Archive for the 'appetizers' Category
Documenting tonight’s dinner is going to take until tomorrow night’s dinner.
This afternoon was M & A’s awesome second annual Canada Day party, a potluck, which I think needs to come back into vogue.
On the menu: pork kebabs with onions and mushrooms, beef kebabs, D’s Mom’s famous curried chicken, potatoes and chick peas, grilled veg, tomato and pancetta panzanella salad, slivered snow peas with wasabi cream cheese and smoked salmon, noodle salad, and an array of dips, snacks and cupcakes arranged like a giant flag with a beaver in the middle (if you looked at it long enough, you could see it).
My contribution was Maple Butter Tarts (because butter tarts are the most fantastic Canadian food creation ever) and Nanaimo Bars (second most fantastic). OK, the Nanaimo bars got half eaten and then put in the freezer for our drive to Tofino before we left for the party. I have an unnatural infatuation with Nanaimo bars. I go to events in the hopes that they will show up on platters of dainties. Unfortunately, they aren’t any less delicious frozen, and in fact I’ve developed a particular taste for them that way. When I was a kid I ate a whole panful of Nanaimo bars, chunk by chunk, from the freezer, and when I was found out I had to clean my sisters’ rooms for two weeks. It was totally worth it.
This was probably the most difficult recipe I’ve ever had to lighten. These Nanaimo bars have less than half the fat of a traditional one; if you want to go whole hog, here’s a recipe.
Nanaimo Bars
For the record, these originated in Nanaimo, BC, although you’ll see versions in US cookbooks labeled “New York Slice”. Custard powder can be found in tins alongside the pudding at the grocery store.
Base:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3-4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. corn syrup
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/3 cup shredded coconut
pinch salt
Filling:
3-4 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 Tbsp. custard powder
2 cups icing sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Topping:
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
In the bowl of a double boiler or a medium stainless steel bowl, combine the brown sugar, cocoa, butter and corn syrup. Stir in the egg and set over a pot of simmering water; whisk until the mixture melts and thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, graham crumbs, coconut and salt.
Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of an ungreased 8” x 8” pan and pop it in the freezer while making the filling.
In a medium bowl, beat butter, custard powder, icing sugar, milk and vanilla until creamy and smooth, adding a few extra drops of milk if necessary until you have a spreadable frosting. Spread over the base. Return to the freezer or fridge to chill until firm before covering with chocolate.
Melt chocolate in a medium bowl set over hot water, or on medium power in the microwave. Stir until smooth and spread over the filling. Refrigerate until well chilled and firm. These are easiest to cut at room temperature, using a small, sharp, serrated knife, so pull them out of the fridge and set them on the countertop for about ½ hour before you plan to eat them.
Makes 20 bars.
Per Bar: 213 calories, 8.3 g fat (4.8 g saturated fat, 2.3 g monounsaturated fat, 0.9 g polyunsaturated fat), 33.8 g carbohydrates, 21 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 1.6 g fiber. 34% calories from fat
I’ve made butter tart squares many a time before (far easier than fussing with pastry dough to make tarts) but this is the first time I added maple. The girl who ate the last square at the party this afternoon (not knowing I was right behind her and had made them) said: “OMG! O. M. G. OMG!!” Just like that. I didn’t realize you could actually speak in text message abbreviation.
(Low-fat) Butter Tart Squares
Base:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch salt
Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup raisins or currants (if you want to be really authentic)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add flour and salt and stir until well combined and crumbly.
Press into the bottom of an 8” x 8” pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just barely golden around the edges.
Using the same bowl (no need to wash it), combine the brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and stir until well blended and smooth. Stir in the raisins and pecans.
Pour over the base and return to the oven for 25–30 minutes, until golden and bubbly around the edges but still slightly jiggly in the middle. The topping will puff up a bit as it bakes and then settle again when you remove it from the oven. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Makes 16 squares.
Per Square: 194 calories, 5.1 g fat (2.1 g saturated fat, 2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.6 g polyunsaturated fat), 36.2 g carbohydrates, 34.7 mg cholesterol, 2.2 g protein, 1 g fiber. 23% calories from fat
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July 01 2008 | appetizers and cookies & squares and sweet stuff | 1 Comment »
As you may have guessed, dinner wasn’t at home tonight.
I was cooking for a private event at Willow Park, a wine tasting with food paired at each station. The satay, meatballs and salmon were nothing new, but I hadn’t made gougères before. Gougères are choux pastry - cream puffs - with cheese stirred into the batter and baked into these unbelievable little cheesy puffs. That was paired with the bubbly to begin, and they were fantastic warm from the oven.
Choux pastry is actually incredibly easy to make, and there’s no need to pipe it out onto your baking sheet. Dropped from a spoon, they turn out beautifully rustic.
Mike shopped, and picked up some Swiss gruyère, which I requested and is traditional for gougères, but the theme last night was Canadian food. Oops. So I made a trial batch in the morning at home using the gruyère, and as they baked and filled the house with that cheesy gruyere smell, my 5 year old nephew, Ben, ran upstairs saying “Julie! Something doesn’t smell very good!” and then proceeded to gag and dry heave - seriously, and not even for dramatic effect - until the gougères came out of the oven and cooled down and the smell dissipated. When W tried one it quickly came back up and he tried desperately to wipe the taste off his tongue. So my point is, choose your cheese carefully. At the event, I made a couple batches using grated old Sylvan Star gouda (made in Alberta!) and they were wonderful.
Gouda or Gruyère Gougères
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère or old Gouda cheese
For pâte à choux:
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp. salt (if using unsalted)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups grated Gouda or gruyère
In a saucepan bring water and butter to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to low and add flour all at once, then stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from side of pan.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time with an electric mixer on high speed, beating well after each addition. The batter should have the consistency and colour of thick pudding; thicker than cake batter but thinner than cookie dough.
Preheat oven to 375°F and spray two baking sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper. Stir the cheese into the pâte à choux and spoon about a tablespoon at a time an inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until puffed, golden and crisp. Gougères keep, chilled in sealable plastic bags, 2 days or frozen 1 week. Reheat gougères uncovered in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes if chilled or 15 minutes if unthawed frozen. You must serve gougères warm.
Makes about 2 dozen.
Chicken Satay
1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken or turkey breast
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 small onion, grated (optional)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar or honey
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
bamboo skewers
Cut chicken lengthwise into strips and place in a bowl or zip lock bag. Combine all the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken; toss well to coat and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
Thread the chicken onto bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for at least 10 minutes. Grill or broil for a few minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold with peanut sauce for dipping.
Makes about 20 satay.
Per satay: 46 calories, 0.7 g total fat (0.2 g saturated fat, 0.2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.1 g polyunsaturated fat), 8 g protein, 1.5 g carbohydrate, 20 mg cholesterol, 0.1 g fiber. 14% calories from fat.
The panna cotta spoons are one of my favourite things to make at functions like these; Willow Park has a drawerful of Chinese soup spoons, and so I stir up a batch of panna cotta (the easiest dessert on the planet - honestly, it’s just cream Jell-O) and pour it into the soup spoons - 1L of cream turns out about 60 of the things - and chill. When they are about halfway set, I sit a fresh raspberry in the middle of each one - just so that they don’t roll around on the surface. I learned this from experience. You end up with one perfect, slurpy bite of panna cotta.
Classic Vanilla Panna Cotta
Do these in individual martini glasses, ramekins or Chinese soup spoons. A good variation is maple-blueberry panna cotta: replace the honey with pure maple syrup and put blueberries on top.
1 package plain gelatin (or 1 Tbsp. if you buy it in bulk)
1 L half & half or 18% coffee cream
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract or a vanilla bean
Fresh raspberries or blueberries, for on top
Pour about a cup of the cream into a medium pot and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the gelatin soften.
Set the pot over medium heat and stir, without letting the cream boil, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. This should take 2-3 minutes. (If you are using a whole vanilla bean, cut it in half lengthwise using the tip of a sharp knife and scrape the seeds out and add it to the cream, along with the scraped pod.)
Add the rest of the cream, the honey and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
If you used a vanilla bean, remove the pod. Pour the mixture into individual wine glasses, small dishes, ramekins or soup spoons. Put them in the fridge for at least 2 hours, until set. Top with berries.
Serves about 8, or makes about 60 soup spoons.
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June 25 2008 | appetizers and dessert and sweet stuff | 2 Comments »
OK, here’s the thing: I had planned to make a cold Japanese buckwheat noodle dish for dinner tonight; I even bought fresh buckwheat noodles and marinated the tofu. But I was speaking at the Diabetes Expo up at SAIT this afternoon, which happens to be a couple blocks south of 20th Avenue NW, directly in line with Jimmy’s A&A Deli. We aren’t in that area of town very often, and when we are, if it’s anywhere near eating time we take advantage of our proximity to the very best shawarmas in the city. A medium ($8) is huge enough to feed us both - I have seen them loading up a large ($10), and cannot fathom how they close the pita after piling on handful after handful of perfectly spiced shredded chicken. Honestly, you could take it home, unwrap it and feed a family of 4.
So you understand then why when Mike came to pick me up at 5 and all of us were tired and hungry we would pop over to see if there was a lineup. There wasn’t, so we sat in the car and shared a shawarma (W pulls chunks of chicken out for himself, and there’s plenty to spare) while the rain hammered the roof and we thoroughly steamed the windows. If you ever try one of Jimmy’s shawarmas, ensure you have a stack of napkins or a beach towel on hand, or eat them outside in flip flops and run through the sprinkler afterward. All of us ended up with so much garlicky sauce down our fronts that we had to do a load of laundry as soon as we got home.
Speaking of getting home, we drove right past Peter’s (Drive In) on the way, and even though it was a Saturday afternoon in June there was no one in line due to the torrenial downpour, so we really had no choice but to go and get a hot fudge sundae. (Generally on weekends in June Peter’s is packed with wedding and grad limos along with the thousand or so regular customers.) It’s like when you drive past Tim Horton’s and there’s no lineup, but even though you’ve already had a coffee you have to go get one anyway just because you can.
(I should point out that Mike an I are sharers of food. Some might find it odd that rather than get two small shawarmas we share a medium; really, it`s a great way to save money and calories. Similarly, whenever we need a burger and fries we share one order, and at Peter`s we always split a sundae; we`ve never gone and ordered two. Mike said once that I should write a book about it. It would be a mighty short read: Chapter One. Share stuff. The end.)
So when we got home around 6, making dinner didn’t seem like such a great idea after all.
But I did have to test a recipe for an article I’m working on on the subject of figs. I’ve heard of various versions of an olive tapenade made with figs, and so thought I’d give it a whirl (literally, in my food processor). I am a huge fan of fig jam with goat cheese spread onto anything; I suspect this would be equally delicious. Or perhaps turned into panini…
Fig & Olive Tapenade
half a 250 g package of dried figs
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1 Tbsp. capers, drained
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive or canola oil
a few sprigs of fresh thyme or one of rosemary, leaves pulled off the stems
Make sure your dried figs are nice and plump; if not, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 20 minutes or so, then drain them well. Put everything into a food processor and pulse until as chunky or finely blended as you like; add a little extra oil if you need some more liquid to help move it along.
Makes almost 2 cups; will keep the fridge for a week or so.
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June 07 2008 | appetizers and snacks | 2 Comments »
Sorry, quesadillas again. We narrowly averted Inglewood Pizza by a busy signal. Good thing there was a hockey game.
It still surprises me that often I still have no idea what’s for dinner at 6:20 at night. Quesadillas are a common stand-by, as you may have noticed; one step up from the grilled cheese sandwich, and assembled out of virtually anything you have around, provided some of it is cheese. I keep whole wheat flour tortillas in the freezer primarily for these, and also for peanut butter banana wraps. They have saved dinner (and lunch, and breakfast) on many a busy occasion.
Tonight, they were constructed out of black beans (there’s always a can on the shelf), finely chopped tomato and thin slices of jalapeño havarti I got at the cheese market last weekend. Bonus: I use quesadilla wedges to scoop up copious amounts of chunky salsa, thus boosting my lycopene intake.
And here’s another idea: when camping, you can make s’mores quesadillas with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, either in a skillet on the Coleman stove, or wrapped in foil and tossed in the hot coals. A sliced banana in there is yummy, too.
Or just stick with the cheese.
Tomorrow night, I’ll be downtown at dinnertime for the June First Thursday. If anyone wants to join our group of 12 (so far!) to go restaurant and gallery-hopping, meet us on the Teatro patio at 5pm tomorrow night! (Free drinks and snacks, and deals on others!)
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June 04 2008 | appetizers and cheese and sandwiches and snacks and vegetarian | 2 Comments »
I was a complete walking disaster today, making a complete mess of everything in my path. Except dinner, miraculously, most likely because I was starving. Hunger is great motivation.
The chickens had been too picked over for Caesar salad, so we stretched the chopped bits into three quesadillas along with a few sautéed mushrooms. Making quesadillas is exactly the same as making a grilled cheese sandwich, only you use flour tortillas (whole wheat, always) and put more stuff in it, using cheese as the glue that holds them together.
My cast iron skillet doesn’t quite accommodate a full-size quesadilla, so I do the ones made out of one tortilla, folded in half. Because there was no salsa, I spread a bit of sun dried tomato pesto onto the base of each one before adding the mushrooms, chopped chicken and a bit of grated old cheddar. Black beans would have fit in nicely, too. I am a fan of old cheddar, much more so than the light stuff, which you need twice as much of to really taste it… I’d rather use the old stuff, and less of it.
Cook them in a dry skillet - no need for oil - until toasty and melted. Quesadillas are one of the fastest and easiest meals I can think of; like frittata or fried rice, you can get away with using up bits of anything, and stretching it into dinner.
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May 27 2008 | appetizers and sandwiches and snacks | 3 Comments »
I worked today, cooking for Customer Appreciation Day at Willow Park. (On these days I get to rifle through their massive kitchens and challenge myself to creatively use up whatever has piled up in their fridges and freezers. They have an entire fridge devoted to cheese. Today they had more Spolumbos sausages than I ever care to see in one place again.)
I got home around 5, and we decided to have an impromptu barbecue on the back porch to celebrate the fact that a) the trees are finally starting to grow leaves, and b) it’s actually warm enough (33 this afternoon!) to have an impromptu barbecue on the back porch. So a bunch of assorted friends congregated in our back yard; K & N brought cross sections of corn on the cob, wrapped in bacon (inspired by the menu at Palomino). J & P brought teeny sweet peppers, tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and chunks of pineapple threaded onto skewers to grill for dessert. Everything got thrown on the grill, but unfortunately I got distracted taking photos of all the boys hanging out the kitchen window and our bacon-wrapped corn caught fire. After extracting the cobs, we actually had to douse the lingering flames with baking soda.
To make bacon-wrapped corn, all you need to do is cut the corn into chunks about the same width as your strips of bacon, then wrap a strip of bacon around each piece, securing it with a toothpick. (Soak them in water first if you don’t want them to burn.) Grill, turning as you need to, until the corn is sort of shrink-wrapped by the cooked bacon.
The peppers, similarly, were slicked with oil (and a bit of balsamic) and tossed whole onto the grill until they were slightly charred and soft, then returned into their bowl with its oily, vinegary residue.
I didn’t have much time to think about what to make (Spolumbos sausage would have been easy), nor did I feel much like cooking anymore, so called my trusty pork satay into service - besides being quick, they are easy for larger numbers of people to eat while sitting on folding chairs on the deck. Plus, I haven’t met a little boy yet who didn’t love meat on a stick.
I told you - when I stumble upon something that works, I make it over and over again. I did switch back to the maple-rosemary version though.
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Maple-Rosemary Pork Satay
2 pork tenderloins
Marinade:
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard (or any mustard you like)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Cut the pork tenderloin in half widthwise, then into even strips lengthwise. Put them into a ziplock bag along with the marinade ingredients; knead the bag a bit to blend everything, then stash in the fridge for up to 24 hours or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
When ready to grill, soak bamboo skewers for at least 10 minutes, then thread the pork onto the skewers and grill for a couple minutes per side (depending on the thickness of the pork), just until done. Serve hot, warm or cold, preferably with peanut sauce.
Makes lots. (We fed 8 adults and 5 kids.)
For dessert, the pineapple was simply grilled until it was soft and grill-marked, then drizzled with honey.
And finally, a raspberry crumble cake, made with a handful of the frozen raspberries I keep in the freezer for smoothies. This eat-straight-from-the-pan cake is one of my favorite go–to recipes, and perfect for summer because you get the benefit of cake and fruit crumble all in one. It’s not too sweet, easy to eat with your fingers, and can be made with any kind of fruit you have around, even if it’s getting wrinkly. In the summer, use berries, peaches or plums, and add some grated lemon zest to the batter. At Christmas, try it with pears and cranberries with grated orange zest in the batter.
Apple, Plum or Berry Crumble Cake
Sometimes I throw a handful of sliced almonds into the crumble mixture, or sprinkle them overtop before the cake goes into the oven. For a raspberry-almond cake, you could also use almond extract in place of the vanilla in the cake batter; this would go well with raspberries.
Crumble:
1/2 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
a shake of cinnamon (optional)
2-3 Tbsp. butter
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup low fat sour cream or plain yogurt
Fruit:
a large apple (peeled and sliced), or 3 plums, pitted and thickly sliced, or a large peach or nectarine, pitted and sliced, or a cup or so of fresh or frozen (unthawed) berries
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8″ square or round pan with nonstick spray.
To make the crumble, stir together the flour, brown sugar, flax seed, cinnamon and butter and blend it with a fork or your fingers until the mixture is well-combined and crumbly. Set aside.
To make the cake, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add half the flour mixture and stir by hand just until it’s combined. Stir in the sour cream, then the remaining flour mixture, stirring until it’s just blended.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Spread the apples, plums, peaches or berries on top and sprinkle with the crumble mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the cake is golden and springy to the touch. (Springiness may be difficult to test with the fruit in the way – you could also test it by sticking a toothpick or bamboo skewer into the cake. If it comes out with moist, not gooey, crumbs sticking to it, it’s done.)
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May 17 2008 | appetizers and cake and pork and snacks and sweet stuff and veg | 5 Comments »
Yesterday we spent a big chunk of the afternoon at Prince’s Island Park. Deciding that it had finally warmed up enough to warrant a picnic, we packed up all the leftover salads, a loaf of no-knead bread, chunk of cheese and the rest of the sweet potato cake, grabbed a jug of lemonade out of the fridge, stirred up a batch of peanut sauce and turned a couple of pork tenderloins that had been marinating in the fridge into satay. It was, I think, the Best Picnic Ever. As E (who is from the UK) put it: “this pork is the dogs’ bollocks!” (Apparently this is a good thing.)
Pork tenderloin hands-down makes the best satay. It’s the leanest but also the most tender cut of pork, and its shape naturally lends itself to being cut into long strips. I cut mine in half crosswise first, then lengthwise, making sure the pieces are fairly even. The best thing about satay is that you can freeze the pork in its marinade, which acts as a sort of insulation against freezer burn. So when you buy pork tenderloin, and they are much cheaper when you buy 4 than when you buy 1 or 2, you can slice up the extras, put them in a baggie, pour some sort of marinade over (I’ll pour a glug of orange or lime juice, a glug of soy sauce, a spoonful of brown sugar or honey and a smaller spoonful of grated ginger, and maybe a crushed clove of garlic and a drizzle of sesame oil), knead it a little to blend it all together and stash it in the freezer. When I want satay, I’ll pull it out and let it thaw; in a bowl of warm water if I’m in a hurry.
In this case I had been marinating the pork tenderloins whole in maple syrup, soy sauce, grainy mustard, lemon juice and some chopped rosemary, intending to turn them into something else, but sliced, skewered and grilled they were equally fantastic. We quickly grilled them (it only takes a few minutes), then wrapped them in foil and they were the perfect temperature by the time we spread out our blanket. Peanut sauce is essential: in this case I spooned some peanut butter into a blender and added a squirt of lime juice and some chicken stock to thin it down (coconut milk would work too, but is high in saturated fat), a glug of soy sauce to salt it, and a clove of garlic, spoonful of grated ginger, and a dab of curry paste to jazz it up. Whiz until smooth and it will keep in a jar in the fridge for at least a week. (If you absolutely must have a recipe, I posted one on Day 106.)
All this to say that tonight, after our company packed up and headed toward Drumheller, M and W ate the leftover satay and quinoa salad while I met my friend T for bellinis and pizza.
Pork Satay
2 pork tenderloins, trimmed of fat
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice
1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar or honey
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. curry powder and/or 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 green onions, chopped
Combine everything but the pork in a medium bowl. Cut the pork into strips and add to the marinade, stirring well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Soak bamboo skewers in water while the pork is marinating. Thread strips of pork onto the skewers and grill or broil for about 3 minutes per side, just until cooked through. Serve hot, warm or cold with peanut sauce for dipping. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen satay.
Per satay: 56 calories, 1 g total fat (0.3 g saturated fat, 0.4 g monounsaturated fat, 0.1 g polyunsaturated fat), 9.3 g protein, 1.2 g carbohydrate, 22.3 mg cholesterol, 0.2 g fiber. 16% calories from fat.
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May 15 2008 | appetizers and on the grill and pork and snacks | No Comments »
Tnik and I are in Red Deer teaching a series of three tea party classes at The Cooking Room and the Women’s Conference at Red Deer College tonight and tomorrow (after which we head to Banff to the Girlfriend’s Getaway at the Banff Park Lodge. We’ve just arrived in our hotel room and are watching Cyndi Lauper on TV and munching from a ziplock baggie of the crusts we trimmed off of all those cucumber sandwiches (we are extremely high class).
Our first tea party ran from 4:30-7pm, so technically I suppose dinner was tea - bites here and there of currant scones with strawberry preserves and real clotted cream, balsamic mushroom crostini, curried coconut mango chicken in wonton cups, lemon curd tartlets and Earl Grey shortbread. Oh, and some of the chocolate that exploded all over me as I tried to dip a too-taught balloon in too-hot melted chocolate to make fancy chocolate tulip bowls. (Nicole neglected to let me know it was still all over my forehead and neck when we stopped at the wine store - where I asked the clerk where I could find the Moscato - and when I checked into the hotel.)
The shortbread was a successful experiment - I whizzed a spoonful of Nicole’s cream Earl Grey loose tea in the food processor with the flour, sugar and butter, dumped it out and gathered it into a ball, pressed it into the bottom of a 9″ round pan, pressed around the edges and poked the surface with the tines of a fork the way you do with shortbread, and baked it until it was pale golden around the egdes, then cut it into wedges. You could do this with any sort of tea in any shortbread recipe, really. Grinding it a bit first releases more flavour and makes it look peppery.
Currant Scones
3 cups all-purpose flour, or 1 ½ cups all-purpose and 1 ½ cups whole wheat
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda (if using buttermilk)
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup currants
1 cup buttermilk, milk or half & half
extra buttermilk or milk for brushing on top (optional)
coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and pulse to combine or blend with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly, with bits of butter no bigger than a pea. Stir in the currants.
Stir in the buttermilk and mix just until combined. Gather dough into a ball, then pat it into a circle that is about 1” thick. Brush with a little milk or buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 8 wedges and pull them apart so that they will bake on the sides as well.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden. Makes 8 (or more if you cut them into rounds or smaller triangles.)
Curried Coconut Mango Chicken in Wonton Cups
24 wonton wrappers
a drizzle of canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I like using leftover roast chicken - a great way to use roasted deli chickens)
1 tsp. - 1 Tbsp. curry paste
1/2 cup light or regular coconut milk
1/3 cup mango or peach chutney
Juice of 1/2 a lime (about a tablespoon)
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
To make the wonton cups, press fresh wonton wrappers into mini muffin tins, pressing any folds firmly to the sides, and bake at 350 F for 5-10 minutes, until pale golden. Set aside to cool.
To make the filling, heat oil in a medium nonstick saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and ginger for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, curry paste, coconut milk, chutney, lime juice and salt. Cook, stirring often, until bubbly and thickened. Cool slightly or chill before spooning into wonton cups. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Makes 2 dozen cups.
Per cup: 69 calories, 1 g total fat (0.3 g saturated fat, 0.3 g monounsaturated fat, 0.3 g polyunsaturated fat), 7.1 g protein, 7.3 g carbohydrate, 16.8 mg cholesterol, 0.1 g fiber. 13% calories from fat.
Earl Grey Shortbread
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. - 1 Tbsp. loose Earl Grey tea
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, stir together butter, sugar, tea and vanilla until creamy. Add the flour and salt and stir until you have a soft dough.
Press the dough into an ungreased 9” round pan or place it on an ungreased cookie sheet and pat it into a rectangle. If you like, press down around the edges with the tines of a fork, and poke all over the top.
Bake about 15 minutes, until golden. Cool for 10 minutes, then slice while still warm.
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April 25 2008 | appetizers and bread and breakfast and cookies & squares and sweet stuff | 3 Comments »
I just spent 11 hours cooking for a private event, and my legs feel like a cartoon thumb that has been whacked by a hammer. I made, in no particular order:
Lemon risotto aracini, mushroom crostini topped with Asiago cheese, panko-crusted fried ravioli, prosciutto wrapped prawns, sliced pork tenderloin wrapped around dried figs that were poached in red wine and honey (the bundles were roasted, brushed with a thick garnet reduction of the poaching wine, balsamic vinegar, rosemary and brown sugar - from my Martha Stewart Hors’ d’oeuvres Handbook), and flatbreads (I think it’s funny that there is this new high-end word for pizza) topped with caramelized onions, caramelized pears (slice them thin and saute in a little oil and butter with a drizzle of honey until they are golden), onion and chili pepper jam with various cheeses and another version made with sun dried tomato pesto, shrimp, basil and feta.
But back to the prosciutto-wrapped prawns; I’m sure I’ve mentioned these before, withough really going into detail about how to make them. This is something you should definitely be able to make.
Buy raw frozen shrimp/prawns (same thing, “prawns” just sounds fancier) around 21-30 count - this is the number on the bottom corner of the bag that refers to the number of shrimp that would make a pound. The larger the number, the smaller the shrimp. Or prawns. Get them in their shells or with just the tail on if you can, otherwise take their jackets off, leaving the tails to use as little handles. (If you keep the shells, cover them with stock and simmer for 5 minutes, you’ll have shrimp stock.)
Get about half as many thin slices of prosciutto as you have prawns, slice each slice in half lengthwise, and wrap it around each prawn, leaving the shell part of the tail exposed. No need to skewer or anything - the prosciutto is tacky enough to stick to itself. Now you can grill them or saute them in a skillet in a little oil just until they are opaque. Serve with a small dish of bottled pesto for dipping.
Oh right, dessert - chocolate espresso brownie lollipops and vanilla mascarpone panna cotta spoons: we laid out almost 200 of those Chinese soup spoons and filled them with the panna cotta mixture (really just cream, honey and gelatin, and in this case, a few spoonfuls of mascarpone, stirred in while it’s warm so that it melts), then chilled them (the advantage to doing events at the country’s largest liquor store is having a walk-in beer fridge the size of the average house) and topped them with berries. It made a perfect bite.
Although all I did today was taste and graze (starting with a yogurt I grabbed at the grocery store this morning, which, when I opened it at a red light, exploded all over me and the side window. I had no choice but to wipe it up with the spare pair of Scooby-doo underpants we keep in the glove compartment) I’m sure that calorically what I tasted my way through counted as several dinners. When I want to keep myself from sampling as I go, I chew gum in the kitchen. This is a very good idea when I’m baking cookies - it really makes you aware of how often you have a taste. And even if you spit out your gum, everything is going to taste weird for a bit, like right after brushing your teeth.
M and W had pesto chicken stew and bison chili for dinner. Freezers were the best invention ever. (Besides Spanx, of course.)
Balsamic Mushroom Crostini
20 slices baguette, sliced diagonally about 1/2” thick
1 large clove garlic, cut in half lengthwise
1 Tbsp. olive or canola oil
6 cups sliced fresh mushrooms – button, Portobello, shitake or a combination
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
½-1 cup shredded Asiago, aged gouda or old white cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until barely golden. If you like, brush each toast with olive oil before baking.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium high heat. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until the moisture has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook until the mushrooms are golden. Add the cranberries, balsamic vinegar and rosemary and cook for another minute, until the liquid has evaporated.
Spoon the hot mixture onto toasts and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. Makes about 20 crostini.
To turn this into Balsamic Mushroom Dip: stir 4 oz. light cream cheese or goat cheese and 1/2 cup light sour cream into the mushroom mixture while it’s still warm, and stir over low heat until the cheese melts. Serve warm with crackers or crostini for dipping.
Per crostini: 84 calories, 2.1 g total fat (0.5 g saturated fat, 0.9 g monounsaturated fat, 0.4 g polyunsaturated fat), 2.9 g protein, 13.7 g carbohydrate, 1.6 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber. 22% calories from fat.
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April 18 2008 | appetizers | 1 Comment »
Well. I must say, I just had an extraordinarily long day that culminated with a 5 hour class and drive home from Red Deer, and I was feeling a little like I had to get my homework done before getting to crawl into bed, but seeing all these fantastic posts has revived me. Somewhat.
Tonight my excellent friend Nik and I drove to Red Deer to teach a private Asian cooking / tea class / dinner at The Cooking Room. I made hoisin pork lettuce wraps, Vietnamese rice paper rolls with peanut sauce, Thai coconut soup with lemongrass and chicken/shrimp (two varieties), pork potstickers, chicken fried rice, teriyaki beef satay, curried peanut orange shrimp, and green tea crème brulée.
Yikes, that really was as much as it felt like.
Thai Coconut Noodle Soup with Chicken or Seafood
This ingredient list may seem exotic, but everything can be easily located in most grocery stores. If there’s something you can’t find, a trip to an Asian market is always worthwhile. This recipe easily halves or doubles, or you can make the whole batch of stock, freeze half, and add chicken or seafood to the rest for dinner.
1 stalk fresh lemongrass
4 cups (1 L) chicken or vegetable broth
1 14 oz. (398 mL) can light or regular coconut milk
1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. - 1 Tbsp. curry paste or curry powder
2-3 tsp. red chili paste, chili-garlic sauce or 1 small Serrano or jalapeño chili, minced
thin or wide rice noodles – enough as you’d like for each person
1-2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small strips, and/or 1/2-1 lb. (250-500 g) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, or raw scallops
1/4 cup lime juice
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil or cilantro, thinly sliced
Remove the tough outer leaves from the lemongrass and cut the stalk into two or three pieces. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, combine the lemongrass, chicken broth, coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, fish sauce, mushrooms, ginger, sugar, curry powder and chili paste. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, soak the rice noodles according to package directions.
Add the chicken or seafood and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until cooked through. Fish out the chunks of lemongrass, which aren’t meant to be eaten. Stir in the lime juice, green onions and basil or cilantro. Put a small pile of noodles into each bowl. Ladle the soup over top. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.
Curried Peanut Shrimp
Throw the shrimp and marinade into a baggie in the morning and you’ll have dinner almost ready when you come home from work. Sometimes I simmer the whole lot, sauce and all, in a large sauté pan and serve it over rice to catch the sauce.
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 tsp. curry paste (or to taste)
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. chili sauce or sambal olek
pinch salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with the tails left on
Combine everything but the shrimp in a bowl or jar and whisk or shake until smooth. Pour over the shrimp in a container or zip lock bag and marinate in the fridge for an hour or overnight.
Now you can proceed one of two ways: pull out the shrimp and cook them quickly in a skillet, just until cooked through, and simmer the reserved marinade in a small saucepan for a few minutes to serve alongside the shrimp for dipping. Or pour the whole lot into a larger skillet set over medium-high heat and cook until bubbly around the edges and the shrimp turn pink; serve over rice.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 159 calories, 5 g total fat (0.8 g saturated fat, 1.8 g monounsaturated fat, 1.8 g polyunsaturated fat), 13.2 g protein, 16.5 g carbohydrate, 86.2 mg cholesterol, 0.4 g fiber. 27% calories from fat.
Potstickers
1 cup finely shredded bok choy or napa cabbage (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 lb. lean ground pork
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 pkg. wonton wrappers
canola oil
chicken or veggie stock, or water
If you’re using it, toss the cabbage with salt in a medium bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Pick it up in your hand and squeeze out the excess liquid, draining it as well as you can. Add the pork, green onions, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sugar and sesame oil and mix it all up with your hands.
To fill wontons, place a small spoonful of filling in the middle of each wrapper; moisten the edges with water (just use your finger) and fold over, pressing the edge tightly to seal. Place seam side up on a cookie sheet, pressing lightly to flatten the bottom. Cover with a tea towel to prevent them from drying out. (Dumplings can be prepared up to this point, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen.)
When you’re ready to cook the potstickers, heat a drizzle of canola oil in a largeish skillet set over medium-high heat. Place half the dumplings at a time in the skillet and cook for a minute or two, until deep golden brown on the bottom, shaking the pan a few times to keep them from sticking. Don’t crowd the pan too much.
Pour about 1/4 cup stock or water into the pan. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes – this will allow them to steam, cooking them through.
Makes 2 - 3 dozen potstickers.
Each: 45 calories, 1 g total fat (0.2 g saturated fat, 0.4 g monounsaturated fat, 0.3 g polyunsaturated fat), 3 g protein, 5.9 g carbohydrate, 5.2 mg cholesterol, 0.4 g fiber. 20% calories from fat.
Green Tea Crème Brulée
6 large egg yolks
6 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. matcha powdered green tea
1 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream or 18% coffee cream
½ tsp. good-quality vanilla
sugar, for sprinkling on top
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Dissolve the tea in a little bit of water or cream to get rid of any lumps; whisk the cream, tea and vanilla into the egg yolks and sugar.
Divide among 6 small ramekins, and put them into a roasting pan or 9?x13? pan; pour water in so that the water comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This will sort of insulate them so that they cook gently and evenly. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the custards are set but still just slightly jiggly in the middle (you’ll get a feel for this!). Take them out, let them cool and then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, until nice and cold.
Sprinkle an even layer of sugar over each dish and caramelize with a torch or transfer to a cookie sheet and place under the broiler in the oven for about 2 minutes, just until the sugar is caramelized and golden. Turn the sheet around if you need to to help them caremelize evenly. Refrigerate again, or just let them sit on the countertop while you eat dinner, just until the sugar is set like glass.
Serves 6.
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April 08 2008 | appetizers and soup | 4 Comments »
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