White Tomatoes

This weekend marked the return of the West End Farmer's Market in Vancouver. This year we had looked into joining a CSA (a Community Supported Agriculture program), which basically boils down to receiving a box of produce every week from a local farm throughout the summer. You pay up front and you don't know what you are going to get week to week. I liked the idea of being challenged with a box of produce every week, and having the opportunity to create new and exciting dishes out of what came my way. However, after examining the program, it wasn't the best fit for us, partially because we don't have a car to pick it up, and also because we will be away for several different weekends over the course of the summer. That being said, I promised myself that instead, we would shop more often at the Farmer's Markets, and I would start taking chances on produce that I had never cooked with before. So here I am in the Farmer's Market at a tomato stall, and there are all these different varieties of Heirloom tomatoes. I love tomatoes, but I have to admit I've never really ventured past cherry, grape, roma and beefsteak tomatoes. So there were these white tomatoes and it said they were low in acid, and good for pasta sauce. The result was surprisingly refreshing.


Pasta with White Tomato and Sausage
- 2 Italian Sausages, cooked and sliced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 medium white Heirloom Tomatoes
- 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 -3 tsp capers
- salt and pepper

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic, saute for five minutes or until onion is softened. Chop tomatoes and add to skillet along with juices. Add salt and pepper, simmer on low for about 15 minutes. While sauce is simmering boil water for pasta, and throw together a salad.

While pasta cooks (I used broad egg noodles), add sausage to sauce and heat through. Drain pasta, add lemon juice and capers to sauce. Toss with pasta.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I've never been a really huge fan of Chicken Cordon Bleu, probably because the only time I've had it has been of the frozen variety, and most likely cooked in the microwave. However, Brent had been getting after me to make Chicken Cordon Bleu for awhile now. So I finally caved and decided to try my hand at it. I didn't think I'd be satisfied with a simple chicken with ham and swiss cheese, so I looked around on a few sites and settled on adapting a recipe of Tyler Florence's from Food Network's website. The combination of prosciutto and Gruyere cheese, as well as a herbed bread crumb crust really takes this recipe up a notch.

Chicken Cordon Blue
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 8 thing slices of prosciutto
- 1/2 cup Gruyere, grated
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 cup regular or panko bread crumbs
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs, beaten

Lay the chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper. Pound to 1/4 inch thickness with a meat mallet. Remove top sheet of wrap. Lay 2 slices of prosciutto on chicken, sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the prosciutto. Tuck in the sides of the chicken and roll up tightly. Seal both ends tight to form a nice log (this part takes some practice and is hard to explain).

Season the flour with salt and pepper. Mix the bread crumbs with the thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and melted butter.

Dust the chicken with the flour, dip in the egg, and coat in bread crumbs. Place on rack on baking pan. Bake for 20 - 25 mimnutes until browned and cooked through. I served it with sauteed Swiss Chard and a Cauliflower Bake.


These were awesome the next day too, and I will definitely make them again.

San Francisco Delights

Hello internet followers. I have been m.i.a. because I have been doing a bit of traveling. Nothing too extravagant, Tucson, Arizona for a family wedding, and then this past weekend Brent and I spent four days in San Francisco. And that, my friends, is what this post is all about.

San Francisco was an amazing city, and I would definitely recommend it to everyone who is looking for somewhere to visit. You've got history, landscape, shopping, people watching, and food, oh the food. Unfortunately I didn't end up taking as many pictures of my meals as I had planned, because frankly when the food comes to your table, sometimes you just want to eat it. That being said, I thought I would mention a few places that were fantastic.

Midi
This restaurant was located in our hotel, and our first night we arrived and checked in around 7:30, so decided to check it out. What a treat. We started with a couple of drinks and the artisan cheese platter. Everything went really well together, and the presentation was great. For dinner Brent had the grilled hanger steak and I had the braised spring lamb. Both meals were fabulous. Funny note, the waiter asked Brent if he wanted fries with his steak, even though that's not how it was served, the waiter was just concerned because 'there's no starch with your entree'. We both found that kind of funny. We finished up the meal with some dessert, unfortunately I can't remember what it was, but it was also great.

Pier Market
This restaurant is located in Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf, one of the biggest touristy spots in San Francisco. However, following our trip to Alcatraz we decided to check out this tourist area, and all I wanted was some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Touting that their New England Clam Chowder was voted best in Fisherman's Wharf, I decided to check it out myself. Let's just say, it was so good that I was digging into the bowl at the end, and even returned the next day for another cup of chowder.

Catch
This seafood restaurant was recommended by a friend and colleague who also happens to be a bit of a foodie (having previously been a restaurateur). I was anxious to see if it would meet my expectations. And meet my expectations it did. We started the night off the best possible way, with some beer and fresh oysters on the half shell. Next we had the grilled artichokes with lemon pepper aioli. These were so good that I will definitely be trying to imitate them this summer on the grill. For our mains Brent opted for the classic Fish and Chips, and I chose the seafood grill, which was three types of fish grilled, Mahi mahi, salmon and another whitefish. All of the food was great, although the portion was a little bit large, but we did have two appetizers. The service was great, and we finished again with a dessert, I believe it was creme brulee. Interesting tid bit about this restaurant, it is the same building where Harvey Milk had his Castro Camera shop in 1978.

Sears Fine Foods
The first few days we were in San Francisco I saw this restaurant and didn't really think anything of it, probably being from Canada and associating Sears with the department store, I was picturing the restaurant inside Zellers or something. However, when reading different books in our hotel room looking for places to eat, this one kept coming up as a San Francisco Tradition. So, on our last day as we were looking for somewhere we could get breakfast at noon on a Monday, we came across the signs. Now I don't know about you, but it seems as though they really want you to know they are there.

Once inside I felt like we were transported to a diner from years gone by. We both had to try the World Famous Little Pancakes, and believe me they were awesome!

I can't wait to get back to San Francisco sometime and try out the many restaurants I missed. It was a great vacation, and such a quick flight from Vancouver. Don't forget to bring back some of the Ghirardelli chocolates for your friends!

Chicken Enchiladas

These enchiladas are great to make if you have leftover chicken or turkey. Or you can just cook up some chicken for them, as I did tonight. For the chicken I trimmed three chicken breast halves and placed on parchment lined baking sheet. I rubbed them lightly with olive oil, then sprinkled with salt, pepper and chili powder, and baked in 350 oven for about 25 minutes, until no longer pink inside.

Chicken Enchiladas (adapted from a Canadian Living recipe)
- 3-4 cups cooked chicken, cut up
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4-6 mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups each shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 cups salsa (or one full jar)
- 8 large tortillas

In pan over medium heat, saute onion, garlic and mushrooms in one tbsp vegetable oil until no moisture remains, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken, beans, 1 cup each of both cheeses and sour cream.

Lay one tortilla on work surface. Spoon about 3/4 cup of filling into center. Fold tortilla over filling, on each side and then roll up. Place seam side down in greased 13x9 inch glass pan.



Continue with remaining tortilla's. Pour salsa over entire dish. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake in 350 oven for 35 minutes or until piping hot. Uncover and sprinkle remaining cheeses on top, bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before digging in.

Enjoy!

Scalloped Potatoes

I know everyone claims to have a recipe for the best scalloped potatoes ever. Believe me, I've made a lot of different recipes. One of my favourites includes a layer of sauteed cabbage and bacon. However, I truly believe the recipe I made for Easter this past weekend trumps them all. I should have made a double batch, they were that good. Oh, and I even got an email from a party guest the next day who wrote, and I quote "I am still dreaming about those potatoes". So although I don't have a photograph of the completed dish (it disappeared way too fast), here is the recipe for what I am calling The Absolute by Far Best Scalloped Potatoes EVAH.

The Absolute by Far Best Scalloped Potatoes EVAH
- 1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 1/2 lbs yams or sweet potatoes
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp each, minced fresh parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (sing it like Simon and Garfunkel)
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 1/4 cups grated Gruyere cheese (I might have used more)

Fill large bowl with cold water. Peel potatoes, slice into 1/8 inch thick rounds and place in bowl with water. I've used a food processor in the past for this, which works, but this time I did it by hand.

Combine cream, butter, and garlic in medium saucepan; bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Mix all herbs in small bowl, and salt and pepper in separate small bowl.


Butter a large glass baking dish. Drain potatoes, then pat dry with kitchen towels. Transfer half of potatoes to baking dish, using hands to distribute evenly. Sprinkle with half of s&p mixture then half of herb mixture.

Sprinkle with half of cheese. Repeat with remaining potatoes, s&p, herbs and cheese. Pour cream mixture over gratin, pressing lightly to submerge potato mixture.


Cover tightly with foil. Bake in 400F oven 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until top is golden, and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes.

I baked mine the day before and then reheated in the oven while the ham was resting. Soooo good!!!!

Pasta with Sausage and Asparagus Sauce

I love cooking with sausage, and particularly because I have access to some of the best sausage around. Oyama Sausage make small batches of fresh sausages every week. Anytime that I am at Granville Island I make sure to pick up a few different ones for the freezer. Their lamb sausages are to die for!!! For this recipe I used a couple of spicy Italian sausages.

Pasta with Sausage and Asparagus
~ 1-2 tbsp olive oil
~ 2 medium sized shallots
~ 3-4 garlic cloves
~ 2 sausages
~ 5 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
~ 5 spears asparagus
~ pasta

Saute chopped shallots and minced garlic in olive oil 1-2 minutes. Remove sausage meat from casings. Add to pan, breaking up with spoon as it cooks, about 8-10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, salt & pepper and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil water and cook pasta according to directions. When pasta is almost done, add asparagus to sauce.

Toss pasta with sauce. Serve topped with parmesan cheese. Bon appetit!

Frozen Food

So I admit, I love having frozen food on hand for days when you want something and you don't want to make a mess or do a lot of dishes. Now that being said, I also like making my own frozen food, and once you start, it's addictive. I was over at a friends place a few weeks ago, and went to put some ice cream in the freezer and noticed she had a ton of homemade frozen dinners. When she told me that she tries to make a big batch of something every weekend, it got me to thinking and remembering how awesome it is to have stuff on hand, especially if you're working late, or you've got to get to dodgeball or something. Tonight I was making meatloaf with mashed potatoes (recipe to come) and decided to make hamburgers and freeze them with some of the beef. Now I have a few more meals ready to go!

So, in the spirit of frozen food, I present one of my favourite frozen foods...french fries! I wish I had a picture of the finished product, but you always end up eating them and forgetting to take the picture!

Frozen French Fries
These can also be prepared and cooked immediately, although I find they bake better from frozen. Make sure to keep your eye on them as they bake!

~ potatoes of any kind, scrubbed
~ olive oil
~ salt

Slice the potatoes lengthwise, and then slice again, making matchsticks. In a pot of boiling water, immerse potatoes, stirring until tender but not cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, take potatoes out and lay in single layer on paper towels, pat to dry. [At this point you can move to the cooking stage if you are not freezing the fries.]


Freeze fries in a single layer on parchment lined cookie sheets. Once frozen store in freezer bags, cook within a month.


To Cook
Toss fries with a couple of tablespoons of oil, and some salt. Place in single layer on baking sheets. Bake in 450 oven for 35-40 minutes, flipping half way through. Make sure to watch them!!!