Normally when I have people over for dinner I don't do the old-school Sunday dinner roast and potatoes (mostly because I am terrible at judging roasting times and I have a fear of serving overcooked meat). I finally decided to take the challenge however, and luckily Canadian Beef has a website that gave me exact cooking times by weight to acheive lovely medium-rare goodness. I wanted to change up the sides though, so I modified this pie slightly from Donna Hay's Seasons, which I received as a Christmas gift and is one of the most beautifully shot cookbooks I have ever seen.
Kabocha, Spinach & Goat Cheese Pie (serves 6):
tomato paste
1 small kabocha/butternut squash, peeled & sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 roll PC puff pastry (1/2 package), thawed
spinach
150g goat cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
Using President's Choice pastry over Tenderflake is practically a necessity. PC comes in 2 rolls which are very easy to use, rather than the flat blocks that take forever to roll out yourself.
Preheat oven to 200C/390F. Cook onion and squash 15-20min until tender and set aside to cool. Roll out pastry to about half it's original thickness, then cut in half and place one half on a lined cookie sheet or baking pan. Spread with tomato past then top with the remaining ingredients. Place the second half of the pastry on top and press or roll the edges to seal. Brush with the egg and bake 30 minutes until golden.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Kabocha, Spinach & Goat Cheese Pie
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Cheese-y Chicken Quesadillas
While it's been so hot lately, I've been doing anything I can to avoid turning on the oven. My house is already a sauna, and there's no need to make it worse. My limited barbecue skills only get me so far, so my latest easy dinner has been quesadillas. Pretty much anything goes, so I can use whatever I have on hand to fill them.
Chicken Quesadillas (for 2):
2 chicken thighs, chopped in 1cm cubes
grapeseed oil
salt & pepper
rosemary, finely chopped
garlic, minced
1/4 small eggplant, chopped
1/4 small zucchini, chopped
2 button mushrooms, chopped
1/4 red pepper, chopped
2 multigrain tortillas
cheddar cheese, shredded
In a fry pan heat up a little oil and add the chicken, s&p, rosemary, and garlic and heat through. Remove to a bowl, then add the vegetables to the same pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add the vegetables to the bowl with the chicken and mix together. Wipe clean the pan and put back on medium heat, lay down the first tortilla, add the mix and about 2 tbsp shreded cheese (or more!) to one side of the tortilla then fold over. Heat until nicely browned on both sides and the cheese is melted. Repeat.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sweet & Spicy Roast Kabocha
This makes a yummy alternative to roast potatoes or sweet potatoes, with the added benefit that it takes less time to cook and you can eat the peel. Most squash is a pain to peel, and one of the reasons I love kabocha is not having to deal with that. It's also high in beta carotene and iron. Of course, since I've added a bunch of sugar to it I'm not sure how healthy the final product is.
Sweet & Spicy Kabocha Squash:
1 kabocha, deseeded and sliced
grapeseed oil, or other flavourless oil
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp szechuan pepper
sprinkle of soy sauce or salt
Preheat oven to 375F/190C and line a baking tray with a silicone sheet or parchment paper. In a bowl drizzle just enough oil to lightly coat the squash slices (or use spray oil). Put the sugar, coriander, cumin, and pepper in a plastic bag and shake to mix. Drop the kabocha slices into the bag a handful at a time and shake to coat in the mixture. Lay the slices on the baking tray and sprinkle a little soy sauce or salt on top. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the slices over and bake another 10 minutes.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Savoury Stuffed Zucchini
I made this for a family dinner where only Court and I are lovers of zucchini, and somehow it was so good I didn't even get a chance to photograph it when it came out of the oven. That may have something to do with my planning skills, as by this point in the night I am more concerned with getting everything in serving dishes and on the table at the same time than I am with getting a good shot of the finished product. I think it's pretty clear though that adding cheese and bacon to nearly anything will make people love it.
Stuffed Zucchini (serves 5-6 as a side):
1 large zucchini, hollowed
1/4 red pepper, finely chopped
1 slice onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 slices bacon, finely chopped
basil, sprinkle of dried to taste
salt & pepper
1 tbsp pine nuts
3 tbsp ricotta
1 egg white
Hollow out the zucchini with a spoon, and chop up about half of what was scooped out. Saute the chopped zucchini, onion, red pepper, bacon and garlic - the bacon should release enough fat to cook with or add a little olive oil to help it along. Season the mixture with salt & pepper and dried basil. Into this, add the pine nuts, ricotta and egg white and stir to combine. Place the filling in the hollowed zucchini halves and bake at 350F/180C for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling is slightly firm.
It's always a risk making something for the first time for a big dinner, but this turned out so wonderfully that I will definitely be making it again. Next time maybe just for me.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Renkon Chips
I actually cook with lotus root (or renkon) quite often, mostly because it makes such a pretty addition to my bento lunches. Luckily, it turns out it's also quite good for you. It has a delicate flavour and a lovely crunchy texture (even when not deep fried).
1 section renkon
vegetable oil for frying
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tbsp shichimi togarashi or szechuan pepper
Peel the vegetable, then slice thinly. I used a mandoline for this as I wanted paper-thin slices for the chips. Drop them in a bowl of water with a generous splash of vinegar to keep them white, as they start to discolour quite quickly. Once cut, briefly dry on paper towel and drop them into a plastic bag with the flour and spice, then shake around to coat.
Drop into the heated oil in batches, pulling out when lightly browned. This only took a couple of minutes as my slices were so thin.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Mish Mash Mushroom Risotto
I am home solo tonight with the new babe, and I have to say this new life of mine is a serious adjustment. The little one seems to have colic - which is just another name for pretty much any baby discomfort that makes them miserable and so they cry about it for hours on end and there is nothing that seems to make it better. In an effort to feel just a tiny bit more in control of some part of my life, I decided to cook myself a decent meal, even though it was just me, even though I had to do most of it with the lovely background music of a baby crying. Sometimes when you feel like you are bad at being a mom, it is a tiny measure of comfort to remember that at least you are a good cook. That being said, if anyone has magic cures for colic - I welcome suggestions!
This risotto is based on my usual risotto recipe. In addition, I decided to mix in a little mixture Brooke gave me for "healthy rice" because I am breastfeeding, and therefore feel like I am doing a good thing any time I make any choice with the word "healthy" in it (it has flax seeds and other stuff like that in it). I also did not have white wine, so I put in a tiny splash of red, and I used onion soup base instead of chicken broth because I am trying not to eat actual onions (see above re: colic), and also my husband used the last of the chicken stock and we have about a foot of fresh snow on our roads telling me to stay home and make due with what I have.
Here is a picture of my finished dinner. That's right, I made a lobster tail to eat all by myself. I like to think I am classy like that.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Cheese Scones
The other day I made leek soup with the last of my share of the leeks from the garden (and of course, didn't take pictures!). I decided I wanted to have cheese scones with it, and luckily made enough that I could photograph them the next day when I had a second. I found this recipe on The Foreign Kitchen blog after trying a couple of other recipes unsuccessfully. As long as you have a food processor this is a very quick and easy recipe to whip up. It's great to make when you want home baked bread but don't have the time to make it. Really, could anything with cheese melted on top be bad?
Cheese Scones:
2 cups of flour
4 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
a pinch of ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup (I used sugar)
4 Tbsp of cold unsalted butter
1 egg beaten, combined with milk to make 3/4 cup
1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar (I used white cheddar to keep the scones lighter in colour)
3 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the egg, milk, and syrup together. Cut and rub the butter into the flour (Use a food processor).
Now, I added 1 1/4 cups of grated cheddar to the flour and butter and combined these before I added the egg and milk mixture, but if you want an ooey-gooier texture stir the milk and egg mixture into the flour first and then fold in the cheese.
Looseley shape this into a disc, without handeling it too much. Turn it out onto a well floured suface, sprinkle it with the remaining 1/4 of cheddar and the Parmesan, and cut the disc into 8 slices. Place these onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or just greased) and bake at 475 Fahrenheit (250 Celsius) for 10 minutes until the tops are browned.The scones taste best fresh out of the oven, and even though they are savory a fresh gob of peach marmalade or a drizzling of honey makes these an extra special treat.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Ratatouille Tarte
As mentioned last week, I took the Ratatouille I made, and used some of it in a tarte. Really, a tarte is pretty much the same as a quiche for all intents and purposes. In this case I threw some goat cheese in with it because who doesn't love goat cheese with roasted veggies? I served it up with a nice little spinach, bacon, pine nut and goat cheese salad for lunch when my mom came over. Isn't this such a girls lunch?
Ratatouille Tarte:
Buy or make a pie crust (I buy, I am crap at pastry)
Add your fillings (ratatouille and goat cheese) so that they cover a good deal of the bottom of the tarte, but don't pile up above the rim of the crust.
Mix up eggs and cream at a ratio of two eggs per quarter cup of cream so that you get a consistency that isn't quite the same as an omelet. Give it a good whip so that it comes out light and fluffy. The amount you need will depend on the size of crust you use - I made two at once (and froze one after baking), and used seven eggs in total.
Bake in a 400 F oven until it is set (about 40 minutes). I cover it in foil for the first half and then uncover it to brown for the second half.
Throwing an extra in the freezer after they are done baking is a great way to have a little snack on hand for when you get surprise lunch guests, and all you need to do when you are ready for it is throw it in the oven covered in foil at 350 until it is reheated.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Ratatouille Nicoise
I swear that Monday morning after the long weekend I woke up and it was dark in the morning. I know it makes no sense that this would suddenly be the case, but it was like fall arrived that very day. This weekend is supposed to be warm enough to make it feel like summer still, but the cool nights will not allow us to be tricked like that. It is fall, winter is on the way, let the mourning begin. On the bright side, I have some fall "crops" that are performing well. As is always the case, all of a sudden I have a zillion zucchini. What to do? Of course I have shredded and frozen many baggies full (pre-measured) so that I can make zucchini bread through the winter, but when I say I have zillions, I mean I have zillions. Last year I spent a couple weeks of the summer in France (along the Basque coast), and while there I picked up a lovely little cookbook that appears to be the equivalent of the Betty Crocker one here. By that I mean it was the one everyone was given back in the 70s when they got married. It has a great recipe for Ratatouille Nicoise that I whipped up, and then used to make a ratatouille and chevre tarte (to be posted next week) based on one I ate there. It wasn't quite like being there, but it was the best I could do without the expensive plane ticket.
Ratatouille Nicoise (translated from French, probably badly):
3 onions
4 eggplants
4 zucchini
500g tomatoes
2 peppers (I used red)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)
salt and pepper
Peel onions and then cut all the veggies into strips. Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish - I can just see all the French ladies using their le cruesets - and then saute the onions for a minute. Add the other veggies, the salt and pepper and the bouquet garni and cover to simmer in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The recipe doesn't give a temperature, so I went with the ever popular 350 F. Don't forget to take out the bouquet before serving (or at least don't scoop it out into someone's bowl, they will be confused).
Nothing feels more french to me than using a bouquet garni. When I was staying there, the woman who was hosting us seemed to use a bouquet of fresh herbs in every dish she cooked and I swear it made everything seem twice as delicious. If I don't have string with which to tie the herbs up together I often use non flavoured dental floss.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Risotto For Beginners
I used to be afraid of making risotto. Watching Hell's Kitchen had convinced me it must be a terribly complex dish of the kind that could reduce professional chef's into quivering tearfilled balls of goo. That was a misconception. Making risotto is incredibly easy (I wouldn't lie to you), although perhaps more difficult when doing it in bulk and partially cooking it prior to a restaurant shift. Just to be sensitive to the poor Hell's Kitchen contestants I will say that making risotto at home for personal consumption is easy peasy, and certainly worth trying. For me it is now a winter meal staple, both as a meal in itself and as a side. I can make lots and serve it for a dinner party, or I can use it to use up tasty leftovers (like pasta). I just love the creamy carby goodness, and that it tastes like it is made with buckets of cream when really there is no cream to be found in the recipe!
Spinach and Goat Cheese Risotto (as a large meal for 2-3):
1 cup Arborio Rice
1 half an onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4-5 cups of chicken stock heated to boiling
1/4 cup white wine (optional, but nice)
about 2 cups of loosely chopped spinach (or as much as you like - this is where you could put in anything you want to flavor with, squash, mushrooms, chicken, asparagus etc. but if it should be precooked unless like the spinach it will wilt by being stirred in for 1-2 minutes)
2-3 tbsp of crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Heat the oil in a large deep pan, and saute the onions for 2-3 mins (until clear). Add in the rice and stir so it is coated in the oil. Cook it in the oil for 1-2 mins. Add the wine if you choose and stir until it is absorbed. Start stirring in the stock about 1/2 cup at a time and continue to stir with a spatula as the rice absorbs the liquid. Stirring is the magic in risotto. It keeps the rice from sticking to the bottom and lets all the starches come out to create the "creamy" effect. You don't have to stir the entire time, but most of the time is advisable.
The tricky part is that you have to taste the risotto to know when it is getting close to done. I would say that in my house, with my stove, I end up taking 20-35 minutes just depending on how high I have the heat. You will know it is close the way you know pasta is (no, not by throwing it at the wall), in that it will still have a bit of firmness, but no longer be crunchy. Think of it as rice al dente. When you feel like it will need only one more addition of broth, put your flavoring agents in so that they warm up and get nicely mixed in. Finally, when the last of the liquid is absorbed, stir in the parmesan to take the creaminess over the top.
Oh delicious comfort food! How would we make it through 6-8 months of winter without you?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Pork and Asparagus Stir Fry
I bought a giant bunch of asparagus when it was on sale, and now I feel like it's all I've been eating for the past week. In attempting to do something a bit different from what I normally have (either roasted or Norm's Jamies's version), I threw this together last night. If you wanted to do a spicy version of this, you could replace the sesame oil & sesame seeds with chili oil & crushed dried chilis. Or, presumably, it would be just as good with green beans or broccoli.
Pork & Asparagus Stir Fry (serves 4 as a side):
3 tbsp vegetable oil
450 g asparagus
200 g finely chopped pork
2 garlic cloves, squashed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
ground pepper
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
In a bowl, mix the pork, soy sauce, cornstarch, and pepper and let marinate while you prepare the asparagus (break off the woody ends and cut in 5cm/2" lengths). Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add the asparagus. Cook for around 3 minutes, until done but still firm. Remove the asparagus, add the remaining oil to the hot wok and then add the marinated pork and whole garlic cloves. Stir fry for 3 minutes until the pork browns, then fish out the garlic. Add the asparagus back to the wok, pour over the sake, sesame oil, and sesame seeds and stir to combine.
This also makes a great addition to a bento (I'm going to have a good lunch today!). The one pictured below has 1 serving of the stir fry, 2/3 cup rice, 2 hard boiled quail eggs (with sesame seeds & salt in a furikake shaker), and 2 small chocolate chip cookies.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Homemade Skinny Fries
No, they won't make you skinny (wishful thinking!), they are skinny. Skinny and delicious!!! This is yet another of my husband's "signature" recipes, taken, of course, from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. They are a bit of a flavour twist on regular fries in that they have a lemon and rosemary seasoning to add a bit of interest. I love slightly gourmet versions of non-gourmet food.
Making these is very easy, even if you don't have a deep fryer. I don't have a deep fryer myself for fear that I would turn to deep frying all my food seeing as I actually use the phrase "deep fried goodness" to describe a whole category of foods I love. As a substitute, I just fill a pot with cooking oil, heat it up nice and hot, and use a metal strainer to lower the fries in. It works like a charm.
For this side dish, we used regular old red potatoes, and cut them up into french fry slices with the skin still on for a bit of colour. I like how fries done this way really look homemade and totally not uniform in length. Lower the fries into the oil in small batches, and put a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or a good shaking of dried rosemary right into the oil so that the taste is infused.
Once the fries are nice and golden (or darker if you like them really crispy), strain them out and soak up some of the oil with paper towel. Put the finished batches in a bowl in the oven to stay warm while you finish the subsequent batches.
To finish them, bash up some lemon zest and sea salt using your mortar and pestle, and sprinkle over top.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Norm's Jamie's Green Bean Salad (made with asparagus)
This is one of those evolutionary recipes that slowly became the version of itself seen above from my dinner the other night. To begin with, my husband Norm found a recipe in one of our many Jamie Oliver cookbooks for a warm french bean salad. Seeing as we love whole grain mustard, "the Jamie Oliver beans" quickly became one of my husband's signature dishes. Over time, the ingredients changed a bit for the sake of convenience (shallots can be hard to come by at our local grocery store), and a bit so that the same recipe could be applied to other veggies.
Norm's Jamie's Green Bean Salad:
1 clove garlic finely minced
1 tbsp onion or shallot finely minced
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
4 servings worth of beans (or asparagus in today's case)
Mix the first four ingredients to create a "dressing." Cook the beans or asparagus any way you like (steam, boil, grill), and while still hot, toss in the dressing to coat. This is a great tangy side dish. I frequently pair it with sweeter meat preparations such as my fig and plum glazed duck or apple pork chops because the help make sure that your dinner doesn't end up being sickly sweet.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
These spring rolls make a fabulous lunch out of leftovers, and will really impress your co-workers. They only take about 15 minutes to make, but look like they take a lot longer. I made this with my leftovers from the Smoked Duck and it was super tasty, but really they can be made with any meat, or even tofu or just vegetables if you want to keep it simple. I served them with Thai Peanut Sauce (thinned out a bit with milk to make dipping easier).
Vietnamese Spring Rolls (4):
2 small bundles dried rice vermicelli
assortment of veggies and greens
(I used carrot, snow peas, & spinach)
green onion
4 round rice papers, 20cm/8" dia.
1/3 of a cooked duck breast, sliced
Bring water to the boil in a small saucepan, and lower the vermicelli into the water in a strainer. Cook according to package directions, or for around 10 seconds until al dente. Drain & run through with cold water to keep the noodles from sticking; it may make it easier to separate the noodles now into 4 piles. Arrange all of your fillings on a tray to prepare the rolls.
Separate and soak 2 rice papers at a time in a tray with room-temperature water for 1-2 minutes. Set a clean dish towel beside the tray, and when the papers are softened move them to the dish towel and blot them dry. Add the fillings to the papers, and roll as you would a burrito - that is, work about 1" from the edge of the paper, fold the bottom edge over the fillings and fold in the sides. The only tricky part here is getting the papers tight enough to keep the filling solidly together, but not so tight that the papers rip.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Perfect Peppery Potatoes
I love, love, love potatoes. And bread. And rice. Basically, if it's carbs I'm all over it. I could probably post at least a fortnight's worth of different potato recipes, but I don't think my waistline would thank me. While Court is chillin' down south, I'm "chilling" here and sticking with winter comfort foods.
For these, it's best to use the smallest baby potatoes you can find as you can then eat them whole. I love the feeling of breaking through the crisp skin to find perfect fluffy potato inside. Pepper is extremely under-rated as a seasoning, and it's used to fabulous effect here. If you're cooking for anyone who doesn't like things spicy, you'll have to tone it down a bit.
Roast Potatoes:
680 g/1.5 lbs baby potatoes
a few glugs of olive oil
lots of freshly ground sea salt & black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C, and place your baking dish inside to preheat as well. Add all the ingredients to the dish and toss around to coat. If you're unsure on how much salt & pepper to use, just keep going until it looks like too much. These are really spicy, and I like to open up the grinder so the pepper is grounder more coarsely than usual. Bake for 50-60 minutes.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Homestyle Mac & Cheese
I halved this recipe and it fed two people quite generously:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Parmesan grated
2cups milk
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
250g Oka grated (I found Oka at Superstore in the cooling bin with the goat cheese and brie)
280g old cheddar (3yr or older) grated
ground black pepper
500g fusilli or macaroni
Preheat oven to 400F. Boil water and cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a saucepan and add flour to make a roux, then gradually whisk in the milk. Add mustard, Oka, cheddar and pepper to taste.
Mix pasta and cheese sauce and pour into oven proof dish. Mix breadcrumbs and Parmesan and sprinkle over the pasta mixture, bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes (less time for a runnier sauce).I loved this dish, and it is so quick and easy to make. I think it would even be a fun starter for a dinner party if you made little individual servings in ramekins. I used more breadcrumbs than the recipe call for just because I like having a good crunchy crust to go with the creaminess of the cheese and pasta.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A Simple Side
I was making my fig and plum glazed duck, with duck fat roast potatoes and wanted to do a different side dish than I usually do. Something fast yet elegant looking and flavorful. I found an old post on Tastespotting for Bok Choy with Garlic, posted by The Kitchen Sink and decided to give it a go. My sauce didn't turn out as sticky as theirs looked, but it was still a great change from the usual, and I love the way halved bok choy looks all piled up on a plate.
Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy with Garlic:
1/3 cup/75 ml chicken broth
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic (about 8 cloves)
2 lb baby or Shanghai bok choy, halved lengthwise
2 tsp Asian sesame oil
Stir together broth, soy sauce and cornstarch, until cornstarch has dissolved.
Heat wok or large skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates instantly. Pour peanut or vegetable oil down side of wok, then swirl oil, tilting wok to coat side. Add garlic and stir-fry until pale golden, 5 to 10 seconds. Add half of bok choy and stir-fry until leaves wilt, about 2 minutes, then add remaining bok choy and stir-fry until all leaves are bright green and limp, 2 to 3 minutes total. Stir broth mixture, then pour into wok and stir-fry 15 seconds. Cover with lid and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in sesame oil, then transfer to a serving dish.
This one will be a keeper for me!
