Easy apple turnovers

A bumper harvest of apples has been recorded this autumn, thanks to the weeks of hot weather in summer. Our apple trees were groaning under the weight of apples. I've been giving them away left and right, and using every day, mainly baking.
I have also put lots of apples in wooden and cardboard trays, and will keep in the cold summerhouse. Hopefully they will last long. Last year I still had some of our apples back in spring.

A friend was coming to our house earlier today, and I decided to make a quick batch of apple turnovers. I had a pack of Jus-Rol puff pastry in the fridge.
Having watched the pastry weeks on GBBO through the years, I arrived to a conclusion that life is too short to make your own puff pastry. It's tedious and laborious, and Jus-Rol works perfectly every time.
However, if you prefer to make your own pastry, I am full of admiration and awe, I truly am.

Apple Turnovers
Ingredients:
3 medium apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced
25g butter
2tsp Waitrose Christmas ground spices (mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, star anise, black pepper, tangerine oil, cloves\0
125g caster sugar
2tsp cornflour+ 2 tsp cold water
320g puff pastry, ready to roll
1 medium egg yolk, beaten with a dash of water

In a medium frying pan, melt the butter and add peeled, cored, quartered and sliced apples. Add the spices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add sugar, mix well, cook on low for another 5 minutes. In a small cup mix 2tsp of cornflour with 2-3 tsp of cold water until you reach a runny consistency. Pour the cornflour to the apple filling mix, stir in, cook for a minute.
Let it cool before making turnovers.

If using a ready made pastry, roll it out on the parchment paper it has been wrapped in. Cut in half horizontally, then into three or four squares each, so you get six or  eight pieces of pastry.
Beat the egg yolk with a bit of cold water, brush each pastry square with the egg wash. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of apple filling onto each square.

What do you do with a glut of apples? Chutneys? Apple butter? Jelly?

Adding this recipe post to #KitchenClearout linky run by Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews, as I used apples from the garden and almost finished  Signature spice (just 1tsp left now).

GBBO range of gifts and Maids of Honour

Tonight is the GBBO's semi-final. I think by now it's clear who's going to win. If you're a GBBO fan, there is a new range of Great British Bake Off gifts launched in Debenhams.
This range, launching exclusively in the first few weeks at Debenhams, includes cake tins and stands, timers, an assortment of mugs, fridge magnets, a tea-for-one set and a Star Baker apron, with more items to be added towards Christmas.
A good cake tin is a must for any baker. A new personalised cake tin from the new range comes with a whiteboard marker and eraser. Write whatever you want to label the tin - very useful for taking a tin to potluck or school fayre. It is a spacious container, for a good sized cake or a lot of biscuits.

To test my new tin, I decided to follow in the footsteps of last week's challenge.

Last week's GBBO was Tudor-themed, and oh boy, what a creative chaos it was. I did think Jane was robbed of the Star Baker title, as her showstopper looked the part the most. I'm afraid Candice's peacock looked very unappetising, albeit colourful.
Years ago I have hosted a Tudor-themed birthday party for my friends. Here I am, in a Tudor dress, with our friend Cecilia looking ever so dashing as Sir Walter Raleigh.

At that time the Internet was not as extensive, but I did manage to find some articles on the Tudor cuisine, and I also found a book in the library. I remember I baked a cake with dried marigold petals, but I don't have that recipe any longer, and as much as I searched, I couldn't find exactly the same recipe.

A quick google for Tudor recipes suggested baking Maids of Honour - curd cheese pastries, much appreciated by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. According to the legend, the king went to visit Anne Boleyn in her rooms, and saw her scoffing those pastries. He loved them so much that he confiscated the recipe and kept it in the iron box to be used only for the Royal Consumption only. That's love for you.

There are quite a few recipes around, but that's where the confusion begins.
Some use puff pastry, some use shortcrust pastry. Some bakers add a raspberry jam, the others - quince jam, then there's Delia with a lemon curd.
You can find a recipe for Maids of Honour as made by Richmond House, who claim its roots back to the original recipe. One of the ingredients they have is a mashed potato. Not quite sure about its authenticity then, as potatoes were introduced to Great Britain by Sir Francis Raleigh, so that would be already after Henry VIII.
Then there's the food historian and chef Clarissa Dickson Wright's recipe - her Maids of Honour are made with ground almonds and quince jelly, and not a spoonful of curd cheese in sight.

Having read all the available recipes thoroughly, I decided to adapt several of them.
First of all - oh horror - I used a ready-made puff pastry. Mary Berry would need her smelling salts. But, but, but... good old Delia, thanks God for Delia, uses a block of fresh puff pastry in her Richmond Maids of Honour recipe.
I didn't make my own curd either, a jar of a supermarket own lemon curd worked perfectly well.
I decided to make half a batch with lemon curd, and half - with raspberry jam.

Maids of Honour
Ingredients:
1 pack of puff pastry ready rolled (320g)
150g curd cheese
40g caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 egg yolk
20g ground almonds
2tbsp lemon curd
2tbsp raspberry jam

You will need to take the pastry out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before working with it. Unroll the pastry, and using a cookie cutter, cut out 24 mini rounds. You might need to re-roll the scraps of dough to cut out more circles.
Bake in two batches, if using a 12-piece cupcake tin.
Slightly butter the tin before putting the pastry circles inside, and slightly press in to get a cup-shape.
Add a bit of curd cheese on each pastry and spread it evenly.
In a medium mixing bowl beat together the curd cheese with sugar, egg, egg yolk and lemon zest. Add the ground almonds and mix well. Use half of the mix to fill in each pastry, about 1 heaped tsp each.
Bake in the oven preheated to 200c for about 20 minutes until golden.

Take out of the oven, let the pastries cool a bit, take out.
Then repeat with the raspberry jam for the second batch.

Don't worry about the cracked curd cheese, it only adds to their rustic appearance.

Both version were delicious, though the lemon curd variety is my favourite.
And they store beautifully in the new spacious tin.

Have you been inspired by GBBO? What did you bake/

Disclosure: I received a GBBO tin for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Haggis sausage rolls with cranberries and sesame seeds

I have ordered my haggis from Abel and Cole for Burns Night in advance. Last year we had a traditional Macsween haggis, which I cooked following the instructions on the packet (see my post Burns Night dinner, minus the pipers). I remember we had quite a bit left over, and I used it as a stuffing for sweet peppers. This year I fancied something different. This year's haggis came from Peelham Farm.
I loved the recipe for Haggis sausage rolls in Delicious magazine online, and have adapted it, with a few changes in ingredients. And it suggested using a ready-made puff pastry. I'm the Queen of Jus-Rol, and don't bother with making my own pastry, it won't be as good anyway.

Haggis sausage rolls with cranberries and sesame seeds
Ingredients:

250g haggis, skinned and crumbled
150g pork sausagemeat (I used 3 pork and caramelised onion sausages)
a handful of freshly chopped thyme and sage
a handful of dried cranberries (I used Ocean Spray Craisins, as they're juicy and sweet)
1 pack of Jus-Rol puff pastry, 320g
1 medium egg, beaten with a dash of milk
sesame seeds

In a deep mixing bowl crumble the skinned haggis. If using sausages, remove the skins and discard them, add the sausagemeat to the haggis. Add the herbs and cranberries, and mix well. You don't have to add any salt, as there is enough salt in haggis and sausages.
Open the pastry, cut in half. Lay the filling in the middle of each half, like a long thin sausage.
Brush one side of the pastry with the egg mix, close the other side over and brush with more egg over. Slice each sausage roll into small 4cm pieces.
Put a generous helping of sesame seeds in a small bowl. Dip each mini-roll in the egg, then in the sesame seeds.
Place all the mini-rolls on the foil inside a tray (I had one full tray and a half), greased with a bit of oil. bake at 180c for 15+ minutes.
Serve hot with the soured cream or mustard.

I love sausage rolls, and let me tell you, these ones totally rock. Some of the best sausage rolls I ever had. Totally scrummy.

Adding my post to Cooking with herbs linky at Lavender and Lovage. This month's theme is Store-cupboard basics, essentials and herbs. Dried cranberries and sesame seeds are my cupboard basics and essentials.

Game pie with leeks and mushrooms

When a reminder came last Saturday to have a look at the forthcoming vegetable box from Abel & Cole, I was curious to see what's on offer. A game pie mix looked good, so I added it to the basket. I looked through some of my cook books for inspiration and decided that I will make a festive game pie, with mushrooms, leeks and cranberries.

I was also impatient to test my two new OXO Good Grips gadgets: a Smooth Potato Masher and an angled measuring jug. A game pie would go nicely with mashed potatoes. I was very pleased to have a new measuring jug, as my old measuring cup has mysteriously disappeared. I suspect that one of my guys "helped" me by recycling it by mistake. I used OXO Good Grips measuring cup to measure the right amount of wine for the sauce, and milk for the mashed potatoes. It has a non-slip handle (great for when your hands are wet). You can see exactly how much liquid you have used, all the measurements are clear, both on the outside and inside the jug.

OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup

Game pie
Ingredients:
500g game pie mix
2tbsp olive oil
1 medium leek, finely sliced
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
8 + chestnut mushrooms
a handful of chopped thyme and rosemary
1tsp wild rose el hanout spice mix
a handful of cranberries
300ml red wine (I used Cabernet)
1 mug of stock (I used a vegetable stock cube)
puff pastry for the lid

Brown the pieces of meat in a deep frying pan with the olive oil, then add the sliced vegetables, cranberries and chopped herbs. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Season well. Pour the wine, about one third at a time, and add more, as it gets reduced, the same with the stock, don't pour it all at once, and cook under the lid for about 45 minutes on low. Put the contents of the pan in a deep pie dish. Cut the puff pastry lid with a hole inside. Place the pie dish in the oven preheated to 180C and cook for 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
I have asked my friends on Facebook if I need a pie funnel, or whether I would be fine without one. Some people suggested using an egg cup to support the lid. Well, we don't really use the egg cups, and those that we got as gifts are made of melamine, so not suitable for the task. I did cut out a small opening in the middle for the steam to escape, but as the pie was packed with meat and veg, there was no space for the lid to collapse, even if it wanted to. So, technically, I didn't really need a pie funnel. The pastry absorbed some of the juices but wasn't soggy.
It was a real comfort food, especially when served with the mash. A great combination of flavours and textures, with the cranberries adding a festive touch, and the red wine making it rich.

I have shamelessly used a ready-made puff pastry. I thought about making my own, then decided that I didn't have time or energy. I am sooo not the GBBO material. In fact, I am a self-confessed queen of Jus-Rol.

Testing OXO Good Grips smooth potato masher

For the mashed potato and parsnip, cook two chopped potatoes and two parsnips in salted water until soft. Add some warmed milk, a bit at a time and a generous dollop of butter.

Typically I use my old wooden masher, so I was curious to find out how the OXO Good Grips Smooth Potato Masher will do the job. It is very light, and works with less pressure on your hands. The handle is broad and soft and comfortable in use. A stainless steel mashing plate has a fine grid and mashes the vegetables smoothly and effortlessly, leaving no lumps. As the mashing plate is shaped as an oval, you can move it around the pan easily and get all bits mashed perfectly.
I would imagine it is very handy to make the baby food as well.
My score for both OXO products: 5/5.

Disclosure: I received two OXO Good Grips products for purposes of reviewing. All opinions and a recipe suggestion are mine.

Sausage rolls with apricots and herbs

Am I allowed to do a bit of name-dropping on my blog? When we were staying in Cornwall in July, we were invited by Jane and David Cornwall for tea. If you're not familiar with this name, how about his nom de plume: John Le Carre? Both Jane and David are wonderful hosts, very attentive and genuinely interested in what you say.

Last time we visited them, we were offered a whole feast with our tea, including some scrummy sausage rolls. My Mum liked them so much, that after we came back home from holidays, I decided to treat her to a freshly-baked batch.

For 20  mini-sausage rolls:
1 roll of Jus-Rol puff pastry    

6 good quality pork sausages with herbs

2 tbsp chopped apricots

1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried mint

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp chopped spring onions

1 egg, beaten with milk

Preheat the oven to 180C

Unroll the puff pastry on a clean work surface, cut into two long rectangles.
Remove the skins from the sausages and place them in a big mixing bowl. Chop the red onion and sping onions finely and fry in the frying pan with the olive oil until translucent. Allow to cool before adding to the sausage meat. Add dried herbs and chopped apricots. Mash them well together with your hands.
Divide the sausage meat in two and form two long sausages. Place each of them onto the pastry just off centre of the pastry rectangles, making sure to leave a 2cm border on each side. Using a pastry brush, brush down one edge of the pastry.
 Pull one side of the pastry over the sausage & pinch the edge to create a sausage "roll".  Cut into 4cm chunky mini-rolls.
Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and bake until golden brown for about 20 minutes.

Eat either hot or allow to cool, they keep well, wrapped in foil in the fridge for a day.