Tacos!

So, we decided to make last night Taco Thursday. John likes soft-shelled tacos, and I prefer hard shells usually. We didn't have any shells in the apartment yesterday so I decided to give making my own flour tortillas a whirl. They worked out pretty well to be fair, and they were lots yummier than the ones you buy at the store (especially as you can't get anywhere near authentic Mexican in Birmingham, UK!)

Next time, I think I'll try making some corn tortillas as I got the value bag of cornmeal/polenta last time I was at the Asian grocery store (oh Pak, we love you...)

We also made our own spice mix instead of buying one from the store...it was pretty good (actually a Fajita spice mixture). The only difference to make it taco seasoning would be to add Paprika.

Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin ground
1/2 teaspoon Oregano dried, crushed
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Red pepper ground (chili powder..we probably used 1/2 t, we like it spicy!!)
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper ground
1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon Onion powder

Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe
2 cups of white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.

Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough.

The dough will be sticky.

Kneading The Dough
Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough.
Kneading is done by pushing the dough with the heals and palms of both hands down onto the board. Fold the dough back onto itself, give a quarter turn and push again with the palms and heels of your hands. Just repeat the process of pressing, folding and turning for about 4 or 5 minutes. Add a dusting of flour when the dough gets sticky.

If the dough sticks to the cutting board while kneading, scrape up the dough and dust the board with a little flour and continue kneading.

Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.

Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.

Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Rolling The Tortillas

Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. You really can't beat cast iron pans for even heat distribution and their ability to withstand high heat without warping.

Lightly dust your wooden cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

It's difficult to roll out a perfectly round tortilla so if that is important to you, you can always trim the tortilla with a knife.

I like their irregular homemade looking shape. No one can mistake these for store bought, especially when you taste them.

Cooking The Tortillas
Back to the flour tortilla recipe...
Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds.
Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft.
Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

Come Dine with ME!!!

So, we had some friends over for dinner the other night. The menu was as follows below. It was sooo tasty, I particularly liked the red onion marmalade with the homemade toast and chicken liver pate. Chicken livers were a new concept to me, and next time, I won't cook the pate as long as it was a little dry, but all the tastes were there in all the right places!


Soup:-
Roasted red pepper and tomato soup

Starters:-
Homemade wholewheat bread, toasted
Chicken liver pate
Red onion marmalade

Main:-
Individual chicken pie with puff pastry topping
Dauphinoise potatoes
Filo pastry baskets filled with veg (brocolli, chanternay carrots, zuccini)

Dessert:-
Individual lemon cream tarts
Chocolate chip cheesecake

Recipes below:-

Chicken Liver Pate:-
Ing:
1 teaspoon butter or stick margarine
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 ounces chicken livers
2 tablespoons port or other sweet red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash of ground cinnamon
Dash of ground allspice
1 tablespoon low-fat sour cream
1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, cubed and softened
Cooking spray
Method:-
Preheat oven to 325°.
Melt butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 4 minutes. Add chicken livers; cook 2 minutes or until livers lose their pink color. Add port, and cook 3 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates. Cool.
Place chicken liver mixture, salt, and next 5 ingredients (salt through allspice) in a food processor or blender; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add the sour cream, chicken breast, and cream cheese; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Spread chicken mixture into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 170°. Cool; cover and chill 8 hours. Serve at room temperature.

Red Onion Marmalade:-
Ingrediants (NB: I scaled this down to about 1/4, it worked perfect for serving 6)
2kg red onions or regular onions
4 garlic cloves
140g butter
4 tbsp olive oil
140g golden caster sugar
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
75cl bottle red wine (I used sweet)
350ml sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
200ml port (I didn't have this, so I just used sweet red wine throughout)

Method:-

1. Halve and thinly slice the onions, then thinly slice the garlic. Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a high heat. Tip in the onions and garlic and give them a good stir so they are glossed with butter. Sprinkle over the sugar, thyme leaves, chilli flakes if using and some salt and pepper. Give everything another really good stir and reduce the heat slightly. Cook uncovered for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions are ready when all their juices have evaporated, they're really soft and sticky and smell of sugar caramelising. They should be so soft that they break when pressed against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Slow cooking is the secret of really soft and sticky onions, so don't rush this part.

2. Pour in the wine, vinegar and port and simmer everything, still uncovered, over a high heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring every so often until the onions are a deep mahogany colour and the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds. It's done when drawing a spoon across the bottom of the pan clears a path that fills rapidly with syrupy juice. Leave the onions to cool in the pan, then scoop into sterilised jars and seal. Can be eaten straight away, but keeps in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Dauphinoise Potatoes:-
Ing:-
900 g King Edward Potatoes
2 Shallots, finely chopped (I used white onions as I couldn't get shallots, I'm sure shallots would be better, but this worked just fine)
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
25g Butter
400ml double cream
400ml full-fat Milk (I used semi-skim/2% milk because I think whole milk is pretty gross)
50g Cheddar cheese, grated (I used reduced-fat cheddar because it's always good to cut calories when you can)
100g Mozzarella
Method:-
1. Peel and slice the potatoes as thinly as you can; a mandolin is a handy gadget to use for this.
2. In a large saucepan, lightly fry the shallots and garlic in the butter for 1-2 minutes. Add the milk and cream and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the potatoes to the pan and continue simmering for about 8-10 minutes until they're tender.
4. Preheat a grill to hot.
5. Season well and tip the potatoes into a heatproof serving dish. Scatter over the grated Cheddar, and break the mozzarella into bite-sized pieces and dot over the surface.
6. Place the dish under a hot grill for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese and colour the surface. Serve straight away.

Filo Baskets:-
I just lined cupcake tins with 2 small squares of store-bought filo, then baked until crispy. I put the prepared veg in them just before serving. NB: When boiling veg like brocolli or carrots, put in a dash of baking soda- this keeps the veg brights and stops them losing all their color.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake:-
Ing:-
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used Oreo cookies, without the lard, smashed up)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I omitted this as I used Oreos)
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (I used the Light version)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Method:-

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Mix graham cracker crumbs (Oreo), sugar, butter and cocoa (I Omit). Press onto bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Set crust aside.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk; beat well. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat on medium speed until smooth. Toss 1/3 (I used 1/2) of the miniature chocolate chips with the 1 teaspoon flour to coat (this keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Mix into cheese mixture. Pour into prepared crust. Sprinkle top with remaining chocolate chips.

Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 1 hour. Turn off oven (do not open oven door) and leave the cake in the oven to cool in the oven for another hour. Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate before removing sides of pan. Keep cake refrigerated until time to serve.

Lemon Tart:- Stolen from http://www.mytartelette.com/
Ing:-
For the tart shells:
1 stick plus 1 Tb. butter, cut in small pieces
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
In a food processor, pulse all the dry ingredients. Add the butter and pulse again. Add the egg yolk and pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.Roll between sheets of plastic wrap and cut out circles larger than your tart shells, fit the dough into the molds and cut out the excess. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.Because the dough has a tendency to puff up, I take the shells out halfway through the baking process and pat the bottoms flat with the back of a spoon.

For the lemon cream:
1 cup sugar
zest of 3 lemons
4 eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 sticks butter, cut into 1 inch pieces, softened

Make a water bath by putting a saucepan of water over heat to simmer and placing a metal bowl over, without the bottom touching the water. Rub the sugar and lemon zest with your fingers and add to the metal bowl. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice.Cook the mixture over the water bath, whisking constantly until the cream reaches 180 degrees. It can take up to 10 minutes.Once the cream reaches 180 (your whisk will leave ribbon tracks in the cream),remove the cream off the heat and put it into a blender. Let the cream cool to 140.Add in the butter and process until perfectly smooth.Pour into a container, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble the tarts by spooning the cream into the refrigerated tart shells.


All of these recipes were pretty easy and SUPER YUMMY!!!

Pizza Pizza!!

So the other day John and I decided to make our own pizzas, and they were really yummy! (despite the fact that John put tuna on his. gross.)

The recipe for the bade was dead simple:-

375g (13 oz) plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
7g (1/4 oz) dried active baking yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
225ml (8 fl oz) warm water (45 C)

It's really good because you don't have to wait for the dough to rise or anything...it's no Lou Malnati's Chicago-style, but it was pretty good for a simple dinner.

For the sauce, we just did:-

1 can chopped toms
1/2 tube tomato paste (probably a little more)
Fresh basil (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
dried Oregano (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
Dash sugar
dash salt
1 clove minced garlic.

Simples. :)

PICKLES!!!

Someone needs to find this girl kosher-style dill pickles, and it needs to happen quickly, otherwise she's going to go CRAZY!!

Following my last pickle-related blog, I have tried making my own. I know it's not been the full 8 weeks yet, and they have a hint of a smell that's kind of something like a pickle, but they're not anywhere near correct.

I went to the grocery store and tried to find something similar. The first try were Polish dill pickles. They were whole pickles, not spears (not that it matters). The brand was called Krakus, they were dill pickles in brine. It said garlic in the ingredients. But noooooo, they were not dill pickled. Me= very disappointed.

Next, I went today to another grocery store to try Mrs Elswood pickles (I'd read that these were similar to American Koshers). Again, I was disappointed. They tasted like the small pickles you get in the states on relish trays. Not dills. Me= Sad and still very disappointed.

I would even LOVE some pickle-flavored Pringles, or a big vat of McDonald's pickles!! Anything!

Alas, still nothing. Sad face for now! :(

On the hunt....

For Kosher-style dill pickles!!! You simply cannot get the savoury/spicey flavor that is a kosher dill in the UK. This has caused me an abundance of greif and heartache over the past nearly 4 years of living here. After trying many a pickled cucumber here, which ALWAYS turn out sweet even if they specifically state AMERICAN STYLE SPICY PICKLE, I've decided to take matters into my own hands.

After all, it's too expensive to get friends and family to regularly send me the crispy spears which I adore so much, and it's not an option to bring back enough jars to last me until my next trip every time I return to the states. So, I've decided to make my own.

I bought a large glass jar (previously used by my boyfriend for pickled eggs-gross), and went a googling. This is the recipe I decided to try out:-


8 pounds 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers
4 cups white vinegar
12 cups water
2/3 cup pickling salt
16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
8 sprigs fresh dill weed
8 heads fresh dill weed


Wash cucumbers, and place in the sink with cold water and lots of ice cubes. (NB: I didn't do this, as I didn't have the patience and couldn't be bothered. It's meant to keep the pickles crispy, so I suspect that this will be a complaint of mine when I get to finally taste the pickles. Meh, live and learn)

Soak in ice water for at least 2 hours but no more than 8 hours. Refresh ice as required.

Sterilize 8 (1 quart ) canning jars and lids in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. (NB: I used my large jar with an air-tight seal, so omitted this step. Had I not, it would be a very important step)

In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and coarse salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil. (I boiled water in a kettle, and added the other ingredients to a jar full of cucumbers instead)

In each jar, place 2 half-cloves of garlic (I used about 2 tablespoons of minced "fridge garlic"- I like mine with a lot of garlic!), one head of dill (I didn't have this, so I just used lots of dried dill), then enough cucumbers to fill the jar (about 1 pound). Then add 2 more garlic halves, and 1 sprig of dill. Fill jars with hot brine. I also chucked in one chopped jalepeno for extra zing (with seeds) and some black peppercorns..

Seal jars, making sure you have cleaned the jar's rims of any residue. Process sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes. Store pickles for a minimum of 8 weeks before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place.

Obviously, I haven't tried them yet, but they smell pretty dang good. I'll keep you posted in the upcoming weeks. I have a feeling I won't be able to wait the full 8 weeks before trying them...:)

Crock Pot Chicken Cassarole!!

So, I got this new slow cooker just after Christmas and I LOVE it!! However, I usually only make a few things in it- Beef Stew, Chicken Soup, or Chili.

I had some bone in chicken pieces this weekend so decided to try this bad boy out:-

*Chicken:- thighs, legs, etc. (however many you want, I used about 6-8 pieces)
*Potatoes:- about 3 big-ish ones, cut into chunks
* 3 small red onions, cut into chunks
* 3 carrotts, cut into chunks
* Chicken stock ( I used approx. 1 tblspn powder, or approx. 1 stock cube)
* 1/3-1/2 bottle white wine (I used pino grigio, but only because I've only got dry white in stock)
*2 Tblspn strong yellow mustard (I used english mustard)
*2 cloves minced Garlic
*herbs to taste (I used thyme & provencial herbs, approx 1/2 tablespoon each)

Remove the skin from the chicken (this isn't entirely necessary, but it prevents the cassarole from havng extra fat). Then brown in a pan with the red onion and the garlic.

If using a stock cube, dissolve it in your 2 cups of (boiling) water. If using liquid stock or powdered stock, I don't think this is necessary.

Chuck ingrediants into your slow cooker. I put the potatoes and carrots on the bottom because I read somewhere that putting meat on the bottom can cause it to burn a bit. Otherwise, throw everything in together (herbs, mustard, chicken, veg., stock, water, wine, etc.).

My slow cooker only has 2 settings, High or Low. I cooked on High for 2 hours, and then turned it down to low for about 4-5 more hours. If you're working or out during the day, chuck it on low or medium for the whole day.

This had a lot of juice for me, so I ended up using a ladel to get a bit out. I made some couscous wth the extra stock/juices from the slow cooker, along with another chopped red onion and some herbs. I cooked this in the oven for 30 minutes (not necessary for the couscous as the liquid cooks it, but it gives is a better texture- nice and moist and a little crispy, with the onions cooking nicely in it).

I served the couscous as a base for the chicken cassarole and had a simple salad on the side. This is super easy and yummy to do for dinner, and I have most of the ingredients in the kitchen all the time.

Enjoy!! :)

First Entry- Woooooo!

Hi and Happy Tuesday!!

So, I'm pretty new to this, but thought I'd use it as a place to share recipes, tecniques, ideas, etc. and get some feedback! Feel free to critique or explore ways to make things better!