Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sandwich. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sandwich. Sort by date Show all posts
One of the things that Todd and I like to do in our spare time is to visit some of the National Trust Houses that are abundant in our beautiful country. There's quite a few and in the warmer months, it's really a lot of fun walking around the gardens and of course nosing through the houses . . . We just find it so very fascinating and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
Most of the National Trust houses also have tearooms and small restaurants on the grounds. That, of course is also one of the real treats of the day . . . spending an hour in the tea rooms partaking of a delicious cake or bun (all homemade) and a drink.
And then, there is Todd's nemesis . . . the gift shop. He tries to steer me away from them, but . . . I'm on to him now . . . the gift shop is one of the highlights of my afternoon! They are filled with all sorts of treasures . . . jams and jellies, biscuits, candy rock, toys, gardening goods, tea time trinkets and . . . delicious cookery books!
On one of our visits I picked up this lovely cookerybook filled with traditional teatime recipes.
"Food is at the heart of everything the National Trust does. Our commitment to food stretches from using high quality sustainable produce in our restaurants to supporting our tenant farmers in selling direct to the public. With hundreds of tenant farms, more than 25 working kitchen gardens and farms managed by us, the Trust has an important stake in every part of the food journey." (Excerpt from inside flap of the above book)
I just adore the traditional recipes of any country I am in, but most especially the traditional ones from this beautiful country that we live in. Teatime recipes are some of my favourites of all. They hearken me back to my childhood days of reading Enid Blyton novels and dreaming about the delicous sounding teatime treats that the children in them got to gobble down, and I could only dream of . . .
This is a great baking book, chock full of delectable sounding teatime treats! Every recipe I have baked from it thus far has been just wonderful, not the least of which was this tasty banana cake that I baked this afternoon. We sat down to a piece each with a cup of herbal tea, whilst the snow blew against the glass of our kitchen windows, and dreamt of adventures and tuck boxes and . . . warm summer afternoon walks along country garden pathways . . .
Note - the filling is not really thick, but I found that by pooling most of it in the centre, it worked out just perfectly and did not squish out the sides. Also the icing is more like a glaze than a traditional frosting. It is most delicious!
*Cornish Banana Cake*
Makes one 7-inch layer cake
Printable Recipe
Just perfect for afternoon tea! A deliciously moist banana cake layered with a buttery banana filling and iced with a cocoa banana icing.
For the cake:
8 ounces very ripe banana (weight after peeling)
3 1/2 ounces caster sugar
3 1/2 ounces butter, softened
200g self raising flour, sifted
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 TBS milk
For the filling:
1 ripe banana
2 ounces butter, softened
2 ounces caster sugar
For the icing:
1 soft, very ripe banana
1 ounce cocoa powder, sifted
8 ounces icing sugar, sifted
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter two 7-inch round sandwich tins and lightly flour, tapping any excess out. Mash the bananas and sugar together for the cake in a bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the softened butter. Add the flour alternately with the egg. Dissolve the soda in the milk and add to the mixture. Beat to a fairly sticky batter. Divide evenly between the two tins, smooth the tops and then bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the sponge springs back when lightly touched.
Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the filling, beat all the ingredients together until well mixed and use to sandwich the two layers together.
For the icing, beat all the ingredients together until dark and really smooth. Spread onto the top of the cake.
Note - If you like you can decorate the top with some blanched almonds, walnut halves or dried banana chips.
It is no secret that I have a chocolate cake hating husband. He hates chocolate flavoured anything . . . well except for candy bars. Those he doesn't seem to mind.
As a result of this . . . I only ever very rarely bake anything chocolate.
I am always trying to watch what I eat, and the danger of having a chocolate creation in the house, with me being the only one who will be eating it is just too horrific to imagine!
Occasionally though, I succumb to desire and just have to bake a chocolate cake or brownies for myself. A girl just has to do what a girl has to do!
This is one of my favourites.
Dense and fudgy with a fabulously scrummy frosting.
Thank goodness for friends who happily accept the leftovers. And my husband???
Well . . . he had to make do with leftover Bun and Butter Pudding. He didn't seem to mind too overly much . . . poor dear
.
*Chocolate Fudge Cake*
Makes one 7 inch double layer cake
A rich fudgy cake, perfect for celebrations or just when you feel rather like indulging yourself.
3 ounces dark chocolate
2 TBS cocoa powder (not chocolate drink mix)
6 ounces of butter, softened (3/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 ounces soft light brown sugar
(3/4 cup packed)
3 large free range eggs, separated
6 ounces self raising flour (1 1/2 cups)
For the Frosting:
8 ounces plain chocolate
8 TBS double cream
8 ounces icing sugar, sifted (2 cups)
2 to 3 TBS recently boiled water
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and base line two 7 inch round sandwich tins. Set aside.
Place the chocolate, cocoa powder, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water. Heat and stir to melt. Whisk together until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
Cream together the sugar and egg yolks until light and creamy. Fold in the chocolate mixture first and then carefully fold in the flour.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold one tablespoon into the cake mixture to loosen and then fold in the remainder until the mixture is smooth and no white streaks remain.
Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins. Smooth over and then make a small hollow in the centre of each.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until risen and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
Remove from the oven. Leave in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Place the chocolate and the cream into a bowl, again over a pan of simmering water. Heat and whisk until the chocolate has melted into the cream and the mixture is smooth.
Remove from the heat and then gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar, adding hot water as required if the mixture becomes too stiff. You want a mixture with a spreadable consistency.
Use a third of the frosting to sandwich the layers together and then use the remainder to frost the sides and top. Cut into wedges to serve.
Alternately you may bake the cake in one layer in a deep 7 inch tin. It will take 10 to 15 minutes longer to bake so adjust your times accordingly. In this cake just pile all the frosting on the top and sides.
I haven't been really able to do a lot of cooking this week during the day, what with all of this work going on in our bathroom, and at night I'm far too tired. You wouldn't think that renovating just one room would create such chaos, but it does . . . happy to say though, things are well on the way towards being done, and there should only be a few more days of mither. It's looking great so far!! Anyways, simple food has been the rule of the day with as little cooking as possible. You can't really plan much with the power being turned on and off haphazardly . . . it would be terrible to have a cake or a roast in the oven and have the power shut down.
(A tasty salad from the archives for a delicious Bank Holiday weekend! For 56 other tasty salad offerings check out The Tumblewood Contessa Blog! http://www.tumbleweedcontessa.com/blog/salads-saturday-dishes/)
I haven't been really able to do a lot of cooking this week during the day, what with all of this work going on in our bathroom, and at night I'm far too tired. You wouldn't think that renovating just one room would create such chaos, but it does . . . happy to say though, things are well on the way towards being done, and there should only be a few more days of mither. It's looking great so far!! Anyways, simple food has been the rule of the day with as little cooking as possible. You can't really plan much with the power being turned on and off haphazardly . . . it would be terrible to have a cake or a roast in the oven and have the power shut down.
Today I was really craving salad and oddly enough grilled cheese sandwiches. I got to thinking and we all know what happens then . . . my creative mojo goes into overdrive and you just never know what I am going to end up with. Most of the times it's something quite, quite delicious . . . others maybe not so delicious, but always interesting largely edible. I'm happy to say that today I ended up with something quite, QUITE delish!
Think about it . . . crisp salad greens scattered across a nicely chilled plate . . . and topped with some of your other favourite salad ingredients . . . crisp and peppery radishes . . . crunchy cucumber . . . snappy and sweet red onions . . .
Now top that with a fantastically devilishly moreish fresh Lemon Thyme and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette dressing . . . not a lot . . . just a drizzle . . . coz there's more to come. Oh sure you could use regular thyme if that's all you have . . . but the lemon thyme just adds just a teensy bit more depth to the flavours . . .
Finally . . . top all that goodness with a crisp freshly toasted Cheese Sarnie, deliberately sliced on the diagonal . . . some of the cheese oozing out . . . just laid here and there on the top . . . now a final drizzle of that scrummy dressing . . .
Presto! A deliciously easy, scrummily edible, moreishly wanton Grilled Cheese Sarnie Salad.
And you thought salads were mostly boring??? Aha!! Not in this house! This just could not get any better!
*Grilled Cheese Sarnie Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Don't knock it til you try it. This salad rocks! Fresh salad fixings, topped with toasted cheese sarnie croutons and drizzled with a lemon thyme honey mustard vinaigrette!
4 small heads of baby gem lettuce, washed trimmed and leaves separated
(tear any larger leaves into bite sized pieces)
4 large radishes, washed trimmed and slivered
1/2 small red onion, peeled and slivered
1/4 of a medium sized English cucumber, washed, unpeeled, cut in half lengthwise and
then sliced into half moons
8 slices of fresh bread
4 ounces of good strong cheddar cheese, grated (a heaped cup)
softened butter
For the dressing:
4 1/2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 TBS liquid honey
1 TBS Dijon mustard or to taste (grainy or smooth, it's up to you)
a few springs of lemon thyme (you may use ordinary fresh thyme if that's all you have)
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A few springs of thyme for a garnish (optional)
First make the dressing. Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs and whisk half of them together the olive oil, vinegar, honey and mustard until thoroughly amalgamated. (Reserve the remaining thyme leaves for the sarnies.)Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Wash and dry the lettuce. Scatter the leaves onto four plates, tearing any larger leaves into bite sized pieces. Scatter the radish, onion and cucumber over top.
Spread the softened butter onto one side of each slice of bread. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Toss together the cheese and remaining thyme leaves. Place 4 of the bread slices, butter side down into the heated pan. Top each with an equal amount of the cheese/thyme mixture. Top the cheese with the remaining slices of bread, butter sides up. Toast over medium heat, until golden brown on the outsides and the cheese is melted. Cut each sandwich into 3 or 4 pieces diagonally.
Give the dressing a quick whisk and then drizzle some of the dressing over each salad. Top each with 1 cut sandwich, and then drizzle the sandwiches with some of the dressing. Garnish each salad with a small sprig of thyme if desired. Serve immediately!
Tuna Nicoise Salad. I confess I am a huge fan of salads in the summer months. I especially love main dish salads like this one, which is not only a feast for the eyes, but for the tummy as well.
Nicoise Salad or Salad Niçoise as it is also called is a French Salad. It is what is known as a composed salad, somewhat similar to a Cobb salad, with the main difference here being that there is no chicken involved and no bacon either!
This delicious salad comes from Nice, France, which is on the Mediterranean side of France. The side where the Riviera is. So think seafood and sunshine.
One thing which I like about it is that its a salad in which you can totally prepare all of the elements for it ahead of time. This makes it a perfect salad for entertaining as you need only whisk up a dressing and throw things together at the last minute!
The main ingredients for the salad are tuna (of course), boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, green beans and black olives.
In France they always use tinned tuna. I use tinned tuna, but you can certainly cook fresh tuna steaks in the place of the tinned tuna if you wish. Just make sure you don't overcook them or you run the risk of them tasting like chicken.
And trust me, if you have run to the expense of buying fresh tuna steaks to use in this delicious salad, you don't want it to taste like chicken. One minute per side is all you really need as far as cook time goes.
I always just use tinned tuna myself. I do use a solid albacore tuna however. I never buy any other kind. Its just my preference when it comes to tuna.
An Italian lady stopped me in the grocery store one day while I was buying tuna and told me that I should only ever buy albacore tuna. She said the rest was garbage.
Who am I to argue with experience! I was quite young at the time and she seemed to be quite old. In all truth she was probably younger then than I am now, but hey ho! She knew what she was talking about.
I have never bought anything but Albacore tuna since that day. I know it can seem to be a bit expensive, but at the end of the day, you always get what you pay for.
I like it in water or in oil. The one in oil is infinitely better, but because I am watching my cholesterol these days, I always settle for it in water.
This is a wonderful time of year to enjoy this salad. We are being spoiled right now with an abundance of fresh summer vegetables. Green beans, tomatoes, new potatoes, salad leaves.
Everything is so fresh and local and delicious! It doesn't get much better than this!
I love the wonderful earthy flavors of fresh new potatoes. You don't need to do anything special to them, just wash them really well and pop them into a saucepan of boiling lightly salted water.
10 to 15 minutes later, depending on the size of your potatoes, they are done to perfectly. I like them with the skins on myself. More fiber and that skin is so delicious.
Green beans are in season at the moment and our local ones are beautiful. So are the golden yellow wax beans. I have been feasting on them while I can!!
You want to pick beans for this salad that are not overly large in size. The smaller ones have the best flavor.
I have chosen today to use a mix of salad greens consisting of spinach and baby rocket/agugula. I love the iron earthiness of spinach and I just adore the peppery and meaty punch of rocket leaves!
I eat a lot of rocket, truth be told. I love it in sandwiches, on burgers and all sorts. Trust me when I say a roast beef sandwich with horseradish mayo and rocket leaves is a sandwich made in heaven!
I only ever buy free range eggs. If you are lucky enough to have a farm close by where you can buy free range eggs, so much the better.
Many people are greatly intimidated at the thought of hard boiling eggs. Its really not that hard and is a matter of timing. To hard boil eggs with a firm white and yolk start with room temperature eggs.
Pierce the large end of the egg with an egg piercer or a needle; this helps to prevent the egg from cracking in the heat of the water.
Place then into a saucepan and cover them completely in water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, maximum.
At the end of that time, remove them from the heat and place them in cold water immediately. This will prevent them from over-cooking and developing that unsightly dark ring around the yolks.
They will still taste okay, should the dark ring develop, but they are not as attractive to look at and in this salad, that's quite important.
Black olives are also an important part of this salad. You should use Nicoise olives if you can find them. I can't find those here so I have used Kalamata olives, which are a wonderful substitution.
The final salad ingredient is ripe garden tomatoes. They are starting to come into their own now. Just an ordinary tomato will do . . . fresh from the vine with the warmth of the summer sun still on its skin.
That's what you want, and what is ideal. Failing that, just get the best your money can buy and leave them at room temperature to ripen for a few days. You won't be sorry!
There are a few other things you can add if you want to. Capers is one. I adore capers. Vinegary, salty, they go so very well here.
Some thinly sliced red onion also works well. I have gone for simplicity here however, so I did not include either of those two things.
The final element of course is the dressing and I say keep it simple. I have chosen to use a simple vinaigrette dressing without any bells and whistles. With all of that fresh produce, why run the risk of overwhelming them with a dressing which is overly flavored.
Simple. Simple. Simple. Oil, vinegar and seasoning. That's all you need. Let the beauty of your fresh ingredients speak for themselves. Let them sing. A good dressing will only enhance their flavors, not overwhelm them. This simple dressing does just that.
Enjoy!
Tuna Nicoise Salad
Yield: 2
A beautiful main dish salad for those days when you just can't be asked to cook. It makes a great use of the abundant produce available to us this time of year as well.
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 TBS white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup (120ml) olive oil
- 1/4 tsp ground paprika
For the salad:
- 2 large free range eggs, hardboiled. peeled and quartered
- 4 new potatoes, scrubbed, cooked and quartered
- 12 French beans, washed, trimmed and cooked until crispy tender
- 2 heaped cups (120g) mixed salad leaves
- 2 tomatoes, washed and quartered
- 12 kalamata olives
- 1 (6 1/2 -ounce/170g) solid albacore tuna, drained
Instructions
- Mix the vinegar and the salt together for the dressing in a small bowl. Leave to stand for a few minutes. Add the pepper and then slowly whisk in the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies. Whisk in the paprika. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Set aside.
- Put the eggs and potatoes into a mixing bowl. Toss with a little bit of the dressing.
- Divide the salad leaves between two chilled plates. Top with the eggs and potatoes. Add the tomatoes and green beans. Place all of this around the edges. Divide the tuna in half and place half in the center of each plate. Scatter the olives over top.
- Drizzle the remaining dressing over everything and serve immediately.
Notes:
You can use two fresh tuna steaks in the place of the tinned tuna. Put a small amount of oil in a skillet and heat over high heat. Season the tuna steaks and sear them in the hot oil, cooking them for no longer than 1 minute per side. Place one onto each plate of salad and serve.
One thing we used to really love mom to put in our lunches when I was growing up were deviled ham sandwiches. Deviled Ham was a type of meat paste that came in a can, but it was different from other canned meat pastes in that it came wrapped in white paper with a fancy red devil printed on the outsides.
We loved it. It was a bit spicy and salty and we just thought of these sandwiches as being very tasty. I am not sure if there is anything here in the UK that is the equivalent of it. If there is I have not found it.
I usually make my own and today I used some of the leftover ham from our Easter dinner to do just that. It is a very simple thing to make if you have a food processor. I am not sure you could get the ham fine enough otherwise although you could certainly try.
I think you might could with a really sharp knife, but it would take some time, chopping and re-chopping it to get the right consistency. If you have a food processor, I would definitely use that.
Even so you need to chop the ham up into a smaller pieces anyways. I cut my ham into thin slices with a sharp knife and then slivered the slices before popping it into the food processor. I used my small processor. It worked really well.
A small amount of softened butter adds to the richness of this spread. Making it even creamier. Don't use cold butter. It won't amalgamate as well. You need it to be softened. This gets blitzed with ham just until both are well mixed together and you cannot tell where one starts and the other ends.
Once that has happened it is only a matter of scraping it into a bowl and then adding a few more ingredients to add to the pleasure of this tasty spread.
Mayonnaise and mustard. I use real mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. The Dijon provides lots of flavour and heat and the mayo adds to the creaminess.
Sweet pickle relish. Now that is not something which is readily available here in the UK.
The closest thing I have found to it is this.
This is what I normally use however. I buy it from an American supply shop and it lasts for quite a while in the refrigerator. We enjoy it on hotdogs and burgers, etc.
If you can't get that then I suggest you get some sweet pickles (Mrs Elwood makes good ones) and chop them really fine. Or just leave them out entirely. Its your choice.
It goes without saying that you will not need any salt in this spread, the ham is salty enough, but you will need a few other things. I like to use plenty of ground black pepper, and then I add a touch of ground allspice for authenticity, and some cayenne pepper for heat.
There is not enough of any of them to be truly discernable, just enough to give you a hint of flavour and to be honest it wouldn't taste truly authentic without them.
While I am very happy to enjoy my Deviled Ham on crackers or crisp breads, Todd enjoys his in a sandwhich. This goes very well in a sandwich. Nothing else needed, just lightly buttered white bread and then a nice layer of Deviled Ham. Scrumdiddlyumptious!
Deviled Ham Spread
Yield: 16
This is rich, tangy, a touch sweet with a bit of heat. In short, delicious. Ready to spread on crackers or crisp breads or to fill a sandwich. This is perfect.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound of roast ham, thinly sliced and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 4 TBS unsalted butter, softened
- 5 TBS real mayonnaise
- 3 TBS Dijon mustard
- 2 TBS sweet pickle relish
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
Instructions:
How to cook Deviled Ham Spread
- Put your ham into the bowl of a food processor and blitz several pulses until coarsely chopped. Drop in the butter and blitz again, pulsing until the ham is finely chopped and the butter has been thoroughly mixed in.
- Scoop the ham into a bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients, combining all well together. Cover and chill for at least half an hour before serving.
- This will keep up to three days, covered and refrigerated.
This makes about 2 cups of deviled ham. I don't recommend freezing it, but you can quite successfully cut the recipe in half. I have done so myself without any problems. It will keep a few days in the refrigerator however. I have never had to throw any of it away as it always gets used up quickly. Very moreish.
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