When I was cheffing at the Manor, once or twice a month my boss would entertain all of her friends from her internation women's club to lunch. They were actually supposed to take turns, but she ended up doing it most of the time.
First of all I think she was probably the wealthiest of them all and secondly I think she liked to show off to the others and get her money's worth out of me. I didn't mind as they were wonderful opportunities to stretch and exercise my skills.
All of the ladies would enter at the back entry way where I would greet them with a cold drink, usually an option of a glass of wine or an ice cold elderflower drink, which I would have gotten ready prior to their arriving. It was my job to greet them because the Mrs, despite having had all morning to get ready would probably only just be getting in the shower, having spent several hours faffing about with flowers in the laundry room. She spent an inordinate amount of money on her flower arrangements. I can't even begin to tell you . Let me just say that the flowers for one of her luncheons would have cost more than an entire month's wages for myself.
While she was faffing about with the flowers I would be setting the table for the luncheon which would have been either in the Conservatory, the dining room, on the stone patio deck at the side of the house or under the arbour out in the back garden. A lot depended on the time of year, and what the weather was doing.
As well as that I would be trying to organise and prepare all of the courses for the luncheon. First there would be three bite sized nibbles for them to enjoy with their elderflower/wine prior to the luncheon. They would need to keep themselves occupied with something while they were waiting for her to make her grand appearance, so nibbles it was. I usually tried to keep these simple because the ladies didn't really want to fill up too much.
Usually there would be a first course. She liked to serve soup for the first course. Depending on the time of year it would be either a hot soup or a cold soup. She had beautiful dishes to serve them in. One of my favourites was the soup dishes that looked like vegetables, each with their own leaf plate. they were really quite pretty.
After the first course they would enjoy the main course which would be either some poached salmon or chicken with vegetables or a salad of some sort. Of course this is simplifying things somewhat as it was never quite as simple as poached salmon, but always something fun and delicious and colourful! This would be followed by a choice of two desserts. And yes, I did all of it by myself. The preparation of everything, the serving, the clearing and the clean up afterwards. Let me tell you at the end of the day I would be zonked. Thank goodness if I was working a luncheon I didn't have to cook supper that evening!
Things like this Turkey Taco Salad would have been popular luncheon options, although she would have preferred a salad that was a bit fiddlier than this one. This one is dead simple . . . from start to finish and oh-so-delicious!!
I am sure the ladies would have enjoyed it immensely.
A crisp homemade tortilla bowl . . . created by draping small tortillas over muffin cups spritzed with canola cooking spray, so easy . . .
Filled with a spectacularly flavour filled turkey mixture, perfectly seasoned and beautifully spiced.
Garnished with some grated cheese, shredded lettuce and sliced spring onions . . . then drizzled with ranch dressing and sprinkled with cherry tomatoes. This would have gone down really well with the ladies I am sure. I think you will enjoy it as well. Quick, easy and delicious!
Turkey Taco Salad
Yield: 6
This is so delicious you would never think that it is basically also quite healthy!
Ingredients:
For the turkey filling:
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 TBS paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- 1 tsp green tabasco sauce
- 240ml boiling water (1 cup)
You will also need:
- canola cooking spray
- 6 street taco sized flour tortillas
- 4 leaves of romaine lettuce washed, dried and shredded
- 6 TBS grated strong cheddar cheese
- 6 cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered
- 1 large spring onion, washed and finely chopped
- ranch dressing to drizzle
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Lightly spray a medium, six cup muffin tin with some canola oil spray.
- Gently fit the tortillas into each cup to fit and then lightly spray with more canola oil. Alternately spray the bottoms of the muffin tin with the oil spray and press the tortillas over them allowing them to drape down the sides and spray again. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes until crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- To make the filling, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the carrot and cook for a minute or so, then crumble in the turkey. Scramble fry. breaking it up as you go, for 5 to 7 minutes until it is beginning to brown and is no longer pink. Add all of the spices and seasonings. Stir to combine and cook for a minute longer. Add the tabasco sauce and boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Place one of the crisp tortilla cups on each of six salad plates. Fill with the turkey mixture dividing it equally amongst the cups. Top each with 1 TBS of the cheese, some of the lettuce, the spring onion and cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with some ranch dressing and serve immediately.
Turkey is a superfood, filled with plenty of vitamins and nutrients and is also thought to help lower your risk for cancer. I don't know how they know these things, but I am sure they have done their studies of it. Odd how I can't really stand the texture of ground beef, but I love ground turkey!
The Top Tips for Going Dairy-Free When Baking
Are you trying to cut dairy out of your
diet? If so, you are certainly not alone. There are plenty of reasons why you
may want to reduce your intake of milk, butter, and other dairy products. It
could be due to lactose intolerance, acne, or a vegan lifestyle.
The tricky thing, though, is that many
recipes – particularly ones involving baking – often require the addition of
dairy. Does this mean that you have to give these dishes and desserts a miss?
Absolutely not! There are plenty of ways to substitute for these ingredients.
Below, you will find all the information
you need to manage this perfectly. Let’s get started!
Switching Out Cow’s Milk
These days, it is easier than ever before
to swap out cow’s milk for plant-based milk. This is because there are so many
options to choose from. These include – but aren't limited to – soy, oat,
almond, coconut, and more.
When it comes to baking, though, you do
need to be a bit
more careful. Not all plant-based milks will work equally as well. Your
best option is soy milk as it has a similar protein content, allowing it to
provide structure to foods like cakes and breads. As an added bonus, the taste
is mild enough to blend in with other ingredients and not be noticeable.
If you are trying to cut soy out as well,
then almond milk will work. It should be noted that almond doesn’t as much
protein as cow’s milk. Due to this, it will be difficult to get baked goods to
brown properly. Furthermore, it has a higher water content so you may need to
cut down on the baking time.
Most plant-based milks don’t have the same
level of acidity as cow’s milk. So, if the recipe calls for baking soda, make
sure to use baking powder instead. Unlike baking soda, baking powder doesn’t
need to be activated by an acidic component in the recipe.
Alternatives for Butter
Butter is used in numerous baked goods like
cookies, biscuits, cakes, and more. Due to this, it can seem irreplaceable.
After all, this ingredient has a rather distinct taste and structure to it.
Regardless, you should still be able to swap out the butter out without too
many issues.
Some recipes require the butter to be in
solid form – this is true of pie crusts and biscuits. So, coconut oil will be
an excellent substitute here. This is because most coconut oils are solid at
room temperature. To get an idea of what the best coconut oil for these recipes
would be, check out https://fortheloveofcoconut.com/
for more information.
Cookies can be especially tricky as the
recipe requires a fair amount of butter. Also, in these foods, the butter’s
main purpose is to add richness and density. The good news is that most oils
will work well – canola and olive oil, in particular. Vegetable shortening will
also offer up that fat content that you may need for the recipe to work.
Vegan butters are also becoming more
commonplace. And, there are several that are specifically meant to be used in
baking. Some even have a rich, buttery flavor. What's great about these
butters, though, is that they are quite easy to use. You simply have to add
them in the same way that you would real butter.
Can You Use Margarine Instead of Butter?
Now, on the surface, there may appear to be
several similarities between margarine and butter. After all, they look the
same! Despite this outward appearance, though, these two ingredients are quite
different from one another. Thus, when they are added to recipes, they have
differing roles.
There is also the fact that margarine has a
lower fat content and higher water content. As a result, they end up thinning
out your batter. Therefore, if you were to use margarine in cookies, for
instance, you may discover that they spread out quite a bit. The cookies may
also be prone to burning.
Substituting for Heavy Cream
Heavy cream can often seem like the most
difficult option to swap out in baking. This is largely to do with the texture
of the ingredient. It isn't easy to find alternatives that offer the same kind
of structure as heavy cream.
The exact alternative will depend on the
role that you need the heavy cream to perform. For instance, if you are simply
looking for a soft, thick texture and a mild taste, then silken tofu will work beautifully.
What's more, tofu is healthy and boosts the protein content of any dish.
It should be noted that tofu doesn’t whip
all that well, however. So, if a heavy cream substitute needs to be aerated,
then you will need to opt for something else. This is where coconut cream comes
in.
If you leave a can of coconut milk in the
refrigerator for a day or so, you will notice that it separates into two
distinct layers. One will be liquid and nearly colorless. The other will be
solid and white. The solid layer is coconut cream.
One of the main advantages of coconut cream
is that it can be whipped. So, if the recipe needs some lift, then it will work
beautifully. The catch, though, is that coconut cream can have a rather
distinct coconut taste. Thus, you will need to determine if it will work well
with a particular recipe.
As you can see, it isn't difficult to go
dairy-free when baking. Sure, you need to be aware of what substitutions will
and won’t work. However, thanks to this post, you are now aware of how to
manage every alternative.
Now that you have this information,
continuing with the baking process will be easy enough. Therefore, you won’t
have any problem whipping up delicious and healthy treats while following your
favorite recipes. The possibilities are endless!
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