Recipe Adjustment

Fruit Upside Down Cake

2010-01-31T17:09:00.005-05:00

Everyone has heard of Pineapple upside down cake. You don't have to make an upside down cake just with pineapple. This is one of my family's favorite fruit topped cake recipes. You can use just about any kind of fruit you like. I generally make it with berries. I like cranberries and blueberries mixed together. But I've made this with peaches, both canned and fresh, strawberries, raspberries alone and together, sometimes fresh and sometimes frozen. The one in the picture is made with frozen fruit, blueberries, strawberries and cranberries, evenly mixed.

Fruity Upside Down Cake

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease a 10 inch spring form pan. Set aside.

Fruit Topping:

3 cups of prepared fruit, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small bowl blend butter, sugar and spices until crumbly and well blended. Sprinkle into the bottom of the prepared pan. Cover bottom with even layer of fruit. Set aside.

Cake:

1/4 cup of butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

With electric mixer cream together butter and sugar until lemon yellow in color. Add eggs, one at a time mixing well between each. Mix in vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture, alternating with dry ingredients. Mixing well between each addition.

Spoon batter over fruit. Place pan on cookie sheet to catch any syrup that drips out. Bake about 40 - 45 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on rake, run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen from the pan. Invert onto serving platter.

Serves 8 - 10.

Fast, Easy and Delicious

2010-01-29T17:08:00.007-05:00

Casseroles have really gone out of style in terms of food. But I love casseroles. They usually contain at least one vegetable and a protein. My favorite part of a casserole is the leftovers. My husband eats all the time, and by all the time I mean, his meal starts in the morning when he awakens and lasts until he falls asleep at night. He easily eats every two hours. So leftovers in my house rarely go to waste. Casseroles are the best way to get him to eat vegetables. If I have a left over roast for example, he'll eat up the meat but will never eat the leftover veggies or even potatoes. If it's all mixed up in a casserole, he gets veggies with each serving! Needless to say, I'm always trying to create new and different casseroles. This was a very successful casserole experiment that incorporates pizza ingredients.

Upside Down Pizza Casserole

2 pounds of lean ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
1 medium pepper, red or green, your preference
1 clove garlic, minced, add more if you prefer
1 teaspoon Italian Herb seasoning
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups of prepared spaghetti sauce, preferably meatless

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large skillet brown meat, breaking it up with the spoon as it cooks. Drain off fat and liquid. Discard. Add onion, peppers, garlic and herbs. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Bring to a boil. Simmer about 10 - 15 minutes until thickened.

Prepare crust mix

Mix 1 cup of milk, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 2 eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed until well beaten, about 1 minute. To this add 1 cup of all purpose or whole wheat flour and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix on medium speed for about two minutes. When the meat mixture is ready pour in to an ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Top meat mixture with 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese. pour crust mix over top. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Bake in preheated over about 30 - 35 minutes until the crust is lightly browned and looks bubbled up. Let sit about 5 minutes. Serve with salad. Makes about 6 - 8 servings

Tropical Carrot Cake Surprise

2010-01-02T16:48:00.007-05:00

When it comes to family gatherings, I'm usually the baker. For Christmas I made cheesecake, a family favorite and chocolate chocolate chip cake. But for New Years' I wanted something different. I didn't want anything too sweet so I decided on a carrot cake with a twist. It came out great and there was hardly any left when I went to take a picture of it! This is a little time consuming, due to the ingredients and the surprise, but it's well worth it. Enjoy!

Tropical Carrot Cake Surprise

Filling

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. Set a side.

Cake

1 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 cups finely shredded carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins

Grease and flour a bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350F

Mix oil, eggs, brown sugar until blended, beat at medium high speed with electric mixer for 1 minute. Stir in flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, salt and ginger. Beat until well blended. Fold in carrots, pineapple, nuts and raisins.

Place all but about two cups of batter in cake pan. Spread filling evenly over batter. Cover with remaining cake batter. Bake 50 - 55 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for ten minutes. Remove from pan, cool completely.

Frost when cake is completely cooled.

Cream Cheese Drizzle Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 -3 tablespoons milk
1 - 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add milk if necessary. Beat in vanilla and 1 cup of sugar. Beat until smooth and the consistency is right. Should be thick enough to run down side of cake but not run off cake completely. Add sugar as needed to arrive at the right thickness. Pour over cake.

Serves 10 - 12

Cookbook Review

2009-11-14T16:10:00.004-05:00

The Gourmet Cookbook

I am, or I should say now, was a huge fan of Gourmet Magazine. November 2009 will be the last issue they will publish of one my favorite food magazines. I subscribed for years and kept every issue. Searching for recipes was a long and cumbersome process. Because the magazine is so beautifully photographed, I would often get side tracked reading or re-reading the wonderful articles about food, travel and restaurants around the world. A few years ago for Christmas, I received The Gourmet Cookbook.
It is a collection of the best recipes from the magazine's sixty year history. It has made searching through the recipes fast and easy. It has a huge selection of recipes, over 1000 of them, covering a range of cooking styles and cuisines. I refer to it often.

The book is a virtual encyclopedia of cooking. It covers everything from hors d'oeurves to desserts. It has many helpful articles throughout the book which give great explanations on cooking techniques and exotic ingredients. It doesn't, unfortunately include any of the wonderful photography from Gourmet Magazine.

I would recommend this book if you are an adventurous cook with a good degree of skill. If you are inspired by photos, this book will not get your creative juices flowing. Many of the recipes are geared for a cook with a higher degree of cooking skills.

Editor: Ruth Reichl
Hardcover, 1056 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
September 2004

Canadian Thanksgiving

2009-10-11T17:52:00.006-04:00

For Thanksgiving this year, we were just us. No road trip, no visitor or extra mouths to feed. I made a simple meal of roast beef, roast potatoes and baby carrots with green and wax beans. I decided to make soup as a starter. I love homemade soup. Every time I make chicken or turkey, I make stock so when I feel like making soup, I have some on hand. The key to really good soup is simple. Homemade stock. It has much more flavor and layers of tastes that make any soup great.
Today I made a creamy broccoli soup with a chicken base. If you want to make it vegetarian, you could easily use vegetable stock and it would be just as good.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1 rib of celery, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
I head of broccoli, stem chopped
2 tablespoon of butter
3 cups of water

2 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoon of all purpose flour
4 cups of chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup of light cream or whole milk

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until onion is soft and translucent. Add water and broccoli. Cook until broccoli stems are tender, about 20 minutes. train, reserve liquid.

In a large soup pot, melt 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of butter. With a whisk, blend until smooth and creamy. Slowly pour in chicken stock. Bring to a low boil and simmer while you puree the vegetables. Slowly add the pureed vegetables to the chicken stock. Simmer 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add milk by melting 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan. With a whisk, blend until smooth. Slowly whisk in milk. once all the milk has been added to the flour mixture and it is smooth and creamy, slowly whisk milk mixture into the broccoli mixture. Simmer 20 minutes, until thickened. Serve immediately. Serves 8.

Chicken Tonight!

2009-10-05T10:53:00.004-04:00

I love chicken. It's one of my favorite foods. My husband on the other hand, could eat chicken twice a year and have had enough. As a result of his distaste for chicken, I have created a variety of ingenious and delicious recipes over the years. One even my chicken hater likes is this spicy drumstick recipe.

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

As many drumsticks as you need - I make 24 at a time. (They can have skin or be skinless whatever you prefer)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Montreal Steak Spice

Preheat oven to 400F. I use convection for this recipe. The circulating air in the oven makes the chicken seem barbecued and helps cook it quickly.

Place all the drumsticks in a large bowl, big enough to hold them all. Drizzle oil over them to give them a slightly oil surface. They shouldn't be dripping in oil, just lightly coated.
Now sprinkle them with spice. You can use seasoned salt, garlic - whatever you like. They turn out even better if you can let them marinate in the spices for awhile before you cook them. I prepare the chicken in the morning, cover the bowl and refrigerate then only cook them hours later for supper. If you don't have time to marinate, you can cook them right away also- they still taste great.

Place them on a rack, place the rack in the center of the oven, cook until done. In the convection oven at 400F they cook in about 30 - 35 minutes.

Serve with your favorite sides. We like pilaf rice and broccoli with ours - at least I do!.

Great recipe for a crowd. Can also be served cold.

Labour Day - Good Bye Summer

2009-09-07T14:27:00.006-04:00

Labour Day generally signifies the end of summer. The kids go back to school, you notice the days getting shorter and the evenings getting chillier. It's one of my favorite times of the year. I like the days with no humidity and cooler nights that are great for sleeping.

In honour of the return to school, I decided to bake for the girls. I wanted to make muffins, but, I am ashamed to say, I had no milk in the house! Imagine - a dairy farm with no milk! Today wasn't the first time either. Some mornings you're just a little too cloudy to remember the empty pitcher!

So I scoured around for s recipe that didn't require milk. I couldn't find a muffin recipe - except one that called for plain yogurt - another item I didn't have. I did find one for a great "Blondie".

They are quick, easy and simple. All you really need is a saucepan and a spoon.

Blondies

2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13"x9" baking pan. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and sugar together over medium low heat. Stir well until sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. Using a wooden spoon, stir in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Spread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips and nuts.

Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars while still warm. Cool completely in pan.

Makes 36 bars

Cheesecake Recipe

2009-08-27T12:24:00.004-04:00

Gary's Birthday Cake

This past Sunday, was my company barbecue. One of the employees was having a birthday. I was to bring dessert, so I asked him his favorite kind of cake. Luckily, he chose cheesecake! My favorite to make. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo because it was cut up and eaten before I had a chance to take one.

Classic Cheesecake for a Crowd

4 packages (8 oz each) of cream cheese, at room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sour cream
30 Oreo cookies
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325F. Line one 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper. Crush the cookies to make fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix well. Press into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well between each addition. Add lemon juice. Blend in sour cream. Pour mixture over crust in prepared pan. Bake at 325F about 50 minutes until center of cake is set. After center is set, turn off oven, but do not remove cake. Leave the cake in the oven for about one hour to cool down. After about an hour, place pan on cooling rack to cool completely. Once cake is completely cooled, refrigerate. Top with your favorite fruit or pie filling before serving. I use a combination of pie filling and fresh fruit. Blueberries are my favorite.

Serves 16

For a fluffier cake, place a oven proof dish of water on the lower oven rack. This will add moisture to the oven's atmosphere and help make a moister cake.

Best Time of The Year

2009-08-08T17:28:00.004-04:00

Everything is is Fresh

I love this time of the year. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are abundant and flavourful.

We just finished strawberry season and raspberry season and fresh locally grown corn on the cob is starting to appear at the farmstands along the roadsides. This week-end, the oldest fair in Ontario is held in Williamstown, ON, not far from our farm. When the girls were young we went every year. On our way home we would stop at the same farmer's stand and buy fresh picked corn on the cob, usually the first of the season. Supper on "Fair Day" would always be hamburgers on the barbecue and fresh corn with lots of butter.

We are lucky to live in Canada. We have a huge variety of Canadian produced foods that are well raised, safe to eat and affordable. Enjoy your supper tonight and buy local as often as you can.

I am also growing my own tomatoes and cucumbers this year. Gardening is not a passion of mine, but fresh tomatoes are! So far I have enjoyed a few fruits from my labours - four tomatoes and two cucumbers have made it to the table in the last week or so. My younger daughter is helping and absolutely thrilled to see the tomatoes, green and getting bigger by the day. Once the tomatoes start ripening, I'll post a couple of my favorite tomato recipes.

Some of my Favorite Things (3)

2009-06-07T19:16:00.004-04:00

There's one cooking appliance in my house the whole family actually uses. It's The Griddler by Cusinart. Even my husband uses this, probably even more than he uses the toaster! It's handy and is actually a permanent fixture on my counter. It can be used as a grill, griddle or panini press.

When I orgiinally got it, I wanted to used as a panini press. I even bought cookbooks for panini and everything. It's now mostly used to grill meat. Burgers are my husband's favorite. It cooks them fast because you can cook both sides at the same time. I have used it for pancakes and french toast - 8 slices at one time! It's great for chicken breasts. I marinate them in a bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and oregano and in less than 15 minutes you can grill up great chicken no matter what the weather!

It comes with two different grilling plates, one flat and the other with raised ridges to give a nice grill line look to the food. It opens up flat - to give you lots of cooking surface. It has a no stick finish and washes up in the dishwasher! What more can you ask for!

A Late Spring Tradition

2009-05-24T05:38:00.007-04:00

In my neck of the woods, at this time of year, wild garlic appears. People come to pick it, often trespassing on private property to get it. If you have every had it, you can understand why. It is a wild plant that grows in the bush, along side trilliums. Around here, people pick and sell them on the roadsides.

I read an article in Gourmet Magazine that referred to them as ramps. According to the article's author, Chef Yoshi Yamada, "ramps (Allium trioccum) are a member of the lily family, which includes garlic, leeks, and onions. Built a little like scallions, ramps have elegant green leaves growing from a richly purple stalk that fades to a white bulb. Below the bulb, roots hang down like dendrites. Ramps are often called wild leeks or wild garlic, and if you taste them you will know why: They occupy a middle ground of flavor, with the sweetness of leeks and the bite of garlic. And this flavor is delicious."

And they are delicious. I can eat them like olives and just pop them in my mouth. The other night I made perogies, and fried up the wild garlic and the perogies together. Last night I made meatballs in a barbecue sauce made with them. They were fabulous and fast.

Wild Garlic Barbecue Sauce

2 cups of wild garlic

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup plum sauce

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup soy sauce, sodium reduced

1/4 cup low sodium or homemade beef stock

2 cloves finely minced garlic

Heat a large saute pan, in olive oil, saute wild garlic until it begins to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Add sauce ingredients and still until sugar dissolves. Add in your favorite meatballs, cook until meatballs are done.

You can use pork chops or chicken, this sauce is great with that. You must serve this with french fries or rice, so you can sop up the extra sauce- because it's so good you'll want to!

A Successful Experiment

2009-05-13T05:44:00.004-04:00

The farmer doesn't like food cooked in the slow cooker! I think my slow cooker stage almost got me a divorce! Everytime I made something in the slow cooker, my girls and I would think it was just fine- sometimes even fantastic. The farmer on the other hand, always said " I thought it tasted funny" When I would ask him to elaborate, he couldn't. I argued that it was all in his head and continued to cook in the slow cooker. Eventually he wouldn't even eat the food I cooked. I eventually put the slow cooker away- after a couple of fights about the cooking - and have now devised other ways to prepare my supper ahead and have it ready for the farmer to eat at his suppertime. One method I discovered is putting frozen meat in the oven and set the oven time to start the cooking before I get home. So far it has been successful. Last night's supper, was I think the most successful to date!I bought some pork rib, cut into small pieces so they were one serving each. I made up the sauce as I went along. When I came home, the aroma from the ribs had filled the kitchen and they came out perfect.

Sweet and Spicy Baked Ribs

4 - 5 pounds of pork side ribs - I use center cut- less fat
1- 350 ml jar (10 oz) of plum sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 small onion, finely minced
4 tablespoons of soya sauce
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Montreal Steak Spice

Place ribs in a large shallow roasting pan, in a single layer, if possible, fat side up.

Sprinkle both sides with Montreal Steak Spice. In a small bowl mix all other ingredients. Stir well to help distribute the brown sugar evenly. Pour over ribs- cover them completely. Bake, covered at 275F for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. They should actually fall of the bone when they are done. Great with rice and a salad.

Serves 4 - 5

Along with my ribs, I baked rice at the same time. It came out great also.

Baked Vegetable Rice

1 1/2 cup long grain rice
1 - 796 ml can ( 28 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chicken stock or water
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped onto 1/4 inch pieces
1 celery stalk
1/2 bell pepper, any color
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of dried parsley - or 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Grease a 2 quart covered casserole with butter.
Mix all ingredients together, place in casserole. Cover with a tight fitting lid. Bake 2 - 2 1/2 hours at 275F along with the ribs.

Makes 4-6 servings

Another Family Gathering

2009-05-05T05:50:00.005-04:00

We had another family gathering over the week-end. This time my little niece was making her First Communion. We gathered at my brother's house for a party that was again a combination of Greek and Polish! I decided since the weather was so spring-like, I wanted to bake something that reflected that. My choice was a delicious Lemon Cake, that's light but flavourful. I served without the berries, since we had no nice ones available yet, but this cake is wonderful if you serve it with raspberries. Use fresh lemon juice, not from a bottle, it gives the cake a much sweeter flavour and you must include the peel- even though it's a hassle. Be sure to wash your lemons well with soap and water before you add the peel!

Lemon Cake

4 eggs, separated
1 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks appear. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Beat together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, beat until creamy and well blended. Mix together flour and baking powder in another bowl. Add flour gradually to to butter mixture, alternating with milk. Mix well after each addition. Add lemon peel and lemon juice. Now by hand, fold egg whites into butter mixture until completely combined. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 50- 60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Once the cake comes out of the oven, make syrup.

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
grated peel from one lemon, about 1 tablespoon

In a small saucepan, stir together all syrup ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved.
Poke holes in the cake with a cake tester or wooden pick. Spoon syrup over cake. Cool 15 minutes, remove from pan.

Lemon Glaze

1/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
grated peel from one lemon, about 1 tablespoon

In the same small saucepan, mix all glaze ingredients together, bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Allow to cool slightly. Spoon over cake to make a glazed finish. Serve with fresh raspberries if available.

Serves 12

Family Favorite Salad

2009-04-26T10:02:00.005-04:00

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.

Makes 4 -6 servings

Chicken Tonight

2009-04-19T16:41:00.005-04:00

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.

I like to serve this with rice and broccoli.

Serves 4 - 6

Easter Lunch Dessert

2009-04-13T09:41:00.006-04:00

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.

Makes 10 - 12 servings

Stuff in Jars (2)

2009-04-10T15:25:00.008-04:00

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.

The Five Minute Prep Recipe

2009-04-05T06:59:00.006-04:00

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.

Allow 1/2 pound per person

Some of my Favorite Things (2)

2009-04-04T06:28:00.006-04:00

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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!

An Easter Recipe

2009-04-02T17:02:00.003-04:00

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.

Serves 8 - 10 people

Stuff in Jars (1)

2009-03-28T18:02:00.004-04:00

I love to make things and give them as gifts. Jars work great for this. I have a whole collection of things I've made that go in jars - jams, mustards, flavored oils, salsa and stuff. This recipe is for a salsa that you cheat when you make. Instead of using fresh tomatoes, I use canned. It saves all that time you have to spend peeling tomatoes and it really tastes the same in the end. Plus, if you use canned tomatoes, you can make this anytime of the year. I've made it at Christmas time and given it as gifts! But mostly I make it for myself so I have it to eat! It really is much better than salsa you buy and it isn't any harder than making spaghetti sauce.

Tomato Pineapple Salsa

1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced onion
4 - 6 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
5 - 7 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans (791 ml - each) diced tomatoes
1 can (398 ml) pineapple tidbits, drained
3/4 cup whit wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Prepare canning jars, set aside. You need about 8 - 250 ml jars or equivalent

In a large pot, combine all the ingredients except the cilantro. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, stirring often for about 1 hour, until it appears to thicken. Stir in cilantro.

Fill sterilized jars, leave about 1/4 inch space at top. Makes about 8 cups.

Enjoy with your favorite chips or on burgers.

Fast, Easy and you don't have to Bake Cake!

2009-03-24T06:50:00.003-04:00

With Easter on the way, I thought this would be a great recipe to share. You can make this cake a day ahead, which is the best way to do it. It's domed shape can be sort of Easter Eggy, too. I use store bought pound cake. At the local grocer's, they sell a brand called "Farmer's Market" and they have a chocolate loaf cake that works great for this cake. If you're buying the cake, buy two, you need more than one, but you'll have a bit of leftovers. In my house that's great because as soon as I make the cake they all want to eat it. I feed them the leftover loaf cake and the actual cake is safe until the next day. This is based on an Italian style cake. In the Italian version, they cake is usually vanilla and they have fruit, like strawberries or raspberries in the middle. I have never made it that way, but it sounds great. Next time I make one, I'll add a picture to this post, but at the moment, I don't have one. Not sure why, I usually take pictures of all the cakes I make!

Zuccotto

Butter - to grease the bowl
2 loaf cakes, chocolate
3 tablespoons of almond flavored liqueur
3 oz of dark chocolate, chopped
3 oz of semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups of whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Icing sugar to dust the cake

Use butter to grease a 1 1/2 quart size bowl. Line bowl with plastic wrap. Slice loaf cake into slices that are 1/3 inch thick.Cut each slice diagonally in half to form two triangles. Line the bottom and sides of the prepared bowl with cake slices. Brush liqueur over the cake slices lining the bowl. Reserve extra triangles.

Melt chocolate in double boiler, stir until smooth. Set it aside and allow it to cool to room temperature. Using electric mixer, whip 1 cup of cream in a large bowl until thick and fluffy. Fold in one fourth of whip cream into the chocolate mixture, until well blended. In two separate additions, add remaining whipped cream, blending well to make a fluffy, thick chocolate mousse type filling. Spread chocolate cream mixture over the cake lining the bowl. Be sure to cover the cake completely. Create a well in the center of the cream, cover and refrigerate while you make the second filling.

Using an electric mixer, with a clean bowl and beaters, beat remaining cup of whipping cream until thick and fluffy. Gradually whip in 1/4 cup of icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in almonds. Spoon the mixture into the well of the other filling.

Brush the remaining slices of cake with liqueur and arrange them, liqueur side down, over cake, covering the filling completely. Trim slices to fit if necessary. Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours, but over night gives the best results.

To serve, invert cake onto a serving platter, dust with icing sugar and serve. It's great with fresh berries, like strawberries or raspberries on the side, even an extra dollop of whipped cream!

Serves 8 to 10

Some of My Favorite Things

2009-03-21T21:18:00.004-04:00

Part One

I figure if Oprah does it, so can I! One of my favorite things in my kitchen right now is my Keurig Coffee Brewer. If you have never heard of this, I'll explain it to you.
It brews a single cup of coffee in about 90 seconds. The coffee comes in a K-Cup, which actually looks like an extra large creamer. You place the K-Cup in the machine, it heats the water to 192F in about 45 seconds, then it forces the hot water through the K-Cup and out into your cup.

There all kinds of coffees and teas available. I like regular coffee, like Sumatra or Moka Java. But if you like flavored coffees, they have those too. There is different varieties of tea available, as well as hot chocolate.

My girls bought the brewer for me this past Christmas. I think they wanted me to have it because I drove them crazy obsessing about it. It is one of the few kitchen appliances that my husband uses regularly.

No Cooking - No Recipe

2009-03-21T20:49:00.008-04:00

There hasn't been much cooking going on in the last couple of days. Last night, the girls and I went out for supper. We went to Montreal to go shopping and stopped at a restaurant that must be at the same location for at least 25 years. When I lived in the city, I went to this restaurant 3 or 4 times a month. They make great long ribs. The whole menu consists of ribs or chicken or both! The place is exactly the same as it was 20 years ago! The girls really enjoyed it. They couldn't believe that I never took them there before. If you're ever in Montreal want some tasty, fast and inexpensive ribs check out the Bar B Barn. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Fast, Easy, Tasty

2009-03-19T06:07:00.004-04:00

Fast, easy, and tasty are three things I really like when I have to prepare supper. I like to do everything in the oven, It makes clean up faster and easier. It makes preparation easier, as you don't have to watch any pots on the stove. This is a family favorite.

Sausages and Roast Veggies

2 - 3 pounds of your favorite Italian sausage, I use Mild Italian
1 red, yellow or green pepper, cut into strips
1 large onion, red, sweet, whatever you like best, sliced
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes
Add a variety of sliced vegetables. Add your favorites. At my house asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, baby carrots (sliced in half) are the usual suspects
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425F

In a large, parchment lined baking dish place all your prepared vegetables, add garlic, toss. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top with sausages.

Place in oven. After 20 minutes, pierce the skin on the sausages to release the juices, turn the over and continue to cook another 15 - 20 minutes until they are done.

Serve with your favorite bread and a nice salad. Serves 4 - 6.

Happy St.Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T17:51:00.012-04:00

I have an Irish mother - I mean off the boat Irish. She came to Canada as a young woman, on her own, when she was about 25 years old. She met my father, a true Montrealer of Polish decent, soon after. What a combination. My mother travels back home less frequently than she did when she was younger, but certain things are always packed in her suitcase on the return flight back to Canada. Irish chocolate and Irish soda bread. No matter how much I have tried, I cannot recreate that Irish bread. The reason is the flour. My mother adamantly refuses to lug back flour so I can make bread. I have created a recipe that makes a soda bread, all be it tasty, it's not the real thing. It is not bread to eat warm from the oven. It really is best the day after, toasted, with butter and jam. It's great because it's very fast. In honour of St. Patrick's Day and my Irish mother..here it is.

Irish Soda Bread

2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk - as a dairy farmer- with my own milk- I use whole milk, soured. Do this by adding 3 tablespoons of vinegar to your measuring cup before adding the milk. Add milk to measure 1 1/2 cups, stir and let stand 5 - 10 minutes until it thickens.

Preheat the oven to 425F - make sure rack is in the center. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with flour.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Mixing as you go, stir in enough buttermilk to form moist clumps. Gather dough into a ball. Turnout onto lightly floured surface and knead just until the dough holds together, about 1 minute. If the dough is too sticky, knead in some flour. The texture should be rather dry and dense. Shape dough into a disc about 6 inches in diameter. Place onto prepared baking sheet. Cut an "X" across the top. This cut should be about 1 inch deep. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom, about 35 minutes. Transfer bread to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Casual Family Get Together

2009-03-16T07:14:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, we had a small family get-together to celebrate my younger daughter's 13th birthday.

The cooking theme was Italian. I made antipasto, salad, soup and lasagna, with cake and ice cream for dessert. This is the recipe for the soup. If you have ever been to Eastside Mario's Restaurant, you should be familiar with this soup. I went there once and this was the part of the meal that stood out.

It's a simple soup - broth, little meatballs, acini di pepe pasta and baby spinach. I have perfected my own recipe over the years and here it is.

Italian Wedding Soup

5 cups of chicken broth - I use homemade, but low-sodium store bought works too
2 pounds of ground chicken or ground turkey
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 cup acini di pepe pasta - this is small pasta that looks like ball bearings! If you can't find this kind of pasta use the smallest pasta you can find. I once used little stars!
2 - 3 cups of fresh baby spinach. If you like arugula, that also works well

Preheat the oven to 425F

Mix ground chicken, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper together in a bowl.

Once mixture is well blended, form into small meatballs. I use a teaspoon to measure the amount of meat. They look really small, but if you're using chicken, they will actually get bigger once you cook them. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, single layer.
Place in the over, after 7 minutes turn. Bake about 7 more minutes. This is to brown the meatballs so they will not fall apart in the soup.

Once the meatballs are browned, add them to the stock, bring to a boil and cook on high heat for about 15 minutes. This will cook the meatball through and add more flavour to your broth. After about 15 minutes, add pasta to boiling pot. Stir constantly for about 3 -4 minutes so pasta doesn't stick. Turn heat down to medium, add baby spinach. Cover pot, wait 3 -4 minutes to wilt spinach and serve.

This will serve 4- 6 people.

Dinner Tonight

2009-03-14T18:44:00.002-04:00

Tonight I made a casserole that was tasty and easy. It does take 2 hours to cook in the oven, but it's great for when you have time earlier in the day to prepare your supper but are going to be busy with stuff just before you want to eat.

I prepared this, put it in the oven and then my girlfriend came over to borrow a tomcat to use as stud. We had a nice visit, a cup of coffee, all while my supper was cooking away in the oven.

I adjusted the recipe a bit, can't help myself! But after eating it, I have adjusted it again before posting it here. It's similar to Shepherd's Pie but you slice the potatoes instead of using mashed. Since I don't really like mashed potatoes, this recipe appealed to me.

Three of us ate and my husband, who never says if it's good or not, had two helpings. My guess is, he liked it.

Here's the recipe, with all adjustments:

Meat and Potato Casserole

2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups of chopped celery
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 medium onions, chopped
2 pounds of lean ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 - 2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups of frozen corn or canned corn, drained
2 cups of your favorite cheese - I used cheddar
2 cups of fresh, toasted bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 325F

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, add garlic and cook until soft over medium heat. Add flour, stirring constantly until smooth. (This butter and flour mixture is called a rue, it will thicken your sauce) Slowly add milk, stirring constantly, bring to a boil, stir until slightly thicken, remove from heat and set aside.

In a skillet, over medium-high heat, brown ground beef with onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain any fat off meat, stir in celery.

Peel and slice potatoes, no thicker than a 1/4 inch. I use the food processor, so the slices are pretty thin.

In a 5 quart casserole place half the meat. Cover meat with all the potatoes. Cover the potatoes with the corn. Pour white sauce over the corn. Place the other half of the meat mixture over top the corn. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top, then breadcrumbs.

Bake uncovered for about two hours.

Serves 4 - 6 people. Add a green salad on the side.