Contest Entries and Swamp Cabbage Update

Strawberry Scones

This is a first attempt at creating a winning scone recipe for the Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, KY. The recipe deadline is April 15th, and the winning scone will be served as part of a four-course tea at the event.

2-1/2 cups AP Flour

3 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, cut into chunks

1 cup chopped fresh Strawberries

2 Eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Half-and-Half (make that a "scant" half cup, so the dough isn't too moist)

Sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut-in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gently toss in the strawberries. Make a well in center of the mixture; set aside.

In another bowl stir together eggs and half-and-half, and beat until well combined. Add egg mixture to flour mixture a bit at a time, gently stirring with a spatula until the flour mix is just moistened.

Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface. Knead dough 5 or 6 times by folding and pressing. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat or lightly roll the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disk. Slice disk into wedges and pull apart slightly.

Brush wedges with additional half-and-half and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden.

Not bad as a first pass. But there are some "enhancements" I want to make to bring out the "strawberry-ness" -- the dough needs some strawberry flavor of its own, not just the berries.

Cajun Seafood Pie

This contest entry is for the Healthy Solutions tm Spice Company Contest. The contest is for bloggers, and once you pre-registered, they send a sample packet of your choice of one of their 16 spice blends. 

 Healthy Solutions blends are all about the spices -- unlike many other company's blends which are half salt or MSG or other fillers.  Healthy Solutions spice blends have no salt, no fillers, no MSG. And 'boy howdy' can you taste the difference! 

I chose their Cajun Seafood Blend tm because I knew it would do wonderfully in my signature Seafood Pie. I like this a lot more than other "cajun" blends I've tried; it's go a smokey component that will go well with lots of spicy dishes I make.   Regular readers may remember I posted this basic recipe quite some time ago.

1 premade frozen Pie Crust

1/2 pound Salmon

1/2 pound Sea Bass or other firm white fish

1/2 lb medium-large Shrimp

1 14-16 oz bag of Frozen Mixed Vegetables (your choice of veggie blend)

1 cup Cajun Trinity - equal amounts of diced Celery, Onion, Bell Pepper

1 8oz bag of shredded Cheese

1+ Tbsp HEALTHY SOLUTIONS Cajun Seafood Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400F.

Put the frozen veggies in a large bowl along with the Trinity. Cut the fish into 1" pieces and add to the bowl. Rough chop the shrimp and add to the bowl. Toss/stir to combine. Add 3/4 of the cheese and stir again. Dust the mixture with seasoning and stir one last time.

Transfer the veggie/fish mix to the pie shell and pack it down. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400F for 45 minutes until the cheese is melted, golden brown and delicious.

One tablespoon of the Healthy Solutions spice was just right for those who want a tang but not a slap in the face.   For me, I'll use 1 Tbsp + 1-2 tsp next time. If there is any leftover filling, you can chop it finer and make some excellent seafood empanadas using a tube of crescent roll dough.

Swamp Cabbage Fritters

We went to the La Belle Swamp Cabbage Festival -- a wonderful gathering -- on Saturday. Caught the parade. It was more 'cowboy' than most Eastern parades I've seen, reminded me of small town parades out West.  But this part of Florida is Cracker country, and the Crackers were America's first cowmen!   After the parade we wandered the vendor and food booths in the park. Just had to sample some Swamp Cabbage fritters and BBQ. This recipe can easily be made with canned Hearts of Palm, and sounds tastier than the ones we had at the festival, which were pretty good. Look in your megamart in the same place as they have canned artichoke hearts...

2-1/4 cups Bisquicktm or similar biscuit mix

1/2 cup Milk

2 Eggs

2 tsp Red Pepper (optional)

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 (14 oz) can Hearts of Palms, drained and sliced or chopped

1 small Onion, diced

1 stalk Celery, diced

1/2 cup diced Red Bell Pepper

Oil for frying

Combine everything except the oil. Heat the oil for deep frying. If you don't a deep fryer, use a small/deep pot. Drop batter by spoonfuls into hot oil, fry until golden, and drain on paper towels.

Bleu Tuna

That's right -- Bleu Tuna, not Bluefin Tuna. This is how I make Tuna Salad (or as the Brits call it, Tuna Mayonnaise). This is a technique, not a recipe...

Celery

Red Bell Pepper

Canned Solid Pack Albacore Tuna

Bleu Cheese Dressing

Pinch of Spice

You've heard my rant about canned tuna -- always buy solid, not chunk. If you buy chunk, you're paying good money for far too much fish-flavored water and not enough fish.

To each can of tuna (drained and flaked), add a stalk of celery diced small, and a third of a red bell pepper also diced small.

Instead of mayonnaise, or mustard, add a good dollop of chunky Bleu Cheese Dressing, and a pinch of a somewhat peppery spice -- I like Evergladestm seasoning, but Sazon Completa or even fresh cracked black pepper works too.  Stir to combine well.

Now make a Tuna Melt with some nice sharp cheddar cheese and a multigrain bread. Stuff some Bell Peppers, or make a tuna omelet. Or anything else you like to use tuna salad with.

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

Cauliflower is one of those on-again, off-again vegetables. Right now it's in favor, and readily available. Other than Cheesy Cauliflower, my favorite way to make this relative of broccoli and cabbage is roasting it with some curry spice. For two of us I usually use half a head of cauliflower. This is another technique rather than a recipe:

Cut the head apart into flowerettes, and rinse them thoroughly. Drop them, still damp, into a plastic bag and add some Indian spice blend -- couple teaspoons or so. Twist the bag closed and give the contents a good shaking to spread the spice around.

Lay the flowerettes out on a baking sheet, and roast at 400F for 20-25 minutes until just coming tender. Serve plain, or with honey-mustard for dipping.