Weekend Omelette with Mornay Sauce (Claridge's Inspired)

I recently found an exquisite Claridge's cookbook at Companion Books in North Burnaby.  I loved the documentary on this magnificent, historical, iconic hotel in London England, so if you ever get the chance, I hope you watch it! 

Here's a recipe for their Omelette Arnold Bennett.  It's luxurious and delicious!!  I replaced a couple of ingredients such as the smoked haddock because I didn't have it here at home, but other than a few adjustments, I stayed pretty true to the recipe.  Enjoy!

Mornay Sauce:  1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream, 1 onion, peeled and quartered, 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves (I accidentally added garlic cloves!  Still good), 1 oz salted butter, 1 oz. flour, 3 1/2 oz. mature Cheddar cheese, grated, 1 tsp. English mustard (I used Dijon), 1 egg yolk.

Add milk, cream, onion, bay leaf and cloves (which ever one you decide) to a small pot and simmer for about 10 minutes so flavors infuse into the milk/cream mixture.

Take the onion and bay leaf and cloves from milk/cream mixture.  In another pan, melt the butter, then make a roux adding the flour and stir.  Then add the strained milk/cream and continuing whisking until it gets thicker.  Add the cheese, then add mustard, and continue to stir.  Finally add the yolk, continuing to whisk.  All done! Set aside.

Omelette

Whisk eggs together in a bowl.  I used 8 but use as many or as little as you like.  Set aside.

Melt a couple of tbsp. butter into a cast iron pan over medium heat.  Once melted add eggs.  Allow to set for about 2-3 minutes over heat.  Gently glide a spatula over omelette and tip pan to fill in gaps to create luscious folds.  Allow for the top of omelette to remain a little wet.

Take pan off of the stove and top the omelette with mornay sauce (about 1/2 cup) and spread it over the omelette with spatula or knife.  You won't use all of the mornay sauce so can put remaining in a Tupperware for a few days.  

You can see in this picture the omelette is sightly wet.

Put Mornay Sauce over Omelette and Under the Broiler

Now get the oven super-hot, and put the cast iron pan and omelette under the broiler until the mornay sauce is nicely browned.  I topped my omelette with Argentine shrimp. Absolutely delicious!

P.S.  In the Claridge's Cookbook, they stir some mornay sauce into the haddock before stuffing the omelette.  They then fold the omelette in half as you do with omelettes, topping with more mornay sauce before it goes under the broiler.  I'm not good at flipping a large omelette so kept it like a frittata. 

This is a picture of the mornay toasty.

Enjoy!!!

Succulent & Savory Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers

It's still chilly outside so I thought I'd make these nice packable chicken pot pie turnovers that can easily be taken to work for lunch with a nice salad.  I had made Cajun chicken the night before, so used that recipe.  You can use any leftover chicken you like, stuff into the dough squares, fold, brush with egg wash and bake in the oven until toasty brown. 

I was inspired by The Artful Pie Project cookbook which has an absolutely delectable Indian Spiced Chicken Turnover Recipe.  Whatever you stuff this pastry with, will make your mouth water.  Pie Crust Recipe is in post prior!  Or you can use already made pie crust or puff pastry. So good!!

Recipe

1 onion, 2 carrots and 2 celeries, chopped and diced.  Throw into a frying pan over medium low heat with 3-4 tbsp. melted butter.  Allow the veggies to soften, stirring often so they don't burn. Then you are going to add 1/8 cup flour and stir into the veggies.  Then you will add 1 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup white wine and stir until nice and thick.  Add 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. thyme and continue stirring. Add 1 tsp. Dijon and continue stirring. If you like you can add 1/2 cup peas to the mixture. Finally add 2 cups of cubed leftover chicken.  Adjust seasonings as you like. 

1 egg, 4 tbsp. milk (for egg wash) Mix together.

Assemble

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and cut into 4 even squares.  Roll out the square again so it gets a little bigger.  

Spoon some of the chicken mixture into the square and fold square over to create triangles, and using a fork, seal the edges.  With a spatula, lift the turnover putting onto a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat. Gently cut a couple of slits into each turnover, brush with egg wash and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until perfectly brown, take out of oven and cool a bit, serving with a side salad.

I made so much chicken mixture I ended up making another double batch of dough.  I then froze some of the extra turnovers for another night!

The Artful Pie Project Cookbook Pie Crust (Best Pie Crust!)

This is the best pie crust I've ever tried or made and it was in using 1/2 butter and 1/2 Tenderflake lard.

The Artful Pie Project cookbook by Denise Marchessault and Deb Garlick is a beautiful, creative, impressive book with both sweet and savoury recipes.

"2 3/4 cup all--purpose flour, 1 tsp. table salt, 1 cup lard, vegetable shortening or unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-2, 1 large egg, lightly beaten, 1 Tbsp. white or cider vinegar.

Ice cold water.

In a spouted measuring jug, combine the egg, vinegar and enough ice cold water to equal 1 cup (250 ml), mix with a fork.  Gradually pour about half the liquid into the flour and mix with a fork, adding only enough additional liquid so that the dough clings together.  You'll know you've added enough liquid when you can grab a portion of dough with your hands and it sticks together, and when there are few if any crumbs at the bottom of your bowl.

Portion the dough into 2 squat discs, each about 1 inch thick.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before using, or up to 3 days.

Refrigerated dough needs to rest at room temperature for a while before it's rolled out.  Lard and shortening based doughs need a little rest, but doughs made with butter take time.  You'll know it's read to roll when you press the dough with your finger and it leaves a slight imprint."

So beautiful, flakey and delicious!

Bishop's Focaccia Bread

 

I picked up signed copy of famed Vancouver restauranteur John Bishop's cookbook on the weekend from Companion Books in North Burnaby.  It's called, Bishop's, the cookbook. Sadly his restaurant shut down due to increasing rent rates in Vancouver after a 37 year run last year.  It truly is unfortunate that iconic restaurants whether it's in Vancouver or around the world are shut down due to this reason.  Happily I have his book with his world renowned recipes and have got to tell you, I made the best focaccia bread I've ever had thanks to his recipe.  It is beyond easy and the kneading for 20 minutes is worth it.  The bread texture is crunchy on the top and gloriously chewy inside. When the dough is raw, it feels absolutely perfect.

I served this at lunch today and the whole family LOVED it!  It's a good sized loaf and will fill a good sized pan!

Let's Make Focaccia!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees 

2 3/4 cups warm water, 2 Tbsp. dry yeast, 4 Tbsp. sugar, 7 cups flour, 2 Tbsp. salt, 1/4 cup olive oil

Cornmeal, fresh rosemary leaves.

In a bowl, mix together the warm water, yeast and sugar.  Let sit until it becomes frothy.

In another bowl, combine the flour and the salt.  Stir in the yeast mixture, then mix in the olive oil.

Knead the dough for the 20 minutes (it's worth it) to develop the gluten.  Place in a bowl and cover. Let rest in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume.  Depending on the room temperature, this may take from 40 minutes, to 5 hours.

When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down and let it rise for another 20 minutes. 

Roll out dough to fit a baking sheet, 12 X 24 inches. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and sprinkle it with cornmeal.  Place the dough on the baking sheet and let the dough rise until it doubles in volume, then rub it lightly with olive oil, poke holes in it with your fingers  and sprinkle with rosemary and a pinch of sea salt.

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, until the bread turns golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.  Remove from oven and cool....though we cut into it when it was fresh and hot out of the oven.

Oven Roasted WINE CAN Chicken

Well, this is delicious!  I bought a can of white wine and instead of putting the chicken on the BBQ as it's traditionally done for a beer or wine can chicken, I put it in the oven and it turned out perfect.  I tried it on the BBQ a couple of weeks ago, but my chicken dried out.

Keeping it in the oven allowed me to check on it, easily.  I have found my favorite way to roast a chicken is to put the heat to 425 degrees - roast for 1/2 hour, then turn the temp down to 375 degrees for another hour.  This method seems to work for me every time.  The wine really infuses and tenderizes the chicken meat.  It truly is amazing.  This is for a 3-4 1/2 lb. chicken.

Make a Chicken Rub (for 1 chicken)

I like my rubs warm and a little spicy and sweet.  I added to a bowl, 1/8 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp. smoked paprika, 1 tbsp. cumin, 1 tbsp. Italian spices, red pepper flakes, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt, 4 tbsp. olive oil.  Rub chicken with olive oil and spices, and rub the cavity with spices too then let sit for 1 hour before roasting.

*** whatever spice and herb combination you like,  rub your chicken with it - however, adding some brown sugar adds a really nice flavor and carmelizes the chicken.

Next, get out a roasting pan and open up your can of wine.  Pour a little of the wine into the roasting pan, then insert the can of white wine into the chicken cavity and secure using the wings and legs to stand properly. P.S.  I also put 1/2 cup red wine I had left over into the pan too.

Pop into the hot oven and follow the above instructions.  Another PS, I rotate the chicken a few times while it is cooking after the first half hour just so it cooks perfectly and evenly.  Enjoy!

Allow to rest for 1 hour before slicing and devouring.  

Tara's Smash and Squish Cheese Burgers

I have been on a quest to make the perfect burger.  I have fiddled with every topping, sauce, burger stuffing you name it.  But truly, the real secret is to stay simple.  And that is exactly what I did when I made these absolutely beyond burgers that are seriously delicious. This recipe is now my one and only.  The search is over and my mouth watering.  I deem these two: Smash and Squish. Voila! XOXO 

Some Secrets I Learned About Building a Delicious Burger:  add nothing to the burger meat.  Make the patty, refrigerate for an hour, then and simply salt before going into the pan.  Smash the burger in the pan. Toast buns, inside only so outside stays soft. Put special sauce on the bottom bun and build.  lightly salt almost every layer, except for the burgers which have already been salted.  

Mixing Up the Hamburger, There is Nothing to It, Literally

I used 1 lb of organic lean hamburger from Costco.  You can if you like, go to the butcher and have them mix up some deluxe concoctions like chuck and short rib which to me sounds like a really sick combo, but these were perfect.

So Here is My Recipe For the Burger

1 lb. lean organic hamburger and salt..  First make 6 round burger patties and put them into the refrigerator for about an hour.  Don't salt yet.  You will salt both sides before you put into the frying pan.  You also don't need to add anything else, not an egg, not an herb or spice, absolutely nothing. 

Special Sauce

1/2 cup Hellman's mayo or any other thick and creamy mayo, I used 1/2 fat, 1/4 cup relish, 1/8 cup ketchup, 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 small chopped dill pickle, 1 tbsp. finely minced onion, 1 tsp. sugar or sweetener.  Mix together.  Taste and add a little more of this or that but tangy and sweet with the texture of the pickle and relish are absolutely perfect.

A Few More Simple Ingredients

Here is what else you'll need:  hamburger buns, sliced onion, iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, cheddar cheese (or your favorite cheese). You may want to add mustard, bacon, or any other fabulous deliciousness your heart desires.

Take your patties out of the refrigerator and salt both sides.

Get Out Your Cast Iron Pan, or any pan you have handy, put the temp to medium high heat and grease up with some olive oil.  When the pan is nice and hot, plop the salt seasoned patties into the pan and using a spatula, squish the burgers down so they get a little thinner.  I like to put a lid on it for a minute or two so the grease doesn't ruin my apron, lol.  When the hamburgers are brown on one side, flip. You will cook each side for about 2 minutes. While you are cooking the second side top with your favorite cheese and put a lid on lowering the heat.  Once cooked, put on a plate. Repeat this process for all of your burgers.

Let's Build a Burger

Toast the inner side of the buns in the oven or on the grill.  Once toasted, butter the toasted buns.  Then schmeer special sauce on bottom bun, top ice berg lettuce and sprinkle a little more salt, add the sliced tomato, sprinkle with salt again, add your cheesy patty, then top with a good slice of onion, sprinkle a little salt again, top with another patty and fix with the top bun.  Add more sauce of course if you like, but squish down, dig in and let the good times roll.  This is a simple but utterly freaking amazing hamburger.  Bon appetite! XOXO

WW Hearty Chicken Stew with Dumplings

 

Here is a soup I made from the WW app.  The dumplings are incredible and they are low in points too.  Everyone has their own chicken soup recipe, however if you are watching calories (and even if you are not), these dumplings are divine.  Here is the dumpling recipe (below) from my app.  Make your favorite chicken soup recipe then add these dumplings to it.  Or here is the link to WW for the entire recipe.  If you just want dumplings, recipe is below.

Hearty chicken stew with parsley dumplings | Recipes | WW USA (weightwatchers.com)

Dumplings

2 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. fresh parsley chopped and now get this, 0.666 of a cup of skim milk, which is a little over a half a cup.  Crazy!  But they turned out.  I also added extra spices and a pinch of salt.  

Whisk 1 cup of the flour first with all of the ingredients until well blended.  The incorporate the last 1 cup of flour with parsley and spices and stir until mixed well.

Drop 1/4 cupfulls of the batter into simmering chicken soup, should make 6, then simmer for 7 minutes.  Carefully turn the dumplings over, put a lid on it and cook for another 7 minutes.  So very precise!  Enjoy!

French Breakfast Muffins

Oven preheated to 375 degrees

Here is a nice "repeat" recipe I made for my kids and their friends over the years.  They are French muffins and they are lovely - especially with the cinnamon and sugar on top.  Perfect for this sunny Sunday summer morning.  Oh, please, do enjoy!

2 cups of flour, 2/3 cup white sugar, 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, pinch or 2 of nutmeg, 1 large egg, 1 cup milk, 6 tbsp. melted butter, 1 capful of vanilla flavoring.

Combine the dry ingredients, then combine the wet ingredients separately.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir until just blended.  The dough will be like biscuit dough, thick.  I like to use muffin liners, to save on the clean up of the muffin tins - if you don't, make sure you Pam spray all of the muffin cups.  So line a regular for 12 muffin tin with some pretty liners and goop the muffin mixture about 2/3 into the liners.

Then pop into the oven and bake for about 15-25 minutes.  Why the huge timeline?  Well, every oven is different.  Personally, I had to cook mine for 20 minutes.  To test, make sure they are nicely browned and put a toothpick into a muffin to test.  If it comes out clean with no wet batter, they are ready!

Topping:  1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon, 3-4 tbsp. melted butter.  Brush a muffin top with melted butter and dip into the sugar cinnamon mixture.  Voila!  You are ready and set to go.  My husband would like me to put blueberries in next time, so I will give that a whirl.  Otherwise, they are delicious!  Enjoy! XOXO

 

Prawn Fritters

Oh these are absolutely amazing and the perfect appie to enjoy on the patio this summer.  That is exactly what hubby and I did years ago in Kelowna.  We went to a pub and ordered prawn fritters.  I'd never had anything like them.  I spent a long time trying to replicate the ones that we had in Kelowna, and I finally did!  So delicious! Enjoy!

Get 1 bag of uncooked large shrimp or prawns with tails on but casings off.  I get a bag from Costco and then cook up as many as I think I will need. Defrost.

To make the batter:  

2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 2 or more chopped green onion, some of your favorite spices.  I added 1 tbsp. dried chives, 1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika, a pinch each of salt, pepper and chili flakes.  Then add a tall can of beer or 1 1/2 cans of regular sized beer and mix. The batter should be thicker than pancake batter - rather goopy.  You can always test a prawn or two with this batter and then decide if you want to thicken up the batter with a tad more flour or thin it out with a little more beer.  It's all about preference.  

Make sure defrosted prawns have been dried on a paper towel before dipping into batter.

Show Time!

Over medium-high heat, heat up a wide pan with 3-4 inches of vegetable oil.  Once it gets hot enough to fry prawns, hold a prawn by the tail and dip into batter allowing the excess to drip off.

Then gently put the prawn into the hot oil and then turn the fritter after about a minute when the batter on the one side becomes nicely brown.  When the other side of the batter is browned, take out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel before serving.  Tumble some quartered lemons on a plate and serve prawn fritters with the following easy dipping sauce:

Easy Dipping Sauce:

Add 1/2 cup regular store bought tarter sauce to a dipping bowl, add the juice of 1/8th a lemon (or more if you like) and a tsp. of paprika or spice of your choice.  It's easy and delicious!

Special and also a very important note:  To make BIG prawn fritters like the ones in the picture, dip prawn into batter holding the tail as before, but stick a spoon underneath prawn, and gather up a spoonful of batter together with the prawn and gently "pour" the prawn and the extra batter from the spoon into the hot oil, twirling the spoon around the prawn so the extra batter covers all sides. It's super easy and you will get the hang of it once you do it - you can't go wrong.  You'll be a pro!  You will also be a star with all of your friends and family when you serve these.