Recipes from our European Tour

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At a royal tea onboard our ship, Darren McGrady, the chef for the royal palace showed us how he made scones for the queen. He also gave us lessons for the proper tea.  Here is the recipe for these perfect scones.

Royal Tea Scones

3 and 3/4 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra fine granulated sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 egg beaten

3/4 to 1 and 1/4 cups milk

1 cup raisins (opt)

1 beaten egg yolk for glazing

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut in the butter and stir until the flour mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg and about 3/4 cup of milk.  Add the raisins now if making a fruit scone. Bring the mixture together with a metal spoon, making sure you don't overmix and toughen the dough.  If the mixture seems dry and crumbly, add more milk gradually.  You want lightly bound dough that is neither too wet nor too dry.

2. Lightly dust a cutting board with flour and roll out the dough to about 1 inch thick. Then, using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out about 16 scones and place them on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart.  Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg yolk.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes until scones are lightly colored. Serve hot or transfer scones to a cooling rack.

On an excursion to Rome, we took a pizza-making class. The yeast used for the crust is pictured above. It is the best homemade pizza I've ever had.

This link shows the recipes for two kinds of pizza and tiramisu.  

https://theromanfoodtour-recipes.my.canva.site/the-roman-foodtour-recipes

And here is an excellent sauce recipe:

https://www.christinascucina.com/best-pizza-sauce-recipe-no-cook-authentic-italian-style/