Thought for Food

Michael Smith whipped this up on Chef at Home; an easy dish, with lots of flavour.

Ingredients:
* 3 x baking potatoes, sliced one quarter inch thick
* 1 lb. of thickly sliced bacon
* 1 lb. of orange cheddar cheese, grated
* Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line a 6-inch non-stick fry pan with bacon slices, arranging them in a radial pattern and starting with one end of bacon in the centre of the pan and the other end draped over the edge. When the entire surface of the pan has been covered, sprinkle with pepper and add a layer of sliced potatoes to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with grated cheese and pepper and repeat layers until they are slightly above the top of the pan.
3. Fold the bacon, one slice at a time up and over the potato mound toward the centre. Carefully overlap each slice and repeat until the top is completely and neatly covered with bacon. Press down and cover with a lid.
4. Place tart on a baking sheet, which will catch any drips during cooking. Bake for 3 hours."

Technorati Tags: Cooking, Recipes, Potato, Bacon, Cheese, Potato+Bacon+Tart

From: FoodTV : Recipes : Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart 2

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Posted by Ian McKenzie at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A great French accidental cooking discovery from the early 19th century.

Ingredients:

* 6-8 Granny Smith apples
* 12 Tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
* 1 cup sugar

For the pastry:

* 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
* 6 Tablespoons confectioner's sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 10 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the pastry:
1. Put the flour, sugar and salt in the food processor and pulse to blend. Add butter and pulse until the mixture looks like fine meal.

2. Stir the vanilla into the egg and add to the flour. Pulse a few times, just long enough for the dough to pull together.

3. Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until it is pliable. Press into a ball, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. Just before using the pastry, roll it out into a 12-inch circle.

For the apples:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°.

2. Core apples preferable with an apple corer. Peel and quarter them.

3. Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over med-heat. Remove from heat and sprinkle the sugar evenly over the butter.

4. Tightly pack the apples, upright, around the inside edge of the skillet. They should be nestled tightly against each other. Return the pan to the stove and cook over high heat until the butter and sugar carmelize to a rich brown ~ about 15 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and carefully turn the apples over to the uncooked side with a fork. Return to the heat and cook an additional 5-8 minutes.

6. Remove from heat. Drape the pastry over the apples, tucking the overhang down between the apples and the inside edge of the skillet.

7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Remove and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

To serve:
Loosen the edges of the pastry with a knife. Invert onto a platter quickly and carefully. Serve warm.

Technorati Tags: Baking, Recipes, Pie, Desserts, Apples, Tarte Tartin

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

~ Makes 8 Servings ~ Work Time: 15-20 Minutes ~ Difficulty: Easy as Pie! [Reci-please]

2 Bananas, thinly sliced
1 Banana, finely mashed
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 box (3.9 oz.) Instant Pudding, Vanilla or Banana flavour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 Cup Whipped Cream (or 1 8oz. pkg. Cool Whip)
1 Graham Cracker Crust

Using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese, mashed banana and pudding. With the mixer on a low-medium speed, slowly add the milk and continue to mix until the filling is smooth.

Layer one sliced banana on the bottom of the graham cracker crust. Cover with one half of the pudding filling. Layer second banana slices, then cover with remaining pudding filling.

Chill pie for at least 6-8 hours to set pudding. Cover the entire pie with whipped cream before serving.

You can use a store-bought graham cracker crust, or make your own, which is really simple. Grind graham crackers using your food processor (or a large ziploc bag and a rolling pin) to yield 1 1/2 cups — usually this takes one sleeve. Add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of white sugar (depending on how sweet you like the crust), 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix it all well, pat it into the pan, and bake for 7 minutes at 375 if the pie won’t be baked after the crust is filled, or chill for an hour if it will. Really simple.

Posted by Ian McKenzie at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)