...But I didn't make it to round 2 of the Canadian Blog Awards.
Oh well! Maybe next year!
Thanks to everyone who took the time to go and vote, though - I do appreciate it!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Cooking with Kylie: Stir-Fried Asparagus with Baby Corn
I haven't made anything with Kylie's book Simple Chinese Cooking in a little while, but I am back on the bandwagon! This time, I made a simple stir-fried side dish that was really quick and delicious. Now, obviously, asparagus is not in season here in my little corner of the world, but I have to say that the LOGS has been carrying asparagus from Peru that has been a very decent price, like $2.99/lb, and it has been very tempting. So, I caved. And actually, the asparagus was very good. I always have mini corn cobs on hand for stir fries and snacking - I love these things!
I made half a recipe and had enough for two meals, but I made the regular amount of sauce because I didn't want to deal with the 1/3 cup of chicken stock the original recipe calls for. I never have small amounts of stock around like that, and I have no intention of starting to keep ice cube trays of stock in my freezer because I simply don't have the space or the inclination. The sauce was yummy, so I have no regrets! I also skipped the green onions.
Stir-fried Asparagus with Baby Corn (page 205 of Simple Chinese Cooking), adapted by yours truly
1 bunch asparagus
1 tbsp safflower oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 can baby corn, drained and sliced in half lengthwise
2 tbsp sake
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp malt vinegar
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
Wash & trim asparagus, discarding woody ends.
Heat oil in wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Add asparagus and corn and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add sauce ingredients and stir fry for a about three minutes, or until asparagus is bright green and tender-crisp. Serve immediately.
Awesome! I really enjoyed this, and plan to make another version of it tonight, incorporating chicken into it as well as some water chestnuts. I loved the sauce, too; it's light, like a vinaigrette, almost. Another fabulicious Kylie recipe!
I made half a recipe and had enough for two meals, but I made the regular amount of sauce because I didn't want to deal with the 1/3 cup of chicken stock the original recipe calls for. I never have small amounts of stock around like that, and I have no intention of starting to keep ice cube trays of stock in my freezer because I simply don't have the space or the inclination. The sauce was yummy, so I have no regrets! I also skipped the green onions.
Stir-fried Asparagus with Baby Corn (page 205 of Simple Chinese Cooking), adapted by yours truly1 bunch asparagus
1 tbsp safflower oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 can baby corn, drained and sliced in half lengthwise
2 tbsp sake
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp malt vinegar
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
Wash & trim asparagus, discarding woody ends.
Heat oil in wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Add asparagus and corn and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add sauce ingredients and stir fry for a about three minutes, or until asparagus is bright green and tender-crisp. Serve immediately.
Awesome! I really enjoyed this, and plan to make another version of it tonight, incorporating chicken into it as well as some water chestnuts. I loved the sauce, too; it's light, like a vinaigrette, almost. Another fabulicious Kylie recipe!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Mailing Baking
I officially finished my Christmas baking yesterday, and the official count this year was 33.3 dozen cookies, squares and mini tarts. Someone asked me the other day what I do with this all, and the answer is that I mail some of it away. I also take it to various seasonal functions and use it for dessert contributions at holiday dinners, but giving baking away is one thing I like to do and it is one thing that is also affordable for me to give as gifts.
You can mail cookies! I have been doing this for a few years now, and I have never had anyone say to me that they received their baking in crumb form. This is a run down of what I do, or have learned to do from experience, and what I suggest you do if you want to mail baking to people for Christmas or any other special occasion.
First of all, you will need bubble wrap - and a lot of it. Also, tissue paper is great. Also, packing tape.
I recommend mailing cookies/squares/mini tarts in cookie/candy tins as opposed to boxes because the tins are much sturdier and there is way less risk of things getting bashed around and dented in transit.
The key to parceling up baking is to make very sure that there is no room in the tin itself for cookies to bang against each other and turn to crumbs. It's all about filling gaps so there is nowhere for anything to move.
Step One: line the bottom of your cookie tin with bubble wrap.
Step Two: wrap like cookies in plastic wrap in packages of two or three, maybe four, depending on the size of your tin. Make the little packages tall enough to come just under the top of the tin. The purpose of packaging the cookies this way is to A) keep them tightly packed together to minimize movement within the tin, B) to maintain freshness and C) to keep flavours from mingling.
You'll get something like this (no, Karen, this is not your tin!):
And this:
Step Three: start filling the little holes up. I find small candies like the Hershey's Kisses and similarly-sized stuff to be great for filling up the odd spaces between cookies that are inevitable. They also make the contents of the tin look pretty and add a bit of variety. But their main function is to fill space so nothing can move around. If you don't want to go the candy route, you can fill the spaces up with tissue paper or paper towel or something like that.
Step Four: pad the top. I use tissue paper for this, but you could also use more bubble wrap. This is why you need a little space between the top of the cookies and the top of the tin - you need padding! You'll get something like this:
Step Five: bubble wrap the whole shabang! Call me paranoid, but I do not have 100% faith in 100% of the postal workers out there (no offense, postal workers who read this), so I feel the need for more padding. 
Step Six: Wrap in whatever you're going to wrap this sucker in. Or, put it in a box - with more padding. At this point, it's all about the padding! Address the parcel, etc.
Step Seven: Slap a FRAGILE sticker on that bad boy. Actually, I slap two on - one on the front and one on the back. Again, call me paranoid. But really, you need to do this to give your parcel of precious cookies the best chance it can get at being treated gently, as it so deserves. Make sure, if mailing to another country, you leave space somewhere for the customs thingy.
Step Eight: If you have an odd-shaped tin, i.e. something not square (for instance, I had two round tins and an octagonal one), and you are wrapping the tin in this brown paper or something similar, like I am, tape the crap out of this baby. It needs to be compact so that when the postal people go to measure, it's as small as possible. Also, you don't want any edges that can snag or tear.
There you go! No, I do not mail anything priority or express or whatever. No, I haven't mailed anything overseas because A) it takes too long and will compromise freshness and B) call me paranoid, but entrusting my cookies to the universe at this level is just very uncomfortable for me. No, I would not mail cakes, loaves, muffins, or anything soft or that can crumble or break easily, or that will go dry/stale quickly.
You can mail cookies! I have been doing this for a few years now, and I have never had anyone say to me that they received their baking in crumb form. This is a run down of what I do, or have learned to do from experience, and what I suggest you do if you want to mail baking to people for Christmas or any other special occasion.
First of all, you will need bubble wrap - and a lot of it. Also, tissue paper is great. Also, packing tape.
I recommend mailing cookies/squares/mini tarts in cookie/candy tins as opposed to boxes because the tins are much sturdier and there is way less risk of things getting bashed around and dented in transit.
The key to parceling up baking is to make very sure that there is no room in the tin itself for cookies to bang against each other and turn to crumbs. It's all about filling gaps so there is nowhere for anything to move.
Step One: line the bottom of your cookie tin with bubble wrap.
Step Two: wrap like cookies in plastic wrap in packages of two or three, maybe four, depending on the size of your tin. Make the little packages tall enough to come just under the top of the tin. The purpose of packaging the cookies this way is to A) keep them tightly packed together to minimize movement within the tin, B) to maintain freshness and C) to keep flavours from mingling.
You'll get something like this (no, Karen, this is not your tin!):
And this:
Step Three: start filling the little holes up. I find small candies like the Hershey's Kisses and similarly-sized stuff to be great for filling up the odd spaces between cookies that are inevitable. They also make the contents of the tin look pretty and add a bit of variety. But their main function is to fill space so nothing can move around. If you don't want to go the candy route, you can fill the spaces up with tissue paper or paper towel or something like that.Step Four: pad the top. I use tissue paper for this, but you could also use more bubble wrap. This is why you need a little space between the top of the cookies and the top of the tin - you need padding! You'll get something like this:
Step Five: bubble wrap the whole shabang! Call me paranoid, but I do not have 100% faith in 100% of the postal workers out there (no offense, postal workers who read this), so I feel the need for more padding. 
Step Six: Wrap in whatever you're going to wrap this sucker in. Or, put it in a box - with more padding. At this point, it's all about the padding! Address the parcel, etc.Step Seven: Slap a FRAGILE sticker on that bad boy. Actually, I slap two on - one on the front and one on the back. Again, call me paranoid. But really, you need to do this to give your parcel of precious cookies the best chance it can get at being treated gently, as it so deserves. Make sure, if mailing to another country, you leave space somewhere for the customs thingy.
Step Eight: If you have an odd-shaped tin, i.e. something not square (for instance, I had two round tins and an octagonal one), and you are wrapping the tin in this brown paper or something similar, like I am, tape the crap out of this baby. It needs to be compact so that when the postal people go to measure, it's as small as possible. Also, you don't want any edges that can snag or tear.
There you go! No, I do not mail anything priority or express or whatever. No, I haven't mailed anything overseas because A) it takes too long and will compromise freshness and B) call me paranoid, but entrusting my cookies to the universe at this level is just very uncomfortable for me. No, I would not mail cakes, loaves, muffins, or anything soft or that can crumble or break easily, or that will go dry/stale quickly.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Catering Capers
My SIL and her mom, C, have a catering business they do in addition to their day jobs. They are very popular, I can tell you, and I have eaten quite a bit of their excellent food! Last Friday, C was away in some exotic locale celebrating her birthday and Shan had an Xmas party to cater at a private home for 40 people, and she asked me to help her.
This was a big deal for me. It was going to be a very long day and an early morning for me, and I haven't had an early morning or a long day on my feet for 3.5 years, when I came down with my latest bout of MDD. My shifts at the place I bake for now are late in the morning and are very short, which is what I need because A) I always have a medication hangover in the morning that takes about 2 hours to overcome, and B) I have big issues with focus and concentration that make sticking to a task for long periods of time difficult for me. Also, I have a lot of problems maintaining physical energy for sustained periods of time. But, because I have been feeling so well these past few months, I really felt it was time to start taking on more challenges, and this catering gig with Shan was right up my alley. I was so pleased that she'd asked me to help her out!
The menu for the party consisted of appetizers and some sweets. Here is the list:
Shan had done a lot of the prep the day before, but there was still a lot of work to be done. She picked me up at 8am on the dot and we drove to her mom's place in Castlegar to do all the other stuff.
Here are some pictures! There aren't tons because we were very busy and also it isn't, obviously, professional to be clicking away with your camera while you're at someone's house catering their party!
Stuffing the mushroom caps. The filling was delicious!
Tomato tarts. Yes, those are olives.
Baked Brie & candied pecans on crostini. These were fabulicious!
And these were the cupcakes! Shan made them the day before, and I did the icing and the piping, and then Shan cut up fruit to garnish the platter. These were amazing!
Full Flickr set here.
The day went very well for me. My back was very sore by early afternoon, and I did get pretty tired, too. But I took a break at about 2:30 and had something to eat, and then after that I seemed to get a second wind.
At the house - which had a gorgeous kitchen that was a pleasure to work in! - there was a lot to do, too, but it went smoothly. I did have to stand outside in the -5C weather BBQing the beef satays and the chicken skewers, but I did get to do this grilling on the host's rather lovely Weber grill, so I wasn't going to complain too much!
It was a great day! I was sore and exhausted at the end of it, but I was so pleased and proud that I had such a successful time. It was fun, too! I hope Shan asks me again sometime!
This was a big deal for me. It was going to be a very long day and an early morning for me, and I haven't had an early morning or a long day on my feet for 3.5 years, when I came down with my latest bout of MDD. My shifts at the place I bake for now are late in the morning and are very short, which is what I need because A) I always have a medication hangover in the morning that takes about 2 hours to overcome, and B) I have big issues with focus and concentration that make sticking to a task for long periods of time difficult for me. Also, I have a lot of problems maintaining physical energy for sustained periods of time. But, because I have been feeling so well these past few months, I really felt it was time to start taking on more challenges, and this catering gig with Shan was right up my alley. I was so pleased that she'd asked me to help her out!
The menu for the party consisted of appetizers and some sweets. Here is the list:
- veggies & dip
- tomato tart with a cornmeal crust
- bruschetta and crostini
- crab-stuffed mushroom caps
- beef satays with peanut dipping sauce
- yogurt marinated chicken skewers
- baked brie & candied pecans on crostini
- sushi: California rolls, smoked salmon rolls, and veggie
- chocolate cupcakes
Shan had done a lot of the prep the day before, but there was still a lot of work to be done. She picked me up at 8am on the dot and we drove to her mom's place in Castlegar to do all the other stuff.
Here are some pictures! There aren't tons because we were very busy and also it isn't, obviously, professional to be clicking away with your camera while you're at someone's house catering their party!
Here is the veggie tray I put together. We made a lemon & dill dip to go with them.
Stuffing the mushroom caps. The filling was delicious!
Tomato tarts. Yes, those are olives.
Baked Brie & candied pecans on crostini. These were fabulicious!
And these were the cupcakes! Shan made them the day before, and I did the icing and the piping, and then Shan cut up fruit to garnish the platter. These were amazing!
Full Flickr set here.The day went very well for me. My back was very sore by early afternoon, and I did get pretty tired, too. But I took a break at about 2:30 and had something to eat, and then after that I seemed to get a second wind.
At the house - which had a gorgeous kitchen that was a pleasure to work in! - there was a lot to do, too, but it went smoothly. I did have to stand outside in the -5C weather BBQing the beef satays and the chicken skewers, but I did get to do this grilling on the host's rather lovely Weber grill, so I wasn't going to complain too much!
It was a great day! I was sore and exhausted at the end of it, but I was so pleased and proud that I had such a successful time. It was fun, too! I hope Shan asks me again sometime!
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Chocolate M&M Cookies
Just to let you all know, I was away all weekend and came home to over 400 unread items in my Google reader, and due to time & energy constraints, I have deleted them all. So, if I'm not up to date on all your blogs or haven't left any comments in the last few days, that's why!
All righty! Recently, there was a customer appreciation day at the coffee shop I bake for and I was asked to make some special cookies. My boss suggested something with M&Ms, so I came up with a riff on this cookie recipe we use all the time at work. Accidentally, when purchasing the M&Ms, the person who does the grocery shopping picked up peanut M&Ms, but those are my favourite so I thought they made the cookies extra special!
Chocolate M&M Cookies
1 lb butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups white sugar
4 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 bags M&Ms (I can't remember what size they were...The ones you get in the candy aisle)
Cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Melt the chocolate carefully in the microwave, and beat it into the butter/egg/sugar mixture. Fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the M&Ms. Bake at 350F for 12 - 15 minutes. DON'T OVERBAKE!
Apparently, they were a hit!
All righty! Recently, there was a customer appreciation day at the coffee shop I bake for and I was asked to make some special cookies. My boss suggested something with M&Ms, so I came up with a riff on this cookie recipe we use all the time at work. Accidentally, when purchasing the M&Ms, the person who does the grocery shopping picked up peanut M&Ms, but those are my favourite so I thought they made the cookies extra special!
Chocolate M&M Cookies1 lb butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups white sugar
4 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 bags M&Ms (I can't remember what size they were...The ones you get in the candy aisle)
Cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Melt the chocolate carefully in the microwave, and beat it into the butter/egg/sugar mixture. Fold in the dry ingredients. Fold in the M&Ms. Bake at 350F for 12 - 15 minutes. DON'T OVERBAKE!
Apparently, they were a hit!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Lunch at Jackson's Hole
Yet another shopping trip to Nelson last week meant yet another lunch out with Dad. This time, Dad wanted to go somewhere completely off my radar, though he had eaten there before...Years ago. He had had a great experience at Jackson's Hole with a friend way back in the mists of time (a few years ago, but other than that he couldn't specify how long it had been) and wanted to try it out again. Well, who am I to argue? Though I hadn't heard anything about it myself, I did silently acknowledge that things do change in the restaurant business from time to time, so hopefully the place was still good.
It was crap! Crap, I tell you!
The bar & grill type restaurant, located at 524 Vernon St., is located in a funky old building constructed in 1899 or thereabouts, and the interior is very cool indeed. The menu was decent, consisting of the usual lunch suspects you tend to find in a bar/grill. I had a hard time choosing, actually, but went with the BBQ Club House sandwich with fries, and my dad went with the Cajun Chicken Fajitas.
My sandwich was great - very tasty, nice bread, tangy BBQ sauce, but there was something wrong with the fries. They had a...flavour...It took me a few bites to recognize what I was tasting, only to realize it was staleness with a hint of freezer. I couldn't believe this. This place had to have a high turnover so there shouldn't be any stale fries on hand, but that was definitely what this odd flavour was. Ugh!
My dad's fajitas had several problems from my perspective, though he said the flavour was fine. For one thing, they arrived terribly presented in three different parts: the filling, a small ramekin with uninteresting and punily portioned toppings & little containers of salsa & sour cream, and then a third thingy containing the tortillas. It took up a lot of space and I have seen much more well-organized presentations of fajitas at other places. 
The ramekin with the toppings, as I mentioned was small and there were two problems with it. For one thing, it contained a whole bunch of olives. Now, this wouldn't ordinarily be a problem for me, but my dad detests olives, so he was trying to pawn them off on me. But when I dug in, the olives were obviously canned AND they were dried out and wrinkly - as if they'd been sitting out uncovered for a long time. They were disgusting. The second issue with the toppings was that there was no lettuce, but rather a spring mix situated underneath all the other toppings. Not practical at all. As for the filling, Dad said it tasted "all right" but it looked not very fresh and very unappealing.
So, if you're ever in Nelson, BC, give this place a miss. We won't be going back. Luckily, this is the first really bad meal Dad and I have had on our trips to Nelson, so we're doing pretty well, I think!
It was crap! Crap, I tell you!
The bar & grill type restaurant, located at 524 Vernon St., is located in a funky old building constructed in 1899 or thereabouts, and the interior is very cool indeed. The menu was decent, consisting of the usual lunch suspects you tend to find in a bar/grill. I had a hard time choosing, actually, but went with the BBQ Club House sandwich with fries, and my dad went with the Cajun Chicken Fajitas.
My sandwich was great - very tasty, nice bread, tangy BBQ sauce, but there was something wrong with the fries. They had a...flavour...It took me a few bites to recognize what I was tasting, only to realize it was staleness with a hint of freezer. I couldn't believe this. This place had to have a high turnover so there shouldn't be any stale fries on hand, but that was definitely what this odd flavour was. Ugh!
My dad's fajitas had several problems from my perspective, though he said the flavour was fine. For one thing, they arrived terribly presented in three different parts: the filling, a small ramekin with uninteresting and punily portioned toppings & little containers of salsa & sour cream, and then a third thingy containing the tortillas. It took up a lot of space and I have seen much more well-organized presentations of fajitas at other places. 
The ramekin with the toppings, as I mentioned was small and there were two problems with it. For one thing, it contained a whole bunch of olives. Now, this wouldn't ordinarily be a problem for me, but my dad detests olives, so he was trying to pawn them off on me. But when I dug in, the olives were obviously canned AND they were dried out and wrinkly - as if they'd been sitting out uncovered for a long time. They were disgusting. The second issue with the toppings was that there was no lettuce, but rather a spring mix situated underneath all the other toppings. Not practical at all. As for the filling, Dad said it tasted "all right" but it looked not very fresh and very unappealing.So, if you're ever in Nelson, BC, give this place a miss. We won't be going back. Luckily, this is the first really bad meal Dad and I have had on our trips to Nelson, so we're doing pretty well, I think!
Monday, December 07, 2009
101 Uses for a Roast Chicken #23: Cream of Chicken & Caramelized Onion Soup
I don't know exactly what inspired this recipe, although I'd been seeing some great chicken soup recipes on other blogs, and I for some reason this combination came to me. For the stock, I used, of course, one of my many chicken carcasses. It's a really simple soup to put together.
Cream of Chicken & Caramelized Onion Soup
2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup chicken from a roasted chicken
1 cup half & half (10%) cream
2 tsp flour
1/2 tsp ground sage
4 onions, thinly sliced & caramelized (for easy directions, see this post)
salt & pepper to taste
Bring the stock to a boil & add the chicken & sage. Whisk together the flour and cream & add to the soup. Add the onions & season. Simmer until thickened. Serve.
This was...okay...I'm not sure how I feel about it now. I ate it all, for sure, but I'm not sure I'd make this again. It was kind of a strange combination. It definitely tasted better the next day when the flavours had a chance to mellow a bit. I don't know. I wasn't super stoked on it. What do you think of the idea?
Cream of Chicken & Caramelized Onion Soup2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup chicken from a roasted chicken
1 cup half & half (10%) cream
2 tsp flour
1/2 tsp ground sage
4 onions, thinly sliced & caramelized (for easy directions, see this post)
salt & pepper to taste
Bring the stock to a boil & add the chicken & sage. Whisk together the flour and cream & add to the soup. Add the onions & season. Simmer until thickened. Serve.
This was...okay...I'm not sure how I feel about it now. I ate it all, for sure, but I'm not sure I'd make this again. It was kind of a strange combination. It definitely tasted better the next day when the flavours had a chance to mellow a bit. I don't know. I wasn't super stoked on it. What do you think of the idea?
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Texas Brownies
I made these at work last week for the residents' dessert. It's a really easy, really delicious recipe that makes quite a large batch. The recipe calls for a 17.5x11" jelly roll pan, but at work, I use a pan that holds about twice the amount a 9x13" pan does. This time, there were leftovers, so I actually got to try one of my own desserts for once! These were moist & lovely, and the icing was, although very sweet, had a nice texture.
Texas Brownies
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 unsifted icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour & sugar.
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, coffee, and cocoa. Stir & bring to boil.
3. Pour boiling mixture over the flour & sugar in the bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.
4. Mix well and pour into a well-greased 17.5x11" jelly roll pan. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until done in centre.
5. Meanwhile, as the brownies bake, make the frosting. In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring. Mix in the powdered sugar & vanilla until very smooth.
6. Pour warm frosting over brownies as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool. Makes 48 bars.
Texas Brownies2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 unsifted icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour & sugar.
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, coffee, and cocoa. Stir & bring to boil.
3. Pour boiling mixture over the flour & sugar in the bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.
4. Mix well and pour into a well-greased 17.5x11" jelly roll pan. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, or until done in centre.
5. Meanwhile, as the brownies bake, make the frosting. In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring. Mix in the powdered sugar & vanilla until very smooth.
6. Pour warm frosting over brownies as soon as they come out of the oven. Cool. Makes 48 bars.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Friday, December 04, 2009
Magazine Monday #57: Two-Tone Chocolate Shortbread
I know it's not Monday, but I am going to be away on the weekend, so I want to get this MM submission published before that.
OK, this isn't technically a magazine recipe, but it did come from a magazine. I've made these shortbread squares many times and I got the recipe way back in 1998 from the Bake Fest insert that comes in the December issue of Canadian Living. I always used to look forward to the Christmas issue of CL just because of this insert, but in recent years I think it's gone down quite a bit. The recipes aren't as interesting and it's more about advertising than it used to be.
But these shortbread squares are excellent and very, very simple! I encourage you to try them. I doubled the recipe this year so I got a huge whack!
Two-Tone Chocolate Shortbread
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 squares (2 oz) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer, beat butter & sugar until fluffy. Sift in flour & cornstarch and beat into butter mixture until just combined.
2. In a parchment lined or well-greased 9" square pan, drop 1/2 the dough in small portions, scattering randomly. Combine chocolate with remaining dough. Drop chocolate dough between the non-chocolate dough in the pan. Press to flatten.
3. Bake @ 3o0F for about 25 minutes or until firm to the touch in the centre. Let cool & slice into squares or bars.
OK, this isn't technically a magazine recipe, but it did come from a magazine. I've made these shortbread squares many times and I got the recipe way back in 1998 from the Bake Fest insert that comes in the December issue of Canadian Living. I always used to look forward to the Christmas issue of CL just because of this insert, but in recent years I think it's gone down quite a bit. The recipes aren't as interesting and it's more about advertising than it used to be.
But these shortbread squares are excellent and very, very simple! I encourage you to try them. I doubled the recipe this year so I got a huge whack!
Two-Tone Chocolate Shortbread1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 squares (2 oz) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer, beat butter & sugar until fluffy. Sift in flour & cornstarch and beat into butter mixture until just combined.
2. In a parchment lined or well-greased 9" square pan, drop 1/2 the dough in small portions, scattering randomly. Combine chocolate with remaining dough. Drop chocolate dough between the non-chocolate dough in the pan. Press to flatten.
3. Bake @ 3o0F for about 25 minutes or until firm to the touch in the centre. Let cool & slice into squares or bars.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Dad's Roast Beast & My Yorkshire Puddings
My dad had my brother and me over for dinner the other night. We all know I have a ton of chicken carcasses hanging around my freezer, right? Well, my dad seems to collect roasts of turkey and bison instead. It must be in our blood or something! He is always complaining about his lack of freezer space because he has so many roasts! In order to help him out a bit, Jem (my brother) and I went up for dinner when my SIL was out of town on a road trip.My dad cooks his bison roasts in a rich gravy made with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and some red wine. It's usually very delicious, and Dad makes all the fixings, too, including roasted potatoes and veggies. For this particular meal, he asked me if I could make some Yorkshire Puddings to go with the roast beast. My mom was the Yorkshire Pudding queen when we were growing up. We had it all the time. But, to be honest, I'd never made it myself before Dad's request. I found a recipe in my copy of The Essential Baking Cookbook.
Yorkshire Puddings (makes 6), adapted slightly by me
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
3 tsp vegetable oil
1. In a bowl, whisk flour & salt. Make a well in the centre and whisk in the milk. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until nice & creamy & pale. Add to the batter & mix well. Add water & whisk until large bubbles form. Cover & refrigerate for an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 425F. Pour 1/2 tsp vegetable oil in each of 6 holes of a muffin pan. Heat the pan in the oven for a few minutes, until the oil is smoking. Beat the batter again and pour into each hole, filling about 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350F and bake a further 10 minutes, until golden & puffed up. Serve immediately!
Nice, eh? Here are my little puddings with my dad's lovely gravy:
YUM!
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
I've Been Nominated for a CBA!
OH MY GOD - this little blog has been nominated for a Canadian Blog Award! I wasn't even aware of this until this morning when a long time reader of my regular blog, Sassy, left me a comment with a heads up.
So, I would love it if my readers could take a moment and follow this link to vote for my little old blog here! That would be totally cool - thank you!
And to whoever nominated me: THANK YOU!
Addendum: Once you chose a ranking, make sure you go down to the bottom of the ballot and click "vote" and you will get a confirmation.
So, I would love it if my readers could take a moment and follow this link to vote for my little old blog here! That would be totally cool - thank you!
And to whoever nominated me: THANK YOU!
Addendum: Once you chose a ranking, make sure you go down to the bottom of the ballot and click "vote" and you will get a confirmation.
101 Uses for a Roast Chicken #22: Chicken & Rice Soup
OK, you are going to be seeing quite a few soup recipes appearing in this series now because I have quite an impressive collection of chicken carcasses littering my freezer these days, and I need to use them up before I start becoming tempted to throw them away. Plus, I bought two more whole chickens in the States a couple of weeks back - sue me - they were 98 cents/lb!!!!! - so I really need to start utilizing this stuff. So, you might all get souped-out because, trust me, I know I will be.
I do enjoy chicken & rice soup, so this is what I decided to make with one of my carcasses the other day. And it was pretty good, I must say - way better than the canned crap.
Chicken, Rice, and Lemon Soup
1 litre chicken stock using a chicken carcass
1 cup chicken breast, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup long grain rice (I used jasmine as that's what I have on hand)
freshly grated garlic, to taste
salt & pepper to taste
Bring stock to a boil, and onion & carrot. Add chicken, lemon & rice. Simmer until rice is tender. Season to taste. Add garlic & simmer a few minutes. Add cilantro last. Serve.
Seriously, it was that easy!
I do enjoy chicken & rice soup, so this is what I decided to make with one of my carcasses the other day. And it was pretty good, I must say - way better than the canned crap.
Chicken, Rice, and Lemon Soup1 litre chicken stock using a chicken carcass
1 cup chicken breast, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup long grain rice (I used jasmine as that's what I have on hand)
freshly grated garlic, to taste
salt & pepper to taste
Bring stock to a boil, and onion & carrot. Add chicken, lemon & rice. Simmer until rice is tender. Season to taste. Add garlic & simmer a few minutes. Add cilantro last. Serve.
Seriously, it was that easy!
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Lunch at Rancho Chico
Well, another cross-border shopping expedition resulted in my finding unsalted butter for $1.50/lb (I bought 4), eggs for $1.56/dozen, and 1lb Tillamook medium cheddar cheese for $4.86! Isn't that ridiculous? I feel so ripped off when I shop at home. Another trip to the States is planned for the first week of December, when we'll go overnight to Spokane, WA, and do some serious shopping with a grocery run in Colville on the way back.
As usual, we went to Rancho Chico for lunch! I was surprised it was open on a Sunday.
My SIL had the Seafood Chimi, which is packed with scallops, shrimp, and REAL crab meat. I've had this several times and it's excellent!
My brother had the Macho Rancho Chilli Burrito. He said it was awesome!
Yum!
As usual, we went to Rancho Chico for lunch! I was surprised it was open on a Sunday.
As usual, I had the Chicken Chimi. It's just so good!
My SIL had the Seafood Chimi, which is packed with scallops, shrimp, and REAL crab meat. I've had this several times and it's excellent!
My brother had the Macho Rancho Chilli Burrito. He said it was awesome!
Yum!
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