Boneta

Mmm Canada

I seriously suspect I missed the deadline on this, but I will post anyway.
(as it turns out, I am actually the early bird!!!!)
Jasmine and Jennifer organised a blog event; a sweet/savoury taste of Canada and I thought it would be the perfect way to kickstart the blogging. I made this meal LAST WEEK, photographed it and then proceeded to work four doubles and two singles. So I never got around to posting it. Here it is, better late than never...

Canadian cuisine is pretty hard to pin down, in my opinion. We have so many cultural influences to draw on and so many geographical differences that affect what foods are available to us. I have a couple of posts about what Canada tastes like to me, from previous years, and I didn't want to replicate too much. This year, I am obsessed with sablefish and fiddleheads (okay, I have been obsessed with fiddleheads for a while); two ingredients I would say qualify as Canadian Content. Sablefish is harvested off the coast of British Columbia and is (at the moment) a very sustainable fishery. I would suggest checking the Canadian Sablefish Association webpage out for more information. I was concerned to read that Sablefish aquaculture is being looked at right now...

Sablefish on Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fiddleheads and Arugula

The sablefish was prepared simply ~ no recipe. I sear the seasoned fish, add a splash of white wine and lemon and cover the pan, allowing it to cook stovetop.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fiddle heads and Arugula

Serves 2

1 sweet potato ( I didn't weigh it, it was probably around 500-700grams)
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup flour

300 g fiddleheads
250 grams arugula
olive oil.

Roast sweet potato until completely soft (40 minutes or so)
Rice cooked sweet potato and allow to cool a little. stir in egg yolk and then flour. Season with salt and pepper. The gnocchi dough will be extremely soft and slightly sticky. Flour your work surface very well before rolling gnocchi dough into logs and cutting off bite sized pieces. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi until it rises to the surface. This step may be done ahead of time.

Blanch fiddleheads in boiling salted water until tender. Ice to cool. (nb. According to many websites, fiddleheads may contain toxins and therefore should be very THOROUGHLY cooked. I like living on the edge, but due care and caution should be taken when preparing them.)

Heat a saute pan and coat with olive oil. Once the pan is hot, saute the gnocchi till it is golden brown. Add fiddleheads and arugula and heat through.
Serve and enjoy.

Goodbye to one of my Culinary Icons

Yesterday, I attended a memorial service for Soren Fakstorp. THose of you who know me well may remember that he was my chef-instructor for basic culinary and later my boss, giving me my first post-culinary school job.
He was young; only 54 years old. I was not prepared for how emotionally overwhelmed I would be.
Chef Soren was one of the best teachers I ever had. He made me have confidence in my own abilities and inspired my desire to learn everything I could about food and cooking. I remember his passion, the way it translated to the lectures he gave. I remember him teaching some of us how to make gravalax from a whole salmon. I remember the tour of Chinatown, standing in the street, eating crispy duck and roast pork with our hands. I remember him using my work computer to play solitaire.
Although I rarely saw him after I quit working at the school, I would think of him often. And it is so hard to think that he isn't here anymore to inspire the next round of students.

May 7

 

Bellhead

 

Demented Dummy

 

Red wing blackbird

 

The Valley

May 6

 

 

 

 

May 4 and 5

 

 

 

 

May 3

 

 

 

May2

I worked today, so no truly interesting pics...
Aggie

 

One of my post-work guilty pleasures

 

May 1

 

 

 

 

Pictures of my day...

 

 

 

 

live from the seawall...

would love to insert photo here... just stopped for a break on my trek around the sea wall ...

Trip Planning

Well. four months to go to NEw York!
I have started to panic about the cost of the hotel, I will admit it. I know it is going to be smoking hot when I stay there, so I want a place with air conditioning! Also, I am travelling alone, so I want a nice, safe place. I keep trying priceline..but I think I will wait another month before I up my bid.
I bought myself a Moleskin diary with a cheque my parents gave me for my birthday last week. Its geared specifically to NYC and I am so geekily excited to have it.
So far, it looks like I will be staying in New York from the 5th to the 8th, then taking the train to New Haven, CT, returning on Monday the 11th. My flight leaves the morning of the 12th. Looking at it written down, it seems like hardly anytime at all.

Evolution of a recipe; Fennel Crusted Tuna

 

I think I have covered this ground before, but I just wanted to show why all my recipes end up in freeform territory. I selected this one from Epicurious at the beginning of the week and penciled it in for Wednesday night.




fennel-crusted ahi tuna with lemon aioli over couscous Bon Appétit | August 2005
This is the running commentary in my head as I prepare the recipe.

Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy small skillet. Toast over medium heat until fragrant, shaking skillet occasionally, about 3 minutes. Grind spice mixture in spice grinder. Transfer to bowl; mix in 1 teaspoon salt. (So far so good)

Whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives, ( oops, no chives, scratch that) and half of garlic in small bowl. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store spice mixture airtight at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate lemon aioli.)

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrot and onion and sauté until crisp-tender,(@#$% forgot to buy carrot and onion. I'll just leave it out. Next?) about 3 minutes. Add thyme and remaining garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add 2 1/4 cups water and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to boil. Add sugar snap peas (wha? Sugar snap peas!? I'll use green beans instead I guess. I'll blanch them and serve them on the side) and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Using slotted spoon, transfer peas to plate. Immediately add couscous (couscous!? oh forget it, I'll just make a batch of lemony quinoa) to water in skillet and stir to combine. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork. Transfer to bowl and cool completely. ( why am I cooling? I want to have it hot for dinner. I'll just ignore that step) Mix in sugar snap peas and dill. Season to taste with pepper. (Couscous can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)(blah blah blah, quinoa it is)

Prepare barbecue (high heat). (oh come on, really??! BBQ, I think not. Hot cast iron skillet will do just fine, thank you.) Coat tuna with 6 tablespoons oil.(ignore oil measurement as totally ridiculous) Sprinkle with spice mixture. (Liberally, as I just realized this is a recipe for 6 and I have two portions of tuna steaks)
Grill tuna until seared outside and rare in center, about 4 minutes per side. (try sear tuna less than a minute per side in hot skillet) Refrigerate uncovered for 1 hour (again with this refrigerate thing. I am eating it NOW), then cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices(1/2cm slices would be far more elegant). Spoon couscous (quinoa) onto plates. (Plate Green Beans as well)Top with tuna and drizzle with lemon aioli.

There you have it! my crazy and disorganised kitchen brain at work. And here is my take on the recipe, in full, sans running commentary.

Fennel Crusted Tuna

Makes 2 servings.
ingredients
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
kosher salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced,

Quinoa, prepared, with fresh lemon zest
Green Beans, blanched and tossed with olive oil and salt.
2 tuna steaks

Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy small skillet. Toast over medium heat until fragrant, shaking skillet occasionally, about 3 minutes. Grind spice mixture in spice grinder. Transfer to bowl; mix in 1 teaspoon salt.

Whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic in small bowl. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store spice mixture airtight at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate lemon aioli.)

Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Coat tuna with spice rub, then sear a minute per side. Slice and serve with quinoa and green beans.

Savoury Orange Roasted Tofu

 

I served this over glass noodles. And I wish I had more sauce!!

Savory Orange-Roasted Tofu & Asparagus
From Eating Well
Makes 4 servings, scant 1 cup each

Ingredients

1 14-ounce package extra-firm water-packed tofu, rinsed
2 tablespoons red miso (see Ingredient Note), divided
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
¼ cup orange juice
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Pat tofu dry and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Whisk 1 tablespoon miso, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 2 teaspoons oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add the tofu; gently toss to coat. Spread the tofu in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. Gently toss asparagus with the tofu. Return to the oven and roast until the tofu is golden brown and the asparagus is tender, 8 to 10 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon miso, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 2 teaspoons oil, basil, orange zest and juice, and salt in the large bowl until smooth. Toss the roasted tofu and asparagus with the sauce and serve.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

 

The highlight of this dish is the sweet potato gnocchi I made. It was inspired by a CL recipe, but I didn't have pre packaged gnocchi on hand, or many of the other ingredients, so a new dish evolved; Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Italian Sausage, Mushrooms and Asparagus.
I will share the recipe for the gnocchi; everything else is freeform...

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

1 large sweet potato
flour as needed
salt
1 egg

Roast sweet potato until soft. Peel and process with a ricer or foodmill. Add one egg, salt as desired and a cup of flour. Start mixing by hand. If mixture seems to wet, add more flour; you want a soft pliable dough. Be careful not to overwork or you will get tough little gnocchi. Divide dough and roll into logs roughly 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Cut and shape into little gnocchi ( I wish I had a better picture of the shape; basically, I press and roll, creating a little cupped shape.) Cook in boiling salted water until they rise to the top, then set them aside for your desired use.

In my case, I sauteed Italian sausage, then gnocchi, mushrooms, onions, and asparagus. Seasoned with a squeeze of lemon, ad sprinkling of fresh parsley and a dusting of freshly grated parmesan.

Just a few pics

The pictures I took that never got themselves a blog post

 

Saint Patricks Day, Corned Beef and Cabbage

 

Goat Curry

 

Roast Lamb with New Potatoes and Creamed Peas

Shepherds Pie

 

I know have made shepherds pie before, but this one is different. The mash layer on top is made with cauliflower and parsnip, yielding a lighter smoother topping. Plus a bonus for anyone avoiding the carbs!
For the topping, simply steam a whole head of cauliflower plus two peeled and rough chopped parsnips. Once tender, transfer to food processor and season liberally with salt and pepper. Puree to smooth, add one egg and top your favourite sheperds pie filling. Once my pie was heated through, I browned it under the broiler. It was delicious, even Rob, my meat and potatoes guy, loved it!

Chili Roasted Chicken THighs With Pineapple

 

The New York Time via the cooking light boards. A great recipe that can stand to be repeated. My changes are in brackets and I served this with coconut rice and a sesame ginger coleslaw.

Rum (Whiskey) and Chili Roasted Chicken Thighs With Pineapple
Time: 40 minutes plus optional marinating time

1 tablespoon fresh lemon (lime) juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 scallions, trimmed and chopped
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons safflower or canola (olive) oil
2 tablespoons rum (whiskey), preferably dark or amber
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 Scotch bonnet or habanero chili pepper, seeded and chopped (dried chipotle)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 chicken thighs, rinsed and patted very dry
3/4 pound pineapple pieces, diced into 1/4-inch chunks or very roughly chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving.


1. In a blender or food processor, combine lemon juice and salt, and blend for 5 seconds to dissolve salt. Add scallions, garlic, oil, rum, thyme, brown sugar, chili pepper and spices, and blend until mixture forms a paste.

2. Rub chili paste all over chicken pieces. If you have time, let marinate for up to 45 minutes at room temperature, or up to 24 hours in refrigerator.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put chicken in a large baking pan and scatter pineapple around it in one layer. Roast until chicken is cooked through ( juices will run clear when pricked with a fork), about 25 minutes.

4. Broil chicken and pineapple until chicken skin is crisp and dark brown all over and pineapple is singed in places.

5. Serve chicken and pineapple coated with pan drippings, with lemon wedges.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

Dim Sum

 

I am still so full I can hardly breathe. There was so much food, I couldn't even photograph it. Instead, I give you the aftermath and the group of friends I went with.