Friday April 20, 2012

Dinner for 2

Pork Wraps with Hoisin

 Crispy Basa & Lemongrass Slaw

 Pears Brie Cookie Bake

I love these Pork Wraps with Hoisin.  They are easy to make with sliced pork tenderloin cooked with a simple Hoisin sauce and then wrapped in a small wheat tortilla topped with some lettuce and bean sprouts.  They are excellent for crowds and a very tasty starter tonight.

  

Crispy Basa with lemongrass Slaw.  This was a tasty main of nicely breaded fish and a wonderful fresh slaw.  The slaw included snow peas, carrots, peppers and sprouts. Tasty!

This was one of my worst desserts every.  The idea came from something I read but I think the execution needed to be different.  The base was graham cracker crumbs and butter then the brie and thinly sliced pears went on top.  It was then baked in the over.  I am not sure if it was the oven temperature or the type pears but it ended up extremely dry.  Live and learn.  Good thing it wasn't for a large crowd.

 

Friday April 13, 2012

Dinner for 2

Wilted Spinach with Garlic and Lime Zest
Rosini Pasta with Lemon Pepper Shrimp
Apple Crisp with Sesame Ice Cream

A fairly simple dinner tonight but certainly full of wonderful flavours.

 I love wilted spinach so this dish was fantastic in my opinion.

Lemon Pepper Shrimp with the Rosini and added crunch of the snow peas and topped with the fresh sunflower sprouts, definitely a fantastic spring menu choice.

Then for dessert I through together a simple apple crisp and used up the leftover sesame ice cream made for a previous Friday night dinner dessert.  It was so yummy I forgot to get a picture first.

Friday April 6, 2012

Dinner for 2

 

Thai Fish Burgers with Salad

 

A quiet dinner for two tonight.  Sometimes they happen on a Friday night.  Made a beautiful Thai Fish Burger with Salad.  A nice change from the multi-course Friday nights of late but still wonderful food.  Of course sometimes it is lovely to have the company of just one.

 

  

Friday March 30, 2012

Dinner for 7

Fried Mozzarella

Brown Butter Fillet Mignon

Dukkah Fish

Sesame Spinach Salad

Rice Pilaf with Almonds & Apricots

Poached Pears

My parents were in town this weekend so they got to attend a Friday night dinner.  I love cooking for my folks but they have some food sensitivities that limit my menu choices.  I definitely can't go spicy with them.  My parents like frozen mozzarella sticks that you can heat and serve so I definitely knew my made from scratch ones would be a hit as the starter. These are super easy.

I decided on two main dishes to try and make sure everyone was satisfied.  You could cut and share if you wanted to try both which is what most people chose in the end.  The brown butter fillet mignon turned out to be one on the best steaks I have ever cooked in my opinion.  This is going to be added to my special treat dinners for sure.  So tasty and really quite easy to prepare.

Dukkah is an Egyptian spice and nut mix that I could simply by in Adelaide, South Australia but back here in Guelph, Ontario I have had to learn to make it myself.  Luckily it isn't that hard.  You can use dukkah in many ways.  One favourite is to slice a baguette, dip it in olive oil and then dip it in the dukkah served with cheese and such as a mid day meal.  Today though I used it as a coating before baking my white fish.  I simply dipped the fish in a little milk and then dipped it in the spice mixture with a little flour mixed in.  I baked it in a 180C oven until it was cooked.  This has been a favourite quick and tasty fish for along time.

The sides for the mains were chosen to blend with both 'meat' dishes.  Sesame spinach salad and rice pilaf with almonds and  apricots.

Dessert was poached pears which I have done a few times before, but never for my parents.  I love these pears (actually I really just love pears) and they turned out nicely.  Only thing I forgot to reduce some of the poaching liquid to use as a sauce on the pears.  Good thing no one but me noticed it's absence.

Friday March 23, 2012

Appetisers for 8

 Deep Fried Shrimp

Guacamole with Tortilla

Cheese Plate

So this was not your regular Friday night dinner.  Two weekends ago was my birthday and I actually spent the whole weekend in bed due to an allergic reaction to antibiotics.  At the time I had no idea what was wrong with me.  So as a birthday 'do-over' I invited a group of my favourite women to share some drinks and nibbles on my porch. They even surprised me with gifts.  XOXO Thanks! We have had a crazy mild spring this year and we could actually sit out on the porch quite comfortably until the wee hours of the morning.  I prepared a bit of food.  Unfortunately my camera was on vacation with my son so I only have one picture taken by my daughter of the deep fried shrimp.

These are green tiger shrimp in a rich batter. Mix two egg yolks and 100g of flour then add a little water to make a smooth but rather thick batter.  Dip in the shrimps then dip them in broken up thread bean noodles.  Deep fry until golden.  Serve with sweet chilli sauce.  

The guacamole and tortilla were from the same recipe as last week Friday March 9, 2012 .

The cheese plate was a selection from my favourite local shop Ouderkirk & Taylor along with some figs and my own beetroot chutney.

The ladies supplied some excellent brownies as well. 

Friday March 9, 2012

Dinner for 6

Hibiscus Margaritas

 Spicy Roasted Peanuts

Classic Guacamole and Guacamole with Tomatillo and Peach served with Tortilla Chips

Scallop Ceviche with Ruby Grapefruit

 Fish and Avocado Tacos

Chocolate Chilli Pots

Mexican food is not my favourite but my husband really likes it.  I chose dishes that felt I would like out of a couple of cookbooks my husband had given me.  While cooking this dinner I felt like absolute crap and none of the food seemed to be going right, because unknown to me I was having a sever allergic reaction to the antibiotics I was taking for the root canal I had done a day earlier.  The guest all loved the food and looking back on it now it was a fantastic evening and the food was truly fantastic.

Hibiscus margaritas were very yummy.  As you can see we started drinking them while I was still working on the food.  My sister, who is often at our dinners, usually comes over while I am still working on the food and today we enjoyed the spicy roasted peanuts (sorry no picture) and drinks between preparations.  Don't worry there was still plenty left for the other guests.

This is one of the two guacamoles I made to go with the tortilla chips.  This is the one with peach which was everyone's favourite.  I have made similar ones since for the family using cape gooseberries as the fruit and it was very nice too.  The tortilla chips which were cut up tortillas fried and tossed with salt and cumin were excellent.  I wish it was easier to get fresh corn tortillas here so I could make them more often.  

Yummy!!! Scallop ceviche with ruby grapefruit.  Loved it! My favourite dish of the night.

Fish and avocado tacos served with green chilli salsa and salsa rosa.  I am not a huge fan of tacos but I really liked them with fish.  The green chilli salsa and salsa rosa were both super spicy, like most of the food in Christine Manfield book Fire, but so tasty.  

Chocolate chilli pots were an excellent ending to the meal.  Easy to prepare.

Sources for the menu:  Hibiscus margaritas, Spicy Roasted Peanuts and the Guacamoles and Tortilla Chips were all out of the cookbook Antojitos Festive and Flavorful Mexican Small Plates by Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy with Mary Goodbody . Scallop Ceviche and Fish and Avocado Tacos were out of the cookbook Fire: A World of Flavour by Christine Manfield . The Chocolate Chilli Pots were from Delicious magazine   

Friday March 2, 2012

Dinner for 5

Take Away Sushi

I was house bound with a sick child for the last 3 days.  So there was no Friday night dinner this week, prepared by me.  My Hubby was sweet enough to bring home sushi, which is always a hit in our house. Unfortunately I didn't even take a picture of it.  Oh well, back at it next week. 

Cheers

Friday February 24, 2012

Dinner for 7

Japanese Illusion (cocktail)

Oysters with Wasabi Granita & Pickled Ginger

Salmon Soba Noodle Salad with Ginger Dressing

Crumbed Chicken with Katsu Sauce

Beef Tataki

Green Beans with Miso Dressing

Steamed Japanese Rice

Toffee Apple Roll with Sesame Ice Cream

This is the second time I have done this menu for a dinner party and it is becoming a definite favourite.  The food is fantastic and as long as I have enough prep time it runs smoothly.  It is very popular with the friends that have eaten it.  

I wish I took a picture of the cocktail it is a beautiful bright green.  Very tasty too.

I have become a much better oyster shucker  lately but I wouldn't win any speed competitions.  That is why I need extra prep time for this dinner but these are so tasty with the wasabi granita and pickled ginger

Salmon soba noodle salad with ginger dressing 

 Crumbed chicken with katsu sauce.  I have recently discovered that you can buy bottled Katsu sauce in the Asian grocery store.  I am going to try it out with this chicken on a week night for the family because it is so tasty and moist.  I think the kids will like it.

Beef tataki was more successful this time as I cut the beef thinner to make it easier to eat.  I think I would go even a little thinner next time.

Green beans with miso dressing are a big seller.  Anyone who tries them wants the recipe which I happily share.  These are easy to do and a tasty way to eat green beans.  They have been added to week night dinners.

Toffee apple roll with sesame ice cream is a wonderful dessert.  Not to difficult to make but you need a little time with the apples.  The best part is that there is usually left over ice cream which goes great with apple crumble or is rather tasty on it's own.

Sources for the menu  Fuss Free Japanese from Good Taste Magazine .

 

Thursday February 16, 2012

Dinner for 4

Bacon Wrapped Pork with Jezebel Sauce

Stir Fried Asparagus, Broccoli, Sugar Snap Peas and Capsicum

Smashed Potatoes

Berries with Cheesecake Cream

So it is not technically a Friday night dinner but my parents are in town this week visiting and I am going out of town Friday so I moved dinner to Thursday this week.  It was a little simpler as it was not the big late night festivities we usually have.  Kids have school and adults have work the next day.  I made the bacon wrapped pork with jezebel sauce again.  It is pretty simple to do and very tasty.  This time I pared it with some brighter sides.  The veggies are just stir fried with a little minced garlic in a hot wok with a little sesame oil.  I add just a splash of soy and lemon juice just as they about to come off the heat to season them and brighten the flavours.  The smashed potatoes are pretty simple too.  Just boil some small potatoes until tender.  Place on a lightly oiled  baking sheet and press.  I use a drinking glass.  Drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (You can also add rosemary, thyme or garlic depending on what you plan to serve them along side)  Bake in 210C oven until crispy, about 25 minutes. 

Dessert was the berries with cheesecake cream again, but it is the first time I have served it to my parents.

Sources for the menu: Bacon Wrapped Pork with Jezebel Sauce was adapted from a Cuisine for Two magazine , Stir Fried Vegetables & Smashed Potatoes are both made without following any recipe and Berries and Cheesecake Cream is a recipe by Matt Tebbutt  that I found in the Jamie Magazine 2011/12 Yearbook.

Tuesday February 14, 2012

Dinner for 4

Heart Shaped Cheese Pizza

Yes I am that mum.  My valentine was out of town today so no romantic dinner for two at home instead it was home made heart shaped pizza for myself and my three children.

  

The kids loved it.  Pizza dough made with my bread maker topped with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.  

 

Friday February 10, 2012

Dinner for 2

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Nuoc Cham

Pho Bo (Beef and Noodle Soup)

Went for Vietnamese this week.  Only myself and my Husband tonight so I kept it simple. A starter and main course no dessert or extras.  Shared some Spring Rolls with our son.

Like any spring roll these ones take some time to make but I am getting pretty good at rolling and folding items of this type and can do it in a timely manner.  The sauce that went with the spring rolls was very tasty.  I love homemade dipping sauces, they always have a crisper, fresher taste profile.  I did find my spring rolls didn't come out as crisp as I would have liked.  Perhaps my oil wasn't hot enough.  

I have never had Pho so I am not exactly sure how it is suppose to taste authentically.  The recipe I used called for making your own beef broth.  I used store bought and added the spices and cooked it down for a while but I found it was lacking some body and depth.  I think the next time I will try to make my own broth or jazz up the store bought even more.  The meat was beautiful, so tender.  Definitely going to try this again.

Sources for the menu: Spring rolls and sauce Good Taste Magazine (from Australia) and Good Taste Magazine   Pho Bo Good Taste Magazine as well.

Friday February 3, 2012

Dinner for 6

Deep Fried Spring Roll
Pad Thai

 Thai Beef Salad
 Kao Mok Gai (Chicken Braised in Rice with Turmeric & Spices) Served with Sweet Chilli Sauce
Wine Poached Pears with Yoghurt and Berries and Vanilla-Cinnamon Sauce

Thai food again.  I loved the deep fried spring rolls so much I just had to make them again and share them with others.  This time I had all the ingredients.  I didn't get a picture of them before they were gobbled up by the guest though.

I served three main dishes. Pad Thai.  This is a really easy recipe and was quite tasty.

Thai beef salad.  The beef may seem a little rare to some but it is the way we like it.  I use this recipe often but I used a little less beef and more salad than called for this time.  It is from a meal plan that is heavy on protein and I find it a little much when serving it along side other dishes.   

Chicken braised in rice with turmeric and spices needed a little tweaking.  I couldn't find Cassia bark so I used Cinnamon stick instead and I decided to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of the legs and thighs cut into pieces it called for.  The chicken tasted delicious but unfortunately some of the rice was still hard.  It needed more liquid than was called for.  Not that I could have fit any more in my pan.  This dish was to big for my biggest fry pan.  

This dessert is another of my favourites.  I have made these a few times. The recipe is for two but it is easy to alter for more. I love the combination of yoghurt, berries and almonds with the poached pears and sauce.  Plus it is easy, not to filling, rich or sweet and looks fancy. 

Sources for the menu: Deep Fried Spring Rolls and Pad Thai are from Simply Thai Cooking . Thai Beef Salad is from The CSIRO Total Well Being Diet  by Dr. Manny Noakes & Dr. Peter Clifton. The Kao Mok Gai is out if a beautiful cookbook full of fantastic pictures and authentic recipes called Thai Street Food by David Thompson.  It is like a coffee table book filled with great recipes.  The Wine Poached Pears is out of Cuisine Tonight For Two  (the actual one in the photo with the 101 new recipes).

Friday January 27, 2012

Dinner for 2

Handmade Deep Fried Spring Rolls
Thai Spicy Noodles
Berries with Cheesecake Cream 

The key to making Thai food, as with most Asian cuisine, is preparation.  If you have everything chopped and measured then when it comes time to cook you can rapidly add things.  Some ingredients for the filling of the spring rolls was to be added while cooking only 30 seconds after the last. 

I loved the filling in these spring rolls.  I actually could have ate it on it's own.  I used egg roll wrappers, mostly because I couldn't find spring roll wrappers, but I also like egg roll wrappers.  I also left out the optional dried black fungus.  It isn't that I don't like it it is just that I didn't have any in the pantry.  I might have had my oil a touch too hot so they got a little darker than I would have liked.  Please excuse the paper towel in the photo, I was just felt they would become soggy while sitting if I left them on the plate.

The Thai Spicy Noodle dish was very tasty but a bit of a disaster.  My noodles were over cooked (I didn't pay attention to the time) so they became a big blob.  We ended up leaving them on the serving plate and eating everything else.

Both of the sauces were also made from scratch.

Desert was the Berries with Cheesecake Cream again.  This has become a favourite in our house hold.

  

Sources for the menu: The starter, main and sauces were all out of Simply Thai Cooking by Wandee Young and Byron Ayanoglu (I have the Third Edition) and the Berries and Cheesecake Cream is a recipe by Matt Tebbutt  that I found in the Jamie Magazine 2011/12 Yearbook.

Friday January 20, 2012

Dinner for 2

Clam Fideos with Kielbasa & Smoked Paprika
Spinach-Fennel Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

This is the second dinner I made for my blog and I totally forgot to take a picture.  It looked fantastic too, trust me.  This was my first time cooking clams.  I have prepared a lot of oysters and I have cooked mussels once but never clams.  I substituted the fideos pasta with a short thin pasta (like cut angel hair) I found at the grocery store.  It must be significantly thinner because the first time I went to toast it before cooking it burn completely.  Good thing I had a whole bag.  I adjusted the time of toasting and it worked out nicely.  I also substituted kielbasa for the linguica as I couldn't find it anywhere.  It was a lovely rustic one pan dish.  

The spinach-fennel salad was a wonderful fresh side to this dish.  I also served it with some fresh thick bread.  

Dessert tonight was a bakery bought chocolate cake that we shared with the kids as it was just the two of us for dinner this week.

Sources for the menu:  This one was again out of my Cuisine Tonight for Two Magazine.

Friday January 13, 2012

Dinner for 4

Balsamic Mushrooms with Goat Cheese Toasts
Bacon Wrapped Pork with Jezebel Sauce
Pan-Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Brown Butter Mashed Celery Root
Berries with Cheesecake Cream

As this was my first Friday night dinner blog I am sorry I forgot to take a photo of the starter.  They were tasty and easy to make.
 

The dinner was very tasty but the first thing I noticed when I looked at the photos for this blog was how bland the plate looked.  For the sake of the photo I should have had some more Brussel Sprouts green side up and for the sake of the plate maybe I should have done Sweet Potato Mash instead of the Celery Root Mash for more colour.  Jezebel sauce is easy and has become a new favourite with roast pork at my house.  Everything was fairly straight forward and all came together nicely.

The Berries and Cheesecake Cream has also become a new favourite easy dessert.  I am not a big fan of fussy many stepped deserts.  I served it with a Chocolate Marshmallow from Bobbette & Belle Artisanal Pastries in Toronto  and a Shortbread Cookie.

Sources for the menu:  Balsamic Mushrooms with Goat Cheese toast was adapted from a recipe from Iain Hewitson, Huey's Bloody Good Recipes , Bacon Wrapped Pork with Jezebel Sauce and Pan-Roasted Brussel Sprouts was adapted from a Cuisine for Two magazine (I love these magazines for proper portion sizes when cooking for 2.  I doubled the recipe in this case to serve 4), Brown Butter Mashed Celery Root is from Micheal Smith's cookbook The Best of Chef at Home,and Berries and Cheesecake cream is a recipe by Matt Tebbutt  that I found in the Jamie Magazine 2011/12 Yearbook.

The Evolution of Friday Nights

So here is a Canadian girl living down under with three kids and my husband starts working in China while doing his MBA at the same time.  This leaves me to hold down the fort all by myself for a good chunk of the time.  He could be gone a week or more at a time and was away over at least part of the weekends often.  Lucky for me I had some made some fantastic friends who became my most treasured support group during those eighteen months.

One of our friends is a fabulous cook and he would volunteer to come to my bigger kitchen and cook for our families.  He also loved to entertain with his wife and kids in their home. Wine and beer were always drunk along side his fabulous food and good memories were made.  Another friend who lived one street over was also a fantastic cook and she would host us along with some other friends on Friday evenings.  They had a pool which was a fantastic way for the kids to end a busy week, swimming with friends.  Beautiful food would be cooked but sometimes it would be spur of the moment pot-luck and sometimes we would just order pizza and drink beautiful wine.  Other days I would have the gang over to my house. Casual or formal, lunch or dinner, we would have great food and fabulous company.  I really wouldn't have survived those many months without my family of friends.  There was also quite the party when Rob completed his MBA.

Then the unthinkable ... after six fantastic years in Australia we were to return to Canada.  Gone were my treasured friends and support group.  As luck would have it, we managed to land around the corner from one of my sisters and her family.  I don't work outside the home so I look forward to socialising on Friday nights.  Unfortunately, even though my husband looks forward to Fridays he is knackered from the long hours he works and all the travel he does.  He really has no interest in going out but he doesn't mind having people over.  It was then that I hatched the 'Friday Night Dinner' plan.  I would plan and prep during the day on Fridays so that we could have spectacular, restaurant quality meals on Friday nights. Others could join us without the pressure of heading to a restaurant or the expense.  A salute to the wonderful evenings spent at our neighbours in Australia.

I would be able to fulfil my passion for cooking and need to socialise with grown ups and my husband could kick back and relax in his home.  Sometimes it is only dinner for 2, most weeks it is dinner for 4 (my sister and her partner and son over) but I am hoping to cook for 6 or 8 more often to establish a new base of great friends.  I feed the kids first, something easy and kid friendly, so they can go off and play while the grown ups enjoy fantastic quality food in a relaxed home environment.

I started in 2011.  It has been fantastic!  I get to do what I love.  I get to improve my timing, technique and even try new things.  I get to hear people tell me how great my cooking is (I really like that part).  And with any luck I will make some new friends who will become my new support group and help fill the void left in my life when I had to leave Australia.

My Beginnings

I grew up eating meat, potatoes and vegetable for the most part.  Our family would have Chinese food from the local take out place once a year and pizza on the odd occasion.  Sometimes there were spaghetti dinners or casseroles.  There was no spice in our life and all veggies were cooked to death.  But my parents did do their own canning, pickling, blanched and froze vegetables that were in season.  Plus they made their own jam, maple syrup, bread and plenty of cookies.  At the time I didn't really appreciate all of the hard work and I would have done anything for some 'Wonder Bread' and an 'Oreo'. 

My Dad had a set of cook books that he would break out on occasion. My sisters and I would run screaming in terror at the sight of them because it meant something new and 'exotic'.  My poor Father couldn't even try to make anything creative without a chorus of 'OH NOOOO!'.  That of course has come back to bite me with my 3 kids.  Even though they have dinned from a wider range of food than I ever did. When they were little (some of them still are) they would turn their nose up at anything new.  At least they don't run screaming.  Sorry Dad.

When I moved out to attend university I lived off rice, pasta, eggs and 'Mr. Noodles' (I could buy them 4 for $1).  Certainly nothing fancy for those 4 years.  It was about sustaining myself cheaply not cooking with passion, although I would make spaghetti carbonara on occasion as taught to me by a guy I met from Italy. 

After getting married I started cooking a wider range of food.  Mostly Italian pasta and meat dishes.  I would experiment with the odd recipe out of a magazine or the newspaper but I really wasn't making anything spectacular.  Then it happened.  That EUREKA moment.  We had moved to Australia and I had access to so much fresh produce and seafood.  I was introduced to a more European style of shopping ... daily.  There were bakeries, fish mongers, green groceries, butchers and bottle shops all within walking distance of my home.  I also discovered TV chefs, on the all night food channel after I had my 3rd child.  They made everything look so easy.  So I bought a cook book and started to cook.  Anything and everything.

Spicy Things, New Things, Crazy Things and I found out I had a real flare for it.  My love for great food had began and well ... I wanted to share it.