A Foodie's Thoughts

Hickory Wings with Bourbon-Molasses Glaze

2010-06-21T21:34:00.003-03:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I have the perfect grilled appetizer for your summer get-togethers. How about smoky, sweet, and spicy wings with the unmistakable taste of Kentucky bourbon? Be prepared to have a reputation amongst the neighbours!

I love making wings on the grill, since they're so different than what I'm used to getting in a restaurant. Once you try them, there will be no going back. Trust me, you're about to start just staying home on wing night. These wings are rubbed with a flavourful mixture of smoked paprika, mustard, garlic, onion, and chipotle before being smoked over hickory wood chips.

A glaze consisting of bourbon, soy sauce, molasses, and butter is cooked just long enough to melt the latter; therefore, you should use a bourbon that you like, since the glaze will taste strongly of it. When the wings have had a chance to get comfortable on the smoky grill, brush them with the glaze, basting them a few times until they're ready to eat.

Amazing. Serve them up with some chunky blue cheese dressing, of course (along with lots of napkins). They'll quickly become a favourite. You may find yourself going through a bottle of Wild Turkey in no time...just a friendly warning!

Hickory Drumettes with Bourbon-Molasses Glaze: The Recipe

From "Weber's Way to Grill" by Jamie Purviance

Amanda's notes: Contrary to what you may think, this blog is not sponsored by the Weber people. What can I say? I just find myself not having to look anywhere else for great recipes for the grill.

I use salted butter and dark molasses, and the wings taste fine to me!

Ingredients

Rub:

1 tbsp smoked paprika

2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp granulated onion

1/4 tsp ground chipotle chile

20 chicken wings, split (about 3 lbs)

Glaze:

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp bourbon

1 tbsp light molasses

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 handfuls hickory wood chips, soaked in water for at least 30 min

Directions

In a large bowl mix the rub ingredients. Add the wings and toss to coat them evenly. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking over medium heat.

In a small saucepan, bring the glaze ingredients to a boil over high heat and cook just until the butter melts. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.

Drain and scatter the wood chips over lit charcoal or put them in the smoker box of a gas grill, following manufacturer's instructions. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the wings over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until the meat is no longer pink at the bone, 20 to 30 minutes, turning and basting with the glaze once or twice during the last 20 minutes of cooking. Serve warm.

Classic Burgers with Barbecue Spices

2010-04-25T19:56:00.002-03:00

When you make sure to buy good quality ground beef, it's true that you can make it into delicious burgers with nothing more than a little bit of salt and pepper, and maybe some Worcestershire sauce. However, if you feel like adding a little kick to your burger meat, do I have the spice blend for you!

This spice blend is adapted from Weber's "Charcoal Grilling" and is our go-to rub for hamburgers. It's the perfect combination of spicy, sweet, salty, and pungent ingredients, and it's the only thing you need to add to your beef before forming patties. Forget the eggs, oatmeal, or bread crumbs; as Iron Chef Bobby Flay would say, these are burgers, not mini meat-loaves! Simplicity is best.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I wanted to try a blend of cream cheese and blue cheese as a burger topping; I've had it since then and it's a new favourite. The creaminess and the strong flavour of the cheese really complements the beef.

I combine roughly equal amounts of the cheeses together, spread the mixture on some pita buns and then place them on the burgers when they're close to being done. Mouth-watering meltiness ensues. Mmmmm mmmm!

With your favourite fixings and condiments (lettuce, tomato, and lots of mustard for me) these classic burgers with barbecue spices make for the perfect summery meal. Simple, cheesy, juicy...what more can you ask for on a nice, grill-friendly day?

Classic Burgers with Barbecue Spices: The Recipe
Adapted from Weber's "Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking with Live Fire" by Jamie Purviance

Ingredients
1.5 lb ground chuck (80% lean)

1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pure chili powder
1/2 tsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Directions
Combine rub ingredients in a small dish. Add to ground chuck and gently incorporate. Form 4 equally-sized patties. Grill or fry as usual to your liking. Enjoy!

Smoked Salmon Spread

2010-04-04T11:39:00.003-03:00

Last summer, we got together regularly with two other couples for what I like to call "Barbecue Club." Every few weeks, we would take turns hosting gatherings to which everyone brought their own meat to grill (and beverages, of course) while the appetizers and sides were a shared responsibility. It was a fun and no-pressure way to have frequent dinner parties.

Therefore, as this weekend's temperatures hit the high teens, I was delighted that we resurrected Barbecue Club. As Jeff prepared a spice rub for the steaks he bought at the farmers market that morning, I whipped up the appetizer I had agreed to provide: a smoked salmon spread.

Atlantic smoked pepper salmon was on sale at my grocery store, so I took advantage. I combined roughly equal amounts of flaked salmon and a mixture of cream cheese, mayonnaise, and fresh lemon juice by hand, folding in green onion, fresh dill, and pickled capers for extra flavour. Once it was well blended, I gently folded in more salmon flakes for a chunkier texture.

I let the spread sit for a couple of hours before tasting it. It was delicious! Very rich, creamy, and full of great flavour. I served it with an assortment of fancy crackers, but it would also be perfect on rice crackers, crostini, rye toasts, or even on lettuce leaves or cucumber slices.

Whether served at an elegant cocktail party indoors or a casual outdoor gathering with your pals next to a hot grill (my preference), this smoked salmon spread is a great way to kick off an evening of good food and conversation. I can't wait for all the delicious meals that I'll be having in good company thanks to the arrival of nice weather!

Smoked Salmon Spread: The Recipe

Amanda's notes: If you can't find smoked pepper salmon, just add plenty of freshly cracked pepper to the spread.

Ingredients

150 g smoked pepper salmon, flaked, divided

3/4 block of cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 green onions, finely chopped (including green parts)

2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1 tbsp pickled capers, drained, roughly chopped

Directions

Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and lemon juice in a bowl, working with a spatula until very smooth. Mix in 3/4 of the flaked salmon until smooth. Fold in green onions, fresh dill, and capers until incorporated. Gently fold in the rest of the flaked salmon, until just mixed through.

Let spread sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Garnish with a sprig of dill, and serve immediately with a selection of crackers, rice crackers, crostini, rye toasts, or mound onto lettuce leaves or cucumber slices. Enjoy!

Margherita Pasta Salad

2010-03-28T21:22:00.003-03:00

Whenever I am fortunate to be eating in a restaurant that has a wood-fired oven, I like to order a Margherita pizza. In my opinion, this simple and classic combination of tomato, fresh mozarella, and basil is the perfect way to enjoy a good quality pie. I haven't had one in a while, but, for some reason, as I was dreaming up a pasta salad for tonight's supper, the image of a Margherita pizza popped into my head. Once it did, it wasn't going anywhere! So, I decided to just roll with it.

I kept the salad very simple, just like the original concept. I tossed some cold fusilli, halved grape tomatoes, and quartered bocconcini in a homemade garlic-infused olive oil and let the mixture marinate for a few hours. In order to keep the basil as fresh as possible, I waited until I was ready to serve the salad before tearing the leaves and adding them in. I sprinkled a little bit of asiago on top as a garnish, and I was good to go!

Sometimes, simple is best. Tomato, fresh mozarella, and basil are a classic for a reason; the combination of the three just tastes right! (A little garlic in the background never hurt anyone, either.) The Margherita pasta salad was very refreshing, and I think it will be perfect for warm weather cooking, alongside just about anything. Why not borrow flavours from one dish to create another? I'm glad I did!

Margherita Pasta Salad: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: When cooking pasta, make sure your water is very salty--like the ocean! This is your one chance to add flavour to the pasta itself. If you do it right, you won't even have to add salt to the final dish before serving.

Ingredients
1 pkg fusilli pasta
1 container bocconcini (200 g), quartered (or whole baby bocconcini)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup garlic-infused olive oil*
freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 bouquet fresh basil leaves
grated asiago, to garnish

Directions
Cook pasta to al dente in plenty of boiling, salted water; drain, rinse under cold water until cool. Toss with bocconcini and tomatoes, add olive oil and toss to coat. Add plenty of freshly cracked black pepper, stir, and set in fridge for at least a couple of hours. Stir occasionally.
When ready to serve, tear basil leaves and fold into pasta. Taste and season if necessary. Garnish salad with grated asiago, serve immediately. Enjoy!

*To make your own garlic-infused olive oil, pour 3/4 cup of olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add 2 or 3 peeled and smashed cloves of garlic. Once oil heats and bubbles for 5 minutes, strain and cool.

Grilled Pear and Blue Cheese Breakfast Panini

2010-03-21T12:07:00.002-03:00

As much as I love cheese, I'm still learning to like the blue stuff. I do enjoy chunky blue cheese dressing, for example, but straight up melted blue cheese on bread is too much for me; therefore, the key for me at this point is dilution. Recently, I watched Chuck from Chuck's Day Off mix blue cheese with cream cheese as a topping for hamburgers. While I think his intention was to adhere the cheese to the bun, I saw it as a great way to introduce more blue cheese into my cooking.

I was curious to try the classic pairing of blue cheese with pear, and I adore making panini for weekend breakfasts; so, I combined the two into one exciting event (to me, anyway.) A panino is best when it is very simple, so I like to stick to a maximum of three elements: in this case, the cheese mixture, the grilled pears, and a bit of baby arugula for a peppery taste.

I was very pleased with the results! There was enough of a distinct blue cheese taste and smell present in my panino for me to appreciate the contrast between its sharp pungency and the sweetness of the grilled pears, but not so much that I found it difficult to eat. What really meant a lot to me was Jeff admitting that he would never in a million years have been interested in this panino on a restaurant menu, but he absolutely loved it and was glad he tried it.

I think the next step in my blue cheese mission will be not only to increase the ratio of blue cheese to cream cheese in the spread, but also to try it in different dishes. For one, I will definitely be trying Chuck's hamburgers. I'm excited, because I feel that there is a whole new world for me to explore in cooking with cheese. Here's to adventures in acquiring tastes!

Grilled Pear and Blue Cheese Breakfast Panini: The Recipe

Amanda's notes: You absolutely do not need a panini press to make panini. Put your assembled panino in a skillet, and cover it with another heavy skillet or pot to flatten it while it grills; then, flip and repeat. You can grill your pears in a skillet as well.

Makes 2 panini

Ingredients

1/4 cup cream cheese

1 heaping tbsp crumbled blue cheese, any kind (I used Danish)

1 pear, halved, seeded, and sliced thinly (I used a bosc pear)

1 tsp olive oil

4 slices dense bread

olive oil for brushing

baby arugula, to garnish

Directions

Toss the pear slices in a bowl with olive oil, and grill 2-3 min per side. Meanwhile, fold blue cheese crumbles into cream cheese and spread on two slices of bread. Top each with grilled pear and arugula, and finish with second slice. Brush the top of the sandwich with olive oil, place oiled side down on the grill, then oil the second slice. Press for 2-3 minutes per side, to your liking. Enjoy!

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

2010-03-15T21:27:00.006-03:00

Ah, it’s finally beginning to feel like Spring. Even though it’s fairly likely that we’ll see snow again before (or even after) the season changes, it’s been sunny for the past week or so; therefore, desperate to welcome any shred of nice weather, I’ve found myself craving warm flavours. Enter this spicy sweet potato dish.

When I roast sweet potatoes, I don’t want to sweeten them one bit. No brown sugar or maple syrup (gasp!) here, no sir; I want to balance them with some fiery spice. I usually accomplish this by serving my simple roasted sweet potatoes with some chipotle mayonnaise for dipping, but this week I created a warm salad that went just as well with our first barbecued burgers of the season. (Oh, charcoal! I missed you dearly.)

I coated chunks of sweet potato with my own mixture of spices (chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle, and a bit of cayenne pepper) then roasted them with some red onion and a few smashed cloves of garlic. Once everything was soft and caramelized, I tossed it with a homemade lemon dressing.

I loved this dish! The end result had a good amount of spice that acted as a perfect contrast to the sweet potatoes and the red onions; meanwhile, the mellow, roasted garlic was a nutty taste in the background, and the acidic lemon dressing really brightened up the flavour of the salad. I couldn’t be happier; along with the warm(ish) weather we’ve been having lately, this new spicy roasted sweet potato salad is leading me, skipping, to Spring.

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Salad: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: There's nothing lacking, but if you'd like to add some cheese to this salad, I think feta or goat cheese would be a great match. Also, if I had had a can of corn on hand, I might have tossed it with the roasted veggies before dressing the salad.

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp spice mixture*

1 red onion, chopped into small wedges
4-6 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled

olive oil
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

lemon dressing* at room temperature, to taste
1 green onion, sliced, to garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Toss the sweet potato with the olive oil in a large bowl. Sprinkle with spice mixture, toss to coat. Spread in a roasting pan; add red onion and garlic cloves. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and stir gently to coat. Roast for 40 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender, stirring halfway through.

Once the potatoes are tender, transfer the contents of the pan to a bowl. Drizzle with lemon dressing a few tablespoons at a time, tossing to coat, until the vegetables are coated to your liking. Taste and season if necessary. Garnish with green onion. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

*Spice mixture
Mix the following together:
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chipotle chili powder
pinch cayenne

*Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
¾ cup olive oil
1 tsp whole grain dijon mustard
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions
Whisk first three ingredients together. Season to taste. Store leftovers in an air-tight container, and use as you would any dressing.

Green Beans with Balsamic Vinegar, Toasted Walnuts, and Goat Cheese

2010-03-07T20:54:00.008-04:00

I absolutely love green beans and eat them as a side dish all the time. Normally, I boil them for just a few minutes before tossing them with some butter and salt and pepper. Simple and delicious! This weekend, though, I had an idea and was ready to try something a little different.

I sauteed my fresh green beans in olive oil until they were lightly browned, then glazed them with a bit of balsamic vinegar. I tossed in some walnuts that I had toasted earlier to concentrate their flavour, and, once the nuts were warmed through, I sprinkled in some goat cheese crumbles. The aromas coming out of the pan were incredible.

Well, it turns out that I have a new favourite way to enjoy green beans! I loved the combination of the acidic balsamic glaze, the meaty walnuts, and the tangy, slightly melting goat cheese with the crisp-tender green beans. There were so many flavours present, but they all came together in a way that made perfect sense to my taste buds.

This dish brought a little bit of fancy to a comforting meal of (Jeff's epic) meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I'm not saying that I'm going to give up on my usual boil-and-butter method; rather, I'm just excited to have yet another great way to enjoy delicious green beans.

Green Beans with Balsamic Vinegar, Toasted Walnuts, and Goat Cheese: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: I made this on the fly, so keep in mind that the amounts listed in this recipe are very approximate! Just trust your instincts with this dish, because you can't go wrong.

Ingredients
1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed
olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 cups toasted walnuts*, roughly chopped
1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions
Saute green beans in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat, 6-8 minutes. A couple of minutes before the green beans are cooked to your liking, drizzle them with balsamic vinegar, tossing to coat. Add toasted walnuts, stirring until they are heated through. Sprinkle with goat cheese; reduce heat to low, cover pan for a few minutes until the cheese is slightly melted. Season to taste; serve immediately. Enjoy!

*To toast walnuts: Spread nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Toast in a 400F oven until lightly golden, about 5-7 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through.
Alternatively, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add nuts, shake continuously until lightly golden, about 5-7 minutes.
Allow nuts to cool before chopping.

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia

2010-02-28T12:05:00.010-04:00

There's a stall at my local famers market that sells the most amazing toasted pecans I've ever eaten in my life. I don't know how they do it, but they taste like happiness and I just can't get enough.

I recently tried pistachio-crusted halibut in a restaurant, and I really enjoyed the crunchiness of the nuts paired with the tender fish. Soon after, while savouring my daily snack of pecans from Heaven, I wondered how they would work in a similar recipe. Ooh, an experiment of the delicious kind!

I coated fresh tilapia fillets by submerging them in an egg wash, then a seasoned flour mixture, and once again in the egg; then, I pressed them into the toasted pecans that I crushed by putting them in a plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin (fun!) After a short fry in vegetable oil, the fish was ready for Jeff and me to enjoy.

The pecan-crusted tilapia couldn't have turned out any better. Both crispy and flavourful, it was a nice change from the usual bread crumbs (don't worry, panko, I still adore you! I just need a little variety!) This is a very special way to eat fish at home, and it's easy to do. I would eat it with guests at a dinner party, I would eat it by myself in my pyjamas; I would eat on a boat, I would eat it with a goat; I would eat it in the rain, I would eat it in a ditch somewhere (is that how it goes?)

As a little aside, fish needs a potato. I tossed some blue potato chunks with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly cracked pepper, and roasted them with the rest of the fresh rosemary that I had kicking around from last week's lasagna, removing the stalks before serving. Rosemary and potatoes is a combination that I just love!

I don't know what else to say but to try this recipe as soon as possible. I'm sure any type of fish or nut would work, but trust me that tilapia and pecans are a great match. I love discovering new favourites. Here's to successful culinary experiments!

Pecan-Crusted Tilapia : The Recipe

Ingredients

1 large egg

All-purpose flour

Kosher salt

Fresh cracked pepper

Smoked paprika

1/2 lb toasted pecans

2 fresh tilapia fillets

vegetable oil for frying

kosher salt

Directions

Place pecans in a sealed plastic bag, and crush with a rolling pin or a heavy mug.

Beat egg with a little bit of water and place in a shallow dish. Cover a shallow dish with all-purpose flour, mix with kosher salt, pepper, and paprika. Spread crushed pecans in a third shallow dish. Pour 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet, heat to medium heat.

Pat tilapia fillets with paper towel to remove moisture. Coat both sides of fillet in egg wash, then flour, then egg wash again. Press both sides into crushed pecans, shake fillet gently to remove excess.

Fry fillets in oil, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle immediately with kosher salt.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Lasagna with a Garlic and Rosemary Bechamel Sauce

2010-02-21T21:04:00.016-04:00

This morning, when Jeff questioned me about what I wanted to make for dinner, nothing appealed to me. Did I want to cook the roast that we have in the freezer? No. Did I want chili? Nah. Chicken? Blah. Then, it dawned on me that I was feeling crummy because I had eaten out three nights in a row; instantly, I knew what I wanted. "Vegetables!," I cried out. "My body's saying it wants vegetables!" And right then, I knew it was time to make my butternut squash lasagna.

I'd never made my butternut squash lasagna until today, but I've been creating the recipe in my head for quite some time. Today was the perfect day to make it, too; Jeff was going to be out for the afternoon and I hadn't made any plans, it was snowing again so a heavier dish was in order, and, as I mentioned before, I had eaten out so much that I was happy to spend a couple of hours cooking. It was simply meant to be.

I roasted my butternut squash, gently mashed it, then mixed it with some spinach. Inspired by my zucchini boat recipe, I folded the vegetables into a mixture of ricotta and Parmesan cheese.

I wanted to add complementary flavours to my bechamel sauce, but I didn't want to overwhelm my star ingredient, the squash; therefore, I decided on an infusion: I added full sprigs of fresh rosemary and some smashed cloves of garlic to the simmering milk, straining the sauce before using it in the lasagna.

Having finished the filling and the sauce, I was ready to layer them with fresh pasta sheets.

Finally, I topped the lasagna with a layer of fresh mozarella, set it into the oven to bake, and proceeded to wash what seemed like every single dish I own. Oh well, at least it's a good way to pass the time when you're looking forward to your meal (three cheers for thinking positively! Hip hip hooray!).

This lasagna was everything I imagined it would be. I loved the sweet taste of the squash, the creaminess of the ricotta, the saltiness of the parmesan, and the subtle taste of garlic and rosemary in the smooth, nutty bechamel. The fresh and tasty mozarella was the perfect topping, stretching into long ribbons with every forkful of pasta.

By the time dinner was ready, Jeff was home and glued to my side, sticking his nose two inches away from the fragrant dish as I began slicing. I set a big square on each of our plates, adding a giant pile of lightly dressed greens alongside. As we sat down to eat our homemade meal, I could feel my body thanking me profusely for such delicious vegetables.

Butternut Squash Lasagna with a Garlic and Rosemary Bechamel Sauce: The recipe
Amanda's notes: When it comes to lasagna, I'm more interested in the filling than the pasta, which is why I have a small number of layers. If you want to use more layers of pasta, scale up the amounts of the filling a bit, and make as many thinner layers of filling between pasta as you like. Or, use the recipe as written but make the lasagna in a smaller pan.
This dish is time consuming, but not at all difficult. Try it this weekend!

Ingredients: filling
1.5 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 container ricotta cheee
1 cup Parmesan cheese
olive oil
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Toss squash with olive oil and salt and pepper, roast on a cookie sheet for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, mix parmesan and ricotta cheee. Allow roasted squash to cool slightly, then mash lightly, mix with spinach, and fold into the ricotta and parmesan cheese mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set aside.

Ingredients: Garlic and Rosemary Bechamel Sauce
Basic bechamel sauce adapted from Iron Chef Mario Batali
5 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
4 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 to 1 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, whisk until completely smooth. Cook mixture, whisking constantly until golden, about 5-6 minutes. Meanwhile, add milk, garlic, and rosemary to a saucepan and heat to just below the boil. Add the heated milk mixture to the butter and flour mixture gradually, a cup at a time, whisking constantly to keep smooth. Bring the milk to a gentle boil, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes.
Remove sauce from heat. Strain into another saucepan. Add nutmeg, and salt to taste.

Ingredients: Assembly
1 pkg oven ready fresh pasta sheets (such as Olivieri)
fresh mozarella, sliced or grated

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Spread 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 in baking dish. Add a layer of noodles, cutting the sheets to cover the surface, overlapping slightly. Spread half of the filling into an even layer on the noodles. Pour 1 cup of sauce over the filling, spreading evenly. Top with another layer of noodles. Press with your hands to tighten the layers. Repeat layering, ending with a 3rd layer of noodles. Poor remaining sauce over top layer, top with mozzarella, cover with foil, and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil, bake 5 minutes more. Broil cheese for 5 minutes.
Remove lasagna from oven, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Alton Brown's Onion Dip from Scratch

2010-02-16T22:28:00.008-04:00

Is anyone having friends over to watch Olympic events? We might have a gathering or two for the gold medal hockey games when the time comes, so I've had my favourite snacks on the brain.

I made Alton Brown's Onion Dip from Scratch a few times last summer and at Christmas to rave results, and for good reason. Once you make this, you will never go back to purchased. Toss out the soup mix, readers, and get ready for the real thing.

This dip is not only delicious, but also extremely easy to make. Anyone who can chop an onion is already an expert. Simply saute your onion in olive oil until it's beautifully carmelized.

Then, once it's cooled, mix it with mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Now, it's going to be hard, but you'll have to let it sit before digging in. The sweet flavour of the carmelized onions needs to permeate the creamy surroundings. Just walk away! You can do it.

You will be rewarded in the end. Alton Brown has created the ultimate chip dip! Caramelizing the onions brings out a sweet, deep flavour that you just won't find in a purchased dip. Also, this recipe contains the perfect ratio of mayonnaise to sour cream. Neither too thick nor too thin, it is the ideal consistency for your favourite rippled chips, crackers, or crunchy veggies. As my friend Emilee exclaimed, "Tastes like Ruffles! But better!" Set it out in front of your pals, and watch it disappear.

Alton Brown's Onion Dip from Scratch: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: I've used both yellow (stronger) and vidalia (sweeter) onions with fine results.
White pepper is a bit less hot than black pepper. I think that the only reason it's used here is to keep the dip white in colour. Use freshly cracked black pepper if you prefer.
I like to let my dip sit overnight, but a few hours should be fine if you're pressed for time.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onions
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
In a saute pan over medium heat add oil, heat and add onions and salt. Cook the onions until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.

Grown Up Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

2010-02-13T22:57:00.013-04:00

Are you looking to update your favourite childhood meal to your sophisticated, adult tastes? Simple!

Start with a homemade bowl of tomato soup. No need to put too much effort into it; just mix some canned crushed tomatoes with some broth (we had homemade chicken broth in the freezer, but a good store bought brand is just fine) and some flavouring agents and spices, and let it simmer for a little while.

Onto the sandwich. The foodie's secret to a phenomenal grilled cheese is quality ingredients. Choose wisely, keeping in mind that there are a few easy ways to sneak in extra flavour. For example, this fresh loaf we bought at the farmers market is a rye bread with caraway seeds. I love how fragrant it is!

Of utmost importance, of course, is the cheese. My suggestion is to go with either something that is flavoured (like an herbed Gouda, Havarti, or Monteray Jack) or something smoked. Pictured here is one of my favourites, apple wood smoked Cheddar cheese. The beauty of using it in a grilled cheese (or in just about anything, really) is that it tastes a bit like bacon. The taste of bacon in your grilled cheese without having to bother frying any? Yes, please!

Are you ready for this?

Oh, yes.

Mmmmmmm! Although reminiscent of everyone's familiar childhood meal, this gourmet version takes the concept of tomato soup and grilled cheese to a whole new level. Homemade soup, even a quick one such as this, always has a lot more depth and flavour than what comes out of a can, and the sandwich, when made with quality bread and cheese, is a little taste of happiness. I guarantee that this meal will put a smile on anyone's face. Personally, my inner child jumped for joy while my matured taste buds savoured every element.

Lastly, I think you all know what to do: dip that baby!

Quick Homemade Tomato Soup: The Recipe

Amanda's notes: If you would like to make a heartier meal out of your soup, add a handful of macaroni and a drained and rinsed can of beans.

Ingredients

olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups broth (chicken, beef, or veggie)

2 large cans crushed tomatoes, plain

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

about a palm full each of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, saute a few minutes. Add garlic, saute a few minutes more. Add broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Crab Cakes

2010-02-02T19:03:00.010-04:00

I've mentioned before that I am trying to recover from a life-long irrational fear of seafood; now that I've conquered cooking fish at home, crab cakes were next on my list to try. Jeff and I looked online for recipes, but we were overwhelmed by all of the variations. After reading a few different ones, we decided to just forge ahead with our own ideas.

In addition to the crab and mayonnaise, of course, I was insistent on green onions while Jeff was insistent on corn; in they both went! We also added panko bread crumbs, fresh lemon juice, sriracha hot sauce, cayenne pepper, and an egg. Next, I pressed the patties into more panko before frying them in a skillet so that they would be extra crispy. I served the hot crab cakes with some tarter sauce into which I whisked a whole bunch of fresh lemon juice.

I really enjoyed these crab cakes. The corn brought out the sweetness in the crab while also adding a different texture to the mix. The green onions and lemon juice provided plenty of brightness, while the hot sauce and cayenne pepper made the cakes perfectly spicy. What can I say about panko? The contrast between the crispness of the outside of the cakes and the tender inside was to die for; I'll never use another kind of bread crumb.

Keep in mind that I've only tried crab cakes a couple of times, so I don't have the greatest frame of reference; however, Jeff, the household Crab Cake King, assured me that these were very, very good. With his endorsement, I am confident in recommending this recipe. Enjoy!

Crab Cakes: The Recipe

Amanda's notes: Next time, I may add another egg to this recipe because the cakes were a little fragile; however, it was nothing that gentle handling couldn't take care of.

The next day, I broke up the leftover crab cakes into the leftover rice, added some green peas, and fried everything in a skillet with a little bit of soy sauce. Tasty!

Ingredients

1 package frozen crab (approx. 1 lb), thawed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

4 green onions, sliced

1 can corn, drained

1 large egg (2 if mixture isn't holding together)

juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tsp sriracha hot sauce

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne (less or more, depending on how brave you are!)

1 tsp kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

Extra panko

vegetable oil

Directions

Mix all ingredients, form into patties (6 large, 12 small). Fill a shallow dish with extra panko, coat patties on both sides. Coat the bottom of a skillet with vegetable oil, heat to medium high. Fry crab cakes until golden brown (about 3 min per side). Drain on a cookie sheet lined with paper towel. Serve cakes with lemony tarter sauce. Enjoy!

Stormy Eats

2010-01-29T13:33:00.006-04:00

We've been hit by a storm. A lot of snow has fallen, and we're expecting even more over the next 24 hours. It is extremely messy outside, what with the blowing snow, uncleared sidewalks, and icy conditions. My walk to work this morning wasn't too bad, but as the morning progressed, conditions worsened.

Even though I wouldn't recommend that anyone go walking outside unless absolutely necessary, I still had to make the trek home for lunch. Why not just buy my lunch at work, you ask? Well, there's this furry little guy that depends on me to let him outside in the middle of the day. Oh, the things we do for little creatures.

By the time I made it home and waded through knee-deep snow to get to my front door, I was a wreck. My jeans and boots were soaked, my glasses were fogged up, my hair was a mess, and I was shivering. There was no way that I was going to eat my usual cold salad for lunch; I needed a serious pick-me-up. Omelette time!

So, I sauteed some sliced cremini mushrooms in butter, wilted some fresh spinach into the pan, and poured in a couple of beaten eggs with cream. I then folded the omelette over some grated provolone cheese. For fun, I added a few dashes of Sriracha hot sauce (which I've recently discovered and adore!)

Yum! After a couple of bites, I forgot all about my miserable walk home and how I would have to head right back out into the storm once I was done eating. The omelette was a nice change from my usual lunch, and I found it very comforting. It's amazing how even a quick little dish can really improve your mood!

Suddenly, as I was enjoying my creation, Mortie C called to tell me that our workplace had decided to close for the rest of the day. Yay! So now I'm sitting at home in a warm change of clothes, with a full belly and a snuggly puppy, while a storm rages outside. It's finally the weekend, and I couldn't be happier.

Meatballs, Two Ways

2010-01-24T16:17:00.013-04:00

Jeff and I bought the entire box-set of The Sopranos off of e-bay, and we've been drawn into the show in a big way. In addition to making me swear like a sailor and exclaim things such as "Always with the barking, that one!!" to no one in particular when I'm playing with the dog, The Sopranos has given me a huge craving for Italian food. The other night I watched a scene in which Dr. Melfi is eating dinner with her family, and I couldn't take my eyes off a big dish of pasta with giant meatballs sitting on top of it. I just had to make my own.

I very gently mixed lean ground pork and beef with finely grated onion, minced garlic, freshly grated parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs (which are Japanese rather than Italian, but they're the best,) marjoram, crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and a couple of beaten eggs, and chilled it for about 15 minutes. I then lightly rolled about 2 tbsp of the meat mixture between my palms to form the balls.

After browning the meatballs on all sides in a little bit of olive oil, I threw them into Jeff's simmering spicy homemade tomato sauce for about 15 minutes to heat them through.

Ladeled generously over some fresh spaghetti, these saucy meatballs were just what I wanted. Moist and flavourful, they held together well without being too compact. Bellissimo!

But that wasn't all, folks; the next day, I had grand plans for the tasty leftovers. While I reheated the meatballs on the stove, I put a loaf of crusty bread in the oven to warm it up, cut it into two pieces, and then sliced it, taking care to leave one edge intact. To make a pocket, I used a spoon to scoop out a lot of the warm bread (which Jeff and I happily snacked on) and spread a bit of garlic butter on the inside of it.

I filled the bread with provolone cheese and the warmed up meatballs and sauce, and put the sandwiches back in the oven for a few minutes. Once the cheese was good and melted, Jeff and I eat the best lunch ever.

I totally recommend going through the trouble of making your own meatballs, just so that you can experience the likes of this sandwich. You will burn the roof of your mouth, but you will not care. Oh, I can still taste it: the crunchy bread, the tender meatballs, the spicy sauce, and the gooey cheese, all melded together into a mouthful of heaven. I am changed.

Aside from stimulating my mind for hours on end, The Sopranos has given me the best sandwich of my entire life. What's not to love? Although I can't say for sure that Carmela Soprano or Dr. Melfi would serve these meatballs to their Italian families, I'm glad to say that I satisfied my craving to the best of my abilities. There really is no limit to where a hobby cook can find inspiration; so tell me, what has inspired some of your best cooking?

Meatballs: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: Be careful not to over-mix! Once the ingredients are just incorporated, and after letting the mixture sit, wet your fingers with water and roll each meatball very gently in the palm of your hand.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup finely grated onion
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil
Tomato Sauce

Directions
Bring tomato sauce to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Meanwhile, gently mix all ingredients. Let mixture sit in fridge for 15 minutes. Form balls out of 2-3 tbsp of mixture. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook meatballs in batches, turning every few minutes to brown all sides, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to the simmering tomato sauce, covering and turning heat to low, to finish the cooking process (10-15 min.) Serve over spaghetti or in a sandwich. Enjoy!

One Pot Meal

2010-01-19T21:32:00.012-04:00

Sometimes, I just want to throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot and have them magically turn into dinner. Last Sunday was one of those days, and, while I didn't want to put a whole lot of effort into it, I still wanted a quality meal. Ladies and gentlemen, enter a roast with root vegetables.

This meal is so easy! Just chop up a bunch of root vegetables (in this case, onions, carrots, red and fingerling potatoes, and parsnips,) smash a few cloves of garlic, and toss them in olive oil with kosher salt, rosemary, and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper.
Bring your roast to room temperature. Make up a mixture of olive oil, whole-grain mustard, herbs and spices (Jeff used garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, and herbes de provence) and salt and pepper, pour it into a shallow dish, and roll your roast around in it. Use a choice cut roast such as top sirloin (pictured here,) rib-eye, or striploin for this method, since you won't be braising it. (Use cheaper cuts for stews, etc., because the liquid will tenderize the roast.)

And now, for a tip: the day before Jeff and I made this roast, we were watching Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on the Food Network, a new show that I like. The host was roasting a leg of lamb, and she shared one of her tricks with the viewer: after she had the bones removed from the leg, she used them as a roasting rack. Genius!
Inspired, we went to the grocery store and told the butcher about our plan; his eyes lit up and he said he had just the thing for us to use. A couple of minutes later, we had two rib bones all wrapped up to use as a rack. They only cost a few dollars, were very effective at keeping the roast off the bottom of the pan, and added a lot of flavour to the vegetables. I'm sold on this method!
We put the roast in the oven to cook on its own for about 30 minutes before adding the vegetables, but in the end the roast was done before the vegetables were. I recommend either roasting everything at the same time, or chopping the veggies into smaller pieces before adding them to the browned roast.
Anyway, put the whole thing in the oven, and forget about it for a couple of hours. Once it's cooked to your liking (when the sun has set and you have no more natural light for nice pictures, of course,) remove the roast and let it rest under a tent of foil. If your vegetables aren't done, continue to roast them; you can leave the "rack" in for flavour.
When the meat is done resting and the veggies are fork-tender, serve yourself a big plate of comfort. The meat will be tender and juicy, and the vegetables will be done to perfection and bursting with flavour. You will be very happy.
So, next time you're feeling a little lazy but have some time to spare, consider making a roast with root vegetables. A delicious, homemade meal without all the work? That's what I call a success!
Notes: Leftovers from this meal make a wonderful hash. Chop up the meat into small pieces and sautee everything in a skillet, mashing the vegetables into the pan as they cook. Top with some sharp cheddar, cover to melt the cheese, and serve. Enjoy your reinvented meal!

Potatoes au Gratin with Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon

2010-01-10T19:58:00.010-04:00

After spending a couple of weeks without cooking anything more substantial than finger foods, I was looking forward to this weekend so that I could try something a little more labour intensive. Since I wanted something really comforting (which, for me, usually translates into a liberal use of dairy products), and as I'm always on a mission to jazz up potatoes, my choice was to try potatoes au gratin. Jeff bought me some Russet potatoes from the farmer's market, and I started to hatch my plan.

While researching recipes, I couldn't believe the variation. Some people parboil their sliced potatoes before baking them, and some use them raw; some people put cheese between each layer of potatoes, some only put it on top, some make a cheese sauce, and some don't use cheese at all (I don't quite understand that last one). Cheddar or gruyere? Heavy cream or whole milk? Would you like to add onions, turnips, or go pure potato? Choices, choices!

Since it was obvious that there was no set formula to follow, I figured that I couldn't possibly mess up that much; so, I decided to wing it. I sauteed sliced onions and cremini mushrooms with some chopped garlic in olive oil, and fried and crumbled a few slices of bacon. Then, I layered this mixture with the potato slices in a buttered baking dish.

To some heavy cream, I added kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper, and, since I love what it does to alfedo sauce, a little bit of ground nutmeg. I heated it to a simmer in a sauce pan to thicken it a bit, and poured it gently over the potatoes, until they were just covered.

I covered the dish with foil and baked it until the potatoes were cooked through; then, I added plenty of aged cheddar cheese and dried thyme on top before baking it uncovered.

Once it was beautifully browned, it was time for the hardest part: letting the dish rest before digging in.

As usual with labours of foodie love, it was worth the wait. Decadently creamy and full of flavour, the potatoes au gratin were just what I wanted on a cozy Sunday evening. They would make a great side dish to just about anything, but since we were eating them as a main dish, I served them with a simple salad. I'm so glad I made much more than I needed (I can't wait to eat them with tomorrow night's salmon!)

I think this dish is elegant enough to serve at a nice dinner party. A convenient bonus is that you could assemble the entire thing the day before, and just throw it in the oven while you get everything else ready. I know I'll be serving it with pride very soon!

Potatoes au Gratin with Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon: The Recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly

1 lb sliced cremini mushrooms

1 large onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

3-4 cups heavy cream

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

pinch nutmeg

2 cups shredded aged cheddar

dried thyme

Directions

Preheat oven to 375C. Saute onions, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil with kosher salt and fresh pepper, until softened. Place a layer of potato slices in the bottom of a buttered 9x13 in baking dish, overlapping slightly. Spread half of onion and mushroom mixture and half of bacon over the potatoes, top with another layer of potatoes; repeat.

Add kosher salt, fresh pepper, and nutmeg to the heavy cream; bring to a simmer. Pour over potatoes until just covered. Cover baking dish with foil, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender (pierce with a fork.) Remove foil and top with cheese, and sprinkle with thyme. Bake for another 30-35 minutes to brown. Broil for a few minutes, if desired. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Holiday Cheese Ball

2009-12-30T15:54:00.008-04:00

After the success I've had serving Amy Sedaris' L'il Smoky Cheese Ball, I decided to make another one to bring home for the holidays. Since my sister is a vegetarian and would therefore not enjoy a cheese ball that was reminiscent of bacon, I set out to create one with a different flavour.

I found a forgotten jar of gourmet mango chutney in my pantry, and added a few tablespoons of it to the base recipe of cream cheese and butter, substituting aged cheddar for the smoked gouda in Amy's recipe. Inspired by the pink grocery store cheese ball that my parents usually have on hand, I added a generous glug of port to the mixture. Then, for extra flavour, colour, and texture, I folded in a handful of chopped dried cranberries. Finally, I rolled the cheese ball in a mixture of chopped toasted pecans and walnuts.

This cheese ball couldn't be more different from the earlier version, but it was a fantastic and festive appetizer. The mango chutney and port brought a lot of sweetness to the mixture, which was balanced nicely with the tartness of the cranberries and the sharpness of the aged cheddar. Once again, the toasted nuts brought the taste and texture of the cheese ball to the next level.

I enjoyed this cheese ball as part of a finger food buffet dinner, spread on rice crackers and crostini, and as breakfast the following morning on 7-grain crackers with a big mug of coffee (over the holidays, I will eat absolutely any leftover for my first meal of the day. I think it's a big part of what makes Christmas special).

I'm excited to try even more cheese ball variations. With a great base recipe and tasty additions, how could it go wrong? How about, in 2010, we all live on the wild side, and experiment with our recipes? Try something new, share your results with your loved ones, and feel warm and fuzzy as you stuff yourself silly. Cheers!

Holiday Cheeseball: The Recipe

Ingredients

2 sticks cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature

2 cups grated aged cheddar cheese (I used 4 yr old Canadian)

2 tbsp mango chutney

1/4 cup port

1 cup dried cranberries, chopped

2 cups toasted pecans and/or walnuts, chopped

Directions

To toast nuts, spread on a cookie sheet and into a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool, then chop.

Using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese, butter, and grated cheese. Stir in mango chutney and port. Fold in cranberries. Let mixture chill overnight.

Form mixture into two balls. Roll into chopped nuts, pressing them into the cheeseball. Serve with crostini and/or crackers.

Enjoy!

Polenta with Marinara Sauce and Mushrooms

2009-12-06T15:59:00.010-04:00

On the first snowy morning of the season, Jeff decided to make himself some cornmeal porridge for breakfast; however, by following the directions on the back of the bag that are meant to feed an entire family, he unintentionally ended up with an entire saucepan full of it. After he served himself a bowl and set to sweetening it with cream and brown sugar, I poured the rest of the plain porridge into a dish so that it would cool completely and mold.

Although traditional Italian polenta is cornmeal that is more coarsely ground, I was confident that this would be a close approximation. Since it's not at all common in my region, I've only tried polenta once before, several years ago in a restaurant in Fredericton, where it was cut into triangles and served under a wild mushroom ragu. I loved how it was an interesting alternative to pasta or potatoes, and how its neutral taste absorbed the flavour of the ragu. Armed with this tasty memory, I set to work on creating a polenta dish to call my own.

To start, I sautéd a mixture of sliced cremini, shitake, and white button mushrooms with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper in butter and olive oil until soft and fragrant.

I then seasoned the sliced polenta and fried it in butter until it was golden brown on each side. This took about 3-4 minutes on each side on medium-high heat.

I placed the fried polenta in the bottom of a shallow dish. I thought of making it arty and having the pieces radiate outward in a star shape, but then I snapped back to reality. That's just not how I operate! Random placement is just fine.

Lucky for me, Jeff had a marinara sauce bubbling away on the stove (made from crushed canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, and copious amounts of red wine.) I ladled a generous serving of the sauce all over the polenta, and topped it off with the mushrooms.

The only thing left to do was to add some grated parmesan cheese for garnish, of course.

I was really pleased with this dish. The buttery polenta acted like a delicious sponge, and really took on the flavour of the sauce. I also loved the combination of the different kinds of mushrooms. This was a very hearty vegetarian dish, one that was perfect for the cold weather we've suddenly come into.

I'm grateful for Jeff's culinary mishap, because it allowed me to be creative and try something new.

In fact, from now on when he gets a craving for cornmeal porridge, I'll insist that he follows the instructions on the back of the bag.

Amanda's notes: Something I'd like to try in the future would be to mix herbs and spices and/or cheese into the cornmeal before allowing it to cool.

I think leftover slices of polenta broiled with a sharp cheese on top would make a wonderful breakfast.

Glazed Butternut Squash with Brown Rice and Feta

2009-11-29T12:34:00.010-04:00

I just love roasted butternut squash. When the weather turns cooler, I eat it at least twice per week. It's so simple and delicious: cube it, toss with olive oil and salt and pepper, and roast it for about 45 minutes. The result is a deep, sweet squash flavour that makes the perfect side dish.

However, what to do when you want to eat squash, but the oven is busy cooking your main dish? Recently, I decided to find a way to make killer stove-top squash. I'm not a huge fan of boiled and mashed squash, so I went with a sauté. When I roast squash I leave the skin on and it becomes edible, but since sautéing is a gentler method, I decided to peel it before seeding and cubing it.

I sautéed the squash pieces in a few tablespoons of butter, with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until they were cooked through.

After about 15 minutes or so, I was eager to taste it. The result was...eh. Kind of boring. I missed the punch of flavour that I'm used to after roasting. I didn't want to settle, so I did a quick search to get some inspiration; as always, Martha Stewart to the rescue!

Inspired by Martha's website, I added chicken broth and water to the pan, and replaced her brown sugar with (what else?) maple syrup. After a few minutes, the liquid boiled away, and the squash was nicely glazed. (As you can see, I ran out of natural light at this point. Damn shorter days!)

Phenomenal! I cannot tell you how well the salty-sweet combination of broth and maple works. The best part was that it really brought out the flavour of the squash, just like roasting does.

Now, it's a fantastic side dish on its own. You really don't need to do anything more to it. However, just to try something different, I decided to take the salty-sweet idea to the next level, and combined the glazed squash with some brown rice and feta cheese. I just mixed everything up in the pan on low heat, and put the lid on for a few minutes to slightly melt the cheese.

Yum!! It looked and smelled so good, that even Bullet the puppy couldn't resist trying to get a glimpse of the leftovers.

Serve this with a simple main, because it will steal the show. I think this is substantial enough for a vegetarian main dish (made with vegetable broth, of course), perhaps with some sauteed spinach thrown in for a green. I just love this combination, and I think it will show up in my dinner rotation as often as roasted squash.

Try making glazed butternut squash with brown rice and feta tonight. Trust this squash lover when she says your tastebuds will thank you.

Glazed Butternut Squash with Brown Rice and Feta: The Recipe

I followed this recipe from Martha Stewart, except I used maple syrup instead of brown sugar.

Once squash is glazed, set heat to low and add 2 cups cooked brown rice and a few handfuls of cubed feta cheese to the pan. Stir to distribute, then cover for 5 minutes until cheese is slightly melted.

Enjoy!

Roasted Apple Sauce

2009-11-22T12:48:00.014-04:00

An adorable little girl knocked on my door a couple of weeks ago and offered to sell me some apples for her school's fundraising efforts. Who could resist? I ordered 10 lbs of local McIntosh apples; since they're such a great cooking apple, I've been dreaming of what I want to do with them ever since.
Apple sauce, which I've never made before, was the first thing on my list. While I originally had planned to cook it on the stove, I came across a few recipes that used a roasting method. Since I love what roasting does to food, my interest was certainly piqued!

Now that I've made my own apple sauce, I realize that the hardest part is peeling and coring the apples. Needless to say, apple sauce is now on my list of Things People Should Make Themselves Instead of Buying.

Since I'm much more likely to eat apple sauce on pork or cottage cheese as opposed to on ice cream, I barely sweetened mine. A couple of tablespoons of dark brown sugar were all I added; then, on a whim, I drizzled in about a tablespoon of maple syrup. I mixed the sweetened apples with apple juice and lemon juice, a few generous shakes of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt.

I poured the apple chunks into a roasting pan and nestled a couple of cinnamon sticks and a few shavings of lemon peel among them.

After roasting until the house smelled divine, I removed the cinnamon sticks and lemon peel, and stirred the apples. They just fell apart! I used a potato masher to smooth it out a little bit, but it didn't take very much work.

This apple sauce is delicious! It's spicy, with a deep, concentrated apple flavour, and just a bit of sweetness, and I'm not ashamed to say it's the best I've ever had. I'd love to try making some more with the addition of cranberries or blueberries.

I think I'll leave a little bit of it stored in the fridge for this week, and then freeze the rest in small portions. Besides eating it with pork or cottage cheese, as I mentioned earlier, can anyone suggest other ways to use it? Please let me know!

However, even if you don't, I suspect I'll be just fine eating it on its own.

Roasted Apple Sauce: The Recipe

Ingredients

4 lbs apples (12 large, 16 small) peeled, cored, and chopped

1 cup apple cider or apple juice

juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch salt

2 cinnamon sticks

few shavings lemon peel

Directions

Toss apples with juices, sugar, maple syrup, nutmeg and salt. Pour into a roasting pan and add cinnamon sticks and lemon peel. Roast in a 400F oven for 45 minutes. Remove cinnamon and lemon peel, and mash with a potato masher.

Enjoy!

Sausage and Cheddar Crepes

2009-11-15T12:56:00.007-04:00

Back before Jeff and I got into cooking, we used to go out for breakfast at least once every single weekend. Now that cooking is a hobby and we'd rather hang out in our own dining room, going out is more of an occasional treat. To ensure that we don't feel like we're missing out on anything, sometimes I take it upon myself to recreate dishes that we used to regularly enjoy in restaurants. I've been dreadfully sick for the past few weeks, but since I'm starting to feel human again and it's poor Jeff's turn to lie on the couch, all drugged up on cold medicine, I thought that I would use one of his old favourites, buckwheat crepes rolled around sausage and cheddar cheese, as inspiration for Sunday brunch.

Crepe batter is essentially pancake batter that is thinned out with more milk. I decided to use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, since they were for a more savoury application and I thought that, like the original buckwheat, the denseness would work well. Making crepes is a little challenging, since you have to work quickly at rotating the pan after pouring the batter in, so that you can spread it out in a thin layer. I realize that my crepes wouldn't win any beauty contests, but I can't be bothered. I'll just call them "rustic crepes." Yeah, that's it!

I roasted my locally-made breakfast sausage links, and laid them on a bed of grated 4-year-old cheddar cheese (the sharper the better!) on the end of each crepe.

Then I just rolled them up and placed them seam-side down in a baking dish.

I topped them with a little more cheddar for decoration, and baked them for about 10 minutes, then broiled them for a few more. Next time I will only cook the crepes until very lightly browned, and then I will bake the rolls for about 20-30 min. (The cheddar in the final product was not as melted as I would have liked, but I was afraid of the crepes becoming too crunchy. Oh well, you cook and you learn!)

These babies don't need much in the way of side dishes. Just a few slices of apple tossed with lemon juice is all you need. Jeff enjoys his sausage and cheddar crepes with maple syrup, but I like them as is.

I can't say that I magically cured Jeff's cold, but I do know that he appreciated my efforts to help him not feel so crummy, at least for a little while. Even though the kitchen looks like a war zone, I really enjoy going to extra mile to enjoy breakfast at home.

Who needs restaurants, anyway, when you can eat delicious dishes like sausage and cheddar crepes in your jammies?

Snippets of Thanksgiving Dinner

2009-10-13T18:21:00.012-03:00

Jeff and I had the pleasure of hosting his family for Thanksgiving this weekend. It was our first time cooking a turkey dinner for guests, and I was equal parts nervous and excited. Since it was such a busy day, I didn't get around to documenting things as well as I would have liked, but I do have a few dishes to share.

While Jeff took care of the fresh turkey from Stephen Taylor's farm (stuffed with onions, apples, carrots, and lemons, and rubbed with a lemon and herb butter,) gravy from scratch, and the potatoes (mashed with my roasted-garlic butter, and cream cheese) I tackled the rest of the dinner. First up is homemade cranberry sauce:

I followed a Martha Stewart recipe, but made it my own with a few generous shakes of cinnamon. Mmmm, it was spicy and tasted like autumn. I hated cranberry sauce until I started making it myself; there's really no comparison, and it's only slightly harder than locating the can opener.

Inspired by this month's recipe for Whole Wheat Stuffing with Pancetta, Chestnuts, and Parmesan in Bon Appétit, I tried something different for my dressing. I think chestnuts are more of an American holiday tradition; anyway, I'm not at all familiar with them so I substituted with walnuts. Also, because I have a hard time reading recipes very attentively, I didn't realize until later that this one called for cubed pancetta, and instead asked the kid at the deli counter to slice mine like bacon. While I can see why cubes of pancetta would work very well, texture-wise, with the cubes of bread in this dish, the sliced pancetta was perfectly tasty and added a lot of flavour. I also loved the complimentary, yet subtle, addition of Parmesan in this dressing.

I decided to use dried herbs in this dish instead of fresh, because I was afraid that fresh ones would wilt and lose their oils and flavour during the long baking time. In addition to the thyme and rosemary listed in the recipe, I added some ground savoury, inspired by a friend who raves about her mother's stuffing and credits this herb as a major player. I was very pleased with this dish, as it had great texture (toasting the bread cubes beforehand keeps the dressing from getting soggy) and amazing flavour. I smell a tradition!

For a vegetable side dish, I cut butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots into equally sized pieces, tossed them with olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked pepper, and roasted them at 450C for 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through. I then drizzled the vegetables with a bit of maple syrup, tossed them some more, and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes to glaze.

They were delicious. Once roasted and caramelized, it was difficult to tell which vegetable was which, because the dish was a bright and shiny mass of orange. This side dish was full of deep, sweet flavour, and I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Finally, my crowning achievement. I made cheesecake for the first time, a pumpkin one. I followed yet another Martha Stewart recipe, replacing the graham cracker crust with one made from gingersnaps (I used a bit more crumbs than the recipe called for, and omitted sugar.) I also made my own pumpkin pie spice by combining ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

The cheesecake cracked in the oven, which I hear is a common problem. I just brought individual slices cut from the intact portion to the table for our guests, instead of displaying the cake before serving. No one seemed to mind! Made with 4 blocks of cream cheese, this dessert was incredibly rich, and required no sauce or whipped cream for garnish. Pure decadence!

For the first time, I truly appreciate how much work goes into putting on a Thanksgiving dinner. Although exhausting, it was very satisfying to invite people into our home to enjoy a holiday meal. I hope that this year's dinner was only the beginning of new traditions, and look forward to future feasts with loved ones.

Auchentoshan Chocolate Pecan Pie

2009-10-06T19:37:00.031-03:00

When Jeff had a milestone birthday this summer, our dear friends bought him a bottle of 12-year-old Auchentoshan. As this was his first nice bottle of single malt scotch whisky, they offered to host a tasting for us. Since they are both scotch connoisseurs, we knew we were in for a treat; in fact, one of them, Mortie C, is the blogger behind The Spirit Safe. Definitely check it out; he is very knowledgeable and informative. I've learned a lot from him!

Mortie and I thought that it would be interesting if I used the Auchentoshan in a dessert, so that we both could blog about the tasting (for Mortie's complete review of the Auchentoshan at The Spirit Safe, click here.) I knew exactly where to look for a delicious recipe: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, is a book full of classic-with-a-twist desserts that includes Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie. As a novice baker, most of their recipes are a little advanced for my abilities, but the book is so gorgeous and inspiring that I've read it from cover to cover at least 4 times. The Baked pecan pie recipe, I thought, seemed manageable, and I was excited to actually use the book for the first time.

Another first for me was making my own pie crust. Oh, boy. On my list of "Things that Terrify Me to My Very Core," making my own pie crust is sandwiched between being mauled by a grizzly bear and burning the house down with my hair straightener. So, as I began my pie adventure, I was even more frazzled than usual. Thankfully, after two attempts, I ended up with something that looked OK; in fact, I was quite pleased with myself!

Once the crust had a chance to freeze, the recipe called for a single layer of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Clearly, the gentlemen behind Baked know what they're doing!

Onto the custard filling. I combined eggs, corn syrup, white and brown sugars, butter, salt and vanilla. I replaced the bourbon in the recipe with Auchentoshan, of course, and increased its amount from 3 tbsp to 1/4 cup so that I could be sure it would shine. I mixed in some chopped toasted pecan halves from the farmer's market, and poured it carefully onto the chocolate layer.

Then, it was time to arrange the rest of the pecan halves on top of the filling.

After about an hour of baking, the pie was done. I had a moment of sheer panic when I realized that the pie looked like a soufflé! The custard had puffed right up to a dome that was three times as high as the crust! I set it out to cool, and thankfully, while I was pacing around the kitchen, sweating and muttering, it settled down to a normal height for pie. I've since done some research, and it turns out the puffing up is typical. Apparently, this is common knowledge to the point where no recipe that I looked at even bothered mentioning it. What, am I the only moron in the world who would bake a pecan pie and not expect this hot air balloon phenomenon? How are we beginners supposed to know these things?! WHY WASN'T I WARNED?!?!!!

Aaaaaaah, much better.

When I finally cut into the pie at the tasting, it was clear that something had gone awry with the dough. Although it looked nice, the texture was all wrong. The crust was too tough, and more crunchy than flaky (both Jeff and Mortie's wife likened it to phyllo). I was somewhat comforted by the fact that it had a really nice, buttery taste, which motivates me to perfect my method. I've read Deb's tutorial at Smitten Kitchen, and I suspect that I added too much ice water to the dough before resting it. Oh well, you can't win 'em all, and I've read many times that it takes a lot of practice to master pie crust. I shall soldier on!

On the bright side, I really enjoyed the filling. The pecans were nice and toasty, the custard was sweet and gooey, and the chocolate provided an added layer of richness. I particularly enjoyed the Auchentoshan, which I thought came through nicely in the final product. With notes of toffee, vanilla, and nuts, it complemented the pecan pie in the most delightful way.
Mortie C kindly provided this picture of a leftover slice of pie, so that you can better appreciate its layers. He reported that he enjoyed the pie even more cold, right out of the fridge, as the custard had a chance to set.

Baked does flavour right, and I know I will make this Auchentoshan Chocolate Pecan Pie again when I'm more confident in my technique. Although I was disappointed, what's important is that I had a wonderful evening with great friends and a good spirit. You know you've found nice people when they'll not only hack through a pie with a rock-solid crust without complaint, but even give compliments. Today's lesson: when in doubt about your dessert, be sure to serve it with copious amounts of delicious scotch whisky!

Embracing Fat

2009-09-26T10:58:00.012-03:00

Like any other person in our society who watches TV, reads magazines, and associates with other human beings, I am constantly bombarded by two little words. Two words that make my skin crawl, two words that invite me to bash my head against my desk, two tiny little words that represent everything I think is wrong with the way we eat.

Those two little words? "Low" and "Fat".

I have rage, people! Low-Fat Rage! I hate how "low-fat" has become the gold standard qualifier against which we judge the nutritional value of food. Actually, in a lot of cases, "food." Here are some food items that you may hear are worth gorging on, due to the fact that they're low in fat (or, LOW-FAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as certain magazines love to exclaim):

-angel food cake

-gummy bears

-jelly beans

-marshmallows

-Crystal Light

-Frosted Flakes

-birch bark

That list sure represents the foundations of a healthy diet. I wonder why those clowns over at Canada's Food Guide haven't jumped all over this!

In all seriousness, it's a shame that fat has gotten such a bad rap over the years. Every single cell in your body is made up of fat. Your brain? Mostly fat! Fat fuels us. Why has it become the Boogey Man?

We have been misled, for years, about what is healthy for our bodies. It's no longer a secret that most food that is labelled as low-fat contains a terrifying amount of sugar (which, in abundance, is actually more like the Boogey Man, if you ask me, but I digress.) Forget our bodies for a second. What about our minds? We've been made to beat ourselves up and measure our self worth over what tasty things we put in our bellies! That's no way to live.

You know what tastes great? Butter. Eggs. Cheese. Cream. Real mayonnaise. Olive oil.

You know what tastes awful? Guilt.

Just let it go! I promise that you will be much happier. Isn't that what really matters? A few years ago, after reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingslover, I decided to forget all of my Fat Guilt. It felt so wrong for a while, but I soon got used to my 2% milk, regular cheese, full-fat mayonnaise, and butter, because my life was so rich (pun intended) with deliciousness.

I have news for those who read things like this and say, "My stars! That's so unhealthy! Surely you're sabotaging your health by eating such evil things as butter!" Actually, eating fat does not equal getting fatter. Since making the transition to eating real food (that is, anything that grows in the ground, or on trees, or comes from an animal) I have never been healthier. I'm in better shape and at a lower weight than I ever was when I eat what I had been brainwashed into thinking was good for me. Even though I include fat in my diet, my blood pressure is in the healthy lower range, and the results from my routine blood work are better than average. My doctor loves me!

Here's the thing about real, natural fat: it tastes so good, that you only need a little. A small piece of real applewood smoked cheddar is far more satisfying than an entire block of low-fat, rubbery cheese. I'd rather eat one tablespoon of real, thick, 6% fat yogurt lightly sweetened with honey or maple syrup, than an entire 750mL container of thin, runny, non-fat yogurt sweetened with acid rain, or whatever it is they put in there.

So, in the spirit of embracing fat, I thought I would share part of what I had for brunch this morning. Since it's Saturday, I wanted it to be special.

I whisked three eggs with a splash of milk and some kosher salt, and poured it into a pan that was coated in a bit of sizzling butter.

I added some feta cheese, which was left over from Greek Finger Food Night (a popular Friday night meal at our place.)

Once I folded the omelette, I put some more cheese on top, just to make it look pretty.

I then finished it off with a dollop of tzatziki sauce. Mmmmm...

I'm convinced that if I had instead made an egg-white-from-a-carton omelette fried in margarine or cooking spray, with low-fat cheese and a dollop of non-fat yogurt, my foodie self would have been so unsatisfied, that I would have run to the store and bought an armload of (LOW-FAT!!!!!!) licorice for lunch to console myself. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating...but right now I feel satisfied, nourished, and, most of all, content. And nothing tastes better than that.

Weeknight Macaroni and Tomatoes

2009-09-10T17:50:00.013-03:00

Does everyone's grandmother make macaroni and tomatoes? You know, canned tomatoes mixed with ground beef, macaroni, and not much else? Both Jeff and I have memories of our grandmothers fixing us this comforting concoction; so, when we found ourselves on a Thursday night with a basket of local Roma tomatoes that needed to be used up, and an inventory of our fridge was less than inspiring, we thought of this simple childhood dish.

We figured that neither Gram nor Grand-Maman would be offended by a version modified to our current tastes, so Jeff set to quartering the beautiful, fresh tomatoes.

Meanwhile, I sauteed an onion and some garlic in a mixture of olive oil and butter until softened and fragrant. In went the tomatoes, which looked so pretty in the pot with the spices Jeff added in abundance (basil, oregano, and herbes de provence, with salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper.)

I browned a pound of ground beef from Stephen Taylor's Farm in a nearby skillet, while the whole-wheat pasta boiled away in yet another pot. After we added the meat to the tomato mixture, I remembered a pack of mushrooms that we had in our sorry fridge. I softened those babies up in some garlic butter, and threw them and the drained pasta into the pool with the others. Then, the entire thing was poured into a baking dish.

As you may have noticed, there aren't very many dishes that make it past my inspection without the incorporation of cheese. Although not in my grandmother's original, I sprinkled a blend of shredded Italian cheeses (mozzarella, asiago, provolone, and parmesan) on top before baking. We were very patient, and then...

Heaven! The macaroni and tomatoes was extremely comforting. It tasted so familiar to me, with just a little bit of a new twist. This was a great way to use our tomatoes! I liked the bright and fresh flavour that they brought to the table (no pun intended.) Also, I can't say enough about using garlic butter in this dish; it really stood out, but in the most delightful way.

I enjoyed this so much, that I want to experiment further. Something I'd really like to try, when I've bothered to plan ahead, is folding in cubes of fresh mozzarella before baking. However, that being said, Jeff and I both found ourselves craving Kraft "Parmesan Cheese," the stuff in the green can. Yikes...funny what childhood memories can do to a person!

Not Your Grandmother's Macaroni and Tomatoes: The Recipe

Amanda's Notes: Make sure you undercook your pasta just a little bit, so that it will finish cooking to a perfect al dente in the oven.

Ingredients

3.0 L fresh tomatoes, quartered

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

olive oil, garlic butter

1 lb hamburger, browned

1 box whole-wheat macaroni

1 tsp each basil, oregano, herbes de provence

salt and freshly cracked pepper

Italian cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Sautee onions and garlic in a mixture of olive oil and garlic butter, until soft. Add mushrooms, sautee until soft.

Add tomatoes and spices. Add ground beef and pasta. Season to taste.

Sprinkle with cheese and bake pasta for 25-30 min. Broil to brown the cheese.

Let the pasta sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

World's Best Garlic Bread

2009-08-30T18:51:00.010-03:00

It has been very cold and rainy around here lately, which has made me kind of grouchy. Well, if the weather can't be nice, at least I can try to cheer myself up with food! Last night we made a gigantic pot of chili for supper, and today Jeff slaved away over a homemade pasta sauce made from local tomatoes. I decided that my life-changing* garlic bread would be a fitting contribution to this comforting Sunday night dinner.

*not an exaggeration

***Disclaimer: Readers should be advised that the following recipe may ruin their enjoyment of regular garlic bread.***

When I make garlic bread, I like to make my own roasted garlic butter. It's so easy, yet so very delicious! If you've never tried roasted garlic, you are missing out on one of life's most mouth-watering experiences. Once roasted, garlic is smooth and mellow, with a deliciously nutty taste that doesn't sting in the least. I can't do it justice with a simple description; you must try it yourself.

All you have to do is peel a bulb of garlic until you get down to the skins that cover the individual cloves; then, cut through the tips of the cloves so that they're exposed while the bulb remains intact. Drizzle the garlic bulb with olive oil, rub it into the cloves with your fingers, and top with salt and pepper. Wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil, and it's ready to roast.

Once your kitchen smells amazing, your bundle of joy is ready to be opened. The bulb is done roasting when the cloves are golden and soft, and the papery skins are browned.

Once it has cooled enough to be handled, just hold the bulb in your hand and squeeze it. The cloves will slide out of the bulb like butter.

Speaking of butter...

Hello, dear friend.

Mix your roasted garlic into one softened stick of butter. You've now made real, homemade garlic butter, in less time than it would take you to pick up a container of "garlic spread" from the grocery store deli. Roasted garlic butter just makes sense!

Here's how I like to proceed: I toast a loaf of crusty bread in the oven, just until it's warm; that way, the garlic butter spreads very easily on the bread halves.

I top them with more freshly cracked pepper, then broil until the butter is sizzling, and the garlic pieces and the edges of the bread are nice and golden brown.

I always slice my garlic bread into really thin slices. I was trying to remember why, and then I realized that that's just how my mom used to slice garlic bread on spaghetti nights. It just tastes better that way!

Most of the time, I like to keep my garlic bread simple. However, I do like to sprinkle some chopped fresh Italian parsley on top for a dash of colour.

Oh, my. There's nothing more to say.

Except: you must make this. You must make this now.

Boy, do I love rainy days.

World's Best Garlic Bread: The recipe

Amanda's notes: I roast the foil-covered bulb directly on the oven rack, although a muffin pan can come in handy for this purpose.

Leftover garlic butter is great on grilled cheese sandwiches or steak.

Ingredients

1 garlic bulb

1 stick butter, softened

1 loaf crusty bread

salt and freshly cracked pepper

fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F.

Peel garlic bulb until you're left with the skins of the individual cloves. Slice off the top of the bulb, so that the tip of each clove is removed. Drizzle and rub with olive oil, season. Wrap in foil, and roast in oven for 30-40 min, until cloves are golden, and papery skins are browned. Cool.

Squeeze cloves into a bowl, and mix with butter. Meanwhile, warm loaf of bread or bread halves in oven. Spread garlic butter on bread halves, top with freshly cracked pepper, broil until golden brown.

Slice garlic bread into thin slices, sprinkle with parsley.

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing: A Success Story

2009-08-23T10:54:00.009-03:00

As much as I love to cook, I am a terrible baker. I always get flustered, I always make a huge mess in the kitchen, and I always make myself nauseous from sampling too much batter. Most disappointing is the fact that I fail more often than not, especially when it comes to cake. Jeff recently had a milestone birthday, and, since his favourite cake in the whole world is carrot cake with cream cheese icing, I planned on making one for his birthday party.

You must understand how nervous I was about this cake. This was my third attempt at making a carrot cake for Jeff; the first time, I bought pre-grated carrots that didn't cook down into the cake, resulting in a stringy, crunchy mess that had to be eaten with the use of a knife (Jeff: "This is great, honey! Best carrot cake I've ever had!") The second time, although I hand-grated my carrots, I suspect I either over-mixed the batter or didn't add enough flour, because the cake didn't rise at all (Jeff: "This is amazing! I couldn't ask for a better birthday cake!") They say the third time's the charm, so I had high hopes that I would finally get it right.

I did a couple of things differently this time; to begin, I decided to grate the carrots on the finer side of my grater, so that I'd get a really smooth batter.

Most importantly, I think, I also tried to stay calm and take my time, carefully measuring all of my dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The lovely colour you see there is cinnamon and nutmeg, which give carrot cake its classic spiciness.

In another bowl went the wet ingredients: oil, eggs, both brown and white sugar, and vanilla.

The idea with separating the ingredients is that you can completely smooth out the wet ones before adding them to the dry ones, so that you don't over-mix the batter. Lumps are good in cake batter, because they produce air pockets during baking, which makes the cake fluffy (see, I'm aware of all the theory; it's just when it comes to practice that I'm a clumsy mess.)

Once the two are combined, you stir just until it's moistened. I find that trusting my judgement when following a baking recipe is hard, but I just went for an incorporated-yet-still-lumpy look to the batter (and tried really hard not to panic.)

I say "yes!" to adding crushed pineapple and walnuts. I really like them in carrot cake, but to each their own. Just a gentle stir into the batter, and then the whole thing goes into a greased pan.

I crossed my fingers, popped it in the oven, and spent the next half hour on the couch, moaning from the pain (read: sampling raw batter). However, once I got a glimpse of my cake, all of my worries and discomfort faded...

The cake looked like, well, a real cake! It had risen, and everything! Tears of joy sprang to my eyes as I hopped around, hooting and hollering, scaring the crap out of Jeff and the dog. Ah, what a moment.

As the cake cooled, I moved on to the cream cheese icing, which I decided to sweeten partly with maple syrup, one of Jeff's favourite flavours. I iced the cake, but there's no photographic evidence of the final product; it was, to put it bluntly, hideous. Who cares what the outside looks like, though, when the inside looks like this?

Folks, I finally did it. This carrot cake was extremely moist and fluffy, with the perfect amount of spice. The maple syrup acted as a subtle, yet intriguing background flavour in the icing, which I very much enjoyed. All in all, I was very pleased, and proud to serve the cake to our friends in honour of Jeff's birthday. (Jeff: "Not that I didn't love the other ones, but this one is your best!")

Lessons I learned: to calm down, take my time, trust my judgement, and stay away from the batter. I'm so jazzed, and ready for more! Anyone have a birthday coming up?

The Recipe: Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

I followed this Canadian Living recipe to the letter to make the cake, except that I substituted walnuts for the pecans. To make the maple cream cheese icing, I omitted the vanilla, and added about 3 tbsp of pure maple syrup. I also used more icing sugar than this recipe called for, about 3 cups in total.

Enjoy!

The Joy of Leftovers: Sunday Brunch Hash

2009-08-10T20:11:00.012-03:00

My sister was up for a visit last week, and I made her a potato salad. I absentmindedly boiled almost double the amount of potatoes that I needed, so I had quite a bit of leftover quartered red potatoes in my fridge.

When Sunday morning came along, I was a bit gloomy because my sister had left; therefore, I decided to cheer myself up by taking those potatoes and making something delicious and comforting: a potato hash.

I chopped up an onion and a green pepper, and sliced some cremini mushrooms. I then sauteed the onion and mushrooms in some butter, until softened. My kitchen smelled wonderful, and already I felt rejuvenated.

In went the potatoes, that I mashed into the pan. Since I like my potatoes with a bit of a crunch to them, I really wanted them to crisp up in the butter and form a crust on the bottom.

Once the potatoes had warmed through, I mixed in the chopped green pepper and some crumbled bacon, along with salt and freshly cracked pepper, and garlic powder.

As if all that wasn't enough in the way of comfort, I decided that my hash would need some cheese; I settled on grating a block of old cheddar, to provide a bit of sharpness.

I sprinkled the cheese all over the hash, and then set my oven-proof skillet under the broiler for a few minutes. When I removed the bubbly hash from the oven, there was a gasp of delight from my audience (Jeff). It was quite a sight!

It was hard to restrain myself from digging in and eating my brunch right off of the stove, but I had even bigger plans in mind; I topped my hash with a fried egg (I was aiming for over-easy, but I got distracted. Does anyone else find that timing breakfast dishes is one of life's biggest challenges?)

This hash was just what I needed to pick me up on a Sunday. The potatoes were so creamy, yet crispy and browned on the bottom. The onion and mushrooms were soft and fragrant, while the green pepper remained crunchy, and, along with the crispy bacon, improved the overall texture of the hash. Finally, the bubbly cheese just knocked this hash out of the park.

Trashy? Maybe. Delicious? Absolutely! Sometimes, that's all that matters.

Canada Day Potato Salad

2009-07-02T18:40:00.011-03:00

I find it interesting to hear people talk about potato salad. I almost get the impression that, in order to make potato salad, you must think that your version is the absolute best, and you must remain fiercely loyal to your choice of ingredients and recipe. It isn't something that I grew up eating, but I have tried it a few times. I've never found one that has made me want to do backflips, usually finding them kind of bland; plus, the texture weirds me out. Cold mashed potatoes? No, thank you!

In the mood to experiment in honour of Canada Day yesterday, I decided to try making my own version of potato salad. Since I felt no traditional obligation to include any particular ingredient, all I envisioned were big chunks of potato in a simple, creamy dressing. After a bit of research, I found a couple of recipes from Martha Stewart to use as inspiration, combining elements of both to achieve my perfect potato salad.

I chose a patriotic combination of red and white potatoes for my dish. After boiling, I followed one of Martha's great tips and added vinegar and onions to the potato chunks while still hot. They really absorbed the vinegar as they cooled, which ensured that they remained very flavourful in the salad. I'm convinced that the end result wouldn't have been the same had I simply added vinegar to my dressing. Genius!

I used a mixture of mayonnaise and sour cream (both full-fat; sorry, Martha) to make the dressing, to which I decided to add some fresh dill for even more flavour. After the salad sat in the fridge for a few hours, I folded in some green onions and a little bit of bacon, and served it up to Jeff and some hungry friends.

I was really pleased with how the potato salad turned out. It didn't have very many ingredients, yet it was full of great taste. I enjoyed the texture of the chunky and vinegar-infused potatoes, and the creaminess of the dressing. The green onions and dill ensured a burst of fresh flavour in every bite, while the bacon...well, bacon just makes everything better! It was a total success.

Happy birthday, Canada! May we share this potato salad for years to come.

Canada Day Potato Salad: The Recipe

Serves 6-8

Inspired by Martha Stewart.

Ingredients
4 lb small and/or new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
½ cup white wine vinegar
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
6 green onions, minced, divided into green and white parts
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions
Cover potatoes with cold, salted water in a large pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (12 to 15 minutes.) Drain.

While potatoes are boiling, combine white wine vinegar with the white parts of the green onions, and a bit of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Add warm potatoes, and toss to coat. Let potatoes cool to room temperature, tossing occasionally.

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Add to cooled potatoes. Refrigerate salad for at least a couple of hours.

To serve, fold in remaining green onions and bacon. Taste and season, if needed.

Enjoy!

Amy Sedaris' Cheese Ball

2009-06-28T12:24:00.017-03:00

I attended a party last night, to which guests were asked to contribute an hors d'oeuvre. Scrambling for ideas at the last minute, and inspired by a store-bought cheese ball I tasted at a BBQ the night before, I decided to try my hand at this classic party dish.

Over Christmas, I read funny lady Amy Sedaris' book on entertaining, I like you. It was a hilarious yet practical book, throughout which she mentioned several times that her cheese ball recipe has made her famous among her friends. I decided to use her recipe, "L'il Smoky Cheese Ball," as inspiration for my own.

The smoky flavours in this cheese ball come from plenty of smoked Gouda cheese, and a little bit of steak sauce (although I used some bold barbecue sauce, since it's what I had on hand). The recipe couldn't be easier, but the results are outstanding. Aside from the flavour in the cheese, what really makes this cheese ball is the outside layer of toasted walnuts. It is to die for; in fact, I think a nice way to present this dish would be to make many individual cheese balls that could each be spread on a crostini, which would increase the walnut-to-cheese ratio.

The cheese ball was a hit at the party, and I received a few requests for the recipe. As I was hoping, the smokiness of this appetizer is really appealing; a friend of mine even thought there was bacon in it. If you ask me, it's never a bad thing for a dish to taste like bacon!

I think I've found my go-to appetizer for entertaining, and for potluck-style parties. It's great to have a recipe that you can count on, that is easy, and always pleases; so, I'm happy to add this one to my collection. I must warn you, however, that the word "l'il" in the name of this dish is very misleading (although, duh, the two packs of cream cheese listed in the recipe should have tipped me off to its size.) This cheese ball is gargantuan! Halve the recipe for small gatherings, and you'll still have leftovers.

Oh, leftovers. Sigh. If only I had hosted the party, and had been privileged to keep L'il Smoky's remaining deliciousness...

I would have had a wonderful breakfast today.

Amy Sedaris' L'il Smoky Cheese Ball: The recipe

Amanda's notes: I don't have a mixer with paddle attachment, so I used my regular hand-held mixer to blend the butter and cheese together, and then mixed everything else in by hand.

I used salted butter and added in freshly cracked pepper. I substituted an equivalent amount of smoky barbecue sauce for steak sauce, and threw in some basil and oregano for a little extra colour.

Since I decided to make this cheese ball at the last minute, after forming the mixture into a ball, I put it on a cookie sheet and froze it for about 45 minutes to get it firm enough to coat with the walnuts. After coating, I sat it in the freezer for a couple of hours, and then let it thaw to room temperature before serving. I served this with crostini, but it would also be good on your favourite cracker.

To toast walnuts: spread 2 cups walnuts on a cookie sheet, and toast at 350C for 8-10 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through, until nuts are lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside to cool, then chop. You can't skip this step! It makes the cheese ball.

"2 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese, room temperature

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons steak sauce

1 cup toasted chopped walnuts or pecans

Crackers, for serving

Place Gouda, cream cheese, butter, milk and steak sauce in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until well combined. Transfer mixture to refrigerator. Let chill overnight. Roll cheese mixture into a ball. Place nuts in a shallow dish. Roll cheese in nuts to fully coat. Serve with crackers."
Enjoy!

Anything Goes Chicken Salad

2009-06-20T15:59:00.008-03:00

I'm one lucky gal, because my boyfriend makes the best chicken salad in the world. Like with his marinades, Jeff follows no recipe; he just goes with the flow and follows his instincts, and the results are always delicious. He has such a talent for these things.

Some elements never change: he always shreds his cooked chicken with two forks, rather than cubing it, which I find makes a big difference when it comes to the texture of the salad; it contrasts nicely with the chunky vegetables and fruit that he also throws in. He never uses anything other than Hellmann's mayonnaise and whole grain dijon mustard to make the dressing, and he always adds his favourite chicken salad herbs to the mix: rosemary and thyme. Kosher salt and plenty of freshly cracked pepper are also required, of course.

What makes his chicken salad different every time he makes it, are the additions. Once the base of his salad is made up, he adds in any combination of the following:

-diced celery stalks

-chopped cucumbers

-chopped green onion

-cubed apples

-cubed pears

-dried cranberries

-halved grapes

-walnuts

-cashews

The more, the better!

His big secret is to let the chicken salad sit for at least several hours, or overnight if possible. It is so hard to resist (I'll admit that I steal bites from it every time I walk by the fridge; sorry, honey!) but it allows all of the flavours to meld together beautifully.

This particular version was made from charcoal-grilled chicken breasts, and contained apples, cucumbers, celery, and walnuts.

Although delicious over spinach greens, my favourite way to eat Jeff's chicken salad is on a multi-grain baguette.

I usually eat this chicken salad sandwich open-faced, to ensure the maximal filling-to-bread ratio. It might be messy, but it's so good that I can't be bothered.

Since Jeff is mine and you can't have him, you'll have to try out this amazing culinary experience yourself. It's easy; shred up some left-over chicken, load on the dressing, then open up your fridge and see what happens with the ingredients you have on hand. I guarantee that you can't go wrong.

Dad's Prime Rib with Garlic Crust

2009-06-07T17:50:00.016-03:00

My mother and brother are always raving about a prime rib that my father cooks on the barbecue. Although I've never been fortunate enough to be visiting when he's made it, they've each described it to me several times: Slow-cooked over indirect heat, this roast is covered in chunky garlic paste that eventually becomes a mouth-watering crust. I knew I was missing out on something special.

A little envious, and not the type of people who wait for a dinner party invitation to try a special dish, Jeff and I picked up a prime rib roast from the farmer's market and decided to make it ourselves.

We found out that we were already in possession of the recipe, since we own the same Weber's Real Grilling cookbook (from which my Dad, Master Griller, says that he gets 90% of his recipes, FYI. A good investment.) The paste is full of fresh flavours: the aforementioned garlic, as well as rosemary, basil, and dijon mustard. It looked amazing spread on the roast before it hit the grill.

The hardest part was waiting for the roast to finish grilling, while its tantalizing smell filled the air. You won't want to leave its side.

After 1-2 hours of grilling and about another half hour of resting, we finally sliced up the roast with anticipation. This prime rib is outstanding! The meat is perfectly tender and juicy, its level of doneness decreasing with every slice, and the outside crust is just beyond description. The recipe as written suggests serving it with a blue cheese dressing, but you should do the same as we did, and just ignore it. It needs nothing more.

Thanks for the inspiration, Dad! You're my grill hero.

Prime Rib with Garlic and Blue Cheese Dressing: The Recipe

From Weber's Real Grilling by Jamie Purviance

"1 bone-in standing prime rib roast, 5 to 6 pounds, trimmed of excess fat
6 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Dressing
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 medium garlic clove, thinly sliced
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Allow the roast to stand at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes before grilling.

2. In a food processor finely mince the garlic, rosemary, basil, salt, and pepper. Add the mustard and olive oil, and process to form a paste. Smear the paste all over the top and sides of the roast.

3. Grill the roast, bone side down, over indirect medium heat (350°F to 450°F). with the lid closed, until cooked to desired doneness, 1-1/2 to 2 hours for medium rare. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and remove the bones. Loosely cover the roast with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. The internal temperature will rise 5°F to 10°F during this time.

4. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Place the cream and garlic in a medium saucepan. Bring the cream to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the cream coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stirring to help it blend into the cream. Season with pepper to taste. Carve meat into slices. Serve warm with the dressing.

Makes 6 to 8 servings"

Enjoy!

Simple Tomato Salad

2009-05-27T19:52:00.005-03:00

I noticed fresh tomatoes at the farmers market last weekend. Even though it's not yet the right season for them, and, so, they're of the hothouse variety, I'm still very excited to have access to local produce that isn't a) potatoes; b) squash; or c) canned. Besides, hothouse tomatoes produced in my own community are certainly better than tomatoes that the grocery store trucks in all the way from Mexico; so, I proudly picked up a basket, knowing exactly what I wanted to do with them.

When I want to enjoy fresh tomatoes, I like to make a really simple tomato salad. All I do is drizzle tomato slices with good olive oil, season them with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, and serve them with some kalamata olives and feta cheese. It is so easy, yet so delicious and pleasing to the eye.

I really enjoyed the tomato salad. While the hothouse tomatoes didn't have the same magical, juicy burst of flavour that they get from the summer sun, they were still very tasty and well-matched to the briny cheese and olives. This dish was a great preview to what I will be privileged to enjoy in a couple of months.

Hurry up, tomato plants! I have big plans for you.

Cedar-Planked Salmon Glazed with Maple Syrup, Hoisin, and Mustard

2009-05-24T19:27:00.011-03:00

After a lifelong irrational fear of all seafood, I have finally started to incorporate fish into my diet. I started with fish and chips, of course, but have recently moved up to ordering pan fried or baked fish at restaurants. It turns out that I love it, and it makes me sad to think of all those years I wasted refusing to eat it. It has therefore become my mission to make up for lost time; now that I'm comfortable eating fish, this weekend I was finally ready to try cooking it at home.

Jeff and I decided to be brave and barbecue a salmon fillet. We found a recipe for cedar-planked salmon with a hoisin and dijon mustard glaze, and since he's a fanatic, Jeff modified the recipe a bit to include maple syrup (like any good New Brunswicker would).

The fillet went onto the smoking cedar plank, and the lid went onto the charcoal grill.

We were very patient, and didn't peek for 20 minutes.

And, boy, were we rewarded for it.

The salmon was extremely moist and flaky, with a wonderful smoky taste from the cedar plank. The sweet, sharp, and sticky glaze was to-die-for, and its flavours perfectly complemented the the fish without overpowering the taste of it. It was even better than what I've recently enjoyed in restaurants. Cooking at home can be so rewarding.

I'm glad that I've finally learned not only to enjoy fish, but also to cook it myself; I feel as if a whole new aspect of the foodie world has opened up for me. My goal when I decided to try fish was to get to the point where I eat it at least once a week. With a recipe like this, that doesn't seem like very much of a challenge!

Cedar-Planked Salmon with Maple Syrup, Hoisin, and Mustard Glaze: The recipe

Adapted from Weber's Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking with Live Fire by Jamie Purviance

Amanda's notes: Add a tablespoon of maple syrup to the Weber recipe if you so desire.

We used a skinless fillet, which didn't seem to affect the suggested cooking time. Jeff seasoned the plank with salt and pepper before adding the fillet.

"Prep time: 10 minutes Grilling time: 15 to 25 minutes

Glaze
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 large salmon fillet, with skin, 2 to 2-1/2 pounds, about 16 inches long and 3/4 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 untreated cedar plank, about 16 inches by 8 inches, submerged in water for at least 1 hour
1. Prepare a two-zone fire for medium heat (to see how, click here).
2. In a small bowl mix the glaze ingredients.
3. Place the salmon, skin side down, on a large cutting board. Using needle-nose pliers, remove any pin bones from the salmon. Cut the salmon in half lengthwise but do not cut through the skin. Then cut the salmon crosswise to make 6 or 8 servings, but again do not cut through the skin. Brush the glaze evenly over the salmon flesh, brushing some glaze between the individual servings. Season the top evenly with the salt and pepper.
4. Place the soaked plank over direct medium heat and close the lid. After a few minutes, when the plank crackles and smoke begins to escape from the grill, place the salmon, skin side down, in the center of the plank. Close the lid and let the salmon cook until lightly browned on the surface and opaque all the way to the center of the flesh, 15 to 25 minutes. If at any point you see a lot of smoke pouring out of the grill, use a water bottle to extinguish the flames on the wood plank. Moving the plank over indirect heat will also prevent flare-ups, but the cooking time will be longer.
5. Using sturdy tongs or spatulas, carefully remove the salmon and the plank from the grill together and lay it down on a heatproof surface. Serve the salmon on the plank or pick up individual servings by sliding a spatula between the skin and flesh. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 to 8 servings"

Warm Carrot Julienne

2009-05-18T19:05:00.011-03:00

While on a mini getaway in Alma, NB, this weekend, I eat perfectly fried local haddock at a restaurant just outside Fundy National Park. Although the fish was among the best I've ever had, there was an unusual side dish served, along with the traditional chips and coleslaw, that really made an impression on me: a warm carrot salad.

Thin slices of carrot were served softened with a little bit of turnip, and dried garlic and herbs. Even though it was good enough, what stuck with me was not their preparation, but rather, the idea of what I could do with this interesting salad at home.

I let my subconscious work on it while I enjoyed the rest of my weekend, and, once home, I got to work on my own version.

I decided that, instead of turnip, my carrot julienne would have thin slices of red onion in it, to add more flavour and colour.

I also used fresh, not dehydrated, garlic, and a little bit of fresh lemon juice, to improve on the complexity of the dish. Like the original version, I added plenty of dried basil and oregano, along with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

The warm carrot julienne was a success. Since this is my blog and I can say what I want, I'm going to go ahead and toot my own horn: mine was better than the version that inspired it. Once sautéed, the carrots became so sweet that I was thankful for the garlic and lemon juice, which provided a nice counterbalance. The red onion, itself fairly sweet, was the perfect complement to the carrots. Served with a grilled steak and roasted asparagus, it was a great side dish that I think will join the usual lineup at Chez Amanda.

Dear Bay of Fundy,

I'll be back for the fish. Next time, though, leave me in charge of the carrots.

Much love,

Amanda

Warm Carrot Julienne: The Recipe

Servings: 2 sides

Amanda's notes: As pictured, I used a julienne peeler (found it at a regular grocery store) to do the carrots. Slice them thinly with a knife if you don't have one of these handy babies.

Ingredients

1 large carrot, peeled and julienned

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Fresh lemon juice

Dried basil

Dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Sauté red onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and stir frequently to avoid burning. Add carrots, dried herbs, and salt and pepper, and sauté until soft. Add a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice. Garnish with lemon zest; serve immediately. Enjoy!

Memories of Tzatziki

2009-05-11T19:50:00.009-03:00

Growing up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, I was exposed to amazing Greek food; in fact, the quality of the Greek food is one of the things I am most proud of about my hometown. As a young girl, I developed an obsession with tzatziki sauce, the so-garlicky-it-burns condiment made of cucumber and yogurt. Whether I slathered it on pita while I shared a cold pikilia platter with my mom at Dimitri’s, or eat it spread on a Pano’s donair for breakfast at the Boyce Farmer’s Market on Saturday, tzatziki sauce has always held a very special place in my heart. I’ve eaten it with a spoon from the Styrofoam takeout container, people; true love knows no manners.

Now that I live in the neighbouring city of Moncton, I find myself hard to please when it comes to my favourite condiment. While there is a perfectly lovely Mediterranean restaurant here, it does not specifically identify itself as Greek; therefore, its version of tzatziki, which is neither thick nor garlicky enough for my tastes, just isn’t the same. Grocery store brand obviously won’t do, either, so what’s a girl to do? Well, this girl makes it herself.

I read dozens of online recipes for tzatziki sauce, and combined elements from the ones that sounded most like what I can get at home. After little tweaks here and there, I finally have a formula that I love to call my own.

If you think tzatziki is only good for pita bread or donairs, think again. I make it every single weekend in the summer, because it is so versatile. I love it as a condiment for sausage, chicken, burgers, steak, pork tenderloin, or potatoes, as a dip with any vegetable, dolloped on top of an omelette, as a dressing for pasta salad, and in a big bowl surrounded by chips or crackers. The possibilities are endless.

While it would be nice to be able to run out and pick up a container of delicious tzatziki sauce whenever I please, I don’t mind taking the time to make my own. It’s rewarding to satisfy my cravings in my own kitchen, by successfully recreating a taste that I've always adored. However, even though I really enjoy my own version of tzatziki, some things just can’t be changed: when I’m at Mom and Dad’s, it’s Greek takeout all the way.

Tzatziki Sauce: The Recipe

Amanda’s notes: Since I can’t get Greek yogurt around here, I buy the thickest I can find, Balkan-style yogurt (6% M.F.), and strain it to thicken it even more. This can be done by placing a couple of layers of paper towel in a sieve, adding the yogurt, and sitting the sieve on top of a bowl in the fridge overnight. Discard liquid.

Because there is a lot of water in cucumber, after grating and salting, I squeeze out as much as I can by scooping it into paper towel or a clean dishtowel, and wringing.

Unlike the smooth tzatziki I grew up with, this one is chunky from the grated, skin-on cucumber. If you’d like a smoother texture, you could peel then puree your cucumber in a food processor before adding it to the yogurt.

I usually use about 6 cloves of garlic, but I really like the sting. Use 3 or 4 if you’re unsure, and more if you’re a fanatic (I once used 10, but it was bad for my social life).

Ingredients
1 large container Greek yogurt (about 2 cups)
1 cucumber, grated
6 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt
Paprika

Directions
Whisk olive oil and lemon juice in the bottom of a bowl. Fold in yogurt. Add cucumber and garlic; mix well. Salt to taste. Let tzatziki sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours before serving. Garnish with paprika. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken, Potato, and Vegetable Skewers

2009-05-06T21:57:00.012-03:00

I'm so happy that barbecue season is finally here to stay. The days are much longer, and the weather is consistently pleasant. Also, we’ve been heaving a bag of charcoal into our cart every time we go for groceries. Is there a better sign of spring?

Making skewers is a great way to barbecue. Not only is it a fun way to eat, because everything is bite-sized, but also it makes it easier to flip the food on the grill. (Note: if using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water for at least a few hours to slow down the burning process.) Last Saturday, Jeff marinated pieces of chicken breast overnight in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, honey, red wine vinegar, whole grain Dijon mustard, basil, oregano, rosemary, and salt and pepper. On Sunday, he marinated baby red potato slices for about three hours in olive oil with thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper. This blog entry won’t contain a recipe section, because there aren’t any; Jeff’s style of marinating is as follows:

- Opens a Ziploc bag
- Dumps in any combination of ingredients that he likes, in arbitrary amounts
- Adds food

Although no two marinades have turned out alike, it has never failed him. Why not live on the wild side?

As I’ve mentioned before, I am picky when it comes to potatoes; therefore, I prefer relatively thin slices for maximum flavour and crispiness. However, you could simply halve the potatoes before skewering, if you like (tip: poke some holes in them with a fork so that the marinade seeps through.)

The vegetables weren’t marinated; once skewered, we simply brushed them with olive oil, and seasoned them with salt and pepper. These babies don’t need any more help in the flavour department.

The potatoes went onto the grill first, since they take the longest to cook through; up next a little while later were the veggies. Have I ever confessed that I love burnt food? Well, I do.

Just look at the char marks on these potatoes. Burnt potatoes are a must for me (other food I prefer with a bit of a burn: onions, toast, Brussels sprouts, hot dogs, marshmallows.) Delicious!

Once the veggies were done, they were placed in a 300C oven to keep warm. The chicken skewers replaced them on the grill.

Mmmmmmmmm. What more can I say?

Once the chicken was cooked through and the potatoes were fork-tender, it was finally time to eat.

Success! The chicken was bright and tangy, with a strong lemon taste. The potatoes were perfectly crispy, and woodsy from the rosemary. The vegetables were naturally flavourful, tasting almost as if they had been roasted. All three food groups had the unmistakable and delicious taste of being grilled over charcoal. Served with my ever-present coleslaw, this spring meal of skewers left nothing to be desired. What a great way to wind down from the weekend!

Doggone Delicious

2009-05-02T10:50:00.023-03:00

When I have visitors, I love to let them know how much I appreciate their company by making them something special. Spending time in the kitchen in honour of a guest is my favourite way to welcome them into my home; and, since I love cooking, as well as sharing my passion for food, I really enjoy entertaining.

So, when I found out that my new friend Packer was coming over while his human parents enjoyed a nice evening out, I decided to make him a little treat. I figured he might be a little confused in his new surroundings with strange babysitters, and I wanted to make him as comfortable as possible.

I decided to bake him little biscuits, and since I knew that Packer has not yet tried a lot of different foods (although he has been known to eat garbage), I steered clear of recipes that contained a lot of ingredients (like cornmeal and cheese, which seem to be pretty common in homemade dog treats). It would be rude to fill his puppy stomach with treats over the course of the evening, and then have him go home and be sick; therefore, I selected the simplest recipe I could find: Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers, which only have four ingredients. I confirmed with his owners that he has been given peanut butter before, and then set to work.

The peanut butter and whole wheat-based dough was extremely easy to work with, which is great for a novice baker such as myself. Although bone-shaped treats would have been adorable, I just used the smallest biscuit cutter I could find; besides, I don't think their shape really mattered to Packer.

I was delighted to find that he absolutely loved the treats. He sat on command like a good little boy to get them, and gobbled them up at lightning speed. At one point, he even sat on the floor in front of the bowl that they were in, and barked for more. It was hard for me not to let him have them just for being cute, but I knew his owners are doing a great job training him, and didn't want to mess up any progress. I sent him home at the end of the evening with the leftovers, and am happy to know that he will be enjoying them for a little while longer.

I wouldn't ever post anything on my blog without tasting it, and since I knew exactly what was in this dog treat, I did sample one. The cookie was dense from the whole wheat, with a strong peanut butter smell and taste; however, not surprisingly, it was pretty bland. I might eat them if I were starving. Maybe. Oh well, who am I to judge a dog's tastes? He likes what he likes! I certainly respect that.

Since I'm getting my own puppy in about six weeks, I was happy to test this recipe on little Packer. A neighbourhood dog also really liked them, so I'm pretty confident in holding on to this recipe for the future. As a dog-lover, it was very heartwarming to see one willing to stand on his head to get something that I made especially for him.

In short, if you have a puppy, know a puppy, or are a mail delivery person, I highly recommend these biscuits. Just remember to take their bark for it that they taste good.

Peanut Butter Puppy Poppers: The recipe

Amanda's notes: I found that the biscuits were done at around the 14 minute mark. I used smooth peanut butter in case Packer wouldn't like the texture of crunchy, but after seeing how much he liked them, next time I'll use whatever is on hand. If you don't have cookie cutters, just cut the dough into squares; the dog won't mind!

Ingredients

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Crostini

2009-04-19T09:11:00.015-03:00

One of my absolute favourite meals is a cheese plate. Although it is one of the simplest things to throw together, it is a gourmet experience that I find very special. I've read the rules on how to pair different cheeses for a plate, but I don't care to follow them. I'm not sophisticated in my cheese likes and dislikes; I just like what I like! So, I choose three or four cheeses that taste good, and, if you ask me, they always go together perfectly.

Sometimes when Jeff and I have planned ahead for a cheese plate, we go all out with cured meats, different chutneys, balsamic vinegar and spiced olive oil, nuts, and fruit. However, in its most basic form, all you really need for your plate is the cheese, some good bread, and maybe some olives. (Wine is a given, of course). A really easy way to bring a simple cheese plate to the next level is by making your own toasted bread slices, crostini (Italian for "little toasts.'') The small effort it takes to make them is nothing compared to what they bring to the meal, and they are a million times better than anything that comes in a bag.

All you need is a fresh baguette, sliced on the diagonal. You then brush both sides of each slice with olive oil, and sprinkle them liberally with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

In they go to the oven for a few minutes, until they look like this:

At this point, if you want to punch up their flavour, you can rub the hot toasts with a peeled clove of garlic (a trick I've learned from Giada De Laurentiis from Everyday Italian). But, since I wanted the flavour of the cheese to take centre stage in this particular meal, I simply let them cool to room temperature on the pan.

Once cooled, there is no limit to the toppings you can use on crostini: you can make bruschetta, top them with sundried tomato or olive tapenade, spread cream cheese on them and sprinkle them with fresh herbs, or just pile them in a basket and eat them plain with a selection of good cheese and olives.

If perfection has a taste, it is crostini. They are delightfully crispy on the outside, yet slightly chewy when you bite into them. The olive oil and seasoning, combined with the toasting, makes them much more interesting than a plain baguette, and far more satisfying than crackers. I can't tell you how worth it it is to take a few extra minutes to make them; you'll just have to trust me and try it yourself.

The next time you find yourself unsure about what to make for dinner, consider a simple cheese plate with crostini. I guarantee you will feel very special. Also, I know from personal experience that if you have a spread like this ready for your significant other when they get home from a long hard day, they will love you forever. Sounds good to me!

Crostini: The recipe

Ingredients

Fresh baguette (I like whole wheat, for extra flavour)

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Clove of garlic, peeled (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350C.

Slice baguette into 5mm slices, on the diagonal. Brush both sides with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and fresh black pepper.

Bake on a cookie sheet for about 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown on the edges.

Rub warm toasts with the garlic clove, if desired.

Let toasts cool to room temperature. Top with whatever your heart desires. Enjoy!

Store toasts in an airtight container.

Cheesy Stuffed Zucchini Boats

2009-04-14T20:58:00.015-03:00

Although I enjoy eating meat, I would say that I fall on the lower end of the scale when it comes to average meat consumption; my breakfast, snacks, and lunches are almost always vegetarian. I usually have a small portion of deliciously prepared meat at dinnertime, but vegetables or legumes, sometimes accompanied by a small amount of whole grains, definitely constitute the bulk of my nightly meal.

The reason I watch my meat consumption is that I’m picky about the origins of my food, and, since I don’t mind paying slightly more for locally-raised cuts of meat, I’m happy to eat a little less of it to compensate. Therefore, in order to cut down on the amount we buy, I like to try to have one vegetarian supper per week. It’s not a strict rule that I’ve set for our household; it’s just something I try to think about (I also like to think that the fact I usually forget to take meat out of the freezer about once a week is a total coincidence; no, really, I’m just very responsible!). The only two main dishes I find myself making again and again for vegetarian suppers are refried beans, and pasta. As you can see, I needed a little inspiration.

Lucky for me, my vegetarian sister, Kristin, saved the day. She told me about these stuffed zucchini boats that she makes on a regular basis: she cuts them in half, seeds them, and fills them with a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, tops them with paprika, and bakes them until the filling is nice and golden. They sounded amazing! So much so, that I couldn’t imagine them getting second billing in an omnivorous supper; no, these zucchini boats would have to shine as the main component of a vegetarian meal.

I tried them myself, and made them my own by substituting the mozza with my always-present favourite, asiago, and adding some dried basil and oregano to the mixture.

I baked the boats until the cheese was nice and bubbly, and then turned on the broiler until a golden brown crust formed on the tops.

I'm happy to report that the stuffed zucchini boats were even better than I expected. The zucchini shells were nice and tender, but still firm enough to stand up to the filling. The latter was very creamy, gooey, and flavourful; the combination of the two cheeses was a marriage made in Heaven, and the lemon juice brought in a nice tang. I scarfed them down, not caring that the bubbly cheese was kind of burning my mouth.

Since the stuffed zucchinis were so special, I served them very simply with some buttered brown rice, and onions and mushrooms sautéed in olive oil. It was a wonderful, light spring meal that I intend to recreate on a regular basis. I’m already imagining how the zucchini boats might taste if I add diced onions to the stuffing, and then top them with breadcrumbs tossed with melted butter…but that will be another story!

Stuffed Zucchini Boats: The recipe
2 servings as main dish, 4 servings as side

Amanda’s Notes: As I mentioned before, Kristin uses mozzarella in her zucchini boats. I think any of your favourite Italian cheeses would be fantastic with the ricotta in this dish.

The amounts for the filling depends on the size of the zucchinis, and, of course, how much you want to stuff them (be aware that if they’re overfilled, the cheese will seep out over the sides as it melts). Make lots if you’re not sure; the filling was very tasty on its own, and I think any extra would be great spread on bread.

Ingredients
2 large zucchini
1 to 2 cups ricotta cheese
½ to 1 cup grated asiago cheese
fresh lemon juice (start with a half lemon, taste as you go)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 450C

Trim ends off zucchinis, and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard seeds and pulp, leaving ½ inch shell.

Mix remaining ingredients together, and divide evenly into zucchini halves. Top with more freshly ground black pepper.

Place zucchini halves on a roasting pan. Bake until filling is bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts: Take Two

2009-04-06T20:32:00.013-03:00

As I stated in an earlier post, I have loved Brussels sprouts since I was a child. I loved them so much, that I happily eat them simply boiled and served plain; in fact, they were the first thing I rushed to whenever my siblings and I managed to convince our parents to take us to the local Ponderosa buffet. I still love them, and, like a lot of my favourite foods, I associate them with fond memories. Brussels sprouts remind me of my childhood, and I had a happy childhood; ergo, Brussels sprouts make me happy! Aside from the nutrients, what more do I need from a vegetable?

As I got older, I realized that a life-long deep love for boiled Brussels sprouts is a rarity. When I met Jeff, I found out that he hated Brussels sprouts; in fact, he would shudder at the mention of them. While at first I thought, “to each their own”, once we started living together, I began to miss incorporating Brussels sprouts into my meals. I therefore embarked on a mission: to bring Jeff over to the Brussels-sprouts-loving side. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I was determined to get him not only to tolerate them, but to enjoy them.

I started questioning Jeff on his history with Brussels sprouts, and found out that he had only ever tried them once, also at a Ponderosa buffet; unfortunately, his experience was not as positive as mine. Apparently, this one taste of Brussels sprouts was enough to traumatize him for life. However, I had also noticed over the years that Jeff is more picky about texture, rather than taste, when it comes to food, and figured that perhaps he visited the Ponderosa on a particularly over-boiled, mushy sprouts kind of day. So, I decided that, in order to erase the memory of these unfortunate sprouts from his mind, I would find a whole new way to cook them for him. “OK,” Jeff said, a little uneasy, “but please don’t be too disappointed when I don’t like them.” Ooh, a challenge.

Like I said before, I was so happy with the simplest preparation of Brussels sprouts, that I wasn’t even aware that they could be cooked more than one way. I decided to try roasting them; I had no idea how they would turn out, but I figured that a little caramelization could do no harm. I cut them in half, seasoned them with lots of salt and black pepper, let them roast almost to the point of burning them on the outside, topped them with Parmesan, and broiled them until the cheese melted. When I set a small serving of my reinvented Brussels in front of Jeff, he gave them a bit of a skeptical look; but, since he had promised to be open to my favourite childhood vegetable, he put on a brave smile and dug in.

The rest is history, really. Roasting resulted in Brussels sprouts that were nice and crispy on the outside, but so soft and tender on the inside. He truly loved the sprouts, practically inhaling them all in a matter of minutes, and gushing about them for days. I was proud of him for trying them, and proud of myself for recruiting a former hater to greener, sproutier pastures.

Roasted Brussels sprouts are now a regular side dish at our place. It gives me such satisfaction to see Jeff picking out a basket of sprouts at the market, all on his own. Every time we eat them, he thanks me for reintroducing him to them, because otherwise, he says, he never would have known what he was missing. A life without Brussels sprouts? I shudder at the mention of it!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts: The Recipe

Amanda’s notes: Like the roasted chickpeas, I prefer my Brussels Sprouts salted like fries. They are also delicious when roasted with a chopped onion.

Ingredients
Bunch of fresh Brussels sprouts
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Parmesan or Asiago cheese, grated

Directions
Preheat oven to 450C.

Trim the ends of the Brussels sprouts. Remove any dry and yellow leaves on the outside.

Cut sprouts in half. Arrange on a cookie sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with lots of salt and pepper, and toss sprouts with hands to coat.

Roast sprouts until very browned (or blackened, if you like) on the outside (about 30-40 minutes for large sprouts). Turn sprouts halfway through.

Preheat broiler. Top sprouts with grated cheese.

Broil until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Spicy Salted Roasted Chickpeas

2009-04-04T18:22:00.010-03:00

Chickpeas, also known as Garbanzo beans, are one of my favourite foods. I love them in their pureed form, as hummus, but I also like to throw them whole into salads and pasta. They’re a great way to add texture to just about any dish; although, I enjoy them so much, that I often find myself eating handfuls of them right out of the can (after draining and rinsing them, of course). I just can’t get enough!

Lucky for the chickpea-obsessed, they can be made into an amazing snack. When chickpeas are roasted, they become nice and crunchy, and absolutely addictive. Throw in a ton of salt and some spice, eat them warm out of the oven, and find yourself in Snack Heaven.

I have noticed that this recipe is featured on a lot of diet blogs, which is kind of a shame, because they are delicious enough to be enjoyed in their own right, as opposed to a passable substitution for another craving. My philosophy is: if what you want is chips, just eat some damn chips! Nothing else will satisfy, and you’ll be craving them again the next day, anyway. I don’t think it’s fair to approach these roasted chickpeas as just a healthy substitute for junk food, because you will not appreciate them for what they really are: an awesome snack that can be made at any time out of pantry items. Believe me, you will crave these; they are are that good.

I’ve been perfecting the recipe over the last couple of years, and the trick to getting the best, most crunchy texture is to dry the rinsed chickpeas as much as you can. Although you can roast them straight after rinsing with fine results, a little extra work is worth it. I even go so far as to remove the papery skins off of each chickpea, which I find makes quite a difference in the end result (but may only be advisible to the extremely anal-retentive).

I like my chickpeas to be as salty as fries or popcorn, so I really pile it on. Don’t be shy! Chickpeas are very forgiving, because they require a lot of help in the flavour department; so, you can’t over-salt them. My favourite way to spice them is with cayenne pepper, but I’ve had good results with cumin, and curry powder as well. I’ve never tried it, but I bet a sweet version could also be made, perhaps with cinnamon sugar. Mmmm…I think an experiment is in order!

Amanda’s Spicy Salted Roasted Chickpeas: The Recipe
2 servings

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Extra-virgin olive oil (approx. 2-3 tbsp)
Salt
Cayenne Pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425C.
Line a cookie sheet with a double layer of paper towels. Spread chickpeas on top of paper towels. Using another double layer of paper towels, roll the chickpeas around on the pan to dry them (this will also remove a lot of the skins).

Remove the rest of the skins, if desired. Repeat drying with paper towels.

Remove paper towels, leaving chickpeas on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt, and add a few pinches of cayenne pepper.

Shake the pan until all chickpeas are evenly coated. (At this point, you can taste a raw chickpea to see if the salt and spice is to your liking.)

Roast for 30-40 minutes, shaking the pan every 10 minutes. Chickpeas are ready when they are browned and crunchy (and noisy when rattled).

Add more salt if needed. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Although I have yet to encounter left-overs, you could store them in an air-tight container for several days.

Really, I'm Not Starving

2009-03-24T20:37:00.010-03:00

As children, my siblings and I did not fit the stereotype when it came to our food preferences. For example, we loved most vegetables, and gobbled them up without complaints (even Brussels sprouts, which I adored). I credit this to my parents, who strictly followed the “You Eat What We Put in Front of You” child-rearing plan. Since we didn’t have any choice in our dinner menus, and my parents would have simply laughed if we’d suggested they prepare two different meals, it was inevitable that we would try a bit of everything. Thinking back, my parents were brilliant; they couldn’t imagine catering to children who refused to eat anything but Kraft Dinner and hotdogs, and so they found an easy way to avoid that situation entirely: telling us what to do. Now, that’s smart parenting!

I remember begging my dad to fix us our favourite snack: a plate of cheese cubes, grapes, crackers, and carrot sticks, and us jumping up and down with joy around him while he prepared it. I also remember a similar reaction to my mom’s “ants on a log”, celery stuffed with peanut butter and topped with raisins. Yum!

A funny story about my sister and I that I only heard recently illustrates our childhood diet quite impressively: when we were five years old, and our brother three, the whole family took off in our minivan for a two-week trip to Disney World. Since this entailed a three-day drive, not to mention many nights away from home, we were stopping to eat at a lot of fast food and casual family dining restaurants. After one too many nights of eating greasy food, my sister and I started whining, complaining that we were sick of burgers and fries, and hey, could you get us some veggies? My parents had to drive around until they found a salad bar for their little princesses. Mom and Dad deserve a pat on the back for that one, if you ask me.

Thanks to my parents, not only did I have a nutritious childhood, but also these good habits have followed me into adulthood. I still love vegetables, and can’t understand why a lot of people think of them as boring (or even evil). I’ve been thinking a lot about our society’s relationship with vegetables lately, because of some strange reactions that I have received from co-workers when opening up my lunch.

I bring a lunch to work every day, and it normally consists of a veggie plate and dip, or a green salad. To me, this is lunch food. I don’t like to eat a heavy meal at lunch, because if I do, I’m less productive in the afternoon. I eat a gourmet breakfast, and I also snack on things like cheese and nuts between meals; therefore, I hardly ever get hungry during the day. Plus, when I get home in the evening, supper is always a very filling production. I’m not denying that eating vegetables at lunch allows me to indulge more at other times, but that isn’t the main reason why I eat them so often. I eat vegetables at lunch because I like them. Is that too hard to believe?

Apparently, it is, at least for some people. Whenever I eat with a big group of my co-workers, I am inevitably asked, in an alarming tone, “Amanda?! Are you on a diet?!” When I say no, and enquire as to why they asked me, I always hear, “Well, it’s just that, you’re only eating vegetables!” If you replaced the word vegetables with asbestos, I’m convinced the tone and grimace on the inquisitor’s face would hardly change. Furthermore, they often feel that they have the right to tell me that I don’t eat enough, and that I must be starving. As someone who works very hard at preparing delicious quality food for herself on a daily basis, this is a huge insult. Never mind that they haven’t tracked my eating habits beyond what they see at noon hour; and never mind that I pack so many vegetables, I very often have a hard time eating them all in one sitting. "Nope, starving!"

I get really annoyed, and frustrated, at this ‘diet’ question, especially since it is sometimes asked loudly, in front of others. First of all, that’s rude. (WHO CARES if someone is on a diet, anyway? I sure don’t). What if I was on a diet, but didn’t want to talk about it in front of everyone? What if I had some medical condition that required a certain meal plan? What if I had an eating disorder, and you were forcing me to address a very painful issue? None of these answers apply to my case, but they very well could. My point is, you never know why people do the things they do, so shut your trap, already.

What bothers me even more than the rudeness is the fact that someone eating vegetables is worth this much attention and awe. What does this say about the average person’s eating habits? Vegetables are real food; they grow in the ground, not in factories, and provide us with essential nutrients, just like they did for our great-great-grand-parents, who, I suspect, appreciated them a lot more than we do, since they worked so hard to provide fresh ones for their families. We should be ashamed! Delicious vegetables are available year-round, without us having to even lift a finger, and all we do is wrinkle our noses and associate them with deprivation. It just doesn’t make sense that a plate of vegetables or a salad should be met with hushed tones and condolences.

I don’t comment on other people’s food choices at lunch, so I don’t understand why anyone cares about mine. I’m not emaciated, and my stomach can’t ever be heard grumbling from across the room, so any “concerned” citizen can mind their own damn business. I am genuinely pleased and excited when I look at my lunch, but the Diet Police can easily ruin any nice foodie moment, which is extremely disappointing. So far, defending myself or playing dumb have not really helped as far as stopping comments, so I’ve resorted to avoiding the crowd entirely, instead eating with a very dear co-worker who is also a fan of light lunches, and who says adorable things like “that looks so good!” when I open mine. She’s a treasure, and exactly the kind of person I like to be around at meal times. How refreshing to eat lunch without judgement or personal questions; really, it’s revolutionary.

When I eat vegetables at lunch, I am contributing to my health, energy levels, and satisfying my cravings for fresh food, the latter having been instilled in me at a very young age by my caring parents. I wonder if, when they were serving me lots of vegetables without incident, they ever imagined me as a healthy, veggie-loving adult, who would someday carry on these habits with their grandchildren. Although I might not have realized it at the time, I know now that my parents gave me a great gift, and it would be sad if I threw all of my old habits out of the window by eating processed food or grease every day.

I’m telling you, some people simply like vegetables. There’s nothing more to it! When you see me eating my greens at lunch, please consider the possibility that I’m doing something that makes me happy, that has always brought me pleasure, and that all you’re doing by questioning me is raining on my parade.

(Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

First Barbecue

2009-03-23T18:51:00.012-03:00

Last Saturday was a wonderful day. Not only was the weather extremely pleasant, but also we were hosting some very special company; therefore, in honour of these two occasions, it was finally time to dig out the charcoal barbecue.

And dig it out, we did. (Well, Jeff did). Notice the giant block of ice thrown off the porch to make room for our Weber. We knew the hard work would be worth it, in the end.

To get back into the groove of barbecuing after a long winter, we decided to start off the new season with a simple menu: burgers, sausages, and hotdogs. Classic, simple, and satisfying.

However, it still wasn’t just any other barbecue; Jeff seasoned, mixed up, and formed the hamburger patties out of fresh ground beef from the local Stephen Taylor farm, while the local Degenhardt Sausage Farm supplied the chorizo sausage and German vieners (which are very similar to what we know as hot dogs, only without any unrecognizable ingredients). What better way is there to show someone that you appreciate their visit, than by cooking them such quality products?

Add in some fixings, crispy potatoes, and creamy coleslaw, and you have some extremely happy (not to mention stuffed) diners. It was a fantastic spring weekend meal, and an exciting preview of summer.

Welcome back, barbecue; it’s been far too long. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other in the next few months.

Cold Brown Rice Salad With Lemon and Garlic

2009-03-15T20:01:00.013-03:00

With the temperature warming slightly, and the days getting longer, I have been craving meals that are more suited to spring and summer. Luckily for me, I was served delicious and summery ribs, roasted sweet potatoes, and coleslaw at my friends’ house on Saturday, a meal that officially propelled me into a new food season. Unpredictable weather be damned, I don’t think I’m going back to winter food.

It was therefore with a little more excitement than usual that I thought about what I wanted to cook for supper on Sunday. I decided to come up with some kind of salad to go with the chicken breasts we bought at the market the previous morning, and thought of a fantastic cold couscous salad that I had recently eaten at a family gathering. The only thing I could remember about it was that it had feta cheese in it, but that was enough to work with for inspiration. I swapped the couscous for brown rice, simply because I had a lot on hand. I’ve never eaten a cold rice salad, but I figured it would be a fine substitution.

While the rice was cooking away, I got started on the dressing. I decided to infuse my olive oil by warming it on the stove with some crushed garlic cloves.

Once the oil was a little bubbly over medium heat, I waited five minutes or so before straining the oil and setting it aside to cool. This little trick is a great way to get some flavour into your olive oil, and is cheaper than buying fancy little bottles of it from the grocery store.

At this point, the rice was done, and was also set aside. Cooling the rice takes quite a while, so it’s a good idea to get it cooked early (same goes for pasta in pasta salads). I started preparing the salad in the early afternoon, so that it would have time to develop its flavours and cool down for supper.

As for veggies, I chopped up what I had on hand: red and green bell peppers, some kalamata olives, and a red onion.

I love making my own dressing for salads, because it tastes so fresh and simple. To make an olive oil dressing, I combine three parts oil to one part acid, be it balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, or, in this case, fresh lemon juice. To get the oil and acid to combine, you need to add a binding agent; my favourite is whole grain mustard, but Dijon also works well. Then comes the fun part: whisking.

It doesn’t take very long for the mustard to work its magic, after which you have a beautiful, homogeneous dressing. Stir in a bit of salt and pepper, and you’re one happy foodie.

Once the rice was sufficiently cooled (enough not to melt any added cheese) I threw in all of the chopped veggies, a couple of handfuls of cubed feta cheese, and poured the dressing on top. I added freshly ground black pepper, just a bit of salt (because of the saltiness from the feta and olives), and some dried basil and oregano. Once everything was incorporated, the salad went back into the fridge to sit until dinnertime.

Creating a dish as you go along is pretty exciting, and rewarding when it turns out well. When I started, I had no idea how lemon, garlic, and feta would work together with rice in a cold salad, but it turned out to be just what I wanted, and the perfect dish with which to welcome the warmer weather. The lemon and garlic dressing gave the salad such an incredible, bright flavour, reminiscent of a Greek salad, and the uncooked veggies gave it a nice, crunchy texture. I’ll be making it again and again, I’m sure. Goodbye, winter!

Cold Brown Rice Salad With Lemon and Garlic: The Recipe

I can see this salad being a very versatile option for summer meals. Just throw in whatever you have hanging around in the fridge, and see what happens! I think it would be great to try with different dressings, as well.
This recipe makes a very large batch, enough for dinner and leftovers. It would be easy to halve if needed.

Ingredients

4 cups cooked brown rice

¾ cup olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (approx. two lemons)
1 tsp whole grain mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1-2 handfuls kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 handfuls cubed feta cheese

salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano

Directions

Cook rice and set aside to cool.

Heat olive oil and crushed garlic cloves over medium heat. Once bubbling, infuse for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, strain oil, let cool.

Whisk infused oil, fresh lemon juice, and mustard until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine cooled rice, vegetables, olives, and feta cheese. Add dressing while stirring, until salad is coated to your liking. Add salt and pepper to taste, and basil and oregano.

Stir, and let sit in the fridge until cold. Enjoy.

Sisterly Love

2009-03-07T21:34:00.014-04:00

My twin sister Kristin lives far away from me, so getting the chance to eat together is a special treat. I recently spent a week with her in Ottawa that was filled with excellent foodie experiences. Since I’ve come to know the city quite well over the years, and thus have many “must-visit” restaurants, we eat out very frequently during my visit; however, since we both share a passion for cooking, we also took the time to have a proper home cooked meal in her cosy apartment. We didn’t need to think twice about what would be on the menu; it was simply understood that we would be eating fettuccine alfredo.

This fettuccine alfredo that we cook for each other is a specific recipe that we continue to perfect each time we make it. One day while Kristin was visiting, I was surfing the Internet for an impressive pasta recipe that I could prepare for her. I stumbled upon Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe for fettuccine alfredo, and since we used to watch her Food Network show, Everyday Italian, together, I decided to give her version a go. We both enjoyed it so much, that preparing it has become a sisterly tradition.

Before I found this recipe, I had no idea that making fettuccine alfredo was so simple. When I first tried it, I couldn’t believe that something so decadent had been made in my own kitchen. Given that this classic dish is so rich and delicious, I always assumed that it would be complicated to make from scratch. Not so! It’s so easy, that there’s no excuse not to try making it yourself. How could anything go wrong when you’re simply combining heavy cream, butter, and cheese? It certainly tastes right.

The memories I associate with certain dishes contribute greatly to how much I enjoy them. I love this recipe for fettuccine alfredo, because it tastes good, is easy to make, and, most importantly, it symbolizes quality time spent with my dear sister. Make this meal for someone who means a lot to you; it won't disappoint.

The Recipe

Giada De Laurentiis’ Fettuccine Alfredo

Amanda’s notes: I use one box of dried, whole-wheat pasta (cooking to al dente according to package directions).

Kristin and I like to add sauteed onions and mushrooms to our sauce. Experiment!

The recipe as written produces a very lemony-tasting alfredo. I would suggest starting with the juice of half of a lemon and working up from there if needed. Just taste and adjust to your liking.

I use salted butter and freshly ground black pepper with excellent results.

Ingredients
18 ounces fresh fettuccine
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Directions
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Drain.
Stir 2 cups of the cream and the lemon juice in a heavy large skillet to blend. Add the butter and cook over medium heat just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add the pasta and toss. Add the remaining 1/2-cup of cream, and Parmesan to the cream sauce in the skillet. Add the lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Toss the pasta mixture over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute.

Breakfast for Supper

2009-02-24T20:31:00.042-04:00

Although I've never observed Lent, I've had pancakes on Shrove Tuesday more often than not. I have fond memories of my father whipping up a batch of homemade pancakes (that always included his "secret" ingredient, "l'amour", love) and serving them alongside fried baloney (an Atlantic Canadian delicacy). Did we ever feel special! Breakfast for supper?! The madness!

I skipped a few pancake suppers while in university, because, let's face it, when you don't really cook, and you were spoiled with love pancakes throughout your childhood, what's the point in trying to make them yourself? However, I am proud to say that for the second year in a row, I have reintegrated this delicious tradition into my home.

I'm no expert on making pancakes; to be honest, I've made them less than a dozen times and am not yet fully comfortable with the process. Things like over-mixing the batter, and finding the right heat level and cooking time get me a little frazzled. It doesn't help that Jeff is a Pancake Connoisseur, which makes me desperately want to impress him, and only adds to the pressure. (To be fair, this panic is self-inflicted. I could serve Jeff baking soda pucks, call them pancakes, and he would still rave about them for days). As usual, when I'm unsure about a cooking method, I turn to good ol' Betty. The Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe for basic pancakes is the one that I follow, because its detailed instructions (and handy tips) guide me along, and they turn out a little better each time I make them. What a gal!

It's time for a foodie confession. I know fluffy pancakes are the ideal, but I find them too dessert-like; therefore, since I'm a savoury breakfast kind of girl, I choose the whole wheat flour option when using this recipe. Consequently, the pancakes have the denser texture that I prefer. If lighter-than-air pancakes are more your thing, use all-purpose flour and make sure your batter is perfectly lumpy (that is, stirred until just combined). To each their own!

Shrove Tuesday or not, breakfast for supper is a great idea. Over the course of the day, whenever my mind wandered to that night's dinner, as it often does, I would remember my plan for pancakes, and smile. (Sometimes only in my head. Smiling about pancakes while in a meeting isn't a very good idea). I'm suddenly inspired to consider breakfast as an option for supper more often when planning meals. If it makes me feel so happy, I think it should be done more than just once per year.

Don't wait for a tradition; make pancakes for supper whenever the mood strikes you. If you've never made them from scratch, please don't be afraid! Practice makes perfect. Just don't forget the secret ingredient, and you'll be fine.

Pancakes: The Recipe

From Betty Crocker Cookbook

Amanda's notes: As I mentioned before, I use whole-wheat flour. Since this results in a much thicker batter, I do stir in extra milk after mixing (2-3 tbsp). I substitute brown sugar for regular sugar (just because I love brown sugar) and also add a teaspoon or so of cinnamon for flavour. I grease the pan with butter, and re-grease as needed.

This is a pretty small recipe. I usually get about 5 medium-to-large pancakes out of it, which is perfect for two people, but I've doubled and even tripled the recipe for guests.

I keep pancakes warm on a plate in a 250C oven until I'm ready to serve them.

If you'd like to add fruit or chocolate chips, the best way to do this, rather than mixing them directly into the batter, is by pressing them into the pancake as soon as you pour it in the pan. This way, you get a more even distribution of the good stuff.

It would be a sin to serve these with anything other than pure maple syrup.

Prep: 5 min Cook: 10 min Yield: Nine 4-inch pancakes

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1.Beat egg in medium bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth. For thinner pancakes, stir in additional 1 to 2 tablespoons milk.

2. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. (To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops of water. If bubbles jump around, heat is just right.) Grease griddle with vegetable oil if necessary

3.For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter from cup or pitcher onto hot griddle. Cook pancakes until bubbly on top, puffed and dry around edges. Turn and cook other side until golden brown.

Morning Ritual

2009-02-20T17:24:00.017-04:00

Every day, I get out of bed about a half hour earlier than I need to. Although it helps that I'm generally a morning person, the main reason that I'm able to accomplish this feat is that I really enjoy breakfast. I think sitting down to breakfast is exciting, because the day ahead has so much potential. Who knows what could happen? Plus, it is virtually impossible to be having a bad day before I sit down to eat my first meal; therefore, there is nothing peskily distracting me from the good food in front of me. Perfect for a foodie!

My usual breakfast consists of an egg from a local producer. Not only do I absolutely love eggs, but also, I have found that I need the protein in the morning if I don't want to be starving a couple of hours later. Even though I eat the same thing almost every day, I never get bored; after all, the greatest thing about eggs is their versatility, and I take full advantage of it when making my breakfast. When it's really cold out, sometimes nothing but a hot scrambled or over-easy egg will do, and, if I have some extra time on my hands and feel like making my morning even more special, an omelette definitely starts my day off on a high note. The possibilities with eggs are almost endless, which is wonderful, because a little variety certainly helps motivate me in terms of the whole getting-out-of-bed-too-damn-early thing.

Hardboiling is my favourite way to cook breakfast eggs, because I can prepare as many of them as I like at once and store them in the fridge. Though it's convenient, this breakfast still takes a little bit of time to prepare, as I prefer to devil the egg: I remove the shell, cut the egg in half, mash the yolk with a bit of mayo, wholegrain mustard, and salt and pepper, spread the filling back into the egg halves, and finish with a sprinkle of paprika.

Just as important as the egg, a small piece of my favourite applewood-smoked cheddar cheese, a glass of milk, and a cup of coffee, brewed from locally-roasted Down East Coffee beans, are the other players in my breakfast of champions. I also like to include any fruit that is in season, but, since I can't bring myself to eat the Frankenberries trucked in from California at this time of year, I go without in the winter. (It's OK, I just appreciate fruit even more when it finally does come around!)

Apart from the food, what makes my morning ritual truly special is just taking some time to relax before I go to work. Lingering over coffee with Jeff while the sun shines into the dining room is a cherished part of my routine. We talk about our plans for the day while listening to Information Morning, which inevitably spurs some great conversation about the news. In fact, now that I think of it, many of our most memorable discussions, debates, and laughs have occurred over breakfast. This mental stimulation that helps me get going in the morning is another thing that I am willing to lose a little sleep over.

It takes time and effort to have a true foodie breakfast every single day, but I know that it's worth it. I've learned that when I haven't managed to drag myself out of bed on time for my usual routine (this occurs most often on subzero temperature, pitch-black mornings), the rest of my day will be affected for the worse. So, I keep at it, even though it's not always easy. If you are the type of person who rolls out of bed and scarfs something down (or, horreur!, nothing at all) before running out the door, consider taking a bit more time for yourself. I know it's not for everyone, but I bet that doing something special for breakfast even just for one morning per week is bound to put you in a great mood. Who knows, after trying it a few times, you may find yourself unable to start your day without it.

I'd Rather Live to Eat

2009-02-17T21:03:00.012-04:00

Potatoes and I do not always share a loving relationship. Yes, I know that they're dirt-cheap. Yes, I know that they're a staple to many. Yes, I know that they drive our local economy. I'm also aware that a New Brunswicker speaking out against potatoes is like Raffi speaking out against children. Forgive me, but my problem with potatoes is that they're just a little…they don't always…I just can't seem to…OK, they're boring. Boring, boring, boring! There, I said it.

There's just something so depressing about a group of plain, boiled potato chunks sitting in a sad mound on a dinner plate. Just like everyone else who grew up with this kind of potato as an accompaniment to most meals, when faced with them, I simply eat them as quickly as possible before moving on to the rest of my meal. Well, now I say, that's ridiculous! Food shouldn't be so boring that it is shoved absent-mindedly down our throats, just because it's there! How SAD that we waste so much foodie potential on these unexciting vehicles for butter and salt! I call for CHANGE! Change we can BELIEVE in! DOWN with mediocre potatoes; NO excuses! Rah! Rah! Rah!

In my quest over the years to make potatoes more exciting, I've read many different recipes and have even tried a few of them. It turns out that making potatoes into a gourmet side dish that you will want to savour is surprisingly easy; really, once you move away from the boil-and-serve method, they can very enjoyable! I have cut baby new potatoes in half, poked holes in them, and let them soak up a Greek-inspired marinade before grilling them to a tasty crisp on the barbecue; I have also roasted quartered potatoes in olive oil and lots of salt, pepper, and rosemary until they formed golden crusts. I'm happy to report that both of these preparations led to success, and potatoes began to find a tiny little place in my heart (or, more like a giant place in my stomach).

While those attempts were all well and good, a recent find has knocked all of the other potato recipes out of the park. The recipe I'm about to share with you is the absolute best way to prepare potatoes, hands down. Are you sure you're ready for this? I'm warning you, you'll never be the same.

In this recipe, baby potatoes are boiled, smashed to within an inch of their life, drizzled with olive oil, and then roasted. Boiled, then roasted. Genius! The result is a perfectly crispy potato with just a bit of a fluffy interior. Jeff and I prepared them for a dinner party a few weeks ago, and they were perfect.

Here they are, re-warmed in the oven for a mid-morning brunch, just as good as the first time.
Crispy, smashed, roasted. Mmmmmmmm. We may yet become friends, potatoes.

Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes
From The Best of Fine Cooking: Roasting Magazine, 2008-2009

Amanda's notes: I used a masher instead of towels to flatten the potatoes. The bottom of drinking a glass would probably do just fine as well. I didn't bother laying them on towels to cool; I smashed them directly on the foil- and parchment-lined pan that ended up going in the oven. In addition to lots of salt and pepper, Jeff sprinkled a bit of garlic powder and rosemary onto the potatoes before roasting. Although I didn't think of it at the time, sprinkling some chopped green onions on them before serving would also be delicious.

Ingredients
12 to 15 baby red or yellow potatoes (about 1-1/2 oz. each; 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter)
2-3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Boil the potatoes:
Put the potatoes in a large saucepan (preferably in one layer) and cover with at least an inch of water. Add 2 tsp. kosher salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook the potatoes until they are completely tender and can be easily pierced with a metal or wood skewer. Make sure they are cooked through but don't overcook. The total cooking time will be 30 to 35 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, set up a double layer of clean dishtowels on your countertop. As the potatoes finish cooking, remove them individually from the water, and let them drain and sit for just a minute or two on the dishtowels.

Flatten and cool the potatoes:
Fold another dishtowel into quarters, and using it as a cover, gently press down on one potato with the palm of your hand to flatten it to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Repeat with all the potatoes. Don't worry if some break apart a bit; you can still use them.

Cover a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; put a sheet of parchment on top of the foil. Transfer the flattened potatoes carefully to the baking sheet and let them cool completely at room temperature.

Roast the potatoes:
Remove the pan of potatoes from the refrigerator, if prepared ahead. Heat the oven to 450°F. Alternatively, if you have a convection function, turn it on and set the temperature at 400°F. Sprinkle the potatoes with about 3/4 tsp. salt and pour the olive oil over them. Lift the potatoes gently to make sure some of the oil goes underneath them and that they are well coated on both sides. Roast the potatoes until they're crispy and deep brown around the edges, about 30 minutes if using a convection oven, 30 to 40 minutes if roasting conventionally, turning over once gently with a spatula or tongs halfway through cooking. Serve hot.

Just Winging It: Simple Coleslaw

2009-02-15T20:16:00.036-04:00

Every Sunday, I do some prep work in the kitchen that will make my life easier during the coming workweek. I usually boil some eggs for my breakfasts, chop up veggies for my lunches, and sometimes I'll even create some kind of side dish to speed up dinner preparations. Recently, I have been making coleslaw as an easy and delicious complement to absolutely any main dish: chicken, roasted vegetables, sandwiches, burgers, sausage, refried beans, casserole…the possibilities are endless. I haven’t found anything with which it hasn’t paired well. It is so easy to come home from work, pick any combination of protein and vegetable, and know that I already have a third element prepared that will round out the meal. Ah, simplicity.

I used to base my coleslaw on a more complicated recipe that was delicious, but called for ingredients that I did not always have on hand (such as limes). Although I’m sure I wasn’t the first to create it, this recipe was born out of a need to improvise when the grocery store was closed. It is so simple, that I was surprised to find it tastes even better than my old recipe. I have stuck with it ever since, and have even served it alongside Jeff's roasted chicken at a dinner party. I'll never get tired of it. It is that good.

The Recipe (Sort Of):

Our coleslaw begins at the market, where a vegetable farming family sells many of its offerings all chopped up and ready to go. It is the closest thing to a convenience item that you will find at the farmers market, at least among my preferred vendors (after all, there is a sketchy man who somehow sells Oceanspray Craisins). Although some people might think that shopping at the market automatically means that they are doubling their prep time in the kitchen, these fine vendors would prove those people wrong. They are brilliant, and I let them know every Saturday how much easier they have made my life. Anyway, since I am preparing coleslaw for several suppers and a few lunches, I am making a double batch. (By the way, the purple cabbage tastes the same as the white; I just like the splash of colour. Food should be a visual experience as well as a gustatory one.)

I also like adding green onions to the mix, because they bring in a lot of flavour. I would say I use six or eight bunches for a double batch of coleslaw. As you can see, I chopped them pretty roughly because Jeff and I are both really big fans and don’t mind large pieces. However, if I were unsure of my guests’ tastes, I might chop them more finely and/or use less.

Onto the dressing. It contains only four ingredients, and you already have all of them: mayonnaise, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. That’s it!

I only use the best, baby. None of that low-fat or miracle crap in this household! (If you ask me, the only thing that's a miracle about Miracle Whip is that some people manage to keep it down! *Rimshot*)

Er…I’m not sure that there exists a Hellmann’s of the ballpark mustard world. Grocery store brand is just fine.

I can’t specify the amounts or proportions of mayonnaise and mustard I use to make the dressing; really, I just throw some in a bowl, add salt and pepper, taste, and adjust as necessary. However, do add a lot more mayonnaise than you do mustard. You definitely do not want your dressing to be "mustardy"; the mustard should be approached as a simple flavouring agent, not as an equal to the glorious mayonnaise. Just keep tweaking until you think it tastes good, and then add in your cabbage, carrots, and green onions, and start folding.

Once everything is nicely incorporated, taste to make sure there is enough dressing. I happened to find that I underestimated how much I would need for the double batch; that's not a problem, I just threw in a bit more of the ingredients (see below, I swear it isn't an egg) and stirred again. It is impossible to ruin this coleslaw.

Although you can serve the coleslaw immediately with excellent results, I find it tastes better after it sits in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. It becomes more and more delicious as the week goes on. All you have to do is stir it a couple of times to redistribute the dressing, and, voilà, you have the perfect side dish all ready to serve!

Seriously, now: who wouldn’t want to come home to this?

Food is Love

2009-02-15T11:08:00.008-04:00

While I’ve had a larger-than-average appetite for as long as I can remember, and have always gotten immense joy out of eating food, it wasn’t until five years ago that I became interested in cooking. Having finished my first year of university, I was back at home with my parents who had recently purchased, along with a big-screen TV, several specialty channels. My father, who has always been interested in cooking and has a lot of talent, watched the newly acquired Food Network on a regular basis. One evening, I decided to join him on the couch while waiting for my laundry to dry in the next room. Now, I can’t quite remember which show he was in the middle of watching— it was most likely Emeril Live, Licence to Grill, or Boy Meets Grill—however, I do know one thing: this moment changed my life.

I’m not sure if it was the fact that the big-screen made fresh and colourful ingredients look the size of a pick-up truck, or if, considering there are many great hobby cooks in my family, I had some kind of genetic predisposition to cooking that was triggered at this instant; in any case, I was mesmerized by this channel. Over the next four months, if I wasn’t at work or in the pool, you could bet your life savings that I was watching one of my favourite shows: Everyday Italian, Barefoot Contessa, Chef at Home, Good Eats, Christine Cushing Live, or Iron Chef, to name just a few. I couldn’t get enough, and I was learning every day.

I didn’t really put any of my new information into practice until I went back to university, where my sister and I shared an apartment with a decent kitchen and did our own groceries. My culinary revolution started small: I began chopping an onion, just like I was taught on the Food Network, and sautéing it in olive oil until soft before adding in the usual ingredients for our supper (at the time, since my sister is a vegetarian, this would have been tomato sauce, tofu, or veggie burgers, among other things). I think the fact that this simple concept was a huge step for me in terms of learning to make my food more flavourful illustrates how much help I so desperately needed in the kitchen.

Fast-forward a few years from when I thought chopping an onion was news-worthy, and you’ll find a woman who owns more than two dozen cookbooks, spends at least thirty minutes per day scouring the Internet for new recipes, and who cooks from scratch with her fellow foodie boyfriend (Jeff) on a daily basis. Cooking has become more than a means to sustain life; it is a hobby, a passion, an obsession. In addition to cooking, I have become much more interested in the origins of my food and its impact on my local economy; shopping at my local farmer’s market is a weekly ritual that has allowed me to form relationships with the very people who grow and raise my food, and who very clearly appreciate my business. I can think of few things that are more heart-warming than a smile from a farmer to whom you have just raved about how much you enjoy the fruits of their labour (no pun intended.) When I can see from afar that my favourite cheesemonger has spotted me and pulled my usual wheel of cheddar out of the case, it reinforces my belief that I make the very best choices when it comes to what I buy to eat. I am thankful to these hardworking people every day when I sit down to a nice meal with Jeff.

This blog will be a place for me to share my experiments in the kitchen. I firmly believe that cooking seems a lot harder than it really is; if you have good ingredients, you don’t have to do a whole lot to them to make a delicious meal. Once I learned the basics of cooking, I became much more confident in trying new things and developing my own style. Although I collect hundreds of recipes for inspiration, I hardly ever follow them to the letter. Therefore, as someone who has no artistic ability, cooking allows me to express myself creatively. Trust me when I say it really doesn’t take much to get started; all you may need is the Food Network, and an onion.