Thursday, December 12, 2024

Festive Holiday Baking

Are you a hybrid worker being forced to attend an office potluck? 

Do you need a dessert for your child's Christmas bake sale? 

Feel like baking something new this holiday season? 

If you answered any of those questions in the affirmative, the recipe below is just what you're looking for. Sure, there's no actual eggnog in these, but nothing is stopping you from pouring yourself a mug when you want to have one.

Ingredients

454 g white baking chocolate
115 g cream cheese, softened
60 g confectioners' sugar
1.5 g ground nutmeg, plus additional for sprinkling
1.5 g imitation rum extract
  1. Melt 230 grams of the chocolate as directed on the package. Beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, nutmeg, and extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until it's well blended and smooth. Add the melted chocolate; beat until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until it's firm.
  2. Shape into 24 balls. Place on a wax paper-lined tray. Refrigerate again while you make the chocolate dip.
  3. Melt half of the remaining chocolate in a small microwavable bowl at 50% power for 1.5 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Using a fork, dip 1 truffle at a time into the melted chocolate. Tap the back of the fork 2 or 3 times against the edge of the dish to allow any excess chocolate to drip off. Place the truffles on a wax paper-lined tray.

    (If there are any "bald" spots on the truffle, cover it with the melted chocolate that remains on the fork).

  4. Coat only 12 truffles at a time. Sprinkle truffles with nutmeg. Repeat with the remaining chocolate and the remaining truffles.
  5. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until the chocolate is set. Store the truffles between layers of wax paper in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Sunday, December 1, 2024

No Joke Holiday Ham

Poultry gets all the attention at holiday meals, but pork has always had a place at the Christmas table. While ham is often served on Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, people have been eating pork products during wintertime long before Christianity. Germanic Pagans commonly served wild boar during Yuletide, while Norse Pagans sacrificed and feasted on wild boar during the Winter Solstice. Food historians believe that the holiday ham tradition is linked with cold weather months as pork could be easily carried and stored without refrigeration for long periods of time. As well, many cultures have associated pigs with abundance and good fortune, which is why a fat pig became a common gift on special occasions like births and weddings. For a ham that you would proud to serve to your friends and family as a main event or as an alternative, check out the recipe below

Ingredients

1 ham
125 mLmL maple syrup or honey
6 whole garlic cloves, peeled
6 bay leaves
3 whole dried hot peppers
3 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
coriander seeds to taste
fennel seeds to taste
olive oil
  1. Preheat oven to 190°C.
  2. Break the star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and hot peppers into large pieces. Set aside.
  3. place the ham In a roasting pan, . Sprinkle generously with maple syrup.
  4. Deposited on the meat the whole garlic cloves and other ingredients except oil and water. Pour oil over the filling.
  5. Add water to cover bottom of pan about 1 inch (2,5 cm).
  6. Roast in the oven 1h30-2h. Let stand a few minutes after cooking.

Saturday, November 30, 2024

The Need To Know Dish That Is: Risotto

If you've ever seen any of Gordon Ramsey's TV shows, a plate of risotto will eventually appear. Whether it's being served on one of the reality cooking shows he hosts or a dish served at one of the restaurants he critiques on his other reality shows, if you make a bad risotto, you will hear about it from Scotland's angriest celebrity chef. This is because when done right, risotto is a real crowd-pleaser. After rice was introduced to Italy in the 14th century, risotto became a popular northern Italian rice dish. Arborio rice, a short-grain rice named after the town of Arborio in Piedmont Italy, is traditionally used in risotto recipes, as it is high in amylopectin and low in amylose, two starches found in rice. This ratio gives the rice the ability to absorb liquid and release starch, which gives risotto its creamy consistency. The recipe below will allow you to see what the fuss is about risotto without having someone call you a donkey in the process.

Ingredients

500 g arborio rice
250 g white wine
250 g grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
60 g butter
1.5 to 2 L warm chicken broth
1 onion, finely chopped
  1. In a large saucepan, soften the onion in half the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat well. Add the white wine and reduce until almost dry.
  2. Add the chicken broth, about 250 mL at a time, stirring frequently until the liquid is completely absorbed before adding more broth. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 18 to 22 minutes or until the rice is al dente. Add more broth, as needed.
  3. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the cheese, the remaining butter, and the toppings of your choice (green peas, asparagus, shrimp, etc.). Stir until the texture is very creamy. Adjust the seasoning.
  4. Divide the risotto into bowls. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Sunday, October 20, 2024

Hot Turkey Sandwich By Way of Kentucky

Like most Canadians after the second Monday of October, you may still have turkey in your fridge from your Thanksgiving feast. If you're looking for a new way to use those leftovers, try putting them in the most famous sandwich to come out of the state of Kentucky.  The Kentucky Hot Brown was created in Louisville in 1926 at the Brown Hotel, and like most inventions, it came about out of necessity. Chef Fred Schmidt came up with this open-faced sandwich to serve hungry hotel guests who came for the dancing that occurred at the hotel every night. Now that Prohibition has ended, feel free to have a mint julep with this hearty meal as well.

Ingredients

400 g roasted turkey breast, sliced thick
230 g heavy cream
230 g whole milk
60 g whole butter
60 g all purpose flour
55 g Pecorino Romano cheese plus 15g for garnish
4 slices of Texas Toast, crust trimmed
4 slices of crispy bacon
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced in half
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
ground nutmeg
paprika
parsley
  1. Fry the bacon to your desired level of crispiness, and set it aside once done.
  2. In a saucepan, melt the butter and slowly whisk in the flour until everything is combined and forms a roux. Continue cooking the roux for two minutes over medium‑low heat, stirring frequently.
  3. Whisk in the heavy cream and milk into the roux and cook over medium heat for 2‑3 minutes until the cream simmers. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until the Mornay sauce is smooth. Add a pinch of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Arrange the bread in an oven-safe dish, then cover with the turkey and top with the sliced tomatoes. Pour and completely cover the dish with the Mornay sauce. Sprinkle everything with some more Pecorino Romano. Place the entire dish under your oven's broiler until the cheese browns and bubbles. 
  5. Remove from the oven, and either place or crumble the bacon over the sandwiches. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.

Friday, August 30, 2024

Bring Greekfest Home

Some go to Ottawa Greek Festival for the pageantry, some for the music, but most for the food. If you missed this year's event, don't fret - you can still have a lamb dish with the recipe* below. Lamb yiovetsi is often made to mark the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The Assumption, celebrated on the fifteenth of August (or the Sunday closest to that day), refers to the Virgin Mary being assumed — body and soul — into heaven at the end of her earthly life. As we slip into fall, this hearty meal would be good on any table, so crank up the Nana Mouskouri, and get to cooking. Opa!

Ingredients
1 shoulder of lamb, with most of the fat removed, and cut into serving-sized portions

600 g plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped or 400 g canned, chopped tomatoes
400 g orzo pasta, or spaghetti broken into small lengths
75 mL extra virgin olive oil
50 g Kefalotyri (a Greek hard, salty white cheese made from sheep milk or goat's milk), grated (Parmesan can be substituted)
5 g dried oregano
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt and black pepper
  1. Preheat your oven to 190°C. Place the lamb in a large roasting pan, and add the tomatoes, olive oil, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and stir in 300 mL of hot water.
  2. Put the roasting pan in the oven and bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes, basting and turning the meat twice.
  3. Take the lamb out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 180°C. Add 700 mL of hot water to the roasting pan and stir in the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well.
  4. Return the roasting pan to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the pasta feels soft, and the meat is fully cooked and tender. 
  5. Serve immediately with the grated cheese available to sprinkle on top. 
* Taken from "Greece" by Rena Salaman and Jan Cutler, Anness Publishing Ltd, 2012

Saturday, July 27, 2024

What’s in Season: Watermelon Pico de Gallo

You don't have to love fruits and vegetables to take advantage of the local farmer's market. Do it to support local businesses and farmers; do it if reducing your carbon footprint is a concern to you; or try a new recipe using produce you can be certain of its freshness and quality. The featured ingredient for this long overdue entry is watermelon. Watermelon has a three-month window of availability in this province, from July through September. Though technically classified as part of a botanical family of gourds that includes vegetables such as cucumber, squash, and pumpkin, watermelon has always been considered a fruit. 92 percent water, every part of a watermelon can be eaten, as the rinds can be stir-fried, stewed, or pickled, and the seeds can be dried and roasted like you would pumpkin seeds. The sweet red flesh makes a great substitute for tomatoes in the pico de gallo recipe below.

Ingredients

610 g watermelon, finely chopped
305 g cucumber, finely chopped
75 g red onion, finely chopped
40 g fresh cilantro, finely chopped
60 mL fresh lime juice
15 g honey
10 g lime zest, finely grated
2 g salt
1 jalapeƱo, seeded and diced
feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
  1. Toss watermelon with the cucumber, onion, cilantro and jalapeno.
  2. Whisk lime juice with the zest, honey and salt. Stir into the watermelon mixture.
  3. Chill for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips; for an additional burst of flavour, add the feta.

    Serves: 12

Thursday, July 18, 2024

My Two Cents on Chick-fil-A


In one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in recent memory, my hometown now has its very own Chick-fil-A restaurant. While my son and I have been looking forward to seeing if the hype about this place and its chicken products is worth it, my wife doesn't share our enthusiasm. After learning the company donated to anti-LGBTQ groups and what the company CEO said about same-sex marriage, my wife decided Chick-fil-A would never get any of her money. Many other people share this sentiment, and it will be interesting to see if this boycott will affect sales here. In Chick-fil-A's defense, the backlash and criticism they have received have caused them to stop giving money to some (but not all) of the controversial groups that people opposed. They have since pledged to donate to Black-led non-profits or those serving the Black community in the U.S.; to mark the opening of the new Ottawa restaurant, Chick-fil-A plans to donate $34,000 to a local non-profit organization through Second Harvest.  And for what it's worth, the claim that Chick-fil-A broke a promise to stop donating to anti-LGBTQ groups is just fake news that came out after the company pulled funding from the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes after Chick-fil-A decided to change the areas of focus for their charities. I feel I can support the LGBTQ community and Chick-fil-A the same way I go to non-unionized Starbucks while being in a union. Distance will be the deciding factor on whether or not I ever eat from Chick-fil-A. I remember the long waits at Popeyes when they came to town. I'm not driving an hour, waiting an hour, and driving another hour back for a fried chicken sandwich anytime soon. Eating at Chick-fil-A doesn't automatically make you a homophobe any more than liking Kanye makes you an anti-Semite. I can understand why others may feel differently. In the meantime, I'll make do with the FCS I've been making for the times I don't want to go out to eat. I'm sure Chick-fil-A will be a huge success with or without my participation.






Festive Holiday Baking

Are you a hybrid worker being forced to attend an office potluck?  Do you need a dessert for your child's Christmas bake sale?  Feel l...