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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Grilled Vegetable and Cilantro Salsa

This past July, we traveled to Wisconsin to visit friends at their gorgeous lake house; it was bittersweet because they were selling it to move down to Arizona for good. The weather wasn’t great so we only got in one very short boat ride but we enjoyed every last minute. We shall miss visiting this little gem in Wisconsin. But that just means we’ll be visiting Arizona even more!

While we were in Wisconsin, our dear friends introduced us to an incredible product: Rick Bayless’ Fonterra Grill salsa! It was to die for! The layered flavours of grilled vegetables and fresh cilantro created a complex salsa that was totally unexpected, so of course, I had to try to recreate it upon our return. I used our Big Green Egg which is the ultimate charcoal barbecue! It imparts the most incredible smoky flavours but if you have gas or propane, just fire up some wood chips on the side for a similar experience.

Grilled Vegetable and Cilantro Salsa

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Yields about 1 Litre of salsa (about 4 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg tomatoes, seeded (reserve seeds and pulp for tomato jam)
• 2 sweet red peppers
• 4 jalopeño peppers, seeded and veins removed or to taste
• 2 nora peppers, rehydrated in warm water, skins and seeds removed (yields about 15 mL flesh), optional
• 1 sweet onion
• 1/2 garlic bulb, skin on
• 2.5 mL smoked sweet paprika
• Salt
• Cilantro leaves, good handful or to taste
• juice of 2 limes

Directions:

1. Remove seeds and pulp from the tomatoes and set cut-side down on a cooling rack lined with parchment paper. Overnight is best, you want to dry out the tomatoes as much as possible.
2. Roast the tomatoes, peppers, jalapeños and onion on an open flame (I used our Big Green Egg) until softened and slightly charred. Wrap the garlic in parchment and then foil and roast over the open flame until soft.
3. Remove the skins from the tomatoes, peppers and garlic, discard skins. Add roasted veggies and cilantro leaves to a food processor and chop to desired consistency. Add salt and lime juice and pulse to combine.
4. Add the scraped flesh from the Nora peppers to the processor and pulse a few more times.
5. Fill sterilized jars with the salsa. If you are not using right away, you will want to process the jars in the typical canning methods. I processed my salsa for 15 minutes.

Tomato Jam

Yields a scant 250 mL (1 cup) tomato jam

Ingredients:

• 370 g tomato pulp (all the seeds and pulp from the tomatoes that you plan to roast for the above recipe)
• 100 g shallots, minced finely
• 10 g garlic, minced finely
• 15 mL EVOO
• 50 mL cooking sherry
• 15 mL white balsamic vinegar
• 1.25 mL baking soda
• basil, chiffonade
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook the onions and garlic until caramelized, deglaze the pan with cooking sherry. Add the tomato pulp, basil, season with salt and then add the baking soda, being careful because the baking soda will foam up.
2. Cook for about an hour until most of the water has cooked off. About half-way through the cooking, add the white balsamic vinegar and stir well.

Notes:

• I used a combination of vine-ripened tomatoes and Roma because that is what looked the best to me.
• I have mentioned this before, baking soda neutralizes the acidity of the tomato and therefore there is NO NEED TO ADD SUGAR (yes, I yelled that!).
• You could do whatever you wish with the pulp, I just don’t like throwing away food!
• Since this post was written, I’ve made two additional batches of this salsa and the last batch was rush so I used the entire tomato instead of seeding it, it made for a wetter salsa so I strained it before canning. The seeds added a bit more texture that wasn’t unpleasant. But, I’d still go the extra mile and seed the tomatoes if I have the time.

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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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Updated Kale Chips

In an effort to eat healthier, I developed this recipe for a snack that is flavourful, crunchy and delivers a bit of protein and vitamins! The almond flour helps with the crunch as does the coconut flour, the dehydrated onion and garlic give the flavour this healthy snack delivers.

Kale Chips

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2 to 4

To print recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 120 g kale, washed, dried and cut into medium-sized pieces
• 30 g almond flour
• 20 g coconut flour
• 10 g dehydrated onion
• 5 g dehydrated garlic
• 30 mL olive oil
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 93° C (200°F )(I used my convection (fan) setting).
2. In a dedicated spice/coffee mill, grind the almond flour, coconut flour, onion and garlic until a fine powder. Set aside.
3. Wash kale and dry as well as possible. Remove thick ribs. Cut into bite-sized pieces keeping in mind that they will shrink to about half their raw size.
4. Drizzle olive oil over kale and toss to coat evenly. I gave them a quick, light massage to evenly coat each leaf.
5. Spread kale on a cookie sheet so they are on one layer and not overlapping. Sprinkle lightly with about 7 g of almond flour mixture (I found it easier to sprinkle through a fine sieve).
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes tossing occasionally until crisp. Sprinkle with salt.
7. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• Spice up the finished kale chips with a little cayenne pepper.
• Instead of olive oil, use chili oil to coat raw chips.
• Spread the oil-coated chips evenly on a cookie sheet to dry quickly and evenly.
• A medium to larger cut leaf will dehydrate to a bite-sized chip.
• Store the leftover coconut flour mix in an air-tight container for future kale chips.

Nutritional facts for kale chips

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Roasted Garlic Dip

Just prior to Christmas, I did a couple of jobs which had me buying a lot of garlic. When I say a lot, I mean literally dozens of heads! Of course, I gave away as much as I could but the majority came home with me. I am not one to toss perfectly good food in the bin, so I decided to roast the heads and freeze them for quick additions to sauces and soups. Now, I must say that this idea is genius because roasted garlic is so tasty and having some quick at hand makes it easy to add another level of flavour without the harshness of raw garlic. Over the holidays, we got together with our wonderful neighbours and I made this delicious roasted garlic dip.

Now there is that cold winter light!

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 6-8, makes about 300 mL

To print recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 200 g roasted garlic (about 4 heads)
• 125 g cream cheese, room temperature
• 50 g Greek Yogurt
• Sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a small bowl large enough to accommodate a stick blender, combine all of the ingredients and purée until smooth and silky.
2. Serve at room temperature.

Notes:

• I roast garlic by cutting off the bottom of the head (the root end) and setting it in about 30 mL of olive oil. I like to cover the garlic I roast so it steams and roasts at the same time. I roast the garlic in a 350° F oven for about 45 minutes or until they are very soft.
• To extract the garlic, simply squeeze each clove into a container.
• Some people add freshly grated Parmesan to this dip but I find it rich enough without it.
• Save the cut ends of the garlic for soup stock.

This dip would also be a tasty cream sauce for pasta.

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Mushroom, Chestnut and Bean Wellington

During the month we spent in Arizona, we had the pleasure of celebrating American Thanksgiving with our dear friends down there. Our dear friends who live there offered to make the turkey (thank goodness, as I did not have any of my special kitchen tools!) so I offered to make a few different sides. We had dear friends visiting from Toronto and they are vegetarian and I wanted to make something special for them for Thanksgiving, so I made this Mushroom, Chestnut and Bean Wellington. I purchased the puff pastry to make it easier but I made everything else. I was surprised to find roasted Italian chestnuts (in the Kosher section, no less!) but sadly the mushrooms were just plain cremini and white mushrooms, not much variety. It’s always a bit of a challenge to cook in a strange kitchen and shop in a different part of the world, but I think this one turned out wonderful and with a variety of mushrooms, it would be amazing! Please excuse the photos, this is the one and only blog post I managed to eak out during our stay in Arizona, I was THAT busy!

Scroll down to the end of this post to see the house we rented. It took us some time to find one that was decorated in light airy colours, most of the rentals are dark and dowdy, filled with ‘granny’s furniture’ and I just couldn’t bear to live in that for a month! Although I might have chosen a slightly lighter tone for the walls, this house made me happy.

Fresh out of the oven.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 1 Wellington about 30 cm x 15 cm (12 inches x 6 inches)

To print recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 2 cups variety of mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 cup carrots, finely cubed
• 1/2 cup celery, finely cubed
• 1/2 cup zucchini, finely cubed
• 1/2 cup roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2-1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 cup navy beans, soaked
• 4 cups vegetable stock, divided
• 1/2 cup port
• salt
• pepper
• 1 puff pastry sheet
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg yolk, lightly whisked with a little water.

Directions:

1. Cook the navy beans in 3 cups veggie stock or water, cool.
2. In a heavy bottom pan, caramelize the onions in the melted butter and olive oil on medium heat (about 20 minutes). Add mushrooms and cook until the mushroom liquid has evaporated. Turn the heat up and caramelize the mushrooms add the port to deglaze the pan.
3. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, zucchini and roasted chestnuts and sauté until carrots are slightly softened.
4. Add the rosemary, panko, cooked navy beans, and veggie stock. Season to taste. Remove from heat and cool completely.
5. On a cold surface, roll out the puff pastry sheet to about 30 cm x 40 cm (12 inches x 16 inches). Brush the Dijon mustard on the pastry and mound the cooled mushroom filling in the centre of the pastry. Turn up each side until they meet in the middle and pinch closed. Pinch the ends closed and trim off excess pastry.
6. Turn the log onto a parchment lined baking sheet seamed sized down, and brush with the egg yolk. Decorate with leaves from the leftover end pastry and brush with egg wash. Bake in a hot 400° F oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden.
7. Serve sliced hot out of the oven, or reheat to serve.

A tasty treat wrapped in delicious buttery pastry.

Click on any photo for the slideshow.

House Front

Foyer

Panorama of the interior

Diningroom and Office

Office

Livingroom

Kitchen

Master bedroom

Master Bath

Guest Room

Guest Bath

Side Porch

Backyard

Golf cart

Main Clubhouse

Interior of the Main Clubhouse

Interior of the Main Clubhouse

The Bar

The Bistro

Wine Vault

Lap pool

La Casa Pool

The Spa

The Workout Room

4 Tennis Courts

The Algarve, 2nd clubhouse

The Algarve Pool

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