Victoria Sandwich, Black Velvet Soup, Best New Veggie Burger, St Croix Fish Pie

Sally and I have completed another stellar circumnavigation, one week apart.  My birthday is the 14th, and hers the 21st.  We always try to do something special for "our week", and try to eat special things as well.  This year we spent a long weekend on Manasota Key, one of our favorite olde Florida places...

Victoria Sandwich
Not a savory sandwich, mind, this is a classic British "tea" cake, with sponge cake, whipped cream, and fruit or fruit jam.  The version I make comes from the classic British baker Mary Berry.   The one I made for Sally's birthday this week featured her favorite fruit -- mango from her tree -- and fresh-made whipped cream.

For the Sponge
1 cup softened Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Self-Rising Flour
4 Eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Cream the butter and sugar with a fork, then beat with a mixer until the combination turns almost white and becomes very fluffy.  Add the beaten eggs a bit at a time, beating between each addition until well combined

Sift the flour on top of the mixture and then with a large metal spoon, fold the flour in carefully so you don't knock out any air.  Fold until there aren't any more streaks of flour, then divide it equally between two baking tins which have been buttered on the side and have the bottom lined with parchment paper.

Bake 20-30 minutes until you get a nice golden brown top and the sponges are springy to the touch.  Let them cool for a few minutes before running a thin knife around the edges and carefully turning the cakes out to cool further.

When down to room temp, put one of the cakes upside down on your serving plate, and get ready to fill and finish.

For The Filling
I like to keep it simple -- fresh fruit and fresh whipped cream.  Berries of any kinds are good, but we loooove Mango.  So I dissected a couple of ripe mangos into crescents and kept them chilled while I made the Whipped Cream, Alton Brown style:

1 cup cold heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tbsp Sugar

This will make 1-1/2 to 2 cups of whipped cream>

Chill a metal bowl and your whisk in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.  Then... put the sugar in the cold bowl and add the cold cream.  Start whisking like mad and after about a minute the cream will start to stiffen.  Stop when you get stiff peaks (it took me a total of about 2 minutes total).   

Using a cold metal spatula or knife, spread half the whipped cream on the upside down cake.  Top that with fruit.  

Carefully put the second cake on top of that.  Now use the rest of the whipped cream and more fruit to finish your Victoria Sandwich.  

Don't eat it all at one sitting!

Best New Veggie Burger
Almonds, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Red Quinoa feature in our new favorite Veggie Burger/Rissole.  These even look like finely ground beef patties, and taste A LOT better than any of those Impossible type Burger things.

2 cups Whole Almonds
1-1/2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1/2 tsp Rosemary
1 Garlic Clove, minced
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp low sodium Soy Sauce
3/4 cup diced Sweet Onion
1/2 cup chopped Sundried Tomatoes (not the oil-stored ones)
1-1/2 cups cooked Red Quinoa

Take the almonds for a spin in the food processor until you get a coarse meal.  Add the tomato paste, rosemary, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic and soy,  and spin to again to a smooth, thick consistency.  Remove to a bowl and fold in the quinoa and diced onion.  

Form into patties and fry in a splash of oil for 4-6 minutes per side on medium heat.  

Serve in a bun or as a plated rissole.  I like topping them with slices of dill pickle and a schmear of bleu cheese dressing, Sally likes hers with sliced tomato (go figure).

Black Velvet Soup
This takes ordinary Black Bean Soup up a couple notches...  Sally had a black bean soup at Bahama Breeze when we went out for my birthday dinner a week ago, which she said had a hint of "something different".  One taste, and I knew I could match their recipe -- the 'secret ingredient' -- was either tomatillo sauce or salsa verde -- either one would give me that "green chili" flavor.

So I cooked up a 1 pound bag of black beans, with about a tablespoon of Thyme and a 2x2" square of Kombu seaweed to reduce gas emissions, then pureed the whole batch.  I put that in my soup pot and thinned it out with a couple cups of water and a couple tablespoons of Vegetable stock powder.    

I cooked things down a bit to get the consistency I wanted, then added 1/2 cup of my favorite Salsa Verde and simmered for a few minutes more to marry the flavors.  Wow!   What a difference that Salsa Verde makes!  The soup was almost velvety smooth -- hence the name -- and that touch of green chili makes a fabulous taste difference!!    Sally wanted a bit more 'texture' to her soup for the second day's lunch serving, so I added some sauted crimini mushrooms which you can barely see in this photo:

Fancy Fish "Pie"
We spent last weekend at our favorite Manasota Key resort, and Saturday Night we celebrated Sally's birthday a bit early with dinner at Farlow's On The Water in Englewood, a really great eclectic seafood restaurant who's Kentucky owners also feature Hot Brown sandwiches, and corn pudding.  I had their fabulous House Special  St. Croix Seafood Pie with Caribbean lobster, Gulf Shrimp and Scallops, with a lobster-infused cream sauce, between two sheets of puff pastry!  Plus, as you see a side of roasted veg and fingerling potatoes.  It does have a top and bottom "crust" so technically it is a pie....  but who cares about a name, it's delicious!  I'll have to try this 'sheet pie' idea here at home.

I hardly ever mention, let alone recommend restaurants here in Fooding Around With The Kilted Cook.  But...  If you ever get to Englewood, just south of Venice, this is a great lunch/dinner restaurant.  Reservations highly recommended -- service is fast but Farlow's is very popular!!