Toad in the hole is a well-known British food dating back to the 18th century. Although there is much debate about the origin and naming, it’s thought to have originated as a way to stretch prime cuts of meat. The meat is surrounded by a batter which absorbs all of the meats juices and fat, making for a rich and delicious one-pot meal.

Although toads never entered the baking dish, it seems the baking sausages popping up from the batter look as though toads popping out of a hole. But then again, I read a discussion thread where one Brit said his family passed down the recipe as ‘turd’ in a hole for many generations. The use of ‘toad’ was actually a play on words and intended as an inside joke. Hmm, how delightful.

You will not confuse this flavorful dish with anything feces-related, I guarantee.

In my version, I’ve boosted the flavor by adding fresh chives and loads of parmesan which gives it more of an adult vibe (stronger flavors). The cheese and chives meld nicely with the fresh Italian sausages I used for my toads. It’s surprising just how much extra flavor the pungent cheese adds to the dish.

I’ve been a lazy cook in the past few weeks, hence the lack of blog posts. We’re eating mostly one-pot meals which are rarely sexy nor particularly exciting to share. I enjoyed the toad in a hole so much though that I felt compelled to photograph it.

Toad in a Hole Recipe
4 fresh Italian sausages (uncooked)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter (plus extra for greasing the dish)
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan

1. Before making this recipe, set out the eggs and milk for at least 30 minutes to reach room temperature. If made using cold ingredients, the batter make crack the baking dish.
2. Preheat the oven to 450F (220C)
3. In a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, add the sausages and olive oil. Toss to coat the sausages. Place the dish in the oven for 10 minutes.
4. While the sausages are baking, blend together the eggs, flour, milk and salt. A blender works best and will make a perfectly smooth batter. I used a stick blender.
5. Remove the baking dish after 10 minutes and add the butter, returning the dish to the oven.
6. Once the butter is melted, remove the dish and pour the batter over the sausages. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan and chives, then return to the oven.
7. Bake for an additional 15 minutes at 450F, then reduce heat and bake for 15 minutes at 350F.
8. Remove from oven and eat while hot. Serve with vegetables.

Baking Notes:
The sausages I bought were quite big and I wanted smaller ones (which the store didn’t have). If you pinch the middle of the sausage between your thumb and forefinger, then twist each half in opposite directions, you’ll end up with two small sausages. Allow them to bake before cutting the small sausages apart.

Toad in a hole is easy to make and economical. Although most recipes call for a basic version, using different types of sausages and seasonings will yield all sorts of wonderful results.

You may notice the toad in a hole sounds similar to my Dutch Baby Pancakes from a few months ago. The batter is the same as used for the pancakes although I make more of it for the toads. Both of these dishes are based on Yorkshire pudding, a thin British batter which when poured into hot meat drippings puffs up to form a rich pastry.

In re-reading this post, I’m sure some of you will be shaking your heads. It’s not often that food bloggers reference feces while showcasing a delicious recipe. Ah, well. This recipe isn’t crap. I promise.

This past weekend brought with it another game of mahjong. Our friends Dave & Jeff, phoned us Saturday afternoon as were doing our grocery shopping to invite us over for a Saturday night game. Since I’m still learning the rules and strategy, I figured it would be useful to disarm our competitors with something sweet.

Although I said I would make gougeres for our next game, I was actually craving baked goods at the time we received the invite. Thankfully we were at the store, so I had a chance to figure out what to make and to buy any needed ingredients. I decided to make these easy and delicious lemon poppy seed scones.

The story behind this recipe involves a crazy relationship I had in grad school. It’s too embarrassing to tell how it all ended (but it’s a story Joe still references to this day). I’ll blame the relationship on my poor judgment but I did walk away from the relationship with this recipe, so in the end it was worth it!

The scones are super easy and can be made with a variety of flavors. You can make them small or large, just pick your favorite shape. I typically make them in triangles but decided to go for round ones this time.

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

for the scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chilled butter
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

egg wash
1 beaten egg
1 Tablespoon heavy cream

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter pieces are smaller than the size of peas. Stir in the lemon zest and poppy seeds.

In a small bowl, stir together the cream, egg, and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. It is important that you do not over mix the mixture. Once the liquid is absorbed and the dough is coming together (only a little dry flour in bottom of bowl), then stop.

Dough will be a little crumbly — remove from bowl and knead until it holds together. Pat the dough in to a 7″ circle that is 1 1/2″ thick. Cut into 8 triangles (I used a round cutter). Place scones onto a greased cookie sheet (I lined mine with parchment). Brush tops and sides with egg wash.

Bake at 375F for 15 minutes.

Other flavor ideas (in place of lemon zest and poppy seeds):

1. add 1/2 cup dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, etc.) with 1/3 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
2. add 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
3. add 2 Tablespoons orange zest and 1/3 cup currants
4. replace vanilla with almond extract and add 1/3 cup dried cherries, 1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

The egg wash gives them a wonderful shiny crust that takes on a nice golden hue. The butter and cream give the scones a moist, creamy-soft texture. The scones are delicious cold or warmed and are perfect for a brunch party. I prefer them plain but feel free to give them a dollop of butter, clotted cream or jam.

Since I cut them into rounds, I had to keep re-patting the dough in order to cut more rounds from it. This over-working of the dough caused them to be a bit heavy in texture. The key to this recipe is to touch the dough as little as possible (yes, I broke my own rule). They looked wonderful though — I love this close-up of the crack on top of the scones:

What are you favorite scone flavorings? Share your favorites in the comments section below. Personally, I fell in love with the maple-oat scones from Starbucks which they no longer sell. I was SO sad when they stopped selling them. I need to try and recreate them at some point. One more thing to add to my list of things to do :-)

The word ‘shepherd‘ is one that’s followed me all of my life. You see, I grew up on a sheep farm that my father affectionately calls the ‘Shepherd Shack’. And although I live on the opposite side of the country from where I was raised … I currently live on Shepherd Avenue.

Ironically, my mother rarely (if ever) made Shepherd’s Pie.

If I take shepherding at face value, I guess I could consider myself a modern day shepherd of sorts. While I no longer tend to animals, I have always been the diplomatic person within my group of friends who everyone turns to for guidance and advice. Mind you, I’m not saying they should but they do.

The exact recipe for what constitutes a true shepherd’s pie (versus a cottage pie) can be debated but I think it’s a silly waste of time. I’ve seen blog posts written with one opinion or another … and some people take this pie way too seriously. No matter how you make it, it just tastes good and that’s what matters most to me.

The version I made tonight uses the seasonal produce I have on hand which will likely add more controversy for those who have strong feelings on the subject. Since I’m cutting back on red meat, I’ve substituted ground turkey in place of beef or lamb. I’ve used a mix of onions, carrots, peas, and fennel for the filling. And, I’ve topped with a creamy blend of sweet potatoes and butter.

Seasonal Shepherd’s Pie
1 lb sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 bulb fennel, sliced
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup frozen peas (not necessary to thaw)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup water (or beef stock)
salt/pepper to taste

Begin by preparing the sweet potatoes, peel and sliced into 1″ thick slices. Place into a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until a fork can easily slide into the slices (i.e. fork tender). Remove from burner and drain. Add 1 tablespoon butter and mash until smooth. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. When pan begins to smoke, add ground turkey. Cook the turkey until fully browned and no pink is visible. Add onion, carrot, and fennel; stir to combine. Add 1 cup beef stock and cover the pan. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until all of the vegetables are fork tender. Stir in peas.

In a small bowl, mix together the 1/4 water, Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons flour until a smooth paste is formed. Slowly stir this paste into the ground turkey mixture to thicken the juices into a light gravy. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and stir to combine. Cook for an additional minute. Adjust seasonings and remove from heat.

I decided to make individual portions using small stoneware pots but you can also bake in a rectangle pan. Pour the meat mixture into the pan then spread the mashed sweet potato mixture over the top making sure to push it to the very edge of the pan.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. When baking is finished, turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 2-3 minutes to lightly brown the top. I remembered at the last minute that the stoneware pots I am using are not supposed to be used under the broiler (@#$@%#@). So, I didn’t get nicely browned tops as I had hoped.

I love how quick these are to make and how filling they are, especially on a cold night. The sweet potatoes also help to fulfill my love of sweet-savory combination’s. The contrast in sweet and savory is wonderfully good and it makes me wonder why people still use white potatoes to make shepherd’s pie.

Fortunately, I made these in individual portions or else I’d keep on eating the whole pan until it was gone!

Do you know what these delightful dough pillows are supposed to be? They are an early morning attempt at making my very own english muffins. I felt inspired after seeing Foodbeam’s beautiful muffins, but I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand to make her recipe. So, I found a random recipe from the web and I ended up with not so surprising random results.

I’m going to chalk this one up to a bad recipe. The reviews of it were spotty but I decided to give it a go anyway (arrogant to think that I wouldn’t have any problems using the recipe). The dough is easy enough to make, and I followed instructions carefully regarding the temperature of water and milk, assuming that previous bakers had somehow overlooked these delicate matters.

I did make them a wee bit smaller than normal sized muffins, but I used a glass as a cutter and that’s the size it happened to be. While they fried in the pan, I had high hopes but became increasingly concerned that they seemed to retain their pillowy shape and didn’t take on the expected flattish signature look of an english muffin.

As I put on the second batch to cook, I picked up a fork and cracked into one as though looking for a pearl in an oyster. My once happy face put on an immediate frown when I couldn’t find a single nook, not even a cranny!

The muffin center was a soft but bread-like consistency. I slapped on some butter and found it still tasty, but not the english muffin I had hoped to create. I have learned my lesson about being anxious to make something without first having the right ingredients to make the right recipe. As punishment I will eat my cranny-less muffins and reflect on my impatience.

original post updated 6/4/09

Shortbread cookies are a sinful, indulgent obsession of mine. Buttery and flaky, crisp and crumbly are the best. I’ve tried many recipes and finally settled on the one below. I received it from a blogging friend you suggested I give it a try, as it came from her Scottish grandfather.

The recipe immediately struck a chord with me due to its use of corn starch, and a lot of it! I’ve never seen corn starch used in this manner and approached the recipe with skepticism. However, as one commenter notes below:

“I am both thankful and regretful for food blogs like this one. Thankful because I’ve taken so many amazing recipes from people all over the world. Regretful, though, because my own recipes which to this point have remained well-kept family secrets are being spread like viruses. Corn Starch in shortbread has been a vital, “secret” ingredient in my family’s recipe for decades.”

I decided to give it a try one afternoon and planned my day around baking the shortbread. I had laid out the butter to reach room temperature before I left the house and headed off to the dentist for my annual teeth cleaning. Somehow, I managed to tweak my back in the dentist chair and returned home to slowly lose the ability to turn my torso or neck without twinges of pain.

I wasn’t about to let any spinal issues come between me and baking. I was determined that the show must go on.

To add one more challenge, my printer wasn’t cooperating, so I had to scribble the recipe down on a post-it note. I love recipes that can fit on such a small square! It got me to thinking that maybe I should write a post-it note cookbook, filled with only those recipes that can fit on a 3″x3″ piece of paper!

Shortbread Cookies
adapted from Geggie

1 cup sugar (granulated)
2 cups corn starch
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1 lb. butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon sugar (granulated)

1. Add sugar, corn starch, flour and salt to a large mixing bowl.
2. Cut butter into tablespoon sized pieces and add to the bowl
3. Using a spoon or your hands, mix the butter into the dry ingredients
4. When the butter is fully integrated, the mix will be sand-like in texture. It will not form a ‘dough’. Pour the mixture into a half-sheet pan (18″ x 12″ x 1″), spreading evenly in the pan. Use your hands to firmly press down on the dough, pushing the fine mixture into an even mass.
5. Using a fork, prick the cookies about 1″ apart across the entire top.
6. Bake for 40 minutes at 325F, then reduce heat to 300F and continue baking for 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around edges and across the center.
7. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon sugar. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting with a sharp knife. Let cookies continue to cool before removing (if you can resist).

Baking Notes:
Since this recipe makes a large batch of cookies, start with a large mixing bowl. I didn’t do this and I made a mess (shhh, don’t tell Joe). The corn starch is the key to this recipe (I think) — I haven’t ever seen this before. I think it helps to give the lightness to the shortbread. It’s powdery so begin stirring gently or else you’ll be wearing most of it. (seriously, I made a big mess)

I quickly bypassed a spoon and dove into the ingredients with my hands. Just begin squishing and squishing the butter until it combines with the dry ingredients. Make sure to get any flour hiding at the bottom of your bowl. When you feel the ingredients are well integrated, then place the crumbly mix onto a baking sheet. I used a half-sheet pan and it fit perfectly.

Use your hands to push the dough into place. I found it hard to get an even surface so I busted out a small rolling pin to run over the top. Hopefully, Geggie isn’t cringing by this. As she notes, use a fork to prick holes all over the top. I assume this is to help release any steam from within the dough as it bakes.

Bake for 40 minutes at 325, then reduce heat to 300 and continue baking for 20 minutes. I baked as noted but mine took a bit over an hour. Likely, this was due to me peeking at them with the oven door open. I’m not patient. And, the smell is so amazing that you can’t help but to peek at what’s going on. When they came out of the oven I dusted with granulated sugar. I only waited about 5 minutes before trying to cut them and it seemed to work perfectly.

As the knife slid effortlessly through the shortbread it made the most joyous sound, you could hear the crisp layers of shortbread snapping under the weight of the knife. I tried to remain steady and calm but that wave of ‘oh, my god this is gonna be good’ kept wafting over me. Due to this, some of my lines aren’t too straight but that just gives it more character.

My past experiences with some recipes is that the dough doesn’t seem crispy or done all the way through. You’ll have crispy edges and top, but the center is less than desirable. Not the case here. You’ll notice how the golden brown color extends all the way through from top to bottom. These little guys are crisp and tender, buttery and rich.

Follow-Up Notes:
I’ve received alot of emails and comments about this recipe, often with skepticism. I have not tried this recipe with any substitutions or in other baking pans, so only do so with caution.

1. The amount of corn starch looks insane. It’s accurate, try not to second-guess it.
2. When mixing the dry ingredients with the butter, the end result will be a sand-like texture. Don’t expect it to form into a dough. As long as the butter is finely integrated and evenly mixed with the dry ingredients, all will be ok.
3. This recipe is not appropriate for shaped cookies. You should plan to bake on a flat sheet.
4. The batch is large and I baked in a half-sheet baking pan, which is 18″ x 12″ x 1″. The cookies were about 1/2-3/4″ thick. If you use a pan with high sides (like 3″), you may notice that the cookies do not get evenly browned/baked. A short-sided sheet will work best.
5. Since the mixture is sand-like, pour it into your pan then spread into an even layer. Use your hands to press it down firmly and evenly.

Sam over at Becks & Posh is hosting the Fish & Quips event focusing on the celebration of English food. I cannot be considered an expert of English food, except for the fact that I think it’s in my blood. You see, half of my family emigrated from England some 200 years ago and by my calculations I remain about 25% pure English. A family trip 2 years ago took us all back to the small village named Banham where we originated and we visited cousins who remained there. Still, this does not make me experienced nor well-versed in English food.

In researching my entry for Fish & Quips, I was determined to make the funny-named, Spotted Dick, an English pudding creating giggles here in the US. However, I accidentally stumbled upon a food that I am all too familiar with — the pasty, pronounced past-ee *not* paste-y (those are something entirely different and not food blog appropriate!).

A delightful meat and vegetable pie, similar in shape to a calzone, the pasty is well-known in Michigan where my family settled and where I grew up. It’s practically a tourist attraction in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where pasty’s were eaten by copper miners. In Michigan, the pasty is attributed to Finnish settlers, so I was unaware its roots are actually in Cornwall England where tin miners ate the handheld pies while working deep in the mines. And, it’s even noted that sometimes the filling included meat/veggies in one end while a fruit filling in the other, providing a two-course meal.

Not only is the pasty a practical food, easily packed in a lunchbox, but it is filled with savory richness (and is a delight to crack open). I enjoy splitting mine down the middle and drizzling with a light gravy — in Michigan, the pasty is served with either gravy or ketchup depending on where you are in the Upper Peninsula. Ketchup = yuck.

Crust

4 cups flour
1 1/4 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons cold water

Cut shortening into flour with salt, then add enough water to form a ball of dough. Cut into 7 pieces.

Filling

1 1/2 pounds beef steak cut into 1/4″ pieces (or mixture of beef and pork)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced rutabagas
2 large potatoes cubed
1 onion diced
1 tablespoon choppped parsley
salt and pepper

Mix filling ingredients until combined. Roll crust pastry into 8″ circles. Add filling to one side of the pastry circle and use a finger to wet the edge of the pastry. Fold pastry over and crimp edges. Cut 3 slits in top of pastry to vent. Place onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 1 hour. During cooking, add a few drops of water into each pasty slit.

Serve hot. As I mentioned, Michiganders eat them with either ketchup or gravy. Here’s what I do to make a gravy — fortunately, I always seem to have a cup or leftover filling mixture so I throw it into a pot and brown. I then add a can of chicken stock and boil until tender, strain to remove the chunky bits. Add a tablespoon butter to the broth along with a mixture of 1 tablespoon flour and 2/3 cup milk. Boil until thickened and drizzle over pasty.

So, English food is not a joke — I’ve been eating an English food all of my life, a food that made its voyage to the new world and continued to remain popular.