Smoked Herring Spread

This smoked herring spread is lovely on crackers but I’ve also been known to pile it on a piece of soft bread, fold it in half and call it a sandwich. Its strong flavors stand up well to whatever you want to spread it on or dip into it. (Like carrots, celery or cucumber!)

In the UK, they call smoked herring kippers. They are a beloved breakfast item, either on their own with eggs or in kedgeree, a rice dish of Indian origin. 

Just last summer we were in London staying at a friend’s club and kippers were on the breakfast menu. I did not partake but another table ordered some. How did I know what another table well across the dining room ordered? Because the fishy smell traveled!

As we finished our breakfast and left the room, we passed by those very diners who were tucking in to their kippers, eggs and hot buttered toast. Big smiles all round! These were clearly quality smoked kippers and not from a tin. You are either a fan of fish or you are not. I am one!

Here in the States, we consider ourselves lucky to get the tinned ones at a nearby gourmet store.  Why they are called "snacks" is beyond me. 

Smoked Herring Spread

For the hot sauce, we like Louisiana Hot Sauce, the habanero version, but truly your favorite will work. I put just a few drops because I wanted to share this with my mother-in-law and she can’t handle pepper heat. Just for us, I’d have used more so you do you. The smoked herring flavor can absolutely stand up to more spicy heat. 

Ingredients

3.54 oz or 100g can smoked herring aka kippers

1-2 green onions

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons (42g) cream cheese, softened

Zest of half a lemon

freshly ground black pepper

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Lemon juice to taste

Optional but recommended: Several drops hot sauce or to taste

Method

Chop the green onions finely. Set aside a little of the green part for garnish. 

Drain the smoked herring and flake with a fork in a mixing bowl. 

Add in the chopped green onion, mayonnaise and cream cheese, mixing well. 

Add a couple of grinds of black, lemon zest, Worcestershire sauce and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Stir well to combine.

Add hot sauce, if desired.  

Spoon the spread into a ramekin or small bowl. Top with reserved green onions. 

Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least four hours or if you have the time, overnight. 

Serve with crackers or crudités. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 8th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter H. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the H recipes below:

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Asian Beef Bowls 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Baked Homemade Buttery Herb Croutons
• Blogghetti: Copycat Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning 
• A Messy Kitchen: Dutch Hagelslag 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Grilled Halloumi Salad 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Homemade Mango Frooti 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Honey Mustard Breaded Chicken 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Hurricane Popcorn 
• Food Lust People Love: Smoked Herring Spread 

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread – this post!

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Crushed Pineapple Carrot Quick Bread #BreadBakers

This crushed pineapple carrot quick bread is just the right amount of sweet from the pineapple, carrots and sugar. It’s perfect for breakfast or tea time. Slice it up for your Easter brunch table. It will disappear in no time! 

Last Sunday we had guests over for brunch. I fried up a couple of pounds of bacon, baked M&M mini muffins, put together a fresh fruit salad, cooked cheesy scrambled eggs and baked this crushed pineapple carrot quick bread. 

It was a lovely spread and much enjoyed by all and not just because we drank fresh squeezed orange juice with Champagne! Is it really a Sunday brunch if there aren’t mimosas on offer? I think not. 

The general consensus on the quick bread was "would have again!" It’s so good! 

Crushed Pineapple Carrot Quick Bread

When you drain the crushed pineapple, do push on it gently with a spoon. It should still be very moist but not dripping wet. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups or 190g all-purpose flour

3/4 cup or 150g sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 egg

1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil

1 cup, lightly packed, or 166g finely grated carrots

2/3 cup or 168g crushed pineapple in juice (not syrup!), drained – pressed a little bit

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup or 57g chopped pecans, plus extra for topping, if desired

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare one 8x4 in or 20 x 10cm loaf pan by greasing and flouring it or lining it with baking parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. 

In another bowl, beat the egg and oil together. Add in the carrots, pineapple and vanilla and stir well. 

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in the chopped pecans.

Spoon into your prepared loaf pan and top with more chopped pecans, if desired. 

Bake in your preheated oven for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Slice and enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s THE day for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes. Our theme this month is carrot or Easter bread. Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen. Check out the links below. 

• Carrot and Thyme Sourdough Boule by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cozonac - Romanian Easter Bread by A Messy Kitchen
• Crushed Pineapple Carrot Quick Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Carrot Bread by Sneha’s Recipe
• Sourdough Carrot Raisin Loaf by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Whole Wheat Carrot Bread by Karen’s Kitchen stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Thin Mint Chocolate Muffins

Made with the iconic Girl Scout cookies, these Thin Mint chocolate muffins are sweet and chocolatey with a little crunch for fun. 

The idea for these muffins popped into my head in the middle of the night unbidden. I wasn’t even thinking about muffins! What if, my brain said, you put a thin mint at the bottom of the silicone muffin cups and spooned chocolate batter in on top? Intriguing idea, I replied. 

So the first thing I did the next morning was to open the box of Thin Mints I had just bought from the cutest little scout outside my local grocery store the day before, to check if one would fit nicely in the bottom of my silicone muffin cups. It did! 

A little backstory. My very first job out of university was at the San Jacinto Girl Scout Council, in development (read: fundraising) which included the annual cookie sale. In my first year, we joined together with Houston area chefs who created recipes using the cookies which were then served at a party for donors. It was a lot of fun and raised substantial funds. Ever since, when I see Girl Scout cookies, I can’t help but think of creative ways to use/eat them. 

Thin Mint Chocolate Muffins

I highly recommend using silicone baking cups for this recipe so that the Thin Mints don’t stick to your pan. If you can’t find Thin Mints, Keebler makes one called Grasshopper Cookies (or Fudge Mint Delights in some countries) which would work. Walmart brand Fudge Mint Cookies are also very similar.

Ingredients for 12 muffins

3/4 cup or 180ml milk

2 teaspoons vinegar

1 3/4 cups or 220g flour

3/4 cup, packed, or 150g dark brown sugar

1/2 cup or 40g natural unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

8 Thin Mint cookies for the batter and topping

12 Thin Mint cookies for lining the silicone baking cups

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Roughly chop the 8 Thin Mints, setting aside about 1/3 for topping. 

Add the two teaspoons of vinegar to the milk in a measuring cup. Stir and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and vanilla, along with the slightly curdled looking milk/vinegar mixture.

Add the larger pile of chopped cookies to the dry ingredients.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until just combined. There may still be some flour showing and that’s fine.

Put one Thin Mint at the bottom of each silicone muffin cup, rounded side up. 

Use a scoop or large spoon to fill the prepared muffin cups. They are going to be pretty full. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining chopped cookies.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine took only 20 minutes. You do not want to over bake these and dry them out.

Put the muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for about five minutes.

Remove the muffins from the pan and continue to cool on the wire rack. 

Carefully remove the silicone muffin cups. Here's one upside down! 

Enjoy the chocolate muffins with crunchy bottoms! 

It’s the last Monday of the month, which means it time for Muffin Monday! Check out the lovely recipe links below.

• Apple Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cranberry Oat Bran Muffins from A Messy Kitchen
• Maple Corn Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Thin Mint Chocolate Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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Corned Beef and Gruyère Toasties

These corned beef and Gruyere toasties are made with thinly sliced corned beef and rich, melty Gruyere in an electric toastie machine which seals the flavor in! 

Here’s a tiny bit of history for you. The very first toasted sandwich machine was patented in the United States way back in 1925 so this year we celebrate its centennial birthday. Truth be told though, it didn’t really take off in popularity until 1974 when Breville introduced their Snack'n'Sandwich Toaster in Australia. 

I grew up eating regular grilled cheese sandwiches, made on a griddle at home but we also had a pie iron aka sandwich press for use over a campfire that made something very similar to modern electric toastie makers. It wasn’t until I was fully a grown up with children(!) when I saw my first electric toastie machine. 

When our younger daughter was still at home, before her university days, ours got regular use. Nowadays, not so much. That’s why when I heard that the theme for today’s Sunday FunDay was going to be grilled cheese sandwiches, I decided it was time to dust it off and see if it still worked. 

I had to hunt for it in the back of the pantry! When I did find it, I discovered that it didn’t have the toastie plates in – it has three sets of interchangeable plates: panini press, waffle iron and toastie – so then I had go looking for the spare plates. I’m pleased to tell you that now all are together in a safe place. 

Corned Beef and Gruyère Toasties

Could you just use a regular griddle or frying pan and make these sandwiches on the stovetop? Of course! The edges won’t be sealed up nicely but they will still taste just as good. For this recipe, I use a brisket roast that I home cured and cooked. You can substitute store-bought corned beef but, please, from the deli counter, not the tinned stuff. 

Ingredients for two toasties

4 slices whole wheat sandwich bread

2-3 tablespoons butter, softened

2 1/2 oz or 70g corn beef roast, thinly sliced

1 1/4 oz or 36g Gruyère cheese, thinly sliced

1 – 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

Optional for serving:

pickles (I like pickled okra)

potato chips

Method

Thickly butter one side of the slices of bread. 

Lay them butter side down on a piece of cling film and spread the mustard on the other side.  (I actually put the buttered sides together at first but then realized I'd have to turn it all over to spread mustard on the other side, so do as I say, not as I did.)

Layer your corned beef and Gruyère slices so that they overlap and alternate on two of the slices. Make a second layer. 

Close the sandwiches by putting the other two slices mustard side down on the beef and cheese. 

Heat your toastie maker, following the instructions in your manual. Mine has a green light when it’s ready to make a toastie. 

Place your sandwiches in the toastie maker.

Close the lid firmly and lock the clasp.

My toastie maker light turns red at this point and will turn green again when the toastie is ready. 

Remove the toasties from the machine and cut them in half at the pressed line. 

Serve with pickles and potatoes chips, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, today is Sunday FunDay and our theme is a celebration of National Grill Cheese Month. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out all the grilled cheese sandwich links below. 

• Baked Beans Bruschetta by Sneha's Recipe
• Corned Beef and Gruyère Toasties by Food Lust People Love
• DIY Grilled Cheese Bar by Culinary Cam
• Grilled Cheese and Avocado by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Grilled Provolone with Turkey, Prosciutto, Spinach, and Jalapeños by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese by Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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