Melting Moments

Ingredients:
4oz cornflour
3oz butter
2oz caster sugar
One egg
Level teaspoon baking powder
Teaspoon grated lemon rind
Icing sugar
Method
Cream the butter (margarine will do) and sugar until light and fluffy and add the lemon rind. Sieve the cornflour and baking powder together. Break the egg into a bowl and beat with a fork. Add a small amount (about a tablespoon) of egg and a similar amount of cornflour alternately to the creamed butter and sugar, beating well between each addition. Place about a dozen paper cake cases in a baking tin and add a teaspoonful of mixture to each case (use the back of another spoon to push it off). Place in a pre-heated oven at 375F/180C/Gas mark 4 and bake 10 minutes until firm and golden (don't let them get beyond a golden colour). Allow the cakes to cool on a rack and then add a dusting of the icing sugar.

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SPICY MEATLOAF RECIPE

Ingredients:
1.125 kg (2.5 lbs) Lean Scotch beef, minced (ground)
1 tbsp olive oil for frying
1 finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 red pepper, de-seeded, skin removed, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp mixed herbs
Half cup tomato sauce (canned sauce or passatta)
Half cup fresh breadcrumbs
Half cup beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Put oil in pan and heat. Add onions, garlic, cumin, chilli powder and mixed herbs. Sweat over heat until onions are soft without browning. Transfer to large bowl and allow to cool.
Add tomato sauce, breadcrumbs and beef stock to the cooked mixture. Stir together. Break up the ground beef and add to mixture. Season to taste and mix together gently.
Pack this mixture into a deep loaf tin or baking tray and bake in a pre heated oven (gas mark 4, 180C/350F) for 50 - 60 minutes.
Remove carefully from oven. Pour off any excess fat, let the loaf cool for about 10 minutes. Slice and serve with crisp green salad, spicy tomato salsa and crusty bread. Can also be served cold.

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My Mum's Scotch Broth Recipe

1 lamb shank
3 pints of water
1oz pearl barley and 2oz dried peas, soaked overnight ( you can also buy broth mix)
A large carrot a large onion, a small leek (all sliced), a small diced turnip and 4oz shredded cabbage
1 level tablespoon of chopped parsley

Method
Place the lamb shank in a large pan with the water, pearl barley, peas and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour.
Add the carrot, onion, leek and turnip, return to the boil and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are just cooked. Add the cabbage and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the mutton from the pot and trim off the meat (into small pieces if they are to be served with the soup) and return it to the pot, discarding the bone. Skim off any fat, season to taste and sprinkle parsley on the piping hot bowls of soup before serving.

Serve with buttered crusty bread.

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Traditional Scottish Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:
Minced lamb - 450g (1 lb)
Potatoes - 700g (1½ lb)
Large onion
Mushrooms - 50g (2 oz)
Bay leaf
2 Carrots
Plain flour - 25g (1 oz)
Tomato puree - 1 tbsp
Butter - 25g (1 oz)
Milk - 4 tbsp
Lamb or beef stock - 300ml (½ pint)
Cheese - 50g (2 oz)
Method:
Dry fry the lamb with the chopped onion, bay leaf, sliced mushrooms and diced carrots for 8-10 minutes. Add the flour and stir for a minute. Slowly blend in the stock and tomato puree. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and boils. Cover and simmer gently for 25 minutes. Remove the bayleaf and place in a 1.7 litre (3 pint) ovenproof serving dish.
At the same time, cook the potatoes in boiling water for 20 minutes until tender. Drain well, mash with the butter and milk and mix well. Spread on top of the mince mixture and sprinkle over with the grated cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200C/400F (Gas Mark 6). Serve hot with seasonal vegetables

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Caramel Shortcake or as it is called in Scotland "Millionaires Shortbread"

Ingredients (Biscuit Base):
8oz (200g or two US cups) plain flour
6oz (150g or 1½ US sticks) margarine
30z (75g or half US cup) caster (fine white) sugar

Ingredients (Filling):
2oz (25g or ½ US stick) margarine
2oz (25g or between a ¼ and a ½ US cup) soft brown sugar
A large tin of condensed milk

Ingredients (Topping):
8oz (200g or one US cup) light brown chocolate

Method:
Rub the margarine and flour together in a bowl until you have a mix which is similar to breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Spread the mixture evenly into a 9" (23cm) square tin which has been lined with baking parchment. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170C/340F (160C/320F if fan assisted) for approximately 35 minutes until it is golden brown. Allow the base to cool.
Heat the filling ingredients together in a pot, making sure that you stir it constantly (otherwise it will stick!) until it begins to simmer. Continue stitting until it thickens (which it should do in a few minutes). Spread the filling evenly over the base and again allow to cool.
Melt the chocolate so that you can spread it over the filling.
When it has cooled and you are ready to eat it, cut up into squares or rectangles with a sharp knife.

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CLASSIC APPLE PIE

One of my memories from childhood is walking in to my Nana's kitchen and the smell when she was making one of her apple pies. The smell would just melt you from the inside out! Again, like her homemade stew I can never quite re-create the apple pie like my nana's but this is my classic apple pie recipe. You can buy an apple pie in any food shop but you can not buy the smell and taste of a homemade apple pie. Go on, bake the kids (and you) a classic apple pie this weekend!



Ingredients for Classic Apple Pie

* 675 g cooking apples
* finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemons
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* 100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
* lightly beaten eggs
* 25g butter
* 675 g ready-made shortcrust pastry
* flour, for dusting

Method for Classic Apple Pie
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.

2. Quarter, core and peel the apples, then slice them thickly into a bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and juice. and the cinnamon. Stir in the sugar and mix well.

3. Brush the rim of a deep pie dish with beaten egg. Tip the apple mixture into the dish and dot with the butter.

4. Roll out pastry on a floured board and place on top of apple mixture, trimming about 1cm beyond the edge of the pie dish.

5. Crimp the edges of the pastry with your finger and thumb, pressing on to edge of pie dish.

6. Cut three small holes in the top of the pastry to let out the steam.

7. Use the pastry trimmings to make decorations, such as leaves, sealing them in place with a little water.

8. Brush the pastry with egg wash, then dredge with caster sugar and then bake for 35-40 minutes until the fruit is tender and the top is golden brown. Serve your classic apple pie with custard or ice cream.

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Homemade Lentil and Bacon Soup

I know winter is just about behind us and spring is in the air. We are all looking forward to hot sunny days but that does not mean you have to start eating salads and give up your comfort food and for me you can't beat homemade lentil and bacon soup with buttered crusty bread!

Homemade Lentil and Bacon Soup

2 carrots
1 large or 2 medium onions
thin sliced smoked back bacon
250g split red lentils
2 medium white potatoes
3 knorr chicken stock cubes
( yes chicken not ham, I find you get a better flavour from the chicken stock cube than the ham!)


Method

3/4 fill a large pot with water and bring to the boil. While you are waiting for it to boil, peel the onion and chop finely. Peel and chop the carrot finely too. Peel the potatoes and cut in to large chunks. Take a frying pan and on a medium heat add a little olive oil. chop the bacon and gently fry until it starts to go crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen roll. Once cooled chop the bacon up to small pieces.
Once the water has boiled turn down to a gentle simmer and add the stock cubes, use a whisk to ensure the stock cubes have dissolved. Add the lentils, chopped carrots, chopped onions, potatoes and bacon. Cook for around 60 minutes. Add salt and cracked black pepper to taste. If the soup becomes a little too thick during cooking just add a little water.

Serve with buttered crusty bread.

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HOMEMADE STEW

Homemade stew has been a part of my family life for as long as I can remember. My Nana Helen made the most amazing stew, always making it on a Saturday evening as it was always better when it had been cooled and stored in the fridge overnight. The only downside to this was my Grandpa coming home from the club with a few drinks in him and eating half the pot of stew with buttered Scottish plain bread!
The recipe was continued by my mother who also makes the most amazing homemade stew. I have attempted to make the same recipe but somehow it is never quite the same but it's the next best thing.

HOMEMADE STEW

Ingredients:

0.7 kilos (or 1 1/2 lbs) of diced shoulder steak
0.7 kilos (or 1 1/2 lbs) of rump steak
6 skinless pork sausages ( you can use beef sausage and with skin but I prefer skinless pork as the flavour is better)
2 onions
2 carrots
tablespoon of butter
tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of Compton's Gravy Salt ( if you can not get Compton's the use 4 oxo cubes)
Gravy browning
crushed black pepper
water
plain flour

METHOD

Cut off the fat and residue from the diced shoulder steak. Do the same with the rump steak and then cut this in to pieces the same size as the diced shoulder steak. Tenderise the meat using a tenderising hammer. Pour some flour in to a bowl and put the tenderised meat in and coat well with the flour.
Peel and chop the onions and carrots. Using a large solid prying pan ( you can use a pot if you wish) put in the butter and the oil and place on to the stove over a medium heat. When the butter has melted put the carrots and onions in and fry them off for 2 - 3 minutes. Put the onions and carrots in to a large oven proof pot or casserole dish with a lid. Now add a little more butter and oil to the frying pan and start frying the meat until it starts to colour. Once coloured add the meat to the carrots and onions in the oven proof dish. Cut each sausage in to 3 pieces and add to the casserole dish.
Cover with water and slow cook in the oven for 3 to 4 hours at 180/gas mark 4, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if the stew is drying up.
After 3 to 4 hours remove from the oven and add 1 - 2 table spoons of gravy salt or 3 - 4 oxo cubes, also add around 1 -2 spoons of gravy browning, around a teaspoon of black pepper and small amount of salt. Stir well and replace the lid and return to the oven for a further 30 - 45 minutes.
You can either serve straight away or for best results allow to cool, store in the fridge overnight and re-heat before serving. You can re-heat either in the oven or on the hob.
Best served with mashed potatoes, seasonal veg and a puff pastry square or in a bowl with buttered crusty bread.

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First Post, Welcome To Granny Dinners

Hello and welcome to Kenny in the Kitchen. I have been toying with the idea of a food blog for some time as cooking is one of my passions and I get so much satisfaction from being in the kitchen cooking a good meal.
Now I'm not one of those fancy cooks, I'm more a straight down the middle home dinner cook or granny dinner cook! I love cooking the old classics and I hate it when you research a recipe online and find all these different recipes with all sorts of strange ingredients in them so I have decided to start Kenny in the Kitchen. I will post my own recipes here and research some of the best proper home cookin recipes for you to follow at home.
Hope you enjoy and happy cooking.

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