The Cooking Chronicles: Stew-pendous

Eye-rolling title aside, since launching into the world of meat stew a few weeks ago, we’ve continued to crave it, and have been experimenting with different recipes to satisfy that craving.

Mushroom Stew with Beef Chunks

Mark Bittman says that his recipe for mushroom stew with beef chunks can be easily adapted into a vegetarian dish by simply using more mushrooms, but since we had a package of beef stew meat left (our dwindling cow share stash), I thought it would be a good recipe to make and compare with our previous slow-roasted version.

This stew cooks up on the stovetop, for around an hour and a half. What sets it apart is the inclusion of dried mushrooms (we used porcini), and the soaking liquid. Our entire condo was perfumed with the scent of the mushrooms, which also had the effect of lightening the dish as well, as the broth was more liquid than paste).

The beef, as expected, wasn’t as tender as when cooked in the oven for a longer period of time, but it was still pretty tasty. Both of us agreed, though, that the best thing about the dish really was the broth. No stock/wine combination could outshine the aromatic porcini liquid, especially to have been made in that amount of time.

Mushroom stew with beef chunks

Elk Stew

Stew is great not only for its comforting aspects, but is the perfect winter meal – nearly all the ingredients for a typical stew can be found at your local farmers’ market right now. For us, this means potatoes from Greens, Eggs and Ham, carrots from Riverbend Gardens, mushrooms from MoNa…and elk from Shooting Star Ranch.

I decided to give elk stew a try after talking to Christine from Shooting Star at the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market. She convinced me to try using sirloin meat, and had advised me on cooking it “low and slow” (low meaning 250F) for several hours.

Of course, being the overreaching cook that I am, I thought I would be able to make this stew on a weeknight. To compensate for the time, I jacked up the temperature somewhat (about 315 for the first hour, and 275 for the second).

I realized in hindsight that a high temperature wasn’t necessary – the elk was super lean, but more than that, the consistency of the meat reminded me of liver – supple and maroon in colour (interestingly enough, it tasted slightly of liver too – some pieces that I bit in to had a faint metallic tang). Needless to say, I think I cooked the living daylights out of the sirloin, so I definitely learned my lesson: follow the instructions!

Elk stew

The Cooking Chronicles: Italian Comforts

I really enjoy browsing for cookbooks at the library – how else would you be able to test run recipes before deciding whether or not it belongs in your permanent collection? Currently on trial: Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano, which won a James Beard Award for “Best International Cookbook” in 2006.

I’ve only made two recipes from the book so far, but it’s a nice volume to flip through – lots of photos, and most of the recipes are preceded by an anecdote, something that does help make it more personal and fun to read.

Roman Egg Drop Soup

Feeling snowed in on one of the weekends, Mario Batali’s Roman egg drop soup seemed like the perfect dish to make. Simple and fast, it was so good I had it for lunch and dinner that night. This in spite of the fact that I used boxed stock, and substituted all purpose for semolina flour.

It’s so easy to pull together – a cup of cold broth, eggs, flour, parmesan and nutmeg is whisked into boiling stock – nothing to it. It was silky smooth, rich without being heavy, and made our condo smell like mom’s kitchen on a sick day.

Roman egg drop soup

I will be making this again – I’m craving it now, just writing about it.

Baked Pasta with Ricotta and Ham

Mack didn’t enjoy the soup as much as I did, but he did like the baked pasta with ricotta and ham more than me. I was calling it “Italian mac and cheese”, but it’s really more like a macaroni pie – pasta and Italian cooked ham layered with ricotta, provolone and tomato sauce.

It wasn’t difficult – most of the recipe time is passive, allowing the sauce to reduce down (it did taste fantastic) – but somehow, even with all of the cheese and ham, the dish didn’t meet my expectations. There wasn’t quite enough sauce for my liking, and in the end, I kept thinking – with similar ingredients, I could have made Giada’s stuffed shells with arrabbiata sauce instead.

Baked pasta with ricotta and ham

I bookmarked a few more recipes to try – hopefully I get to them before the book’s due date!

The Cooking Chronicles: Post-Holiday Detox

I don’t think our holiday indulgence was as bad this year as in past years, but after Christmas, for whatever reason, my body was craving vegetables, and a break from butter and fat. So I made sure to bookmark a few recipes to get us through the post-holiday detox.

Mushroom Barley Soup

We went to the pantry for this one, and hauled out the quick-cook barley that had been hiding behind a good many other things. The mushroom barley soup was one recipe on the Progressive Foods website I hadn’t yet tried, and better yet, it allowed me to purge my fridge of some less-than-peak vegetables in the crisper.

It simmered happily on the stove while we had company over, allowing the flavours to stew for even longer. The results were great – a spoonful of tasty vegetables, textured barley and savoury broth in every bite.

Mushroom barley soup

Two Pea Soup with Frizzled Ham

I should nickname this Mark Bittman dish of two pea soup with frizzled ham the “first intermission soup”, because it is the perfect recipe to be made during the first intermission of a hockey game (as I did, on break from watching one of the World Juniors games). Then, allowed to simmer through the last two periods to soften the split peas, it was ready to eat by the end of the game.

It’s another soup that is easily made with ingredients that most people have on hand – ham, split peas, frozen peas, carrots, onions – and it’s a hearty meal without being heavy. The frizzled ham was a lovely garnish, enhancing the soup with a crispy, smoky finish.

Two pea soup with frizzled ham

Tofu Chili with Soy Sauce

Like kale chips and potato chips, tofu chili really shouldn’t be compared with its meat counterpart – it is in a different playing field all together, and will never, ever win.

Mark Bittman’s recipe for tofu chili with soy sauce came together easily (and even more so because I opted to use a can of black beans instead of cooking them myself).

The texture of the crumbled tofu wasn’t a surprise (we’ve had it before), but I found it probably needed more time on the stove to absorb all of the flavours (I had reduced the simmering time in half because we weren’t cooking beans from scratch). Cumin probably would have been a great addition, as well as tomato paste, to thicken the mixture, and though the cloves were fragrant, the combination with soy sauce didn’t work as well as we expected. Mack though, ever the joker, said that something was missing. When asked what, he replied, “Meat.” Haha.

Tofu chili

We would make it again – but like I said, tofu chili is to be considered henceforth as a stand alone dish.

The Cooking Chronicles: Breakfast Banana Muffins

Every family seem to have that one go-to cookbook for baked goods, so used that the spine is worn, the pages tabbed and wrinkled. For my family, when it came to muffins anyway, that cookbook was Company’s Coming Muffins & More. For Mack’s family, it was Muffin Mania, by Cathy Prange & Joan Pauli.

Though I’m not giving up Jean Pare anytime soon (her zucchini muffins are a particular favourite), Grandma Male gave me a copy of Muffin Mania last year, so appreciated because I know how much the recipes are treasured by their family.

Muffin Mania

I’ve replicated a few recipes from the book, but I had yet to venture into banana territory until recently (banana muffins are Mack’s favourite). It never really occurred to me to make muffins in the morning – but with a pot of coffee brewing and ready to sip while the muffins are in the oven, they really are a wonderful way to start the day.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

First up was a recipe for banana oatmeal muffins. The inclusion of oats certainly made it a heartier muffin, and did add a layer of texture, but both Mack and I agreed that we preferred the more cake-like banana muffin. Next.

Banana oatmeal muffins

Best Ever Banana Muffins

The best ever banana muffins was a winner, and though I still don’t believe Mack when he says they taste like the ones his Mum makes, I have to admit, they are pretty good. Most surprising to me is the fact that the recipe doesn’t call for any spices – the usual cinnamon and/or nutmeg is conspicuously absent. And yet, they really are the best banana muffins I’ve had – moist, soft, and so fragrant.

Best ever banana muffins

They’re the best reason I’ve found to let your bananas brown.

The Cooking Chronicles: Bring on the Meat (and Seafood)

In the last six months, I’ve made a deliberate effort to include more beans, lentils and tofu in our diet, replacing the meat we used to extensively depend on for protein. Of course, while we will never give up meat entirely (hello, bacon!), I’ve started to think about it as an option instead of a necessity.

The following two recipes, however, were delicious ways to incorporate meat (and seafood) into our week’s meals.

Beef Stew

Beef stew always seemed to be one of those quintessential “rite of passage” dishes that all cooks have in their back pocket (like roasting a chicken, something else I have yet to do). I’m not sure what’s stopped me in the past (it’s not difficult – brown the meat, toss in the vegetables, wine/stock, and throw it in the oven), but I finally attempted it recently, basing it loosely on Rose Murray’s recipe that appears in A Taste of Canada.

I didn’t make the orange-walnut gremolata, but then again, I didn’t think it would have added anything to the stew. The stewing beef (some of the last of our cow share) was just perfectly tender after three hours in the oven, and Mack really liked the inclusion of mushrooms (the stews that we both grew up with did not contain mushrooms).

Beef stew

Next up: a slow cooker beef stew!

Shrimp and Cilantro Shu Mai

When I saw Mark Bittman’s recipe for shrimp and cilantro shu mai, I was immediately taken. Homemade dim sum? Yes, please!

It was pretty easy – half of the shrimp was pureed in a food processor with sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, cilantro and scallions, then combined with the rest of the shrimp, cilantro (both roughly chopped) and scallions. The mixture is then placed inside wonton wrappers, and steamed.

Shu mai

We couldn’t get the pleats quite right, so we decided to just make little stars instead, which worked just fine. We served the shu mai with some blanched bok choy and rice, for a rounded weekday dinner.

Dinner

They were lovely – the sesame oil was the fragrant standout, though the fresh presence of the cilantro was hard to ignore as well (much to Mack’s dismay). The texture provided by a mix of the puree and chopped shrimp was also quite pleasant. We liked the shu mai so much we decided to bring them as appetizers to Jane and Yi-Li’s post-Christmas Christmas dinner potluck.

If you want a taste of dim sum without leaving the comforts of your own home, give these a try!

A Day with the Birthday Boy!

Mack celebrated his birthday on Tuesday. He probably gets short-changed somewhat because it falls so close after Christmas, but he usually has the day off of work for the holidays, which means we can spend the day together.

Mack loves LEGO, so we had already made plans a few weeks ago to check out Wheels, Wings & Waves, a LEGO World of Transportation Exhibition (two years ago for his birthday, we took in the Art of the Brick exhibition, also at the Telus World of Science). The exhibition chronicles the history of transportation “on the ground, in the air and on the water, all as seen through the eyes and built by the hands of talented LEGO builders”, and runs until January 2, 2011.

Mack thought he was too big to fit inside the racecar

All of the models were pretty cool, but of course, we had a few favourites, including the Titanic and the Space Lab.

Titanic

Space Lab

But it was a model of the High Level Bridge and the LRT bridge, built by the Northern Alberta LEGO Users Group that really caught our eye in the main showroom. We loved the small details – the people on the trails, the cars on the bridge.

Too cool!

A small room at the back of the exhibit housed a model inspired by The Way We Move, the City’s Transportation Master Plan.

Edmonton, reimagined

In the middle of the room, there was a LEGO equivalent of “Where’s Waldo?”, complete with a working lighthouse and a moving train.

Look for the details

Mack couldn’t wait to get his hands on LEGO. After rummaging around the numerous bins available, he was able to find pieces to put together a car.

Mack hard at work

His masterpiece

Before the centre closed, we checked out a show at the Margaret Zeidler Star Theatre. The last time I watched a show under the domed theatre must have been back in elementary school; an educational film about the stars. On this day we watched The Celestial Railroad. Though the images were quite beautiful, the milky way dissolving into a field of blinking flowers and flying cranes, we really didn’t enjoy the story or the message.

After our visit, we went to Route 99 for dinner. Nothing hits the spot like food at our favourite greasy spoon!

Beer and poutine FTW!

Pizza!

For dessert, I made us Mark Bittman’s Brown Betty (isn’t that the most charming name for a dish?). I had a lot of leftover bread from the scalloped tomato dish, and the Brown Betty incorporates quite a bit of fruit, not a bad thing after indulging on more than enough cheese.

A Brown Betty is similar to a bread pudding, with layers of toasted bread (tossed in sugar) and fruit drizzled with a mixture of juice and butter and baked.

Brown Betty

Unfortunately, the name was better than the result – part of it probably had to do with my poor job of tossing the sugars with the bread, but I was hoping for something with a little more oomph – the sum wasn’t greater than the parts.

We ended the night playing with Mack’s new toy from Santa – his XBOX Kinect. Our favourite game so far is Joy Ride (who doesn’t love a good old racing game?). The coolest thing about the Kinect (besides the limited voice activation features) is the fact that the console takes photos of the players throughout the game.

Yes, our steering wheels are really that big

Happy birthday, Mack!

The Cooking Chronicles: More Vegetarian Dishes

This year, I’ve made a conscious effort to make more vegetarian dishes. Some are hit or miss (a cheddar apple soup we tried recently was definitely the latter), but the two below did not make us miss meat.

Polenta Pie

I immediately bookmarked Mollie Katzen’s recipe for polenta pie as soon as I saw it on Kelley’s blog. I hadn’t really made polenta any other way than on the stove, eaten while still creamy, so baking polenta to form a crust really intrigued me.

On top of the crust went a layer of cheese, sautéed vegetables, then another layer of cheese. Unfortunately, we only had enough fontina for the first layer, which is something I think impacted the success of the dish somewhat.

Mack ended up enjoying the polenta crust more than I did; the crispy bits were fun to eat, but perhaps a more even ratio of vegetables to polenta would have helped for me.

Polenta pie

I would make it again, but I’d have to think about how to jazz it up a little more.

Curried Lentil Soup

If there is an idea to get excited about, this is it (okay, at least for the soup lovers among us). We’ve tried a number of ways to thicken our soups – cornstarch, roux, pureed potatoes – but Molly Wizenberg’s idea of pureed chickpeas in her recipe for curried lentil soup has got to be the most flavourful, nutritious way that we’ve come across so far.

It didn’t thicken the dish as much as I expected it to (we would have needed two cans of chickpeas for that), but it did the trick, and combined with the green lentils that still had a bite, made for a lovely texture.

Curried lentil soup

I’ve mentioned that Mack isn’t the biggest fan of soups (he’s hoping it’s just a phase in my cooking), but between the heat from the curry powder and the consistency, even he requested this dish be made again. Thanks Linda for the recommendation!

The Cooking Chronicles: Holiday Potlucks

Potlucks were so much a part of my childhood holidays that it wasn’t until much later in life that I realized some families didn’t celebrate the way that we were used to. Never did any one family make all of the dishes; instead, each family was responsible for one or two sides, while the host prepared the turkey.

As such, I marvel at those families (like Mack’s grandparents) that do put all the food on the tables themselves, but I have to say, I am very happy that the potluck tradition continues – both in my family, and at work.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

One of the teams I am a part of at the office decided to put on a holiday lunch for the rest of the staff, in recognition of their service to the agency. Most of my colleagues volunteered to bring mains or side dishes, so I figured the dessert table could use some additions.

I chose Trish Magwood’s recipe of buttermilk chocolate cake for the base of my cupcakes. Her recipe should really be called the one-bowl, no-fail wonder, for how reliable it is in producing a moist, fluffy product. It’s a fabulous chocolate cake (and with cocoa powder from Kerstin’s, just chocolate-y enough).

I topped them with Ina Garten’s peanut butter icing and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts (my office is void of anyone with peanut allergies – probably an anomaly in the city).

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing

I’m happy to say they were a hit with the staff, with several people asking for the recipe the next day. A special thanks to Jill and Kat for transportation help – it would have been a rather comical trudge through the snow with 50 cupcakes in hand!

Scalloped Tomatoes

I turned to another Ina Garten recipe for our annual Christmas Eve potluck with family friends. I borrowed her newest book, How Easy Is That? from the library a few weeks ago, and after seeing her recipe for scalloped tomatoes, thought it would make a good vegetable side dish for the dinner.

Mack did most of the grunt work for the dish, which involved dicing 15 plum tomatoes. After that, it was really easy to pull together – sautéing the tomatoes with crisped-up bread crumbs, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, then baking it off with some basil (we threw in almost two cups), parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil.

In the pan

Our condo smelled of summer while the tomatoes baked, and the dish came out beautifully, with a crust of golden-brown cheese on top.

Scalloped tomatoes (of course, running late, I didn’t get a chance to take the photo at our place)

I thought the dish could have used a little more sugar (the tomatoes were a little tart for me), but as a whole, it was a solid vegetable side, and one I would consider making again.

Do you have a go-to potluck dish?

The Cooking Chronicles: Holiday Baking

My Mum always does a ton of Christmas baking. She makes a variety of cookies like clockwork every year – from almond crescents to jam pinwheels to butter balls, our house was always full of good things to eat and give away this time of year.

My baking routine isn’t so measured – most of it is last minute (I finished a batch of cookies for my coworkers at midnight last night). That said, I wanted to make sure we included some homemade treats tucked in among the gifts to Grandma Male and Mack’s parents, which meant some necessary planning.

Cookies ‘n’ Cream Brownies

To satisfy Grandma Male’s sweet tooth, I thought Anna Olson’s recipe for cookies ‘n’ cream brownies would be perfect. The layer of snow white cream cheese icing on top had a nice winter feel to it, and speckled with crumbled Oreo cookies, how could one go wrong?

They turned out quite well, with a soft, chewy brownie base thanks to the cream cheese inclusion and a balanced icing from a combination of butter and cream cheese. Mack had to taste test them (of course), and declared them gift worthy! And Grandma Male enjoyed them too.

Cookies ‘n’ cream brownies

White Chocolate and Cranberry Drops

For Mack’s parents, we made sure to pick a recipe with full nutritional disclosure (nearly the same as it appears here), and a cookie that included red and white fillings seemed to be a good fit for the holidays.

The good news: the dough was easy to work with (shortbread doughs are hit or miss for me), and didn’t require any refrigeration before baking. The bad news: I didn’t pay attention to the fact that it was a shortbread to begin with – not a problem if we were just delivering the tin ourselves, but since we had to mail them to Yellowknife, cookies at risk of crumbling + rough handling should not mix.

White chocolate and cranberry drops

The story does have a happy ending though – the cookies reached Patti and Martin in good shape!

The Cooking Chronicles: Kale Two Ways

We’re really lucky here in Edmonton to have greens year-round, due to some greenhouse magic – butter lettuce from TR Greenhouses, spinach from Peas on Earth, and mixed heritage greens from Greens, Eggs and Ham, to mention a few. Of course, sometimes hearty greens are what we crave in the dead of winter – like kale.

North African Chickpea and Kale Soup

We had a couple of kale bunches from Kuhlmann’s. Most of the leaves went into a North African chickpea and kale soup.

We used chicken instead of vegetable stock, but that was the only change we made to a recipe that resulted in the most flavourful broth we’ve ever made – flavoured with cumin, paprika, chili powder, saffron, ground ginger, bay leaves and a cinnamon stick. The contents of the soup reminded us of Mark Bittman’s carrot, spinach and rice soup, but this one was so much better, and it simmered only for an hour!

North African chickpea and kale soup

It’s definitely a soup that we are adding to our rotation.

Kale Chips

Kale chips are touted as a healthy alternative to fattening potato chips – kale drizzled with olive oil, baked in the oven, then tossed with seasoning (we like salt and paprika). We made kale chips earlier this year, but used a flat-leaf kale, which seemed to work well. We were curious about how curly kale would turn out.

Kale chips

It seemed not to work as well, perhaps because I didn’t do as good of a job drying the leaves before putting them in the oven, so they weren’t as crunchy as the flat leaves. The seasoning did its job, but both of us had to admit – given a choice between kale chips and their starchy, deep-fried cousin, the latter would win…every time.

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