A Treasury Of Recipes For Everyday Celebrations

This weighty hardback by San Francisco Chronicle baking columnist Flo Braker provides inspiration for every sweet American baking moment. Classic American cakes like Red Velvet and Braided Coffee Cake share the oven with modern inventions like Fresh Mint Brownies and Strawberry-Mango Shortcakes with Basil Syrup. A few savory bread recipes have made it into this baking book, including challah and foccacia, but the heart of this tome lies in land of the sweet. If you’re looking for tried and tested recipes that produce classic cakes with a modern twist, look no further.

Published by Chronicle Books
ISBN 978-0-8118-4547-2

This paperback book by Janet Fletcher features an introduction from legendary Berkley chef, Alice Waters, always a good sign, and is illustrated with beautiful photographs by Victoria Pearson. I was excited to learn some of the tips the author has picked up for choosing, storing and cooking fresh produce from the farmers’ market.

Take persimmons, for example. Janet describes the different types of persimmons, suggests the best way to choose each different variety, and offers different uses for each variety as well.

The book is rich with quotes from farmers and chefs, with personal tips from the people who know best.

Published by Chronicle Books, 2008
ISBN 978-0-8118-6590-6

Here’s a super-simple recipe from Evonne Heyning. Good stuff to do with persimmons, goes very nicely with fish, chicken or vegetarian dishes.

5 very ripe persimmons (should fall out of their skins)
1 jalapeno (or 1/8 cup finely diced)
1/2 bunch of cilantro (1/8 cup finely diced)
1/8 cup green onions (about 3 long stalks, or red onion also works)
1 tablespoon salsa picante or other hot sauce of your choice
1 teaspoon sea salt (ground Hawaiian rose salt used here)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Mix and refrigerate. Also works well mixed with roasted tomatoes or your choice of peppers.

155g organic wholemeal flour
155g strong white flour
5g sea salt
5g vegetable fat
8g fresh yeast
190ml water (tepid)
15ml fresh milk

For the Egg/Milk Glaze

1 egg/35ml milk

Place the flours, fat and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the fat until it forms a fine crumb with the flour. In a small jug dissolve the yeast in the tepid water. Add this to the dry ingredients together with the milk. Mix by hand until all the ingredients are combined together into a dough.

Once everything is combined, the dough is ready to be kneaded. This can be done by hand, for approximately 8-12 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

After kneading, mould into a ball, leave to rest for 5 minutes and then mould into a loaf shape and place into a lightly greased small loaf tin. Glaze the bread with a brush of egg wash and decorate if required. Cover with clingfilm and place in a warm area until the dough rises above the tin and springs back slowly when pressed. Place into a pre-heated oven at 200ºC and bake until golden brown and the base sounds hollow when tapped.

Here are Betty’s tips for perfect baking

1. You cannot make a good loaf without a good strong flour. Organic flour gives the best flavour and being free from pesticides and other chemicals will not impede the fermentation of the yeast. Stoneground flours give a better texture to the loaf than flour that has been commercially rolled or tilled. These preferred types of flours are produced by small independent millers such as Shipton Mill and Doves Farm.

2. It is important to keep your flour under the best conditions; a cool, dry and well-ventilated storage place is ideal. Never mix old and new flour, and make sure you always check the use-by date before use.

3. Fresh yeast will give your bread the best flavour. While being easy to handle, it does have a short shelf life. Dried yeasts are more convenient and can still be successfully used to make bread, simply replace half the weight of fresh yeast with dried. It’s important that dried yeast is weighed accurately. If too much is used the taste of the bread will be spoiled.

4. When making bread it is important to have your liquid at the correct temperature. If the liquid is too hot it will kill the yeast and if it’s too cold then the yeast’s growth will be inhibited and the dough will become under ripe. The ideal liquid temperature is between 30-37°C, however this is dependent upon the ambient temperature and temperature of other ingredients and equipment.

5. To improve the flavour and speed up the fermentation of the dough a starter sponge can be made. Take the yeast and water from the recipes and mix with a 1/3 of the flour in the recipe. Place the mix in a warm place and leave to rise and go frothy, this should take around 20 – 30 minutes.

6. When kneading dough you need to work quickly and you can’t take any short cuts. Be firm with the dough but not rough, and only lightly dust the surface and your hands with flour when necessary. Keep the work surface clean and free from any crumbs of dough, this will keep the dough smooth and give a good final appearance.

7. Use only glass or plastic bowls for mixing and proving. Do not use metal as this may taint the dough.

8. When proving always keep the bread dough covered, away from any draughts, in order to prevent “skinning”, which would spoil the final baked appearance. Use a damp tea towel (which may need re-damping during the proving) or greased clingfilm.

9. It is worth investing in an oven thermometer. A very hot oven is required to produce a good loaf of bread. Get to know your oven, it is a vital tool in breadmaking.

10. Once you have a good recipe and follow the basic principles, the secret to making the perfect loaf of bread is practice, practice, practice.

3 medium onions, peeled and diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks celery, plus the inner leaves, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
4 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil
4 cups / 700g mixed yellow and green split peas, soaked overnight
6 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 large or 5 small bay leaves
freshly ground pepper
2 quarts / 2 litres chicken or vegetable broth (stock)
1 quart / 1 litre water
1 lb / 450g ham, cubed into 1/2” chunks, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large stockpot or saucepan, saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the bacon fat or olive oil over a low heat with the lid on. Cook until the onion is translucent.

2. Drain the split peas and rinse them in cold water, then throw in with the vegetables.

3. Add the Worcestershire sauce, herbs, and pepper, then stir everything with a wooden spoon.

4. Pour in the liquid, raise the heat, and bring to the boil with the lid on. Once boiling, bring down the heat to a low simmer for about half an hour.

5. Add the ham and simmer another 45 minutes.

6. Once the peas have disintegrated, salt the soup and add more pepper, to taste.

This recipe comes with a no frills guarantee… Perfect Gingerbread. Low fuss, high moisture, delicate yet rich.

2 1/2 cups / 300 grams all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick / 120 grams butter, softened
1/2 cup / 100 grams unrefined cane sugar
1 cup / 250 ml dark molasses
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup / 250 ml boiling water
2 teaspoons baking soda (not baking powder!)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

You will need:

A non-stick 8 inches or 20 cm square cake pan
A sieve
2 large mixing bowls
1 small mixing bowl
A wooden spoon
An electric or hand whisk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C / Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease the cake pan with butter.

2. Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger and cloves into a bowl.

3. Beat the butter in the other mixing bowl with the wooden spoon until it’s creamy and smooth.

4. Add the sugar, molasses and honey and continue beating with the spoon until everything has blended.

5. In the small bowl, pour the boiling water onto the baking soda, then pour the frothy liquid into the sugary butter mixture, mixing well with the wooden spoon.

6. Add the flour mixture, and whisk with the electric or hand whisk.

7. Beat in the eggs.

8. Pour the runny cake batter into the pan and bake for about 50 minutes. The cake will be ready when a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.

9. Take the gingerbread out of the oven to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

10. Alternatively, turn the cake out onto a cooling rack, wrap it when cool, and serve at room temperature any time within a week of baking.

Some of our most cherished childhood memories center on food preparation, and Christmas is a fantastic opportunity for getting children into the kitchen. Homemade gifts have personal appeal, and with thought children can add their own twists to traditional recipes. This mincemeat recipe contains no alcohol but you can substitute the fruit juice for something stronger - with parental permission. It is also nut free and uses vegetarian suet. Reduced fat varieties are now available.

Mincemeat is a no-cook recipe and adapts well to the classroom setting – lots of weighing, chopping and stirring. You can add peeling too, if you would prefer to peel the apples – it is not necessary.

Stirrin’ Stuff Mincemeat

Makes 6 jars ready to bake your own mince pies!

What to find:

1 lemon
1 lime
Juice of 6 oranges (400ml / 2 cups)
100g / 1/2 cup dried apricots
100g / 1/2 cup dried cherries
750g / 3 1/4 cup mixed dried fruit
100g / 1/2 cup dried cranberries
350g light Muscovado sugar / soft brown sugar
250g / 1 1/4 cup light shredded suet (packet)
225g / 1 cup tart cooking apples, washed, cored and finely chopped (e.g. 1 large Bramley apple, or two small Granny Smith apples)
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps nutmeg

Kitchen Stuff:

Scales
Grater
Vegetable knife
Chopping board
Measuring jug
Large mixing bowl
Juice squeezer
Wooden spoon
Dessert spoon
Rounded-ended knife
Jam jars

What to do:

1. Wash the lemon, lime and one of the oranges. Grate the rind from the citrus fruits, but be careful not to grate the pith (white) of the fruits. Put the rinds into the mixing bowl.

2. Cut all of the citrus fruits in half. Twist the halves around a citrus squeezer to get the juice out. Put the juice in a measuring jug.

3. Weigh out the apricots and cherries and younger children can use a rounded ended knife to chop them into small pieces. Put the chopped fruit into the mixing bowl.

4. Weigh out the dried fruit, cranberries, sugar and suet and add to the mixing bowl.

5. Add the chopped apple, fruit juices and spices to the mixing bowl.

6. Place a damp cloth under the mixing bowl (to stop it from moving) and gently stir the ingredients together. Little stirs, keep everything in the bowl.

7. Cover the bowl and leave the mincemeat in a cool place for 24 hours.

8. Use a dessert spoon to carefully pot the mincemeat into sterile jam jars. Cover the jars with a lid and store in a refrigerator until use.

Tips:

Use equal quantities of dried fruits e.g. sultanas, currants and raisins.

Always cover wounds before cooking; this is especially important when juicing lemons because the juice can sting.

Adventurous Cooks:

Use a whole nutmeg to grate your own nutmeg powder. Find out what mace is.
Try changing the dried fruit – use chopped tropical dried fruits or dried blueberries instead.
Make ‘designer covers’ for the pots of mincemeat and give them away as Christmas presents.

©Stirrinstuff.

Isn’t this a beauty? Like Cinderella’s carriage, this dusty dusky pumpkin is full of magical promise. I think I’m going to make a pot au crème with it for Thanksgiving…

I’ll peel and cube it, then steam it until it’s very very soft. Then I’ll squash it through a sieve to make a very smooth pureè, and combine a cup of this mixture with 3 cups of heavy cream. I’ll throw the mixture into a pan with a vanilla bean that’s been split, a pinch of nutmeg and a tad of cinnamon, and simmer everything gently for 20 minutes.

Next, I’ll whisk 8 egg yolks with 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a metal bowl that’s sitting over a pan of boiling water for about 7 minutes, whisking and whisking to keep everything fluid.

Then I’ll mix the pumpkin stuff with the egg stuff, mixing it all in the metal bowl still suspended over the steam. I’ll leave it to cook for about 45 minutes, whisking everything every ten minutes and making sure everything is cooking as gently as possible.

Once it’s done, I’ll divide it equally between ten little old-fashioned tea cups, then chill them overnight in the fridge before sprinkling them with a little grated milk chocolate.

1) Get ahead: make brandy butter, mince pies, stuffing and cranberry sauce a week or two before Christmas: freeze them and thaw overnight on Christmas Eve. You can also cook mince pies from frozen if guests drop by
unexpectedly.

2) Cut turkey time: cook your stuffing in a baking tray to save time as an un-stuffed turkey cooks more quickly than one with stuffing in its cavity.

3) Juggle roast potatoes: pre-roast your potatoes for 40 minutes before the turkey goes in the oven. The turkey will need 20 minutes’ standing time tightly wrapped in foil to allow the juices to go back into
the flesh having risen to the surface during cooking. So during this time, turn up the oven to hot and pop your potatoes back in to finish roasting and crisp up.

4) One dish wonder: two weeks before Christmas make up and freeze two large lasagnes – one meat and one vegetarian. They will make a wonderfully warming supper and can be whipped out of the freezer and baked from frozen. Perfect if you suddenly need to rustle up supper –or for the day when you feel too tired to start from scratch. Simply serve with big bowls of mixed leaf salad lightly tossed in olive oil and sea salt.

Beat 2 eggs and 2 splashes of milk and pinch of salt.
Add 2 drops of vanila essence. (A-ha! That’s the secret!)
Dip the bread in and let it soak up the mixture on both sides.
Grate a nutmeg and a sprinkle on.
Heat sunflower oil in a pan and fry on a high heat.
(N.B. 2nd slice is always the best - Ive no idea why)

Once golden brown put on kitchen towel to remove excess oil and if you are feeling really naughty, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and/or cinnamon.