Slow-Baked Macaroni

  

I have long held a great fascination for the horse and buggy people of North America.  Amish, Old Mennonite, New Mennonite, etc.  Their way of life appears to me to be like a beacon of gentleness and peace in the disturbed landscape of today's modern world.  Amish people are not as modern as the Mennonites.  They eschew anything modern, the Mennonites are a bit more progressive, but their way of life is still a lot gentler and more serene in many ways than our own.

 

I was instantly drawn to this recent cookbook written by Hope Helmuth of Hopeful Things.  I've only just recently discovered her on Instagram and when I realised she had written a cookery book, I just had to have it to add to my much beloved collection of Amish and Mennonite Cookery Books.

 

This is a love that began when I was a much younger woman and mother, bringing up my own family. I collected the Food that Schmecks series written by Edna Staebler who lived in the Ontario Mennonite communities of South Western, Ontario, Canada in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.

 

They are simple books, filled with simple recipes, each one sounding quite delectable as the other, and I confess I have come to love many of them through the years as has my family.  Sour Cream Apple Pie is one which we  really love.

 

Another series of books I have really loved is the Cooking From Quilt Country books based on the television show of the same name, by Marsha Adams.  I love these books so much that, although I had to leave my first copies back in Canada when I moved over here to the UK, I bought myself new copies to have here when I could.

 

I also have several books by Lovinia Eicher and her mother.  Plus several Amish/Mennonite community cookbooks.  Yes, their way of cooking and life are one of my great loves.

 

When I lived in South Western Ontario, in  Georgetown, we would sometimes take ourselves to a very popular Mennonite restaurant in Saint Jacob called Anna Maes Bakery and Restaurant. Eating there was always a real treat.  I never ever had a bad eating experience there and even my mother loved to go there with us when she was visiting.

 

I have been devouring Hope's new book. I think it is just lovely. It is filled with more than 150 delectably delicious sounding recipes, with beautiful photographs of each one. I do so love a cookery book with photos.

 

It is also a wonderful glimpse into the life of this sweet young woman and her family.  She seems like someone you wouldn't mind having as a friend, and indeed I am quite sure she would always welcome you at her table.  The recipes in the book are nothing fancy.  They are simple and very traditional.

 

The kind of recipes that speak to our hearts of home and hearth and family and God.

 

I am ever so happy that I bought it and I have already ear-marked a few recipes to try. The Potato Nest Skillet is calling my name ever so gently as is the Old Fashioned Country Ham Pot Pie and the Cobbler Cake looks to die for.

 

This recipe for Slow-Baked Macaroni really intrigued me.  A slow baked macaroni and cheese.  Everything gets stirred together and baked in a covered casserole dish for a period of 3 hours in a very low oven.  When I told my daughter about it, she said, ohhh, that's too long to cook macaroni, and yes one might think that it was, but it works.  I wasn't so sure about it myself when I first took it out of the oven and then spooned it out, but here I am a week later . . .  still thinking about it.

 

This is pure comfort . . .  nursery food . . . not at all what you would expect from a casserole of macaroni and cheese. No, the macaroni is not al dente . . . I have decided that al dente can sometimes be over-rated.  This is pure and simple, soft and oh-so-rich . . . as comforting as a mother's warm hug.

  

Not quite what I expected, but I have fallen in love with it.  Do use full fat cheeses, that you grate yourself and full fat milk. This is not the time to count the calories. I used an artisanal strong cheddar. She uses a mix of Gouda and Cheddar  . . . which would be extra ooey-gooey. 

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Slow-Baked Macaroni

Yield: 6

Author: Marie Rayner, adapted from Hope Helmuth

Old fashioned and comforting. Not your traditional mac and cheese. This reminds me of nursery food.  Its delicious.

Ingredients:

• 235g elbow macaroni, uncooked (2 cups)
• 2 TBS melted unsalted butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 245g grated strong cheddar cheese (2 cups)
• 1 litre of whole milk (4 1/2 cups)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 115*C/235*F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  Add the macaroni,  melted butter and salt to the dish.  Stir to coat well.  Add the cheese and stir it all together again until thoroughly combined. Pour the milk over top.  Cover tightly with a double sheet of aluminium foil. 
2. Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours. Uncover and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes until golden.  
3. Serve warm as a delicious side dish.

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I cannot recommend this cook book enough. It is a pure delight.  I have fallen in love with it and with Hope's blog. This is a sweet, sweet woman with a sweet, sweet family.  If you are not already aware of her, it is time that you were. it is just what we all need in these strange and turbulent times we are living in. 

 

 

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Ina's Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken

  

I totally adore Roast Chicken.  Its not something we had very often when I was a child, but a rare treat. I remember reading a book from the school library called "Chicken Every Sunday." It was a book about a boarding house and the landlady cooked a roast chicken every Sunday.  Ever the foodie I guess, I used to long for a roast chicken in our house every Sunday!

The recipe I am sharing today was adapted from the Ina Garten cookbook entitled Cooking For Jeffrey.  I bought my first Ina Garten book back in 2003 when I was hired to cook at the Manor.  I think it was her party one.  I wanted to be able to cook American as the family I worked for was American.  I fell in love with Ina's recipes and style of cookery.

 

I have gone on to collect about 10 of her cookery books through the years, which is by no means the full extent of what she has published, but I am happy with what I have.  I have somewhat of a cookbook addiction.  (Amongst my many other loves!)

 

The first cookery book I feel in love with was my mother's Money Saving Cookbook by Ida Bailey Allen. Mom finally ended up giving it to me and it is considered to be one of my most valued treasures.

 

This is somewhat of an unusual recipe.  It is so delicious. You begin by spatchcocking a chicken and making a herbed olive oil.  You can see my tutorial on spatchcocking a chicken here.   It is really very easily done.  A good pair of kitchen scissors makes the job a breeze. 

 

Sliced lemon and onion, along with some garlic are placed in a deep oven proof skillet and the butterflied chicken is placed on top, after brushing it throroughly on the underside with some of the herbed olive oil mixture.

 

The herb mixture is made from fresh thyme leaves and dried fennel seed.  I ground it in my coffee grinder, but she recommends a small blender.  This gets mixed with salt and black pepper before stirring it into a good olive oil.

 

You brush the remainder of the herbed olive oil over top of the chicken.  And then you roast it in a very hot oven.

 

The temperature is pretty much as hot as my oven will go.  It cooks very quickly.  Half an hour on the high temperature and then you add some white wine to the skillet and cook it for 15 to 20  minutes longer.

 

You will know when it is done.  The legs will twist easily and the juices run clear.  It will have a temperature of  72*C/150-160*F at its thickest point.

 

You squeeze the juice of a whole lemon over top of the chicken, cover the dish tightly with foil and then let it rest for a time.  Just long enough for you to get any sides in place that you may want to serve.

 

This is not a chicken with crisp skin  . . .  but it is a chicken with oodles of delicious flavour  . . .  so tender and  moist  . . .  succulent to the N-th degree . . .

  

This is roast chicken to write home about  . . .  to dream about . . .

 

This is the roast chicken you will find yourself wanting to make again and again  . . .  I am not surprised that Jeffrey loves it.

 

We love it too  . . . we REALLY loved it too!

  

It was fabulous with the pan juices and some of the lemon and onion spooned over top.  I mashed the lemon up a bit . . .  oh boy, but it was some good!

Ina's Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

This is probably one of the most delicious roast chickens I have ever tasted. Adapted from a recipe in Ina Garten's cookbook entitled "Cooking for Jeffrey."

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp whole fennel seed
• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 80ml extra virgin olive oil (1/3 cup)
• 1 whole lemon, plus the juice of one lemon
• 1 onion, peeled and then sliced into half moons
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 (4-pound) roasting chicken, backborn removed, and spatchcocked
• 120ml dry white wine (1/2 cup) (Pinot Grigio recommended)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7.  Have ready a  deep oven proof skillet (or baking dish), large enough to hold everything. (I used my 10-inch cast iron skillet.)
2. Place the fresh thyme leaves, fennel seed, 1 TBS of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper into a mini food processor or spice grinder.    Process until ground. I did mine very fine. You can leave it a bit coarser if you want.  Measure out the olive oil and then stir the herb mixture into it.
3. Slice the whole lemon in half from top to bottom.  Lop off both ends and discard.  Cut the halves crosswise  into 1/4 inch thick halfmoons.  Place these into the bottom of the skillet.  Top with the sliced onion.
4. Spatchcock your chicken.  You can freeze the neck to make stock at a later date.  Brush the underside of your chicken all over with the herb/olive oil mixture.  Place skin side up on top of the lemons and onions.  Pat dry.  Brush all over with the remaining herb/olive oil mixture.
5. Roast in the preheated oven for half an hour.  Pour the white wine into the skillet around the edge, missing the chicken.  Roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken tests done. (leg should move easily in it socket, juices run clear and temperature in the thickest part measure at 72*C/155-160*F
6. Remove the chicken from the oven. Sprinkle it with the juice from the other lemon.  Cover tightly with aluminium foil and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.  Quarter the chicken, or cut into 8ths.  Sprinkle with some salt and serve hot with some of the pan juices, lemon and onions spooned over top.  Delicious!

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I served it simply with some roasted potatoes, carrots and peas.  It went down a real treat. So much so that I couldn't wait until Sunday to share it with you.  You NEED to make this.  If you love roast chicken and you love lemons, prepared to fall totally and completely in love with this recipe.  I guarantee! 

 

 

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Blueberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

 

Every time I go to Costco I pick up a large punnet of Blueberries.  I adore fresh blueberries and often have them on my cereal in the morning.  I also enjoy them baked into muffins, cakes and desserts.  They really shine in baked desserts.

  

Theyare so good for you.  They are what is known as a super-food, and small wonder as they are little power-houses of nutrition. Packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids, these berries are also high in potassium and vitamin C, making them the top choice of doctors and nutritionists. Not only can they lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, they are also anti-inflammatory.  You can't lose! 

  

Today I decided to bake some of them into a cake I adapted from a recipe that I found in the book Simple by Ottolenghi.

 

This was the first recipe I have cooked from the book, although I have quite a few ear-marked.  I love the food of Ottolenghi.  When I worked at the Manor, the oldest daughter would often come down from London for the weekend and she would often bring with her things she had bought in his London shop and restaurant.  His salads are phenomenal.

 

I have been gathering middle Eastern ingredients together so that when my children are here we can do some middle Eastern cooking together.  Create a few taste memories with each other.

 

I found this cake is a bit denser than most cakes are, perhaps from the combination of the use of ground almonds and flour combined.  In fact there is more ground almond in the cake than there is flour.

 

There are a full two cups of blueberries in the cake.  Some are stirred into the cake batter before baking and some are scattered over the top of the cake partially through the bake time.

 

For the most part my berries sunk to the bottom  . . .  which didn't really affect the taste of the cake, just the looks.  In the book the photo of the cake had plenty of berries sitting on top, bleeding into th icing.

  

The texture is very much like a frangipane bake . . .  dense, buttery and lovely . . .  just sweet enough  . . . the perfect combination with the sweet/tart berries . . .

 

It may not be the prettiest cake around, but it I think it is one of the tastiest   . . . .

 

The batter is flavoured with plenty of freshly grated lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and vanilla.  Blueberries and lemon are the perfect partners  . . .

 

The finished cake is drizzled with a lovely lemon drizzle icing once the cake has cooled completely.

 

This is the perfect cake to sit down and enjoy with a hot drink . . . . .

 

I can also see it being enjoyed on a warm summer's day with an ice cold glass of lemonade.

  

In short, this is a cake that you can enjoy any hour of the day, any day of the week, any week of the year . . .  full stop.

Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

Yield: 8

Author: Marie Rayner

A very moist and delicious loaf cake adapted from a recipe in Ottolengi 's book Simple.

ingredients:

• 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature (2/3 cup)
• 190g caster sugar (1 cup fine granulated sugar)
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
• 90g self raising flour (1 cup, less 3 TBS) sifted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 110g ground almonds (1 1/4 cup)
• 200g fresh or frozen berries (if using frozen, thaw and pat dry) (2 cups)
• 70g icing sugar (generous 1/2 cup)

instructions:

How to cook Bluberry, Almond & Lemon Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas  mark 4.  Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with paper, leaving an overhang to lift the cake out with when done.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together with the, vanilla, lemon zest and 1 TBS of the lemon juice with an electric mixer on high speed for about 3 to 4 minutes.  Lower the speed to medium and then slowly add the beaten eggs, a bit at a time and stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Whisk together the flour, salt and almonds.  Add in three additions, stirring it well together.  Fold in 3/4 of the blueberries by hand.  Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and scatter the remaining blueberries over top. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes.  It should be turning golden brown at this point, but still be semi-raw.  Cover lightly with a sheet of foil and bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until risen and cooked (Mine took a further 45 minutes.) A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean.  Leave in the pan to cool, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before lifting out to finish cooling completely.
4. Once the cake is completely cold, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth.  Drizzle this mixture decoratively over the cake.  Leave to set and cut into thick slices to serve.

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I am still trying to sort out my facebook page.  Someone keeps reporting my recipe posts as Spam and then Facebook removes them as being in contradiction to their community guidelines for Spam.  My recipe posts on there are no different than anyone elses.  I can't think of any reason anyone would want to be so malicious with me, but you know people.  It takes all kinds.  I have asked for FB to review the posts, but you know how long it takes for FB to do anything.  In the meantime I would suggest you follow me on Instagram or even Pinterest.  Many Thanks! 

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