One of the salads my family enjoys is a kosher deli-style, cucumber salad. This salad came about after my father's favorite kosher deli in Montreal closed. Two or three times a month, my father would go to this kosher deli and get take out. One of the "must haves" was a cucumber salad - which was my dad's favorite. It took me awhile to perfect the recipe, but it was worth the effort. This is a fast and simple recipe. The only thing is you have to make it ahead. It must be chilled before you eat it. It keeps well, if you have leftovers and actually tastes better as it gets older. It's almost like a dill pickle - and great on the side when you cook out on the grill or just with a sandwich.
Cucumber Salad
4 cucumbers, peeled or not, sliced thin 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vinegar 3 teaspoons dried dill 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Place water, vinegar, sugar, dill and garlic in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until sugar dissolves. Place sliced onions and cucumbers in a glass bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over top. Cover bowl, refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours. Serve.
Okay, I love chicken. I find it to be the most versatile meat out there. My family, on the other hand, can pretty much go without eating chicken for weeks. The girls like wings but the farmer thinks they're too much work. I do make an oven-fried chicken that they like. The rest of the chicken dishes I make they tolerate because I'm the cook. Tonight I made one of my favorite chicken dishes. This is one of the very few things I cook that require a can of soup. But it is really good and very easy.
Chicken Breasts with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
4 - 6 fresh, boneless, skinless chicken breasts 3 cups thinly sliced mushrooms 1 thinly sliced yellow onion 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 can of cream of mushroom soup 1/2 soup can of milk 1/2 soup can chicken stock or water 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons of cold water salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350F. Place chicken breasts in parchment lined pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle onions evenly over chicken. Sprinkle mushrooms evenly over onions.
In a small bowl, mix soup, milk and chicken stock until smooth. Mix in minced garlic. Mix cornstarch in cold water until dissolved. Add to soup mixture and stir well. Pour mixture over chicken, mushrooms and onions. Bake covered for about 40 -50 minutes, until chicken is just about done. Remove cover, raise oven temperature to 375F, bake about another 20 minutes. This allows the sauce to thicken. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
It was my brother and sister-in-law who hosted our family Easter Celebration. We had a wonderful meal of perogies, cabbage rolls, barbecued lamb, turkey, roast pork, roasted potatoes, salads, asparagus, beans and peas. I was in charge of a dessert. I made chocolate cheesecake. A favorite of my little niece Ally. It was really good, except for the fact the surface cracked on me. This is a common problem with cheesecake. It has to do with cooling too quickly. The best thing is to actually turn off the oven and leave the cake in there for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, open the oven door a crack and let the warm air out. After 15 minutes, you can take the cake out. This usually prevents cracking, but not always. I didn't do that because I needed the oven to cook my roast for our supper.
Another trick, when baking cheesecake, is to always put a dish of water in the oven during baking. The atmosphere inside a hot oven is very dry. Lack of moisture can prevent a cheesecake from rising enough. The dish of water helps create a spa-like environment and the cake rises more. Some recipes call for this technique, some don't. I do it all the time. It makes the cake fluffier.
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
Crust 1 350 gram bag of Oreo cookies 3 tablespoons of melted butter
Layer One 3 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup sour cream 3 eggs 1 - 8 ounce box of semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted
Layer Two 2 cups sour cream 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides.
Place cookies in food processor and process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter. Process until well mixed. Press crumbs into prepared pan. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese and sour cream with sugar and vanilla until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time at medium speed, until smooth and fluffy. Add chocolate, beating until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes, until center is set. Place a deep dish of water in the oven on the lower rack, be sure to have enough water in your pan so it doesn't all evaporate during baking.
Prepare second layer by mixing, in a clean bowl, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and cocoa until completely combined. When first layer is done, remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 425F. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over cake. Bake 12 -15 minutes, until set. Cool completely. Chill for 4 -6 hours before serving, overnight is best.
Since it's the time of the year when we are likely to cook too much food and end up with leftovers, I thought this would be timely.
This is a delicious mustard that tastes nothing like store bought mustard. The process to make the actual mustard it is simple enough. It's the canning process that requires you have some experience. I usually make small jars so once it's opened I can use it up quickly. I'm not sure of the shelf life, but I would guess maybe a few weeks. This is great on that leftover Easter Ham. Spicy Pepper Mustard
1 cup of mustard seeds 3/4 cup white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons mixed peppercorns ( use black only, if that's all you have) 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup honey - I like buckwheat, if I can find it 1 teaspoon sea salt
In a blender or food processor, combine mustard seeds, vinegar, peppercorns until blended. Let soak for one hour. Add water, honey and salt. Liquefy until of desired consistency, (I like mine slightly lumpy.) Makes approximately 2 cups. Process jars in canner for 5 minutes. Store in a dark place. The light will change the color.
Now that I've told you about my favorite cooking vessel, I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes I make, using it. Blade Roast is not very glamorous or gourmet, and since you use an inexpensive cut of meat, it is very economical. Still, this recipe is impressive enough to serve to guests. The ingredients are simple and basic, the results are spectacular! I really like to serve it with boiled baby potatoes with butter and parsley and roasted asparagus.
5 Ingredient Pot Roast
1 blade roast or chuck roast 5-6 onions, sliced 2 teaspoons of all-spice 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 -3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Preheat over to 375F
Place roast in a roaster that has a tight fitting lid. Sprinkle with all-spice and pepper. Place sliced onions over roast, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.
Cover, put it oven. Cook about 20 minutes per pound. Do not uncover during the cooking process. I serve the meat just with the onions and the liquid that is in the pot. It can be served with your favorite gravy also.
f One of the most often used cooking pots in my house is my "Le Crueuset" pot. The Le Crueset company calls it a "French Oven". It comes in a variety of colors, mine is blue. My girls refer to it as the 'big blue pot". It weighs more than any turkey I've ever made, but it is the greatest pot around. I use it regularly on the stovetop for soups and sauces. It's also great as a casserole dish or a roaster.
I like it as a roaster because you can braise the meat in it, then put it in the oven directly. If you make gravy, you can take it out of the oven and put it back on the stovetop and all the little bits from the braising are still there, making your gravy especially flavorful. One less pot to clean at the end of the evening - just what I like!
If you shop at Winner's or Home Sense, you can sometimes find them at great prices. I bought mine at Canadian Tire. I got an incredible deal on it a few years back and I'm now sorry I didn't buy two! They are a little costly, but the amount of use you get from it will make the investment worthwhile. This is definitely a pot that will last a lifetime. Not only that, every time you use it, it's like a weight training work out!
I grew up in Montreal. It was at a time when the English speaking residents were becoming increasingly aware of the importance of speaking French. One of my friend's parents felt it was so important they hired a Nanny for the summer who was from France. They called her the "Au paire". I'm not sure how that translates into English, but I can tell you she made the world's greatest chocolate cake. Here it is 25 years later and I still have and make the recipe. With Easter just around the corner, I thought this would be an appropriate recipe to post.
The cake is not very big, but it is very rich. Don't put any frosting or icing on it, it will really be too sweet. I usually dust it lightly with icing sugar, just to make it look pretty. It is really good with a nice vanilla ice cream, just a little, or a dollop of whipped cream - what doesn't improve with a dollop of whipped cream ! ?
The Au Paire's Chocolate Cake
10 ounces of really good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1 cup of unsalted butter, cut up into pieces 5 eggs 1/4 cup granulated sugar 5 tablespoons all purpose flour 1- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 350F Butter and flour a 10" springform pan Stir chocolate and butter together in a saucepan placed into gently simmering water. Stir constantly, careful not to burn the chocolate. Heat until all chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, set aside. In a large bowl, beat together eggs and sugar until mixture begins to thicken. Sift flour and baking powder over eggs and gently fold into egg mixture. Gradually fold chocolate into egg mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Cover pan with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil after 20 minutes and continue baking 30 minutes longer or until a tester inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool cake in pan on rack. ( Cake will fall as it cools) Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.
I'm married 18 yrs, have 2 daughters.
The oldest one, Shauna, can't wait to graduate from high school so she can move to the city.
The younger one Alanna, figures, one day my husband and I will move out and she will live here forever....I still have yet to figure out where she thinks we're going to go!
On the farm we have a bunch of holstein cows, some cats and Millie, the greatest dog alive!.
Cooking is my favorite pastime. I think it's because I love food, all, food!
