Thursday, December 15, 2011

For the Love of Cooking

For the Love of Cooking


Cherry Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:11 PM PST

I saw these on The Curvy Carrot and bookmarked them to make for my son's Boy Scout's cookie exchange. They were fairly easy to make, smelled amazing while the baked, and my children LOVED them! My daughter told me they are her new favorite cookie. I adapted them a bit by adding vanilla extract instead of almond extract because I was recently sent some amazing vanilla beans and extract from Dave's

Dairy Goodness - Nourish your Day

Dairy Goodness - Nourish your Day


Making a Canadian Cheese Gift Basket

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 11:31 AM PST

Making a Canadian Cheese Gift Basket

Get creative with these clever gift basket ideas.

December is a month of giving. Office gifts, hostess gifts, gift exchanges, gifts for teachers and coaches, for neighbours, relatives and loved ones... The list can be long. With a little forethought, you can offer a gift that's more original than a bottle of wine or flowers, and takes less time to make than a batch of cookies: A Canadian cheese basket.

A nice surprise

It can be as simple as a wedge of Old Canadian Cheddar and a good jar of jam tied together with a piece of ribbon. Or two cheeses, a small box of crackers and a little cheese knife tucked into in one of those gift bags made for wine. "Look what's in here!" You can include a chutney, some olives, or something homemade. Think of a stocking, and stuff it with good things.

Affordable and original

If you want to put together a wider variety of items, you can use an ice bucket, berry basket, wine crate or apple box lined with tissue paper, pine branches, or old wine corks. It doesn't have to be expensive at all. Grocery stores all stock a variety of traditional and exotic fruits that can be quite inexpensive, and pair perfectly with any Canadian cheese. Nuts and artisanal breads are also good value, and are always welcome on a Canadian cheese platter.

Thematic ideas

Baskets created with a special moment in mind make especially thoughtful gifts. Think of how happy you'd be to receive a basket of aged Canadian cheeses, dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate – everything you need to end a perfect holiday meal. Or a breakfast basket with mild Canadian cheeses, fresh croissants, and a pound of good coffee. Or a fondue basket, with shredded Canadian cheeses, a variety of Canadian apples, and a hearty loaf of country bread.

It's easy to show your appreciation for friends and loved ones, and for the hospitality you're shown during the holiday season. All you need is a little imagination, a little organization, and the delicious gift of Canadian cheese. Happy Holidays!

New Cooking with Amy post

New Cooking with Amy post


New Italian Cookbooks 2011

Posted: 15 Dec 2011 01:30 PM PST

I'm not sure any other cuisine can top Italian, when it comes to comfort food. While Italian cookbooks are a dime a dozen, three really stood out for me this year and are nice enough variations to warrant adding to your collection if you're an Italian food fiend like me or give them as gifts.

Cucina Povera
Cucina Povera Tuscan Peasant Cooking was sure to strike a chord with me, because I lived in Florence for 6 months. It is written by ex-pat Pamela Sheldon Johns and it shares a way of life, of not wasting anything and eating frugally. In the book you'll meet all kinds of people from Italy who cook and garden and make things from scratch. The recipes are for some things you may already know about like Ribollita and Pappa al Pomodoro (and if you don't, then by all means you need this book) but also more obscure recipes that you are unlikely to encounter in a restaurant.

Recipes you'll want to try include Tuscan Cornmeal, Kale and Bean Soup, Stewed Peppery Beef Cheeks, Farmyard Crostini (finally a use for giblets!) Plum Jam Tart and Ricotta Cake.






Piatto Unico
The family I lived with in Italy ate very formal meals, I don't remember a single one course meal. But they do exist and that is what Piatto Unico is all about. The book shares hearty, comforting dishes many that are particularly perfect as we head into Winter. Recipes are divided into chapters like Prime-Time Pastas, Minestrone and Other Big, Bountiful Soups and Braises and Stews.

Recipes you'll want to try include: Asparagus Spinach Crepes with Taleggio, Thick Chickpea and Porcini Soup, Escarole, Anchovy and Cheese Salad.











Rustic Italian Food
Another noteworthy book is Rustic Italian Food. This is satisfying and lusty food, not fussy food although many of the recipes do take effort and are not just weeknight jobs. It's filled with homemade breads, pastas, salumi, pickles and preserves. They all demand the use of top quality ingredients. It's written by a restaurant chef, but designed for home cooks.

Recipes you'll want to try include: Spaghetti in Parchment with Clams and Scallions, Eggplant Lasagnette Alla Parmigiana, Veal Breast "al Latte" with Fried Sage, Cold Farro Salad with Crunchy Vegetables

Recipe for a lighter vegetarian lasagne

 

The Perfect Pantry new & recent posts


Recipe for a lighter vegetarian lasagne

Lighter-vegetarian-lasagne

When you read the recipe for this lighter vegetarian lasagne, you're going to ask what's so special about it. I don't know. I really don't. What I do know is that I made it three weeks in a row, for three different parties of four people, and each time not one single bite was left. In fact, we were stabbing with our forks at the last...

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Start Cooking blog: How to Cook a Pork Roast

There is a new blog posting at Start Cooking blog

How to Cook a Pork Roast

Many people just learning to cook are often a bit hesitant cooking a large piece of meat. It seems so intimidating! Well, it doesn't need to be, at all. This boneless pork roast is a great place to begin. All that is necessary to cook this roast is to mix some dried spices with olive oil, rub it all over the roast and put it in the oven. That's it!

Roasting a boneless pork loin roast slowly will guarantee moist, tender meat.

Loin refers to the type of cut.

Put the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

There is often a thin layer of fat on one side of the roast. Do not trim off this fat. It will help to keep the meat nice and moist.

Always position the pork roast in the pan so that fat side is on the top.

Measure one tablespoon of olive oil in a small dish.

Add 1 Tablespoon of dried spices to the oil. You can use rosemary, sage, thyme, or oregano; or a combination of these that equal 1 tablespoon.

Add ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper.

Mix this spice rub together and rub it all over the pork roast.

Be sure to rub the spices into the top and bottom.

Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side up.

If you don't have a rack you could coil some tin foil and use that as a rack.

Put the roast in the 450 degree preheated oven. The hot temperature is going to give the roast a nice golden color.

Set the timer for 10 minutes.

When the timer goes off re-set the oven temperature to 250 degrees.

Continue cooking about 50-80 minutes or until the meat registers 145 degrees on a meat thermometer. Some roasts are long and thin and others are short and fat, consequently the cooking times will vary depending on the shape of your roast. The meat thermometer is the best way to judge the right amount of cooking time.

(As of May 24, 2011 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is updating its recommendation for safely cooking pork. USDA recommends cooking whole cuts of pork to 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer placed in the thickest part of the meat, then allowing the meat to rest for three minutes before carving or consuming. Ground meats, including ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork, which should be cooked to 160 °F and do not require a rest time. The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains at 165 °F.)

Remove the roast from the oven and set on a cutting board. Cover the meat with tin foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes before slicing it. The temperature of the roast will continue to rise about another 5 degrees.

You will get at least 6 servings out of this beautiful 3-pound pork roast.

Pork Chops Anyone?

Enjoy!

You can view and print this recipe here.


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IDEAS IN FOOD - What's Your Poison?

 

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"IDEAS IN FOOD" - 1 new article

  1. What's Your Poison?
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What's Your Poison?

Alex is a fan of pecan pie. Every year I make a few for him and to entertain myself I like to change them up. Since the nuts are the star of the show, the only real way to calibrate the flavor of the pie is to change the sweetener.This actually makes a bigger difference than you might expect. This year I made what I jokingly referred to as the most expensive pie of the holiday. Combine a pecan shortage with a cup of real maple syrup and you'll understand the joke. Truth be told though, that maple syrup makes for a damn good pie. Lyle's syrup, molasses, treacle and brown sugar all make admirable fillings but nothing compares to the combination of maple and pecan.The happiness it brings is worth the extra expense.

MaplePecanPie

Maple Pecan Pie

1 unbaked pie shell

215 grams/2 cups pecans (coarsely chopped)

55 grams/¼ cup dark brown sugar

25 grams/¼ cup tapioca starch

4.5 grams/ ¾ teaspoon salt

240 grams/1 cup maple syrup

60 grams/¼ cup cream

4 grams/1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

 

Preheat the oven to 425°F

Put the chopped pecans in the unbaked pie shell. Whisk together the sugar, tapioca starch and salt in a medium sized bowl. Whisk in the maple syrup, cream and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs. Pour over the pecans. Bake for 20 minutes and then turn the heat down to 350°F without opening the oven. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Let pie cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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Jalapeno Cornbread

Jalapeno Cornbread


Jalapeno Cornbread

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 03:58 PM PST

Jalapeno Cornbread

I always enjoy having cornbread with chili and I wanted to try something a little different with the cornbread that I made to go with my beef and black bean chili. Cornbread is another one of those foods where the basic recipe is really just the starting point as there are so many different ingredients that you can add to it. I certainly do like to experiment and in the past I have tried adding different kinds of cheeses, bacon, kernels of corn and even cranberries. One of the nice things about about cornbread is that it can be just a touch on the sweet side and I was thinking that some spicy hot jalapenos would go particularly well with that sweetness in addition to adding some pretty flecky of green. Of course one trick to making a really tasty cornbread is to use bacon grease for the fat, though butter or oil also work and buttermilk adds a hint of tanginess and helps keep things nice and moist. This cornbread would make the perfect side for any bowl of chili but for me, things were just getting started because I had even bigger plans for the leftovers!

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