Fit for a Queen (or Domestic Goddess) Scones

I have been lucky enough to have friends from all corners of the world.  One of the many perks is to be able learn about other cultures and their regional food that I may never have been exposed to otherwise.  My friend from England would send me his mother and grandmother's recipes for his favorite British foods in exchange for the newest indie metal bands that I've found scouring the Internet (yes, I do realize that I look more like a librarian than a metal-head but I like being unpredictable) and I totally got the better end of that deal.  

My favorite recipe he sent was for Yorkshire Pudding (I will share that recipe another time)...it's like a cross between a science project and a magic act how a simple batter can inflate into little dough balloons, the fact that they are delish is a huge bonus.  My second favorite recipe is for scones.  True to my modus operandi I have tweaked it a bit and what I've come up with is a lighter scone that is melt in your mouth moist and not too overly sweet, a perfect bite to have with a cuppa Earl Grey.  It's one of the recipes that I have to hide a scone or two because they get snatched up super quick.   So without further ado, my scone recipe. 

Fit for a Queen Cranberry and Orange Scones

2 cups all purpose flour

3 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 TBSP cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 tsp orange zest

1 cup plus 2 TBSP heavy cream, divided

2 TBSP decorative sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir. 

Add cold cubed butter and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the flour looks like crumbly wet sand.  

Add the cream and vanilla and using a spatula, stir just until there are no puddles of cream.  Add the cranberries and zest, stirring just a few times until evenly distributed, taking care not to over-mix which will cause scones to be dense.  

Turn out into a lightly floured surface, knead five times then form into a one inch thick round.  Cut into wedges and transfer (using a super cute ghost spatula if you have one) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  

Using the 2 TBSPs of cream that you set aside, brush the tops of the scone wedges and sprinkle with decorative sugar, if using.  

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes until tops are lightly browned.  

A few wee tips...

* Allow to cool on wire cooling rack and put into an air tight container or zip top bag right away to prevent drying out. 

* The scones freeze well, so make a double recipe and double bag them to freeze, allow them to thaw on the counter and place in a 350 degree oven for just a couple minutes to warm up. 

* You can substitute the cranberries for just about any dried fruit.  I've had success with dried strawberries, blueberries, apricots, dates and figs. 

* Instead of the traditional wedges, use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, just don't over work the scraps to avoid dense scones. 

Brown Butter Sweet Cornbread

I'm a Southern girl through and through, but I was doubly blessed because both my Mom and Grandma are amazing cooks.  I have fond memories of standing in a chair helping to stir whatever was bubbling away on my Mom's stove and decorating cookies with her on all the major holidays...there is a holiday because the grass is green right?!  I also remember my Grandma had this giant tin (nearly as tall as I was if memory serves me right) full of flour in one of the cupboard and when she asked me to count out cups of flour I knew something yummy was in my future, biscuits or pancakes or pies.  No one will ever convince me that there is a better pie out there than one that came from my Mamaw's kitchen. 

One of the many staples of a Southern kitchen is cornbread.  Serve it up with stew or chili, break it up in a bowl and drizzle it with milk or buttermilk and eat it with a spoon or slather it with honey butter for breakfast, one can always find an excuse to eat a piece of cornbread.  There are cornbread mixes out there and while they aren't horrible, they usually turn out a dry and mostly tasteless piece of bread that usually doesn't make it into the leftover section in the icebox.  The good news is that making it from scratch is super easy and will taste so good it will knock your socks off!  

This is a recipe I've been tweaking over the years and is exactly how I like cornbread, sweet and moist with a little texture from the addition of the grits and with a slight nuttiness form the browned butter.  If you don't have grits on hand, don't worry, you can use a full cup of corn meal instead, you just won't get the occasional pops of crunch.  My recipe calls for putting a cast iron skillet and butter in the oven while it's preheating, this too is optional.  I like the way the batter fries up a bit when you pour it into a sizzling hot skillet because it gives a nice crunchy crust.  If you don't have an oven proof skillet, you can use an oven proof glass pan and melt the butter in it.  As far as the liquid goes, you need a cup of something from the dairy aisle, but whatever you choose to use is up to you, milk, half and half, cream or buttermilk.  

Browned Butter Sweet Cornbread

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3/4 cup corn meal

1/4 grits

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place 3 Tablespoons butter in am oven proof skillet and place in the oven to melt the butter and heat the skillet. 

In a bowl, add corn meal, flour, grits, sugar, salt, and baking powder and stir.  Add the egg and half and half and stir just until combined and there are no pockets of dry ingredients. 

Check on the melted butter in the skillet, once bubbly and the milk solids have begun to brown (you can see the browned bits of the butter in the pictures above and below), use a pot holder to remove the skillet and stir the browned butter into the batter.  Replace the skillet in the oven with the 2 Tablespoons left over butter until it melts.  Once the butter is melted, carefully take the skillet out of the oven with a pot holder and swirl the butter around until evenly coated and quickly pour the batter into the skillet and put back in the oven.  This should be done as quickly as you can (while still being safe) to avoid the skillet loosing any heat.  

Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking done-ness with a toothpick. 

A few wee tips:

*If you are unsure of how seasoned (that's what makes cast iron non-stick) and you are planning to turn the corn bread out of the skillet instead of cutting slices while still in the pan, cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of your skillet.  After pouring off the first three TBSPs of butter, place the parchment in the bottom of the skillet and add the rest of the butter and continue the recipe as written.

*I find that cornbread keeps best when it is stored in a zip top bag that isn't zipped all the way.  The bread is moist compared to most breads and letting it breathe helps it from going bad so quickly. 

*If, by some miracle, you have leftovers, you can smash the cornbread into crumbs and freeze, it makes a great substitute for regular bread crumbs when breading veggies or meat.

 

Dutch Baby Puffed Pancake

I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world who likes a pancake breakfast complete with warm syrup or fresh berries.  I'm also sure that I'm not the only one who dreads standing over a hot stove at O'dark thirty in my pjs, cobwebs still choking my brain and my stomach doing it's best rendition of a funeral dirge.  And being the cook it's rare that you get a piping hot pancake, not to mention there is at least one burnt one (which is why Pippin the pup loves pancake day) but I have an amazing little recipe that will taste just as good as a pile o'cakes but once, the batter is made, you slide it in the oven and walk away...how freakin amazing is that!?  If that hasn't hooked you yet, wait until you see what the end result looks like.  It's impressive enough to serve to guests for brunch and easy enough to throw together on a weekday morning.

So what does a Dutch baby taste of?  Comedian, and one of my favorite people, Eddie Izzard would say chicken (he tends to be NSFW, so be warned), but the closest I can get to a description is think of the best piece of French toast you've had, soft and custard-y in the middle and slightly crispy on the outside...but to sum it up in one word, holy-buckets-this-is-amazingly-yummy!  This is one of those kitchen magic moments where people will wonder what sort of kitchen witchery you have been up to, but you can giggle to yourself because it was so simple to accpmplsh. 

The key to this recipe is a really hot skillet, and nothing cold should be added to the batter.  The only rising agent in this recipe are the eggs so it's paramount to cook it hot and fast so the eggs will do their duty making a perfectly puffed Dutch Baby. 


Dutch Baby Puffed Pancake

3 Tablespoons butter
3 eggs (see instructions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup heated milk (see instructions)
1-1/2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place butter in a heavy heat-proof skillet (like cast iron) and place the skillet in the oven to heat as the oven heats.

The eggs and milk must be warmed before placed in the batter.  In a small bowl place the eggs (still in their shells) and fill with hot water.  Then place the milk in a heat-proof bowl and heat for 30-45 seconds. When you stick your finger in, it should be warm, not hot. 

                              

In the milk bowl, add the eggs and vanilla and whisk well.  In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar and salt and mix. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk well until it is free of lumps.  Some recipes for Dutch Babies I've come across call for mixing the batter in a blender, I get lump free batter whisking for about 30 seconds to a minute, I see no need for dirtying another dish (I'm not a fan of doing dishes) once the lumps have disappeared stop whisking so you don't end up with a tough pancake.

      

Now comes the most important part of the recipe, only because you have to be very quick.  Bring your bowl of batter and the whisk next to the oven.  Using a potholder, swirl the butter around the skillet to coat the bottom well.  The butter will be bubbly or frothy and might be a little brown, this is good, the browned butter will give a slightly nutty taste to the pancake.  

Once swirled, pour the remaining butter into the batter, quickly whisk into the batter (2-3 stirs) and pur the batter into the hot skillet in one continuous pour.  If you pause during the batter pour there will most likely be spots that stick to the pan.  Once you've done this a few times, you can pour off the butter into the batter and replace the skillet in the oven on a rack pulled out a bit and then add the batter.  The hotter the skillet is and if all your batter ingredients are at least room temperature the puffier and more impressive it will be.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Do not open the oven door, tempting as it may be, it will deflate like a soufflé.

A few wee tips:

*If you know you will be making a Dutch Baby in the morning, you can leave your eggs on the counter overnight so they come to room temperature.

*Baking for 20 minutes turns out a more custard-y texture, while the extra five minutes crisps up the edges and the tops of the bubbles, experiment and see which one you love best. 

*Once the Dutch Baby is cooked, loosen it with a flexible spatula and place on a cooling rack so the bottom doesn't end up steaming in the hot skillet and become soggy.

*There are a ton of ways to serve it. The traditional way is with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dusting of powdered sugar. Maple syrup is also a winner and so is a fruit compote, like blueberries or apples. You can dunk it in applesauce or yogurt but my favorite way is plain with fresh berries.

Avocado and Tuna Salad with a Kick

Unlike Kermit, sometimes being green is easy, and delicious.  Now, I have a bit of a confession to make, I'm among those weirdos that isn't a fan of mayo.  In fact, up until the last few years, I never touched the stuff.  I'd get the stink-eye from servers every time I would ask to have butter in place of mayonnaise on sandwiches or burgers, my brother would just roll his eyes, my friends would tell me I was missing out on one of the culinary wonders of the world.  Ok, maybe that's going a bit far, culinary wonders to a ten year old consists of things like squeezie cheese in a can and ravioli that takes a can opener and a microwave to prepare.  It could also be lumped into my aversion of other white foods, mashed potatoes on my plate usually foreshadowed me sitting at the table for hours because I couldn't be excused from the table until I had choked down three bites.  Again my brother would roll his eyes but I swear if you fashioned a life sized snowman out of mashed potatoes, he would have inhaled it.  

Thankfully I outgrew my fear of potatoes but I'm still not a huge fan of mayo.  I set out one day to come up with an alternative way to make traditional creamy salads (tuna, chicken, turkey etc.) using little or no mayonnaise.  I had an aha moment while making guacamole, avocados are creamy and super delish so I grabbed a can of tuna and crossed my fingers and toes and...it worked!  I've experimented a bunch over the years since, straight up tuna salad is good but sometimes you just crave something zippier, know what I mean jelly bean?

One of my favorite tuna avocado salad recipes I've come up with puts a bit of an Asian (and utterly delicious) spin on the classic, using fresh ginger and wasabi. 

Wasabi, Avocado and Tuna Salad

1-12 ounce tin of albacore tuna in water, drained

1 avocado

1 lime

1/4 onion, finely diced

1-2 inches of freshly grated ginger root

1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) wasabi paste 

1 Tablespoon sweet pickle relish 

Mayonnaise (if needed)

Salt and pepper to taste

Pit and spoon avocado into a bowl and immediately squeeze the juice of half the lime over the avocado (this prevents the avocado from browning, you may substitute lemon juice of you don't have limes on hand).  

Using a fork smash the avocado till smooth.  Add the onion, ginger and tuna to the bowl and mix well. Begin adding the wasabi paste little by little, tasting often, until desired heat level is accomplished.  I use around a tablespoon if I'm making it for myself since I'm a spice junkie, but keep it tempered if others will be eating it.  You can always adjust the wasabi level once divided in portion sizes.  If you have a small avocado and the mixture isn't quite creamy enough, add mayonnaise a little at a time until it is to your liking. 

Finally, add relish (wasabi and ginger don't typically cry out to be combined with pickles but the sweet and the heat balance each other) and salt and pepper to taste. 

A few wee tips:

If you are looking for an alternative way to serve this salad (other than slapping it between two pieces of perfectly toasted bread) serve it up in the avocado peels, they make whimsical little bowls, with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the salad last minute.  If you are craving a bit of crunch you can crush crackers and stir them in gently just before serving. 

After halving the avocado, carefully smack the pit with the blade of your knife, twist gently and the pit should pop right out.  Using your knife, make lots of little criss-crossing lines (see picture) then once you scoop it out of the skin, most of the work is done for you and the mashing will be a breeze!  

Don't pitch the pit, you can place a few toothpicks in it, suspend it in a glass of water and place it in a sunny spot and you can grow a little avocado plant.  Once roots are established and the plant is a few inches tall, transfer it into a pot with soil. 

Once you squeeze most of the juice out of the lime, turn it inside out (it sorta looks like a fuzzy green hat for a little house gnome) and run your fingers on the pulp, you will be amazed how much extra juice you can get. 

 

And the biggie...AVOCADOS ARE POISONOUS TO DOGS!  I learned this the hard way, my little Pippin had the teensiest piece of avocado and it made him incredibly sick very quickly.  Luckily I was able to get the avocado out of his system quickly but I had never known they are toxic to dogs.  So make sure that the peels, pit and flesh are safely out of your furry friend's reach.  Here's a pic of Pip, the most adorkable pup in all the land...