This pastry challenged me. It didn't sound complicated, but the proportions and procedure were very different from what I'm used to for pastry.

My usually pastry is just a standard shortcrust; a simple butter-and-flour-plus-a-bit-of-water affair. But I've also made sweet shortcrust, rough puff, sourdough shortcrust, hot water crust, and a few others. They all have their differences and I find some of them easier to work with than others, but I feel reasonably comfortable with all of them. This was unlike any other pastry I've ever made before.

Honestly, this dough doesn't even really look or taste like pastry to me. What it really seems like is sugar cookie dough!

Everything about how it's made, looks, tastes, and handles really seems very sugar cookie-esque to me. And yet it's apparently meant to be a roll-out pastry.

Unfortunately, being so high in sugar and relatively low in flour, I couldn't really get mine to roll out properly. I tried! I really did! But it just kept tearing. No matter how careful and gentle I tried to be. Eventually I just decided to treat it as a press-in crust and mashed all the bits together until they'd formed something contiguous and relatively even.

I couldn't use that technique for the top crust, but luckily I was able to get that into place with only one big tear down the middle.

I did try to follow the recipe for this! I started by creaming the fat and sugar together just as specified. I swapped in some lard for the shortening because that's what I had on hand, but I kept all the proportions the same. I mixed in the vanilla, eggs, baking powder, and evaporated milk just like it said. And then I mixed in the 3 c. of flour. And ended up with a dough so wet that there was no question of even attempting to roll it out. I might have been able to turn it into drop cookies, but that's about it.

After mixing in an entire additional cup of flour, it was still very soft, but seemed like, with sufficient care and a well-floured surface, I might be able to at least attempt rolling it. And that was without the 3 Tbsp. of water called for in the recipe!

It rolled okay, but stuck to the work surface fairly easily, so I had to be quite generous with the flour -- which it took up extremely readily! Once it was rolled out though, I could barely even look at it without it tearing. No amount of care and flour seemed to be sufficient to keep it when transferred from the bench to the pie plate. So, as noted, I ended up resorting to treating it as a press-in dough for the bottom crust and using it that way. And, for the top crust, I had to just resign myself to having a huge tear down the centre.

So, as you can see, not the easiest pastry to work with. But it does taste nice. (And it is very cookie-like.)

I might actually try baking the rest of the dough into cookies later today and see how they come out.

Bahamanian Sweet Pastry

Slightly adapted from ??

¹

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 c. lard or shortening, softened
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 c. evaporated milk
• 3-4 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. water²

Directions

1. Cream the butter with the lard.
2. Beat in the sugar.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Beat in the vanilla.
5. Sift in the baking powder and mix well.
6. Beat in the milk.
7. Mix in the flour until a soft, but roll-able dough forms.
8. If the dough seems too stiff, add water, 1 tsp. at a time, until consistency seems about right.
9. Divide into four equal portions, cover/wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use. One portion makes one 23cm (9") single crust pie. (Use two portions for a double crust pie.)

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¹ My mom has a Bahamanian cookbook and shared this recipe from it. I have neither the title nor the author of the book. I'll come back and add them later if I can. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for water, but I didn't use any. Even without it, the dough was still very, very soft. I actually used a full 4 c. of flour plus a generous (but unmeasured) additional quantity for dusting my work surface while I was rolling out the dough. ^Back

This was pretty good. The chicken was very simple: just a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning, but it went well with the fava beans. And the wine and broth combine to make a nice sauce for the beans. The beans themselves were nice. But I found peeling them pretty annoying. It's fairly labour-instensive for something that's good, but not great. I think, if I did it again, I might try using peas or a combination of peas and lentils. The fava beans definitely provide a unique flavour and texture, but it's not special or desirable enough for me to want to go to the effort of peeling a kilo of legumes for it! I think other legumes would be different, but still quite good.

Chicken Breasts with Fava Beans

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 900g fava beans, shelled
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. schmaltz (or other fat)
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 3/4 c. chicken stock, divided

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the fava beans, and cook for ~5 minutes.
2. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. Once cool enough to handle, peel the tough outer skin off of the beans.
4. Bisect the chicken breasts lengthwise to form 8 wide, thin pieces of chicken.
5. Season with the salt and pepper.
6. Melt the schmaltz over medium heat.
7. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through (4-5 minutes per side).
8. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
9. Add 1 Tbsp. of butter to the pan.
10. Add the green onions and garlic and cook for ~2 minutes.
11. Pour in the wine and cook until nearly evaporated.
12. Add 1/4 c. of the stock and the fava beans, cover, and cook for ~5 minutes.
13. Uncover and add the remaining 1/2 c. of broth.
14. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for another few minutes.
15. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter.
16. Serve the beans topped with chicken.
17. Garnish with some parsley and extra green onion if desired.

I wasn't sure what to think of this salad based on the recipe. I like squash. Roasting it in the oven sounded like a promising start. And I've had some lovely warm salads in the past. But this combination sounded a bit unusual and I didn't quite know what to expect. It was actually really great though! Sadly, the Kidlet didn't care for it. But TF and I both loved it!

I cut back on the oil quite a bit. (The original called for half a cup!) And I had to use a yellow onion rather than red because that's all we had on hand. But, other than that, I stuck to the script and it worked out quite well!

Warm Squash Salad with Mint

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 butternut squash
• 1/4 c. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. minced fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 c. fresh mint leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Peel the squash and cut crosswise into 2-3cm thick slices, scooping out any seeds.
3. Toss with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spread the squash out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 200°C (400°F) until tender (~30 minutes), turning once or twice.
5. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil into the vinegar.
6. Add the onion, oregano, garlic, and pepper flakes and let stand while squash cooks.
7. Once squash is done, transfer to a serving dish and pour the dressing over.
8. Sprinkle with mint and serve.

I've done quite a few different cornmeal waffle recipes at this point. This one distinguishes itself by the inclusion of cheese, green onions, and chipotles in adobo in the batter.

We're actually fresh out of green onions at the moment. Luckily we had a nice bunch of chives in the fridge, so I just used a few of those in place of the scallions. Not quite the same, I know, but I think it was close enough for our purposes. And the cheese, chipotles, and alliums really do make a great combination.

Cheddar-Chipotle Cornmeal Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 125g cheddar, grated
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. chipotles in adobo, minced
• 4 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Add the cheese and mix to combine, breaking up and clumps.
5. In a large measuring cup, beat the eggs with the buttermilk.
6. Pour in the butter and mix well.
7. Mix the minced chipotles into the wet ingredients.
8. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just mixed.
9. Stir in the green onions.
10. Pour a portion of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
11. Serve with eggs, salsa, guacamole/sliced avocado, cilantro, and/or chili.

I somehow missed adding this write-up to the queue when I initially tried the recipe a few weeks ago. So now I'm playing catch-up. (I mean, I was already playing catch-up, but now even more-so since I keep discovering recipes like this that had fallen through the cracks.)

This makes a nice pan loaf. Not exceptional, but perfectly serviceable. That said, I don't feel that I can pass accurate judgement on it as I wasn't able to follow the prescribed rising schedule. So, I should probably take another crack at this one sometime and try to get the proofing closer to what was specified in the original.

Egg Harbor Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 100g sourdough discard (optional)
• 700-800g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (or 3 1/2 tsp. instant yeast)
• 1 small egg
• 1 Tbsp. milk

Directions

1. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water. Add the butter and sourdough discard (if using) and set aside.
2. Put 400g of the flour into a mixing bowl with the yeast and stir to combine.
3. Pour in the liquid and mix in with a flat beater or wooden spoon. Beat for 2 minutes (or ~100 strokes by hand).
4. If using an electric mixer, switch from the flat beater to the dough hook at this point.
5. Add the remaining flour 1/2 c. (~60g) at a time until a rough dough forms.
6. Knead with dough hook for 5-8 minutes or by hand for ~20. Sprinkle with extra flour as needed, but be careful not to make the dough too dry.
7. Cover and set to rise for 30-45 minutes.
8. Once dough is fully risen (use the finger poke test), knock it back, round it, and set it to rise again.
9. This time, cover it and allow it to rise for another 80 minutes, but knock it back every 20.
10. After the last 20-minute rise, turn the dough out onto the work surface, divide it into two equal portions, round each one, cover, and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
12. Shape each ball into a loaf and place, seam-side-down, into the pans.
13. Cover and set aside to rise for 50-60 minutes.
14. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
15. Once loaves are fully risen, beat the egg with the milk and brush it over the tops of the loaves. (Try not to let any drip down the sides as it will weld the loaves to the pans and make them difficult to turn out.)
16. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for ~30 minutes.
17. If desired, remove from pans and return to oven for another 5-10 minutes for a darker crust.
18. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

This recipe has been languishing in my backlog for... a while. I think close to four months at this point. So, really, it should probably go into last year's posts. But I don't really feel like doing that today, so here we are!

This is a nice, simple sandwich. The kind of thing that feels like you don't really even need a recipe for. It's just another variation of eggs on toast. That said, without actually writing it down, I probably wouldn't remember to think of combining these ingredients in this specific way. So, this post is my reminder to myself that this combination exists.

Scrambled Egg Sandwich with Parmesan Curls and Tomato Slices

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 2 slices bread, toasted
• 2 tsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 1-2 large eggs
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2-3 wide curls Parmesan
• 2 thin slices tomato
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Spread half the butter on the toast.
2. Melt the remaining 1 tsp. of butter over medium heat.
3. Whisk the egg(s) with the garlic, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, until just set (~1 minute).
5. Top the scrambled egg with the cheese curls, then transfer to one of the buttered toast slices.
6. Top with tomato and basil, followed by the remaining slice of toast.

English Muffin Bread (Bernard Clayton)

I've made a few different English muffin breads before, but this one in Bernard Clayton's book was a bit different than the previous ones that I had tried. Like, the previous ones that I'd tried, it involves a combination of yeast and chemical leaveners. But, in this case, you get the chemical leavener in there by mixing some dissolved baking soda into the batter between the first and second rise.

As Clayton notes, this bread certainly won't win any beauty pageants, but it smells lovely and -- although I haven't tried it yet -- promises to have a lovely, bubbly internal texture.

I followed the original recipe pretty closely, but added a little bit of sourdough discard. Not so much because I thought it really needed it or wanted to turn it into a sourdough recipe per se. I just needed a way to use up a bit of discard and didn't think it would hurt to add a bit. Normally I would have decreased the flour and water to compensate for what's included in the discard. However, since this was already a very wet dough/batter, I just used the full quantities of everything and added the discard on top of that in this case.

English Muffin Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 4 c. hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided
• 1 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. skim milk powder
• 2 c. warm water
• 100g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp. warm water

Directions

1. Combine 240g (~2 c.) of the flour with the yeast, salt, and milk powder.
2. Add the sourdough discard and warm water and mix well.
3. Add the remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time to form a thick batter.
4. Beat with flat beater (or by hand) for 3 minutes (or 200-300 strokes).
5. Cover and set aside to rise for ~1 hour.
6. Grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
7. Pour the baking soda mixture over the batter and mix it in very well.
8. Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pans and press into the corners.
9. Cover and set aside to rise for another hour.
10. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
11. Uncover and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 40-50 minutes.
12. Remove from pans and set on wire rack to cool.