Cooks' Corner

[Lesley Cox]

Here is a good recipe for Lemon Curd. I had it originally as "Nin's Lemon Curd" from, I think, a Scottish cookbook. It is very good and an excellent base for lemony things.

Lemon Curd.
1/4 lb unsalted butter      Grated rind of 2 lemons
Pinch salt                      Strained juice of 2 lemons
2 well-beaten eggs         1 level teaspoon cornflour
1/2 lb caster sugar

(I used ordinary better and I don't bother to strain the juice. Why waste the lemon?)
Place all except juice and cornflour in the top of a double boiler. Add cornflour to juice and mix until smooth. Stir into everything else. Cook over hot (simmering) water, stirring contantly, until mixture thickens. Do not let boil. Bottle and seal. (I use jelly jars, and the recipe does a couple, which I store in the fridge.)


Neenish Tarts
Pastry
4 ozs butter     8 ozs flour
4 ozs sugar      1 tsp baking powder
1 egg              Pinch of salt

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and mix well. Mix in sifted dry ingredients. Knead lightly then turn onto floured board. Roll out, then line patty pans. Bake blind (pricked), about 10-12 mins at 350degF (180C). When cold, fill with the following.

Filling
4 tbsp butter           2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
4 tbsp icing sugar     2 tbsp lemon curd
2 tbsp lemon juice

Soften butter, add sifted icing sugar, condensed milk, juice and curd. When set, ice half the top with well melted chocolate or chocolate icing. Ice the other half with white icing mixed with lemon juice, or leave un-iced.

These amounts are approximate. I always do double quantity of the filling and fill the cases really well. Maybe I add less condensed milk and more curd. The result is always very good.

edit by maggi.... adding the recipe in a pdf for easy downloading for your files....
right click on the title below and "save as".....

[Anthony Darby]

I have to make a savoury dish for Wednesday as a friend is having a surprise 60^th. I'm making 'jewelled couscous', which is easy. 500g cc; 5 tbsp olive oil; 500ml veg stock; allow to absorb water for 5 mins. Fluff with a fork and add grated rind of 1 and juice of a half lemon; add 1 oz sultanas; ˝ oz toasted almonds; ˝ oz chopped dried apricots; ˝ oz of chopped glacé cherries (my idea).Add 3 more tbsp of olive oil, stir and heat very gently (you can steam it) for ~15 mins. When finished, stir in 1 oz of chopped flat leaved parsley and 1 oz of chopped coriander leaves. Put in a flan dish, garnish with parsley and lemon. Cover with cling film and keep in fridge until needed.

[Rodger Whitlock]

No-knead bread.

Look it up on Youtube; there are several good instructional videos. The New York Times one is the original, but it's worth looking at a couple of more for additional tips.

The recipe is extremely forgiving: I've added candied citron and currants to it, replaced part of the flour with barley flour, and both times it came out just dandy. (Though the barley version had a distinct gray cast.)

I like it so much that I bought a Le Creuset casserole or dutch oven specifically for baking it. A new-to-me one, I should add, that didn't cost an arm, a leg, and one eye.

Shall I post a photograph? Or would that be too far off topic?

[maggiepie]

Rodger, I would love to see a pic of your le creuset dutch oven that didn't cost an arm and a leg, I would also like to see a pic of the bread  using some barley flour.
I use one of my le creuset dutch ovens for the no knead bread but have taken the knob off and replaced with a nut.
The knobs are only supposed to be good for 450degrees max.
I did read that people in stores that sell le creuset have been stealing the knobs!!!
Btw, I usually substitute 3/4 cup of wholewheat flour for unbleached when I use the recipe, I like it in pizza dough too, it gives a really nice flavour.

Here's what it looks like with the 3/4 cup of wholewheat flour.

[Lesley Cox]

Yes! This will be a great thread. If pictures can be added, so much the better. Tomorrow I haven't a lot planned so might make some lemon curd and the Neenish Tarts. Your savoury dish sounds nice Anthony though the cherries will make it sweet rather than savoury. Picture before you take it to the :"do"?

[Ragged Robin]

Well we now know where to come for inspiration - great recipes!  Couscous is wonderful hot or cold with all the goodies in it and especially delicious with olive oil roasted vegetables dribbling through - Hunger strikes 

[Maggi Young]

Great idea to have this thread.... most gardeners are real "foodies", too, aren't they  we ?   

I'll try to collate recipes from other threads to this one as time permits 

[Maggi Young]

"Maggiepie" Helen's Cherry Cake recipe.......

it is scrumptious, here's a link to the recipe.   
I am not sure if you are supposed to use a pound of pitted cherries or a pound of cherries pitted. I err on the side of gluttony and use a pound of pitted cherries.
I also only use half a cup of sugar and I use cane sugar or raw sugar.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/CherryCake.html      

[Maggi Young]

Kristl Walek introduced us to "Poutine".....

Ah....La Poutine....the quintessential Quebec fast food.

Ready?

This is basic poutine:

French Fries, topped with fresh cheese curds (usually cheddar), covered with brown gravy.
The curds have to be very fresh, so they get soft, but don't melt.

But now the creative chefs out there have improvised on the basic recipe....

Here is a review of the "Best Poutine in Montreal"

http://www.montrealpoutine.com/reviews.html

But normally one grabs it at an outdoor concession stand, while on the road, rather than in a sit-down restaurant.

[Maggi Young]

David Nicholson lead us to Lemon Drizzle cake: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=1148
Lesley said: Unfortunately the link to the lemon drizzle cake won't open for me but I have a lovely version in which the cake is "drizzled" with a syrup of lemon juice, zest, sugar and water, as soon as it comes out of the oven. Even nicer (in my opinion) is when the syrup is made with orange juice and zest. The cake itself has a lot of cuoconut in it and so the texture is very moist and almost fudgey. It cuts into 25 pieces so I sometimes take it on field trips. I know several Scots who liked it a lot.

Copied recipe from link as follows:
Here's the recipe from David's link... it was posted by someone saying it had been copied from a newspaper some years ago, so I don't think I'm stealing anyone's copyright!!
 
Cake ingredients:

4oz softened butter (make sure it's really soft)

6oz SR flour

1tsp baking powder

6oz golden caster sugar

2 large eggs

6 tbsp milk

 
 finely grated rind of a large unwaxed lemon



Icing:

juice of a large lemon

4oz golden caster sugar

 
 
 
 
preheat oven to 180 degrees C/gas mark 4

Use an oblong tin which measures 9" x 8",about 2inches deep, lined with baking parchment. could also be made in a round tin, but size of which, i'm not sure!!

1. Tip all cake ingredients into large mixing bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes; mixture will drop easily off spoon.

2. Spoon mixture into tin and smooth with back of spoon. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden & firm to the touch.

3. Beat together icing ingredients and pour over the cake while it is still HOT.

4. Cool in tin & cut into squares.
 
 edit by maggi.... adding the recipe in a pdf for easy downloading for your files....
right click on the title below and "save as".....
 
 

[Maggi Young]

Chris B gave this tip for.........

Here ( I hope) is a link to the recipe for braised venison with chocolate sauce:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/braisedvenisonwithab_3263.shtml

[Maggi Young]

Plenty instances of folks swapping recipes by personal message elsewhere on the forum.... but why not enjoy this page for whetting our appetites?

Wonder if we should solicit advertising from an indigestion remedy manufacturer ? No, surely no need when we have so many talented cooks to advise us....      

[David Nicholson]

Seem to remember Paddy did a couple of Rhubarb recipes some time ago??


Found it. It's on Reply 411 of March 18th on the "Yes, I'm so happy" Thread.

Rhubarb Fool and Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding (both well worth trying)


Edit by Maggi: Thanks, David, I found a reference but couldn't find the actual post!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

My God - this will be turning into a giant thread... 

[Maggi Young]

Paddy's Rhubarb recipes:

RHUBARB FOOL

700g 1 1/2 lbs rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 25mm/ 1 inch lengths
175g / 6 oz soft dark brown sugar
grated zest of one orange
15g / 1/2 oz butter
10 - 15 ml / 2 - 3 tsp orange-flavoured liqueur - we use Grand Marnier
150ml/ 5 fl oz thick cream

Put rhubarb, sugar, zest and butter in large, heavy-based saucepan and mix well. Medium heat - bring to simmer; cover pan, reduce heat and cook until rhubarb is tender.

Strain through nylon sieve. Puree the rhubarb. Leave to cool completely.(The juice which was strained off can be kept as a drink)

Stir liqueur into cold puree.

Whisk cream to soft peaks. Fold into puree - not too much so that you have a marbled effect.

Spoon into four glasses, wine glasses for example.

Chill for at least one hour before serving.


RHUBARB BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

450g/ 1 lb rhubarb
12 slices bread - We use sliced pan, that kind with square slices suited to the toaster.
450ml / 16 fl oz cream
230ml / 8 fl oz milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
175g / 6 oz sugar
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinking on top of pudding.

We use a square dish which will hold 4 slices of bread in one layer.
Butter the bread
Put 4 slices butter side down in the dish.
Scatter half the rhubarb on top of this layer
(Note: later on in the year when the rhubarb becomes sharper we sprinkle some sugar on each layer of rhubarb - a matter of taste)
Another 4 slices of bread on this
Rest of rhubarb on top of this layer of bread
Last 4 slices of bread on top.

Beat eggs, add cream, milk, sugar and vanilla essence and whisk all together.

Pour over bread and rhubarb.

Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight - a few hours will do if you did not plan ahead but the longer time allows the custard mixture to soak into the bread.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4

Sprinkle top of pudding with sugar.Bake in a bain-marie with boiling water coming halfway up the sides of the dish for about 1 hour. Top should be crisp and golden.

Serve with whipped cream.

Your own doctor will advise re cholesterol.

Enjoy! Paddy

 

edit by maggi.... adding the recipe in a pdf for easy downloading for your files....
right click on the title below and "save as".....