An Cooking

A perfect salad that transports very  well to your favorite functions ~  And, its oh so delicious...

Servings: (4)
Prep: 15 Mins.
+ refrigeration time


1 english cucumber, rinsed, peel scored with a fork, and cut into ½” cubes
½ red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, cut into ½” pieces
1 large tomato, cut into ½” cubes
¼ of an red onion, chopped
1 (2.25 oz. can) sliced black olives, drained (and/or pitted calamata olives)
1/4 cup, goat cheese, cubed

4 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 slice of bread
½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley


In a medium bowl, combine cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes, onion, olives, and goat cheese.

The rich flavour of blue cheese gives a great kick to celeriac, and the potatoes just smooth the whole thing out a little. This is delicious with beef - if not a really good piece of steak then a nice juicy home-made burger will do the trick. 

4 servings
45 minutes - 25 minutes prep time


3 cups peeled, diced celeriac
2 cups peeled, cut-up potatoes
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
freshly ground black pepper to taste
plus 1 tablespoon more crumbled blue cheese to garnish

Peel and dice the celeriac. Peel the potatoes, and cut them into chunks about twice the size of the celeriac pieces. Put them both in a pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil until tender; about 20 minutes.

Drain the cooked vegetables well. Mash them with the butter and 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese. Season with pepper to taste. You can add some salt as well if you think it needs it, but I think most blue cheeses will be sufficiently salty on their own.

Serve garnished with a another spoonful of crumbled blue cheese sprinkled over the top.

Once you or your children try this,  itll be their and your ultimate favorite comfort dessert...

Servings: (2)
Prep: 3 Mins.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

1 (15 oz. can) pear halves in light syrup, drained (reserving syrup)
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
4 tablespoons reserved syrup, more or less
2 teaspoons mayonnaise

--2 whole maraschino cherries, with stems on (optional)

METHOD

Set out 2 serving bowls to be filled.

In small bowl, mix the cottage cheese with the reserved light syrup and mayonnaise. Spoon mixture equally among both serving bowls.

Cut four or six pear halves lengthwise into quarters, and fan out as in photograph in each of the 2 bowls atop the cottage cheese mixture. Top each center with a maraschino cherry, and serve. – Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tip: This recipe works well using alternative canned fruits such as peaches, fruit cocktail, etc., which kids love ~ The addition of mayonnaise was my bother Larrys idea ~ It works!

Hardly a recipe, more of a serving suggestion. The combination of eggs and asparagus on toast is completely classic; I like to throw in a little cheese too. I only had a baguette when I made this, but a more standard sized slice of bread is a better choice in my opinion. 

Garden crunch time is here, so its off to plant things in between rain showers. This has been a lovely spring for rain, now if only the nights would stay decently warm we might get somewhere.

per serving
20 minutes prep time


1 or 2 large eggs
150 to 250 grams (1/3 to 1/2 pound) asparagus
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
1 or 2 slices of sandwich bread
30 to 60 grams  (1 or 2 ounces) Cheddar or other meltable cheese
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put a pot of water with a tablespoon of white vinegar in it on to simmer to poach the eggs, or cook the eggs in the oven, as here. It takes 8 minutes to cook a firm poached egg (pointless, in my opinion, but its what some people want) and 3 or 4 minutes to poach a soft, runny egg. Time them to be done when the toast and asparagus go onto the plate - that process will take about 10 to 12 minutes.

Wash the asparagus, and break off the tough ends. Turn on the oven grill. Toss the asparagus with the oil on a large baking tray, and cook it under the grill for 4 or 6 minutes.(Start hard eggs just before turning.) Turn it over, and add the slices of bread to the tray.  Return it to under the grill, (start soft eggs now) and cook until the bread is toasted.

Turn the bread over, and cover it with the sliced cheese. Return it to under the grill, and cook until melted and bubbly, perhaps a little browned. Put the grilled cheese toasts on serving plates, and cover them with the cooked asparagus. Top with one or two poached eggs, and add salt and pepper as desired.

My sons girlfriend is a vegetarian so when she visits I use this as an excuse to try out some new recipes (not that I need an excuse!). I saw this quiche recipe in Late Spring 2009 issue of BBC Easy Cook and thought it would be nice for lunch.

500g shortcrust pastry (I cheated and used frozen pastry)
300g frozen peas
3tbsp olive oil
handful of mint leaves, chopped
2 eggs
284mltub double cream
4 spring onions, finely sliced
200g mild goats cheese, crumbled

Turn the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a round about 5cm larger than a 25cm tart tin. use our rolling pin to lift it up, then drape over the tart case, so there is an overhang of pastry on the sides. Gently push the pastry into the corners of the tin. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

While the pastry is chilling, cook the peas in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold water. Use a hand blender to puree the peas with the oil then stir in the mint and season.
Lightly prick the base of the tart with a fork, line the tart case with a large circle of greaseproof paper, then fill with baking beans. Bake the tart case for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans, then continue to cook for 5-10 minutes until it is biscuit brown.
Meanwhile beat the eggs in a large bowl. Gradually add the cream and stir in the onions. Season.
When the case is cooked spoon and spread the peas over the base, pour over the egg mix, then scatter over the goats cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set and golden brown, Leave to cool in the case, trim the edges of the pastry, then remove and serve in slices.

The pie is ubiquitous in every culture, whether its sweet or savoury, large or small, open or closed, enclosing a filling with some kind of pastry or dough is a classic form of cooking and baking.

Dean Brettschneider has captured the joy of pies in this book dedicated to this ultimate convenience and comfort food.

About the Author
Dean Brettschneider is a professional baker, patissier and entrepreneur.  Arguably one of the worlds best bakers, Dean is a truly a global baker.  He was based in Shanghai for several years and now resides in Denmark and New Zealand, where he heads up his global baking empire.

About the Book
The book starts with a History of the Humble Pie starting with pie pastry made with flour and water by the Greeks and ending up with the gourmet pies made by patisserie chefs. 

The Ingredients section is a useful reference for later recipes and the section on equipment, usefully includes Your Hands beside mixing bowls and sieves!

The first recipe chapter is all about Meat Pies and it was the very first recipe (and the cover recipe) which I couldnt resist: Mince and Cheese Pies. I have also bookmarked Spanish Chicken Pie, Steak Caramelised Onion and Red Pepper Mustard Pies and Coriander Chicken and Yoghurt Curry Pie.

Seafood Pies includes a delicious sounding Fish Pie with Leek and Chorizo and Salmon, Wild Rocket and Orzo Pie.

There is a chapter on Vegetarian Pies standouts include Tomato and Thyme Tarte Tatin and Gooey Leek, Potato and Vintage Cheddar Pie.

What is a pie?  The chapter Not-quite-a-pie stretches the boundaries of pie-dom to sausage rolls, empanadas and whoopie pies! This includes Cornish Pasties, Chunky Chicken and Apricot Spinach Pastry Plaits, Spicy Gingerbread, Cointreau and Choclate Eccles Cakes and the superb sounding Date, Apricot, Orange and Cardamom Flapjack Shortcake Tart.

Sweet Pies  are a favourite with most of us, stretch your repertoire to include Pear and Fennel Tart Tatin , Dark Chocolate Banoffee Slab, Lemon Olive oil and Blueberry Tart and possibly my favourite sweet recipe in this book: Caramel Macadamia Oaty Tart.

The book ends with a chapter of Basic Recipes, so many different sweet and savoury pastry recipes to add pizazz to your pies.  There are also a range of filling recipes and a section on Techniques such as lining a pie dish, tart tin or flan ring with pastry, baking blind and decorating.

Pros
There are some really interesting pie fillings and inspirational pastry recipes in this book. Every pie recipe has a full colour photograph and a few have step by step instructions  e.g raised pork pies. The recipes are well laid out and I found them simple to follow. The pastry recipes in the basic recipes chapter are really original.  I didnt have time to make my own puff pastry but I love the sound of Gingerbread Crust Sweet Pastry and Chilli Polenta Pie Crust.

Cons
About half the book is devoted to sweet pies, now I know they are pies, but I would have preferred more savoury pies and some of the pie interpretations were rather wide e.g. Orange Blossom and White Chocolate Cheesecake Pie and Gingernut Lemon Meringue Pie in a Glass! 

The Verdict
 Well if you love pies, then this is the book for you!  If you even just like pies then it would be well worth owning a copy of this book, many of the recipes could be adapted to create new pies once you have mastered the basic techniques. This book has earned a place on my bookshelf anyway.



Mince and Cheese Pies
Makes 4 individual lunch sized pies
Pastry
1 quantity of Butter Puff Pastry (I used ready made butter puff pastry)
Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
 1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
500g lean beef mince
30g standard plain flour
175ml beef stock, ready-made is fine
125ml lager
2tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Marmite (optional)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 ts dried mixed herbs
salt and peeper, to taste
200g tasty cheese or Cheddar, grated
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water for egg wash
2 tbsp black or white sesame seeds for the topping

1. Make the Butter Puff Pastry the day before and store wrapped in the refrigerator.  Cut off a quarter of the pastry block and set it aside for the pie lids.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger piece of pastry to a square, approximately 4 mm think. Cut the square into quarters.  Line each individual pie dish, ensuring the pastry is firmly presssed against he sides and leaving some hanging over the edge of the dishes.  Roll out the smaller piece of pastry to a square into quarters, cover with clingfilm and set aside.

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan, then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is golden.  Add the beef mince and cook until well browned, stirring occasionally to prevent large lumps of meat forming.  Stir in the flour and cook for approximately 30 seconds.  Gradually add the beef stock and beer, then bring to the boil.  Add the tomato puree or paste and Marmite (if using), balsamic vinegar, mixed herbs and salt and pepper to taste.  Lower the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

 I didnt have any Marmite and felt that the mince was rather anaemic looking without it, so added a tbsp of soy sauce, it was a triumph and the mince was delicious.

Fill each pastry lined dish almost up to the top with the mince filling then add a small handful of grated tasty cheese or Cheddar (I used Scottish Mature Cheddar).

Brush the edge of the pastry bases with water and place the lids on top. Seal edges and trim off any excess pastry with a sharp knife.  Brush the tops o the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Rest for 1-2 hours (or longer) before baking. 

I didnt have any sesame seeds, the pies were fine without them.

Bake in a preheated 220C (gas 7) oven for 25-30 minutes or until pastry is crisp and golden-brown in colour.  Allow to cool in the dishes for 10 minutes then remove from dishes and place on a cooling rack.  Serve with your favourite tomato sauce and a crisp green salad or a bowl of French Fries.  


 I served my pies with grilled tomatoes and broccoli, they were super delicious, the tasty mince, crispy pastry and gooey cheese, what a flavour sensation!

Pie by Dean Brettschneider
Photographs by Aaron McLean
Published by Jacqui Small LLP
RRP £25

Many thanks to Aurum Publishing Group for supplying me with a copy of Pies by Dean Brettschneider, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.