Welcome to Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey is seen in over 100 countries around the world.  This week BBC launched the series in South Africa (Sunday nights), and in Canada Vision TV is broadcasting the series on Wednesdays.  

Many of us around the world have seen all episodes (2 Seasons), but it really is great to relive the series again, right from the beginning.  There is so much which is missed the first time. Plus, it kills time while waiting for Season 3.

Our introduction to Downton Abbey is informal, and comes early in the first episode.  While upstairs the Crawleys are still nestled in their beds, there is a flurry of activity down below. In our introduction to the grand home, we see the engine that drives it all.  The maids rise at 6:00 am to open the drapes, dust furniture, tend to flower vases.  William, the footman, irons the newspapers for the Lord and Lady.  Daisy, the scullery maid, lights fires in the various fireplaces around the house, as well as the kitchen stove (horrors).  The first round of duties appears to be done.  The servants scurry back downstairs and out of sight, gathering for breakfast, a rack of servant bells behind them.  A breakfast tray is sent upstairs, others will congregrate for dining.

How Titanic Affects Downton Abbey

The Crawleys learn of their loss

So while three Crawleys (Cora lingers in her room) discuss the news of Titanic over breakfast, a lone cyclist is making his way to Downton.  The opening shot in this episode is the tapping of a telegraph, which turns out to be news of the Titantic which directly impacts the Crawley family.  Reading the news from freshly ironed papers, Lord Grantham observes: “Every mountain is unclimbable until someone climbs it, so the ship is unsinkable until it sinks.”  It would soon become apparent that for the Crawleys, every fortune is safe until it is not.  Unbeknowst to the family, Robert’s cousin James Crawley and his son Patrick were passengers on Titanic.  The unthinkable happened: two heirs were lost at sea.  My father (a lawyer) would be proud of the attention to client service: solicitors in New York were very quick to relay the devasting news–well, as fast as telegraphs and bicycles could manage in those days.

Cynics may roll their eyes at the convenient timing of events.  April 14th, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary (check my posted menus/recipes for 1st, 2nd and steerage classes) if you want to plan your own tribute)  Julian Fellowes (creator) confirms that we are given a definitive point in history which we can immediately comprehend.  Saves time to spend on developing the character story lines. 

What is an EntaiL, Anyway?

While my undergraduate degree is in History, it was part of a Pre-Law program, so I should be able to explain this whole mess.  In short, Robert, the current 6th Earl of Grantham, married Cora for her money to keep Downton afloat.  Don’t worry that have been happy ever since.  In a clever move, his father (the 5th Earl) wanted to ensure that her money would not be able to be detached from the beloved Downton Estate, so created the entail to bind the two.  For more information check out Promatica’s blog which goes into much more depth.  Property law is one of the less exciting law classes so an appropriate title: Downton Abbey Fans – Welcome to the MOST Boring Law School Class

The details of the entail were not unknown to the Crawleys.  Should Cora have given birth to a male child, all would have been swell as he would have been the heir.  Alas, women don’t count when it comes to the laws of inheritance in those days.  As you can see, the couple have 3 lovely daughters.  As a back up, Mary was engaged to cousin Patrick in case something better didn’t come along.  As commoners, we are somehow comforted in knowing that the rich have troubles too.  What it comes down to is this.  Change does not come easily to many, and the unknown heir is seen as a threat.  The story line is a great analogy for all the changes that was to occur in this period of history. 

The food of Downton Abbey

Magic happens in the kitchen

There are many reasons to love Downton:  the costumes, the opulence, the formality, specific characters.  The Dowager Countess is a favorite, and if you tweet, you will love @theladygrantham who lives in Yorkshire and who stays very much in character.

For me, and other foodies, we just can’t help ourselves: it is the food which is so fascinating. I immediately fell in love with Mrs. Patmore, who reminds me of my grandmother–and I–her Daisy.   Just look at this picture of lovely desserts, but talk about time warp.  Certain foods do fall in and out of fashion, and they loved their jello back in the day.  Bon Appetit blogged that it was both disgusted and amused. While aspics and jello molds have had their day, you may wish to serve wine jello between courses at your dinner party.  It was served on the Titanic.  I have posted a wine jello recipe which my friend gave to me who got it from a relative.  It is “quite lovely” as I said in the radio interview I gave last week.

I learned to cook from my grandmother (my own Mrs. Patmore) and proudly carry the food traditions of our European heritage with me. My degree in history also further fuels my curiousity, not just about the period, but about how people actually lived.  What were the differences in diet between the upper and lower classes, what food was available at that time and how was it prepared? Which dishes are still prepared to day, handed down from generation to generation? Food and communal dining, has and always will, play a role in bringing people together. There is a big push these days to get families to sit around the dinner table to rebuild the bonds in a frantic world.

I have been interested in looking at the period to gain a better understanding of food of that period. The launching point for this blog was a post on the itv Food page back in October. I already have a pretty good idea of how the servants ate (confirmed in the itv article link) since I already make a mean stew and hearty soups which I learned from my grandmother.

Kedgeree

kedgeree, a traditional English breakfast dish made with smoked haddock and rice

The first dish we get to see is Kedgeree.  This dish originated in India, based on khishri, and brought back to the UK by the British Colonials, introducing it as a breakfast dish in the Victorian era. The Brits do love their indian cuisine, I can attest to that. If you wish to delve deeper, you can read more at the British Food Trust site, an authority on all foods British. Rather.

It is a practical dish which, before refrigeration, allowed cooks to use leftovers from the night before to make into hearty and appealing breakfast dishes. Essentially the ingredients are boiled rice, chopped hard-boiled egg, cold minced fish, fried in one pan and flavored with your favorite herbs. I should think this will be great for us to have on hand up at the cottage.

As this is essentially a very simple dish with tons of variations, here is a link to simple version I have previously posted,  as it might have been served at Downton, and some alternatives.

Pie Crust

Apple tart and meat pie ready for serving

Amongst the food spotted in Mrs. Patmore’s kitchen, were an apple tart and meat pie.  Both were made with a pie crust.  They did make their own puff pastry, but for today we will stick with the food as it was prepared.

I am all about heart healthy eating, but for special occasions you may be forced to make an exception.  As for myself I think of pie crust as the wrapping on the present which I discard and simply enjoy the contents. 

This is a family recipe which always turns out flaky.  It makes 5 double crusts so it allows you to bake many different items at the same time. You can store in the fridge for a few weeks so it is on hand, or freeze it.

Ingredients

• 5 ½ cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 lb. shortening (Crisco)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. vinegar

Method

1. Sift dry ingredients
2. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two forks
3. Put egg and vinegar in a measuring cup and fill to ¾ with cold water.
4. Mix into dry ingredients and make a dough. It isn’t particularly fussy to work with and you will end up with a flaky crust.

Welcome to Downton Abbey

Welcome Canada, to the world of Downton Abbey. You may have heard about Downton, (not Downtown), the British produced period drama. Perhaps you have heard a bit about the story line, the quotes (“what is a weekend?”), the critical acclaim, as well as the awards it has won. You might have heard that PBS carried it on Masterpiece Theare–that sounds about right–and some fuss this past weekend with a grand finale: a Christmas episode…in February, that’s odd. If you are like me, you hate jumping into show mid stream–or worse–when it is all over. So you may have not been convinced that this was a show to invest your time on.

Well, Canada, its not too late for you to watch Downton the old fashioned way (on broadcast televison) because starting tonight, Vision TV is broacasting the show right from the beginning. It will be seen Wednesday nights from 9 pm EST, 7 pm MWT. We hibernate in Winter anyway, so enjoy your time inside and make friends on Twitter at #Downtoneh .

Top 10 Reasons Canadians Will Love Downton Abbey

1. It’s free–unlike other shows, it is broadcast via public TV or basic cable.
2. Beautiful to watch–Season 1 cost £1 million/episode to produce.
3. Like Canada, Downton is a lovely home on a huge piece of land.
4. We don’t have to live in Vancouver or Victoria to enjoy tea and crumpets.
5. High brow humour–Maggie Smith, as the Dowager, has the best lines on TV.
6. British is Better–it is not an American show.
7. The Crawleys aren’t particularly fond of Americans either.
8. Honor & decency reigns–indiscretions have consequences.
9. There is no singing–OK, there is 1 song, but it only comes later in Season 2.
10. An upscale alternative to Coronation Street, but we still love Corrie anyway.

Getting up to Speed: What you need to know

• The series is set on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in the North Riding of Yorkshire, featuring an ensemble cast, so there are many characters to get to know.
• It was created and principally written by Julian Fellowes, and premièred on ITV on 26 September 2010.
• There have been 2 seasons produced, and ITV has confirmed a third season will be broadcast, starting in September 2012 in the UK.
• The upstairs scenes are filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, which is open to visitors from April on. The Earl and Countess of Carnarvon actually live there. I am sure that letting out a few rooms for filming and visitors helps pay the taxes.
• The servants’ living areas were constructed and filmed at Ealing Studios in London.
• The village of Bampton in Oxfordshire was used for filming outdoor scenes, most notably St Mary’s Church and the library, which serves as the entrance to the cottage hospital.
• It is the most successful British period drama since Brideshead Revisited, with ratings exceeding 10 million viewers.The series also was well received in the United States, averaging more than six million viewers per episode.
• Critically acclaimed: Guinness World Records has awarded it “Highest Critical Review Ratings For A TV Show.”
• We love everyone on the show except for O’Brien and Thomas.

Host your own viewing parties

cupcakes aren't really period specific...just call them fairy cakes

I remember the days when I would seek out friends who had premium cable so I could keep up with shows like The Sopranos. Yes, I admit that I would bribe my way in with baked ziti. With Downton you don’t have that problem since Vision TV is included in basic cable across Canada. So you may gather like-minded friends at the home of whomever has the largest TV, or you could take turns hosting a party with period appropriate food. You can keep it real simple. Hint: Oreos, although American, were invented in 1914.

A few things to keep in mind:

• The commercials are short so plan your bio breaks accordingly.
• Feel free to dress up, but there are no tiaras on this show.
• The show is in the evening, so tea might not be your cup of…
• Wine is fine to drink. Claret (simply means a dry red wine) is often preferred by the Crawleys, as is Sherry.
• Pimm’s would also be a good choice to keep with the theme.
• The food on the show is not very complicated to make, which is where I come in.

My blog is full of recipes to serve for dinner or tea. To apoid spoilers, just scroll down to the bottom section to check out the recipes. I offer mostly heart-healthy options to the traditional recipes. I also include all my recipes on Pinterest.

As part of the Season Finale craze last week I posted a suggested dinner menu. I also gave an interview to an LA radio station, (check out posted interview) as part of a fun Weekend Alibi segment, if you know what a weekend is, that is.

Welcome to Downton, Canada

We greeted the South Africans yesterday with those lovely tea sandwiches. I thought I would share another healthy scone recipe to welcome my fellow Canadians to the tea party. My foodie friend Eva recently introduced me to Sawsan, a lovely cook from Jordan who blogs at Chef in Disguise, who provides great advice on making perfect scones. She is an orthodonist, and I know from visits to my own dentist, that this is a profession that is meticulous (“anal” might be another term) so she is the perfect person to demystify the process. She took the research from Audax, who blogs in Australia, to give to us. The world is truly a small place. Only a wee bit of butter in this versions, so not a diet breaker. Enjoy.

The Best Scones you Will Ever Make

try greek yoghurt instead of clotted cream

recipe from Audax

Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones. This recipe can be doubled.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) fresh baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
• 2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)
• approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
• optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Method

1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)
3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.
4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth.
6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick).
   1. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.
   2. pat the dough into a rectanglefold 1/3 of the dough over itself
   3. fold the other third over the first
   4. turn 90 degrees and repeat patting and folding
7. Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.
8. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.
9. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
10. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

tea time at Downton

Welcome to Downton.  Howzit. BBC in South Africa premiered the first episode of Downton Abbey this past Sunday.  Yesterday, we spoke about America’s sadness at the last viewing of the last of the produced episodes.  Now imagine the cultivation for a whole new crop of Downton fans.  They have that lovely accent which reminds you of the British.  Lovely.  Let’s have them all over for tea, shall we, and make them feel welcome.

Taking Tea, South African style

Canada is a land of multiple cultures, so we have the opportunity to develop friendships with those who have immigrated from countries all over the world.   We have wonderful South African friends in our church community, and God has particularly blessed us with fellowship with one particular family.  Jeanette is a  talented trained pattisier who designs cakes and offers cake decorating parties to kids and adults alike. We recently had tea at their home and Jeanette served a lovely assortment of desserts.   Heavenly.   If you live in the Toronto Area and have need for a special cake (who doesn’t?), or want to take a decorating lesson, try South African.  She will be holding a clinic on how to decorate the lovely little cake pictured above (those are edible flowers) for Mother’s Day.  Check out her website: www.jeanettescakes.com.  I hope someday she will share a recipe or cake decorating tips with us here.

Tea Basics: A recap

• In 1662 Catherine of Braganza of Portugal married Charles II and brought with her the preference for tea over alcohol to Court.
• 1830/40’s.  Anne, Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting “invented” the Afternoon Tea, having food brought to her room in the afternoon; some ladies were invited, others set about gathering their own friends together.
• Afternoon Tea is likely what you are going want to book.  It is the tea service served with the little sandwiches, scones and tea. 
• Cream Tea is a tea service with just scones, cakes, clotted cream and tea.  No lovely little crustless sandwiches, I’m afraid. 
• Think of High Tea as supper, not time for scones.
• When building your tea tray, the preferred order is scones on top, sweets and fruit in the middle, and the savories–wee tarts and sandwiches–on the bottom layer.
• Your freezer (or your local grocer) is your friend when preparing your tea party.  Sandwiches need to be made fresh, but you can freeze much of your baked goods.
• Allow 5 savory items per person, 3 or 4 different types of sweets.

What we have Prepared thus far

1. Rock Cakes: in our first installment we made Harry Porter’s favorite tea time treat.  These are what are sometimes referred to as a type of  ”drop scones” Easy to make and don’t require any rolling.
2. Guilt Free Scones: we then picked it up a notch to look at how to brew tea, identified types of sandwiches to make, and tried our hand at making scones. 
   1. The Best Tips for Scone Making.  My foodie friend Eva recently introduced me to Sawsan, a lovely cook from Jordan who provides great advice on making perfect scones. She is an orthodonist, and I know from visits to my own dentist that this is a profession that is meticulous (“anal” might be another term) so she is the perfect person to demystify the process.  Only a wee bit of butter in her versions, so not a diet breaker.
3. Truffles: Last Tuesday was Valentine’s Day so we didn’t spend much time on Tea, but I offered truffles as a sweet to add to your tea tray.  The latest trend in Afternoon teas is a facelift to attract a younger audience with “hipper” foods:  they include cupcakes, cake balls and whoopie pies. We may cover these additions in later posts, but let’s finish on the basics.

Types of Sandwiches Served at Afternoon Tea

Those lovely little sandwiches

If you have kids, you are problaby already a pro at making little crustless sandwiches.  Here are few variations (all crustless, of course) which you can prepare to plate on their own, or to add to the bottom level of your three tried tray:

• cucumber
• egg mayonnaise with cress*
• smoked salmon with cream cheese
• Coronation chicken (poached chicken with dried fruit, curry)
• Ham and mustard

Tips: 

• Tea sandwiches are traditionally light, delicate sandwiches sliced small enough to be picked up with the fingers or those little sandwich tongs.
• Teas sandwiches can be cut into triangles or, using cookie cutters, shapes for special occasions.
• Prepare your fillings ahead of time to let the flavours settle and to help save you time in your final assembly.
• Your sandwiches don’t all have to be on white bread.  You can also use whole wheat which gives a nice contrast in color, but I would have the multi-grain and heavier breads for another purpose.  This is dainty food experience.
• You may make these lower in fat by using lower fat mayo.
• Be frugal and dry out the crusts to use bread crumbs or your croutons (invented by Count Rumsford who also invented the soup kitchen)

Here are a few modern interpretations of Victorian tea fare, which were posted by fellow marketer Cameron Freeman.

CUCUMBER SANDWICHES

the lovely cucumber sandwich

1. After cutting off the crusts of the bread and cutting the bread into triangles or shapes, butter both sides of the bread.
2. Cut seedless cucumber (look for the ones wrapped in cellophane) into very thin slices, and place between bread slices.
3. Garnish if desired.

TUNA SANDWICHES

1. Mix one can of tuna (drained) with tuna seasoning and enough mayonaise to make a thick spread.
2. Spread on prepared slices of bread. You may add thin slices of cucumber if desired along with garnish.

SALMON SANDWICHES

1. Spread cream cheese on prepared slices of bread.
2. Place thin slices of smoked salmon between slices of bread.

EGG SANDWICHES

1. Mix sectioned boiled egg and mayonnaise (or use store bought egg salad) and season as desired.
2. Spread on slices of prepared bread.
3. Add thin slices of cucumber if desired, along with garnish.

WATERCRESS SANDWICHES

*watercress provides a bit of crunch.

1. Spread cream cheese on prepared slices of bread.
2. Rinse and dry watercress and lay between slices of bread.
3. Garnish if desired. 

Coronation Chicken Sandwich

Coronation chicken: God Save the Queen

Coronation Chicken is not period specific to Downton, but you may hear about it this year as Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jublilee.   It is actually a recipe that was created in 1953, for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth.   Coronation chicken may have been inspired by jubilee chicken, a dish prepared for the silver jubilee of George V in 1935

This is a lighter version adapted from Bama Pie Kitchen and Cooking School in Oklahoma.

• 2 chicken breasts (you can used cooked chicken to speed up the process)
• 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt, light/lite or fat-free
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons water
• ¼ – 1/3 cup mango chutney
• slices of bread, white or wheat

Method

1. Use left over chicken or poach the chicken breasts by boiling them in a saucepan until cooked through. Cool then chop up or grate the chicken coarsely. In a large bowl, mix the chicken with sour cream or yogurt.
2. In a small cup, make a paste with the curry powder and water. Stir the curry into the chicken mixture. Add the mango chutney to taste.
3. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend. 
4. Spread the mixture between slices of bread. Cut off the crusts (optional) and slice into triangles or rectangles.

Finally, a proper proposal

Downton Abbey fans across America (and Canada) were glued to their sets last night to watch the season finale of their favorite period drama on PBS. Many got into the spirit of the night and celebrated with friends and family, dressing up Downton and serving Downton dinner.

My Friday post on what to serve at a Downton Abbey viewing party was inspired by a radio interview I gave on Thursday. PBS retweeted it which contributed to an avalanche of views yesterday. Thank you to everyone who came by to visit. I hope that everyone found something to suit their tastes. Lord D took pride in preparing dinner for us last night; his recipe for pork roast is still a well guarded secret, but it was heavenly.

Today Americans celebrate Washington’s Birthday or Presidents Day, and in parts of Canada we observe Family Day. Time off to spend with family, to relax and reflect. Shrove Tuesday is tomorrow which marks the beginning of Lent and kicks of Mardi Gras.  I had warned everyone that there would be consequences once you reached the plateau of the final episode. You now know how British fans feel as we all wait for the new season to be written, produced and released. September was the earliest date I have seen for broadcast on itv.  Who knows when it will reach PBS here in America.  You could get into the new Titanic series that Julian Fellowes is launching in April in time for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, but again it will only likely hit itv first.

Behind the Drama

At the end of last night’s episode we were treated to a behind the scenes view of how the series is produced. In other words, be patient, the process takes time.

I had shared this segment in an earlier post about Daisy, but here is a recap of “Daisy’s World”, with a tour given by lovely Sophie McShera who plays Daisy and interview with Lesley McNicol who plays Mrs. Patmore.

While some character development in the last episode might have been a bit lacking, I was pleased that Daisy’s character has been allowed to grow up, that she is comforted by the Dowager’s words that she must have loved William very much to have married him. Her father in law has also come by her side to give her guidance, and Mrs. Patmore is supportive in growing in her position. Time for Sophie to exercise her acting chops.

So what do we do now?

My re-run clip should have given you a hint. It is time to relive the drama all over again, and again. PBS will likely be re-broasting the episodes, and will likely be picked up by public television stations. Support public televsion. Or you can buy the series on DVD or Blue Ray and plan your own viewing parties sharing Downton with the unititiated. You can now go back to the beginning and see how the relationships between characters developed, the hints of what is to come from a new perspective. We know that Shirley MacLaine has been cast to play Martha Levinson, Cora’s mother and Mary’s Grand Mama. Join the game of trying to predict what is going to happen in Season 3.  I follow @hughbon (Robert) and @brendancoyle99 (John Bates) and so far there has been a turkey shoot. That’s all I got.  I have heard about the US version coming soon.  Shondra Rhimes is expected to  produce Guilded Lilies, centered around an upscale New York Hotel in the 1890s. So all it not lost.

Downton Abbey merchandise emerges

There is also merchandise to be purchased and trading cards to be exchanged. The timing for the first product launch in the UK was just in time for Christmas. Past Times offers pillows and cups. You are likely to find more US/Canada based online stores spring up to feed your desire for all things Downton.

I came across the talented comic artist Chad Thomas who drew some cheeky Valentine Abbey cards. I had meant to share, but I got wrapped up love and chocolate for the big day (you know how distracting chocolate can be). I was delighted to see that Vanity Fair picked up on his talent, working with him to develop a series of trading cards which provide commentary and plot predictions. I am sure he is now happy his wife introduced him to the show.

A sample of the Vanity Fair Trading Cards

The humble/universal Pancake

Many of us have a mini-break today and a chance to sleep in and prepare “brunchy” type foods. Time for some comfort food to make you feel better as you go through Downton Abbey withdrawal. We have already experienced withdrawal once in our home, so I am going to prepare pancakes… it helped the first time. Besides Shrove Tuesday is coming up tomorrow so time to practice.

Pancakes are probably the earliest and most widespread types of cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies, which provided a nutritious meal to help you get ready for a day of hunting, gathering–or in our day–shopping. There are a number of variations around the world so a fitting dish to prepare where ever you may be today.

Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day):  Giving up Downton for Lent?

Shrove Tuesday observes the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is observed mainly in English speaking countries, especially Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and Canada but is also observed in Philippines and Germany. Shrove Tuesday is linked to Easter, so its date changes on an annual basis. 

Whereas Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross, Lent recalls the events leading up to and including Jesus’ crucifixion by Rome. This is believed to have taken place in Roman occupied Jerusalem.  It is common these days for believers to surrender a particular vice such as favourite foods or smoking. Whatever the sacrifice it is a reflection of Jesus’ deprivation in the wilderness and a test of self-discipline.  Perhaps you will be able to give up Downton for Lent.

In most traditions the day is known for the eating of pancakes before the start of Lent. Pancakes are eaten as they are made out of the main foods available, sugar, fat, flour and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.

Jamie Oliver & Worst Cooks in the World

I feel for Jamie Oliver. He and other English celebrity chefs have had a tough time of making over British cuisine. There was a recent article posted on NPR’s food site which talked about how things had gone terribly wrong after WWI. Sadly, the problem goes back alot longer than that, likely even farther back than Victorian times, but in Mrs. Beeton’s delightful book, Beetons Book of Household Management, published in 1861, she conceded the reputation “that we (the English) are the worst cooks on the face of the earth”.

So I give credit to Jamie, whose tireless efforts to boost the quality and nutrition of British cooking started in his own kitchen, and worked its way into school cafeterias in Britian and the US.

Simple (low fat) Pancakes

yummy non fat, yet very filling, pancakes

This is my all time favorite pancake recipe. My father loves pancakes so when he had heart issues a number of year ago I began a search for a heart healthy recipe. It is my traditional, “get up early, make and serve to my hosts as a thank you for having me” gift.

Enjoy for Shrove Tuesday.  Only a few ingredients, it is light, fluffy and can be used both as pancakes and waffles.  Beware these are very filling. 

From Jamie Oliver, Naked Chef 2

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup flour (122 grams)
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk (110 millilitres)
• Pinch salt

Method

1. First, separate the eggs, putting the whites in 1 bowl and the egg yolks into another.
2. Add the flour, baking powder and milk to the egg yolks and mix to a smooth thick batter.
3. Whisk the whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold into the batter. It is now ready to use.
4. Heat a non-stick pan on a medium heat.
5. Pour a little oil onto some kitchen paper and spread onto the pan. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to look golden and firm.
6. At this point, sprinkle your chosen flavouring onto the uncooked side before loosening with a spatula and flipping the pancake over. Continue frying until both sides are golden.
7. You can make these pancakes large or small, to your liking. You can serve them simply dowsed in maple syrup and even some butter or creme fraiche. Or try one of these great flavorings. Nice one.

Makes 4 very filling panckes.  I dare you to eat more than 2!

Optional Toppings:
Corn on the cob: yes it is pretty great!
Bacon or pancetta
Blueberries
Bananas
Stewed apples
Chocolate
Maple syrup

The Christmas Episode

The moment that so many PBS viewers have been waiting for is coming this Sunday: the Christmas Episode.  If you still haven’t taken down your Christmas decorations, this is your one last chance (seriously, take them down) to be in fashion.

I was in my kitchen yesterday working on some cakes for my own celebratory party coming up in a couple of weeks when I received a cryptic tweet (@downtoncooks).  Cryptic because my iPhone had chocolate batter smudged on it.  It was from a public radio station in LA looking for some advice on what to serve at a Downton Abbey finale party. Like so many others I have already seen the final episode…the DVD’s are already out, but I suppose one would want to gather friends around to see the Season finale if they hadn’t seen it.  Bully for them.  After I finished my cake, the batch of chicken noodle soup and put dinner in the oven, I contacted Meghan, the lovely producer of the Madeleine Brand show for 89.KPCC.  Producers have the best jobs, they have to come up with great content to fill the show and generate viewership, and quickly source “experts” on an infinite number of topics.  Indeed, there is a segment each Friday which covers which is coming up this weekend, and well, what to do about it.  This week includes a few minutes on what to serve at a Downton viewing party. A viewer supporter radio station supporting a viewer supported TV network, how lovely. 

Southern California Public Radio (SCPR) is a member-supported public radio network, SCPR is the most listened to public radio news service of any kind in Southern California and serves the diverse communities of Southern California with award winning local news coverage as well as the most NPR (National Public Radio) content available anywhere in the region.   Please support public radio.  Thank you.

What to Serve for your Season Finale dinner Party

Here is the posted interview as part of the fun Weekend Alibi segment of what to do this weekend in California, if you know what a weekend is, that is.

You could hold a dinner party, or just serve gruel in support of Mr. Bates present situation. Oeros are period appropriate so you can just sit on the couch and munch on those.

The tagline for my blog is “simple cooking on a grand scale”, so if you plan to have a dinner party, don’t fret about having to spend hours in the kitchen.  Unless of course you already have kitchen staff or caterers and that thought never crossed your mind in the first place.  Keep the food simple and give your place a good dusting and bring out the nice table clothes and clean silverware and the unchipped plates!  Ask everyone to dress up in their best Downton Abbey attire if you like.  If you have an obliging male friend to serve as footman that would be just enough panache to make the night right.  My husband once served as wine steward for our elderly neighbor and her sorority sisters, and they loved it. 

While not as sombre as Episode 5 when Matthew comes home wounded and William dies, this is not the most uplifting of episodes.  Even though we are in the holiday season with Christmas and New Years and a few other parties thrown in for good measure, all is not good at Downton.  Mr. Bates has just been arrested, Matthew is in mourning, Mary is still engaged to Sir Richard, and Sybil left home with Tom Branson.  

A Very Crawley Dinner Party

A good course of action is to stick with what the Crawley’s know best, and that is a structured dinner party.  Simple dishes, served by well groomed footmen…and don’t forget the sauces!  In this episode Daisy is fussed about keeping the roast chicken warm so that might be a good choice and pretty easy to prepare (or get a rotisserie chicken).  I have a few recipes on the blog you can search out which would be quite suitable for your occasion.  I have also posted the menus for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers on the Titanic.  The 100th anniversary is coming up April 14th so you can start practicing now for that big party.

• Appetizers
• Soup Course
  • rice soup
  • cream of barley soup
• Main Course
  • Roast Chicken
  • Sauté Chicken Lyonnaise
• Side Dishes
  • chateau potatoes
  • french-style green beans
• Dessert Course:  Puddings/custards were a favorite
  • the famous raspberry meringue
  • Eton Mess (recipe below)
  • Apple Charlotte that Mrs. Patmore refused to prepare
  • Fruit and cheeses

For some extra panache you could serve Wine jelly between courses or instead of the dinner party all together.  This is not the jello shots from college days.  Served in nice glass dishes it is quite lovely.

Drinks

always a glass in hand, sometimes two

The answer to this question is yes.  This lot always seems to have some sort of beverage in their hand-tea cup, punch, scotch or wine glass. 

As I mentioned earlier, this isn’t the most upbeat episode so if you are going to serve champagne, save it for the last five minutes.  We hear the term “claret”, which is an all inclusive term to mean a dry red wine, so that would be your safest bet if you were going to pick just one wine.  You may recall this clip from this past week’s episode (S2 E8) where Anna provides instruction to Mr. Moseley on proper wine service at Downton.

Cousin Isobel enjoys some Pimm's Cup

You can never go wrong with a pitcher of Pimm’s Cup. Here we see Cousin Isobel enjoy a glass at one of the many gatherings in this episode. Pimm’s Cup is a simple mixture of 1 part Pimm’s No. 1 to 2 parts quality lemonade. Garnish with lemons, mint or whatever your fancy.

Dessert?  How about a Mess?

After the radio interview I gave more thought about what special dessert might represent this episode.  Mess sound about right with all that is going on.  Eton Mess is traditionally a summer dessert, but we are watching a Christmas episode in February, so I think we can throw convention to the wind. Perhaps you can invent a Downtonn Abbey mess by adding a wee bit of sherry..or some tears.

Eton mess is a traditional English dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries, pieces of meringue and cream, affiliated with Eton College’s annual cricket game against the students of Winchester College in June.  Unlike a triffle which is made with cake and you need to let the flavors settle, this is whipped up in a jiffy.  It is likely called “mess” since it does look a bit frightful. 

Five Minute Eton Mess

Downton Abbey Mess

If you are pressed for time, try Nigella Lawson’s 5 minute version.  While currently holding court as the Domestic Goddess, Mrs. Beeton (in the Victorian era) was the first to hold that title.

from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson, Chatto & Windus
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g strawberries
• 2 teaspoons caster or vanilla sugar
• 2 teaspoons pomegranate juice
• 500ml whipping cream
• 4 x small meringue nests from a packet

Method

1. Hull and chop the strawberries and put into a bowl. Add the sugar and pomegranate juice and leave to macerate while you whip the cream.
2. Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick but still soft.
3. Roughly crumble in four meringue nests — you will need chunks for texture, as well as a little fine dust.
4. Take out a ladleful, or about 100g of the chopped strawberries and fold the meringued cream and the rest of the fruit mixture together.
5. Arrange on four serving plates or glasses, or in a
   mound, and top each with some of the remaining
   strawberries.

*check the handy converter link at the top of the page to locate the appropriate measurement conversions for your part of the world.

Cheers to Peace below stairs

Downton Abbey fans were thrilled with the news in S2 Episode 6 that the Great War was over, particularly after the previous sombre episode where Matthew and William come home wounded from the war, and William succumbs to his injuries.  Bummer.  At long last we will be able to return to new fashions, extravagent dinners, turkey shoots, garden parties, and other gaity that goes on in the life of the privileged, and those so happy to be in service to them.  Life does go on, but alas, not in the way that anyone had hoped.  This is a telling scene from the opening of Episode 7 which sets the tone of life in post war Europe.

To recap, in the words of the pessimists: ”Welcome to the new world”, and all is not rosey. “When war is over, the first emotion is relief.  The second disappointment.” “How sad. How True.” This is countered by the wise words of Mrs. Patmore: ”The Lord tempers the wind to the shorn lamb”, which actually doesn’t come from the Bible, but nonetheless was a phrase originated in 18th century that means that God mercifully ensures that misfortune does not overwhelm the weak or helpless. Hope floats.

The trials of troubled Thomas 

Thomas suffers a setback in business

While we would never wish harm to anyone, I admit to taking some delight in watching Thomas squirm as he tries to find his way in this new world.  This is a fellow who should have been in a demolitions unit in the war, as he is quite skilled at burning bridges; then again he isn’t the brightest spark in the box. 

He made enemies of Mr. Carson and Lord Grantham when he was caught thieving.  He escapes dismissal by volunteering  for the medical corps, hoping to land a cushy medical assignment.  Unfortunately he winds up at the front.  Thanks to the remarkable marksmanship of an obliging German soldier, he returns home, and with the help of O’Brien, manages to find himself in charge of Downton Abbey’s convalescing operations.  Snubbing his nose at his former employers and servants at every turn, he did get a great idea from our heroine, Mrs. Patmore, who spent alot of time fetting about food shortages.  He is duped by a black market dealer (horrors) for supplies to set up his own black market business, and is left without money, a place to stay, or a job.  Now scrambling to find a place for himself back at Downton.  Mrs. Patmore observes “it is wonderful what fear will do for the human spirit.”  Don’t worry, he eventually lands on his feet, getting back into the good graces of Lord Grantham in the Christmas episode.  But in the meantime, yes, it is time for Thomas to have a nice big helping of humble pie.

Eating Humble Pie

To “eat humble pie” is an idiom which originated in the UK, meaning to “act submissively and apologetically, especially in admitting an error.”  Its origins relate to the umble pie.  In the 15th century the name for the entrails of a deer were called umbles, and eventually migrated to the term humble.  Umbles were used as an ingredient in pies.  The adjective “humble”, meaning ‘of lowly rank’ or ‘having a low estimate of oneself’, was derived separately from umbles. The similarity of the sound of the words, and the fact that umble pie was often eaten by those of humble situation (the best cuts of meats went to the wealthy) could easily have been the reason for the phrase to ‘eat humble pie’ to have its current meaning.

Hmm, deer entrails.  Yes, a nice big piece of humble pie would certainly be a fitting dish for Thomas. Having said that Haggis–which is made of sheep entrails (so much for the shorn lamb–is prized the Scots and me, so who’s to say if it would be edible.  Check out an original recipe and decide for yourself.

(H)umble Pie Recipe, 1591

Vegetable Pie with Potato Crust

veggie pies were served in times of meat shortage

I dare say that any part of a deer would have been prized during the rationing.  The woods likely would have been picked/poached clean.  Quite often cooks had to create dishes from the vegetables they would have had on hand. 

This is a lovely adaptation of one of those original war-time recipes of a savoury meatless pie using what ingredients which would have been on hand.   I have never attempted to grow an artichoke (It is enough just to core them), but they are quite hearty and like cool English climes.  Even Mrs. Beeton had them on her favorite veggie list.  This recipe provided by lovely Camille DeAngelis, a talented art historian and author. 

Ingredients*

• Filling
  • 2 onions
  • 2 carrots
  • 3sticks of celery
  • one turnip
  • one 6-oz. jar of artichoke hearts
  • 2 cups low sodium vegetable stock 
  • 1 cup lentils (soaked overnight)
  • salt and pepper
  • herbs and spices (rosemary, cumin) to taste
• Pastry
  • one medium potato, mashed
  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup shortening (to make vegan, Camille used brand like Earth Balance)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • dash of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375º F/ 190º C/Gas Mark 5
2. Scub and then finely chop all vegetables.  Leave the skins on for extra nutrients
3. Sauté with herbs in olive oil until soft.
4. Take off heat and add vegetable stock and pre-soaked lentils.
5. To make the pastry mix the shortening into the dry ingredients
6. Add the mashed potato, mixing together with a little cold water. It should make a nice easy-to-roll dough.
7. Spoon the filling into a casserole dish (will yield too much filling for a pie plate)
8. Roll out the pastry and cover, sealing the edges of the pie with a fork.
9. Bake for 45 minutes, dabbing the crust with a bit of butter if you like.

*Check the handy conversion chart at the top of the page the measurements for your part of the world.

Our favorite Downton couples

I awoke this morning to the sweet words of my husband, “Happy Valentine’s Day, my love”.  No, he was not a day late:  in our home, we celebrate love every day.  I freely admit that he is definitely more romantic than I.  He introduced me to Downton Abbey, and sometimes gets husbands into trouble with their wives when he is seen opening my car door, and showering me with compliments and flowers.So while Valentine’s Day has come and gone, I urge couples to find little ways to keep your love alive, and for those still looking for love, learn how to love, to be loved, and recognize it when you see it.  I love this clip about how precious love is, how hard it can be to find, to keep and cherish. “A story of love, loss and regret.”

Symbolic of love: the delicate soufflé

There are two incidents in last week’s PBS broadcast of S2 E7&8 which put me mind of soufflés. Mary speaks to Matthew of their relationship ”flop”, and when Daisy sneaks a late night peak at her test cake for Matthew and Lavina’s wedding, Mrs. Patmore snaps “you are making a cake, not a soufflé”.  Hmm, soufflés… 

Soufflé literally means “puffed up,” in French, and is a culinary term for a light, frothy dish, just stiff enough to hold its shape, and which may be savory or sweet, hot or cold.  The basic hot souffle is based on a roux–a cooked mixture of flour and butter–and then incorporates beaten egg whites.  Food historians confirm this is a French invention in the late 18th century.  Recipes for various kinds of sweet and savoury soufflés appear in Louis Ude’s The French Cook of 1813, a work which promises a “new method of giving good and extremely cheap fashionable suppers”.

The Flop: Contrary to popular opinion loud noises do not cause souffles to flop.  The rise and (and the inevitable fall) of every soufflé is a direct result of temperature. Heat expands the air in the egg whites; coolness deflates it.  For that reason you do have to eat your creation as soon as it comes out of the oven (within 5 or 10 minutes) or it will deflate as it cools.

My role here is to provide period appropriate recipes which are easy to prepare, or at least entertaining to read.  These little chocolate indulgences are inexpensive, easy to prepare and delightful to share and enjoy.  Like love, they do need some TLC, but worth the effort.  Enjoy the next 364 days of bringing and keeping love in your life.  It does help make the world go round.

Individual Chocolate Soufflé Cakes

simple healthy and yet indulgent dish

Indulgence doesn’t have to mean unhealthy.  Cooking Light is a great resource to find inspiration for recipes which promote healthier eating.  These airy chocolate cakes puff up nicely in mini soufflé dishes and are pretty easy to do.  This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients*

• Cooking spray
• 4 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa
• 2 tablespoons fat-free milk 
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white  
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4
2. Coat 2 (6-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle each with 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar.
3. Combine 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, flour, cocoa, and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes, stirring until smooth. Spoon chocolate mixture into a medium bowl; cool 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
4. Place egg white in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form.
5. Add remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat).
6. Gently stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture.
7. Spoon mixture into prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes 2 or 3 times to level.
8. Place dishes on a baking sheet; bake for 15 minutes or until puffy and set. Sprinkle each soufflé with 1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

The delicate dance between Mary and Matthew

Happy Valentine’s Day whereever you live in the world, and belated greetings for those down-under who have already celebrated the day.  My Tuesday posts are typically dedicated to Afternoon Tea, but consider adding this recipe as a sweet treat to your tea tray.

While Valentine’s Day is celebrated in different ways around the world, most do involve a show of hearts, flowers and chocolate! My husband and I treat everyday as if it is Valentine’s Day so today is just another day in paradise.  Since I often treat my husband with mostly healthy treats (as he does for me), it has been fun preparing food pairings for our favorite Downton Abbey couples: lovely chocolate sweets to share with loved ones. 

Birds do it..let’s fall in love

The customs associated with Valentine’s Day had their origin in the popular belief held by people in Great Britain and France during 14th and 15th century that birds begin to mate on February 14, halfway through the month of February.  Lovers, therefore found St Valentine’s Day an appropriate time to send love letters and gifts to beloved. The Romantic image of a day of celebration was further established by English and French poets and writers who drew parallel between mating of birds and St Valentine’s Day.  Shortened to become Valentine’s Day cards.

Downton Abbey couple food pairings

While there are many couples on Downton Abbey, I have dedicated posts over the past week to a few of our favorites.  A recap:

• Daisy & William go together like… chocolate peanut butter fudge
• Anna & John Bates nobody knows their truffles: milk chocolate truffles
• Sybil & Tom Branson- love like a brownie: guilt free brownies

Matthew and Mary:  the Prince and princess of downton

A Downton Abbey Valentine’s Day tribute to love would not be complete without our main players, Lady Sybil Crawley and her distant cousin Matthew. 

It appears that their love has bloomed…again

Like all great love affairs, there have been many twists and turns to the relationship between Mary and Matthew, very much like a Jane Austen novel of love and hate.  From Mary’s point of view, I think it goes something like this:  he bores me, he likes me, he proposes, I think I love him, I hesitate, he hates me, he falls in love with another woman, I try to find happiness with another man, he is crippled in the war and drives away his fiance, I nurse him back to health, he recovers and plans to marry the other woman, my granny tells him that I still love him, we dance and kiss, his fiance sees this and dies shortly after,  I am still engaged to the rich and vulgar commoner who holds my secret as a weapon.  What will happen next?

The Christmas episode will finally be broadbast on PBS this Sunday.  Finally, I won’t have to worry about spoilers, most everyone will be caught up. And then we all can watch the reruns together while we pass the love of Downton to the uninitiated who will become the  next generation of devoted fans.

Truffles:  The Ultimate Valentine’s Sweet

In my mind, truffles are the ultimate Valentine’s sweet.  Properly made with the best ingredients, they are a nice portion-controlled piece of heaven. 

To recap my other post on truffles, the chocolate truffle was first created by Antoine Dufour in Chambéry, France in December 1895. They reached a wider public with the establishment of the Prestat chocolate shop in London by Antoine Dufour in 1902, which still sells ‘Napoleon III’ truffles, a truffle dusted in cocoa.

Truffles are a simple mixture of cream and chocolate, called a ganache. If you can roll a meatball you can make a truffle. Like finding true love the key is to seek quality ingredients. Save the chocolate chips for cookies, you are looking for chocolate with the highest percentage of cocoa you can find. My preference has always been Swiss Lindt chocolate, and I am blessed to have a factory outlet close by where I can buy a huge bag at a great price. But many stores now sell high end chocolate bars which you can use as a substitute. The higher the percentage of cocoa butter (solids), the better (35%+ for milk chocolate, 70%+ for dark).

why yes, I made these truffles

I took a chocolate course years ago and began a yearly tradition of making truffles to give as holiday gifts for colleagues, friends and family. I even made the truffles for our wedding and more recently my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. When I make truffles it is like bundling a little package of joy and happiness to give to others. So spread a little love this Valentine’s Day, Afternoon Tea, or Downton Abbey viewing party.

I offered a simple milk chocolate truffle recipe to represent the love of Anna and Mr. Bates, but a complicated upstairs relationship like Matthew and Mary deserves a decadent version with a number of different flavor elements, and which is a little more complicated to prepare. 

I won’t feel bad if you never make these, I have offered to teach my friends how to make truffles…for free, but only one taker with a short attention span.  All are quite happy just to be included on my “truffles gift list”.

Caramel-Dark Chocolate Truffles

I always include caramel truffles in my gift boxes

These truffles are a wonderful combination of dark chocolate, caramel and the unexpected taste of salt.  These truffles sparkle like little gems, perhaps a like a wedding ring?

Ingredients*

For the truffles

• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (the best you can find), finely chopped
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2/3 cup whipping cream (35% fat)
• 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel

Coating

• 12 ounces of merckens (melting) chocolate (you can find these in craft stores which sells chocolate making supplies
• icing sugar to keep the chocolate from sticking
• Additional fleur de sel

Special tools (optional)

• marble slab to work the chocolate
• special chocolate dipping tools
• truffle cups
• white gloves

Method

1. Place 8 ounces the good quality chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water);
2. Stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water. Set aside.
3. Make the caramel
   1. Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan.
   2. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes.
   3. Add cream (mixture will bubble).
   4. Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth.
   5. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate.
   6. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.
4. Rolling the Chocolate into balls 
   1. Optional Step:  You can change the texture of your chocolate to suit your taste.  I like to whip my chocolate in a heavy duty mixer to incorporate air into the mixture; you can also use a metal scraper and scale it on a marble slab and let set up again, or go straight to the next step. 
   2. Use icing sugar on your clean smooth surface (ideally a marble slab which keeps the chocolate cool) and roll the chocolate into a log, one inch thick. 
   3. Cut into one inch sections and roll between your hands (icing sugar keeps the chocolate from sticking to your your hands) to make balls. 
5. Coating the Chocolate
   1. Place remaining coating chocolate in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water);
   2. Remove bowl from over water
   3. The chocolate should be warm, but not too hot, or it will melt your truffle.
   4. Submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork or special chocolate tool, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off.
   5. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet lined with parchment paper
   6. Repeat with remaining truffles
   

   sprinkle with fleur de sel

   1. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour.
6. Finishing Touches
   

   gloves keep your finger prints off the lovely chocolate

   1. Put on your footman white gloves, carefully trim off the excess chocolate from the bottom of the truffles with a sharp knife. 
   2. As a nice finishing touch, place in little truffle cups you can buy in the chocolate section of your craft store.

* to determine appropriate measurements in your part of the world, check out the handy “handy conversion” link at the top of this page.

Lady Sybil and Tom Branson go public

Valentine’s Day. In keeping with the spirit, Masterpiece Classics served up a double helping of Downton Abbey romance last night. A great pre-Valentine’s Day date night in our home which we enjoyed, even though we had seen these episodes before. Love gained, love lost, wedding bliss, wedding cancelled, attempted elopement, a funeral, an arrest. Yes, Downton Abbey has it all, and it is all good.

The sad news is that there is only one episode left (the Christmas episode) and North America will soon join the UK in the count down to September for the anticipated launch of Season 3. To keep my spirits up I am still spending some time playing a little game of matching Downton Abbey couples with my Valentine’s Day favorite sweets.

Lady Sybil and Tom Branson: The idealistic romantics

Lord Grantham is now regretting the day he hired Tom Branson, a “revolutionary chaffeur”way back in Season 1. He discovers that his daughter plans to toss aside her life of privilege for the love of an idealistic and live the life of commoners. After much posturing, he finally concedes that she is leaving for love with or without his blessing, while the Dowager Countess processes how to best spin this news to those who matter.

Sybil and Branson finally kiss

This was a long simmering romance. Tom Branson patiently waited 14 episodes for Lady Sybil to decide that he was “her ticket to travel”. She gives him permission to kiss her, but “that is all until everything is settled”. A great example for young viewers to follow: think before you act. If he loves you, he will wait for you. While this is very much an idealistic pairing of young love from two different worlds, it is not improbable. I recall the love story of a similarly matched couple from my childhood: beautiful privileged British maiden meets handsome school teacher and they run away to Canada to raise 9 children. I remember that it was “literally” a house full of love.

Young love like a brownie

For some reason I seem to be stuck on choosing brownies for this couple. I was trying to think of a dessert that evokes innocence, youth; this tasty treat is a mash up of two separate existing sweets. I got thinking about brownies since they are a cross between cake and cookie, triggered by a post from Foodimentary that Friday was National Have a Brownie Day. Foodimentary (http://foodimentary.com) is a great blog which celebrates food with a featured food, history and fun facts. All in a convenient take away container.

Brownies, like young love, come in a variety of forms. They are either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density, and they may include nuts, frosting, whipped cream, chocolate chips, or other ingredients. All goodness.

History of the Brownie

Brownies are period appropriate, but like many dishes, it appears to have evolved, and not necessarily invented. Some believe that brownies are an Americanization of Scottish cocoa scones, a scottish relative of the Orkney Broonie (which has oats). Foodimentary mentions a connection with the Palmer House Hotel during the 1893 Columbian Exposition (The largest World’s Fair of it’s time). Food historians look for printed recipes to determine a time line, and verification. American Fannie Farmer published the first known brownie recipe in 1896. In any case it has long been a particularly popular treat in North America, so look for Cora’s mother to be asking Mrs. Patmore to make them in Season 3.

I enjoy the sweets, but always look to find a way to make healthier versions. Here are a couple of options. This also allows you to do “girl math”: eat twice as much since they have less calories. So bake a batch for your Valentine, your kids, your foodie friends as a Downton Abbey viewing party treat.

Ultimate Guilt Free Fudge Brownies

all the taste, none of the guilt

Ingredients*

• olive oil cooking spray
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup semi-sweet/carob chocolate chips (optional)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4
2. Spray an 8-inch square pan with olive oil. Set aside.
3. Place the honey in a large glass measuring cup. Microwave on high power until the honey is runny and just bubbling, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the cocoa and stir with a fork until well combined. Let cool to room temperature (15 minutes).
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
5. In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until well blended. Add the honey-cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. For some texture you can add some mini chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake until the surface looks dry around the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes. Do not overbake.
7. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing into 16 squares.
8. Freezes great or store in airtight container. They won’t dry out!
9. Makes 16 (2-inch) brownies

Yummy and Healthy Black Bean Brownies

A great way to enjoy your veggies

Here is another healthy version of a brownie, using black beans to replace flour. Great for the gluten free crowd and to sneak veggies into your kid’s diet. My foodie friend Barb, who blogs at Profiteroles & Ponytails just posted this recipe, and I have adapted her adapted version.

Ingredients*

• 1 15.5 ounce can (2 cups) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp instant coffee (optional)
• ½ cup semi-sweet/carob chocolate chips (optional)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Lightly grease an 8” x 8” square baking dish.
3. Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a blender and blend until smooth.
4. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.
5. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top of dish.
6. Bake in preheated oven until top is dry and edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.
7. Makes 16 (2-inch) brownies

*Refer to the “handy conversion chart” above to give you measurement conversions for your part of the world.

Anna and Mr. Bates

Valentine’s Day is a few days away, and many busy couples will be celebrating this weekend. Lord D in fact took me for shopping (for cooking gadgets) and brunch today as a warm up to the celebrate the big day. A sea of red in stores, retailers are tugging at our heart strings with a variety of offerings to celebrate the day. They certainly start us off young. I remember school days when we all fashioned mail boxes to collect simple Valentine’s Day cards from our class mates. My mom, a former school teacher, would also prepare lovely heart-shaped sugar cookies for me to bring to school. In those days no one was excluded, everyone received a card from every classmate, everyone got a cookie. It would appear today that no one is excluded from Valentine’s Day either. If you aren’t in a relationship, gather with your friends and celebrate. Bitter? Gather in groups for Anti-Valentine’s Day parties. Yes, retailers and party planners are getting more creative in generating new business.

Anna &Mr. Bates: the truffles they’ve seen

It is easy to become jaded with all pretty hearts, flowers and candy. Valentine’s Day parades love like it is a pretty package tied with a perfect bow. But love comes in all shapes and sizes. The great writing of Downton Abbey provides us with complex love relationships which evolve and survive in the most dire conditions. While Mary and Matthew’s “on again off again” relationship is compelling, it really is pretty standard fare. I suppose that the rich deserve some happiness, but I happen to be more intrigued with the story of a couple who will perservere in spite of the odds, who find happiness in dire circumstances, who draw strength from each other to beat the evil around them. John Bates has a troubled past, but Anna stands by her man, no matter what the circumstances, and viewers respond to that. The rankings on the Masterpiece Class “rate your favorites chart” has Anna and John consistently leading the pack as top beloved Downton Abbey characters right up there with the Dowager Countess. Quality televsion.

couples that pray together, stay together

Season 2, episode 5 features a touching church scene (sorry, not their wedding) where Anna and John Bates come to pray for the healing for Matthew and William who were wounded in battle. Like other Christians my husband and I believe that “those who pray together, stay together,” so we feel confident that these two will be able to weather the storm.

Love as pure as that which is shared between Anna and John deserves a sweet confection which is equally as simple and rich in character. Truffles are a perfect choice. Besides everyone loves chocolate at this time of year.

The Purity of the Chocolate Truffle

a plate full of my own truffles

The chocolate truffle was first created by Antoine Dufour in Chambéry, France in December 1895. They reached a wider public with the establishment of the Prestat chocolate shop in London by Antoine Dufour in 1902, which still sells ‘Napoleon III’ truffles, a truffle dusted in cocoa.

Truffles are a simple mixture of cream and chocolate, called a ganache. If you can roll a meatball you can make a truffle. Like finding true love the key is to seek quality ingredients. Save the chocolate chips for cookies, you are looking for chocolate with the highest percentage of cocoa you can find. My preference has always been Swiss Lindt chocolate, and I am blessed to have a factory outlet close by where I can buy a huge bag at a great price. But many stores now sell high end chocolate bars which you can use as a substitute. The higher the percentage of cocoa butter (solids), the better (35%+ for milk chocolate, 70%+ for dark).

I took a chocolate course years ago and began a yearly tradition of making truffles to give as holiday gifts for colleagues, friends and family. I even made the truffles for our wedding and more recently my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. When I make truffles it is like bundling a little package of joy and happiness to give to others. So spread a little love this Valentine’s Day or Downton Abbey viewing party.

Simple Milk Chocolate Truffle

lovely sweet indulgences

• 125 g/4 oz. 35% cream
• 300 g/10 oz. pure milk chocolate, broken/chopped into small pieces.
• 22 g/2 tbsp. kirsch or other liqueur
• icing sugar which makes the chocolate easier to work with
• good quality cocoa powder, i.e. Dutch

Make the ganache

1. Heat the cream in a double boiler (or metal bowl on top of a pot with water) to boiling, and remove from the stove
2. Add the chopped chocolate and liqueur and mix well. Let set up over night in the fridge. I let the chocolate cool to room temperature and transfer into a thick “Ziploc” bag to take up less room and less waste when you work with it again

Roll out the truffles

1. When the chocolate has set, dust a cool clean surface and your hands with icing sugar, and roll the chocolate into a long log, an inch thick.
2. Using a knife, cut the log into 1 -1.5 inch sections. This helps keep your truffles all the same size.
3. Pick up each little nugget and roll between your hands into a ball shape. Use icing sugar to keep your hands from melting the chocolate.
4. Place each ball on a lined baking sheet to prevent the chocolate from sticking, or go right to the next step

Finishing the truffle

1. To finish these truffles, drop the balls into a shallow bowl of cocoa powder and roll to cover.
2. Use a fork to shake off the excess powder.
3. Plate and serve.

Like love, these can be a little messy, but well worth it.