Mmmmm...bacon

A girlfriend of mine sent this post from a fellow blogger which I read with intrigue, awe, and amusement. The outcome? Scary, yet tempting...

http://neverbashfulwithbutter.blogspot.com/2007/12/experiments-in-deliciousness-bacon.html

Rice pudding- the challenger

Well, I decided to steal my mother-in-law's recipe for a bit more of a traditional rcie pudding than the stovetop one that we made previously. This one is baked in the oven for about an hour and contains eggs.

Despite the long oven time, it was very easy to make and, in a lot of ways easier to make than the stovetop one. The texture; however, is very different and I have to say that I think I like it better. The eggs make it a bit more custardy and it seems less sweet than the one we made previously. I can see where one night want to serve it with some light cream on top......

Sandy, you will have to make it and compare.

Scones

Wow, I am finally caught up on this recipes! Dayum, it feels good. This is my first try at making scones. Why you ask? Scones typically remind me of dry and not too flavorful “fillers”. Scones are like the desperation pastry for me. Like when I get to Starbucks in a morning on an empty stomach dying for a caffeine injection and the overwhelming need to fill my belly with something, anything, can be quelled by the only appealing thing in their case of pastries, which ends up tasting chalky and flavorless (unlike the glory of their non-fat half decaf pumpkin spice latte). Alas, the reason why I think they should stick to drinks. Anyhow, I digress: I was pleasantly surprised with the results of this recipe. The scones had good texture (not too dry) and flavor. Yes, FLAVOUR AND MOISTNESS!

Some key ingredients to this recipe included oats and a nice hit of cinnamon. The recipe traditionally calls for raisins as the add-in, but you could use chocolate chips, dried apricots, etc. Because I split my dough into two so I could make two different kinds of scones, their sizes ended up being a bit small once I had cut them into wedges. I therefore coined them mini-scones. It’s a revolution.

Can you decide what two kinds I made from the picture?

(hint: raisin and craisins; pecan chocolate)

I cooked them just under the recommended cooking time since mine were getting quite brown within 10 minutes. I also added a sprinkle of sugar on top of each one (because I was worried they would be bland).

Not only did I make scones tonight but while I had the oven on I decided to also make homemade pizzas. I have a great thin crust pizza recipe of Giada De Laurentiis’ from the March 2007 of my Bon Apetit magazine. It’s so quick with crispy, yet tender results (just like they say in the magazine!). I made one with prosciutto and basil and then another with ham and pineapple.

I am looking forward to what recipe will be put to the test next. Car, it's your go.

YUM---rice pudding

Well, it’s been awhile since Sandy’s Test Kitchen has been at work. This week I tackled Rice Pudding that big sis made waaay back, like over one month ago.

I have to say I quite liked it! It’s so easy to do and quite quick, so I am not sure why I don’t make it more since I cook rice practically every other day and almost always have leftovers. I haven’t made rice pudding in a few years…last time I did, the recipe I used wasn’t as sweet and had a strange aftertaste. I enjoyed the level of sweetness and the use of vanilla (strong, but not overpowering). I made it with skim milk and about a tablespoon of cream to make it a bit more silky. I used jumbo raisins and also tossed in a few Craisins. I think it would even be good without any raisins. I would like to try making it using soy milk---another option could be reducing the vanilla, or removing, and serving with warm vanilla soy milk (such as So Nice’s Vanilla flavored soy milk).

Husband liked it a lot. He loves anything that starts with “pud” and ends with “ding” so I was pretty sure it would be a hit. My next recipe test is the scones and then Car and I are caught up! Thank god…I have been suffering from major Perogy Passing guilt.

Down home cooking

Today was a old time cooking extravaganza. Sauerkraut soup and baking powder biscuits with cheese and green onions. Very good. Jason loved both but was concerned that the biscuits were "fat bombs". The biscuits were so easy that it made me wonder why I don't make them more often. I actually just patted them into a round and cut it into 8 equal parts. Certainly much less of a hassle than cutting out rounds of dough with a cutter (the main reason I was avoiding making this recipe in the first place.

The soup was good but I did not each much once I realized that I might inadvertently cause the baby some issues if I ate too much cabbage. But it was good. Included both ribs and sausage in the soup and it had a nice smoky flavor. The irritating thing was that I had tried to make a stock using the ribs and it was so fatty. So in the end, I just boiled the ribs and then ditched the liquid and used beef broth as the soup base. Added 2 cans of V8 to it too so it would take the edge off the kraut.

Back in the Saddle

What better an occasion to bake a cake than a birthday? Yes, husband’s birthday spawned the most recent recipe testing out in my world. Not only did I make Lasy Daisy cake (is it Lasy as in LAZY or Laisy?), but I also made husband’s favorite (and Pass the Perogies tested recipe) of Nana’s Stroganoff.

Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure how the cake would work out. Halfway through mixing the batter, there was a lot of eyebrow raising going on. This is a fairly typical expression when I venture out into dessert making because it is unchartered territory for me. Like, it was quite thick during the “folding” section until you added the melted butter/milk mixture. Needless to say, I was surprisingly pleased with the result--it is a not too sweet, denser white cake balanced off with a sweet and crunchy coconut topping.

So, the recipe (b/c I think we should throw these in occasionally for our folks that read this site!) just as it came in the e-mail:

"1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup hot milk
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Topping: 1/2 cup margarine and 1 cup coconut (type not specified but I bet sweetened would be good)
Preheat oven to 375

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together - set aside. Beat eggs until thick and nearly white. Add sugar gradually to beaten eggs. Add vanilla. Fold dry ingredients itno egg mixutre,. melt butter with milk and add to batter. Bake for 30 minutes in a greased pan... (no size shape specified in recipe). Once cooked, remove from oven and add topping mixture.

Topping mixture.... melt half a cup of margarine. Add coconut, spread on cake -= place under brpoiler untol brown"

A few notes: I cooked in a round 9” cake pan. I used sweetened coconut. I think I used about ½-1 cup of coconut with butter for the topping. Margarine worked out fine. I think a tsp. of coconut flavoring in the batter may be nice. I also think drizzling with a nice dark chocolate would be a good final dressing. Easy to make, too!

The Big Cook

If no one has heard of this cookbook before, I would seriously check it out. www.thebigcook.com ...Sandy heard about it in the summertime and proceeded to buy the cookbook (and then came out after I had Grace and made a bunch of meals for me out of it). Basically, the concept of the book is to get together with a group of friends and pre-make a lot of meals that you can then put in the freezer and just make as you need them. I have since turned Lisa on to the book and she suggested that we actually do one of these big cooks. I have a few interested parties so when it actually happens (maybe end of October, early November) I will post how it went. I would not want to do as they say and make meals for 6 entire months as I do like to cook and I think that just thawing and reheating might get annoying day in and day out, but it is great on the days that you know you just won't have time to cook (and is certainly cheaper than those commercial places that you can go to and do the same thing in a commercial kitchen). Anyway, teh authors are also going to present on October 1 at a church in the park so I am thinking of going.

Rice Pudding

I am on a roll apparently and created rice pudding from my left over rice on Friday AM. I love rice pudding. Sadly my hubby does not like it so I rarely make it anymore. Again, I have no picture, this time becuase I did not think to take one. I would be REALLY good, if one used dark raisins (i used golden - they taste great but the pudding looks "washed out"). It would be even better if one used homogenized milk instead of skim. I have thought of a "twist" on this recipe too and that would be to make an asian variation of it. Sandy, you can I can discuss further off-line.

Laisy daisy cake

Fitting name for a recipe given that I have not posted essentially all summer! The cake is pretty simple and homey..... but not sure if it is truly less involved than any other cake that I have made. But a good little dessert for people who don't like anything overly sweet.

Sandy, when you try this - some tips. First, I used a 9x9 pan - an 8 x8 would likely be better. I also baked only for 20 minutes, maybe if you used a 8 inch pan you could go to 25 but not the 30 minutes it said in the recipe. Also, I used sweetened coconut for the top. Very nice. Would post a picture, but I cannot seem to get it to work tonight.

Summer Hiatus

The reason:

Although I don’t really have an excuse, I have to admit it’s no fun to “pass the perogies” on my own. However, I will plod onward and hope the new mom (aka Big Sis) will be able to participate when she can!

Cucumber Salad

I had plans to make Cucumber Salad over the weekend at the cottage. However, we had no Miracle Whip and the local store closed before I realized it, so I made it on Monday night along with fish sticks (yes, it was an easy dinner night...).

I remember having this often as a child, but mum and dad would LOAD it with white onion. Hot, white onions that I would spend most of my time picking out to get to the cucumber although the ratio of cucumber to onion was limited.

Anyhow, we have yet to "dish" out on some of our recipes, and I thought this one is good to share. 'Tis the summer salad season! It such a great BBQ side dish. Well, it isn't in true recipe format, but our usually text diarrhea...

Cucumber Salad
Peel one cucumber. You can also leave the skins on if they aren't too hard. Thinly slice and then slice again so you have halves (you can cut the slices into quarters if you prefer smaller pieces). Put in bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Let sit 30-60 min. and then drain (try to press out as much of the excess liquid as possible). For the sauce, whisk together about 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 tbsp of Miracle Whip (not mayonnaise), and 1 tbsp of vinegar. Blend sauce well and mix in with cucumber. For variation you could also add fresh dill, green onion, or thinly sliced onion. For a fusion mix, I would add some wasabi paste with green onion. Serve chilled.

Very refreshing!

Back with a vengeance

Well, I was cooking away this weekend - very traditional fair and some wicked southern bbq.

First up was baby potatoes with dill, onion and cream. I really just winged the recipe. In a past life I would have tried to use skim milk or evaporated 2% milk (to save calories/fat) - but I think that doing so really just wrecked some great baby potatoes. So real cream it was. Amazingly good.

Next up was Alabama BBQ chicken from Steven Raichlen's recipe book, BBQ USA. It was chicken pieces smoked over hickory chips for about an hour and a half and served with a WHITE BBQ sauce made from mayonnaise, horseradish and cider vinegar. Strange concoction but strangely good. A definite make again.....

Finally, we had - well we actually did not try it until the next day - but I did make it that same night - a rhubarb sour cream pie. I felt very southern when I was putting the streusel topping on but I did cheat and use a pre-made pie crust.

Overall a great night for food. I left Sandy with the scones and cucumber salad - guess I should have made those - but maybe the cucumbers for tomorrow night?

Who will reign supreme?

This is in reference to the post of May 23. Guest editorial by Brother-in-law and Sister. They must have made notes (I forgot I even used a garnish). Their reviews rock!

I was in Edmonton earlier this month. Brother-in-law suggested a cook-off. We tweaked the rules and then we conquered…at Iron Chef Sherwood Park!

The rules:
1. We each chose a secret ingredient.
2. We put them in a hat and drew the ingredient.
3. We had 15-20 minutes to plan and write a grocery list. No internet or cookbook referencing allowed.
4. Grocery shopping.
5. One kitchen, three people, and 60 minutes (and only 60) to make one dish with the secret ingredient.
6. Serve and judge (based on originality, presentation and flavour).

The ingredients:
My secret ingredient was smoked gouda. Car’s was mushroom. Brother-in-laws was shrimp. The winner: mushroom
[side bar: First of all, I knew Car was going to pick mushroom and secondly, I knew that would be the one picked!!!! AAGH!!!!]

The first road block was trying to decide what to make. What can you prep, cook, and plate in 60 minutes? We sat in the kitchen, sketched out our plan of attack, then shopped. A major stumbling block was discovering not only the Superstore but Sobeys, too, had very limited mushroom selections. We ended up buying a lot of Portobello’s and not as many shitakes as planned. The fresh oyster mushroom selection was slimy so was subsequently skipped.

The preparation:
Brother-in-law had a one pot effort, due to his burner greedy competitors. This meant he had to be making soup. And being that he is an over the top Asian food lover, it would obviously have to be of the Asian persuasion. I immediately thought of the good ol’ favorite of mushroom soup; however, thought I would take a spin and make it a chowda with some texture added. Carlyn went rich and satisfying with a pasta dish. Sister and I both required two burners so we did some alternating.

There were some tense moments in the kitchen as the three of us sliced, diced, and sautéed our way through 60 frenzied minutes. Brother-in-law found that his competitors were mushroom greedy. “Where's the mushrooms???” screams brother-in-law, as the last shitake gets chopped up into my soup. “Please please BOIL” howls Carlyn as she prays to the Burner Gods to boil in three minutes or less… [Side note: Car almost got disqualified as in the last ten minutes she discovered that she had to cook her pasta through before stuffing. We let that slide.]

The recipes:
Sandy: Mushroom Chowder with Shrimp
Carlyn: Deconstructed Mushroom Ravioli
Bro-in-law: Jay’s concoction
[side note: I know Jay has a better title for his dish but it wasn't guest edited in!]

The ratings from Sandy:
Carlyn's dish: very tasty but salty (blamed on the pecorino), original but not super original, v. nice presentation
Brother-in-law's dish: very tasty but not too mushroomy, original fusion, good presentation
Sandy's dish: mushroomy, original but mediocre presentation (yeesh!)

The ratings from Jason:
Carlyn's dish: Whoa salty! Presentation was really good and it really tasted amazing. Totally something you would get in a fancy restaurant and enjoy. Not the most original, because it was exactly what Carlyn would cook. All the flavors were familiar. Looked wicked and tasted great. I placed this second because of the salt, but presentation was top notch.
Jason's dish: My soup was really good and tasty. Adding chili flakes last minute as decoration on the top of the soup, made it really hot once they were stirred in. Bad call. The soup did not taste much like mushrooms. Used mushroom soy, 2 types or mushrooms, but the broth of the soup and the lemongrass overpowered. I thought I should get bonus points if successful, because you would never order a soup at an Asian restaurant whose feature flavor was mushrooms. Deserved last place, but if I made it for supper…you’d love it. Also, I could never re-create it, no clue what I even put in it.
Sandy's dish: I picked this as the winner. The mushroom soup was really tasty and she used shrimp, which to me was the last thing I think of with mushrooms. She made it work, but although she can paint, she struggled to snaz it up visually. Her mushroom decorations were woody. Cost her the win. I ate all of it.

The rating from Carlyn:
Sandy’s dish: Really good. Love the cream soup. Did not die for the shrimp on top but it looked really pretty. I did not eat the mushroom garnish on top because it was one of those strong porcinis but again – it looked great. This was a dish that I would love to have in the winter time on a cold day.
Jason’s dish: Excellent Asian themed soup. Of course he went Asian themed because that is all that he focuses on from culinary point of view :-). It was a bit hot but only because of the chili flake garnish- if that had been excluded it would have gotten a higher score in my books!
Carlyn’s dish: I loved the way that this looked as I thought that it could have come on a plate from a restaurant….that said, it was WAY TOO SALTY. Helps if you taste the sauce as you make it because had I done that, I would have stopped adding pecorino romano cheese ages before I actually did. Also, it wasn’t that I didn’t know that I had to cook the pasta – it is just that I thought the pasta sheets would be softer and I could mould them into actual ravioli (i.e., seal the edges). Once I realized that that was not possible, I just cooked each sheet and made “deconstructed” ravioli- it was actually supposed to be one big ravioli on each person’s plate that was filled with mushrooms…

The total scores were out of 25 (5,5,10) [guest editor note: Sandy we can’t remember. It was close though. It’s a guess.]
Carlyn 23
Sandy 22
Jason 19

The winner of Iron Chef Sherwood Park: Carlyn. We can't wait to cook-off again in July!

Potato Heads

My Saturday:

http://members.shaw.ca/woople/potatoheads.htm

Breaking the curse

I did it! I managed to break the “do anything else but recipe test” curse. It just so happens this is one of my first open weekends in about a 1 ½ months, so that may have something to do with it (the cloud and sometimes rain also helped).

I made Oatcakes. I can’t remember who/where the Oatcakes comes from for our family cookbook. I do know that my mother-in-law makes killer cakes so there was a little pressure there as I tackled them this afternoon.

They were made without incident. I have apprehension when it comes to a recipe involving a rolling pin but I think I have overcome. A recent and huge pizza dough success was testament to that. I put my Cuisinart to use to blend the oat mixture and cut in the shortening. That helped because 1) I don’t own a pastry blender (another indication of a non-dessert lover) and 2) it feels good to put to use an appliance I fire up only once in a blue moon. I halved the dough to make one half and put the other in the freezer for future use.

They (14 made with ½ the dough) turned out very well. I even think I would try to make them a wee bit thinner, to more of a cracker style. Mine are a little more cookie meets cracker right now. We munched them along with cheddar and gouda cheese. Very good combination and the husband remarked “Oh, these are good!”

Another one down.

Canadianization

The word "pyrohy" is used by Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian descendents of pre World War I settlers from Western Ukraine. The singular form of "pyrohy" is "pyrih." The word "perogies" is a Canadianization/Americanization of "pyrohy."

Interesting! For more info: http://www.ukraine-today.com/culture/food/food.shtml

I can't believe it

I can't believe we have been such slackers on our recipe testing that I haven't even done it in close to two months.

How will we ever finish???

This past month we did share in a culinary adventure together that was tons of fun and a challenge to say the least...

Dosa Virgin

Monday night a fellow foodie (FF) took myself and her brother-in-law to House of Dosa in Vancouver. She raved about it. What a fulFILLING culinary adventure. I had seen the place a few times when cruising along Kingsway, although never made it there.

A dosa: picture a gigantic crepe (except firmer) with about 1-2 cups of filling from the Indian persuasion--vegetarian to meat to seafood. At House of Dosa, they are served on a large plate, although it still hangs off the ends, with a few tbsp of coconut chutney (one plain and one tomato based) along with a cup of soup (which I already forget the name of, although FF made it one time and I loved hers!).

We had three different kinds of dosas: potatoes with paneer, lamb vindaloo, and just potato. My favorite was the potato with paneer. It didn’t matter the dosa, each possessed layers of flavour (some more intense than others) with each quite distinct. I savored every bite. To start off our meal we had chicken 65, which reminded me of General Tso’s Chicken except drier and spicy served with a sweet/sourish/spicy chutney. Does it sound like we had enough food? I was a bottomless pit and when the dosa arrived I said the magic words “There is no way I will finish this...” To top it off, Monday nights is their dosa special so it is incredibly reasonably priced. The place doesn't have uber curb appeal but the food delivered what I was hoping.

Overall, the experience reminded me of eating Ethiopian, which I miss having, too. Mmmm…Indian, Ethiopian, and Chinese. Interesting combinations that come to mind...!

I would go 100 miles…

Mmmm, maybe not: Home cooking - Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon talk about The 100-Mile Diet

This weekend I made Easy Split Pea Soup with the bone from the Easter Ham (bear with me, I will be pictureless for a bit---our camera is on the fritz and I must take it in for repair). It was so good. I think one of my favorite things about having a meal with something like bone-in ham is extending its use even further through soups, etc. and not just mini-meal leftovers. I also really enjoy the process of soup making. This recipe was very easy, quick, and rewarding! I am not sure if we have split pea soup on “the list” but will have to check and see…soup making is one of Ol’ Gord’s (aka Dad's) fortes.

what are we cooking this weekend?

Any thoughts? Maybe something like oatcakes or laisy daisy pie?

Easter Eats

Sounds like both of us cooked it up on the weekend! We hosted a few friends for Easter dinner on Sunday night. I even colored some Easter eggs for decoration, which I haven't done in YEARS. The menu: goats cheese and walnut salad to start, ham, cauliflower served with cheese sauce, and vegetable fricassee. Guests brought along dessert to help round off the meal and make my life easier.

My first quest was to do something different with ham as opposed to honey mustard/clove snore variation. That is where I found BAKED HAM WITH MUSTARD-RED CURRANT GLAZE AND RHUBARB CHUTNEY from an old issue of Bon Appetit (available on Epicurious.com). One challenge that did not even occur to me was finding fresh rhubarb. Yes, I thought rhubarb would be readily available at this time of year but alas it hadn’t hit the stores yet. After trying a few different stores, I finally found both fresh (organic) and frozen (!!!!) rhubarb at my local Choices market although I did use my first born to purchase it. I have a love/hate relationship with Choices. Sometimes that place drives me nutbar, but when it delivers, it sure wins me back.

My second quest was doing a different vegetable dish so I tried the Vegetable Fricassee (from a recent Bon Appetit). It was very good but a tad rich since it is really is only veggies cooked in whipping cream (insert fat gags here). I had to 1.5 times the recipe to feed six and think baking it in a shallower dish would have been better. Must say though that the flavours were super unique (maybe because of the saffron?) and great use of spring veggies. The ham was a big hit as well as mum’s good ol’ Cheesey Cauliflower (hint: the recipe is mum’s mac n’ cheese sauce served on steamed cauliflower). For a change I used orange cauliflower which was a nice color on the plate. No pictures, though! Good eats, good company.

Sisters Podleski

Wow: http://www.foodtv.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=106377

the visit... the park

The visit....

Well Jason, Nate and I managed to fly out for a trip to Vancouver/Victoria during spring break. We had a wondeful time and managed to cram in a bunch of activities during the short trip.

We visited Pat and Sandy's cabin in Pender Harbor - which will be absolutely stunning when it is done! They will have to re-think having children though as they discovered that the local restaurants are not particulary child friendly ;-)

The 3 of us then headed to Vancouver island for a 3 day trip. We just about missed the ferry across - like we were the second last car allowed on - there was much hand wringing and nail biting prior to knowing we had made it on. Seems like a silly thing but an additional 4 hour wait on a dock with not much to look at is not a pleasant thought with a 2-year old. We got to Victoria did some walking around and ordered in some nasty chinese food into the hotel room.
On day 2 I was surpirsed with a spa retreat from my hubby and Nate and Jason went to beacon Hill park where there was a petting zoo that fascinated them both. Supper was Ferris' oyster bar (http://www.ferrisoysterbar.com/). Amazing meal. Skip the veggie dog as even the kid didn't want it - but everything else was awesome - and the portions were over the top.

The next day we were off to Parksville where we stayed at Tigh-Na-Mara Lodge http://www.tigh-na-mara.com/ Beautiful view of the water and very nice rooms. No room services available though - at least maybe this time of year- and we weren't up to battling the child in a fancy restaurant after making him sit for 3 hours in the car so we went to Boston Pizza. Oh god, how our vacations have changed.

When we made it to Vancouver Sandy treated us to a great pasta meal with very thinly sliced asparagus and a tomato sauce that was awesome. We also ventured out to the park with Nate and to a nice seafood restaurant whose name escapes me. Overall an excellent and relaxing holiday that will have to last us a while with the new baby coming in the summer......

Mom's macaroni and cheese

I feel compelled to comment on this one despite the fact that I have no pictures (hey, it looks exactly the same as Sandy's on the plate despite the fact that I tend to use plain old macaroni). This recipe is one that is made at our house at least once every 2-3 weeks - particularly during this pregnancy as I seem to have become fixated on carb loading. I tend to take a bit of license with the amount of cheese that the recipe calls for, and by that I mean I add more. I also add a mix of velveeta and cheddar becuase I find it makes the sauce smoother. Jason objects to the chopped onions that I put in the sauce, but I think that it adds a nice kick and I do not think that the sauce is quite the same without.....

Long live Paula Deen

I am writing to pay homage to Paula Deen. If you do not know who she is - she is a southern chef who, in her words -" can add a calorie to anything."
http://www.foodtv.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=101886

Well, last night we cooked a couple of recipes from her book and I have to say that despite the guilt associated with eating them - they were amazing. The first was a twice baked potato casserole with -wait for it - 8 potatoes, 2 cups of cheese, 1/2 a cup of butter, one clock of cream cheese and bacon in it. The second was a mint brownie that was reminiscent of a mint nanaimo bar but a bit firmer and therefore a bit easier to eat. Needless to say we had the moms asking for recipes and the dinner was a hit.

Jason, who has fallen in love with all that is Paula Deen, has bought me another one of her cookbooks so I am sure that he must be trying to collect on my life insurance...

Ai, Popeye!

I carried on this week and did another recipe test with mum’s Creamed Spinach. I have never made this recipe that was featured a few times a year at home. A creamy blend of spinach, onions and mushrooms with a béchamel, or more specifically, a mornay sauce (made with swiss cheese). I remember when little not liking it too much (sometimes the swiss cheese taste gave me the cheese gags) but the recent recipe test shot that memory down. The flavour was a lot more subtle than I remember. Seasoned up with the right amount of salt and pepper it proved to be quite a satisfying side dish (and somewhat healthy cause you consume so much spinach in disguise!). I served it up with some grilled rum marintated pork and rice. Spinach is rich in iron and some other vitamins but not Vitamin D. I was at the drugstore the other day and would you believe they were sold out of all brands of vitamin D! Yes, the drear and rain of the Wet Coast has hit its climax. My tan has already faded. I think the sky sucked it off of me. The good news is that the cherry blossoms are out, albeit it two weeks late. I am just keeping my fingers crossed we at least get a day or two of sun when big sis, brother-in-law, and nephew come for a visit next week!!!! Can’t wait :-)

Comfort food reigns

After a week away on the road in Florida it didn’t take long for husband to say “I can’t wait to have a home cooked meal”. What better to tackle on our first day home than the good ol’ comfort food of Mac n’ Cheese (recipe test #15, too)! Now, I have only made this recipe once or twice since childhood. This is due to a bad flu experience one day after I had mum’s own mac n’ cheese. It turned out to be one of those foods I couldn’t eat for a while, which is very unfortunate because we loved it. I did a few alterations---added about ¼ cup of Imperial Cheese along with the cheddar. This made the taste a bit “sharper” (saltier, too). I also used some funky pasta I had bought recently. It’s kind of like fusilli but wider and stalkier, with edges on the perimeter of the spiral to trap more sauce. I forget the name and I have already transferred it to my pasta container. Good choice for this recipe!

SoBe

We had a few culinary adventures in the country to our South, which I must pass on before I write about the latest recipe test (that we gobbled up last night!!!).

In our recent trip to Florida, husband introduced me to Cracker Barrel restaurant. We stopped there en route from Kennedy Space Centre (amazing, by the way) to South Beach. It was like comfort food overload. I ordered Chicken n' Dumplings (pictured). Their dumplings are basically like perogy dough simmered in a gravy...very good, but VERY filling. They even have a cute country store at each restaurant, that I could have taken an hour to peruse, but alas, no time this time! We had a schedule that night.





We arrived in South Beach and stayed at the Hotel Astor. An excellent call we made was to have some drinks/appies in the lounge at their restaurant, Johnny V. The bartender served up a most fabulous apple martini. We then tried out their three cheese plate: we chose a creamy brie, ginger and mango stilton, and truffle pecorino (from about 40+ options). Ohmygod, it was good. So good. The accompaniments were a big plus: grilled baguette slices, fig balsamic marinated grapes (yes, grapes), sugared n' spicey pecans, and garlic olives. The brie was a little creamy for our liking and the pecorino was very rich, but those points didn't hinder our love of it all.









After that satisfying adventure and start to the evening, we hit the streets to find some dinner. That's when we ended up at Spiga, by no other reason than it looked like a nice place to have dinner. This is also the place where I had the BEST pasta dish I have ever had...FETTUCCINE CON GAMBERI E ASPARAGI (Homemade Fettuccine with Shrimp, Asparagus, Garlic, White Wine, Fresh Tomato and Olive Oil). I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but wow, it really was...all elements made it this way, from the perfectly cooked shrimp, to the soft and tender homemade fettuccine noodle. So, I digress...I wish big sis had a Spiga in Edmonton so she and her hubby could try. Needless to say, we liked the cheese experience so much we did an encore on the Friday night. There definitely isn't a shortage of cool restaurants or lounges in SoBe to explore. One place we are sad we missed was having a cocktail at Delano. Not sure there will be a next time, but hopefully vicariously through someone else!

Deja vous?

Yes, nothing quite like perogies to accompany the Sausage and Lima Bean casserole on a rainy, cold night. Husband really liked it even though I had a can of pork n' beans ready to heat up for him just in case. I used garlic kielbasa--I wished I had more time tonight to let it bake. I only popped it in to warm through. I also used canned lima beans and so it was about 1 3/4 cups, not 2 full cups worth, but I think the ratio was good so it wasn't too beany. We have a lot leftover so it will be freezer tested. Will let you know how it is!

In two days we leave to the land of art deco, white hair and gators --yup, Florida! We fly into Orlando, go to South Beach, then fly out of Miami. Can't wait to see that big light in the sky that I hear helps people get their vitamin D. I still have to research what happening restaurants we'll hit in "SoBe" and Miami.

so there, be-atch! :)

Alright -it was a busy weekend at the Smith household in terms of cooking. I am in a desperate bid to catch up to little sis who has become a cooking machine. I think that the only thing that might be helping me out here is the fact that Sandy will be out of town and/or have visitors over the next couple of weekends!

First, Saturday night was the pineapple upside down cake - I have no picture as I made it on a whim (it wasn't even on our list of things to make yet!) but I REALLY wanted it. It turned out nice - good with ice cream. I was missing the red maraschino cherries but who really needs the carcinogenic FD&C red?

Sunday I was going to make (wait, I know this sounds familiar already) the lazy man's perogies but for some reason (likely Sandy's review) I am non-plussed about making them -PLUS they are not really LAZY as you have to cook lasagna noodles, peel potatoes and mash and cook them...so I just settled on perogies (bought, ssshh! don't tell mom) and the lima bean and sausage casserole.

Loved it - just like I remembered it. Used garlic deer sausage that I had in the freezer- turned out great. Really easy to make and an excellent complement to perogies - lazy or otherwise.

Asking for more

So, the husband was making himself some dinner (it was a fend for yourself night) and asked if there were anymore Potato Cakes. Excuse me? Did I hear you correctly? I checked the calendar: no full moon. I pinched myself: yes, I am alive. Eating leftovers AND asking for more. That's a good sign!

Patty cakes

Saturday I made recipe #13 (14?) with Potato Cakes served as a side along with steak and veggies. The cakes turned out better than I think I have ever had them (dare I say it??!!!). The husband loved them. They were light, fluffy, and super flavorful. I did do them a smidge thicker than the way mum used to make them but I was happy because they cooked evenly through. Because of being thicker, I only made five but I could have stretched it to six. I cooked the cakes about 12 minutes and then broiled to brown a bit on the top. We liked them so much that we even reheated them and used along side for Sunday breakfast eggs. Very good.

This weekend I don’t think I will get a chance to try any recipes…maybe the sausage and beans. My brother-in-law and girlfriend are in town and not only is skiing in the plans but a curling bonspiel. Husband’s aunt and uncle are also in town so we’ll likely be doing brunch. I haven’t gone out for brunch in a bit. Maybe we’ll do Provence, Watermark, or opt for debauchery and verbal berating at Elbow Room. Fun!

Cancer

Excuses, yes - I am just glad she didn't blame it on Cancer. That is in terms of her astrological sign, which she has used before.

I wonder if Car ever tried the Lazy Perogies? If she does, then we'll be somewhat caught up. I think this weekend I'll assign the potato cakes. We are having steak tomorrow night so I am going to try those as a side. Mum sent over the recipes; however, she gave two for the bean casserole. Now I don't remember which one it was that we had since neither of the ones she gave included white beans. So, I think the one with lima beans she sent is the one we were talking about...?

I was away in Calgary for the last week and was well fed at the conference hotel. I had a night out with a girlfriend of mine and when asked what I wanted, I said Vietnamese. There are some great Vietnamese joints in Calgary, which I really miss. Codo on 17th Ave has the best satay soup and Bangolak Saigon is delish. Most of the ones we have tried here are a bit dodgy at the best of times, although I have discovered Little Vietnam here in Van and might just have to whittle away at the places to find a goodie.

Yes, I do hear you......

Hi - sorry about that little sis - I have been extremely lackadaisical in both my cooking and my entries as of late and I have many excuses.

1. My basement is being built in. I know this sounds silly, but the guy building it is is this sweet widower who always stays for supper and has very particular dinner tastes. I guess in theory, I should be trying my recipes on him, but I just can't seem to stray from the basic potato, meat, frozen veggie formula.
2. I am pregnant - not a suprise for most but I damned tired. Hoping to shake this feeling of neverending weariness in the next trimester but for now, I am hitting the bed at 8pm and am semi-conscious from the time I get home until them.
3. I am pregnant - No food appeals to me. I am not sure what it is but I feel full most of the time, even if I am not. I can't even flip through my cookbooks (my usual favorite reading material) because I just can't handle the feeling of the bile rising in my throat. This, obviously, is causing a hindrance in my cooking habits.

That said, I am always full of excuses and these, while likely more valid than previous ones, still do not excuse that I have fallen behind. The lazy perogies will be on the menu for Friday night. I still have the recipe and I will see if our thoughts are the same as Sandy's. I have asked mom to cc me on the recipes she is sending to Sandy today.

Luckily, with Sandy away at a conference in the next week- and with no access to a kitchen- I might actually get ahead and she can be the slacker for once.

Carlyn

"Sister, can you hear me?"

To help facilitate some recipe making, I have put in numerous requests to mum for copies of a few different recipes, namely: White Bean Casserole, Potato Cakes, and Creamed Spinach. That way we will have a few to draw from at least to make as some sides. The section we haven't tackled at all is the desserts. I think I will have to start volunteering to bring desserts for potlucks, etc. otherwise making those just for the two of us might not be a good idea (for my ass!). Last week I made the famous Chili. I love the recipe and it is great for freezing. I should send the recipe to Car although I am sure she has it. It is on "the list" but I probably make it every month so I didn't even realize it. One thing I was thinking that needs to be added is Handwarmers (a bun with yummy, savory fillings) cause I enjoyed those but haven't made them in awhile.

I am feeling ambitious and may convert "the list" into a spreadsheet to help organize and include ratings, who/where it is from, the twist, etc. I am also going to start putting the recipes into soft copy so we have that in one file. I have got scads of e-mail print-outs and recipe cards, which could become a very daunting task to translate over if left too long (see picture).

Tonight we are going over to a good friend's place for dinner. She is an AMAZING cook and we always have fun trading up recipes and such. Can't wait! I think she is making her famous stacked halibut with roasted red pepper sauce from Cinda Chavich's "High Plains" cookbook. A great book.

Carlyn, do you read me? have you tried the Lazy Man/Woman Perogies as yet?

All good things must come to an end

It’s one of my favorite times of the year. Dine Out Vancouver is on. It works like this: during the dine out event (Jan 19-Feb 4) participating restaurants feature their dine out menu. Depending on the restaurant, set three course meals (with options for appie, main, dessert) are served for $15, $25 or $35. Many restaurants do $25, some do $15 and some do a mix, like you can “upgrade” from $25 to $35. This year we only participated in two dinners: one at Mi (pronounced my) and Nu. We went to Mi on a whim since we had planned to use our entertainment coupon with the goal to “try a new place.” When we got there, they were featuring the $15 per person dine out menu. Not realizing they were a dine out participant we thought “score!” because $15 pp for a three course meal is a steal. And we ate a lot of food. It was very good, not stellar--only by the fact that our meals were sometime confusing. I had ordered a Thai curry and the set-up on the plate was a little odd. Aside than that, they were big servings and great service. Even their regular menu looked quite good. Then we went to Nu with friends of ours. Nu is a hot new restaurant located in the heart of False Creek under the Granville Bridge. It was voted #1 best restaurant in Canada by en route (Air Canada’s rag mag in the sky--for whatever that means to you, but they have high standards!). Very stylish, funky atmosphere and excellent food. Sitting out over the water is a nice bonus. I had their salmon. I also had their pear salad as an appie (a WHOLE pear stuffed with goats cheese). Anyhow, today is February 4. I can't believe we only did two this year. Why must all good things come to an end?

Not so colorful casserole

The weekend before last when I made the blender pancakes on Sunday I tackled Lazy Man Perogies for dinner (sorry – no pics!). It was okay. A little bland but salt and pepper corrected it. It was served with kielbasa and some beets. I also think a cold veggie salad or leaf salad would be a good accompaniment. On its own, it’s a little boring in terms of aesthetics. Basically, the color of pasta, the color of cottage cheese, and [brace yourself] the color of potatoes. Surprisingly enough, I found the casserole was better the next day once it had “set” and it tasted better. It’s that second-time-around-better-than-the-first experience. Maybe our hopes were too high at dinner! I froze a few slices which I had had for lunch a few times and it worked out well. Not sure it should hit the recipe book, but a good alternative to the full daylong making traditional perogy.

With blueberry compote to boot...

I got up this morning a little sleepier than I wanted to. It's one those weekends where no matter how well rested, I still feel sleepy; however, this morning may have been due to some cheer over the Saturday night hockey game with some friends. We made homemade donairs complete with the "special" sauce for dinner last night. This is a recipe from Car's company's employee cookbook compilation. It truly tastes like a donair from Duke's in Edmonton. Anyhow, an afternoon matinee sure woke me up: Casino Royale. All I have to say is hot. Go see it. In the theatre. Ignore the small lull about 3/4 of the way through and just focus (ladies) on what a good James Bond Daniel Craig is...

But I digress: Blender Pancakes. What an easy recipe to make and very easy to clean-up since you just dirty your griddle, blender, and measuring cups. I used real buttermilk as per Car's suggestion and I think that is a good way to go--the resulting batter is thick but silky. Even though the final product is light and fluffy, they are still very filling. They cook super quick, too! Since I realized we were out of Summerland Sweets syrup, I went to epicurious.com and found a lovely little recipe for Blueberry Compote using frozen blueberries and that was definitely a nice touch. I want to add this to my breakfast repetoire and make these babies more often for sure.

Perogies?

...not quite yet. I have decided recipe test #12 will be Lazy Perogies. I had a bit of a holy crap moment when I looked at our list of recipes and realize we are only 10% through. I don't even know how many different people I will be able to pawn food onto when we start hitting desserts, squares or bread. Currently, that category is unchartered.

This Sunday I am doing the pancakes and this recipe test may include a guest (Pat's cousin). An external recipe tester will be a first!

New year, new blender

This whole holiday thang sure put my posts on hiatus but I am raring to go and start recipe testing in 2007! So, the next recipe test is #11 with the Blender Pancakes. Since I missed the pancakes earlier, I will try them this weekend. Now I know my sister and I share a lot of mental telepathy moments, but I am not a mind reader so I hope she can send me the pancake recipe before this weekend. I am quite excited because we are proud new owners of a speedy Cuisinart blender which is smoothie-rific. Big sis is also a proud new owner of an imac so she should be in a blogging frenzy. Now it's my turn: I will have to think of what else I can drum up from "the recipe files" for us to make this weekend so I can get back on track!

Roasting puts cauliflower over the top.....

OK - so in typical Carlyn fashion, I feel somewhat behind in the recipe making. So, I just made the cauliflower soup that Sandy made a few weekends back. I had made the stuff before and it is one of Jason's favorite soups - recall that he said it was the only way one should ever deign to eat "poor man's broccoli". Again, in typical Carlyn fashion, I decided that I should mix it up a bit and screw with the recipe. So, I roasted the cauliflower first in the oven (tossed it with oil, salt and pepper) and then put it in at about 350 for 30-45 minutes - just until it started to carmelize at the edges - and then I continued on with the recipe.

It turned out great. I think that I will need to do a side by side taste test before one could actually pass judgement on whether the original or the roasted versions were appreciably different (or whether the extra 45 minutes of cooking time was worth it) - but I would definitely make again. And, as with all soups, the next day it was even tastier.

Blender Pancakes are easy peasy

Made the blender pancakes on Sunday morning for Nathan and I as Daddy was still sleeping. I do think that you could even make these on a weekday as they are so easy - all you do is throw all of the ingredients into the blender and blend. Then - making it even more user-friendly, you can just pour your pancakes out directly onto the griddle from the blender. There was nothing to wash!

Nathan sucked back a whole 8 pancakes which either means I made them too small or they were REALLY good. Could have been a bit of both. Next time I would be firm on using buttermilk or soured full fat milk instead of soured skim milk as they really were not as fluffy as I remember mom's being.

This weekend's agenda

In the interest of some comfort food and a really great breakfast, I am taking the liberty of adding blender pancakes to this weekend's cooking agenda. I haven't had these in a while, as I am sure that Sandy has not either, so it will likely take us back a few years. If I remember correctly, this recipe is as easy to make as it sounds but makes light and fluffy pancakes. I will have to harass mom for the recipe......