Post Tagged with: "dinner"

debbies potato salad + jalapeno chicken

debbies potato salad + jalapeno chicken

Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern about my death cold. It’s slowly but surely going the way of the dodo bird, woohoo! Though at day number 11, I certainly wish it was just gone. But don’t worry, it didn’t stop me from shooting the heck out of a super cool trash the dress session on Saturday evening!

So, back to business: this post brings you not one but two delicious recipes, just in time for the heat of summer! The first up—one I can’t believe that I haven’t shared before—Debbie‘s Dilled Potato Salad.

I tasted this salad on my first trip to Ottawa in 2005 or 2006 to meet the future in-laws, and I’ve been making it (and sharing it) ever since. Anyone who tries this potato salad wants the recipe. It’s that good. But vegetarians beware, there is a secret ingredient (ok… bacon) that makes it veggie-unfriendly. For those of us non-veggies: well, that secret ingredient makes it seriously delicious. To top it off, we got new potatoes from our CSA this week. Farm fresh potatoes + Debbie’s Potato Salad = oh.my.goodness.delicious.

So, I was most excited about the potato salad last night. But I decided to go a little crazy and make a jalapeno potato chip crusted chicken inspired by this recipe I came across on (you guessed it) Pinterest. This is not your basic good-for-you chicken breast. Its second main ingredient? Crushed Miss Vickie’s Jalapeno Chips. I wish I could explain in words how delicious this chicken was. But I’m struggling, so I’ll just go with: so delicious I’m going to have to actively stop myself from making it every single week this summer. And the icing on the cake? It’s super simple.

Debbie’s Dilled Potato Salad

Note: This is the recipe that Debbie shared with me in 2005, the recipe in our wedding cookbook from Debbie (2010) uses less mayo (3/4 cup) and has a few additional ingredients (1 tsp of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp of lemon juice, and 3 tbsp of olive oil), but I prefer the simple flavours in the original.

Ingredients

    Salad

  • 1/2 lb bacon
  • 1 1/2 lb small red potatoes (or new potatoes, if in season)
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onions (green and white parts)

    •  
    Dressing

  • 1 cup mayo (or 3/4 cup mayo, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp red wine vinegar see note )
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp chopped dill
  • Optional (and delicious): 1/2 tsp celery seed or salt

Directions

  1. Cook bacon, let cool, then crumble. Cook and chop potatoes. Let cool.
  2. Meanwhile, mix ingredients for dressing.
  3. Combine bacon, potatoes, and green onion in a bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss.

Jalapeno Crusted Chicken

Serves 4
Inspired by: Life as a Mrs.

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 1 egg
  • pinch (or dash or several shakes) cayenne pepper
  • 1 bag crushed Miss Vickies (or Kettle) Jalapeno Chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchement paper and place an oven safe cooling rack on top.
  2. Beat egg + cayenne pepper in a shallow dish. Crush chips in a second shallow dish.
  3. Dip chicken breast in egg mixture and then in chips. Ensure there is a healthy (i.e., thick) coating of chips on all sides of the chicken. Place on cooling rack.
  4. Bake at 325F for 25-35 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

July 16, 2012 1 comment Read More
Browned Butter Pasta

Browned Butter Pasta

In my quest to become the Richmond food blogger, I’ve become so busy thinking about restaurant reviews that I haven’t posted a recipe post in… well… a long time. And while it is true that eating at this many restaurants means I’m not cooking as much, I’m still cooking a lot, and becoming ever more adaptable to cooking with what is available in Buenos Aires.

Dinner on Monday night was decidedly gourmet, and about half way through cooking it – I realized I was going to be blogging it. This means that I don’t have a lot of prep images (any, in fact), but I do have a handful of images of our delicious browned butter pasta with a red wine-balsamic vinegar reduction accompanied by garlic roasted brussels sprouts in a garlic cream sauce.

As spring approaches for most of my readers, this recipe is going to seem a wee bit out of place. But this week in Buenos Aires it’s been clear… fall is coming. Monday especially was cold and windy and all we felt like having for dinner was comfort food. So pin this recipe or or otherwise save it for later, and then when fall comes… you’ll thank me.

This meal was inspired by: this pin, the fact there were brussels sprouts in the grocery store, the delicious looking fresh pasta in said grocery store, and the fact that I had planned on making a browned butter cauliflower pasta a few weeks ago, but couldn’t find a cauliflower and have been craving browned butter since.

Some days the random stars align to create something delicious.

Browned Butter Pasta with a Red Wine Balsamic Reduction

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup red wine
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Fresh stuffed pasta
  • Italian parsley (for garnish)
  • Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Directions

  1. Combine red wine and balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat (stirring frequently) until the mixture has reduced.
  2. Bring water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
  3. Meanwhile, heat your butter over medium heat until it browns (learn about browning butter here).
  4. Mix your cooked pasta into the browned butter.
  5. Serve with a drizzle of the red wine reduction, parmesan cheese, and italian parsley.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts in a Garlic Cream Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • Brussels sprouts
  • 2 cloves garlic, divided (I use 4, but I always double my garlic)
  • 2 tbsp cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off brown ends of brussels sprouts and cut in half length wise. Toss with 1 clove crushed garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Pour brussels sprouts on a baking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Monitor and shake pan as needed.
  3. Meanwhile, combine heavy cream, 1 clove crushed garlic, and a few sprinkles of salt. Let warm to room temperature while brussels sprouts are roasting.
  4. Serve brussels spouts garnished with the garlic cream sauce.

March 29, 2012 0 comments Read More
the hubs the cook

the hubs the cook

Last week the hubs got home earlier than I did from work and since he is a super star, he decided to cook dinner before I got home! Cue the collective “awwwww”. It was such a good treat for me, and since I wasn’t home for most of it, it was much more pleasant for him than his usual cooking. (He fondly (and sometimes not-so-fondly) calls me “Kitchen Boss”, I’ll let you imagine what that entails.)

I’m not a huge Beef Stroganoff person, possibly because I wasn’t raised in the 50s, but I do like some delicious stroganoff on some delicious egg noodles every so often on a cold winter’s day. Last year I tried the ravely reviewed Beef Stroganoff III recipe from allrecipes.com and… nothing. It was ok. Or maybe even almost ok. I wasn’t a fan of the flavours, or the consistency, or anything much about it.

But, in the spirit of cleaning out our pantry before the move, I decided to give stroganoff another shot.  Because when I think egg noodles, I automatically think stroganoff.  Even though I’ve made it once in the last two and a half years.

I certainly wasn’t going to try Beef Stroganoff III. But I did find a highly reviewed stroganoff from epicurious (the Bon Appetit recipe from September 1999). And off the hubs went!

This recipe is not your basic super simple kind of recipe if you are in a hurry. It requires a bit of leg work, but it is delicious.

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This doesn’t look like your regular stroganoff, it is less thick (in our case, likely largely in part to the fact we used milk instead of cream), but the flavours in this stroganoff are pretty delicious. And I’m pretty sure they were extra delicious because they were made by the hubs :)  (Who, by the way, likely won’t be a fan of this picture.  I think he looks cute).

beef-strogranoff-epicurious

Beef Stroganoff

From Epicurious, adaptations and comments in [square brackets] my own.
Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 2 1/2-pound piece beef tenderloin, well trimmed, meat cut into 2x1x1/2 inch strips
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots [we used onion, it was fine]
  • 1 pound small button mushrooms, thickly sliced
  • 1 cup canned beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons Cognac [we used red wine]
  • 3/4 cup crème fraîche or whipping cream [we used milk, this would have been better with cream]
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill [dill would have been amazing, we didn't have any]
  • 12 ounces wide egg noodles
  • 1 tablespoon paprika

Directions

  1. Pat meat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat until very hot. Working in batches, add meat in single layer and cook just until brown on outside, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet [or a plate with a lip].
  2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped shallots [or onions] and sauté until tender, scraping up browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add button mushrooms. Sprinkle with pepper and sauté until liquid evaporates, about 12 minutes.
  3. Add beef broth, then Cognac [or wine]. Simmer until liquid thickens and just coats mushrooms, about 14 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and Dijon mustard. Add meat and any accumulated juices from baking sheet. Simmer over medium-low heat until meat is heated through but still medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Stir in chopped dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Meanwhile, cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide noodles among plates. Top with beef and sauce. Sprinkle generously with paprika.

December 7, 2011 0 comments Read More
i made a tart!

i made a tart!

While making my weekly shopping, I noticed I had half of a large butternut squash left over from last week’s Penne with Squash and Black Beans. Not wanting it to go to waste, and not feeling like any of my go-to butternut squash recipes led over to Epicurious.  A search for “butternut squash” as the main ingredient in a main dish, and sorted by top rated, yielded Roasted Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart right near the top.  It spoke to me.  93 reviews, four forks, and 99% would make it again? Even better!

This meal is delicious, no doubt about it.  But, this meal is not one for the weak at heart. I cooked and I cooked and I cooked. Interspersed with the cooking was dishes. I did three sink-fulls of dishes in the process of making this meal.

But it was fun!  And the result was to.die.for.

It started with the making of the pastry dough.

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Since I don’t have a food processor I use my blender.

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Then, it gets chilled for 1/2 hour.

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Meanwhile the butternut squash gets roasted (I was worried I didn’t have enough, so I added a half of an orange pepper too).

[I seem to have not photographed this step. Just imagine some butternut squash, roasting away!]

The fun part? The cheese. Delicious (and expensive) fontina, parmesan and goat-cheese. Amazing.

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Then its time to make your pie-crusts. This is hard if your pastry is sticky. My rolling pin and I were having mini war with the whole-wheat pastry crust, so I ended up just smooshing it in the pie tin. The recipe calls for a tart pan with a removable fluted rim. I don’t have that, so I used two aluminium pie pans. It made for super easy lining with tin foil another pie tin and filling with pie weights barley.

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In all this excitement, I *almost* forgot the caramelize my onions.

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Meanwhile, remember your roast butternut squash (and, in my case, orange pepper). Undertake some pureeing action, add some other things, like heavy cream, and blend.

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Then you mix in your onions, and delicious cheeses.

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Then, hopefully your timing works out and you have pie-crusts that are ready for some savoury filling. Pop them in the oven.

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And forty minutes later…

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Roasted Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart! After a total of approximately 2 hours of cooking and cleaning and waiting.

I decided to serve it with a spinach salad with blue cheese, cranberries and walnuts with a simple EVOO and white wine vinegar salad dressing.

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Oh. My. God.  Was this ever good.  The hubs said it tastes like “butternut squash, in pie form”.  No quite what I was going for, but you take what you can get right.  Truly, it was good.  The pie crust was perfectly flaky.

And, it’s Saturday, so to finish off… macarons! Coconut, Hazelnut Milk Chocolate, and Lemon.  Coconut seriously rocked my world.

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If you are wondering, we pick these delicious macarons up at Lemontree outside of outside Lively Life at the St. Lawrence Market.

I love macarons. We are so going to Ladurée when we go to Paris. Maybe every day.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart

Adapted from Epicurious.

Pastry Dough

Ingredients

  • stick ( 1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour [I used whole-wheat flour cause that's what I have in my house]
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup ice water

Cut butter into pieces. In a food processor blend flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with remainder in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Add 2 tablespoons of water and pulse just until incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: If it does not hold together, add enough remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing and testing, until mixture just forms a dough. Form dough into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, 30 minutes.

Tart

  • pastry dough
  • pie weights or raw rice for weighting shell
  • 1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil plus about 2 teaspoons for brushing squash
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 whole large egg
  • 1/2 large egg yolk (1/2 tablespoon)
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup grated Italian Fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
  • 1/4 cup crumbled mild soft goat cheese (about 1 ounce)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and marjoram leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup fine fresh bread crumbs

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into a 12-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Fit dough into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Freeze shell 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven until edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights or rice and bake shell 10 minutes more, or until bottom is golden. Leave oven on. Cool shell in pan on a rack.

Halve squash and scoop out seeds. Lightly brush each cut side with about 1 teaspoon oil and on a baking sheet roast squash, cut sides down, in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until soft.

While squash is roasting, thinly slice onion and in a heavy skillet cook in 1/2 tablespoon butter and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool squash and scoop out flesh. In a food processor purée squash. Add whole egg, egg yolk, and cream and blend well. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in cheeses, herbs, onion, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour filling into shell, smoothing top.

In a small skillet melt remaining tablespoon butter and stir in bread crumbs until combined well. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly over filling. Bake tart in middle of oven 40 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool tart in pan on rack 10 minutes and carefully remove rim.

February 6, 2011 1 comment Read More
butternut squash + black bean pasta

butternut squash + black bean pasta

I have a confession to make. I’ve never cooked dried beans before. Cans are just so easy. And generic brand black beans only set me back something like $1.09 a can. Sure that is way more than their dried friends, but protein for two for $1.09… I’m not complaining. Almost. Every time I use a can of beans I cringe. Not only am I clogging our arteries with the added sodium, but I’m really not helping out the environment that much either.

But on Saturday, all this was about to change. At the St. Lawrence Market I was inspired. (Likely source of inspiration: the macarons). In all seriousness, I don’t know what happened. I saw some tasty looking black beans at Rube’s, and with a hop in my step little-plastic-bag-filling, I bought them. And today, I cooked them.

Never. Going. Back…

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Ever. They taste like fresh little morsels of heaven.

Although, they were a little labour intensive. After cleaning my beans I soaked them for 10 hours at room temperature. Then I boiled them for an hour and a half. Next time, I’ll make more than one meal’s worth of beans at once and freeze them (duh).

While all this bean cooking was going on, I was preparing one of my Mom’s (via Canadian Living) tasty recipes: Penne with Squash and (you guessed it) Black Beans.

I love this recipe, it’s easy and delicious. Chop up an onion, a red pepper (I used an orange pepper,but red is nice for some added colour), garlic and about a half of a small butternut squash.

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Fry it all up.

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Make sure you cook some tasty penne for this dish. I love love love la Molisana pasta. Cheap, delicious, and made with one, count-it, one ingredient. That’s my kind of food.

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Oh yeah, and it has 7gm of fibre (28% of your recommended daily intake) per serving.

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Add your newly cooked fresh little morsels of heaven to the sauce that is simmering away. Mix that all up with the penne and a mini mountain of parmigiano reggiano, and presto chango… dinner!

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I may have forgot the parsley garnish, which, not only would have tasted delicious, but would have spruced up my picture, big time! No worries though, the hubs didn’t seem to miss it!

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Penne with Squash and Black Beans

From my mom(!) via Canadian Living

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 sweet red pepper, chopped
  • 3 cups (750 mL) peeled and cubed butternut squashes
  • 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) crumbled dried sage I don’t like sage.
  • 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
  • 1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
  • 3/4 cup (175 mL) vegetable stock
  • 19 oz (539 g) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 3 cups (750 mL) penne pasta
  • 1/3 cup (75 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh parsley I totally forgot. I always forget this
    one.
  • A pinch of Alpine Touch (my mom’s addition). [Ed. Alpine Touch is delicious. Probably because it is made of MSG.  I don't have any Alpine Touch in my house, so I don't add it.  That's not to say I wouldn't.].

Preparation:
In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; fry onion, garlic, red pepper, squash, sage, salt and pepper until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add stock and bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is tender, about 12 minutes. [Ed. I don't add the red (or whatever colour I happen to be using pepper) until the last 6 minutes. Mushy pepper makes me sad.] Add black beans; heat through.

Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne until tender but firm, 8 minutes. Drain and return to pot, reserving 3/4 cup (175 mL) cooking liquid. Add squash mixture and half of the Parmesan cheese; toss to coat. Add enough of the cooking liquid to moisten, if necessary. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and parsley.

February 4, 2011 2 comments Read More