Celtic Samosas

Preparation - 40 minutes and 30 minutes resting, cooking time - 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Large pinch ground turmeric
3 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and diced
For the filling:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red chili, seeded, chopped
3 medium potatoes, cubed and boiled
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Vegetable oil

Method:

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and turmeric into a bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Stir in about 1/2 cup of water to make a soft dough.

Knead well for a few minutes, then roll into 8 balls.

Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion, garlic, and chili for 4 minutes until softened and golden.

Add the potatoes, using a fork to break them up.

Add the peas, cumin, and salt to taste; remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

Heat about 2 inches of oil in a wok or deep frying pan.

Meanwhile, roll out each piece of dough into a 4 inch round.

Spoon an eighth of the potato mixture into the center of each round.

Moisten the edge of each round with a little water, then fold over the dough to enclose the filling, pressing the edges to seal, then gently flatten out each samosa.

Fry the samosas in batches for about 2 minutes, turning until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and eat warm.

Recipe by : Gourmet Recipes

Apple Cobbler

Prep: 15 min, Cook: 35 min.

• 3 lbs. apples, cut into slices
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt (necessary)
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 lb. refrigerated biscuit dough, separated, each rolled into a tube shape

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine apples and next 3 ingredients in a bowl. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and mix well. Spoon apple mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake 25 minutes until apple mixture is hot and bubbly.

Cut each dough tube into quarters. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add dough pieces and toss to coat. Remove baking dish from oven and discard foil. Arrange dough in a single layer over hot apples. Sprinkle any remaining sugar over dough. Bake, uncovered, another 10-15 minutes, or until top is golden. Cool slightly before serving.

This recipe serves 12 people. Due to the nature of this recipe, it adjusts the number of servings in multiples of 12 only.

Recipe by : Meals for you

How to make a delicious bread pudding

By: Mark R. Vogel

Various pudding recipes, especially bread pudding, have been traditional Christmas dishes since the 19th century. Before discussing bread pudding we must first illuminate what pudding in general is, and that's the real challenge. According to the culinary encyclopedia Larousse

Gastronomique, pudding is "Any of numerous dishes, sweet or savory, served hot or cold, which are prepared in a variety of ways." I think that's the broadest definition I've ever encountered. With those parameters, a McDonalds Happy Meal could be considered pudding. The problem is the word "pudding" has been applied to multifarious preparations over the centuries. Buckle your seatbelts and get ready for a winding culinary ride.

The earliest puddings were created during the medieval period and were very similar to sausages. Seventeenth century English puddings were meat based and savory or sweet from a combination of flour, fruit, nuts and sugar. They were encased in a dough made from flour and suet, (animal fat from the kidneys and loin), and then boiled in a mold or special bag. In fact, at one point the word pudding referred to all boiled dishes.

In France, the word pudding referred to a type of cake made from bread sweetened with milk, raisins, rum, eggs and oranges. Yorkshire pudding is a type of popover made from eggs, milk and flour baked in beef drippings. Rice pudding is based on rice, tapioca on, you guessed it, tapioca, Nesselrode pudding uses cream enriched custard and chestnut puree and soufflé pudding employs choux paste to name a few variants.

What we think of today as pudding has its genesis in 1840's America when people began to thicken custard-based desserts with either custard powder or cornstarch. This thickened custard was then flavored with various items such as vanilla, chocolate, fruit, etc. Custard is a cooked mixture of eggs, milk and sugar and dates back to the middle ages. Pastry cream, crème brulee, flan, and crème anglaise are all custards.

History

Bread pudding was born in the 13th century. Known as "poor man's pudding" it was created as a means of salvaging stale bread. The bread was soaked in milk or water, then sugar, butter, fruit, and/or spices were added, and then it was baked. Sometimes the mixture was housed in a "sop," a hollowed out loaf of bread. Modern bread pudding is made by pouring custard and other flavorings over cubed bread and then baking it.

Many of our current Christmas traditions, including culinary ones, can be traced back to Victorian age England. Various puddings, including bread pudding became classic Christmas fare. In Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, Christmas dinner is highlighted by the presentation of Mrs. Cratchit's plum pudding, which Bob Cratchit proclaimed "the greatest success achieved by Mrs. Cratchit since their marriage." Hmmmm. Well I can't guarantee your spouse will feel the same, but this bread pudding recipe will at least make their tummy happy.

Recipe

First, we must make the custard:

1 quart half and half. (Yes you can use regular milk but c'mon, it's Christmas.)
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean or
1 oz. vanilla extract
6 eggs
6 egg yolks

Split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and place the pod and the seeds in a saucepan with the milk and sugar. (If you're using vanilla extract add it at the very end). Bring the milk mixture to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and egg yolks. When the milk has boiled remove the vanilla pod. SLOWLY pour the milk mixture into the eggs, in a thin stream, whisking CONSTANTLY. You can even pour it intermittently. If you pour it in too fast you will scramble the eggs. Strain it into a bowl and skim any foam off the surface. If you'd like, you can add some of your favorite liqueur to the custard now.

For the bread pudding:

2 oz. raisins
6 oz. of French, Italian, or Brioche bread cut into half-inch cubes
3 oz melted butter
5 cups of the custard mixture

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Bring the raisins to a boil in water and then drain. Toss the bread cubes with the melted butter and then scatter them and the raisins in a 1½ - 2 quart baking dish. Pour the custard over the bread. Now place the baking dish into a larger pan, such as a roasting pan. Pour hot tap water in the larger pan until it comes at least halfway up the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the custard sets. The custard is set when it has a slight jiggle but is no longer fluid. The purpose of the water bath is to create gentle and uniform heating. High oven temperatures and/or lack of insulation from the water can cause the custard to curdle.

Crab Cakes

If you're lucky enough to have some fresh crab left over, you'll have "leftovers" that rival your original meal with these crab cakes. You can also use leftover or canned salmon to make salmon cakes. You can also make up your own "old bay" type seasoning.

2 large eggs, beaten
2 Tbs parsley flakes
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
2 tsp prepared mustard
2 tsp dry mustard
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 pounds lump crab meat or 2 cans crab
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 Tbs bread crumbs
flour

Beat eggs. Add parsley flakes, Old Bay Seasoning, mustards, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Combine with crab meat and mayonnaise. Add just enough bread crumbs to get things to hold together. Start with 3 Tbs and see how it feels.

Shape into cakes or balls, dip or roll in flour.

Heat 2 Tbs oil and 2 Tbs butter in a frying pan. Cook crab cakes till browned on each side. Add more oil and butter if necessary.

Recipe by: Cheap Cooking

Easy Homemade Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

* 1 loaf French bread, halved lengthwise
* 1/3 cup butter, softened
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon dried basil

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Stir together the butter, Parmesan cheese, garlic and basil.
3. Smear on bread.
4. Broil, on baking sheet, about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe by: FreeQuickRecipes.com

Ice Creams And Sorbets - Freezing As A Cooking Technique

Perhaps because it's a relatively modern procedure and because it's typically used for food preservation, but the technique of freezing is almost never considered to be a cookery technique. Cooking is almost always considered to the be the technique of the addition of heat to a dish.

But where would we be without ice creams, sorbets, granaches and other frozen foods? Doesn't the technique of the preparation of these foods also deserve the term of cookery? After all you combine ingredients to form these dishes it's just that they're not heated, rather they're cooled.

To show what I mean, below I include a recipe for an ice cream and a classic sorbet.

Real Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:

120g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)

360ml milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

200g sugar

240ml cream

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

120ml milk

Method:

Place the chocolate in a bain marie (double boiler) and heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Keeping it on the heat, gradually stir-in the milk, whisking all the while and continue cooking until smooth.

Lightly beat the eggs then beat in the sugar until pale and creamy. Stir the hot chocolate mixture into the eggs, beating constantly then add the cream, salt, vanilla and the additional milk. Set aside to cool then pour the mixture into the bowl of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Orange Sorbet

Ingredients:

500ml fresh orange juice

juice of 1 lemon

250ml water

250ml sugar

finely-grated zest of 1/2 orange

Method:

Add the sugar and water to a saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves then bring to a boil and immediately take off the heat then set aside to cool. When the syrup solution is cold mix-in the orange and lemon juice and orange zest then pour the mixture into the bowl of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Alternatively, if you don't have an ice cream making machine, pour the mixture into a non-metallic freezer-proof dish then cover with a lid and place in the freezer. Freeze until the sorbet is almost firm (but still a little liquid). Cut the sorbet into chunks and place in a blender. Process until smooth then transfer the sorbet back into the dish and freeze again until almost firm.

Once again chop the sorbet into pieces and process until smooth. This gets rid of all the ice crystals and makes the sorbet very smooth, which is what you want. Return to the freezer-proof dish and freeze completely. To serve, allow the sorbet to soften for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature then spoon into dessert glasses and serve, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint.

I would challenge anyone to deny that the method of producing these dishes can't be classed as 'cookery'.

By Dyfed Lloyd Evans