Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge

Fudge is something that totally takes me back to when I was just a little kid. I remember standing outside sweet shop windows, nose pressed against the glass just staring at the dozens of sugary logs of fudge on display. Mint chocolate chip, maraschino cherry, rum & raisin...a small child on a sugar binge could sure do some damage in one of those places. Sometimes if we were well behaved my dad would buy us all a stick to share, a delicious treat but it never really went very far with five people (my dad had some strange aversion to paying dentist bills, and a good thing too - 25 years old, 0 fillings). On a related note, I'm thinking of calling my band 'logs of fudge'.

But now I'm big and ugly enough to make my own mistakes, and I've decided that a stick simply wouldn't cut it this time. I need a whole tray of the stuff, and seeing as my schoolteacher of a girlfriend will be around the house and fridge for the next 6 weeks, I'm guessing I'll have someone to share it with, whether I like it or not. Get your dentists on standby, this one packs a punch.

This recipe is also dangerously easy. And quick, and cheap. I'm talking fifteen minutes and a handful of change. Using condensed milk would probably have fudge purists scoffing, and admittedly it is a bit of a 'Delia' but the end result tastes fantastic. And you get to lick the spoon afterwards - my dad once told me they used to have this stuff on pudding instead of custard. And I'm supposed to believe he had it tough!? How he still has all his teeth I'll never know.

Combine the condensed milk with 350g of dark chocolate, 40g of butter and a pinch of salt and melt over a very low heat. When everything's all mixed together evenly, take it off the heat. Now you can add whatever extra ingredients you're feeling. Some crushed nuts or dried fruit could be awesome - go with your gut, I trust you. I threw in about 100g of marshmallows, stirred it all up and then poured into a baking tray that I'd lined with parchment.

Let the fudge cool for 30 minutes or so and then stick it in the fridge for a few hours. After the waiting gets a bit too much, slice it up and get involved. Just maybe not too much in one sitting.

Ingredients
350g chocolate
1 tin condensed milk
40g butter
pinch of salt
100g marshmallows

Mom's Turkey Burgers

When I graduated from university my parents gave me three things. The first was a night at a local country house slash spa for me and my girlfriend, with champagne and a delicious three-course meal for my girlfriend and I. The second was a pat on the back and a request to 'now kindly find a job'. And the third, which was neither therapeutic nor particularly life-affirming, was without a doubt the most special to me. They had put together a cookbook, complete with all of the recipes I had known, loved and regularly demanded when I was growing up. This is one of those recipes.

Apart from tasting so damn good, because turkey is such a lean meat, these burgers are pretty healthy as well (which normally goes against everything I believe a burger should be, but trust me on this one). You start off by chopping up about 3 spring onions - or 'scallions' if you're the type of person that walks on a sidewalk.

The Chinese have done a lot of things right - The Great Wall, kung-fu, firecrackers and Lucy Liu to name a few. But above and beyond all of that, I have to thank them for creating my favourite condiment; Soy sauce. When I was in my first year at university, boiled rice was a perfectly acceptable meal as long as I had a bottle of the stuff at the ready. For these burgers you'll need a good tablespoon of soy sauce, along with 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard. Thinking about it, soy sauce might not necessarily be my favourite, but it's definitely top three, along with green tabasco and fancy sauce.

Mix your soy sauce, spring onions and mustard with 600g ground turkey, a teaspoon of fresh minced ginger and 1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper. You don't need to add any salt because the soy takes care of that. Combine well using a fork or two very clean hands. 

This recipe makes 4 nice-sized patties and if you're cooking for two, the others can be wrapped in cling film and frozen for a rainy day. By pure coincidence I made these last week and today was that rainy day. It was also a rainy day. A very...rainy...day. Stick them under the grill, about 2 inches from the heat and cook each side for about 5 minutes.

Sticking with the Asian-fusion sorta style these burgers are all about I dressed them with some baby gem lettuce leaves, sliced red onion (double onions up in the biotch - crazy I know) a squeeze of lime and a drop of sesame oil. Perfection.

And those, my friend, are my Mom's delicious turkey burgers. Enjoy. I did.

Ingredients

600g ground turkey

3 tblsp spring onions

1 tblsp soy sauce

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

2 tsps Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper