Maple & Ham Scones

If you ever make ham for your family, I'm sure you are well aware that you always have leftovers. And while leftovers are fun in their original form the next day or so, they quickly become monotonous and may even go to waste. Not with this recipe though!! Ohhhh are these ever good. I was inspired by the maple scalloped potatoes I made for easter and thought if they went well with ham, so would maple syrup, in scones! Oh yah, I did that!

I LOVE Anna Olson's scone recipes! They always turn out so light and delicious. So I flipped to my favorite recipe of hers for Apple Cheddar Walnut Scones and heavily adapted it to serve my purpose. Here's my rendition of the recipe made with Ham & Maple.

Ham & Maple Scones
Recipe adapted from Anna Olson's Back to Baking

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup, plus extra for brushing
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 5-6 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
• 1/3 cup finely grated asiago cheese
• 9 oz leftover ham
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Pulse the flour and baking powder together in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly, but pieces of butter are still visible. Remove from the food processor into a medium bowl and stir in the cheese and 1/2 of the ham until coated. Add the heavy cream and the maple syrup and stir until dough starts to come together. Turn out on work surface. Knead lightly until dough comes together fully, being careful not to overwork. Lightly pat dough out into 1/2 inch thick square. Sprinkle with remaining ham pieces and press lightly into the dough. Fold the dough in half, pressing the ham in at the same time. Repeat process until you've worked in about 4 folds.
3. Shape dough into a square, about 8 inches by 8 inches. Cut the dough into 16 pieces and place on prepared baking tray.
4. Stir together about 2 tbsp heavy cream and 2 tbsp maple syrup. Brush tops of scones with mixture and bake in preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes, or until they are a rich golden brown.

I baked these for hubby to take to his guys weekend last week and they were a hit!! I have been asked to kindly make these again next time I make a ham. Hope you enjoy these - they're a little different than your usual scone combination, but they work. :)

Happy Baking my Friends!

Bacon & Maple Scalloped Potatoes

Alright, to get things started today - please defer to my last post for my excuses for the horrible photo quality and lack of photos in this post. I wouldn't be sharing this with you except that it tasted so good that I just can't resist.

I made these Bacon & Maple Scalloped Potatoes for our Easter dinner and they were soooo unbelievably delicious. I normally don't like Kraft recipes because of the overabundance of processed food they promote, but this recipe wasn't too bad and with a few minor swaps I found myself a dish that I will make over and over again.

Bacon & Maple Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe minimally adapted from Kraft Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 oz low fat cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• 7 slices lazy maple bacon
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Method:

1. Heat oven to 400F. Cook bacon until crisp in a frying pan over medium heat. Set aside on some paper towel to drain. Remove all but 2 tbsp of the bacon drippings from the pan. Return the pan to medium heat and add the onions. Sautee five minutes until very tender, stir frequently. Remove the onions from the skillet and set aside.
2. Add the cream cheese, broth and milk to the skillet and heat until the cream cheese has melted nicely into the sauce. Stir with a whisk until sauce is smooth and creamy. Remove from heat and crumble the bacon into the sauce and add the maple syrup. Stir well.
3. Place half the potatoes in a 9x13" baking dish in an even layer. Cover with a layer of onions and sprinkle with cheddar. Top with a layer of potatoes and repeat layers of onions and cheddar. Finally end with a last layer of potatoes. Pour bacon-maple sauce over potatoe layers. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, removing the foil after 50 minutes in the oven. Potatoes are done when top is golden brown and potatoes are tender.

We really, really enjoyed this one! My hubby doesn't normally eat leftovers, but he eagerly gobbled these potatoes up in the few days following Easter. :) I love the new twist on what is usually such a tried and true classic dish.

This post has been linked up with the Recipe Party over at the Sweet Spot. Stop by and check out what other bloggers have whipped up this week.
Happy Cooking my Friends!

The Daring Bakers Challenge - April 2011 - Maple Mousse in Bacon & Chocolate Bowls

Well, another month has passed by and its already time for another Daring Bakers' post. This month we weren't up to anything technically difficult, but it was definitely a crazy combination that not many of us had ever attempted (in a dessert any way). Funny how maple syrup with pancakes and bacon is a perfectly acceptable breakfast food (at least in Canada) yet the thought of pairing bacon with maple flavoured mousse seems weird! I will admit that the bacon bowls weren't my favorite and given the chance to make this dessert again I would likely opt for a different edible vessle, but I would definitely incorporate the bacon somehow. The rich saltiness of the bacon really offset the sweetness of the maple mousse.


The April 2011 challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded for the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at the Daring Kitchen.

This month's challenge was really interesting and really showed how creative the Daring Bakers' can be!


I'm not going to share the bacon bowl technique with you because I wasn't overly impressed with the results, but the maple mousse was so decadent that I must share that recipe. It is super easy so I hope if you're a maple lover that you will give it a try. Be sure to use a high quality maple syrup in this recipe (not maple-flavoured syrup) or you won't have the same results. One other tip I have for you: the maple mousse is very sweet so serve it in small portions (think shot glass size) with something a little salty on top. The salty will counter the sweet to balance out the flavours so perfectly.

Maple Mousse

Recipe provided by Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pure maple syrup


• 4 large egg yolks


• 1 pkg unflavoured gelatin


• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Method:

1. Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat.


2. In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks and pour a little of the maple syrup in while whisking to temper your egg yolks.


3. Add warmed egg yolks to the maple syrup and mix well.


4. Measure 1/4 cup of the whipping cream into a bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Place bowl in the microwave and microwave for 45 seconds (taking out and stirring every 10 seconds). Whisk the gelatin mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside.


5. Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white.


6. Whip the remaining cream. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream and refrigerate for at least one hour.


7. Remove from fridge and divide equally among any edible (or non edible) containers of your choice.

I can't believe thats another Daring Bakers challenge all finished! Thank you Evelyne for the very interesting and inspiring challenge! I can't wait to see what next month has in store. :)

Maple Pecan Shortbread

So I know shortbread cookies are associated with the holiday season, but really, you can make shortbread any time of the year. I would encourage you not to make it all the time since it is quite high in fat and calories, but as a treat once in a while it should be just fine. This shortbread is extra special with the addition of maple syrup, toasted pecans and a little bit of orange zest. The cookies have a bit of an exotic edge to them while still maintaining the traditional shortbread texture and richness. Be sure to cut these cookies small - they're rich and you won't need more than a couple of bites to be satisfied.

These cookies are quick to whip up and they taste great - they're a real treat. Bring them to work and share them with your co-workers. They'll be really pleased - and if you cut them small, they won't be worried about not sticking to their healthy eating new years resolution!


Maple Pecan Shortbread
Recipe from Holiday Cookies (www.cuisineathomespecials.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• minced zest of 1/2 an orange
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp maple extract
• 1/4 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
• icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Whisk flour, cornstarch and salt together in a bowl. Set aside. Cream butter, brown sugar, and zest together in a bowl with a mixer until blended. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in syrup and extract; beat until incorporated.
2. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 2 or three additions, beating at low speed just until combined. Fold in the nuts.
3. Pat dough into an 8" square about 3/4" thick on the prepared baking sheet. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until richly brown around edges and golden in the center. Sprinkle a thick layer of icing sugar over the shortbread
4. While hot, trim edges, then cut into 1" squares and let cool on the pan to room temperature. To serve, transfer shortbread to platter.

*Note: These cookies can be frozen for up to one month.

*Note: as you pat the dough onto the baking sheet, periodically dip your fingertips in a bowl of water. This will help keep them from sticking to the dough.

Give this recipe a try! You will love how quick it is to whip up and how deliciously unique this shortbread is.

Happy Baking my Friends!

Pork Tenderloin with Maple Onion Cream

Looking for an easy yet impressive recipe for your next dinner party? Look no further! This recipe is always a hit. Its very rich, so definitely not something to eat all the time - break it out for special occasions! This pork tenderloin recipe is from one of my cookbooks by Anna Olson - In the Kitchen with Anna. Anna has a note regarding the technique for this recipe which I thought I would share with you:

"Dry rubs are a great way to add flavor to many cuts of meat at the last
minute. The spices toast and cook right into the meat, regardless of whether it
is prepared in a pan, on the grill or in the oven."

This recipe definitely imparts a lot of flavour with simple ingredients. Another key to successfully executing this recipe is making sure you are patient enough to carmelize your onions. Don't underestimate the time required for carmelizing onions because this develops the flavour base for your sauce and you don't want a harsh onion taste in the sauce - it needs to be the delicate, slightly sweet flavour of lightly carmelized onions. Do cook the onions for the full 20 minutes as stated in the recipe - its just the right amount of sweet.

Pork Tenderloin with Maple Onion Cream

Recipe from In the Kitchen with Anna by Anna Olson, p. 113

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp whole caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp fine salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/4 tsp pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 pork tenderloins, about 1 lb each
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 cups sliced onion
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 cup whipping cream

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. In a small bowl stir the thyme, caraway seeds, salt, pepper and 1 tbsp olive oil to combine. Rub the spice mix all over the pork tenderloins. Place pork in an ungreased shallow baking dish and roast uncovered until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F (medium well). Remove pork from baking dish to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
2. While pork is roasting, prepare the sauce. Heat butter and remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until lightly carmelized, about 20 minutes. Add the wine and maple syrup and simmer until reduced by half - it will turn into a glaze. Add the cream and return to a simmer and season to taste.
3. To serve, slice the pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch slices and spoon sauce over top. Enjoy!