Garlic Butter Steak with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

 

Every New Year's Day from as long as I can remember we have had roasted ham for our New Year celebration dinner.  Boiled until tender, and then the skin stripped, fat scored and roasted in the oven with a glaze until the fat was all sticky and sweet and gilded golden brown.

 

Its been a tradition, and that would be followed in the coming days with a huge pot of Pea and Ham Soup, made with the bone left from the ham.  Oh my mother did make lovely soup.  The ham was lovely served cold and in thin slices with some mustard . . .

 

Red meat is not something we eat very often in our house.  We eat mostly fish and chicken, but this year I thought I would treat us to some nice steaks for our New Year dinner.  I am breaking with tradition all over the place for some unknown reason!

 

I picked up some lovely rib eye steaks at Costco the other day. Of course they come four in a pack but with there only being two of us I froze the other two for another time, maybe even Valentines Day. We will see.

 

The meat at Costco is lovely  . . .  Scottish Angus beef, dry aged . . . these were beautiful looking steaks. I should have taken a photograph of them before I cooked them.  They had just the right amount of fat and marbling.

 

Of course they were rather expensive, costing about half of my grocery budget for the week, so I couldn't afford to mess them up.  I decided to lightly season them and then pan sear them in some oil and butter, until golden brown . . .

 

I added garlic and sprigs of thyme to the butter in the pan, which made for a really nicely flavoured basting sauce.

 

The timings I have given were perfect for the steaks I was cooking, about 1 inch in thickness and at room temperature . . . with the end result being medium rare, which is how we like our steak.

 

I used the pan drippings and a bit more garlic to create a beautifully creamy and lush mushroom sauce to serve with the steaks.

  

I started by sauteing the mushrooms in a bit more butter along with some garlic, adding some good balsamic vinegar and then finally some cream . . .

 

Oh but it didn't half smell heavenly if I don't say so myself!

 

It was the perfect accompaniment to the steaks . . . 

   

This made the perfect meal along with some salad and baked jacket potatoes . . .

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Garlic Butter Steak with  a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Perfectly cooked pan seared steaks, beautifully flavoured and served with a lush and creamy mushroom sauce.

ingredients:

• 2 (7-ounce) rib eye steaks, each about 1 inch thick
• fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS olive oil, divided
• 2 TBS butter, divided
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and bashed/broken open
• 3 to 4 sprigs of thyme

For the sauce:

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
• 10 to 12 quartered  closed cup white mushrooms
• 120ml light cream (1/2 cup)

instructions:

How to cook Garlic Butter Steak with  a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

1. Bring the steaks to room temperature by unwrapping them and leaving them to sit open to the air for at least half an hour.  Season them all over lightly with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat a large heavy based skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and when it begins to shimmer and smoke add the steaks very carefully. It will sputter and spit.  Cook for three minutes on one side, then flip over and cook for a further 3 minutes on the underside. They should be nicely browned.
3. Reduce the heat to medium low and add 1 TBS of the butter to the pan, along with the sprigs of thyme and 3 garlic cloves.  Once the butter begins to foam, and using a metal spoon, carefully tilt the pan and baste the steaks with the garlic/herb butter in the pan.  Cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, basting. 
4. Remove the steaks from the pan to a heated plate, discarding the thyme and garlic.  Leave to rest while you make the sauce.
5. To make the sauce add the mushrooms to the pan along with the crushed garlic and remaining butter.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, for a few minutes until fragrant.  Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan and cook for a few minutes longer until soft, then add the cream.  Let bubble up and heat through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately with the steaks.

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You can safely double this recipe if you are wanting to feed more people.  It makes a great dinner party entree for entertaining.  The steaks don't take overly long to cook, nor does the sauce, especially if you have everything in place and ready to go when you start cooking them. Any sides can be done before hand, well ahead of time and just reheated when you are ready to serve.  Enjoy! 

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Amazing Herb Roasted Turkey Breast for the Holidays

 

One week from today it will be Thanksgiving.  I know that Thanksgiving will have been already celebrated in Canada, but it is impossible for me to get a turkey in October at a reasonable price, so since moving over here to the UK, I choose to celebrate it in November.  For me it helps to usher in the Christmas Holiday Season!  I love it.

 

As I have a food blog, and I want things to be current on it, I do cook my Thanksgiving dinner about a week early, which is okay. That means that I am in the mood for turkey again come Christmas time.  I cannot imagine a Christmas without turkey.  That is both the Brit and the Canuck in me!  Christmas when I was growing up was always a turkey dinner, and here in the UK, people love to enjoy a turkey dinner for Christmas as well.

 

Whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving a week from today, or Christmas in a few weeks after that I am sure you will find this amazing Herb Roasted Turkey Breast to be a really winning combination of flavours.

 

I was able to get a lovely bone in, skin on turkey breast at Costco.  Todd about died at the price. But I felt it was well worth it because this is a solid piece of meat with very little waste. 

 

The skin is rubbed with some soft butter and fresh herbs prior to baking. This results in a beautifully moist and well flavoured turkey breast.  Because there are no leg or thigh bits to worry about, it is done a bit sooner than a whole turkey would be.

 

Thighs and legs take longer and so you run the risk of drying out the breast meat.  If you really must have legs and thighs, it is my recommendation that you cook them separately, and put them in sooner.

 

The turkey breast roasts on a "trivet" of chopped raw vegetables and herb sprigs.  Both help to lend a beautiful flavour to both the meat and the gravy.  I had some lemon balm in my garden and added a spring of that to the mix. Its not absolutely necessary.

 

It does give a lovely light lemon flavour however, and beautiful fragrance.  Lemon Thyme would do almost the same thing if you have it.

 

The gravy is a very simple make. Just strain the juices from the pan once the turkey is cooked and then add some water.  Shake together some water and flour in a jar and add it to the juices and simmer until thick and bubbling.

 

As you can see the turkey is really moist and delicious  . . .  and that gravy  . . .  simply gorgeous.

  

Altogether this makes for a fabulous turkey entree that is not only very nice to look at and delicious, but takes very little effort to pull together, giving you plenty of energy to focus on the side dishes.  More about those tomorrow!

Yield: 6 (with plenty of leftovers)

Author: Marie Rayner

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

This is an amazingly tender, moist and delicious turkey breast, well flavoured with fresh herbs.  The gravy from the pan drippings is wonderfully delicious!

ingredients:

• 1 (3 KG/6 pound) skin on Turkey breast on the bone
• 3 TBS butter at room temperature
• 2 TBS chopped fresh herbs (I used rosemary, sage and thyme)
• fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
• 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• fresh springs of herbs (rosemary, thyme, lemon balm)

For the gravy:

• juices from the pan plus water to equal 500ml (2 1/2 cups)
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 3 TBS flour
• 120ml cold water (1/2 cup)
• salt and black pepper to taste

instructions:

How to cook Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4.   Place the chopped vegetables and a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary and lemon balm in the bottom of a large deep roasting tin.
2. Remove your turkey from the packaging and place it, top side up, on top of the vegetables in the pan.  Rub all over with the soft butter. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the chopped herbs over all.  Cover lightly with aluminium foil and place into the preheated oven.
3. Roast for about 2 hours.  Remove the foil, baste with any pan juices and roast for a further half an hour. Test to see if it is done. The temperature in the thickest part of the breast should read 74*C/165*F, and the juices should run clear.  If it is not quite done, return to the oven and cook for a bit longer until it is.
4. Remove from the oven.  Transfer the turkey breast to a heat resistant cutting board (preferably with a recess built all around to catch any juices)  Tent loosely with foil and allow to rest while you make the gravy.
5. Strain the juices from the roasting tin into a saucepan. Skim off any fat that you can.  Add water to make the amount of liquid up to 500ml, or 2 1/2 cups.   Crumble in the bouillon cube. Shake together  the flour and cold water in a jar.  Strain through a sieve into the turkey juices/water mixture.  Bring to the boil, whisking constantly.  It should bubble and thicken.  Reduce to a low simmer and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes to cook out any flour taste.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper as desired.
6. Pass at the table with the carved turkey.

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We both really enjoyed this tasty turkey breast.  I really hope that you will be enticed to give it a go.  I don't think you will regret it if you do.  Either for Thanksgiving or for Christmas, I think you will agree that this method of roasting a turkey breast spells winner/ winner! 

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Raspberry Jam Tart Birthday Cake

 

Its my husband's 81st Birthday today.  Its also the anniversary of the day we first met in person.  I always tease him and tell him I am the best Birthday Present he ever received.  Most of the time he would agree with me . . .  unless we are in the car. Then it becomes quite debatable. He says he doesn't drive.  He just steers.

 

Two of Todd's favourite things are Victoria Sponge Cakes and Raspberry Jam Tarts, well any jam tart really  . . . he just loves anything with jam in it.

 

You know how you create ideas in your mind of things you want to do . . .  and you picture them all out and in your mind they come out looking fantastic . . .  but in reality, they don't even come close to touching what you had envisioned them as being?

  

This is one of those things.  Every time I look at it I laugh.  In my mind I saw this beautiful Victoria sponge with two layers of butter cream along with a layer of sweet jam in the middle. ✓✓

 

Two ticks  . . . one for the Victoria Sponge  . . .  two for the butter cream   . . .  and wait a third  . . . ✓ for the jam, raspberry jam. Bonne Maman, only the best for my man.

 

Normally I don't put butter cream on top of a Victoria Sponge, just in the middle. The top is usually dusted lightly with either icing sugar or caster sugar  . . .

 

But today I had the idea in mind that I was going to decorate the top with raspberry jam tarts, again Bonne Maman ones (I could have made from scratch, but was stretched for time).  I wanted to put a layer of vanilla butter cream on the top as well, to hold the jam tarts in place.

 

I decorated each jam tart with a small dollop of butter cream and a sprinkle of hundreds and thousands cake sprinkles  . . .  and then placed them lovingly all around the outside of the cake.  I had an extra one and so I cut it up into little bits to decorate around the candle in the middle of the cake.

 

I just used one big fat candle in a tiny Bonne Maman jam jar as a holder. (Bonne Maman figured big in my cake plans today!)

 

You would have to have a really big cake to sport 81 candles, so I reckoned one big fat one was as good as 81 smaller ones.

 

Its not the prettiest Birthday Cake in the world.  Not near as pretty as I had envisioned when I was dreaming it up . . .

 

But it didn't really matter because Todd loved it . . . two of his favourite things . . . plus all of the love I put into it.  He was quite happy with it. He's not hard to please. 

 

The cake itself is a really good cake, with a lovely moist crumb and beautiful texture . . .

 

Homemade Vanilla Butter cream Frosting?  You can't go wrong. Its delicious too . . .

 

Bonne Maman Jams, next to homemade, they are the best in my opinion . . . .

  

And their jam tarts on their own are also rather moreish . . .  not sure if it worked all together.  I dare not hazard a taste because the sugar in all of this would send me into a Diabetic coma, but my dear husband was one very happy Camper, and that's what counts.

Yield: 8

Author: Marie Rayner

Raspberry Jam Tart Birthday Cake

This is the kind of cake you bake for someones birthday when their favourite things are a Victoria sponge and raspberry jam tarts!

ingredients:

For the cake:

• 170g butter (12 TBS)
• 170g caster sugar (1 cup)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large free range eggs, beaten
• 170g self raising flour (a scant 1 1/4 cups)

For the butter cream:

• 225g butter, softened (1 cup)
• 390g icing sugar, sifted (3 cups, confectioners, powdered)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 to 2 TBS double cream

To finish:

• 6 TBS of raspberry jam
• 8 raspberry jam tarts, plus one crumbled if desired
• hundreds and thousands cake sprinkles

instructions:

How to cook Raspberry Jam Tart Birthday Cake

1. Butter and base line two 7 inch sandwich tins. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.
2. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light in colour and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour.
3. Fold in the flour with a metal spoon, taking care to use a cutting motion so as not to knock out too much of the air that you have beaten into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins, levelling off the surface. Make a slight dip in the centre of each.
4. Bake on a centre rack of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen well, are golden brown, and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes before running a knife carefully around the edges and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. For the butter cream, beat the butter and sugar together on low until well blended and then continue to beat on medium for another few minutes until it begins to become fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and 1 TBS cream, only adding the second one if needed until you have a frosting of spreading consistency.
6. Pipe a tiny bit of butter cream in the centre of each jam tart and sprinkle with the cake sprinkles.
7. Place one layer of cake on a cake place, top side down. (I like to anchor it in place with a bit of butter cream. )  Spread with half of the butter cream you have left.  Spoon the jam over top of the butter cream and spread it out a bit with the back of a spoon.  Top with the other cake layer, bottom side down.  Spread the top of the cake with the remaining butter cream.  Place raspberry jam tarts decoratively around the top edges of the cake and sprinkle the centre of the cake with some more cake sprinkles and some chopped jam tart if you wish.
8. Serve cut into wedges.

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Happy Birthday Todd.  I am going to be spoiling you all the day through with little things. We doing his proper celebration on Wednesday next when Tina and Tony are coming over for a slap up roast dinner.

Up tomorrow:  Homemade Gingernut Biscuits/Cookies 

 

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Creole Chocolate Cake

 

This cake I am sharing with you today is very dangerous.  Very, very dangerous, and on several levels.  Its rich and chocolaty, and probably loaded with calories that you don't want to think about.  You best be making it when you have someone to share it with. Trust me on this.  Second . . .  the danger level for me is that my husband doesn't like chocolate cake . . .  so what am I going to do with a whole chocolate cake all on my own.  Oh boy  . . .  why do I do this to myself.  Its a tough job but someone has to do it, right! 

  

Its probably been about 35 years since I have made this cake.  When I was in my late 20's and the mother of four young children, I collected the McCall's Cooking School recipes and binders.   I never got to finish collecting all of them, but I did collect quite a few.  You could trust the McCall's Cooking School.  They were reliable, and this was one of my favourite recipes from the series.  Actually they were all favourites, but we won't go there!

 

This cake consists of a rich chocolaty layer cake  . . .  filled with a scrumptious fruit and nut caramel filling  . . .  whipped cream and then frosted with a scrumptious sour cream bittersweet chocolate frosting! 

  

Its not an every day kind of a cake  . . . its a special cake.  The kind of cake you might want to bake when you have something you want  to celebrate . . . occasions like anniversaries, or, perhaps a birthday spring to mind! 

 

Oh yes . . .  Tuesday is my Birthday.  Happy 64th Birthday to me!  That's a great reason to celebrate.  Its been a hard year this past year, but I made it.  So, chocolate hating husband's aside . . .  I  do think a rich, delicious, moreish chocolate cake is due me! 

 

Bear in mind that this cake is so rich and so delicious that, even though it is only 8 inches in diameter . . .  it feeds 16 people. You wouldn't want a really large piece of this! 

 

Trust me on this  . . .  a narrow slice is quite enough! 

 

The many times I have baked this luscious cake through the years, I have never managed to get the sides perfectly iced on it.  But I do my best  . . .  and nobody really complains. 

 

Least of all me . . .  Back in 2001 two of my sons came over for a visit.  We had bought them tickets to come, and they were here for my 46th Birthday.  My oldest son baked me a lovely chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache frosting. It really cheered my heart.  Other than my mother, not many cakes have been baked for me through the years, other than by myself. 

 

But I am not complaining.  I love to bake and so baking myself a Birthday Cake is a real treat for me! 

  

The only way this could get any better would be if everyone who looked at this recipe donated a couple pounds to the blog . . . but that ain't going to happen.  Can you imagine?  I'd never have to work again.  Whatever would I do with my time!  I'd rather bake cakes and cook pies, and create daily tastiness!  I can't imagine ever retiring, no matter how old I get . . .

Yield: 16

Author: Marie Rayner

Creole Chocolate Cake

A sinfully delicious chocolate cake that you will be unable to resist.  From the McCall's Cooking School of the late 1970's early 80's.

ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 280g plain flour (2 cups all purpose)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 120g butter (1/2 cup)
• 120ml salad oil (1/2 cup)
• 3 ounces unsweetened dark chocolate (broken into squares)
• 380g sugar (2 cups)
• 2 large free range eggs, beaten
• 120ml sour milk (1/2 cup)
• 240ml water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Filling:

• 60ml water (1/4 cup)
• 150g evaporated milk (5.3 ounce tin) (NOT the sweetened condensed)
• 150g sugar (3/4 cup)
• 40g seedless raisins chopped (1/4 cup)
• 125g chopped dates (1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 60g chopped toasted walnuts of pecans (1/2 cup)
• You will also need 120ml/1/2 cup of chilled heavy cream

For the Frosting:

• 170g semi sweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
• 60g sour cream (1/2 cup)
• pinch salt

instructions:

How to cook Creole Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter two 8 inch cake tins and line the bottoms with baking paper. Place the chocolate for the cake, salad oil and butter in a saucepan. Cook, stirring to melt the chocolate and amalgamate everything. Stir in the water. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
2. To make sour milk, add 1 1/2 tsp of vinegar to a cup and fill with milk to measure. Do this now.
3. Sift the flour and soda into a bowl. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar, eggs, sour milk and vanilla to combine. Stir in the chocolate mixture, just to combine and divide between the two cake tins. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The tops should spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in the tins for 5 minutes before tipping layers out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Remove the baking paper and discard.
4. To make the filling combine the water, milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the raisins and dates. Cook, stirring until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and nuts. Set aside to cool.
5. Whip the cream for the filling until stiff peaks form.
6. Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread with the filling. Top with the whipped cream to cover and then place the remaining layer on top.
7. To make the frosting, melt the chocolate pieces in the top of a double boiler over hot water until smooth. Stir in the sour cream and salt. Beat until smooth and then allow to cool until it is of a spreading consistency. Spread over the top and sides of the cake. Chill one hour prior to serving.

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I am in a real quandary now as to what I am going to do with the remainder of the cake.  I think my next door neighbour is in for a treat.  After all if I want to make it to 65, I don't want to be eating this whole cake all by myself! 

Tastes You Can Look Forward to in the Week to Come:

(always subject to change according to my whims)

Monday: Easy Boston Baked Beans

Tuesday: Stilton Steaks with Sweet Potato & Garlic Mash

Wednesday: Chicken Schnitzels

Thursday: Chunky Puy Lentil & Vegetable Soup

Friday:  Back to the 60's Shrimp Cocktails

Saturday: Perfect Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes

Sunday: Lemon Mousse 

Now that's a lot of tastiness to look forward to!  I hope you will pop back to see how I am getting on with it all!

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