Haddock in Creamy Cheese Sauce – à la Delish in a Dish!

Simply served with steamed carrots, petit pois and new potatoes. – A very quick ‘n easy weeknight dins or supper – Very lovely! It’s cheesy and its good, light and yummy! 😉
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Total Calories: 2,579     Total Weight of Recipe: 1573 g   Calories and weight do not include veggies and optional cream or sour cream.
Serves: 3 – 4
Ingredients:
1.25 ml black peppercorns (12 whole), to taste
1 carrot (1/2 a large), peeled and sliced diagonally
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 (1 g) bay leaf, crushed (tsp,+crumbled)
2 sprigs parsley (2.5 ml dried)
1 onion (large), sliced
600 g Haddock fillets, frozen
45 ml lemon juice
Cheese Sauce:
71 ml (68 g) butter
132 ml (68 g) cake flour or all-purpose flour
382 ml whole milk
pinch nutmeg
pinch white pepper
210 g cheddar cheese, grated
Optional: Cream or sour cream added to taste when sauce is ready.
Method:
In order of above ingredients add the first 6 ingredients to a saucepan – whole peppercorns, carrot, celery, bay, parsley and onion.
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Empty contents of bag into saucepan together with milk as it contains a lot of the flavor from the haddock

Arrange haddock fillets on top of veggies in your saucepan and pour over any liquids or juice remaining in sealed bag haddock was purchased in.
Add lemon juice and 382 ml / 382 g milk and poach gently covered until fish flakes with a fork and is cooked. 
Gently with a spatula or egg lifter remove fish and set aside.
Continue simmering veggies and milk until veggies are tender.
Make up a beurre manie (French kneaded butter) by kneading the flour into the butter until you have a paste.
Bring milk to a medium boil and add your beurre maine or French kneaded butter in the size of peas, stirring briskly until thickened. As soon a sauce is cooked turn off your heat.
Puree all your veggies in saucepan to a cream with a stick blender.
Add white pepper, nutmeg to taste and a pinch salt only if needed. 
If you are using a casserole dish you may gently slip your haddock fillets back in under the sauce. Cover surface with grated cheese and place casserole under grill element until cheese has melted and is to your liking. 
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Serve – enjoy! and Bon Appétit! 😉

 

 

 

A more simpler version of Lancashire Hot Pot from my Big Sister Debbie is Drop dead Delish! – Great for those cold winter nights!

This is a more simplified way.

Mutton is best for this dish, as it does not fall apart during the slow cooking process, has more flavour and is leaner.Serve over fluffy white rice, with or without extra veggies on the side.
Ingredients:
1 kg chump chops or other lamb stewing cuts like ribs, breast, neck, knuckles or best end lamb chops. Seasoned flour (just salt & pepper is all you need) to toss meat in
2 large onions, cut into rings
8 – 9 leeks or 1 bunch (may replace with onions or reduce as you wish but onions make delish!)
5 – 6 medium potatoes, sliced into rings
4 carrots, medium in size, sliced into rings
Fresh parsley, 3 sprigs
black pepper to taste, freshly ground
Chicken bouillon or stock cubes, dissolved in hot water to taste
Optional: Bay leaf/leaves and thyme to taste
Method:
Toss meat in seasoned flour to coat.
In Pyrex or slow cooker or any other oven dish with lid – “Metal being the better conductor of heat – will save energy!”-  Layer half the veggies then all the meat, ending with potatoes.
Pour up to 500 ml stock down sides of oven dish. Dot top of potatoes with lard or butter or pieces of fat from chops.
Bake 150 – 160 C for about 3 hrs or until done. – Enjoy! 😉

 

Lancashire Hot Pot To Die For! Good old fashioned cooking at it’s GMO free best! No imitation gravy or stock! This is the real deal!

One Pot cooking from scratch at it’s very best! Keep it simple! Cooked with love, you will want to eat this every night of the week, especially in winter!  My Top choice! It’s a Winner!
Serve over fluffy white rice or simply just as is with some steamed carrots and peas.
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Notes: – “Please read before you begin”..
Mutton is best for this dish as it does not fall apart during the long slow cooking process – is rich and full of flavor but you may use lamb if mutton is unavailable. Suitable cuts of meat to use are: Neck, best-end or middle-neck, meaty chump chops, knuckles, shoulder, shin or loin. – My favorite are whole best end chump chops  which are meatier – Keep your chops in whole pieces. Do not exceed a temperature of 170 C – The higher the temperature goes, the more your meat will shrink, giving you less servings and spoiling the flavor of the dish. This type of dish is best suited to slow heat cooking. 😉
Adding sheep tail fat gives a delicious flavour boost if available.
I have used a formula of double the weight in potatoes to meat and an equal weight in onions to meat – Do NOT skimp on the onions! – You may replace some onions with same weight in leeks which will add an extra flavor boost to your dish!
Waxy floury potatoes are best for this dish which may be placed beneath your top layer of chip potatoes. Chip potatoes will give you a crispier topping if placed on top. Which gives reason to use 2 kinds of potatoes if you wish. The waxy floury potatoes burst open disintegrating into the rest of your pot, aiding as a natural thickener without the need for adding flour. 😉
For Extra Potato Topping: You may grill or bake an extra potatoes by tripling the weight of your potatoes to meat but only topping your hot-pot with double the weight of potatoes to meat and using the extra 1/3 rd of potato slices placed separately in the same manner onto a large round pizza pan or oven tray placed under grill or on a trivet in your halogen covection oven with an extender ring, then placing the halogen element head onto extender ring – You may then crisp up your 2nd potato topping until golden – brushing with melted fat and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Overlapping potatoes like fish scales covering entire pan. 😉
You may replace chicken stock with bouillon cubes, to taste but will not get that lovely natural deep rich brown gravy color which comes from natural gelatinized chicken stock. Chicken fat may be replaced with pork fat (lard) or beef fat (suet) or half oil to butter. Thinly slice your onions and potatoes on a mandolin or do this by hand if you don’t have one.
You may pack in layers – meat, onions, potatoes – meat, onions and ending with layer of potatoes = 2 layers of each but I find with 900 g meat it was not worth doing.
If you are doing your hot-pot on stove-top: Place a simmer ring under your pot to prevent from burning or if you have an old 1970’s vintage snackwich or waffle iron maker just unclasp the metal plates and use that under your pot. 😉
You may even cook this overnight or put it on before leaving for work over a very low heat if using mutton and wake up or come home to a lovely smelling house! 😉 If you want Delish – Keep it SIMPLE! Do NOT go adding any extras or you will really spoil this dish! 😉
If you don’t own a restaurant and don’t need to impress – you may skip the above steps and follow this recipe: My big sister Debbie’s but I am afraid to say your dish is going to look a bit dull and bland although it will still taste great. It just won’t have that extra special browned look with the flavor boost which comes from your naturally browned chicken stock and fats = your gravy color.
Genius Tip: If you own an electric wok with self regulating temperature and a halogen covection oven with an extender ring the two double up together and act as both a slow cooker, oven and griller all in one. 😉 Saving you loads in electricity! – All you need do is place your extender ring onto the inner side walls of your wok and then bring over your element head to fit perfectly onto your extender ring and ta-da! You may then crisp up your potato topping all in one pot being your wok. I personally have not used a stove-top in years. My wok acts as my pot, slow cooker and oven in which I bake my lasagnas, moussakas, cottage pies, all my stews and casseroles. I have even baked cheesecakes perfectly in my wok placing on the extender ring together with element head and setting it from bottom and top just like an oven! I use a 5 liter Kambrook Wok which I fitted together in same store when purchased – I use them every day. I just cannot be without them – that I even purchased a second one when I saw them in Clicks (South Africa) recently as I hadn’t seen them in a while. My first Kambrook Wok which I am still using hasn’t given me a days problems since purchased in 2007 – However I am on my 3rd halogen oven –  No cleaning of stove-tops for me. 😉
Ingredients:
80 g Chicken stock, natural according to taste
80 g Chicken fat, rendered according to fattiness of meat
900 g mutton, chump chops (best end)
900 g onions
600 ml water
1800 g (1.8 kg) potatoes (add potatoes once water is in, not to wash off starches)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (Your choice – black or white)
Method:
In your roasting pan or 5 liter pot or wok – brown your meat over a medium to low heat in approximately half of your browned chicken stock to fat (schmaltz) – You may add as much as you like and once meat is browned but still very juicy, toss in your onions with your meat and keep tossing to blend it all through – just to partially cook them and to give onions a lovely rich golden brown stain. Taste for seasoning – adding more fat or stock as needed. Do not crisp meat or dry it out and do not stir-fry it over a high heat – we don’t want the meat to shrink! – It must remain moist and juicy with just the outer surface slightly cooked but browned. This is where your natural chicken stock comes in as it acts as both a browning and flavoring sauce all in one! 😉
Peel potatoes and place in water to prevent oxidation until ready to slice – Once they are sliced do NOT wash off their starches as this will form the glue that keeps your potato topping together.
Peel your onions and slice them on a mandolin into thin rings or by hand if you don’t have one.
Slice potatoes on a mandolin or slice into thin rings by hand.
Add your 600 ml water to pot before layering in your potatoes as you don’t want to wash off your potato starches. You may blend a little browned chicken stock into it for extra flavor or chicken bouillon cubes if you don’t have any real stock.
Layer your potato slices like fish scales covering the entire surface of pot. Season with salt and pepper and dot with chicken schmaltz. Close lid tightly and bake 160 – 170 or on a low heat. 5 – 6 hours if using mutton – or – 2 – 3 hours for lamb or until meat tests done with a long thin metal skewer and then uncover and bake / grill a further 30 minutes, until the potatoes are golden and crisp or just serve as is – choice is yours.
If cooking on stove top place a simmer ring or metal plate beneath a heavy bottomed pot and keep on very low heat. Do NOT disturb.
Your dish is done when most of its liquid has been absorbed and it sits in its own rendered stock, fats and gravy
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Enjoy! 😉

Homemade Chicken Schmaltz (fat) and Delicious Browned Gelatinized Chicken Stock Easy-Peasy !!

To avoid cooking oils, preservatives and GMO’s.. to flavor your dishes and to go au naturel you’ve come to the right place! 😉

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I store mine in chicken liver tubs. If poured in warm, chicken stock falls to the bottom with chicken schmaltz (fat) rising to surface. To remove, just dip container in hot water, invert and remove.

How ? Well here’s how..
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Chicken Schmaltz (fat) poured straight off the surface still warm and liquidy stored in chicken liver containers

I will soon post links to recipes I am using this in and what to do with this goldmine of delish because at present I am busy drafting and uploading all of my top favorite winning recipes. 😉
When grilling chicken thighs.. and believe me chicken thighs are best! – Its first skin side down ending with skin side up. Just place a pan beneath your grilled chicken thighs seasoned simply with some salt and cayenne pepper. – You will find they render the best schmaltz (fat) and stock ever! You will also find that when you remove your chicken fat the seasoning is on the very bottom and not in your fat.
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I grill on this metal rack (comes with your Halogen Oven) in my wok using the extender ring of my Halogen Oven, over which I fit its element head – Turning my wok into an oven (Do not switch on the wok). Grill directly in your wok catching all that lovely chicken stock and fats in bottom of wok. Then when done, just heat it in wok and tip all the fat and stock out into tubs and refrigerate to use in your dishes. This is another way I grilled my chicken thighs (Wok was being used for another purpose) on metal microwave turn-table resting on glass oven bowl of FlavorWave / Halogen Convection oven with extender ring and element head placed over. This is the natural colour of your chicken fat once cold.

The soft fat may easily be lifted or scooped off the surface once solidified or if still warm and liquidy – may just be poured straight off the surface into containers for refrigeration or the whole shebang in its entirety – whilst still liquid and warm just poured straight into containers and refrigerated.
Your browned stock will settle on the bottom and you may then just scoop off your fats from the surface to do your frying.
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You can even put the whole shebang into chicken liver tubs whilst still fairly warm so that your stock will lie on bottom.

 
The soft fat may easily be lifted or scooped off the surface once solidified or if still warm and liquidy – may just be poured straight off the surface into containers for refrigeration or the whole shebang in its entirety – whilst still liquid and warm just poured straight into containers and refrigerated.
Your browned stock will settle on the bottom and you may then just scoop off your fats from the surface to do your frying.
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Deliciously natural – Juicy gelatinized chicken stock!

You will find your lovely gelatinized stock – deliciously concentrated in flavor, well browned and with a deep rich gravy color lying beneath the surface of your golden rich yellow schmaltz. Never throw this away! This is GOLD! The secret to many great dishes! Hold onto your shebang! Don’t let anyone take it away from you! 😉

-Enjoy! 😉

MUSHROOM ASIAGO CHICKEN THIS RECIPE WON THE GRAND PRIZE IN THE MEREDITH CORPORATION’S FAMILY CIRCLE, BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

“BEST OF FOOD BLOGGER RECIPES 2013” – Truly a Top notch recipe! Makes Great Chicken Mushroom Pies! or serve with 300 g Pasta! Drop Dead Gorgeously Delicious! 😉
Serves 3 – 4 with 300 g pasta
In this picture I used 386 ml white wine + 177 in red wine as I had run out of white – Hence the darker colour.
This filling is enough for 12 individual round meat pies. This recipe makes the most delish Chicken Asiago Mushroom Pies! For Pie bottoms and Puff Pastry Recipe click here 
Serve over 300 g Pasta or use the filling to make 12 generous meat pies.
Notes: Upon first making this dish I served it with 300 g (uncooked weight) spaghetti, which came out to be the perfect balance. I like my pasta saucy. I found that, 125 ml (62.5 g) cake flour was sufficient for my quantity of ingredients, which I have listed below.
You may use chicken tenders (pre-marinated fillets) Easy if you just snip them with scissors into bite sized pieces – They have already been tenderized so there is no need to pound them.
For seasoned flour: Freshly ground peppercorns with coarse salt in coffee grinder to taste
If you don’t have a meat mallet use the side of a saucer to pound meat.
Fresh thyme may be substituted with 1/2 tsp dried in it’s place.
If you cannot find Asiago cheese, finely grated Romano, Parmesan or strong cheddar will be a good substitute – however this dish is just as lovely without it – So if you feel it is going to add to the richness of this dish then you may omit the cheese. Asiago cheese is a ripened or fresh cow’s-milk cheese produced in NE Italy.
If you run out of white wine you may replace with red but your sauce will darken in colour.
If you have chicken fat saved or any chicken juices caught from grilling chicken or thighs – use it up to replace butter oil mixture and add your chicken juice for a flavour boost!
Garlic may be crushed with a bit of salt directly into pan before stir- frying meat or for a stronger flavour it may be crushed and added at a later stage. ie – crushed in the bottom of a mug – topped up with wine and then added.
TIP FROM ONE READER: Reported making this with boneless pork chops and achieving excellent results!! Thanks Ashtyn!
INGREDIENTS:
675 g boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 large)
3 tbs butter
3 tbs olive oil
250 g mushrooms, cut in half
3 cloves garlic, minced
4.5 springs fresh thyme
563 ml cups dry white wine
188 ml heavy cream or to taste
¼-1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese (Optional)
Seasoned flour:
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Method:
1. Pound chicken breasts with meat mallet until uniform in thickness – about .5 – 1 cm in thickness. Cut into bite sized pieces.
2. Heat half your butter-oil mixture or chicken schmaltz in pan. Add chicken, freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste. Stir-fry until med- rare or slightly pink in the center. Turn off heat and stir in flour until incorporated. Turn heat back up and give it a quick stir just to cook the flour and stop before you begin to feel it sticking to bottom of pan. Remove chicken and set aside. Turn off heat and deglaze the pan by scraping up all the sticky crusty bits remaining so that there is nothing more sticking to the bottom of pan.
3. Crush your garlic with a little of the ground coarse salt and peppercorns.
4. Add the balance of the chicken schmaltz, butter or oil and saute mushrooms until mushrooms just begin to soften.
5. Crush garlic in cup with a little of the ground salt and pepper. Add the wine to the crushed garlic, give it a good stir and add it your to sautéed mushrooms.
6. Add cream and stir through. Adjust seasoning. Turn off heat and add cheese if you are going to add it. Allow to go cold if you are going to use as a pie filling – Fills 12 individual standard round pies very generously using individual pie foil containers.
7. Baked pies 35 – 40 mins at 120 C

Coq au Vin Chicken Mushroom Pies incl Pie Bottoms and Puff Pastry Lids

You won’t resist these Pies! They are Drop Dead – Deliriously Delicious! Eat your heart out or sail on by! 😉
Makes: 14 Pies Each Pie       Serving: 828 calories
Notes:
⦁ Pre-grill your chicken thighs with a pan beneath to catch all those lovely juices and fats! ⦁ Any leftover chicken stock, fat or juices may be used for bangers and mash which makes delicious gravy that is GMO free – Never toss this gold out! Catch all you can to save for other dishes. Store in sealed container, refrigerated. 😉
⦁ Don’t forget to include your lovely natural chicken stock juices. I had some extra in my pan which I previously collected from grilling chicken thighs.
⦁ If you’d like to change your ingredient quantities just copy paste below ingredients as entered and alter them on calorie count.com by clicking tools, recipe analyzer and entering your copy pasted ingredients, altering them and then clicking the recipe analyzer button beneath ingredient entry window.
⦁ Leeks may be replaced with 2 large onions
⦁ You may replace chicken fat with half oil to butter
⦁ You may add a little water / whey / milk / cream if you wish and allow to slow simmer for another 30 – 35 minutes or until you can taste the wine is well cooked in and flavors have melded together.
⦁ If you like a stronger garlic flavour you may add your crushed garlic 5 minutes before switching off the heat.
⦁ Chicken keeps its form and shape better if grilled rather than pan browned or fried which tends to give it a bland look and turns it stringy.
⦁ My total weight of 8 chicken thighs was 1.666 kg – Included in above calorie count.
⦁ I used streaky bacon bits. Streaky bacon dices better from frozen.
⦁ Parsley may be replaced or combined together with finely chopped green onions.

Coq au Vin Chicken Mushroom Pie Filling

Pie Filling goes in Cold.
Total Recipe Weight (filling): 2976 g       Total Calories (filling): 5, 331
Ingredients:
8 chicken thighs (with skin and bone)
4 garlic cloves, crushed or to taste
60 g Chicken fat
125 g bacon
3 leeks, finely chopped
250 g mushrooms, whole or sliced
500 ml wine, dry white (Riesling) of your choice
50 g (25 ml) Cake flour or All purpose
250 ml cream or to taste
salt to taste
5 ml black pepper, freshly ground to taste
6 sprigs parsley
Method:
Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and cayenne pepper. Grill chicken with skin side facing down on rack with pan placed beneath it to catch juices. Turn over when done and grill skin side up until done or golden brown and crispy. Set aside to cool. Bash garlic together with some salt into a paste and set aside. Add reserved chicken fat to wok or large saute pan followed by chopped leeks and bacon – Saute until tender or until bacon has rendered its fat. Add garlic and mushrooms. Saute 5 minutes. In a small teacup placed on scale weigh in flour. Gradually add 30 ml wine and stir to a smooth paste gradually adding more wine to create a smooth batter until teacup is full. Add teacup contents to pan whilst stirring briskly. Gradually add the balance whilst continuously stirring – together with the cream until sauce is cooked and thickened. Remove and discard bones from chicken. Dice up meat and add to sauce. Bring to boil. Lower heat and cover. Allow simmering 25-35 minutes on very low or until casserole is cooked to your liking. Add finely chopped parsley and or green onions. Season to taste. Turn off heat and allow to go cold.

Puff Pastry Lids or Toppings

Total Weight of Pastry: 779 g       Total Calories of Pastry: 3,082
Makes: 15 – 16 standard pie tops for individual pie foil containers – The one’s your meat pies come in. – Click here to see video and follow method below.

Pie Toppings or Lids – Rolled out 4 – 5 mm in thickness. That’s my cutter there in the background.
Note:
If you don’t have lemon juice, you may replace with vinegar, but freshly squeezed lemon juice is always best.
Ingredients:
250 g cake flour or all-purpose flour
3.75 ml cream of tartar (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
40 g (63 ml) cornflour
250 g butter, diced into small cubes
5 ml lemon juice
168 g (168 ml) water, ice-cold
62.5 g (125 ml) Flour for dusting
NOTE:
Keep pastry chilled at all times and if you don’t have pie pastry cutters to cut out your pie bottoms and tops – use suitable circles like a wide-mouthed drinking glass, soup mug or similar utensil. – Pie cutters are by far the best for this job as they cut out the perfect sized circles. – If your pie cutter is slightly smaller than the larger circle I’ve used, then roll it out slightly thicker and reroll it a bit more after cutting so that you get a good fit. – I use the larger circle side of my cutter for both pie bottoms and tops and I place bottoms in foil pie containers, ungreased and press it out with a hand-held pastry press – working it up the sides to tops and re-chill before adding my cold meat filling – followed by positioning tops / pie lids over and pressing them into position. Don’t forget to make a little slit in center of pies with steak knife so that your steam may escape.

Gently insert tip of steak knife to create slit so steam can escape.
Method:
1. Pulse first four dry ingredients together in food processor to blend.
2. Add chilled butter a few at a time and pulse.
3. Pulse until just finely crumbled and no more. Do not over process.
4. Add lemon juice to iced water.
5. Open processor and add liquid evenly. Close and pulse until dough just about comes together.
6. Turn dough out onto floured countertop. Sprinkle top with flour and using your fingers – work quickly, forming dough into square or rectangular shape. Do NOT use hands or palms as they are too warm for dough. Bring dough together and wrap in plastic or clingwrap. Refrigerate to allow dough to rest for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
7. Remove dough and place on floured countertop. Sprinkle with flour and pound with rolling-pin just to soften it up enough to roll. Dependant upon your own countertop or work space – Roll to a 4 – 5 mm thick square or rectangle.
⦁ Roll and fold 6 times see video
⦁ Roll out 4 – 5 mm in thickness after each turn (1 turn = 4 layers)
A. Fold both opposite sides or rectangular ends together to meet up or form a seam in the center so that it looks like an opened book with 2 layers and then fold these two layers together again like you are closing a book – creating 4 layers and brushing off excess flour as you do so – Roll out 4 – 5 mm in thickness – Repeat by making a 2nd turn and then wrap dough after each 2nd turn in plastic or clingwrap to chill for at least 30 minutes – There must be no risk of butter melting.
B. Repeat by making another 3 and 4 turns. Wrap dough each time in plastic or clingwrap to chill for 30 minutes.
C. Remove pastry from plastic wrap and make your 5th and final 6th turn – Keeping pastry chilled – cut out 14 pie lids. Place between plastic film and refrigerate.
⦁ Note:

If you are faster at making your turns you may do 3 turns and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and then complete your final 3 turns. Rolling out to to a thickness of 4 – 5 mm each time.

⦁ If you want to cut chilling time after each turn – wrap pastry in plastic clingwrap to chill in freezer for 20 minutes.

When pastry is ready – Cut out lids – place between plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to place lids on pies.

 

Shortcrust Pastry for Pie Bottoms or Shells

Total Weight of Pastry: 757 g       Total Calories of Pastry: 3,183

  • Refrigerate pie shells to chill until filling is cold and ready to go in.
  • Makes: 14 – 15 pie shells for individual standard – meat pie foil containers.
  • This is the most economical way of making pies – using a formula of 3:2:1 translated to 300 g flour to 200 g butter and 100 g or ml of ice-cold water. Puff pastry will not rise or puff up on the bottom and sides of pies. You will also lower your calories and costs.
  • Notes:
  • If you want to economise or have extra saved chicken fat or schmaltz to put to good use – The formula is 3 parts chicken schmaltz / fat to 7 parts butter or a lard with an equal hardness to that of butter. If you are using an even harder or solid baking fat which contains no water – like Wolsum in South Africa or Crisco in America or Trex in the U.K. – The formula then becomes 4 parts chicken fat / schmaltz to 6 parts Wholsum / Crisco / Trex. – See below examples..
  • If you are using: Trex, Wholsum or CriscoTo economizeyou may substitute 40 % of Trex with chicken fat (Schmaltz) reserved from grilling chicken thighs – Example: 102 g schmaltz + 150 g Trex, Crisco or Wholsum = 252 g.
  • If you are using: butter – You may substitute part of it with 30 percent Schmaltz – Example: 76 g schmaltz + 176 g butter = 252 g butter.
  • You may also experiment by replacing schmaltz with a vegetable oil like sunflower or canola if you wish.

 

  • Ingredients:
  • 378 g cake flour or all-purpose flour
  • 2 pinches salt, to taste
  • 252 g butter or hard vegetable fat
  • 126 g (126 ml) water

 

Method:

Food Processor Method: Add first two ingredients to food processor and pulse to blend. Dice butter or hard vegetable fat into small cubes and gradually add in portions to flour mixture in food processor and pulse until finely crumbled. Open up processor and add in the water. Pulse until dough comes together. Empty pastry onto floured countertop and bring together into a ball. Press into square or rectangular shape and chill at least 30 minutes or at best overnight to allow gluten in pastry to relax and absorb moisture.

Hand Method: Sift flour together with salt into a large bowl, add butter and rub in with fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add ice-cold water and mix to a firm dough. Knead the dough briefly and gently on a lightly floured countertop. Wrap in cling film and chill while you get on with the filling. Roll pastry out 4 – 5 mm in thickness Do Not prebake your pie crusts – The meat filling MUST go in cold and the oven temperature must be ready when pies go in.😉 Allow pastry to come close to room temperature but still remaining cold to the touch before baking. Bake pies in preheated oven at 220 C or 430 F for about 25 – 35 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Watch carefully and if it looks like it’s going to burn lower temperature as you go along if necessary. Baked in this way you will always get the most “puff” out of your puff pastry. – Serve and enjoy! – Delish! 🙂


3 Fruit Marmalade – Simple Quick Fuss Free Method! – Absolutely Delish!

Heavenly Divine! On my Schmaltzy Bran Muffins! Marmalade and cheese! It’s Delish! 😉
The lovely colour I got from the fruit I added.
You may vary your fruit. If you don’t like grapefruit much, then add an extra orange or two. Just remember the Rule of thumb: – Use an equal weight in sugar to fruit – less the pith.
After juicing and before throwing out your pith which is the white covering found under the skin – weigh it and subtract it’s weight from your original weight and then only do you add your sugar. – Pulp gets tossed out and fed to wild birds.
I use this identical citrus zester. If in South Africa you can pick one up at Fruit and Veg City. They work like a breeze! I use mine every day for my black lemon flavored coffee! 😉
If you save your extra lemon pips you may freeze them and you will then have extra pectin which means your marmalade will set sooner with less evaporation which will reduce the sweetness, giving you less calories and more marmalade. 🙂
It is important that you use fresh fruit which is higher in pectin – contained in both the zest and pips.
Total Calories 3,954 Total weight: 2381 g
Ingredients:
1 (438 g) ruby red grapefruit, with peel 2 (400 g) oranges, with peel 1 (148 g) lemon, with peel 750 ml cold water 986 g sugar
Method:
  1. Wash and zest all your fruits holding them in a downward fashion so that the spray from the zest ends up on a non porous glass chopping board. If you don’t have one, a spare floor tile or dinner plate will do. In this way you may then just sweep it off into container together with it’s zest – Zest only the zest and NOT the white pith!
  2. Place zest in microsafe container large enough for your marmalade and add 750 ml water to the zest. Cover container and cook on high in 1000 watt microwave oven for 10 mins.
  3. Juice your fruits with citrus juicer, extracting all the juice you can.
  4. Remove the pips and create a wee or tiny little pouch out of a spare piece of stocking or similar fabric. Place in all your pips in pouch and fasten – snip off ends. Set aside.
  5. Squeeze or wring out all the juice that’s left in your pith. Now weigh your pith and deduct this weight from your original weight – Example in my case: 986 g whole fruits minus -246 g remaining pith = 740 g sugar. (Sugar = Whole Fruit less Pith).
  6. Take your remaining weight (740 g) as in my example above, and weigh the same amount in sugar. Place your container of water and zest onto scale and weigh in your sugar. Stir into hot liquid containing the zest to dissolve. Do NOT bring to boil until sugar has thoroughly dissolved or it will crystalize.
  7. Add all your fleshy pulp together with your pouch of pips to your dissolved sugar mixture. Microwave on high 60 mins stirring at intervals. Set aside overnight to thicken.

The most divine bran muffins you will ever taste in your life! Full of buttery goodness! You will NEVER guess what’s in them ? Soo buttery divine! I could serve them to the queen with PRIDE and she will say “Ooh how buttery divine! May I please have some more!” ..and I will say.. “It must be the chicken schmaltz and not the butter!”

 

Tips:

    • Cooking the peel in the first 10 minutes helps to release the pectin which helps your marmalade to set.
    • Once the sugar is added the peel won’t soften any further. Allowing the marmalade to settle overnight helps to evenly distribute the zest throughout.
    • Bring marmalade to boil or heat to just over 85ºC to kill any mould spores. – If not making a large quantity you may skip this step and just bottle – stored refrigerated.
    • No need to sterilize bottles – They can be taken straight from dishwasher – Once bottled put the lids on as quickly as possible to create a vacuum.
    • Test for readiness of the marmalade by placing a teaspoon of the mixture on a chilled saucer – allow it to sit for a few seconds. On tilting plate the mixture should be like a soft gel. Mixture must not be runny. Once opened – keep refrigerated. Seville oranges are highly prized for making marmalades and are only in season for a few weeks in winter.
    • Save pectin by freezing lemon pips in a sealed container. This will lessen the amount of sugar needed to set jams, jellies and marmalades. – Enjoy! 😉

 

Melt in the Mouth Bran Muffins! Best ever tasted in my 55 year LIFE!

Pop one of these in your mouth for breakfast with grated cheddar and my homemade marmalade! They are to die for! You will want to eat this every morning for breakfast! They just melt in your mouth, light and airy-crisp in texture with a fluffy soft interior! A great way to use up your Chicken Schmaltz and they are just soo buttery divine! – Heavenly! Go ahead! Try it! You will NEVER guess the real ingredient! I could serve them to the queen and she will say.. “Ooh-my! How buttery divine these are!” and I will say.. “It must be the chicken schmaltz and not the butter!” 😉 Once you’ve made these you will keep on making them!

So very quick to whip up for breakfasts especially if you have a cupcake maker. No need to to even grease your pans! 🙂 I promise! You will NOT even taste chicken or chicken fat at all in these muffins! 😉

Total weight of recipe: 642 g Total Calories of recipe: 2,712 Excludes marmalade and cheese.

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Warning! It is soo tempting to eat more! Count your calories and don’t make too many because you will eat too many! These are drop dead delish! 😀

Collect your chicken fat in a pan placed under your grilled chicken thighs which especially render the best chicken schmalz! When enough fat has been collected in pan, just tilt your fat pan whilst still liquidy warm over an empty tub placed beneath so that the surface fat can run off into your tub. All the crusty bits and juicy stock remains behind at bottom which you can use to flavor many other dishes. or when the pan placed beneath grilled chicken fills up enough just tilt it over a tub so only the yellow fat run off. Stop before you get to the stock as you don’t want that getting into your chicken schmaltz! If it has partially set – you can just scoop it off the surface to add to your tub which your keep refrigerated. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to collect this fat it’s all done so easy!
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Note: For a buttermilk substitute just stir a tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar into a 250 ml cup measure. Top up with milk and set aside for a minute or so to thicken.
These muffins are not overly sweet and they will not turn your stomach like so many do and that makes them perfect to serve with marmalade and cheese! No need to butter them! – The butter is already built in for you! 😉
If you feel it necessary you may increase your buttermilk as long as you keep it in the range of 102 – 114 g or ml. Which will give you 16 – 21 mini or baby muffins. If using a standard muffin pan, you will get anything from between 8 – 10 muffins.
This recipe may also be doubled.
Ingredients:
174 g cake flour or all purpose
36 g bran
88 g  sugar
10 g (10 ml) baking soda
2 g (2.5 ml) salt or to taste
1 egg
174 g chicken fat (schmaltz)
102 g buttermilk
Method:
To a food processor add your first 5 dry ingredients: Cake flour, bran,sugar, baking soda and salt.
Pulse until all is well blended.
To your mixing bowl placed on scale, large enough to contain all your ingredients – Empty all your dry ingredients from food processor.
Weigh in your buttermilk and crack over your egg.
From here on I just grab my one metal beater and blend it all in so that the dry ingredients are thoroughly wet as I don’t want them flying out of the bowl. Once your ingredients are all wet you may place both beaters into machine and beat until all is well blended.
Switch on cupcake maker or if using oven – preheat to 180 C (356 F)
When when temperature in ready – fill pans to 2/3 of the way full and bake approximately 20 – 25 minutes or until done. – Do NOT open in 1st 10 minutes of baking.
Remove to wire rack to cool. – Enjoy your breakies! 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Best Boerewors Ever! You won’t stop eating this Mouth Wateringly Juicy South African Sausage! It will be the death of you!  

Makes 1 -2 kg  

If you make your own, at least you know what’s in it. If you don’t

have a mincing machine, try using a food processor but you will

not get the coarsely minced texture, so be careful to feed just  a

little at a time through food processor, with metal blade on, pulsing

& stopping before it gets any finer than course. You need a coarse

texture for making boerewors. I have never used a food processor.

A hand held mincer would be the correct tool to use. Unless you ask

your butcher to mince it for you. Use your coffee grinder to grind your boerewors spices. Be careful with sausage casings – today due to GMO feed, the intestines have possibly become very weak and thin. So work very carefully and gently. Sausage casings may be rubbed with salt and stored in plastic freezer bags refrigerated. In this way they will keep a very long time esp if you freeze them.

There are 2 types of sausage casings. –  One is weak & has a tendency to split open. Ask your butcher to give you the stronger casings which will not risk you losing all your lovely juices! Do not over process your meat. It must be crumbly. Use good quality fresh but not frozen meat & vary your spices to taste. Beware of adding too much garlic as this can make your sausage too rich!
If you don’t have a sausage attachment, try using an icing-gun or bag with it’s nozzle or tip
removed & placing the sausage casing over icing-gun’s wide opening to fill. – In this case it is better to get the larger casings which are used to make the thick boerewors, which will be easier to work with rather than the thin casings. If a mincing machine is unavailable, get the butcher to stuff the sausage casings for you. Casings must not develop tears or splits otherwise sausage will lose a lot of its flavor and juices.

You may also make sausage rolls by rolling the raw meat mixture minus its casings, in puff pastry (like “Today’s” brand sold in South Africa) and bake  them as little sausage rolls in a preheated oven at highest temperature, dropping temperature

gradually to prevent scorching. This gives you the best puff out of

your puff pastry. Puff pastry MUST be kept chilled and handled

gently.

Ingredients:
600 g beef silverside, minced
600 g pork leg, minced
200 g pork lard (fat), cut into small cubes salt to taste (+/- 1 tbsp) freshly ground black pepper to taste (+/- 1/2 tsp)
freshly ground coriander seed to taste (+/- 2 tbsp)
grated nutmeg to taste (+/- 1/4 tsp)
freshly ground cloves to taste (+/- 1/8th tsp)
ground allspice berries (1/4 tsp or to taste)
50 ml vinegar (I prefer lemon juice, 50 ml or to  taste)
3 large fresh cloves garlic, crushed
20 ml Worcestershire sauce
Crushed dried red chilies to taste if you like a little heat (5 – 7 ml )
50 g good quality sausage casing
Method: Roast coriander gently until lightly aromatic, don’t scorch. Crush
or grind in a pepper mill or coffee grinder. Combine with all other ingredients
except casings. Fill casing with mixture making sure the fat is well
distributed. Do not pack too tightly.
  • Tip: If you are feeling lazy.. Just grab some lean beef mince and knead your boerie flavorings into it. Roll in bought puff pastry and bake for a quick dinner or snack – Delish! 😉
  • Enjoy your South African Boerie grilled over hot coals at your braai or barbecue! – Just don’t prick it or burn it! Use a tongs! – Enjoy! 😉

Corned Beef Cottage Pie with Pickled Brisket. The World’s BEST CotPie Ever!!

Pulled Corned Beef Cottage Pie is absolutely drop dead delicious !! You won’t believe how delish this is until you try it !! – It doesn’t get better than this!! – I Promise!! 😉

Total Weight of Dish: 8849 g      Total Calories of Dish: 10,399

17 Servings at 521 g each = 612 Calories          Servings: 12 – 17

Drop Dead Delish! You will come back for more! Well worth the effort! Freezes well excluding cheese crumb topping.

I developed this recipe to replace the canned Bully Beef (Corned Beef) brands in South Africa which had deteriorated and were no longer edible. – However I still have my original recipe which I will post at a later date for those residing in countries still able to enjoy the canned product. 😉
Soo good you won’t want it for cold meat sandwiches, corned beef hash or for breakfast with a poached egg because there won’t be any leftovers!! 😀
You will not stop picking on the meat once it absorbs all this lovely spicy goodness that gets sucked into it!
Notes Before You Begin:
  • You may replace brisket with corned silverside.
  • After washing and draining my original weight of 1.714 kg of purchased corned beef I was left with a weight of 1.250 kg – So bear in mind that brined meat contains water therefore always be sure to purchase a little extra in weight. Anything from 37 – 40 % extra should be fine.
  • In this CotPie I have used a formula in weights of 3 parts potato to 2 parts meat and an equal weight of veggies to meat
  • Layering your CotPie: It’s 3 layers of mashed potato – 2 layers of veg – 2 layers of meat..
  • Put your meat on early in the morning and your CotPie will be ready by early evening.

 

 

Pulled Corned Beef:

Ingredients: 

1.714 kg Corned Beef

1 onion, extra-large – Added when meat is medium done

Spice Mixture for the Simmering Liquid: 

Ingredients:

1/3 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon whole allspice

1/4 teaspoon whole cloves

2 bay leaves, crumbled

4 garlic cloves, sliced (optional) divided between mash, veggies & meat

320 g onion, extra-large, chopped – added once meat is medium done

 

Method:

Remove brisket from its brine and discard the brine. Rinse and drain the meat. Place meat into a heavy bottomed saucepan together with enough water to come 3/4 of the way up sides of brisket and simmer gently, covered with lid to keep moist. Do not allow meat to dry out or burn. Replenish water with 125 ml or 1/2 cup each time you notice it evaporating.

If meat has a layer of fat on – render this fat up in the cooking liquids so that you can brown meat in it.

Place all of spice mixture – excluding garlic and onions, into a coffee grinder and grind to a powder.

Peel and finely chop your large onion or puree in food processor with metal blade on.

Once meat thermometer shows meat is half way done or medium done – add your spice mixture together with your onion – pureed or finely chopped – Blend all in well together with meat.

Reduce heat and allow to simmer, covered – for at least another 3 – 4 hours.

As meat approaches doneness – it will be so very tender – delicious! Cook on very low simmer until you are able to break up and shred meat apart with a metal spoon, fork or egg lifter so that it looks like shredded  or pulled beef. Continue doing this until liquids have evaporated but meat is still very moist with all its lovely juices still intact. Set meat aside.

Vegetable Mixture:

Ingredients:

20 ml oil

40 ml butter

828 g cabbage, shredded

640 g or 2 very large onions, shredded

4 garlic cloves, sliced (optional) divided between mash, veggies & meat

356  g carrots, peeled and shredded

502 g frozen green beans, shredded

3 whole Bell peppers, shredded – You may add a variety colours

sweet corn off the cob (optional) may replace yellow Bell peppers for color

frozen peas – added last to taste – once veggies are cooked.

1 heaped tablespoon salt

1 heaped teaspoon sugar

 

 

Method: 

Shred cabbage by hand. Place the rest of veggies, roughly chopped – excluding peas – into a food processor with metal blade on and pulse until chopped to your liking.

Saute onions in the butter – oil mixture until translucent. Add all your chopped veggies, excluding peas and stir-fry until almost soft but firm to the bite. Lastly add your peas and gently toss all together. Remove veggies and set aside.

 

 

Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients:

2.750 kg potatoes, peeled

4 garlic cloves, sliced (optional) divided between mash, veggies & meat

Salt – to taste

white pepper – to taste

1/2  – 1  whole nutmeg grated – added to mash or to taste

 

Method:

In microwave steamer – steam potatoes in 3 cm water, covered until tender.

Mash your vegetable juices into your potatoes – adding salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste.

 

 

Melba Toast:

Ingredients:

6 – 10 slices bread (brown or white)

Method:

Grill some bread slices on low until completely dried, crispy and golden. Cool. Break it up into food processor with metal blade on and pulse until you have crumbs or if you don’t have a food processor, you may grate your Melba toast on the rough side of a grater or place in a bag and crush with rolling-pin. Set aside.

 

Melba Toast Cheese Crumb Topping:

800 g (plus or minus) Strong cheddar cheese or to taste

Melba toasted crumbs from  6 – 10 slices bread

 

Method:

Grate cheese – Quick in food processor with cheese grater blade on.

 

 

With your hands gently mix your grated cheese together with your crumbs and set aside.

 

 

 

Building Your CotPie:

Butter your casserole dish or roasting pan to prevent your mash from sticking.

Divide your mash into 3 parts – Divide your meat into 2 parts – Divide your veggies into 2 parts

Starting with the 1st a layer:  It’s 1/3 rd of the mashed potato – 2nd layer is 1/2 of the meat – 3rd layer is 1/2 of the veggies – and repeat layers – Then cover with a final layer of remaining mashed potato. – Sprinkle grated cheese crumb topping over your mashed potato and bake 180 C oven or until topping is a crispy golden brown.

Serve with pride and I promise you – you will certainly Enjoy! 😉

 

Great Energy Saving Tip:

The entire recipe was done in my Kambrook electric wok which self regulates its temperature, doubling up as a slow cooker and an oven all in one – if you take the Stainless Steel Extender Ring of a Halogen Convection Oven and place it over the wok, it instantly doubles up into an energy-saving oven. If making your CotPie way – do not allow your cottage pie to bubble up from underneath – just keep it warm – otherwise it will ruin your cheese crumb topping.  😉

 

Drop Dead Delish! You will come back for more! Well worth the effort! Freezes well excluding cheese crumb topping.

It's soo good you will eat it over the next couple of days! It only lasted me 2 days with my dogs!Ooh-Soo-Delish! You will eat it over the next couple of days! It only lasted me 2 days with my dogs and already I want another one!



 

Below ingredients were entered into caloriecount.com – If you would like to alter your quantities – copy paste below ingredients into caloriecount.com where you may then alter yours.

Ingredients:

1.714 kg Beef brisket
1 onion, extra-large
1/3 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
4 garlic cloves
2 (2 g) bay leaves (tbsp,+crumbled)
320 g onion
20 ml oil
40 ml butter
828 g cabbage, shredded
640 g onions, shredded
356 g carrots, peeled and shredded
502 g green beans, shredded
3 Bell peppers, shredded
375 ml frozen peas
30 ml salt, to taste
10 ml sugar
2.750 kg potatoes, peeled
white pepper to taste.
salt, to taste
1 (7 g) nutmeg, whole (grated ) (tbsp)
10 slices bread
800 g cheddar cheese