Burgers

Even though there is STILL snow in our backyard, we decided to have burgers this weekend.  Not just any burgers, but homemade sliders, with homemade buns!  Hilary's Mum told us about a great potato burger bun recipe from Cook's Illustrated that she uses for burgers, so we gave it a go!

It's been a long time since we've made bread, but I think we are bitten with the baking bug again.

We had 3 different styles of sliders.

Bacon, cheddar and dill pickle.

Avocado and spicy Thai  pickle

Blue cheese and caramelized onions.

My favourite of the 3 was the Blue cheese and caramelized onions.  Hilary also made plain burgers for Liam.  When we were in the Dominican he was eating 4-6 sliders a day from the burger bar.  We didn't have a lot of hope that he would like them at home, but we thought we would give it a shot.  He scarfed both of his down in minutes and asked if next time we would make him 4!  You got it buddy!

Daring Kitchen - Pierogi

Blog Checking Lines: In a "celebration" of past Daring Cooks and Daring Bakers challenges, Lisa challenged all of us to search through the Daring Kitchen archives and pick any one we'd like! The REAL challenge was picking which delicious recipe(s) to try!

I went through the all the old posts and figured out there 132 recipes to choose from and that I had already participated in 24.  Since Mom is here visiting we sat her down in front of the list and let her choose the recipe.  She decided on Pierogies.

 After researching a variety of recipes I cobbled together the filling on my own.  We had some cauliflower in the fridge, so I roasted it and mashed it in with potatoes, cheddar cheese and bacon.  It made for a very creamy and delicious filling.  The recipe I found for the dough had a cup of mashed potatoes in it and made for a very delicate and tasty dough.

We even put Mom to work helping to fill the pierogies.

We like our pierogies fried up with onion, mushrooms, celery and bacon.  Some people boil their pierogies first, but we skip that step and add them straight to the frying pan.

And a dollop of sour cream makes everything tastier.

New Food

As you know we struggle with getting Liam to eat not just new foods, but any food.  Weight gain is celebrated in grams.

Today he came home from camp and requested to have a Subway turkey sub with lettuce for dinner.   Of course we jumped at the suggestion!  New food!  Calories!  Somewhat Healthy!

I love peer pressure and the influential friend who sold him on the virtues of Subway at lunch today.

A mother's day feast

We christened the new BBQ with a Mother's Day feast. We had barbecued steak medallions, sautéed onions, lobster in butter with Brandy and spring fresh fiddle heads.

And for desert we had vanilla ice cream with 3 different toppings:  Pears in red wine, strawberries with Balsamic vinegar and a brandy sauce

Dinner was divine!

Oscar's 2013

We broke from tradition this year and didn't have a theme for our Oscar party.  Other years we've had Ribs and Potatoes (2008), Indian (2009), Indian #2 (2010),  Thai (2011) and last year's Mexican.

This year we had a small gathering, just us and one other couple.  These are the friends that we spend all of our holidays with.  We didn't have Christmas with them this year as we spent it in Ontario.  So we decided to have a full turkey dinner for Oscar night!

No one can resist Hilary's turkey!  Luckily we were all able to stay awake after such a feast and we made it to the very end of the Oscar's with very full bellies.

Valentine's Day Sushi

We made "sushi" tonight for Liam to take to school for his Valentine's Day lunch tomorrow.

Getting healthy with stuffies

Thanks to Aunt Becky from Mommy Wants Vodka, I am now the proud owner of 5 new organs that are all designed to motivate you to better health.

Let me introduce you to:

Hardy Heart

Hardy Heart is going to help me choose low-fat

The Kidney Brothers

These 2 styling brothers are going to help me drink more water.

Peri Stolic

Peri Stolic is going to help me stay regular by choosing high-fiber.

Madame Muscle

Madame Muscle is going to motivate me to exercise more.

The "game" concept is a cute one.  Introduce one of the 4 topics to your kids for the week, do the activities in the booklet and if they are successful, reward them with the appropriate stuffie at the end.  I don't think this is something we are going to try with Liam, since we already struggle with food issues.  And at the cool age of 10, I don't think he would be too motivated by these guys as rewards.  But he did like them and they will live happily ever after with his sperm.

Daring Kitchen - Cornmeal

Blog-checking lines:  Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

We use cornmeal in a few different recipes already.  We enjoy grilled polenta and cornbread.  But this challenge was to find new ways to use cornmeal.  So I decided to see if I could make a whole meal out of cornmeal.   And I did!

I started with an appetizer of deep fried pickles.

I've never had deep fried pickles before.  I love dill pickles, so it seemed like a good choice. The hold their crunch and have a nice flavour.  Hilary didn't enjoy them as much, but she's not a huge pickle fan to start with.  I don't think these will become part of our regular repertoire, but I'm glad I got to try them.

Then I made a rustic cornmeal and spinach soup.

It was only Hilary and I enjoying this meal so I cut the recipe in half.  Unfortunately the chicken broth I used was too salty for the quantity of water I had. But since I made the soup in the morning, it thickened as it cooled and I had to add some more water to thin it out before serving, so that helped.  It was a really great tasting soup, but one better suited for a cool fall day rather then a hot summer one.  This recipe will definitely be one that we do again.  It was very quick, something you could make after work and have ready within 30 minutes.

For the main dish I made a cornmeal crusted chicken breast.

I didn't follow this recipe exactly.  I soaked the chicken breast in the buttermilk for about 30 minutes before cooking it.  I then omitted the egg wash and went straight to dipping it in the cornmeal mixture.  I also didn't have any cajun spice, so I simply added my own spices.  After tasting it, I realized that I could have been more liberal with the spices.  It was still tasty but would have supported more. I think my favorite part of this recipe is that it isn't only fried, but finished off in the oven.  It keeps it's crispiness without being oily.  Another recipe that we will revisit.

And for desert I made strawberry-rhubarb cobbler.

 

I was a little iffy about a cornmeal topping for this.  I thought it would be too heavy and too gritty.  I was pleasantly surprised, it was light and airy.  The only thing I didn't like was that the baking soda gave it a fuzzy, bubbly feel when you bit into it.  When I make it again I think I will cut down on the amount I use.  I also found that the rhubarb was a bit under cooked, even though the topping was already browned.  

Overall, this was a great challenge and I'm glad to have found some new recipes that we enjoyed.  I will actually be making this whole meal again in a few days for friends.  I love to share the Daring Kitchen challenges with friends of ours, but we couldn't coordinate our schedules to get together before the DK due date.

As always, I can't wait to find out what our next Daring Kitchen challenge is going to be!

Daring Kitchen - En Pappillote

Blog-checking lines: Our July 2012 Daring Cooks’ host was Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie! Sarah challenges us to learn a new cooking technique called “Cooking En Papillote” which is French and translates to “cooking in parchment”.


I did something completely different for this challenge.  I cooked it for just myself!  Usually I like to invite friends over to share, or at the very least I cook for Hilary and I.  But Hilary is in BC visiting family, and I'm home on my own.  I had originally thought that I was going to sit this month out since I didn't have anyone to cook for, but then I figured I have to eat too.

This month the challenge was a cooking technique using parchment paper to hold in all the juices and goodness while your food steams.  It's a very low fat, healthy way to cook, which is just what I need.

 
I cooked asparagus, shallots, carrots, broccoli and shrimp for my dinner.

All arranged on the parchment.  I was having fun taking the pictures, so I forgot to season the food before folding it up.  I added it after it cooked and it tasted just fine.

All sealed up and ready to go in the oven.

I found that the shallots were a bit to raw for my liking, but everything else was cooked to perfection.

It only took 12 minutes to cook, and maybe 5 minutes to prep.  This is definitely a technique that I will use again.

Daring Kitchen - Canneloni

Blog-checking lines: Manu from Manu’s Menu was our Daring Cooks lovely June hostess and has challenged us to make traditional Italian cannelloni from scratch! We were taught how to make the pasta, filling, and sauces shared with us from her own and her family’s treasured recipes!

Having made pasta once before for another Daring Kitchen Challenge, I was not freaked out by the idea of making home made Canneloni.  I dove right into it one Sunday afternoon and had it all ready to go in no time. I'm not a huge fan of tomato sauce, so I'm all for any pasta dish that is made with Béchamel sauce.  It has such a fancy name for being just flour and butter with a hint of nutmeg.

I kept things simple and traditional and made a spinach and ricotta cheese filling.

 

I like to have friends over to enjoy my challenges (or not as is sometimes the case!) but the timing of this challenge just didn't work out.  So I'm going to make it again this weekend!  My Mom arrives on Friday and we are having 2 other couples over for dinner.  So I will be making cannelloni for 7 this time....with a twist.  One of our friends has Celiac Disease, so I will be making a batch of Gluten Free Pasta.  I found a recipe from Gluten Free Girl that has some good comments and looks pretty yummy.  Here's hoping!

Daring Kitchen - Boeuf Bourguignon

Blog-checking lines: Our May 2012 Daring Cooks’ hostess was Fabi of fabsfood. Fabi challenged us to make Boeuf Bourguignon, a classic French stew originating from the Burgundy region of France.

My first Julia Child recipe, and a classic one at that!  Boeuf Bourguignon is a beef stew with mushrooms and onions, cooked in red wine, preferably from the Burgundy area of France.  It is a relatively simple stew to make, and like most stews, does well to sit for a day or two so that the flavours can develop.

I served the stew with garlic mashed potatoes and Frenched green beans

Be sure to check out the full recipe at The Daring Kitchen.  There is even a vegetarian version!

Daring Kitchen - Create your own recipe

Blog-checking lines: Our April 2012 Daring Cooks hosts were David & Karen from Twenty-Fingered Cooking. They presented us with a very daring and unique challenge of forming our own recipes by using a set list of ingredients!

This month's Daring Kitchen Challenge was unique.  Instead of giving us a specific recipe or cooking technique, we were giving 3 list of ingredients.  We had to create our own recipe(s) by using one item from each of the lists, much like a mystery box challenge that you see on a lot of cooking shows.

And to keep things interesting, the list of ingredients was... unusual, in that you wouldn't often see these things combined.

• List 1:  Parsnips, Eggplant (aubergine), Cauliflower 
• List 2:  Balsamic Vinegar, Goat Cheese, Chipotle peppers 
• List 3:  Maple Syrup, Instant Coffee, Bananas

I really had no idea what to make.  Hilary doesn't like parsnips or cauliflower and I'm not a huge fan of eggplant, so we weren't off to a good start with just the main  ingredients.  Hilary has one recipe that she makes that involves cooked bananas, and I love Bananas Foster, but I couldn't think of any other way I would want to include them in a recipe.

In the end I came up with three dishes, each using 3 different ingredients from the lists, so that I  used them all, including the bananas. Coming up with a recipe from scratch is not my thing, and I got caught up in worrying about the ingredients from the lists so I didn't even think to expand the recipes beyond the 3 items.  I think if I had focused more on developing a curry or stir fry that incorporated the ingredients instead of making them the sole focus, I might have enjoyed the end results more.

Dish one: 

 Cauliflower, Goat Cheese and Maple Syrup

I cut the cauliflower into small florets, coated them in maple syrup and roasted them until they were almost caramelized.  Then I tossed them with chunks of goat cheese and served them on a puff pastry  nest.

Verdict: This dish was tasty, but the goat cheese was a bit overpowering, and I found the whole thing dry.  I should have added some sautéed onion and garlic to the cauliflower to give it some more flavour.

---

Dish two:

Eggplant, Chipotle Peppers, Banana

I peeled and cubed the eggplant and fried it up with the chipotle peppers until it was tender.  Then I added chunks of banana, and cooked it until the bananas had softened. 

 

Verdict: This was my favourite dish of the three, however the chipotle peppers were a bit too hot and took away from the overall flavour.  Surprisingly the banana/eggplant combo was quite good.

---

Dish three: (2 versions)

Parsnips, Balsamic Vinegar, Coffee

 

Parsnips, Balsamic Vinegar, Maple Syrup

I love parsnip chips so I thought I would try to make my own.  Since I was trying to use all 9 ingredients, I tried a version with coffee, but you couldn't really taste it.  The version with maple syrup was very nice.  I thinly sliced the parnips, coated them in balsamic vinegar and coffee/maple syrup.  I pan fried some and roasted some.  The roasted ones were better, crispy and sweeter.

Verdict: Not as good as store bought chips, but still quite yummy.

---

All in all I would consider this month's challenge only mildly successful.  I'm not likely to make any of these recipes again, but it was fun to be pushed out of my comfort zone to try and create my own recipe.  I think I'll be sticking with following recipes for quite awhile.

Daring Kitchen - Braising

Blog-checking lines: The March, 2012 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Carol, a/k/a Poisonive – and she challenged us all to learn the art of Braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman’s technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book “Ruhlman’s Twenty”. 

When I first read about braising, it sounded a lot like boiling food.  But it really isn't just that.  In fact for the recipe that I made, I only used 1 cup of liquid to cook 3.5 pounds of meat.  The key to braising is to slowly cook the food and to use acids (orange juice in this case) to break down the connective tissues, making the meat very tender.

Carol provided us with several recipe options, and I chose to make "Pork Belly with Caramel Miso Sauce". Either be daring or get out of the kitchen!

I was pleased to find out that our local grocery store sold pork belly.  But when I got there, they had it all sliced up like bacon, which is what pork belly really is, just not smoked or cured.  Luckily the butcher had more in the back and was able to cut me a chunk.

I dry roasted some coriander seeds and peppercorns to add to the braising liquid.

Along with the spices I added onion, garlic, bay leaves and 1 cup of orange juice.  I then covered the pot with tin foil and put it in a 250 oven and let it cook for six hours.  The smell by hour 4 was divine!

 

Pork belly has a thick layer of fat on the top, much of which cooked down during the braising process.  The meat was so tender when it finished cooking, that you could not have taken it out of the pot without it falling apart.  The good thing is that the next step was to refrigerate it for up to 5 days, which allowed the fat to congeal.  This meant that I could easily scrape off the extra fat as well as take the meat out and cut it into cubes without it disintegrating.

A cut up cube ready to be seared.  Notice the thick layer of fat on top.

Pork belly is best served seared, with a nice crispy outside to all the edges.  

 

I finished it off with a caramel-miso sauce glaze that is to die for.  We will be trying this sauce out on many other meats.  I served the finished product with garlic mashed potatoes and mixed sautéed greens.

 

Overall, another successful challenge from The Daring Kitchen.