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"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." - James Beard


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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Peach Raspberry Crisp


Are you ready for a shocking confession?  I've never made a pie.  

Well, to be more accurate, I've never made a pie crust.  I've made a key lime pie with graham cracker crust, but that barely counts as pie.   I've never made pie crust from scratch or baked a real pie. 



Saturday, July 27, 2013

Chicken with Roasted Apricots


This is a quick and easy combination of crispy chicken and sweet, spiced fruit that tastes wonderful together.  The recipe comes from the New York Times.  Here's what you need: 


6-8 apricots
4 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons grapeseed or other vegetable oil

Monday, July 22, 2013

Spanish Sausage Hash with Potatoes & Corn


We found some more delicious sausage at The Hungary Butcher at Ogilvies Market.  This time we chose the spicy Spanish sausage.  I thought it would be nice with some crispy potatoes.  I also had some fresh corn from the market so I threw that in too.  It tasted incredible and we'll definitely have it again.  

I made this one up myself.  This will make enough for 4.  Here's what you need:


Thursday, July 18, 2013

Pineapple Glazed Short Ribs


This terrific recipe comes from Canadian Beef.  The beef is marinated in pineapple juice which is then boiled and turned into a glaze to flavour the meat while it grills.

I've been trying out different kinds of organic and natural beef.  I found some "Miami-style" short ribs.  They are also called Korean-style or flanken-cut ribs, sliced thin through the bone and good for grilling.  

Here's what you need:


Monday, July 15, 2013

Lobster Rolls


You can't argue with that.

I love cooking seafood because it photographs so beautifully.  This tastes as good as it looks but it is not a "traditional" lobster roll and it is not a healthy choice.  I went light on the butter compared to the original recipe and it's still about twice as much butter as I'd normally consider cooking with.  But it was worth it.  So delicious.  


I picked up a couple of frozen lobster tails on sale this weekend and thought lobster rolls would make good use of them.  I originally intended to make traditional cold lobster rolls with mayonnaise and celery, but I got lazy at the last minute and found these buttery, Connecticut-style lobster rolls.  Never a fan of mayo, these are more my speed so I made them instead. 

First, a disclaimer.  Lobster rolls are one of those foodstuffs like pizza that people have passionate, regional, unbreakable rules about.   A real lobster roll must be made with fresh whole lobster, with mayonnaise and minimal other ingredients and served on a top-sliced, commercial hot dog bun.   Check out this awesome blog post where the writer is outraged about the use of green stuff and frozen lobster tails.   


Even though this recipe may be considered a travesty by traditionalists, it was so delicious I have no regrets.  

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Mojito

Here's a repeat post from last summer.  I thought it was important to get this information out there during this hot summer weekend.  Enjoy!  

This is the reason I started growing mint in my garden.  This is an extremely refreshing cocktail, perfect for a hot summer day!



I usually use a cocktail shaker for this, but it's easy to muddle the ingredients in a glass.  


Use a handful of mint.


Sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar.


Muddle with a wooden spoon.  Muddling releases the oils and flavour from the mint.


Add the juice of a lime and mix to dissolve the sugar.


And a shot of white rum.


Fill the glass with ice and top with club soda.


Drink on the deck with a good book.  Refreshing!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Seared Tuna with Avocado, Soy, Ginger and Lime


Matt has been on a seared tuna kick recently and he orders it whenever we see it on a menu.  I happened to see some nice tuna at the seafood counter this week so I picked some up for him.  It is unbelievably expensive, but I got a small, 1/4 pound piece which made a nice appetizer for us.  Matt found the recipe and cooked the dish.  Great work!  It was delicious!

Here's what you need:


Monday, July 8, 2013

Chiles Rellenos


Before I knew Matt, I'd never heard of chiles rellenos, stuffed, fried poblano chiles.  But over the years I've seen him order them any time he sees them on a menu.  It's not easy to find a wide variety of chiles where we live, so when I saw poblano peppers at the grocery store, I snapped them up and decided to surprise Matt with his favourite dish.  

I'm not going to say this was easy.  It's pretty ambitious, but you can prepare it in stages and fry the peppers in the batter at the last minute.  Frying indoors is one of my least favourite ways to cook; it's messy and hot and requires full attention.  But for some things - including this - it's worth it.  



I used this recipe from Chow which calls for an egg batter and claims to be the most authentic method.  Some recipes call for breadcrumbs in the coating.  This was an unusual batter but it tasted great.  

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Hawaiian Bacon Sausages


There's a new farmer's market near our house called Ogilvies Food & Artisan Market.  It's just starting out so there aren't too many vendors, but it's growing.  And I love that it's open Sundays because sometimes I can't haul my lazy bones to the market on a Saturday morning.  

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Strawberry Ice Cream



Fresh local strawberries are in season and I've been waiting a year to make strawberry ice cream.  I'm positive that I recently read an article or post somewhere about the best strawberry ice cream.  I searched high and low for guidance but didn't find any.  And the strawberry ice cream recipes I did find were so completely different from each other, I really didn't know where to begin. 

Many recipes called for eggs, but some called for two egg yolks and some for ten!  Some recipes didn't use eggs at all.  Some called for whipping cream and half & half, some called for cream and whole milk.  


In the end, I got lazy and decided on a no-cook method based on this recipe, with a few changes.  The texture isn't quite perfect but it is bursting with strawberry flavour and super delicious!

Here's what you need: