I was asked earlier this month if I would like to participate in the Titan Supper Club and bake a tasty recipe which hails from Basel, Switzerland, called a Basel Tart.
The Toddster has actually been to Basel, although I have not and apparently it is a beautiful place to visit. Nestled on the banks of the Rhine River, it actually borders on three countries, Switzerland, Germany and France and it's not difficult to see where there are influences of all three cultures in this lovely tart.
It has a crisp shortcrust pastry base, which a delicious filling which is made from slowly caramelized onions, milk, eggs, Gruyere Cheese (a deliciously nutty and sweet Swiss cheese) and smoky bacon.
It is delicately flavored with rosemary and coriander leaf (cilantro). I was a bit worried that because they are both very strong flavored herbs they might overpower the flavors of this tart, but they worked perfectly . . . which means there is only a hint of them, allowing the smokiness from the bacon and the sweetness of the cheese and onions to shine through.
This tart was sooooo good, the Toddster had two servings. And he is not one to overindulge himself in anything!
I loved it too. I would make it again and now I am intrigued so much that I have put Basel on my bucket list. Anyplace that can produce something as tasty as this is a place I deffo want to visit one day!
*Basel Tart*
Makes one 10 inch tart
Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onions and saute until they begin to soften. Add the bacon and salt. Cook until golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 170*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Whisk together the flour and milk until smooth. Beat in the eggs, herbs and cheese. Pour over the sauteed onions and mix together gently. Pour this filling into the prepared pastry. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Cut into wedges to serve.
Many thanks to Titan Travel for asking me to participate in June's Supper Club. I've gotten to try something new and learn about a new place that I now want to visit!
I hesitate actually to call this a recipe . . . it's more of a something I just did . . . and it happened to turn out beautifully.
I hate waste. I love potatoes. I especially love baked potatoes. I was making a baked potato salad. You only need the flesh of the baked potatoes for that recipe . . . what to do with the skins??? The skins are my favourite part. It seemed a shame to waste them and so . . .
I cut them in half lengthwise and sprinkled them with some spices and spritzed them with some low fat cooking spray . . . and then I baked them until they were scrummy crisp and brown on the edges and then . . .
I liberally sprinkled them with my favorite pizza toppings and cheese . . . lovely strong cheddar cheese . . . I love the stuff. After that, I banged them back into the oven to melt the cheese and heat the toppings and then . . .
Why, I served them with some sour cream for dipping of course!! We loved them. They were magnifique!
*Pizza Potato Skins*
Makes 16 piecesand a few chopped sun dried tomatoes
Sour cream to serve and a few extra chopped spring onions if desired
Remove from the oven and scatter the cheese over top. Top the cheese with the chopped olives, onions and sun dried tomatoes, trying to scatter them evenly over all. Bang back into the oven until the cheese melts and bubbles. Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes. Place onto a serving platter and serve along with a bowl of sour cream for dolloping and some more spring onions for scattering. (If desired.) Delicious!
We had the Missionary Elders over for their tea last night and I made them a very tasty Moussaka. It went down a real treat. Neither one of them had had it before, but they both had second helpings. I think it is fair to say . . . Missionary Elders like Moussaka!
Because Moussaka is such a hearty and rich dish I wanted to make something not too heavy for dessert. I took a chance and decided to make them a simple rice pudding . . .
Not a baked rice pudding, or anything elaborate. No sultanas, or other fruit stirred in . . . no eggs either . . . just a simple mix of milk, cream, rice and simple flavours . . .
A bit of orange zest and vanilla . . . and a knob of butter stirred in at the end . . .
I like to spoon it into pretty glasses . . . wine glasses, atop a nice dollop of jam. But you can do as you wish. The jam though . . . adds a nice touch. It's nice to bring it up from the bottom with your spoon when you are eating it . . . like a sticky, sweet and fruity surprise.
It's not a difficult pudding to make. It uses simple ingredients. It's not slimy or lump . . . it's just comforting and simple and delicious. What more could a body ask for. (Needless to say, the pudding went down a real treat as well!)
I like to spoon it into pretty glasses . . . wine glasses, atop a nice dollop of jam. But you can do as you wish. The jam though . . . adds a nice touch. It's nice to bring it up from the bottom with your spoon when you are eating it . . . like a sticky, sweet and fruity surprise.
It's not a difficult pudding to make. It uses simple ingredients. It's not slimy or lump . . . it's just comforting and simple and delicious. What more could a body ask for. (Needless to say, the pudding went down a real treat as well!)
*A Simple Rice Pudding*
Serves 6
pinch salt
1/2 tsp of orange extract, or 1 TBS finely grated orange zest
Jam to serve (optional)
Cook for a further 30 to 35 minutes,
giving it a good stir every 10 minutes or so, cooking until the rice is
very soft and almost melting in the mouth. Most of the liquid should be
absorbed. The pudding should be creamy, not too runny or too dry. If
it is too dry, it is okay to add a bit more milk or cream to slacken it a
bit. Remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and enough of the
remaining sugar that you want as far as taste goes. You may not want
the full amount.
Hooray for Strawberry Season!! My favourite time of year! I know we can get strawberries pretty much all year round here, with berries being flown in from Africa and Spain, but . . .
Let's be honest here though. They are not a touch on the flavour of a freshly picked home-grown English Strawberry.
The warmth of the sun still resting on it's sweet red flesh and pieces of straw still clinging to it's bright green leaves . . . ok, so you will only get that if you pick your own, but still . . .
A berry that has only just been picked and transported a few miles tastes infinitely better than one that's been flown thousands of miles and held in a cold warehouse for days before it reaches the store shelves!
I just can't get enough of them!! I love them fresh and eaten out of hand . . .
sliced and sprinkled with a bit of sugar and then doused in cream, dipped in chocolate, baked into pies and cakes, made into jam, crushed and dolloped on top of fresh scones . . .
oh the possibilities are endless!!!
One of my favourite ways is to bake them into this delicious, moist tea bread.
There is no tea in it, that is just what we call a quick bread over in North America. I reckon that's because they go so well with a cup of tea . . . in my case herbal tea . . . Mint tea is lovely with it!
It smells heavenly when it is baking . . . the cardamom is so sweetly fragrant . . . the lemon drizzle adds just an extra touch of sweetness.
All in all it is a real winner. I guarantee!
*Strawberry Cardamom Bread*
Makes one 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf
Printable Recipe
A deliciously moist bread stogged full of fresh strawberries and glazed with a tangy lemon glaze.
4 ounces unsalted butter ( 1/2 cup)
150g granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
280g plain flour, sifted (2 cups)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
(remove the seeds from green cardamom pods and grind them
with a pestle and mortar or a coffee grinder if you cannot find it already ground)
175g sour cream (1/2 cup) or plain yoghurt
55g toasted walnuts (1/2 cup), coarsley chopped
300g of fresh strawberries, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
For the glaze:
the juice of 1/2 lemon
enough icing sugar to make a drizzable glaze
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and lightly flour a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf. Set aside.
Beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom together. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix only to combine. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and the nuts.
Spoon into the prepared and bake for about 1 hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let stand in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool.
Whisk together the lemon juice and enough icing sugar to make a drizzle glaze. Drizzle over the cake. Let set.
Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread also freezes very well.
*Salmon Fillets with Cucumber and Dill*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Cucumber, dill and Salmon go so very well together. A nice light meal with wonderful flavours.
4 large salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick and weighing about 6 ounces each
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a bit of olive oil (I didn't use any in this pan and it worked a charm)
1/4 cup dry white wine
For the cucumber salad:
1 english cucumber
1 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 tsp fresh chopped dill weed
a pinch of salt
For the sour cream sauce:
6 TBS sour cream
2 TBS fresh chopped dill weed
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 TBS finely chopped shallot
1/4 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
First make the sauce. Whisk together the sour cream, dillweed, vinegar, shallots, lemon zest and juice, and garlic. Season to taste and set aside.
To make the cucumber salad, trim the ends off the cucumber. Using a vegetable peeler, shave lengthwise into ribbons. Place into a bowl. Toss together with the remaining ingredients and set aside to marinate while you cook the salmon.
Season the salmon well on the flesh side. Heat a bit of olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan until hot. Add the fillets, presentation side down, and cook for 3 minutes, without disturbing. Carefully turn the salmon over and cook for an additional minute. Remove from the heat. Add the wine, then cover and allow to sit until the salmon flakes easily with a fork, about 3 minutes.
Divide the cucumber salad amongst 4 plates. Top each with 1 salmon fillet. Divide the sour cream sauce evenly amongst each serving and serve immediately.
Small baby potatoes, unpeeled and steamed until tender, go very well with this!
*Simple Pan Fried Haddock*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe
Quick to cook and oh so easy and delicious. We both really enjoy this!
2 boneless, skinless haddock loins
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 TBS flour
a knob of butter (I only needed a very small knob of butter. You could probably get away
with none, but the butter really adds to the flavour of this recipe)
several sprigs of fresh thyme
the juice of one lemon
Season your Haddock filets well on both sides then sprinkle with flour to coat, patting it lightly into the flesh. Set aside. Melt a knob of butter over medium high heat in a skillet until it begins to foam. Add the springs of thyme and then brown the Haddock fillets, starting with the presentation side, and then turning them after about 2 minutes.
They should only take about 2 minutes per side to cook through,
depending on the thickness of your fillets. After you have cooked both
sides, squeeze the juice of a lemon over all and allow it to bubble up.
Remove from the heat and let stand for several minutes before serving.
Delicious!
These are easy to make and so delicious! You can tell from the grease splattered piece of paper I’ve got it written down on that it’s a winner, but don’t take my word for it. Try them for yourself! We like to have them with applesauce and sour cream, with a few chives sprinkled on top, but you can have them with whatever strikes your fancy.
3 cups raw potato, peeled and finely grated
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp salt
2 TBS plain flour
2 TBS grated onion
Sunflower oil for frying (I just used a light spritz)
Grate your potatoes and squeeze as much liquid from them as you can, working quickly so that the potatoes don’t turn brown. Put into a bowl along with the remaining ingredients, mixing well.
Heat a skillet to medium hot, and grease well with some oil. I add about 3 TBS and swirl it around.
Once the oil is hot, drop the batter by tablespoonsful onto the hot skillet. Press with the back of the spoon to flatten a bit. Fry for about 3 minutes on each side until browned. Place in a low oven to keep warm while you fry the rest.
Serve hot with applesauce and sour cream. Delicious!
*Boeuf Bourguignon*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
A fancy beef stew which hails from the south of France. Plan ahead as you need to make it the day before you want to eat it.
1 3/4 pounds of braising beef or steak
3 TBS olive oil (I used half the amount with this pan)
1/2 cup cubed pancetta
3 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 1/2 TBS plain flour
1 3/4 cups of full bodied red wine, plus an extra splash if need be
(I normally use a Shiraz)
a bouquet garni (A few springs of thyme, a bay leaf and a few parsley stalks
tied together)
2 TBS butter (Only used one TBS, again for the flavour)
1/2 pound of chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and halved
2 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Pat the meat dry. Trim well, discarding any sinew or excess fat. Cut into large chunks. Heat 1 TBS of oil in a dutch oven and brown the pancetta lightly. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside. Brown the meat in two batches in the fat that remains in the pan. Once browned scoop out and add to the pancetta, once again setting it aside. Add the remaining oil and fry the onion in it very slowly, covering the pan, until very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes in time, stirring occasionally and adding the garlic to the mixture halfway through the cooking time. Stir the flour into the onions and cook for about a minute, then add the wine and bring to the boil, stirring. Add the meat and pancetta, along with the bouquet garni and bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook, covered, over very low heat until the meat is tender, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Turn off the heat and leave the casserole overnight. Next day bring the dish back to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the mushrooms and fry until lightly browned. Tip them into the stew and allow to cook for another 15 minutes or so. Season the stew with some salt and black pepper to taste and, if you think it needs it, another splash of wine. Sprinkle with the parsley to serve.
Serve hot with some mashed potatoes on the side. Delicious!
I love cooking with chicken breasts. They can happily accept many flavours and I love coming up with new ways of preparation. I think this is a delicious experiment of mine that I will be repeating often! You needn't serve this curry with anything more than some plain steamed basmati rice, and maybe a steamed green vegetable on the side. It really is delicious!
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBS butter ( I used half this amount and half of the required oil as well)
2 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 fat cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS curry powder (I use a medium strength)
1 TBS peeled and grated fresh gingerroot
The grated zest and juice of 1 large orange
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup hot chicken broth
2 heaping TBS mango chutney
1 TBS chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 TBS chopped fresh mint
½ cup lightly toasted cashew nuts
Thinly slice the chicken breasts lengthwise and then again in half so that you end up with four thin pieces from each. Season well with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat until hot and the butter sizzles. Toss in the chicken pieces and brown them well on both sides. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Reducing the heat sauté the onion, stirring until tender and translucent. Thisshould take 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute longer, taking care not to brown it as this makes it bitter. Add the curry powder, orange zest, ginger and orange juice, stirring to scrap up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the coconut milk and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Boil for a few minutes to reduce somewhat and then return the chicken to the pan, simmering for 3 minutes or so to cook through. Stir in the chutney and sprinkle with the coriander, mint and cashew nuts before serving.
Serve hot with some steamed or pilau rice on the side and some naan bread to sop up all that lovely sauce.
*Anthony’s Favourite Fly-Off-The-Plate Pancakes*
Family size (must mean at least 4 or five people)
Printable Recipe
This is another oldie from my big blue binder. In the amount area it only says family size so I take it to mean that means a lot, because I had a rather large family. My Anthony loved these and for good reason. They are quite simply delicious. The addition of sour cream gives them a wonderful tenderness. I always made them silver dollar size when I was making these. I think he liked them that way because he could get a whole one into his mouth at one time, you know how boys are! Break out the butter and Maple Syrup, you’re in for a real taste treat today!
2 cups plain flour
¼ tsp salt
2 TBS white sugar
6 tsp baking powder
2 large free range eggs
2 cups milk
5 TBS sour cream
4 TBS melted butter
Oil for frying (I only lightly spritzed with oil)
Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Put the eggs, milk, sour cream and melted butter into a large beaker and whisk them together well. Make a well in themiddle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients all at once. Whisk together vigorously until they make a smooth batter.
Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium high heat. Grease lightly with a little bit of oil, swirling it to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Drop the pancake batter onto the heated pan or griddle in heaping tablespoonfuls. Cook over medium high heat until the surface is coated with small bubbles and the underside is lightly browned before flipping them over to cook and brown the other side. Remove to a plate and keep warm in the oven while you are cooking the rest, using up all the batter. Serve warm with knobs of ice cold butter on top and sweet lashings of Maple Syrup.
These freeze very well. Just pop them between layers of grease proof paper and pop them into a zip lock baggie. You can then take out as many or as few as you want at any given time, warming them up for a few seconds in the microwave.
PS - You can very easily cut this recipe in two if you don't want to make quite so many. I did.
*Jammy Breakfast Sandwiches*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Quick, delicious and different! A hot eggy bread sandwich filled with lovely meltingly rich cream cheese and sweet jam, all brown and butterly crunchy on the outside and dusted with caster sugar. Quite simply, lovely . . .
3 large eggs
1 TBS of caster sugar
2 TBS whole milk
A few drops of pure vanilla essence
8 slices of brioche
4 heaping TBS of your favourite flavour of jam
4 heaping TBS of cream cheese
A large knob of butter for cooking
More caster sugar for sprinkling
Lightly beat together the eggs, caster sugar, milk and vanilla in a shallow dish large enough to fit the bread slices into.
Open the slices of bread and spread the cream cheese on half of them and the jam on the other half. Put them together cheese sides to jam sides in the middle, pressing firmly so that they stick firmly together.
Melt the butter over medium low heat in a large skillet until it is foaming. Soak each sandwich in the beaten egg mixture until all the egg has been absorbed, allowing them to soak on both sides. Place the soaked sandwiches into the foaming butter and fry for one to two minutes on each side until golden brown and crusty all over, adding more butter as necessary.
Remove to warm plates and slice into fingers. Dust lightly with caster sugar to serve and enjoy!
I had some leftover brownie batter the other day, as you do . . . and I wanted to do something unusual with it. (I know . . . what kind of person has leftover brownie batter? ME, that's who!)
Anyways, we(I) fancied a pie . . . or a cake . . . or something inbetween. And, well . . . you know how it is . . . peanut butter and chocolate just go so very fantastically well together, don't they?
And so I came up with this torte, which is like a cross between a cake and a pie. It's round like a pie. It's round like a cake. But that's where the similarity to either one ends.
It's soft and fudgily scrummilicous!
Each bite has all the moreish qualities of a chocolate brownie, but also the tastiness of a peanut butter cookie.
The only way it could taste any better is with a nice scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice cream on top . . . and some fudge sauce drizzled over it all . . . but I didn't have any.
We had to make do with clotted cream. Oh ♥ ♥ ♥ the pain of it all!
*Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownie Torte*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe
Peanut Butter and Chocolate are a marriage made in heaven. This is a tasty, moist brownie pie, just stogged full of peanut butter cookie dough. Oh so scrummy. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to serve if you dare!
For the Brownie part:
3 ounces continental style dark chocolate (at least 70%cocoa solids)
3 ounces butter (1/4 cup plus 2 TBS)
2 large free range eggs
1 TBS vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
12 ounces of sugar (1 1/3 cup approx.)
6.5 ounces plain flour (1 1/4 cups)
For the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough part:
8 ounces creamy peanut butter (1 cup)
2 ounces caster sugar (1/4 cup)
2.5 ounces soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup)
4 TBS butter, melted
2 TBS plain flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 large free range egg, beaten
Vanilla Bean Ice cream to serve (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch round baking tin and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the brownie batter. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a saucepan, stirring until smooth and amalgamated. Stir in the sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour. Set aside.
Cream together the peanut butter and sugars for the cookie dough part. Stir in the beaten egg, butter and vanilla. Stir in the flour.
Drop the peanut butter batter into the prepared pan in mounds spaced somewhat apart. Drop the brownie batter in between the peanut butter mounds. Drag a knife through to swirl the batters together somewhat and then smooth the top over.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until completely set and shiny on top. Allow to cool completely before slicing into wedges to serve. A scoop of vanilla ice cream goes very well!
I found some really lovely rack pork chops in the freezer the other day and decided to cook a real treat up for the Toddster. He does love himself a good pork chop.
This is a recipe I have had for many years. I got it out of an old cookbook of my mother's, called Martha Logan's Meat Cookery Book. It's a book that she got when she was first married, back in 1954. When I was about 17, I copied down, in hand writing, every recipe in the book that I found interesting, and this particular one has become a real favourite of ours through the years.
When I first moved over to the UK, Creamed Corn was not something that I could very easily find. It's quite readily available now though, which pleases me to no end. I just couldn't make my corn chowder without Creamed Corn and this delicious recipe wouldn't be possible without it either.
Imagine delicious tender meaty pork chops, baked beneath an herby corn and bread stuffing. Nom Nom!! We love this. You can use either ready made stuffing crumbs for the bread stuffing or dried bread crumbs. If you are using plain dried bread crumbs, do add some herbs as they give it a lovely flavour. I would suggest 1/2 tsp of dried sage and 1/2 tsp of dried thyme. A bit of onion would also be a nice addition.
With some potatoes on the side and a vegetable or two, it goes down a real treat with the men in the house . . . and I confess . . . this woman is mighty fond of it as well!
*Baked Top Hat Pork Chops*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Moist and delcious pork chops baked beneath a delicious corn stuffing. Quick, easy, economical and very tasty.
4 thick centre loin pork chops, fat and rind trimmed off and discarded.
1/2 of a 418g tin of creamed corn (1 cup)
2 ounces of dried bread crumbs, or seasoned stuffing mix (1/2 cup)
1 stalk of celery, washed, trimmed and chopped
1 TBS finely chopped parsley
salt and black pepper to taste
butter
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow baking dish. Set aside.
Dust the pork chops lightly with some salt and black pepper. Place into the baking dish. Combine the bread crumbs, creamed corn, celery and parsley. Mound an equal portion on top of each pork chop. Dot with butter.
Cover lightly with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer, until lightly browned. Serve hot, with your favourite side dishes.
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