Rumtopf Bread Pudding

Let me first apologize...I forgot to take a picture of the bread pudding...we were too busy eating!
We took it for a gathering with friends Sunday night.It turned out pretty darned great and was made even better by the addition of some Yahara Bay Cocoa Liqueur with Ice Cream whipped up by our host Kris.  Here's the recipe...if you don't have rumtopf, you can add any drunken fruit you have on hand, or just fruit in syrup if you don't want the alcohol.  The rumtopf was an experiment I tried last year after hearing about it on a food podcast.  What you do is get a large crock, some good rum, sugar and then all season long as different fruits come into season you add 1 lb of fresh fruit with 1 cup sugar and rum to cover.  You stop adding fruit in the fall and allow it to mellow until the holidays, when you serve it on top of ice cream or make it into other desserts like this one.  I got carried away and still have a large crock of rumtopf on hand.  It won't go bad though...it's well pickled with the rum.  The traditional way to make it as they do in Germany is with only red fruits.  I like all fruit, so I used other colors too.
1 loaf day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups rumtopf with liquid
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp cinnamon
pinch salt
Bake covered with foil in a 350°  oven for 45 minutes to one hour, or cook in a pressure cooker on steam for 15 minutes, according the the directions on the pressure cooker, or do like I did, steam on the stovetop in a steamer for 2-3 hours or until a knife inserted in the pudding comes out clean.  Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or additional rumtopf or fruit on top. Dericious!

Victorian Milk Bread

I needed some bread for a bread pudding I'm making this weekend, so today I made a couple of loaves of Victorian Milk Bread.  They turned out beautiful and we can't wait to try them.  The recipe I used is from my favorite bread cookbook, Bread, by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno. 
I found a link to the recipe online on another blog and have linked it to this post. 
The description of the texture and crumb of this bread sounds like it will make great toast and should work well for bread pudding also.  I'll be sure to post some pics and the recipe for the bread pudding once that's done.  Happy Baking!

Curried Lentils with Shrimp

The cold weather this week has me craving comfort foods and spicy foods.  Last night I put together a lentil curry with shrimp that was easy and very satisfying.  Unfortunately we didn't take any pics...too busy eating.  Here's the recipe:
8 oz red lentils, rinsed
2 cups chicken broth, heated through
2-3 tbsp butter or olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
2-3 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
2-3 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 to 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
12 oz peeled, deveined shrimp-tail off
3 oz chopped cilantro (optional)

In a large saucepan melt butter or heat olive oil over medium heat, then add onion and red pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes until onion is translucent.  Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more before adding broth and lentils.  Simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft.  Add curry paste, pepper flakes, ginger, coconut milk and fish sauce.  Cook about 10 minutes more or until heated through before adding wine, shrimp and cilantro.  Cook about 10-12 minutes or until shrimp are pink, but not tough. 
Serve with garlic french bread to sop up the broth. 
And it's healthy too!

Shepherd's Pie

This recipe uses both ground lamb and ground beef, however you could use just one or the other.  It's a great thing to make with left over mashed potatoes.  This recipe makes a large pan.  If you want a smaller amount, cut ingredients in half and it should be about right for a deep dish pie plate or an 8x8 baking dish.
 Ingredients:
1 lb ground lamb
1 lb ground chuck or ground beef
1 package frozen peas
1 package frozen carrots
1 package frozen pearl onions
3 cups lamb or beef gravy
6 cups mashed potatoes

Preheat oven to 400°
Brown meat in a little oil in a skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper while browning.  While meat is cooking, heat the onions in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  Mix together all the ingredients except potatoes.  Place mixture into greased pan and top with mashed potatoes, spreading the potatoes all over the top until smooth.  Place pan onto sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes at 400°.  Remove from oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serve with baguette bread for sopping up the extra juice.
Enjoy!

Lamb Time

It's Time for Lamb! 

This week I'll be picking up our lamb from Jordandal Farms.  Each year we order a full lamb and it never lasts as long as you think it would.  It's fantastic, local, pasture raised, antibiotic free Icelandic lamb.   We've tried lamb from all the local producers and believe the lamb raised at Jordandal is the best available locally.

Beast and I will start posting lamb recipes as we cook.  If you've never had lamb, you really ought to try it.  We got hooked when in Australia and learned some basic ways to prepare lamb as they do in Oz.

I always ask for all the bones so I can make stock.  It's super easy and very healthy.

Lamb Stock:

Roast 3-5 lbs lamb bones in the oven at 325° for about 3 hours.  Allow bones to cool and discard any excess fat.  Place roasted bones in a stock pot with cold water and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Once the water boils, strain off the water to remove excess grease, then cover with cold water once again, add approximately 3 Tbsp Kosher salt and bring to a boil once again over medium heat.  Simmer over medium-low heat for about 3 hours, or until bones are clean.  Strain broth 3 times to remove any excess sediment, then add 1 large onion, chopped, 2 carrots, chopped and 2-3 stalks celerey chopped, season with salt and pepper, add 1-2 bay leaves and then bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to simmer over medium-low heat for 45 minutes.  Strain broth and cool.  Broth can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or frozen for up to 6 months...if you can resist it that long!  Use the lamb broth as you would beef broth in recipes, or use it as a base for scrumptious soups, like Vegetable Barley Soup. 

Wishing you a Very Beasty Christmas

Beast and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

The cards are sent, the shopping done, the cookies baked and now we're trying to figure out what to make for Christmas Dinner.  Beast would like it to be something that requires a lot of attention and stirring on the stove.  I, on the other hand, would prefer something simple and fairly hands-free. 

Maybe oyster stew, or lobster bisque.  Tim is opting for something involving meat, and lots of it.  Whatever we decide, we know we'll enjoy it, even if just something out of the freezer (we've been eating out of the freezer all week...making room for the lamb that is coming soon).  Regardless of our holiday dinner what we enjoy most is being home, not working, relaxing and appreciating the company of one another.  The kitties, of course would like a little extra something fishy or with chicken, but otherwise they're happy just sitting in our laps. 
So, after I finish work tomorrow night and decide on the menu, we'll post some pics and recipes.
In the meanwhile, Merry, Merry to you and yours!  May your holiday be stress-free, safe and enjoyable.
--Beast and Lisa, Tim, Birch and Coffee

It's National Pie for Breakfast Day

If you missed out on it today, mark your calendars for next year...It's National Pie for Breakfast Day!
I don't know who thinks up these crazy food celebrations, but I'm sure glad they do...
We had some of our pumpkin pie with ancho chile and coffee for breakfast today.
What a great way to start off the weekend, much better than standing in line shopping at some Big Box Store :)