What you are seeing here today is a very rare treat. Bacon chops. We very seldom eat processed meats such as bacon, even though we really love it (and who doesn't!) Every once in a while I will cook us some bacon for breakfast/supper.
We will either have it in the form of rashers or as these lovely bacon chops which we get from the butcher. Most of our bacon chops come from Denmark, which is a shame as we produce really good bacon here in the UK. I try to buy British Bacon when I can, as well as nitrate free if possible.
You might live in a country where you cannot get Bacon chops. If that is the case you can easily substitute smoked pork chops or plain pork loin chops in their place. I would use boneless for this recipe.
If you can get bacon chops, or even thick sliced peameal bacon I would definitely use it. Prepare yourself to fall in love.
The cooking method for these is exceptionally simple. There is nothing complicated and then turn out tender and juicy every time.
My chops came with a healthy layer of fat along one edge. You might be tempted to cut that off, and you can certainly trim it down some if you wish, but you will need at least 1/4 of an inch along the side.
I slash it at 1/2 inch intervals. This helps to prevent any pork type of chop from curling up. They will lay flatter in your skillet, and brown more evenly.
That fatty edge is also going to provide you with a bit of fat for browning your chops. You need nothing else. I hold the fatty edge down in the hot skillet using some tongs until some of the fat has released. This is all you need to brown the chops in.
Once they are browned on both sides, I like to glaze them. I use a mixture of Dijon mustard and fruit preserves to do this.
Today I used Peach preserves. But you could use any fruit preserves that you feel would go well with the flavours of bacon and of mustard. Think about it. Salty and sweet are the quintessential moreish flavour combination that has us all drooling.
Today I accompanied my chops with Champ Stuffed Baked Potatoes. Bacon is a very Irish thing. Champ is also a very Irish thing. It is Irish comfort food.
I am afraid I have it a tiny switched it up a bit here today by adding some cheese. I hope they will forgive me. I did use an Irish cheddar if that helps.
You will need to begin the potatoes about an hour or so before you cook your chops. Pick some nice sized baking potatoes and wash them really well. Dry and prick them all over with a fork. This helps to prevent them from bursting in the oven.
Place them into your hot oven, right on the oven rack. This is the trick to really crisp skins. You don't need to rub them with oil or anything, just place them right on the rack. The hot air of the oven will circulate around them, crisping the skins up perfectly.
You can also cut the time of baking considerably if you are in a hurry. You can do this by inserting a long, (clean please!!) galvanized nail into the side of each one lengthways. The nail heats up in the oven and the potatoes cook from the inside out and the outside in.
Once they are tender, you remove them and begin to make your filling for them. You will need to let them cool slightly, just until you can comfortably handle them.
I am not doing that of course. Another thing I hope the Irish forgive me for. But the onions and the milk are there, with the butter, and then there is the cheese.
Altogether a brilliant combination of flavours. Stuffed into a crisp potato skin and baked until a bit of a crust forms on top. Make sure you rough the tops up a bit. That will give you lots of scrummy little crispy bits.
Glazed Bacon Chops with Champ Stuffed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large baking potatoes
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 TBS milk
- 3 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (60g) grated strong/sharp cheddar cheese
- salt and black pepper to taste
- paprika to sprinkle
- minced chives to garnish (optional)
- 2 boneless bacon chops (can use smoked pork chops)
- 1 TBS Dijon mustard
- 2 TBS peach preserves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Wash the potatoes well, dry and then prick all over with a fork and place into the oven to bake, right on top of the oven rack.
- Bake for one hour or until the tip of a knife slides easily in and out of the potatoes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes until you can safely handle them.
- Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Try not to tear the skins. Set them aside until a bit later.
- Mash the potato flesh well with a fork, adding the butter and milk. Add the spring onions, grated cheese and mix in well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells. Place into a baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika and return to the oven while you cook the chops.
- Trim the fatty edge of the chops and slash the fat at 1/2 inch intervals.
- Warm a skillet over medium heat. Using a pair of tongs, hold the bacon chops, fatty edges down in the skillet to help render out some of the fat, pressing them down slightly. After 2 to 3 minutes, lay the chops flat in the skillet. Sear for two to three minutes per side.
- Whisk together the mustard and the peach preserves. Spoon over the chops. Increase the heat and cook, turning the chops frequently until the glaze thickens and coats the chops.
- Remove from the heat and allow to rest for about 5 minutes prior to serving.
- Serve the chops hot, with some of the pan juices spooned over top and a baked potato on the side.
I love meals like this. Quick and easy, and which don't require a lot of thought or hands on. The potatoes basically cook themselves. You can vary the glaze on your chops by using any preserves that you enjoy. Orange marmalade is very good. So are blueberry, cherry or apricot preserves.
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Back home there were these lovely sugar cookies that my mother would pick up for me as a treat at the Bens Bakery Outlet. They were lovely, big and soft just like pillows. The centres would be filled with red jam.
I loved them so much. It has been a very long time since I have had one. Thinking about them makes my heart warm because I am reminded of my mother and all the special little things she always did for her children. Oh how very much I miss her.
I confess as to having cut the recipe in half for us today, which gave me about 15 largish cookies. 15 largish Soft and Chewy Jam and Sugar cookies!
I confess also to having eaten no less than three since they came out of the oven this morning. I know, this is very naughty and I find myself somewhat relieved that I did cut the recipe in half on the one hand and rather annoyed that I did on the other!
She is a vintage American Bisque Pig Girl Cookie Jar and I believe she dates from the 1950's. I don't really know a lot about her. I am pretty sure she isn't worth a lot monetarily speaking.
She is worth the world to me however. She holds a lot of cookie memories for me. Many years of baking cookies for my kidlets and storing them behind her ample apron.
Of course that was back in the day when I used to have to bake cookies about every second day or so. My children used to inhale the cookies I baked. That happens when you have five children, three of which are boys!
Cookies never seemed to stay around long in our house. I use bemoan that fact. It seemed I was always baking. How I miss those days. You young mums with all of your kids still at home, enjoy every day for the gifts that they are! They will be gone before you know it!
I don't mind dunking a cookie now and then. Just not all at once! 😂😂 If you catch my drift!
If you are fond of sugar cookies you will love these. They are soft and chewy, with a nice sugar crust on the outsides.
They are supposed to stay soft and chew for days. I can't speak to the veracity of that as I have only had them here in my house for a few hours, and since did only half a recipe I doubt they will be here for too many days.
I thought the jam added a lovely touch. But, then again, I am a jam person. I love, Love, LOVE jam! It is one of my favourite things and a very rare treat for me these days.
As a diabetic jam is not really on the menu for me these days. It is a very rare treat. I have discovered it is not worthy buying low sugar jams as they use fruit juice to sweeten them, which is just as bad for you as sugar.
Also those ones that use artificial sweeteners? I am not entirely convinced that stuff is very good for you. I guess I would rather have a rare taste of the real stuff every now and then instead.
Soft and Chewy Jam & Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups (385g) all purpose (plain) flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine seasalt
- 1 cup (220g) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large free range egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- your favourite jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven o 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line several large baking sheets with baking parchment. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, soda and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture along with the salt. Mix well together. You will have a thick dryish mixture that is not sticky in the least. You can knead it a few times with your hands to make it all come together.
- Put the 1/4 (50g) of sugar into a bowl.
- Shape 1 1/2 TBS of the dough into a ball. Roll it in the sugar and place on the baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies. Repeat until you have rolled all the dough into balls, sugar and place them on the baking sheets.
- Take the handle end of a wooden spoon and make a deep divit in each cookie. Fill the holes with about 1/4 tsp of your favourite jam. Do not overfill. Less is definitely more.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. The cookies will spread, be puffy and the edges should be golden brown.
- Leave to cool on the baking sheets for 5 or 6 minutes. Scoop onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Store in an airtight container.
These are really lovely cookies. You can very easily cut the recipe in half by halving all of the ingredients, and using only the egg yolk instead of a whole egg. You can freeze the white for another purpose so there is no waste.
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!
Lemon & Sugar Scones. These delicious scones comr from a recipe I adapted from one I found in an old issue of Delicious magazine. From the moment I saw it, I knew it was something I wanted to bake.
What you have here is a fairly ordinary buttermilk scone recipe. The difference is they have lemon
soaked sugar cubes pushed into their middles, like a sweet belly button. This creates a delicious lemon flavoured gooey centre!
I have shared this recipe in the past. My photos were so appalling I thought I would like to redo them and redo the photos. Especially now when I have such cute dishes to use.
I got these from Scandanavian Pantry. And no, I was not given them. I fell in love with them and have been collecting them one or two at a time! I only have one or two of each. It would be a dream come true to have a full collection, but Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will my collection be!
What you have here is a fairly simple scone recipe. Scones are quite different than biscuits. We have had that discussion before. They use butter and North American Biscuits usually use shortening, lard or a combination of those and butter.
In scones the fat is rubbed into the dough with your fingertips as opposed to being cut in with a pastry blender. You can also use a food processor to do this if you wish. The fat should be distributed through the flour in such a way as you have a fine sand texture as opposed to pebbles.
The number one mistake that people make when they are making scones (or biscuits for that matter) is by handling the dough too much. A light touch is the key to perfect results!
Also people have a tendancy to twist cutters when they are cutting out scones/biscuits. You must never do that. A sharp tap, straight up and down is what you need to do.
When you twist a cutter, you seal the edges of the dough. This prevents them from rising as tall as they would have done had you not twisted. Top tip here!
So if you always measure precisely, always use a light hand, and cut without twisting you will always have beautiful results. Also I try to get as many cuts as I can from the first patting/rolling out.
Every time you have to gather in the scraps and repat, you increase the possibility of a tough scone. Also their appearance will not be as attractive as the first cuts.
They will still taste good however, so no worries on that score. Just pat them out and then cut your rounds as closely together as possible. If you do that you should not have many repat and cuts to do. Today I only had two.
These scones have plenty of lemon flavour. Part of that comes from the use of freshly grated lemon zest in the scone dough itself.
I always use unwaxed lemons. I don't want to be eating wax and unwaxed lemons are readily available these days. If you don't have them you can use regular lemons. Just rinse them well under cold running water and dry them with a clean cloth.
The wax is only very thin coating and will come off easily. Citrus fruits produce their own wax naturally, but after picking and washing this usually disappears. A thin coating of wax is usually applied to help keep them fresh and presentable.
I always wash my lemons anyways. You will often see tiny black specks all over them. This is bug dirt. I don't want to be eating that either!
When you go to soak and push the sugar cube into the centre of these do not soak the cubes for very long. Only a few seconds will do. Just a quick in and then out. They will dissolve completely if you leave them in the lemon juice too long!
These scones are delicious all on their own. I am not going to kid you. I could eat them happily just as is, but if you split them and then fill them with some cream and some jam, you tip them over the top into the area of being totally gorgeously, addictively moreish!
There is much debate in this country about what you put on a scone first. The cream or the jam. It can be a somewhat regional thing. I would not be surprised to find out that there had been fueds about this very matter of discussion in the past.
I am from the jam first group. My reasoning is simple. It is much easier to dollop some cream on top of jam than it is to spread jam on top of cream.
For me it is as simple a decision as that and it makes perfect sense. You can do it however you wish.
I like strawberry jam. Some people think it must be raspberry. Just use whatever jam is your favourite to use. Lemon or orange curd would also be very nice here.
Ideally clotted cream would be my preference, but I did not have any of that today. Clotted Cream is a vry British thing and it is said that the best clotted cream comes from Cornwall and Devon because of their cows and pastureland. It is very hard to replicate at home.
It is created by heating full-fat unprocessed milk indirectly by using a steam or water-bath and then leaving it to cool in shallow pans slowly. The cream rises to the top and forms "clots" or "clouts." Conditions, temperatures, milk etc. have to be just right.
Today I made do with softly whipped double cream, and Bonne Maman Strawberry preserves. It was deliciously perfect.
I think you might agree. Or at least I hope you will. I am sure if you bake these you will love them as much as we do!
Lemon & Sugar Scones
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups (400g) self raising flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) caster sugar (fine granulated sugar)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (60g) cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1 1/3 cups (310ml) buttermilk
- the finely grated zest of two unwaxed lemons
- the juice of one lemon
- 15 sugar cubes
- buttermilk to glaze
- Whipped or clotted cream
- fruit jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 230*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
- Measure the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the sugar and salt. Drop in the butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertip until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest. Add most of the buttermilk, stirring it in with a round bladed knife. Only add the remaining buttermilk to give you a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead gently 2 or 3 times. Pat or roll out to 1 inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2 inch rounds using a sharp round cutter and using a sharp tapping up and down motion. Do not twist the cutter and flour the cutter in between cuts. Place the scones onto the baking sheet as desired. Gather the trimmings and re-pat and cut until you have used up all the dough, and placing them on the baking sheet.
- Place the lemon juice into a bowl. Working with one sugar cube at a time dip them into the lemon juice, turning to coat, and then push them down into the centre of each scone. Once you have finished this, brush the scones with a bit more buttermilk.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until they are risen and golden brown. Serve warm or cold, on the day, with some cream and jam. Delicious!
notes:
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 have seen them in bake shops filled with preserves and stuff. I've also seen them topped with lots of scrumptious toppings, and from very large in size to very petit.
Each version looking more delicious than the last. I quite simply love pastry of any kind and when you are talking light and flaky laminated pastry, I am a total goner.
I have cheated a bit today using frozen puff pastry. I just did not have the time to make my own laminated pastry. You can if you want to. If you use a sheet of frozen pastry like I did, make sure you use all butter puff pastry. That will give you the most authentic flavour.
You will need to unroll it and then roll it lightly with a rolling pin to a bit larger with a rolling pin.Not quite twice as large as your original sheet, but half again as large. Your pastry should be thin but not see through.
Once you have done that you will need to spread the whole surface of it with softened butter. I make no distinction between salted and unsalted here. I use Danish butter which is only lightly salted.
Once you have the butter spread over the surface you will want to sprinkle it lightly and evenly with cinnamon sugar. You don't want the sugar to be very thick. You just want a hint that it is there.
You are going to be needing to roll it up very tightly, as tightly as you can beginning from one long side to the other. If you put on too much cinnamon sugar the layers won't stay closed like they should.
Once you have done that you will need to cut th roll into two equal lengths of pastry. Each will be about 5 1/2 inches or so in length.
Once you have done that you will have to use a sharp knife and cut each length in half yet again. You will end up with four lengths of pastry then, each with one cut side and one rolled side.
Now you will need to roll those length of pastry up somthing like a rose. See the lovely cut edges, each one filled with butter and cinnamon sugar?
Just roll them up, again as tightly as you can. They don't need to be perfect.
You end up with four perfect rolls. Now you can put them right into the muffin tins, making sure you have buttered them really well first. Or like me, you can use cupcake liners to help prevent them from sticking.
I am always a little cautious when I am baking anything with sugar in the filling like this. It doesn't take much for them to stick and when they do, they can be a real demon to remove from the pan. I never want to ruin my pans by having to dig things out of them.
Once the pastries are in the tins you will need to brush them with an egg wash. I have used a large free range egg yolk which I have beaten together with a bit of milk, but you can also use water with the egg yolk. Both work well.
Also, you also don't want your pan to warp because of the empty muffin tin holes. The best way to prevent that is to partially fill them with water. A handy tip there for you!
You may think the bake time is a bit long, and it might be, depending on the ferocity of your own oven. The thing you want to avoid is doughy centres. You really want the tops of these to be completely golden brown.
If you underbake them you risk having gummy centres. There is nothing more unpalatable than a gummy centre on anything, but especially when you are talking Puff Pastry.
You want them to be light and crisp with lovely flakey layers. Start checking them at about half an hour, if you think they are browning to quickly you can always cover them lightly with a sheet of aluminum foil.
You don't want them burnt either. I think the risk of that is fairly slim however, unless your oven is really on the extra hot side and if that's the case you need to have it fixed! 👍👍
Once they are completely baked you leave them to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. Things expand when heated and contract a bit when cooled. This will make them easier to get out of the pans if you haven't used papers.
It also makes them much easier to roll in the cinnamon sugar. I always like to add a bit of ground cardamom to my cinnamon sugar mixture. I love the flavour. You can leave it out if you want to!
In any case you will be wanting to roll the baked Cruffins in more cinnamon sugar while they are still warm. That way the sugar will coat them beautifully and stick.
If you don't think you have enough, you can always make extra cinnamon sugar. I like lots on mine. As you can see they are well coated.
Easy Cinnamon Sugar Cruffins
Ingredients
- 1 sheet (10 X 10 inch) frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 2 TBS butter, softened, plus extra to butter the tin
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 TBS ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 large free range egg yolk, lightly beaten together with 1/2 tsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter 4 holes in a medium sized muffin tin. Set aside.
- Roll your sheet of puff pastry out to an 11 by 15 inch rectangle. Spread with the softened butter. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll up as tightly as possible, working from the long edge.
- Cut the roll lengthwise into two strips. Then cut each strip crosswise into two pieces. You should have four equally sized strips of layered dough.
- Roll each piece up like a snail and place into the muffin tin. Brush the top of each with some of the egg wash, being careful not to let any drip down onto the tin, as it may cause it to stick.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven until they are a deep golden brown. Don't be afraid to overcook them as you don't want the centres to be doughy.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Place the remaining cinnamon sugar in a bowl. Roll each cruffin in the mixture until thoroughly coated.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream, jam, lemon curd, nutella, etc. Deliciously moreish!!
Just look at how beautiful those are. all those buttery, crisp, flaky layers. Everyone will think you slaved all day to create them. Nobody needs to know just how easy they were. It can be our little secret! 😉
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!
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