(The kitchen in my doll house)

Moving onto the second part of my collection of  recipes which you should know by heart.  I know that a lot of us already know these things off by heart and indeed have our own ways of doing most things, but the beginning cook might not know these things and I felt this could be an invaluable resource for them.  

Whilst may of us older guys and gals probably learned these things from our mum's and grandmum's  . . .  the art of cooking from scratch seems to be disappearing these days.   People do rely a lot on convenience foods.  Heck you can even buy frozen mashed potatoes today, which is surely a lot better tasting than dried potato flakes . . .  but when mashed potatoes are so easy to make . . .  why not make your own.   

I know . . . for the working mum, frozen might be more convenient and I can't say that I blame them for using them . . .  but if you are so inclined and have the time to want to do things from scratch, these are the recipes you should know by heart.  You can find Part one  here.



There is nothing nicer on a plate then a perfect pile of soft, creamy and fluffy mashed potatoes. They go so well with many dishes and are the perfect holder to cradle lashings of delicious gravy.

They are not as hard to make as some people would suppose. Simple and straightforward, as long as you follow a few simple rules.

• use the proper potato. You want a floury type of potato, that is to say one that breaks down well once cooked. You do not want a waxy type of potato, or one that holds it's shape well when cooked. Some great examples of floury potatoes are Maris Piper, Estima, King Edward or Desiree (In North America use a Russet, Idaho or baking potato)
• Do not make the mistake of not cooking the potatoes long enough. Better to err on the side of overcooking than undercooking. You cannot mash a hard lump no matter how hard you try!
• Never add cold butter or milk to cooked potatoes. Always use room temperature or melted butter and gently warmed milk or cream
• Add any liquid to the cooked potatoes slowly. Some days you may need more, some days you may need less. How much can only be determined by adding it slowly.  

 

*Perfect Mashed Potatoes*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

Simple and perfect!

2 pounds of large floury potatoes (In the UK a Maris Piper is ideal, in North America
I would use a russet or idaho)
4 ounces unsalted butter (1/2 cup, or one stick)
4 fluid ounces of single cream or full fat milk (1/2 cup) gently warmed
fine seasalt, freshly ground pepper and freshly grated nutmeg

Peel and quarter the potatoes then place the potatoes into a pot of lightly salted water to cover.  Bring to the boil and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until fork tender.  Drain well in a colander and then return them to the hot pot.  Cover with the lid and give them a good shake, which will help to break them up.  Add the butter and warmed cream or milk, adding the latter a little at a time, whilst mashing the potatoes, only adding as much as is needed to give you the correct consistency.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  The potatoes should be light, fluffy, creamy and  ready to eat.

Note - I often use my electric handwhisk to mash the potatoes.  This helps to insure a smooth mixture without lumps.  I also have a potato ricer, which does a fabulous lump free job. 

Cream Sauce, or  Bechamel (which is the French name for basically the same thing) is the most basic of sauces and the basis for many other sauces such as  cheese sauce, mornay sauce, lemon sauce etc.   Once you have mastered a good cream sauce you are free to explore the many other options available.  I often make it and add cooked baby peas to it and serve it ladled over cooked fish.   It's the basis for macaroni and cheese, and many other delicious dishes, and very easy to make.  These are the quantities for one cup of sauce, to make more just multiply the ingedients.  I normally would not more than double it.

Mornay Sauce - Add 2 TBS of grated Parmesan Cheese and 2 TBS of grated Swiss cheese during the last two minutes of cooking.  Stur until blended.  Just before removing from the heat, beat 2 TBS of the sauce into 1 lightly beaten egg yolk.  Stir the yolk/sauce mixture back into the sauce and add 2 TBS butter.    Continue to cook, stirring, for one minute longer.



There is nothing nicer than a nice plate of warm biscuits,  North American Style (similar to scones) resh from the oven and just waiting for you to spread them with a pat of cold butter and a drizzle of honey.   

These are one of the most basic of the quick breads and I have never known anyone to turn a well made biscuit down.   The important thing to remember about biscuits is to use a light touch with them.   Over working them toughens them.   

Pat them out gently and cut them out with a sharp cutter, using a very sharp quick straight up and down motion and your biscuits will always be perfect!




*Baking Powder Biscuits*
Makes 16
Printable Recipe


Golden brown and crusty outside, meltingly tender inside.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 TBS sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup of  milk


Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 6.  Grease two 8 inch cake tins. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl.  Drop in the shortening and cut it into the flour mixture with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the milk all at once and stur just until the dough forms a ball around the fork.  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead about 14 times.  Pat out to 1/2 inch thickness.  Stamp out rounds with a 2 inch biscuit cutter, giving it a sharp tap straight down and up again.  Do not twist.  Place touching each other in the cake pans and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you like biscuits with crusty edges all around, place them 1 inch apart on a baking sheet to bake instead.

Blueberry pancakes - Add a handful of fresh berries to the batter.



There is no more welcome or finer dessert cake than the traditional sponge cake, or Victoria Sponge as it is lovingly called over here in the UK.  It needs no more adornment than a dusting over the top with some confectioner's/Icing sugar and a filling of butter cream and jam.  Using equal amounts of butter, sugar, eggs and flour, it is the simplest of cakes, and yet also the tastiest.

 


*Traditional Victoria Sandwich Cake*
 Makes one 7 inch cake
Printable Recipe  


Popular during the reign of Queen Victoria, this cake remains popular to this day, which is a huge testament to it's taste and ease of baking!  Don't be tempted to use all butter.  This is one recipe that is better for the use of a mixture of butter and margarine.

3 ounces of butter, softened (6 TBS)
3 ounces soft margarine (6 TBS)
6 ounces caster sugar (1 cup)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, beaten
6 ounces self raising flour (a scant 1 1/2 cups)

To finish:
3 TBS raspberry jam
buttercream to fill (optional)
icing sugar or caster sugar to dust the top


Butter and base line two 7 inch sandwich tins.  Set aside.  Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Cream the butter, margarine, sugar and vanilla together until light in colour and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition.  If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour.

Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, taking care to use a cutting motion so as not to knock out too much of the air that you have beaten into the batter.  Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins, leveling off the surface.  Make a slight dip in the centre of each.

Bake on a centre rack of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen well, are golden brown, and spring back when lightly touched.  Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes before running a knife carefully around the edges and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, place one layer on a cake plate. Spread with raspberry jam and buttercream (if using).  Place the other cake on top, pressing down lightly.  Dust with icing or caster sugar and serve.


I will be back tomorrow with a new and fresh recipe.  I hope you have enjoyed these tried and true recipes and that you have found them useful.  It's a start at any rate!

(My tiny kitchen)

I think I first fell in love with food and cooking when I was a very young girl.  My grandmother used to make exceptional soups, stews, preserves, roasts, breads, cakes, cookies and preserves . . . simple food, well prepared, using fresh ingredients or just whatever was in the larder.  I don't think she had a cookery book collection.  At best she might have had a community cookbook filled with recipes collected from the ladies in the community, or hand written recipe receipts given to her from friends . . .  possibly a cookbook put out by the flour companies.  For the most part she cooked from memory . . .  doing things the way her mother had taught her . . .  cooking by instinct, feel . . .  taste.

Things were simple then and there weren't really many unknown, unusual, or luxury ingredients available.  These days we are so blessed to have virtually a world of food and tastes at our fingertips.  Even so, there are some dishes which we should really know how to do from heart, without a recipe.  Oh . . .  yes, we can follow a recipe the first time we make them, but with time and experience, these are the recipes which we can become so adept at using that we rarely need to look them up again, and indeed we can put our own stamps on them.  They become recipes we know by heart, and these are mine.

This may not look like much, but don't let the way it looks put you off.  If you only make one chicken dish this week . . .  let this be the one!  It is absolutely wonderful!

With the leaves falling from the trees and the nights closing in, we must all prepare for the ridiculous rain and gusty winds that the British weather loves to throw at us in autumn.  So what better way to deal with the harsh weather conditions than getting in the kitchen and rustling up some delicious meals that will warm you down to the bone and leave you feeling all cosy inside.

Here are five of the best Welsh Beef and Welsh Lamb recipes to help you survive this autumn with your good humour and happiness intact:

Welsh Beef Goulash    
























If anyone knows how to eat during miserable autumn months, it's the eastern Europeans and one of the best dishes to come from this area is the Goulash.  Making a Welsh Beef Goulash is very easy and it can be lightly adjusted to your taste preferences.  This isn't exactly a quick recipe, but good food is very rarely fast.

Slow Cooked Curried Shoulder of Welsh Lamb

 



























What better way to warm yourself up in the autumn than by adding a touch of spice?  With this recipe, it isn't just the succulent Welsh Lamb that gives you a warm and mouth-watering feel - the curry and chilli powder give it that extra kick to heat you through even when the weather is miserable and your nose is running.

Welsh Beef Steak & Ale Pies  





























Is there anything more traditionally British than a Welsh Beef Steak and Ale Pie?  The only acceptable answer here is fish and chips, but steak and ale definitely outdates this seaside phenomenon.   This beautifully crusted  dish will give you plenty to sink your teeth into and fight away the winter blues.  This recipe is the perfect seasonal dish for this dark, wet time of year.

Slow Roasted Welsh Lamb Shanks  





























Lamb shanks are an extremely diverse meat and can be used in a wide range of recipes, but we believe that slow roasting shanks is easily one of the best ways to prepare them in autumn.   What's more, this is an incredibly simple dish to cook, all you have to do is brown the shanks, add the vegetables, season and then cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until the meat simply falls off the bone.  That means minimal work for you and your whole home gets that delicious lamb smell running through it giving it an extra cosy feel.

Spiced Welsh Lamb and Orange Cassoulet  






























Spiced citrus fruits are quintessentially autumn, and this Welsh Lamb and Orange Cassoulet is perfect for those shorter days.  It is a slightly more complicated recipe than those listed above, but if you're a handy chef then it should pose no real difficulty.  This lush meal will have all your family grinning from ear to ear even if it's raining cats and dogs outside.

When it comes to preparing a meal this autumn, make sure you use only the best grass-fed Welsh meat.   This will help to give your recipes the most authentically British flavour and make your autumn nights the best they can be.

For more recipe ideas from the people who love food, visit Eat Welsh Lamb Today.

 

Well, the weather turned quite chilly over the weekend.  I found myself wanting to put the heat on but resisting it as much as I could . . .  I don't want to start paying to heat the house just yet.  I made us a delicious soup instead which warmed us from the inside out and a sweater took care of the rest! 

As soon as October rolls around I hunker down and start to crave my autumn favourites . . .  apple pies, and pots of homemade soup . . .  and pumpkin.  Pumpkin anything, but most especially these delicious Pumpkin Pie Muffins!

I confess . . .  I am a weak woman.   Especially when it comes to food, and most especially when it comes to shortbread biscuits.

MOST especially when those shortbread biscuits are as simple, quick to make and as delicious as these Brown Sugar Shortbread biscuit are!


 

These are the perfect shortbread biscuits.  (Biscuits is what they call cookies over here.)  They are short and buttery, without being in the least bit oily or greasy . . . 

I think of all of the cookies I make, shortbreads are my absolute favourites.



They are crisp without being hard.  My husband doesn't like hard biscuits and I confess I don't really like my cookies too hard either.   

These have just the right amount of  crispness . . . crisp without being hard.



These are perfect for dunking. A good biscuit should be perfect for dunking don't you think?  I thought so!  

 Biscuits were made for dunking! I love a good biscuit dunk.

 

In regular or herbal teas . . .  in milk . . .  in those frothy cappuchino's . . . and hot chocolates.  These lovely biscuits would go well with all of those . . .



These are not too sweet . . .  with only a touch of brown sugar in the biscuit dough . . . and a scattering of demerara sugar for a bit of sweet crunch on top.    

 In short . . .  no pun intended . . .  these are fabulously moreish.  If you only bake one cookie this weekend, make it this one! 

Cream the butter together with the brown sugar until smooth and quite creamy.  Stir in the vanilla and salt until they are completely amalgamated.  Stir in the flour until combined.  Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared tart pan, without allowing it to go up the sides.  I use a piece of parchment paper to help press it down smoothly.  Prick all over with a fork.  Sprinkle the demerara sugar over top.





Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until deep golden brown.  Remove from the oven and immediately cut into 12 wedges using a pizza cutter, and then a small sharp knife to get all the way to the edges.   Allow to cool completely in the pan before removing the sides and lifting apart.   Store in an airtight container. 

I've been food blogging for about 10 years now I reckon.  I did a number of years on AOL Journals, moving over to blogger and my blog called A Year From Oak Cottage when they closed the AOL Journals in 2007.  That blog was food for the soul and the tummy.  It is now called And Then We All Had Tea.  (Tales from an almost Island)

I am a big fan of Mrs Crimbles Gluten Free Products and was really happy when I was recently sent samples of their two new Teatime treats.  I haven't disliked anything they have sent me yet and I was thrilled to see these newest Gluten Free Cakes.  (I confess, the Toddster and I totally adore their coconut macaroons, and always always buy them when we see them.)



























First off, I love their packaging.  Everything I get sent is always wrapped in this lovely blue tissue paper.  I love tissue paper.  I know that has nothing to do with cakes, but I just thought I would let you know.  These two newest cakes are the Country Fruit Slice and Lemon Slice.  We are both big lovers of the "other" fruit cake slices and lemon slices out there, but would we like these?   Let's see how they "stacked" up in comparison!



























Todd has always been a big fan of fruit slices. He adores fruit cake and I have to tell you these did NOT disappoint.  They were composed of an incredibly moist cake type filling packed with raisins, cranberries and apricots, lightly spiced and stogged full of just enough fruit to make them moreish . . . and those sugar nibs on top . . .  scrumptious . . .  but here is where they differ from other slices . . .  there is a crisp pastry like bottom which we both found very appealing!  They were well flavoured and didn't taste artificial as some gluten free goodies are wont to do . . .  all in all we gave them two thumbs up!


























These lemon slices were my favourite of the two however.   (The Toddster is not fond of lemon anything so I got these all to my greedy little self!)  Once again the cake was quite moist and well flavoured, not overpoweringly lemon flavoured, just right with a tangy lemon filling atop the cake, and a tasty lemon icing glaze on top of that, so you get a triple lemon bang for your taste enjoyment!  There was just enough tang and sweet to satisfy . . .  very moreish I would say.   In short they were quite lovely!   I gave these a two thumbs up as well!  

I think of all the Gluten Free goodies out there Mrs Crimbles seems to have mastered the right balance between offering the consumer something which is not only gluten free, but also acceptably tasty.  You don't feel like you are being deprived when you eat them . . .  in fact to me they always taste a treat!  From where I'm sitting that's a good thing.

Check out the Mrs Crimbles Home Page
Follow them on Facebook
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Many thanks for sending me these tasty cakes to try out!  I had to say Mrs Crimble . . .  you do make very good cakes!

To make it easier for everyone to find gluten free treats when they're out and about, Mrs Crimble's new Slices are now available everywhere from garden centres to railway stations and from service stations to delis.

Country Fruit Slices
RRP £1.69 - £1.89

Lemon Slices
RRP £1.69 - £1.89

Available in single packs or packs of four.

I mourne the passing of summer into autumn . . . it will take a while for me to get into the swing of the changing light and have my food photos start looking decent again . . .  sigh . . . I find the transition really difficult.   It's especially hard to make dishes such as this Slumgullion look good.  Sigh again . . . 

Slumgullion might not sound like the most appealing name for a dish, but I guarantee mom's slumgullion has a place in every kitchen! 

Do yourself a favour and don't explore the entymology of this word. Appetites will be destroyed, lol.




I am sure very family must have their own version of this delicious stove top, one pan dinner.   

Its basically just minced steak (I always use the extra lean with less than 5% fat) and a few store cupboard ingredients, put together in a way which is simple, quick and family pleasing . . .

 

One pound of minced steak, with a few ingredients added such as onions, chopped peppers, celery, some tinned tomatoes and tomato sauce (passatta here in the UK)  and macaroni, with a bit of seasoning.  

That's basically all it is . . .  but simple doesn't mean that it isn't incredibly tasty.



Even my pasta hating husband tolerates this and goes back for seconds.  (Methinks he doth protest too much actually.  I

 think secretly I am converting him into a pasta lover, but he would be the last one to admit it.)



This is the kind of meal that is perfect for this time of year.   It's a great family meal and family pleaser. It's economical.  Kids love it.  Its hearty and filling . . .  and it's deliciousy simple. You cannot ask for much better than that.    

Now if I could only make it look as good as it tastes!  A simple salad and some garlic toast and you have a fabulous meal!

Stir in the macaroni, cover, and cook, stirring frequently, for a further 20 minutes or so, until the pasta is tender.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.   Serve.

Note - Here in the uk, it may take longer for your macaroni to cook.  It did mine.  I just added a bit of boiling water every now and then to make sure it wasn't sticking.  It turned out perfectly. 

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

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