Thanks for people’s comments on my previous post, both the ones posted on-site, and the ones emailed to me. It’s always interesting and helpful to hear the perspectives of others, especially when it comes to something so clearly…questionable.

Today, I’ll stay on the safe side and write about a great meal Soli threw together on a whim about a week back. We had picked up a Portuguese chicken a few nights before, and foolishly ordered a family-size pack of fries to go with it. Now, their fries are amazing, and I am an avid French-fry-addict, but even given these two truths, there was no way we would ever be able to finish these behemoth bag of fries. After a few nights of them sitting in our fridge, Soli decided to use them in a frittata.

I’ve got to start eating frittatas more often! They’re one of those dishes I always forget about, but shouldn’t, because they are so easy to prepare and pretty much anything in the fridge can be tossed in there with great results. This one was a concoction of lardons, a whole pack of frozen spinach and greens, a chopped onion, a sliced zucchini, a can of corn, a few handfuls of our spicy Portuguese fries, a whole lot of eggs, and some shredded cheese, all baked up in a cast iron pan and served alongside some ketchup and hot sauce. Simple, quick, delicious, and the perfect way to use up food that’s just sitting in the fridge.

There’s no real recipe here, just play it by ear. First, we thawed the frozen spinach and greens, and squeezed out all the excess water. Heat your French fries briefly up in the oven at around 400 degrees F. Next, chop an onion! We heated some butter and olive oil in a cast iron pan, and added some bacon that had been cut into cubes, then added the chopped onion. Next, we added a sliced zucchini and the can of corn niblets. Throw in the thawed greens, and heat. While it’s heating, beat together 10 eggs and add the shredded cheese. Add the French fries, and pour the egg and cheese mixture over everything. Pop it in the over at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until the eggs are firm and are puffing up. Cut into triangles and serve with salad or lots of ketchup and hot sauce!

About a year ago, I found a recipe for a cake on someone’s blog that I knew would be the perfect cake for my mom’s birthday. I made the cake, my mom loved it, and I posted my photos of the cake, along with the recipe and about 4 links to the original recipe and words of praise to the site where I found the recipe. At no point did I ever say, or come close to implying, that the recipe was my own.

Within a few days, I received a lengthy email from the person who owns the site from whom I had taken the recipe. She told me I should not be posting her recipe as my own, which I hadn’t done, but because I hadn’t changed enough words in the recitation of the recipe, in her opinion, I had stolen her recipe.

I removed the post from my site.

Even though she hasn’t posted anything in almost a year now, I obviously still think about it. I am not a “real” chef or baker. I follow recipes and only occasionally alter them. Sometimes I mix and match. This blog does not exist because I hope to become the world’s best food-maker, but because I want to keep track of the things I make and because I want to share these things with other people, and exactly in that order. I want to remember a successful cake, I want to remember the day I made it, I want to remember what was good and what was bad. I’m not trying to gain anything with this site except for sharing what is delicious to me.

Is this wrong? I do not earn a cent with my site…in fact, I pay for its domain. It exists so that i can keep track of the food I’ve made. I love to take photos of food and I enjoy remembering and perhaps sharing these foods. Is it a harmful thing to post a recipe you’ve gotten elsewhere, with credit given? I feel privileged when someone makes something I’ve posted…is that weird?

What happened to sharing? I never pretend to have created a recipe, and always give credit where credit is due. Is that enough? What do you do with your food blog? Am I wrong?

I made Ina Garten’s chipotle and rosemary roasted nuts for Christmas after seeing the recipe in December’s Food Network magazine. The instant I saw the recipe, I was drawn to it, and saved it in the back of mind for Christmas. This was a perfect Christmas recipe for this year…we moved on December 17th, which is really a terrible time when it comes to being able to cook or bake for Christmas. Everything was a mess, my cutlery went missing for about 2 weeks, and we have a new gas stove that I had no idea to work, so even if I had had baking pans and flour readily available, I would still be hesitant to make any cookies or cakes. I was willing to give a panful of roasted nuts a try though!

I did use the same amount of nuts and “dressing” as the recipe states, though I upped the cashews, walnuts and almonds and skipped out on using the pecans. The cashews I used where not roasted. Finally, I couldn’t find our maple syrup (you think everything is so organized when you pack it, but when 8 boxes of canned/bottled foods are staring you down to be unpacked, you realize you could’ve done a much, much better job!), so I used honey instead.

In the end, these turned out really well. I am not a massive nut-fan (I think because I grew up never really eating nuts, as I was allergic to peanuts), but these were fun to snack on, especially when accompanied with chunks of old cheddar cheese. I adore the salty/sweet flavor combo, and the orange adds a fun brightness to the whole thing. I didn’t find them spicy at all, and would actually probably add some cayenne to the mix next time. They were definitely a good Christmas dish, and the recipe makes a ton. The nuts do like to really stick together though, so be prepared to have to stab at them a little to knock a few nuts loose.

One big change I made was follow some of the reviewers’ advice and reduced the heat from 350 degrees to 300 degrees and watched them carefully after about 20 minutes. It did take a little bit longer, but they certainly weren’t burnt!

Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts
Adapted from Ina Garten

Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces) (I skipped these and just used more of the other nuts)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup (I used honey instead)
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
Kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice and chipotle powder on the sheet pan; toss to coat.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.

3. Spread the nuts in one layer. (I needed to use two cookie sheets)

4. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Bake longer if they don’t seem finished, keeping a close eye on them.

5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary. Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning.

Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to a week.

A lot of people just adore crème brûlée. They see it on a dessert menu, and they just have got to get it. I am not one of those people. In fact, I think I’ve probably eaten crème brûlée just a few times, and this was my first time making it.

I followed the recipe exactly, and didn’t attempt adding any other flavours. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for the best. The taste was great – rich, creamy, sweet..almost heavenly. However, they never set and it was almost pure liquid under the hard sugar layer. I read around on the internet and found that many people had a very similar problem with this recipe, so if you do decide to make this, adjust the temperature! I did bake them for longer, but it still didn’t work out. Like I said though, the flavour was all there…just the consistency wasn’t.

Crème Brûlée
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 ¼ cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 / 3 cup sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
About 6 tablespoons sugar or sifted light brown sugar, for topping

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200ºF/ 93ºC.

2. Put the six baking dishes on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

3. Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.

4. In a 1 or 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla together until well blended but not airy. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid—this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the cream and milk. Give the bowl a good rap against the counter to de-bubble the custard, then strain it into the baking dishes.
Bake the custards for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the centers are set—tap the sides of the dishes, and the custards should hold firm. Lift the dishes onto a cooling rack and let the custards cool until they reach room temperature.

5. Cover each custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The custards can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) For the sugar to be successfully caramelized, the custards need to be thoroughly chilled.

SERVING
Serve the crème brûlée when the crème is really cold and the brûlée is still warm. You can serve the whole dessert chilled, but the sugar topping won’t have its characteristic crackle. And while I think crème brûlée should be served with nothing more then a spoon, you could offer berries and cookies as accompaniments.

STORING
The custard for crème brûlée must be made ahead so it has plenty of time to chill, but once you’ve caramelized the sugar on top, your storage time is over if your want the sugar to have crunch.

Just a few of my favourite dessert things: Coffee cakes. Chocolate and orange combinations. Cinnamon and pecan streusels. It’s pretty obvious that I would love this coffee cake, which has exactly everything I love!

First, the cake itself. Cakes that contain sour cream are notoriously moister, more tender, more delicious. All very true for this cake! Next, the streusel. It’s got cinnamon, it’s got chocolate, it’s got pecans, and the cake has two streusel layers! One runs through the centre of the cake, and the top of the cake gets all crunchy from the layer on top. I believe there is no such thing as too much streseul. Finally, the chocolate-orange flavor combo. Neither the chocolate or the orange is predominant. The only chocolate is in the streusel, and the only orange is the orange juice and rind in the cake. They’re there, subtly, and I love it. I did add a bit of extra rind in the streusel, just because I do love orange and chocolate together.

It makes for a wonderful morning cake with coffee, so if you’re looking for a cake to serve during the holidays at a breakfast or brunch, this is an ideal choice. I was thinking that it would be the perfect cake to use one of those Terry’s chocolate oranges (the dark chocolate one though, not the milk – to sweet!) in. I think I may just have to make this cake again….

Sour Cream-Orange Coffee Cake with Chocolate-Pecan Streusel
from Bon Appetit

CHOCOLATE-PECAN STREUSEL
1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled salted butter, diced
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

SOUR CREAM ORANGE COFFEECAKE
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup orange juice

STREUSEL
1. Whisk brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend.
2. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture holds together in small, moist clumps.
3. Mix in pecans and chocolate chips. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

CAKE
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended and smooth.
3. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then orange peel and vanilla extract.
4. Mix in flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with sour cream in 3 additions.
5. Mix in orange juice.
6. Spread half of batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of streusel.
7. Drop remaining batter over by heaping tablespoonfuls; carefully spread batter to make even layer.
8. Sprinkle with remaining streusel.
9. Bake cake 30 minutes.
10. Lay sheet of foil loosely over pan to keep topping from browning too quickly. Continue baking until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes longer.
11. Remove foil. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar; serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool completely. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Oh, and I got a visit from The Fairy Hobmother, from Appliances Online today, whose job it is to spread joy among the internet bloggers. A while back, I left a comment on one of Grace’s awesome posts, and today I got my visit, which resulted in a wonderful Amazon voucher (considering how close the holidays actually are, this is a great thing)!

And if you leave a comment on this post, the Fairy Hobmother might just be visiting you next!

Happy National Bundt Day!!!

One of my favourite food blogs, The Food Librarian, takes on the daunting task of preparing a bundt a day for the month (check out the aptly named “I Like Big Bundts” pages!) leading up to National Bundt Day. Needless to say, I wish I worked in her place of employment! Whenever I’m looking for a bundt cake to make, I always check out her blog first, and her countless number of bundt recipes. Last year, I made a lemon bundt cake. This year, to celebrate National Bundt Day, however, I went with a bundt from Baked’s cookbook, the chocolate root beer bundt cake.

I wish the photos captured this cake better; now that it’s daylight savings, I no longer have the joy of natural daylight during the week to take photos in. Add to that the fact that chocolate cakes are already pretty hard to photograph…and you’re left with this dark brown chocolate blob of a cake. It really is a tasty cake though! I can’t say that the root beer adds any flavor to it; it pretty much is just a rich, deep, moist, decadent chocolate cake with an enormous layer of smooth, fantastically chocolatey frosting. This is one powerful chocolate cake, and the perfect cake to celebrate National Bundt Day with.

Chocolate Root Beer Bundt Cake
From Baked: New Frontiers In Baking

CAKE
2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

FROSTING
2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

CAKE
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it, dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.

2. In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy–do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

FROSTING
1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth.

2. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the Bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving.

I am definitely a quickbread fan! While banana bread will always be at the top of my list, I am open to pretty much any sweet bread. The last bread I made was a rather mild-tasting, not too sweet, walnut-date bread. It has all the qualities of a banana-nut bread, but with a taste similar to date squares. It’s a great breakfast bread, and I loved toasting a slice and smearing it with some creamy brie. Because the bread isn’t (surprisingly, considering all the sugars in it) that sweet, it’s prefect with all sorts of cheeses!

I love the chunks of date in it, as well as the crunch of the candied walnuts. And one of my favourite parts? This bread is made in only one pot! If you’re looking for something a bit different from the usual banana bread, give this one a try!

Walnut-Date Bread
adapted from Honest Cooking

250g pitted dates
1 cup water
60g unsalted butter
180g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
180g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
cup candied walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Butter 4 small loaf tins or 1 standard loaf pan.

2. Place dates in a saucepan with water and bring to the boil, then decrease heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes until all the liquid has absorbed and the dates are mushy. Mash to break up any big pieces, then add the butter, sugar and golden syrup. Stir until the butter has melted, then remove from the heat and stir the baking soda into the hot mixture.

3. Cool slightly, then stir in the egg.

4. Fold in the flour and baking powder, then the candied walnuts.

5. Spread the batter into the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pan, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Looking for a 10,000,000 calorie dessert that’s bound to please pretty much anyone with a sweet tooth? No need to look any further!

I stocked up on cans of condensed milk last time I traveled over the border; $1.97/can vs $4.50/can? Sounds like a deal to me! I thought this would be a fun Thanksgiving dessert, and a great way to use up some of my stockpiled cans of condensed milk. They are decadently sweet, rich and perfect. The shortbread crust is so buttery, it’s great all on its own. The caramel layer, made from heating and stirring the condensed milk over low heat it extremely boring and time-consuming, but the end result is worth it. Eventually, the condensed milk thickens, then thickens more, and turns an amber colour and becomes so sticky, sweet, and heavenly! The chocolate layer (you can use any chocolate you like, but I prefer bittersweet to milk, as that caramel is sweet enough as it is, and needs something like bittersweet chocolate to cut the sweetness down) has a nice “snap” to it.

All together, every layer is gorgeous and each one plays into the other. It’s like a gigantic Twix bar, only better.

SHORTBREAD
2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for preparing pans
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pans
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

CARAMEL
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter

CHOCOLATE
3/4 pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter

SHORTBREAD
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Butter 2 (8-inch) square nonstick pans and coat with flour, tapping off excess.
3. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse once. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles peas. Press the shortbread mixture into prepared pans and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

CARAMEL
1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. Continue stirring over the heat until mixture becomes thick and amber in color, about 15 minutes.

2. Pour the caramel over the cooked shortbread and spread evenly using an offset spatula.

3. Cool to room temperature.

CHOCOLATE
1. In a glass bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter.

2. Once chocolate has melted, pour it over the cooled caramel layer. Cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, and then place in the refrigerator to cool completely, allowing chocolate to slightly harden but not get hard.

3. Cut into 2-inch squares and enjoy, or store in an airtight container, at room temperature.

One of the dishes I request most is tuna salad. I think this happens about twice a month, and I think it’s when my body is deprived of protein. This salad always satiates my body, and it’s an ever-changing recipe, depending on what’s in season and what’s in the fridge.

Celery and carrots are always in the fridge. Therefore, they are always in the salad. However, the last time Soli made this, he decided to lightly cook the veg instead of just adding it all raw to the salad -what a difference! There was still a crunch, but a subtle one; instead, all the textures blended together in harmony, as did the flavours.

I could offer up a recipe for this, but I think a tuna salad is better if you just add the stuff you love. Here’s what we just made, but feel free to adjust to your tastes accordingly.

By the way, did you know that you should “peel” celery before you cook with it? If you peel it, then those stringy bits no longer exist! Just pass a veggie peeler over each stalk, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Amazing!

What You Love Tuna Salad

1 pound dry pasta (whatever shape you love)

3 cans tuna, rinsed and drained
2-3 slices bacon, cubed (optional; if not, use 2 tbsp butter)
3 stalks celery, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
(whatever other veggies you love: peas, white onions, red peppers, etc)
2 green onions, sliced
2 potatoes, peeled, boiled, and cubed
3 tbsp. fresh dill
3 eggs, hardboiled, and diced
whatever else you would like to add (sweet or dill pickles, red onion, etc. all diced)

DRESSING (all to taste)
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt
pepper
(can add anchovies, red pepper flakes, etc)

1. Boil pasta, then rinse immediately in cold water.

2. Heat non-stick pan over medium heat. Add bacon (if not using, add 2 tbsp butter instead). Melt butter or cook bacon over medium heat. Remove bacon (if using). Add celery and carrots. Cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

2a. If using, dice bacon.

3. In a large bowl, combine pasta, tuna, potatoes, egg, vegetables, fresh dill and green onions and bacon (if using).

4. Mash garlic and salt (via mortar and pestle); add olive oil and lemon.

5. Pour dressing over salad. Add seasoning (more garlic, lemon, oil, pepper) to taste.

6. Chill and serve.

Last week, we my sister, Soli and I finally made it to Gordon Ramsay’s Laurier BBQ. I have never tried the resto when it was just Laurier BBQ, sans Gordon Ramsay, so I can’t say if it’s improved or not…I can say, however, that’s it’s excellent!

I had been reading some reviews since it opened that were not always positive or glowing. However, I either have very different tastebuds, or the food has vastly improved, because all three of us were very impressed. There was only one thing disappointing: the jars of pickles on every table that were not cleared or emptied between clients, and because there was no pickle-fork in the jar, clients would just stick their fingers or their own forks in there, meaning when you finally get a pickle, it’s coated in the finger and mouth germs of 15 people ahead of you (at least). We made a complaint about this, and the waitress said, oh! There’s usually a pincher in there…but as we left the resto and walked by at least one dozen tables, there were no pinchers in any of the jars. Gross!!

Now that my complaint is done, on to the good news! The rest of the food! The photos are not the best, since I only had a cellphone. Soli started with a Caesar, which was actually one of the best that he’s claimed he’s tasted, and I agree, it was pretty amazing. It had a heavy dollop of horseradish in it (which I believe is a typical Montreal-Caesar thing), and have a nice, smokey, BBQ tang to it. Really flavourful!

I ordered the chicken breast meal, which came with coleslaw, gravy, fries and a bun. Soli go the ½ chicken meal, my sister ordered the chicken pot pie, and there was an order of the smoked meat mac and cheese for all to share.

The mac and cheese was nice, but nothing special. It was a very small dish of creamy noodles and a few chunks of smoked meat that were a little lost among the noodles and cheese. This would not be something I would order again.

The chicken, however, was just fantastic. It was juicy and meaty. You could tell this was a good-quality chicken, one who probably lived a decent life, because his taste showed it. The skin was light and crisp, and not too salty. The coleslaw was okay, but the gravy was heaven! Heavy on the rosemary, it was thick and comforting, and was perfect with the chicken. We adored the French fries, which were sooooo crisp, Soli is convinced they are brined first. I even loved the bun, which was sweet and moist. I only had a bite or two of the pot pie, but the gravy was good, and the top flaky and buttery.

The price in the end was great too – very affordable for the quality of the food. It’s a cozy resto, and I can imagine myself spending some cold winter nights in there.

Gordon Ramsay’s Laurier BBQ
381 Laurier Ouest
Montreal, Quebec