Nothing Says 'I Love You' like Chocolate Raspberry Bars

I'm going to preface this blog post with an 'I'm sorry".  The reason I feel compelled to make this disclaimer is because these chocolate raspberry bars are awesome.  I'm talking "can't stop eating them, don't care if I become obese, sort of want to shrink myself to a miniature size and live in a giant box of these" good.   Now I like to think that my husband married me for many reasons, however I think the main reason was for my food.  Since this was our first Valentines day as a married couple, and we are broke and about to move, I wanted to find a way to say 'I love you' that was a littler more elaborate than our traditional Valentine's day breakfast, but that didn't involve spending any money.

Enter Melissa Clark. For those of you not acquainted, Melissa Clark is a food writer for the NY Times who writes an incredible column called A Good Appetite.  She always managed to make food that looks incredibly fancy and elegant and yet is so simple and easy to make at home without a ton of weird ingredients.  A few weeks ago she posted a recipe for dark chocolate cherry ganache bars which I absolutely HAD to try.  The only change I made was substituting cherry jam for raspberry jam, mainly because we still have jam left over from our wedding favors (how cute am I using our wedding jam in our valentines day dessert, and yes its ok to vomit at our cuteness) and I substituted raspberry vodka for the kirsch.  The result was devine!  The perfect treat for snuggling up with your special someone, just ask Marley!

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Bars (adapted from Melissa Clark)

150 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)

90 grams confectioners’ sugar (about 3/4 cup)

26 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

12 tablespoons cold salted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

52 grams rasberry jam (about 2 tablespoons but to be honest I didn't measure, I just used enough to cover the shortbread)

340 grams bittersweet chocolate, at least 62 percent, chopped (12 ounces)

2/3 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons raspberry vodka 

1. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and fine sea salt. Pulse in the butter and vanilla until the mixture just comes together into a smooth mass. You can also do this by hand by using your finger tips to work in the very cold butter. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment or wax paper. Press the dough into the pan. Prick all over with a fork. Chill for at least 20 minutes and up to 3 days.

2. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Bake the shortbread until firm to the touch and just beginning to pull away from the sides, 35 to 40 minutes.

3. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes on a wire rack. Brush jam over shortbread’s surface and let cool thoroughly.

4. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

5.  In a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the vodka. Spread over shortbread.  Cool to room temperature; cover and chill until firm. Slice and serve.

Pictures are courtesy of James Martin - using the camera he broke at our wedding just to bring these cookies full circle :-)

Roast Chicken with Honey Roast Parsnips

The British really love their weekend roasts and my husband is no exception to the rule.  Now I had never really grown up a roast girl.  We ate a lot of Mediterranean food growing up, a lot of asian, but never really did the whole roast meat with potato and veg thing.   I'll admit a giant slab of meat scares me a little bit - what if its too tough or how does it not dry out?  Plus I'm not a hugeeee red meat lover, its more of a special occasion kind of thing for me.

But in my quest to be a good wife I felt compelled to provide the hubby with something close enough to a roast to satisfy his craving, while at the same time keeping the red meat to a minimum.  The solution was simple - a roast chicken!  Its healthier, you can get a couple of meals out of 1 chicken, and you can make a delicious stock out of the carcass.  Paired with some roast sweet potato and parsnips you've got a classic meat, potato, veg combo but for way less the fat!  Bikini season of 2012 - here I come!

Now the trick to a good roast chicken is baste, baste, and baste some more.  Liquid is your friend, it adds flavor and keeps the bird from drying out.  Over the years I've tried a couple of different methods of getting a moist bird, but the one we tried last night was perfect; crisp skin, and deliciously moist meat.  In terms of seasoning I went with a BBQ flavor, but you could really do anything.  A bit of lemon juice and garlic is fresh and lovely, or rub a little miso paste on the skin to add a little asian flair.  That the beauty of chicken - it can take almost any flavor which means you never get bored of it!

BBQ Roast Chicken
1 whole chicken
Olive oil
Dry BBQ rub (I used Nando's bbq rub)
Salt
Pepper
1-2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup boiling water

1.  Preheat your oven to 350F (180C)
2.  Rinse your chicken and pat it dry, seasoning the cavity with salt and pepper and place in a shallow roasting tray.
3.  Rub a little olive oil all over the skin of the bird - dont forget to get the wings and the legs as well
4.  Gently slide your fingers under the skin and loosen the skin from the flesh.  Rub the BBQ seasoning all over the surface of the bird being sure to rub some under the skin.
5.  Put the chicken in the oven and cook for 15 minutes
6.  Add the butter and the water to the pan.  Cook for a further 15 minutes.
7.  Continue to cook the bird for the recommended length of time (it will vary depending on the size of the bird) being sure to baste every 15 minutes.  Mine took about 1 hour 45 minutes.  The bird is done when the juices run clear.
8.  Remove from the oven and allow the bird to rest for at least 10-15 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Honey Roast Parsnips
Parsnips
Honey
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Thyme

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F (180C)
2.  Trim the ends off of the parsnips and cut them into strips
3.  In a bowl coat the parsnips with about a tablespoon of olive oil, and a tablespoon of honey.  Season with the salt, pepper and thyme.  Really get your hands in there and make sure every surface of the parsnip is coated!
4.  Put the parsnips on a foil (or parchment) lined baking sheet and bake until golden and tender, about 40 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

As many of you know this is the year Kyle and I are moving back to the US.  Its been four wonderful years here, and I'm starting to realize that in four wonderful years you accumulate a lot of wonderful crap.  Nothing like the joys of transatlantic packing to bring out your sentimental side.  The move is now only three weeks away and so the packing and cleaning and wrapping up all the bank accounts, bills, and all those joys have begun for me.  Its a magical time indeed!!

Since Kyle is still here for another few months I am thankfully only packing up half a house at the moment.  Now our assets can pretty much be summed up this way: anything electronic is probably Kyle's and anything in the kitchen is probably mine.  Its not just pots and pans either - I have a habit of buying all sorts of interesting ingredients to experiment with, many of which Kyle will never use.  So today I was strolling through the cabinets trying to figure out what to make to use up some of these ingredients when I came across a couple of cans of pumpkin, and I knew I had to make something with them.

Now the story of these jars of pumpkin perfectly sums up my experience of living abroad.  My very first Thanksgiving in Edinburgh, I vowed to make a perfect and traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  I wanted a golden turkey, crisp roast veggies, butternut squash soup, and of course pumpkin pie.  You can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.  Weirdly the Brits aren't so into the pumpkin situation, they have them available at Halloween to carve, but other than that its really hard to find canned pumpkin.  After asking around for a while I was finally able to get the name of a store in town that had loads of American goods, including pumpkin.

Delighted to have tracked it down, I ran to the store the next day only to find that there was apparently a Scotland wide pumpkin shortage that year! Instead of the usual several dozen cases the store orders in most years - this year they were only able to get in 1 measly case.  Despondent - I reluctantly added my name to the waiting list (yes there was actually a wait list for pumpkin) but I had little hope of actually getting a can of this coveted stuff.  The days came and went and before long it was the day before Thanksgiving and there was no sign of any pumpkin.  I sadly gave up hope of having my perfect Thanksgiving abroad.

And then I got the call!  The pumpkin had arrived and there were two cans with my name on it! I had 24 hours to claim them or they would move to the next name on the list (this was a precise pumpkin wait list) and within the hour they were in my hand.  Thanksgiving was saved and it turned out to be one of the best I've ever had.  Which just goes to show you that living abroad can sometimes be hard - but it all works out in the end!!   So don't take your pumpkin for granted and next time you have a can lying around, I suggest you make these pumpkin spice muffins!  They are bursting with warm spice flavor, moist as can be and ever so comforting!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (adapted from Martha Stewart)
15oz pumpkin puree (425g canned pumpkin, 2 cups)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (180ml)
3 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (I used creme fraiche because I had some in the fridge)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves

1.  Preheat your oven to 350F (180C) and grease your muffin tins, unless you are using silicon muffin tins, in which case you don't need to
2.  In a large bowl combined the pumpkin, oil, creme fraiche, eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar and mix until smooth.
3.  In a separate medium bowl, stir together your dry ingredients; the flours, the baking soda, baking powder, and spices.
4.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients making sure to mix until combined but not to over mix.
5.  Spoon the batter into the muffin tins (it should make 12 jumbo or about 18 regular muffins)
6.  Sprinkle the tops with a little brown sugar
7.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8.  Let cool and enjoy!

 

Super Bowl Sunday Muchnies

I love the super bowl, it is pretty much the closest event I have to a religious holiday.  There is ritual, ceremony, and of course pomp and circumstance.  Weirdly - its not as huge a deal here in Scotland.  To be fair American football is growing in popularity here by leaps and bounds, but its not quite at the level yet where everyone is willing to stay up to watch a game that starts at 11:30pm.  Fortunately for me I have a pretty respectable group of friends who despite knowing nothing about the sport or the teams playing are generally willing to stay up into obscene hours of the night to watch the game with me.  That is of course if I bribe them with copious amounts of beer and food - theres always a catch isn't there.

Over the years I've tried and tested vast amounts of super bowl food.  There has been guacamole, various types of nachos, layer dips, I even made a football cake one year!

This year however it was a small crowd and it was a game I really wanted to watch.  Now I suffer the unfortunate burden of being a Jets fan.  It's a sad and lonely existence only made worse by watching New York's other team (you know the one) do well.  Now don't get me wrong, I dont hate the Giants - there is actually a lot I like about them.  Their kicker, Lawrence Tynes is actually Scottish!  Its just Giants fans I hate. I mean sure they win big games, sure their players don't actively talk about hating each other, sure when their player went to jail for shooting them self in the leg they released him - but thats the kind of stuff that gives a team character.  The Jets are a bunch of delinquents but they are my delinquents.  Still there is nothing worse in the world than watching the smug face on Tom Brady when the Patriots win - and that my friends was reason enough for me to happily cheer on the Gmen!

But I digress!! Since I wanted to see the game I needed recipes that would be tasty, quick and would make me feel at home.  Buffalo wings, bbq sliders, and of course potato skins would fit the bill.  All simple to make, the bulk of work can be done in advance, and all tasty enough to keep a bunch of foreigners up until 3am to watch a game they know nothing about.  Mission accomplished. 

*Note to the reader - these are not healthy recipes. Even slightly. The super bowl comes once a year, I beg you to just eat these and enjoy them without thinking about the calories. You can go to the gym tomorrow. 

Loaded Potato Skins

As many potatoes as you want, washed and dried (any good roasting potato will do)

Bacon (I used 4 strips)

Grated cheese (I used a Cheddar and Monterey jack blend) 

1.  Pre heat the oven to 400F (200C) 

2.  Prick the skin of the potatoes all over and place the potatoes on a baking tray 

3.  Rub them in olive oil and salt and pepper and place into the oven

4.  Cook until tender about 1 hour (may take a little longer if they are bigger potatoes) 

5.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely.  

6.  While the potatoes are cooling, cook your bacon until crispy then crumble into small pieces

7.  When they are cool, cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out some of the flesh inside leaving about a 1/4 of an inch border of potato.  Keep the insides - you can add it to soup or something!

8.  Brush a little of the bacon grease onto each of the scooped potatoes.  (Its worth it - I promise you)

9.  Fill your skins with the bacon and cheese

10.  Turn your oven to 375F (190C) and stick your skins back in until the cheese is bubbling and melted, about 10 minutes!

Note - steps 1-9 can be done well in advance of the game and just stick them in the oven when guests arrive!

Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders (from Ree at The Pioneer Woman)

2lbs ground meat (I used turkey)

Salt and Pepper

4 Tbsp butter

1 whole large onion, diced

1/2 cup whiskey (I used bourbon) 

1 cup BBQ sauce 

1/4 cup jarred jalapeno slices (mine was probably more like 1/2 a cup)

Slider buns of some sort (I used ciabatta) 

1.  Form the meat into 12 or so miniature patties and salt and pepper them on both sides

2.  Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the patties until just about done in the middles (about 3-4 minutes per side)

3.  Remove the patties from the skillet and set aside

4.  Drain off all but 2 tbsps of the grease and return the skillet to the stove.

5.  Throw the diced onions in the skillet and stir to cook, about 3 minutes

6.  Pour in the whiskey (note to readers - don't set your kitchen on fire doing this like I did when I made the hubby his birthday steak)

7.  Stir to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and let the whiskey reduce by half about 2-3 minutes.  Add the bbq sauce and the jalapenos 

8.  Reduce the heat to low and place the patties in the sauce, turning to coat.  Allow the patties to simmer in the sauce until everything's hot and cooked through. 

9. Place the patties on individual buns and spoon on some extra sauce!!! 

Note:  You can cook the patties ahead of time and just add them to the sauce when your guests arrive!

Oh and if your wondering - it felt pretty sweet to see that look on Brady's face! :-) 

Home Made Chapatis

Its been a busy day today my friends.  Lots of job applications, a good run around Arthurs Seat, catching up with the newly employed Rachel before her big move to NY tomorrow, and Kyle's mom came in for a catch up.  Needless to say I was in no mood for a lengthy meal tonight, especially after last night's epic lasagne.  

Since we live in Scotland and the best thing about Scotland is the abundance of excellent and ready available indian curry sauces we decided tonight dinner would be opening a jar of makhani (our favorite is the half fat one from Waitrose) and pouring it over whatever protein we could find in the fridge, in this case diced turkey breast.  Accompanied by a microwave bag of rice and we are talking about a delicious and literally 10 minute meal.  

But sadly we all know I am crazy and can never be satisfied by a meal where all the work is done for me.  We also know that the best thing about Indian food is the lovely bread you can use to soak up the curry sauce with.  Now you can find naan bread literally everywhere here but since we are on a semi health kick I was thinking chapatis would be a little more up our alley.  Chapatis are an unleavened whole wheat Indian bread and a quick google search showed there are endless ways to make them.  I decided to go with a recipe I found on epicurious.com mainly because it looked super easy.  Turns out it was super easy, and pretty tasty, however they lacked the punch that I love in a good garlic naan.  Next time I might try adding some different seasonings, it might not be as traditional but who cares as long as it tastes good!  Readers if you try adding any flavorings let me know how it turns out!

Chapati (from Gourmet Magazine 2008) 

1 3/4 cups whole-wheat or Indian atta flour plus additional for kneading

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup lukewarm water

Vegetable oil for greasing skillet (I made mine in a nonstick pan and did not need to use any oil)

1.  Stir together the flour and salt in a large bowl, then make a well in the center and add the water to the well.

2.  Using a fork stir until a dough forms

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour as needed, until smooth and elastic (dough will be slightly sticky) about 8 minutes.  Return dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 1 hour

4.  Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball 

5.  Taking one ball at a time, flatten the ball with your hands on a lightly floured surface.  Then using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 5-6inch circle.  Repeat with the remaining balls.

6.  Heat a dry pan over medium heat until hot.  The recipe said to then lightly grease the skilled with a paper towel dipped in oil, but I used a nonstick pan and found I didn't need to do this step.  

7.  Cook one round of dough at a time until the underside is golden brown in spots, about 30 seconds

8.  Turn over and cook the other side until deep golden brown in spots, 30 seconds - 1 minute

9.  Serve warm with a delicious side of curry! 

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Big Trev's Lasagna

Its cold here in Scotland, and I like most people find the best cure for the cold to be something warm and  hearty that will stick to your ribs.  I'm also starting to get a little stressed about the upcoming move and getting a job and being apart from the hubby for a whole 6 months, so dinner tonight had to be comforting as well.  Now tell me people, what on this great planet is more hearty and comforting than a homemade lasagne?

Those of you who know Kyle know that the man is a lasagne man.  I'm not joking when I tell you that he once confessed to me that he first knew he wanted to mary me when he went through a phase where he wanted me to try and make as many different varieties of lasagne as humanly possible and I happily went along with it.  There was a traditional lasagne, a mexican spiced lasagne, pesto and spinach lasagne, chicken lasagne, and yet he never grew weary of the endless parade of lasagne.

So I knew it was serious when he came back from a trip down to Chris' hometown of Bentham claiming he had just eaten the world's best lasagne.  I might have even seen a tear trickle down his face as he lovingly recounted the perfect texture of the meat, the creaminess of the bechamel sauce, and the golden layer of cheese bubbling on the top.  I seriously worried that Kyle might attempt to leave me for the lasagne's creator - Big Trev Dobson aka Chris' dad.

Eventually I had to experience this epic-ness for myself and the Dobsons were kind enough to supply me with their recipe.   The verdict: its as good as the hype and not that difficult to make!!!  Try it tonight - you really won't regret it!!!

Big Trev's Lasagne

Meat sauce

1½ tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 fat clove garlic

450g lean minced beef

2 rashers bacon, finely chopped

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree

4 tbsp red wine

1 beef stock cube

1 tsp dried basil (I used fresh basil)

Salt and pepper

White sauce

750ml milk (about 3 cups)

75g butter (about 5 table spoons)

50g plain flour (1/2 cup)

Freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper

9 sheets lasagne (kyle insists we use spinach lasagne, apparently the green tastes better) 

Grated parmesan

Grates mozzarella  

Dish 20cm x 27cm

Heat the oil in a thick based pan, soften onion, bacon and garlic for 5 mins. Now turn up heat, add beef and brown. Once browned add tomatoes, tomato puree, wine, stock cube, basil and seasoning. Put a lid on and simmer gently for 20 mins. Remove lid and simmer for another 20-25 mins.

To make white sauce, put the milk, butter and flour in a thick based saucepan, place over a gentle heat and whisk continuously with a balloon whisk until the sauce comes to simmering point and thickens. Season and simmer gently for 5 mins.

Now spread about ¼ of the meat sauce over the bottom of the dish, cover with approx ¼ of the white sauce, then sprinkle a layer of parmesan before arranging 3 sheets (in a single layer) of lasagne over the top. Repeat this process, finishing off with a final layer of white sauce. Cover the top with a sprinkling of grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

This can be done well in advance. When required bake in a preheated oven, gas 4, 350F, 180C, for 35-45 mins or until browned.

Serve with salad and enjoy!!!

Perfectly Poached Eggs

As many of you guys know, we recently had a bunch of our Scottish/English/Welsh friends over to New York for a week of fun.  There was sightseeing, there was drinking, and most interestingly there was the shocking realisation that these boys knew nothing about eggs.  One fateful trip to IHOP and the boys were overwhelmed by the endless choices of eggs that lay before them. They literally sat there staring blankly at the waitress - clueless as to what many of the delicious eggy options even were!

Now I have lived in Scotland for 4 years and I have had many a Scottish breakfast otherwise known as a fry up.  A typical Scottish fry up consists of scrambled eggs, hash browns, a potato scone, bacon, sausage, a grilled egg, grilled mushrooms, and haggis and black pudding.  Needless to say its a little on the heavy side.  Since Kyle and I are both trying to watch what we eat we've been avoiding the fry up lately.  Empowered by the experience of learning that there are other ways to make eggs Kyle turned to me the other day and made a simple request.  Can I try a poached egg?

I'm not a runny yoke person, I've an over hard with the yoke broken kind of gal, so poached eggs aren't something I had ever considered making.  Plus the idea is quite scary - how on earth are you supposed to drop an egg into a pot of boiling water and expect it to somehow hold together?  Some quick internet research from my absolute favorite food blog www.smittenkitchen.com and I felt brave enough to try it.  In her tips she advises to only use a couple of inches of water in the pan, add a splash of vinegar, and to add the egg when the water is just about to simmer but not quite boiling yet.

The verdict?  A perfectly poached egg and a happy husband!

Poached Eggs (technique stolen from Deb at SmittenKitchen)


1.  Head a pot with a few inches of water in it
2.  Add a splash of vinegar (I used malt vinegar since its what I had within reach)
3.  Heat the water until bubbles start to form under the surface but before it starts to really simmer or boil
4.  Break your egg into a separate dish (it makes it easier to pour into the pan)
5.  Make a whirlpool in the water using a spatula (I found a spoon worked quite well)
6.  Slide the egg into the whirlpool.  NOW DONT PANIC! It will look like a hot mess in there for a second, but the force of the whirlpool will pull all the whites back over the yolk to form a pretty circle of egg.  If there are still some loose strands just gently use your spoon/spatula to encourage them back into the main egg mass.
7.  Cook the egg until the whites have set about 3-4 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon!!

Enjoy with buttered bread - or in this case english muffins!

'Cowboy' Chili Sauce

So I have a slight addiction to buying cookbooks.  Ok so its not slight - its pretty major and likely to be the source of a significant shipping bill as I try to cart all my beloved books back to the US.  There is just something so incredibly wonderful about seeing pictures of perfect cakes and mouth watering morsels and knowing that you too can make these tasty treats.  I have books on cakes, books on cupcakes, books bread books on British meals, French meals, you name it I've got it.

There was one genre however that I had never thought to buy a book on - American food.  I am American, I grew up in America, I'd like to think that I could manage to russel up some good ole American meals. What even is 'American' food?  Mac'n'cheese? Burgers? I mean those are tasty but hardly something I felt I needed instruction or inspiration or guidance on!  I've always felt that the Brits never really understood that there is no such thing as being 'American' anyway - there is too much regional variation to ever define any sort of singular 'American' experience.

Enter my wonderful husband, who fuels my cookbook addiction in order to fuel his addiction of eating tasty things.  (Talk about an being a bunch of enablers!)  For Christmas a few years back Kyle got me a cookbook called Jamie's America.  It features British celeb chef Jamie Oliver traveling all over the US, cooking good old fashioned regional favorites; everything from NY street food, to Cajun cooking, to the bold flavors of the southwest, and to the wild wild west.  I never knew I could be so inspired by food and so inspired by America as a whole.  At the risk of sounding incredibly corny the beauty of America is that their is no one cuisine, its a melting pot of different people, different techniques, different flavors, and they are all delicious!!!

One of my favorite recipes to come out of the book is for a 'cowboy' chili sauce, from Jamie's Mountain Meatball recipe.  In Jamie's version you make this amazing sauce and then smother it all over giant meatballs that are stuffed with cheddar cheese and then bake the whole thing until thick and delicious.  The first time I made it we tried it with the meatballs, and while the meatballs were ok - the sauce definitely stole the show!  Thankfully the recipe made a ton which meant that we had a lot of left over sauce, and we have been eating it on pretty much everything.  Tonight we browned a little ground turkey before adding the sauce and eating it over cous cous and avocado.  We've also used it on grilled chicken, added it to stews, and slathered it in sandwiches.  Its seriously that good. I warned you.

'Cowboy' Chili Sauce (adapted from Jamie's America)
1 large red onion, peeled and ifnely diced
2 red peppers, deseeded and chopped
10 cloves of garlic, pealed and finely sliced
2 fresh chilis, deseeded and finely chopped (leave some seeds if you like it hotter)
2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (I deseeded one and left the seeds in the other - we like it hot)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (we used hot hungarian)
6 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 heaped tbsp bbq sauce (Jamie used ketchup but I prefer the smokiness of the bbq sauce)
6 tbsp cider vinegar
6 tbsp dark molasses (unsulfered)
2 tbsp dijon mustard
400ml beef stock (we used 2 cups)
1 14oz can of chopped tomatos
2 bay leaves

1.  In a large pot heat a tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.  Add your onions, peppers, fresh chilis and garlic and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
2.  Add your paprika and chipotles and a tbsp or two of the adobo sauce.  Cook for a further 5 minutes.
3.  Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, bbq sauce, vinegar, molasses, mustard, beef stock, bay leaves, and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
4.  Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 20 minutes until it has thickened.  If the sauce is still thinner than you would like it after 20 minutes, just keep simmering until it is your desired level of thickness.

Enjoy on just about anything!  Here it is below mixed with added ground turkey and served over sliced avocado with a little cheese on top!

Bacon Braised Kale

Well guys - I went to the gym today for the first time since before the wedding. The first wedding. A solid 4 months ago.   Needless to say it kicked my ass.  I am sore, I am tired, and I am more unfit than I care to discuss.  However I am determined to loose the bit of holiday weight I gained, and determined to embrace the bikinis sitting in my drawer.  After all this will be my first summer in 4 years in a country that actually gets hot.  Its time to rock some abs!

Alongside reconciling with the gym, I have also promised to eat healthy.  In 2011 I shed 30 pounds by committing to eating my 5 a day, cutting out mid week alcohol, and limiting myself to 1 piece of chocolate a day.  It felt great to lose the weight, and I honestly didn't find it too hard to cut back on the junk food.  I found as long as I used a smaller plate and made sure that I had eaten all my fruits and veggies I could eat whatever I wanted (in moderation) and still keep losing.  That combined with alternating between zumba, yoga and running and I was in wedding dress shape in no time!

The only tricky part of the whole thing was finding a way to eat all these veggies without getting bored of them.  Now some vegetables (i.e. sweet potato) I can eat every morning/noon/night and never get sick of.  Other veggies (i.e. broccoli) eating them really more than once a week make me horribly bored of them.  They say variety is the spice of life, and I found that as long as I could find different and exciting ways to cook these veggies, I could keep myself interested in eating them.

Which brings me to tonights bacon braised kale.  Now I love kale, I love dehydrated kale 'chips', I love kale in soups, I love kale mixed into stir fries, curries, you name it!  But it wasn't until I was reading my friend Paige's blog http://abalancedlifecooks.com/ that I first thought about braising kale.  (Btw you should totally check out Paige's blog - she is a really fun cook!)  You see the problem with always throwing kale into other dishes is that you lose the actual flavor of the kale; it just becomes a side note to the main flavors of whatever it is you are making.  I wanted to give kale its moment in the sun to shine in all its leafy glory.  Everything's coming up kale!

And so tonight kale made its star debut; braised in a little chicken stock until wonderfully tender and delicate and cooked with the tiniest bit of bacon - because every star needs a sidekick, and lets be honest bacon is the creme de la creme of sidekicks.  It stole the show and made me think this eating healthy again thing won't be so bad after all.  Now if only I could say the same thing for the gym...

Bacon Braised Kale
2 heaping bowl fulls of kale (de-stemmed and cut into strips)
1 rasher streaky bacon, cut into pieces (1-2 strips regular old American bacon of your choosing, pancetta works too)
1 cup chicken stock (240ml)
1/2 onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (depending on how garlic-y you like it)
Salt
Pepper

1.  Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat.
2.  Add the onion and bacon and cook until the bacon starts to crisp
3.  Add the garlic and cook for a further minute
4.  Add the kale, and then pour the chicken stock on top. Depending on how much kale you have used you may have to use a little more or less stock, you want it to wilt the kale and have a little left in the pan)
5.  Cover the pan and reduce heat to low and let braise for 5-20 minutes depending on how tender you like your kale.  I stay closer to 5 minutes since I like a little crunch, but if you want it totally soft braise it longer.

Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Curry Soup

Last June my friend Rachel got married in a beautiful wedding in St Andrews, Scotland.  There were gorgeous blue skies, bagpipes blaring, and a beautiful wedding cake.  Ok so I'm gloating a bit since me and my friend Mackenzie made the cake, but it was a luscious buttercream covered three tiered affair and it was delicious.  Alas the bride's sister is vegan and gluten free and the one drawback to a buttercream cake is that buttercream and vegan's don't mix.  After a whole bunch of experimenting we came up with some pretty delicious gluten free vegan cupcakes. (ok we cheated and used a mix - I can do a lot of things in the kitchen but apparently VGF baking is not one of them)

During the experimentation phase of the cupcake making I wound up with a jar of virgin coconut oil.  Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with coconut oil its a natural oil that is solid at room temperature and has a very high heat threshold which makes it ideal for frying.  Its used in a lot of vegan baking as a butter or lard  substitute and we had brought it home in hopes it would be our solution to butter-less buttercream.  While it did make a tasty frosting with a slight hint of coconut, it ended up being too runny to hold up to the heat of Scottish ceilidh dancing.

Which brings me to today.  I have been eyeing this jar of coconut oil for over 6 months now.  I'll be honest it has scared the crap out of me.  It looks WEIRD and solid and yet I know it gets liquid when its hot and its white and it looks like Crisco and I don't even know what the hell Crisco is.  But there comes a time when we all must man up and face our fears and today seemed as good a day as any.  I opened the jar, I dug out a spoonful, and I cooked.  Oh my how I cooked.  Delicious roast veggies perfectly crisp with just tiniest sweet taste of coconut and an Indian curry flavored soup that was rich and deep and wonderful.   Welcome to my 2012 life coconut oil - and thanks for the deliciousness.  



Coconut Oil Roasted Veggie 'Croutons' 
1 1/2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
peeled and diced sweet potato (use as much as you want)
peeled and diced butternut squash (use as much as you want, just add
salt
pepper
cajun spice mix

Melt the coconut oil in a pan.  Pour over mixed sweet potato and butternut squash and toss, seasoning with salt pepper and cajun spice mix.  Spread out on a foil lined baking sheet and roast in a 350F (180C) oven until veggies are crisp, about an hour.


Indian Chicken Curry Soup
1 tbsp coconut oil
380g diced chicken breast (or just 2 diced chicken breasts)
1 orange pepper, diced (you can use any old color)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp fresh ginger (i buy it in a tube)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup red split lentils

1 litre chicken stock (just over 4 cups)

several handfulls of baby spinach 

1. Melt the coconut oil in a soup pot.  Add yellow pepper and cook until it starts to soften, about 2 minutes.  Add the diced chicken and cook until chicken started to brown and is sealed on all sides. 

2.  Add the garlic and the fresh ginger and cook for a further minute.

3.  Add turmeric, cumin, chili powder cinnamon and ground ginger and cook for a further few minutes, stirring to evenly coat the chicken in the spice mixture.

4.  Add the lentils and the chicken stock

5.  Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is tender and the lentils have disolved to thicken the soup, about one hour

6.  Add the spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes.

7.  Serve with the veggie croutons sprinkled on top and enjoy!

Winter Sunshine

I'm not a fan of January.  Its always cold and dark and usually its where my dreams of Championships for the Jets and Rangers begin to fall apart.  Much is the same this year; still cold, still depressingly dark and lets not even talk about the Jets.  But there is one loan ray of sunshine in my otherwise dreary January.  The NY Rangers, my lovely blueshirts, are not just 1st in the division but 1st in the conference and have been flirting with 1st in the NHL for quite some time.  They are playing smart, exciting hockey and King Henrik has taken his game to another level!

So as I sit bundled up in my blanket jealously watching the Giants and feeling the inevitable sense of dread that its only another couple of months until I have to suffer the pain of being a Mets fan again - I feel compelled to treat myself to a little bit of winter sunshine.  NY Rangers - thank you for helping me beat my winter blues, I raise my cookie and my cup of tea to you!

*A note about these cookies:  These are one of my absolute favorite cookies. Sweet and satisfying with a tarte lemony aftertaste, they manage to transport me to a warmer sunnier place.  The best thing about this dough is that you can leave it in its log shape in the freezer for months at a time and then slice and bake just a couple cookies at a time! Perfect for those of us whose New Year's resolutions involved not leaving tempting plates of cookies lying around the house...

Lemon Icebox Cookies (adapted from Martha Stewart) 

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp lemon zest (feel free to use more if you prefer a more lemony taste - i used the zest from one whole lemon)
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (Martha says 1 tsp, but like I said, I like 'em lemony)
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 250 grams) butter, cut into pieces
• 2 large egg yolks
• granulated sugar spread out on a plate or some parchment paper for rolling
• 
  
• 1. Cream the butter and confectioners sugar together until combined.  Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, and lemon zest and stir until smooth and all ingredients are incorporated evenly.
• 2. Add the flour and the salt to the butter sugar mixture.  It will be easier if you only add a little at a time.  Mix until fully combined.  This will be a thicker dough so you may need to work the last bit of flour in by hand.
• 3. Divide the dough in half and roll each half of dough into a log. Wrap the logs in cling film and freeze until firm - at least 2 hours.
• 4.  Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).   
• 5. Unwrap each log and roll it in the granulated sugar to coat.  Slice the cookies from the log 1/4 inch thick and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges, approx. 15 minutes
• 6.  Cool cookies on a wire rack and enjoy with a hot cuppa tea! 

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Saying Goodbye with a Pie

Tonight is the end of an era.  When I first came to Edinburgh way back in 2007 Chris was one of the first people I met.  Since then Chris has lived with me and Kyle in all three of our apartments, he was the best man at both of our weddings, and he has been our friend and pretty much a part of our family since the day we met five years ago.  It seems we've arrived at that age where everything starts to change.  Kyle and I are moving to NY in the next few weeks and tomorrow Chris is moving to London for an awesome new job.  While I'm super excited for Chris and super excited for our move back home - I can't help but feel a little nostalgic about the end of this chapter.

As its Chris's last night I thought I would make something for dinner that would be both warm and comforting and would leave a good enough taste in Chris's mouth that he has to come back and visit some time to get some more.  Now those who know Chris know he is a pie man.  His leaving present from work consisted of a pie dish and a pie cookbook, and his last meal out with his coworkers was to a pie shop.  I think you can probably see where I'm going with this; the boy really likes pie.

Naturally then the choice was steak and ale pie.  We used Black Sheep Ale which is Chris's favorite, but really any good quality ale will do the trick.  I decided to try out one of the recipes from his new cookbook, The Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies, and with just a few adjustments and served along side some honey roasted parsnips and some mustard mashed potatoes - we achieved absolute pie nirvana.  Next time you need a hug in the form of food I highly recommend it!

*Note about puff pastry - Now I tend to be one of those self righteous home cooks who likes to do everything herself but puff pastry is a pain in the ass to make.  For the time and effort it takes, you can get just as good ready made pastry in the store, which is what I used today.  For those of you who like to make things difficult for yourselves I promise in the next few days I will put my puff pastry recipe up here but for now you'll just have to settle with being lazy.

Steak and Ale Pie (adapted from THe Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies)
4 rashers of streaky bacon cut into chunks
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
750g casserole steak, diced into cubes
enough flour to coat the steak
500ml good quality ale
500ml beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves (if you can find fresh just use a healthy pinch of dry thyme)
3 medium carrots, sliced to 1/4 inch thickness
500g puff pastry
1 egg beaten to glaze

1.  Heat about a tbsp of olive oil in a large soup pot.  Cook the onions and the bacon for several minutes until the onions become translucent and start to brown.  Add the garlic and cook for a further minute or two.  Remove the onion, garlic and bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon.
2.  Season the flour with salt and pepper and toss the diced steak in the flour until evenly coated.  Add a little more olive oil to the pot you cooked the onions in, and then in small batches cook the meat until brown on all sides.  Remove the meat with a slotted spoon.
3.  Carefully pour half of the ale into the pot to deglaze it.  Bring the ale to a boil scrapping the bottom of the pot vigorously.  Add the tomato paste and cook for a further minute.  Return the meat, and the bacon and onions to the pot and add the carrots.  Add the stock and the remaining ale and the bay leaves and thyme.  Bring to a boil.
4.  When the filling starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer until the meat is tender; about 1:30-2 hours.
5.  When the filling is done, roll out your pastry to about 5mm thick and to a size about 5cm bigger than your pie dish.
6.  Pour your filling into your pie dish and using a pastry brush, brush the edge of the dish with the beaten egg.  Cut some strips of the pastry about 1 cm thick and use them to rim the edge of the pan.  The top pastry will seal much better if it is attaching to these strips of pastry rather than straight to the pan.
7.  Brush the pastry strips with egg wash and carefully plop on your top sheet of pastry.  Trim any excess pastry and using your fingers gently crimp the edges of the pie to seal it.  Make a few small slits in the crust to allow the air to vent and brush the entire surface with the egg wash
8.  Bake in an oven preheated to 375°F (190°C) for 30 minutes or until golden and delicious looking. Don't be surprised if there are no leftovers....

A Muffin a Day

So Kyle (thats the hubby for those who don't know) was having his friend James over for an afternoon of FIFA.   For my American friends unacquainted with the phenomena of FIFA; its a soccer video game that every male in the entire United Kingdom seems to have played since more or less birth.   Alas in the cold, dark winter of Scotland playing actual soccer becomes pretty unpleasant, so the fervor and passion that most people would reserve for playing an actual sport all gets channeled into epic sessions of FIFA.  There is laughter, tears, shouting, hugging - and all from the comfort of our living room.

Needless to say these grueling marathons of video gaming require some fuel in the form of food.  Now as exciting and stimulating as playing video games can be I think its important to remember that these boys are sitting on the couch not ACTUALLY running around a field; thus perhaps their snack should be somewhat healthy.  The hubby suggested muffins arguing that muffins frequently contain fruit therefore they are clearly a health food.  While I liked the idea of getting fruit into the snack, I wanted to find a way to make a muffin that was a little more nutritious than being a cake with some fruit in it.  Now our friend James, is a blueberry muffin connoisseur.   This is a man who more or less eats a blueberry muffin daily; one who has probably had blueberry muffins from almost every place you can get a blueberry muffin in Edinburgh.  So this muffin had to be healthy, but it had to stack up to every butter and sugar laden muffin out there.  But how?

The answer my friends is some sneaky substitutions.  Use a little less butter and add some buttermilk - it will keep the muffins super moist but cut down on the calories.  Sneak in a cheeky bit of whole wheat flour instead of using all white flour and you add a little extra whole grain goodness.  And most importantly - if you are going to call a muffin a health food, then you better be damn sure you get all the fruit into it you can, so pile in those blueberries.  Volia - you've got a muffin so delicious the boys had no idea it was semi healthy.  Gabby 1 FIFA 0

Super Moist Blueberry Muffins (makes 9-10 muffins)

5 tbsp slightly salted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 buttermilk*

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/2 cup self raising whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 heaping cup blueberries (I used frozen and found I liked the results better!)

Cinnamon sugar to top (I just mixed some cinnamon with some light brown sugar, personally I like a lot of cinnamon but go with whatever amount tastes right to you)

1.  Preheat your over to 375°F (190°C) and either line your muffin tins with cupcake liners, or butter them, or spray them with a nonstick cooking spray

2.  Cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy 

3.  Add the egg, vanilla and the buttermilk and beat until smooth and evenly mixed

4.  Sift the dry ingredients (the white flour, the wheat flour, the baking powder and baking soda) into the wet ingredients and mix until combined.  Your batter should be fairly thick; more like the consistency of cookie dough rather than cake batter.

5.  Stir in your blueberries

6.  Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full and then top each muffin generously with the cinnamon sugar mixture

7.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean! 

8.  Let the muffins cool in their pan until they are cool enough to touch and then remove them from the pan and let them finish cooking on a wire rack

Enjoy :-)

P.S. Special shout out to Chris Dobson for the excellent photo!!! He is a much better food photographer than I am! 

Spicy Lentil Soup

Well friends, I counted my chickens before they hatched.  You see on our recent trip to NY all 5 of our Scottish guests, my sister, and two of my bridesmaids came down with colds.  Oh, how I laughed at their coughs and sneezes and boasted of my incredible immune system.  Sadly those laughs have come back to haunt me and I have returned to the frosty Scottish winter with a good dose of the sniffles.  Serves me right.

I know there are a million cold remedies out there but the one that the Aiutos (and now McCaigs) swear by is spicy soup.  Sure chicken noodle will make you feel warm and fuzzy, but only something with a little extra heat will help clear out that congestion!  My usual cure is a steaming bowl of extra spicy Thai Tom Yum soup, but tonight I wanted something thicker and heartier.  After all clearing my head would be helpful but I wanted to feel full as well!

Feeling confused and uninspired I took a peek in the pantry and was greeted by the same bag of French Puy lentils that had been staring at me for several months now.  As my poor husband will attest, I have a slight addiction to buying random bags of grains and pulses and never actually using them.  We had a box of whole wheat giant couscous sitting in our pantry for almost a year - WHY? We LOVED the giant couscous when we tried it, so why on earth did we stick to our staples of rice and regular couscous for so long?  Its the same with these lentils, I bought them in a fit of inspiration and have stared at them every day since trying to work up the will to actually cook them.  Don't get me wrong, I like lentils, but I often find lentil based recipes, particularly soups, can be a little mushy and a little plain.  But where there is a will, there is a way and tonight I was determined to not only use these lentils, but to use them in a soup with texture, flavor, and most importantly with spice!

Friends - this is what I came up with.  Its hearty and spicy and when topped with little 'croutons' made from sweet potato it is utterly delicious.  Enjoy it while snuggled up and wearing something along these lines.


Spicy Puy Lentil Soup with Garlic Cajun Sweet Potato 'Croutons'


For the Soup:

1 cup Puy lentils, rinsed 

1 onion, minced

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 green chili, minced (for extra heat leave some of the seeds, for a milder version remove the seeds)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp hot paprika

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp cajun spice mix

1 14oz. can chopped tomatoes 

1 bay leaf

1-2 cups chicken stock (start with one and add until soup is your level of thickness)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups deveined and chopped kale (you could also use spinach) 

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set the lentils aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and  and saute until tender, a couple minutes.  Add the garlic, chili, and spices and saute for another few minutes until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomatoes, lentils, and chicken stock and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the bay leaf, and cook for a further 15 minutes.  Stir in the chopped greens, and cook for a further 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be. Ladle into bowls, and serve with garlic cajun sweet potato croutons.

Garlic Cajun Sweet Potato Croutons

1 sweet potato, pealed and cubed into small cubes

1 tbsp garlic (I used garlic paste, but you could use fresh minced garlic)

1 tbsp cajun spice blend

1 tbsp olive oil

Heat a saute pan on medium heat.  Toss sweet potato cubes with olive oil, garlic and cajun spice until evenly coated.  Pour the sweet potato into the pan and spread evenly across the pan.  Let cook for several minutes without touching to get a nice brown on the sweet potato.  Cook for a further 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of your cubes) stirring frequently until potato is crispy and crouton like.  

You could also roast the sweet potato in a 350F degree oven for 20-30 minutes 

 

New Year, New Start, New Blog

Welcome 2012 - I'm so excited to get to know you.  It's going to be tough to follow 2011, that was a pretty good year for me.  I got engaged, I got married, and I made my own wedding cake.   I grew both personally and professionally and I grew by leaps and bounds in confidence in the kitchen, experimenting with home made puff pastry, learning how to sterilize and made 80 jars of homemade jam, and having the faith in myself to make my own 3 tiered wedding cake.  And yet I am so excited for you 2012 even if you aren't off to the best of starts.  Ok so my UK work visa expired and I had to stop working, and yes I will have to move back to the US before my husband and we will live apart while he waits on his green card, and sure its a little stressful looking for work in this economic climate; but its no big deal.  I made my own wedding cake - I can do anything!

I promise I will shut up about the cake now, since this blog will be about so much more.  Its about being on a mission to improve myself.  Its a mission to get healthier, be nicer, and most importantly continue to kick culinary ass.  

Just to get things started - here is the recipe for my Scottish Raspberry Jam that I made for our wedding favors.   If you have been avoiding canning for a long time like I was, paralyzed by the fear of the thought of presenting your friends and families with a lovely can of botulism, rest assured this does actually work.  Our jars were bottled in July and I am still opening some of the extras and the jam is as good as ever!  The recipe itself is super easy and only calls for 3 ingredients.  Yes 3.  So easy and so delicious and you will wonder why you haven't braved the world of canning before!

For the Jam (adapted from Epicurious 2001):

4 cups granulated sugar

4 cups fresh raspberries (washed and patted dry)

1 lemon, juiced 

Screw top and sterilized glass jam jars (you will need 6-8 8oz jars per batch)

1. Put the sugar into an ovenproof shallow pan and warm in a 250°F oven for 15 minutes. 

2. In the mean time, place the raspberries in a thick bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, mashing the berries with a potato masher as they warm.  When the berries begin to boil let them boil vigorously for about 1 minute

3. Add the warmed sugar and the lemon juice making sure to stir thoroughly and let boil until the mixture forms a gel (see note below) 

4.  Ladle into jars and process in a hot water bath

5.  Let cool and enjoy!

To sterilize and process the jars:

Place the jars and the lids in your dishwasher and run them through a high heat cycle.  When the cycle finishes - do not remove the jars until you are ready to can.  The hot jam will need to go into the hot jars!

After you finish ladling the jam into the jars, wipe the rims with a damp paper towel to remove any excess jam and screw on the lids tightly.  In the mean time put a small cake round in the bottom of a large pot (large enough to hold several of the jam jars at once).  Fill the pot with enough water to cover the jars and have 2 inches of water above the can and bring to a rapid boil.  After the jars are filled and sealed drop them in the hot water bath and let the water return to a boil.  Once the water returns to a boil let them process for 5 minutes before removing and placing on some kitchen towels to cool.  Cool for 24 hours before eating! 

More detailed instructions can be found here: can processing

How to tell you have a gel:

Before you start the process stick a spoon in the fridge and let it chill.  When you are ready to test your jam, dip the cold spoon into the jam mixture and immediately lift it out keeping it horizontal.  If the jam is dripping off the spoon in several loose, syrupy drops it isn't ready.  The jam is done when the mixture looks thicker and more set and two drops run together before falling off the spoon.   

Another way to test the doneness of the jam is to spoon a little of the mixture onto a plate and let sit for a minute.  If the jam is ready it will have started to gel and will be wobbly like jello, as opposed to totally runny.