I debated posting this recipe, because is not the prettiest dessert you will make, but it ends up being like a pudding version of a peanut butter cup that tastes lovely and very much like the candy. It will be a hit with children, and probably with the guys as well, but it's not a dessert I would pick for a fancy dinner party. Like a peanut butter cup, it is very sweet, so serve it up in fairly small portions to start. I made mine in a casserole dish, but if you want to up the "pretty" factor, I would go with a trifle dish so that the layers are visible, and a bit thicker. I took this one to my book club pot luck, knowing that the ladies would want small portions after filling up on all the delicious main course options, and I didn't want them to have to dig down for a giant scoop.
Peanut Butter Cup Trifle:
15 oreo cookies crumbled
5-6 peanut butter cups (or twice as many minis) chopped
1 package frozen whipped topping
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 package cream cheese (brought to room temperature)
1 package instant fudge pudding mix1 cup cold milk
Basically you will be making two mixtures, a peanut butter one, and a chocolate one. The peanut butter mixture requires you to whip 1 cup of the icing sugar, the peanut butter and the cream cheese together until smooth, and then fold in half of the whipped topping. The chocolate mixture starts with whipping the remaining 1/2 cup of icing sugar with the pudding mix and the milk for about two minutes, and then folding in the remaining whipped topping.
The layering of the trifle can be varied to suit your mood. Seeing as mine was in a casserole dish, I used the crumbled cookies to make a "crust" and then sprinkled the chopped peanut butter cups over the top to indicate what the dessert would taste like. Having the pb cups on the top also warns off anyone with peanut allergies. As a trifle, having the crunchy bits in the middle would be nice, or you could put half of the cookie mixture and the chopped pb cups in the middle and put the remaining cookie crumble on top (it would contrast in colour nicely with the pb mixture). Once people dig in to the trifle it will end up all combining anyway, so have fun with it. Refrigerate for a couple of hours after assembling and then serve. Note that after a couple days of sitting the cookie bits will soften, so eat up right away.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Peanut Butter Cup Trifle
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Freezers Make Life Easier
Having a stocked freezer makes eating and living well a lot easier. Freezer space can at a bit of a premium if you don't have a deep freeze (I am spoiled, I have a deep freeze, but Brooke does not). Even with just a little space, you can keep some basics on hand. Here are some tips on the types of things you may want to keep, and each of our suggestions regarding what we usually have to give you an idea of what might freeze well.
Eating Well - So that you don't get stuck having toast or cereal for dinner three nights in a row:
- Keep a few small flavor items that might go bad in your fridge because you don't use them all the time
Court: butter in stick form, lemon zest and ginger root
Brooke: ginger root, frozen herbs, frozen cubes of wine, sesame seeds, frozen cubes of stock
- Frozen fruit to use in baking in winter and smoothies in summer. I advocate getting the fruit when it is in season if you can, and freezing it yourself so that it tastes better and is cheaper than grocery store frozen fruit
Court: mango, blueberries and raspberries
Brooke: mango and mixed berries
- Meat so that you can buy in bulk or on sale since it is expensive. I always hit up Safeway when they have their bags of peeled, uncooked frozen shrimp on for buy one get one free as it takes almost no prep to cook with it
Court: I keep some type of red meat, meatballs or sausage and shrimp and bacon
Brooke: pork, chicken thighs and bacon
- Frozen meals for days when you don't want to cook but don't want all the additives of store bought frozen food
Court: soup and pyrogies
Brooke: Chili, rice and curries
For Entertaining when guests are unexpected or coming on a weeknight:
- A couple of appetizers
Court: mushroom tarts and spanikopita
Brooke: none - no room
- Something you can pull out for a meal
Court: quiche and curry
Brooke: curries
- A dessert
Court: cheesecake or brownies or cookies
Brooke: none - no room
Monday, December 1, 2008
Goat Cheese and Pesto Goodness
Coming out of university, pita pizzas were a staple part of my diet. Pitas were easy to come by, and I usually had some pasta sauce and some cheese in my fridge. Voila! Dinner! Over time this combination got a bit old, and I started to experiment to the point where my pita pizzas were not much like the traditional versions at all. Luckily, as restaurants got more and more into unusual designer pizzas, hipster restaurateurs coined the term "flatbread" and I felt free to take on this moniker for my creations as well.
I pretty much always have some Greek pitas at my place, and seeing as they are a bit thicker, they make nice pizza/flatbread crusts. I don't make my own bread of any kind. Today for lunch, I decided to go with one that tastes nice and warm for winter. I hesitate to even call it a recipe, because it is more like just throwing some things on top of a pita to use up leftover cooked veggies.
I start by spreading goat cheese on the pita so that it thickly covers the entire surface. Next, I do the same with pesto. I know this might seem like a lot, but I went through a pesto loving phase where I actually used to dip pieces of cheese into pesto and eat it (as did one of my friends who shall remain nameless.... you know who you are!), so this is actually me exercising pesto and cheese restraint. Finally, I pile veggies and veggie preserves on top. It is usually a combination like today:
Sun dried Tomatoes
Preserved Roasted Red Peppers
Sautéed Mushrooms, Garlic and Onion (leftover)
Spinach
Fresh Tomato Slices
All of these items are easy to locate at the local grocery store, but if I feel like treating myself to a little shopping excursion, I venture downtown to the Italian Grocery store (on 95 Street just south of 109 Ave) and browse the rows of Unico (Canadian!) cans and jars checking out all sorts of colourful stuff like artichokes, olives, and eggplant. The best part is that since I am down there, I get to stock up on cheeses and meats from their deli.
Once the pile is assembled, throw it in the oven for 2-3 minutes to warm, and then eat. I understand that not everyone goes home for lunch like me, but you can spread the goat cheese and pesto on the pita, fold it, put it in a container, and then take a second container with leftover sautéed veggies (throw the preserved ones in) and put it in the toaster oven at work too. Having a "Roast vegetable, goat cheese and pesto Flatbread" for lunch will make you look fancy and hip.
Creamy Mushroom Tarts
I get tons of compliments on this particular recipe. I would say it is my top appetizer pick. It takes some time to make, but a lot of the more time intensive steps can be done in front of the TV, and these are great to stock the freezer with.
Mushroom Tarts
2 loaves of your favorite whole grain bread (using white just lowers the "healthiness" but I do it if I need to use up bread)
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp finely chopped shallots (or onion in a bind)
½ pound (227 grams) mushrooms finely chopped (use the grocery store scales)
2 tbsp flour
1 cup/250 ml whipping cream
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped chives (or the tops of green onions)parmesan cheese to top
The first part is making the bread tart shells. I use a wine glass to make the bread rounds because they usually have narrower edges than a normal glass, and go through the bread well. Also, when I am done I can have a glass of wine while I chop seeing as the mushrooms take some time unless you have much better knife skills than I do. First, spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray (or grease it with butter or margarine). To form the tart shells you just press the rounds flat with your fingers and then press them into the pan. Bake at 400F/200C for 10 minutes. They will be nice and golden and hold their shape when removed. You can freeze these on their own if that is enough work for you in a day and put any filling in them that you like later.
Let the filling cool so that it doesn't make your shells soggy, and then fill them and top them with a sprinkle of parmesan. At this point you can either pop them into a container and throw them in the freezer (put a layer of wax paper in between if you are stacking them), or throw them in the oven at 350F/180C for 10 minutes. If you are taking them out of the freezer they may need more like 12 minutes. If I have left over filling, I pop it in the fridge and then spread it on toast and put it under the broiler for a minute the next day as lunch.Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tempting Tea Bread
If you can braid hair, you can braid bread. It really is that simple, and I particularly like looking more impressive than I actually am. This sweet bread is fantastic served with tea or coffee, and if you're not a fan of cardamom you could switch it up and use cinnamon instead. Cardamom is a standard ingredient in Scandinavian baking, and for me it gives a nice warm, wintry feel to this bread. Because I don't have a bread machine due to space constraints in my small apartment, I headed over to my parent's today to make this.
Cardamom Tea Bread:
1 cup/250 ml milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp softened butter
3 cups/460g plain flour
1/3 cup/70g sugar
1 pkg/7g active dry yeast
3 tsp ground cardamom
Topping:
1 egg white, slightly beaten
pearl sugar or other decorative sugar
Add all the ingredients into the bread machine and select the 'Dough' cycle. Remember to keep aside the remaining egg white, as you'll need it for the top. Once complete, separate the dough into 3 equal portions and roll them into 30-35cm/12-14" long ropes. Braid them together as shown in the photos.
Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Put the braided dough onto a greased baking sheet and allow it to rise until doubled in size. This works particularly well in the warming drawer of your oven, if you have one. If not, just find a warm place and cover with a tea towel until risen.
Brush the dough with egg white to cover all exposed areas, and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Bake until golden brown, around 20-25 minutes. Watch carefully near the end, as mine turned out a little too dark this time because I wasn't paying attention.
Friday, November 28, 2008
A Pretty Happy Ending at Glenora Bistro
After the debacle recounted in the previous post, we worried the birthday celebration would have to be postponed. Luckily Court can be tenacious, and with some hard work she managed to find a place that could seat all 9 of us for that Friday night. When she let us know we’d be going to Glenora Bistro (www.glenorabistro.com) the name didn’t sound familiar, but on checking their website I saw that the brains behind Normand’s had revamped this place last year. As Normand’s is a favourite of us both, I was pretty excited to check this location out. It wasn’t until we arrived that I realized I had eaten here before, but several years ago before the change in management. I kept that change in mind, because my first experience here for brunch was not one I would care to repeat – and it later came out that a few of the others had had hit and miss experiences here in the past.
It's a relatively small place, and very cozy due to the soft lighting. The servers were knowledgeable, quiet, and organized. They plied us with baskets of delicious, delicious warmed French bread - hard to resist while waiting for the appetizers. Court had the Coquilles St Jacques (baked scallops in a white wine cream sauce) and found it average. I tried the Fresh PEI Mussels in a pernod cream sauce that my neighbour had ordered, which were fragrant with anise and very good; the pernod is the dominant flavour. While soup of the day (Cream of Mushroom) was a resounding success, the salad of the day (Mixed Greens with Strawberry, Tomato & Blue Cheese) would be better served in summer when the ingredients are in season, as both the tomato and strawberries looked a little pallid. For mains, both Court and I ordered the Veal Osso Bucco which is done in a white wine cream sauce; the veal shank was perfect, falling off the bone but still pink inside, and the cream sauce was very good, though in my opinion the addition of whole red peppercorns was pretty but unnecessary. The portion is quite generous, and we both struggled to finish. It was served with a side of potatoes and steamed mixed vegetables (described incorrectly as brunoise on the menu), most of which were cooked just right - the only exception being large piece of rock hard squash.
It was very difficult to decide, as there are several items on the menu that sound delicious, and all three of the daily specials were tempting. I'd really like to go back and try the Cassoulet, as it's not something I often see on a menu. The prices are mid-range, with appetizers ranging from $4-14 and mains from $16-30. There were several reasonably priced wines available, and the few sold by-the-glass were $8-9.
On the whole, everyone was satisfied. While a few choices on the menu were a bit average, there are definitely enough stand-out items to warrant a trip back.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Café Select, I Wish I Could Rate You
I am entering into a new decade of my life. To celebrate, I decided to have some close friends and family get together for dinner out so I didn’t have to worry about cleaning my house. I have been meaning to try out Café Select for some time now, and unfortunately, it was not meant to be for this evening. I did, however, want to blog briefly about the service in this situation, and see if anyone else out there had thoughts on whether it is worth trying again in the future.
Calling in on Monday morning, I knew it would be a bit of a challenge to find a table for the upcoming Friday for 8-10 people, but I still figured it was worth a try. I left a voice message early Monday and waited to hear back. No response Monday, no response Tuesday, and by Wednesday evening I was getting panicky, so I called them back myself when the dinner rush should have been mostly through. I spoke with a young woman who told me she thought they could swing it around 7:30, and I was very excited. She added that they include gratuity in the bill for groups that large (no problem), and that they impose a $25 minimum charge on the weekends because “otherwise you can get big groups in that all drink water.” Um, last time I checked you were free to drink whatever you wanted at a restaurant. I understand the idea, but was just a bit put off by being told that. I had no idea if anyone in my group might be on a budget, and I generally assume that menu pricing covers costs as necessary. I was told that she needed to confirm the availability with her manager and would call me back that evening. As I am sure you can guess given my frustration, I did not get a call back. I called them Thursday morning and left the standard “no one called me back, I am disappointed, if I cannot be accommodated at this point it is going to put me in a very difficult position to find another place” message. I called back again Thursday around five - after still hearing nothing - only to be told by the manager that they were fully booked and had been for weeks.
I do take a certain portion of the blame, knowing that even calling on a Monday is a bit late for this size group on a Friday night, but I do expect that if a restaurant has a message saying to leave your reservation request, that you will get your call returned promptly. The manager did offer to help call around to find another place after I mentioned I was high and dry for my birthday, but I was so ticked off that I declined. To add insult to injury, after I spent majority of the next morning thinking of alternate locations and finally booking one. I got a call from a woman at Café Select confirming my reservation.
Now I ask you: Have you been to Café Select before? Did you experience such difficulties? Is it worth me getting over this and trying again?
Do You Need a Chef's Knife?
Having a good knife makes kitchen work go much more smoothly. No longer do I worry when cutting the skin of a tomato that I will just squish the insides all over. Neither do I worry as much about cutting myself. That might seem a bit contradictory, but if you have a sharp knife, it is more likely to cut your food than slip and cut you instead. Finally, there are items that are just too difficult to cut with a dull knife that a good sharp knife will have no problem with. I can cut through frozen meat and a seriously firm squash with no problems.
I started with a Victorinox that was bought for me by a friend. It is a nice large chef's knife, but it is still quite light, which makes it easy enough for me to work with. Life was good with my chef's knife for a while, but then I went and read Kitchen Confidential by chef Anthony Bourdain, where he claims that the only knife you need is a Global chef's knife. Well, he went on in such detail that one had to find it's way into our kitchen. I admit, I do love it. Would I give up my other knife? No way! I use my knives so much that I often dirty up more than one making a meal (and don't want to stop part way through to do dishes).
Recently, it seemed that almost everyone I know was looking at santoku knives. Apparently they were necessary! Off I went to the store to get myself one. I tried a number and chose a J.A. Henckel version, again, because it had a good weight in my hand. Yes, like the other two, I didn't know how I had been living so long without owning this knife.
What brands and types of knives will work for you will depend on what feels good to you, but I would certainly recommend that anyone who likes to cook regularly will benefit from a reasonably good knife. I have had someone stay at our house that has then said they hated cutting things when they returned to their place after using our knives. They can be a bit of a pain, because you have to hand wash them (and I don't hand wash anything else), and they need to be sharpened regularly, but they are totally worth it.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tzaziki is Greek for Delicious
I love Greek food! I love souvlaki and spanikopita and Greek salad and Greek roast potatoes, but most of all I love tzaziki. My favourite tzaziki at a restaurant is from It’s All Greek to Me, a little restaurant on Rice Howard Way and Jasper Ave that I used to have lunch at when I worked next to there. I actually got them to sell it to me in containers for a little while, until I learned that the reason it tasted different was because it had sour cream in it. Since then, I have updated my own tzaziki recipe to be as close as possible, and can have delicious homemade tzaziki whenever I like.
Tzaziki:
1 cup of Greek yogurt
¼ cup Sour Cream
½ cup grated cucumber
pinch of salt
1 clove garlic finely chopped
some dill finely chopped
When buying Greek yogurt, sometimes I go to the Greek food store that is just west of 124 st. around 111 Ave, but more often I just get the stuff in my local grocery store that is called Balkan yogurt. To start you must “sweat” the yogurt and sour cream. Basically you just put it in a fine strainer over a bowl and cover with cling wrap then sit it in the fridge. If yours is metal, you may want to line it with cheesecloth or it will drip through. This plastic one works like a dream. Ideally you want to sweat it for eight or more hours. If you start it in the morning before running off to work that is great. If not, I have been known to cut it down to an hour if I am struck by an intense craving. It will just impact the consistency. Some people will like it a bit less thick anyway.
With about 30 minutes to go, grate the cucumber. I use an English one, because you don’t have to peel it and I like the green colour. Regardless of which kind you use, quarter it lengthwise and take out the seedy bit. Sprinkle the pinch of salt over it and put it in the refrigerator so that it too will release some of its liquid. This step is a good one to do before you worry about getting the main part of your meal going. Letting it sit for more than 30 minutes is fine, just cover it if it is going to be much longer.
Put the reduced yogurt and sour cream into the dish you are making the tzaziki in. Press the cucumber to get rid of as much liquid as possible (I press it between stackable glasses, or use my hands) and add it to the bowl. Throw in the garlic and dill and mix. Done!
I fully encourage you to play around with the amount of each of the ingredients, as the results will not be altered much if you adjust to taste. I like mine to be very strong and garlicky, but if you would like it to be milder, put in less sour cream and garlic and it will be more like what you get in other restaurants. It is nice to warm up your pita bread if you have picked it up from the grocery store. Don’t get the thin stuffing pitas; get the nice thick bread-like Greek pitas.
This is a great appetizer, or I make it to use as a tasty condiment for Greek potatoes or souvlaki or to eat with my spanikopita or even perogies. It will keep pretty well for a couple of days, but some liquid will rise to the top. Drain it off or just mix it in.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Not Quick but Easy Mushroom Risotto
Now that winter is here all I want to do when I get home is curl up with the internet and something delicious, warm, and rich. This is one of my winter staples, and is a simplified version of one of Delia Smith's recipes. Today I've used a 50/50 mixture of oyster and button mushrooms as that's what I had, but usually I just use regular button or crimini. It takes about an hour all together; it's worth it! And who doesn't love having risotto without having to do any of the usual stirring?
Mushroom Risotto:
3-3.5 cups/200-225g chopped fresh mushrooms - any kind
1 medium finely chopped onion
3 tbsp/60g butter or margarine
2 cups/500ml vegetable or mushroom stock
200ml white wine
1 scant cup/175g arborio (risotto) rice
salt & pepper
2-3 tbsp fresh grated parmesan
Preheat your oven to 300F/150C, and place a shallow 1.5 litre baking dish in to heat up. First, chop up the mushrooms and onion. Melt the butter in a medium saute/fry pan and add the chopped onion. Cook for around 5 minutes over medium-low heat, then add the mushrooms and stir. Keep the heat low and let soften for 20 minutes.
Add the rice and stir it in, then add the stock and wine plus 1 tsp salt and some ground pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Transfer the contents to the warmed baking dish and place uncovered on the centre shelf for 20 minutes. Then, stir in the parmesan and put back in for another 15 minutes.
This serves 2 generously, or up to 6 as a side. If you want fewer dishes to clean, just use an oven-safe saute/fry pan and pop that in the oven to cook - that's what I usually do when I'm not concerned with having a fancy dish to serve it in.
