Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Hearty enough to be a main course in itself, use this recipe as a springboard to your own favourite creation!

1 lb of tri-colour rotini pasta, cooked to al dente.
1 lb artichoke hearts in brine
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large yellow onion
1 lb white button mushrooms
8 oz sun dried tomatoes in oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
8 oz Kalamata olives
8 oz grated Parmesan
8 oz Zesty Italian Dressing (home made, or store bought; regular or light)

Slice yellow onion in half and then into not too thin wedges. In a wok, heat 2 tbsp olive oil until just shimmering. Add minced garlic and cook until just fragrant (not allowing to brown too dark or it will taste burnt) about 30-40 seconds. Add onion and reduce heat to medium low, cooking until onion is translucent.

Drain sun dried tomatoes, reserving oil for other purposes. Add to onions and garlic, and add 1/2 cup water. Sauté for six to eight minutes.

Remove veggies from wok. Add remaining 2 tbsp olive oil to wok and heat until shimmering. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until cooked through and slightly browned. While this is happening, drain artichokes and discard brine. Rinse and roughly chop. Slice half the olives, retaining the other half whole.

Reserving some sauteed mushrooms for garnish, return reserved veggies, artichokes and olives to wok. Cook for 1-2 minutes further in order to allow flavours to meld.

Combine veggies with the pasta in a large bowl, adding Zesty Italian dressing and tossing to coat.

To serve, dish into individual serving bowls, top with sauteed mushroom garnish and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Buon appetito!

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Cranberry Wild Rice Soup (Lighter Version)

This recipe has been ‘lightened up’ slightly and is a wonderful soup that, while meat-free, is able to satisfy the carnivores in your life!

Cranberry Wild Rice Soup (Lighter Version)

3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, sliced no larger than 1/4″ pieces
1/2 cup onion, minced
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 cups organic vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup skim milk or fat free half and half
2 tbsp dry sherry
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in stock pot over medium heat; sauté the carrot, celery and onion, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender (about 8 minutes). Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually stir in the vegetable stock, whisking as you go to avoid lumps from forming. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir until soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cranberries. Reduce the heat to barely a simmer, cover, and stir occasionally, until the cranberries are plump and soft (about 15 minutes). Add remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally until heated through. Season to taste and ladle into bowls. Top with a teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese as a garnish. If desired, serve with toasted baguette rounds.

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Potage Aux Carottes with Balsamic Reduction

Continuing with the “French Connection,” Potage Aux Carottes is merely “Carrot Soup.” Thickened with rice instead of cream or flour, this is great served hot on a cold winter day, or served chilled on a hot summer day. An excellent way to get your veggies, and the balsamic reduction adds a sweet, yet savory tang that has to be tasted to be believed!

Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil
6 scallions, white part with a most of the green, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 cups peeled carrots, thinly sliced
2 tsp dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup brown rice
Sea salt

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add scallions and carrots and cook, stirring until carrots are softened, about 7 minutes. Add thyme, peppercorns and bay leaves and cook, stirring, for an additional minute. Transfer to pot. Add hot stock and stir well. Bring to simmer.

Stir in rice. Cover and cook for 35-40 minutes or until rice is to your liking and carrots are tender. Discard bay leaves.

In food processor or blender, puree soup in batches.* Season to taste with sea salt. Ladle into serving bowls drizzled with Balsamic Reduction swirls.

Balsamic Reduction:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dark molasses

To make balsamic reduction, combine the vinegar and molasses in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, and stir occasionally, until the amount is reduced by about half and the mixture is of a maple syrup consistency. This should take about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate to further thicken as it cools. When ready to serve your soup, drizzle each serving with a swirl of the balsamic reduction

* N.B. –  if you’ve never processed soup in a blender before, please for safety’s sake, cover the lid and spout with a kitchen towel before pulsing the blender on. Hot soup can be painful, and it will find a way out of the container!

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Beef Daube Provençal

Beef Daube Provençal is basically a fancy way of saying a rustic beef stew served over noodles. The above shot is shown served with the Gorgonzola Asparagus Slice (recipe here) – please see note at the bottom of the recipe. It’s one of the more complicated recipes I’ve chosen to share, but the flavours are indescribably yummy!

2 1/2 lbs beef chuck, sliced thin, then into cube sized pieces and patted dry with paper towels
2 to 2 1/2 lbs beef short ribs
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
1 750 mL bottle Shiraz, or any medium (not too sweet/not too dry) red wine
4 slices thick cut pepper bacon
Kosher salt
2 tbsp tomato paste

The day before:
In large bowl with a tight fitting lid, combine all ingredients except bacon, salt, and tomato paste. Toss to combine, then cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.

The day of:

Drain, reserving vegetables, meat and liquid separately.

Preheat oven to 300F.

In medium skillet, cook pepper bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain thoroughly, crumble and reserve. Remove all but 2 tbsp of fat in the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Remove whole cloves from reserved vegetables, discard, and add vegetables to pan and cook, stirring until softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a 5 quart baking dish. Increase heat to medium-high and brown meat in batches on both sides, about 5 minutes per batch.

As each batch is completed, transfer meat to the baking dish. Sprinkle bacon crumbles and salt over each layer as completed. Once you’ve finished with the meat, add tomato paste and reserved liquid to skillet and heat, just to the boiling point, scraping to release any fond (fond is French for “base” and commonly refers to the browned bits and caramelized drippings of meat and vegetables that are stuck to the bottom of a pan after sautéing or roasting) which have adhered to the pan. Pour over the contents of the baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until tender.

Remove bay leaves and discard. Serve over hot noodles.

Serves 8, quite generously.

N.B.: The photograph shows it with the Gorgonzola Asparagus Bake, which is a meal in its own right. If you choose to serve these two together, it can easily serve 12-16 individuals, with some leftovers remaining!

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The “Nutty Nikolai” Cocktail

A variation on a White Russian cocktail, I came up with this last night…and dang it was good! Sorry for the lack of photograph, however.

The Nutty Nikolai Cocktail

1.5 oz of Hazelnut Liquor (such as Frangelico®)
1.5 oz of Coffee Liquor (such as Kahlúa®)
1.5 oz of Vodka
6 oz of milk

Combine all ingredients with 1 cup of crushed ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake to thoroughly combine. Pour into a double old fashioned glass and enjoy!

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Custard Pie

You can use a store-bought pie shell for this, or you can create your own. Either way, it’s a wonderful finish to any meal!

Filling:
3 large eggs
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon if desired)

1 9″ pie shell (deep dish)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter one side of a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover the inside of the pie shell, pressing into place. Weigh the foil down with pie weights or enough dried beans/legumes to cover the bottom of the pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, removing foil and whatever was used to weigh it down. (Please note, if you used dried beans or legumes, save them for the next time you wish to “blind bake” a pie crust. They won’t be edible after being used as pie weights.)

In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients, trying not to froth the mixture.
Pour custard mixture into pie crust. Sprinkle with nutmeg (and cinnamon if using).

Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Serves 8.

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