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.jpg "My Top Ten Recipes for 2024")
I thought today I would jump on the bandwagon and do as others have done and share with you the recipes which have been the top ten recipes as chosen by you, my sweet readers, over the past twelve months. They are not necessarily recipes which I posted over the past year, but they are recipes which you all came back to look at and to try, again and again and again!
Ten different, delicious, simple and easy to make recipes that had the most views out of the over 350 recipes I posted over the last 52 weeks! I was not really surprised to see the ones that were the most popular, as they were recipes that I have also enjoyed myself.
What recipes of mine that I posted over the past twelve months were favorites of yours? Perhaps they didn't make the cut? I would be very interested to know and to know why you enjoyed them! Just leave a comment below.
In looking back I had a very hard time myself picking one of my favorites, but I finally settled on this one for Lemon Filled Breakfast Buns.
These were simply gorgeous. They were such a simple make, and they came out beautifully soft and lemony. I could have eaten the whole lot myself! I am a huge fan of lemon anything!
I would also be interested in knowing what you want to see over the next 12 months. I have in mind to go back to the beginning every now and then and re-do some of the recipes from my archives, taking better photographs of them and updating the posts. Are you a fan of the small batch recipes? The Sunday Meals of the Week posts? What is it that you want to see more of! Just let me know!
And without further prattle, here are the top ten recipes of the past 12 months. All were delicious, I promise, and you actually agreed with me!
NUMBER 10 - Macaroni and Cheese Meatloaf Casserole
A simple everyday meal that never fails to please with a delicious, glazed meatloaf on the bottom, topped with a lush macaroni and cheese. You bake the meatloaf on its own for a time and then add the macaroni and cheese and finish it off. Altogether this is incredibly tasty, and I am not surprised it made it into the top ten!
Its like having your main and side all cooked together in one tasty casserole dish. This was a real favorite with me as well!!
I love meat loaf and I love mac and cheese. The two together are genius if I don't say so myself!
.JPG "Mary Berry's Mincemeat Buns")
NUMBER 9 - Mary Berry's Mincemeat Buns
Delicious little cakes made with the usual suspects and the addition of prepared mincemeat and by that I mean the jammy fruity concoction not actual minced meat. They go wonderfully with a nice hot cup of tea. These are perfect with a lovely texture and just enough fruit, spice, and tastiness to make them a real treat. I would expect nothing less than perfection from a Mary Berry recipe.
They are not a muffin, and they are not a cake. They are somewhere in between the two. They are also a great way getting rid of the leftover mincemeat from Christmas! Nicely spiced and fruity.
NUMBER 8 - Six Delicious Dipping Sauces for Chicken Tenders
I had picked up a box of Tempura Chicken Tenders at the Running man and wanted to try out a few different dipping sauces with them. Who doesn't love a good dipping sauce for their chicken tenders!
I made a Sweet & Sour, an Alabama White BBQ Sauce, a Spicy Honey Chipotle Sauce, Restaurant Ranch, Honey Mustard and Bang Bang Sauce. Some of them were new to me.
I have of course had the ranch, and the sweet and sour in the past. The Honey mustard was something I was also quite familiar with. The other three were something new and I have to say I enjoyed all of them. Each was delicious in it's own right!
NUMBER 7 - Mary Berry's Cheese Scones
These beautiful Cheese Scones have been in the top ten recipes on the blog since the autumn of 2020, during the Pandemic. Everyone was baking. What else was there to do when you were stuck in your house staring at the walls! Baking was great therapy for boredom and loneliness.
These scones have a mix of beautiful flavours. Dry mustard powder and cayenne powder are both included in the mix. Both go very well with cheese. Do use a good quality strong cheddar if you can get one. A farmhouse or Vintage cheddar is really nice.
These scones are beautiful served warm and split with some cold butter and some chilli jam. Its that sweet/hot/savoury combination that most people love. They are best on the day, but you can have it on good authority that they are also very good eaten cold the day after, whilst hunched over a computer keyboard.
NUMBER 6 - Magic Custard Cake
This fabulous dessert has been a favorite on the blog since I posted the recipe in 2014. It's like a magic dessert. A cake that separates into three distinct layers, just like magic. It's kind of like a cross between a cake and a pie and everyone loves it.
Everything just gets thrown into a blender or beaten together with an electric whisk, poured into the baking pan and then baked. I like to chill it for several hours before serving it. It cuts beautifully into wedges and is lovely served with fresh fruit. It is simple to make and delicious.
.jpg "Super Duper Bran Muffins")
NUMBER 5 - Super Duper Bran Muffins
This has been a favorite recipe since 2013. It had over 29,000 views this year alone and that is no surprise to me because this is the absolute best Bran Muffin recipe that you could ever want to bake and eat!
.JPG "Mary Berry's Blueberry Muffins")
.jpg "Traditional Seed Cake")
I wanted to showcase something special for New Years Eve that I thought all my readers might enjoy. I had a lovely looking steak in the freezer and to me, having a steak is really a special treat and so I took it out and then looked for a delicious way to cook it.
I saw this tasty looking Beef Steak Diane recipe on Simply Recipes and adapted it for my own use here in The English Kitchen. Steak Diane is not anything that I had ever cooked before. It is a very retro type of recipe having been very popular back in the 1930's. At one time it was considered to be the epitome of elegance.
- 2 (6 ounce/170g) center cut beef tenderloin steaks, or another cut of your choice
- Coarse sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) beef stock
- 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp tomato paste (known as tomato puree in the U.K.)
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 banana shallots, peeled and finely minced (alternately you can use a small onion peeled and minced along with 1 clove of garlic) (1/2 cup in total)
- 4 TBS brandy or cognac
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
- fresh ground black pepper
- minced chives to garnish
Simple Beef Steak Diane
Ingredients
- 2 (6 ounce/170g) center cut beef tenderloin steaks, or another cut of your choice
- Coarse sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) beef stock
- 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp tomato paste (known as tomato puree in the U.K.)
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 banana shallots, peeled and finely minced (alternately you can use a small onion peeled and minced along with 1 clove of garlic) (1/2 cup in total)
- 4 TBS brandy or cognac
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
- fresh ground black pepper
- minced chives to garnish
Instructions
- Take your steak out of the refrigerator at least half an hour prior to cooking it. Season it generously on both side with salt and leave to sit for the duration.
- While the steak is sitting whisk together the beef broth, mustard, tomato puree, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Pat the steaks dry on both sides.
- Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed skillet until it begins to foam. Add the steaks and increase the heat to high. Sear on both sides, 1-4 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your steaks and how well you like it done. (See the finger test for doneness above/below)
- When done remove the steaks to a cutting board and leave to rest, lightly tented while you make the sauce.
- Add the shallots to the skillet. Sauté 2 minutes on medium high heat, stirring. Add the brandy/cognac and deglaze the pan. Increase the heat and cook stirring, until the brandy has almost evaporated.
- Add the beef broth mixture. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes at a boil. Whisk in the cream and cook for 2 minutes longer until you have a beautiful thick sauce.
- Serve the steaks with some of the Diane sauce drizzled over top along with a grinding of black pepper and a sprinkle of chives.
- 1 sheet of frozen all-butter puff pastry, thawed
- 5.3 ounces (150g) Gruyere cheese
- 8 ounces (228g) Fontina cheese
- 1 TBS chopped fresh rosemary (or to taste)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 egg yolk beaten together with 1 tsp water
- 1 tsp demerara sugar (turbinado)
- an extra drizzle of honey
- coarse black pepper
- chunks of a crisp sour dough bread for dipping
- fresh fruit
Puff Pastry Honey, Cheese and Herb Bake
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of frozen all-butter puff pastry, thawed
- 5.3 ounces (150g) Gruyere cheese
- 8 ounces (228g) Fontina cheese
- 1 TBS chopped fresh rosemary (or to taste)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 egg yolk beaten together with 1 tsp water
- 1 tsp demerara sugar (turbinado)
- an extra drizzle of honey
- coarse black pepper
- chunks of a crisp sour dough bread for dipping
- fresh fruit
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7.
- Butter a 9-inch pie dish or a cast iron skillet.
- Cut all of your cheese into 1-inch cubes and toss together. Mince the garlic and rosemary and mix together.
- Unroll the sheet of puff pastry and place it into the prepared dish/skillet. Pile the cubed cheese in the center.
- Sprinkle the rosemary garlic mixture over top. Drizzle with the honey.
- Bring the edges of the puff pastry up folding it over the cubed cheese. It will not cover it all. That's okay.
- Brush the edges of the puff pastry with the beaten egg and then sprinkle with the demerara sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese and pastry have turned a lovely golden brown on top, and begins to caramelize in places.
- Top with an extra drizzle of honey and some coarsely ground black pepper and serve hot with the sour bread for dipping and some fruit.
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