Archive for March, 2011
W has finally figured out that chicken fingers are something every kindergartener loves. He was never big on them, but their appeal has finally broken through. He has been won over.
He begged for the frozen breaded kind, and we negotiated – chicken fingers without breading, but on a stick. He totally went for it. (The trick is to not call them satay in his presence, even though he does love satay – but to refer to them as chicken fingers on a stick.) He can still dip them, even.
We picked up some chicken breasts – although skinless, boneless thighs would work as well – and although it feels weird to name a brand here, I did pick up some Maple Leaf Prime chicken, because hey – did I tell you they’re sending me on a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer? AND MORE IMPORTANTLY that they’re giving away two trips for two for the same trip? And it says so right on the front of the label, so I get all giddy each time I walk by the display? Talk about the ultimate in Free Stuff! Check it out – they even have me on their website! It would be incredibly cool to be able to go on an all-expenses paid trip with four of you, starting in Calgary, ending in Vancouver, and eating at all points between (plus on the train)! And a train trip across Western Canada is something I’ve always wanted to do. I can’t hardly wait.
I hate to say it, but the contest is only available in Western Canada, because the chicken is locally produced and only available here. Sorry.
Back to the chicken. Here’s a tip: strips of chicken, turkey or pork tenderloin can be frozen in marinade, which acts as insulation against freezer burn. The strips thaw quickly (place in a bowl of warm water to speed things up) when you need a quick meal to throw on the grill. We grilled a bunch up a couple summers ago to bring along on a picnic – perfect for those times you don’t want to bother with a knife and fork.
Chicken Fingers on a Stick
1 – 1 1/2 lb. (454-680 g) skinless, boneless chicken or turkey breasts or thighs, or pork tenderloin
1/4 cup (60 mL) plain yogurt
juice of a lemon or orange (2-4 Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. (30 mL) canola or olive oil
1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt
special equipment: bamboo skewers
Cut the chicken into even strips and place them in a bowl or Ziploc bag; pour the yogurt, lemon juice and oil overtop. Pull the leaves off the rosemary or thyme and put them on a chopping board with the garlic and a pinch of salt; finely chop it all together and add to the chicken mixture. Stir to coat them well, or seal the bag and squish it around to combine everything. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 10 minutes. Thread the chicken strips onto the skewers, starting at the beginning of each piece, weaving back and forth in an S shape, and skewering the opposite end. Leave the chicken on one end, so that the other can be used as a handle.
Preheat your grill to high and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, just until cooked through. Serve immediately. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen chicken fingers.
Per chicken finger: 50 calories, 1 g fat (0.2 g saturated fat, 0.6 g monounsaturated fat, 0.3 g polyunsaturated fat), 9 g protein, 0.4 g carbohydrates, 22 mg cholesterol, 0 g fibre
March 17 2011 | appetizers and chicken & turkey and on the grill | 6 Comments »
I practically got a standing ovation for this last night, even though I called en route home and asked Mike to pop it from fridge to stovetop and didn’t suggest he check the level of liquid inside, and then I didn’t either, and by the time the biscuits had cooked through it was starting to burn on the bottom.
To be a true Irish stew this would have to be made with chunks of lamb, which you could use just as easily and without having to change anything – bison would do well, too. In keeping with the beer theme of St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, you could make this with stout – a nice dark Wild Rose Oatmeal Stout, or Guinness – but more stock would work just as well. Mushrooms would do well in this, too. The dumplings are simple – they’re just cream biscuits, scooped (I used a little ice cream scoop with a lever, which was oh-so-satisfying) onto the top of the simmering stock. They will steam through with the lid on, but if you want them golden, take the lid off and run it under the broiler for a few minutes. It’s amazing what a golden crust does for the appeal of a biscuit.
Beef Stew with Stout & Parsley Dumplings
canola or olive oil, for cooking
2-3 lb beef stewing meat, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 bottle or can of stout beer (or a couple cups of beef stock)
2-3 cups beef stock
4 thin-skinned potatoes, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2-1 cup frozen peas
Parsley Dumplings:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
In a large, heavy pot, brown the meat in a drizzle of oil in batches (without crowding) over medium-high heat. Transfer to a bowl and cook the onions in the same pot. Pour in the stout or stock and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Return the meat to the pot, cover and put into a 300F oven for 2 1/2-3 hours.
Remove from the oven and add the stock along with the potatoes and carrots, cover and cook on medium-high on the stovetop for another 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the dumpling dough: in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, parsley, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cream and stir just until the dough comes together. Drop the biscuit batter by the large spoonful on top of the simmering stew, cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the biscuits are cooked through. If you like, put the pot under the broiler for a few minutes to allow them to brown. Serves 6.
March 16 2011 | beef | 14 Comments »
Can’t talk, scheming. I have a bunch of deadlines today, but also an idea simmering, which may or may not pan out. A lot of you have been asking if there will be another Blog Aid book, or if the existing one (which we created in response to the earthquake in Haiti last year) will be available again to raise funds for Japan. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been partially paralyzed by the incredible footage of the devastation there. I know I’m not the only one feeling helpless. I have a different idea.
A falafel recipe seems redundant, but we all gotta eat. This is one of my faves, although I hardly ever make it – I have posted it here before, but ages ago, so thought you might like a refresher.
The recipe is over at the Family Kitchen.
Also! I said I’d help spread the word about a new food event happening this April in Alberta – Eat Alberta: A Celebration of Our Local Food Heroes will be held in downtown Edmonton on April 30th. Through a mix of hands-on and demonstration workshops, tasting sessions, and presentations from some of the leaders of our local food community – farmers, chefs and food advocates – Eat Alberta participants will learn how to use and source local food as well as develop nurturing and ongoing relationships with one another and with those that produce our food. For more info or to register for the conference, visit eatalberta.com.
March 14 2011 | Family Kitchen | 22 Comments »
Everyone seems to love chocolate Guinness cake, and so I made Black & Tan Cupcakes.
As someone who is not a fan of beer, I can say without bias that these are divine.
A classic black & tan is made with dark stout or porter (traditionally Guinness, but a Wild Rose Oatmeal Stout or Big Rock Espresso Stout would be just fab) and pale ale, the contrast creates a light bottomed, dark topped pint; the layering of the Guinness on top of the ale or lager is possible because the relative density of the stout is less than that of the ale.
These cupcakes are the reverse – dark on the bottom and golden on top. The Guinness chocolate cupcakes are dense and moist, and the frosting, also spiked with stout, doesn’t taste of beer but has a buttery, caramelly flavor that I found completely addictive – I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s probably a good thing actual beer doesn’t taste like this. The butter and sugar probably helps.
I thought they’d be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, and so I posted them over at the Family Kitchen.
P.S. to get swirly-topped cupcakes like these, spoon the frosting into a zip-lock bag, seal, snip off a corner and pipe it out. Easy – and no clean up!
March 13 2011 | Family Kitchen | 16 Comments »
My goal this week: to be in bed by 10 every night. (With a book, if possible.) And to chip away at the contents of my freezer, which is currently being held closed by duct tape. Also: go to the gym.
(Check. Except for the early bedtime part.)
Confession: many of the containers in my freezer contain chili. It’s not that I’m particularly fanatical about chili, but it is the sort of thing I tend to make in large batches, often to use up surplus meat or beans, and rarely do we get through an entire pot. I fancy myself the sort to come home after a long day, slide whole potatoes in the oven and some frozen chili on the stove, and have chili baked potatoes in no time. I hardly ever do this, but I love the idea. It makes me feel very on the ball, like a squirrel with an overflowing nut tree. That must be held closed with tape.
And so because I’m not forthcoming with new dinner creations this week (also? I left the cord that connects my camera and computer in Jasper, and it appears no one has any of same anywhere in Calgary, and so I’m waiting for the cord to be shipped back before I can upload any images I took in the past week) I thought I’d share a chili recipe with you. I’ve had a lot of requests for this one. It was tough to nail down a recipe, since my method is generally to toss stuff into a pot – I’ve been making chili for years – since winning the Calgary Stampede chili cook-off when I was 12 – and I didn’t write the recipe down that time either. Start with lean ground beef or sirloin, or try slow-cooking stewing beef in beef broth or beer, then starting with that. Sausage adds flavour, but you could ditch it and add more beef. And lots of beans.
And in a fortuitous twist of events, I heard today that Canadian Beef is having a contest, in which they send five people to Eat, Write, Retreat, which I’d dearly love to go to. (Shauna will be there!) I’ve been milling around the website now and then, trying to justify the expense of going (all by myself!) for the weekend (in DC! never been!), and if I could win my admission, that would take the edge off.
Hell, I was going to share a beef recipe with you anyway. (It’s a random draw from whomever wants to write a beef post, so don’t worry – you don’t have to do anything.)
By the way, if you’re in Calgary, for every pound of ground beef you buy at Second to None Meats (all naturally raised Alberta beef), they donate a pound to the Calgary Inter-faith Food Bank. How completely cool is that?
Another thing you can do with a freezerful of chili? Make chili cheese fries! Best on sweet potato fries, topped with any cheese that will turn gooey.
Beef & Spolumbo’s Sausage Chili
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb. lean ground beef or ground sirloin
2 Spolumbo’s Italian or chorizo sausages (or whatever you have available-the big, fresh ones)
2-4 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. cumin
1 – 19 oz. (540 mL) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 – 19 oz. (540 mL) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 – 14 oz. (398 mL) can brown beans, with pork or in tomato sauce (optional)
1 cup beef broth or Guinness
1 cup salsa
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions in for a few minutes, until they soften. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the beef and sausage, squeezed out of its casing, and cook it, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until it’s no longer pink.
Add the chili powder, cocoa and cumin and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, beans, beef broth and salsa and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour. Keep it covered if it’s thick enough for your taste – if it seems thin, leave the lid off so that the excess liquid can evaporate. Season with salt and pepper as you see fit.
Serve hot, topped with sour cream and grated cheese, or cool it down and then refrigerate it for a day or two; reheat over low heat on the stovetop. To make chili cheese fries, serve hot chili over oven-roasted fries, topped with cheese curds or grated cheddar, Gouda or Monterey Jack. Serves 8-10.
March 11 2011 | beef | 9 Comments »
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