Canning Exchange

Once again, I stole someone else's great idea. While perusing Confessions of a Cardamom Addict one day, I came across this post. I loved the idea! Since I am a planner and like to entertain, I jumped right on it and contacted the Cooking Clubs and a few other friends to see if they would be interested in a canning exchange.

There were 6 of us that ended up participating and I am totally looking forward to enjoying every jar.

We were all treated to :

Medium Salsa - Meighen

Maple Honey Syrup with Nuts - Melanie

Bruschetta Topping - Suzanne

Spiced Blueberry Jam - Jillian

Lemon Pineapple Preserves - Julie

Peach Chutney - Me

While cooking, I found this article from CHOW to be an invaluable resource.

Cooking Club - Pumpkin Iron Chef Challenge

In the spirit of competition, and I do like to compete - especially in things I have a chance of winning, Jillian decided to make October's theme an Iron Chef one. The ingredient was pumpkin, of course. Imogen, Rose and I were on one team and Jillian, Dana, and Mel on the other. We were all too nice to really judge each other's work. So we all ended up winning. BOOO!


Team 1

(just as an aside, almost every member from my team used an actual pumpkin and not the canned stuff)

Appetizer - Baked Brie with Pumpkin Chutney (Rosemary)
I will definitely make the chutney again, and really, who doesn't like warm gooey cheese?

Main - Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage (Danielle)
A flop. Pumpkin is waterier than the potatoes and therefore I needed to add a tonne more flour. More than I brought, which meant I had to switch to whole wheat flour. I like whole wheat, but not in this recipe. Yuck!

Dessert - Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce (Imogen)
The night's winner in my opinion. I adore bread pudding and this had a great balance of warm spices and sweetness

Team 2

Appetizer - Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque (Melanie)
This had the most pure pumpkin flavour. I might have added some more earthy flavoured herbs.

Main - Pumpkin Seed Crusted Lamb with Chipotle Sauce (Jillian)
Another good one. The sauce was one I will make again.

Dessert - Pumpkin Ice Cream with Pumpkin Seed Brittle (Dana)
A flop as well, though the flavours were quite good. Dana learned that using a candy thermometer when making brittle is a necessity as opposed to a suggestion.

Cooking Club - Local, Seasonal Food

It is almost every chef's mantra to use the best quality, local and seasonal ingredients in their cooking. Our group of amateur cooking club members decided to join them in this.

Our menu included:

Imogen - Tomato "Burgers"

Tomatoes from Essex County are simply the best

and are only enhanced with basil right from the garden.

Danielle - Cumin Scented Beet Latkes with Canadian Horseradish Goat Cheese &

Carrot Latkes with Gingered Michigan Applesauce

Beets and carrots from the backyard, doesn't get more local than that.

Dana - Pasta with Five Fresh Herbs

Rosemary - Roast Pork Stuffed with Chestnuts and Apple

The ingredients were very seasonal, maybe not so local.

Jillian - Roasted Fingerlings with Red and Yellow Piperade

Melanie - Fabulous Fall Fruit Crisp

All of this was served with Walkerville Brewery beer and Pelee Island wines.

Cooking Club I - Liquor

June was my hosting month for Cooking Club I. A theme that I had been mulling for a while was that of using alcohol in food. I like the way it enhances flavours and that one can make a drink to go along with the meal as well. The interpretations of the theme that were presented at our meeting were quite interesting to say the least. How did we end up not using wine?

Jillian - Grilled Corn, Shrimp, and Avocado Appetizer - tequila

*recipe below

Very fresh tasting, I liked the smoky crunch of the corn and smoothness of the avocado.

Would be great as a salad as well.

Danielle - Romaine with Fresh Cherries, Pistachios, Feta and Corn Bread Croutons - kreik beer

Turned out WAY better than I expected. I subbed in corn bread for olive, pistachios for pumpkin seeds and 4 T kreik + balsamic for the white balsamic.

Rose - Avocado Soup - tequila

Had a surprising spicy after bite. Smooth and velvety.

Melanie - Coconut Chicken Fingers with Spicy Mango Sauce - rum

Kids would love these. A great indulgent snack choice.

Imogen - Penne with Prosciutto and Vodka Sauce - vodka

Smoky flavours and quite filling. Great for lunch the next day.

Dana - Brownies with Peanut Butter Icing and Chocolate Ganache - Kahlua

VERY dense and sweet. Could put one into insulin shock.

Grilled Shrimp Martinis (from Heart Smart, Bonnie Stern)

1lb shrimp
1T olive oil
1t salt
2 ears corn
1 small onion
1 sweet red pepper
1 jalapeno
1/3 cup cilantro
1 small avocado
3T lime juice
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 t chipoltle puree
1/2 cumin
2 T tequila
tortilla chips
(I also added mexican cheese con fresca to make it a little less heart smart).

1. Grill shrimp, corn, onion, and red pepper on BBQ
2. Dice all along with jalapeno, cilantro, and avocado.
3. Mix lime, garlic, chipotle, cumin, and tequilla.
4. Stir it all together. Serve in martini glasses with tortilla chips.

Cooking Club

Yay! Our cooking club was recently on the front page of the Windsor Star Food Section! Fairly complimentary overall. I hope it inspires others to start their own club.

(picture courtesy of the Windsor Star)

Cooking Club I - Mediterranean Feast

We had our first Friday Cooking Club meeting which meant that it turned out to be quite the party. It was nice to know that we could relax and enjoy our meal and drinks without worrying that we would have to rush off to work the next morning. It was a festival of garlic, and it continued to ooze out of our pores into the next day.

Dana left it up to us to choose our course and it turned out well, with one appetizer, three mains and two desserts.

The menu was as follows:

Melanie: Super Hummus Salad

- a simple salad that would make a great dip for parties

Jillian : Skordalia with Crisp Fried Eggplant

- garlicky to the max but a great balance between the creaminess of the spread and the crisp crust of the eggplant

Dana : Lamb Briouats

- similar to my lamb sandwiches except they were in flaky phyllo and covered with icing sugar, yum!

Imogen : Dash's Donair

- Mediterranean meets East Coast Canada. This sweet sauce will be used on all my future falafel.

Danielle : Nougat Ice Cream

- I wish I would have frozen it for longer, but it was yummy all the same

Rosemary : Grilled Figs with Orange Flower Water, Rose Water and Honey.

- very aromatic

Cooking Club I - Mexican Fiesta

Our March meeting was hosted by Imogen and focused on Mexican delights. I enjoyed the food immensely but, once again, filled up on the chips, salsa and margs before the mains even showed up!

Imogen - Garden Tomato Salsa (mild & spicy) with Chips

Guacamole

Easy Frozen Margaritas

Jillian - Wild Mushroom Enchiladas

Rosemary - Grilled Fish Tacos

Dana - Masa Stuffing

Melanie - Southwestern Black Bean Cakes with Salsa

Danielle - Cinnamon Churros with Dulce De Leche for Dipping

Cooking Club I - Soups, Salads and Sandwiches

I could probably eat soups, salads and sandwiches every night for dinner - as long as there was a variety to choose from of course. This month's cooking club, which was hosted by Rosemary, focused on just that theme. We broke in a new member this month and she was able to contribute a lovely salad.

Here are some of the recipes:

Soups Jillian - Corn Chowder with Sweet Pepper and Thyme

Melanie - Hot and Sour Soup

Sandwiches Danielle - Bahn Mi

Rosemary - Avocado Mint and Chicken Sandwich with Baby Spinach

Salads Dana - Fennel and Beet Salad (recipe below)

Imogen - Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Tomato Mayo

Fennel and Beet Salad with Asian Flavours (from Food & Drink)

3 medium beets , julienned

1 c julienned carrot

1c thinly sliced fennel

2 green onions, finely sliced

2 T peanut oil

1 t sesame oil

2 T rice wine vinegar

2 t soy sauce

1 t finely grated ginger

Thai garlic chili sauce, to taste

4 c baby spinach

2 T chopped coriander

2 T chopped peanuts

1. Mix together onions, carrots and beets in a bowl

2. Whisk together oils, vinegar, soy, ginger and chili sauce. Pour over vegetable mixture and toss.

3. Heap on bed of spinach and garnish with peanuts and coriander.

New Cooking Club!!!!

I love Cooking Club. I enjoy getting together with friends and chatting and drinking while we are able to focus on my favourite subject - food. I recently decided that a once a month meeting did not fix my cravings for Cooking Club, so I decided to start Cooking Club II. I emailed a few people that I have gotten to know through emails and blogs related to Maple Syrup & Poutine (one is Christine from Dinner Lately).

We met earlier this week and it looks like this will be a great group of women. This month's theme will be Canadian food and I am looking forward to learning from my fellow members!

Cooking Club - Appetizers

November's cooking club was held at Jillian's place and the theme was appetizers. Our intention was to try out new recipes at this meeting and then meet up in Mid-December to do an appetizer exchange with the recipes that we thought were most successful.

The common thread throughout the evening seemed to be "deep frying". How could something deep fried be bad?

Our menu included:

Jillian - Mulled Cider (see below) and Mulled Red Wine

Jillian - Italian Rice Balls (see below)

Dana - Zucchini Fritters with Dipping Sauce

Danielle - Pissaladiere *I added roasted red peppers

Rosemary - Spiced Pear Raviloi with White Chocolate Mascarpone Dip

Mulled Cider

3 c apple cider

3 allspice berries

1/4 t nutmeg

4 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 c Granny Smith Apples - sliced thin

1 1/2 c Spiced Rum

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Strain before serving, and serve warm.

Italian Rice Balls

Risotto

5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms,* rinsed
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 cups finely chopped onions

12 ounces crimini mushrooms, finely chopped

6 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon minced fresh basil

1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano

1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring broth to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Add porcini and simmer until just tender, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to plate. Cool mushrooms and chop finely. Cover broth and keep warm over very low heat.
Melt butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add crimini mushrooms; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add porcini, garlic and both herbs; sauté 4 minutes.

Add rice; stir 2 minutes. Add wine; cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add 1 cup hot broth; simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Continue to cook until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, adding more broth by cupfuls and stirring often, about 30 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup cheese.

Balls

3 cups chilled risotto (see above)

12 (1/2-inch) cubes fresh mozzarella (about 1 oz total)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
About 8 cups vegetable oil for frying

Roll chilled risotto into 12 (1 1/2-inch) balls using wet hands. Poke a small hole in center of each ball and insert a cube of cheese, then re-form into a ball.
Put flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 separate bowls. Dredge 1 risotto ball in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, letting excess drip off, then dredge in bread crumbs and transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Repeat with remaining balls.
Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot until thermometer registers 360°F. Working in batches of 4, lower rice balls into oil with a slotted spoon and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Return oil to 360°F between batches. 3Let balls stand 2 minutes (for cheese to melt).

Sauce

1 small onion, chopped coarsely

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 red bell peppers, roasted

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

In a skillet cook onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Transfer onion mixture to a food processor and add roasted peppers, basil, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend sauce until smooth and transfer to a small bowl.

(Sauce may be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled, covered.)

Spoon sauce on plate and serve rice ball on top.

Cooking Club - Wine Pairings

October was my month to host Cooking Club. It is always a challenge to come up with a theme that will impress others, so I am always throwing a few around in my head until I come up with one that I think will do. This time I decided to do wine pairings. I assigned each person a type of wine and then asked them to come up with an appropriate dish.

Here is what we ended up with. We did a damn good job if I do say so myself.

Danielle - Bottega Vino Dei Poeti Prosecco - Potato Apple Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Cream

Dana - Cookoothama Chardonnay - Chipotle Chicken and Mango Slaw

Melanie - Cookoothama Chardonnay - Marinated Shrimp with Orange Mango Dipping Sauce

Jillian - Spinelli Sangiovese - Imam Byaldi

Rosemary - Spinelli Sangiovese - Mushroom, Rapini and Sausage Baked Ziti (see below)

Mushroom, Rapini and Sausage Baked Ziti

Sauce: (makes extra sauce)

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 large can diced tomatoes

1/2 small can of tomato paste

3-5 garlic cloves minced

5 Italian sausages, cases removed, broken up into chunks

1/2 - 1 cooking onion, chopped

1/2 c mushrooms, sliced

hot pepper flakes to taste

basil and oregano

salt and pepper.

Put 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan. Add onion and saute 3-4 minutes. Add broken up sausage and garlic and brown. Add mushrooms and cook 5 minutes more. Add canned tomatoes (all) and spices to taste. Simmer for at least 25-30 minutes for flavors to blend.

Pasta:

450 g ziti

1 bunch rapini

2 cups shredded mozzarella

parmesan to taste

Cook ziti until 3/4 done. Add cleaned and de-stemmed rapini to pasta water and continue cooking until pasta is cooked. Drain. Pour ziti and rapini into a lasagna dish. Add sauce. Mix. Cover with cheeses. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and browning.

Imam Bayaldi

2 1/2 lb eggplant

salt

3 onions, peeled, sliced in thin circles

1/2 cup water

5 Tbsp olive oil

5 tomatoes sliced

tsp cinnamon

tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped parsley

6 cloves garlic sliced thin

fresh ground pepper

juice from 1/2 a lemon

pinch of sugar

Cut eggplants in half and make at least 3 vertical slashes in each (not piercing the skin). Salt and let sit (flesh side down) for 30 minutes (rinse and dry).

Simmer onions in pot with boiling water for a few minutes. Drain and fry with 2 Tbsp olive oil until soft.

Put 1/3 of the onions and 4-5 slices of tomato in the bottom of a buttered casserole dish large enough to hold eggplants. Add remaining tomatoes to leftover onion mixture and fry for 10 minutes. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, 2 crushed garlic cloves and 2 Tbsp of the parsley. Continue to cook approximately 5 minutes.

Stuff remaining garlic slices in slashes of eggplants. Spoon mixture from frying pan onto eggplants. Pepper and sprinkle with parsley, sugar and lemon juice. Bake in oven on moderate heat (350F) for approximately 40 minutes (or until eggplant is soft). Can be served this way or can scoop out the mixture and blend it slightly with a hand blender.

Cooking Club - Comfort Food Done Light

This month's cooking club theme was Comfort Food Done Light. Take a look at my Food Network article for more details.

Mulled Cranberry Guava Toddies - Melanie
Low Fat Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip - Melanie
French Onion Soup - Dana
Thyme Chicken with Pumpkin Dumplings - Danielle
Scalloped Potatoes - Rosemary
Chai Latte Spelt Brownies - Jillian

Danielle's Thyme Chicken with Pumpkin Dumplings (inspired by a Weight Watcher's recipe)

1 t fresh thyme - chopped

1 t pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into large pieces

4 skinned, boned chicken thighs - cut into large pieces

1 T olive oil

1/2 c diced cooking onion

3 c sliced, shiitake mushrooms

2 3/4 chicken broth + 1/4 c

1/2 c white wine

2 garlic cloves, minced

2/3 c flour

1 t salt

2 T fresh parsley, minced

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

3/4 T shortening

1/4 c mashed cooked pumpkin

1/4 c low fat buttermilk

3/4 c fat free sour cream

1. Sprinkle thyme and pepper over chicken pieces. Heat oil in large pot and add chicken, cooking until browned on each side. Remove chicken from pot and set aside.

2. Add onions to pot and saute for 5 min. Remove onions from pot and set aside.

3. Add mushrooms and 1/4 c chicken broth to the pot and cook until liquid has almost evaporated. Return chicken and onions to the pot and add the rest of the broth along with the wine and garlic. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

4. Place 1/4 c of flour and 1/2 t salt in a small bowl. Gradually add 1/4 c of broth and whisk until fully blended. Add flour mixture to pot, stirring well. Cover the pot and simmer for 20 min. - stirring occasionally.

5. Combine the rest of the flour, a pinch of pepper and salt, 1 T parsley, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. Cut shortening into mixture using two knives until it resembles coarse meal. Add the pumpkin and buttermilk to the mixture - stirring until moist. Set aside.

6. Stir sour cream into chicken mixture. Drop dough onto chicken mixture to form 6-8 dumplings. Cover and simmer for 20 min. Remove from heat and serve.

Makes about 6 servings.

372 calories, 9.5 g of Fat (2.5 g saturated).

Lower-Fat Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

40 minutes total (20 minutes prep)
Makes 40 servings (2 1/2 cups)

(12 ounce) package light silken tofu
2 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 (15 ounce) can artichoke quarters in water, drained, rinsed, and
chopped
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or 4-cheese blend)
1 teaspoon horseradish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. Puree tofu, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, onion and horseradish (if using) in blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer to bowl.

3. Stir artichokes, spinach, and cheese into tofu mixture.

4. Place into an 8-inch glass pie dish or casserole.

5. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with whole wheat pita bread or fresh vegetables.

Some nutrition facts (per 26 g serving):

Total fat: 0.9 g (saturated fat = 0.3 g; polyunsat. fat = 0.2 g; monounsat. fat = 0.2 g; trans fat = 0 g)


Mulled Cranberry-Guava Toddies

2 litres of President's Choice light cranberry juice cocktail
1/4 cup sliced, peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons whole cloves
16 (1/4 inch thick) slices orange (about 4 oranges)
1 litre guava juice
2 cups dark rum (optional)

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan.

2. Bring to a boil.

3. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Pour through a sieve and discard ginger and cloves. Reserve oranges if desired.

5. Stir in rum and serve while still warm.

Rosemary's Scalloped Potatoes

8-10 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and washed
1 Spanish or sweet onion (size depends on how much onion you like)
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
3 cups 2% milk
2 cups low fat grated cheese (of your choice)
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Cut potatoes and onion into thin slices. Arrange in baking dish in layers.
2. Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir for a couple of minutes, making a roux.
Slowly add milk. Stir constantly on medium heat until sauce is thickened.
Add grated cheese to sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until cheese is melted.
3. Pour sauce over potatoes.
4. Bake covered in 350 degree oven for 1.5 hours or until potatoes start to brown.

Jillian's Chai Latte brownies

1/4 cup skim milk
5 cardamom pods, crushed
5 cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 chai tea bag. opened
1 stick cinnamon
4 oz dark chocolate
1/4 cup butter
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cup spelt flour
6 packets stevia
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk and discard solids. Add chocolate and butter; microwave to melt. cool slightly, add eggs, stir with whisk.
3. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until just combined. Spread evenly into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until centre is set.

Cooking Club - Carribean Food

June was the month for food of the Carribean. Let me tell you, we needed that spice to warm up the freezing temperature in the home Cooking Club was held in! Overall, the recipes were quite good. I loved steaming my fish in banana leaves, it felt so authentic. The only thing I would change would be to use Kaffir lime leaves instead of lime peel next time.





Here are the recipes:


Jillian - Jamaican Patties *see recipes below

Rosemary - Carribean Salad (Gets my vote for the prettiest dish ever in cooking club)

Dana - Grilled Jerk Chicken and Rum Punch *see recipes below

Danielle - Tilapia Steamed in Banana Leaf and Tostones

Melanie -Broiled Pineapple with Macadamia Crunch

Jamaican Meat Patties
Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse, 2001

For the pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups multigrain flour
2 teaspoons dried turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons vegetable shortening
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water
For the filling: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter 1 large onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups chopped) 6 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger 1 pound ground beef 1/4 teaspoon saffron3/4 teaspoon ground cumin 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice (I used nutmeg...thought I had allspice but I didn't) 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1 tablespoon scotch bonnet pepper sauce (didn't have an actual pepper at Zehrs) 2 sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped 3 scallions, finely chopped 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley 1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons salt Freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup water or beef stock 3 tablespoons Jamaican rum
To assemble the patties: Flour for rolling out the dough 2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 teaspoon of rum
For the pastry: Sift the flour, turmeric, and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingers, two knives, or a pastry blender, cut in the shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Working quickly, add only enough water to form a firm dough. Do not overwork pastry. Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours or overnight.
In a large skillet, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the ground beef, turmeric, cumin, allspice, cardamom, hot peppers, and thyme and cook until the beef is browned and spices are fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the scallions, parsley, tomatoes, and stock and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the flavors have come together and almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Set aside to cool before assembling the patties.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry and cut into circles about 6 to 7 inches in diameter. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of the cooled filling onto the center of one side of each circle, and lightly brush the edges of the circle with a little of the beaten egg yolk mixture. Fold the other half of the pastry over so that the edges meet, and use a fork to crimp the edges together. Lightly brush the top of each patty with a little of the beaten egg yolk mixture. Place the patties on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Dana's Jerk Sauce

4 c ketchup

1c light soy

1c white vinegar

1c brown sugar

1 small red onion, minced

6 T red chili paste

6 cloves garlic, minced

9 T ginger, minced

2 T Jerk seasoning

9 oz. dark rum

Combine all ingredients except the rum and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly. Simmer for 10 min, but do not boil. Add rum and stir. Bring back to a simmer for 5 min.

Dana's Rum Punch

(This one will knock your socks off!)

3 c water

1 pint melted passion fruit sorbet

12 oz can thawed frozen orange juice

1 1/2 c white rum

3/4 c golden rum

3/4 c coconut rum

1/4 c Grenadine

3 T freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 t ground nutmeg

Mix together in a pitcher. Add ice and serve.

Cooking Club - Restaurant Recipes

Recipes from your favourite restaurant was the topic of our most recent Cooking Club. It turned out fairly well and amazingly enough there were no duplicates.

Here is the menu:

Danielle - Creole Peanut Soup from Magnolia Grill in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Jillian - Spinach Special Deep Dish Pizza from PizzaPapalis in Detroit, Michigan
Dana - Mushroom and Horseradish Beef Tips from Three in Windsor, Ontario
Rosemary - White Chocolate Brownies from Moxies across Ontario


Pizza Papalis – Spinach Special

Premade Pizza dough (make my own if you have time – I didn’t)

Filling
1 bag of baby spinach, washed, dried
½ pound fresh mushrooms, washed and cut into 1/8" slices (optional)
1 small onion, cut into 1/8" slices (optional)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¾ lb whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (I used skim)
¾ cup ricotta cheese (or how ever much looks good)
¼ cup freshly grated Asiago (or parmesan) cheese (or how ever much looks good)
Salt & pepper, to taste

While the dough is rising, preheat oven to 500-degrees F. Prepare the filling by heating the olive oil in a large skillet and adding the spinach, garlic, chili pepper, salt and pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the spinach wilts and most of the excess liquid has evaporated. Drain the spinach in a colander and set aside until needed. Cook the mushrooms and onions and set aside until needed.

Topping Recipe
28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and roughly crushed
2-3 tablespoons pesto sauce (or 5 to 6 fresh basil leaves and 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped)
¼ cup freshly grated Asiago (or parmesan) cheese

Roll the large portion of dough out into a 16" circle. Place the dough into a lightly greased deep-dish pizza pan. The dough should come up on the sides. Put layer of half the cheese, followed by a layer of all the spinach, then all the mushrooms and onion and then the remaining cheese. Roll out the remaining dough into a 14" circle and place it on top of the filling. Pinch the top and side edges together to seal (cut off excess dough). Prick the top with a fork to allow steam to escape.
Bake at 500-degrees F. for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400-degrees F. and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Mix tomatoes with pesto (or basil and garlic), spread on top and then sprinkle with Asiago during the last 10 minutes of baking time.




Moxie's White Chocolate Brownie
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, and set aside. Using a large pan, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar. Let this cool for about 10 minutes and then add the eggs one at a time. Be sure to beat well after adding each egg.
Add the flour mixture, the nuts and the chocolate chips and blend well. Spread in the greased pan.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven or until the edges begin to pull away from the sides. Cut into small squares when cool.

**Garnish with Vanilla Ice Cream, Whipped Cream and Chocolate/Fudge sauce

Cooking Club - Brunch Theme

Last week our Cooking Club met with our new member, Rosemary. How fitting that she would have a food name! We came together and made brunch. It was super fattening - as most Cooking Club meetings are - but very tasty.

Here is the menu:

Dana - Sausage Au Gratin with Potatoes and Beer (see below)

Melanie - Cheese Biscuits & Passion Fruit Mimosa

Jillian - Baked Eggs and White Truffle Mushrooms in Ham Crisps (see below)

Danielle - Black Forest Waffles


Sausage Au Gratin with Potatoes and Beer

4 c water
Pinch salt
1 c cubed carrots
1 c cubed turnip
2 c cubed potato
1 t butter
1 lb sausage
1/2 c chopped onion
2 T chopped parsley
12 oz beer
2 c chicken stock
1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese


In a pot bring the water to a boil. Add salt, carrots, turnip & potatoes. Cover and Simmer for 10 min. Drain and set aside.

In a frying pan, melt butter and cook sausage for 2 min. Add onion and parsley - cook for 2 more min.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Place sausage in dish and cover with potato mixture. Add beer and chicken stock. Garnish with cheese slices and bake for about 20 min.


Baked Eggs and White Truffle Mushroom In Ham Crisps

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

¾ lb fresh cremini mushrooms (3), trimmed
I oz dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated
1 teaspoon butter
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 tablespoon finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon white truffle oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 slices Black Forest or Virginia ham (without holes; 10 oz)
12 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Prepare mushrooms: Cook mushrooms in butter with salt and pepper in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and liquid they give off is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in crème fraîche, parmigiano, and truffle oil.
Assemble and bake: Fit 1 slice of ham into each of 12 lightly oiled muffin cups (ends will stick up and hang over edges of cups). Divide mushrooms among cups and crack 1 egg into each. Bake in middle of oven until whites are cooked but yolks are still runny, about 15 minutes. Season eggs with salt and pepper and remove (with ham) from muffin cups carefully, using 2 spoons or small spatulas.

Cooks' note: • The eggs in this recipe are not fully cooked, which may be of concern if salmonella is a problem in your area.

Makes 6 servings.

Cooking Club - Black and Orange

Wednesday was our first Cooking Club meeting without our original five members. Dana was the host and the theme was "Black and Orange" food in honour of Hallowe'en.

Amazingly enough we were all able to come up with food that followed the guidelines but was edible and nobody used black licorice!

The menu included:

Dana - Ghoulish Crisps with Vampire Black Bean Dip and Lots of Garlic
Crostini with Black Olive Tapenade and Orange Peppers

Jillian - Blackened Shrimp with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Andouille Cream


Danielle - Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage, and Poppy Seeds


Melanie - Graveyard Pumpkin Mousse

Cooking Club

Since April 2006 I have been part of a Cooking Club, along with 4 other women. This past Thursday, we met for the last time with our original group. One of our members is moving to San Diego - she'll be sorely missed, but now we can just have a San Diego chapter to share recipes with!

Once our club is able to decide when to meet, a host is chosen. The host will usually have the club over to use their kitchen, while also choosing the theme for the meeting. Some themes that we have already done include: Favourite Family Recipes; South East Asian Food; Barbeque. The host is also in charge of providing drinks and assigning which course each person will cook. Each member each chooses their own recipe and then we get together and cook.

This months theme was "Fall Foods". My kitchen had lovely smells of spices and fall fruit for the entire evening. It was heavenly. In my opinion, this was one of our best menus yet. Our meal consisted of:
Port Roasted Pears with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts on Arugala Crostini

Veal Saute with Apples

Cranberry Glazed Chicken

Hazelnut Stuffed Pears with Maple Glaze

We are looking forward to finding out what future meetings - and new members - will bring!