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!

World's Best Garlic Bread

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!