Tag: Cooking Chronicles

The Cooking Chronicles: Three-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

I suggested vegetable pasta for dinner one night. Mack suggested macaroni and cheese. He won.

We headed to the Italian Centre to load up on asiago, romano and cheddar, the cheeses that form the base for a recipe in the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives cookbook. And though we searched high and low (read: the Italian Centre and Superstore) for panko bread crumbs, it just wasn’t our night, so we gave up and used homemade breadcrumbs we had in the cupboard instead.

As expected, this is not a low-cal recipe. The sauce was the colour of Cheese Whiz and had the texture of Velveeta, and lovingly enrobed the macaroni, with a lot to spare. After 15 minutes in the oven with the breadcrumb topping, we really felt like we could have been sitting at the counter of a diner. Super-cheesy, with the crunch of the breadcrumbs and just a hint of cracked black pepper, even a small bowl was almost too rich.

Three-Cheese Macaroni

We both had seconds.

The Cooking Chronicles: Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Sweet Spices and Spinach Salad with Apples and Cranberries

When I told Mack we would be having soup and salad for dinner, he complained. “Why are we having two sides?” he said. Well, I wanted to augment the lentil soup with some veggies, and with some spinach in the fridge, it seemed like the easiest way to go. More than that, inspired by Chef Blair Lebsack’s goat yogurt dressing, I wanted to try my own variant on homemade creamy dressing.

Using some plain Bles Wold yogurt I had in the fridge, I whisked in some red wine vinegar and a touch of honey (don’t ask me for amounts, I have no idea). It was delicious! I threw in some apples and cranberries for colour and additional sweetness, and it amounted to one of the best salads we’ve had in a while. Even Mack, the self-proclaimed “weed hater”, liked it.

Spinach Salad with Apples and Cranberries

The red lentil soup with sweet spices was pretty good as well. With the fragrant coconut milk though, none of the spices came through. The earthiness of the soup was much appreciated on a cold night.

Red Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Sweet Spices

After dinner, Mack said that he stood corrected – as it turns out, two sides can make a right.

The Gyoza Chronicles: Slow Food Edmonton Potluck

Though I probably should have listened to that little voice in my head, I made a conscious decision to block it out and make something I hadn’t made before for a brunch potluck.

A dish for the annual Slow Food Edmonton potluck had to encompass the values “good, clean and fair”, and while contemplating my options, I remembered Anna Olson’s gyoza (pork dumplings). Sure, it may not have been the most authentic recipe, but it seemed fairly straightforward. Moreover, I had some Irvings Farm Fresh ground pork in the freezer, and a Kuhlmann’s red cabbage in the fridge.

Mack and I sat down to make the dumplings a week ago, when we knew we had time to do so. I also intended to fry a few up at that time to ensure they were worthy of being served to others. The filling was a mixture of ground pork, diced cabbage, garlic, soy sauce and sugar, and I had defrosted a package of Wing’s dumpling wrappers the night before.

Though it took some getting used to, we eventually got used to forming the little half-moon shaped dumplings. Making the pleats look attractive was something else entirely, and as long as the gyoza stayed shut, we were happy. We froze most of them, but steamed up just a few to try– we gave up attempting to make the bottoms crispy, though using a stainless steel instead of a non-stick pan probably had something to do with it. My Mum was probably also right about using green cabbage instead of red – the red cabbage bled colour, and made it difficult to tell if the pork was fully cooked. They also made the exterior of the dumpling vein-y in appearance. In the end, given how few ingredients were contained in the filling, they were actually pretty tasty, and we deemed them acceptable for the potluck.

Gyoza ready for the freezer

We woke up this morning, downed our breakfast, and with coffee standing by, started frying up the gyoza. I am sad to say the first batch did not go swimmingly – we lost several gyoza to the unforgiving stainless steel pan. After switching to the non-stick pan, things went better, and filled up the tray only slightly later than our original plan.

Gyoza, finished!

The ever-gracious Mary Bailey hosted the potluck, and alongside about twenty other Slow Food members, Mack and I helped celebrate local food and an end to a year of Slow Food events (my first!). Unlike some other potlucks I have attended, it was clear that everyone took time to make something they were proud of and eager to share with the group. For example, Anita brought Latvian bacon buns (which Valerie wrote about here), and Valerie herself made sarma (smoky sour cabbage rolls, a dish from her husband’s former Yugoslavia country of origin).

Anita with a plate of her Latvian bacon buns

Though everything was great because of the homemade touch, I did have a few favourites. Kirstin of Spring Creek Ranch Beef made meatballs using (of course) their beef, marinated in a Jam Lady condiment, some garlic, and chilli sauce. Maria made a bread pudding using Tree Stone Bakery brioche that was absolutely divine (I think it was the chocolate that put it over the top) – and I am not usually a fan of bread pudding. I am also happy to report that the gyoza went over really well, whew!

Table bursting with food

Plate of mains

Dessert plate (bread pudding on the left)

There’s just one more Slow Food event taking place before the close of 2009 – in celebration of Terra Madre day on December 10, there will be a screening of The Islanders, a film about the fun that happens when chefs and farmers get together. Food and drinks will be provided, and the $20 per ticket will be going towards sending a local young farmer to Terra Madre, a conference where attendees share traditions and innovative solutions to keep small-scale food production alive and sustainable.

Thanks Mary for hosting a lovely brunch, and here’s to another great Slow Food year in 2010!

The Cooking Chronicles: Linguine with Turkey Meatballs and Quick Sauce

Big batches of pasta dinners seem to become particularly handy during a busy week, where leftovers are a saving grace. This Giada de Laurentiis recipe for linguine with turkey meatballs and quick sauce was one such wonder, and did not diminish in flavour too much in the fridge over a few days.

This was actually our first time making meatballs from scratch, and though I have an odd tendency to mistake naming turkey for lamb (I have no idea why), we did have ground turkey on hand to use. After I combined all of the ingredients for the meatballs, I delegated the shaping of them to Mack while I got started on the sauce.

Like most of Giada’s recipes, this one is just as straightforward, and really, is simply a more refined version of spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were quite good – the pancetta made them pop. And though I’m much less prone to oversaucing pasta now than I have been in the past, the sauce was still a little thin for me. Perhaps the addition of more tomatoes would have helped somewhat.

Linguine with Turkey Meatballs and Quick Sauce

In spite of the sauce, I would make this again – I’d likely double the meatball portion and freeze the other half. Like the handiness of leftovers – maximum gain for minimum effort is the name of the game sometimes.

The Cooking Chronicles: Potato Soup with Ham and Cheddar

Armed with an Eric Akis recipe and our still prosperous potato stash, I set to make a potato soup with ham and cheddar. I haven’t made a soup that required blending since an experiment with my Mum’s ancient immersion blender, but since we are now equipped with a shiny new food processor, I thought it was about time I tried it again.

This recipe was so easy, with the most difficult thing being the ladling of the soup into the food processor, having to be careful not to spill any of the potato-y goodness. I didn’t have any thyme on hand, but the aromatic dried oregano seemed to work just fine in its place, and I added some corn and peas for texture and good (vegetable) measure.

I loved the result – the pureed potato and onion provided a natural richness to the soup that even cream couldn’t compete with, while the white pepper added some needed depth. Mack wasn’t too keen on the cubes of ham, but I, on the other hand, loved it.

Potato Soup with Ham and Cheddar

Thanks Jon for the suggestion of such a soup process – we’ll definitely be making it again!

The Cooking Chronicles: Farfalle with Spicy Sausage and Kale

Among the goods I picked up at the final City Centre Market was a beautiful bunch of curly kale from Sundog Organic Farms. I had tried kale for the first time earlier this year in a recipe that didn’t highlight the vegetable very well, and though I probably should have stuck to something simple like sautéing it with some olive oil and garlic, a Giada de Laurentiis recipe caught my eye.

Farfalle with spicy sausage and kale from Everyday Pasta, like most of Giada’s recipes, was really straightforward. The only thing I would have changed in hindsight was roughly chopping the sausage once out of the casings – breaking it up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon didn’t work well at all. The 1/3 cup of cream went a long way to flavouring the sauce, and the parmesan finish helped bring the pasta all together.

And the kale? It didn’t taste like cabbage this time around, and had a nice mild, almost spinach-like flavour. It added some great texture to the dish.

Farfalle with Spicy Sausage and Kale

The Cooking Chronicles: Curried Tofu Scramble with Chapati

I am one of those people who is afraid to cook without a recipe, at least for dishes I am trying my hand at for the first time. But after sampling my coworker’s curried tofu scramble (which I thought could pass for scrambled eggs), and asking her for the verbal recipe, she convinced me that the four ingredients (plus spices) would be difficult to mess up.

She had eaten the dish with chapati, an Indian flatbread. I did not get the chance to ask her for that recipe, but located one online that didn’t look too difficult. Using our brand spanking new food processor (which helped greatly), combining the whole wheat flour, salt, warm water and oil into dough was a snap. Once we had refrigerated the dough for the minimum thirty minutes, Mack proceeded to roll the dough out into flat discs, while I preheated the pan.

Mack rolling out dough

We’ve never made flatbread before, and I have to tell you I was almost giddy when I watched the chapati balloon. For some reason, I didn’t think such a simple ingredient base, preparation, and short time span would actually translate into a successful product.

A ballooning chapati!

Once the chapati were done, we set to make the curried tofu (having only one usable non-stick pan definitely slowed down our dinner preparation that night). To two softened medium onions, we crumbled in one package of extra firm tofu, and made sure to cook it until all of the tofu’s liquid had evaporated. We added turmeric and curry powder (completely forgetting about the salt and pepper), and then two medium diced tomatoes. Lastly, we threw in a handful of chopped parsley (my coworker had recommended cilantro, but we did not have any on hand).

The result? Not bad for a first try on both recipes. The chapati was much more dry than my coworker’s had been (expected for a variety of reasons – technique, old flour, etc.), but was all right. The curried tofu was also okay, with a notable texture unlike any tofu I ever had before, but lacked a certain something beyond salt and pepper. Mack commented that the tomatoes made the dish for him.

Curried Tofu Scramble (a shade of radioactive yellow!)

After we made this, I read a post over at the Little Red Kitchen that may help us with future scrambles. Anyway, I love a recipe that can be made using pantry and fridge staples, and this is one that we may play around with yet.

The Cooking Chronicles: Harvest Corn Chowder

I’m still in shock of how fast winter descended upon the city, with the trees, yellow leaves still attached, frozen in a sad reminder of fall.

Anyway, the dip in temperature means it is officially soup weather, so I made a harvest corn chowder based on a recipe I clipped from the Edmonton Journal a few weeks ago. Because we are still swimming in potatoes from the Great Potato Giveaway, I substituted them for the sweet potato called for in the recipe.

While it was tasty, and not too heavy, owing to the fact that the majority of the liquid is chicken stock and not cream, it seemed there was something lacking in the soup. Perhaps the sweet potato was indeed the missing link?

Harvest Corn Chowder

The Cooking Chronicles: Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables

I adore fall – I revel in the brilliant golden hue cast by trees, find the crisp (not cold) air refreshing, and recognize that it is the one season that acts as a yearly reminder to live in the moment – because before we know it, winter will be upon us. On the food side of things (which it always comes back to), I think autumn speaks to me because what I love to eat corresponds most with a turndown in temperature. Light, warm-weather appropriate meals of salads and the like are far from being my favourite. Instead, curries, stews, and lovingly braised meats appeal more to my palate. While I know I need not justify my preferences to anyone, I feel the harvest season is when it all comes together.

So, utilizing some of my farmers’ market bounty, I set to create Mark Bittman’s cassoulet with lots of vegetables, another gem from Food Matters. Unlike some of the other dishes that I mistakenly label “one pot wonders” (somehow, I never consider the rice cooker to be a “pot”), this recipe truly is contained to one vessel. The large saucepan I chose, however, turned out to be not quite large enough, and as a result, I wasn’t able to include all of the recommended stock. The variation turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the sweet tomato juice (I used canned tomatoes) thickened wonderfully as the beans naturally cooked down. I was also afraid that one pound of sausages wasn’t enough considering the large quantity of vegetables, but actually, there was more than enough meat, and more than that, the fact that they were immersed and finished cooking by simmering away in liquid meant that they ended up moist and full of flavour.

Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables

The cassoulet was a hearty, satisfying dish, and like stews or chilis, was even better for lunch the next day. We ended up with six good-sized servings, which helped save me an evening of cooking – always a bonus! This recipe is definitely a keeper.

The Cooking Chronicles: Curried Lentils with Potatoes

My Mum introduced Mack and I to Spice Centre (9280 34 Avenue, 780-440-3334) in Little India the other day. The impetus for this visit was a desire to pick up some lentils for an earmarked recipe of Curried Lentils with Potatoes in Mark Bittman’s Food Matters (here is a very similar recipe from another one of his cookbooks), another one of our “meat alternative” ventures.

What we found, beyond a great assortment of dried lentils and beans, was a fabulous selection of spices. With each small packet priced from $1.49-$2.99, we couldn’t resist stocking up. I mention this because their red chili powder was more potent than any other we’ve ever tried – we made the mistake of adding the usual amount to a tried-and-true chili recipe…and ended up with a dish so spicy I teared up at first bite. Needless to say, we won’t be making that blind measurement mistake again.

Anyway, Bittman’s recipe is a keeper – super easy, and served with rice, makes a comforting meal. The potatoes become fall-apart tender, and the lentils add an earthiness to the dish. And like most curry recipes, it involves the addition of coconut milk – when simmering on the stove, there is no aroma more welcome in my kitchen. Bittman does provide a variation involving chicken, which Mack would have preferred, and myself, having been brought up on curries containing green beans, would add that for an additional vegetable boost.

Curried Lentils with Potatoes

As the nights cool down, I’d suggest you stock your pantry and have this recipe handy as a go-to cold weather meal.