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Crazy Delicious Cobblers

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Summer is definitely beating down on me today and I am seriously craving for an old-fashioned dessert with ice cream. I guess no one really turns down a dessert with ice cream. Just one little spoonful is enough to break down those walls and it’s a done deal!

I was thinking of some fruit to go with ice cream and some pastry too! And what instantly came to mind was a cobbler! Gee, that just makes my mouth water right now and I can’t wait to hit the kitchen and get to it. A cobbler is … well now let’s see. It’s name is taken from which this baked dessert resembles a cobbled street in the pan. There are many variations of it, depending on where you’re from.

They are called the Betty, the Grunt, the Slump, the Buckle, the Sonker, and the Crisp. I don’t know if the finished baked dessert actually appears to be what they are named, but I trust there is something in there that earned them their titles. Okay, that’s certainly a lot to reckon with right now, but let’s stick to the essentials here.

In the deep south of the US, cobbler is made of any one fruit filling, topped with a pastry dough and baked. It is commonly served with vanilla ice cream. Now tell me, doesn’t that just sound heavenly?
I’ve scoured the virtual highway and my cookbooks in search of my one true cobbler. I don’t like anything too fancy, as I always enjoy an old-fashioned and timeless recipe.

You can try this recipe at home and you may just agree with me.

Old Style Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut in bits
3/4 cup buttermilk
Filling
1 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp each lemon juice
2 cans blueberry pie filling (8 cups total)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place oven rack in lower third of oven. Heat to 450°F. Use a 13 x 9-in. baking dish or a shallow 3-qt baking dish.
Dough: Mix together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl until blended. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form. Refrigerate flour mixture and buttermilk separately until ready to top cobbler.
Filling: Stir in vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice mixture with blueberry filling . Spread in baking dish.
Stir flour mixture and buttermilk with a fork until a biscuit-like dough forms. Drop eight 1/4-cupfuls, evenly spaced, over filling. Sprinkle biscuits with 2 Tbsp sugar.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden and filling is bubbly. Cool in dish on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoops of vanilla ice cream or frozen yoghurt.

 

Photo Credit: jeffreyww

Photo Credit: perspicacious

Coconut Curry

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This is a very simple dish, and it makes a very flavoursome curry, with tastes of (as the name suggests) coconut. It’s a very creamy dish, and quite heavy on the calories, so may not be the best thing for straight after Christmas!

Coconut Curry

Serve it with a freshly toasted Naan bread, and Rice – try adding some tumeric and chopped almonds to the Rice once cooked to add more flavours to the side.

To Serve 4
1tbsp Oil
450g Minced Beef
2 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
1tsp Ground Cumin
1tsp Ground Coriander
1tsp Garam Masala
1/2inch Fresh Root Ginger, Grated
2tbsp Ground Almonds
175ml Coconut Milk
120ml Beef Stock
Salt and Pepper
2tbsp Fresh Coriander, Chopped

1. Heat the Oil in a large Saucepan, and add the Minced Beef and Garlic. Cook for five minutes over a medium-high heat.
2. Add the Cumin, Coriander, Garam Masala and Ginger, and cook for two more minutes, before adding the Ground Almonds and seasoning to taste.
3. Drain any excess liquid off, leaving around a tablespoon in the pan, then add the Coconut Milk and Stock. Mix in well, and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer for twenty minutes, before adding in the Fresh Coriander and cooking for a further ten minutes until the sauce is thicker (it shouldn’t be dry, but shouldn’t be very…saucy).

Serve fresh and still hot from the pan, along with Rice, Naan Bread, Yogurt dip and Coriander on the plate.

For an alternative, simply replace the Minced Beef with diced Chicken, and cook until done through before moving on to the next step. Try adding different vegetables to the mix – Onions, Peppers and sliced Aubergines are all good to use.

Photo Courtesy of: Avlxyz

Meat Samosas

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Meat Samosas

These popular Indian Starters have a spicy Meat and Vegetable filling, and are great when served with traditional Indian dips and accompaniments – Onion Bhajis, Poppadums, Chutneys and other dips.

To Serve 4
1tbsp Oil
115g Minced Beef
3 Spring Onions, Finely Sliced
50g Baby Sweetcorn, Chopped
1 Carrot, Finely Diced
1/2tsp Ground Cumin
1/2tsp Ground Coriander
1tsp Curry Paste
50ml Beef Stock
6 Sheets Filo Pastry
2tbsp Melted Butter
Oil (for Deep Frying)

1. Heat the tablespoon of Oil in a frying pan, and fry the Beef off for five minutes until brown.
2. Add the Spring Onion, Sweetcorn, Carrot, Coriander, Curry Paste and Cumin to the pan, and cook for five more minutes, before adding the stock, and bringing to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat.
3. Cut each sheet of Filo Pastry into eight equal sized squares. Brush one layer with Butter, and lay another sheet on top. Repeat until you have eight equal piles.
4. Place an eighth of the filling in the centre of the square, and brush the edges with some Melted Butter, and fold into a triangle, and brush both sides with some more of the Melted Butter.
5. Heat the oil for deep-frying to around 180C, and fry for around five minutes until the Samosas are golden brown, and cooked through. Drain well with and pat dry with some crumpled Kitchen Paper.

Serve with some slices of Lime, Chutneys, and on a bed of Lettuce. They’re great as part of a buffet Spread for a party as well!

Photo Courtesy of: moacirpdsp

Christmas Pudding

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It’s Christmas! So what better way to get in the mood than by making a traditional Christmas pudding, it’s best to start making one now, as needs to be refrigerated for anything from two to eight weeks. This recipe has no nuts in as well, but please check on the packaging for anything that you buy (especially for the dried fruit), to make sure regarding allergies.

Traditional Lit Christmas Pudding

To Serve 4
200g Currants
200g Raisins
200g Sultanas
150ml Sweet Cherry
175g Butter
175g Brown Sugar
4 Beaten Eggs
150g Self Raising Flour
100g Breadcrumbs
50g Blanched Almonds, chopped
Juice of 1 Orange
Grated Rind of ½ Orange
Grated Rind of ½ Lemon
½ Tsp Ground Mixed Spice

1.       In a large glass bowl, put the Currants, Raisins and Sultanas, and pour the Sherry over the top. Leave to set for at least two hours – more if you can help it.
2.       Mix the Butter and Sugar in a bowl, beat the Eggs into the mix and fold in the Flour.
3.       Stir in the Fruit and Sherry mix, as well as the Breadcrumbs, Almonds, Orange Juice, Rinds and Mixed Spice.
4.       Grease a basin and press it in, leaving a gap around an inch at the top. Cut a circle of greaseproof paper about one and a half inches wider than the top of the basin. Secure with string, and cover with two layers of foil.  Place the basin into a pan of boiling water, which reaches two thirds of the way up the basin, and simmer for six hours, topping up with water when needed.
5.       Remove from the pan, and leave to cool. Change the greaseproof paper and foil, and leave in the fridge for two to eight weeks. Before serving, steam for two hours (as before – in a pan of boiling water).

To serve, you can light it, making sure you blow it out before serving.

Photo Courtesy of: Anina2007

Traditional Roast Turkey

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Granted, the quantities seem a bit extreme, but it’s a big treat! It’ll make enough to provide you with Turkey and Stuffing Sandwiches for a while!

Roast Turkey

To serve 6

6.5kg Turkey

75g Softened Butter

225g Very Fat Streaky Bacon

900g Stuffing

1.       Heat the oven to 220C

2.       Loosely stuff the Turkey with the stuffing, pushing it up between the flesh and skin, towards the breast.

3.       Cover a large baking tray with 2 sheets of foil, one going each way (width-ways and lengthways), and lay the turkey on its back in the centre. Cover in butter, and cover with bacon, making sure that the bowl is completely covered (even if some is overlapping it would be okay.)

4.       Wrap the Turkey in foil loosely, sealed firmly but leaving enough space for air to help the Turkey and Stuffing cook through.

5.       Place in the oven for forty minutes, and then carry on preparing other sides.

6.       After the forty minutes, reduce the heat to 170C.

7.       After three and a half hours, turn the heat back up to 200C, remove the Turkey from the oven (you may need some help with this!), take the foil and take off the bacon slices. Baste thoroughly, and return for another thirty to forty five minutes, basting it on a regular basis.

8.       To make sure that the Turkey is cooked through, pierce in several places with a skewer and make sure that the juices that come out are golden and clear, with no trace of pinkness.

Serve with Roast Potatoes, Parsnips, Cranberry Sauce, Roast Parsnips and a range of vegetables (Carrots, Brussel Sprouts, etc.)

Bread and Butter Pudding

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The first pudding I ever learnt to cook, and still my favourite by a long shot!
Bread and Butter Pudding: Courtesy of david.nikonvscanon
To serve 4 to 6 (or just me!)

-          85g softened butter
-          6 slices of thick bread (either white or whole-wheat – from personal experience, don’t use the ones with seeds in!)
-          55g mixed fruit (sultanas, currants and raisins)
-          25g candied peel
-          3 large eggs
-          300ml milk
-          150ml double cream
-          55g caster sugar
-          Whole nutmeg (for grating)
-          1 tbsp Demerara sugar
-          Cream (to serve)

1.       Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F/ Gas Mark 4

2.       Use some of the butter to grease a baking tray and the slices of bread. Cut the bread into slices and arrange with an overlap

3.       Mix the eggs, milk, cream and sugar well, adding in the fruit at the end, and pour over the bread. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. Grate the nutmeg over the top, and sprinkle the Demerara Sugar to taste.

4.       Cover most of the fruit with the bread to make sure it doesn’t burn. Bake at the top of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until just set and golden brown

5.       Remove from the oven, serve warm with a little pouring cream