September 16, 2010

St. Ninian’s Gingery Muffins

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St. Ninian’s Gingery Muffins

St. Ninian's Gingery Muffins

September 16: Feast Day of St. Ninian

Our blog would feel incomplete without a recipe associated with a saint representing Highlander’s heritage. St. Ninian of Whithorn, Scotland’s first saint, was an eighth century missionary who envangelized to the Picts in the lowlands of the country. Even in the northeast peninsula of Scotland, a small island is named after him where he is the patron of Shetland. St. Ninian, who may be known as St. Ringan or St. Trynnian along Scotland’s southern border, is also venerated in various parts of the country and in New Scotland (Nova Scotia in Canada). To celebrate his feast day in Scottish style, we made St. Ninian’s gingery muffins that go great with Scottish breakfast tea. Aye!

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup flour (not self-rising)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 egg

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In another smaller bowl, mix the boiling water with the butter, sugar and molasses. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Beat in the egg until the batter is smooth.

St. Ninian's Gingery Muffins

Scoop the batter evenly into a greased muffin tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the muffins to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: A dozen.

St. Ninian's Gingery Muffins

 

September 9, 2010

Wienerschnitzel

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Wienerschnitzel

Wienerschnitzel

September 9: National Wienerschnitzel Day

We had met our guest chef, Lisa L., a German-American friend currently residing in Germany, while living in Oklahoma, where there are several country-style cafes serving hearty down-home cooking. When we visited each other, she made wienerschnitzel and Islander compared it to country fried steak (also known as chicken fried steak). However, Lisa used pork instead of veal/beef or chicken for this traditional Austrian-German comfort food. Many other cultures have their versions of fried, breaded meat cutlets (milanesa or tonkatsu) with sauces and gravies. We chronicled Lisa as she made wienerschnitzel so that we could post an authentic recipe on our blog for National Wienerschnitzel Day.

Recipe

(From Lisa L.)

Ingredients

  • 4-6 pork or veal cutlets
  • ½ cup flour (optional:  season with salt and pepper to taste)
  • 1-2 eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs (she used a German brand)
  • oil for frying

Directions

Use a meat mallet to pound the cutlets to a quarter-inch thin between sheets of plastic wrap.  Dip each in flour, then in the beaten eggs and finally in the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess.

Wienerschnitzel

Fry in hot oil until both sides turn golden brown and the meat is cooked through. Drain on paper towels. Garnish with twisted lemon slices.

Wienerschnitzel

Notes

 

September 7, 2010

Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

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Pão de Queijo

Pão de Queijo

September 7: Brazilian Independence Day

We met a Brazilian bridesmaid when Islander was also in the entourage of a mutual friend’s wedding. Fabiana H. is married to an American and we enjoyed exchanging stories about our intermarriages. Inevitably, our conversation also led to Brazilian culture and, of course, cuisine!

Since meeting her, we have treated ourselves to Brazilian steakhouses for special occasions, like birthdays. The servers, who look so fashionable in their gaucho pants, come around to each table and slice various fire-roasted meats from their skewers onto our plates. It is quite a carnivorous experience, balanced by a salad buffet and appetizers, including pão de queijo, a bite-sized, puffy cheese bread made especially with tapioca flour/starch. It is slightly crisp on the outside and chewy and hollow on the inside, like an addictive popover, and is best eaten hot and fresh from the oven.

For our blog recipe post, we feature pão de queijo on Sete de Setembro (7th of September), the date that commemorates Brazil’s independence from Portugal in 1822.

Recipe

(Adapted from CopyKat)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups tapioca flour/starch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup corn oil
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Sift the salt with the tapioca flour/starch and put in a mixing bowl.  In a small saucepan, simmer the milk and oil, stirring to combine well.  Pour into the tapioca flour/starch and blend until a smooth but sticky dough forms.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Add the beaten eggs slowly into the dough and continue to blend until incorporated.  Stir in the cheeses.

Pão de Queijo

Scoop the batter three-quarters full into greased mini muffin tins. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the bread puffs up and turns golden. Yield: About 3 dozen.

Pão de Queijo

Notes

  • The Portuguese spelling for Brazil is Brasil.
  • Gluten-free tapioca flour/starch can be found in the specialty-baking aisle of larger supermarkets, at Whole Foods or in international grocery stores.
  • See our blog recipe post for caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail, on June 12, National Cachaça Day.

 

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