Skip to content

Oct 17

59 Comments

Grillades With Cheesy Grits And Baked Apple Porridge For Breakfast

I am forever searching for recipes that are a bit different to offer for breakfast. I saw this recipe on Spicy Southern Kitchen, Christin knows a thing or two about comfort food, it sounded absolutely delicious and I knew I had to make it. The other recipe I found is on Nicole’s wonderful blog The James Kitchen,  it’s called Baked Plum Porridge but I decided to use apples since they are in season. Both recipes are comfort food at it’s best, warming and filling and a great way to start the day. When the weather turns colder smoothies don’t cut it for me, don’t get me wrong I still love them but I have a tough time drinking something cold. I want a warm meal and these two delicious recipes satisfy.

IMG_6747

The Grillades can be made a day ahead, all you do is warm it and make the grits. The recipe calls for an economical cut of beef. round steak which can be quite tough, it needs to cook a long time to tenderize, this is why I say to make it the day before. It actually tastes even better the next day. I made a few changes, you can click on the link above to see the original, here is my take on this great dish. Traditionally the beef for this dish is cut into medallions and pounded thin, I bought already thinly sliced round steak and cut it into strips. I was gifted a container of Creole seasoning from my good friend Emily and I hadn’t used it, when I saw this recipe I thought it would be the perfect recipe to try it out, and I have to say I love it, thanks Em!!

Grillades With Cheesy Grits

Serves 6 generously

1 1/2 lb thin sliced round steak cut into strips

8 links breakfast sausage

1 stalk celery, cut into small pieces

1 small onion chopped

1 small (baby)red bell pepper chopped into small pieces

1 small yellow,(baby) orange or green bell pepper

1 clove garlic sliced

Flour to coat meat Approximately 1/3 cup

2 tsp creole seasoning (added to the flour)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried basil

14 oz beef or chicken stock

1 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes or 1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp red wine vinegar

hot sauce (tabasco or chill) approx 1 tbs.

salt and pepper

olive oil or bacon fat to fry the meat and vegetables (I used bacon fat)

Heat the oil or bacon fat in a skillet, Add the flour and creole seasoning to a ziplock bag and put the beef strips in and shake the bag so that each piece is coated. When pan is hot first brown the sausage and set aside then add the beef and let it brown, remove from pan and set aside (you may need to fry the beef in two batches)

While pan is still hot add a little more oil or bacon fat,  the onion, celery and peppers and cook stirring frequently until they soften, now add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes until garlic softens. Take 1 tbs of the seasoned flour you used for the meat and sprinkle on the vegetables and stir. Let the flour cook with the vegetables approximately 1 minute and then add the stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add the vinegar and hot sauce, bay leaf and basil. adjust the seasoning and add the beef, cut the sausage into bite size pieces and add also. Cover and cook  on low heat stirring frequently until meat is tender and sauce is thick, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Refrigerate over night heat and serve the next day with the grits. Be sure to remove the bay leaves before serving!!

Grits:

First let me say I didn’t use stone ground grits, just regular Quacker brand. To serve 6 you use 1 1/2 cups grits to 6 cups liquid. I used 3 cups water and 3 cups whole milk and 1/2 tsp salt. Add the grits when the liquid comes to a rollling boil stirring constantly, let cook following package instructions (about 15 minutes) For cheese grits add 1 cup grated cheese I used manchego (my fave).  When the grits are done and you have removed from the heat add some butter and the grated cheese. Stir until the butter and the cheese melt. Serve immediately with the grillades.

IMG_6783

Baked Apple Porridge:

I made it exactly like Nicole instructed, see here, except I switched apples for plums. I sprinkled the apples with cinnamon and a little nutmeg before putting the oat mixture on top.

Nicole used plums which are much softer and cook quicker than apples and I should have thought of that when making this one. Next time I make it I am going to pre bake the apples for about 30 minutes to soften and caramelize them and then I will add the rest of the ingredients.

It is so delicious, the oats become almost fluffy, not too sweet, the gentle spicing of cinnamon and nutmeg are wonderful with this warm comforting dish. A splash of cream or dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup make this a memorable and delicous breakfast.

 

IMG_6828

Oct 9

98 Comments

Roasted Vegetable And Manchego Tart For Fiesta Friday #89 And A Sad Anniversary

Roasted vegetable and Manchego tart

Roasted vegetable and Manchego tart

I made breakfast this morning for my Air BNB guests, a breakfast tart, actually 2 of them. One was the Roasted Tomato and Herbed Ricotta Tart and a tart filled with roasted vegetables and topped with a medium soft egg. I thought a nice savory tart filled with roasted vegetables and manchego cheese would be a lovely addition to the party this week. It has been a while since I partied. After Nando passed I was not really in a party mood and am just now getting back to blogging regularly. I hope I am still welcome. This weeks co hosts are no strangers to Fiesta Friday and I am sure to all of you,  Mila and Kaila! Thanks to Angie again for hosting this party I am excited to be back. You can of course join in too, it is always fun and the company and food is spectacular.

On a sad note, today is the one year anniversary of the death of my sweet little Izzy. I still miss her every single day and she is in my thoughts constantly, I love my sweet little cupcake.

Izzy with her cupcake leash

Izzy with her cupcake leash

Roasted Vegetable And Manchego Tart

Makes one 9 inch round or rectangular tart

Vegetables (Note: Use whatever vegetables you like, it’s all good)

1 Italian eggplant cut into bite size pieces (I partially peeled it)

1 large shallot or 2 small peeled and cut into rounds

10 white button mushrooms cleaned and sliced thick

12 cherry tomatoes

6-8 brussels sprouts cleaned and cut in half

1/2 zucchini cleaned and cut into bite size pieces

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Place vegetables on parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and roast until vegetables are tender, the tomatoes should be slightly caramelized.

IMG_6667

Tart:

Your favorite pie crust recipe, I used my go to Julia Child recipe, it never fails.

Roasted vegetables

approximately 1 cup manchego cheese grated

Blind bake your tart shell at 400 degree’s for approximately 20 minutes, should be a light golden brown. Let cool.

Sprinkle half of the grated manchego on the bottom of the tart shell. Spoon in the vegetables and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the top.

Place tart on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, vegetables and cheese will be bubbling and the tart will be a lovely golden brown.

Serve with a medium boiled egg, what I mean by that is that it’s between soft and hard. To get this degree of doneness boil the egg for 5 minutes, remove from heat and run under cold water to stop the cooking process, peel and place on a piece of the tart. It’s delicious.

Tart with medium egg

Tart with medium egg

 

 

Oct 7

69 Comments

Minestrone And Meatball Soup With Tortellini

Hearty soup

Hearty soup

A few years ago I saw this recipe on Bourbon and Brown Sugar’s site. I immediately knew I had to make it. It’s a great recipe, simple to make, hearty and delicious. You can see the link above for the original recipe. I have adapted to my taste making a few alterations and substitutions but keeping with the basic premise of the original. The soup is a real meal, warm and filling and comforting. It is pretty much my favorite soup. I make this every year, many times over and it never fails, it’s a crowd pleaser and although I think it would freeze well I never seem to have any leftover at all. If you have never visited MB’s site and seen the gorgeous and delicious food she cooks up, do yourself a favor and check it out. I used to get notifications by email when she posted new recipes but it stopped so I just followed again. The photo’s are gorgeous and the recipes are delicious. Here is my adaptation of MB’s amazing Hearty Minestrone With Tortellin and Mini Meatballs:

Adapted from a recipe from Bourbon and Brown Sugar

Meatballs:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1 heaping cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated cheese, parmigiano, romano or a mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup water

salt and pepper

Pre heat oven to 375 degree’s and line a sheet pan with parchment. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Spray a little oil on the parchment and start rolling small meatballs about the size of a quarter and line them up on the sheet pan. I used about half of the meat and froze the rest. It made 35 small meatballs. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until done and lightly browned.

Soup:

1 smallish yellow onion chopped

1 shallot chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 1/2 cup chopped (into bite size pieces) uncooked butternut squash

7-8 cups chicken broth

26 oz canned chopped or fresh tomatoes

a piece of rind from parmigiana cheese (always save the rind)

1 medium size zucchini washed and cut into bite size pieces

2 cups fresh baby spinach

1 15 oz can cannellini beans drained and rinsed

the cooked meatballs.

8 oz fresh tortellini

Heat some olive oil in a large dutch oven, add the onion, shallot, celery, carrot, garlic and butternut squash and cook until the vegetables become tender, it took about 15 minutes. Add the chicken broth, tomato and rind from the cheese. Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the beans, zucchini, spinach and meatballs and let simmer for about 30-35 minutes. Soup will be quite thick with all the ingredients. Add the tortellini at the end simmering for about 10 minutes and serve with some grated cheese and warm bread and butter,  a good glass of wine and a fresh salad make this an outstanding cold weather meal.

IMG_6638

 

 

 

 

Oct 7

16 Comments

And The Winner Is….

 

Mary's secret Ingredients

Mary’s secret Ingredients

Thanks to all of you for commenting. I fed all the names into the handy dandy randomizer at random.org and the winner is!!!

List Randomizer

There were 24 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

  1. Loretta
  2. Jeff
  3. Lynz

Congratulations Loretta, whose beautiful blog Safari of the Mind has some wonderfully delicious recipes  I will notify you by email and send your email address to the good people at Mary’s Secret Ingredients and they will contact you to get your address so they can send your box. Happy Eating and thank you!! Jeff and Lyn were close behind as you can see.

Loretta will be contacted by Mary Frances and will receive the box of goodies directly from her.

Oct 4

74 Comments

A Giveaway From Mary’s Secret Ingredients

IMG_6460

My friend Mary Frances, you know her, she has the wonderful blog Love The Secret Ingredient and she also started Mary’s Secret Ingredients, a box full of great food items and a useful kitchen tool. Mary Frances highlights companies offering high quality gourmet foods and businesses that have wonderful products that you may not have heard of before, it’s the way to get the word out about their products and at the same time you are helping children, when you purchase a box from Mary a portion of the proceeds go to support “Feed the Children” Your box arrives beautifully packaged and chock full of goodies.

Mary Frances has kindly offered a Fall box to one lucky person who subscribes to my blog. I got my box but it’s a secret, you won’t know what’s in it until you receive it, shhhhhh…..

The drawing will be held on Wednesday October 7th. All you have to do is leave a comment here and thats all. The winner will be notified by email and I will announce it on Wednesday!!  The winner will be chosen with Random.org. Feel free to tweet it or what have you but you don’t have to, a comment here is all that is necessary to be entered to win. This giveaway is for US Residents only, so sorry my International friends

Good luck everyone!!

Sep 30

24 Comments

The Spring Menu | September 2015

Look at this spectacular Spring Menu for the Southern Hemisphere….

Sep 25

60 Comments

Boeuf Bourguignon | Autumn/Fall Menu | Main Course

Hope you enjoy my offering for the Dinner Party!

Sep 21

42 Comments

The Autumn/Fall Menu | September 2015

So excited to have helped to work on the Fall Menu,!

Sep 19

103 Comments

Classic Pound Cake

Pound Cake

Pound Cake

There are certain things that no matter how hard I tried I was never able to find the recipe that produced a result that satisfied me. Pound cake is something I have tried to make so many times I can’t even count how many I have made that the results were disappointing. I hold every pound cake up to the Sara Lee Pound Cake, you know the one in the freezer section of the supermarket. I love that cake and have tried finding a recipe that will give me a similar result. So far I have not found it, the cakes are too heavy, the texture is not right, they don’t develop that top crust that I love among other issues. The Sara Lee cake is light as a feather and has a very dense crumb. I know, its full of stuff like preservatives etc.. but I can’t help it, I like it.

I was checking my email the other day and got one of those you need to follow emails from Twitter so I scrolled through and there it was, the title of the tweet was “How to make the perfect pound cake” that sucked me in immediately, it was from Wilton, you know them they make all manner of things for baking. I watched the video and the cake is simple to make and judging from the cake that came out of the oven in the Wilton test kitchen it looks pretty good. So I set out to make it, lets see how it is.

Just out of the oven

Just out of the oven

Perfect Pound Cake

Recipe from Wilton

1 lb (4 sticks) butter softened to room temperature

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

6 large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Pre heat oven to 350 degree’s. Grease a tube pan plain or decorative your call. If fluted or the pan has grooves make sure every single crease is greased. Pound cakes tend to stick and you want to make sure it comes out perfectly.

Place flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, whisk to combine and set aside.

In your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment add the butter and sugar and cream until light in color and very fluffy. Scrape sides of pan with your rubber or silicone spatula. NOTE: Perfect mixing makes a perfect pound cake

Add your eggs one at a time mixing well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Make sure the eggs are completely incorporated in the butter/sugar mixture. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Add the flour mixture and beat for EXACTLY one minute (60 seconds) scraping down sides with your spatula as needed.

Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 50-55 minutes. The cake will be golden brown. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, gently press the sides of the cake so they are loosened do the same with the middle tube. Use a small flexible offset spatula if cake needs to be further loosened. Invert onto cooling rack and let cool completely before serving. Dust with a little powdered sugar.

Looks good

Looks good

The cake is pretty good,  but it’s not exactly what I have been looking for although it’s closer than any of the other recipes I have tried. It will be really nice with coffee or tea or ice cream or whipped cream and berries. It would also be good with a lemon glaze. I baked it for 55 minutes and in retrospect I probably should have taken it out sooner but it didn’t seem quite done, again this could be my oven

I liked it but will keep searching for a pound cake like my favorite Sara Lee Cake. I think I am ridiculously picky sometimes.  How did that Jingle go “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee”? Although good I probably won’t make it again, do any of you have a great pound cake recipe? One thats light and dense? Let me know, my quest continues.

IMG_6405

Sep 15

67 Comments

Sir Johns Table A Review

IMG_6280

I follow many blogs and more than a few are authors, I love reading and it’s a big plus for me when there is mention of food in the book. I was honored to recieve a copy of Lindy Mechefsky’s new book “Sir John’s Table”. This book is fascinating, giving some insight into the life of Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John Alexander MacDonald. Many of you know Lindy and her beautiful blog Love In The Kitchen not only is Lindy an amazing cook and recipe developer but she is an accomplished author, her blog is intellectually stimulating as well as hunger inducing, in one of my favorite posts she artfully links Jung to food in particular a cranberry almond apple tart. You will find all of her recipes are delicious and most are woven with literary references, brilliant Lindy!!

Lets get back to the book. Beautifully written, it tells the history of Sir John and each chapter boasts a wonderful recipe from that era. See Lindy’s recent post on a Champagne Cup cocktail which is found in Chapter 14 of her book. You get a lovely recipe along with the Victorian disposition to alcohol consumption. Great reading and drinking.

I chose a recipe in Chapter 21 for Sir John A. Pudding, I love bread pudding and this is just that, but made with breadcrumbs rather than slices or chunks of bread. Or at least I think it’s breadcrumbs. The recipe is a bit vague, 4 cups milk may not be 8oz in Victorian. Anyway I added 4 cups and my pudding was quite soupy, so I added another 2 cups of breadcrumbs. We’ll see how I do with Victorian cooking. They may have meant tea cups which are about 4 oz.  The recipe say’s a few minutes in the oven, well,  It’s been in the oven 30 minutes and it’s still like soup. It tastes really nice though.  There was no mention of oven temperature I guess in those days you heat the oven and put your food in hoping for the best, I baked at 350 degrees. I don’t think I would make it in a Victorian kitchen. I am having fun though, trying to channel Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey. After about an hour in the oven it came out and it’s quite lovely. I think I have a new found respect for cooks of that era now, we have our kitchen gadgets and measurers which they did not have. Cooking was instinctual and I think although the recipes are simple a good outcome was harder to come by simply because they did not have the tools we possess today.

Sir John A. Pudding

Sir John A. Pudding

Sir John A's Pudding

Sir John A’s Pudding out of the oven

The book is written in a way that makes a historical novel approachable and interesting, Lindy took a political figure and brought him to life by intermingled some fun and delicious recipes which gives insight into what it was like in a Victorian home and kitchen. Highly recommend this book.

Lindy’s book is published by Goose Lane Publishers and is available here:

Order at Chapters/Indigo.

Order at Amazon.ca

Order at Amazon.com

Since I am getting all literary I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention other amazing authors who I count as friends and fellow bloggers, I faithfully read their blogs and books and I hope you check them out.

Teagan Riordain Geneviene – Teagan’s Books Teagan is an amazing fantasy writer and pens a weekly series of  interactive episodes on her site with a continuing story that is both fascinating and entertaining. She is also a published author and oh so talented!! Teagans books are available on Amazon and other purveyors of good reads, you have to read “Atonement Tenessee”, it’s so good. I told Teagan to write a screen play it would make a great movie.

Sean Munger – Sean Munger.com– Historian, brillian writer and a very very interesting blog. I am a horror fan and Sean writes some fantastic horror novels. Sean’s latest book is “Doppelganger” I thoroughly enjoyed reading this ghostly thriller set in Victorian New York.

David Prosser – Barsetshire Diaries David writes about his daily exploits, he is a character and one of my favorite people. he is also an accomplished author.  I love reading Davids descriptions of what his day was like, his family and friends and Joey his parakeet, he always includes some great music and photo’s as well. A very lovely read, and David I promise to purchase and read one of your books soon.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →