Bubble and Squeak

The day after Christmas, or boxing day to me, means one thing - bubble and squeak for dinner.  I know that here in the states the 26th isn't boxing day, but I still try and keep all my English traditions alive and this is one of my favourites.  Growing up in England I think I enjoyed boxing day dinner much more than actual Christmas day dinner, I have a lot of wonderful memories of that day and that meal that are so special to me now that I live far away from home and far away from anyone who shares or even understands those traditions.  Bubble and squeak is simply all the leftover potatoes and vegetables from Christmas dinner all mixed together and fried, it is said to be named after the sounds it makes while frying in the pan. 

Leftover roast or mashed potatoes
Leftover carrots/parsnips/sprouts/cabbage - whatever veg you have will work
2 tbsp butter

Mix together the potatoes and vegetables together in a bowl.  Heat the butter in a large pan, add the vegetable mixture, fry until golden brown on each side.

SRC - Hot Cross Buns

Time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal, and due to some computer problems this is my first reveal for 2015. This month I was assigned the blog  searching for spice  by Corina and immediately I was very excited to see lots of familiar English recipes.  I was tempted by Jamie Oliver's favourite chicken curry because I do love a good curry, but after finding the hot cross buns  I was sold on making some.  

I have had one complaint with the hot cross buns I have found here in the states... they all have crosses made out of icing.  The only way to eat a hot cross bun in my opinion is toasted and buttered, throw a slice of english cheddar on there and and it's even better, but toasted is a must, and that's why I have issues with the icing crosses.  So I was very excited to see that Corina's recipe had the crosses made the traditional way with flour and water and baked onto the bun.

After looking at the recipe I realised that one thing missing that I know is in English buns was mixed peel.  Now I know I am not going to find that here in Houston, and I also couldn't find currants, so I had to make do with lemon and orange zest and raisins.  I was definitely concerned that the substitutions would affect the flavour, but as soon as I started kneading the dough I could smell that familiar hot cross bun smell.  I knew they would be good, and I have definitely been enjoying my first batch of toasted Emglish hot cross buns in 13 years!

500g plain flour
300ml whole milk
75g sugar
7g yeast
50g butter
1 egg beaten
zest of an orange
zest of a lemon
150g sultanas/raisins
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
apricot jam for glazing

Crosses:
2 tbsp flour
Water

Bring the milk to a boil, remove from heat and leave until just warm.  Add the yeast and sugar.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, butter and egg.  Slowly add the milk mixture until a soft dough forms.

Add the sultanas/raisins, orange and lemon zests and cinnamon.  
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and leave to rise for one hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back, tip out onto a floured surface and divide into 12 pieces, roll each onto a ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Leave to rise for 1 more hour.

Heat the oven to 350.

To make the crosses mix the flour with enough water to make a thick paste, pipe the crosses onto the buns and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Melt some apricot jam and once the buns come out of the oven, glaze them with the warm jam.   

    
 

An InLinkz Link-up

SRC - Kentish Pie

Time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal.  This month I was assigned the blog Sids Sea Palm Cooking.  The first thing I noticed was that she loved to entertain and her monthly tapas nights look like so much fun and all her little appetizers look delicious.  I definitely found some very unique recipes, like the bologna cake.  However as soon as I saw the Kentish pie  I was immediately intrigued... did it mean Kent as in the county of Kent in England? It turns out that's exactly where this pie is from, and as that is where I am also from I knew I had to give it a try.  I lived in various places in Kent (Whitstable, Walderslade and Canterbury) from the age of 7 to 22 when I moved to America, but I had never heard of this pie before.  After reading through the recipe it appeared to be like a quiche with apples and a top crust, and as I love quiche I couldn't wait to try it.

I took a little help from the store and used store bought pastry and the rest of the filling came together in a few minutes, so this was a really quick and easy recipe to make and it turns out it is also really good! so thank you so much for introducing me to a pie from Kent and giving me a little taste of home thousands of miles away in another country!

Also, please excuse the pictures, my camera finally died and I am stuck using the iphone, here's hoping father christmas brings me a new camera this year!

2 sheets of pie crust
8 eggs
12 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
3 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 350.

unroll the pastry sheet and place it in the bottom of a pie pan.  Put some parchment paper over the crust and fill with dried beans, bake for 15 minutes and set aside.

In a large bowl beat the 8 eggs together and stir in the heavy cream and black pepper.

In the bottom of the pie shell place half the bacon, followed by half the cheese and half the apples, then repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Pour the beaten eggs over the filling, top with the second sheet of pie crust and use a knife to remove any excess pastry, cut a few slits in the pastry then brush with the beaten egg yolk, bake for 50 minutes.

     

An InLinkz Link-up

Sausage Casserole

Sausage casserole was another dish I used to eat growing up and because we always made it with a tin of heinz baked beans, anytime I make sausage casserole now I have to include them. 

It isn't easy for me to find English sausages here in Houston, so unfortunately I have to take what I can get and they aren't anything close to as good as the sausages back home. 

6 English pork sausages
1 onion
8 oz mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp worcester sauce
1 tsp italian seasoning
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tin of heinz baked beans
salt and pepper

Brown the sausages in a little oil, place in a casserole dish.

Add in the diced onion and sliced mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, paprika, italian seasoning, sugar, worcester sauce, baked beans, chicken stock and salt and pepper. 

Pour the sauce over the sausages and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Golden Syrup Steamed Sponge Pudding

Growing up my mum had a collection of Delia Smith books and if ever there was any kind of cooking question, her immediate response was always "what does Delia say" so it only seemed natural that if I was going to make such a classic English pudding that I would use a Delia recipe.

It has been such a long time since I have eaten a steamed pudding and it just so happened that the day my new pudding basin arrived in the mail, was the day that everything in Houston shut down because of ice, so Randal was home and I had no daycare kids, so I put my new pudding basin to good use straight away.

I served this steamed pudding with birds custard, now of course it would be much better to make my own custard and I have done that before, but that day I was recreating an old childhood favourite and my mum always used the birds custard powder.

3 tbsp golden syrup
6 oz self raising flour
6 oz light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp golden syrup

Butter a 1.2 litre pudding basin then add in the 3 tablespoons of golden syrup. 

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.  Add the softened butter, eggs, sugar and the one tablespoon of golden syrup.  Beat the mixture until completely combined then spoon into the pudding basin.

Take some grease proof paper larger than the pudding basin, cover that with foil, make a pleat in the middle and place foil side up over the pudding.  Tie string over the foil and take the string over the top and tying on the other side to make a handle for lifting the pudding.

Place the pudding in a large pot, fill half way up the pudding basin with boiling water, cover and let simmer for 2 hours.  Check the water level often to make sure the pot doesn't boil dry.

Cauliflower Cheese

Cauliflower cheese is quintessentially British.  I grew up eating it but I haven't made it in many years and thanks to an enormous cauliflower I bought last week I decided to give an old favourite recipe a try again.

1 cauliflower
2 oz butter
2 oz all purpose flour
1 tsp colemans mustard powder
1 pint milk
2 oz cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup panko

Steam the cauliflower for 10 minutes.

In a large pan, melt the butter, add the flour and cook for a minute before slowly adding the milk.  Once combined add in the mustard powder, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Continue stirring until the sauce comes to a boil.  Reduce heat and add the cheese and stir until the cheese has melted.

Place the cauliflower into a large baking dish and pour the cheese sauce over the top.  Top with the panko and some extra grated cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Sticky toffee pudding is usually a steamed British pudding, but I thought it was about time I made it into a cupcake. For the frosting I went with my favourite swiss meringue buttercream but this time I made it with brown sugar.  I just love these cupcakes, they are full of dates with that brown sugar buttercream and a caramel drizzle, so good!

Cupcakes:
3oz unsalted  butter
5oz  light muscovado sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp coffee extract
6oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
6oz stoned dates, roughly chopped
3oz walnuts, roughly chopped
6fl oz hot water

Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Put the butter, sugar, eggs, coffee extract, flour, and baking powder into a large bowl. Beat well until and thoroughly blended.

Add in the dates, walnuts and hot water.  Stir until combined and divide between cupcake liners.

Bake for 22-24 minutes.

Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
5 large egg whites
1 2/3 cups light brown sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter
pinch of salt

To make the frosting, put a few inches of water in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Put the egg whites, salt and sugar into a bowl that will fit over the pan of water and whisk until it reaches 150 degrees and the sugar has all melted. Transfer mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk on medium speed until the bowl feels cold (this can take up to 10 minutes) add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time and beat untilfrosting is smooth.

Linked to  made in a day, miz helen's country cottage,

Beef and Beer Stew with Herb Dumplings

No matter how many times I try I still can't quite make beef stew the way my mum makes it. I really wasn't expecting this stew to taste like hers, because there was certainly no beer in hers and no herbs in the suet dumplings. However, I was totally surprised that this stew turned out to taste almost the same as my mum's.

1 lb stewing beef, cubed
1 onion
3 carrots, sliced
3 parsnips, sliced
1 swede, cubed
5 red potatoes, cut in half
1 bottle of beer
1 small can tomato puree
4 cups beef stock
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp sage

Suet Dumplings:
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup suet
3 fl ox water
pinch of salt
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary

To make the stew, in a large pan heat the oil over high heat.  Brown the meat in small batches and set aside.  Cook the sliced onion in the same pot for a few minutes, then add the garlic, carrots, potatoes, parsnips and swede and fry for 5 minutes.  Add the beef back to the pan along with the flour.  Add the beer, beef stock, tomato paste and paprika, marjoram and sage.  Stir together, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1 to 2 hours.

To make the dumplings, combine the flour with the suet, salt, rosemary, thyme and water.  Mix to form a dough and divide into 8 balls.  Drop the dumplings on top of the stew, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Bombay Potatoes

One of the things I miss the most about England is all the great Indian food that is available. Here in Houston there just isn't the variety that there is back home, so if I want to eat it I have to find good recipes to make at Home.  These Bombay potatoes are a Jamie Oliver recipe and they are so, so good.

3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Pinch ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 knobs butter
6 potatoes, peeled, parboiled and cut into cubes
4 tomatoes, cores removed and flesh diced
Handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the spices for a few minutes. Add the butter, then the potatoes making sure they are completely coated in the spicy mixture. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and the coriander.

Beef Stew with Suet Dumplings

I grew up eating really amazing beef and lamb stews that my mum used to make.  I have tried many times over the years to make her stew but nothing tastes quite like the stews of my childhood.

I took inspiration for this stew from a Jamie Oliver recipe, so this isn't exactly the same as my mum's (hers doesn't have wine in it) and I changed up Jamie's recipe to include the vegetables we like.  You can make this stew on the stove or in a slow cooker, I usually make stew on the stove but I recently started doing in home daycare again and so I have been using my slow cooker more.

2 lbs stewing steak
1 onion
1/2 butternut squash peeled and diced
4 parsnips
4 small potatoes
4 carrots
1/2 bottle red wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups beef stock
1 tsp worcester sauce
1 garlic clove
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper

Dumplings
4 oz self raising flour
2 oz vegetable suet
3 tbsp water
salt

Place the sliced onion, butternut squash, peeled and quartered potatoes and peeled and sliced carrots into the bottom of the slow cooker, season with salt and pepper.  Add in the tomato paste, minced garlic, rosemary and worcester sauce.

Cube the beef and add it to the slow cooker, season with salt and pepper, pour over the red wine and beef stock.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

To make the dumpling, in a small bowl mix together the flour, suet and salt.  Add the water and mix until the dough is soft and slightly sticky, add more water if it seems too dry.  Divide into 8 balls, and add to the top of the stew, place the lid back on the slow cooker and leave to cook for 20 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Lemon Curd

I made this lemon curd for a raspberry lemon cake I was baking. I love lemon curd, it definitely reminds me of England and this recipe from Sarabeth's Bakery is really easy to make and the end result was a great lemon curd.

4 lemons
10 large egg yolks
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened

Zest the lemons, set aside the zest then cut the lemons in half and juice them.  There should be around 2/3 cup of lemon juice.

In a large heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest.  Place over a saucepan of simmering water, cook the curd and stir often until it thickens and reaches 185 degrees, will take about 10 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into a medium bowl.  Gradually whisk in the butter a tablespoon at a time.  Press a piece of cling film directly over the curd, pierce a few holes in it to allow steam to escape and leave to cool.  Once the curd has cooled transfer it to a covered container and refrigerate.

Fish and Chips

Last Saturday was the first new doctor who episode of the year, so I thought a nice English dinner of fish and chips would be perfect. I looked around at lots of different recipes for the batter and they were all quite similar, however the garlic parsley chips from notions of a novice cook looked amazing, certainly nothing you would find in an English chippy though.  We had minted mushy peas with our fish and chips but curry sauce would have been equally as amazing and authentic, just don't forget the malt vinegar!

4 cod fillets
6 ounces plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 (8 fluid ounce) bottle british beer

juice of 1/2 a lemon

salt & pepper
extra flour

Garlic Parsley Chips

4 large potatoes

2 cloves garlic

fresh parsley

salt

Make the batter for the fish by putting the flour, baking soda, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Slowly stir in the beer and whisk until it is smooth.  Add in the lemon juice.

Dredge the fish in flour then coat in the batter and drop straight into a deep fat fryer heated to 375.  Fry for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

To make the chips, peel and chip the potatoes.  Cook them in a deep fat fryer at 320 for 3 or 4 minutes, long enough to soften the chips but not brown them.  Remove from the fryer, raise heat to 375.

While waiting for the fryer, finely chop the garlic and parsley and set aside.

Drop the chips back into the fryer and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, until golden brown.  When the chips are cooked, toss with the garlic and parsley and season with salt.

Cottage Pie

Growing up in England cottage pie was a staple in our house. This version is a little different than the one my mum used to make, I don't think hers included red wine but this is a great cottage pie recipe. I just wish I had remembered to take a picture of the inside!

3 tbsp. olive oil
2 lbs ground beef
2 onions, finely chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup red wine
3 cups beef stock
4 tbsp. Worcester sauce
Thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves

For the mash:
2 lbs potatoes
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter
1 cup cheddar cheese
Freshly grated nutmeg

Fry the beef until browned, drain and set aside. Put the oil into the pan, add the vegetables and cook on a gentle heat until soft, about 20 mins. Add the garlic, flour and tomato paste, increase the heat and cook for a few mins, then return the beef to the pan. Pour in the wine and boil to reduce it slightly before adding the stock, worcester sauce and thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 45 mins. Discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks.

To make the mash, in a large saucepan cover the potatoes in salted cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender. Drain well, then mash with the milk, butter, and three-quarters of the cheese, then season with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper.

Place the beef mixture into a large ovenproof dish, spoon the mash over the beef and sprinkle on the remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Scotch Broth

This soup just tastes like home to me, although it is a traditional Scottish soup.  I made it with beef because I had a lot of pot roast leftover, but this would be just as good if not better with lamb.

600g leftover roast beef or lamb         
1 leek, trimmed, washed and roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
2 onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
olive oil
3 litres beef stock
1 small swede, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large potato, peeled and roughly chopped
80 g pearl barley
salt and ground white pepper

Put the leek, celery, onions and carrots into a large saucepan, add a splash of olive oil and sweat them on a low heat for about 20 minutes, until they are softened and starting to sweeten. Add the beef stock and bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Add the swede, potato and pearl barley, then simmer slowly for a further 50 minutes.

Take the pot off the hob and whisk the broth quite hard to break down some of the potato and bind the soup together. Stir in the pieces of beef and season well with salt and white pepper.

Yorkshire Puddings

This year I really want to make more of an effort to make more traditional English food. Maybe it's because this May it will be 10 years since I left England for good, but I definitely feel less English as the years go by, my accent is so confused these days, it really is a mix of southern English and American and I have to make an effort to say things the English way and I don't like it. 

Anyway, these Yorkshire puddings were so good, I can't remember the last time I had them (probably the last time my Mum visited, 3 years ago) and they are so quick and easy to make, but like everything else it's been too easy to let go of all my English favourites and traditions, but I really am going to try to make more of an effort this year.

150 grams plain flour
313 ml milk
1 egg
Pinch of salt
Oil

Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, add the egg to the well and mix together.  Set aside for an hour.  Add half a teaspoon of oil to a muffin pan and put the tin into a 450 degree oven until the oil is very hot.  Removed from the oven, fill the muffin pan half way with batter and bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and crisp.

Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny is a spicy British soup that is flavoured with curry, ginger and coconut milk. I started out usuing a Gordon Ramsay recipe but it seems that each recipe for this soup is different, so I ended up combining the best bits of a number of recipes and the end result was a delicious soup!

1/4 cup butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp flour
2-3 tbsp grated ginger
1 grated green apple
3 cups chicken stock
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a pan and add the onion, carrot and celery and season with salt and pepper, cook for 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
Add the tomato paste, curry powder and flour, cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the ginger and apple and stir over a high heat for a few minutes, add in the chicken.
Add the stock and coconut milk and simmer until thickened. Add the rice and heat through. Season to taste.