A Pecan Pie....and almost another disaster!

At blinking last!
I almost had a second disaster regarding the Pecan Pie... you can see the photograph is very cropped, because there are a few browner patches.. but I hope I averted a crisis in the pie department. The pie tastes absolutely fantastic (even though say so myself) but looks very dark when cooked..mind you it is very dark before it even goes into the oven, the treacle sees to that.

Pastry
I have to admit, I cheated, I used pre made pastry....!
1 x 227g pack pre rolled shortcrust pastry
OR same quantity of homemade plain shortcrust pastry

Filling
3 eggs, beated well
225g (8oz) soft dark brown sugar
1 x5ml sp (1 tsp) vanilla extract ( not flavouring)
pinch of salt
75g (3oz) butter, melted
3 x15ml sp (3 Tblsp) golden syrup
3 x 15ml sp (3 Tblsp) black treacle
225g (8oz) shelled pecan nut halves (retain half for decoration/ chop the remaining half)

Pre heat the oven to 200 C; 400 F; Gas mark 6
Roll out the pastry to fit a 24cm (10 ") solid flan case or pie plate
Allow pastry to mould in to the case, don't push into the corners or the pastry will stretch.
Neaten off the top edge of the pastry. Make fork holes over the pastry base.
To bake the pastry "blind"; place greaseproof paper and rice/beans or baking beans in the centre of the pastry to stop bubbling.
Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the greaseproof and beans for the a further 5 minutes until cooked pastry is golden.
Remove from oven and set aside until filling is complete.
Turn oven temperature down to 180 C; 350 F; Gas mark 4
Place the beaten eggs into a bowl, add the sugar, the vanilla extract and the salt. Mix well, add the syrup, the treacle, the chopped pecans and the melted butter. Stir well and mix until well combined.
The mixture will be quite dark in colour. Pour mixture into the pastry case, and decorate with the retained pecan nut halves.
Place in the pre heated oven, at the lower temperature, and bake for 35-40 minutes until filling has set. (Ovens vary, and fan assisted may need a lower temperature to ensure no burning).
Be prepared to cover the pie with double foil after approx 10 minutes.
Serve warm or cool with ice cream.

Fabulous Soup

My soup has been pimped! Just a basic roasted red pepper, courgette and tomato soup was garnished with chorizo, soft cheese and chives.
it was really filling and savoury, with great umami ..... no bread was required. This lunch is very satisfying. There's plenty more pimps...I'll share next week.

1 large red pepper, Halved, core removed & de-seeded
3 courgettes, halved lengthwise
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 x 15ml spoon (2 Tblsp) sunflower oil
2 cans chopped tomatoes
3 x15ml spoons (3 Tblsp) tomato puree
500ml (1 pint) vegetable stock
50g (2oz) chorizo sliced into 3mm thick circles ( approx 5 circles per bowl)
4 x15ml spoons (4 Tblsp) low fat soft cheese
chives, to garnish

Pre heat oven to 200 C, 400 F, Gas Mark 6

Place 1 x15 ml spoon oil in roasting tin, allow to heat through. Add the pepper and the courgettes and place in the pre heated oven for 20 mins. In the meantime, fry the onions in the remaining oil, until softened. Remove the pepper and courgettes from the oven, place the pepper in a plastic bag or covered container for a few minutes ( this helps to remove the blackened skin easily) chop the courgettes, de skin the red pepper, chop flesh and place in pan with the onions. Add the tinned tomatoes, puree and stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. If desired, process the soup until semi chunky or smooth before serving.
To serve; dry fry the slices of chorizo and distribute over 4 bowls with a spoonful each of soft cheese and decorate with chopped chives.

No blog tomorrow (friday), unless I can work out how to blog from my phone! Have a good weekend.

Disaster in the kitchen!

Good morning
I have to share with you 2 disasters which occurred in quick succession yesterday...Spoonbread and Pecan Pie....my spoonbread did not rise, was watery, flabby and yuk... The pecan pie was absolutely super... browning nicely and making a mouthwatering aroma throughout the house...but the phone rang and the doorbell well and within a matter of minutes it was BURNT! So only writing today... I will be trying again and again with these 2 dishes.. I don't give up, I'm a completer finisher don'tcha know! Thinking about southern states cooking, what with Jamie visiting and looking to the USA for emerging trends.. I think maybe this type of cooking could be a trend for 2010..which leads me on to the next...project...

The other thing I have been thinking about is trends...at this time of the year it is very common for all types of industries to review the year and trends effecting that particular business. In earlier blogs I linked an article from USA regarding the "worst" trends...which I thought was thought provoking. Of course food, ingredients, equipment and eating generally is my thing; so....I thought I'd have a bit of fun and review 2009 but think about and maybe predict 2010.....now that's a challenge! if any of you wish to share your thoughts on trends in 2009 and predictions for 2010 please feel free.....no copyright or IP.. I may use your thoughts for future blogs etc etc.

I did pimp my soup yesterday, and so will be sharing pimping with you tomorrow.

Caroline

Tenessee/ southern states food - part 2 Corn fritters - a weekend treat, occasionally

Corn Fritters

These went down well with 2 children and a husband, and accompanied a lunch of chilli wraps with cheese and shredded lettuce.  The recipe is a bit wasteful when using corncobs, but I suppose in southern states corn is plentiful....

 

2 Corn on the cob

1 egg, separated

2 x 15mlsp (2 Tblsp) plain flour

½ x 5mlsp (½ tsp) salt

Oil for frying, with knob of butter if desired

 

Cut the sweetcorn kernals off of the cobs, by placing in a bowl, then cutting down the length of the cob to release the kernals into the bowl.

Mix the egg yolks, the flour and the salt into the kernel mixture, and blend well.

Whisk the egg white until it forms soft peaks. Fold the egg white gently into the corn mixture.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and butter. Drop Tblsps of the mixture into the pan. Fry until golden on one side, flip and continue until golden.

Keep fritters warm until all mixture is used up.

Makes approx 10 fritters

 NB: I cooked the 1^st 3 fritters in the oil/butter. It seemed quite oily but they did really go crispy; I continued the rest of the mixture with a very lightly greased pan (like drop scones) the resulting fritters were dryer and less crispy. You choose!

 

 For the photograph I made a quick salsa using 1 tomato, diced, half an avocado, diced, 1 Tblsp of lemon juice, salt, to taste and 1Tblsp of chopped coriander mixed together; to accompany the fritters.

Tenessee/southern states cooking part 1 with a nod to McIntosh Ross and thanks to Leah who treated me on Tuesday

Corn muffins

These were a revelation to me; they are so easy to make, with no beating or creaming required. They have a slight sweetness, but are usually served as bread to accompany a savoury meal. On Sunday; for the few that remained, I iced and served as fairy cakes…. No one knew the difference!  ……Oh, and I had you all fooled… I always knew corn meal was polenta!  And finally for info:  the Farmers market is suspended in Jedburgh for the winter….so trusty Melrose High Street saved the day for my Americana ingredients.  More on Tuesday........

 

Ingredients:

250g (9 oz) cornmeal (polenta)

150g (5 oz) self raising flour

65g (2½ oz) caster sugar

1 x15ml sp (1tblsp) baking powder (or ½ and ½ bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar)

1 x 5ml sp (1 tsp) salt

2 eggs, beaten

75g (3 oz) butter, melted

25g (1oz) margarine, melted

300ml (½ pint) skimmed milk, warm

 

Pre heat oven to 200 C, 400 F, gas mark 6

Grease muffin tin (deep bun tray) well; or use 14 silicon muffin cases.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix the eggs, fats and milk and pour into the dry ingredients. With a large spoon, keep stirring and combining the ingredients until well blended, and looks like a thick batter.

Pour the mixture generously into the prepared tray or cases.

Place in pre heated oven for 20 minutes until golden in colour and well risen.

Turn out of tray or cases and serve warm, split and spread with butter.

 

I think these would be great with the addition of chopped walnuts, served with blue cheese or even as a lighter carrot cake bun, topped with the sweetened soft cheese frosting and grated orange rind usually seen on carrot cake.  

 

 

Pimp Your Soup

The beautiful warming nectar, chunky or smooth or half and half..It's easy to make and you can pretty much chuck in anything. It's also a great way to prevent wasting vegetables. I love soup, it's satisfying, it's filling and warms you twice - chopping the veggies and then when enjoying your labours. Embellishment, adding value, I'll be doing all those things...Ok, I'm going to Pimp My Soup.... Apart from the self imposed American theme running through my weekend, I'll be preparing soup for a bonfire party on Saturday.

I'm thinking roasted pepper, courgette and chunky tomato or butternut squash and low fat soft cheese or even chilli bean and tomato....topped with croutons; fried basil leaves, crispy onions, cheesy bread, bacon strips, chives and sour cream..some of those could be the embellishments.

Tennessee dish with a Scottish twist .....can I find cornmeal in Jedburgh?

I'm trying to get a Tennessee dish with a Scottish twist, by looking at recipes on line and in books and adapting my experience of Texan/southern cooking from years ago - all because of the music of McIntosh Ross!

Tennessee is the centre of the southern states of America – bordered by, amongst others - Kentucky; Mississippi and Alabama. The influences of Creole and Cajun are omnipresent, as are the indigenous ingredients such as corn (sweetcorn), and cornmeal plus styles of cooking such as Barbeque.

As the Home of Elvis it may not have the best name in sophisticated cuisine, but has a great music heritage.

Research is showing up family favourites such as Spoonbread (made with cornmeal and I think is not bread as we know it, more like a soufflé); Corn fritters; Collard greens; Barbeque Pork all finished off with Pecan Pie.

I'll give those recipes a go over the weekend after my food shopping trip to Jedburgh farmers market tomorrow.

Inspiration from McIntosh Ross....Nashville via the Scottish Borders

The Corn Exchange, Melrose, was rocking last night..( well as much as just over 100 grown ups could rock..the encore caused huge stamping and clapping though)  to the wonderfully pacey yet melodic songs of the husband and wife duo Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh.  Formerly of Deacon Blue, the two are touring with friends forming a amazingly versatile band. Ricky talked about his experiences in Nashville, and the songs had such a Scottish feel but with a definite American country twang it gave me a real urge to find out more.  Experiencing the sound of McIntosh Ross was, for me, more than a foot tapping highly enjoyable evening... I has inspired to research and cook recipes from Nashville via the Scottish Borders...There's a Farmers Market in Jedburgh on Friday - it being the first friday of the month - so I'm going to see if I can get some local ingredients and cook some Nashville inspired recipes....
--

Fire cracker cookies - chocolate with a kick

This is a great recipe for cookies

The ginger can be replaced with cherries if preferred

75g (3oz) plain dark chocolate

75g (3oz) white chocolate

75g (3oz) Milk chocolate
50g (2oz) crystallised ginger

125g (4oz) softened butter

125g (4oz) caster sugar

1 egg

125g (4oz) porridge oats

150g (5oz) plain white flour

2.5mlsp (1/2 tsp) baking powder

 

Pre heat oven to 180 C /350 F/Gas Mark 4

Grease and line 1 or 2 flat baking sheets

Chop all the chocolate and ginger into chunks

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whisk egg and stir in with 1 tblsp of the flour and the oats into the butter and sugar mix.

Sift in the remaining flour and baking powder and continue to combine. Add the chocolate and ginger chunks.

Place large teaspoons full of mixture on the prepared baking sheets. Allow space around each for spread when cooking, and gently flatten each cookie.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden, approx 12-15 mins (depending on oven)

Allow to cool slightly before transferring to wire to cool completely.

Makes approx 16 cookies

 

 

Innovation

As a product development professional for over 2 decades I have seen many changes within the retailing and the food manufacturing sectors – However; I believe, even in times of recession, that product development; product improvement and innovation are all very necessary to retain a vibrancy in a food business.  That vibrancy can pull a business through hard times and allow it to emerge ready for the challenges that will be inevitable as the green shoots begin to show.

 

Food trends come and trends go, but well thought through, solidly researched product development will grow if launched, refined, improved and supported throughout it's lifecycle.

 

A few of the projects I have worked on have started with "blue sky" thinking…and luckily have been successful - however as external eyes and ears.. it is often the knowledgeable outsider who can make the call on the real blue sky…and subsequently with the production, technical, sales and product development staff in situ.. can support a development plan and launch a product or range of products which capture the imagination of the retailer and end customer in a timely, on brief, on budget manner.

 

 

I enjoyed this commentary......Restaurant trends…from the USA….usually a source of inspiration, however may be not this time! (If they haven't been done already...it's too late)

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/chi-091021-worst-dining-trends-pictures,0,5192606.photogallery

Introduction

The ..food freelancer... blog is currently my job.....my aim is to create a forum for my thoughts on the food business from different perspectives: As a food industry insider but also as an innovator and finally a consumer - so I hope to pull together commentary; discussion; show other sources of information and have a show case for my own recipe development and food styling.