Almond Butter Cookies

This is what my Mom would call a "Cup of Tea Cookie", meaning obviously, that it is an ideal treeat to be enjoyed with your favorite steaming cup of relaxing tea. This one is soft and slightly chewy, with a distinct almond nutty flavour. I always eat the edges first to save the toasted almond at the center for last.

Cream

½ cup butter

½ cup almond butter

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

Add

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Sift together:

1 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

Add to creamed mixture and fold until dough forms.

Make 1 inch balls and press each ball down sightly on a parchment lined baking sheet 3 inches apart. Press a toasted whole almond into the center of the slightly flattened dough balls before baking if desired.

Bake 12 minutes until golden brown at the edges @ 350 degrees F. Do not over bake or cookies will be brittle.

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Boeuf au Jus French Dip Sandwich

I am a collector of bones. At any given time, a peek inside my freezer will find Ziploc bags full of chicken or beef bones that have been trimmed from roasts, steaks, or bone-in chicken breasts waiting to be roasted and then turned into the best stock for soups, stews, sauces or as the base for a great French Dip Sandwich. I like this sandwich with thinly sliced rare grilled steak as well but sometimes I give that steak a short soak in the jus which gives it the flavour of slow roasted beef, as shown in the photo. Red Onion Jam is the only condiment necessary on this classic sandwich, especially when made on great French bread like the mini baguettes that were recently featured on this blog. Find those recipes at these links. Red Onion Jam & French Baguette 

I like to make stock in the oven because of the slow simmer that can be achieved. This makes for a much more clear stock instead f the cloudy stock you sometimes get from rapid boiling on the stovetop. It is also much less fussy than constantly attending to a boiling pot on the stovetop.

Basic Beef Stock

In a large covered enamel roaster add:

5-7 pounds beef bones
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 large chopped onion
salt and pepper to season
3 large carrots, cut in 1 inch sections
2 stalks celery

Roast the bones at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes until they are well browned and the carrots are tender. Cover the bones with 3 to 4 litres of water.

At this point,depending on how you want to use the stock, you can add your favorite fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary or add tomatoes or parsnip to further flavour the stock. Return the roaster to the oven, covered for 2 to 3 hours. Strain the finished stock through a fine seive. Chill and skim off all the fat. If you want very clear stock you can seive it again with a coffee filter inside the seive. Freeze the stock in small airtight containers. Stock can also be frozen in ice cube trays and then frozen in Ziploc bags for later use. This is great for when you need a small amount of stock for sauces or stir-fry recipes.

To make the jus to dip your sandwich in, allow 1/2 cup of this stock  per sandwich. Warm the stock by simmering in a small saucepan along with

a few peppercorns
spash red wine
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
fresh thyme, rosemary or sage sprigs

Simmer for 5 to ten minutes before serving beside the sandwich as a dip.


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Spicy Honey Orange Sliced Pork

Still another quick and easy Asian inspired dinner idea today. I have a bit of a fondness for sweet and spicy dishes and this one does not disappoint.You can serve this over plain steamed rice if you prefer but I love serving it over my favorite skinny Chinese noodles.


Serves 4 - 6

4 tbsp peanut oil
salt and pepper to season
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2  pounds pork loin or pork tenderloin, very thinly sliced


Heat peanut oil in a very hot wok. Season the thinly sliced pork with the salt, pepper and five spice powder. Quickly stir fry the seasoned pork in small batches about a 1/2 pound at a time. This will take only a minute or two per batch at very high heat. Do not overcook the pork or it will be too dry. Set the pork aside and to the wok add:

3 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp peanut oil

When the garlic is softened but not browned add

2 cups orange juice
pinch salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp chili paste or crushed chilis
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

Simmer until the volume of the liquid is reduced by half. Add:

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup honey

Simmer for an additional few minutes until the sauce is thickened and very bubbly. Add the cooked pork along with:

1 small red pepper, chopped
2 oranges peeled and sectioned into wedges

Stir fry until the chicken is heated thoroughly; only a minute or two. Serve over steamed rice or Chinese noodles.

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Garlic Chicken Puttanesca

Back to school season at our house means a return to a reliance on quick and easy dinner ideas. This simple throw together recipe is a kid favorite at out house and can be on the table in about 20 minutes. We've served it on some cheese tortellini here but you can simply substitute your own favorite plain pasta for a bit of a lighter meal.

Serves 4


4 small chicken breasts , cut in spears
2 cloves minced garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to season


Marinate the chicken in the garlic, oil, salt and pepper for about 20 minutes or in a Ziploc bag overnight.
Fully cook the chicken in the marinade over medium-high heat in a large heavy bottomed skillet and set aside.

To the same pan add:

8 large very ripe, tomatoes ( or one 32 oz can crushed tomatoes)
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp chili flakes (optional or to taste)
3 tbsp chopped capers (optional)
1/2 tsp anchovy paste (optional)
2 tbsp chopped basil
2 tbsp chopped oregano
salt and pepper to season 


Simmer together for about 10 minutes until a thick sauce develops. Add the cooked chicken along with


2/3 cup kalamata olives
1 small red pepper chopped


Cook together for another 2 to 3 minutes and serve over cooked pasta. Garnish with additional fresh herbs and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

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Parmesan Bacon Potatoes

My family returned last week from a week long western Caribbean cruise on board Royal Caribbean's amazing  ship, Freedom of the Seas. While on board, we visited both of the fine dining restaurants available at a reasonable surcharge to passengers. Chops Grille is a great steakhouse but we were more impressed with the side dishes that came with the steaks. One such side dish was Parmesan and Proscuitto Potatoes which inspired today's recipe. These are possibly the most indulgent potatoes I have ever eaten, combining crispy hash browns with crisp cooked bacon, all tossed in a creamy parmesan sauce.

This is another of my "best guess" sort of recipes where I attempt to replicate something I've eaten at a restaurant. I've fried the potatoes here but you could just as easily roast them tossed in a little garlic oil instead. Crisp cooked proscuitto could easily be substitued for the crisp bacon if you prefer as well.

Serves 4-6

6-8 slices thick sliced, good quality, smoked bacon

Cut in small pieces and crisp cook the bacon. Drain off all the fat and set aside.

2 1/2 pounds of washed potatoes, skin on

1/4 cup garlic olive oil ( find my recipe here: Garlic Oil )

1/4 cup buttter (not margarine)

salt and pepper to season

Melt the garlic olive oil and butter together over medium heat in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. When heated

add the potatoes, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook for about 2o minutes turning the potatoes every few minutes. The potatoes should be fully cooked and crispy but not necessarily crispy on all sides, it's perfectly okay if they are a little "rustic".

Remove the potatoes from the pan and keep warm in the oven as you prepare the sauce.

Reserve a few tablespoons of the oil and butter in the pan that the potatoes were cooked in. To this add

1 cup whipping cream

simmer until the cream is reduced by about half before melting in

1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Toss together the potatoes and bacon with the parmesan cream sauce and serve.

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French Baguette

One of my favorite breads to bake is an authentic French Baguette. I like to make them mini size as pictured here to use in great sandwiches or just in a bread basket in the center of the dinner table; it is always an empty basket by the end of the meal.

Authentic French Bread is very simple, containing only flour, sea salt, yeast and water. I always bake mine at very high heat on a large pizza stone which makes for a crispier crust. One trick I use these days is to let the mini baguettes rise on a silicone baking sheet which I just drop on the hot pizza stone. The baguette will rise and bake better in a humid environment, so a shallow pan of boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven really helps them bake perfectly too.

4 cups flour (for whole wheat baguettes use 2 cups of white flour and 2 cups of white flour)

2 cups lukewarm water

1 tbsp instant yeast

2tsp sea salt

Add all ingredients except 1/2 cup of the flour to the bowl. Using the dough hook on your electric mixer, mix together well and allow to run on low speed for about 10 minutes. The dough will be loose and sticky but don't worry about that, just allow it to rise in a warm spot for a couple of hours or more before turning it out into a bread board and kneading in the other 1/2 cup of flour by hand. You may have to use a little more or a little less flour depending factors like local humidity.

Form 6 ounce portions of the dough into mini baguettes about 8 inches long. Place 4 of them on a silicone baking sheet and score the tops of them with a sharp serrated knife before letting them rise for another hour and a half until about tripled in size. I like to spritz the baguettes with warm water from a spray bottle while they are rising on the silicone baking sheet, which helps them rise better.

Preheat a large pizza stone at 450 degrees F for at least a half hour. Place a small pan of boiling water on the rack below the stone. My stone is the size of a cookie sheet but if you have a smaller stone you will have to bake fewer baguettes at a time. You can also form the dough into a larger French Loaf if space is a problem. Carefully pick up the silicone baking sheet, keeping it stretched taut so that the baguettes will not fall off and drop it onto the hot stone.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until the baguette is a deep golden color and quite hard when tapped with a knuckle. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes if serving warm.

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