Bangers n Mash

I love Bangers n Mash, not only was it one of my favourites growing up , but it always reminds me of home ( England ) , and is still one of my favourite meals today .  Now, mind you .. my Bangers n Mash dish , is not my Mums , which while delicious! Would be lacking in garlic and spice ... my two favourites :)  Hahaha  For those of you that have never had this , or don't even know what it  is ...     You are going to love it :)    Bangers are sausages , typically an English Banger is a short fat little sausage seasoned with herbs and spices, containing ground pork and bread .. but that can vary widely from region to region , fennel was quite popular when I was younger.  The name Banger , mostly got its name from WWII when rationing was in full effect and the sausages were likely to have a higher water content , causing them to explode if not cooked carefully :))
   Mash , well.. quite simply its Mashed Potatoes :) Either simple or spruced up with some garlic and herbs .. I much prefer the later ! I like to use Yukon or Russets , however any type will work , the ones shown here were white.

Homemade Oven Baked Naan Bread

Lately Ive been trying to expand my bread making skills, this week I tried two new ones for me ... Hamburger Buns ... and one of my all time favourites , Naan Bread .

Ingredient List :

2 Cups Unbleached AP flour 

1 Cup Bran AP Flour 

1 TSB Sea Salt 

1 TSB Garlic Chips ( or fresh , whichever you have on hand )  

1/2 TSB Baking Soda

In a Sauce Pan :

1/4 cup melted butter 

1/4 cup warm milk ( not boiling ! ) 

1/4 cup yogurt ( I used 3% organic ) 

In a bowl :

2 1/4 TSB Dry Active Yeast ( or One pouch )
2 TBS Warm Water 

1 TSB Sugar

Extras : 

2 TBS Butter , melted - For brushing Naan after
1 TSB Sea Salt - For brushing Naan after

1/3 Cup Water -  

1/4 Cup flour - 

2 TBS Oil - I used EVOO 

Step One : 

Put warm water in a small bowl, add sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Leave for about 10 minutes , should be frothy 

Step Two : 

In a Sauce pan gently warm yogurt , milk and butter ...  Once warm , add to bowl with flour , baking soda, salt and garlic chips ...  use your mixer , or hands ... and knead for 6 - 10 minutes :) Mix until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl then knead for 6 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  You may need to add a little water or flour , I ended up adding a 1/2 cup of warm water , and 1/4 cup of flour ...   I think 1/3 cup would have been perfect.  

Step Three :

Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl , turn to coat the dough ball . cover with a clean , damp cloth , and leave to rise for about 4 hours or until doubled in volume . 

Step Four : 

Preheat oven to 520 degrees F   or your oven's highest setting and set a rack in the lower third of the oven, place a pizza stone on the rack to preheat also. 

Step Five :

Knock the dough down and knead briefly. Then Divide into six pieces, roll them into balls. returm them to the oiled bowl and cover with lightly plastic wrap. Rest them for 10 to 15 minutes. Next, roll out and stretch each ball until it is about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide.

Step Six : 

Gotta be fast for this step ...   I left the pizza stone in the oven and just slid the rack out a little,  I managed to fit two loaves onto the stone ,   4 minutes on the first side, and then 2 to 3 more on the other, and that is it !   Remove from the oven , I used my bbq flipper ... worked perfect !  Repeat until all your dough has been cooked .  Took me less than 30 minutes to make the six loaves.

Step Seven :

On a clean tea towel , lay out the hot naan bread, and brush with melted butter and salt , wrap in the towel,  and served immediately , or cool and refrigerate.  They should last for up to a week...  but its highly unlikely they will be around that long .   

Step 2

My Scribbles ! 

Step 3

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Mmmm Naan Bread ! 

If your dough hangs off the stone , it will get crispy :) 

All done :)  Time to eat ! 

I enjoyed this one while still warm from baking !  

Mmmm it made for an amazing pizza ! 

I promised myself I would make this well over a year ago , Im so happy to say , that it was quick, easy and VERY tasty and it will become one of my regulars :)

I hope you enjoy

Peace, Love and Good Food
Rich  

Homemade Butter in your Food Pro :))

A couple of months ago , I did a post on how to make your own butter , the old fashioned way , with a little elbow grease and a mason jar :)  Today Ill show you an easier method, using your food pro. Lots of pictures to explain the whole process :) Enjoy  

Ingredients Required : 

Heavy Cream - I used 750 ml , but 500ml makes for a nice sized batch too. 

Food Processor 

Sea Salt - Optional 

Start with 750ml of heavy cream ( 35% ) Ive owned this food pro for 10 years , and have never had a chance to use the mixer attachment until now. 

Noisy attachment that it is :) lol 

5 minutes or so in.. it will appear that nothing is happening, and then .... 

You get good old fashioned whipping cream :))  :) 

Keep going , the volume will increase almost twofold. 

and just when you think nothing is going to happen ... it starts to change ..  this is about 15 minutes in . 

At about twenty minutes it starts to clump up a little, and the butter milk starts separating. 

Twenty five minutes of constant whirring , and you have butter .. time to strain off the butter milk. 

Add a couple of cups of ice water , and turn it back on for 1 minute. 

Strain off the ice water , and you will have butter!!!  

Mmmmm creamy homemade butter !!!  

I saved the butter milk for making a  loaf of bread :)) 

Pack the butter into a seal-able container , add some sea salt if you like :) This will last for about a month in the fridge.  

That's it!! So simple and easy , and you can add any flavourings you like , herbs, salts , chili.. garlic Mmmmm so many options to enjoy , or keep it plain and add flavour later :)  I hope you have enjoyed this recipe.  Happy Cooking :))

Homemade Butter :))

Why have I not tried this before ?? and the field trip in grade six doesn't count !  If I could do it then, why couldn't I do it now.    So after watching a quick video clip on how to make your own with a food pro, I decided to try a slightly more manual way .    Just using a mason jar and heavy cream.   That's it!!
My other thought was, can I save money by doing this ?? Good butter is $4  to 5 a pound here ( I don't like the cheap butter , it has more than cream and salt ) So can I do it ??   Read below and find out.

Heavy Cream ( 35% ) and a mason jar  with a lid is all you need

Start by pouring half the cream (250ml ) into the mason jar, secure the lid and start shaking ... pretend your one of those paint can shakers in the hardware store and go to it.  This was after ten minutes of shaking ,  I had some very thick cream ... time to switch methods a little. 

I used the handle from a spatula to finish the job ..  10 more minutes of stirring. 

At this point , if you wanted to add flavourings .. this would be the time. I wanted to try a plain unsalted batch before I started messing around.    Salt, Garlic, Fresh Herbs etc.. the list can go on.

Chicken Caserole .. Day 2 :) Creative Leftovers

Is anyone else like me?   Maybe one or two people eating, yet you cook for 6 , or even 10 at time... only to have to eat the same dish for 3 days in a row?   Until you so sick of it you don't make it for a year ? Well, I do this all the time ! I'm trying to stop, but for some reason .. when I grab a crock pot or a dutch oven ,  I just have to fill it up !!  LOL I am getting better , I'm down to cooking for 6 , instead of 10 like last year .  However this has taught me to be extremely creative with my leftovers turning them in to all sorts of interesting to eat treats. This week, it was Chicken Casserole. that started it off :)

This was a great dinner,  Chicken Casserole, loaded with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms,  peppers, carrots, broccoli and I used a 6 bean medley instead of potatoes for a change :)

For this dish you will need per person:

• Leftovers, about two cups, chopped in bite sizes - Warmed up
• One Medium/Large Yukon Gold Potato - Baked
• Butter, Sea Salt & Black Pepper, Chili Powder
• Mozzarella and aged Cheddar ( Or your favourite cheeses ) - Shredded
• Oven Safe Plate or Dish

Baked your potato for about an hour at 360F, I simply wash mine and prick the skin a few times with a fork and toss it in the oven. If you don't like a crispy skin , you can wrap the spud in tin foil .
 When done,  cut it half lengthwise ,  I like to slice down with a butter knife, but I don't actually remove any potato.  add butter, and salt and pepper at this point. 

Before adding you topping,  I liked to add a little extra flavour,  a few sprinkles of chili powder and a little bit of cheese go down first.

Now the fun part!  Take your preheated casserole , and pour it over the potato.  No need to be tidy about it , this is a knife and fork kind of meal :)

Add some more cheese, and your ready for the oven again .  I leave it at 360F and cook for another 15 minutes. If your in a hurry you can switch it to broil or grill, and get the job done in 5 or less minutes.

Chicken Casserole Jacket Potato Done!!  So good , so easy, and a great way to use up almost any leftovers.  Watch out the plate will be hot!  Grab a steak knife and a fork and dig in!

I hope you enjoyed my first in, what I hope to be, a series of Creative Leftovers :)

Im still learning how to write out the recipes, as I don't use one. Also this is my first post since joining the Foodie Blog Roll.  So if you have any questions or comments , please either post below or send me an email. I do appreciate and respond to all feed back.  

Happy Cooking

Rich