greek with envy.

raise your hand if you have one recipe that seems to completely evade you and a friend who whips it up perfect every time.
.
.
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oh i forgot you can't see me...i am raising my hand.

you see i have this friend who i used to gaze at through rose coloured glasses {i haven't seen her for awhile so i don't know what the colour would be now...probably still rose...} and for the most part she could do no wrong. especially when it came to making greek salad. she was a natural. a blooming chef! i always got excited when the trip over to her place included standing over a bowl of greek salad in the kitchen and catching up...oh you didn't realize when we were "getting dinner almost finished" that's what we were doing? huh, bummer.

anyways...she made it so awesome! and no matter how many times i tried to join together oil, vinegar, oregano and garlic...the failure was epic. epic i tell you. and then i felt so worthless and tiny. why couldn't i do it? why couldn't i make a greek salad worthy of a dinner party??? why??!!! what skill was i missing?

you know what i NEVER did? not once and i realized that was my first mistake....
I NEVER READ A RECIPE ON IT!!! oh my goodness.

so i read a bunch of recipes, changed a few things up - cause that's what i do {my husband doesn't call me sally under his breath for nothing...} - et voila! perfect greek salad.
phew - i'm glad that's taken care of. check!

then i went ahead and added pasta and roasted prawns....just cause, you know, it had to be done.
c'mon - you knew that!

jen's perfect greek salad with pasta and roasted prawns.
one of the first times i served this i got an "you MADE this dressing??!!" out of my sister-in-law, i think that says it all right there.

salad:
2 pints cheery or grape tomatoes - sliced in half.
2 red peppers, cut into chunks.
2 yellow peppers, cut into chunks.
1 long english cucumber cut in half lengthwise and the seeds scraped out and then sliced in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.
1/2 red onion, sliced thin they quartered.
1 cup of kalamata olives, preferably pitted but don't have to be.
cubed feta cheese - as much as you want!

pasta - optional - i use the rotini but you could use any shape you want - farfalle, penne, ??? i can't remember all the names! ha! i usually make about a pound of dry then add as much or as little as i want when it's all cooked.

dressing:
3 cloves or garlic, minced - i like a lot of garlic, you can tame it back to two cloves but i found one is definitely not enough.
1 tsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp of dry oregano - smoosh it in your hands on it's way to the bowl to help release it's oil and flavours.
1/2 tsp of kosher salt.
start with 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper - go from there. i use about 12 grinds.
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

roasted prawns:
1/2 to one pound of prawns - or really as much as you like! but you want to make sure they lay in one layer in the pan so you may have to do two batches.
olive oil
minced garlic
chopped parsley - if you have it! no big deal if you don't.
pepper
salt {optional}
cast iron skillet.

here we go:
first stack your salad. start with one vegetable and work your way through adding the feta last to your dish. now make your dressing: add the garlic, mustard and oregano to your bowl. add in your vinegar then slowly, while whisking, add you olive oil - this is called emulsifying. pretty fancy eh? yeah i know some stuff. add your salt and pepper, wait a few minutes, dip a piece of lettuce or pepper or cucumber in there to taste it - that's a good tip i picked up - and re-season if you have to.

now add this to your salad, toss and chill for about one hour before serving so the flavors come together.
now make your pasta. i use the rotini usually. cook it according to the box instructions. cool it to just warm - not hot! it will take all your dressing then - and add it to your salad while it's in the chilling stage or really whenever, but for best results you just want to make sure your pasta is a little warm and not completely cold...but it can be cold if life works out that way.

now for the prawns - this is to be done while plating. they get tossed right on top of the salad on the plate/bowl.
shell your prawns and place them in a bowl. top them generously with olive oil, minced garlic, chopped parsley and salt and pepper. toss together and let sit.
turn you oven to 400 degrees. spray your pan with pam and once it's heated place your pan inside for 10 minutes. after 10 minutes remove from oven and add your prawns to pan- making sure they are in one layer on the pan - place pan back in oven and bake for 5 minutes. remove and spoon prawns directly on to salads.
and don't forget: take all the praise! you made this...you deserve it.

;)

ultimate comfort food.

so halloween is over. {i'm actually glad that it is. i really wasn't into it this year...till the day before though!}
it was awesome but it also seemed to be the last warm-ish day. my goodness did the temperature ever dip after that! so much so that when tony was off last week he took care of a couple of things around the house to get us ready for the upcoming snow.
now in our life around here - we are guaranteed snow.
now we have to be ready.

on the list:
patio furniture away - check.
outdoor pots emptied & put away - check.
bushes trimmed, bagged and curbed - check.
rink shell & viewing area set up - check.
snow tires on car - check.
snow suits, gloves and hats ready - check.
christmas lights....ready and waiting.
new thermostats....bought and waiting to be installed.
potential ski schools for the kids...researched.
december daily prep work...FAIL.

i guess i couldn't do everything!

this week i feel like i am in limbo. not yet christmas, not yet time to plan cooper's birthday party, halloween and fall are wrapping up. it's the week i can catch up on MY things but there are so many things i want to catch up on i find myself getting overwhelmed with that AND daily chores that i find myself surfing pinterest and working on new things rather than the old. will i ever learn?

also big on my winter list is too get out all my comfort food recipes, look them over and stock up on the pantry staples for said dishes. i LOVE these kinds of dishes. for this winter my goal is to brush up on my soups and curries {sorry tony!} so i have a few back pocket recipes. something i can whip up without fail when an impromptu skating party presents itself or when friends are met at the sledding hill and invited back to warm up their bones and toes.

now this is a project i can get behind.

one of my all time favorites is pasta bake. i could eat this forever! i always make 1 and a half of his because i inevitably eat a large portion while cooking. i love meat sauce {i eat it sometimes just between two slices of bread!}, i love pasta shapes and baked together with cheese on top...comfort food perfection.

jen's pasta bake.
this recipe has evolved over the last 5 years, changing every time i made it in the hopes to get it just right. i think i have done just that. you can make this a day head if you want and re-heat the next day. if you do this, stop at the potting stage and place in fridge. take out of the fridge about an hour before you want to bake it, to get everything close to room temp, now sprinkle on the cheese and bake!

1 pound dry pasta shapes
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
2 tablespoons of italian spice
ground black pepper
1/2 pound vegetables...i use mushrooms but you can also go with zucchini or asparagus, or a mix, in my opinion {optional}
680ml crushed tomatoes
28oz can whole tomatoes {optional...if you have them - i don't always and that doesn't stop me!}
340ml of your favorite sauce {i think it adds something special but if you taste yours before this point and like it by all means leave it out!}
3/4 cup pasta water...i'll explain later.

some shreeded cheese - i used marble but feel free to use your favorite or combine a few to make a blend...just don't use pre-shredded, please!!!

get your pasta going according to the box instructions.
pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F - if cooking straight away.

on the other element over medium-high, heat a deep sautee pan with a little olive oil in it. dice up your onion and add to pan adding some fresh ground black pepper over top to season. sautee till onion are a little translucent, a couple of minutes. add your beef and cook till no longer pink. drain out the fat and place back on stove. add your garlic, italian spice and, if using, vegetables. sautee for a couple minutes till veg is soft. add in your crushed tomatoes and whole, if using. stir in all your ingredients and let bubble for a bit till it gets all saucy. now taste it...do you like it? do you think that extra bit of store-bought sauce will make it better? if you said yes then add your sauce, stir it in and pour yourself a glass of wine. if you said no, pour yourself a glass of wine and stare at the sauce till i tell you to carry on.

check your pasta. if done reserve one cup of the water before draining. drain your pasta. set aside.

check your sauce. taste it. do you like it? does it need anything? salt? pepper? more spice? remember anytime you add anything you need to wait about 3 to 5 minutes to check the seasoning again {classic mistake performed by jennifer on top chef which cost her the title that she was CLEARLY going to win.....poor her.} so now that you like your sauce and have waited awhile for the completion - is your sauce a little thick? a little too reduced? this is where the magic of the pasta water comes in handy. add some, a little at a time, to your sauce while stirring till the desired consistency is achieved. magic! now add your pasta, mix it all together and place in a large casserole dish. sprinkle with cheese and place in the oven for 35 minutes. when done and the cheese is all melty and golden, let it sit for a couple of minutes before serving - it will be piping hot! once cooled, serve it up and enjoy!

bakery lasagna

once upon a time i owned a bakery cafe.
have i told you that? did you know?
yeah i think i have mentioned that here a time or two. ;)

anyways......one big part i wanted for the business were take home meals.
beautiful homestyle meals that could replace fast food in a pinch and make you feel so much better about the take home pack of 6 cupcakes you were more than likely to buy.{i have to admit - those cupcakes were pretty good!}

right after opening, my mom {who had a similar shop herself} swooped in to help and had one word for me:
lasagna.
lasagna?
trust me - lasagna.

so we made lasagnas. LARGE family style lasagna's. {we also made sausage rolls who were going to be the star - along with our chicken pot pies - of my hoped-for frozen foods line. but that's another story for another day.}

they. flew. out . the. doors.
they were an instant hit.
i was having standing orders for them.
couldn't keep enough of them around.
they were a major part of our success.

thanks mom.

bakery lasagna.

2 pounds lean ground beef or ground sirloin.
one large onion, diced {i like a lot of onion}
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped. {i like a lot of garlic - you can dole this back a bit.}
14 lasagna noodles. {12 for the main dish, 2 extra for patch jobs or in case one comes to a timely end.}
2 x 700ml jars of your favorite tomato sauce or of your own.  {i haven't posted mine yet but this one is great. plus her philosophy here is great - be sure to make a deposit yourself.}
reserve some sauce in a small dish - about 1/2 cup - for the bottom of your pan!
2 tablespoons of dry italian spice
500 grams of ricotta cheese
1 x 300 gr package of frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed.
1 egg, slightly beaten
salt
pepper
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese - please please please shred your own and do not buy the pre-shredded bags!

let's go!!

first thing start boiling the water for your noodles. follow the package instruction then cook accordingly. also pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. a pre-heated oven is a happy oven.

meanwhile: get your meat going - heat a large deep skillet to medium. place in the olive oil and get it a little hot then add your onion and garlic - grind a little pepper on there for seasoning. be careful not to burn your garlic! turn it down if you have to. then when those have gotten all happy & sizzley in the pan add your beef and cook - breaking it up - until it is no longer pink. drain very well! throw it in a colander if you have to {somebody really needs to invent something that you clip on the side of your pan to drain your meat efficiently...hhmmm...hamster wheel is spinning..}. once drained add your italian spice, toss it around a little and let that sautee for about 30 seconds to one minute. now add your sauce - remember to put 1/2 cup aside! get it going then turn down your heat, don't look at all the splatters it makes on your with stove and let it bubble away so it can thicken up slightly. turn around and make your filling - don't worry about the splatters! turn around now.

for the filling: in a meduim bowl combine the ricotta cheese, your well-squeezed-till-as-dry-as-you-can-get-it chopped spinach and the egg. throw a little cracked pepper and salt in there because that always makes it tasty. now mix that all together and set aside. don't taste - raw egg, yuck!

go back and test your sauce - taste it. is it thick enough? does it need a little salt and pepper? if so, toss it in. wait a couple minutes before testing again - the seasoning need a little time to get in there and make it taste just so. once you are happy with it we are ready to go!!

1) place your reserved sauce at the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass or metal casserole pan.
2) top with three lasagna noodles.
3) spread 1/3 of sauce on noodles.
4) top with three more noodles {the extra two noodles cooked are for hole patch jobs - use when needed}
5) top with ricotta filling
6) top with three more noodles. {reference above ie: more noodles.}
7) take a sip of wine - oh did i forget to tell you - the cook should always have a glass of wine! unless making said lasagna at 9am...but then to each it's own! who am i to judge?}
8) another 1/3 of sauce goes here and throw three more noodles on top as well - and more if needed..
9) finish off the sauce now and cover with cheese.
10) place the pan - on a cookie sheet!!! always! - in your pre-heated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. once done take it out, let stand for 15 minutes and graciously & egotistically accept any and all compliments. relish in the yummy sounds - you had a big part in creating those and you should bask in it. don't get modest now - you just made a lasagna!!!

finally italiano.

 the usual plan for a visit or move to a new city is research. you look up what the town is about, sites you want to see, areas that might peak your interest. but not me . nope i just moved to this city with really no knowledge other than what the house looked like that we bought.

our first two weeks were spent downtown going to the same park and the same grocery store. no real site seeing happened. we took one trip to westmount for the bank - only one open on saturday - and saw the nice area but most our time was spent soaking each other in and anticipating daddy's return from work every night.

then we moved to the country. life settled out here and the downtown city was a distant memory. a trip or two were taken in to show visitors and to go to the airport. work for the husband intensified and we were to drive into the city to get him to and fro when the train schedule was less than helpful, which everything in this province seems to be. and that's when i first laid eyes on this place. Milano. the italian grocery store. heaven. i was now planning my visit in correspondence with a city visit but of course after making such a plan it had yet to happen. of course work slowed down and the need for the city drifted away. the plan was there but my cheap bone was showing in that i didn't want to pay for the gas just to do that.

then last weekend we had to go into the city to go to the doctor for coop - health care here is awful, another post for another day - and pounced at the chance to go to Milano, another plus for this was it was just coop and me which is a lot easier than if it were the whole group.

we arrived, parked and entered. lovely. fabulous. overwhelming.


it was bustling with sunday shoppers getting their necessities for the week that it was very hard to browse and soak it all in. it is jam packed with all sorts of foods, goods and sweets that it really was hard to take it all in. we navigated through the crowd grabbing what we could while in the tide of the flow. hard to stop and decide. coop was great, he stayed in the cart and managed our purchases. i spent a while in the pasta aisle deciding and ended up with more than we needed. the olive bar was calling my name but was 10 people deep as was the deli. next time i will indulge here but not today.

the olive oil section was amazing but on glancing at the bottles up front and spying a bottle for $34.95 i imagined a trip inside the tiny section with the cart and a four year old was probably not the best decision. also i was afraid at what i might find in there - could there possibly be a bottle for $80 deep inside? could i resist it?

we found the nuts and bulk items. i love that italians take the time to crack a walnut. to peel off the flesh of a almond or chestnut. not like us costconians who buy the biggest bag we can find and hope that there is enough room in the freezer to house these treats as we will not use them up before there essence has escaped them. i could get lost in there. oh the possibilities!

the next station was the produce. the tomato section alone would leave you breathless.

rounding the bend we came to the cheese and fridges & freezers filed with homemade sauce, pastas, cannelloni's, lasagnas and other savory treats. the prices here were a little steep so i decided that these would be for a special night and hoped there would be an excuse soon! we perused the cheese and did make a selection here as we had to come home with some cheese for a before dinner treat. and a little prosciutto as well to wrap around the ripe melon sitting on our kitchen counter begging to be sliced.

they were definitely ready for eater as well with all the beautifully wrapped eggs hanging from the ceilings. it was hard to not reach up and pluck one.very very festive and cheery.

from here we encountered more dried and canned goods and then found our way to the canned tomato section. the canned tomato section. my lord. took up an entire wall. the varieties were astounding. we selected some san marzano tomatoes and were done.

the experience was fun and exhilarating (yes i know this is strange that i get so excited over a grocery experience but that's just how i roll!). as this was not my beloved bosa foods in vancouver and the definitely did not have bosa prices - bosa is the wholesaler as well so i believe for that reason they can offer more rock bottom prices - it still filled the void and i already have my list ready for our next visit.

to celebrate we went home for antipasti - soft cheese, balsamic tomatoes, crunchy flatbread crackers and melon wrapped in prosciutto. and we made a pasta dinner with the yard length spaghetti we found, a classic meat sauce and my version of garlic bread. yum!

 

no love for gnocchi.

as an avid watcher of top chef i am of course glued to this season of all-stars - and quite excited for the upcoming top chef canada - but it did seem to become top gnocchi for one contestant, fabio. and funny enough in his season he lambasted jamie for using scallops all the time and to quote him "this is not top scallop."

so in honour of constantly being subjected to watching him make gnocchi i though i would see what all of the fuss was about. having never tried it - i can hear my mom saying right now oh yes you have! - okay not remembering ever trying it, i thought we would give it a go. i combined it with pesto and diced asparagus.

for me the gnocchi is merely a chorus member and doesn't quite get top billing. a whole bowl was too much - i think this is more of a side dish. it was good but i won't go out of my way to make it again. i will serve the rest tonight beside some baked chicken as i can't bring myself to throw out food, not matter how much it was not enjoyed.

unfortunately for fabio he was eliminated from top chef - maybe the judges felt the same. too one note. too much gnocchi. the name is top chef after all, not top gnocchi.

one little word updte: pasta aligio e olio.

on my quest to embrace my one little word selection for 2001 - chef - i am determined to use at least one published recipe a week. this week i fished a beauty out of the new ina garten cookbook i got for christmas. it was the one for spagetti aglio e olio.

delicious is a word too subtle to describe it. wonderful and fantastic do not measure up.

i followed it word for word only deviating to add leftover roasted chicken to it to put it over the edge. served with homemade garlic bread and a tossed salad this was a perfect monday night meal. definitely going to make it into our regular rotation except next time i'm going to boost the sauce with some white wine and add some roasted prawns.

spaghetti aglio e olio

kosher salt
1 pound dried spaghetti - I used whole wheat spaghetinni, that's what we like here.
1/3 cup good olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup minced frsh parsley
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

bring large pot of water to a boil. add 2 tablespoons of salt and the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package. set aside 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta.

meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a pot large enough to hold the pasta, such as a 12-inch saute pan or a large, shallow pot. add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until it just begins to turn golden on the edges - don't over cook it! add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more. (this is where i would add some white wine!) carefully add the reserved pasta-cooking water to the garlic an oil and bring to a boil. lower the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by about a third.

add the drained pasta to the garlic sauce and toss. off the heat, add the parsley and parmesan and toss well. allow the pasta to rest off the heat for 5 minutes for the sauce to be absorbed. taste for seasoning and serve warm with extra parmesan on the side.

recipe from barefoot contessa how easy was that? author: ina garten
photo courtesy of recipe bridge.