Shrimp Tacos

I attended a retirement potluck for my friend and co-worker, Sheila today.  It was a lovely party and everyone got together for one of the last times with our office closing in the not too distant future.  My friend, Cindy helped prepare these (it's her lovely hand modelling the taco!).  Sorry for the quality of the pix but they were taken on the fly...

I got this idea from Red Lobster's shrimp fest (we went last week).  I bought small soft taco shells and they are layered with some coleslaw mix, then cooked, chopped shrimp (a bag, thawed, cleaned and stir fried in 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter - salt and pepper to taste).   This is topped with a sauce I made from 1 cup of mayo and 2 Tbsp of sriracha (easy to serve if you use a squeeze bottle) and sprinkled with chopped tomato and onion.

It was easy to take to the party by putting the ingredients in containers and carrying them in on a heavy baking sheet.

A good time was had by all - congratulations Sheila!!!

Julie

Frozen Lemon Mousse with Blueberry Sauce

I tried out a new recipe for dessert tonight.  It was easy and delicious so it will definitely be added to my regular repertoire.

Basically, you make lemon curd and whip cream.  They get folded together and frozen.  A blueberry sauce is spooned over it...Yum.

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup of sugar

juice and zest of 2 lemons

2 cups of whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Sauce

2 cups of blueberries

1/4 cup of sugar

juice of one lemon

1 tsp of Grand Marnier

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and lemon together and cook over medium-low heat.  Whisk constantly for about 10 minutes until it turns into a light pudding consistency.

Spoon the curd through a fine strainer into a glass bowl.  Cover the pudding directly right on top with plastic wrap so a skin doesn't form.  Refrigerate til cool.

Mix the sauce ingredients together and bring to a boil.  Let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken.

Then whip the cream with vanilla until soft peaks form.  Then fold the lemon curd gently into the whipped cream.

I used individual Pyrex dishes lined with large muffins cups and spooned in the mousse.  Cover and freeze at least 3 hours.

Put the sauce into a measuring cup to refrigerate.  It makes it easier to pour over the mousse and if you want to warm it up a bit, just pop in the microwave.  Take the cups out of the freezer 20 to 30 minutes before serving.  Overturn onto your plate and remove the paper muffin cup.  Pour some sauce over and enjoy. It was really good - in fact, I forgot to get pictures until after we had already dug in!

Julie

Steak Frites

Tonight we had a French bistro experience for dinner - Steak Frites.  I had a couple of lovely melt-in-your-mouth bacon wrapped sirloins from Flannigan's butcher shop.  I sliced up a fresh tomato and sauteed some mushrooms and onion as sides.

I started by peeling a very large potato and used a mandoline to cut them into a julienne cut.

These were left covered in cold water while the oil heated up.  

I then browned the steaks and crisped the bacon on all sides.  They were then put in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking while I sauteed the mushroom and onion.

I fried the chips in batches and kept them warm in the oven.  The mushroom and onion was added to the steak pan in the oven.

A couple of Tbsps of cognac and a couple of Tbsps of cream were added to the pan and poured over the steak when it was plated.  We like our steak medium rare and so they were in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

It was wonderful and with a crisp glass of wine, I could imagine sitting in a small bistro in Paris.

Julie

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Nothing fancy for dinner tonight.  It was a beautiful sunny day here and I spent most of the day in the garden, not in the kitchen.  Soooo we had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Very simple but good.  I grated marble cheddar cheese and sliced one green onion.

Then I butter one side of the bread and cook in a large frypan.

So buttered side down in pan, spread cheese and onion on bread and put on top slice, buttered side up.  Fry until bread is toasty and brown and flip to brown other side.  It is done when the cheese has melted.  I like the bite of the green onion and if you grate the cheese, I use about half the amount I use of sliced cheese.  Am I trying to argue that grilled cheese is healthy? Fuggedaboutit and Enjoy!

Julie

Manicotti

It was a beautiful sunny day but quite chilly and a strong wind started late afternoon.  As we had duck for dinner last night, I decided to make something plainer and heartier for dinner tonight.  Not your typical Easter fare but it was delicious.

Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

manicotti

2 lbs of ground meat

can of spaghetti sauce

breadcrumbs

mozzarella cheese

onions

garlic

green pepper

mushrooms

Start by browning your ground meat.  I used a pound of beef and a pound of pork but you can use any ground meat you like.  Salt and pepper to taste.  I also added dried herbs - 1 Tbsp parsley, 1 tsp oregano and 1 tsp of basil. You can definitely use fresh herbs if you have them on hand.

Once the meat is browned, strain and move to a large bowl.  Drain all but 1 tsp of fat from the pan.  Finely dice - 1/2 cup of onion, 1/2 cup of green pepper, 1 cup of mushrooms and 3 small cloves of grated garlic.  Add these to the pan and cook enough to soften.  Add to the bowl along with 1 cup of breadcrumbs that you have browned for 10 minutes in the oven.

Next stir in 1 1/2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese.

Boil water for the noodles.  You are going to cook them until they start to soften (5 to 7 minutes) but they need to still be quite firm to stuff.  If you overcook them or overstuff them, they will fall apart (see below).

Stuff the noodles with your meat mixture using a teaspoon or your very clean hands.  Use non-stick vegetable oil on the pan, spoon some spaghetti sauce over the bottom and lay the noodles in rows.  Spoon more sauce over the top.

Then cover with grated cheese and bake 30 to 45 minutes.

It's great served with a caesar salad and it freezes well. This pan would serve 6 so I have easy freezer meals for nights I don't feel like cooking. Enjoy!

Julie

Lemon Madeleines

I made lemon madeleines for dessert last night.  They were so good - this recipe is one of Laura Calder's.  When I  read the ingredients, I was a little skeptical but they were the best madeleines I ever had.  Nice and light and  fresh and moist.

Ingredients

1 cup and 2 Tbsp of flour

1/2 tsp of baking powder

pinch of salt

2/3 cup and 1 Tbsp of butter

1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp of honey

4 eggs

zest of one lemon

icing sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray your madeleine pan (see my recipe for coconut madeleines for full directions).  Mix flour and baking powder and salt together. Then melt butter and whisk in white and brown sugar, honey, eggs and lemon zest.  Add dry ingredients and mix to a smooth batter.  Pour into madeleine pans and bake 10 minutes.

I served them on a plate with some fresh strawberries dusted with icing sugar.  They were delicious.  My mother and I had orange duck for dinner and played a few games of Rummicube while enjoying our  dessert.  Happy Easter everyone.

Julie

BBQ Marinated Boneless Leg of Lamb

We had a gorgeous BBQ leg of lamb for dinner last night.  My sister did cooking and I marinated it.  The day before I put the leg of lamb in the marinade and turned it a couple of times.

Ingredients

1 carton (about 3 cups) of Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp of olive oil

1 Tbsp (2 or 3 cloves) of garlic

the juice of one lemon

1 Tbsp of Herbes de Provence

salt and pepper

Stir the marinade together and roll the lamb in it to completely cover.  Marinade up to 24 hours (at least 2 or 3 hours) in the fridge.  Tie the leg up with kitchen twine so it will cook evenly.

Heat up your BBQ or oven to about 400 degrees.  Cook 2 hours or until it is done to your liking.  I like medium rare - still quite pink.  When you are BBQing, heat one side of the BBQ and place roast on the other side (indirect heat) with the lid down.  Check and turn a couple of times.  Let it rest about 20 minutes before slicing.  The yogurt marinade is very flavourful and keeps the leg very moist.  Enjoy!

Julie

Cinnamon Buns

Today is my mum's birthday and I made some cinnamon buns for a treat.  I also took a few to my neighbour, Doug who was sweet enough to notice that my front steps needed repaired and volunteered to do the job.  I'm lucky to have so many nice friends and family members.

I'm trying to improve my health so I trimmed the fat and sugar in this recipe.  I found I actually liked the pared down version better.

Ingredients

1/4 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of milk

1/4 cup of butter

1 tsp of salt

1/2 cup of warm water

1 Tbsp of yeast

2 eggs

4 cups of all-purpose flour

Filling

1/4 cup of butter

3/4 cup of  brown sugar

1/2 cup of chopped pecans

1 Tbsp of cinnamon

Start by heating the milk, butter, white sugar and salt in a small saucepan.  Once butter has melted, take off the heat and cool.

Proof your yeast - mix warm water, yeast and a teaspoon of sugar.  Once it starts to bubble, you're ready.

Stir the eggs into the milk mixture (make sure it's cool or you have scrambled eggs!).  Add to the yeast with 4 cups of flour.  I used my Kitchenaid - otherwise, you will need to knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.

Place a teaspoon of oil into a large bowl and roll the ball of dough around and cover with a clean teatowel.  It will need to rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour and a half).

Melt the butter.  Roll the dough out to a 16 by 16 square.  Cut in half and brush a little butter on top.  Stir half the brown sugar into the melted butter and mix the other half with the cinnamon.  

Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture on top of the dough.  

You can either sprinkle the nuts on top of the dough or on top of the syrup.  This time, I put the nuts in the topping.  Spray the rectangular cake pan with non-stick spray and spread the syrup mixture over the bottom.

Roll up the dough.

Cut into 2 inch slices.

Arrange in pan.

Cover with towel.

Let rise 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
Invert on a large platter or cookie sheet.

Voila and Bon Appetit!

Julie

Red Pepper Jelly

I got a good deal at Costco so I decided to make red pepper jelly.  While dinner was in the oven tonight, I whipped up a double batch of jelly.  The recipe below is for a single batch which makes about 6 small jars.

Ingredients

2 cups of finely ground red peppers

(2 large or 4 small peppers)

5 1/2 cups of sugar

1 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 envelope of liquid Certo

Wash the peppers and cut into chunks (make sure to remove all seeds and ribs).  Put them in a food processor and pulse until ground but small pieces still visible.  Stop at least once to clean the sides of the bowl and push any larger chunks down.

Combine the peppers, sugar and vinegar in a large pot and bring to a boil.  

Stir and boil for 5 minutes.  Keep your eyes on it so it doesn't boil over.  Then take it off the heat, cover the pan and let it rest for 15 minutes. (All the while you should be sterilizing your jars - see my recipe for chili sauce and it will give you detailed instructions).

Add the lemon juice and boil 5 more minutes.  Then remove from the heat and add an envelope of Certo.  Stir well and let it sit for a couple of minutes.  Skim the foam off the top and then bottle in sterilized jars.

The foam is neon orange.  Once the top is clear of foam you can bottle the jelly.

I love to use red pepper jelly spooned over a small brick of plain cream cheese and served with crackers.  It makes a tasty, quick appetizer.  It is also nice to add a big spoon to a stir-fry or glaze a chicken breast with some jelly.   It is very versatile and easy to make - a great hostess gift.