From Canada With Love: Poutine

One of the best things about where I grew up was that we were just steps away from the Canadian border. We had lots of fun times with our neighbors to the north... some our parents knew about... some they did not. I mean, the drinking age was 18! One of the BEST things to ever derive from Canada is poutine. Now, a classic poutine is found at a diner type place and consists of french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Over the last few years poutine has begun to pop up at finer establishments in fancier forms with ingredients such as short ribs or even with fois gras. I'm not opposed to these new, classier dishes but I do feel that maybe they could be given a new name. Poutine is supposed to be served in a dive on a huge plate with lots of grease... it's just the way it is. 

Last weekend I was craving poutine and since it would take me over 6 hours to get the classic ingredients I realized I was going to have to make due. The fries I could easily do but I was going to have to be a little more creative with the cheese and the gravy. As long as the gravy is good and rich, it'll work so I found a recipe that included shallots, beef stock, and red wine. It sounded rich enough so I gave it a shot. The cheese was a challenge though. Poutine is traditionally made with cheese curds which are no where to be found in my hood therefore I went with original flavored baby bell cheeses. It was the closest I could think of to the texture and flavor I needed and I have to say it was a good choice. It melted a bit to quickly but the flavor was perfect! All in all I made a really great dish that I'm not sure I can confidently call poutine but I will happily call it French Fries with Gravy and Cheese.

French Fries with Gravy and Cheese 

4 russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into about 1/2 inch thick fries

Vegetable oil, enough to fill a large pan about 1/3 full for frying

salt

3 tablespoons minced shallot

2 (3-inch) sprigs fresh thyme

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon water

3/4 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup beef or veal demi-glace

1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

6-8 babybell original flavored cheese, unwrapped and cut into about 4 squares per cheese round.

Clean potatoes and cut into about 1 inch thick fries. Place in a large bowl of cold water and let soak about 10 minutes. Rinse potatoes until water runs clear and place on paper towels to dry. Dry off potatoes as much as possible before frying. 


In a heavy bottom large pot heat vegetable oil to about 375 degrees. Once oil is hot fry potatoes in as many batches as needed so as to not overcrowd. Drain on a paper towel.

Cook shallot and thyme in butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat stirring frequently until shallot is softened and golden, about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs. While wine thickens, stir together water and cornstarch in a small bowl until cornstarch dissolves. Stir 1 cup beef stock into wine and bring to a boil. Whisk in cornstarch mixture and return to a boil, then boil until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pepper, salt, and butter until butter is melted.

Place fries on a large plate and top with cheese and gravy. Heat in preheated oven for about 5 minutes at 400 degrees just until cheese starts to melt. Do not completely melt cheese. It should still have it's shape, it should just be soft. Serve hot.

Gravy recipe adapted from epicurious.com

Summer Sides: Carmelized Tomato Salad with Smoked Gouda

One of my most favorite things about summer is delicious tomatoes. I am absolutely head over heels for fresh tomatoes that are best at the peak of summer. They are delicious in a tomato sandwich which I'm pretty sure my mom enjoys at least once a day all summer long. And by tomato sandwich I mean just that... soft fresh bread (toasted if you wish), tomatoes, mayo (or miracle whip as is the case in our family), and to top it off a sprinkling of salt, pepper, and a little dill. I also love roasted tomatoes as a super simple side dish... Roma tomatoes, olive oil, fresh garlic, salt, pepper and roast in the oven for about an hour in low heat. To make a long story short, I love tomatoes because they are absolutely delicious when you let them shine and when prepared in super simple fashion.

Now that I've professed my love to tomatoes and given you a couple super simple recipes to boot, let's get to the matter at hand... a recipe with both tomatoes and cheese... my two loves (other than the hubs and the hounds of course!). Summertime makes me want to cook lots of fresh vegetables and this recipe is one that totally enhances the freshness. It screams summer to me. It was great as a side dish. I served it with sea bass topped with a super yummy cilantro, lime, jalapeno sauce (recipe will come... promise). I think this could also be great at a summer BBQ as an app. It's super easy. Toss it all together, throw it in a bowl, toast up some bread and put it on a table for your guests to pick at until it's completely demolished.  Either way it's the perfect summer side dish.

Caramelized Tomato Salad with Smoked Gouda

2 cups olive oil
1 3/4 lb cherry tomatoes, divided
1/3 cup sugar
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1/3 cup sherry vinegar
8 oz smoked Gouda
8 green onions thinly sliced
baguette, cut into about 1 inch thick slices and toasted

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place 1 1/4 tomatoes in a 8x8x2 inch metal baking dish and toss with oil, sugar, and thyme. Roast in preheated oven until tomatoes are tender, about 2 hours. Cool caramelized tomatoes in oil.

Using a slotted spoon transfer tomatoes to a large bowl. Transfer 1/2 to 3/4 cup oil from baking dish to a separate medium bowl, reserving rest of oil. Add vinegar to oil in bowl with oil. Whisk to blend oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Add reserved fresh tomatoes, cheese and dressing to bowl with caramelized tomatoes. Lightly toss just enough to combine all ingredients. Top with green onions and serve with toasted baguette slices.

Recipe adapted from epicurious 

Spring at the Farmhouse: Savory Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding

Finally... some recipes from my super yummy first ever holiday dinner party. While planning my Easter dinner menu I wanted to make some Spring classics while also including some dishes that represented my cooking style. One of the best dishes I've made and posted here was this past fall with my savory butternut squash bread pudding. It was a super yummy dish, I got great feedback from those who tried making it, and I was even linked to on a very cool blog that gives lots of tutorials on all kinds of different things called Tipnut.com. So, I decided that another, more Springy, bread pudding would make for a perfect side dish to pair with the classic Roasted Spring Leg of Lamb that I planned to make for my main dish.

One of the things I find so exciting about food these days are all the fun twists and turns chefs make. Obviously, bread pudding was a classic sweet dish generally served for dessert. Nowadays though, do a little google search for bread pudding and all kinds of sweet and savory recipes pop up. I found this dish on epicurious.com and with my love of mushrooms (and my moms) I couldn't help but add this to our Easter menu. It was a yummy alternative to plain old dinner rolls and it's a hearty dish so it would make for a really great dinner with a little mixed greens on the side.... whether it be a leftover from a big holiday dinner or made for a low key romantical dinner at home with you and the one you love.

Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding

4 cups fresh bread crumbs (preferably challah or brioche)
1 1/2 lb fresh mixed wild mushrooms such as criminis, oyster, chantrelles
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups half and half
4 large eggs
1/2 cup grated parm

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rach in middle of oven. Bake bread cubes in a single layer in a large shallow baking pan until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Tear or cut mushrooms into 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Cook shallot in butter over medium heat in a heavy skillet, such as a cast iron skillet. Stir occasionally until shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and cook until liquid that mushrooms release has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add parsley and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk together half and half, eggs, cheese, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in a large bowl. Add mushrooms and bread cubes and stir to combine until bread is well coated. Let stand 10 minutes for bread to absorb egg mixture.

Butter bottom and sides of a baking dish or casserole. Spoon mixture into baking dish and bake until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve hot.

A couple tips:
1. The bread is important! I used challah because that is what my local Whole Foods Market had on hand. Most importantly, you want a soft bread and not a crusty one such as a french bread or baguette.
2. The recipe says to cut mushrooms into 1/4" thick pieces but I really wanted to taste the mushrooms so I made mine a little larger, about 1/2".
3. There are lots of ways you can change up this recipe. Try different bread like whole wheat or a different type of cheese, fontina maybe? Also read reviews that made it a little healthier with substituting olive oil for some of the butter and lowfat milk for some of the half and half. Lots of things to try for the next many times I plan to make this dish!

Recipe adapted from epicurious

Spring at the Farmhouse: Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Tart

One of the best things by far about being back in the Northeast are the changing seasons. Seeing all the new life bloom outside my windows this Spring is making me so happy to be back home. I have this gorgeous flowering tree right outside my living room window and each day it seems to get more and more beautiful. Witherspoon street in downtown Princeton, NJ (about 6 miles from where I live) is covered in flowering trees and super cute daffodils are springing up everywhere! And then there is the food. One of my favorite vegetables is asparagus which is a shining star of the spring season. I was looking for an easy recipe and something a little different. I've been waiting to make an asparagus tart since I watched Jamie Oliver make one a couple months ago on his show Jamie at Home and now that asparagus is springing up everywhere I finally have the chance to give it a shot.

I found this recipe on epicurious but I added sauteed onions. I was hoping the onions would add a hint of sweetness but I didn't cook them long enough. Next time I am going to try cooking the onions low and slow in a pan on top of the stove. This will give them that great slow roasted sweetness which I think will be the perfect compliment to the slightly bitter asparagus. I also cut back on the amount of lemon zest and added a bit more Gruyere because well, we all know how obsessed I am with cheese! I served this as a side to a slow roasted halibut with a cheesy herby bread crumb topping which don't you worry, I'll post soon. The tart would also make really great appetizers.... maybe for Easter dinner??? Just cut the puff pastry into smaller squares, for example cut one sheet of puff pastry into 8 squares instead of 4.

Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Tart

1 pkg. puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
1/4 cup unsalted butter
12 oz shitake mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lb slender asparagus spears, cut on diagonal into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup creme fraiche (can be found with specialty cheeses at your grocery store)
1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
2-4 tbsp melted butter

Roll out each pastry sheet into about 10 inch squares. Cut each into 4 squares (or 8 if making smaller for appetizers). Arrange squares on rimmed baking sheets.

Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Saute until tender and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool about 15 minutes. Add asparagus, thyme, lemon zest, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper to mushrooms. Mix in creme fraiche and cheese.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mound filling atop pastry squares leaving a 1/2 inch border around center of each tart. Brush border with melted butter. Bake tarts 20-22 minutes in preheated oven until tarts are puffed and golden brown.

Recipe adapted from epicurious

Scrumptious Sides: Twice Baked Potatoes

The hubs and I had a wonderful holiday in the north country with my family this year where I ended up doing most of the cooking for our Christmas dinner. I hadn't planned on it so I didn't do much prep work in planning my menu therefore, it wasn't my best showing. It was good, but definitely not great. My brother requested that we have twice baked potatoes and since I have a super yummy recipe, I gladly obliged. Unfortunately though, I left my recipe in Jersey so I ended up winging it. They were ok, but I found that there are 3 main components in making a really great twice baked potato:

The potato, the cheese, and eggs!

Yukon gold potatoes are the way to go! They are more buttery in flavor and they make fluffier mashed potatoes. They also look prettier. I like to use Gruyere cheese because it's mild enough that it doesn't overwhelm the whole potato with cheese and it adds more creaminess to the filling. And finally, adding egg yolks to the filling make it so deliciously fluffy.

I had to remind myself of why this recipe is so good so I made these potatoes on New Years Eve and they turned out perfectly! Next time, I won't forget this one.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

12 small Yukon gold potatoes (or 6 large)
6 large egg yolks
4 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prick potatoes in several places with a fork. Bake on a baking sheet until tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Let cool.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut each in half. Scoop out flesh, leaving skin in tact. Mash flesh until smooth. Stir in egg yolks, butter, cream, 1 cup cheese, salt, and pepper. Scoop filling into skins. Place filled potatoes on baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake in 400 degree oven until cheese is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

A couple tips:
1. Leave about 1/4 inch of flesh in the skins when scooping out to help keep shells more stable.
2. I like my potatoes to be full so I typically will use the flesh of one of the halves and discard that skin so that I have a bit more filling for the rest of the potatoes.

recipe adapted from "Martha Stewart Holiday: Season's Eatings Holiday 2008" magazine

Fall at the Farmhouse: Savory Butternut Squash and Cheddar Bread Pudding

As usual, I am never happy to see the weekend come and go, but I have to say I am particularly sad to see this weekend go. I had such a great weekend at the farmhouse! An old friend of mine, the original Jersey girl, came down with her hubby on Saturday night and we had a great night catching up over wine and some yummy food. I'll admit, I'm paying for it a little today, hence the photo of the Phat Lady to you're right (which may actually be the absolute best hangover cure known to man) but it was all worth it, as it usually is! I haven't seen my Jersey girl in quite some time, but we picked up right where we left off. There was plenty of laughter, even some touching moments, and it made me really happy to be an east coast resident again.

My girl is vegetarian and as you already know, I love fall vegetables, so I took the challenge of cooking for a vegetarian as the perfect opportunity to make a savory bread pudding. I love love love sweet bread pudding and have wanted to make it before, but for some reason I thought it was going to be much harder. I stumbled upon this recipe for butternut squash and cheddar bread pudding and so I figured I had to go for it. It sounded absolutely perfect for the occasion- delicious seasonal Jersey fresh squash and hearty enough to make a meal for my favorite all veggie loving friend. And, I was completely wrong, it wasn't hard at all! It took some work but nothing a modern housewife like yourself can't handle! 

Butternut Squash and Cheddar Bread Pudding

1 large butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes (about 6 cups)

3 tbsps olive oil, divided

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more for sprinkling

7 large eggs

2 1/4 cups half and half

6 tbsp dry white wine

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 day old baguette (do not remove crust), cut into 1 inch cubes (about 10 cups)

1 cup chopped shallots (about 4 large)

2 bunches kale (I actually used spinach which was a great choice!!)

8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash with 1 tbsp oil on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt; bake until squash is tender, turning occasionally, 20 to 25 minutes.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Add half and half, wine, mustard, and 1 1/2 tsps salt; whisk to blend. Add baguette pieces and fold gently into egg mixture. Let soak 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add shallots and saute until soft, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add kale (or spinach), cover and cook 2 minutes. Uncover and stir until kale is wilted but still bright green, about 5 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Using slotted spoon, transfer half of bread from egg mixture to prepared baking dish, arranging to cover most of dish. Spoon half of kale over bread. Spoon half of squash over bread and kale; sprinkle with half of cheese. Repeat with remaining bread, kale, squash, and cheese. Pour remaining egg mixture over bread pudding. 

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, bake uncovered until custard is set and bread feels springy to touch, about 20 minutes longer. Preheat broiler; broil until cheese browns slightly, about 2 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and serve.  

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit November 2009

Let's Go Giants... Gimme Some Garlic Fries!!!

It's summer in the bay area which means while the rest of the country is enjoying sunny, warm weather; we here in San Francisco are waiting out the foggy, breezy weather for our true summer to hit; which usually isn't until about September. We do have a few sunny, warm days here and there which I think makes us even more appreciative of those warm hidden gems amongst the masses of fog.

On the warm days that the hubs, hounds and I aren't rushing to Stinson Beach, one of the things I love to do is spend the day at the ball park. Clearly, I'm running out of days to spend at the ball park in SF before we move to the farmhouse so I took advantage of one of the warm days this weekend and met up with a very old friend to go watch the Giant's lose to those darn Red Sox. Now, I'll be honest, I really couldn't care less about baseball and even had to ask the hubs who won the game as we were leaving the park last night but what I do care deeply for are the Gilroy Garlic Fries that I feel no visit to AT&T park is complete without. Lucky for me, I can still enjoy garlic fries at the farmhouse, sun or no sun, now that I've stumbled upon the exact recipe used at the ball park. 

Gilroy Garlic Fries

oil for frying (vegetable or canola)

4 large russet potatoes

1/2 cup fresh minced garlic

1/4 cup kosher salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp dried thyme

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch to 3/8 inch thick fries. Heat oil in a heavy duty or cast iron pot to 360 degrees. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds. Remove from pan and add to bowl. Mix well with salt, pepper, and thyme. 

The potatoes should be fried 3 times for best results. In batches, place the raw fries into heated oil for 90 seconds. Remove and let drain. Drop fries again for 90 seconds. Remove and let drain. Drop fries in one more time, this time for 60 seconds or until fries are crisp and golden brown. While fries are still warm, toss with garlic mixture. 

Photo and recipe adapted from Garlic World

Scrumptious Sides for Summer: Escalivada

Happy Memorial Day all you pretty little modern housewives. This weekend means summer is finally upon us. One of my fave things about summer is fresh veggies and farmer's markets! My mama is in town visiting and we've had a fabulous weekend. We kicked it off with a trip to the ever famous farmer's market at the Ferry Building in SF where we found all kinds of delicious treats to compliment my Quail with Truffle Yaki Sauce which I made for dinner Saturday night. Apparently my mama was sick of just reading about all my fancy dinners and wanted to take part in one herself. She did and I think she was pretty darn pleased!

While perusing the farmer's market I got the idea to make Escalivada, a side dish I've made once before full of fresh yummy veggies, garlic, and herbs. This dish is incredibly simple and is made up of no more than chopping the veggies; tossing with vinegar and olive oil; roasting in the oven till tender; and finally tossing with the fresh herbs. The dish can also be grilled, which makes it even more perfect for summer!

Escalivada

1 globe eggplant, cut into large chunks (about 8 pieces)
3 bell peppers, assorted colors, quartered
2 heads garlic, broken into cloves but not peeled
2 zucchini, cut in half and into large chunks
2 yellow squash, cut in half and into large chunks
1 large red onion, cut into about 6 pieces
3 tomatoes, halved crosswise and quartered
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
dash of sherry or wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all vegetables in a large roasting pan. Add all garlic cloves, reserving 2, to pan. Sprinkle veggies with sugar, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and toss all ingredients until well coated.

Roast veggies turning once or twice so they don't burn or cook unevenly 30-40 minutes. Avoid turning too often as you don't want veggies to get mushy. You want them to hold their shape.

When veggies are tender remove from oven. Peel and finely chop the reserved garlic cloves and sprinkle over veggies, along with the parsley and rosemary. If serving bread with the meal, the whole roasted garlic cloves can be squeezed and spread onto the bread. Or feel free to squeeze some of the roasted garlic onto the veggie mixture after roasting.

Modern Housewife Tips:
1. Makes about 4-6 large servings so I typically cut it in half.
2. Try a dash of champagne vinegar in place of the wine or sherry vinegar. The taste is a bit milder so it doesn't overwhelm the veggies.
3. Be sure to watch the veggies while cooking as both times I've made this dish it's taken less than the the 40 minutes the recipe suggests. You don't want the vegetables to break down and be mushy.

photo and recipe adapted from The Williams Sonoma Cookbook 

Scrumptious Sides: Sweet Potato Fries

I often serve sweet potato fries when entertaining because not only are they delish, but they are incredibly easy. I mean, who doesn't love sweet potato fries and after stumbling upon Giada's rendition with garlic mayonnaise, I've fallen in love all over again! Now, I do have a little secret. It's a little something I like to call Emily's Essence (ok, ok, so it's really Emeril's Essence but Emily's Essence has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?) The best thing about this scrumptious side is that it dazzles your guests while being so quick and easy that you can focus on your main course to really blow them away.

Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Mayonnaise

4 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5 inch fries
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp Emeril's essence

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place fries on foil lined baking sheet and toss with olive oil and Emeril's Essence, enough to lightly coat. Bake until golden, about 30-45 minutes.

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, garlic and lemon juice. Stir to combine.

When the fries come out of the oven sprinkle with salt to taste and serve garlic mayonnaise along side for dipping. Serves 4-6.

A couple small tips:
1. Keep an eye on the prize, er, fries. I'm not gonna lie, I've burnt a batch or two.
2. Make sure to toss fries about half way through. This way they will cook evenly and are much less likely to burn.
3. Emeril's Essence is a spice mix by, you guessed it, Emeril Lagasse. It's a pretty basic mix of spices- salt, onion, paprika, etc- but it's super delicious and good on many things... sprinkle it on asparagus before you cook it with a little olive oil. You won't be disappointed!
4. Another tasty option that is part of Giada's original recipe is tossing the fries with basil salt after baking. Sometimes I leave this step out depending on if I have fresh basil or not. The recipe is as follows:

Basil Salt

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves

2 tsp kosher salt (sea salt works well too)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine in a small bowl and sprinkle over fries after baking. 

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentis on foodnetwork.com and modified by moi.