My favorite salad, The Cobb

I love Cobb Salad. It has a little bit of everything that I love, cheese, bacon, avocado and more. It is particularly good when prepared now when we can use the vegetables that are in season. Ontario has fantastically sweet peaches'n'cream corn and my tomatoes that I have grown in the backyard are ripening. Plus, with the heat of the summer, salad is all I want to eat. So Cobb it is.  I hope you enjoy this version, full of protein and lycopene, fibre and more, so a meal you can feel good about, it covers all the bases, indulgent with the cheese, but healthy!

Cobb Salad
1 head boston/butter lettuce
2 boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts (Scallopini style/cut thin)
6-8 slices organic bacon
2 cobbs of corn or 1-1/2 cups frozen or canned
1 avocado, cut into cubes
1 full tomato, cut into cubes
1/2 cup blue cheese (I like Roquefort)
1 cucumber (which I actually didn't include this time)
4 hard-boiled organic eggs
1/4 cup nicoise olives (optional)

Dressing:
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped chives
salt & pepper

1. Cook your bacon until it is crispy. Once it has cooled, break them into pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5-10 mins to make them extra crispy and set aside.
2. On med-high heat, cook the chicken breasts in the leftover bacon grease until cooked. Allow them  to cool and then set aside.
3. If you are using fresh corn, remove cut it away from the cobb and steam. I cut my corn directly onto a tea towel to keep if from rolling off the cutting board and onto the floor
4. To assemble the salad, lay out the lettuce onto a dish. Then in sections, lay each of the ingredients. If your plate is circular, lay them out on top of the lettuce like individual pie slices (as I have done), if your dish is square or rectangular, lay the ingredients in rows. 
5. Drizzle with your salad dressing

Enjoy!!

It doesn't get much fresher than this!

Every year for the past 10 years, my closest friends (Kim, Christopher and their 2 gorgeous young children) who rent a house in Martha's Vineyard and invite me. I have never been, until this year. It is a beautiful island, scenic, soft sandy beaches, quiet, and great seafood! For years I heard tales and names of places like Chilmark and Menemsha, but now I know these places.

Menemsha is a small fishing area where one goes and chooses their favorite fish house and orders what they want, fresh from the days haul. Then, with your food and your bottle of wine, glasses, etc. that you bring with you, since this is a dry part of the island, you sit on the shoreline and enjoy them. It doesn't get much better than that does it? Well this sounded just perfect for me so off we went, just after we had arrived. Her favorite place, and where we went was Larsens. A tiny little place that backs onto the harbour. In you walk into their shop, the left side is for ordering your fish that you can prepare at home, the right has a tiny little window where you order your seafood...oysters, little necks, lobster bisque, etc.

We ordered oysters, lobster bisque and little necks. Reaching into buckets of ice right in front of you, the fish monger chooses your selection and shuck them right there placing them onto the most lovely...paper plates. Yes, you heard it paper plates Nothing fancy abut this place. It's all about the haul. They don't need to gussy it up with fancy plates or seaweed. It is real simple, with your plate of fish, you choose your acoutrements, lemon wedges from a tupperware container, jarred horseradish, cocktail sauce. But all of this...just adds to the experience.

Well, if this wasn't enough, Christopher added to the meal by heading just across the street to The Bite, where also using fish from the daily haul, he brought deep fried scallops, clams and zucchini and their famous clam chowder.

So how was it all? In a word, delicious! Let's start with Larsens. The oysters, you could still taste the salt from the ocean in them. A little gritty, they don't clean them maybe quite as much as I am accustomed, but it doesn't change how delicious and fresh tasting they were. They weren't the big meaty ones nor were they too metallic a flavour either. The little necks, my first time having them, were quite tasty, not too fishy with a neat texture, kind of crunchy. As for the lobster bisque, I have never had a lobster bisque like that. It was AMAZING!! Not too rich, good lobster flavour, not too thick, and had a little spice in it. We only ordered 1 to share amongst David (my partner & I) and I ended up eating almost all of it. I just couldn't get enough of it.

As for The Bite, being deep-fried helps, since we all know everything is better when its deep-fried. But not everybody can deep fry well. The Bite does. I was a little weary on deep-fried clams, the rest I knew could be good, but clams? Ok, these were like little deep fried candies, so good. Nothing tasted greasy, it was all just good. The only thing I didn't love, and that doesn't meant it was bad, was the Clam Chowder. I am not a big fan of potato and I could taste more potato than I would prefer, but the texture was good, like the lobster bisque from Larsens, not too rich, I would still recommend it if you like Clam Chowder, but if I had to choose one, go with the Lobster Bisque from Larsens.

Simple is delicious

I love things that are simple. This little appetizer is so easy you don't even have to cook it, refrigerate it or freeze it. It can be prepared and served in about 15 mins! So what is it you ask?

Smoked trout crostini

Smoked trout (from your local fish monger, preferably organic)
1 tsp capers
1/2 cucumber, cut into slices
olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt & pepper
1/2 baguette or crostini or crackers

Remove the trout from the skin and simply break it into small pieces. Sprinkle with the capers, lemon, olive oil and a bit of salt & pepper.
To serve, place a cucumber onto your crostini, then layer with the trout mixture and enjoy!

Simple and delicious! This is a favorite appetizer of mine that you can make all year. What I particularly love, is that if you make it in the winter, it has a freshness that reminds you of summer.

And now, the sour of summer...

Yesterday I was watching The Food Network and was inspired to make a deep fried lamb chop wrapped in bacon. How can that be bad? Deep fried and bacon. So on my walk to the neighbourhood butcher I was pleasantly surprised to see the sour cherries are out! I carefully picked about 3 cups worth and then made my way to the butcher to get my lamb. So tonights menu?

• Fennel salad with cucumber and parmesan
• Deep fried lamb chops wrapped in bacon
• Mini sour cherry pies

The fennel salad is a lovely addition to any meal. Fresh and easy to make in 5-10 mins!

1 whole fennel, cut in half and then sliced very fine (preferably with a mandolin if available)
1/4 cucumber (sliced equally as fine)
Fresh italian parsley, chopped
olive oil
red wine vinegar
lemon
Parmesan cheese

Combine the fennel and the cucumber and then throw on the parsley. Drizzle with olive oil, red wine vinegar and then squeeze approx. 1/2 lemon on top. Shave on thin slices parmesan cheese and then sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste.

Chill until ready to serve, but serve at room temperature.

Next, Deep fried lamb chops wrapped in bacon

Lamb chops
Bacon
Homemade pesto with additional olive oil to make it a little liquidy

Individually wrap each lamb chop in bacon. Try to tuck the bacon in at the end so it doesn't fall off. Bring the meat to room temperature. Place the chops into the hot oil, ensuring that the oil covers the meat entirely. Cook for approx. 5 mins. You want to serve the meat medium rare.

When it is finished, place on your plate and drizzle your pesto around and on top and serve hot with your fennel salad.

Sour Cherry Tarts (makes 5)

Pie Pastry for single pastry (see instructions in post Pie Pastry 101)
3 cups sour cherries, pitted
5 + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg
LG muffin tin

Make your pastry and roll it out according to instruction in Pie Pastry 101. Using a cup approx the same size as the opening of your muffin tin, extend 1" beyond and cut the pastry in circles.
Place the pastry into the muffin tin and fill with your fruit mixture.
For the top, cut thin strips with leftover pastry to make a lattice top.  Crimp your edges, and brush with eggwash and then sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp. of sugar. Chill for 30 mins.

Place into a 400 degree preheated oven for 10 mins and then turn the heat down to 350 degrees and cook for 30-40 mins or until top is golden brown.

Enjoy...

The sweet of summer

I love summer. The sun, the heat, the beautiful flowers, and the garden fresh bounty. At my house, I have a garden that sits in full sun from 11am until sunset. So this year, I planted vegetables for the first time. Just so you know, I have been renovating my house for that last 3 years, and finally got the back garden pulled together last year, so this was my first year planting. This picture was taken at 6:30 pm, just to give you an idea of the light.

Remember, I have never planted a vegetable garden before. A garden yes, but vegetable no I always had shade. So I started this year with rhubarb and two different tomato and hot pepper varieties. I have already learned a lot, like next year buy fewer tomato plants. In case you hadn't noticed, they seem to be taking over my garden. But I will use them, tomato sauce, oven dried tomato, etc.which of course I will share here with you. However, the reason for todays entry is that I have already had the luxury of using something from my garden, rhubarb. I was sure to purchase a plant that was a few years old as you can only harvest rhubarb from a plant that is at least 2 years old.
So, what did I make? Strawberry rhubarb pie! Mmmm....so good. With local Ontario strawberries, sweet and delicious and rhubarb from my garden, this was a delicious pie, better than most if I do say so myself. :)

So, the recipe starts with the pie pastry, which you can view in my blog entry on pie pastry. The filling is made as follows:

4 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups chopped strawberries
3-6 tbsp cornstarch (I like mine less liquidy so I use 6 tbsp)
2 tbsp sugar

Mix it up and roll out your pastry and place it into your pie dish. Fill it with your fruit, remember, it may seem like a lot, but it cooks down, a lot.

With the top, once you have rolled it out, you will slice it into 10 equal sized strips (approx. 1"). Take your longest piece and lay it across the centre of your pie, and then follow it with the next longest directly across, making a "+" . With each following piece, be sure to alternate top and bottom, creating your lattice.

Make an egg wash and brush your pie and sprinkle with sugar.

Allow it to chill for 30mins, before placing it into a 400 degree preheated oven for 10 mins, and then turn the heat down to 350 and bake for another 50 mins or until the crust is golden brown. Allow it to come to room temperature and enjoy...

White Castle

This blog is not all about the food I cook, but also about my food experiences out in the rest of the world. When I have my camera, and I am inspired, I will do my best to document my experiences for you, my wonderful followers! ;)
I am a huge fan of the food network. I love to watch cooking shows but I must admit, what I may love even more, is to watch shows about restaurants. So on some random night that I happened to be watching, there was a show that talked about White Castle. Now I must admit, I had never heard of White Castle before, but I did enjoy learning about their history and the fact that they are still doing sliders now as they did way back when they started, and for a fast food chain I was curious about their technique. Small curious little things, cooked or rather 'steamed' on a bed of onions. The patties themselves have small holes in them so as to better absorb the flavour of the onion when it 'steams'. Not to mention those cute little buns that they make themselves.
So when I found myself driving through Michigan this Spring enroute from Chicago to my home I jumped at the chance to visit the White Castle that I came across in Flint, Michigan.

True to their description, cute little burgers in cute little packages, and you definitely could taste the steamed onions in the meat. But, as much as I wanted to like them...they weren't for me. A bit chewy, what with being steamed and all. But I did love the authenticity of them, I imagine that they must taste the same as they did when they came out almost 100 years ago.
So if you get a chance, and want to taste history, give them a try. It certainly was fun if not tasty experience for me.

Egyptian Red Lentil Soup, good for the soul & your belly

A good friend of mine shared this recipe with me many years ago, and it has become a staple in my repertoire. Why do I love this soup so much? Because it is so versatile. When I first started to cook this recipe I was vegetarian and it was great,  I have since started to eat meat again (as you can see by my post about short ribs ;) ) and with a slight change in ingredients, it changes too, or not depending on my mood. It is also easy to add different spices or ingredients if you want to mix it up a bit. Now about the good for the belly part, this is a super healthy soup. Lentils are a great way to get protein, iron and fibre into your diet plus they are also an excellent source for amino acids such as isoleucine and lysine which are are extremely healthy, particularly if you are a vegetarian. 


I have never served this soup without praise, so hope you and your family enjoy it as much as mine do. So without further adieu...


EGYPTIAN RED LENTIL SOUP


2-3 tbsp olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
1 sm-med sized onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
pinch cayenne
dash of cumin & coriander seeds
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

1. Saute the garlic and onions with the salt until the onions are clear
2. Add in the ginger and saute for 2-3 mins
3. Add in the lentils, and saute until they are coated with the ingredients
4. Add in the stock, spices and tomatoes. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 30-45 mins, or until lentils are cooked thoroughly.
5. Enjoy!!

I forgot to say that I also love this recipe because it is so quick and easy to make. I served it with a dollop of goats cheese and some fresh chopped cilantro. Also, works well with a crostini on the side with pesto goats cheese & tomato....mmmm

Coconut Cream Pie

Ok, so now that you know how to make pie pastry, you can start to "wow" all your friends, family and coworkers. People seem to be so impressed when you show up with dessert. Truth is, it really is so simple. To me, bringing dessert to someone, is like owning a flower shop, you always put a smile on someones face. Bring me flowers or dessert, and I am one happy girl.
This is a great pie since even though it is creamy, it is not too sweet or to rich. It really is quite lovely, and simple. Hope you enjoy it!

Photo taken by my friend at our Hawaiian themed office potluck

Coconut Cream Pie

Basic pie pastry

Once you have rolled your pastry, fill it either with pie weights or line with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans and bake at 400 F for approx. 20 mins. Carefully remove your weights and bake for about another 10 mins, or until it is a nice golden brown. Allow it to cool completely before you fill it.

Coconut Cream filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2-1/4 cups milk, scalded
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup flaked, sweetened coconut
2 tbsp butter, unsalted
3/4 cup whipping cream

1. Combine the sugar and the cornstarch in a medium sized saucepan and then slowly add in your scalded milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, to ensure no lumps, until it has a nice thick and smooth consistency. 
2. Add approx. 1 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and combine. Then add the entire egg mixture into the pot. Be sure to continue whisking and bring it to a boil.
3. Remove it from the heat, and add in the vanilla, coconut and butter. Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate for approx. 2 hours.
4. Whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold it into your chilled filling.  Pour it into your cooled pie shell.

Topping
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/8 cup toasted shredded coconut

1. Whip the cream into stiff peaks, and add in the vanilla and the coconut. Spoon it onto the cooled pie.
2. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut

Chill until serving time and ENJOY!

The last piece

Pie Pastry 101

I didn't grow up eating pie. In Hungary, where my family originates from, they don't eat pie. When my family came to Canada, while they picked up many North American traditions, pie was not one of them. So I don't have my grandmother's technique. For years I struggled with pie pastry. After all, what does "pea sized" mean exactly? Sometimes it was 'passable', while other times not so much. Either way, it always 'caused me great anxiety. Until I took a class on making pie pastry with Toronto's only Wanda Beaver, of Wanda's Pie in the Sky. She makes a mean pie and so I was thrilled at the opportunity to learn from the best. And now I too can say "easy as pie" because it is. So, I will share it with you, as best as I can.

First thing though, tools. I have tried, knives, a special pie cutter, a fork, and even my hands. And what works best is this classic pastry tool.

Next, the ingredients for a simple pie crust:

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/3 cup vegetable shortening, also cut into 1/2" pieces
pinch of salt
1/4 cup COLD water

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, butter, shortening and salt and mix together. Notice how white the flour is when you start.

You are ready to add the water when it starts to take on a yellowish colour, and is 'pea-sized'.

Sprinkle all of the water on top of the mixture at once, and let it sit for approx. 30 secs.

Using your tool again, begin to mix it all together. When it all starts to gather onto your tool, it is ready. 

Shape it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for approx. 15 mins. before rolling it out.

The simple things in life...

I grew up in a predominantly jewish neighborhood in Toronto. All around me the kids were eating bagels, and soon so was I. As a teenager, I got a job at our neighborhood bakery, The Uppercrust, and my love affair with bagels truly began. There were so many kinds, mini, twister, poppy, sesame, salty, everything and I love them all. For me, when I think of true comfort and my youth, the smell of toasted bagels is a big part of it. Years later, I traveled to Montreal and was introduced to its many bagel shops around the city. Open 24 hours, these wonderful little shops, showed me what we didn't have in Toronto. From what I know, you are a St. Viateur or a Fairmont or a St. Urbain person. Each shop has its own unique way of making the bagel. It is a wonderful thing to see if ever you have the chance.


So, what am I? A die-hard Fairmont girl. I always make a trip there, even if I am just passing through the city. Rain or snow, by the light of the sun or moon, I will get my bagels. And the beautiful smell of them in the bag as I sit on the plane is something that I look forward to bringing into my home. I have passed this love affair on to the rest of my family too, so really, I have no choice but to get them bagels or I would have a riot in my house.

My favorite sandwich, which I only eat on a Fairmont bagel is this:

Toasted bagel
Mayonnaise
Fresh sliced tomatoes
Smoked Applewood cheddar
Fresh Arugula

It has also become a pretty popular sandwich in my house too. Simple but tasty.