my cupboard love |
Remember awhile back I told you I was going to Montreal in October, Dear Reader? Yeah, well that didn't happen. Between a new transmission, and a college information night to attend, life got in the way and clearly had other plans for me this week. You might think I'm bitter about it, but you'd be wrong. Instead, I spent four days sleeping in, wandering the city hand in hand with my lobster, puttering about the house and recharging my batteries. Christmas? Bring it on....I'm ready! One afternoon we strolled along Roncesvalles Avenue and wandered into a diner called "The Ace" for lunch. I ordered the Xmas burger with stuffing filling and cranberry compote. It was outstanding....Christmas in a burger! Who knew?? My other half had the lunch special....an angus burger with Portobello mushroom, roasted red pepper and boursin cheese. We had to use a knife and fork to get through our lunch and were truly disappointed when our plates were empty. It was just sooo good! The weekend arrived, rainy and miserable and suddenly cold. Really cold. And dreary. I decided that Sunday, my last day of vacation (until some time next year...ugh...that's depressing!) was going to be a cozy, lazy day spent reading, cooking, and blogging. The house was dark and overcast all day, mimicking the grey sky outside. I woke up a bit late, tired from a late night celebrating my sister-in-law's 50th birthday at a Halloween surprise party for her. I stumbled down to the kitchen, put on the coffee and threw together a pot of oatmeal. I know what you're thinking....that it is so much work, just make the store bought instant packets. No....we'll have none of that Dear Reader! Not when it really is so easy, and just so much better. A few simple ingredients, come together in a magical, comforting and "cozy-wozy" way. Perfect for a dreary morning. Cozy Wozy Perfect Porridge An original My Cupboard Love recipe! 3 cups homo milk 3 cups quick cooking oatmeal (not instant) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 cup golden raisins 1 cup dried apricots, diced 2 bananas, sliced maple syrup homo milk Combine the 3 cups of milk with 4 cups of water in large pot and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add the oatmeal and salt and bring the pot to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and continue to cook for about another 5 minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the bananas, raisins and apricots. Spoon into bowls and drizzle with maple syrup and if desired, a bit of milk. Serves 6. The four of us made short work of the oatmeal....just the dregs left in the pot. I scraped it all into a container to take to work tomorrow - it was just too good to waste. So with our bellies full, we went about the business of wasting the afternoon - football on the tv, a new batman game to defeat, and some internet surfing for me. Bliss. I was starting to feel like someone would have to dust me if I didn't get up and do something. In keeping with the the theme of the day, I decided to make a slow pot of stew with dumplings for dinner. Let the comfort continue! This stew is rich in flavour - make sure to enjoy it with a glass of red wine. Sunday Stew with Chive Dumplings An original My Cupboard Love recipe! 3lbs stewing beef, cut into 1" cubes 1/3 cup flour 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1 cup pancetta (Italian bacon) 1/2 large onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, diced 1 tsp dried thyme 1/3 cup tomato paste 900ml beef broth ( one carton) 1 1/2 cups red wine 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce salt and pepper 4 carrots, sliced 4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks For the dumplings: 2 large eggs 2/3 cup milk 3 tbsp minced chives 1 tbsp dried parsley 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towel. Put into large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss to coat. Heat oil over medium heat in dutch oven. Working in batches, cook beef until browned. Transfer each batch to a bowl once cooked. Once all the beef has been browned, add the pancetta to the pot and cook until crisp, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the onion, garlic, thyme and continue to cook until the onion becomes translucent. Add the wine to deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping all the tasty brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth. Return the beef to the pot. Cover with lid and put in oven to cook for one hour. Once the hour has passed, add the sliced carrots and potatoes to the pot. Add enough water to cover vegetables, about 1 1 /2 cups. Cover and return to oven for another hour. Now make the dumplings. Whisk the milk and eggs together and set aside for 20 minutes. Stir in chives and parsley. In separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the milk mixture and mix with large spoon until combined. In a small cup, mix 2 tbsp flour with 1/4 cup water until smooth. Remove pot from oven. Create well in centre and pour flour water mixture in and stir until juices thicken to gravy like consistency. Spoon dumpling batter in dollops onto the top of stew. Cover pot and return to oven for 15-20 minutes, or until tester inserted into dumpling comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes without lid before serving. Serves 6 plus leftovers. It was a nice end to my stay-cation. So relaxed and recharged. Ready to face the world! I've got lots more to share with you........pickled beets, guitar lessons and a new camera to figure out! Come back soon.
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I love Fridays. This past one headed into a much needed long weekend, Thanksgiving. Three days off with no real plans. We celebrated the holiday last weekend ahead of time for the new "Celebrations" page here in blog land so I didn't have elaborate cooking plans. Fridays are short work days for me....done at 1pm....luxury! It's like a long weekend, every weekend. I love Fridays! And this one came with a surprise... My son had sent me flowers! Just because...The card simply read "Happy Friday!" They made my day and put a spring in my step! He is a lovely boy with a generous spirit. He spoils me. I know, I know...I'm biased. But I don't care. So that was the start of this wonderful weekend for me. Since then, I have drank coffee, read magazines, surfed the net, blogged, and yes, cooked. I stumbled across a scalloped potato recipe while surfing epicurious.com. that looked promising, a green bean recipe from the Barefoot Contessa and that lead to Thanksgiving dinner number two. So, with the ipod a little too loud, singing along (a little too loud from what I hear) I decided you needed to know about these discoveries Dear Reader. This isn't your usual comfort food casserole of scalloped potatoes. Yes, you bake it in a casserole but that is where the similarity ends, my friend. This dish has style, sophistication and dare I say it? Pizazz! A grown up taste from the herbs de provence and goat cheese. I hear you saying ewwww. Stop it. If you like sour cream, you will like goat cheese. Goat cheese has a nice tang to it, the same way sour cream does. Its creamy deliciousness in a cheesy log form. Trust me. Have I ever lead you astray? Now about the green beans. Not just boring old steamed beans. Nope. These green beans sing. Imagine opera. Notes of citrus, garlic and parmesan cheese will serenade you. So fresh, so tasty. I paired these with a nice spiral honey ham and the sweet and sour mustard sauce recipe I shared with you before. A nice alternative to the usual turkey and also perfect for Sunday dinner. Scalloped Potatoes with Goat Cheese & Herbes De Provence Adapted from epicurious.com 1 1/2 cups whipping cream 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 1 cup dry white wine 1/2 cup shallots, minced 1 tbsp garlic, minced 4 tsp herbes de Provence* 3/4 tsp salt 1 10oz log fresh goat cheese, crumbled 4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13" x 9" casserole. Combine the whipping cream, chicken broth, white wine, shallots, garlic, herbes de provence and salt in large pot. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Crumble half of the goat cheese into pot and whisk until combined and smooth. Add prepared potatoes, bring pot to simmer again and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Gently pour the potato mixture into prepared dish, spreading them outevenly. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for about 50 minutes. The potatoes should be tender and the liquid thickened and bubbling. Crumble remaining goat cheese over the top and return to oven until cheese has softened, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest 15 minutes before serving. Serves 8. Green Bean Gremolata Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof 1 lb green beans, trimmed 2 tsp garlic, minced 1 tbsp lemon zest 3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced 3 tbsp parmesan, grated 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper, to taste Bring large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat. Add the green beans and blanch for 3 minutes. You want them still a bit crisp. Drain the beans and put into bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process and retain bright colour. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, lemon zest, parsley, and parmesan and set aside. Heat the olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Drain the beans and pat dry with paper towel. Add beans to pan and turn to coat well. Sauté for 2 minutes and warmed through. Remove from heat. Add the gremolata mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4 to 6.
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