roughchef

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Perfect Biscuits for Cheese

I love this time of the year, lots and friends and family, plus lots of entertaining. So, these knäckebröd are the perfect biscuits for cheese from your brie to cheddar. Top’m with other items for a great little bites.

I absolutely love this time of year, with get-togethers with family and friends I really feel like a kid at Christmas time.  This year is obviously slightly different, with two small people in the house, the reality is that we simply cannot do huge amount of entertaining.  I can however live vicariously through my family back in Canada who are hosting others at Christmas.

The most popular items at any Christmas party is undoubtedly the cheese station.  Growing up, this is tended to be cubes of Kraft cheddar cheese mixed with some form of pepperoni and Ritz crackers.  Nowadays it seems everyone has moved past that 90s trend of mass-produced processed food. In its place, we now have imported brie and camembert, smoked gouda and cave aged cheddar, Blue cheese as far as the eye can see, and occasionally a little bundle of beautiful burrata.

However, what you put this cheese on is still a matter of debate, in my household at least.  Sure there is the standard water biscuit, melba toast or a baguette sliced thinly. Then you have the artisan crackers, which while unique seem to cost as much as the cheese.  So I like making these knäckebröd, which I humbly contend are indeed the perfect biscuits for cheese.

What makes these the perfect biscuits for cheese is their simplicity and the roughness.  They are not perfectly shaped as a water biscuit, and they aren’t stuffed with special herbs and spices.  But that is their strength.  They are a simple, unassuming, crispy cracker that will compliment nearly any cheese its paired with. Plus, they are exceedingly simple to make I will undoubtedly have your guests asking where you got them from.

So, this Christmas season, please host a party because I cannot. When you make your cheeseboard, have a go at making knäckebröd, my perfect biscuits for cheese.

Knäckebröd – The Perfect Biscuits for Cheese

Knäckebröd – Perfect Biscuits for Cheese

Knäckebröd are the perfect biscuits for cheese from your brie to cheddar. Top’m with other items for a great little bites.

100 ml Double cream (at room temperature)

150 ml Warm water

150 g Strong bread flour

150 g Strong whole wheat flour

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Active dried yeast

1 tsp Caraway seeds – lightly crushed

Mix all dry ingredients (except seeds) together, and then mix and add the cream/water. Mix to combine, and then dust the counter and knead dough for about 5min. Add more flour if too wet.

Cut dough into four, roll into a ball and then cover and let rise for 30min.

Heat the oven to 200°C (fan – 20°C higher for non fan).

Using a rolling pin, and dusted surface, roll the dough into a very thin circle. If you can, make a small hole in the centre and this will let you get an even wider base. Place on a parchment lined pan and sprinkle with lightly crushed seeds. Prick the surface of the dough with a fork to help reduce the likelihood of extra rising in the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes and then turn over and bake for about another 3 minutes or until dry and hard. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with other dough balls.

Top with your favourite cheese, and crisp pickled veggies or chutneys.

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Moscow Mule

A perfect drink for the holidays, the warm and spicy gingery Moscow Mule. Perfect if you don’t feel like a hot drink in front of the fire.

Oh, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! Now I know those of you in the states always count the thanksgiving as the start of the holiday period, and with good reason. The snow is on the ground, and the everyone is still in full on Turkey mode. Plus, there is the seemingly manic Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

I don’t get the whole bargain shopping thing. The concept of waiting out in the cold for the shops to open to try and grab a TV seems to chaotic for my liking. Having family around for big feast followed by football, now that I can get behind.

Rather sadly, the UK has chosen in recent years to embrace the whole shopping thing but less so the turkey. As a Canadian, I celebrated thanksgiving back in October, so at least my family is being indoctrinated in that tradition. Even if my poor husband and my in-laws really can’t stand pumpkin pie.

With a Moscow Mule you’ve got the fizz and the spicy ginger, and then the vodka which just warms everything up

Luckily, my sister was over visiting us (OK, well mostly Thing 1 and Thing 2 but I’m promised she

wanted to see me too), so she helped me with the pie. Trying to find a drink though was also a bit of fun. Sure, we like beer and wine and G&Ts. This year though, I decided to try something a bit different and I knew she would be on board with experimentation in the drinks department. The drink we opted for was a Moscow Mule, and wow was it a good choice. Perfect for the weather.

With a Moscow Mule you’ve got the fizz and the spicy ginger, and then the vodka which just warms everything up. It was delicious to sit back and just enjoy a glass. It was so good, that this past week as the weather was getting chilly again, I sat down in the evening to make another mug of the stuff.

So, the Moscow Mule has clearly won both my sister and myself over. So much so that we’ve even planned on each making them to enjoy during our transatlantic Facetime chats. Now, if I can’t get someone to agree to let me make egg nog for Christmas eve (again, not a British thing????) than as I await Santa’s arrival I will sit down, relax and have a Moscow Mule. While watching a Muppet Christmas Carol, obviously.

Moscow Mule

A perfect drink for the holidays, the warm and spicy gingery Moscow Mule. Perfect if you don’t feel like a hot drink in front of the fire.

1 Part Fresh lime juice

2 Part Ice cold vodka

6 Part Ginger beer

1/4 tsp Grated fresh ginger (Totally optional)

1-2 wedge lime

Place the lime and fresh ginger in your glass

Add vodka and lime juice, then top with ice

Top up with ginger beer

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Masala Omelette

  Inspired by a free morning and watching the 100ft Journey, a utterly delicious Masala Omelette.

An interesting development has happened since having kids, I’ve realised my days of staying up until 11pm and getting up at 7am are all over. Come 9pm, I’m officially exhausted. This is especially true since I took over the ‘stay at home’ duties, as two boys under the age of four require massive amounts of energy.

Anyway, for those moments in the evening that we find ourselves with a bit of energy (well, enough to vaguely focus on something on the TV), if I’m not reading my latest book I like to put something on the TV. A major bone of contention in my household is that I like watching North American TV, mostly so I feel connected to my native part of the world. Recently though, rather than turning on Modern Family I noticed that my streaming service had ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’.

Full disclosure, I had already watched this in the cinema. I mean, come on it was about food and had Helen Mirren in it, of course I was going to drag D to see in cinemas. In full ‘pre-kids’ nostalgia mode, I cracked open a decent red and decided to press play.

Spicy, warming and herby, a Masala Omelette is a great twist on your morning eggs.

If you haven’t seen it, well check it out if its on your local flavour of Netflix. However, there is this one pivotal scene when the main character is creating Helen Mirren’s character an Indian flavoured omelette. I was intrigued, I’d never had one before. So, I decided to make one. Conveniently I make eggs every Saturday for breakfast, and low and behold magically D discovered a Masala Omelette on his plate that morning for breakfast.

Honestly, I really like them. Spicy, warming and herby, a Masala Omelette is a great twist on your morning eggs. Great for adults, probably not the greatest thing to throw at your kids right away. Thing 1 and 2 seemed most pleased with their own ‘fancy’ eggs (chopped bacon tossed in, winner).

The Bluenosers ratings:

  Drinks

Well, tea of course.

Music

Get yourself some some Panjabi MC – Mundian To Bach Ke. The Eminem vs Panjabi mix is an awesome ode to the early noughties.

Masala Omelette

Spicy, warming and herby, a Masala Omelette is a great twist on your morning eggs. Great for adults, probably not the greatest thing to throw at your kids right away.

4 Eggs

2 tbsp milk (semi-skimmed or whole)

2 green onions (finely chopped)

1 green chilli (finely chopped)

1 handfull fresh coriander leaves (finely chopped)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp turmeric (ground)

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 clove garlic (finely mashed or grated)

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil

salt (to taste)

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, green onion, most of the coriander.

Heat the oil in the frying pan to a medium heat, and when it is hot give it a swirl to coat the pan and add the chilli, spices and garlic. Stir in the pan for about 30 seconds and then carefully pour in the egg mixture. Again, give is a swirl. I like to use a spatula to move the mixture around to even it out and help the cooking. Don’t do this too much, or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs!

After about 3 minutes, the base should be cooked and most of the omelette gelled together. Carefully, flip the omelette to cook on the other side for about 2 minutes, or until you like it.

Slide it onto a plate, folding it if you like. Rain the rest of the coriander down on it, pour a good cup of tea and chow down.

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A busy family menu – Menu #2

What a week it has been, very busy in our household. Plus it coincided with a deep drop temperature, which has in turn led to many runny noses and people feeling sorry for themselves. So, this week’s menu is a very much a busy family menu, loaded with some easy comforting foods.

Now, if you are unfamiliar with my weekly menu’s, you can read more about it here. Essentially, I make a menu every week, and this is a handy way to live vicariously through a overtired currently staying at home dad.

So, what does my ‘a busy family menu’ look like this week past? Well, the classic roast chicken makes an appearance, as does one of our family favorite comfort cheat meals; meatballs and mash. My mother always used to make meatballs at home, but rather sadly, they were a bit dire and topped with some overly sweet pineapple sauce. So in short, no we didn’t have an IKEA near us. Now I’m not saying IKEA meatballs are the real deal, but for a quick night meal they will happily do.

Perhaps the best night meal was the beef stir fry. Great beef and mixture of flavours. Plus, it was both adult and kid friendly. My boys liked the flavours, and I still got some heat by adding sriracha. How can you say no. In short, this is a lovely little busy family menu week, but pretty tasty. Do enjoy!

See a busy family menu here!

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Weekly Family Menu

Since before we had kids, I have loved making my weekly menu. In a weird way I find it rather cathartic. Finding interesting recipes, that people in the house will eat. Plus there is the added challenge of minimising food waste and cost. Yes it is geeky, but I genuinely like it. Hence, why I’ve created my Family Menu.

Having kids adds an additional layer of complexity to my menu planning. What will they eat, what won’t they, what’s healthy. More importantly, what can one of us realistically prepare while looking after Thing 1&2? Also what are we going to eat? I like a fish stick, but it’s not going to be my regular dinner.

How to read my Family Menu

I thought I’d share my menu planning with you all. So, feel free to take a look. I’ve listed my weekly menu, but also any twists I may have made. I also have a handy little key for you.

   Big Helper Approved - get a munchkin involved. KIDS -this is purely for the kids in the household Family Favourites - for the whole family to sit and enjoy. Sanity Savers - for meals when you just need something on the table and you’re ready to throw in the towel BIG KIDS - This is for us adults.

This past week, however, was a different. I had Thing 2 recovering from a cold, and lousy weather. To top It off, it was half term. For those not familiar, essentially all school kids were off this week. Meaning, on lousy days the indoors would be packed. So a fun week.

That said, a slightly fun little family menu that the boys (and us) enjoyed. In particular I got to make my Cheeky Country Chicken Pie again, which I do love in cold weather!

See the menu HERE!

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Sour Cream Doughnuts

I am writing this during what recently is very rare occurrence: a midday break. Our new kids have been with us a few months now (as of writing). I can say it is rewarding, energising, exhausting, and tear inducing all in the span of 5 min or less.

To be fair, our situation is slightly different, given that we have adopted two toddlers at the same time. So, we’ve skipped the not being able to walk stage entirely. However, we are very lucky that both sleep soundly through the night. Therefore, by the time it is 6:30/7, we are able to spend our time cleaning/organising/crashing on the sofa. What I haven’t had time for, has been keeping up on my reading and writing. A shame, as I was on a good role there for awhile. So, for those of you who follow me on instagram, I posted a photo of my sour cream doughnuts ages ago, but am only now getting around to writing it up.

In many ways, this is rather fitting. Growing up in Nova Scotia, and frankly like most Canadians in the 90s, I loved going to Tim Hortons. Not for the coffee, which I still contend is not very good, but for the timbits (or doughnut holes for the ill informed). I loved (love?) them. Especially when you got a variety pack. All the different flavours. Frankly, as a kid it was all about the sugar high! My absolute favourites though were the sour cream doughnuts. Slightly denser, a better crust and a great glaze.

Despite my love of them, it was only very recently I bothered to try making my own. Good reason for this, I don’t own a deep fryer. But, back when I made these I was feeling a bit homesick/nostalgic for Nova Scotia. So, I decided to give them a go. I found a great little recipe here, and made some of my own adjustments after the first batch. What really affected them was my skill with stovetop deep frying, with various levels of success. In many ways, my attempts at doughnuts are very much like my adventures so far in fatherhood. Some were OK, some were a bit bad, but some were absolutely perfect. My kids, however, will have to wait until we get to Nova Scotia before having any. I love them, but they need the original first.  

Sour Cream Doughnuts from The Bluenosers

Drinks

Yes, I may be in the UK, but even in the land of tea doughnuts are best with a good coffee.

Music

I’m totally in a bit of Canadian nostalgia at the moment, so the perfect music pairing would be Rush’s ‘In the Mood’. Relax, and enjoy.

  Sour Cream Doughnuts

Sour Cream Doughnuts, sugary tasty goodness. The way doughnuts should be.

Doughnuts

120 g White sugar

30 g Butter

3 Egg yolks

190 g Sour cream

300 g Plain flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tbsp Salt

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Glaze

400 g Powdered sugar

1 tsp Golden syrup

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Vanilla extract

85 ml Hot water

Doughnuts

Unless you have amazing forearms, use a mixer to cream the butter with the sugar, and then add the egg yolks one at a time. 

Sift the dry ingredients, and gradually add with the sour cream until they are both incorporated into the eggy-sugar-butter mix. Cover your bowl with cling film, and let rest for an hour in the fridge. 

When you are ready to fry, take your dough out, and roll on a floured surface. It should be between ½ – ¾ of an inch thick. Use your dough cutter of choice to create your shapes, doughnuts, doughnut bits etc.

Now, carefully (seriously) heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. I suggest cast iron. You want a temp of 350F. In while this is heating, prepare a wire rack with some paper towel underneath. After frying, you want to use the paper to try and catch all excess oil.

When oil is hot, place a few doughnuts in at a time, don’t over crowd. They should spend apx 2min per side, or until a nice golden brown. Test a few to start, make sure that the insides are cooked. If it is browning before cooking inside than your oil is too hot. Repeat until all are done. Try not to eat them yet. 

Glaze

Once they are finished, get that glaze a glazing. Mix all the ingredients together, and dip your warm doughnuts in. Completely cover those little morsels, and then place back on the wire rack to completely cool. 

Get a great cup of coffee, find a spare moment to sit down and enjoy.

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Simple and Healthy Farro and Roasted Beetroot Salad

Simple and healthy farro and roasted beetroot salad with a fresh yogurt and mint dressing.

It’s a beautiful day outside, and I’m about to embark on my least favourite activity. I’m going to a mall. Well, several malls. It’s all for ‘inspiration’, for decorating some little people’s bedroom. To be honest, I feel slightly superfluous to requirements here. Home decor has never been my strong point. I know rooms/houses I like, and I know rooms/houses I don’t. How to put them together is beyond my simple skills. Sadly, the prospect of a lovely rustic wooden cottage in the country doesn’t exactly meet our budget at this time.

So instead, today’s trip includes British hotspots of Mothercare, Mama’s and Papa’s and John Lewis. All great stores, but I feel the plastic in my wallet is about to take a bit of a beating.

In any case, it isn’t just our house that is being rapidly spruced up. We are both trying to figure out what our routines will look like in the future. How we can avoid the trap of eating easy, if not just plain unhealthy, foods. How we will still stay sane (ha). For my part, I’ve used the last month or so to try out some more easy and healthy recipes. OK, and some not so healthy recipes if my instagram feed is to be believed. One recent winner was my farro and beetroot salad.

It was a such a simple, and rather inexpensive (win!) salad to make. The key is the need for fresh ingredients. The beetroots are peeled and quartered, seasoned and roasted in the oven until the rawness is cooked out of them, with just a touch of honey. Then, cover them in foil and place in the fridge overnight if you like (or serve them warm if you like). In the meantime, you cook up some farro. I love grains like farro, they feel substantial when you eat them. It is the same reason I love barley.

Anyway, assembly this farro and roasted beetroot salad is so easy. Farro on a plate, followed by beetroot, then a sprinkling of fresh mint, dill and pomegranate seeds. Finally, a drizzle of yogurt dressing. Yogurt, with sumac, pepper and some lemon juice. Such a fresh burst to accompany the heavy farro and beetroot. So there you have it, my farro and beetroot salad. A healthy, simple, if not beautiful looking, salad.

Drinks

I love this with some water and a bit of lemon. Something nice and fresh. Maybe even some sparkling water.

Music

I’ve been on a bit of a classic rock bent recently, as my students can attest to. So, Fleetwood Mac’s Go your own way is perfect with this!

Farro and Roasted Beetroot Salad

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Farro and Roasted Beetroot Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Simple and healthy farro and roasted beetroot salad with a fresh yogurt and mint dressing.

Ingredients

3-4 beetroot, peeled and quartered

2-3 cups farro (cooked to packet instructions)

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 tsp sumac

1 lemon juiced

Bunch of dill and mint

Pepper

Salt

½ pomegranate - seeds only!

1 tsp Honey

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Two sprigs of thyme

Instructions

Heat your oven to about 180C. In a bowl, mix the beetroot, olive oil and honey. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. Toss to combine with the thyme, and then place on a roasting pan. Roast for about 45-60min, until they are tender. Cool.

Mix the yogurt, with lemon juice, zest and sumac and some pepper.

On a plate, layer your fresh cooked (read hot!) farro, followed by your roasted beetroot. Drizzle the yogurt dressing over top. Finally, sprinkle over the pomegranate, dill and mint. Serve quick.

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All change

All change, welcome to The Bluenosers.

Ok, so here is the thing. Just over a year ago I decided to properly give this whole blogging thing a go. In reality I just wanted to have an outlet for being a bit more creative in the kitchen. Which was, and is, my primary area of the house. I also wanted to get better at my photography, which frankly at the time a monkey could have achieved.

In any case, things have a way of changing. You see, also about a year ago my husband and I decided that we really wanted to have a family. So we started down the adoption track.

Adoption journey

Just before Christmas, we were told that might be about to happen. Sure enough, in the next few weeks, if all goes according to plan, our family will be doubling in size. Which is quite surreal, especially as I know they exist, I know where they are, but I’ve not yet met them. I keep clinging to the few photographs I have of both of them.

This has meant a series of rapid changes in our household. For starters, I’m writing this while taking a break from seemingly endless painting of walls. Secondly, my budget brain has kicked in, and meals have become a lot less extravagant.

Which brings me back to this blog. Originally I called it RoughEats because it was meant to represent that fact that my cooking abilities, while tasty, were always going to be a bit more rustic. Now, with the nearing prospect of fatherhood, I decided I wanted to make a change. So I’ve changed the name and am calling it the Bluenosers. Why? Well, for starters if I am able to keep this blogging thing up, I’m likely going to be inserting stories from our struggles and joys of fatherhood. Secondly, because while I’m not in Nova Scotia, my boys are going to know they are Nova Scotian. So, while food recipes will be forthcoming, don’t be surprised if they also include stories of the great achievements in life (such being able to sleep in until 7am).

It’s all change in our house.

-M

  ps – A small note here. While I know a good number of bloggers out there do put their kids faces on their blogs, and some even name them, I can’t and won’t be doing the same. There area multitude of reasons for this, but thanks for understanding.

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Glühwein the original Mulled Wine

Gluhwein, the original mulled wine. Hot, sweet and spicy and the perfect winter warmer.

When I first moved to the UK, I made a commitment to myself to travel as much as I could around Europe. Even if it was just for a day or a weekend, try and take it all in. In the past few years, we have been steadily fulfilling this goal in anticipation of when little people may make us ever so slightly less flexible (ha). So, in the last two-three years we have been to, Paris, Ypres, Berlin (twice), Reykjavik, Salzburg, Vienna, Copenhagen, Geneva, Dublin, Edinburgh, Canada a couple of times and most recently Munich.

I’m well aware just how lucky we have been to be able to do all of this, so I’m always intent to take full advantage. I study the street maps, read the local papers in advance, learn some of the local language. Try and figure out the best places to go, that might not be heaving with tourists. Needless to say, my ability to converse in French and German has improved dramatically in the last two years (thank you DuoLingo!).

What has got to be my favourite area is Bavaria. I have not an ounce of German blood in me (so far as I’m aware), but I feel quite at home there. First when we visited Salzburg, and last month in Munich. The people are friendly and down to earth. The scenery is gorgeous, and the food and drink is just brilliant. Plus this time, we also went to Hofbrauhaus for a small stein of beer. Not to mention the abundance of pretzels and bratwurst.

Anyway, the point of this post is about Gluhwein, or what you might know as mulled wine. We visited Munich, partly because I’m a German history geek, but also because it was the start of the Christmas Markets! Let me start by saying, if you have ever thought about going, just go! It was great! The scent of cinnamon sugar was everywhere, with candied almonds, gingerbread and most importantly Gluhwein. I got hooked big time. You pick on one mug in a stand, and walk down the road sipping the hot sweet and spicy nectar. Then deposit your mug in another stand.

Naturally, when I got back I had to make some of this for myself. Just a word of warning, this does take a lot of sugar and spices and frankly a decent bottle of red. It is meant to be slowly made and drunk. You aren’t rushing this, you are enjoying this after coming back from skiing or tobogganing.

Glühwein ist im Winter perfekt!

Drinks

Well, rather than pair with a drink, I suggest pairing with some homemade gingerbread.

  Music

Get yourself some Christmas music!

Glühwein, the original mulled wine

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Gluhwein the original Mulled Wine

Gluhwein, the original mulled wine. Hot, sweet and spicy and the perfect winter warmer.

Ingredients

2 bottle of good quality red wine

140g white sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

3 star anise

4 cardamon pods

8 cloves

2 lemon, juiced and zested

2 orange (zest and juice one of these)

400ml water

Nutmeg (optional)

¼ cup slivered almonds (optional)

½ cup brandy

Instructions

Put everything into pot, except for the oranges. If you are using the nutmeg, either grate a little bit into it (you will need to strain this out later if you are using). Carefully warm this up. You want to simmer but not boil (keep the alcohol!)

When ready to serve, put a slice of orange in a mug and pour over the wine. Be careful to leave the spices in the pot!

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Sriracha Maple Snack Mix

Sriracha Maple Snack Mix are the perfect snack mix, with a blend of spicy, salty and sweet. Great for friends and family to munch on.

Christmas is now fully upon us, and I for one could not be happier. The food, the music, the movies, the drinks, good times with family and friends. What could be better. One thing, Christmas adverts!

Back in Nova Scotia there was one ad that first aired back in 1987, by the grocery store chain Sobeys. To this day, I don’t view Christmas as starting until I’ve seen this ad. This past weekend I decided to mark the start of Christmas 2016. So I made a batch of Sriracha Maple Snack Mix, poured myself a good London Porter, and switch on YouTube. Then, it was on with a evening showing of Love Actually.

Now, I realise this is such a local 1980’s commercial. The interesting clothing, the slightly amateurish production values. I don’t care, neither would any other Nova Scotian. It’s just nostalgic viewing at its finest. Speaking of which, there are a bunch of good Christmas commercials out there, which I’ll post here for your viewing pleasure.

I should note that Sobey’s has now released an updated commercial. I’ll let you decide if it holds up to the original! Hopefully you have an TV Ad you look forward too every Christmas, if so please share it in the comments!

Anyway, this post was meant to be about my Sriracha Maple Snack Mix. I love this stuff, because you get to make it the way you like it. The salty mixes so well with the sweet maple and spicy Sriracha. They are deceptively moreish!

Drinks

I love some London Porter this time of year, and Fuller’s makes a brilliant version if you can find it in your neck of the woods.

Music

Well, the commercial is called the ‘Star of Christmas’ as is the song. Yup, we’re going full nostalgic here!.

Sriracha Maple Snack Mix

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Sriracha Maple Snack Mix

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Sriracha Maple Snack Mix are the perfect snack mix, with a blend of spicy, salty and sweet. Great for friends and family to munch on.

Ingredients

1 box of Cheesey crackers. I used Mini Cheddars Bits, but cheese nips would work well too.

400g Multi-grain Cheerios cereal (or name brand equivalent)

400g Shreddies Cereal

250g mini pretzels

400g butter, melted

⅓ cups Worchestershire Sauce

2 tbsp Sriracha sauce

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp spicy paprika powder

2 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250F.

Mix all the cereals and crackers in a large roasting pan (the kind used for turkey).

Whisk the remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl until well mixed. Pour the butter mixture over the cereals. Mix well so everything is nicely coated. Be careful not to splash anything, or let some bits not get coated..

Bake in the oven for about 1:30-2 hours. Stir the snack mix every quarter hour or so. You want the mixture to be dry and have no moisture, but not browned hence the low temperature.

When down, remove and cool. Once nice and cool, seal in a bag or devour with friends and family.

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Chocolate Mocha Bundt Cake

A devilishly delicious and moist chocolate mocha bundt cake. With a rich, and boozy, chocolate ganache..

We are finally into the Christmas season, and I could not be happier. The music, the overindulgence in tasty food, time with family and friends. Hopefully, hopefully, a bit of snow as well.

A couple of weeks ago we were visiting some friends in the next town over for dinner and drinks, and it was delicious. Just a massive amount of raclette cooked meat and cheese. So delicious. So not healthy for us. But, it was a Saturday night and it was a great way to unwind. All very wintery!

I was asked to bring a dessert, which provided me with an opportunity to try out a new bundt pan. Yes, my life has come to that. In any case I decided if I was going to have a rich meal, I wasn’t going to have a healthy dessert. Hence the titled dessert, of a chocolate mocha bundt cake with a boozy chocolate ganache.

It went down a treat, paired with a bit of vanilla ice cream. Now it is a lovely chocolate cake on its own, but what really brings it together is the ganache. Chocolate and cream, mix with a shot of liqueur poured over top. Yeah, I did have any leftovers to bring home!

Drinks

Well, with chocolate cake I’d normally suggest milk. However, with chocolate mocha bundt cake I might suggest a liqueur on the side.

Music

I know I started this by talking about Christmas, but the music playing at the time was a bit of Billy Ocean and Love Really Hurts without you. Yup, that it now going to be stuck in your head!

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Chocolate Mocha Bundt Cake

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Devilishly delicious and moist chocolate mocha bundt cake, with a rich chocolate ganache.

Ingredients

Bundt

225g softened butter

25g soft butter

350g flour

100g cocoa powder

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

½ cup milk

½ cup sour cream

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

325g sugar

2 shots of espresso or 1 tbsp espresso powder

Ganache

100g semi-sweet chocolate

115 ml heavy cream

1 Tbsp coffee liqueur

Instructions

Preheat oven to 160C.

In a mixer, cream the 225g of soft butter and sugar until nice and fluffy. Add the eggs (one at a time) and the vanilla.

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet (not the soft butter!) in another. You should use all the wet ingredients, and most of the dry. If it is too watery, add a bit more flour.

Prepare your bundt pan by rubbing with the soft butter. Place this in your fridge for 15min. Carefully, pour your batter in. Place this in the oven for about 50-60min, until a skewer comes out clean.

When done, let cool in the pan for 15min, and then invert on a wire rack. Let it cool completely.

To make the glaze, break the chocolate up in a heat proof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer on the stove, and the pour over the chocolate. Add in the butter, and let sit for a minute or two. If you are using the booze, add it now, and then slowly stir. As the sauce thickens, slowly pour over the cake (use a drip pan!). Let cool, then enjoy.

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Olive Oil Salt and Pepper Roast Potatoes

Olive Oil Salt and Pepper Roast Potatoes, the perfect side to any roast dinner.

This post is sponsored by Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italian chain.

Well, now that American Thanksgiving is here we are officially into roast season. It is one of my favourite times of the year, as it is filled with delicious roast dinners. Not just Turkey, but beef, chicken, ham and maybe even some delicious lamb. Supplemented with perfect Olive Oil Salt and Pepper Roast Potatoes.

Here in the UK, there are always tv programmes and chefs saying they have the definitive roast potato recipe. Invariably they all follow a similar trend. First, you needs a potato like a Maris Piper or King Edward that go nice and fluffy. Second, you need to par-boil to cook them. Finally, you need a fat. The fat of choice for most chefs is goose fat. Delicious yes, but the saturated fat is off the chart and any vegetarians in your family won’t be able to indulge.

So, in our family we rely on olive oil. You get more flavour than veg oil, and you appease the family vegan (all families has at least one). Perfect! Except, now you have to pick your type of olive oil. Do you go for EVOO (a la Rachel Ray), Light Olive Oil or pure Olive Oil.

This is a big point, because they all have different flavours and smoke points. To highlight this I’ve partnered with Jamie Oliver’s (yes him!) Jamie’s Italian chain of restaurants. They’ve produced a handy infographic which outlines exactly how to choose your olive oil.

It is a great little keeper of a graphic. If you are in the UK and you’ve never tried Jamie’s Italian, you should. Great, really fresh food. That and the olive oil is top notch. Don’t want to visit the restaurant, good news they deliver with DeliverRoo!

Right, now on to the olive oil salt and pepper roast potatoes. You already know the steps, but I add the pepper before roasting and the salt as they are fresh out of the oven. Delicious.

    Drinks

Well, you are likely having this with a roast dinner. So might I suggest a good white wine, a Chardonnay.

Music

Last time we had these olive oil salt and pepper roast potatoes with our roast dinner, we had a good bit of the new Kings of Leon album Walls.

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Olive Oil Salt and Pepper Roast Potatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Olive Oil Salt and Pepper Roast Potatoes, the perfect side to any roast dinner.

Ingredients

1KG of good roasting potatoes, like Maris Piper or King Edward. Peeled and Chopped into chunks

½ cup good quality light Olive Oil

1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

1 tsp sea salt flakes

1 TB regular salt for boiling

Instructions

In a pot of boiling water add the 1 TB of table salt, followed by the potatoes. Cook these until they are just soft enough for a fork to go through. Not so much that they break up when doing so. Drain and shake in a colander to give a more textured potato.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200C. In a high ridged pan add the oil. Place this in the oven to heat the oil. I usually wait until the potatoes are boiled to do this, as I don’t want to risk the oil getting too hot.

In a boil, toss the potatoes with the pepper to coat. When the oil has a shimmer to it, carefully pour the potatoes into the pan. Use a spoon to coat the potatoes in the oil. Return to the oven.

Roast the potatoes for between 30-45 min, tossing every 15min. Although, if the potatoes are sticking to the pan leave them a few minutes longer. They should not struggle to be released.

When done, and you've had a tester, use a slotted spoon to remove from the pan. Sprinkle with the sea salt, and serve.

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The Ultimate Sandwich: Montreal Smoked Meat

Montreal Smoked Meat sandwiches, smoky and peppery on rye with mustard. The best sandwich in the world. Hands down.

Years ago, during a summer break from university, I managed to snag a dream summer job. I was awarded an internship to work in the Canadian parliament for a cabinet minister. Without boring you with the minute details, but it was quite cool. I was given essentially an all access pass, meaning you could easily walk around the capitol buildings with relative freedom. That and there were some very cheap staff/MPs cafes, with mostly good food.

Introducing Montreal Smoked Meat

However, the best bit was visiting Ottawa (Canada’s capital). It is a unique city, with lots of people who aren’t from there living there. Some very random restaurants, some wonderfully random cuisines. Our office favourite was called La Botega (I may have been the only non Italian-Canadian in the office), and it was really delicious. However, my personal favourite was Nates as they served a Canadian tradition: Montreal Smoked Meat.

Ok, yes, I was not in Montreal but Montreal smoked meat has a nearly cult like following – particularly in Central and Eastern Canada. It comes courtesy of the large Eastern Jewish population in Montreal (who also make amazing bagels), it’s like pastrami, but better.

Deliciously tender and hot smoked beef brisket, served high on rye bread and some yellow mustard. There are fewer sandwiches that you wouldn’t want to devour.

My family is so in love with this stuff, that when celebrating my wedding a few years back my cousin brought a whole brisket direct from a deli in Montreal. It was probably one of the best evenings, with my entire family sitting on the beach happily eating hot sandwiches. It doesn’t get much better than that.

So, as some of you know, I recently bought a stove top smoker. Having always wanted to try making Montreal smoked mea for myself, I gave it a go. I will fully admit, the core of the recipe comes from a good post by Josh @MeatWave. However, I’ve changed some of the species and the cooking technique to match my tastes and equipment. So if you are using a full size smoker, double the quantities of everything!

Now, as I like a good recipe link, I’m adding this to FiestaFriday! Have a look for some other tasty recipes.

Drinks

You know, people usually have this after a night out, so how about some water. Equally cold beer will do too! Just have some crispy dill pickles nearby.

Music

I’ve got no good reason to suggest this track, but it was the song that was on the radio the entire summer of my wedding – so much that we refer to it as our wedding song. It’s Shut Up and Dance. Come on, you know you are about to play this song again.

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Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich

Montreal Smoked Meat sandwiches, smoky and peppery on rye with mustard. The best sandwich in the world. Hands down.

Ingredients

Cure

1/2 cup Kosher salt

1.5tablespoons ground black pepper

1.5tablespoons ground coriander

1/2 tablespoons pink salt ( Prague Powder No. 1)

1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 whole brisket, around 6 pounds, fat trimmed

For the rub

1.5 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoons ground coriander

1/2 tablespoons hot smoked paprika

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dill weed

1/3 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon crushed caraway seed

⅔ teaspoon cracked yellow mustard seeds

Instructions

T make the cure, in a small bowl mix together salt, pink salt, black pepper, coriander, sugar, bay leaf, and cloves. Coat entire brisket with the cure and place in an extra-large resealable plastic bag. Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and cure for 4 days, flipping brisket twice a day. emove brisket from bag and wash as much cure off as possible under cold running water. Place brisket in a large container and fill with water and let soak for 2 hours, replacing water every 30 minutes. Remove from water and pat dry with paper towels.

To make the rub, mix together the spices. Coat entire brisket with the rub.

Heat the oven to 225 degrees. If you are using a proper smoker, smoke the brisket for 6-7 hours. If you are using a stove-top smoker, heat the wood chips until they start smoking and place the brisket on the rack and tightly close the lid. After 20min on the stove, place the whole stove top smoker into the over. Continue to cook for 4-5 hours. Try to not check it during this time, let the meat break down. At the end the meat should register at 165 degrees.

When ready, carefully pour water into the steaming tray of the stove top smoker. About 500ml. Tightly close again, and return to the oven. Keep cooking until it reaches 180 degrees. If using a full smoker, take the meat off and place on a rack on a roasting pan. Fill the pan with about an inch of water and tightly cover with foil. Place in a pre-heated oven (225) and cook for anther 1-2 hours until it reaches 180 degrees.

Take out, let cool slightly (watch out for steam!) and then slice hot. Load up some rye bread with meat, top with American mustard and slice-n-serve.

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The Rough Post Election Perogies

Perogies, or pierogi, are a delicious combination of potato, bacon, onion and cheddar. Boiled and fried.

I write this post with very mixed feelings. I have no doubt, that a lot of my readers are also having such emotions given the events this week.

Having lived through Brexit, and living in a part of town that voted the opposite to myself, I know full well the pain of losing. But also, I know many of the reasons for the other sides vote, I sympathise with their arguments and distrust of the ‘system’. Time will tell about how the new President will work out, I hope for America’s sake he does.

In times like this, I fall back to my entire mantra for this blog. Yes, it is about me having an excuse to cook/write/eat/kick others out of the kitchen. For me though, food has always been about bringing people together. So, today I’m going to focus on just that, food that brings people together.

I’m opting for perogies. If you don’t know about perogies, you are missing out. In essence, they are a delicious mix of potato, cheese and other fillings poached and then fried in some butter and bacon. Top them off with some sour cream and chives, and you are in comfort food heaven.

No they are not healthy, but man are they delicious. During my first stint in university, they were a great treat to eat. It wouldn’t be uncommon for some of us to load up some plates and chow down. Everyone could unite over perogies and a good beer.

Plus, they were a great sign of bringing people together. Perogies came to Canada largely from Ukrainian immigrant, and quickly spread across the country. It’s hard not to like them.

You know, with people either cheering or crying over Tuesday it is hard to be happy when people are so divided. I love America, my dad spent his youth there, I used to live there and studied American history, and my cousin flies jets for the USAF. I hate seeing Americans, my friends and family, being so upset.

Perhaps it is time for a giant potluck.

Drinks

I’ve usually had these with a good cold beer. However, some sparkling lemonade is also a good call. It breaks through the richness well.

Music

I’m going with my happy place song. Imagine by John Lennon. Sorry if this will now stick in your head.

<iframe src=”//tools.applemusic.com/embed/v1/song/910038357?country=us&at=1001loXh” height=”110px” width=”100%” frameborder=”0″></iframe>

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The Rough Post Election Perogies

Prep Time: 60 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 35-40

Perogies, or pierogi, are a delicious combination of potato, bacon, onion and cheddar. Boiled and fried.

Ingredients

Dough|

3 cups flour - plus more for dusting

1 tsp salt

1 egg

175 mL water

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Frying|

2 tbsp butter

1-2 pieces of bacon, chopped and ready to fry

Filling|

500g white potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tbsp butter

1 medium finely chopped onion

150g shredded sharp cheddar cheese - I love a good mature cheddar in this

4-6 stripes of bacon, cooked crisp and chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

Dough|

In a deep bowl, mix the salt and flour.

Mix together egg, water and oil. Stir this into flour mixture. Add a bit more water if you need to, but try to keep the dough adding up to 2 tbsp more water if needed to make soft but not sticky dough.

Let this sit for about 5min, and then knead until smooth, about 10 times. I’ve found having extra flour is a great to help with this. When you have a smooth dough, place back in a bowl and cover with a towel. Let it rest for about 20-30min.

Filling|

Put the potato into a large pot of salted boiling water. Cook until a piece will break apart easily (mashing stage!). Mash well, but use a ricer if you have one for a smoother consistency.

In frying pan, cook the bacon. When crispy, let cool and chop. Add this to the mashed potato.

Wipe the pan out, and add the butter. When bubbling, add the onion and cook until translucent 5-6min. Add this, the cheddar and the S&P. Mix well.

Prepare 2-3 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Take a chunk of the rested dough and roll it out until is it ½ cm thick. Use a round cutter (about 10cm wide) to cut the dough into portions.

With each, place a little mound of filling in the centre. Close it up to look like a half moon, and pinch the edges to seal. Place this on the prepared parchment, and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Now, if you aren’t going to eat them right away, freeze them now. They can be cooked from frozen, so a good option.

Frying|

To cook, prepare a pot with boiling salted water. Cooking a few at a time, drop the perogies into the boiling water and boil for about 4-5min. They are ready when they are floating.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan and some of the bacon. Using a slotted spoon, take the cooked perogies and place in the pan. Don’t touch them for about 4-5min, they should have a golden crust on one side. Flip them to cook on the other side to the same crispness. Serve with sour cream and chopped chives and a bit of cooked bacon.

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Berlin Currywurst

This week’s recipe of Berlin Currywurst is, for me, a lovely example of delicious historical irony.

Let me explain. As some readers already know, I’m a teacher. History teacher to be precise, who happens to teach a lot of German history. Germany is a great country, and one which I really love to visit. I also love German (and Austrian) food, with its slow braising, sausages and brilliant baking. It is the first place I tried currywurst, from a market stall in Wittenbergplatz. Sure my communication with the stall owner was greatly inhibited by my weak knowledge of the German language, but it was delicious. As, it must be said, are the soft pretzels.

Anyway, most recently I took a bunch of students to Berlin. I’ve always been somewhat jealous of the opportunities students in Europe have for travelling, and Berlin is a perfect example. If you have never visited, do so now. It is a great city, and frankly quite cheap as far as capital cities go. It is loaded with history, much of the last century quite violent. It is a story of continual boom and bust.

An overnight trip with students is always stressful, but my students (and my staff members) were brilliant. The trip itself was very emotional, and sparked a debate within my students. One student in particular queried their puzzlement at the 1930s. ‘Couldn’t people see what they were getting by supporting the Nazis?’

As a teacher, you love this, because it means students are questioning and thinking for themselves. The question itself was a fair question, that historians continue to debate. You can understand the student’s thought process, as Hitler espoused radical views about minorities, rival politicians and the changes taking place in society. The channelling of the hate to target groups of people, based on people’s belief that they were somehow cheated and disadvantaged. The anger of social change they didn’t like. The anger at politicians, who they blamed for their ills. Hitler came to power by latching on to this discontentment, and presenting himself as a ‘superman’ type of figure who alone could solve these ‘problems’ and return Germany to glory. As my students debated; it was scary that such hate attracted such support. You can read more about the history of the time here.

So then, why do I consider Berlin Currywurst an excellent symbol of historical irony? Because it is the antithesis of 1930’s Germany, and illustrates everything positive since 1989, served on a plate. You have a traditional grilled German bratwurst(always delicious) and a great ketchup based sauce (hello American Heinz!). Yet, it’s given a curry twist with some curry powder on top. The mixing of old traditions with the new has created a dish that is, when homemade or bought in a market, delicious. Together they are delicious food, and also something that would never have been tolerated in the 1930s.

Right, History lesson over. In all seriousness, Berlin currywurst is really good. However, should you go to Germany and decide to try it, I must implore you to only buy it from markets. Do not buy from the chain shops selling it, it just isn’t as good!

Drinks

A great German Pilsner is called for, obviously.

Music

Umm, oompah music? Well, maybe not. Instead, how about 99 Luftballons!!

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Berlin Currywurst

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Berlin Currywurst

Ingredients

4-6 Bratwursts

½ cup of Tomato Ketchup

4 – 5 teaspoons of Mild Curry Powder

2 teaspoons of Hot Smoked Paprika

½ a shallot, finely diced

1/8 – 1/4 teaspoons of Cayenne Pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic granules

2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce

4 tablespoons of Chicken stock

Instructions

Put a bit of oil in a pan, and sauté the shallot. Add the curry and garlic powder, and stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Let it simmer on the stow for 5 - 10 minutes to meld flavours. If need be add a bit of water.

Meanwhile, cook the bratwursts, ensuring that you pan fry them or grill them to crisp up the skin.

Serve warm over sliced bratwurst, fries or a roll on the side would be good too. Dust with a bit of curry powder.

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The totally awesome Baked Mars Bar

A Baked Mars Bar, for when you can’t get to Scotland for the original fried mars bar.

Back in 2002 my sister and the local church youth group visited Scotland. It took years of fundraising, with countless bottle drives and sales of chocolate covered almonds. At the time I was in training for rowing, so I my sister had a ready market of my crew and I to buy the chocolate. That said, she loved visiting Scotland. The stories she came back were…..well informative.

One aspect she, and others on the trip, kept obsessing over was the difference in the food. Such as the prevalence of ready made cakes in grocery stores. This might come as a shock to many Brits, but in North America if you are buying a cake in a grocery store, it was more than likely made in the grocery store. That, and they had some unique cakes on the store shelves of large grocery store. A Plumber’s Butt cake, and a Busty Boob cake. Don’t believe me? Seriously, google it.

However, what really shocked them was the fast food. If you’ve ever gone to Scotland, you will learn quickly that fried food is quite prevalent. I read somewhere that this was a historical reaction against the English, who favoured roasting. No idea if that is true or not. In any case, there is more deep frying in Scotland than in a state fair. Hamburger? Deep fry it. Sausage? Deep fry it. Pizza? Deep fry it. Mars bar? Deep fry it.

It is the last one, that when I first visited Scotland myself in 2008 that I was determined to try. I can’t lie, I was left slightly underwhelmed by the experience. I love Mars Bars, and what I got was a slightly mushy par cooked plate.

This summer, we visited Edinburgh again to see family and experience the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I was told in advance Fringe was crazy, and people weren’t joking. It was random and totally insane. As we returned on the train, I started to reflect on my first visit and the ill-fated Mars bar. I also looked through some of my photos of my trip, so do check out the latest Big Notes entry for Edinburgh.

  So, when I got back and was making my Cheeky Country Chicken Pie, I had a bit of pastry leftover. You can guess what happened next, I got creative and came up with the baked mars bar. I ran out to the shop and picked up a few mars bars. I wrapped one up in pastry and shoved it in the oven. It didn’t end well. However, I learned. I froze the next bar, and then wrapped it in pastry and gave it an egg wash. Put that into the hot oven, and viola. The baked Mars bar. Inspired by the deep-fried original, but made in your own oven.

Just a word of advice. Let the thing cool down before you eat it. Hot liquid chocolate and caramel is a mouth burning proposition.

Drinks

Ok, milk is a good call. However, might I also suggest a good beer. If we are talking Scottish, than maybe BrewDog?

Music

Hmm, something that is Scottish….. Oh come on, you know what it is going to be. I’m gonna be…..

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The Baked Mars Bar!

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The totally awesome Baked Mars Bar

Cook Time: 20 minutes

A Baked Mars Bar, a delicious treat for when you can’t get to Scotland for the original fried mars bar.

Ingredients

250g flour

1 tsp salt

250g cold butter

150ml cold water

6 Mars Bars, individually frozen.

1 egg

Instructions

Start with the rough puff pastry. Mix the flour and salt into a large bowl. Chop the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and use a pastry cutter or rub them in loosely. Keep it slightly chunky.

Add 100ml of the cold water to the bowl of flour. Mix and add water only until the dough comes together. Chill for 30 min.

Turn out dough on a floured board. Knead gently, you don’t want the butter to start to melt, and shape the dough into a rectangle. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough in one direction only, roll the dough until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Do this quickly, again we want the butter to stay cold.

Time for the turns! Fold the dough by taking the top and bottom third and fold over each other. Rotate (or turn!) the dough by a quarter and repeat step 3.

When ready, turn the oven to 200C. It needs to be at this temperature before you start to prep the bars.

Roll the pastry into rectangles, enough to wrap around the bar.

Brush the inside of the pastry with beaten egg, and wrap up the pastry around the bars. Seal the pastry, and brush the outside with remaining egg wash. Place directly onto a parchment lined sheet, and shove immediately into the oven. Bake until crispy golden brown. Let cool, dust with icing sugar.

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The Rough Night Recovery Sandwich

For those who need a little assistance in the morning, the Rough Night Recovery Sandwich with bacon, egg, garlic mayo and chips/fries might just do the trick.

Most people, at some point in their lives, will experience a rough morning. Perhaps due to a lack of sleep (new baby anyone?), or surviving 72 hours on about 10hours sleep on a school trip. In any case, you need something to help get back on track.

The criteria for such food usually falls into one of two camps: some disgusting liquid concoction or food that is clearly not healthy. This is the later. I cannot claim in anyway shape or form that this is healthy or has any redeeming health qualities. It is, however, delicious in its naughtiness.

While I wish I could say I developed the rough night recovery sandwich while I was at uni, sadly it was not until I was in my mid twenties that put it together. Frankly, it is a little sad how I came up with this. Normally after a night out, I would have a bit of a fry up the next day. Being lazy, this would consist. Cooking bacon in a frying pan, only draining a bit of the fat and then frying an egg in the same pan. That and a bit of toast was brilliant. However, around 2010, when making such a dish, I realised that the night before we had clearly stopped on the way home for some chips/fries. Then the plan came to fruition. Some bacon, same fried egg, reheated chips/fries, two thick slices or bread and a bit of garlic mayo.

A little note about French fries/chips. Ideally have some that you can reheat (or make your own from scratch), but baring that in our house we also go for McCain’s frozen chips/fries. There is a good reason for this (and no, I’m not getting money to say this). First, they are reliably delicious. Second, McCain’s is based in Atlantic Canada, so I get to feel a bit patriotic. If watching your waistline, I promise you this will not help. If you are struggling on a Sunday morning, it just might do especially with a good cup of coffee.

Drinks

Coffee. Strong Coffee. Maybe a bit of OJ on the side.

Music

Recovery is to optimum word, no fast beats or upbeat tones. Smooth jazz please. Jon Batiste’s Creative is my go-to morning jazz track. Listen on iTunes Listen on Spotify Listen on Amazon

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Rough Night Recovery Sandwich

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

For those who need a little assistance in the morning, the Rough Night Recovery Sandwich with bacon, egg, garlic mayo and chips/fries might just do the trick.

Ingredients

4 strips of streaky bacon

1 large egg

Two thick slices of bread

Garlic mayo

Oven chips or leftover french fries. - Bring on the McCains.

Green onion, chopped into thin rings.

Instructions

Turn on your oven to about 200c. Spread the chips out onto a baking sheet, and reheat. Or, if using oven chips, cook to the package's instructions.

Heat a frying pan, and cook the bacon to your desired crispness, leave most of the grease in the pan. I told you this wasn’t healthy.

In the hot pan, crack an egg. Fry until your yolk is set to your preference.

Now, layer your sandwich. Spread each piece of bread with some of the garlic mayo. Start with the chips/fries, then the bacon and finally the egg and some of the chopped green onion. Serve and eat while warm.

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