I've had enough Christmas Cake. I can't really eat Christmas Cake anyways, except for a tiny bite now and then . . .
Today I wanted cake. I love almonds and so I decided to make my favourite Almond Cake.
This is a basic every day cake chock full of lovely almond flavours . . . moist, dense and buttery . . .
The batter is an almost equal mix of self raising flour and ground almonds (almond meal) along with the flavors of both vanilla and almond extracts.
More almond flavour, and a lovely crunch, comes from the sprinkling of coarsely chopped almonds which you sprinkle on top of the batter prior to baking . . .
The cake is so moist and delicious that no icing or frosting is needed, but a drizzle of dark chocolate really sets it off perfectly.
I drizzled it back and forth in one direction first and then did it again in the other direction.
I thought it looked really, really nice. Very tempting . . .
I use these cake tin liners, something like muffin or cupcake liners, except they are the size of a cake tin. They work wonderfully, without the trouble of having to measure and cut.
I have them in three sizes. 8-inch 9 inch and then loaf tin sized. They do leave lines on the sides of the cake, but for a cake like this, lines down the side don't really matter that much.
In fact I think they add to the attractiveness of it and actually provide lovely little crevices to grab any icing, or chocolate drizzle or whatever happens to float down the sides . . .
Mmmm . . . next to a Victoria Sponge, this is my absolute favourite cake. Truly.
*Almond Cake*
one 8-inch round cake
Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 2. Butter an 8 inch round deep cake tin and line with baking paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat together the eggs and extracts. Gradually beat this into the butter/sugar mixture. Sift the flour into the bowl. Stir into the batter along with the ground almonds. Mix until smooth. Spoon into the prepared cake tin, smoothing the top. Scatter the chopped almonds on top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes until golden, well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
This cake would be perfectly happy on any tea table. I think you are going to love this one. I really do. Its delicious. Its simple. Its just a great, great all-rounder! Bon Appetit!
One eatery place I always enjoyed dining at when I lived in Canada was a restaurant called Swiss Chalet. The Menu is based on its signature Rotisserie Chicken with is served along with sides and its special BBQ sauce. Back in the day it was pretty much the only place you could get a rotisserie chicken, but of course they are really common place now with most shops selling them ready cooked and so convenient for bringing home and enjoying in the comforts of your own little house.
Their BBQ Sauce is pretty amazing however and was always my favourite part. They used to sell packages of the mix in the grocery store that you could make your own at home with also. It never quite tasted the same as the stuff in the restaurant though (what does?) but it was close.
So delicious for dipping your chicken in and your french fries/chips. A number of years back they ran a contest in the Toronto Star Newspaper to see if anyone could come up with a copycat recipe for the sauce and this sauce I am showing you today is the winner. I believe it was attributed to home economist Kay Spicer. In any case, I copied it down into my Big Blue Binder and have been making it ever since.
The original recipe called for poultry seasoning, which is not something we can get over here in the UK, so I have adapted the recipe to use what I believe if a fair substitute. In any case it tastes about the same!
It is quite a lengthy list of ingredients, but once you get them all assembled, the recipe goes together very quickly and I have to say it is very close to the original, if not better. Todd just loves this, and so do I.
*Swiss Chalet Copycat BBQ Sauce*
Makes about 750ml (3 1/4 cups)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp dried sage
Measure the water and tomato juice into a medium saucepan. Add the
stock pot. Mix together the sugar, salt, basil, parsley, thyme, ginger,
mustard powder, onion powder, sage, marjoram and nutmeg. Whisk this into
the saucepan along with the Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. Add the
Bay leaf. Bring to the boil, whisking constantly to combine, then
reduce to a simmer and simmer over medium low heat for about 5 minutes.
Whisk together the cornflour and water. Remove the bay leaf from the
sauce and then stir in the lemon juice. Whisk in the cornflour mixture,
whisking constantly, for several minutes until the mixture boils and
thickens. Whisk in the butter. Cook for a further two minutes. Taste
and adjust seasoning as required. Store any leftovers, covered, in the
refrigerator.
I really highly recommend that you make this sauce the next time you bring home a rotisserie chicken, or when you go to cook a chicken yourself. You will be so glad that you did. I guarantee! Bon Appetit!
One place I haven't yet managed to visit yet since I moved over here to the UK, is the Republic of Ireland, which is what the Southern most part of Ireland is called.
A country in its own right it is not a part of the United Kingom, like Northern Ireland is and Dublin is it's capital. It is on my bucket list however and God willing one day I will get there!
This is a recipe which dates back to the 1700s. It was traditionally thought of as a city dish which would be eaten in the winter months.
It is said that an Irish wife could
go to bed and leave it simmering on the stove for hours. That was so that it
might be ready when her husband arrived home from the pub and was wanting his dinner.
Historically the dish is also a way of using up all the rashers of bacon and sausages on Thursday night before Friday, which in the Catholic faith the eating of meat is forbidden.
While researching this dish, I came across quite a few versions. Some just included potatoes, onions, bacon and sausage.
Others included other vegetables like carrots, and some had the inclusion of barley. One thing they all had in common was the cooking of it in a pot on top of the stove.
I chose to cook my bacon and sausage first so that they were nicely browned. This, for me, is very much a visual thing, and for no other reason.
I just don't find the sight of un-browned sausage or bacon very appealing to the appetite! You don't need to cook them all the way through, just so they are golden brown on the outside.
The barley makes a lovely almost nutty addition. You will want to check the stock levels as you are simmering it on top of the stove however.
You will not want the pan to boil dry and the contents to catch. I added a few herbs and the end result was fabulously delicious!
*Dublin Coddle*
Serves 4
Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Crusty bread to serve
Take a medium flame proof casserole dish with a lid. (I use my enamel iron one). Place the chopped onion in the bottom of the dish. Top with the pearl barley. Place the bay leaf on top. Cut up the bacon into squares and place over top of that and then the sausages over top of the bacon. Finish with a layer of potatoes. Pour the chicken stock over top and then sprinkle with salt, pepper, savoury and thyme. Cover and then bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, over low heat for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the lid and dot with butter.
Place, uncovered into the heated oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are golden. Serve ladled into deep bowls, scattered with fresh parsley and with crusty bread on the side.
This was perfect for a cold Winter's day and a most delicious way to use up some sausages in my refrigerator that needed using up. My husband really enjoyed this.
I wager any man will. It's hearty and satisfying and very tasty! They say a glass of cold Guiness goes very well. Ithe Shona!
Enjoy!
This supper dish I am showing you today is one of my favourite kinds of supper dishes. A dish in which everything is cooked pretty much together, making for less mess and less of a clean up.
But that doesn't mean less flavour as you will see! This is delicious!
It looks pretty tasty even before it goes into the oven! I was inspired by a recipe I found on Tablespoon for easy pork chops and stuffing.
It used boxed stuffing mix however, which is not something that is readily available over here in the UK. We do have stuffing mix, but it is not the same thing as the one which the original recipe used.
The packaged stuffing we have over here uses rusk crumbs whereas the North American variety uses bread crumbs, and is seasoned quite differently.
Most cooks would have been tempted to keep looking for a recipe to use, which required ingredients that were readily available to them. That's not me. I am not most cooks.
I liked the basic premise and then I set to work making it work for me, using what I had and adapting the recipe appropriately.
This meant I had to make a stuffing from scratch, but . . . its not really that hard to do.
I also didn't have frozen broccoli, but really how hard is it to blanche fresh broccoli. Not hard really at all.
By all means if you don't want to go to the trouble, then go to the original recipe and follow that one, but if you like cooking food without preservatives and additives, from scratch, Stay Right Here!
You won't regret it. This stuffing is moist and delicious, flavoured with celery, onion and dried cranberries along with a mix of herbs and seasonings.
The pork is simply seasoned with salt and pepper and browned before laying on top of the stuffing and broccoli, the broccoli being fresh broccoli, simply blanched prior to baking.
Altogether this was very delicious, the pork lovely and moist . . . the stuffing filled with lovely flavours and the broccoli perfectly cooked.
I served it with sweet potato fries because I had some which needed using up and they went very well, but so would mash or rice, or boiled or baked potatoes of any kind.
*Pork Chops & Stuffing*
Serves 4
(slash fat edge prior to cooking to prevent curling)
oil
salt, pepper
2 cups broccoli florets, blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
60g of butter (1/4 cup)
4 cups of dry bread cubes (about 5 thick slices of stale bread, cubed and dried
in a hot oven for about 10 minutes)
a handful of dried cranberries
4 cups of dry bread cubes (about 5 thick slices of stale bread, cubed and dried
in a hot oven for about 10 minutes)
a handful of dried cranberries
1/4 tsp each dried thyme, parsley and sage
a dash of nutmeg
salt and black pepper to taste
chicken broth as needed
First make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the
celery, onion and carrot. Cook until tender over medium heat. Remove
from heat. Place the bread cubes into a bowl. Toss with the
vegetables/butter mixture and dried cranberries. Add the herbs and
spices, as well as salt and black pepper to taste. Add chicken broth
just to moisten.
Preheat the oven to
180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow casserole dish large enough
to hold all the chops in a single layer. Place the stuffing in the
bottom of the dish and top with broccoli florets.
Dust
the chops with salt and black pepper. Heat a bit of oil in the skillet
you softened the vegetables in. Add the chops and brown them on both
sides, for two to three minutes per side. Lay the chops on top of the
broccoli in the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil.
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Have a great day and come again!
There are certain things from Costco that I try to always keep in my freezer. Things like the All Beef Hotdogs, cod fillets, and chicken. I like the crispy crumbled chicken breasts. They are really nice, just on their own served with veg or in a sandwich, etc.
We can get quite a few meals out of a package of them, truth be told, as there are only the two of us in the house, so they are quite economical for us. I always like to season them a bit prior to baking. Sometimes I will just use cracked black pepper and sometimes I will sprinkle them with cajun spice, or whatever flavours I am in the mood to be eating. They are really quite an adaptable ingredient to have in your store-freezer!
Yes, it is a bit of a cheat, I know . . . but I would be lying if I didn't admit that sometimes even the most seasoned chef's like to cheat a bit! These frozen breaded fillets can also make a great basis for other things! Kind of like a pizza crust . . .
They need never be boring. You can partially cook them and then top them with a multitude of things and finish them off, and nobody will be complaining!!
If you keep a store cupboard filled with lots of lovely bits, dressings, cheeses, sauces, etc. the world is your oyster!
This is a seriously simple way to dress things up and keep everybody happy. You could even make a bit of a party of it and let everyone top their own with their own choices.
Once topped and baked, they are ready to serve with any variety of sides . . . potatoes, rice, vegetables, there is no end to what you can do.
Cranberry sauce and toasted soft goat's cheese . . . seriously scrummy . . .
Ranch style with ranch dressing, cheese, bacon and spring onions . . .
Parmigiana with a good marinara sauce, parmesan cheese and mozzarella . . .
Hunters chicken with BBQ (I like the Paul Newman one) bacon, cheese and spring onions . . .
Chicken Caesar with caesar dressing, parmesan and four cheese blend, with a bit of bacon and spring onion on top . . .
And those are only a few ideas . . . marmalade with some apricot stilton . . . (can you imagine!) . . . salsa with some jack cheese and pickled jalapenos . . . how about Mozarella and pizza toppings like olives, mini pepperoni, etc. The world really is your oyster and these are truly a fabulous canvas for whatever floats your boat!
*Tasty Ways to Dress Up Breaded Chicken Breasts*
Of course you could just pound, bread and fry your own chicken breasts and they would probably be even better, but when you are pressed for time and inspiration, these are fabulous! I am all out of them now so guess who will be making a trip this week to get some more????? You got it Pontiac! Mois for sure! Bon Appetit!
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