Better luck next time!

For a family gathering we recently chose The Fish House in Stanley Park to celebrate. I am all for going out especially when the evening was an adult only affair! In my lifetime living in the lower mainland I have never had the opportunity to go there and was looking forward to it. In usual FoodyMom style I checked out the menu ahead of time and planned what I would like to enjoy. They do many things well and some not so well.... The evening began with some of our party not paying attention and going to the wrong restaurant. By the time they arrived and we ordered our appetizers I was famished. To my great dismay the appetizer I chose was sold out (at 6:45pm) and we settled on a few others. They have adopted a few things from The Cannery (one of our favorite restaurants for many years until they had to close their doors due to zoning......) the lobster oil and balsamic vinegar with the fresh bread on the table. When our appetizers arrived they were impressive and quickly disappeared! That however was the only quick thing that evening. It seems the service although pleasant was scarce and we didn't even get our dinner order in until after the appy's vanished. When the dinner arrived I could not complain about mine and quite enjoyed the Salmon Wellington. The rest of the party did not however enjoy their meals the same way. Some dishes were cold and others over cooked. All in all the company and the wine were the best parts. Now most people would just walk away and never return. I however believe in sharing my opinion as a consumer and a foody which is exactly what I did. I wrote them an email to express my satisfaction with respect to some items and dissatisfaction with others. I can say that I am pleased at their response. They accept accountability for the the things they can change and took my comments to heart. They offered us a chance to return and my husband and I will. Hopefully next time I will have only good things to share!

Martha Cupcake Mania

What would you do if you bought a beautiful cookbook for your friend's (FoodyMom) housewarming present? (Shhhhh...don't tell her.) Wouldn't you want to try it out; give it a test run to make sure that it was worthy of your favorite baking/cooking buddy? I am glad we all agree on this point, because that is what I did...

With all of these retro coloured cupcake shops popping up and reality TV cupcake shows airing, it is hard to avoid the newest baking trend. My children are suckers for the pastel colours and candy toppings, however at almost $4 per cupcake, I am likely to go bankrupt if I gave into their every cupcake whim (and mine too).

To take matters into my own hands, I tried a Martha Stewart Cupcake recipe last night out of her Cupcakes cookbook. She makes it look oh so easy to piece together those intricate icing decorations that top her desserts. Of course, I know how to pipe out buttercream roses and perform delicate pastry work with meringue and dark chocolate to make cute little gnome-like mushrooms just by looking at the picture... (insert drip, drip, and more drips of sarcasm here).

In the end I chose an Applesauce-Spiced cupcake recipe with a basic swirled icing topping that even the most novice at-home-baker could perform and still be proud of the finished product. And I must admit, that if I could reach it, I would give myself a few large pats on my back for my efforts. I just hope the family agrees. (You do realize, there is no chocolate in this recipe!) For my next cupcake effort, I might actually try to be a little more adventurous with my decorations, but I think sprinkling cinnamon on top of icing was just the right amount of effort for this girl for her first try.

I think I need a cupcake...

Blueberries in Season

Berry season out here in the Vancouver area is absolutely wonderful time of year. Choices of local farms to pick your own berries abound (I love Krauseberry Farms) and you also have the option to go organic, Formosa Nursery in Pitt Meadows. If you are too lazy or don't want to hurt your back, the farms usually give you the option to pay a little more and you can purchase already picked berries.

Now the conundrum is, what to do with the buckets of berries once you have them home? I try not to over pick, but the sight of juicy, ripe, succulent berries always gets the better of me. My kids suffer from the same syndrome...

Here is what I did...

Being obsessed with everything French, I am trying my inexperienced hand at reproducing some popular french desserts at home. I recently discovered a dessert called a Galette; they are types of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes that can have a variety of different fillings. Since I have a plethora of blueberries that I have to free some fridge space of and some frozen blackberries, they will be the chosen flavour of my very first galette.

I discovered a recipe on Cooking Light that included cornmeal in the dough of the crust, and I have to say after making this, I could eat this crust just on its own. It added a little bit of wonderful to the texture of the dessert.

Using fresh ingredients is the key, but if it is off season, frozen berries do work as well.

Pastry-

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 7 3/4 ounces)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk

Filling-

• 4 cups blueberries
• 2 cups blackberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fat-free milk
• 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

To prepare pastry, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; pulse two times. Add butter to flour mixture; pulse 4 to 5 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly add buttermilk through food chute; process just until dough forms a ball. Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap; cover. Chill 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Unwrap and place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Place a piece of plastic wrap over dough before rolling to avoid sticking to your pin. Roll dough into a 15-inch circle and place dough and parchment on a baking sheet.

To prepare filling, combine berries and next 3 ingredients (through juice) in a medium bowl; toss gently to coat. Arrange berry mixture in center of dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover berry mixture).

Combine fat-free milk and egg white in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Brush dough with milk mixture; sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over dough. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until pastry is golden brown. Let stand 30 minutes; cut into wedges.

This dessert oozes not only berry juice, but rustic charm and amazing flavour. This recipe will become a staple in my household and I am so excited to try a different fruit. Maybe apple/marscapone, apricot/almond, pear/blueberry... the possibilites are endless.

Here is a little hint; it is a very easy dessert to make, but believe me, I won't be divulging that little secret to my guests any time soon.

Match Made in Heaven

I wish I could say I was one of those healthy women who only drink green tea and water all day long. Alas, although I do enjoy a tea with my sushi, I can't bring myself to drink it on a regular basis, because I am deeply in love with another...coffee! And behind every good cup of coffee, is a great piece of biscotti. My family can attest to the fact that I am baking biscotti on a weekly basis. Usually I hear complaints and protest because I bake with my favorite ingredient, crystallized ginger. This time to appease the masses, I swapped my usual recipe for a double chocolate one. It is so easy and much cheaper than buying it in a coffee shop and tastier too. I even brought some to work with me for my own coffee break.

I enjoy the control I have over the baking process. Most biscotti (I should say all) is double baked to achieve that hard, 'almost break your teeth trying to take a bite' consistency. However, my children do not appreciate the dunking quality this gives the cookie, so I only double bake for half the time to keep the biscotti soft for them.

You can modify this basic recipe to change the flavour to whatever your fancy desires.

2 cups flour (if you want a chocolate base use 1 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup cocoa)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Mix dry ingredients into large bowl and add flavours (ie. 2 tbsp minced crystallized ginger & 3/4 cup white chocolate - or use the cocoa/flour mix above and add 1/2 cup chocolate chips... the possibilities are endless)

Mix together wet ingredients below and add to dry in the bowl.
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract (I prefer to use real vanilla)

The dough will be dry and crumbly, but turn it out onto the counter and work with it to form a log (as pic shown above). Move log to baking pan topped with parchment paper. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Put on rack to cool for 15-20 minutes. Cut into 3/4 inch sections and place upright on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for another 15 minutes or so (depends how hard you want the cookie). By arranging the biscotti upright, you don't have to flip them half way through the double bake process.
Eat, dunk, love with your coffee.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Can you say YUM? Everyone at my table sure can. I had to give this recipe a try and found that my brother's belated birthday dinner was the perfect opportunity. It's a chocolate bundt cake with a chocolate glaze. As always Martha Stewart does not disappoint when it comes to a source for good recipes. Love you Martha! For those of you who want to give this deliciously sinful treat a go, here's the link:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-bundt-cake

Strawberry Fields

There is nothing better than going to a farm and procuring your own food. My husband and I took our two kids to Krauseberry Farms in Langley, BC for an afternoon outing to pick our own strawberries and enjoy some fresh air. The only complaint of the day came from my back....ouch. I don't think I could do that for a living. But the local produce was well worth the pain.

Tonight we planned to put the strawberries to good use and made Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. What a hit! After a dinner of halibut, roasted yams, and BBQ corn, out came the scones baked earlier in the day and we topped them with a strawberry marinade, fresh vanilla whip cream and mint from my garden. Of course my ever so picky daughter Madeline decided it wasn't her kind of dessert and opted out. My son and husband finished off her helping; crazy kid! The not so crazy adults paired our meal with a 2007 Burrowing Owl Chardonnay. Wish I could eat like this every night...Oh yeah, I can!

Check out the recipe and give it a whirl.

Arroz con Pollo (Chicken Rice)

I'm not usually a chicken fan but this dish is one of the most staple dishes in my family. Everyone has a different way of making it and each of us usually take something out while we eat it. I learned to make this from my mom and she learned from my grandma. My aunt's and cousin's make it as well and we even share it with our friends. I don't believe in recipes that you hide from people after all if it's good why not let others try it too, they may even come up with something better. Here is my "secret" recipe:

Shopping List:

boneless & skinless chicken thighs

2 cups jasmine long grain rice

2 tbsp achiote paste

1 tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp dehydrated garlic

2 cups frozen mixed veggies

1 cup raisins

1 jar green olives, pitted

Potato Chips (thick cut plain ones are best)

Getting started:

put the chicken in a large pot cover with water, add Italian seasoning, dehydrated garlic, salt and pepper, cook on med high for approximately 40 mins or until cooked through.

separate chicken from liquid but save for later. Shred chicken by hand and put aside.

Making the rice:

In a large non-stick deep dish pan or a large pot heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil and the achiote paste until melted. Add the rinsed rice and toast rice at med high heat for about 5 mins stirring constantly. Add veggies, raisins and olives, salt & pepper to taste and stir until mixed. Pour in the liquid used to cook the chicken and add the shredded chicken. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook until liquid is absorbed and rice cooked (approx 20 mins)

Remove from heat and serve with potato chips, we like to use them to scoop the rice!