ROASTED FINGERLING POTATOES W/ WATERCRESS & HORSERADISH

Mashed potatoes are usually the go-to potato side dish of choice, but approaching the holidays I wanted to share with you a great roasted potato dish that is sure to wow your family and guests! A few weeks ago we were at my cousin’s birthday dinner and my aunt made this lovely dish, I completely forgot to share with you – but here I am now, and how timely with the holiday season.

The recipe is roasted fingerling potato salad with watercress and horseradish dressing. The thing I love about this dish is that the potatoes are wonderfully roasted with good kosher salt and pepper, giving them a great exterior texture and crunch, but the dish overall remains light not heavy, like potatoes usually are. The watercress gives it a nice airy sort of feel and the horseradish in the dressing gives the dish a nice bite. I love horseradish, but I know a lot of the time it is too strong for some – this is great as the dressing has sour cream and red wine vinegar to cut that typical harshness found in pure horseradish. Fingerling potatoes are really cool in texture and shape, quite different then a baking potato. They give the dish some life and they are really just a fun looking food, that looks great on a plate!

Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad with Watercress and Horseradish Dressing (serves 4)

From Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm (by Jeff Crump & Bettina Schormann)

Ingredients:

Potatoes

- 2 lbs fingerling potatoes (make sure to scrub them)

- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- 3 tbsp dry white wine

- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

- 1 tsp salt (kosher or sea salt if you prefer)

- 2 bunches watercress

Dressing

- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

- ¼ cup sour cream

- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

- 1 tbsp freshly grated horseradish root
- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees

- Toss potatoes in oil, wine, thyme and salt

- Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until very tender (about 40 minutes)

- Prepare dressing: whish together oil, sour cream, vinegar, horseradish, season to taste with salt and pepper.

- Add warm potatoes to dressing and toss to coat

- Top with watercress.

photo credit: my own and google images

NOMA: A TIME AND PLACE IN NORDIC CUISINE

Looking for a great gift this holiday season, or even just a fabulous coffee table book – look no further than Rene Redzep’s Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine. Voted one of the top ten new best cookbooks this year, Noma is certainly making noise for itself. The Globe Mail said of the book: “the most stunning, interesting, thoughtful cookbook most foodies will never cook from.” Which is why it brings me to offering this book up as something for the coffee table as the book is filled with jaw-dropping photos of each dish/

Redzepi has been widely talked about for his way to re-invent Nordic cuisine. His Copenhagen restaurant, Noma was recently recognized as the best in the world by San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards 2010. Redzepi uses his edge of gourmet cuisine, his unrelenting creativity, remarkable level of craftsmanship and complete knowledge of his Nordic produce to create such masterpieces. He previously worked at elBulli and the French Laundry – so you know he must be good. The book features nine different essays describing Redzepi’s relationship with his restaurant’s closest collaborators and local producers.

His exquisite concoctions along with his unique ingredients, local suppliers and beautiful landscapes of the Nordic region bring a wonderful new element to cooking and subsequently the way one reads and admires a cookbook.

photo credit: google images

TOP 10 COOKBOOKS OF 2010

Looking for a good new cookbook, but not sure what to pick among the endless rows of cookbooks at the store? Well, thanks to editors at Amazon.com, we are lucky enough to know their top 10 picks for cookbooks this year! I have heard about a few of them, but I will be googling the rest looking for the next best one to buy! My Christmas list this year is quickly becoming just cookbooks!

1) Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

2) The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century by Amanda Hesser

3) The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Frank Falcinelli, Frank Castronovo, and Peter Meehan

4) Thai Street Food by David Thompson

5) Pig: King of the Southern Table by James Villas

6) Urban Pantry: Tips and Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen by Amy Pennington

7) Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

8) Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis

9) In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories About the Food You Love by Melissa Clark

10) Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine by René Redzepi

Which one do you think looks the best?!

photo credit: amazon.ca & jameschatto.com

SEASONS by DONNA HAY

Looking for a new cookbook to add to your collection, or for a perfect gift - well have I got one for you. It was my mom's birthday last weekend and I really wanted to find a fabulous cookbook for her. We love Donna Hay, and have since her start. In fact Entertaining was one of my first cookbooks, and one that my mom gave me when I had my first dinner party in grade seven!

Donna Hay is a culinary goddess and this book just goes to show. Every image in this book is utterly stunning, and you really do feel apart of each season.

 

The book is perfect, and the recipes are simple, fresh, and based around the goodies of each season - teaching us to appreciate, love and use the traditional foods of fall, summer, spring and winter. Unlike the previous simplicity of Donna Hay cookbooks, this one takes you from the kitchen straight to the outdoors, with the picturesque images of each season, such as an apple orchard or a stormy winter beach. The book is visually rich and is sure to inspire and delight even those who aren't obsessed with the kitchen.

I am so lucky to have stumbled upon the gem!

MACAROON? MACARON?

Two similar words, two completely different things! Macaron is not the wrong spelling for the word macaroon, as many people so often think! They are in fact are two different desserts. How silly two things with only a one letter difference for the name. Anyways let me enlighten you into the world of these delicious bakery treats.

They both are based from egg whites and sugar (forming meringue). However for macaroons shredded coconut is added into the mix. This batter is then spooned onto a cookie sheet in little stacks and baked until crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. They are often dipped in chocolate and just delightful!

Macarons are a bit trickier and require some baking finesse. One the egg whites and sugar for the meringue, powdered sugar and ground almonds are folded in. The mixture is the piped (using a piping bag) into exact rounds and baked. The cookies are then paired with a flavoured filling to make a little elegant sandwich. (Almonds are not the only flavouring used for macarons) They are crunchy, chewy and creamy all at the same time. These little delights originated in France but now have become a Canadian phenomenon. Every bakery and patisserie seems to be creating these little morsels, with many new and exciting flavours. If you are in Toronto - check out Patachou for some yummy macarons!

Learn more about macarons and the "elegance of Paris" with the cookbook "I Love Macarons" by renowed Japanese pastry-maker Hisako Ogita. This cookbook is excellent as it gives you idiot-proof illustrated step-by-step instructions. The benefit to this cookbook - all of these colourful and delectable little pastries will soon be filling your kitchen (and belly)!!

photo credit: google images

JAMES BEARD AWARD

The James Beard Award is known as the "Oscars of the food world," and this year was presented to Canadian Laura Calder, host of the TV series French Food at Home. Calder's show is fantastic, a sort of Julia Child feel as all her dishes are based off French cuisine as she has spent a large portion of her life living in France (much like Julia Child, a North American in France). I have blogged about Calder's recipes before but after winning this award her rising status is sure to take off. I would really suggest checking her out, watching her show and trying a few recipes!

The Globe and Mail Life section wrote an article on her, well worth the read! Here is the link!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/canadian-tv-chef-laura-calder-takes-her-french-cooking-global/article1565423/

photo credits: google images & lauracalder.com

SPAIN: On the Road Again

Spain On the Road Again is a television series staring Mario Batali (US Chef Extraordinaire), Gwyneth Paltrow (Hollywood legend), Mark Bittmen (US Food Writer) and Claudia Bassols (Spanish actress). The show follows the Fabulous Four on a culinary road trip all through Spain. The show is fascinating, fun and informative highlighting Spain's cuisine, culture and art! I adore Spanish food and the country itself is beautiful. The show is a fabulous tour encompassing it all. The DVD of the show is now out in stores, or you can buy episodes on ITUNES if you wanted to only watch a few!

The reason I first heard about the show was because my mother gave me the cookbook based off of the recipes from the show. It is awesome - truly showcasing Spain's culinary delights! A perfect gift for anyone - a great coffee table read as well!

Here is the teaser trailer for episode one of the culinary ride! Watch it and I guarantee you will want to see more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWyOSbJT22g&feature=player_embedded

The website for the show also gives a few of their favourite recipes, here is one of my ultimate favourites, TORTILLA ESPANOLA - their way.

Tortilla Española is essentially the national dish of Spain. You can eat it as a tapa, for breakfast, in a bocadillo (sandwich), or for dinner with salad and a bit of jamón (ham). Basically anytime, anywhere. We had a great one at Valdubón and I think it’s because they weren’t afraid to use A LOT of olive oil. No fear!

Serves 4 to 6 as a tapa (little nibble) or appetizer

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 pounds waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 extra-large eggs

Directions:
- Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high until very hot but not smoking
- Add the potatoes and onion, season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat if necessary so that the vegetables do not brown, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes
- Beat the eggs with salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl
- Combine the potatoes with the eggs in the bowl; add to the skillet, spreading the potatoes evenly in the pan, and cook for about 1 minute, just to set the bottom of the egg mixture
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, or until quite set
- Carefully flip the tortilla over (invert it onto a plate if you must, then slide it back into the pan, bottom side up) and cook for 5 minutes longer, until set
- Flip out onto a clean plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes
- Serve warm or at room temperature.

photo credit: on the road again website & google images

BAREFOOT CONTESSA

In need of a new cookbook? Well here is one you can't miss - Ina Garten's "Back to Basics." Ina Garten, also known as the Barefoot Contessa is one of my favourite chefs! She has a multitude of cookbooks and a show that airs on Food Network. Here food is fresh and fabulous, she is a delight to watch, and her recipes are simple to make. This cookbook really highlights fresh ingredients and how easy it is to make a great dish. Ina knows how to entertain and her cookbooks always give some inspiration into organizing a type of party around food.

Pick up a copy of Ina Garten's Back to Basics - you will love it!