My old colleagues S and L (whom I call my "biological mother") decided to have a little get-together. I suggested a mini-potluck between the three of us at my place since L had never seen my house. I asked S to bring dessert since she's the only one who was working. L brought a soup and salad, while I made an appetizer and the main dish.
S is vegetarian so our meal was meat free. To start us off, I thought I would make little Triscuit treats, with olives and cheese. Unfortunately, while I remembered S disliked mushrooms, I did not realize she is also not a fan of olives! This appetizer combines ingredients that seem a bit odd together, like curry and olives, but I really like these!
I learned how to make eggplant parmesan with the instructions of my ex-colleague A. A gave up his job to go to culinary school and work as a chef, only to come back to the metals' industry. Working as a chef is hard work and does not necessarily pay well. I did get to spend numerous lunch hours discussing food with A. When I asked him how to make eggplant parmesan, he taught me how to do a basic dredge (I have since seen it many times on foodtv shows) and introduced me to one of my favourite kitchen tools: parchment paper!
Eggplant Parmesan - serves 4 This recipe is pretty easy to make, although there are a few steps to making the eggplant parmesan. You can also easily replace the eggplant with zucchini, or for the carnivores out there, chicken or veal (I would pound and season the meat). A directed me to bake the eggplant on parchment paper, but it can also be fried for a less healthy option.
* 2 small eggplants * ½ cup flour * salt, to taste * pepper, to taste * 1 egg, beaten * garlic powder * breadcrumbs * Italian seasoning * parmesan * tomato sauce, homemade or store bought * mozzarella, grated
Slice eggplants lengthwise, about ½" thick. Prepare three deep dishes for dredging. Mix flour, a bit of salt and pepper in the first. In the second, mix an egg with a bit of garlic powder. Finally, mix breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning and parmesan in the last plate. Dredge (or dip) an eggplant slice into the flour, then egg mixture and finally the breadcrumb mix. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet - parchment paper is awesome because there is no sticking! Bake in the oven at 350F until the eggplant is cooked through for about 20 minutes. Spoon some tomato sauce onto the eggplant slices and top with mozzarella. Broil until the cheese is melted. Serve with pasta and tomato sauce. Tada!
Sliced eggplant and breadcrumb mixture.
Dredged slices of eggplant and topped with cheese.
This post combines both food and décor (sort of…). I think people are born collectors or not. I was born in the former category. I have felt the pull to collect things from a young age, such as Montréal subway stubs and stamp collecting. I also used to have a small coin collection and hockey cards (for the cute players!). Now I have my Canadian House & Home magazines and a collection of recipes on my laptop.
I also have quite the collection of cookbooks. Side note: my first cookbook was Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa. I was given a gift certificate at a bookstore as a graduation present. I figured I could use a cookbook and I liked that each recipe had pictures. I find this rule holds true for most cookbooks since pictures attract my attention first. I selected the book not knowing who Ina Garten was and have been able to use many recipes since. My favourite recipe is the fresh corn salad and I always make the gazpacho soup in the summer.
Not only do I buy cookbooks that I think I will use, but I also buy cookbooks because I find the pictures are pretty, such as Williams Sonoma. I'm not sure that I use them sufficiently to justify their purchase, especially since I later found out that all the recipes are online!
Williams-Sonoma cookbooks and a couple of Weight Watchers ones.
I also like to buy inexpensive and quirky cookbooks. Quirky cookbooks are usually not very useful. Since I have not used them, I thought I would at least share them here, so I can tell myself I did not buy them for naught. Not only does the Alcatraz Women's Club Cook Book share recipes, but it briefly describes like "on the Rock" for the women and children. I picked up Any Idiot Can Cook with Simple Southern Recipes on a business trip to Kentucky (don't ask!). The recipes, including Coca Cola Salad, are accompanied by silly drawings.
Alcatraz Women's Club Cook Book.
Any Idiot Can Cook with Simple Southern Recipes.
I will also buy a cookbook if a friend writes one like The Vegetarian Manifesto by Jay Fothergill.
I stole this from my mom. Supposedly, I met Jean Chen when I was a baby and he thought I was adorable.
I had a subscription to Saveur for a year and I collect the free LCBO Food & Drink magazines.
And you might wonder "How many recipes do I cook from these books?". The answer: "Not nearly enough!". But there is always tomorrow! What are your favourite or quirky cookbooks?
I grew up eating a limited range of Western dishes. One of them was spaghetti with meat sauce. My mom would sauté some ground meat with some vegetables, season it to her taste and add a jar of tomato sauce. It's one of the rare non-Vietnamese dishes she craves sometimes!
So clearly I never grew up with homemade tomato sauce. Actually, I only started to make it on my own fairly recently. As I was thinking of this post, I was trying to explain why you should make your own, as opposed to just buying it. Well, it may take a bit longer (not much) but it's still very easy. It could be cheaper, unless tomato sauce is on sale (like the jar below). The homemade sauce might also be healthier, definitely with less additives.
As I have read In Defense of Food (and I've just finished The Omnivore's Dilemma), I have been putting more thought into what I eat and what REAL, actual food is. I don't think I do too badly in terms of eating actual food (as opposed to processed food), but I do buy some processed food as a convenience; others, like chips or low fat pudding, because I enjoy.
It is interesting to see some of the ingredients that I can skip by making my own sauce (using canned tomatoes): modified corn starch, soybean oil and sulphites. Not too bad, although I wonder what has to be modified in the corn starch. In the canned tomatoes, there is citric acid and calcium chloride. Hmmm....
Comparison of ingredients between canned tomatoes and store bought tomato sauce.
I think it's ok to use processed food but you have to be conscious of what that involves and make a choice accordingly. If I make a time-consuming recipe, like the vegetable lasagna rolls, I am more inclined to use it out of convenience.
Homemade Tomato Sauce In the summer, when there are fresh tomatoes, I use the same recipe with fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes. I don't even bother peeling or coring them; I just chop them and add them in. You can add tomato paste to help thicken the sauce.
* oil * 1 small onion, small diced * 2-3 garlic cloves, minced * 1 can tomato * bay leaf * 1 tbsp Italian seasoning * fresh thyme * fresh rosemary * sugar (optional) * salt, to taste * freshly ground black pepper, to taste * dried chili flakes
Sauté onion and garlic in a bit of oil in a large pot. Once the onion is softened, add the tomatoes and mix. Add a bit of water in the can, swivel it around to get any remaining tomato juice and add this to the pot. Add Italian seasoning (or a mixture of basil, oregano, marjoram, parsley, sage), any fresh herbs and bay leaf and mix. Bring the sauce to a boil and let simmer for 20-30 minutes until thickened. Season to taste with salt, pepper, dried chili flakes and sugar (I like my sauce a bit sweet). Crush the big pieces of tomatoes if you prefer for a chunky sauce or you can process for a smoother sauce (remove the bay leaf first!). Serve with pasta and fresh basil. Tada!
My roommate G turned 31 while he was away in Guatemala. He travels a lot for work. Before he left, I offered to make him a belated birthday dinner on his return. G has pretty simple tastes and I made his favourite: spaghetti and meatballs. I invited a few people but many were out of town. Our friends C & C were able to make it.
One funny (to me) comment about meatballs. I am used to eating Vietnamese type meatballs, such as nem nướng (Vietnamese grilled pork meatballs) or chả (forced meat). They have a distinct texture to them, sort of crunchy (? - in Vietnamese, it's referred as giòn), not like chips but it gives a bit of resistance. If my mom made soft meatballs, she would deem them a failure. So the first time I had "Western" style meatballs, I was actually taken aback by their soft and crumblier texture. I have gotten used to it but it is quite different from what I grew up with!
When I make up a menu, I like to make things from scratch. For example, I made the tomato sauce and meatballs, which is really not a big deal. However, I do get help in other areas, such as the bottled Caesar dressing; I can't be bothered making it from scratch. I also like picking dishes that I can make in advance so there are no stressful moments right before my guests arrive. Everything in this menu can be made in advance, except cooking the pasta.
The Menu * Bacon and Parmesan stuffed Mushrooms * Spaghetti and Meatballs served with Ceasar Salad and Garlic Bread * Hershey's Chocolate Cake
Bacon and Parmesan stuffed Mushrooms I was going to serve polenta crusted mushrooms. Unfortunately, I found out that C is allergic to shellfish and he's from the Maritimes too!! So I thought of stuffed mushrooms. I really enjoyed these, but the stuffing was a bit too salty, between the bacon and cheese. I guess breadcrumbs could be added to alleviate the saltiness.
* oil * 1 tbsp diced onion, cooked * mayonnaise * Parmesan cheese * bacon, cooked and crumbled * 12 similar sized mushrooms, cleaned and stem removed Cook onion in oil (I cooked a lot and also used some in the meatballs). Mix a couple tablespoons of mayo with a few more of parmesan cheese. (I don't remember how much but the total filling should amount to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup - mushrooms are small.) Add bacon and onion, and mix again. Stuff the mushrooms. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F - broil them quickly if you want them to brown.
Before and after baking the mushrooms.
I love adding bacon to dishes!
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Meatballs
This recipe is adapted from a Swedish Meatballs recipe, by Marcus Samuelsson from Aquavit Restaurant in NYC, that I have been using for years when I host parties and they are always a hit, especially with the boys! I do use cream, which is rather decadent, but I loosely follow this recipe with milk when I make a small portion of meatballs. The meatballs can also be baked but I fry them. What the heck! These are NOT low fat meatballs!
* ½ cup fine dry breadcrumbs
* ¾ cup heavy cream
* oil
* 1 onion, finely diced
* 1 lb. total of ground beef, ground veal & ground pork
* 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
* 1 large egg
* salt and pepper, to taste
In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs and cream.
Stir with fork until smooth and set aside.
Cook onion in oil, until softened. In a bowl, combine the meat, cooked onion, egg and Italian seasoning.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the breadcrumb mixture to the meat and mix well.
With wet hands (to keep the meat from sticking), shape a meatball the size of a golf ball.
If the meat is too soft to shape, more breadcrumbs may be added to the mixture.
Test the seasoning by frying one meatball and tasting it.
Adjust the seasoning as required.
Shape and fry the remaining meatballs in butter or oil, or a combination of both - alternately, they can be baked.
Three types of ground meats and the ingredients for the meatballs (I doubled the recipe. Don't ask why. I always worry about not having enough...)
Meatball mixture and shaped into golf ball sized meatballs.
Frying the meatballs. If you're feeding 4 people, doNOT double the recipe!
Spaghetti & Meatballs
I did make my own tomato sauce which is very easy but this post is getting long. I'll include it in another recipe!
Mix well and heat through some so the sauce is hot.
Plate the pasta, topped with meatballs and basil.
Serve with parmesan and dried chili flakes!
Tada!
Final result: spaghetti and meatballs!
HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
A birthday would not be a birthday without a cake. I asked G what his favourite cake was and he said "Chocolate!". I'm not a big baker (read my egg whites disaster!) so I wanted a no fail recipe. I have a chocolate cake recipe with buttercream that I really wanted to try in my Barefoot Contessa cookbook but it seemed hard and it used a LOT of butter; I did find another blogger who made this cake. Luckily, I found this very easy Hershey's recipe.
The batter was easy to make. No difficult egg beating required. Adding water seemed odd but it came ouf fine!
The frosting was also very easy. It took minutes!
The final product!
I gave my friend T a large piece when I played squash with her the next day. Her husband R decided to leave her for the cake. Supposedly, this cake actually breaks up marriages...
As I was trying to think of yet another soup recipe, I remembered that my mom used to make bún gà xả on the weekends. I gave her a call and asked for the recipe. This is not a traditional Vietnamese recipe but the use of lemongrass makes it Asian tasting. It's fairly easy and makes for a pretty light meal. My sister and I like dipping the chicken in a lime dipping sauce.
Bún Gà Xả (Lemongrass Chicken Soup) My mom usually makes this soup with chicken drumsticks. Chicken parts with bones are the best to make a good broth. Alternately, you can use Vietnamese chicken broth. I added napa cabbage to have vegetables. My mom says she likes eating this with bean sprouts.
* 2 chicken legs - or drumsticks
* salt, to taste
* pepper, to taste
* oil
* water
* lemongrass, sliced into 3-4" sections and mashed to flavour the broth
* nappa cabbage, sliced thinly
* fish sauce, to taste
* bún (rice vermicelli), cooked and drained
* green onion, for garnish
* coriander, for garnish
Season the chicken to taste.
Brown the chicken parts in some oil in a pot - the chicken does not have to be fully cooked.
Place the chicken back into the pot.
Cover the chicken with water.
Add the lemongrass.
Bring the water to a boil and bring down to simmer.
Simmer for about 45 minutes.
Add the nappa cabbage - it should only take 2-3 minutes to cook.
Taste the broth and adjust with fish sauce or salt accordingly.
Serve with bún and top with green onion and coriander.
Two chicken legs cut in two and browned.
Lemongrass added to the broth.
Bún (rice vermicelli). You can buy it like this in square portions (on the left).
For the dipping sauce:
Mix lime juice with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in.
