anj68 – Page 3 – Alice the Cook

September 10, 2013

Scones

Scones are delicious and fun to make. We had forgotten to add the fruit, so we just added cinnamon and sugar. If you do use fruit, use dried and berries and cherries work very well.

Ingredients
3 cups of flour
1/2 cup of white sugar
5 tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup of butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown

September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

Scotch Eggs Recipe

One of my favorite treats from the United Kingdom (UK) are Scotch Eggs. I have seen them served with mustard, gravy, and cheese, but my favorite way of eating them is with gravy and horseradish.

What is a Scotch Egg?
A Scotch egg consists of a shelled hard-boiled egg, wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. In the UK, Scotch eggs are commonly eaten cold, typically with salad and pickles. Scotch eggs were traditionally a picnic food and homemade. In the UK, pre-packed, plastic-wrapped Scotch eggs are commonly available in supermarkets, convenience stores and motorway service stations. Miniature versions of Scotch eggs are also widely available in British supermarkets, and are sold under the name ‘savoury eggs’, ‘picnic eggs’, ‘party eggs’, ‘snack eggs’ or similar. These contain a chopped, rather than whole, egg filling, sometimes combined with mayonnaise or chopped bacon.

Contrary to popular belief, Scotch Eggs were actually invented by the famous London department store, Fortnum & Mason in 1851. (http://www.en.wikipedia.org)

In the United States, many “English-style” pubs and eateries serve fresh-made Scotch eggs. These are usually served hot, with dipping sauces such as ranch dressing, hot sauce, or hot mustard sauce. Even the Minnesota State Fair, true to its fair tradition, Scotch eggs are served on a stick. Due to English influence, some fast-food restaurants in West Africa offer Scotch eggs alongside their other menu items. In Nigeria, Tantalizers and Mr. Biggs both prominently feature Scotch eggs. Some of Britain’s culinary favorites also crossed over to the Indian sub-continent and there is a popular Indian dish called nargisi kofta also known in English as Curried Scotch Eggs. The spices used suggest a Moghul influence.

When making Scotch eggs at home, cooks may fry and then bake or microwave the Scotch eggs to ensure that the sausage is cooked all the way through. Some recipes are more challenging than others, but my recipe below, I found, is one of the easier ones to follow.

Scotch Eggs Ingredients
6 hard-cooked eggs, well chilled
1 pound breakfast sausage (I recommend Woodsend or other Amish brand Sausage or vegetarian sausage paste may be used)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup fine bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying

Peel eggs and set aside. Divide sausage into 6 portions. Roll each egg in flour and with hands press a portion of the sausage around each egg.

Dip sausage-wrapped eggs into beaten eggs and roll in bread crumbs. Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cook each egg in oil about 4-5 minutes or until sausage is cooked and browned. Drain on paper toweling. Serve warm.

Horseradish Cream Sauce

This is a traditional sauce. Through the demonstration, we used real horseradish root, but you can buy prepared horseradish and follow the second steps of instructions.

Prepared horseradish
8/10″ horseradish root
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp white vinegar
pinch of salt

remove skin from horseradish root and mince. add water, vinegar, and salt and pulverize in mortar and pestle. do not breathe in mixture.

Cream Sauce
3 tbsp of the prepared horseradish mixture
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 tsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp mayonaise
1 tbsp of chopped green onion (greens only)

September 3, 2013September 3, 2013

Moroccan Tangine Chicken

This was one of our more popular shows this weekend. Tangine cooking uses a cone shaped ceramic pot that bastes the food as it cooks. For those who travel, the ceramic pots would not hold up, so cast iron pots were often used instead. We used a cast iron pot and the results were delicious. Traditionally, lamb, goat, and camel were used in tangine cooking. We used chicken in this particular recipe.

Ingredients
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp kosher or sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 large Spanish onion, grated (about 1 cup)
2 tbsps canola, grapeseed or olive oil (not a heavy olive oil)
1 to 2 preserved lemons, depending on size
8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin
Stems from the parsley and cilantro, tied with twine
1/4 tsp powdered saffron or 1/4 tsp powdered turmeric and 4 strands saffron
1 cup pitted green Moroccan or Greek olives
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, about 1/4 cup chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, about 1/4 cup chopped
Optional: Tomatoes and/or red peppers, coursely diced

In a large bowl, mix the garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup grated onion, and the oil.

Rinse the preserved lemons, and remove the pulp. Reserve the lemon peel for later use.

Add the lemon pulp to the mixing bowl. Add the chicken. Mix everything together and place in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. (Twenty-four hours really gives the chicken the best flavor.)

In a large Dutch oven or casserole, place the chicken and marinade; add the stems of the parsley and cilantro, the rest of the grated onion, the powdered saffron and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes.

Remove the cover, stir the chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep sauce on stove and begin to reduce.

Slice the preserved lemon peel into thin slices and add to the sauce along with the olives, parsley and cilantro. Reduce until the sauce is just a little thick. This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes at most.

Uncover the chicken and remove the skin from the chicken. (It doesn’t look pretty and who needs the extra fat.) Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

September 2, 2013September 3, 2013

Middle Eastern Themed Curry Egg Salad

During shows, my assistant and I encounter leftover items that we do not want to throw out. During the Siouxland Renaissance Festival in 2006, we encountered post-breakfast issue of having leftover hard boiled eggs and rice porridge. By combining them with chickpeas (garbanzo beans), spices, and other vegetables, we came up with this tasty dish that tastes great served with some pita bread.

This past weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, we altered this traditional recipe and used leftover couscous instead and it was a favorite!

This dish is especially good made in bulk and used for lunches at work. It’s cost effective, healthy, and tasty. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced into disks
1 cup of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
2 cups of cousous (as in photo)
3 green onions or 1 large leek, diced or 1/2 red onion or 2 shallots
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 – 1/2 TB yellow curry powder
1 TB cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of sesame or olive oil
2 TB cilantro
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
* A dried pepper powder may be added if you need more spiciness.

Blend all together in a single bowl wooden or ceramic. Let sit for an hour and stir again. Serve in some pita bread. DO NOT PREPARE THIS RECIPE IN A METAL BOWL!! The metal bowl will affect the flavor of the salad.

It should be a very mild curried egg salad. If you require more spice, feel free to add peppers or chili oil at will. I encourage experimentation.

September 1, 2013

Oven Roasted Potatoes

When my assistants and I are performing demonstrations at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, we will often whip up soemthing to see what happens. We have lots of successful (experiments) and a few failed ones. This one was a popular success.

Oven Roasted Potatoes
1 lb of baby red potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp of fresh rosemary, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp sea salt

Optional ingredients:
chopped bacon
green onions, diced
red peppers, diced

Wood-Fired Roasted Potatoes

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a ceramic dish, add your uncut baby potatoes (very small potatoes). Drizzle the 3 tbsp olive oil on top of the potatoes and stir until they are completely covered. Sprinkle the rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper and stir the potatoes again.

Place inside the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the potatoes and place back into the oven for another 10 minutes; repeat until the potatoes are tender. Remove from the oven and let cool 2-3 minutes before serving.