This is a delicious chicken dish which Todd really loves. He is a real meat/chicken and potatoes man, and if there is a delicious gravy/sauce involved, he is one very happy bunny! This is a simple dish which I have also seen called Amish Chicken, or Baked Chicken which makes its own gravy. I just call it Creamy Baked Chicken. A rose by any other name and all that. Its an old, old recipe, a simple recipe and a very delicious one!
You can use whatever kind of chicken you want in this just so long as it is bone in and the skin is still on. I like to use thighs and legs, or leg quarters. The long cooking time is too long for breast meat in my opinion. It only dries it out, gravy or not. Legs and thighs are best.
The chicken itself gets shaken in a bag of well seasoned flour and place into a baking dish in a single layer. There is no browning, or fussing and faffing about. Just shake, coat and put into place.
The flour is seasoned with salt, garlic, pepper and paprika . . . I like to add some dried thyme and parsley myself for a bit of an herb flavour and some colour. Its nice, but you can leave it out if you wish. Personally I really like the addition.
You just place the coated chicken into a baking dish and then you whisk together an equal amount of thick cream and water and pour it around the chicken in the dish, and that is it!! Easy peasy. Just bang it into a moderate oven, uncovered and let it bake.
It has a fairly long baking time, which is why I don't really like to use breasts myself. In that long slow baking that cream/ water mixture reduces down to a thick creamy gravy, well flavoured by the juices from the chicken and some of that flour coating . . .
The skin gets all crispy and brown and you have that delicious gravy, which is perfect spooned over both the chicken and my favourite, baked or mashed potatoes. Todd loves it with potatoes also. Rice would work as well. Some cooked vegetables on the side and dinner is served!
*Creamy Baked Chicken*
Serves 6 - 8
This
is a simple recipe which results in chicken that has its own
flavourful creamy gravy. I like to serve it with baked potatoes and a
vegetable, but mashed potatoes would also be good, as would rice.
6 to 8 bone in chicken pieces, with the skin
(I like to use a mix of thighs and legs)
140g plain flour (1 cup)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried parsley
360ml heavy cream (1 1/2 cups)
350ml water (1 1/2 cups)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Have ready a baking
dish large enough to hold all of the chicken pieces in a single layer.
Whisk together the cream and the water. Pour around the chicken in the dish. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, uncovered, until the skin is golden brown and the sauce has thickened somewhat. Serve the chicken with the gravy spooned over top.
Just look at how tender and moist that chicken is and how flavourful that gravy looks. It will soon be too hot in the kitchen for meals like this. I reckon this will be one of the last ones we treat ourselves to until the autumn spins around. Today we are enjoying a bit of a thunderstorm, so it is just perfect! Bon Appetit!
Mmmm . . . is there any smell on earth better than the smell of cinnamon anything baking in the oven??? I think not!!!
It has to be the most comforting, homey, hug-me smell that there is, next to Vanilla. That smells pretty good too.
You are going to love this wonderful breakfast cake I am showing you this morning. It is absolutely perfect in every way!
It has a moist and nutty batter . . . moist from the use of sour cream.
Sour cream is a great moistener when it comes to cakes . . . and this cake has plenty of that.
Finely chopped toasted pecans. This cake has plenty of those too . . .
Finely chopped and stirred through that beautiful batter, so that every forkful brings you some of that moreish nuttiness . . .
And then there is the cinnamon sugar . . . a whole 4 tsp of cinnamon in that cinnamon sugar mix . . . swirled through that lovely nutty batter . . .
It makes lovely cinnamony . . . sugary . . . moreishly tasty rivers and canyons of cinnamon tastiness throughout the cake!
Perfect for a weekend brunch . . . I guarantee the smell of it baking alone will get everyone hopping out of bed and clambering to the table, bellying up for a taste!
"By the Rivers of Cinnamon . . . la la la . . .!
Wait no, I guess it was Babylon, never mind. Drat . . . now I'll be singing that song all day in my head. Urrrrggg! I hate it when that happens.
I all seriousness however, this is one very delicious cake. And it is simple. As simple as stirring together a batter, and spreading it into a pan . . .
As simple as mixing together a quantity of granulated sugar and another quantity of ground cinnamon and sprinkling that over top of the batter in the pan . . .
As simple as taking a round bladed knife and swirling that layer of cinnamon sugar through that sour cream batter . . .
and then simply waiting . . . for half an hour or so while it bakes . . . and you sit there smelling that lovely smell . . .
And then you take it out, wait a few minutes until it cools down a bit . . . and dig in. Mmmm . . . so lovely served warm with something to drink. Tea. Coffee. Milk. Hot Chocolate, or . . . in my case . . . diet coke. (I know naughty me.) Yum!!
*Cinnamon Cake*
Makes one 8 or 9-inch cake
This light and moist cake smells heavenly when it is baking and makes a great addition to a weekend brunch!
210g plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/4 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
120g butter softened (1/2 cup)
135g sugar, divided (3/4 cup)
2 large free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla
120g sour cream (1 cup)
60g finely chopped pecans (1/2 cup)
4 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter and flour an 8 or 9 inch square baking tin. Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder and salt.
Cream
together 90g/1/2 cup of the sugar with the butter. Beat in the eggs,
one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients, just
to blend, in two lots, alternating with the sour cream. Stir in the
pecans. Spoon into the prepared cake tin. Combine the remaining sugar
and the cinnamon. Spoon evenly over top of the cake batter. Swirl in
with a round bladed knife to marble it.
Bake
for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out
clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan
for 15 minutes and serve warm, cut into squares.
Todd enjoyed his with some squirty whipped cream on top. I cannot afford that indulgence myself. In fact I cannot afford even eating the cake, but I do treat myself to a tiny smidgen. I hope you will too! Bon Appetit and happy weekend!
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Ahhh . . . the weekend, time to pull out the stops a tiny bit and bake something the family will enjoy. A tiny treat, a bit of an indulgence. Something like these fabulous Nut Jumbles. A deliciously moreish cookie that is a jumble of coconut and toasted nuts, topped with a shiney and sweet, incredibly tasty browned butter glaze.
These truly are wonderful cookies. If you can eat just one of them you are a much better man than I Gunga Din! They are nice and chewy . . . and stogged full of lovely shredded sweetened coconut . . . don't be tempted to use dessicated. It doesn't have the right texture and is a bit dry. I buy my shredded coconut online at Skyco. Its the cheapest. I usually buy it in bulk and keep it frozen in the freezer so I can keep it for a long time.
You can use either toasted walnuts or pecans. Today I used pecans. Both are equally as delicious.
I always toast my nuts before baking with them. Toasting really does enhance their nuttiness and freshens them up a lot. You can also do this well ahead of time and keep them frozen until you want to use them. Just bring them to room temperature first.
10 minutes or so in a moderate oven does the trick just nicely. Just bang those nuts onto a baking sheet and into the oven. 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. They will smell lovely and nutty. Let them cool before chopping. If I don't have some stored in the freezer, I will usually do this a day or so before I know I am going to bake with them. But you can also do it on the day, just make sure they are thoroughly cool before using them.
Mmmm . . . there is something about toasted nuts in a cookie that ticks all my flavour boxes.
Don't get me started on this browned butter glaze. Oh boy . . . that really tips a delicious cookie over the edge into FAB-U-LOUS!!
You need to put it on the cookies almost as soon as they come from the oven, while they are still hot. It will be kind of thick, but the heat from the cookies will make it quite spreadable.
Try not to lick your fingers too many times . . .
The glaze helps to keep them nice and chewy, so its purpose is really a two-fold one . . . taste and texture.
This is the kind of cookie your granny would have baked. Just coz she loves you and you are such a good little girl/boy. There is nothing like lovin' from the oven to make you feel all warm and toasty inside!!
Of course a little glass of ice cold milk is the perfect accompaniment.
*Nut Jumbles*
Makes 4 dozen approx.
Moreishly chewy drop cookie topped with a shiny browned butter glaze!
8 TBS unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
95g granulated sugar (1/2 up)
100g dark soft brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
1 large free-range egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g plain flour (1 1/4 cups)
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/4 tsp salt
76g shredded sweetened coconut (1 cup)
60g chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (1/2 cup)
60g sour cream (1/2 cup)
For the glaze:
3 TBS butter
195g icing sugar (1 1/2 cups) sifted
2 TBS milk
few drops vanilla 
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line several large baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.
Cream
together the butter and both sugrs until light and fluffy. Beat in the
egg and vanilla. Sift the flour, soda and salt together and stir in
just to mi. Stir in teh coconut, toasted nust and sour cream to make a
stiff dough.
Drop by TBS onto the prepared
baking sheets, leaving 2 inches in between. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes,
until the cookes are set and no impression is left when lightly touched.
While
the cookies are baking make the glaze. Heat the butter in a small
skillet over low heat until it turns a nut brown, abot 3 to 4 minutes,
swirling it occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar,
milk and vanilla to give you a smooth shiny glaze.
I really betcha can't eat just one. Happy Bank Holiday weekend and Bon Appetit!
I am a huge fan of Westernized oriental cuisine. I say Westernized because I have never had any other kind. I have never travelled in the orient or any further West than the border of British Columbia in Canada, or any further East than the Austian Tyrol. So you see . . . no Eastern experience at all. My sum experience of Oriental cuisine amounts to the dishes you might find on an all-you-can-eat buffet service at any Western Chinese restaurant.
I did go to a Korean restaurant once, in Toronto, and I quite liked what I had there, although it was quite spicy and I do like Kimchee.
I often make my own Chinese/Indonesian dishes at home, in the main being stir fries and fried rice. We are lovers of both of those. I do admit to having a real fondness for sweet and sour dishes and egg/spring rolls also. A very rare treat.
And don't get me started on Beef and Broccoli. That has to be my all-time favourite chinese dish. All. Time.
When we were living down South here in the UK, I got turned onto Ketjap Manis. I picked up a bottle in the oriental foods section of our local Waitrose down there and it was love at first taste!
This was the kind I bought. I was actually taking a chance when I bought it. I have always loved exploring grocery shops and it was an ingredient I had never used before, so I bought it to try. Like I said . . . LOVE AT FIRST TASTE!
Ketjap Manis is a sweet Indonesian Soy Sauce and quite addictive really. I found myself putting it in everything Chinese and loving that unique sweet salty flavour it imparted. It can also have a bit of a spicey heat, depending on how much chillies you add, or ginger . . . I like to be a bit judicious myself.
I was using it in my fried rice, my stir fries . . . on spare ribs, etc. Like I said, love at first taste. I was so disappointed when I ran out and then couldn't find it anymore. We had moved of course, and I didn't have a Waitrose where we live. We do now, but its almost all the way across the city and, although Todd loves me very much, he won't be driving across the city for any ingredient when it comes to cooking.
What can I say. He is so NOT a foodie. He only eats when he gets hungry (Kudos to him) and he never gets hungry and wouldn't eat at all if I didn't remind him that he needs to. DUH. (How I wish!)
Anyways, I now make my own Ketjap Manis. I found a few recipes online and adapted them to my own use and taste. I am not sure how authentic it is, but I do know how delicious it is. Its so simple to make really. I am betting you have everything you need in your kitchen to make it right now!
*Ketjap Manis*
Makes about 2/3 cup
Ketjap
Manis is a thick sweet Indonesian soy sauce, with a bit of a kick,
that is used a lot in Indonesian cooking. I love the stuff, but have
always had a hard time finding it in the shops. Its really easy to make
your own however. You will find that you reach for this again and
again. Its a really useful store cupboard ingredient to have on hand!
240ml dark soy sauce (1 cup)
6 TBS soft light brown sugar
6 TBS molasses
large pinch red chili flakes
1 medium clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 inch of fresh ginger, finely grated
You will also need some water,
amount depending on how thick you want your ketjap manis
I really hope that you will make this. I think you will find yourself using it for all sorts and, like me, you may even find it quite, quite addictive! Bon Appetit!
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