- This is a different, but super tasty way to present chicken.
- Thigh Cutlets, skin removed
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. Coriander
- pinch of Cayenne
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp. Cumin
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cups red wine
- 1 tsp. chicken stock powder
- 6 fresh figs
- 2 tsp. lemon rind
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- chopped Parsley for garnish
Place flour, coriander, cayenne and cumin in a bag and add chicken pieces, one at a time, shaking to ensure totally covered.
Heat oil in large fry pan and cook until brown. Drain. Add onion and garlic. Cover pan and cook for 10 minutes.
Add 2 Bay leaves
Mix the wine, chicken stock powder and pour over the chicken. Transfer to 350 degree oven and bake for 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven and take out the bay leaves. Remove chicken and set aside.
Mix together 2 tsp. lemon rind, 1 tsp. lemon juice, 2 tsp. cornstarch, figs (stems removed) and add to the pan. Cook until thick. Pour over chicken and sprinkle a small amount of chopped parsley on top.
Again, this can be for royalty We believe that special company, friends and family are all treated the same and, in your mind, remember that royalty is coming for dinner. That way, you don’t become complacent with your fare.
Marshmallow Semifreddo
The time for entertaining will soon be here and this just might be the dessert to fill the bill.
The chocolate cannot be more than 60% cacao. With that in mind, read on.
You will need:
- 2 cups cold whipping cream
- 1 tbsp. finely grated lime peel
- 2 jars of marshmallow creme
- 5 oz. coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate
- 6 oz. chopped chocolate
- 5 oz. finely chopped, toasted pistachios
- 5 oz. dried peaches
- 2 tbsp. Southern Comfort liqueur
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream and lime peel until peaks form. Add all the marshamallow creme and beat until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the grated chocolate, pistachios and peaches. Pour this into an 8″ springform pan and smooth the top. Cover with foil and freeze for a day.
Now just before serving, whisk the chopped chocolate, Southern Comfort and 2 tbsp. of water in a small saucepan until melted and smooth.
Cur around the semifreddo to loosen and remove the sides. Slice as you would a cake and spoon some of the warm sauce over the top.
This will serve 8-10 people. there will be no leftovers. This is a silky smooth dessert and watch that no one licks the plate. You could serve this with a citrus lace cookie. (recipe on this site).
In a word or two….yummy-yummy
Don’s Pulled Pork
I just had a request for this recipe so here it is. I have never wanted to try pulled pork because of all the fat, but Don trimmed a lot of it off. Try this and you totally melt.
You need:
Preheat oven to 290 degrees. This is not a mistake
- 1 3-4 lb. pork shoulder roast, bone in. If roast has string on it, cut it off before proceeding.
- Base: 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
- 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
Place vegetables on bottom of roasting pan and roast on top. Now make the sauce.
Sauce:
- 1 bottle regular flavour BBQ sauce (or your own family recipe)
- 1/2 cup apple juice
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 cup water
Stir this together until well mixed and pour over roast. Tightly cover with tin foil and bake in the oven for 6 1/2 hours.
Pulling the pork:
Take roast out of the oven and place on a cookie sheet. Using two forks, shred the meat into stringy pieces. Strain the vegetables and bring the juice to a boil, simmering until thickened. Add the shredded pork and and stir to incorporate the sauce.
Take kaiser buns, cut in half and toast lightly. Pile the pork onto the bottom half of the bun and top with shredded coleslaw.
Coleslaw:
- 1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
Sorry for the cheat here: Bottled coleslaw dressing. Top with the other half bun and thoroughly enjoy. You will want it again and again.
**we prefer to use Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue sauce
Puffiest Cheese Omelet EVER
This is one impressive omelet to serve guests, family or….just you!
You will need:
- 2 large eggs, separated
- Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 3/4 cup Pepper Jack cheese OR Balderson’s aged cheddar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, moist peaks form. In another bowl, beat yolks with the salt, pepper and nutmeg until thick and lemon coloured. Whisk in the sour cream. Pour yolk mixture over beaten egg whites and GENTLY fold together.
Melt butter in a 10″ oven-proof frying pan over medium heat. Tilt to cover the bottom of the pan and then pour in the egg mixture.
Do not stir but cook until omelet is puffy and lightly golden on the bottom. This will take 2-3 minutes. Transfer pan to the oven and bake until top is a pale golden brown (takes 6-9 minutes) and a knife, when inserted, comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheese. Using a spatula, fold half the omelet over the other half. Slide omelet onto a warm plate and serve immediately.
This can be cut in two as it is quite a generous serving.
To take it up a notch, add pre-steamed asparagus, red peppers or mushrooms before folding over the top edge.
This recipe is from my published cook book ‘”The B & B Cook Book”.
French Toast with Pears and Pomegranate Sauce
Every once in awhile you feel like going the extra mile and don’t know where to start. Noooo! Martinis for breakfast is a real bad choice. ‘Cuz then you would miss this wonderful recipe. Besides, this is from my cookbook “The B & B Cookbook” from Amazon.
This serves 2 and you will need:
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp. cardamom, divided
- 2 thick slices of bread
- 4 tbsp. butter, divided
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 ripe, but still firm, red skinned pear, cut into thin slices
Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and 1/2 of the cardamom and pour into a 9″ square glass baking dish. Add bread and let stand about 10 minutes, turning over with a spatula until the mixture has been absorbed.
Melt 1 tbsp. butter in a fry pan over medium heat. Add the pear slices. Saute for 3 minutes until soft and transfer to a plate.
Add 2 tbsp. butter to fry pan; add juice, brown sugar and cardamom simmering until it thickens and syrupy (about 5 mins). Remove from heat. Melt remaining butter on griddle, add bread slices and cook until golden (about 3 minutes each side) cut in half and divide onto plates. Top with pears, spoon sauce over top. Serve (with a big smile, of course) immediately.
In a word or two….yummy-yummy.
Whipped Cream Cake
When Don and I got married twenty plus years ago, we had a whipped cream cake for our wedding cake. I loved it then and looked for absolutely years to find a recipe that actually used whipped cream, real whipped cream in the batter. Try this one….it’s an oldie.
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipped cream
- 3 well beaten eggs, light and fluffy
- 1 1/2 tsp. clear vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake pan(s) by buttering and flouring . Whip the cream until it is stiff and fold in the eggs and vanilla.
Measure flour by dip-level-pour method. Blend flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. GENTLY fold in to the cream mixture with a wire whip. If using layer (2) pans, bake for 35 minutes; if using a 9 x 13 inch oblong pan, bake for 40 minutes.
Let cool and ice with even more sweetened whipped cream.
Oh my, oh my! This is yummy-yummy.
Puffy Cheese Strata
Another treat for breakfast. Make this for special occasions – Anniversaries, Birthdays, Saturdays, Sundays….you get the picture.
Using a 13″ x 9″ pan, use enough crustless bread slices to make a double layer.
You will need:
- 1/2 lb. Balderson’s white cheddar cheese
- 3/4 lb. Monteray Jack Cheese (extra for later)
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- Fresh parsley
Place one layer of bread in the baking pan.
Grate both cheeses and sprinkle 1/3 mixture over the top of the bread. Add second layer of bread.
Blend the milk, eggs and cream until completely mixed and pour over the bread. Top with remaining cheese.
Cover and refrigerate over night. Take the pan out of the fridge and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake, covered for 30 minutes. Take cover off and bake another 30 – 45 minutes. When done, it should be really puffy and just starting to turn a golden brown. Cut into 8 pieces and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
To make this even more special, add some beautiful fresh fruit on the side. i.e peaches, nectarines, pears, and/or figs for example.
Goldenrod Eggs
I absolutely love this recipe. You will too. The flavours are extraordinary and as I type this, my mouth is watering. No kidding!
This is for two (adjust for more).
- 5 hard boiled eggs
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 1 cup milk
- pinch salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 cup shredded Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 cup sliced saute’ed mushrooms
- 2 English muffins, halved
- 4 slices ripe tomato
- 4 slices Canadian bacon
Shell eggs, dice egg whites and set aside. Mash yolks until crumbly and also set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter, gradually stirring in the flour to make a roux (paste). Add milk slowly, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking until sauce thickens and then add the sour cream, mustard and cheese, again stirring until blended. Add the mushrooms and egg white. Remove from heat and cover.
Toast and butter muffins.
To assemble: place a tomato slice on each muffin half, follow with a slice of bacon, top with sauce and sprinkle the top with the crumbled egg yolk.
Oh my goodness, this is so darn gooooooood. Try it.
Cinnamon Vodka Martini
I know, it is not Christmas….but you will have this at the ready WHEN it does come. Right?
I mentioned on FB that it was only 5 months to Christmas and I thought I would get creamed but more and more people are on top of it than I ever thought would happen.
- 4 cups eggnog
- 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup grated semi sweet chocolate
- 8 oz. cinnamon vodka
In a large saucepan, combine the eggnog, cocoa and cinnamon and stir (whisk) until thoroughly combined. Heat only until it simmers NEVER boils.
Add the grated chocolate and stir until it is melted. Remove from heat and add the vodka. Now pour into chocolate (melted) rimmed heat-proof glasses, garnish with a stick of cinnamon.
Toast the weather, season, rain or snow….really anything will do. Go for it.
Roasted Root Vegetable Risotto
We show root veggies here, but you can use whatever you have in the fridge. This is leftover-risotto at its finest.
you will need:
- 1 carton chicken broth
- 1/2 cup of water
- 3 cups of leftover roasted vegetables, diced
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup crumbled, creamy Chevre cheese
- salt and white pepper to taste
In a saucepan, heat the broth with water until hot. Cut the vegetables into small pieces and melt the butter in a large, wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cooking for a few seconds so as not to burn and add the rice and stir in.
Add the wine, stirring until no wine remains. Add the broth to the mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, gently stirring until the liquid is absorbed. This should be no more than simmering until completed. This takes 22 minutes EXACTLY. No more and certainly no less. During the last 6 minutes, add the vegetables, stir in carefully then add the cheese and stir. Taste and add salt and white pepper if needed. Serve immediately.
This is more than worth the time it takes to make. Honest. Try using potatoes, yams, carrots, turnips etc.