Apple Pie with Lattice Top

Before I went on holiday I went through the fridge and tried to use up anything that would go off before we went away, or throw out anything that I couldn't use but would go bad. I had a bowlful of apples on the table that I hadn't gotten around to eating and as they were already going a little soft, I knew they wouldn't be any good by the time I came back from holiday (not to mention the fact that I am going to Edinburgh for work for a couple of days as soon as I get back!).

One of my favourite things to make with apples is apple pie, and as I was recently sent this lattice pastry cutter from CakeMart, I was excited to try it out. I've often wondered how you create a perfect lattice effect in pastry on top of a pie and if it takes ages - now I know, and I can tell you that it doesn't! Read on to see what you have to do....

Apple pie with raisins, by Caroline Makes

6-8 eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced
100g caster sugar
100ml water
handful of raisins or sultanas
250g plain flour
140g cold butter, diced
1 egg, beaten

First stew the apples, by heating in a pan with the sugar and water - the water stops them sticking and you can add more or less as you like. I did this over a medium heat for about 20 minutes; it depends how soft you like your apples as mine retained the sliced shape but you can also cook them until they are soft enough to mash.

To make the pastry, rub the cubes of butter into the flour with your fingers until you have a dough. Add a couple of spoonfuls of water so you have a pliable dough. It's a good idea to put this in the fridge wrapped in clingfilm for about half an hour, which you can do while your apples are cooling. Preheat oven to 180C.

Roll out half the pastry dough on a lightly floured surface and use to line your pie dish.

Add the raisins or sultanas into the apple mixture and spoon into your pie base.

Roll out the remaining pastry and roll the lattice cutter over it. You'll see that the lines are broken by parts where the cutter doesn't cut through and the pastry stays joined together. I couldn't figure out initially what to do so had to watch a video on YouTube - carefully take each end of your pastry and pull apart and the lattice should open like a concertina!

Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

 

Unfortunately mine didn't quite work perfectly. I blame the fact that my pastry was overworked; it took me several attempts to figure out how to do this as there were no instructions with the lattice cutter and it was only later that I resorted to YouTube. I wasn't sure whether my pastry was getting too sticky so I kept adding flour, which was probably a mistake; once I had figured out how to use the lattice cutter and tried to pull my pastry apart, it was too dry and broke in several places. So you can see the idea but it doesn't look perfect - next time I think I might try with ready made pastry!

I'm sharing this with the No Waste Food Challenge, hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen, since I made this to use up fruit that would otherwise go to waste while I was away.

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Green Flower Friendship Card

 

This birthday card was made for a female friend and uses a variety of toppers. To start with I chose a square card blank and a piece of paper from a pack of different prints. It is green with daisies, and has a border along one side with a large white daisy on it. I positioned that on the right hand side of the card to draw the eye to the opening - you could also turn the paper the other way up and use it along the bottom.

In the upper third of the card, just inside the border, I placed a yellow die cut that I thought went with the yellows and greens of the backing paper. It has a lace edge and I think is from the Stephanie Weightman collection - I got it in a mixed pack from Ebay where I buy a lot of my card making supplies.

I had another pack of die cuts which had different messages inside banners, circles and squares, on white card with silver lettering I used one of these on a banner that said 'on your birthday' along the top and a circle with 'may all your wishes come true' in the middle. From another pack- which I also got on Ebay - I used a banner saying 'for a special friend' on white card mounted on green, which again went with the colours of the card. I was quite pleased with the overall colour scheme and style.

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Restaurant Review: Taylor's, Tavistock

One of my best friends lives in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor – a lovely place, if a little bit of a trek from London! The Other Half and I went to see her after her baby was born and decided to make a long weekend of it to offset the 5-hour each-way drive. I didn’t want to impose and ask to stay with her when she had a newborn taking up her attention, so instead we checked into a hotel in Tavistock for one night, and stayed with my parents the next night on the way back.

 

We visited a lovely donkey sanctuary just across the Cornish border in Gunnislake, which is well worth a visit if you’re in the area. We were there on a chilly week day in term-time so had the entire place to ourselves, and were followed around the park by a particularly friendly goat, and I was invited to groom a donkey and cuddle a few guineapigs by one of the workers, which was great fun.

 

We got to our hotel just before dinner; I’d done some research into places to eat in Tavistock (what did we do before TripAdvisor?) but hadn’t booked anywhere since I didn’t know exactly what time we would arrive. One that I had earmarked was just a couple of minute’s walk from our hotel and was highly rated on TripAdvisor: Taylor’s.

 

The front is quite unprepossessing and looks more like a shop-front from first glance, then as we got closer I thought it was a hairdresser’s due to the comfy chairs in the window and side table stacked with magazines. This is actually a sort of café area where you could have a coffee during the day, or sit while waiting for a table in the evening, at the front as the main dining room is upstairs.

 

The décor is lovely – no small-town hairdresser feel on the inside. Apparently it’s a listed building so they probably aren’t allowed to do too much to it - the exposed stonework is made a feature and at the same time restaurant is light and modern. We sat upstairs just off a spiral staircase and the setting felt quite romantic.

 

The menu is definitely British with a lot of local produce; we had a baked brie to start which we shared (though I think I ate more of it than my boyfriend, we were almost fighting over it!) and for my main course I had venison casserole with mashed potato and herb dumplings, as I remembered the friend we were visiting had once served us venison that was as local as it comes (she even knew the person who had killed it). The dish came with delicious mashed potato, and dumplings which are something I don’t usually like but the whole thing was delicious. The Other Half had a steak which came with onion rings (which again I stole from him) and chunky chips and a choice of sauces.

 

Tap water was brought at the start without being asked (which always makes me feel cheap when I say 'tap' if they ask 'still or sparkling') in a pretty blue carafe.

 

Though we were full, we had seen waiters walk past with dessert and couldn’t resist. The Other Half had a trio of desserts, consisting of chocolate mousse, sticky toffee pudding and crème brulee, which he said were delicious – the only complaint being they weren’t big enough as he could have eaten full-sized versions of all three! My dessert on the other hand was massive – the biggest piece of lemon meringue pie I’ve ever seen – and probably the nicest as well.

 

The food is quite pricey for the area but we have paid far more in London for food which wasn’t as good; the service was also excellent and overall we had a fantastic meal and wouldn’t hesitate to return next time we are in the area.

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Gardening Grandad Birthday Card

I made this birthday card for my granddad as he enjoyed gardening though does find it more difficult these days. The section down the centre of the card is all one sticker, and the shape lent itself to a tall thin card in my opinion. The two round stickers of the chicken and bird came from the same set and I thought were very appropriate for my granddad as he used to keep chickens. The leaves also came from the same set and I added a 'grandfather' outline sticker from a sheet that had names of various relatives, and a 'happy birthday' from another outline sheet. Unfortunately the last part of the word went a bit wonky when I put it on the card but it was too fragile to take off and start again!

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Meal Planning Monday 2015 - Week 20

I don't want to miss a week of the Meal Planning Monday post on my blog - partly because I will lose track of what number week it is otherwise! But there isn't much to say for this week as I am on holiday in Mexico! If you fancy leaving a comment why not tell me what your favourite Mexican dish is, and I will look out for it when I'm there!

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Restaurat Review: The Breakfast Club

Named after a cult 80s movie, the Breakfast Club near London’s Liverpool Street station is going for that cult, Shoreditch, trying hard to be alternative kind of vibe. Its website is like a computer game – again, an 80s version – and inside, the décor is almost overwhelmingly on trend, from the ‘sex, drugs and bacon rolls’ neon sign in one corner, to the collage of photos as you walk in. There’s even a secret bar that you access by opening a retro fridge – inside the fridge instead of shelves there is actually a flight of stairs leading downstairs.

 

All that was possibly a bit much when I went in one morning for breakfast with colleagues, having already been in the office since 5am. But it is definitely more interesting than your average restaurant!

There's a staircase inside this fridge

 

 

I ordered the apple and cinnamon French toast (£7.50) which was very tasty; thick slices of bread that were not too soggy and served with roasted apples on the side. Next time I’d probably have the posh sausage sandwich which as well as sausage has smoked Applewood cheese, Portobello mushroom (which I’d ask to be left out) and red onion chutney on a crusty roll. Or maybe the American pancakes… or the eggs royale with fried potatoes…. There’s a lot of choice, and that’s just the breakfast menu!

 

The lunch and dinner menu has a wide range from salads (with silly names like ‘You’ve got Kale’) to burritos, pulled pork sandwiches, chilli, lots of burgers (including a vegetarian option called ‘don’t have a cow’) and various late breakfast options (this is the Breakfast Club, after all). I enjoyed my breakfast here and while it didn’t completely blow me away, I would come back for lunch and try something else on the menu some time.

 

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Easy Spanish Paella

The next Formula 1 Grand Prix is taking place in Spain, and as I'm on holiday I made this Spanish paella in honour of the race a couple of weeks ago. It's really easy and a lot quicker than 'proper' paella as I used microwavable rice. I often don't have the time or patience to cook rice from scratch and am usually only doing it for one or two people anyway, so the microwave pouches are just right. But that's not to say I don't want to add my own twist to it!

I had some leftover red peppers in brine in  jar in the fridge and also some leftover chorizo which were perfect for this recipe. I'd bought a big bag of frozen king prawns from Iceland for - if I recall correctly - £4.99, which seems expensive for Iceland but it's a huge bag that has lasted ages.

I fried some onion and garlic in the base of the pan, added the red pepper and chorizo, then the cooked rice and some vegetable stock - also left over from another recipe in the fridge - and some seasoning plus a spice mix of saffron, paprika, and oregano. Stir it all around, heat through until the prawns are cooked, and serve!

I'm not pretending at all this is the correct recipe for a paella but it is a dish along those lines and I like the fact that it's quick and I can throw in whatever I have in the fridge or store cupboard!

I'm sharing this firstly with the blog challenge I host, Formula 1 Foods; the idea is to cook something inspired by the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

I'm also sending this to Kitchen Clearout, hosted by Madhouse Family Rules, as it uses up leftover and storecupboard ingredients.

The theme for this month's Spice Trail challenge, hosted by Vanesther at Bangers and Mash, is spice mix - my own blend of spices for this paella fits in with that.

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