I talk about food, you read it.
Archive for December, 2011
Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs
0J and I have yet to establish any type of Christmas tradition. We have taken turns with whose family we spend Christmas day with but even that has never really been the same since our families are fairly large. I think our only Christmas tradition has been rushing around, stressed out and trying to do last minute shopping on Christmas Eve, but that tradition I would like to stop.
This year I officially decided that I want our Christmas tradition to be food related and the easiest thing to do is make a delicious morning breakfast. I might be grasping at straws since I would make a delicious breakfast anyway but we’ll just pretend it’s a tradition. This year was super simple but tasted gourmet!
Ingredients
- 4 croissants
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp cream
- 2 ounces smoked salmon
- 1 tbsp chives roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper
Cut croissants however you like. Horizontally is fine, I cut mine in thick strips. Toast in frying pan on high heat without butter or oil. The butter in the croissant is enough to toast them.
In a second frying pan melt butter on med to med high heat until hot. Crack eggs in pan. With a spatula break yolks and stir around until eggs start to cook but are still very runny, add cream and chives. This will slow down the cooking of your eggs and give them a nice creamy flavour. Continue cooking until desired consistency.
Top croissants with smoked salmon, eggs and salt and pepper. Serve hot.
For such a ridiculously simple meal it sure tasted amazing. Smoked salmon add a nice salty, smoky flavour to your creamy eggs. It also adds a hint of gourmet to a breakfast that is pretty typical. It was such a great way to start Christmas morning.
Que Pasa Taco Kit
04 months ago
A little know fact about me is that I dislike outer space. It’s not because I went into space and had a bad experience or that I watched some weird sci-fi movie and freaked out. I have never been abducted or seen a UFO. I just don’t like the thought of this dark, scary, never ending universe and not really knowing what’s out there. Some people have claustrophobia, well I definitely do not. I like my feet on the ground and the mountains hugging my world like a scarf on a cold day. And what the heck do people eat in space? Well I will tell you…..food that comes in bags, no refrigeration required, much like Que Pasa’s new taco kits.
The taco kit has everything you need to have a taco night, including the filling, which is a mixture of beef and bean in a bag that you boil to re-heat. I didn’t realize this when I bought the kit. I normally buy only the taco shells and make the spice seasoning myself but I really like Que Pasa products and I was assuming this kit would be good for nights when I was being lazy. You could imagine my surprise when I pulled this out of the pantry and read that there was a bag of beef in the kit.
When I opened the box, part of me wanted to just have cereal instead for dinner but since I had gone out and purchased sour cream, lettuce and tomato I felt like my commitment was to eat tacos. I also wanted to tell you all about this kit as well, so I took one for the team and proceeded with my dinner. I boiled the bag and voila…..dinner was ready. That was the fastest taco I have ever had, other than driving through taco bell.
The next step is to squeeze the filling out of the bag which immediately made me say “yuck”. Not something J wants to hear right before I say “dinners ready!” The filling resembled some sort of pet food but since its human food I should compare it to the filling in those frozen burritos. Except that the frozen burritos look more like whole beans and actual beef. I can’t really explain the taste, I guess it sort of tasted like beans but I couldn’t taste any of the beef that is supposed to be in there. The texture, consistency and appearance were so unappetizing that j and I just kept looking at each other wondering who was going to cave first and move onto to something else. Mr Noodles were looking like a pretty good alternative at this point. We both finished a taco and decided that the rest was fit for the garbage can.
I am really disappointed in Que Pasa for creating this kit. Que Pasa is a local company from Vancouver and is best known for their fresh organic products that don’t have preservatives. This bag of beef might be organic but the fact that it can remain in the pantry leads me to believe that there are preservatives in this package. Maybe if it tasted okay I would be more forgiving but there is nothing good about this kit. Sorry Que Pasa but you really dropped the ball on this one. The only people who should be eating meat from a bag (other than jerky) are astronauts and I doubt that they would like this either.
Five Guys Burgers
04 months ago
Living out in the Fraser valley we don’t often get a lot of choice for fresh homemade style burgers unless you want to venture into a pub and even then you still might not get a homemade tasting burger. Recently there has been a few new places open up outside of the city that claim to have fresh homemade style burgers, such as Vera’s and Fatburger. I wasn’t really a fan of Vera’s in Pit Meadows, although I hear the original location still serves up some pretty good burgers. I have yet to try fat burger and based on their name it might take me a while to make the plunge.
Chilliwack has recently acquired a Five Guys Burger joint located at 8249 Eagle Landing Parkway, Unit 714, Chilliwack, BC V2P 7K6 and J and I happened to be in the area so we tried our luck with Five Guys. The restaurant itself was extremely packed. Every single table was full as well as people standing in line and also waiting for their orders. In my visit the restaurant ran like a well oiled machine and as far as I could see all the staff were working extremely hard, I read one bad review on urbanspoon but my visit was great.
I ordered a little cheeseburger with a load of various toppings. A little burger only means that you get one patty and a regular burger is two patties, but the actual size is the same. The burgers look and taste almost like they would at home. I was really impressed with the freshness of all the toppings and the bun. The vegetables are a little on the cold side but that me trying too hard to find something wrong.
J ordered the regular cheeseburger, which comes with two patties and he was just as impressed as I was.
We decided to share a regular sized fries and a word to the wise…don’t order a large, ever. Not only do they fill your fry container but they also give you an additional giant scoop of fries in your bag. I am not sure why they do this but it is definitely a bonus. It’s almost like getting 2 servings of fries.
We went during an extremely busy lunch rush on the last Saturday before Christmas when everyone is out and about shopping so the place was completely overtaken with customers. This resulted in burgers taking about 10 minutes which for me is just fine. I have waited longer in McDonalds line ups. These burgers are by no means gourmet and their toppings aren’t anything special but I think this is the closest thing to home made as you’re going to get if you don’t have a lot of time. I would definitely come back if I was in the area.
Apple Pankcakes
0Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. I am sure you’ve heard this time and time again but I know for most people that breakfast just isn’t all that important. I see people at work or friends tell me all about how famished they are by lunch time or I see them eat McDonalds or Tim Horton’s at work. Why people don’t eat breakfast will always amaze me.
I hope that everyone who doesn’t eat a regular breakfast at least has yummy homemade breakfasts for weekends especially since it’s so easy and inexpensive to make. One thing I love making, which fills us up, is pancakes. Pancakes can sometimes be heavy but if you add fruit to them it makes the lighter and more refreshing. This is a recipe for apple pancakes that J and I re-heated in the toaster all week, delicious!!
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1-1/2 cups milk
- Zest and juice of half a lemon or orange (I used lemon)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Dash of cinnamon
- 3 medium apples, peeled and grated (try for a tart variety like green)
Vegetable oil for frying
Mix the eggs with milk in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.
Combine add the apples to the wet ingredients and mix in dry ingredients. The batter should be thick and lumpy, do not over stir. Add in citrus juice and zest, mix to just incorporate.
Heat a thin layer of oil or butter in skillet over medium to medium low heat. Drop a spoonful of batter into hot oil and flatten it out, otherwise it won’t cook in the middle. Wait until pancake has lots of bubbly holes and is golden brown underneath and flip, cooking for another 3-5 min until browned.
I love pancakes! They remind me of being a kid and getting a special breakfast home cooked by my parents. I can just imagine myself as a kid waiting, sometimes not so patiently, smelling the aroma of the fluffy little cakes cooking over the stove. Then I got to smother them with sticky maple syrup which seemed way too sweet to be allowed, almost like candy for breakfast! My mom was more of the banana or blueberry pancake maker but these apple pancakes will have to be on my pancake rotation when I have kids. They’re just too delicious not to.
Shortbread Cookies
0This Christmas season has been a little slow for me. J and I haven’t had to attend many Christmas Parties and we also haven’t really had people come over either. It seems that everyone else is super busy but us as we missed most of the Christmas shenanigans while we were in Dominican. My first taste of Christmas treats were things people brought into work and some goodies my friend C made for girls night. Our home has yet to be filled with the aroma of Christmas baking until today.
When I think of Christmas goodies I think my favourites are rum balls, Nanaimo bars, chocolate covered cherry balls and shortbread cookies. J absolutely loves shortbread too so I decided to make us some soft, melt in your mouth, buttery shortbread.
Shortbread adapted from Joy of Baking
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- ½ cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
In the bowl of your mixer whip the butter for about 1 minute, add icing sugar and stir for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add Vanilla until incorporated. In a separate bowl combine flour and salt together. Slowly add flour mixture to butter until just mixed in, don’t over mix.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30-60 min. (until firm)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until ¼ inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until cookies are very lightly browned.
My cookies were slightly thicker then ¼ inch so it took an extra 4 minutes to cook. It’s really important at that point to really watch them because they can brown very fast which really ruins the flavour of shortbread. I am so very happy that I decided to do some baking for Christmas after all. J and I filled out bellies with eggnog and shortbread warm from the oven while occasionally cuddling with our puppy monster. What a great evening!
Peanut Butter Bacon Burger
04 months ago
Most of the time J and I agree on what TV shows we’re going to watch. Usually its hockey but on occasion I like to change the channel to anything food related. Weeknight evenings a show called eat st. is on and I have slowly become hooked. Here in Vancouver we don’t have a huge selection of food trucks so it’s nice to see what the rest of the world has to offer. Recently there was an episode on a big pink truck called Barbie Burger. I was just about to change the channel since I hate pink or anything too pink and I bet Barbie doesn’t even eat burgers, until I heard the words peanut butter and bacon. My thumb screeched to a halt and hovered over the channel changing button to find out if my ears were playing tricks on me but my eyes were seeing people lined up and devouring juicy, drippy, cheesy burgers. How did Barbie come up with such a great idea? Maybe it was Ken who told her. Since I don’t have the time or money to go all the way to Nashville, Tennessee where the real Barbie Burger has made its home, I decided to re-create this at home.
Ingredients
- Lean Ground Beef
- Steak Spice (they used salt pepper and garlic, steak spice worked perfectly)
- Apple wood smoked bacon, or any bacon, diced
- Burger buns
- Creamy peanut butter
- Cheddar Cheese
- Thinly sliced red onion (they don’t use, but I think it’s a great addition)
I think there is no secret on how to assemble these but if you need instruction. Cook beef patties until fully cooked. Decorate your bun with a thin spread of mayo on bottom bun, add patty, cheese, peanut butter, bacon, onions and the top of the bun, enjoy!
My mom, on occasion, used to top her toast in the morning with peanut butter and bacon and this really reminds me of those special mornings when we were able to have a bacon-y treat. This essentially is a bacon cheese burger, minus vegetables, plus peanut butter so the “wow” factor wasn`t what I was expecting. The peanut butter is actually really subtle but surprisingly good. I think the addition of a few pieces of red onion is important, if you like onion. It adds a nice tang to the burger which would probably be a little flat since bread, bacon, beef and peanut butter are all pretty level and neutral flavour.
I really liked this burger, it was fun to make and fun to eat and also was a conversation piece but it probably won’t be a regular rotation on my burger nights. If you want something different to make, give it a shot!
Pho Hue Xua
04 months ago
Last weekend I woke up with my cranky pants on. I am not normally a morning person but some days are definitely worse than others. Usually J hides in his office while I lay on the couch watching the food network, drinking coffee until the caffeine boots my spirits, but last weekend I wasn’t having it. We got through breakfast and by lunch J couldn’t handle it anymore. He decided that he would take me out for lunch to cheer my up and I got to pick wherever I wanted to go, which seemed to be a very difficult task. The cranky pants were hindering my ability to make decisions. After browsing urbanspoon for about 20 minutes I finally decided on Pho Hue Xua. Pho would definitely do the trick.
Pho Hue Xua is located at 22334 Lougheed Highway, which is right downtown Maple Ridge. The location is really easy to get to and the restaurant itself is simple yet inviting. When we walked in there was several other tables with people which is always a promising sign and were greeted right away.
I ordered the rare beef Pho which came extremely fast, and before our other items, which didn’t bother me since I was starving. For 7.50 you get a giant bowl of pho packed with quite a bit of meat and noodles. The broth was delicious! I usually go for the hoison and rooster sauce, but not this time. This was amazingly satisfying and I would definitely come back for this again.
J ordered his usually noodle bowl with lemon grass pork and spring rolls. The meat was very flavourful and moist and his was also jam packed with yummy goodness. I kept reaching across the table to pick out bits off his plate as well as slurping down my soup.
We also got fresh spring rolls which were really good too.
During our visit the tables continued to fill up and for a place that hasn’t been open very long this was pretty impressive. I think by far this is the best Vietnamese place in Maple Ridge and I sure hope they’re here to stay.
**fyi-they also have free delivery!
Soft Pretzels
0I am pretty sure that I have told you all a million times that I am not a baker. I am happy to say that I have finally mastered pizza dough and now pretzels. If it wasn’t for the show Chopped I don’t think I would try baking ever again. The chefs on the show have both cooking and baking under their belts which completely amazes me. The can literally make anything right there on the spot with such weird and limited ingredients. How can someone be artistic and scientific all at once? Perhaps one day I too can be a jack of all kitchen trades.
A long time ago came across a recipe for soft pretzels and filed it away under the “I will make this one day” folder on my computer. I think it’s been in there for 2 years among other pastry and bread recipes that I have purposely ignored. Then not too long ago I came across another pretzel recipe and another and another with most of the reviews saying how delicious they are and how easy pretzels are to make. When I decided to make beer and cheddar soup I caved.
SOFT PRETZELS adapted from an Alton Brown recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- Vegetable oil, for pan (I skipped this step)
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Pretzel salt (I used sea salt)
Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. (omit this, it works better without the oil) Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Just like the reviewers said, pretzels are easy and also delicious. J took one bite and said “I love you” which means that I once again stole his heart through his stomach. How pleased am I? Extremely.
With this particular recipe lots of reviewers were saying that their pretzels were sticking to their parchment paper. Mine didn’t stick at all and maybe thats because I didn’t oil my parchment paper. Once I took them out of the oven I immediately put them on a cooling rack and had zero issues.
I don’t have pretzel salt so I used chunky sea salt to top a couple pretzels with just so I could make them look more official but J and I both don’t like crunchy salt on our soft pretzels. We both pick off the salt when eating them at hockey games or ball parks. The water bath you first boil them in has enough baking soda to give them a nice subtle hint of salt but if you’re a salt lover then knock yourself and salt away. Just remember, if you spill the salt it’s your left shoulder you throw it over.
FYI-These are best the same day but if you have leftovers don’t put them in Tupperware or an airtight container or they’ll get soggy.