Do I Dare Say It …

quick & delicious!

Spring has finally sprung!!  What does that mean on Pole’ Pole’ Farm?  It means lots of mowing, planting, growing, weed whacking, more mowing, building and baking!

This quick scone recipe is just as tasty as the one we learn to make at Ballymaloe Cooking School during the 3 month course, but it is less involved and for those who use imperial, a bit easier to throw together.

makes approx. 5 scones

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons granulated sugar, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold whole milk

1 large egg

Preheat oven (I use my toaster oven for this) to 425F.    Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk until well incorporated.  Cut the butter into pea size pieces.  Rub the butter into the flour making a very coarse mixture.  Pour in the cold milk and mix with your hand until a soft dough forms.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  With clean and floured hands, gently pat the dough down to about a 1 inch thick circle.   Using a floured, 3 inch biscuit cutter cut out as many biscuits as possible, reshaping the dough gently if necessary.   Spray a baking tray with non-stick coating (one that can take high heat such as grape seed etc).  Place a 1/4 of additional sugar on a small plate.  Whisk the egg and pour into another small plate.  Dip each scone top into the egg wash and then into the sugar and place on the baking sheet allowing space between each scone.  Bake until golden brown on top, about 15-18 minutes.  Serve with butter, jam and freshly whipped cream.

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Fast & Feisty ‘South of the Border’ Pie

from Pamela Karleskint

Grab your most obnoxious matching shirts, your mp3 playlist of kooky retro party music AND this timeless potluck winner.

The great twist on this dish is the surprisingly moist and rich topping verses the more traditional cornbread style, which can get dry and unappetizing.

serves 4-6

1 pound of hamburger or turkey

1 envelope of taco seasonings

4 ounce can of diced green chilies

1 cup of jack cheese, grated

1 cup of canned (drained) or frozen corn

1¼ cup of milk

¾ cup of Bisquick, or similar mix

3 eggs

⅛ teaspoon red pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 400° F. Cook hamburger and drain fat. Stir in taco seasoning mix. Put seasoned meat in a greased oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with green chilies and cheese. Beat remaining ingredients until smooth and pour over top of meat mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

from Pamela Karleskint

The Bloody! Bloody Mary Experiment

I thought bacon was cure for all ails…and I’m sure at some point in my adult life I’ve heard that a Bloody Mary is also a cure for what ails ya.  So one would be safe to assume combining bacon with a Bloody Mary could be the magical cure all.  The best Blood Mary has alluded me for some time now.  Anyway, here’s what NOT to do:

serves 2

3 strips of thick sliced bacon, 2 for garnish 1 for snacking

5 beefsteak tomatoes, halved and seeded

1 jalapeno

2  1/4″inch slices of sweet yellow onion

4″ piece of cucumber, peeled and seeded

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 12ounce can of tomato juice

Do not bother to preheat your oven to 400° or mess with the rest of this process, BUT you may be able to prevent making the same mistakes.

Lay bacon on sheet pan and bake in oven for about 12 minutes or until crisp.  Meanwhile chop the peeled and seeded cucumber and place it in a pitcher or blender with the lemon juice.  If using a pitcher, use a hand mixer to macerate the cucumber into a fine pulp.

Remove cooked bacon and drain on paper towels.  Place the tomato halves, jalapeno and onion on the sheet pan with bacon drippings.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove cooked vegetables and let cool.  Remove the tomato skins and discard.  Place the tomatoes, onion, and 1 tablespoon of the jalapeno in the pitcher or blender and mix until no more mixing can be done.  Add 12 ounces of tomato juice and blend well.  Cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  Serve in chilled, iced glasses.  Garnish with a lemon wedge and bacon.

The sad part was this wasn’t much more interesting than a spicy V8 mix.  It was a little more complex in flavors, but unfortunately not different enough to really justify the time and mess. We vote thumbs down on this one  –  SO, if anyone has a really great Bloody Mary recipe (even w/o bacon 😉  )  please let us know!!

Roasted ‘Flatty’ Chicken with Compound Butter

Making a ‘flatty’ chicken is quick and simple allowing for more even cooking.  Using compound butter under the skin gives extra flavor and moisture.

FOR THE CHICKEN:

1  4 pound whole chicken

2 teaspoons coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

FOR THE COMPOUND BUTTER:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperture

1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Preheat oven to 350°. Remove any loose bits in the chicken cavity and either reserve for another use or discard.  Rinse and pat dry inside and out.  Flatty the chicken (slideshow of this below) rub both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place chicken on rack inside a large roasting pan, tucking the wings behind the breasts.  

2.  FOR THE COMPOUND BUTTER: Using room temperature butter, add herbs de provence, salt, smoked paprika and garlic powder until well blended.  Stuff the butter under the skin of the chicken (images shown below).  Roast the chicken until internal temperature reaches 165°.   Once the internal temperature is met, turn the broiler on to 500° to crisp the chicken skin to medium brown (optional). Let cool slightly and quarter.  Serve on warm plates.

How To Flatty a Chicken & Add Compound Butter:

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