Chipotle Honey-Glazed Chicken Wings

I love chicken wings! But I know how bad they are for you due to the fatty skin. Some of my favorite chicken wings are my mom's. She makes this black bean chicken wing that is delicious. My sister and I would almost have a contest on who could eat more of it. I credit chicken wings for my boobs. LOL When I lived on my own, I went to costco with my family and bought a 1kg of BBQ chicken wings. It took me forever to finish it. The craving for them just wasn;t there anymore, because I didn't have the competition for them (my sister). Rachelle is a vegetarian. So the bag of wings were in the freezer for a few months. Also at one point, chicken wings were on sale at the grocery store and Kev and I bought so many boxes. And we are so sick of them now. I never bothered to make my own chicken wings until these last few weeks.

I found this recipe through Serious Eats. I originally wanted to make the Vietnamese chicken wing recipe they had there, but didn't have most of the things it asked for or didn't have anything that could substitute the missing ingredients. So I settled with the Chipotle Honey-Glazed Chicken Wings recipe. The original recipe is supposed to be adapted from Bobby Flay's Grill It! (don't ask, I don't know who he is. I don't even have the Food network). I didn't have all the ingredients, but substituted with stuff I thought would be okay.

• 1 cup honey
• 2 to 3 tablespoons pureed canned chipotle chiles in adobo
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons ancho chile powder (subbed with regular chili powder)
• Kosher
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons Spanish paprika (just used regular paprika)
• 3 pounds chicken wings
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
• 3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Whisk together the honey, chipotle puree, 1 tablespoon of the mustard, 1 tablespoon of the ancho powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small bowl. Divide the glaze evenly between 2 bowls, one small, the other large.
3. Stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons of ancho powder with the coriander, cumin, and paprika in a small bowl.
4. Rinse the chicken wings under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the tips off the wings and discard (or freeze and use for making chicken stock). Cut each wing into 2 pieces through the joint.
5. Place the chicken wings in a large bowl, add the spice rub and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and place the wings on the baking sheet.
6. Bake until golden brown and slightly charred, 30 to 35 minutes. Occasionally brush the wings with the small bowl of glaze and turn once during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
7. Transfer the wings to the large bowl, brush with the reserved glaze, and toss to coat. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and green onions
   

These were good, but not amazing. I haven't made any chicken wings that have wowed me yet. I find that often, the flavors just don't get into the meat...it's just coated on it.

Garlic Chicken with White Wine Sauce

"I want the bone" as Kevin's 10 year old cousin would exclaim when chicken was being served. I'm the same way. I love chicken legs. I'm always looking for yummy chicken recipes. If it were up to me, chicken would be the only meat i'd buy. But since Kev likes beef, I have to to have at least one recipe with beef per week. I came accross this recipe because of Rachelle. She likes to use Simply Recipes as a recipe site. While browsing through the chicken recipes, this garlic white wine chicken recipe caught my eye. Since I had a bottle of dry white wine in the fridge, i decided give this a try. The original recipe used a whole chicken cut-up in 8 pieces. Since I didn't want to go through the trouble to hacking a knife into a whole chicken, I bought drumsticks.

1 4-pound whole chicken, cut into eight parts or 8 drumsticks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 whole heads of garlic, cloves separated (40 cloves) but not peeled
Olive oil
1 1/4 cup dry white wine
3 large sprigs of fresh tarragon
3 large sprigs of fresh thyme

1. Lightly smash the garlic cloves with the side of a heavy chef's knife, just enough to break the cloves. Leave peel on.
2. Trim the chicken pieces of excess fat. Pat them dry and sprinkle pieces generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven (or a large thick-bottom pan with a tight fitting cover) on medium high. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Lay the chicken pieces on the hot oil, do not move until browned, then turn over to other side using tongs. Remove from pan when browned.
3. Add a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary. Add the garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and the herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken pieces. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Move the chicken pieces from top to bottom every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes. Chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part reads 180°F for thighs and 170°F for breasts.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken pieces to a platter; spoon garlic sauce over the chicken.

When the recipe says "sprinkle pieces (of chicken) generously with salt and pepper", it true, but be less generous with the salt. I think I got a bit carried away with the salt. But it was still ok. I wasn't too keen on the browning step because the residue pepper, salt, and chicken skin fat on the skillet would burn in between batches, which cause burning on the skillet and smoke in the kitchen. However I believe this step to be important, as it gives the chicken a nice tasty colour. I didn't have tarragon and I used 1 tsp of dried thyme instead of fresh. The dish came out good, but not fantastic. I did love the garlic. I ate it with the chicken. I even kept some of the leftover garlic in the fridge to be used on french baguette. Delicious.

Potato, Spinach, and Salmon Patties with Garlic Dill Cream

I can't remember who sent me the recipe for this, but it was a recipe in the NY Times. I've never made any type of patties before, but the potato, salmon, and spinach mixture sounded great and the sauce sounded even better. I love dill! So when Rachelle came over to our place for dinner, I decided to try it. The last couple of times she came over I made salmon fillets, since she doesn't eat red meat. I wanted to make somethign different. I had to alter the original recipe because I didn't like having to fry it in oil. I wanted to bake it for a healthier version. So here's the recipe and the changes I made.






FOR THE POTATO SALMON PATTIES:
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups mashed potatoes, chilled
8 ounces cooked salmon fillet, flaked To save time, I used canned salmon
2 1/2 cups 1 cup panko or bread crumbs to put in patties, and more for coating
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Note: For the first 3 ingredients, you don't have to use the amounts exactly. You can use whatever amounts you like.

FOR THE GARLICKY DILL CREAM:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive or vegetable oil for frying.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible. Place in a bowl and add potatoes, salmon, 1 cup panko, 2 eggs, salt and pepper; mix well to combine.
2. Place remaining bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl. Place remaining eggs in a second bowl and beat lightly. Place flour in a third bowl.
3. Form spinach mixture into 3-inch patties, about 3/4-inch thick. Dip each patty into flour, tapping off excess, then the egg, letting excess drip into bowl. Coat evenly with panko crumbs. Transfer patties to a large baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Bake in oven for 15 min or until browned.
4. Meanwhile, make dill cream: In a mortar and pestle or with the back of a knife, mash garlic and salt together to make a paste. Stir it into the sour cream or yogurt. Add dill and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.
5. Heat 1/4-inch oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; if using olive oil, you don’t need to use good extra virgin oil. Cook patties in batches, turning once halfway through, until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot, with a dollop of dill cream.

Rachelle and I enjoyed this a lot. The recipe made about 18 patties. Kev was a bit indifferent about it since he's not crazy about dill. These patties may be small, but they sure are filling. I froze half of it because I didn't want them to go bad and it was just too much. I think a person can eat maybe 3 patties + a sidedish. 4 patties if eaten alone. When I made the frozen leftovers, the defrosted patties were a mess. They tasted fine, but were much harder to handle. I'd suggest making these as appetizers if you're having a lot of guests.

Baked Tandoori Chicken

I recently found a recipe for tandoori drumsticks while leafing through on of my giant cookbooks. And since the recipe called for only 5 ingredients (one of which is just salad), i thought it would be great. Kevin and I both like Indian food, but i've never made tandoori chicken. I had a bit of a dilemma, because it's the middle of winter and our BBQ grill outside is buried under a lot of snow. So I had to compromise and bake the chicken instead.

Chicken Drumsticks

2/3 cup (150ml) Plain Yogurt

3 tbsp tandoori paste

freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 400. Use knife to make deep cuts all over drumsticks
2. Mix yogurt, tandoori paste, and lemon juice in a large bowl
3. coat drumsticks with the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour
4. Bake in oven until cooked or juices run clear.

Dilemma numéro deux: as mentioned before, the 5th ingredient in the recipe was 2 cups of arugula lettuce. For some reason, I misread it to be 2 cup of plain yogurt. When I realized my mistake (from the pale colour of my sauce), I had already mixed in the 3 tbs of tandoori, so i could salvage the plain yogurt. So what I ended up doing was adding more tandoori paste...but dilemma numéro trois, I was runnign out of tandoori paste. So I just put in whatever was left and just prayed the tandoori drumsticks wouldn't be too bad. The chicken ended up being oh-kay. Good, but not memorable. I might make this again when we can use the grill. Since I baked it, it came out more saucy. Real tandoori shouldn't be.

Stuffed mushroom

This is probably the very first recipe I ever made. Some 10 years ago, my brother invited some friends over for a BBQ. His friend Amy (now one of my friends) brought stuffed mushrooms. apparently she didn't make enough because my brother only managed to save one for me. I absolutely loved it. I think it's safe to say that it was that recipe that made me fall in love with mushrooms. I asked my brother if she could share her recipe. I didn't quite remember the exact recipe, since I don't have the recipe with me now. But I made it by memory.


Originally I wanted to make this with giant portobello mushrooms, but my grocery store didn't have any in stock. So I bought giant white mushrooms. They weren't cheap. $3.99 for only 8. I could inhale 4 mushrooms in a minute. So I made the left over Potato, Spinach, Salmon Patties I had in the freezer.




Mushrooms
Cream Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Bacon bits
Salt & Pepper
Green Onions, minced

1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash the mushrooms and dry them with a paper towel.
2. Remove the stems and put aside.
3. Place the mushroom caps on a lined baking sheet.
4. Mince the mushroom stems. I only minced about half of the reserved stems and threw out the rest. You can save them for another recipe, like cream of mushroom soup.
5. On medium heat, sautee green onions in a little bit of butter. Add minced mushroom stems.
6. Add about half a package of cream cheese. Stir until melted and creamy.
7. Add salt and pepper or whatever other spices you like.
8. Take it off the heat source and mix in enough breadcrumbs until it soaks up most of the moisture and looks pasty.
9. Fill mushroom caps with the filling.
10. Dip the top of the filled caps with breadcrumbs
11. Bake 15 min

I love mushrooms, but I wasn't sure if Kevin would like this recipe. He's not a cheese fan and he doesn't love mushrooms. But he ended up liking this. He told me he liked trying the new stuff I make in the kitchen. :)

♥♥♥ Valentine's Day Dinner ♥♥♥

For Valentine's Day, we decided to stay home for dinner. We didn't feel like going to some fancy restaurant. So for weeks, I thought of what to make. I wanted something that we didn't have too often, but something that wouldn't take me forever to make. I originally wanted to buy filet mignon and make it at home, but was afraid i'd ruin a perfectly good piece of meat by not knowing what I was doing. I've never cooked steak. Usually Kevin grills it on the BBQ or he cooks it on the skillet. I'm not sure why...I asked Kev what he wanted for Vday dinner and he came up with the idea of making duck. I decided to make garlic snails and crème brulée french toast.

The idea of the snails came to me when I was at the dollarstore during lunch break. It amazes me all the things the store carries. I noticed escargots plates. So I did some research about how to prepare snails. To be honest, I didn't know where to get snails...when I read online that I could get them canned, I decided to give it a shot. Even if I knew where to find fresh snails, I probably wouldn't even know how to prepare them. So canned and pre-cooked snailed was the best. When I posted this picture on my facebook, I had a few people ask me if it was hard to make. And it wasn't, especially not with canned snails. It took me all of 12 minutes to make...where 10 minutes was in the oven.





1 can of giant snails
Shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2-3 tsp garlic, minced
parsley flakes

1. Preheat oven to 350. Open can of snails and rinse under cold water. Drain and put aside.
2. On low heat, melt unsalted butter and add minced garlic
3. Add some parsley flakes in the garlic butter
4. Remove from heat source and toss snails in the garlic butter.
5. Place garlic on escargots plate and drizzle each snail with some of the garlic butter.
6. Cover plate with shredded cheese and bake for 10 min, until cheese is melted.

The result didn't quite look like what I expected it to be. I expected the cheese to be a bit browned, but it taste just like the restaurant. The canned snails didn't taste like it came from a can at all, and the snails really were giant! They were twice the size of the snails we usually get at restaurants. The can of snails was $1.99 for 14 snails. It's a great deal considering how much we pay for escargots gratinés when we eat out.

********************************

I've actually made this duck breast recipe before. Last year, Kev and I went to Knowlton for a weekend and they are known for their Lac Brome ducks. We had a nice package deal with the hotel that included a 3-course duck dinner with our choice of wine. After coming home from the weekending trip, we wanted more duck and I had found a recipe on their website. I will post here the original recipe from the site, with my corrections.

2 duck breasts (magrets), 18/20 size (1 package)
45 ml (3 tbsps.) each ~ honey and Dijon mustard
375 ml (1-½ cup) oil 1 Tbsp of oil
Salt and pepper to taste
5 ml (1 tsp.) curry
30 ml (2 tbsps.) green onions, finely chopped

1. With a sharp knife, score the breats in squares on the skin side. Set aside.
   In a bowl, mix the honey, mustard, curry, salt, pepper and onions.
2. Add oil and stir until it resembles a vinaigrette.
3. Put the breasts into the marinade and leave them in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, turning them from time to time.
4. Remove breasts from marinade and sear them on the skin size on a very hot grill.
5. Finish cooking in the oven (350F) for 8 to 10 minutes until pink inside

The first time I made this, I followed the recipe exactly...with the 1 1/2 cup of OIL! I remember it being a complete mess when I seared the skin on a skillet. It was nasty and oily. This time I reduced the amount of oil by a lot. It was much better and less oily. Depending on the thickness of the duck breast, i'd suggest cutting your duck breast to see how rare the duck is. I baked mine for 10 minutes and it was still quite raw. I put it back in the oven for an addition 5 minutes for medium rare doneness. It was delicious. I boiled the remaining marinade and served it with the duck. I served these with simple roasted potato wedges (Preheat 400, season wedges with salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake for 30min)

*************************************

This recipe was found on allrecipes.com. However, I was greatly disappointed when I made this. Don't get me wrong, it ended up tasting quite good, but the preparation was annoying. The instruations given in the recipe were terrible. Luckily, I managed to save it and even had leftovers for the next day.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
6 French bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brandy-based orange liqueur (Grand Marnier®) -optional
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in brown sugar and corn syrup, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Remove crusts from bread, and arrange in the baking dish in a single layer. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, orange brandy, and salt. Pour over the bread. Cover, and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight one hour is enough.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the dish from the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature. Place the bread on a baking sheet sugar side up.
4. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffed and lightly browned.
   

Important notes i'd make for this is to make sure that the egg mixture only covers the bread. Discard the excess egg mixture or pour them in ramekins to make custard. I poured all the micture in and it was too much. My breads ended up floating to the top and the brown sugar mix would detach from the bread, that's why my bread doesn't look like creme brulee at all. I had followed the recipe instructions and after 35 minutes in the oven, it was still a soggy mess. I finally took it our and moved my soggy bread onto a baking sheet and baked it for an addition 15-20 minutes. They ended up being crispy on the outside, but fluffy in the center.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day with great food.

Bibimbap

I had my first Bibimbap not too long ago. It's kind of silly, but the first time i ever heard of it was at a Korean fast food counter in downtown called Kimchi. I was meeting my friend Wynn for lunch and she told me that Bibimbap was very good. So I tried it. Like most Korean dishes, I loved it. Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish. The word literally means "stirred/mixed rice". Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with sautéed and seasoned vegetables and gochujang (Korean red pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot. We ate our lukewarm.

Bean Sprouts, blanched or stir-fried in sesame oil

cucumber, julienned and tossed in seseame oil

carrots, julienned, blanched or stir-fried in sesame oil

Spinach, stir-fried in sesame oil

1 egg

white rice

gochujang sauce

Beef bulgogi

1. Cook rice as directed. Prepare hard boiled egg
2. Blanch or stir-fry in sesame oil the carrots, bean sprouts, and spinach.
3. Toss cucumber in sesame oil.
4. Place each vegetable in their own corner over rice.
5. Cook beef, and place on a corner of bowl
6. Remove shell from hard-boiled egg, cut in half and place in the middle of the bowl of rice.
7. Mix with Gochujang sauce.

This dish required a bit of preparation. Cook time took no time at all. The part I hated most was to julienne the carrots. Is there a shortcut way to do this? I hate it. I ate my bibimbap with a side of Kimchi. Since I know Kev might not like the spiciness of gochujang, I simply boiled the reserved marinade from the beef and added a dash of sesame oil. I think he liked it. When he saw what I had made for Sunday lunch, he just said "ohhh...Fancy!" I'd make this again. It's a great way to get rid of leftovers, especially veggies that are only a day or two away from going bad.

Pasta with Sausage and Sweet Peppers

Here's a post that I am revisiting. I already posted this recipe in Sept 2008, but decided to repost it with a picture of my own. Back then, I had just started blogging about the food I was making in our kitchen, so I never thought to take pictures.

Kevin is a simple man, especially when it comes to cooking. His favorite recipes need to have few ingredients, simple instructions, and especially take less than 30 mins to make. One day, I had dinner plans with my friend and Kevin had to make his own dinner. When I got back, he told me he made a yummy pasta dish. A week later, I was feeling under the weather and came home early to rest. I crashed so hard that I didn't even hear my cell ring, which was on the night table next to me. Kevin had called me 3 times. He probably wanted to ask what I wanted for dinner. He finally came home with all the ingredients to make his yummy pasta. He calls this "his specialty". When he makes this, I'm almost not allowed in the kitchen.

• 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed and crumbled
• 1 any colour bell peppers, chopped
• 8 ounces farfalle pasta or other pasta (penne, macaroni...)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, cook sausage and peppers in large skillet over medium heat until sausage is brown and juices run clear. Drain sausage mixture and return it to the pan. Pour in the broth, season with black pepper and bring to a boil.
3. Toss pasta with sausage sauce and serve.

If you use too much pasta, the dish will end up bland. You can add more beef broth or some salt. I usually crumble some aged cheddar or mozzarella or parmesan. I think i'd also like to add some onions into it too. You could add different spices, i've put cayenne pepper in mine. This is such a basic dish, you can change it up any way you like. But Kevin likes it simple.

Kimchi Rice

I had less than a cup of leftover rice from the night before and I also went to Korean market a few days ago and bought a tub of kimchi...so I experimented...this is somewhat of a leftover meal. Doesn't look too pretty, but was pretty good. Kev didn't have this. I made him soup noodles with dumplings and stuffed tofu. Kev is not a fan of Kimchi. I love it.

1/2 cup of rice, cooked

1 egg

2 mushrooms, chopped

some kind of meat, chopped/sliced/minced/whatever you like (I used an odd jerk meat my parents gave me)

Kimchi, cut into small pieces

2 tsp Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste or sauce)

1. If using leftover rice, add a bit of water on medium-high heat to soften the dried leftover rice. Disregard if making fresh rice. Once rice is hot, crack an egg on top and stir. This will look like gruel.


2. Add mushrooms and meat, mix.
3. Add cut kimchi and the sauce, mix.
4. Add Gochujang.

Although I only had 1/2 a cup of rice, it was a pretty big bowl of rice with all the additives. I'd make this again if I have leftover rice. It was yummy. I had a bit of trouble finding the Gochujang because the word "Gochujang" was written so tiny and the packaging is covered in Korea. But It's a good thing I asked the cashier. He showed me whole shelf of different brands. Some came in a square plastic box, others in bottles. I asked what the difference was and he said the boxes were paste and need other ingredients to make it taste better (vinegar, sugar...), but the bottles were sauces and ready-to-eat. I, of course, grabbed the one that needed less work. lol

Méchant Boeuf

Clockwise: Grilled Salmon with Pesto and Grilled Vegetables, Tatare Trio (Beef, Tuna, Salmon), Peacan Pie, Méchant Burger with Fries.

Between Jan 15-31 2009, Montreal had their 2nd Annual Happening Gourmand event. This is a great opportunity to try out restaurants. Eight restaurants in the Old Port would have a 3 course meal at a discounted fixed price. For example, at Restaurant Vieux-Port (yummy steak place), I had garlic snails, filet mignon medallions, and crème brulée for $22. I kept forgetting my camera. Fortunetly, Rachelle brought her camera when we went to Méchant Boeuf. I was expecially excited to try Méchant Boeuf because of their famous Méchant Burger. They call it the best burger in the city.

Before I start talking about the food, I'd like to mention the frustration Rachelle and I went through to make a reservation at this place. They have an incredibly frustrating system. For starters, I have to mention that this restaurant does not open during lunch time. It opens at 5pm every day. When I called the restaurant during my lunch hour at work, I was greeted by their voice messaging system. It advised me that they normally take reservations through the system, with the exception of the Happening Gourmand event. In this case, they told callers to call back at 2pm. So at 2pm, I called...It either gave me a busy signal or the voice messaging system would pick up...I called on and off until 3pm. At one point, I was looking on their website and they had a different number. So I tried calling it and someone picked up. I soon realized that I was talking to the front desk of hotel Nelligan, which is connected to Méchant Boeuf. She kept transferring my call back to the voice messaging system. After my third time calling, I asked the woman at hotel Nelligan what the deal was. And she told me that the restaurant only opens at 5pm, but that normally someone is there starting at 3pm. Apparently not that day. So I got Rachelle to call after 5pm.

She called after 5pm and she didn't have any luck either, so she left our reservation with the front desk of hotel Nelligan. Someone at Méchant Boeuf finally called Rachelle back to confirm the reservation, only to call back the next day to say they had 3 services at night and that our 6pm reservation would have to be moved to 5:45pm. We finally arrived at 6:15.

At least when we got there, we were seated right away. The waiters there are hubba-hubba! lol after a long week, Rachelle and I decided to reward ourselves with an extra apetizer. The tartare trio look good on the menu, and even better in our mouth. Rachelle knows my weakness with tartare. We started out 3 course meal with the onion soup. It was very good, but the smell of the cheese attack us when it got to our table. For the main course, Rachelle had the salmon (the only thing she could have, she doesn't eat meat, but she chose this restaurant). She told me the salmon was good, but I think she prefers it extra well-done...blech. I order the mechant burger and I have to admit that it was one of the best burgers I have ever had...and i'm not a big burger fan. The meat pattie was huge, thick, and juicy. I would definitely recommend it. However, the fries were a disappointment. They are what Rachelle and I call "La Belle Province fries". The pecan pie was mediocre. I guess I'm not a huge fan of pecan pie afterall. The service was pretty good. The waiters were attentive, but we did have to ask for a water refill.

In general, a good place to eat. I will most probably be going back for the burger, since Kevin wants to try it out now. But I don't think i'll be going back regularly, especially if I have so much trouble making a reservation.

Méchant Boeuf/ 124 St-Paul West/ 514.788.4020
http://mechantboeuf.com/

Bacon Tofu

I am constantly looking for new recipes to try. I read many food blogs and sometimes I lose track of where I saw a certain recipe if I don't save it in my favorites. I came across an interesting recipe; Bacon wrapped tofu. The balance of a healthy food and major junk food. I won't lie, i love the crispy and salty taste of bacon. I also love the smell of bacon in the morning. When we visit Kev's parents and they make bacon in the morning while everybody is still sleeping...I wake up and go Mmmm...however, I have never bought a pack of bacon and cooked it at home. I could never bring myself to do it until I saw this recipe and it was too interesting to pass up. I think it's safe to say that this will not appear in our meal rotation.


I almost wanted to gag when I opened the package of bacon and had to touch the slimy, oily strips...I even cut off some of the fat. I felt oddly complex about doing that because bacon is essentially just fat and that's what I paid for. And here I am, cutting away perhaps half of what I bought. Cooking it wasn't a lovely ride either...the amount of oil that comes out of it is really nasty. I had to drain my frying pan between each batch...

1 package of bacon, each strip cut in half

1 package of semi-firm tofu cut long and thin

1. Drain the tofu. Unwrap and cut into bite sized pieces that are about the width of your bacon.
2. Wrap each piece in bacon, going around at least once so the ends overlap. I cut my bacon strips in half.
3. Heat up a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Put the bacon wrapped tofu pieces with the overlapping edges side down. Cook until crisp, then turn. Keep cooking and turning until done on all sides.

I served this with white rice and boiled vegetables. This dish was an interesting combination, but it's pretty good. But because of ick issues with cooking bacon, i'd probably not make this again.

Strawberry Jam Crumble Cupcake

I have now spent enough money to call baking a hobby. The amount of money I spend on butter, sugar, and flour is costing me. But I love it. I love being able to share my treats with people and it makes me even more happy when Kevin tells me it's good. Recently, a few colleagues and I have decided to form a little baking group. Once a month, we'll pick a day where we all bake something and bring it into work to share with each other. I looked only for different recipes and had ideas. I originally wanted to make French Macarons, but they were so complicated. So I decided to forget about. I finally committed to a recipe I found on Epicurious. The original recipe is for a cake, but I wanted it to be bite size...an idea I got from Ice Cream Before Dinner.

For cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted (about 6 tbs)
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1/2 cup raspberry jam or preserves

For crumb topping
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted (about 6 tbs)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Make cake:Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Whisk together butter, milk, and egg in a large bowl, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
4. Pour batter into muffin or cupcake pan (with muffin or cupcake paper lining cups) to about 1/2 full. Dollop jam all over surface, then swirl into batter with spoon.
5. Make crumb topping:Whisk together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Stir in flour, then blend with your fingertips until incorporated. Sprinkle crumbs in large clumps over top of cupcakes.
6. Bake cake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides begin to pull away from pan, about 15-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

These were a hit with my co-workers. The crumb topping is awesome and sweet enough, while the cake part is moist, fluffy, and not too sweet. It was a great balance. My only problem was that I filled my cups too much and when it baked, the crumble part started falling off. I'm planning on making this again for my mom's birthday.

Mac & Cheese with Italian Sausage

So the stupid groundhogs announced that we won't be having an early spring. What a downer! This calls for some comfort food. When I used to live with Rachelle and we were both lazy and just not willing to learn to cook proper meals (I mean really...sometimes i'd eat a big bowl of cereal for dinner), we would make pasta with tons of vegetables (frozen, couldn't be bothered with fresh ones) and of course a lot of cheese. I'm really glad i'm only semi-lactose intolerant. Cheese has never had an effect on me...besides bliss. When Rachelle made Macaroni and Cheese, it gave me a big craving for it. I made mine with some leftover sausage we had in the freezer, which Kevin didn't like because they were "crazy" flavors.



2 cups macaroni pasta or fusili or any other pasta, cooked
cheddar cheese
1 cup of milk
2 italian sausages, casing removed
1 small onion
garlic
1 tbsp all purpose flour
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 300. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and put aside
2. On a skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic.
3. Add milk and flour. Boil until thick
4. Add half of cheese. Mix in pasta. Add salt and pepper, if needed.
5. Put in an oven safe casserol dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
6. Bake 20-30 min, until cheese is crispy and/or browned.

As you can see from my picture, I couldn't get the darned cheese to brown. I even switched my oven to broil. This is good, but I think I miss the medley of vegetables...This is an extremely easy recipe...you can't get it wrong. You can pretty much add anything you want. Rachelle liked to add a can of tuna or salmon in the mix. You can all any spices you want and many different kinds of cheeses. It's foolproof. Enjoy!

Ma Po Tofu

I think the very first time I had Ma Po Tofu was at my aunts. Back then, I absolutely loved eating anything spicy. I've probably had Ma Po Tofu about a handful of times, but have never made it. I don't recall my mom ever making this dish either.

A few weeks ago, Rachelle and I were in Chinatown. I hardly ever go there, so when I do, I sually make a trip to the oriental market and buy a few things. I was walking through the aisle with the pre-packaged sauces...sort of like Hamburger helper, but Asian. I picked up a little packet of Ma Po Tofu sauce and all I had to add was ground pork and tofu. The sauce I used was from Lee Kum Kee, a well known brand in Asian products.

Kev was curious about this. He said he had never heard of this dish before. White I boiled my tofu, I added some minced garlic when I cooked the pork. Then I added some chopped green onions, and the sauce. The sauce was rather bland and not spicy. I attempted to make it better by adding soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, salt, and pepper...It wasn't great, but edible. Perhaps next time I will make my own Ma Po Tofu from scratch. In the meantime, if you're looking for a Ma Po Tofu recipe, my friend Judyfoodie made her own a few months ago.

Sai Mai Lo

My favorite dessert when we eat in a Chinese restaurant is Sai Mai Lo. But most of the time they serve oranges or fruits or some other kind of soup dessert, like the red bean one. Yuck. I've never made Sai Mai Lo before. I looked up several recipes online...Most of them use the same ingredients, but with different measurements. Here's my version:

1 cup Sagou, tapioca pearls

3/4 cup Evaporated Milk

2/3 sugar

1 can of Coconut Milk

3/4 Water

1. Boil the Sagou in water until transparent. Rinse and drain.


2. Boil all other ingredients, add the sagou. Done.

This was quite easy to make, but the water used to boil the sagou turns into a nasty slimey glue consistency, which makes draining it much harder. Other than that, I didn't have any problems. I kept leftovers in the fridge and the next day I had it, it wasn't liquid anymore. It had a pudding texture. You can eat it like that, but I like mine thin, so just mix in some milk or water and heat it up in the microwave.

Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops with Stuffing

To me, pork chops are one the hardest things to make. They always end up tough and chewy. I just don't know how to make it. I don't know if it's the cut i'm getting that is low quality, or my preparation, or that Kevin likes to cut off all the fat before cooking it. So I decided to try simmering it in some kind of liquid. I served it over rice and made instant stuffing, that Kev and I are so fond of. This is one of those super easy meals.

1 cup of vegetable broth

1 can cream of mushroom

4 pork chops

salt & pepper

garlic

thyme

Olive oil

1. Season pork chops with salt & pepper. Add olive oil on a skillet o high heat. Brown chops in skillet.
2. In a bowl, mix vegetable broth and cream of mushroom. add mixture to pork chop and simmer.
3. Season with sauce wit garlic and thyme. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until chops are cooked through.

The chops ended being okay. Still on the dry and tough side, but better than any pork chops I have ever made. Perhaps if I had marinated it overnight or tenderized it with baking soda (which Kev hates). Kev really liked the mushroom sauce and he's not a saucy kind of guy. I originally wanted to use some white wine in it, but I forgot.