December 23rd: Hashbrown Casserole

This is just like last year. We have a crazy Christmas Eve eve party, for which I make a tonne of food, but in the midst of partying, I don't have time/don't think to take pictures of the food. Coincidentally, I don't have any pictures from the party at all, as I think my camera may finally have bitten the dust. So I have no visual aids to accompany this recipe for Hashbrown Casserole. This is an old favourite around the Sellers household, especially at Christmastime. It's also best to make it when serving a crowd, because it's not the healthiest, but it is the tastiest, and if you don't have to share, you are likely to overeat. Here it is:

Hashbrown Casserole

500 mL (large tub) sour cream

2 cans cream of chicken soup*

½ cup salted butter, melted and slightly cooled

2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, preferably old

1 kg (2 lbs) frozen hashbrowns

Several green onions, sliced (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, soup, butter and cheese. Stir in hashbrowns. Spread into a large casserole dish (13 x 9 inch). Bake for 1 ½ hours until golden and hot.

Optional: green onions can also be stirred into the mixture, or sprinkled on top, before or after cooking.

Serves 8-10.

*Can sub cream of mushroom or cream of broccoli for a vegetarian version. Tastes better with cream of chicken.

December 21st: Dijon chicken and Dijon Brussels Sprouts

I was hoping to have more than one fabulous Brussels sprouts recipe to share this month, and luckily, tonight's meal makes it two. I re-tried one earlier this month from epicurious: Chicken, Brussels sprouts and cranberries, but even varying the recipe a bit from the first time I made it, it is not a keeper. Tonight's meal though: oooohhhh, success! Conversation between me and Olivia as we ate:


O: "I could drink this sauce."
K: "Because it's so yummy?"
O: "Yeah."
K: "I agree."


From smitten kitchen: Dijon chicken and Dijon Brussels Sprouts. Essentially the same sauce for both your chicken and your sprouts. I didn't make anything else to go with supper, so it's a good thing Greg wasn't here, because I ate part of his portion too. I could not stop; it was just too delicious.

The only thing I would change is cooking the Brussels sprouts for just a bit shorter than the recipe indicates, unless you like 'em mushy. I don't.


I would have made more, but I also had to make blondies for my work Christmas potluck tomorrow and two pans of hashbrown casserole (recipe to follow in a few days) for our Christmas Eve eve party. A girl can only do so much. And I was single parenting tonight. Plus all my other nightly requirements. Egad. Maybe I'll sleep in Nova Scotia. Can't come soon enough. O agrees!

December 19th: Jenn's Bits & Bites and Spiced Sugar Cookies

Christmas Eve eve party crunch is on. Every night this week is devoted to food prep for the party. Monday night, after a too-long bus ride home, I set to work to get recipes underway before I scooted off to a much-needed pre-natal yoga class to keep me sane. Also, sometimes I nap during the relaxation part of class. I really, really hope I don’t snore. I also do this on my too-long bus rides. One must sleep wherever one can manage the time. Even sometimes when one is supposed to be mindfully meditating.

I asked my friend Jenn for her Bits & Bites recipe after she posted to facebook how great her house was smelling as she was making them. These are “Grandma Welling’s Bits & Bites,” but I do not know who Grandma Welling is, so I’m calling it “Jenn’s Bits & Bites.” This recipe makes a ridiculous amount of bits and bites. Seriously. Do not make the full recipe unless you are having a party. Thank goodness I am. Here’s the recipe, followed by my many comments:

Jenn’s Nuts and Bolts

1 lb unsalted butter
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 box unsalted pretzel sticks or circular
1 box Shreddies
1 box Cheerios
1 lb or more almonds
1 lb or more unsalted peanuts or mixed nuts

3 tsp summer savory
3 tsp celery salt
3 tsp onion salt
3 tsp garlic salt

Melt butter, add Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce.

Mix pretzels, cereals and nuts in roaster. Pour spiced butter over. Stir.

In small bowl, blend dry spices. Sprinkle over buttered cereals. Stir.

Bake uncovered at 200 degrees for 2 hrs. Stir occasionally.

Store in jars when cool.

So here’s my beef: I hate when recipes say “1 box” or “1 bag” of an item, when that item comes in many different-sized boxes or bags. I ended up going with 550 g Shreddies, 400 g Cheerios and 400 g pretzel sticks – which, by the way, do not come in unsalted variations, to my knowledge. I assumed if the recipe calls for 1 lb of butter, it must need a fair amount of dry goods to coat. I did not realize that once I opened all those boxes and bags and tried to dump the contents together, that I wouldn’t actually be able to dump them all together because OH MY GOD this recipe makes A LOT!!!! Way more than any pan or bowl I own can hold. Second beef: recipes that don’t tell you how much they make. When I read “mix in roaster,” I was thinking a roasting pan, and no problem, I have lots of those. No, no, it can only mean a turkey roaster, like for a huge family Christmas turkey dinner. This, I do not have. After much stress and debate and texting our neighbours to potentially borrow their turkey roaster, I ended up splitting the recipe between my now-seemingly-miniature chicken roasting pan, and my previously-considered-huge stock pot. Then, last minute, I decided to spice up one of the pots. 1 tsp of Tabasco to 1 lb of butter seemed a little pointless, so while the first pan had ½ tsp Tabasco in it, the second had ½ tsp plus 1 tbsp Tabasco, and ended up with a pleasant spiciness. (I melted some extra butter and added the Tabasco to that, then drizzled it over the second pot, so the spicy variety is also a bit more buttery.) Then I left the pots for Greg to tend and I went and stretched and tuned into in utero baby and slept when I should have meditated.

Yup, that's half.

The thing is, the recipe is quite tasty, and for all the stress it caused me in my tired and hungry state, I would make it again, but maybe only half the recipe next time!

Sunday night I had mixed up some dough for Spiced Sugar Cookies, and once home from yoga, I got to rolling and cutting and baking, which is an exercise in patience for sure. A baker, I am not. Poor O was hoping to help me with these cookies, but I worked on them both nights after she was in bed. There are simply not enough hours in the day. I made these sugar cookies last year, but this year I tried the spiced variety. Have a mentioned my love for cardamom in the past? Sometimes, if I am feeling a need to relax, I will take the jar of cardamom out of the cupboard, remove the lid, and lightly inhale the scent. I. Simply. Love. It. [I have mentioned this. I'll try not to again.] These are basic sugar cookies, with cardamom and cinnamon added. A bit more flavour, a bit darker in colour, but with the same dry, crunchy, deliciously simple sugar cookie base. Yummy.

Sleep? Not nearly enough. Ever.

December 12th: Quinoa-Bean Soup & Shortbread

This time of year, it can be nice to have something quick, light, and healthy. I made this recipe almost by accident. G & I went to Montreal the first weekend of December, and I brought along all the recipes I'd pulled out of magazines and printed off the internet that wanted to make this month, then spent time on the weekend organizing my meal plan for the month of December. The Quinoa-Bean soup came from October 2011's Chatelaine, and was actually on the back of another recipe I wanted to make, which I realized after I'd scheduled the soup for today. I didn't expect to like it much, but decided to make it, for the reasons above: it sounded fast and easy, and would be healthy. Turns out it's also quite yummy, and vegan to boot. Yay, surprise!

Another quick an easy for a Monday night comes from November 2005's Chatelaine: Shortbread. I haven't made any other shortbread recipes, so can't compare, but this one seems foolproof to me and is tasty delicious.

I burnt my fingers eating a piece as soon as the pan was out of the oven.

December 8th: Veggie, tofu & peanut sauce noodles

This recipe is super similar to an old favourite, pork and broccoli over noodles in peanut sauce, but this version replaces the pork with tofu and the chicken broth with water and voilà, vegetarian version! The recipe I made on Thursday night came from December 2011's Chatelaine: Crispy tofu with peanut sauce. I cooked some pasta for the side and it looked like this:

But I'm going to alter the recipe, and suggest if you make it like this, you will like it better:


Veggie, Tofu & Peanut Sauce Noodles


200 g spaghettini
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 350-g package extra-firm tofu, patted dry and chopped
1 small onion, sliced
1 sweet pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets, with stems peeled and chopped
1 227-g package sugar snap peas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp hot chili-garlic sauce
1/4 tsp salt
2 green onions, sliced (optional)


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook spaghettini according to package directions. Drain.


Meanwhile, heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high. Add tofu, onion and pepper and cook until tofu is golden and vegetables are tender-crisp, about 4 minutes. Add broccoli and peas and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat, and add drained spaghettini to pan.


Whisk peanut butter with 2/3 cup hot water, hoisin, chili-garlic sauce, and salt. Pour sauce over pan and stir until entire mixture is well coated in sauce. Serve topped with green onions, if desired.


Serves 4.

December 7th: Golden Potato Casserole and Creamy Brussels Sprouts and Snap Peas

Wednesday night and it was time to buy and decorate our Christmas tree. Greg and Olivia did the decorating while I whipped up a fabulous meal.

First up: Golden Potato Casserole, an old favourite from December 2003's Chatelaine. For those of you who received a compilation of my favourite recipes for Christmas in 2003, this is in it. For the rest of you, I've included it below:


Golden Potato Casserole


6 large Yukon Gold potatoes
3 garlic cloves, peeled
6 green onions
2 cups (500 mL) sour cream (depending on size of potatoes, may not need full amount)
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) grated old Cheddar cheese, divided
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp (5 mL) paprika


Peel potatoes, then slice in half. Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan. Cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Boil gently, partially covered, until fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter.


Meanwhile, thinly slice green onions. Drain water from cooked potatoes and garlic. Return potatoes and garlic to pan. Mash, leaving lumps. Stir in green onions, sour cream, 1 cup cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Turn into prepared dish. Smooth top. Cover with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and sprinkle evenly with paprika. Bake, uncovered, in centre of preheated oven until cheese is melted and potatoes are hot, 30-40 minutes.


Makes 10 servings.


Although we've had this recipe around for years, I don't make it often. I’m thinking I need to do a cook off between this potato recipe and Cheddar Mashed Potatoes; I suspect the latter might win. Today’s recipe is really good, but super rich (a whole tub of sour cream may be too much!) and slightly on the salty side - so I've reduced the salt in the recipe above. It was well received by the fam.

To accompany, I made Creamy Brussels Sprouts and Snap Peas from December 2011's Chatelaine. One of my favourite things about December – and there are so many! – is that Brussels sprouts recipes abound. Everywhere you look, people are suggesting ways to eat one of my favourite vegetables. I can remember, even as a kid, loving Brussels sprouts (Mom, is this a figment of my imagination? I’m sure I did.). My kid definitely has my gene. Bypassing all the melted cheese-mashed potatoes on her plate, what she liked best were the Brussels sprouts. I’m so proud. Even though she commented on the sauce being spicy, she still ate them all and asked for more. She wouldn’t eat the sugar snap peas, which is ridiculous, because she loves them, but oh well.

This recipe is almost identical to an earlier one I like to make for Thanksgiving, but this one has a spicy kick to it and doubles the veggies with the inclusion of sugar snap peas. I made the full sauce recipe for only half the vegetables, so I’m not sure what it would be like if I cooked it according to the recipe proper, as we like our food super saucy. We used the extra sauce as gravy on our potatoes. I subbed 10% cream for the 35%, and will be doing that from now on. Rich enough. Oh yum. Other than the chicken broth in the Brussels sprouts sauce, this meal was vegetarian, but so rich and filling; it was completely satisfying.

And yes, not to fear, I plan to try out some more Brussels sprouts recipes as the month progresses; should I find something fantastic, I will be sure to share!

Olivia puts the crowning touch on the tree!

December 4th: Mushroom Alfredo

Who knew Alfredo sauce is so simple? It’s just butter and cream heated together. Seriously. Why do they sell jars of this stuff? I found this basic recipe on epicurious: Fettuccine Alfredo, and made my own riff on it:

Mushroom Alfredo

350 g fresh fettuccine

1 tbsp each unsalted butter and olive oil

1 lb assorted mushrooms, sliced

2-4 garlic cloves (to taste), finely chopped

¾ cup half and half (10%) cream

6 tbsps unsalted butter

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fettuccine according to package directions, approximately 5 minutes. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain pasta.

Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add cream and butter and heat through, simmering gently. Stir in ¼ cup reserved cooking water, cooked pasta, and Parmesan cheese. Thin with more water if necessary.

Serve and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

 

 

Greg thought this was good enough to sell (as in, in a restaurant). Booyah.

November 30th: Asian chicken stir-fry

I'm not a big stir-fry fan. They are quick and convenient but I almost always toss any stir-fry recipe I try. Tonight's was a pleasant surprise, in that case, as it was better than expected. I might try it again, and if I do, I think I'll double the sauce for extra yumminess. From October 2011's Chatelaine: Basil chicken with mixed Asian vegetables. I used fresh veggies, not frozen. I recommend chopping the basil small.

Melting crayons

This is not a food post! Please don't eat these. It was a project for me and Olivia that turned out so beautifully, I simply had to share.

Last year, with my December Chatelaine, I received a tiny silicone mold with four Christmas-shaped molds in it. We've mostly used it for ice cubes since then; O is a fan.

This year for Christmas, although she doesn't know it yet, O is receiving a refill on her art supplies: new crayons, pencil crayons, markers and chalk. This is partly because she has been using these up like a mad-child with her passion for colouring, but also because I packed up the best and took them with us to Nova Scotia in October, and then left the pencil case behind at Stayner's Wharf Pub & Grill, where I do not recommend the Chicken & Shrimp Hot Pot. Her remaining markers run dry all the time. The remaining pencil crayons are increasingly shorter. The crayons are peeled and broken. The chalk - we still have lots of chalk - is also all broken. A refill is necessary.

I decided to try melting crayons, something I've always heard could be done, and the Christmas-shaped mini molds seemed like the perfect vessel for cooking them down. I had just used the molds on the weekend to make mini chocolate orange muffins, but they didn't pop out well so the shapes weren't decipherable. The crayons, on the other hand, worked perfectly:

I used single colours in the molds, but found some recipes online that call for mixing various colours together (such as). My oven runs cool, so I had to bake the pan for about 10 minutes at 350°F - you may require less time or a cooler temperature - for the crayons to melt. Then I just removed them from the oven and let them cool and harden on the stovetop. They popped from the mold easily (not sure how this would work in a rigid mold).

Even though I used teeny tiny molds, it took a suprising number of crayon chunks to make these. Since I was using a flexible mold, I put it on a flat baking sheet to keep it level when the crayons are all melty. In future, I would put tin foil or parchment paper under the mold to keep the baking sheet clean when the crayons inevitably run.

We're saving these crayons for colouring fun at our upcoming Christmas Eve eve party.

November 27th: mini chocolate orange muffins

Did you receive your 2012 Milk Calendar? I certainly got mine! I also got a jumpstart on the 2012 recipes, with O at my side, making mini chocolate orange muffins. They were pretty tasty. 48 mini muffins!

I also put the November 2011 recipe to the test: roast pork tenderloin and mushroom dinner. This is kind of like pork and mushroom soup, but on the healthier side. We didn't love this one. The white potatoes didn't cook through, even with much longer in the oven. If I were to do it again, I would drop the sweet potatoes, double and dice the white potatoes, and double the mushrooms. That might be worth a re-try. The pork was tender and delicious.

  

November 24th: chicken pot pie and chocolate toffee walnut cookies

Two to-die-for recipes!


For supper, from the keeper book: Chicken Pot Pie. I pulled this recipe out of the Ottawa Citizen a few years ago; it is from a local restaurant. Take a cheap cut of chicken, poach it, use that broth to cook the veggies, use the same broth to make a white sauce, mix it all up in a pie pan and top with - my favourite - puff pastry. Bake, relax, and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. I think even your picky eaters will like this one. My kid loooooves it. As does my husband. And moi.


Chicken Pot Pie


1 1/2 lbs (675 g) chicken pieces with skin and bones
1 tsp (5 mL) salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter
4 tbsp (65 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 mL) 35% cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1/2 397-g pkg frozen puff pastry, defrosted


Place chicken pieces in a medium saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim and add 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes.


Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Strain chicken, reserving the broth. Measure the broth and add water, if necessary, to equal 1 1/2 cups (375 mL). Place the liquid in the saucepan, add vegetables and simmer, partially covered, until just tender. Strain, reserving the stock.


While vegetables are cooking, debone and skin the chicken. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Combine meat with cooked vegetables in a 9" (23 cm) pie plate or individual oven-proof dishes.


Melt butter gently in saucepan. Gradually stir in flour, blending well. Cook over medium heat 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add cream and cook until mixture is smooth and thick. Add salt, pepper to taste, lemon juice and reserved stock. Blend well and pour sauce over the chicken mixture.


Roll out defrosted puff pastry to 1/4" (6 mm) thickness, then lay pastry over pie(s) and press to the dish(es). Cut a slit in the centre to allow steam to escape. Bake until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes (less for small pies).


Serves 4.

I enjoy this photo because it appears I just piled the food on the glass stovetop.

For my Christmas cookie exchange - finally, a winner! - from epicurious: Chocolate Toffee Walnut Cookies. These are ridiculously awesome. The recipe suggests making 1/4 cup-sized cookies, which I think is over-indulgence (though probably an edible size!) so I made generous tablespoonful-sized cookies, which are plenty big and chewy and decadent enough. I used chocolate chips where it called for chopped chocolate, and Scor bars where it called for Heath. I managed to make 4 dozen cookies with one recipe, and note that the recipe only calls for 1/2 cup of flour. These are chocolate heaven. I will definitely be making these again.

November 18th: chocolate-stuffed chocolate chip peanut butter cookies and pork chops with Swiss chard and cranberries

I chalk it up to a bad case of baby brain. I set out to make my second batch of Christmas cookie exchange cookies, and the whole thing was a disaster. I'm still scratching my head as to why. It was Sunday afternoon. I had had a nap, so was well rested. Greg and Olivia were out, so the house was quiet. I scrubbed the kitchen top to bottom, so the setting was clean. In other words, there were no distractions and no excuses!


I set out to make an epicurious recipe: Chocolate-stuffed chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. Two chocolate chip cookies sandwiched together with a chocolate layer. Fancy, yes, but not over-the-top. I decided to replace the milk chocolate with darker chocolate for a richer and less cloying taste. And so I proceed:


I mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and set it aside. I mix the wet ingredients in a second bowl and set it aside. I turn on the oven and prepare my pans. I then begin scooping batter onto my pan. I'm a little concerned, as the batter is much runnier than a cookie batter usually is. Enough runnier that I decide to take a picture:

I set the first pan in the hot oven. I am thinking, maybe the batter is runny because they are going to be sandwich cookies, and they need to be flatter. At this point, I realize I've forgotten to stir in the chocolate chips. Okay, no problem; the cookies in the oven will be the bottoms and I'll add the chocolate chips to the remaining batter and they will be the tops. I decide to halve the number of chipits. Then I scoop out the second pan.


All this takes place within three minutes, after which time I am ready to prepare my chocolate filling, reach for the bowl and - oh - see that I have a full bowl of dry ingredients I forgot to mix into the wet! So that's why the batter was runny! I hastily grab the pan out of the oven and without even thinking, pour the batter (it is warm and runny and pours no problem) back into the bowl, whereupon it promptly sets the chocolate chips to melting. I do the same with the second prepared pan of batter, then dump in the dry ingredients and stir the whole mess together.


At this point, I think, a break to re-group is required. I leave the kitchen for an hour.


To sum up, I later re-scooped and baked the cookies, forgetting to set my oven properly, and ended up burning the first pan. Thus, I have half-melted-half-the-amount-called-for-chocolate-chips, improperly stirred in flour, half burnt, stuffed cookies, looking thusly:

Taste-wise, they were not awful. We ate the burnt-est of the burnt and I froze the rest - not enough in the end for my cookie exchange in any case. Maybe we'll bring them out for our Christmas party.


I'd like to say supper went better. I was cooking an old fave, also from epicurious: Pork chops with Swiss chard and cranberries. It's a slightly complicated recipe, so again, it seemed like this would be a good day to tackle it, what with having the house to myself and being all clean (the house) and relaxed (me, although slightly frazzled based on the cookie incident). I didn't go terribly wrong with this recipe, but did get a little overwhelmed at one point when I had all four burners on the stove on, plus the oven. But look how beautifully supper turned out:

It was delicious, too.

November 14th: hazelnut butter chocolate chip cookies and stuffed mushrooms

As you've likely noticed the lack of posting this month, I must explain that I've been almost exclusively cooking recipes I've already featured on this blog. It's been a month of good eating.


With my Christmas cookie exchange coming up, I had originally planned to make the same cookies I made last year - sugar cookies and Pfeffernüsse - but then I came across a few recipes on epicurious that sounded yummy, so chose three to try out. I made the first one today: Hazelnut butter chocolate chip cookies. I'm not sure the cookies are worth the $12 jar of hazelnut butter; peanut butter probably would have worked just fine. I also don't think they are as good as these peanut butter cookies. I may use the other half of the jar of hazelnut butter and follow the peanut butter recipe to see what I think. They weren't bad. I just didn't feel they were stellar. Also, I halved the chocolate chip amount; 2 cups seemed over the top.

I also made a make-ahead appetizer. I took my Cook's Illustrated Make Ahead Meals magazine to work to loan to my pregnant friend Janice, who is prepping for arrival of baby. Whilst flipping through the book before I gave it to her, I came across a recipe for make-ahead stuffed mushrooms. These can't be frozen, but can be refrigerated, so they're one- or two-days ahead cooking. I thought that sounded like a good thing to make with Shannon visiting this week (her third trip to Ottawa this year!).


I already have an a-maze-ing stuffed mushroom recipe, but it is labour-intensive and I don't know how it would do if prepped in advance - probably fine. My keeper recipe is a cream cheese-stuffed mushroom, whereas this recipe is a goat cheese-stuffed mushroom, which I thought might also be healthier. In any case, I didn't love the Cook's Illustrated recipe, but I did think it was good; in fact, I enjoyed them more the second day than I did the first, so, I'll share:


Make-ahead Goat cheese-stuffed Mushrooms


1 slice high-quality white sandwich bread, quartered
6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil, divided
9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 3 tbsps), divided
table salt and freshly ground black pepper
24 (1 1/2- to 2-inch-wide) white mushroom caps, cleaned (stems removed and discarded)
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/4 tsp dried


Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300°F. Pulse bread in food processor to coarse crumbs, about 6 pulses. Toss crumbs with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp garlic, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Spread crumbs on rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and dry, about 20 minutes; transfer to bowl and set aside to cool.


Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Mix 4 more tbsps oil with remaining 2 tbsps garlic, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper, then toss with mushroom caps. Lay caps, gill side down, on foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast mushrooms until they release their juices, about 20 minutes. Flip caps over and continue to roast until liquid has evaporated completely and mushrooms are brown all over, about 10 minutes longer. Remove mushrooms from oven, flip gill side down, and set aside to drain any excess moisture.


Line second baking sheet with foil or parchment; set aside. Mix goat cheese, thyme and remaining 1 tbsp oil together until smooth, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer cheese mixture to small zip-lock bag and snip off bottom corner of bag using scissors. Pipe about 1 tsp of goat cheese mixture into each mushroom cap and top with bread crumbs. Transfer stuffed mushrooms to prepared baking sheet.


TO STORE: Wrap baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days.


TO SERVE: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450°F. Unwrap mushrooms and bake until mushrooms and filling are hot and crumbs are crisp, about 10 minutes.


Makes 24 mushrooms.

We especially liked the crumbly topping; I'm going to try adding this to my
cream cheese stuffed mushrooms, the next time I make them!

November 7th: banana bread

I realize I teased two weeks ago, referencing my mom's banana bread without providing the  recipe. Luckily, Greg let a few more bananas go brown, so I had to make, and can share, this recipe with you. There is none better!


Banana Bread


1/2 cup sour milk (see below for instructions)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (2-3)
2 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


To prepare sour milk: Place 1/2 tsp vinegar in a measuring cup. Top up with milk to reach 1/2 cup. Stir and set aside.


Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter 1-2 medium-large loaf pans.*


In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas.


In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.


Alternately add dry ingredients and sour milk to large bowl. Mix thoroughly.


Divide batter between greased loaf pans. Bake for 40-60 minutes, depending on size of pans. Check frequently for doneness towards end of cooking.


*I don't have a proper-sized loaf pan, so I use one 8 x 4 and then two mini loaf pans. The mini pans take less time to cook, obviously.

UPDATE: February 5, 2014: I made this banana bread today but wanted to up the health quotient. I cut the sugar back to 1 cup and used 1 cup each all-purpose and whole wheat flours. It turned out great. Next time, I might try just 3/4 cup sugar.

November 4th: Hot and sour shrimp soup

Coincidence! Last year on November 4th, I made hot and sour chicken soup. What are the chances? Two different recipes, but both from Chatelaine and I remember modifying last year's so it more closely resembled this one, which I've been making for years: from March 2007's Chatelaine: Ginger-scented shrimp and mushroom soup. I've made some modifications to this over the years: I use bottled or frozen ginger because I don't have patience for gingerroot, I may or may not use the recommended bamboo shoots, and I often add rice noodles and/or bean sprouts. I decided whilst in the grocery store today to make this tonight (this last-minute decision-making is not the norm for me!) and bought ingredients based on memory. Therefore, this one had no bamboo shoots or bean sprouts, but did have onion and baby bok choy. I really don't think you can go wrong. I'm debating leaving out one of the three tablespoons of vinegar next time.


That's a lot of text for a 10 minute soup!

October 31st: biscuits

This is my Nana's recipe. It is delicious.


Biscuits


2 cups flour
4 tsps baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
salt*
1/2 cup unsalted butter**
1 egg
2/3 cup milk


Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Whisk egg into milk, then add mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until it just comes together. Turn out on floured surface and knead about 20 times. Roll out to 1/2-1 inch. Cut with biscuit cutter. Bake until just beginning to turn golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.


*amount not given; 1/2 tsp?
**original recipe calls for shortening; I have modified it


For a warm-up post-trick or treating supper: biscuits with Mexican Chicken Soup.

October 27th: fish & chips

I probably wouldn't have written about this recipe, which isn't too exciting, except that it stood the test of time: I ate leftovers for three days after having this for supper, and I enjoyed it each day. That is practically unheard of. From November 2011's Chatelaine: Baked Fish Fingers with Greek-Yogourt Dip. The dip was not as good as my homemade tartar sauce. Mixed with the chip dip, though, it was okay. Served with home fries and a pickle.

October 23rd: banana pudding

Greg went away for the weekend, leaving behind a heap of bananas he didn't get around to eating, that had gone past their prime. O and I resolved the problem with a banana-cooking-festus. We made two banana recipes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: banana loaf and banana pudding. The loaf was not as good as Mom's recipe, so I won't use it again. The pudding, however, was the star of the show. Delicious warm; Delicious cold. You should make this.


Banana Pudding

2 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tbsps cornstarch
2 tbsps unsalted butter, softened (optional)
whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Put 2 cups of the milk, the sugar and the salt in a small to medium saucepan over medium-low heat. If you're using vanilla bean, split it in half lengthwise and use a small sharp knife to scrape the seeds into the milk; add the pod. Cook just until it begins to steam. Add the bananas and steep them in the warm milk for about 20 minutes. Strain out the bananas and vanilla pod; discard them and return the milk mixture to the pot.

Combine the cornstarch and the remaining milk in a bowl and stir to blend; there should be no lumps. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and just starts to boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low and continue to cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes or so. Stir in the butter if you're using it and the vanilla if you're using extract.

Pour the mixture into a 1-quart dish or into 4 to 6 small ramekins or bowls. Put plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming (or leave uncovered if you like skin). Refrigerate until chilled and serve within a day, with whipped cream if you like.

Makes 4-6 servings.

October 21st: pumpkin gnocchi

I probably wouldn't have kept or written about this recipe except that Olivia loved it and ate two bowls, so her opinion wins out over mine in this case. Greg went away for a boys' weekend, so it was just me and O cooking up a delicious storm this weekend, and cook we did!


I made this recipe to use up some of our leftover pumpkin purée from the pumpkin cakes. From October 2011's Chatelaine: Pumpkin Gnocchi. It's really half pumpkin/half potato gnocchi, and somewhere between pasta and dough in taste and texture. Gnocchi is surprisingly easy to make, and cooks really quickly, with just a few minutes of boiling. I served it as suggested, with the sage butter, which I was really surprised O liked. I think I could have thrown some tomato sauce on there instead and she would have been over the moon.

1/3 of dough rolled and cut.

Cooked gnocchi with sage butter.

The recipe makes a lot (6 servings) and I only cooked 1/3 of the dough, so we have more in the freezer to cook up another day. I think I will try tomato sauce next time to see the reaction.


I served the gnocchi as a side dish (it's pretty dense) with French chicken and peaches as the main. Unbelievably, Olivia preferred the gnocchi over the peaches. This kid usually eats fruit before all else.