CNN had dubbed today “Critical Tuesday”. I prefer “Mini Super Tuesday”.

Regardless of the name, similar to the New Hampshire primary and Super Tuesday proper, I felt the need to have a proportional celebration, with food, of course. And in honour of the Lone Star state’s democratic turn, chicken enchiladas were on the menu to recognize the importance of the Hispanic vote (there is a bad joke somewhere to be made about how I could have substituted Indian or Chinese cuisine to represent Ohio, and the part of the world that their jobs are being sent to, but I’ll leave it at that). So with Mack as my ever-willing sous chef, and a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens, we attempted to put together a dish that even my picky sisters would eat.

Along with the onions that Mack sauteed, some shredded rotisserie chicken, cream cheese, and a dash of cumin formed the tortilla filling. Unfortunately, the Western Family brand corn tortillas fell apart a little too easily as they were rolled, even after being warmed in the microwave. But doused in a sauce of cream cheese, condensed mushroom soup and milk, their imperfections were not noticeable.

Mack had to wait a painful 35 minutes for the dish to bake in the oven, and another 5 or so for the added Monterey Jack cheese to melt on top, but it was worth it. The corn (as opposed to flour) tortillas were a good choice, and even the overall soppiness of the dish was all right in this context. I can’t doubt, however, the estimated nutrition facts listed at the end of the recipe – between the sour cream, cream cheese, Monterey Jack, and the mushroom soup, 610 calories seems like a steal. This is definitely not an everyday dish, but was a nice treat on “an historic” election evening.

I still had a half a package of puff pastry left over from Tuesday, so decided to give Donna Hay’s Instant Cook recipe for Cheat’s Apple Tarts a go.

Like the Strawberry-Brie Bites, this was a very quick assemble-and-bake recipe, great for those who are time-pressed to create a dessert. Learning from my Rustic Apple Tart lesson, I used sweeter gala apples this time around, and it did create a less sour, juicier filling. The melted butter, brushed over the puff pastry before lining the muffin tins, provided additional flavour as well. And while I didn’t have any on hand, vanilla bean ice cream would have rounded out the tart nicely.

This is another recipe I will definitely keep close in the event of a dessert emergency!

The original plan that Mack and I had for Jane’s party was to bring two dishes inspired by the letter “B”. But by the time I re-read Giada’s recipe for Classic Italian Lasagne on Sunday afternoon, I realized there wasn’t enough time to thaw two packages of frozen spinach I didn’t yet have, so we reverted to my tried and true Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce instead. As for our second hypothetical contribution, I forgot entirely about needing to thaw the package of puff pastry we purchased two days before, and so my experimentation with Cranberry-Brie Bites was temporarily set aside.

Of course, the triangle of brie was still sitting in my fridge, waiting to be used before its expiration date this week, so remembering this time to leave the Tenderflake package in the fridge the night prior, I set out to put together this quick hors d’oeuvre (I will never learn how that word is spelled).

In all honesty, it took me about ten minutes total to grase the pans, roll out the dough, cut the squares, place small pieces of brie into the cups and a dollop of strawberry jam (Mack and I had scoured the shelves at both Sobeys and Superstore for cranberry sauce to no avail) on top. I did cut the rind off of the brie first, as I don’t care for the taste, and I think it contributed to the overall creaminess of the filling. I also reduced the jam content down to just over a teaspoon, and I thought the balance between the crispy, savoury pastry dough and the hint of sweetness from the jam was just perfect.

This is a versatile last-minute party appetizer – the bites can be pre-assembled and chilled, then baked just before guests arrive to be served warm.

This article from the Globe and Mail and this one from the New York Times both capture how I felt coming up to Super Tuesday. After a mini “Primary Party” held on the day of the New Hampshire primary, I had been planning on having a “Super Tuesday Shindig” (hee) for some time, even if it were just me in attendance.

While I wish I was as creative as some of the party hosts mentioned in the articles (a drink named Barack’s HOPE, or even better, Clinton sausage ball appetizers), I thought a dessert made using the colors of the American flag would be a nice touch.

Donna Hay’s Instant Cook provided the recipe – White Chocolate Mousse with Berries. Resembling Panna Cotta more than what I usually regard as mousse, the only difference between the two recipes was the addition of white chocolate and the subtraction of honey. The mousse was also a lot faster to put together – both in stove top and necessary cooling time (only 45 minutes!).

Because of the chocolate, the mousse was slightly heavier (even though I halved the chocolate quantity by accident…). The use of frozen blueberries was also a bad idea; the juice seeped from them when I thawed them in the fridge, leaving them rather bland tasting.

While I received neutral feedback for the dessert, my family and Mack all commented that they much prefer Panna Cotta. Perhaps I will play with this recipe in the future; it would function as a great last minute dinner dessert, and could easily set while dinner is being served.

I decided to be ambitious this weekend and make dinner for my family on Sunday night. From recipes I assembled from a few sources, I decided on a menu of Potato and Onion Flatbread (Real Simple Celebrations), Brown Sugar-Glazed Carrots (Betty Crocker), and Bison Meatloaf (Jan/Feb 2008 City Palate).

As usual when multiple dishes are at play, it took me a lot longer than expected. The meatloaf was a pretty straightforward mix-and-bake recipe (just remind me to ask my sous chef sister to prepare the onions for me next time). I thought I would have enough time to make my two sides while the meatloaf was in the oven, but I miscalculated slightly. I assembled the flatbread from frozen bread dough (leftover from the package I bought for the Rocky Road Pizza), browned onions, sliced potatoes and a dash of dried rosemary. While that finished baking, I boiled carrot slices which would then be coated with a reduced brown sugar and butter mixture.

Thankfully by 8pm, I had dinner on the table. The meatloaf was actually the tastiest of the bunch (though it doesn’t look that way in the picture) – not too dry, with some added texture from the chopped vegetables. Some dried herbs would have provided an extra flavour boost, however. The carrots were soft and sweet, though I could have done without the citrus tang of the orange zest. As for the flatbread, I chalked it up to another failure of the prepared bread dough: it had already browned, but was still partially uncooked on the bottom. My Mum expressed a preference for an onion-only topping, as the potatoes weren’t given enough time to soften in the oven.

In the end, my family appreciated my efforts, and I was able to experiment with a few more recipes.

When I asked Mack what type of fruit dessert he wanted to make, the only palpable suggestion I received was to “use bananas.” I did a quick recipe search on Food Network Canada’s database, and generated one of Ricardo’s creations, a Rocky Road Pizza.

We modified it slightly, substituting Coffee Crisp for Toblerone, adding bananas and eliminating the almonds all together. We copped out and bought frozen bread dough to use as the base, though after a mishap in the microwave (it really is a good idea to read and not scan instructions, otherwise, one might miss the operative word “defrost”), I would probably forgo convenience and make the dough from scratch next time.

As the dough had already partially cooked in the microwave, it was difficult to roll flat, and as a result, the pizza poofed in the wrong places during the baking phase. Still, the final product was better than we could have hoped for: the Coffee Crisp added a nice crunch, and the browned marshmallows rounded out the sweetness factor. Both my family and Mack commented that vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would have been a great final touch, as the slices were a tad dry on their own.

This would be a great recipe to put together with kids, and really, the possible topping combinations are endless!

Birthdays provide another great excuse to try out new recipes. I bought a copy of Company’s Coming: Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen a few months ago (I love the dry mix ideas), and in it was an unusual recipe for Eggnog Cookies.

While I’m not a huge fan of eggnog, Mack is, and I decided a batch would be a good start for his (belated) birthday present. Being drop cookies, it was an easy batter to put together, though I had to omit the rum/brandy addition, as we didn’t have any on hand. The cookies turned out all right, mostly circular, and looked better with a drizzle of eggnog icing and colored sugar (a piping bag would have allowed for more consistent decoration, but I found a fork easier to use).

I can’t comment too much on the taste because of my bias, except to say that they had quite a strong nutmeg flavour to them. Mack seemed to like them enough, so as gifts go, I’d consider making them again for those who like eggnog.

Jane e-mailed me from Italy in November, asking if I would consider co-hosting a New Year’s party with her. As if I hesitated before saying yes to an opportunity to entertain and experiment with new recipes.

As we were both in recovery from illness and/or vacation hangover, it wasn’t until a few days before the 31st that we brainstormed potential hors dourves we wanted to serve our guests. A few e-mails and one discussion later, we had it down to five plates each, plus a beverage to have ready for Monday.

As I was scheduled to work a half day that morning, I made sure to choose recipes that would allow for advanced preparation. Of course, I didn’t anticipate that prior to launching into a cooking extravaganza on Sunday night, that I would first have to help my family put together a feast for my sister and her 20 merry friends in celebration of her birthday.

After dinner, I got started. Donna Hay’s 3 Cheese Puffs (made from thawed puff pastry sheets) probably had a dash too much oregano, but were assembled quite quickly, and were ready to be baked the next day. After making a sour cream pound cake from scratch, I diced about half of it for Individual Raspberry Trifle Parfaits (using disposable wine glasses found at Dollarama), which would be garnished with chocolate curls at the party. Giada’s Stuffed Mushrooms were next, modified using suggestions from others who had tried the recipe (adding chopped mushroom stems and cutting down on the amount of breadcrumbs used to reduce dryness), and placed in an oiled glass baking dish which would be put directly into the oven in the evening. Lastly, with my Mum’s help, I duplicated the Barbecue Duck Salad Rolls I had made a few weeks earlier for a potluck at work (thinking that a cold appetizer would be the best idea for a party where guests would be drifting in over the course of five hours). A colourful vegetable platter and dip was my last sustenance-offering. I also had a Ricardo cocktail in mind, a Pink Grapefruit-Flavoured Wine, but was to be infused for just a few hours, so I packed up my grapefruit and bottle of White Zinfandel to be prepared the next day.

I got to Jane’s place that evening at about a quarter to six, but given that our friends have a penchant for being fashionably late, we had more than enough time to heat and dress our food.

In the end, our guests were quite impressed with the spread. Jane’s dips and pita chips were a hit (I particularly liked the White Bean and Sun Dried Tomato), as were her meatballs (she also made Focaccia bread, green onion cakes, and brownies). Most people liked my cheese puffs and stuffed mushrooms (the latter were a bit dry in my opinion, and a touch too garlicky). As for the trifles, they were all right, though the thawed raspberries ended up tasting sour, and in hindsight, I should have used frozen blueberries instead. Out of all the dishes, I’d actually be most likely to make the cocktail again; inexpensive and easy to drink, it would make a great dessert “wine” to end off a meal.

After the food and some requisite Cranium, we headed to Churchill Square to watch the fireworks. Having been born and raised in Edmonton, it would be surprising to most to know that this was my first time catching them live on the Square. The music accompaniment was a bit wonky, but the fireworks themselves were very nice indeed, and lasted 13 minutes, as promised.

Though it was like pulling teeth for some (you know who you are), we had every guest write down either a resolution or a hope for 2008 on a small card, and their mailing address in a corresponding envelope, which was then sealed. These little letters will then be sent out in about 6 months’ time, to serve as written benchmarks or reminders (I can’t take credit for the idea – I stole it from Real Simple Celebrations).

Thanks again to Jane for allowing us to use your new apartment!

The chefs

The spread

Happy New Year, everyone!

Cooking for potlucks to be held at work always pose a bit of a challenge. Without access to an oven, and the added fun of transporting a dish across town on public transportation, I’ve found that a well thought out choice necessary. Up this time: Barbecue Duck Salad Rolls.

Things I learned:

• I cannot julienne carrots.
• Duck is a really, really fatty meat.
• Softening rice papers works best in super-hot (near boiling) water.
• Soy paste is a decent substitute for hoisin sauce.

I grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take me to assemble the rolls. If my Mum hadn’t helped me prepare the vegetables and vermicelli beforehand, I would have ended up listening to The Bounce‘s high rotation list a third time.

I kept a wet paper towel over the rolls overnight, and to my surprise, they didn’t crack much by lunch time this afternoon. Most of my coworkers liked the dish (I was down to one by the end!), with one even commenting about the very “refreshing” citrus burst of flavor as provided by the lime juice. I myself liked the inclusion of fresh cilantro – this would be a great appetizer for a summer patio party.