Tag: eggs

Accompaniments · Holiday Food · Meat · Nuts

Cornbread, bacon, pecan and leek stuffing

Belinda

Another great stuffing to add to the repertoire

2 cups pecans
2 cornbread (rounds, squarers or loaves, 8 inches each) coarsely broken into 2 inch pieces (16 cups)
3 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for the dish
8 slices smoked bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
4 celery stalks, chopped nto 1/2 inch pieces
4 leeks (white and pale-green parts only), chopped into 1/2 inch pieces, rinsed well.
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups turkey or chicken stock (preferably homemade)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 7 minutes. let cool slightly; coarsely chop. Mix together pecans and cornbread in a large bowl.

Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Cook the bacon in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat until almost crisp, about 3 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium; add the celery and leeks. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Stir in thyme and 1 1/4 tsp salt; season with pepper.
Transfer to a large bowl.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat, and add the stock; bring to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
Add to the bowl with the bacon-vegetable mixture.
Stir in the eggs.
Gently mix in the cornbread mixture. (Do not overmix)
Transfer to a baking dish, dot the top with butter.
bake until golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes

Breakfast · Dessert · Do-ahead · Fruit · Holiday Food

Baked Panettone with ricotta and mandarin oranges

Belinda

Go out and buy a lovely fruity panettone and prepare this the night before, for a Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast. All you have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven and you will think you’ve died and gone to Italian heaven!

Makes 6 servings

1 tbsp butter, preferably unsalted
8 oz fresh whole-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Cointreau or Grand Marnier ( or a litte more!)
Six 1/2 inch thick slices of panettone
One 11 oz can of mandarin oranges, drained
6 extra large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Orange marmalade or maple syrup to serve

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Generously grease a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with all the butter

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the ricotta cheese, sugar, cream and Cointreau together until the mixture is very dense and smooth

Arrange 3 panettone slices over the bottom of the greased baking dish, covering it completely.
Cover the panettone slices with the ricotta mixture and then arrange the mandarin oranges slices over the ricotta mixture. Cover with the remaining 3 slices of panettone.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and cinnamon until well blended. Pour this mixture over the panettone in the baking dish.

*At this point the dish can be covered with plastic wrap and put in the fridge over night until you’re ready to bake it.

Bake the casserole until dark golden brown on top, about 30 mins or so.

* If you have refrigerated it overnight, remove the dish from the fridge, uncover it and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking it.

Serve with the orange marmalade or maple syrup or both!

This one was done in a round baking dish

 

Baking · Dessert · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Easy Breton apple cake with salted caramel sauce

Belinda

This is very easy to make, mostly in one bowl.  Very moist and the caramel sauce is divine!

For the cake:

10 tbsp butter, melted and cooled, plus 2 tbsp for the apples
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp Kosher salt (not regular table salt)
1 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp sugar, divided
Zest of a lemon
3 large eggs
4 firm apples (you can mix varieties too) peeled, cored and thickly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Butter and flour an 8” cake pan (It’s easier to use a spring form tin)

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, 10 tbsp of melted butter and the lemon zest.
Add in the dry ingredients and mix well to form a batter.
In a heavy medium skillet, heat the 2 tbsp of butter and add in the apple slices.
Sprinkle with 2 tbsp of sugar and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat until the apples are juicy and caramelized.
Keep stirring, so the apples don’t stick.
Lay half the apples on the bottom of the prepared cake pan and spoon half the batter over them.
Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t completely cover the apples.
Layer with the rest of the apples, then the rest of the batter.
It’s easiest if you have a rubber spatula to spread the batter.

* It’s nice to sprinkle the cake with some cinnamon sugar before putting into the oven.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 35 to 45 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness.

Salted caramel sauce

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cream
3 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (not regular salt)

In a small, heavy saucepan, heat the water and sugar on medium boil until turning golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.
You can scrape the brown bits on the sides of the pan down with a wet pastry brush. Take the golden liquid off the heat and carefully add in the cream. It will bubble fiercely, so be very careful not to splatter yourself.
Place back on the stove and stir for 2 minutes.
Add in 3 tbsp butter and salt and cook for another minute or two until the butter and mixture is nice and smooth.

Transfer to a heat resistant vessel, and place in the fridge to cool. You can make the caramel sauce 5 days in advance

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers

Cauliflower and cumin fritters with lime yoghurt sauce

Belinda

These are great eaten either hot or warm. Also lovely to stuff inside a piece of pita bread and served with some hummus and tomato.

Serve 4

1 small cauliflower (about 3/4lb)
4 oz plain flour
3 tbsp chopped Italian parsley, plus a few leaves for decoration
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 free range eggs
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin (I use home roasted)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
16 to 17 fl oz sunflower oil for frying

Lime yoghurt sauce

10 ounces or 1 1/2 cups Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
grated zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp ime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Put all the yoghurt sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Taste, looking for a vibrant, tart, citrusy flavor – and adjust the seasoning.
Chill or leave out for up to an hour.

To prepare the cauliflower, trim off any leaves and use a small knife to divide the cauliflower into little florets. Add them to a large pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 15 minutes or until very soft. Drain into a colander.

While the cauliflower is cooking, put the flour, chopped parsley, garlic, shallots, eggs, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together well to make a batter.
When the mixture is smooth and homogenous, add the warmed cauliflower. Mix to break down the cauliflower into the batter.

Pour the sunflower oil into a wide pan to a depth of 1/2 inch and heat up.
When it is very hot, carefully spoon in generous portions of the cauliflower mixture, 3 tbsp per fritter.
Take care with the hot oil.
Space the fritters apart with a fish slice, making sure they are not overcrowded, as they will steam and not get crispy brown if they’re too close together.
Fry in small batches, controlling the oil temperature so the fritters cook but don’t burn.
They should take 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Remove from the pan and drain well on a few layers of kitchen paper.
Serve with the sauce on the side

 

Dessert · Do-ahead

Sticky toffee pudding

Belinda

We’re getting to that time of year when this is just the ticket! It is one of my top three favorite desserts of all time and so good served with vanilla ice cream. It has a great sauce and the sweetness is from Medjool dates!

Serves 8

8 oz Medjool dates, pitted
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 oz unsalted softened butter
6 oz caster (superfine) sugar
2 large free range eggs
6 oz self-raising flour
1/4 tsp ground mixed spice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp whole milk plain yoghurt
2 tbsp a malted milk drink, like Ovaltine, see below. (You can get Ovaltine on Amazon.com.)

For the toffee sauce

4 oz unsalted butter
4 oz light muscovado sugar
5 fl oz heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Put the dates in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and cover with 7 fl oz boiling water.
leave to stand for a couple of minutes to soften, then drain.
Whizz the dates in a food processor until you have a puree.
Meanwhile, cream your butter and sugar until pale using a wooden spoon  and add the eggs, flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and Ovaltine.
Mix together well then fold in the yoghurt and your pureed dates.
Pour into a buttered ovenproof dish and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.

While the pudding is cooking, make the toffee sauce by putting the butter, sugar and cream in a pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce has thickened and darkened in color.
To serve, spoon out the pudding at the table and pour ver the toffee sauce.

Do-ahead · Fish · Sauces

Tonnato sauce

Belinda

This is one of the loveliest cold sauces to put over thin slices of cold chicken, turkey, veal or roasted red peppers. The lovely tuna flavor with the capers is really special and it’s very silky.

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Sea salt
2 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 7oz can good quality tuna packed in oil
5 anchovy fillets
3 tbsp capers, drained

For garnish
extra capers, thin slices lemon, pitted black olives, parsley leaves or anchovy fillets.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1/4 tsp salt until pale yellow and the consistency of cream.
Beginning a drop at a time, add 1 1/4 cups olive oil, whisking continually.
As the mixture thickens, you can add the oil a little quicker. When it gets quite thick, whisk in 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Continue adding the oil until the whole 1 1/4 cups has been absorbed and the mayonnaise is quite thick and shiny.
Whisk in another tbsp of lemon juice.

Drain the tuna and put it in a food processor with the anchovies, remaining cup of olive oil, remaining lemon juice and capers.
Process until you get a creamy uniformly blended sauce.
Scrape the sauce into a bowl with the mayonnaise and fold to combine.
Taste for seasoning. It should be tangy and highly seasoned.
Refrigerate until needed

 

Accompaniments · Do-ahead · Gluten Free

Easiest blender Hollandaise sauce

Belinda

This is so easy and divine to sprinkle over asparagus or use for Eggs Benedict or many other things!

Prep time   5 mins

3 large egg yolks
a dash of nutmeg
a dash of cayenne
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 sticks of salted butter

Put all the ingredients except the butter, in a blender.
In a microwave safe dish or a small saucepan, melt the butter till bubbling.
Immediately start the blender and begin to add the warm butter in a very thin stream through the feed chute.
The slower you add it, the better it will emulsify.

A couple of important notes;  

Don’t add salt, the butter has plenty in it.
If you want a thinner consistency, you can play with it by adding a few drops of water until the desired consistency.

 

Accompaniments · Do-ahead · Gluten Free

Watercress mayonnaise

Belinda

This is a recipe from the British “Delicious” magazine that I have tweaked. It is delicious with warm or cold poached salmon or chicken, used as a crudite dip or even spooned over hard boiled eggs.It keeps in the fridge for 2 -3 days.
Watercress is available in Los Angeles in the better supermarkets and usually comes in bunches. It has a peppery strong flavor and is incredibly rich in iron and anti oxidents

Serves 8

2 extra large organic egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tsp good Dijon mustard (I love Edmund Faillot)
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
3 & 1/2 fl oz olive oil
7 oz sunflower oil
about 4 oz watercress, bunched if possible, with large stalks trimmed
optional- small handful fresh basil

Put the egg yolks, mustard, garlic, white wine vinegar and salt in a food processor and blend very briefly to mix.
Mix the olive oil and sunflower oils together.
Turn on the machine again and very slowly trickle the oil through the funnel of the food processor until you have a thick emulsion.
Stop the machine and add the trimmed watercress (and fresh basil if using), blend once more until well mixed in.
Spoon into a bowl and if it’s too thick mix in a little water to loosen.
Cover and chill.

Baking · Do-ahead

Mary Berry’s ultimate lemon tray bake

Belinda2 Comments

This is similar to the previous recipe I posted, but it’s what I call a “one bowl” cake.
Everything is done in one bowl with no whipping of the butter and sugar. If you don’t have much time and want a light, moist tray bake to serve with fresh berries and cream or ice cream, nothing beats this.
This also has the lemon/sugar syrup poured over at the end. It’s more of a tray bake than a cake.

This makes about 30 squares
Ingredients
225 grams butter, softened
225 grams caster (superfine) sugar
275 grams self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 large free range, organic eggs
4 tbsp milk
2 lemons, grated zest only (save the juice for the syrup)
For the crunchy topping
175 grams granulated sugar
2 lemons, juice only
(You can also add the grated rind of 1 large orange to this as an extra touch)
 
Method
Cut a rectangle of non stick baking parchment to fit the base and sides of a 11 by 9 by 1 1/2 inches roasting tin. (approximately, it doesn’t have to be those exact measurements)
Grease the tin with butter and line the tin.
Preheat the oven to 300F
Put all (except the crunchy topping ingredients) the ingredients for the tray bake in a large bowl and beat well for 2 minutes. An electric mixer is best for this.
Empty all the mixture into the prepared tin and level it off with the back of a spoon.
Bake in the middle of the oven for around 40 to 45 minutes until golden and the sponge springs back when lightly pressed.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes and remove from the tin using the parchment paper to help.
Carefully remove the paper and allow to cool on a rack.
For the crunchy topping, mix the ingredients together in a measuring jug or small bowl until the sugar dissolves and pour it evenly over the cake while it’s still just warm.
Cut into squares when completely cooled and serve.
 

 

Dessert · Do-ahead

The River Café’s Chocolate Nemesis

Belinda

The River Cafe is in London and is where Jamie Oliver trained, plus many others. I am not a huge chocolate person, but this is a complete uncomplicated chocolate experience.
I am hoping you have a metric scale as this is a British recipe, hence the grams.

Ingredients

 675 grams really good dark chocolate , 70%
450 grams butter
10 whole eggs, at room temperature
675 grams caster sugar

Method

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bain marie. (This means put it into a bowl over simmering water, but don’t let the bowl touch the water.)
Remove from the heat and allow to cool
Preheat the oven to 320F and line a 27 cm springform cake tin with foil.

Beat together the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for 5 to 8 minutes until they’ve quadrupled in volume.
Fold the chocolate and butter mixture into the eggs and sugar and stir thoroughly.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. You might have a little too much batter but don’t worry.
Place the cake in a large roasting tin in the oven then pour enough boiling water in the roasting tin to come 3/4 up the side of the cake.
Cook in the preheated oven for over an hour, then turn the oven off and allow to completely cool before removing.
Serve with creme fraiche and raspberries.