Food and Wine diaries

New years breakfast

2012-01-01T08:26:00.001-08:00

Strips of bacon under seasoned potatoes. Going to throw this bad baby in the oven. Could be brilliant, could be the worst idea ever...

Peppermint Marshmallows

2011-12-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

Sandy has done it again. She wow'ed me with her mad baking skills by bringing over peppermint marshmallows. HOMEMADE! Yeah, who knew you could make your own marshmallows? To me, they were always those dry sticky things you bought in a bag from Safeway before you went camping.

But these things - ohmigod (I'm rolling my eyes to the back of my head right now as I wipe drool off the side of my mouth) they're so good you can eat them just as they are. Also, since they're homemade, you can eat them FRESH. I've never had fresh marshmallows before and now I will never have them any other way. They were fluffy and soft with just a hint of peppermint. YUMMY.

Nica ate a few. Ariana ate a couple. I ate quite a few. I took them to a party and they disappeared. I can't wait to make these! If I can successfully make this, then I will never ever buy marshmallows again. Also, people may be receiving this from me as a future xmas gift. :)

Here's a link to the blog it's originally posted on. The author has some GREAT photos and lots of other crafty ideas and recipes too.

But for laziness sake, here's the recipe:

Peppermint Marshmallows:

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy canes (about 6)
1/8 tsp. salt

*Tip: to crush your candy canes, break them up in large pieces, then seal them in a Zip Loc bag. Put your bag on a sturdy cutting board and use a hammer to smash them into a powder. The finer the powder, the better.

1. Into a small bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Line a 9x13" pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Sift 2 Tbsp. of the powdered sugar mixture into pan and tilt to coat all sides. Leave excess in pan.

3. Place 2/3 c. water in a large bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.

4. In medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, heat sugar, corn syrup, candy cane, and salt over medium heat until completely dissolved (about 7 minutes).

5. Pour into bowl with gelatin mixture and beat on high speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy (10-15 minutes).

6. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Smooth top and dush with powdered sugar mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

7. Lift from pan with foil. With a small, wet cookie cutter, cut shapes and dip sides in sugar mixture. Cut up remaining marshmallows into small, irregular pieces (these are the ones I let my kids and husband eat!). Or, using a wet knife, cut into 6 large squares and dip sides into powdered sugar mixture. Then cut each of those squares into 9 pieces and dip in sugar mixture.

8. Store at room temp, loosely covered.

Hope she doesn't mind, but Sandy said she modified this recipe by:
"I make double the recipe bc one is not enough-trust me on this. Plus, two batches fill up a 9x13 Pyrex pan nicely

If u make two batches, double everything except the cornstarch & icing sugar.

I only use 1 cup sugar per batch.

Green & red candy canes are ok. I just add a drop of red food colouring."

I have no idea how she figures out how to modify recipes, but she has not failed me yet. So I am going to follow her modifications to the T!

Caramelized Onion Spread

2011-12-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

With the festive season comes... dinners! Lots of them this year. It's the time of year when we get to catch up with friends and family and for me, sample new appetizers and food. There were a few key dishes this year that caught my interest of my tastebuds.

One of them, was a caramelized onion spread. My sister's hubby made it as a Christmas Eve appetizer. Nica and I attacked it - eating so much that by the time we were suppose to eat our entree, we were stuffed. We couldn't help ourselves - this spread has roasted garlic and the Nicas LOVE garlic!

I will be honest - visually, it didn't look that appetizing. It's a caramel coloured brown and creamy. Kind of like hummus. But the taste was out of this world. The caramelized onions gave it a sweetness. The roasted garlic added lots of flavour while the cream cheese and mayo contributed the smooth and creamy texture and harmonized the onion and garlic. Served on crispy slices of toasted baguettes, the texture was a nice complement of crunchy and smooth. Yum.

Here's the recipe:

Caramelized Onion Spread

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups chopped yellow onions (or thinly sliced)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup (4 oz) block-style cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Heat large skillet to medium-high. Add oil, swirl to coat bottom. Add onion and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 35 minutes or until onions are very tender and caramelized, stirring occasionally.
Add cream cheese, stir to combine.
Removed from heat. Stir in mayonnaise, chives, pepper, salt.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Refrigerate up to 2 days.

- Cooking Light magazine, December 2011

Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

2011-12-19T10:53:00.000-08:00

Well Sandy has done it to me again. She has introduced me to a new food that I can't get enough of! We went for coffee the other day at Starbucks and she convinced me (didn't take very much, mind you) to buy a Cranberry Bliss bar.

OMG, it was DIVINE. I meant to share it but ended up eating the whole thing.

I found this website that has the "secret recipes" to everything. Here is the one for Starbucks' cranberry bliss bar:

Cake
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries
4 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks

Frosting
4-ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries

Drizzled Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Make cake by beating the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, ginger, vanilla, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder until smooth. Mix the chopped dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks into the batter by hand. Pour the batter into a buttered 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is lightly browned on top. Allow the cake to cool.

3. Make the frosting by combining the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped dried cranberries over the frosting on the cake.

5. Make the drizzled icing by whisking together powdered sugar, milk, and shortening. Drizzle this icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion with a squirt bottle or fill a small plastic storage bag with the icing and cut off the tip of one corner.

6. Cover the cake and let it chill out in the fridge for a couple hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times, making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.

Makes 16 bars.

I have no idea where to buy crystallized ginger. I know Trader Joes sells it but the last couple of times I've gone down, they've been out of stock. One of the staff told me there was an issue with their packaging. d'oh!! I can't WAIT to try this recipe out.

Update December 20, 2011:
I made this after finding crystallized ginger at my local Save-On-Foods. It wasn't bad but it was so SWEET! It seriously hurt my tooth when I ate it. Nica kept sneaking into the fridge to eat it. I meant to take some into work but by the time I went to plate it, it was half gone. *sigh* I did let a couple girls at work try some since I took one piece in as an after-lunch snack and they said it was really good. Not sure if they were just saying that though.

Things to remember for the next time I make this:
* I cut a hole much too large when I was covering it with the drizzled icing. I think I could have skipped that part of the bar entirely and it would have been fine.
* The entire bar was WAY too sweet. Next time, I will definitely cut back on the sugar.
* Don't put crystallized ginger in the mini food processor. The ginger gets caught in the blades and just makes it a gooey mess. I'm guessing it would be ditto for the cranberries although I smartened up and chopped them with a french knife after the ginger fiasco.
* line the baking pan with parchment paper to prevent it from sticking to the sides.

Interestingly, it seemed to taste a lot better after a few days in the fridge and then eaten at room temp.

Pulled Pork

2011-12-06T16:39:00.001-08:00

I swear I'm not pregnant again, but I have been CRAVING pulled pork. So when my latest tv show addiction, Recipe to Riches, had it on an episode, I started salivating. The reviews looked amazing too! Luckily for me, they actually post the recipes on their website. So here's another dish I'm going to attempt tomorrow when Debs comes to visit. Here's the link for the recipe:

Pulled Pork

2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 kilograms bone-in pork shoulder picnic roast
8 unit sandwich buns, such as Portuguese buns or soft white buns, halved
1 package coleslaw mix
1 cup coleslaw dressing

Sauce

1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup cola
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions

Pulled Pork

Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
In small bowl, stir together paprika, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, mustard, cayenne, coriander and cumin. Measure out 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the spice mix; rub remaining spice mix all over pork. Place in metal roasting pan. Tightly wrap pan in foil. Bake in oven until meat is tender and falling off bone, about 5 to 6 hours.
Meanwhile, make Sauce: In saucepan, combine ketchup, vinegar, cola, maple syrup and reserved spice mix. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to simmer; cook uncovered until reduced to 1-1/2 cups (375 mL), about 25 minutes. Set aside.
Unwrap pork. Pull meat away from bones. Shred meat with two forks. Combine pork with half of sauce. Slather remaining sauce on cut sides of bottom buns; top with pork. Mix coleslaw mix with dressing; mound on top. Top with bun lids.

Luscious Lemon Pudding

2011-12-06T16:37:00.001-08:00

I am addicted to this new show called "Recipe to Riches". A couple of recipes have intrigued me and just so I don't lose them, here is one of them. It's called "Luscious Lemon Pudding".

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 unit eggs, separated
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups 2% milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Butter 8-inch (2 L) square glass baking dish. In bowl, sift together sugar and flour; set aside.
Place egg whites in bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Beat on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Transfer whites to another bowl.
Add egg yolks to same bowl and return to stand mixer. Using whisk attachment beat on medium-high speed until yolks are thick and lightened in colour. Reduce speed to medium and add butter, lemon rind and juice; beat for 1 more minute. With machine running on medium speed, alternately beat in flour mixture and milk, making 5 additions of flour and 4 of milk.
Remove bowl from mixer. Fold in egg whites. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Place dish in large shallow roasting pan. Add hot water to half way up side of baking dish.
Bake in centre of oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Top two-thirds will be cake consistency and bottom third will be pudding consistency.

I can't wait to try baking this! My best friend Debbie is visiting tomorrow so I might just give it a shot.

Weight Watchers zero points vegetable soup

2011-10-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

It being Fall, I figured it's time to start breaking out the soup recipes. My friend Sandy told me about this one from Weight Watchers: http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2006/01/day-285-weight-watchers-zero-points.html

She added celery and a can of diced tomatoes and said it's totally filling. I've been dying to try it, so here goes!

RECIPE

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 1 1/4 hour
Makes 9 cups

6 cups broth (today I used Light Vegetable Stock)

Cooking spray
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoons garlic (from a jar or substitute four cloves minced garlic)
1/2 cabbage, chopped (or use a bag of slaw, the biggest chunks you can find vs the fine, don't skip the cabbage for it somehow makes the soup)
1/2 pound frozen green beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large zucchini, diced

Bring the broth to a boil in the microwave. (This is a time-saving tip that can be skipped if there's no hurry.)

Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini are tender. Serve and enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Cup: 61 Cal (3% from Fat, 24% from Protein, 73% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 13 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb10; NetCarb10; 52 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 701 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers ... hmmm ... 1 point

NUTRITION NOTES This soup is low-cal, low-carb, high-fiber and no-fat.

Pineapple Carrot cupcakes

2011-10-09T00:29:00.000-07:00

Attempt #2. I'm still on the hunt for that delicious recipe that my high school home ec. teacher gave out. Here's a recipe I tried tonight for pineapple carrot cupcakes. Figure cupcakes are so much cuter to eat!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/carrot-cupcakes-with-white-chocolate-cream-cheese-icing/detail.aspx

pre-icing. Serious quality control issues!

For some reason, some cupcakes totally rose and some didn't. I skipped the walnuts and white chocolate icing since my sister is allergic to nuts and I didn't have any white chocolate on hand.

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/8 cups white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.

Beat together the eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar in a bowl, and mix in the oil and vanilla. Fold in carrots and pineapple. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix flour mixture into the carrot mixture until evenly moist. Transfer to the prepared muffin cups.

Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before topping with the icing.

I used this recipe for the cream cheese icing. Holy moly, did it ever use a lot of cream cheese. (Handy tip: go to the States to buy the cream cheese. Sooooo much cheaper! It was $6.45 for a 3 lb or 48oz brick. Yeah. I know. You can pick your jaw up off the floor now.)

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

final product

I think the cupcakes are ok. Nica keeps sneaking into the kitchen to eat them so he must think they're pretty good. Wait... he just told me he gives them a 9 out of 10. Personally, I think I'm closer to 7.5 or 8. We'll see what the family says at Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Japanese Cucumber salad

2011-10-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

The other day I decided to have a Japanese themed night. In addition to sushi, I thought it'd be nice to have a nice light salad so I attempted to make sunomono. Now, my friend Vania had given me a recipe (handed to her from her nutritionist friend Tina) and of course I filed it away, didn't document it and lo and behold, couldn't find it when I needed it. I googled "sunomono recipe" and ended up using this: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-sunomono but it wasn't what I was looking for.

Anyway, I still have to try Tina's recipe, but here it is (now documented electronically so I can find it when I need it!)

Japanese Cucumber Salad:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
- dissolve sugar over heat
- pour over cucumbers and chill
Don't forget to boil some vermicelli and wakame and if you're looking for a final kick, a slice of lemon and some prawns.

Easy Pasta recipe

2011-10-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

When I finally found a seller for a pasta roller on craigslist, he parted with his pasta recipe as well. So far, it's been the best one I've tried! It's super simple too. Here it is:
- 2 cups flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- max 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon of oil.

Mix it all up (i.e. put flour and salt on table, make a well, put in egg and oil, mix with flour and then add water as needed. , put it through the pasta roller and voila!

Recently my brother was attempting to make his own pasta and I was trying to find this recipe (it was only written on a post it and buried in the depths of all our moving boxes). Now that I've found it, it's going electronic so I don't lose it again!

Costco "secrets"

2011-09-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Even though we are only recently a family of three, I am a Costco junkie. I love going up and down their aisles, looking for things to fill my home with.

Here are some Costco "secrets" that I've discovered...
1. Those items ending in '.97' are clearance items. Get 'em while they last!

2. For Canadians, it's better to buy a Costco cash card in Canada and use that in the States versus using your Amex credit card. The exchange rate is slightly better but I still find it more beneficial to take cash down. That way, you determine the exchange rate you pay. (i.e. buy American $ when the rate is good!)

3. I recently had to renew my membership. By coincidence, I happened to be shopping at the Bellingham Costco when it came up for renewal. The cost? $100. With no tax. So, factoring in the US/Canadian exchange rate AND the fact there's no HST charged, I saved!

4. The States doesn't always have better deals. I was recently comparing electronics (SD cards, external hard drives) and Canada was better.

5. In the States, they don't give you coupons at the door. You have to go to the membership desk to ask for the coupon booklet. Be careful too. If a coupon book has just ended, they only give the new ones out the following Thursday. So there's a few days there where no coupons are in play.

6. Eggs, cheese, milk, chicken and pork are so much cheaper in the States. For example: Organic brown eggs in Canada? Over 8 bucks. Down in the states? $4.50.

7. For Vancouverites that cross-border shop: the best place to buy gas is the Bellingham Meridian Costco. Line-ups are horrendous because of all the Canadians that buy, but it's worth it. For example: Current price of 87 octane in Greater Vancouver: $1.38/litre. Down at the Costco in Bellingham: $3.79/gallon.

8. Costco memberships are good all over the world!!! Handy if you happen to be traveling.

9. Finally, it pays to check out this thread before you go shopping in the Costco West stores in Canada: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/costco-west-deal-pointer-thread-1056914/#post13431334
A fellow shopper posts the latest coupon deals and even goes into the store to post photos and prices of those not advertised in their weekly flyer. I'm pretty sure he's influenced Costco sales in the West. He's even been accused of being a Costco employee (which he is not).

Plum and Ginger sorbet

2011-09-09T02:11:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Napa Valley, my friend Mela and I visited the Culinary Institute of the Arts. It was my Holy Grail. She even surprised me with a cooking class! We got to cook in the CIA kitchen under the instruction of an author of one of their cookbooks.
The chef I cooked with was Cate Conniff, the author of Seasons in the Wine country. We were divided into separate groups and given a few recipes to execute. Afterwards we all sat down together to eat the fruits of our labor.

One of the dishes I really enjoyed was the plum and ginger sorbet. So upon returning home, I found an ice cream maker in my parents magical basement (if you wish for something, I swear it just turns up) and this week with the weird hot spell, I put the recipe into action.

Here's what you need:
- 2 lbs of ripe sweet plums. Washed, pitted and quartered
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 cup sugar
- one inch of ginger, peeled
- 1 tablespoon vodka (lemon flavoured, plain or limoncello)
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine the plums, water, sugar and ginger. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Take out the ginger and then blend it until it's smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve and then stir in vodka, salt and lemon juice. Chill (at least 2 hours). Then pour it into the ice cream maker.

Yeee-um. It was so easy that now I'm dreaming about making all sorts of ice creams and sorbets with fresh fruit. Blackberries, peaches, strawberries... the possibilities are endless!

Cherry crisp

2011-08-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

Cherry crisp product. Pitting was the pits. Tasted ok although I think almond extract would have made it better.

Cherries Galore!

2011-08-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

I've recently come into possession of a sh*tload of cherries. I'm talking a good 10 lbs of them. I love cherries (even though I had an unfortunate reaction to them during my pregnancy) but now I have no idea what to do with them.

Yesterday I made a cherry pie from this website: http://www.joyofbaking.com/printpages/CherryPieprint.html

The result was... well, it tasted ok (my friends even went back for seconds) but I was so embarrassed. It wasn't as thick as I would have hoped and there was cherry liquid everywhere! I'm thinking the "Tapioca starch" I bought wasn't the same as "quick cooking tapioca" the recipe called for. My dad tried it and loved it. He gave it a 9 out of 10 and had three pieces. I'm thinking next time I'll find a different recipe that uses flour or starch instead of this "quick cooking tapioca" (whatever that is).

Anyway, here are some of the highlights of my cherry pie making experience:
1. I don't own a cherry pitter. However my brother-in-law Zac (who wins pie making contests!) told me that a chopstick works just as well. That way, you can "feel" the pit before you push it through and it makes less of a mess. My experience? It went fabulously! I did get cherry juice all over the hand that was holding the cherry but a pretty simple task. Just pull off the stem, insert the chopstick into the stem end, feel around for the pit and then push.

2. The crust is key. I used the tenderflake recipe on the back of the box but instead of water, I used vodka. That's right. booze! My brother-in-laws secret to an amazing flaky crust. Sorry Zac. Secret's out!

3. Transporting a leaky pie. I'm not kidding when I tell you cherry juice was everywhere. I wasn't sure how i was going to transport it to my friend's house. Then I looked around and found an empty sushi tray. You know, one of those huge round ones? Perfect for transporting in my car. It did get a little messy but at least I didn't have cherry juice on the fabric of my car seats.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the pie. Tonight I'm going to attempt cherry crisp so I'll be sure to snap a few then!

Warm Shrimp Salad

2011-07-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

Went to Market at Shangri-La with Mela and enjoyed this amazing shrimp salad. She had mentioned she had it before and was totally hyping it up. Now normally, when something is hyped up I'm disappointed with it but this one was true. It was AMAZING. Now I just have to figure out how to make champagne vinaigrette! Found this recipe... something to definitely try in the future.

http://how2heroes.com/videos/seafood/warm-shrimp-salad

Lemon Tart adventure

2011-06-13T01:39:00.000-07:00

Whole Foods Lemon tart ingredients

On Thursdays, I get together with my friends to watch "So You Think You Can dance". It's a girls night, complete with dinner, dessert and a lot of shouting at the t.v. as we pretend to be judges.

A couple of Thursdays ago, my friend Vania bought a lemon tart from Whole foods. We had to stop the PVR to relish it. Janine claimed it was a slice of "lemon heaven". And it was. It was light, fruity, sweet and yet slightly tart. The crust was delicious too and I'm not a huge crust fan!

the Whole Foods lemon tart

So I made it my goal to try and recreate it. As soon as I got home, I googled "lemon tart whole foods recipe" and unfortunately, the *exact* recipe was not to be found although there was a whole foods berry tart recipe. Essentially what they said was to use a pre-baked pie shell and add lemon curd. The thing is, it tasted like there was cream in it and sure enough, further google searching found other recipes that did this.

I was heading down to the States that weekend so on our usual trip to Trader Joe's, I picked up pie pastry and lemon curd in anticipation of making it for the next SYTYCD night.

It has been a comedy of errors trying to make this tart but the short of it is that I wasn't able to make it in time of the next SYTYCD night but I was successful in making something that was similar. Here's what I did:

1. Whip 1 cup of whipping cream until it's thick
2. Add 1 jar of Trader Joe lemon curd and mix together
3. Pour into baked Trader Joe pie shell
4. Refrigerate and garnish with fruit

Yes, it's truly that easy. I let Nica lick the spoon from the lemon curd/whipped cream mixture and he loved it. Mom and Dad both praised the crust and they're really judgmental about pastry. I know it doesn't look that tasty in the photo but it was really good! Honest!

Next time I might actually attempt to make lemon curd and the time after that maybe I'll try my hand at pastry dough. We'll see!

Trader Joe's Lemon Curd: $2.99
Pretty good on its own, even better when mixed with whipped cream. Quite sweet with a tart finish. Strong lemon flavour. Imported from England. Would buy it again!

Trader Joe's Pie Crust: $3.99 for two.

Instructions

They give you two in the event you want to make a double crust pie. I thought it would come in a pie shell but it doesn't. You have to thaw and then put it in a plate yourself (which to be honest, is more environmentally friendly anyway). Very delicious. I would easily buy this pie shell again for future pies for its convenience and taste. I only forked the bottom of the pie before putting it into the oven to brown but I really should have pricked the sides as well. Failure to do this resulted in the sides puffing up. Still tasty... but definitely not pretty.

Pavlova WINNING

2011-05-28T01:14:00.000-07:00

After telling my tale of pavlova woe to my friend Victoria, she sent me her pavlova recipe:

3 egg whites

.75 cups white sugar (regular will do, or you can take the coffee grinder to it for superfine sugar)

pinch of salt

whipped cream and fruit for topping

hand beater is a must

line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt in a large bowl until they for white, soft peaks -- can stand up on their own but are still kinda foamy

whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, whisking until the sugar is completely absorbed/incorporated into the egg

it needs to be white and glossy and be able to stand up in a peak on its own

spoon it onto the baking sheet. i like to make a blob and then smooth it into a circle or whatever, and peak it up at the edges.

preheat the oven at 275 F or 140 C, cook for 1.25 hours.

turn off the oven but leave it in there.

for at least another hour. really, until its cold.

i've left it over night. if you aren't eating it that evening make sure you store it in an airtight container.

and don't prep it until you are ready to serve it, or it will go soggy.

My modifications:

I know Victoria said it was a must, but I couldn't find my mom's hand beater so I used a Kitchenaid mixer. And I made little pavlovas instead a singular large one because I had pavlova meringue on my mind (I was trying to imitate what I had at Bistro 101 the day before). Finally, I had to turn off the oven at about 45 minutes because it was browning and they were super dry already. Which makes sense since there were many little pavlovas instead of one large one.

Although I wish I had turned off the oven a little bit sooner, the mini pavlovas were delicious. They melted in my mouth and tasted a little like the outside of a toasted marshmallow. They were the perfect accompaniment to my mango chantilly cream (whipped cream beaten with pureed mango added at the end) with fresh raspberries and mango coulis. It was a nice light dessert and got thumbs up all around.

I'd like to try this again, adding some strawberry flavour to the meringue. I'd also like to make all the pavlovas the same size to try and make little mini cookies (like macarons but without the ground almond). I'm also going to make white chocolate buttercream. Stay tuned!

June 13, 2011 update:
I did indeed make the meringues again with freeze dried strawberries from Trader Joe's. I had to grind them up in my mini food processor which worked ok... it created a cloud of strawberry smoke which I'm sure was bad to inhale. It didn't do a consistent job either. Maybe next time I'll use a coffee grinder. Anyway, the freeze dried strawberries totally tasted like the strawberries you get in the Special K Berry cereal.

My mom loved the mini strawberry meringues. I couldn't quite make them look like macarons because when you pipe them, they always get a peak and they only harden and don't melt in the oven. So instead of meringue sandwiches, I served them singly with a dollop of white chocolate vanilla cream. I sort of followed this recipe from the bravetart website for it:

To make white chocolate ganache for the filling, bring 6 ounces heavy cream to a simmer with a split vanilla bean. Shut off the heat and steep for 10 minutes or up to an hour. Remove the vanilla bean, scraping out the cream from inside each half-pod, and return the cream to a boil. Shut off the heat and whisk in 10 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped and 1/2 tsp salt. Depending on the sweetness of your white chocolate, you may find you need more salt. Cool the mixture to room temperature, and then whip on medium speed with a whisk attachment for about 5 minutes to lighten it a bit.

Pavlova FAIL

2011-05-27T02:13:00.000-07:00

The other day I took my Mom to Bistro 101 down at Granville Island. The food is made by students but it's always delicious and well worth the money. Currently the school is undergoing renovations so we had to sit in a makeshift dining room but it was kind of neat because it was in the actual restaurant part so you got to see all the different kitchens.

The highlight of the meal was definitely the dessert. As soon as it came out, it had the "oooh" factor. My mom had a berry passion dessert and I got a strawberry meringue topped with mango chantilly cream, a frozen chocolate drizzle, passionberry and fresh raspberries. It was oh so good. I was googling how to make strawberry meringue and mango chantilly cream at the table to no avail. These recipes aren't simply posted on the web.

I was inspired to try and make something similar and the next day I whipped up some liquid egg whites with sugar. I couldn't find any strawberry extract so I walked up and down the Safeway aisle, looking for something I could use as a substitute. I found strawberry Kool-aid.

Yes, I can hear you smacking your head. At the time, I thought I was being brilliant. In fact, when I tasted the meringue before I put it in the oven, it tasted just fine.

Anyway, anything that could have gone wrong with this attempt, went wrong.

First off, I used wax paper. Wax paper, as I discovered is VERY different from parchment paper. Halfway through the baking process, I opened the oven door to a waft of smoke escaping with the strong smell of wax. Oops.

Secondly, liquid egg whites. It's just not the same as real egg whites. Liquid egg whites are so runny that it's hard for the kitchenaid to pick it up. Whereas real egg whites have a sort of gooey consistency so the beaters can actually pick it up to whip it.

Thirdly, temperature. I guessed how hot and long the "mini pavlovas" should have been in for. I guessed wrong.

Finally, as I identified before, I used Kool-Aid. So wrong.

The final result reminded me of salt water taffy. It was chewy. And gross. I can't believe I ate one. I'm surprised I didn't give myself the runs with all the melted wax.

Next time, I'm using a better recipe!

The hunt for Starbucks banana bread

2011-05-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Ali's son, Ben, will only eat banana bread from Starbucks. So I have made it my mission to try and find this recipe. Usually, my staple banana bread is the sour cream recipe. However that recipe results in a lighter coloured moist bread. Starbucks is a lot darker.

So in the wee hours of the morning during another one of my insomniac nights, I googled "dark banana bread" and found this recipe: http://www.grouprecipes.com/51782/black-banana-bread.html

Ingredients:

3 large black bananas
1 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking soda
dash salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Line two loaf pans with tin foil and heat oven to 275 F.
In a large mixing bowl mash the bananas with the sugar and then mix with the salt and soda. Blend in the eggs, then, in order, the oil, flour and buttermilk.
Pour batter into loaf pans and bake for about 2 1/2 hours or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Buttermilk had proven itself to be the key ingredient in making chocolate cupcakes moist - why not banana bread?

Some alterations:
I didn't use two loaf pans, I just used one.
I added probably 1/4 cup more buttermilk.
I used 4 small-ish bananas that weren't black.
I couldn't stand waiting 2 1/2 hours so I put the oven at 325 F. It took 90 minutes to cook.

My parents gave it 9 out of 10, Nica only gave it 8. I'm with Nica. In comparison to the sour cream banana bread, this wasn't as tasty (but probably just as moist). The colour was definitely darker though.

The true test? Ben wouldn't eat it. he took one look and had a "I'm not eating that" face. Back to the banana board.

Macaron Adventure

2011-05-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

I met another Mom in the Oakridge Baby Time class and she looked so familiar. It turned out she was the sister of an old elementary school friend who I actually remembered (I think Mommy brain only effects my short term memory).
She organizes this event called Baker's market - http://www.bakersmarket.com/ and I can't wait to attend this event with my baking friends. She also has another side hobby which is baking macarons. She even went to PARIS to learn how to bake these! Here's a link to her website: http://www.jadorelesmacarons.com/

After browsing her blog, I was hooked. I've never eaten these little creations but they look so pretty and I vowed to have a macaron party and attempt to make them.

I found this awesome website that I've been ~~drooling~~ reading over for the last couple hours.
http://bravetart.com/recipes/Macarons
The photos are fantastic and the author debunks common Macaron theories such as the effect of aged eggs, when sugar should be added to the meringue, etc.

I'm going to attempt to make the Strawberries and Cream macaron after picking up some Freeze Dried Strawberries from Trader Joes. Wish me luck! If this is successful a pastry bag is definitely going on my shopping wish list.

Chocolate cupcakes

2011-05-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

A friend recently gave me some cupcakes that were to die for. They were a day old by the time I consumed them but they were light, fluffy and amazingly moist. I asked her for the recipe and she said it was a good ol' Martha one!
http://www.marthastewart.com/282243/one-bowl-chocolate-cupcakes

One Bowl Chocolate cupcakes:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to three days.

Failed first attempt

I was so excited about making these. To my disappointment, they turned out heavy. So heavy that both my brother and husband commented they tasted like brownies. I refused to eat them after I tried my first one as they reminded me of hockey pucks.

I begged my friend to impart some baking wisdom since this is one of the hobbies I'd like to improve upon during my mat leave. Her hints?

1. Add 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to the mix.
2. Add a bit more buttermilk (~2 tablespoons)
3. Hand mix the batter initially and only use a mixer for a couple minutes (otherwise the batter will be too glutenous)
4. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack
5. Store the cupcakes overnight in an airtight container (otherwise they'll dry out)

My next attempt to make these were foiled as I failed to check my ingredients before I started to bake. (Fundamental Lesson Pen! Sheesh.). No Flour = No Baking.

Success!

So on Thursday I bought more flour and made sure I was ready to bake Friday night. Tried the recipe again and YUM. So much better. I will admit they aren't as moist as my friends, but at least I'll eat them now!

I'll eat the one on the right, thank you very much!

Failed Attempt on top. Note the size difference

Strawberry Cream Cheese

2011-04-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

Trader Joe's is such a fun place to try new things. On my last trip, I picked up some Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread (made from RBST-free milk). I'm not sure what was wrong with me that day. I probably bought around 5 different cheeses and I'm lactose intolerant. On top of all that, I always find myself buying sweet cream cheeses (like the strawberry one up above) when really, I'm a savory fan!

Anyway, I was not disappointed. Tried this cream cheese on some toast this morning and I was impressed! It reminded me of the double whipped cream cheese that you can get down in San Francisco. It was light and easy to spread. Plus, if you can see in the picture, there are actual bits of STRAWBERRY in it! Wouldn't buy it every time I go down, but it's a nice treat.
Cost: $2.49

Trader Joe's Chocolate Covered Belgian Butter Thins

2011-04-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

Mela told me about these Chocolate covered Belgian Butter thins from Trader Joe's. I'm not a huge cookie fan so I was skeptical but I tried one and YUM! Delicious. I picked up two boxes on my next State side trip.
I love having them with a cup of orange pekoe tea. The box doesn't contain THAT many biscuits (Maybe 8 of each dark, milk and white chocolate) but the crispy biscuit center is delicious. The only drawback is the chocolate melts on your hand if you don't eat it fast enough.
Cost: $3.49

Cinnamon-Apple Cake

2011-04-05T02:32:00.000-07:00

Ali made this cake the other night and used Pear instead of apple. It sounded delicious, it looked delicious and I can only imagine how good it tasted. Here is a link to the recipe: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000222502

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened (about 3/4 cup)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups chopped peeled Rome apple (about 2 large)
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, margarine, vanilla, and cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating at low speed until blended.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Combine 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixture and apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack, and cut using a serrated knife.

Note: You can also make this cake in a 9-inch square cake pan or a 9-inch springform pan; just reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

I can't wait to make this!

Homemade Bread

2011-03-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

Now that I've mastered chiffon cakes, I thought I'd give my family a little respite from all the cakes and turn to... BREAD! There is nothing like fresh bread, straight out of the oven. I refuse to use the bread maker because it seems like the lazy man's method and I want to to fancy bread - with roasted garlic or olives.

A few months ago, while hooked on the Food Network, I watched this show called "Chef Academy" starring Jean Novelli. In Season 1, episode 4, he showed the students how to make bread and he stuffed Camembert inside with sundried tomatoes. God, it looked delicious and I drooled, just thinking how good it must have tasted.

I finally looked it up online and found the recipe: http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/whole-baked-camembert

You can put anything inside the bread so I'm really only going to follow his instructions and ingredients for his basic bread dough. Here is the recipe:

Basic Bread Dough
1 lb Strong flour (this is about 3 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons Salt
1 oz unsalted Butter (= 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons Action Bread Yeast (available from most food stores)
1/2 qt warm water (made from 1 part boiling, 1 part chilled) 1/2 qt = 2 cups
1 pinch of sugar

1. In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, butter and yeast.

2. Stir in the water and mix into a soft dough.

3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes by hand or 5 in an electric mixer with a fitted dough hook.

4. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a floured bowl. Cover with damp cloth and leave in a warm place until doubled in size.

just before the oven

5. Once doubled turn out onto the table and gently press out the excess gas from the dough.

6. Knead a couple of times to smooth out the dough. Divide into 2.

7. Roll each piece out 1 times bigger than the cheese.

8. Preheat the oven to 450F, Gas Mark 8.

9. Place the cheese in the centre and fold over the dough adding some of the ingredients from the marinade.

10. Turn over onto a floured baking sheet so as the folds are on the base. Brush the top with olive and finish with sprigs of thyme, bay leaves cumin seeds, salt and pepper and finish with a dusting of flour.

the final result

11. Allow to double in double in size before baking in a pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes. Spray with an atomizer before placing in the oven and again 5 minutes before the end of cooking.

12. Remove to a large serving board and allow to cool before serving.

Good luck to me! I'm making it for the first time tonight with some homemade chicken soup.

Update: March 23, 2011
Well, I made this bread on March 17th. Used all purpose flour instead of bread flour but they turned out pretty good. All the photos that you see in this blog so far are from that batch. I put brie in some, and some sundried tomato soft cheese in others. Sprigs of rosemary in all. The photos don't make them look very large, but they were pretty big. Mom couldn't eat a whole one.

Yesterday I made it again, but I figured I'd try it with the whole wheat bread flour that was in the house. The dough was pretty sticky so maybe whole wheat bread requires more flour. Hmm. Something to research before my next batch. In any event, the bread turned out pretty well. All of them were smaller than the first attempt. I didn't use rosemary as much. Lots of garlic. My nephew, Calvin, made me proud as that was the only thing he'd eat for dinner. heh heh. The bread itself once baked felt heavy and I'm not sure if that was because they weren't fully cooked (some of them weren't totally all the way through) or because I had stuffed them with filler.

I wouldn't mind trying this as a pizza dough. Or filling with tomato, sausage and some green pepper to make homemade calzones.

Henry and Christine's most amazing stuffing recipe

2011-02-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

Twice a year, for Easter and Christmas, our family has the honour of going over to a family friend's home for dinner. All of us always look forward to the free range turkey and the mouth watering stuffing. It oozes with fat and is oh-so-good. I wrangled the ingredients and recipe from them. Here it is:
Ingredients:
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ground sausage meat - coarse type ( we get the deli to make it leaner)
- Bread crumbs ( can be bought in Safeway or Save-On ) granular texture not cubes
- Bacon
- Fresh sage
- Giblets from the turkey
- Sherry / brandy

In a large frying pan:
Fry diced onions and chopped bacon
Add sausage meat and chopped giblets
Remove excess oil
Add sage and sherry/brandy
Add bread crumbs and water until desired consistency
Put in oven proof dish and bake for 1 hr

Orange Chiffon cake

2011-02-19T07:03:00.001-08:00

Still experimenting with Chiffon cakes. Made an orange chiffon cake yesterday but it wasn't cool until 1:30 am so will have to taste test tomorrow. So far, not looking good. Didn't rise as much as I had hoped even though I used cake flour.

Have been up reading all night and will have to adjust my method for beating egg whites and how I separate the egg yolks and whites. Also need to fold more gently. I haven't been sifting either cuz my mom doesn't have one and I'm sure that's had an effect as well.

Don't think anyone is complaining about having to eat cake although it's not helping my mom lose the 10 lbs she vowed to lose by the end of the month.

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Pineapple Carrot Cake with cream cheese icing

2011-02-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

When I was in high school, our home economics teacher, Mrs. Haji, gave us a recipe for pineapple carrot cake. Or rather, she gave my sister the recipe since she took home ec and I just borrowed it from her. I remember the paper the recipe was on fondly, with with oil and batter splattered all over it.

I've long since lost that piece of paper but haven't given up baking this dessert. In England I made it once when Nica and I were both over there. I baked it in the evening and planned to have it after dinner the next day. however, after I got home from work and looked for the cake, it had mysteriously vanished. I thought maybe Nica had taken it to our room or maybe our housemates ate it. When I asked Nica, he told me he ate the entire thing. I seriously thought he was kidding. A whole cake?! It was made in a 12x9 pan! With a whole brick of cream cheese! Nope. The whole thing.

Mom and Dad had a ginormous can of pineapple bits so I thought it was time to make this cake again. Since I lost the original, I've been on the hunt for something similar on the web. This is what I used the other night:
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/canadas_best_carrot_cake_with_cream_cheese_icing.php

Canada's Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
2cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
2tsp (10 mL) baking powder
2tsp (10 mL) cinnamon
1tsp (5 mL) baking soda
3/4 (4 mL) salt
1/2 (2 mL) nutmeg
3/4 (175 mL) granulated sugar
3/4 (175 mL) packed brown sugar
3 eggs
3/4 (175 mL) vegetable oil
1 (5 mL) vanilla
2 (500 mL) grated carrots
1 cup(250 mL) drained crushed canned pineapple
1/2 cup(125 mL) chopped pecans
Icing:
1 1pkg pkgcream cheese, softened
1/4 cup(50 mL) butter, softened
1/2 tsp(2 mL) vanilla
1cup (250 mL) icing sugar

Preparation:

Grease and flour 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) metal cake pan; set aside.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In separate bowl, beat together granulated and brown sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth; pour over flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Stir in carrots, pineapple and pecans. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven for 40 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack. (Make-ahead: Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or ovenwrap with heavy duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks; let thaw before continuing.)

Icing: In bowl, beat cream cheese with butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Beat in icing sugar, one-third at a time, until smooth. Spread over top of cake. (Make-ahead: Cover loosely and refrigerate for up to I day.)
Additional Information:

*

Tips: Set timer for 5 minutes less than the time specified in recipe, check cake then for the following signs. If the cake is not done, return it to the oven to finish baking.

When is the cake done:
A fully baked cake will spring back when touched in the center. The cake also draws away from the side of the pan, and a cake tester (a toothpick of skewer works well) inserted in the center comes out clean. Also trust your sense of smell: the fresh aroma of butter and sugar wafting out of the oven can be the signal to check the cake.

When cakes emerge from the oven, their structure is set, but the set is still fragile. Let cakes stand in pans on rack for time specified in each recipe, usually 15 to 20 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake, then place rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.

My review? It was moist but not moist enough. Nica said that the one I made in England was much better. When I find that recipe again (he said he just couldn't stop eating it even though he kept telling himself to stop), I'll have to keep it.

Lemon Chiffon Cake

2011-02-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Had a craving for a light cake the other day and decided I'd try my hand at a lemon chiffon cake. A quick search of the internet found me this recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/lemon-chiffon-cake/Detail.aspx

Ingredients
* 1 3/4 cups cake flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 6 egg yolks
* 3/4 cup water
* 1 tablespoon lemon zest
* 6 egg whites
* 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* 2 1/2 cups lemon pie filling
* 8 slices lemon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar. Add oil, egg yolks, water and lemon rind. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
3. In a small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until peaks form. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, and beat until very stiff and shiny peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain. Turn batter into ungreased 10 inch tube pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert cake and cool completely in pan. When cool, loosen edges and shake pan to remove cake.
5. To Make Filling: Beat cream to stiff peaks. Fold in lemon filling. Chill until stiff.
6. To Assemble Cake: Slice cake horizontally into 3 equal layers. Fill layers with 1/3 cup of filling. Spread remaining filling on top layer. Decorate with lemon slices.

A few mishaps/adjustments during the baking of this...
1. A little bit of egg yolk got into the whites
2. I used Splenda instead of regular sugar
3. I used all purpose flour instead of cake flour
4. I baked it for the full 60 minutes
5. I sprayed the tube pan with Pam
6. The eggs weren't at room temperature so I had them in warm water to try and raise the temp
7. I had to add cornstarch to the lemon meringue mixture because it was too runny.

The final result was okay - it was edible and everyone enjoyed it but it wasn't perfect. It didn't rise as much as I had hoped. The lemon meringue powder may have been old or it could have been the Splenda substitution but the frosting should have been thicker. I was also in a bit of a rush because it was getting late into the evening and I wanted everyone to have cake after dinner.

I forgot to take a photo but I'm definitely going to try this again soon since I still have half a carton of whipping cream. Here are the adjustments I'm going to make next time:

1. Use real sugar instead of Splenda in the lemon meringue mixture
2. Naturally raise the eggs to room temperature before starting the recipe
3. Don't spray the sides of the tube pan before baking. Apparently leaving the pan non-greased helps the batter creep up the sides of the pan and helps the cake rise
4. Watch the bake time - some readers indicated they only needed 20-25 minutes and all agreed they didn't need the full 60 minutes. If left for too long, the cake starts to deflate.
5. Use a wire whisk to fold in the egg whites instead of a spatula.

Update February 15, 2011:
Tried this again. Did all the adjustments as I had outlined above and the cake STILL didn't rise high enough to my liking. The frosting didn't work either because Nica used all the whipping cream for his morning coffees, unbeknown to me. Not that it mattered much anyway because the lemon meringue mixture I made was still runny, even though I used real sugar. I'm convinced the powdered mix was just simply old. It looked old and you really can't count on anything in this house being recent. Oh well. Maybe I'll try a different recipe next time.

Update February 27, 2011:
After reading baking101 on the internet in the wee hours during an insomniac night, I decided to try this recipe again. And this time - perfection! Here is what I changed:
- Used real sugar, no splenda
- Used cake flour, not all purpose
- separated the eggs when they were cold, and then raised the temperature of the whites to room temperature naturally (i.e. left them for about an hour at room temp)
- when beating the whites, started to beat them at medium-low speed, and then added the cream of tartar. Then slowly raised the speed (to avoid large air bubbles)
- gently (VERY VERY gently) folded the whites with the lemon mixture and used a whisk.
- removed the cake at about 25 minutes.

The final result? Ohmigod, it actually came up ABOVE the tube pan! I was so excited and proud. I was able to slice the cake into three horizontal sections and layered it with mango and strawberry. Again, the meringue part was awful awful AWFUL. It was the last packet in that box so at least I'll never have to worry about something being out of date again. The mango was still quite firm (made slicing easy on the mandoline) but the strawberry was the real winner as a fresh filling. I took the cake to Julie and Francis' Oscars party and it was a huge hit.

I made it again the next day so my parents could taste what I had been aiming for, for so long and I went back to using Splenda in the lemon mixture although I used real sugar when making the egg white peaks shiny. It didn't raise as much, BUT, to be fair I don't think I beat the whites as well as I had the time before. The volume was less which resulted in the final cake being a little less high. However it was still light and moist.

So the secret? it's all in the whites!

Apple Spice Cake

2011-01-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

Living at my parents is... challenging. Not only are they pack rats with non-consumables, but their fridge, freezer and deep freeze are all overflowing with food. (I will admit that me moving my refrigerated goods from my old North Vancouver home to this one didn't help). One of my "resolutions" was to help them eat all the food that hadn't expired yet.

A quick peruse of their "fruit" drawer (none of the drawers were really organized but the majority of the items in this drawer appeared to be fruit) identified that there was an abundance of apples. A quick search on the internet resulted in this Martha Stewart recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/apple-spice-cake?autonomy_kw=apple%20cake

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Caramel Sauce
Nonstick cooking spray with flour
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside.
Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.
Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.
Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.
Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.
Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel sauce

Here's the recipe for the caramel sauce:

1 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened to desired consistency.

My first attempt wasn't so great - mom didn't have her bundt pan readily available (it was in the depths of the crawlspace) so I had to use a 9 inch square pan. This resulted in the mix being more concentrated so it didn't rise so well. also, I used four apples instead of three and finally I didn't use any nuts. It took FOREVER for the cake to finish baking (at 325 degrees in a convection oven). Plus I was trying to juggle a crying baby.

The caramel sauce made loads - more than the "one cake" it said it would cover. I used golden sugar which I assumed was the same as "light-brown" sugar. My review? 6 out of 10.

My second attempt was much better after Mom finally found her bundt pan. Instead of 2 cups of regular sugar, I used one cup Splenda and one cup regular sugar. I still used 4 apples which I think was probably too much and I need to cut up the apples a bit more. I still didn't use any nuts. I used the regular "bake" function on the oven instead of the convection option. the result? MUCH better. after 75 minutes of baking, it was done although in my opinion it was too dry. It looked better but tasted ehhh. I would give it a 5 out of 10.

Easy recipe and both cakes were consumed within a day but will probably try another recipe next time.

The cake is still still in the pan because I didn't trust myself to take it out.

Chocolate oatmeal cookies

2011-01-06T00:42:00.000-08:00

My prenatal class instructor gave us a little treat every time we went: cookies! She's an amazing baker and even though I wasn't suppose to, I did take a little nibble on a couple of occasions. Ohmigod, her cookies were delicious. I asked her for the recipe and unfortunately, she conveniently "forgot" to send it. I don't think she wanted to part with the secret.

Since then, I have been DREAMING of the chocolate oatmeal cookies she made. Tomorrow, I am going to attempt to recreate them!

This is the first recipe I'll try:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chewy-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies/Detail.aspx

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Update January 7, 2011:
Not bad, not bad!!! I omitted the walnuts from the recipe above but overall, 8 out of 10. They're a little chewier than the ones Alexis made (Mom complimented the moistness) and I think if I make these again I'll use 1/2 teaspoon less salt.

World's Easiest Almond Roca

2010-10-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

Theresa Volk from work had a kitchen party and one of her friend's brought this homemade almond roca. It was so good that wherever it went, it immediately attracted a throng of people who would suddenly decide to "hang out" around it! Needless to say, a total hit at the party. Here's the recipe that she was able to finagle out of one of her friends:

Worlds Easiest Almond Roca

Ingredients:

1 pound of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 box (454 g) graham crackers (two rows)
2 packages (100 g each) sliced almonds
1 package (270 g) milk chocolate chips
1 package (270 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Melt the butter over medium heat
2) Add the brown sugar. Gently boil for three minutes, stirring occasionally
3) Line two cookie sheets (cookie sheets need to have a lip around the edge as the liquid will spread) with the graham crackers
4) Sprinkle one package of almonds over each sheet
5) Pour butter/sugar mixture on top, spreading gently with a spatula to cover all the crackers
6) Bake for 5-6 minutes at 350 degrees
7) Combine the milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips together. Sprinkle the chips on top on let it sit for a minute or two until the chocolate starts to melt - then gently spread the chips around with a spatula
9) Refrigerate overnight

Enjoy!!!
PS: it freezes really well too!

Caesar Salad Dressing

2010-08-30T05:43:00.001-07:00

I'm on the hunt for a good Caesar salad dressing recipe. So far, memorable dressings have included Mike's homemade dressing (but he never parted with the recipe) and the dressing at Santali's Greek restaurant in New Westminster. Also homemade but the owner won't give the recipe out either.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt my first homemade caesar salad dressing. I think the secret to making one similar to the one I had at Santali's is anchovy. So, I'm going to try this recipe I found on the food network:
link: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Salad/Vegetables/recipe.html?dishid=5594

Ingredients
Roasted Garlic

* 1 head roasted garlic (see below)
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (15 mL)

Dressing

* 2 cloves garlic
* 2 anchovy fillet
* 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed (25 mL)
* 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (2 mL)
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice(15 mL)
* 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (1 mL)
* 1/4 cup (50 mL) vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise (25 mL)
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (1 mL)
* 1 head romaine lettuce, outer leaves removed
* 1/4 cup freshly grated or shaved parmesan (50 mL)

Directions
Roasted Garlic

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
2. Slice stem end off garlic. Place on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with the oil. Wrap garlic and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until softened. This can be done ahead up to one day ahead. Let cool.

Dressing

1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse roasted garlic, raw garlic, anchovy, and capers.
2. Process until finely minced. Add Dijon mustard, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. With motor running, slowly drizzle in vegetable oil and finish with mayonnaise to achieve a creamy consistency.
3. Season with black pepper and salt if needed, to taste.
4. In a large bowl, tear lettuce into bite size pieces, Add dressing, croutons, and cheese to the bowl, and toss well.

Wish me luck!

Mint Limeade

2010-07-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

As noted in my last post, we had mint limeade at our SYTYCD marathon and I made it again for my dad's 40th BBQ lunch (again, a bit hit!)

Here's the recipe for 2 cups of simple syrup:
Bring 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil, stirring until dissolved. Let cool.

Mint Limeade:
Muddle 2 lime wedges and some mint leaves in each glass and add ice. Mix 2 cups simple syrup, 2 cups water, 1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice and 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice in a pitcher; pour into the glasses.

Zesty Lemon Potato Salad

2010-07-15T21:37:00.001-07:00

The other night while having a SYTYCD marathon, we did a potluck dinner at Janine's house. I brought grilled vegetables and a crab appetizer and Janine made chili salmon and a zesty mint limeade. I can't tell what was better: the show or the food!

The potato salad was just right for a hot summer's night and the dill and lemon just added that lift that a boring potato salad is always desperately in need of. The mint limeade was a little tart but a perfect non-alcoholic accompaniment to a summer's night dinner.

Here's the recipe for the zesty lemon potato salad (thanks Victoria!)

Ingredients:
600g of fingerling potatoes (sliced),
50g shredded rocket (arugula) leaves

Dressing:
2 tbsp chopped preserved lemon rind,
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard,
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise,
2 tbsp lemon juice,
sea salt and cracked pepper.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water and cook until tender (usually about 8 minutes). Drain and rinse under running water. toss the potato with the rocket.

To make the dressing, place the preserved lemon rind, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. to serve pour the dressing over the potatoes and rocket and toss gently. serves 4.

Note: we dropped the arugula from the recipe (thank God) because I find the green a little too bitter for my liking.

Meatball Bonanza!

2009-10-12T19:04:00.001-07:00

When Sacha and Kat had their baby Lukas, two years ago, I had the privilege of going to the baby shower at Diana's house. She had these AMAZING meatballs that I just couldn't get enough of. Here's her recipe share:

1 cube vegetable bouillon
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups ketchup
2 tbsp worcestershire
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 squeezed lemon
1/2 cup honey
4 cloves garlic
1 bag of italian meatballs from M&M meatshop

Mix the bouillon and water together. Then mix all ingredients and boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

She served it in a slowcooker, which always makes me think that you have to slow cook this recipe, when in fact it's actually super simple and super fast. I have made it twice now (both times, served in a slow cooker for ease of transport) and have always received compliments! Thanks Di.

Cranberry Bonanza

2009-10-11T11:50:00.001-07:00

Nica worked an event a couple weeks ago where some guy had a cranberry stand. At the end of the night, he decided it was too much of a hassle to take all the cranberries back so all the techs took a box home. Nica, bless his Chinese-influenced-soul, decided to take 2 boxes. I don't know why because I never ever cook with cranberries and these were honking huge boxes. I gave one to my sister and the other to work for all to take for Thanksgiving. I did keep a few, since all my colleagues started coming up with cranberry recipes. Here's one that I tried:

Cranberry Orange Loaf

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen
33 people added this to their Recipe Box

Tested Till Perfect

The combination of cranberry and orange makes this loaf from food writer Carol Ferguson absolutely delicious.

Servings: 1 loave, 16 slices
Ingredients:

1 orange
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, melted

Preparation:
Grate rind from orange. Squeeze juice into liquid measure; add enough water to make 3/4 cup (175 mL). Set aside.

In large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange rind; stir in cranberries. In small bowl, whisk together egg, butter and orange juice; stir into flour mixture just until blended. Spread in greased 9- x 5-inch (2 L) loaf pan.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes; turn out onto rack and let cool completely. Wrap and let stand for 12 hours before slicing. (Make-ahead: Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or overwrap with heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.)

I made this recipe for my family Thanksgiving dinner and it was a little bread-y but it was nice and moist and not too bad! It was a little crumbly though. Would definitely try it again and maybe add another egg to try and bind it better.

Broccoli Salad Recipe

2009-09-13T22:45:00.001-07:00

For the Love of Bacon! My sister gave me this recipe today after dining at her house and enjoying her broccoli salad. It has bacon so of course it's yummy-licious. She says she's had lots of requests for the recipe and I can taste why!

Fresh Broccoli Salad
Ingredients

* 2 heads fresh broccoli
* 1 red onion
* 1/2 pound bacon
* 3/4 cup raisins
* 3/4 cup sliced almonds/cashews
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Directions

1. Place bacon in a deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Cool and crumble.
2. Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces and cut the onion into thin bite-size slices. Combine and mix with the bacon, raisins, almonds and cashews.
3. To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Stir into the salad, let chill and serve.

Can't wait to try this out myself and will have 'Beano' on hand due to the raw broccoli. ha ha!

Update June 4, 2010:
Well, I tried making this and I followed it exactly as the recipe stated except I only used slivered almonds. The result? WAYYYY too sweet! I would totally cut back on the sugar next time. changing the rating from 9 out of 10 to 7 out of 10. Although when Jen makes it, it's definitely a 9.

Cooking website

2009-08-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

After months and months of wanting a pasta maker, I finally bought one last week. I'll put a separate review of my experience with that.
In preparation for my first pasta-making experience the geek in me decided I would try and learn how to do it online first. I ended up stumbling upon this website:
http://rouxbe.com/?l=t

TOTALLY awesome instructional videos with lots of different 'how-to's'. I only browsed through it as a guest but they have everything!!! What's great is that they actually show you both what you should look for and what you shouldn't. Most places only show you what you should see, so you never know if you've done something wrong.

Maybe one day I'll buy the full subscription but for now I'm satisfied with all the free videos that they offer.

Thai Food: Mango sticky rice

2009-08-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

Who says Men can't cook?
Again, another male colleague of mine, Will, said that he and his girlfriend took this cooking class when they were in Thailand. They made a few dishes and one of them was this (according to him) and easy one called Mango Sticky rice. He says it tastes pretty good, as you would have it in a restaurant. I've never had it ever so it would be a complete first for me.

I copied the recipe from him because I was suppose to go to a Thai-themed dinner party at my friend Ali's, but she had a cranky baby that day so cancelled it. My loss but I figure I can still try this recipe out one day. Here's the recipe from Will's Thai Cook book:

For rice:
1 cup glutinous (sticky) rice
1/2 cup thick coconut cream
4 tablespoons white sugar (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Topping sauce:
4 tablespoons thick coconut cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon corn flour dissolved in 4 tablespoons of cold water (my guess is corn flour is the same as corn starch)

Accompaniments:
1 large ripe sweet mango
1 teaspoon deep fried mung bean seeds or tasted sesame seeds.

Directions:
1. Make the rice in a rice cooker.
2. Mix the sauce ingredients together and combine with the cooked rice.
3. Make the topping by mixing the salt, sugar, coconut cream and corn flour mixture in saucepan and heating on medium until the sauce thickens
4. Peel mango and slice into 12 pieces discarding the stone. Arrange on plates with the rice and dribble sauce on top and then sprinkle with seeds.

Show me dem Mussels!

2009-08-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

About a week and a half ago, Nica and I took this one-day French cooking course at this place called "Cookshop" in City Square. All Summer long they had 2 for 1 classes so for the two of us, it only cost $99. http://www.cookshop.ca/store/

So essentially what happens is that you're in the class with a bunch of other people. There's a demonstration area at the front of the class, and a series of tables in front of that. Each table has a portable stovestop on it, with the ingredients for whatever dish you're going to make. In our class, we were going to learn how to make 7 different dishes from the French Brittany region. I initially thought that we were going to make all 7 ourselves (just Nica and I) but I learnt that each couple would prepare one of the dishes, and then we'd all share together at the end of it.

It was a bit of a gong show. The chef was good in coming around to each one of our tables and showing us the cooking technique for our own dish. Sometimes he'd call everyone over to watch what he was doing but since you were cooking for everyone, you didn't want to abandon your station and ruin the food. So I did miss a few demonstrations. I didn't leave with the comfort of knowing how to cook the other dishes so I probably wouldn't do a participation class again.

My review aside, we have put to use some of the recipes he gave us. Last night we enjoyed the Steamed mussels with White Wine, Shallot and Parsley. In the class my friends Janine and Cam made this. They said it was super simple so we thought we could give it a try too. I picked up a bag of mussels from Costco and had enough to make this dish twice: once for ourselves and again last night with another couple, Flo and Scott.

Here's the recipe:

4 1/2 pounds of mussels, scrubbed with the beard removed
1 1/2 ounces butter
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/2 chopped celery stalk
2 garlic cloves
1 2/3 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Discard any mussels that are open already and don't close when tapped on the work surface. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the shallots, celery and garlic, stirring occasionally, over moderate heat until the onion is softened but not browned.

Add the wine, bay leaf and thyme to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover the saucepan tightly and simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Use tongs to lift out the mussels as they open, putting them into a warm dish. Throw away any mussels that haven't opened after 3 minutes.

Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, leaving behind any grit or sand. Bring to a boil again for 2 minutes. Add the cream and reheat the sauce without boiling. Season well. Serve the mussels in individual bowls with liquid poured over. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with plenty of bread.

My notes: Both times we made the mussels I forgot to buy the celery and thyme so we did it without. Also we used half-and-half cream instead of cream. The first time it separated when we added it to the broth because it was boiling and we added the cream too quickly. Plus we used our Gustav Adolf Schmitt as the wine which was far too sweet. The second time we used a Pinot Gris by Coppermoon and Nica let the broth cool a bit before adding the cream slowly as he stirred. It was a 100 times better the second time and Flo gave it a great review.

My changes for next time? I don't think I'll buy mussels from Costco again. And I'll probably use celery and fresh thyme to see if it makes a big difference.

My Love of Joie

2009-08-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Joie wines
About a year ago, a good girlfriend of mine, Mela, and I went to this place called the Salt Tasting Room in Gastown. It's like this little slice of heaven in a not-so-fantastic neighbourhood. The entrance of the place is in this alley that you clutch your purse in, thinking that you'll see some guy shooting up behind a dumpster. Then you open the door to the restaurant and you're transported to some other dimension. Long wooden tables, brick walls and this huge chalkboard advertising all the types of food you can pair your wine with. What's super cool? No ovens!
Website: http://www.salttastingroom.com/

We decided to have a flight of wines with food (3 types of wines, paired with 3 types of food). One of the wines we tried was "Joie: A Noble Blend". Our feedback? Simply AMAZING. It's a sweeter wine with flavours of apple. The harmony of flavours blew our minds away and it instantly ranked as my favourite wine.

I had to taste for myself if this winery was a one-wine hit place, or if all their wines were like this. Unfortunately their wines aren't sold in the BC Liquor stores (only speciality wine stores) so buying this wine is serious business for me! Plus on average their wines are about $25 which totally breaks my $20 max rule. But you know what? I broke my rules and haven't regretted it one bit. Totally worth every single penny they sell the wine for.

I had a sample of "Joie Rose" at the downtown Joey's restaurant location (which has the most selection of wines by the glass in Vancouver, by the way). Again, a sweeter wine with some floral notes to it and again, 10 out of 10 from me on this wine. I think I've bought about 5 bottles since.

My older brother, Chris, bought me the Riseling that we enjoyed the other night at our family dinner. Again, thumbs up from everyone all around. I still rank it above some of the other wines I've tried but out of all the Joie wines I've tried, it probably places 3rd.

I can't wait to try all their other types since I still haven't tried their un-oaked chardonnay and their Muscat which is sold out for 2008.

They're clearly not a one-hit wine wonder. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single type of wine they've made and others don't disagree. Recently they won TWO Lieutenant Governor General’s Awards of Excellence for their wines. Not bad considering only 12 wines get this award every year!!!

Here's a link to their website: http://www.joie.ca/2008_joie_vintage_spec_sheet.htm

Easy Peasy Cheesecakes

2009-08-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

Easy Peasy Cheesecakes

A good friend of mine, Julie, was recently married. In celebration of this marriage, her aunts threw her this insane bridal shower/stagette complete with feather boas, tiaras, champagne and of course: good food.

Now I just recently admitted to myself that I was lactose intolerant (after the last reaction caused me to almost crap my pants). So I've really tried to watch what I eat. However, that night one of her aunts made these super cute cheesecakes. They were individual sized in little cupcake holders and after popping a couple of lactaid, I have to admit: it was worth it! They were light, fluffy and perfectly portioned.

Here's the easy peasy recipe:
1 package Mr. Christy's Nilla wafers
2 packages Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients with a beater and then bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Top with whatever topping you want (e.g. blackberries with blueberry coulis, etc).

I tried this recipe at a work party last week and they were a total hit. I did modify the recipe a little bit by using 3 eggs (to try and achieve super fluffiness) and I measured out 1 cup of sugar instead. I wasn't able to eat them that night but feedback was very positive.

Notes about making this though (thanks to my colleagues for helping me out with this): While mixing the ingredients in the Kitchenaid mixer, there were lumps of cream cheese. Try to beat it as much as possible to get rid of the lumps. A few leftover lumps are ok since they'll melt when you bake them. Also, after mixing the resulting mixture will be very liquidy, but it solidifes after the baking process.

Thomas Haas Cakes

2009-05-02T21:25:00.001-07:00

The only thing I need to say is: They taste as good as they look.

Winzertanz: Gustav Adolf Schmitt

2009-05-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

Nica found this German white for me one day in the liquor store. I always lingered around the German whites because honestly, I think they make the best whites in the world. Cheap, cheerful and just the right amount of sweetness. This wine is also sold in the 2 litre format which is even better for under $15!!! (obviously you can see why I like this wine so much). The only place I've found it in the 2 litre format though, it the BC liquor store on 41st and Cambie. I pick up a couple bottles everytime I go visit my parents.

Anyway, solid 9 out of 10 from me on this one. Easy to drink is an understatement. I can finish off a whole 2 litre bottle in one night and I can't even drink that much water in one sitting. Sometimes if you're drunk enough, it only tastes like apple juice. Clean start, clean finish, sweeter wine and great chilled. The price is worth it as an everyday wine.

Calona Vineyards: Sovereign Opal 2007

2009-05-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Julie did it again. She's found another great white! Wine, that is.

This is a VQA wine, and when you first smell it, you fall in love. It has hints of peach and apple and this... I don't know how to explain it, it just SMELLS good. It tastes like it smells too! (Unlike vanilla extract and durian). It's slightly sweet, but not TOO sweet. When it hits the back of your tongue before you swallow, it's pleasant and not cringingly tart.

The bottle is elegant (although honestly it should be what's inside that counts) but overall, nice packaging and a wine that deserves it. It's about $13 and can be found in any BC Liquor store. I've already bought 3 bottles and I'm not sure how long they're going to last. It's a perfect summer wine! 9.5 out of 10.

Renne's Latke's

2009-05-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

I love my Food and Wine magazine subscription (I guess I love a lot of food things, don't I?) Anyway, here is a recipe I tried for potato latke's:

3 1/2 pounds baking potatoes; peeled and halved
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Canola oil, for frying
applesauce and sour cream for serving (I only used the sour cream!)

1. shred the potato and onion. Squeeze it dry to try and get all the moisture out.
2. Stir in flour, eggs, dill, salt, and baking powder.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil until simmering. Spoon 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into oil, pressing to slightly flatten. Fry over moderate heat, turning once until the latke's are golden and crisp on both sides (about 7 minutes)
4. Drain the latkes on a paper towel and serve!

Wolf Blass: 2006 Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

2009-05-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Naz brought over this bottle of red wine. Can't remember if I liked it or not! I drank it all so I can only figure that I did...I'm giving it an 8 out of 10.

Naan

2009-04-26T18:21:00.002-07:00

NAAN:
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
* 1 cup warm water
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 3 tablespoons milk
* 1 egg, beaten
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 4 1/2 cups bread flour
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
* 1/4 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Butter Chicken

2009-04-26T18:21:00.001-07:00

BUTTER CHICKEN:
Ingredients:
Tandoori Chicken

* 10 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 21/4 lbs / 1.1 kg)
* 1/2 cup bottled Tandoori marinade (see Tip)

Butter Chicken Sauce

* 2 tbsp butter
* 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
* 1 tbsp minced garlic
* 1 1/2 tbsp grated gingerroot
* 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
* 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
* 3/4 tsp ground coriander
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1 can (28 oz/798 mL) diced tomatoes, drained
* 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 1 tbsp brown sugar
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1/3 cup light sour cream (not fat-free)
* 1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
* 1 tbsp cashew/almond butter (Tip)
* Hot cooked basmati rice (optional)

Directions:
Tandoori Chicken

1. Poke raw chicken thighs in several places with a fork. Place chicken in a large, heavy-duty, resealable plastic bag. Add Tandoori marinade to bag. Turn bag several times to coat chicken with marinade. Marinate chicken in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place chicken thighs in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overbake the chicken, or it will be dry. When cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized pieces and add to the butter chicken sauce as directed in recipe.

Butter Chicken Sauce

1. While chicken is baking, make sauce. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook slowly, stirring often, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add gingerroot, chili powder, turmeric, ground coriander, cinnamon and cumin. Cook 1 more minute. Add drained tomatoes, broth, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
2. Transfer half the sauce to a blender and purée until smooth. Return puréed sauce to pot with remaining sauce. Mix well and return to heat. Stir in sour cream, cilantro and cashew/almond butter. Add cut-up Tandoori chicken and mix well. Cook just until chicken is hot. Serve over hot basmati rice, if desired.

Three Herb Butter

2009-04-10T02:16:00.000-07:00

Three-Herb Butter

Yields about 1-1/4 cups.
1/2 lb. (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (about 3 oz.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (from about 1 oz. parsley sprigs)
1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme leaves (from about 3/4 oz. thyme sprigs)
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves (from about 1/2 oz. sage sprigs)

In a 10-inch skillet, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter over medium heat until it begins to foam. Add the shallots and cook until soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and boil until it's completely evaporated 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the parsley, thyme, and sage and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl and refrigerate. When well chilled, put the remaining butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the herb mixture and beat on medium speed until blended, about 1 minute.

On a large piece of plastic wrap, shape the herb butter into a log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.

Make Ahead Tips
The butter can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated or up to 2 months ahead and frozen. If frozen, take the butter out of the freezer and store in the refrigerator a day before you plan to use it.

Update April 25, 2009: I royally screwed this recipe up. I was reading the ingredients and trying to cook at the same time and ended up melting the entire 1/2 lb of butter instead of just a tablespoon. Tried to save myself by taking out most of it... but it was probably too late. It had already clarified and foamed. I mixed everything together after, put it into the fridge to try and harden but have this sinking feeling that I've ruined it! Too scared to try it... it's sitting in my freezer right now.

Tilapia Ceviche

2009-04-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Mmmm... ceviche!
Tilapia Ceviche from http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--3523/tilapia-ceviche.asp

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds tilapia fresh and cubed into small chunks
- 15 limes - cut in half
- 1 white onion - large and diced
- 2 tomatoes - diced
- 1 avocados - chopped
- 1 jalapeño - seeded and chopped, more to taste
salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup cilantro - chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
Cut fish into small pieces.
Squeeze lime halves over the fish pieces in a large bowl. (A hand juicer works nicely for this.)
Be sure all of the pieces are completely covered with lime juice.
Cover with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight or for at least 12 hours.
Note: The acidity of the lime juice cooks, or cures, the tilapia.
Remove from the refrigerator, do not drain.
Chop onion, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, jalapeños and add it into the marinated fish.
Mix in olive oil and salt
Serve with assorted crackers as an appetizer.

Update April 12, 2009: Well, I didn't die. I cured the fish for 12 hours and added the other ingredients. I wasn't super in-love with it, but I'd give it a 7 out of 10. By the way, HORRIBLE dish as a leftover. The avocado turns brown and makes the dish look nasty, even though I know the avocado is fine. Anyway, best served fresh and eaten all in one sitting.

Wild Mushroom Orzo

2009-04-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

I'm having some friends over this Saturday for lunch and thought I'd review what I was serving. One friend does not eat meat (but does eat seafood) and I saw this great recipe on TV that used wild mushrooms and the mushroom water as the stock and can't remember the steps exactly but found this recipe online:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lukes-Wild-Mushroom-Orzo-350821

Wild Mushroom Orzo
Ingredients
For the mushroom stock:
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 ounce)
1 sprig fresh thyme

For the orzo:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups mixed wild mushrooms (about 4 ounces), washed, dried, and chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dry vermouth
1 1/2 cups orzo

To finish the dish:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Optional:
1 teaspoon white-truffle oil

TO PREPARE THE MUSHROOM STOCK:
1. In a small pot, immerse the dried porcinis in 4 1/2 cups of water. Add the sprig of thyme whole.

2. Bring the mushroom mixture to a boil over high heat, then remove immediately from the stove and set aside for 5 minutes.

TO PREPARE THE ORZO:
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until it takes on a light golden color, about 3 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent burning.

2. Add the mixed wild mushrooms and stir well to combine. Saute; on medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mushrooms are just starting to color. At this point, but not before, add the salt and pepper (if you do it earlier, before the mushrooms have opened up, the salt will pull out all the moisture). Mix well to combine and continue cooking for another 30 seconds, until the mushrooms have started to reduce and color.

3. Move the pan well away from the heat (so you don't catch fire) and add the vermouth. Stir to combine and then return to the heat for just a few seconds, until the vermouth and mushroom juices form a syrupy mixture in the bottom of the pan.

4. Remove the pan from the heat, add the orzo, and mix well, so the grains are all coated with the pan juices.

5. Remove the thyme sprig from the porcini mixture and discard. Pour the porcinis and liquid over the orzo.

6. Return the pan to medium-high heat and bring up to a low boil, stirring well to combine. Turn the heat down to low, and keep the mixture at a very lazy bubble for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The orzo is done when it's swelled up and become tender, but still has a bit of a bounce between the teeth. There should be just a little bit of syrupy liquid on the bottom, but the orzo mixture should be a bit wet. (If you cook it till the liquid is completely absorbed, you'll have a sticky mess.)

TO FINISH THE DISH:
1. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the butter and mix in well; then add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and continue stirring. Add the parsley and thyme leaves and mix well, until the texture of the dish is softer and richer from the butter and cheese and all the ingredients are well combined. If you're using the truffle oil, add it and mix well so the oil is absorbed.

2. Serve as quickly as possible, topped with a little more of the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Update April 11, 2009: Well, Janine couldn't make the lunch (which turned into a dinner because of the birth of my nephew) and since she was the vegetarian, I ended up using chicken stock instead of the mushroom water. in addition, I used arborio rice instead of orzo. Turned out okay although I think I undersalted. I'd probably cook it again but I would only give it a 7.5 out of 10 this time round. I think it could have had more depth with better seasoning.

Herb Butter Roasted turkey with Pinot noir gravy

2009-03-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Jill, another colleague from work, sent me this recipe below. It's from the finecooking website: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/herb-butter-turkey-pinot-noir-gravy.aspx

I've tasted her baking before and I can attest that she's got good taste. So I can only assume that this is good too!

Herb-Butter Roasted Turkey with Pinot Noir Gravy
by Ris Lacoste

To brine the turkey you need space for a 5-gallon pot in your refrigerator. If you have neither the room nor the pot, you can cook the brine in a smaller pan and proceed with one of our alternative brining methods.
Serves twelve, with leftovers.

For the brine:
2-1/2 gallons water
2-1/2 cups kosher salt
1 cup maple syrup
24 bay leaves
24 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 cup whole black peppercorns
2 small bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 4 oz.)
1 small bunch fresh sage (about 1 oz.)
6 medium sprigs fresh rosemary
Zest and juice of 4 large lemons (remove the zest in long strips with a vegetable peeler)

For the turkey:
14- to 16-lb. natural turkey (preferably fresh)
1 recipe Three-Herb Butter, softened
2 Tbs. kosher salt
2 Tbs. freshly ground black pepper
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted

For the gravy:
2-1/2 oz. (5 Tbs.) unsalted butter
2-1/2 oz. (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
4 cups Three-Herb Turkey Broth or low-salt chicken broth
1-1/2 cups Pinot Noir
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days ahead, prepare the brine:
Put all of the brine ingredients in a 5-gallon stockpot with a lid. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, cover the pot, and refrigerate the brine until cold, preferably overnight.

One day ahead: brine the turkey:
If already loose, trim the tail from the turkey. Otherwise, leave it attached. Remove and discard the giblets. Keep the neck and tail in the refrigerator. Rinse the turkey and put it in the pot with the brine. Refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours before roasting the turkey.

Prepare and roast the turkey:
Position a rack in the bottom of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the turkey well, pat it dry, and set it in a large flameproof roasting pan. Gently slide your hand between the breast meat and skin to separate the skin so you can apply the herb butter. Slice the herb butter into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and distribute them evenly between the skin and breast meat, completely covering the breast. Maneuver a few pieces between the skin and legs, too. Next, with your hands on the outside of the turkey, massage the butter under the skin to distribute it evenly and break up the round pieces so the turkey won’t look polka-dotted when it’s done.

Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the salt and 1 Tbs. of the pepper in the cavity of the turkey. Tie the legs together. Fold the wings back and tuck the tips under the neck area. Flip the turkey onto its breast, pat the back dry, and brush with some of the melted butter. Sprinkle with some of the remaining salt and pepper. Flip the turkey over, pat dry again, brush all over with the remaining butter, and sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper. Put the reserved neck and tail in the pan with the turkey. Cover the pan very tightly with foil and put in the oven, legs pointing to the back of the oven, if possible (the legs can handle the higher heat in the back better than the breast can). Roast undisturbed for 2 hours and then uncover carefully (watch out for escaping steam). Continue to roast, basting every 15 minutes with the drippings that have collected in the pan, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of both thighs reads 170° to 175°F and the juices run clear when the thermometer is removed, 45 minutes to 1 hour more for a 15-lb. turkey.

Remove the turkey from the oven. With a wad of paper towels in each hand, move the turkey to a serving platter, cover with foil to keep warm, and set aside. Discard the neck and tail; reserve the drippings in the roasting pan. Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes while you make the gravy and heat the side dishes

Make the gravy:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add the flour and quickly whisk it into the butter until it’s completely incorporated. Cook, whisking constantly, until the roux smells toasty and darkens slightly to a light caramel color (see image below), about 2 minutes. Watch carefully, as you don’t want it to get too dark. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Pour the reserved turkey drippings into a clear, heatproof container, preferably a fat separator cup. (Don’t rinse the roasting pan.) Let sit until the fat rises to the top, and then pour out 1 cup of the juices (or remove and discard the fat with a ladle and measure 1 cup of the juices). Combine the juices with the turkey or chicken broth.

Set the roasting pan on top of the stove over two burners on medium heat. Add the Pinot Noir and simmer, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to release any stuck-on bits, until the wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the broth mixture and simmer to meld the flavors, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the roux a little at a time until you have reached your desired thickness (you may not want to use it all). Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Strain through a fine sieve and transfer to a serving vessel.

Make Ahead Tips
The brine should be prepared 2 days before the Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey should be brined the day before. The roux may be prepared on Thanksgiving day and left at room temperature; whisk to recombine before using.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

2009-03-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

I *LOVE* sour cream. And I love moist banana bread. So what better than to combine the two? I did some research on the net and it appears that sour cream is the secret to a good, moist banana bread. so here goes...

Sour Cream Banana Bread

SERVES 12 , 1 loaf (change servings and units)
Ingredients

* 1/2 cup margarine or butter
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 1/2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup mashed banana
* 1/2 cup chopped nuts (omit if you don't like nuts)
* 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Grease 1 large loaf pan.
2. Cream margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients, then bananas, nuts and sour cream.
4. Mix well.
5. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

Update May 2, 2009: Nica and the folks at work love this recipe (or at least I think they do since they eat it all up). However Flo and Jen have both tried the recipe with unfavourable results. Flo says her bread doesn't rise and Jen says it seemed undercooked. We think it might be due to the fact that I use my Kitchenaid mixer, whereas Jen is hand mixing. Will keep an eye on this... so far it's *my* favourite recipe!

Manny's Heavenly Hash

2009-02-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

Manu, a colleague at work, is always bringing in delicious lunches. They're usually leftovers from his dinner the night before and amazingly (yes, I'm being sexist here), he makes them even though he's married. Yes, the husband cooks! In fact, he's usually the one to make dinners.

Here's a recipe he gave me for hashbrowns. His said his aunt gave him the recipe and whenever he takes it to potlucks, it's always the first to go:

1 kg bag of hashbrowns
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup butter
2 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 grated onion
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce (optional)

Mix it all up in a casserole dish, cook for an hour and a half at 350 degrees. I think it's a heart attack waiting to happen but it's darn good.

Mango Pudding

2008-12-28T23:44:00.000-08:00

Ahh, the year is almost over and Holiday season is in full swing. This means family gatherings, days off and most of all... FOOD!

My sister-in-law, Vania, has the best homemade mango pudding. In fact, until she told me that she had made it herself, I was convinced that mango pudding was one of those desserts that you could only buy in a store or have magically brought to you at the end of a Chinese meal.

I have yet to try this out myself, but here is the recipe:

Mango Pudding

500 mL whipping cream
4 pkg. gelatin
750 mL mango puree (Alphonso cans - can be found at Superstore, T&T or Indian food stores)
1.5 cup sugar
4.5 cup water

1) Boil 3 cups water and sugar and gelatin. Stir quick until dissolved

2) Add canned mango, and 1.5 cup cold water

3) Pour whipping cream until even

Update March 30, 2011: Jen went to make this and noted that Superstore will no longer be stocking the Alphonso mango pulp that you need to make this recipe.

Delicious Goodness: Choclate Chunk Fudgy Brownies

2008-03-17T09:31:00.001-07:00

A colleague of mine at work - Janine - makes the BEST brownies. So good that you think she's bought them and just lied about baking them. However, I can attest that she does in fact make them from a recipe passed down from her grandma. Here it is:

CHOCOLATE CHUNK FUDGY BROWNIES

1 cup margarine 2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup baking cocoa 1 cup flour
2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs 1 package chocolate chunks

1. Melt margarine. Remove from heat.
2. Add cocoa.
3. Add sugar.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating very well after each egg.
5. Add vanilla, flour and salt. DO NOT OVER BEAT!
6. Stir in chocolate chunks.
7. Spread in greased 13" x 9" pan.
8. Bake in 350 degree over for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Since we all know that the ingredients you buy mean everything, she said she uses the Hershey's chocolate baking kisses (smaller than real kisses) for her chocolate chunks.

Update August 30, 2009: I have made these brownies a few times since Janine gave me the recipe and had really great reviews! Plus they're super easy to make. Whenever Safeway has a sale on the Hershey's baking kisses I stock up because I know that I'll without a doubt, make this again.

Baby Back Ribs

2008-02-25T20:42:00.001-08:00

Next recipe to try (Thanks to Jen for giving me this!):

Here's the recipe:
3-3.5 Lbs pork country style ribs
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (I didn't have this)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (I used fresh)
1/4 tsp bottled hot pepper sauce

1. Place ribs in a 3.5 - 4 qt slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine
ketchup, onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder,
liquid smoke, garlic powder, and hot pepper sauce. Pour over ribs in
cooker, turning ribs to coat.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours (I did this
for 9 hours) or on high-heat for 5-6 hours
3. Transfer ribs to a platter; cover to keep warm. Skim fat from
surface of sauce; pour sauce into a medium saucepan. Bring sauce to
boiling; recue heat slightly. Boil gently, uncovered, for 5 to 7
minutes or until thickened to desired consistency (should make about 1
cup). Pass sauce with ribs.

Update: Have made this in my slow cooker. Thumbs up! the liquid smoke is a definite must. I bought some at the Gourmet Warehouse for $6 and then bought two more bottles from this place called "Deals only" in Bellingham, Washington for 99cents each. I took some leftovers into work once and everyone was salivating over the smell. 9 out of 10.

Tetley's Jasmine Green Tea

2008-02-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

The only thing that has survived my "getting healthier" binge has been green tea. So no more milk, no more sugar, just straight green tea.
My friend Flo, a total tea affectionada, recommended jasmine green tea to me. Being easily susceptible to other people's recommendations, I went out and bought some.

Opinion? Yuck! It's really dry and reminds me of the tea you get at Chinese restaurants. I had one bag and I'm hoping I can find someone (maybe Flo or my sister) who will take the rest off me.
Just goes to show that not everyone has the same tea taste buds.

Rating: 1 out of 10
Things to do different next time: Don't buy it.

Unduragga: 2007 Sauvignon Blanc

2008-02-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

My friend Julie has this uncanny knack for finding really good, cheap wines. One of her last recommendations was Australia's Hardy's Shiraz. Under $10.00 and really tasty without being too spicy.
Her latest wine has been a Chilean wine. A 2007 Unduragga Sauvignon Blanc. It was crisp, fresh and not too sweet or dry.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Magic Bullet Party Mixer review

2008-02-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

Last year, I succumbed to the commercials and bought myself a $40 Magic Bullet Party Mixer from Canadian Tire during a sale. It came with four party mugs, one large cup, one small cup, extra o-rings, two types of blades and the base unit.

I was excited to use it for all the things they mentioned in their commercial: salsas, dressings, cheese, alfredo sauce.

The first few times I used it, it wasn't so bad. But now less than a year later, it's hitting it's last legs.

Things I don't like:
1. The party mugs are a joke. They take up a lot of storage space and they don't stack nicely. The coloured rings they give you to put on the rim that has the threads to screw on the mixing blade, are fugly and cheap-looking. I have NEVER had a party and used these mugs. But maybe that's personal choice because I don't like drinking out of plastic.

2. Bad blades. I've used the mixer no more than 40 times ever. I normally only use one of the blades (one's flat and the other has raised blades I believe it's for chopping) and they're both dull. As in, I put the food in the cup and it takes forever to process. And even then, there's still solid chunks.

3. Bad chopping. They teach you to do this "tap" method when mixing food. You have to tap the cup to move stuff down, then you mix, then tap, then mix. It's annoying. Especially if you have a heavy liquid in the cup like mayonnaise. Even if you don't and you're trying to mix salsa, some of the stuff is chopped, while the other stuff isn't. So if you keep going, some gets liquidized and the other stuff is chopped to the size you want it. There's just no consistency.

4. Bad mixing. If you don't fill a cup all the way with food or liquid, then some of the contents will throw up to the top of the cup (when it's on the mixer) and won't get mixed in. You have to unscrew the mixing blade, scrape it down and try again.

5. Poor materials. Mine hasn't broken yet, but it did leak the other day. Granted, I just needed to push the o-ring down further. I've read that other people have had the part that spins the blade break on them fairly early because it's only made with plastic parts. Plus it emits a smell if I put it to mix for more than a few seconds.

Things I like:
not much. It's handy to put in the dishwasher. It's lighter and easier to handle than my full sized blender.

Rating: 2 out of 10
Recommend to a friend? NO!

BBQ garlic mayo

2008-02-02T12:17:00.001-08:00

I remember the first time I ever had flavoured mayo. I was at this cafe downtown with Mela and we had ordered yam fries and the side dressing was this BBQ mayo. When I asked the waitress what was in it, she was a bit elusive. She never said "mayo" but told us eggs. I thought that was weird.

This is my take on their sauce:
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
* few cloves of garlic (I use anywhere between 3-4 because I'm a garlic freak)
* seasoning blend

Toss it all into a blender. I use the "party mixer" I bought last year. I think I'll write a whole post on its own for that one because it really sucks and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I digress. The BBQ garlic mayo is simple, easy and we love using it on everything. Pizza's, pasta, fish, meat, fries... the list goes on!

Rating: 9 out of 10
Wouldn't change a thing.

Almond-Topped Fish

2008-01-29T14:29:00.001-08:00

My sister gave me this recipe to try. She really liked it.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Almond-Topped-Fish/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 (6 ounce) fillets fresh or frozen cod or haddock, thawed
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS
Place butter in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; place in a 400 degrees F oven until melted. Spread butter over bottom of dish; cover with onion. Arrange fish over onion; sprinkle with salt, dill and pepper. Combine the Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, parsley and lemon juice; spread over fish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with almonds.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 fillet) equals 223 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 86 mg cholesterol, 716 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 33 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 4 lean meat, 1 fat, 1/2 starch.

January 31, 2008 update:
Tried this recipe for the first time. Didn't have haddock fish so used the pollack I had instead. Used the Kraft fake parmesan and fresh dill. I think it was coriander too, instead of parsley.

I really enjoy garlic with my food and although this had none, I surprisingly, still really enjoyed it. I wouldn't have thought to bake mayonnaise but it added a really nice crust to the fish, with deep flavour without being overbearing. The crunch of the almonds was a nice textural contrast. The fish wasn't flaky enough for me although I did cook it for longer than the suggested time and it was a bit too moist. Which is not a usual thing for me to say because I don't like dry fish.

AFTER

Rating: 8 out of 10
Things to do different next time: Use a different type of fish. Maybe the ones that are suggested by the recipe.

Update February 1, 2008:
This is NOT a good leftover food to eat when you've drunk too much and you're looking for something to absorb the alcohol in your stomach. One piece in my mouth and I thought I was going to hurl.

Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing

2008-01-29T14:27:00.000-08:00

Colleague at work had this dressing on her "Fresh Express" spinach salad the other day. I stole a leaf and it tasted good. I got the recipe below from www.cooks.com.
Will try it out to see how it tastes!

DIJON VINAIGRETTE DRESSING

1 clove garlic, minced (I use 2)
1 to 2 tsp. Dijon style mustard
Pinch of basil and/or oregano
Dash of white pepper
Dash of cayenne
A squeeze of lemon - no seeds please
1 to 2 tsp. honey
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. good olive oil

Put all ingredients in a small bowl except olive oil.
Prepare greens and vegetables.

When ready to dress salad, slowly add olive oil to other ingredients while whisking to incorporate oil in a suspension. Immediately pour over salad and toss. Sometimes I use a culinary herb blend instead of just basil.

January 31 update:
Made this to go with a spinach salad I had with my almond crusted fish. Eyeballed most of the measurements. The dijon mustard was disgusting. I bought a huge jar of it from Costco and maybe it's because it was a little old (ok a lot old) but I detested the taste. It would have been better with regular mustard. I recall not liking the dijon mustand even when it was new. It just has this... tang to it that's not pleasurable.
The ingredients were extremely similar to the dressing that Mela taught me to make, other than the change in type of mustard.
Future reminder: DO NOT BUY DIJON AGAIN!

Garlic dill dip

2008-01-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

So, again I rave about the Cactus Club food. This time, it's about the sauce they serve with their yam fries. If you've never had this sauce, you have to have it at least once. It is soooo good.

We asked the waitress what they put in it and here's what we were able to gather: mayonnaise, garlic, fresh dill and lemon juice. That's it. I don't know what proportions of each but mmmm mmmm mmm! So yummy with the hot crispy yam fries.

Rating out of 10: 9
Try it again? ohhhh yeah.

Update Jan 26, 2008:
I tried making this at home. Didn't realize before I started that I didn't have enough mayonnaise. So 6 cloves of garlic later, have a super garlicky dressing/dip. Tastes awful. Will leave for husband to eat.

The Brazilian

2008-01-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it seems like drinks never change. You have the mojito, the Cosmopolitan, the rum and coke, etc. It's rare that I find something I like because I really hate those drinks that scream "I'M BOOZY!" Plus due to liver memory, my body isn't letting vodka near it without reminding me of the times I prayed to the porcelain god, which really sucks because most of the tastiest martinis and cocktails are made with it.
Anyway, I'm always open to new things so when I tried the Cactus Club's Brazilian the other night, I was floored.

They've muddled fresh pieces of kiwi, lime and sugar cane with rum and soda and I could drink them forever. They are so good! I want to try and make it myself at home but where on earth do you buy sugar cane?! Maybe I'll have to take a trip to Chinatown.

More to come...
Rating: 9 out of 10! Yes, it was that amazing.
Try it again? Yup.

Update: Found some sugar cane drink at T&T and attempted to make this 3 times. Was an absolute disaster on all fronts. i think I'll leave this drink to the pro's at Cactus Club.

Almond Butter

2008-01-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

Several of the girls at work have recently bought "almond butter". Ingredients? Roasted almonds. That's it. So many of them raved about how delicious and healthy it was so during a recent trip to costco, I picked some up. Of course, it no pansy small jar. It's a huge honkin Coscto-sized jar of Almond Butter!

Tried it on a cracker. Nyeh.
Tried it on an apple. Nyeh nyeh.

I'm just not taking to the taste which is blank or the texture which is really sticky. In fact, since it's somewhat liquidy you end up putting it on top of whatever you're eating it on before putting it in your mouth so inevitably the gooeyness ends up all over the roof of your mouth so you're smacking your tongue to try and dislodge it. Not for me, thanks.

Rating: 2 out of 10
Eat it again? Maybe. But so far I've left it in the work fridge with a sticky note that says "Penelope's almond butter. HELP YOURSELF!".
Maybe I'll bring in some celery sticks and try it on that next time.

Aveda Comforting Tea

2008-01-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

I visited the Aveda Academy salon last week to have my hair coloured and while waiting, they offered me tea. I've been on a green tea binge lately and was slightly disappointed to learn that it was a herbal tea. HOWEVER, my disappointment would soon change...
The tea is called "Aveda Comforting Tea" and it was so good. Although they told me no sweeteners had been added, it was naturally sweetened with licorice (which you couldn't taste by the way and I detest black licorice) with a refreshing end to the sip with mint.

This tea scores a 9 out of 10 for me.
Try it again? For sure. In fact, I'm going to try and buy it!

Low-Fat Caesar salad dressing from "Cook Yourself Thin"

2008-01-22T12:58:00.000-08:00

I haven't made this yet, but wanted to write it down before I forget. I caught this new show last week called "Cook Yourself Thin". It's a UK show featuring this 4 girls who are quite slim, showing you how to eat foods that are lower in calories. It was quite easy to watch, actually. The foods they cooked were more on the English side, but they made it look simple and the show had a qualitative side to it since they showed how they measured caloric content, etc.

Anyway, one of the recipes was for a chicken caesar salad. Here is the recipe:

Healthy chicken caesar salad recipe

Serves 2
Ready in 30 minutes

Ingredients
The salad
2 boneless free-range chicken breasts, take the skin off for extra skinniness
Olive oil spray
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices of soya and linseed bread
3 little gem lettuces 6 fresh anchovy fillets (optional)

The dressing
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and grated
2 anchovy fillets in olive oil from a jar
Salt and ground white pepper
3 tablespoons 0% fat Greek yoghurt
A squeeze of lemon juice
20g freshly grated parmesan (with a microplane)

I'll probably skip the chicken breast bit but they made the dressing sound delish. If it's low fat, why not right? I love caesar salad!

Tinhorn Creek Gerwerstraminer

2008-01-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Nica and I dined out at the Salmon House Restaurant in West Vancouver. The meal was absolutely delicious. The portions weren't overly generous but that was okay because when we were done, we were pleasantly filled and not full.

Because I don't like dry wines, I asked what sweet wines they had to pair with my porcini mushroom appetizer and citrus shrimp main. The server/bartender suggested the Tinhorn Creek Gewurztraminer as well as the Cedar Creek Pinot Noir. I enjoyed the Pinot but Nica didn't. It didn't have as much of a dry taste but it was mildly spicy and light. It was surprisingly good but the Gewurztraminer was excellent. It was light, refreshing and exactly what a Gewurztraminer should taste like.

So the Tinhorn Creek Gewurztraminer earns a 8.5 out of 10 from me. Would definitely look for this bottle in the liquor store.

Salad Dressings: Sweetened balsamic and garlic vinegrette

2008-01-16T12:20:00.001-08:00

Another note to self: Never buy salad dressings again (unless it's ranch!)

Much like my obsession with bed sheets, I am constantly looking and buying salad dressings. I pass them while in the produce section of my supermarket and I can't help but salivate at some of the flavours they come up with. Like raspberry vinaigrette or Japanese Ginger or Asian Sesame. But it always ends up being a salad dressing gambling game. It might sound like heaven, but does it taste that way?

Currently in my fridge I have over 7 different types of salad dressing, the majority of which are fairly full having tried it once and deciding that I really didn't like it. But I can't throw something like that away and I can't donate it to the food bank because it's perishable. It's the salad dressing dilemma.

At the same time as this salad dressing obsession, I have also been creating my own dressings and I have to say: they are damn good. So why do I keep buying these other dressings? I don't know. I can see why I'd buy Ranch since I have no idea how to make that but all the other ones are reproducible I'm sure. You just need your basic oil, vinegar and seasonings and voila!

Mela gave me this recipe about a year and half ago and I still use it because it's really amazing:

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup mustard (I personally like the liquid kind, not the ground dry kind)
1/4 cup honey
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all up and toss over salad. It's YUM!

Make it again? Hell, I make it all the time.
Rating: 10 out of 10.

Couscous with garlic, onions and pepper

2008-01-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

For the past week I've been struggling with whether to do a cleanse or not. A woman in the office suggested the 'Wild Rose' one but the last time I tried that, I ended up puking all the pills and tonic up. Maybe it's because my insides are just that dirty, but I figure there have got to be easier ways to clean my pipes. And no, that wasn't suppose to sound dirty

The associated Wild Rose D-Tox diet consists of cutting down significantly on meat, no fermented foods, no dairy, no sugars, no soy products, etc. Today almost being Day 1, I decided to do something with couscous.

Couscous has got to be the easiest thing to make. EVER. I only discovered it last week when I directed Mela to make it for the girls night. Since I couldn't have mushrooms (fungus), I looked in the fridge to see what else I could toss together with couscous. Here's what I whipped up:

1/2 cup couscous
slightly more than 1/2 cup hot boiled water
two slices of red onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
three slices of green peppers (diced)
salt and pepper to taste.

I know, I know. lots of cleanses say NO SALT while cleansing, but that's just Bullshit. I mean, who can eat vegetables without Salt?! Gross.

Anyway, tossed it all except the boiled water into a ziploc container, then added the 1/2 cup of boiled water (then a little more so the vegetables could absorb it a little) and then took it to work. When i was ready for lunch, nuked it for 30 seconds and voila! Mmmmm hmmm. Yummy! I used the Bragg fake soy sauce that I'm "allowed" to use and it was so good. Filling too!

Unfortunately, further research has shown that couscous is actually small granules of pasta so no more of that for me. But it was a nice thought while it lasted. Maybe after I finish my cleanse I'll add it to my regular, healthier diet.

Rating out of 10: 7.5

Salmon teriyaki with udon noodles

2008-01-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

Since I still had a whole filet left from my party, I needed to do something else with that salmon.
Nica and I had been out all day doing errands and when we finally got home, I thought about having udon noodles with salmon teriyaki on top.

Here is what I used:
1/3 salmon filet from Costco
teriyaki sauce (the huge tub from Costco, where else?)
salt and pepper
2 packages udon noodles (from Superstore, the ones that don't need to be refrigerated)
soy sauce
worcestire sauce
oyster sauce
water
broccoli
cabbage
garlic
1/2 onion, sliced
oil

Instructions:
In a wok, heat a little bit of oil. Add the washed cabbage, garlic, onion and broccoli and stir fry.

Heat a separate frying pan and add the salmon that has teriyaki sauce brushed all over it. Cover.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add the udon noodles and some water. I like the udon noodles tender and juicy. I also added worcestire, soy and oyster sauce. Cover and let the evaporating water steam the noodles. Stir often. Leave it for a few minutes uncovered so the soup can evaporate.

Serve the salmon over the udon/vegetable mixture. There shouldn't be much juice left since most of it should have evaporated.

Nica loved this dish which again, surprised me because he doesn't like salmon!

Make it again? Yup. But maybe add some carrots next time for more colour.
Rating: 8 out of 10.

Red Sangria

2008-01-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

We use to frequent this restaurant called "La Bodega" a lot. It's a Spanish tapas restaurant downtown and it has the best sangria ever (not to mention food). We could order pitcher after pitcher and our conversations would only get louder and louder. Pat and Ali were able to convince the waitress to give them the recipe.

Years ago, I had copied this recipe from Ali on 3 separate occasions. Each time (perhaps due to drunkenness from the Sangria) I lost it. Embarrassed, I never asked Ali again and thankfully, one day while sober I stumbled upon one of the copies. I quickly filed it away and reminded myself to make it for the next girls night.

On the day of my party, I tucked it away in my pocket to go shopping for the ingredients but took it out while chatting with Andrea on the phone at work and forgot it on my desk. So when the party started, I had to use my aging memory to try and remember what was on it.

I put Tricia to work on this. Here is what I told her:
1/2 bottle of the 1.5 Litre cheap red Californian wine
2 shots triple sec
2 shots st. remy's brandy
2 shots orange juice
2 shots lemonade
6 shots 7-up

We used an orange and an apple as our fruits. We put it all in the pitcher which I think was a mistake because it ended up being really hard to pour. 1/4 of each would have been fine. The apples were sliced super thin too which was also a mistake because once they were saturated, they just kind of crumbled apart. And once I found my recipe at work, I realised we also forgot the lemons.

All mistakes aside, everyone enjoyed it. I made the third batch to which I added a shot of peach liquor and Mela really liked that version but Nica hated it. Ivan G uses that in his sangria and personally, I think it adds just a little more sweetness.

Make it again? For sure!
Things to change: Use less fruit in the pitcher and remember the lemons, slice apples thicker, chill the red wine before it's served (or add ice cubes to the mixture)
Rating: 9 out of 10.

Garlic Mushroom CousCous

2008-01-13T09:55:00.002-08:00

I was busy trying to put the herb salmon recipe together (see last post) so I asked Mela if she could help me make the Garlic mushroom couscous. I decided on this one because it seemed healthy and I love garlic and mushroom. I didn't want too much onion in the food since it leaves such a strong after-breath.

I'm pretty sure she followed the directions to a T, so here it is:
1 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup couscous
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp shredded parmesan cheese or soy "parmesan" shreds

Instructions:
1. Bring broth to a boil in sauce pan or microwavable dish. Remove from heat.
2. Add couscous, mushrooms, and garlic. Mix well.
3. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes
4. Stir and fluff couscous mixture
5. Top with cheese before serving.

Yes, it was *that* easy. Now for the bumps we hit along the way: Mela accidentally opened cream of chicken soup instead of the chicken broth. No biggie, but now I have to find a recipe that uses that since it's just sitting in a container in the fridge. We didn't have real parm cheese so I used the fake KRAFT Parm cheese. Not quite the same, but the results were delicious! It sat for a while before we ate (we were waiting for the salmon and garlic bread) so it was kinda cold but I imagine it would have been better if we could have eaten it immediately.

Would I make it again? Rather would I make it myself again? Definitely. But I would leave it until 5 minutes before everything else was made since it was so simple and quick.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Herb Crusted Salmon

2008-01-13T09:38:00.000-08:00

With Ali's allergy to tomatoes and dislike to chicken and Andrea's dislike to beef, I decided to serve salmon at the party. I didn't really want to use the BBQ because it was so cold outside so I looked for those recipes I could do either in the oven or on the oven element. I found this recipe on the Internet:

Herb-Crusted Salmon
1/4 cup dried basil
1/4 cup dried thyme
1/4 cup dried oregano
1 teaspoon rosemary crumbled
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt

I didn't have all the oregano I needed (probably 1/8 of a cup) so I substituted parsley. I mixed all those ingredients, took one of the huge filets that I bought from Costco and sprinkled it all over and tossed it in the oven which had preheated itself to 400F.

I can't remember how long I left it in there for. I was suppose to leave it for 8 to 10 minutes but well, you know how these things get. I was directing someone how to make sangria and then I was drinking sangria and answering the door so the salmon got lost in there somewhere until I yelled, "Shit! the Salmon!" and checked on it. Thankfully, the herbs must have slowed down the cooking process because it still wasn't done. But I did notice it was a bit dry and slapped for my forehead and exclaimed, "Shit! The oil!". So I took it out, and tossed a little olive oil on top. The instructions say "brush with oil" but how on earth they do that and not have a gummy herb mixture on the salmon is beyond me. Anyway, threw that on and went about the other dishes.

Once it was out, Tricia helped me make the sauce. Here are the ingredients for that:
1 cup dry white whine
4 sun dried tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
1 each shallot finely chopped
4 ounces margarine.

Again, we kind of cheated. The sun dried tomatoes were from the jar I bought from Costco and I didn't pick out just four, I just took a tablespoon. I have no idea if I actually put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice either - I just took half a lemon and used the rinder. Finally, I have no idea what shallots are - I think they're small little onions but I just used half a cooking onion and minced that instead. And by the time we needed the margarine, I couldn't find it in the fridge so we used butter and eyeballed 4 ounces.

The directions say:
"In a skillet combine the wine, tomatoes, lemon juice and shallot and boil the mixture until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Reduce the heat to moderately low and whisk in the butter, 1 bit at a time, lifting the skillet from the heat occasionally to let the mixture cool and adding each new bit before the previous one has melted completely. Sauce should be the consistency of thin hollandaise. "

Let me tell you: It was NOT the consistency of thin hollandaise. It was a lumpy mixture of tomato and onion. But it was good so we threw on the salmon and ate it anyway.

I think the salmon was a bit too dry and WAY too herb-y. A lot of the other recipes I read mentioned adding bread crumbs and this had none. Andrea thought it was good but again, thought it was too herby. Nica loved it even though he hates salmon. So mixed reviews. No one else complained and I didn't see any leftovers on their plate.

Would I make it again? Probably not.
Score: 6 out of 10.

Welcome

2008-01-11T12:38:00.000-08:00

While planning a girls night complete with Herbed Salmon and Sangria, it struck me that it would be a good idea to keep track of the recipes and drinks I've tried since I have the memory of a goldfish and can never remember if I liked something or not.
So here is my first attempt at a Food and Wine blog. It'll contain recipes that I've tried or want to try.