This is a recipe I was working on posting when I got the news earlier this week that my mother had passed away. I couldn't quite bring myself to finish the post, so it has sat here all week in limbo waiting. Today is the day of my mother's funeral. I cannot be there which really breaks my heart. I still can't quite bring myself to believe that she is gone . . .
I've been trying to stay super busy all week so that I don't have to think about it all. As soon as I stop and slow down, the tears come and my heart feels as if it is going to break in two. They tell me that with time this lessens, and the sadness is replaced with happy memories. I hope that is true.
This was a dessert I prepared earlier this week when our friends Tina and Tony came to us for lunch. Its a bit of a cheat really, as it uses only 5 ingredients, and those are all store cupboard ingredients . . . things you are likely to always have in the house.
Tinned sliced peaches, a vanilla cake mix, butter, soft light brown sugar and chopped walnuts . . . that's it!
You layer the ingredients in a baking dish, beginning with the undrained peaches . . . I used peaches in juice, but you could also use peaches in syrup. It depends on how much sugar you want to ingest.
After that you sprinkle the cake mix over top. The original recipe used a yellow cake mix, but we don't get those over here. We do get vanilla cake mix and that is what I used. I am sure any cake mix would work. Spice, lemon, anything but chocolate.
Over the cake mix you layer on slices of butter. Just dab them here and there, trying to cover as much of the cake mix as you can. I cut the butter very thinly.
You sprinkle the brown sugar over top of the butter slices . . . I push it through a sieve so that there are no lumps, but you don't have to do that if you don't want to. I'm just pedantic like that.
I just try to sprinkle it over as evenly as I can . . .
Finally, chopped walnuts are scattered over top . . . and then it is popped into the oven.
Where somehow, magically . . . some of the cake mix sinks into the peach juices thickening them into a sauce . . .
and the cake mix that doesn't sink works together with the butter, brown sugar and nuts to make a nutty crunchy topping. It just works. I don't know how, but it does. Its delicious.
Yield: 8
Peach Crunch Cake
prep time: 10 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 55 mins
A bit of a cheat, but delicious nonetheless. Very simple to make and uses store cupboard ingredients.
ingredients:
- 2 (215g) tins of sliced peaches in juice, undrained (24.5 ounces)
- 1 (425g) vanilla cake mix (family size vanilla or yellow cake mix)
- 125g butter, cut into 16 pieces (1/2 cup)
- 200g soft light brown sugar (1 cup, packed)
- 45g chopped walnuts
To serve (optional):
- custard, pouring cream or vanilla ice cream
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Layer all the ingredients in a 13 by 9 inch baking dish (or 8 individual single serving dishes), beginning with the peaches. Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over top of the peaches. Lay the butter slices over top of the cake. Sprinkle on the brown sugar, evenly, then sprinkle with the chopped walnuts. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling. Serve hot or cold with custard, pouring cream, or vanilla ice cream.
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I like to serve this warm with either vanilla ice cream on top or with pouring cream or custard. Todd likes the custard. Tony wanted both cream and custard. Tina took the cream. Me . . . ice cream all the way. I am such a North American. Bon Appetit!
I know a lot of people go to the trouble of cooking a big dinner on Sundays, but . . . I'll be honest here . . . that doesn't happen very often in our house.
I usually make something quick and easy.
There is just the two of us and, after church in the morning, we really just want to relax and enjoy some time together as a family.
Normally I will call Canada to talk to my family. Not a lot of time gets spent in the kitchen.
This week I baked us these delicious oven baked turkey sandwiches loosely based on a recipe that I found here on a blog entitled Wonky Wonderful.
Hers were the inspiration, but I just can't leave well enough alone.
I had leftover roasted turkey from the other day so this is what I used, slicing it very thinly with a sharp knife. (What is it about thinly sliced meats that makes them taste even better? Its a mystery to me!)
She used slider rolls. I used finger rolls, because that is what I had. Finger rolls are kind of like unsliced hot dog rolls.
They are soft, not hard. This works well for us as Todd doesn't really like to eat anything too hard.
I added a layer of mayonnaise on the bottom, along with some Jarlsberg cheese, which is a type of Swiss cheese, which melts really smoothly and has a lovely flavour.
I just thought that these two additions would add a lot to the sandwich. (I was right!)
On top of that goes the sliced turkey and then on top of that cranberry sauce. Failing that I think a flavourful chutney would also work very well.
I was wishing I still had some of my Christmas chutney left, as that would have been gorgeous!
She had a cream cheese drizzle on top of her cranberry and I thought that sounded tasty so I went with that but added some poultry seasoning for additional flavour.
The final touch is the top of the buns, pressed down lightly on top of it all. I chose to brush it with some melted butter and a dusting of poultry seasoning and both garlic and onion salts, before covering and baking. This was an inspired choice because they turned out really gorgeous!
Yield: 4
Oven Baked Turkey-wiches
prep time: 10 minscook time: 25 minstotal time: 35 mins
You can either use leftover cooked sliced turkey for these delicious oven baked sandwiches, or sliced deli-turkey. Either way they are quick, easy & most delicious!
ingredients:
- 4 large finger buns (small sub rolls)
- 4 slices Swiss style cheese (I used Jarlsberg)
- 1 pound thinly sliced roast turkey
- 4 TBS mayonnaise
- 8 TBS cranberry sauce
- 60g cream cheese (2 ounces)
- 1 TBS milk
- freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
- pinch poultry seasoning
- 2 TBS melted butter
- poultry seasoning, garlic and onion salt to taste
instructions:
- Preheat oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a 8 by 11 inch baking dish. Set aside.
- My finger rolls were attached to each other so I just sliced the whole lot through the middle horizontally with a serrated knife. If yours are separate, then cut each bun in half horizontally. Place the bottoms half/haves into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Spread each bun bottom with some of the mayonnaise. Place the cheese over the mayonnaise. Top with the sliced turkey, spreading it out equally. Top with the cranberry sauce, likewise spreading it out equally.
- Whisk together the cream cheese, milk, some salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Drizzle over the cranberry sauce and then place the tops of the buns on to cover.
- Brush the tops of the buns with the melted butter and sprinkle with some poultry seasoning and a bit of garlic and onion salts to taste. (Don't overdo any of it.)
- Butter a sheet of foil and cover the sandwiches with the foil, sealing it tightly over the dish, buttered side down.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until heated through and the cheese has melted. Cut into separate sandwiches and serve hot with your favourite go-withs. We like oven chips and salad.
Created using The Recipes Generator
Don't be tempted to over-do any of the fillings, except for the turkey if you wish. To much of the other things would end up a bit sloppy I feel. In this case, less really is more! I served these with oven chips. I buy the ones with the skins on and dust them with a bit of seasoning salt prior to baking. Always nice. Hope you have had a great weekend and Mondays not too much of a trial for you! Bon Appetit!
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@aol.com
My husband has been asking me to make him a delicious rice pudding all week. In truth he would be happy with a tinned rice pudding . . .
I wouldn't be happy feeding him that however, and so today I finally found the time to make him a rice pudding. I had a new recipe that I wanted to try out anyways, so it was win/win!
I adapted the recipe from a cookery book I have entitled Snow Flakes and Schnapps by Jane Lawson. Its a book I have had for quite a few years now and is filled with Winter types of food, comfort foods . . .
Cuisine and recipes from cold-climate countries such as the Scandinavian countries, Russia, Eastern Europe, Austria, Switzerland, etc. you can see my end result sitting on top of the photo of her pudding up there on the right!
There are three elements to the recipe . . . the making of the pudding, which is rich and creamy and flavoured with vanilla, cinnamon, lemon and cardamom . . .
The making of a sweet thick cherry sauce and then finally, the making of crisp and sweet candied flaked almonds.
None of the elements of this recipe are on their own very difficult at all.
In fact you could make the cherry sauce and the candied almonds well ahead of time if you wanted to and then just make the rice pudding itself on the day you want to serve it.
One of my favourite kitchen tools is my digital scale. I love this tool so much. I use it just about every day and would not be without a good Digital Scale in my kitchen.
Precision measurements are so important when baking or making special dishes that you just can't wing it on. These scales help you to do just that!
Making this rice pudding is as simple as stirring together some basic ingredients and flavour infusions . . . whole fat milk . . . double cream . . . vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom, along with a piece of lemon zest pared from a lemon.
Make sure you have none of the pith . . . the pith will impart a bitter flavour.
This gets heated until the milk/cream are infused with their flavours and then you stir in the pudding rice. Any short grain white rice will work. I used arborio, which is the type of rice generally used for Italian risotto.
The cherry sauce is so easy to make. I always keep a pack of frozen
pitted cherries in my freezer.
A pack of those, their juices, some
sugar . . . cooked and thickened with a slurry of cornflour and water
and Bob's your Uncle. The sauce is done.
You
could add a dash of cherry liqueur if you wanted to . . . and in all
truth you could use a tin of cherry pie filling.
I liked the idea of
making my own cherry sauce however, and so I did.
You don't need to make the candied almonds, but they add such a lovely touch. I could eat them like candy, but . . . I don't.
They are as easy to make as melting them together with sugar in a skillet until they turn golden brown and the sugar caramelises into a candy coating.
Ladle the warm pudding into a bowl and top each serving with a spoonful of the cherry sauce . . .
and a scattering of those sweet crunchy almonds . . .
You will be in rice pudding heaven . . .
Your family will love you . . .
You will love you . . .
And all will be right in your little corner of the world . . .
Yield: 6 generously
Danish Rice Pudding
This is rich and delicious. Do make the cherry sauce and candied almonds. The three together are a beautiful trinity of taste!
ingredients:
For the Pudding:
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 625ml whole milk (2 1/2 cups)
- 625ml double cream (2 1/2 cups whipping cream)
- 1 cinnamon stick broken in half
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 strip of lemon peel, white pith removed
- 220g short grain white rice (1 cup)
- 95g white sugar (1/2 cup)
- 40g blanched almonds, very finely chopped (1/4 cup)
For the Cherry Sauce:
- 300g frozen cherries, thawed (1 1/2 cups)
- 65g caster sugar (1/3 cup)
- 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 2 tsp water
For the candied almonds:
- 50g flaked almonds (1/2 cup)
- 95g caster sugar (1/2 cup)
instructions:
- To make the almonds, have ready a lightly buttered baking sheet. Toast the almonds carefully in a skillet, over medium heat, stirring constantly. Tip out into a bowl. Add the sugar and let it sit, undisturbed until it begins to melt. Swirl every now and again until it is completely liquid and turns a golden caramel colour. Don't be tempted to rush this process as you will end up with burnt sugar. Medium heat is sufficient. Remove from the heat. Tip in the almonds, stirring to coat. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and tear them apart with two forks while they are still hot, breaking them up into little clumps. Allow to cool completely. Remember hot sugar is HOT. Don't touch.
- To make the cherry sauce, put the cherries and their juices into a saucepan over medium heat along with the sugar. Cook to stir and dissolve the sugar. Mix the cornflour with 2 tsp cold water until smooth. Stir into the cherries. Bring to the boil, stirring, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until thickened.
- For the pudding, measure the vanilla bean and its caviar, the broken cinnamon stick, ground cardamom and lemon peel into a medium saucepan. Add both the milk and the cream. Stir and heat just to the boil over medium high heat. Stir in the rice, bring back to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer and cook over very low heat, stirring often, for about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook for a further 15 minutes, until the rice is tender and creamy. Remove from the heat and stir in the finely chopped almonds. Remove and discard the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and lemon zest. (You can wash off the vanilla bean, dry then stick in your sugar canister where it will infuse your sugar with vanilla.)
- To serve spoon the warm rice pudding into bowls. Top each with a spoonful of the cherry sauce and some of the candied almonds. Enjoy!
Created using The Recipes Generator
I hope you are enjoying a nice weekend wherever you are. Here in Chester its been very cold and quite damp. (Cold and damp, that is the UK Winter!) No real snow however, and I'm not complaining. Bon Appetit!
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@aol.com
One of my many weaknesses is ginger . . . ginger anything really . . . but especially gingerbread and gingerbread cakes! Oh boy, they are truly one thing I cannot resist.
This fabulous Gingerbread Cake is one of my absolute favourites. Why? Because it is easy to throw together and the end result is moist and delicious with a beautiful crumb.
On its own it is a beautiful cake, baked in a Bundt pan and dusted with icing sugar. That is my preferred tin to bake it in as it is really pretty, but you can also bake it in a 9 inch square tin or even in cupcake or muffin tins. Do remember that you will need to adjust the bake times accordingly.
You could of course enjoy it plain, or warm with a lemon sauce, or ice cream. Or you could just enjoy it cold and spread with butter (don't judge!).
My favourite way to enjoy it however is with a lovely thick dollop of Lemon Cream!
Another easy make, I have included the directions for that in the recipe.
It is as easy as whipping some double cream and folding in some good quality lemon curd.
It truly is delicious, trust me on this . . .
The cake and cream together are a marriage made in heaven!
It really is a delicious combination!
I was only going to have a little taste today . . . I promise . . . but before I knew it . . .
Yield: Makes 16 servings
Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream
prep time: 10 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 55 mins
This delicious gingerbread cake comes together easily and can be baked in a variety of cake tins. You can bake it in an 8-cup bundt tin, a 9 inch deep square tin, or in muffin cups, adjusting the time for baking as required. The smaller the tins, the less time will be needed.
ingredients:
For the Cake
- 350g cake flour (2 1/2 cups) (to make cake flour, measure out flour and remove 5 TBS and replace with 5 TBS cornflour/cornstarch)
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp each ground cloves and allspice
- 125g butter at room temperature (1/2 cup)
- 50g soft dark brown sugar (1/4 cup)
- 350g mild molasses (1 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large free range egg
- 240ml hot water (1 cup)
- Icing sugar to dust
For the Lemon Cream:
- 240ml double cream (1 cup)
- 72g good quality or homemade lemon curd (1/3 cup)
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Butter and dust your chosen pans lightly with flour, shaking out any excess.
- Sift together the flour, salt and spices. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar in a bowl. Beat in the egg, molasses and vanilla, until well incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients alternately with the hot water, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 45 minutes (bundt pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- When you are ready to serve beat the cream until it forms soft peaks Fold in the lemon curd to combine. To serve, dust the cake with icing sugar and cut into slices, accompanying each slice with a nice dollop of lemon cream.
Created using The Recipes Generator
This is all that was left of that piece . . . Oopsie! Happy weekend!
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.
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