Dreaming of the Emerald Isle with Leek, Potato and Pea Soup with Old-Fashioned "Shamrock" Potato Rolls

Leek, Potato and Pea Soup with
 Old-Fashioned Cloverleaf Potato Rolls

Éirinn go Brách! March 17th is when the rest of the world takes notice and we all become Irish for a day. We start wearing as many colours of green as the Irish hills and dales, drinking green beer and Guinness at our favourite local pubs and singing renditions of Danny Boy in our best voices. L'il Burnt Toast is named after the Emerald Isle so it holds special meaning for us, even if we don't have an Irish bone in our bodies. As with every celebration we always celebrate with food.

Welcome Comfort Foods with Cheesy Hop Soup and Sheet Biscuits

Cheesy Hop Soup and Sheet Biscuits

Fall is nipping at our toes, despite the fact that a welcoming summer is lingering. This invasion of our senses usually means the resurrection of comfort foods in the kitchen. With the fires over on the other side of the lake in Peachland, and the threat of friends homes and livelihoods, comfort food seems all the more on my mind as I hope for the best. 

My Version of Thousand Layer Lasagna with Garlic Bread Baked in Parchment

Thousand Layer Lasagna with Garlic Bread Baked in Parchment

As Heidi says, "Imagine dozens and dozens of whisper-thin sheets of fresh pasta brushed with the most vibrant red tomato sauce imaginable sandwiched between layer after layer of warm, oozy, fresh mozzarella. Where the sauce and cheese and pasta touch the pan in the corners, everything gets crunchy and caramelized." This is definitely the best lasagna I have made lately and I hope that sometime over the holidays when you have had your fill of turkey and all the trimmings you will give it a shot. I will even fight you for a corner piece, but not before I wish you a Merry Christmas!

Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray Make River Café Focaccia col Formaggio

River Cafe Focaccia col Formaggio

Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers are two English chefs who interpreted Italian food for an appreciative and loyal British public who snapped their cookbooks off the shelf and faithfully watched their cooking shows. It is easy to see how these two ladies were instrumental both directly and indirectly in changing how and what a huge number of people in Britain ate every day. What else within our control changes the quality of our lives more than what we eat?

Black Bean Soup with Tender Potato Biscuits

Black Bean Soup with Tender Potato Biscuits

Soup is the epitome of comfort, that wonderful soul warming food filled with wholesome ingredients and fantastic flavours. On a cool day like today it seems the perfect way to have a pot of  the gastronomic version of a warm blanket purcolating on the stovetop filling the room with its intoxicating fragrance that says "you are home". 

As the cook, homemade soup allows me complete mastery over what goes into each recipe, and the methods and techniques used to create delicious and nutritious dishes. Todays soup come partly from the necessity of cleaning out the fridge and partly from wanting to enjoy a steamy bowl of heady goodness. No one will know that your inspiration came from leftover mashed yams, potatoes, and a myriad of leftover vegetables.

M.F.K Fisher Prepares "Socca" Through the Written Word

 

Socca

Thank you for joining me once again as I travel along with Mary of One Perfect Bite on an amazing culinary journey.  Gourmet Live brought out a list of the 50 most influential women in food...Fifty women game changers. Some are chefs, some are food writers, and some are women who are passionate about the creative process. You could certainly add or detract women from this list, but no matter what these women have all influenced us in one way or another. Being a woman and passionate about food myself I wanted to explore and join Mary on this journey and not only learn from the masters but recreate some of their dishes to better understand what has shaped and molded them into who they are today. In doing so I have learned more about myself, new techniques and many lessons previously unimaginable. Follow us on this journey while we take an in depth exploration of these women's lives and what makes them who they are.

Red, White and Blue Fruit Scones

Cook's Illustrated Fruit Scones

A safe and happy 4th of July to all my friends from the States!!!

 In celebration I started my day with these patriotic red, white and blue scones based on a recipe from Cooks Illustrated. I have baked them twice in the past few weeks which is something that never happens here at MTBT. That speaks volumes about how much I enjoyed them. I rediscovered them on Monica's site Lick The Bowl Good last week.

You know how it is when you have recipes bookmarked for months, perhaps years and they have yet to grace your kitchen. Well this is one of those recipes I've had kicking around. I was reminded of them on a post over at Vanilla Sugar.... who made them with raspberries. I am so glad I decided to finally whip up a batch twice and still counting. They just might be the best scones I have discovered yet with a "new to me" technique. The dough is mixed with a light touch and then folded as if you were making a rough puff pastry.

Monica added white chocolate chips. You could also use a myriad of fruits such as blackberries, nectarines, cherries or even dried fruits. This recipe is open to all interpretations. Take a peak at Monica's site for pictorial instructions since I am just not that kind of a girl. Now I am headed to the beach! I have always been a beach kind of a gal:D

One a Penny, Two a Penny Hot Cross Buns for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

Hot Cross Buns

As seen at the Huffington Post

 I love everything about spring! Spring is a time of renewal when everything seems to come alive!!!!! The days are longer and the markets begin to burst with the colours of  bountiful fruits and vegetables of the pending season. It will soon be time to enjoy fresh rhubarb, the pop of a fresh garden pea and lightly sauteed furled fiddleheads. Spring is the season for asparagus and escarole and a wide variety of lettuce hand plucked from the garden for the perfect green salad. The delightful fragrance of chives, mint, chervil and tarragon fill the air to season our dishes. The forsythia and magnolia are in full bloom so all of these tastes of Spring will soon be bursting from our gardens, forests, markets and window boxes.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

For my challenge this month for Invite a Blogger to Your Table I wanted to relive the past and recreate a pizza I used to order as a teenager at Mother's Restaurant growing up in Southern Ontario. Although I love the crispy Napoli-style pizzas of today I was longing for a deep dish pizza. You know the kind, where you have no choice but to eat your pizza with a knife and fork, because it has an inch of extra rations of stringy cheese and your favourite toppings. Back in the day this was known as Chicago Deep Dish Pizza but since I have never eaten pizza in Chicago I don't know if it was truly authentic, all I know is that I have been craving it lately!! I decided to enlist my friend Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen to recreate these memories with me for this event. It was fun cooking with you Giz!!!! Thanks for sharing a table with me.

Cheddar, Parmesan, and Cracked Pepper Scones

I know that my friends and family in the Eastern provinces are experiencing snow storms and less than Spring-like weather. If you are too, do what I do whenever I find myself with time in the kitchen. I had big plans today but on an overcast day like today I am in need of some comfort food and enjoyed baking something savoury! Lately I have been working six days a week so a day off today was a welcome respite. So after some pampering at the hair salon, cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom, organizing the recycling and spending time at the gym I was ready to get back into the kitchen to mess it all up again!! Is that perspiration I just wiped from my brow?

 Scones are a familiar site at our local bakeries and coffee-shops as well as here at More Than Burnt Toast.  I like to offer a savoury version in the bread basket to perk up dull days like today.  They're very similar to baking powder biscuits, and are easily seasoned to go with whatever you're serving.

Colcannon Soup with Irish Soda Bread

Colcannon Soup with Irish Soda Bread

As earthquake and tsunami survivors experience food shortages and the Japanese nation faces growing concerns of contaminated food and water sources the unfolding events in Japan have renewed my appreciation for every bite I take and every clean breath of mountain air. Every day we hear more stories of the triumph of the human spirit to overcome profound loss and threats of nuclear disaster. It reminds me of living in Southern Ontario between two nuclear power plants where L'il Burnt Toast experienced Nuclear Disaster Drills in elementary school rather than fire drills and we signed a waiver at the beginning of every year to allow the school to administer potassium iodine pills "just in case". As I sit here warm and snug with everything I need to lead a comfortable life, a wide variety of foods to eat and peace in my corner of the world these events give me cause to wonder. These heartbreaking world events are an "all too real" reminder that peace and serenity can be fleeting.

Stop for Turkish Lahmacun with Piyaz on the FOODalogue Culinary Tour

Turkish Lahmacun with Piyaz

Turkey is a fascinating country high on my list of countries I hope someday to explore, but for today I am "almost" content to be travelling on a virtual culinary journey with Joan of FOODalogue for her Culinary Tour 2011. I think if I delved into my past life you would find me somewhere in the Middle East browsing the markets. I find myself inexplicably drawn to their cuisine, flavours and culture. I have a special affection for bulgur, yogurt adn lamb none of which appeared on my table growing up in Southern Ontario.

Joan has been travelling virtually wherever her imagination takes us through cuisine, sights, and cultural exploration.  How about meeting her in any one of her itinerary stops and presenting your interpretation of the cuisine from that destination? Who wouldn't enjoy taking a journey around the world even if it is from the comfort of your favourite armchair?? No passport necessary, no cancelled flights or long airport layovers. You can also do a little daydreaming through your taste buds. We have already met up in Panama where we feasted on traditional dishes  and visited the markets, caught our own salmon and alien looking King Crab in Alaska ...so next stop on her tour is, you guessed it:

Home Made Raincoast Crisps Paired with an Oregon Award Winning Cheese

Cranberry and Hazelnut Raincoast Crisps

Vancouverite Lesley Stowe's culinary journey took her from the streets of Paris back to her roots on the West Coast of Canada where she helped set up a small cooking school. At that time she had her culinary hand in catering and doing high-end desserts for local Vancouver restaurants. She eventually opened a retail location off Granville Island with an eye to growing her specialty food line of high-end cheeses, preparing take-out and packaged foods.

Coronation Grape Foccacia a New Seasonal Specialty

Coronation Grape Foccacia

As foodies we gather our inspiration from many different sources. Perhaps a new cookbook or magazine, a cooking show, a stunning meal at a restaurant or dinner at a friends home sends the imaginary wheels within our mind turning. Wherever our ideas come from recipes creep into our heart and soul and ultimately make it to the table for the ones we love. I often have ideas lurking in the back of my mind and sometimes a real winner surfaces.

Blueberry Bannock

Blueberry Bannock

Sunday morning.....it has been a lazy one for me so far. In this heat it seems only natural to move slowly in tune with nature and have a leisurely breakfast. Only on Sundays do I have time to truly enjoy the morning, kick back and move to my own drummer. Today I felt like some experimentation, so, turned to a recent episode on Food Network.

Crumpets by Be My Guest

Crumpets/Pikelets

 I have tried to cut down on my carb intake in the last few years but I will always estole the virtue of anything with yeast or "yeast related" that will give me that soul satisfying aroma, taste and texture. One of my quests has been to find a British crumpet that will not only satisfy my cravings but remind me of my childhood. When sick, or tired, or far from home, I seem to yearn for the gastronomic equivalent of a warm sweater, a kiss on the forehead, or the comfort of a favourite blanket I can wrap myself up in.

Come Celebrate My Three Year Blogiversary with Spicy Sausage Meat Lovers Pizza

Today I am celebrating my third year of blogging. More Than Burnt Toast has come a long way since its birth February 2nd three years ago. It started off as an avenue to record my recipes for L'il Burnt Toast who was attending university. I had visited a few blogs over the years but was drawn in through a friends daughter who had a diary blog while teaching in London and I felt I could make it work for my hobby too. My first posts had photos of places I had visited with no food photography at all. For shame. I had just returned from a 5 week sojourn in Greece and wanted to share some recipes I had learned while on Kea. A wise blogger suggested that photos might have people coming back...I was hooked. Since I began writing these pages I have discovered an entire community of generous and caring food bloggers which is continually growing!!!!!

A Recipe for Michael Smith's Frozen Butter Biscuits for Thanksgiving

 

Frozen Butter Biscuits

  I'd love to take a few moments to wish all of our American friends a very happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have many hands to make the work lighter and many smiling faces around your table. There is just so much to be thankful for....despite everything!!

 Thanksgiving here in Canada was in October so we are ogling your recipe ideas for the Christmas holidays. So for the past week or two I have not been baking up a storm, or been up to my elbows with saucepans, nor do I want to stick my head in the oven either...just kidding. Our time will come and I hope you have many things to make you truly thankful.

I have had these biscuits waiting on the sidelines to have their time to SHINE!!! These are gold-standard biscuits from Canadian Chef Michael Smith. These are another one of the down-home dishes I enjoyed from his latest cookbook The Best of Chef at Home which I reviewed in an earlier post.  His secret? Frozen butter! It’s an old pastry chef’s trick that has served him well. Butter tastes great and adds that flavour that is just essential when baking biscuits. When the butter is frozen it becomes very easy to shred into the dough. This allows for a very flaky biscuit. I broke the biscuits in half and topped them with Greek yogurt from Pike Place Market in Seattle as well as some homemade raspberry preserves. These flaky morsels did not last long and are so versatile. I have made them several times adding different cheeses and herbs.

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,

because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who

are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,

and they can become your blessings.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

**Frozen Butter Biscuits**
by Canadian Chef Michael Smith from the Best of Chef at Home
print Michael's recipe

4 cups of all-purpose flour

2 large spoonfuls of baking powder

2 small spoonfuls of salt

2 sticks/8 oz/ 1 cup of frozen butter

1-1/2 cups of milk

a sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

*****************
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until they’re evenly mixed. Grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Shred it through the large holes of a box grater or potato grater directly into the flour. Toss gently with your fingers until the butter shards are spread evenly throughout the flour.

Pour the milk into the flour mixture and stir with an upside down wooden spoon to form a dough mass. The handle of the spoon is gentler on the dough. Fold the dough over a few times with your hands until all the ingredients come together. If necessary add a few spoonfuls more milk to help gather up any stray flour. This kneading will strengthen the dough a bit but not enough to toughen the biscuits. It will also help them form a crisp crust when they bake.

Pat the dough out on a lightly floured cutting board forming a loose round shape. Cut into wedges – like a pie - or any other shape you’re in the mood for. Position on a baking sheet; sprinkle on a bit of coarse salt and coarsely ground pepper. Bake for fifteen minutes or so. You’ll know they’re done when they turn golden brown. Enjoy at once with lots of brown butter!

You may also enjoy....

Basic Buttery Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscones from One Food Year

Thomas Jefferson's Sweet Potato Biscuits from One for the Table

Biscuits and Gravy by Pioneer Woman Cooks

Buttermilk Biscuits with Goat Cheese and Chives by Elise at Simply Recipes

A Recipe for Butternut Squash Focaccia with Caramelized Onions

 

Butternut Focaccia with Caramelized Onions

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven? This feeling is something you just can't purchase at your local bakery or at Costco. Making bread is an act to not only feed my family and myself, but to nourish my soul as well. I can pick up a  fresh loaf of bread within a five-minute walking distance from my home, but I occasionally like to make my own bread just for the comfort factor. When I attended the very first ever Foodbuzz Festival I was one of the lucky recipients of  the new Zoë François and Jeff Hertzberg book Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I have been eagerly browsing through it's pages and have my eye on a pumpkin brioche, but before I venture into artisan breads I was looking for something to do with the leftover mashed, roasted butternut squash I had on hand.

One bread I enjoy making at home is focaccia. In addition to thinking it's one of the easier breads to bake, I also love it's diversity. It is quite often baked with sea salt and rosemary, but, you can easily add thyme or sage instead, not to mention goat cheese, caramelized onions, olives, garlic, nuts, anchovies, and fresh tomatoes.The sky is the limit!!!!Don't you just love it!!!

Focaccia or panis focacius is a traditional Italian bread whose recipe dates back to ancient Rome. It was a flat bread baked in the ashes of the fireplace. The word is derived from the Latin focus meaning “centre” and also “fireplace” ...the fireplace being in the centre of the house. Like pizza, it is made from a simple and basic yeast dough that is often cooked with olive oil.

As mentioned earlier I had some leftover butternut squash so I decided to bake a focaccia loosely based on a recipe I found on the internet from Gattina of Kitchen Unplugged. The Internet is a very useful tool when searching for ideas. She had produced a foccacia using mashed pototoes so I said to myself why not try butternut squash instead.  When I was in Greece a few years back on the small island of Kea at Keartisinal Aglaia Kremezi taught us how to make a focaccia using zucchini picked fresh from her garden and then grated into the dough. What Aglaia taught me was to make use of what is available to you as well as use the best ingredients possible. This is how you will become a success in your own kitchen and leave people wanting more!!!

To follow through with the almost sweet tendencies of the squash I chose to caramelize some cippolini onions to add on top. These are small sweet onions, having more residual sugar than garden-variety white or yellow onions, but not quite as sweet as shallots. Their sweetness makes for a lovely addition to recipes where you might want to use whole caramelized onions.  Replace the cipollini onions with shallots if you cannot find them as they will substitute very well. Shallots are quite a bit pricier. The onions add a sweet flavor that plays off the salt in this bread nicely. Feel free to use chopped kalamata olives instead, add goat cheese, or just use herbs and salt. To add that depth of flavour you will find the method of roasting your butternut squash here.

Once the dough has risen it is common practice to "dot" the bread. This creates multiple wells in the bread by using a finger or the handle of a utensil to poke the unbaked risen dough. As a way to preserve moisture in the bread, olive oil is then spread over the dough, by hand or with a pastry brush prior to rising and baking. Whatever you do, your house will smell like HOME. It is simply not something that can be duplicated!!!!

The verdict.....This bread was delicious and can be made in stages or made all in the same day depending on your own schedule. Everything about it appealed to me. This is the perfect base recipe for making all sorts of different flavoured focaccia bread! With it's gorgeous orange hue this would be perfect for the American Thanksgiving coming up. A Happy holiday to all our American friends. I will be making this again and again and have even entered it in a recipe contest.

**Butternut Squash Focaccia with Caramelized Onions**

Print this More Than Burnt Toast Original

8 oz /1 cup mashed butternut squash, precooked ( I had leftover roasted butternut which makes a world of difference!!)

25g fresh yeast or 1 package dry

3 cups flour (+ 1/4 cup for dusting)

1 cup whole milk, lukewarm

2 teaspoons sea salt (and extra for topping)

5 teaspoons canola or corn oil

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil ( and extra for drizzling on top)

1 teaspoons dried crushed oregano

a little water (if the dough is too dry)

1 cup caramelized onions (see recipe below)

dash of chili flakes or red peppercorns

*************************

In a large mixing bowl, combine fresh yeast, flour, mashed butternut squash, oregano, both oils and salt. Add milk (most of it but not all... later during the kneading after you get a good feeling of its moisture, then decide if more milk is needed).

Dust the work table with  1/4 cup of flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Please note that the dough in the beginning feels a bit dry, but later turns sticky (so don't rush to add excessive liquid too soon). The dough should be slightly sticky.

Put the dough in a large bowl pregreased with olive oil, cover with pre-greased plastic wrap and  place the bowl on the lowest shelf of the fridge; let it proof overnight.

The following day remove the dough from the fridge and fold it (but do not knead) a few times, just to re-distribute the yeast cells.

Grease the baking tray with olive oil, and your hands too; gently press the dough until it reaches the sides of the pan. This may require a resting period depending on whether or not the dough is too springy depending on the gluten content of your flour. Sprinkle with the caramelized onions and chili flakes. Cover with  plastic wrap and let rise until it has a doubled in volume.

"Dot" the bread with your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon to create dimples. If the dough seems sticky dip your finger into a tiny bit of flour or olive oil. Brush olive oil onto the surface of bread. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Pre-heat oven to 230 C/450 F.

Bake the focaccia for 5 minutes, then lower to 200 C/400 F until it's done, it may take 20 - 25 mins in total. Unmold the bread and let it completely cool on a rack.The focaccia tastes best in the first 2 days.

Good enough to make 6 sandwiches, or simply to cut into chunks, accompanied with tomato sauce (or in this case a nice dip or spread).

Caramelized Onions

1 cup sliced cipollini onions (or shallots)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

Heat olive oil in a medium to large pan. Add onions and sauté on medium low for about five minutes. Add the sugar and stir. Cook the onions until they are soft and a light golden colour.

What are our friends doing with focaccia?????????????

Susan at A Year in Bread - Easy Rosemary Focaccia
Luisa of The Wednesday Chef - Focaccia di Patate
Seven Fishes.com - Easy Italian Herb Focaccia
Martha Stewart - Eggplant Focaccia
Bay Area Bites - Caramelized Cipollini Onion Focaccia
Margot of Coffee & Vanilla - Green Olive Focaccia
Pinch My Salt - Herbed Focaccia from the Bread Bakers Apprentice

Grandma

Mom's Potato Bread

I'm contributing this recipe to Laura from The Spiced Life for her wonderful event Grandma's Recipes Her event spotlights recipes passed down to us from our grandmothers. What a terrific way to honor these time honoured recipes. This recipe actually comes from my own mother, but she is a grandmother many times over.

This version of potato bread is not light and tender like a yeast loaf, which is also delicious, but more like a potato scone. It is a favourite recipe here in the More Than Burnt Toast household. If you can't find this British cheese use Cheddar.

Every family has their heirloom recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. I don't know if this was my grandmothers recipe exactly, but I am sure it is close. I never had the pleasure of meeting either of my grandmothers who both passed away quite young. I did meet my grandfathers in England though.