Archive for February, 2008
Today was the grains show, and the slow cooker show. Another long day.
A couple weeks ago, in a panic over the thought of being away from home for dinnertimes on end, I made a few batches of freezable things to stash away for Mike and W. Not that I didn’t think they could survive happily on eggs and toast.
One of those things (as part of an article I was working on for What’s Up Kids magazine in Toronto) was turkey chili with barley. Barley has more fiber than whole wheat bread, brown rice, or oats. It’s great stuff. And Canada is the second largest producer of it. In Alberta, we produce half the Canadian crop.
The trade-off tonight at 9:30 was so fast that I didn’t get a chance to ask Mike what they ate tonight, but the empty container evidence in the sink suggests it was a turkey chili night. This photo was one I did for the magazine - the piece was on edible bowls. (For kids who like to play with their food, and parents who hate doing dishes.)
Turkey Chili with Barley
Canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 lb. lean ground turkey
¼ cup chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper (white pepper, if you have it)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 can chicken stock, undiluted
1 28 oz. (798 mL) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup jarred salsa, hot or mild (optional)
2 19 oz. (598 mL) cans white kidney or navy beans, drained
1/2 cup pot or pearl barley
Low fat sour cream and fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, heavy pot set over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes, until softened. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add the chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Cook for another minute.
Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, salsa, beans and barley and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes. By then the barley should be cooked through.
If you want to serve it right away, let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasonings. Otherwise, let it cool and then refrigerate overnight; reheat on the stovetop over medium heat after a day or two. Add some extra stock or tomatoes if the barley has absorbed too much liquid and it has become too thick.
Serves 8.
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February 29 2008 | beans and chicken & turkey and grains | No Comments »
When I was a kid, it was a bad day when my mom made fish for dinner, which was generally accompanied by canned stewed tomatoes (the ones with the little green bits), warmed just enough to accentuate the flavors and served in little glass dishes.
It was a great night when we had sloppy Joes. I’ve been thinking about that cheddar beer bread, and how great a slab of it would be topped with sloppy Joe stuff. I had some extra-lean ground beef in the freezer, and a couple of kaiser buns taking up space, but next time I’m going to use ground bison and make a cheddar-beer loaf. (I should add that we always have a tub of spring green mix in the fridge to dip into whenever dinner is lacking in the greens department. They don’t always make it into the photos!)
Of course, any ground meat would work; if you go the ground chicken/turkey route, keep in mind that supermarkets generally don’t trim the fat from poultry before they grind it, so it’s best to trim the skin and fat from turkey or chicken breasts or thighs yourself, then pulse it in your food processor until it’s as coarsely or finely ground as you like. Dark thigh meat is much more flavorful than white meat because of its slightly higher fat content, but it still contains far less fat than even lean ground beef does.
Sloppy Joes
olive or canola oil, for cooking
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (optional)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef, bison, turkey or chicken, or a combination
1 28 oz. (796 mL) can diced, whole, or stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup ketchup or half ketchup, half barbecue sauce
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
A few shots of Tabasco (optional)
Salt and pepper
6 plain soft buns, cheese buns, or biscuits
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic for about 10 minutes, until the onions are starting to turn golden. Add the meat and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up as you cook, until the meat is no longer pink.
Add the tomatoes, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Split the buns or biscuits in half and ladle the sloppy Joe mixture on top. Serves 4-6.
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February 28 2008 | beef | 2 Comments »
I swear, if you write out what you make for dinner, it always sounds fancier than it actually is.
We had the day off taping, which isn’t to say it wasn’t a crazy day, but at least I was with W and around home for a lot of it. Since we’ve been making an average of 8 recipes per day (with several takes per recipe) I swore I wasn’t going to cook today. But then trying to decide what sort of take-out to get got to be too much work, and I realized that I had a bunch of asparagus going quickly downhill in the fridge.
I know I’ve said this of many dishes before, but frittata truly is the easiest, fastest meal you can make using whatever there is in the fridge. Provided you have eggs, of course.
I drizzled the asparagus with oil and got it started in a 400 F oven for about 10 minutes while I chopped up a couple of tomatoes and potatoes (unpeeled, of course). Heated up my skillet (are you getting tired of seeing my cast iron skillet yet? it’s the best for frittata) with another slick of oil and quickly tossed the tomatoes about in it. I just like cooking off a bit of the excess juice, so that they don’t make the eggs runny. Some garlic would have been good, but I was too lazy to peel it.
I took out the asparagus and added it to the pan, put the potatoes on the sheet, drizzled with oil and popped it back in the oven. Whisked 3 eggs and 2 whites with a bit of milk (liquid creates some steam, which makes your eggs fluffier) and poured it over the veg in the pan. Once the edges started to set but it was still wet on top and in the middle, I scattered some cheese overtop - any kind would work - some crumbled feta or goat cheese stirred into the eggs would have been fantastic - and popped it into the oven right beside the potatoes.
Everything was done in about 20 minutes, and as a bonus we’re set up for some cold frittata sandwiches on toast for lunch tomorrow.
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February 27 2008 | eggs and one dish and vegetarian | No Comments »
Just got home. Taped the Lunchbox Meals and Salads episodes today. Mike and W ate noodles for dinner. Am feeling like a negligent Mum.
Above are two of the very best camera guys that exist - I truly can’t imagine working with better or funnier people. We have a blast, especially after the 12th hour, when we all start to get a little punchy. They were still hard at work when I left tonight. Here they are getting first crack at the Mac & Cheese with Caramelized Onions & Bacon, which went over quite well as you can imagine.
Picked through the whole day; not sure what exactly was being consumed at dinnertime. The set is totally devoid of outside light and sound - it’s like a deprivation chamber, where you can’t tell what time of day it is unless you look at the numbers on the microwave, or run across the parking lot to Starbucks. Here are a couple of the recipes I picked at most (the Mac & Cheese is Ned’s recipe - I haven’t gone through and made it more clear yet, so just wing it. It will all work out.):
Mac ‘N’ Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Bacon
This is a very hearty flavourful Mac ‘N’ Cheese Recipe, and so much better than the stuff out of the box. It is simple to do on the day you want to eat it but also great to make the night before and bake the next night or even portion it into small containers to re heat at work for lunch. It would also work cold for a picnic.
1 box dry Macaroni or penne pasta, whole wheat or regular, or really any pasta you have around your house
1 onion, white or red, thinly sliced
4-5 cloves garlic
6 strips of bacon, sliced
Mustard (Dijon works well)
Half & half cream
Cream cheese, half and half cream, pre grated mixed cheeses, like the Kraft Italian mix
To begin, in a medium sized pot cook your sliced onions in a small amount of canola oil. You need to cook them for probably 12 -15 minutes so the good deep brown in color (also called caramelized) Do not blacken the onions. After they are brown, take the onions out of the pot and add you strips of bacon, cook until they are crisp, pour off the fat, add your garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then, add back your browned onions, your half and half cream and your cream cheese. Allow the mixture to melt all together. Check for salt and pepper. At this point you can add some mustard, Dijon works very well for its sharpness. It cut through some of the richness of all the cheese and bacon etc. Then add about half or you’re mixed cheeses, your warm cooked pasta and stir thoroughly. At this point you can toss the whole mixture into a baking dish and bake in a 400 oven until golden brown and serve with a simple green salad and you have a great dinner or late lunch dish.
Peanut Noodles with Chicken and Veggies
Peanut noodles are best eaten cold, which makes leftovers perfect to keep in the fridge and take to work for lunch. You can add all sorts of fresh veggies to this dish – peppers, zucchini, bok choy, bean sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, and pea pods are all good choices.
1/2 lb. (250 g) steamed Chinese noodles or spaghetti
1/4 cup (60 mL) chicken or vegetable broth
3 Tbsp. (45 mL) peanut butter
3 Tbsp. (45 mL) soy sauce
2 Tbsp. (30 mL) brown sugar or honey
2 Tbsp. (30 mL) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tsp. (5-10 mL) grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. (2.5 mL) curry paste (optional)
2 cups (500 mL) chopped cooked chicken, pork or shrimp, or diced tofu
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 red bell pepper, cut into slices
1-2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped peanuts (optional)
Fresh cilantro for sprinkling (optional)
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse with cold water in a colander and drain well. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and curry paste (if using) until smooth. Or instead of whisking it, shake it all up in a jar.
In a large bowl, toss the noodles, chicken, carrot, pepper, green onions, and peanut sauce. Serve in bowls sprinkled with chopped peanuts and/or cilantro. Serves 4-6.
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February 26 2008 | cheese and chicken & turkey and one dish and pasta and salads | 1 Comment »
(I like this photo because it looks like Ned is being sucked up into the light fixture.)
I was on set all day and evening today too - there before 7:30 am, left at 10 pm. I’m not really sure what Mike and W ate for dinner, but they appear to have survived. Since we shot the Snacks & Finger Foods and Breads episodes today, that’s what I snacked on around dinnertime. Here are some of the things we made (try the beer bread!):
Cheddar Beer Bread
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated old cheddar cheese
1 bottle beer, at room temperature
2-4 Tbsp. melted butter, or canola or olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add the cheese and toss to combine. Add the beer all at once, mixing as little as possible just until blended; the batter should be lumpy. Pour the batter into a 4″x8″ or 9″x5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, and brush with the melted butter or oil. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.
Sticky, Sweet & Spicy Chicken Thighs
Instead of making chicken wings, which are mostly skin and fat (the fat resides under the skin), and very little meat, we like to make sticky chicken thighs or drumsticks – remove the skin and you have a much more meaty piece you can still eat off the bone with your fingers.
about 2 lbs. chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skinned
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup maple syrup or honey
1-2 Tbsp. chili sauce
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. grated ginger
Place the chicken in a bowl. Add all the sauce ingredients and toss it all about to blend and coat the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours, or overnight.
When ready to roast, preheat oven to 375F. Spread the chicken pieces onto a rimmed baking sheet or in a large, shallow dish. Bake for an hour or so, turning occasionally and brushing with leftover marinade (making sure that you do this for the last time at least 15 minutes before the chicken comes out of the oven, to give it a chance to cook) until the juices run clear.
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February 25 2008 | bread and cheese and chicken & turkey | 1 Comment »
I know this sounds terribly disinteresting, but I think pita pizzas need to make a comeback. The concept still reminds me of childhood, when it was typical birthday party fare for my sisters and I.
Today was another long day of shooting (tomorrow will be longer), and Mike, sensing opportunity, suggested Inglewood pizza. I first decided to stop (I had to run to Superstore on the way home anyway) and pick up a couple of frozen thin crust mushroom Dr. Oetker pizzas, which are fantastic, but when I got to the frozen pizza section, guilt set in. I didn’t have time to make dough, and I hate those par-baked bready pizza crusts. So I grabbed a few mushrooms and a bag of pre-shredded cheese blend: part skim mozarella, emmenthal and Parmesan. Something I don’t usually buy, but I figure $6 for novelty cheese is better than $12 for Dr. Oetker or $25 for pick-up. It’s all relative.
I like to keep whole wheat pitas in the freezer for emergency chips to accompany hummus, so I put a few on a baking sheet and spread them with some President’s Choise roasted garlic tomato sauce Mike picked up, which was thick and chunky with tomatoes. Sometimes I use a tin of tomato paste - they are small enough to be perfect for pizza or three - and because the tomatoes are so condensed, tomato paste is fantastic for you, and sweeet. I burrowed through my freezer until I unearthed a few Spolumbo’s Italian sausages; I thawed and cooked one, breaking it up in a skillet with some canola oil and sliced mushrooms, spread them on the pitas and scattered with cheese.
400 degrees for about 10 minutes, until bubbly. The crust is crisp and light - if I can’t have a chewy, doughy crust, this is definitely second best. And perhaps the best advantage of the Pita Pizza - portion control. You make one for yourself, you eat one. No plowing through enough slices to sink a battleship.
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February 24 2008 | cheese and one dish | 2 Comments »
So
tired.
We started shooting season 2 of It’s Just Food today, after a late night last night. We managed to get through only one episode - Cakes - instead of the two we planned on. I walked in the door at 9:55, just in time to read W a few stories and kiss him goodnight. Having only been around cakes all day (carrot, chocolate zucchini, white layer, cupcakes and cheesecakes) and having sat down for maybe 5 minutes since the alarm went off, I really needed something steaming hot and full of vegetables, that I could eat curled up in bed.
A few days ago I had mixed up a batch of hummus - possibly one of the easiest things on the planet to make, provided you have a food processor - so I tore into a whole wheat pita and just dipped into it, straight from the fridge, while I heated up a bowl of black bean soup. Remember the day I made quesadillas with leftover chicken and black beans? After ravaging the carcass, I threw the bones into a pot, covered it with water and added a few peppercorns and a couple stalks of celery - the inner ones, with the leaves - and simmered it for a bit. Then I made a batch of black bean soup with the remainder of the can of beans, pouring the stock through a colander directly into the pot. There were some chunks of meat left clinging to the bones, and that went in too.
Black bean soup, like chili, is something that should be made in advance and eaten the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. Like Leonardo DiCaprio, it just gets yummier and fuller-bodied with age. Of course there are limits; after a week or two I’d think it would likely take a downward turn.
Ironically, the last comment I got was from The Hummus Guy. Must make good hummus. (My jar of tahini had a suspicious best-before date, so I ditched it and used peanut butter instead. When I do this, I often add a drizzle of sesame oil to make up for the missing tahini, which is otherwise known as sesame paste.)
Hummus
1 big can chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans), drained
1 big clove garlic
lemon juice (a couple tablespoons, or to taste)
a big spoonful of tahini or peanut butter
a drizzle of sesame oil if you have no tahini
a glug or two of olive oil
a big spoonful of plain yogurt (optional; Greek-style if you have it)
a pinch of cumin is good
a big pinch of salt
a roasted red pepper is good too
Whiz all in a food processor until smooth.
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February 23 2008 | appetizers and beans and snacks | 3 Comments »
I have far too many kinds of animals stuck between my teeth right now.
Tonight I was lucky enough to be one of the judges (along with Shelley Boettcher and dee Hobsbawn-Smith) at the Lawson Lundell Celebrity Hors d’oeuvres Competition, a fund raiser for ATP.
So, in all seriousness, without an iota of exaggeration, this is what I ate for dinner tonight:
Shelley and I met for a couple drinks at Escoba first. Some fantastic wine I can’t remember the name of (Shelley? are you reading this?) and a Carne Flatbread, which was enormous and cheesy, topped with chorizo, calabrese, capicolla, double smoked bacon, tomato sauce and peppered fresh baby grape tomatoes. Because we were both starving upon arrival, we decided to try the dessert tasting plate, just for research purposes: chocolate mousse, apple spring rolls, Saskatoon berry ice cream, and coffee chocolate truffles, along with a fantastic dessert wine that I wrote down the name of, but now can’t find in the depths of my purse.
At the competition:
From Tribune: Lobster and halibut corn dogs with tarragon Dijon, duck burgers topped with melting Cambozola on focaccia buns, and mini white truffle donuts.
From Thompsons: Seared tuna in a black and white sesame crust with shredded carrot and daikon over a cantaloupe reisling jelly.
From Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse: NY striploin done rare and topped with a crab cake and bernaise sauce.
From Wonton King: Fusion wraps with organic greens and ginseng, and “pearls on a nest” - small round pork stuffed wontons in a wonderfully dark and sweet soy sauce.
From Rouge (winner of most Beautiful Bite): Chinese soup spoons filled with smoked tomato bisque, then a tiny square of two temperature beef confit, topped with a dollop of horseradish-spiked Winnipeg cream cheese.
From the Metropolitan Grill: A beef slider - a giant meatball smothered in tomato sauce and topped with a curl of Parmesan cheese, in a small soft bun.
From Nicole Gourmet: Truffled potato ravioli over a lamb ragout (she did have a fancier name for this, but I can’t remember it!) and a dollop of bright green parsley puree.
From Raw Bar at the Hotel Arts: Lobster bisque and a crabcake.
From Julliard: Panko crusted salmon cakes with black sesame seeds, topped with mango salsa and blood oranges, and braised bourbon beef tenderloin (the beef soaked for 9 hours in bourbon) topped with blueberries simmered in sugar and honey.
From Elements in the Delta Hotel: Giant (and I do mean bigger than a golf ball) scallops, seared and served with double smoked bacon infused with orange (or some sort of citrus?)
From BLVD (winner of best overall food): Zatar crusted lamb sirloin with apricot preserves and a lemon tabuleh salad made with Israeli couscous and a touch of honey - unlike any I have ever had before, and caramelized prawns in fish sauce with brown sugar and whipping cream.
From Devour: Ancho chile empanadas, Cuban pork sliders and plantain chips with chipotle ketchup.
From Belvedere: Pan seared frogs’ legs with arbol chile and bell pepper coulis (OK, I admit I skipped this one. I could not stomach frogs’ legs at the end of this culinary tour), and braised Alberta oxtail stuffed in herbed French brie gourgeres.
From Traders (winning the Prettiest Plate award): test tubes filled with the following layers, from bottom to top: chocolate pots de creme, passionfruit mousse, kiwi pearls, chantilly cream and teeny sugar cherries.
I skipped the oysters from Catch, topped with cantaloupe caviar and plum wine mignonette, or tomato vodka sorbet, Caesar style. I’m sure they were fantastic, but I’m just not an oyster person.
Yes, I ate all this. They are now having an eclectic party in my stomach. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta…
Photos tomorrow. It’s officially after 1 am and I have an early morning call time to shoot season 2 of It’s Just Food (honestly, my life still sounds far more glamorous than it actually is… I got peed on today, if it makes you hate me a little less.)
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February 23 2008 | eating out | 4 Comments »
One of my favorite things to eat in the world are gooey quesadillas. They are also, conveniently, a snap to make, can be done in under 5 minutes, and are the best use of virtually any kind of leftovers; poultry, beef, pork, shrimp, beans, veggies. Roast chicken, of course, is ideal. Since I always have a can of black beans in the cupboard, a few scattered on top always work. I had a few depressed mushrooms in the bottom of the fridge, so those got sauteed and added as well. Any sort of cheese ends you have rattling around make the glue to stick it all together.
My friend Nicole popped by last night to sit at my kitchen table for a quick visit, and told me about the outstanding quesadillas she had eaten at the Post Hotel: three-ply, she called them. I didn’t have the gumption to go for a three-tiered quesadilla, but I love the concept, and even more the comparison to toilet paper.
If you can make a grilled cheese sandwich, you can make a quesadilla. Buy whole wheat flour tortillas; might as well, they taste better and are better for you than plain white ones. While we’re on the subject, I should mention the common misconception that “wraps” are somehow healthier than bread… this began sometime during the Atkins dynasty, at which time “low carb” products made with flatbread were abundant. Now, a flat bread is just an unleavened bread; you would achieve the same result by taking a slice of regular sandwich bread and rolling it with a rolling pin. So tortillas aren’t magically low-calorie: imagine if they had a leavening agent like yeast added, they would be enormous slices of puffy bread.
If you’re brave enough to flip a full size quesadilla, throw a whole tortilla into a dry skillet and scatter with cheese and anything else you have around: beef, pork, shrimp, roasted veg, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, sauteed spinach or mushrooms, really anything you can think of. Top with a little more cheese (to keep the lid closed) and top with another tortilla. If you’re wary of flipping something that size (really, it’s easy if you just invert it onto a plate and then slide it back in), spread out your fillings on half the tortilla and fold it over like a taco; they are much easier to handle that way.
Cut into wedges and serve straight from the cutting board with some good chunky salsa. My current favorite is the extra-chunky mild from the Superstore - Mike usually adds a few chugs of Tabasco.
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February 21 2008 | appetizers and leftovers and one dish and snacks | 5 Comments »
Emily and Ben were over for dinner again tonight. To make things easy, I pulled a pair of chickens out of the freezer this morning; they weren’t fully thawed by the time I had to go pick them up at school - no matter, roast chicken is very forgiving. I patted them dry, rubbed them with oil, sprinkled them with salt and pepper and put them in at 350 for about an hour and a half. That’s all you really need to know to roast a chicken - pat the skin dry first if you want it crispy, then rub it with soft butter and/or oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Paprika too, if you like, or rub curry paste under the skin. If you have a lemon, halve it, squeeze some overtop and throw the rest inside the cavity. If you have garlic, throw a few cloves in there, or rub the skin with a cut clove. Timing wise, I have never weighed and timed a chicken; cook it until it looks golden and done, the juices run clear and the joints wiggle in their sockets. Baste it if you think of it, don’t worry if you don’t.
The fantastic thing about roasting a chicken is that it takes exactly as much time and effort to roast two, and there is nothing more versatile than an extra roast chicken. Any meat cooked on the bone is more flavorful, so I use chopped roasted chicken in any recipe that requires the chopping and sauteeing of a chicken breast. It’s usually Mike’s job to shred the meat, which is then stashed in the freezer and the carcass simmered for stock.
Emily’s favorite thing to do with chicken is to wrap it up in a whole wheat tortilla with some romaine lettuce and a drizzle of low fat creamy Caesar dressing. It’s her favorite lunch: my sister baggies up individual serving sizes of shredded chicken and freezes it; Emily then takes a tortilla, adds a leaf of lettuce, pulls a frozen chunk of roast chicken from the freezer and plops it on top, drizzles it with dressing and rolls it up. The frozen chicken keeps the lettuce and dressing cool until lunchtime, at which point everything is thawed enough to eat.
Fortunately, I made a batch of garlicky hummus earlier in the week to snack on (a bowl of hummus with some pita and veg is a great lunch to munch on at your desk), and one of my favorite ways with roast chicken is to stuff it in a pita half that has been slathered with garlicky hummus, then tuck in some lettuce, tomato, cucumber or chopped purple onion, if there is any to be had. Today there was only lettuce. Willem and Ben chewed on the drumsticks.
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February 20 2008 | chicken & turkey | 4 Comments »
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