Kitchen Reno Cooking - - Part1: Stottie Cakes, Baps, NotDogs, Mushroom Casserole

Apologies in advance for the messed up text in this post.  Blogger has implemented a "new improved" version -- which isn't!!!

Yeah.... I know.  Between "Stay Home" ennui and renovating our kitchen I've been real slack at posting.  It's harder than I thought it would be to be creative and still cope with cooking around the kitchen renovation!  Well I'm making up for it today!!  TWO posts for your dining and dancing pleasure!

NotDogs  -- 4th of July
We wanted an All-American 4th of July dinner, and Sally found this interesting recipe.  One of the few Forks over Knives recipes that is virtually perfect as is.  

That's not a hot dog in that bun... that's a carrot.    That's right, a carrot. But man, oh man, we could hardly tell the difference! The special marinade makes them taste virtually identical to a yummy-but-unhealthy' hot dog. 

You want large-ish carrots, the size of a hot dog at the small end, when trimmed to 6-7” length. If the butts are big, shave them down a bit so the dogs are more cylindrical sausage shape.

Marinade
1 cup Vegetable Broth
1/4 cup Apple cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp reduced-sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp pure Maple Syrup or Honey
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Dry Mustard powder (Coleman's)
½ tsp Coriander
½ tsp Garlic Powder or 1 small clove of garlic, minced
½ tsp Onion Powder or minced white onion
½ tsp Liquid Smoke
Dash ground Clove

The recipe will work for 4 NotDogs.  For 6 or 8, I would double the amount of marinade; you want them submerged in the liquid. I put ours in a zip-top bag, added the marinade, and purged most of the air.

Marinate for about 2 hours, then microwave a few minutes.  Don't over do it, you want your NotDogs to have a good texture!  Now go 6 or more hours in the sauce! Grill or pan-fry just a few minutes to get those nice dark 'grill marks'.  

Bun your NotDogs, add your favorite toppings, and take a bite of heaven.

Northumbrian Stottie Cakes
This is NOT a cake in the sweet sense.  This is sort of a Northumbrian/Scottish Border version of Italian foccacia -- a round, thin (but not flat) bread.  Originally made with 'leftover' dough from making stand-up loaves of bread.  These are perfect for an "elegant" sandwich, especially if you're doing a buffet.  Traditionally schmeared with pease porridge (a sort of hummus made from toasted yellow split peas) and slices of ham, but you can top or fill with whatever you choose.    This recipe make two stotties about 9-10" in diameter and an inch thick.

680 gr (5 cups) Unbleached AP Flour
1-1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Butter

1 Fast Acting Yeast packet

1/2 tsp White Pepper

1-1/2 cups of warm Water, or half milk and half water

Stir the yeast into about 1/2 cup of the warm liquid and the sugar, and let it start working.  Mix together the flour and salt and cut-in the butter to make fine crumbs.   Now add all the liquid to the dry and fold to combine.  

Add some flour to your bench, plop the dough out and start kneading, adding flour as necessary to keep it from being sticky.  Knead for about 15 minutes until it passes the 'pane test for gluten.    Cover and rest in a warm place for an hour until it doubles in size..

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Grease a couple baking sheets.  

Cut the risen dough into two lumps and roll/pat them out into rounds about an inch thick.

Use your thumb to imprint a dent into the center of each loaf, bake them for 20 minutes.  Then turn the oven off,  flip the loaves over, and bake in the cooling oven for another 20-25 minutes.

Stottie Cakes make a great multi-person sandwich for a buffet or family lunch.  We serve them open-face like this too:

Scottish Baps
Hamburger buns are not a British "thing".  In the UK, a bun is a sweet risen pastry, not a sandwich base.  Instead, they make Baps -- a savory bread roll.  Same concept as a burger bun; different name.  "Two countries divided by a common language!"   Baps are soft like a burger bun, but denser, which makes them great for juicy sandwiches.

3 cups unbleached AP Flour
1 packet Fast Acting Yeast
2/3 cup warm Whole Milk or Half & Half; plus a bit more for brushing.
2/3 cup warm Water
1 tsp Salt

Combine the water and milk, and whisk to dissolve the yeast in it.  Wait 10-15 minutes for the yeast to start working. 

In a mixing bowl combine the salt and flour.  Pour in the liquid and stir.  If the dough is too stiff add a bit more milk.  

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes.  Cover and let the dough rise for 1-1/2 hours.

Dump the dough back on your floured surface, and knead it down for a minute.  Divide into 8 or 9 portions, roll them into balls. and then flatten into ovals.  Set the ovals on a baking sheet, cover, and let them rest while your oven preheats to 425F.

Brush the tops of the baps with dairy, and then dust with a bit of flour (or not, as I prefer).  Put a thumb-sized "stottie dent" into the top of each bap.  Bake 15-20 minutes until golden.

Here's a classic cheese and tomato bap for lunch:

Cauli-Mushroom Casserole
The produce Co-op delivered our goodies yesterday, and there was a box of huge mushrooms and a nice head of cauliflower.  Searching around, this tasty recipe came to light.     Serves 6.

1 lb Mushrooms, cleaned and cut in large pieces
1 medium Cauliflower head, trimmed, cored and cut into florets
1 large Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 ½ Tbsp  EVOO
1 ½ Tbsp Salt, divided
Fresh ground Black Pepper
2 Eggs
1/4 cup sharp Cheddar Cheese), shredded
½ cup Icelandic Skyr yogurt
1/4 cup Parmesan grated

Preheat oven to 425°F .  Spritz a baking dish with EVOO and set aside.

Spread cauliflower on a rimmed baking sheet. Spritz with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is lightly caramelized.

Meanwhile,  saute the mushrooms in ½ Tbsp of EVOO sprinkled with a couple of pinches of salt. Stir every minute or so until the mushrooms release their liquid and brown a bit. Add the onion and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic, cook for another minute and remove from the heat.

When the cauliflower is ready, add to the skillet and stir until combined.

In a large bowl combine eggs, cheese and Greek yogurt. Add cauliflower mushroom mixture, stir until well combined and turn out into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cover with foil.

Lower oven temperature to 350°F (175°C).

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes, until golden around the edges.

Eggplant Stackers
These are my simple solution to making Eggplant Parmesan for two, with minimal oven heating.

1 Eggplant
1-2 Tomatoes, beefsteak or Roma
Parmesan Cheese to taste
Provolone Cheese -- 1-2 slices per stack
Bread Crumbs or Panko
Italian Seasoning
EVOO
Skewers

Slice the eggplant into 3/4" rounds.  Lay the rounds out on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO and dust with Italian seasoning.  Broil for a couple minutes per side until just starting to brown.  You want them firm, not mushy.

Stack (in any order you choose) provolone, tomato slices, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese between slices of eggplant to build each stack.  Hold everything together with skewers.  Broil the stacks for a couple minutes until the provolone is starting to melt and the Parmesan is starting to brown.