Devonshire Cream

I am a huge fan of clotted cream, and have been ever since I experienced my first cream tea in London back in 1997. It's expensive to buy in those little jars (and not all that easy to find), although I do, on occasion, treat myself to the original thing. I know that clotted cream can be made at home, but I've not had great success with that, so when I came across a recipe for Devonshire Cream I thought I'd give it a try. No, it is not clotted cream, but it is a nice substitute, and goes together in a flash. 

I experimented with a couple of different recipes, and I like this one the best, because it's not overly sweet. Authentic clotted cream isn't sweet at all, but Devonshire Cream is, so I like to keep that sweetness to a minimum by adding more cream cheese than sugar. You can experiment on your own, adding an additional tablespoon of sugar (or more), or even going so far as to adding a drop or two of flavoring like vanilla or almond just to change things up a bit. For me, this is the best recipe for Devonshire Cream around. It goes wonderfully well with yesterday's Cream Scones with Amaretto Cherries, so give it a try.

 Devonshire Cream

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and salt. Slowly stream in whipping cream, beating constantly, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Chill for two hours before serving. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

NOTE: I used my stand mixer with the whisk attachment to make this. I found it worked much better when streaming in the cream. As you can see from the photos, the results were beautiful.

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Cream Scones with Amaretto Cherries

I've been having a lot of fun working with bing cherries, but decided to switch from the fresh ones to the dried ones because, after all, bing cherry season need never be over as long as you have a package of delicious and sweet dried cherries in your pantry.

Because I had such wonderful success with adding amaretto to the cherry preserves, I decided to make some scones with amaretto cherries in them. You have to plan ahead for this recipe by soaking your dried bing cherries in amaretto overnight. Once that's done, the scones go together easily and are, I think, the best scones I've ever eaten. Topped with homemade Devonshire cream (that recipe will be coming up tomorrow), and a dollop of delicious fresh Bing Cherry Preserves, nothing is better for breakfast than this. Whether you are serving it to guests at some special occasion breakfast or brunch, or just treating yourself, these are wonderful!

Cream Scones with Amaretto Cherries

2 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s dried bing cherries, 

soaked overnight in 1/3 cup Amaretto

1 egg

1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

1/3 cup heavy cream

Heavy Cream

Sanding Sugar

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Drain cherries; set aside.

In the work bowl of a food processor combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter.  Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal; empty mixture into a large bowl. Add cherries, toss to coat.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together egg, cream, and almond flavoring.  When thoroughly blended, pour it over the flour mixture in the large bowl and fold until it just comes together.  Add 1-3 more teaspoons of cream, if needed.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. With floured hands, press into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Cut out rounds with a 2" biscuit cutter and arrange 2 inches apart on a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Gather scraps together and cut out additional scones.

Brush tops of scones with cream and sprinkle liberally with sanding sugar. Bake scones, rotating baking sheet halfway through, until edges are golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack before serving.

Makes 8-10

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Bing Cherry Amaretto Preserves

Cherry season is one of my favorite times of the year because I absolutely LOVE cherries! I’d received a nice big bag of Bing cherries, courtesy of Melissa's Produce and, seriously, could have eaten the entire thing until I made myself sick, that's how much I love them. Instead, I started thinking about my grandmother, remembering her climbing up into the cherry tree that grew in her backyard, alongside an apple and peach. When I think back on those moments, it makes me realize, now more than it ever did back then, just how truly amazing she was. Not quite five feet tall, and rounder than she should have been, she would climb up into the cherry tree -- wearing a housedress no less -- gathering cherries in her apron to use in making preserves. Aha! I thought to myself, that's what I'll do; I'll make some cherry preserves.

My grandmother used to use an equal amount of fruit to sugar, but these cherries are so sweet that I thought that would be too much, so I cut back on the sugar. I also got to thinking about how cherries are often paired with almond flavoring, so in addition to a little hint of almond flavoring I decided to add a bigger hint of Amaretto Liqueur. Boy, is this good.

 Bing Cherry Amaretto Preserves

5 cups stemmed and pitted Bing cherries (I used Melissa's)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 box of Sure Gel fruit pectin
4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup Amaretto

If you plan on storing your preserves, have your jars warm and sterilized, and your boiling water canner ready.

Into a 6- to 8-quart saucepan, place cherries, lemon juice, and pectin. Stir together to combine. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil, i.e., a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred, over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar and almond extract. Return to a full rolling boil, and boil exactly 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in Amaretto. Skim off any foam that may have gathered on top with a metal spoon.

Ladle into prepared jars, wipe rims and threads, place lids on and screw them down tightly. If you plan on processing the preserves, be sure to do so for at least 10 minutes.

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All Decked Out (Part Three!)

It may seem to all of you like a mere three weeks since the deck project began, but in reality, we are starting our sixth week. When this week draws to a close, the deck will be completed. Here's what has taken place since I last posted.

The flooring is in place and it looks absolutely beautiful. I never realized how much like real wood outdoor flooring could appear. Stepping from the breakfast room out onto the deck is a smooth transition.

The shingles are all in place, and the addition has been added beautifully to the house.

The tray ceiling went in, as well as the electricity, and the fan has been mounted.

The rails went up around the open area, and the solar light caps were put into place. I'm very pleased with the way the railing looks. I had the option of choosing what the other neighbors had on their decks, namely the standard white rails, or to go a bit different with this rail with the black bars. I'm so happy that I did this. It looks a bit more high-end, and makes the space feel so much more open. I couldn't be happier!

During this last week of construction the guttering will be installed, the screening will go up, and the support posts will be wrapped in the composite material. As soon as everything is completed, you just know that I'm going to be dragging that rug out onto the deck and starting to move out the furniture. I can hardly wait! Come back next week and see what it all looks like.

Photos by Joe Rogers of Advanced Carpentry and Remodeling, LLC, 

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

Making soup on a 95° day is probably not a normal activity, but that's what I did today, having such a hankering for a nice a bowl of Zuppa Toscana. There are many recipes for Zuppa Toscana, but not all of them can be made in the crockpot like this one. I came up with my own recipe, a bit on the nontraditional side, to suit my own tastes. First of all, I don't use the called for Italian sausage, I use pork sausage, and season it up the way I like. That's the only way that I can ensure that I get the seasonings that I want in order to yield the best, most intense flavor. Second, despite its enforced popularity, I am not a fan of kale. I far prefer the delicate leaves of baby bok choy, and I think you will too. No matter the season, give this easy and flavorful soup a try. It only gets better in the fridge, so make it on the weekend, and enjoy it during the week.

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

1 pound pork sausage (I used Bob Evans original)
3 large russet potatoes, peeled, and diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 large clove fresh garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
32 ounces homemade chicken stock
4 small heads Melissa’s Baby Bok Choy, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons flour

In a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat, brown and crumble the sausage. Stir in minced garlic, Italian seasoning, hot pepper flakes, and fennel seed. Stir well to combine. Drain off the grease on a paper towel-lined plate, and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with potatoes, onion, and chicken stock. Stir in garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until the potatoes are fork tender. Whisk together heavy cream and flour, and pour into slow cooker, add bok choy, and stir to combine. Cook on high an additional 30 minutes until soup has thickened. Season to taste, if needed.

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Slow Cooker Korean-Style Short Ribs

I always keep packages of short ribs in the freezer because it is such a flavorful cut of meat, so easy to work with because it slow cooks all day long whether in a slow cooker, or at a low temperature in the oven, and the results, no matter how they're prepared, are always wonderful.

I tend to stick with a select few recipes that are my favorites, this one, for example, and this one, but recently I found a recipe for Korean-style short ribs to be made in the crockpot, and I knew I had to try them. The downside of this recipe is that it calls for a couple of ingredients that may not be common in the average kitchen. I have all of them on hand, but then I tend to do a lot of ethnic cooking. I can tell you this, it would be worth your while to buy these ingredients because once you taste these short ribs, you're going to want to make them again and again. I found the recipe on Food.com, and made it as written, except I served it with mashed potatoes rather than rice.

Slow Cooker Korean-Style Short Ribs

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 pounds beef short ribs
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cups shredded carrots
3 scallions, trimmed and  sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
3 cups cooked white rice, ramen, or mashed potatoes,

whichever suits you

Blend soy sauce, sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl.

Place ribs in a 5-quart slow cooker and top with sauce. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 9 hours, until the meat is tender.

Transfer ribs to a platter. Skim and discard excess fat from liquid. Combine cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water; blend with liquid in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until thickened. (I found this took only about a minute.) Stir in carrots. Top ribs with sauce, scallions, and sesame seeds. Serve over cooked rice, ramen, or potatoes.

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Caramel Pound Cake with Salted Toffee Glaze

Some of you may recall from earlier blog posts, that Bundt cakes are my nemesis. I have made many a Bundt cake, all with disastrous results. Finally, in desperation, I washed up my cathedral style Bundt pan for the last time, and slipped it into the donation box. I should have let it go at that, but the fact that I couldn't make a good Bundt cake continued to haunt me. So, I treated myself to a new pan -- this one -- and took the advice of a lot of you who told me to try using Baker’s Joy. As you can see from these pictures, my luck has most definitely changed! The new Bundt pan, with simpler, more traditional lines, coupled with the Baker’s Joy, was 100% successful. Thank you all very much.

Last Sunday I went to dad's house for a visit. I am so tired these days from getting up early to greet the contractor that I'm literally stumbling with fatigue. As you know, I like to take at least one meal to dad with me when I go -- often two -- but I was just too tired to make anything other than a cake. Dad tends to like pound cake because, like me, he thinks it works equally well at breakfast as it does for dessert. This cake does particularly because, despite what appears to be an awful lot of sugar, it's not overly sweet. My fear was that it was going to be cloying, but no. This is a wonderful cake. Dense, slightly sweet, tasting nicely, but not too much, of caramel, with a wonderful salted toffee glaze that takes it over the top.

This is a recipe I'll make again and again, not only because it's so easy, but because it's so darned good. (As it turned out, dad really dodged a bullet by my not making him a meal this past week. My plan was to make him chicken chow mein. It was a new recipe, and not particularly a good one, so I will not speak of it again.)

Do give this cake a try; it's tasty and different from your average Bundt, and don't forget the Baker’s Joy!

Caramel Pound Cake with Salted Toffee Glaze

1 cup butter
1/2 cup Crisco
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease and flour (or spray with Baker’s Joy) a 10-12 cup Bundt pan.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, Crisco, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; stir in vanilla.

Sift together 2 1/2 cups flour and baking powder, and add alternately to mixture with the 1 cup of milk.

In a small bowl stir pecans with 1/2 cup flour to coat; fold pecans into batter.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 70 to 90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the pan to stand for 10 minutes after removing from oven and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. When cake is cool, drizzle with Salted Toffee Glaze (recipe below).

Salted Toffee Glaze

From The Café Sucre Farine

5 tablespoons salted butter

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

⅓ cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

⅔ cup sifted powdered sugar

Flaking sea salt

Combine the butter, dark brown sugar, heavy cream and salt in a heavy sauce pan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for ONE minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract. Add about ½ cup of the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Continue to whisk in powdered sugar by the tablespoon until you reach your desired consistency. Place on a serving platter or cake stand and pour the salted toffee icing over the top. Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt.

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