A Friend for Dinner

We had a dear ex-neighbour visit and stay for dinner tonight. I decided to go with my tried-and-true salad recipe Green Salad with Creamy Mustard Vinaigrette for our first course. And for the entree, my favourite way to prepare chicken on the barbeque: paillard style (see blog dated July 18 for recipe). As sides I served a Warm Nugget Potato Toss with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette and steamed green beans finished with a good dousing of lemon juice and a handful of slivered almonds.

Green Salad with Creamy Mustard Vinaigrette
(recipe from Barefoot Contesssa Family Style with some modification)
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 extra-large egg yolk at room temperature (or 1 tablespoon mayonnaise)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil
Salad greens or mesclun mix

Put all dressing ingredients in a a jar and mix using an immersion/stick blender.
Toss the greens with enough dressing to moisten and serve immediately.




Warm Nugget Potato Toss with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
(recipe from Vancouver Sun newspaper, date unknown with some modification)
Salad:
2 pounds small nugget potatoes (unpeeled)
1/3 cup slivered fresh basil
salt and pepper
Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil from bottled sun-dried tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup slivered, drained sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil)

Salad: Scrub potatoes. Cook in large pot of salted boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes or until just tender, drain, reserving 1 tablespoon potato water for vinaigrette. Put potatoes in large bowl.

Vinaigrette: In glass jar, place all salad dressing ingredients except sun-dried tomatoes, and blend with an immersion/stick blender. Then stir in sun-dried tomatoes.

Drizzle vinaigrette over warm potates, toss gently to coat. Add basil, toss gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to platter and serve warm.

Resplendidly Rebar

Our turn to host my mum and dad for Sunday dinner. I was flipping through my Rebar cookbook and noticed I’m only 10 recipes away from making all 28 of their soup recipes. They’ve got a few with ingredients specific to summer’s bounty so I’ll definitely pick off another soup recipe to get me to single digits in my quest to cook my way through all their soups.

It’s hard to forget its summer when it’s this hot out, so I’ll go with a summer ingredient inspired main course also from Rebar. In typical Rebar fashion there is a lot of chopping involved – don’t expect to get a lot of other things accomplished if you’re making this for dinner.

I’m taking a little artistic license with the name of the entrée dish and swapped out an ingredient to make it work. I also used half and half instead of heavy cream as both recipes call for below partly because I put on 4 pounds during the 7 weeks I couldn’t run because of a broken toe, and partly because my husband is fat phobic and would have preferred I use skim milk all the way. I find the compromise of half and half is a happy medium. Check ‘my notes’ under each recipe for further advice.

Both are delicious and earned rave reviews at the dinner table tonight despite the fact my husband couldn’t believe I was serving a hot soup on the hottest day of the year.

(image from Flickr)

Summer Harvest Chowder
(recipe from Rebar cookbook)
8 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil, or butter 1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoons salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ cup chopped basil
4 small red potatoes, diced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
2 red peppers, diced
4 cups corn, fresh or frozen
1 cup heavy cream
3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Fresh lime juice to taste

Heat the vegetable stock and keep it warm while preparing the soup. If using fresh corn in the soup (highly recommended!), add the stripped cobs to the stock and remove before using).

Heat olive oil or butter in a soup pot and sauté onion with 1 teaspoon salt, until soft and golden. Add garlic, black pepper, oregano and half of the basil; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, jalapenos, red pepper, corn and remaining salt. Saute briefly, then add warm stock to cover and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Stir in cream and return the soup to a light simmer. Add tomatoes, remaining basil and cilantro. Heat through, season to taste and serve.

My note: I use half and half instead of heavy cream (to save my marriage) and I think it’s imperative to use fresh corn. I find the best technique for removing corn from the cob is to repurpose a bundt pan and stand the ear of corn up so the point is in the middle (hole) of the bundt pan and you hold on to the stalk end. Then run your knife down the length of the cob and the kernels will fall into the pan instead of all over the countertop.

(Image from Flickr)

“Summer” Fettucine
(recipe from Rebar cookbook with slight modifications)
1 lb. green beans
2 tablespoons butter
2 leeks, mostly whites, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup vodka
1-12/ teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1-12/ cups heavy cream
¼ lb. cold smoked salmon, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons capers
1 large bunch spinach, stemmed, and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons minced dill
2 tablespoons minced chives
1 lb. fettucine
Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cut the ends off the green beans and cut them into approximately 1-1/2” lengths. Salt the pasta water and use the boiling water to blanch the green beans for 1-2 minutes, or until bright green and just barely tender. Shock in ice water, drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large heated skilled. Saute leeks and garlic until leeks are tender. Add vodka, lemon zest, salt and pepper and simmer until the vodka is reduced by half. Add cream and simmer until slightly thickened. Add asparagus, salmon, capers, spinach and half of the chopped herbs. Cook until the spinach wilts and everything else is heated through. Season to taste.

While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta, drain and toss lightly with olive oil. Serve immediately, topped or tossed with the sauce. Garnish with reserved herbs, cracked pepper and shaved or grated Parmesan.

My note: Again, half and half is the reduced-fat option in my house. I took the liberty of calling this “summer” fettucine instead of the “spring” fettucine referred to in the cookbook. The original “spring” recipe calls for asparagus and I’ve substituted with green beans for my “summer” adaptation. I’d also suggest using more than ¼ lb. of smoked salmon in this dish – I must say I felt slightly ripped off by the small portion of salmon on my plate.

Marvelous Mushrooms

(photo from Flicker)

I couldn’t resist the organic portabello mushrooms at our local organic shop and wanted to feature this for tonight’s dinner. Barbequing these will really make it feel like biting into a meaty morsel. The mushrooms are just marinated (see recipe below) and could also be baked in the oven (unless you're refraining from oven use like I am this summer) or could be dehydrated if you so choose - and own a dehydrator, of course!

Another local harvest item for tonight’s dinner plate are green beans, lightly steamed and seasoned with some fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and unrefined sea salt with some cherry tomatoes thrown in for good measure (and their colour - not to mention the fact that I need to use them up). I always sprinkle some salt over vegetables in the steamer basket otherwise you miss an opportunity to season them.

To round out tonight’s menu, I thought I’d use up some new potatoes that aren't so new anymore. These are cut into chunky squares and combined with the same cut of red onions, yellow onions, and sweet peppers – all mixed together with a few glugs of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt, a few grinds of black pepper and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme. I’ve got a great little grill basket that can hold these on the barbeque (alternatively you could just wrap them up in a tin foil packet and whack this on the barbeque instead).

Marinated Portabello Mushrooms
(Recipe from Enlightened Eating cookbook)

3 portabello mushrooms, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick (my note: or keep them whole)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon nama shoyu or tamari

1 small clove garlic, minced (optional)

1 tablespoon crushed fresh rosemary

1/2 cup water

My Notes: How can adding garlic ever be considered optional? Add it, and a large clove at that. I use tamari because I always have it on hand. I've yet to purchase nama shoyu, but will at some point to try it out. Not sure how one goes about "crushing" their rosemary. I pull it off the branch and chop it up. You might also want to consider saving your rosemary branches. Just keep them well-wrapped and in your freezer and keep on adding branches as you use them. Then when you've got quite a collection, use them as skewers for vegetable brochettes and you get the great flavour of rosemary transcended right through the veggies.

Saturday Summer Supper

Well, part of tonight's dinner - the main course - you already know about. The salmon, potato salad, and corn all appeared in previous blogs (July 14 for the salmon and the potato salad, and July 18 for the corn). Tonight's first course was a no-cook soup made extra-easy with the assistance of the food processor, and goes like this:

Cucumber-Yogourt Soup with Avocado (serves 4)
(from Fine Cooking magazine, Issue #59, page 56)
1 large sweet white onion, peeled and quartered
1 pound of cucumbers, peeled, seeded and cut into big chunks
1 medium-size ripe avocado
1-1/2 cups plain yogurt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 to 2 cups cold water
Freshly ground black pepper

Put the onion chunks in the food processor; pulse to chop finely. Scoop into a sieve, rinse under cold water; and set aside to drain. Put the cucumber chunks into the food processor; pulse to chop finely. Add the drained onion and pulse to combine. Set aside 3/4 cup of the cucumber-onion mix to stir into the soup at the end. Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the pulp and drop it into the food processor with the remaining cucumber-onion mixture. Add the yogourt, olive oil, garlic, cumin, and salt. Puree until fairly smooth. Using a sharp knife, slice the basil and mint leaves into shreds and then stir them into the soup along with the lemon juice, 1 cup of cold water, and the reserved cucumber-onion mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours. Before serving, check for consistency, gradually adding another 1/2 to 1 cup of cold water to thin the soup, if necessary. Add more lemon juice and salt if needed and serve.

And for dessert.....

I realized I hadn't yet made any ice cream while writing this blog. And here we are in the middle of summer (how did that happen?). So here it is, from my foodie hero, Ina Garten, a rich and beautiful chocolate treat:

Deeply Chocolate Gelato

(2008, Ina Garten, with some modifications)

2-1/4 cups whole milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (recommended: Pernigotti*)

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (recommended: Bernard Callebaut)

4 extra-large egg yolks

2 tablespoons Kahlua (or other coffee liquer)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Large pinch kosher salt

*I can only find Pernigotti cocoa powder at the Williams-Sonoma store (at 15th & Granville) although I'm sure you must be able to find it down Commerical Drive although I've never looked for it there. The price tag isn't for the faint of heart. At $16 a tin it ain't cheap, but worth every penny. I promise you'll never go back to your grocery store cocoa powder.

Heat the milk, cream and 1/2 cup of sugar in a 2-quart saucepan, until the sugar dissolves and the milk starts to simmer. Add the cocoa powder (no need to sift) and the chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Pout into a heat-proof measuring cup (to make it easy to pour later).

Place the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and very thick (if you don't have an electric mixer, I would suggest beating vigoursly with a wooden spoon. You don't want to use an electric mixer as you would then beat air into the mixture which would have disastrous results in the freezer). With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the hot chocolate mixture into the egg mixture (and I mean slow -- you don't want to end up with chocolate scrambled eggs!). Pour the egg and chocolate mixture back into the 2-quart saucepan and cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. A candy thermometer will register about 180 degrees Farenheit (don't allow the mixture to boil!).

Pour the mixture through a sieve into a bowl and stir in the Kahlua, vanilla extract, and salt. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard and put in the fridge to chill completely. (Or if you're short on time, place the bowl in an ice bath and stir to chill completely or at least to kick-start the chilling process and then put it in the fridge to completely chill).

Pour the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. Freeze in a covered container. Allow the gelato to thaw slightly before serving.

As a garnish, add a vanilla pizzelle wafer to make it feel molto Italiano (very Italian!).

Canada Day Redux (and Happy 4th of July to our neighbours to the south)

Seeing as how I didn't get the chance to serve my Canada Day dinner on July 1 as planned, I rolled it out tonight instead. The menu consised of Maple-Mustard Salmon, French Potato Salad and Green Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette. Dessert was a great little number that I just clipped out of the newspaper the other week: Strawberries with Fresh Ricotta and Orange. Read on!



Tonight's salmon was a tried-and-true recipe. Just sprinkle some Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (I prefer using Malabar pepper) on some fresh fillet of salmon. Next marinate the salmon in equal parts maple syrup and grainy mustard (I use 1/2 a cup of each to marinate 4 salmon fillet portions to serve 4 people). Marinate for as little as 1 hour or as much as overnight. The longer it has to sit and absorb the flavours, the better. Then just BBQ and serve either warm or at room temperature.

The French Potato Salad I made was yet another tried-and-true recipe -- this time couretsy of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten (my hero if truth be told). Here is her wonderful recipe using olive oil instead of gloppy old mayonnaise as you usually would find. I challenge you to find a better potato salad than this one.

1 pound each small white boiling potatoes and red boiling potatoes
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons chicken stock
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
10 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced green onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley (aka Italian parsley)
2 tablespoons chiffonade of fresh basil leaves

Drop the white and red potatoes into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are just cooked through. Drain in a colander and place a towel over the potatoes to allow them to steam for 10 more minutes. As soon as you can handle them, cut in half (or quarter if the potatoes are large) and place in a medium bowl. Toss gently with the wine and chicken stock. Allow the liquids to soak into the warm potatoes before proceeding. Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion (or do what I do and throw all the dressing ingredients together in a jam jar and use your stick blender/immersion blender to do the job). Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the green onion, dill, parlsy, basil, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The green salad I served tonight was just a combination of fresh salad greens, sliced radish, chopped celery, diced red pepper (that I purchased from today's farmers' market in Steveston Village) and diced cucumber. Then I just made a quick Balsamic Vinaigrette by placing the follwing ingredients in a jam jar and using my stick blender/immersion blender to emulsify: 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, flax seed oil and maple syrup, 1-1/2 tablespoons of raspberry vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt.


Dessert was fun to put together. The recipe comes from the ex-chef of The Cannery and you need to make your own ricotta cheese, which is terrifically simple! Just place 4 cups of whole milk and 1 cup of reduced fat buttermilk into a pot and place over high heat. Stirring constantly, heat the mixutre to 180 degrees Farenheit. Remove from the heat (the curds will float to the top). Pour through a sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth and then let the ricotta cool completely. When ready to serve dessert, place ricotta, 1 tablespoon of finely grated orange zest, and 4 teaspoons of Grand Marnier or Cointreau in a food processor and pulse until combined. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of icing sugar to the firm peak stage. Fold the whipped cream into the ricotta mixture. Wash about 1-1/2 pints of fresh strawberries, then hull and slice. Place the ricotta mixture into individual dessert dishes and place the strawberries on top (makes 4 servings).

HAPPY CANADA DAY

My idea was to pick up some salmon yesterday so we'd have it in the fridge, ready to go for today and I'd marinate it in maple syrup and grainy mustard, then barbeque it -- I thought the salmon and maple syrup were very Canadian/very appropriate for July 1. And we'd have some potato salad to accompany it. Those plans didn't quite transpire. The salmon didn't get picked up and we spent the whole day on household chores including washing all the windows (inside and out) and the screens. I always forget what a big and tiring job that is. Then there was the 7 loads of laundry that got done (and I'm still not finished).

So tonight's fare came straight from the freezer. It was a Potato Cauliflower Curry that I made a few weeks back and we served it with some basmati rice. Here's the recipe:

3 tablespoons coconut oil (or use olive oil)
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 cup chopped leeks
1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
3 medium potatoes, cut into medium-sized chunks
1 yam, cut into medium-sized chunks
2-3 cups of water
unrefined sea salt, to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
1 - 15 oz. can coconut milk
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 cup diced fresh tomato (or use a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes)
2 cups of chick peas (or use 1-19 oz. can, drained and rinsed well)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium-sized pot, over medium-low heat, melt the oil and add spices, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add leeks and increase heat to medium and saute for 5 minutes. Add cauliflower and potatoes and saute for another few minutes.

Add salt, coconut milk and just enough water to barely cover the vegetables and cook until vegetables are tender (about 15-20 minutes). Add peppers, tomatoes, and chick peas and cook anther 5 minutes.

Stir in cilantro during last minute of cooking. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve.