http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SpanishRecipesinpictures/~3/Pf0ZBQWOxcE/morcilla-and-pumpkin-risotto.html

My monument to the Italian Risotto! What a delicious dish it is... that flavored creamy rice can...

Get the rest in my blog! See you there!

Waitrose Low Alcohol Cider

If you're finding it hard to give up booze for the month you might want to snap up a bottle or two of Waitrose's low alcohol cider which is only 1% ABV.

Now I'm not saying it's the best-tasting cider ever - it's a little too thin and too sweet, for my palate at least* - but it does taste recognisably like cider in a way that apple juice doesn't and if you were drinking it with roast pork, a chicken casserole or even a nice hunk of cheddar it would rub along fine. It's actually made in Herefordshire in old oak vats so I'm guessing it probably comes from Weston's.

The price is pretty attractive too. It only costs £1.15 a 500ml bottle - online at any rate. I somehow ended up paying £1.21 for my bottle in store, maybe because it's classified as a 'Little Waitrose'. Not a huge outlay anyway.

* However my neighbour who just popped in tried it and said 'really nice'. So there you go. I should also have pointed it's 180 calories a glass so it's not exactly a low calorie option - though not much more than a large glass of shiraz.

Hill lamb hotpot

Returning from high summer in Oz to the weirdest of weather back home in Bristol (this morning we had hail, thunder and bright sun, all in the space of five minutes) I feel the need for comfort food and can't think of a better option than a hotpot. Unfortunately I'm unlikely to have time to cook one until the weekend but thought you might fancy trying it too.

The recipe is from my book Meat and Two Veg and the very professional photo not by moi but the talented Jason Lowe. It's not authentic - no self-respecting Lancastrian would use something as poncey as white wine - but it is very tasty especially if you make it with hill or rare breed lamb. (How frugal that is of course depends where you live and whether you can source it direct from a farmer or farmers' market.)

The white pepper does make a difference with this kind of old-fashioned dish so do use it if you've got some.

Serves 4-6
6 lamb shoulder chops (about 750-800g)
2 level tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp vegetable or light olive oil
40g butter
3 medium to large onions, peeled and thinly sliced (about 450g)
1 large carrot (about 125g), peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium turnip (about 110g) peeled and thinly sliced
750g waxy red potatoes (e.g. Desiree)
125ml dry white wine (e.g. basic French vin blanc, muscadet, pinot grigio)
300ml chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 bay leaves
Salt and ground white pepper

You will need a large round or oval lidded casserole

Trim any excess fat off the chops and pat them dry with kitchen towel. Put the flour into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Dip the chops into the flour, lightly coating both sides. Heat a large frying pan, add 2 tbsp of the oil and 15g of the butter. Once the butter has melted brown the chops on both sides (about 2 minutes a side) and set aside. Add the sliced onions to the oil and butter mixture and fry gently for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the sliced carrot and turnip and any remaining flour, stir well and set aside. Peel and finely slice the potatoes.

Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Pour the remaining oil in the casserole and wipe it round the base and sides. Put a good layer of sliced potato in the base of the casserole then a layer of vegetables, seasoning each layer lightly with salt and pepper. Arrange the chops on top and tuck in the bayleaves. Tip over the rest of the vegetables spreading them out evenly then arrange the rest of the potato slices on top.

Heat the wine and stock in the frying pan and pour carefully over the hotpot. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Melt the remaining butter in the frying pan and pour it over the potato slices. Cover the casserole and place in the oven for about 25 minutes until bubbling gently.

Turn the heat down to 150°C/300°F/Gas 2 and cook for a further two hours, spooning the juices over the potatoes half way through.

Turn up the heat back up to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6, remove the lid from the casserole and return to the oven for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are well browned. Serve with something green and leafy like brussel tops.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SpanishRecipesinpictures/~3/xPVQ-UGoWGk/roquefort-lollipops-with-grapes-and.html

Are you wondering how could I even get near to the Roquefort cheese? I wonder myself too......

Get the rest in my blog! See you there!

Grocery Shop, July 10

Bought at DeMille's Farm Market in Salmon Arm.

Corn, kale, leaf lettuce, 2 kinds of apples, blueberries, cherries, carrots, potatos.  Missing: loaf of cheese bread.

How to make the best marmalade you’ve ever tasted

I'm not a great one for 'the perfect this' or 'the perfect that' in recipes but if you're a marmalade aficionado I promise you this is as good as it gets. Intensely fruity, thick and sharply flavoured.

OK, I'm biased. It was my mum's recipe so it carries a bit of emotional baggage. I can remember the kitchen filling up with a warm, comforting marmaladey fug and sitting alongside her as a child slicing the oranges. She wasn't a wonderful cook but this was her pièce de resistance. I still have the original written neatly in blue ink on a piece of Basildon Bond notepaper.

I'd got out of the habit of making it but she died just after Christmas so I wanted to make it in memory of those companionable times. Besides seville oranges are in season so now's the moment.

First a few practicalities to keep down the cost because you can of course buy marmalade much, much more cheaply than it will cost you to make it. But it won't taste anything like as good.

* Assuming you don't have a preserving pan you need a large saucepan. A large stainless steel pasta pan is perfect. The bottom of a pressure cooker will do.

* You need jars. You can buy them from sites like Jam Jar Shop but that does add to the cost so beg or borrow some from neighbours. Not pickle or chutney jars in which the smell of the previous contents tends to linger. The jars need to be as clean as possible. Old recipes suggest sterilising them by putting them in a hot oven but I find a recent run through the dishwasher will do the trick.

* You need a muslin square or something to act as a muslin bag (I used a J Cloth). See why below. Oh, and some fine string

* You need waxed paper discs if you're to keep the marmalade any length of time. And labels. Again from a specialist like Lakeland or the Jam Jar Shop.

* You need a couple of saucers in the fridge to test the set

* and finally, and most importantly, you need seville oranges, unwaxed lemons and sugar in the following quantities. The original recipe states preserving sugar but this is now so hard to get and twice as expensive as granulated so I would (and did) use that. No problem.

1.35 kg (3lb) Seville oranges, preferably organic
1 large or 2 small lemons, preferably unwaxed
1.7-1.8kg (3 3/4-4lb) granulated sugar

This makes about 7-8 400g jars but your jars will probably be all shapes and sizes and the quantity always turns out different depending how long you boil the marmalade so make sure you have slightly more than you need.

Wash and scrub the oranges and lemons with a vegetable brush and put them whole into a large pan with 1.3 litres (2 1/4 pints) of cold water.


Cover the pan with a lid or a large sheet of foil and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning them occasionally until they are soft enough for you to pierce the skins with the end of a teaspoon. (You can probably remove the lemons after an hour and the oranges progressively after that). The kitchen will smell heavenly.


Remove the fruit and measure the remaining liquid. If there is less than 1.1 litres (just under 2 pints) add enough fresh water to bring it up to that level and return to the pan.

Cut the fruit into quarters, scoop out the pulp and separate out the pips. Cut the skins into small thick slices and add along with the pulp to the pan of water.



Tie up the pips in a piece of muslin (there's a useful video here) and hang it over the handle of the pan and into the cut up fruit. This might seem a bit of a faff but the extra pulp and pectin helps the marmalade to set.

Put the sugar in a warming drawer or very low oven to warm up. Bring the fruit up to boiling point then remove the bag of pips and squeeze and scrape the outside of the bag to release any remaining pulp. Add the warm sugar to the fruit and leave over a low heat, stirring occasionally until dissolved.


Bring back to the boil and boil the marmalade for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking. Skim off the thick yellowish foam that forms round the edges from time to time.

Test a little on a chilled saucer after 25 minutes to see if it's set. It should crinkle when you push it with your finger. If it doesn't continue boiling it until it does. As the marmalade reaches setting point it will darken and grow thicker.



Once the marmalade has reached setting point, remove from the heat, skim off any remaining scum and allow to cool for about half an hour.

Warm your jars if they're not already sitting in the dishwasher and ladle or pour the marmalade into them (I find a small jug is easiest for this). Cover with a disc of waxed paper, if using, and seal with screw top lids or clear covers. Wipe any splashes off the side of the jars while they're still warm.

Leave until cold before labelling otherwise the labels won't stick.


Feel smug and happy.

You can of course cut the amount of work involved by mincing the peel but I like proper looking chunks in my marmalade. Just get someone to sit alongside you as you do it. It's a nice thing to do with your kids, a mum, gran or sister or a friend. Actually my husband helped me with this batch while we listened to Bob Marley. Good marmalade music.

Oh, and a final tip. You can freeze seville oranges successfully if you haven't time to make all your marmalade in one go or run out of jars. Just wash and dry them before you freeze them, use them from frozen and increase the boiling time until they're cooked through.

Is this how you make your marmalade or do you reckon you have a better version?

Bread Baking Babes - Hamburger Buns

Good grief!  Can you believe it's already July 16th?  Not only does that mean that July is already more than half over (sob) but that also means it's time for the Bread o' the Month from the Bread Baking Babes.  And guess who got to choose the bread this time around?  Moi!

I chose Hamburger Buns from a recipe card I picked up in Williams Sonoma.

The recipe gives instructions for regular sized buns as well as sliders (aka the most adorable things ever).

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Williams-Sonoma

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) milk

8 Tbs (1stick/125 g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

4 cups (625 g) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

5 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs kosher salt

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water

sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter and heat until the butter is melted, about 7 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let cool to 105-155'F (40 to 46'C).  Add the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 4 cups of flour, the sugar and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds.  Add the milk mixture and knead until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute.  Increase the speed to medium low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove the dough from the bowl, oil the inside of the bowl and return the dough to the bowl.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10 by 7 1/2 inch (25 by 19 cm) rectangle.  Using a ruler as a guide, cut the dough into 2 1/2 inch (6cm) squares.  Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing the buns evenly apart, and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 400'F (200'C)

Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet.  Brush the tops of the buns with the egg mixture (I brushed the tops with milk) and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.  Bake until the buns and golder and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a bun registers 190'F (88'C), 14 to 16 minutes.  Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let cool completely.  Cut in half and use as hamburger buns.  Makes 12 hamburger buns.

For slider buns: Follow the instructions above but roll out the dough into a 9 inch (23 cm) square.  Cut into 1 1/2 inch (4cm) squares and place on 2 parchment lined baking sheets.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  Position one rack in the upper third of an over and one rack in the lower third and preheat to 400'F (200'C).  Brush the tops with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.  Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and 180 degrees halfway through baking.  Makes 36 slider buns.

Time got away from me once again and I didn't have time to try to make slider buns before it was time to post.  But I hope to soon and will show off my results.

Please visit the participating Babes listed over on the left.  I've seen some preview pictures from some of them and they've got some amazing buns (hee!)

 If you'd like to be a Buddy,  please make the bread and post about it by July 29th.  Send mt a link at iliketocook AT shaw DOT ca.

Sorry I've been so absent and things are kind of not interesting around here.  I'm working hard on getting myself out of this funk.  Keep your fingers crossed for me please.

Peace!

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SpanishRecipesinpictures/~3/_Zv-2z7SCaA/empanadillas-de-atun-tuna-patties.html

There must be something in the tuna... is this an obsession? Two dishes in a row with tuna... do...

Get the rest in my blog! See you there!

Blackberry Mini Tarts Recipe

Last week Driscoll's held a wonderful event for bloggers that I got to have a hand in planning. Bloggers brought dishes made with fresh blackberries, got insider cooking tips from cookbook author and cooking teacher Rick Rodgers and an inspiring food photography tutorial and demo from food photographer Caren Alpert.

I learned about pastry tampers, (the secret to quickly forming small tart shells in mini muffin pans) improvising with FedEx boxes and tin foil to get more light in food photos, ate a fabulous of dinner made from Rick's recipes, and tasted some divine desserts from some of my fellow bloggers. I particularly loved Irvin's tangy lemon and blackberry pie. I hope he posts the recipe soon! Rick made a cream cheese crust pastry with a savory filling and a blackberry topping. It was surprisingly similar to my dessert recipe.

I got the original recipe from the Land 'O Lakes website. I adapted it for Thanksgiving using cranberries and no nuts or glaze, then tweaked both the ingredients and the techniques to make it work with blackberries. Driscoll's blackberries are so good right now that I wanted to use them raw. I like desserts with at least some tangy flavor and blackberries have such a great balance of sweet and sour, thanks to a good ratio of natural sugars and organic acids. You could top the custard filled tarts with any kind of fresh berry you like. What makes this recipe so easy is that you mix the dough and the filling in a food processor. You could probably do it using a stand mixer if you prefer.



Blackberry Mini Tarts
Makes 36

Crust;
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt

2 6-oz packages blackberries, each berry cut into two or three pieces

Heat oven to 325°F. Combine flour, butter, cream cheese and salt in food processor. Blend until dough forms a ball.

Divide dough into 36 equal pieces. Place 1 piece of dough into each ungreased mini muffin pan cup. Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of cup or use a pastry tamper! Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile in a bowl or food processor, cream together the sugar and butter then mix in egg, vanilla and salt. Spoon about a teaspoon into each tart crust then bake another 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden and the top of the custard begins to brown. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes then remove from pans using a knife if necessary. Place about 3 pieces of berry in each tart shell.

Enjoy!

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION! ©2011 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may NOT be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If you are reading this post somewhere other than Cooking with Amy, the Oyster Local blog or Gather.com, then the site where you found this post is illegally publishing copyrighted material.