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!

Hoisin Lettuce Wraps

These Lettuce wraps were similar to the ones served at P.F. Changs, except ten times better! Thanks Sook the Cook for the awesome recipe, the leftovers were even better. The only change I made was I added 1 cup of Bamboo shoots to the mix of vegetables.

You can find the recipe here.

Because my husband always comes home from work famished, he munches while I finish preparing dinner, and generally spoils his appetite. Last night I decided to be ahead of the game. since the Leuttuce Wraps are very light, I made Korean Tonkatsu (also adapted from Sook the Cook) as an appetizer so B could eat a little something before the main meal. The Panko breading of the Tokatsu was perfect, however next time I plan on using Chicken instead of Pork.

Stew and Buns..whats not to love?

Dear readers: NO my child and husband have not been starving to death, I have been cooking dinner for the last month just haven't put forth the effort to blog about it. Between our anniversary, engagement parties, Valentine's day, quick jaunts to Toronto and back, gymnastics & swimming lessons, I've been a little busy. However, not busy enough to stay off FB, how does that happen anyways? I'm considering cancelling it altogether, I've said this for a while, but now it's just getting annoyingly time consuming and addictive.

Last night I made the most simple, yet delicious Chicken Stew I've ever had. It came from my grandma looking "Company's Coming" cookbook. I made a few small modifications to the recipe, I used whole white baby potatoes instead of regular potatoes cut up, and rather than chopping the chicken thighs into cubes, I left them whole. The meat was so incredibly soft, we barely had to chew it. So maybe this is why a grandma wrote this cookbook, maybe it's for our denture-wearing friends. Regardless, this recipe was outstanding, I will definitely make it again.

Chicken Stew

4 medium potatoes, cut bite size

4 medium carrots, cut bite size

1 chopped onion

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 cups hot water

1 tbs chicken bullion powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground thyme (I used fresh thyme)

1/2 tsp Liquid Gravy Browner - if anyone knows what this actually contributes to the dish, please enlighten me.

Layer potatoes, carrots and onion in a slow cooker. Lay Chicken thighs on top.

Stir next 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over Chicken. Cover. Cook on Low for 9-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours (I chose the latter, I put it on at 1pm and it was perfectly done for dinner at 6pm)

Whilst placing an ACE baguette into my cart yesterday I realized it's been a while since I last attempted to make bread. I bought the ingredients for bread, kept the ACE just in case the bread flopped, and proceeded home.

Here is how they turned out, I was VERY pleased with the final product, Benn had 4 of them with the Chicken stew and another 2 today at lunch as his sandwich bread. YUM!

Looking forward to enjoying one tonight, toasted, with some triple cream brie and pears.

I rarely have strong cravings..

...But lately, THIS rice is what I feel like eating 24/7, it's that good! Thanks Menu Maniac for this awesome fried rice recipe!