Browsing: Entrees

Pan Seared Scallops in Lemon Caper Sauce

February4

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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.

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Pan Seared Scallops in Lemon Caper Sauce
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: International
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 large portions
 
A two step recipe best prepared by two cooks.
Ingredients
  • 1 lb jumbo scallops
  • grinder of rock salt
  • 2 T ish olive oil
  • 3 T ish butter
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 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
  1. Scallops:
  2. Dry scallops really well with a clean cloth or paper towel.
  3. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Heat a skillet over high heat until the oil begins to slightly smoke.
  5. Place scallops with tongs into pan without crowding.
  6. Cook the scallops without moving them about 3 min.
  7. Add 1 T butter to pan, turn the scallops and brown on the second side about 90 sec.
  8. Turn off heat and hold.
  9. Pasta:
  10. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
  11. Select another pan and cook garlic on medium heat in 1 T butter, about 1 min.
  12. Increase heat and add wine.
  13. Cook until wine is reduced by half about 3 mins.
  14. Add chicken stock, lemon juice, capers and increase heat again. Cook until sauce is reduced to half (approximately 8-10 minutes).
  15. Turn off heat and another 1 T of butter.
  16. Drain pasta and add to sauce.
  17. Add parsley and tomatoes and toss all.
  18. 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!

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Love never fails.

Slow Cooker Texan Pulled Pork

January27

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.

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I posted this picture on Instagram and have had a couple of requests for the recipe so here goes:

Slow Cooker Texan Pulled Pork
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Texan
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
My husband marinates and slow roasts pulled pork in a convection oven but I wanted the ease of a slow cooker. Great for "lesser" cuts like a shoulder.
Ingredients
  • cut of pork to your size and liking
  • 1 c your favourite BBQ sauce (I used Danny's Own Apple Butter BBQ sauce)
  • ½ c apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ c brown sugar (I used a brown sugar substitute, honey or maple syrup would also work)
  • 1 T prepared mustard (I used a new Winnipeg company's called Smack Dab)
  • 1 T Worcestershire
  • 1 T chili powder
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1½ t thyme
Instructions
  1. Place everything together in a large slow cooker.
  2. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.
  3. Test doneness by pulling apart the meat with a fork.
  4. Pull off as much meat as desired and toss in remaining sauce.

Kath’s quote:“Pulled pork jokes never get old”. -Joel Edgerton

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Love never fails.

 

 

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Pollo al Mattone

July23

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.

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Pollo al Mattone
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Tuscan
 
Ingredients
  • two heavy bricks, terra cotta are best
  • aluminum foil
  • 1 whole fryer chicken
  • fresh herbs like basil, oregano, flat-leafed parsley, to taste
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. wash & dry two bricks
  2. wrap bricks in aluminum foil
  3. using a butcher's knife or large kitchen shears, cut the chicken along one side of the backbone
  4. remove the back bone entirely if desired (we left intact)
  5. open the chicken and lay it flat like a book
  6. lift the skin away for the flesh or make small cuts on breast & thighs
  7. push the garlic and fresh herbs under the skin to look like photo above
  8. liberally salt & pepper chicken
  9. preheat barbeque to approx. medium
  10. heat the bricks in a closed barbeque
  11. place chicken skin side down onto grill
  12. using hand protection, place hot bricks over chicken covering as much surface as possible
  13. close lid and let chicken cook 22 -25 minutes without disturbing
  14. remove bricks
  15. using hand protection, grab legs and flip the chicken so the skin side is up
  16. place the bricks on top again
  17. close lid
  18. cook again for 12-15 minutes without disturbing until exposed skin is starting to brown
  19. repeat above action and flip one last time
  20. cook another 5-10 minutes until skin is starting to crisp and internal thigh temperature is 175 degrees
  21. transfer chicken to platter and let rest 10 minutes before serving

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?

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Later that same week with Beep, Boo and the Frenchman joining us on the weekend, D tried his hand at the same recipe.

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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.

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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

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Love never fails.

 

Cauliflower Three Ways

March23

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Veg -centric dishes are often my choice when we dine at Winnipeg’s trendiest restaurants-Pizzeria Gusto, The Merchant Kitchen, Deer + Almond, Segovia and Enoteca.  These are dishes that focus on flavour. Being meatless is secondary. Proteins are still included, but they’re more of a flavour enhancer. We spotted many such dishes on Scott Bagshaw’s Enoteca menu and finally decided upon the Roasted Cauliflower utilizing “cave aged” gruyere to intensify the taste. Panade added moisture, rough cut almonds provided crunch, orange segments the acidity and capers the saltiness.

We’ve included more veg-centric dishes in our own repertoire at home so recently when Carly Peters the editor of Local Fare Magazine (published on behalf of the Manitoba Restaurant Association) contacted me to see if I had any cauliflower recipes in my repertoire, the answer was an immediate “yes”.

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Our son and his wife (known as J1 and J2 in this space), were the first to introduce us to Buffalo Florets. We were all up at the beach house and they were on dinner duty. They served roasted cauliflower that had been tossed in Frank’s Hot Sauce and then roasted again, as an appetizer course. Loving Buffalo wings but not the calories and fat, we got a kick out of this alternate. When Carly and her photographer arrived to photograph this dish, I had prepared carrots and celery sticks to dip into blue cheese dressing to offset the fieriness of the hot sauce.

Curried Cauliflower is a take off on one of our families’ favourite casseroles-The Best of Bridge’s Classy Chicken. A mixture of mayonnaise, lemon juice, cheese and curry powder smothers a crown of cauliflower and then buttered panko flakes add some crunch.

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Cauliflower Steaks were reminiscent of a classic Sicilian dish that we enjoyed while visiting friends in Castellammare del Golfo, near Palermo.

These recipes will be published in an upcoming edition, but if you would like a sneak peak at them, leave  a comment here.

Kath’s quote: “Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”-Mark Twain

purplecookiesheart

Love never fails.

 

 

 

Beef is a Great Protein Choice

February12

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Of all of the “hats” that I wear, food -styling is one of my favourite tasks. Recently I had the opportunity to accompany fitness star Dai Manuel on a visit to CTV Morning Live where he spoke to Kris Laudien about the benefits of consuming beef as a reasonable protein choice.

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Since not all proteins are created equal, the food items that I apportioned and displayed show that if you attempted to consume the equivalent protein of 75 grams of beef, you would have to eat 11 eggs, 100 almonds, 7 T of peanut butter,6 servings of cooked quinoa (125 ml each),3 servings of hummus (60ml each) or 2.3 servings of black beans (175ml each).

I prepared three fabulous beef recipes to illustrate its versatility including

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beef & bean quesadillas and

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a roast beef wrap with red pepper jelly and cashews.

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My favourite though were the Korean Beef Cups which I have permission to share with you here:

Korean Beef Cups
Cuisine: Korean
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Delicious when scooped into lettuce cups or mixed with an Asian noodle.
Ingredients
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ sweet red pepper, diced
  • 1 lb Lean Ground Beef Sirloin
  • 1 tsp minced ginger root
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • Chopped cilantro or mint or chopped green onion
  • 1 tsp Asian chili sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Bibb lettuce leaves
  • carrot and cucumber matchsticks
  • fresh lime wedges
  • cilantro, chopped (or mint or green onion)
Instructions
  1. Cook garlic, diced pepper, ground beef and ginger root in large skillet using medium heat, stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes until beef is browned and completely cooked. Drain if necessary.
  2. Add soy sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. Transfer to warm platter. At the table let each person spoon some filling into lettuce leaves. Top with squeeze of lime juice and serve with toppings such as shredded carrot, cucumber, chopped cilantro or mint. Roll up with your hands to eat.

Kath’s quote: “Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.”- Gene Tunney

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Love never fails.

 

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