I love Caesar salad in its traditional form using Romaine lettuce. But if you’re just looking to get a better nutritional punch from your Caesar, and aren’t necessarily worried about carbs or fat, just swap out Romaine for kale. Not only is it healthier, but kale also stands up to the dressing – even when you put the leftovers in the fridge for the next day. Even in this healthier version, I kept the bacon and croutons in because I figured I deserved it when eating kale for lunch.
As much as I love Caesar salad, it’s nothing compared to how much Maddie loves it. And while I still found all the charm of a traditional Caesar in this salad, both my girls liked it for the first two bites before getting tired of the kale.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, tough stems removed and chopped 4 slices bacon 1 cup croutons 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 anchovy fillets 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Parmesan curls, for garnish
Directions:
1.) Chop bacon into lardons and toss into a pan set over medium heat. Fry until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy, stirring often. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towel and set aside.
2.) Combine the grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, anchovy fillets, and Worcestershire sauce. Blend entire mix together and then start slowly drizzling olive oil through the feed tube until everything comes together and the dressing is at the consistency you want. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, and blend once more to combine all ingredients.
3.) Place kale and croutons in a large bowl and pour dressing over. Toss to coat everything entirely with the Caesar dressing and then add the bacon bits. Toss again to mix everything together and top with Parmesan curls.
I’m about to make a very bold statement. My mom has sent me probably hundreds of recipes over the years, but – here goes – THIS IS THE VERY BEST ONE EVER! I’m not kidding. I’ve made bacon wrapped pork tenderloin before, but it was nothing, and I mean nothing, like this. This tenderloin recipe not only has the pork entirely wrapped in bacon, but it’s also marinated overnight before baking for a full 3 hours. And during those three hours, the smell your house is filled with will drive you absolutely batty. I’m not kidding.
The only thing that beats the smell of course, is the taste. The bacon, because it’s also been marinated, absorbs all the flavours of the dish and so, while the bacon flavour is still present, it’s not overpowering. And because the fat from the bacon slowly melts down the tenderloin, the pork ends up being incredibly tender, and that smoky bacon also gives the pork a small smoke ring. It’s perfection.
Ingredients:
3 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 4 pieces total 1 pound thick-cut bacon 3/4 cups soy sauce 3/4 cups brown sugar 1 tablespoon minced onions 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 dash pepper
Directions:
1.) Wrap each piece of pork tenderloin entirely in bacon, including the ends. The bacon I used was very thick, and quite long, so I was able to wrap two pieces end-to-end, meeting the ends of the bacon in the middle. Then, using one or two more pieces of bacon, wrap around the two pieces you’ve already placed over the pork.
2.) Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to entirely combine. Pork holes in the meat (I pierced a fork into each piece two or three times), and pour the marinade over top of the pork. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.
3.) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. When hot, uncover tenderloinand bake for 3 hours. Check on the pork at about the 1 1/2 hour mark and cover with foil if the bacon has begun to burn.
4.) Remove from oven and let tenderloin rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into smaller, serving-size portions.
I can’t tell you why these are called “San Francisco Pork Chops“. I heard about these chops that were ‘from San Francisco’ and covered in a sauce of soy sauce and brown butter. Even as I was making them, I wondered what was so “San Fran” about these chops. I never did find out – even a quick Google search provides tons of links to “San Francisco Pork Chops“, but no real explanation as to what was so unique about this style. So if you know, please fill me in. In the meantime, I can tell you that these pork chops are sweet, tender, and delicious!
4 thick, boneless pork chops
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus 2 teaspoons
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup beef broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Green onion, sliced, for garnish
Directions:
1.) Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chops in hot oil, about 5 minutes per side. Remove chopsto a plate, reserving oil in skillet.
2.) Stir garlic into reserved drippings until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Whisk beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, and red pepper flakes in a bowl, dissolving brown sugar. Return pork chops to skillet and pour soy sauce mixture over top. Bring sauce to a boil, cover skillet, and reduce heat to low. Simmer chops until tender, 30 to 35 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.
3.) Transfer pork chops to a serving platter. Whisk cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth; stir into pan juices and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over pork chops to serve and garnish with green onion slices.
After visiting one of the local farmer’s trucks that hang around our town, blueberries and cornlooked so beautiful sitting together in my fridge, I wondered if they’d taste just as nicely together. Turns out, I’m not the first one to be struck by the thought of combining blueberries and corn in a salad, but others seem to muck it up by adding way too many things. Cucumbers, red onion, and honey-lime dressing are just a few of the ideas I’ve heard of since, but I kept mine a little simpler. And even with the suggestions I received, I think I’d make it this exact same way the next time around.
Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries, washed and picked over to remove stems 1 cup fresh corn kernels, cut off the cob in chunky pieces 1 shallot, minced 2 tablespoons pickled jalapenos, minced 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar Salt Pepper
Directions:
1.) Place everything (including a pinch of salt and pepper) into a bowl. Mix together to combine all ingredients. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Chicken paprikashis a Hungarian dish that, as its name implies, uses a lot of paprika – a spice that I’m particularly fond of. When I first started cooking, I was convinced it was added to dishes for its bright colour only; and was so adamant about it that I even once debated the issue with my best friend for longer than necessary. But, I can admit when I’m wrong (usually), and I was that time.
Paprika is a spice that has a very unique flavour, and I love that this dish celebrates that. While hot and smoky paprika is all the rage these days, sweet paprika is the traditional spice used in chicken paprikash, and it just happens to be my favourite.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut into 6 – 8 pieces 2 tablespoons sweet paprika 1 red pepper, julienned 2 tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, and chopped 1 large yellow onion, minced 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 3/4 cup sour cream 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons 1/4 cup canola oil 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1.) Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in 1/2 cup flour, shaking off excess as you do.
2.) Heat oil in a Dutch oven or very large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, turning once, until brown, 8 – 10 minutes. Set aside.
3.) Add paprika and half the peppers, along with the tomatoes and onion to pot. Cook, stirring until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
4.) Add chicken and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, turning chicken once, until fully cooked and juices run clear, about 12 – 15 minutes.
5.) In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons flour and sour cream. Stir sour cream mixture into sauce in pot and remove from heat.
6.) Transfer chicken to a serving platter and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Wanna know how good this is? It’s won awards. Well okay, one award. And it wasn’t really an award, not like a James Beard award or anything. But it is a winner and it did score me a gift certificate at work during our poutine contest. At the beginning of July, all four of us cooks created our very own poutine. We put them on the feature menu and whoever sold the most come July 31 won. Not only was that person me, but with 47 sold and the runner up sitting at 32, I crushed it. Now you can too, and win the prize for the most compliments at dinner. And, if you wanted to fashion yourself some kind of gold star for it, I think that would be perfectly appropriate.
1.) Start cooking French fries, however you have decided to make them, from scratch or store bought.
2.) Place bacon in a frying pan and fry over medium heat until crispy, turning regularly. When bacon is done, transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and place paper towel over top to blot grease. Then cut into large chunks.
3.) Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add all-purpose flour and whisk thoroughly until all lumps are removed. Cook for five minutes while the roux is bubbling. This will give the gravy a darker colour and will also cook out the raw flour. Slowly add the beef stock to the roux, whisking as you do to avoid lumps from forming. Once the stock has been added, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, uncovered. You need to keep the gravy piping hot so it will melt the cheese.
4.) Place olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to thoroughly combine all ingredients and continue to cook until beef is completely browned. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
5.) To plate, set a large handful of French fries on a plate or in a bowl. Spoon about 1 cup of beef over top of beef and some of the bacon over top. Top with cheese curds and then generously spoon gravy over top.
I love Brussels sprouts. They have to be fresh, not frozen, and they need to be cooked perfectly. Unlike many, I don’t think that always means cooking them in bacon grease and then sprinkling those crunchy bits of bacon throughout the sprouts. While I have made Brussels sprouts with bacon, this is a lighter and healthier side and still extremely tasty. And with the season of warm salads just around the corner, the timing couldn’t be better.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese Salt Pepper
Directions:
1.) Cut Brussels sprouts in half and thinly slice to shred them. You can also do this in a food processor with the shredding attachment.
2.) Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add Brussels sprouts, season with salt and pepper, and toss. Cook for 3 minutes, tossing often, until the sprouts are bright green and slightly wilted.
3.) Transfer the Brussels sprouts to a large bowl. Add lemon juice, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Toss well, taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
I had one of the best meals of my life this summer. While visiting in Niagara, my mom wanted to take everyone out to celebrate my birthday. We went to Johnny Rocco’s, a gorgeous Italian restaurant in Niagara Falls that I fell in love with the moment I stepped inside. We sat close to the open concept kitchen, which was perfect for me as I could watch the many chef jackets run around and prepare different dishes. I didn’t see them make the eggplant parm, but I’ve tried to recreate it as best I could here. One of the things that I was really striving for was to get that eggplant crispy, crispy, crispy, as it was one of my favourite things about Johnny Rocco’s version. In the end it wasn’t at all soggy, but still not as crunchy as I would like. Next time I think I’ll deep-fry it to get that crunch I’m looking for.
(As a side note, mom was so excited about this eggplant parm, she knew she was having it before we even got there. And once I told her I was making it in my own kitchen, I had to freeze some to bring home with me on my next visit.)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 medium-sized eggplants, or 1 large eggplant
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 pounds of spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups spaghetti sauce
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.) Heat olive oil in a frying pan set over medium-high heat. When hot add the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Cook just until wilted, about 3 – 5 minutes, stirring and turning often. When finished, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3.) Slice the eggplant very thinly. You can slice it in rounds, or you can slice it in long rectangular slices and then slice it in half. Either way you want the eggplant to only be about 1/4″ thick.
4.) Set up a breading station using 3 baking dishes. In the first add the flour and season with salt and pepper. In the second dish whisk the egg with 1/2 cup of water. In the third dish combine the panko, cornmeal, dried Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5.) One by one dredge the eggplant in flour and then shake off excess. Completely drown them in the egg wash, and then place them in the panko mixture. Really press the panko mixture into the eggplant so that it holds.
6.) Arrange the eggplant on the prepared baking sheets. Place in oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, turning halfway through, until the eggplant is nice and crispy. When done, remove from oven.
7.) Onto half of the eggplant slices, spoon a tablespoon or two of spaghetti sauce. On top of that place about 2 tablespoons of spinach and top with a tablespoon or two of ricotta cheese, covering the spinach. Place another, undressed, eggplant slice over top of each slice covered with spinach and ricotta cheese. Add two tablespoons of spaghetti sauce on top of each stack and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese.
8.) Turn broiler on. When hot place baking sheet inside and broil eggplant for about 2 minutes, just until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
9.) Serve, with pasta tossed in your favourite sauce, and enjoy!
So here’s the thing. As a parent, I have visions of me and my grown girls in the kitchen, preparing a big family feast together and chop-chop-chopping while we giggle away. And I’d like to think that one day, they’ll bring me breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day. But before any of that can happen, I have to teach them. I have to show them how to cook. And truthfully, I just don’t want to. Or at least, I didn’t think I did.
See, the kitchen was my place. It was where I could go and know that, for at least half an hour, time was mine. I could forget about all the other stuff that had to be done, and get lost in risotto or put all my focus into making that perfect pasta dough. How exactly was I supposed to do that when I was explaining every move, or waiting for tiny little hands to level out a cup of flour? It couldn’t be done. And if I allowed it to happen, the kitchen would turn into just another place where chores were done.
But the time had come. My girls are getting older and, it was probably time to start teaching them at least a few kitchen basics. I mean, I’ve cooked for a good portion of my life. If they can’t at least make themselves a proper meal when it comes time for them to leave home, I’ve basically failed as a mother, right? So, I bought The Usborne First Cookbook while on our family trip to the annual town fair. We put a plan in place that every Thursday, we’d get into the kitchen and they’d cook while I instructed. They were excited. I could see the beginning of the end.
That Thursday will turn into many more Thursdays – I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun making dinner. So maybe pizza isn’t the most sophisticated dish to make. And yes, maybe I did have my doubts about the simply-too-simple sauce in the book. But I can’t tell you how much fun it was to watch their noses scrunch up when they smelled the yeast as it started to bloom. And watching their eyes widen in amazement after the dough rose was a feeling that I had almost forgotten existed. See, when you get kids in the kitchen, you not only get to teach them a life skill everyone should have, you get to relive the joy of cooking that brought you to the kitchen in the first place. And you get to take the time to once again discover that sometimes simple is best – that sauce was gorgeous.
And as it turns out, 7 and 9 year-olds can giggle just as well as their future 20-something selves.
1/2 cup water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon quick-rise yeast 1 3/4 cups white bread flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 1/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese 1 teaspoon dried oregano Additional toppings such as pepperoni, bacon, green peppers, mushrooms, etc. (optional)
Directions:
1.) Following the directions on the package of yeast, add the water, yeast, and sugar to a container.
2.) Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, then mix in the yeast. Mix in just enough water to make a soft bowl of dough that leaves the bowl clean.
3.) Dust flour over a clean work surface. Put the dough onto the floured surface and knead it for about 5 minutes. When the dough is smooth and stretchy, put it into a greased bowl.
4.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Put it in a warm place for about an hour to rise.
5.) When the dough has doubled in size, take it out of the bowl and knead it for five more minutes.
6.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and grease two pizza trays.
7.) Break the dough into two balls and put one into each pan. Press them with your fingers until they fill the pan, then pinch the edge to make crusts.
8.) Place a sieve over a large bowl and drain the tomatoes. Push the tomatoes through the sieve with a wooden spoon. Stir in the tomato paste and a pinch of salt and pepper.
9.) Spread the tomato sauce over the pizzas, but don’t spread it on the crusts. Sprinkle the cheese and seasoning over the sauce.
10.) Bake the pizzas on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and brown.
11.) Carefully lift out the pizza. Cut them into wedges or slices.
The girls and I had so much fun making pizza one night that it wasn’t long before they were back in the kitchen, aprons on and ready to help. Actually this strawberry tart supposed to be made the same night as the pizza but we had too much fun and ran out of time.
It was worth the wait, sweet but not too sweet, and a nice light dessert that finished off our meal once we actually got around to making it. The thing I love the most about this kids’ cookbook we’ve been using is that everything is so simple. Who would’ve thought that just brushing a little bit of strawberry jam onto the inside of pie crust could turn it into something so magnificent?
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pound strawberries
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks, beaten
6 ounces strawberry jelly
A pinch of salt
Directions:
1.) Sift the flour into a bowl and rub it in with the butter, sugar and salt, to make a crumbly mixture.
2.) Add the egg yolks and mix them in well with a knife. Squeeze the mixture with your hands, to make a smooth ball of dough. The dough should be soft but not sticky. To make it easier to roll, and to give the butter a chance to firm up again, put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
4.) Roll out the dough until it is fairly thin. Cut out one large circle, about 9″ in diameter, if making one large tart. If making individual strawberry tarts, cut out small circles with a round cutter. Once dough has been cut, press into a large tart pan or individual tins.
5.) Prick the pastry cases with a fork, then line them with parchment paper. Lay dried beans or pie weights on top of the paper, to keep the pastry from puffing up.
6.) Bake the pastry for 15 minutes, then take out the paper and beans. Bake the cases for five more minutes, until they are light brown, then cool them on a wire rack.
7.) Wash the strawberries, cut them in half, and remove their stalks.
8.) Melt the strawberry jelly in a small pan over low heat, to make a glaze. (To loosen the glaze a bit, I had to add a bit of water while melting.) Remove from heat.
9.) When the pastry is cool, brush the insides with a thick coat of strawberryglaze. Arrange the strawberriesin the pastry shell and brush them with more strawberryglaze. Allow to cool completely so the glaze can set.
