Chowder and Biscuits

Shrimp Tacos

2009-04-27T17:22:00.026-03:00

The cravings for shrimp tacos hit me way back in January when my friends and I first started planning our spring vacation to Mexico.

All over the internet, people were raving about the shrimp tacos at Lucy's Kitchen, a little hole-in-the-wall taco and ice cream stand just up the beach from where we would be staying in the seaside paradise of Akumal.

The descriptions of these shrimp tacos sounded so fabulous - all hot and crispy, smothered in fresh, zesty pico de gallo and wrapped in soft, warm homemade tortillas - I just had to have them. I thought it would be fun to try making them myself before we went on vacation, just to see how my efforts compared with the real deal once we got to Mexico.

If I do say so myself, my own shrimp tacos were pretty freakin' fabulous, but alas, I'll never know how they match up with those of the great Lucy. We tried, oh, how we tried, but my date with Lucy just wasn't meant to be. The day last week when my husband and I hoofed it down the beach and followed the signs that cheerily pointed the way to Lucy's Kitchen, we were ultimately greeted by one last sign outside the taco stand that said, "We've moved!" The fine print stated that this location would still be serving homemade ice cream, but if you wanted hot stuff like shrimp tacos, those would only be served at the restaurant's new location, Lucy's Too, about a half-hour's walk into town.

"No shrimp tacos?" I asked forelornly through the takeout window to the young woman scooping up ice cream. I gather that I wasn't the first gringo to come foraging for shrimp that day because the words were barely out of my mouth before she smiled, said something in Spanish and held up a piece of paper that looked like a hand-drawn treasure-hunting map: Arrows pointed this way and that, and a big black X marked the spot where Lucy's Too and her pot of golden shrimp tacos could be found.

With a hasty Gracias and hasta luego, off we went, scuffing along the sidewalk in our sandals through the 33 C heat and sprinting over four lanes of busy highway in search of Lucy's Too. We found it all right, but unfortunately Lucy's Too didn't tell Lucy's One that their new location wouldn't have any shrimp tacos until "manana."

Arggggh.

Across the highway and back to the beach we trudged, me vowing to try again tomorrow, my husband trying to make me see sense that "manana" doesn't necessarily translate that literally into "tomorrow," in Mexico that could be the next day or the next week, and do we really want to waste our precious vacation time searching for shimp tacos? I swear sometimes, even after 20 years together, it's like this guy doesn't know me at all.

Fortunately for both of us, we spied a mirage as we rounded the corner: There, sitting in the shade of the beach-front bar, were our friends. They were sipping beer and looking quite content after a delicious lunch of ... shrimp tacos! Like us, they too had been on the same disappointing hunt for Lucy's, and ended up here at the Lol-Ha bar. No harm, no foul; shrimp tacos were on the menu here too, and they were fantastic, served with little bowls of zippy pineapple salsa and sweet brown sauce on the side. We inhaled them, and came back two days later for more, that's how good they were. Mmmm, mmmm, mmm.

Here is my interpretation of Shrimp Tacos. They're not Lucy's, and they're not Lol Hah's, but they are definitely delicious. Buen provecho!

CRISPY SHRIMP TACOS
450 grams (1 lb) raw jumbo shrimp (Look for the jumbo-est shrimp you can find – 12 jumbo shrimp will be enough to serve 4-6 tacos)
1 package soft flour tortillas (small diameter size)

For the marinade:
30 ml (2 tbsp) freshly squeezed lime juice
30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
15 ml (1 tbsp) gold tequila (optional)
2 ml (1/2 tsp) crushed or ground cumin
2 ml (1/2 tsp) chili powder
2 ml (1/2 tsp) green jalapeno Tabasco sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
15 ml (1 tbsp) freshly chopped cilantro leaves and stems
pinch salt and freshly ground pepper

For the batter:
250 ml (1 cup) flour
250 ml (1 cup) water
10 ml (2 tsp) sugar
10 ml (2 tsp) vegetable oil
10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder
large pinch of salt

For the pico de gallo:
4 large ripe tomatoes, finely diced
1 medium red onion, finely diced
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped (use less or leave out entirely if heat isn’t your thing)
small bunch coriander leaves, chopped
juice of half a lime
15 ml (1 tbsp) good extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

For the chipotle mayonnaise:
250 ml (1 cup) mayonnaise
1 or 2 chipotle chili peppers in adobo (sold in cans in the Mexican food section)
15 ml (1 tbsp) adobo sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed and minced
15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh cilantro
squeeze fresh lime juice
pinch salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Other things you’ll need:
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Deep fryer
Heavy skillet for warming the tortillas
Cold Mexican beer
Lime wedges
Guacamole and sour cream (optional)
Napkins (and lots of them)
Mexican tunes (No Spanish cds in your collection? Tune your web browser to http://www.grupoturquesa.com/supert.php or http://radiotime.com/station/s_2996/Fiesta_Mexicana_923.aspx and crank the computer speakers while you cook!)

First, combine all the ingredients for the pico de gallo and set aside in the fridge to chill.
Then stir together all the ingredients for the chipotle mayonnaise and put that in the fridge, too. (Be careful with the amount of chipotle peppers if you’re not a fan of spicy-hot foods. It’s best to start with a small amount if you’re not sure. You can always add more.)
Next, shell and devein the shrimp. Whisk together ingredients for the marinade and toss with the shrimp in a glass bowl. Set aside in the fridge to marinate for about 15-20 minutes.
Whisk together the ingredients for the batter.
Pour oil into deep fryer and preheat to 185 C (370 F).
Once the oil is hot, take shrimp take shrimp out of the marinade, shake off excess and dunk into the batter. Carefully lower each shrimp into the hot oil and fry. Don’t add too many shrimp to the oil at once. Give them lots of room to crisp up. Once they are golden and crispy – this will only take two to three minutes depending on the size of your shrimp - remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.
Continue frying the rest of the shrimp.
While you are cooking the shrimp, start warming the tortillas. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium high heat, brush each tortilla with a bit of oil and place in the pan, flipping it now and then until warmed through. Don’t let the tortillas get crispy.
To serve, set out everything family style in the middle of the table and let everyone assemble their tacos this way: First smear a little chipotle mayo over the warm tortilla, then place two or three shrimp in the mayo. Top with a spoonful of pico de gallo and a squeeze of fresh lime. You can also add a small dollop of guacamole or sour cream if you wish, but it’s not necessary. Although it’s tempting, try not to overstuff the taco as it will be very messy to eat.

AGLIO OLIO

2009-02-10T13:16:00.020-04:00

So, you've mastered the art of rolling your own fresh pasta (click here to see my previous post).

Here is a simple sauce sauce recipe that will allow you to appreciate fresh pasta's exquisite flavour and delicate, springy texture.

It's called aglio olio, a simple and quick sauce of fruity, extra-virgin olive oil and garlic that is seasoned with fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley, salt, freshly cracked pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

AGLIO OLIO
(SIMPLE OIL AND GARLIC SAUCE FOR PASTA)

This recipe goes together in a flash, so make sure you have the table set, your pasta rolled and cut and all of your sauce ingredients measured, chopped and ready to go before you start to cook.

What you'll need:
75 ml (1/3 cup) best quality extra-virgin olive oil
4 fat cloves of garlic, crushed and coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
125 ml (1/2 cup) loosely packed and coarsely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 batch homemade fresh pasta, uncooked
175 ml (3/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (please, do not use the dry powdered kind sold in the shaker cans)

What to do:
Prepare fresh pasta noodles as described here, but don't cook them just yet.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Stir in a teaspoon or so of salt amd taste the water. It should be lightly salty, but not overly so.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté it lightly, but take care that it doesn’t burn. Light, golden garlic is sweet and fragrant, brown garlic will taste strong and bitter.

While the garlic is sauteeing in the oil, gently drop the pasta into the pot boiling water and let it cook for a minute or so, then use a spaghetti ladle to scoop the pasta directly from the water into the hot garlic oil in the skillet. Gently toss the pasta in the hot oil, ladling in a splash or two of the hot pasta-cooking water to the pasta. Season well with freshly cracked pepper and scatter chopped parsley and parmesan cheese over everything. Give the skillet a final toss (you can add an extra splash of the pasta cooking water if you find the mixture too dry) and slide the noodles onto a warm platter or pasta bowl. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

VARIATIONS:
You can jazz up a basic aglio olio in an infinite number of ways. Here are just a few ideas:
Olives and capers: Pit and coarsely chop 125 ml (1/2 cup) black olives. Add these and about 15 ml (1 tbsp) of chopped capers to the hot pasta and aglio olio. Finish with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Sundried tomato, white beans and parmesan: Coarsely chop about 75 ml (1/3 of a cup) of sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed). Rinse and drain 250 ml (1 cup) of white cannellini beans. Add these to the garlic and oil before tossing with pasta. Finish with grated parmesan.
Spice it up: Add a couple of pinches of crushed red pepper flakes to the oil and garlic.
Fresh herbs: Toss fresh herbs such as torn basil, oregano or thyme leaves with the hot pasta and aglio oliojust before serving.
Mushrooms, white wine, lemon and thyme: Sautee some thinly sliced mushrooms in butter until they have released all of their liquid. Set aside. Prepare the pasta and the aglio olio. Toss together the pasta and the aglio olio. Add mushrooms and add a splash of white wine. Scatter grated parmesan cheese and fresh thyme leaves over the top and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a light grating of fresh lemon zest.

Making your own pasta

2009-02-01T23:23:00.035-04:00

These cold, wintry weekends are the perfect time to hunker down in the kitchen, roll up the sleeves and dive into an extra-special recipe.

Home-made pasta is a wonderful stormy-day project because you don’t need to venture out into the weather to pick up anything at the store.

Everything you need to make fresh pasta – flour, eggs and little olive oil – is usually already sitting in your cupboard and fridge.

If you’ve never tried your hand at making it yourself, you’re in for a treat.
Fresh pasta’s rich flavour and delicate, springy texture is altogether different than that of its dried, store-bought cousin.

You really don’t need any special equipment.
Sure, you can buy fancy, stainless-steel pasta machines that make the job of rolling and cutting the dough faster and easier. But you can still get fantastic results with nothing more than your countertop or kitchen table, a rolling pin and a sharp knife.

To fully appreciate the exquisite taste and texture of freshly made pasta, try it first with the lightest sauce possible before advancing to heavier, more intensely flavoured concoctions.

Fresh, paper-thin fettuccine needs only a quick toss in an aglio olio (I'll post a recipe for this later this week), a fresh-tasting mixture of olive oil, garlic and chopped Italian parsley.

On the other hand, thicker, wider, more eggy-textured noodles such as pappardelle can tolerate the weight of a heavier, meat-based ragu, but again, don’t overdo it.

FRESH PASTA

What you need:

500 ml (2 cups) unbleached flour, plus a little extra for rolling and dusting
5 ml (1 tsp) salt
3 eggs
30-45 ml (2-3 tbsp) olive oil

What to do:

Measure the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, or simply dump it onto a clean kitchen counter.

Make a well in the centre of the flour. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and olive oil and pour into the well. You can also break the eggs directly in the well of the flour as I've done here.

Use a fork to mix everything together as best you can, then dust your hands with flour and knead the mixture until all the dry bits have been incorporated and you have a smooth, stretchy ball of dough.

Keep kneading and resist the urge to add water until you have worked the dough for at least two-three minutes, and only add a drop or so of water if the mixture seems to really, really need it. Likewise, if the dough seems sticky, add extra flour quite sparingly as too much flour will result in tough pasta.

At first, the mixture will seem quite dry, as if it might never have enough moisture to come together......

But then, after a bit of persistent kneading, it does ....

When you’re finished kneading the dough, wrap the ball in plastic wrap and let it rest on the countertop for about a half-hour. Alternatively, you can put the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight, but remember to take it out of the fridge about an hour or so before you want to roll it so it’s not rock hard.

When you’re ready to roll, dust your countertop and rolling pin very lightly with flour. Cut the ball of dough into three or four pieces and keep the remaining pieces well-wrapped while you work with this piece.
(If you’re using a pasta-rolling machine, roll and cut the dough according to the machine’s instructions.)

Use the rolling pin to roll dough into a very thin rectangular shape, flipping the dough over now and then. If the dough sticks to your work surface, you can dust it with extra flour and use a pastry brush to brush away any excess.

Once the dough is thin enough, you are ready to cut the pasta. To cut into fettuccine, lightly dust the sheet of pasta with flour, brush away the excess and then fold the dough in half, and then in half again until you have a long, oblong shape. Dust the blade of a sharp knife with flour, and cut the pasta into strips about half a centimeter (1/4-inch) wide. Carefully tease the strips apart and set them aside on a cookie sheet that has been dusted lightly with flour.

Continue rolling and cutting the rest of the dough.

The pasta is now ready for cooking. If you want to store some in the freezer for another day, let the noodles air-dry a bit and then pack gently into plastic containers.

How to cook fresh pasta:

Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Add 10 ml (2 tsp) of salt to the water, stir well and give it a taste. It should taste faintly salty but not overly so.
Important note: If serving your pasta with a sauce, have the sauce ready to go before you cook the pasta. Fresh pasta only takes a minute or two to cook, so everything else must be ready before you even think about dropping your noodles into the water.

Carefully drop your fresh pasta into the boiling water a bit at a time and stir gently to keep noodles from sticking together. Don’t cover the pot. After about a minute, the pasta should float to the surface. Taste a piece to see if it’s done (a little under-done is OK as it will continue to cook once mixed with the sauce). Use a spaghetti ladle to scoop the pasta directly from the pot into your skillet of sauce (I'll post some easy sauce recipes here soon.) Toss pasta gently with the sauce, ladling a splash or two of the pasta-cooking water to the skillet if the mixture seems a bit dry.
Carefully pour the dressed pasta into a warm serving platter or bowl and serve immediately with a fresh grating of parmesan cheese, chopped herbs and a final drizzle of olive oil.

Lobsters and Lighthouses

2008-12-10T09:21:00.049-04:00

What's Christmas baking without a gingerbread house?

This year, I have returned to my seaside roots by making a gingerbread house in the shape of a lighthouse. This lighthouse is a cookie replica of the lighthouse in Port Medway, Nova Scotia, just down the shoreline a ways from where I grew up.

After applying all the icing and decorations, I thought I would continue on with the coastal theme by scattering a few handfuls of candy rocks around the foot of the lighthouse. (I got my rocks at a bulk store in Halifax called the Bulk Barn but you should be able to find them at any candy store or cake decorating shop.)

Then I sculpted these happy, little lobsters out of marzipan.

Here's how to make them:

You'll need a small tube of marzipan. They usually sell it in the baking section of the grocery store, but this time of year, it can also be found near the Christmas fruit cakes in the baked goods section.

Rub a small amount of vegetable oil into your hands and cut off a 5 cm (2-inch) ball of marzipan. Knead a small amount of red food colouring paste into the marzipan until it is an evenly toned, bright red. If your hands get sticky, wash and dry them well and rub some more oil into your palms.

Break off a small amount of marzipan, and make a lobster body by rolling a ball of marzipan into a small sausage shape. Taper one end.

Make claws by rolling two more smaller balls of marzipan into two more sausage shapes. Taper one end of each. Flatten the fat end between your fingers and use the tip of a paring knife or toothpick to make a little groove in the “claw.” Repeat with the other claw.

Press claws into position on either side of the lobster body.

Use the tip of your finger to flatten the tip of the lobster tail. Use a toothpick or tip of a paring knife to make little fan marks in the tail tip. Use the back of the knife blade to make several parallel grooves along the back of the lobster body.

Roll two very small pieces of red marzipan into long, skinny antennae. Press onto the lobster’s head.

Now take two very tiny bits of untinted white marzipan and roll into two tiny white balls for eyes. Press into place. Melt a small amount of dark chocolate and use the tip of a toothpick to dot a little black speck onto each white eye. Use the tip of a teaspoon to press a little grin onto his mouth.

Place marzipan lobster on a well-oiled plate or sheet of parchment paper while you make two or three more. Make extra. These tasty little guys have a tendency to mysteriously crawl away.

Let your imagination be your guide. You can shape marzipan into just about anything: little crabs, whales, lobster traps, even rowboats.

By the way, the recipe for the gingerbread house itself is fairly straightforward, sturdy and, of course, delicious. I'll post the recipe soon, but in the meantime (just in case you want to get baking right away, and why wouldn't you?) you can find my recipe and the printable pattern pieces in my column in The Chronicle Herald today.

Cranberries

2008-11-18T12:57:00.035-04:00

Are these not the most gorgeous cranberries you've ever seen?

My friend, whom I've known since childhood, just dropped them off this morning at my house.

Her dad picks them somewhere around Lake Rossignol, down in Queens County where we grew up.

When she asked me last week if I'd like to have some, of course I said 'Yes.'

I was assuming she'd give me just a few cupfuls for baking, but when the doorbell rang today, there was Angela holding out a huge grocery bag full of the freshest, most perfectly red, round, shiny berries I'd ever seen. There must have been 20 cups of fruit in that bag!

Time for me to get baking. The first thing I did was whip up a little pastry for a cranberry-apple tart.

(Well, actually, before that, I got out my camera, because anything this good-looking deserves to have its picture taken!)

I'm not much of a pie baker, but I do enjoy making free-form, open faced pies. You can't make a mistake with them. The more ragged and crooked you make them, the more beautifully rustic and homemade they look.

I don't really follow a recipe for this tart. If you want a "real" recipe to follow, I'll come back later and post exact measurements, but for now, here's what I did: I just tossed together a little flour, salt and sugar, cut in some butter and shortening, squeezed it gently into a ball and rolled it out. Then I tossed some apples and cranberries with a little lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mounded on top of the pastry. I pulled the sides of the pastry up around the fruit, gave it a little hug with my hands to hold it together and baked it in the oven, first at 450F for about 15 minutes and then at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry was golden and crisp.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........

Thanks for the cranberries!!!

Update!!!: Here's the recipe I promised for the free-form apple tart. If you don't have fresh cranberries, leave them out, but this combination is so delicious and, I'm thinking, healthy, too.

RUSTIC APPLE TART

Toss grated old cheddar cheese in this pastry to add flakiness and a flavour similar to enjoying a wedge of sharp cheddar with warm apple pie.
Pastry:
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) unbleached flour
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
50 ml (1/4 cup) cold butter, cubed
50 ml (1/4 cup) cold shortening, cubed
Optional: 125 ml (1/2 cup) grated old cheddar
cheese
75 ml (1/3 cup) ice water

Filling:
6 Gravenstein apples, cored and
thinly sliced (peel if you like)
250 ml (1 cup) cranberries
15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice
50 ml (1/4 cup) sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon
1 ml (1/4 tsp) nutmeg
15-20 ml (1-2 tbsp) cold butter
30 ml (2 tbsp) sugar mixed with 5 ml (1 tsp) cinnamon

Make sure butter and shortening are well chilled. Put mixing bowl, pastry cutter, even flour in fridge for a little while if kitchen is warm.
Sift flour and salt into bowl. Cut in butter, shortening with pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Don’t make pieces of butter and shortening too small. If using grated cheddar, toss in now.
Drizzle in ice water, a spoonful at a time; mix with fork just until mixture starts to come together. You may not need all the water. Tip mixture out onto sheet of plastic wrap; use it to help you press mixture together into a ball.
Flatten into a disc, wrap well with plastic; chill 20-30 minutes.
To roll, lay large sheet of baking parchment on work surface; dust lightly with flour. Unwrap pastry disc; roll with floured rolling pin into large circle. (Or make individual tarts by cutting pastry into four and rolling each piece.) Slide pastry, paper and all, onto baking sheet; refrigerate while you preheat oven and prepare fruit.
Preheat oven to 220 C (425 F).
Toss apples with lemon juice and first amount of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mound fruit on top of pastry, leaving three to five centimetres (an inch or two) of pastry around fruit.
Bring pastry edges up and around mound of fruit, leaving centre uncovered. Hug edges of circle with hands to hold pastry in place. Dot tart with bits of butter; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake at 220 C (425 F) for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 175 C (350 F) and bake 30-45 minutes until apples are tender and pastry is golden and crisp.

Gloomy Sunday Roulade

2008-11-10T21:35:00.041-04:00

“... And then when you cut into the slice of roulade, your tongue is tantalized by the three separate tastes. They are so different and go so well together that with the next bite, you’ll be sure to get all three on your fork.”

- Lazlo Szabo, Gloomy Sunday

SOME MOVIES stay with you a long time after you watch them. If you read my Comfort Food column today in The Chronicle Herald, you know Gloomy Sunday was one of those movies for me. And not just because I loved the story, but because I loved the food in this movie, too.

Released in 1999, Gloomy Sunday tells story behind the wartime song of the same name. The song, written in 1933, became known as the Hungarian Suicide Song because, as legend has it, distraught lovers all over Europe were driven to end their lives upon hearing its haunting melody. (You can view a clip from the movie here, and if you'd like to listen to Billie Holiday's smooth-as-silk version of the song, click here.)

Food is important in the film because much of the action takes place at a little restaurant in 1930s Budapest called Szabo's. Patrons throng to Szabo's for two things: to hear the restaurant's pianist, Andras, play his famous song, Gloomy Sunday, and to dine on Szabo's signature dish, the Magyar roulade. So good is this recipe for Hungarian beef roll filled with ham and cheese, that it has the power to save lives - and take them away.

After watching the film, I wanted to make a Magyar roulade myself. Here is my interpretation of Gloomy Sunday Roulade. We enjoyed it with spaeztle, sautéed shredded cabbage and hot buttered beets.

GLOOMY SUNDAY ROULADE
Serves 4

(Step-by-step photos for assembling the roulade follow after the recipe)

1 large top sirloin steak (or use 4 beef tenderloin steaks for individual roulades)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped
olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar, about 15 ml (1 tbsp)
freshly squeezed juice of one lemon

For the filling:
Dijon mustard
Thinly sliced prosciutto ham
Baby spinach leaves
1 jar flame-roasted red peppers, drained well and patted dry (or you can roast your own)
thinly sliced havarti cheese
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (NOT the powdered type sold in shaker-cans)
freshly ground black pepper
butcher’s twine

For frying: 1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly crushed, but essentially left whole
olive oil
butter

Place steak between two sturdy sheets of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet until meat is about 1.5 cm (half an inch) thick all over. Try to pound it out to a nice, rectangular shape if possible.
Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a large glass baking dish, pour in an equal amount of lemon juice, add the crushed, chopped garlic and balsamic vinegar and whisk together. Place steak in the dish, turning it to ensure the meat is well-coated on all sides.
Set aside in the fridge to marinate for at least 30-minutes or up to several hours. (I have left this in the fridge as long as overnight, but the garlic flavour becomes quite pronounced.)
When you’re ready to fill the steak, spread it out on a clean countertop and brush a generous spoonful of Dijon mustard all over the meat. Starting with the prosciutto ham, start layering the fillings over the meat. Follow with the spinach leaves, roasted red peppers and cheese, leaving about an inch of space on one long edge of the steak.
Finally, sprinkle with grated parmesan.
Now, carefully and tightly roll up the roulade, tucking in any stray bits of filling that squeeze out the sides. Place the roulade seam-down down on a cutting board. Cut a long piece of butcher’s twine and use it to securely wrap and tie the beef roll so it doesn’t fall apart.
Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Heat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Melt a generous knob of butter and an equal amount of olive oil, enough that the skillet is well-coated with butter and oil. Add the crushed, whole clove of garlic and gently sauté it in the butter and oil, just long enough to scent and flavour the butter and oil. Sear the beef on all sides till well-browned, then pop the pan in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 160 F. Remove from oven, transfer roulade to a platter, tent with foil and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the mushroom sauce:
30 ml (2 tbsp) butter
8 oz. pkg cremini mushrooms, sliced
1-2 shallots, peeled and finely diced
50 ml (one quarter cup) white wine
50 ml (one quarter cup) chicken stock
50 ml (one quarter cup) heavy cream
chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté until mushrooms are golden and most of their moisture has evaporated. Pour in white wine and chicken stock and let cook until reduced by half. Stir in cream, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until slightly thickened.

To serve:
Remove butcher’s twine from roulade, cut roulade into slices and arrange on a platter. Scatter with chopped parsley and serve warm with mushroom sauce.

Between sheets of plastic wrap, pound steak as flat as you can.

Marinate the steak for at least a half-hour in a simple mixture of garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.

Layer Dijon mustard, prosciutto, spinach, roasted red peppers and cheese over the steak.

Carefully and tightly roll up the steak. Tie it with butcher's twine so it holds its shape.

In a hot pan, sear the steak on all sides to seal in the juices. Then finish by roasting in a 450 F oven for about 20 minutes.

After roasting, be sure to let the meat rest for a few minutes so the juices can settle back into the meat. Remove the butcher's twine, carve the roulade into slices and arrange on a platter.

Hauntingly Easy

2008-10-29T12:14:00.019-03:00

Need to whip up a batch of Halloween-themed cupcakes faster than a bat can fly out of you-know-where?

These ideas are for you.

First, you'll need to bake up a batch of your favourite cupcakes. Use a mix if you want or make them from scratch. A recipe for dark, fudgy, brownie-style cupcakes can be found here.

Now, with stuff you probably already have hanging around in the cupboard, you can do this:

Simply Scary Sayings: Spread vanilla or chocolate icing in a smooth layer over plain cupcakes. Gently melt 50 ml (one quarter cup) chocolate chips in the microwave or for a minute or two (use white chocolate if cupcakes are iced in regular chocolate), scoop into a zippered plastic bag, snip off a very small corner and carefully spell out short and scary sayings such as Boo!, Eek! and R.I.P.

Kitty Cat Cupcakes: Spread white icing in a smooth layer over tops of cupcakes. Use chocolate chips, small black gumdrops or jelly beans for the cat’s eyes and nose. Press on black liquorice shoestring candy for whiskers.

Dracula cupcakes: Spread white icing over cupcakes. Dip a toothpick into a little cherry or raspberry jam or red cake decorating gel. (Thin with a tiny amount of water if necessary) and then poke the toothpick into the icing to make two red vampire fang marks. Use the toothpick to draw a thin trail of raspberry “blood” dripping out of each fang hole.

OK, in the best Count Dracula voice you can muster, repeat after me: "I vant to bite your cupcake!"

Eat, Drink and Be Scary

2008-10-28T10:06:00.021-03:00

If ghosts could have babies, I'm thinking this is what they would look like.

These sweet little meringue ghosts are so cute, I can't stand it.

I first saw them on one of my favourite blogs, 1o1 Cookbooks, but then I started seeing them everywhere.

Of course, I had to have them, but sweet as they are, I thought they needed just a little something ... perhaps a pedestal to celebrate their cutitude ... so I perched the pudgy spooksters atop some chocolate cupcakes.

Now we're talking. The taste is spooky good, somewhere between an old-fashioned, chocolate birthday cake slathered with boiled icing and rocky road-style brownies. You know the ones with that ooey-gooey topping of mini marshallows, chopped nuts and chocolate? I'll try to post a recipe for those someday.

Back to the ghosts. I tried a few different things for eyes (chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles) but finally decided I liked the look of the shiny silver dragee candies best. I like shiny things. Watch your teeth, though. You certainly wouldn't want to suffer a dental injury on the night before the festival of candy gluttony that is Halloween.

MERINGUE GHOST CUPCAKES
The recipe for the meringue ghosts is adapted from one I found on 101 Cookbooks. The cupcakes were my idea. It doesn't really matter which you make first, the cupcakes or the meringue ghosts; both can be made up to a day ahead and stored in an airtight container until you're ready to assemble them.

For the cupcakes:
120 g (4 ounces) good quality dark chocolate, chopped
125 ml (1/2 cup) butter
250 ml (1 cup) white sugar
50 ml (1/4 cup) brown sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla
3 eggs
175 ml (3/4 cup) unbleached flour
75 ml (1/3 cup) cocoa
1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
125 ml (1/2 cup) pecan pieces that have been lightly toasted in a dry frying pan

Method:
Preheat oven to 160 C (325 F). Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake cups and lightly spray with cooking spray.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter but don’t let it get so hot that it sputters. Turn off the heat, add chopped chocolate and set aside for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt into the butter. Stir chocolate and butter together until smooth, let cool for a few minutes and then stir in the sugars. Let this mixture cool some more until it is just warm to the touch.
Meanwhile, sift together flour, cocoa and salt into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Now stir eggs, one at a time, into the chocolate mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture, add nuts and gently stir everything together just until well-combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
Spoon batter into cupcake cups and bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan once to ensure even baking. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out not quite clean. (These cupcakes should result in a fudgy, brownie-style cake.)
Cool cupcakes in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

For the meringue ghosts:
2 very fresh, large egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of salt
pinch of cream of tartar
175 ml (3/4 cup) icing sugar, sifted
tiny silver candy dragees, mini chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles for eyes
1 milk or dark chocolate bar

Tools:
Spotlessly clean metal mixing bowl (if the bowl has any traces of oil or grease at all, meringue will not whip)pastry bag or large sturdy freezer bag for piping
1 cm (half-inch) plain, round piping tip

Method:
Preheat oven to 95 C (200F).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whip egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in an electric mixer until white and frothy, then start sprinkling in the sugar a spoonful at a time with the machine still running. Keep whipping until the whites become glossy and full of volume; this can take as long as 10-15 minutes, depending on the speed of your mixer and the freshness of the eggs. Stop the mixer and check the meringue. It should be able to form stiff peaks that hold their shape.
Fit the piping tip into the pastry bag. If using a plastic freezer bag, snip off one corner just large enough to hold the piping tip, drop the tip into the corner and make sure it’s secure.
Scoop the meringue into the piping bag, twist the top closed and pipe little ghost-like mounds of meringue onto the baking sheets by starting with a 5 cm (2 in) circle and keep working upwards as if you were filling a soft-serve ice-cream cone. Make 12 little ghosts.
Now, with either your finger or a pair of clean tweezers, carefully press two candy eyes into the face of each ghost. (If you have trouble with this step, not to worry; you can always dab a little melted chocolate on for eyes after the ghosts finish baking.)
Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for an hour. After an hour, rotate the pan, leave the oven door open a crack and bake for another 30 minutes. Check one of the ghosts by touching it lightly. It should no longer be gummy or wobbly. If they still seem wet and sticky, bake them for 10-15 minutes longer until they are dry to the touch. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues to dry for two or three hours, or overnight.

To assemble the cupcakes:
Use a sharp, serrated knife to slice off a tiny amount of the top from the cupcakes, creating a flat surface. Melt the chocolate bar and use it as glue to secure the ghosts to the cupcakes: Paint a little of the melted chocolate on top of each cupcake, perch the ghosts on top and set aside to let the chocolate set up. (If you decided not to apply the candy eyes before baking, you can go ahead and dab some on now. Just dip a toothpick into some of the remaining melted chocolate and dab a couple of beady little eyes on the face each ghost. So cute!)
Variation: Mix 0.5 ml (one eighth tsp) peppermint flavouring into the meringue for chocolate-peppermint meringue ghost cupcakes.

Scallops in Curry Cream

2008-10-24T16:36:00.028-03:00

Curries are perfect for fall.

Their deep, rich burnt-ochre colour looks like autumn on a plate, and the combination of earthy, aromatic spices such as cumin, coriander, ginger and turmeric will warm you through and through on a nippy October evening.

Curry is a versatile flavouring as well, pairing perfectly with pork, chicken, beef and seafood, as well as most vegetables. Cauliflower, squash and lentils are surprisingly delicious when cloaked in a spicy curry sauce.

Curries are usually quick and easy to make, too. If you have all your ingredients chopped and ready to go, you can produce spectacularly delicious results in about the same time as it takes to steam a pot of basmati rice.

This is my go-to dish when I have friends coming over at the last minute and I want to make something special, but don't have all day to mess around in the kitchen. I pick up the freshest scallops I can get my hands on, sear them in butter and drape with this sauce.

Everyone swoons.

*You can certainly make your own curry seasoning by mixing up your spices in a food processor, but this is one of the rare times when I think store-bought curry pastes work just fine.

Scallops in Curry Cream

I love scallops in this dish, but you can use just about anything: fresh or leftover chicken or turkey, roasted cubes of squash, stir-fried cauliflower or lentils.

For the seared scallops:
50 ml (1/4 cup) butter
30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
500-750 g (1 to 1 1/2 lbs) fresh, large scallops
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the sauce:
30 ml (2 tbsp) butter or olive oil
50 ml (1/4 cup) each red onion, carrot, red pepper, cut into thin slivers about 7 cm (3 inches) long
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely minced
Optional: 50 ml (1/4 cup) thinly slivered leek and fennel bulb
1 heaping spoonful (20 ml or a heaping tbsp) mild or medium curry paste; adjust to taste
Dash Thai chili sauce (optional)
50 ml (1/4 cup) dry white wine (good quality drinking wine, not cooking wine)
50 ml (1/4 cup) slivered almonds lightly toasted in a dry skillet
125 ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream

To finish: 50 ml (1/4 cup) loosely packed basil leaves, roughly chopped just before serving Cooked basmati or jasmine rice, to serve four
Lemon wedges

Before you begin, it's important to have all your ingredients chopped and ready to go. This dish goes together very quickly. Don't forget to make rice before starting on the rest of the dish.

First, sear the scallops:
First, heat large skillet over medium-high to high heat. Add butter and oil to pan and get these quite hot and bubbly, but take care that the butter does not burn. Season scallops on both sides with salt and pepper; add them to hot pan.

Remember to give each scallop plenty of space. You want scallops to sizzle and sear in the butter so that a lovely caramelized crust forms on the outside. If the pan is too crowded or not hot enough, scallops will steam and become rubbery. Cook for only two to three minutes per side (do not cook all the way through), then remove to platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Dump fat, wipe out the pan and begin curry sauce.

For the curry sauce:
In the same skillet you used to sear the scallops, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add thinly slivered vegetables and saute just until onion starts to soften and become translucent. Add minced garlic and curry paste; quickly but gently stir into vegetables. If pan is too hot, remove it from the heat for a minute so garlic doesn't burn. Add dash of Thai chili sauce (optional). Stir in wine, using wooden spoon to scrape up and dissolve any caramelized bits that have stuck to bottom of the pan. (This deglazing adds fantastic flavour to the finished dish.) Let wine cook down until it's reduced by half; then stir in cream and bring to a boil.

Now, put it all together:
Add scallops to the sauce, along with any juices that have accumulated in the plate, and gently stir into sauce just long enough to heat through. Serve immediately over hot basmati rice. Scatter each plate with freshly chopped or torn basil leaves and toasted almonds and tuck a lemon wedge on the side.

Enjoy with the rest of the bottle of white wine you opened to make this recipe.

2008-10-13T17:21:00.062-03:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

So ... full.

Must ... lie ... down.

It's Thanksgiving and we've just finished gorging ourselves silly on roast turkey and all the fixings.

There were just the four of us, but we probably could have fed 40. There were maple-glazed sweet potatoes, buttercup squash (that came from my parents' garden), mashed potatoes (also grown by my parents), hot buttered beets and sauteed beet greens, brussels sprouts, my mother's homemade cabbage salad and, of course, the turkey and the stuffing.

Oh, and pie. Rich, creamy, dreamy pumpkin pie in buttery, melt-in-your-mouth flaky pastry.

We would have had cranberry sauce, too, but I forgot to buy cranberries.

Why would only four people need so much food? Well, you see, this is what happens when one person doesn't like brussels sprouts and another doesn't like 'orange' vegetables. As for the rest of us? We like just about everything.

Here is my delicious recipe for stuffed turkey. It might be too late for this Thanksgiving, but Christmas is just 72 sleeps away.

Roast Turkey with Classic Mushroom Stuffing

You'll need:

Fresh local turkey

For the stuffing:

75 ml (1/3 cup) butter

1 medium red onion, chopped

500 ml (2 cups) chopped celery

500 ml (2 cups) mushrooms, sliced

1 large apple, cubed (remove the core but do not peel)

20 ml (1 heaping tbsp) crumbled dried sage

5 ml (1 tsp) thyme

5 ml (1 tsp) kosher salt

2 ml (1/2 tsp)freshly ground pepper

2 litres (8 cups) cubed day-old bread, spread out on a cookie sheet and allowed to dry
250 ml (1 cup) toasted pecans
250 ml (1 cup) raisins
125 ml (1/2 cup) dried cranberries

250-500 ml (1-2 cups) chicken stock

For roasting the bird:

50 ml (1/4 cup) butter

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

thyme

What to do:

Rinse turkey in cold water and pat dry inside and out with paper towels. Set aside.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions and celery in butter just until they start to become translucent. Add mushrooms and stir constantly until the mushrooms turn golden and have released most of their moisture. Be sure to keep the pan snapping hot so the mushrooms saute in the butter and turn golden rather than steam and turn grey. Add the cubed apple and fry a minute or so more. Add sage, thyme, salt and pepper and take pan off the heat.

Place cubed bread in a large bowl. Add nuts, raisins, dried cranberries. Pour the sauteed vegetables over the top and toss together gently. Pour in just enough chicken stock to moisten the stuffing but not so much that the mixture becomes mushy.

Preheat the oven to 220 C (425 F).

Position the turkey upright in a large mixing bowl with the cavity toward you. This will help to keep the bird steady while you spoon the stuffing into the cavity. Loosely pack the stuffing into the bird. Truss the cavity closed with trussing needles and string. Turn the bird around fill the neck cavity with stuffing. Truss that end closed as well. Now carefully lift the turkey out of the bowl and place it breast-side up in the roasting pan. Tuck the wings under the body and tie kitchen string around the turkey, making sure the drumsticks are secured as tightly as possible to the body of the bird. This will help keep the bird moist and prevent the drumsticks from drying out.

(If you have any stuffing leftover at this point, pour it into a buttered casserole dish, cover with foil and store in the fridge for now. You can bake it in the oven when the turkey has finished roasting.)

Rub softened butter all over the turkey breast and drumsticks. You could also use olive oil, if you'd prefer. Sprinkle the turkey with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and crumbled thyme leaves.

Roast, uncovered, in a 220 C (425 f) oven for 15-20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160 C (325 F) and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 82 C (180 F). You will need to roast the stuffed turkey for 20 minutes per pound to ensure proper cooking.

When the turkey is done, remove from the oven, place the turkey on a platter and tent with foil. The bird needs to rest for at least 20 minutes before carving to allow the juices to settle back into the meat. While the turkey is resting, prepare the rest of your dinner and make the gravy.

Welcome to my blog!

2008-10-03T13:32:00.009-03:00

Martha has one. Rachael Ray has one. So does Lucy Waverman.
Come to think of it, most of my culinary heroes have one.

Well, now I have one, too!

Welcome to my very own food blog.

I spend so many hours drooling over the writing and photography of other foodies, I thought it was high time that I started blogging and sharing my work online, too.

But bear with me: This whole blogging thing is new to me and I'm still a little wobbly on my training wheels, so I'm going to have to start slow ... real slow.

So, on this first time around the block, or should I say blog, let's try something quick and easy: a simple, very tasty recipe for Potato Crusted Haddock Fillets.

Now, if this recipe looks familiar to some of you, it's because it was first published a few months ago in my newspaper column, Comfort Food, which appears in The Chronicle Herald's Arts & Life section every other Wednesday. So many people have e-mailed me asking if I could please repeat the recipe, I thought it was as good a choice as any for my blogging debut.

I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you think, and thanks for dropping by.

Nadine Fownes

POTATO-CRUSTED HADDOCK FILLETS

4 fillets (100-175 g/4-6 ounces) fresh haddock (salmon, trout or fresh cod would also be delicious)
2-3 large russet potatoes, peeled and grated
30 ml (2 tbsp) mayonnaise
15 ml (1 tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh herbs, such as dill or basil (optional)
canola oil and butter

Method:
Pat the fillets dry with paper towels.

Whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice and lightly brush this over both sides of the fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Take half of the grated potatoes and divide over the tops of each fillet, spreading out the potato to cover the fish. Press it firmly into place. Season again with a bit more salt and pepper.

Heat equal parts of oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat (about a 15 ml – 1 tbsp of each should do, depending on the size of your pan.) When the pan is hot, carefully place the fish potato-side down in the pan.

Take the rest of the grated potato and spread it out over the top sides of the fillets. Let the fish cook without turning it until the bottom potato crust is golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Use a large spatula to flip the fish and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until the other side is crispy and golden as well. (Thinner fillets might not take as long, thicker fillets may take a few minutes extra.)

Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel. Transfer to warm plates and serve immediately garnished with freshly chopped dill and lemon wedges.

Note: Be careful not the crowd the fish in the pan or the potato will steam instead of fry and it won't become crispy. If your pan is too small to give each fillet its own dance space in the pan (a couple of centimetres on all sides should be sufficient, as in the photograph.)