Kitchen Fallout

Update: Ginger cookies

2011-11-28T15:37:00.002-05:00

Since I first posted my ginger cookie recipe, I've improved it significantly (it's not hard to tweak the little things when you're making these cookies for EVERY special occasion).

Here's a PDF of the latest iteration.

If you want to take things to the next level, instead of buying your candied ginger (you can find it at the Bulk Barn for those Canadians out there), you can make your own. I suggest Alton Brown's method.

Double Cheeseburger Cake

2011-08-09T15:03:00.006-04:00

Part of the reason my posts have been sparse is because I've been waiting to perfect a recipe before sharing it with you. For example, right now, I'm fine-tuning recipes for zucchini bread, peach upside-down cake, and your everyday, run-of-the-mill white bread.

But sometimes I make a one-off thing, or discover an important technique or valuable short-cut and I want to share those with you as well.

Last weekend I was invited to a BBQ and, inspired by this post over at Food Network Canada, I made a double cheeseburger cake.

The bun is your basic yellow cake (any recipe, even a package mix will do), baked in two 9-inch cake pans. The patties are two brownie mixes, baked in 8-inch pans. Yes, I used a package mix, because even America's Test Kitchen says (registration required) you can't top it. If you're going to make your brownies from scratch, I would suggest using their recipe. But then, you'd have to really love the people you're baking for because those ingredients ain't cheap.

All of the condiments are a simple buttercream icing (note: this recipe calls for salted butter) with food colouring. Since most people are only familiar with the cheapie colourings at the supermarket, you can really impress by using the higher quality gels (another Wilton product). They're really great because they're vibrant and don't throw off your icing's consistency.

In the original inspiration, the cheese was made our of coloured marshmallow. I tried this, and it was WAY too much of a headache (read: it didn't turn out). Instead, I piped out some orange icing and patted it flat with my finger dipped in some icing sugar.

Finally, I coated the top with a simple syrup (1/2 cup granulated sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup water over high heat), scattered the top with toasted slivered almonds, and brushed more syrup over to fix them down.

I served the cake by cutting slices and splitting up the top bun/patty and the bottom bun/patty. My dad joked that he wanted a top piece because it had all the veggies and he wanted to eat something healthy. :D

Teenage Mutant Ninja Burgers

2011-08-09T13:47:00.009-04:00

What I know about men's eating habits: 1) They like meat. 2) They REALLY like bacon. So when thinking of what to make for three grown men for dinner, the turtle burger was an obvious choice.

You know what a turtle burger is. Do a Google Images search and you'll see dozens of pictures. I refuse to show you any pictures but my own since I can't track the original photos back to their owners. (Side note: This is what happened to my Darwin Day cake. It got picked up by a couple of blogs, and suddenly the photo was being hosted everywhere without proper credit. Now I put my URL in the corner of my pics (which still can be removed...*sigh*) /rant)

Anyway, there really weren't any good and thorough instructions on how to make these lovely animal abominations, so I did my own thing, taking pictures along the way, and now you can benefit from the following step-by-step instructions.

Turtle Burgers

Step 1. Prep the burgers. I suppose you could use store-bought, but it really isn't the same. They're too thin and way too greasy. For a real burger how-to, see Kenji Lopez-Alt's Burger Lab post, "The World's Best Burger for a Single Man (or Woman)". Myself, I didn't want to go that in-depth, so I settled with some lean ground beef from the supermarket. I piled the beef into 1/2 lb mountains (you could go smaller . . . I guess), liberally salted and peppered them, then tossed the beef to mix before gently shaping it into patties. (No squishy-squishy -- we're not making meatloaf here.) Next time I'll be playing with the onion and garlic powder. As great as all-meat flavour is, there's something to be said for kicking it up a notch with a spice weasel or two.

Step 2. Weave the bacon. This is a case where, the thinner the bacon, the easier your job is. I just went with the generic, but feel free to get fancy and expensive if you like. You'll need 8 slices, 4 each way. Just lay 4 down, peel back 2 of them, lay down a cross strip, then replace the 2 strips and alternate with the other 2. You don't need a degree in underwater basket weaving to get this right (though it couldn't hurt).

Step 3. Wrap up the burger. I was so caught up in the assembly (it's slightly time consuming but tons of fun), that I completely forgot the cheese, but now is the time to lay down some cheddar if it strikes your fancy. Place the burger on top of the bacon weave and wrap it up like the little bundle of joy that it is. Don't worry about weaving the ends together, this is the bottom so it won't move anyway.

Step 4. Add the appendages. For each burger, you'll need 3 hot dogs. Cut them all in half. For the feet, cut three little snips in the end for the toes, and for the tail, slice off the sides to make it pointy. Jam the hot dogs into gaps in the bacon about half way and secure them with toothpicks. If you can't find an opening, make one with a knife - the bacon is very forgiving that way. I took out some added insurance by making little foil coverings for the hot dogs. I noticed, in the pictures I saw online, that they seemed overdone to the point of burnt, and that's not good eats.

Step 5: Cook the suckers. Set the oven to 475F and place the turtles on a broiler pan or other similar baking implement. Insert a probe thermometer into one of the turtles and set the upper limit to 155F. Don't have a probe thermometer? Then you'll have to resort to some mystical, magical way of determining beef doneness. This may include cutting into one of the poor turtles and ruining its wonderful appearance. I would just get a thermometer, though -- it takes the guess-work out of cooking. Once the alarm goes off (should take around 30 minutes, give or take), check on your burgers and, if necessary, turn on the broiler for a few minutes to finish off the tops.

Step 6: Serve to a grateful table. Remove the booties and toothpicks before serving and, if you feel so inclined, give him (yes, its a boy) some mustard eyes so you get the feeling that your food is looking at you right before you bite its head off.

Clips show

2011-03-03T21:24:00.009-05:00

Taking a page from some other blogs and TV shows I follow, I'm going to do a "clips show" today of all of the cakes I've decorated over the past couple of years. You can think of it as filler, if you like, but making something look pretty is just as important as making it taste amazing.

I got my skills from my mother . . . but that's a (much longer) post for another day. I usually use a generic buttercream icing to decorate cakes. If you're going to spend time icing the cake, you don't want to spend more time making the icing. I, like my mother before me, use Wilton's buttercream icing. Keep in mind that, when it says butter, it means salted butter. I tried it with unsalted and it was missing an entire layer of sweetness, IMHO. Besides, if it says you could also use margarine (please don't), then it's assuming a salt content already. I tint the icing with Wilton food colourings because they're paste-based and don't throw off the consistency of your icing (would love to track down some powder colourings, but no luck so far). And there really is no substitute for having the right tools. I have a cake-decorating lazy-Susan, all of the Wilton tips, an offset spatula, and bags of many sizes. Practice really does make perfect, so get at it! Anything you do will be better than that store bought crap, so people will love it no matter what!

Without further rambling, please enjoy a trip down cake decorating lane:

A weighted companion cube cake for Gabriel's 24th birthday

Paying homage to His noodly appendages. All hail FSM.

A snowman for little Erin's winter-themed birthday.

For Laura and Ryan's Halloween wedding (they married Oct. 31st, it was NOT a themed wedding)

Celebrating my 25th blood donation.

Hectic holidays

2010-12-28T13:01:00.005-05:00

The part I hate about hosting meals is that, while everyone else is socializing and picking over the hor d'oeuvres, I'm always stuck in the kitchen, slaving over everything, playing a game of trying to get it all ready at the same time so that I'm not serving anything cold. I know I'm not alone because the same thing happens to my mom on Thanksgiving. There also seems to be the problem that you never have enough oven space or burners (on my mom's part, this was partially rectified this Christmas when she received an electric pressure cooker (how cool is that?)). As a result, my goal when cooking in these situations, is to make as many parts of the meal in advance. This way, there's less stress and I can enjoy the company of others.

I believe I've nearly perfected my methods, as yesterday I served dinner to NINE people and only had to disappear into the kitchen for a half-hour before serving the meal (that's right, I actually got to enjoy some of my own salmon spread this time). I would like to share with you the little tips and tricks I employed for cutting down on kitchen time in the hopes that you'll be able to use them yourselves in the future and spend more of your holidays with your loved ones than slaving over a hot stove. Enjoy!

The turkey

I brine my turkeys. This not only helps keep the bird moist, but it alters the proteins in the meat, allowing it to cook faster. I've never had a bird in the oven for more than three hours, and I've cooked some pretty big birds.
I use a digital, leave-in thermometer. I know it's tradition to serve dry, tough meat, but it doesn't have to be this way. By using a thermometer, you remove the guess work of knowing when you're meat is done. White meat should be at 165F and dark meat should be at 170F. Most turkeys I've had (that I haven't cooked) would probably read around 178F and 185F, respectively, by the time they're pulled from the oven. This is because they're probably in there for a full hour longer than they need to be.
If the turkey happens to be done early, I put the lid on my roasting pan (the turkey is cooked exposed, with a "turkey triangle" (a folded triangle of aluminum foil) placed over the breast meat for added protection), and turn the oven down to 150F.

The gravy

You know that grab-bag of goodies you pull out of your turkey's butt before you cook it? That's not just a cracker-jack prize - it's an opportunity to make your gravy BEFORE your turkey's done.
Use the gibblets and neck to make an easy gravy and store it in a 1L thermos. It'll stay warm allllllll day, just pour and serve.
After everyone's gone home at the end of the day, you can salvage what's left in the bottom of the roasting pan and freeze it for an easy gravy NEXT time.

The potatoes

Mashed potatoes are not just cooked potatoes that have been beaten to a pulp and thrown into a bowl.
Add a quarter to a half cup of sour cream (depending on amount) to your potatoes during the mashing part (don't forget some melted butter and seasonings!) and they won't set up like bricks when they cool.
Make them ahead of time, transfer them to a casserole dish and let them cool.
To reheat, nuke them in a microwave for about 5-6 minutes, then finish them in the oven while your turkey is resting (30 minutes!) to lightly brown the top.

Remember: Your turkey should rest, tented or covered, for 20-30 minutes before you cut into it. This allows the juices to redistribute in the meat and prevents it from all coming out on the serving platter. During this time, you can be finishing the vegetables and any other last minute meal parts.

Finally, carving the turkey with an electric knife will make the entire ordeal much faster and less messy. Consider buying one if you don't already have one.

Happy holidays!

Chocolate Snowcaps

2010-12-18T12:21:00.004-05:00

Last night I went to my curling club's Christmas potluck and I brought my famous Salsa Tortilla Bake and Chocolate Snowcap cookies. As I had hoped, they were a huge success and everyone was asking me for the recipes. "No problem," I said, "They're on my blog," thinking I could just direct them to Kitchen Fallout and they could peruse my recipes at their leisure.
But wait a minute! I've never shared my Chocolate Snowcap cookies with you! Bad me! They're a seasonal tradition for me, having first discovered the recipe when I was in elementary school in my very first cook book ever (knowing my mom, she still has it somewhere). I've been tweeking the recipe ever since (different amount of dough per cookie, more or less flour, etc) and I think it's just about near perfect, though my husband thinks it needs more peanut butter.

You be the judge.

Download PDF

Just in time for Halloween

2010-10-07T20:05:00.009-04:00

I owed a lot of people thanks at work for all the help they've been giving me, so I decided to make some cookies. What with it being fall and all, I went with a sugar cookie in the shape of the seasonal favourite: candy corn. It's a super easy way to make sugar cookies, no rolling required, and they look extremely impressive. Also, a normal sized recipe makes dozens of cookies. I made 10 bags with 8 cookies in each.

This post isn't about the sugar cookie recipe. You can use your own, personal favourite, or just use a package mix (like Betty Crocker) if you're pressed for time. I personally prefer Alton Brown's recipe from the Cookie Clause episode (side note: the peppermint pinwheel variation is amazing!).

Step 1: Start with one batch of sugar cookie dough.

Step 2: Divide the dough equally into thirds. I did this using my kitchen scale, but you can eyeball it as it doesn't matter if one section is slightly bigger than the others.

Step 3: Put one third to the side, and colour the other two thirds yellow and orange using food colouring (I prefer the Wilton brand paste colours, personally).

Step 4: Line a loaf pan with wax paper and press the uncoloured portion into the pan.

Step 5: Repeat with the orange and then yellow sections.

Step 6: Cool the dough in the refrigerator for atleast 1 hour.

Step 7: Remove the dough from the pan and slice the dough into 1/4 inch slices. This was made easy by using my Oxo Good Grips Bench Scraper which was sharp enough to cut the dough, and had 1/4 inch markings on the tip.

Step 8: Cut each slice into triangles.

Step 9: Bake in batches in a 375 deg F oven for 8-10 minutes, until the edges just start to brown.

Step 10: Cool on the sheet for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Original Source: Betty Crocker - Candy Corn Cookies

An unconventional way to roast a chicken

2010-08-24T11:31:00.002-04:00

The very first time I tried to roast a chicken, I ended up serving my pour, unsuspecting in-laws some grossly underdone meat. This is why I always say that family make the best guinea pigs - because they still have to love you, even if you serve them something terrible. :D Part of what I didn't understand was that a "roaster" chicken (2 kg and up) is not ideal for quick cooking methods the way that "broiler/fryer"s are (~1.5 kg). I had been attempting to spatchcock the chicken (an old fashioned term that means to flatten the chicken by removing the spine and breast bone) in order to reduce the cooking time. I eventually did get it right (after moving to the smaller bird size) but the skin wasn't quite right. Depending on the oven, you'll get overdone spots, even if you finish the chicken under the broiler.

Last weekend, I serendipitously watched a rerun of Chef at Home where he cooked the chicken in a cast-iron skillet, using regular mortar bricks to press it evenly into the pan and ensure maximum contact. I had originally passed this off since, at the time, I didn't own a cast-iron skillet large enough. I now, however, am the proud owner of a beautiful 12" Lodge Cookware skillet (bought for a song while down in Las Vegas) and this cooking method was open to me. To solidify the idea that I should try this out, America's Test Kitchen showed an episode, around the same time, where they used bricks in the same method to get beautiful skin on the BBQ (so even if you don't have the 12" skillet, this technique is still an option for you).

The resulting chicken had gorgeous skin. It was perfectly done and I didn't have to fiddle with anything. To add to the "pros" of this cooking method, the whole chicken was done in about a half an hour and came with an almost-ready-made gravy/sauce. What's not to love?

Pollo al Mattoni (aka Brick Chicken)
(Download PDF)

Ingredient List
whole chicken (~ 1.5 kg)
olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
onion (1 medium) (for pan sauce)
white wine (½ cup) (for pan sauce)
heavy (35%) cream (½ cup) (for pan sauce)
white vinegar (for pan sauce)

Hardware List
kitchen shears
10” cast-iron skillet
bricks (2)
aluminum foil
probe thermometer (if available)

Directions
Wrap 2 regular-sized bricks with aluminum foil and set aside.

Flatten one 1.5 kg whole chicken by removing the spine using a sharp pair of kitchen shears. Open the bird like a book and remove the keel (aka breast) bone by cutting down the sides of the cartilage and removing it with fingers.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a 10” cast-iron skillet over high heat. While the skillet and oil are heating, coat the bird on all sides with more olive oil and liberally salt and pepper.

Once the oil just begins to smoke, place the chicken, skin side down, in the skillet and top with the two foil-wrapped bricks. Immediately reduce the heat to low. The goal is to maintain the sizzling sound without producing any smoke.

Slowly brown the chicken for approximately 20 minutes, careful not to burn the skin.

Preheat the oven to 450F. If making a pan sauce, finely dice 1 medium onion at this time.

When the chicken is golden brown, remove the bricks and flip the chicken. Insert the probe thermometer into the center of the breast meat, if available, and transfer the skillet to the preheated oven.

Cook until the thermometer measures 160F. Remove the skillet from the oven. Transfer the chicken to a platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil to rest for at least 5 minutes.

To make a pan sauce:

Remove any excess oil from the skillet. Brown the diced onions over medium-high heat, being sure to scrape up any fond from the bottom of the pan.

Add ½ cup white wine and any juices from the resting chicken, then increase the heat to high.

Reduce the liquid by approximately a half before adding ½ cup heavy cream. Reduce again until thickened.

Finish with ½ tsp white vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the chicken in quarters (breast & wing, leg & thigh), topped with pan sauce.

Nutrition (per ¼ chicken, breast with skin, no sauce)
Calories 300
Total fat 11 g
Saturated fat 4 g
Cholesterol 200 mg
Sodium 490 mg
Carbohydrate 3 g
Dietary fibre 3 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 47 g
Vitamin A 4 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 1 %DV
Iron 8 %DV

Nutrition (per ¼ chicken, leg with skin, no sauce)
Calories 314
Total fat 19 g
Saturated fat 6 g
Cholesterol 233 mg
Sodium 432 mg
Carbohydrate 1 g
Dietary fibre 2 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 35 g
Vitamin A 3 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 3 %DV
Iron 11 %DV

Nutrition (per 2 tbsp sauce)
Calories 51
Total fat 4 g
Saturated fat 2 g
Cholesterol 14 mg
Sodium 199 mg
Carbohydrate 1 g
Dietary fibre 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 0 g
Vitamin A 3 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 1 %DV
Iron 0 %DV

Original Source: Chef at Home - Brick Chicken with Sherry Pan Gravy

How to boil water

2010-08-16T11:43:00.004-04:00

I know I've said it a time or two, that someone is so bad at cooking they can't even boil water. A quick Google search for "boiling water" turns up tons of eHow-type pages on how to do it. But there really is more to it than just putting a pot of water over heat and waiting until you see bubbles (or there CAN be more to it, anyway).

Here's a post on, "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know (Plus More!) About Boiling Water" by the Serious Eats Food Lab.

Don't laugh, there's some interesting stuff there.

How to get crispy skin on chicken/turkey

2010-08-08T21:03:00.003-04:00

Step away from the bird, put the turkey baster down, and no one has to get hurt.

Ever since I started applying my critical thinking skills to my kitchen forays, I have been perplexed beyond words why anyone would think that, to achieve crisp chicken/turkey skin, you should baste the bird by pouring over all those juices from the bottom of the pan. I'm pretty certain that every single one of my relatives is guilty of doing this (excepting my vegetarian uncle, of course). When asked why they think that this achieves crispier skin, I've received answers ranging from the elusive ("It just does.") to the stupid ("That's fat at the bottom of the pan and coating the turkey in grease will crisp it up." FYI, anyone who bothers to separate that liquid afterward for gravy knows that it's approximately 80% water, 20% fat.).

Bottom line: You're pouring water all over your delicious turkey, thereby preventing the very thing you're trying to achieve.

In order to reach the browning stage, the temperature of the skin must climb well above that of boiling water. To do that, you need to remove as much of the water as possible from the skin, otherwise all of the heat (read: energy) will go toward converting water from its liquid to its gaseous state, and none of it will do into raising the temperature of the proteins, etc. in the skin.

So what's the solution? Well, people have known for a while that air-drying any meat in the refrigerator for atleast 12 hours will help remove surface liquid. They also have known that rubbing the skin liberally with salt will encourage the release of liquid in the skin, allowing for it to evaporate earlier in the cooking process. What's been recently brought to light is the addition of a "magical" baking ingredient that, when used with the salt on the skin, leads to an even crispier end-product. What's that ingredient?

Baking powder!

How does it work, you ask? Here's the science,

Baking powder consists of both an acid (monocalcium phosphate) and an alkali (aka base) (sodium bicarbonate). As the salt encourages the release of moisture, it is absorbed by the solid baking powder, allowing the acid and alkali to react. The released calcium ions are now free to enter the skin cells, activating enzymes responsible for the break-down of proteins. Combined with the remaining alkali, these broken-down proteins now have a lower "activation energy" required to undergo the Maillard reaction and start browning (i.e. it now takes less heat to brown the skin).

So, in conclusion, when baking powder is combined with salt and rubbed onto the skin of the turkey/chicken, it will produce a crispier, browner skin. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Recipes that use this technique:

Really Good Oven-Fried Buffalo Wings (Serious Eats)
Crisp Roast Chicken (America's Test Kitchen, registration required)

Crispy Rice Goodness!

2010-08-03T15:36:00.006-04:00

I think, that with all this try-to-improve-my-kitchen-skills thing, I've forgotten that, sometimes, the simplest things are the best. Case in point: Last Monday I participated in my work's golf tournament (no, I don't golf, but I'm still surprisingly good at it) and brought along Rice Krispies Treats. They were the only quick-and-easy thing I could think of that would stand up to the heat. The result: my team said I was awesome, the team behind us begged to have some, and I received one profession of undying love and devotion (seriously). All because I spent 15 (maybe 25, max) minutes in the kitchen the night before.

Now it's not as simple as making Rice Krispies Treats from the recipe on the box, because the recipe on the box IS NOT the recipe my generation grew up with. Enter my mother. She doesn't throw away anything and, consequently, has a typewriter-typed recipe with the original recipe as well as some pretty clever variations on it. On a related note, my mom makes these things for every family get-together and they're always the first thing to go.

Crispy Rice Treats
(download PDF)

Ingredient List
salted butter (¼ cup)
marshmallows (300 g, ~ 40 large or 4 cups small)
puffed rice cereal (5 cups)
vanilla extract

Directions
Coat the inside of a 9”x9” baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, then line it with parchment paper and coat the parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt ¼ cup salted butter over medium-low heat. Add 300 g marshmallows. Stir the marshmallows as they melt, making sure that the bottom doesn’t burn.

Once the marshmallows are completed melted, stir in ½ tsp vanilla extract thoroughly.

Add 5 cups puffed rice cereal, one cup at a time, until evenly mixed with the melted marshmallow.

Pour the mixture firmly into the prepared pan using slightly wetted finger tips.

Let the pan cool to room temperature before cutting into squares using a pizza cutter.

Makes 12 squares.

Notes
Doubling the recipe makes enough to fit into a 9”x13” baking pan.

Variations:

Press a thin layer of mixture into lubricated muffin cups to form shells. Fill with ice cream and top with chocolate syrup.
Before cutting, pour over melted chocolate (and/or butterscotch).
Dip ends of squares in melted semi-sweet chocolate, then in chopped nuts. Place on waxed paper to harden.
Substitute up to half of the puffed rice cereal for another fruity or chocolaty cereal.
Mix in some M&M’s, Reece’s Pieces, crushed candy canes, etc., fruit, or nuts.
Stir in ½ cup peanut butter to the melted marshmallow to make peanut butter treats.

Nutrition (per square)
Calories 160
Total fat 4 g
Saturated fat 3 g
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 153 mg
Carbohydrate 30 g
Dietary fibre 0 g
Sugars 13 g
Protein 1 g
Vitamin A 7 %DV
Vitamin C 5 %DV
Calcium 0 %DV
Iron 23 %DV

Strawberries + lN2 = SCIENCE!

2010-07-02T21:59:00.004-04:00

I don't think I've yet blogged about our amazing neighbours next door. When we moved in, they came over with a plate of cookies. Later we learned that they also loved board games. We borrow each others' stuff (ladders, rakes, etc) and occasionally have dinner together. They are awesome neighbours. The wife invited me to go strawberry picking. I LOVE fruit picking. I think it's mostly about the bargin I get (usually half the price of stores, PLUS I don't have to settle for a few crappy fruits at the bottom of the container), but I also enjoy getting outside and doing something different.ANYWAY, so I may have gone a *little* overboard and picked a few too many quartz of strawberries. I made strawberry rhubarb crisp (still tuning the recipe) and strawberry jam (don't skimp and buy No Name brand pectin, it's worth the extra few cents for brand name) and then I sort of ran out of time. Solution? Freeze the rest.The most common way to do this is to first hull the strawberries. I also removed the centers of the very large strawberries. To do this, I use a jagged-edged iciing tip: Push in, twist, pull out. Simple. Next, you would arrange them in a single layer on a heavy-duty baking sheet and place it in the freezer. The goal is to freeze them as quickly as possible. This way, you'll get smaller ice crystals. Large ice crystals are bad because they will tear apart the cell wall of your strawberries so that, when you thaw them, you get strawberry soup.

The best way to freeze strawberries is to drop them, individually, into some liquid Nitrogen (lN2). lN2 has a temperature of -162 degrees Celcius. (Recall that there is nothing hazardous about lN2 (except for its temperature) as N2 accounts for 78% of the air we breathe.) This is how the big companies that sell frozen vegetables and fruit at the supermarket do it.

And it's also how you would do it if your husband were a physicist who works with the stuff on a daily basis to cool his scary-powerful lasers. *big grin*
Freezing the strawberries was a lot of fun and I look forward to the next fruit-freezing opportunity (unfortunately, raspberries are a little small and time-consuming to pick any appreciable amount). I did learn one lesson though: Don't dare your husband to eat a recently frozen strawberry. He'll do it, and then you'll have a whole tongue-frozen-to-flag-pole ordeal ahead of you. :P

Good Eats is Good Television

2010-06-24T12:32:00.003-04:00

Short post as I'm at work (obviously not working, but at work, semantics, really) and don't have any of my photos or recipes to use. I thought I'd share a link to a YouTube Channel that is actually carrying the most recent Good Eats episodes.

For those not familiar with Good Eats, the host, Alton Brown, once described it as a Mr.-Wizard-and-Monty-Python-meet-Julia-Child type of show. I find that it really delivers on the science and anthropology side of cooking. For me, it's not enough to know that doing something in such a way works, I want to know WHY it works. I also enjoy being able to drop little bits of information into casual dinner conversation (For example, did you know that the carrot was originally black (then yellow, red, etc.), but that the Dutch engineered it to be orange in honour of William I of Orange?).

I've learned a lot from this show and always look forward to new episodes. Unfortunately, they don't air in Canada (at least not in a timely fashion) and so I have to go without. No longer! Some thoughtful Youtuber, Adam Jon Peterson, has posted the last handful of episodes (in High-Def, no less) for our viewing pleasure.

My favourite episode of the new season is probably the one on Eggs Benedict (Little Big Lunch), where Alton shows how to prepare the parts of the dish separately for easy assembly later. Really bad for you but really, really . . .

*begin show intro*

Frozen Steel-Cut Oats

2010-06-09T10:00:00.005-04:00

What won't they think of next?

I suppose, once you know about it, it doesn't seem like that ingenious an idea, but I certainly didn't think about it before, so props to the first guy who did.

I've blogged about Overnight Steel-Cut Oats before, but the recipe was lacking the "day of" recipe (which can, admittedly, take up to 45 minutes, but that's what you get when you don't plan ahead). So it will have to be revisited and revised. Most likely in the future, when I'm not preparing to submit a Research Ethics proposal at work and dealing with the (lack of a) new kitchen at home.

I know I will be making many large batches of the stuff and freezing them in 1 cup portions . . . once I get my kitchen back.

Speaking of, the plumber/gas fitter is apparently in the house as we speak. That means that my kitchen is OFFICIALLY FINISHED!!! Now I have the difficult task of organizing where everything is going to go (I only have one set of double length drawers which really makes storage a bugger). After that, I have until Saturday/Sunday to get the rest of the house spotless AND bake a pineapple upside down cake in preparation for my father coming to visit for an early Father's Day celebration (I've entered us in a canoe race!). Fun times.

I will definitely be writing a post about my kitchen organization scheme once I'm done since a Google search for "kitchen cabinet organization" turned up next to nothing useful. And pictures. Lots of lovely pictures!

Salsa Tortilla Bake

2010-06-04T10:53:00.004-04:00

It's been an entire month, and I was so hoping my kitchen would be done by now, but apparently there are a lot of players involved and getting them all in the right place and the right time takes some coordinating. For example, the countertop has to be ordered from a separate company. They can't take measurements until the cabinets are in. Once they take their measurements, it will take 1-2 weeks to order the material and cut it to size. Only once the counter top (and sink) have been installed, can the gas fitter/plumber come in to do his job.
That's where I am right now. Waiting for the countertop people to show up, and then the plumber can't make it until next Wednesday. Pft.

Anyway, I apologize for my absence. Just because I can't cook doesn't mean I can't share kitchen stories with you. In an attempt to make it up to you, I offer you this image, taken on Day 2 of the renovations.

Scary, no?

I will also share with you a very precious recipe that I admit to holding back from you for some time now. Infact, I first tried the recipe in highschool (that's almost a decade ago, for those keeping track) and have tweaked it so much that it doesn't even resemble the original anymore but it tastes delicious.

Enjoy!

Salsa Tortilla Bake
(download PDF)

Ingredient List
cheddar cheese (200 g)
frozen chopped spinach (300 g/1 pkg)
lean ground beef (675 g/1.5 lb)
taco seasoning (2 tbsp/1 pkg)
mayonnaise (½ cup)
AP flour (½ cup)
whole/3.25% milk (3 cups)
salsa (½ cup)
large flour tortillas (10-12)

Directions
Shred 200 g cheddar cheese (makes approximately 2 cups after shredding). Thaw and drain 300 g frozen chopped spinach. Set both aside.

Brown 675 g lean ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the ground beef and add 2 tbsp taco seasoning (or to taste) and ¼ cup water. Stir until the seasoning is evenly distributed, and simmer on high until all of the water has evaporated. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, whisk together ½ cup mayonnaise and ½ cup AP flour. Gradually add 3 cups whole milk and whisk continuously until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. Stir in half of the shredded cheese until melted.

Reserve 1 cup of the sauce in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a film from forming on the surface.

To the remaining sauce, add the ground beef, ½ cup salsa, and the spinach. Stir mixture until uniformly combined.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Spoon ¼ - ⅓ cup of the mixture into the center of a large flour tortilla and roll up. Repeat until no more filling remains. Arrange the tortillas side by side on a baking sheet so that they are tightly together and there are no gaps in between. Top them evenly with the reserved sauce and sprinkle over the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the cheese begins to brown.

Makes 10-12 wraps.

Notes
“Tex mex” pre-shredded cheese can be substituted for the cheddar cheese. Cubed, boneless or ground chicken breasts can be substituted for the ground beef. Use taco seasoning and salsa to personal taste preferences. Additional Tabasco sauce can be added for more heat.

Nutrition (per wrap)
Calories 321
Total fat 15 g
Saturated fat 7 g
Cholesterol 76 mg
Sodium 311 mg
Carbohydrate 21 g
Dietary fibre 2 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 25 g
Vitamin A 6 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 22 %DV
Iron 15 %DV

Original source: Kraft Canada - Our Perfect Zesty Chicken Tortilla Bake

Sometimes everything I know gets turned upside down

2010-05-22T17:46:00.003-04:00

I like to learn about cooking and baking from a scientific point of view. For instance, learning about the difference between baking soda (alkaline) and baking powder (neutral) and when to use each (to balance the acidity of the other ingredients), really improved my baking abilities. But there are just some things that we are hand-fed in the cooking world that we take as gospel truth, without any questioning. One of those strongly held beliefs of mine was recently turned on its head.

Were I to ask you to to cook me up some pasta, those in the know would find their biggest pot and bring their water to a boil. Well, apparently, you don't need to do either - use a large volume of water OR have the water at 100 degrees Celcius.

I know, I know, I'm as shocked as you are. But think about all the energy you'll save from only heating a small amount of water for a shorter amount of time. I promise to test this out as soon as my new kitchen is finished (only two more weeks!). In the mean time, go have a read for yourself here:

The Food Lab: A New Way to Cook Pasta? (Serious Eats)

Beefy, stewy goodness

2010-04-18T15:38:00.005-04:00

I've been developing this beef stew recipe for nearly 8 months and I've finally got it to where I would like it to be, as far as the cooking technique and the right ratio of ingredients. I'm still kicking myself because, the first time I made this, I didn't write down what I was doing! Let this be a cautionary tale for you: When playing about in the kitchen, keep a notebook! Michael Smith does it, now I do, and so should you!

Anyway, enjoy this stew. It's really simple to make, tastes great, and I love any recipe that allows me to do all the work before company arrives so that I can start things off with a clean, clutter-free kitchen.

Beef Stew
(download PDF here)

Ingredient List
stewing beef (~ 500 g)
onions (2 medium)
garlic (5 cloves)
tomato paste (156 mL/5.5 fl oz can)
beef broth (2-3 cups)
red wine or beer (1-2 cups)
potatoes, white or Yukon Gold (3 medium)
carrots (4 medium)
vegetable oil (2 tbsp)
bay leaves (3)
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

Directions
Cube 500 g stewing beef into large, bite-size pieces. Allow beef to come to room temperature while preparing remaining ingredients.

Finely dice 2 medium onions and mince 5 garlic cloves. Set aside.

Pat beef dry with paper towel and liberally season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil over medium high heat, in a dutch oven or other oven-proof vessel with lid. Brown one batch of beef in a single layer in the oil for approximately 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove browned beef to a plate. Add more vegetable oil to the dutch oven and repeat with the remaining batches of beef.

Add diced onions to the empty dutch oven and cook them until they soften, approximately 3-5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add 1 can tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Return the beef and its juices to the dutch oven and pour over enough liquid to completely submerge the beef. Aim for an approximate ratio of 2 cups beef broth for every 1 cup red wine or beer.

Peel 1 medium potato and shred it with a box grater. Add the shredded potato to the stew, along with 3 bay leaves, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. Bring the stew to a boil, then cover the dutch oven with the lid and bake in oven for one hour.

Peel and cube 2 medium potatoes and add to stew. Return stew to oven for another hour.

Peel and cut 4 medium carrots into coins and add to stew. Return stew to oven for another 30 minutes-1 hour. The stew is ready when the beef is fall-apart tender and the vegetables are cooked through.

Optional: Just before serving, add 2 cups frozen green peas and/or 1 package chopped spinach, thawed and drained, or serve stew over a bed of fresh baby spinach.

Makes 6 one cup servings.

Notes
A chuck roast (from the shoulder) or some other tough cut is best for stewing. When buying generic “stewing beef”, choose a package with good marbling and lots of connective tissue.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 438
Total fat 11 g
Saturated fat 3 g
Cholesterol 74 mg
Sodium 750 mg
Carbohydrate 46 g
Dietary fibre 9 g
Sugars 18 g
Protein 35 g
Vitamin A 167%DV
Vitamin C 82 %DV
Calcium 9 %DV
Iron 39 %DV

Best Peanut Butter Cookies . . . Ever!

2010-04-18T12:53:00.004-04:00

My mom's favourite cookie of all time is the peanut butter cookie. Every birthday, Mother's Day, anyday, I like to make her a batch because I know she likes them so much. I used to make the cookies from the recipe on the back on the Kraft Peanut Butter jars, but this February (her birthday), she commented (as did Gabriel) that she preferred chewier peanut butter cookies over the crispy ones that this recipe yields. Instead of going back to the books, looking for a different recipe and figuring out which is best through trial and error, this time I applied my newly acquired cookie-science-know-how and came up with my OWN recipe. It was fantastic. The cookies are sweet, peanut-buttery, and oh so moist and chewy. Gabriel says that the only way I could improve it is to find a way to pack in even more peanut butter taste. In the mean time, this recipe rocks. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies
(Download PDF here)

Ingredient List
bread flour (1¼ cup)
butter (½ cup)
brown sugar (¾ cup)
granulated sugar (¼ cup)
peanut butter (smooth or crunchy) (½ cup)
egg (1 large)
vanilla extract
baking powder
baking soda
table salt

Directions
Combine in a small bowl: 1¼ cup bread flour, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp table salt.

Heat ½ cup butter until just melted.

In a medium bowl, beat together: melted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar. Beat in ½ cup peanut butter, followed by 1 large egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Gradually add the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and uniform in texture and colour.

Form dough into balls and place on baking sheets. Gently flatten dough balls, partially with hands, then with fork tines, making the criss-cross markings on the top.

Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bake for 9-11 minutes until bottom edges of cookies begin to brown and the middle of the cookies appear set. Let the cookies rest on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 18 cookies with a 35-disher.

Notes
If bread flour is not available, AP flour can be substituted but cookies will not be as chewy in texture. In this case, beating the mixture for an extra minute after incorporating the flour will help produce more gluten, making the cookies slightly chewier.

Nutrition (per cookie)
Calories 157
Total fat 9 g
Saturated fat 4 g
Cholesterol 24 mg
Sodium 141 mg
Carbohydrate 17 g
Dietary fibre 1 g
Sugars 9 g
Protein 3 g
Vitamin A 3 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 2 %DV
Iron 3 %DV

As smooth as velvet

2010-04-16T15:20:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posts, but I have good news! Gabriel and I are having our kitchen redone in May. And when I say "redone", I mean completely torn out and built from scratch. The walls, the floors, cabinets. It's so exciting. We're even switching from an electric to a gas stove. That will make cooking SO much easier (yay for a uniform heat source!). Pictures will be forthcoming.

So today I do not have a recipe for you, but a question: Where can I get good liquid food colouring?

For the Easter weekend, I baked a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. It was delish and there were no leftovers. But before I go transcribing the recipe, I need to figure out a better way to make the cake red. As you can see from the picture, it's more pink than red, and I think it has to do with the fact that the recipe calls for liquid food colouring, and the only kind we have in Canada is the cheapy Clubhouse brand. I may investigate a way to use my better-quality Wilton colouring pastes and just add some liquid to compensate. Eitherway, I promise to perfect this recipe and get it out to you because, even if it is pink, it's one damn good cake!

And in the mornin', I'm makin' waffles!

2010-03-21T12:47:00.002-04:00

There was a time when buttermilk (and whipping cream), would only be found in my refrigerator during special occasions (holidays and the like). Now, I try to keep it on hand at all times because it's so versataile (recall the easy buttermilk biscuits). Case and point: This morning, it took no effort to make a yummy breakfast of buttermilk waffles (served with light maple syrup, of course).

Enjoy!

Waffles, Buttermilk

Ingredient List
AP flour (1-2 cups)
whole wheat flour (1 cup) (optional)
baking soda
baking powder
table salt
granulated sugar (3 tbsp)
eggs (3 large)
unsalted butter (¼ cup)
buttermilk (2 cups)

Directions
Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Melt ¼ cup unsalted butter.

Whisk together in a medium bowl: 1 cup AP flour (2 cups, if not using whole wheat flour), 1 cup whole wheat flour (optional), ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp sugar.

In a small bowl, beat 3 large eggs. Whisk in the unsalted butter, then 2 cups buttermilk.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently stir to combine until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.

Ladle the recommended amount of batter onto the waffle iron, pushing it out to the edges. Close the top of the iron and cook until the steam coming out of the sides of the iron reduces substantially, and the waffle is golden brown and can be easily removed from the iron.

Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200°F oven.

Makes 6 6” round waffles.

Notes
To make chocolate waffles, reduce the flour to 1 ½ cups and add ½ cup dutch-process cocoa powder. Add ¾ cup chocolate chips and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

For the PC waffle maker, turn the heat setting to 5 and use an over-flowing ½ cup of batter.

Nutrition (per waffle (1/6th recipe))
Calories 313
Total fat 11 g
Saturated fat 6 g
Cholesterol 129 mg
Sodium 668 mg
Carbohydrate 43 g
Dietary fibre 1 g
Sugars 11 g
Protein 10 g
Vitamin A 8 %DV
Vitamin C 1 %DV
Calcium 15 %DV
Iron 14 %DV

Original Source: Good Eats - Basic Waffle

Applied science is ALWAYS cool...

2010-03-11T15:25:00.005-05:00

...especially when its applied to the art of cookie making.

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies, but not everyone likes them the same way. I like crispy cookies, while Gabriel likes his chewy, and when you follow a recipe you get...well you get a cookie, which may or may not be what you wanted. Enter Alton Brown and his Julia Child meets Mr. Wizard meets Monty Python cooking show, Good Eats. NOW I know how to make the type of cookies I (or Gabriel) like(s). NOW I'm one happy baker.

Alton Brown uses the Tollhouse cookie recipe, but I prefer the Chipits recipe. It uses 1/4 cup less butter (gotta cut the Cals where you can), and starts with a different white to brown sugar ratio. Start with your favourite recipe, then read on to learn how to change things up.

The Science of Cookies

To make thinner, crispier cookies:

Increase the amount of baking soda by up to a half. Baking soda reduces the acidity of the dough which raises the temperature at which the dough sets. Therefore, the cookie will have more time to spread before it sets.
Substitute one of the eggs with ¼ cup whole milk. Eggs puff as they cook. Therefore, the cookies will puff less and spread more.
Increase the ratio of white to brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses which attracts moisture from the air. Therefore, using less brown sugar will result in a drier, crispier cookie.
Use dough at room temperature. Butter has a low melting point. Therefore, starting the dough at a higher relative temperature will allow it to melt and spread earlier.

To make puffier cookies:

Substitute the butter with butter flavoured shortening. Shortening melts at a higher temperature than butter, so it remains a solid longer. This gives the dough time to rise and set before it spreads.
Increase the ratio of brown to white sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses which attracts moisture from the air, leading to a tenderer cookie.
Substitute the AP flour for cake flour. Cake flour has less protein than AP flour, which soaks up moisture. Therefore, the extra moisture can be used to produce steam and provide lift for the cookie.
Substitute baking powder for baking soda. Baking powder is more acidic than baking soda which will lower the temperature at which the dough sets. Therefore, the dough will set more quickly and spread less.
Use thoroughly chilled dough. Cold dough spreads more slowly and, therefore, the cookie will puff more before setting.

To make chewier cookies:

Substitute the AP flour for bread flour AND melt the butter. Bread flour has more protein than AP flour. The water from the melted butter will combine with the protein to produce gluten, which is chewy. Also, since bread flour can absorb more water than AP flour, more moisture will stay in the cookie.
Increase the ratio of brown to white sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses which attracts moisture from the air for the protein in the bread flour to combine with to make more gluten, leading to a chewier cookie.
Replace one of the egg’s whites with 2 tbsp whole milk. Egg whites dry out baked goods. By removing one of the whites, you allow more moisture to stay in the cookie.

Original Source: Good Eats - Three Chips for Sister Marsha

Daddy's Magically Sublimating Cookies

2010-02-18T22:06:00.005-05:00

On my on-going quest to find ginger cookies exactly like Gabriel thinks they should be (no idea what this means), I stumbled upon this ginger cookie recipe. It has three different forms of ginger in it, as well as cardamom AND cloves, so really, it's a spice cookie. Either way you look at it, this is one good cookie.

I made a batch for Christmas and brought them to my parents house. The next day, I got a call from my dad, asking me if I was aware that I'd given him "sublimating cookies." "Sublimating?" I asked (the direct transition of a substance from the solid state into the gaseous state). "Yeah, they all disappeared." So I made some more. :D

Ginger Cookies
(Download PDF here)

Ingredient List
butter (½ cup + 2 tbsp)
brown sugar (1 cup)
egg (1 large)
molasses (¼ cup)
gingerroot, fresh
AP flour (1 ¾ cup)
baking soda
kosher salt
ground cardamom
ground cloves
ground ginger
candied ginger (115 g)

Directions
Bring ½ cup + 2 tbsp butter and 1 large egg to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Finely grate 2 tsp gingerroot and mince 115 g candied ginger. Set aside.

Combine in a small bowl: 1¾ cup AP flour, 1½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp ground cardamom, ½ tsp ground cloves, and 1 tbsp ground ginger.

In a medium bowl, beat 1 cup brown sugar into room temperature butter until lighter in colour. Add the egg, ¼ cup molasses, and the grated ginger, at medium speed. Mix in the minced candied ginger.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, in batches, waiting until the previous amount has been incorporated before adding more.

Form dough into 1 inch balls on baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until edges begin to brown. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 48 cookies.

Notes
To make gingerbread cookies, add an extra 1 cup AP flour to the dry ingredients. Roll dough out and cut into shapes. Bake as for regular ginger cookies.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 66
Total fat 3 g
Saturated fat 2 g
Cholesterol 10 mg
Sodium 82 mg
Carbohydrate 10 g
Dietary fibre 0 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 1 g
Vitamin A 2 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 1 %DV
Iron 2 %DV

Original Source: Good Eats - Ginger: Rise of the Rhizome - Ginger Snaps

Chicken Pot Pie!

2010-02-15T19:30:00.003-05:00

When I wrote about the new biscuit recipe, I mentioned that I would post the recipe I used it with - Chicken Pot Pie. Now I know this may look involved, but it's not. I just like to be thorough when writing things down. The recipe takes even less time if you're using leftover chicken instead of cooking fresh stuff. However, there is definitely something to be said for using the homemade chicken stock that results from the first part of the recipe. Anyway you look at it, this is definitely some good ol' homecooked comfort food. Perfect for this chilly time of year.

Oh, and you'll also notice the new downloadable PDF of the recipe, available for easy printing!

Chicken Pot Pie
Download PDF here

Ingredient List
chicken parts, whole (0.80 kg)
OR chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (0.35 kg)
carrots (2-3 whole)
celery (1-2 stalks)
chicken stock/broth (2 cups)
onion (1-2 medium)
bay leaves
butter (3 tbsp, divided)
AP flour (¼ cup)
half-and-half (¾ cup)
kosher salt
ground pepper
biscuit dough/pie shell/puff pastry
frozen peas (½ cup)
fresh parsley (optional)

Directions
If leftover chicken is not available, prepare the poached chicken recipe as follows. Otherwise, skip to the next step.

Poached Chicken
Cut 1 whole carrot and 1 celery stalk into 2-inch pieces. Quarter 1 medium onion. Place 0.8 kg chicken parts OR 0.35 kg chicken breasts in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add aromatics (carrot, celery, onion) and several bay leaves. Cover with 2 cups chicken stock/broth (preferably homemade or reduced salt) and enough water to cover the contents of the pot.

Bring pot to a simmer, and then reduce heat until the liquid doesn’t quite bubble. Partially cover, and cook for 25-30 minutes (chicken parts) or 8-12 minutes (chicken breasts), until the juices from the meat run clear.

Remove the meat and let it cool before separating and shredding. Strain the remaining liquid and set aside.

Creamed Chicken
Have on hand: 0.34 kg cooked chicken meat, separated and deboned.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in ¼ cup AP flour. Cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly, until the flour gives off a nutty aroma. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in 1 cup chicken broth and ¾ cup half-and-half, until smooth.

Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly, and then cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cooked chicken and cook for another 1 minute.

Season, to taste, with kosher salt and ground pepper.

Chicken Pot Pie
Have on hand: creamed chicken, and biscuit dough/pie crust/puff pastry.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a medium size casserole dish.

Chop 1 medium onion and dice 2 carrots and 1 celery stalk. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet and add vegetables. Cook vegetables, stirring often, for 5-10 minutes, until softened.

Stir the vegetables into the creamed chicken, along with ½ cup frozen peas and 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced (optional).

Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and top with biscuits/pie crust/puff pastry.

Bake in upper half of the oven for 20-40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Notes
This recipe is best with a mixture of white and dark meat, although all white meat can be used. Turkey also works well in the recipe.

Nutrition (per serving, with biscuit topping)
Calories 566
Total fat 29 g
Saturated fat 12 g
Cholesterol 118 mg
Sodium 923 mg
Carbohydrate 41 g
Dietary fibre 3 g
Sugars 6 g
Protein 34 g
Vitamin A 120%DV
Vitamin C 11 %DV
Calcium 11 %DV
Iron 21 %DV

Original Source: The Joy of Cooking - Chicken Pot Pie

Evolved chocolate cake

2010-02-11T23:51:00.008-05:00

My mom is an amazing cake decorator. I learned a bit from her and, on occasion, I like to decorate cakes as well. So when the McMast er Association of Secular Humanists (of which I am an exec) decided to throw Darwin a birthday party on Darwin Day, I knew I had to make the cake. Originally I was going to go with a traditional frosted cake with a design on it, but I couldn't think of anything more inspiring than a Darwin fish which, while its poignant, is pretty basic and boring. In my state of lack of imagination, I decided to ask my favourite sciency chef, Ms. Humble, for some ideas, to which she replied, "Off the top of my head I would do (the most amazing cake idea ever)." The result? The yummy, easy, chocolate cake you see below. The cake itself (recipe posted below the picture) is incredibly easy to assemble, tastes moist and flavourful, and can stand alone without iciing without being too sweet. It's a great recipe to have on hand when you need a dessert asap.

Happy Darwin Day, world!

Chocolate Cake, Quick & Easy

Ingredient List

butter, unsalted (½ cup)
coffee, freshly brewed (½ cup)
cocoa powder, Dutch-process (¼ cup)
AP flour (1 cup)
granulated sugar (1 cup)
baking powder
baking soda
table salt
sour cream (¼ cup)
egg (1 large)
vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and a round piece of parchment paper.

Place ¼ cup cocoa powder and ½ cup butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour over ½ cup coffee. Cover with plastic wrap, poking a few holes for venting, and microwave until all of the butter has melted. Whisk to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine: 1 cup AP flour, 1 cup sugar, ¼ tsp baking powder, ⅛ tsp baking soda, and ¼ tsp salt.

Beat together in a small bowl: ¼ cup sour cream, 1 large egg, ½ tsp vanilla extract.

Whisk the coffee mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the sour cream mixture, do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake, in the pan, on a rack, for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and return to rack until the cake has cooled completely.

Sprinkle over icing sugar and/or serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes 6 servings

Notes
Substitute cocoa powder for flour coating when preparing a cake pan for a chocolate cake.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 381
Total fat 19 g
Saturated fat 12 g
Cholesterol 76 mg
Sodium 223 mg
Carbohydrate 52 g
Dietary fibre 2 g
Sugars 34 g
Protein 4 g
Vitamin A 11 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 3 %DV
Iron 9 %DV

Original Source: Food Network Kitchens - Favorite Recipes

Edit: I'm trying a new thing. I'll continue to put the recipe in the body of the post, but I will now offer it as a downloadable PDF as follows:

Download PDF here

Brock-Colli

2010-02-03T20:25:00.003-05:00

When I was younger, I was under the impression that I was a super-taster. These people experience taste to a much higher degree, partially due to a higher amount of "taste buds" on their tongues. As a result, they do not like vegetables like broccoli.
Then I learned how to cook broccoli properly and it became one of my favourite veggies. Until recently, I didn't think broccoli could get any better than properly steamed, fresh florets. I was wrong.
Roasting broccoli brings out a whole new set of flavours that I simply love. Combine that with bread crumbs and cheese, and you have one happy, veggie-eating Diana.
This recipe calls for Panko bread crumbs. If you've never heard of them, they are a Japanese style bread crumb with a lighter, airier texture. At Fortino's (or any other Loblaws store), they're found near the fresh sushi area. However, if you're from Hamilton, go to the S&S Market on Locke Street (or a similar Asian market in your home town) where you will find them for 1/4 the price. You could use regular bread crumbs, I guess...if you had to.

Broccoli, Roasted

Ingredient List
broccoli (450 g, ~ 2 heads)
Panko bread crumbs (1/3 cup)
olive oil (2 tbsp)
garlic (2 cloves)
kosher salt (½ tsp)
ground pepper (¼ tsp)
cheddar or parmesan cheese (¼ cup)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut the florets from 450 g broccoli. Trim and slice stalk into loonie size pieces.

Place ⅓ cup Panko bread crumbs in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Toast the crumbs in the oven for approximately 2 minutes, until lightly browned. Be careful not to burn the crumbs.

Toss broccoli florets and coins with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, minced, ½ tsp kosher salt, ¼ tsp ground pepper, and toasted bread crumbs. Spread mixture in a single layer in the baking pan.

Roast the broccoli for 10-15 minutes, until it reaches the desired tenderness.

Transfer the broccoli to a bowl and toss with ¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded OR ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated.

Makes 4 servings.

Notes
Depending on the toughness of the stalks, they may need to be peeled before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 163
Total fat 9 g
Saturated fat 2 g
Cholesterol 6 mg
Sodium 490 mg
Carbohydrate 15 g
Dietary fibre 3 g
Sugars 3 g
Protein 7 g
Vitamin A 15 %DV
Vitamin C 168%DV
Calcium 14 %DV
Iron 8 %DV

Original Source: Good Eats - Oven Roasted Broccoli

New favourite biscuit recipe

2010-01-14T14:46:00.003-05:00

I used to be a big fan of Michael Smith's Frozen Butter Biscuits, but I never truly loved them because I would get pretty tired after grating an entire 1/2 cup stick of frozen butter with a box grater. Recently, Food Network Canada suggested the same method, using fridge-temperature butter instead. I haven't had a chance to try this out because America's Test Kitchen -- my favourite kitchen scientists -- came out with an even easier buttermilk drop biscuit recipe. I've made it several times and all it requires is for me to have buttermilk on hand, which I usually do, because waffles don't taste the same without buttermilk (note to self: post waffle recipe). FYI, a drop biscuit is any biscuit that doesn't need to be rolled out/cut.

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

Ingredient List

butter (½ cup + 2 tbsp)
AP flour (2 cups)
baking powder (2 tsp)
baking soda (½ tsp)
sugar (1 tsp)
table salt (¾ tsp)
buttermilk (1 cup)
non-stick cooking spray

Directions
Preheat oven to 475°F.

Heat ½ cup butter, until just melted, and set aside.

Whisk together in a medium sized bowl: 2 cups AP flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp sugar, ¾ tsp table salt.

Place 1 cup buttermilk, cold in a small mixing bowl. Stir the melted and cooled butter into the buttermilk. The mixture will become clumpy.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix, using the opposite end of a wooden spoon, just until the mixture comes together.

Spray a ¼ cup measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray. Press the dough into the cup, and then drop the biscuits 1½ inches apart.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Brush with 2 tbsp butter, melted and let cool on a rack for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 biscuits.

Notes
This dough can be used as the topping for a potpie by pinching off 1 inch size balls and placing them over the pie before cooking. Keep them from touching to make serving easier.

Red Lobster Biscuits – mix 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated into the dry ingredients, and add garlic powder and parsley to the brushed on butter

Nutrition (per biscuit)
Calories 256
Total fat 15 g
Saturated fat 9 g
Cholesterol 39 mg
Sodium 432 mg
Carbohydrate 27 g
Dietary fibre 1 g
Sugars 2 g
Protein 4 g
Vitamin A 9 %DV
Vitamin C 1 %DV
Calcium 10 %DV
Iron 9 %DV

Original Source: America's Test Kitchen - Best Drop Biscuits

Grits by any other name . . .

2009-12-06T23:21:00.002-05:00

This is a follow up post to my dad's birthday meal. As a side dish to accompany the chicken cacciatore (now that I know the origin of the dish, I seem to have no problem spelling it), I made polenta. But not just plain, mushy polenta - baked polenta. What made this dish so good was the copious amounts of cheese. My mom, the turophile, loved it. When I followed the Joy of Cooking's recipe, I felt it made way too much (it made 8+ servings), so I waited on posting until I could experiment with halving the recipe. Some recipes just don't half well. This one did, with a few minor adjustments. So without any further ado:

Polenta, Baked

Ingredient List
Gruyère Swiss cheese (60 g)
mozzarella cheese (60 g)
parmesan cheese, grated ¼ cup)
olive oil
onion (1 small)
chicken broth/stock (1½ cup)
coarse cornmeal
heavy cream

Directions
Grate 60 g Gruyère Swiss cheese and 60 grams mozzarella cheese (approximately ¼ cup each). Store, covered, in refrigerator until ready to use. Finely dice 1 small onion. Lightly grease a small casserole dish with butter, oil, or non-stick cooking spray.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add 1 cup chicken broth and ¾ cup water to the saucepan and bring mixture to a boil. Meanwhile, combine ½ cup chicken broth and ½ cup water with ¾ cup coarse cornmeal.

Once the mixture begins to boil, gradually add the cornmeal. Reduce the heat and cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the large bubbles form.

Evenly spread half of the polenta in the greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with half of the grated cheese as well as with 2 tbsp parmesan cheese.

Evenly spread the remaining polenta over the cheese and top with remaining grated cheese and another 2 tbsp parmesan cheese.

Drizzle over ¼ cup heavy cream.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Let the polenta stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 large servings.

Notes
Recipe can be easily doubled.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 324
Total fat 21 g
Saturated fat 9 g
Cholesterol 40 mg
Sodium 523 mg
Carbohydrate 21 g
Dietary fibre 2 g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 15 g
Vitamin A 8 %DV
Vitamin C 2 %DV
Calcium 34 %DV
Iron 7 %DV

Original Source: adapted from The Joy of Cooking

The Hunter's Chicken

2009-11-28T23:59:00.004-05:00

When I asked my dad what he wanted me to make for his birthday dinner and he said, "Chicken cacciatore," I thought, "Oh, that's easy. That's chicken breasts, dredged in flour, cooked and served with tomato sauce and spaghetti." That may be what I grew up on, but that's NOT chicken cacciatore. Chicken cacciatore, or, pollo alla cacciatore, literally means "hunter's chicken". It's a traditional way of braising chicken in a sauce. NOT with tomatoes. Thanks to my trusty Joy of Cooking and the internet, I was able to make a delicious version that I think everyone enjoyed. Now, technically, since I added mushrooms, it became "pollo alla forestiere" (forester's chicken), but tough beans.

I served it with a traditional side of baked polenta (to be raved about in another post) and some roasted broccoli (the last of the season). And, of course, the meal was followed up with my dad's staple favourite -- pineapple upside-down cake.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredient List

All Purpose flour
table salt
ground black pepper
boneless, skinless chicken thighs (~ 1 kg)
olive oil
white onion (1 medium)
bay leaves (2)
Italian seasoning
garlic
wine (red or white), dry
crushed tomatoes (796 mL/28 fl. oz can)
chicken stock/broth
mushrooms (227 g)

Directions
Mix ¼ cup AP flour in a bowl with 1 tsp table salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour mixture and brown in batches in the pot. Remove to a plate.

Remove all but 2 tbsp of the fat/oil. Add 1 medium white onion, chopped (~ 1 cup), 2 bay leaves, and 2 tsp Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring, for ~ 5 minutes, until the onion browns. Add 2 cloves garlic, minced, and cook for another 30 seconds.

Return the chicken to the pot and add ½ cup dry wine. Scrape up the fond and boil until all of the wine evaporates.

Add 1 can crushed tomatoes and ¾ cup chicken stock. Bring mixture to a boil. Simmer, uncovered for 25 minutes.

Stir in 227 g mushrooms, sliced. Cook for at least 10 minutes, until the juices thicken. (Depending on evaporation, add back some water if needed.)

Season to taste.

Makes 8 servings.

Notes
Polenta is a traditional side dish.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 327
Total fat 15 g
Saturated fat 3 g
Cholesterol 111 mg
Sodium 379 mg
Carbohydrate 8 g
Dietary fibre 2 g
Sugars 4 g
Protein 38 g
Vitamin A 9 %DV
Vitamin C 15 %DV
Calcium 4 %DV
Iron 11 %DV

Irish Car Bomb cupcakes!

2009-11-22T22:30:00.009-05:00

Today was Gabriel's 25th birthday and last night we had a party to celebrate. Every year I make him a special cake. Two years ago it was a vanilla cake shaped like the weighted companion cube from the video game, Portal:
Last year, it was the peanut butter chocolate cake of death:
This year, Gabriel was just going to go with his default favourite, spice cake, but I sent him over to SmittenKitchen and he decided to go with . . .

Irish Car Bomb cupcakes!

If you're not familiar with the Irish Car Bomb, it's a drink that really mean college kids make their friends drink. You take a mixed shot of whiskey and Bailey's irish cream and drop it into a mostly full pint of Guiness. The poor soul whose lot this is, must chug the disgusting concoction as quickly as possible, before the cream curdles. Blech.

Luckily, these cupcakes were delicious. The cupcakes themselves are made from a Guiness chocolate cake batter. Then, the centers were hollowed out and filled with a whiskey chocolate ganache (think chocolate truffle, yum). Finally, the icing is a basic buttercream, flavoured with Bailey's. I was very pleased with how they turned out and they were a big hit with the crowd!

Original Source: Smitten Kitten - Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes

Apple of my Pie

2009-10-25T21:54:00.003-04:00

Nom, nom. It's apple season. Two weeks ago I bought my first bag of MacIntosh apples and I nearly died from how good that first bite was. Those of you who think I was over reacting must not remember that apples begin to convert their starches to sugars once picked so, even if you can get apples in April, they're not nearly as good. For this reason, I only eat apples in season. I also had a similar experience when my awesome cousin, Jenn, took me to an orchard where I bought a half peck (yes, as in "Peter Piper...") of more Mac's. While they are my favourie out-of-hand eating apple, they suck in pies (but are great in apple sauce) because they fall apart too easily. For this recipe, choose hearty apples such as Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smiths. Enjoy!

Apple Pie

Ingredient List
pie shells (2)
apples* (1.5 kg, ~ 6-8 medium/large)
unsalted butter (3 tbsp)
granulated sugar
ground cinnamon
table salt
lemon juice
honey (optinal)
coarse sugar (optional)

Directions
Peel, core, and slice 1.5 kg apples. Rinse each set of slices briefly in a solution of water and lemon juice to prevent browning while peeling the rest of the apples.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt 3 tbsp unsalted butter in a very large skillet or pot over high heat.

Add the apples and stir to coat. Reduce the head to medium, cover and cook until the apples have softened slightly, stirring often (~ 5-7 minutes).

Stir in ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ⅛ tsp table salt, and 2 tsp lemon juice.

Increase the heat to high and cook the apples until the juices thicken (~ 3 minutes).

Spread the apples in a single layer on a baking sheet and let them cool to room temperature.

Pour the apple mixture into the bottom pie crust. Cover with a vented top crust (vent can be made with a knife or a small cookie cutter), sealing the edges with pressure from fingers or a fork.

Optional: Mix 1 tbsp honey with 1 tbsp water. Brush over top crust. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in lower half of the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the filling begins to bubble.

Let cool completely for 3-4 hours before serving. If desired, reheat in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Notes
*A combination of baking apples is best; Courtland, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, Newtown/Pippin, Mutsu/Crispin, Northern Spy, Spygold, and Ida Red.

The top crust can be substituted with a streusel or crisp topping, instead.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 233
Total fat 6 g
Saturated fat 3 g
Cholesterol 11 mg
Sodium 93 mg
Carbohydrate 48 g
Dietary fibre 5 g
Sugars 39 g
Protein 1 g
Vitamin A 5 %DV
Vitamin C 15 %DV
Calcium 2 %DV
Iron 2 %D

Original Source: Joy of Cooking

Don't be such a turkey!

2009-10-14T23:11:00.002-04:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I made yet another fabulous bird. It's taken several years to develop a fool-proof turkey method but I've done it. If you follow the below steps, you will never have to worry about how your turkey will turn out ever again.

One thing though - You need a probe thermometer. It's the only way to truly tell when your bird is done. They're dirt cheap, especially if you buy the one from PC (doesn't come with a magnet on the back but you can add one).

Oh, and the brining of the turkey is a must. Not only does it give you a moist, succulent bird, but it changes the cooking properties of the meat and reduces the overall cooking time.

Turkey

Ingredient List

whole young turkey (~ 14 lbs)

vegetable oil

table salt

brown sugar

Hardware List

large bucket or cooler (~ 4 gallon)

probe thermometer

electric knife (optional)

rack or root vegetables

aluminum foil

Thawing Directions

If the turkey needs to be thawed from frozen, place it in a pan, still in its packaging, in the bottom of the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

If the turkey is still frozen the day before cooking, completely submerse it in a bucket full of COLD water for 6-8 hours, changing the water every 3 hours.

Brining Directions

Place the thawed turkey in a bucket or cooler and determine how much water is required to completely submerse it (~3 gallons).

For every gallon of liquid (16 cups), combine ½ cup table salt and ⅓ cup brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups water for each gallon required and heat until everything is completely dissolved. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Pour the mixture into the bucket along with the remaining 14 cups water per gallon. Remove the turkey from its packaging and remove any giblets. Gently add the turkey to the bucket, breast side down. If necessary, place a heavy object on top to keep the turkey completely submersed.

Let the turkey soak for 8-10 hours, in the refrigerator. If the turkey is not completely submerged, flip it over half way through the brining process. Return the turkey to the empty bucket and store it in the refrigerator until ready for cooking.

Cooking Directions

Thoroughly rinse the turkey, inside and out, to remove any salt deposits on the skin. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.

Line the bottom of the roasting pan with a rack or with root vegetables. Place the turkey in the roasting pan and let it sit enough to remove any remaining surface moisture (~ ½-1 hour).

Preheat the oven to 500°F.

Tuck the turkey’s wings behind its back and tie its legs together with twine or tuck them through the tail fat.

Insert the probe thermometer into the deepest part of the breast meat. Mold an aluminum foil triangle to the breast area of the turkey and remove for later use. Brush the entire turkey with a small amount of vegetable oil.

Roast the turkey for 30 minutes to brown the skin.

Return the aluminum foil triangle to the breast area of the turkey and drop the oven temperature to 350°F.

Cook the turkey until the probe thermometer reaches a temperature of 165°F (~1½-2 hours). Check a second location in the breast meat to verify temperature.

Remove the turkey from the oven and let it sit, covered with aluminum foil, for 15 minutes.

Carving Directions

Using an electric knife (preferably), cut the thighs to the joint, break the joint manually, and then continue to cut through to sever the leg. Cut the thigh from the drumstick.

Cut into the breast meat at the wing and follow in and up to the ribs. Slice the breast meat off in thin slabs.

Notes

If the turkey is done too early, tent with foil and let it sit in a 200°F oven until ready.

Sample timeline for a 6:00 PM dinner:

2:30 PM Place turkey in roasting pan at room temperature.

3:10 PM Turn on oven. Prep turkey.

3:30 PM Broil turkey at 500°F for 30 min.

4:00 PM Roast turkey at 350°F until done.

Nutrition (per 1 cup)

Calories 238

Total fat 7 g

Saturated fat 2.3 g

Cholesterol 106 mg

Sodium 98 mg

Carbohydrate 0 g

Dietary fibre 0 g

Sugars 0 g

Protein 41 g

Vitamin A 0 %DV

Vitamin C 0 %DV

Calcium 4 %DV

Iron 14 %DV

Original Source: Me! Compiled from a dozen cooking shows and books.

One pot dinner, fast

2009-10-08T12:20:00.002-04:00

I'm still struggling to finish my thesis, so I'm very appreciative when I find a dinner recipe that doesn't take long to prep or make or have many dishes. I've had this recipe, which I pulled from an issue of Kraft's What's Cooking magazine, in my "to try" folder for over three years now. I can't believe I didn't try it sooner. It makes four servings, which means Gabriel and I both have lunch for the next day. It's perfect

P. S. - I'm trying out a new recipe format. Hope you like it.

Cheesy Chicken Noodle Skillet

Ingredient List
egg noodles (3 cups)
chicken breasts (450 g, approx. 3)
broccoli heads (2 cups, approx. 2)
chicken broth (1/2 cup)
cream cheese spread (1/2 cup)
mayonnaise (1/4 cup)
cheddar cheese (1 cup, shredded)

Directions
Fill largest stock pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Cut 450 g chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. Remove florets from 2 heads broccoli and cut to same size as chicken. Shred 1 cup cheddar cheese.

Add 3 cups egg noodles and chicken to boiling water. Cook for 6 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and the noodles are tender. Add broccoli and cook for another 2 minutes.

Drain the noodle mixture and return it to the pot.

Stir in ½ cup chicken broth, ½ cup cream cheese spread, and ¼ cup mayonnaise. Simmer over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until cream cheese spread is melted and sauce is well blended.

Add cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is completely melted.

Makes 4 servings, 1¼ cups each.

Notes
Substitute 2 cups of any frozen vegetable on hand, and/or light or flavoured cream cheese.

Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 525
Total fat 28 g
Saturated fat 13 g
Cholesterol 155 mg
Sodium 550 mg
Carbohydrate 28 g
Dietary fibre 3 g
Sugars 3 g
Protein 39 g
Vitamin A 25 %DV
Vitamin C 45 %DV
Calcium 25 %DV
Iron 10 %DV

Original source: Kraft Canada - Cheesy Chicken Noodle Skillet

Bear with me

2009-09-17T15:55:00.003-04:00

No excuses, I know. But I'm in the last days of finishing my Masters thesis so please, just bear with me. I have two posts to make as soon as I'm done this infernal thing. Thanks for understanding.

- Diana

Millions of peaches, peaches for me . . .

2009-08-28T21:39:00.004-04:00

. . . Millions of peaches, peaches for free.

This is one of the great things about living in the fruit belt -- the fruit. Our friends Dave and Laura own a farm and they brought us a BOX of peaches. Well obviously we couldn't eat them all before they would go bad so we had to find a way to preserve their golden deliciousness.

I first thought about canning them. I'd bought Mason jars months ago with the hopes of making my own strawberry jam but that didn't happen. Canned peaches or peach jam sounded like a good idea. But apparently the peaches lose their brightness and flavour when cooked so that was a no go.

Enter Alton Brown with his suggestion: Freeze them.

By surrounding the peaches in their own juices, you create a protective layer that prevents freezer burn and the formation of large ice crystals. Perfect.

Freezing peaches

Bring a LARGE pot of water to a boil. Have an ice bath standing by in another LARGE bowl.
Crush two tablets of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, 500 mg) and dissolve in 2-3 tbsp water.
Drop in 2 lbs of peaches (approx. 5-6, pre-disassembled) into the boiling water and blanche for 30 seconds.
Immediately transfer the peaches to the ice bath, submersing each peach.
Wipe the skin off with a paper towel (yes, it's that easy).
Remove the pit and cut up the peaches. I did half of the batches into 1 inch cubes and the other half into thin wedges.
Move peach pieces to a third bowl and coat with ascorbic acid.
Add 1/2-3/4 cup sugar, mix thoroughly and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
Transfer to a labelled freezer zip top bag. Remove all the air (I like to do this using a straw), seal.
Freeze flat.
To use, let thaw in refrigerator and use as you would "peaches in syrup" from a can.

Next weekend I plan on using some of my preserved peaches in a peach upside down cake recipe. Expect a post to follow.

Original Source: Good Eats - Peachy Keen

You pinhead!

2009-08-25T21:11:00.005-04:00

Everyone loves oatmeal, especially on a cold, winter morning. Most people, though, settle for the Quaker instant oatmeal variety which Alton Brown claims he "wouldn't feed to (his) horse" because it's so low in nutritional value and is not very satisfying.

The best oats to eat would be steel-cut, or pinhead, oats. Unfortunately, because they consist of the inner part of the oat kernel, they take forever (45 minutes) to cook. Who wants to stand over a pot, stirring, for 45 minutes on a lazy Sunday morning?

Not I, says the Diana. So we tried the Good Eats recipe for Slow Cooker Oatmeal. In the morning, we were greeted by burnt oats. Yum.

Luckily, Gabriel found another way of quick cooking the oats:

"Quick" Oatmeal
(makes four 1 cup servings)

Boil 1 cup steel cut oats in 4 cups water for 1 minute.
Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature.
Next day, uncover, bring to boil.
Reduce heat, simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Season to taste with salt.
Top with favourite fruit, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, etc.

THAT'S IT!

Original Source: The Bitten Word - Overnight Oatmeal: Steel Cut Oats in 10 minutes

Work BBQ and Nanaimo Bars!

2009-08-23T19:05:00.002-04:00

Friday was our big work BBQ. We have over 20 people from work come over for a BBQ. It went relatively well, all things considered. But let me let you in on a little secret: When the hostess asks you to bring a appetizer, side, or dessert, she usually doesn't want bags of chips, store bought salads or prepackaged pies. This is your chance to show off. Put a little effort in. For my part, I made one of each and my homemade caesar salad was the first to go. For dessert, the only homemade things were my supervisor's wife's chocolate chip cookies (yum) and my Nanaimo bars, which, surprise, required no baking at all. Anyone can do it. So next time you're invited somewhere, give these babies a try.

Nanaimo Bars

Shopping List:
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate (6 squares)*
• salted butter
• egg (1)
• vanilla extract
• graham cracker crumbs
• medium flaked coconut
• chopped walnuts (optional)
• custard powder
• milk
• icing sugar

* Can substitute 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for every 2 squares of baking chocolate.

Divide the butter into ½ cup, ¼ cup, and 1 tbsp and let it come to room temperature. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil for easy removal of squares.

Partially melt 2 squares chocolate in the microwave, and then stir until completely melted. Add to a medium bowl containing ½ cup butter and stir until butter is completely melted and mixed.

Blend in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Stir in 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1 cup medium flaked coconut, and ½ cup chopped walnuts (if using).

Press mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking pan. Refrigerate until next step is ready.

Whisk 2 tbsp custard powder with 3 tbsp milk in small bowl. Beat in ¼ cup butter followed by 2 cups icing sugar in four installments. Spread over bottom crust and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Microwave 4 squares chocolate with 1 tbsp butter until completely melted and mixed. Spread quickly over the custard layer using an off-set spatula.

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, and then score the top chocolate layer with a knife for easy cutting later (4x8=32 bars). Refrigerate for several more hours or overnight before cutting into bars, using the thinnest blade possible.

Original Source: Kraft Canada - Nanaimo Bars

Bananananana muffins

2009-08-20T13:08:00.002-04:00

As the title suggests, I'm going to share my recipe for a yummy banana muffin with a cinnamon sugar streusel on top. But first, I would like to explain a thing or two about bananas first.

I'm sure you all know that, when you first bring your banana's home from the store, they're very stiff and green and don't taste all that great. That's because the majority of the banana is filled with starches that actually aren't broken down very well by the human body. I imagine if you had a very unripe banana, you'd get some real stomach problems. You have to wait until the banana starts to turn slightly brown to eat them because, at that point, the starches are converting to delicious sugars which, obviously, your body can handle and your taste buds love.

By the time you get down to that last one or two bananas in the bunch, though, they're way too ripe and ready to turn south on you. So what do you do? You freeze them! Yes, you read right. Freeze them. Toss them in a freezer ziptop bag, one at a time, until you have enough to make banana muffins. That's what I do. Once you have enough, nuke them in the microwave until thawed (use your 50% power option), then snip off the end with scissors and extrude the banana into a bowl just like you would with toothpaste. Waste not, want not. :)

So with no further ado, onto the muffins!

Banana Crumb Muffins

Shopping List:
• flour
• baking soda
• baking powder
• salt
• bananas (3)
• white sugar
• egg (1)
• butter
• brown sugar
• ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease muffin tin or line with cups (makes 12).

In a small bowl, mix together:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Cut in 1 tbsp butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

In a large bowl, mix together:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, beat together:
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick, inserted into the center of a muffin, comes out clean.

Sugar and spice and . . .

2009-08-04T20:01:00.007-04:00

. . . oh my god, that's an amazing cake!!!

That was my reaction to this incredible from-scratch spice cake I made over the weekend. It was amazing. I mean, incredible. I want more. Problem is, I was smart and gave away half of the cake (gotta watch my weight, after all). Oh well.

I saw it on this weekend's episode of America's Test Kitchen on "Snack Cakes". This is apparently what you call the one layer cakes that used to be made before cakes were made structurally sound enough to support multiple layers (e.g. carrot cake, etc.).

A couple notes. I couldn't find pre-ground cardamom so I bought the pods and ground them myself (everyone should have a coffee grinder dedicated for spices). After thoroughly grinding the cardamom, I still sifted it to remove the pod shell pieces which didn't break up so finely. You also will have to grind your own cloves but be careful, the oils in cloves will eat through plastic so, if you have any left over grindings you want to keep for next time, wrap it in some paper towel first.

Enjoy!

Spice Cake

Shopping List:
AP flour
ground cinnamon
ground cardamom
ground allspice
ground cloves
ground nutmeg
unsalted butter (2 5/8 sticks), divided
baking powder
baking soda
table salt
large eggs (5)
vanilla extract
granulated sugar
fancy molasses
fresh ginger
buttermilk
iciing sugar
brick cream cheese (1 pkg = 250g)
walnuts & raisins (optional)

Mix well in a small prep bowl:
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Reserve ½ tsp of spice mix for the iciing.

Melt 4 tbsp unsalted butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Continue to cook until the butter starts to darken and smell nutty, swirling the butter in the pan as it starts to brown, careful not to burn it. Add the spice mix and cook for 15 seconds, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat and let cool for 30 minutes.

Prepare one 9” x 13” baking pan. Place remaining butter and cream cheese on counter to warm to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Finely grate 1 tbsp fresh ginger.

Combine in a medium bowl:
2 ¼ cups AP flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp table salt

In a smaller bowl, whisk:
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

In bowl of stand mixer, cream together:
12 tbsp unsalted butter
1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp fancy molasses

Incorporate in at medium speed:

the spice and butter mixture
the fresh ginger
the egg mixture (in two halves)

Mix in at low speed:

1/3 of the flour mixture
½ cup buttermilk
second 1/3 of the flour mixture
½ cup buttermilk (to a total of 1 cup)
remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture
if desired, 2 cups raisins

Transfer batter to the pan, running a spatula through it to remove any air bubbles and to spread it out. Also lightly tap pan on counter several times.

Bake for 32-37 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature before iciing (~ 2 hours).

In the bowl of stand mixer, combine:
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 ¼ cup iciing sugar, sifted if necessary
reserved spice mix

Beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add 1 brick cream cheese, one piece at a time until well incorporated. Add ½ tsp vanilla extract and beat until no lumps remain.

Run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Spread iciing over top of the cake. If desired, top with ¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted.

The cake can be stored for up to two days in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Original Source: America's Test Kitchen - Old-Fashioned Snack Cakes - Spice Cake

Our chance to be unboring

2009-08-04T19:54:00.006-04:00

Ikea is having a contest for a $15,000 room renovation. Gabriel and I thought we'd throw our hat into the ring for a new kitchen because gods know we need it. So please, go ahead and vote for our crappy kitchen. It will improve my cooking and baking immeasureable, I promise.

One skillet beef stroganoff

2009-07-26T21:21:00.003-04:00

This is one of my all time favourite recipes. It's relatively simple (it still takes a bit of time), it only uses ONE skillet, and it impresses every time. I made it a couple weeks ago for two of our guy friends and they were amply impressed. You can't do this in a non-stick skillet. You need a metal one mostly for the fond that forms, but also because it'll be hot for a long time and that non-stick coating isn't really heat proof (NOT good eats).

Enjoy!

Skillet Beef Stroganoff

Shopping List:
• sirloin tip steak (1.5 lb/0.68 kg)
• vegetable oil
• kosher salt
• pepper
• onion
• mushrooms (10 oz/283.4 g)
• AP flour
• chicken broth (1 can)
• beef broth (1 can)
• brandy
• egg noodles
• sour cream
• lemon juice

Remove any fat and/or gristle from one 1.5 lb/0.68 kg steak. Cut the steak into 1 by ¼ inch pieces and pound each piece to ½ inch thickness. (Alternatively, pound the steak first and then cut into 2 by ½ inch pieces, whichever is easiest.)

Dice one medium onion and slice 10 oz/283.4g mushrooms (approx. 2 cups).

Pat beef pieces dry with paper towel and season with kosher salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in large skillet on medium-high until oil just begins to smoke. Sauté beef in single layer for 2-3 minutes per side until brown (does not have to be cooked through). Remove beef from heat and store in a bowl. Repeat with an additional tbsp vegetable oil until all beef is browned.

Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in the pan. Add onions and mushrooms and ½ tsp kosher salt. Cook for approximately 8 minutes, until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft. If the bottom on the pan begins to get too dark, add the juices from the bowl in order to release the fond.

Add 2 tbsp AP flour. Toss to coat and cook for 30 seconds.

Pour 1 can chicken broth and 1 can beef broth into the pan with enough water to equal 3 cups of total liquid. Add 1/3 cup brandy. Return the browned beef back into the pan. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30-35 minutes until the beef is tender.

Stir in 1/3 lb egg noodles (approx. 3 cups). Recover the pan and cook until the egg noodles are done (approximately 10-12 minutes).

Remove pan from heat. Add 2/3 cup sour cream and 2 tsp lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

It's BBQ time!

2009-07-23T22:07:00.003-04:00

So we all know that the weather hasn't exactly been cooperating but that doesn't mean Gabriel and I haven't been making full use of our wonderful new BBQ which my parents bought us for a house warming gift (THANK YOU!). There have obviously been the tons of burgers that have passed over the grill but our favourite so far has to be the BBQ pork tenderloin that we've made twice so far: once for Father's Day, and once for our friends, Dave & Andrea. It's been adapted by an America's Test Kitchen's/Cook's Country recipe for Classic BBQ chicken which is no longer found online (I have it, if you want it). According to ATK's taste tests, the best BBQ sauce is Bullseye's Original. In Canada, I have only seen Bold Original, which is what we used and we LOVE it. I don't know why more people don't eat pork tenderloin. It's such a lean meat and I find that it's always on sale for $2/lb. Can't beat that!

BBQ Pork Tenderloin

Shopping List:
• pork tenderloin
• table salt
• ground black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• Bullseye Bold Original BBQ sauce

Begin by removing the silver skin and any excess fat from the tenderloin. Let it rest on the counter until it has come up to room temperature.

Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels and sprinkle on the spice rub made with:
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (may adjust according to tastes)

Rub the spices evenly all over the meat.

Heat all of the burners on the BBQ on high with the lid closed for 15 minutes.

Turn all burners off except for one. Position the pork over the cool side of the BBQ and cover for approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the tenderloin.

Move the meat adjacent to the “on” burner and brush all the exposed surface area with BBQ sauce.

Rotate the tenderloin every 5 minutes as if it had four sides (20 minutes total), recoating with sauce every turn.

Move the meat directly over the heat and continue to coat and rotate until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.

Wrap the mean in aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Oh, and, by the by, I'm still having problems solving my Apple Pie dome dilemma. If anyone has any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

Strawberry Pickin' Time!

2009-06-28T21:22:00.004-04:00

Not for me, but for the hard working farmers of Ontario. I'll just pay to enjoy their yummy goodness. I think it's very appropriate that strawberries come into season just around Canada Day because they're red and make a great summer dessert.

For my family's Canada Day BBQ I made the recipe for Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Lemon Cream that I found in the summer issue of Canadian Living magazine (I really am going to have to get a subscription). Anyway, it turned out pretty well (as evidenced by the picture AND by the fact that there were no left overs). I made the cake part from scratch, following the recipe, because I happened to have cake flour and cream of tartar on hand, but really, I think using a box mix produces just as good a cake (if not a taller one) and saves a bit of time and ingredients/dishes. My dad swears by the Robin Hood brand boxed angel food cake mix, if you're interested.

Also, the recipe calls for a teaspoon of lemon zest. This is non-negotiable. If you don't already have one, pick yourself up a Microplane grater (I found mine at Fortino's). They're cheap and great for things like zest, nutmeg, frozen ginger (my favourite way to use it), and parmesan cheese.

Anyway, check out the recipe and try it soon, before all the fresh, local strawberries are gone!

Happy Canada Day!

P. S. Some good friends of ours are getting married on Canada Day and I'm making five or six pies for the occasion so check back soon after for pictures, recipes and general tips on the pie making proccess!

That's the way the cookie crumbles

2009-06-12T22:42:00.003-04:00

I'm sure no one's noticed my absence these past few weeks so I won't apologize for not posting. But I will give you a bit of an update.

1) Gabriel and I bought and moved into our first home. It's been a bit hectic, to say the least. My biggest problem is the crappy kitchen. Noo counter or shelf space, so it took a little "finagling" (a la Chad) to get the room into something I could actually work it.

2) I started a weight loss study. Oh boy for me, right? Ha. No food of any kind, really. Which means that my forays in the kitchen will be limited but, never fear, they will still happen. (btw, I've lost almost 10 lbs in four weeks)

So I'm going to ease back into this with a short, quick post. For Mother's Day, I made my mom her favourite cookies -- peanut butter. But, silly me, I tried to forgo the tried and true recipe from Kraft and try a new one out of the Joy of Cooking. As a result, I had to bake two seperate types of cookies which equated to around 8 dozen individual cookies.

Here's the breakdown:

The Joy of Cooking's recipe was very peanuty and not very sweet. My friend, Leo, who had never had sweetened peanut butter before he came to Canada, liked this recipe best. It was also VERY loose and crumbly and made for a very difficult squish.
The KRAFT Old-Fashioned recipe was very moist and sweet and made very thin cookies. These are still my mom's favourite.
A variation on the KRAFT recipe is to not hatch them with a fork, and let them rise in the oven. Then, after they're baked, press a hole in the center and fill it (while still hot) with strawberry jam. Yum.
The picture below shows the Joy cookies on the left and the KRAFT cookies on the right.

Omigod! Frozen herbs!

2009-04-28T21:49:00.003-04:00

I noticed the frozen herbs from President's Choice being advertised around Christmas time but, at first, wasn't able to find them, and then, didn't bother looking. This weekend I bought some and I am so very looking forward to the expanded repetoire of recipes now available to me since I have "fresh herbs" on hand at all times. I bought dill and basil, the two herbs I use the most. They also carry cilantro, though I've never cooked with it myself.

Anyway, I used my new found kitchen powerhouse in a Baked Ziti (pasta) dish. Instead of using crushed tomatoes, I used a can of whole tomatoes (something that I ALWAYS have on hand in my pantry) which I simply pureed in the can before hand. My sous-chef, Chad, was on hand to tell me that he thought I shouldn't cover the dish and, instead, let some of the water evaporate. I'm glad I agreed with him. It turned out AMAZING and, between Gabriel, Chad, and I, there were no left-overs. We all agreed that this recipe could benefit from the addition of meat, so next time, I will try this with some cooked Italian sausage added in.

Baked Ziti

Shopping List:
• vegetable oil
• cloves of garlic
• red pepper flake
• 796 mL can of crushed tomatoes
• ziti or penne pasta
• kosher salt
• 35% cream
• Parmesan cheese
• fresh basil
• pepper
• mozzarella cheese
• Italian sausage (2) (optional)

Place in a cold skillet:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ tsp red pepper flake, crushed

Heat skillet over medium-high until contents become fragrant and begin to foam.

Add:
1 796 mL (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
½ tsp kosher salt
340 g ziti or penne pasta

Bring contents to a simmer.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Reduce the heat and cook, stirring often, until pasta is al dente and liquid is mostly absorbed/evaporated (approximately 15 minutes).

Stir in:
½ cup cream
½ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh basil, diced fine
pepper to taste

(Optional: Add 2 Italian sausages, removed from casings and cooked.)

If skillet is not oven-proof, transfer pasta to a casserole dish. Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded.

Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until cheese melts and browns.

Original source: America's Test Kitchen - Skillet Baked Ziti

Left over rice? No problem!

2009-04-25T21:41:00.002-04:00

Everyone almost always has leftovers when they eat rice. Whether you made it at home or ordered it with some Chinese food, there's usually a cup or two left over afterward. Sure you can refrigerate it and reheat it later, but then it's even more bland than it was initially. My solution: rice pudding! Since I discovered this stove-top recipe, I make a point of making sure I always have left over rice!

Rice Pudding

Shopping List:
• cooked white rice
• milk
• sugar
• raisins
• salt
• butter
• egg (1)
• vanilla extract
• cinnamon (optional)
• nutmeg (optional)

Combine in a heavy saucepan:
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (short grain sticky rice works best)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp table salt

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture becomes thick and creamy (approximately 15-20 minutes).

Whisk together 1/2 cup milk and 1 egg and stir into the rice mixture.

Add 1/3 cup raisins and cook for 2 minutes.

Add 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp vanilla and stir until butter is melted.

Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.

Serves 4.

Original source: Rice Pudding Recipes

Zombie Jesus Day Wrap-up

2009-04-17T09:57:00.002-04:00

Without a doubt, I would have to say that this was the most successful dinner I've pulled off yet. The food was all ready on time and I wasn't running around the kitchen trying to get things together at the last minute. It's partially thanks to the menu I chose, but it's also due, in part, to my time management skills. Do as much as you can ahead of time and then you can actually greet your guests when they arrive.

The day before:
- I started my "No Knead" bread dough and let it rise overnight
- I baked the pecan tarts and prepared the pudding eggs

The morning of:
- I baked the lemon tower cake and the breads

The afternoon of:
- I scored the ham and started it cooking

An hour before:
- I finished the ham
- Chad peeled and diced the sweet potatoes
- I roasted the asparagus (it kept well in the toaster oven on "warm")
- Gabriel prepared the salad
- I cooked the sweet potatoes (done in 10 minutes thanks to the pressure cooker)

The ham was incredible! We chose a pre-cooked (always choose a pre-cooked ham), 7.635 kg (that's 16.83 lbs for you imperialists) shank cut of ham. There were so many left overs that I sent doggie bags home with each of the diners! I would definitely do a ham again, as it was much less work than a turkey and much more yummy. There's also the added benefit of a pre-dinner snack when you remove the rind from the ham (tastes like bacon).

Once I've typed up the ham recipe, I'll post it. In the mean time, here is the chocolate pudding egg recipe I promised.

Jell-O Pudding Eggs

Shopping List:
• Jello-O Instant Pudding (chocolate or vanilla)
• butter or margarine
• boiling water
• Baker's semi-sweet chocolate (8 squares)
• Baker's white chocolate (4 squares)
• icing sugar

Place 1 package of Jell-O Instant Pudding in a large bowl with 1/3 cup softened butter.

Add 1/3 cup boiling water to the bowl and stir until butter is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

Gradually add in 3 cups icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition and until the mixture forms a ball.

Shape small tablespoonfuls of the mixture into small egg shapes and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until eggs are firm.

Heat 8 Baker's semi-sweet chocolate squares in a double boiler or in the microwave until almost melted. Stir until completely smooth.

Dip eggs into the melted semi-sweet chocolate and completely cover. Place on waxed paper or on draining rack.

Melt 4 Baker's white chocolate squares in squeeze container and drizzle over top.

Allow eggs to cool and harden.

Original Source: Kraft Canada - JELL-O Pudding Eggs

Slow cooker chicken

2009-04-12T17:10:00.001-04:00

Anyone who owns a slow cooker knows what a lifesaver it is in terms of the time it saves you to make dinner. Just put your food in in the morning, turn it on, come back 8 hours later and . . . voila! you have dinner. But is that really dinner? Just because the chicken is cooked through, doesn't mean its tasty. I like to take an extra 5 minutes in the morning to add a flavour base. The result is infinitely better.

Disclaimer: I use a 3 quart slow cooker which really does effect how what I'm about to describe turns out.

In the pot goes: 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery and 1 onion, all cleaned and cut up into chunks (no need to peel). I also dump a tablespoon or two of whole black peppercorns.

Next goes the chicken. Something new I've discovered is wrapping the chicken in a single layer of cheese cloth before cooking it. It keeps the chicken in tack and makes it easier to serve. I only started doing this when I discoverd Dollar Store cheese cloth -- otherwise this is an excessively expensive habit.

All slow cookers required some liquid (NEVER run a slow cooker dry!), so why not add some flavour while you're at it? 1 can of vegetable or chicken broth is all you need to get things started.

Because of the size of my slow cooker, everything just barely fits and, after 8 hours, I have a chicken that has been boiling away in flavourful liquid all day. As a result, I not only have tonights dinner but I have tomorrow night's dinner as well: Wonderfully flavoured chicken stock which is perfect for chicken soup! Waste not, want not!

Apparently Perfect Scrambled Eggs

2009-04-08T17:30:00.003-04:00

Gabriel just sent me this. It's Gordon Ramsey (of Hell's Kitchen fame), at home, cooking what he calls "the perfect scrambled egg." This is not quite how I like to do it, but I feel he's hit on some important themes:

DON'T overcook the egg. If you overcook a scrambled egg, you're going to end up with water on your plate and some really dry, unpalatable eggs. And don't tell me you've never noticed this phenomenon - if so, you probably eat your eggs before they've had a chance to visably seperate, that's all. Golden rule: If it's done in the pan, it'll be overdone on the plate.
Don't whisk the eggs. You want to keep some of that previously existing structure. It'll help give you scrambled eggs instead of mushy eggs.
Don't season the eggs until afterward. If you really must, add the salt just before you start heating the eggs. NaCl does nasty things to eggs.
Ramsey uses butter and creme fraiche - I use a smaller bit of butter and cream, but the point is: Scrambling plain eggs does not great scrambled eggs make. (I could take or leave the chives.)

I will be posting my marginally famous Jell-O (Chocolate) Pudding Egg recipe soon. Something to look forward to. It will be one of my many desserts in my yummy Easter dinner. Here's the menu:

Baked ham with mustard glaze
Roasted asparagus
Mashed sweet potatoes
Homemade, no-knead bread
Mixed green salad with Italian dressing
Lemon Tower Cake
Jell-O pudding eggs
Pecan tarts

My first attempt at a dry curry

2009-04-06T11:42:00.002-04:00

I'm a big fan of Indian cuisine and my favourite dish of all time is the potato and mushroom curry from the Modern Indian Buffet (any Hamiltonians will have been there at least once). It seems silly for me to go to a buffet just to enjoy one dish so I'm endeavouring to reproduce it at home. Sunday night was my first attempt. It turned out alright – it had the heat but not the spice. I'll let you know what I did and I would appreciate any and all suggestions as to what I was missing. Gabriel and I both think we forgot the ginger. What else?

Step 1: I prep'ed 4 red-skinned waxy potatoes, 1 medium onion, 4 cloves garlic and 250 g of mushrooms.

Step 2: I sautéed the onion in 2 tbsp oil until soft and translucent. Next I added the mushrooms and cooked them until they gave up their liquid and reduced in size.

Step 2a: While the mushrooms were cooking, I started cooking the cubed potatoes in the microwave for 4 minutes.

Step 3: I added the spices (1 ½ tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp chili powder, and a dash of crushed red pepper flake), the potatoes and 1 cup of water. I stirred the mixture to evenly distribute the spices, put on a lid and let the potatoes finish cooking for about 5 minutes.

Step 4: I removed the lid, added a dash of garam masala, and let the remaining water evaporate.

Curried Split Pea Soup and Chocolate Chip Biscotti

2009-04-01T22:57:00.001-04:00

I'd had the bag of split peas sitting in my cupboard for months and my stock of homemade chicken stock was sufficiently large (thank goodness we bought a deep freeze a month ago!) so I decided to finally get around to making some homemade pea soup.

I used Alton Brown's Curried Split Pea Soup recipe. There's not much to report on this endevour. It went over well but I'm not 100% sure I'd make it again. Gabriel claims it was too salty but both Chad and I were of the opinion that it wasn't. Dinner was saved by my delicious garlic butter cheese biscuits. I will blog about them another day (I must leave you in suspense of something) but I have to say that they taste really good and quite close to the all-you-can-eat Red Lobster biscuits.

Dessert was chocolate chip biscotti served with vanilla ice cream. Yum yum. Easy to make and definitely a great accompaniment for coffee or tea.

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Shopping List:
• white sugar
• salted butter
• eggs (2)
• vanilla extract
• chocolate chips
• AP flour
• cocoa powder
• baking powder
• table salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream 1 cup sugar with ¼ cup butter, softened until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating to combine. Add 1 tbsp vanilla extract.

In a second medium bowl, whisk together:
2 cups AP flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
pinch table salt

Slowing add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into a 1 inch deep rectangular loaf on a Silicon baking mat on a baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove loaf from oven and cut into ½ - 1 inch thick slices as soon as it is cool enough to handle.

Rearrange slices, sides up, on the baking mat and bake again for approximately 10-15 minutes, until the cookies dry and brown slightly.

Flip the cookies over and bake for another 5 minutes.

Cool and enjoy with espresso covered ice cream.

Original Source: Chef at Home - Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Beer beef stew and double corn cornbread

2009-03-29T11:12:00.004-04:00

What with buying the house and all, I have been completely swamped and unable to blog but I have still had the time to play in the kitchen. So this update will be in two installments, one each for last weekend's and this weekend's cooking adventures.

Last Sunday, I made a beef stew based off of Michael Smith's Beer Stew recipe. I say based on his recipe because I actually made the stew from notes I made while watching the show. See, I like to keep a notebook and pen by the TV so I can write down ideas and suggestions while watching cooking shows. This way, I don't have to watch the show twice and, if I need to, I know exactly where to find the full recipe should I want to see exact measurements and timings.

Getting back to the Beef Stew, however, it turned out fine. Except that I was using a tougher stewing meat which probably would have benefitted more from cooking for 4 plus hours (i.e. the beef was a bit tough). I also used red wine instead of beer because that's what we had around the house. If you look at the recipe, there's no veggies in it. I would add some carrots, I think. But I did like the idea of serving the stew over some fresh baby spinach. The heat would be just enough to cook the leaves. As it was, we didn't have spinach so Gabriel served his over some frozen peas and declared it good.

We served the stew with some yummy cornbread. Gabriel managed to sneak a little extra hot sauce in but forgot the salt entirely. :) Here's the recipe we used. We used fine cornmeal, and we will continue to do so until the bag is done, but I would suggest a coarser grain cornmeal for a more rustic texture.

Double-Corn Cornbread

Shopping List:
• cornmeal
• all-purpose flour
• sugar
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• frozen corn
• sour cream
• eggs (2)
• hot sauce
• vegetable oil
• unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 450°F.

In a large bowl, whisk to combine:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt

In the food processor, combine:
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
½ tsp hot sauce

Pulse until finely ground.

Pour 2 tsp vegetable oil into an 8 inch cast-iron skillet and heat on stove top.

Fold liquid ingredients into dry.

Melt 4 tbsp unsalted butter and add to mixture.

Once oil is hot (just as whisps of smoke are seen), remove skillet from heat and immediately add the batter. Push the batter out to edges and immediately place in oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check at 18 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes.

Original source: Double-Corn Cornbread - America's Test Kitchen

Pi Day Pie Party wrap-up

2009-03-15T16:10:00.003-04:00

After suffering through a sugar coma, I am now recouperated enough to post on what I learned yesterday. But first, a word about the party:

First, thanks to everyone who came and brought pie. Koodoos to Leo for being the only other person besides myself to actually bake a pie. There were games of RoboRally and Star Wars Trival Pursuit (a game involving pie pieces!). I think we all sufficiently demonstrated our geekiness.

Now onto the pie! The pie crust was flaky but hard. This means that it had large amounts of air pockets but it was still very stiff and hard to cut (yet surprisingly easy to chew). Anyway, I accredit this to the large amounts of additional water I had to add to allow the flour to bind and the extra bit of kneading required which produced gluten (desired stuff in breads and pizza dough). I will continue to search for a better/easier pie crust recipe. In the mean time, my advice would be to stick to frozen, pre-made pie shells.

As for the filling, my mom's fluff pie came out great. Since it is made mostly for a packaged lemon Jell-O mix, I won't post its recipe here. But I WILL post the pecan pie recipe which, aside from the crust, turned out yummy as ever.

Oh, and a quick note about pizza: We used our pizza stone for the first time yesterday. It prevented the pizza from coming out soggy on the underside but its tricky business. You can't build your pizza on the stone since it needs to heat up with the oven. Instead, you need to build your pizza on a peel. This is what we learned: USE LOTS OF CORN MEAL. Really. It prevents the pizza from sticking to the peel because it doesn't easily soak up water the way flour does. So, once you've stretched the dough to your satisfaction, switch to the corn meal and be generous!

Pecan Pie

Shopping List:
• pie crust
• eggs (5)
• brown sugar
• corn syrup
• unsalted butter
• vanilla extract
• salt
• pecans (2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Glaze the crust of 1 unbaked pie shell with 1 egg yolk. Dock (perforate) the bottom of the pie shell with a fork and blind-bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.

Whisk in a large bowl:
4 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup corn syrup
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp table salt

Stir in 2 cups pecans.

Pour the filling into the baked pie shell and bake until the edges of the filling are firm and the center is still slightly wobbly, approximately 35-45 minutes.

Let the pie cool for at least 1 ½ hours before serving. The pie can be stored for up to 2 days in a refrigerator but should be brought back up to room temperature or warmed in a 275°F oven for 15 minutes before serving.

Not as easy as pie . . . crust

2009-03-13T23:24:00.003-04:00

It's now 11:30 PM. I started making pies around 7:00 PM (probably earlier). I am exhausted but, I suspect, it was worth it.

Tomorrow is our Pi Day Pie Party (3.14 . . . get it?) and I decided to make two new pies: my mom's yummy Lemon Fluff Pie and a Pecan Pie. I also decided that I would take the extra effort and make my own pie crusts. Ha.

Michael Smith, from Chef at Home, had a recipe for "easy" pie crust. It involves shredding frozen, unsalted butter directly into the flour. You see, pastry gets it's puff when the water inside the butter turns into steam. So, the more evenly you can distribute smaller pieces of butter, the more puff you get and the more tender the pastry. (Side bar: pastry is also more tender the less you handle it, i.e. keep gluten production to a minimum.) This method avoids using a pastry blender so you'd think it would be easier, but YOU try shredding two sticks of FROZEN butter and see how easy it is . . . or rather, isn't.

After shredding the butter and gently tossing it in the flour, I tried to bind it with water. I, of course, used ice water (in keeping with the theme of keeping the bits of butter distinct and cold) but the recipe called for 1/2 cup and I swear I added more than 1 cup before it finally came together.

Anyway, long story short, I blind baked the shells and they, at least, smell great. Here's what I learned:

You really do need pie weights when blind-baking a pie shell to keep the bottom from puffing.
As a consequence of the above, the crust pulled away from the edge of the pan during baking, but I might take out extra insurance next time by letting the dough poke out over the edge a little more.
There are a gazillion different ways to deal with the edges of the crust. For my time, I like just trimming it and crimping the edge with fork tines. (On the second pie, I folded the lip under and crimped it with my fingers. Looks nice but took too long.)

We (the nerds) will feast on the pies tomorrow and I will report on how they taste. Unless the crust is heaven in a pie tin, I plan on continuing my search for an easier/better recipe. For now, I think I should get to sleep . . . our party begins at 1:59 PM, don't you know?

Not so speedy lasagna

2009-03-08T20:04:00.003-04:00

Gabriel's parents came for lunch today. And it's not that I don't want to make my best stuff for them, but, considering that their our parents, they're the perfect test subjects because they'll love us even when we serve under-cooked chicken (don't worry, no one got Salmonella).

That being said, I decided to try lasagna for the first time ever. I chose Michael Smith's "Speedy Lasagna". If there was ever a misnamed dish, this was it. Don't get me wrong, it tasted AMAZING (hence the need to blog it), but it took an hour and a half to prepare and another hour to cook. So there's your warning: Good eats are ahead but they take a bit of time to get.

Lasagna

Shopping List:

olive oil
onions (2 medium)
garlic (1 head)
ground beef (500 g)
Italian sausages (4)
tomatoes (796 mL can)
tomato paste (156 mL can)
condensed beef stock (284 mL can)
dried oregano
dried basil
bay leaves
salt & pepper
eggs (2)
35% cream (½ cup)
ricotta cheese (475 g)
Parmesan cheese (2 cups, divided)
mozzarella cheese (6 cups, divided)
oven-ready lasagna noodles

Shred enough mozzarella cheese to measure 6 cups. If Parmesan cheese is not yet grated, do so now.

Whisk together 2 eggs and ½ cup cream.

Stir in:
475 g ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
to taste salt & pepper

Store the cheese mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Prep work:

Peel and chop separately 2 medium onions and 10 cloves garlic.
Purée canned tomatoes.
Remove 4 Italian sausages from their casings and break up meat.
Add enough water to the beef stock to total 2 cups

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in an extra large saucepot and add the onions. Sauté the onions until they soften and turn golden brown (approximately 5 minutes). Add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes.

Add:
1 can puréed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
3 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp dried basil
3 bay leaves
to taste salt & pepper

Stir well and heat until entire mixture is simmering and heated through. Add more salt & pepper as needed and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Layer ingredients in a 9” x 13” x 3” baking pan as follows:

1½ cups meat sauce
noodles
half of cheese sauce + 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
noodles
1½ cups meat sauce
noodles
remaining half of cheese sauce + 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
noodles
remaining meat sauce
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove foil and top with additional 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and bake for another 15 minutes.

Let lasagna sit for 15 minutes before serving.

(Original Source: Chef at Home - Speedy Lasagna)

. . . When it's bad, it's still pretty good. (Pizza - Part 3 of 3)

2009-03-07T22:32:00.005-05:00

Step 3 of 3: The pizza

The dough is ready, the sauce is prepared, it's time to assemble the pizza!

But wait! There are a few things you must first consider:

What are you going to cook your pizza on? You can use pizza pans (reusable or disposable) but the bottom is usually undercooked and moist. Your best bet is a pizza stone. Proper ones are cheap (PC sells one for $10) or you can just used an unglazed pottery stone from a garden centre. Either way, it goes in the bottom of your oven during the preheating stage.
Did you preheat your oven? Set it as high as it will go (my oven only goes to 500 F). If you turn on your oven when you start stretching out the dough, the oven and the stone should be sufficiently hot by time your pizzas are prepared. If using a pizza stone, place it in the cold oven before preheating!

Assembling the Pizza

Shopping List:

olive oil
tomato sauce (see step 2 of 3)
shredded mozarella cheese
additional toppings

Work the dough on a floured surface, keeping it in a roughly spherical shape, until the dough springs back when pulled like an elastic band. Then begin stretching the dough, working from the center, out, to produce an even thickness. Use extra flour to keep the dough from sticking.

Place the dough on the peel or pizza pan. (Optional: use corn meal to keep the dough from sticking.) Brush the crust area with a thin film of olive oil. Next, ladle a small amount of tomato sauce into the center of the pizza and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the crust. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and other toppings (optional).

Slide the pizza from the peel onto the pizza stone in the oven. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the crust begins to brown.

Some notes from experience:

When it comes to toppings, remember KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Repeating after Alton Brown, "Toppings do NOT great pizza make." The best pizza is made with only tomato sauce and cheese. If you must, pepperoni and mushrooms. But quit while you're ahead . . . and while the structural integrity of the crust remains intact.
Be gentle but firm while stretching the dough. If you're meek with the dough, you won't actually stretch it. If you're too hard on it, you will tear it and you cannot mend a tear in the dough (just fold it over and hope no one notices).
Don't try to be a proper pizzeria owner by tossing the pizza up in the air. Sure, it looks cool and the physics actually works, but you're either going to end up with a torn pizza or one that's fallen on the floor . . . NOT good eats.

. . . When it's good, it's really good . . . (Pizza - Part 2 of 3)

2009-03-05T11:38:00.003-05:00

Continuing with our pizza saga, here is the sauce recipe that Gabriel used. We still have one container in the freezer which can be easily defrosted and used at short notice.

Freezer organization tip: Label all containers with contents and date. I do this by placing a piece of masking tape on the lip and writing on it with a Sharpie. This makes it easy to find without opening lids and it allows you to see, at a glance, what's been sitting in your freezer way too long. This can be done with freezer bags as well -- though you can see through those, the packaging date is always helpful.

Step 2 of 3: The sauce

You've made the dough, now you need to cover it with the red stuff. Yes, you could always used canned or bottled sauces but why not expend a tiny bit of extra energy and enjoy some delicious sauce that makes enough for six whole pizzas and freezes easily?

Pizza Sauce

Shopping List:

olive oil
onion
garlic
tomato paste (1 small can)
whole tomatoes (798 mL can)
oregano

Finely dice 1 small onion and prepare 3 cloves garlic, crushed.

Preheat a sauce pan over medium heat. Add 3 tbsp olive oil and the onion. Sauté the onion until it softens and begins to brown and then add the garlic and 1 can tomato paste. Sauté for a few more minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add 1 can of whole tomatoes. Purée the sauce with an immersion blender. Stir in 2 tbsp oregano.

Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, until slightly thicken.

Divide sauce into three portions. Each portion can top two 9 inch pizzas. Unused portions can be frozen.

(Original source: Chef at Home - Easy Pizza Party - Pizza Parlour Sauce)

Pizza is a lot like sex . . .(Pizza - Part 1 of 3)

2009-03-03T19:48:00.004-05:00

For my first real entry, I would like to document my on-going struggle with the homemade pizza which began with the desire to save money, and avoid the bland, doughy disks that some places label as, "pizza." Why doesn't everyone make pizza at home? Because its too complicated and way too time consuming. If time is money, and you have no taste buds, it's better to buy a pizza then to make it. So here's how to save time AND money and avoid any strenuous dough kneading and hard tack:

Step 1 of 3: The dough

You have two choices: Waste an entire day OR plan ahead. I, obviously, chose the latter. By starting the dough the day before, you can let time do the kneading for you and can ignore the dough entirely until you're ready to make the pizza.

No Knead Pizza Dough

Shopping List:

bread flour
active dry yeast
table salt

Whisk together:
3 cups bread flour
¼ tsp yeast
1½ tsp table salt

Stir in 1½ cups room temperature water with the opposite end of a wooden spoon. Add small amounts of additional water until the dough just comes together.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and let sit for 18-24 hours in a warm place.

Work the dough on a floured surface, folding it over on itself several times, then let it sit, covered for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough in half and shape into balls with a tight top that look like jelly fish without the tentacles. Cover the dough balls with a lightly floured tea towel and let rest for 2 hours.

Next Step: The sauce (will be posted on another day)

(Original source: Jim Lahey reveals his recipe for no-knead pizza dough)

A little introduction to the blog

2009-03-03T10:05:00.000-05:00

As stated in the 'About Me' section on the side bar, one of my hobbies is cooking and baking. It's a source of pride for me to host a dinner or show up at a gathering with incredible food that makes people gush over its yumminess. As such, part of my time is spent reading books, surfing the web and watching TV shows. When I find something that works, I transcribe it using my own personal cookbook template. Since none of these recipes were developed by me personally, I don't consider them to be a secret, and so, would like to share my findings with others. I've already put in the leg work to find out what works and what doesn't, so why not save other people the hassle?

I expect postings to go up, atleast, on a weekly basis, if not more frequently. Sometimes I'll post recipes (With the original source! I am a scientist, after all!), sometimes I'll post little tidbits of information I learned from a failed attempt in the kitchen.

Please feel free to take what you can from this blog. Share it with friends. I wouldn't mind a small amount of fame -- I'm still waiting for my 15 minutes.