Recipe of the day - Breakfast Sausage Patties

It has been a long time since I was able to write for purposes of a family update so this recipe has a wee back story that I will quickly share... This past year has been crazy busy and quite challenging as Tricia entered Junior Kindergarten a couple of days a week and we welcomed a new family member.

Here is the summary... The Fall was a whirlwind of running a small daycare and helping transition Tricia into school. But, then in late November a 3 day old baby girl came home to live with us!! We are this little lady's family to permanence (FTP) meaning we are her foster family and we will be adopting her if she becomes legally free. I can't post pictures or anything else fun because of confidentiality issues but let me tell you she is now six months old and has been the greatest joy and delight imaginable... she is cute and funny and happy and practically an angel baby. So I love having two girlies in my house andmost importantly, they love each other. 

The biggest challenge this year has been with Tricia "learning to like school". It has been anything but straight forward as we have navigated our way through behavioural challenges, partial attendance, regressions, IEP's, psych assessments and so on... A wonderful moment was when we started working with a dietician specializing in children's behavioural issues in relation to their micro nutrient levels. Through working with her we not only found out that Tricia was anaemic but also that she is practically allergic to sugar in all it's forms (yes, even fruit!). So, we have been a sugar free house for over 3 months now and the difference has been profound.

In an effort to ensure Tricia has a complex carb and an animal protein at every meal I wrote the following recipe. Having easy to cook frozen sausage patties has been awesome for breakfast sandwiches too. They are easy and delicious and taste like McDonald's (in a not gross, but rather amazing way).... Just try them for your yourself!

Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties (sugar free of course)

makes 12-16  patties

2 lbs ground lean or medium pork (no extra lean please)

2 rounded tsp salt (I use kosher so back that up to 1 1/2 if you use sea salt or fine salt)

1 tsp dry rubbed sage

1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dry thyme

large pinch dry rubbed marjoram

large pinch ground clove

small pinch chili falkes (optional)

Instructions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well. 

2. Spread a long piece of plastic wrap out on the counter (about 3 feet long). Then place the sausage mixture in the middle of the sheet. Using your hands, shape the meat mixture into a long log about 4" wide and 1 foot long. The shape doesn't need to be perfect.

3. Now bring the short sides of the plastic up around the meat leaving the long tails out on either side of the log. You want to make it pretty snug with as few large air pockets as possible. Next, taking one end at a time, start twisting the end like a candy wrapper to form a tight roll. Work on the end other side simultaneously to achieve a snug round sausage about 3" in diameter and 10" long (approx).

4. Freeze until almost solid but not quite firm all the way through (about 1-2 hours). With plastic wrap still intact, slice through the roll into 1/2 " rounds and lay on a tray. Once the whole log is sliced freeze all the rounds until solid. Once they are frozen through you can transfer them to a Tupperware box and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

5. To cook: Simply fry sausage patties in a non stick or lightly greased skillet at medium high heat until dark golden brown on one side. Flip and brown the other side and voila, the best breakfast sausages...

What I'm making for dinner...

Thai Beef Stew with Lemongrass and Noodles

It occurred to me tonight as I racked my brain to come up with a recipe for sharing (my foggy brain I might add) that I was cooking, I was using a recipe and it might be worth sharing. 

I cook all the time but rarely think to tell you all what I'm making at my house, so I think I will start here and as my new Bon Appetit magazine came today I am making a recipe from there... you know I'm a freak however when I had all of these ingredients already in the house ;) 

So here is the recipe: Thai Beef Stew with Lemongrass and Noodles - Bon Appétit. PS - it was delicious!

Custom Gift Certificates Available!

Hi dear friends,

I wanted to remind you that you can purchase Gift Certificates as gifts and its easy! 

Gift Certificates can include both names and a brief message from you!

Simply head to the Winter Schedule and Fees page and Select "Basic Class Fee - $60 in the Paypal section. Then just add in a memo with the name(s) of the folks you want the Certificates for and I will customize them and send you a PDF of the file for you to print right at home! Alternatively, I am more than happy to print and mail/deliver them to you in time for Christmas :)

I like to extend my most warm Christmas greeting to all of you. May your time together as family be rejuvenating and refreshing and the joy of Christmas shine on you all this holiday season!

Love, Katie

Recipe of the Day - Grandma Jennie's Meat Pie

You may or may not know that my Grandma McLennan (dad`s mom) was a famous baker and cook. She worked in logging camps from a young age and through all her years of experience came to perfect some of the simple dishes that my family loves. I grew up eating this perfectly prepared simple fare and took for granted how soul satisfying and delicious foods like berry pie, hearty stew, cloud biscuits, and ginger snaps could be. So when my grandmother was getting a little older we realized that we need to save her legacy in some way. My mother and father took on the job of helping make a recipe book. It ended up including recipes from many of the local cooks in the Muskoka area where she spent most of her life feeding people. Her recipe book is still for sale as at the museum in tiny town of Dorset Ontario.

This recipe is one of my all time favourites and made ahead and frozen is a quick and easy meal for the family, perfect for a cold Autumn night. About this pie my grandmother said: "I use beef, pork or moose, or a combination. they are all delicious. Finely chopped carrots are also a nice addition." I put the carrots in the recipe below.

 

Tourtière (aka meat pie) – Although ground meat is quick to brown, cooking it slowly and for a longer period of time is what gives this pie its full flavour despite the simple ingredients. Tip: Pastry is cooked through on the bottom when the pastry slides freely in the pie pan when given a little sideways jerk.

Filling Ingredients:

1 recipe Jennie's pastry or enough for a 9” double crusted pie (recipe below)

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1 cup onion diced

1 cup carrot, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground sage (or 1 tsp rubbed)

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Brown the meat slowly but thoroughly over medium low heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic and continue cooking until carrots are soft. Add the water and seasonings and vegetables if desired, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

2. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes adding water 1/4 cup at a time to keep the mixture from burning or sticking. Thicken with 3 Tbsp flour of flour whisked into 1/2 cup of water. Cook a few minutes more until thickened (mixture should be moist but not soupy) and season to taste.

3. Remove from heat and cool. Spoon into flaky unbaked pastry shells. Trim excess and moisten the edge of the pastry shell. Cover with second shell, press edges together and crimp the edge of the pie to seal. Brush the top with milk (golden crust) or a beaten egg mixed with a little water (for a shiny crust) cut a steam vent in the top and bake at 350'F for 50-60 minutes or until pastry is golden and the mixture is bubbling.

Do Ahead: To freeze meat pies or chicken pot pies simply allow the filling to cool fully, assemble the pie and place on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, remove from tray and wrap well. Frozen pies can be stacked in the oven. To cook the pie later preheat oven to 350'F. Place unwrapped pie in oven and bake for about 1 hour until hot in the middle and golden brown.

My Pastry - Dough will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer longer. If not using it that day, wrap it in additional layers of plastic wrap to protect it from fridge/freezer smells. To defrost your dough, move it to the fridge for one day before using it.

Ingredients - Makes enough pastry for 1 double crusted pie

2 cups flour (either all purpose (A/P) or half pastry flour half A/P)

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup lard or shortening

1/3 cup water

Ingredients - Makes enough pastry for 2-3 double crusted pies

4 1/2 cups flour

1 Tbsp salt

1 lb cold lard or shortening

7/8 cup cold water

Instructions:

1. Work the fat into the flour using a pastry cutter or quickly with cool hands until the pieces are no smaller than 1/2” (about the size of a Lima bean). A good way to do this is to coat it with the flour. This makes it easier to handle as you rub the fat into the flour. Try to raise your hands above the bowl as you do this, allowing the rubbed in mixture to fall back in, collecting air as it does so. This helps to lighten your pastry. Add the water and mix together with your hands just until the dough forms a ball. Do not overwork the dough.

2. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for a bit (about half an hour). If its hot, put it in the fridge. At this point the pastry is also perfect for freezing and can be kept in the fridge for a week or the freezer for several months.

3. When ready to use, cut the dough into portions about the size of a soft ball. Flatten each into a disc as it makes it easier to roll. It is now ready to be rolled out for anything you like!

Summer Photo Recap

It was a busy and very fun summer and I thought I'd just post a bunch of pics rather than try to recap in depth...

The summary of events goes like this - Brother married to a beautiful new sister (I now have 9 in total), other brother and wife visited from out west and it was awesome to see them! Family from Maryland came up in May, June and July for super fun / epic weekends, Tricia grew and we finished the prep work for adopting / fostering again... praying our family will grow again soon ;) We got two barn kitties that are turning into the best cats ever and we had enough veggies from our backyard garden that we didn't need to buy vegetables at the grocery store for a full 4 months!

Thanks for tuning in :)

Public Class Schedule - Fall 2013

 Well here it is at last, the Class Schedule for the Fall.

PS - Remind me to tell you about my best veggie garden ever... 

So much food and so much fun!

Public Class Schedule Fall 2013
September	Great Indian Class everyone... thanks for the fun!!
October	Date: Wednesday October 9th 6:00-9:00 pm Theme: Mexican Fiesta Where: London House Bed and Breakfast
November FULL!!	Date: Thursday November 14th 6:00-9:00 pm Theme: Viet/Thai (Southeast Asian Flavours) Where: London House Bed and Breakfast
December	Date: Tuesday December 10th 6:00-9:00 pm Theme: Appetizers for Entertaining Where: London House Bed and Breakfast
To Pay using Paypal or Learn More about our Classes See Info and Fees To learn more about our Class Themes To see our venue visit London House

The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

I don't normally re-post from other blogs but today is an exception... because at the moment I am baking my brother's wedding cake (literally it is in the oven right now). He is getting married to the beautiful Jessica this Saturday and I was asked to make their cake... I was more than happy to oblige.

Here is a picture of what they would like to serve their guests...

Do you know that not all cakes are created equal? 

After some serious searching in books and on this here internet I found the following post on a blog called All Sorts of Pretty. Such a lovely site but also containing the perfect vanilla cake recipe. I doubled it in order to make 2 x 10" layers for my project but you won't find a recipe like it very many places. The biggest difference is using all room temp ingredients except for the butter which gets added cold in cubes straight to the dry ingredients. This is genius!! It is a little more complicated than your average recipe but just read it through once and you'll be good to go. A note on the icing: I am doing the cake above so in order to achieve the colour I want I am using coffee but I will still be adding vanilla to the recipe. PS - the cake is out of the oven and looks glamorous and just perfect!

The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

Posted on Monday, May 13th, 2013 - Written by Katy

The method for creating this cake is very specific – it calls for weighing your ingredients in grams rather than measuring in cups.  You’ll need a timer as it calls for adding the butter at specific 10 second intervals and then beating the batter for 3 minutes before adding the egg mixture in 20 second intervals.

Some people might find this tedious and opt for a box cake instead, but I love this kind of process and found the cake itself to be far superior to anything you’ll find in a box.  The cake is light and fluffy, while also having more density than boxed mix or any other cake I’ve baked.

The icing for this cake is so light and fluffy, plus perfectly sweet and vanilla flavored from using a scraped vanilla bean.

The recipe calls for beating the butter for 8 minutes, then with the rest of the ingredients for an additional 7 minutes.  It turns out so airy and light, you may be tempted to steal a fingertip-full from the bowl like I did.

Fluffy Vanilla Cake with Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting from Sweetapolita

Yield: One 2-layer, 8-inch round cake

Ingredients

For the Fluffy Vanilla Cake:

• 5 large egg whites (150 g), at room temperature
• 1 whole egg
• 1 cup whole milk (237 ml), at room temperature
• 2-1/4 teaspoons (12 ml) pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour, sifted 2
• 2 cups (400 g) sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (17 g) baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon (5 g) salt
• 12 tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 24 even pieces

For the Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting:

• 3 sticks + 2 tablespoons (375 grams) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
• 3 cups sifted (475 g) confectioners’ sugar (icing, powdered)
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) milk
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

For the Fluffy Vanilla Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease, line with parchment, and flour two round 8-inch pans.
2. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine and stir the egg whites, whole egg, 1/4 cup of milk, and the vanilla. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the dry ingredients together on low speed (I use the “stir” setting on my mixer) for 30 seconds.
4. Add the butter one piece at a time, about every 10 seconds, ensuring it’s cold (you can keep some in refrigerator while you’re adding pieces). Continue to mix on low until the mixture is a fine crumbly texture. Add milk, and mix on low speed until just moistened. Increase to medium speed and mix for 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg mixture in 3 separate batches; beat on medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition. Fold once or twice to ensure the batter at bottom of bowl is incorporated.
5. Divide the batter in two, spreading it evenly with a small offset palette knife. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh to ensure 2 even layers.
6. Bake until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs when inserted into the center, about 30 minutes. Be so careful to not over-bake. Check cake at 20 minutes, but not before, and then set the timer for 5 minute intervals. Let cool on racks for 10 minutes before loosening the sides with a small metal spatula, and invert onto greased wire racks. Gently turn cakes back up, so the tops are up and cool completely.
7. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days, refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 2 months. Best eaten the same day as baked.

For the Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed (I use “4″ on my KitchenAid). Butter will become very pale & creamy.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy and fluffy.
3. Best used right away.
4. You can eliminate the vanilla bean and use a total of 1-1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.

Assembly:

1. Place bottom cake layer on cake plate or 8″ round thin cake board and spread 1 cup of frosting on top with a small offset spatula.
2. Gently place 2nd cake layer face down on top. Place a generous scoop of frosting on top, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula and working your way down the sides until you have a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake. Chill until set, about 30 minutes.
3. Remove from refrigerator and apply a final “coat” of frosting.
4. Store in a cake keeper at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in refrigerator for up to 5 days. Best eaten day 1.