Homemade Mayonnaise/Deviled Eggs

When I was working in France, there were many times that Linda Meinhardt (the owner) was back in Vancouver, leaving the place in my capable hands. During one of her absences, we planned a surprise party for Andy, the English gardener who lived nearby and had worked at the Chateau from the beginning.

Andy and his wife, Sue, were like family to me. They had given up running a busy pub in Hampshire, England to have a simpler way of life. They bought an old house in a small village and in their spare time, they renovated it enough to turn it into a small B&B.

For the birthday party, it was a beautiful July evening and we set up in the Chateau's outdoor kitchen. The details of the meal escape me now, except for one thing. A stainless steel bowl containing a bright yellow mayonnaise. A French couple, Patrick and Diana, showed up with a bottle of wine and the lemony mayonnaise. I remember thinking that it was an odd thing to bring to a party. But it was so good. We had steamed artichokes and pulled the leaves off, dipping each one in the mayo and scraping the leaves clean with our teeth.

Over the last 6 months, I have made deviled eggs a few times. Each time, I was trying different ingredients like capers, horseradish, or a variety of herbs, mixed with the egg yolks and Hellman's mayo. This time, I decided to make the mayonnaise from scratch and keep the deviled eggs very simple. It was a revelation. The yolk mixture was bright yellow and the deviled eggs tasted perfect.


Homemade Mayonnaise

1 cold egg yolk
1 1/2 t. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t. white wine vinegar
1/2 t. sea salt
1/8 t. fresh ground pepper
1 c. sunflower or grapeseed oil

In a large bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together except the oil. Add the oil, a few drops at a time, until it comes together, and then add a little more. Once the mixture reaches a smooth, creamy consistency, you can add the oil a little bit faster. Still be sure to whisk any oil in before adding more.
Covered, the mayonnaise, will keep for 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Makes 1 cup.

Deviled Eggs

8 extra-large eggs
1/2 c. homemade mayo
2 T. fresh chives, chopped
1 t. fresh lemon juice
A little salt & pepper, to taste

1. Place eggs in a large pot and cover with cold water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute and then turn off the heat. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain the eggs and run cold water into the pan to cool the eggs.
2. Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks and place them in the work bowl of an electric mixer with the mayo, chives (if using), and lemon juice. Process until smooth and check for seasoning.
3. Fill the egg halves with about a tablespoon of yolk mixture. Makes 12 to 16 deviled eggs.

My Italian Wedding Soup

I haven't been reaching for my Barefoot Contessa books as often as I used to, but I did come across this soup in her newest book. Trying to wean myself off of Ina and enjoying other cookbooks in my collection. However, the picture in her book of the little meatballs on the pan was enough to end my hiatus.

I did change a few things from that recipe. I didn't have any small pasta to put in the soup so I decided not to add any. After a pasta is added to soup, no matter if the pasta has been cooked ahead of time or not, it still soaks up stock to some degree. Not much of a problem, but at this time of year, my homemade chicken stock is in short supply - I tend to use it soon after it's made. I'm sure to be a traditional Italian Wedding soup, it should have pasta in it - that's why I felt compelled to call it "My Italian Wedding soup". I have not had an Italian wedding of my own, though I have been a guest at a few.

Another prudent decision I made was not adding baby spinach to the whole pot of soup. I knew once I added the tender, healthy green leaves, my kids would immediately react negatively. Without the spinach, the kids enjoyed bowls of this delicious soup, and Alan & I enjoyed it with lots of wilted greens and extra Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

In the Barefoot recipe, she calls for 3/4 pound of ground chicken and sausage. Most packages of ground chicken and sausages weigh in at about 1 pound each. I decided to use all of the chicken and sausage and I increased most of the other ingredients for the meatballs to make up for it. There were a lot of meatballs, but they are the star of the soup and people won't complain. You will need to add extra chicken stock or water to the soup pot, but wait and see until after everything has been added.

A word about homemade chicken stock - it is so easy and so worth it. When I buy a whole chicken to roast, I have two things on my mind. One is cooking the perfect roast chicken for dinner, and the other is using the leftover carcass for stock. For directions, go to the entry "Conspicuous Consumption & How to Make a Good Chicken Stock" (Nov. '07). I mentioned to a neighbour that I had made this incredibly good soup. She sort of frowned and said, "Well, you probably make your own chicken stock." I told her that I do, but that she could too. Really she could. And so could you.

My Italian Wedding Soup

For the meatballs:
1 lb. ground chicken
1 lb. sausage (chicken or turkey Italian sausages), casings removed
1 c. fresh bread crumbs
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped fine
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
1/4 c. milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 t. salt
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper

For the soup:
2 T. olive oil
1 c. onion, diced
1 c. carrots, diced small
1 c. celery, diced small
10c. chicken stock, preferably homemade
A handful of baby spinach for each serving of soup

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the ground chicken, sausage meat, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, milk, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and combine gently but thoroughly with your hands. Wish a teaspoon, drop little meatballs (about 1-inch in diameter) onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. There will be lots. They don't have to be perfectly round. Bake for about 30 minutes, until cooked through. Set aside.
2. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 minutes or so. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs to the soup. Simmer gently. Taste for salt & pepper.
3. For each bowl of soup you are serving, place a handful of baby spinach in the bottom of the bowl. Ladle the soup into the bowls with the spinach. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

I once considered myself a real cheesecake connoisseur. I suppose I still am, to some degree, but back then I had all the confidence of the young, with very little experience to back it up.

A little cafe had opened up in Harrow called "The Dog House" and I decided I would try to sell my cheesecakes to the woman who owned the place. I made up a few different kinds of cheesecake for her to try. She was very appreciative and promptly stole my idea and ran with it. The next thing I knew, she was selling cheesecakes at "The Dog House" (an unfortunate name for an eating establishment, if you ask me) and I never heard from her again. Unfortunately for her, the business didn't last very long.

In my teens, I was probably using artificial vanilla flavouring. What did I know? I just used what was on hand in my mom's cupboard. These days, artificial vanilla flavouring does not even come close to cutting it for me. I keep lots of pure vanilla extract on hand at all times. But for those times that call for something special (see Dark Chocolate-Sour Cherry Ice Cream Jan. '09), I have a bottle of whole vanilla beans.

The bottle was a gift from my sister one Christmas. She was working somewhere that made it possible for her to order vanilla beans in bulk and she made up bottles of them for her friends and family. Just vanilla beans and vodka. Once the beans have soaked a while in the vodka, you have homemade vanilla extract, plus very plump, moist beans. This was the perfect Christmas gift.

Lori happened to be over here when I made this cheesecake. My bottle of homemade extract had just a little liquid left in the bottom (what I need to do is to refill it with some more vodka). I ended up using the dregs of the homemade vanilla extract, which was so thick and gooey, it actually slid out of the bottle, as opposed to being poured. Then I took one of the whole beans and carefully slit it down the middle, using the back of a paring knife to scrape the tiny seeds out, and added these to the mixture as well. It was pure vanilla ecstasy. I popped the empty vanilla pod back into the bottle for another use, one of my favourites being Chai (Dec. '07).

This cheesecake was so unbelievably fragrant and delicious. There was just one problem. As you can probably tell from the picture above, the very centre of the cake was not set completely. There are a few reasons for this. The biggest problem was that I couldn't find the base to my 10-inch springform pan and I had to use a smaller pan. Even an inch or two makes a difference. Also, this is a substantial cheesecake and I should have probably let it stay in the oven at least another half an hour. The next faux-pas that I made was cutting it while it was still warm. Can you blame me?? I really should have let it chill overnight before cutting it. It really does taste better after it has chilled. I think it should be a rule that you must make cheesecakes at least one day (if not more) ahead of time.

This was definitely the best vanilla cheesecake I have ever made, even being slightly under-cooked. I wouldn't even consider eating this particular cheesecake with a fruit sauce or compote, although that's just me. Covering up all that vanilla goodness would be a crime.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
6 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. white sugar

Filling:
1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 lb. ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. white sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 t. pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out for the cheesecake and the pod kept for another use
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 10-inch springform pan by lining the sides with parchment paper. Anchor the paper with little dots of butter.
2. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar together. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake crust for 5 minutes in the oven (remember to set a timer).
3. In an electric mixer fit with the paddle attachment, blend the cream cheese and ricotta cheese together until fluffy. Mix the sugar and cornstarch together in a separate bowl, add to the cheeses, and continue blending until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides until everything is well incorporated.
4. Add vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, and sour cream. Blend until just combined. Pour into the prepared crust.
5. Place a pan of hot water on the lowest oven rack. Bake the cheesecake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees and then lower the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another hour, or until cake is slightly jiggly. The out half of the cheesecake will like done but the inside will still slightly jiggle. When the cheesecake is finished, turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven for another 30 minutes, with the oven door left open. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and finish cooling it to room temperature on the counter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
6. To serve, remove springform collar and cut slices with a large, hot knife. Serves 10.

Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles

I make pancakes a lot, my favourite being oatmeal pancakes (Aug. '07). But when it comes to waffles, I have always questioned myself about what the best recipe might be. The oatmeal pancake batter is too thin, in my opinion, and other recipes didn't quite fit the bill for waffles.

Mildred Pierce is a restaurant in Toronto that specializes in breakfast and brunch. I have always wanted to go, but have never had the chance. However, I do have their cookbook, Out to Brunch by Donna Dooher and Claire Stubbs. It was recommended to me by my friend, Heather, who told me it contained her all-time favourite pancake recipe. It is an excellent little cookbook, and I did end up trying the pancake recipe. It was great, but I still prefer my old stand-by, oatmeal pancakes. However, for waffles, it is perfect. The batter creates thick, soft waffles that will remind you of what a waffle should be, not some cardboard-like disc with a catchy logo!

The Clean Food Connection, my local organic grocery store, has started carrying organic buttermilk. I love using buttermilk in baking and cooking, so I asked them to bring in a litre of it for me each week. A couple weeks ago, I realized I had three litres in the fridge and I quickly put a stop to my weekly order (I have since used it all). Organic milk, in general, seems like a bit of a luxury, but to me, it's worth it. If you can find organic buttermilk, give it a try.

Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles

2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 extra-large eggs
2 c. buttermilk (organic, if you can find it)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the buttermilk and melted butter. Using a spatula, combine the wet and dry ingredients to make a thick, lumpy batter, being careful not to overmix. Fold in blueberries gently.
3. If your waffle iron sticks, brush with melted butter or use a non-stick spray. Spoon about 3/4 cup of batter onto the hot waffle iron. Each waffle will take about 3 minutes to cook. Remove waffle from the waffle iron when it is golden brown.
4. Serve warm with warm maple syrup.

Beet, Corn & Bulgur Salad

With spring right around the corner, my thoughts have been turning to salads and other things such as, will my summer clothes still fit me this year...??

This salad came about because I was in a pinch. I had my friend Kristine coming over for lunch, a devout vegetarian. I had about a half an hour to throw something together, and this happened to be what was available in my fridge and freezer. As far as I know, she was a happy camper - until I mentioned that I hadn't made dessert. I must be getting really serious about fitting into my bathing suit this year!

Earlier in the week, I boiled the beets and then peeled them while they were warm. Before I sauteed the corn, I thawed it out in some warm water and then drained it well. No other explanations needed except, the goat cheese seems to be everyone's favourite part, so I have added more to the leftovers before serving.

Beet, Corn & Bulgur Salad

1 c. bulgur wheat
3/4 c. boiling water
2 c. frozen sweet corn (use fresh when in season)
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cucumber, peeled & diced
1 1/2 c. beets, cooked, peeled, and julienned
1/2 c. red onion, diced small
1/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped fine
8 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled
3 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

1. Place the bulgur in a large bowl (large enough to hold the whole salad). Pour the boiling water over the bulgur and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let sit for 20 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. Remove the plastic wrap and fluff with a fork. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Saute the corn over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add to the bowl with the bulgur.
3. As you cut the cucumber, beets, red onion, and parsley, add them to the bowl as well.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons of lemon juice with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, together with the salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour before serving.
5. Just before serving, crumble the goat cheese over the salad and toss gently.

Brown Rice, Mango, and Chickpea Salad

Last week, my friend Elaine emailed me this recipe. She said that her husband had enjoyed this salad so much the night before, he had basically licked his plate clean. And a rice lover, he is not.

The recipe intrigued me enough to gather the ingredients I needed and I made it last night for dinner. I want to mention right up front that I didn't even try to get the kids to eat this. I saved half of the chicken breast for them, and baked some sweet potatoes. They were happy and there were no squabbles.

I enjoyed the salad; can't wait to have it again for lunch today. But more surprisingly, Alan LOVED this salad. He was walking around with a second bowl of it, coming up with accolades for the salad that he suggested I quote him with saying on the blog. "Different flavours in every bite!" was one that I remember he mentioned. He also demanded that it should be put on the blog, as soon as possible.

I haven't seen a reaction like that since my friend Shaila tasted the Puy Lentil, Feta, Roasted Tomato & Onion salad (April '08). Maybe this salad just really resonates with husbands. Whatever the case, it is a delicious and healthy combination of flavours and textures, just right for a light dinner.

Brown Rice, Mango, and Chickpea Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. slivered almonds
1 T. tahini paste
1 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. fresh orange juice
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 t. lemon zest
2 t. fresh ginger, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. paprika
1 ripe mango, cubed
1 - 14 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed well
1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes (dry packed), thinly sliced
1 1/2 c. fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 T. fresh chives, chopped
2 T. cilantro, chopped
2 c. cooked brown rice (short or long grain - I love brown Basmati)

1. In a large saucepan, bring about 4 inches of water to a boil. Add the chicken breasts, cover, and simmer until it is cooked through, about 10 minutes or so. Remove the chicken from the water and place on a plate to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the slivered almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes (set a timer because they will burn quickly). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

3. Place tahini, yogurt, orange juice, and olive oil in the work bowl of a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Add the lemon zest, ginger, garlic, cumin, and paprika and process again to blend.

4. In a large bowl, toss the mango, chickpeas, almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, chives, cilantro, and brown rice together. Add the tahini dressing and mix thoroughly. Serve right away or refrigerate for a few hours and serve chilled.

*Elaine mentioned that she added the rice to the salad bowl while it was still warm. I did the same and I think I like the salad better slightly warm.
*For a vegetarian option, leave out the chicken.

Apple Cobbler Oatmeal

I pulled out my recipe box the other day. Without attention, this box has a tendency to become stuffed to overflowing with recipes, hand-written or photocopies, that I have received or copied from friends. Every time I go through that old box, I end up with a pile of recipes that I have always meant to make and sometimes I actually get around to trying something, before stuffing them back in the box till next time.

I came across a card I had written out for "Cherry Cobbler Oatmeal" from our summer neighbour on Seymour Beach, Evie. Alan & I had joined their family for a skiing weekend in Michigan and Evie had made this oatmeal one morning. It was so good, I wrote the recipe down. Unfortunately, it was like so many other recipes in that box, untried and mostly forgotten about. Until this week.

I don't keep dried apples on hand but I happened to see them in the bulk section of our natural foods store. The texture of the dried apples after soaking overnight and being cooked in the oatmeal was wonderful. They were like little pieces of apple right out of an apple pie. I also used some chopped dried apricots and they were great, too. If you want to be truly decadent, use dried cherries. In a perfect world, I would keep a jar of those on hand at all times! I think that the full amount (1/2 cup) of brown sugar makes the oatmeal a little too sweet for breakfast, but you can decide that when you're making it. A little bit of cream or milk to pour over the top, some bacon on the side, and you have a delicious breakfast for the cold days of March.


Apple Cobbler Oatmeal

2 c. apple juice (or prune juice)
2 c. water
1/2 c. dried fruit (apples, apricots, cherries, or cranberries), chopped
2 c. quick-cook oatmeal
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 c. brown sugar - to taste
2 T. butter
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts (optional)

1. In a large bowl, soak the dried fruit in the apple juice and water. Cover and keep in the fridge overnight.
2. In the morning, bring the mixture to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the oatmeal and stir for 1 minute. Cover and and remove from heat. Let sit for a few minutes.
3. Before serving, stir in the cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and nuts (if using). Serves 8-10 people.

A Poached Egg

When was the last time you had a poached egg for breakfast? A poached egg on warm, buttered toast is my favourite winter breakfast; probably my favourite summer breakfast, too. The egg in the pictures struck me as being the perfect poached egg; a farm-fresh egg, cooked to absolute perfection (to my taste, anyway), served on toasted Ace bakery focaccia.

I have several great memories of poached eggs. After having a tummy bug for about 24 hours in grade eight, my first meal was a a poached egg on toast, lovingly served to me on the couch, in front of the TV. There were dinners at the Chateau in France, when there were no guests to serve, and we would put together the most delicious salads you can imagine, each one topped with a poached egg and little pieces of mouth-watering bacon. And more recently, a breakfast made by my friend Elaine in Newfoundland - perfect poached eggs with buttered toast points, served in front of the fireplace, while I read some of her treasured cookbooks.

I also have other memories of poached eggs. Rubbery little discs with yolks that crumble or break off in shards when knocked with a fork. My mom, who was never really too worried about how the eggs ended up, had (and still has) a large pan with an egg poaching insert. Once my sister & I reached an age that we could make our own meals, it was only natural that we would use the poacher. Few things could set our mom off like egg cups that hadn't been sprayed with Pam - very generously - and were left "to soak" in the sink. And my mom didn't think much about the method of cooking an egg directly in boiling water either, even if we did add vinegar. Just too much mess, usually left in the sink - to soak.

I like my poached eggs to be cooked to a certain point. I would say it's medium. It is very easy to miss that point. I don't like to have the whites of the eggs runny at all. I like the yolk to be slightly firm around the outside, but still runny enough to cover the top of the toast. Poached eggs are so very simple, yet I consider the perfect poached egg on toast to be an art form.

For a long time, I abstained from making poached eggs. Once I moved away from home, I never did purchase my own egg poacher. When I started making poached eggs again, it took me many tries to get them the way I wanted. Even now, quite possibly hundreds of successful eggs under my belt, I do have the odd flub now and then. Just the other morning, I cracked an egg into a ramekin and the yolk broke. Instead of continuing, I put the uncooked egg back in the fridge to use for something else, and tried again. Occasionally, there will be a rogue egg that just will not stay together in the water. There is also the fine balance you must strike between keeping one eye on the egg and your other eye on the toast. I like to butter my toast as soon as it pops up, but this has led me to neglect the egg at that crucial moment, thus saddling me with an overdone yolk.

Here is my ritual for making poached eggs.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a gentle boil. Add a splash of white vinegar. Crack one very fresh egg into a ramekin and slowly let the egg slip into the boiling water. If you are cooking more than one, repeat this step. I don't like to poach more than two at a time in a small pan. Don't let the water boil too vigorously once you have added the egg. A gentle boil is good. If the egg seems to be stuck on the bottom of the pan, carefully nudge it off the bottom of the pan with a spoon. For a medium egg, it usually takes around 3 minutes or so to cook. When the egg is cooked to your liking, remove from the water and drain on a piece of paper towel. Dry well. Place on the toast of your choice and mash with a fork. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Curd

When I heard that my God-daughter, Elsa (not even a year old yet), was a big fan of Meyer lemons, it occurred to me that I had never tried them myself. Elsa does have an unfair advantage over most people I know, as she lives in New York City, and frequents many world-class foodie spots with her food-savvy parents. With that said, I thought it would be a good move to familiarize myself with one of her favourite things. A little unusual to bond with a baby over lemons, but I'm open to trying new things.

Meyer lemons are not an ingredient that you see very often in regular supermarkets, in Canada anyway. Meyer lemons taste like a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. They are quite a bit sweeter than a true lemon, but still sour enough to be identified as being from the lemon family.

It wasn't until last week that I saw the elusive lemons in person. I bought a bag of them and they were absolutely beautiful to look at. They were a perfect lemon-yellow, with thin, unblemished skin. I would describe them as the super-models of the lemon world. Gorgeous. The picture above gives you the idea, and those had already been hanging around my kitchen for a week or so. The smell of the Meyer lemons was intoxicating. I kept picking them up and smelling them, trying to wrap my head around how beautiful they smelled.

From the minute I saw these lemons, I knew that a lemon curd would be in order. With my parents having just been here, stocking our fridge with farm-fresh Harrow eggs*, I had all the best ingredients to make lemon curd.

*My mom has been buying eggs for me for the last year or so (I do pay her for them - well, sometimes...). I really like the eggs that she finds for me down there, so I get her to pick me up 3 or 4 dozen every time we are going to see each other.

Lemon curd can be used for many things. I like to use it in between layers of a white cake. Or try it with angel food cake and raspberries or on cream scones for an afternoon treat. If this recipe made more, I would have canned the lemon curd in little jars to give away as gifts. But mostly, I like to make several furtive trips to the fridge with a spoon, until all the curd has magically disappeared.

Meyer Lemon Curd

4 large egg yolks
2/3 c. granulated sugar
3 ounces freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (about 2 or 3 large lemons)
4 T. unsalted butter
Pinch of sea salt
1 t. lemon zest

1. In a heavy saucepan, beat the egg yolks and the sugar until well blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients, except the the lemon zest, and cook slowly over medium-low heat. Stir constantly, until slightly thickened. Should coat the back of a wooden spoon but still be pourable. Do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle.
2. When the curd has thickened, immediately remove from the heat and pour through a fine strainer. Press through the strainer with the back of a spoon. Stir in the lemon zest and cool. Pour into an airtight container. The curd will keep thickening as it sits and cools. Makes 1 cup.

Birdie's Chicken

This recipe holds a very special spot in my heart. This was the chicken dish that my Grandma McDonald would make for special occasions. Her name was Bertha, but she was also known affectionately as 'Birthday' and my favourite, (but not a name I would have ever referred to her as) 'Birdie'. In fact, I like the name Birdie so much that I now use it as Ellen's nickname, and I hope it sticks.

The picture above shows the chicken just before I put it in the oven. The low temperature of the oven and the long cooking time create melt-in-your-mouth chicken that falls off the bones. I don't recall my grandma ever taking the skin off her chicken before cooking it. I have removed the skin before, but I remember thinking that the skin adds something to the overall dish, and I tend to leave it on now, too (I do trim any excess skin off before dipping in the eggs and cracker crumbs). It doesn't mean you have to eat the skin, if you don't want to. Just remove it after it's cooked. You may find this recipe a little loosey-goosey, but it doesn't lend itself to being an exact sort of recipe.

This chicken goes well with mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes... any sort of comforting starch, actually. Maybe some nice steamed veggies, to offset all this comfort, and a leafy, green salad.

Birdie's Chicken

1 whole chicken, or as much chicken as you need
Saltines, crushed into crumbs with a food processor
Eggs, beaten
Onions, sliced
Butter, a few pats

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cut the chicken into pieces, if you are using a whole chicken. Wash and dry the chicken pieces.
2. Dip chicken pieces in beaten eggs, and then roll in cracker crumbs. Place one layer of chicken in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and place a slice of onion on each chicken piece. Layer the rest of the chicken on top of the first layer. Dot the top with butter. Add 3 tablespoons of water to the dish. Cover and bake 4 hours.

Duck, Duck, Goose

Here's something new - a guest blog entry! Before Christmas, my sister Lori made duck confit for a dinner party and then she wrote about it. When it comes to duck confit, I've never made it from scratch, but I have opened my cans of the stuff while living in France. I brought two larges cans home in 1998 and we just enjoyed them a couple years ago. They were still very good but Alan was, you might say, put off by the whole idea of them. Where is his sense of adventure??


Duck, Duck, Goose
By Lori Elstone

It all started when I saw a jar of red currant jelly. The good stuff - made with the fruit's natural pectin. "Isn't that the traditional glaze for duck confit?" I wondered to myself. I imagined plump, rich duck legs smeared with jelly. Delicious.

I was immediately on a mission and purchased 6 duck legs from a local supplier. As luck would have it, I had a stash of duck fat in the freezer in case of an emergency. (Okay, potatoes fried in duck fat don't ever constitute an emergency, but that's beside the point.) Fat is the key component in making confit - a centuries-old process perfected in France. It consists of salt-curing a piece of meat and then poaching in it's own fat. In the days before refrigeration, this was an essential technique for preserving duck, goose, and pork.

When I got home, I was surprised to see the skin of the duck still had a few feathers sticking out. It gave new meaning to the term 'goose-bumps'. I plucked out the remaining quills, doing my best to keep the skin from tearing. Next I rubbed the salt, sugar and herbs onto the duck legs, packed them tightly into a glass dish and began planning the rest of the dinner.

The next evening, while the duck was poaching in the oven, I prepared the traditional, comforting side dishes of braised red cabbage and celery root mashed potatoes. They became the perfect compliments to the salty richness of the duck. It was a wonderful meal. The red currant jelly? It later made it's way into a batch of walnut rugelach. But I'll save that story for another time.

Duck Confit
6 duck legs
1 1/2 c. coarse sea salt
1/4 c. granulated sugar
6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves, broken into pieces
1 t. coarsely cracked black pepper
1 t. crushed juniper berries (optional)
1 litre duck fat

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a stainless steel bowl, pulling the thyme leaves off the stalks. Dredge the duck legs in the salt mixture until well coated and transfer to a 9x13 pan. Discard remaining salt mixture. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Melt the duck fat in a saucepan. Rinse the duck legs gently under cold running water and pat dry with paper towel. Place the duck in an oven-proof dish so that it is packed snugly. Pour the fat over the duck. If it does not completely submerge the duck, the addition of vegetable oil is acceptable. Cover the container with a lid or tin foil and cook for at least 3 hours, checking periodically. The duck will be done when it effortlessly comes away from the bone.

3. Duck confit will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge, 6-8 weeks in the freezer, and 3 months or longer when submerged in the cooking fat and refrigerated.

Tomato & Cheddar Pie

I have two new favourite books. Home cooking and More Home Cooking, both by Laurie Colwin. Maybe you have seen these books before? I hadn't. While I was visiting Elaine in November, she happened to pull out her copies of these books and I was instantly intrigued. These books are wonderful. They are what I wish this blog (and others) were more like. With chapter titles like, "Alone in the kitchen with an eggplant" and "Jet-Lag and how to feed it", there was no way that I wouldn't love these books. Alas, Laurie Colwin is no longer with us, but her books are definitely living on.

In More Home Cooking there is a chapter on tomatoes. She writes about a tea room in Connecticut that served a tomato pie. She describes how the pie is made and then she has a wonderful sentence that got me out of my favourite chair and into the kitchen.

"It is hard to describe how delicious this is, especially on a hot day with a glass of magnificent iced tea in a beautiful setting, but it would doubtless be just as scrumptious on a cold day in your warm kitchen with a cup of coffee." - Laurie Colwin

It's cold here. I want my kitchen to be warm like that. I want to eat tomato pie with a cup of coffee. So, that is what I did.

Tomato & Cheddar Pie

At the tea room that Laurie describes, they make the crust with a biscuit dough. I happened to have two discs of pie dough that were collecting dust, so I used those instead.

2-28 oz. cans best quality tomatoes (I used my own), drained well and cut thin
1/2 c. green onions, sliced
1 1/2 c. extra-old cheddar cheese, grated
1/3 c. mayonnaise
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Double-crust pie shell

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the bottom pie crust and fit into a pie plate.
2. Make sure your tomatoes are well drained, otherwise your bottom crust will be soggy. Place the cut tomatoes in the pie shell. Scatter the green onions over the top. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over the tomatoes and onions.
3. Mix the mayo and the fresh lemon juice together. Drizzle over the cheese. Sprinkle last 1/2 cup of cheese on top of everything.
4. Roll out the top crust and seal the edges. Cut slits in the top for the steam to escape. Brush the top with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little milk or water). Place into hot oven and turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the crust is nice and golden. Let cool and enjoy with your cup of coffee.

*I ate this for a few meals. I heated up a slice of pie in the oven for about 15 minutes, just until everything was warm and the cheese was soft and melting again.

Borscht

At this point in my life, I find it odd that I wasn't sure if I I'd even tried borscht, let alone made it myself. I think I assumed that it wasn't that good and why would I bother? Then borscht was brought to my attention twice last week and I pulled out my Russian cookbook to find a recipe.

I decided to make the "Classic Ukrainian Borscht" for the full effect. You will need a bit of time to pull this soup together. Luckily, I had enough beef stock in the freezer to get started. If you need to make a beef stock, see the note at the end of the recipe.

This recipe makes a big pot of soup. My friend Elaine told me that she packages her borscht into small Ziploc bags and freezes them. When she wants borscht for a quick lunch or dinner, she snips the bottom off the baggie and the serving of soup slides right out into a pot, ready to heat up. I had already divided my borscht up into 1 litre containers and put them out on the deck for a pre-freeze, before moving them into the big freezer.

I found myself taking my first taste of the borscht tentatively. Pretty good. Later at dinner time, another bowl. Then a bowl for lunch the next day. Flavours were getting better and better. The sour cream is an important element. I don't think borscht is meant for eating without it. Now, if I could just get my family to try it....


Borscht

3 litres beef stock
1 lb. beef, cut into chunks
2 or 3 large beets (just over a pound)
4 medium-size potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
1 16-oz can diced tomatoes
Salt, to taste
1/4 c. sunflower oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small matchsticks
1 large green pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
4 cups shredded green cabbage
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
3 T. tomato paste
5 or 6 dried prunes, chopped
1 t. sugar, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. fresh parsley, chopped
3 T. fresh dill, chopped
Lots of sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash and dry the beets and wrap each one individually in tin foil. Bake the beets until tender, about 1 1/4 hours.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the beef until brown on all sides, over medium-high heat. Remove from the pan, let cool, and slice into very small pieces. Set aside.
4. Allow the beets to cool, until you can handle them, then stem and peel them and grate on a box grater. Set aside.
5. Bring the beef stock to a boil in a large stock pot. Add the potatoes and tomatoes, and season with salt. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
6. In a large skillet (the same skillet you used for the beef would be perfect), heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and green pepper, and saute for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and continue to saute the veggies, stirring occasionally until the cabbage is softened, about 10 minutes more. Add the veggies to the soup pot.
7. Sprinkle the beets with the fresh lemon juice and add them to the soup. Stir the soup and simmer for about 10 minutes.
8. Add the tomato paste and prunes. Season to taste with sugar, pepper, and additional lemon juice and salt, if desired. Simmer for another 7 minutes.
9. Add the beef to the soup pot. Remove the soup from the heat and sprinkle with the chopped garlic, parsley, and dill. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.
10. Serve garnished with extra chopped parsley and dill and lots of sour cream. Borscht tastes even better the next day.

* For the beef stock:
In a large soup pot, bring 1 1/2 pounds beef, 2 beef marrow bones and 3 litres of water to a boil, skimming off the foam as it rises to the top. Add 1 onion, 1 peeled carrot, 1 rib celery, 3 parsley stems, and 10 black peppercorns. Simmer, partially covered, until the meat is tender, at least 45 minutes.
When the stock is ready, remove the meat and bones, but save the meat. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pot. Discard all the solids. Continue the borscht recipe from the start.

Greek Frittata

I had no idea how much I've come to rely on my Le Crueset cast-iron skillet (pictured above). Were there ever to be a fire, it would be one of the first things I would grab (yes, I would get the kids and the dogs out first).

A few weeks ago we went to my friend Brenda's house for a beautiful dinner. The main course was rack of lamb served with duck-fat roasted potatoes (Nov. '07). She supplied the lamb; I brought my cast-iron skillet and the duck fat. After a truly delicious evening of drinking and eating, I ended up leaving the pan at their house. Must have been the Mojitos, which her husband has turned into an art form (he seemed reluctant to have me put the recipe on the blog, but I'll work on it).

I called Brenda the next day and we discussed getting together for lunch so she could return the pan. We weren't able to pin down anything for the following week, so it was almost 2 weeks that I was without my beloved pan.

The first morning without my pan, I found myself in a pickle. I had recently ex-communicated my only non-stick pan because it had been scratched, and you know what they say about scratched Teflon... (you can read what they say on Google). Without my trusty little cast-iron pan, I was out of luck for our breakfast stand-bys and my kitchen seemed a like a sad place to be.

On Tuesday, I was meeting up with Brenda for the pan hand-over. I sent her a reminder email in the morning, something to this effect...
"I'm sure you have already put my pan in the car, but just in case, please don't forget the pan. Looking forward to seeing you (and my pan) for lunch. Love Moira Ps. Maybe you should run the pan out to the car now, while you're thinking of it. Strike while the cast-iron is hot! Ha ha ha... but seriously, don't forget the pan. Please."

The pan did turn up at the rendezvous restaurant (thank you, Brenda), and I'm happy to say it has been in use ever since.

The first item on the agenda was a frittata. I basically went through the fridge and a definite Greek theme emerged. One of the keys to a good frittata is take it out of the oven just as it is finishing cooking. Leaving it in too long will result in an over-cooked, rubbery meal that has very little going for it.

Greek Frittata

1 large Yukon Gold potato
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. fresh tomatoes, chopped with seeds removed
3 T. fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 c. Kalamata olives, chopped fine
1/2 c. Greek feta cheese, crumbled
6 eggs, beaten with 1/2 c. milk

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the potato and cut into small chunks. Place in a small pan with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Set potatoes aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in your trusty cast-iron skillet (mine is 8 or 9 inches across) over medium-high heat and add the cooked potatoes. Turn occasionally, cooking until the potatoes are golden and sort of crisping. Add the tomatoes, parsley, green onion, and olives. Cook for two minutes over medium heat.
3. Pour the egg & milk mixture into the pan. Sprinkle with the cheese and place the pan into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the eggs are just set. Remove the pan from the oven and cut into wedges. Serves 3-4 people, depending on how hungry they are.

*Leftover potatoes are perfect for using in this recipe. Just skip the part about boiling the potato.

Ham-ster Rolls

I received a phone call from my son, Gavin, on the weekend. He had made lunch with his dad and sister. He was very excited to tell me that he had invented a new recipe, with a really cool name. The "ham-ster roll" was born out of Gavin's imagination, and you can be sure that I'm a very proud mother.

Gavin isn't too keen on yellow mustard, but Ellen is. Gavin has made the allowance that some people will enjoy a line of mustard on their ham-ster roll. He also suggests that should you desire another topping - mayo, thinly sliced dill pickle, Grandma's mustard relish, even a leaf of lettuce - feel free to top your ham-ster roll as you like.


There are a few reasons why you should try these. They are perfect for someone who is following the South Beach diet. Not a carb in sight. They are very quick, for those times when you are starving and need a little meal in a minute or two. It is a great recipe to get your children interested in cooking (I do realize there is no cooking involved) and preparing food. Read the recipe for yourself. To me, it is just short of brilliant!

Ham-ster Rolls - recipe from Gavin, as told to his mom

1 slice Black Forest ham
1 slice Havarti cheese
1 squirt yellow mustard, optional

1. Lay the ham out flat on a plate.
2. Lay three or four little pieces (or one big piece) of Havarti cheese on top of the ham.
3. If you like mustard, you can put a line on the cheese right now.
4. Carefully roll it up and eat with clean hands.

Dark Chocolate-Sour Cherry Ice Cream

We invited my father-in-law, Max, over for dinner tonight. He suggested that we make ice cream, and you can be sure that we were all for it. Max has an old barrel-style ice cream maker. The ice cream ingredients go into a metal canister with a paddle, which is then put into a wooden barrel. Between the canister and the barrel, ice and rock salt are mixed to form a very cold, slushy soup that freezes the ice cream. A top with a crank is placed on the ice cream canister and the churning begins. It takes about 20 minutes of turning the crank, something the whole family can take turns at.

Max's recipe doesn't call for cooking a custard beforehand. Lover of custards that I am, I would be quite happy to make a custard ahead of time, but this is definitely a quicker method. We had little packages of Lindt 70% dark chocolate, which we smashed into little pieces. The cherries were from a jar of sour cherries in juice. We cut the cherries up into little pieces, finding and removing a few pits in the process. We drained the cherries really well and then dried them fully with a paper towel. You don't want to add extra liquid to the ice cream mixture. After the ice cream was finished, we transferred it into plastic containers and stuck them in a snowbank on the deck.

The vanilla can be done a couple of ways. If you have vanilla beans, scrape the inside of half a bean and add the little bits into the cream. Save the vanilla bean for the next time you make chai tea (Dec. '07) or baked custard (April '08). If you are making an ice cream from a cooked custard, add the whole bean and remove it after the custard is finished cooking. If you don't have vanilla beans on hand, use 1 or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.

After a dinner of roast chicken with an apple stuffing, wild rice with oranges & pecans, and frozen Harrow sweet corn, we felt like royalty, enjoying our homemade ice cream. It was a great activity for everyone to get involved in and we all went to bed last night, dreaming of the flavours we would like to make next time.



Dark Chocolate-Sour Cherry Ice Cream

3 extra-large eggs
3 c. whipping cream
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split & scraped
1/2 c. sour cherries, pitted
1/2 c. dark chocolate, cut into small chunks

1. Beat eggs and sugar together in large bowl. Add cream and milk. Split the vanilla bean in half, and using the back of a small knife, scrape the tiny vanilla seeds into the cream mixture.
2. Pour the cream mixture into the ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is almost finished, add the cherries and the chocolate. Mix a little bit longer and move ice cream to another container. Eat immediately or store in the freezer.

Chicken Fattah

One of the new cookbooks that I received (or did I buy it for myself??) for Christmas is Bonnie Stern's newest offering "Friday Night Dinners". There are so many recipes in this book that I want to make. I came across this recipe on Monday, ran out to pick up a few missing ingredients, and served it that night.

Each part of this recipe can be made ahead of time. This would make a great dinner for company or a couple of dinners for a small family. It does take some time to make all of the different elements, but once you get going it rolls right along.

While the rice & lentils were cooking, I rubbed the chicken thighs with the lemon-garlic mixture. I got the barbecue going (I think it's safe to say that barbecuing boneless-skinless chicken thighs tastes better than baking them!) and grilled the chicken. I would have been happy to have just the grilled chicken for dinner. The lemon & garlic rub was delicious. Then I got the tomato sauce and the tahina sauce going. At this point, I was almost dancing around the kitchen, fully aware that I was making a spectacular dinner for my family.

Fast forward to 6 o'clock, and we are sitting down to a dinner that I would be proud to serve anyone. "Yuck! What is that? I'm not eating that. What are those black things? (they were the lentils)" Eyes narrowed and frowns on, both Ellen & Gavin were, shall we say, reluctant to eat their dinner. I didn't give up, though. I used the homemade chocolate pudding (July '08) as leverage, and they managed to eat most of what they were served. Two nights later, they ate the leftovers (with slightly less coaxing) and I think in the end, they actually enjoyed both meals.

I have a habit of doing this. I come up with some wonderful menu, completely forgetting that I have a 6 and 3 year old that are not always as adventurous as I assume. This time, it worked out in the end. How will they know that they like it until I force them to try it? That's my philosophy and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't...

Chicken Fattah

Mujedrah
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 large onions, thinly sliced
2 c. brown basmati rice
1 c. green lentils, rinsed
5 c. water
2 t. kosher salt

Chicken
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. grated lemon peel
2 t. minced garlic
4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts or a combination

Moroccan Tomato Sauce
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. ground cumin
Pinch hot red pepper flakes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juices
1 T. honey
1 T. lemon juice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Tahina Sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 c. tahina
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. water
1/2 t. hot red pepper sauce
Salt to taste

Garnish
Chopped fresh cilantro
3 T. toasted pine nuts

1. To prepare mujedrah, heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until very brown. Remove half of onions from pan and reserve.
2. Add rice to onions in skillet and cook for a few minutes. Add lentils, water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook gently for 40 to 45 minutes, or until just tender. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
3. Meanwhile, to prepare chicken, combine oil, salt, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl. Rub into chicken. Grill or roast chicken until cooked through and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes per side on the grill or 30 to 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
4. Meanwhile, to prepare tomato sauce, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender but not brown.
5. Add cumin and hot pepper flakes and cook gently for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cook gently, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thick. Season with honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
6. To prepare tahina sauce, in a food processor, combine garlic, tahina, lemon juice, water and hot pepper sauce until smooth. Add salt to taste.
7. To assemble, spread rice and lentils on a large platter. Arrange chicken on top. Spoon tomato sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with reserved onions, cilantro and pine nuts. Drizzle with tahina.

Miniature Rosti, Creme Fraiche & Smoked Trout

My sister sent me the recipe for this little appetizer before Christmas. She used smoked salmon, but I have access to the most wonderful smoked trout (at the Clean Food Connection) and I decided I would give that a try. The rosti were so easy to make and they were absolutely addictive! On Christmas Eve, we all stood around the counter, waiting for the little morsels to come out of the pan. My Dad told me to "definitely put this recipe on the blog".

The creme fraiche turned out beautifully. It isn't as sour as sour cream; more of a fresh taste. If you don't have time to make creme fraiche, you can use sour cream mixed with chives. But let me tell you, it's worth it and besides having to whisk it together 24 hours beforehand, it is no trouble at all. You still have time before New Year's Eve, if you act soon. Happy New Year!

Chive Creme Fraiche

1 c. whipping cream
1 T. buttermilk
1/2 c. fresh chives, chopped fine

Whisk whipping cream and buttermilk in a small stainless steel bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Fill a larger bowl with hot tap water and place the bowl of cream into this bowl. Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Spoon the creme fraiche into another bowl, discarding any whey (liquid). Fold in the chives. Refrigerate.
*The creme fraiche will smell fresh and dairy-ish. If there is the smell of blue cheese, discard the whole batch.

Potato Rosti

3 large Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 c. or more of grape seed oil
1 1/2 t. fine sea salt

Peel and grate potatoes on a box grater or in the food processor with the grater attachment. Mix salt into the potatoes immediately to keep them from going brown. In a large cast iron pan, heat enough oil to cover the bottom well. Add a little bit of potatoes to see if the oil is hot enough. It should sizzle right away. Place little piles (about 1 tablespoon or so) of potatoes and press down. Cook until golden brown and crispy, then flip and cook the other side. Transfer the potatoes to a plate lined in paper towel to drain. These can be made ahead of time and reheated for 5 minutes in the oven when you need them.

150 grams smoked trout or smoked salmon

Place a piece of trout or salmon on top of each rosti and top with a dollop of chive creme fraiche. Enjoy!

Christmas Preparations

The Christmas clock is really ticking. This morning, we picked up our turkey and December's meat share at Cooper's farm. We picked a turkey weighing in at about 18 pounds. On Christmas day, we will take our turkey down to my sister's house. My brother-in-law, Jake, will cut the raw turkey up into manageable pieces. An hour or two before dinner, he will roast the breasts, thighs and legs on a baking sheet, while a turkey stock simmers away on the stove (made from the back and any other odd bits from the turkey). I don't know whether Jake coined the phrase "relaxed turkey" or not, but that is what we call this method, which makes for a very easy clean-up. My Mom always makes the stuffing, but now we cook it in the crock-pot, moistening it with the turkey stock (or chicken stock). I still love the look of a whole bird in the oven, but with the relaxed method, that's the only thing you'll miss. The smell of roasting bird is still wafting through the house during the day because of the turkey stock and the stuffing.

The kids and I assembled an Ikea gingerbread house. It is a great size and the kids had a ball decorating it. When I think about an idyllic Christmas, decorating a gingerbread house is right up there on my list of things to do. However, the reality is seldom the stuff of dreams. Besides giving plenty of decorating instructions to Gavin & Ellen, who couldn't have cared less what my vision for the gingerbread house was, I found myself losing my cool more than once. "Whoever eats another decoration is going to their room!!!" I yelled, very close to the top of my lungs. Christmas has the magical power to bring out the best, and the worst, in people. Note to self - Lighten up!

To go with the tourtiere on Christmas Eve, I want to make a nice beef gravy. I thought I was buying 5 pounds of beef bones, this morning at the farm. Turns out I bought almost 20 pounds of bones, more than enough to make my beef stock. I roasted the bones in the oven for about an hour and a half, then spread tomato paste on the bones (not too much) and roasted them another half hour. Then into the super-sized canning pot with carrots, onions, parsley and celery, filled to the top with water and simmered for about 4 hours. The stock is currently out in the snow and tomorrow I will take the fat off the top and divvy it up into litre containers. It will make a nice gravy to go with our Christmas Eve dinner, with plenty left over for rest of the winter.

I haven't done a lot of baking this year. Earlier in December, it seemed too early to have all sorts of baking sitting around the house. All of a sudden, it's getting a bit late, but I have finally gotten started. We made shortbread cookies this morning with silver dragees. They are the cornstarch shortbread cookies that basically melt in your mouth. They are tasty little cookies that always bring back memories. I have two batches of rugelach dough in the fridge, ready to roll out in the morning. I will make raspberry rugelach (June '08), my favourite variation of the cream cheese cookie.

I picked up two packages of smoked trout today. One will be made into smoked trout dip (Dec. '07) and I have a plan for the other one. On my sister's instructions, I'm going to make creme fraiche and serve it with potato rostii and the smoked trout. I can't wait! Tonight, I made a big pot of ribollita soup (Jan. '08) to have on hand for lunches or light dinners. I'm feeling pretty good right about now. Let's hope that I have done enough ahead to be able to enjoy these holidays to the fullest. I hope the same for you, too. Merry Christmas!

*The picture above is Oscar (on the left) and Soul (on the right) and me in the middle, at the Christmas tree farm last weekend.

Custard Eggnog

For custard-lovers everywhere, this is one of my favourite Christmas recipes. Normally, eggnog has lots of fat in it, but this version is much lighter. Imagine how impressed your family will be when you serve them homemade eggnog!

Custard Eggnog

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
4 extra-large eggs + 2 egg whites
8 c. skim or 1% milk, hot
2 t. pure vanilla extract
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 c. dark rum (Alan swears by Mount Gay rum), optional

1. Whisk the sugar, flour and salt together in a large pot. Add eggs and egg whites; combine thoroughly. Gradually whisk in hot milk. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until the custard has thickened enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Before serving, stir in the vanilla, nutmeg and rum, if using. Pour 2 cups of custard into a blender, add 2 cups of ice cubes and blend until frothy. Repeat with remaining custard. Serve immediately.

Tourtiere

Last week when I was speaking to my friend Janette, getting the scoop on all things pumpkin, I mentioned something about tourtiere. Janette said that she has a recipe that she has used for years. It was given to her by the wife of an executive from the Heinz Company, in Leamington, an "exceptional homemaker". I jotted down the recipe on the spot. (The picture above is of Gavin & Ellen helping me in the kitchen)

A few days later, my friend Carmen called and asked if I would be willing to help her master the art of pastry-making, for her Christmas Eve tourtieres. It was the perfect opportunity for me to get organized, so I made my filling early in the day and had it ready to go when Carmen arrived. We had a great time, rolling out the dough, and putting our tourtieres together. It didn't seem like work, and we actually got a lot done.

The two meat mixtures looked completely different, a point I thought was very interesting. After looking online at various recipes for the Christmas specialty, there are lots of versions. Some contain cinnamon and cloves. Some contain more potato than others and there are different combinations of pork and beef. This recipe doesn't contain the spices, but if you can't imagine your tourtiere without them, just add them at the beginning of the cooking process.

I baked one of my tourtieres last night and let me tell you - it was delicious! There are a few other points I should mention before you get started. The meat mixture will still be soupy after it has cooked for two hours, but it will thicken up after adding the potatoes (and will get even thicker after it has chilled). Bake the tourtieres until they are nice and dark - not burnt, but deeply coloured. When I thought the pie was done, I kept it in for another 10 or 15 minutes at least.

Tourtiere

2 lbs. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 t. sea salt
1 t. freshly grocund pepper
1/2 c. Heinz Ketchup
2 T. Worstershire sauce
2 T. beef boullion concentrate (or 2 beef boullion cubes)
4 or 5 medium sized potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
2 c. green peas
Favourite pie crust to line and top 4 regular sized pie plates (see Rhubarb Custard Pie, June '08 for a great pie crust recipe)
1 egg, beaten

1. Place the ground pork and beef in a large pot, mashing it down. Add water to the pot, just to cover the meat. Add salt, pepper, ketchup, Worstershire sauce, and beef boullion. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. In a separate pot, cover the potatoes with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the heat, drain, and mash the potatoes coarsely.
3. After the meat mixture has cooked for 2 hours, skim any excess fat off the top (but don't take it all out). Add the mashed potatoes and peas. Cool completely in the fridge, or outside if it's near freezing where you live.
4. Later that day or the next, roll out four pie crusts for four pie plates. Scoop the meat mixture into the pie shells and level off flat. Cover with a top crust and flute the edges. Cut a decorative piece of holly & berries out of some extra pastry dough and place in the middle of the of the crust. Poke some slits in the top crust (to allow steam to escape), and either bake within a day or wrap well and freeze until needed.
5. To bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg. Place the pie in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Your house will smell scrumptious.
*If you are baking a frozen pie, don't thaw it before baking, and just bake a little longer.

Fresh Pumpkin Puree

I have a new obsession - making my own pumpkin puree. I had tried doing my own pumpkin puree years ago, but I had less than admirable results and it made me think that pureeing my own pumpkin wasn't worth the effort. I hadn't thought anything more about until my friend Annie mentioned that she usually thinks less of pumpkin pies made with pumpkin from a can. Her mom apparently makes the best pumpkin pies with her own pumpkin puree. Her comment made me begin to wonder what I was missing out on, dedicated pumpkin lover that I am.

For my birthday in October, I received the ultimate in food processors - a Cuisinart. It was soon after this that I began buying little sugar pie pumpkins at the Clean Food in Mount Albert. The first two that I brought home were around the same size but one seemed heavier than the other. The picture above shows the difference in colour between the two pumpkins. The heavier pumpkin ended up being moister and much nicer to puree. The lighter pumpkin seemed to dry out more and was chewier. In the end, they both pureed well, but I now look for heavier pumpkins that I know will be juicier.

To bake your own sugar pumpkins, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pumpkins in half and place seed-side up on a large baking sheet. Cover the pumpkin halves in tin foil and bake for at least an hour and a half. The pumpkin is ready to take out of the oven when a knife can easily be stuck into the flesh of the pumpkin and it goes right through. About half way through the cooking time, turn the pumpkins over so that they cook evenly. When the pumpkins have cooled enough to handle, clean the seeds out of the pumpkins and peel the skin off with a sharp paring knife. Cut the flesh into chunks and puree in the food processor until smooth. Each pumpkin makes around four cups of puree, give or take.

I called Annie's mom, Janette, to find out how she does her pumpkin puree. She said that she bakes her pumpkins whole in the oven, poking a metal skewer through the pumpkins in several places before baking. We talked about the fact there are sometimes pieces of the pumpkin that stay a little firmer than others. We agreed that turning the pumpkins during baking will minimize the firm bits. Janette freezes her pumpkin in 2 cup portions so that a pie is at her fingertips any time the occasion arises. She also mentioned that she prefers to freeze her pumpkin in chunks instead of freezing the puree. This keeps the pumpkin from getting too wet, therefore keeping the pie from being too wet. When thawing the pumpkin chunks, set the pumpkin in a colander and let the extra moisture drain from the pumpkin. After the pumpkin has thawed she throws it in her blender, along with the rest of the pie ingredients, and blends them together. Voila! A pumpkin pie in no time!

With Christmas coming up, there are lots of opportunities to use fresh pumpkin puree. I just made a pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin custard, both made with fresh puree. I haven't tried making my pumpkin pie with it (yet), but it's on my to-do list. Check your local grocery store to see if they still have sugar pumpkins. You may be in luck. The best part about my conversation with Janette was convincing her to enter her pumpkin pie in the Harrow Fair next year. What a great way to finish a long, hot summer in Essex County!

Pork & Apple Stew

Lisa & Steve own Cooper's Goat & Veggie farm (their lane is pictured above), just down the road from us. Cooper's has started a "CSA" program. Community Supported Agriculture. People purchase annual shares in the farm's harvest and in return receive a weekly or monthly food basket. In the spring/summer/fall, they do vegetables and some fruit (their September strawberries are incredible), and in the winter, they do a meat share program. We have signed up for the meat share and our first pick up was two weeks ago.

After reading and hearing lots about the state of animal farms and animal welfare, it has begun to make me think before buying just any old meat. The same thing happened with eggs. I began to care where they came from and how the chickens are treated. However, it's a lot easier to know where your eggs are coming from than to figure out where your beef or pork is coming from. The person that brought the meat share to my attention was my friend Tamara. She is working with Steve & Lisa on the marketing end of things. I have asked Tamara if it's possible to visit the farms where the meat is coming from. I think it would be great to offer people a chance to visit the farms and meet the farmers.

I like the idea of the meat share program for several reasons.

*All of the beef is naturally raised, hormone & antibiotic-free, Angus grade, from Steve's Dad's farm.
*All of the pork raised by family friends who allow the pigs to roam freely and they are raised humanely.
*The turkeys are raised in Uxbridge (about 20 minutes from here). Each family receives one turkey with their meat share.
*All the vegetables are "storage crops" grown either by the Coopers or one of their neighbours.
*The meat share comes in either 1o or 2o pound amounts. We opted for the 10lb share. For the 10lb. share, the cost is $600 for 6 months.
*The majority of meat will be beef and pork, with other meats making appearances every now and then, depending on the season (chicken, lamb, goat).

The day of our first pick up was a family event. We were given bags that had certain cuts of meat in them. That information was recorded so that next time we won't be getting the same cuts. The share that we received was as follows - T-bone steak, sirloin tip roast, sausages, ground beef (very lean), pork butt chops, pork chops, pork steak, 2 dozen eggs, potatoes, purple carrots, 3 heads of garlic (hard to find local garlic in grocery stores these days), 2 butternut squash, and onions. The meat portion made up our 10lbs, and the veggies were over and above that.

So, the freezer is full. We are feeling pretty good about participating in a CSA. But what on earth do I do with pork butt chops? This meat share is turning into a fun challenge for me. So far, we have used up the ground beef, sausages, the roast, all the eggs, and all the veggies. That leaves a number of meat items to get through before our next pick up (Dec. 22nd, when we will receive our turkey). I guess I don't have to use everything up by then, but I also don't want a major backlog happening in my freezer. Today, I decided to cook the pork butt chops. They made a lovely stew.

Pork & Apple Stew

1 1/2-2 lbs. pork butt chops, trimmed of fat (as much as possible)
2 T. grainy mustard
2 T. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced lengthwise
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 c. fresh apple cider
2 cups apples, cut into medium sized chunks

1. Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces. Rub the pieces with the grainy mustard and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the pork, working in batches if the pan doesn't fit all of the meat in one layer. Brown meat until you don't see any pink left, remove from the pan, and set aside.
2. Add onions to the pan and cook until limp. Add thyme, salt, and pepper to the onions and stir. Add cider and deglaze the pan, scraping any brown bits off the bottom. Transfer the onion mixture and the pork to a slow-cooker. Add apple chunks and stir. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes and veggies.

Lentil Soup in Newfoundland

A weekend at my friend Elaine's in Newfoundland, is the equivalent of a hot bowl of soup or a warm scarf on a blustery day. This is why I made my way to central Newfoundland at the end of November, an unusual time of year for a getaway in the North Atlantic.

Pea soup fog prevented the airplane from landing in St. John's. Instead, we landed at the Deer Lake airport, about two and a half hours by car to Elaine & Dermot's house. The threat of having to fly back to Halifax helped me make up my mind. I walked down the steps and across the tarmac, leaving my luggage in the belly of the plane. I could either rent a car and keep it for the weekend or I could try to grab a ride with someone going my way. There were two friendly looking men walking purposefully away from the rental car area and I managed to get a ride with them. The ride seemed to fly by and before I knew it, we were pulling up in front of Elaine's house.

The house, a traditional Newfoundland saltbox, looked like a Christmas card. I'm sure the "fellas" that gave me a ride were wishing their journey was ending on Elaine's doorstep. Elaine welcomed me in, the champagne was opened and we sat down for baked pita triangles with a blue cheese dip. For dinner, we had pan-fried Newfoundland cod, baked fries, a tartar sauce that contained sun-dried tomatoes, and a chopped vegetable salad.

For Friday, Elaine had arranged that her good friend and business partner, Joanne, join us for baking Christmas cookies and preparing an Indian dinner together. When Joanne arrived, we started with lunch - a baked shrimp dish with lemon butter and rosemary, a loaf of scallion potato bread, and a bottle of Prosecco. For the cookies, Elaine made Cafe Au Lait Rugelach; Joanne made Chocolate Caramel Nut Bars with Weurther's candies; and I made Lemon Thumbprints with raspberry jam and orange marmalade (see picture above). Dermot and Joanne's husband, Craig, joined us for cocktails and then we sat down to a lovely dinner. This Curried Lentil soup was the starter, enhanced with the mango chutney butter. It was delicious! Then we had a chicken curry, basmati rice, a vegetable stew with lime, and a homemade mango chutney. The Christmas cookies made a fine dessert.

Saturday was spent looking through cookbooks (Elaine's collection is impressive) and thinking of other recipes that we could make. An Irish Whiskey fudge turned out beautifully. Our dinner that night - a tender roast chicken, baked for 3 hours in a 300 degree oven, served with mashed potatoes and pencil-thin asparagus. Let me assure you, everything we ate over the course of the weekend was delicious. But it's more than just great cooking - it is the thoughtfulness and care that Elaine puts into everything that she cooks. I believe it was Oprah that said, "Love is in the details." She was right. Thank you Elaine & Dermot.

Curried Lentil Soup

3 T. butter
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 T. fresh ginger, finely grated
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
2 bay leaves
1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
4 cans lentils
8-10 c. chicken stock
2 lemons
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Salt & Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeno pepper, and bay leaves. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook 2 minutes more.
2. Add the lentils and 8 cups of chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Halve the lemons, squeeze the juice, and add both the juice and the remaining lemon rinds to the soup. Continue to simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes. If the soup seems to be too thick, thin with additional chicken stock.
3. Remove the bay leaves and lemon rinds from the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Puree half the soup in a food processor or blender, and return it to the pot, stirring to combine. Add the cilantro and keep the soup warm over low heat.

Chutney Butter

1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. mango chutney

1. In a food processor, blend the butter and chutney together until smooth. Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with a generous dollop of chutney butter. Serve immediately.