Garlic Chipotle Aioli

Adapted from my Williams-Sonoma Essentials of French Cooking cookbook.


4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
4 egg yolks (ideally room temperature)
1 cup olive oil
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp red wine venegar
fresh ground pepper

In a mortar, combine garlic and salt. Using the pestle, grind them together to make a paste.* Mash the chipotle pepper into this paste.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with a whisk or electric mixer/food processor. Very slowly drizzle the oil in, 1 tsp at a time and whisk until a thick emulsion forms (will take about 2 Tbsp or so to get to this point). Then whisk in remaining oil, using a continuous slow drizzle until all of it is incorporated. 

Gently mix in the garlic and chipotle pepper paste. Add lemon juice and whisk in. Add vinegar and whisk in. This will thin out the aioli slightly. Season with pepper and extra salt if needed. Place in fridge for a few hours to have the garlic and chipotle pepper flavours meld.

Eat with sweet potato or regular fries, raw veggies, or on top of grilled salmon.


*If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can mince the garlic up as fine as possible, then with the side of your Chef's knife, smash into a paste.

Cilantro Pesto

I'm on a bit of a cilantro kick these days. I decided to make a pesto out of it so that I could coat everything I eat with it (okay, not completely true, but I have made 2 side dishes with it for holiday dinners).

Cilantro Pesto

1 bundle fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup grated parmesan (this recipe is not the place for the powdery Kraft stuff)
1/8 cup toasted pie nuts (or pumpkin pepitas, or pistachios)
2 garlic cloves, diced
generous splash of lemon juice and olive oil
salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until it looks like pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. This recipe makes about a 1/2 cup of pesto, which is enough to use generously in 2 to 4 meals.

I love having this on asparagus and mushrooms, but will work great with pasta/gnocchi as well.

Fish and Chips

When making the weekly grocery list and asking Nick what he wanted, he suggested Fish and Chips. We got to talking about Tar Tar sauce and I was disgusted to find out that it was just mayo and relish - that would not do. So I set out to make a killer Tar Tar Sauce from scratch that wasn't 2 pre-made condiments mixed together. And according to Nick after trying it - he won't go back!

Fish Batter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 beer, or as needed 

Mix ingredients together to make a thick paste looking batter and dip fish in (I used cod filets). Fry fish in 350 degree F oil for about 3 minutes a side, until golden brown.

Tar Tar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
1 large dill pickle, finely diced
1 Tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped
1 pinch of salt and black pepper

Mix ingredients until combined. Generously top on your fried fish. 

Bacon Gruyere Quiche

I just realized I have yet to put a quiche recipe on my blog - which is inexcusable! The quiche I made tonight kinda blew my mind - especially because it was just a mix of all the ingredients in my fridge! And it has bacon in it, so of course it's awesome.

Bacon Gruyere Quiche

1 pie crust (I cheaped out and just bought one)
4 pieces of thick smoked bacon, sliced and cooked to crispy state
5 large eggs
5 Tbsp milk
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
8 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup smoked gruyere cheese, grated
1/8 cup baby spinach, chopped
1/8 cup mushrooms, diced

Cook pie crust as per recipe/box instructions. Let cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bottom of the pie crust place bacon bits.

In a large bowl scramble eggs and milk together. Add all other ingredients to the eggs and mix to combine. Pour over bacon, into the pie crust.

Place in the oven, and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before diving in!

I also made a salad with baby romaine, peach slices, goat cheese, and pistachios, and a homemade orange juice vinaigrette. It really rocked in taste and in presentation - the green and purple of the pistachios mimicked the green and purple of the lettuce, so it just looked really awesome.

Tomato Cobbler

I love all the cherry tomatoes at the farmer's market these days! This recipe is a jazzed up version of a Martha Stewart recipe which turns these already tasty treats into something amazing!

Tomato Cobbler

Filling

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 pounds cherry tomatoes

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp crushed red-pepper flakes

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Biscuit Topping

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup cold butter

1/4 cup fresh thyme

1/2 cup of parmesan, or goat cheese
1 cup plus one tablespoon buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

For the filling: Heat oil in a large  skillet over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Toss onion mixture, tomatoes, flour, and red-pepper flakes with salt and some pepper. Place in a 7 by 11 baking dish.

For the biscuit topping: Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Slice the cold butter into the flour mixture.

Use a pastry blender (or your fingers) to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have a coarse mixture. Add cheese and thyme.

Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour the buttermilk into it. Stir just until moistened, and sticky.

Drop the biscuit dough in the tomato mixture, leaving a space in the middle without being covered in biscuit.

Place in the oven for 50 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the topping is a delicious golden brown.

It goes great with Beer Can Chicken!

Homemade Naan

My calls have been answered! A big thanks to my friend Karen for sending me the link that has brought me my happiest cooking experience to date. Unlike the store bought naan that is cakey and tasteless, this was chewy and dense, and so easy! You can check out the original recipe here but I'll also copy how I made it below!

Naan

2 cups all purpose flour or wheat flour
1/2 cup of warm milk
1/2 cup of yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together and make a well of flour.

Now mix milk and yogurt together and pour half of it into the well and slowly combine it together. Continue to add the milk mixture slowly until the dough is soft (it should be soft enough for you to be able to dig your finger into it without applying any pressure). If dough sticks to hand too much then use little bit of oil on hand and then punch into the dough.

Cover with damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

After a few hours, dust your working board, take out the dough and knead it for about 2-3 minutes. Divide the dough into smaller balls (about 8). Stretch each ball until it is thin and elongated.

Heat a thick bottom skillet or a wok and place the naan down one at a time. Let it cook for about 30 secs or until you see bubbles on it. Now flip naan and cook the other side of briefly, until you see some charred brown spots.

Smother some good amount of butter on your naans and prepare for utopia.

Gratin Dauphinois

 My wonderful friend Sandi recently moved into her own townhouse, so to celebrate we got together to make a fabulous meal! Below is the recipe for the potatoes we made which were by far the best part of the meal (who doesn't love garlic, cream and potatoes?!).

Gratin Dauphinois

1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups whipping cream
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs potatoes, sliced very thin (best to use a mandolin)

Bring first four ingredients to a boil over medium low heat, in saucepan. Remove from heat.

Layer ½ of the potatoes in a glass baking dish – pour over the garlic and ½ of the sauce. Layer remaining potatoes and cover with last of the sauce. Press potatoes into the milk.

Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees F, then press potatoes into the milk again. Continue cooking for another 25 minutes.

Check the potatoes and cook a little longer if they aren't soft enough to your liking.

Very flavourful!

Beef Dip Sandwiches and Fire and Ice Salad

Slow. Cookers. Rock! You throw some stuff in before work, and come home to your apartment smelling like heaven and dinner ready without any effort! I made this recipe from combining a pot roast recipe off the internet and my Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe for French Dip Sandwiches.

Beef Dip Sandwiches

1 lb Roast beef
1 pkg onion soup
1 cup beef stock or water
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
Pepper and Salt to taste
1 baguette or 2 small french rolls (12 inches each)
Horshradish and Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Season roast with salt and pepper. Pour onion soup package in crock pot, pour in beef stock, then add all your spices and the garlic. Add the roast. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Remove the roast from the crock pot and strain the stock into a small pot. Put the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Let simmer and reduce for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Pull the roast apart with two forks then place the meat in the pot of juices.

While that soaks up so more juicy delicious flavour, cut your baguette in half and spread horseradish on it (if you like). Take the meat out of the juices and place it on the baguette. Top with Mozzarella cheese (if you like) and cut into manageable side pieces.

Pour the left over juices in a bowl for dipping!


Along with the sandwiches, I also made one of my favourite salads. It's a re-creation of something served at our town's folk fest (and is the only thing that isn't deep fried!). It's very fresh and has a lot of flavour for such simple ingredients. I always just wing the proportions so I'll just list the ingredients off and let you all experiment on your own.

Fire and Ice Salad

Baby Spinach
Strawberries, sliced
Mandarin Orange Segments (with some, but not all of the juice)
Red onion, sliced
Fresh Mint (the more the better!)
Olive Oil
Red Pepper Flakes

Toss it all together and serve immediately!

Japanese Ginger Dressing

I've been wanting to make my own salad dressing for a while, and always enjoy the gingery dressing they have a sushi restaurants, so I tracked down a recipe online that I really enjoy. 

Japanese Ginger Dressing

1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp prepared Dijion mustard
2 tsp honey
Ground black pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, mustard, honey and pepper. Once these are thoroughly combined, add the oil in a steady stream, whisking constantly. When all of the oil is incorporated into the dressing, pour into a glass jar and chill until serving.  

I served it with this salad:

Ingredients include: iceberg lettuce, julienne carrot, red onion slices, tomato slices, avocado slices, bean sprouts and a few sesame seeds. It's very fresh and has a lot of crunch!