Sep
2020

Chicken Salad Pie – Pieathalon 7

categories: 1960's recipes, Bad Retro Food, Chicken, Cook A Long, Pie, Pieathalon

Hello friends and pie eaters!!!  Welcome to Pieathalon 7 – that very special time of year when bloggers from all over the world get together and celebrate the weird and wonderful world of vintage pies.  And oh boy did it get weird this year!  Surly over from at Vintage Recipe Cards sent me a hybrid concoction which much like my detested chocolate cheesecake takes two things that separately are wonderful and combines them into a Franken-monster Chicken Salad Pie!

Are you ready, are you ready for this?  Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?

Chicken Salad Pie1

Glorious is it not?

Before we even get to the eating of it, let me tell you that Chicken Salad Pie was an absolute BASTARD of a thing to make!  Even before that though, let’s start with possibly the only positive to come out of this which is the perfect late ’60’s styling of the original recipe!  Perfection! I want that leaf plate so, so much.  And those gold glasses!

Easy as Pie Chicken Salad

So, you’ll notice that my pies are a lot more round that those in the recipe.  Let me tell you why.

Chicken Salad Pie: Hours 1-3

I finished work at around 6 and started cooking.  Given that I now mostly work from the dining table, I probably started making the Chicken Salad Pie at around…6:01.  Put the chicken on to poach.  Start cutting the pastry into the right size of rounds.  Oh, yeah, did I mention I was doing this on the Tuesday night before we posted today?

6:30: Everything on track.  The chicken was poached and was cooling. The pastry had been blind-baked and was also cooling.

6:45 The broth, salad dressing, onion, lemon juice and salt were in the bowl waiting for the pimentos.  Oh.  That’s right.  We don’t have pimentos here.  So, in order to get pimentos, I bought a jar of stuffed olives and picked them out of the olives using a kitchen skewer.

How long does it take to pick out a peck of pickled pimentos?

Too damn long.

Especially if you eat half the olives you are meant to be picking.

Chicken Salad Pie3

7:15:  Pimentos were picked.  Gelatine was added.  Mixture was beaten and left to chill.

8:15: Has the mixture thickened?  I don’t think it’s thickened.  Better give it another half hour.

8:45:  The mixture has definitely not thickened.

8:50: Research what do to if gelatine does not set.

Chicken Salad Pie5

Chicken Salad Pie: Hours 3-6

9:00.  Tip the mixture into a saucepan and heat it.  Add more gelatin.

9:20: Place mixture back into the fridge.  Wonder why you chose this week of all weeks to be alcohol-free.

9:45: Mixture shows no sign of thickening.  But it was warm so it will probably take longer right?

10:15 Still not thickening.  Realise you have not had dinner.  Eat some olives.

10:45 It’s like water.  Pour runny gelatine back into the saucepan.

11:15 Add more gelatine to the rewarmed mixture.  Have a glass of wine.  This is not the week to quit drinking.

Chicken Salad Pie6

11:30 Put the mixture back into the fridge.  Curse the non-specificity of vintage recipes.  How much gelatine was in an envelope of gelatine in 1968?  And how does that translate to spoonfuls which is how I am measuring mine.  Wonder why you leave everything to the last minute.  Vow to change. Eat more olives.

Midnight:  The mixture is thickening!!!!  REEEEE-SULT!  Add the chicken and celery

12:15:  Still thickening but still too runny to pour into the pie shells.  Because as they keep telling you on The Great British Bake-off, no one likes a soggy bottom!  Decide to pour the mixture into teacups, allow it to set inside them and turn them out the following day….later that same day.

Chicken Salad Pie 9

 

CHICKEN SALAD PIE – THE VERDICT

Cutting into the chicken salad pie was reminiscent of cutting into that jellied loaf style of dog food which was a real hurdle to overcome when tasting it.  I did have a tiny bit and it wasn’t….awful.  It tasted and smelled mostly of the dressing.  But the association with dogfood was enough to prevent me from eating any more.

So in summary, no sleep, no dinner and a pie that looked like Pedigree Chum.   It was certainly no winner, winner chicken dinner.  I can’t even feed it to the dogs, who would love it due to the onions!  This one, sadly, is going straight into the trash.

Chicken Salad Pie

Pieathalon 7

Thanks as ever to Yinzerella for organising Pieathalon 7! You’re the best!

Thanks  / Curses to Surly for the recipe.  It was very fun to make despite it taking forever and being the closest thing to dogfood I have ever eaten.

I really hope Wendy from A Day In The Life on The Farm fared better with my recipe for Cherry Blossom Pie!

To see how Wendy went and to check out all the other pies, please click on the links below.  If they are not all up at the time of posting, I will update during the course of the day.

Okay friends, stay safe and most importantly…eat pie!

pieathalon7 logo (1)

 


Aug
2020

Mother in Law’s Tongues

categories: Baking, Crackers, Great Name, Italy

I was finally able to find some yeast !  After maybe four months, there were packets of yeast on the supermarket shelves last week  Don’t hate me for buying two packets – I have a MONTHS of baking projects to catch up on,  Starting with these delicious crackers called Mother in Law’s Tongues!

These crackers get their name because Mother in Law’s Tongues are said to be very long.  All the better for the malicious gossiping!  Called Lingue di Suocera in their native Italy, they are a great addition to any snack plate.  I styled my snack plate like the one in the Joe Wicks recipe for Burrata with Mint Pesto. It was so delicious!!!! 

These crackers are great!  Even the fussiest eater in the world was impressed.  “These taste like something you’d buy in a fancy shop” was the exact comment.  

Mother in Law's Tongues 2

 

They are a bit fiddly as you have to roll out the dough as thin as possible but I think these are worth taking a little extra time on.  They have a lovely “snap” to them and are the perfect carrier for other flavours such as pesto, burrata, guac, hummus…

 

Mother In Law's Tongues 3

As you may have noticed, these are not crackers for the perfectionist.  Each one is different in their size, shape, rise and colour.  Personally, I love the variety and think it makes for a more interesting snack plate but if you are one of those people that wants everything just so…these may not be the one for you!

Mother in Law’s Tongues – The Recipe

Huge disclaimer here!  This recipe was in my folder of copied and cut out recipes.  There was, however, no notation as to where they originally came from for me to give proper credit.  I have googled to no avail.  However, if you are the writer of this recipe, or know who was, please let me know and I can give proper credit where it is due!

Mother In Law Tongues (3)

You can also play around with the flavours on the crackers themselves – I made poppy seed, sesame seed, nigella, black pepper and parmesan, and sea salt but could see the flavour combos being extended almost indefinitely depending on your preference or what you intend serving them with.  I’m thinking you could do a lovely swirl of pesto through the dough if you were going to serve with Joe’s burrata. Or maybe some dukkah for hummus.  Chilli flakes and lemon zest for guac?  One word of caution though – I found the plain salt ones to be a little too salty for my taste but that my own fault for sprinkling too liberally.  Next time I make these I am going to do an everything bagel version which I think will be amazing!

Now, excuse, me, I have a snack plate to devour!

Mother In Law's Tongues 4

Have a great week and don’t stop talking about these crackers!


Aug
2020

Almond Cookies

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery

These almond cookies come from the China section of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). Let me tell you right from the get-go, (and I could be totally wrong here)  but to me, there is absolutely nothing Chinese about them. Not that I have a vast knowledge of Chinese cookies…the only ones I can think of are Fortune cookies which also have absolutely nothing authentically Chinese about them either!

Hmmm…I’m sensing a pattern here…

Almond Cookies2

Having said that, can you imagine what fortune cookies for 2020 should have actually said? 


It feels weird to be starting the recipes for a country with a sweet but it just so happened that I had all of the ingredients to make these cookies in the house already. I hate shopping (or doing anything really) while masked up so an excuse not to have to leave the house is a bonus!  Another bonus is that these almond cookies are really easy to make.  And delicious!

Almond Cookies4
I used coconut oil as the oil for these because I thought it might make them taste more Asian.  The slight coconut flavour alongside the more prominent almond was really nice.  Using coconut oil made for a really crunchy cookie though, so if you like a chewy cookie, I recommend using a different oil.  
Also, a pet hate of mine is recipes that use half an egg!  I mean WTF!!!!  What on earth are you meant to do with the other half?  Luckily I have two sous chefs who are more than happy to solve those problems for me.  But for everyone else, half an egg is a pain the neck!  Happily, though, these are really good I think you can do no wrong by doubling the recipe!


Sous chefs
Here’s the  recipe!


I’ll flick through the book and find some more Chinese-y Chinese dishes over the next few days.  Even if it means I have to brave the world out there to get some ingredients!



Almond Cookies 1Stay safe friends and have a great week!



Aug
2020

Welsh Rarebit- Dining with The Dame 6

categories: Bread, Cheese, Dining With The Dame, Grilled Cheese, Poirot, Vegetarian

Hello crime readers and food lovers!  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which is Christie number 6 has a special memory for me because this was one of the books we had oin the bookshelf when I was growing up. This was probably one of the first Christie books I ever read!.  It was also the book that made Christie’s name as a writer for the innovative twist at the end.  It has been recognised, many times, as one of the best and/or most influential crime novels ever written.  Never mind the accolades though, it also, beautifully and comically features one of my own favourite foods  – a Welsh Rarebit!

Welsh Ratebit1

One of the few good things working from home for the last… Good Lord five months now…. is that I can whip up a Welsh rarebit for lunch whenever I choose.  Turns out I choose to do so quite frequently!  It’s tasty, filling, perfect with a bowl of soup, a salad, or just on its own!  Of course, I ‘ am not alone in loving a bit o’ Welsh Rarebit!

The normally curmudgeonly Martin Lampen claims

Cheese on toast, its Welsh Rarebit to those in the know.  It’s the perfect British rainy day lunchtime snack – quick, cheap, easy to prepare….it’s a national icon”

– The Knickerbocker Glory Years

Albert Jack, however, draws attention to the rather  origin of its name by calling it

” the most insulting way to serve cheese on toast”

This is because the English thought it would be funny to mock the Welsh by insinuating that they were too poor to have proper meat and so had to have cheese instead!

Welsh Rarebit 2

 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd- The Plot

James Sheppard is the local doctor in Kings Abbot.  He lives with his sister Caroline who knows all the gossip and scandal in the town and who is currently interested in finding out all about the “foreign” gentleman who has moved in next door.

A wealthy widow in the town has committed suicide by drinking veronal.  Her fiance, Roger Ackroyd, is in a state of agitation because the day before Mrs Ferrars (the widow) confessed to him that she murdered her first husband.  She also told him that someone knew she had done it and was blackmailing her.

That night, Roger Ackroyd is stabbed to death in his study by persons unknown…

Turns out the foreign gentleman next door is no other than  Hercule Poirot who has moved to Kings Abbot to grow marrows in his retirement.  (BTW,  Kings Abbott is a real place and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS!)

 

Anyhoo, no one is getting away with stabbing people to death in the neck on Poirot’s watch. What follows are:

  • Mysterious phonecalls
  • Strangers lurking in the bushes
  • Chairs suspiciously out of place
  • Stolen money
  • Secret Marriages
  • And of course, Poirot using his little grey cells to solve the crime and out the murderer!
  • There is also a bit of slapstick when Dr. Sheppard gets hit over the head with one of Poirot’s marrows.  I mean it’s not as good as this classic from the Amazing Race.  But in terms of people getting forcefully hit with produce, it’s up there!  Also, who knew I was keeping that list?

 

 

The Covers

Only three covers this time –  the one from my childhood, the one I read which was a graphic novel! And my favourite of them all – I mean is it just me or does Roger look hot in that third one?

Roger collage

The Recipe – Welsh Rarebit

I need to set the scene a bit on this one. Dr. Sheppard invites Poirot round for lunch.  However, there were only two chops available for the lunch table.  In order to save face, Caroline Sheppard pretends to be a vegetarian and lunches on a Welsh Rarebit.

‘With magnificent mendacity, [she] explained to Poirot that … she adhered strictly to a vegetarian diet. She descanted ecstatically on the delights of nut cutlets (which I am quite sure she has never tasted) and ate a Welsh rarebit with gusto and frequent cutting remarks as to the dangers of ‘flesh’ foods.’

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie

The Recipe for Welsh Rarebit I used comes from Cookery The Australian Way which was my high school home economics cookbook!  As you can see from the state of the page, this has been used a LOT!   I have tried other recipes for Welsh Rarebit but this is the one I have returned to time and time again for the last…hmmm…lets  not count the years since I was in high school!

 

Welsh Rarebit Recipe

Other Food Mentioned in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Stay safe friends and have a great week!

 

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Aug
2020

Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter

categories: Artichokes, Leftovers, Vegetables

Wondering what to do with your leftover bearnaise sauce after making my steak frites with Bearnaise?  Well, worry no more because I’ve got your back on this!  You can use that leftover sauce to create some delicious Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter. Poached egg technically optional but really…you know you want it!

Artichokes Are My Spirit Vegetable

“Artichokes again?” asked the fussiest eater in the world.  “I don’t know why you keep making them.  They’re such hard work”.

“They may be hard work.  But they are worth it.  And if you think about, treat ’em wrong and they might kill you.  Treat ’em right and they make everything sweeter…in fact they are a lot like me.  I think artichokes are my spirit vegetable”.   

The more I think about it the more I am convinced that artichokes are my spirit vegetable.  Why else, for no apparent reason, years ago did I buy a little ceramic artichoke? It’s all becoming clear now though, it was my spirit vegetable calling to me!

I fear lockdown may be making me lose my mind.  

Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter 2

I did a quiz to prove that my spirit vegetable is an artichoke The quiz said I was a mushroom so it was obviously wrong.  It also said that people may find me pretentious and depressing.  As Marcel Proust said, “What a load of bollocks.  I am a fucking joy to be around!”*. 

Quiz snip

If you would like to do a quiz that not very accurately tells you what your spirit vegetable is you can find one here.  

Bearnaise Butter?

So, bearnaise sauce is a bitch of a thing to reheat.  So, if you want to use some leftover “sauce” you can pop your sauce container into a little saucepan full of water and gently heat it up, whisking the whole time.  The result will not exactly be a Bearnaise sauce but it will be an amazingly tasty thick melted butter just perfect for drizzling over your artichokes or seafood or chicken or asparagus.  You could also pout it over your Eggs Benny instead of Hollandaise.  But only if you then call then Eggs Bearnie. 

A (Helpful?) Tip

You can use a melon baller to help scrape the choke out of your artichoke. 

It is by no means mandatory but it is fun, while doing this,  to sing that Skee-Lo song “I wish I was taller, wish I was a baller, wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her”. 

To be honest though, this works any time you use a melon baller, not just for artichokes.

The Recipe – Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter

Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter

A great way to use leftover Bearnaise Sauce

  • 4 Artichokes
  • 4 Eggs, poached (Optional)
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1 serve Leftover Bearnaise Sauce

  1. Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice into a large bowl of cold water.

  2. Snap off the outer leaves of the first three or four outer layers of leave from bottom of an artichoke. Use a serrated knife to cut off the stem at the base and the top half of each artichoke.

  3. Using a small spoon or melon baller, scrape out the choke and any sharp leaves from the centre of the artichoke.

  4. Repeat Steps 2 & 3 for all the artichokes

  5. Drop the cleaned artichokes into the acidulated water as soon as they are trimmed.

  6. Tip the lemon water into the bottom of steamer. Add the artichokes to the steamer basket and set over a high heat for around 15 minutes or until the bottom of the artichoke can be easily pierced with a skewer.

  7. Meantime, warm your bearnaise sauce over a water bath, whisking every now and again to keep the bearnaise as emulified as possible. Do not worry if it splits, we are aiming for flavoured butter not a perfect sauce with this recipe!

  8. When the artichokes are steamed, pour the bearnaise butter over. Top with a poached egg if using.

  9. Enjoy!

Have a great week!  Here’s some Skee-Lo to get you through!

Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter

Stay safe and let me know what your spirit vegetable is!

 

*Marcel Proust said no such thing. 

On record anyway.  

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