Cookbook Challenge #6 - Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain

My most recent challenge has a bit of a twist, a Jamie Oliver “twist”, that is!

Sur La Table is a high end national cookery supply store. They offer you everything from a $5 metal spatula to a $5,500 home coffee “center”. Along with their vast array of products, they offer classes
on all types of cooking, from entertaining to honing your knife skills to the finer points of cooking a soufflé. In short, think Williams-Sonoma meets Bed, Bath & Beyond and together, they have a classy love child who is dating Michael’s Arts & Crafts store.

Every once in awhile, I look over the listings at Sur La Table and other cooking schools and venues in the area to see if anything looks interesting. With this challenge I’ve given myself, there was a class that I just couldn’t pass up - “Great Food Inspired by Jamie Oliver”.

The class highlights recipes from Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain and takes you step by step to make a full meal in just about 2 hours. Here was the menu: Apple and Watercress Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing and Crushed Walnuts – Sizzling Lamb Lollipops – Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon – Citrus Cheesecake Possets. And the kicker?  For the cost of the class you get a copy of the cookbook too!! How perfect is that? Never one to have fun alone if I could add a friend, I asked my sister to join me and we set off last Wednesday for a night of handmade British faire and maybe a new skill or two.

With cups of black tea in our hands and every kitchen instrument you could imagine at our fingertips, we set off to make the delectables on the menu. The class was amazing (see all my pictures below), the food was off the charts and the company was great. It was totally worth it and I can’t wait to sign up for the next one! Our instructor, Joel, said I could share with you my favorite recipe of the night, the Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon.

Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain for Sur La Table

Preface from Jamie to the Sur La Table students: There are a few steps to make these fishcakes, but each step is dead easy and so worth it, because the end result just seems to make people happy (note from Heidi - H*ll’s yeah! And I’m not even a fish person, really). I think you have to accept that sometimes in life even something humble, like a fishcake, requires effort. The reaction to these fishcakes has been amazing, and interestingly, whenever homemade fishcakes are on a restaurant menu, they always sell. The difference with making your own is that you get flavors and texture suited to your own particular tastes. So I’ll happily give this recipe to you, knowing that a kid could make them... mine have, with a little help.

2 Small Leeks
A knob of butter*
1 whole nutmeg for grating
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
3 large free-range eggs
8 ounces smoked salmon, smoked trout or (even better!) a mixture of the two, roughly chopped**
2 fresh lemons
6 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley picked and finely chopped
A few handfuls of all-purpose flour
6 slices of white bread, crusts removed
1 dried red chile
Olive oil
6 slices (rashers) of quality bacon
Watercress to serve

Heidi’s notes:
* Knob equals 2-3 Tablespoons, usually
** We used smoked white fish and it was very yummy!

Top and tail the leeks, then peel back the tough outer green leaves. Cut them lengthways, wash under the tap and finely slice. Put them into a large pan on medium heat with a knob of butter and a few scrapings of nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. Cook gently with the lid on for around 25 minutes, or until softened, then take the pan off the heat and leave to cook.

While your leeks are cooking, peel the potatoes, halve or quarter them depending on their size and whack them into a pan of salted boiling water for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through and mashable. Drain them, then return them to the saucepan, smash them up so the mixture is smooth but also has chunks, and put to one side to cool down a bit. Crack eggs into a wide, shallow bowl, then carefully remove one of the yolks and stir into the potato mixture, followed by the sweet leeks and smoked fish. Add the zest of 1 whole lemon and the juice of half, and two-thirds of the parsley. Leave to one side.

Whisk up the eggs remaining in the bowl and tip into a shallow dish. Put a few handfuls of flour on a plate. Pulse the bread and chile in a food processor with a tiny swig of olive oil until you have coarse breadcrumbs, then stir in the remaining parsley and tip the crumbs on to another plate. Divide your fishcake mix into 6 little balls. Dust each one in flour, shaking off the excess, then dip them into the egg until completely coated. Let the excess drip off, them move them to the tray of flavored breadcrumbs. Wash your hands, and spend a bit of time patting, shaping and hugging them into nice-looking patties around 3/4-inch thick. Cover and leave in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them.

Preheat the oven and a large baking sheet to 425-degrees, with an oven rack positioned towards the top.

Lay the bacon rashers out side by side on a board and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over them. Using a rolling pin or a wine bottle to roll and stretch the rashers out a little bit lengthways so they’re longer and thinner (sounds cheffy, but it’s dead simple). Wrap one rasher around the circumference of each fishcake and secure with a cocktail stick. Place the fishcakes on the hot baking sheet and roast in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Serve hot from the oven, with some lemony dressed watercress and a few wedges of lemon for squeezing over.

Make 6 cakes

 

 ******

Highlights from the rest of the class:

My sister, Heather, psyched to start the class.

 

 

First Course:  Apple and Watercress Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing and Crushed Walnuts

Second Course: Crispy Roasted Fishcakes Wrapped in Bacon (see above)

Third Course: Sizzling Lamb Lollipops

Our instructor, Joel, with Heather and I getting ready to lolli some lamb...

(wait, that doesn't sound right...)

Here are the ingredients for the lamb lollipops and the three "dips".

We had a nice looking workstation, didn't we?

Lamb chops marinaded and into the hot pan!

Our workstation-mates, Inhwa and Hyokon, with Heather getting instructions on how NOT to get hot oil on yourself when you put a lamb chop into a hot pan.

 

Lamb lollipops on a bed of rice seasoned with herbs de Provence with trhee dipping sauces, a homemade taziki, a spicy salsa and a nut mix of crushed pistachios and blanched almonds.

How good does that lamb lollipop look?

Pudding Course: Citrus Cheesecake Possets

It's a very decieving name, bordering on lying - as there is no cheese in this cheesecake!  The citrus thickens the cream to make a cheesecake like consistency.

Three hands make light work of juicing an orange and a lemon

Graham cracker and almond "crust" with the vanilla citrus cream on top

The best part - someone else cleans the kitchen for you!!!

If you think that a class at Sur La Table looks fun, you can see if there is a location near you and what classes they are offering by visiting http://www.surlatable.com/category/Web-Cooking-Root/Cooking-Classes

Our class was at the Hell's Kitchen location in New York City.

#52cookbooks
#surlatable

Week off the Challenge for a Craft Fair

I don't want to disappoint and I know it's early to be taking a "break" but I swear I have a good reason.

My friend, Cat and I will be sharing a table at the Astoria Craft Fair at the Beer Garden this Sunday, February 10 from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.. We will be selling cookies, beautiful handmade toys and tea cozies and handmade earrings. 

For more information on the Astoria Market Craft Fair visit the event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/466477993414803/

To see Cat's beautiful homemade goodies, please visit her Etsy site at http://www.etsy.com/shop/catpenfold

Here is what my oven (and my friend's Sarah's oven) has spent the week doing - 

I Love M&M Cookies - chewy and crunchy at the same time.

Sweet Southern Tea Cookies - sweet and tart and perfect for a cuppa

Sugar Love Cookies - sugar rolled in sugar - um... yum!

Lavender Valentine Cookies - sweet with a touch of relaxing herbal perfume

Choco-Cherry Passion Cookies - rich and almost crumbly dark chocolate with cherry buttons

My week also included a new addition to my cookbook wall.  Talk about feeding an obsession - I know - but I couldn't help myself.

The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo

I have seen the show on Food Channel and want to try one of everything on every show.   There is a snow storm heading to NYC and this will be my snowy Sunday retreat!  It's going to be Challenge Cookbook #3.  Details next week!

The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo - my Nemo project

#52cookbooks
#nemo

52 Cookbooks Challenge #2: Easy Breakfast & Brunch: Simple Recipes for Morning Treats

When my husband and I moved in together, I realized I was going to have to become the "Queen of the Brunch". My husband worked the 4 p.m. to midnight shift, Wednesday to Sunday. If we wanted to entertain together, it would have to be on the weekend before he left for work at 2 p.m. This means Brunch.  The next logical step to becoming a Queen is to get a killer cookbook, so I hopped online and ordered Easy Breakfast & Brunch: Simple Recipes for Morning Treats by Susannah Blake.

The cookbook arrived and I remember thinking how bright and fresh everything looked. Then, the poor thing went up on my cookbook shelf and became part of the décor. Not because it didn’t have viable recipes (as I have rediscovered) but more that we didn’t host as many brunches as I had planned.  Besides, cooking for guests at that early morning hour usually meant I needed something brainless, like my go-to frittatas or everyone’s favorite, Farmer’s Casserole.

This weekend, my mom was visiting me while my dad was in Brooklyn. I handed her the cookbook and said, "What do you want to eat?" She chose the Pecan and Chocolate Muffins. Given the lack of preparation I had allowed myself for the recipe, we substituted walnuts (my favorite match with chocolate anyway).

Walnut & Chocolate Muffins
Adaptation of the recipe from Easy Breakfast & Brunch: Simple Recipes for Morning Treat

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 ounces walnuts, chopped small*/**
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup milk
4 Tablespoon butter, melted
3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips*
Chopped walnuts to decorate**

* I use a small scale I got a weight loss meeting years ago. You can get digital scales for $20 and I think when you are dealing with items of strange sizes, it’s better to weight anyway.

** The original recipe called for 2 1/2 ounces of ground pecans and chopped pecans to decorate.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small bowl, sift flour and baking powder together. Add walnuts and chocolate chips and mix to coat. In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, egg, butter and maple syrup and beat well. Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix to combine.

Spoon batter into a 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners. Fill them up generously, making sure to use all the batter (muffin will not rise so much that they spill over). Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Cook muffins for 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Cool and serve slightly warm, no need for butter.

These muffins can be made ahead of time and warmed in the oven to save time on party day. They are also good for work meetings – perfect with a cup of coffee or nice milky black tea.

Makes 12 muffins 

Everything is easy enough to mix by hand.

#52cookbooks

52 Cookbooks Challenge #1: Nigella Kitchen

My first of new recipes for the New Year was from my culinary idol, Nigella Lawson (are you really surprised?).

On my honeymoon, Nigella’s Kitchen debuted on the shelves. It was great, I was in England for my honeymoon and my favorite cook had a new cookbook out and she was English – how perfect!! I picked up a copy at the airport (couldn’t wait). I was so excited to have a true English version of my idol’s cookbook. I read it front to back on the flight to Edinburgh and made plans for all the good food I was going to make.

Flash forward 2 weeks and I’m home, in my kitchen with my new Harrods Christmas mug full of Breakfast blend from Edinburgh and ready to try a recipe out of my treasured honeymoon gift to myself. I tried pumpkin biscuits. You would think it would have been easy, but to my horror (and with a groan) I looked at the recipe for the first time with cook's eyes. Holy crap… it’s in metric! What does gas mark mean for me? How many milliliters in a cup?

Out came the computer and I started my translation. I translated the measurements best I could to match my cups and ounces.  I made the recipe per my changes, thinking it was quite simple. And the biscuits were... well.... crap. I totally attribute this to my translation and maybe a bit to my own taste buds (I’m not as big of a fan of pumpkin as I thought).

After that, my beautiful book was shelved not to be opened again but to keep as a tribute to my honeymoon trip.

This past winter, I was in my local bookstore chain and they were having a sale on the American version of Nigella Kitchen – YAY!! I picked it up and now, without need of translation, I was ready to dive in again. First off the block is comfort food at its best – Ed’s Mother’s Meatloaf.

Ed’s Mother’s Meatloaf

½ recipe Adaptation of the recipe from Nigella’s Kitchen
Available at: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/eds-mothers-meatloaf.html

1 raw egg
2 hard-boiled eggs (shelled)
1 onions (2 if you don’t have a finicky husband), diced
3 tablespoons butter and or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
10 slices of bacon

For a one pot recipe, use a cast iron skillet (looks kind of awesome too).

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a skillet, melt butter or heat oil and start to cook the onion. Add a dash of salt to help the onions soften instead of fry. Once onions are soft (4-5 minutes), remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk raw egg slightly. Add raw ground beef, salt, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs and cooled onions. Bite the bullet and get your hands into the bowl (trust me, it will just break a spatula) and mix until well combined.

Split meat mixture in half and make a mound in the now cool cast iron skillet (or in a baking pan with edges). With the side of your hand, make a well in the middle of the meat in the pan lengthwise. Place the 2 hard-boiled eggs end to end in the well. Take the remainder of the mixture and cover the eggs and try to seal the sides. The end product should not show any sign of the eggs.

Take the bacon and start to cover the meatloaf from one end, overlapping the pieces slightly to adjust for shrinkage. Tuck the ends of the bacon under the loaf, like you were tucking your little beef log in to bed with a bacon blanket. Weird, but that’s what it feels like.

Put swaddled meatloaf into the oven and cook for 50-60 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and there is no more pink on the inside. Let rest 5-10 minutes to reincorporate juices and then serve.

Serves 3-4

Beef Loaf in a Bacon Blanket - cow in a pig blanket?

This is a no-red-sauce meatloaf so it tastes like a super moist, well done burger with the cute surprise of an egg on the inside.  If you serve right after cooking, and the meat you used wasn't too fatty, the juices can be poured over like gravy.  Perfect comfort food!

#52cookbooks

The Last Few Days of September...

When I think of September, a bright red apple comes to mind.  There is a slight crispness in the air and school is back in full swing.  The leaves haven't turned yet, but football is in the field and on the TV and chili is on the stove.

But in recent memory, September is just as balmy and hot as August.  The AC is still on overnight and it's way to hot to make apple pie in my kitchen (aka The Hot Box).  Grrr...where have my cool September days gone?

This weekend, even though it was 80 degrees in my area of New York, I was able to catch a breeze (aided by an electric fan) and curl up on my couch and break open a fall harvest book with a warm cup of cider and imagine what I would be doing for October (the time when it will get really crisp and chilly).  My book of choice this weekend?  Homemade Harvest by Gooseberry Patch.

Gooseberry Patch was founded in 1984 by Vickie Hutchins and Jo Ann Martin, two women who loved sharing recipes.  They have created a wonderful line of cookbooks (mainly) that are compilations of submission from others who love to share their recipes from all over the country.  They each carry a theme, memories and stories about that theme and/or recipe along with tips and tricks from the staff at Gooseberry Patch.

My first encounter with Gooseberry Patch was Homemade Harvest.  This beautifully simple spiral bound book has beautiful illustrations and fall inspired recipes and crafts.  It covers soups and breads, suppers and a section that focuses exclusively on Halloween.  There is a chapter called Fall Festival Favorites, but it's mainly Friday Night Lights and tailgating friendly recipes and stories and another section that prepares you for a camp out or your next night beside the fire pit (for those of us that don't camp).  There is also a section on fall breakfasts full of eggs, sausage and pumpkins - YUM!

I spend the later half of Saturday afternoon reading this book from cover to cover.  If definitely put me in the fall mood, even if the thermometer was trying to convince me it was still Summer.  I'm sure that everyone could find at least one recipe or craft to try at home.

Next Adventure - Professional Food Writing Course

I work at a college for my day job.  This has certain benefits - Summer Fridays off, "student" discounts, and, of course, free classes.  The school I work at is known for it's arts and social awareness curriculum.  I took an interior design course (to help me actually decorate our apartment) but that was for students a bit more serious than I.

That was Fall of 2009.  With an engagement, wedding, and LOTS of work, I had not jumped back into the classroom.  This was until I looked further into our Food Studies program.  I'm not so interested in sustainable farming, but I did find a few day courses that intrigued me.  There was a class about launching and marketing your specialty food product and two classes that had to do with writing and publishing - one about professional food writing and the other about getting a cookbook published.  They were amazing and helped me to realize that: A. I love food and talking about food, and B. I could do any of the above and be successful at it (I think).

I have had this blog living a thin life for the past 3 years, and though I love it, had not had the discipline nor direction to truly make it something.  In comes a full 15 session course on professional food writing from the Food Studies program. Though I loved my 1 day classes that gave me a bit of knowledge and know-how, this was the opportunity to learn from those that are in the business (and are successful at it) and almost more importantly, practice by force writing every week 2-3 times (and more, I hope). 

This is the long explanation of the short statement - you can look forward to reading my homework assignments and following me on my journey to get publish (and get paid - that's the goal!).

Now for kudos - my professor's name is Andrew F. Smith and has been in the business for years.  Here are links to his two most recent releases:

• Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil War 
• Potato: A Global History (Reaktion Books - Edible)

If you want to follow me on my journey, I would suggest obtaining the following 2 books (most of my assignments are in these books, so I'll talk about the a lot):

• Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More (Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Blogs,)
• Best Food Writing 2010

And now a toast - Here's to new adventures, being good at them, and getting paid for them (maybe...one day...)

Last Christmas I Met My Idol

Last Christmas (2009) I met my idol, Nigella Lawson, at a book signing for her Christmas book, Nigella Christmas.

It was a cold day in December as I trotted over to the William-Sonoma in Chelsea after work.  I bought two books (one for me and one as a gift for my sister) and waited in line with baited breathe to me the Domestic Goddess herself.  All I can say is...she was WONDERFUL!  She was just the person in person that you imagine her to be when you see her on TV.  She offered a kind word, a short conversation (which I stumbled through like a slightly stunned teenager), and two beautifully penned sentiments to my sister and myself.

It was such a great day that I decided it was worth writing about over a year later.  Thank you, Nigella, for that wonderful brief meeting and I look forward to having a TRUE adult brief conversation at our next meeting.

Foodie Books - On the Light Side

I have to tell you...I am obsessed!! Joanne Fluke writes the Hannah Swensen murders...It's like Jessica Fletcher meets Mrs. Fields.

A few years ago I was searching for something that was a light and easy Christmas read. I love to cook (duh) and I love mysteries, so I picked up The Sugar Cookie Murder, by Joanne Fluke. I started to read it...and honestly, wasn't impressed. I was simple and easy. Hannah's constant correction of her sister's grammar and the long winded descriptions of things that had nothing to do with anything started to bother me. I was about 1/2 way through the book and only pages away from finding out who the murderer was. What was going on? I found out who it was, was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't who I thought it was and that the book had left me all the clues, and then turned the page to find that 1/2 the book was a cookbook! Cool!! It's stayed with the cookbooks in my kitchen first and then my mother's kitchen.

Fast forward to last month. I was looking for something to grab my attention. I needed an escape. My mom is my source for my books. She had picked up another one of the Joanne Fluke books and had read through it in just a few short days. She's fast, but not that fast. She had gotten so caught up in the serial aspects of the books that she has gone out and bought three more the next day. She passed them off to me and sure enough, the same thing happened to me!! In less than a month I had read 4 books (rereading the one Christmas book) and was hungering for more.

Hanna Swensen is a 30 year old cookie shop owner. She has a knack for finding the bodies of those that meet a murderous end. I liken the books to a good Sunday afternoon Lifetime Movie Channel 2-hour mystery series, like Mystery Woman or Murder 101. In fact, when reading, I have thought about how to stage the whole thing and if I was a movie maker how I would do it!

Fluke welcomes you into a world of county fairs, small town cops, snow up to you eyeballs, and a cat that has more personality than my cats combined. This being said - YOU WILL GET ADDICTED!! Reading one on it's own you can enjoy it, but when you read the series in order, you see that she starts to develop plots 2-3 books ahead of time with subtleties. I'm usually surprised by who did it, but not in the Murder She Wrote way where there was something Jessica knew but noone else did until she revised it. She leaves you all the clues, you just have to figure it out.

There is also a bonus - EVERY BOOK HAS RECIPES IN THEM!! And they are good!! They average about 10-15 recipes per book (except The Sugar Cookie Murder which was 1/2 a recipe book)

So the short of the long post above - I recommend the Hanna Swensen murder mystery series, but with a warning - you will want to read them all! Just start at the top and work your way down. I promise you'll be done before the Apple Turnover Murder is available in February!

A Challenge!

In my search of an image of the book I'm reading currently (Key Lime Pie Mystery) I came across the blog post by Bloggin' 'bout Books (http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/2009/05/my-light-fluffy-fluke-thon.html) Her experience was so similar to mine that I had to reference her. She has decided to start a FLuke-A-Thon for herself. Now, I don't have anywhere near the following she has (Is anyone reading me?), but I thought why not, right? I have added to the sidebar my own Fluke-A-Thon tally. I'll keep you up on how I'm doing. If you want to...please join me!



My Fluke-A-Thon official starts today! The ones I have read are in BOLD

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
2. Candy for Christmas (a novella that appears inside special editions of Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder.)
3. Strawberry Shortcake Murder
4. Blueberry Muffin Murder
5. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder
6. Fudge Cupcake Murder
7. Sugar Cookie Murder (I reread this one)
8. Peach Cobbler Murder
9. Sugar and Spice (novella/short story - part of a collection)
10. Cherry Cheesecake Murder
11. Key Lime Pie Murder (currently reading)
12. Carrot Cake Murder
13. Candy Cane Murder
14. Cream Puff Murder
15. Plum Pudding Murder (released September 2009 - only in hardcover)
16. Apple Turnover Murder (to be released in hardcover February 2010)