Jalapeno Pepper Jam Baked Brie and Valentines Day . . .

I was recently sent a gift pack from Godminster Cheese, just in time for Valentines day . . . their sweet "Heart to Heart" set,   is a tasty combination of a delicious 200g Vintage Organic Cheddar and 150g Heart-Shaped Organic Brie, both heart shaped and presented in their very own unique gift box.



 Godminster Vintage Cheddar is completely organic, containing no preservatives and encased in a ruby coloured wax.  There is no need to remove the wax as it makes the perfect case to keep it in.  You can simply slice the top off and scoop out the cheese and then replace the "lid" when you are done.  Best served at room temperature, this lovely chedddar is rich and creamy.  Quite delicious!

Godminster Traditional Organic Brie, is an organic soft cheese, created using fresh milk from the Godminster Farm.  With it's fresh flavour and creamy texture, this was also quite delicious.



Inclued as well was a round of their lovely Organic Brie which I decided to do something interesting with.   I wanted to make something which would be wonderful as an appetizer for your Valentines Day Celebrations.

Brie cheese is just wonderful baked . . . it melts beautifully and it's delicious flavour and texture are a wonderful canvas upon with to layer other flavours.



I cut it in half whilst it was still really, really cold from the fridge and then place the bottom round, cut side up on a square of Puff pastry.  



I spread the creamy top of the bottom layer with some Jalapeno Pepper Jam that I had picked up at Morrisons at Christmas time but hadn't had occasion to use yet.  It was so pretty and jewel-like . . . and flecked with lots of red jalapeno pepper flakes.  I then placed the other half on top and covered encased the round completely with the puff pastry, sealing it shut.  (You want to do this really well or you could have a blow out!)



I decorated the top with heart cutouts placed in a round to resemble a pretty blossom, with a few little stamen balls in the centre, and then brushed the whole thing with some beaten egg yolk and ater.



Fifteen minutes later we were rewarded with gloriously rich and creamy gooey brie mixed with that hot pepper jam . . . perfect for spreading onto soft slices of a fresh French loaf . . . and topped with a few leaves of rocket . . .

 

Or  onto buttery  pepper crackers, and served with some crisp slices of a sweet red eating apple, it went down a real treat.   We both enjoyed this immensely.  Not only was it attractive, but it was quite simply . . . delicious.  How often do you get an appetizer that is so delicious without having put much effort into it.  I would serve this to anyone . . .

* Jalapeno Pepper Jam Baked Brie*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

This is the easiest and tastiest appetizer.  Everyone loves it.  

1 8-oz wheel of Brie Cheese

1/2 package of all butter, ready roll puff pastry

4 TBS Jalapeno Pepper Jam

1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water  

To serve (optional)

Sliced French Baguette

crisp crackers

rocket leaves
sliced apples  

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line a baking sheet with baking paper.  Set aside. 

You will want your cheese to be really cold.  Using a sharp knife, cut the cheese in half horizontally through the middle.  Place the sheet of puff pastry onto the lined baking sheet.  Place the bottom half of the brie in the middle.  Spread the Pepper Jam over top almost to the edges.  Top with the other half of the Brie, cut side down.   Cut the corners off the pastry, so you have a rough circle shape.   Brush the edges of the circle with some beaten egg.   Bring the pastry up to cover the round of Brie, folding and pinching to seal.  Using the scraps cut out decorative shapes to decorate.  Brush the outside of the pastry with some egg and then place the cutouts on top of where you have sealed the Brie shut in a decorative manner.  Brush them with egg too.   

Bang the Brie into the preheated oven.  Bake for 15 minutes or so until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.  Place on a serving board and arrange with crackers, sliced baguette, some rocket and sliced apple.




You can purchase the Godminster Heart to Heart set    of cheeses on the Godminster site for £17.45
Do visit their page for information of stockists near you, and other information about their products.

Although I was given this cheese to try out, all opinions are expressly my own.  It was to be perfectly honest . . . quite simply lovely.  Many thanks to Godminster for sending it to us.  I would buy this cheese quite happily for any special occasion.

Sweet Marie Slices

In Canada they have these really tasty candy bars names Sweet Marie's.  They were always my favourite candy bars when I was a child.  Not only were they stogged full of caramel, peanut butter, crispy cereal and salted peanuts . . . not to mention covered in chocolate . . . but they actually named the bars after ME!  (Don't ever tell me any different!)

All in all a very irresistable combination don't you think?

 

I don't know if they have anything similar over here, but I suspect they do . . . and I suspect that it is probably the Picnic or the Lion Bars.   Or a cross between the two.



It's funny how things go . . . how when you can't get something anymore, you kind of crave it.   Things like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese . . . or Velveeta . . . All Dressed Potato Chips . . . Coffee Crisp Candy Bars . . . Lucky Charms Cereal . . . Captain Crunch . . . Sweet Marie's . . .



And the longer you have to live without them . . . the more you want them.   The more you crave them.   The more you think about, dream about, desire . . . them . . .



I find myself making lists every time I fly home of things I want to pick up to bring back with me when I go home.   Things like Lipton's Chicken Noodle Soup Mix . . . Cheese Whiz . . . and all of the above . . .



I think I can cross Sweet Marie Candy Bars off my list now . . . because these tasty bars are almost identical . . .

 

They are chock full of crunchy-ness, and chewy-ness, and peanuty-ness, and scrummy-ness . . . with just the right amount of chocolaty-ness to make them incredibly moreish, can't put me down . . . addictive-ness . . .



The fact that they are named after me  is . . .  just . . . well . . . the icing on a very VERY tasty cake!  In fact the only bad thing I have to say about these is  . . . it's impossible to eat just one.   *naughty girl am I*

*Sweet Marie Slice*

cuts into 12 squares

Printable Recipe  

Delicious peanut butter squares filled with the crunch of peanuts and crisp rice cereal and topped with melted chocolate.   Scrummy yummy!  

90g of smooth peanut butter (1/2 cup)

175g golden syrup (1/2 cup corn syrup)

100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)

1 TBS unsalted butter

50g crisp rice cereal (2 cups)

150g of roasted peanuts (1 cup)

180g of chocolate chips (1 cup)

chocolate sprinkles to decorate  

LIne an 8 or 9 inch square pan with foil, having enough of an overhang to use as handles when it comes time to lift them out.   Butter the foil and set aside.  (If you use a nine inch pan your squares will not be as thick through, but larger in width, or you can cut them the same size and get more.  It's up to you.)    

Place the peanut butter, golden syrup, brown sugar and butter in a large saucepan.  Cook, stirring constantly, over medium low heat, until the peanut butter and  butter have melted and the mixture begins to bubble.   Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal and peanuts, mixing all in well together.  Spread this mixture into the prepared pan, and press down firmly.  I find using a buttered metal spoon the best way to do this.  The mixture doesn't stick to the spoon and it does a great job of pressing it down.  Immediately, while the mixture is still hot sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over top.   Once they have softened and melted, spread them evenly over top of the crisp rice mixture.    (If you like you can place the pan in a hot oven for a few minutes to facilitate this.)  Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles to decorate and then place the pan in the refrigerator for one hour until the mixture hardens enough to be cut into squares.  When ready, just lift out with the foil and using a sharp knife cut into squares.





NOTE: for fun today I cut mine with a sharp straight sided metal Heart shaped cookie cutter.  Of course you will not get as many pieces if you do this, but the scraps are great to snack on.  *grin*   AND, the slices look so cute and very Valentiney!

A few Nibbles for New Years

   

We did a One Night in Bethlehem activity at our chapel prior to Christmas.   We tried to serve all biblical or middle eastern foods . . .  finger foods, foods that would make great nibbles for the New Year's Eve Buffet table.

  

I made this lovely feta dip, which was really delicious and tangy and so simple to make.  It is basically just feta cheese, olive oil, thyme and lemon zest and juice blitzed until smooth in the food processor or blender.   Very simple really.  

  

It was absolutely wonderful!   It was nice served with vegetables for dipping and crackers for spreading.  You want something crisp to go with the smooth richeness of this dip.   It went down a real treat.  

*Creamy Feta Dip*

Makes about 2 cups

Printable Recipe  

Creamy, sharp and herby.   Goes well with toasted pita chips, raw vegetables, crackers.   Quick and easy to make. 

400g feta cheese (1 3/4 cups)

125ml of extra virgin olive oil (1/2 cup)

1 fat clove of garlic, peeled

the finely grated zest of two unwaxed lemons

the juice of two lemons

fine sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

a few springs of fresh thyme 

To finish:
a drizzle of olive oil
a few thyme leaves  

  

Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth.  Cover and chill until needed.  Place into a serving bowl.  Drlzzle the top with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a few thyme leaves.  



I also made these lovely little Lamb Kofta Meatballs.  Spicy and just wonderful served with some pita breads and Tzatziki for dipping.    You could fry them if you wanted to, but I just bake them in the oven because they brown nicely, evenly and as lamb is a rather fatty meat anyways it helps to cut down on some of that extra fat.

*Kofta Meatballs*
Makes about 20

Printable Recipe  

Moist and spicy.  Serve with some Tzatziki sauce for dipping.  (Your own or purchased) 

2 pounds lean ground lamb

1 medium onion, peeled and finely minced

1/2 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsely, finely chopped

1 TBS ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

fine sea salt and fine black pepper to taste 

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/gas mark 6.   Have ready several rimmed baking sheets.  Place the cumin, cinnamon and allspice into a dry frying pan.  Cook over medium heat until very fragrant.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 

Crumble the meat into a bowl.   Add the chopped onion, parsley and cooled spices.   Season with salt and pepper.  (If you wish you may cook a small bit of this in the frying pan and taste it to see if you have seasoned it correctly.)   Shape the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place them evenly spaced on the baking trays.  Bake in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until nicely browned and cooked through.  Serve warm or at room temperature with sauce for dipping if desired.  

Note: These are also nice served hot and tucked into warm Pita Breads with some lettuce and sauce. 

Happy New Year!  Have fun and stay safe!

Christmas Tourtiere's 2013

  

 

When I was growing up it was a Christmas Tradition each year for my mother to make Tourtiere.    My father is French Canadian and the Tourtiere was a tradition in his family.  Tourtiere is a type of a meat pie which is served in French Canada during the Christmas Holidays, normally on Christmas Eve during their Reveillon celebrations, which last pretty much all night.  My father is from the Saugenay Lac St Jean region of Quebec.

My mother was English however and staying up all night was not an option in our home.   Neither was meat pie on Christmas Day, and so we always had it on Boxing Day.  Truth be known  it was a very important part of our Christmas holiday celebrations no matter when we ate it and it was something all of us looked forward to each year.



I do believe that there are as many recipes for Tourtiere as there are families that eat it.  Some opt to use finely chopped meat . . . pork, or veal . . . and others use ground meat, sometimes just pork, and often a combination of pork and beef.  My mother always used just beef.  I like to use pork and beef.  My ex sister in law always used chopped pork shoulder.  (She was Acadian French.)

 

Some use dried bread crumbs to absorbe some of the moisture from their filling.  Some use grated raw potato cooked in with the meat.  Some grate cooked potato into the filling . . . I like to use dried potato flakes because you don't get any lumps of potato, but it thickens the filling nicely.



All will have finely chopped onions and ground cloves.   Garlic, savory, thyme, etc. . . . these are optional.  I do use them, but my mother only used the savory along with the onion and cloves.  I also add a few chopped celery leaves and some parsley.  It changes each year.  I keep fiddling with it a bit here and a bit there in my quest for the perfect Tourtiere.  I think my sister always makes the best ones, but alas . . . she is 2,000 miles away, so mine will just have to do.  The Toddster isn't complaining!

*Tourtiere 2013*

makes two nine inch pies
Printable Recipe

I have been working at finding the perfect tourtiere my whole life.  Tourtiere is a French Canadian meat pie which is generally served at Christmas.  I grew up with them.  My sister makes the best ones ever.  This one comes close.

For the pastry: (make this recipe twice, don't double)

200g plain flour (2 cups)

3/4 tsp table salt

75g of butter (1/3 cup)

73g of lard (1/3 cup)

5 to 6 TBS of ice water

one egg yolk beaten with a bit of water to glaze

For the filling:

1 pound extra lean ground pork

1 pound extra lean ground steak

2 small onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 small cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

salt and black pepper to taste

finely chopped parsley and celery leaves to taste

1 tsp savory

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 cup boiling water or chicken stock

3 TBS instant potato flakes

First make the filling.   Place the meats in a large pot along with the onions, garlic, parsley, celery, savory, cloves and some seasoning.   Mix with your hands.  Add the boiling water/stock.  (It should be just barely covered)  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through and is no longer pink.  Simmer for about half an hour.  Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.  Stir in the potato flakes.  Set aside to cool.

Make the pastry. (You will need to do the pastry recipe twice for the best results.)  Sift the flour into a bowl and whisk in the salt.  Cut the fats into bits and drop in.   Cut them in until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs with a pastry blender.   Add the ice water a bit at a time, using a fork to blend until you have a pastry that comes together.  Just use as much water as you need to do this.  You may need more or less, depending on the weather.    Shape the pastry into two round flat discs, wrap  in cling film and chill for half an hour.  Repeat.

Roll two of the pastry discs into a round large enough to fit into each of two nine-inch pie tins with an overhang.  Divide the cooled filling between each crust.  Roll out the two remaining discs to cover the tops with an overhang.  Wet the edges of the bottom crust and place the top crusts over each.   Seal and trim.  Cut out a steam vent in the centre of each pie.  Roll out the scraps if desired and use to decorate the tops.  Brush with the beaten egg yolk to glaze.

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.  Place the two pies on a large baking try and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4 and bake for a further 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden brown and crisp on the bottom.



I did a little one for Todd so you could see how flakey that pastry is and what the filling looks like.  He really enjoys this each year, and of course he doesn't have to watch his waistline!



(My sister's pies this year!  Yes we both like to take photos of what we cook and eat!  It must run in the family!)

Note:  If you only want to make one pie, just cut all the ingredients for the filling in half.  Or make the full batch and freeze half of it for another time.   You can also bake this in individual pies.  My sister does and uses canning jar lids for the pans.  Works perfectly!

Mincemeat Snowflakes

I just love using mincemeat during the Christmas season.   It's one of my favourite ingredients and I am sure I go through several jars.  Each year I try to do something different with it if I can.  There has been a photo circulating on the net and Pinterest over the past couple of months of a nutella bread which is layered and twisted and I got to thinking that the same thing done with mincemeat would be really nice.



I decided early on though that I would use puff pastry instead of bread dough however, because I wanted these to be like mince pies.   I also decided that if they were going to work properly I would have to puree the mincemeat a bit so that it wasn't too lumpy.



As you can see they turned out really pretty.   Golden on the edges . . . lovely to look at . . . flakey and sweet and spiced just nicely.  I created a thin icing, lightly flavoured with cinnamon (if you want) to drizzle over top once baked and I sprinkled them with some white sparkle sprinkles.



I was really pleased with how they turned out!  They tasted really nice as well.   I think they were just that little bit different than the usual mince pies! In short, I fell in love with them.  Very Festive.  And no . . . they were not as fiddly as they look to make.  Trust me.

*Mincemeat Snowflakes*
Makes 8

Printable Recipe  

Created on a whim.  Pretty.  Delicious.  Festive.  Easy.

1 small jar of your favourite kind of mince meat

2 sheets of all butter ready roll puff pastry

To finish:

130g icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
milk

sparkle sprinkles

Preheat your oven to 200*C/400*F/gas mark 6.  Line two baking sheets with baking parchment paper.

Blitz the mincemeat in a food processor until the particles in it are very small.  Almost, but not quite a paste.

Cut 16 (4 inch) circles from your sheets of puff pastry.  Place 8 on the baking sheet.  Spread each with a heaped TBS of the mincemeat. Place the remaining 8 circles on top and press down lightly.  Make four equal cuts almost, but not quite to the middle of the circle, using a very sharp knife and cutting all the way through.  You will want to leave at least 1/2 inch in the centres, uncut.   Cut again evenly in between the four first cuts so you now have 8 equal cuts.   Twist each section in the same direction without pulling them off and keeping the pastry intact.   It's not hard to do.   Just persevere.  You will only get about two twists maxium from each section.    

  

Bake in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and puffed.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for just a minute or two before scooping off onto a wire rack to finish cooling.   Whisk together the icing sugar and enough milk to give you a thick drizzle icing.  



You can flavour it with a bit of cinnamon if you like.  Drizzle this over top of the snowflakes and sprinkle with the sparkle sprinkles.   Store in an airtight container.  Will keep several days.

Christmas Chutney

One thing I like to make each year for the Holidays is my Christmas Chutney.   It's sooooo good and makes a wonderful change from the regular Cranberry Sauce.



It has a tiny bit of a bite, which you can adjust by the amount of chili's you add.  I usually err on the side of caution because we don't really like things that are tooooo hot, but by all means you can adjust it to your own tastes.



I always make enough for us to have here at home (it goes so well with all sorts of meats and cheeses) and I make some to give as gifts to our friends.  I think they would be quite disappointed if I didn't have some for them each year!



There is nothing really out of the ordinary in it.  It's basically just fresh cranberries, chopped onion, sultanas, citrus peel, vinegar, two sugars, and a mix of tasty spices.  It goes together lickety split, and tastes better with each day that passes.



It's great with your Christmas Dinner, and then after Christmas with the leftovers, but where it really shines is on a cheese board.  This is some of that Castello Tickler Cheddar I got last week.  Oh boy did it ever go good with that!  Delicious!  Those crackers are fabulous as well.  I got them at Aldi, from it's line of Gourmet Crackers.  They're really nice!  I'm going to go back and get some more.  (They come in three flavours . . . salted, black pepper and rosemary and are a real steal at only 99p a pack!) 

I hope you will give this chutney a go this year.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed!





 *Christmas Chutney*
Makes 4 cups
Printable Recipe

This lovely chutney makes a wonderful gift and is such a lovely change from the usual cranberry sauce.  It goes beautifully with turkey, ham or chicken.  We just love it.

3 cups fresh cranberries (300g)
1 cup sultanas (150g)
1/2 cup chopped candied peel
1/2 cup chopped peeled onion (1 medium onion, peeled and chopped)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup white vinegar (225ml)
1 cup water (225ml)
1 cup white sugar (190g)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (200g)
1/4 cup lemon juice (60ml)
2 tsp salt
2 whole cloves
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp dried chilies

Place the vinegar, water, both sugars, lemon juice and salt into a heavy non-reactive saucepan.  Bring to the boil, stirring to help dissolve the sugar.  Once the sugar has dissolved add the cranberries, sultanas, candied peel, onions, garlic, cloves, celery seed, ginger and chilies.  Simmer gently, stirring often, uncovered for 45 minutes.  Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.  Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.  This will keep for up to a year.  You can, of course, just put it into jars for giving away and immediate use, but if you do want to keep it longer, you really must prodess it in the water bath.  Enjoy!