Monthly Archives: April 2012

Exotic Salad

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This is a salad that my mom used to make. It is so good. Very different. One that I have loved for years. I hope you enjoy it. Tastespotting is running salads all day Tuesday May 1 with Dole Salads as their sponsor. Drop by to see some amazing salads.

14 oz. can hearts of palm
14 oz. can artichoke hearts
14 oz. can lychee fruit
1 avocado
12 grape tomatoes, halved
Spring mix by Dole
Purple onion, sliced for garnish
Black olives, sliced for garnish

Dressing:

1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. lychee fruit liquid
1/2 walnut oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

Blend all the dressing ingredients together in a blender or whisk together.

Drain the heart of palm and the artichoke hearts. Save 2 Tbsp. of the juice from the lychee and drain the rest off. Cut the hearts of palm and the artichoke hearts into bite sized pieces. Peel avocado and slice. Toss the palm, artichoke, lychee fruit, avocado and tomatoes in the vinaigrette dressing and chill. Serve over Dole Spring Mix. Top with red onion slices and black olives. So good!!

Chocolate Caramilk Cookies

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These cookies have a secret, a Caramilk Secret hidden inside. I came across these the other day and thought that they would make a yummy cookie. They sure did. Instead of chocolate chips I chopped up the Caramilk Secrets and put them in a deliciously buttery cookie. You be the judge!!!

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. milk
2 packages 175 gm. of Caramilk Secrets, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F. Cream butter, beat in sugar, egg and vanilla in a standup mixer with a paddle attachment. Add milk. Combine dry ingredients and mix into butter mixture. Fold in the Caramilk Secrets. Refrigerate until firm. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Scoop out dough with a 1 1/2″ scoop and depress tops with two fingers to flatten out slightly. Bake 10-12 min. until lightly golden brown. Let cool on cookie racks. Enjoy!!

Mouth Watering Mondays

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Well here we are and it is Monday again. I will show you some of the wonderful things I have seen throughout the past week. The weather is cool and rainy for the beginning of the week here so maybe these will warm your soul but if you are not from these parts it doesn’t matter you can always look at beautiful pictures of food and maybe try one or two. Cheers!!

Apple Pie Layer Cake by Sweet Peony – Nutella Toffee Ice Cream by So Domesticated – Trix Krispies by Cravings of a Lunatic
Chocolatety Cookies N’ Cream Parfait by The Cozy Apron – Shaved Asparagus and Goat Cheese Crostini by Naturally Ella – Taco Egg Rolls by Reservations for Two – Scallops in Herb Broth with Braised Radishses and Bacon by Smith and Ratliff – Maple, Bacon, Pecan Biscuit Bake by Bakeaholic Mama

Original Joe’s

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We couldn’t decide where to go initially for our 20th anniversary. We have been doing so much fine dining and cooking lately we wanted to tone it down a bit. We miss our pub dates that we used to have!!! Just the two of us with no distractions. So I said that we could grab some yummy oysters for an appetizer and then Ken suggested to go to Original Joe’s for dinner. I was all over it. Nice and close to home, great food and an adult only pub, perfect!!! It was a great evening that we will be doing again soon.

Original Joe’s is a chain of restaurants from British Columbia to Manitoba. They have many locations here in Calgary. The atmosphere is very nice and I like the upscale pub decor. They have a lovely outdoor patio with heaters, which is great for our climate. We found a nice big comfy booth to sit. We decided to do some sharing plates and started off with the chili lime chicken. This is a great dish, spicy but cooled down with the addition of the cucumber. With the crunchy noodles it was a real treat. Next up were the fish tacos. I really like fish tacos and these were great. With the addition of a little hot sauce, which they provide you with, these were a hit. Lastly we had two different kinds of wings, shangai and carribean jerk. The shangai were very good but neither of us were fans of the carribean jerk. We washed all this down with some great beer that they have brewed just for them. I had the red and Ken had the blonde. The staff all do a little smile when they say the word blonde, cute!! Our waitress Angela was fantastic. She was knowledgeable about the menu, very pleasant and attentive, perfect service!! My pictures aren’t the best as we were at a sunny table and they were taken with my power shot camera, which is what I have been using for all my restaurant photos. They have many locations so its best to go to their website at www.originaljoes.ca to find one close to you. Enjoy!!

Original Joe's: Aspen Landing on Urbanspoon

Sliders and Fries/Friday Night Cooking Class

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Welcome Alexia everyone, another good friend of Amber’s. Alexia chose hamburgers and fries and we changed it up slightly to sliders and shoestring fries. They were delicious!! Ken has been making these little burgers for awhile now. I added some Havarti for an additional twist.

Serves 6

650 gms. extra lean ground beef
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2″ slices
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. hickory BBQ sauce

Mix together in a bowl with your hands. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roll into a ball just larger than a golfball and then compress to a disc. BBQ on medium heat 5 min. a side. Top with cheese if desired and any other topping you prefer.

Shoestring Potatoes

6 potatoes, washed and peeled
Canola oil
salt

On the shoestring setting of a mandolin slice potatoes, place in a large bowl of water to keep from browning. Dry very well before placing in the oil. Heat oil in a wok, test with one tiny potato until when dropped in it quickly floats back up bubbling. Fry small amounts of potatoes at a time until golden. Drain on a paper towel lined plate and salt immediately. Keep warm in a 200F oven while cooking the rest of the potatoes.

This has been added to Sunflower Supper Club’s weekend potluck.

This has been added to Country Cook weekend potluck.

This has been added to Slice of Southern weekend potluck.

This has been added to Make Ahead Meals Melt in Your Mouth Monday Blog Hop

The Taste of an Oyster

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This is something that I have loved for a long time. I don’t actually remember eating my first oyster but I would have just sucked it up and went for like so many other things I have done in life. I can’t imagine the first brave man (or woman) to have plucked one of these out of the ocean and fought to have unlocked that almost impossible shell to reveal the little slimy creature and actually swallow it down. I think everyone has some of that same sensation when they try their first oyster, oh to be so adventuresome!!! And then to come rushing back for more and more. The French Poet Leon-Paul Fargue said it was “like kissing the ocean on the lips”. How else do you describe the taste of an oyster??? Many have dressed them, baked them and smoked them but I love the clean fresh taste of a sweet oyster with a simple mignonette sauce or the squirt of a lemon with a touch of heat from hot sauce. This is something that brings you from childhood to adulthood quickly.  Even Amber had a hard time with her first oyster but now would have done the platter in if she was with us. It is a texture thing and there is an art to eating them. From the sauces, to the right angle of the head as the oyster is brought up to the mouth, to drinking the liquor and swallowing the oyster. It is a time honoured ritual that has been passed down by generations. Oh the sensual joy they can bring!!

Mignonette Sauce

1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
fresh ground black pepper
Small shallot, minced

Mix together and refrigerate until ready to serve. Shuck oysters carefully making sure none of the shell gets in. Lay on a platter covered with Kosher salt and serve immediately with the Mignonette sauce, hot sauce and lemon wedges. Enjoy!!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Chicken Gyros with Yogurt Dill Sauce

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This is a quick and easy dinner that Ken has enjoyed making for years. We all love it!!!! With a crisp salad and a glass of white wine it is a great spring meal. This is a new recipe we tried, I really liked it but Ken likes the original one we have been doing for years. Try this one on for size and in a little while I will post our other recipe. You be the judge.

Serves 4

1/2 cup lemon juice
4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. oregano
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 english cucmber, diced
1 cup plain low fat greek style yogurt
1/2 tsp. dill weed
4 pita pockets, good quality so they are easy to open, heated
1/2 red onion, sliced (optional)
4 large leaves of romaine lettuce

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, 1 clove garlic, mustard, oregano and chicken in a ziplock bag. Turn bag to coat chicken evenly. Refrigerate for one hour.

Combine yogurt, cucumber, dill and the other clove of garlic. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Drain chicken and discard marinade. In a large skillet saute chicken for about 8 min. until golden and cooked through. Cut pitas in half and open. Place a quarter of the chicken mixture inside and top with the yogurt sauce, lettuce and red onion if using. Enjoy!!

 

Lemon Drop Cocktail

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This is a drink that a friend of mine Andrea and fellow blogger is sipping on in her profile picture on Tasty Kitchen. I had to try it, it looked so good. She has a very nice site, filled with fantastic recipes. I also love the name of her site Quest For Delish. Isn’t that the quest we all should be on!!! Here is her “delish” cocktail.

Lemon Drop

Serves 2

3 oz. vodka
2 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 oz. simple syrup
3 tsp. fine white sugar (for the glasses)

Simple syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

In a saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Let cool, pour into a container and refrigerate until cold. This will keep in the refrigerator for 3 months so you can make this again and again. Or use with other cocktails.

Chill two martini glasses in the freezer for at least 5 min. In a shaker pour in the vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup and 1/2 cup of ice. Rim the glasses with lemon juice and dip in the fine sugar. Shake the cocktail rigorously adn then pour into each glass evenly. Enjoy, they are perfect for summer or anytime.

 

Strawberry Pineapple Daiquiri

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With summer coming we all want to have some lazy days sitting out back enjoying the weather. Here is a delicious sipper filled with fresh fruit and a little alcohol too!! It took me a couple of tries (oh darn) to perfect it but I think I got it down. You can keep the simple syrup in the fridge for up to three months, so you can enjoy this drink all summer long.

Serves 2.

2 oz. white rum
1/2 oz. triple sec
3/4 cup mixed sliced strawberries and pineapple chunks
1 cup ice
1 oz. simple syrup (1 cup water and 1 cup sugar needed)
1 oz. lime juice, fresh or bottled

For the simple syrup mix one cup sugar and one cup water in a saucepan, stir and bring to a boil. Once sugar is dissolved remove from heat. Refrigerate until cold.

In a blender place all ingredients and blend until completely liquefied on the ice crush selection of your blender. Serve in a daiquiri glass topped with a cube of pineapple and a strawberry on a skewer. Stick in a straw and find a nice chair outdoors to relax in.