Beet and Whipped Goat Cheese Salad

This is a salad that has received rave reviews on the three occasions I’ve served it. Because I am a fairly lazy cook, I have taken some liberties with the original recipe. My apologies to its author.

Ingredients for the beet salad:

• a tin of baby beets, drained and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots or minced onion, if you don’t happen to have shallots
• at least 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of a rich sweet vinegar such as balsamic or sherry vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup shelled nuts like walnuts, pistachios or pecans
• 2 cups of small salad greens or a combination of salad greens mixed with fresh herb leaves, such as mint or Italian parsley

Ingredients for the cheese:

• ¼ cup (4 ounces) fresh goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon of rice or white wine vinegar (or more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Methods: 
Cut the beets into bite-sized pieces then place them in a bowl with the shallots, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Let the beets marinate for at least 30 minutes. Toast the nuts briefly, sprinkle them with salt if unsalted and chop them coarsely. Prepare the goat cheese by whisking/whipping the cheese with the olive oil, vinegar, cream, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve, arrange the greens on a platter, then pile on the beets. Spoon any remaining dressing over the salad. Spoon on dollops of the whipped cheese and sprinkle with the nuts.

Sweet Potato and Corn Soup

This fresh-tasting soup was inspired by a chowder described by Lucy Waverman in her column in the Globe & Mail on August 22, 2015. The above photo shows an unadorned vegetarian version of the soup, which could be made much more impressive, and less vegetarian, with a healthy sprinkling of fried bits of bacon. Of note, this soup was actually better on Day 2, after the paprika had released all its smoky flavour.


Ingredients:

• 3 cobs of fresh corn, kernels removed with a sharp knife

• 1 onion diced

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/4 cup butter

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

• 4 cups water

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

• additional salt and pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

Methods:

In a fairly large and heavy-bottomed pot, lightly sauté the diced onion in the butter and salt. Add the sweet potatoes and sauté lightly for several minutes before the addition of water to the pot along with the 3 cobs of corn from which you have removed the kernels. Simmer the vegetables until the potatoes are soft when pierced with a sharp knife. Remove the cobs from the pot and discard, then add the corn kernels and paprika. Simmer for several minutes longer in order to cook the corn, then remove the soup from the heat and use an immersible whizzer to blend it thoroughly. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream (or not), and place the soup back on the heat to re-warm. Add salt and pepper to taste.



Hold the cob upright in a bowl, and use a sharp knife to slice off the kernels. No fuss, no muss.




This looks odd, but simmering the 'nude' corn cobs along with the sweet potato adds flavour, and your friends will be impressed with your obviously very-sophisticated cooking technique.

Blue Cheese and Cheddar Nibbly-Bits

This recipe was adapted from Deb Perelman's recipe for Rosemary, Gruyere and Sea Salt Crisps found in her Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Perhaps I should say that this recipe was inspired by hers, since she might not absolutely approve of the following adaptation.

The major deviation in my recipe, aside from changing the type of cheese, omitting the rosemary, and doubling the quantities of ingredients, was the addition of water to the dough mixture. I suspect that if you followed Ms. Perelman's advice and used a food processor to cut the cheese and butter into the flour, the addition of water would be unnecessary, which is probably why she doesn't call for it in her recipe. Unfortunately, my old-timey kitchen doesn't contain a food processor.So maybe these nibbly-bits were not texturally perfect by Perelman's standards but like I always say, perfectionism impedes progress. In any event, you're likely going to be eating them while consuming alcohol and may be willing to overlook any possible imperfections.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of crumbled blue cheese

• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

• 8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick or 1/4 pound)

• 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour plus more for the counter

• 1/3 - 1/2 cup cold water

• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Methods:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.Mix the first four ingredients together using a pastry cutter until the butter has been cut into the flour, as if you were making pastry. Then add the water a bit at a time and stir with a fork until the crumbs hold together in dough form. Cut the dough in half and wrap each half in a square of wax paper. Chill for 15-20 minutes. On a floured surface, roll the dough to approximately 1/8 inch thickness. Cut the flattened dough into approximate 1-inch diamond shapes or squares. Dock each cracker with a skewer or knife point, then dab lightly with a bit of water. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Set the baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Here's my dough. It doesn't look bad here but just be aware that blue cheese can add a bit of a greyish hue to things.

Nectarine Crumble

There are a number of easy-to-make fruit desserts, which consist of baked fruit covered in various types of crumbs or batter. These go by the names of Brown Betties, grunts, cobblers, crumbles and crisps. They're all variations on a theme.

Because I had recently purchased some seemingly ripe, but actually rock-hard nectarines, I was inspired to design a recipe to both soften and sweeten them, that is, to bake them into submission.

Ingredients for fruit base:

• 7 nectarines sliced (no need to peel because they aren't creepily fuzzy-skinned like peaches)
• 1/2 cup plum jam (apricot jam should work just as well)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• pinch of salt

The nectarines, in a pretense of ripeness.

Ingredients for topping:

• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• pinch of salt



The topping

Methods:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. After slicing the nectarines, combine the ingredients for the fruit base in a bowl then transfer to an ovenproof baking dish. Mix together the ingredients for the topping and place evenly over the fruit. Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling at the edges of the baking dish and the crumbly topping is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla icecream.

Spicy Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli Rabe by Melissa Clark

This is another sheet pan dinner from the folks at the New York Times. I love these types of meals because they are so fantastically easy to make. Having said that, I'm not exactly sure that broccoli rabe is the best vegetable to team with shrimp.

Ingredients:

• ¾ pound broccoli rabe, tough bottom stems removed
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, optional
• ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes, or to taste
• ¾ pound large shrimp, peeled
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• Orange wedges, for serving
•  

• Methods:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the sesame oil if using, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon chile flakes. In a separate bowl, combine the shrimp, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the orange zest, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon chile flakes.

• Spread broccoli and shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once or twice halfway through, until shrimp are just opaque and broccoli is tender and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Serve with orange wedges.

The Quintessentially Canadian Butter Tart

Our friend Craig is reputed to have stated recently that if he's ever diagnosed with a terminal illness, he is going to restrict his diet to butter tarts for the rest of his life. Craig is a good Canadian, and that's how Canadian a butter tart is. Look to Wikipedia for more detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_tart

Retro Bacon-Cracker Appetizers from the Pioneer Woman

For those with steel-lined gallbladders....

This very tasty recipe is taken directly from a successful American blog called 'The Pioneer Woman' by blogger Ree Drummond.

The finished product. You'll notice that the bacon sometimes torques the crackers during baking....this only adds to the appeal. (Cracker girdled by bacon sounds yummy to me). 

Ingredients:

• 1 package of flaky crackers (such as 'President's Choice Original Rich and Flaky Topping Crackers')


• 1 pound of thinly sliced bacon (or as much as you need depending on how many appetizers you're making)


• Grated Parmesan Cheese or Brown Sugar 

The name of these crackers is very explicit.

Methods:

Lay crackers face up on a cookie sheet. Place about 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese (or brown sugar) onto each cracker. Cut the bacon strips in half and wrap each cheese- (or sugar-) covered cracker in one half piece of bacon. It should fit snugly around the cracker. Place the bacon-wrapped crackers onto a baking sheet that has a metal rack on it, then place the sheet in a 250-degree oven for about 2 hours.

I decided to try both flavours....cheese and brown sugar.

After baking, these can be cooled and placed in a freezer bag (and subsequently frozen) for later use. They just need to be warmed slightly in the oven prior to serving. 

Wrapped and ready for the slow bake.

The amazing (and potentially attack-inducing) thing about these appetizers is just how much of the bacon fat is absorbed by the cracker. Ah well, it makes for easy clean-up of the baking sheet.

Blackberry Cream Cheese Pastries

This is a slightly revised version of a Better Homes and Gardens recipe for blueberry pastries. Basically, these work with whatever fruit and jam combination you might choose to use. 

Ingredients:

• 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1cup fresh or frozen blackberries

• 1/2 cup peach jam

• 17.3 ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets (2 sheets), thawed

• 1egg

• 1 tablespoon water

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. then line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla then beat again. In a small bowl stir together the fruit and jam.


On a lightly floured surface, roll each sheet of the thawed puff pastry into a 10 1/2 inch square. Cut each square into nine 31/2 in squares and transfer the squares to the baking sheets. Using a fork, prick the center of each square, leaving a 1/2-inch unpricked border around all the edges. In a small bowl beat egg and the water together with a fork, then brush the squares with the egg mixture. Spread a well-rounded tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture onto the center of each square of pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top each with about a tablespoons of the fruit mixture, spreading evenly over cream cheese mixture. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. 

Roast Chicken and Potatoes with Arugula and Garlic Yogurt

Here is another sheet pan dinner as divined by the folks writing the online New York Times Cooking column. This recipe was attributed to Melissa Clark. My sister Penelope gave this dish a thumbs-up.

Ingredients: 
• 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 1 ¼ pounds small Yukon Gold potatoes, halved and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
• ½ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
• 2 tablespoons harissa (or use another thick hot sauce, such as sriracha)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest 
• ⅓ cup plain yogurt 
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 ounces baby arugula
• Chopped fresh dill, as needed
• Lemon juice, as needed

Methods:
Combine the chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the hot sauce, cumin and 3 tablespoons oil. Pour this over the chicken and potatoes and toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

Heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the leeks, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. in a bowl. Arrange chicken and potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes then toss the potatoes lightly and scatter in the leeks. Roast until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through and everything is golden and slightly crisped, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

Place yogurt in a small bowl  and grate the garlic into it. Stir in some chopped fresh dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, spoon the yogurt over the chicken and vegetables either in the pan or after plating. Scatter arugula and dill over everything. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and serve.

Lemon Ginger Tart

Here's another recipe from Sam Sifton's New York Times Cooking column, and more specifically, from someone by the name of Alison Roman. 

So, this attractive dessert was a difficult bake for me. I ended up altering the recipe somewhat because a) I didn't have enough sugar, so decreased the amount called for in the lemon filling by almost a half cup, and b) I didn't have enough butter because I spilled 3/4 cup of melted butter on my kitchen floor during the course of this baking adventure. I ended up with about two-thirds of a cup of butter in the crust; that's all I had left in my fridge. I actually think the recipe may have been improved by the dearth of sugar, or at least, made more to my taste. The lemon filling was certainly more tart than it would have been had I used the called-for amount.

I was a bit baffled by the author's instruction to sieve the lemon mixture after adding the grated ginger since I was sure that I thereby removed most of the ginger I had just put in. However, I have to say that despite the sieving, there was a certain subtle heat to the lemon filling which I attribute to ginger having been briefly in the mix. The turmeric merely enhances the colour of the tart.  

It's gorgeously sunny looking and tastes like pure gold (would taste, if gold had a taste). 

Ingredients for the crust:

•         1 ½ cups all purpose flour
•         ⅔ cupconfectioners’ sugar
•         1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
•          ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted (try not to spill this)

Ingredients for the filling:

•          1 cup fresh lemon juice
•          1 ¼ cup granulated sugar (I used a scant cup)
•          4 large egg yolks
•          1 large egg
•          ¼ cup all-purpose flour
•          1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
•          ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
•          ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
•          ½ lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed (optional)

Methods:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Drizzle in the melted butter and, using a spatula, mix until it’s well combined. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Bake the tart shell until it’s a pale golden brown on the edges and baked through on the bottom, about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, egg, flour, ginger, turmeric and salt, then pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Add the lemon slices, if using, and stir to coat. Pour the filling into the crust and bake the tart until the edges of the lemon filling are set and the center no longer jiggles, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.  

Lemon leftovers

Shrimp Scampi

I'm almost certain that I took this recipe from the New York Times Cooking column online, so I am going to attribute it to that source even though Shrimp Scampi recipes are pretty ubiquitous. And yummy. 

Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup dry white wine or broth
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ¾ pounds large or extra-large shrimp, shelled
• ⅓ cup chopped parsley
• Freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon
• Cooked pasta or crusty bread

Methods:
In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté, about 1 minute. Add the wine or broth, salt, red pepper flakes and plenty of black pepper and bring to a simmer. Let the wine reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes depending upon their size. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice and serve over pasta.