Thursday, November 30, 2006

Blue, Blue Muffins

I think that these Alberta ex-pats need to NOT get excited about the fact that there is snow because those of us that are stuck here in the hellishly cold winter wonderland we call Alberta will be stuck with it until April or May. The Vancouverites, on the other hand, will be in springtime weather by next week (maybe still fearful of drinking the water, but wearing spring jackets!).

This weekend's theme is warm and cozy to benefit those of us in the deep freeze. Blue Muffins will be the baking endeavour and Lazy Cabbage Rolls will be recipe number 2

Monday, November 27, 2006

Omelletelepathy

All hell breaks loose when it snows out in the West Coast. I took this picture yesterday and today is much more like a winter wonderland. Good news is the boil water advisory has been lifted. The bad news is power outages and terrible roads, but I am a snow bunny at heart and love this little taste of winter we're having. It's the prairie girl in me screaming out Bring it on!!!!

Had a jam-packed weekend, but did have time on Sunday morning for recipe test #6: Spanish Omelette . This weekend I was caught up in a few events of people trying to do things before the busy Christmas season gets busier, but everyone is trying to do this at the same time, so the concept backfires. The weekend did include a cookie bake and decorate-a-thon, which was wicked. Gingerbread and sugar cookies. Mmmmm--mmm. Anyhoooo, I digress: the recipe's name is deceptive as the product has no spanish flare at all (or at least I fail to make the connection at this stage). It is like a potato frittata. It was very easy to prep and simple, yet tasty. I have to admit, I couldn't bear three days of leftovers for just the two of us, so I halved the recipe (worked perfectly!). It could also easily be transformed into other styles such as tex mex (black beans, cheese, and salsa on top) or Italian (with chorizo and green pepper). I had a GREAT chuckle when I saw Car's entry--we prepared it almost identically except I used cherry tomatoes. Bacon (Costco has the BEST) and tomatoes along with the dish was a perfect combination. We cut it into squares the next day and put on a bun along with cheese and bacon for a hearty breakfast sandwich (husband's idea--very yummy).

I have a new laptop and am grappling a smidgen with trying to type correctly and get used to the touch mouse. I do love it, though. Car's enthusiasm for one rubbed off. Armed with a new cell phone (my first) and a laptop. Watch out, world! Luddite no more!!!

Now, I have one day free this weekend for our next project, as I leave for out-of-town on Sunday. I'll await big sis's pick(s) and will rest up for the challenge...

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Organic eggs and and other luxuries







I believe that there are a few things in which it really makes a difference about what brand you buy. Some examples: ketchup, flour, soap and tomato juice, Kraft Dinner....Sometimes going for the 'no name' option is just not going to cut it. Similarly, once you start using organic, free-run eggs, you will never go back..... I was reminded of this as I commenced cracking 10 big eggs to make the Spanish Omelet this morning. The shells are harder (why are the other shells softer anyway?) and the yolks are a deep, golden hue. This is in stark contrast to the eggs that I used to use that seemed to be pale and generic - boring actually, like the lives of the chickens that laid them likely lived. Now the organic onion, on the other hand, was likely a waste of money!

The omelet was great. While it was baking in the oven I cooked some bacon to go with. It was a nice breakfast - and will be great at room temperature as lunch with a salad (at least I hope so because that it what we will be having for the next couple of days!).



See, I really did make the duck





I really did make the duck and it turned out great - looking just like Sandy's. I have also included proof that I did use the Minute Rice (in deference to my husband's request) and it turned out great - shaving about 20 minutes off the cooking time too.


Wednesday, November 22, 2006

No pain, no gain

It’s miraculous, really. I looked at my hands today and then up my arm to my elbow. Clean, clear, free of abrasions, burns, or cuts, which marvels me because whenever I get in the kitchen, I wound myself. Even if it is the utterly last stage of plating things up, I will find a way to slice my fingertip or something. So, considering how much ruckus I have been causing in my favorite place of our condo (bed not included), I am thrilled that I have made it relatively unscathed (thus far *knock on wood*).

Our next recipe testing is the Spanish Omelet. I am slammed this weekend and really only have Sunday morning free, so we’ll give it a whirl. This dish can also be an entrĂ©e so it’s flexible for Car. It was either that or one of the poached egg options that was tempting me...

I notice in her postings that Car questions whether her meal will be bust or how her meal preparation may be thwarted. Now, in the 30 years of my life, Carlyn has never cooked anything bad. Even when she tried tripe, it was good. Who does that? Even when she claims its crazy in her kitchen, I don’t really notice. Me, on the other hand, I’m banging, sometimes cursing (usually at a cat underfoot), or managing (read what you want) my husband’s unsolicited cooking advice. My kitchen does get a little crazy, but I like it, so long as I don’t loose too many fingertips.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Stuffing is NOT evil!

Well, the duck feast was last night and it was amazing. Pretty impressive feat for a Monday night - but one can do that when one leaves work a little early to cook supper! (thanks HR for the concept of 'earned days off').

I have pictures to share but, alas, still without a working home computer, our avid readers will be forced to eye my sister's creations in the interim (luckily, the final products looked the same). I have to say that despite my bravado in the previous entries, I was a bit nervous about this recipe. Having only roasted a 'whole' bird a handful of times, I approached the stuffing and trussing of the bird with some trepidation. Thanks be to the recipe gods - it all went relatively uneventfully.

In fact, the most eventful part of the creation was the heated discussion that my hubby and I had the night before when I mentioned I was thinking of substituting the white rice for a brown/white and wild rice mix. "No screwing with mom's recipe", I was told. So, true to the pink 3x5 card, I proceeded to read up on how to cook Minute Rice. The resultant cooked duck and stuffing passed muster and Jason even introduced me to how applesauce could (I am very grudgingly admitting this) actually complement the duck. Mom and dad, convinced to stay for an impromtu dinner, also voiced their approval.

Now stuffing cooked in the bird, contrary to what Alton Brown (chef extraordinaire) says, is not evil. In fact, I think that those individuals who fear walking on the wild side and courting various foodbourne illnesses, are really missing out by throwing the stuffing in the old casserole dish. Had I done that, it would just be plain old rice with a few fixing in it and not have had the amazing 'essence of duck' that cooking it in the bird provided it with.

PS. The creamed corn was wicked too - I am finding it hard to cook white sauce with a recipe as I usually make it up as I go along. But for the sake of the cookbook I am measuring and counting - that was the hardest part of doing that dish - by far.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Duck impresses!

So, I woke up this morning to another very wet day (this is a picture out our condo window). The boil water advisory was still on, but that didn't deter me from prepping for tonight's dinner extravaganza. The menu: Roast Duck with Wild Rice Stuffing, Creamed Corn, and a side salad (I made my fave winter salad with romaine, green onion, feta, toasted pine nuts and pomegranates with sweet vinaigrette). Car informed me that she will be trying this tomorrow night since they had Grey Cup fun at a neighbours to participate in today, which she had forgot about (way to go, BC LIONS!!!). I digress...the duck turned out with great coloring, moist, and tasty. We were quite impressed! It is quite a fatty bird, and even 15 min into cooking you could hear the juices dropping and bubbling from inside the oven. It took two hours...3o min at 400 and then another hour at 325 and then let it rest for about 20 min after cooking. I left the carving to husband, although he did have to go on-line to figure out the best way. He said they made it look much easier in China! The stuffing was delicious and hearty-- had a nice "nuttiness" to it from the wild rice. I did feel something in it was missing in terms of spice, but I still can't put a finger on what should go in...chinese five spice? ginger? even green onion? The mix of brown mushroom and shitake was a good call. Creamed corn went off without a hitch and I even nailed down the measurements for it. It was creamy goodness. I do think that it only would serve 4-5 sides so something to think about [serving portions]. The cat went a little snakey when he saw the bird during prep. He even got the cooked giblets for a dinner snack. I don't think he will ever be the same...

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Lac Brome

I did my grocery shopping tonight for tomorrow's dinner, AKA recipe test #4 and 5. The Roast Duck with Stuffing recipe is from Carlyn's in-laws and Creamed Corn is Mum's. Both recipes are the vague "a bit of this, a bit of that." I did go adventurous on the mushrooms in the stuffing recipe, as there was no specification on kind/quantity called for, so I bought shitaki and brown. And then there is the rice for the stuffing...Carlyn suggested a mix of brown/white/wild instead of just white. There's a juggle with cooking all those well at the same time. Every other mixed "package" kind has seasonings or flavourings; however, I did find a nifty product by Canoe brand called "White'n Wild Rice" which contains unseasoned parboiled white and roasted wild in the package (a Canadian product from Keewatin, Ontario -- ironically right by Lake of the Woods where we have a family cottage). So that takes care of the rice! For the most part, Safeway handled my typical ingredients, but I did need to trek to Urban Fare for the duck (Carlyn did give me a hint on where to find that one). I found a duck from Lac Brome, Quebec (or Brome Lake in English) in the frozen section. There were only two available, so I think you would have to be prepared for a bigger hunt in case, say, a dozen or so people in your neighbourhood are cooking duck that night. Or in Carlyn's case, go to your in-laws freezer for freshly frozen, made-in-Alberta hunted duck. I wonder if that is what she is using???

Friday, November 17, 2006

Not for the faint of heart

Sandy, who said this adventure was going to be without a bit of trepidation?

What would the fun be if we didn't prepare a dinner with sweaty palms and a bit of anxiety?

Luckily, you being in Vancouver in the midst of the boiling water festival could potentially blame any foul fowl on the likelihood of water contamination. Me, on the other hand, will have no one but myself to blame for any cooking fiascos that may occur. And, on that note, the chances of such fiascos occuring is pretty darn high because of the 'loose' manner in which the recipes have come to us. Cooking a bird "until done" wouldn't be an issue if we roasted birds regularly - unfortunately, like Sandy, I have only done so once in my kitchen.

Look for my update sometime on Monday - with hubby trashing - I mean fixing- our home computer - I will not likely be able to elaborate on the Sunday festivities until later.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Roast duck? What the $%#&?

So, Carlyn (who I tend to refer to as Car in my blog A.K.A Big Sis) has assigned us Roast Duck and Creamed Corn for our recipes this weekend. I double-checked our cookbook recipe list to be sure and yup, there it was: Roast Duck with Wild Rice Stuffing. I am scared. I have had duck only like three times (all good) although have never even cooked it myself. I did my own roast chicken for the first time last year -- alas, I am finding this task daunting!!! After the recent flurry of bad weather here on the Wet Coast, they have now instigated a boil water advisory (turbidity = more sediment + other nasties). Even after boiling the water it is still cloudy with a hint of pea greenish/yellow (to stay on the theme of cooking). Now the Creamed Corn I can handle. Actually I am more excited to make Corn Chowder with it for the next day! Now, where do I find duck...to roast...not BBQ'd like found conveniently in Chinatown.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Nonplussed by the Stroganoff

What did I do wrong?

The first right thing I did was decide to cook stroganoff on a snowy Alberta day. A cold snowy day is just perfect to eat something homey and "stick to your ribs" like that. And I did not feel that bad about sauteing sirloin in butter and then adding more butter becuase, heck, I shoveled the driveway 3 times!

First, the squash - Sandy, you are right - it is just like it was when we were kids despite the fact that Hubbard squash is nowhere to be found. But I loved it loved it. And, surprise, surprise -Jason loved it too. I got to thinking that it was a recipe that was really old fashioned and wondered how it could be "twisted" to be more modern - after some pondering, I think that I have come up with something.

Now for the stroganoff. It didn't rock my world and I am not sure why. In fact, a certain despondency settled upon my mood after I ate it (as pointed out by Jason). It was good - certainly better than the gummy (yet watery) shepherd's pie that I had at a trendy Edmonton bistro last week- but not great. Given that this is truly a classic recipe and we are fortunate to have it passed to us - I think something must have gone awry in my execution. I also think that there might be something to be said for not using the RTU (that is "ready-to-use") beef broth as maybe the salt in the old fashioned canned concentrated stuff adds something to the dish.

[side note: I think that RTU will be my Rachel Ray-ism. The EVOO thing just drives me batty but look where it got her......]

Flapcakes

Survived Recipe Test #3...I made the amount as per recipe in two varieties and came out with a dozen (but I did more 2 tbsp batter than just 1 tbsp). I think the recipe would serve 4 sides (not mains). These are very filling, not like Blender Pancakes, cause they are more "cakey." The batter could be thinned out just a bit if you prefer. I used the Cuisinart Griddler with a tad fewer "cold spots" than Car, but did notice one cool spot on the lower section. I did keep the heat between 350 and 400 and preheated for a long time. I instigated the pancake variety with a trick I saw at a great breakfast joint in Sausalito (thanks to Rhonda and Chris) that once the batter is poured, THEN you stick in your fruit. It avoids clumping and encourages eveness/variety in the 'jacks. So, I made blueberry ones and pineapple: blueberries from frozen pckg and the pineapple from canned. Worked out very well. Maple syrup + pineapple = deadly combination, and of course, the double whammy of blueberry cakes + Summerland Sweets Blueberry Syrup is a delight (a bit of sugar shock, but nothing that salty bacon or potatoes as sides couldn't offset). Banana slices would also be so good. We ate three hours ago and still very full and I only had three (two to start...).

Sunday, November 12, 2006

A Griddler is like Bar-B-Que and other similarities

This morning I stumbled out of bed and made an attempt at making the flapjacks that I remember from childhood. Based on my discussions with Sandy the other night, I was relegated to making the double batch that will reportedly serve about 6 people while she would try the single size recipe that serves 2-3. Let me just say that it might have been a good call on her part to do that and I am now saddled with about 2 breakfast's worth of extra pancakes - but more on that later. With my hubby still sleeping and 2-year old (Nathan) in tow, I began working on recipe #1.

It actually went quite smoothly - mix the dry ingredients separately from the wet, stir until just moistened, etc. Nathan provided a running commentary. I was amazing because I could break eggs and he was exceedingly disappointed that I could not break yet another egg into the recipe as it only called for 2. This brings us to similarity #1. Eggs, milk and melted butter in a bowl- in the eyes of a 2-year old - look like orange juice. Luckily, I chose to turn my back only for a minute, because had it been longer, his little face would have disappeared into the bowl.

The first half of the batch was just plain old flapjack, nothing special but still really good and the second part of the batch had some frozen, home grown, blueberries thrown in just for good measure. This is where we come to similiarity #2 - a Cuisinart Griddler is just like a bar-b-que - there are cold spots! Here I am cooking away and 2/3 of my pancakes are still not bubbling and are looking a bit sickly pale - like a Canadian's legs in January. Hmmm. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my griddler. In fact, I brag about it to everyone who does not have one as it makes wicked sandwiches and paninis and grills meat like no one's business. But this is the first time that a shortcoming has reared its ugly head in my kitchen.

Nonetheless, I forge on and the first 100 pancakes are almost complete, Nathan is busy eating and my husband (who is complaining of jetlag a full week and a half after returning from his trip to Japan) is still sleeping. As I stand by myself in the kitchen waiting for the tiny bubbles to form in the batter so I can commence flipping, I trip over similarity #3 - the pancake cooker (or waffle maker, as the case may be)- is essentially the kitchen slave because she (invariably) is trapped in the kitchen flipping and pouring until everyone else is full and she (invariably) can come out and enjoy the remnants (which, because a double-batch had been made, were plentiful).

All in all - the flajacks were good, but I have some thoughts. If this recipe is in the cookbook, we should probably re-make it and do an actual pancake count - I'm sure I made a 100 but it might have only been 25. And, yes, we should take a picture and post it so that we can compare product. It is too late for the flapjacks because, though sumptiously good at 10 am, are just a tad soggy now. :)

Saturday, November 11, 2006

P.S.

I am getting a kick out of how excited Car is about the blog. Nice work, woman, by the way! (this was her idea and now she wants to get a laptop). I love it.

Vancouver's Test Kitchen

Well, I made two of "the" recipes tonight. Nana's Beef Stroganoff and the Cheesey Squash. I didn't even have wine with dinner for fears it would affect my palate for the taste testing. First encounter with the squash was figuring out how to peel it effectively (skin is so hard!) Also, Mum recommends Hubbard squash but I got Acorn. Out of the 5 varieties at my local grocery store downstairs, no Hubbard. And YES, it did taste exactly how I remembered it!! And then Nana's Stroganoff worked out so well. The husband even LOVED it like he does Nana's (even with broad noodles, not orzo) so that's a good sign (and hopefully it is not just because the Flames were winning the hockey game). I did tweak here and there from what I had learned last time I tried the recipe with some hiccups. Will now resend updated recipe to Car so she will have some tips for when trying it...

It begins...

We are starting this weekend - after weeks (ok, months) of talking about it, Sandy and I are going to take our fistfulls of tattered recipe cards and cook until we devise a cookbook worthy of our baba (grandma), mom and mothers-in-law. A cookbook that will remind us of all the classic food that we grew up on but have a modern twist for us 20 or 30 somethings that have to spend 40+ hours a week in the office.

The fact that we are miles apart and trying to craft a decent - no, excellent - cookbook is not lost on us either! But this blog will let us share our passion together. Let us compare our successes (absolutely no leftovers), commiserate over our culinary disasters (I called, but no one would come to the table), and connect with each other just like we were sharing a glass of wine over dinner just feet from eachother.

The adventure begins and the weekend menu is featuring:
  1. Flapjacks (childhood recipe)
  2. Nana's Beef Stroganoff (Sandy's husband's Nana)
  3. Cheesy Squash (a favorite of ours from Mum)