Chocolate Crepes

Black Forest Crepes 

So one of my daughters favourite breakfast foods (or well any time foods are crepes).  I came home from driving the husband to work early in the morning and it just hit me that I wanted to make her a special breakfast - (I had made cream of wheat earlier in the week and she didn't really like it). So I figured I would do crepes because honestly they are SO easy to make.

Basically the batter is 5 ingredients (usually) the trick to making them is letting the batter rest and then the right technique for getting the batter even across the frying pan.

But then I pulled out my new cookbook... (props to the husband)  He bought me the Canadian Living - The Ultimate Cook Book for Christmas. Honestly, I looked at the outside and was wondering what the heck he was thinking - I have a ok collection of cookbooks and this one didn't seem to be on the same page of books I had been looking at recently. Frankly I wrote it off as a basic cookbook nothing special. Then I started flipping through it - the recipes in there are amazing and such a variety with a lot of good tips and tricks and information.  I would HIGHLY recommend the book. 

I found the basic crepe recipe and was going to do that - but then I saw the modification for chocolate crepes and decided to go for it!  They were amazing.  They were filled with some homemade bumble berry jam (Blueberries, strawberry and raspberry) while some Chantilly Cream and then rolled up.  They tasted like a black forest cake for breakfast!  The review from the Monkey was a huge hug and massive kiss. 

Black Forest Crepes 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp melted butter (reserved)

1. In a bowl, whisk flour with salt. Wish together eggs, milk and half of the butter (2 tbsp); pour over the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. (The book suggests straining it through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl - I didn't bother) Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (I skipped this step each time and ended up with a more rubbery crepe - it would be good for it to rest.
2. Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Brush the skillet with some of the remaining butter (I have it melted in a bowl with the pastry brush and keep it close on hand). Pour a not entirely full 1/3 cup of the batter into the centre of the skillet, then tilt and swirl to coat the bottom. I basically tilt the pan until the batter reaches one corner of the pan and then begin to change the tilt angle so that the entire bottom is coated. 
3. Cook, flip when the edges begins to curl away from the skillet, until set and the edge is lightly golden - about 90 seconds. 
4. Transfer to plate, cover to keep warm. Repeat starting with brushing the skillet with butter. 

My Crepe Station Set up

Basic Crepes 
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp melted butter (reserved)

I made basic crepes for supper tonight - as my husband likes savoury food vs. sweet food.  Instead of using regular salt I used curry salt (I'll have to post the recipe latter for that!).  I started with just a little bit of the salt but then didn't find the batter flavourful enough so I kept going until had a good taste of the seasoning in it - because the curry salt is only part salt it didn't over pour the batter.  I then filled with ham or chicken with cheese and folded up - YUM!

Proof that I'm really just ordinary and the cost of hotdogs

So I have taken some recent offline ribbing about my cooking - right because most of the stuff that I blog or post is "impressive" or shall I classify as fancy food items like my Beef Wellington.

This has also lead to a few questions about if my every day cooking is like that and honestly I refer you back to the meal planning post - it's not. I love to cook and try new things but frankly sometimes it is just too much work or effort or time consuming depending on the day.  (I mean my home made lasagna from scratch took about 2 hours to prep and make - there may have been a lot of breaks in that 2 hours - but still it wasn't quick).  Also, let's be honest I do want to make croissants from scratch and contemplated that until I read the recipe and figured I'd save that for another day!

So alas after a long day and equally long night because of swimming lessons we arrive home around 7:30 and still have to get supper prepared, cooked and down the gullet within a reasonable amount of time.  Enter Hot Dog Roll ups - yes hot dogs baked in dough.  No you could just make hot dogs and serve them in buns but that's not as fun and frankly as tasty as the excused to eat what basically amounts to croissant filled with hot dogs and cheese. 

As a side note - I haven't bought hot dogs I'm going to say probably in a couple of years (I prefer cheddar smokies for the effort) but MAN were hot dogs expensive in the store the other day - I got mine on SALE for $2.50 most other packages were $5 - I remember when they were under $2 on sale and under $3 regular price and I'm not that old. 

I will have to delve in my recipe collection to find the "I'm not lazy" version of these - meaning where you actually make the dough (honestly not that hard) but because these are for particularly lazy or busy days here is the basics:

Hot Dog Roll ups a-la-lazy
1 package hot-dogs (don't care brand or type - but usually the cheapest ones that have 12 in the pkg).
2 package tubes of croissants (you could use Wiener wraps but I find them not large enough, or frankly enough in a package to justify buying them especially when the croissant tubes are cheaper)
12 slices approximately 1/4" wide about 1" shorter than the length of the hot dog. 

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. 
2. Cut a strip in to the hot dogs - try not to go all the way through the dog but don't worry if you do. 
3. Run your finger down the length of the cut in the hot dog to open it slightly and then place one of the cheese slices or sticks in the the hot dog.
4. Wrap with the croissant dough - I usually use 1 croissant per hot dog and just bake the extra dough as normal. The key here is really having to stretch, squish, or pull the dough until the entire hot dog is covered evenly with the dough. Sometimes just rolling it like a cigar in your hands does the trick - but you want to avoid holes as that tends to let the cheese escape.
5. Place the dough covered dogs onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet (if you don't have parchment paper - don't worry just follow the directions for the croissants on greased vs. non-greased cookie sheets - I use the paper so that I don't have to do much if any cleaning of the cookie sheets - score for the lazy factor!)
6. Bake the hot dog roll ups for about 10-12 minutes - until brown on top.
7. Let cool 2 or 3 minutes then serve with ketchup, mustard and/or mayonnaise or frankly any other dipping stuff. 

Cadence's Birthday Request

My name is Cassandra, and I am the very proud mom of a 9 - almost 10 year old named Cadence, aka Monkey.  (Grade 4) 

Cadence has an amazing spirit in life and I refer to her as my eternal optimist.  Her birthday is coming up on February 10th - her champagne birthday - which I have explained to her as a magical birthday because you turn the same age as the day you were born on. 

For the last two years Cadence has had a birthday tradition of asking for donations in lieu of birthday presents from her friends. The last two years the donations have been given to the Winnipeg Humane Society.  This year in preparation for her birthday I had a discussion with Cadence on what she would like to do - say nothing and maybe be lucky and get birthday presents as usual or support a charity.  Of course, her first response was that she has enough stuff and she wants to help. I asked her if she wanted to donate to the Winnipeg Humane Society again and she said no. Cadence had made the decision that she wants to help people.  She listens to the radio every morning on the way to school. She is a very socially aware little girl and she said that she wants to help people this year.  She was presented with many options and we discussed and reviewed different options - after some intense discussions she choose that she would like to make a donation to Winnipeg Harvest. She felt it would help the largest amount of people and with the increase in grocery prices it might help the most people (yes this was the thought process of the 9-year old).

At every opportunity possible she has taken the ability to help other people. In addition to the birthday donations she has been actively involved in helping many people. (December 2013) Two years ago I was instructor and found out one of my students got left off of the hamper list - she knew that I had just received by Christmas bonus and had suggested that we use the money to help the student and her family who were really in need. So she helped shop and select hamper items and gifts for the kids, wrap and deliver them.  Last Christmas (December 2014) I was working for a company that was having a hamper drive for the Christmas Cheer Board. Again, as soon as Cadence heard she wanted to help - we would shop the sales and use points to stock up on items and essentially filled two hampers - all from her thoughts and ingenuity. She was responsible for selecting the items from the list, finding deals and then delivering the goods to the the hamper board at my work. 

This year her birthday request is to try and make as big as an impact as possible with her donation to Winnipeg Harvest - because if everyone helps each other just a little bit there would be a lot of good and happiness spread in the world. So as requested by her I am reaching out asking for help to make her birthday wish come true. I am not sure how you can help but I figured you might be able to.

We have spoken with her principal at school who is going to try and hook her up with her Social Justice Committee (usually reserved for those in Grade 6).

Thank you in advance for your support and help!

Cassandra 

Keeping organized - kind of ... or at least trying to

The Spice Rack

So when we bought our house we bought it because I was getting very sick of the kitchen in the apartment. 

Side track - Now I will state from the very outset I have been spoiled somewhat in this aspect. The last home I owned before this I was able to have my kitchen redone - not entirely to my satisfaction or ideas but it was ok. When of the things that I didn't manage to keep in the divorce was the spice rack in the kitchen. At first I thought it was a pretty cool spice rack, it screwed onto the shelf and then you could pull it down out of the cupboard - which FYI would be fantastic if you are vertically challenged. I thankfully am not; however, I am organization crazy. I like being able to find things and have other people able to find things. 

The Spice List

Back on track now - so the husband and I bought the current house knowing that the kitchen ... sucked - we didn't fully realize how bad until we took possession but it sucked. We we took possession we found out that cupboards and countertops hadn't actually been fastened or secured properly at all. Anyways the organize of the utensils and spices and other commonly used things I knew was going to be imperative. So when I started unpacking the spices I had several spice racks I tried out. I tried ones that turned (sucks because you can't get at the stuff at the centre). I tried stacking turning ones - same problem but really an issue for the centre. Plus then you have a space that is not really well utilized. Entered the stacked spice shelfs that go around the edge of the cabinet and it was like heavens doors opened and the light appeared on the solution to my problems. It works fantastically and as you can see (this is ONE set of the racks) it holds a LOT of spices.  I will also acknowledge that I have another drawer below this cabinet that is also full of large spice containers (salt, kosher salt, sea salt, Costco size spices etc.) I then also invested in spice jars (Bulk barn for $0.69 each - with black or white lids is the cheapest place I have found them) and a label maker (thank you Walmart).  I then organized all of my spices and thought I was in heaven. 

The spice list stuck to the door

Then my next problem came down to running out of spices or not being sure of what exactly I had on hand (same problems applies for the pantry, fridge and freezer). So I started with a simple excel spreadsheet and made a list that shows which spices I have and if I have extra on hand.  I then simply printed the list out and put it in a page protector. I wanted to make sure I kept the list somewhere handy so that if I need to find something I could easily tell if it was something in my extra spice boxes or a trip to the grocery store. I also keep a pen, sharpie and whiteboard marker in the spice cabinet for labelling things and/or adding to the list as I realize I might need things.

I have plans to implement a similar system for the rest of my pantry and freezer - basically like a running inventory to make it easy to keep track of what I have on hand, what I need to pick up and then when someone - who shall remain nameless - takes my last and needed can of corn and doesn't tell me..... I can easily tell what I need for grocery shopping.

The Cupboard of Goodness (note the tequila)

Here is a picture of the entire cabinet. I have stored the extra spices in the boxes above the spices in plastic boxes. Everything is also sealed in ziplock bags. However after much of my reading and investigating I've vowed to stop buying bags of spices from the grocery store and will from now on be buying them from places like Bulk Barn (which FYI I have found to have incredibly good prices and variety on spices which allows me to maintain only what I need with very little extra to ensure no spoilage or wasting.

Fragrant Mac and Cheese

This week I haven't even tried to meal plan - lots of different things going on combine with last weeks failure on meal planning ensured that I had lots of ideas left over for this week ;) (or at least that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

Last night we had the usual debate about what to make for supper (I think I'm starting to come down with a cold - so I wasn't  too enthused to go cook).  I had picked up cheddar smokies when grocery shopping because someone complained mentioned they haven't had sausages in a while so I was determined to use them. However, husband wasn't necessarily in the mood for sausages and made a specific request for Mac and Cheese (not the box kind).  Usually when I have done my Mac and Cheese I have added Candied Bacon into the mix (Monkey's favourite) but Justin has often mentioned I could just add sausage so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone.  I have a basic recipe that is wonderful to work off of - but since this was going to be made with the cheddar smokies instead of bacon I figured I wanted to try and spice things up or change up the recipe a bit.  Since I have been working with a lot of typical Indian species lately I figured I would try out that combination (worst comes to worst I'd pull out some tomato sauce and we'd have shells with tomato sauce and sausages on the side.)

Anyways I added some of the extra spices into the mix and it smelled amazing (yes I am bragging) but as the sauce began to cook the flavours developed even more and I may or may not have tested several spoons of the cheese sauce before adding it to the shells and baking the dish.  The only downside is that the entire things takes about an hour to make (including the 30 minutes of baking time - but frankly it took me that long to do the dishes so the husband sees it as a win-win lol).

Here is the recipe: (the basic recipe is below, I have cross out the parts I omitted and the items in italics are the add ons for the fragrant Mac and Cheese - so if you want to use the basic recipe skip the items it italics) (Basic recipe is from Alton Brown on the FoodNetwork.com website).

Fragrant Mac and Cheese

1/2 pound elbow macaroni (I used probably closer to 10 oz of shells)
4 cheddar filled sausages 3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powder mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove minced 1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin1/2 tsp smoked crushed coriander seed 1/2 tsp garam masala1/2 tsp turmeric 1 egg for some reason I always skip this step)
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded (I honestly used just a three cheese blend that I had on hand)
2-4 ounces of gruyere cheese (just happened to have part of a block left in the fridge)2 tbsp or large spoon full of goat cheese (again on hand)Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
3 tbsp butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs  

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spray the bottom of a oven safe cooking dish. Put the sausages in the dish and into the oven - I left them in until I was ready to add the cheese to my sauce or about how it takes for the sausages to start to split. Because I was using fully cooked I wasn't too concerned but I did want some nice brown bits on the sausages. 
3. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
4. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. (remember to use low heat for this I haven't before and I've ended up with Brown butter - great for other things not so great for mac and cheese).
5. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. I added the cumin, coriander, garam masala and turmeric here. After a few minutes I also added the onion and garlic to get it cooked really well for husband (and I really finely dice the onion - almost a mince).
6. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
7. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4  ALL of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish (NOTE it is REALLY important to spray the casserole dish before putting the mix into the dish or leave the cleaning up to your partner either way - just be prepared for complaints from the cleaning staff partner if you don't spray the dish ;) . Top with remaining cheese.
8. Melt the butter in a saute pan and add the bread crumbs to the pan and coat with the butter. (I always season my bread crumbs with salt and pepper, sometimes a little garlic salt - taste them as they are toasting in the pan to make sure they are tasty).  Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Homemade Gnocchi

So I have tried Gnocchi once before and stopped when I realized that it was going to be a failure. Why was it going to be a failure - I didn't have a ricer. I waited for weeks and months for one to come on sale and then waited until the right time to attempt it again. With everything I've seen and read Gnocchi in concept shouldn't be that difficult but it requires a lot of technique to get them right. I figured that this Ramsay recipe couldn't lead me wrong.

I was half right and half wrong. In the end the Gnocchi were light and fluffy like little pillows (SO much better than store bought gnocchi). However, I don't think I had the right consistency or texture to the dough when they were being formed. I say this because they were still sticky when they went into the boiling water. I think this comes from the nature of Gnocchi - a mixture of cooking and baking skills. What do I mean by that? Well the mix for Gnocchi requires some science and precision (like baking) but it is also about instinct and feel.

In the end I would probably find a different recipe ONLY because i want something a little more exact for the ingredient amounts. I didn't have large russets - I only had some small ones of difference sizes - so I made and estimation which makes it difficult and I was very concerned about using too much or too little flour.  I used the back of a fork to make the marks on the back of the gnocchi rather than making a dimple.  The end result was still really good and yummy! So all in all not a totally failure and a fairly good job but not a complete success!

The thing - making sure the Gnocchi are dry before frying them - really important.

Gnocchi

Homemade Gnocchi

Gnocchi
2 large russet potatoes
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg beaten
1 thyme spring, leaves only
Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

For the sauce
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup peas
Butter
1 thyme spring, leaves only
Zest of 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Bake the potatoes in their skins for 1 - 1 1/4 hours until tender all the way through. Remove the flesh from the skins (ideally while still warm) and mash until smooth - a potato ricer works best here. Mix in the ricotta, a pinch of seal salt and white pepper, and the flour. Make a well in the middle, add the beaten egg, and begin to combine the mixture with floured hands. Work in the thyme leaves and continue until a smooth dough has formed (be careful not to overwork it or the dough will end up too dense and won't expand when it goes into the water).
3. Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a long sugar shape about 1/2 inch thick. Using the back of the floured table knife, cut each length of dough into 3/4 inch pieces to make "pillows" or individual gnocchi. Gently press each one in the centre using your floured finger. The dent will hold more sauce and allow the gnocchi to take on more flavour. 
4. Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi, tilting the pan from side to side briefly to keep them from sticking together, then simmer for 1 1/2-2 minutes until they start to float. Drain the gnocchi and leave them to steam-dry for 1-2 minutes. 
5. Meanwhile, start to make the sauce. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. Add the gnocchi to the hot pan with a pinch of salt and black pepper and sauce for 1-2 minutes on each side until nicely coloured. 
6. Add the peas to the pan with a chuck of butter and the thyme leaves. Toss to heat through, then add the lemon zest. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Meatballs in Fragrant Coconut Broth

Monkey Mincing Onion - note the knife she is using?!

I love my daughter a lot! (I mean who doesn't love their kids) but I really mean more than love her because she is my daughter.  She has a truly amazing spirit and personalty sometimes I baffled where she gets it form.  I often refer to her as my eternal optimist - no matter the situation she always finds a way to try and look on the bright side or find the lesson. Beyond this she also loves to learn anything and everything she can. I mean she loved when she learned how to clean the cat litter (yes this was a great moment in our house!)

One of the things that she loves doing - and I would like to think in part because she knows I love it - is cooking and baking. Now I know when I was a kid I used to bake things with my mom sometimes or even in high school I took Home Economics and was taught - but she's 9 and she has been at this for years now.  She not only wants to measure the simple thing she wants to be involved in every aspect of cooking - including knife work. Granted she's 9 - almost 10 years old and sometimes lacks patience needed for consistency she has no fear of diving in.  She also prides herself on making her own lunches now (including cutting the fruits and veggies). She also has taken to one night a week where she gets to decide the menu and make it all (usually all from scratch if we can).

Do you see why I love this kid?

Sharpening, cutting and mixing

So when I set out to make the Meatballs of course a monkey was on board for helping out. The first issue were her knives - so I taught her how to hone her knives properly and then clean them. If you don't know how to do this LEARN - the first time I did it I could NOT believe the difference that properly honed/sharpened knife made in the kitchen.  Since that time (years ago) I make sure I do it often and will often secretly do it to other peoples knives if they aren't looking. It just makes life so much easier. From there the recipe was relatively easy and straight forward to follow. I didn't make any modifications to the recipe - however for next time I would. I would probably use half of the chile flakes in the meatballs themselves as I found them spicy and then up the amount in the broth. I also found that there was way more broth than meat so I would probably also increase the amount of meatballs that I used.

 Last tip I have is for the meatballs - now I have made many different kinds of balls in my life but have always had a problem with consistency. I was lucky enough to get a cookie scoop for my birthday - best invention ever for making meatballs - I got them a consistent size and it worked really well and was easy to clean.

A little note about lemon grass because some people haven't used it before - I cut off the bottom root part (think of green onions) and the peal off the outer layer of leaves.  Then I cut it down the centre length wise.  Then take the back side of a knife and beat the lemon grass up - you can also pick it up, flex it and move it to help release the oils. Then I cut into 2-3 inch pieces and put in the broth.  When I have done an infusion like this before I actually put the lemon grass, ginger and garlic in a cheese cloth so I could take it out.  Note - don't eat lemon grass - I mean you can but I would recommend against it.

Meatballs in Fragrant Coconut Broth

2 tsp coriander seeds

Finished Product

4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 tsp dried chile flakes, to taste
2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed, smashed and cut into small sticks
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups chick stock
One 14-ounce can coconut milk
Zest and juice of 1 lime

For the meatballs

1 small onion, peeled, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried chile flakes
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3-4 tbsp milk

Monkey mixing the meatball mixture

1. First prepare the meat balls. Sauce the onion and garlic with salt and pepper to taste in a hot oiled frying pan for about 5 minutes until soft and lightly coloured, adding the chile flakes after a minute or two. Place the beef in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Put the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl and moisten with the milk. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the breadcrumbs and onion mixture into the beef and combine well.  With wet hands, shape the beef mixture into class about the size of a golf ball. Transfer to a lightly greased plate or baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes until firm. 
2. Brown the meatballs in a cleaned oiled pan for 4-5 minutes turning frequently until nicely coloured on all sides. 
3. Add the coriander sees, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, chile flakes, lemongrass, and ginger. Heat through, stirring until aromatic, then add the stock and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Simmer for 8-12 minutes until the sauce is flavourful and thickened and the meatballs are cooked through.
4. Add the lime zest and juice and serve hot.