The Best Bacon and Egg Pie

I always thought I have made a pretty good Bacon and Egg Pie, but one of our local sandwich shops (Naturals Bake and Coffee on Quay Street) makes a boomer.
I think he adds his grated cheese at the last minute. So moist and flavoursome.

I was also inspired by a New Zealand TV Chef, Richard Till of “Kiwi Kitchen” fame, on his programme, he discovered an older gentleman domiciled in Napier, who is apparently very famous in his locale for his Bacon and Egg Pie. This gentleman was also famous for his pastry.
I used shop bought but I am going to give his a go on another occasion.

So I have pinched a couple of ideas and I have to say it was an excellent pie
I normally lightly beat the eggs but this time following their lead I just broke the yolks up moving the fork around.
I think the secret is to use nice streaky bacon...leave fat on
I have always used cheese, but this time I placed the grated cheese first… Helps to make a seal on the bottom. By the way the cheese is not the hero, it is just that little bit extra.

I cut the bacon into 2 cm chunks and fried it for a couple of minutes to get the fat rendering.
This makes the pie filling very moist and yummy.
I added some chopped spring onion.
Adds colour and flavour.

Shop bought Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
Eggs
3 rashers per person streaky bacon cut into 2 cm chunks
Grated cheese
Spring Onions sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Spring onions finely chopped
Lightly fry bacon chunks don’t drain
So line a greased pie dish with puff pastry.
Sprinkle on grated cheese

Cover with bacon
Break in enough eggs this size pie (14 cm/5") took 2 ½ large eggs
Break them up moving the yolk with a fork
Season with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Add extra bacon on top
Sprinkle on chopped spring onions
Pop on the pastry lid and crimp the edges.
Brush with egg wash for the golden look.

Pre heat oven to 210C
Cook for 5 minutes then reduce to 200C
Cook for a further 20 minutes

The pie should be golden brown and crisp. Here it is cooling on the window sill.
The filling beautiful and moist and you will not be able to get enough of it.
The pastry just so flaky wonderful
I made this pie for Dale to take on his fishing trip.
Size 20cm/8” This took 8 eggs.

International World Bread Day - Cherry and Chocolate Bread and Mushroom and Onion Bread - Twin Delights

Cherry and Chocolate Bread and Mushroom and Onion Bread
Two delightful ways to consume calories
Tomorrow we are off to a holiday in the sun. Noosa here we come.
11 days lying around the pool, few walks, some shopping and lots of food and drink.
Our friend Geoff invited us to go for a spin in his boat.
I wanted to bake bread. Zorra click here is hosting an event
to celebrate World Bread Day. The International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners (UIB) declared 16th of October as World Bread Day.
So this was an excellent opportunity to make these loaves I had seen on Television.
Food TV has been re-running a great old baking show called “Use Your Loaf” starring James Martin (a very young James Martin) and his mate baker Paul Hollywood. I have saved some episodes on My Sky and now was my chance.

So I turned down the trip, farewelled Dale, sent him off with a freshly made Bacon and Egg Pie and said hello to my kitchen.

Four loaves - two varieties

First I made the master dough.
The secret is to make sure the dough is quite wet before you start kneading.

1 kg bread flour.
2 pkts dried yeast
30 gms salt
Splash olive oil
Warm water…to get the right temperature I suggest you put 1/3 boiling water and top up with cold water. Prepare about 600mls for this amount of flour

So add yeast to about 300 mls warm water stir and leave for about 3 minutes

Meanwhile add flour salt and olive oil to large bowl.
Stir with your hand and add yeast and water
Mix and keep on adding water till the flour is all used up.
Throw onto bench and start kneading
Knead for about 5-6 minutes till it becomes smooth.

Back into lightly oiled bowl and leave till it doubles in size
Cover with oiled plastic wrap or a tea towel
About 1 hour
Back onto bench and cut into two.
Put one piece back into the bowl and set the other aside

Cherry and Chocolate Bread
So - add to dough in bowl
1 cup canned pitted cherries
1 cup chocolate chips
It will be very sloppy but persevere - just keep mixing
Keep adding flour and knead in the bowl till amalgamated.
Put to one side, cover and prove again for another hour.
Cut once again into two

Knead a little and roll into a ball
On a floured bench
Pat down using floured fingers
Slash and place on baking paper on a baking tray
Throw a tea towel over them and leave about another hour
Bake at 205C for approx 30 minutes

The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom
It looks and tastes great.

Then with the remaining dough
Saute
1 onion finely chopped in olive oil
5-6 med mushrooms chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the dough back into the bowl
Add hot onions and mushroom mix
Handful of flour over the top
And knead, adding more flour as necessary
Put aside as before, and prove, covered
Cut into two bits
Shape into balls
Pat down once again, on floured bench using your floured fingers.
Place on baking paper lined tray
Slash - cover with tea towel
Bake 205C oven 30 minutes.

By the way Dale returned with a smile on his face, a bit flushed with fishing success… aided also with some Sauvignon Blanc…carrying this lovely snapper.
Great…fish sandwiches for dinner.
Sautéed the filets in a little extra virgin olive oil and little butter
Slice open the remainder of the onion bread
A little mayo
Some baby Cos lettuce
Fish on top.
Dinner.
What a Productive Day and Haven't we been well fed

Mayo Three Ways

So more tasty lunches
It’s Asparagus season and we can’t get enough of it.

Prepared a very simple starter "Ultimate Finger Food".
Asparagus and Prawn Platter

I went back to yet another old favourite recipe book,
The Silver Palate Good Times Cook Book, Remember that?

I wanted to make mayonnaise to dip the asparagus in.

How does Basil-Parmesan Mayonnaise sound.
Well it is as good as it sounds.

2 egg yolks
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons grainy Dijon-style mustard
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoon
Extra virgin olive oil 1 cup good vegetable oil (I use rice Bran oil)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In the food processor whiz the egg yolks, Parmesan, basil, mustard and lemon juice
For 30 seconds
With the machine running pour the olive oil and vegetable oil in a thin steady stream through the feed tube to make a thick mayonnaise.
Season with S & P to taste.

Prepare the asparagus and lightly simmer in salted water along with some prawns

Lay on plate with a little dish of the mayonnaise.
Dip in.

Of course I had a lot of Mayo left so for lunch the next day I went fish shopping.
Monkfish is an economical buy. I have only cooked it once and I don’t know what I did with it but I didn’t like it.
TV Chefs are always raving about it so I tried again.
This time I seasoned it and sautéed it in some olive oil
Cook first side 2 minutes
Add a knob of butter
Flip over and into a 200C oven for about 8 minutes

Halfway lift it out and baste it.
Yes it was nice...a good alternative for the more expensive fish.

When cooked
Squeeze a little lemon juice.
Let sit and cool
I decided to make wraps.

So on the middle of the wrap
A big smear of the mayo
Some sliced cucumber and some Cos lettuce
Break up the fish and spread on top.

Roll up and consume.

The Best Roast Chicken
The grandchildren were around for lunch so I roasted a chicken…back to the old way.
First buy a good corn fed free range or organic chicken the difference in taste is amazing.

The French Roast
Roasted on a bed of carrots and onions,
Season interior, with salt, freshly ground black pepper, chopped garlic, fresh thyme and oil.
Also stuff in a couple of chunks of lemon.

Pour over a cup of hot chicken stock, I used stock powder.
Then I drizzled it with more olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper
Didn't add salt at this stage as the stock cube is salty.

Into 200C oven
After 15 minutes
Take it out and baste with stock
Another 15 minutes, basted again
Check on the liquid if it is getting too dry... add more water or as in my case a slug of wine.
Another couple of bastings
This keeps the chicken uber moist and juicy.
It should take about an hour to cook.

Test the leg joint with a skewer and if the juices run clear you are ready.
So the chicken is cooked and cooled.

Some chips cooked in the oven for the request from the small children
“Chip Butties please Grandma.” A big favourite.

When I found the Silver Palette mayo recipe it was used to make a salad.
Got some ideas and then whipped up this salad for the grownups.

1/2 cooked chicken stripped from the bones
4-5 strips of prosciutto sliced
50 gms Gruyere cut into julienne strips
2 spring onions chopped
1/2 cup sliced cucumber
3 tablespoons Basil Parmesan Mayonnaise

Whole Lettuce leaves

Another excellent lunch.

And what an excellent stock from the juices and bones.
Great depth of colour and taste... looking forward to using it.

Breadcrumbs and Pasta

Mario Batalli maintains that you should only use good bread for breadcrumbs, and 'fresh bread to boot', not old 'hang around for a few days' bread. Of course to use fresh bread you need to make the crumb in the food processor. Too hard to do it by hand.
I always freeze any excess and sometimes buy bread especially. Just put into little plastic bags enough for one pasta dish.

By the way for breadcrumbing fish, schnitzel
etc I always use Panko crumbs they are wonderful.

So I have made two dishes using breadcrumbs.

An old favourite
Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce topped with Crispy Herby Breadcrumbs
I just love the flavour and crispness of this dish... make plenty I promise you... its a go back for seconds and even thirds!

And a wonderful Fish dish I watched Emeril make.
This I think, is a good post for Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, Presto Pasta Night. click on her blog here,
People from all over the world, sharing their favourite Pasta dishes

First for the Spaghetti
You can speed up the process, if you haven't much time and are are in a hurry, but it’s worth it.

1 large onion sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow pepper large chop
3 cloves garlic chopped
3 anchovies chopped
2 teaspoons Sambal Olek
1 can Italian tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup breadcrumbs
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh basil sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Gently cook the onion in the olive oil
When it has softened add garlic and yellow pepper
Cook about 5 minutes
Add Sambal Olek and anchovies and slowly cook about 30 minutes
This becomes really flavourful

Drain and squash the tomatoes…hands are good, reserve the juice.
Add to vege mix… season with S & P and cook down another 10 minutes

Meanwhile cook the spaghetti to manufacturers instructions till it is is al dente
Drain,
Reserve some water

At the last moment put oil in pan and heat
Add breadcrumbs, oregano and basil
Toss around and cook for a few minutes till crumbs are crispy.
Add drained spaghetti into sauce and add a ladleful of spaghetti water to loosen it up.

Serve in bowls
Top with the crispy breadcrumbs
A by-product of the tomatoes
Bloody Marys made with the juice
Popped some ice into the reserved juice
Mix with 2 jiggers of vodka
Pinch sea salt
Good shot of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon horseradish or a good dash of Tabasco Sauce
Good squeeze lemon juice and some zest
Slug Worcestershire sauce

Strain into glasses and consume pre lunch.
Good aperitif.

So now to Emeril Lagasse Southern Soul Food Fish Dish.

I used snapper as one of our guests is not fond of a meaty fish but I think Hapuka/ Grouper, Bluenose would be first choice.
The beauty of this dish is its simplicity and its so so easy for a crowd.

150gms fish per person
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons Emeril’s Essence (recipe follows)

* 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoons garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
This will keep for ages in a air tight jar

Lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
Mix 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil with garlic and thyme

Season fish filets with S &P and Emeril’s essence on both sides

Dab fish with garlic mix and squeeze the lemon juice over the fish.
Mix breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil
Sprinkle over fish
Heat grill/broiler to 250C

Place fish underneath cook about 5 minutes turn pan around and cook further 5 minutes till breadcrumbs are brown.

We had this delicious fish dish with green beans and mashed kumara.
Perfect once again .

The dinner was a bit much for one punter.
A little nap was needed.