Sunday, June 27, 2010

Brunch: Eggs and "Ratatouille"

This morning Dave and I had thought about going for brunch, but we're trying not to eat out as much (plus the coffee we make at home is so good now) so I figured I'd toss something together. Our local brunch spot (the Gem, Davenport & Ossington) has a fantastic dish of poached eggs served over ratatouille and I took a look at what we had in the fridge and came up with the following. It was fantastic. I loved it so much I didn't even take pictures before eating it (not that tomato based stew type dishes are particularly pretty). I loved it so much that I'm writing it down here right away so I remember what I did and can replicate it even though I normally just cook stuff like this based on what's in the fridge! I am doubling it here to give a recipe that should serve 4.

1-2 tbsp canola oil (or olive if you prefer that for cooking)
1 red onion, diced
1 dried sausage (chorizo), thinly sliced
approx. 1 tbsp dried oregano (more or less to taste - I love oregano)
pinch or two of dried chili flakes (or to taste)
approx 1-2 tsp dried thyme (or to taste)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
8 stalks asparagus, chopped in 3/4 inch lengths
4 tomatoes, peeled* & chopped (or probably 1 can of diced tomatoes would do)
2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
about 8 leaves fresh basil, minced
salt and pepper to taste
eggs
goat cheese

Heat oil over medium, add onions and cook for a minute. Add sausage and dried herbs and cook until onion is beginning to soften and sausage is browning. Add asparagus and garlic and cook until beginning to soften. Add tomatoes and some salt and simmer until asparagus is cooked to desired consistency and some of the liquid from the tomatoes is evaporated. Stir in spinach an basil until wilted. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with fried or poached eggs and crumbled goat cheese.

*to peel tomatoes easily, slice a cross into the bottom then drop into simmering water for about a minute, peels should come off easily. This also works for peaches, or so I've heard. If I have tomatoes that are starting to get too mushy for use in salads, and I won't cook with them right away I toss them in the freezer. A minute under hot water and they peel fairly easily. Chop while still frozen and use as you would normally just with a bit of extra cooking time.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Steak, Scotch and Cigar Party Part 1: Desserts

I suppose the normal order of a multi-post event would be to do things in order that they were eaten. But I baked the day before the party, so I will post the baked goods first!

V and Brian first held an SS&C party in early 2007, at an apartment without a bbq and with only two cast-iron pans. Apparently everything was fantastic, but the steaks were what might kindly be described as 'blue rare.' Last year, as an excuse to get Brian up from Boston for a weekend, we decided to throw a second! That one was held at my parents' place, where not only is there a bbq, but it can cook steak for 20 people at once! It was a grand success, but also a lot of work as we invited more people than those who just drink scotch. This time we did it slightly smaller, but even more delicious!

Last year, for dessert I served a whiskey-soaked dark chocolate bundt cake from what later became one of my absolute favourite food blogs. It was delicious, and I will definitely make it again, but this year I wanted to mix things up a bit. I was discussing menu options with Brian, and he suggested brownies for dessert. Of course, for a scotch party I couldn't just make brownies, so I decided on bourbon-laced brownies. I found two recipes that I liked, but the first seemed a bit too cakey. The second looked better, but maybe a bit too fudgey. So I decided to take the second and make a few changes. I upped the flour, and added a bit of cocoa and some cardamom and nutmeg to enhance the cinnamon. Inspired by the cake from last year (and the brand new espresso machine in my kitchen) I thought I would add a bit of coffee, too. I served them with vanilla ice cream and bourbon-sugared pecans which I didn't quite cook long enough so they didn't get a hard candy coating... but the soft sugar coating was absolutely delicious and I would probably do it the same next time! I also made brown sugar shortbread, for reasons at least partially explained below... but apparently did not get any pictures of them (my camera died, so any pictures other than the brownies are with much thanks to Anna!)



Anyway, the brownies turned out very well. Saturday evening was not for food-modesty, and these were particularly amazing. I got marriage proposals. And I do think I may have found the elusive good balance between fudgey and cakey brownies! Of course there's also the chance we might have just been drunk. (Side note: highly recommend Balvennie Double Wood. Excellent scotch especially at that price point)

Bourbon Fudge brownies

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

¼ cup + 1 ½ tbsp bourbon (I used Gentleman Jack)

2 tbsp espresso or strong coffee

2 tsp vanilla

3 oz chocolate (I used 2 oz chopped unsweetened + 1 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips)

2 eggs

¾ cup flour

¼ cup cocoa

¼ tsp cinnamon

pinch of cardamom

few grates of nutmeg… and possibly fingernail. Damn microplanes are sharp!

Chop chocolate. Do not forget to do this first and start cooking the butter and sugar because then you will realize that you do not have enough hands to both stir the butter/sugar mixture AND chop the chocolate and if you do not have the chocolate pre-chopped, the mixture might cool down too much and the chocolate won’t melt… so you’ll end up turning off the butter/sugar mixture, chopping the chocolate, then resuming the cooking… and you will feel a bit silly. Preheat oven to 350.


mmm... unsweetened chocolate

Melt butter and sugar in medium-large saucepan over medium heat. Cook until boiling and let boil stirring regularly for a few minutes until mixture is nice and foamy. At first it will look like the butter and sugar won’t combine, but with a few minutes of boiling and stirring it will be fine. Remove from heat.


Add espresso, ¼ cup bourbon and vanilla. It will bubble furiously, be careful not to let it splash you. The batter will be separated, but the recipe will assure you it will come together. Stir with a spatula for a while, get frustrated, then finally realize that's why the whisk was invented and whisk until it all comes together. Add chocolate and stir until melted. At this point the mixture may be quite hot and you may worry it will cook the eggs, so let it cool for a few minutes, stirring regularly to prevent it from hardening on top. Taste to make sure it’s ok. Taste again, just to be on the safe side. Meanwhile sift together the flour, cocoa and spices in a medium bowl. Taste chocolate mixture again… it might have gone bad in the few minutes you spent on the flour. Contemplate leaving it as is and dipping strawberries in it. Decide that wouldn’t be fair to the people you promised dessert this weekend…



Add eggs to chocolate mixture, beating well after each addition. Add flour and mix well until batter is smooth and shiny and thickened. Pour into prepared 8x8 pan. At this point notice the batter is kind of bubbly. Bang pan against the counter a few times in hopes of removing the bubbles (I did this, but it still ended up having some and cooking unevenly. If yours is bubbly you might want to stir it gently with a spatula to remove the bubbles or bang it against the counter more, or try tapping the side of your pan).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is dry and sides are starting to come away from the pan.Cool for about 10 minutes, then prick all over with a toothpick. Pour extra bourbon over top and tilt to spread it evenly. Probably best eaten the next day (though I didn't actually try right away)

While brownies are baking, decide to make brown sugar shortbread since, well, the oven is on anyway… and they’re pretty quick to make (you should definitely forget they need to bake for 30 minutes)… and you’re obsessed with this shortbread… because it is the best thing ever.

Clean up while shortbread is baking, wishing once again that you had a dish-washing monkey… or that someone was home who you could bribe into cleaning with promises of brownies and shortbread. Realize you meant to leave for work about 5 minutes before shortbread will be done baking. Realize also that you haven’t eaten anything for lunch. Eat some challah and cheese. Pack up some shortbread for coworkers in hopes that it will distract them and they won’t notice you’re later than you said you’d be. Realize you should probably change your (flour-covered) shirt and wash your (chocolate-covered) face. Read new entry on Smitten Kitchen instead. Marvel once again at how cute her baby is. Check the time, swear, and get going!

The finished brownies. Yes, there is a chunk missing. I call it quality control.

Coming soon: SS&C part 2: The Dinner. Also a brief, yet titillating review of Snickers Fudge.

In retrospect...

I think perhaps next time I will omit the lime zest. It was super tasty, but does anyone really want green flecks in their food? I suppose it wasn't so unappealing once there was icing sugar on top, since they did disappear in droves from the dessert table. I am very definitely saving the recipe for the brown sugar shortbread crust. Seriously, you think shortbread can't get any better? You're wrong, start making it with brown sugar!



I also made peanut butter cookies, which were an even bigger hit. The recipe I used can be found here. I think I added about 2 tbsp extra peanut butter, and baked them at 350.

Overall the evening was a huge success! Congrats again, Phil!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Lemon-Lime Bars with Brown Sugar Shortbread Crust

I have been a long-time lemon-meringue pie fan. I started with the Sherrif mix, which I still maintain is decent for food-from-a-box. One summer in high school, when the only people home were me, my stepfather and my oldest brother, I would make one of these every other night and eat one slice. When I woke up the next morning, most of the pie was gone - but I was happy to provide a nutritious breakfast! I made my first from-scratch lemon-meringue pie for thanksgiving many years ago (the one from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook is FANTASTIC) and I have not looked back.


Despite my love of the pie, I had never made lemon bars until I visited the aforementioned oldest brother in LA this past March (he remains a great lover of all things lemon). To my great joy (and extreme jealousy), I discovered not just a lemon tree in his backyard, but a meyer lemon tree! And so I made lemon bars. I based them off this recipe, though using a different crust with icing sugar rather than granulated sugar, as my first favourite shortbread recipe was icing-sugar based. I made them again with my precious smuggled bounty of meyer lemons for easter, and they were once again a big hit. This incarnation of the lemon bar comes about for my stepmother's art opening, coming up this Thursday. She is having some catered savoury snacks, but had not yet filled a sweets table. Since I had recently discovered the ability to cook and bake from the comfort of my counter height bar-stool (while recovering from a back injury), I volunteered to make a few things! I thought lemon bars would be just the thing, but figured I would try to use up an overabundance of limes I had lying around (seriously, Costco makes you *think* you need a bag that's half lemons and half limes, but don't believe it - unless you find a project like this you will only use the lemons... or be forced to make lots of lime-based drinks...)



So I did a bit of research to find out what, if anything, I should do differently for a lemon-lime bar. Turns out, not much. But I did find one with a brown sugar shortbread crust. I fell in love with brown sugar shortbread last year when we hosted a Steak, Scotch and Cigar dinner party, and my research indicated that shortbread goes well with scotch, or as well as any dessert goes with scotch anyway. The recipe for the brown sugar shortbread came from Food and Drink magazine (for those of you not from Ontario - an amazing, free magazine released by the LCBO - our government owned liquor stores). I adapted the crust recipe and the technique from the shortbread recipe (putting the brown sugar in the food processor - nobody wants gritty shortbread), and I think it turned out pretty damn fine.



A few tips, before I give you the recipe:

1. Microwave your limes for 5-10 seconds before juicing (and of course roll on the counter). As I was juicing the last two limes I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the hell my citrus-press wasn't working. Then I recalled that I wasn't sure I would need all the juice, so I hadn't microwaved them. It really made that big a difference.

2. Invest in a microplane-style zester. You can get very utilitarian ones at Lee Valley, but I prefer mine with a handle (I think mine is from William Sonoma, but you can get the same ones at Crate & Barrel and various other places).



Lemon-Lime bars with Brown Sugar Shortbread Crust

For the crust:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup softened butter (I used salted)
2 cups flour

For the filling:
5 large eggs at room temperature (original called for 4 extra-large, but large is what I had)
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 tbsp packed lemon/lime zest
3/4 cup lemon/lime juice (I didn't keep track of exact ratios, but I used 3 lemons & 4 limes both for the zest and juice. This recipe is also amazing with just lemons, and perhaps even better with meyer lemons. Use whatever you have on hand!)
3/4 cup flour

icing sugar for dusting

Step 1: Take eggs out of fridge (luckily this time I remembered, but the first time I made this I forgot and everything had to sit and wait while the eggs warmed up!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x 13 x 2" pan with parchment paper (parchment paper is one of my favourite things).

Make crust: put brown sugar in food processor and process for about 1 minute until the sugar has a finer texture. Add butter and process until well-blended. Add flour and process until uniformly crumbly. Press into bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until beginning to brown. My crust looked a bit cracked and I was worried it would fall apart, though hoping the filling would hold it together - so far so good!

While crust is baking, make filling. Beat eggs lightly to break up yolks. Add lemon/lime juice and sugar and whisk together. Sift or sprinkle flour over top while whisking together. Alternatively, just throw everything in a bowl and mix it well with an electric mixer (I recommend this - I was too lazy to sift/sprinkle the flour and mine ended up lumpy when I just used a whisk. My handheld electric mixer solved the problem easily).

Pour filling over crust and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or for an additional five minutes after the filling has stopped jiggling when you shake the pan.

Will update tomorrow or Friday with pictures of the finished product!

Post with pictures coming soon!

First, a few warnings about my photography.

1. I'm not very good at it. I don't know very much about lighting, arrangement, etc. Perhaps I'll spend some time doing research, perhaps I'll just learn as I go.

2. I'm just using a point and shoot - it's a very nice point and shoot, but still just a point and shoot. Perhaps if I continue doing this, V will let me use his old digital SLR... as long as I promise not to get food on it...

3. I very rarely cook during the day (pancakes excepted), so mostly the pictures will be with artificial lighting, and thus of an even poorer quality.

4. I'm a notoriously messy cook. I prefer to just get the job done and worry about clean-up afterward, so I apologize in advance for bits of clutter that find their way into the pictures.

Any advice for improving the quality of my food photography is more than welcome!