Yesterday I began to think I was losing my baking mojo . . . seriously.   I baked not one, but two sets of buns, that should have been beautifully soft and risen . . . I was using the bread maker to make the dough after all . . . what could go wrong?

They both turned out identical . . . even though I had baked them independently of each other.   Total flop.



I don't know what the problem is.   Truth be told I have another batch in the bread machine as I write this.   I am NOT giving up.  Anyways . . . baking mojo . . . losing it



I also baked this Cold Tea Gingerbread, which was lovely and well risen when I took it out of the oven . . . and fifteen minutes later . . . totally sunken in the middle.  What the heck was going on???  Have I lost my touch???   Thankfully I did not throw it out because today . . .



I decided to cut into it to see what it was like . . . as you can see the texture is beautiful throughout, and truth be told . . . it is the BEST gingerbread I have ever eaten!   Seriously!

 

It's dense and so moist . . . beautifully flavoured as well.   The original recipe didn't have any spices in it???   I can only think that was a misprint because Gingerbread should at least have ginger in it and so I added some ground ginger, cinnamon and cardamom . . . the fab three!



It has a texture very similar to Malt Loaf . . . and is almost sticky on the outside.  Not horrible at all.  I rather like it an awful lot!   I am so glad I didn't throw it away.   Best gingerbread ever, and as you know  I am somewhat of a gingerbread connoisseur!  I'll let you know how batch three of the buns turns out . . .



*Cold Tea Gingerbread*
Makes one 9 by 5 inch loaf
Printable Recipe

A perfect testimony to our ancestors thrift in not even wasting a cup of cold tea.   Delicious!

1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp. sifted plain flour (125g plus 2 TBS)
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter (115g)
1/2 cup brown sugar (100g)
1/2 cup molasses (125ml)
1/2 cup cold tea (125ml)
1 scant tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. hot water
1 large free range egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5.   Butter and flour a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin, or butter and line with paper.  Set aside.

Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.  Cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.   Beat in the egg and then beat in the molasses.   Stir in the sifted dry ingredients alternating with the cold tea.  Dissolve the soda in the hot water and stir in to combine.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before tipping out. 

Delicious cut into slices and served with softened butter.

I cooked a turkey at the weekend . . . some might say somewhat of an indulgence, but I was so unwell at Christmas this year we hadn't really enjoyed our Christmas Dinner very much and so . . . I wanted roast turkey.   Nothing special . . . just the same way I always roast it . . . my favourite way . . . which you can see here.  Simple and delicious.

 

I wanted to use up some of the leftovers today in a casserole.   I wanted something completely different than the usual turkey curry or pot pie . . . and so I went searching and I found this delicious recipe on Clover Lane.  I thought it sounded very different . . . and quite, quite delicious.



Plus it had the added benefit of using up a lot of my other leftovers . . . such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.   I do so love cranberry sauce in a casserole . . . and stuffing.



You layer half of the leftover stuffing on the bottom  and the other half on the top . . . in between are sandwiched chopped cooked turkey, spread with a delicious cranberry mayonnaise.



On top of the turkey meat and sauce goes a delicious mixture of leftover mashed potatoes, mayonnaise and mozzarella cheese . . . then of course the finalopping of stuffing.



It is an unusual combination to be sure . . . but it works together beautifully.   Perhaps it is not so pretty to look at, but I can promise you that in this case,  looks are very deceiving . . .  as this is probably one of the most delicious turkey casseroles I have ever tasted!



It's probably a little bit of bad timing now . . . as it's not Christmas or Thanksgiving . . . but this is one you will want to bookmark for sometime when you do have these kinds of leftovers . . . or of course, you could always use the leftovers from a tasty roast chicken dinner, which would also taste very well done this way.

Enjoy.






*Turkey Casserole*
Serves 4 to 6, depending on appetites
Printable Recipe

A delicious casserole which is easy to put together and helps to use up leftovers from your roast dinners.

4 cups of prepared stuffing, divided
4 cups of coarsely chopped leftover cooked turkey (about one pound)
3/4 cup of good quality mayonnaise, divided
1/4 cup of whole berry cranberry sauce
2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/   Butter an 8 inch square casserole dish.    Spoon half of the stuffing mixture into the bottom of the dish and spread it out to cover.   Sprinkle with the turkey pieces.   Whisk together 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise and all of the cranberry sauce.   Spread this mixture over top of the turkey.   Beat together the remaining mayonnaise, the mashed potatoes and the  mozzarella cheese.   Spoon this over top of the turkey, spreading it over to cover.   Sprinkle the remaining stuffing over top.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until bubbling and heated through.   Allow to stand for 10 minutes or so before serving.   Delicious!

 I was asked to participate in the January's Sunvil Supper Club.  You may remember several months ago I cooked Swedish Cinnamon Buns for them.  I quite enjoyed that experience, so I said why not!

 

The January recipe was for a warming soup, Portugese Caldo Verde.   Heart warming and simple.   I couldn't believe how simple it was.  In fact, looking at the ingredient list, I really wondered how good it would taste . . .



It uses simple ingredients . . . onion, garlic, water, potato, chorizo sausage, kale and a simple seasoning of salt and black pepper.    I wondered should I use stock instead of water . . . but I went with the recipe and boy oh boy . . . was this recipe ever proof positive that simple ingredients, simply put together can be fabulously delicious!  The perfect recipe for lean times.

 

Actually it's a recipe which is based on a traditional Portugese recipe which was used when times are hard.  It's now a favourite seasonal dish in Portugal and is often used as a part of traditional celebrations like birthdays, religious festivals and weddings.

 

It's not hard to see why.   It was . . . quite simply . . . fabulous in every way!  I served ours with some crusty sour dough bread.

 

*Portuguese Caldo Verde*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

A simple seasonal dish which hails from Portugal.   It makes good use of winter vegetables and is often eaten at traditional celebrations, something which has earned it the other name of "Wedding Soup."

4 TBS olive oil
1 brown onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into thin slices
4 pints cold water (8 cups)
120g of Chorizo Sausage (1/4 pound)
2 1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
450g of kale, rinsed and sliced (1 pound)

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently for 3 or 4 minutes, without colouring.

Stir in the potatoes.   Cook, stirring frequently for a further 5 minutes.

Add the water.  Bring it to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cover and cook for about 20  minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.  Crush them a bit with a potato masher.  (Leave some texture.)

Thinly slice the chorizo and stir it into the soup, along with salt and pepper.  Return to a medium heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes longer. 

Just before serving, stir in the kale.  Simmer for another 5 minutes, until the kale is tender and jade green.   Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and serve immediately.

Many thanks to Greg and the Sunvil people for letting me play with them again and experience this tasty little glimpse of Portugese food!!

 

One of my favourite baking ingredients has to be preserved Stem Ginger in Syrup.   We just love ginger in this house and this is a fabulous way of getting great ginger flavour into most baked goods.   Chopped it adds a delicious sweet heat in cakes and cookies and puddings . . . and the syrup I confess . . . is lovely stirred into  hot lemon drinks.

 

When I found this delicious looking recipe on Baker Girl the other day I knew I wanted to try it.   We adore Gingerbread in this house . . . and a ginger bread stuffed with Cheesecake?   Why not!   It sounded fabulously delish!



I decided to amp it up a bit though, by flavouring the cheesecake mixture with preserved stem ginger and wowsa, am I ever glad I did.   It was just wonderful!  You get the gingerbread cake . . . with a tunnel of cheesecake running through the middle . . . rich cheesecake studded with little nuggets of sweet and syrupy ginger root . . . oh my . . . but this was really, really good.

 

I dusted mine with icing sugar . . . just to give it a bit of prettiness . . . but a lemon glaze would also be very good I think.   Do be careful not to over bake the cake as it has a tendancy to be a bit on the dry side, if you do . . . not something that a nice scoop of ice cream or a drizzle of cream or lashings of custard wouldn't make up for . . . but you know . . . you don't want to be too much of a glutton.

 

I did have a problem filling it with the cheesecake filling.  She suggests adding it with an ice cream scoop.   I think the cream cheese over here must be vastly different than the cream cheese in America . . . because mine was not scoopable at all.  It was rather runny actually and so I kind of put half of it down in the middle, and then spooned cake batter around the edges to make a deeper tunnel and then put in the rest of it.

 

That seemed to work well.  I always have the same problem making Cream Cheese Icing as well.   It's always runny, not fluffy.  If anyone out there knows how you can compensate for that here in the UK, I would surely appreciate your advice and tips!

In the meantime . . . enjoy.   This is a winner.

 
*Ginger Cheesecake Filled Gingerbread Cake*
Makes one bundt cake, 16 servings
Printable Recipe

Adapted from a recipe I found at Bakergirl, who got it from Taste of Home.  I had to vary the method slightly as our cream cheese  appears to be quite different over here and results in a somewhat more liquid consistency.  Delicious.

For the filling:
1 (250g) package of cream cheese (8 ounces)
190g golden caster sugar (1 cup)
33g of plain flour (1/3 cup)
1 large free range egg
2 knobs of preserved ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger syrup

For the Cake:
300g of plain flour (3 cups)
96g of golden caster sugar ( 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 large free range eggs
180ml of sour milk (3/4 cup)
180ml of vegetable oil (3/4 cup)
62ml of golden syrup (1/4 cup)
62ml of dark treacle (1/4 cup)
or 125ml of molasses (1/2 cup)

Icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.   Spray a nonstick bundt pan with cooking spray and lightly dust with flour, shaking out an excess.

Whisk together the cream cheese, flour, sugar, egg, ginger and ginger syrup for the filling.  Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and ground cardamom.   In a large beaker, beat together the eggs, milk, oil, and syrups (molasses).  Add to the flour mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon to combine, just until no clumps of flour remain.  Don't overmix.

Spoon 1/3 of the batter into the bundt pan.  Smooth over and make a slight well in the centre all the way around. Very carefully spoon the cheesecake mixture down the centre of the cake, taking care not to let it touch the sides.  If need be, spoon another round of cake batter around the centre touching the cake tin, and around the outsides as well, adding more cheesecake mixture after until it is all used up.  Dollop the remaining cake batter over top and carefully smooth it over top.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to stand in the cake tin for 15 minutes before carefully turning out onto a serving plate.  Allow to cool completely.   Dust with icing sugar prior to eating.

 

I wanted to make a special dessert for Todd the other night. He is awfully fond of apple desserts.  I think apple desserts are one of his favourite types of desserts when it comes right down to it.   He loves to wax on about his mother's apple pies . . . but in truth . . . I have never been able to make an apple pie to come up to his mother's exacting standards.



I think that is because I make North American Apple Pies . . . and they are somewhat different.   He says his mother's apple pies were solid and highly flavoured with cloves.  I like my own mother's apple pies . . . her apples were soft and juicy and flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg.

 

He does like all the other apple desserts I make though, and especially this one, which is an old favourite of mine.   I have been making this for years and years!  In fact the other day when I was making this I sent my oldest son a text to tell him I was making it . . . because making it made me think of him and how much he always loved it.

 

Do you find that certain foods make you think of certain people?   I do.   I find that it always makes great dishes taste even more special when you can associate them with a special person and a special memory.



That's the way it is for me and this recipe.    I often had to double or triple it when my kids were growing up as it was a real favourite in our home.  Shoefly Pie and Apple Pandowdy, makes your eyes light up and your lips say howdy!  How can you not love a dessert that has a whole song dedicated to it????



I have to say . . . it's rather impossible not to love THIS version . . . with it's delicious sauce . . . tender apples and that crispy biscuit/scone topping.    You break it up a bit before the dessert is finished and push it down into the juices and fruit, which for some odd reason makes it even scrummier!

 

It may not be the most beautiful dessert in the world, but I have found that the best and tastiest things in life often aren't the prettiest.  You'll want to put this on a pan to bake . . . just in case it spills over.   Enjoy!

  

*Apple Pandowdy*
Serves 6 to 8
Printable Recipe

Shoe fly pie and apple pan dowdy, makes your eyes light up and your lips say howdy!  One of my favourite desserts.  A cross between a pudding and a deep dish apple pie.   Serve warm with cream if you wish.

150g of soft light brown sugar (3/4 cup, packed)
25g of plain flour (1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
250ml of water (1 cup)
2 tsp cider vinegar
60ml of molasses (can use a combination of dark and light treacle) (1/4 cup)
1 1/2 pounds cooking apples, peeled and sliced into eighths (4 to 5 cups)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 TBS butter

For the topping:
100g of sifted plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 TBS cold butter
180ml of milk (3/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.   Butter a 12 by 8 by 2 inch glass baking dish.  Set aside.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan.   Whisk in the water, vinegar and molasses.  Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Arrange the sliced apples in the prepared baking dish.  Pour the sauce over top to cover.  Sprinkle with the cinnamon and nutmeg and dot with the butter.

To make the topping sift the flour into the bowl along with the baking powder and the salt.   Drop in the cold butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal, the size of peas.   Add the milk and stir until all parts are dampened.   The mixture should remain somewhat lumpy.

Drop the batter by small spoonfuls onto the top of the apples.  It will not cover them completely, but that is how it should be.   Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  Break through the biscuit topping with a fork and work it down into the apples.  Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve warm, spooned out into bowls with or without pouring cream if desired.

I think that the one protein we eat most of all in this house is chicken, followed closely by fish and then only rarely do we eat red meat.  Quite the opposite of when I was growing up where beef was the protein of choice and fish and chicken only rare treats.

 

I can still remember how excited we would be when my mother would make us Maryland Fried Chicken Breasts for supper, an occasion which happened at the very most possibly twice during the year.   Oh my, how delicious it was . . . she would dip the chicken breasts into egg and cracker crumbs and then fry it until it  was golden brown and oh so tasty.  We always had it with mashed potatoes and gravy.  Luvy Jubbly, as Del Boy would say.

 

I think chicken is much more affordable now than it was when I was growing up.   I  believe it was Herbert Hoover who promised Americans that if he became President there would be a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.   This was back before the Great Depression.    I know not if he succeeded in putting a chicken in every pot . . . but he did become President.  I strongly suspect that he didn't, as the great Stock Market Crash of 1929 plunged the world into financial chaos just seven months later, and he was not elected for a second term.   Oh the fickleness of politics.

 

I do so love chicken though . . . It's incredibly versatile and so easy to prepare.    It lends itself to a multitude of flavours and methods of preparation.   Most of all I love it roasted . . . so that the skin gets all crisp and somewhat sticky . . . whilst the meat inside stays moist and tender.



This is a fabulous method of roasting chicken quickly.   It involves removing the back bone and flattening it prior to roasting at a high temperature.   The lemon flavour comes in via a rub of lemon zest, sugar and salt which you gently rub beneath the skin of the breast and the thigh . . . and in the delicious braising liquid which is poured around the chicken as it roasts.

 

The braising liquid is then defatted, reduced and slightly thickened to produce a delicious sauce which is spooned over this tender chicken to serve.   Do not mistake it for gravy.   Gravy it is  not.   It is a rich and luscious sauce which just makes something which is so very simple . . . extraordinary!

 

*Roast Lemon Chicken*
Serves 3 to 4
Printable Recipe

Bake this in an enamel roasting pan, as using an aluminum pan may cause an off flavour from the lemon juice.  Deliciously tender chicken with bright fresh flavours.

1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed and discarded
the finely grated zest of 3 large lemons, plus 80ml of lemon juice (1/3 cup)
1 tsp sugar
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
500ml of low sodium chicken broth
water
1 tsp corn flour
3 TBS butter
1 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 230*C/475*F/ gas mark 8.  Have ready a large enamel roasting tin.

Pat the chicken dry and then using sharp kitchen scissors, cut along both sides of the backbone to remove it.   Flatten out with the palm of your hand, pressing it down firmly, and tucking the wing tips behind the back.  Using your fingers, very carefully loosen the skin covering the breast and thighs.   Combine the lemon zest, sugar, and 1 tsp of salt in a small bowl.   Rub 2 TBS of the zest mixture beneath the skin of the chicken.  Season all over with salt and pepper on the outsides and transfer to the roasting tin.

Whisk the broth, 1 cup of water and the remaining lemon zest mixture together in a beaker.  Pour into the roasting tin around the chicken.   If the liquid doesn't reach the skin of the thighs, then add a bit more water.   Roast in the heated oven until the skin is golden brown and the meat juices run clean when gently pricked with a fork.  This will take 40 to 45 minutes.   Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for 20 minutes. 

Pour the liquid from the pan along with any chicken juices into a saucepan.  (you should have about 375ml/1 1/2 cups)  Skim off any fat and discard.   Cook over medium high heat until it reduces to about 250ml/1 cup.  Whisk the corn flour together with 1 TBS of water and whisk into the saucepan, whisking constantly and simmering until it thickens slightly.  Remove from the heat, whisk in the butter and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.   Carve the chicken and serve, passing the sauce at the table.