Apple of My Eye

Number 50. So far, so good. I do hope you enjoy my writing and I truly wish that you have tried some of these recipes with success. It is an odd thing to follow a recipe: to trust some guy you have never met (or maybe you have) and spend the money on some method that may or may not out as well as you hope. I suppose such is the case for any cookbook. It is disappointing that the last comment made was October 20 but I suppose I can let that pass.For a commemorative post, I have decided to offer a...

Read more »

Whip It Up

When I started this blog, little did I realize that I was going to open each post with a brief intro and some chat relating to whatever recipe I write. I truly wonder if people actually read this. But, here I am 50 posts(!) later and now I must write about todays recipe: Zabglione with Berries. Ugh. Well, I suppose I have to think of something. Hold on. Let me think for a second. Wikipedia search maybe? Nah. I'll wing it.I demonstrated this recipe earlier this week at a cooking class and I could...

Read more »

Stir It Up

So far the winter is going well. I've recently discovered that I enjoy getting attention and teaching culinary skills is a great way to fill my void. Having said that, I truly relish the days where I get to go in front of a group of people I may or may not know and freely offer my knowledge (as little as it is for a humble chef) on cooking and entertaining.Perhaps now I can let myself to lob my humility aside and finally admit that I do have a few useful things to offer: an essential skill (cooking),...

Read more »

Phyllo Up

It appears I haven't posted for a few weeks. Shame really. For those who have been reading more faithfully, you have my apologies. And for those about to rock, I salute you.I had a comment/request from the last post about convection ovens and their uses. Simply put, all a convection oven is an regular oven with a fan. The fan circulates the heat more thoroughly and results in faster cooking times. It is important to note that when following a recipe, the temperature recommended in the method is...

Read more »

Root Awakenings

Cooking creatively can be challenging at times. I find I get most inspired in people's homes because I will often find ingredients I don't normally have at home or even in a professional kitchen. I even get much of my inspiration walking through markets and grocery stores.Fennel is a vegetable that I don't normally have at home because I simply never purchase it. When was the last time you purchased fennel? Or parsnips? Turnip? Rutabaga? It simply rarely goes on most people's grocery lists because...

Read more »

The True Test

In any art form, it is a rare thing to make something completely original. After all, originality is the art of concealing your original source. To be innovative in baking can be difficult for me (and many chefs) because it requires several testings and I simply don't have the time to test one idea several times over to perfection. Or, I can do some research through some cookbooks or the internet and use some recipe that a test kitchen made several times over to perfection.Besides, I am the type...

Read more »

Where The Wild Rice Are

I do enjoy dinner parties. Even though they can be expensive, stressful and physically taxing, the pay-off is very rewarding. As humble as I am, I do enjoy the attention from hosting dinner parties and the boost to my fragile ego.Last night I cooked (with the help of friends and family) for seven adults a modest meal and so I was slightly pushed to include some of the recipes from last night. The salad was a last minute thought but the dressing turned out really well. The soup however was a hit...

Read more »

Just For Pilafs

I just completed my third What's For Dinner moments ago. I gave my blog to the attendees and so here I am writing a recipe for those who didn't have time to write it down.Rice is so easy to cook and yet so many people find ways to get it wrong. There are some tricks to the trade but keeping it simple works well for rice. Rice Pilaf refers to the cooking method where vegetables are cut up, sautéed with the rice and cooked in the oven with the broth. Obviously, there are several ways to cook rice...

Read more »

I Rest My Quesadillas

So, I recently went to the Real Canadian Superstore in Wasaga Beach and gave my first cooking class. It's what they call a What's For Dinner class where people can walk in watch me give a demonstration for an hour and try whatever it is I make. It is free and open to anyone interested in ideas for dinner. It was fun once I got past my nervousness. I will be giving more all summer both in Wasaga as well as Midland.I decided on a fairly easy menu since it was my first time and something I felt that...

Read more »

You See What I`m Reduced To

Now that my website is up and running I am forced to update my blog as frequently as possible. Some posts may be very simple just so I can amass a good amount of them. Nonetheless, each of my recipes are still worth making (with the possible exception of the fresh pasta) and have my wife`s seal of approval. I hope the new website will increase my readership and I hope there will more comments in the...

Read more »

The Prancing Pony's Soup of the Day

My goodness. I was on a roll there for a while. But, as summer came, writing was the last thing I wanted to do. Besides, my hard drive failed and I am currently sans laptop. Nevertheless, I am still cooking (unfortunately at times) and still experimenting.I am making soups for a local business in the small town I call home and today I made something different. In this part of the world, some people like to cook to season. Sometimes I do. In this case, asparagus has come to town from local farmers...

Read more »

Chocolate Wrapper

Ever try to make phyllo pastry? I'll be honest here. I haven't. Even in cooking school, we used store bought. I cannot imagine a reason to justify me making this pastry from scratch. I imagine some readers may be disappointed by my honesty but here I have to be. If someone asked me for a recipe, I would look foolish.For this recipe, I strongly recommend using the finest chocolate available to you...

Read more »

16 Bean Ham Bone Soup

The other day my mother in law Joy called me to remind me that I had a ham bone in the fridge left over from Easter. Spiral cut ham is one of the many features of our annual Easter Brunch, and we always reserve the bone after we are done to make a soup.We usually have 25-30 people show up which means we are dead for at least the next week, so making some soup is a nice simple way to enjoy some home cooking after the leftovers are gone.This year while perusing the food aisle of the local Jewel-Osco...

Read more »

A Cheesy Post With A Cheesy Title

Well, my fellow connoisseur du fromage and I catered a small event over this past weekend with great success. Not only is she a great help with the small touches that I would normally overlook (we had little give-aways of Balsamic Reduction for the guests of the dinner party) but she was also invaluable in helping me with plating, tasting, cleaning and prepping. In fact, she visualized the Tomato...

Read more »

Not Just Any Salad

I'm sick of writing about soups. They're cheap and easy and repetitive. Every so often I need to make something new.Well, with spring apparently around the corner, how about a salad. But not just any salad. A potato salad. But not just any potato salad. A German potato salad. But not just any German potato salad. A Humble Chef's German potato salad. But not just any Humble Chef's German potato salad. But A Humble Chef's German potato salad made by none other than my wife, The Closet Optimist herself....

Read more »

What Are Ya? Chicken?

Here we go again. Another soup. Well, my restaurant partner (known as my wife) and I really enjoy this thai inspired recipe that we used to get at a local place by our old home. I have taken it and pretty much adapted the flavours to a method that I find to be very easy.I was at my cousin's apartment making some of this soup and he and his fiancé loved the stuff. It's so easy that I figured that I'll give my take on this basic of basic of soups.One last note: Please try this recipe. It is so easy...

Read more »

Uncle Ben's Making Dessert

I was fortunate enough today to bear witness the famous rice pudding my in-laws were spoiled with; made with love by their neighbour. I've never been the biggest fan of this particular dessert but I will try anything at least once. It is very easy to make and fairly foolproof.It is an interesting recipe (a different method than I would use) but that is how things are done in the country and when you've made this recipe for several decades, well, why then would you change it?She used instant rice...

Read more »

The Gospel According to Matthew, Mark, Luke and . . . Duck

When I first entered the industry, I was working at the busiest fine dining restaurant (so they thought) in Canada: the 360 in the CN Tower. It was great. A wonderful learning curve. A few weeks into my employment there I was entrusted with preparing the Duck Confit. It was something new alright. I had never cooked Duck before, let alone 500 portions at once at a fine dining restaurant.Not the healthiest...

Read more »

Beans To Bundle Up With

This is a quick post because I have a photo I am excited to use. This is the veg I served with the previous post (Rack of Lamb in Puff Pastry) and if you are looking to make this dish, then here is a nice veg on the side.Do these in advance and re-heat to serve.Green Bean Bundles 15 - 20 Green Beans, trimmed1 Stalk of a Green Onion, cut in halfSesame OilSprinkle of PaprikaSalt and Pepper to TasteIn...

Read more »

Rack en Chemis

This past weekend my partner and I (she prefers to be referred to that since we are now business partners) spent the weekend at her parents to cook some dishes for some photos (that's my sexy hand right there). It was interesting because they had no running water and we had to basically boil down snow to wash the dishes afterwards. But enough of that.I should record all the dishes because all the...

Read more »

I'm Dangling Carrots Here

Another soup, I know. But having just finished my diploma in snow blowing, it's no wonder that I was inspired to write about the heartiest of all dishes.I like purée soups because they are easy, require less prep time than chowders or broths. And once you've got some practice with purée soups, then making them will become second nature. I don't bother with recipes usually, but especially more so with soups because the technique is usually the same: onion, principal ingredient, stock, purée and...

Read more »

Chocolate Cake Without the Bouquet of Flours

Valentine's. Sometimes I surprise my wife with a decadent treat for her to come home to. This is a relatively easy recipe that I've adapted and changed over the years.Working with chocolate can be fun or a headache depending on the chocolate you buy and how much you eat during the process. I usually over measure my chocolate a gram or two to compensate for quality control. Because you never know when...

Read more »

Made With Real Cocoa

So, you've tried my "Hunter-Style" braised chicken and you're ready for the next stage. Right? Yeah. So I like to think. Should I bother posting a Coq au Vin recipe that nobody will ever make? Well of course I should.What's funny to me is how easy this dish is to make and the reluctance to make it. First you need to ask yourself one question? No, not "Do I feel lucky?" How about "Do I feel nervous about searing some chicken, adding some basic vegetables, adding wine and stock and slowly braising...

Read more »

Bacon. Tomato. Cream. Enough Said.

It has been a while since I last posted anything but here I am, back from the grave. On my other blog perhaps I will go into detail why I haven't posted anything for a while but here I will stick to recipes.I am starting a catering company and I made a soup recently that I served to a group of ladies who raved over it. Actually, it was an ideal soup to bring and offer samples because it is a little...

Read more »