Blog Archives
Roasted butternut squash and caramelized onion tart
I have fond memories of a Thanksgiving dinner celebrated in London so many years ago. One of my managers at the time was American and graciously hosted a spectacular dinner at her home near Marylebone for her American friends and a host of curious Brits.
I was vegetarian at the time and my contribution to the feast was a roasted butternut squash and caramelized onion tart, a recipe I found on Epicurious.com. It was a terribly involved recipe (at least for me, at the time) and required pastry (which I avoid like the plague), but the results were so festive and delicious, I hardly missed the turkey.
These days, I am back to eating turkey but I still like to make this tart at least once a year during the holiday season. This year, I made it the day before Thanksgiving as a tasty reminder of that one Thanksgiving meal so many years ago. If you’re looking for a pretty dish to please vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, try this! Read the rest of this entry
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Granola
Credit: Middle Class Handbook
This is sheer brilliance, courtesy of Middle Class Handbook. Mental note to self: Must try Lizi’s Granola, if it’s even more evolved than Dorset Cereals.
Birthdays and coffee walnut cake
First things first, a very happy birthday to my lovely husband (who hates to be blogged about so will refrain from saying any more here).
Well, except one thing. The cake.
I find it so challenging each year to move seamlessly from Halloween to his birthday. No matter how much I prep ahead of time, there’s always the issue of the cake (which I simply cannot bake, after a long night of trick-or-treating and merriment making!).
Here’s the goal:
Coffee and walnut cake
It’s his favorite cake in the whole world. So very British that I just can’t buy it off the shelf. It’s nothing like American coffee cake, all streuseled and cinnamon-specked. Pillsbury has no idea WTH this cake is and neither do any of our local bakeries and so I usually go with his second favorite cake in America: A fruit basket cake (a buttermilk cake filled with fresh strawberries and bananas in whipped cream). No less delicious, I might add.
But this year, oh this year. I’m going to attempt the coffee and walnut cake. Yes, it will be late. But I hope it will be worth the wait!
If it is, I’ll post the recipe I used – I’m debating between BBC and Delia Smith right now. If it’s not, well, let’s never discuss this matter again (and will bribe a baker friend next year, perhaps, willing to make a cake on Halloween night).
Best of British infographic
I spotted this infographic on Pinterest and thought it was worth sharing! Have a happy Tuesday!
Toad in the hole
When fall begins to assert itself, we love nothing more than a comforting dish like Toad in the Hole. We made some last week, just as the weather started to cool.
Don’t worry. No toads were harmed in the making of this meal. The origins of Toad in the Hole are here.
If you’ve ever had a Bullock’s popover (does anyone remember the department store Bullock’s and their delicious popovers, which were basically Yorkshire puddings?), imagine this done big, studded with British bangers (translation: sausages). My husband uses the Yorkshire pudding recipe from Nigella Lawson’s Feast cookbook as the base for the Toad in the Hole:
1 1/3 cups 2% milk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Packet of British bangers
Whisk the milk, eggs and salt well and let stand for 15 minutes, then whisk in the flour and let stand again until you need it. Cook at 450 degrees. Put the muffin tin in the oven to heat up for a good 10-15 minutes, with vegetable oil at the bottom. Add British bangers (we cut ours in half). When the pan and oil has been heated, pour in the yorkshire pudding batter and cook for 15-20 minutes or until they have puffed up gloriously.
Man flu and sausage rolls
My husband’s been down with a mean case of the man flu this week. Sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head and feverish, he is a walking (albeit overdramatic) Nyquil ad and make me want to swim in a sea of Purell.
But before the cold bug bit this week, he did some baking: a ginormous sausage roll. Typically sausage rolls are bite-sized British morsels, but this was supersized, making it a kind of pork pie-esque puff pastry loaf. The kids chowed down despite their love-hate relationship with minced meat, as did I, despite the fact that our chef became deathly ill the next day.
Here’s the recipe courtesy of Delia Smith.
Building a better s’more
This weekend, we went camping with friends at D.L. Bliss State Park in Lake Tahoe! It was absolutely “bliss” indeed – a nicely maintained campground, near the crystal clear waters of Lester Beach.
Now, I don’t if it’s just us but we’re always a little let down by the promise of a good s’more. Do you know what I mean? The chocolate never melts the way it should (perhaps because the toasted marshmallow doesn’t provide enough heat). It’s a part of camping I always look forward to, and then the time comes and it’s a little “meh.”
Well, we tried a variation on the typical s’more this trip and it was a rousing success. Here’s the secret! We took honey graham crackers (in this case, I went with Trader Joe’s brand.)
Then smeared it with Nutella!
The marshmallows were toasted over the open fire, as usual and then added atop the Nutella-topped graham crackers.
Another Nutella-smeared graham cracker was the crowning glory and voila!
Delish! It was gooey, melty, crunchy and good. Try it the next time you are camping!
Secret sandwich ingredient
Photo credit: Damian Clarkson, MSN
When Americans are making a sandwich, they bring out the cold cuts, the cheese, the veggies (sometimes), the mayo, the mustard, the pickles. Sometimes there are pepperoncinis or jalapenos, to kick things up a notch. Sometimes there is oil and salt and pepper to give it all a little tszuj.
But one thing they miss consistently? Butter! Brits know this. The first thing they do is spread a layer of butter on their bread and voila! It becomes magical. It almost alleviates the need for any mayo, mustard or (excuse me while I retch!) Miracle Whip or salad cream.
The best sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life (top 10, I’d say) are all from the U.K. – and maybe a couple sandwiches in France. Pile a slice or two of ham (not more than that! Americans are way too obsessed with too much meat on their sandwich), cheese (emmenthal or comte), cornichons and a thin layer of butter (and in my case, I go very thin!) on a perfect baguette and I’m a happy girl!
Guacamole? No, roquamole!
Yesterday, we had friends over for a lazy afternoon and an early dinner. The emphasis was on simple, and so I rolled out Nigella Lawson’s roquamole.
Roquamole is her luscious blend of roquefort and avocado – certainly not traditional by a long shot, but a delicious variation on the usual. What I like about this recipe is the customization factor – in this case, I went with a gorgonzola, instead of a sharper roquefort and then subbed out the jalapeños for Ortega green chilies (since we had kids to feed and wanted to keep things on the mild side). I served this with thick tortilla chips (Casa Sanchez gruesos), along with sliced radishes and carrot sticks for dipping. Delish!
Here’s the original recipe – again, feel free to change it up a bit to make it your own. It’s very forgiving!
Roquamole
1 cup crumbled Roquefort or Saint Agur blue cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 ripe avocados
1/4 cup sliced pickled green jalapeños from a jar
2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
1/4 teaspoon paprika
large bag of blue corn tortilla chips
1. Crumble or mash the blue cheese with the sour cream in a bowl.
2. Mash in the avocados. If they are ripe, a fork should be all you need.
3. Roughly chop the sliced jalapeños and stir them into the mixtrue along with the finely sliced scallions.
4. Arrange in the center of a plate or dish, dust with paprika, and surround with tortilla chips. Dive in.
Serves 4-6.
Fish pie
Sunday night, we had fish pie. Think firm white fish (we went with cod and tilapia this time), cooked in a creamy roux, added some peas, topped with a layer of sliced boiled eggs, and then topped again with mashed potatoes and grated cheddar cheese. Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until the top is crispy and browned (we used the broiler to give it an extra oomph of crispiness) and voila! Dinner was done.
It is a supremely delicious and comforting British dish. Here’s the recipe, courtesy of Nigella Lawson.
Nursery Fish Pie
Serves 8
3lbs all-purpose potatoes
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 lbs haddock
2lbs 4oz smoked haddock
2 cups whole milk
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon white peppercorns
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, grated
3 hard-boiled eggs
Peel the potatoes and cut them in half or quarters, depending on size, and put them in a pan of salted water to cook from cold. When they’re tender, drain and then mash them with 3/4 stick of the butter, seasoning to taste.
Put the fish into a large skillet with the milk, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring the milk in the pan to a boil, then immediately turn down and simmer the fish until it is just cooked through. Remove the fish to a plate and pour the cooking liquid into a glass measuring cup, straining out the bay leaves and peppercorns.
Meanwhile, put the frozen peas in a bowl, pour over some boiling water and preheat the oven to 375°F, slipping in a baking sheet as you do so.
Melt the remaining 3/4 stick butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour to make a roux. Take this off the heat briefly, just while you gradually whisk in the fishy milk, then put back over a medium heat and keep stirring until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Let it bubble away for a couple of minutes and then take off the heat and stir in most of the cheese (leaving some to sprinkle over the top of the pie later) and the drained peas.
Flake the fish, making sure not to let it disintegrate too much, and use it to line a 12-cup ovenproof dish and pour the sauce over, using a rubber spatula to help you distribute it equally and meld it with the fish. Cut the hard-boiled eggs into slices and arrange the golden-centered discs over the top of the fish in sauce. Top with the mashed potato, using a spatula, again, to help you coax it right over the sides. With a fork, scrape lines up and down the length of the dish and then sprinkle with a little grated Cheddar cheese before putting it on the sheet in the oven for 20–40 minutes, depending on whether you’re putting the pie in hot or cold.
BRITRISH.COM 