Apple and white cheddar scones

I love scones with clotted cream. With whipped butter. At afternoon tea in London. Heck, I even like the scones at my workplace cafeteria, but these scones took the cake.

For years I stuck to the same scone recipe I learned at Dish Cooking Studio,  one that included dried fruit and was served with mango whipped butter. And indeed it's a great recipe but this one is much more my style. I'm not a fan of chunks of fruit or raisins in my baked goods but the baked apple in this recipe would be missed if you were to leave it out.

Santa Hat Party Mix

I like alliteration. I like sequins. I like punny jokes. I like Palm Beach fashion. I like a bit of camp. Isn't it obvious? I like a good gimmick. So by the time Christmas rolls around, I've already been bookmarking festive recipes for months. This one jumped right out at me on Pinterest because I'd never seen anything like it and the Santa hats were so festive, so fantastic, so fun! Flavour had absolutely nothing to do with it.

David Lebovitz' Best Sweet and Spicy Party Mix Ever

This party mix saved my life this holiday season.
Whether my husband forgot to tell me people were coming over, whether I needed a last minute hostess gift, whether I forgot to eat a meal and needed a quick snack, this sweet and spicy pretzel and nut mix was there to save the day.

Really, though, you'll want to save this all for yourself to nibble on over a chilled glass of wine as your coq au vin simmers away. (That's the scenario in my dreams, anyway.)

It was so quick to whip up, so delicious, that I have already made nearly two-and-a-half pounds of it in total.

Barefoot Contessa's brioche loaves

I made this recipe out of laziness. I couldn't find any brioche or challah to buy for one of Dorie Greenspan's tartine recipes in either of my local grocery stores and I didn't feel like driving to my favourite French bakery to buy any. So, I made some myself.

Once again, Ina Garten’s "Barefoot in Paris" book came through with a fail-proof recipe. It sounds like a lot of trouble to make, but it's nearly effortless. If you're not familiar with brioche, it is a French bread verging on a sweet with a high egg and butter content that translates into a tender crumb and a dark, golden, flaky crust.

It's ideal to use when making French toast, bread pudding, or even to toast and spread with a thin layer of butter. I used to wonder what all the fuss was about when my mother would fall into raptures over brioche.

Even my son opened his mouth wide, proclaiming "mahm!" when I took too long between morsels of brioche. But I always preferred the more populist croissant. After making my own brioche, however, I'm not sure I can ever go back to eating any old sliced bread. This may become a weekly tradition in our household.

Giada's pea pesto crostini

It's my unspoken mandate to write mainly about baking and pastries, although I do veer off track now and again, and this is one of those times because I just can't resist.

While planning for a barbecue at our house this summer, I decided to add something new to the tried-and-true mix of hummus and kebab that appear at every gathering.

I made hummus, yes, but I also made Giada's pea pesto crostini. I had all the ingredients on hand and I was able to whip it up in a jiffy even though I also had to make several other dishes for our lunch.

Spinach-feta turnovers

If you've eaten these at Greek bakeries, you know them as spanakopita. In Armenian, we call them beoregs, in Bulgarian banitza.
Needless to say I have had several variations on the theme and some of the best spinach pies I've eaten have been my mom's or those still piping hot from vendors in Bulgaria, where the local sirene (known as feta to the rest of the world) is to die for.
Most of the Armenian moms and grandmoms you'll speak to have their own recipe and will defend it to the death.
So when I saw a recipe for these ones in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, I was hesitant. How could Martha Stewart improve on a recipe honed and perfected by centuries of women?
She did it again. The end result was amazing. My husband told me they are the best he's ever eaten, and his mom is a fabulous cook.

Adapted ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 boxes (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (the recipe calls for four, but I used two and still had a lot of leftover filling)
2 cups crumbled feta
2 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and ground pepper
1 large egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons of water for egg wash
All-purpose flour for work surface
1 box of frozen puff pastry (17.3 ounces), thawed but still cold

Adapted directions:
Heat oil over medium, add onions and garlic. Stir occasionally until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer to a large bowl and add the spinach, feta, lemon juice and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper - don't forget to taste - and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in upper and lower thirds. Roll out each portion of dough, still folded in thirds, on a lightly floured work surface, into a 12-inch square. Some puff pastries are already rolled out into this square. Cut each into quarters to form total of 8 equal squares.

Dividing the filling evenly, spoon it into the centre of each square. Brush the two adjoining edges of each square with some egg wash. Fold edges over filling to form a triangle. Press firmly to seal and then using a floured fork, crimp the edges.

Transfer them to two baking sheets, brush the tops with the egg wash and bake until golden and puffy. The recipe says 35-40 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. However, when I have made a smaller batch, it has taken me as little as 20 minutes. Best to keep an eye on the oven.

To freeze the unbaked turnovers, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the turnovers on top and put them in the freezer until frozen. Once they are hard, wrap them individually in plastic wrap or store them in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for up to two months.

Substitutions:
I played around with the seasonings as per my taste, adding more cayenne and black pepper than most people may prefer.

Would I make this again?
I plan to as soon as this weekend to freeze them for when the baby arrives and the last thing I want to do is make food. The first couple of times I made these I made extra and froze them, and they were just as tasty as when baked fresh.

Grade:
Five stars out of five. These buttery spinach-feta turnovers have just the right tang and bite with the lemon juice and cayenne pepper. And after decades of eating beoregs and spanakopita, I know my spinach pies and these are divine.

Acorn-shaped mini cornbread puddings

I've been aching to try out my new acorn cakelet pan ever since buying it at half price from Williams-Sonoma during boxing week.
In my first attempt, I made these mini cornbread puddings to accompany the curried zucchini soup I like to make when the mercury drops.
This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.
They're called mini cornbread puddings because they are more moist than your typical cornbread.

Ingredients: (Makes 24)
Butter, room temperature, for pan
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed and patted dry

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, place rack in upper third. Butter mini muffin pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, whisk together egg, sour cream, and corn. Mix with flour mixture just until incorporated.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan (or acorn cakelet pan if you have one). Bake until tops have browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes in pan. Serve, or cool completely and store at room temperature in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

My substitutions:
I'll admit my sour cream ran out, I only used 1 cup rather than 1.5 cups. I also opted to leave out the corn kernels because I was going for a more traditional cornbread and you know what? They texture was just perfect.

Will I make this again?
Definitely. Often I am looking for a little something to serve alongside soup or when I have guests, and this is a pretty addition to your table. It also freezes and stores well.

Grade:
Five stars out of five. This whole process took me mere minutes.

Ham, spinach, and Gruyere croissant ring

After my recent interview with Tana Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay's wife, I told her I'd be trying the ham, spinach and Gruyere croissant ring from her new cookbook "Home Made." She leaned in, as if she'd be letting me in on a family secret and said, sincerely, "It's delicious."
And she was right. When I pulled the croissant ring out of the oven, after serving leek and potato soup, along with an arugula, cherry tomato salad with raspberry vinaigrette, pecans and Stilton cheese, my husband's eyes widened. It looked like I'd slaved all night. Truth was, while it looks impressive, all it takes is chopping up a bunch of ingredients and laying the filling atop the croissant dough, folding the dough, then baking it. In this case, the ingredients include two packs of croissant dough; blanched spinach; 10 slices of honey-roasted ham, cut into strips; 10 halved cherry tomatoes; 5 chopped spring onions; 10 small button mushrooms, sliced into quarters; 50g of arugula; 5 tbsp mascarpone cheese; 50g Gruyere cheese, finely grated; black pepper. The result is a crusty golden croissant ring, cherry-red tomato halves and oozing sweet mascarpone cheese peeking out of the crevices. While I'm not usually a fan of Gruyere cheese, or any Swiss cheese for that matter, it gave the croissant ring a subtle smoky flavour rather than masking it.

My substitutions:
I didn't make any, everything was easy to find. Please note, however, that British packs of croissant dough may contain more or less dough than the Pillsbury ones we find in Canada do. I ended up with just enough leftover dough to make an extra croissant and even more leftover filling. I think you can safely cut the recipe for the filling by a third and still have enough.

Would I make this again?
Probably next week. It was that good. It also passed the leftover test although the dough wasn't quite as crusty and crispy after being microwaved as when I first took it out of the oven.
Next time, however, I may try different ingredients for the filling - maybe feta, roasted red peppers, olives and spinach; or even chorizo sausage, tomato, kale. Really, once you have the technique down, the possibilities are limitless. And it's also a sneaky way to include leafy green vegetables.

Grade: Five stars out of five. This may sound like fawning but even after I ate this for lunch the next day, I was wishing I had packed more.

On a side note, this cookbook is fabulous. It's not Tana Ramsay's first cookbook for time-pressed families, nor will it be the last, I'm sure. Her tone is casual and relatable as she details easy-to-follow recipes, includes tips on freezing recipes, and recounts family anecdotes.

As the mother of four, she understands how home cooks must adapt to challenges as they arise. And also as the wife of one of the most famous chefs in the world, one who made a career out of perfection and fresh food, it warms the very cockles of my heart that this idealism is alive and well in his own household.

Other recipes I'd like to try include: Grilled cod with home-made red pesto; spring greens with nutmeg butter; and banana tarte tatin. I'll keep you posted if I do.