National Bologna Day

October 24^th is National Bologna Day!

Bologna, or “baloney” as it is often pronounced is a very popular luncheon meat in North America, made from finely ground meats and fat.  Bologna sausage got its name from the city of its origin, Bologna, Italy. 

There are different kinds of bolognas which are made with different ingredients;  German garlic bologna, which adds garlic to the mixture, Halal bologna, which does not use pork products, instead using beef, or chicken, turkey or lamb, Lebanon bologna, which is cured and dried like a salami to name a few.

 

Bologna is to Newfoundland as Spam is to Hawaii.  Locals have coined it as the "Newfie Steak". We consume 1/3^rd of all bologna products sold in Canada, and given we have a population of about 500,000, that is quite a lot of bologna!  When I first heard that there was a bologna cookbook out, I thought to myself, “I bet you that the author is a Newfoundlander” and he is, Chef Kevin Phillips hails from Cape St. George. 

 

As a Newfoundlander, bologna is near and dear to me.  I have so many great memories of having breakfasts on the weekend of fried bologna and eggs, a nice treat from the quick cereal and toast during the week.  I have had Barbequed bologna, bologna sandwiches, appetizers and casseroles.  If the recipe called for ham, in a pinch bologna would work.  The bologna in Newfoundland is a variant of the rag bologna, as we call it, the wax bologna due to being coated in wax during processing.

 

To celebrate this exciting holiday, I have made up a bologna recipe using bologna and another one of my Newfoundland breakfast favourites, toutons.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Bologna Eggs Benedict on a Touton

Ingredients

1 Slice Maple Leaf bologna

1 Poached Egg

1 Piece Pan-fried touton dough

Hollandaise Sauce

Molasses

 

Hollandaise Sauce:

3 Tbsp Butter

2 Egg yolks

½ tsp White vinegar

1 Tbsp Water

Salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Start by taking a palm sized amount of flattened touton dough and pan fry it in both sides

To make the hollandaise sauce, melt butter in a small steel bowl over a sauce pan of simmering water. Add egg yolks, vinegar, water, salt & pepper. Whisk continuously until the sauce begin to thicken and turns a pale yellow, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Next we have to poach an egg. In a small sauce pan, bring 2 inches of water to a simmer and slowly drop in the egg and let it cook slowly until the surface is cooked and the middle is runny and soft.   

Heat a large frying pan with 2 tbsp of oil on medium heat. Place a small piece of touton in the pan along with the bologna. Let it fry for about a minute and turn over the touton dough when it starts to rise and brown and continue to cook for another minute. Also flip over your bologna until its crispy on both sides.

Plate the crispy touton dough. Drizzle with molasses. Top with the slice of bologna and poached egg. Spoon the hollandaise sauce over the egg and let it cascade over the bologna and touton dough.

Pancake Tuesday

cookie cutter shape, jacket and jazz hands optional

Happy Pancake Day!!

Spring is in the air, well not really, it is still cold and snowy, but the first sign of spring is upon us.  It is pancake Tuesday also called Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.  Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent begins, which is a holy season for Christians that starts on Ash Wednesday and ends around Easter.  In historical times, Lent was a time for fasting and prayer and so to prepare for the fast of lent, households would take the day before to use up the indulgent ingredients they had in their pantries. 

Pancakes are associated with Shrove Tuesday as forbidden "indulgent" food items included butter, milk, eggs, dairy and sugar, which are common ingredients in pancakes.  I heard a story on the radio once that said that in ancient times, unrisen cakes similar to pancakes were eaten as treats and were forbidden during the fast of lent, so people made them up the day before with their left over ingredients to enjoy.

In 2006, American franchise IHOP began celebrating Shrove Tuesday as "National Pancake Day" as a fundraiser for various causes.

In Newfoundland, where I was born and raised, there is a special custom involving pancakes on pancake Tuesday.  Parents would put certain items (washed and wrapped in tinfoil) into the pancakes, which had different meanings for the kids opening them. 

finding:

a penny meant they would grow up to be poor

a quarter meant they would grow up to be rich

a ring meant they would get married

a button meant they would not marry (bachelor's button)

a nail meant they would become a carpenter (or marry one)

a string meant they would become a fisherman (or marry one)

a thimble meant they would become a tailor or seamstress

My wife recalled that as a child, they would try to feel the pancakes before taking them as to try to get the quarter pancake and her parents eventually just put money in all of the pancakes, but it took away the fun and mystery of the different items.

 As parents ourselves, we will continue the item in the pancake tradition in the future, but since our son is under two we will stick to plain pancakes.  Here is a recipe for homemade pancakes.  Happy Pancake Day!

Old fashioned pancakes

Ingredients:

1 C flour                                  1 C milk

1 tbsp sugar                           1 egg

1tsp baking powder             2 Tbsp vegetable oil               

1/2 tsp baking soda             1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt                            1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

Preheat lightly oiled pan over medium heat

In a bowl, mix dry ingredients and make a well in the centre of the ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients.

Add wet ingredients into the well of dry ingredients and whish until smooth.

Pour batter into hot pan, using about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook pancake until slightly browned on both sides (pancake should be ready to flip when bubbles start to form on the surface of the uncooked side).

Valentine's Day Desserts

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tonight is the night when we celebrate love and romance.  Because it is also a Friday, the popular date spots will be very busy.  Perhaps some of you are going out to dinner, to the movies or bringing flowers and candy to your loved ones.  Perhaps you want to skip the lines and bustle and enjoy a quiet romantic evening at home.

When I celebrate Valentine's day, that is what I like to do best.  Enjoy a quiet evening at home with my wife.   We pack our son off to Grandma's, light candles, pour the wine and cook a nice meal together.  Cooking at home is great because we know we will get our meals the way we like.  This year, I picked up some avocadoes for a pureed avocado soup,  beef tenderloin, mixed red and white baby potatoes, asparagus and peppers for the main, and homemade vanilla bean creme brulee and red wine poached pear for dessert. 

To celebrate the occasion, here is the recipe for vanilla bean creme brulee and poached pear for you to enjoy and perhaps make as part of a meal you cook for your sweetheart!

 

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

Makes: 8 servings

 Ingredients:

    4 cups                               Heavy Cream

    1/2 pod                              Vanilla bean, scraped

    8                                        Egg yolks

    3/4 cup                              Sugar

    8 Tablespoons                  Sugar for topping

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300F.  In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the cream and vanilla pod and warm over moderate heat until the surface begins to shimmer, about 5 minutes. 

In a large bowl, stir the egg yolks and sugar until blended. Pour in the hot cream slowly and stir gently to avoid forming air bubbles. Strain the custard into a large measuring glass and skim off and surface air bubbles. 

Place 8 3/4-cup ramekins in a roasting pan.  Pour the custard into the ramekins, filling them up to the rim.  Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour in enough warm water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 hour or until the custard is firm around the edges.  (It may still be wobbly in the center but it will firm up as it chills.) Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool. 

Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours.  (The custards can be prepared to this point up to 2 days ahead.  If small pools of liquid develop on the surfaces, blot with a paper towel before proceeding.)

Preheat the broiler or a salamander.  Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.  Sieve 1 tablespoon of brown sugar over the top of each custard in a thin layer. Broil the custards as close to the heat as possible until the sugar is caramelized, 30 seconds to 2 minutes; watch carefully.  Let cool and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

 

 

 

Poached Pear in Red Wine Reduction

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 Bartlett pears (Medium ripeness)

1 tsp butter

 1 cup Merlot

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Slice pears in 1/2 and core them.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter, and heat until it starts to brown. Add sliced pears face down until they start to caramelize. Turn over once caramelized. Add the merlot to deglaze the pears.  Then add the sugar and reduce until pears are cooked and sauce has thickened.  When pears are cooked through, stir in vanilla.  Serve and enjoy.

Dumplings for Chinese New Year

 

Gung Hey Fat Choy!

Ask a Chinese person what their favourite Chinese holiday is and the answer is always Chinese New Year.  There are many reasons for loving this holiday.  The young and unmarried are given red packets containing money (called lai sees or hong baos) from their elders, families travel long distance and reunite and there is lots and lots of celebrating, parties and food.

There are many special foods eaten made and served during Chinese New Year, with the biggest feast falling on New Year's Day.  During the 15 day holiday there are many different gatherings and dinners, the first falling on New Year's eve.

Families often gather on New Year's eve, watching the New Year's Gala on television, making dumplings.  At midnight, the dumplings are eaten and shared. 

To read about the legend behind dumplings, see http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa011900a.htm

This year, Chinese New Year falls on January 31st and it is year of the wooden horse. 

So, in honor of Chinese New Year's Eve, let's make some Chinese dumplings, or Jiao zi or Gow Gee.

Jiao Zi

Dumpling dough:

1 cup boiling water

2 cups flour

1 tsp chicken broth powder (optional)

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp salt

-In a bowl, mix the flour, chicken broth powder and salt.  Add the boiling water and mix into a soft dough.  Add in the sesame oil.  Knead until smooth.  Form into a ball and leave into the bowl.

-let dough rest for 20-30 mins, covered with a damp cloth.



Dumpling filling:

1 pk ground pork

finely shredded napa (Chinese lettuce), about a cup

1 tsp chicken broth powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 C finely chopped green onions

 

- In a bowl, mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

 

To form the dumplings:

Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a roll 12 inches long and cut each roll into 1/2-inch slices.

Roll 1 slice of dough into a 3-inch circle and place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in the center of the circle. Lift up the edges of the circle and pinch 5 pleats up to create a pouch to encase the mixture. Pinch the top together. Repeat with the remaining slices of dough and filling.

 

Place dumplings in a steamer, making sure they are not touching, and steam for 12-14 minutes.  The dumplings may also be boiled.

 

 

When dumplings are cooked, you may pan fry them with about 1 tbsp oil in a hot pan or wok until crispy.

 

Sauce:

For a simple traditional sauce, add 1tsp sesame oil to 1/4 C soya sauce.

 

Enjoy!

S'mores brownies

Ask any kid, or anyone who was a kid what their favorite childhood camping memory is, and 9 chances out of 10, they will tell you sitting around a campfire, singing and eating S'mores.  Ah, s'mores.  The ooey gooey confection consisting of chocolate and a roasted marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers has been popular since the 1920's and is still going strong.  The US even has a national s'mores day, on Aug 10th.

In our province, there has been a huge forest fire burning for over 3 weeks, so campfires are banned in that region.  In other regions there has been a lot of rain, so campfires would be difficult to enjoy.  So what to do if you can't go camping?  Bring the best part of camping to you, of course.

Here is a recipe for s'mores brownies, for when you can't sit by the fireside.

S’MORE BROWNIES

 

Ingredients:

 

12 Graham crackers - broken in pieces

 

½ cup Butter

1 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1/3 cup Cocoa Powder

½ cup Flour

¼ tsp Salt

½ tsp Baking Powder

 

2 cups Milk chocolate chips or chunks

2 cups Miniature white marshmallows

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

1)   Line a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil leaving an overhang on both sides. Spray foil with non- stick cooking spray.

2)   Place graham cracker pieces on the bottom of the pan to act as a base, overlapping slightly. Break remaining pieces into ½ inch chunks and set aside.

3)   In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter over graham crackers in the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the brownie starts to set, do not over bake.

4)   Preheat Broiler. Sprinkle remaining graham cracker pieces and marshmallows over warm brownies; broil until marshmallows are toasty and brown.

5)   Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing into yummy, ooey, gooey, bars.

Canada Day recipes

Happy Canada Day!

Hope you had a wonderful day and enjoyed the celebrations.  In our family we always celebrate Canada Day by having a backyard BBQ with friends and family followed by heading down to the lake to see the fireworks display.  This year, I celebrated the occasion with some Maple BBQ sliders with maple and BBQ flavor infused into the meat, fiesta four bean salad, grilled lemon chili corn and bacon parmesan potato salad. 

 

Here are the recipes for you to try out at your next BBQ.  Enjoy, ‘eh?

Maple BBQ Sliders

Ingredients:

2 lbs       Lean ground beef

4 Tbsp   BBQ sauce

4 Tbsp   Maple Syrup

3 tsp      Garlic, minced

½ cup    Panko crumbs

1              egg

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 bag     Slider buns         

 

Directions:

 

Mix together the ground beef, BBQ sauce, maple syrup, garlic, panko crumbs, egg, salt and pepper in large bowl.

Let flavors marinate for a couple of hours. Then form into 2.5 oz little patties and set aside on parchment paper.

Make sure to preheat your BBQ to medium low heat and grill the burgers nice and slow so the burgers don’t burn up.

Continue to flip the sliders until the internal temperature reaches above 165 F.

Serve with your favorite condiments!

 

 

 

 

 

Fiesta Four Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup                     Black beans, cooked or canned

1 cup                     Chick peas, cooked or canned

1 cup                     Kidney beans, canned

1 cup                     Lima beans, cooked or canned

2 stalks                 Green onions, chopped

1 small can          Corn, drained

1 medium            Red pepper, small diced

1 large                   Shallot, chopped small

2 cloves                                Garlic, minced

½ cup                    Cilantro, chopped

1 tsp                      Chili powder

2 Tbsp                   Extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp                   White wine vinegar

1 Tbsp                   Honey

2 tsp                      Whole grain Dijon mustard

Tabasco sauce to taste

Salt & pepper to tase

 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a mixing a large bowl and mix well.

Place it in nice salad dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight for flavors to combine.

Transfer the bean salad into a nice serving dish and enjoy at your next BBQ!

 

Bacon Parmesan Potato Salad

Ingredients:

3 lbs                       Baby Potatoes, washed, chopped

½ lbs                      Bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/3 cup                 Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 stalks                 Green onions, chopped

1/3 cup                 Light Mayonnaise

2 cloves                                Garlic, minced

¼ tsp                     Black pepper, freshly cracked

2 tsp                      Whole grain Dijon mustard

1 tsp                      Apple cider vinegar

1 tsp                      Honey

 

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Parboil the potatoes for 8 minutes, set aside and let it finish cooking in the hot water for another 5 minutes. Then strain and let it cool.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a medium frying pan on medium high heat until crispy. Let it cool then crumble into pieces and set aside.

In large bowl, combine the potatoes, bacon and all the other ingredients and mix well.

Wrap the potato salad with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnite.

Serve it the next day in a decorative salad dish.

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Lemon Chili Corn

Ingredients:

6              Corn on the cob, chopped in half

2 tsp      Extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp      Chili powder

1 Tbsp   Lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Parboil the corn in boiling water for 10 minutes and strain into a large mixing bowl.

Add the extra virgin olive oil, chili powder, lemon juice, salt and freshly cracked black pepper to the corn and mix until all the corn is well seasoned.

Grill on the BBQ on medium high heat until the corn starts to caramelize and sweeten.

 

 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day!

I hope you are having a great day celebrating your Moms, Grandmas, and all the special ladies in your lives! 

In Chinese culture, both mothers and fathers often have to work and so the primary care taker is the grandmother who is often retired and has time to look after her grandchildren.  I was born here in Canada, however my family was a typical Chinese immigrant family.  My Mom and Dad had to work long hours in our family restaurant, so Grandma and my Aunties looked after me.

Grandma Tam with me and my little cousin

I have fond memories of making supper with Grandma, homestyle Chinese comfort food, such as jook (a savory rice porridge), steamed buns, tong yuen, braised beef belly, etc.  Today I will be honoring Grandma’s memory for Mother’s Day by making some of her favorite dishes; Tomato egg stir fry and steamed baby bokchoy in oyster sauce.

Tomato Egg Stirfry

4 eggs

1 tbsp oil

3 tomatoes

½ cup water

1 tbsp chicken broth powder

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp sugar

½ cup ketchup

1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 3 tbsp water

 

Method:

 

1)      Break eggs into bowl and scramble.  Add oil to wok or large skillet and heat on medium until starting to smoke.  Add eggs and cook, stirring with the spatula until the eggs are slightly broken up.  Remove cooked eggs and put aside.

 

2)      Cut up the tomatoes into wedges and add to wok.  Cook on medium heat until the tomatoes have broken down slightly.  Once the tomatoes are broken down slightly, add ½ cup of water, chicken broth powder, garlic powder, sugar and ketchup.  You can add more or less to taste ie) if you would prefer it to be sweeter, add sugar, more salty, add more chicken broth.

 

3)      Once the tomato flavoring is to your liking, add the eggs.  After about a minute, add the corn starch in water to thicken the sauce.

 

4)      Put into serving dish and enjoy.

 

 

 

Steamed baby bokchoy with oyster sauce

 

2 or 3 bunches of Baby bokchoy

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

Steamer/pot/water

 

Method:

 

1)      Separate baby bokchoy leaves and stems and rinse

2)      Place steamer on pot of water about ½ way full on med/high heat

3)      Once the pot is poiling and steaming, place baby bokchoy into steamer and steam for 5-7 minutes or until tender

4)      Place on plate and drizzle oyster sauce and sesame oil over the baby bokchoy.  Enjoy.

 

 

Grandma always loved to cook, but what she loved most about these dishes is its simplicity and benefits of these dishes.  “It’s good for you! Eat more!” she would always say while putting more vegetables into my bowl.  We always had rice with our meals, but Grandma only wanted us to have a little rice, because she knew too much white rice wasn’t good for you, being a starchy carb with less nutritional value than our main dishes.  As we always said around the table before suppertime, "Sik Fan"!

 

To everyone out there, Happy Mother's Day!

It's Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican-American holiday celebrating the battle of Puebla, where, on May 5^th, 1862 the French Army under Napoleon III stormed Mexico City near Puebla, and were defeated by the Mexican Army.  This was significant, as the Mexican Army was half the size of the French Army and ill equipped.  Also, since the battle of Puebla, there has not been an invasion of a European military force in the Americas.

Although the original events of Cinco de Mayo happened in Mexico, and the holiday is observed in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is actually more of an American holiday, where Mexican culture is celebrated by playing Mexican music, drinking Mexican beverages and eating Mexican food.

 

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, here are a few recipes for some Mexican-American dishes:

Mexican Rice

 

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked rice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tsp minced garlic

2 cups cold water

½ onion

1 tablespoon chicken broth powder

2/3 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon cumin

1 chili pepper, halfed

Method:

Put the oil into a medium saucepan and heat to a medium temperature.  Add the rice and brown it in the oil while stirring.  It might take 5 minutes or so for the rice to start browning.  When the rice is almost browned, add the minced garlic.

Add the water, then the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Cover, with a small air escape, and turn the heat down to medium low.

Cook the rice for 20 to 30 minutes but check after 20 to see if it is ready.

You do not need to stir the rice or lift the lid while it cooks. It is ready when the rice is fluffy, all the water is gone, and the grains are split open (because of the browning).

The rice should be fluffy and not too wet.  If it is not dry enough, cook for a few minutes more.