Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla and Basil Spiked Whipped Cream

I love love love strawberry Shortcake. I am speaking of the desert here, and not the cartoon, although I do have a special place in my heart for her as well. When I was little one of my favourite movies was "Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City". Strawberry is the big winner of a nation wide cooking contest and she wins a trip to "Big Apple City" in order to compete in a big bake-off at "the little theater off Times Pear!!" (she makes Strawberry Shortcake!) Sometimes I wonder why I am a lawyer ... I digress!!

The shortcake recipe was inherited from my Grandmother Gerrie! My mother has been baking it up for me for all of my life and it is my favourite. I always look forward to this time of year, when the local strawberry farms are full of beautiful sweet berries. The season is so short so take advantage while you can!

Grandma G's Shortcake:

2 cups all purpose flour

3 T sugar

3 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/3 cup shortening or lard

1 cup milk (2% or whole milk)

2 T butter - cut into small pieces

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Cut in shortening, then stir in milk until just blended.

Mixture will be thick.

Spoon Mixture into an 8" x 8" square greased pan and dot with butter.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Strawberries w/ Vanilla and Basil Spiked Whipped Cream

2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

2 T basil

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1 vanilla bean

Place Strawberries in a bowl, top with 1 T icing sugar and 1 t basil. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

In the bowl of a mortar and pestle, combine remaining basil and icing sugar. Smash until the basil is well bruised and the sugar and basil are well acquainted!

In a clean metal bowl, whisk together whipping cream sugar + basil mixture, and the insides of the vanilla bean, until soft peaks are formed.

Serve by slicing a piece of the shortcake in half, load the bottom half with as many strawberries and cream as possible, then top with the remaining half!

Bliss!!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes!!

I had been on the search for the best chocolate cupcake recipe for a while. I have tried a number of recipes, however I found one that comes from an old Cooks Illustrated, which has got to be the best I've found (so far!!). I really like cream cheese frosting with my chocolate cupcakes (or my red velvet cupcakes or my vanilla cupcakes or my carrot cupcakes ...), you could also do a devils chocolate icing if you want an extra boost of chocolatey goodness!! I've included the recipe for cream cheese icing as I think it is more colourful for Spring!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

~ makes 12 cupcakes, do not double, if you need 24 make two separate recipes ~

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cut into 4 pieces

2 oz bitter-sweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 t baking soda

3/4 t baking powder

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a standard size muffin pan with cupcake liners.

1. Combine butter, bittersweet chocolate and cocoa in a heat proof bowl. Place bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water, you may also use a bain maire / double boiler for this purpose, if you have one of these.

2. Heat the chocolate mixture until it has melted. Whisk to achieve a smooth consistency. Remove from heat and set aside to cool (to the touch).

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk eggs to combine. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, and salt until fluffy and fully incorporated.

5. Add chocolate mixture to sugar and egg mixture and whisk until fully combined.

6. Switch to paddle attachment. Add 1/3 sifted flour mixture. Mix to just combine.

7. Add sour cream and mix to just combine.

8. Add remaining flour mixture and mix to just combine.

9. Divide batter, evenly, among muffin pan cups.

10. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake tester, inserted into the center of the cupcake, comes out clean.

11. Remove and cool for 10 minutes then remove cupcakes to wire rack and let cool to room temperature, prior to icing (about 30 minutes).

Cream Cheese Icing:

1 package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 t vanilla

2 cups icing sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until very well combined (whipped).

Add vanilla and mix well to combine.

Slowly add the icing sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until fully incorporated.

Taste, for sweetness and consistency.

Add more icing sugar if you find that it is too loose or not sweet enough!

Once desired consistency is reached, add food colourings to colour the icing to the colour of your choice.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

On this glorious spring day, I thought, what better way to celebrate the Royal nuptials then to make English muffins!! These are whole wheat with a honey flavour. They are really great fresh, or toasted with some butter or peanut butter. I also love them topped with scrambled eggs, garlicly sauteed spinach, and goat cheese.

Cheerio!

Whole Wheat English Muffins

~ makes 12 muffins ~

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 T active yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour, plus 1/4 cup for kneading
1 cup all purpose flour
1 t salt
1 cup 2% milk
3 T canola oil
2 T honey
1 egg
cornmeal

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let sit for ten minutes until frothy.

Combine flours and salt in bowl and set aside.

Warm milk over medium high heat until bubbles just start to form. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.

Combine egg, water, yeast, oil, and half of the flour with the milk mixture. Add remaining flour mixture and stir to combine.

Turn out onto board knead, adding more flour, one tablespoonful at a time, for several minutes, until it is no longer sticky.

Place in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise for at least one hour in a warm part of your kitchen, until it has roughly doubled in size.

When dough has risen, roll onto board which is dusted well with cornmeal, into a ½ inch thickness and cut into 3 inch rounds.

Fry in a skillet, which has been dusted with cornmeal, over medium heat, for 5-7 minutes per side, or until browned.

Bake in oven until sides are set and insides are soft but no longer gooey.

Let cool on a rack.

Split with a fork or with a knife, and enjoy!

This recipe is a combination of a few that I found on the site but is adapted, for the most part, from the website, recipetips.com.

The Ultimate Burger & Ceasar Salad

I have been on a search this summer, to find the ultimate burger recipe. I think this one is pretty close! I think it is always better to grind your own meat. We used top sirloin. Whatever cut you choose, you must ensure that there is enough fat included, otherwise the burger will be dry and mealy. Most of the research that I have found suggests a 15-20% ratio of fat to meat. If you are using a leaner cut of meat (like turkey), I would suggest adding some bacon to the mix, in order to up the fat ratio, so as to ensure a juicy burger!

I think a good burger needs no other accompaniment than an equally fantastic salad. Growing up in my house, salad almost always meant Caesar salad. This version (my mother's) is very garlicy, so I wouldn't suggest it prior to a first date or even if you have a job interview in the next week. But if you are happily in love (or happily single) and well employed, this salad is well worth the day or two of keeping your distance.

Ultimate Burger

~ makes 6 well sized burgers ~

2 lbs top sirloin beef, ground
1 egg

1/4 cup dry or fresh bread crumbs

1 T Dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves, chopped fine

4 drops liquid smoke

1/4 cup fresh Greek oregano (or rosemary), chopped fine

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

salt and ground pepper

fresh kaiser rolls

Combine all ingredients and form into six equal burgers.
Grill to medium.
Serve on kaiser rolls with sauce (recipe below)

Sauce:

1/2 cup mayo

large handful basil leaves, chopped fine

1 T lemon juice

1 T Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

Combine and serve!

Colleen's Caesar Salad

2 egg yolks

1 T lemon juice

8 shakes worcestershire sauce

2 t anchovy paste

2 T red wine vinegar

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 T Dijon mustard or 2 t dried mustard

salt and pepper

1/2 - 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large head romaine lettuce

1/4 red onion, chopped into rings

1 cup croutons

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

Combine first eight ingredients with a hand blender.

Slowly add olive oil, while blending, until desired consistency is reached (should be very creamy).

Toss dressing with lettuce, onions croutons and cheese.

Slow Roasted Baby Back Ribs

Is there anything more indicative of summer than barbecued ribs? But when I awoke this morning it was raining and so I thought to myself: this is an opportunity to use my oven to make Slow Roasted Ribs, instead. This recipe is fail-safe. It always results in ribs so tender that they are difficult to remove from the roasting pan because the meat is falling off the bone. This is my kind of medicine to cure rainy day blues!

Slow Roasted Baby Back Ribs
2 sides baby back pork ribs
1 T smoked or hot paprika
1 T sweet paprika
1 T chili powder
1 T roasted garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 T brown sugar
1 T sea salt
1 T black pepper
1 bottle beer (your choice)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Remove the silver skin from the bone side of the ribs.
Make a dry rub by combining all of the spices. Rub generously to liberally cover the ribs with a coating of the rub.
(At this point you can let the ribs marinate for a few hours, up to 24 hours)
Place the ribs in a large roasting pan, bone side down.
Pour beer over ribs.
Cover tightly with tinfoil.
Roast for 4 hours.

Remove ribs from pan and place on a rack to let them dry a bit.
Coat ribs liberally with your favourite bbq sauce.
Drain beer from pan.
Turn on oven broiler to 500 degrees.
Place well lubricated ribs back in roasting pan.
Broil until ribs are caramelized.

Fall off the bone goodness!

Carnitas

One of my favourite treats when visiting Mexico are Pork Carnitas on warm fresh tortillas. The melt-in-your-mouth morsels of meat are such a treat for the senses.

Traditionally, Carnitas are made by slow cooking pork, orange slices and spices, in a bath of melted lard. The fat ensures rich and flavourful results. I would recommend doing it the traditional way, for a treat. However, this healthier version is becoming very popular, even within Mexico. It is also full of flavour with a little less guilt!

Pork Carnitas

4 lb pork shoulder roast, cut into one inch cubes

zest and juice of one large naval orange

2 T ground cumin

1 T ground coriander seed

2 T sea salt

1 T freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup beef stock

Combine all ingredients in a slow-cooker:

Cook on low setting for 10 hours until meat is very tender and shreds easily. Remove from liquid and serve. If you like the meat to be caramelized on the outside, then place drained meat on a well oiled baking sheet and bake at 500 degrees for 5 minutes to crisp outside of meat. Serve on fresh homemade tortillas with the toppings of your choice.

Toppings:

avocado, sliced thin

tomatillo salsa

jalapeno peppers, diced
queso fresco or feta cheesesour cream

radishes, sliced very thin

cucumber, sliced very thin

fresh cilantro

Roasted Bone Marrow

This is one of my favourite treats, it is absolutely full fat and bad for you, but aren't all things in life that are worth having?? This recipe is based on Jennifer McLagan's cookbook/encyclopedia "Bones". It is supremely easy and equally delicious.

Roasted Marrow Bones
Marrow bones (1 or 2 per person)
Ice Water
Sea Salt
Fresh Thyme
Toast points

Prepare the bones 12-24 hours in advance by soaking them in ice-water and 2 T salt, to remove any blood. Change the salt water every 4-6 hours. When blood has been extracted from bones, dry them well.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
On a well oiled baking sheet place bones, vertically on sheet.
Roast for 15-25 minutes, until center marrow is puffed and a little marrow has started to leak from the bones.
Remove bones from oven and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh thyme.
Serve 1-2 bones per person. To enjoy: scoop out the delectable marrow and serve warm on toast sprinkled with more salt.

Gorgonzola, Fontina and Truffle Macaroni & Cheese

Whilst wandering through St. Lawrence market, Sarah K and I came across one of our favourite cheese shops and after tasting some of the most beautiful Italian cheeses that either of us had found outside of Italy, it was decided that we would make a "grown-up" version of mac & cheese.

Gourmet comfort food has been a food trend that has been on the rise for quite a while now. I am all for it! I love the combination of soul satisfying familiar foods, heightened to food-for-the-gods by using the world's most beautiful ingredients.

Gorgonzola, Fontina and Truffle Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb fresh pasta (your choice, we used Gemelli)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped roughly

2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 T Dijon mustard

1 t fresh nutmeg

3 T truffle paste (we used black truffle paste)

350 g Fontina Val d'Aosta cheese, shredded

300 g gorgonzola cheese

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, toasted in olive oil

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium high head. Add flour and stir until combined. Continue to stir over heat until roux is slightly browned.

Whisk in wine to combine. Whisk in thyme, milk and cream and continue whisking until mixture is very smooth. Cook over medium heat until mixture almost comes to a boil. Sauce should thicken as it cooks.

Remove from heat and whisk in nutmeg, Dijon, truffle paste and fontina cheese. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Meanwhile, cook pasta for 2 minutes in salted boiling water. It should still have a bite to it. Drain well.

Combine pasta with sauce.

Crumble gorgonzola cheese into the mixture and stir to combine.

Pour mixture into well buttered baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top is browned and pasta is bubbly.

Serve with a well-chilled Chablis!

Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy

I want nothing more than comfort food on a Monday. Bangers and Mash is traditional English comfort food at it's best! I had purchased four gorgeous goat and pork sausages during my goat dairy discovery on Friday of last week and I was thinking about a yummy prep for them when, on Sunday, I was brought 4 equally beautiful chicken sausages from Cumbrae's Toronto butcher shop, my souvenir from a family member's weekend jaunt to the city! I thought, why not combine the two and make bangers and mash? Bliss on a weeknight!

Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy
~serves 4~

1 large onion or 2 regular sized onions, chopped into small rings
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
handful of thyme
1 Large can Guinness
1 cup beef/lamb stock
8 sausages
1/3 cup low fat sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Mash:
6-8 red skin potatoes, chopped roughly
2 T butter
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter and olive oil over medium low heat in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan. Add onions, season well with salt and pepper. Saute over low heat for 40 minutes or until onions have slowly caramelized and are golden brown. Add thyme and mix well. Poke small holes in the sausage and add to pan. Add beer and stock, stir to cover sausages. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, partially cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until sausages have cooked through and gravy has reduced to a thickened sauce.

Cover potatoes with cold water. Add about 2 T salt to water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until potatoes are soft (about 20 minutes). Drain potatoes. Heat milk, butter and bay leaf over medium high heat until almost at a boil. Remove bay leaf and pour over dry potatoes. Mash to preferred consistency. Season to preference with salt and pepper.

Enjoy with your favourite ice cold pint!