This is nicer and makes you think of the south of France or wherever your ‘happy’ place is…….
- 2 parts Raspberry Vodka
- 1 part Creme de Cassis
Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with crushed ice and shake for a minute and strain into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with fresh raspberries.
You may like this so much it could taste like two. Any more than that and it is hangover time. Be careful.
Celebration Dinner
You all missed out on a fabulous dinner. Last night we honoured our Project Manager and his lovely wife with a “casual” dinner.
We had the Cold Melon Soup (absolutely wonderful, try it).
Don made a scallop/shrimp/potato disk appetizer that was out of this world.
Then we had pork tenderloin with young asparagus and medallion corn on the cob.
For dessert we had puff pastry rectangles (cut in half) and put 2 tbsp of sweetened whipping cream/sour cream on top of bottom disc then add a mixture of fresh strawberries, raspberries and the largest blackberries I have seen in a while. Repeat the layers, add the top pastry and sprinkle with icing sugar. WOW!
On top of that we tasted a lovely burgundy ice wine. (Not too sweet for an ice wine).
All in all, it was super and the company is always wonderful. Sorry you missed it.
Bonnie’s Martini
My blog, my martini…so there! Well, actually I was stumped for a name that fit. It is 7 a.m. and believe me, I’ve not had my fill of coffee yet.
- 3 parts Chocolate Vodka
- 2 parts white Creme de Cacao
- 1 splash of Grand Marnier
Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with crushed ice and shake only 3 times. Strain into chilled martini glasses and garnish with white chocolate shavings.
Seared Scallops
Serves 4
- 2 small papaya (seeded, peeled and chopped)
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp. Cilantro
- 1 tsp. seeded and minced jalapeno pepper
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 3 tbsp. flour
- pinch each of salt and pepper
- 8 good sized scallops
In a medium bowl combine papaya, peppers, onion, juice and cilantro. Set aside.
In a sealable bag, put the flour, salt, pepper and scallops. Shake to coat surface.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the scallops and cook only for a couple of minutes until golden in colour. Do not over cook or they will be like rubber.
To plate, add a generous spoonful of sauce on the plate and place the scallops on top. You now have a new appetizer. There will be many oohs and ahhs over this dish. Now you can just smile and demurely say “you are too kind”.
My Favourite Salad
When you taste this, perhaps it will become your favourite as well.
- Enough Romain lettuce to serve 4
- 1 large fresh orange or yellow pepper
- grape tomatoes
- fresh snow peas
- toasted pine nuts (preferred) or pecans
Preparation:
Wash, spin dry the lettuce and tear into bite sized pieces. Slice the pepper and pea pods in strips. Add the toasted nuts with the tomatoes and carefully toss.
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- juice of half a l ime
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- 3-4 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. minced onion
Combine dressing in blender really well and refrigerate until serving the salad.
The Devil’s Martini
We always start our guests off with a Signature martini (many different kinds) and this is a great one as well.
- 3 parts Vanilla Vodka
- 1 part Creme de Cacao
- 1 part Midori Melon liqueur
- 1 part White Cranberry Juice
- 1 part Orange Juice (no pulp)
Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with crushed ice and shake well. Strain into well chilled glasses. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and an orange slice.
I told you these signature drinks is the way to go. Again, another yummy!
Veal and Brie With Asparagus
This is a lovely dinner to present to….your friends, partner/spouse, guests…whomever you wish. It is not complicated. It serves 4
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 1 small round of Brie, skin removed
- 1 cup flour
- 1-2 tbsp. butter
- 16 spears fresh asparagus, peeled
- 8 ounces fresh crab
- 2 lbs. Veal cutlets
Preparation:
Melt 2 tbsp. of butter in a small saucepan over slow heat. Add the whipping cream and as bubbles start to form on the edges, whisk in the Brie cheese and stir until completely melted. Cover and set aside to keep warm (or put in warming oven).
If the veal has not been pounded out, take a mallet and, after covering with eaxed paper, pound it out until it is thin and unison in size. Dredge in the flour and make sure to knock off the excess. Melt the butter in a large fry pan. Cook in the butter for 2-3 minutes until browned . Set aside and keep warm.
Add enough water to your pot with a steamer bowl and bring to the boil. Snap off the asparagus where it does so naturally and drop in the water for only a couple of minutes (keeping the bright green colour). Place the crab meat over the asparagus to steam and get hot.
To assemble, plate the veal, top with a little crabmeat. Place 4 asparagus spears on top and drizzle the cheese sauce over the top. Serve extra sauce on the side. It will be all used up as it is soooo tasty. The only thing this needs is a crisp , warm dinner roll and fresh butter.
Never use margarine for this recipe. Actually, never use margarine. Butter is better for sure.
Onion Salad
I add this one this morning to shock my husband. I don’t eat onions BUT for those who do, here is a great recipe (so I am told) from my sister-in-law.
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Spanish onions, cut into rings
- 2 tbsp. mayo
- 1 tsp. celery seeds
Boil the first three ingredients one minutes and pour over onion rings, marinating overnight in the fridge. In the morning drain the liquid off and add the mayo and celery seed mixture, mixing well.
You REALLY have to like onions to try this one. Not for the weak of heart.
Either have a plate of parsley on the table or offer breath mints after dinner.
White Cherry Martini
It’s not that I am promoting drinking the summer away…hmmm? No, but this is another goodie to try.
It is the easiest yet to date but tasty. The secret to a good martini is always chill your glasses and make sure you shake for 10-15 seconds to get it really cool.
- 2 parts Vodka (try regular vodka or up it to chocolate vodka)
- 2 parts Creme de Cacao
- 1 part Cherry Brandy
- 1 tsp. juice from bottled cherries
Again, rim martini glasses with melted chocolate and place in the fridge to harden. Fill the shaker with cracked ice and shake it well.
Strain into prepared martini glasses. On a martini pick, garnish with a chocolate dipped maraschino cherry.
Oh My, My My Martini
Okay, so the temperature is getting hotter and the breeze from the patio/deck/beach is ever so gentle. What you need now is a martini that will have you saying “Oh My, My, My”.
It takes:
- 2 parts chocolate vodka
- 2 parts White Chocolate Liqueur
- 1 part White Creme de Cacao
- 1 part Irish Cream
- 1 part Raspberry Liqueur (like Chambourd)
Melt some white chocolate and rim the glasses. Place in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate.
Pour the Vodka and Creme de Caco in a shaker filled with crushed ice and shake well. Strain into the chilled glasses. Now pour the balance of the liquids into another shaker with crushed ice and shake well.
Here comes the fun part: Invert a spoon so that it rests on the opposite side of the glass (pointy end touching the base of the glass). Now slowly strain and pour the ingredients over the first layer. This might take a little practice. Garnish with a few fresh Raspberries.
Anyone you care to share this with will keep saying…’Oh My, My, My”.
Note: drink responsibly.
Mandolin “Show stopper” Salad
Sometimes we want to do something a little different. Take a deep breath and say to yourself ‘damn, I can do this”. It isn’t hard to do but boy, oh boy, will everyone be impressed.
This will serve 4
- 3 large seedless English Cucumbers
- 6 cups torn baby greens
- 1 small red onion, sliced really thin wedges
- small can of water chestnuts, drained
- 1/4 cup bottled red wine vinaigrette
- You will reuire a mandolin to make the bowl.
Move the cucumber lengthwise down the mandolin several times each cucumber to get strips. Take 3 of your best ones to make each bowl. It takes 3 strips to make a bowl and make ends about 2 inches back of each one and curl around to make a bowl.
Toss the greens, oniopns and chestnuts with the dressing and CAREFULLY spoon the mixture in each ‘bowl’.
If you can find any flowering chives (from your local market) stand a couple of them in each salad.
This is sooooo pretty and the cucumber bowl salad will keep people talking about it for a long time.
Potato Mushroom Make Ahead
This should be made the day before and will also allow more time for other pressing things to do. This recipe serves 8
You will need:
- 4 tbsp. extra virgin oil, divided
- 3 lbs. Yukon potatoes, peeled, cut lengthwise into 1/8″ slices
- 1 tsp. salt, plus a pinch for the mushrooms
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided (more if needed)
- 1 cup grated FRESH parmesan cheese, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
- 1 lb. button white mushrooms
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Brush 13 x 9 inch baking dish with olive oil. Arrange 1/3 of the potatoes in the dish, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with a little of the salt.
Pour about 1/3 of the cream over top and about 1/4 of the cheese. Repeat layering as above 3 more times. Bake uncovered about 40-45 minutes. Adding more cream, if necessry to keep moist.
Slice mushrooms and toss with remaining oil and layer over top of the potatoes being sure to go to the edges. Drizzle 1/4 cup of cream over top of the mushrooms and 1/4 cup of cheese.
Continue baking for another 20 minutes until the potato edges are golden.
When making ahead, cool one hour. Cover and place in the fridge. Before serving, cut into serving portions, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and heat in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.
The smells coming from your kitchen when making this will probably have your neighbors forming lines outside your door. My husband always comes in and says, ‘Man, that sure does smell good. Too bad dinner is not today”
This is rich but ever so good. Now say, Damn, I did this…your guests will be impressed for sure.