Category Archives: Recipes

Fresh Herb Aioli

Posted on by
3

You will love this!  Such a fresh hit of herb flavour, fantastic used as a burger topping, vegetable/crudite dip or just plain old potato chips.

1/2 cup mayonnaise                      

1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lemon – juice only

1/3 cup finely minced chives

The herb part is where it gets really personal …. use whatever fresh herbs you have on hand, and be generous with them. (at least 1/2 a cup in total)

basil, parsley (flat and curly leaf), oregano, rosemary, tarragon

Mile High Beef Burgers

Posted on by
2

One of the most important things to remember about making a burger is to handle the meat as little as possible!  Gentle treatment makes for a tender, juicy hamburger.  Use the best quality beef you can find, always.

2 # lean ground beef (extra lean just doesn’t have enough flavour)

3 tbsp minced basil

1/2 cup grated sweet onion

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

jalapeno jack cheese

Gently mix ingredients and form into burgers. (should make about 8 burgers)  Allow to rest in fridge or freezer for at least 30 minutes to allow the burger to set.

Grill until cooked through – if you happen to grind your own meat, and know the source, it is great to have it medium rare.  Top with jalapeno jack cheese for the last few minutes, allowing to just melt slightly.

This mile high burger had fresh herb aioli on the bottom of a thin red pepper bun, the burger, jalapeno jack cheese, grilled sweet red and yellow pepper, grilled avocado,  sauted onions & mushrooms, then topped off with fresh tangy coleslaw.

Delicious and mouth watering good!  Get the napkins out …

Tomato Vegetable Soup

Posted on by
2

Feeling like a hearty bowl of soup on a cool night?  This is perfect!  

Serve with Baking Powder Biscuits for a complete meal.

1 large onion – minced                          

3 carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 large potato, diced

1 small turnip, diced

1/2 cup green beans, sliced

1 cup green zucchini, quartered and sliced

1 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tbsp basil, chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

Any other vegetables are always optional, and always welcomed to a pot of soup!

Heat a large soup pot, then add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom.  Add diced onions and allow to cook long enough to soften and become translucent.  Add potatoes, carrots and celery.  Stir and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes and vegetable stock – season to taste with salt and pepper.

Allow to simmer until vegetables are just barely fork tender.  Stir in green beans and zucchini and cook just until they are cooked through.  Add fresh basil and any other herbs you feel like adding!

Options:  Use more vegetable stock and add barley when the potato mixture goes in or cook some pasta separately and serve the soup over the cooked pasta.  (I like to cook the pasta separately so it doesn’t get too mushy.) If you want a chicken soup, use chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock and add some chopped up chicken with the stock.

Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted on by
2

This is one of my basic “house” dressings – works on so many salads.  Want a little something extra on your grilled vegetables?  Toss them in a little bit of this before and after grilling – you won’t believe the flavour boost!

1 tsp sugar                                       

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, halved

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix all ingredients together well – give it a good shake and toss in your salad.

If you make a double or even triple batch it stores well in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Honey Mustard Chicken

Posted on by
Reply

12 chicken thighs

(honestly you could use whatever portion of chicken you like!)

Preheat oven to 375.                 

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup dijon mustard

2 tbsp grainy dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves

1 lemon – zest and juice

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

Dust chicken with lemon zest, salt and pepper – set aside.

Combine all the other ingredients and heat through just until easy to blend.

Place chicken in roasting dish, pour honey lemon mixture over, turning to coat.

(I find it easiest to do this in the baking dish – just put it in the oven while the oven is heating up for a few minutes –  long enough for the butter to melt – then the rest will blend easily)

Bake chicken until juices run clear.  If you are using small pieces, i.e, chicken thighs it will be about 45 minutes, longer for larger pieces.

Serve with a plain side, like white rice, so you can drizzle the yummy juices over.  If you have used chicken pieces with skin on you will need to strain the fat off first ….

Roasted Potato Fennel Soup

Posted on by
1

If you aren’t sure about fennel – trust me – this is a great place to start!  The soup is so hearty and just packed with flavour.  

2 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered

good olive oil                                                                

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups yellow onions, diced

2 cups chopped fennel bulb

1 cup sliced leeks

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 cup heavy cream

Garnish:  finely sliced chives and crispy bacon bits (those little purple flowers on the chives are great as part of your garnish or in a salad too!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil, garlic salt and pepper.  Spread on baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, until cooked through and just starting to get a bit crispy.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in large soup pot – saute onions, leek and fennel until translucent and tender – should be around 15 minutes.  Add roasted potatoes, including any tasty little bits stuck to your roasting sheet.  Cover with stock.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, until all vegetables are soft.

Using an immersion blender, puree until soup is smooth and velvety.

If you are using a regular blender, puree in batches.

Be very cautious to leave the lid slightly ajar or the center portion removed to allow steam to escape any time you are blending hot ingredients.

Once the soup has been blended, remove from heat – stir in heavy cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with Baking Powder Biscuits or Crispy Gouda Herb Cornmeal Muffins

Crispy Gouda Herb Cornmeal Muffins

Posted on by
Reply

2 cups cornmeal

2 cups flour

2 tbsp plus 2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 (rounded) tsp cumin

1 tbsp minced fresh basil

2 sticks unsalted butter – softened

2 large eggs

2 cups milk

3 cups shredded gouda cheese

Preheat oven to 400.  Grease or line 2 12 cup muffin tins.

Combine all dry ingredients, including basil – set aside.

In large bowl beat butter until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time.  At low speed beat in half of the milk, then half of the dry ingredients.  With rubber spatula fold in the rest of the milk and the dry ingredients – stir in cheese.  Do not over mix.

Spoon batter into baking cups – I like to add a bit more grated cheese to the top and a sprinkling of freshly ground salt and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and pulling away from the tin.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

Fantastic served with soup (try Roasted Potato Fennel Soup!) on a cool night.

Italian Pot Roast

Image

Reply

1 stick cinnamon

3 all spice berries

4 whole cloves

8 peppercorns

Combine spices in blender and process until a fine powder – set aside.

3 # outside round, or other less tender cut of beef

olive oil

salt and pepper

3 carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves

28 oz can of tomatoes

1 cup of good red wine (make sure it is one you would like to drink!)

While oil is heating in fry pan, season beef with salt and pepper – brown all sides in fry pan and place in slow cooker. (you can also use a good braising pan to do this in the oven)

In the same fry pan, saute onions until tender.  Add the rest of the vegetables and saute until just starting to carmelize.  Add the spice mixture, stir well until all the vegetables are coated and cook for a few minutes.  Add the red wine and cook until it has reduced about 1/3.  Add tomatoes, and salt to taste.

Pour sauce over meat.  In a slow cooker this will take about 8 hours, but if you are using a braising method it will take 3-4 hours (keep tasting for flavour and tenderness).  The meat should be fork tender.

The sauce is quite thick so if you are using a braising method, you may need to add a bit more cooking liquid as it cooks, eg a good beef stock.

When cooked, and your beef is falling apart tender, shred with 2 forks and stir in with the sauce.  I love to serve with hand made pasta – in which case I remove the sauce from the cooking pot and add to a sauce pan.  As soon as my pasta is cooked I turn it into the pan to allow it to be fully seasoned by the yummy flavours.  Turn into serving platter and pile your shredded beef on top.

Not only will your house smell fantastic while this is cooking you will be rewarded with a fantastic dinner.

Pasta

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

Hand making your own pasta is a labour of love …. and tastes simply divine!

It helps if  you have pint size helper around….                  

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cups 00 flour

3 eggs

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

7 tbsp COLD water

Pulse the flour in a food processor a few times, to give it a little air, and fluff it up a bit.

In a measuring bowl combine eggs, oil and water – beating lightly.

Slowly pour the wet mixture into the food processor, while the flour is being aerated.  The mixture will form a ball, attached to the blade.  If this doesn’t happen, and the dough is wet and sticky, just add bits of flour until it does.  If the dough is too dry, just add water, 1 tbsp at a time until it forms a ball and holds on to the blade.

Turn onto floured surface and knead for a minute by hand.  The dough should feel soft, smooth and just a bit stretchy.  It is important to let it rest before shaping your pasta.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.   If using within a few hours, just let it rest at room temperature.  The dough is good in the fridge for a couple of days, and can be frozen for up to a month or so – allow to defrost in the fridge then bring to room temperature.

When ready to roll, cut your dough into 6 pieces to make it easy to work with.  Keep the pieces you aren’t using either in plastic wrap or in a floured tea towel.  Working with 1 piece at a time, flour well, and roll through your pasta press at the largest setting.  Once you have worked it down a couple of settings fold in triple, and return to a large setting to run it through again.  This seems to knead the dough that little extra bit and makes it so tender.  Continue putting through your roller until you end up on about (on mine anyway) setting 3.  This works well for putting through the shaper to make spaghetti, linguine etc.  Make sure to flour well before putting through press – adding flour as necessary to make your dough easy to handle.

If you don’t have a pasta press you probably aren’t going to the trouble of hand making pasta … but if you are …. just use a rolling pin or wine bottle, whatever you have on hand and roll the dough until thin enough and cut into strips.  Really not hard!

Keep all the prepared pasta covered on a floured tea towel until ready to use.  Or if you have one of these handy drying racks you can put it to use – I used to have wooden spoons strung out all over the kitchen before I got this gadget from Hayley, Mike and Sloan.

 

Bring LOTS of water to a boil, then add 2 generous TBSP salt.  Stir in fresh pasta and cook pretty much just until it rises to the top – taste …

To serve, have your pasta sauce simmering away in a saucepan beside the pasta pot and gradually add the pasta to it – adding pasta water as necessary.  Stir the pasta through the sauce, taste and season as necessary with salt and pepper.  Finish with a grating of fresh cheese.

This is enough pasta to serve 6-8 people.

Here it is served my Italian Pot Roast …. look for that yummy recipe too!

Fettuccine Alfredo ….ish

Posted on by
Reply

I love pappardelle pasta – if you make (or buy good quality) pasta these hearty noodles are so perfect for holding on to a sauce.  Tonight’s version was a way of using up leftover chicken from my Moroccan Spice Chicken. Another favorite to serve with the alfredo is panko crusted chicken – love the crunchy texture with the creamy pasta.

500 gm pappardelle pasta

kosher salt

1/2 cup butter

2 leeks (white and tender green parts) thinly sliced

1/2 cup sliced red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup good white wine

1 tsp mustard powder (or dijon mustard)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup cheese (I like to use mostly parmesan reggiano, but you can add a bit of other cheese as well, mozzarella, ementhal, romano … etc)

chili flakes

salt and pepper

cooked chicken/prawns/ham – whatever you have left in the fridge … or leave it as is – you will still think it is the best alfredo!

Melt butter in saucepan – add leeks and onions, cooking until tender and translucent.

While onions are cooking, add your pasta to the boiling water and cook just until al dente.  Remove from heat, drain and keep warm.

To your onions, add garlic cloves, mustard, white wine, chili flakes to taste (start with 1/2 tsp and see how you like it!), and cream.  Heat through, remove from heat and stir in cheeses. If you are adding any of the cooked protein, this is the time to do it.

Toss it all together, season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with extra parmesan cheese to grate over the top.