Foie Gras & Rhubarb

Here is the second installment of my Mom’s birthday menu.  It was a pretty elaborate dinner and I was quite please we pulled it off considering there were so many first tries for me.  I probably should have shared this recipe first as it was the appetizer, but I couldn’t wait to share the dessert!

Simon and I have wanted to try to do foie gras for some time.  While we were in Germany, we had the good fortune to be able to go to a French restaurant with my supervisor and his wife.  It was certainly a memorable experience and I can remember each dish vividly.  It was there that we were introduced to foie gras.

I must say I hesitated to eat it at first because I’d heard so many horror stories of how the ducks and geese are treated, but peer pressure forced me to succumb and I indulged.  It was spectacular and since then we have wanted to try and do it ourselves.

While I was in Paris for a conference, I purchased two small tins of duck foie gras to bring home for our experiments.  We decided to sear the foie and serve it with a rhubarb compote.

For those of you who are still thinking of the ducks and geese, I urge you to have a look at this article.  While I may just be making myself feel better, I did find it informative and well-written.

If you do decide to give it a try, be sure to take your time making the recipe.  Foie gras is very expensive, so one wouldn’t want to let it go to waste.

Foie Gras & Rhubarb (adapted from: Emril Lagasse)

• 3/4 1bs. of chopped rhubarb
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice of 1 lemon and a bit of grated lemon zest
• 1 cup of white wine
• 1 finely minced shallot
• salt and pepper
• 1 tin of foie gras (pre-chilled in the fridge)
• chopped chives and mixed greens as garnish

In a saucepan combine all ingredients except the foie gras.  Bring to a simmer until the rhubarb is softened.  Take off the heat and let cool a little before pureeing in a blender or with an immersion blender.  Set aside and let it come to room temperature.  Note that you can make this ahead and store in the fridge, but let it come to room temperature before using.

For the foie, take the can out of the fridge and open both ends with a can opener.  Push the log out from the other end onto a cutting board.  Heat some water and prepare your sharp knife.  Heat a fry pan to medium heat (no oil – just dry).  Dip the knife in hot water.  Dry it quickly and slice off a round of foie gras that is a about a pinky finger thick.  Repeat until all slices are done.

Season the slices with salt and pepper. Drop them into the hot pan.  It will sizzle and smoke.  Allow them to brown on one side and then quickly turn them over.  Once they are brown on both sides, pull them off the heat.  On each plate, put  a few tablespoons of rhubarb and top with one or two slices of foie gras.  Garnish with chives and greens.  Serve with bread or toasts.

Raspberry Potted Cream

The weather has been fabulously hot here.  I can hardly even remember what rain is like.  Every day this month we’ve had clear blue skies and high temperatures.  While it has been wonderful to have such sunny skies, the heat has certainly taken its toll on us and I have been avoiding the oven like the plague.

On the weekend we celebrated my Mom’s 58th birthday.  We were a bit late in celebrating so we decided to do it up right with a big meal with many courses.  We made a lot of things, but I could not bring myself to bake a cake on such a hot day.  We opted instead for dessert which showcased the fresh fruit in season right now – red raspberries!

The raspberries were sauced in their own puree and sat atop a soft pillow of jelly vanilla cream.  It was my first stab at working with gelatine and I was pretty pleased with the results.

I got the recipe from a Food & Drink magazine that my Mom had lent me a little while ago.  Although I was nervous to use the gelatine for the first time, it came together very quickly and only needed a few ingredients.  I think it will definitely become part of the summer dessert repertoire.

I hope to share at least one more recipe from the birthday dinner so stay tuned!

Raspberries & Potted Cream

(note: 1 Tbsp of gelatine was one envelope in the KNORR package.  While the package said to use with 2 cups of liquid, I followed the Food & Drink recipe, which had 3 cups and it set just fine.)

POTTED CREAM

• 1 Tbsp of gelatine
• 1/4 cup cool water
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract or about half of a large vanilla bean
• 3 Tbsp. of sugar

RASPBERRIES

• 1 1/2 cups of raspberries (the fresher the better!)
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. water

small mint leaves to garnish

For the cream, sprinkle the gelatine over the water in a large mixing bowl.  In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla extract.  If you are using a bean, split it and scrape in the seeds.  Put in the pod to infuse the milk while heating.  Slowly heat the cream while stirring, until it comes to a simmer.  Fish out the bean or strain the cream and then pour it over the gelatine.  Stir well so the gelatine dissolves.  Divide the mixture into 4-6 glasses.  Cover each glass with cling wrap and refrigerate at least six hours or until set.

For the raspberries, combine a half cup of berries with the water and sugar.  Mash it up with a fork.  Toss in the remaining raspberries and stir to coat.  Top the set cream with the berry mixture and garnish with mint leaves if desired.  You can chill it again until you are ready to serve.

Zucchini Blossoms & Summer

It has been far too long since I’ve updated.  I’ve missed it very much.  Fortunately, just because I haven’t written doesn’t mean I didn’t have some pretty awesome food these last months.  April and May were a bit dreary, but ever since the warm weather hit we’ve been out on the balcony enjoying the fresh summer fare.

Today was no exception.  After my run, I stopped off at our local farmer’s market to see what might look good for dinner.  The first stand caught my eye with a beautiful bag of zucchini blossoms.  I’ve never cooked them, but I’ve always wanted to so I decided they were going to be on my plate tonight.

The friendly chap instructed me to bread them and fry them and that is exactly what I did.  Paired with tossed greens, a summer fresh tomato and homegrown basil it was delicious meal and perfect for a summer night.  If you come across these little gems be sure to pick them up and give them a try.

Zucchini Blossoms

 

• 1 egg lightly beaten
• fresh bread crumbs
• salt and pepper
• grated parmesan cheese
• zucchini blossoms

Rinse and dry your blossoms.  Prepare a saute pan with a little oil and heat to medium high.  Mix the bread crumbs with the salt and pepper and the cheese.  Dip each blossom in the egg and then crumbs.  Drop in the pan.  Cook on each side until golden.  Be sure to use the best quality ingredients you can as this is a simple recipe that really shines with good stuff.  Enjoy it with other market and garden fresh items.

Here is to summer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird Wrapped in Salt

It was a Sunday morning and we were together as a family discussing what we might make for dinner.  We tossed around the idea of fish, a roast and pasta.  Someone said chicken and that’s when I remembered the salt-crusted chicken on Chocolate & Zucchini, a blog that has never failed me.

It involves wrapping the chicken in quite a large amount of salt and baking it.  The crust is then cracked open discarded and a moist chicken is revealed.  Everyone was intrigued and so we decided to give it a go.  I’ll share the steps with you now, but I encourage you to check out Clotilde’s site for the exact directions.

You begin with a bird like the one you see above.  You insert a few crushed cloves of garlic in the inside and under the skin you stuff handfuls of parsley.

In a big bowl you mix together 3 3/4 cup of flour, 1 1/3 cups of coarse salt, 3 Tbsp. of fresh thyme and 4-5 large egg whites.  Then you add some water (2/3 – 1 cup water) and mix until a dough forms.  I found this a little tough and I needed a bit more water, but with strong hands you can manage.

Then you roll out the dough into a huge circle in order to envelope the chicken.  You plop the bird on top and carefully wrap it in the dough.  It will look like a little mummy.

You move the wrapped bird onto an oiled pan and insert it into a preheated 400°F oven.  Let it cook for 1 1/2 hours.  Clotilde says cooking it longer won’t hurt it one bit.  In the meantime you can prepare some delicious sides like these roast vegetables -

or Simon’s fantastic saffron crusted potatoes (I promise a post about these soon!)

After the time is up.  You take the baked bird out of the oven.  The crust will be a nice golden brown and the smell of roasted chicken will be permeating the air.

This when you break out your hammer and let the fun begin.  Cracking open the chicken proved to be quite a pleasure indeed.  After smacking it a few times, you can peel away the crust, revealing a moist delicious chicken insided.

The chicken was indeed one of the best I have ever had and it was super fun to make.  I must admit though, I did miss the crunchy skin.  I certainly intend to try Clotilde’s other wrapped bird recipe -chicken in a bread crust!

Gone Campin’

After far too long Simon and I made it back to the woods for two nights of winter camping at Maple Leaf Lake in Algonquin Park.  This was our third winter camping trip and once again we wished we could have stayed longer.  We had some wonderful fires and walks on icy lakes.  We came back refreshed and even a little tanned.  It just goes to show that you don’t need to fly south to have a vacation in winter!

Winter camping presents its own set of challenges, but one of the benefits is that you can bring a variety of foods that you normally couldn’t in summer.  In the end everything stays frozen.  In the coming weeks, I’ll post some special winter camping recipes, but first I wanted to share a camp recipe that is good in both summer and winter.  It is one of our favourites and we take it a long on every trip.

The key to preparing your food for camping is to pack everything you need for each meal in ziplock bags.  Never ever bring food in all its original packaging.  You want to save as much space and weight as possible so bringing only what you need is essential.  I pack each breakfast and supper in a ziplock bag and mark how much water is need and other instructions on the outside.

This recipe is for a breakfast omelet and it is the perfect filling fuel for a day in the woods.  Believe it or not eggs can be easily brought in with you.  In summer, I try to eat the eggs on the first breakfast so they don’t go bad, but eggs do keep quite well. Here are the instructions for your own special eggy breaky in the backcountry.

Backcountry Breakfast Omelet (breakfast for one, multiply as needed)

• 1 freezer ziplock bag
• three eggs
• add ins: bacon bits, grated parmesan cheese, chopped green onions, salt and pepper

At home:

Break your eggs into the ziplock bag (1 bag per person).  Dump in your add-ins.  Push all the air out of the bag and seal.  If you are more than one, group the egg bags in one larger ziplock bag for added protection and ease of storage.

At Camp:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil on either a camp fire or your camp stove.  Put the individual egg bags in the water.  Don’t worry, the ziplock bag won’t melt.  Let the bags sit in the hot water for several minutes.

Every once in a while pull them out and push on them a bit to allow any raw egg to spill out above the cooked exterior.  This will reduce the cooking time.  Once the eggs are cooked, dump them into your bowl and enjoy the tasty omelet with a cup of coffee or tea.

This meal comes together very quickly and has very minimal clean up.  It makes a perfect meal choice for a long day of hiking when you need to pack up quick!

Seductive Seafood

Valentine’s day is on its way.  To be honest, I never really get worked up about it.  For me any day is a great excuse to cook up a fantastic dinner with my love.  However, if you are looking for a special dinner on February 14th, then here are two tips:

1) Stay home and cook dinner together.  Cooking is fun and you’ll be able to avoid all the hassle of getting reservations.

2) Cook really simple, but great quality food.  Who needs the stress?

While there are plenty of things one can make that are simple, I recommend seafood for an extra special Valentine’s.  It comes together super quick and if you buy good quality, it is always delicious.  Plus it isn’t too heavy so you’ll have plenty of room for some tasty chocolate treats afterward.

Here are two recipes that you can either use together or solo depending on your plans.  The first is a classisc Spanish Gambas recipe. It comes together so quickly and yet the sauce and the shrimp are positively perfect.  I recommend it as an appetizer, but you could serve it as a main as well.

Spanish Gambas

• fresh, deveined and shelled jumbo shrimp (3-4 per person for an appetizer)
• chili flakes
• garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• lemon juice
• sherry
• fresh parsley
• serve with baguette

After you have cleaned your shrimp, heat a small fry pan with olive oil.  Toss in your garlic and chili (vary the amounts depending on your taste). Let them cook a bit, but be careful not to burn the garlic.  Toss in the shrimp along with a bit of lemon juice and a glug of sherry.  Toss it well and wait for the shrimp to turn pink.  Sprinkle liberally with parsley and serve with fresh bread.

My next recipe suggestion is mussels.  They are also very quick to prepare and fun to eat.  There are many simple recipes out there that involve steaming them in a bit of white wine, but recently we tried a great recipe from The Guardian that also used chorizo sausage.  It was a bit more work, but still very simple.

The key with mussels is to buy very fresh ones.  Most fish mongers will beard them for you, but be sure to check.  It is also important to toss out any that don’t close their shells when you pinch them or if they have broken shells.  Aside from this they are one of the easiest dishes to prepare.  For a main meal you should count on about 1 lb. of mussels per person.

Mussels with Chorizo

(from The Guardian)

Serves 4

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100g chorizo for cooking, chopped (or other hot sausage)
• 1 small shallot, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 large tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 lbs. mussels, cleaned
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

In large pot heat the olive oil and sauté the sausage until it is cooked.  Add the shallot and garlic and allow it to soften.  Then add your tomatoes and allow them to heat through.  Allow the sauce to simmer and thicken.  Add the wine and let the sauce reduce for another few minutes.

Toss in the mussels with the parsley and stir it up.  Put the lid on and wait a few minutes until the shells have opened.  If some mussels don’t open, discard them.  Season with salt and pepper how you like.  Once again, serve it up with fresh bread to soak up the sauce!  A green salad on the side is also an excellent addition.

Don’t forget a delicious dessert and you will be sure to have a meal to please!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Swedish Meatballs!

It was the ligonberries that finally convinced me.  Simon had been bugging me for a while for us to make swedish meatballs.  I kept resisting.  The thought of big balls of tasteless meat dripping cream sounded like the exact opposite of a tasty dish.  Then we found real ligonberries at Deninger’s and I figured there would be at least one part of dinner I would like.

Of course the dinner actually turned out pretty awesome.  The meatballs were perfectly spiced.  The sauce was rich and flavorful with only a touch of cream and the accompanying cucumber salad was crisp and refreshing on the side.  I am now officially sold on meatballs.

As a base we used an Alton Brown recipe. In the comments, plenty of people said the sauce needed some more spices or something.  We added some mushrooms and thyme to pick it up a bit.  We served it with lightly buttered egg noodles and we were both in heaven!

The cucumber salad was super easy and involved thinly slicing the cucumber and letting sit in some salt to draw out the moisture.  Then you rinse it and toss it with 2 tbsp of white vinegar and 1 tbsp. of sugar dissolved in 1 tbsp. of boiling water.  You add some dill, salt and pepper and some shallots or green onions.  You let the whole mix crisp up in the fridge and you have a positively perfect cucumber.  I can imagine it being excellent in a sandwich too.

For the meatballs we followed Alton’s recipe with a few changes.  We used a mix of beef and ground turkey just because we had it.  I didn’t have allspice so I put in a bit more nutmeg as well as cinnamon and cardamon.  After we finished browning the meatballs, we sauteed some mushrooms in the pan before adding the stock.  We also put in some fresh thyme.  The meatballs can also easily be frozen, so go ahead and make a big bunch!

 

Two Big Birthdays!

On Sunday my blog and I had our birthdays.  The blog had its first birthday and I turned the big three-oh.  I am not sure which is more exciting!  Over the last year, I’ve really enjoyed writing these posts and this blog has followed me around on quite a few cooking adventures.  For my birthday, I got a dehydrator, so hopefully I will be back to posting camping recipes soon!

The weekend was full of great moments and the weather was spectacular!  On Saturday I kept up the running training with a 24 km trail run with Simon.  It was the longest run I’ve done to date!  Sunday was a bit more restful and we explored some nature spots in Hamilton with my family.  As always the cardinals were out in all their glory.

The weekend also involved a lot of cooking.  Saturday I had some good friends over for a birthday dinner.  We had a chicken recipe that I have come up with that I hope to share soon, but sadly I didn’t take any good photos.  We followed up with chocolate fondue with tons of fruit, cookies, pretzels and marshmallows.  I love fondue!

On Sunday my family joined us for beef bourguignon.  This is an amazing recipe that takes fairly inexpensive meat like this -

and turns it into a rich, deep and delicious dish like this -

I can’t imagine a more perfect meal for a January birthday.  The recipe comes to me from one of my favourite cookbooks – Chocolate & Zucchini. Clotilde has managed to develop the perfect beef bourguignon in my opinion.  I made no changes because it is perfect as is!

Beef Bourguignon (serves 4-6) from Chocolate & Zucchini

• 1 medium onion minced
• 2 medium shallots minced
• 3 carrots chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
• some fresh thyme (about 2 tsp.)
• 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3.5 lbs of chopped beef
• 1 bottle of red wine (Burgundy or Pinot Noir)
• 6-8 slices of bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1.5 ounces of dark, bittersweet chocolate
• serve with bread or potatoes

The day before you want to cook the stew, mix together the onions, shallots, garlic, herbs, bay leaves, salt and pepper, carrots, wine, oil and meat.  Cover it with plastic wrap and and let it sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours.  Don’t skimp on the wine!

Several hours before you want to eat (at least 3 or 4) strain the mixture and reserve the liquid.  Pick out the meat pieces.  Don’t worry if some onion or parsley clings to the meat.  Just pick it off as best you can.

In a large pot fry the bacon slices.  Once they are crunchy lift them out and reserve them (you put them in close to the end of cooking).  Keep 2 Tbsp. of bacon fat in the pot and pour the rest off.  Sauté the vegetables until they have softened.  Lift the veggies out and now working in at least two batches, brown the meat lightly on all sides.

Once everything has had some sauté time, put all the meat into the pot and stir in the flour.  Mix in the flour until you can no longer see it.  Now add the veggies and the reserved liquid.  Let the pot come to a bubble and then turn the heat down to low.  Let it simmer with the cover on for about three hours. In the last hour add the chocolate and the reserved bacon.

You can do this cooking in advance if you like and then reheat it.  If a stew has a chance to sit, it tastes even better.

The last 20 minutes before you heat, take off the lid to allow the sauce to thicken.

Enjoy it with some steamed brussels sprouts, bread and a delicious bottle of wine (preferably the same kind you used in the stew).

Bon Appétit!

Happy 2011 & Rainbows in Hamilton

I’ve been meaning to do a post on some of the culinary “highlights” of Hamilton, my new home, for some time.  Finally, 2011 rolled around and I decided to do it.  I think my procrastination was largely related to the fact that Hamilton seems to pale in comparison to Paris, Heidelberg and Berlin when it comes to food.  How could I possibly follow-up with Hamilton?

However, even in the most unexpected places you can find rainbows and there have certainly been a few great spots here in the Hammer. Beyond the waterfalls, the escarpment and the nearby wine region, Hamilton also has a few good restaurants, cafes and food shops.  Here is what I’ve found so far:

• Seven Windows: This is where I ate on my first night here and I haven’t found a better restaurant yet.  It is upscale, but the food is delicious and the staff are very professional.  If you are looking for a special dinner out then this is the place.
• Gate of India: This place was the first Indian restaurant in Hamilton.  The food is really good and you can get it quite spicy if you ask.  They even have a dish hotter than vindaloo, but I haven’t tried that one yet.
• Wass:  Wass is a super tasty Ethiopian restaurant.  The decor is a bit out-dated and there isn’t much in the way of natural light.  However, the food and the special coffee really make up for it.  Especially if you have never tried Ethiopian, give it a go.
• Bar on Locke: For a quiet night of drinks, this bar offers up some cozy atmosphere and nice relaxing jazz music.  The food is pretty good and also pretty reasonable.
• The Brain: Located in the “almost-gentrified” James St. quarter, this is the place to watch hipsters and have good beer.
• The Winking Judge: This is one of these very inviting bars that feels like it is home.  The beer is a bit pricey, but they have an awesome selection.
• My Dog Joe: I’ve only been once, but I really liked the bright sunny atmosphere of this cafe.
• Zarky’s: For good bread and homemade foods, Zarky’s is a treasure.
• Denninger’s: If you are looking to make a European dish (particularly a German one) and you can’t find the ingredients, then go to Denninger’s.  They also have really great bread.  The asiago-pepper bread was to die-for!
• Cheese Shoppe on Locke:  I hesitated to put this one up, because it is prohibitively expensive.  However, the cheese really is fantastic and if you are willing to spend a bit extra for a treat then it is certainly the place to go.  Just poking around the store and having a few taste tests is also a pleasant way to spend some time.

In the end, I got a pretty long list!  Hopefully, I’ll find more gems to share soon.

Getting Ready for Christmas

This weekend was probably a pretty busy one for most people.  Everyone was finishing up shopping and setting up the house for Christmas.  Like most years I tried to make a few edible gifts for family and friends.  Hopefully, they won’t read this before the big day!

I made a big batch of spice nuts (four pounds!) using the excellent recipe from Sassy Radish.  I also made Sparkling Ginger cookies from Cookbook 101.  I love these cookies, becomes the ginger really comes through.

Naturally, I also wanted to make some old family favourites.  I did up a batch of Rum & Raisin Cookies and Chocolate Crinkles.  Both turned out delicious.  I am eager to share them with everyone, but for now I’ll share one of the recipes with you.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (6 dozen)

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 sq. unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup icing sugar

Melt chocolate.  Stir in oil and granulated sugar.  Blend in one egg at a time until well-mixed.  Add vanilla.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into oil/chocolate mix.  Stir together.  Let chill in the fridge several hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350*F.  Take teaspoon-sized balls of dough and roll in the icing sugar.  Shape into balls and press lightly on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Make sure to give the cookies a bit of space.  Bake for 10 minutes and be careful not to overbake.

This recipe makes a whopping 6 dozen cookies so be prepared to hand the out to family & friends.

Happy Holidays!!