Spring Apps!

Strawberry cream cheese tartlets 

Bakeapple panna cotta

Spring is in the air and summer is just around the corner. One way to get ready is by stuffing a few quick app ideas up your sleeves for your next gathering. Last weekend I was at the Wilds golf resort in Holyrood, Newfoundland and I whipped up these tasty morsels:

Mini crab cakes, Spiced rum pork tenderloin & Smoked salmon wonton flowers crisps




Wipe the drool off your face and scroll down no further.......here are the recipes:

Mini Crab Cakes with Maple Dijon Aioli

500g      crab meat

1 cup     panko crumbs

¼ cup    mayo

1 Tbsp   Worcestershire sauce

1             egg

sriracha hot sauce to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Canola oil for frying

AIOLI

1 cup     mayo

2 Tbsp   lemon juice

1 tsp      lemon zest

1 Tbsp   Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp   maple syrup

Garnish: freshly chopped chives

1.       Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl season with sriracha, salt & pepper to taste

2.       Shape crab cakes to 1 oz cakes and coat with additional panko crumbs

3.       Heat ¼ cup oil in a skillet and fry on medium heat until lightly golden on both sides

4.       Mix all aioli ingredients in a small bowl

5.       Serve aioli on top of crab cakes. Garnish with chopped chives.

Smoked Salmon Wonton Flower-cups with Guacamole Ricotta Cheese filling

300-400g             smoked salmon

1 package            wonton wraps

1 cup                    guacamole

2 cups                   ricotta cheese

1 lime                   juice & zest

Season with salt and pepper

Cooking spray

Garnish: freshly chopped dill

1.       Preheat oven to 375F

2.       Spray a mini cupcake pan and  line with wonton wrappers and coat with more cooking spray

3.       Bake wonton cup for 7-10 minutes until crispy

4.       Combine guacamole, ricotta cheese, lime juice and zest then season with salt & pepper

5.       Fill each cup with the cheese mixture and top with small pieces of smoked salmon then garnish with chopped dill.

Spiced Rum & Blueberry Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Parsnip Puree

1 Tbsp   whole grain Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp   Hungarian paprika

1 Tbsp   maple syrup

Season with Salt & pepper

1 oz        spiced rum

2 pieces pork tenderloin

Glaze:

1 cup     blueberries

¼ cup    water

2oz         spiced rum

¼ cup    sugar

 3 Tbsp  cornstarch mixed with 6 Tbsp water

Puree:

2 cups   chopped sweet potato

1 cup     chopped parsnip

Season with maple syrup, salt & pepper

1.       Marinate pork with first 5 ingredients and bake in a preheat oven at 375F for 35-40 minutes then let rest for a few  minutes

2.       While pork is roasting, combine first 4 of the glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer

3.       Add cornstarch slurry to thicken glazed as desired

4.       Also while the pork is in the oven, boil the sweet potato and parsnip until soft. Drain and puree with a hand blender and season with maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste

Bakeapple Panna Cotta

1/2 cup skim milk

1 (.25 ounces, or 7grams) envelope unflavored gelatin

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.       Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.

2.       In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekin dishes.

3.       Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.

4.       Unmold the panna cotta by dipping the ramekins in a small bowl on hot water to loosen then invert onto a small dessert plat

5.       Top with bake apple(cloudberry) jam or syrup, then garnish with fresh mint leaves

Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse Tarts  

Mousse:

2 blocks                light cream cheese

2 cups                   light whipped topping

¼ cup                    water

½ cup                    icing sugar

1 package            strawberry Jello powder

1 tsp                      vanilla extract

2 boxes                                mini tart shells

Garnish: Sliced strawberries, mini chocolate chips, dusted icing sugar

1.       Mix all mousse ingredients in a mixer until smooth with no lumps

2.       Refrigerate mousse for 4 hours

3.       Bake mini tarts shells according to package directions and let cool

4.       Using a piping bag, fill the tarts shells with strawberry mousse

5.       Garnish with a slice of strawberry, decorate with a few mini chocolate chips or sprinkles, then dust with icing sugar 

TamGood's wallpaper from http://www.nlreda.ca/

                                                                    

Hawaiian Butter Mochi

Aloha, everyone!

This week I would like to share an amazing little treat I discovered during my trip to Hawaii. Firstly, I have to say that the food is amazing. I had the pleasures of sampling many of the local cuisine during my visit but what really made my little sweet tooth sing was Hawaiian Mochi. These tasty little sweet morsels are readily available everywhere much like our beloved DATE SQUARES are here in Newfoundland. You can find them in supermarkets, restaurants, bakeries, gas stations, in drug stores and everywhere in between.

Yellow & green colored mochi from blog.sfgate.com

Store bought butter mochi from seriouseats.com

They come in all shapes, color and sizes. Some have a sweet filling in them and others are filled with mixture of toasted nuts, sesame seeds and flakes of sweetened coconut. Come as they may, they are more than likely made from glutinous rice or flour. They have a soft, chewy, sticky, jelloish-marshmallow texture which gives an excellent mouth feel when you bite into them. It's quite moreish and I have craved for them on several occasions. Since then I've perfected the recipe and my friends and family all love it. I hope the recipe below will tie you over until you end up somewhere tropical!

Until next time, Mahalo! 

Butter Mochi

Ingredients:

DRY:

4 cups Glutinous rice flour

3 tsp Baking powder

3 cups sugar

WET:

1/2 cup Butter (salted), melted

4 Eggs

1 can Coconut milk

1 can 2% evaporated milk

3 tsp Vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix together all the wet ingredients in another bowl, then add them into the dry ingredients.

Continue to stir and fold until the whole mixture is is even and free of lumps. (There is no fear of over mixing here so put some muscle into it!)

Pour the batter into a 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. 

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the top of the dessert is golden and just begining to brown around the edges.

You can eat it while it's still warm but I find it much nicer the next day when it is cooled and setup overnight. (This dessert does not require refrigeration.)

恭禧發財! Gong Hey Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year! 

Everyone from TamGood would like to wish everyone a joyous, 

prosperous and healthy New Year in 2016!

Here is our table filled with delicious, symbolic dishes.    Food Symbolism during Chinese  New Year Celebrations (Source: One World Nation Online Website - link below) The Chinese like playing with words and symbols. Often homonyms (words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings) are  gladly used. Names of dishes and/or their ingredients which will sound similar to words and phrases  referring to wishes expressed during the Chinese New Year, while other foods hold a symbolic meaning.    Food offerings are a prayer or a wish and can be  addressed to ancestors and other beings such as the Jade Emperor and The Kitchen God. The offering of food serves to bring ancestors and other beings in  the other world closer to oneself. The food offerings serve as a bonding tool to bring both worlds together. Below a brief list of the food's symbolic meaning: Abalone (sea snail; 鳆; fù) - definite good fortune Apple (苹果; píngguǒ) - wisdom, peace Apricot, dried (杏脯; xìngfǔ) - gold, wealth Arrowhead (bot.: Sagittaria sagittifolia; 慈菇; cí gū) - benevolence Arrowroot (bot.: Maranta arundinacea; 竹芋) - good life Bamboo fungus (stinkhorn fungus; bot.: Phallus indusiatus; 竹笙, zhúshēng),  also called bamboo pith (竹荪; zhúsūn) - meaning: long life Bamboo shoots (竹笋尖; zhú sǔn jiān) - wealth (term sounds like "wishing that everything  would be well" - xǔyuànchí), new start Banana (香蕉; xiāngjiāo), on altar, offering - wish for education, brilliance at work/ school Bean curd, dried/ tofu, dried (豆腐, dòu fǔ)- fulfillment of wealth and happiness ( note: dried tofu is not of white colour) Bean curd sticks (腐竹; fǔ zhú) - blessing the house Bean sprouts (豆芽; dòu yá, literally "bean sprout/germ" 芽菜; yá cài, literally  "sprout vegetable" or 银芽; yín yá, literally "silver sprouts") - 'to your heart's content', positive start into the new year Black moss (hair moss, hair weed), fat choy (髮菜; fàcài; a black hair-like cyanobacteria) - wealth Cabbage, Chinese (pak choy, 白菜) - 100 types of prosperity luck Cabbage, stuffed packages - wealth (the shape symbolises an ingot) Calms (scallops; 扇贝; shànbèi) - opening of new horizons calm roll (干贝; gānbèi) - gold, wealth Carrots (胡蘿蔔; hú luóbo; or 紅蘿蔔; hóng luóbo), red colour- good luck Cashew nut (腰果, yāoguǒ)- gold, money (the nut's shape symbolises the gold bar of  ancient times) Chicken (whole) (鸡肉; jīròu) - prosperity, togetherness of the family, joy  (note: chicken with its head, tail and feet symbolizes completeness) Chinese garlic chives (韭菜, jiǔcài) - everlasting, eternity, long life Coconut, nut (椰子; yēzi), flesh (椰肉; yēròu), juice/milk (椰汁; yēzhī) - promoting togetherness Daylily buds, golden lily buds (金针; jīnzhēn; also called "golden needles") - wealth Duck (鸭肉, yāròu) - fertility Dumplings - dumplings exist in various kind, see: jiaozi dumplings, they represent the  ancient good pieces Egg (蛋, dàn) - fertility egg roll (蛋皮春卷, dàn pí chūn juǎn) - money, wealth, gold Fa Gao (发糕; fāgāo) the steamed "Prosperity Cake"; the sound "fa" means either  "to raise/generate" or "be prosperous" Fish (whole) - The word 魚 (yú), meaning "fish", has the same pronunciation as the word 餘, which is "remain or surplus", 'having leftovers of money', an increase in prosperity fish ball (鱼蛋; yúdàn) - reunion Golden lilly buds, Daylily (bot.: Hemerocallis; 金针; jīnzhēn) - wealth Gingko nuts ( 銀杏; yín xìng; or 白果, bái guǒ)- hope for silver, wealth (the nut's shape represents a silver yuanbao/ ingot) Dried unbroken glass noodles symbolise long life. Photo: © Valeska Gehrmann  Glass noodles, Chinese vermicelli, cellophane noodle, noodle threads (粉絲; fěn sī; also called "bean threads ", mung bean thread) - silver chain Grapes (葡萄, pútaó) - wealth, abundance, fertility, many descendants, family harmony Jiaozi- Dumplings (jiǎozi, 饺子) - wealth (the shape of the jiaozi dumplings is that of a yuanbao ingot, also the word jiǎozi shares the same pronunciation with 角子 (jiǎozi) that is a small jiao coin used in old times.  Jujube symbolise wealth, prosperity, as well as fertility. Photo: © nationsonline.org Jujube (kind of date, red colour; 枣; zǎo, candied  jujube: 蜜枣; mìzǎo) - wealth, prosperity, fertility Kumquat (金橘; jīn jú) - gold, hence fortune, wealth Lettuce (生菜; shēngcài) - prosperity lettuce roll, food being rolled into lettuce  - having a child soon Longan (龙眼) - many good son Lotus seeds/ -nuts/ -beans (蓮子; lián zĭ)  - a full wallet, many (male) offspring lotus seeds,crystallized (蓮子糖; lián zĭ táng)  - a full wallet, many (male) offspring Lychee (荔枝; lìzhī) - close family ties Maize (玉米; yùmǐ) - growth Mandarin (瓯柑; ōugān) - gold, wealth Meat ball (肉丸; ròuwán)- reunion Melon (瓜; guā) - family unity melon, candied - growth, good health Mixed vegetable (什锦蔬菜; shíjǐn shūcài) - family harmony Muer mushroom, Black fungus, Three ear fungus, Wood ear (木耳; mù ěr) - longevity Noodles (面条; miàntiáo) uncut - long life Onion (洋葱; yángcōng) - cleverness Orange (柑橘; gānjú) - wealth, good fortune, gold Oyster (牡蠣; mǔlì) - receptivity to good fortune, good business Oyster, dried (ho xi) - all good things, good luck Peach - immortality Peach, pair of (桃; táo) - wealth, abundance, long healthy life, great fortune for many generations Peanuts (花生; huāshēng) - health, long life, birth of prosperity, continuous growth, multiplication in wealth and good fortune, stability Pineapple (凤梨; fènglí) - wealth, luck, excellent fortune, gambling luck Pomegranate symbolises many offsprings Photo: © Valeska Gehrmann Pomegranate (石榴; shíliu) - many offsprings Pomelo (柚子; yòuzi) - abundance, prosperity, having children, good health, family unity Pork (猪肉; zhūròu) - strength, wealth, abundant blessing Prawn (大虾; dàxiā) - liveliness Pumpkin (南瓜; nánguā) - prosperity, abundance, descendant's luck, illustrious children, enchantment, fruit drawsearth energy to manifest gold Rice (米饭; mǐfàn) - fertility, luck, wealth, rice symbolizes a link between Heaven (Gods) and Earth (Men) Nian gao, (Chinese: 年糕; pinyin: nián'gāo) Sticky (Rice) cake, Chinese new year's cake. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao because it has the symbolism of increasing prosperity every year. The New Year greeting 'Nian Nian Gao Sheng' (年年高升 niánnián gāoshēng) is to wish people "advance toward higher positions and prosperity step by step." Sticky rice - cohering of family Rice is one of the Twelve Symbols of Sovereignty Roseapple (Syzygium jambos; 蒲桃; pú táo) - calmness, peace of mind, no fighting Seaweed, especially black moss, Fat Choy, (in Chinese: 髮菜; pinyin: fàcài; literal meaning: hair vegetable). The two syllables of Fat Choy in Cantonese sound the same as a Cantonese Chinese New Year greeting "Gung1 hei2 faat3 choi4" (恭喜发财) meaning "congratulations and be prosperous"; additional meanings:  - good luck, exceeding wealth. Seeds - lotus seeds, watermelon seeds, etc. - having a large number of children 籽 [zǐ] Shitake mushrooms, since long a symbol of longevity in Asia, they also symbolise sizing opportunities Photo: © nationsonline.org Shitake, Black mushroom (冬菇; dōnggū) -longevity, sizing opportunities Shrimp (小虾; xiǎoxiā) - happiness and good fortune Slender Noodle (細粉; xì fě) - see glass noodle Snowpeas (荷蘭豆; hélándòu) - unity Spring roll (春卷; chūnjuǎn) - wealth (the shape represents a gold bar) Sweet corn (甜玉米; tián yùmǐ) - growth, increase Sweets, (糖食; tángshí, 糖果;tángguǒ) rice cake (年糕; nián'gāo) - safety, good fortune and 'sweeten' Tangyuan ( 湯圓 ,tāngyuán, "round balls in soup"), sweet dumplings - togetherness, reunion Tofu, dried (豆腐干; dòufǔgān) - fulfillment of wealth and happiness, blessing the houses (note: dried tofu is not of white colour) Tofu, fried (炸豆腐; zhá dòufǔ) - gold, hence wealth Turnip cake (萝卜糕; luóbo gāo) - good omen Vegetable, green (绿叶菜; lǜyècài) - close family ties vegetable/ tofu (dried) - harmony, happiness and prosperity Walnut (核桃仁; hétàorén) - happiness of the entire family Water chestnut (荸薺; bíqí) - unity Winter noodel (冬粉, dōng fěn) - see glass noodle Yuanxiao, sweet dumpling (元宵; yuánxiāo) - togetherness, reunion Information Source: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Chinese_Customs/food_symbolism.htm

Cantonese-Style Nian Gao

A pair of nian gao fish my mother made this year.

Nian gao is also known as Year cake or Chinese New Year Cake since it is traditionally eaten during this time of year. It is made with glutinous rice and pien tong (Chinese brown sugar bars) which are readily available in Asian supermarkets. It's believed that consuming this sweet sticky treat would bring good luck and fortune for the upcoming year. Growing up in the middle of Newfoundland, I remember my mother going out of her way to make this dessert for me as a child and the fond memories our family created together during the years. I want to share this recipe with everyone and pass along wishes for wealth and happiness! 

Nian Gao

400 G (1 bag, green label) glutinous rice flour, sieved
100 G (1/4 bag, red label) rice flour sieved
4 bars of brown sugar (pien tong)
1 1/2 cup of water

1) In a saucepan, dissolve the 4 bars of brown sugar in the 1 1/2 cups of water over medium heat
once dissolved, let cool

2) In a mixing bowl, sieve the two kinds of rice flour.  Add the cooled sugar water and mix with the flour until a thick batter consistency (thinner than dough, but thicker than cake batter).  If the batter is too thick, add some water to thin it out a bit.

3) In a large pot, add water about half way to avoid boiling dry (and check it every 15 mins or so to make sure it's not dry), and put on high heat

4) pour batter into greased dishes or molds and place in your steamer.  Steam for about an hour-2 until nian gao has taken on a firmer texture.

5) allow to cool and enjoy

Some people like to fry their nian gao, to do so, you cut the cooled nian gao into pieces and dip in beaten egg and fry on medium heat until the egg turns a golden brown.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all you ghouls and goblins!

Tonight kids will take to the streets and echo the familiar chorus of "trick or treat!" and receive sweet goodies.  Years back when I was a child, we would get not only a few candies, but plenty of apples in our treat bags.  Mom would check them to make sure they were okay, then we used them to bake apple desserts and enjoy with the family, or if there were only a few, to go into my lunch bag for school the following day.  It is rare to give out apples nowadays, but I thought I would celebrate Halloween with you by sharing a favourite recipe of mine, apple crisp. 

One of the best apples to use for this recipe is the McIntosh, which is a much older, but popular apple available at supermarkets throughout the year.  While still sweet, the flesh is softer and tends to melt down easily in baked desserts, which is why it is a popular apple to use in apple pies, crumbles, sauces and jams.

The dessert is fairly quick to make, so it makes a great addition to any dinner or gathering.  No trick, this is a great Halloween treat!

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

6 medium McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced                     1 cup butter

1 cup rolled oats                                                                                               1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F

2) in a bowl, combine dry ingredients, cut butter into mixture until crumbly

3) lay apples in the bottom of a greased 9X9 pan

4) cover the apples with the crumb mixture

5) bake at 350 F for 30-45 mins or until crust is golden.

The Fall is here! Hip Hip Puree!

Roasted Butternut Squash & Honey Crisp Apple

        The fall is in the air  and the leaves will soon be changing color. During this time of the year I turn to comfort foods and hotter meals. But nothing warms up the soul like a hot bowl of soup. That being said, pureed soups are among my favorites.

      They can made from virtually all sorts of fruits and vegetables, which results in amazing color and flavor/texture combinations. They are so rich with vitamins and satisfying that even the American Food Journal of Nutrition says blended soups are both healthy and helps sedate hunger.

Avocado Spinach Pesto

So please enjoy the following soup recipe as we usher in the autumn equinox.
---until next time, get ready and let's get souped up!

ROASTED TOMATO & BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Olive oil

2 tbsp Garlic, minced

1 cup Onion, diced

2 stalks of Leeks, chopped, discarding deep green tops

3 Tomatoes, halved and seeded

1 tbsp Canola oil

4 cups Butternut Squash, chopped

2 tbsp Smoked Paprika

1.5 L Vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

Light Sour cream or Greek yogurt

Chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1)     In a skillet or cast iron frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil until it starts to smoke. Carefully place the tomato halves open flesh side down into the hot pan.  Let them cook for a minute until they start to brown. Turn them over and continue to brown and blister the outer skin of the tomato until dark brown. Transfer them onto a plate and peel the outer charred skin leaving the sweet inner flash for later. 

2)     Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high setting. Add garlic, onions, & leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions and leeks start to brown, about 3-5 minutes.

3)     Stir in the tomatoes, butternut squash, smoked paprika and cook until the bottom of the pot starts to stick.

4)     Add vegetable stock to deglaze the pot and bring to a boil.

5)     Reduce heat and simmer until the butternut squash is really soft and tender, about 15-20 minutes. You will notice that the soup has slightly thickened.

6)      Puree the soup with an immersion blender until a smooth consistency is achieved.

7)      Season with salt & fresh cracked black pepper. Taste, serve & enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

Halloween is a fun time of year when our kids dress up in fun costumes and go trick or treating door to door.  It is also a great time for treats for not so little ghosts and goblins.  One of our family’s favourite traditions is to go to Lester’s Farm and pick out our pumpkin.  We pick out a nice round pumpkin and bring it home to carve.  My favourite part is not the carving of the pumpkin, but in roasting the delicious pumpkin seeds and enjoying them as a healthy, tasty snack.

 

The greatest thing about roasted pumpkin seeds is that you can make them any flavour you choose, salty, sweet, spicy, you name it.  One idea you can do is coat the seeds in your favourite popcorn seasoning before roasting.  Here is how to roast pumpkin seeds

 

Roasted pumpkin seeds

 

Ingredients:

Pumpkin seeds                 Salt

Water                   Seasoning (optional) I used 2 tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp brown sugar for my 2^nd batch

 

 

1)      Scoop out seeds and pulp from pumpkin

2)      Separate the seeds from pulp by rinsing seeds in a strainer under running water

3)      Soak the seeds overnight in saltwater (1/4 C salt, 3C water)

4)      Take seeds out of water and place on paper towel

5)      Sprinkle salt over seeds (or coat seeds in seasoning by tossing in a bowl)

6)      Put seeds in frying pan (no oil needed) and cook at low-med heat, stirring constantly until seeds become dry and turn a golden color

 

It is important to soak the seeds overnight because it breaks down enzymes in the seeds that make them difficult to digest.  Soaking in salt water also brings out the flavour in the pumpkin seeds.

 

 

 

Enjoy and have a safe and happy Halloween!