Vegetable Casserole

Vegetable Casserole:

350 degree oven
6-8 quart Enamel Cast Iron Casserole
or, whatever covered oven proof pan you have that will hold all of the vegetables and broth.

2 onions,cut into wedges
3 carrots, roughly cut
3 stalks of celery,roughly cut
1 LB. Sweet Potatoes,( or Russet Potatoes if you absolutely do not eat Sweet Potatoes), roughly cut into cubes
2 pints of Vegetable Broth
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 leeks, roughly sliced
1 1/2 C Pearl Barley
2 tsp dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

2 TBS coarsely chopped parsley for garnish

In the Casserole, on the stove:
Onions
Carrots
Celery
Sweet Potatoes
Vegetable Broth
Bring to a boil

Add :
Garlic
Leeks
Barley
Sage
Salt
Pepper

Cover and bake for 1 hour.
Serve with thick slices of Country French Bread and Butter.

Enjoy
Peace in the Kitchen!

Rum Coffee Cake

Rum Coffee Cake

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1 - Bundt Pan brushed well with Pan Release Mix. (equal parts of Crisco, Vegetable Oil and Flour)  I start with 1 C of each mixed well and refrigerated in a jar. I always have it available for all of my baking needs. It's a foolproof release mix.


1 box of yellow cake mix
1 small box of Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding
4 eggs
1/2 C Dark Rum
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C water
1 C chopped pecans ( you could use Walnuts, but..... we use Pecans in Texas)

Glaze:
1/4 C Dark Rum
1 stick of butter
1 C sugar

In a large bowl, combine:
Cake mix
Pudding mix
Rum
Eggs
Oil
Water

Pour batter into the pan.
Sprinkle the top with pecans

Bake 45 minutes

Just before the cake is done, prepare the glaze.

In a saucepan on medium high heat:
Butter
Sugar
Rum
constantly stirring until it comes to a soft rolling boil.

Remove from heat and set  aside.

As soon a s the cake is done, pour on the glaze.
Let it stand for at least 2 hours so the glaze can seep into the cake.

Remove the cake onto a plate, invert again onto another plate with the glazed side up.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Easy Morning Coffee Cake

Early Morning Coffee Cake:

Here's what you'll need:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
1 - 9" X 13" baking dish brushed well with Pan Release Mix. (equal parts of Crisco, Vegetable Oil and Flour) I start with 1 C of each mixed well and refrigerated in a jar.  I always have it available for all of my baking needs.


1 box of yellow cake mix
8 ounces of sour cream
4 eggs
3/4C vegetable il
1 C packed brown sugar
1 TBS cinnamon
2 C powdered sugar
4 TBS heavy cream ( you could use whole milk, but heavy cream is..... decadent!
1 TBS vanilla ( I always say, don't hold back, use the good stuff)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk by hand:
Cake mix
eggs
oil
sour cream

Pour half the batter into the pan

In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar.
Sprinkle over the batter

Carefully spread the other half of the batter over the top

Use a fork to swirl the batter.
Bake 40 minutes

Combine :
Powdered Sugar
Heavy Cream
Vanilla.

Ice the cake and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!
Peace in the kitchen!

Stump De Noel !

I just baked in  the most detailed Nordic Cake Pan I have ever baked in. It released perfectly because I use a Pan Release Recipe that I got when I took a Wilton Cake Decorating Class in 1990. I have used it since then and it never fails.

Mix together equal parts of:
Vegetable oil
Crisco
Flour

Mix well and store in a jar in the refrigerator.

  

Christmas Popovers

Since our recent trip to London has inspired  our menu for Christmas dinner, I decided to make Christmas Popovers, this is my version of Yorkshire Pudding. Mine are made with butter and a bit of Vegetable Cooking spray to keep it Vegetarian. I don't use the typical drippings from the Beef or a bit of lard.
My wife is making a traditional English Roast Beef with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Root Vegetables. I'll make a Tofurky Roast for the Vegetarians.

If you don't have a traditional Popover Pan.... well you need to get one!
Not really, you can actually bake these in a regular muffin pan....
However, I would recommend that you eventually get one if you really like these.



Herbed Christmas Popovers

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
These need to be baked in a hot oven and ..... no peeking!

2 C flour
1/4 C chopped fresh Rosemary
1 TBS salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs
2 1/2 C whole milk
5 TBS butter, melted and will be divided

Melt the butter and set it aside
Sift the flour and whisk in the rosemary, salt, pepper and nutmeg

In a large bowle, whisk the eggs and milk together.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients followed
by the addition of 3 TBS of melted butter. Do not over mix at this stage.

Brush the cups of a 12 C popover pan with the remaining melted butter and
add some cooking spray too.
At this stage you can pop the pan in the oven just to heat up the butter. Not long!

Fill the cups 3/4 full
Bake in a hot preheated oven at 425 degrees

Try not to peek
Serve right from the oven, so bake these 30 minutes just before
sitting down to enjoy your Christmas dinner.

Serve with butter and Gravy!

Remember, don't peek, it's an important step in making successful Popovers.

I'll post a picture when I make them!


Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Christmas in London!

I've been away from the blog for awhile while enjoying the sights, sounds and foods of Christmas in England!

A Pub in Windsor

Fortnum and Mason Christmas Window

A Pub in Windsor

Christmas in London

A Pub in Windsor

I'll blog about the food when I get a chance.

There was a great feeling of Christmas in the air, everywhere we went from Birmingham to London to Windsor.

Charming Pubs where I imagined Charles Dickens enjoyed Figgy Pudding at Christmas!
He certainly drank a Pint in them!
The decorations were simple and the food was amazing!

The photographs are from Birmingham, London and Windsor. They are a collection of foods we ate at restaurants in London and Windsor, foods we saw at the Christmas Market in Birmingham and food I photographed at the Borough Market in London.

A French Restaurant in London

Treacle Tart , this was amazing!

Borough Market, London

Christmas Market in Birmingham

The wonderful Food Stalls at Borough Market, London

Breakfast at Marias in Borough Market, London

Bubble & Squeak for Breakfast

More of the Food Stalls at Borough Market

Les Macarons ! British Style

Inside a Cheese Shop at Borough Market

Paella in Borough Market in London

Christmas Market in Birmingham

Dinner in Windsor

Fortnum and Mason Christmas Windows

Dinner in Windsor

The Entrance to the Market in London

Banana Pudding

Who would think that a recipe for Banana Pudding would be on a food blog!

I've had the fortunate opportunity to travel the world extensively and I've enjoyed trying new foods in every place I've visited. I've even visited a banana plantation on the island of St. Lucia.

In 1987, I had a friend that shared a family recipe for Banana Pudding.
It was the best Banana Pudding I had ever eaten in my life!

This is a Best of the Best recipe.

If you don't want to make the Pastry Cream on the stove, I've posted the link to my easy, delicious, carefree recipe at the end of the page.

I've never shared this one with anyone, until I started my blog, so I hope you try it.

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 8oz. package of cream cheese, softened.
1/3 C fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Custard:
3 eggs
3/4 C sugar
1 TBS flour
1 C whole milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 box of Vanilla Wafers
6 Bananas (sliced)

Beat cream cheese until creamy
Add condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla, continue beating until well combined.
Refrigerate this mixture

Beat eggs, sift dry ingredients and add milk and vanilla.
Place in a double boiler and cook until thick, whisking constantly. This may take as long as 45 minutes on medium high heat.

In a plain glass bowl or a fancy trifle dish:

Begin with a layer of sliced bananas
A layer of Vanilla Wafers
A layer of Custard
All of the cream cheese mixture
A layer of sliced bananas
A layer of Vanilla Wafers
A final layer of Custard
Refrigerate and serve chilled!


Pastry Cream
Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!