Truffle Mutt

Simply Delicious

Such a handsome little artichoke don't you think?  Or maybe it's more pretty than handsome.  Either way, I can assure you that it was yu-ummy.

This little veg puts a lot into looking tough with it's prehistoric exterior and prickly choke, but it's really painless to make.  Not everyone at the table was brave enough to get over the appearance though.  Jason, after watching me peel away layer after layer just to arrive at the prickly choke- gave up and passed his to me.  No argument here - the more for me the merrier.

The recipe was a simple mixture of herbs, garlic and lemon rubbed generously over the trimmed artichoke globes.  It was so simple I almost decided to skip it and find something more exciting.  I'm glad I didn't.   

Ravi-nous

I think it's evident from this picture that I should stick with my day job and abandon any dreams of food presentation and photography.  Look, I took a picture of ravioli treading water.  Do you like it?

Sometimes it's too bad that pictures are worth 1,000 words, wouldn't it be better if they were worth 999 words and just 1 little taste?  That one taste would have revealed the delicate ricotta and Parmesan filling and the wonderful experience of the fresh pasta. 

I also got to use my new ravioli form and roller.  What fun! 

Happy Shrimp

It's nearly impossible to find US or Canadian cultivated shrimp here in Calgary.  That's not entirely true, I've spotted live BC shrimp at a couple of Asian markets, but the look of those wiggly spider-like legs freak me out.  In most cases the shrimp you find here are farmed in Thailand or Vietnam, that is until I discovered Gulf shrimp from North Sea Fish Market at the Calgary Farmers' Market.

Originally my interest in seeking out these relatively local shrimp was to support more sustainable fishing methods, but that was before I tasted them.  They have a more prominent taste that's subtlety sweet and reminiscent of lobster.  I can't believe the difference having happy shrimp makes.  :)

In the picture above I used sole and Gulf shrimp from the North Sea Fish Market, to create a rich dish that I adapted from this one posted on epicurious.  The secret ingredient in the sauce is shrimp butter and it's worth every bit of the effort it takes to make.  For a simpler dish the sauce would be perfect served over pasta with wilted spinach.      

Weekend Dinner Finale

You would think a big gooey cheese salad followed by a bowl of piping hot onion soup would be enough for dinner on a snowy freezing day, but then you would be wrong.  The man of the house wanted, you guessed it, meat.  Sad thing is I actually understand - it's not easy to come down off a hamburger high you know, these things have to be eased into.

Keeping with the winter weather theme, I made a short rib braise with roasted potatoes and carrots using a recipe I adapted from the Zuni Cafe cookbook's Short Ribs Braised in Chimney Ale. 

The book recommends salting the ribs a day or two in advance, but I know from experience that when your husband whines about eating only vegetables for dinner and you have to make a quick decision, that an hour in advance works too.  Brown the ribs in a heavy pot or dutch oven.  Remove the ribs and add one sliced onion, 6 sliced button mushrooms, 2 bay leaves and cracked pepper.  Nestle the ribs back in and then add equal parts veal stock and Heineken beer until it comes partially up the side of the ribs.  Simmer covered with a tight fitting lid for two hours or so until the meat is very tender.

Then just before serving, take the ribs out and brush them with Dijon mustard and then broil them until the mustard is lightly browned.  Very simple, but don't let that fool you.  The dish was surprisingly good.

And no there was no typo, this was the finale for the night.  There wasn't even a tiny bit of space left for dessert.  So I made that on Sunday.

Weekend Dinner II

Mmm...  French onion soup.

And look at how prefect it looks in my brand new (flea market) soup bowls.  I love how pretty they are and I got six for 10 bucks - what a steal.  It's possible they even made the soup taste better.  Yeah, that part was probably in my head.  But whatever.

I combined a few different recipes, but slipped up and added a bit too much champagne vinegar.  Oops.  Sometimes my aversion to measuring devices (aka laziness) bites me in the butt.  I was able to revive it though by adding more stock.

I caramelized 4 large sliced onions, 3 shallots and 3 cloves of garlic.   Then de-glazed the pan with a generous splash or two of white wine, a 1/4 cup of sherry and then added 3 cups of light veal stock, 2 bay leaves and thyme.  I also added 1 tbsp of sun-dried tomato paste and should have added a tsp or two of champagne vinegar and not the 5 or 6 I did.  So, then I added another cup of stock.  I'd suggest the use of measuring spoons instead and leave out the last two steps.  Then I topped it off with white cheddar and Asiago cheese.  Mozza, Swiss and Gruyere would have been better, but how can you go wrong with cheese?  That's right you can't.         

Musseling Up

Lately, when I log on to my blog the first thing I notice is how long it's been since I last posted.  It never seems like that long - but the dates confirm it!  Time flies - fun or not.

My lack of posts isn't reflective of my time in the kitchen however, I've been cooking a lot since Christmas.  No pictures though, so that makes posting difficult (I'm all about the pictures).  And why are there no pictures, because unlike all you other brave bloggers out there, I haven't come out about my blogging yet.  Most people don't know that I blog and bringing out my camera at the table might tip them off (or cause some interesting rumors).  So why the secrecy?  I'm not sure - I guess I like the anonymity.  I can't well blog about Jade stealing a filet mignon off the counter (which I then served) if our dinner guests can read about it here!  Talk about dumb...

There's no dirt on the story of these mussels though.  Just garlic, garlic and more garlic.  I adapted the recipe from this one at epicurious and the sauce was a winner, so much so that I let Jason eat most of the muscles and I sopped up the sauce.  I used 9 cloves of garlic, left the olives and pasta out all together, added a leek and switched the red wine to white.  My only suggestion - make sure you have lots of bread on hand.

Gnocchi (really nyoki)

So, did anyone else out there foolishly pronounce this word as 'gu-naw-chee' before finding out the correct pronunciation?  Well, neither did I.  Especially not to an Italian while we were on safari in Africa - because whoa it would have been embarrassing if I'd done that. 

Alright, I admit it.  It was me.  But come on, could someone not have corrected me before it got to that!?   What are friends supposed to be for?  And who spelled gnocchi in the first place?  How are kids supposed to sound THAT out? 

Lucky for me though, making gnocchi was a much less humiliating experience.  I used the gnocchi recipe posted on Hungry in Hogtown and made the sauce from the bron marshall blog.  I loved the sauce but the gnocchi was so fluffy that it was almost mushy in texture.  Next time I'll try a recipe that calls for boiling the potatoes to see if the end result has more substance.   

These little dumplings are fun to make.  Just remember to make lots, because once you start you're overcome by the need to prefect the fork roll and that takes a lot of practice and hundreds of tries.

Veggie Stock Finale

Oh my!  I almost forgot to post about using the last of my veggie stock!  Now I have to try and remember what happened. 

I remember it tasted great.  I took all the leftovers to work for lunches.  I also remember that choosing the second dish for my stock wasn't too difficult.  I had a wee bit of stock left and as I flipped through recipes not many doors were opening for me.  But, I love coconut milk and cashews, especially together, so this was my choice.

If I make it again though I'll add a few chili peppers, heat would be better.

Home Alone

A few weekends ago I was home alone and the freedom was exhilarating.   

I spent my Saturday morning battling the crowds at the Calgary Farmers' Market and Planet Organic gathering my bounty.  I bought eggplants, tomatoes, summer squash, baby zucchini and cucumbers along with many other forms of organic matter that Jason would never eat, in preparation for my vegetable voyage. 

My plans for the weekend revolved around making stock, which I have been meaning to make for ages and ages.  I made two batches of veal stock and one batch of veggie stock.  And after spilling precious stock on my foot, the floor and the counter, I know that I will not attempt making stock again without a vastly larger stock pot and sieve.  In addition, if you're going to go through the time and effort to make stock you really should end up with more than 4 cups.  Come on!  4 cups.  I see a HUGE pot in my future.  Call me psychic.

After careful stock rationing, I decided to use the vegetable stock to make this white bean soup from my copy of 30 Minute Vegetarian.  I made a few changes to the soup and it turned out to be quite good.  Next time I may try dried beans instead of canned, because the canned ones are a little too mushy. 

A Big Pot of Jambalaya

I don't have a lot to say about Jambalaya.  I don't like making, smelling or eating it.  Are you wondering why I make it?  If you must know, I make it to be a good wife.  I cook dinner straight after tidying up and then I rush to refresh myself.  Ha-ha!  Apparently the cleaning up part will even lift my spirits!  Perfect.  :)  I can't tell you the last time dusting or vacuuming has lifted my spirits - maybe I'm not doing it right.   

I actually do make jambalaya because Jason likes it and because it's one of the few ways he eats his veggies.  So while it's not on my list of favorites, I soldier on.  I make it sound bad, but I'd have to score it an 8 or 9 in comparison to others I've tried.  Deconstructed it doesn't seem bad at all - peppers, tomatoes, shrimp, sausage and chicken.  What's not to like?  Maybe I just can't hack so many protein sources in one dish.  Like shrimp on pepperoni pizza - gross.