Its our 18th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday coming up. Its hard to believe that we have already been married for that long. My last marriage lasted for 22 years and that time seems to have taken so much longer to pass. Those were the years I spent raising a family, so maybe that partially accounts for the time seeming longer. These past 18 years seem to have flown by at the speed of light!
A special occasion such as an anniversary calls for a special meal and so I picked up these steaks at the shops a week or so back to do a test in preparation for our anniversary dinner. We don't eat a lot of red meat in our home, but we do enjoy a good steak every now and then.
In fact if it weren't for that fact, I could probably happily be a vegetarian, but . . . a good steak would always be calling my name, or a slice of prime rib . . . or a fillet Mignon . . .
I used rib eye steaks. Each about 1 inch in thickness. You will want to make sure that your steaks are at room temperature, so leave them out of the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour prior to cooking.
The steak themselves have a simple preparation . . . just rub them with olive oil and salt and pepper. There are two schools of thought on salting meat before cooking. There are some that say it draws out too much moisture, and there are others that call it hogwash to say such a thing.
I will be honest here and say that I have never noticed a difference either way. You just do whatever your conscience tells you to do and I am sure it will work out.
We still have some fresh herbs in the garden, rosemary and thyme. The rest are pretty much done now. I picked some of those to use along with some lovely garlic our friend Eric grew this year.
He very generously gave us some and I have had it drying in the shed. Today is the first time I have used it and it is beautiful. I used 3 lovely fat cloves . . . I really should plant my own, but the soil in our garden is like clay and very poor.
Other than the steak, the herbs and the garlic the only other thing you will need is a good unsalted butter. I like the Danish one. (No names.)
The steaks are seared in a hot skillet on the first side and then flipped over, at which time you add the herbs, garlic and butter to the skillet. You continue to cook them until your desired doneness is achieved, basting them with the butter, which is quickly flavoured by the garlic and herbs . . . all the while.
It should only take a further 5 minutes or so and you will have a beautifully flavoured and cooked pair of steaks!
Yield: 2
Butter, Herb & Garlic Basted Steaks
prep time: 30 minscook time: 10 minstotal time: 40 mins
You can get much better than this. Tasty, tender perfectly cooked rib eye steaks with a luscious and flavourful butter baste.
ingredients:
2 (1-inch thick) boneless rib eye beef steaks at room temperature
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
2 TBS light olive oil
3 TBS unsalted butter
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprig fresh rosemary
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
instructions:
Take your steaks and rub them all over with 1/2 TBS of olive oil and
season with some salt and black pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a
heavy bottomed or cast iron skillet until it just begins to shimmer.
Add the steaks and sear well on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip over
and add the herbs, butter and garlic to the pan. Continue to coo for a
further 4 to 5 minutes (medium rare), basting continuously with the
butter. Remove from heat and set aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
Serve warm with some of the butter spooned over top.
season with some salt and black pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a
heavy bottomed or cast iron skillet until it just begins to shimmer.
Add the steaks and sear well on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip over
and add the herbs, butter and garlic to the pan. Continue to coo for a
further 4 to 5 minutes (medium rare), basting continuously with the
butter. Remove from heat and set aside to rest for about 10 minutes.
Serve warm with some of the butter spooned over top.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I served them with some little gratins that I discovered at our Lidl store in the frozen food department.
I wanted to try them before the holiday season. We both really enjoyed them. They were delicious and I am going to buy some more to pop into the freezer to serve with our Prime Rib at Christmas. They will save me a lot of time in prepping a gratin from scratch and they really were delicious. Plus they are cooked perfectly in about 20 to 25 minutes time, which makes them perfect for popping into the oven while the meat rests. I highly recommend. They also have potato and broccoli ones.
In any case I was really pleased with how everything turned out so that is that. Ohh, question. Just a few minutes ago, I heard a loud bang and I looked over at my dining table and my really expensive salt grinder had spontaneously combusted and exploded. It had pink Himalayan sea salt in it. Has anyone else ever had that happen? I was happy we were not sitting at the table at the time. It could have been nasty. (Cue in Twilight Zone theme song here.) Bon Appetit!
He tolerates the soft things, but doesn't like hard things at all, like nachos and the like. He likes Enchiladas and Chili, especially if they are spicy. He likes a bit of heat in his food.
Supposedly they are opening a Taco Bell in Chester soon. I am really looking forward to that. Our Spanish friends have been to the one in Liverpool and quite liked it.
We used to have a Taco Bell back home and I always enjoyed eating there myself. I hope that when the branch in Chester opens it is as good as I remember it being!
I had some leftover cooked chicken to use today and so I decided to make an Enchilada casserole. I used to make chicken and sometimes turkey enchiladas all the time for my family when they were growing up.
They were a real family favourite, especially after the holidays when we had a lot of turkey to use up!
I know my oldest son still makes them for his family. I am not sure about the others. In any case today I made a chicken enchilada casserole using leftover cooked chicken from the weekend.
It is a simple and quick recipe to make, which involves layering chicken, cheese, and enchilada sauce between layers of corn tortillas, along with some onion and green chilies.
I like to make my own enchilada sauce, but feel free to use tinned or bottled.
You can use a ready made four cheese blend, or you can make your own four cheese. I like to mix mild and strong cheddar, some Gruyere and if I have it a Jack.
If you really like it spicy you can use a spicy Mexican cheese. I think (personally) there is enough spice in the sauce, etc.
We like ours topped with sour cream, lettuce and some chopped spring onions and tomatoes . . . and black olives.
You can top it with whatever you like or with nothing. Its your choice.
The leftovers freeze beautifully, if you have any, and I am predicting you won't!
This casserole is perfect for using up rotisserie chicken or leftover roast chicken.
You can also use leftover roast beef or pork if you like. All work very well.
I have used fresh jalapeno peppers because we can't get the roasted ones in tins over here.
You can roast your own of course, which I often do and then freeze, or you can also just mince fresh ones, but don't use the seeds if you don't want too much heat!
Yield: 4
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
prep time: 10 minscook time: 40 minstotal time: 50 mins
A very family friendly delicious casserole that is very easy to make. A great mid-week dinner idea!
ingredients:
9 (6-inch) corn tortillas
240g Enchilada sauce (1 cup)
(See recipe below)
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken diced
1 small red onion, peeled and finely minced
2 TBS chopped green jalapeno chili peppers
240g four blend cheese mix (2 cups)
To garnish:
shredded lettuce, sliced black olives, chopped tomatoes
sliced spring onions, sour cream (any or all, optional)
instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F gas mark 4. Butter a shallow rectangular casserole dish. (Mine is 7 by 11 inches)
Place
3 tortillas in the baking dish, overlapping them to cover the bottom.
Cover with 1/3th of the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle on half the chicken,
half the onion and 1 TBS of the chopped jalapeno pepper. Top with 1/3
of the cheese blend. Top with another 3 tortillas as before. Spoon
over another 1/3 of the enchilada sauce, the remaining chicken, onion
and jalapeno pepper. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese blend. Top with
the remaining 3 tortillas as before. Spoon over the remaining enchilada
sauce and sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese.
3 tortillas in the baking dish, overlapping them to cover the bottom.
Cover with 1/3th of the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle on half the chicken,
half the onion and 1 TBS of the chopped jalapeno pepper. Top with 1/3
of the cheese blend. Top with another 3 tortillas as before. Spoon
over another 1/3 of the enchilada sauce, the remaining chicken, onion
and jalapeno pepper. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese blend. Top with
the remaining 3 tortillas as before. Spoon over the remaining enchilada
sauce and sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese.
in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until well heated through.
Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with the
optional ingredients if desired.
Yield: Makes 480ml (2 cups)
Enchilada Sauce
prep time: 5 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 20 mins
This is a delicious enchilada sauce. You will never want to use store bought again. You can double the recipe and freeze it for future use if you wish. Make sure you have all the ingredients assembled prior to making and it goes together really quickly.
ingredients:
3 TBS light olive oil
3 TBS flour (whole wheat works well, as does a gluten free flour blend)
1 TBS ground mild chili powder (North American style)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano, rubbed
1/4 tsp salt
pinch ground cinnamon
2 TBS tomato puree (tomato paste)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 TBS flour (whole wheat works well, as does a gluten free flour blend)
1 TBS ground mild chili powder (North American style)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano, rubbed
1/4 tsp salt
pinch ground cinnamon
2 TBS tomato puree (tomato paste)
480ml hot vegetable stock
1 tsp apple cider vinegarfreshly ground black pepper to taste
instructions:
Whisk together the dry ingredients until well combined. Heat the olive
oil in a saucepan. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Cook, stirring, for
several minutes, until quite fragrant and deep in colour. Whisk in the
tomato puree and then slowly whisk in the vegetable stock. Bring to the
boil, whisking constantly. Reduce to low and simmer for about 7 or 8
minutes, whisking occasionally. Whisk in the vinegar. Taste and adjust
seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
oil in a saucepan. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Cook, stirring, for
several minutes, until quite fragrant and deep in colour. Whisk in the
tomato puree and then slowly whisk in the vegetable stock. Bring to the
boil, whisking constantly. Reduce to low and simmer for about 7 or 8
minutes, whisking occasionally. Whisk in the vinegar. Taste and adjust
seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I really hope you will want to make your own sauce for these. It doesn't take long and I swear by its deliciousness. You will never want to use jarred sauce again! Bon Appetit!
I spied this Breakfast Casserole on a site called Dinner Then Dessert the other day. It looked really, really tasty.
I adore Breakfast types of casseroles, and I don't think you can ever have too many different recipes for them. They all come in handy, especially around the holidays!
I also love McDonald's Egg McMuffins. Usually over here I get the sausage and egg one because I am not fond of the bacon that they use at our local McDonald's.
I do love their English Muffins however. I don't know how McDonald's get them so soft. It must be a special brand of English Muffin that they use. I think they're just lovely.
So, anyways . . . when I spied this Egg McMuffin Casserole on Pinterest I knew it was something I wanted to make. I loved everything about it.
I sent my husband to the shops for some English Muffins. He came back with these . . .
Oven bottom muffins. It seems that somehow my elderly husband has gotten to the ripe old age without knowing the difference between an English Muffin and an Oven Bottom Muffin.
He saw the word muffin and that was that. I suppose I should be happy he didn't come home with these . . .
Totally edible of course, but not fit for purpose.
He ended up having to go out again once I showed him what I wanted properly. Grocery shops are filled with men wandering up and down the aisles with a look of stunned stupor on their faces.
We got there in the end (which is what counts!) but he had to go to about 4 different shops to find them. When he did find them, he got the very last package on the shelf.
They were marked down as they were right on their due date. I wasn't too bothered with freshness for a casserole anyways, so that was alright.
Friday is a bad day to buy English muffins I guess!
Back to the casserole. You cut a thin slice from each side of the muffins and use them to line a baking dish.
Once you've done this you butter the main bits of the muffin, cut them into 1 inch cubes and toast them in an oven. This helps to crisp them up a bit.
I like to cook my bacon in the oven, so I just cook the bacon at the same time.
You won't want the bacon to be really crisp as you will be cooking it again in the casserole. So a bit flimsy is what works best, not crisp.
The toasted muffin cubes get put into the baking dish. You then pour a mixture of beaten eggs, seasoning and milk over top.
Finally you scatter the crumbled bacon and some crumbled cheddar cheese over top. Easy peasy.
You could just grate the cheese, but I like the crumbles best. When you use crumbled cheese you get little pockets of cheese throughout.
I like the un-dyed cheese best. I also always use a strong cheddar when cooking. I find it has the best flavour.
I really, really love cheddar cheese. My husband thinks there is no other cheese but cheddar . . . that's an Englishman for you!
He was shocked when we went to France and he couldn't get cheddar. Every other cheese in the world, but NO cheddar. Talk about disappointed!
But I digress. Once I have everything in the dish, I smoosh things down a bit with a fork so all of the muffins get a bit damp.
It also helps to cause some of the bacon and cheese to fall down into nooks and crannies. You then bang the casserole into a moderate oven for about half an hour . . .
Until the top is golden brown and the eggs are set, and everything is gloriously tasty! Oh boy, but this is some good!
Yield: 6
Bacon & Egg McMuffin Casserole
prep time: 20 minscook time: 40 minstotal time: 60 mins
This is like having your favourite fast food breakfast sandwich in the comfort of your own home. This is a delicious casserole and is sure to please the whole family! You can have it for breakfast, but in all honesty, we enjoy it for supper. You can serve it with ketchup if you like or syrup. I am partial to Maple syrup on this.
ingredients:
6 large free range eggs
480ml whole milk (2 cups)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pound bacon
240g strong cheddar cheese (8 ounces)
6 large English Muffins
softened butter
To serve:
Tomato Ketchup or Maple syrup (optional)instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square casserole dish.
Cook
the bacon in the pre-heated oven until 3/4 cooked. You want it to still
be a bit flimsy as you are going to be cooking it some more in the
casserole dish.
the bacon in the pre-heated oven until 3/4 cooked. You want it to still
be a bit flimsy as you are going to be cooking it some more in the
casserole dish.
Cut the cheese into chunks and
then blitz in a food processor until crumbly. (Alternately you can just
grate it, but I like the crumbles better.)
then blitz in a food processor until crumbly. (Alternately you can just
grate it, but I like the crumbles better.)
Cut
a thin sliver from the tops and the bottoms of each muffin. Place
these bits overlapping in the bottom of the casserole dish. Butter the
muffins and cut them into 1 inch cubes. Place them onto a baking tray
and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until crispy. Put them into
the casserole dish.
a thin sliver from the tops and the bottoms of each muffin. Place
these bits overlapping in the bottom of the casserole dish. Butter the
muffins and cut them into 1 inch cubes. Place them onto a baking tray
and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until crispy. Put them into
the casserole dish.
Beat the eggs and milk
together with the salt and pepper to combine. Pour this over top of the
muffin cubes. Chop the bacon and sprinkle it on top of the casserole
dish and scatter on the crumbled cheese. I like to push down the muffin
pieces a bit so that they absorb more of the egg/milk mixture and so
that some of the cheese and bacon go down into any spaces.
together with the salt and pepper to combine. Pour this over top of the
muffin cubes. Chop the bacon and sprinkle it on top of the casserole
dish and scatter on the crumbled cheese. I like to push down the muffin
pieces a bit so that they absorb more of the egg/milk mixture and so
that some of the cheese and bacon go down into any spaces.
Bake
uncovered in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown
and set. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.
uncovered in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown
and set. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
My husband enjoyed his with tomato ketchup, I had mine with Maple Syrup (in true Canadian fashion). We both enjoyed this very much.
It made a beautiful light supper on the first day and he enjoyed the leftovers warmed up on the second day. (I only made half the recipe as there are only two of us.) All in all I would call this a winner/winner of a tasty dinner!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I usually like to bake us a cake at the weekend. Something for my husband to enjoy with a hot drink. Cakes and weekends are beautiful partners.
I confess I do like a little sliver of cake myself every now and then. In my experience yogurt cakes are beautiful and simple cakes. Just the kind for relaxing with. Perfect weekend cakes.
I had seen this cake recipe on the Lancashire Farm site the other day and it looked magnificent so I thought I would give it a go!
It uses about 1 cup of their natural bio yogurt. If you can't get this because you live in an area where its not available then you can use any other good quality natural bio yogurt.
I like theirs because it is thick and delicious!
I was really pleased with how the recipe worked out. Their recipe on site gives a 30 minute bake time, but when I checked at 30 minutes, it was still quite wobbly.
It took mine about 45 minutes to bake and then it was PERFECT!
You can also bake it in a ring tin, but I baked it in my 8 inch round cake tin. I used a paper liner.
You don't need to do that, you can simply butter it, but I like to use a liner if I can for ease in removing the cake from the tin.
There is a lot of sugar in the cake and I find that cakes with a high sugar content tend to stick.
I used Dorie Greenspan's trick of rubbing the lemon zest required for the cake into the sugar first.
Oh boy but it smells so heavenly when you do this, and rubbing it with the sugar really releases all of the lemon oils and gives you even more of a beautiful lemony flavour!
This beautiful cake stands on its own. No need to ice it, simply dust it with a light snowfall of icing sugar. Just enough . . .
You can see how moist it is. And it cuts beautifully.
This is not long since I took it from the oven. It was still slightly warm . . .
I served it to my husband with some tinned sliced peaches . . .
If you are doing a cake like this for dessert, then a bit of fruit goes very nicely.
Peaches are lovely, but so are pears, berries, etc. I think a dollop of whipped cream would also be nice.
There were no complaints . . .
Our friends Tony and Tina happened by, not long afterwards. I said to them, "How did you know I had baked a cake!"
This happened last week as well when I had baked the Boston Cream Pie.
I didn't have to ask them twice if they wanted a slice! They were quite happy to tuck in!
Yield: 8 inch cake
Lemon & Yogurt Cake
prep time: 10 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 50 mins
A delicious moist cake adapted from a recipe on the Lancashire Farm Dairy page. Quick and easy to make, I served it with some slices peaches and it was fabulous!
ingredients:
350g sugar (1 3/4 cup + 2 TBS)
2 large free range eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp fresh lemon juice
the finely grated zest of 2 lemons
180ml sunflower oil (3/4 cup)
250g Lancashire Farm Natural Non Bio Yogurt (1 cup)
260g self raising flour (2 cups, minus 1 1/2 TBS)
Icing sugar to dust when ready to serve
instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a 9 inch round baking tin with baking paper. Alternately grease a ring tin.
Measure
the sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and rub until very fragrant.
Add the salt, lemon juice, eggs and oil. Beat together with a fork to
combine well. Add the yogurt and flour, mixing well together and then
pour the batter into the prepared tin.
the sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and rub until very fragrant.
Add the salt, lemon juice, eggs and oil. Beat together with a fork to
combine well. Add the yogurt and flour, mixing well together and then
pour the batter into the prepared tin.
the preheated oven for 45 minutes until well risen, golden brown
and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. The top should
also spring back when lightly touched. Leave to cool in the tin and
then turn out and dust with icing sugar to serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
This really was/is a beautiful cake. I don't think you can go wrong with a yogurt cake like this! Bon Appetit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons