D and I love to cook together but we rarely get the opportunity. We have a wonderful division of tasks. D takes care of shoveling, laundry and garbage detail and I ensure the house is tidy and that supper is waiting for him when he is home from work. Sounds pretty tradition doesn’t it? It is and we love it this way.
We adore pan seared scallops and I was shocked to find such huge ones on for 30% off at Superstore (by the way…have you seen their fabulous new commercial?) We decided to go to a move Friday evening and have a popcorn supper so the scallops were waiting for us at the end of a busy Saturday. We had a number of plant based meals that week so I didn’t feel bad at serving an entrée with no veggies.
This is how we decided that it was supper time: D said “I am thirsty. I am going to pour us a glass of wine. Since we are wine-equipped why don’t we start on supper?”
We divided the tasks into two and I prepared the pasta portion while he seared the scallops. The dish was a keeper but so filling, we each left scallops and pasta in our bowl to have during the 3rd period of the Jet’s game when we typically get peckish.
225 g spaghettini (we like the President's Choice brand in the white box)
1 T minced garlic
½ c sauvignon blanc wine
1 c chicken broth42 T lemon juice2 T capers
1 T parsley (I was out of fresh and used dry)
1 c chopped roma tomatoes
¼ c ish parmesan
Instructions
Scallops:
Dry scallops really well with a clean cloth or paper towel.
Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a skillet over high heat until the oil begins to slightly smoke.
Place scallops with tongs into pan without crowding.
Cook the scallops without moving them about 3 min.
Add 1 T butter to pan, turn the scallops and brown on the second side about 90 sec.
Turn off heat and hold.
Pasta:
Prepare pasta according to package directions.
Select another pan and cook garlic on medium heat in 1 T butter, about 1 min.
Increase heat and add wine.
Cook until wine is reduced by half about 3 mins.
Add chicken stock, lemon juice, capers and increase heat again. Cook until sauce is reduced to half (approximately 8-10 minutes).
Turn off heat and another 1 T of butter.
Drain pasta and add to sauce.
Add parsley and tomatoes and toss all.
Place scallops on pasta and top with grated parmesan.
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D at the stove in Charlottetown.
We had not had scallops since our sojourn to PEI last September. Coincidentally, that evening we arranged a meet up with those friends our first night on Isla Mujeres where alas, there are no scallops.
D poured another glass of wine and we sat down to our HNIC pre-game dinner.
Kath’s quote: “Close your eyes,” he had said to her. “Food demands complete submission.” And then he placed a perfect scallop in her mouth. “Do you taste the sea?” Delphine did. Not just the salt of the sea but the very air of the moment that the shell was pulled from the sand. “A storm, perhaps. There is a dark edge to the sweetness of the meat.” ― N.M. Kelby, White Truffles in Winter Just reserved it on line from my library. I LOVE culinary fiction!
I have taken a break for the past month to reflect on where I am in life, this space and a fresh approach. Coincidentally the government of Canada’s new food guide was released yesterday and it too is a new look at how we should regard our food.
I especially appreciate the references to mindfulness, cooking at home more often (avoiding fast and processed food) and eating more often with others-in essence “en” joying eating and food. Now, I have always professed that there is much joy (and love) in food. For me there is both joy in the preparation and in the sharing.
I also received a beautiful gift this week. I fessed up on Instagram that a good friend and I have girl crushes on Joanna Gaines and that same friend gifted me with Joanna’s beautiful new cookbook: Magnolia Table-a collection of recipes for gathering. I have yet to try one of the recipes but I am enamored just the same by what she shares of food and her family in the Introduction.
Last evening I co-hosted a training evening and we kicked the evening off by breaking bread together. I knew that I was cooking for up to 18 people so I made a vat of my favourite chili. I adapted a Zest Cooking Solutions (Sister #3) recipe. Where it called for a Veggie Ground Round I used ground chicken and I also boosted it with yellow corn for colour and kale for nutritional oommph. Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the recipe preparation or the end result because in truth I didn’t know last evening that today would be the day that my personal reflection was done and I was back to blogging.
1 can whole tomatoes, emulsified with hand blender
2 T tomato paste
¼ c salsa
2 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
lb ground chicken
half a package of frozen corn
half package of frozen kale
half a bunch of fresh cilantro
Instructions
Spray the bottom of a large pot with canola or olive oil
Place onion quarters, red pepper quarters and garlic in the food processor to finely dice
Shred carrot with the food processor shredding disk
Add carrot, onion, pepper and garlic in the pot and saute for 3-5 minutes (until onion is translucent)
Add the ground chicken and continue to stir until chicken changes from pink to white
At the this point I added the spices and put the pot in the fridge overnight
The next morning I set the pot on low heat and added the undrained beans, emulsified tomatoes, tomato paste and salsa to the pot.
Once it is heated thoroughly add the corn and kale.
Heat to desired temperature (I let the chili simmer all day)
Serve with cilantro sprigs
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Please forgive me for the small m in Mexico. I mean no disrespect but I cannot figure out how to edit it without deleting and starting over again.
I doubled the recipe for the large group. The dish could have been served with crushed taco chips but I decided to make some cheesy corn muffins to go along with it. It was a hit!
Kath’s quote: This meal embodied comfort and safety to me. It felt like home. To this day whenever I eat spaghetti, that warm, fuzzy feeling hits me and I feel like all is well in the world.” -Joanna Gaines
Once a month D, Sister #3 and I host an evening at our house where the Moms and Dads of babies, toddlers and young kids get to have a break and spend the evening with adults. They often look a bit harried as they arrive at our place with kids in tow. The number of kids range from two to four per family and when we have a full house there are ten adults and fourteen kids. We hustle the small fry into the dining room and we put down a quick supper. I say quick because the kids are always raring to get downstairs for a play with their buddies. In the mean time the adults fix a plate and head to the living room and tuck in at a more leisurely pace.
I try my best to fix a meal which will be pleasing to both children and adults and sometimes one group takes precedent over the other. But tonight I think that I may have a winner: Texan Pulled Pork with broccoli & kale slaw, ciabatta buns and one bite brownies for dessert.
I posted this picture on Instagram and have had a couple of requests for the recipe so here goes:
Pollo al Mattone is a method for grilling chicken under a brick to keep it juicy and crisp. Both the Tuscans and the Romans claim to have invented the method. The weight of the brick presses the meat into the grill for faster, more even cooking. It also works as a cover for the meat, keeping it moist. In Italy, pollo al mattone is often cooked over a wood fire.
fresh herbs like basil, oregano, flat-leafed parsley, to taste
4 garlic cloves, smashed
salt and pepper
Instructions
wash & dry two bricks
wrap bricks in aluminum foil
using a butcher's knife or large kitchen shears, cut the chicken along one side of the backbone
remove the back bone entirely if desired (we left intact)
open the chicken and lay it flat like a book
lift the skin away for the flesh or make small cuts on breast & thighs
push the garlic and fresh herbs under the skin to look like photo above
liberally salt & pepper chicken
preheat barbeque to approx. medium
heat the bricks in a closed barbeque
place chicken skin side down onto grill
using hand protection, place hot bricks over chicken covering as much surface as possible
close lid and let chicken cook 22 -25 minutes without disturbing
remove bricks
using hand protection, grab legs and flip the chicken so the skin side is up
place the bricks on top again
close lid
cook again for 12-15 minutes without disturbing until exposed skin is starting to brown
repeat above action and flip one last time
cook another 5-10 minutes until skin is starting to crisp and internal thigh temperature is 175 degrees
transfer chicken to platter and let rest 10 minutes before serving
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I enjoyed this dish twice in one week. The first was the evening of my Mom’s Celebration of Life. I had driven back out to the lake from the city. Girlfriends of 35 years were staying with me that week. Nance handed me a glass of wine and Mary pulled the chicken off the grill to sit. What would I do without my friends?
Later that same week with Beep, Boo and the Frenchman joining us on the weekend, D tried his hand at the same recipe.
We had assembled in the gazebo as it looked as if it might rain. When the sky darkened we had to light candles to illuminate our meal. We didn’t mind a bit.
This was the finished product: chicken and ribs, new potatoes, squash and zucchini. Delicious food, cozy spot, good wine and family. Life is good.
Kath’s quote: “You know when you come across one of those empty shell people, and you think “What the hell happened to you?” Well there came a time in each one of those lives where they are standing at a crossroads… someplace where they had to decide whether to turn left or right. This is no time to be a chicken-shit, Frances“. -Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun
Many of our good friends are realizing that there is no time like right now to go on traveling adventures; offspring are old enough to fend for themselves or have flown the coop entirely as is the case with D and me. Some of our circle are even more daring than us and leave the comforts of home and volunteer in far off places like South Africa. Such was the case with the particular friends that invited us to dine with them recently. On the drive over, I had commented to D that I hoped that they were cooking something from their travels, as they said that dinner was all planned and we could not contribute a thing. The aroma wafting from the kitchen as we were greeted at the door led us to excitedly inquire what was for dinner.
I had to look up “bobotie” on Wikipedia as Boo and the Frenchman who spent three months in South Africa were not available to ask. They happen to be preapring for an imminent month long vacation to Greece. I found out that Bobotie (pronounced /bəˈbʊəti/ or /bəˈboʊti/), also spelt bobotjie, is actually the national dish of South African. Simply stated, the dish consists of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. It is thought to have originated from the Indonesian dish bobotok. Colonists from the Dutch East India Company colonies probably introduced bobotie to South Africa previous to 1609 which is when the first recipe appeared in a Dutch cookbook. Afterwards, it was taken to South Africa and adopted by the Cape Malay community.
Today Bobotie is typically made with beef or lamb. Early recipes incorporated ginger, marjoram and lemon rind; the introduction of curry powder has simplified the recipe somewhat but the basic concept remains the same. Although not particularly spicy, the dish incorporates a variety of flavours that can add complexity. For example, the dried fruit (in this case raisins) contrasts the curry flavouring. The texture of the dish is also complex, with the baked egg mixture topping complementing the milk-soaked bread which adds moisture to the dish.
Soak bread in milk. Heat oil and butter in large pan and fry onions and garlic. When onions are soft add curry powder, salt chutney, jam, Worcester sauce, turmeric and vinegar and mix well. (Janine also adds cumin and ginger
Drain and mash bread and reserve milk for later.
Add bread to pan together with mince and sultanas.
Cook over low heat, stirring, and when meat loses its pinkness remove from stove.
Add 1 beaten egg, mix well., then spoon into a greased, 8 x 11 and level the top.
Beat remaining eggs with reserved milk (you should have 300 ml) and salt and curry.
Pour over meat mixture and put a few bay leaves on top.
Stand dish in a larger pan of water (this is NB to prevent drying out) and bake uncovered 350 for 1 hour or until set.
Serve with rice, coconut, nuts and bananas.
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Doesn’t bobotie look like dessert when garnished with almonds, bananas and coconut?
Our hosts also served the savoury dish with crusty bread and a crunchy salad. The meal was simple, yet tasted soooo extravagrant. We had an absolutely delightful evening and now I predict that bobotie will become one of our families’ favourites. After I find out what “raw mince” is…..
Kath’s quote: My Ouma (my Dad’s Mom) was Afrikaans; a proper boerevrou. I remember her working in the farm dairy, churning the butter, or outside making her soap in the giant sized potjie (which is now a flower container at my sister Iona’s house in England). No-one could roll apricot smeer, make koeksusters or cook bobotie like Ouma could! –Judy Croome
