Pumpkin Pie

And hello again,

Happy Halloween!  The pumpkin season is well and truly upon us so what better way to celebrate with a slice of pumpkin pie.  I've been wanting to make this for ages and with the help of a can of Libby's Pumkin Puree it was really simple to make.  This recipe is from their website.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

Method

MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.POUR into pie shell.
BAKE in preheated 425°F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.
Cooks Note: 1-3/4 teaspoons pumpkin spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger and cloves; however, the taste will be slightly different. Do not freeze, as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.
FOR 2 SHALLOW PIES: substitute two 9-inch (2-cup volume) pie shells. Bake in preheated 425°F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F.; bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pies test done.
FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (3,500 to 6,000 ft.): Deep-dish pie - extend second bake time to 55 to 60 minutes. Shallow pies - no change.
Estimated Times: Preparation - 15 minutes; Cooking - 55 minutes; Cooling Time - 2 hours cooling.
© 2009 and ®/™ Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland, used with permission.
Submitted by: LIBBY'S® Pumpkin
Nutrient data provided by COOKS.com.

Servings: 8 (136.68g per serving)Nutrition (per serving): 253 calories, 12.35g total fat, 4.3g saturated fat, 152.3mg potassium, 32.82g carbohydrates, 19.6g sugar, 2.7g fiber, 5.9g protein, 58.5mg cholesterol, 318.8mg sodium, 1.2mg iron, 24.7mcg folate, 118mg phosphorus, 6696.84IU Vitamin A, 0.15mcg Vitamin B12, 1.33mg Vitamin C, 42.86IU Vitamin D.

Eton Mess Cake

Good morning,

Just sharing a cake I made a few months back.  It was absolutely delicious one of the best cakes I've ever made and best of all it wasn't too tricky.  I made it to serve at the Strawberry Tea held at a nearby sheltered housing complex and I'm happy to say everyone really enjoyed it.  The recipe is another winner from BBC Good Food!

Eton Mess Cake 

Ingredients

• 175g unsalted butter
• 5 tbsp double cream, from a 300ml pot
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 225g plain flour
• 100g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 400g strawberries,½ roughly chopped, ½ finely sliced
• 4 meringues nests (50g/2oz), very roughly broken up
• a little icing sugar, to serve

Method

1. Grease a deep, 20 x 30cm traybake or roasting tin, then line with parchment. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Melt the butter, take off the heat and stir in the cream and thevanilla. Mix the flour, almonds, baking powderand ¼ tsp fine salt and set aside for later.
2. Put the caster sugar and eggs into a large bowl, and whisk with electric beaters until very thick and foamy, about 5 mins. Pour in the butter mix, whisk briefly, then add the flour mix and whisk briefly again until even. Stir in the chopped strawberries, then pour the batter into the tin and level the top.
3. Scatter the sliced strawberries and meringue over the cake, then bake for 40-45 mins until risen, golden and a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 20 mins in the tin, then transfer the cake to a rack. Just before serving, dust with a little icing sugar. Enjoy with the rest of the double cream, whipped if you like.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2011

Blueberry & Pretzel Cookies

Hello again,

Here's another bluberry recipe I road tested to use up some of our crop.  This time it's a cookie recipe and I have to say they were delicious, especailly when still warm!  The recipe is from BBC Good Food.

Blueberry & Pretzel Cookies

Ingredients

• 175g butter, softened
• 200g light soft brown sugar
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 250g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200g blueberries
• 50g small salted pretzels, broken into chunky pieces
• 100g white chocolate chunks

Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Tip the butter, sugars and vanilla into a bowl. Beat with a hand-held electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again. Tip the flour, bicarb and a pinch of salt into the bowl, and use a spatula to mix together. Add the blueberries, pretzel pieces and chocolate chunks, and mix again until everything is combined.
2. Scoop golf-ball-sized mounds of cookie dough onto the baking trays, making sure you leave plenty of space between each one. (You should fit 4-6 cookies on each tray, so you’ll have to bake in batches to make the total 20 cookies.) Can be frozen at this point – simply defrost in the fridge before baking. Bake for 18 mins, swapping the trays around halfway through.
3. Remove the trays from the oven and leave to cool for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack, then bake the second batch. Continue until all the cookies are baked. Will keep in a cookie jar for up to 1 week.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2013

Blueberry Clafoutis

Hello,

Been ages since I've been on here but I wanted to record a recipe I made recently before I lose the clipping!  We got a fantastic crop of blueberries this year, even better than last year so I've been trying out different recipes with them!

This recipe is one I took from my Aunt's Chat magazine

Blueberry Clafoutis

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp sugar to line dish
200g blueberries
100g plain flour
pinch salt
75g caster sugar
1 lemon, grated rind only
3 medium eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
150ml milk
150ml double cream
Sifted icing sugar to decorate

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/Gas 4 and butter a 1.5 litre ovenproof dish.  Sprinkle with sugar to line then add blueberries.

Mix flour, salt, sugar and lemon rind together in a bowl.  Whisk in the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, then gradually whisk in the milk and cream to make a smooth batter.

Pour over the blueberries and bake for 30-40 mins until golden, risen and puffed up around the edges and set in the middle.

Dust generously with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Meatballs Alla Norma

Yay!  I'm back again!

This time I'm sharing a recipe I've made a couple of times now and it's delicious.  This time I left out the fennel seeds from the recipe and we enjoyed it more, but I'll leave that up to you.  The recipe has been taken from my Save With Jamie recipe book by Jamie Oliver.  The book recipe includes polenta but I prefer to serve it with tagliatelle.

Meatballs Alla Norma

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 large aubergine

1/2 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley

400g minced beef

1 tbsp fennel seeds

olive oil

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Dice the aubergine into 1cm cubes then season well with salt and leave for 15 mins.  Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley and put into a bowl with the beef.  Mix together by hand then roll into 20 or so evenly sized balls.  Scatter the fennel seeds on a plate and roll the meatballs in them so they stick.  Put them in the fridge until needed.  

Take handfuls of aubergine and squeeze out the excess salty liquid.  Heat oil in a pan and cook the aubergine for about 10 mins until golden, stirring occasionally.  Crush the garlic and add to the pan along with the sweet chilli sauce and balsamic vinegar.  Tip in the tomatoes and a splash of water.  Simmer for around 10 mins or until thickened.  

Meanwhile, heat some more olive oil in a separate pan and brown the meatballs until they are cooked through.  Season the sauce to taste then toss through the meatballs.  Serve with tagliatelle or polenta with some grated parmesan. 

Kedgeree

Good morning!

It's been a while since I last posted anything on here but here I am today with a recipe I cooked last night and hopefully I will now be posting a bit more regularly again.

Today's recipe is one I've had for ages, in fact so long I've forgotten where I got it but it would more than likely have been from a magazine.  Over the years I've adapted it a little and added eggs and peas.  Please excuse the photo,  I got a bit carried away and almost forgot to take one so the presentation isn't great oops!

Kedgeree

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

350g/12 oz long grain rice
700g/1.5 lb smoked haddock fillets
1 tbsp oil
knob of butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1.5 tbsp mild curry powder
0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp frozen peas, defrosted
150 ml/0.25 pint double cream
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 eggs, hardboiled and chopped

Method:

Add rice to a large pan of boiling, salted water and simmer for 10-12 mins or until rice is just cooked.  Drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, place fish in a large frying pan and cover with cold water.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 mins or until fish flakes easily.  Remove fish from the pan, flake with a fork and set aside.  Both of these stages can be done in advance.

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan, add onion, curry powder and cayenne pepper and cook for 7-8 minutes over a lowish heat until the onions are softened and caramelised.  Add the rice and peas to the pan and heat through over a low heat.  Add the fish, cream, parsley and eggs.  Stir through the rice and heat through thoroughly.  Season well and serve immediately.  Garnish with extra parsley.

Another way of serving this is to leave out the hardboiled eggs and serve a lightly poached egg on top of each of the portions.

We usually have this as a main meal but it would be just as good for brunch.


That's all from me at the moment.

Shona xx