Travel

Well anonymous-blog-friends, this is my last post for 2 whole weeks. I am, once again, off to see the world.  This time, my mom (partner in travelling adventures) and I, are taking a 13 night transatlantic cruise aboard the "Eclipse" on the Celebrity Cruise line. Mom and I love cruises. Why? Because, we get to go to numerous places and only unpack once. It's also safe for 2 single girls and full of food and wine.
I am taking my laptop with me, but I will not be posting during the cruise (blame the very expensive wifi minutes). When I return, I will post a slew of thoughts, ideas and pictures. I have 2 exciting winery tours booked in Spain and the Azores (Portugal). I plan to buy tons of wine, (if it is good) and suffer the duty tax later and I plan to eat, eat and eat. My camera will be busy taking pictures of beautiful food, beverages and scenery.
This trip takes us first to England where my extended family will be picking us up from Gatwick. My family lives 45 south of Gatwick in the city of Crawly. My cousin owns a pub and pictures will be posted! This is my first time in England (except for a stop-over at Heathrow one time), and I am excited to see some of the country. We pick up the ship on Sunday and will be in Le Havre, France on Monday. I have booked a bus trip to Paris and will have 5 1/2 hours to see as much as I can of Paris. I plan to see croissants, cafe ou lait and the Eiffel Tower and as much shopping as I can cram into this deadline as possible.
The next day, we will be in Cherbourg, France. Then a day at sea followed by Vigo, Spain where I have a winery tour booked. We then get a day at sea, followed by a stop at Porto Delgado in the Azores. I also have a winery tour booked here.
And then.... nothing. 7 days to cross the Atlantic ocean. With nothing to do. Read. Eat. Drink. Relax. Whatever. I am packed and ready to go. I fly out Friday night.
I am stressed out to the max with work and completely exhausted. I am so ready for this trip.


I will however, leave you with this:


"I'd hate to be a teetotaler. Imagine getting up in the morning and knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day." - Dean Martin


Take care!
S

Baco Noir

I am a huge advocate of all things local. Local produce, local meats, local wine. I live in steel-town, Hamilton, Ontario. I am very proud of this under-dog city, that I live in. This city is a feast for the eyes for anyone who loves gothic-style architecture, history and yes, wine. 
I live 15 minutes away from the beautiful Niagara wineries. The wineries are almost in my backyard. D and I take the convertible to the wineries in the summer. In the winter, the winter car takes us to the wineries. I've been to Napa and Sonoma Valleys in California, and although the year-round weather is soooooo much better in California, Niagara has everything I need. In particular, Baco Noir. The Baco is a beautiful grape which I will compare to Shiraz or Cabernet. The Canadian climate here in the south of Ontario is perfect for growing this grape. Many wineries offer a blend of Baco Noir with something else, usually Cabernet (EastDell 2007 Black Cab - is AWESOME), but Henry of Pelham consistently makes a lovely pure Baco Noir. It is a full bodied wine, which has a slight caramel-ly taste that I love. 


Wine is a very subjective taste, much like food. I hate telling people what wines to drink. I, personally, love the full-bodied red wines.. but sometimes, I love other types of wines. Since this post is all about Henry of Pelham 2008 Baco Noir, I will focus on that. 
This bottle of wine is, like I said before, full-bodied, wonderfully oaky and just that little bit of caramel-ly. It doesn't have a harsh tannin finish and it goes down very well. (I'm obviously not an expert on wine and wine tasting, but I know what I like.)
I won't even pretend that I know what food to pair this with. I love food, I love wine. I love THIS wine. Who cares what it goes with?   Go and buy it (it's available in all LCBO's) and let me know if you like it too. Even better, go to the winery. Go to a few Niagara wineries. They are all beautiful, they are all unique, and they all have great wine. 


My current Niagara wine favourite is the Baco Noir. Give it a try, if you like it, leave a comment, if you hate it... well.. ok, leave a comment. :) 


I will leave you with one of my favourites quotes: 


"Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation." - Julia Child

Gratin of Potato with Shallot and Herbs De Provence

I have a little story to tell about my Herbs De Provence: They actually came from Provence, France. I picked them up in beautiful open air market in Nice. I know, I know, I’m dropping names now. I’m an avid traveller and everywhere I go I end up focusing on regional foods. Since I live to eat, food is a central focus in my life outside of collecting antiques and drinking (oh yeah and working too, I guess). Anyway back to Nice, I bought this rustic bag of herbs and have have been hoarding it ever since. Every time I bring this bag out and smell the herbs, I am taken back to that morning in Nice, where the sun was shining, the weather was hot, and the market was bustling with locals and tourists. My mom and I (my partner in traveling adventures) ate our way through that market. We started with fresh, just picked strawberries that were so sweet that we were brought to tears. We enjoyed fresh breads and croissants and whatever else we could get our hands on and eat right away. Just thinking about it now brings me back to that sunny day. This recipe featured my prized Herbs De Provence and is an easy side dish to throw together. It is quintessentially French. It is delicate and makes a great side dish to many chicken mains. This was my side dish to the Apple Cinnamon Chicken, but I would put this with any chicken or turkey main. It is very similar to my last Gratin post, but with Herbs De Provence being the aromatic focus instead of sage. 

Gratin of Potato with Shallot and Herbs De Provence

3 large shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 potatoes, thinly sliced (I leave the skins on - Yukon Gold works best)

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup milk (I used skim)

2 tablespoons butter

1 heaping tablespoon of flour

2 tsp Herbs De Provence

Course Salt

Fresh ground pepper

1. Melt butter on low heat in small frying pan. Add onions, garlic, Herbs De Provence and lightly fry until moisture comes out, about 2 minutes. Add flour; stir and remove from heat.
2. In a small saucepan, mix the cream, milk, onion mixture, salt and pepper and lightly warm up. Do not boil. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes to let the flavours mix.
3. Grease a small casserole or loaf pan; place a layer of potatoes and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
4. With a slotted spoon, pull out some of the shallot mixture and add to the potatoes. Add another layer or potatoes and repeat until the potatoes are used up.
5. Pour over the cream mixture.
6. Preheat oven to 400deg F and bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

Note: As I only cook on weekends for 2 people, this dish served 2, plus some leftovers.

Cosmopolitan Martini

This drink has been popular since the 90’s (like, hello?) and is still considered a girly drink by most. I’m not exactly the girliest-girl, but I love me a Cosmo sometimes. I’m sure most people know how to make one, but if you don’t, here is the recipe:

4 parts Vodka (Citrus vodka works too)

2 parts Cointreau or Triple Sec

2 parts Cranberry Juice

1 part Fresh Lime juice

Shake all four ingredients together in a cocktail shaker and enjoy. Garnish with a lime slice.

Apple Cinnamon Chicken

I don’t know if you noticed yet, but I love when food tastes good and is easy to make. As much as I love following recipes, cooking from my instincts is even better. Sometimes (ok all the time) I surprise myself with my ability to know what flavours go with what flavours. I’m not perfect and my failures generally do not get posted, but this recipe turned out fantastic. I’m super proud of this recipe. I literally made it up as I went along and the results were amazing. It’s fall in Canada and the harvest season is pretty much over for most of our favourites. Apples are still in season though and this dish features apples inside a chicken. The apple imparts a delicate taste into the neutral chicken and this whole dish tastes like fall. It’s also really easy and next to impossible to screw up. Give it a try and play around with your herbs. 

Apple Cinnamon Chicken

1 whole chicken

1- 2 apples

1/4 unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Pinch Nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 400deg F. Rinse your chicken under cold water, place in roasting pan.
2. Mix spices and butter together. Gently lift the skin around the chicken so you can pack the butter under the skin and into the cavity.
3. Cut the apples into large wedges (remove cores) and stuff inside the chicken cavity. Tie up the legs and wings.
4. Bake in your pre-heated oven for approx. 40 to 60 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. Check with a meat thermometer.
5. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Serve with the apples and a nice potato gratin. 

Note: I used a small chicken for this as there are only 2 of us. We each ate a half a chicken. 

Creme Caramel

I am so excited to post this recipe! I have never made Creme Caramel before and only made it because I finally got my ramekins back from D’s house. I love caramel and I love love love custard. I have been dying to make either creme caramel or creme brulee. Both are huge favourites of mine, if they are done right. The majority of creme brulee’s and creme caramel’s that I have tasted like scrambled eggs. I hate that. I don’t want it to taste like eggs. I want it to taste like custard and sugar. Is that so difficult? Apparently it is. This recipe does not taste like scrambled eggs or eggs at all. It is creamy, delicious and wonderfully caramel-ly. It is light, fluffy, and so amazing and I want you to try this. If you try nothing else on this blog, you MUST try this. I promise you, you will not regret it. Here is the recipe:

Creme Caramel for 4 -7oz Ramekins:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 cup milk (I used skim)

1 cup whipping cream

4 eggs

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract + small squeeze

Boiling Water

1. Put 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water in small saucepan and heat over med. heat until sugar turns brown. Literally just leave it alone in the pan until it turns light brown (about 6 or 7 minutes). When it turns light brown, remove from heat and very quickly pour evenly into your ramekins. It will turn to a solid glassy caramel very very quickly. 
2. Preheat oven to 325deg F.  In a small saucepan over med. heat, combine the milk and cream. Add a small squeeze of vanilla (if you have vanilla beans put them in here now). Heat until small bubbles appear along edges of the pan. (Remove vanilla bean now and save for later).
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, salt and remaining vanilla until smooth. Slowly.. really slowly, add the hot milk mixture. Best to add a bit at a time to temper the eggs. You do not want the eggs to cook too fast as they will go chunky. So you must seriously pay attention here and add the milk mixture slowly until all is combined; stirring CONSTANTLY.
4. Place the ramekins in a deep casserole dish. Pour your custard mixture, evenly into the ramekins. Pour your boiling water into the casserole dish until the water comes up halfway up your ramekins. 
5. Bake until a sharp knife inserted into centre comes out clean, approx. 35 mins. 
6. Allow to cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to serve.
7. To un-mold, run a sharp knife around the edges of the ramekins and invert onto a plate. 
8. Eat. Serves 4. Enjoy with a lovely liquor. I suggest Peninsula Ridges’ Ratafia (2005) as the perfect accompaniment.

Boston Baked Beans in the Slow Cooker

Ah, the slow cooker. One of the best inventions for working people. Turn it on in the morning and when you walk through your front door in the evening, the whole house smells like dinner. The dinner you didn’t put much effort into. The dinner you still do not have to put much effort into. Last night I decided I wanted to make Boston Baked Beans. I had ALL the ingredients therefore I didn’t need to go shopping. I did the cutting work in the evening, put the remaining ingredients in the pot this morning and left the house. When I got home, I had to mix the other ingredients in and let it cook some more. I had a serious craving for boston baked beans. They are comfort food. On a cool fall evening like today, they are the perfect dinner. They taste oh so good going down... not so great later in the night.. looking on the bright side, they contain lots of good-for-you fibre. I could always use more fibre. So here is the recipe for a 6 quart slow cooker. If you don’t have a slow cooker, go buy one. 

Boston Baked Beans

1 900g bag of dried Navy Beans

10 cups of water

3 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup (approx.) salt pork, cut into 1 inch cubes * - See note below

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard 

1/2 cup Ketchup

2 tablespoons of maple syrup (because I’m Canadian - optional for non-Canadians)

2 cups reserved hot bean liquid

1. Wash and sort the beans. Put beans in pot. Add water, salt, onion and pork. Mix well so that pork is covered by beans. Cover pot.
2. Place pot on base and cook at Setting #3 for 10 to 12 hours until beans are tender (My beans were tender after 10 hours). 
3. When beans are tender, drain the liquid and reserve 2 cups. To the beans add molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard and ketchup; stir. Add bean liquid; stir. Taste it now. I ended up adding more molasses to darken the colour and cut some of the ketchup taste which I didn’t like.  
4. Cover and simmer beans on base at Setting #3 for 2 hours. Keep warm at setting #2. 

Makes a lot.

• Note: I used a few good slices of baked ham instead. You could also use bacon. And what is salt pork, anyway? I wouldn’t even know where to get it and it sounds nasty.

• P.S. This recipe came from my Slow Cooker manual with some yummy modifications.

Lemon and Parmesan Capellini with Herb Bread

This recipe comes courtesy of “15 Minute Vegetarian” cookbook. Along time ago I was a vegetarian. I wasn’t a good vegetarian as I never could get all my proper proteins and ended up looking kinda sickly. So I decided to go back to eating meat after 5 years. I still like to cook vegetarian though. I’m just as happy to have meat only once or twice a week. This is a simple, lemony, garlicy dish that’s sure to please. You will not miss the meat.

1/2 multigrain baguette

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano) (Dried works too)

Good handful of dried or fresh capellini

1 cup single cream

3 oz parmesan, grated

finely grated rind of 1 lemon

salt & pepper

1. Preheat over to 400deg F. Cut the baguette into thick slices.
2. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with the garlic had herbs. Spread thickly over each slice of bread.
3. Reassemble the baguette. Wrap in foil, support on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile cook your pasta.
5. Pour the cream into another pan and bring to the boil. Stir in Parmesan and lemon rind. The sauce should thicken in about 30 seconds.
6. Drain pasta, return it to the pan and toss with the sauce. Season to taste and sprinkle with a little chopped fresh parsley and grated lemon rind, if desired. Serve with hot bread. 

Serves 2

Leftover Turkey Soup

What’s the point of making great stock if you don’t use some right away? This soup is a generic-stuff-leftover-in-my-fridge kind of soup. You don’t have to follow the recipe exactly. Use whatever you have on hand. The below recipe is something I threw together and it was delicious.

1 cup dried Navy Beans (substitute with pasta if desired)

3 slices of bacon or pancetta, diced

2 carrots, medium dice

5 shallots, sliced

3 cloves or garlic, minced

1 stalk of celery, chopped

3 potatoes, diced

1 tablespoon butter

4 cups of stock

Left over turkey meat (however much you have 1/2c or a cup)

Splash white wine

Thyme, marjoram, salt & pepper

1. Prepare the dried beans as instructed on the package. Note: A “quick hot soak” takes at least 1 hour, so prepare this ahead of time.
2. Cook the bacon in a large pot until just crisp and add wine to deglaze. Add onions, carrots, garlic, and butter. Cook on low heat for approx 10 mins until onions are translucent.
3. Add stock, celery, potatoes, spices, turkey and beans. Bring to a boil and simmer for approx 20 minutes until potatoes and beans are tender. Correct seasonings and enjoy.

Turkey Stock

I’m giving you two posts today. The first is how to make turkey stock from your leftover turkey carcass. The second, is a recipe for a leftover turkey and vegetable soup. Both are easy to make and super yummy. 

Turkey Stock

This stock recipe can also be used for chicken carcass’s too. Either way, it’s fresh, homemade and can be frozen and used later for many things. I like to freeze my stock in ice cubes trays. This way I can use them in rice, quinoa, or other recipes which call for a little bit of stock. 

Turkey Carcass

2 carrots, rough chop

4 stalks of celery, rough chop

4 cloves of garlic

2 med. onions, quartered

2 parsnips, rough chop (optional)

salt, pepper, thyme

Put all in a large stock pot. Fill with water so that turkey is covered. Bring to boil and then simmer for 1 1/2 hours. 

Strain the bones and veg. 

Allow to cool (I put in the fridge overnight).

Strain the fat from the top of the stock. 

Freeze or use right away.

Bread

I dug into the “Happy Days with the Naked Chef” by Jamie Oliver cookbook again and decided today was a perfect day to bake some bread. I love baking bread. I love the entire hands-on process. It’s kinda messy, but it’s really rewarding. 

In the cookbook Jamie gives the “Basic Bread Recipe” and then some yummy breads to try. This morning I decided to make 2 different breads. I made the “Onion Baguettes” and “Banana and Honey Bread”. I have made the “Onion Baguettes” before and loved them. I made 6 baguettes last time and froze 4 of them. All 4 are long gone now and it was time to re-stock. 

This morning I decided to try and be a little healthier and use half white flour and half whole wheat. The whole wheat took an additional cup of liquid and doubled the rising time. Unfortunately, I don’t like the taste as much. Well, I tried to be healthier!

The “Banana and Honey Bread” is absolutely delicious. Sweet, moist and lovely with butter.  Instead of using water, Jamie said to use 6 bananas blended up. And damn if that wasn’t a really cool and tasty thing to do. My bread however, looks nothing like the picture in the book. Weird.

I’m not going to post the recipes here. First, because that’s a lot of typing and I’ve been baking bread people! My hands are tired! If you want to try to bake bread for the first time message me and we’ll talk. I find it’s easier to learn something sometimes if you work with someone in person. 

If you are an expert bread baker and just want the recipe, message me and I’ll send it over. These recipes should be shared. 

Endive with Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Cheese

The title says it all. There's really no recipe to post here. I simply purchased the cranberry cinnamon goat cheese and stuck it into endive. The sweetness of the cheese takes away some of the bitterness of the endive. It also looks pretty on a plate. :)

Glazed Carrots & Parsnips

Super simple rich side dish.


3 large carrots, halved, quartered and cut to 3 inch long
3 parsnips, halved, quartered and cut into 3 inch long
Good pat of butter
2 tablespoons orange juice


Melt the butter in a pan on low heat. Add the carrots and parsnips, turn up the heat and saute until the vegetables are soft. Add the orange juice and saute until caramelized.


Serves 4

Gratin of Potatoes, Shallots and Sage

This is a lovely side dish. The sweetness of the shallots and the pine flavour the sage complement this rich potato gratin.

3lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled

1/4 cup butter

2 cups whipping cream

2 cups milk

6 shallots, chopped

1/4 cup sliced fresh sage

4 cloves garlic

1. Preheat oven to 400deg F. Thinly slice potatoes. Butter a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Combine cream, milk, shallots, sage and garlic in a pot. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Strain, reserving both vegetables and liquid separately.
3. Make a single layer of potatoes in dish. Season with salt & pepper. Sprinkle over some shallot mixture. Repeat layers. Pour over liquid. Press potatoes down to make sure the liquid comes to the top. If not add more cream. Dot with butter.
4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until potatoes are tender and liquid is absorbed.

Serves 8

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

This is a very easy recipe. It’s sweet and tasty and was a fabulous fall soup to start a big turkey dinner.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 small onion

Kosher Salt

2 sprigs thyme

1 medium butternut squash soup, peeled and cubed

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)

Freshly ground pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon of salt. Strip the thyme leaves into the pot, increase heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and sugar and cook, stirring, until glazed, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the squash is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Puree until smooth with either an immersion blender or traditional blender. Stir in heavy cream, if desired. Season with salt and pepper and top as desired.

I topped with small pieces of bacon, fresh sage leaves and I roasted off the butternut squash seeds with salt and pepper and placed a few on top of the soup.

I made everything ahead of time and when I was ready to serve, I heated the soup up, added the cream and topped in the bowls.