Toffee Apples

Sixteen years of hosting Halloween parties, and I just learned a new trick:  Toffee Apples.

Now that we live in a country where you can't get those Kraft circles of wrappable caramel, I've been making do without.   But despite there being absolutely no need or justification for more sweet stuff, I've really missed this Halloween treat.  And how else are you going to get a piece of fruit into a kid on October 31st?

As I get older, and wearier, I really appreciate that which is truly EASY.
Here is a classic four ingredient recipe:

8 apples, anything crisp and sweet
2 225 gram bags of toffees (I found mine at Waitrose)
2 1/2 tablespoons of water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Insert wooden sticks into your apples.  (I got lolly sticks from Lakeland.)
Combine the toffees, the water and the vanilla extract in a medium nonstick saucepan.  Stir over low heat until the toffees have melted and you have a thick, satiny mixture.
Swirl the apples in the toffee, OR smooth on with a wooden spoon.
They will harden at room temperature, but you can also refrigerate them.

DELICIOUS!

And even though it may be too late to produce these for this year's Halloween, they would be the perfect dessert for upcoming Bonfire Night on November 5.

autumn goodness

we ventured out on a sunday morning walk with friends and we hit the jackpot mushroom-wise. the forest was full of mushrooms of all kinds (you can see them here), but the most interesting were the rabarbar parasolhat (macrolepiota rachodes - known as the shaggy parasol in english)and the krystal-støvbold (lycoperdon perlatum - known as the common puffball in english). they were the most interesting because they were ones we could have for lunch.

i adore the idea of found food. something free provided by nature on a walk in the woods. there's just nothing more appealing than that, is there? but i am a cautious mushroomer. i grew up hunting morels and i know them well, but they are a spring mushroom and i don't really know my autumn mushrooms. therefore, i always go hunting with a knowledgeable friend. i've also invested in a good mushroom book and always compare carefully to it before frying up anything i bring home.

rabarbar parasolhat (macrolepiota rachodes - or the shaggy parasol)

krystal-støvbold (lycoperdon perlatum - or the common puffball)

the puffballs are very small, so we prepared them very simply. they were carefully cleaned and halved or quartered, depending on their size. then they were gently fried in butter with just a titch of garlic, salt and pepper. they have a gorgeous, earthy, mushroomy flavor and too much garlic quickly overpowers it. they should be fried 'til they have a crispy, golden crust but are still soft and gorgeous on the inside.

the shaggy parasols were cleaned and sliced and gently fried up in equal parts butter and olive oil. they can tolerate more garlic, so we used two good, fat cloves. once they were softened, we added a bit of cream. you could add some herbs - thyme would be nice - if you had them on hand, but the creamy, garlicky goodness is perfect on its own on a slice of ordinary toast with a glass of white wine.

mushroom tart

the mushroom theme continued last weekend when we visited family in sweden. my sister-in-law is a fantastic cook and i always get inspired when i'm at her table. this time was no exception. she made an absolutely gorgeous mushroom tart. the secret to it is grating the mushrooms. this seems to free their earthy goodness in a way i hadn't imagined possible. i had to make the tart myself this week, even tho' i had just eaten it on saturday. it was so good, i couldn't stop thinking about it. i used store-bought mushrooms, since my mushrooming friend wasn't around.

mushroom tart ala sinna

crust - you can make your favorite piecrust, or, like me, buy some frozen puff pastry (butterdej) and line a tart pan, then prebake it for 15-20 minutes.

filling:

1 leek, sliced and rinsed well
3 cloves of garlic, chopped

500 grams of mushrooms (i mixed portabellos and ordinary brown champignon)

250 grams organic creme fraiche (or sour cream)

chopped fresh herbs of your choice (thyme, parsley, sage)

soften the leek and garlic together in a pan with a big lump of butter and a glug of olive oil

in the meantime, grate two large packages of mushrooms - i used one package ordinary brown mushrooms (champignon) and one package of portabellos i suppose it's about 500 grams of mushrooms. grating the mushrooms is absolutely key. 

sauté the mushrooms together with the leeks - adding more butter/olive oil if necessary. add a glug of white wine, simmer until the liquid cooks away and the mixture is quite dry again.

throw in some chopped fresh herbs along the way if you have some (thyme, parsley, sage come to mind).

once the liquid has cooked off the mushroom mixture, stir in a cup of organic creme fraiche (or sour cream). then pour the mixture into the pre-baked crust and bake it another 20+ minutes in a 180°C (375°F) oven - until golden brown on top.

serve with a simple green salad and a crisp, cold south african chenin blanc.

and don't worry about leftovers, there won't be any.

* * *

i wasn't going to mention my long absence from this blog, but am feeling i must. since our move in may, i've been so depressed by my awful, old (pink!) kitchen, that i haven't felt inspired by cooking. that's not to say that i haven't been cooking, i have, i just haven't felt inspired. i'll write a separate post, sharing the horror of my kitchen with you very soon. i think it's been mildly depressing to move from my beautiful kitchen at the old house to this old, ugly and uninspiring space here at the new house. of course, i know it's temporary, but building projects take time, so i have to live with it for awhile now.  but anyway, that's why i haven't been here much. i'll try to remedy that.

Child's play

At the beginning of June it seems an impossibility, but by the time August rolls around you can pretty much guarantee that your children will utter that universal phrase of childhood: I’m bored. If you live in a hot climate, this boredom will probably coincide with a generalized ennui about swimming pools and other outdoor activities. Children who were desperate to play in the sun can now be found inside, lounging and listless. Maybe it’s just me, but August always seems like the burnt-out end of summer – when everything goes a bit a yellow and tired at the edges.


Since I’m no good at crafts, and quickly bore of games, I think of baking as a good indoor activity. There’s really no such thing as a surfeit of cookies, because there are always extra kids hanging around our house – and we seem to have houseguests more often than not. I like recipes that are easy (childproof, even) and give a small bored person something to do.

This summer I’ve been making that pecan-studded shortbread cookie that goes under many names: pecan sandies, Mexican wedding cookies, sand tarts. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love these cookies – and that includes a 13 year old boy who is firmly convinced that he doesn’t like nuts. Even better, they are super-easy . . . but everyone who eats them seems to be convinced that I’ve performed some minor miracle. Best of all, this cookie gives lots of scope for small hands: rolling the dough into balls, and later, dunking them into confectioner’s (icing) sugar.

Here is the recipe that I like: from The New Basics Cookbook.

Ingredients:
8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Approximately 3 tablespoon’s confectioner’s (icing) sugar

Method:
Cream together the butter and sugars.
Stir in the vanilla and water – thoroughly blend.
Add the flour and pecans, mixing until the dough is thick and creamy.
Wrap the dough in waxed paper and chill it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325 F/170 C.
Shape the dough into balls the size of a rounded teaspoonful, and drop them onto baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Flatten them slightly with the tines of a fork. Bake until pale golden – 20 minutes. (This is the bit that children particularly like to do.)
Allow the cookies to cool slightly, and then roll them in the confectioner’s sugar.

When they are completely cool, they will develop their characteristic melt-in-the-mouth texture.
Truly, this is an easy cookie to make and it gives very consistent results.



Another cooking project that I love to do with kids is cream puffs . . . or éclairs, or profiteroles.


They have that “science project” element which fascinates children. How can those few ingredients – butter, flour, water and eggs – puff up the way they do? Non-cooks are always amazingly impressed with cream puffs, but really, they couldn’t be easier. Not only that, but you only need a saucepan and a wooden spoon to make them. I use the recipe that comes from my old, falling-apart copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Cream Puffs (an easy recipe for choux pastry)

Ingredients:
4 ounces butter
8 ounces water
1 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
¼ teaspoon salt
4 eggs

Method:
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter at low heat. Then add water and bring to a boil.
Add the flour and the salt all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until the mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate. This should just take a minute or two.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for about five minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until the mixture is smooth. It will have a thick, glossy texture.

Drop the batter by heaping tablespoonfuls about 3 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. You can also form the pastry into long éclair shapes using your spoon.


Preheat the oven to 400 F/200 C and bake for about 30 minutes – or until golden brown and puffy.
Cool on a baking rack.
When completely cool, split them in half and fill with your choice of: ice cream, whipped cream or custard. (I like a custard lightened with about a 1/2 cup of stiffly whipped cream).

Cream puffs are generally dusted with confectioner’s sugar while éclairs are iced with a thin chocolate frosting. I like to melt some really good dark chocolate and then drizzle that on the top.

So delicious and SO EASY! Child’s play, really.

Raspberry Almond Squares

When you see English raspberries or strawberries in June, you really understand the point of seasonal eating.  I wish that I could say that I got these from my own garden, but the first berries are just beginning to ripen on my raspberry canes.  I will confess that I bought these raspberries at M & S, but the sweet, slightly tart, richly perfumed flavor said that they had definitely been recently picked.  And within minutes of taking this picture, I started snacking on them!  In June, I gorge myself on raspberries and skip lunch.

When raspberries are perfect, there is really nothing better than eating them by the fresh handful.  It is the season of summer baked goods, though -- Sports Day, Summer Fete, Mother/Daughter Tennis Tournament -- and I need a sturdy, easy treat that will make a change from the usual brownies and flapjacks.  For several weeks now, I have been tinkering with a recipe that is a version of a blonde brownie.  On Sunday, I made a deliciously gooey batch and five of us "ate the lot" in less than an hour.  I wouldn't necessarily think of serving a glass of icy-cold chablis with something sweet, but in the hot garden, surrounded by blooming roses, it was a truly divine combination.

Yesterday I made another batch for a tennis tournament at my daughter's school, and this time I think I've gotten the proportions just right.  Unlike real brownies, they are just as good -- and deliciously squidgy and moist -- the next day.  Also, they have fruit in them . . . which makes them (nearly) a healthy food, don't you think?

I made the Raspberry Almond Square in my Edge Pan.  This was a Christmas present from my Mom, and we've used it a lot -- especially for brownies and banana bread.  It is nonstick, and helps cook baked goods really evenly . . . no more burnt edges and underdone middles.  I got the inspiration for my recipe from one of the "Edge" recipes, but I would like to think that I've made considerable improvement on the original.

Raspberry Almond Squares
Ingredients:
6 oz unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 2/3 cup plain flour
2/3 cup ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
grated lemon zest from one large unwaxed lemon
1 cup toasted, flaked almonds*
1 cup fresh raspberries*
** I didn't really measure the raspberries or the almonds, so this is a guesstimate.  Cover the surface of the batter generously is my motto!

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350F/170C.  Lightly spray or butter your non-stick pan.

Combine the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

Using a mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add each of the eggs, one at a time, until well-incorporated.  Add the vanilla and almond extracts and lemon zest.  Then add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined.

Spread the batter (it will be quite thick) evenly into the pan.  Cover the batter with a layer of toasted, flaked almonds, and then adorn -- generously -- with fresh raspberries.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, mine needed 45, until the top is golden.  Cool in the pan and then cut into squares.

Note:  although they might not come out of the pan really cleanly, these are deliciously gooey when still warm.  A scoop of vanilla ice alongside would make an easy summer dessert.

Tomato Panzanella Salad

I still remember, vividly, the first time I tasted a cherry tomato.
I was in my great-aunt's backyard in Texas, it was sultriest summer, and there it was . . . ripe for the picking.
More than the taste, I remember the smell and the texture.  How do you describe the smell of a tomato?  There is something peculiarly green about it . . . something immediately recognizable, and yet otherwise indescribable.  I also remember the slightly tough skin giving way, and then the juicy gush.  It made me shudder, in a not entirely pleasurable way.

Although I've always liked tomatoey things (sauce, and salsa, and even ketchup), I've had to cultivate a taste for the raw tomato.  Sometimes they are too mushy; sometimes they are too wet; sometimes (often) they lack flavor.  A few weeks ago, though, I ate the most deliciously tomatoey dish . . . and ever since, I've craved tomatoes. 

A tomato panzanella salad is a classic Italian dish; indeed, I noticed one on Jamie's Italian new summer menu last week.  It contains so many of the classic Italian ingredients (tomatoes, olive oil, basil, mozzarella, ciabatta) -- but how much more sublime they taste when soaked and tossed together.

This version of the dish comes from Vanessa Miller -- a friend of mine who runs her own catering company and teaches cooking classes at Treetops in Newbury, Berkshire.  Although Vanessa made several delicious and imaginative salads during a recent class, this tomato salad was the crowd favorite -- according to my informal straw poll, not to mention the running commentary of mmm's and ah's.  It's a really flavorful twist on the caprese (which can get a little tired), and I know it will be my favorite salad this summer . . . great with grilled meat or as a stand-alone light lunch or supper.

Red and Yellow Cherry Tomato Panzanella Salad with Basil, Olives and Mozzarella

Ingredients:
500g red vine cherry tomatoes
500g yellow vine cherry tomatoes
1 garlic clove, cut in half
1 small red onion
30g mini capers
sprigs of basil -- Greek basil if you have it
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp caster sugar
100g Kalamata olives, pitted
250g baby buffalo mozzarella balls
400g plain crusty ciabatta or other coutnry bread, toasted, and cut into cubes
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
red wine vinegar

Method:
Rub the inside of a large mixing bowl with the cut garlic and then add the ciabatta cubes and capers.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, reserving all of the juices, and place in the bowl.

Thinly slice the red onion, pit and cut the olives in half, and add both ingredients to the tomatoes.  Mix gently and season with the salt, sugar and pepper.  Add a good glug of olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Leave for about half an hour for the juices to run and be absorbed by the bread.

Before serving, roughly rip the mozzarella balls in half and add to the tomato mixture, gently mixing together.  Place the salad in a serving bowl and sprinkle generously with basil sprigs.

Note: This makes a "company" size bowl of salad.  For my family of four, I would halve this recipe . . . and still have enough left-overs to toss with pasta the next day.  (just remove the bread before you refrigerate)

No tomatoes yet . . . but the plants in my garden are coming along!

when you begin to believe summer will come...

strawberries + blueberries make a summery snack in the garden
no strawberries are ready yet this far north - these came from italy and the blueberries from spain

yesterday was the first glorious sunny day of the late spring. it almost made us believe in summer. we took full advantage, spending the entire day outdoors in one form or another - from a lunchtime picnic on the lawn to hanging up a swing to getting out the iron garden "couch" and pillows and having a little afternoon snooze with birdsong accompaniment. an easy, springy fish dinner with new potatoes and white asparagus.

a summer picnic consisting of sandwiches with paté and some with tuna
homemade rhubarb syrup* mixed into a cool drink.
and a danish summer diary treat - koldskål with crunchy müsli ton top

although i bought my koldskål (literally translated: cold bowl) in the grocery store, it is possible to make it and it's wonderful when you do, but the organic one we can buy here in the store is so yummy i took the easy route.

koldskål

1 liter (quart) buttermilk

1 C yogurt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla (or one vanilla bean, scraped with a knife) for the pretty little black flecks)

1/2 C sugar

juice of half a lemon

whir it all up in a blender. you can add a handful of strawberries to the blender if you have some. otherwise, serve it with some sliced strawberries. what's traditional is little round, hard cookies called kammerjunker. but a homemade or store-bought müsli is just fine to sprinkle on the top. here we even have one that's specifically for koldskål. 

a light late spring almost summer dinner.
kuller (in the cod family) fish with homemade bread crumbs on top
new potatoes with butter
white asparagus on a bed of fresh spinach & the first of the garden onions

easy cod with homemade breadcrumbs

4-6 fish filets with the skin still on (any fish will do - ours was kuller, which is a member of the cod family)

5-6 slices of day-old, slightly hard bread (i used some of my homemade focaccia)

seasoning salt of your choice (i used a cajun one)

knob of cold butter

whir the bread, butter and seasoning together in your food processor on pulse until they are large, chunky crumbs, but not totally pulverized. dip the fish filet (just the fish side, not the skin side) in egg, then lay it, skin side down in an oven-ready dish that you've brushed with a little olive oil and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top. pop it in the oven for 20 or so minutes at 175°C/350°F. you can turn on the grill at the end to get the bread crumbs nice and toasty.

a bruschetta starter with tomatoes that are starting to taste of something again.

i served a little bruschetta starter - drizzling some of yesterday's focaccia with olive oil and a bit of prima donna (salty aged gouda) over the top and giving it a little toast in the oven. meanwhile, i diced some tomatoes, threw in a few mint leaves (it's what i had and gave a more spring-like tone than basil, but use what you have), a clove of garlic, salt, pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil.

the meal, all plated up - with a bit of creme fraiche dressing at twelve o'clock.

i know white asparagus is considered a real delicacy, but i'll admit to you that i prefer green any day. the fat little stems, intentionally starved for sun just don't do it for me, but it came in our box this week, so i decided to give it another chance. the skin on white asparagus is awfully tough, so you have to carefully peel it off with a vegetable peeler. i'd advise you to do it against a cutting board and not trying to hold it, as it will be less likely to break the asparagus that way. after it's peeled, it just needs 4-5 minutes of steaming and it's ready. i put it together with the following spinach dish and that made it better.

fresh spinach with onions & breadcrumbs

1 large bag of spinach - carefully rinsed and the big stems discarded

1 small onion, thinly sliced

handful of bread crumbs (i had some left from the fish)

knob of butter

olive oil

salt & pepper

melt the butter and olive oil together in a large pan - a wok is ideal, because the spinach seems like a LOT at the beginning (it wilts down to nothing quickly). throw in the onions and sauté them. these were fresh, spring ones (without being spring onions), so they didn't take long. add the bread crumbs and toast them a little bit before adding the rinsed spinach. keep stirring. the spinach will wilt and you'll be very surprised how little there is. when it was done, i placed it in a bowl and arranged the white asparagus on top with a little pat of butter on it. the spinach definitely made the asparagus more of a delicacy. 

served with simply boiled new potatoes and a creme fraiche to which i had added the cajun seasoning i was using completed this springy, almost summer meal.

* i'll be doing an all rhubarb post in the near future, but to tide you over, i've done a rhubarb cocktail over here and it tells how to make the syrup.

simple meals for busy times

i've been a bit absent from this blog of late as we packed up nearly a decade of life in our home and moved across the country to new jobs and a new house on an old farm property. my new kitchen is a severe downgrade in comparison to the old one (we're going to remedy that, don't worry) and i'll admit to a mild depression over having to cook here amidst the pepto bismol pink color the last owner chose to paint the cupboards (seriously, who would think that color would look good in a kitchen?). since it's going to be about a year before we redo the kitchen, i'll be painting those cupboards in shades of teal leftover from my famous blue room over this coming long holiday weekend (ascension day makes for a four-day weekend in denmark).

one thing i found in the midst of the chaos that is a move is that our desire to eat was not lessened in proportion to how busy we now were. so i had to find ways to cook simple meals that required few dishes, as my selection of dishes, pots and pans got pared down as more and more of that stuff was packed down.

i came up with a couple of delicious solutions that were easy, but look deceptively like you slaved for hours. a pasta dish and veal parmesan. not necessarily to be eaten together, tho' you could if you were really hungry.

simple pasta with red pesto and zucchini ribbons

this pasta dish is super easy because you use those packages of fresh pasta you can buy in the refrigerated case in the supermarket, the best pesto you can find (also purchased from the supermarket and preferably from the refrigerated section not just a jar) and a single zucchini, sliced into thin ribbons using a potato peeler. it's super quick (the fresh pasta takes only 3 minutes). you simply toss the pasta, pesto and raw zucchini ribbons together in a big bowl and dig in. a very posh meal literally in minutes. i can see from my picture that i also tossed in a bit of asparagus that i cut into bite-sized pieces and threw in with my pasta for the last minute or so of the boil. just long enough that it's still green and brilliant. the zucchini cooks just enough from being tossed with the warm pasta, so you don't need to cook it at all.

the second easy dish i've made of late is a big pan of veal parmesan. on our last night in the old house, we invited our neighbors for dinner and i made this, making sure that i made enough for us to take a pan of it with us to the new house - it felt symbolically important to make food in the old house and bring it to the new one to eat the first day.

veal parmesan

you may be thinking that i'm crazy to say that veal parmesan is easy and you'd be right if i told you to spend six hours stirring up the perfect sauce from scratch, but that's not what i did, there simply wasn't time for that. i bought a jar of good quality tomato sauce - Dolmio classico organic to be exact.

veal parmesan

100 grams of very thinly-sliced veal weinerschnitzel per person - i have the butcher slice it for me as thin as he can (so thin he thinks i'm crazy)

1 jar good quality tomato (pasta) sauce

2-3 medium-sized onions

1 thinly-sliced eggplant (if you like it)

2 eggs

breadcrumbs

finely grated parmesan cheese

pound your veal with one of those meat-pounding thingies (mine came from ikea) - it's very therapeutic and relieves stress nicely. you want it to be super, super thin, like thin enough to read something through it if you laid it over a newspaper. 

mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan together and dip the veal in egg and your breadcrumbs. you can season the breadcrumbs with salt & pepper. i used Lawry's seasoning salt as well, but use whatever you like.

brown them up in a pan. while they're browning, slice the onions into small boats and put them in the bottom of an oven-safe dish. layer the veal on them as it gets done. put more onions between layers. if you like eggplant, layer browned eggplant slices together with the veal. cover the whole thing in the jar of tomato sauce and grate a bit of your favorite cheese over the top (we love prima donna at our house - it's an aged gouda with salt crystals in it). pop it into the oven at 175°C/350°F and bake for 30 minutes or so (depending how fast your oven is). serve it with some good bread and an arugula salad. it's very filling, so you don't need pasta with it, but you can serve pasta to soak up some of the good sauce.

make extra so you have some the next day. it's great cold put onto some good ciabatta bread as a sandwich, but it warms up very nicely again in the oven. we really thought it was the perfect meal on our first night in the new house, after a long day of driving and unpacking the truck. like most tomato-sauce dishes, it tastes even better the second day.

these are deceptively simple. make them the next time you want to look like a superwoman (or man). :-) and just pretend you slaved all day.