Apple Shortcake - Best way to use up extra Apples

 

I'm always trying to think of nice things to make, as a Treat for My Beloved and the Wonderful Staff at Marino Ward,
As luck would have it my friend Mary gave me some apples, They needed some urgent attention.
Solution Apple Shortcake
Sourced from the Trusty Edmonds Cookery Book
A cooking Bible for New Zealanders... for ever

Every child,  that leaves home should be given one, to start them off in their new lives
All basic food groups covered

This Apple Shortcake is so so simple and very delicious.
I thought that I should double the recipe, so that I could get many pieces
I actually made 2 batches, one for the bottom and one for the top
Rather than 1 large one
Worked well
The Quantities below, are for one batch

225gms Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch salt
125 gms Butter
1 egg
Milk about 2 tablespoons
 
1 dessertspoon Sugar
3 medium apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Topping
Milk and some extra suger
Pre heat oven to 180C

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl
Grate the butter into the flour
Rub with your fingers till it resembles breadcrumbs
Meanwhile whisk together egg and milk 
Add to flour mix
Stir
Add milk and blend together with your hands
Knead together lightly, to make a nice dough
Do not overwork

Cut in half and roll out to about 1.5 cms thickness
Lay on a lined baking tray
Cover with sliced apples
Sprinkle evenly with sugar

Meanwhile roll out other half to same size
Cover and press down lightly
Push the edges together

Brush with some milk and sprinkle with extra sugar

Bake for about 20 - 30 minutes tyill golden
I found it took about 25 minutes

Cut into squares while hot and devour

Cooks treat, I tided up the edges and wolfed down the delicious pieces
It was very popular, with inmates and staff alike.

Breakfast Muffins - Viva Les All Blacks

Thanks to my friend Lorraine Woods, (who sent me a video by Tip Hero
Check out their website here )
We were able to enjoy a fabulous, non French, Breakfast, to accompany
the Magnificent Quarter Final between the All Blacks and The French

First we had a Bloody Mary and then these wonderful little Omelet Muffins

So so simple and very tasty

Just assemble and then pop in the oven
Just served with a Sriracha sauce on top , for that little extra kick
and a piece of buttered Vogels's Toast
Superb
They are so light, probably because there was a little baking powder added to the mix
Delicious

So for 3 people... 2 muffins each
I used the Texas Muffin Tins

1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 re pepper finely chopped
3 rashers bacon finely chopped
A little olive oil
Grated cheese

Butter to grease the tins

8 eggs
1/3 cup milk
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 190C
Lightly grease the muffin tins

Meanwhile lightly sauté the shallot, pepper and bacon in a little olive oil
till just soft

Beat together, the Eggs. Milk, Oil, Baking Powder, Salt and Pepper
Divide the sauté vege into the bottom of the greased tins

Place a good amount of grated cheese on top

Top up with the Egg mixture

Bake for 18-20 minutes
Let sit in tins for a few minutes

Then serve

Viva Les All Blacks
Sorry France

Blinis - Another way to serve - Try Prawns

Recently I posted a recipe for Yummy Blinis click here for the recipe
I made a couple of changes
First, defrosted then roasted a bag of Prawns
as below

Just toss the defrosted prawn tails with a slosh of Olive Oil
Some sea salt 
A grind of Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Grated zest of a lemon

Into a 200C oven for just 6 mins
Remove from the oven
Squeeze juice of 1 small lemon and mix 
Cool
Take about 8-10 cooked prawns and chop finely 
Make a batch of the blini mixture
add the prawns and 
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Leave to rest in the refrigerator minimum 30 minutes
Then cook and set aside



Meanwhile, prepare some Cream Cheese for the topping
Whip together 1/2 cup cream cheese with a tablespoon of chopped parley
Grind of black pepper
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbs of a good olive oil
Spread over cooked blinis
Top with a cooked prawn and little bit of chopped parsley

Another cream cheese flavouring, try this one
Using bread and butter pickles
They add a crunch and that sweet and sour
Oooh just special

1/2 cup cream cheese
4-5 slices of bread and butter pickles
about a teaspoon of the juice
Zest of half a lemon
2 tablespoons chopped chives Pinch salt and good rind of freshly ground black pepper
Spread on the blinis and pop a prawn on top
Delicious

Below:
Everything packed up ready to take to Granddaughter Sophia's 18th Birthday

Seems like it was months ago she was this beautiful baby

I also provided some Pinwheels with an Italian Flavour, Tomato, Basil and Pecorino Cheese and 

Little mushroom filled bread cases

We just warmed them up

All perfect with drinks

Cauliflower - So Trendy - So Tasty - This Recipe Not Paleo Though

In fact this is from Ottolenghi’s “Plenty More” book
I love his recipes and this is a winner
Cauliflower Cake

When I started to cook this little delight, I realised that I had forgotten to top up my cheddar cheese supply, so instead of running out to the supermarket.
I used the Castello White Cheese that I had in the fridge
It was delicious but was very rich, next time I will use  Cheddar or Parmesan

To serve, I just sautéed some mushrooms, garlic and spinach
Very tasty.

With the leftovers, Popped some beetroot relish on the side. Yum
I reckon served with a  lovely crisp Salad and some French Bread. That would be superb

1 small cauliflower, outer leaves removed, broken into 3cm florets (450g)
1 medium red onion (170g)
75ml olive oil ½ tsp finely chopped rosemary
7 eggs
15g basil, chopped
120g plain flour, sifted
1½ tsp baking powder
⅓ tsp ground turmeric
150g coarsely grated Parmesan, or another mature cheese
melted butter, to line the tin
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC/Gas Mark 4.
Place the cauliflower florets in a saucepan and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the florets are quite soft:
they should break when pressed with a spoon.
Strain and set aside in a colander to dry

Cut 4 round slices, each 0.5cm thick, off one end of the onion and set aside.
Coarsely chop the rest of the onion and place this in a small pan, with the oil and rosemary.
Cook gently for 10 minutes on a medium heat, stirring from time to time, until soft.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Transfer the cooked onion to a large bowl, add the eggs and basil, whisk well and then
add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Whisk until smooth before adding the cauliflower and stirring gently, trying not to break up all the florets.

Line the base and sides of a 24cm springform cake tin with baking parchment.
Brush the sides with melted butter, mix together the sesame and nigella seeds and toss them around the inside of the tin so that they stick to the sides.

Tip in the cauliflower mix and arrange the reserved onion rings on top. 

Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until golden-brown and set:
a knife inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving:
it needs to be served just warm, rather than hot, or at room temperature

Flavours of Morocco - Pinwheels - Perfect to have with drinks

Off to a Family dinner. Theme is Moroccan.
I frequently make my Pastry Pinwheels for pre-food drinks
Always very popular and I have developed many different flavours, so why not Moroccan
Here is my little Cooks treat. Yum

 As luck would have it, in my fridge and pantry, I had enough interesting goodies that would deliver what I was wanting
I haven't put quantities, use as much or as little as you like

In this case, I had some Goat Feta, the crumbly kind
But a soft Goats cheese would be best
Actually that is quite expensive, so I usually use Feta

For some other flavour ideas of these yummy pinwheels… click Here

By the way, I used two products from Local Chef’s and I want to mention them, as I find both excellent

   









 Al Browns Orange and Chili Olive Oil

 Simon Gault's Moroccan Seasoning







Ingredients
Sheets of Frozen Puff Pastry
Goats Feta Cheese
Zest of 1 orange
Slosh of Al Brown’s Orange and Chili Olive oil
Black Olives stoned and chopped
Semi dried tomatoes in oil (I used a tablespoon of this oil as well)

Simon Gault’s Moroccan Seasoning
Beaten egg

Lay out the pastry on the bench
Mix together, the Feta, Orange zest, Orange and Chili Olive Oil
Plus  1 tablespoon Moroccan Seasoning
Beat till you can spread it

Cover bottom 2/3 of the pastry sheet
Sprinkle over the olives and the semi dried tomatoes

Brush the beaten egg over the top third of the sheet
Refrigerate the egg in a container, to finish off the pastries

Roll up,
Press down gently

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours, overnight is fine
Heat oven to 200C

Cut into pinwheels and place on baking sheet covered with baking paper
Brush with reserved beaten egg, sprinkle over with some more seasoning
Bake for about 15 minutes, till golden and crisp

Best served just warm or room temperature to get the best flavour
Delicious

And my word, they went very well with
Helen’s Celery Gimlet, which is divine.

Bloody fantastic, even if I do say so, my self

Red Soup - For The Want of a Better Name

This delicious soup came about by chance, as many great dishes are evolved
It was a bleak day, I was bored, spent the afternoon catching up on some food programmes that I had recorded…Too early for a wine
My oven wasn't working, so it was all stove top cooking in our house
I had some chicken stock left over and thought I should turn it into soup
So into the vegetable bin I dove.
I found  a Red pepper, Red onion. Beetroot. Red chili
Let's put them together
What a fabulous colourful soup that would make, and it did
So good I have made for guests and it got the thumbs up
By the way I did a little cheating the other day and bought cooked  fresh beetroot from the
supermarket. It is more expensive but saved me time.
If you use concentrated chicken stock, dissolve it in the stock produced, by boiling the beetroot

Ingredients
For 4 People
2 tablespoons Olive oil
2 Red Peppers
2 Medium Beetroot, roasted or boiled for about an hour, peeled and chopped
1 Red Onion, chopped
1 Red Chili, chopped
4 cups Chicken stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Optional -  slosh of hot pepper sauce 
Sour cream and dill for garnish

Method
So I cooked the beetroot till tender, that can take about an hour
If boil, don't waste the stock, save it for cooing the soup
You can either roast or boil
Peel and chop

Meanwhile chop the red onion
The red pepper and the chili

Sauté the vege in the olive oil
Season with salt and pepper

Cover with Chicken stock
Bring to boil and simmer about 20 minutes
Add vinegar and hot sauce (optional but I like the kick it gives)

Into the blender.
Taste and adjust if needed

Mix dill with the Creme Fraiche
and dob it on top
This is wonderful
Not only looking fabulous but tasting fabulous as well
A keeper

Best Blinis That I Have Made - Topped with Yummy Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon

Our friend Annette had the misfortune to break her leg, so she has ended up in hospital till it is mended. Once a month a group of us have lunch including Annette, we normally choose a cheap and cheerful restaurant and try and find something different each month.
Seeing as Annette is laid up we decided to take lunch to her.

I made some little chicken sandwiches, very yummy but the piece de resistance was these beautiful light Blinis
I know normally Blinis are made with yeast, but here is a recipe, that just uses Baking Powder.
I think the secret is the amount of BP, plus the resting time in the fridge, before cooking. The mixture really starts to  kick in. They are so light and delicious
I found it on The Australian Woman's Weekly website

Ingredients
  1 cup (150g) plain flour
  1 tablespoon caster sugar
  3 teaspoons baking powder
  pinch salt
  2⁄3 cup (180ml) milk
  1 egg
  50g unsalted butter, melted

Topping
100 gms Cream Cheese
2-3 Pickled Gherkins finely chopped
Zest of a lemon 
Sea salt and Black pepper


Smoked Salmon

Method
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
Gradually whisk in combined milk and egg, then half the melted butter. 

Refrigerate mixture for 30 minutes.
It's a living thing

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
Lightly brush the pan with a little remaining butter.
Drop two teaspoons (10ml) of blini mixture into pan.
Cook for a minute or until browned lightly underneath and bubbles appear on the surface.

Turn, cook for another  minute, or until blinis are cooked.

Repeat with remaining butter and blini mixture.

I made my blinis a little bigger so they took longer than that to cook
See how fluffy and light they are

Meanwhile just blend together all of the topping ingredients
When they are cool
Top with Cream Cheese mix
and Some Smoked Salmon 

If you don't have any smoked, just fionely chop a tomato and add to the cream cheese mix
Equally as good

So after I wrote this blog, decided I needed a cure for Cabin Fever
Popped into my local with my Kindle and had a nice chilled Glass of wine

 Perfect

Lamb Tagine - Perfect for The Cold Weather

Dinner at our House on Saturday. The weather is so cold. It is Winter of course,  so we need nice warming food. A few weeks  ago I found on my blog... an excellent Fish Tagine, recipe courtesy of Anthony Worrall Thompson.
I have made that more than once recently. went down a real treat with guests
Would you believe, he has also got a recipe for a Lamb Tagine?
So I gave that a go
Thumbs up from the crowd.
I bought my meat from the Supermarket and they only had Lamb Shoulder chops.
I cut off as much of the meat as possible, then I left the bones in.... for extra flavour plus, some of that meat close to the bone is The Best, So don't throw that away

Ingredients

    1 tsp cayenne pepper
    2 tsp ground black pepper
    1½ tbsp paprika
    1½ tbsp ground ginger
    1 tbsp turmeric
    2 tsp ground cinnamon
    1 x shoulder of lamb, trimmed and cut into 5cm/2in chunks (about 1.1kg/2½lb meat in total) 

    2 tbsp olive oil
    2 tbsp argan oil...Optional I didn't use it
    (Argan oil is a Moroccan oil from the argan tree. 
    You should be able to find it in specialist food shops.)
    2 large onions, grated, I chopped them finely in the food processor    
    3 cloves garlic, crushed
    570ml/1 pint tomato juice, or Passata
    2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
    115g/4oz dried apricots, cut in half
    55g/2oz dates, cut in half
    55g/2oz sultanas or raisins, I used craisins
    85g/3oz flaked almonds
    1 tsp saffron stamens, soaked in cold water
    600ml/1 pint lamb or beef stock
    1 tbsp clear honey
    2 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped
    2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Preparation method
Place the cayenne, black pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon into a small bowl and mix to combine.
Place the lamb in a large bowl and toss together with half of the spice mix. 
Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.


Next day
Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas2.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp of argan oil in a large casserole dish.
Add the grated onion and the remaining spice mix and
cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes so that the onions are soft but not coloured.
 Add the crushed garlic for the final 3 minutes.

In a separate frying pan,
Heat the remaining oil and brown the cubes of lamb on all sides then
You will need to do this in batches

Add the browned meat to the casserole dish.
De-glaze the frying pan with ¼ pint of tomato juice and add these juices to the pan.
  
Add the remaining tomato juice, chopped tomatoes, 
apricots, dates, raisins or sultanas, flaked almonds, 
saffron, lamb stock and honey to the casserole dish.
Bring to the boil, cover with a fitted lid, place in the oven and
cook for 2-2½ hours or until the meat is meltingly tender.

Place the lamb in a Tagine or large serving dish and sprinkle over the chopped herbs.
Serve.

To accompany this dish. I made a colourful rice dish
for 6 people
2 tbs olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 yellow pepper, finely chopped
Sea salt and Pepper
2 1/2 cups Basamti Rice 

Handful of shelled pistachio nuts 
Cup of craisins
1 tablespoons powdered Chicken Stock dissolved
in Warm Water approx 5 cups

Garnish 
Handful parsley leaves, chopped
Grated Zest of 1 orange

Heat the oil in a pan 
Add onions and yellow pepper cook till soft
Season with Salt and pepper
Add garlic, nuts and craisins
Toss then add rice and cook till slightly toasted

Add water. 
There should be enough water so that if you touch the top of the rice
The water should come up to the first joint of your finger
Stir and bring to the boil
let simmer away till holes start to form (about 4 minutes)
Turn the heat off and
Cover with a tight lid
Leave for about 12 minutes
Remove lid
Fluff up with a fork and turn into serving dish

Scatter herbs and orange zest over the top
Serve

Some of the satisfied customers

It warms the Cockles of your heart!!!

Tasty Flavoured Tomato Butter - Liberally Spread on the Best Cheese Scones - Divine

Now Here’s A Thing.
Seriously, I thought there was nothing finer than a good cheese scone.
BUT I have discovered an embellishment.
Tomato and Parsley Butter

Now these are really the Best Cheese Scone

Friends were coming over for Afternoon Tea, well actually and Afternoon Wine
Of course I must make food
So I whipped up a batch of Cheese Scones,
Normally I would just supply some good butter to spread on them
This time I decided to flavour the butter

Take 150 gms of Unsalted Butter at room temperature
4 Cherry Tomatoes, very finely chopped
2 tablespoons of chopped Parsley
Sea Salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper

Mash the butter
Add the tomatoes and parley
Season to taste with S & P

Spread liberally on the freshly baked scone
Seemed to go well, with the Champagne and also Chardonnay
Covers all bases

Just in case, people cant be bothered looking up how to make the scones… I have added the recipe for the scones from a previous post
So Pre-heat oven to 220C

1 cup of plain high grade flour
2 1/2  teaspoons of baking powder
Pinch of salt
Good pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 cup grated tasty cheese
2 spring onions finely chopped
1/2 cup milk
Sift the dry ingredient into a big bowl
Add cheese, stir

Add spring onions 
Add milk
Quickly mix and turn onto lightly floured bench
Pat into a circle
Cut into wedges
Place on a lined baking sheet (you could just flour it if you wish)

Bake for 8-10 minutes
Remove
Break open and put a nice pat of butter on top

Fantastic