Pumpkin-Ginger Scones

I didn't do much to alter this recipe - just added a bit of allspice, some pecans, and went liberal with the cinnamon. This is a KILLER AWESOME recipe. These scones could be dessert. The pumpkin flavor is so intense, and then a little hint of candied ginger - I've never had a scone like it. --AnglophileinLA

Pumpkin Ginger Scones

Recipe from The Great Country Inns of America Cookbook

From the Sea Witch Manor Inn in Delaware

½ cup sugar, divided

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

5 tablespoons butter

1 egg

½ cup packed pumpkin

¼ cup sour cream

¼ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Chopped pecans to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Set aside 1 Tb of sugar.

3. Combine remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

4. Cut in 4 tablespoons of the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

5. Beat egg in small bowl; add pumpkin, sour cream and ginger. Beat until well blended.

6. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir until soft dough forms.

7. Turn out dough onto well-floured surface and knead 10 times (my dough was really sticky, just warning you).

8. Roll out dough into 9X6 inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin (or just approximate and mush with your hands like I did).

9. Cut dough into 6 3inch squares with a knife. Cut each square diagonally in half, making 12 triangles. Place triangles 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.

10. Melt the remaining 1 Tb butter. Brush triangles with butter, sprinkle with reserved sugar (mix a little cinnamon in with the sugar too), and bake 10-12 minutes – until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

A Wanderfood Wednesday post.

Sourdough Scones

Meet Beauregard. Originally from San Francisco, Beauregard ventured to Alaska in 1905 with the J.P. Morgan Company when the company cook (also named Beauregard – confusing in a British novel sort of way, I know) brought it with him to help feed the men building the railroad into the Kennicott copper mine.

Beauregard is a 104 year old sour dough starter.

It has been passed down through miners and restaurant owners to the owners of Sourdough Sunrise Bed & Breakfast in Seward, Alaska. And now, thanks to my boyfriend’s mother who stayed at the B&B and brought some of old Beau back with her, Beauregard has reached the sunny shores of Southern California.

I'll go into the Care and Feeding of sourdough starters later, but for now, check out this scone recipe for the best scones any of us have ever tasted - as stated this morning by everyone at the breakfast table. --AnglophileLV

Sourdough Scones (from Simply Sourdough - The Alaska Way - by Kathy Doogan)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 Tb sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4th tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup currants or dried cranberries
1 egg
3/4 cup sourdough starter
1 Tb milk
2 Tb raw sugar (for topping)

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Cut in the butter with 2 knives (or a pastry blender- so much easier) until the mix looks like coarse meal. Stir in currants (or cranberries).

Break egg into a 1-cup measure, beat lightly with a fork, then fill the cup with sourdough starter until all of it measures 1 cup. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix lightly until just combined (do NOT overmix). Turn out onto lightly floured board and gently knead 8-10 times. Dough should be very soft. You can use more flour - but use as little as possible since it's better for the dough to be too wet than too dry (too much flour creates a brick).

Gently pat dough into an 8" diameter circle and cut into 8 wedges. Brush the tops wtih milk and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Transfer wedges to a lightly greased baking sheet - seperating them from eachother by at least 2 inches.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes until golden.

Beer Batter Fish n’ Chips

Is there anything more British than Beer, fish, and potatoes? Well, if there is, I can’t think of it. Another easy recipe. --AnglophileLV

1 bottle or can of medium to light beer
Bisquick
Cod or Snapper filets (any white fish) cut into large strips
Frozen French fries (I have not mastered making fries from scratch, so these are the best option)
Vegetable oil
A deep skillet
Malt vinegar and lemon wedges

Bake fries according to package directions – yes, I suck. I’m English and cannot make my own fries, so sue me.

1. Start with 1 Cup Bisquick in a bowl, and add beer until it reaches the consistency of pancake batter.
2. Pour enough oil into the pan to cover ½ of your fish strips and heat until sprinkling a few water drops make it spatter.
3. Dredge the fish strips in the Bisquick until thoroughly coated. Fry them in the oil until the first side turns golden brown and crispy, then flip and do the same on the other side. The fish should be a deep golden brown color before you transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate (to soak up the excess oil). Repeat until all the fish is cooked to crispy goodness.
4. Serve with fries, a lot of beer, malt vinegar and lemon wedges.

English Trifle

English Trifle

An old favorite of mine and a perfect cool dessert for hot summer weather – especially with all the fresh berries at the farmers markets. It's also quick to make if you use a few shortcuts like Cool Whip and instant pudding. --AnglophileLV

Ingredients:
Fresh raspberries
Cool whip (my Aunts would insist on whipping actual cream, but why put yourself through that?)
Sarah Lee pound cake
Raspberry jam or preserves (real sugar only – HFC is the DEVIL)
Vanilla Pudding
Slivered almonds
Sherry OR Amaretto
A deep bowl or trifle dish

Directions:
1. Make the vanilla pudding (can also use custard) according to package directions and refrigerate. I have also used instant pudding packs when in a hurry.
2. An English trifle is a layered dessert, so to begin, slice half of the pound cake into ¼ inch pieces. (you’ll need to slice more as necessary, but there is often leftover pound cake you can freeze for later).
3. Start making little jam sandwiches: spread the raspberry jam on a piece of pound cake and place another slice of pound cake on top. Repeat until you have enough jam sandwiches to cover the bottom of your trifle dish.
4. Drizzle Sherry over this layer so it soaks in (but doesn’t soak) the pound cake.
5. Spoon Vanilla pudding over the jam sandwich layer and smooth out.
6. Add another jam sandwich layer, drizzle sherry, spoon pudding over – and repeat until you reach the top of the trifle dish. The final top layer should be a thin one of the pudding.
7. Top with a layer of Cool whip and decorate with fresh raspberries and slivered almonds.
8. Serve with a really big spoon.

AnglophileLV’s authentic Beef and Beer Pie

For the past two weeks I’ve been in England enjoying the people, the architecture, the shopping—and the food. Oh yes, the food. Even though the Brits are leaning away from their traditional fare (trading bubble and squeak for a surprising obsession with risotto), I am still quite taken with Bangers and mash, roasted game birds, sausages, and yes, Meat Pies. The meat pie is essentially beef, pork or chicken cooked with onions, carrots and mushrooms to form a thick brown chunky gravy which is then glopped into a puff pastry pie crust and baked to a golden flaky delicious buttery….droool… oh god it’s good. Now that I’m back in the cholesterol-conscious U.S., I’ve been going into withdrawals. Here is my recipe for a traditional London Meat Pie – best enjoyed with copious amounts of beer.

--Anglophile LV

Flakey Crust:
2 cups Flour
1 cup butter
1tsp salt
6 drops lemon juice
Cold water

1. Mix flour and salt.
2. Then mix with butter and lemon, with enough cold water to bind the ingredients together (otherwise it gets very crumbly).
3. Roll out lengthwise and fold over 3 times. Roll out again, and fold 3 times again. Repeat this around 4 times (it’s supposed to help with making it flakey). Now your dough is ready to use.


Filling:
1 lb beef, chopped up to be bite sized (whatever cut is cheapest)
½ onion, chopped
1 russet potato, chopped
2 carrots, chopped small
1 leek chopped
4 cremini mushrooms, chopped
4 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
2 Tb Worcestershire sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes
3-4 Tb flour, mixed with
½ cup beer
1 egg yolk mixed with 1tb water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown beef with onion, garlic and thyme in a large pot.
2. Add potatoes, carrots, leek, mushrooms, beef bouillon cubes and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Pour in enough water to barely cover the potatoes.
4. Cover and simmer 45 minutes (or until potatoes are fork-tender).
5. Add flour/beer mixture and stir until mixture boils and thickens to a thick gravy. Add pepper – you may not need salt since the bouillon is quite salty already.
6. Let filling cool until lukewarm.
7. Roll out pastry and put into a deep dish pie plate –OR- do like I did, and make little individual meat pies out of small loaf pans. Roll out the pastry and press the tops of the loaf pans into it, outlining your pie tops. Press the rest of the pastry into the pan(s) to form the lower crust, and top with the other pastry you just cut out.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
9. Remove pie(s) and brush the tops with the egg wash.
10. Continue baking for about 15 minutes, or until crust is golden.