Quick and Tasty Pierogie Dinner

I was introduced to pierogies by my good friend Julie. I instantly loved the little potato filled pasta pockets. You can buy them frozen, they cook quickly, and so are very handy to keep in the freezer for those days when you barely have time to stop and think, let alone cook. Here's a recipe for them that is both delicious and cheap.

Pierogies with Smoky Mushrooms

To serve 4, you need:
1 pack (16.9oz) frozen pierogies
4 slices bacon
1 onion, sliced
1 pack (10ox) baby bella mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes

Cook the pierogies according to the package instructions. Fry bacon until crisp. Keep to one side and crumble.
Fry the onion for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and 1 tbs water. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the pierogies and bacon.
Heat and you're ready to go.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cloud Pie

Since I love to bookmark and collect recipes, I always have something new to try when an event rolls around. So when I needed something to take to my mother-in-law's house recently, I knew I could easily find a great peanut butter recipe that all of us PB addicts would enjoy.

I found a fabulous recipe for a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cloud Pie online and tried it, with a few tweaks. Read on after the recipe to see my suggestions on how to improve it next time.

2 to 2 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs (the original recipe called for Oreo cookies with the filling removed - personally, I had neither the time nor the desire to sit and separate a bunch of Oreos since no one in our house likes them)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 8 oz blocks of cream cheese, at room temperature (the original calls for full fat but if you want to attempt to make this a wee bit healthier, you can use low fat)
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (again, you can use a low fat version if you want)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I still have lots of my homemade extract so I used some of that)
1 pint whipping cream, cold
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter together into a spring form pan and press down into place. This is where I discovered that I have apparently dropped and dented my spring form pan at some point and so I ended up with a slightly oval pie.

Bake the base for 8 minutes - Be careful not to over bake! Remove from oven and cool.

Beat whipped cream until stiff peaks are formed. Add vanilla and continue mixing until stiff. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar together until fluffy. Add whipped cream mixture and fold until well combined. Pour into pie crust.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth. Put a few tablespoons of the melted chocolate into a heavy duty zip lock bag. Snip the very end of the bag. Slowly pipe out a design on the top of the pie. (See my notes below about this).

Chill for at least 4 hours or until set.

The pie was delicious BUT it was even better the next day when it had set up for much longer, so my advice would be to leave it to set for much longer than 4 hours. I'd leave it overnight.

Now the problem with the chocolate topping: it tasted great but it set into a large, hard shell, making it impossible to cut the pie with first removing the chocolate layer. Next time I make this, rather than piping the chocolate onto the pie, I will pipe it into swirls and shapes on a piece of greaseproof paper. Once hardened, use the individual shapes to decorate the pie. That way, you can cut the pie without having to hack through the chocolate, (squishing the cream cheese filling in the process).

Incidentally, the peanut butter flavor is quite subtle in this and not an in your face peanut flavor. I think a lot of people would like this, even if they are not PB fans.

Blueberry Jam

As it happens, I picked just the right amount of fruit to make a batch of jam and have enough for my chicken pasta salad. This was my first attempt to make jam and it was so incredibly easy that I will definitely be making more in the future. The recipe below made enough to fill 3 pint jars, and you can easily use whatever fruit you have handy.

1 quart fresh or frozen blueberries (I had a mix of blueberries and some black raspberries that I had also picked)
2 cups water
6 cups sugar
1 pouch (3 oz.) liquid fruit pectin

Place blueberries in a large pot and crush slightly. Add water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, uncovered, for 45 mins.

Now you have a choice. If you want a smooth jelly, you can strain the mix and just return the juice to the pan. I wanted a jam with the fruit still in it so I skipped the straining step.

Stir in sugar until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add pectin; bring to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat. Skim foam. Pour hot into sterilized hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.

I left it a while to set and cool, and yesterday I enjoyed fresh, homemade jam for breakfast.

Blueberry Pasta Salad

On Thursday, I visited a local farm to pick some of my favorite fruit: fresh blueberries. They are such a fabulous fruit: small, sweet, and full of antioxidants.

Once I got them home, I wanted to try something different with them and I found this wonderful recipe for Blueberry Chicken Pasta Salad.

3 cups pasta
1 cup sugar snap peas, cut in half
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup fresh blueberries (although I suppose you could also use thawed, frozen berries)
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
2/3 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I probably used much more than this as I love fresh basil)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta and drain. Mix in all the other ingredients.

It can be eaten hot or cold. I had expected to have leftovers for today but it was so good, we gorged ourselves on the entire bowl!

Italian Calamari Stew

For our recent wedding anniversary, I decided to try the following recipe for Calamari Stew, courtesy of Italian Food Forever.

1 1/2 lbs Squid
1 lb Chopped Greens (I used spinach)
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Minced
1 Onion, Peeled & Diced
1 Carrot, Diced
2 Celery Stalks, Diced
1 Small Red Chile
1/2 Cup White Wine
1 (14 oz) Can Chopped Tomatoes
Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper
3 Tbs Chopped Fresh Parsley

Clean the squid. Cut the tube into 1 inch rings.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil and add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until almost tender. Add the squid, garlic and chile and cook an additional minute or two. Add the wine, and continue to cook over medium heat until the wine has almost completely absorbed. Add the chopped tomatoes, parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to cook the squid for 30 to 35 more minutes, adding the chopped greens in the last 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Spoon into individual servings bowls and offer slices of crusty bread when serving.

This was so incredibly easy to make, and tasted delicious, particularly when accompanied by some crusty garlic bread and a chilled white wine.

Chocolate Choc Chip Banana Bread

If you like chocolate cake or banana bread, this recipe is a divine combination of the two. Be warned, when I made it, it rose and the top was not at all pretty, but a friend assured me that was how it is supposed to look. It tastes wonderful.

2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 stick (8 Tbs) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9×5 loaf pan and place on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets one on top of the other. This will keep the bottom of the bread from overbaking.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Beat the butter until soft. Add the sugars and beat well, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the mashed bananas.
Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing until they disappear into the batter. Add the buttermilk, and mix well. Stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 30 mins. Cover the bread loosely with foil to keep the top from getting too dark, and bake for another 40-45 mins (total baking time is between 70 and 75 mins).

Cool for at least 20 mins before running a knife around the edges of the bread and unmolding it. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

Four Foods on Friday 81

Here are this week’s four questions from Four Foods on Friday.

#1. Clair’s question. What’s the biggest kitchen blunder you’ve made?

Shortly after we were married, I made a Thai curry. Since there were only the two of us, I halved everything in the recipe... well almost everything. I still put the juice of an entire lemon in there. It was so sour we had one mouthful and had to toss it.

#2. What’s your favorite snow day beverage?

Hot chocolate.

#3. What’s your favorite way to eat celery?

With peanut butter.

#4. What’s the most most unappealing looking food you can think of?

Natto. A Japanese dish of fermented soy beans. It's thick, brown, and sticky and smells absolutely awful.
Also mushy peas.

Wrapping up the Alphabet

I am dying to get back to posting my cooking adventures so here's a wrap up for the end of the alphabet.

Vinegar. A highly underrated substance. Malt vinegar is a must on fish and chips. Then of course there are pickles. While I'm not a fan of pickled eggs, I do love pickled onions (my mother ate them by the jar when she was carrying me), and other various pickles. Nowadays there are so many types of vinegar, it would be a shame not to experiment with some of them. In my kitchen cupboard right now I have white vinegar (which I use for cleaning and a mean vindaloo), balsamic, red wine, rice, chilli, and cocoa vinegars.

Worcestershire Sauce. It pains me every time I hear an American mispronounce the name of this. Do not pronounce shire as if you are a Hobbit! The sauce, a blend of spices created in the 19th century, adds tang to everything from stews and soups to steaks and scrambled eggs. Another kitchen essential.

Yorkshire Puddings. Remember what I said about shire, people. My grandmother could make amazing Yorkshire Puddings, magnificent towering creations that my mother envies to this day. I occasionally make them (toad in the hole) but you can buy excellent frozen ones. I blogged last year about how to make Yorkshire Pudding batter and Toad in the Hole. Try it - I have yet to meet a child who does not like Toad in the Hole.

Britain's Most Hated Food

I recently came across the following survey (from 2006) about the most disliked British foods. Click here for the survey results.

Definitely disagree with the inclusion of faggots, Marmite, beetroot, Sandwish spread, cockels, tikka masala (ironically also voted the most popular dish in Britain), and rhubarb.

They're spot on with tinned tomato soup though.

Tripe and Treacle, Tapioca and Twiglets

I'm feeling impatient to finish my A-Z now and may wrap up the entire alphabet tomorrow. Let's get the Ts out of the way.

Tapioca - otherwise known affectionately as frog spawn. That's what it looks like and no doubt what it tastes like too. Many a child was terrorized by a bowl of this as dessert with school dinner. In Asia, tapioca reaches heights of deliciousness in bubble tea. In England, it is cooked to a goo that you are told can be much improved by the addition of a dollop of jam.

Treacle - more correctly known as Golden Syrup. Lovely on toast or in a treacle pud.

Tripe - the inside of a cow's stomach. I have never tried it but it was a favorite dish with my grandfather. He adored the stuff. Again, the Mexicans use tripe to make menudo, we boil it with onions.

Twiglets - somehow even trying to describe these makes me think of Monty Python. "We were so poor we had to gnaw on a stick!" Twiglets are a British snack which are shaped like little twigs and coated in Marmite. I love 'em, some people hate 'em.

Spotted Dick

Spotted Dick - the one British food I get asked about everywhere I go. It's only fair I share the recipe to put curious minds at rest.

10oz Self-Raising Flour
5oz Suet
150ml Milk
4-6oz Currants or Raisins
3oz Sugar
1 Lemon, zest only, finely grated
Pinch Salt

Mix the dry ingredients and lemon zest together. Add enough milk to produce a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface.
Roll out the mixture to produce a roll approximately 6 in long and 2 in thick.
Prepare either a tea towel lightly dusted with flour, or sheet of kitchen foil or a double thickness of greaseproof paper, brushed with melted butter.
Wrap loosely but securely, leaving enough space for it to rise.
Tie or seal the ends.
Place in the steamer and cover tightly.
Steam for 1½ to 2 hours.
Serve with hot custard.

Toxic Food Myths

Everyone knows the urban legend about the little boy who died from eating Pop Rocks and soda, but have you heard the one about almonds and oysters? How about crab and pumpkin? Oysters and beer? Cherries and milk? Believe it or not, if you dig deep enough you will find a number of stories online about how various foods should not be eaten together because they can be lethal. Each story is usually accompanied by the tale of Uncle Jack or Aunt Rita who became ill and died after eating said combination.

Although it’s easy to dismiss these as ill-informed rumors, after all who doesn’t enjoy some Cherry Garcia ice-cream, where did these rumors start? And are there really any foods that should not be eaten together?

Should you eat almonds and oysters together? Some people believe you shouldn’t. It is passed on in typical urban legend fashion (my sister’s friend’s chemistry teacher) and the reason given is that the two combine to create lethal doses of cyanide in your stomach. As it happens, there is a grain of truth to this story but one that has been greatly distorted. Dietician Rosanne Rust notes that bitter almonds, as well as apricot and apple pips, contain minuscule traces of a substance that can convert to cyanide once eaten. However, the doses would be far too small to cause any damage and the almonds available to us in stores are sweet almonds which do not contain the same substance. It’s easy to see where the rumor may have started.

So what about the oysters? Where do they fit in? According to nutritional coach Susan Marque, almonds and raw oysters may be difficult (but not lethal) for some people to digest together. Since both are fairly heavy proteins, the stomach may sometimes have difficulty producing enough enzymes to break both down. In rare cases, this may lead to an allergic reaction but the reaction is caused by the individual’s own enzyme deficiencies, not by the combination of foods eaten.

Another thing that you will notice about many of the supposedly “toxic combinations” is that they contain a food which already carries certain risks. Many combinations include oysters, crab and other seafood. As most of us know, if not stored or prepared properly, seafood can easily become a breeding ground for bacteria which leads to food poisoning. It is highly probable that Uncle Jack ate a plate of bad shellfish and, upon becoming ill, assumed it must have been the combination of foods he ate. This is even more likely if we consider the lack of medical knowledge about food poisoning in the past. The same goes for myths including milk and other dairy products or alcohol. A little too much beer and a few oysters that are past their prime and you will probably get sick. That doesn’t mean the combination itself is dangerous (which will be a huge relief to most of the Eastern seaboard!)

So remember that while you may not want to drink a glass of milk with your grapefruit, doing so won’t kill you, although the curdled milk may make you feel a little nauseated. Similarly, if you feel a sick in the morning, maybe you had one beer too many or shouldn’t have eaten the crab salad you’d left sitting in the sun all day. Enjoy your cherry cheesecake (it wasn’t cherries and milk that killed President Zachary Taylor, it was most likely typhoid). And one final myth: fish and chocolate. Who’d want to eat that combination anyway? On the other hand, chocolate does make everything better….

John Montagu

Today we pay tribute to John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. (Incidentally, the town of Sandwich is all of 8 miles from my home).

Supposedly, dear old John got hungry while he was playing cards with the mates. Now John was a think-on-his-feet kind of bloke, so he grabbed some meat, wedged it between two pieces of bread, and behold - the sandwich was born!

Whether it's a true story or not, you have to admit - the sandwich can be a wonderful thing. Sadly, most British sandwiches have gained a reputation as being rather dull. Bland white bread with a sliver of luncheon meat in between.



Although in some cases, such a reputation is deserved, let us not forget the greats of the British sandwich world: the bacon butty, the sausage sarnie, cheese and pickle, cheese and anything, crisps, the list is endless. In college, I used to frequent a local bakery that had sausage sarnies, complete with oozing, melty butter, fried onions, and dripping with ketchup. Now, I like some good cheese with a fresh tomato, a few basil leaves, and perhaps some mayonnaise.



Whatever sandwich you prefer, be sure to use good quality bread and equally good quality fillings.

What's your favorite sandwich?

Four Foods on Friday 80

Here are this week’s four questions.

#1. bestmomma’s question. If you could copy the cooking expertise and ability of one person, who would it be?

You know, I'm not a big fan of most of the TV chefs or cooking shows. I would like to have awe-inspiring cake decorating skills though. I'm talking about those cakes with tons of intricate, delicate piping. I don't have the patience for that.

#2. What’s the first red food that comes to your mind?

Strawberries.

#3. How do you eat your strawberries?

I've never really been a fan of strawberries until recently when I started getting my farmer's market basket. Fresh, organic strawberries are absolutely divine, nothing like those huge, tasteless things in the supermarket. I like them just as they are or perhaps with a little yogurt.

#4. Share a recipe that uses cherries.

I haven't tried this but it sounds delish:

Hattie's Tart Cherry Barbecue Sauce

1 cup canned or frozen tart cherries
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoon ketchup 1/4 cup cherry preserves
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan with a heavy bottom; mix well. Simmer,
covered, over medium heat about 25 minutes. If desired, thicken with a bit
of cornstarch dissolved in water. Adjust seasoning.
Thanks to the Cherry Marketing Institute for this recipe

The Three Rs

We've got some very dodgy foods coming up over the next few days: tripe, tapioca, semolina... so here's a quick rundown of some key British R-foods.

Rabbit. My niece will be incredibly upset that I've even mentioned this - sorry Ginger! I've never had rabbit but it does feature in some traditional British puddings and pies, often accompanied by bacon.

Rhubarb.

I love it. Fabulous in a crumble or a pie. Even better the next day after being stored in the fridge so the pie has had a chance to gel. Can't say anything bad about rhubarb.

Rock. Now this is technically 2 different types of rock. First you have your seaside stick of rock - hard candy with lettering cleverly put into it. Then there's the fish, Rock Salmon, also known as Huss. My grandmother used to buy it fresh from the fishman who came around every Friday, and she would then proceed to gut it in the kitchen.

So there you have it: rhubarb, rabbit, rock and rock - take your pick!

Queen of Puddings

I have to admit that, despite this being a traditional English dessert, I'm not sure if I've ever had it or even seen it.

Queen of Puddings is a baked, breadcrumb and jam mix, topped with meringue. Apparently, it dates back to the seventeenth century.

Here's what you need:

1 cup breadcrumbs or crumbled sponge cake
jam
2 eggs
1 tbs + 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups milk

Spread jam across the bottom of a pie plate. Sprinkle the crumbs on top. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks with 1 tbs sugar. Heat the milk and pour over the egg yolks and sugar, then strain this mix over the crumbs in the dish.
Leave for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to Gas 3 or 325F. Bake for 45 minutes. Spread with more jam. Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold in the remaining sugar. Spoon over the pudding.
Lower the oven's hear to Gas 2 or 300F and bake for 30 minutes.

You Don't Have to Be a Ploughman to Enjoy a Ploughman's Lunch

All this talk of pork pies left me craving a proper ploughman's lunch. A traditional favourite at an country pub in the summer, you need a good sized hunk of cheese, some good crusty bread, pickle (Branston, of course), pickled onions, a couple of spring onions, a tomato, some lettuce. Anything else is up to you.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Jim Gaffigan is one of my favorite comics and he does a number of skits about food. Here's one with a reference to a British favorite.

Four Foods on Friday 79

#1, Kelly’s question. What is your favorite memory associated with the smell of a certain food? As in, you smell it, close your eyes and are instantly drawn back to a magical moment in time….

I don't know that I would describe it as magical but the smell of boiled cabbage or Brussels sprouts reminds me of my grandparents' house. Don't get me wrong - I love Brussels sprouts. But my grandmother boiled the life out of them. Her kitchen was not a place I associated with good food memories: fresh fish having their heads chopped off and their innards removed; spaghetti bolognese made with canned spaghetti.... All the same, I loved that house and the memories that go with it.

#2. Name something red that is in your cabinets.

Red - a bottle of ketchup, although I rarely use it. Dried red beans. Cans of tomatoes.

#3. Ice. Do you have an ice maker, use ice cube trays or buy by the bag?

Ice cubes.

#4. Pepper. What kind do you use most often? Is it in a grinder or a shaker?

We have a grinder that was a wedding gift although it's not grinding so well these days. It may be time for a new one. Incidentally, my kitchen cupboards are full of packets of peppercorns. I always forget I have any until I buy a new pack and am putting them away.

The Horror! The Horror!

Pease pudding hot
Pease pudding cold
Pease pudding in the pot
Nine days old.

Some like it hot
Some like it cold
Some like it in the pot
Nine day old.

So goes the nursery rhyme we'd recite when I was little. Then I tried pease pudding, and realized something. Hot, cold, nine days old - it doesn't matter. Either way, it is horrid. This is not a dish that gets better with age. It's not something that is delicious fresh from the pot.

My school fed me pease pudding one day for lunch. What were they thinking? Under what failed educational philosophy did they think that reverting to Victorian Oliver Twist-style gruel would be a good idea?

I switched to taking my own lunch soon after.

My cookbooks offer up a recipe for Pease Pudding, claiming that it freezes well. Why? So when all humanity has failed, we can comfort ourselves by thinking, "Not to worry, dear. We still have some pease pudding!" No thanks, I'll just starve. Apparently it is also a perfect accompaniment to faggots, to which I can only say, "Stay away from my beloved faggots."

Fortunately, pease pudding is rarely seen anywhere now. That may be a good thing or it may mean that world supplies are hidden somewhere in a deep freeze, waiting for the apocalypse. I could give you the recipe but I fear that would only serve to worsen the reputation of British food. Suffice to say, it takes more than 3 hours to cook, during which time you could have made a wonderful dinner or taken the Eurostar from London to Paris to enjoy a good meal, or fly to Edinburgh for some decent grub. Just stay away from the pease pudding!

The Pride of Melton Mowbray

What you see above is a little bit of food heaven. I am almost drooling on my keyboard as I type this. In fact, if I had to choose one food that I really miss, more than anything else, it may well be the humble, but oh so beloved, pork pie.

Just look at it. A golden crust with a softer, creamy inner pastry. Just a touch of jelly. And pale, pinkish-grey, delicately flavored meat. Served cold.

A thing of wonder.

The traditional pork pie was first made in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, in 1830, and people have been enjoying it ever since. There is even a Pork Pie Appreciation Society.

You will find recipes online but they are a very labor intensive process, and finding pigs trotters and pork bones may not be the easiest.

Instead, I will just advise you to buy one if you see them anywhere. Meanwhile, I shall continue salivating as I gaze at the picture above.

Oxtail Soup

A few years ago, one of Nic's relatives went on a trip to Ireland. When he returned, he couldn't stop raving about a particularly delicious soup oxtail soup. As a child, I could think of no soup worse than oxtail. It's strong, beefy flavor was too much for me, and I've never tried it since. Sadly, the relative had to have heart surgery and his wife no longer lets him eat foods with a high salt content, especially his beloved oxtail soup, but for a while he used to enjoy the cans I would bring back from trips home.

I'm not sure how easy it is to find a butcher that sells oxtails here in the US, especially after the whole Mad Cow debacle. If you can find it, here's the recipe:

1 oxtail
1 large onion
1 turnip
3 carrots
1/4 cup butter (or beef dripping if you have it)
7 1/2 cups beef stock
a bouquet garni
salt and pepper
1/2 cup plain flour
4 tbs red wine

NOTE: If you're going to the trouble of finding oxtail, don't scrimp on the beef stock. Use good quality stock and not just cheap instant cubes.

Cute the oxtail into bite-sized chunks and soak for half an hour in cold water.
Peel and finely dice the onion, turnip, and carrots.

Heat the butter in a pan, add the vegetables, and cook for 10 minutes. Add most of the stock, the oxtail, bouquet garni, and a little seasoning. Cover and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours. Remove the oxtail and herbs.

Cut the meat from the bones.

Mix the flour with the remaining stock and mix into the hot broth. Stir until the soup thickens. Return the meat to the pan, along with the red wine. Heat through, and serve.

Norfolk Batter Pudding

N was a toughie... until I came across this recipe for a Norfolk Batter Pudding:

1 cup plain flour
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tbs butter
1 lb fruit (apples, plums, etc. - peeled, and chopped)
2 tbs dried fruit

Preheat the oven to 425F or Gas 7.

Heat the butter in a casserole dish. Add the fruit and the dried fruit, cover and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.

Blend the flour, salt, eggs and milk to make a pancake batter. Pour the batter over the warmed fruit and cook for 25-30 minutes, reducing the heat a little after the first 15 minutes.

Instant Mash

What did I tell you about my mum and instant mash? (See below).

After she read that, I received the following email: You use instant mash?, disgusting! How long does it take to boil a potato?

Thanks Mum!

Chard and Bacon Puff

Due to my A-Z, I've refrained from posting any of the recipes I've been trying. I figured I'd save them up for after the alphabet but this one has been so good, I have to share it NOW!

My CSA basket this week contained Swiss Chard.
Look at those beautiful red stems.

Nic was out of town so I decided to make a quiche. (Nic is not a lover of eggs so I save these things for when he's gone.)

1 clove garlic
1 bunch Swiss Chard
5 rashers bacon
4 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1 pie crust

Preheat your oven to 400F. Chop the bacon. Cook the garlic and bacon until the bacon is how you like it. Trim and tear up the chard and add it to the pan, then cook until it has wilted down.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl and mix in the cheese (I used Gruyere) and salt. Add the chard mix.

Now for the pie crust, I only had puff pastry in the freezer. This turned out to be a good thing. Since it was cut in rectangles I left them as they were rather than make a round pie shape.

Use the pastry to line a pie dish, and pour the egg-chard mix into the crust.

Bake for about 35 minutes.



As you can see, the corners of my pastry puffed up beautifully, and look at all that tasty chard and bacon!



This recipe is a keeper. It makes my chard much more enjoyable than if I'd just boiled it to have with meat and potatoes.

If it makes more than you can eat, the quiche freezes nicely too. When you want some more, put the frozen quiche straight into the oven and cook for 20 minutes at about 350F to reheat.

My Mate Marmite!

I love it. My husband thinks it is one of the most revolting substances known to man. With Marmite there is no in-between. The thick, brown paste is made from yeast, and is a by-product of beer brewing. It is fairly reminiscent of a thickened soy sauce, which is not surprising since both are incredibly salty. Marmite's been around since 1902 and is definitely a British institution.

To quote writer Bill Bryson: "There are certain things that you have to be British, or at least older than me, or possibly both, to appreciate: skiffle music, salt-cellars with a single hole, and Marmite (an edible yeast extract with the visual properties of an industrial lubricant)."

Spread it on your soldiers to dip in your boiled egg, or use it instead of butter in a cheese sarnie. Go to the official Marmite website for more info.

Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is wonderful way to make use of an excess of lemons, or you could buy one of those bulk bags of them at the store. You an make a nice size amount with even a few lemons and it's quick and easy to make. I made a batch years ago while I was in Japan. It's great on toast, or instead of jam in a sponge pudding.

To make 1 lb of lemon curd, you need:
3 large lemons
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs

Grate the zest of the lemons, being careful not to remove any pith. Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice out. Put the zest and juice into a bowl over a pan of hot (not boiling) water, along with the butter and sugar. Cook until the butter and sugar have melted, stirring occasionally.
Beat the eggs and add them to the lemon mix. Stir constantly as you slowly cook the mix. It will be done when the mix coats the back of a wooden spoon. You can then jar it to use later.

You can also make orange curd using the above recipe but simply substituting oranges for the lemons.

Four Foods on Friday 78

#1. Mashed potatoes. Do you usually buy the boxes, the frozen or make from scratch.

Since my dad works on a farm, my house always had a constant supply of fresh potatoes, meaning my mum has always made mashed potatoes from scratch. My niece loves her cheesy mash. So I realize my mum is going to cringe when she reads this but I use Betty Crocker instant. We don't eat potatoes very often so it's rarely worth us buying them fresh and the instant saves me time and has progressed miles from the 1970s style instant potato (think Smash!). All the same, I do like having proper mash when I go home to England.

#2. Cottage cheese. What kind do you like? (large curd, small curd, 2%, 4%, no salt, etc)

I went through a phase where I ate a lot of cottage cheese but now I rarely do. I prefer small curd, no salt (Kroger's is much too salty for my taste).

#3. Is there a food that you are brand loyal to?

If I buy mayonnaise, I have to buy Hellman's. I like Ken's salad dressings. I can't think of anything else in particular.

#4. When cooking do you usually use fresh onions or the ones from the spice aisle that are chopped or powdered?

OK, time for second confession (see mashed potatoes above)... I had no idea you could buy dried or powdered onion! I always buy fresh and plan to keep on doing so.

Liver

Anyone who grew up eating school dinners in Britain may have nightmarish memories of liver. Tough, boiled liver with tubes of gristle running through it. School dinner liver may the be true origination of all stereotypes of British food. Disgusting doesn't even begin to describe it.

No surprise then that most people will recoil in horror if you even mention liver.

When I was an undergrad at Hull, a local butcher offered special deals on meat. For a great price, I could buy a package that included sausages, mince (ground beef), pork chops, and chicken. Enough to stock my freezer and last me for quite a while. The downside was it also included a pound of ox liver. I could either throw it away which would be terribly wasteful, not just of food, but also of money. Or I could learn what to do with the slimey, bloody stuff. I opted for the latter and developed a love of liver so strong that I craved it and nothing else for about 3 weeks while I was in Japan.

The traditional way of eating liver is fried, with onions and gravy. You can use calves', lambs' or ox liver. If you use ox liver, note that it is much stronger tasting than the others and will also be better if you slice it and soak in milk overnight first. The milk will help to soften it. Simply slice your liver, dredged it in flour (not too much - you want a dusting, NOT a thick coating), and fry for a few minutes on either side. Alternatively, try dusting it with a little curry powder before you fry it.

However you cook it, be careful not to overcook liver as that's when you find yourself with something reminiscent of your schooldays.

Kippers, Kidneys, and Kent! It's Good to be British!

There are a few wonderful foods out there that start with K. Take kippers, otherwise known as smoked herrings. These little beauties are divine, and I occasionally treat myself by running along to the local Liquor Barn to buy a pack of frozen kippers. When I was in college at Hull, I looked forward to days when they were served for breakfast. Of course they are always something of a bittersweet breakfast because they taste wonderful, but I must admit they leave you with fishy taste in your mouth for the rest of the day.

Then we have kidneys, something I miss terribly here in the US. My Kentucky-born husband shudders at the idea of eating them but stick them in a pudding with steak and you've got a little bit of heaven. For those of you with easier access to the delectable offal, Cook It Simply has a range of recipes to try.

And then there's Kent. County of my birth. Home to apple orchards, oast houses full of hops, plenty of veggies, and locally caught fish. It's not called the Garden of England for nothing.

So in honor of home, here's a recipe from the South-east, Chicken Charter Pie.

1 chicken (about 3-4 lb) or use chicken tenders, thighs, etc
1 small onion, chopped
6 tbs butter
1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cups double cream
salt and pepper
parsley
shortcrust pastry
1 egg

Joint the chicken.
Melt 4 tbs butter in a large frying pan. Fry the chicken and onion until golden, then put them both in a pie dish.
Melt the remaining butter in the frying pan and add the flour. Blend in the milk and half of the cream, and stir until thickened. Add salt, pepper, and parsley. Pour over the chicken and onion and cool.
Preheat the oven to 400F or Gas 6.
Roll out your pastry and use it to cover your pie. Be sure to cut a hole in the center of the pastry and put a small funnel in so it doesn't close during cooking.
Beat the egg and use it to glaze the pastry.
Bake the pie for 20 minutes then lower the heat of the oven to 325F or Gas 3. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. (Cover with foil if necessary to stop the pastry from burning).
Just before serving the pie, pour the remaining cream (cold is ok) into the hole in the center of the pie.
Enjoy a taste of Kent!

J

I thought long and hard about what I could put for J.
Jellied Eels appeared several months ago. I found a traditional recipe for Jugged Hare but it includes draining the blood and using it later in the recipe. I don't know about you but I have no plans to try that any time soon.

So instead this is brief and educational.

Jelly - in America, jelly is what we Brits call jam. What Brits call jelly is known as Jello in the US. Simple.

And Jaffa Cakes are one of the best little chocolaty orange snack cakes you can find.

Moving quickly on...to K tomorrow.