Friday Pie Day: 2011 Pie-lights

Last year I did an Ode to Pie to celebrate the Friday Pie Days of 2010.

There's been some ups and downs of Friday Pie Day itself this year it seems. So rather than do another cheesy poem about the year's Pies gone by, here's a quick recap of 2011 Pie-lights (and er, a lowlight) instead...

For once, I remembered National Pie Day and celebrated with a twist on the classic steak and mushroom pie with the Beef and Mushroom Puffs above.

My jaw op did not defeat my pie-eating and managed to get my pie fix with Pie Shakes instead - no, not blended up beef pies, but a kind of healthy strawberry oat one!

There was a point though, where I was contemplating the notion of scrapping Friday Pie Day altogether...

...but this was a moment realised on April 1st ;-)

So there were plenty more pie celebrations to be made in 2011, including a global Pie Party, set up via Shauna Ahern aka Gluten Free Girl. Shauna managed to sweep the pie loving world into making a pie and blogging/tweeting/Facebooking about it on 5th July.

Of course, I couldn't resist this and jumped on this Pie Party wagon with these Strawberry Lemon Cream Pies...

I also had a little pie celebration of my own with the One Hundredth Friday Pie Day, celebrated, naturally with a hundred pies! (Of course, not making and eating them all on that one day.) Looking back, I don't know how I had the brainwork and patience to compile that post now!

And this may sound silly to you, but the final pie-light I wanted to share was that I finally managed to work out how to make puff pastry painlessly and quickly! (Just need to work on all the other types of pastry now...)

So there you have it, hope you've enjoyed the pies this year and that you'll be hungry for more in 2012...

Pie out.

my other Friday Pie Day adventures. Continue reading this post..

I'd like to say that I've grown up over the last 12 months...

Nov 2009

Dec 2011

...but I really don't think I have.

At the end of the year, I like to look back over the photos I've taken - not just of food, but from general life as well. And I'd almost forgotten that I had my jaw op only earlier this year.

These two photos are the closest I can find to a before and after. Not quite the White Swan moment I was expecting, but looking back at this year's photos and events questions what has really changed this year.

Now I'm not the most confident of people anyway but I try not to stress about what others think of me. The jaw op certainly wasn't an aesthetics thing - in fact, it was only after I was advised to have the op to avoid future problems that I started to get self-conscious about it.

Yes, being an 'adult' wearing braces wasn't exactly a confidence booster, and since people are already constantly surprised by how 'old' I really am (27 if you're wondering), I did find myself retiring into my shell that little bit more.

So you can imagine my relief when the Day of the Brace Removal finally came, back in April. At last, I thought, perhaps now I'll start to feel a bit more grown-up, a bit more self-assured.

Coincidently, the last 12 months has been lain forth with engagement announcements - my sister, Hungrier Jemma, and 3 of my best mates (evidently with their respective other halves, not with each other). My housemate Grace also moved out recently to live with her boyfriend in his new pad.

Me? Well it's pretty safe to say that I'm definitely starting to feel that pressure of the need to grow up and well, stop acting like a silly child.

But you know what?

I really just can't help it.

The more people wag their fingers at me saying that the clock's a'ticking, that I need to start settling down, the stubborn side of me sneaks out a little bit more - and just makes me want to stick my tongue out at them. And that my friends, is confirmation, despite appearances in the first two photos, that I've still a long way to go to make better of myself...

Bring on 2012! (I s'pose) Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day: Turkey Cranberry Tart

Alright, so this isn't the most photogenic of pies, this was a kind of last minute thing...

...and the recipe at first glance may sound quite long-winded too.

Enticed, yet?

Now I'm not a fan of recipes which have loads of steps in - it just makes it sound like too much hard work. But although this particular pie is not actually that strenuous to make, it just seemed impossible to write it in less than 10 steps!

It's one of those pies when you sort of prep a few things simultaneously. In this case, whilst the pastry is being blind-baked, the cranberry mixture can be cooked and cooled - and all the while, you'd have the turkey happily marinading in the corner.

Ok - so I've probably made this sound elaborate already, but it's really not. You can pretty much take this recipe how you please and cut corners with it, if you want - for example, using premade pastry, or even buying a ready-baked pie shell. You could also buy cranberry sauce if you don't fancy making your own.

And of course, you can adapt this to use for Christmas leftover inspiration...

Good luck!

Turkey Cranberry Tart

Print-friendly recipe

For an 8" pie dish (8-10 slices):

150g plain flour
Pinch of salt
75g unsalted butter, cold and diced
OR
250g shortcrust pastry

200g turkey breast, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
125g fresh cranberries
50ml orange juice concentrate
Juice of 1 small lemon
75g sweetcorn
50g mushrooms, sliced
100ml double cream
1 egg, lightly beaten

If using premade pastry, go straight to step 3.

1) Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Add the butter and rub in to a breadcrumb texture.
2) Add a little cold water and knead into a dough, adding more water if needed. Wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Roll out the dough into a large circle on a floured surface, and transfer to line the base and sides of a non-stick pie dish.
4) Cover with foil and baking beads, then bake blind for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool.
5) Put the turkey in a large bowl with the soy sauce, oil and nutmeg. Leave to marinade for at least 15 minutes.
6) Add 100g of the cranberries to a pan and cover with the orange and lemon juice. Gently bring to the boil, then turn right down to simmer through, mashing the cranberries gently to a pulp. Allow to cool completely.
7) Turn the oven back onto 190 degrees C. Fry the turkey in a hot pan for a few minutes to brown, followed by the sweetcorn and mushrooms.
8) Spoon the cooled cranberry pulp to the base of the tart. In a bowl, beat the cream with the egg, then pour into the tart.
9) Gently add the turkey mixture, then nestle in the remaining cranberries.
10) Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the filling is set.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.
Continue reading this post..

Orange Almond Shortbread Trees

Ok, it's the officially the week of Christmas, so if you haven't get your festive hat on and done your shopping yet...

...you'd better get cracking!

I've been doing alot of baking this Christmas for gifts and the like, such as these Orange Almond Shortbread Trees. This recipe makes 15 trees but you can easily double (or even triple) the ingredients below. You can then freeze in batches and then just take out and wrap when you're due to give the gift. Of course, you can use any cutter you like as well. Easy!

Just try not to nibble on them and accidentally eat that 'spare' emergency gift batch...

Orange Almond Shortbread Trees

Print-friendly recipe

Makes 15 trees (3"):

100g plain flour
50g ground almonds
50g sugar
Zest of 1 large orange + 2 tbsp of the juice
100g unsalted butter, softened

1) Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl with the almonds, sugar and half the zest.
2) Rub in the butter, and then start to bring the mixture together into a dough, using some orange juice to help bind it together if required. Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
3) Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin.
4) Use a 3" tree cutter to stamp out 15 trees. Decorate with the remaining zest.
5) Transfer to a lined baking tray, then bake for about 15 minutes, until light brown.

The shortbread should still be a little soft and pale when you take it out the oven. Don't be tempted to let it bake for longer! It will firm up a little as it cools and have that lovely soft bite to it :-)

More Hungry Jenny cookies you might like! Continue reading this post..

Sugar Free Cranberry Banana Cake (and butter free too, actually)

If you've been following my baking, you'll have picked up that I like to experiment, usually in the name of health, and just trying to reduce the level of fat and sugar. This has mainly resulted in a lot of butter free baking, but much less so of the sugar free baking.

For some reason, I've always found sugar quite a tricky dude to substitute, because of the large role it contributes to the texture (and sweetness obviously) of a cake.

But when a friend was recently diagnosed as diabetic, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to give sugar-free baking another go.

As you can see here, this cake has cranberries in – yes, they tend to have a sharp bitter taste to them, rather than being sweet, so perhaps not the smartest idea to use cranberries for sweetness. Oh, come on, it's Christmas!

There is mashed banana in this too though, along with a good pinch of cinnamon, plus vanilla extract and honey – all good sweetness buddies. I actually used polenta too, to try and reduce the amount of flour a little, as my friend mentioned that in light of becoming diabetic, she was trying to reduce the amount of bad carbs she was eating too. I didn't quite play with the ratios right so you can't really tell from the texture that it's got polenta in, but it's there, I swear!

The ratio of fats to liquids and the like to create this cake was pretty tricky to work out so it was a lot of guess work (and hoping for the best really that it won't just fall apart in the oven).

Thankfully the cake came out in one piece and...actually tasted decent! The texture was on the moist side but not stodgy, and although it isn't overly sweet, it doesn't taste bland either. I think I'll be using this recipe now as a template to adapt for future sugar (and butter) free cakes to come...

Sugar Free Cranberry Banana Cake (also butter free!)

Print-friendly recipe

For a 12.5 x 7” tin (cuts into 44 bite-sized squares):

2 small bananas (150g)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
250ml skimmed milk
150 rice bran oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
150g polenta
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
150g cranberries

1)Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Mash the banana with the beaten egg, then gently whisk in the milk, oil and honey.
2)Sift the flour into a large bowl, with the polenta, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix in the cranberries.
3)Pour in the banana mixture, and fold until just mixed.
4)Transfer to a lined tin, then bake for 25 minutes or until you can pull a fork out clean.

More healthy baking recipes you might enjoy.

Other sugar free baking recipes that might take your fancy. Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day: Ferrero Rocher Pie Bites

Look at me, look at me, take me in!

I am a luxury chocolate, transformed into a luxury pie bite (of sorts)...

This is a long overdue item on my recipe-to-create list that has been sitting there ever since my friend Goose (long story) first suggested a couple of Christmasses ago that I make this as a Friday Pie Day for Christmas.

So when I got Goose as my Secret Santa this year (we exchanged gifts last night so don't worry, the surprise won't be ruined!), I thought I should finally get around to doing it. Now I should point out here that Goose is the one who introduced me to The Ultimate Cheesecake. So these Ferrero Rocher Pie Bites had to be something quite special. They had to be as true to the Ferrero Rocher as possible.

So I have a secret tip to pass onto you - allow the chocolate hazelnut mixture cool down everso slightly before spooning into the shells. You'll then be able to pile it on in a more rounded fashion in true Ferrero Rocher style, rather than having flat topped ones like the majority of my ones here did. (I accidentally learnt this because it was taking me so long and the chocolate was getting cold!)

Now this recipe makes about 40 pie bites, which are mini-muffin size. So depending on the size and number of mini-muffin trays you have, you may need to bake the pie shells in 2 or 3 batches. It's worth it I promise.

Of course, you could just halve the recipe below and make less, but that would just be crazy.

I always have this issue with my portrait photos not centre-aligning, despite the code saying so, what's up with that?

Ferrero Rocher Pie Bites

Print-friendly recipe

Makes about 40 pie bites (mini muffin size):

250g plain flour
1 tbsp sugar
100g cold butter, cubed
Some ice cold water
OR
400g sweet shortcrust pastry

125ml double cream
125g dark chocolate
1 tsp hazelnut extract
25g + 1.5 tbsp finely chopped hazelnuts
15g ice-cream wafers

If using premade pastry, go straight to step 3.

1) Sift the flour into a bowl with the sugar. Add the butter and rub in to a breadcrumb texture.
2) Add a little cold water and knead into a dough, adding more water if needed. Wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Cut the dough in half, and roll one out onto a floured surface.
4) Use a 2.5" round cutter to stamp out about 20 rounds and transfer them to a nonstick mini muffin tray. Repeat with the other dough half. Bake for 12-15 minutes until just cooked. Allow to cool completely.
5) Whisk the cream to stiff peaks and set aside.
6) Over a low heat, melt the chocolate in a pan. Turn off the heat, then carefully fold in the cream, hazelnut extract, the bulk of the hazelnuts and the wafers. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
7) Spoon the mixture carefully into each shell, then top with the remaining chopped hazelnuts. Leave in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures.

More chocolatey recipies you might enjoy. Continue reading this post..

Strawberry Coconut Muffins (butter free)

Hurrah for the Strawberry Coconut Muffin!

It's felt like an age since I made a batch of muffins that actually look worthy of their name.

They usually deflate in the middle, stick to the liners...well in general, they just never quite come out as planned.

But this time round I'd had enough. I decided to just make 6 muffins instead of the usual 12 (no, I wasn't anticipating these to go wrong at all...).

With the recent success of my Hazelnut Banana Cake (er, despite using the grill fan instead of the oven function), I figured I could sort of use that recipe as the base.

No matter that this wasn't a muffin recipe, or that I wasn't entirely sure how much of the batter to make up from it to create this. So to be extra careful, I just halved this quantity before changing up the ingredients. Yes, this is how my mind works - or in some cases, leads to a Hungry Jenny Faux Pas - to make a new cake, and luckily, in this case, it turned out half decent.

Hurrah for the Strawberry Coconut Muffin again!

Strawberry Coconut Muffins (butter free)

Print-friendly recipe

Makes 6:

100g strawberries, sliced
100g plain flour
50g dessicated coconut
50g sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
125ml skimmed milk
3 tbsp rice bran oil
3 tsp coconut powder

1) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl with the dessicated coconut, sugar and baking powder. Fold in the strawberries.
2) Beat the egg with the milk and oil. Add to the flour mixture, and fold carefully until just mixed.
3) Spoon the mixture into 6 muffin cases, about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the coconut powder over the top of each muffin.
4) Bake for about 20 minutes until risen and you can pull a toothpick out clean.

Other butter free baking recipes that might take your fancy. Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day: Turkey Mustard Breadcrumbed Pie

I know, this probably doesn't really sound like the name of a pie.

Or particularly look like one either.

Sometimes when I make pies, I really do just make them up as I go along. Lately I've felt like I've been having a bit of a pastry and potato overload with the weekly pie-eating, so I figured I'd do a lighter topping this week.

Obviously, this means breadcrumbs. With a sprinkling of cheese. Easy.

I only use 25g of cheese, but you can splurge a bit more if you fancy it. I was tempted to mix some cream in there too but stopped myself to keep this a fairly light pie (and because the cream had gone off anyway).

Serve this pie in a bowl because to be quite frank, it won't look that pretty on a plate, and you'd be better off using a spoon to shovel this pie in.

Turkey Mustard Breadcrumbed Pie

Print-friendly recipe

Serves 3-4:

250g turkey breast, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp groundnut oil
125g borlotti beans
100g mushrooms, quartered
6 babycorn, chopped
50g red onion, chopped
75g breadcrumbs
25g cheddar cheese

1) Marinade the turkey in the soy sauce, mustard and honey in a bowl for at least 15 minutes.
2) Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. Add the oil to a hot wok and fry the turkey for a few minutes to brown.
3) Gradually add the beans, mushrooms, babycorn and onion to heat through, keep it all it moving.
4) Transfer to a 1 litre pie dish. Mix together the breadcrumbs and cheese then place evenly atop your pie.
5) Bake for about 25 minutes until nice and crispy on top.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures. Continue reading this post..

Say NO to Takeaway: Whip Up a Peanut Prawn Stir Fry Instead!

Peanut...and prawn?

It's not that weird a combo, honest.

Essentially it's like a satay, and that's not an alien thing at all, is it? Don't scrimp on the prawns, make sure you get colossal king prawns. You don't want to eat this and wonder where the prawns are now - the little ones always seem to shrink even more once cooked. And for some complementary texture, add water chestnuts which will make a welcome crunch alongside the juicy prawns.

Like other stir fry noodle dishes, this is so quick to make that you won't even realise that you've made it. Get your ingredients, throw them in, and eat up straight away!

Peanut Prawn Stir Fry

Print-friendly recipe

Serves 2:

2 blocks of dried egg noodles (150g approx)
1 tsp sesame oil
100g Greek yogurt
3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp olive oil
200g raw king prawns
150g broccoli, chopped
100g water chestnuts
2 spring onions, chopped
150ml hot chicken or veggie stock

1) Gently boil the noodles for about 5-10 minutes until just cooked. Drain in cold water, toss with the sesame oil and leave to cool.
2) Mix the yogurt with the peanut butter and set aside.
3) Add the oil to a hot wok. Fry the prawns for a few minutes, then add in the broccoli for another few. Finally add the chestnuts and spring onions.
4) Turn down the heat and carefully mix in the peanut mixture, followed by the hot stock. Leave to simmer for about 5 minutes.
5) Toss through the noodles and serve immediately!

If you liked this, you might want to try making these other takeaway alternatives too. Continue reading this post..

Hazelnut Banana Cake

Soft cakes with a nutty crunch inside them are something a bit special in my eyes. Sponge cakes whatever their flavour are always good, but when you have something with a different texture inside, it just makes it even better.

This Hazelnut Banana Cake has a lovely golden crusty topping too, although not intentional of course...
Yes I made this during my week of using my new oven with the wrong settings. This was actually made a couple of weeks ago, but I only realised last weekend that I'd been using the grill fan setting for my oven goods.

Luckily, the cake still came out beautifully and none the wiser!

Yes, the recipe below will still work by the way - as the temperature I put it on was below the first grill temperature setting, so technically the grill wasn't actually on I don't think. It was somewhere inbetween being an oven and a grill I guess...Oh I don't know, but it still came out as an edible cake and that's the important thing ;-)

Hazelnut Banana Cake (butter free)

Print-friendly recipe

For an 8" square tin (16 squares):

200g ground hazelnuts
150g rolled oats
100g plain flour, sifted
50g ground almonds
75g brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1 banana, mashed
250ml skimmed milk
100ml rice bran oil
1 tsp vanilla essence

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. In a large bowl, mix together the hazelnuts, oats, flour, almonds, sugar and baking powder.
2) In another bowl, beat the egg with the mashed banana, milk, oil and vanilla essence.
3) Pour the wet mixture into the hazelnut mixture, and fold until just mixed.
4) Transfer evenly to a lined square tin, then bake for 25-30 minutes until golden, or when you can pull a skewer out clean.

More Hungry Jenny cakes here.

Other butter free baking recipes that might take your fancy. Continue reading this post..

Friday Pie Day: Party Cheese Tart

My old housemate Grace was planning a housewarming party at her brand new spanking place. It only occurred to me a few days before the party that I could use this as an excuse to do a spot of baking. So I had to think quickly of what to do.

Cue the Party Cheese Tart!

Ok, so it's a version of this Versatile Cheese and Tomato Tart I made a while back, but I figured I'd make it worthy of its name.

It looks a bit like a weird pizza actually. But that's not a bad thing, I don't reckon. Party cheese tart squares, pizza lookalike bites, whatever you want to call it, this will do quite nicely at a party, thank you :-)

Party Cheese Tart

Print-friendly recipe

For a 12 x 8" flan tin (28 slices):

300g plain flour
Pinch of salt
125g cold butter, diced
Some cold water
OR
450g shortcrust pastry

175g cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
200ml double cream
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
75g shallots, finely chopped
75g sweetcorn

If using pre-made pastry, go to step 2.

1) Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Rub in the butter to breadcrumb mixture. Add a little cold water and knead into a dough, adding more water if needed. Wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
2) Roll out the pastry to a large rectangle to line the base and sides of the tin. Prick the base with a fork, cover with some foil and some baking beads.
3) Bake blind at 200 degrees C for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Spread the tomato puree over the base.
4) Put the oven back on to 190 degrees C. In a bowl, mix the cheese with the egg, then carefully mix in the cream. Pour the whole mixture into the baked pie crust.
5) In another bowl, mix together the pepper, shallots and sweetcorn.
6) Bake for 25-30 minutes until the filling is set.

Pie out.

Read my other Friday Pie Day adventures. Continue reading this post..