Monthly Archives: April 2011

wanna lick the bowl

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My husband Ralph has British roots. This explains his ability to consume vast amounts of beer and tea. Every morning, Ralph wakes up and trots into the kitchen to make his daily pot of tea.

Being a tea drinker, also means that he is a cookie monster. He loves cookies! All types…peanut butter, chocolate chip, shortbread, molasses, hermits, gingersnaps. He has never met a cookie that he hasn’t loved.

Whenever I have a lot of egg whites around, I bake him a batch of meringues. Usually meringues are dainty little “high tea” cookies. Ralph’s are more “farm hand” style!

CHOCOLATE MERINGUES

makes 20 large cookies

Preheat oven 200*F

6 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 white super fine sugar

1/3 cup good quality cocoa

Sift the sugar and cocoa together into a bowl and set aside.

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites until frothy.

Add the sugar/cocoa mixture, one tablespoon at a time until it is all incorporated. Add almond extract

Continue beating until stiff peaks occur… 

Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Drop large tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on lined baking sheet until you have 20 cookies

Bake in upper third of oven for 3 hours.

When baking time has finished, open oven door and leave cookies until oven is cool or over night.

Store in a tighly sealed tin.

Thanks for reading!

Bubbles and Rhubarb for William and Kate

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My mom has been making rhubarb juice for years. She has a beautiful clump of rhubarb in her perennial garden that produces more fruit than one family can consume.

At family dinners, she will often offer rhubarb juice as a substitute for wine. As pretty as the rhubarb juice is, I usually stick with a glass of wine!

My rhubarb patch at the farm is starting to show signs of life and I still have a few pounds of rhubarb left in the freezer from last summer.

This coming Sunday, we are having friends over for dinner so I thought I would make a rhubarb syrup to drop into the bottom of a glass of Prosecco. The sour of the rhubarb and the sweetness of the Prosecco will make a lovely aperitif!

 

RHUBARB SYRUP

makes 3 1/2 cups

4 cups strawberry rhubarb, cut into 1″ pieces

1 cup white sugar

1 cup water

Place everything in a medium-sized sauce pot and bring to a boil. Boil gently until rhubarb is soft. Rhubarb can be finicky so just keep checking!

Set a fine sieve over a medium size bowl and pour the rhubarb mixture into sieve.

Allow rhubarb mixture to drain until liquid stops running…about 1/2 hour

Pour the syrup through a funnel into a jar or bottle. Allow the syrup to cool before covering the bottle.

Syrup will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

To make my Rhubarb Bellini…place 2 tablespoons of rhubarb syrup in the bottom of a champagne flute. Then gently pour the Prosecco down the inside of the flute until it reaches the top! It is a perfect Springtime cocktail.

We can forever think of William and Kate, as we raise our glass of bubbles in the Spring!

                                                                                       

    Thanks for reading!

Beware of Sexy Cookbooks

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 I can remember vividly, Christmas morning 1971, opening my first cookbook. A massive, red leather,  collection of international cookery. I poured over that book for years…

I love all types of cookbooks. It matters not to me whether they are written by celebrity chefs or a group of housewives that have put together a collection of family recipes.

If the recipes are good, I am sold.

I guess because I have cooked for such a long time, I can read a recipe and know whether it’s a keeper. You get to a point where good balance, texture and technique are obvious… but that takes a lot of cooking and a lot of experimenting.

For someone who is just starting their cookbook journey,it can be extremely over whelming to try to choose a “good” cookbook from the rows and rows of choices. It is really trendy right now to write a cookbook. Celebrity chefs, anyone that Oprah decides is a good cook, movie stars, models, bloggers – it is mind-blowing and a lot of fun if you happen to be a cookbook addict.

Whenever I am in another city, I always find a bookstore so that I can investigate the cookbook section. It is a bit of an addiction! I love reading cookbooks that are written by cooks from wherever I am visiting.

The down side of all this variety is there are a lot more useless cookbooks out there than useful. Beautiful pictures can be very enticing and very deceiving. At the same time, cookbooks without pictures can be dull…how to choose.

I am going to share with you my current “favorites”. It is a great list to start from. Make sure you ask around and look for reviews…cooks never lie about cookbooks!

My list is in no particular order. These are the books from my collection, that, recently, are getting the most face time.

 The All New Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethen Becker - I think this is the best all round encyclopedia of cooking. It is a great reference book for all cooks.

The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giulliano Gugialli – excellent Tuscan chef and teacher. His recipes are bang on authentic! He is passionate about translating pure Tuscan recipes on to the table of North America. Many of the dishes would never be found in our “Italian” restaurants. He has a number of books but this one is the most comprehensive.

Elizabeth David’s Classics mediterranean food, french country cooking, summer cooking - this is one of my all time favorites. It is a cook’s cookbook…she does not get too involved with amounts and details which I really enjoy. She inspires you to be courageous! When you first look at it, the recipes may seem vague. Not to worry…trust your instincts and go for it!

The Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali - I am not a huge fan of Mr. Batali, but this book grabs me. Every recipe knocks it out of the park. He puts an American spin on authentic Italian. It’s fun…

Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone by Alice Waters – love it, love it, love it… Alice Waters is the “grand dame” of the Slow Food movement. Her recipes allow the ingredients to speak for themselves. It takes a patient and light touch.

Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver – in my humble opinion this is his best book. and I own them all… I would be a bit of a Jamie stalker. A lot of chefs/cooks do not like Jamie Oliver. They see him as too much of a rock star. He is a rock star!! His love of food is absolutely intoxicating. My food fantasy is to be able to work with him for one month. My world would never be the same!

The Silver Palate Good Times Cook Book by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins – This cookbook had a profound influence on my journey as a cook. When I lived in NYC during the early 80′s, I visited their store as often as I could, just for inspiration - of which there was a boundless amount. They were a brilliant team! This book is always one of my favs…it is the book in my photo of cookbooks that is missing the cover! This is the cookbook that I read on a rainy Sunday afternoon that inspires me to cook up a storm…yikes!

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck – I worked my way through this book the year that I was pregnant for the twins. It is relentlessly perfect. I love it. Although my passion is Italian cooking, it was important to me that I had a sound formal base in French cooking. Julia Child’s book was my teacher.

Made In Italy Food and Stories by Giorgio Locatelli - all of my most extravagant cookbooks were given to me by best friend Christie. This is the latest addition to my collection and I am devouring it. It might seem like a bit of a coffee table book but I find that I do a lot of lateral thinking after I have read it. Dishes from outside the “recipe” box.

The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers – my friend Linda introduced me to the River Cafe girls years ago. She and her husband Dave make a pilgrimage to England as often as they can. She generously brings me lovely cookbooks that are not yet available in North America. This is the last book that Ms. Gray and Ms. Rogers wrote before Rose Grey passed away… another amazing female duo that completely captivated me… they will always be an inspiration. It’s a funny thing to never have met someone you have so much admiration for and then unexpectantly you find out that they have passed on. I cried…

The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Roso and Sheila Lukins – another great reference book…a bit more trendy and current!

My favorite cookbook list is constantly in flux. However, this list is made up of books that I have cooked my way through and can confidently recommend.

Thanks for reading!

We Ate The Easter Bunny’s Carrots

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Whenever Ralph and I go away, I have usually let our refrigerator get pretty low on food. Unfortunately, we flew home on Easter Sunday and discovered nothing but some gnarly looking carrots, a couple of shallots, a bald orange and some garlic… the bald orange was due to me needing orange zest for something two weeks ago!

Soup is one of my favorite things to make. Ralph will often tease me by saying, “he thinks I could make soup out of a boot!”

I may just surprise him one day…

Some soups require long and loving attention, others are quick and dirty. This recipe is the latter…easy peasy.

Even after 2 weeks of sitting bald in the refrigerator, the pulp of this orange is beautiful!

CARROT – ORANGE SOUP

makes 2 large servings

2 tablespoons butter

5 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 shallot, peeled and minced

1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced

1 orange, juiced and pulp saved

3 cups chicken stock

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a medium stock pot, melt butter over medium low heat. When butter is frothing, add shallot, garlic and carrots and saute for 10 minutes… stir frequently

Add chicken stock and orange pulp…reduce heat to low and simmer until carrots are soft.

When carrots are very soft either pass solids through a food mill or food processor. Return puree to the liquid in the stock pot. Add the orange juice and season to taste.

Make sure you remove the pulp from the peel as the peel is bitter.

Because I love the flavour of carrots and orange together I do not add additional herbs or spices. However, it’s fun to experiment so add whatever herb or ground spice you think would taste delicious with carrots or oranges. The skies the limit!

As you can see from the photo, I like my soup a little chunky. Again it is personal preference…

Thanks for reading!

recipe for a farmhouse

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My husband and I bought a very sad and neglected farm a couple of years ago. Not for any particular reason other than we are bonkers! Our three girls had just left home so we decided that we needed a project… We own a heritage home in the city but always wanted a summer place on the river away from the summer fog!

The property was part of a Loyalist land grant of 20,000 acres made to General Thomas Gage in 1765. Our particular piece of the grant is 200 acres. The original farm-house burned to the ground around the turn of the century. The current house was built in 1904. It is a simple 2 story wooden farm-house built on the original granite foundation.

As with any renovation of an older property, it is always a mystery as to what lies ahead. Our farmhouse was no exception!

We started by removing wall paper so that we could see what condition the plaster walls were in…

Mom and I spent the better part of a month, working our way from room to room discovering walls that were in terrible condition.

Mom giving me instructions!

At the end of the first month, we had concluded that we would have to completely gut the kitchen and bathroom. We would also have to remove all of the plaster on the exterior walls because we did not have a drop of insulation. We kept all of the original mouldings and doors and stored them until the walls and floors were re-done. We insulated the attic. All of the windows were replaced with new vinyl which I was not happy about…you pick your battles! Basically, we rebuilt the old house.

And so it began… Anything that could be reused was given to whomever wanted it.

Our master bedroom with new closets and window seat

This is the door that leads to our master bedroom which we called the “hobbit” door…it became our coffee table. You can also see where we installed the new insulation.

The shed doors were crooked and rotten.

Part of the back shed had only a dirt floor which made a happy highway for mice.

Uncle George removing all of the rotten shingles… By this time, we felt that we should have torn the old place down and just built from scratch!

Then the windows arrived and our spirits brightened…the view from inside the house was now spectacular! From this day onward, we saw huge leaps forward.

New floor boards were laid in the front room where there had been a wall dividing the space into 2 small rooms.

We really got excited when our carpenter started the veranda.

The veranda looked as though it should have always been there.

I was starting to dream about sitting on our new verhanda, staring at the river and sipping a cup of coffee…sigh.

The back shed with new doors, windows and siding. My Dad leveled the shed and installed the new floor.

At the same time that the outside was coming together the inside was also taking shape!

This is the only hardwood in the house. Our floor guy Mike told us this would be the last time the floor could be sanded…

The original pine floors brought back to life.

We agonized over the color of the stain. Once it started going on, we were glad we did! The color is perfect for our family.

Dad had started hauling loads of top soil to change the grade of the front lawn. It ended up taking hundreds of tractor buckets to finish the job.

Afternoon Spring sunlight…

We love our new farmhouse!

I wanted to share the story of our renovation with you, because in a couple of weeks, this is where I will be cooking for the next few months.

Hope you will join me…

Thanks for reading!

greek night

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The kids took us to The Broken Plate last night for dinner. The name indicates what happens on Friday and Saturday nights…the wait staff dance through the restaurant “Zorba” style and smash plates! We were there on Thursday so did not get to see the performance…

we shared some apps…

calamari slightly out of focus…yikes!

saganaki flambéed with ouzo and drowned in lemon

the rack of lamb knocked it out of the park!

risotto with halibut

slow cooked lamb shank with orzo

I think Theo might be a little weirded out with all of the blogging. Having to wait to eat until I take a photograph does seem a little beyond the call of duty. He is being a great sport!

Opa!

ripped balls

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Caprese salad is absolutely positively completely my favorite lunch.

The first time that Ralph and I went to Italy, I ate it every lunch for 17 days. I also gained 14 pounds…

Meaghan found beautiful imported Mozzarella di Bufala so we prepared a gorgeous lunch of roasted, on the vine, tomatoes, torn fresh basil, ripped mozzarella di bufala on crostini drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

CAPRESE SALAD

per person

preheat oven 350*F

1 ripe tomato, cut in half

5 basil leaves, torn into bits

1 ball mozzarella di bufala

Tuscan bread, sliced

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Place tomatoes cut side up on a baking sheet…drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place baking sheet in oven and bake tomatoes for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool as you broil or grill the bread slices. Toast on both sides then drizzle top with a little extra virgin olive oil.

Place tomatoes, mozzarella and crostini on a serving plate and sprinkle with fresh basil bits.

Allow your guests to season the dish themselves…

Tuscan bread has no salt so I like to add extra salt to the tomato and cheese

Thanks for reading!

dancing to her own beet

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I think one of the most difficult times in my life, as a mother ,was the moment that I realized I would not always be the gate-keeper.

It’s bitter-sweet to have raised such independent and capable young women. Their entire childhood was filled with empowering them with the skills of communication and reason.

Unfortunately, those very skills are the tools that have given them the courage to fly… unfortunate for me

When Meaghan relocated to Calgary, a huge concern for me centered around the fear that the she would be seduced by the very fast life style that this economy offers.

I can’t begin to share with you the joy I am experiencing as I watch her travel through the routines of her daily life.

Her gentle way of communicating with Theo, her puppy, friends, anybody she encounters, seems to bring a quieting to a very busy place.

She continues to be concerned about world issues and demonstrates her support or objections through her choices of where she will shop of what products she will buy.

Photographs of her family and of Theo’s family hang every where in their home… there are stacks of cookbooks, novels and home decor magazines in every room. The past times that she has always enjoyed continue to be celebrated.

Her style remains distinctly her own. Relaxed and shiny!

She is moving through this new, fast paced and impersonal environment dancing to her own lovely beat!

Last night, she prepared BORSCHT…beet soup. It was not only beautiful to look at but delish to eat.

BORSCHT

6 medium beets, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced 1/4 inch

2 carrots, peeled and diced 1/4 inch

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 large onion, peeled and diced 1/4 inch

1/2 cabbage, outer leaves peeled and sliced thin

4 cups beef broth

4 cups water

1 tablespoon white vinegar

large handful of fresh dill, chopped

1 lb mild Italian sausage meat, cooked and well crumbled

Place all of the ingredients in a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 3 hours.

Serve with a big dollop of sour cream…yum!

Thanks for reading.

sometimes more is absolutely more

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Last night Theo and Meg treated me to a spectacular Italian feast at one of Calgary’s finest…Centini

Our sommelier decanting a bottle of CROGNOLO TUSCANO

Meaghan ordered AHI TUNA CARPACCIO. This dish was reminiscent of Sorrento

Classic CAPRESE embellished with PROSCUITTO DI PARMA. I can not resist BUFFALO MILK MOZZARELLA

FETTUCINE FLORENTINA is bliss on a plate…cream, garlic, Reggiano Parmigiano and perfectly cooked spinach.

Theo ordered a porcini filled agnolotti in a porcini cream. As far as porcini mushrooms go, more is definitely more! He reluctantly offered Meg and me a bite which we both jumped on. Fantastic!!!!!

I ordered PAPPARDELLE SEAFOOD ARRABIATA. Perfectly balanced shrimp, calamari, tomatoes, chillies and garlic. The portion was too large for me to finish so we brought the left overs home for lunch. I thought asking to have food packaged up might seem a little tacky at such a classy joint but our waiter returned with a great looking take away bag for us to leave with.

RICOTTA CHEESECAKE because we could!

PROFITEROLES –  little crispy puffs filled with a rich creme patisserie drowning in a dark chocolate sauce. Not Italian but who cares, it was yummy!

Calgary is definitely a great town for foodies…

Thanks for reading.

what can you do with an egg and a lemon

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Before Meg left for work yesterday morning, she told me not to worry about dinner. She had a “special” treat in store for us and would prepare it when she got home.

Wonderful, I thought…it will be lovely to have someone cook for me!

While I was making myself a cup of coffee, I opened her refrigerator to get some milk and couldn’t help but notice there wasn’t much in there. A carton of eggs, a couple of lemons, half empty bottles of this and that but nothing that was looking hopeful for dinner…

I sent her a note and asked her if she would like me to go to the grocery store and pick up whatever she needed for dinner.

“Oh no Mom, I already have everything that we will need.”

Yikes! I am sure by now you have come to understand that I am a little wonky when it comes to food… especially when I am on vacation.

Throughout the day, I sent out pleas for suggestions on Twitter as to where we could go for Italian food in Calgary. I didn’t receive one suggestion. Meggie is not on Twitter so, she was unaware of the panicked state that I was in!

At 7 pm, she opens up her refrigerator and takes out the carton of eggs and the 2 lemons. She then turns to me and asks, “are you going to blog about this…hee hee”

Last night was testimony to true and pure Italian cooking. A few simple ingredients, lovingly prepared creates a masterpiece.

I hope you will try these recipes. They are straight forward and lovely.

She continues to amaze me…

This is Theo’s mothers CAESAR SALAD recipe and it is exquisite!

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon anchovy paste

Place the minced garlic with anchovy paste in salad bowl and pour olive oil over top. Allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes

1 egg

1/3 cup parmesan, freshly grated

4 anchovies, chopped

juice of 1/2 lemon

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Whisk the egg into the garlic mixture until completely emulsified. Stir in parmesan, anchovies, salt and pepper.

Toss with 1 head of washed and cleaned romaine lettuce. Meggie removes the spines from the lettuce leaves, as she finds them bitter… add croutons and toss again.

Serve with freshly ground pepper and parmesan

She created the pasta from memory of a Jamie Oliver recipe that she had prepared last summer. This is her version.

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the pasta 4 ounces dried pasta per serving. 

The sauce is very quick to make so should be ready when your pasta is cooked

LEMONY BASIL PASTA

1 large handful of fresh basil, leaves picked

Place in a mortar and pound to a paste with a pestle

2 large egg yolks

1 cup parmesan, freshly grated

3 tablespoons olive oil

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

Place all of the ingredients in a large serving dish and mix well

When the pasta is “al dente” lift it from the cooking water straight to the serving dish. You will want to have a bit of the starchy cooking water for the sauce.

Toss well so that the heat from the pasta cooks the egg yolks and so that the pasta is well coated.

Meg used papparadelle but decided she preferred a finer pasta…you decide!

Garnish with more chopped fresh basil and grated parmesan.

We popped open a lovely chilled bottle of Prosecco and sat down to pure perfection.

Thanks for reading.