RECENT HIATUS

As many of you have probably noticed my blog has been on a bit of a "hiatus."

In September I started an internship at BUCA Osteria & Enoteca in Toronto (which led eventually to a part-time job!) and then the continuation of my final two semesters of culinary school! Between juggling school & work my life of food has been quite busy!

But I am back now to blogging away bringing tasty treats and ideas to all my readers, enjoy!

And as Julia would say,  BON APPETIT!

GRILLED PEACH SALAD

I can't BELIEVE I forgot to blog about this incredible salad! I made this dish as an appetizer for two of my friends Kate and Kelly earlier this summer and they loved it! I just adore peaches, especially in the summer as they are at their sweetest and juiciest point! I have had this recipe on the backburner for a while waiting for the perfect night to bring it out!

This salad is but of course a Jamie Oliver recipe and truly a crowd pleaser! Very Italian as during his time there Jamie found that fruit in Italy is often grilled, hence the inspiration behind this dish!

The peaches are served with bresaola, which is a very thinly sliced, cured, dried beef that you can find at Italian delis or more specialty high end supermarkets. It's very salt and savoury and holds up quite nicely with peaches, arugula and cheese! The recipe says to serve the salad with goat cheese but I decided to stick more with the Italian theme and opted to use ricotta instead. Ricotta is a very creamy Italian cheese made from sheep's milk. And for me the silky texture was perfect for a juicy peach!

Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
Serves 4
- 4 just-ripe peaches
- a few fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper optional
- some woody herb stalks or branches (such as rosemary or thyme)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon natural yoghurt or crème fraîche
- 16 slices of bresaola or Parma ham ***(I actually only bought 8, I think 2slices per person is plenty, size depending)!!
- a few sprigs of fresh tarragon, leaves picked
- 2 handfuls of rocket, washed and spun dry
- 100g goat’s cheese, crumbled

Directions:
- Preheat a barbecue or griddle pan until hot. Cut the peaches in half, then twist them to remove the stones – don’t worry if they break up when you do this. Toss them in a bowl with the chopped rosemary, a splash of olive oil and a little salt and pepper. If you’re cooking on a barbecue, throw some herb branches on to the coals if you like – this will give the peaches a herby, smoky flavour. Grill the peaches for a couple of minutes on each side until nicely charred, but not burnt!
- Pour the vinegar into a bowl or a Flavour Shaker and add three times as much extra virgin olive oil. Add the yoghurt or crème fraîche and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk or shake until mixed together well.
- Drape the bresaola over four plates, pinching it up here and there so it’s not lying flat. Place the peaches over the bresaola. Toss the tarragon leaves and rocket in the creamy dressing and pile the salad on top of the peaches. Drizzle with a little more extra virgin olive oil, scatter with the crumbled goat’s cheese and tuck in!

THE EX

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE or also known to Torontonian's as the "Ex") has been an August staple in Toronto for years. Fried food has been typical at these types of carnival fairs for years, and with food becoming ever so popular and fun, of course carnival food too has upped its game! Here are some of the craziest treats this year at the Ex, don't think any of them would be too good for the waistline!

The one that everyone in Toronto is talking about - The Krispy Kreme Doughnut Burger! 
Two Krispy Kreme doughnuts, a very generous 6 oz. beef patty, cheese, lettuce and tomato and for only $1 more you can treat yourself to the extra toppings of an egg, bacon or cheese!

Deep fried fudge!
A block of chocolate, vanilla or maple syrup fudge deep-fried for one glorious minute and 50 blessed seconds in doughnut batter.

Deep-fried mac-and-cheese; deep-fried mac-and-curds
Crispy fried balls, two ways: macaroni and cheese, and macaroni and cheese curds

Deep-fried cola
Coca-Cola batter squirted into a deep fryer and served with whipped cream

Has anyone tried these creations yet! Personally I think I'd like to try the fudge!! Happy eating at the EX!


photo credit: toronto life

"EAT"

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....

Obviously the clip that captured my attention was EAT, hope you enjoy it as much as I did!


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.


source: http://vimeo.com/27243869

ROASTED TOMATO SOUP WITH BLT CROUTON

Last week was our final exam for our Culinary Skills 2 class. We had to make an appetizer and a main course, and the appetizer was a delicious Roasted Tomato soup with a BLT crouton. We have quite a bit of artistic liscense in our class, as we are always encouraged to find our own way to garnish the dish! I decided to make a mini bite sized BLT!

The tomato soup is really delicious, a great soup for the summer, and especially heading into the fall if you are still dying for that taste of summer. The soup is light, but rich at the same time. Finishing it off with a touch of cream and basil just makes it that more luxurious.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 plum tomatoes
50g tomato paste
1 onion
1 celery stalk
1 carrot 
4 slices of bacon
60g of butter
60ml olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs of basil
For the mini BLT ( 20g of iceberg lettuce, 2 slices white bread + some bacon and slice of tomato)
1 L chicken stock
1/4 cream (optional)
Salt and pepper

Method:
1.    Roast tomatoes in a 400 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes
2.    In a pan, add butter and oil and sauté bacon, mirepoix (celery, onion, carrot) and garlic puree until lightly browned
3.    Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and cover with chicken stock and let simmer for 45-1 hour
4.    Blend the soup, and strain
5.    Return to stove and keep warm
6.    Chiffonade basil
7.    Add basil and cream into soup
8.    Adjust seasoning and serve warm
9.    Shape crouton and fry in butter until golden brown
10.   Assemble mini BLT on skewer

SOFT ROLLS

Today was our last lab of baking ! So sad, but we made bread! I have never made bread before, but it acutally was quite easy. And I must say, there is nothing like slathering a hot fresh bun with some cold butter!

BANANA CREAM PIE

Last weekend at the cottage we were having guests for dinner and I was in charge of dessert! A bit nerve racking as I feel like dessert skills have taken a backseat since school started but I was eager to try something new, light and fresh. I opted for banana cream pie, as it is a favourite of my dads and in my mind a bit simpler to make compared to a complex cake!

I searched around for a good recipe, and settled for one by Martha Stewart. I can't begin to describe how great this pie really was. Making it the day you eat it just screams freshness, from a ripe banana to whipped cream, this pie could not be more decadent for the summer. Enjoy!!


Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 9 inch pie shell (or homemade pie dough)
- 1 large whole egg, lightly beaten, plus 4 large egg yolks
- 6ish medium-ripe bananas
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup heavy cream (plus a bit of vanilla for whipping, that's my little addition)
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

- Line chilled pie shell with a round of parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans (This is called blind baking, so that your bottom crust doesn't puff up when you pre bake it). Bake until edges of crust just turn golden, 10ish minutes if you are using a pre made shell, probably 20-25 if you are using dough you made yourself. 

- In a bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks; set aside. 

- In a saucepan, whisk together milk, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a simmer (do not boil), and cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes.

- Whisk a quarter of hot-milk mixture into egg yolks; whisk in remaining milk mixture. Strain into a clean saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until custard is thick and bubbles appear in center, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in fridge. (Filling can be kept in refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, up to 1 day.)

- Cut 5 bananas into rounds. Beginning at the edge of the piecrust, arrange the slices in slightly overlapping rows or circles. Cover with custard, using an offset spatula to smooth it into an even layer.

- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine cream, vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Using a small offset spatula, spread the whipped cream on top of the custard. Refrigerate pie, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

photo credit: sammy's ipad!

FENNEL & ORANGE SALAD

A couple of weeks go marked the first "Cookbook Club" dinner with about six of my friends from chef school. Once a month we decided get together and cook. The host chooses a cookbook and each person is responsible for preparing one of the parts of the meal! 

The first cookbook chose was French Taste by Laura Calder. I made the appetizers, which I will later share, but one of the dishes that really stuck with me was my friend Kyle's orange & fennel salad. Two fabulously fresh and interesting ingredients. The purple flowers that garnish the photo below (of Kyle's dish) are chive flowers, and I think an absolutely gorgeous touch to a summer fresh dish.

Fennel & Orange Salad

Ingredients:
- 1 fennel bulb, fronds reserved (this is just the fennel hairs on the top of the bulb)
- olive oil for frying
- sea salt, and ground pepper
- 1 orange
- 1/2 small red onion
- handful small black olives
- handful toasted pinenuts
- zest and juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

- Trim the fennel, reserving a handful of green fronds. Cut into slices about 1/4-inch thick. Heat a little olive oil in a saute pan, and, working in batches and seasoning with salt and pepper as you go, fry the fennel on both sides until golden and tender. As the fennel is done, arrange it on a serving platter.
- Zest the orange and set the zest aside. Remove the skin with a sharp knife, taking care to remove all the white pith from the fruit. Discard the peel. Cut out the orange sections, arranging over the fennel, and squeeze the orange juice over the whole salad.

- Slice the onion into paper thin rings and arrange over the salad. Scatter over the olives and pine nuts. Squeeze over lemon juice, to taste.

- Drizzle over a little more olive oil. Finally, scatter over the reserved fennel fronds. Serve.

 

photo credit: moi!

CHICKEN KEBABS

Summer is finally here, and one of my loves of summer is the BBQ! Last week I decided to make some delicious BBQ chicken kebabs, courtesy of Jamie Oliver! I love the barbecue for so many reasons, I think the flavour you get out of a bbq is second to none. A bbq, summer weather and eating outdoors... it's pretty hard to beat.

The chicken ones are the top left!

These kebabs were so easy to make but just jammed packed with flavour. I find that I don't always have time to let things marinate, but this is one of those times that I was so thankful I did! The flavours of the herbs really penetrated the chicken and after the bbq they were extremely moist and tender.

Jamie O's Chicken kebabs
Makes 6-8 kebabs

Ingredients:
- 4 or 5 free-range boneless chicken breasts
- 3 or 4 zucchini, sliced very thinly lengthways
-  6–8 skewers or sticks of fresh rosemary, lower leaves removed, tips kept on

for the marinade
- 1 handful of fresh coriander
- 1 handful of fresh mint
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 6 spring onions
- 1 red chilli
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil

Directions:
- Cut the chicken into 2.5cm/1 inch cubes and place in a bowl.
- Blanch the courgette strips in salted boiling water for 30 seconds then drain and allow to cool.
- Blitz all the marinade ingredients (except the olive oil) in a food processor, then loosen to a paste with a little olive oil.
- Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and mix well. Allow to sit for up to an hour.
- Then weave the courgette strips in between the chicken pieces on the rosemary sticks or skewers.
- Grill for around 5 minutes, turning regularly, until cooked.
- Feel free to cut a piece open to check if they're done.

photo credits: jamie o & me!

ARCTIC CHAR & BEURRE ROUGE

Arctic Char is a saltwater and freshwater round fish that is an ever popular choice on today's fish menu! It is a fish that is very similar to slamon and trout, as it is related to them! The flesh is pinky, like salmon but with less fat.

Last week in our culinary skills classe we made potato crusted arctic char with a beurre rouge (a red wine butter reduction!). I will share with you, as this is one of those recipes that would be sure to impress anyone! And cooking fish is so great, because it literally takes only five minutes, so the prep time is so much less!

Potato Crusted Arctic Char (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 4 filets of Arctic Char
- 1 yukon gold potato thinly sliced into rounds (best done on a Mandolin)
- Vegetable oil
- Splash of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper

Directions:
- Cut the potatoes into thin thin rounds (you want them paper thin)
- Season the filets with the lemon juice, salt and pepper and then arrange your thin potato rounds on top of the char forming a sort of "crust"
- Heat a splash of oil in a saute pan until reaching the smoking point
- Remove the pan from the heat, and turn to low
- Add the char to the pan (presentation side down) and return to the heat
- Pan dry gently to ensure the potato crust is cooked and golden brown
- Once potatoes are cooked through carefully flip the char to finish cooking it all the way through
- Serve immediately with the beurre rouge

Beurre Rouge (Red Wine Butter Sauce)
Ingredients:
- 100ml red wine
- 30g shallots (chopped)
- 150g butter
- 1/2 lemon (juice)
- salt and pepper

Directions:
- Reduce the wine, shallots and half of the lemon juice by 2/3rds (on medium high heat)
- Cut the butter into small cubes
- Swirl in the butter cubes into the read wine and let melt, while continually swirling or stiring with a wooden spoon
- Add salt and pepper and adjust seasoning if necessary
- Strain and serve with char


photo credit: carl of course!