24.02

Cider-with-Rosie-cheese-scones-8

F L O U R ,   M I L K ,   B U T T E R ,  C H E E S E .

There are a few dishes that, whilst cooking, bring me right back to my childhood.

Cooking apples simmering in a pan with sugar and butter. A thick slab of gammon boiling away in a stock pot with vegetables and barley. Fragrant ginger biscuits, trays of fruity and gently spiced bread pudding, rock cakes in paper cases with their currants and sultanas always catching ever so slightly in the heat.

And, of course, the comforting, homely smell of cheese scones rising tall in a hot oven.

Cider-with-Rosie-Grandma's-cheese-scones Cider-with-Rosie-cheese-scones

There’s a real knack to scone making, if you ask me.

I’ll never make them as well as my Grandma used to, but every time I try, I learn a little something.

To handle the dough softly, not to press it hard or roll it too thin whilst shaping and rolling, and that the craggier it is at that stage, the lighter and more aerated they’ll be when finished with their baking.

I find they’re more challenging to make than simple bread or biscuits or cakes- the dough seems to ask for almost the same lightness of touch as pastry, though not quite to the same extent, I’m glad to say.

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But whilst I can’t quite say I’ve got the technique 100% perfect yet, the taste is most definitely there and is as nostalgic as ever.

If you’ve never split in half a scone (cheese, or otherwise) that’s fresh from the oven, and whilst the steam spirals from its centre, spread each half with a little butter before eating it right away, then you’ve been missing out.

This particular batch disappeared in a flash, eaten as ‘I’m hungry but not too hungry’ snacks, in the evening when ‘dinner wasn’t quite as filling as I thought it might be’, and all the times in between, because who ever needs a reason to eat a scone?

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The recipe is from my Grandma’s decades old Delia Smith cookbook and I’ve done very little with it other than tinker slightly with the cheese quantity, so the credit must go to Delia, really. Makes 8.

Ingredients ::
225g self raising flour
40g butter, at room temperature
150ml milk
85g mature cheddar
1/2tsp mustard powder
Pinch salt

- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius, and grease a baking tray.

- Sift the flour into a large bowl, and then lightly and quickly rub in the butter until the mixture has no large lumps, and has the clumpy texture of wet sand.

- Add in the grated cheese, salt and mustard powder, and stir together with the butter and flour mixture.

- Slowly pour in the milk a little at a time, stirring with a knife as you go. Bring the dough together with your hands, kneading it lightly until it forms a rough ball.

- Roll the dough out until it’s 1 inch thick, and then use a 2inch fluted cutter to cut out the scones. Place them on the greased baking tray, and bake for 12-14 minutes (mine were perfect after 12, 13 was a shade too long) until the tops are lightly golden and the bases sound hollow when tapped.

- Best served warm, with lashings of butter. Delicious.

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p.s. The butter knife, rolling pin, and milk jug all are hand-me-downs from my own beautiful Grandma, and the red gingham napkins are part of a set Jason’s Grandmother made us as a wedding gift. Family really is the very best, isn’t it?

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Posted in BAKING, FROM MY HOME TO YOURS, RECIPE, SAVOURY

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08.12

Cider-with-Rosie-Panettone-French-toast-10

T H E   U L T I M A T E   F E S T I V E   B R E A K F A S T

Would it be presumptuous of me to say that this recipe could just be the answer to all your Christmas morning dreams? It would be, wouldn’t it…

Instead, let me say this- forget scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, or crumpets and toast, or even a Full English- this panettone french toast is what Jason and I will be eating at approximately 8.30am on the 25th of December this year.

And that’s a fact!

Cider-with-Rosie-Panettone-French-toast-12 Cider-with-Rosie-Christmas-French-toast

Panettone French toast really is the most festive breakfast imaginable- Christmas on a plate, you might say!

Thickly cut slices of sweet, fruit-flecked panettone are soaked in a cinnamon and vanilla infused egg mixture, then gently fried in butter until golden and fluffy.

The slightly dry cake becomes soft and pudding-like when cooked up French-toast style, and the addition of a little cinnamon to the proceedings adds a little ‘spice’ to balance out all that sweet.

And, what’s *most* important to know, is that the recipe is simplicity itself! Have I convinced you yet?

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Jason and I always pick up a panettone whilst buying our Christmas tree each year, to be eaten over the course of that happily festive day.

But now that this recipe’s become such a household favourite?

I think we might need to start buying more than just one…

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The ingredients as below produce 4 halved slices of French toast- enough to serve two people. The recipe is easy to multiply though- for every portion of French toast (i.e. 1 round slice, or 2 halved slices of panettone), you’ll need 1 egg, 40ml of milk, and 1.8th tsp each ground cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Ingredients ::
2 thick round slices of shop-bought Italian panettone
2 eggs
80ml, or 1/3 cup semi-skimmed milk
1/4tsp ground cinnamon
1/4tsp vanilla extract
Jam/fruit compote/syrup/icing sugar to serve.

- Take a good quality shop-bought Italian panettone, and cut two 1inch round slices- one slice per person.

- In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Don’t worry if the cinnamon is a little lumpy- it won’t matter a bit!

- Soak the panettone in the egg mixture one slice at a time, until between the two slices, pretty much all of the egg mixture has been absorbed.

- Heat a small knob of a butter in a large non-stick frying pan, then gently fry each slice of panettone in turn for a minute or two per side, until puffy and slightly browned.

{If you’re cooking for more than a couple of people, you might like to put the cooked French toast in a low oven to keep warm whilst you finish frying.}

- Cut each slice of French toast in half, and then serve with a dusting of icing sugar, a drizzle of your favourite syrup (I used golden syrup here, but maple, agave, or even honey would be just as lovely), and a spoonful of something fruity.

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Buon appetito, bon appetit, and…happy eating!

9 Comments
Posted in BAKING, BREAKFAST, CHRISTMAS, FROM MY HOME TO YOURS, RECIPE, SWEET

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24.11

Cider-with-Rosie-Butternut-squash-soup-6

W I N T E R   S U S T E N A N C E

I’m not sure how many of you will remember, because it was a pretty long time ago in the ever-changing world of blogging, but I actually shared a riff on this recipe back in July of 2012.

In fact, it was only the second recipe I ever shared on Cider with Rosie!

And goodness me, I’m glad my photography skills have come on a little way since then! Remember when I used to think > this < was a good, bloggable photo? ;)

Cider-with-Rosie-Butternut-squash-soup Cider-with-Rosie-Butternut-squash-soup-8

Whilst so many things have changed and progressed and evolved since 2012, and those early days of this blog of mine, what’s not changed a bit is how much I love this soup.

I’ve tinkered with the recipe a little over the years, adding a few bits here and there to deepen its flavour, but it’s still just as wonderfully warming and hearty as it ever was.

Butternut squash and red onion are dredged in a fine layer of harissa and roasted until sweet and lightly golden, then pureed with half a litre or so of rich mushroom stock.

It makes the most perfect winter lunch, and is surprisingly filling as an evening meal too. I guess really it’s just one of those magical recipes that never seems to grow old.

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Ingredients ::
1 large butternut squash
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp dried Harissa
500ml-1litre mushroom stock

- Deseed and chop the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes, and put into a large roasting dish.

- Peel and slice the red onion in half (leaving the root intact, so that the onion holds together), and then add to the roasting dish along with the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves.

- Drizzle the squash and onion with just enough olive oil to coat the vegetables, and then add in the harissa and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat the squash and onion in the spices.

- Place the roasting dish into an oven preheated to 200 degrees celsius and cook for 35-45 minutes, until the squash is tender and a little brown at the edges.

- Blend the squash and onion in batches (squeezing the garlic cloves out of their skins and blending along with the squash and onions), with enough stock to help them puree, and transfer to a large saucepan.

- When the vegetables have been completely pureed, stir in enough stock to bring the soup to the consistancy of your choosing. I only needed half a litre for the squash shown here. Season to taste, and serve piping hot.

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A true winter warmer, if ever there was one!

15 Comments
Posted in FROM MY HOME TO YOURS, RECIPE, SAVOURY

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19.11

The-Best-Homemade-pizza-recipe-Cider-with-Rosie

T R I E D   A N D   T E S T E D  . . .

‘The best, really Rosie?’ is what I’m certain you’re all thinking right now. ‘This is the best!’ is a bold claim to make about anything! Especially about something as personal as pizza…

But is it true? Well, as my About page says, I’ve been quietly but obsessively testing homemade pizza recipes and cooking methods for getting on for five years now, and this beauty here?

It honestly and truly knocks every other pizza recipe I’ve ever tried clean out of the park.

And the best thing about it is that you don’t need anything fancy like a pizza stone to make it!

Let me share my secrets with you… Continue reading

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16 Comments
Posted in FROM MY HOME TO YOURS, RECIPE, SAVOURY

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Read from the beginning >