Aristocratic English Fare Made Easy

Fried Cucumber Sandwiches

Preparation time: 10 to 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 to 30 minutes
Serves: 1

Ingredients:
1 cucumber
a little flour
salt and pepper
vegetable oil for frying
a little milk
1 egg
2 tomatoes, sliced
mayonnaise
sandwich rolls

Directions:
1. Peel and slice the cucumber into long diagonal slices about 1cm thick. Soak in salted water for 15 minutes.
2. While cucumbers are soaking, make a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Break one egg into a bowl and add milk to mix.
3. Drain cucumbers and pat onto paper towels to dry.
4. Dip cucumber slices into egg mixture and then into flour mixture. Heat oil in a skillet. Fry cucumber slices until golden brown on medium heat. Drain on paper towel.
5. To assemble the sandwich, spread mayonnaise in a sandwich roll and add the fried cucumber slices. Top with tomato slices. (Onion slices, lettuce and bacon can also be added if you like).

Coming-of-Age Comfort Food

Old-Fashioned Mac & Cheese

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 - 40 minutes
Serves: 2 - 4

Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce) package of macaroni
1 egg
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup Velveeta
a little Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.
2. In a large pot of salted water, lightly boil the macaroni for about 5 minutes until half-cooked.
3. Whisk the egg and milk together in a large cup. Add butter, cheese, and Velveeta to the egg and milk. Stir well.
4. Place the lightly cooked macaroni in the prepared baking dish. Pour the egg and cheese liquid over the macaroni, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add Dijon mustard to taste, and stir well. Press the mixture evenly around the baking dish.
5. Bake uncovered, for 30 - 40 minutes, or until top is brown.

A Fluffy French Confection

Le Pet de Nonne de Chamonix (Translation: "The Puff of A Nun," ooh, la la!)

Preparation: 45 Minutes
Waiting Time: 2 Hours
Cooking Time:10 minutes

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons sweet butter
4 maybe 5 eggs
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
vegetable oil or other deep frying oil
confection sugar for garnish
1 teaspoon dark rum
1 teaspoon orange flower water
Note: You will need a deep pan or deep fryer to make this recipe!

Directions:
1. Put into a quart-size sauce pan 1 cup cold water and boil.
2. As it is heating to boil, add the 6 tablespoons of butter one at a time plus the sugar and salt. Stir so all gets melted and blended.
3. In a separate bowl break the eggs and set aside.
4. When water mixture in the sauce pan is boiling shut off heat and add all the flour at once.
5. Work it all together so you have a thick paste.
6. Now add the orange water, rum, lemon and vanilla and incorporate it.
7. Put the pan with the flour mixture back onto medium heat and stir continuously over the heat while scraping the bottom and sides of the pan so the mixture does not stick to it or burn. Continue so until the mixture sets up into a ball and no longer wants to stick onto the sides. This usually takes about 3 minutes.
8. Now, remove pan with pastry ball in it from the heat and work in all the eggs one at a time. Each egg should be thoroughly blended before the next is added.
Note: The final dough should be soft and flexible but not at all runny. It should appear satiny and shiny. A trick for this is to add 3 of the eggs first one at a time, then add egg by tablespoons until the right consistency is reached. Also, do not over mix the pastry. If it seems the dough is "shrinking" while you are working it stop immediately because that is usually a sign the dough has been worked enough.
9. Now, place the ball of dough in a bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for about 2 hours.

How To Deep Fry the Pastry Puffs:
1. Heat your frying oil to about 370 degrees.
2. Take a tablespoon size of pastry dough and shape into a ball, then drop gently into the hot oil. As it browns on one side turn it so it cooks evenly.
3. When it blows up and gets a little crackly on the outside remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and let it drain for a moment.
4. Continue with the rest of the pastry and do as many balls at one time as you can comfortably.
5. When they are all removed from the hot oil and drained sprinkle them with the confection sugar and serve.
Note: They should be served while hot so don't cook them too far in advance.....

Ingredients:
1 fluid ounce vodka
1 fluid ounce dark rum
1 fluid ounce peach schnapps
1 fluid ounce orange juice
1 fluid ounce cranberry juice

Directions:
1. In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, rum, peach schnapps, orange juice, and cranberry juice.
2. Pour over ice in a tall glass and top off with a slice of orange and a cherry. Enjoy!