Julia’s Puree de Pommes de Terre A L’Ail

Originally published on September 22, 2014

Leave it to Julia Child to take something as simple as garlic mashed potatoes (which is all the above fancy French term translates to,) and make it a thing of pure joy to eat. This recipe is taken from what I like to think of as “The Food Bible,” but most people know it as Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1. All this time, there I was, just plopping some garlic cloves into the pot of potatoes as they boiled and mashing everything together. And once again, Julia showed me that I have been doing it wrong.

Ingredients:

2 heads of garlic, separated but not peeled 
4 tablespoons butter, plus 4 tablespoons, softened 
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup boiling milk 
2 1/2 pounds potatoes
3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream 
4 tablespoons minced parsley
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1.) Drop the garlic cloves into boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and peel.

2.) Place 4 tablespoons in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat and add garlic. Cook the garlic slowly in the butter for about 20 minutes, or until they are very tender but not browned.

3.) Sprinkle the flour over the butter in the saucepan and stir over very low heat until it blends and froths with the butter. Cook for 2 minutes without browning.

4.) Take the pan off the heat and beat in the milk, about 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper.

5.) Peel and quarter the potatoes. Drop in boiling salted water and boil until they are tender. Drain immediately, and mash with a ricer or masher. Place the mashed potatoes back into the saucepan and continue to beat with a spatula or wooden spoon for several minutes over medium heat to allow any moisture to evaporate. As soon as the puree begins to form a film in the bottom of the pan, remove from the heat and beat in the softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat in a little more salt and pepper to taste.

6.) Just before serving, vigorously beat the hot garlic sauce into the hot potatoes. Beat in the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, but do not let the potatoes become too loose. Beat in the parsley (I actually used thyme, as I was out of parsley,) then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

7.) Serve and enjoy!

Carrots Vichy

Originally published on September 23, 2014

I love books, and cookbooks rank somewhere at the top of the list. But a cookbook having great recipes and beautiful illustrations just isn’t enough for me – I need more! I like cookbooks that bring something different to the table. That don’t just tell me what to put in the pot when, but also give me insight to food and the kitchen as a whole. That’s exactly what Professional Cooking by Wayne Gisslen does, and it’s done in such a unique way. It is truly unlike any other cookbook that I’ve ever seen. Just as the title suggests, this book is for someone who’s not just looking to feed their family, but who is looking to feed a crowd from a restaurant kitchen.

Professional Cooking takes you through the entire restaurant kitchen, breaking down everything from how modern cooking evolved, the rank of chefs (and if you don’t think there’s a ranking order, you’re kidding yourself,) to the organization of the modern kitchen today – and that’s just in the first chapter! And the recipes! Of course there are recipes. They might give you 25 portions but hey, we’re talking professional cooking here. And of course you can always pare those down if you’re just looking for a side dish or a meal for your family. That’s just what I did last night when I made these Carrots Vichy – really just a glazed carrots dish, but one that uses a completely different technique than what I’ve been doing in the past (and would you believe it’s easier, too?) The carrots were softer and a little roughed up along the edges, giving that glaze lots of nooks and crannies to fall into, and it was tastier than the old version I was using. My kids loved them, so I’m sure we’ll make the switch from glazed carrots to Carrots Vichy, and that they will appear on our menu more often.

And this post wouldn’t be complete without a huge thanks to Sous Chef Rob, for loaning me a book that I’ll have my nose in for weeks.

6 medium-sized carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut on a bias to make chunky triangles 
Water 
2 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
White pepper 
2 teaspoons chopped parsley (this is what the book calls for but, with none in my fridge, I used chopped rosemary instead) 

Directions:

1.) Place the chopped carrots into a straight-sided saucepan and add enough water to just barely cover them. Add the butter, sugar, and salt.

2.) Set the pan over high heat on the stove and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a rapid boil, lower heat to medium and simmer until the carrots are tender and nearly all of the liquid has evaporated. (According to the book, “If this is done properly, these should happen at the same time.”) Toss the carrots with the glaze that is left in the bottom of the pan.

3.) Add a pinch of white pepper and the chopped herbs and toss.

4.) Serve and enjoy!

Simple Herb-Rubbed Pork Roast

Originally published on September 24, 2014

I’ve loved pork roast ever since I was a kid. I can still remember so vividly that aroma wafting through the entire house as my mom simmered one slowly in a pot on the stove. And when she pulled it out from all its collected juices, it would be so tender she could only laugh as it all fell apart on her and bits and pieces plunked back down into what was soon to be gravy (which was just as good – my mom’s kind of a Gravy Queen.) Being in a bit of a time crunch one afternoon, and with Maddie tugging at my arm to help her with a spelling assignment, I threw this one into a low oven hoping against hope that it would turn out as good as my mom’s. A tall order, and one that I couldn’t honestly tell you was accomplished. But if on a school night you also find yourself wanting something truly comforting and fulfilling, this pork roast is still pretty good and takes only a few steps before you can set it and forget it.

Ingredients:

1 3-5 pound pork rib roast 
5 cloves garlic, minced or grated 
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon salt 
Pepper 

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) In a mortar and pestle, or in a small bowl, place the garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. Using the pestle or the back of a spoon, mash these together until they form a paste.

3.) Using paper towels, pat the pork roast dry. There’s no need to rinse, as the point here is not to clean the pork but to dry it so that it will brown nicely in the oven. Cut a few slits into the pork so that the herb mixture can get into it and really flavour the pork. Rub the herb and garlic mixture entirely over the pork, pressing it down into the slits you’ve made. Place the pork in a roasting pan and set in the preheated oven.

4.) Bake the pork roast for 2 – 3 hours, checking it often until its cooked through and a temperature reading reaches 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t worry if it’s still a bit pink, as that will help ensure that the roast is still juicy and succulent.

5.) When pork is done cooking, remove from oven and tent with aluminum foil or place a lid on the roasting pan. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

6.) Serve and enjoy!

Oeufs en Reste

Originally published on September 26, 2014

The fried egg craze that has had us throwing them onto burgers and sandwiches has been around for awhile and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. But in France they’ve been doing this even longer than we have, and leave it to the French to call it something very fancy-sounding and make it even simpler. In this dish, Oeufs en Reste, all that’s needed is some leftovers you’re looking to spiff up and as many fried eggs as you can handle. Traditionally the leftovers used come from a roast, but I think you can use just about anything you think would work with a fried egg. I used a pork roast and mashed potatoes I had in the fridge. And I have to say, they were some of the best leftovers I’ve ever had.

Ingredients:

6 – 8 slices of leftover pork roast (or other leftover protein)
3 cups leftover mashed potatoes (or other side)
3 – 4 eggs (depending on how many you’re serving or would like)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. When hot, place roast and mashed potatoes in separate oven-proof dishes and cover. Place in the oven and heat them until they are completely warmed through.

2.) While leftovers are warming, heat the olive oil in a skillet set over medium heat. When hot, gently crack the eggs into the pan and cook until white has completely set both underneath and on top, around the yolk. You can flip them if you prefer your eggs over-easy, but I think the presentation is nicer when they’re left sunny-side-up. Just be sure that the whites have completely set – no one wants to eat raw egg. When eggs are finished cooking, season them with salt and pepper and remove the entire pan from the heat.

3.) Plate the mashed potatoes so they are in the centre of the plate and then lay a couple of slices over top of them. Do the same with the other plates that will be served. When the leftovers are plated, gently lay the eggs over top of the meat.

4.) Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Zucchini and Corn Chowder

Originally published on September 27, 2014

Isn’t it a great feeling to open up your fridge, see things that need to be used up, and know immediately what you’re going to use them for? That’s what happened last weekend when my kids needed lunch and there they were – four ears of corn and a large zucchini staring up at me from the fridge shelves. It didn’t take long before those ears were shucked, the zucchini was roasting in the oven, and I was looking forward to my newest version of corn chowder.

Ingredients:

4 ears of corn, shucked with the kernels cut off 
1 large zucchini, cut into a medium dice
1 onion, diced 
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 or 5 slices of thick slab bacon, chopped 
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
Salt
Pepper 

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place zucchini in a large colander in a clean sink and sprinkle with salt. Turn to coat all the pieces of zucchini and then let sit for about 15 minutes to draw out as much moisture as possible. Then put zucchini on a baking sheet, sprinkle with pepper, and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until zucchini is roasted and beginning to brown around the edges. When finished, remove zucchini from the oven and set aside.

2.) While zucchini is roasting, heat a skillet over medium heat. When hot add the pieces of bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon is brown and crisp. Then, reserve the fat in the pan, keep the heat on, and transfer cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towel. Set aside.

3.) To the fat in the pan, add the onion, stir, and cook for two minutes. Then add garlic and rosemary sprigs, stir, and cook for just one more minute before adding corn kernels. Stir to coat the kernels in the fat, season everything with salt and pepper and cook for three or four minutes.

4.) Add the chicken stock to the pan and turn heat to high. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes before removing rosemary, adjusting heat to low, and adding the zucchini and the heavy cream. Cook for another 10 minutes or so to allow everything to heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

5.) Ladle the corn chowder into bowls and garnish with the cooked bacon.

6.) Serve and enjoy!

Quick Pickled Beets

Originally published on September 29, 2014

The term “quick pickled beets” is a bit misleading. I really thought it would be a matter of placing the beets in a bowl with some vinegar and seasoning and just let it sit for 15 minutes or so. Ah, but I had forgotten that the beets need to be softened first, and they also need to be peeled. That requires either steaming or roasting – which takes about 30 minutes. Peeling raw beets was something I learned very early on not to do. After making some red beet dish or another, I was talking to my grandma about it, and about how very difficult it was to peel them. She asked me if I had steamed the beets beforehand, to which I answered a very dismayed “no.” I’ve never made that mistake again and while it means that these “quick pickled beets” aren’t as quick as you might like, keep in mind that you’d spend just as much time trying to peel them in their raw form. And that you’d be a lot more frustrated at the end of it all.

Ingredients:

4 beets
1/2 onion, thinly sliced 
1/2 cup red wine vinegar 
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1.) Chop the leaves and stems off of the beets. Place them in a steamer basket set into a pot and fill with 1 to 2 inches of water. Cover, turn heat to high and let beets steam for 30 – 40 minutes, until they are fork tender. Be sure to keep an eye on them and add more water if necessary.

2.) After beets are finished steaming, remove from the steamer basket and allow them to cool slightly, enough so you can handle them. Peel the skins off (use a knife if you have to, but you should be able to just slip them right off,) and dice the beets.

3.) While the beets are cooling, place the onion slices, red wine vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and pepper into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and lower heat. Simmer the mixture for 4 – 6 minutes, just until the onion softens some.

4.) Place the diced beets into a bowl and pour the pickling mixture from the saucepan over top. Let beets sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5.) Serve and enjoy! (You can also store the pickled beets in an airtight container in the fridge for one week.)

Kate’s Ketchup

Originally published on October 2, 2014

There’s an ongoing ketchup battle happening at my house. Brent only likes Heinz, the most expensive ketchup to be found at just about any grocery store, and one that he doesn’t appreciate me using in my cooking (such as when I need half the bottle to make barbecue sauce.) I’ve tried to convince him to buy two bottles – one Heinz for his dipping pleasure, and one cheapo brand for me to use when I need it. No dice. I just shouldn’t use the ketchup, apparently. So, after coming home from work the other day I figured it was just as much effort to simply make my own as it was to prepare for battle. Making my own ketchup is something I’ve done before, with pretty terrible results. But this time, I followed my gut instead of a recipe and it turned out much better. So good in fact, that my kids have decided to side with me in the ketchup battle and now only want to eat ketchup that mom made. I’m going to take that as a win.

3 tomatoes, chopped 
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
Salt

Directions:

1.) Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Empty mixture into a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour, or until mixture is reduced by half and is a ketchup-like consistency.

2.) Serve and enjoy!

Warm Bean Salad

Originally published on October 3, 2014

Sometimes you only have to change the smallest thing about a dish and it becomes something completely different. Sometimes that’s an ingredient, sometimes it’s a specific technique, and with this dish, it was a matter of turning up the heat. Literally. I made a bean salad  dressing, warmed it through on the stove, and then poured it over beans – which were also hot. It completely transformed the dish, yet stayed true to bean salad as I know and love it. This might be one of my favourite salads yet.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 pound fresh or frozen beans, green or wax or a mixture of both 
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted 
Salt 
Pepper

Directions:

1.) In a blender combine olive oil, Dijon mustard, zest and juice of lemon, rice vinegar, ginger, cumin, coriander, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

2.) Pour dressing into a medium-sized saucepan and set over medium-low heat on the stove. Cook until warmed through, stirring occasionally.

3.) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When rapidly boiling, drop the beans in and blanch them for just 1 minute, until they are bright green and crisp-tender. Remove from the water with tongs or a spider ladle and place them into the saucepan with the dressing. Turn so that all beans are completely coated in the dressing and cook for another minute or two.

4.) Remove beans from the saucepan and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

5.) Serve and enjoy!

Spicy Sausage Linguine in a Rose Sauce

Originally published on October 4, 2014

There are no shortages of food ideas in a restaurant kitchen. From finding different ingredients in the walk-in, to discussing ideas with the chef, to learning different ways to plate and present food to make sure it looks its best, these are the most obvious places in which you’ll find new ideas. But there are other, lesser-known areas around the restaurant to get even more food ideas, such as the server that comes in for lunch with a specific, not-on-the-menu item and asks if you can prepare it. That’s what happened here. When finished, it looked so good I had to come home and see if I could recreate it. I didn’t do such a bad job, if I may say. The only difference between this dish and the one I made that afternoon was the server asked for shrimp instead of sausage. While I can cook shrimp, I certainly can’t eat it.

Ingredients:

1/2 package dried linguine
3 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups Alfredo sauce 
4 hot Italian sausage 
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 – 3 tablespoons Srirarcha  
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil
Salt 

Directions:

1.) Combine the spaghetti sauce, Alfredo sauce, and Srirarcha sauce into a large saucepan. Stir to combine, set over medium heat and warm through. Taste along the way and adjust seasoning if necessary.

2.) While the sauce is warming through, fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and bring to a boil. When boiling gently drop in the Italian sausages and lower heat to a simmer. Cook sausages in the water for about 20 minutes, then remove from heat and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes, but cool enough so that you can handle them. When cooled, thinly slice them on a diagonal.

3.) Bring another large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. When rapidly boiling, drop linguine in, stir, and cook for about 8 minutes, until it’s just al dente and has a bit of bite left to it.

4.) Heat the olive oil in a skillet set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sliced sausage and stir to coat the sausage in the oil. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until the sausage is carmalized and nice and crispy along the edges. Then lower heat and add the rose sauce that has been warming. When linguini is finished cooking, use tongs or a pasta ladle to remove it from the water and add it directly to the pan holding the sauce and sausage. Stir to thoroughly coat the pasta in the sauce.

5.) Add the Parmesan cheese to the pasta and stir again to coat. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.

6.) Lay the basil leaves flat on a cutting board and roll up into a cigar. Slice into thin strips to chiffonade the basil, cutting them into ribbons. Plate pasta onto individual plates and garnish each with the chiffonade of basil.

7.) Serve and enjoy!

Spinach Boreks

Originally published on October 20, 2014

After perusing through Wayne Gisslen’s Professional Cooking when trying to decide what to make for the pre-dinner spread at Thanksgiving this year, I ended up deciding on Spinach Boreks. I had assumed that they were a Greek dish – perhaps because of the spinach and feta cheese, or maybe because they reminded me so much of Spanakopitas. After eating these golden crispy triangles of deliciousness – and doing some research – I found out that they’re not really Greek at all, but rather Turkish. While it’s phyllo dough that’s used in North America, the Turks have a similar pastry known as yufka, and the term borek refers to any dish in which this particular type of dough is wrapped or twisted around a filling. I will warn you that the process of twisting and wrapping can be a long one, but it’s well worth it, I promise.

Ingredients:

2 pounds spinach 
3 tablespoons butter 
3 tablespoons onion, finely chopped 
1 tablespoon scallion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped 
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
12 sheets phyllo dough
16 tablespoons melted butter
Salt 
Pepper 

Directions:

1.) Trim, wash, and steam or boil the spinach just until it is thoroughly wilted. Drain, cool under cold running water, and squeeze dry. Chop fine.

2.) Heat the 3 tablespoons of butter in a skillet set over low heat. Add the onions and the scallions, stir, and cook just until they are soft.

3.) Remove the skillet from the heat and add the spinach and dill. Stir to mix and coat the spinach with the butter.

4.) Add the cheese, season lightly with salt and pepper, and mix. Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary.

5.) Thaw the phyllo if it is frozen. Unwrap and unfold the stacks of sheets and cut them in half lengthwise. Keep any phyllo you are not working with covered with a moist paper towel or clean tea towel to prevent the dough from drying out.

6.) Taking one sheet at a time, brush it with the melted butter. Fold it in half lengthwise and butter it again.

7.) Place a small amount of the spinach mixture (about 1 tablespoon) at the very end of the buttered strip, and down near the bottom corner. Fold the phyllo under the spinach mixture up so that you encapsulate the spinach mixture within the phyllo and form a triangle at that end. Then fold back down and back up, repeating this pattern until you have folded the entire strip. As each borek is made, place the packets down on a baking sheet with the loose ends of the phyllo on the bottom.

8.) When all boreks have been made and are on the baking sheet, brush the tops of each one with melted butter.

9.) Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the boreks are golden brown and crisp, about 20 – 25 minutes.

10.) Serve and enjoy!