Friday July 5, 2013

Dinner for 5

Take Away Canadian Chinese

Spring Rolls

Fried Rice

Deep Fried Wontons

Chicken Balls

Lemon Chicken

Beef and Peppers

Beef and Snow Peas

Lo Mein

 Well I was suppose to still be up north at my Dad's with my family but it has been raining a lot and the mosquitos are becoming unbearable.  We have cut this visit short but I am not worrried because I am sure to be back again soon.  We got home just in time for dinner but I took the night off and we ordered some Chinese take away from my son's favourite spot.

While I love the fried rice, deep fried rice, lo mein and of course there is something truely nostalgic about the chicken balls in that bright red sweet and sour sauce I could pass on the beef dishes.  I certainly prefer my own stir fried beef and vegetables.  I just find the take away dishes to have a very gelatounus sauce that is not appealing to me.  All in all it was a tasty way to end a long drive home after a long time away.

Saturday June 28, 2013

Dinner for 20

Grilled Lamb Kofta Kebabs with Pistachios and Spicy Salad Wraps

Grilled Chicken (for the young kids)

Rhubarb and Sticky Stem Ginger Crumble

Grilled Strawberries with Pimms and Vanilla Ice Cream

Canada Day Long Weekend!!!! Traditionally spent at my parents home on a river located between Minden and Haliburton in one of the cottage areas of Southern Ontario.  It is a weekend spent 'camping' (ie sleeping in tents but having access to the house's bathroom and kitchen).  Dishes are done outdoors with basins of hot water.  There are campfires at night and playing in the river during the day with friends and family.  Truly Paradise.

One day of the weekend is the Canada Day party that includes a pot luck, trivia contest and a gift exchange game when even more people come just for the day.  Such Fun.  The rest of the weekend, the core group (ranging for 20 to 30) is assigned meals to do.  For many years I have done breakfast because I don't mind getting up, usually after staying up late drinking, and making food for the gang.  This year we decided to have only one "BIG" breakfast (which my sister, the other early riser wanted to do) and on the other mornings the folks would just fend for themselves on standard available items like fruit, cereal, toast, yoghurt, bagels etc.

That left only 2 lunches and 2 dinners open to assign.  We gave the lunches to the two families not actually related by blood leaving the Dinners open for my younger sister family and mine.  Everyone in my family knows Friday Night Dinner is my thing but only 9 people would would be up at the cottage on Friday Night.  My 15 year old nephew is a wonderful cook and he wanted to take the lead on his families dinner duty serving pork larb in lettuce wraps.  I happily took the Saturday night so his debut as the lead cook would be for the smaller group.  

Of course with all the excitement of the evening I forgot to take any photos.  You will have to take my word for it that it was a sucess.  One of my Brother-in-laws particularly loved the Grilled Strawberries, now know as BOOZY BERRIES.  It was a build your own kind of dinner with the young kids able to use grilled chicken and non spicy salad in their wraps.

Food was great.  Company was fantastic.  I LOVE cooking for family and friends   

Friday June 21, 2013

Dinner for 1

Well tonight my Husband is out at a squash (the sport not the vegetable) party and I am home with the kids.  The weather has turned hot and humid suddenly after a slow start to the summer.  What shall I cook for Friday Night Dinner for 1?  I have this fantastic leftover Teriaki Salmon from a dinner party I had this week.  Ah ha I know....

I mixed some baby spinach, mustard sprouts, broccoli sprouts and snow pea sprouts, added some quartered cherry tomatoes, chopped green onions and a little chopped cucumber and placed them on a flat bread.  I topped it with the leftover salmon, some coriander and a little bottled teryaki sauce.  I rolled them like a fajita and tucked in.

Light, delicious and perfect for a hot and humid summer night.  Used up my leftovers too.  Win, win in my books.

Friday June 14, 2013

Dinner for 2

Hot and Sour Rhubarb Crispy Pork with Noodles

Sometimes Friday Night Dinners can go horribly wrong.  Tonight was one of those nights.  Thank goodness it was just a dinner for Hubby and I.  Hot and Sour Rhubarb Crispy Pork with Noodles sounds fantastic doesn't it.  I got this recipe out of Jamie Oliver's Jamie at Home cookbook.  I have always had great success cooking or adapting Jamie's recipes.  It was my ingredients that sabotaged me this time.  I have a hard time finding pork belly (I now have a farmer I can get it from). In the morning I bought some from the grocery store after looking high and low this week, but it was HEAVILY salted.  And I mean HEAVILY!  I soaked the pork belly and rinsed it all day prior to cooking this recipe but it was of no use.  The dinner turned out too salty to eat.  What a disappointment.  Sadly that was not the Anniversary dinner I had in mind.

It looked beautiful though.  Now that I have a farmer that will butcher me any pork belly I need, I look forward to attempting this again in the early summer when the rhubarb is in season.

 

Friday June 7, 2013

Dinner for 2

Broiled Citrus Seafood with Fennel and Snow Pea Sprouts in Broth
Grilled Asparagus
Peach, Rhubarb Ginger Crumble

I have made the broiled citrus seafood before but with a bouillabaisse broth which contains potatoes.   Tonight I didn't want potatoes so I left them out and added fennel and snow pea sprouts to the broth.  I served the dish with some grilled asparagus.

It was a pretty simple dish and so tasty.  I marinated the split lobster tail, scallops and shrimp in olive oil with the zest and juice from an orange and a lemon plus a pinch of dried chilli flakes.  Then I grilled the seafood under a broiler.  I made a simple broth with a little fennel, tomatoes and adding the snow pea tendrils at the end.  I then ladled the broth into the bowls and topped it with the seafood.  A little finely chopped parsley topped it off.  Grilled asparagus was served as a side.

Rhubarb is currently in season and growing in my garden. I combined the fresh rhubarb with some peaches I froze last summer and a bit of grated ginger.  The crisp topping was made with brown sugar, butter, oats and cinnamon.  All topped off with some vanilla ice cream.

 

Friday May 17, 2013

Dinner for 4

Crispy Asian Four Spice Duck with Noodles in Lettuce Cups

I know what you are thinking, my menu has a typo.  Shouldn't that read five spice?  Well yes and no.  Traditionally it would be five spice but I had to adapt the recipe and create my own four spice because my sons girlfriend is joining us for dinner tonight and she is allergic to cinnamon. Imagine missing out on cinnamon. 

I made my own four spice mix by just leaving out the cinnamon, no worries.  It was very tasty even without cinnamon.  I love crispy duck and anything in a lettuce cup.  I adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals television show.  The closest recipe I could find on line was Five Spice Duck Salad so it must be out of his book.  The duck was cooked similar to this recipe, however it was cubed first then the 4 spice seasoning was rubbed in and then cooked and drained of fat.  I served mine on platter with lettuce cups and thin noodles cooked as directed and tossed with a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil.  I added the cooked duck and then topped it with toasted sesame seeds, toasted cashews, radishes, fresh coriander and silken tofu cubes which had been mixed with a little sweet chilli sauce.  Then finally the whole dish was topped a with sauce made of Hoisin and lime juice combined.

So glad to be eating outside again as the weather is lovely tonight.

Friday May 3, 2013

Dinner for 2

Thai Noodles

Well I burried my mom yesterday, so again my heart just wasn't into cooking Friday Night Dinner.  I know that this is going to be a tough year without her but I am not planning on going on about it on my blog.  I promise not to constantly bring you readers down.

I decided on a Thai noodle dish with some seafood.  I am making some Thai food this weekend for a friends baby shower.  The word is out with the women I swim with that I cook great food.  The mother to be has put in a request for Thai at her baby shower so in planning for that, I decided to cook Thai for the Hubby and I.  I love Thai food and as long as you spend some time prepping everything it is super easy to cook up and is done in no time at all.
  

 Lots of vegetables, capsicum, broccoli and snow peas, with shrimp and noodles in a spicy Thai sauce topped with fresh coriander.  YUMMY!