A British Thanksgiving

Finished pumpkin pies! If you are in Britain, use flan pie tins. 

There are rules in every family when it comes to a Thanksgiving dinner. And of the three Americans at Thanksgiving this year, there were many expectations. Some families have marshmallows on their yams, others keep their sweet potatoes mallow-free. Most people have turkey while we did not. And every single family has a dish or side that is unique and an annual favorite. For my family that is scalloped oysters and 7-up salad. The former was well received by all, the latter—not so much. All in all, Thanksgiving was a blast this year but I definitely faced a few challenges

Grandma's 7up Salad. Write me for the recipe!

Challenges:

1.     Pumpkin pie filling

2.     Oysters

3.     Oven

The first challenge was probably the silliest. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. In the end, we did have this American favorite but the road to getting it was a long one.

I ordered pumpkin pie filling well ahead of the day. Three weeks ahead!! I waited patiently until Tuesday of the week for the postman to come through, but alas, no luck. Unfortunately, it was lost in the mail. I had to figure something out fast. There are two places in London to get pumpkin pie filling, Waitrose and Whole foods. Waitrose was a trek to get to, so Whole foods was the best option. Of course, all Whole foods had Pumpkin Puree. I grabbed three jars and hustled home to get baking.

Before I arrived home, I thought hard about what else I needed to make this pumpkin puree work. Luckily I had everything I needed.

Ingredients

Pre-made shortcrust pie dough

2 c. Pumpkin Puree

2 Eggs (Plus the yolk of a third)

½ c. Brown sugar

1/3 c. Granulated Sugar

½ tsp Allspice

½ tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2  c. Evaporated Milk

The recipe I found called for much more, was wonderful and can be found at this link:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/suzannes_old_fashioned_pumpkin_pie/

But I planned to make three pies, and this was a recipe for one, so I improvised. Instead of tripling the recipe, I only tripled the ingredients that were vital for the pie to set. I tripled the pumpkin, and eggs and doubled the evaporated milk, the brown sugar and the spices. I also added 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Then I crossed my fingers.

The wonderful thing about my oven and most British ovens is their consistency. It bakes evenly and at very high temperatures.

To make the pie:

1.     Preheat the oven the 425

2.     Mix the sugar, spices, and mix with the eggs. Add the pumpkin puree and evaporated milk.

3.     Pour into the pie crust and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

 

The second challenge was finding canned oysters! Like my friend Hugo, you may be thinking that Oysters should be fresh on the half shell. But our family also enjoys canned oysters.

The recipe is simple.

2. cups crushed Club crackers or Ritz, or any buttery-flaky cracker you can find

2 cans  or 3 tins of canned or smoked oysters

1/4 cup of oyster juice

3/4 cup of cream

1 tsp worchestershire 

1/2 cup melted butter

If you have trouble finding crackers, you can also make it is with 1 cup of saltine crackers and a cup of breadcrumbs. I ordered club crackers online and they were on my doorstep quickly. It was little more expensive, but I don’t mess with my grandmother’s recipes.

The real challenge was finding canned oysters. British grocery stores have nearly every other fish or seafood creature canned and preserved. I could find canned mussels everywhere, but no oysters. I went to three stores before I found smoked oysters at a big Sainsbury’s in Camden and that was my only option.

The recipe turned out wonderful and the smoky flavor worked well with the worchestershire and cream. Once you’ve found oysters, making it is simple.

1.     Crush or crumble the crackers to fine crumbs in a food processor or with a mallet.

2.     Melt the butter and mix with the crumbs. Put 1/3 of the crackers in the bottom of a square baking dish and alternate with layers of oysters. Save the last third of the crackers.

3.     Mix the cream, oyster juice, worchestershire and pour over the oysters and crackers. Top with the last bit of crackers.

4.     Bake at 425 for 30 minutes until golden brown.

The final challenge was the oven.

Even though it works well and bakes well, it is tiny! I spent a good part of the time running up and down stairs to check my over as well as my friend Rebecca's to make sure that everything was on schedule.

Despite the challenges, it had a wonderful time cooking for my new family in London. I am so happy I could spend my favorite holiday with people as kind, generous and supportive as Rebecca, Aurore, Hugo, Yannik, Jacobi, Flatmate Michael, Chris, Stone, and Pamela!!!

The Diner- Camden

 So it’s been awhile. I know that, but the thing is I am in London and there is so much to do and see that I have to expand the mission of this blog a little bit. With that said, I am also a master’s student, playing on the volleyball team, and I have very little time to cook. Which is another reason to expand the blog. Ergo, I am also doing restaurant reviews.

But not just any restaurant, restaurants that claim they serve amazing breakfast. Breakfast food is a big thing in the United States and even though any one can get a massive English breakfast here (contains: toast, fried eggs, sausage, bacon/ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, and baked beans), I look for a little more variety.

My first breakfast adventure took me to Camden town, a short fifteen-minute walk from my home to The Diner. From the name of the establishment, it is easy to imagine that The Diner is also heavily themed like an American diner. I really wonder if there is a website that pops up when you Google, “Pictures of small, middle of nowhere towns in Texas.” If there is, that is where the decorum for this diner is from, clad with red, white and blue.

As cliché as it is, the place was oddly comforting for we three Americans and one Dutchmen who sought a decent shortstack. Now this is the tricky part about finding “American” classics in Europe, they will never rise quite to the occasion and that is simply because of the change in ingredients and the market. I’ve learned to just be happy to get maple syrup. Luckily, The Diner doesn’t disappoint.

The pancakes were massive, a portion size you would expect in Texas. The pancakes were delicious but the batter was more crepe-like sweet and dense rather than the fluffy flapjacks of the United States. Even then, it was a lovely taste of home with over easy eggs and hashbrowns. Although, if you expect hashbrowns the American way, I guarantee you will not find it unless you make them yourself. (Which is not all that difficult, my next blog post I think!)

Typically, the hashbrowns are just like the McDonalds or Burger King variety, fried into some geometrically accurate shape and thankfully more delicious at The Diner than other places.

My friend Michael had Eggs Royale—a play on the classic Eggs Benedict, but with Smoked Salmon instead of ham-- Very tasty.

 

On another occasion, I’ve had their French Toast. It was wonderful, as close to home as it could be without making your own bread.

After a rough night out, it seems like the best place to grab a Bloody Mary, or their version called the Bloody Maria made unique with Tequila and hot sauce. 

You can find other locations in Islington, Kensal Rise, Soho, and Shoreditch or visit their website at www.goodlifediner.com. Let me know how you like it!  I will continue to add to this post when I try other dishes.

Presto Pesto

Probably the easiest thing I make is pesto and I make it all the time. It's pretty healthy, delicious and it takes a couple simple ingredients.

Typically it is made with basil, pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil, but you can mix this recipe up as much as you want.

I typically have spinach so I play with the flavors. I'll use walnuts instead of pine nuts and the result is a full aroma and flavor from the walnuts and tons of great nutrients.

The ingredients for this simple pesto are:
1 cup of basil (fresh)
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 tablespoons of parmesan
about 1/2 cup of olive oil

Use a food processor to break down the pine nuts and parmesan with a little olive oil, then add the basil with a pinch of salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil while the processor does its work. The mixture emulsifies into a creamy and full sauce that can literally be used for anything. Pizza, past, bread, dressing. The list goes on.

Now, as my blog says, I've had to make some changes to this process because I moved to London. I'm using ingredients that I am not used to and the product last night wasn't a failure but it wasn't to standard either.

 Let's start with the basil. Basil, as you may know, can get expensive to buy fresh so while I was shopping I came across a basil bush and immediately bought it. It is vibrant, smells fantastic, and adds a little life to the otherwise pathetic kitchen table. It has been easy to live with. Just water here and there and relieve the plant of some leaves so it can continue to grow. With the rainy and cloudy days ahead, I hope it survives. Luckily, it cost me a cheap (GBR) 1.99 (about three dollars), to by Nebraskan standards, that's a steal.

The pine nuts where an interesting revelation too, because they were also very reasonably priced (GBR 2.85). However, they are not cleaned or shelled nearly as well as the packs I've bought in the past. I found that out the hard way when I just tossed one in my mouth after opening the package. It was just like I ate dust. Ick. There, you are warned. The taste of the pine nuts were still very earthy and gave the pesto a very full flavor. The next time I make pesto, I'll probably cut down on the number of kernels I use.

Finally, the Parmesan. This may be obvious, but Parmesan, when aged, develops a very robust and rich flavor. It, along with the olive oil, give pesto the creaminess we taste. I couldn't find a block of Parmesan to grate myself so I settled for Parmesan shavings and processed them down. This Parmesan was very full and after reading the label again, I found that it matured/aged for 18 months. Boy, it had kick. Next time, I'll pull back the reigns on the Parmesan too.

I decided to make pizza with the pesto. A simple pesto with mozzarella on top. Nothing fancy. it was great, but could be better. Follow the recipe with ingredients from home, and you'll be good to go. But if you enjoy a full Parmesan flavor, add more. If you like the earthy taste of pine nuts, toss another hand full in. There are no rules. Ciao!

Bacon-Maple Cupcakes with Sis

I know, I know, I know...this post is long overdue and I owe many of you another round of these cupcakes but you'll have to wait until I get back in December.

My sister and I made them yesterday on my last day in the US and they were delicious. The combination of sweet maple syrup and savory-salty bacon was delightful and added a wonderful crispy crunch to a very light cupcake.

For this recipe all you need is:
1 box vanilla cake mix
3/4 c water
1/4 c maple syrup
1/3 c vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/3 brown sugar
6 strips bacon (cooked until crispy)
Frosting!
8 oz cream cheese
3 c powdered sugar
2 tblsp maple syrup

1. Mix the cake mix with the water, syrup, eggs and oil. Scoop into cupcake liners and sprinkle the top with a little brown sugar.
2. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
3. For the frosting mix the cream cheese with one cup of powdered sugar until combined. Add the next few cups gradually with maple syrup until mixed well then mix on high for about 3 minutes until fluffy.
4. The frosting is very sweet so only use a dollop and stick a strip of the bacon in the middle for garnish, crunch and salty goodness.




Look for my next recipe from London. I haven't decided what to make yet (I have to scout the grocery store) but I can't wait to get cooking!

Homemade Mac N Cheese with Bacon!

I've just realized a lot of my posts have included bacon lately, but that's alright because bacon is delicious and any dish that includes bacon, my boyfriend will definitely eat.


But today, bacon is incorporated into a delicious and simple homemade mac and cheese recipe that never fails.

I began making this when I lived in Ireland. My friends from Wisconsin were really missing home and because the stereotypes are true (I've never seen a group of people eat so much cheese), they wanted a cheesy, creamy comfort food.

This is what I came up with.
These are all made with ingredients that I always have in the fridge, so it can be a last minute decision and be made for many or few eaters.

Ingredients:
Small individual size plain yogurt
1 cup milk
Italian bread crumbs
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
11/2 cups mozzarella
1/2 cup parmesan
4 strips crispy bacon
Olive oil
Penne pasta
Butter

1. Fry your bacon until crispy. I like to make the cheese sauce with the bacon grease but no need to use it if you do not want the added calories. Drain the bacon on paper towel then crush into small pieces.

2. Boil your water for the penne. Use the same pan as the bacon and melt 2 tblsp butter. Combine the milk and yogurt and add to the butter. Allow to simmer, then add 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and combine until cheese is fully melted.

3. Once the penne is al dente, drain the water and cover the noodles with the cheese sauce. Once the penne is coated, pour into a greased (with olive oil) casserole dish. Over the top, spread the left over cheddar. Then combine 1 cup of bread crumbs and 2 tbslp of olive oil and top the dish with the crumbs. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees (5 minutes covered, 5 minutes uncovered).

If you want to make this for just you, just drain the pasta and melt the butter over the noodles and add the desired amount of cheese and allow the heat from the pasta to melt the cheese.  Simple, yummy and almost like home.

Enjoy!

S'mores Cake Pops

I know a little girl who LOVES chocolate. Her third birthday was yesterday, and just for her I made Devil's Food and S'more Cake Pops. Super moist and chocolatey, enjoy s'mores away from the camp fire.

WARNING: Highly addictive and irresistible.

S'mores cake pops have been my most popular recipe yet. Even my boyfriend, whose sweet tooth is very small, loves them.

Ingredients:

Vanilla or White cake mix

Mini chocolate chips

Marshmallow fluff like Jet-Puff

Graham Crackers

Mini marshmallows

Whipped white frosting

Veg Oil

Eggs

Water

Chocolate Candy Melts

Sucker Sticks

1. Mix the cake mix as instructed on the box. Add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter. The chips will settle near the bottom of the cake, if this bothers you, coat them with flour before adding to the batter. Bake as instructed and allow to cool.

2. Process down two graham cracker sheets. And set aside with 1 cup of mini marshmallows.

3. Process down your cake until crumbs.

4. Add to the crumbs 1/2 cup of marshmallow fluff, 1/2 cup of white frosting, the processed graham crackers and 1 cup of mini marshamallows and combine.

5. Use about 3 tablespoons of the mixture and roll into cake balls.

6. Melt chocolate candy melts, dip in sucker stick and insert the stick in the cake ball and allow to harden. Process down 2 more graham crackers and quarter the mini marshmallows.

7. Once the chocolate is hard, dip the entire cake pop in the candy coating then the processed graham crackers for a delicious outer shell. While the coating is still wet, use the chocolate to place the marshmallow pieces on the grahams cracker layer.

8. Share and Enjoy!

Creamy-Healthy Carbonara (alright, alright...healthier)

Unfortunately, My photo refuses to turn 90 degrees clockwise, so please humor me and my tempermental photo by tilting your head.

Italian food is the ultimate comfort cuisine and carbonara is the ultimate comfort food. My recipe has a couple of twists.


Pancetta is replaced by bacon, whole eggs with yogurt and a few yolks and flavor added with red onion. And for protein, sauteed shrimp.

Ingredients:
Fettucine nests (5)
2 egg yolks
four slices of bacon
1/3 cup of yogurt
1 tablespoon of garlic
1/3 cup of parmesan cheese grated
1/2 pound of shrimp

Fry up your bacon until crispy and set aside to drain the grease. Use the left over grease in the pan to saute the red onion and garlic. Once the onion is soft, add the shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Once the shrimp is done, set aside with the bacon.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, yogurt and parmesan cheese. Transfer the cooked pasta straight from the boiling water to the saute pan and spoon in a little pasta water to the pan as well. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the pasta and toss quickly until creamy and steaming. This ensures that the egg cooks completely but doesn't solidify.

Crumble the bacon strips and add it to the pasta along with the shrimp. Grate some parmesan over the top and plate. So delicious. And about 300 calories less than traditional carbonara.