Tapas around the world

I have been really bad about blogging lately. My hesitation is that I want to post recipes with photos, but I do hate our crappy little Nikon so I procrastinate. My dear friend Barb gave me the boot last night and suggested that I post my creations anyway, so here I go (thanks Barbie!).
We haven’t [...]

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Cottage closing weekend, a bit early

This year we had to close the cottage down a bit early because of weekend obligations. It’s never fun but we’ve got it down to a science so it generally goes smoothly.
Because it’s a work weekend, I try to make most of the food easy and fast. For the first time in months, we were [...]

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Gazpacho – Chilled Tomato Soup with Raw Vegetable Salsa

I had some tomatoes in the refrigerator that needed to be used up and fast, so what better than a chilled soup on a hot summer’s day? JT doesn’t like raw onions so I always make this soup cooked and then cool it down. JT gave this one a 9.5/10! The balsamic gives the soup [...]

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Iron Chef Inspiration – Melon and Prosciutto rethunk

The Marlatt’s are coming to the cottage in a few weeks and I am already thinking about the menu. I was inspired by Iron Chef last week, where the secret ingredient was melon and you had to have a frozen component. One of the chef’s created a version of melon and prosciutto that I loved, [...]

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Cold Avocado Soup with Cilantro Oil

Although this soup is very rich, I have modified it to a slightly healthier version and suggest about 1/2 cup servings otherwise you won’t have room for dinner!
Modified from Epicurious.
For soup

1 fresh ear of corn, shucked (or 1 cup frozen corn)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cups chopped white [...]

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Leek & Potato Capuccino with Gruyère Crème

This is a small capuccino sized serving, for 5 (about 75ml per serving). Although it seems like a lot of work, this is really worth it. The flavour is incredible AND it’s totally my recipe! Inspired no less, by our dinner at Europa in Montréal on February 15 2009.

1 cup finely sliced leaks
3 small new [...]

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Dinner with Brian and Joan

JT’s sister and her son (nephew Brian) were over for dinner on Saturday night. This pork loin roast is a fantastic recipe that we originally saw on Martha Stewart, when she had her Mom as a guest on the show. I’ve adapted the recipe, of course, but will link to the original in the title.
The [...]

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Dinner with Dave and Mi Mi

Last Saturday we had our good friends, Dave and Mi Mi over for dinner. The menu was:
Hors D’oeuvres: Home made chicken liver paté, korozot (hungarian goats cheese dip) and variety of olives.
Puréed Roasted Cauliflower Soup (recipe below), with slivered apples and gruyere cheese dallopped on the centre.
Paella with Rustic Home Baked Bread
Molten Chocolate Cake with [...]

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Oven Roasted Beet Soup

Fall is the time for root vegetables, and beets are one of my favorites! Beautiful in colour, rich in nutrients and it makes a really filling meal! Roasting beets instead of boiling them brings out their natural sugars and actually will reduce the earthiness somewhat.
I picked up about 4 large red beets at my local [...]

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Fall 2008

Every year, I have mixed feelings about fall; I love the fall colours, I get excited about winter coming, but get really sad about having to put socks and shoes on! It all boils down to claustrophobic feet! There I said it.
We closed the cottage this weekend. The weather was quite lovely (about 24C yesterday). [...]

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