It just ain’t an English Christmas without mince pies. And these mince pies are really, really, easy. Why? How? Well, because these mince pies are made with store bought pastry and a jar of store bought mincemeat. To be fair, I don’t think I have ever made my own mincemeat, but I generally do make my own pastry. However, I recently discovered that Trader Joe’s frozen pie crust is delicious — which is a huge compliment coming from someone who is not, as a rule, a huge pastry fan. With sweet desserts I will generally make a sweetened pastry crust…
Terry’s Chocolate Orange is a British Christmas staple thanks to a decades old, ingenious marketing campaign suggesting it as a perfect stocking stuffer — perhaps a play on the traditional orange often given at Christmas. Its storied roots go all the way back to York, England in the 1700’s where a confectioners shop sold candied lemon and orange peel. In the 1820’s Joseph Terry joined the company and introduced marmalades and chocolate and then, in the 1930’s, he got wildly creative and the classic Chocolate Orange was born. For as long as I can remember, their slogan has been “tap…
Cranberry sauce seems to be one of those things that everybody loves to hate. Not me. For me, it’s one of my favourite parts of Christmas dinner, in part, I suppose, because I never have it at any other time of the year. And while I’m certainly not above eating canned sauce if I’m a guest in someone else’s home —which means I’m not cooking, so a small sacrifice to pay in my estimation! — when I am the host, I will always make my own. (On a side note, I read somewhere recently that some people just take the…
This is (not) Shepherd’s Pie because it’s actually Cottage Pie! And the difference, you ask? Well, the difference is that Shepherd’s Pie is made with ground lamb and Cottage Pie is made with ground beef. I make mine with ground beef and yet somehow I started calling it Shepherd’s Pie, despite the fact that I’m sure we called it Cottage Pie growing up. I have no idea at which point along the way I made such an egregious error, especially as I have never once made it with ground lamb, but, in my defense, I did read somewhere that the…
Many, many moons ago, in the town of Eccles, Lancashire, an annual party was held to celebrate the construction of the church around which the town had grown. A right old knees up it was, with lots of food, drink, and Eccles cakes. Over time, the parties became a little, well, out of hand, as parties are wont to do sometimes.
Then along came Oliver Cromwell – pious puritan and crown usurper. Rumour has it that he deemed the Eccles’ parties as too pagan and Eccles’ cakes as too rich and sinful. Anyone caught eating one would be, well – thrown in jail!
As a kid, Heinz Oxtail Soup was one of my favourite things to eat. It’s been a long time since I’ve had it (it’s unavailable in the US) — and it probably wouldn’t taste nearly as good as I remember it anyway — but I have never forgotten that sense of comfort it provided. And so, feeling a bit nostalgic, I decided to have a go at making my own — a version more suited to my grown up self. It’s not the simplest or quickest of recipes as it needs to be made over a couple of days (hence weekend…
When the skies are grey, when the world, despite so many bodies crushed together, feels like a vast and lonely place, when life feels irreparably off kilter, rice pudding can always be relied upon to set everything to rights. Rice pudding is British nursery food at its very best. As a child I would visit my grandparents in Wales each summer with my family and this is one dessert that I always remember my Nana making. As an adult, and without her recipe, I attempted to make my own. Nana baked hers so that’s where I too, began. The only…
Does anybody remember Nordy Bars? They used to be served in the Nordstrom cafe and were something of a cult classic back in the eighties. I don’t believe they make them anymore. I recently stumbled upon the original recipe (courtesy of The Oregonian’s Food Day from way back when ) and in a fit of nostalgia decided to make them. The only problem with the bars — and it’s a big one really — is that the butterscotch chips taste unbearably fake. So I decided to retool them and use a combination of butter and brown sugar to get the…
Millionaire’s shortbread is so called because it’s, well, rich and luxurious. Although due to recent inflation issues I believe it should now be known as billionaire’s shortbread. It’s a layer of crumbly shortbread topped with creamy caramel and then smooth chocolate which makes for the perfect combination of taste and texture. It also makes it what amounts to a homemade Twix bar. Millionaire’s Shortbread seems to have originated in the seventies, somewhere in the vicinity of Scotland and when I was a kid, it would generally make its appearance in December, which is probably why I always associate it with…
Could there possibly be a sexier couple than egg and bacon? They’re the duo with chemistry so sizzling hot that they could teach a masterclass on relationships. Just the slightest whisper of egg and bacon conjures up delightful images of lazy weekend mornings and delicious breakfasts spent with a good book and endless cups of tea. And while this lovely twosome frequently forms the backbone of a good old Full English, today it is being baked into a delicious puff pastry pie and combined with potatoes for a nice, solid slice of cold weather heft. But first you’ll have to…
