Scotchicanese Eggs

So this name requires an explanation. We started by making Scotch eggs in bulk, baked on a sheet pan, to make our lives simpler. Then, we used Mexican chorizo for the sausage, thus Scotchican. Eventually, we used panko in place of plain bread crumbs, bringing us to Scotchicanese, from the Japanese ingredient. Regardless of the silly name, it is delicious. The recipe is more of a guideline than an actual strict recipe. You can adjust as you wish. I will list the ingredients needed for a dozen eggs below, and you can extrapolate up or divide down as you need. This is a recipe that you really need to have a mise en place set up for to make it go quickly and to minimize the mess.

12 eggs, boiled as softly as you possibly can and still handle them and peeled (we steamed ours from cold for exactly 15 minutes from turning on the stove to taking them off the burner and submerging in cold water to chill and peel)
about 2 pounds bulk chorizo, mixed in a bowl
about 6 ounces panko, in a flat pan

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Take small pieces of the aerated chorizo and pat into flat pieces that can be shaped around the boiled egg. Wrap the egg with sausage so none of the egg white is exposed. Roll the sausage wrapped egg in the panko to coat. Place on a jelly roll pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until sausage is cooked and the panko is lightly browned.

Nutella Fudge Brownies

This recipe originally came from the now out of print Fine Cooking. I grieve their demise, because it (and Cuisine) was one of the only cooking magazines out there that hadn't sold out to fake and fast food or the glamour associated with travel magazines that put the food second. There were no perfume inserts in the magazine, no non-food related ads, and they focused on technique, giving recipes as a way to learn and hone that technique. They taught people how to cook, not simply how to make a recipe. I treasure my collection and now that the magazine's articles and recipes are no longer available online, those magazines are among the things I would try to get out in a fire (after family, records, photos, and so on). In any case, like my lasagna and chocolate cheesecake recipes, this originated with them and I have adapted it for our palates and convenience. We usually double this recipe now. The flour in this recipe is simply a binder, and can easily be replaced with almond flour, or an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.

1 cup Nutella
2 eggs
2/3 cup pastry flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease 24 mini-muffin tin very well. Set aside.

Whisk nutella and eggs well until smooth. Whisk in flour.

Scoop into muffin tin and sprinkle evenly with almonds.

Bake until pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, about 10 - 11 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Prosciutto and Gruyère Scones

These are a splurge, but I look for both proscuitto and Gruyére at the Grocery Outlet and put them in the freezer so I can use them in dishes like this. They do bake better if you take the time to chill them, but if I am making them for breakfast, rather than a brunch, I often skip that part. These are quite good, and I generally double the recipe.

2 1/2 cups pastry flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup grated gruyère
1/2 cup chopped prosciutto
1/4 cup grated parmesan plus more for sprinkling before baking
1/4 cup chopped scallions

You can make this by hand, with a pastry cutter or a couple knives, in a large bowl, but I like to use my food processor to speed the process a bit. Pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well mixed. Add butter into the flour mixture, and pulse until you have course crumbs with some larger pieces throughout the mixture.

Add eggs and buttermilk to the flour mixture and pulse until just moist.

Add in the gruyère, prosciutto, parmesan and green onion and pulse a few more times to combine. The dough will be sticky.

On a lightly floured surface, turn the sticky dough out and knead lightly until all the cheese, prosciutto and green onion are incorporated into the dough. Roll the dough about 3/4 inch thick. Cut out 3 inch squares, then cut diagonally to make triangles. You should have about 10 scones. Place the scones on an ungreased jelly roll pan, if you are very concerned, you may line it with parchment, but I've never had them stick.

Place the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Once the scones are chilled, sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm (or room temperature, later).

Sloppy Giuseppes

This is a simple and tasty recipe and is vastly superior to any sloppy Joes. I tried making sloppy Joes for Rich, because I was trying to cook for his American heritage, but I just hate them, and it turns out that he does, too. So, when I heard about doing this, I thought it was a perfect alternative, and it really is. Browned Italian sausage (you can substitute ground beef, but season it with oregano, thyme, basil, garlic, and red pepper flakes), marinara sauce, and provolone cheese all over ciabatta rolls. It's delicious.

2 pounds bulk Italian sausage (or removed from the casings), spicy or mild (we like the spicy)
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
3 sweet peppers, seeded and finely diced (or equivalent amount from frozen)
8 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 quart marinara sauce (either homemade or jarred)
8 ciabatta rolls, split
about 1/2 - 3/4 pound provolone or mozzarella, thinly sliced (we prefer the provolone)

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage to brown, breaking up with a wooden spoon or stiff spatula. You may need to add some olive (or other) oil if there isn't enough fat in the sausage. Add chopped onions to the meat before it is completely browned and cook to soften with the meat. When the meat is browned, add the peppers, to heat and soften. Then add the garlic and cook for 30 - 60 seconds.

Pour in the marinara sauce, swirling the container with a little water to get the last of the sauce out of the pot or jar. Stir to combine meat, vegetables and the sauce, and reduce heat to low. Heat sauce through. Taste for seasoning, and add salt if necessary.

While the sauce is warming, toast the rolls. Place bottom half of each roll on a jelly roll pan, mound the meat and sauce mixture generously over each roll. Cover with slices of cheese. Put under the broiler to melt the cheese. Top with the top half of the roll and serve.

Creamy Buttermilk Cake with Coconut and Pecans

This recipe was initially passed on to me with the name Classic Italian Cream Cake. It is not classic, it certainly isn't Italian, and there is no cream in it. So, I'm giving it a descriptive name. It may not be Italian, but it is delicious. And it is a simple butter cake that really doesn't require fancy technique or pans. You can make it in a 9" X 13" pan and frost the top and it will be delightful and well received.

2 cups pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 large eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk, well shaken
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
cream cheese frosting
chopped pecans and flaked coconut to decorate, optional

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Grease three 8-inch cake pans or a 9" X 13" pan well and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together pastry flour, baking soda and salt, and set aside (conversely, do this while your stand mixer is creaming the butter and sugar).

Either in a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down sides frequently. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, mix into egg mixture, alternating with buttermilk. When fully incorporated, add vanilla, pecans and coconut and mix to combine.

Whip egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. Fold into cake batter. Divide into three greased cake pans or into the single rectangular pan.

Bake in upper two thirds of oven for about 30 - 40 minutes for round pans, 55 - 60 minutes for rectangular pan. Test for doneness. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely. If you are using the 9" X 13" pan, you may leave it in the pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting (make while cake is baking):

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
3 cups confectioner's sugar

Whip cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat in to combine. Add confectioner's sugar, little by little to incorporate.

When cake is completely cool, fill and frost tops and sides. If you are super fancy, you can press some more chopped pecans and coconut onto the sides. If you are using the rectangular pan, frost only the top.

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes, Special Diet, Tales from the Kitchen

// posted by Ranee @ Arabian Knits @ 1:13 PM