Rainbow-Themed Dinner
Cooking with friends is such a treat! It’s nice to share a meal together, but sharing in its preparation makes it that much more of a bonding experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Cooking with friends is such a treat! It’s nice to share a meal together, but sharing in its preparation makes it that much more of a bonding experience. Read the rest of this entry »
The theme for the 6th Annual Chopped Night was “Christmas Wrapping”: every dish had to include a specific kind of food that can be used to wrap other food.
Although the provisions of Chopped Night were far less strict than in previous years—only one required ingredient, any style of food accepted—I felt that this year everyone pushed themselves a little bit more, and it definitely showed! An exquisitely prepared and truly delicious seven-course meal was enjoyed by us all!
It’s that time of year once again! This year’s theme: “Mo-rockin’ Christmas” (and for those of you who aren’t good at reading puns, the first chunk is a homophone for “Moroccan”). There were only two ingredients per person this year, but there was the added challenge that each dish was required to incorporate red or green (or both).
Welcome, friends and family members! On December 28, 2014, the family Van Spronsen held its fourth annual Chopped Night!
This year, two exciting twists were added:
As usual, the creativity was off the scale, and the night was a smashing culinary success! Well done to all participants! (Trust me, all the food was delicious too.) Read the rest of this entry »
My foodie group had another Foodie Challenge! Like last time, we drew ingredients and courses randomly. To add to the challenge, however, this time we drew three ingredients instead of two. It was way more challenging (we all made the maximum of two dishes each!), but the results were simply spectacular! We all agreed that this one was even better than the last.
Ingredients: Dates, Lime, Mushrooms
Dish 1: Cucumber Spears with Chaat Masala & Lime
Dish 2: Prosciutto-Wrapped Dates with Sautéed Mushroom, Goat Cheese, and Thyme
Ingredients: Avocado, Raspberry, Oats
Dish 1: Spinach Salad with Avocado and Raspberry Vinaigrette
Dish 2: Oatmeal Spelt Bread with Lavender Honey
Ingredients: Apple, Beet, Tarragon
Dishes: Tarragon Chicken with Coconut Garlic Purée; Beet & Granny Smith Slaw with Ginger & Clove
Ingredients: Dark Chocolate, Sundried Tomatoes, Red Cabbage
Dish 1: Almond Vanilla Sorbetto with Sundried Tomato and Cherry Slatko; Japanese Hojicha Green Tea
Dish 2: German Chocolate Cabbage Cake; Ritual “Hunters in the Snow” Espresso
Good work, Foodies!
My foodie group had a dinner last night at my place! We each drew courses randomly, as well as two ingredients from those we had submitted. Some of the ingredient combinations were really tough, but I was incredibly impressed with what we turned up! Each dish was sensational, so it’s hard to pick a winner, but for sheer audacity I think Jordan gets serious props for finding a dessert that used green peas. Here are the results of our culinary efforts:
Ingredients: Cilantro, Balsamic Reduction
Dish 1: Cilantro Guacamole on Multigrain Crisps
Dish 2: Strawberry & Goat Cheese Crostinis with Balsamic Drizzle
Ingredients: Yam, Pear
Dish: Roasted Yam & Pear Soup (Served with Focaccia)
Ingredients: Red Wine, Oranges
Dish: Merlot Clementine Risotto with Parmesan, Chicken, and Oil of Rosemary
Ingredients: Green Peas, Coconut
Dishes: Green Pea Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting; Vegan Energy Bites with Cranberry, Nut, and Flax
December 23rd was the third annual Chopped Night at the Van Spronsens’ house! (In case you’re not familiar with the idea, each family member is given three ingredients and a course, and must make a dish appropriate to that course that uses all three ingredients.)
This year we all had to bring our A-game, because there were three additional challenges to make the evening that much more special:
It ended up being a tremendous success! Here are the culinary creations our family came up with:
Required Ingredients: Prosciutto, Friulano cheese, pears, balsamic reduction
Drink Pairing: Ford Cocktails (by Ivan)
Required Ingredients: Bocconcini, lemons, chard, Campari tomatoes
Drink Pairing: Burdock Dandelion Soda with Mint Sprig (by Leah)
Required Ingredients: Radicchio, olives, orange, egg
Drink Pairing: Festive Flips (by Shari)
Required Ingredients: Squid ink pasta, ricotta, artichoke hearts, foccacia
Drink Pairing: Pinot Grigio
Required Ingredients: Tenderloin, porcini mushrooms, fennel, rosemary
Drink Pairing: Chianti
Required Ingredients: Farro, anchovies, sundried tomatoes, grey squash
Drink Pairing: Chianti (served alongside previous course)
Required Ingredients: Apple, pear, vanilla, basil
Drink Pairing: Lillet Prosecco Cocktails
Nice work, everyone!
Katie was in town dropping off a friend. I suggested making food; she suggested the theme: PEPPER. It ended up being a fantastic idea.
Katie made the fromage blanc herself at home in advance. She propped pears diagonally in the cheese on a rice crisp, added dates and parsley, and cracked some Szechuan peppercorns on top.
A simple but delicious crêpe draped with ricotta and sautéed mushrooms, shallots, and orange pepper. A poached egg, peppercorn sprinkle, and parsley sprig add flair and flavour.
Falafel made with kale and pepper flakes served on a romaine leaf with sliced cucumber, accompanied by a smear of tahini lemon harissa paste.
Okay, I’ll admit it: I stole this idea from Matt. I did change it around a bit, though. Vanilla-poached pear with milk chocolate spread and cinnamon pepper crème fraîche, polished by maraschino cherries on top.
What a tremendous surprise this festival was! It was great to finally enjoy some interesting quality culture from Nanaimo. This has been one of the first times I’ve really felt like people have taken care, which means a lot to me.
There were so many choices of what to eat and drink, so I had to be picky. I’m sure I ate more than I should have, but I’m glad I know a bit more about which restaurants to try and which not to try. Basically, you buy tickets at the door, worth $1 apiece, and each menu item is between 1 and 4 tickets. Here are the things I tried:
Brilliant flavour. Not too salty and no old-fish taste. And it was free, to boot. (7/10)
Nice prerequisite drizzle of balsamic reduction. Great presentation and generous portion, but had this odd eggy taste to it. (3/10)
You’ve all had it, and you all love it. Not much more to say. Crisp greens and citrus glaze as good as ever, and presentation was impressive, considering the disposable dishes. One of the best dishes of the night. (9/10)
Excellently done. Nice presentation, perfect texture, brilliant sesame flavour, and served on an Asian noodle slaw. Mushrooms and vinaigrette worked well to balance out the sesame. The surprise hit of the night for me. (8/10)
I really liked the coconut in the prawn batter. They could’ve easily overdone the coconut flavour but didn’t; it was very subtle. Made to order, too, which I appreciated. My only suggestion would be to add some sort of glaze or crema to the prawns because they were fairly dry. Salad was average. (6/10)
I have to give these guys props for sourcing locally and for inventing such an interesting combination of ingredients! However, this dish didn’t quite work. The bun was terrific, as it had just been baked, and the julienned beet was a nice touch, but the crab itself was in a mayonnaise-type dressing that overwhelmed the taste of the crab for me. I think with a few tweaks this recipe could be sensational. (5/10)
Their booth was set up like a French pâtisserie, with baskets of breads all over and a fantastic line painting of a French boulangerie in the background. The students didn’t seem to know much about what the desserts they were serving, but they were fundraising for a trip to Paris for pastry classes, so I’m sure they’ll figure out soon enough! The macaron was the hit of the night. The pain au chocolat could have used a little less “pain” and a bit more “chocolat”, but was still good, and flaky without being dry. The profiterole was delicious, though I usually prefer more of a whip filling to a pudding like they had. Picky point, though. (7/10)
It was a little too fresh, as the coffee in the middle made it a bit watery. However, the flavour was fantastic (and ingenious) and they were generous with their caramel. (7/10)
I don’t usually like reds, as you know, but both the whites they had were wines I knew I hated, so I tried the Cab Merlot. It was pretty good for a red! Most reds are far too dry for me, or have too many tannins or are too bitter. This wasn’t, which probably means it’s a terrible wine to the connoisseur. But I thought it wasn’t bad. Since it’s so hard to make me like a red, I’m rating this one highly. (8/10)
Delicious. I expected high acidity and was surprised at how delicate it was. Flavourful but not overwhelmingly. A great way to finish the evening. (8/10)
What a lot of fun this was! I have such an original family!
(Sorry the photo of my dish is so bad … it’s the only one I took!)
Continuing the risotto theme, I made a fantastic risotto (epicurious, of course) and I felt I should post the recipe here. I paired it with black bean chicken with asiago and asparagus (i.e. contents of fridge).
Some comments:
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Well, it’s official. I’ve now worked at the pizza place for a year, and it’s no secret to my coworkers that I often opt for the truffle cream as a sauce for my pizza each week. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to make. It’s pretty decadent, though, so I try to have other sauces every once in a while. 🙂
Sauté the mushrooms in a pot in olive oil on medium heat, until tender. Drain any extra oil. Return to the heat. Add the cream and stir. Whisk in a tablespoon or so of flour until the cream starts to thicken (5-10 minutes should be good; add extra flour if necessary). Remove from the heat. Use an immersion blender or food processor to thicken the mixture and lightly pulverise the mushrooms. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Stir in the truffle oil. Refrigerate until use. Makes a LOT.
As we all have recently witnessed at our family gathering, dry-brining an eggplant makes a world of difference in the flavour of an eggplant (for the better!), and there has been some question as to how to do it. It’s simple, really:
Such a simple modification, but so worth it.
While in Phoenix, the 4 of us made dinner on Sunday night. Accompanied by a lovely spinach, mango, candied pecan and goat cheese salad by Elyse, Matt and I made ribs, and there was a request for the recipe. here it is! mmm.
Marinade :
here is the original recipe that we adapted:
Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baked-Pork-Ribs-with-Hoisin-Barbecue-Sauce-106842#ixzz1NlnXtBhd
This is amazing- made exactly as written, but with some low-fat options. But simply stunning. And made enough for a small Vietnamese village. Definitely half if only two people!
We did some sea scallops with wine wine and butter with- amazing!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Risotto-with-Leeks-Shiitake-Mushrooms-and-Truffles-239801
bon appetito! (As Mario Batali would say)
I’m particularly proud of this recipe, because it’s delicious, simple, fresh, relatively inexpensive, and completely original to me. (Well, I’m sure someone’s done something similar before, but I’m proud of it nonetheless.) If only it were quick, then I’d make it even more often than I already do. Ah well, you can’t have it all, I suppose.
Juice the oranges and lemon, and add the curry and brown sugar. Slice and pan-fry the chicken in the olive oil. Pour in citrus mixture (adding the garlic if you have any). Cover with a lid. Simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minute; uncover, stir, then cook 5 more minutes or so. Serve over rice and vegetables.
I made another Thomas Keller recipe yesterday (he is seriously my hero)- this is the “Herb Gnocchi with Butternut Squash and Mushrooms” from epicurious- I added some braised kale for texture and color. I made some small modifications, but otherwise, kept as is, and wow.
It was simply stunning- one of the best meals I have ever made. (and fun to say “pate de choux” about 500 times while I was making it!)
Bon appetit!
I have always loved Valentine’s Day. I was the girl who made 50 valentines for everyone in my class (the pre-made kind… but i’d attach candy!) I wanted to make something red/pinkish for Valentine’s Day and found a recipe for these lovely Raspberry Chocolate Scones.
I pretty much followed the recipe exactly (except I froze them and baked them in the morning).
You can find the recipe here! http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/raspberry-chocolate-tea-scones-recipe/
Ps – Don’t worry Jon, I’m not stealing your thunder as the new family food photographer… this isn’t my picture. I stole it, but they looked pretty much identical!