Thanksgiving 2012 - Fun with Pecans

 we are going to our friends' house for Thanksgiving Dinnner #2 on Monday night. (Thanksgiving Dinner #1 is tonight at a different house!) I offered to take dessert which will be pumpkin creme brulee. I decided that I wanted a bit more of a crunchy, decorative topping, so I have been experimenting with pecans today. So far, Frank likes both of them, but this is my favourite. It still needs a bit of a kick, but I am now out of pecans!

Happy Thanksgiving, 2012!

Cinnamony Orangey Candied Pecans

1  ½ tsp          Sugar

1/4 tsp            Salt

3/4 tsp            Saigon roasted cinnamon

1/8 tsp            Cinnamon

1/8 tsp            Ground nutmeg

1 tsp                Finely grated orange peel

3 tbsp              Butter

3 tbsp              Maple syrup (the good stuff – not faux!)

1 tbsp              Orange liqueur (optional – NOT!)

1  ¾ C            Pecans

Preheat oven to 375 Deg. –

Toast pecans in a baking sheet lined with tin foil for about 3 minutes – be careful not to over-toast them!

In a small bowl, mix salt, sugar, cinnamon, Saigon cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel.

Melt butter and maple syrup together in a non-stick pan; add liqueur (if using) and boil until slightly thickened; stir in orange peel/spice mixture; add nuts and stir until well-coated.

Put nut mixture back in foil-lined baking sheet – and bake for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Turn oven off. Stir nuts and return the pan to the oven for 1 minute. Cool nuts completely, then eat the crunchy bits.

Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Cream Cheese Icing

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.

CUPCAKES

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 egg whites
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2-3 drops red food coloring (instead of food colouring I threw in 4-8 frozen raspberries)
1 cup champagne (I used extra dry Prosecco, but the recipe recommends sweet)

CREAM CHEESE ICING

8 oz (250mg) cream cheese, room temp, cut into cubes

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cool, cut into cubes

1/2 c white sugar (I can't eat powdered sugar, but you could use that, too)

1/4 c champagne

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

PREPARE BATTER

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tins by lightly buttering or using muffin cups.

In a medium sized bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

In a mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then beat in egg whites one at a time. Add a few drops of food coloring (or in my case, throw in the frozen raspberries) until the batter is the color of your preference.

Add in flour mixture and champagne in three alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling ⅔ full. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

PREPARE ICING

In a mixer on medium speed, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Reduce speed and add the sugar. Increase speed again for about 2-4 minutes, until sugar well combined and mixture is smooth. Reduce speed and add the champagne and vanilla extract until just combined; overmixing at this point will make the icing too runny.

NOTE: My icing tasted a bit too much of champagne (I know!) so in future I would reduce to 1/8 c or even omit, depending on how champagne-y my cupcakes tasted.

Lemon Cardamom Ricotta Babycakes

I bought some ricotta cheese a few days ago with the intention of making cannelloni, but then I realized how much work it would be to come up with a tomato-free sauce (allergy), and I gave up. So then I had this ricotta. I thought, I like cheese. I like cookies. Surely there is a recipe for such a dreamy combination.

So I made these:

(Sorry for the poor photo quality.)

I combined a few online recipes and added some lemon zest and cardamom and: AMAZEBALLS. I call them babycakes because they have a soft, cakey texture inside when baked.

You're welcome.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup white sugar
1 egg, room temp, whisked
1 cup ricotta cheese
zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Glaze (optional - I didn't try it)

1 cup icing sugar (I'm allergic to corn, so I can't have this)
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp lemon zest/finely grated lemon rind

To do:

Preheat oven to 350.

In the gorgeous stand mixer that you got from your adoring boyfriend last Christmas (or with whisk), cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, ricotta cheese, lemon zest and vanilla, mixing well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cardamom. Whisk to combine. With mixer on lowest setting, add to ricotta mixture. Mix on medium until incorporated.

Drop by tsp/Tbsp onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or Silpat). Using the back of the spoon (or your fingers), spread the blobs out a bit so they bake evenly. Bake until bottoms start to brown, about 12-15min (15min worked for me). Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from cookie sheets (about 2min). Move to wire rack to continue cooling.

Glaze: In small bowl, whisk together icing sugar, milk and lemon rind until smooth. Dip tops of cookies into glaze. Let stand on rack until icing is set, about 30min.

Pear and Blood Orange Salad

One blood orange - peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

One mini cucumber - scraped and sliced

One Bosc pear - cored and sliced

Three green onions - white and some green bits - sliced

Three or four handfuls of salad mix - we used the one with herbs

Renee's Pear and Blue Cheese salad dressing

Next time I am going to add some lightly toasted, chopped pecans or some crumbled blue cheese or some fresh, crispy fennel ...

As it was, it was deeee-lish!!!!

The salad served two - but with some left over.

It will go with the fresh basil/Compari tomato/mushroom/3 cheese pizza from last night's dinner.

Banana Cake with Broiled Caramel Topping (Neighbour Cake)

This recipe is from The Complete Harrowsmith Cookbook (Best Ever Banana Cake.) Our neighbour, who otherwise eschews sweets, likes it so much we now call it Neighbour Cake.

INGREDIENTS:

Cake
1/2 C Butter
1 1/2 C white sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 C (plus) mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C buttermilk

Caramel Topping (This is 1.5 times the amount called for in the original recipe.)
1/2 C chopped pecans (or shredded coconut)
4 1/2 Tbsp melted butter (no substitutions)
3/4 C brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and white sugar together, then beat in eggs, bananas and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Bake in greased and floured 9"x9" pan at 350 F for 50 to 60 minutes. (I check it after 40 minutes - it's usually done, maybe because I often bake it in two smaller foil pans.) I once got this far reading one of my aunt's recipes where it said, "Remove from oven."Your call.

Meanwhile, combine topping ingredients. Spread over warm cake in pan and brown under broiler until bubbling. If you think you might start clean-up while the cake is under the broiler, I would advise against it. The nuts can burn very, very quickly. Besides, it's kind of fun to watch those bubbles appear. I've made this countless times and I can attest that the longer you can broil it without burning, the better. I keep rotating and moving the pan around for a couple of minutes, watching the nuts for signs of burning with an eagle eye. Eagle eye not included in recipe.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

These muffins taste best when prepared barefoot on a sunny Sunday afternoon in February, windows open to let in the unseasonably warm air, while you are singing Mozart and Handel arias at the top of your lungs, scaring your cats and disturbing the neighbours. But you can alter the recipe as you see fit.

I got this recipe from Epicurious.com, my new favourite iPhone app, but you can also visit the website: www.epicurious.com.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ (I substituted a bit of whole wheat flour)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 or 4 medium)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I used smooth and added a handful of crushed roasted almonds and cashews)
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I don't use vegetable oil so I added 1/4 cup of olive oil instead; I figured the peanut butter would have enough oil in it)
  
• 1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar and it was fine)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin papers. Sift first 4 ingredients into a small bowl to blend and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat bananas, honey, peanut butter, eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla to blend. Beat in flour mixture. Divide batter among muffin cups.

Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer muffins to rack; cool. Makes 12 large muffins, or 24 small-ish muffins which fit into mason jars and look super cute on the kitchen counter.

Enjoy!

New Year's Eve Baked Seafood Fettucine

Watch this space. Recipe soon and photos to be organized!

Scalloped Creamy Corny Potatoes

After all that rich, buttery, creamy food at Christmas and on New Year's Eve and Day, what better way to go than to continue that diet for one more day?

We invited our friends George and Marjorie for a long-overdue visit and dinner. Baked ham was on the menu, so naturally I had to make scalloped potatoes to go with it. After reading a few recipes on the internet and imagining the flavour I wanted to create, I came up with this:

6 medium potatoes - peeled and thinly sliced - I used a mix of Russets and Yukon Gold

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ground Chipolte Pepper

fresh ground black pepper

2 1/2 c milk (or cream!)

1 finely-chopped small onion

1 clove minced garlic

1 1/2 c frozen corn

1 c grated cheese

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat; blend in flour, garlic and spices; stir until smooth then gradually blend in the milk or cream and boil and stir for about a minute.

Arrange 1/3 of the potatoes in a greased skillet; add 1/3 of the onions, corn and sauce. Repeat two more times. Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Cover and bake until the potatoes are tender - about one hour. Remove the cover and broil the cheese until crispy, cheesy, bubby! Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

No recipes - just planning for a visit from one of the Kitchen Bitches and her friend who will be here "Canadian Thanksgivingish". I would like a menu for carnivores and vegetarians and whoever else would like to have dinner with us, so I was thinking of:

A salad.

The salad would consist of greenish/reddish/herbish/onionish leafy things and some freshly-snipped herbs from our planters. Perhaps some freshly grated somethings. Smokey somethings. [input appreciated]

And some pumpkin seeds and some crispy-toasty cheese circles. And Wine. [input appreciated]

Then we would have

Some lovely pasta that would be made by me, Sara and Emily. My nieces. Frank will pour the wine. The pasta will be made with farm fresh eggs (or free-range eggs from the store ...) and a squash or pumpkin filling. Squash or pumpkin from the Farmers' Market ...perhaps some garlic .... sweet onion ... fresh sage ... And Wine ... and Cream.

Something cheesey - turkey-ish - parsley-sage-rosemary-time-Simon&Garfunkelish ....

Tomato bisque-ish ... dill ... And Wine.

Turkey breast (or a 20 LB turkey from a local farmer and too many left-overs) will be rolled around some sage, parsley ...

still planning. Caramelized onions ...

more planning ...

comments? suggestions?

Tomato Sauce

Normally I would use a mixture of different kinds of garden-fresh tomatoes, including lots of Roma, but I managed to get some slightly "blemished" tomatoes for $1 per pound at the market. So I bought 10 lbs. Blanched, peeled and seeded them. Cooked the tomato pulp until it was softened. Added two large cloves of coarsely chopped Gabriola garlic (which is stronger than the common supermarket variety) and a nice big fat coarsely chopped shallot. Simmered it until the tomatoes were really soft and the garlic and shallots cooked. Then I smushed them with my handy-dandy immersion blender. I added some fresh sage, thyme, Italian oregano and basil leaves - all whole - and simmered for about an hour - until it was thickened, then I took out the herbs and discarded them. Then I added a goodly sized clove of crushed garlic and some freshly chopped herbs (see above), some Maldon salt and turned off the heat. (Also added the juice of one lemon and about 1/3 cup of white wine which I reduced to 1/4 cup - just because I had it in the fridge.) Next time, I will add two juices of lemon. From start to finish, I think I reduced the total "watery liquidness" of the tomatoes by a good inch and a half or thereabouts from the top of the pot.

Tarragon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I recently made tarragon infused vanilla bean ice cream and it was AMAZING. While I took inspiration from another recipe, I basically just modified a couple of ice cream recipes I already had. It's helpful to have an ice cream maker, but you can also just put your ice cream mix directly into the freezer and churn it by hand every 15-20 twenty minutes until it's frozen through.

Tarragon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

2 c (500 mL) half and half (or 1 c milk, 1 c heavy cream)
1 vanilla pod, sliced down the middle
Generous handful of fresh tarragon
4 large egg yolks (freeze the whites to make egg white quiche or meringues)
1/2 c white sugar

HEAT: Place cream, vanilla pod and tarragon in a saucepan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring often. Let infuse for 15-20 min, then remove the vanilla and scrape the seeds into the cream mixture. Discard the empty pod. Remove saucepan from heat and pour through a sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl and let cool slightly. (Don't worry if you can't smell the tarragon - the flavour continues to intensify throughout the process.)

WHISK: In a stainless steel bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy (2 min). Gradually pour the infused cream into the whipped egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. I like to add the hot cream in small doses, then whisk, then add, etc. If any lumps do form, simply strain the mixture before moving onto the next step.

CUSTARD: Most ice cream recipes are just fancy custards, so now you are about to embark on the tedious custard part of the journey. Place the stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water (or use an actual double boiler, which would involve transferring your custard mix to another container, a step I'd rather just omit). Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the custard thickens enough that it coats the back of a spoon. (The "spoon test" works like this: the film of custard on the back of the wooden spoon should stay in place when you draw a line with your finger through the middle of the custard.)

CHILL: Remove from heat and transfer to a glass bowl, continuing to stir the mixture for a few minutes so it does not over-cook. Cover bowl with a towel and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating until it is completely chilled (overnight).

ICE CREAM: If you have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into the chilled container and follow the ice cream maker instructions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, as I said above, you can just churn it yourself every 15 or 20 min. I've never tried this method, so you'll have to ask Jamie Oliver, from whom I got this pointer.

SERVE: I made a spicy plum compote to serve with my tarragon ice cream (oven roasted plums with cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, honey, and cloves), but you could serve it with whatever you like. If you chose to use 100% cream, the ice cream will be incredibly rich so you only need about two teaspoons per serving, served in little white ramekins or tiny teacups.

ENJOY!

Experimental Garlicky Rosemary-y Lemony Potatoes

I wanted some potatoes to go with some sausages we bought at the Meat Market in Duncan. "Mild Italian with Fennel" so ... here is my experiment:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Peel 3 or 4 russet (baking) potatoes and dice into 3/4 inch cubes

Coarsely chop a large onion

Some fresh fennel bulb sliced or chopped into chunks - centre core removed - reserve some of the leafy feathers

Maybe you could peel and slice in half lengthwise some garlic cloves - not too many - about 15 - 20 will do - but not too much garlic ...

About 1/4 cup of really oily olive oil

Fresh snipped rosemary from your herb garden and reserved leftover fennel feathers

Lemon pepper

Salt (sea ..., smoked ... pick one)

Chop everything choppable, but keep the rosemary and fennel feathers aside. Put the veggies on a roasting pan and sprinkle with the olive oil, lemon pepper and salt. Drop sliced garlic all over and stir so everything is coated with olive oil.

Put pan in preheated oven. Roast, pausing to stir and turn every 15 minutes or so for about an hour and a half or two. Potatoes and onions should be golden brown with black speckles from the pepper ... when they look good and the potatoes are cooked, take them out of the oven, sprinkle with chopped rosemary and the fennel feathers (or lemon thyme?) and serve.

Next time I will add a little more salt and keep an eye out for over-cooking, and instead of lemon pepper, I will sprinkle the potatoes with fresh lemon juice ... and some thyme or oregano ...

When you snip herbs from your herb garden (even if you are only trimming them back), remember to inhale the wonderful aroma. Nothing smells as wonderful as a bundle of fresh herbs.

Sprinkle your herb trimmings on some fresh tomatoes or add them to your salad.

Grilled Cauliflower or Asparagus

If you don't like cauliflower, use whole asparagus spears without the Optional Options. When it is cooked, sprinkle the asparagus with a little fresh-squeezed lemon juice!

One head of cauliflower

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Optional Options

Chipotle Chili Powder

Smoked Paprika Powder

Ground Cumin

Gomashio

Trim the leaves, remove the lower stem, rinse and dry the cauliflower.

Slice the cauliflower into 1" slices OR break it into bite-size florets (some small, some large ...)

(The slices grill evenly; the florets grill unevenly.)

Coat the bottom of your roasting pan with oil and add the cauliflower. Sprinkle some more oil over the cauliflower and add the spices.

Put the pan under the broiler and when the cauliflower turns a nice caramelizey-golden-crispy brown, turn the cauliflower over.

You can also use a frying pan on top of the stove or a grilling pan on the bbq.

The gomashio is good if you are doing an Asian themed meal, but I like the smokier flavours for regular every-day "Canadian" or East Indian meals. I might try it with some sweet or "dessert" spices one day.

Salmon Dip for Emergency Use Only

Emergency! Emergency!

Neighbours are coming back for unplanned dinner after a glass or two of wine or a couple of G&T's ... Emergency!!!

Salmon Dip for Stacy's Parmesan, Garlic & Herb Chips!

1 can of salmon (drained - feed liquid to your kitties)

1/2 cup sour cream (or what you have left in your reefer from dinner a night or so ago)

1/2 cup smoked salmon cream cheese

juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp fresh dill

Several grindings of black pepper

Several dashes of Chipotle Tobasco - to taste

I mushed this with the immersion blender which made it a bit gloppy. Mashing with a fork would probably be a better way to go.

Honey/Mustard Sauce for Chicken

Made this up today - since the other recipes I found for honey/mustard sauce all called for honey and I didn't have any - except for an unopened jar of "chili honey" that I got for Christmas. It's spicy, warm, and sweet. So, here goes:

Mix all ingredients together:

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup chili honey

2 heaping tablespoons (or to taste) EACH of:

Orange chipotle mustard

Sweet grainy mustard (has maple syrup in it)

Cheap, regular French's mustard

2 cloves of crushed garlic

While chicken is cooking, baste it with the sauce every 10 - 15 minutes or so.

Of course, I have not yet actually COOKED the chicken - but the sauce sure tastes good in the bowl! You could probably do without the butter, but why?

UPDATE: As good as it was in the bowl, some of the flavour got lost in the cooking process. Original recipe called for one tablespoon of each mustard - not mustardy enough when cooked so I upped the mustards and added the garlic because garlic equals extra mustard in this particular instance.

Good Food in a Box, Delivered Right To My Door

I have just signed up for a food share program in Toronto! Every week, a box of fresh, locally grown produce will be delivered to my door. After researching several of these programs in Toronto, the service I decided on is Mama Earth Organics. Gavin and I love to cook, and I think this will be a tasty and inspiring way to enjoy local food over the summer. I am anticipating exploring less common vegetables that will surely send me scurrying to my cook books (and this blog!) to find new ways to prepare them. I am also excited that I won't be buying the wilted, dirty, truck-ripened produce from the grocery store across the street. It may be convenient, but it's also scary!

Just wanted to share my exciting food news!

DALE'S MISTAKE CHEESE SCONES

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

Makes about 10 or 12 scones

Sift together

1 and 3/4 cups sifted flour

2 and 1/4 tablespoons baking powder

1 scant tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Cut 1/2 cup of cold butter into the flour mixture until the size of small peas

In a separate bowl, mix

2 lightly beaten eggs (set 2 tablespoons aside)

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup light cream

OR 2/3 cup coffee cream

Finely grate 1/2 - 2/3 cup BALDERSON'S Extra Aged WHITE Cheddar (or any other exceptionally delicious white cheddar. Don't substitute crappy cheddar!)

Chop or coarsely grate 1/2 - 2/3 cup of exceptionally delicious aged ORANGE cheddar

Mix the two cheeses into the flour mixture until well coated. Pour in egg/cream mixture and stir gently until all ingredients are moistened.

Drop batter from large spoon onto parchment-covered baking sheet - brush each scone with some of the reserved beaten egg

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

Since there is hardly any fat (ha!) in these scones, you will want to serve them with fresh, chilled butter while they are still warm. Enough butter so it drips down your arm when it melts.

NOTE:

The best indicator of a truly wonderful cheese scone is lots of crunchy, cheesy bits on the bottom of the scone. Since I like to make damn sure there are lots of crunchy, cheesy bits, I put some thinly sliced pieces of orange cheddar on the parchment before dropping the scone batter on top. (I use orange cheddar for this to make the scones look more cheesy!)

I may make these with a little something I discovered at our local purveyor of fine cheeses - peccorino with black peppercorns.

Buttermilk Scone Request

I thought I'd open up the floor on our new blog! I am seeking the perfect buttermilk scone recipe. I found one on smittenkitchen.com, but am open to other suggestions. Anyone?