Happy Holidays

Wishing all my readers a delicious holiday season and a new year filled with millions of culinary delights.

Bread & Butter Pudding

Don't go making a face and leaving the page now. This is not the damp, tasteless bread & butter pudding you were given as a child. This is a great dinner party dessert, and I am serving it as part of my Christmas meal because it is not only full of flavor, but also the least taxing of puddings!

The great Swiss chef, Anton Mosimann first showed me how great this dish could be. Here is my version, using a special ingredient appropriate to the holiday season: panettone.

Ingredients

1/2 pint milk
1/2 pint heavy cream
5 oz sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
a quarter of a panettone, sliced thinly
1 oz sweet butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
a little powdered sugar

Method

Bring milk, cream and salt slowly to boil Beat eggs and sugar together until creamy, then beat in hot liquid. Butter a baking dish, then butter the panettone thinly and arrange in dish. Pour the custard through a sieve over the dish. Leave to stand for 20-30 minutes. Set the oven to 325 degrees. Place the baking dish in a larger ovetnproof tray containing enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of your dish (a bain marie) and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the custard has just set. If the top is not browned at this point place it under a hot broiler for a few minutes, taking care not to overcook or singe. Serve warm, dusted with powdered sugar and a jug of cream.

Marzipan for the Christmas Cake

Makes about 1 1/4 pounds

1 pound blanched almonds
3 large egg whites, at room temperature 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar 

Grind the blanched almonds (the Vitamix is ideal for this job) into a fine powder. Sift the powder through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Regrind any almond particles remaining in the sifter. 

In a bowl whisk the egg whites with the salt until they are frothy, whisk in the vanilla and almond essences.


Stir this mixture into the almond powder. Sift in 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, kneading the mixture together in the bowl, and sift enough of the remaining 1 cup sugar to form a smooth, pliable dough (add more sugar if the dough is too sticky). 


Quarter the dough and wrap each piece tightly in foil. The marzipan paste keeps, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 8 weeks.

Egg Nog

Makes around 24 servings

2 lbs sugar

32 oz heavy cream

12 eggs, separated

4 cups bourbon

2 cups cognac

6 oz rum

32 oz whole milk

nutmeg

pinch baking soda

Beat egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add milk and spirits and stir well, then chill.

Just before you are ready to serve the egg nog whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Do likewise with the cream. Fold these into the egg yolk mixture along with the pinch of baking soda and a grating of nutmeg. Serve from a large punch bowl.

Tip: I found myself with some leftover egg nog, so I thought I'd make 'egg nog ice cream'. I added more cream and a little powdered sugar, just enough to make the mixture up to 4 cups. This is the maximum my ice cream maker can handle in a batch, but it's also important to reduce the proportion of alcohol or your egg nog ice cream will not freeze. Churn the mixture then put in freezer for it to continue hardening.

Holiday Cookies

This cookie dough is similar to the shortbread dough I posted a while back, in that it is an all-butter dough and uses rice flour to give an even shorter bite. But it's a little easier to roll out thinly and better behaved with my collection of cookie cutters. This recipe will make around 24 cookies - depending on the size of your cutters.

Ingredients

3 sticks butter (French or Plus Gras), softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

powdered sugar in a sifter
chocolate glaze or icing to decorate

Cream butter, cup of powdered sugar and vanilla extract until very pale and fluffy. Sift flour with salt and mix gently but thoroughly into the creamed mixture. Gather dough into a ball, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Roll out dough 3/8 inch thick and cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. The dough is quite resilient so you can re-roll the scraps multiple times.

Bake on cookie sheets lined with baking parchment (325 degrees for about 20 minutes). The cookies should just begin to turn golden. Cool on racks. Decorate according to your mood.

This display is inspired by my Manhattan holiday shopping trip - I had not prepared for the snow, and I sure hope those doggies aren't urinating on the fire hydrants!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients (for 6)

1 butternut squash
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
salt and pepper
2 cups stock (home-made chicken or Thanksgiving turkey stock are good; or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons thick coconut milk
fresh cilantro or chives

Method

Prepare and cook the squash by cutting it in half, removing the seeds and stringy bits, brushing with a little olive oil and roasting the halves cut-side down at 400 degrees until tender, 40 minutes or so. (The Vitamix recipe book offers a handy tip - first prick the squash and microwave it briefly. This softens it a little, making it much easier to halve and scoop the flesh.)

Place the stock plus 1 cup water, the squash, onion, celery, carrot, salt and pepper into the Vitamix container in this order, and replace the lid. Process, starting at Variable 1 and gradually increasing speed to Variable 8. Blend until steam starts escaping from the lid (about 6 minutes). Check seasoning and consistency, adding more hot water if desired.

To serve, pour into warmed soup bowls. Swirl a little coconut milk into each and sprinkle chopped herbs over.

Christmas Cake

With Thanksgiving just behind us it's time to start thinking about the Holiday Season. For generations the Grant women have made made their Christmas cakes at the beginning of December. That way they have three weeks to mature. I'd like to share our family recipe with you.

Ingredients

2 sticks butter, softened
8 oz light brown sugar
8 oz all purpose flour
1/8 teasp salt
1/2 teasp allspice
1/2 teasp cinnamon
1 teasp baking powder
6 eggs, lightly beaten
8 oz currants
8 oz sultanas
8 oz raisins
4 oz candied cherries
2 oz candied citron
4 oz blanched almonds, chopped
a little milk
4-5 tablesp brandy

Method

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake tin with parchment, greased well. Cream fat and sugar until very pale. Sift flour, salt spices and baking powder. Toss the dried fruit in a little of the flour mixture. Add egg and flour mixture to creamed fat in several alternating batches, beating well between each addition. Stir in the prepared fruit and almonds, using a little milk if needed to give a soft dropping consistency.

Place mixture in cake tin; smooth top making a depression in the center. Bake in a warm oven (335 degrees F) for 1/2 hour, then reduce heat to 290 degrees for a further 3-3 1/2 hours. Allow the cake to firm up before removing from tin. When cold remove paper. Prick bottom of cake and sprinkle brandy over. Repeat this process several times, every few days.

Spread warmed, sieved apricot jam over top and sides of cake. Roll out a think layer of almond paste the size of the top, and another in a band for the sides. Press onto cake and mold edges together. Frost with royal icing or powdered sugar and water glaze. For a less sweet decoration simply sift powdered sugar over the marzipan covering. Decorate with Christmas ornaments.

On a Sweeter Note

Just as I've refused to post a recipe for turkey, I am not going to touch pumpkin pie either. But I do want to urge you to use fresh pumpkin not canned. Yes, I know I promised you recipes that won't tax you, but the taste difference is enormous. So please, for me... This year I have made a small pumpkin pie, and on Sunday I made up a batch of pecan squares (because they keep well and go down even better), but for my piece de resistance I have broken with tradition this year and used my old friend and great baker, Peg's fabulous caramel torte recipe. It's quite involved, but it is delicious and you now have a whole year to practise it!

Peg's Caramel Walnut Torte

Crust:
10 oz butter, 8 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 3.5 cups flour
- Roughly beat butter and sugar (not to a cream, just so there are still small lumps of butter in the mix). Incorporate egg yolks and vanilla, then flour and salt. Form into a ball and chill well.

Filling:
3 cups sugar, 2 cups water, 2 cups heavy cream, 7 oz butter, 5 cups walnut halves
- Heat sugar and water to 320 degrees. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Heat up to 225 degrees then allow to cool.

Topping:
8oz best quality bitter chocolate, such as Ghirardelli or European. 1 cup walnuts, finely crushed.

Assembly and baking:
- Grease a 6" round cake tin. Place a circle of pastry in the base, and use rest to line the sides. Seal joints with an egg-white wash. Add cooled filling. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Presentation:
- Allow cake to cool and solidify. Remove from mold. Ice top and sides with chocolate and roll sides in crushed walnuts.

Get Stuffed

I have no intention of telling you how to cook your turkey. But I can give you some ideas for dressing and stuffing.

I love the Barefoot Contessa's Sausage and Herb Stuffing recipe below, though I am omitting her suggestion of 1 cup dried cranberries because I like to make up a pot of cranberry relish for the table (a pack of fresh cranberries, a cup or two of sugar and a few slivers of freshly pared orange rind cooked together gently for 20 minutes or so).

Ina Garten's dressing complements Paula Deen's selection of cornbread stuffings, but forgive me, girls, I have opted for my grandmother's simple recipe this time.

Sausage and Herb Stuffing

16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white or sourdough (1 1/2 pound loaf)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
2 granny smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, parsley, salt and pepper. Sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the bread cubes.

In the same sauté pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.

Add the chicken stock to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 x 12 inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle.

Old Ma Grant's Home Country Stuffing

1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup onion, finely sliced
handful each of celery leaves and parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon each dried thyme, sage and rosemary
1/2 loaf day-old white bread, grated to crumbs
sautéed turkey livers, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Melt butter. Add onion and cook until tender. Mix in bread, liver, celery leaves and herbs, and bind with the two beaten eggs (mixed with a little water if the bread is particularly dry). Season with salt and pepper. Fill the bird loosely, allowing space for expansion during cooking.

Succotash

At Thanksgiving I like to pay tribute to our Native American heritage, and this beautiful, healthy side is an excellent contrast to the turkey. Some succotash recipes are heavy on the cream and butter, which is great as a vegetarian main, but can be a little too much at Thanksgiving.

My recipe gives a more refreshing succotash, and here's a bonus: prepare it ahead of time - in fact it just improves as the flavors mingle.

Ingredients for 4 people

3 ears of corn, unshucked
1 10-oz package frozen baby lima beans
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons butter
handful torn fresh basil leaves (or flat-leaf parsley)
Salt and pepper

Method

Add unshucked corn to pan of boiling, salted water and cook for 3 minutes. Unshuck corn and strip kernels from cobs. Sweat onion in butter in a pan large enough to add the frozen beans. When onion is translucent add the beans and cook, stirring occasionally for 7-8 minutes. Add salt, freshly ground pepper and the corn kernels, and cook for a couple of minutes more. Allow to cool and add the basil.

On the day reheat the dish gently until warmed through.

Giving thanks Jesse-style

Thanksgiving week is upon us again! I hope to be surrounded by friends and family over the coming days, and I thought it would be good to share the recipes I plan to include in my own celebrations. So please spare a few minutes of your own precious time in the next few days to look over my site because I'll be including some time-saving tips to get us all through the week stress free.

Let's get the party off to a punchy start with this simple (and simply delicious) classic cocktail.

Cosmopolitan - serves 2

1/3 cup premium Vodka
1 tbsp Triple Sec orange liqueur
1/3 cup cranberry juice
couple dashes lime juice

Shake all ingredients with plenty of ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into two frozen Martini glasses and serve immediately.

(I notice that clever old Martha suggests serving with a little skewer of frozen, candied cranberries, and I must say this is great for keeping your drink cool. Here's a quick way: spread 2 cups of washed cranberries on a baking tray and sprinkle with 2 cups of sugar. Place in oven preheated to 275 degrees F. Bake for an hour, watching and turning occasionally. Thread onto cocktail sticks (4 per stick), freeze in a sealed bag or container until required.

Leek Pies

This recipe is a good solution when you have vegetarians and omnivores coming for dinner. Makes one big pie or six small ones, but take care to seal the edges well to avoid a leak in your leek pie!

Filling Ingredients

1 lb leeks, washed carefully and chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Fresh herbs (thyme and sage go well), salt and pepper
1/2 stick butter
2 eggs
Small pot heavy cream

Melt butter in a skillet and sweat leeks and onions. Season generously and set aside to cool slightly. Beat eggs and mix in cream.

Shortcrust Pastry

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 egg
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons iced water

Cut butter into sifted flour and salt. Fork beat egg and water. Stir into flour, gently and quickly mix into a ball.

Now here's a technique I've developed based on the French method of 'fraisage' that I'd like to share with you. Put your rough dough into a plastic food bag of a reasonable size. Place it on a counter or pastry board and using the palm of your hand smear the pastry within its bag across the board. Do this a few times and you will have a more homogeneous and therefore well-behaved dough. Chill the dough for an hour.

Grease a 12-inch pie dish (or 6 individual 4 1/2-inch dishes) generously with butter. Divide the dough into two pieces, one a little larger than the other. Roll out the dough as thinly as you can. Use the larger piece to line one 12-inch pie dish, or 6 individual 4-inch dishes, and the smaller piece to create a lid or lids.

Combine the leek mixture with the eggs and cream in a jug, and pour this into your mold(s). Dampen the edges of the dough. Cover with lid(s) and press together firmly to create a constant seal Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes to set pastry then lower to 400 degrees for a further 10 minutes (small pies) or 20 minutes (large pie).

Serve hot, though the pie is also great cold for a picnic.

Jesse's Home-Made Ice Cream

I am guardian to the son of a late friend of mine. Philip doesn't really need a guardian any more, he's all grown up. But I can't risk not having some of his favorite ice cream in the freezer, just in case he turns up unexpectedly...

Ingredients

1 small can of condensed milk
1/4 pint heavy cream
1/4 pint milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar

- makes 1 1/4 pint

Method

Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Whisk egg yolks, sugar and vanilla essence. Pour over milk and cook very gently until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, being careful not to let the egg scramble. Cool. Whip cream. Stir condensed milk into egg mixture, then fold in cream.

Churn in an ice-cream maker.

Note on ice-cream makers: there are many models out there, but the one I love is my inexpensive little Cuisinart machine. You just store the bowl in the freezer so it is always ready to make ice cream, with no need for ice.

Beef Stew

I'm spending a few days on the East Coast, in Jersey City. My friend's apartment has a panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline from the dinner table. What better way to enjoy a beef stew as the temperature plummets.

This recipe is taken from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Child, Bertholle, Beck). It would be arrogant of me to try to improve on perfection, and this recipe lives up to my promise of not taxing the beginner. It is simplicity itself.

Ingredients and method for 6 people

3 lbs lean stewing steak cut into 2 1/2" squares (chuck or blade, for example)
1/2 pint dry white wine, dry white vermouth or red wine
1/8 pint brandy
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme or sage
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 lb thinly sliced onions
1/2 lb thinly sliced carrots

Place all ingredients in an earthenware bowl and marinate at room temperature for 3 hours, stirring frequently.

1/2 lb streaky bacon, diced
6 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced and chopped (or a few squirts of tomato puree)
4 oz sifted flour on a plate
1/2 pint beef stock

Remove the beef from the marinade and drain it through a sieve, retaining all juices/ingredients. Roll the chunks of meat in the flour and shake off excess.

Line the bottom of an ovenproof casserole with some of the bacon. Stew a handful of the marinated vegetables, plus some mushrooms and tomato over it. Place a layer of beef over the vegetables. Repeat the layers until all ingredients have been used, ending with a layer of vegetables and some bacon. Pour the marinade over the mixture, and fill nearly to the top with stock.

Bring to simmering point on top of stove, then transfer to a warm oven (325 degrees) for 3-4 hours. (The meat is done when a for perces it easily. Skim fat from casserole. Correct seasoning.

This stew can be made ahead of time and reheated. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice, and greens or a green salad - oh and the panorama of Manhattan.

Flapjacks

Not pancakes but a type of oat bar - another recipe from my Scots-Irish ancestors. I have the builders in at the moment and they'll do anything (well, almost) for flapjacks and good coffee. A note on butter: don't try to fake it, find real European butter or Plugra - they have a lower water content and this is important for the authentic, dense, chewy experience.

Ingredients

2 sticks butter
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 tablespoons syrup (or 1 tablespoon syrup + 1 tablespoon maple syrup)
1 cup (densely packed) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tin (about 8" x 12") with baking parchment.

Melt butter, syrup and sugar slowly. Remove from heat. Add oats and salt. Mix well.* Empty the mixture into the prepared tin, pressing it in and smoothing flat.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and score into bite-sized pieces. Wait until cold before cutting through. (They are irresistible, but please try to avoid handling them until they are cold and caramelized or they will crumble.)

*It's not traditional, but I like to add a handful of dried fruit at this point - sour cherries or craisins work really well. Jumbo oats give added texture, but only replace a quarter of the regular oats with jumbo, or the texture won't be right - you have been warned.

Spanish Paella on the Bar-B-Que

My good friend Luiz likes to serve this traditional dish from his home country. He always cooks it outdoors.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 small chicken, jointed (chicken parts are okay too - legs, breasts, etc)
2 pork chops without bone
1 small chorizo sausage
1 Spanish onion
1 clove of garlic
3 tblspoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cups chicken stock (or large can of chicken broth)
2 medium tomatoes (or a can of diced tomatoes, undrained)
1 cup bomba paella rice
12-15 stalks of saffron
1 small cooked lobster (optional)
8-10 large shelled shrimp (optional)
12 mussels (optional)
12 or more little neck clams (optional)
1 package of frozen peas (10 oz)
1 red sweet pepper, cut into long, thin strips
12 stalks of asparagus (optional)
salt, pepper, chili

Method

In the paella pan (or a flat pan that is safe for the gas grill or bar b que) saute onion and garlic for a little while, then add the chicken, pork and chorizo, and continue frying until golden. Add half of the chicken broth and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Add tomatoes (peeled and chopped), rice and remaining broth. Simmer 5-10 minutes.
Stir in the saffron/liquid. (To prepare the saffron you need to soak it in 3-4 tablespoons of cold water for a minimum of 30 minutes. I like to have it soaking while all the ingredients are getting chopped and prepared, to ensure a nice yellow/red liquid.)

Arrange lobster pieces, shrimp, mussels, clams, peas, asparagus and red pepper on top. Continue cooking for around 15-20 minutes, until the rice is creamy but al dente at the center, and has absorbed most of the liquid. The clams and mussels will have opened up by now (discard any that have not).

Check seasoning and serve piping hot.

Note
Many of the ingredients are optional. It all depends on your audience - you don't want to be guilty of serving pork to a vegetarian or have to rush your guest to the emergency room midway through dinner because of a seafood allergy! You can modify everything to your needs. But do not omit the core ingredients: onion, garlic, saffron rice, tomatoes, broth (though this could be vegetable stock).

It's the time of year for wild Arctic char...

Wild char is available for just a few weeks of the year – in the fall. It’s related to salmon and trout, a little more subtle than salmon and more interesting than trout, in my opinion. My local Whole Foods’ fresh fish counter had a splendid selection of fish this weekend, and I went straight for their Arctic char. I picked up some ginger root at the same time, and here’s what I came up with. Char is delicious, nutritious, sustainable and easy to cook – please give it a fair chance.

Serves 4

1½ lb Arctic char fillet

1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated

A generous handful of shredded scallions

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Juice of a lemon or lime

Seasoning: chili flakes, sea salt, black pepper

6 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees or broiler to high. Smear some of the olive oil onto a large piece of foil, place char on it, skin side up. Sprinkle with ginger, scallions and seasoning. Cover with remaining olive oil and citrus juice. Fold foil in over char to make an open packet. Bake for 6-8 minutes, taking care not to overcook. Once it is cooked place fillet on a serving dish and keep warm. Tip remaining contents of the foil packet into a small pan and bring to the boil, then simmer fast for a few minutes to concentrate the flavors. Add the heavy cream and heat through to make a sauce, slackening with a little water or white wine if necessary.

Serve with some tiny steamed potatoes and a green vegetable (kale steamed with garlic is a good one).

Tip

Ginger gets ‘woody’ after being stored for a while, so when I buy a piece of root and have some left over I like to put it (whole, sliced or grated) into a jar with some rice wine vinegar, a little salt and a little sugar. Close the jar and store in your refrigerator. This instant supply of ginger will keep for many weeks, and the liquor is also fabulous added to stir fries and dressings.

Two Pasta Sauces

I hope you've been practising your pasta-making skills since my recent post. I promised you a couple of sauce recipes, and here are two that could not be more different. The great Bolognese, hours in the making and using minced beef and bacon (chicken liver is often an ingredient too); and Pesto, vegetarian and fast. A piacere.

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients for 4-5 servings

2 1b ground beef
4 cans of chopped tomatoes
1 pack lightly smoked bacon rashers or pancetta, diced finely
5 cloves of garlic, crushed with a little salt
Optional: a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, presoaked
1 1/2 pts beef stock
Chopped parsley, 5 sage leaves, small thyme branch, small sprig rosemary (small sprig), good handful basil
Tube of tomato puree
3 large vidalia or other sweet onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups carrot, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
Knob of butter
4-5 tbsps olive oil
Salt, pepper

Put oil and butter in a large pan and heat. Fry bacon for 5 minutes then add onion and fry gently for 5-10 minutes until translucent, but not brown.Add half of the tube of tomato puree and fry a few minutes more, stirring. Add garlic, fry for a minute, stirring, Now turn up the heat as you add the ground beef. Keep stirring to break up the meat and brown it. There should be no lumpy clusters of meat. Add carrots and celery, and fry a few minutes, then add thyme leaves, chopped rosemary and chopped sage. Keep stirring as you cook, and turn the heat down again.

Strain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking water; chop them and add to the pan. Add 1 cup of mushroom water, taking care to avoid the dregs which may contain grit. Let this boil down. Add a little salt (just a pinch if your bacon is salty). Now empty the 4 cans of chopped tomatoes into the pan. Stir well, then pour in enough of the beef stock to cover everything plus an inch over. Don't worry that it seems watery at this stage - the long cooking process will absorb the liquid. Bring to the boil, stirring from time to time so it doesn’t stick to bottom of the pan.

Reduce heat to a very, very low simmer (a suitable pot could be placed in a very low oven instead), half cover the pan and cook for 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally, checking that the sauce is not sticking to the pan or getting dry.  The end result will be a thick sauce bubbling through a thin layer of oil and tomato juice.

Have your drained (al dente! pasta) ready in a heated serving dish, mix in a knob of butter then pour your beautiful Bolognese sauce on top. Add chopped basil and parsley. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

***

Pesto Sauce

Ingredients for 4-5 servings

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed, dried and torn by hand into shreds (do this at the last moment)

3 cloves of garlic

2/3 cup raw pine nuts

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Toast the pine nuts gently until just golden. Mash them in a pestle and mortar with the garlic and salt, gradually incorporating the olive oil and shredded basil. Stir in the Parmesan. The pesto keeps well in a jar - pour some olive oil over the top to seal before closing the jar.

When you are ready to serve, stir the pesto and toss into the hot pasta. Have your guests grate Parmesan and black pepper at the table.

My local Italian includes some crispy little fried potatoes and green beans in the mix and I can't tell you how good this is.

Welsh Cakes

Welsh cakes, not to be confused with the black 'Welsh cake' that migrants took from Wales to Patagonia, have not travelled far from their homeland. But if you have a griddle there's no reason at all not to try your hand at these teatime treats, a great favorite with the kids, and they will keep fresh for at least a week.

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar

pinch salt

2 very large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup currants (or currants and raisins mixed)

lemon and/or orange zest

Method

Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter. Stir in dried fruit and zest. Bind with egg, avoid over handling. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. Roll out 1/4" thick and cut in rounds.

Preheat a griddle on a medium heat. Have a jar of half sunflower oil, half melted butter ready. Grease the griddle lightly and place as many rounds as will fit on the surface. After a couple of minutes turn and cook another minute.

When the first batch is cooked place on a cooling rack. Keep them covered with a cloth. Proceed until you have used all the dough.

To serve sprinkle the Welsh cakes with a little powdered sugar.

Pasta Fatta in Casa

If you tried my Pizza Fatta in Casa recipe, now it's time to turn your hand to pasta. Yes, the dried stuff you get in the store is great, and no, you don't need to struggle trying to roll out 3-feet long spaghetti or cutting farfalle - little bows. But the almost slimy texture of freshly made tagliatelle with a classic Italian pasta sauce is hard to beat, and it makes all the difference to lasagne too, and the only way to make ravioli and tortellini, with your own delicious fillings. So are you ready?

Ingredients for tagliatelle for 6 people:

1 lb durum wheat flour

3 eggs

1 tsp salt 

about 4 tbsps water

The late, great British cookery writer, Elizabeth David, describes the process of making the dough in her "Italian Food". Pour flour in a mound on a board, make a well in the center and break in eggs. Add the salt and water. She then devotes a paragraph to the process of kneading and stretching the dough, counselling a 10-minuter period of intense exercise. Joyous as this process can be, I tend to use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook fitted, and sit back and watch it do all the work.

After 5-10 minutes you should have a really sleek, malleable dough. Cut the dough in half. You can do the next bit manually, with your rolling pin. Elizabeth David counsels rolling up the thinly stretched dough like a jelly roll and cutting through this multiple times to obtain the noodles, but it is much more fun and the results are more uniform if you use a little Italian pasta machine - hand cranked will do fine, though mine has 'il motore' attached. Either roll out each piece of dough thinly then cut into long, 1/3" wide strips, or put through the machine press side a few times, then through the tagliatelle cutter.

Note: after you've made the pasta a couple of times you will recognize the correct texture. If it's too dry it will be difficult to manipulate, but if it's too wet it will stick to itself. After you cut the ribbons have some polenta flour ready to dust over them to help keep the strands separate. If you are not cooking them immediately toss them up every now and then in the flour to keep them from sticking.

Cook the pasta in a very large pan full of salted water until it is 'al dente'. This will take just five minutes or so, less time than dried pasta. Watch the pan for the pasta rising to the surface and then it is cooked.

Coming soon...a couple of sauce recipes fit for your pasta fatta in casa.

Lime Sunflower Cake

I began this blog with a recipe from the Williams-Sonoma kitchen. I'm back there for their Lime Sunflower Cake - a recipe from Flo Braker's 'Sweet Miniatures' (Chronicle Books, 2000). This is the most beautiful cake pan ever. Be sure sure to butter and flour the mold really thoroughly before tipping the batter in to avoid the unthinkable scenario of the cake refusing to unmold itself.

Serves 16.

Ingredients

2 1⁄2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tbs dark rum
1 tsp lime oil
16 tbs (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

Glaze:
6 tbs water
1 tbs granulated sugar
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tbs sifted confectioner's sugar

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Method

Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350ºF. Grease and flour a sunflower cake pan.

Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the milk, rum and lime oil and stir to mix; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition until just incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and, using a rubber spatula, spread the batter so the sides are slightly higher than the center. Bake until the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool upright in the pan for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, granulated sugar and butter. Cook, stirring, until the butter has melted and most of the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute. Add the confectioners' sugar and whisk until smooth.

Tap the pan gently on a work surface to loosen the cake. Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the warm cake with the glaze. Let the cake cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Lime Sunflower Cake in Williams-Sonoma sunflower pan

Rhubarb and Sloe Gin with Panna Cotta

This one is an eye catcher. It's really a Spring dish when the rhubarb is just coming through and last year's sloe gin has had the Winter to mature. But I'm including it this month because I just broke into a jar of rhubarb that I preserved earlier in the year.

If you don't have any rhubarb, try this with apples and berries, but halve the cooking time, or use uncooked fresh Fall raspberries sprinkled with a little powdered sugar then blended with a little water to a rough puree. If you can't get hold of sloe gin, you'll just have to make your own (my recipe is at the bottom of this post).

Serves 6

Rhubarb

2 pounds of rhubarb
1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons sloe gin
2 tablespoons water

Set the oven at Gas 4. Cut the rhubarb into short lengths, pulling off any strings as you go. Put the rhubarb into a glass, stainless steel or china dish (not aluminium as it will taint the rhubarb). Stir together the sugar, sloe gin and water then pour over the fruit.

Put the dish into the oven and bake for 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the youthfulness of your rhubarb. The toughest will take a good hour. Baste the rhubarb from time to time with the juices.
When the fruit is tender, remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. I think this is best eaten warm, rather than hot, though it is very good chilled.

Panna Cotta

2 leaves gelatine
2 1/2 cups cream
1 vanilla pod, split
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp dark rum

Soak the gelatine in a bowl of ice cold water until soft. Tip the cream, vanilla pod, vanilla extract and 2/3 sugar into a heavy-based pan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Take off the heat and add the soaked gelatine (squeezed gently to remove water) and the rum. Stir thoroughly until the gelatine has dissolved fully. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug and pour from there into 6 moulds (ramekins or small glasses). Chill for at least 4 hours to set.

To serve: dip the moulds into a bowl of hot water to loosen them, then turn onto individual plates. Spoon fruit around base, drizzle juices over top.

JGH's Sloe Gin Recipe

1lb sloes

3 cups gin

1 1/2 cups sugar

Wash, dry and pick over fruit, removing stems. Freeze sloes for a couple of days (you won't need to do this if you picked your sloes after the first frost). Place fruit in a suitable, non-reactive container, add gin, shake twice a week for 4-8 weeks. Transfer most of the liquid to a clean bottle. Add the sugar to the remaining sloes. Shake twice a day until all the sugar has dissolved (about 2 weeks). Mix the sweet syrup with the bottled liquid, discarding most of the sloes but inserting a few into the bottle. Store in a dark cupboard for 3 months. Strain through muslin, reserving a few whole sloes. Taste, add sugar if a sweeter flavor required. Return to bottle with whole sloes. Allow to mature a further 6 months before using (if you can resist that long).

Amy’s Sweet Potatoes

For me this recipe has all the scent of the Fall. It is kindly provided by my friend Amy, whose family have baked this for generations.

Ingredients for 6 people

6 tbsps unsalted butter, melted
2 pounds (about 4 medium) sweet potatoes or yams
4 tbsps freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Pour 1 tbsp of the melted butter into an 8-inch round cake pan and brush it all over the bottom and sides with a pastry brush. Peel the potatoes and cut them into paper-thin slices. Layer one-quarter of the potato slices in concentric circles in the prepared pan, then dab on one quarter of the melted butter with the pastry brush. Mix the cheese with the nutmeg. Sprinkle on one quarter of the cheese mixture and season lightly with salt and pepper. Repeat three times, ending with the cheese mixture. The potatoes will have risen above the pan slightly; push them down with your hands to flatten. Cover the pan with foil.

(The recipe to this point may be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before baking.)

Bake 45 minutes, then uncover and bake 30 to 40 minutes longer, or until tender. Let sit 5 minutes. Drain off any excess butter. Run a knife around the edges of the potatoes and invert onto a platter. Cut into wedges to serve.

Presenting...Red Velvet Cake

Try not to be alarmed by the High School chemistry experiment list of ingredients. This is the cake that lets you fake it as a professional patissier. To make this perfect cake even more special scatter red rose petals over it before serving.

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened, cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-2 oz. red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1/2 cup prepared plain hot coffee

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
4. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined.
5. Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
6. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at time, mixing after each addition, just until combined.
7. Generously grease and flour two round cake pans with Crisco and flour.
8. Pour the batter evenly into each pan.
9. Bake in the middle rack for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake as cake will continue to cook as it cools.
10. Let cool on a cooling rack until the pan are warm to the touch.
11. Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan.
12. Remove the cakes from the pan and let them cool.
13. Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting when the cakes have cooled completely.

Frosting

1 cup sweet butter, softened
20 oz. powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 oz. cream cheese

Cream butter and add icing sugar gradually. Mix in vanilla. Add cream cheese (do not mix cheese too much  or frosting may become watery).

The Silver Palate Pecan Squares

Julee Rosso and the late Sheila Lukins who began The Silver Palate are their own legend. They became major culinary figures in New York in the '80s, bringing new and exciting food to New Yorkers who had money and taste but little time to shop and cook. More than 6 million copies of their books have been sold, and with good reason!

I guarantee you this is the fastest, easiest sweet crust you'll ever make - and no rolling out! You can adapt this recipe for your favorite filling, but do try the pecan pie filling first, and maybe serve with my vanilla ice cream [recipe coming soon folks].

Cookies as gifts, pecan bars are top left

Ingredients

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 sticks sweet butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 12 inch baking pan. Sift sugar and flour together. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pat the crust into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes; remove from the oven.

Topping

2/3 cup (11 tbsps) melted sweet butter

1/2 cup honey

3 tbsps heavy cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups shelled pecans, coarsely chopped

Mix melted butter, honey, cream and brown sugar. Stir in pecans, coating them thoroughly. Spread over crust. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes more. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Makes 36 squares.

Pasta with Pesto Sauce, Sauteed New Potatoes and Green Beans

I am planning on spending some time on the East Coast soon, and this recipe is taken from the repertoire of Bell's Tavern in Lambertville, NJ. Bell's has been a great neighborhood restaurant for meeting up with old friends and eating real Italian food since 1938, not that I've been going there that long of course!

This recipe doesn't have a cute title, but it is great comfort food and real easy to make. I love they way they make it at Bell's.

Ingredients
A few waxy potatoes cut into bite-size pieces (no need to peel)
8 oz green beans, trimmed and halved
8 oz pasta (shells or tubes for preference)
salt
Pesto sauce (see below)

Place potatoes in a pan of water and bring to the boil. Add salt, then pasta, and cook for 8 minutes or until the pasta is al dente, adding the green beans for the last couple of minutes. Drain, toss with pesto and place in a hot serving dish.

* left-over potatoes can be used instead, as long as they are waxy - fry little pieces in olive oil until brown and crispy then toss into the pasta just before serving

Adding beans to pot 2 minutes before pasta and potatoes are done

Pesto Sauce
3 generous handfuls of fresh basil leaves, removed from their stems
1/2 cup pignoli/pine nuts (toasted but still pale - take care not to darken or they'll give a bitter flavor)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Process all pesto ingredients (except olive oil) so they are chopped but not blended - the sauce needs texture not smoothness. Stir in the best extra virgin olive oil you can get,, California Olive Ranch's Arbequina for example, and season to taste. These amounts provide four generous helpings of sauce. Scale up and store the rest in a glass jar in the refrigerator, sealed with a layer of olive oil.


Why not pair this with a glass or two of Di Majo Norante Sangiovese like they do at Bell's.

• 
  

Sea Bass with Lentils and Pancetta

I just took a great little vacation to London, England. My British friends took me to the restaurant of a fantastic Israeli chef working in Britain,, taking flavor inspiration from the Middle East and Turkey - Yotam Ottolenghi. His new book, Plenty More, is just about to be published. This is one of his recipes.

Don't worry though, just because this is a fancy restaurateur does not mean it's complicated. I promised not to tax my followers and I am keeping that promise. This recipe is real easy, folks, and it surely has that wow factor.

Ingredients for 4 people

250g puy lentils
40g unsalted butter
75ml olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 5mm dice
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 5mm dice
4 sticks celery, trimmed and cut into 5mm dice
300g pancetta, cut into 5mm dice
1 tbsp picked thyme leaves
¾ tsp ground turmeric
2 bay leaves
Salt and white pepper
400ml vegetable stock
150g creme fraiche
1 tsp white-wine vinegar
8 small sea bass fillets, trimmed, pin-boned and skin lightly scored
1½ tbsp lemon juice
10g picked parsley, roughly chopped

Method

Bring a medium pan of water to a boil, add the lentils and simmer for 18 minutes, till cooked but with some bite. Drain, refresh and set aside.

Put a large saute pan on medium-high heat and add the butter and two tablespoons of oil. Once the butter has melted, add the diced veg and fry for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelised and soft. Add 250g pancetta, fry for five minutes more, then add the lentils, thyme, turmeric, bay and half a teaspoon of white pepper. Cook for two minutes, stir in the stock, creme fraiche and vinegar, and taste – add a quarter-teaspoon of salt, if needed (it will depend on how salty the pancetta is). Set aside in a warm spot.

Put a large frying pan on medium-high heat and add the remaining pancetta and oil. When the bacon starts to sizzle, lay in the fish fillets skin side down. Fry for three to four minutes, then flip and cook for a minute on the flesh side. Spoon the lentils into four shallow bowls and lay two fillets on top of each serving. Finish with a drizzle of lemon juice and a sprinkle of parsley.

Competing Summer Drinks from either side of the Pond

1. Long Island Iced Tea
This is my favorite way to get a party off to a fine start. There is controversy about the origins of this drink - who first mixed it, the exact ingredients, and whether it was a prohibition era invention - if it was it certainly disguises its not insignificant alcohol content well. It tastes just like a grown up soda.

The measures below are sufficient for two drinks, so if you want to make a jugful you'll need to scale up.


1 oz vodka
1 oz gin
1 oz white tequila
1 oz white rum
1/2 oz Triple Sec
a splash of cola
a dash of lemon juice

Pour ingredients over ice and serve in highball glasses.

2. Pimm's
The origins of this British potion seem more certain - invented by a London oyster bar owner as an aid to digestion in the 19th century. It is a very popular drink at Wimbledon lawn tennis. The following recipe is from the official Pimm's site - anyoneforpimms.com, but I prefer using half lemonade and half ginger ale. I also think adding a little vodka works well.

These measures are per drink, but as above it's probably safest to make a jugful.

50 ml Pimm's No 1
150 ml lemonade
mint, orange, strawberries, cucumber, ice

Pour ingredients over ice and serve in a highball glass.

Apple Cake for Labor Day

It's Labor Day, it's the end of summer, it's picnic time. So why not take off to the park with a slice of tortilla (see my last post) and some apple cake. Apples are plentiful right now, but you can also make this cake with pears, or try adding in a handful of berries in place of the sultanas and walnuts. This recipe originated in Germany. You will amaze your friends with your baking skills. This is one easy cake to make, but your secret will be safe with me.

Ingredients

1 lb cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped up fine
2 oz sultanas
1 oz chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 oz Turbinado or Demerara sugar
4 oz superfine sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 level tsp baking powder
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg, beaten

Method

Combine fruit, nuts, spices and Turbinado/Demerara sugar in a large bowl. Mix superfine sugar, flour, butter, egg and beat well. Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a deep, round, loose-bottomed 8" cake tin. Spread 2/3 of the cake batter onto the base of the pan. Add the apple mixture. Spoon the remaining batter over the top. It should almost cover the fruit filling. Bake 50-60 minutes, until well risen and springy to touch. You can serve warm with custard, cream or ice cream. But remember to save some to cool for your picnic!

Alamo Square Tortilla

When I visit San Francisco with my dog we walk on the beach. But if I'm there alone I love to go to Alamo Square and see the Painted Ladies close up. The panorama of the city from the park is magnificent, making this a great picnic spot. And what better picnic food to eat in San Francisco than a real Spanish tortilla.

Ingredients for a big one:

6-7 eggs
1-2 spicy sausages or 1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1/4 pint milk
1 tsp paprika
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
olive oil for frying
pinch dried oregano and basil, or a handful if fresh
1 green and 1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 pound of potatoes, parboiled in their skins
handful of fresh parsley and/or coriander

Method:

In a large, ovenproof pan fry onion and garlic on stove top in olive oil until soft and transparent. Add peppers to the pan and continue cooking. After a few minutes add meat. After another few minutes add potatoes (skins removed, and sliced 1/4 inch thick). You may need to add more olive oil before putting the potatoes in - it will depend on how much fat your meat releases. Continue frying until all is cooked. Add parsley/coriander. Meanwhile beat eggs with milk and remaining seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste (bearing in mind the degree of spiciness/saltiness of the meat ingredient). Pour egg mixture into pan, stir to mix. Continue cooking gently until the eggs just set. You can also finish under a hot grill to cook the center and brown the top.

Allow to cool and cut into wedges. It's also great between slices of sourdough, and more portable for a picnic that way.

Shortbread

These all-butter cookies are easy to make, great for a tea-time snack, but also elegant enough to serve with ice cream at a dinner. As you can see from the photo they make great gifts too. Try to obtain Plus Gras or European butter - it contains less water and gives a much better texture.

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup rice flour

1 cup white sugar

Demerara sugar for dusting

Cut butter into small chunks and process with remaining ingredients except Demerara. Press into a tin lined with baking parchment and prick all over with fork (this will make the surface look messy, but it will settle down in the cooking). Bake in slow oven for 30-40 minutes, until pale brown. Remove from oven and score into appropriate pieces. When cool cut completely.

Vegetable Samosas

OK, so I know I promised you recipes that would not tax the beginner, and you're taking one look at these instructions and calling me a liar. Can I just ask you to trust me, especially as the results are so delicious (washed down with an ice cold beer as a reward for your labors, perhaps) that you may just want to give this one a try anyhow.

Pastry

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup bessan (garbanzo flour)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
Groundnut oil for deep frying

Filling

1 pound potatoes, boiled in their skins, peeled and chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cups frozen peas
1 bunch flat-leaved parsley, minced
4 cloves garlic
2 fresh green chiles, chopped
2 limes, juiced
4 tbs sunflower oil
salt to taste
4 tsp cardamom pod seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp each cumin, black mustard seed, turmeric, paprika, garma masala
2 bay leaves

Method: Pastry

Sift flours, spices and salt in bowl. Make a well in the center and add sunflower oil and enough chilled water to mix into a stiff dough. Knead until smooth. Divide into walnut-sized pieces. Form each piece into a ball, flatten and roll on a floured surface into a thin, circular pancake. Cut each circle in two.

Method: Filling

Grind or blend whole aromatics, and fry all spices (except garam masala) in sunflower oil for a few minutes. Add onion and fry gently until soft and translucent. Add potato, peas, garlic, chiles, bay leaves, salt and lime juice. Cover tightly and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover for last few minutes to thicken. Stir garam masala and parsley into mixture.

Assembly

Have a bowl of iced water ready. Dampen edges of a dough semi circle with water. Take one corner (A) and draw it over to a point 2/3 of the way along the round edge (B), then take the second corner (C) and fold over to form a triangle. Fill with a spoonful of stuffing. Press edges and seams carefully, dampening again if needed. Deep fry samosas in small batches in groundnut oil until dark golden. Drain and keep warm while frying the rest.


Serve hot with mango chutney and yogurt flavored with fresh mint - and a glass of ice cold beer.

My Bloody Mary Recipe, with a Nod to the Master

Today I'd like to pause a while and raise a glass to all my followers who've been trying out my recipes and giving their generous feedback - and why not a glass of Bloody Mary?

It is thought the name came from England's Mary Queen of Scots and the drink is said to have been made first at Harry's Bar in Paris, France, in the 1920s. Hemingway may not have invented it himself, but he sure did a lot for its popularity.

Per glass:

2.5 oz vodka
3 oz chilled tomato juice
a dash Worcestershire sauce

1/2 oz fresh lime juice
Pinch celery salt
Pinch black pepper
Several drops Tabasco

Pour ingredients into a highball glass containing a large piece of ice. (I keep a bottle of Absolut vodka in the freezer compartment in case of emergency.) Garnish with a stick of celery.

You can adapt this recipe to suit your taste, of course- a little more vodka, a little more spice, or to quote the great man:

“Keep on stirring and taste it to see how it is doing. If you gets it too powerful weaken with more tomato juice. If it lacks authority add more vodka.”

Variants:

• Respect abstinent friends with a Virgin Mary
• Add carrots, pickle to the garnish for a wholesome brunch
• Use Clamato in place of tomato juice for a Bloody Caesar
• Add a little extra spice by persuading your other half to pose as a waiter, complete with freshly laundered, starched napkin, and present your drink on a silver tray

Cheers!

Jesse

Grant Family Oatcake Recipes

These recipes have come down the Grant line - they say my Scots-Irish ancestors brought them to the US a couple hundred years ago. They are quick and easy to make. There are no chemical preservatives hiding in these cookies yet they last for weeks in an airtight tin - if you can keep them that long! I list raisins in the ingredients because that's how the recipes came to me, but these cookies taste great if you substitute craisins (dried cranberries) or other dried fruit, and maybe some nuts. If you like citrus candied peel works well and there's a great - and none too taxing - recipe here.

Version 1 Ingredients/Method

3/4 cup fork stirred all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed)

1 1/2 cups oats

1/3 cup corn oil

1 egg

1 tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup raisins

- Mix dry ingredients and stir until lump free. Make well in center. Add raisins, oil, lightly beaten egg, water, vanilla. Mix well but gently.

Version 2 Ingredients/Method

1 cup softened butter

1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups oats

1 cup raisins

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla. Beat well. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Mix well. Stir in oats and raisins.

Baking the Oatcakes (makes 30 or more cookies depending on size)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto a lined cookie sheet a reasonable distance apart (a small ice cream scoop works real well). Now comes the fun bit...dampen the palm of your hand with cold water from a bowl, then 'splat' each blob of mixture to flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool and stabilize for a few minutes then transfer to a rack.

Pizza Fatta in Casa

That’s Italian for ‘pizza made at home’, not ‘pizza ordered in’!

Pizza consumption in the US is enormous. 93% of us eat at least one pizza a month, says one website and an incredible 5 to 6 million pizzas are sold each day. But how many of us make one pizza a month? If I can show you that it’s almost as easy as picking up the phone and a whole lot more fun, will you give it a try?

Pizza dough:

For a thin crust pizza on an 11 or 12 inch pizza plate (ovenproof earthenware or metal) you need about a cup of flour (King Arthur unbleached bread flour works well),  1 tsp instant yeast* (Fleischmann's Quick-Rise Instant Yeast is perfect), 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 3 tbsps good olive oil, ½ cup warm water (so you can just hold your finger in it).

*There are plenty of yeast brands from plenty of companies out there. But trust me on this, the instant variety is the one to go for.

I mostly use my Kitchen Aid, but kneading with your hands sure beats therapy and if you increase the quantities to feed the family you get a great workout too. Mix the dry ingredients. Stir in the oil. You want to end up with a dough that is springy and elastic after five minutes of kneading, not sticky, but not cracking from being too dry either, so go easy with the water, otherwise you’ll be adding more flour down the line. Let the dough rise in a warm place for an hour or more until doubled in size, then knead again briefly.

Oil your pizza plate. Now the test: if you’ve treated your dough right, if it has been worked enough, it will be ready for s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g. The Italians do it just with their hands. But I cheat a little – I use a rolling pin to make the dough into a big circle, like for a pie crust. Then I stretch the edge all the way round. That way the dough doesn’t shrink back from the edge of your plate, the crust is authentic and not too thick.

Filling:

Restraint is key. Toppings contain moisture and you want to avoid moisture because moisture makes bad dough. Tomato paste makes a great base to spread on your dough because the water has been removed. Pepperoni  and onion should be sliced thinly, same for bacon and sausage (try part cooking so fat runs off before adding). I find that slicing mushrooms ahead of time then letting them dry out in a warm place works real well. Anchovies, black olives, capers are traditional Italian additions, but dry them on kitchen paper before adding.  A word on cheese: your artisan pizza deserves the best mozzarella. Look out for it at specialty retailers, and don’t buy pre shredded.

Baking:

Heat is key. Crank your oven up as high as it will go and place your pizza in the hottest part. Placing it on a pre heated metal sheet is another good tip I'll share - to encourage a crispy base. The pizza should take about 15-20 minutes to cook.

My favorite pizza would always have a tomato paste base, freshly grated mozzarella, a few anchovy slices, a small handful of capers and black olives, a sprinkling of oregano, black pepper,  a splash of olive oil and some shaved parmesan. It would not have more than one or two other ingredients (so pepperoni or mushrooms, with a few slivers of onion, say). Oh and folks, it would never have…pineapple.

Lemon Cake

Whether it's lemon drizzle cake or iced lemon sheet cake, there is no happier marriage than sponge and citrus. Today's recipe is based on Martha Stewart's Sour Lemon Cake, which appears in Martha Stewart's Christmas - my copy of which is stained and collapsing from over use!

I cannot continue without paying special tribute to the doyenne of...well, of too many areas to list here. I just want to take a moment to express my admiration and my gratitude for Martha Stewart's phoenix-like resurrection from the securities fraud and insider dealing charges, for her strength and determination in surviving the harshness of both the prison sentence and the press, and for the significant contribution that her body of work represents.

Here then is my take on Martha's recipe, made in my little angel cake mold: a fitting tribute to one of our culinary greats. I halved these ingredients for my small mold.

1 cup/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
grated rind of 2 lemons

glaze: 1/3 cup limoncello*, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/ cup sugar

*purchase this delicious lemon liqueur from southern Italy at any good liquor store, or at Wegmans if you are lucky enough to be on the East Coast near one

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9" cake pan. (If you are using an intricate mold be sure to do this very thoroughly.)

Cream butter and sugar for 5 full minutes (no shirking - treat it as a workout if you don't have a Kitchen Aid). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt. Add to butter mixture alternating with milk. Stir in lemon rind. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before turning onto a cooling rack. For an intricate mold leave 15 minutes, give a sharp tap, then unmold.

Stir glaze ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Brush on while cake is still warm.

Other recipes suggest hiding a whole lemon in the center of the cake, but I think that's a surprise too many. Stick with Martha.

Bud's Cheese Straws - the perfect accompaniment to...

...a glass or two of Rodney Strong's delicious Merlot. This is an underrated vineyard in my opinion, and well worth a visit.

Over the years I have amassed quite a collection of pastry cutters. For my Fourth of July party this year I cut two thirds of this cheese dough into strips, and used my star cutter on the remainder. Cheesy stars and stripes to serve to my fellow countrymen.

I also love to use my dog-bone cutter and then watch people try to decide whether I'm offering them dog biscuits with their drink! These biscuits are named in honor of a legendary Black Lab, Bud. When his nose detected these baking he would go into hiding under the kitchen table where the cooling rack was waiting. He got lucky more than once.

Here's how:

2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsps baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 sticks butter
10 oz cheese*, grated

A word of advice on the cheese: a mix of Gruyere, Parmesan and Cheddar is good. Please do not cut corners with any old Jack. Get good quality European cheese and Vermont Cheddar. These babies are worth it.

Mix dry ingredients and grated cheese in a big bowl. Now here's the secret I want to share with you: FREEZE the butter for 30 minutes before you start, then grate it into your mixture. (This is my technique for sticky dough avoidance, particularly when the proportion of fat to flour is as high as this. It works. It's fast. It keeps the dough light.). Stir to mix with a couple of tablespoons of ice water. Chill 30 minutes.

Roll out dough 1/4" thick. Cut into straws or with a cutter. Chill again. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake 10 minutes or until golden. Transfer to cooling rack.

Can you smell them already?

Let's start the day - and the blog - with Fruit Scones, a Williams-Sonoma recipe with JGH's variations

We're starting with a stalwart from the kitchen of the great Chuck Williams. These scones are perfect for breakfast, to offer unexpected guests (they freeze great), and pretty much any time. I think the original recipe used half a cup of chopped, crystallized ginger as the flavoring. I've experimented so much since, I don't rightly recall.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
5 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
16 tbsps/2 sticks chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg
scant 1/2 cup milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a big baking sheet with parchment. Process dry ingredients with butter until you get fine crumbs*. Whisk egg and milk, add to dry mixture and mix to form moist clumps of dough (no over mixing!) Turn onto lightly floured surface, pat together with hands to make a cube of the dough. Make four cuts each way through the dough so you end up with 16 little towers (it's ok, they'll flatten into shape in the baking process). Next time I make some I'm going to try and add a photograph here to show you what I mean. Bake until golden, 25-35 minutes.

Cutting the dough

Blueberry-cinnamon scones

Flavors:
*At the crumb stage stir in one of these combinations:
- chopped pecans and banana (if banana ripe, mash with egg and reduce milk a little)
- blueberries and vanilla
- raspberries and almonds
- cranberries and orange zest (Thanksgiving breakfast, right?)
- chopped walnuts and maple syrup (reduce sugar, sprinkle brown sugar on top to form crust)
- chopped apple, oats and pumpkin pie spice (for a Hallowe'en treat not trick)

Hello World!

I've not done this kind of thing before, so bear with me, okay. To my friends who think I'm not up to blogging and I'm just an old fraud, watch and weep, guys, watch and weep. I plan to post every few days. I'll put up some old favorites, with appropriate credits of course, and I'll be including my variations and tips, along with a few original recipes...