Forever Nigella #25 Roundup

 

It was so fun to host Forever Nigella for April!  I loved seeing all the colorful entries.  I also enjoyed getting to see some blogs I haven’t visited before, and getting to virtually meet some of you on twitter and through comments.  Foodie bloggers are some of the best!  And we excel at trying new things, so these monthly events are exciting and fun. I hope some of you  that are not yet taking part will jump right in with the rest of us. 

Here are our lovely, colorful entries this month:

Naomi from It’s a fine, fine life adapted Mauritian Prawn Curry for the Slow Cooker, which she used daily for the month of April in her own Month of Slow Cooking.  Beautiful and a time saver!

 

Sally the Recipe Junkie (who has challenged herself to make everything in How to Be a Domestic Goddess) made this Raspberry Polenta Cake, loosely based on Nigella’s Rhubarb Cornmeal Cake.  And then she poured cream on it, which means we were destined to be friends.

Sally also made Chicken Under A Brick for her entry in a Random Recipe Challenge, so fun! 

Caroline from Caroline Makes…. made Nigella’s sauce for Yellow Spaghetti with gorgeous saffron.  So simple and pretty.

Elizabeth from Elizabeth’s Kitchen made this showstopper cake.  Flora's Famous Courgette Cake (Courgette = Zucchini if you didn’t know.)  Since it is made with a vegetable, it must be healthy, right?  Elizabeth’s lime curd is made with local eggs which gives the curd its sunny hue.

 

Speaking of sunny hues, here is Caroline from Cake, Crumbs and Cooking and her Sunrise “Rainbow” cake using Nigella’s Buttermilk Birthday Cake recipe.  I want to eat this cake!  This was also my 5 year old’s favorite entry.

Lastly, here is Risotto alla Milanese from Sam of Smart Cookie Sam.  Her risotto was something she just happened to pick up on an Italian holiday.  It looks delicious!

Many thanks to Sarah at Maison Cupcake for creating Forever Nigella and allowing me to host this last month.  Now on to Forever Nigella #26 with Mimi at Chef Mimi Blog.

Winners of the two drawings:

1) The winner of the Forever Nigella participants drawing is

Elizabeth from Elizabeth’s Kitchen

2) The winner of the Followers drawing is

Jenn Price

Congratulations!

Forever Nigella: Colourful

 

Admission: I have only ever had pasta sauce in the colours of red, white, or yellow.  Is that sad?  I don’t know.  Well, today that changed.  The ushering in of Spring and its parade of colours has inspired me to name this month’s Forever Nigella #25, (which I am hosting), “Colourful”.  Thumbing through Nigella’s recipes I came across a beautiful pasta dish with green sauce!  My attention had been captured.  It was lovely, colourful, fresh, and inviting.  And it’s a relatively easy and quick recipe too! 

Pasta Alla Genovese

Click here for the recipe.

So what gives this its gorgeous green hue?  Basil!  And it smells divine.  This was a beautiful switch from my normal sauce.  The basil and parmesan give the sauce a classic Italian taste, while the potatoes and beans add texture to the dish. 

Next time I make this, (and there will be a next time), I may put the beans in at the same time as the potatoes.  Although I found the beans just perfect, my family prefers longer cooked beans.  I’m ok with that.  I may also not allow the potatoes to cook as long as I did this time.  Perhaps it was my choice of potato, (Idaho), or the size of the chunks, but they cooked quite quickly and started to turn to mush.  It was still delicious, but I may have lost some of the potato when I drained the pot, I should have trusted my instincts on this one. I also would add a pinch of salt to the pesto next time, just to boost the flavor a little. One more thing:  the recipe calls for both olive oil and extra virgin olive oil.  I thought I had both, but only had the extra virgin olive oil.  So that’s what I used.  Brian said it was ok as long as I didn’t use olive oil with a questionable reputation. Sound advice.

Note for American readers: Silly me. Of course I would choose a theme word with a different American English spelling. Don’t freak out! I decided to spell it the British English way in this post, (since Nigella would spell it that way, of course.) If you don’t like it, just blame Noah Webster for making things terribly confusing for us all. Also, the recipe calls for “fine beans”. The all knowing internet told me that’s just green beans. Skinny ones perhaps work the best for this recipe, but use whatever fresh you can find.

A big thank you to Sarah at Maison Cupcake for organising the Forever Nigella blogging event, and allowing me the opportunity to host this month.  We would love for you to join us this month by whipping up something colourful from Nigella Lawson’s recipes and then blogging about it, (see rules below).  Please link up to your post using Linky Tools below.  All entries will be eligible for a drawing to win one of these colourful beauties:

The winner will choose the colour of choice.  The second scoop goes to the winner of the raffle below.  International entries are allowed.

Link your Forever Nigella blog post here: 

Enter here for the Ice Cream Scoop Giveaway:

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click here for the round-up and winners!

Forever Nigella Participation Rules

How it works:

Events run 1st to 30th unless otherwise stated.

Events are to be announced on host’s blog on the 1st with round ups on 1st of the next month signposting the next host and theme.

Blog checking lines:
Forever Nigella #[number] is being hosted by [name] of [blog]. This month’s challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella Lawson recipe [describe theme]. Forever Nigella is organised by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.

1. Blog by the deadline showing:
a) current Forever Nigella badge
b) link to the current host’s announcement post
c) link to Forever Nigella page: http://maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella-faq

Entries should have been published during that month.

2. Remember copyright.
Please do NOT reproduce Nigella’s recipes verbatim. Say which book it was and/or link to it online (see likely places below). If you’ve adapted the recipe i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write directions in your own words.

3. Submit your post via the linky tool – if there is no linky being used email the host cc’ed to sarah AT maisoncupcake DOT com. Tweet posts using #forevernigella and @maisoncupcake and Sarah will try to RT all those she sees.

The Forever Nigella page has a list of Nigella resources, future hosts and links to past themes and round ups.

Nigella Resources

No Nigella books yet? Search these resources online:

• Official Nigella site: http://www.nigella.com/
• BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/nigella_lawson
• Channel 4: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-chefs/nigella-lawson-recipes
• Good Food Channel: http://uktv.co.uk/food/chef/aid/530864/
• Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/nigella-lawson/index.html
• Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Nigella+Lawson

Forever Nigella: Packed Lunch Stars

 

Well, it’s official, we’re homeschoolers.  Yesterday we went to a Not Back To School Party with our newly joined Homeschooling Support Group.

I brought two dishes; one I will showcase here and one I will save for later.

 

These started out as cheese crackers, but turned into little cheese puffs.  More on that later.

Aren’t they cute?  You know what else is cute?  My kids, that’s what.

We made lots of new friends yesterday.  Sophie was all over the playground with her friends.  Here she is sliding down the pole all by herself.  I wonder if it is the same pole that I slid down when I was little.  Anybody know?

Liam was a little easier to photograph during this excursion, since I didn’t let him leave my side.  He’s getting so big!

 

Liam loves riding this elephant.  While he was riding it, he kept saying, “I happy.”  He’s so sweet!

 

Now that school (of all kinds) are starting back this fall, perhaps we could use a little lunch time inspiration.  Forever Nigella #19 is being hosted by Nazima of Working London Mummy. This month’s challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella Lawson recipe suitable for a packed lunch. (Forever Nigella is organized by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.)

I started out planning on making these cheese crackers, (or cheese biscuits as Nigella calls them, but that is a different thing here in the U.S.)  I planned on using a lovely star cutter to go with the theme even better.  Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get the dough to roll out nicely.  In true Nigella fashion, I lost patience and did my own thing, rolling the dough into 1/2 teaspoon balls and dropping them on a pan. As I was out of parchment, I just hoped they wouldn't stick to the pan, (they didn’t!)  Some of them I left as balls, some I slightly smashed, and others I flattened quite a bit.  I like the ones that were left round.  They reminded me of gougères a little, in that they were round and slightly puffy.  Hmm, let me add gougères to my To Bake list.

Since I made these with both kids and adults in mind, I used half mild cheddar and half sharp cheddar.  But next time, I will use 100% sharp and add a dash of cayenne pepper for a little heat.  This size only took 10 minutes to bake.  I stored this is a baggie with a paper towel to soak up any moisture.  I wanted to keep them as crisp as possible.

So whether your kiddies are eating lunch at school or at home, at the park, or wherever, these little beauties are a perfect addition to your lunchtime go-to goodies.

Forever Nigella Rules

1. Blog your entry by 28^th of the month showing:
a) the current Forever Nigella badge
b) a link to this announcement post
c) a link to the Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

n.b. posts must have been published since the announcement post. Archived posts need to be re-published afresh if you wish to submit.

2. Remember copyright.
You must NOT reproduce Nigella’s recipes verbatim. Tell us which book it is from and/or link to it online. If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write directions in your own words.

3. Submit your post
Use the linky tool or email the host cc’ed to sarah AT maisoncupcake DOT com.

Forever Nigella: Afternoon Tea

 

Forever Nigella #16 is being hosted by Fleur of Homemade By Fleur. This month’s challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella Lawson recipe for Afternoon Tea. Forever Nigella is organized by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.

Afternoon Tea.  For us Americans, we think of it as something we have to get dressed up for and try our best to be posh.  But in reality, Afternoon Tea is supposed to be a snack to get us through the afternoon to dinner.  Now, I could go into all the different kinds of “Teas” there are, but I’ll save that for another post.  Today, lets treat Tea as so many do, with a cup of tea and a nice cake, cookie, or other sweet treat. 

I’m usually a chocolate lover, but in the summer, I’m a sucker for Lemon.  When I saw these Little Lemon Puddings on Nigella.com, I was hooked. (Translation: pudding can mean a steamed cake or just dessert.)  These puddings, are what Nigella calls a “short-cut version of the traditional English Canary Pudding.”  The traditional is steamed, while these are baked.

Don’t they look sunny and happy?  And Cute! And just look at that drippy lemon curd!  I gave these a try for a family dinner.  They were a big hit!

I had to use a conversion chart to figure out a few things:

125 grams of sugar = 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon

125 grams of butter = 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon

125 grams of flour = 1 1/8 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, (the equivalent to the 180 degrees C and gas mark 4).

I also used silicone cupcake liners, so they were a little smaller than the ramekins I would have used, so I got 8 servings instead of just 6.

Mine didn’t turn out as golden as the Nigella photo, but that doesn’t keep them from tasting delightfully lemony.  The lemon curd on top is the icing on the cake, literally. 

These little puddings are a nice addition to your own Tea Time recipes.  But I didn’t stop there.  Because this little beauty is also a part of my 2012 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest entry.

The Ice Cream Contest is being hosted by Scoopalicious and Cupcake Project.

When I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for the contest, I thought about all the different ice creams I wanted to try making.  My mind kept coming back to Afternoon Tea.  I love lemon curd on a scone with clotted cream.  It’s divine!  So what better to go with the Little Lemon Puddings than Clotted Cream Ice Cream.  Yes, I went there!

Wow! This ice cream was so good!  It’s yummy perched upon a Little Lemon Pudding, topped with more lemon curd; it tastes like sunshine!  It’s perfect for a summer afternoon.

Clotted Cream Ice Cream 6 Egg Yolks 1 Whole Egg 1/2 cup Sugar (I used Vanilla Sugar) 2 1/2 cups Whole Milk 1 Vanilla Bean (split, with seeds removed) or 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 1 1/4 Cups Heavy Cream 6 ounces Clotted Cream Use a whisk to combine the yolks, egg and sugar.  Whisk until the mixture turns pale yellow.  Add the milk and vanilla, (pod and seeds) to a saucepan and simmer.  Once it simmers, pull out the vanilla pod and VERY slowly pour the milk into the eggs while quickly whisking.  Bring the mixture back to the pan with the vanilla pod and simmer, stir constantly, until thickened.  (It will coat the back of a wooden spoon.) Strain the custard mixture to remove any lumpy eggs and vanilla pod.  Stash the mixture in the fridge until cold.  Stir the clotted cream into the cold mixture. Whisk the heavy cream in a cold metal bowl until it forms soft peaks, and fold into the mixture.  Freeze according to your ice cream freezer’s manufacturers instructions.  *Note:  Clotted Cream can be purchased at grocery stores that specialize in international foods.  A tea room shop is another place to look.  Or you can buy online from companies like the English Tea Store.  Alternatively, you can make your own; a feat I would like to tackle soon.

2012 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest

Official Rules:

• Dates: You can enter any time through June 30, 2012.
• How to Enter:

1. Create a recipe for ice cream cupcakes! The ice cream cupcakes must contain cake and ice cream (or frozen yogurt, gelato, or something ice cream-like). Cupcakes baked in ice cream cones without a frozen element are not eligible.
2. Write a new post on your blog about your creation. The post must include a photo, a recipe, and a link to both this post and to Scoopalicious. If you don't have a blog, upload a photo of your creation to Facebook or any photo sharing site (like Flickr). Make sure that you make the photo public (on Facebook, you'll simply change "share with Friends" to "share with Public"). In the photo description, include the details about the cupcake and the recipe.
3. Find and click the "Add your Link" button at the bottom of this post.
4. Complete the entry form. In the name field, enter the name of your creation. In the URL field, enter the link to your post (not your whole blog). If you don't have a blog, enter the link to your photo's page. On Facebook, this is the address of the photo post, not the one that is facebook.com/yourname. When you click to add a thumbnail image, the program should let you choose from the images on your page. If it doesn't work properly, check your link. If it still isn't working, you can upload an image directly from your computer.
5. After you submit your entry, wait a few minutes and refresh this page. You should see a thumbnail version of your entry displayed. Your entry is now complete!

• Number of Entries per Person: Sorry, we are allowing just one entry per person this year - so make it count!
• Judging Criteria: Cupcakes will be judged on perceived deliciousness, creativity, and presentation - in that order of importance.
• Prizes: The Grand Prize winner and the entry prize winners will be announced by the end of July! For the Grand Prize of a $250 gift certificate to a favorite cooking store, the store (virtual or brick and mortar) must specialize in cooking and/or baking supplies. General stores like Amazon, Target, etc. are not eligible. The cooking store must sell gift certificates. Stores outside of the U.S. are eligible, but the gift certificate will have a value of $250 U.S.

Read more: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2012/05/2012-ice-cream-cupcake-contest.html#ixzz1z9kZpUBD

 

Forever Nigella Rules

1. Blog your entry by 28^th of the month showing:
a) the current Forever Nigella badge
b) a link to this announcement post
c) a link to the Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

n.b. posts must have been published since the announcement post. Archived posts need to be re-published afresh if you wish to submit.

2. Remember copyright.
You must NOT reproduce Nigella’s recipes verbatim. Tell us which book it is from and/or link to it online. If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write directions in your own words.

3. Submit your post
Use the linky tool or email the host cc’ed to sarah AT maisoncupcake DOT com.

The Graduate

 

This is a picture of my little sister, Rebekah.  It was taken just yesterday.  At least, that’s how it feels. 

Rebekah graduated from High School last Saturday.  She’s not a little girl anymore, she has become a beautiful young woman. {wipes tear}

After the graduation ceremony, we had a little party for her.  She deserved it, she’s worked hard to get where she is.

We are so proud!

The cake was from Costco.  YUM!

The Heritage High School colors are Red and Blue, (they are the Generals.)  We live in a very historic area, so this is quite appropriate.  It also happened to be Memorial Day weekend, so the color scheme was easy to work with.  I made these cookies using the tried and true Nigella Lawson Recipe.  I make them my own by using a thinned Wilton Royal Icing made with just an 8th teaspoon (maybe a little more) of lemon extract (before adding the rest of the liquid). You want the icing thin, but not so thin it drips right off the cookie. I dipped the tops of the cookies in the icing and then before they hardened I added the sprinkles.

The patriotic sprinkles came from Michael’s but this is the season to find them all over.

I also made these cute little brownie bites.  They are a Pampered Chef favorite.  The cream cheese icing is delish!

Michael’s also had these cute little wrappers, 99 cents for 100.  What a deal! I’m going to have to go back for more.

I used two different wrappers so you can see the design even after they are baked. If the two papers are the same brand, you can bake them in both, but I wasn’t so lucky, so I baked in the white and just added the cute ones later.

I don’t know where to find this recipe in the Pampered Chef universe, but this is how my friend Kim, a Pampered Chef Consultant showed me how to make them.

Cream Cheese Brownie Cups Makes 48 1 package (19-21 oz) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies) 1 4 oz package cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 8 oz cool whip, soft from the refrigerator sprinkles, chocolate shavings, mini M&Ms optional for topping Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray, or use mini cupcake wrappers, (what I do).  Mix brownie batter according to directions to make cake like brownies.  Use a small scoop to fill each cup 2/3 full.  It will make two pans of cups.  Bake for 14 minutes or until the edges are set. Remove from oven to a cooling rack.  Immediately press tops of brownies with Mini-Tart shaper to make indentions.  Allow to cool.  (If not using wrappers, do not leave in the pan too long or they will stick, hence why I always use wrappers so I don’t mess up!) Mix cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer till smooth.  Fold in cool-whip.  Pipe swirls of icing onto the tops of the cups.  Top with your choice of toppings.

 

Somehow I missed taking pictures of the punch.  I’ve blogged about it before.  Here is that picture and the link to the recipe.

My sister and the other graduates were honored at church a couple weeks ago.  Each graduate had a slideshow made to play at the reception.  Here is Rebekah’s.  If you are fortunate to know my sister, go ahead and grab some tissues.  It isn’t enough we’re seeing adorable pictures of her growing up, but she sings the song that is playing too.

Enjoy!

 

We love you Geggie!

 

Forever Nigella: Diamond Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952.  This year marks her 60th year and is being celebrated with her Diamond Jubilee.  She’s the second longest reigning British monarch, just barely tailing Queen Victoria. For more information, programing and merchandise, us Yanks can turn to BBC America’s Diamond Jubilee page.

Of course, this is Forever Nigella, so we have to cook up something yummy to go with any celebration.  This month I decided to try my hand at making my own custard creams.  “What are custard creams?” You may be asking.  Just one of the most delightful little cookies you’ll ever have.  I must confess, although these were easy to make, as Nigella states in her book, Feast, I did find that mine turned out to be just a little fussy.  It may be completely my fault though.  First, I think I added too much of the liquid to the cookie mixture.  I ended up having to add more flour when it came time to roll out the dough.  It was also difficult to roll out the dough thin enough.  Next time I will be more careful with the liquid.  The second thing I had trouble with was my cookie cutter.  Using a diamond shaped cutter for this occasion was a no brainer.  My particular cutter is the kind with the closed top.  It was very difficult to use.  I will soon invest in an open designed diamond cutter.  Those two things aside, these are tasty little cookies, or biscuits as they probably should be called.  I’m so glad I tried them.

Some may think of me as an Anglophile.  I’m not sure that I am.  Yes, I enjoy certain aspects of British culture, history, cuisine, literature, pottery, etc.  But I don’t buy things just because it’s got a Union Jack on it.  Actually, I don’t think I have anything with a Union Jack on it.  So I made a little something for my Diamond Jubilee display. I’ll blog about that later.

Gracing the table is also a commemorative dish I picked up in England.  It celebrates the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.
 
I have to admit something to you.  I found this picture, (actually a postcard), of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Heathrow.  It reminds me of the cheesy Olan Mills pictures we all had made in the 80s.  I imagined framing this in the most gaudy gold picture frame I could find (the one it’s in now is quite tame) and displaying it in my home amongst family photos.   We would casually mention to guests that this was Aunt Liz and Uncle Phil.  I wondered how many people would recognize her without a crown, a big hat or her Corgis. 
 
By the way, we have decided to refer to this picture as Cousin Liz.  As I’ve mentioned before, Brian and the Queen may share a common ancestor in Henry of Scotland.  That would make them 24th cousins. 
I’ve a few more postcards from my collection to share with you, just for fun.



Actually, now that I think of it, there is something I have with a Union Jack on it.  It is one of my favorite pictures I took in England.  It graces the back cover of one of my travel journals.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

Awesome, right?
Forever Nigella
Forever Nigella #15 is being hosted by Nelly of Nelly’s Cupcakes. This month’s challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella Lawson recipe that you would serve for the Diamond Jubilee.  Forever Nigella is organised by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.
So are you interested in joining the fun with Forever Nigella?  Each month is a new theme, so come and fun cooking and baking tempting treats and delicious meals. 

Forever Nigella Rules

Blog checking lines: Forever Nigella #[number] is being hosted by [name] of [blog]. This month’s challenge is to prepare and blog any Nigella Lawson recipe [describe theme]. Forever Nigella is organised by Sarah at Maison Cupcake.

1. Blog your entry by 28^th of the month showing:
a) the current Forever Nigella badge
b) a link to this announcement post
c) a link to the Forever Nigella page at Maison Cupcake: http://blog.maisoncupcake.com/forever-nigella

n.b. posts must have been published since the announcement post. Archived posts need to be re-published afresh if you wish to submit.

2. Remember copyright.
You must NOT reproduce Nigella’s recipes verbatim. Tell us which book it is from and/or link to it online. If you’ve adapted the recipe in some way i.e. changed at least two ingredients or amended the method then it’s ok to publish the a recipe in your post but you MUST write directions in your own words.

3. Submit your post Use the linky tool or email the host cc’ed to sarah AT maisoncupcake DOT com.

The Forever Nigella page shows a list of online Nigella resources, future hosts and links to past themes and round ups.

Tweet your post: #forevernigella
If you don’t have any Nigella books check out these resources online:
Nigella’s official site: http://www.nigella.com/
BBC Food: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/nigella_lawson
Channel 4 Food: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-chefs/nigella-lawson-recipes
UKTV Good Food Channel: http://uktv.co.uk/food/chef/aid/530864/
Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/nigella-lawson/index.html
Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Nigella+Lawson

Sophie In Wonderland: Menu

 

Our Tea Party menu was a mix of some things you would find in a traditional Afternoon Tea, and some things that you would find in an Americanized type of Tea.  For example: Pink Lemonade.

We just had to have something in little “Drink Me” bottles.  It would not have been right to skip this little nod to the movie. These tags were printed on cardstock and attached with glue dots.  It would have been a lot of work to tie these to each bottle, but the easy glue dots give the same effect when you place them at an angle.  FYI: These are Starbucks Frappuccino bottles.  These are so cute with homemade labels.  That wouldn’t work with the “Drink Me” labels, maybe next time.

At the main table, each place setting included the lemonade and a plastic tea cup.  The plate holds a small cup of Strawberry Bisque, a prepared scone and an Egg Salad Sandwich.  If we had wanted to be more authentic, the crusts would have been cut off.  Sorry.

The center of the main table held a towering display of Cream Puffs and Mini Éclairs.  Yum!

Cake stands held the cupcakes at both ends of the main table.  You shouldn’t be surprised that they are The Best Cupcakes Ever!  These are topped with blue Sixlets bought at Party City.

The buffet table held all the same treats as the kids’ table, with the sandwiches being traded for mini quiches. 

There is the tea, of course.  Oh, and there are some Easter M&Ms tucked in there too!

The center of the table showcased the little scones, “clotted cream”, strawberry jam, and lemon curd.  This allowed the adults to make their scones as they liked.

You can find the recipe for my Strawberry Bisque HERE.  It’s served in a punch bowl Nana has handed down to me.

Classic Scones This recipe was given to me by a lady in Scotland. Makes 24 2-inch Scones

Ingredients: 1 3/4 cups Self-Rising Flour 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder 3 Tablespoons sugar 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cold 1 Large Egg 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 2/3 Cup Whole Milk, (You will not need all of it)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl.  Add the cold butter and rub with fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbles.  Stir in sugar and salt. 

Break an egg into a liquid measuring cup and mix with fork, add enough milk to measure 5 ounces. (That will be just under 2/3 cup total.)

Pour egg and milk mixture into flour mixture a little at a time, mixing lightly until the dough just comes together; you may not need all of the liquid.

Gather mixture and place on a lightly floured surface, knead very gently, just until it holds it’s shape.  Flatten with palms to approximately 1/2 inch thick.

Cut into 2 inch rounds with a biscuit cutter and place on a greased baking sheet, (I use parchment.)  Lightly gather remaining dough and repeat cutting.

Brush tops with any leftover egg/milk mixture.  Bake for 10 minutes or until they are pale golden in color.  Serve immediately.

Notes:

I find the dough works better for me when it’s just a little more moist that I think it should be. I use a very gentle hand when patting it out, you don’t want to overwork the dough.  Keep the dough very cold the whole time.  If the butter starts to melt before going in the oven, the scones will flatten and spread.  If things start getting warm, place the dough in the fridge just long enough to cool things off.

Clotted Cream is a beautiful thing.  If you’ve ever had fresh clotted cream from South-West England, you know what I’m talking about.  There’s nothing like it.  Unfortunately, if I want clotted cream here in the states, I have to either buy it in a jar, (above), which is kind of expensive, or make it myself. 

I’ve yet to try making it for real.  That’s something I hope to try soon.  For the party, I used a recipe found HERE.  It uses mascarpone cheese and heavy cream.  It isn’t quite like the real thing, but it worked well enough.  I would recommend it in a pinch. (Note: I did not use the optional zest.  It seemed unnecessary to me.)

If you remember from the last post, the guests had a sweet take-home treat. 

These cookies are my favorite cut-out sugar cookies from Nigella Lawson.  They hold their shape when baked and are very reliable.  The trick for me is to take them out before I think they are done so they are still a little soft.

The icing is Wilton’s Royal Icing recipe.  I kept it thick to outline the cookie then thinned the rest with water and about 1/8 tsp. lemon extract and filled in the cookie.  I don’t know how many of these I had, I was a little addicted. 

I placed the cookies in little goodie bags, (Hobby Lobby), folded them and closed them with a little sticker.  I used Avery 3/4 inch diameter stickers stamped with a little clock face from a cool cling sticker collection from Hobby Lobby.  It kind of has this Steampunk-ish vibe going on.  I'm looking forward to using all the little stamps in the future!

Next post: How to plan an Alice party.