THE 21ST CENTURY HOUSEWifE’S© RECIPE OF THE WEEK PAGE

Stephanie’s Soda Bread

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:25:18 +0100

Since 1994, Stephanie's has been an institution on Boston's fashionable Newbury Street. The menu focuses on sophisticated comfort food and the delicious dishes are all beautifully presented. As you would expect of a New England restaurant there is a great selection of seafood, but there are also plenty of other choices for those who prefer their dishes more from the land.

Stephanie's also make some incredible deserts, and the bread they serve before the meal is home baked. Imagine my delight when the bread basket our server brought to the table the other night which contained some exquisite soda bread arrived accompanied by a small card with the recipe attached! It really is delicious. I will probably halve the recipe when I make it at home, but I doubt that will affect the flavour in any way.

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Madeira Gravy

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:31:11 +0100

This recipe is inspired by my mother-in-law’s Madeira gravy but I’ve adjusted the seasoning and pared down the ingredients a bit so it is quicker and easier to make. It goes beautifully with roast beef or pork, and particularly with Beef Wellington (Boeuf en Croute). When I served it to guests for the first time recently they said it was so tasty they could have eaten it on its own with a spoon, and I confess I could have too.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1¼ cups beef stock (made from a cube is fine)
2 tablespoons tomato paste or puree
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped or ½ teaspoon dried
1 bay leaf
1 generous tablespoon redcurrant or cranberry jelly
1 tablespoons corn flour blended with 2 tablespoons cold water
½ cup Madeira wine
2 generous pinches of ground pepper or to taste

Heat the oil in a small saucepan and sauté the onion over medium heat until it is beginning to become translucent. Add the stock, the tomato puree or paste, the thyme and the bay leaf, stirring to blend well. Stir in the redcurrant or cranberry jelly, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring just to the boil, then turn back the heat to low and simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding the onion and bay leaf. Whisk in the corn flour and water mixture. This will cause the stock to thicken fairly quickly. Cook, stirring constantly for a minute or so. Add the Madeira, a bit at a time, whisking constantly. Add a pinch of pepper and whisk it in, taste and add a bit more if necessary.

Pour into a gravy boat and serve alongside roast beef, pork or Beef Wellington.

Linking up with these great recipe swaps:-

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Creamy Summer Spaghetti

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 21:57:00 +0100

This is a great recipe if you have a vegetable garden because you can just pick whatever is ready to eat - even if it is only a little bit of a few things - and make something incredibly delicious. It’s also great for using up odds and ends of vegetables that you have in the fridge. When I photographed the recipe I used carrots sliced in matchsticks, zucchini sliced in half moons, French beans, fresh peas and spring onions but no matter what combination of vegetables I choose it always tastes fresh and delicious. (I don’t cook the vegetables for very long, so they are still tender crisp). Quick and easy to make, it doesn’t involve a lot of time in the kitchen on a hot day either.

(By the way, if you are feeling in a garden mood, check out my blog entries from this week to see some of the wonderful gardens and flowers at The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show this year.)

To serve four people, you need:-

about 12 to 14 ounces of uncooked spaghetti
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cups of chopped and prepared vegetables
¼ cup fresh or frozen peas
about seven or eight spring onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ cup vegetable stock
½ cup light cream or half and half
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
(be sure to find a vegetarian variety if cooking this recipe for strict vegetarians)
about 2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried herbs - try basil and/or oregano or tarragon depending on your choice of vegetables
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water as per the package instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and stir fry the vegetables - except the peas and spring onions - for two to three minutes. Turn up the heat a little, splash in the vinegar and let it cook for about a minute, stirring the vegetables constantly.

Now stir in the peas, spring onions and vegetable stock and let everything bubble together, again for about a minute. Keep stirring regularly. Turn the heat back to medium again, and gradually add the cream, a bit at a time. Stir in the cheese and herbs. Cook for about a minute to let the cheese melt into the creamy sauce. Taste for flavour and add salt and pepper - or a few more herbs - if necessary.

Drain the pasta and return it to its pan. Pour the sauce and vegetables over the pasta and toss to coat. Serve on warmed plates or bowls with a nice basket of crusty rolls on the side.

Linking up with:-

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Strawberry & Coconut Cake

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:26:27 +0100

Unadorned, this is not a beautiful cake. It tends to fall a bit and often cracks a little but it tastes so good it just doesn't matter. All you need to do is pop on a little buttercream frosting and strew some nuts and strawberry slices on top and everyone will be far too busy eating it to care that it doesn't look good naked.

½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup ground almonds
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup sliced strawberries
½ cup low fat strawberry yogurt
½ cup milk

Frosting:
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar (icing sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
about 2 to 3 tablespoons cream or half and half

halved strawberries and flaked almonds or chopped nuts to garnish

Place the sliced strawberries in a sieve and drain over a bowl just to be sure they are as dry as possible. Grease and flour (or line) a two to three inch deep eight or nine inch square or round cake pan. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350℉ (about 170℃ - 160℃ for a fan oven).

Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Remove the bowl from the electric mixer and do the rest of the steps by hand.

Place the ground almonds and coconut in a medium bowl. Sift together the flour and baking powder and add them to the almonds and coconut. Stir thoroughly to mix. Gently fold in the strawberries. Fold the strawberry mixture into the batter in the electric mixer bowl.

Mix the yogurt and milk together and add to the batter. Stir gently but thoroughly until everything is all blended together.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool a bit in the pan before attempting to remove the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

When the cake is completely cool, make the frosting. Cream the butter and confectioners sugar together thoroughly and beat in the vanilla. Gradually add enough to cream to make a spreadable frosting. Go slowly - you can always add more, but you can't take it away!

Frost the top of the cake and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Garnish with the halved strawberries.

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:21:35 +0100

How could anything with these ingredients not be delicious? This is a beautiful cake for summer, light and delicious, and it couldn’t be easier to throw together. Be sure to stir the blueberries into the flour as directed or they will sink to the bottom of the cake. I use roasted salted macadamia nuts for this, but if you only have plain ones, just add a generous pinch of salt to the batter with the baking powder.

½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup fresh blueberries, washed and well drained
1 cup milk
½ cup white chocolate chips or chunks
½ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped plus
¼ cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped for decorating

Preheat your oven to 350℉ or 160℃. (This is just a guide as oven temperatures vary so radically.)

Cream together the butter and sugar in an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Remove the bowl from the electric mixer.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of blueberries, and gently stir the rest of them into the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, add the flour and blueberry mixture alternately with the milk in two additions. Stir gently so as not to break up the blueberries. Add the white chocolate chips and the half cup of roughly chopped macadamias and fold in very gently.

Pour the mixture into a greased and floured (or lined) eight or nine inch square or round pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (depending on your oven), until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. If necessary, lower the heat towards the end of cooking to prevent over-browning. Let the cake cool for a bit before taking it out of the pan and letting it finish cooling on a wire rack.

Allow to cool completely before frosting with buttercream. Just cream ¼ cup softened butter with 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar) and then add 1 teaspoon vanilla and enough cream (usually about 2 to 3 tablespoons) to make a soft, spreadable icing. If I’m in a rush I use Betty Crocker’s Buttercream Icing instead so feel free to try that as well! Sprinkle with the finely chopped macadamias and scatter the reserved blueberries over top.

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For more great recipe inspiration, do visit the blogs I’m linking up with today by clicking on the blog buttons below.

THE 21ST CENTURY HOUSEWifE’S© RECIPE OF THE WEEK PAGE

Stephanie’s Soda Bread

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Madeira Gravy

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Creamy Summer Spaghetti

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Strawberry & Coconut Cake

The 21st Century Housewife’s© White Chocolate, Macadamia and Blueberry Cake