Christmas Mince Pies

Happy Christmas and New Year to all!  

During this time of year, baking is a huge tradition in my family.  Mince pies are a typical English food made for Christmas and New Year and are adored by all.  Traditionally, these pies were made with chopped meat, however this was replaced with a mixture of dried fruit, spices, nuts, suet, and alcohol (brandy or rum) in the 17th century.  British children leave these pies, along with a glass of sherry and a carrot for Rudolph, on the fireplace for Santa to enjoy after leaving their presents under the Christmas tree.

Ingredients

4 oz margarine

8 oz flour

Pinch of salt

8-10 tsp water

18 tsp mincemeat

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp icing sugar

Directions

1. Place margarine, flour, and salt in a large bowl.  Cut margarine into smaller pieces and use the rubbing method: rub mixture between fingertips until crumbly with no large clumps.

2. Add 8 teaspoons water and form pastry into a ball (typically 1 teaspoon of water for every ounce of flour).

3. Sprinkle additional flour on counter top and rolling pin to prevent pastry from sticking.  Roll pastry until approximately 1/8 inch thick.

4. Use a circular cutter to cut 18 pie bases.  Place in a greased cupcake pan. 

5. Place 1 teaspoon mincemeat into each base.

6. Roll leftover pastry pieces together and again roll to 1/8 inch thick.  Use a smaller circular cutter to make the tops of the pies.  Press the base and top firmly together.

7. Poke 1 small hole in the middle of each pie.  With leftover pastry, use a holly shaped cutter to add decoration, if desired.

8. Brush beaten egg on each pie to aid in the cooking process.

9. Place in oven at 400F for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until pies are golden brown.

10. Allow pies to cool and sprinkle them with icing sugar for decoration.

11. Enjoy with a well deserved glass of sherry!

Yield: approx. 18 pies

TIPS

- If pastry breaks and will not roll into a ball, add 10 teaspoons of water instead of 8.

- Although this mincemeat is the same brand used throughout UK, it is actually produced for the American market and is more syrupy and sweeter than traditional mincemeat.  I found this one at my local HyVee store.
- If desired, make one large mince pie instead of small, individual pies.

Bon appétit!

Thanksgiving: Cauliflower Soup & Cranberry-Almond Crumble

Happy belated Thanksgiving!  I hosted my very first Thanksgiving this year, and thankfully everything turned out perfectly!  I have decided not to post about the turkey and all the trimmings as everybody already knows how to cook their favorite delights, so I am going to share my appetizer and dessert recipes.  These are both incredible easy and of course delicious, and are sure to add a little variety to your next Thanksgiving, or even a casual family dinner.

Ingredients for cauliflower soup

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into 1/2-1 inch florets

3 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped almonds

Pinch of oregano

Directions

1. Heat EVOO in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Add onion and garlic and heat for 5 minutes, or until soft.

3. Add cauliflower, apple, and almonds, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

4. Add broth and oregano, bringing mixture to a boil.

5. Cover pot and allow to simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.

6. Puree soup and serve with freshly ground pepper and a piece of artisan bread.
(Recipe adapted from foodandwine.com)

Serves 4 people

TIPS

- I was a little skeptical about the cauliflower soup, but it is far tastier than one may think!
- The original recipe calls for leeks, however the grocery store did not have any at the time, so I substituted with an onion.

Ingredients for cranberry-almond crumble

6 oz flour

3 oz butter, room temperature

2 oz sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra

Pinch salt

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and sliced

1 Honeycrisp apple, peeled and sliced

1 pear, peeled and sliced

6 oz fresh cranberries

1/4 cup chopped almonds
1-1 1/2 cups water

Directions

1. Place cranberries and water in small saucepan.  Cover saucepan and cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until soft and most of the water has evaporated.

2. Place flour in large bowl.  Cut butter into small pieces and add to flour.
3. Use the rubbing method: Rub mixture between fingertips until the mixture is crumbly with no large clumps.  Add sugar and salt, mix well.
4. Wash, peel, and slice apples and pear.  Lightly grease a 8x8 Pyrex dish, and evenly layer the fruit in the bottom.
5. Evenly place almonds and cranberries on top of the fruit.  Sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar on cranberries.
6. Top with crumble mixture and place in oven at 375F for 20 minutes, or until crumble is a light brown color.

7. Remove from oven and enjoy warm or cold with vanilla ice cream or plain yogurt.

Serves approx. 10 people

TIPS

- In the first step, cranberries should only just be covered, they should not be swimming in the water.
- Additional sugar is sprinkled on the cranberries to offset their tartness.
- Leftovers store well in the fridge in a covered container.

Bon appétit!

Tilapia and Rice with Oven Roasted Vegetables and Baked Apples

It's getting colder, the leaves are changing colors, and Thanksgiving is upon us!  So I thought I should start by getting into the autumn mood for dinner.  Now, I am unsure if tilapia actually counts as an autumn food, but at least my dessert did!  Both dinner and dessert were fairly quick and easy, so dinner was ready in no time at all.

Ingredients for tilapia

2 fillets tilapia
4 oz brown rice
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp crumbled blue cheese
1 stick celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 bell pepper, sliced
1/4 onion, sliced
1/2 sweet potato, sliced
1/3 cup peanuts
Splash lemon juice

Directions

1. Cook brown rice according to manufacturer directions.
2. Wash and slice vegetables and place in roasting dish along with peanuts and 2 tsp EVOO.
3. Cook vegetables at 400F for 20-25 minutes.
4. 5 minutes before rice and vegetables are to be cooked, heat 2 tsp EVOO in pan.
5. Sprinkle cumin, salt, and pepper over tilapia.
6. Place tilapia in pan and cook for approximately 2 minutes or until opaque on both sides.  Splash a little lemon juice over fish halfway through cooking.
7. Divide rice and vegetables and top with fish.
8. Enjoy with a well deserved glass of wine!
(Recipe adapted from marthastewart.com)

Serves 2 people

TIPS

- Use your favorite vegetables and herbs to season the tilapia. 

Ingredients for baked apples

2 apples, diced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp brown sugar
Splash lemon juice

Directions

1. Wash and dice your favorite apples and place in pyrex dish. 
2. Add remaining ingredients to apples and toss well.
3. Place in oven at 375F for approximately 20-25 minutes until soft and juicy.
4. Enjoy this perfect autumn dessert alone, with ice cream, or with yogurt.
(Recipe adapted from PBS.org)
Serves 2 people

TIPS

- PBS also suggested eating the apples as a side dish with roast beef.

Bon appétit!

Bailey's Irish Cream No Bake Cheesecake

Nothing gets much better than the words: Bailey's Irish Cream, cheesecake, and 5 minutes!  This fast dessert is a great idea for pot luck parties!

Ingredients

12 muffin cases
12 plain cookies
8 oz cream cheese
7 oz ricotta cheese
1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Cream plus 12 tsp extra
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, sieved
36 blueberries

Directions

1. Place muffin cases in muffin tin.
2. Place cookies upside down in cases (bottom facing up).

3. Drizzle 1 tsp Bailey's Irish Cream on each cookie.
4. Place cream cheese, ricotta cheese, remaining Bailey's Irish Cream, and confectioners' sugar into bowl.  Mix until all ingredients are combined and the texture is fluffy.
5. Place mixture on top of cookis.
6. Put in fridge and serve within 1-2 hours.  Before serving, place 3 blueberries on top of each cheesecake.
7. Enjoy at a BBQ or afternoon tea!
(recipe adapted from thestonesoup.com)

Serves 12 people

TIPS

- The original recipe called for digestive biscuits, however these are hard to come by in the U.S.  I found that coconut macaroons work great!
- The cookies may be too large for the cases.  If this occurs, simply trim the edges of the cookie using a knife.
- Consume within one day as cookies become soggy from the Bailey's Irish Cream.

Bon Appétit!

Carrot-Zucchini Bars with Lemon Frosting

Remember all of the frosting I made for the lemon blueberry cupcakes which I froze and used for the lemon Victoria sponge cake??  Yes, you guessed it, I still had some lingering in the freezer waiting to be used.  I found a tasty looking recipe on Pinterest  ̶  thanks to a couple of my friends, I am now obsessed with this site  ̶  which called for lemon frosting.  This is also a great recipe to sneak in some extra vegetables for the veggie hater in the family!

Ingredients for bars

2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups carrot, shredded
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla.  

3. Fold in the carrot, zucchini, and pecans.

4. Combine flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda in separate bowl, blend well.

5. Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir until combined.

6. Spread batter into 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

7. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

8. Remove from pan and allow to cool on wire rack.

9. Once cool, prepare frosting and spread over cake.  Cut into bars.  

10. Store in airtight container in cupboard.

(recipe adapted from http://realmomkitchen.com)

Serves 20 people

TIPS

- Use your favorite nut to replace pecans.

- When using a glass pan, be sure to grease it and line the bottom with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Ingredients for frosting

4oz. cream cheese

2 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sieved

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Zest of 1 large lemon

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until combined and smooth.

2. Mix lemon juice and lemon zest.

3. Add sieved confectioners' sugar and mix well until smooth.

(frosting recipe adapted from annies-eats.com)

Bon appétit!

Delicia de Coco

Dulce de leche.  Nobody loves this sweet, decadent food more than this girl!  I became exposed to dulce de leche (translation: sweet milk) while studying abroad in Argentina, where everybody bakes  it into their desserts.  From a dulce de leche Starbucks frapp to Freddo ice cream, I soon realized that the Argentines do exactly what the Americans do with peanut butter...they put it in EVERYTHING.  Now, while I am totally flumoxed by Americans' strange love affair with peanut butter, I was the last to complain when dulce de leche was somehow incorporated into my meal. 

This recipe is my host-mother's and is to die for!  Since I had limited access to a couple of the ingredients, I improvised.  I was unable to find plain, coconut cookies, so I used coconut macaroons instead.  As for the main ingredient, I brought a small tub of dulce de leche home with me.  But for everybody else who do not wish to travel 5000 miles to buy some, it can be purchased through Amazon.  I have also been told that it can be found in some Dillons grocery stores in the international aisle, and Pinterest has a recipe to make your own -- I will have to try the recipe when I have eaten all I brought home.

Ingredients

Base:
8 oz coconut macaroon cookies
4 oz melted butter

Filling:
1/2 a 400g jar of dulce de leche

Topping:
3 oz grated coconut
4 oz sugar
1 egg

Directions

1. Crush cookies into breadcrumbs (I used a large zip-loc bag and crushed them with a rolling pin).

2. Melt butter in microwave and add to cookies.  Mix well.

3. Press mixture into a cake tin/sheet (I used a 9 x 9 pan).
4. Cover base with dulce de leche,  spreading with a spatula moistened with water to prevent sticking.

5. Beat together egg, sugar, and grated cocount.  Spread on top of dulce de leche.
6. Bake at 400F for approx. 20 minutes or until light brown.
7. Cut into squares.  Cover and store in fridge when cool.

Serves 20 people

Bon Appétit!

Lemon Victoria Sponge Cake with White Chocolate

Several weeks ago, I made lemon blueberry cupcakes and made far too much lemon frosting, so I froze the leftovers, ready for my next sweet tooth craving. 

In order to use the frosting before I leave the parentals for the bright lights of Kansas City, I decided to make the classic Victoria sponge cake, but instead of chocolate  ̶  my favorite  ̶  I added lemon to tie in with the flavor of the frosting.  I used the lemon frosting to sandwich the two sponges together and melted white chocolate chips to place on top of the cake to please the choc-lover in the family.

The cake was light and delicious!  It is a very easy recipe  ̶  I have been making Victoria sponge cakes since I was 5 (with a little help from Mum)  ̶  and requires no special ingredients.  Enjoy with afternoon tea or, more decadently, with a glass of dessert wine after dinner!

Lemon sponge ingredients

4 oz margarine
4 oz sugar, sieved
4 oz self rising flour, sieved
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Grease two 7-inch round cake pans around bottom and sides.
2. Draw around bases of each pan on parchment paper.  Cut out circles and place on bottom of pan.
3. Beat margarine and sugar in large bowl until color of mixture is almost white.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Fold in flour, salt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and juice with a metal spoon.
6. Separate mixture evenly between two pans and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.  Use listening test to determine if cake is cooked.*

7. Once cooked, use spatula to loosen sides of cake and tip pan over onto wire cooling rack with bottom of cake facing upwards.

8. Slowly remove parchment paper from sponge and allow to cool.
9. Prepare lemon frosting and sandwich two sponges together.
10. Melt 4 oz white chocolate (I did not have any white cooking chocolate and used chips) and pour over top.  Allow to set.

* Listening test: Place sponge close to ear.  If a faint popping noise can still be heard, leave sponge in oven for another 1-2 minutes.

Serves 8 people

TIPS 

- I have yet to find a 7-inch round cake pan in the U.S., but a standard 8-inch works well.
- Fresh lemon (grated rind and squeezed juice) is a superior taste than commercial lemon juice.
- Place bowl of water in electric oven to add moisture to the air and prevent cakes drying out.
- White cooking chocolate is easier to work with than white chocolate chips.
- If chocolate is microwaved too long and the consistency hardens and becomes thick, slowly beat in small amounts of vegetable oil until the mixture becomes liquid again. 

Lemon frosting ingredients

4oz cream cheese
2 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sieved
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon

Directions

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until combined and smooth.
2. Mix lemon juice and lemon zest.
3. Add sieved confectioners' sugar and mix well until smooth.
4. Sandwich both sponges together.
(frosting recipe adapted from annies-eats.com)

 Bon appétit!