The Impatient Chef's Veddy Veddy British Cream Tea, Part 2: The Quest for Scones.

In our last episode, we were on the Quest for Fortmason Tea.  
The next Item on the list for the Cream Tea was flour for the Scones.  We decided to go with Mary Berry’s scone recipe, so we needed to have self-raising flour.  We could have gone to the grocery store down the street, but why do that when we can go to:

BoB's Red Mill

The Impatient Chef gets hungry while shopping, and Bob’s Red Mill has a restaurant in its Whole Grain Store (located near the actual mill in Milwaukie, Oregon).  The restaurant is not a formal affair, in keeping with the general folksy vibe at the store.  You order at the counter, grab your coffee or soft drink from the drinks island, or from the cooler.  You take a number to your table, and the food arrives a short while later.  The food, as one would expect, features Bob’s Red Mill products, as well as local meat and produce.  It’s quality fare. 

Well, at least what I’ve had of it. You see, The Impatient Chef has a weakness for good hamburgers.  So does The Impatient Chef’s wife.  We have eaten there 4 times.  I have had the burger 3 of those, and the Reuben once.  When I got the Reuben, I was seriously considering the burger.  The Reuben, not parenthetically, was excellent as well. 

The Burger Rules!

After the burger, it was time to get the flour.

Choices.

We were after pastry flour, but the question arose of whether to buy whole wheat or white.  White would make the traditional scone of Mary Berry’s recipe.  Whole wheat would make flavorful, but possibly denser scones.  Decisions.  Decisions.  But, being the Solomon of the Shopping Trip, I split the baby, and bought both.

Mary Berry’s recipe also calls for “self-raising flour.”  Being American, I have never used that.  Fine.  I’ll have to make it.  It wasn’t hard.  Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour.

Mix the following together:

• 1 cup (120g) All-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Next for the clotted cream.  

Clotted cream, or Devonshire Cream, is an undoubtably British accouterment known for both its use with scones and jam, and for Rowan Atkinson’s contempt riddled soliloquy in Blackadder (find it, watch it).  Since The Impatient Chef likes to cook from scratch, especially unfamiliar recipes (unless impatience overrides adventuresomeness [bookmark this for later]), making some at home was the first order of business.  I consulted the Oracle at Yahoo for all the world’s wisdom, and came up thus:  

According to Curious Cuisinière’s web site:

“The cream has to be heated slowly for 12 hours, which we find easiest to do overnight. Then it is cooled for another 8 hours (or over the next night).”

So, it was off to Cost Plus World Market, and it’s British food section. Phew!  That was close.  The Impatient Chef is waaaay too impatient for that.  A short shopping trip later, the cream was procured, and only one ingredient remained.  

Coming up next on the Quest for Teat: Kick Out the Jams.  

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Pigs in a Blanket

They’re super easy, and quick.  Using puff pastry adds a little French cachet to an otherwise delightfully low-brow treat for kids, both young and old.

Thanks to Gaia Quay for the idea.

You will need:

• 1 package of 8 hot dogs. 
• 1 package puff pastry (2 sheets) thawed
• 8 slices cheese (I prefer cheddar)
• 1 egg, beaten
• flour for rolling
• A little warm water

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spread flour on the rolling surface.  With a rolling pin, roll out the puff pastry until it’s about a third bigger that it started.  each sheet needs to be able to cover 4 hot dogs with a little room for closing the ends and pinching them closed.  
3. Cut each sheet into 4 squares.  Lay a hot dog on each.  Add a slice of cheese to each dog.  Tear it into chunks if necessary to add cheese to the full length of the dog.
4. Wrap the dogs like a burrito in the puff pastry.  Using a brush, wet the edge of the pastry where the two edges come together.  This will make them stick together.  Don’t make it too wet, though.  Wet the inside ends of the puff pastry where you will squeeze them together to seal the dog in.  Press the pastry together at the ends.  Use a fork to crimp the ends together.
5. Brush the tops and sides of the blankets with the beaten egg.  
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops become golden brown.  
7. Serve with mustard, or other, lesser condiments.