Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscuits

I wanted  cheddar cheese biscuits for breakfast. Unfortunately, I was out of cheddar so instead, I grated some Parmigiano-Reggiano and added some black pepper. 

 

I offered to make Moe bacon and scrambled eggs to serve with the biscuits but he was happy with just biscuits topped with butter.

I used my regular biscuit recipe which can be adjusted by adding different cheeses, herbs or even bacon or ham.

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Cedar Plank Sockeye Salmon

 

Our friend Bud,  gave us a  Sockeye Salmon.  Too big for one meal so I cooked half of it for dinner and the other half is in the freezer.  

  

I also got a piece of cedar from Bud.  I was going to get Moe to sand it, but since I was putting the fish on it skin side down I figured it didn't matter much. 

I boned out the salmon for two nice size fillets.   The fish was rubbed with a mixture of fresh garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper and left in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  Any longer and the lemon would have started to cook the fish.

The cedar plank was left to soak for about three hours before being topped with the fillets.

The grill was preheated on high and then lowered to medium high.  The fish only took about 12 to 15 minutes too cook.

Sides were fresh steamed green beans 

and Duchesse Potatoes.

There is enough salmon leftover to make Moe a couple of Salmon Patties.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Black Olive and Orange Salsa

Butterflied a small pork tenderloin, rubbed it with fresh minced garlic, salt and pepper and tossed it on the grill, along with some sliced potatoes. 

While the pork cooked, I made a salsa to serve with it -  Chopped Kalamata Olives, garlic, green onions, sweet red pepper, cilantro, orange zest and orange segments, salt, pepper and a little squeeze of orange juice.

I don't normally like "sweet" with my meats, but the red pepper and the orange gave the salsa a subtle sweetness which  really complimented the pork.  

Grilled slices of russet potato is my new favourite.  Crinkle cut, brushed with olive oil sprinkled with salt and pepper and grilled , turning once or twice until potatoes are tender. 

Another quick and easy "after work" dinner.

Raspberry Chocolate Ice Cream

Using the same Five Minute - Three Ingredient Ice Cream recipe - this time with frozen raspberries.  

Drizzled in  a little chocolate ganache.  

This recipe is so versatile.  

Next I'm going to try a chocolate version.

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Five Minute - Three Ingredient

The original recipe as shared by Sooz and Shaun contained only three ingredients.  I added vanilla and additional fruit.


One 10-oz pkg frozen sliced mixed berries (raspberries)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
(I added vanilla )
Additional fruit optional


Put the sugar, cream and vanilla  in the blender.  Add the frozen fruit and pulse to break up and then process just to blend.  Pour into stainless bowl/container, stir in additional chopped fruit if desired and place in the freezer.  Stir every 30 minutes or so. 

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

Without an Ice Cream Maker.  

It doesn't get any simpler than this Five Minute - Three Ingredient recipe.

Not sure where the recipe originated but I came by it on the GW Cooking forum.  It was posted by both Sooz and Shaun.

I baked my favourite oatmeal cookies and when the ice cream was ready I made Ice Cream Sandwiches.

 

Five Minute - Three Ingredient

The original recipe as shared by Sooz and Shaun contained only three ingredients.  I added vanilla and additional fruit.

Adapted

One 10-oz pkg frozed sliced mixed berries
( Peaches)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
(I added vanilla )
Additional fruit optional

Put the sugar, cream and vanilla  in the blender.  Add the frozen fruit and pulse to break up and then process just to blend.  Pour into stainless bowl/container, stir in additional chopped fruit if desired and place in the freezer.  Stir every 30 minutes or so.

Chicken Fried Rice

I had a craving for Chicken Fried Rice.     

When we lived in Vancouver we use to have lunch on a regular basis at a little Chinese restaurant on West Broadway that had the best Chicken fried rice.  What made it different was that the dish did not contain any soy sauce.  The rice stays more or less white and the flavour is in my opinion so much better.  

This is my adaptation of the Golden Wall's fried rice using Ken Hom's velveting techinque to cook the chicken breast.

Chicken Fried Rice

This is my version of my favourite style of fried rice. Does not contain soy sauce.

Before cooking, the chicken is marinated in a little Shao Hsing, cornstarch, and sesame oil. Optional: egg white .

2 to 3 boneless chicken breasts thinly sliced
1 cup peanut oil

Cooked Rice

1 large onion cut in half and then sliced lengthwise.
2 stalks celery sliced
1 garlic clove
1 inch piece ginger
1 bunch green onions
2 to 3 cups fresh bean sprouts
2 eggs beaten and seasoned with salt.
Cook two or three thin omelettes - crepe style.
Slice or coarsely chop
Handful frozen peas
Sesame Oil

Cook chicken first.

Velveting:

Heat 1 cup of peanut oil in large wok. When oil is really hot add half the chicken. Chicken cooks quickly in the hot oil. Stir so chicken doesn't stick together. Chicken will turn white and be cooked in about 60 to 90 seconds. Remove chicken to a colander to drain and cook second batch. Set chicken aside.


Wipe wok clean, heat over high heat, add a little peanut oil. Add onions and stir until onions start to colour. Add the celery, cook for a minute or so, add the garlic, and ginger. Add the chicken back into the pan along with the rice, toss continuously until rice is hot. Season with a little more sesame oil. Stir in the egg, green onion and bean sprouts. Serve immediately.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Crumb Bars

I went looking for something to  bake using  Blueberries and found a very appealing picture of a Blueberry Crumb Bar on The Homebased Mom's blog. 

Adapted the recipe slightly to use up a package of Philly cream cheese. 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Crumb Bars
==================================
Adapted from:
Http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/blueberry-crumb-bars/
My changes in red


1 cup white sugar

1 tsp. baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 C. fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch

4 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust.

Cream the cream cheese with sugar. Add beaten egg and vanilla. Stir well to combine. Drop by tablespoon over the blueberries.

Crumble remaining dough over the top.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Chicken Wings

I had a craving for something spicy.  And I wanted something Asian. So I combined the two and made Chicken Wings with a spicy Asian sauce. 

I made these for the first time about 4 months ago.  Not sure why I waited so long to make them again.  

Double frying the wings makes for a wonderful crispy coating and retains some of the crispy texture even after tossing with the sauce.

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Roast Turkey Dinner

The heatwave only lasted four days, unfortunately. I seem to be one of the few people out here who actually likes really hot weather. 

We went from being in the 90's to dropping back into the high 60's. The only good thing about that was I could turn the oven on again. Tuesday was the perfect day for baking bread.

It was also cool enough to turn the oven on to 500°F to roast the little 10 pound turkey I bought on Sunday and had presalted. I uncovered it Monday night and left it to air dry in the fridge.

We had our traditional sides, 

 

mashed potatoes,

rutabaga, bread stuffing and lots of wonderful rich turkey gravy.

And the best thing about a roast turkey dinner is the leftovers.  Dinner last night was hot turkey sandwiches with homemade fries.

The carcass went into the stock pot this morning.