June 30th, 2008 by Dennis Green
This recipe is a real hit whenever I make it at home, and recently field tested by my boss, who was looking for a long cooked, easy recipe to make for some houseguests. You can vary the flavouring by changing what you put in the glaze, I quite often will do it with barbecue flavours, using chili powder and barbecue sauce, a more European profile with garlic, lemon, honey and herbs, or whatever tickles your fancy. The important part is the cooking process, and a balance of sweet and either salty or sour in the marinade.
Day 1:
5-7 lb (2.5-3 kg) boneless pork butt roast
Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
2 tbsp mustard (french or Dijon)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped or grated ginger
freshly ground pepper
1 tsp five spice powder (or 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of cloves)
Whisk all ingredients together and rub into pork well
Place in a large resealable plastic bag and marinate overnight in the refrigerator
Day 2:
Preheat oven to 425 F
Remove pork from bag and place into a roasting pan lined with parchment
Baste with any remaining marinade
Roast for 45 minutes, until nicely coloured on top
Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 F
Cover TIGHTLY with a double layer of aluminum foil, shiny side down. Make sure there are no holes, as it is important to trap all of the natural juices and steam inside
Place covered pork back in the oven and cook for another 2 1/2 hours
Remove from oven and let rest for 1/2 hour, covered
Slice and serve (it should be fork-tender and almost falling apart)
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June 26th, 2008 by Dennis Green
A turkey hot smoked on an old fashioned kettle barbecue is one of our start of summer family rituals. For a fun video of last year’s bird check out the fun links page!
Brine
1 gallon (16 cups) water
1 cup sea salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp each whole clove, peppercorn, star anise, coriander
1 cinnamon stick
Bring to a boil and let cool
1 turkey (18-20 lb)
Remove thigh bones for quicker and even cooking
Place in brine overnight in refrigerator (use a large bag for this)
The next day, remove from brine, and pat dry
Rub with:
2 tbsp olive oil
Grind together in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder:
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp mustard seeds
Rub all over turkey
Prepare coals:
10 lb lump charcoal
5 lb charcoal briquettes
Heat for 45 minutes, then disperse around edges of kettle
Soak 4 cups wood chips in water while coals are heating, drain and wrap in a foil parcel. Place in centre of coals
Place turkey in a disposable foil roasting pan and place on rack over coals
Cover and cook for 3 1/5 hours, basting every 1/2 hour, until it registers 165 F on a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast.
Remove and rest for 30 minutes
Carve and enjoy!
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June 26th, 2008 by Dennis Green
I wanted to combine a few of my favourite flavours: grilled scallops and a fire roasted vegetable salsa with fresh basil and lime. I made some baked tortilla chips to serve it on.
1/2 lb scallops, cleaned
sea salt and pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 limes
Skewer scallops and season. rub with a little vegetable oil to prevent sticking
Grill until just cooked, 2 minutes on each side and remove from heat
Cut limes in half and place on grill as well, cut side down. Remove with scallops
2 sweet peppers
6 small tomatoes
1 sweet onion
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Halve peppers, slice onion, and leave tomatoes whole.
Toss with olive oil and vinegar
Grill until softened and set aside
Dice vegetables and scallops, and toss together along with any juices
Squeeze limes into mixture
Chop until fine and add:
1/2 bunch basil
Season to taste
Serve with fresh tortilla chips
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June 26th, 2008 by Dennis Green
I like to make these chips with leftover flour tortillas. They will keep for a week tightly covered, although they never seem to last that long!
6 flour tortillas
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt
Preheat oven to 375 F
Cut tortillas into 12 wedges each and toss with olive oil and sea salt
Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment and cook for 12-15 minutes, until golden
Cool and store in a sealed container until needed
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June 26th, 2008 by Dennis Green
A trip to the local deli will usually provide all you need for a simple tapenade to spread on homemade tortilla chips, fresh bread or your favourite crackers.
1/2 cup roasted red peppers
6 sundried tomato halves
1/2 cup stuffed marinated jumbo olives
1/4 cup oil cured (morrocan) black olives
1/2 bunch basil
drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Combine in a food processor and purée until smooth. Refrigerate until needed
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June 26th, 2008 by Dennis Green
Of all of the food fuelled memories I have, making this pie always takes me to summer days on the Island and my Grandparents’ place. They lived on the same piece of property for 60 years, a sloping 5 acres that trickled into Fuller Lake, and for the last 10 years that they were alive, we made a habit of spending as many of the few holidays I could squeeze out hanging out with them and the kids by the lake, spending time together and cooking a few dinners a year there. It seemed that for a number of years we were always there in early August, and berries were always in abundance.
The first time my grandmother made this pie I was blown away by its simplicity and clean flavour, which comes from really fresh ripe fruit, left to speak for itself for the most part. I have since shared this recipe with any who have been over for a summer barbecue at my place, and had it for my birthday cake last year! You can use any fruit, just match the flavour of the gelatin powder to the fruit in hand, and cut larger fruits into bite sized pieces before assembly. Peaches will need to be blanched first to remove the skins, but fresh berries should just be washed gently to preserve their integrity.
1 prebaked tart or pie shell ( I like to use sweet dough, recipe follows)
2 lb fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, or peaches (enough to fill pie shell)
1 package fruit flavoured gelatin powder (same flavour as the fruit being used)
1 cup boiling water
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
Prebake the tart shell until fully cooked and golden. Set aside until cooled
Wash fruit and de-stem if necessary. In the case of peaches, blanch to remove skins, and slice into bite size pieces. Strawberries are best hulled and halved or quartered if large, leave raspberries or blackberries whole. You can use a combination of berries if you like, there are no rules when it comes to the possibilities here.
Boil water and add 1 cup to the package of gelatin powder. (this is half the amount of water called for on the package, which is exactly what we want for this) Allow to cool to room temperature
Toss fruit in the cooled gelatin and fill pie shell.
Pour any remaining gelatin over top.
Place in the fridge to chill
Once cold and the filling has set, whip cream with sugar and spread over top of pie. return to fridge and allow to chill thoroughly before serving.
I guarantee the freshness and light flavour will soon become one of your favourite easy family summer recipes. It sure has for us, and always takes us back to summer days on the lake.
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June 26th, 2008 by Dennis Green
The name implies simplicity, but has more to do with the ratio of sugar, butter, and flour by weight. I like using sweet dough for two reasons: ease of use, as it is less prone to shrinkage, and taste, especially with fillings that are not overly sweet. This makes enough for 2 pie shells or about 18 individual tart shells
270 g flour (9oz)
90 g sugar (3 oz)
180 g butter, cut into small pieces (6 oz)
2 ml salt (1/2 tsp
1 egg
5 ml vanilla extract (1 tsp)
Combine flour, sugar, and salt
Add butter and work in until mealy
Beat egg with vanilla and add to flour mixture
Knead lightly until combined
Divide into two halves and pat each into a thick disc
Wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour
To make a prebaked shell:
Roll out and line a pie or tart shell
Dock and trim edges
Chill until cold
Line with parchment paper and weigh down with rice or dry beans
Bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown around edges
Remove parchment and weights and return to oven for 5 minutes to colour centre lightly
Cool to room temperature
Use as directed in recipe
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June 17th, 2008 by Dennis Green
Last weekend brought the first pie of the season! I also barbecued twice which will bring a couple of stories and a few recipes in the next few days, but for now, enjoy the pie.
Needless to say, it was delicious!
Look on the fun links page for the video, still having glitches with formatting when I post one here
Posted in food, cooking, dessert, fruit, videos | No Comments »
May 31st, 2008 by Dennis Green
A picture is worth a thousand words they say. Enjoy!
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February 27th, 2008 by Dennis Green
A nice savoury spread for bread or crackers, this can be made in about 5 minutes.
8 oz fresh soft goat cheese
2 tbsp finely diced kalamata olives
2 tbsp sundried tomatoes, finely diced
pepper
2 tbsp chopped herbs
Cream together goat cheese with olives and sundried tomatoes
Roll into a log and coat with pepper and chopped herbs
Allow to set in the refrigerator for at least an hour
Serve with fresh bread or crackers
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