Tag: cooking

The Cooking Chronicles: Coffee Creme Brulee

There are some kitchen gadgets, that while extraneous to day-to-day cooking, are justifiable. A food processor, for example, has so many uses that the expense incurred (and precious cupboard/counter space needed) could be rationalized – sauces, dips, bread crumbs, dough…the list goes on. Others, such as a mini kitchen blowtorch, are less reasonable. Though being able to make my own crème brulee was always an interesting idea, practicality got in the way of the purchase.

Fortunately, I had thoughtful friends who bought one for me for my birthday, and six months after the fact, I finally used it. Using Bob Blumer’s recipe, which seemed less taxing than many I came across (it removed a stovetop folding step), I made six Coffee Crème Brulees. While I had to be careful while pouring the water bath that surrounded the ramekins, the directions to bake it until the mixtures just slightly “jiggled” were spot on.

I took them out to cool, then, excited to finally use the torch, spread the necessary sugar on top of the custard. I took the torch out of the box, and then…couldn’t use it because I hadn’t thought to fill it with butane first. At this point, I wanted to eat one, so used Blumer’s suggestion of putting it under the broiler for a few minutes. The combination of too much sugar and not watching the dessert resulted in an overly-burnt crust. I was hoping the torch would allow for better control.

The next evening, I went to Burlington Tobacconists on Whyte to pick up some butane. For whatever reason I thought the gas would come in a disposable canister, to be inserted into the torch, used, then replaced. Instead, the butane came in an aerosol can. The staff person showed me how to fuel the torch (three second intervals is best, he said), and played around with the flame controls. I was set.

Back at home, I put Mack (and his pyrotechnic tendencies) in charge of the torch. He pulled the switch down and pushed the button (similar to how a butane lighter works), releasing an uncontrollable ten inch flame. It took us a while to finally realize we needed to tip the torch at an angle to make it release a small blue flame that we could utilize. A few minutes of concentrated effort later, we had a bubbling, golden brown crust.

The torch at work

Mack was surprised that the crust was solid all the way through, and like at an expert restaurant, required a quick wrist tap to break through to the custard below. He didn’t like all of the sugar, but I loved all of sweet crunchy bits. The custard was flavoured with instant coffee (and minus the stovetop step), was actually thicker than I wanted, and slightly more overpowering than I am used to. Vanilla bean, plain and simple, is my favourite, so I likely will have to try out an alternative recipe to see if I can achieve a lighter consistency.

Coffee Creme Brulee

It was fun being able to make one of my favourite dining out desserts at home. Thanks Annie and Janice!

The Cooking Chronicles: Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

Needing a last-minute starter to bring to a housewarming this weekend, I flipped through Giada de Laurentiis’ Everyday Italian for inspiration, as I knew the hosts would be serving lasagna as the main course.

The recipe for Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto caught my eye, as not only was it simple and elegant, but it required only two main ingredients, and could be served at room temperature.

We picked up the needed items at Sobeys Urban Fresh (convenient for us, as we had just stopped at deVine Wines for a bottle of local en Santé wine to give as a gift), and headed to Mack’s place to assemble the appetizer.

This was my lesson in cooking seasonally, as while the Peru-grown asparagus seemed all right at the store (and would have been fine for most uses), by the time I had finished roasting them, the spears looked downright sad. The recipe in the book had also directed us to use a teaspoon of salt and pepper each – way too much seasoning – something my brain should have overridden. Paired with the savoury prosciutto, however, the salt content was normalized a bit, and I’m happy to say the dish was a hit.

Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

My plate of lasagna, caesar salad and garlic toast.

Yi-Li’s triumphant Hazelnut Torte

Thanks to Warren and Leslie for hosting a great party!

The Cooking Chronicles: Cap’n Crunch French Toast

Inspired by a dish I saw made on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, I made Cap’n Crunch French Toast over the weekend (improvised, without the recipe I linked to). In theory, the dish excited the child in me – a crunchy, sugar-coated treat for breakfast? Score!

I put Mack to work crunching up cereal with a potato masher and a large Ziploc (though we found later that it was actually easier just to use a rounded plastic spoon in a flat dish to do the same), while I readied the dredging concoction of eggs, milk and cinnamon. In hindsight, we should have bought some white bread for this experiment, as the wheat cut through the sweet flavour we were trying to achieve in a negative way, but we went ahead with what we had on hand.

After soaking up a slice of bread, I did my best to coat both sides with crushed cereal. For whatever reason, it didn’t work as well as I had seen on the show, but we did our best and placed it on the pan.

It turns out medium-low heat works best, otherwise, the Cap’n Crunch just burns – we found that out the hard way. We also discovered that a finer-ground cereal makes a better crust, as it encouraged an even cooking process. The result was a golden-brown, thoroughly crunchy coating, and a still-eggy quality in its interior. The Cap’n Crunch didn’t provide a distinguishable flavour however – nearly any sweet, non-chocolate cereal (Corn Puffs, Fruit Loops, etc.) would likely create a similar taste.

Cap’n Crunch French Toast

Though it was a novel way to start the day, we will likely stick with our regular French toast recipe.

Culinary Q & A with Diane Begin-Croft

Occupation: PR

What did you eat today?

Nothing yet, just Orangina.

What do you never eat?

Salmon, sardines, oysters, Kinder Surprise and white chocolate (none of the above are actually chocolate)

 

What is your personal specialty?

Sweet & sour spare ribs. Actually it’s my mom’s recipe, but it’s a big hit especially with plain rice.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Chopper (hand or electric) to make fresh salsa. I just hate cleaning it. My one cup coffee maker also ranks quite high.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

For sure I’d have gazpacho with croutons and tiny cubes of veges, beef tataki, beef carpaccio, a nice salad with misonaise dressing and the rest would probably be Mexican food, like a whole buffet when you go to a resort. I never eat this much, but what if the end is delayed…

Where do you eat out most frequently?

At work, in the NAIT Common Market or Bytes, just because it’s there. If I were to venture out somewhere I’d have a chicken Texas BBQ Ranch wrap with noodles at Badass Jacks.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Just outside of Edmonton, there’s a restaurant in St. Albert called The Cajun House. It’s my favourite place to go because it’s cozy and the food is fantastic. Ernest’s Dining Room at NAIT for the Friday lunch buffet is also one of my favourites, when we can get in.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

I was going to say Paris for the cheese, but I think I’d probably go to the south of Spain to have some gazpacho and yummy tapas. Restaurants typically open at 9pm for dinner, which works great for my night owl schedule. (then I’d go to Paris for breakfast)

The Cooking Chronicles: Cheese Fondue

After our successful experiment with chocolate fondue earlier in the year, Annie, May, Janice and I met up again to try our hand with the warm-weather appropriate cheese fondue.

Janice hosted the event this time around, searched out a recipe, and did most of the heavy-lifting with ingredients, roasting a number of vegetables which were ready by the time the rest of us showed up. We did all contribute in one way or another though, either bringing wine, the cheese, or additional ingredients to be dipped, so it felt like a team effort in many ways.

Once everyone had arrived, we got started melting the grated Swiss gruyere into the simmering white wine. The mixture thickened nicely once all of the cheese had been added, and we transferred them into two small fondue pots placed at both ends of the table. The spread included the requisite vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, zucchini and mushrooms, among others), bread, garlic sausage, nacho chips (for “gourmet” nachos), and fruit for dessert.

 Annie uncorking the wine

Janice at the stove

The spread

We found rather quickly that the nearly two cups of wine the recipe called to was way too much – the fondue mixture reeked of wine, so much so that the flavour overpowered anything we dipped. Still, fondue was a great way to catch up with everyone, as we casually worked our way through the food on the table. The roasted potatoes and garlic sausage ended up being my favourite things to dip.

At the table

Me and May

It was great that all of the vegetables had been either blanched or roasted, as it allowed us to enjoy them without cheese adornment as well (“raw” would have been fine, but as with most vegetables, they taste better roasted).

 Janice shows what is left of the cheese

Thanks again Janice for hosting! Cheese fondue is a great winter treat, though next time, we will be definitely be mindful of the amount of alcohol we should be adding.

The Cooking Chronicles: Eggnog Pancakes

I am a bit of a fridge nazi. Nothing makes me happier than being able to piece together a meal with neglected ingredients slightly past their prime. It is likely tied also to the fact that by purchasing groceries now on a regular basis, I actually know firsthand how expensive food really is.

Though frugality shouldn’t have played a part in Mack’s birthday meal, it did somewhat – a 2L carton of eggnog was fast approaching its expiry date in his fridge, and though I can’t stand to drink the stuff, I find it slightly more bearable when diluted in recipes.

Mack’s opinion on the seasonal drink is quite opposite of mine, though if he had his way, eggnog would become a popular flavouring in more than just his favourite cookies. So after printing off a recipe for Eggnog Pancakes, I was ready to prepare a breakfast starring his beloved drink.

The recipe is perfect for doubling (which I did, so he could have pancakes the next day as well), and used common ingredients most would have on hand. The instructions advised to leave the batter for five minutes, which allowed the baking soda to react, creating an airy, voluminous batter I’ve never before seen with pancakes.

I probably should also not have scooped such heaping spoonfuls onto the griddle, as the puffy batter retained its fluffy shape on the pan, and did not have time to cook through before the sides burned. I dressed up a stack of the pancakes with icing sugar, a handful of blueberries, and two candles, though in hindsight the sugar was a bad idea (ending up as a casualty of blowing out the candles).

Eggnog Birthday Pancakes (it’s a kind of “cake”, right?)

Mack enjoyed his birthday breakfast though, primarily because the eggnog flavour was not overpowering. The pancakes themselves were also wonderfully fluffy – the tell of a from-scratch vs. Bisquick batter.

Seeing as he still had about half a carton remaining, more recipes that make use of eggnog may be on the horizon.

The Cooking Chronicles: Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Affogato

While I can’t take credit for making Christmas dinner, I did plant the idea into my Mum’s head of using the slow cooker this year. A recipe for Pulled Pork Sandwiches in the most recent edition of Inspired by Compliments magazine caught my eye; I loved the idea of minimal effort to produce the evening meal.

As we didn’t have the recommended smoky applewood sauce on hand, my Mum substituted a bottle of barbeque sauce, which worked just as well. To accompany the meat, she made buns with the dough left over from the batch of breadsticks she had made the night prior – yum! Though the meat was a touch on the dry side, a heaping tablespoon of the generated onion-laced sauce flavoured the sandwich nicely. She served the sandwiches with roasted squash and sautéed mushrooms, but any type of roasted vegetables or even tossed salad would have made a fine side dish.

Pulled Pork Sandwich on a Homemade Bun

My Mum asked me to take care of dessert, but due to my lack of pre-planning, we didn’t have any cream in the fridge necessary to make crème brulee, which she was craving. We did, however, have ice cream she had been meaning to get rid of for some time, and after surfing around on the Food Network site, I came across Ina Garten’s simple Affogato recipe.

Easy as pie, I substituted the espresso ingredient for two strong cups of Starbucks’ Christmas Blend (which I figured was as close to espresso as we were going to get that night). Poured over a scoop of vanilla, I was done.

Affogato

There was something about the interaction of the hot coffee and cold ice cream that worked beautifully. And though I was afraid that the coffee would vaporize the ice cream too quickly, it wouldn’t have mattered if it did, as the melding of both in liquid form made a lovely, drinkable dessert.

Who says Christmas dinner has to be something to sweat over?

The Cooking Chronicles: Roasted Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes

I had my eye on Dave Lieberman’s recipe for Roasted Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes for some time, but forgot about it after a bout with a bad cold. I was finally organized enough to buy the ingredients needed earlier this week, and pulled it together in no time at all.

The salmon was flavoured with nothing more than salt, pepper, fresh dill, and a squeeze of lemon, and the roasted tomatoes with olive oil, dried oregano (instead of fresh thyme) and salt and pepper to taste.

For such a simple recipe, the fish tasted great – perfectly cooked, and complemented the sweet roma tomatoes well. I served the fish with some creamy rice to round out a weekday meal, but the recipe would translate well for entertaining as well, jazzed up with some risotto. It’s definitely a keeper!

Roasted Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes

The Cooking Chronicles: Chocolate Truffles

Mack’s Grandma mentioned a while back that she liked chocolate truffles, so I thought this season would be a good time to try out the recipe I picked up at the Truffology 101 session I attended a few weeks back.

I bought milk chocolate callebaut chunks at Save-On-Foods, along with a bulk container of golden syrup. I measured out the ingredients on a small baking scale I have at home, and prepared the ganache as directed. I covered the resulting mixture with saran wrap and placed it in the fridge to cool overnight.

In the morning, I pulled out the glass bowl to discover that the mixture hadn’t really solidified into the clay-like consistency I was expecting – it was more like a thick syrup. As a result, I spread the mixture out onto a sheet pan, and put it in our equivalent of a “blast chiller” – out on our back step, hoping the –25 weather would help matters. Half an hour later, the mixture still hadn’t congealed to the necessary thickness. I did some digging on the internet, and found that the substitution of golden in place of corn syrup may have been the problem, though our scale was another potential point of failure.

My Mum, always quick on her feet, suggested that we mix in Oreo cookie crumbs to serve as a binder. While it helped somewhat, the “truffles” still didn’t quite hold their shape, and the dry crumbs made coating the external layer with cocoa, confectioner’s sugar, coconut, or sprinkles a little difficult. The final product, though less attractive than the truffles I had put together during the session, were a nice treat, as they had the added texture of crushed cookies in the mix. We put together enough to fill a small box, and poured the rest of the ganache into a freezer bag.

 

Chocolate Truffles

Other failed attempts as reported on the internet resulted in people having a ready-made fondue base, or at the very least, frosting for a future cake. So the bag I now have in the freezer will serve some concrete purpose at some point, in addition to reminding me never to use golden syrup in place of its corn-based counterpart.

The Cooking Chronicles: Toasted Party Nuts and Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

I usually stick with tried and true recipes for my holiday baking regime (I’m partial to the festive appearance of Mini Linzer Cookies), but for one couple, I had to cater the recipe to their dietary needs. Thankfully, a trip to the library wasn’t in vain, and I found two recipes that would work well – Toasted Party Nuts and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

The first recipe was quick to execute, and made my kitchen smell absolutely divine – I heated oil and a spice mixture containing cumin, cayenne pepper, ginger powder, cinnamon and onion salt over the stove, then tossed it with a cup each of pecans and almonds. After fifteen minutes in the oven, topped with some kosher salt, they were done. While the spices aren’t immediately discernable, they kick in as an aftertaste. More than anything, I’d be likely to pop these in the oven before guests arrive just for the aroma; “essential oil” air fresheners don’t hold a candle to the real thing, heh.

Toasted Party Nuts

As for the cookies, I didn’t have raisins on hand, but the cranberry substitution I used worked nicely with the applesauce added to decrease the overall amount of sugar needed. The recipe asked for the oats to be toasted (and cooled) prior to incorporation with the batter, which was an extra step that I wasn’t sure I could taste in the final product. Overall, they were a lighter, less saccharine cookie than I am used to – the only downside was that the reduced fat and sugar content meant the cookies keep for a very short period of time.

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

The preliminary comments from the gift receivers were positive ones, so I may end up making up more batches of both recipes.