Sister # 2 is the most organized cook I have ever known.  She menu plans, grocery shops from that plan, batch cooks to leave in the freezer for her family when she travels and also portions out meals for extended family members.  Her kitchen is exquisite and well suited for our big family gatherings and is a place where her children’s friends are always welcome.

I have heard from her daughter’s friends that the dinner party that she puts on to celebrate her daughter’s birthday is perfection.  I promise to get pics and menus.

On this particular night, we were gathering to celebrate a number of family milestones-her daughter and boyfriend’s return from Mexico, the upcoming family wedding and the departure of our daughter on her mission trip.  Supper was Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken from the Best of Bridge and here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
Sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
4 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth

The Rest
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1/4 cup oil
2-3 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 red peppers, cut in strips
2 carrots, thinly sliced on diagonal
2 cups snow peas
1 1/2 cups cashews
sprinkling of sesame seeds, toasted

Instructions:
Combine sauce ingredients and set aside. In a bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add chicken and toss. Heat wok or frying pan to highest heat. Add oil. Heat to hot, not smoking. Add chicken, ginger, garlic and onion. Stir until chicken is opaque (about 1 minute). Add peppers and carrots. Stir 2-3 minutes. Add peas and sauce. Cook until sauce comes to a boil. Add cashews and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

She prepared a chocolate fondue for dessert.  It reminded us of the time she made the same dish to top off our New Year’s Eve dinner when we traveled together to Isla Mujeres.  We assembled on the 3rd floor roof of Glady’s Apartments for a feast of chili barbecued shrimp (fresh from the dock), roasted potatoes and veggies, pork tacos and a chicken baked in lime mayonnaise.

There were our two extended families and American girls who were also staying in the apartment building.  They invited friends they had met in the hostel and were in sore need of a meal.  My son was the bartender and we lugged three blenders to the roof for a choice of margaritas.  It was a night I will forever remember.

My Daughter #2 and Sister #2's Daughter #1

My friend Laura (honourary sister) is an amazing cook.  Yesterday, she posted on FB that she was cooking for her husband because he had a bad cold.  She sent me the links to what she was preparing.  My goodness recipe use has changed…. when I was little everything that was prepared was made from memory or from a hand-written recipe card.  My Mom had the Madame Benoit Cookbook and that was about it.  When I was married in the 80s a cookbook collection was a must: I started with the Joy of Cooking, then the Best of Bridge Series and then by the time I decided to purge I had two complete Time Life Series that had a dozen volumes each.  Currently on my shelves are cookbooks by Canadian Health experts Anne Lindsey and Bonnie Stern. Jamie Oliver’s Italy, another entitled The Food of Italy-a journey for food lovers, The Soup Bible and a wonderful new one Eat Well from Williams-Sonoma.

But as is my style, I digress… Here are the links to her Mexican treats for her ailing husband:  Chiles Rellenos and Sopa de Lima. 

If the chilies pictured here had a crumbling of a “feta” type cheese on top, they would resemble the most amazing Chiles Relleno in the world!  These are consumed at a little place called La Lomita on Isla Mujeres, Mexico.  Here’s their version entitled Ophelia’s Chiles Releno.

Sister #3 has a group of GFs thast get together on a regular basis over over the winter for themed dinner parties.  The format is kind of like “Dinner and a Movie” and they’ve watched “Joy Luck Club” and had Chinese Food, “Shirley Valentine” and had Greek food, Chocolat and had fondue and most recently they watched “Julie and Julia” and cooked from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking“.

Sis #3 was host and made the entre of Boeuf Bourguignon.  Below is a copy paste from Oprah.com.

Cheese course was a selection of berries and Bothwell Cheeses.

The dessert course was Julia’s Chocolate Almond Cake

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
• 6 oz. bacon
• 3 pounds lean stewing beef , cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 sliced carrot
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups full-bodied, young red wine , such as a Chianti
• 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• Crumbled bay leaf
• Blanched bacon rind
• 18 to 24 small white onions , brown-braised in stock
• 1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms , sautéed in butter
• Parsley sprigs

Directions:

Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers
very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the melt is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Covet the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

For later serving: When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Artichokes in the market in Nice

I have two favourite vegetables-eggplant and artichokes.  My co-workers always know what I am going to order from a menu when they skim through the ingredients in a salad or a pasta.  Surprisingly I have never eaten a fresh artichoke.  I have seen the fine art demonstrated for me but never had the opportunity myself.  I remain a fresh artichoke virgin even after a quest through Italy and Southern France this fall.  I did have a wonderful appetizer served in Nice at a restaurant called Frog.  The course was served in a cellar jar and the restaurant had very sexy lighting.   This gorgeous place was near the sea and was a couple of streetcar rides for us as we were staying in the north fringe at an amazing hostel called Villa Saint Exupery.  I digress….

My first exposure to artichokes was when I was given my second  Best of Bridge cookbook.  I have the entire series including two “Best of the Best”.  The recipe is entitled Artichoke Nibblers and here is my modified version:  Saute 1 small finely chopped onion and 1 clove of minced garlic in a dollop of olive oil.  Chop the drained artichokes. Combine 4 beaten eggs, 1/4 c bread crumbs, and a 1/4 t each of salt, pepper, oregano and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in 2 c of sharp grated cheddar and artichokes. Blend with the onion mixture. Pour into 9″ round wax papaer and oil sprayed baking dish. Sprinkle with 2 T parsley and bake at 325 F. for 30 minutes, or until lightly set. Cut in wedges.

I am making these today for a dinner party that we are throwing this Friday.  They are delicious hot or cold.  I have often served them along side a meaty soup instead of bread for a delicious supper.

I wrote recently about the annual Christmas baking exchange that my sister co-ordinates every year.  Well today is my baking day-I say day because I don’t plan on doing anything else because something can always (and often does) go astray.  One year when I had this brilliant idea to make Dream cookies (otherwise known as Imperial or Diplomat cookies) I got a migraine and spent the day in bed instead.

I’ve decided on Caramel Pecan Squares.  I’ve never made them so I warn you that this is an untested recipe but if you’re interested here goes: Combine 1 c flour, 1 c finely chopped pecans, ¾ c rolled outs, 2/3 c brown sugar, ½ t salt and ½ t salt together in large bowl.  Then cut a ½ c butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add one beaten egg and stir well.  Press evenly into a a greased 9 x 13” pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 mins.  Sprinkle 3 cups of white mini marshmallows (Julie Child would roll over in her grave).  Drizzle 2/3 c of caramel ice cream topping over marshmallows.  Sprinkle with another 1 1/3 c of chopped pecans.  Bake again for 20 mins. until golden brown.  Let stand on wire rack until cooled completely.  Cut with hot/wet knife to prevent sticking.  Cuts into 54 squares so I’ll be making 2+ batches: for the exchange, extra to take to a class that I’m enrolled in and some to share with my grown up kids for their entertaining.

The recipe is from Jean Pare’s Company’s Coming Special Occasion Series entitled “Baking, Simple to Sensational”.  I kind of evolved as a cook as Jean Pare evolved as a cookbook writer.  In one of her first cookbooks (entitled Salads) there was a recipe for Caesar salad which was (I’m paraphrasing but only slightly): cut up a head of romaine lettuce and toss it with Kraft Caesar dressing, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  I am NOT kidding.  Having said this, my family’s favourite Banana Muffins come from another of her early books-circa 1985.  Sometimes I don’t feel like preparing the muffin tins and try to make a banana loaf instead and my family won’t have it!  When my son went on a car trip of western Canada this spring he requested a dozen muffins for the road but couldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t be consumed by Headingley.  (If you are from the Winnipeg area, you would know that Headingley was once considered the first town on a western trip but today is more like a suburb of Winnipeg.

Any other closet Jean Pare fans out there?