar (for rolling cooked Churros in)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Method
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, 2 ½ tbsps. sugar, salt and 2 tbsps. vegetable oil. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Stir in flour until the mixture forms a ball. Heat oil for frying in a deep fryer or deep frying pan to 190C. Pipe strips of the dough into hot oil using a pastry bag. Fry until golden, drain on kitchen paper. Combine 100g of sugar and cinnamon. Roll warm churros in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Cooking with Chris – Lord Woolton Pie Recipe
Parham ‘droom’
On 12th May 1943, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress’ began arriving at RAF Framingham in Parham. The airfield would be designated as Station 153 by the USAAF. These first aircraft were not from the 390th Bomb Group which occupied the base for most of its operational history, but from the 95th Bomb Group. The 95th flew their first mission from Parham a day later to bomb an airfield in Saint-Omer in Northern France. After some disastrous missions the 95th were relocated to Horham to ‘re-group’.
I often marvel at the bravery of those poor young men who lost their lives flying from a foreign country to bomb another foreign country, without question. My claim to fame is that I have landed at Parham, not in a B-17 but a Cessna 172, and have been on the runway in a Spitfire, not the Supermarine kind but the Triumph kind, when learning to drive in the early seventies!
This is a wartime recipe called Lord Woolton Pie (I have kept imperial measures for authenticity).
1lb cauliflower
1lb parsnips
1lb carrots
1lb potatoes
Bunch of spring onions chopped
2 teaspoons of Marmite (yeast extract – or you can use a stock cube)
Tablespoon of rolled oats
Salt and pepper to taste once cooked.
Parsley (fresh or dried)
For the pastry
8oz wholemeal/wholewheat flour
4oz mashed potato
3oz margarine or lard
2 tsp of baking powder
couple large pinches of salt
Dash of water if needed.
Method
Chop up the vegetables into chunks with those that take longest to cook into smaller pieces. Place in pot and bring to simmer with just enough water to reach 3/4 of the way up the veg in the pot. Add in Marmite and rolled oats, salt and pepper and cook until tender and most of the water has been absorbed. Place mixture in deep pie dish and sprinkle with parsley . Make the pastry by mixing the flour with the baking powder and salt and then rubbing in the margarine. Mix the mashed potato in to form a dough and knead (add a little water to the mixture if too dry) Roll out to form pie crust and place on top and decorate then brush with milk. Place in oven at 200C for 30 minutes or so until top is form and browned.
Enjoy! ~ Chris
ESSE EL 13Amp Electric Range Cooker
The ESSE EL 13Amp is one of our more popular ESSE models we sell here at The Kitchen Range & Cookshop and for good reasons.
The EL 13Amp measurements are a plus for many people as it’s slightly smaller than other ESSE models which means it can be fitted into most sized kitchens. But don’t let this fool you, it packs an almighty punch! It has two large ovens (top oven 42ltr, bottom oven 30ltr), integral full width grill, cast iron hotplate, induction zone and plate warmer.
Both ovens have ‘wrap around’ elements which heat from all sides and you can even place your cooking tray directly on the oven floor to give you even more space to create your masterpiece. There is a useful ‘slumber control’ feature that keeps a minimum amount of heat generating at all times, so when you turn the oven on it reaches the desired temperature much quicker. But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean it’s an expensive stove to run – in slumber mode the EL will use 2/3 or 0.66Kw/h. It requires just two 13Amp plug sockets and doesn’t need a flue or external vents, it can therefore be positioned virtually anywhere you like.
Not only is the ESSE EL 13Amp a joy to cook with it’s good looking too. As always ESSE has combined the perfect mix of keeping the classic look we all love with modern technology to produce one of the cleanest-burning and most efficient appliances available. For more information on the ESSE EL 13Amp please visit our website here.
A Rainbow of Colours
Gone are the days when you only had a choice of a white or black appliance. Today ESSE has 20 beautiful colours to choose from so there is bound to be one to match your kitchen and personality. Since the early 1900s ESSE cookers have been finished in the ESSE factory with a lustrous glass enamel. The three stage hand sprayed coating of coloured glass is fired to the surface in the ESSE furnace at a temperature of 800°c. You also have the option of a matt finish if you prefer.
Colours available are:
Penumbra, White, Black, Pewter, Nightingale, Powder Blue, Teal Green, Cream, Matt Black, Royal Blue, Fern Green, Patel Green, Shadow, Oxford Blue, Classic Green, Primrose, Lava, Lavender, Dusky Violet and Claret.
There are also some ‘Special Colours’ available – Claret, Fern Green, Primrose, Lava and Nightingale -at an additional cost.
To take a look at all colours available visit our website here.
As always, we are here to help and can answer any questions you may have. We are an authorized ESSE dealer covering a wide area of Suffolk and Norfolk including Ipswich, Stowmarket, Lowestoft, Norwich and Felixstowe and have been using the ESSE products ourselves for many, many years. Please give us a call on 01728 723757 or email Chris@krcookshop.com.
You can visit our website here and find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
ESSE Ironheart – The Wood Fired Stove
We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the ESSE Ironheart display model here at The Kitchen Range & Cook Shop. Not only is the ESSE Ironheart good looking, it’s multi-functional and will be make a great addition to your home.
What exactly is the ESSE Ironheart, you ask? Well, it’s a wood burner, stove and cooking range all in one beautiful package! It has a powerful 9.7kw heat output and with it’s large oven and expansive hob there is ample room to create your culinary masterpieces with ease.
How to cook using the ESSE Ironheart
There are three main ways to cook on the ESSE Ironheart. Let’s start with the hob, which gives you the option of either cooking directly on the cast iron hotplates to sear, chargrill and toast, or you can use pans and griddles to boil and simmer. The hotplate will comfortably fit up to six pans.
Next, you can cook over the embers in the wood burner for that flame grilled taste thanks to shelved firebricks and a rack for cooking on. We’re thinking perfectly cooked steaks with the classic restaurant chargrill marks, jacket potatoes and grilled asparagus sounds like a plan for dinner!
Finally, you can roast the roast of all roasts in the oven. The heat generated from the wood burner is transferred to the oven and allows you to cook at low temperatures all the way up to 260°c. With variable shelf positions and the ability to cook directly on the oven floor, there is plenty of room (47-litre capacity to be exact) for side dishes too.
ESSE Bakeheart
Perhaps you’re looking for something a little smaller, if so, the ESSE Bakeheart could be the one for you. It offers the same great features as the ESSE Ironheart – hob cooking, wood fired grilling, oven (32-litres) – but taking up a little less space, it’s a versatile piece of equipment that fits in to the cosiest of kitchens.
We can’t wait for the ESSE Ironheart and Bakeheart to arrive (and for Covid-19/lockdown to be over!) so we can do some cooking demos and show you in person all of the great features. We’re the official ESSE dealer for many areas in Suffolk and Norfolk including Framlingham, Wickham Market, Saxmundham and beyond, and are here to answer any questions you may have. When you’re ready to purchase your new stove we take care of the order from beginning to end, including delivery and installation.
For more information visit our website here for the Ironheart and Bakeheart, call us on 01728 723757 or email chris@krcookshop.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.
Steiff Christmas Elephant Ornament
With only 2,000 of these adorable Steiff Christmas elephant ornaments made, we are very lucky to have one right here in Framlingham! This is the perfect gift for any collector of Steiff or for the elephant fanatic.
He measures 10cm in size, has beautiful soft velvety grey fur, a swish red and gold felt saddle, and the essential gold plated “Button in Ear” with an elephant instead of the usual Steiff bear stamp. There is a thin red ribbon attached so you can hang him on your tree for all to admire.
Steiff was founded in 1880 by Margarete Steiff, and although we often think of the classic Steiff teddy bear being one of the first pieces she created, it was actually the Steiff elephant design that started it all. The teddy bear was later introduced in 1902 and was designed by her nephew Richard Steiff. In 1904 the “Steiff – Button in Ear” was born and remains the guarantee of excellent craftsmanship and the quality Steiff are famous for.
We only have one available so please give us a call on 01728 723757 or email chris@krcookshop.co.uk if you would like to make him part of your collection. We can arrange for pick up from the shop or offer free delivery throughout the U.K. The Steiff elephant costs £88.00.
