One thing that I love about food blogging is that it's not about me. It's not even about you . . . it's about the recipes and the food!
It's about being able to cook and taste some of the best and most indulgent foods ever . . . and exploring the culinary delights my adopted country has to offer me.
It's about stretching my skills . . . both in the kitchen and . . . behind the camera . . . and about making food that not only tastes delicious, but food that looks good.
It's about waking up every morning and making YOU believe that what I am presenting to you on this page is the absolute best thing ever . . .
and about making you want to go into your own kitchen and cook it for yourselves, because you have just got to taste it for real, and because I have inspired you to do it, and given you the confidence to believe that you can!
Your comments are like me winning the "X Factor of food" every day of my life, and I thank you for that. Here's to 2011. Let's begin as we mean to go on.
Cream Palmiers . . . tasty little bites of fluffy crisp buttery pastry, filled with a soft cloud of sweetened whipped cream and sticky sweet strawberry jam. Kind of like a de-constructed jam tart . . . with puff pastry . . . and CREAM. A delicious teatime treat.
The only down side is they all have to be eaten on the day they are filled . . . so NOT a problem!
*Cream Palmiers*
Makes 8
Printable Recipe
Absolutely delightful on the tea tray!
225g (1/2 pound) of all butter puff pastry
1 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (a scant 1/4 cup)
1 TBS icing sugar, sifted
400ml of double cream (1 3/4 cups)
a few drops of vanilla
2 TBS strawberry jam
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Slightly dampen a baking tray. Set aside.
Dust the work surface with half of the sugar. Roll the pastry out on the sugared surface to a rectangle 10 by 12 inches in size. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining half of the sugar. Gently press the sugar in with a rolling pin. Starting at the short sides, roll the pastry towards the middle from both edges into the centre until they meet. Press together gently. Cut across the rolls into 16 slices. Place onto the baking tray. Press down to flatten slightly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes until crisp and golden, turning them over halfway through the baking time so that they caramelize equally on both sides. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Whip the cream along with the icing sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Sandwich together pairs of the palmiers with some of the whipped cream and some of the jam. Serve immediately.
These have to be my favourite Christmas Cookies of all time! Mind you, if there's jam involved in any way at all, be it cake, cookie, pie or sandwich . . . I'm one very happy camper!!
I have a thing about jam. I just love, Love, LOVE it!!
I got this recipe from a very old friend of mine quite a number of years ago. Mildy spiced, buttery and filled with ground hazelnuts, these are fabulously delicious!
You could dust them with icing sugar of course, which looks really nice also, but I like to use caster sugar . . . because I enjoy the extra texture . . . and the glittery finish it gives.
Buttery nutty and lightly spiced dough . . . sweet/tart raspberry jam. What's not to like? Well, you may have to bake them twice, coz . . . umm . . . if you are like me they kinda disappear before you know it, but what's a gal to do???
I can't help myself . . . Cookie + Jam = my only weakness. (Shhhhh . . . )
*Linzer Cookies*
Makes about 2 dozen
Printable Recipe
The quintessential Christmas Cookie. Tender sweet cookies filled with tart raspberry jam. Delicious!!
3 ounces (2/3 cup) hazelnuts
3.75 ounces (1/2 cup packed) light brown sugar
10 .75 ounces (2 1/2 cups) sifted plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 large free range egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces raspberry jam, seived
caster sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 180*C/ 350*F/ gas mark 4. Place the hazelnuts into a shallow baking pan and bake for about 6 minutes until the skins are beginning to loosen and the nuts are fragrant. Turn off the oven. Dump the hot nuts into a tea towel and rub with the towel to loosen as much of the skins as possible. Discard any skins. Place half the brown sugar and the nuts into a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Cream together the butter and remaining brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the nut mixture and beat until well combined. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Work iin the flour mixture, just until combined. Divide the dough in half, shaping each half into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
Heat the oven again to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4. Roll out 1 disc of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness between two sheets of cling film. Cut out as many cookies as you can with a 2 1/4 inch fluted round cookie cutter. Repeat until all the dough has been cut out/ Using a smaller shaped cutter, cut shapes out of the centre of half of the rounds. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Dust the top halves with some caster sugar . (these are the ones with the centre cut out.) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely before proceeding. Repeat until all the dough has been used up, only rerolling the scraps once. Discard any scraps after that.
Spread about 1 teaspoon of jam on the solid halves of the baked cookies. Top with the flat side of a windowed cookie. Repeat until all cookies are put together. Store between sheets of parchment paper in a tightly covered tin.
I decided I needed a bit of cheering up! One thing which I really enjoyed when I was living in the UK was the traditional Afternoon Tea. I decided that if I needed cheering up, I needed a traditional Afternoon Tea!
Just because you live on your own, it doesn't mean that you can't enjoy some of the finer things in life which other people get to enjoy, right? Right!
I resolved this year to get as much joy out of life that I can for whatever time I have left. Alone or not. Covid or not. I can make each day an adventure with just a tiny bit of effort!
Most people confuse the term Afternoon Tea with High Tea. They are not the same thing, nor are the terms interchangeable.
Afternoon Tea is very much the British tradition of sitting down mid or late afternoon to a treat of tea, finger sandwiches, scones and cake. It was very much an upper class thing and was not intended to replace dinner.
The Upper Classes usually ate their dinners much later in the evening, so as an attempt to fill the gap in between lunch and dinner they indulged in afternoon tea.
High tea came about largely to appease the working class in the 19th century. Working class people had no time, nor the luxury to stop working for such a treat as afternoon tea. Often they would arrive home starving at the end of the day.
At that time tea was served with heartier dishes. Dishes meant to sustain a people who had been working their pegs off all day. Something hearty, perhaps a tidbit of sweet, washed down with hot cups of tea. Supper is still called "Tea" in working class Britain.
Unless you are on Scotland of course where a Afternoon Tea will take on some sort of hot and savory foods. A mix of High and Afternoon Teas.
These are meant to be served at room temperature, split and then spread with butter. You will want to have some whipped heavy cream to serve with them along with some jam.
In the UK traditionally they would serve clotted cream with these along with the jam. Clotted cream is such a gorgeous thing. Heavy cream which has been heated just to the point where it forms thick sweet clots, with a buttery crust on top.
It is almost impossible to replicate anywhere else in the world. Trust me on this. Once you have had the real thing, nothing else comes close. Today I made do with just whipped cream, and some cherry jam.
Classic English Scones (small batch)
Ingredients
- 175g self raising flour ( 1 1/4 cups)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 37g of cold butter (2 3/4 TBS)
- 15g Caster sugar (1 1/4 TBS, superfine sugar)
- 40g sultana raisins (1/4 cup)
- approximately 75ml milk (scant 1/3 cup)
- 1 large free range eggs, beaten
- granulated sugar to sprinkle plus flour for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Butter a large baking tray. Alternately line it with greaseproof paper.
- Measure the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder. (Pour the flour in from on high to aerate it.) Whisk together. Drop in the cold butter in bits. Using your fingertips rub the butter in quickly until the mixture resembles fine dry bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and raisins.
- Beat the egg. Remove and set 1 TBS aside. Add 60ml (scant 1/4 cup) of the milk to the eggs and beat together. Add this to the flour mixture. Mix together with the rounded end of a butter knife to form a soft but slightly tacky dough. Only add the remainder of the milk if your dough is too dry and you want to absorb any dry bits in the bowl. The dough should NOT be too wet, but not too dry either.
- Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple of times to bring well together. Gently pat out to 1 inch thick. Using a sharp round 3 inch cutter, cut out rounds, using a direct up and down motion.
- Do not twist the cutter. Place the cut out scones an inch or so apart on the baking sheet. Gather any trimmings together and repeat until you have 5 scones.
- Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved beaten egg and sprinkle with a bit of granulated sugar. Don't let the egg drip down the sides.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, until risen and golden on top and bottoms. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. Best eaten on the day. Any leftovers can be frozen for several months.
Did you make this recipe?
Classic Victoria Sponge Cake (small batch)
Ingredients
- 85g butter (6 TBS)
- 85g caster sugar (scant 1/2 cup)
- few drops vanilla extract
- 1 large free range egg plus 1 egg yolk, beaten
- 85g self raising flour (a scant 3/4 cup)
- 2 TBS raspberry jam
- icing sugar or granulated sugar to dust the top
Instructions
- Butter and base line two 4-inch sandwich tins. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
- Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light in color 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 center of each.
- Bake on a center rack of the oven for about 20 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. Place the other cake on top, pressing down lightly. Dust with icing or granulated sugar.
Did you make this recipe?
These have to be my favourite Christmas Cookies of all time! Mind you, if there's jam involved in any way at all, be it cake, cookie, pie or sandwich . . . I'm one very happy camper!!
I have a thing about jam. I just love, Love, LOVE it!!
I got this recipe from a very old friend of mine quite a number of years ago. Mildy spiced, buttery and filled with ground hazelnuts, these are fabulously delicious!
You could dust them with icing sugar of course, which looks really nice also, but I like to use caster sugar . . . because I enjoy the extra texture . . . and the glittery finish it gives.
Buttery nutty and lightly spiced dough . . . sweet/tart raspberry jam. What's not to like? Well, you may have to bake them twice, coz . . . umm . . . if you are like me they kinda disappear before you know it, but what's a gal to do???
I can't help myself . . . Cookie + Jam = my only weakness. (Shhhhh . . . )
*Linzer Cookies*
Makes about 2 dozen
Printable Recipe
The quintessential Christmas Cookie. Tender sweet cookies filled with tart raspberry jam. Delicious!!
3 ounces (2/3 cup) hazelnuts
3.75 ounces (1/2 cup packed) light brown sugar
10 .75 ounces (2 1/2 cups) sifted plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 large free range egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces raspberry jam, seived
caster sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 180*C/ 350*F/ gas mark 4. Place the hazelnuts into a shallow baking pan and bake for about 6 minutes until the skins are beginning to loosen and the nuts are fragrant. Turn off the oven. Dump the hot nuts into a tea towel and rub with the towel to loosen as much of the skins as possible. Discard any skins. Place half the brown sugar and the nuts into a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Cream together the butter and remaining brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the nut mixture and beat until well combined. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Work iin the flour mixture, just until combined. Divide the dough in half, shaping each half into a round flat disc. Wrap in cling film and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
Heat the oven again to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark4. Roll out 1 disc of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness between two sheets of cling film. Cut out as many cookies as you can with a 2 1/4 inch fluted round cookie cutter. Repeat until all the dough has been cut out/ Using a smaller shaped cutter, cut shapes out of the centre of half of the rounds. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Dust the top halves with some caster sugar . (these are the ones with the centre cut out.) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely before proceeding. Repeat until all the dough has been used up, only rerolling the scraps once. Discard any scraps after that.
Spread about 1 teaspoon of jam on the solid halves of the baked cookies. Top with the flat side of a windowed cookie. Repeat until all cookies are put together. Store between sheets of parchment paper in a tightly covered tin.
I just love sandwiches . . . and I'm not alone in that either. The British all love sandwiches! They're a big business over here. They're sold in all the shops, convenience stores, grocery shops, coffee shops etc. Of course if you hadn't guessed already . . . Sarnie is another name for sandwich!
Makes it sound like something quite exotic doesn't it?
One of my favourite places to buy a ready made sarnie is in M&S. Their sandwiches are the best. The bread is always fresh and the filling generous, and spread to the edge . . . not like some of the cheaper places where you get a dollop of filling in the middle of two slices of dry bread . . . with more bread than filling! Ugh! Nasty.
I was quite suprised when I moved over here to the UK at the different varieties of sandwiches that were on offer as well. Cheese and onion . . . delicious! Cheese and tomato . . . likewise! There's salad sandwiches, sandwiches made with crab, or prawns or tuna. Tuna and Cucumber seems to be quite popular. As is Tuna and Sweetcorn.
Then there are Egg & Cress, Coronation Chicken, Corned Beef (made with tinned corned Beef, which is actually quite nice), and a host of others . . . too many to list here I think, but you get the idea, I'm sure!
Anyways, the point of all of this is that I made Todd and myself a couple of very tasty sandwiches for our lunch one day at the weekend. In my quest to cut back a bit, I made them open faced sandwiches, so only half the bread.
I added some sliced ham, sliced turkey, half fat swiss cheese, lettuce, a delicious homemade dressing . . . kind of tangy and yet at the same time a bit sweet . . . some sliced egg, tomato and . . . naughty but nice crisply cooked streaky bacon. (Really nice . . . dry cured and unsmoked is my choice!)
A gal can't be 100% good all of the time can she?? I thought not!!
*Dressed Club Salad Sarnie*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe
An open faced, knife and forker! Delicious! (Easily upped or downed to serve more or less people.)
2 slices sour dough bread
2 slices of baked deli ham
2 slices of Leerdammer cheese (Swiss type of cheese, I use the low fat one)
2 slices of deli turkey
1 cup of shredded cos lettuce (Romaine)
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
4 slices of streaky bacon, rind removed and cooked crisp
For the dressing:
1 heaped dessert spoon of low fat mayonnaise
1 tsp of tomato ketchup
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp of chopped sweet pickle
1/2 tsp of finely grated onion
pinch of salt and black pepper
Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
Lay one slice of bread onto each of two plates. Top each with 1 slice of ham. Top the ham with the cheese. Top the cheese with the turkey. Divide the lettuce between the two and drizzle each with half of the dressing. Top each with half of the sliced egg, sliced tomato and two slices of bacon criss crossed. Serve immediately. Pass the knives and forks!
Chipotle Lime Chicken Flatbread Tacos
ingredients:
- 200g chopped cooked chicken breast meat (2 cups)
- the juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 TBS Chipotle in adobe sauce
- 3 TBS mayonnaise
- 3 TBS Tomato salsa
- 1 tsp Mexican spice seasoning (I used Swartz Mexican Street Food seasoning)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 6 Deli Kitchen Corn Folded Flat Breads
- 4 cheese blend as required
- 6 Tortilla chips, crumbled
- 120g sour cream (1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp Chipotle in adobe sauce
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- pinch salt
- prepared guacamole
- prepared salsa
- chopped spring onions
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a baking dish large enough to hold all your tacos.
- Using a fork, mash together the chicken, lime juice, salsa, mayonnaise, chipotle, Mexican seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Open your flatbreads slightly. Place a couple of tablespoons of four cheese blend on one side. Top with 1/6th of the chicken mixture and then another couple of tablespoons of cheese blend. Divide the crumbled tortilla chips between them, sprinkling them on top of the cheese. Place the filled flat breads into the baking dish and cover with a sheet of foil that you have sprayed with a nonstick spray.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until heated through and the cheese has melted.
- While the tacos are baking, make the chipotle sour cream sauce, by whisking all of the ingredients together.
- Remove the tacos from the oven, sprinkle with chopped spring onions and serve with the sour cream sauce, guacamole and salsa for spooning on top. Delicious!
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