That reminds me of the time I cooked rubber chicken.  I had not been married for very long and I got what I thought was a real bargain at the shops for whole chicken.  We were poor as church mice and I liked to take advantage of every bargain I could get.


This was out in Calgary when we were living there.  I think these birds were only about 50 cents or some such.  I decided to buy a couple and freeze one for later and use one for something special.  I chose to exercise my culinary skills and make chicken cacciatore from my Fanny Farmer cookbook.


I carefully cut it up and followed the recipe exactly . . . what should have been deliciously delectable ended up being as appealing as chewing on rubber bands.  I had no idea off what I had done wrong.  I was finally informed by someone who knew a lot better that I had bought stewing hens . . .  and the only thing that you could do with them was to braise them for hours and hours . . .  not the requisite 35 to 40 minutes required by my recipe.



Back to Chicken Fricassee . . .  who doesn't love chicken in gravy!  Tender delicious pieces of chicken, in a gravy flavoured with sage, parsley,  and onions.  Chicken flavoured with nutmeg, salt, pepper and paprika.  I choose to remove my chicken from the bones once it is cooked because I am not overly fond of having bones in a dish like this, but you can do whatever you want to do with yours.  I just find it eats easier with the bones and skin removed.  The broth will have taken all the flavour from them anyways, and they aren't really needed.


I also like to mince my onion really fine because I don't like big lumps of onion in my gravy . . .  but again, that is me and a texture thing.  I also think it look a lot more elegant with a smoother gravy and then just the pieces of chicken and  mushrooms . . .


Rice goes beautifully with this.  I use brown rice, but that's because it is healthier. If you prefer you can use white rice, or even noodles or potatoes!  Altogether this is a beautiful dish that your family is going to love.  Rich and delicious.  Mmm . . .  mmm   . . .  good!


Rice or potatoes to serve



 Mix together the salt, nutmeg, black pepper and paprika.  Sprinkle this all over the chicken, rubbing it into the skin.  Heat the oil in a medium deep flame proof casserole dish with a lid, or a deep skillet with a lid.  Add the chicken pieces a few at a time and brown on all sides, removing to a dish as they are browned and adding more, until they are all browned.  Add the flour to the pan drippings and cook, stirring constantly until golden brown.  Whisk in the water and white wine until smooth. Add the chicken pieces back to the pan.  Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 45 to 50 minutes until very tender.


Remove the chicken pieces to a bowl and set aside.  Strain the juices from the pan into a large glass beaker.  Clean out your cooking dish.  Return to the stove and melt the butter in it until it begins to foam. Add the onion and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat, until they have softened nicely without browning too much.  Stir in the strained pan juices and the milk and cream, combining well.  Heat through on low heat.  Remove any chicken meat from the bones, discarding the skin and bones. Add the meat to the gravy and heat through.


Serve hot spooned over rice or potatoes.



If you don't want to use white wine, feel free to use all water instead.  I like the flavour the wine gives and you can buy some really great non-alcoholic wines now that give you a lovely flavour without any of the alcohol!  You can also double this recipe very easily.  The cook times will remain the same but you may want a larger pot, perhaps a Dutch oven!  I like to serve this in large shallow bowls for a really pretty presentation. Bon Appetit!

Mondy evenings are always Family Home Evenings in our house.   This is a special night each week that we set apart to do things together as a family.   Usually we share a special thought, some fun activity and a special treat to share.  It's a church thing, and we feel it is inspired and it helps us to draw closer together as a family.

I can remember when Prince William was born and how exciting it was.  I was pregnant the same time as Princess Diana and so Wills was always a bit special to me because he is the same age as our Douglas and I felt the whole way through my pregnancy that Diana was feeling the same way as I did!

I have followed his whole life, and that of Harry's with great interest actually.   I am a Royalist at heart and love all of the Royal Family, warts-n-arl as my late good friend Angie would have said.



I was thrilled beyond measure when he and Katherine Middleton got married in 2011.   It was such a beautiful wedding and they are such a sweet young couple.  I have always wished them all the best.   I was so excited when we found out they were expecting their first child, third in line to the throne and absolutely ecstatic yesterday when Katherine, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth  to their son!



Once again my life and that of the Royal Family have paralleled each other,  as my youngest daughter was pregnant at this same time as Katherine and just gave birth a few weeks ago to . . . yes, our own little Prince . . . Cameron David, and yes, we are thrilled beyond belief about that as well!  All in all, it is a great time for a celebration!



I can't show you a photo of the little Prince Windsor Mountbatten . . . but I can quite happily show you a photo of our little Prince.   I think he's just the cutest, but then again, I am the Grandmum!  Maybe Charles and I could share our bragging rights together!  In any case, a celebration calls for something spectacular to mark it's occurrence and that is just what this cake does!



In fact I can't think of a nicer cake you could bake to celebrate a special occasion!   This is always my go to for Birthdays and other celebrations.



It's a deliciously buttery sponge, filled with fresh raspberries and baked into two moist layers. Sandwiched together with a lovely vanilla butter cream icing and some seedless raspberry jam, and then drizzled with more sweetness. This is one very moreishly scrummy cake.



Just look at all of that raspberry scrumminess!!  This is a cake I wouldn't hesitate to bake and serve to Royalty . . . not Queens or Kings . . . or little Princes . . . or even Princesses . . .



Bake it for yourself . . . one bite will tell you how very right I am about this delightful cake.   Seriously. It is well worth the price of fresh berries and the time and effort to make it.  I do hope that you will make the effort and then come back and tell me all about it!

Congratulations to Prince William and his Duchess on this most wonderful occasion.  May God bless you all.




*Raspberry Celebration Cake*
Cuts into 12 scrummy slices
Printable Recipe

This is the cake I always bake for summer birthdays.  A light moist sponge, filled with lovely raspberries, butter cream icing and seedless raspberry preserves.  Top with a sweet glaze and serve with more raspberries.

For the Cake:
175g of caster sugar (3/4 plus 1/8 cup)
175g of butter, softened (13 TBS)
4 large free range eggs, separated
100g self raising flour (a scant 3/4 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds (1 scan't cup)
a few drops of almond extract
125g of fresh raspberries (a heaped cup)

For the buttercream:
75g of butter, softened (1/4 cup approx.)
125g icing sugar, sifted (about 3/4 cup)
few drops vanilla

For the glaze:
100ml icing sugar sifted (1/3 cup approx.)
water to thin



Also about 4 heaped dessertspoons of seedless raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4.  Butter two 8 inch sandwich cake tins.  Line the bottoms with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the egg yolks.  Sift the flour and baking powder over the creamed mixture and then fold in using a metal spoon.   Fold in the ground almonds and exract.  Fold only until all traces of the flour have disappeared.

Beat the egg whites until they just hold their shape.  Fold them in gently, by thirds, being careful not to overmix and lose the lightness of the whites.  Lightly fold in the berries.  Divide between the two prepared cake tins and level off carefully.

Bake in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, just until they test done.  A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean and they should spring back when lightly touched on top.

Remove from the oven.  Let cool in the tins for five minutes, then tip out onto wire racks, peel off the baking paper and allow to cool completely.

Make the buttercream by beating together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Place one cake, bottom side up on a cake plate.  Spread completely with all the buttercream.  Spread the raspberry jam over top of the buttercream and then top with the other cake layer, placing it right side up.  Whisk together the icing sugar for the glaze and enough water to make a smooth drizzable mixture.  Drizzle decoratively over the top of the cake.  Allow to set, then dust with more icing sugar if desired.



Oh, and in case you haven't seen them  (Like what planet are you on if you haven't!)   here is the lovely trio.   I think they're such a sweet family and colour cor-ordinated too, and BLUE for the little Prince!  

One thing my mother always made at least once during the holidays was peanut butter fudge. It was never chocolate or any other kind . . . always peanut butter, but we didn't mind because we loved it so very much. It was a real treat!



She always made it in the same pot, an old aluminum one that she had gotten in her original set of Wearever cookware back in 1955. I think it cost almost as much as a house, but here we are 2011 and she is still using it. Money well spent, I'd say!



She never measured anything. She didn't need to . . . it was all done by memory, and she knew exactly how much of each thing she needed to add by sight alone . . . and it always worked like a charm, every time. (Me . . . I made fudge sometimes for my children when they were growing up, and 9 times out of 10 they'd end up having to eat it with a spoon.



We'd watch her as it went together . . . as if by magic . . . and then sometimes she would let us beat it when it was ready, with her big old wooden spoon . . . if we'd been very good . . .we'd be given the pot and spoon to lick clean . . . we did a pretty good job of that, coz it would always be as clean as a whistle by the time we were done.



The beaten fudge would be poured into the same pan each time . . . it was an old aluminium tin, blackened through use . . . it's bottom engraved in a swirly pattern of raised tin. Some how those little traced swirls on the bottom of each piece only added to it's flavour . . . cakes used to come out with that swirly pattern as well. Nom! Nom!



After I grew up, I was determined to learn how to make it for myself and my family, and so I had her dump in the ingredients one at a time one evening . . . and I carefully measured them as she did so. It worked out pretty well, as I have had a great peanut butter fudge recipe for years that I can count on to turn out every single time.



It never quite tastes quite as good as the memory of the taste of hers . . . but then . . . I don't have that special touch of magic mother's love that she put into it . . . nor do I have a swirley bottomed pan.



*Mom's Peanut Butter Fudge*
Makes one 8 inch square pan
Printable Recipe

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a pan of this to munch on! Creamy and peanut buttery. If you don't like peanut butter, look away now!

21 ounces of white sugar (3 cups)
3 TBS smooth peanut butter
250ml of whole milk (1 cup)
2 ounces butter (1/4 cup)
1 tap vanilla

Butter an 8 inch square pan. Set aside.

Place the sugar, peanut butter and milk into a LARGE saucepan. (You will need a really big one as it really increases in volume when it is boiling. Trust me on this.) Heat, whisking, until the peanut butter is completely melted into the mixture. Increase the heat slightly and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to a medium boil and continue to boil, stirring occasionally to help prevent it from catching. You will want to boil it to the soft ball stage, (115*C/235*F) This should take between 18 to 25 minutes or so. Once this happens, remove from the heat immediately.

Stir in the butter and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until it begins to look creamy and begins to lose it's gloss. Pour into the prepared pan immediately. (Don't wait too long or it will harden in the pot and you won't be able to pour it into the prepared pan. You just want it to begin losing it's gloss.) Allow to set for about an hour at room temperature, before cutting into squares to serve.

Store in an airtight container. This also freezes well.



Over in The Cottage today, a delicious Cauliflower Cheese Pie in a Potato Crust.