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  Originally made with 'leftover' dough from making stand-up loaves of bread.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.  

Mango Gazpacho, Bean Brownies!?, Purple Soup, Memorial NotDogs

Mango-Orange Gazpacho
Summertime... time for a refreshing chilled soup.  I've made tomato-based Red Gazpachos, and White Gazpachos based on green grapes.  This was a first -- a real revelation -- Gazpacho based on tropical flavors; and out favorite tropical fruit at that!

2 cups Fresh squeezed Orange Juice
2 cups Fresh Mango filets
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced large
1 sweet White Onion, diced large
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
3-4 Tbsp fresh Lime Juice
Chopped Parsley, Basil, Mint and/or Cilantro to taste
Salt, White Pepper and sweet/hot/smoky Chili Powder or Paprika to taste.
6-12 oz Lemon-Lime soda or Seltzer Water as needed

Take the mango and OJ for a spin in the food processor, then transfer to a pitcher or large bowl.  Stir in the soda or seltzer water, lime juice, diced vegetables and spices, tasting as you go to get just the right balance of flavors.  

Chill several hours before serving.

Black Bean Brownies?  
Have I ever steered you wrong?  These bean-based brownies are outa sight!!   A birthday treat for one of Sally's work friends who is vegan.  You simply cannot tell that these brownies use black beans instead of flour!  All you taste is chocolate-y yumminess!  Based on a FOK recipe with the usual tweeks because they never quite get things right.

1 can Black Beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup Date Syrup -- expensive!!  Cane or Maple syrups will work too with a couple Tbsp of Molasses.
1/2 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3/4 cup Oat Flour or ground Rolled Oats
1/2 cup unsweetened Applesauce --  don't leave this out!
1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1-1/2  tsp Baking Soda
1-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract -- Peppermint or Orange extracts also work well
1 tsp White Wine Vinegar
Optional:  1/2 cup Walnut Pieces or a dusting of Confectioner's Sugar for topping

Take the beans, syrup and cocoa powder for a few pulses in your FP, to break up the beans.  Add the rest of the ingredients and spin to combine into a smooth batter.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan (add walnuts if using) and bake for 35 minutes @350F.

 Cool on a rack for 15 minutes (if you can wait that long) before slicing into wedges...

Purple Cauliflower Soup
Vibrant colors of cauliflower are all the rage.  They taste the same, but the colors can seriously enhance the appearance of a recipe.   This would be beautiful with the orange cauliflower as well.  Simple, and simply delicious.

1 head Purple Cauliflower disassembled into florets.
1 medium Onion, diced
5-6 cloves Garlic, minced
4-5 cups clear Broth or water (I used water + mushroom powder)
Salt and White Pepper to taste
Optional Garnishes including green pistachios, a dollop of Skyr (home-made naturally) or a dusting of sweet and/or smoky Paprika.

Saute the onion and grlic in your soup pot, in a splash of EVOO.  Add the broth and cauliflower, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cool for 30+ minutes. 

When the cauliflower is fork tender, scoop it from the pot, puree in your food processor, and return to the broth.  You can simmer to reduce the liquid and thicken, add a cornstarch slurry, or a tablespoon or two of Bistotm gravy crystals like I do.     Plate, garnish and serve with some nice fresh bread or rolls.

As The Kilted Cook, I once catered a posh luncheon for a chapter of the ladies Red Hat Society (check them out!), where I featured all red and purple foods (their signature colors).  Then,  made a red beet borscht as their starter.  Sure wish I'd had this recipe back then!

Irish Soda Bread Biscuits
I made these non-purple biscuits to accompany the soup, using a pretty standard Irish Soda Bread recipe:

2 cups Self-Rising Flour or AP Flour plus Baking Soda
large pinch of salt
2 Tbsp cold Butter, cut into slices
3/4 cup Buttermilk or Whole Milk with lemon juice

Mix the flour and salt.  I used about 1/4 of the measure of Whole Wheat flour rather than all AP, and added a couple teaspoons of baking soda. 

Cut the butter into the flour using your Mark I mixer (hands) until you get 'gravel'.

Stir in the milk to make a shaggy dough,  then pat it out with a bit more flour into a 1"  thick disk, and cookie-cut 2" or 3" biscuits.  Bake on a parchment paper lined tray for about 15 minutes at 350F.

Memorial Day NotDogs
It's become a tradition for me to make these NotDogs for holiday picnic type meals.  Look again -- that's not a hot dog or sausage!  

That's a carrot-dog!  Better tasting by far than any of those faux sausages usually offered to vegetarians/vegans!!   The taste is phenominal.  The mouth feel is similar too.  On a roll with your favorite toppings it's heavenly.

Here's the link to where I gave the recipe a couple years ago:
Fooding Around With The Kilted Cook: Search results for notdogs (foodingaround-kiltedcook.blogspot.com)

Basically you peel some large carrots  (you could also use parsnips) into hot dog.sausage shape, make a marinade that flavors the carrots, and marinate the carrots for 12-18 hours.  Then you par-cook them in the microwave until fork tender, and finally fry them in a splash of oil.

There's no reason you couldn't make a marinade with the herbs and spices used to make bratwurst, for example and create your own NotWurst or similar spicy sausage.  Hmmmm let me check my spice cupboard...