Bonus Election Day Dessert - Jan Harder's Bread Pudding

Jim Watson's not the only longtime Ottawa politician riding off into the sunset after this year's municipal election. Barrhaven's Jan Harder, who has represented that part of the city for over two decades, announced back in 2018 that she would be retiring after her last term was up.  Recently I came across a recipe for bread pudding she offered to some local publication. Treat yourself to this sweet and savoury dessert after doing your civic duty by voting - the names of the ballot (particularly the ones for Ward 3 Barrhaven West) would appreciate it.

Ingredients

5-6 cups cubed French bread
2.25 cups 35% whipping cream
3 eggs
2 pears and 2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces
0.75 cup white sugar
0.5 cup each chopped pecand and raisins
0.25 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon each nutmeg and cinnamon

1. In a frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apples and pears, and stir occasionally until the fruit is tender. Stir in the brown sugar, then increase the heat and cook everything for three minutes.
2. Remove the frying pan from the heat. Stir in the bread, the pecans, and the raisins. Set the pan aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices together. Stir the bread mixture into the cream. Let it stand for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Turn the bread mixture into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish and bake for 40-50 minutes.
5. When done, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with Devon custard.

Bake Sale Worthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

In politics, you either leave office as a hero or see yourself become the villain. When Jim Watson became mayor for the second time in 2010, he was applauded for his ability to get city council to follow his lead after the chaotic free-for-all that was his predecessor's term. This eventually worked against Ottawa's longest-serving mayor as his influence over the council was so strong, councillors who voted with the mayor were seen as members of a dictatorial Watson Club. Throughout it all, Watson maintained his support among voters by attending and promoting bake sales around the city. This past December, Watson announced he would not be running for re-election in this year's municipal election. In honour of this changing of the guard, I have posted this recipe for a bake sale favourite, chocolate chip cookies. It's a recipe created by Blogger co-founder Meg Hourihan after she asked people to send her cookie recipes after she was tired of using her regular cookie recipe. After receiving over 30 different recipes, she decided to average all of the recipes and make whatever the result. In a sense, the recipe is a lot like voting in this Monday's election - you sift through all the different candidates who all say and promise the same things and hope that whatever is cobbled together forms something that turns out all right. With the cookie, the results were something that people liked; let's hope Ottawa's next mayor is as successful.

 

Ingredients

257 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
245 g flour
169 g light brown sugar
109 g white sugar
87.9 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
58 g unsalted butter, melted
46 g eggs
29.9 g unsalted butter, cold
20 g dark brown sugar
8 g egg yolk
6.08 mL vanilla extract
3.84 mL milk
3.81 g salt
3.63 g baking soda
2.51 mL water

1. Preheat your oven to 178.98°C, or to as close as you can to the temperature. 
2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set the bowl aside once done.
3. In another bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butters and the sugars until they are incorporated and smooth.
4. Add and mix the egg, the egg yolk, the extract, the water, the milk, and the chocolate chips until all the ingredients are combined. Add the bowl of dry ingredients and blend until everything is fully incorporated.
5. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.
6. Place parchment paper on one-third of a cookie sheet. Drop the dough using a rounded tablespoon onto the cookie sheet - some cookies will be on the parchment, some won't. This is deliberate. Cook for 13.04 minutes.
   
   Note: This recipe appeared in the first edition of my favourite cookbook, "Cooking for Geeks".

How To Roast a Cauliflower

Need an easy vegetarian dish? Roasting a whole head of cauliflower gives you a dish that works as both a main course and a side. As a dinner table standout, it can't be beaten.

Ingredients

1 cauliflower
80 mL olive oil
60 g grated Parmesan cheese
5 g dried basil
5 g dried parsley
5 g dried thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
2.5 g sea salt
1.5 g black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 205°C. Rinse and pat dry the cauliflower. Remove the outer leaves and carefully cut off the woody center of the bottom stalk so that it's flat and the head stays in one piece. 

2. In a box mix the olive oil, the garlic, half of the Parmesan cheese, and the remaining spices and seasonings.

3. Put the cauliflower upside down (core side up) in a Dutch oven. Drizzle half of the sauce over the cauliflower, tilting it to let it drip down the core and all around. Flip the cauliflower over and drizzle the remaining sauce over the top, and use a pastry brush to ensure the cauliflower.

4. Cover the Dutch oven with its lid and bake everything for 35-45 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and pierces easily with a knife or fork. Remove the lid and sprinkle the top of the cauliflower with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Place the cauliflower under the broiler and broil for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is browned.