Barbeque Season 2011

Lamb Burgers!

Last night was the perfect mid week bbq dinner shared with good friends and lots of laughs.

The recipe came from my beautiful friend Jordana, who inspires me to try new recipes, with her food blog, which I really hope she starts back up again ;)




Hubby working his grill magic



these burgers are so flavourful, they don't require any extras (lettuce, tomatoes, relish) just a squeeze of mustard!


Lamb lovers L&D

What to do with a 4 pound butternut squash

Ravioli!

I was given half of a butternut squash last week from L who used as much as she could and then wanted it out of her fridge. Aside from the typical squash soup and baked squash with butter and cinnnamon I had no idea what to do with this oversized orange thing. After searching online I came across a recipe for Butternut Squash Ravioli and decided to give it a try. It was so super easy and turned out to be a beautiful autumn meal. The best part about the recipe was using wonton wrappers instead of homemade pasta for the raviolis.

Ingredients
1 large butternut squash - halved lengthwise, peeled and seeded
2 teaspoons butter salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
50 wonton wrappers
1 teaspoon egg white, lightly beaten

Sauce
1/4 cup butter
juice of 1 lemon & zest
1/4 c slivered almonds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the squash cut side up on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon butter in the hollow of each half. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the squash with a sheet of aluminum foil tucking in the edges.

Bake squash in preheated oven until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 45 to 65 minutes.

Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl, and mash until smooth. Mix in the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Parmesan cheese until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill a deep pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil.

To make the ravioli, place a wonton wrapper on a clean, flat surface. Brush edges with the egg white. Place about 1 tablespoon of the squash mixture in the middle of the wonton. Cover with a second wonton wrapper. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and squash mixture until all have been used.

Drop the ravioli into the boiling water, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Remove, drain, and keep warm until sauce is prepared. With half the batch, I boiled them and then pan fried them to give them a crispy layer.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add lemon juice, zest and slivered almonds and cook until butter becomes very brown. Place 6 to 8 raviolis on serving plates, and drizzle with sauce.









Im trying to get in as much cooking as possible before this baby arrives. Due date is in 3 days! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Dabbling in Veganism

I would love to go Vegan, but now is probably not the best time in my life to start, seeing as I'm 5 months pregnant..oh and by the way, we found out on Monday that it's a BOY!! Due date is October 31st which is not ideal, so I'll try my best to keep him in there at least until November 1st. The newest reason for my peaked interest in Veganism is a new blog I found which has some pretty amazing recipes on it. Last night for dinner I made the Thai inspired chickpea salad featured on the aforementioned blog. It was enough of a meal for myself (and baby boy)but for B and little W I accompanied the salad with a few grilled organic pork sausages, a baguette and goat's cheese with truffles, thanks to my new favourite foodie; Mark McEwan.



Please excuse the poor quality picture.

Popping in for a quick recipe share

It wasn't completely intentional that i stopped writing, it just happened when my cooking and baking fell by the wayside over the past few months. We've been busy, busy, busy. With the house for sale, it's just going to get crazier over the next few weeks. However, recently I made a scrumptious meal, too delicious not to share with you all. The first part of the meal was adapted from one of my most used cookbooks entitled "The Best of, Chef at Home" by Michael Smith. The second part was taken from my other favourite cookbook Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter. If you are not a fan of scallops, thats fine, don't make the Brochettes, but please do yourself a favour and make the Bacon Barley Risotto!!!

Grilled Scallop and Red Onion Brochettes
serves 4

Marinade

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

24 sea scallops
1 red onion, cut into bite-sized wedges
2/3 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped scallions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh amaranth

Directions:

To prepare the marinade: Combine the orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, olive oil, lemongrass, jalapeño, cilantro, scallions, and lime juice in a small bowl.
To prepare the brochettes: Alternate the scallops and onion wedges on 8 skewers. Place the skewers in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

To prepare the rice: Combine the rice and water in a medium saucepan, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender.
Cook the scallions in the butter in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until the scallions are soft. Add to the rice and cook for 5 minutes, or until warm. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To cook the brochettes: Prepare a medium-hot grill. Remove the brochettes from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until the scallops are just cooked.

Place some of the rice in the center of each plate and top with 1 or 2 brochettes. Top with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with fresh amaranth.
You could use Vidalia, Maui, or Spanish onions instead of red onion in this recipe. The important thing is using an onion that will be sweet enough to eat when partially cooked. Also, consider using a fresh rosemary sprig as the skewer, if available. It adds a lovely visual touch to the brochette



Click here for the Barley Risotto with Bacon recipe. I've made Risotto quite a few times, which is generally made with Arborio rice, after making this version of Risotto (with Barley) I prefer it to the traditional method with Arborio rice, and it's healthier. To ensure the Risotto reaches the ultimate creamy texture, add 1 cup of Padano Parmesean cheese right before serving. Bon Apetit!

Cutesy Butterfly Chicken Pot Pie

Ina Garten (not "in a garden" as I always used to read it) is my all time favourite Food Network host. There's something so comforting about her home in the Hampton's, and the food she cooks on her show. This morning as I ate my Cheerios and downed my coffee I scoped out www.foodnetwork.com for dinner ideas and came across this which I couldn't wait to make.

Since spring is upon us, I decided to make the biscuits into butterfly shapes, or maybe I did it because I don't actually own any other cookie cutter shape. It was cute, nonetheless. The stew turned out delissioso, and I'm glad too, because this is what B will be eating for lunch for the next 35 days or so. ha!

The perfect lunch for 3 guys on a snowy day like today

It's a miracle that my Cardamom Beef Stew with Potatoes, Celery Root and Parsnips turned out as good as it did! Because of my cold, I have no sense of taste or smell, which is incredibly frustrating. This recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter.

B had a few guys from work over for lunch and together they polished off a roaster full of this stew!

Cardamom Beef Stew

1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 tbs canola oil
20 Cardamom pods crushed OR 1 tsp ground Cardamom
1 pound stew meat cubed
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cloves of garlic minced
6 cups meat stock
2 cups large diced potatoes
1 cup large diced celery root
1 cup large diced parsnips
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

To prepare the Stew: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the celery, carrots, and onions in a hot roasting pan with the canola oil and cook, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes or until caramelized. Season beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pan along with the garlic, cardamom, and stock. Cover pan with foil and braise for 2-3 hours or until the beef is very tender. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

To prepare the vegetables: About 45 minutes before the beef is ready, toss the potatoes, celery root and parsnips with the olive oil in a large bowl and add them to the beef in the roasting pan. Allow to cook another 45 minutes. I added some cornstarch to thicken the broth a little, and I suggest you do the same.

Feel free to serve the stew on top of noodles or rice.

My house smells like a cute little bakery

I just took the last pan of Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins out of the oven, and they smell like thanksgiving! This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com one of my favourite go to recipe sites.











I was snap happy this afternoon!