Bacon and Gruyére Scones

Scones are so easy to make and they are always a crowd-pleaser. Plus, they freeze beautifully with quick defrost in the microwave or oven. I whipped these up for the soup I posted about last week and the bacon went beautifully with the green vegetable soup. 

These delicately flakey scones have a strong gruyère aroma, particularly when you reheat them.

A kitcheninspirations original recipe

Makes 7 5 cm (2 inch) scones

Ingredients:

• 280 g AP flour
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 15 g baking powder
• 6 g salt
• 34 g cold butter, in cubes
• 16 g bacon fat
• 1 L egg
• 120 mL buttermilk
• 100 g grated Gruyére cheese
• 2 slices bacon, well done, chopped roughly
• 5 mL milk or cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
2. In the large bowl of your food processor, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and chopped bacon and pulse to combine.
3. Whisk to combine the egg, buttermilk, and the cooled bacon fat and slowly add it to the dry ingredients while running the processor. Change the blade to the plastic blade and add the cheese. Pulse to combine.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the scone dough to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Cut into even squares. Lay on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced out about 2 cm. Brush the tops with milk or cream. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

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Creamy Lupin Flour “Polenta”

It’s well into the new year and I must confess, we’ve been doing a low-carb diet for 2023 to shed the pounds that Covid brought upon us. Unfortunately, like most Europeans, I do love my carbs so it’s not been the easiest thing to change, that is until I discovered Lupin flour! Lupin flour is a high protein, low carb flour created from Lupin beans; if you want to learn more about Lupin flour, see this post. What I love about it is that it behaves very similarly in recipes as flour and it doesn’t have an off-putting taste like many bean flours have. Lupin flour can be bitter so make sure you find a brand that claims it is sweet.

Way back in January, we were just into two weeks of our new diet and I was starting to get a little tired of cauliflower mash when I came across Lupin flour “polenta”. It has the same creaminess and texture like actual polenta, and it gets more solid as it cools so I’ve indicated a range of chicken stock if you are reheating the polenta. I am excited to try this new flour in other recipes, like batter for fried fish, pasta and such. It’s definitely going to be a staple for the immediate future anyway.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2 about 125 mL each

Ingredients:

• 100-200 mL chicken stock
• 30 mL whipping cream
• 30 g ground lupin flour
• 15 g unsalted butter 
• 50  g sharp cheddar cheese (or sharply flavoured melting cheese of your choice)
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Aleppo peppers and finely chopped parsley, to taste

Directions:

1. In a small pot, add the chicken stock and whipping cream. Stir well.
2. Add the ground lupin flour and stir until thickened.
3. Add the butter and stir until melted, add the cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt, pepper, Aleppo and parsley to taste.
4. Serve warm.

I received a whole-hearted thumbs-up from JT on this one!

Notes:

• Allergy warning: Many people who are sensitive or allergic to peanuts or soy find that they have a sensitivity to Lupin beans/flour.
• As I mentioned above, this “polenta” gets thicker and thicker as it cools so you may need a bit more chicken stock to loosen it for serving if you’ve made it in advance.
• The flavour of Lupin flour is not strong like chickpea flour but there is a very slight taste that is not off-putting at all. I would almost say sweet.
• I purchased this brand from Amazon (around $3.00 per 100 grams) but found that Bulk Barn has it for a more reasonable price (about $1.30 per 100 grams), although I haven’t tried it yet.
• Use vegetable stock and a cream and butter substitute if you are making this vegan or vegetarian.
• We found this more filling than traditional polenta but less filling than something made with almond flour so the serving size should be smaller than traditional polenta.

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Boursin Christmas Tree Dip Plate

I wanted to get this cute little presentation onto the blog so I don’t forget about it next year. It’s so simple, it’s not even a real recipe, but here it is. I think I saw it on my Facebook feed but it immediately disappeared and I cannot find it, sorry. We had a bunch of kids in the mix so I diluted the boursin with cream cheese, it was still plenty flavourful and the kids loved it too.

Makes 4 little Christmas trees of various sizes (about 250 g of dip)

Ingredients:

• 150 g Boursin dip (I used one package of the fine herbs and garlic), room temperature
• 125 g plain cream cheese, room temperature (half a package)
• 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• a handful of dried cranberry, cut into small triangles
• Bread and crackers for serving

Directions:

1. Combine the Boursin and cream cheese and whip with a small hand mixer until thoroughly combined.
2. Using a small piece of plastic wrap, take some of the dip and form it into a cone shape using the plastic wrap to protect your hands, do this three more times. Varying heights will look best.
3. Combine the parsley and green onion on a plate.
4. Roll each cone into the parsley and green onion to cover the outside. Place little cranberry pieces into each tree to decorate it.
5. Serve on a large platter that can accommodate the bread and crackers.
6. If you are not serving this immediately, refrigerate covered so it doesn’t dry out. Bring to room temperature to serve.

 

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Cheddar Cheese and Onion Kefir Scones

Hearty winter soups are a staple when we are in Canada and I just love to serve soups with scones. This recipe is an old favourite but I had run out of fresh onions so I used my handy dehydrated onion flakes in this easy recipe. There is just a little time to rehydrate the onions and you’re good to go. 

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 9 large scones

Ingredients:

• 260 g AP flour
• 15 g sugar
• 15 g baking powder
• 5 g salt
• 2 g cream of tartar
• 56 g cold butter
• 155 g frozen, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
• 200 mL buttermilk, 15 mL for brushing the tops
• 30 g dehydrated onion flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rehydrate the onions flakes in the buttermilk for 5 minutes.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in the large bowl of your food processor with the blades and mix well.
4. Cut in the cold butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Replace the blade with the plastic dough blade.
5. Add the buttermilk onion mixture and cheese to the flour and pulse to combine into a ball (cheese should still be frozen or at the very least, extremely cold).
6. If it’s really warm in your kitchen, it’s best to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. With very little flour to prevent sticking, roll the dough into 1 cm thickness and use your favourite cookie cutter to cut even shapes (I used 5 cm squares with scalloped edges.
7. Place each shape onto the prepared baking sheet about a centimetre apart and brush the tops with the extra buttermilk. Add a pinch of frozen shredded cheese to each top, if desired.
8. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

So flakey and delicious!

Notes:

• I buy my cooking/baking cheese on sale in 400 g logs and I grate them into zip-lock bags and freeze them. If you break up the shreds as they freeze, they won’t stick together in clumps.
• The frozen cheese will help make these flakey.

These are the grey days that just kill me.

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Stracciatella (egg drop soup)

Stracciatella is one of my favourite soups. Oh, who am I kidding, I adore all soups! The broth is the real star of this simple dish, homemade is best and this recipe will give you a quick solution to a flavourful broth in 30 minutes. Yes, it’s another Instant Pot recipe. I usually have homemade chicken stock in the freezer but if I don’t, I definitely have a BBQ’d chicken carcass in the freezer! This easy stock comes together quickly and I dare you to find a difference from the long, slow-cooked stocks of the past. I based this recipe on Frank’s lovely dish. The soup is more filling than you’d think, so limit the servings to the smaller side.

This is the perfect soup for a chilly day.

For the original recipe, please click here.

Makes 1 L of soup

Ingredients for the quick stock:

• A barbecued chicken carcass with most of the meat stripped off.
• 1 onion
• 1 rib celery
• parsley stems
• 15 mL better than bouillon chicken broth

Directions for the quick stock:

1. Combine the ingredients in the instant pot and cover with water. Put the pressure cooker lid on and lock it into place. Set the IP to Pressure on High for 30 minutes making sure the steam release valve is closed (up position).
2. Strain the bones and vegetables from the stock and reserve about 1 liter of stock for this soup, reserve the remaining stock for another recipe.

Ingredients for the Stracciatella:

• 1 L of homemade stock (see above)
• 2 eggs
• 45 g Parmesan, finely grated
• few drops of lemon juice
• pinch of nutmeg

Directions for the Stracciatella:

1. Bring the stock to a slow boil. Combine the eggs and parmesan cheese until it is whisked smooth.
2. Once the stock boils, slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the stock, whisk the stock around in the same direction so the egg doesn’t form one large blob.
3. Allow the soup to continue cooking for a couple of minutes; the egg will turn into beautiful little curds and the broth will clear.
4. Add a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of nutmeg and serve warm.
5. You may add some additional grated parmesan as garnish at the table.

The soup comes together quickly if you already have chicken broth on hand but it only takes about 40 minutes if you make the stock from scratch.

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Cheese Sticks revisted

During the final days of September, my brother came to visit, I hadn’t seen him for about a year. He was back for a month from his new home, abroad in the Caribbean. I thought I’d make the cheese sticks that we enjoyed so much during our early days of adulthood. I’ve updated the recipe below. They were very well received.

Cheese Straws

Ingredients:

• 280 g all-purpose flour

• 5 g salt

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (cold), cut into small cubes

• 110g cheese

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1-2 tbsp water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Whisk the egg and water together until homogeneous, set aside.
3. Add the flour, salt, butter, and cheese to the large bowl of your food processor. Plus a few times to mix thoroughly and add the egg and water and whiz until a smooth ball of dough forms.
4. Roll the dough to an even thickness of about 2 mm between two sheets of parchment paper. Cut into even sticks. Bake for 10-14 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack and serve. Baked sticks may be frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight and allow to come to room temperature before serving.

These are rather moreish, don’t let their unassuming look mislead you.

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Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara is one of our absolute favourite quick dinner dishes. I saw a unique method of warming a thick paste of eggs, Pecorino and a little of the rendered Guanciale oil in a bain-marie on Bobby and Giada in Italy at Trattoria Santa Palato. They claim that the eggs won’t scramble as easily because you have more control over the heat with the bain-marie. I am not sure that is true, but it does make a super creamy and delicious sauce. 

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a pasta course.

Ingredients:

• 100 g Guanciale, thinly sliced
• 250 g spaghetti
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 100 g Pecorino, finely grated

Directions:

1. Cook the Guanciale until crispy, and reserve the fat.
2. Heat a pot of water for the pasta. In a heat-proof bowl, combine the egg and Pecorino until you get a thick paste. Put the bowl of eggy cheese over the lightly boiling pasta water and whisk until smooth. Set aside, away from heat.
3. Cook the spaghetti until al dente. Use tongs to move the pasta from the boiling water and add it to the warmed egg mixture and mix rigorously until you achieve a smooth sauce, adding pasta water as needed. 
4. Serve sprinkled with the crispy Guanciale and more cheese if desired.

Creamy, salty and absolutely delicious!

Notes:

• This recipe uses Pecorino exclusively, but I have seen Pecorino and Parmesan used in various ratios.
• There are many versions of this recipe on line this is just one of them. The authentic Carbonara NEVER uses cream.

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Savoury Cheese Tuille

Upon our return from Spain, I was missing being there so I made the Almond Tuiles of Sevilla (Tejas Dulces de Sevilla). They are delicious but it got me thinking about a savoury version. We had brought home some wonderful cheese called Old Amsterdam and I thought it would make a delicious snack. They are light and airy and crisp. They are strong enough for dip, but tasty on their own. I love how rustic they look from just breaking them apart.

Savoury Cheese Tuiles

Makes about 20 cm x 30 cm sheet

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 30 g cheese (I used Old Amsterdam)
• 1 g salt
• 1 g smoked paprika 
• 50 g flour 

Directions:

1. Beat the egg until it reaches the ribbon stage (about 5 minutes), add the salt and smoked paprika and mix well, then fold in the flour.
2. Spread evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle the cheese over it evenly and bake at 275° F for 20-35 minutes or until it has totally dried out and developed a golden colour.
3. Cool entirely and once cool break into shards. Serve at room temperature.

 

 

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Fried Cheese Tortellini

I always create a menu plan for every week and when we arrived in Spain, it was no different. I like to schedule meals out in a restaurant but if they don’t work out, I also like to have something easy to fix on hand, dried cheese tortellini was one of these things. We had been out for lunch at one of our favourite Italian places and the couple at the table next to us ordered the fried cheese tortellini and I was inspired, they looked so delicious. I have made fried pasta before but used North American dried pasta and it wasn’t good, they were too thick and ended up really hard and difficult to eat so I didn’t bother posting about them. These little gems are different, they are crispy, chewy little parcels filled with cheese! They are wonderful. I tested up a batch of 18 and found them quite successful so I fried up the entire package! I froze them for when we reunite with our dear friends Paul and T from Arizona, they came for a visit in early May. Just pop them onto a parchment-lined baking pan and bake at 350° F for about 10-12 minutes. Serve with salsa, romesco sauce or any one of your favourites. Make sure you make a bunch because they are addictive.

They are crispy and chewy little parcels of deliciousness.

Crispy Fried Cheese Tortellini

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes as many tortellini as your package has.

Ingredients:

• 1 package dry cheese-filled tortellini, cooked through
• 500 mL high flash-point oil
• dipping sauce, your choice

Directions:

1. Heat the oil to 350° F
2. Fry only 5-6 at a time until golden, place on an absorbant cloth to soak up any excess oil.
3. Serve warm with your favourite dipping sauce.

Notes:

• Cook your pasta to slightly overdone, this will provide the best crunch.
• Cook your pasta in advance so that you can totally drain them and allow them to slightly dry out on a paper towel or parchment (this will prevent the oil from splashing when the water hits it).

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Retro Olive Balls

You may have noticed from my other socials that we have escaped Toronto and finally headed to Spain. Our first trip in February was cancelled by you know what. We are here for 51 days. The sun and relative warmth have been life-altering. I wake up just to see the sunrise on the Mediterranean (it’s not that bad, 7:30-ish during our stay).

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Our kitchen in the flat (my cousin’s flat) is challenging from a size point. I have fitted it with most of my favourite tools so I can do most things but finding a place to do them can be a challenge. Most people who rent do take away or go out to one of the many restaurants in this little village. The Spaniards like to eat late (9pm would be considered an early dinner) but I find it difficult to eat that late, so we end up going out for lunch and having a light dinner around 7pm. Although the first few attempts to lunch were failures as many places don’t open until at least 1:30 (we don’t eat breakfast) and they close between 2-5pm for Siesta. Don’t get me started on Siesta, it is a beloved ritual in the smaller centres. This little recipe was developed to take us through cocktails one evening. 

Retro Olive Balls

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 8 pastry-wrapped olives

Ingredients:

• 15 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 60 g cheese, we used manchego
• 60 g flour
• 15 g roasted garlic purée
• Salt, pepper to taste
• water to bind
• 8 olives

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Combine everything but the olives in the small bowl of a food processor and process until combined. If the dough still doesn’t come together, add a few drops of water and pulse until it comes together.
3. Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Roll each portion into a small circle and wrap around each olive, rolling in your hand until it is smooth. Repeat until all of the olives are wrapped.
4. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet until golden, serve warm.

A delicious buttery pastry enveloping a Manzanilla Olive.

Notes:

• I used unpitted Spanish Manzanilla Olives because it is what I had at home, black olives or even pimento-stuffed olives would be lovely with this recipe. Make sure you mention to your guests that the olives are with pitts.
• Double or triple this recipe for more tasty little balls.

 

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Kartofdzhyn (Cheese and Potato Stuffed Bread)

I started watching a couple of Ontario-guys on Facebook who try to prove or disprove crazy videos they’ve seen, mostly of food but it can also be science or cleaning and such. They are a bit goofy which makes them rather charming. Their girlfriends sometimes participate in these videos by making some outlandish foods. This traditional Georgian potato, cheese-stuffed bread was one of them. The recipe looked so good, I had to do a little research and make my own. Their recipe was fairly straight forward using baking powder and not yeast bread dough, but the research showed that most of the recipes were yeasted bread dough, so I went with that. Then I found a few that had egg in them which gives the bread a wonderful, chewy texture. Then there is the mashed potato and cheese stuffed inside. OMG, so good. My recipe makes four disks about 20 cm in diametre, cut into eight portions.  The bread freezes very well. Remember to put it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost, then allow it to come to room temperature before baking. We went through two bad boys in two days and I sent a third one to a friend who was going to visit her parents! The fourth one is under lock and key in the freezer, I’m saving it for a special time! I will definitely be making this recipe again and again!

Soft, pillowy mashed potatoes with the sharp feta (or goat) and gooey mozzarella makes for a more-ish starter.

Kartofdzhyn (Cheese and Potato Stuffed Bread)

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 4 stuffed bread rounds about 20 cm (8 inches) each

Ingredients for the Bread:

• 6 g quick yeast
• 8 g granulated sugar
• 120 mL milk, at 110F
• 460 g bread flour
• 6 g salt
• 215 g Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• Olive oil for the dough
• 1 egg yolk, whisked for brushing the dough

Directions:

1. Combine the yeast and sugar with the warm milk and allow to proof for about 10 minutes (it should froth up)
2. Add the flour and salt to the large bowl of your stand mixer and mix lightly.
3. Combine the Greek yogurt and eggs with the frothy yeast mixture and whisk until well combined.
4. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour and knead with the hook for 10 minutes. Stop the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes, then resume kneading for about 15 minutes or until the dough comes away from the bowl.
5. Coat the dough with olive oil and allow to proof for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Ingredients for the Filling:

• 2 medium yellow potatoes (about 230 g), boiled
• 30 g butter
• 30 g roasted garlic purée
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 100 g feta cheese or goats cheese
• 230 g mozzarella
• 6 g salt

Directions:

1. Mash the potatoes with butter and roasted garlic, then beat with a whisk beater until light and fluffy. Fold in the scallions, cheeses, and salt and set aside.

Directions for the dough disks:

1. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Roll out each portion evenly to a circle about 25 cm (10 inches). 
2. Add one-quarter of the filling to the centre of each round and pull in each side to form a sealed disk. Flip over and gently roll out to about 20 cm (8 inches). Pierce the top of the disk with a fork and brush each dough disk with the egg yolk. Set aside while the oven preheats or freeze on a baking sheet and transfer to a plastic zip-lock bag for the future.
3. If baking at the moment, put a cast-iron pan into the oven and pre-heat the oven to 400° F. Add one disk to the hot pan and bake for 20 minutes. When done, remove from the heat and brush the top with some more olive oil. Serve warm.

 

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Freehand Kefir, Scallion and Cheese Scones

I usually make my scones and biscuits with my handy food processor but I have to say that these freehand scones will change my method for all my future scones. For what I save in time, I sacrifice in cleaning time and most importantly, texture of the scones. These scones are light, airy, filled with gooey cheese and scallions. They are great with soup or a stew. Serve them warm with fresh butter.

This post was created on a blistery, cold day in latter January. We just had received about 50 cm (20 inches) of snow in a period of 24 hours. We must have a VIP living on our street because the damn snowplow came down our street four times, depositing a heavy mess of snow at the end of the driveway. Honestly, the last two times were ridiculous, there was hardly any new snow on the road! This was one of the sunniest days we’ve had so far, the sun reflected in the new white snow and  I just had to take advantage with the photos.

Freehand Kefir, Scallion, and Cheese Scones

Original recipe from Jean Paré’s Company’s Coming Muffins and More cookbook

Makes 8 large wedges

Ingredients:

• 240 g All-Purpose Flour
• 16 g baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 4 scallions, roughly chopped
• 150 g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
• 57 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• 100 mL kefir (and extra kefir for brushing tops)
• Parmesan, finely grated for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, with the butter and manually cut like you would pastry dough. When it is slightly smaller than pea-sized bits, add the shallots and cheese and mix.
3. Combine the kefir and the egg and whisk until frothy. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Turn dough out to a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice, just enough to pull it together. Roll out to a round shape and cut 8 wedges to make. Brush tops with kefir and sprinkle the parmesan on top.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve warm with butter.

Tender and delicate scone with lots of cheese and scallions.

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Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

It’s been wickedly cold here, and by wickedly cold, I’m talking -21° C or -5.8° F! I have only been able to think about soup. I love brothy soups but JT is not as much of a fan, he prefers creamed soups so I like to mix it up. I had purchased too much broccoli for Christmas day dinner so I had a small crown leftover along with a not-so-perfect-looking romaine, so this recipe was a result of these two leftovers.

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes just over a litre of soup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Vidalia onion, roughly chopped
• 15 mL EVOO
• 1 fist-sized head of broccoli, roughly chopped
• 1/2 romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 L chicken stock
• 5 cm x 5 cm Parmigiana rind, cut into smaller pieces
• 30 g of cheddar, shredded
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a hot pan, cook the onion in the olive oil until translucent, add the broccoli and romaine lettuce and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and the Parmigiana rind and simmer for about an hour or until everything has softened.
2. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. If using a traditional blender, allow to cool a bit so the steam doesn’t blow off the lid.
3. Serve with some shredded cheddar sprinkled on top.

Notes:

• The romaine didn’t end up adding much flavour but it did help with thickening.
• Use vegetable stock if making vegetarian.
• The Parmigiana also helps to thicken the soup.
• I used both orange and white cheddar because that is what I had.

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Jalapeño Jack Scones

 

Jalopeño Jack Scones

Makes 9 5 cm (2 inch) scones

Ingredients:

• 280 g AP flour
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 15 g baking powder
• 6 g salt
• 56 g cold butter, in cubes
• 1 L egg
• 120 mL buttermilk
• 100 g grated sharp cheese (I used jalapeño Monterey Jack)
• 5 mL milk
• 10 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
2. In the large bowl of your food processor, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter and pulse to combine. 
3. Whisk to combine the egg and buttermilk and slowly add it to the dry ingredients while running the processor. Change the blade to the plastic blade and add the cheese. Pulse to combine.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the scone dough to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Cut into even squares. Lay on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced out about 2 cm. Brush the tops with the milk and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on the top of each scone. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

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Ham, Cheese and Apple Bread Pudding

 

Ingredients:

• Butter to coat pan
• 4 large eggs
• 375 mL milk
• 2 g sea salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 180 g sourdough bread cut into largish cubes
• 1/2 apple, like gala, cored and sliced thinly
• 100 g ham, cut into ribbons
• 70+ g Gouda or Gruyère, divided

Directions:

1. Brush the melted butter along the bottom and sides of a 9” x 9” decorative baking dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and nutmeg.
3. Lay the bread evenly in the prepared baking dish, place the ham and apples evenly throughout, then sprinkle 70g of the cheese over it tucking it into the spaces.
4. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, ham, apples and cheese evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. The next day, remove the prepared bread pudding from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature, about an hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake for 40-45 minutes or until set. All the bread pudding to sit for 10-15 minutes to fully set.
7. Serve with yogurt and Dijon maple syrup.

Ingredients

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Roasted Garlic, Cauliflower Gnocchi

We had some friends over for a patio dinner in early September and I made a Barbequed Chicken on the Big Green Egg with Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Purée and a wonderful Fennel salad. Everyone had seconds and maybe even thirds but I still had a handful of the Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Purée leftover. I decided to make Gnocchi out of it. Any purée would work, I’ve made lentil gnocchi and sweet potato gnocchi as well as the traditional potato gnocchi before so I thought, why not? 

The grooves and divots are intentional so that the sauce sticks to them better!

Roasted Garlic, Cauliflower Gnocchi in a Simple Avocado Cream Sauce

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 218 g roasted garlic, cauliflower purée (for the purée recipe, please click here)
• 250-270 g “00” flour (depending on how wet your cauliflower purée is)
• 15 g Parmigiana, finely grated

Directions:

1. Combine all three ingredients and mix well. Knead into a smooth, not sticky dough.
2. Allow to rest for 20 minutes. Roll into 1-1.5 cm ropes and cut into 2 cm lengths. Run up the tines of a fork for the traditional grooves or use a gnocchi paddle like this.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt. Boil gnocchi until they pop up to the surface and remove with a slotted spoon. 

Notes:

• I like to freeze the gnocchi on a parchment-lined sheet and transfer them into a ziplock baggy for future use. They cook from frozen almost as quickly as the fresh ones, so timing is not an issue.
• I bought a Danish Dough Whisk for my husband last Christmas because he often bakes his no-knead bread and I thought it would make mixing the dough easier for him…what I didn’t think was that I would end up using it more than he does, it makes stirring thick batters and doughs a snap! I used it for the gnocchi and it was so easy.

 

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Herbed Bread Knots

I have been following fellow blogger, Lorraine Eliott over at Not-Quite-Nigella on Instagram and in August she posted a photo of the most beautiful bread knots I have ever seen. I knew the moment I saw them, I’d have to give them a go. They are not only beautiful, but they are also very tasty and quite easy to make so I’m sharing the recipe here so that I will remember to make them again.

I made 12 knots but to be honest, they were a little too big so next time, I’ll make 14!

Makes about 12 -14 bread knots. For the original recipe please click here.

Ingredients:

• 6 g instant dried yeast
• 250 mL warm water (around 110° F)
• 400 g flour
• 6 g granulated garlic
• 3 g Salt
• 15 mL EVOO
• 70 g unsalted butter, softened
• 25 g roasted garlic purée
• 100 g Parmesan cheese, grated
• Variety of herbs to make up about 20 g, chopped or julienned
• Eggwash to glaze

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water, set aside. In the large bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour, garlic and salt and mix well.
2. Add the yeasty water to the bowl with the flour mixture and knead for 2-3 minutes until it is roughly incorporated. Allow the dough to sit for 20 minutes. Then start the kneader up again and knead until a beautiful shiny dough is achieved (around 10 minutes). Grease the bowl and the dough with the EVOO and allow to proof in a draft-free location for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
3. Meanwhile, cream the butter, the roasted garlic, the Parmesan cheese and the herbs until well mixed.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, roll out to 35 cm x 50 cm. Spread the butter mixture all on the dough, right to the edge. Fold it length-wise into thirds (like you would making croissants) and lightly roll out to a slightly larger rectangle (careful not to put too much weight in rolling, otherwise the butter mixture will ooze out).
5. Cut the dough into 12-14 equal widths and make an additional length-wise slit down each width without going right to the edge. Lift by each end and roll into a beautiful knot, carefully twisting each roll so that the cut sides are exposed and you can see the herbs. Tuck each end into the knot and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make all of the knots and allow the knots to rest for 30 minutes covered with a clean cloth.
6. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Bake the knots for 18-25 minutes or until the centre registers about 200° F. Serve immediately, but they also freeze beautifully. Reheat in a 350° F oven for a few minutes until they are warmed through.

They are a cross between bread and a laminated dough, the layers are scrumptious!

Notes:

• Any herbs would work, I used basil, parsley and thyme.
• I may not chop the herbs as finely next time.
• I can’t wait to try sundried tomatoes and basil with mozzarella cheese or a sweet treat of cinnamon butter and sugar.

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Plums with Honey infused Goats Cheese wrapped in Serrano Jamon

I had a few plums leftover from the plum cake recipe and I decided to make a tasty hors d’oeuvres for cocktails the following evening. They come together quickly and are very tasty. The amount of honey needed will depend on how tart the plums are. The sweet, honey-infused goats cheese with the tart plums and salty Serrano Ham are a perfect taste sensation.

Soft, sweet goats cheese pairs very well with the tart plums and salty Serrano Jamon.

Makes 6 pieces (2 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 plums (should be bite-sized)
• 15-20 mL Manuka Honey
• 50 g goats cheese, at room temperature
• 3 slices Serrano Jamon

Directions:

1. Cut plums in half, remove stone.
2. Combine the honey with the goats cheese and mix well.
3. Mound the cut sides with the honey and goats cheese combo and wrap with half a slice of Serrano Jamon, spear with a skewer.
4. Serve at room temperature.

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Zucchini Rösti

I’m always on the lookout for low-carb options, not that I don’t love my carbs, they are just not as kind to me as alternatives, so I like to balance our intake with some low-carb options. I created this recipe when I had purchased too many zucchini’s and I thought it would make a nice alternative to the potato rösti that we are used to, I was wrong, it was significantly better than I expected. There is only cheese in this, no other binder! Other recipes use egg but it made a frittata-like pancake instead of rösti, which should be crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. This recipe is definitely a keeper! 

Zucchini Rösti

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 2 dinner portions or 4 appetizer portions

Ingredients:

• 250 g zucchini, coarsely grated
• 50 g Parmigiana, finely grated
• 50 g Gruyère, coarsely grated
• 2 g salt, divided
• Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the grated zucchini into a bowl and toss with 2 grams of salt, allow to sit for about 30 minutes.
2. Strain the zucchini and salt mixture and squeeze out as much water as you can. Taste for seasoning and add a little more salt if necessary, keeping in mind that some cheeses are saltier than others.
3. Toss the strained zucchini with the cheeses and add pepper to taste.
4. Heat a seasoned cast iron pan or non-stick frying pan to medium heat, then lower to medium-low.
5. Add about half or a quarter of the zucchini mix to the pan and press down into a pancake about 1 cm tall. Cook until the edges are golden, gently loosen the cheese all around and beneath the patty, it may have stuck a little on the pan and flip repeat for the other side. 
6. Serve hot as a base for fish, steak, chicken or even a poached egg.

Cheesy delicious goodness in every bite.

Notes:

• Other cheese that would work: low moisture Mozzarella, Appenzeller, Cheddar etc. I would avoid feta, cream cheese, brie, etc.
• There is no need for oil or butter, the cheese will render and the oils will help fry the Rösti.
• If you don’t have time to wait for the salt to squeeze out all of the moisture from the zucchini, you may use it as is, just note that the inside will be much softer than if you had removed most of the moisture.
• If you don’t have a seasoned cast iron pan or a non-stick pan, add a piece of parchment to the pan before adding the zucchini mixture, this will allow the cheese to caramelize and release from the pan easily.
• I served Serrano ham wrapped cod with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

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Croquetas de Jamon Serrano y Manchego

We were having the Boyz over for a trip down memory lane in May, we had just come out of a 100+ day, hard lockdown and were finally permitted to have less than five people in our backyards so we jumped on it! The Boyz are Andy and Mark, they own a lovely Irish Pub in Leslieville called The Roy. I met Andy many years ago when we both worked at a design firm and have been friends ever since. Andy and Mark love to travel and they love to travel to Spain. Way back in 2020, before the world fell apart, we happened to be in Spain at the same time so we met up in Malaga. We soon realized that our friendship had gotten a lot deeper because of our shared love of Spain. Sadly the last year and a bit has not been kind to restauranteurs and the Boyz are definitely feeling the pinch so when we were allowed people over, I thought I’d create a night of tapas for a trip down memory lane with food. And who doesn’t love an entire night of eating?

Many of the recipes I served have appeared on the blog, but this one is new and so delicious, I had to post it. This is a compilation of several recipes online and my tapas books so I don’t have a reference. When you say croquetas, I immediately think of creamy potatoes but this one is not made with potatoes (although it would have been delicious too), it’s made with a thick béchamel, and you know how I adore béchamel! As you can see from the menu, it was served later in the evening and people were getting pretty full, but not one was left on the plate! Not one.

The menu for the night:

1. Crispy Calamari with Romesco Sauce 
2. Bacon Wrapped Dates
3. Sautéed chorizo with Bread 
4. Spanish Potato Omelette 
5. Tuna Avocado salad in Endive Spoons 
6. Manchego and Serrano Croquettes (recipe below)
7. Catalan Tomato Bread with Anchovies
8. Seared Scallop on Creamed Corn 

Dessert:

• Selection of Spanish cheeses, crackers, grapes, nuts

Croquetas de Jamon Serrano y Manchego

Makes 16 croquettes, about 26 g each

Ingredients:

• 80 g serrano ham, finely chopped
• 50 g shallot, finely chopped
• 50 g manchego cheese, coarsely grated
• 30 g butter
• 15 mL EVOO
• 60 g all-purpose flour
• 200 mL milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 45 g panko
• 20 g manchego cheese, finely grated
• 500 mL peanut oil

Directions:

1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan, add the shallots and cook until translucent.
2. Add the flour and stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the milk and stir until thickened. Stir in the Serrano ham and 50 g of the coarsely grated cheese.
3. Spread the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to cool completely.
4. Once cool, shape into little ovals about 26 g each. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Whip the egg with a fork in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the panko and the finely grated Manchego cheese.
6. Dip each oval into the egg and coat thoroughly, then plunge each one into the panko mixture and coat well, storing each one on a clean parchment-lined pan.
7. Heat the oil to at least 350 F and fry each croquette until golden. Serve immediately or hold on a baking sheet and reheat in a 350 F oven until warmed through.
8. Serve with Romesco Sauce.

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Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

We totally got sucked into another ATK (America’s Test Kitchen) recipe that we saw as we were trailing off to sleep one night in April: Pastitsio. What got me this time was the way they reinvented cooking the noodles, these reinventions usually turn me off (why mess with a good thing?) but this one totally got me. Get this, you par-cook the noodles in béchamel! Yep, you read that right. Par-cook in Béchamel. I had to try it. Plus I just loved the way the noodles were lined up. Of course, they didn’t use the right noodles for authentic pastitsio, but I just loved the way they lined up. So I gave it a try. It is rich, filling and ever-so-moreish. Particularly if you love Béchamel like I do. I won’t be making this every week, but once in a while, it will be a nice change to the repertoire.

Also known as Greek Lasagna.

Pastitsio

For the original recipe, please click here.

This recipe serves 4-6 people (it freezes well).

Ingredients for the meat sauce:

(this dish may be made up to 5 days before needed and refrigerated):

• ¾ teaspoon table salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup water
• 8 ounces 93% lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
• 30 mL pureed roasted garlic
• 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 65 mL red wine
• 65 mL tomato paste

Directions for the meat sauce:

1. Sweat the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the garlic and the meat and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add the spices and cook until fragrant. Turn the heat down to a simmer.
2. Combine the salt, baking soda, 1/2 cup water, wine and tomato paste and mix well. Add this mixture to the meat, stir well and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from hear and allow to cool completely.
3. Meanwhile make the béchamel.

Ingredients for the béchamel and pasta:

• 30 g unsalted butter
• 45 g unbleached flour
• 30 g roasted garlic purée
• Pinch of nutmeg

• 1 L whole milk, heated
• 250 g ziti or penne
• 250 g kasseri cheese, divided

Directions for the béchamel:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium/low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Whisk in the garlic and nutmeg until combined. Whisk in the milk and cook until thickened.
3. Add the pasta and return to a simmer, stirring constantly. Once simmering, remove the pot from the heat and allow to sit, covered for 15 minutes (pasta should not be cooked through).
4. Preheat the oven to 350F.
5. Assemble the pasta in straight rows on the bottom of a buttered casserole, reserving the béchamel. Top with half of the cheese and then the meat sauce, cover with remaining béchamel and the remaining cheese.
6. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour until cheese has melted and has browned. Allow to sit for 20 minutes. Serve with a lightly dressed green salad.

Notes:

• If you’re making this in advance, assemble cooled ingredients and refrigerate, covered for a maximum of two days. Allow to come to room temperature before baking.
• This can be frozen in cooled assembled format or after it’s been baked.
• Like most casseroles, this gets better the next day.

 

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Croque Madame Crêpe

I’ll never forget the Croque Monsieur sandwich that JT ordered at the Café du Parc at the Intercontinental Willard Hotel in Washington, DC in 2013. It was incredible, but soooo filling. I adore the components of this sandwich but I find that the whole thing is just too much so I like to lighten it a bit by replacing the bread with a crêpe. It still has a generous layer of béchamel, with a slice of ham, gruyère cheese and a slather of mustard, the only difference is the crêpe! This recipe was for a brunch we had so I added the egg and it changed it to a Croque Madame!

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 Crêpes
• 125 mL béchamel sauce
• 50 g gruyère cheese, shredded
• 2 slices ham
• 15 mL Dijon mustard
• 2 eggs, fried

Directions:

1. Spread half of the béchamel in the centre of each crêpe and top with the grated cheese. Put into a preheated oven to slightly melt the cheese.
2. Heat the ham in a frying pan on both sides. Spread half the Dijon mustard on each slice and put it on top of the melted cheese, keep it warm.
3. Add the fried eggs in the centre and fold each side in, leaving the yolk exposed.
4. Serve with some lightly dressed greens.

 

Notes:

• Traditionally, the egg is baked in the crêpe but I didn’t like how crispy the crêpe became so I changed the directions.

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Warm Salmon Dip

This post was inadvertantly published on the same day as another, so we apologise if you’ve already seen/been here. Also, this post was written during our first foray out of lockdown.

We have continued to entertain one couple at a time outdoors, keeping well below the allowed maximum of five (outdoors only). Our space allows for four people socially distanced, any more, we’re less than two metres (six feet) apart and we are not comfortable with that.

I try to make meals that are hearty and warm. This is one such dip I made as an hors d’œuveres for friends who came for lunch (the main was JT’s Bœuff Bourguignon). That day in February was 6° C (43° F) outside but our heater warmed our little area to 15° C (59° F) which made it very comfortable with light coats on (in fact, my friend came seriously over dressed and had to peel layers off to be comfortable).

It’s quite romantic eating outside in the winter, and even my naysayer hubby is loving it. In fact, most of the negativeness has come from the men, the women are all over being outside but once the guys experience our little cozy nook, they are sold. Just like this dip, one taste and you’re sold. I make a similar dip using canned crabmeat but I must tell you that this salmon dip is so much more flavourful.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 375 mL dip

Ingredients:

• 250 g Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1 tsp dill (dried is fine)
• 2 tsp horseradish (the original recipe called for horseradish cream, but I never had horseradish cream on hand)
• 20 g red onion or shallot, finely minced
• salt & pepper to taste
• 25 g celery, finely minced
• 150 g canned salmon, without skin or bones. It’s about 1/2 cup, or one can give or take.

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix well (a light-duty hand mixer is perfect for this).
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. If you are making this for the future, line three 125 mL or half-cup ramekins with plastic wrap.
4. Divide the mixed dip into the three ramekins pressing into the ramekin so it will retain the shape. Try not to have too many folds so that the plastic comes off easily. Carefully twist the plastic wrap to seal. Place the ramekins in the freezer. Once the dip has frozen to the ramekin shape, remove the frozen dip and label it and return the shaped dip to the freezer until needed. Put your ramekins away.
5. About 30-40 minutes before serving, pre-heat the oven to 375° F. Remove plastic wrap from the frozen dip and pop the shaped-frozen dip into the original ramekin you used to freeze it. Place on a cookie sheet (it may boil over depending on how full your ramekin was) and bake for 30-40 minutes or until dip is bubbling in the centre.
6. Remove the baked dip, garnish with a smoked salmon rose and serve with papadams, crostini, crackers or even sliced cucumbers.

A warm, boldly flavoured salmon dip that is perfect for outdoor entertaining.

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Sourdough Cheese Sticks

 

Over the holidays, I received some lovely sourdough starter and I made sourdough bread (as though we needed it!). I’m always a little distraught discarding some of it so I adapted an old recipe I brought back from Hungary to utilize the discard and a little of the fed starter, it worked out very well. I’ll definitely keep this in mind for future baking.

Makes 1 30 cm x 42 cm sheet, cut to whatever size you desire.

For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 300 g all-purpose flour
• 150 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 100 g discard sourdough starter plus 30 g fed starter
• 125 g Greek Yogurt
• 100 g shredded cheese (sharp cheddar works well, freshly grated Parmesan is best)
• 5 g Salt
• 20g shredded cheese

Directions:

1. In the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the scraper attachment, blend flour, butter, starters, 100 g cheese and salt until incorporated, then switch to a dough hook and add the Greek yogurt and knead until smooth ball forms.
2. Allow to rest in a warm dark place for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 375° F
4. On a piece of parchment paper, roll out dough to about 1/2 cm thickness.
5. Cut into 7-10 cm x 2 cm sticks.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
7. Slide cheese sticks on the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden and melted.
8. Re-cut sticks, if necessary, while still warm. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These are very tasty served warm.

Notes:

• Use a flavourful, hard cheese (like cheddar, gruyere or Jarlsberg) is best for this treat.
• I use a pizza cutter with a kitchen ruler to cut the sticks, it makes it very easy. If you cut the sticks after you sprinkle with cheese, your cutter will take up most of the cheese!
• In the original recipe, there is an egg wash on the top, I omitted this time because I figured the cheese would stick regardless, but it does add a lovely sheen which I will not omit next time.
• These cheese sticks freeze well. To reheat, spread in a single layer, cheese side up on a baking sheet and bake at a low 200° F for 10-15 minutes or until defrosted and slightly warm.

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Hummingbird Cake

For special occasion desserts, I like to pop over to my long-time blogging-friend Liz, Skinny Chick Can Bake. Liz has the most beautifully presented desserts that I have seen from a home cook. Most of Liz’s recipes are also unfamiliar to me as I grew up in a European household. A dear friend was turning 70 in September and I wanted to make a special dessert to celebrate the occasion and this beauty did not disappoint. It has a lovely banana flavour but the pineapple isn’t flavour-forward other than providing some added moisture. It reminded me of banana bread but it was much moister than the standard quickbread. And that cream cheese frosting is one that dreams are made of.

Hummingbird Cake

For the original recipe, please click here.

Makes one 20 cm cake, about 16 servings

Ingredients for the cake:

• 400 g flour
• 300 g sugar
• 6 g cinnamon
• 6 g salt
• 5 baking soda
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 375 mL vegetable oil
• 7 vanilla extract
• 540 g mashed bananas (use ripe bananas)
• 228 g crushed pineapple, drained (about 1/2 a container)
• 120 g chopped pecans, toasted for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees

Ingredients for the Frosting:

• 500 g cream cheese, room temperature
• 40 g butter, room temperature
• 10 mL vanilla
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 500 g icing sugar, sifted
• Pecans, for garnish

Directions:

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 350° F and prepare three 20 cm round cake pans by lining with parchment paper and spraying with a non-stick spray.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl, set aside.
3. Combine the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, mashed bananas and crushed pineapple and fold into the flour to make a smooth batter. Pour evenly into the three prepared baking pans.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.
5. Meanwhile, cream the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and beat well until incorporated. Add the sugar a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently until all of the sugar has been incorporated.
6. When the cakes are thoroughly cool, cut the dome off the top is there was one. Lay the first cake on a serving platting protected by parchment (in short rectangles so that they are easy to remove). Spread a thin layer of the icing over the first layer, place the next cake on top and spread again, add the final layer to the top. Crumb-coat the entire cake in a thin layer and refrigerate for 2 hours to set. When the frosting is firm, finish the cake with the remaining frosting or as desired.
7. Decorate the cake with more pecans that have been toasted.

Notes:

• Although the cake has a whopping 300 g of sugar, it is not excessively sweet, it’s the frosting that takes it over the top! I won’t kid you, it is sweet but not as sweet as it was in the original recipe.
• I reduced the butter to about one-quarter of the original recipe, it still made a super-rich frosting.
• Neither our friends nor we like super-sweet desserts so I opted to reduce the sugar from 6 cups to 4 cups in the frosting and added the juice of half a lemon to help cut it even more. The resulting frosting was still sweet but it didn’t make your teeth tingle. If you prefer an even less sweet frosting, I suggest you reduce the cream cheese by one quarter so that you require less the icing sugar thicken it up. As it was, 4 cups of icing sugar to 500 g cream cheese and 40 grams of butter made a light fluffy frosting but it needed refrigeration to keep stiff. It was a hot and humid day when I served this cake and my version of frosting didn’t melt but it wasn’t as stiff as frosting usually is.
• I baked the three layers in a 20 cm (8-inch) round pans because I did not have 9-inch pans as Liz’s recipe calls for (hence the slightly longer baking time as they turned out somewhat thicker.
• The original cake had coconut but I omitted it because our friends do not like coconut.

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Mille-Feuille Vegetarian Lasagna

My friend David of Fine Dining at Home (blog on hiatus) put me onto this recipe on his instagram; it looked absolutely delicious, so, then and there, I decided I wanted to make it. I renamed the recipe mille-feuille lasagna because the number of layers reminded me of one of my favourite pastries. I won’t lie, this is a labour-intensive recipe, but then again, what lasagna recipe isn’t? I will say that it is well worth the effort. The homemade pasta is so delicious, light and somewhat crispy. The spinach and basil layers against the creamy béchamel and the stringy mozzarella are divine! Don’t skip the resting and searing step, it really makes the recipe.

Mille-Feuille Lasagna

For the original recipe, please click here.

Makes one 21.6 cm x 11.4 cm (4″ x 7″) loaf pan, about 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 300 g Spinach, blanched
• ~50 g basil, blanched
• 125 mL passata
• 15 mL tomato paste
• 15 mL roasted garlic, puréed (fresh is fine too)
• 300 g mozzarella, ground

Directions:

1. Combine the spinach and basil and wring out the water well. Set aside.
2. Combine the passata, tomato paste and garlic and mix well. Set aside.

Ingredients for the Béchamel:

• 30 g butter
• 40 g flour
• 500 mL milk, warmed

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a medium, heavy-bottom pan. Whisk in the flour and mix well. Cook on medium-heat for 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add the warm milk and whisk. Whisk the sauce until smooth and creamy. Cool completely.

Ingredients for the Pasta:

• 1 large egg
• 125 g Flour (“00”)
• Salt

Directions:

1. Add the egg to the small bowl of a food processor and whisk. Add the flour and salt and pulse until it forms into a soft dough.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead gently a few times until it comes together into a smooth ball. Cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Using a pasta maker, create 12 sheets that are #8 thickness on the kitchenaid pasta maker. Cook the sheets in salted boiling water for 1 minute or less. Cool in an ice bath, remove and dry off.

Ingredients for the Spinach Pesto Sauce:

• 150 g spinach and arugula
• 30 g ricotta or cream cheese
• 30 g pesto
• 200 mL milk or cream
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Blanch the spinach and arugula, immerse in ice water to stop the cooking. Wring out as much water as possible.
2. Place spinach, arugula, cheese, pesto and milk into a bullet and purée until smooth. Season to taste.
3. Press through a fine sieve into a heatproof container, set aside.

Final Assembly:

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, it will make it easier to pull out.

2. Add one pasta sheet to the base, follow with

• • A thin layer of spinach,
  • Another pasta sheet
  • A layer of passata
  • Another pasta sheet
  • A layer of béchamel
  • Another pasta sheet
  • A layer of cheese
  • Another pasta sheet

3. Repeat until all the ingredients have been exhausted ending with a pasta sheet and cheese on the top.

4. Bake in a 350° F preheated oven for 50 minutes or until cheese has entirely melted and béchamel is bubbling.

5. Allow to cool completely. When cool, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours.

6. To serve, cut into 5-6 slices and reheat in the oven. Then sear one side on a non-stick frying pan.

7. Serve on a bed of warmed spinach pesto sauce (recipe above) with a little crème fraiche.

The pasta crisps up on the seared side to give you a wonderful crunch against the creamy textures of the cheese and spinach and basil layers. 

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Low Carb Spinach and Goats Cheese Tart

This recipe has become a staple that we have once every two weeks. The pastry comes together easily (use any favourite pastry recipe you like), great texture and has a nice depth of flavour with the sesame seeds. The custard with spinach, shallots and goats cheese are a delight in every bite. 

Makes one 20 cm tart

Ingredients for the pastry:

• 100 g almond flour
• 8 g psyllium husk powder
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 30 mL egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 20 g toasted sesame seeds

Directions for the pastry:

1. Combine all of the ingredients with the exception of the sesame seeds in a small food processor and process until smooth and totally combined. Gently knead in the sesame seeds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment, so that it is a bit larger than the pan. Gently peel off the parchment and roll onto the pan, pressing into the sides. Fold-down excess and press into the sides making the thickness even all around. Dock.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool slightly.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 40 g shallots, finely sliced
• 15 mL EVOO
• 100 g baby spinach
• 2 eggs
• 5 mL roasted puréed garlic
• 2 tbsp milk or cream
• Salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 15 g Beamster, finely shredded, divided
• 50 g soft unripened goats cheese, sliced into 6 rounds

Directions:

1. Sauté the shallots in the olive oil until soft. Add the baby spinach and wilt completely. Cool on a piece of parchment.
2. Combine the eggs, roasted garlic purée, cream, salt, nutmeg and about half of the Beamster and whisk until smooth.
3. When the spinach cools, evenly spread it into the baked tart shell and pour the egg mixture evenly over it. Sprinkle with remaining Beamster.
4. Top with the sliced goats cheese and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the egg has set. You may wish to protect the side crust if it gets too dark.
5. Serve with a green salad.

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Tortilla de Arroz, Coliflor y Queso

Our little village in Spain has an awesome Indian restaurant at the far end. We ate there once and even though everything was great (food, service), we decided that going forward it’s a better take-out place because it just didn’t have a cool vibe (overly lit); and a bonus is that it’s far better value as take away, if you don’t order way too much rice, like I inadvertently did!

Even though the rice wasn’t expensive, I really hate throwing away good food so I kept it for something in the future. The future arrived in the form of a tapa! I made a spin on the famous Spanish Tortilla de Patatas but used rice, cauliflower purée and cheese instead of potatoes. It made a very tasty tapa which we later used as breakfast.

The measurements are approximate because I used leftovers.

Tortilla de Arroz, Coliflor y Queso

Makes 1 omelette about 20 cm in diameter (serves 4-6 people)

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 250 g cooked rice
• 125 mL cauliflower purée
• 125 mL milk
• 50 g cheese, finely grated
• 30 mL pesto

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and whisk until smooth. Set aside for 20-30 minutes at room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F.
3. Heat a small 20 cm frying pan on the stove on medium heat and brush generously with olive oil.
4. Pour the contents of the omelette into the hot frying pan and press evenly in the pan.
5. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes.
6. Place pan into the oven and finish cooking until a toothpick tester come out clean.
7. Serve warm with a roasted garlic aioli.

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Spinach, Feta and Manchego Pie

My dear friend Lorraine Elliott published this recipe while we were wintering in Spain. It’s not super hot in Spain this time of year and we prefer it that way because we are not fans of extreme heat or crowds. I like to choose simple recipes that can be baked in the oven to warm the kitchen up a bit. The moment I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t source Halloumi in our little village or even the big supermarket in the city so I used a Spanish Manchego. It was delicious! A perfect lunch with a tomato side salad.

It’s similar to Spanakopita but not really.

Makes a pie about 12 cm x 25 cm x 3 cm.

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets of puff pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator overnight
• 400 g frozen spinach, defrosted in the refrigerator overnight
• 100 g sweet onion, finely sliced
• 20 g roasted garlic, puréed
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 120 g Greek feta, crumbled
• 80 g of Manchego, grated
• 15 mL milk, divided

Directions:

1. Once the spinach has defrosted, squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
2. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
3. Roll out one sheet of the puff pastry to about 2 times the size of your pan. Insert it into the parchment-lined pan and dock it with a fork.
4. Press a sheet of foil into the pan to hold the sides of the pastry up. Add some weight to avoid it from rising too much. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden.
5. In the meantime, sauté the onion until translucent, add the spinach and break it up to incorporate the onion evenly. Stir in the roasted garlic purée and nutmeg. Transfer to a bowl.
6. Add the cheese to the spinach and stir until entirely combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Roll the second sheet of pastry to the size of the pan. Return it to the refrigerator.
8. Remove the foil from the baked pastry and spoon the spinach mixture pressing it evenly into the pan.
9. Brush the top part of all four sides of the pastry with milk. Remove the second pastry from the refrigerator and lay it over the spinach-filled pastry. Press the sides of the top pastry into the spinach-filled pastry.
10. Brush the top of the pastry with the remaining milk and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
11. Slice the pie into equal portions, serve piping hot with a little salad.

Note:

• You can make your own laminated pastry just like Lorraine did, I couldn’t because of my limited kitchen.

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Ham and Cheese Egg Cups

I made this simple breakfast dish for overnight guests in early February. Unfortunately, they had to leave before they could be oven-ready so I popped them into the nuker and presto, done in three minutes! They are super easy to put together the morning of, but I wanted even less kitchen time so I assembled them the night before. To bake quickly, allow them to come to room temperature for an hour before you bake them.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 200 g of cooked ham
• 200 g of grated cheese, divided
• 50 g of tiny broccoli florets

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spray each ramekin with non-stick spray.
3. Break the eggs into a medium bowl snd whisk well to break the yolks and combine with the whites.
4. Add the ham and broccoli florets and mix well. Add the cheese, reserving a small amount to garnish the tops.
5. Divide the mixture evenly between the four prepped ramekins. Garnish with reserved cheese.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Or you can nuke them for 3 minutes on high.
7. Allow ramekins to sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Option to serve: Carefully turn out each egg cup onto a warm plate and turn right-side-up. Serve warm.

Winter has come. But the weather has been really strange because as soon as we have any snow accumulation, it warms up, the rains come and the snow melts.

Notes:

Inclusions are limitless:

• Smoked salmon, capers, red onion slices, cream cheese.
• Cooked shredded chicken, roasted red pepper cubes, avocado cubes, sliced onions, roasted corn, shredded jalapeño jack cheese, served with salsa.
• Roast pork tenderloin, sluced red onions, sliced black olives, roasted red pepper and greek feta served with Tzatziki sauce.

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Seafood Stew in Sourdough Bread Bowls

Happy New Year! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, spoiling your loved ones! Wishing you a new year filled with joy, good health, good friends and good food! Love from Éva

I do apologize for not being more present with my blogging buddies, but we’ve only just returned from our month-long sojourn in Arizona. We had three sets of dear friends visit us for 5-6 days each during our stay; it was a fun-packed time away, also enjoying our dear friends who currently live in Arizona.

I made this delicious winter stew for friends just before we left for Arizona. It was a perfect way to begin winter. The stew was filled with succulent seafood drenched in a creamy béchamel. And if you’re super hungry, you can eat the bowl, or part of it!

Seafood Stew in Sourdough Bread Bowls

Please click here for the original recipe.

Serves 4-6 depending on size of bowls.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1/2 a sweet onion, finely diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 8 mini potatoes
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 2 cups whole milk
• 500 g mixed firm seafood — peeled shrimp, scallops, lobster meat, mussels, calamari or white fish (cubbed)
• 1 cup shredded flavourful white cheese, like Gruyère and Asiago
• Kosher salt (to taste)
• 4 sourdough bread bowls

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil and sauté the onions until translucent.
2. Add the potatoes and carrots and sauté until about half-cooked. Add the celery and sauté for about 2-4 minutes.
3. Lower the heat and add the butter and allow it to melt. Sprinkle the flour into the vegetables and mix well. Cook for a minute or so. Add the dried herbs. Slowly add the milk, stirring to mix into the floured vegetables and bring to a slow simmer, stirring and allowing the mixture to thicken. You may bring this to room temperature and refrigerate until required.
4. If you have refrigerated the vegetable mixture, simmer on low until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked through. Add the seafood with the longest cooking first (shrimp, scallops, calamari and lastly, mussels). Cook the seafood through.
5. Add the shredded cheese, mix well and taste for seasoning. Serve piping hot in hollowed out sourdough bread bowls.

Here is that gorgeous winter light again.

Notes:

• I like to spend as much time with our guests instead of stuck in the kitchen cooking dinner so I try to make as much of the dishes in advance as possible so that my time spent in the kitchen is minimal while we have guests. Because I cooked most of the stew earlier that day, I was able to reheat it and cook the raw seafood quickly without missing too much of the evening.
• I gently warmed the sourdough bread bowls so that they kept the stew warm a little longer, things cool down so quickly in the winter.
• I used a mixture of Wild Argentinian Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Mussels, and Chopped Calamari for this dish but white fish would also work beautifully.
• If the thought of adding cheese to a fish dish offends you, please omit it. The original recipe called for cheddar but I did not wish to add red cheese to discolour the sauce. The cheese adds a nice background flavour with a little body, it’s really not enough to make it stringy.
• The smooth béchamel flavoured with the tarragon and thyme made a lovely background for the seafood. Our guests loved it, the homemade sourdough bread bowls helped! 😉
• It’s a really heavy meal, I hollowed out the bread bowls so that there was only about 1 cm of the bowl all around, even so, most of us couldn’t finish it!

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Pan-Seared Lentil Gnocchi with Blue Cheese Sauce

The first time we tried gnocchi was in the late 80’s or early 90’s. It may seem a bit odd that it took so long living in a multi-cultural city like Toronto, particularly since Toronto had the largest Italian population of any city outside of Italy (in 2016, we had the fourth largest Italian population), but back then the restaurant scene was really bad. Italian food was more or less American Italian (not to imply that it’s bad food, just limited), serving spaghetti, lasagna or pizza, nothing quite as exotic as gnocchi graced the menus. High-end restaurants were generally decorated in a men’s club style, dark and dingy and the waiters were often grumpy old guys in dark pants, white shirts and short aprons. Then, for some reason it all changed. JT read a lot of real estate articles and one such article was about a restaurant in mid-town that spent a million dollars in creating one of the best Italian restaurants in the city; imported décor, a well-paid chef and a menu that used traditional Italian ingredients described in Italian words. Of course, we had to try it and we were not disappointed. It still took a few more years for the rest of the industry to up its game but we were certainly on the right track.

When I told my Mom that I’d ordered gnocchi and what it cost, she was appalled! She called it peasant food! Of course, my generation had no idea what that was and maybe that’s why the restaurant industry changed, we were willing to pay for it! And we were hooked! Those soft little pillows drenched in a rich sauce were stuff dreams were made of, so I began experimenting with recipes after seeing Biba Caggiano make it (Biba’s Italian Kitchen) on the very early Food Network. She made it look so easy, and it was! JT proclaimed that he would no longer be able to order gnocchi in a restaurant because he would be disappointed after eating mine! Then came the low carb movement and we put those dreamy little pillows on the back burner. Fear not though, they are making a comeback albeit in moderation.

In our effort to eat less animal protein and more plant-based proteins, I created this gnocchi recipe using lentils. I’ve made them a few times because they are quite easy to make and super tasty, and they have the same light, fluffy consistency of traditional gnocchi. We like the contrast of texture by pan-frying the little pillows until one side is crispy, but you don’t have to. This recipe would be quite lovely with a sage and butter sauce or any sauce for that matter.

Pan-Seared Lentil Gnocchi with Blue Cheese Sauce

Makes about 40 gnocchi, about 2-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 50 g red lentils
• 90 g “00” flour
• 10 g freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 20 g unsalted butter, divided
• 125 mL milk or cream
• 50 g gorgonzola, divided (any blue cheese will do)
• parmesan for serving

Directions:

1. Cook the lentils until soft (about 1:2 ratio) in enough water to cover. Blend in a processor until very smooth.
2. Add the flour a little at a time and blend. Add the cheese and pulse to combine, then remove and knead gently with your hands until a smooth dough is achieved. Roll into a 1 cm roll and cut about 1.5-2 cm lengths. Roll each pillow up the tines of a fork or a gnocchi paddle to get the grooves.
3. Boil water with a little salt and cook the gnocchi until they float to the top. Strain the gnocchi and set aside until ready to serve.
4. Melt butter in a frying pan and sear the gnocchi until a little crispy on one side. Remove from the pan. Add 5 additional grams of butter to the pan and sprinkle about 10 g of flour on it. Cook the roux and add about 125 mL milk or cream. Add some of the gorgonzola into the roux and allow it to melt (reserve a little gorgonzola for garnish).
5. Add the gnocchi back to the pan and stir to coat. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan and dot each plate with remaining gorgonzola.

Notes:

• I use my trusted gnocchi paddle that I bought in Florence to make the grooves in the little pillows and recently I discovered that using a very small round measuring spoon to press the gnocchi up the paddle creates perfect groves on one side and a nice little divet on the other (without ruining my mani). The more grooves and divets the more the sauce will stick to it, and who doesn’t love sauce?!
• I used gorgonzola cheese but you may use any blue cheese. Gorgonzola is slightly milder but creamier than blue cheese.
• Traditional gorgonzola sauce uses heavy cream instead of a roux, but I prefer to use milk and a roux. You may do it either way.
• I never add egg to my gnocchi because that is the way Biba Caggiano made it (Biba’s Italian Kitchen). My gnocchi binds well and has never fallen apart in cooking.

JT and I just completed refinishing our kitchen floors, don’t they look lovely? (and yes, that means renting a belt sander and working our ancient butts off!). The best light was on the floor, they are clean!

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Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

I remember seeing these tasty morsels a few years ago and was intrigued by the tapioca flour ingredient but I soon forgot about them. Recently, we were watching America’s Test Kitchen and by fluke, they were making a batch which reminded me how much I had wanted to make them. These days, more and more of our friends have become gluten intolerant or simply wish to reduce their gluten intake so this recipe comes at the right time. Plus the weather is perfect for cocktails on the back deck while the sun moves across the sky for its exit. I’ve made a few adjustments to the original recipe and have converted it to metric weight measures because that is my preference for baking.

We loved these little cheesy dough balls and you can bet that I will make them again and again. I hope you try them too.

Would you care for a few with your cocktail?

Brazilian Cheese Bread (gluten-free, lactose-reduced)

Makes 50-60 little balls. For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 390 g tapioca flour (starch)
• 2 g baking powder
• 10 g plus 2 g salt, divided
• 2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks, divided
• 200 mL lactose-free milk
• 25 g unsalted butter
• 115 mL grapeseed oil (any vegetable oil)
• 212 g sheep’s milk semi-firm cheese

Directions:

1. Combine tapioca flour, baking powder and salt and mix well in the large bowl of your stand mixer.
2. In a small saucepan, heat until just boiling the milk, butter and grapeseed oil.
3. While mixing the flour on low spead, add the hot milk solution and beat well for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat for about 8 minutes or until dough is shiny and smooth.
5. Add the cheese and mix for about 1 minute.
6. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with damp parchment paper. Put the baking sheet on top of another baking sheet (these little breads tend to burn on the bottom so insulating the bottom will help them bake more evenly).
7. Scoop out 15 mL spoonfuls the prepared baking sheet. It’s easier if you dip your scoop into water each time. Shape into little balls.
8. Combine the egg yolk with the 2 g salt and mix well.
9. Brush the egg yolk mixture on top of each dough ball and bake until tops are golden and crusty 18-20 minutes. Turn the pan around for the last 5 minutes of baking.
10. Refrigerate the dough while baking the first batch. Repeat making little balls of dough until finished.
11. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Notes:

• Check the saltiness of the cheese you use, and adjust the salt measurement accordingly. I found America’s Test Kitchen recipe was a little saltier than I like.
• I used Starkey and Hitch goat’s milk gouda in this recipe.
• America’s Test Kitchen found the dough too sticky to work with so they rested the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours before baking. I did not find the dough too sticky so I skipped that step (it’s about the same as choux pastry) .
• The recipe is as easy as making choux pastry but the texture is quite bready.
• Freeze in a zip-lock baggy. To reheat frozen balls, bake them at around 275° F until defrosted and warm.

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Smoked Salmon Mousse with Dijon Sesame Bark no no mo

We frequent a French bistro in the city, Le Select, in fact, it’s probably our favourite restaurant in the city! JT alternates from the menu items, but I like my favourites (French Onion Soup, Steak Tartare) and seldom stray from them. We tend to share an appetizer and the last time we were there, the table next to us could not say enough about the Terrine de Poisson Fumé, an airy terrine of smoked Georgian Bay whitefish served with grilled home-baked Foccacia so we had to have it. It was wonderful. Smooth, creamy, full of smoky flavour, we loved it so much, I had to make something like it for a dinner party. 

This is Le Select’s version, our inspiration.

Smoked Salmon Mousse with Dijon Sesame Bark

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 265 mL mousse

Ingredients for the Salmon Mousse:

• 65 g smoked salmon, roughly chopped
• 100 g cream cheese, cubed
• 2 g anchovy paste
• 2 g tomato paste
• 1 g paprika
• Pinch of smoked paprika
• 100 mL whole milk
• 120 mL water (see notes)
• 2 g agar-agar (see notes)

Directions for the Salmon Mousse:

1. Dissolve agar-agar in the water and slowly bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes or until the agar-agar is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, add the salmon, cream cheese, anchovy paste and whole milk to a food processor (choose one that will emulsify the salmon to a smooth, creamy consistency (my Magic Bullet did a great job).
3. Once the agar-agar has cooled somewhat, whisk into the salmon mixture until smooth.
4. Prepare silicon your mould by spraying it lightly with water. Pour the salmon mousse into each mold evenly. Allow to set in the refrigerator.
5. Serve with gourmet crackers or toasted baguette.

Dijon Sesame Bark

Ingredients:

• 20 g sugar
• 5 mL honey
• 5 mL water
• 30 g sesame seeds (black and white)
• 5 g butter
• 5 mL Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Mix the sugar with the honey and the water and cook over medium heat until everything has dissolved. Allow to come to a boil and slightly darken.
• Stir in the sesame seeds and continue to cook until it is about 300° F. Remove from heat and add the butter and Dijon mustard and stir well to incorporate.
• Pour the content onto a Silpat sheet or buttered baking sheet and spread out thinly. You may wish to cover with parchment and roll with a rolling pin.
• Allow to cool, break into smallish bits or shards to sprinkle over the salmon mousse.

Assembly of the Smoke Salmon Mousse Plate:

1. Carefully unmould the salmon mousse and place in the centre of a plate. Sprinkle with the dijon sesame bark (or serve bark in shards as below) and serve with toasted baguette slices or crackers.

This is how I served the mousse for a recent dinner party.

Notes:

• You may use the traditional smoked salmon that is thinly sliced but I used a Wild Pacific Salmon Side we hot smoked on the Big Green Egg. 
• Any smoked fish would work, as long as you can purée it smoothly.
• To replace the agar-agar with gelatine, omit the water. Use one sheet softened in in the mousse liquid, in a saucepan then put on low heat and stir until the gelatine sheet dissolves into the mousse, do not boil. One sheet is good enough for a loose set of 265 mL.

 

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Twice Baked Mushroom Soufflé

We had a little break from the Christmas rush on boxing day and we made our pilgrimage to Niagara-on-the-Lake. We love to stay at Harbour House because the rooms are nice, the people are wonderful and they have a few perks that we like to take advantage of: a lovely breakfast spread in the morning room, wine and cheese in the lobby between 4-5 every night, free shuttle service to any restaurant within NOTL! During our last night, we dined at The Cannery and I noticed they had a twice-baked soufflé on the menu so I immediately amended our NYE menu to include a twice-baked soufflé.

We had some friends over for New Year’s Eve and I decided to make a tapas evening. We had six courses but were too full so we only had five of them. I spread the evening out as much as possible so we ate from 7:30-10:30. The courses were:

• Zucchini Fritters with Sriracha Aioli
• Twice Baked Mushroom Soufflé
• Coconut Shrimp with Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce
• Crab Gyoza with Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce
• Mussels in a White Wine Broth and Baguette
• Cheese Course (this is the one we saved for the following day).

It was a nice way to spend the evening, just noshing and chatting away. We hadn’t seen these friends since mid-November so we had a lot to catch up on. But there wasn’t a lot of talking during this course. Just eating!

Twice Baked Mushroom Soufflé

Original recipe by Lorraine Elliot of Not Quite Nigella.

Makes about 500 mL (~15 oz)

Ingredients:

• 15 g butter, plus additional for buttering ramekins
• 15 g plain all purpose flour
• 80 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced medium thickly
• 40 g chestnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
• 10 mL roasted garlic purée
• 125 mL milk, heated
• 1 egg, separated
• 40 g goats cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
2. Butter the ramekins well, all the way up the sides. Boil some water.
3. Dry roast the mushroom slices in a non-stick pan so that they colour a little on both sides and much of their moisture has evaporated. Set aside.
4. Melt the remaining butter in the pan and add the flour all at once. Cook the flour for a minute without burning it. Add the milk and whisk until smooth, it will be very thick.
5. Chop the slightly cooled mushrooms and add them with the roasted, chopped chestnuts and roasted garlic purée to the roux and whisk well.
6. Add the egg yolk and stir well to combine. Set aside to cool.
7. Meanwhile, beat the egg white until stiff but not dry. Take about 1/4 of the beaten egg whites and stir it into the roux mixture to loosen. Fold in the remaining egg whites until well incorporated but not deflated.
8. Divide the mixture into the prepared ramekins and bake in a bain-marie (this is why you were boiling the water) for 35-40 minutes or until tops are lightly golden (remember, they will be baked again).
9. Allow to cool in the ramekins for about 5 minutes (they will deflate a bit), then gently loosen sides with a sharp knife and turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool until room temperature.
10. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator until needed. If you are not going to use it for a few days, wrap each soufflé individually in plastic wrap and then bag in a large ziplock freezer bag. Freeze until required.
11. To defrost, remove from the freezer the night before it is required and defrost in the refrigerator. The microwave is not suitable for this step.
12. Lay the soufflés into individual ovenproof dishes and prepare the béchamel finishing sauce.

Ingredients for Béchamel Finishing Sauce:

• 5 g unsalted butter
• 15 g all-purpose flour
• 250 mL milk
• Pinch of thyme leaves
• pinch of nutmeg
• season to taste.

Directions for Béchamel Finishing Sauce:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and cook the roux without burning for about 1 minute.
2. Slowly add the milk while whisking to create a smooth sauce, cook until thickened.
3. Flavour with the thyme leaves and nutmeg.
4. Pour over the defrosted soufflés in an oven-proof bakeware and bake about 25 minutes in a preheated 350° F (180° C), to heat it through.

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Herbed Cream Cheese Spread

We are knee deep in cocktail party season and I’m going to post a recipe that will keep you on budget! Do you love Boursin? Are you appalled at the price? In Toronto, a little 150 g (a touch more than 1/2 cup) pot could cost $6.00+++!!! So I improvised and created this herb-infused cream cheese spread, it’s equally as good and costs a lot less! Make this a couple of days in advance so the flavours have time to meld, you won’t be sorry.

Makes about 250 mL or 1 cup.

Ingredients:

• 30 mL olive oil
• dry or fresh herbs, to taste
• garlic, minced finely
• 70 g butter, softened
• 100 g cream cheese, softened
• 100 g ricotta
• salt & pepper, to taste
• Chives or green onions, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil over low heat with the fresh herbs and garlic, simmer for 10 minutes to infuse. Allow the infused oil to cool completely.
2. Pour infused oil through a fine sieve and reserve, discard herbs and garlic.
3. In a small processor, pulse the cheeses and butter together until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the cooled olive oil and continue to pulse until it has been entirely incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve at room temperature and watch it disappear.

Notes:

• The first time, I used a combo of fresh lemon thyme, rosemary, tarragon and Greek oregano. This time, I used finely grated Herbes de Provence.
• I had homemade ricotta, but if you do not, just double the cream cheese, it’s still delicious!
• Use whipped cream cheese for a similar texture to the actual Boursin.
• I like to serve this spread in a small glass pot but any container will do. To serve similar to the actual Boursin, line a ramekin with plastic wrap and pack the spread into the plastic wrap and freeze. To serve, Remove from the freezer and invert on a platter and remove plastic wrap. Allow the dome to come to room temperature.
• Serve with bread, crackers or crudité.

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Lime and Matcha Cheesecake

You may recall that last week I posted a recipe for homemade ricotta from buttermilk and sour cream, well this is what the ricotta became and it was delicious! It was a cake I made for our dear friends Rae and Mon when they invited us for dinner one night in June. Check out the notes, I give some very good tips on how to bake a cheesecake without it cracking!

Lime and Matcha Cheesecake

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes one 23 cm cheesecake

For the Crust:

• 175 g graham cracker crumbs
• 50 g butter, melted
• 35 g coconut sugar
• pinch of cinnamon
• 10 g unsweetened coconut
• 1.5 g lime zest (about 1 lime)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Line the bottom of a 23 cm springform pan with parchment grease it well including the sides.
3. Line the outside bottom of the pan with foil tightly. Cover the outside of another, slightly larger pan with foil so that it is water resistant.
4. Combine all of the above crust ingredients and mix until well coated with the butter. This step may be done in a food processor.

Press into the prepared smaller pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely.Decorate with lime zest, matcha powder, coconut and thinly sliced limes.

For the Cheesecake:

• 150 g granulated sugar, divided
• 4 eggs, separated
• 300 g buttermilk, sour cream ricotta (recipe)
• 120 g sour cream
• 3 g lime zest (about 2 limes)
• 50 mL lime juice (~2 limes)
• 15 g AP flour (check weight)
• 5 g matcha powder
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.
2. Beat the egg whites with 50 g of sugar until stiff shiny peaks form.
3. Beat the egg yolks with 100 g of sugar until they are thick and pale.
4. Add the ricotta and greek yogurt to the egg yolk mixture and then add the lime juice and zest and beat until well blended.
5. Sift the flour and matcha powder into ricotta mixture.
6. Finally, fold the beaten egg whites into the ricotta mixture until well blended. Spoon into the chilled prepared crust.
7. Set the pan into the slightly larger pan with the bottom covered in foil, and set both into a tall-sided roasting pan and pour just hot water into the roasting pan so it goes about half-way up the sides.
8. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the centre doesn’t jiggle when gently shaken. Turn the oven off, allow to cool in the oven undisturbed. Once cool, refrigerate until ready to serve.
9. Decorate with lime zest and matcha. Serve with lime infused whipping cream or with blueberries.

A deliciously flavoured, baked cheesecake.

Notes:

• I always beat my egg whites first so that I don’t need to wash my mixer whisk attachment.
• To prevent cracking while baking and cooling:
• • Set the 23 cm springform pan into a slightly larger, springform pan with the bottom covered tightly with foil to double ensure water-tightness and insulate the sides so that the outside bakes at the same rate as the inside.
• • Set both pans into a high-sided roasting pan.
• • Fill the roasting pan (not the larger springform pan) with hot water to about the middle height of the springform pans.
• Step 3 and 4 may be done in a large food processor, which will result in a smooth cheesecake, otherwise, the ricotta curds will add some texture to the cake.

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Buttermilk and Sour Cream Ricotta

In my line of work you inevitably garner leftover ingredients that no one else wants that are not standard fare in your pantry. This recipe is one of those happy examples. As you well know, I abhor tossing food so I searched the net for a tasty way to use said ingredients, whole milk, buttermilk and sour cream and found that you can make ricotta! How exciting is that? We were invited to dear friends for dinner, so I made a delicious cheesecake out of the ricotta (recipe to come next week).

Makes 235 g Ricotta

Ingredients:

• 500 mL whole milk
• 500 mL buttermilk
• 200 mL full fat sour cream

Directions:

1. Heat the milk, buttermilk and sour cream over a medium heat in an enamel pot to about 82° C (180° F). Allow it to sit, undisturbed for 30 minutes.
2. Pour into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and strain (covered) until relatively dry (overnight) in the refrigerator.

I would have thought the buttermilk and sour cream would have made a much tarter ricotta but it was fine.

Make additional ricotta out of the whey:

Makes an additional 65 g ricotta!

Ingredients:

• 750 mL leftover whey from making ricotta above
• 250 mL milk (higher fat is better, I used 1% because that is what I had)
• 15 mL vinegar or lemon juice

Directions:

1. Heat the whey and milk in a non-reactive pan over medium heat until it reaches 91° C (195° F). Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar or lemon juice. Allow it to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.
2. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Strain for several hours for a firm ricotta.

Notes:

• Use an unreactive pot like Le Creuset.
• I did not salt the ricotta because I had a sweet application planned for it.
• The buttermilk and sour cream curdle naturally when heated, so an acid is not required.
• Reserve the whey for recipes that call for cooking with stock or water, it is healthy and flavourful.

Dear friends, I have finally made a website of my work. Please feel free to visit evataylorfoodstyle.com. The blog will not change, it will always be my ever growing recipe book, the website is for work. If you know of anyone needing a food stylist in Toronto, please send them to my website. As always, your comments are appreciated more than you can know.

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Sun-dried Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Straws

In late March/early April, we spent two glorious weeks in Arizona. We stayed with friends for this duration because we had offered to puppy-sit (Jordan) while they took a quick 7 day holiday in Ireland. We had never puppy sat before but their beautiful black lab, Jordan is quite possibly one of the laziest dogs we have ever met so she was really no problem at all. We did get her used to three walks per day, that is, until we bumped into a woman carrying a black light, walking her dog after dark. I had to ask and yes, it was to detect scorpions. That was the end of our after dark walks. Period.

I like to arrive with gifts in hand and these basil Parmesan Straws were the perfect hostess gift because I had a bunch of basil that needed using a couple of days before our departure. Plus they are pretty tasty. Jordan thought so too.

Sun-dried Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Straws

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 75 pieces

To print this recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 290 g flour
• 10 g Fresh Basil, finely chopped
• 50 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
• 10 g garlic, finely minced
• 110 g unsalted butter (cold)
• 30 g  grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten separately
• 15-30 mL water or milk
• Sea salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Put all dry ingredients into a food processor, including the basil, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, and process to mix well.
3. Add the butter and process to coarse granules.
4. While the blades are running, pour in the egg and process until a soft ball forms. If this does not happen, drizzle little bits of water until a soft ball forms.
5. Remove from processor and using a small amount of flour, roll out the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness. Cut into 8cm x 7 mm straws and position evenly on a cookie sheet. Brush with second egg and sprinkle with sea salt.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.
7. Remove and allow to cool. This will store well in a cool, dark place or freeze.

Notes:

• I like to use a plastic ruler to cut the straws evenly. My ruler is a dedicated food ruler that never is used with pens or pencils or markers!
• This type of rolling pin gives you evenly thick dough, but as I have mentioned previously, it is a pain to unscrew the disks and I inadvertently have to wash all of the disks each time I use it.
• This dough is a bit wetter than some of my other recipes because of the sun-dried tomatoes and fresh garlic.

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Sizzling Mushrooms with Sour Dough Baguette

I created this recipe in 2012, modeled after an appetizer at an old favourite restaurant which sadly closed down many years prior to 2012. Like many of my old posts, the photos are dark and dreary and deserve an update so here it is. I also threw in a sourdough baguette, the recipe can be found here. I used this starter which, frankly took a long time and was not as sour-doughy as I had hoped but I found the liquid ingredient intriguing so I gave it a go. I will try this starter used in the recipe next time.

It’s still a winter picture, so give me a break!

Sizzling Mushrooms

Serves 2-4 as an hors d’œuvres (about 112 g of cooked mushrooms and onions, without the feta)

Ingredients:

• 20 g unsalted butter
• 150 g mushrooms, stems removed and sliced medium thinly
• 60 g sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 4 g garlic, finely minced
• 30-60 g sheep and goats milk feta, crumbled (see notes)
• 30 mL cognac (optional)
• 2-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, roughly chopped
• sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a small frying pan, melt the butter and add the onions, cook until caramelized (about 10-15 minutes).
2. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are no longer wet (about 5-10 minutes) and have also caramelized. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Season with sea salt if using, but remember the feta is also salty so season sparingly.
3. Deglaze the pan with the cognac, stirring to loosen any of the bits stuck to the pan. Remove from heat and add the fresh thyme and stir. Sprinkle the crumbled feta over the hot mushrooms and serve immediately with thinly sliced sourdough baguette (fresh out of the oven, no less!)

Notes:

• I used a 50/50 combo of shitake and cremini mushrooms, but feel free to use whatever mushrooms you desire.
• We prefer actual Greek Feta made in Greece of Sheep and Goats milk, here in Toronto there are many imposters so try to find this one.
• We typically don’t use pepper, but if you like it, use white pepper to avoid the harsh dark specs on the feta.
• This recipe cooks beautifully in a cast iron pan, if you have a small one, use it. My small one was a bit too big for this amount.

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