Blackcurrant and Shallot Pork Tenderloin

I had some Blackcurrant and Shallot compote for brie cheese in the fridge that desparately wanted to be used or should I say that I wanted to use. Knowing that pork tenderloin was on the dinner menu I decided that this is where it shall go. As much as I like using the oven having a slow cooker can be just as effective in having delicious tasting meals as long as you are able to plan ahead.  

I place about a 1/2 cup of low sodium organic chicken stalk in a slow cooker. Added some veggies like carrots, potatoes, onions and leeks. Then place the pork tenerdloin on top and add the remaining veggies around the pork tenderloin. Then drizzled some olive oil on top.  Adding a pinch of salt and some pepper. Then placed the blackcurrant and shallot compote on top of the pork and cooked on high for about 6 hours. 

The house smelt wonderful. I served the pork with a bit of hot English mustard with red chili on the side which complemented the sweetness of the pork. The veggies were tender and had a hint of sweetness to them thanks to the compote. It was simply a delicious robust meal. - JW   

Butter Chicken Pizza

Saturday nights I usually make pizza. This time I was inspired to make a butter chicken pizza. Fairly simple considering I used a pre-made low sodium butter chicken sauce. Roll out your pizza dough. Spread the butter chicken sauce all over, being generous. Then add pieces of pre-cooked chicken, orange peppers, onions and whatever other veggies you like. Place mozzarella cheese, grated or thinly sliced, on top. Bake until cheese has melted and bubbly and crust is slightly golden. With a pizza cutter slice into wedges and let this mouthwatering pizza leave you wanting more. Trust me it will! - JW

Dill Pickle Dip

Knowing that the tub of sour cream was about to expire I decided to quickly whip up a little something... a dip! This dip was so easy to make. I am sure you won't want to buy another ready made one again. My recipe is as follows:

Dill Pickle Dip
----------------------------

1 cup light sour cream
2-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 low sodium garlic dill pickles, chopped and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried herbs, consisting of chives, parsley, shallots, onions and leeks 
or add
1 shallot chopped and diced
2-3 sprigs of fresh chives, chopped
some peeled and chopped onion
some parsley finely chopped

Mix all together and let mellow for about an hour in the fridge or overnight. Can also be spread on crackers or bread. Enjoy your weekend everyone! - JW 

Lavender Scones

These are the scones I made from the Jamie's Great Britain cookbook. Although the recipe didn't ask for it, I dressed the top of them with lavender. They were so delicious and devoured in no time flat! I would use this recipe again. It was easy and I am sure the next time I make them they will turn out even better. I was a bit off on my conversion of the flour. Should have added more. 500 grams of flour translates to about 3 3/4 cups of flour. I was under that. When trying to find the appropriate shape cutter I had a small-medium sized one. What can one do other then to just go with it and make smaller scones. They were being eaten so quickly nobody seemed to notice. Another plus was that there were a few left over so the kidlets got to take them to school in their lunch. - JW  

Jamie's Great Britain

You knew I wasn't going to leave England, this summer, without bringing this cookbook back with me. When I ordered my copy back in February it wasn't available in Canada. Not knowing the official North American release date or even if it was going to be released in Canada I placed my order and had to wait until my visit in August. I could have had the cookbook delivered to me however I can only imagine what the postage would have been! As of September 21 it has become available at Chapters. 

Jamie's Great Britain, first edition, 2011; pp.[15]407; Penguin, London, delivers another delicious book. Between the matte photos, the family photos, the local photos and British fanfare this has Rule Britannia written all over it! Apart from their history, Great Britons are food enthusiasts... foodies... a melting pot with a wonderful blend of past, present and future. This book was inspired by, at the time, the up and coming 2012 Olympics, him being a father of four kids and the country he calls "The Magpie" nation. He isn't overly patriotic just passionate about what his country has. The cookbook is also dedicated to Rose Gray, a former boss of his, who passed away in 2010. I find this cookbook a celebration of heritage - mine and could be yours, identity - our taste in food is not defined by where we live and people - locals, immigrants and visitors. We are all alike and in search of good food! 

Because I had ordered the cookbook directly from the UK all recipes offer UK measurements. This means I get to do some referencing, guess work, cross referencing to create the recipes. I don't mind, I enjoy it. The recipes range from traditional, classic to modern up-to-date British flair. The chapters are: Breakfasts, Soups, Salads, Pub Grub, New British Classics, Afternoon Tea, Seaside, Pies and Puddings, Sunday Lunch, Wild Food, Vegetables, Puddings and Condiments. I did try the scone recipe because I am always in search of the perfect scone. Either here at home, in the kitchen or when I am out and about. I like to try different scone recipes. My grandmother always made scones which were very delicious and I can taste them to this very day! I will post about the scones I made tomorrow. There are introduction stories to almost every recipe which are entertaining. Even when Jamie Oliver is describing the most simplest of things his passion and personality come through loud and clear.   

Was this cookbook worth the wait? For me, yes! Do I find it inspiring? Yes! and you may find it inspiring too. -JW 

Potato and Veggie Cakes

Remember the veggie strudel I posted about the other day. The lovely filling of onions, potatoes, carrots, peas, cheddar cheese and curry powder. There was enough filling left over for me to make these potato and veggie cakes. In a blender I added the filling and some chicken stock. I added enough stock just to smooth the consistency a bit. Making sure not to add too much stock. Stopping the blender every now and again and with a spoon scrapping the sides of the blender. Not worrying if the filling wasn't completely smooth. I then transfered the blended filling into a large bowl. Added some cornmeal until the consistency thicken up and held well together. I didn't measure exactly how much cornmeal. I just eyeballed it. You want it so that the filling doesn't fall off a spoon. Then I fried in a pan with olive oil over medium high heat. Until they have browned on both sides.

This was a great way to use up leftovers. I dressed them with chives and sour cream and served them with sausages and steamed string green beans. -JW 

Veggie Strudel

I am just plowing through that 10 pound bag of potatoes. A veggie strudel I have made before using chickpeas instead of potatoes. I managed to pre-boil the potatoes and chop the veggies which saved me a bit of time. You may be thinking cheddar cheese and curry? They are actually very quite tasty together. Don't let this delicious combination fool you. Give it a try. The recipe goes as follows...

5 potatoes - boiled with the skins and chopped
1 onion - chopped
1-2 tablespoon of no salt butter or low sodium margarine
3 teaspoons of curry powder
1 carrot - chopped
1/2 cup of peas  *frozen peas will do nicely too*
3/4 cup low sodium organic chicken or vegetable stock
juice of half a lemon
1 cup cheddar cheese - grated
pinch of salt
pepper
10 sheets of phyllo pastry 
melted butter


1) Pre-heat oven to 350º. Line a baking try with parchment paper. Making sure that the parchment paper goes a bit up the sides. To catch any runny liquid. 

2) Boil the potatoes in their skins until done. Firm so that a fork can pierce. When the potatoes are done, drain and rinse under cold water. Set them aside. 

3) Melt the butter in a hot pan. Add the onions and cook until slightly transparent. Then add the curry powder. Stir. Coating all of the onion bits. Cook for a few more minutes.

4 Add the chopped carrot and peas. Stir. Cooking until veggies are slightly soft. Then add the chicken stock. Stir and let the liquid reduce a bit. Remove from heat. If you are concerned about the liquid or as I like to call it gravy being to runny. Just take a bit of cornstarch in a small bowl and mix it with a bit of water. Then add that to the veggie mixture and stir. The liquid should thicken up a bit. 

5) Chop the potatoes and place them into a large mixing bowl. Pour the curried veggies over the chopped potatoes. Stir. Mixing well. Then add the grated cheddar cheese and the the freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

6) On a clean surface place one phyllo pastry sheet. Narrow edge towards you. Brush with butter than place another sheet of phyllo pastry on top, brush that one with butter and repeat this, layering all 10 phyllo pastry sheets. Brushing each with melted butter or margarine. Then spread the veggie mixture about an inch or two from the narrow edge. Not spreading the veggie filling completely to either ends. Once all the filling has been placed roll once then tuck in the sides all the way down the length of the prepared sheets of phyllo pastry. Then continue to gently roll until you have reached the other end. Place on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Brush with melted butter or margarine. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Checking after 20 minutes. Serve with a green leafy salad.

You can change this dish up by adding different veggies to suit your taste. You can omit the curry powder if you wish and add other herbs to season. 
Have a good weekend everyone! - JW   

Curried Potato Salad

For some reason this week it's all about the curry powder and potatoes. Not that I am   complaining! It started with the potato kedgeree and will end with a potato strudel. Last night I made a curried potato salad. My plan was to use the recipe from the cookbook I reviewed yesterday, The Nobel Spud. However when I get reading any recipe my mind starts bubbling with ways to tweak it. Until I finally say... "well this is what I am going to do." That's exactly what I have done here. This is my recipe:

7 medium potatoes - boiled with their skins on

half a red onion - peeled and chopped

half a white/yellow onion - peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter or low-sodium margarine 

2 teaspoons curry powder

celery - 2 stalks chopped

1 cup or half of a 600 gram tub of plain low fat organic yoghurt

1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

pinch of salt

pepper 

chopped watercress - optional

3 chopped hard-boiled eggs - optional

1) Boil the potatoes with their skins on and cook until firm. A fork should be able to pierce the potato not slide through it... you want them cooked but not over cooked. When the potatoes are done. Drain and rinse with cold water. This stops them from cooking any further.

2) Chop the onions. Add the butter to a hot pan and melt. Once the butter has melted add the onions. Fry until almost transparent. Then add the curry powder. Stir and mix well. Cook for another few minutes longer. Then remove from heat.

3) Chop the celery. Then chop the boiled potatoes.

4) In a large bowl combined the potatoes, celery and curried onions and mix gently. Making sure not to break the potatoes up too much. Then add the yoghurt, mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Gently mix together. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. Letting the flavour set.

I would luv to add watercress, unfortunately watercress is very hard to find here. Using a low fat yoghurt reduces the fat content. You can also omit the curry powder if you don't fancy it. You then may want to add some garlic, chives or dill to flavour the potato salad. You can also try adding chopped apples, chicken, dried cranberries... the possibilities are almost endless. There was some salad left over so I will be having that for lunch today. - JW   

The Noble Spud

We have all eaten a potato or two. We know that potatoes are versatile and pretty inexpensive. As great as a multi recipe cookbook can be, having one that focuses purely on one major subject matter, like the potato, can have it's advantages. When you buy an over abundance of one particular item. In my case a 10 pound bag of potatoes. One such cookbook as The Noble Spud by Judy Wells and Rick Johnson, 1985; first edition, pp.[8] 160, Penguin had me knighting every potato left, right and centre. I am about two thirds done that bag of potatoes with a curried potato salad and a potato strudel to go. This week this cookbook has been the cookbook of choice. 

In this book we get a history of the potato... who would have thought throughout it's early history it received such a hot and cold reception. Further into the introduction one can learn about the different varieties. North America has 4 different types of potatoes and the U.K. has mainly 4 different types of potatoes too. Vital Statistics, Nutrition, Storage, Methods of Cooking and Freeze supply helpful hints on how to maximize the potato. There are full page colour photographs every so often. Other chapters include: Soups and Salads, Main Courses, Side Dishes, Snacks and Others. The Index and Kitchen Metrics at the the back of the book provide a quick reference to kitchen know how. There are classic potato recipes and some to upgrade your taste of the potato circa 1985. Well this is 2012 and the humble potato no matter how you slice it is still going strong.    

Here is the Irish Apple Potato Pie recipe I made from the cookbook. The pie had a very unique texture and tasted alright. I followed the recipe to the letter and found that there were somethings about it I would change. I had to free form the top and bottom potato bits due to that fact that the potatoes were sticky making it hard to roll out like dough. Next time, I would place the potatoes in a pie plate to form "a pie shape" rather then let it stand alone on a baking tray as suggested. I found it hard to cut into pie pieces and had to resort to using a spoon to dish out the pie. Making it seem more like a pudding or crumble. - JW 

Potato Kedgeree

On the weekend I made potato kedgeree for brunch. Normally kedgeree is made with fish and rice. The fresh lemon zest and juice gave it a lot of punch, a very summery zing which was good. The curry flavour was mild. I omitted the fresh sprigs of mint. And I really wish I had fresh watercress to add that finishing touch to the dish instead. To save time I boiled the potatoes and eggs the night before. The recipe came from a cookbook that I will be reviewing tomorrow. I will share the recipe with you all now. 
It goes as follows: 

Potatoes - 5 medium, boiled in their skins
Butter - 2 tablespoons (25 ml) 
Onion - 1, peeled and finely chopped
Mild curry powder - 2 teaspoons (10 ml)
Zucchini - 1, sliced
Eggs - 4, hard-boiled
Peas - 1 cup (250 ml), cooked  ... I used frozen 
Plain yoghurt - 1 cup (250 ml)
Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon (5 ml) 
Grated lemon peel - 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml)
Salt - 1 teaspoon (5 ml)
Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) 
Sprigs of mint

1. Peel the cooked potatoes and chop coarsely.

2. Melt the butter in a large frying pan. When the foam subsides, add the chopped onions and curry powder and fry gently for about 5 minutes

3. Add the chopped potatoes and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring to combine. Stir in the sliced zucchini and continue cooking for 5 minutes

4. Peel the eggs and cut into halves. Add the eggs, peas, yoghurt, lemon juice, grated lemon peel, salt and pepper to the pan. Combine carefully so that the ingredients are not mashed together. Heat through but do not overcook.

5. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with sprigs of mint.  

This is how is how I served the kedgeree, with two slices of bacon and tomato. Sausages, whether veggie or not, would do nicely too. - JW

Stroganoff Sauce

I made this Stroganoff sauce the other night to serve over spaetzle. It was easy and quick. This sauce can be whipped up in no time and served over rice, egg noodles and potatoes. Here is the recipe. 

2 cups sliced mushrooms 

1 chopped onion

2-3 tablespoons of butter

1 1/4 cups low sodium organic chicken/veggie stalk

I cup of light sour cream ( or about half of a 500ml container)

a pinch of salt and pepper

mild smoked paprika 

Over medium high heat melt the butter in a pan. Then add the mushrooms and onion. Stirring so that they don't burn. Sauté the mushrooms and onion in the butter. When onions and mushrooms have soften and shrunk in size add some salt and pepper. Then add the chicken or veggie stalk. Let simmer and stir occasionally. Then add the sour cream. Stir until smooth and let heat. Then add the paprika. Stir. Give it a few more seconds to heat. Then serve. 

I don't have an amount of how much paprika you should use. Depending on how much you like paprika... and I like it a lot. I kept adding the paprika until I felt it was the right amount. Until the sauce became a deep golden orange. 

The cold weather has come bringing a few flurries. Stay warm and enjoy your weekend!  
-JW 

Dining with Sherlock Holmes

It has been a while since I posted a book and I have been itching to review this cookbook. Dining with Sherlock Holmes: A Baker Street Cookbook by Julia Carlson Rosenblatt and Frederic H. Sonnenschmidt; pp.239; first printing, 1976 is concentrating on British food with a Sherlock twist. Trying to recreate the Victorian appetite spins a culinary yarn of breakfast, morning tea, luncheon, afternoon tea, high tea and dinner. Factor in Sherlock Holmes and well all the rest becomes quite elementary! 

The idea for the book came about when more than a hundred Holmes enthusiasts participated in "a grande Sherlockian repast". There was a casual remark made about a cookbook. And the two author's took it from there. Gathering from the research, Holmes and Watson probably ate more than three meals a day. Except if Sherlock was deeply involved with a case. When dining there was not to be any talk regarding evidence. Leaving Sherlock Holmes to openly digest. Nothing was to interrupt digestion.    

Apart from the Acknowledgements, "The Gastronomic Holmes and the Cuisine of His England" is a very well researched chapter. Other chapters are as follows: "Elementary, My Dear Watson", "Breakfast at Baker Street", A Singular Set of Recipes, Watson", "The Sideboard", "On the Chase" and "Horrors of a Country Inn" provide some delicacies to satisfy the your inner super sleuth. Each chapter has an introduction and references the stories of Sherlock Holmes. With 6-16 subtitles within each chapter that offer a set 3-5 course meal. Which makes piecing together a satisfying feast from start to finish, chronologically logical. With dinner titles such as Baskerville Breakfast, The Cornish Horror, A Cold Supper for Burglars and The Game Is Afoot one can certainly relish the morsels set about them.   

This cookbook is one I admire. -JW  

Aromatic Chai Tea Cake

Yesterday I made this cake in the afternoon. On a cold day with the oven working and the smell of warm comforting spices this hit the spot. I found the recipe to be fairly easy. The texture was spongy but light tasting. This would be a nice change to pumpkin pie. If you are looking for a dessert to serve this Thanksgiving or Christmas this is one. To make this you will need the following: 

1 1/2 cups of milk
10 Chai Tea bags

3 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
5 eggs 
2 teaspoons Pure vanilla extract

First preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. Believe it or not I don't have two round pans instead I used one bundt/tube pan. Place that aside.

In a sauce pan, heat milk over medium heat, add the tea bags, remove from heat and let steep for about 15 minutes. I used a loose Spicy Chai tea, bought at a local tea shop, Cally's Teas. Placing about 20-30 grams worth into two Blackthorn Garden D.I.Y. tea bags, I brought back from England. Remove the tea bags and set milk aside and let it cool completely. 

In a bowl, blend together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Using a standing electric mixer or a hand held electric mixer blend brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla on medium speed until creamy. Approximately 3 minutes. Reducing the speed to low and alternating the cooled milk and flour mixture, blending until smooth. Having one of those standing mixers makes things go so much more easier. Divide the batter evenly among the pans or in my case spread the batter evenly in the tube the pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 30 minutes for two 8 inch pans or 45 minutes for one bundt/tube pan until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans or pan for 10 minutes then remove the cake from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely. 

This is how I served it. Homemade caramel sauce and pears. You can try custard, whipping cream, creme fraiche and or an apple pear compote. If you make the two 8 inch cakes you can layer with a cream cheese icing for more of a traditional look.  

Happy Thanksgiving! - JW 

Grilled Tomato and Blue Cheese Sandwich

Ever feel like the old tried and true sandwiches need a bit of a pick me up? This is what I had for lunch today. It is quickly becoming my favourite sandwich. Make a grilled cheese sandwich as you normal do however replace the cheddar cheese with crumbled blue cheese. 

Placed the crumbled blue cheese on one side of the bread, buttered side down. Then place the tomatoes, 2-3 slices, on top of the blue cheese then place a bit more blue cheese on top of the tomatoes. Then place another slice of bread on top, buttered side up. Flipping the sandwich to make sure both sides get golden brown and cheese is melted. Adding a touch of mustard would give this sandwich some more punch. - JW  

Leftovers #1 - Veggie Egg Fried Rice

Yesterday for lunch I made some egg fried rice. Trying to shake this cold you would think I would want a simple bowl of soup. Knowing that I had some left overs just fueled me even more to clear out the refrigerator and make something hot and tasty in about 15 to 20 minutes. It's important for this dish to use left over rice or day old rice... the older the better. Freshly cooked rice will become mushy. I made that mistake many years ago at my first attempts making this dish. Anytime I am cooking rice for a meal I always cook more for with the intention that I will be making fried rice further on in the week. For this dish you will need the following: 

Fresh Chopped Veggies - carrots, celery, broccoli, green onions, onions, bok choy, mushrooms, water chestnuts, peas, corn... essentially whatever you have on hand or whatever you prefer. *Reserve some of the green onions in a small bowl for later. 

Left over pre-cooked rice - about 2 cups (more depending on how many you are serving)

2 eggs

Sesame oil

Canola oil

Low sodium soy sauce

Dry sherry - Harveys Bristol Cream will do nicely!    

Step 1: Heat your pan or wok  over medium high heat and add about 2 tablespoons of canola oil. When the oil is heated add the veggies. This time I used 2 carrots peeled and chopped, 3 cups chopped bok choy, 2 chopped mushrooms, 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli and a handful of green onions. Sautée until veggies are cooked. When the veggies change colour slightly. They have gone darker, brighter or slightly transparent. You don't want to over cook your veggies for this dish. It's important to have some crunch. 

Step 2: Once the veggies are done, make a well in the centre of the pan with the  veggies all around the sides. Now this is when you are going to have to move fast... Crack open two eggs and scrabble the eggs mixing in the veggies. Making sure not to let the eggs stick to the bottom of the pan. You should get a sort of scrabbled egg veggie mixture. It should look like what is pictured here, above.    

Step 3: Add the pre-cooked day old rice. Drizzle some sesame oil and stir to coat the rice with the veggies and oil. Stir frequently. Letting everything heat through and making sure that it is not sticking too much to the bottom of the pan. Also at this point you may add whatever pre-cooked meat you may have on hand, like chicken or ham. Adding the meat at this point is good because you want the meat to be separate from the eggy veggie mixture. You don't want the eggs to stick to your meat.  

**The sauce. Now in a separate small bowl add about 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of dry sherry and 2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce and gently whisk everything together. You will have to adjust these amounts depending on how much fried rice you are making. You want ample flavour regardless.     

Step 4: Take the oil, sherry and soy sauce mixture (see Step 3) and pour it over the rice mixture in the pan. Making sure that the rice and eggy veggies are coated well with the sauce. Stir again to make sure nothing is sticking too much. Let everything heat for a few seconds longer, then remove from heat. 

Step 5: Once removed from heat add some freshly chopped green onions and serve. Or transfer into a serving dish and add the fresh green onions on top. Yum! 

This is a very quick and easy dish. The main thing is that the rice is pre-cooked. How many days in advance is up to you. The older the better. Chopping the veggies should not take long... you can even chopped them ahead of time. Which means cutting down on your prep time. Which makes this dish even quicker. About 10-15 minutes from star to finish. This by far is one of my go to dishes. Everything you ever want is in this dish and every time I make it, it changes slightly. - JW 

Saturday Night Pizza

Lately I have been making pizza dough. On Saturday night I made two pizzas the one picture here is my "everything" pizza. It is essentially load with homemade pasta sauce with ground chicken, bacon, pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms and pineapple. Very delicious and my best pizza so far. The crust recipe I got from Jamie Oliver's website, click *here*. The recipe is fairly simple and can make about 8 individual pizzas. However I divided the dough to make 4 medium/large pizzas. Freezing the unused portions of dough in the freezer, which is always handy. The other pizza was half cheese and half pepperoni. A little less generous with the toppings I know. That's how the kidlets like it! What are your favourite pizza toppings? - JW