Jubilee Countdown

 Jubilee Dress Rehearsal

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend

 is now just days away 

so I'm in dress rehearsal mode 

trying out a few new recipes for my 

Jubilee tea party.

 Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes

My Jubilee tea party menu is very traditional 

and includes both sweets and savory.

I think these Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes

are sure to be the "star" of the celebration!

 The Ingredients

It's always good advice to buy the best ingredients you can.

With this recipe, 

you really want to splurge and buy the best strawberry jam 

available. 

I went with Wilkin & Sons Ltd. 

Tiptree Strawberry Preserve from England.

They hold a royal warrant...

so if it's good enough for the Queen

it's good enough for me!

 Oops!

The mini cakes are made in a British mini-sandwich tin.

Here in the States, 

you can use a mini-cheesecake pan for the same results. 

Don't worry if your cakes bake too high 

and you end up with muffin tops.

Just take a serrated knife and cut the tops off and then you'll have 

the perfect shape and size.

Mini Sponges

You'll end up with perfect little sponge cakes
(like these)

thanks to their baking pan's design with straight sides. 

Mini Victoria Sandwiches

After the cakes have cooled on a rack, 

you cut each cake in half 

and layer on buttercream 

and then a teaspoon of strawberry jam.

Fit for a Queen!

The last step is to lightly dust the cakes with icing sugar 

and they're ready for your tea table!

And yes,

this recipe truly is

"fit for a Queen"!


(In the photos:  Emma Bridgewater Diamond Jubilee & Union Jack Pottery and Betty and Barclay Union Jack Bunting.)

Marmelo Glaze

 Marmelo Jam

When life gives you lemons...

you make lemonade.

When life gives you thick marmelo jam...

you make marmelo glaze.

Batch #1 of my marmelo (quince) jam

was, too, thick from cooking it too long.

So I turned it into a delicious Marmelo Glaze!

Enjoy my recipe!

Marmelo Glaze

Marmelo Glaze

1 Cup Quince Jam

4 T. dry sherry

1 T. Dijon mustard

2 t. fresh chopped rosemary

2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine ingredients in a sauce pan

and heat over medium heat.

Continue stirring to blend the the ingredients

and to thin the jam mixture. 

Brush and baste over your favorite meat

while cooking or grilling.

Bon Appetit!

Orchard Quince Jam

 Petite Dejeuner

This fall,

 we've been enjoying the fruits of my labor...

thanks to my new French jam book

Mes Confitures
by Christine Ferber.

 Marmelo

Christine says it best

in her jam book's introduction...

"With time and practice, you will refine your own technique."

She says, "Remind yourself that no two jams are ever the same. 

From one year to another,

one batch to another, a little thinner, a little thicker, each is different."

So recently, I made my first batch of her

Andree's Orchard Jam and it turned out quite thick,

probably from over cooking. 

It seemed more like marmalade than jam to me.

Well, no wonder...

I did a little research and it turns out the term "marmalade"

originally meant quince jam

and derives from the Portuguese word "marmelo"

which means quince.

No worries,

I turned my very thick marmelo

into a delicious glaze for pork tenderloin. 

Orchard Quince Jam

Batch # 2 of my Andree's Orchard Quince Jam

turned out perfect!

Since I had to cook Batch # 1 so long to soften up the quince,

I decided for Batch # 2 to pre-cook my quince for two hours

before I turned it into jam.

Pre-cooking the quince, produced wonderful results

and a very spreadable jam.

It's delicious for a "petite dejeuner"

on a croissant!

 More Quince

My husband and I love my quince jam.

Quince jam is sweet and fruity and

reminds us a bit like applesauce.

The recipe yielded a small batch

so I set out to find more quince
for fall canning.

This time I found larger quince

grown locally at another foothill farm

and decided to experiment with a few other quince recipes.

 Quince Preserves

I canned quince slices and

used Martha Stewart's recipe for

Spicy Quince Preserves

in her book

The Martha Stewart Cookbook.

We haven't tried them yet.

I'm planning to use them with

a pork tenderloin or pork roast.

Paradise Chutney

My last quince project was chutney.

When I read the recipe for Paradise Chutney

in Nigella Lawson's book

How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I knew I had to make it.

Nigella was inspired by an old recipe using

apples, quince and cranberries.

She turned the old jelly recipe into a chutney for the modern kitchen.

I love the recipe but do find it a bit tart.

The next time I make it,

I am going to use less vinegar.

The Paradise Chutney is a great accompaniment on
turkey sandwiches and
I can't wait to use it with Christmas leftovers!

So now, you have an idea where I have been the last month or so.

I've been busy in my kitchen and ,of course,

 busy knitting,too.

I still have a few pounds of quince left...

so I'm off to make more jam.

This time I am going to make Christine's

Quince Jam with Christmas Flavors! 

Quince

Quince

My latest obsession has been the

quince. 

You haven't seen me for awhile

because I've been busy in my kitchen.

Otow Orchard

My Dad suggested a trip to visit a local farm Otow Orchard

and so began my obsession with the quince.

Before our visit to Otow Orchard I started researching the quince. 

I found out that quince is an old fashioned fruit related to the apple and pear. 

It used to be a popular tree found in many backyards and farms. 

Quince is not edible raw. 

It is hard and very sour. 

It is mainly used in jams, jellies and puddings.

Quince also have a fuzz on them

that you rub off with a towel to remove

 before you peel them for cooking.

Farm Fresh

My parents and I had a wonderful visit at Otow Orchard.

Owner Tosh Kuratomi gave us a tour of the orchard

and showed us what quince trees look like. 

He told us that it hadn't been a good year for quince

and they had a very low yield.

I purchased the few pounds of organic quince they had left

so I could experiment making quince jam. 

Let's Make Jam

Making jam and canning remind me of my Grandma Margaret.

My Grandma Margaret did a lot of canning

on the 100 acre family farm in Pennsylvania. 

My Dad says,

"The cellar was always full".

I am lucky to have my Grandma's blue farm bowl

and her Hardware store cookbook from the 1930's. 

I'm thinking there may have been quince trees on the farm

because there are sure a lot of splatters

on the page for apple or quince jelly in her cookbook!

 Andree's Orchard Quince Jam

It's been over 10 years since I've made jam

but I still had all the necessary supplies for canning.

I did update my supplies though and splurged

 on a French copper confiture (jam) pan

that the "jam queens"
 Christine Ferber from France

and

Rachel Saunders from The Blue Chair Fruit Co.
of California use.

For my first attempts at quince jam,

 I followed Christine's recipe in Mes Confitures for

Andree's Orchard Quince Jam. 

So...

I've been busy the last month or so

in my kitchen

 practicing making quince jam and other quince goodies.

I'll be sharing the results in my next post.

One thing is for sure...

quince is a delicious fall fruit with a sweet floral and fruity taste.

I'm hooked on this old fashioned fall fruit!

Mes Confitures

  Christine's Confitures

She's French.

She's the daughter of fourth-generation bakers and pastry makers

and she knows a thing or two about jams and jellies.

She is...

jam maker extraordinaire Christine Ferber

and her book Mes Confitures
has inspired me to make jam at home again.

 La Grande Epicerie Paris

On my visit to Paris in May,

 I was on the look out for Christine's jams and jellies.

If you're a foodie...

there is nothing like stepping into

La Grande Epicerie Paris.

I am like a kid in a candy store every time I visit and

Christine's jams in their pretty red packaging were easy to spot.

I wanted to bring home some of Christine's jams but didn't chance it

due to the TSA 3oz guideline for carry on liquids.

 More Jam, S'il Vous Plaît

The next time I go to Paris though,

I am going to buy Christine's jams when I first arrive and savor them

on croissants from Boulangerie Malineau.

In the meantime,

I am inspired by her book and her unique flavor combinations. 

 Her book is divided by the seasons.  I like that.

Since it's fall, I'm experimenting with her recipe called

Andree`s Orchard Quince Jam.

Instructions are a bit brief in the book, so I do recommend

reading up on jam making, if you need to. 

Christine even advises in the book,

"With time and practice, you will refine your own technique."

 Orange Sanguines

Christine also says,

"A batch of jam is always an act of creation!"

I can't wait to create more of her recipes like:

Orange with Earl Grey Tea,

Pear with Pinot Noir and Cinnamon

and

Vineyard Peach and Pear with Grand Marnier.

Dehillerin

18-20 rue Coquilliere, Paris

And of course,

if you buy her book,

you'll probably want to buy "the pan"...

a French copper confiture pan

like Christine always uses.

I did.