Bannock: The quickest of quick breads

Bannock

Bannock is kind of the perfect cross between a biscuit, a pancake, and an English muffin.  It’s amazing plain fresh out of the frying pan, smeared with lots of butter and jam, served alongside a saucy dinner used to swipe up every last tasty morsel, or even as a sandwich or burger bun.

It takes about as much work as pancakes so you’ll be able to impress your family and friends with pretty much zero effort on your part!

---

Bannock

Makes 12

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping bannock
2 teaspoons salt
2 ½ tablespoons baking powder
¼ cup melted butter or lard
1 teaspoon honey
1 ½ cups warm water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder; make a well in the centre.  In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter with the honey and pour into the dry ingredients.  Add the water and stir just until a loose dough forms. 

Dust a clean work surface with flour, dump the dough out, and knead 7 or 8 times or until the dough is no longer sticky on the outside, adding a scattering of flour as needed.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and flatten into 1”-thick rounds.  This should leave you with rounds that are around 3-4” across.

Heat a cast iron skillet or frying pan over medium heat and add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  When hot, fry the bannock a few at a time for about 3-4 minutes per side or until deep golden brown.  If your pan starts to look a little dry, add a bit more oil and allow it to heat up before frying more bannock. 

Allow the bannock to cool slightly and enjoy with anything your heart can imagine – or, if you’re feeling extra snazzy, split the bannock down the middle and use it as a bun for Bison Burgers!

Frittering the day away: Apple Fritters

Apple Fritters with Maple Glaze

Every Saturday morning during my undergrad, I would cajole at least one of my roommates out of bed at an unearthly hour to join me on my weekly trek to the St. Jacob's Farmers Market only to wait in a line reaching around the building for freshly made, piping hot apple fritters.

While they were always rewarded with their fair share of the journey's spoils, I've since figured out my own recipe.  This is pretty much a win-win situation for everyone.  I get glorious homemade fritters whenever the whim strikes and my roommate (read: husband) gets a good sleep in on Saturday mornings.

There are few things in life as impressive as fresh, homemade doughnuts and these apple fritters are sure to provide ample praise with minimal effort on your part.  

My only word of advise?  Don't tell anyone how easy they actually are ;)

If you're looking for a demo of this recipe or perhaps a tasty cocktail also inspired by apples, check out my segment on Your Morning!

---

Apple Fritters

Makes about 18 fritters

Vegetable oil, for deep frying
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 slightly heaped tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg
¼ cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1 ½ cups peeled and cored apple, chopped into a ½ cm dice (I like Macintosh or Granny Smith)
Powdered sugar or Maple glaze (recipe follows)

Heat about an inch and a half of vegetable oil  in a large, deep pot over medium/medium-low heat until a thermometer registers between 340-350F

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.

Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, add the melted butter after about three stirs, and continue to mix until almost combined.  Add the apples to the fritter batter and fold in.

When the oil is heated, carefully drop five or six heaped tablespoons of batter into the hot oil.  Make sure that each of the fritters has at least 2 inches of space between it and the next so that they brown evenly and the pan does not become overcrowded.  Fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Remove from the oil and place on a cooling rack to drain and cool slightly and enjoy as is, dusted with icing sugar, or snazzed up a bit with a maple glaze (recipe follows)!

Maple Glaze

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch salt
1 - 4 tbsp warm water, if needed

In a small frying pan, melt the butter over low heat then add in the maple syrup.  Remove the pan from the heat and carfully stir in the powdered sugar and salt.  The glaze should be quiet thin but should still be able to coat the back of a spoon.  If the glaze needs thinning, add warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.  If the glaze looks a little speckled, no worries.  That's just the butter solidifying again.  Pop the pan back on the heat for 10 seconds or so and that should fix everything!

Dip or dunk the cooled fritters into the warm glaze and allow to set for a few minutes before digging in!

Fancy little devils: Carbonara Deviled Eggs

Carbonara Deviled Eggs

I have a serious problem when it comes to deviled eggs.  It’s the same problem I have with what I call “church lady” sandwiches.  You know the ones.  Crustless, cut into fingers, often served at church picnics or after special services, scarf-able in less than two bites.

I’m hoping that I’m not alone here but the issue I tend to have is that if either of these tasty little retro treats are present at a party, I will eat my body weight in them.  The feeling I get after realizing I’ve polished off a half dozen eggs or the equivalent of three full-sized sandwiches falls somewhere between pride and shame but, in all honesty, it’s totally worth it.

In my perhaps slightly biased opinion, deviled eggs are the perfect party food.  They are salty, packed with flavour, and are just about the perfect size for guests to enjoy without hindering their ability to chit chat like some larger sized party snacks might.  The classic is a classic for a reason – everyone loves them.  But here, I make an argument for a slightly updated version. 

These carbonara deviled eggs bring together some of my favourite ingredients to work with.  Salty pecorino cheese, meaty pancetta, sooty pepper, and fresh parsley come together in that classic yolky filling to create the most scrumptious couple of bites you ever did taste! 

Give these little guys a try but just don't blame me if you pull a Mary and eat the whole lot yourself!

---

Carbonara Devilled Eggs

Makes 12 devilled eggs

 6 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
2 thin (2-3mm) slices of pancetta
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
½ teaspoon pancetta fat
2 teaspoons very finely chopped parsley, divided
¼ cup finely grated pecorino cheese, divided
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper, plus more for garnish

To hard boil your eggs, place them in a single layer on the bottom of a medium saucepan and have a tight fitting lid handy.  Add enough cool water to cover the eggs by 1.5 inches, add the vinegar, and bring to a boil over medium heat.  When the water has reached a boil, quickly cover the pot, remove from the heat, and set a timer for 13 minutes.  Allow the eggs to sit, covered, until the timer goes off then immediately drain the eggs and plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.  Once the eggs are cool, tap them on the counter to break up the shell a bit.  I like to put a few cracks in the top and bottom of the eggs and use that little bubble area on the bottom of the egg to start peeling.

Meanwhile, cook the pancetta slices in a medium pan over medium heat until crisp.  When done, remove the pancetta and allow it to cool and reserve ½ teaspoon of the pancetta fat from the pan.  Finely chop the pancetta so that it almost resembles coarse bread crumbs and set aside, reserving about a tablespoon of the pancetta crumb for garnish.

Using a sharp knife or a piece of thread wrapped around your fingers like you would floss, slice the eggs in half from top to bottom.  Pop the yolks out of each egg and place into a small mixing bowl.  Mash the yolks with a fork and stir in the mayonnaise, pancetta fat, 1 ½ teaspoons parsley, 2 tablespoons pecorino, pancetta crumbs (other than the garnish), salt, and pepper.  Mix well until everything is nice and smooth and divide the yolk mixture back into the egg whites.  If you’re just looking to get the yolks in there, a spoon will do just fine.  If you’re going for a snazzier look, transfer the yolk mixture into a zip top plastic bag or piping bag and dollop a little swirl into each white. 

For an additional little garnish, place a nonstick skillet over medium heat and scatter in the remaining 2 tablespoons of pecorino.  Allow the cheese to melt and start to crisp.  As soon as the cheese is crispy and just slightly browned, remove it from the pan and allow the crisp to cool.  Break it up into at least 12 pieces and set aside.

When ready to serve, top each egg with a little piece of the pecorino crisp, a sprinkling of parsley, a bit of the remaining pancetta, and a bit more pepper.

The fluffiest little 3-Cheese Omelette you ever did see

Three Cheese Souffled Omelette

We've all been there.  You've just woken up.  You're hungry.  You open the fridge and see a few perfect little eggs and a vegetable drawer filled with bits and bobs and inspiration strikes: "I'll make an omelette for breakfast!"

You grab some veg, maybe an onion, some mushrooms, a handful of greens, and hurriedly and haphazardly chop them all up.  You pop your pan onto the heat, crank it all the way up to high because, gosh darnit, you're hungry and want to dig into this bad boy as soon as possible!  

Fast forward to a warbly, flat-ish omelette filled with still-crunchy onions, sad and weepy mushrooms, wilted no-longer-green greens, and overcooked eggs.  

Less.  Than.  Appetizing.  And definitely not what the doctor ordered.

This here is my argument (read: recipe) for the most perfect omelette you'll ever have the joy of whipping up and gobbling down.  A souffled omelette not only looks spectacular from start to finish, it also cooks up in the blink of an eye and has the most wonderful, even consistency.

A soufleed omelette does not lend itself well to veg but, personally, I don't much care for them in my eggs anyway as I find that they are always under or overcooked.  I'd much rather dig into this cheesy lofty little number with a green salad or steamed asparagus on the side.

If the souffle aspect of this recipe seems a bit intimidating, believe me, it's as easy as anything!  Check out this segment on The Marilyn Denis Show where I prepare my Three Cheese Souffled Omelette to see just how simple it is!

---

Three Cheese Souffled Omelette

Makes 1 - 7” omelet

3 large eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons grated extra old cheddar
2 tablespoons grated gruyere
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
2 teaspoons finely chopped chives
Salt and pepper, to season

Heat a 7” nonstick skillet over medium low, arrange your top oven rack about 6-8” below your broiler, and turn the broiler on to high.

Meanwhile, separate your eggs by placing the yolks in a medium bowl and the whites into a very clean large metal or glass bowl.  When separating your eggs, it is important to make sure that no yolk gets into your whites.  Even the littlest bit of yolk or fat can stop your whites from whipping up.

Using a clean metal whisk or hand mixer, whip up the egg whites until they are fluffy and hold soft peaks.  Set those aside and whisk up the egg yolks with a bit of salt.  The yolks need to be whisked for about 10 seconds or so, just until they lighten up a bit. 

Using a metal spoon or large whisk, gently fold the yolks into the whites just until combined.  The mixture will fall a bit and lose some of its fluffiness but be careful not to over stir as this will ruin the soufflé.

Pop the butter into your preheated pan, swirl around a bit so that the bottom and edges are nicely coated, and gently pour the egg mixture into the pan.  Cook the omelette over medium low heat for 1 minute, gently sprinkle the cheeses on top, and pop the pan under the broiler for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese just begins to turn golden.

Remove the omelette from the oven and carefully fold it over on itself and transfer to a plate.  Top with a scattering of chives and a bit more salt and pepper, if desired.