0 MELTING MOMENTS - COOKIES TRÈS BRITISH

In order to continue promoting England (the land of my ancestors - I'm 1/2 English) and it's British culinary patrimony that is so dear to me, I made the decision to talk about a little cookie that occupies a special place in my heart...

My aim is to make you discover the traditional English cuisine through my childhood memories and make the skeptic folks who think that English food is horrid see this country's specialities under a different light - free from received ideas or preconceived negative misconceptions influenced by a global misunderstanding (sometimes close to propaganda) of the British gastronomy that have been blurring the vision of too many people until now. At least not everybody thinks that England has the worst food ever and thanks to many talented cooks such as Gordon Ramsay, Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein, Heston Blumenthal - to name a few - the British culinary tradition is being seen in a better way. That makes me happy.

Since a very early age, I have been very lucky to have been exposed to ver y good English homemade food thanks to my grandparents and my mother. Every year when I visited my grandparents, I was fortunate to eat extremely well. The meals were a festival of wonderful dishes that delighted me to the highest point.

Not only did I discover awesome dishes at my grandparents' place, but I was also spoilt by their friends who were members of the Women's Institute and baked like cr azy for the market which took place every Friday in the Belper Masonic Hall. Not to forget that we went out every week to eat some of the finest foods in the region: Fish & Chips from one of England's best chippy (George's Tradition); real Bakewell Puddings from Bakewell in Derbyshire (Bakewell Pudding Parlour & Bakewell Pudding Shop); Pork Pies, Black Puddings, ham and sausages from Jerry Howarth on King street; healthy and natural potato chips from organic foodstores; gorgeous chocolates from Thorntons; Iced Buns, Chelsea Buns, Beef Pasties from the local bakeries; dreamlike cakes, scones, cookie bars in tearooms; B aked Potatoes, Mixed Grill, Steak & Kidney Pie in pubs etc...

I always loved sitting at the kitchen table and watching my grandmother cook or bake. She took cooking very seriously and didn't want people messing around the kitchen. Although my grandmother didn't like me to touch her pans, I nonetheless found a way to get close to the workplace and stove. Looking wasn't enough and having a kid that wanted to touch everything made her mad!

Sometimes though, after insisting repeatedly that she bake with me, my grandmother graced me with her presence while I baked treats. It is to be said that she isn't a big fan of giving baking or cooking lessons, but she nonetheless accepted to show me a few tricks. Standing next to her and making goodies together felt so good. It was the only time that I could bond with her and feel some kind of closeness (until now my grandmother hasn't told me that she loves me, hugged me or made any compliment). It is for that reason I c herish those rare moments that I shared with her and which made me feel important to her eyes...

A book my grandmother used all the time (my mother has it and I am also the happy owner of that book which was offered to me by my grandparents) was the Bo-Ro best-selling booklet. It was first published in 1923 and it is still available. This little jewel is chock-a-block-full of traditional English recipes that even the novice baker can f ollow. A real goldmine. As a matterof fact, the recipe I am presenting today is highly inspired by it.

The cookies I clearly remember making with my grandmother are oldies but goodies known under the promising name of "Melting Moments". Those easy to make (a great cookie to make with kids), simple, yet delicious vanilla shortbread-like cookies carry their name very well as they literally melt in the mouth and are absolutely heavenly. The dessicated coconut (or fine oats) used to roll the cookies in give them an extra layer of flavor and yumminess. Pure bliss in the old-fashoioned way!

~ Melting Moments ~
Recipe by Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2010 and inspired by Be-Ro.

Ingredients:
105g (3 1/2 oz) Unsalted butter
75g (2 1/2 oz) Castor sugar
1/2 Medium egg
1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
1 Pinch Sea salt
150g (5 oz) All-purpose flour, sieved
1 Tsp Baking powder
Dessicated coconut
Dried cranberries

Method:
1. Preheat the oven at 180° C (350° F).
2. Cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy and light in texture.
3. Beat the egg together with the vanilla extract and salt.
4. Add to butter mixture and beat until well incorporated.
5. Mix together the flour and baking powder. Add to the butter mixture and mix well until totally incorporated.
6. Shape the pastry into walnut-sized balls and toss in the dessicated coconut.
7. Place the cookies on the baking tray (covered with baking paper) and flatten slightly.
8. Press slightly a piece of cranberry into on each cookie.
9. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden in color.
10. Cool on a rack.

Remarks:
You can also roll the cookies in fine oats and place a piece of glacé cheery on the cookies (the original recipe uses no cranberries).
The original recipe contains 65g (2 1/2 oz) margarine and 40g (1 1/2 oz) lard. I chose to replace both with butter.
Keep the cookies for up to 5 days in an airtight cookie box.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with coffee and tea at any time of the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Melting Moments ~
Recette par Rosa @ Rosa's Yummy Yums 2010 et inspirée par Be-Ro.

Ingrédients:
105g Beurre non-salé
75g Sucre cristallisé
1/2 Oeuf (moyen)
1 CC d'Extrait naturel de vanille
1 Pincée de Sel de mer
150g de Farine blanche, tamisée
1 CC de Poudre à lever
Noix de coco rapée
Cranberries séchées

Method:
1. Préchauffer le four à 180° C (350° F).
2. Battre le beurre en pommade avec le sucre.
3. Battre l'oeuf avec la vanille et le sel.
4. Ajouter ce mélange au beurre en pommade et bien battre afin d'obtenir un mélange homogène.
5. Mélanger la farine avec la poudre à lever et ajouter au mélange beurre/sucre/oeuf/vanille. Bien incorporer.
6. Former des petites boules de la taille d'une noix avec la pâte et les rouler dans la noix de coco afin de les recouvrir entièrement.
7. Mettre les boules sur une plaque recouverte de papier sulfurisé et applatir légèrement.
8. Poser (en pressant légèrement) un morceau de cranberry sur chaque cookie.
9. Cuire pendant 10 à 15 minutes ou jusqu'à ce que les cookies soient dorés.
10. Laisser refroidir sur une grille.

Remarques:
Vous pouvez aussi rouler ces cookies dans du son d'avoine et les décorer avec un petit morceau de cerise glacée (la recette originale ne contient pas de cranberries).
La recette originale contient 65g de margarine et 40g de saindoux. J'ai choisi de les remplacer par du beurre.
Conserver les cookies pas plus de 5 jours dans une boîte à biscuits.

Idées de présentation:
Servir les Melting Moments à n'importe quelle heure de la journée avec une bonne tasse de café ou de thé.

0 GAME - JEU

Mamina at "Et Si C'était Bon?" (France) is organizing a game. She asks us to bake sweet or savory shortbread cookies and then to share them (picture and link to post) with her...

Are you interested? Then, you have until the 14th of July to submit your entry.

Mamina de "Et Si C'était Bon?" (France) organise un jeu. Elle se réjouit que vous partagiez avec elles vos meilleures recettes (photo et lien) de sablés sucrés ou salés...

Si vous êtes intéressés, alors vous avez jusqu'au 14 juillet pour participer.

I have decided to submit my "Parmesan, Italian Herbs & sesame Seed Shortbread Cookies" recipe. I hope you'll like it.

J'ai décidé de participer avec ma recette de "Sablés Au Parmesan, Aux Herbes Italiennes Et Graines De Sésame". J'espère que cette recette vous plaira.

0 PARMESAN & HERBS SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Judging by the quantity of sweet recipes I post, some of you might think that I am only passionate about desserts and such kinds of sweet food. That isn't quite true. Although I must confess to having developped a sweet tooth over the years, I still very much love savory food. The truth is I can't live without one or the other! Just like Yin and Yang, they are indispensable, inseparable, complementary and very important to me...

So, this Wednesday, instead of sharing with you a recipe that'll cause your blood sugar to rise, I've decided to blog about a gourmet and terribly addictive appetizer which might effect your cholesterol level instead!

Homemade appetizer cookies are fantastic as they can be made sing a variety of flavors/ingredients and are generally more scrumptious as well as healthier than the store-bought ones. Not forgetting that summer is the perfect season for outdoor happy hours and picnics, so it is for that reason that I thought you'd like to discover a wonderful Barefoot Contessa recipe for "Parmesan & Italian Herbs Shortbread Cookies" (free adaptation), which I came across while surfing on a blog called "64 Sq ft Kitchen" (USA).

Those "Parmesan & Italian Herbs Shortbread Cookies" are some of the best savory crackers I've made so far as they are irresistibly rich, mouthwateringly cheesy, delightfully herby and incredibly flaky. Not only are do they have a lot of character and a hooking flavor, but they also look really cute and classy with their black and white sesame seed decorations.

Be assured that once you have baked a batch of those delicate savory shortbreads, you'll never go back to buying those, dry, cardboard-tasting, bland, transfat and terrifyingly noxious industrial crackers again!

~ Parmesan, Italian Herbs & Sesame Seed Shorbread Cookies"
Recipe freely adapted from Barefoot Contessa.

Yields about 25-30 shortbread cookies.

Ingredients:
1 Stick (120g) Unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 Tbs Olive oil
3 Oz (90g) Freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/4 Cups (160g) All-purpose flour
1/4 Tsp Sea salt
1 Tbs Dried Italian herbs (mix)
1/2 Tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/2 Tsp Freshly ground black pepper
Enough Black and white sesame seeds for garnishing the cookies

Method:
1. In a bowl, mix the butter and olive oil until creamy.
2. Add the Parmesan, flour, salt, herbs, garlic powder and black pepper and mix to combine in order to get a dough.
3. Put the dough into a floured surface and shape it into a 13-inch long log.
4. Wrap the dough, roll the log in the sesame seeds and freeze it for 30min (or until needed/you will still be able to slice it).
5. Using a sharp knife, slice the log into ½ inch thick discs.
6. Arrange the cookies on a sheet pan, lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180° C (350° F) oven for about 20 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
7. Let cool on a rack.

Remarks:
If you don't have any Parmiggiano Reggiano, then you can use Grana Padano, pecorino or cheddar.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as an apetizer with artisan bier, white wine, cherry tomatoes and grapes.

***************

~ Sablés aux Parmesan, Herbes Italiennes & Graines De Sésame ~
Adaptée librement de Barefoot Contessa.

Pour 25-30 biscuits.

Ingrédients:
120g de Beurre non-salé, à température ambiante
2 CS d'Huile d'Olive
90g de Parmesan fraîchement rapé
1 1/4 Tasses (160g) de Farine blanche/fleur
1/4 de CC de Sel de mer
1 CS d'Herbes Italiennes
1/2 CS d'Ail en poudre (en option)
1/2 CC de Poivre noir fraîchement moulu
Sufisemment de graines de sésame noir et blanche pour la garniture

Méthode:

1. Dans un bol, mélanger le beurre mou jusqu’à ce qu’il devienne crémeux.
2. Ajouter l'huile d'olive, le parmesan, le sel, la farine, le poivre noir, les herbes et l'ail.
3. Mélanger le tout jusqu’à obtention d’une pâte.
4. Mettre la pâte sur une surface légèrement farinée et former en boudin d’une longeur de 33 centimètres, puis le rouler dans les graines de sésame.
5. Mettre la pâte dans un film plastique et l'entreposer au congelateur pendant 30 minutes ou jusqu’à ce que vous en ayez besoin.

6. A l’aide d’un couteau bien éguisé, couper le boudin en disques d’un centimètre et demi d’épaisseur.
7. Arranger les biscuits sur une plaque recouverte de papier sulfurisé.
8. Faites cuire dans un four préchauffé à 180° C pendant 20 minutes ou jusqu’à ce que les bords des biscuits deviennent légèrement dorés.
9. Laisser refroidir sur une grille.

Remarques:
Si vous n'avez pas de Parmesan, vous pouvez utiliser du Grana Padano, du pecorino ou du cheddar.

Idées de présentation:
A servir lors de l'apéritif avec de la bonne bière artisanale, du vin et du raisin.