Chili Lime Hanger Steak with Cucumber Honeydew Salsa

I made this a few times over the summer – so yummy (and I don’t even like honeydew!!)! And easy. And economical - my butcher turned me on to some of the “cheap cuts” this year and I owe him a HUGE debt!  So much more flavourful and interesting than your standard fillets, etc.   Anyway, to avoid typing out the whole thing, just go here. Once again my favourite recipe site epicurious.com came through with flying colours!

The flavours and colours of all the fresh summer ingredients in the chutney make this extra special – gorgeous and delicious!

chutney mise en place

 

slice the melon

and the onion

freshly toasted and ground spices- the best!

everything in the bowl - so pretty!

 

and mix - so easy!

my sous chefs - good help is hard to find!

 

marinating the steak - not too pretty to look at but it smells YUMMY!!

a table!

Bon Appétit!!

 

 

 

 

 

Aunt Gail’s Cheesecake

There is only one type of cheesecake that I like – my Aunt Gail’s.  I have tried many others - New York, Montreal,  your grandmother’s, etc.  Sorry, they do nothing for me.  And also?  Chocolate cheesecake?  Whoever came up with THAT idea should be shot because really?  GROSS.

Last night I made Aunt Gail’s cheesecake for a dinner party I am going to this evening – here is the recipe – so simple yet so incredibly delicious!

Ingredients:

Crust – 2 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup extra-fine granulated sugar

Cake – 2 packages cream cheese, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup extra-fine granulated sugar, 2 eggs

Top – 1 pint sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons extra-fine granulated sugar

Directions:

1.  combine crumbs, melted butter and sugar, press into spring-form cake pan

2.  combine cream cheese, sugar and eggs until smooth

3.  pour into crust

4.  bake at 350 for 20 minutes

5.  combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla

6.  pour on top of partially baked cheesecake

7.  bake for 10 minutes

8.  turn oven off and leave cheesecake inside for 45 minutes

9.  cool completely

10.  top with whatever fruit coulis you like (I did raspberries and blueberries because I had some in the freezer)

11.  enjoy!

add melted butter & sugar to crumbs for crust - OMG smells so good!!

press crust into springform cake pan

combine cream cheese, sugar & eggs

beat until smooth

LOVE LOVE LOVE my pink Kitchen-Aid standing mixer

pour into prepared crust (don't know why this photo looks so odd)

spread sour cream mixture on partially baked cheese cake - and back in the oven it goes

meanwhile, make your fruit coulis - blueberries & raspberries fresh-frozen from the summer

berries, a little sugar, some lemon zest & juice - so easy!

pour coulis when cool (again, not a great photo - I REALLY need a new camera ...)

Rebar’s Greek Lentil Soup

It’s fall so it’s SOUP SEASON!!  One of my favourites is a Greek lentil soup adapted from the Rebar cookbook. Rebar is a great mainly vegetarian restaurant in Victoria, BC – absolutely amazing brunch. And soup, of course.  I made this the other night for dinner and had it again last night - it is actually better on the second day.

RECIPE:

2 cups red lentils
8 cups broth – I use chicken stock for more flavour, you can use veggie
4 carrots
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. each fresh rosemary & oregano (plus more rosemary for garnish)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 lemons – for zest & juice
feta cheese, crumbled
olive oil

STEPS:

1.  finely chop onion and sautee in olive oil on medium heat in large soup pot until soft and translucent

2. add diced carrots, garlic, rosemary, oregano, lemon zest and red pepper flakes  to onions – cook until the carrots begin to soften

3.  stir in lentils, coating with oil and veggies

4. pour in stock, stir and bring to a gentle simmer

5. simmer until lentils are soft and falling apart – about 25 to 30 minutes

6.  before serving stir in the juice from 2 lemons

7.  top with crumbled feta cheese and chopped rosemary

8.  enjoy!

I really do do this when I cook - it's not just for pictures!

finely chop your onions - I am basically lazy to use the Cusinart to do it - I highly recommend it

see? super fine, perfect!

sautee onions until soft and transluscent

add carrots, garlic and spices

stir in lentils

pour in stock and bring to a simmer

add lemon juice

and zest

crumbled feta & rosemary

enjoy!

mac & cheese – with a twist

I am a huge fan of macaroni & cheese.  NOT Kraft Dinner, ever, but real, old fashioned, baked macaroni & cheese.  Last winter I went on a ski weekend with a few friends and we were each in charge of one dinner.  I brought this adult-version of mac & cheese – the truffle oil really makes it sing –  and it was a HUGE hit.  Relatively quick and easy to make, it has definitely been added to my go-to repertoire of recipes.

Ingredients:

3 cups, sliced, of a good variety of FRESH (not dried) mushrooms – crimini, oyster, shiitake, portobello, chanterelle – whatever you have on hand or is readily available

1/2 cup white wine or sherry

1/2 cup soft goat chees

1/2 cup Gruyère cheese, grated

1 cup SHARP cheddar cheese, grated

4 tbsp unsalted butter

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

fresh grated nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp)

2 tsps each fresh sage & rosemary, chopped fine

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp white truffle oil

1 box macaroni or other short-cut noodles

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I use Panko)

1/4 cup grated parmigiana cheese

1. sautee mushrooms in butter & olive oil until soft and moisture has evaporated- about 15 minutes; de-glaze the pan with wine or sherry; set aside

2. cook noodles according to directions on the box – drain and put aside

2.  make a roux: melt butter, stir in flour, whisk until raw flavour is gone but not browned – all at once add the milk and whisk to keep smooth – keep on med-low heat until thickened

3.  add cheeses, pepper flakes, nutmeg, sage, rosemary, truffle oil, salt & pepper to taste – stir until cheeses have melted

4. stir sauce into the cooked noodles, pour into oven-proof dish

5. toss breadcrumbs and parmigiana cheese together – spread on top of noodles

6. bake for about 45 minutes, until brown and bubbling

7. ENJOY!

assemble your ingredients

sautee musrooms

set mushrooms aside until later

make bechamel sauce sauce

grate your cheese - make sure to use SHARP cheddar

truffle oil makes all the difference

in an oven-proof dish and into a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes - I was on the phone the whole time while amking this so forgot to photograph a few steps so you will just have to trust me that they happened ...

bake until bubbly and brown and crispy on top

goes really well with hot & spice homemade chili sauce - NOT ketchup!!!

Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup

Yesterday was a true Vancouver fall day – WET.  So after baking a loaf of delicious and easy Casey Irish Soda Bread I moved on to one of my favourite soups – Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Totally not my own creation, I discovered it on epicurious.com last winter and have made it countless times since.  Go here for the recipe.  It is time consuming and seems like a lot of work (it’s not), but soooooo worth it, trust me.

But stay here for the photos and commentary …

I find it easiest to get all my ingredients together before I start

and into the pot they go, where they will simmer away for the next 1 1/2 to 2 hours

about half-way through cooking - the house smells divine!!

time to toast the spices

and into the blender they go - this is what gives the soup its kick!

blended (I would REALLY like a Kitch-Aid blender - it would make this process MUCH easier)

yams, rice and black beans - not only is this soup yummy but it is good for you, too

chicken - the dogs got VERY interested in this process

and done! (I got distracted and forgot to take pictures of it all coming together)

The recipe call for the soup to be served with crisped tortillas and diced avocados as garnish.  However, avocados were $2.50 a piece yesterday so NOT happeneing and I didn’t have any tortillas. It is still delicious without the garnish and went really well with the Irish Soda Bread I had made earlier in the day.

Try it, you’ll like it, I promise.

Casey Irish Soda Bread

In September my cousin Sarah, a very talented artist and wonderful woman, came up from Boston with her two boys for my mothers’s memorial service.  With her she brought a freshly-baked loaf of her own version of Irish Soda Bread.  So easy and so delicious!

Recipe:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oat bran
1 cup flax seeds/sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats – basically, whatever you have to make a cup
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp each baking soda and powder
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg

preheat over to 350

Mix together dry ingredients

beat egg and buttermilk and stir in to dry ingredients, but do not over-work the dough

let it rest 30 minutes

tip dough onto a lightly greased and floured baking tray

bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until done

I know, easy right?  and so good!!!!!  I ate some last night with the most delicious chicken tortilla soup – that recipe to follow later

ingredients

mix together dry ingredients - flours, salt, baking soda & powder, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, steel-cut oats

beat together egg and buttermilk

blend together wet & dry ingredients, but do no work the dough too much or you bread will be tough

loosely form the dough into a "loaf" on a lightly greased and floured baking sheet - I added left-over sunflower and pumpkin seeds to the top for texture

bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes, remove from baking sheet and let cool - see? easy!

YUMMY!! (and good for you, too!)