Baking Snowballs

Whether you call them Mexican wedding cakes or Russian tea cakes, it's easy to see why these pastries are affectionately called snowballs. They're white, they're round, and like the frozen projectiles they resemble, they're very easy to make. As we enter the holiday season, you can be sure that a plate of these cookies will be a welcome addition to any Christmas potluck or office get-together. Just remember to follow public health guidelines to protect yourself and others.

Ingredients

560 g all-purpose flour
230 g butter
125 g chopped pecans
65 g confectioners' sugar
45 g confectioners' sugar for dusting, or as needed
(if you don't have any confectioners' sugar on hand, pulse 200 g of white sugar with 14 g cornstarch in a blender or food processor until it looks powdery)
35 g finely crushed peppermint candy canes (optional)
1.5 g teaspoon salt
5 mL vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C.
2. Blend the butter with 65 g of confectioners' sugar and the vanilla extract. Mix in the flour, pecans, and salt. Roll about a tablespoon or so of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and let the cookies bake for about 15 minutes or until they are golden. Do not allow them to get too brown - it's better to undercook them than to overcook them. 
4. While the cookies are still hot, roll them in the remaining powdered sugar. Once they have cooled, give them another roll in the sugar. For some extra Christmas cheer, add the candy cane dust to the sugar used for the final dusting.
5. 
   

Working My Way Through The Works: Hamburger Mary

A popular gimmick for food blogs is to eat and review every item on a restaurant's menu. This blog is no exception. These are the observations I've had while eating my way through the burger menu of The Works, a Canadian burger restaurant with locations across Ottawa and Ontario.

The WORKS (900 Watters Road)
Burger Description:"Real mayo, egg, tomato, cheddar cheese & bacon"
($12.09 + tax)

October 30, 2021

Whether it's from a quail, a duck, or a chicken, if you want to fancy up a dish, you put an egg on it. Why? People on cooking shows always rave about how it adds a nice creaminess to whatever food it's placed on, and it looks so pretty seeing the bright yellow yolk burst out of the fluffy whiteness surrounding it. Still, seeing it on a hamburger is still odd to me, so on my long-overdue return to the Works, I decided to go with the Hamburger Mary.  This was the first time my wife and I have been to a restaurant together since the province lifted the COVID-19 pandemic capacity limits. It didn't take long before we were seated after we were screened for proof of vaccination, a process that wasn't as time-consuming or invasive as the anti-vaccine crowd would have you believe. Biting into my hamburger when it arrived was a bit of a surprise for me as I was expecting my first bite to end with egg yolk dribbling into my beard. But the fried egg on my patty was more like biting into the egg of a breakfast sandwich from a fast-food place, rubbery and firm. I don't usually put mayo on my hamburgers, so I couldn't tell if the healthy dollop of mayonnaise on my bun was homemade or from a jar. Everything else about the burger was fine - the patty was cooked, the Cheddar cheese and bacon added flavour, and the tomato slice added freshness to every bite. As always, I went with the onion rings with Beechhouse sauce as my side. Overall, it was a decent cheeseburger, but putting an egg on it didn't elevate it as much as you would expect it to. I now get why chefs use cooking eggs to test a new employee's cooking technique - if you can't get the timing and temperature for a fried egg right, don't bother adding it to a hamburger.

2.5 out of 5 stars 

Everyday Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce only gets its time to shine twice a year. It makes an appearance at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, usually still in the shape of the can it came out of. Fans of this seasonal condiment shouldn't limit themselves to those two days, especially when cranberries are available year-round in either fresh or frozen forms. With the recipe below, it is possible to enjoy its tart sweetness anytime you're in the mood for poultry or ham. 

Ingredients

475 mL reduced-sodium chicken broth
100 g cranberries
115 g onion, finely chopped
60 g sugar
15 g butter
5.5 g cornstarch mixed with 15 mL water
2.5 g dried sage
2.5 g dried thyme

1. In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, and let them cook for about 8 minutes, until they turn golden, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the dried sage and thyme and cook for a minute. Pour in the chicken broth and let it simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until it has reduced to about 355 mL. Strain the mixture then pour the liquid back into the saucepan.
3. Put the cranberries and the sugar in the liquid, and boil for about 5 to 8 minutes until the berries burst. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture then let it come to a boil again. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the sauce thicken as it stands. Season with salt and pepper and serve on the meat of your choice.

Note: This recipe was taken from "Everyday Food Great Food Fast" by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.

Political Eats - Liberal Edition

You may be aware that there is a federal election happening in Canada this month. This is because Justin Trudeau, the current prime minister, and leader of the Liberal party, wants to regain the majority government he lost two years ago. Despite repeated calls that his politics and policies are not what Canada needs or wants, the Opposition seemed reluctant to have the chance to remove him from power- luckily, the election still went ahead as scheduled. However you feel about Trudeau, it shouldn't keep you from trying this recipe for a breakfast staple that he allegedly makes for his family. If I were running for public office, I wouldn't want to associate my name with the word "waffle", but with two election wins under his belt, I guess he knows what he's doing.

Elections have consequences - have your voice heard on September 20th.

Ingredients: Oh Boy Waffles

788 mL milk
120 mL vegetable oil or melted butter
3 eggs, beaten
420 g flour
28 g sugar
25 g baking powder
4 g salt

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the dry ingredients together in a different bowl.
3. Combine the contents of the two bowls into one and mix until blended. Ladle the batter into the waffle iron, and cook the waffles until they're golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

Political Eats - CPC Edition

You may be aware that there is a federal election happening in Canada this month. If you have been following election coverage, you may be surprised to learn that CPC leader Erin O'Toole is surging in the polls, despite not really connecting with either the public or with members of the Conservative Party of Canada. Posting recipes isn't a part of the Conservative social media plan, so as part of my efforts to be fair and balanced, I was forced to use a recipe from O'Toole's former boss; given how many True Blue Tories would like Stephen Harper to return to the fold, I think it's a good substitute. This was the recipe the former prime minister shared near the end of the 2015 campaign. As it was Harper's last campaign, we can assume party faithful hope history doesn't repeat itself again this time around.

Elections have consequences - have your voice heard on September 20th.

Ingredients: Sour cream and onion mashed potatoes

12 potatoes (adjust as needed based on the size of the group — it’s about 1 potato per person)
1 package Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 small tub sour cream
chives, chopped (to taste)
milk — just enough to whip

1. Boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, but still firm. 
2. Mash the potatoes then mix the remaining ingredients together with them until everything is well blended.
   
   This dish can be prepared 1-2 days beforehand.

Political Eats - NDP Edition

You may be aware that there is a federal election happening in Canada this month. You may have even heard about the misfortune that happened to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's food truck on his way to a photoshoot before the French-language debate.  What you may not have known is how popular Singh's take on poutine really is. Singh introduced this recipe to Canadian votes during the 2019 election, as the perfect combination of his ethnic background and the Quebec delicacy as a way to improve his party's vote tally in la belle province. It didn't work, but the recipe did win over enough supporters that he brought it back again for this political go-around.  In case the NDP's food truck doesn't make it to your riding in time for the election, I posted a recipe for it below. 

Elections have consequences - have your voice heard on September 20th.

Ingredients: Punjabi Poutine

two to three mid-sized sweet potatoes
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes or 794 g fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 bag of cheese curds
mild vegetable oil and/or ghee
garlic
ginger
cardamom pods
ground cumin
ground coriander
ground tumeric
cayenne
garam masala
salt
onion

1. Preheat the oven to 176°C. Cut the sweet potatoes into evenly sized pieces. Cover them with some of the vegetable oil and/or ghee, then spread them out on a baking sheet. When the oven is ready, place the baking sheet in the oven until the sweet potatoes are cooked but not squishy.
2. Dice the onion, garlic, and ginger as finely as you can. Heat some of the vegetable oil and/or ghee in a frying pan with high sides. Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger in the pan until the onion is translucent. Season with salt, add the spices, and sauté everything some more.
• You will notice that there are no measurements for this recipe, as Singh's approach to seasoning food is to add until he hears his ancestors say that's enough. You will have to use your best judgment on how much is too much.
3. Add the tomatoes and turn the heat down a bit. Let the tomatoes simmer until they have a sauce-like consistency. When the tomato gravy is close to ready, add the sweet potatoes and let them get used to their new home. A minute or two before serving, add the cheese curds.

Woo-hoo! Easy Crème Brulée

The first time I had crème brulée was at my wife's suggestion at the end of a date night meal. I've never been much of a dessert guy, but it's hard not to love the taste of sweet luxurious custard under a layer of caramelized sugar that you have to crack with a spoon to access. When I came across this version of the decadent dessert, I knew I had to try the recipe; when I came across the butane torch you see to the right of this paragraph, I knew I had to try the recipe as soon as possible. Sure, you can get yourself a more professional-looking kitchen torch (it's definitely more powerful than what you can find among the other lighters at the convenience store), but I think Homer would appreciate a simpler way to make a tasty treat.

Ingredients

125 g vanilla ice cream (a great substitute for the cream, milk, sugar, and thickener that is custard)
2 egg yolks
8 -12 g granulated sugar         

1. Preheat oven to 163°C. Melt the vanilla ice cream in a microwave-safe bowl for one minute, then whisk, and let it cool. Whisk in the egg yolks, and pour the mixture into ramekins.
2. Place the ramekins into a cake pan, then pour hot water into the pan, letting the water fill about halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the middle is still jiggly and almost set. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
3. Spoon the sugar onto each crème brûlée, turning each ramekin to distribute the sugar in an even layer. Use either a kitchen torch or place the crème brûlées under the broiler for about three minutes to brown the sugar, checking to make sure the sugar doesn't burn. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes, then serve.