Chicken Liver Pate'

For me, holiday food is not complete without pate’.  It is a hit in our gatherings as a starter served with a glass of sparkling wine.  The recipe I share below makes about one quart/litre and will keep in the refrigerator for at least one week.

Ingredients:

3 medium onions, roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved

6 oz/150g butter

1 1/2 lbs/750g chicken livers

l 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

l bay leaf

3 tablespoons brandy

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft without  
    browning.
2. Add the herbs, salt, pepper, and livers;  cook until most of the pink is gone.  Cool.
3. Remove the bay leaf.  Place all the cooked ingredients in a food processor along with the brandy and lemon juice.  Blend until smooth.  Adjust seasoning.
4. Turn mixture into a large one quart/litre bowl or bigger.  Cover and chill for two hours or more.
5. Serve on toasted bread of your choice.  I prefer multigrain.  Enjoy!

© Judy Labi 2012

Our Charitable Christmas

This Christmas we decided to spend the day working in the way I know best--with food and serving people.

Our family arrived in the morning at John Wesley’s Chapel in the city of London.  We were warmly greeted by Pastor Jennifer Potter and instructed to proceed to the kitchen.  There John, veteran charity cook of seventeen years, got us started on sandwiches of tuna, egg salad, ham and cheese to be served at afternoon tea.  We chatted away as we worked with others giving of their time and talents.  We soon got onto lunch preparation of traditional turkey and gravy with trimmings of stuffing, roasted potatoes, parsnips, brussels sprouts, carrots, and bacon/sausage rolls.  Some of us broke away briefly to enjoy Lord Lesley Griffith conduct the Christmas morning service and sing one of my favorite Christmas carols,  Away In a Manager.  After the service, about forty guests, made up mostly of shut-ins from the surrounding area, were helped down to the festively decorated dining room.  We, the kitchen staff, loaded the warmed plates and served them to each seated guest.  Most of us sat down ourselves to partake and get acquainted. Such interesting life stories to hear.  One elderly chap had taught fencing to actors performing in films.  After the Christmas pudding with custard, we continued with the clearing and washing up.  

From the lunch room, we all made our way upstairs.  People were seated  and  then entertainment began.  We heard carols sung by members representing the South Korean community within the church decked out in traditional costumes. Elvis, a Ghanaian male member with a strong voice, sang a couple of tunes.  Then a pre-recorded description of the past year of events at John Wesley’s Chapel narrated by Lord Lesley Griffith was played, followed by the Queen’s speech.  John, our cook was a hit singing old British classics, like Daisy, Daisy, and then surprising us all with his drag queen act.   Sandwiches, Christmas cake and mince pies were served with tea.  Last, Adam my son, came in dressed as Father Christmas and made the rounds with Pastor Jennifer passing out oranges (see photo).  

We mingled and chatted as we cleared up and then made our way home.  It had been a very enjoyable Christmas Day giving of ourselves.

Holiday Stollen

Holiday preparations are a busy time everywhere, and were no less so on our Alaskan homestead years ago.  

Outside was very cold, with snow all around, but inside our small homestead cabin we were warm from a stove, fired by wood, cut from our one hundred and sixty acre site.  The air we breathed had just a tinge of smoke which escaped from the burning logs.  Some evenings, my father would find time to relax and entertain us with carols, like Silent Night, Oh Tannenbaum,  and Jingle Bells, which he sang in Swedish, and strummed each tune on the mandolin.  Our brown, Chesapeake dog, Scamp, lay close beside him thumping his tail now and again it seemed in rhythm.  A few feet away, in the kitchen/dining area, Mother and I measured out ingredients, kneaded and shaped stollen loaves.  As part of the traditional foods from her American German heritage, stollen was essential each year.  The sweet aromas of the loaves coming from the oven brought my brothers down from the loft and around the kitchen table with the rest of us for a slice of the fruit rich sweet bread, glazed to perfection. 

Over the years in my cooking courses here in London we have made stollen loaves for the kids to take home to share.  They have enjoyed the bread made without Marzipan overall.  Thus, I have made it an optional ingredient in the courses.  I have done the same in the following recipe.

Ingredients:                  Makes 3 medium size loaves

1 package active dry fast-acting yeast

1 cup/240 ml/8 oz skim milk

8 Tablespoons/100g/4 oz butter or baking margarine

1/4 cup/2 1/2 oz/75 g white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 1/2 cups/500g/l lb. 2 oz plain flour

1 beaten egg

1 1/4 cups/ 190 g/7 oz raisins

1/4 cup/50g/2 oz chopped, mixed candied fruits

1/4 cup/50g/2 oz flaked blanched almonds

zest from one orange, coarsely grated

zest from one lemon, coarsely grated

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

375g/14 oz Marzipan (optional), if using, divide given amount into thirds

Glaze

1. In a small glass bowl, heat milk and butter in the microwave for about one minute to melt the butter.
2. In another, large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, cardamom, raisins, candied fruits, almonds, and grated zest from orange and lemon.  Stir in the yeast.
3. Whisk the egg into the slightly cooled milk and butter.  Add the almond extract.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir.
4. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until elastic; about 5 minutes.
5. Divide dough into 3.  Pat each piece into a 10x6 inch (25cm x 15cm) rectangle.  Place a rope of Marzipan in the middle lengthwise if using.  Fold the long side of the dough over to within 1 inch of the opposite side.  Place on a baking sheet.  Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.
6. Bake in a 375F/180C oven for 15 minutes, or lightly browned.
7. Remove from oven and brush with glaze.
8. Glaze:  Combine 1 cup/100g icing sugar, 2 tablespoons hot water, and one teaspoon butter.   Decorate with candied cherries or silver balls.
9. Enjoy!

Festive Mulled Wine

      

        Yesterday, a couple of friends and I decorated my fireplace mantelpiece, getting the house in the festive spirit for enjoying visiting with family and friends, and of course, partaking of traditional foods and the all important, mulled wine.  

 It reminded me of being on the homestead in Alaska, where we hiked around in the snow, scouting for the best looking spruce to decorate for Christmas.  We usually ended up bringing home about three.  

        Here, in London, I gathered flowering pink heather from my back garden.  The others brought very prickly holly, glossy ever green leaves and pine branches.  We used three, soaked, florist’s oasis foams, in trays as the base for inserting our cuttings.  Red artificial berries were added in places, and to accentuate the centre, a plaid, red, green,and sparkling gold bow.  Last, we placed, thick, cream candles at each end.  The picture shows our finalized holiday creation.  What do you think?

Here is the recipe for the mulled wine.

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 bottle, inexpensive red wine

1 small wine glass Cointreau

6 Orange slices, halved, and each stuck with a whole clove

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Put all the above ingredients into a large saucepan and heat to simmer.  Continue simmering for about 3-4 minutes.  Serve in clear glass cups or wine glasses, with a piece of orange floating on top.  Merry Christmas! 

Christmas Markets

        With the run-up to Christmas, festive markets are prolific all over Europe, including the U.K.  We enjoyed a small market last Saturday in Tufnell Park, London.

In fifteen minutes we were there.  Freddy Bartlett-Evans (pictured) was manning the Tre Donne stall with his mother, on this bright frosty morning.  I’ve known Freddy for several years, as he has been a bubbly budding chef in my cooking courses.  The stall was brimming full of lovely lavender products made from lavender grown in fields at their farm in Umbria, Italy.  The focus of the display was an open burlap bag of fresh, sweet, aromatic lavender.  I couldn’t resist buying  lavender sachet bags and essence for gifts this season.  They also had selections of soaps, lotions, bath oils, and shower gels packaged by themselves, in a homely artistic way. 

Next door to Freddy, was a bread stall, displaying beautiful cakes, brownies,  and assorted breads. Centre point here was a crusty metre long loaf.  Chunks to a person’s size specification could be cut.   I selected a dark brown, walnut-fig loaf for breakfast.  Back home, next morning, we toasted slices to a deep brown, and then spread with honey  before eating.  Just freshly sliced, it was too stodgy for our taste.  

In the fresh meat stall, I selected organic, home produced, all beef-mushroom-guinness sausages from Warwickshire.   They were an easy meal and big hit later for dinner.

There was also a large, fresh produce stall selling deep orange pumpkin pieces, and other vegetables at their prime.  

All said and done, it was an easy, rewarding, outing for my husband and I, with a friend.  I recommend that you find a Christmas market soon, close by, to enjoy.

My Forthcoming Cooking with Kids Book

The purpose of this blog is to introduce you to the cook book I'm hoping will be published soon.  

"Growing up in rural Alaska on a homestead taught me to savour the benefits of living off the land.  In the nightless summers,  we grew our own vegetables, berries, and fished trout in our fresh water lake and salmon from the ocean, a short trek away.  Each autumn, my father shot a moose and all the family would help clean, cure, and then cut it up for keeping in our large freezer over the winter.  Learning by hands-on doing was our philosophy  which was as important as the formal education.  This philosophy means one only fails if he or she does not try.   Mother ordered us books on everything from house building to sewing to gardening and creating uplifting meals.   We learned to follow instructions and be self starters.  

These same principles I have put into practice in 15 years of conducting cooking courses for kids of various ages in London.  Working with small groups I have taught cooking techniques creating healthy three course lunches to enjoy plus specialty foods, such as yeast breads generating memorable aromas.   

The book shares the most popular recipes in my classes for preparing starters, main courses, desserts and take home treats.  I have laid out the sections, as I have taught the courses, as Pancake Day, Easter, Spring, Summer, Halloween and Christmas foods and activities.  These are the times kids have school breaks and parents are most likely to take off from work to be with them.   In these courses I have been the guiding adult who encourages learning by doing.  This ranged from measuring, whisking, chopping, shaping, kneading, blending, and using the conventional indoor range and outdoor barbecue.  Enthusiastic comments from the kids after producing tasty foods they were proud to share have been rewarding.  One such comment about roasted vegetables, "As well as being good for you, the cauliflower and broccoli goes perfectly crunchy".   The courses have also been a great opportunity for kids to try and develop a taste for new foods.  

Parents who desire to engage with their children and create lasting memories around the warmth of the kitchen  can use this book to replicate many of the foods prepared in my cooking courses in their own home."  

Ginger Cookie Dough Truffles

Want to try something new and fun with your family?  This quick and easy recipe is that.  It evolved from my kids preferring to eat the unbaked dough over the thin crispy ginger cookies.  Crazy?  See what you think!

1. Make one batch of ginger cookie dough (see previous blog).
   
2. Shape into 24 balls, each, one-inch/about two mm, by rolling between the palms of your hands.  Get the kids in on this.  Try to make them as round and smooth as possible.  Dough left can be used for gingers cookies.
   
3. Place balls of dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.  Cool in the freezer for fifteen minutes.
   
4. In the meantime, melt 1 1/2 bars/150 grams/6 oz dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler or, carefully, in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.  Remove melted chocolate from the heat.
   
5. Take the shaped ginger balls from the freezer.  One at a time, roll each one in the melted chocolate, carefully, using two forks.  Gently place each coated ball on parchment paper.  Before the chocolate dries, add a decorative piece on top, i.e. crystalized ginger, candy, silver ball, etc.  Two working together is a big help.  One to coat balls with chocolate and the other adding the decorative bit.

Serve on your favorite tray.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.  Delicious!

Ginger Cookies/House

Why not get into the kitchen with your kids this holiday season and bake up these Scandinavian aromatic, cinnamon/clove/ginger spiced crispy cookies? Or even build a ginger house?

Each year I had such an afternoon with my own kids while they were young, even creating the farm house santa scene pictured.  Mixing up this recipe,  rolling out and cutting cookies of different shapes, has proven to be very popular in my Christmas cooking courses with children of all ages as well.  The annual tradition is also carried on with my family in Alaska.  One year my sister created a one foot tall ginger house that had sugar glazed glass windows, and candied trimmings, which we fondly remember.  My sister-in-law makes enough dough, to have her children and their friends compete in a ginger house making contest with the winner awarded a prize.  

To get organized for it all to flow, mix-up the dough and refrigerate at least over night.  On the day the cookies, or houses are to be made, allow plenty of room for each child to work.  In my kitchen,  using the work top, I have the kids in pairs, taking turns to roll out the dough and cut into shapes.  The kitchen table can also be used.  I transfer the loaded cookie sheets in and out of the oven for the kids.  Remember that the baked  cookies or house building blocks are fragile and break when dropped. This is a different dough than the one producing thick spongy gingerbread cookies.   A tray, covered with white paper makes an excellent transferable ‘winter’ base for a ginger house. 

Ingredients:         (Makes about 150-200 thin cookies.  Double the recipe for a farm house scene.)

175 g/6 oz butter, softened

1 cup/200g/7 oz white sugar

1/2 cup/100 ml/4 fl oz dark corn syrup or Golden Syrup

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cardamon (optional)

1 tablespoon powdered ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

3/4 cup/150 ml/6 fl oz, whipping cream

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

4 1/2 cups/450g/1 lb sifted plain flour,  plus extra for flouring surface when rolling out

Grated zest of one orange (optional)

Cream the butter together with sugar, syrup, spices, and orange zest (if using).  Whip the cream to a very soft foam and add.  Mix the baking soda with the flour and add in fourths.  Stirring with a spoon will be difficult after a while, so turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, if needed.  Refrigerate the dough overnight.  I find using a plastic bag instead of a bowl helps free up the refrigerator.  

Preheat oven to 200C (400F).  Roll out part of the dough at a time on a floured surface.  Cut with desired cookie cutters into various shapes or around paper patterns you have designed to make houses.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes or until brown.  Remove the cookies to a wire rack from the baking sheet.

The baked cookies can be decorated with white icing. which also works as a ‘cement‘ in building a ginger house.    Beat together 2 cups/300g/10 oz icing sugar, 1 egg white and 1 teaspoon white vinegar.  Fill an icing tube, with the icing and outline the cookies or decorate  your house.    The baked gingers keep for weeks.  

This is one of the greatest winter bonding activities to do with your kids! 

'Wild Rice' Korean Style

A friend took me along to a Korean grocery a few days ago and I thoroughly enjoyed the new experience.  We had a good look around and I left with brown rice/green tea, Xylitol chewing gum, a huge orange pear, and Hyunmi O gok, a cereal to add when cooking white rice.  

I put the usual amount of white rice and salt into my rice cooker but added a handful of the Hyunmi O gok with more water.  The resulting dish, resembles wild rice, with a touch of rosy chestnut colour, and  dark brown/blackish grains scattered through out.  The flavour is more robust and the Korean cereal adds nutrition.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups/350g/12 oz white rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pints/3/4 litre water

A handful of Hyunmi O gok

Simply put all of the above ingredients into your rice cooker or in a pan on top of the hob.  Cook as you would usually, with just occasional stirring.  Makes 4-6 servings.

Bon Appetit!