Happy New Year!!!

Hey Everyone,

I know I've been an absentee blogger lately, and I promise I will start the New Year with more regular blogging, as I've got lots of recipes, cookbooks, restaurants and classes to talk about.

For now, here's a photo of our wonderful New Years Eve feast last night. Mussels Congolese, recipe courtesy of one of our classes at The Dirty Apron. This was from the Ocean Potion class, and I will definitely blog about that experience in the New Year.

Wishing everyone a happy & healthy 2011!!

Reebs

Pumpkin Gnocchi

It seems like the theme these days is pumpkin, and I'm okwith that. This is the first time I'd ever roasted a pumpkin and made a puree for cooking with. I have a couple of cups of puree left in the freezer that I'm going to use for some ravioli or soup.

This recipe was from the October issue of Canadian Living. I grew up reading

Canadian Living and my mom bought me a subscription a few years ago, and keeps renewing it for me. One of the best gifts ever! I look forward to every issue, and cannot think of a recipe I've tried from the magazines or cookbooks that hasn't been successful. This was easy to make, and so good! The pumpkin puree can be used for all sorts of things.

I didn't realize that you don't use Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins, but rather sugar pumpkins to cook with. You could use squash in place of this as well.

Pumpkin Puree

Halve and seed pumpkin or squash (keep the seeds for roasting!). Prick skin all over with fork. Roast, cut side down, on rack on foil-lined baking sheet in 350 oven for about an hour, until flesh is browned and tender. Let cool then scoop into a food processor, puree. Refrigerate for up to 48 hours or freeze for up to 3 weeks.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

- 2 cups roasted pumpkin or squash puree

- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

- 3 cups (approx.) all-purpose flour

Sauce

- 1/3 cup butter

- 1/4 cup pine nuts

- 12 fresh sage leaves

To make Gnocchi: In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, cheese, egg, salt and nutmeg. Using wooden spoon, stir in 2 cups of flour. Stir in remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time to make a soft, sticky dough.

On well-floured surface with floured hands, roll dough into log; divide into quarters. Take each piece and gently roll and shape into 3/4 inch diameter rope. With sharp knife, cut each rope diagonally into 3/4 inch pieces.

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi in 2 batches, stirring gently until it floats to the top, about 3 minutes. Transfer to warm serving dish with slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook pine nuts until fragrant, and butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add sage leaves and cook until fragrant (less than a minute). Scrape over gnocchi and serve. Deelish!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Thanksgiving was coming up and I wanted to make a dessert that went well with the meal, but that was a bit different. A few years ago I made a Pumpkin Creme Brulee, and it was awesome! So I embarked on a Pumpkin Cheesecake. Now, I had never made a cheesecake before, so was definitely a little apprehensive. It didn't help that the night before we were hosting dinner I decided to make the cheesecake, started to get the ingredients out, and then couldn't find a spring form pan. I swore I had one, but apparently I didn't. So off on the hunt I went, to every grocery store, dollar store, and home store I could find in myneighborhood. I even went so far as to go into a diner and ask if they had one they could lend me. Inthe end I found one in a dollar store after having gone in twice already, I just had to check one last time! It worked out well, because Brent had done the dishes from my Cheesy Carrot Casserole Prep while I was out.

This dessert does take some time, but is definitely worth it, and a great end to any holiday dinner.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (from Best of Bridge)

Crust:

- 2 cups crushed ginger snaps

- 5 tbsp butter, melted

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 4 tbsp brown sugar

Filling:

- 4 - 8oz. pkgs cream cheese, softened

- 1 1/2 cup sugar

- 5 eggs

- 1/4 cup flour

- 1/2 tsp each ginger, cinnamon & freshly grated nutmeg (so much better than the powder)

- 14 oz can of pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling!)

- 2 tbsp maple syrup

CRUST: Combine ingredients. Lightly grease a 13" springform pan and line bottom with crumb mixture. Pat firm and chill.

FILLING: Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Beat softened cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly beat in sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour, spices, pumpkin and maple syrup. Pour batter over crust.

Bake for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until filling is set. Cool for an hour and refrigerate for several hours. Don't worry if the top cracks, apparently that's okay and it still tastes great.

Garnish with freshly whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

This was a huge hit, as was Stewart's apple pie. All in all, a great night for desserts!

Garlic Zoom

Okay, so I'd seen these things before and didn't really know what to expect. And then at the cooking shower this summer I was given one, and told by that it really does work. And I tell you, people aren't lying, these things are awesome. You seriously just put your garlic bulb in the little space and roll the Garlic Zoom across the counter (really you need to make car noises when you do this). It chops the garlic so nicely, plus it's fun!

Mushroom Chowder

Well, yesterday marked the official last day of summer, but you know what, I think I'm okay with that. I like the fall, wearing sweaters, drinking tea and cooking all of those great wintery comfort foods.

I had all these mushrooms in my fridge, in plastic, and no brown bags in site. Knowing that they wouldn't last, I decided to make a mushroom soup for dinner. I adapted this recipe to use what I had on hand, and it was great, that night, and for lunch for a couple of days too.

Mushroom Chowder (adapted from The Best of Bridge)

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 cup sliced onions

- 1/2 cup diced carrots

- 3 cups chopped mushrooms (I used portobello's, crimini and white mushrooms)

- 3 cups vegetable broth

- 2 cups light cream

- 1/2 cup diced potatoes

- 1/4 cup frozen corn niblets

- 1/2 apple, peeled & diced

- 2 bay leaves

- 3 tbsp red wine

- 2 tbsp chopped parsley

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it is surprisingly quick and easy to make, just prep all the ingredients before hand and it's a breeze.

In large saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil and saute garlic, onions, carrots and mushrooms for about 5-8 minutes, being careful not to brown.

Add broth and cream to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add potatoes, corn, apple, bay leaves, wine and parsley to soup. Simmer about 1/2 hour. Remove bay leaves, season and serve.

Slow Cooker Ribs

It was a rainy Labour Day here in Vancouver, and I was glad I didn't have anything to do. It was also the perfect day for a nice slow-cooked rib meal. I've made ribs lots of different ways, but one of my favourites is done in the slow-cooker with a quick barbecue sauce. This recipe is adapted from Canadian Living, and lives up to it's name 'Fall-off-the Bone Ribs'.

Slow Cooker Ribs

- 2 racks pork back ribs

- 2 tsp chili powder

- 1 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Sauce

- 2 cups ketchup

- 1/2 cup wine vinegar

- 2 tbsp granulated sugar

- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

- 1 tsp liquid smoke

Trim fat from ribs and cut into 2-3 rib portions. In small bowl stir together chili powder, cayenne and salt and pepper. I also added some seasoning I bought in Hawaii this time. Rub all over ribs. Place on pan and broil until browned, about 5 minutes each side. Transfer to slow cooker.

In bowl, whisk together all ingredients for sauce. Pour over ribs, scraping sauce from bowl. Stir to coat.

Cover and cook on low until tender, and falling off the bone, about 6 hours.

I usually use baby back ribs, but used spare ribs this time, and they were just as good!!!

Eggs Benedict

I'm a huge fan of Eggs Benny, and I used to eat it almost every weekend. I'm less indulgent now, and save it for special occasions. A brunch at the cottage with my dad was such an occasion. This was the last morning at the cottage before heading into the Soo to start the intensive wedding preparations, so we decided to embark on this adventure. Now, neither of us had ever attempted to make Eggs Benedict, much less even poach an egg. This resulted in numerous phone calls to my mom, and numerous eggs undercooked before we got it right. Dad was in charge of the eggs, and I did the Hollandaise Sauce. Together we made a great meal, although the kitchen was a huge mess!!! I think we ended up going through a dozen eggs by the end of.

Hollandaise Sauce (from Canadian Living)

- 4 egg yolks

- 1/4 cup water

- 1/4 tsp pepper

- 1/4 cup butter, softened

- 2 tsp lemon juice

In small heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, water and pepper; cook, whisking, over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until pale and thick enough to coat back of spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter and lemon juice.

I decided to use a double boiler, because I really didn't want to end up scrambling the eggs... it ended up taking a little bit longer, but it still worked.

Toast your english muffins. We used peameal bacon, so good, so cook that as well. Top english muffins with peameal, then poached eggs, then hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with fresh chives.

Poaching eggs: I'm not going to pretend I know how to do this. We were using an egg poacher, and we both decided afterwards that it's probably better to just poach them in water. I am still going to be figuring out how to poach eggs, and will let you know what I come up with.

It was a fantastic meal, but all in all, for the trouble and the mess, I think I'll save Eggs Benedict for restaurants, and keep pancakes for brunch!

Thanks for the great kitchen experience Dad!

Reebs