Category Archives: Recipes

Appetizer, Recipes, Sauce, Side dish, Vegetable, Vegetarian

Roasted Vegetable Relish

This vegetable relish is a favourite of ours to serve as the beginning of a summer meal. If I’m cooking on the barbecue, I will grill the vegetables instead of roasting them. I usually slice some fresh baguette, and guests can spoon the relish on as a very informal bruschetta, but it can also be used as a condiment or sauce for grilled chicken or fish. Select ripe cocktail sized tomatoes (no more than a 2 inch diameter) from a thick walled variety such as Cascades.

6 small tomatoes (about 1 lb)
1 sweet onion
2 yellow peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
2 tbsp basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 300 F

Halve tomatoes and arrange cut side up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Peel and slice onion into 1/4 inch thick slices, and arrange on the same baking sheet
Quarter peppers, remove seeds, and arrange on baking sheet as well
Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper
Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until vegetables are tender and slightly browned. (Turn peppers and onions halfway through baking)
Remove tray from oven and allow to cool to room temperature
Chop all vegetables into a 1/4 inch dice and mix together with basil and balsamic vinegar
Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve at room temperature

Entree, Poultry, Recipes

Split Roasted Chicken With Herbs And Grainy Mustard

A simple split roast chicken is one of our all time family favourite meals. The light marinade adds some interest to the skin and allows it to caramelize nicely.

2 chickens, split, breast and thigh bones removed
2 tbsp grainy mustard
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp chili powder
2 sprigs each rosemary, oregano, and thyme
coarse salt

Split chickens in half and remove breast and thigh bones (or ask your butcher really nicely)
Place into a large container (I use a glass 9 by 13 pan, try and keep the chicken in a single layer)
Whisk together mustard, honey, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and pour over chicken. Massage it in lightly
Sprinkle with chili powder, add herbs, and refrigerate until needed. It’s best if it has about 2 hours to marinate, but because of the vinegar in the marinade, don’t leave it longer than 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 F (375 if using convection)

Remove chicken from marinating dish and arrange on a baking pan lined with parchment, spooning remaining marinade and herbs over chicken.
Sprinkle with coarse salt
Place pan in oven and roast chicken until a meat thermometer registers 165 F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (it should take about 45 minutes to an hour)
Remove tray from oven and allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes at least before serving.

Potato, Recipes, Side dish, Vegetarian

Basil Gnocchi

Gnocchi are Italian potato dumplings, very easy to prepare, and a great way to use up a few left over baked potatoes. The potatoes are preferably baked, although you can boil them provided you spread the cooked potato out on a baking sheet and allow it to dry out while it cools to room temperature. Wet potato will cause you to have to add more flour, making the gnocchi heavy. Doughs made with potato have a tendency to get soft rather quickly, so it is crucial that once the flour has been added to the dough, that the gnocchi are shaped and cooked immediately. My preferred method for calculating the ratio of flour to potato is to weigh the cooked potato, and divide it by three. That way, you aren’t worrying about cooking exactly 2 pounds of potato. The ratio of 1 cup of flour per pound of potato is a good approximation, as all purpose flour weighs between 5 and 6 ounces (150 to 170 grams) per cup.

2 lb potato, (a starchy variety such as Russet or Yukon gold)
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped basil
1 egg

Bake potatoes, scoop out flesh and rice or put through a food mill. (if you don’t have either a ricer or food mill, they can be grated on the fine setting of a box grater)
Allow potato to cool to body temperature (basically if it doesn’t feel warm or cool to the touch, it’s great)

Before making the dough, put a large pot of water on to boil with a generous amount of salt

Add salt and basil to potato and mix well.

Beat egg lightly and mix into potato with a fork
Add flour and mix lightly
Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead until dough just comes together. ( I always think it looks like biscuit dough, a bit of texture, but well combined)
Divide dough into quarters and pat one quarter into a rough cylinder.
Rolling your hands over the top of the dough forwards and back, stretch the dough into a long cylinder approximately 3/4 inch in diameter. Cut the dough into lengths of about 1 1/2 inches, and pinch them lightly in the center, transferring them to a sheet pan (line it with parchment so they don’t stick)
Transfer the shaped gnocchi into the boiling water, no more than will cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer. Once they all float to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in cold water to stop the cooking process and preserve the shape.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough until all the gnocchi has been prepared.
Strain the cooled gnocchi in a colander and toss with a small amount of oil. Place into a shallow dish and refrigerate until needed.
To finish the gnocchi, place a small amount of olive oil (2 tbsp) in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook gnocchi until golden brown, and serve either on its own as an accompaniment or with a sauce.
It works well with either a simple tomato sauce or a creamy alfredo or pesto with freshly grated parmesan on top.

Recipes, Sauce, Vegetable, Vegetarian

The Simplest Tomato Coulis Of All Time

Nothing can be easier or more delicious than the ripest summer tomatoes pureed with basil and olive oil. The resulting liquid, once strained to remove seeds and skin is the cleanest, purest tomato sauce you will ever taste, and should be tossed with freshly made gnocchi or pasta. You can also chill it and serve it as a cold soup.

2 lb extremely ripe tomatoes
2 tbsp basil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Dice tomatoes, chop basil, drizzle with olive oil and salt, place everything in a large bowl, and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour.
Puree and strain, using a not too fine strainer (you want to remove the seeds, but retain the pulp for a nice thick texture.)
Adjust seasoning if necessary.
That’s it, nothing else to do!

Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes

Windfall Applesauce Waffle Sundaes

Inspired by the sight of apples littering the ground beneath the tree, this seemed like a natural extension. The story goes that the ice cream cone was invented at the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair when an ice cream vendor ran out of bowls and served the rest of his ice cream in waffles folded into cones from the next vendor, who’s stand wasn’t quite so busy. The waffles are also delicious for breakfast, sans ice cream and caramel, (unless you’re having one of those days, in which case anything goes!)

Applesauce

It’s important for applesauce to use soft fleshed apples, as they will break down very easily and give you a nice silky sauce. I don’t bother putting it into the blender or food processor, I just whisk it while hot and break up the apple into a coarse puree. I think a bit of texture is nice. Macintosh work well for this, or if you’re like me and have an old tree in the yard it’s a great way to use up the wind fallen fruit.

2 lb apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Peel and dice apples and place in a pot with a tight fitting lid.
Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and water
Cover, and bring up to a simmer over medium low heat
Reduce heat to low, and cook until apples are tender
Whisk together to puree (summer apples with soft texture will puree very easily)
Allow to cool to room temperature

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Waffles

2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
3 eggs separated
1 ½ cups milk
¼ cup oil

Place flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and mix well
Place egg yolks, milk, and oil into another bowl and whisk together
Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just well combined
Whip egg whites until stiff and fold into batter
Cover batter and place in refrigerator until needed

Preheat waffle iron and cook according to the manufacturer’s directions

Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups whipping cream

Scald cream and keep warm
Combine the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan
Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until sugar turns a golden colour.
Remove from heat, and add the scalded cream, a little at a time, being careful as it has a tendency to boil up
Whisk together and bring back to a boil, strain, and cool to room temperature

To assemble the sundaes

Take a freshly made waffle, cover it with a decent sized dollop of applesauce (1/4 cup) and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Drizzle with caramel sauce and serve while still warm
Go back for seconds