Grown Up Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

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!

Potatoes au Gratin with Onions, Mushrooms, and Bacon

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!

Sausage and Cheddar Crepes

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?

Weeknight Macaroni and Tomatoes

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!

Dad's Prime Rib with Garlic Crust

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!

First Barbecue

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.

Morning Ritual

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.

Just Winging It: Simple Coleslaw

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

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.