Recipes

Best Basic Deviled Eggs with Topping Ideas

January 31, 2013 by Rebecca 8 Comments

There are a lot of people who freak out a little when they draw deviled egg duty. Because it’s something that’s been such a mainstay of the party scene for so long, everyone knows how they’re supposed to taste and look and -let’s be honest- if your grandma, mom, or Aunt Molly didn’t share deviled egg tricks with you, the little beasts can be awfully stressful to make.

Is there anyone out there who has run to the store to buy eggs to make deviled eggs (or gone out to the chicken coop to grab fresh eggs for the project), popped them in the pan, boiled and cooled the eggs and then been utterly frustrated by the shells pulling off great chunks of hard boiled eggs? Yeah. I’ve been there, too. I’m here to tell you it isn’t your fault. Well, at least not in the way you think it is. You do not lack the ability to peel an egg, you just have eggs that are too fresh.

No joke.

If you have eggs fresh from the hen house, they will be difficult to peel at best and brain-explodingly frustrating at worst. If you have the time, you should wait at least seven to ten days before trying to boil and peel those eggs. If you get them from the store, read the expiration or sell-by date. If it is three to five weeks from now, those eggs might be too fresh to peel.

Before you throw up your hands and think all is lost, though, there are a few tricks to getting great hard-boiled eggs without a green ring that work even with fresh-ER eggs. I can’t explain why they work from a scientific stand point, but I can tell you they work for me and my one or two day old fresh-from-the-chicken eggs.

To begin with, grab the oldest eggs in your refrigerator, but we’ve already covered that.
Put your eggs in a single layer in the pan. Don’t double up. Don’t ask me why, just don’t do it.
Cover the eggs by at least an inch but preferably closer to two inches of cool tap water.
Add a hearty splash of vinegar to the water.
Bring the water to a full rolling boil, put a tight fitting lid on the pan and SHUT THE HEAT OFF. I’m not kidding. Leave it alone.
After fifteen minutes, immediately and I do mean RIGHT AWAY, move that pan to the sink. Using the lid to hold back the eggs, pour the hot water out of the pan.
Using the lid to hold the eggs in the pan, give the pan a couple of sharp shakes back and forth, up and down.
Remove the lid and let cold tap water run over them for about three minutes.
Use the back of a regular old eating teaspoon to rap the egg all over under running water then flip the spoon over and ease the tip of the spoon in between the shell and the egg. Use the contour of the spoon against the egg to pull the shell away. The water should help get all the excess pieces of shell off of the egg.
Repeat until done. The longer you wait to peel them, the tougher they are to peel. This accounts for why every jar of my post-Easter Yooper Pickled Eggs looks as though an angry two year old who lacks opposable thumbs peeled them.

Now that you have gotten the hard part out of the way, let’s talk filling. The filling itself is simple, but a few things will ensure that you have the ultimate deviled egg experience. I like to keep the filling simple and a touch retro.

Deviled eggs are not on the cutting edge of food fashion. I acknowledge that. There is something so comforting about seeing them on a party buffet table, though, isn’t there? No matter what else is out there, no matter how exotic the rest of the choices are, you know there’s going to be something you love to eat. Such is the real draw of the deviled egg.

Just because they’re retro doesn’t mean they have to be predictable, though. If you have a great deviled egg base (in my case, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard), you can keep the traditionalists happy AND it can serve as the platform for any number of strong toppings to keep things exciting. I like my deviled egg filling to be flawlessly smooth and I have a trick to share to make that happen, too. I present my magic deviled egg wand.

Yes. My magic wand is a potato ricer. It makes the silkiest work of squishing egg yolks outside of forcing all the business through a fine mesh sieve. I don’t pull a restaurant paycheck anymore, so I’m NOT going to be the girl working egg yolks through mesh. The ricer does the job beautifully and with far less effort and cleanup.

Once you’ve blended the yolks in with the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, you can opt to spoon the filling or pipe it into the egg white halves. I pipe because I like the look of it.

I leave some of them plain for the old school crowd and then go to town on the others. Green olive tapenade, spicy chili crisp (or chili garlic sauce), candied jalapenos and bacon jam are some of my favourite things to throw on top of deviled eggs. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s fun to look at a platter and have an array of colours and flavours staring back at me.

So talk to me. Have you ever had a panic moment over hard-boiled eggs or are you an expert? If you are an expert, do you have any hard-boiled egg tips to share? What’s your favourite deviled egg topper or recipe?

Best Basic Deviled Eggs with Topping Ideas

Rating: 41

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Best Basic Deviled Eggs with Topping Ideas

The best deviled egg is a perfectly cooked hard-boiled egg filled with a creamy classic filling and then topped with imaginative goodies. This recipe gives you the technique for the perfect boiled egg, how best to peel them, AND a list of great toppers.

Ingredients

To Make the Deviled Eggs:

12 chicken eggs
splash of vinegar
1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt and black pepper to taste

Topping Ideas:

Green olive tapenade
Bacon jam
Spicy Chili Crisp or Chili Garlic Sauce
Sriracha
Candied Jalapenos
crumbled crispy bacon
roasted red pepper strips
roasted red pepper spread
minced green onion or chives

Instructions

Place eggs in a single layer in a heavy pot that has a tight fitting lid. Cover the eggs by 1- to 2-inches of cool tap water. Add a splash (a tablespoon or so) of cider vinegar to the pan. Place the pan over high heat and bring the water to a full rolling boil. As soon as it hits the full rolling boil, clamp the lid in place and shut the heat off completely. Let the eggs stand, undisturbed for exactly 15 minutes.

When the 15 minutes have passed, carefully carry the pot to the sink and use the lid to hold the eggs back while pouring off the hot water. Give the pan a couple of sharp shakes back and forth and up and down to break the shells a bit. Let a stream of cold tap water pour over the eggs for about 3 minutes.

Working with one egg at a time, use the back of an eating teaspoon to rap the egg all over and break the shells into tiny pieces. Flip the spoon over, hold the egg under a thin stream of cool water and ease the tip of the spoon between the broken shell and the egg. Use the contour of the spoon to pull the shell away from the egg. The running water should remove any leftover shell fragments. Lay the peeled egg on a clean towel.

Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise and pop the yolks into a bowl (using a spoon to help if necessary.) Either smash the yolks with a fork or potato masher or force through a potato ricer, like I do. Mix 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard into the squashed yolks with a fork or whisk until smooth. If you'd like the filling to be creamier, add the mayonnaise 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition and adjust with the remaining Dijon mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pipe or scoop the filling into the egg white halves. Serve immediately -topped as desired- or wrap before topping and refrigerate until it is time to serve.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/31/best-basic-deviled-eggs-with-topping-ideas/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, game day, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Snacks, Super Bowl

Midwestern Tacos | Taco Topped Baked Potatoes

January 30, 2013 by Rebecca 13 Comments

This is the final ‘taco’ in my three taco series to prepare us for Super Bowl but the fun doesn’t end here! Come on back tomorrow AND Friday for two wonderful done-in-a-flash appetizers. There will be a giveaway you won’t want to miss on Friday. It’s a BIG one. Bigger even than my potatoes. Believe me!

You know those questions that go something: “Which three foods would you take with you to a deserted island to eat for the rest of your life?” My rote answer to that is always “Potatoes, Onions and Cheese” If they let me choose four, I add “bacon”. If they let me choose five, I add “chocolate”. I am a woman of priorities, you see… And potatoes, well, they’re high on that priority list. Blame it on ancestry, carb-addiction, frugality, or whatever, the fact remains that this gal needs potatoes to survive.

When I was a kid, one of my favourite meals that my mom made was a baked potato bar. My little heart skipped with joy every time I came home to the earthy smell of potatoes baking in the oven. Mom always pulled out all the goodies for topping the baked spuds. Little did I know at the time what a genius move that was to clean out the refrigerator. Odds and ends of leftover cooked meats, small amounts of four different kinds of cheese and cooked vegetables, sour cream, ranch dressing, sliced pepperoni, and whatever else we had on hand. To me, it was -quite simply- the best thing I could possibly imagine.

These Midwestern Tacos (in actuality baked potatoes with taco toppings) are in the grand tradition of my mom’s baked potato bars. I lay out all of our leftover taco toppings (around here that’s usually refried beans, chorizo/carnitas/shredded beef or chicken, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and grated cheese) and let everyone customize their spuds to their hearts’ content.

The key here, and it really is key, is to get some good potatoes and bake them right. Thank you, Queen Obvious. What I mean is this; while almost any not-rotten potato is a good potato, there is a better potato than other potatoes to use for baked potatoes. Ahem. In a word, RUSSET. Use the biggest, prettiest, least blemished Russet potatoes that you can find. Then scrub them, let them air dry, jab them with a fork a few times, rub them with olive oil and sprinkle them with coarse salt. The reason you go to all this trouble is because it makes a crispy, crunchy, irresistible skin and fluffy, dry, perfect insides. Minus the olive oil and salt will still yield a pretty yummy potato because as we’ve mentioned potatoes= joy, but it’ll be blandish. And a blandish potato skin is a sad potato skin. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still butter, salt and pepper it then eat the heck out of it, but I’d prefer it my way. To this day, my dad says that the biggest parenting mistake he ever made was teaching us to eat the potato skins because then he didn’t get to eat as many.

I like mega, mondo, gigantic Russets for my baked potatoes, because I feel a flutter of happiness looking at massive potatoes on my plate, but if you’re the more delicate type, or you can only find bonnie wee Russet potatoes, by all means… bake them! Again? THEY’RE POTATOES.

As for the toppings I specify in the recipe, feel free to swap things in or out for them. The idea is sound and can tolerate creativity based on likes, dislikes, and what is available. Oh, and hey. I bet it goes without saying, but just imagine how popular THIS will be if you serve it at your Super Bowl shindigs. It fits with my ultimate entertaining rule: “Make it customizable and everyone will be happy.” Well, unless they don’t eat potatoes. But if they don’t eat potatoes, shoot. I don’t know. Hand ‘em a fistful of nuts. ‘Cause that’s what they are.

…And I say that out of love.

MWAH!

Midwestern Tacos | Taco Topped Baked Potatoes

Rating: 51

Midwestern Tacos | Taco Topped Baked Potatoes

Hearty, comforting, perfect baked Russet potatoes stand in for the usual taco shell in these fabulous Midwestern Tacos where the crispy, salted potato skin and fluffy potato insides carry spicy chorizo, taco or shredded meat, refried beans, grated cheese, salsa, onions, guacamole and sour cream. Let everyone customize their own. This is perfect for Super Bowl Sunday, game day or any day and is a great way to use up leftovers!

Ingredients

For the Potatoes:

Desired number of large Russet potatoes, scrubbed under running water and air dried. (*See Notes)
olive oil
coarse salt (either sea or kosher)

Optional Toppings:

Fully cooked chorizo, shredded pork, chicken or beef
refried beans
shredded cheese (Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese are both good choices.)
salsa or taco sauce
chopped sweet onions
guacamole
sour cream
fresh cilantro or lettuce

Instructions

To Bake the Potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Use a fork to jab the potatoes about 6 to 8 times all over them.

Put the potatoes in a large mixing bowl, drizzle olive oil over them and use your hands to smear the oil over the potatoes to completely coat them. Sprinkle the potato skins with the coarse salt and lay them directly on the wire racks in the oven. Bake for 30-50 minutes, or until they are easily pierced with a fork, butterknife or cake tester. Because everyone has a different idea of what constitutes a large potato, begin testing around the 30 minute mark and go from there. My potatoes usually take closer to an hour.

Wearing oven mitts, transfer the finished potatoes to a baking dish or rack.

To Serve the Potatoes, Midwestern Taco Style:

Using a fork, repeatedly jab the potato about 3/4- to 1-inch deep in a line from end to end, overlapping a little with each poke. Turn the fork perpendicular to that line in the center and jab once at the same depth. If the potatoes are still screaming hot, put the oven mitts back on for the next step.

Hold both ends of the potatoes and squeeze gently while pressing down slightly This will make the potato BURST open at the top and make the fluffy insides craggy so that toppings can settle into the nooks and crannies or butter can melt in or whatever you put on top will soak in. This is a very good thing.

Top with desired taco toppings, starting with meats/beans/cheese and moving up through salsa, onions, ending with guacamole and sour cream, if desired. Serve immediately. Store leftover potatoes in a bowl in the refrigerator, uncovered.

Notes

Make more potatoes than you think you'll need! Leftover potatoes are great for making potato soup, potato salad, potato skins and more. Besides, a leftover potato all on its own makes a nutritious and hearty snack!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/30/midwestern-tacos-taco-topped-baked-potatoes/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Main Dish, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, game day, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Snacks, Superbowl

Black Bean and Corn Tacos | 10 Minute Meal

January 29, 2013 by Rebecca 7 Comments

This is Day 2 of our three day Taco series leading up to the Super Bowl. Today’s selection is a lightning fast, super fresh and divinely delicious vegetarian taco that cooks up in under ten minutes. HELLO LOVELY! Tomorrow’s taco will be most decidedly decadent, so they balance each other out. One thing is certain, though, and that is that they are both one hundred percent wonderful.

I hope that by now, you all know me well enough to trust that I’m not going to give you a healthy and/or inexpensive meal that feels like you’re wearing a culinary hair shirt, right? I don’t do healthy or cheap recipes just to behave. I do healthy and inexpensive recipes that taste like you just made a REALLY good decision for dinner and you’re going to be just fine watching that cooking competition on television because you’re full and happy. (Can someone please tell me they identify with that line of thinking?)

This recipe fits the bill in more ways than one. Let’s cover the health bases first.

Black beans, corn and carrots are in this recipe. All three on their own are good for you, but put them together and you have a powerhouse of fiber, protein, vitamin A, carotenoids, antioxidants, alpha- and beta-carotene, phytonutrients, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Phew. I feel better just typing that. In short, it’s heart, eye, digestive, immune and circulatory system approved. Beat that.

Now let’s talk about WHY you need a recipe like this in your regular rotation. BECAUSE IT’S GOOD AND FAST AND CHEAP. I’m sorry to yell, but honestly… I’m serious here. Raise your hand if you feel tired/overwhelmed/uninspired/overextended in any way and wish you didn’t have to cook from time to time. (For the record, my hand is in the air.) We all get the kitchen funk every now and again. It’s recipes like these that save our budget and lift our spirits and make everyone happy. Even with my big family, we can all eat our fill from a double batch of this and it costs us less than $10.00 for the whole meal. Let’s break that double batch cost down for proof, shall we?

$1.98 for two ten-count packages of flour tortillas from Aldi.
$1.25 (estimate) for three cups of homemade black beans (this would be about the same for canned beans from Aldi.)
$0.25 for one medium sized carrot (generous estimate)
$0.10 for two teaspoons of chili powder
$1.00 for one cup of salsa (generous estimate for both homemade and commercial)
$0.99 for three cups of frozen corn (Based on a ninety-nine cent one-pound bag from a local grocery store)
$3.00 for one pound of Monterey Jack cheese (Based on the price per pound from a local grocery store.)
$1.00 for half of a bunch of fresh cilantro (Based on a $1.99 per bunch cost from a local grocery store.)
This takes my estimate for the meal to a whopping total of $9.57 for a double batch WITH leftovers from a family of seven.

If you have a smaller family, or are cooking for yourself or a couple, you could cut that in half right away and be looking at an under-five-dollar meal!

I used home cooked, frozen beans but you could just as easily use canned beans (as was specified in the original recipe on CampbellsKitchen.com). Either way, the entire thing is done in less than ten minutes. That makes this last-minute snack worthy. I say this because you WILL crave it. And you WILL want these for game day or Super Sunday or late night snacks. And you want to know something? You don’t even need to think twice about whipping up a batch of these because they’re so good for you!

Good golly. We are looking at a meal that taste incredible for a price that is so low it’s barely believable AND it comes together in under ten minutes to boot. That puts this meal squarely in Unicorn Meal* territory along with this and that other favourite but *GASP* it’s even faster to make!

*Unicorn Meal: That elusive meal that is made at unbelievably fast speeds, pleases everyone, and is budget friendly. Hard to find, impossible to forget.

What do you all think? Will you give it a try? Share your favourite unicorn meal. We’re all in this together!

Black Bean and Corn Tacos | 10 Minute Meal

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Black Bean and Corn Tacos | 10 Minute Meal

Fast, delicious, fresh, healthy and budget friendly, it just doesn't get any better than these Black Bean and Corn Tacos. Salsa and chili powder provide massive flavour in this 10 minute meal will fill you up, make you happy, and keep you healthy all at the same time! This is a perfect addition to Super Bowl parties and any game day festivities.

Gently adapted from and with thanks to Campbell's Kitchen

Ingredients

Vegetable or olive oil cooking spray
1 medium carrot, scrubbed and shredded (about 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)
1/2 cup Pace® Picante Sauce or homemade salsa
1 1/2 cups homemade black beans or 1 can (15 ounces), rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
6 flour tortillas (8-inch), charred over a flame or warmed
6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
fresh cilantro leaves (or parsley leaves or shredded lettuce. See Notes.)

Instructions

Spray a stainless steel (or other not non-stick) saucepan or small frying pan lightly with the vegetable or olive oil cooking spray. Set the pan over medium heat and let it get hot for a minute before adding the carrots and chili powder. Stir well and often and cook until the carrots are tender, about 2 minutes, depending on how coarsely shredded the carrots are.

Add the picante sauce or salsa, black beans, and frozen corn. Stir, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the beans and corn are both hot all the way through and the corn reaches desired tenderness, about 5 minutes.

Divide the bean and corn filling evenly between the tortillas, then do the same with the cheese. Scatter fresh cilantro (or parsley or shredded lettuce) leaves over the top. Fold in half, then in half again to form a triangle. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

The original recipe calls for shredded lettuce and sour cream. While you can certainly substitute the lettuce for the herb, I prefer the burst of freshness that cilantro or parsley provides.

By all means, add sour cream if you want. I like it just as well without (or with Greek yogurt) and it keeps the price down. If you have it on hand and want to use it, though, it will taste wonderful!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/29/black-bean-and-corn-tacos-10-minute-meal/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Please take a minute or two to hop on over to Campbell’s Kitchen. It really, truly does have a recipe for everyone over there. I pinned a couple more simple, fast weeknight meals we’re going to try.

Presented by Campbell’s Kitchen. All opinions are, as always, my own.

Filed Under: Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal, Vegetarian

Slow-Cooker Garlicky Lamb and Greek Tacos | Make Ahead Monday

January 28, 2013 by Rebecca 14 Comments

In preparation for the Super Bowl next Sunday, I’m running a three-day Taco series. They’re easy, they’re delicious, they’re customizable, they’re crowd-pleasing. In short, they’re the perfect game food. Tomorrow, I’ll be serving up a vegetarian taco and Wednesday will be the taco no one saw coming. Mwahahahaha!

I’ve been on a taco kick lately. Okay, truthfully? I’ve been on a taco kick my entire life. I guess it’s just been more pronounced lately. But honest-to-goodness people, what isn’t to love about tacos? It’s good stuff wrapped in good stuff topped with good stuff then eaten with your hands. Win, win, win, WIN!

Tacos aren’t ALL I’ve been obsessed with lately; I just can’t get enough lamb. Mmmmm… tender, succulent, meaty lamb. It’s hard to go wrong there, too. It really was just a matter of time before I made a Greek taco, and it all started with a gorgeous leg of lamb that I dropped into my slow-cooker with garlic, lemon and oregano and braised ’til it fell apart.

You with me?

The pan drippings I reduced and poured over the fally-aparty lamb. The juicy, garlicky lamb got dropped onto baby spinach lined charred flour tortillas and topped with feta cheese…

Next up was a cucumber dill yogurt sauce, diced bell peppers, garlic stuffed kalamata olives and a healthy dose of my drool.

I’m sorry. That kind of ruined it, didn’t it?

The point is this… The lamb was the easiest part of the dish. I move that we all eat more lamb. (This is selfish, really, because I just want it to be as readily available as beef and chicken in grocery stores what with living in the middle of nowhere and everything. I think my Amish neighbors are tired of me stopping by with a cooler, plaintive expression and “Hey! You’re not butchering lamb today, are ya?” questions…)

If you haven’t had lamb before, this is a great recipe to try. It is garlicky, lemony and herbed to a high state of fabulousness. There’s no tricky preparation, no worry about hitting the perfect temperature and no carving. Since the recipe makes a large amount, it is also a great candidate for Make Ahead Monday. Freeze any leftover lamb with the reduced pan juices in meal-sized portions in freezer bags or freezer safe containers. Then, whenever you need a stiff dose of Greek food, you’re only a defrost away from today’s Greek tacos or braised lamb on polenta or braised lamb on lemon dill rice… You get the picture. It’s good stuff to have on hand!

Speaking of getting the picture… Take a closer look at my taco holder.

I have a confession. It wasn’t sold as a taco holder. It was sold -by my favourite pottery shop- as a business card holder. However, being the girl I am, the instant I saw it, I squealed TACO HOLDER! One of the owners of the shop is a friend of mine and a fellow food fan and she said, “Hey! That’s not a bad idea!” So here’s the deal. As far as I know, they’re the only pottery shop who makes these. And word to the wise? They do custom orders. They do not have a website, but they do have this sign on their door, so I’ll share:

All their pottery is dishwasher, oven, and microwave safe. If that doesn’t make it the perfect taco-ware, I just don’t know what does. Staci is the taco/business card holder maker (and maker of this cake plate), for the record. And also for the record? This is NOT a sponsored post, I just think the whole word needs to know about this place.

Now. Onto that lamb and those tacos and some drooling. Really, I am sorry. I should stop.

Slow-Cooker Garlicky Lamb and Greek Tacos | Make Ahead Monday

Rating: 51

Slow-Cooker Garlicky Lamb and Greek Tacos | Make Ahead Monday

Don't be intimidated by lamb. This simple, garlicky, lemony, herbed, succulent lamb braises up beautifully in the slow-cooker. Served over polenta, lemon rice or on these fast, fresh, delicious Greek Tacos, you'll be so glad you made enough for more than one meal!

Freezer Friendly for Make Ahead Monday.

Ingredients

For the Slow-Cooker Garlicky Lamb:

1 (4-6 pound) boneless leg of lamb (*See Notes regarding using bone-in lamb roasts.)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
8 garlic cloves, peeled
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons dry oregano
generous amounts of freshly ground black pepper and salt

For the Greek Tacos:

2 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 of a diced English (seedless) cucumber
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 of a sweet onion, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill weed
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
baby spinach
chopped kalamata or garlic stuffed kalamata olives
finely diced multi-colored bell peppers
crumbled feta cheese
charred or heated flour tortillas

Instructions

To Make the Slow-Cooker Garlicky Lamb:

Place the lamb roast in a slow-cooker and rub it with the black pepper and salt. Add the extra virgin olive oil, on top of the roast and use your hands to rub it around to evenly distribute the oregano and oil. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and scatter the garlic cloves over and around the lamb roast. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until it falls apart easily when two forks are inserted into the center of the roast and pulled in opposite directions. Carefully transfer the roast to a cutting board, pour the pan juices through a strainer over a saucepan, and press the contents of the pan to get as much juice (and roasted garlic) into the saucepan as possible. Over a medium high flame, reduce the pan juices by half. While those reduce, use your hands or two forks to pull the lamb into bite-sized pieces. Pile the lamb into a serving bowl and pour the reduced pan juices over before serving.

Portion leftover lamb into meal-sized servings (along with pan juices) and freeze in freezer bags or freezer safe containers for up to 6 months.

To Make Greek Tacos:

Stir together the Greek yogurt, cucumber, zest and juice of the lemon, diced onion, minced fresh dill weed, and minced garlic. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pile each tortilla with about 5 or 6 baby spinach leaves, a layer of lamb, feta cheese, yogurt sauce, olives and diced peppers. Serve immediately!

Notes

You can definitely make this with bone-in lamb roasts. It will probably take a bit longer (by an hour or two or even more!), but will be even more flavourful. Use whichever you can find most easily and whichever fits your budget best.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/28/slow-cooker-garlicky-lamb-and-greek-tacos-make-ahead-monday/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Lamb, Main Dish, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, slow-cooker

Cheeseburger Bites for Super Sunday {giveaway closed}

January 26, 2013 by Rebecca 139 Comments

If there is one immutable law in this house, it is that finger food is always going to disappear like David Copperfield. Anything that is bite-sized, little, on a stick or otherwise easily portable, or shove-into-the-mouth-able is going to be an easy sale.

With Super Sunday—the crowned jewel of the snack food calendar—right around the corner, I’m assembling my master plan for feeding my football-crazy crew keeping them happy, whatever the outcome of the game. We have some tried and true recipes that cannot be left off of the menu (chicken wings, soft pretzel wrapped smoked sausages, dill pickle dip, and more…), but each year we add a fun new recipe or two to the rotation. This year’s star addition is Cheeseburger Bites from the Land O’Lakes Big Game Recipe Collection of simple, crowd-pleasing recipes.

I made this recipe to have on hand for the webinar I co-hosted with Amber from the Land O’Lakes test kitchen this past Friday. A girl has to keep her energy up while she’s chatting up a virtual room full of fabulous bloggers, right? Hi. I’m Rebecca, I’m a stress eater.”

Here’s the point. I made them, put them on the counter, and found five little men at my elbows giving me the usual shake-down: “What’s that?”, “Is that meat?”, “Can I eat one?”, “Can I eat four?”, “Can I eat all of them?”

Before I knew what had happened, three-quarters of the platter was empty.

I only had a handful of Cheeseburger Bites and a bowlful of dark chocolate chunks and pretzels in my lap to sustain me. Poor me.

Cheeseburger Bites for Super Sunday {Giveaway!}

Rating: 41

Cheeseburger Bites for Super Sunday {Giveaway!}

Crispy, simple wonton cups filled with melty, cheesy good cheeseburger filling. Garnish with chopped pickles and sesame seeds for a super Super Bowl (or any game day!) treat.

Ever so gently adapted from and with thanks to the Land O'Lakes Test Kitchen recipe

Ingredients

36-48 wonton wrappers trimmed to 3-inch squares
nonstick cooking spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely minced or grated onion
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced or pressed (or 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, preferably freshly ground
1 cup finely chopped dill pickles, divided
1/2 cup milk
14 slices Land O Lakes Deli American
toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.

Lightly spray mini-muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Gently press one trimmed wonton square into each muffin cup.

Place pan in the center of the oven rack and bake for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully as they burn easily!

Immediately turn the wonton cups out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. While they cool, turn your attention to the filling.

Add the minced onion, garlic, and black pepper to a small frying or sautee pan. Use your hands to break up the ground beef over the onion and cook over medium heat, breaking the beef down into very small pieces with a sturdy spoon, until it is cooked through and browned. Tear up the slices of American cheese and add them to the pan along with the milk. Continue cooking, stirring to help the process, until the cheese is completely melted and the mixture is creamy. At this point, you can remove some of the mixture for anyone who is not a pickle fiend. To the remaining cheesy beef mixture, add about 1/2 cup of the chopped pickles and stir them in well. Spoon the mixture into the wonton cups and garnish with the rest of the chopped pickles and a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

Serve immediately.

Notes

I made a couple of tweaks to the original Land O'Lakes Test Kitchen recipe to suit our family's tastes. Instead of lettuce, we garnished the cheeseburger bites with additional chopped pickles. Because of this added salty component, I omitted the salt called for in the recipe. Additionally, I upped the cheese, because really? How can you go wrong with more cheese? And for no reason other than that I love my cheeseburgers with a hint of garlic and a belt of black pepper, I added garlic and increased the amount of black pepper. We loved it!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/26/cheeseburger-bites-for-super-sunday-giveaway/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Lack of snacks for me aside, the webinar was a hoot. It was my first time on the co-hosting end of one and I have to say it was a real treat to get to interact with so many talented people from the blogosphere.

I really showed my true nerd colours and I admitted to “MacGyvering” my way through dinner parties by using a garden-variety heating pad disguised by a not-yet-ruined-by-boys hand towel to keep a platter of hot appetizers warm. Yeah. I did that. And not only did no one tell me I was nuts, someone actually told me it was a good idea.

My word, you people are the whole package.

Speaking of packages, participating bloggers were given a sweet prize package to give away to readers, self included! These prize packages -I think you’ll agree- are pretty darned fabulous.

One large serving platter, one Emile Henry pizza stone and one coupon for
Land O Lakes^® Deli Cheese and one insulated shopping bag. As Amber from the Test Kitchen shared with us, she uses the insulated grocery bag to carry hot appetizers to friends’ parties. BRILLIANT!

Would you like to win one of these packages for yourself? Here’s how to enter!

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment here sharing your favourite munchies for game day or any occasion. If your family is insane over the dish, maybe you could even leave some instructions here. Hint hint…

OPTIONAL ENTRIES (Be sure to leave a separate comment for each method you use so you’re sure to get credit for each one.)

Subscribe to Foodie with Family using the handy-dandy “Subscribe to my blog” button in the right hand sidebar then let me know in a comment!

The Pick Giveaway Winner plugin chose ‘seas’ as our winner on Wednesday, January 30, 2013. Please check your email for details!

Hungry for more chances to win? Visit any of these fantastic bloggers who participated in our webinar to enter their giveaways!

Remaking June Cleaver

She Scribes

Being Alison

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Land O Lakes^® Deli Cheese. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Big Game Snacks, budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Super Bowl

No-Knead Cottage Cheese Dill Bread | Papa’s Dilly Bread

January 23, 2013 by Rebecca 18 Comments

I have spent my entire life thinking my dad is pretty much the bees-knees and since he just keeps improving with age like a fine wine (or a stinky cheese, as he would say), I’ll just keep carrying on that way. My dad has always been that perfect blend of serious, goofy, cautious and devil-may-care. For example, he’d make sure you put your seatbelt on before driving on roads that were closed due to weather conditions just because he could.

Dad is one of those renaissance men. He’s equally at home screaming at a hockey match, speaking in churches, ploughing snow, operating his ham radios, working on his local volunteer ambulance squad, fishing, reading books, crafting groan-inducing puns, felling trees on a dime, listening to beautiful music, dandling grandkids on his knees, pulling campers on water skis around a lake in a speed boat, putting nervous parents at ease on airplanes, and hiking the vast wilderness trails near where he lives.

With a list of attributes like that, is it any wonder I’m an unapologetic daddy’s girl?

But that’s not all. My dad can bake. He has a specialty bread -one that most everyone who spends a decent amount of time with him gets a chance to taste at some point or another. Dilly Bread. Many years ago, dad took the recipe from the “Deaf Smith Country Cookbook” and made it his own. Translation: he made it better.

To begin with, this recipe is a no-knead recipe. No knead to tinker with that. Ahem.

You just mix the lot up in a big bowl with a sturdy spoon and let it rise in a warm corner. As for the changes, the original recipe called for honey as the sweetener. Dad has mainly used sugar over the years, mainly because -as he says- that’s what he had handy. I stick with the sugar vs. honey, both because it’s easier to measure and it’s a less expensive ingredient. Dad also played with the type and proportion of onion in the recipe. He suggests using minced dehydrated onions because “it’s easier to add more onion to the dough.” I stick with the minced dehydrated onions not only for that reason, but also because this is a very slack, moist dough and the dehydrated onions soak up a bit of that moisture, making it easier to work with. When I asked Dad what kind of flour he prefers (because the book didn’t specify) he said, “Whatever I have on hand, but I did try making it with all whole wheat once and it didn’t rise enough for my liking.” I personally like to toss a little whole wheat in there, so I go for about a 2:1 ratio of all-purpose flour to white whole wheat. Then you get that wonderful toasting quality of whole wheat along with the more impressive rising ability of all purpose.

Now, once your dough is rising, you need to turn your attention to what you’ll use to bake it. I had a double batch of this rising on the counter the other day when I realized that my oven had (once again!) broken. The potential two-fold horror of wasting A.) a batch of perfectly good bread dough for my favourite bread that has B.) four full cups of cottage cheese ($$$$$) in it made me get really creative really quickly. I determined that my little old toaster oven could fit two standard loaf pans in it side-by-side, but that wouldn’t account for the other two loaves worth of dough. I brought out and greased a fistful of ramekins in a fit of desperation and found that it made BEAUTIFUL little individual loaves when baked.

The little loaves somehow skirt the “don’t cut when hot” rule. Why is this? Well, mainly because a tiny, hot loaf of bread just hollers, “Top me with a cold pat of butter and watch it melt!”

And if you do that, you have to do this…

Right?

So- you’re left with choices… standard loaf pans, ramekins, or…by extrapolation… pretty oven-safe bowls. The nice thing about using ramekins for dough was that I had leftover dough that wouldn’t fit anywhere I could bake it before over-rising.

How is this a nice thing now when it’s usually to be avoided?

It’s time I introduce you to yet another one of my dad’s finer ideas… The Baker’s Tax. This is the reason you want to be at my dad’s house when he’s baking. He deliberately ACCIDENTALLY puts a little too much of everything into his mixing bowl so he has too much dough to fit in available pans. He then rolls little bits of the dough out as thin as he can without ripping it, melts an indecent quantity of butter in a cast-iron skillet…

…And fries those rounds of dilly, oniony, cheese-studded dough.

Behold the brilliance of The Baker’s Tax.

If you are nearby when these are fresh from the oven and you have a single lick of sense, you will beat a hot path for the kitchen and be not proud about eating as many of these little rounds of glory as you possibly can. If you should somehow make an entire batch of dough into these, I will tell you that you probably couldn’t find a better possible flat bread to wrap around smoked turkey breast, lettuce and onion with a smear of spicy mustard. But that scenario would presuppose you hadn’t already eaten them all, so we’ll just leave that one alone.

In the meantime, while you’re waiting for your standard loaves of the stuff to bake, contemplate how you want to serve the finished product. Sliced thin, this is just about the best deli-meat sandwich vehicle you’ll ever eat. Toasted on one side in a pan with butter, you can’t imagine a better accompaniment to a fried egg, mug full of soup, or bowl full of stew.

But if you were to slice a couple of hearty pieces of bread, butter them both and stack them around some nice melty cheese, then slowly fry it in a pan until it was deep golden brown and the cheese was gooey, you might just yawp from the pure joy of the thing.

Six out six sturgeon faces agree: any way you slice it, Papa’s Dilly Bread makes people happy.

No-Knead Cottage Cheese Dill Bread | Papa’s Dilly Bread

Rating: 51

No-Knead Cottage Cheese Dill Bread | Papa’s Dilly Bread

This no-knead sandwich bread is flecked with aromatic and flavourful dill and onion and enriched and kept moist by the addition of cottage cheese. The little melted pockets of cheese make this bread one of the ultimate choices for toast. When baked in ramekins, the dough makes beautiful little individual loaves ideal for accompanying meals.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water plus a pinch of sugar
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons neutral oil (like canola, vegetable, or corn)
2 tablespoons raw or granulated sugar
6 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried dill SEED
1 teaspoon dried dill WEED
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 eggs, beaten
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (*See Notes)

Instructions

Gently stir the yeast into the warm water with the pinch of sugar in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is frothy. While that rests, whisk together the cottage cheese, milk, oil, sugar, minced onion, dill seed and weed, salt and eggs in a saucepan over low heat just until lukewarm.

Add that to the yeast mixture and stir. Add the flour all at once and use a sturdy spoon to mix until there are no dry pockets of flour and everything is evenly moist. The dough will be shaggy, but that is as it should be. Don't get zealous and try to over work it.

Cover with a damp tea-towel and let rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half, or until almost doubled in bulk.

Grease the pans you want to use to cook them (it will yield 2 standard loaf pans but can also be divided among ramekins or baked in oven-proof bowls.) Divide the dough to fill the greased pans by about 1/3. Reserve any leftover dough for The Baker's Tax (See Notes).

Cover the loaf pans with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the risen dough for 30-40 minutes for full-sized loaves or 25-30 minutes for ramekin sized individual loaves.

Remove from the oven and let the loaves rest in the pans for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Store loaves wrapped in a clean towel at room temperature for up to three days, or wrap cooled loaves in a double layer of plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months.

Notes

*If you don't have white whole wheat flour, you can simply substitute an equal amount of all-purpose flour. It will still be delicious.

The Baker's Tax is simply walnut sized pieces of leftover dough rolled out about 1/4-inch thin and fried in melted butter in a cast-iron skillet until deep golden brown and cooked through. It's a reward for baking that you might just like so much you plan ahead to have leftover dough the next time!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/23/no-knead-cottage-cheese-dill-bread-papas-dilly-bread/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Bread, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: Bread, family-friendly, frugal gifts, kid friendly, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Homemade No-Cook Instant Pudding Mix | Make Ahead Mondays

January 21, 2013 by Rebecca 16 Comments

We are on the tail end of a two week tour of our household by the flu. The only person who has -thus far- remained unscathed is my germaphobe husband. Don’t get me wrong, I am the original Purell poster girl, but next to me, my hubby is Howard Hughes. The poor guy looks like a man on death row awaiting his fate. He jumps at the rattle of every cough (which means he’s been getting quite a cardiovascular workout lately.) He’s been bravely facing his fate, making runs to the store for more boxes of tissues, whipping together dinner for his furniture jockey crew, delivering, “Hey! It’s been five days! I bet you’ll be feeling great soon! Can I throw an ibuprofen to you from over here?” pep talks, and sitting on the couch with his tuberculoid family with barely a deer-in-the-headlight look in his eyes.

It’s been anything-goes on television here. The kids have been glutting themselves on Phineas and Ferb, Little Bill (the little guys), Full Metal Alchemist (the big guys), and recorded episodes of Monk, Nova, and Star Trek. (Wavin’ the nerd flag even when sick. Holla!) And food? Oh gosh. Let’s just say that letting my eleven year old mix up a box of instant chocolate pudding for himself sounded like a perfectly reasonable lunch option for a few days especially if it meant I could remain in my chair with a blanket pulled up under my chin. The boxed instant pudding ran out pretty quickly because I don’t stock much of that (two box maximum is my usual count). We prefer homemade cooked pudding for both flavour and nutritive (HA!) value. Look. I know I’ll never win a parenting award for feeding my kids pudding, so I pretend that homemade is enough better for you that it cancels out anything I’m doing wrong. Yes? Anyone?

But I was saying we ran out of instant pudding. TRAGEDY! And my husband had just come home from a tissue procuring mission and retreated to the home-office germ-free fortress. HORRORS! And the kids were hungry and wanted pudding. And I wanted my blankie and chair. So I did what any insane woman would do. I got up and whipped together homemade instant pudding mix. The first iteration of it didn’t go over so well. They said there was a funny after-taste. I -who could taste NOTHING ANYWAY- had to take their word for it. Take two went much more smoothly. In fact, the one child I have who DOESN’T like pudding (to which I say, what have I done wrong?) actually liked it. In fact, he ate his own serving and part of someone else’s serving, too.

There were two mixes I made for the kids: chocolate and vanilla. Almost to a man, they preferred the vanilla with one hold out for the chocolate. Howard Hughes, er, my husband, also preferred the chocolate.

How did I get a pudding texture with no cooking? I used instant clear jel. (Please note, this is an affiliate link.)

Have you used this stuff before? It’s seriously fun. It is a modified corn starch (and thus gluten-free!) that does not require heat to thicken liquids. It’s most commonly used in fresh berry pies or fruit glazes. Mmmmm… Fresh strawberry pie! It can be used to thicken gravies, sauces and stews, too. When you’re using it in a cold application (like a drink, berry pie, or this pudding) the key is to whisk it into other dry ingredients -like sugar- before combining it with the liquid you want to thicken. This prevents clumping in the final product. If you do end up with clumping, all is not lost, though. You can save the day by tossing everything in the blender and whizzing it together or using a stick-blender to bust up the lumps. When it’s fully hydrated, it yields a silky smooth, soft gelled product.

Naturally, the final product is going to be different than the boxed instant pudding… It’s lighter in texture, in fact, it’s almost fluffy and mousse like. The vanilla pudding is milk white and the chocolate is almost speckly looking because of the lack of artificial food colouring. If you want it to look closer to its storebought counterpart, you can add a drop of yellow food dye to the vanilla and a drop of brown to the chocolate.

One final word before I get on with giving you the recipe. Aside from the fact that I was thrilled to be able to avoid going out in the blowing cold with tissues stuffed up my nose to buy boxed pudding mix for my kids, I’m wicked excited about this no-cook instant pudding mix for another reason; my nieces and nephew have some fierce food sensitivities including gluten. My sister, Jessamine, has spent years making everything from scratch for her kids to avoid ingredients that would make them sick. While that’s just fine most of the time, when she’s feeling poorly or her oven is on the fritz (both of which were true this past week), it is nice to have a couple of go-to convenience items. I can’t even wait to shove a big quart jar of this with directions written on a card into her paws the next time I see her. The pudding is naturally gluten-free, being made with modified corn starch but can also easily be mixed up with coconut, soy, almond, or rice milk to yield a deliciously creamy dairy-free, vegan pudding. I’m having fun picturing my nieces and nephew sitting down to a bowl of homemade instant pudding. Sometimes it’s the little things…

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I hear my husband mumbling something about a Spruce Goose…

Homemade No-Cook Instant Pudding Mix | Make Ahead Mondays

Easy to put together and just as easy to turn into pudding, this dry Homemade Instant No-Cook Pudding Mix is a pantry friendly staple that stores for up to a year at room temperature. This mix is a wonderful homemade alternative to its storebought counterpart, is gluten-free and can be prepared to be dairy-free and vegan with coconut, almond, soy, or rice milk.

Ingredients

For Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix:

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups instant clear jel
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix:

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups instant clear jel
2 cups dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

To Prepare Pudding:

2 cups of milk (Whole, 2%, 1% or Fat-free Cow's milk, Goat milk, Coconut, Soy, Almond or Rice milk.)
3/4 cup pudding mix
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract (for the vanilla) or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (for the chocolate.)

Instructions

To Make Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix:

Add the granulated sugar, instant clear jel, and salt to the carafe of a blender. Fix the lid firmly in place and blend on high for about 30 seconds, or until the ingredients are completely mixed and finely powdered. Let the contents rest about 5 minutes before transferring to canning jars or airtight containers with tight fitting lids. I use a spoon to transfer the mix to prevent powder going POUF in the air.

To Make Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix:

Add the granulated sugar, instant clear jel and salt to the carafe of a blender. Fix the lid firmly in place and blend on high for about 30 seconds, or until the ingredients are completely mixed and finely powdered. Let the contents rest about 5 minutes before removing the lid and adding the dutch process cocoa powder. Replace the lid tightly and blend on high for about 15 seconds, or until the mixture is a uniform colour. Let the contents rest about 5 minutes before transferring to canning jars or airtight containers with tight fitting lids. I use a spoon to transfer the mix to prevent powder going POUF in the air.

Store the mix in the airtight containers in a cool, dark place for up to a year. A cabinet or basement shelf should work well.

To Make Pudding from Either Mix:

Pour 2 cups of cold milk into a mixing bowl and add the appropriate amount of vanilla extract. Sprinkle 3/4 of a cup of mix over the top and whisk in thoroughly until thickened. If you are having trouble with clumping, you can either pour the contents into a blender and blend on medium until smooth or use a stick blender to break up the lumps and smooth the mixture. It will be soft set immediately, but improves in flavour and texture if it is allowed to rest (with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface) for at least 30 minutes.

Notes

If the pudding is too soft set, you can add extra pudding mix, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it thickens to your liking.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/21/homemade-no-cook-instant-pudding-mix-make-ahead-mondays/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Oh! And before I go, I want to invite each of you to a Twitter party sponsored by Land O’Lakes tomorrow evening from 8-9pmEST. It will be co-hosted by Amber, from the Land O’Lakes test kitchen and yours truly. We will be talking about recipes from the Big Game Collection for the upcoming Super Bowl, sharing tips for entertaining a crowd, and giving away prizes. All you have to do to participate is tweet using the hashtag #CheeseChatter during that timeframe and you’ll be entered to win one of several prize packages that will include:

One Mario Batali pizza stone
One bamboo cutting board
One six-inch gourmet chef’s knife
Set of four canapé plates
One reusable refrigerated grocery bag
One high-value Land O’Lakes deli cheese coupon

I hope to see you all there! For more information on how to participate, click here!

Filed Under: Desserts, Gluten Free, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, dairy-free, dessert, family-friendly, Frugal Food, gluten-free, kid friendly, quick and easy, vegan, Vegetarian

Clouted Cream a.k.a. Devon or Clotted Cream | Downton Grub Files

January 19, 2013 by Rebecca 18 Comments

This is the second installment of the Downton Grub Files (the first can be seen here) wherein I share a Downton Abbey worthy recipe so we can all have appropriate snacks to sustain us whilst we alternately cheer and shake our fists at our television screens at 9pmEST each Sunday. This week’s question: Who is your favourite character? I’m on Team Dowager Countess! Again, I plead with you all- NO SPOILERS!!! Do NOT tell me or anyone else what happened if you are one of those who saw all of Season 3 already. Let us have our fun like you did!

What would you say if I told you there was something even butterier than butter? Creamier than cream? Would you say I was crazy?

Well, I am crazy. Crazy like a FOX. An English fox, that is…

That magical substance that’s creamier and butterier than cream and butter goes by the name of Clouted Cream. It is also referred to by the names Devon Cream and Clotted Cream. I prefer ‘clouted’ because -let’s be honest- clotted anything sounds pretty unappetizing. Clouted makes the cream sound like it has clout. And believe you me, when the cream is done like this, it has clout!

It’s made from cream (not ultra pasteurized) that rests at room temperature for twelve to twenty four hours and then is cooked at a very low temperature for another eight to twelve hours. The result is that the richest, creamiest bits of the cream rise to the top and ‘clot’ into a thick, buttery, creamy spread. As we said, ‘clot’ is not something that usually sounds appealing when it comes to food. Once you’re past the name and biting down into a toasted crumpet or scone topped with clouted cream and jam, I promise you’ll forget whatever misgivings you had. If you think of the creamiest mascarpone or the thickest whipped cream you’ve ever had, you’re on the right track. It’s a fabulously thick, creamy spread that is dotted with miniscule deposits of butter that melt almost instantly when they hit your tongue.

Clouted Cream is an integral part of a cream tea; the meal, not the drink. Cream tea is one of those fabulous English inventions that more Americans need to have in their repertoire. It’s not complicated; it usually consists of a scone -split in half and toasted- smeared with clouted cream and topped with strawberry jam and a pot of tea. Doesn’t that just about sound like the best thing ever? Now that you have scones in your possession (You DID make scones, right?) all you need is the Clouted Cream.

It is terribly simple to make, although planning ahead is necessary since the process takes about 48 hours (all but 10 minutes of that is resting, hands-off time.) Starting with a quart of unpasteurized or pasteurized and homogenized (but never ultra-pasteurized) cream, you go through the steps described above. When all is said and done, the clouted cream rises to the top and the liquid sinks to the bottom. You cool it down in steps, scrape the good, thick stuff off and pop it into the refrigerator. There isn’t much, really, of the clouted cream… maybe you get between two-thirds and a cup of it. The rest of the cream that sinks to the bottom of the dish can be saved to use in baking more scones*. If you bake more scones, you need more clouted cream. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle of creamy deliciousness.

*If you’re lucky enough to have access to farm fresh, raw cream (as I am), the remaining cream that was at the bottom of the pan is still whippable. In other words, you can still make whipped cream from it. I did!

There is some regional disagreement as to which ought to come first on the scone (or crumpet, as I’m using here today). Some folks say jam first, cream second. The other contingent -to which I belong- prefers cream first and jam second. The reason I like this arrangement best is because the thick cream melts ever so slightly into the toasted scone or crumpet and then the jam settles nicely on top. Do it whichever way makes you feel happy and decadent. Just DO do it, would you?

Let’s clot some cream, shall we, and position ourselves firmly on our couches with sustaining treats all around us. It’s Downton Abbey time and we will not be moved.

(Pssst. This is so NOT British, but if you were to smear some of the Clouted Cream on a slice of toast made from the world’s best Cinnamon Swirl Bread, you just might die of happiness. So don’t do it. I can’t be responsible for that.)

Clouted Cream a.k.a. Devon or Clotted Cream | Downton Grub Files

Clouted Cream -an integral part of the English cream tea- is a creamier than cream, butterier than butter, thick spread made from raw or pasteurized heavy cream. This indulgence is usually topped with strawberry jam.

It is terribly simple to make, although planning ahead is necessary since the process takes about 48 hours (all but 10 minutes of that is resting, hands-off time.)

Ingredients

1 quart raw or pasteurized and homogenized heavy cream (Do NOT use ultra-pasteurized. I have not tested this recipe with it because I have been told it will not 'clot')

Instructions

Set the cream (in a lidded jar or the container in which it came) on the counter at room temperature for 12-24 hours.

Pour the room temperature cream into a glass, stoneware or stainless steel pan. The cream should be about 2 to 3-inches deep in the dish. Cover with foil or a tight fitting lid and place in an oven set at 180°F for 8-12 hours, or until there is a thick layer of cream collected over the top with yellow pools of butter fat on it.

Let the covered dish cool to room temperature and then move to the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

Scrape the thickened layer from the top; this is your clouted cream. Keep in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use. This should last about 3 days. Apply generously to your scones, crumpets or toast.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2013/01/19/clouted-cream-a-k-a-devon-or-clotted-cream-downton-grub-files/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Condiments, Downton Grub Files, Rebecca, Recipes