Friday March 15, 2013

Dinner for 3

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Roasted Potatoes

Pancetta Wrapped Chicken with Glazed Date Sauce

Apple Crisp

It is March Break this week in Ontario and I have taken my two daughters up to my parents place in cottage country.  That means Friday Night dinner is on the road this week.

My parents have a somewhat restrictive diet now that they are in there 70's.  They have to avoid things high in salt and cholesterol as well as grapefruit.  Plus they have things they definitely don't like ... spice of any kind for my Mom and ginger, arugula and a lot of seafood for my Dad.  This sort of limits the foods I prefer to cook but it gives me a chance to explore other avenues.  My parents are willing to try new things but my mom loves a few of my standard dishes, like roasted potatoes, so I decided to combine new and old.

Roasted brussel sprouts are by far the best way to eat this vegetable and it is so simple.  Trim and half the brussel sprouts.  Place them in a baking dish with a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pop in the oven at 200C for about 20 minutes.  Yummy.  These turned out a little darker than I usually do them, my parents oven is hotter than mine, I really need to get use to it.

My mother absolutely loves my oven roasted potatoes.  She always wants me to make them when I visit.  She believes I even make them better than my Dad, sorry Dad.  I make them the way Jamie Oliver does on his show.  Par boil pealed and quartered potatoes.  Drain and steam dry them.  Put them in a baking pan with olive oil, salt and pepper then into the 200C oven for about 40 minutes until they are nice and crispy on the outside.

New to the menu was the panchetta wrapped chicken.  Everyone loved it, although I reduced the sauce a little too much so it was too thick.  It was a little sweet for my liking but it sure was a hit with my parents.  They support my 'chefiness'  a lot so it always makes me feel extra great when I cook them something they truly love. Recipe was found in a Good & Fresh Magazine by Better Homes & Garden Winter 2013.

Finished dinner with apple crisp.  Another of my Mom's favourites that I make.  I know my parents don't use butter but I snuck it in here.  A little decadence is always deserved once in a while.  I peel and chop apples into small pieces.  Enough to fill four ramekins.  The topping is 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup rolled oats and 1 tsp cinnamon.  I blend the topping together with my hands until it is a nice crumbly texture.  You can add flour to get a better texture if need be.  Then I bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 180C.