Breakfast

American Style Pancakes

American Pancakes

2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk or buttermilk
2 eggs - beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix all liquid ingredients in another bowl.
3. Add wet to dry ingredients and stir until mixed. (If the batter looks too thick add water or milk a little at a time until you get the consistency that you want.) Let rest for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Pour onto medium hot greased pan. Once bubbles cover the surface, flip the pancake, cover pan and lower heat for about 1 minute. The cover will help the pancake to rise more.
5. Remove from pan and serve with butter and syrup.

Sarnie Spreads

Chicken Sandwich Spread

3 cups cooked chicken meat - chopped or flaked
1 1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 1/2 Tbsp chopped sweet pickle relish
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
freshly ground salt and pepper

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Egg Mayo

5 hard boiled eggs - chopped
2/3 cup mayonnaise
freshly ground pepper

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. If you use Hellmann's mayonnaise, usually no additional salt is necessary.

Tuna-Mayo-Sweetcorn

2 x 185gm cans of tuna in oil
1/2 cup cooked sweetcorn (or sweetcorn from cans)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

• Drain tuna from oil then flake it in a bowl. Add all other ingredients. Taste and add salt and/or pepper if needed.

Fish Cakes






Fish Cakes

450 gm skinned fillet of white fish (haddock, cod, etc.)
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
2 bay leaves
350 gm floury potatoes (Maris Piper, King Edward, etc.) - peeled and quartered
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp finely chopped chives
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 egg
85 gm white breadcrumbs
flour
1/4 cup oil for frying

*Tartare-style Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp capers - rinsed, drained, and roughly chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp creamed horseradish
1 shallot - finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Mix all ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
2. Put the fillet of fish in a pan. Add the bay leaves, milk and water. Cover, bring to boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered for 10 minutes to finish cooking the fish. Drain the fish from the pan and cool completely on a plate.
3. Put potatoes in a saucepan with just enough boiling water to cover them. Bring back to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until cooked but not broken up. Drain in a colander for one minute and then bring the potatoes back to the hot saucepan on the lowest heat. Let them dry out for 1 minute and mash the potatoes in the saucepan. This will result in a dry and fluffy mash. Take off the heat and mix in 1 Tbsp of the tartare-style sauce, lemon zest, chives, and parsley. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Flake the fish in big chunks into the mashed potatoes. Mix a few times just enough to combine them. Set aside.
5. Beat egg in a shallow bowl. Put the breadcrumbs in a plate.
6. Divide the potato mixture into 4 or 5. With floured hands, shape each piece into a ball then flatten them to form small cakes.
7. Sit the cakes one by one in the egg bowl and spoon over egg to coat completely. Then sit the cakes in the breadcrumbs and pat sides and top to cover completely. Transfer on a plate, cover and chill for 30 minutes.
8. Heat oil in a pan. Drop dry breadcrumbs in it, if it sizzles it is ready. Fry the fish cakes on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden.
9. Serve with the sauce and and lemon wedges.

Teriyaki Grilled Salmon

600 gm salmon fillets
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine
2 tsp sugar

1. Mix all ingredients, except the salmon, in a shallow dish. Marinate salmon in this concoction for 1-2 hours in the fridge turning it once in a while.
2. Preheat oven grill to the highest setting for 10 minutes.
3. Spread a little oil on the grilling pan to be used and put under the grill until hot.
4. Place salmon fillets skin side down on the pan and position about 3 inches under the grill. Cook for about 6-7 minutes. Dish up and serve.

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Quiche Lorraine

*Pastry
175 gm [1 1/3 cups] plain flour
100 gm chilled butter
1 egg yolk
3-4 Tbsp cold water

*Filling:
400 ml [1 2/3 cups] double cream (or half creme fraiche, half double cream)
50 gm Gruyere or mature cheddar (optional)
200 gm smoked/unsmoked bacon lardons or streaky bacon slices
3 eggs - beaten
pinch ground nutmeg

• Take 2/3 of the cheese and cut it into small dice. Grate the remaining 1/3 of the cheese.
• Dice the bacon finely.


• For the pastry:
  1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until it forms into a ball.
  2. Or if you don't have a food processor: cut the butter into the flour in a bowl until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs.
  3. Add in the egg yolks and toss with fork.
  4. Sprinkle the water little by little until you can gather the mixture into a ball.
  5. Press and knead between your hands until it just about holds together.
  6. Roll out with a rolling pin into a circle 11 inches (28 cm) wide.
  7. Carefully put on a fluted tart pan.
  8. Trim the pastry edges about 1/4 inch higher than the pan edge.
  9. Press the pastry into the flutes and prick the base with a fork.
  10. Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge.
  11. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
  12. Bake blind: put a piece of aluminum foil (shiny side down) on the pastry-lined pan. Fill it up with dry or ceramic beans and place on a baking sheet before putting in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
  13. Remove foil and beans. Bake for another 4-5 minutes.


• For the filling:
  1. Reduce oven temperature to 190C/375F.
  2. Fry the bacon (without oil) in a small frying pan.
     Remove any liquid that comes out and cook until bacon changes color. Drain on paper towels.
  3. Mix the double cream, eggs, and nutmeg in a container.
  4. Scatter the fried bacon and diced cheese on the bottom of the pastry case.
  5. Pull out half of the oven shelf and place the pastry case/tart pan on the baking sheet.
  6. Pour the double cream mixture in the pastry case. Scatter the grated cheese on top.
  7. Carefully push the oven shelf back in. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
  8. Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes. Serve hot or cold
  
  
  
  Sorry 'bout that nuked piece of sausage patty. It was supposed to be an imitation of Sausage Mcmuffin - sausage patty, English muffins, and eggs. But we got so excited I promptly forgot to lower the heat in frying the patty. Anyways, this for the record, is for my kids to remind them on how to do scrambled eggs. Funny, the thing we call scrambled eggs when I was small is actually called omelette here. Something must have been lost in translation. ;)
  
  The key for scrambling eggs successfully is patience. You have to constantly tease, push and prod, back and forth the eggs on low heat to achieve the fluffy, soft, creaminess that is a scrambled egg. Some (my son) likes it a little bit well done. Some (my husband) loves it runny. However you like it finished, you have to start it the same way - beaten eggs cooked slowly on low heat until at a point of equilibrium it starts to curdle and form that sort of 'bubbly' texture. For me, the best way of doing this is by using a wooden fork with the tines scratching the newly formed film of cooked eggs at the bottom. A lot of cookbooks use just beaten eggs but we do like to put a little bit of milk for that extra creaminess.
  
  
  Scrambled Eggs
  
  2 eggs
  1 Tbsp milk
  1/2 Tbsp butter
  freshly milled salt and pepper (optional)
  
  1. Beat eggs with the milk in a bowl. Add salt and pepper if desired.
  2. Heat butter gently a heavy-bottomed saucepan or frying pan (preferably non-stick) until melted.
  3. Still on low heat, pour the beaten eggs in the pan.
  4. Stir with a wooden spatula or fork, pushing back and forth making sure the spatula is scraping the bottom. Do this until the eggs starts to solidify - about 3-5 minutes.
  5. If you want your eggs runny, take it out of the pan while the eggs still soft and moist and there is only a little liquid left. If you want it firm, cook further until there is no more liquid and the eggs thoroughly cooked.

Pork-Chicken Empanada

*Filling:
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion - chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped bacon
1 cup minced pork
1 cup chopped chicken meat
1 cup peeled and diced potato
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup raisins - chopped
2 hardboiled eggs - sliced
chicken stock

*Pastry:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup butter
5-6 Tbsp cold water

*For filling:

1. Saute garlic and onion in oil.
2. Add pork, cook in medium heat for about 15 minutes. Mash from time to time to break up meat. Add chicken stock 1-2 Tbsp at a time if the pork is getting too dry.
3. Add seasonings - Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt and pepper.
4. Add chicken, cook in medium heat for a further 10 minutes or until chicken meat is opaque and cooked thru. Again add chicken stock a little at a time if it's getting too dry.
5. Add potatoes, peas, and raisins. Cook until peas and potatoes are cooked through (about 5 minutes). Blend in the butter.
6. Remove from heat and cool.

*For the pastry:

1. Combine well the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl.
2. Cut in butter to the flour mixture with pastry cutter or two butter knives until particles are pea-sized.
3. Add water a tablespoon at a time while tossing the flour mixture with a fork until all the flour is moistened and can be formed into a ball. Press the dough ball while turning a few times to incorporate all the flour in.
   
4. Wrap in plastic cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

*To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C/gas mark 6.
2. Remove cling film from the dough and flatten with a rolling pin on a floured table or surface and shape into a log. (I usually use greased paper at the bottom and plastic cling film on top)
   
3. Cut a piece and form into a ball about the size of a golf ball (1-inch in diameter).
4. Flatten on the surface and roll out thinly into more or less a round shape.
5. Put a heaping tablespoon of the filling mixture on the rolled out dough and top with a slice of hard-boiled egg.
6. Pull one end or half of the dough over the other forming a half-circle shape.
7. Seal edges by pinching by hand or with the tines of fork while cutting excess dough in the process. Repeat with the rest of the dough and fillings.
   
8. Arrange empanadas on a lightly greased baking sheet and brush tops with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tsp milk).
9. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove and serve warm or cold.

*Note: You may also deep-fry the empanadas instead of baking.