Monday, January 31, 2011

Recipe #3: Herbed Beef Tenderloin


My wonderful husband celebrated a birthday not too long ago, as did my brother. We celebrated with family (a couple times, in fact), and, as you would suspect, food was always included. When my family was over for the occasion one Saturday night, I had a lovely menu planned. To start, Cheesy Spinach Dip with Bagel and Pita Chips. For the main course, Pulled Pork Sandwiches (with a variation on the spice rub, which will have to be modified again next time; it was a wee bit too spicy...) swerved with coleslaw, salt and vinegar chips, and Homemade Onion Rings. And for dessert – Lemon & Lime Meringue Puffs. Most of these dishes were easy to prepare ahead of time; the pork was in the slow cooker; the puffs were in the oven; and the onion rings were sliced and ready to go. Luckily my brother, also a talented chef, was there to lend a hand for the final steps with the onion rings.

The next night the two of us enjoyed a quiet dinner in, and on the menu that night was this new Recipe #3 – Herbed Beef Tenderloin. When I originally came across this recipe, it called for one long tenderloin, but discovering the butcher had only individual pieces, we made due. These were quite big pieces, so there was even enough left over for Matt to take for lunch the next day, which means we probably could have gotten away with sharing one tenderloin. As a side to the beef I simply roasted some potatoes in the oven, drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic powder and dried onions. You can bake them in the oven, same temperature, but put them in about 20 minutes before the beef.


I followed the directions in the recipe for this one, but next time I might fry/grill the steaks for a couple minutes on both sides to get the coating nice and crispy before finishing it up in the oven. And the original recipe didn’t call for the fresh Parmesan, but I added it for a bit of extra nuttiness and flavour.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and thyme
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 beef tenderloin steaks (1 inch thick and 4 ounces each)

DIRECTIONS

COMBINE bread crumbs and seasonings in a small bowl. Rub on both sides of steaks. Place steaks in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan.

BAKE, uncovered, at 425° for 25-28 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°; well-done, 170°).


Thursday, January 27, 2011

Vanilla

Photo Courtesy of Masterfile.com
How heavenly is that wonderful scent of vanilla? Even the smallest waft of it brings a smile to my face. And that is why the smart people at Glade and other such companies make it a point to put out scented candles and hand soaps and air fresheners with just that scent. Its almost as good as fresh backed chocolate chip cookies (and that is why Real Estate agents like the house to smell like fresh cookies during open houses…).

A couple weeks back I went on the hunt for fresh vanilla beans in the hopes of making my very own vanilla extract. Finding the recipe was easy; finding the beans was a little more tricky. But I did finally find them in Kensington Market, and now, after mixing with vodka, I am patiently waiting for my extract to be, well, extracted. The recipe is really simple:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups vodka or rum
3 vanilla beans

DIRECTIONS

SPLIT the beans in half lengthwise.

ADD vanilla beans and alcohol to a clean bottle with sealable lid. Keep in a dark, cool place, shaking the bottle a couple times a week so the vanilla evenly extracts into the alcohol. Can be used after 6-8 weeks. Store for 2 to 3 months, the longer the better.


This photo was taken on day one. No colour yet, but I’m due for an updated photo for comparison; the colour has gotten much darker and richer. I’ve got three more weeks left to go. I also really love this bottle. Originally it had a sweet Thai hot sauce in it, but I loved the topper so much that I kept it. Came in handy after all. Let's just hope I got all the 'hot' out of it...

In the long run, I’m not sure if this is any more cost efficient then buying the store brand, at least the imitation vanilla. Combining the cost of the alcohol and the vanilla beans, this small jar probably cost me about $8-10 dollars. Real vanilla extract is more expensive than artificial, but I’ve always bought the artificial kind. That might change! Curious to see if I could reduce my costs even more, I looked into the possibility of growing my own vanilla plant. Turns out, there is a supplier here in Canada that sells them (they are actually in the same family as the orchid), but the plant itself can grow up to 25 feet, and you have to keep it in a dark, moist climate. Naturally, I asked my mom if she would consider growing it in her basement, but she didn’t really go for that idea. Can’t say I blame her. Oh, well. I’ll see how this first batch turns out before I consider getting into the vanilla bean business….

My next experiment might be making vanilla sugar. If a recipe calls for fresh vanilla beans, don't through out the pod! you can put it in with your white sugar and it will flavour it. Give it a try next time you're doing some baking...

Monday, January 24, 2011

Recipe #2: Zesty Hamburger Soup


This week’s new meal is a yummy soup recipe I found online. With the winter weather still hanging around, what better way to warm up from a chilly walk home from the subway (or the car to your front door) then a big helping of beefy/noodle-y goodness in a bowl? I also love one pot meals, and soup is prefect for that. To help with the prep time, I made this soup Sunday night while prepping my other meal, and then just simply reheated when I got home from work. The recipe makes plenty, too, so leftovers were readily available for lunch or another dinner. I’m not sure how the pasta would hold up if you froze it, though.

A few notes on this one. The original recipe included potatoes, but I felt the pasta was enough carbs for one meal. And I included a whole can of pickled jalapenos, finely diced (about 4 – 6 full peppers), but I removed the seeds, which seemed to minimize the amount of heat in the soup (hence why I chose to add red pepper flakes after tasting). Including the seeds would add more than enough heat for those of you who can handle it. Next time round, I might follow there suggestion with just a few slices of jalapeno.

While cooking this up, I soon realized that this is very similar to a beef stew I make, but in my version I opt for potatoes instead of pasta. I’m still classifying this as a new recipe, though. Next time around I might vary the recipe a bit and add a spicy chorizo sausage, casing removed, as I like to do with my spaghetti sauce, but for my first attempt, I think it’s good to stick to the recipe (sort of).

Trying out these new recipes is proving to have a couple of positive outcomes. It's introducing me to new ideas; it's teaching me new cooking techniques;  and its giving us some variety in our meals. Already I’m learning a lot about flavour combinations and experimenting with spices (if only I had a pantry like Michael Smith...).

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
2 cups sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
1-2 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 box of beef broth
1-1/2 cups uncooked small shell pasta
4 pickled jalapeno slices (seeds removed, if preferred)
2 cans (10 ounces each) diced tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

COMBINE in a Dutch oven or large pot, the beef, celery and onion and cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the water, pasta and jalapeno.

BRING to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir until heated through.

This recipe easily serves 4 -6 people.

Friday, January 21, 2011

A vest for Ronan

My posts of late have been mainly skewed towards food related topics. That’s partly because I do love food – love to cook it, love to eat it - and partly because cooking is faster than crafting sometimes. While I haven’t posted many things about knitting, I am always knitting – in the car, watching TV, on the train… It really is another passion of mine that I sometimes can’t get enough of. I would love to work in a knitting shop where it’s completely OK to knit at work…. Ah, to dream.

While I have several works in progress (WIPs), I do have a finished one that I’ve been meaning to post for ages. It was a gift for our friend’s son who turned this fall. I finished shortly after our trip back from Italy in October (yes, still a little tardy), but I only managed to give it to our friends this week! My biggest concern now is that it will fit him. I did knit it for an 18-24 month old, so hopefully he will get some wear out of it still. I spent a lot of time working on this one, too. While it was a vest I’d made before, the pattern for it was new and a bit more intricate than anything I’ve tried before, but the end result, I think, was this very adorable grey/teal vest (I’m biased, I know…).


Other WIPs at the moment include:
  • a blue cabled zip-up sweater for Matt to replace the one that was ruined in the wash (grr….). I’ve only got the two sleeves left to knit up and then sew everything together. With any luck, he’ll have it before the winter is over. 
  • a lovely mauve cardigan for Diane for her birthday. She picked out the yarn for the pattern, so she knows I’m working on it currently. This one is a pretty cool pattern, as the front and back is knit as one giant rectangle, with the sleeves knit separately and sewn on after. Depending on how this one turns out, I might have think about knitting one for myself.
  • a grey and either teal or white (undecided which colour just yet…) moss-stitch striped cardigan for myself. I had this grey yarn for another project in mind but then found the pattern for this cardigan and decided to give it a try.

I still have the Italian yarn I brought back with me, also, that I simply cannot decide what to do with. I sweat I’ve started 5 different stitches with it by now… I think I just need to be inspired by something. Anyway, that’s my knitting update for you.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Recipe #1: Lobster Macaroni & Cheese

One of the New Year’s resolutions I made this year was to try and cook at least one new meal a week. I thought this was fairly achievable and fun enough that I would try to keep it up. Let’s see if I can get 52 new ones on the blog this year (and in our bellies). During the week, we often have our fall-back meals (good old chicken taco salad, eaten usually on Mondays), and even though they are a tasty and quick meal, they lack a bit of imagination. Having limited time during the week to prepare meals means I am often on the look out for quick and simple recipes, but on the weekends, I have lots more time to be adventurous and experiment.


Our first new meal of 2011 was Lobster Mac & Cheese, which we enjoyed one Sunday evening. We had spent the day cleaning the house, doing a small spring clean of our wardrobes (and yarn stash…), and as a nice reward, a candlelit dinner for two. The recipe below serves about 6 people easily, but I adjusted the lobster to just two tails and only cooked enough pasta to serve the two of us (about 2 cups). The rest of the recipe I left the same, and as it turned out, there was extra cheese sauce for just plain macaroni and cheese another time. There were also leftovers for another night, so maybe even 2 cups of pasta was more than enough!

We opted for frozen lobster tails instead of fresh, and cooking them up was a cinch (but man did the  condo smell fishy that night!). Simply throw them in a pot of salted water and cook until red and heated throughout. Getting them out of the shell was a bit of a challenge, but they didn’t struggle too much, and scissors came in handy for cutting the shell off.


I don’t know how often this recipe will fit in our circulation (it did take a bit of prep work, and lobster tails are not that cheap), but even having this cheese sauce recipe means I can whip up a batch of home made macaroni and cheese any time we’d like. I may never go back to KD again.

INGREDIENTS
1 box of penne pasta
1 stick of butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of white wine
1 can of evaporated milk
4 cups of milk
1 tablespoon of paprika
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
8 ounces of cheddar cheese, grated
8 ounces of Monterrey jack cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
2x1 pound lobsters, cooked and shelled
2 cups of breadcrumbs (or enough to cover pasta)

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Drop the pasta into boiling, salted water and cook until almost tender, about 12 minutes. Make sure the water tastes like a day at the beach, as the pasta will absorb it and become properly seasoned. The pasta should not be fully cooked; it should have just a touch of firmness when tasted. Drain well.

MELT the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add garlic and cook for several minutes until it softens. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until a smooth paste forms. Continue cooking for a few more minutes, in effect toasting the mixture and adding flavour to it. Slowly stir in the wine and continue mixing until smooth and then add both milks, mixing well again. Continue whisking until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Add paprika, Dijon, cayenne, salt, pepper and cheeses and stir until melted.

ROUGHLY chop lobster meat and add to the cheese mixture along with the pasta. Stir well to combine and season with salt and pepper. Pour into a 9-inch by 13-inch ovenproof casserole or similar dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake until the mixture is heated through and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Orecchiette with Pesto

A while ago I posted a link on what to do with leftover arugula or spinach in your fridge before it goes bad – make pesto! I made that batch and it sat in our freezer for a long while until finally I remembered it was in there and decided to use it up.

During our trip to Italy, we picked up and brought back some authentic pesto sauce and enjoyed it one night with some Orecchiette pasta, bell peppers, and chicken (and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, too, of course). It was so tasty that I decided to replicate it with the homemade pesto sitting in the freezer. Freezing them in an ice cube tray worked wonderfully. I ran a bit of warm water over the bottom to loosen them, and then they simply dropped right out. I used a few cubes for dinner that night and the rest went back into the freezer in a zip lock bag for later use.


I was delighted at how simple this dish was to whip up. I already had some pre-cooked and shredded chicken in the fridge, so while the pasta cooked, I sautéed some onions and garlic then added the chicken and pesto. Once the pasta was finished, I drained it, reserving some of the cooking liquid, and added the cooked pasta to the pan with the chicken. Saving the cooking water is a tip I’ve learned to help thicken sauces, but in the case of the pesto sauce, it also helped to make it a bit more ‘saucy’ without watering it down too much.

I’m also loving the little Orecchiette pasta (Italian for Ear, I’ve since learned). Their little shapes hold whatever pasta sauce you serve them with, and are small enough that they would also work well in soups (which of late I've been making more of). I’m not sure if I’ll attempt to make my own fresh version or just continue to buy the packaged ones (which are very good)… my guess is probably the latter.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Fat Friday - Canteen Part II

It’s actually been a while since Matt and I have enjoyed a Fat Friday out. The last was probably a few weeks before Christmas when we dined on pizza at Queen Margherita with our friend Christine. I didn’t bother to post about that one since we pretty much ate the exact same thing as our first visit (and now that I think of it, we went with Christine that night too).

Over the holidays we weren’t home much to do a lot of cooking; in fact, just quite the opposite. We did enjoy many home-cooked meals and leftovers with our family and friends, but when we got back to the city, we couldn’t find the time or the energy to do much grocery shopping.

Matt’s mom was also visiting us for a few days, so we thought it only fitting to take her to some of our favourite restaurants. The first night we visited the Bell Lightbox and were lucky enough to get a table at Canteen. We were told the wait would be about 30 minutes when we first arrived, and with no place in particular to be that night, we decided to hang out. About 10 minutes later, the hostess told us that a party of four didn’t show up for their reservation, so their table was OURS. Score!


We’ve eaten at Canteen before, but this dinner was a particularly exciting adventure for me. I was brave that night and ordered the lamb gnocchi (first time trying lamb). I know Oliver & Bonacini have a pretty good track record with making some delicious food, so it was as good a place as any to give it a try. The lamb was very tasty and, while I wasn’t sure what to expect, I was nicely surprised by the flavour and texture. The gnocchi, on the other hand, I was rather disappointed with. I’m used to a firmer and more pasta-like texture, but what I was served was much more like pillows of mashed potato (good mashed potatoes, mind you). The dish wasn’t a flop, however, because it certainly opened my eyes to eating lamb, and I might be less hesitant in the future to try it when I see it on the menu (and, as it turns out, sheep now have a dual purpose – food AND wool!).


Diane, after much debate, settled on the vegetarian curry dish, while Matt went with the old reliable – steak frites. Both looked and smelled delicious (I'm working on my photography skills so you don't have to take my word for it...). I especially like that the hand-cut fries come with homemade ketchup and sprinkled with Parmesan. Matt was kind enough to share.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

More Lessons Learned from Christmas Baking

Photo courtesy of Masterfile.com

I like to do Christmas baking; I don’t find it a chore or something I ‘should’ do for the holidays. The great assortment of cookies and bars and sweets lets my creative juices run, not to mention the chance to buy a new recipe book perhaps (there are always new ones out for the holidays). I don’t know why we don’t bake all year round, but it seems the holidays give all us free passes to eat, drink and be merry (and then make annual resolutions to eat less and work out more).

This year was no different. I made my list of sweets to bake up, checked to make sure I had all the ingredients, and then set aside one day on the weekend to bake everything up while Matt kept himself occupied with football. I kept the list relatively short, deciding to bake a few favourites from the year before (many of which I’ve already posted about; just follow the links), and perhaps one or two new ones. My list included Mint Marshmallows (arguably the hit of Christmas past), Toffee-Pecan Bars, Gingerbread Men, and Peanut Butter Brownies. I thought that was ambitious yet manageable.

Unfortunately, I think I left the baking too late, and, in doing so, felt rather rushed to get all my goodies cooked, cooled, sliced, and ready to package (cookies make a great gift around the holidays and I always like to share a plate with family when visiting). Sadly, the gingerbread men didn’t make the cut due to time.

In the past I liked to make bars because it saved time in rolling and cutting the dough. Once everything is baked up in one pan, all you have to do is cut and serve. Well, that didn’t work out entirely too well this year for me. My brownies had not cooled long enough and were hard to get out of the pan (note to self – line your baking pans with parchment or tin foil, you fool!), and I didn’t follow the directions entirely with the Toffee-pecan Bars, which caused them to be overly brittle. The brownies never made it to family (oh, darn, more for me), and while the toffee-pecan bars didn’t look perfect, they sure tasted great. But I’ve now changed my opinion on the bars vs. cookies debate (the one ongoing in my head, of course) – cookies actually package a lot better then bars, and hence, transporting and arranging is done a lot easier. Next year, I’ve got to remind myself to read this blog post and try to bake more cookies.

I did pick up a new cookie book (I simply couldn’t resist). It wasn’t until after the holidays, so I haven’t yet had the chance to try any of the recipes out. But it’s on my to-do list for the coming weeks. Why not try them out before the holidays and then have a chance to find my favourites? Smart thinking, no? I probably didn't need another collection of holiday treats (especially because they are often repeated from year to year), but after flipping through this one, I thought there would be some new ones to try. I think I already found a winner to whip up for Matt's upcoming birthday.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Recipe: Apple-Chipotle Stuffed Pork Chops

It seems to happen all too often that I am back-logged with blog posts. I bake or cook something and take a photo of it, and then forget about it until I load all my photos on to the computer and remember that I had intended to blog about said cooking or baking. This is the case today, where a while back I cooked up a rather delicious meal for dinner one evening – applewood-smoked pork chops stuffed with an apple and chipotle filling.



We stumbled across the pork chops at the butchers and were just simply delighted with their smoky flavour when we bit into them. Combined with the chipotle and apple filling, and, well, we could hardly eat them fast enough. We enjoyed them so much in fact, that we raved about it to each other for the next week: “Mmmm, do you remember those stuffed pork chops?”

Since then, we have cooked them for my brother and his wife, although I’m not so sure that they loved them as much as we did. The original recipe called for chicken, but substituting the pork chops turned out to be a winner. And anything that has bacon as the first ingredient, well, I’ve simply got to try!

INGREDIENTS
2 bacon strips, diced
1 small tart apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
2 pork chops/chicken breasts
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
COOK bacon in a small skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings. Saute apple in drippings until tender. Add the onion, applesauce, chipotle peppers and bacon; saute 2 minutes longer.

CUT a pocket in each pork chop; stuff with apple mixture. In a small skillet, brown pork in oil on both sides. Transfer to an ungreased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake uncovered, at 425° for 12-15 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170°.

MEANWHILE, add the flour, apple juice, salt and pepper to the skillet; stir to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with pork.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

2010 Edition of Matt’s Top 10 TV List

My husband writes an annual Top 10 TV list of the shows we watch throughout the year. I posted his 2009 list last year and thought I'd share with you all again.

2010 Edition of Matt’s Top 10 TV List
By: Matt Reid

For anyone new to this list, I’ve been doing this for a few years now and it seems to be appreciated by friends and family who like to enjoy, discuss and debate the year in television. To recap, these are the shows that I personally watched in 2010 (even though some have been on DVD, as I may be a season behind). As for shows that didn’t make the list, I really don’t have the time to watch much more than these listed below, but I always welcome suggestions for new programs to check out. Also, despite my resolutions from last year, I can’t seem to stick to the “Read More/Less TV plan”, so for now, it’s still a Top 10 list….. something tells me that my TV watching will decrease once I have children.

Honourable Mentions:

TOP CHEF (as a picky eater, I wouldn’t eat half of the stuff they cook, but I really appreciate a reality show that involves that much talent)
CASTLE (I’m not much of a watcher of procedurals, but this is the one I do watch – the charm of the two leads and light tone make it a guilty pleasure)
SURVIVOR (the ‘All Star’ season in early 2010 was one of the best in awhile)
RUBICON (a slow burn, this intriguing AMC show will unfortunately not be returning next year)
DRAGON'S DEN (I can’t believe some of these people think their ideas are worth a million dollars)

The List

10. How I Met Your Mother
This show came back strong in Fall 2010, seeming more focused as the plot moves the characters forward in their lives. I don’t really care who the mother is at this point, but it was nice to see some of the other characters start to deal with their own changes. It’s not all story though: the laughs are still there (led by Neil Patrick Harris’s Barney) and the callbacks to earlier jokes and storylines ensure you don’t want to miss a single episode.

9. Friday Night Lights
For a show with this small an audience, it seems like a miracle that it is about to launch Season 5 in just a couple months (it will be the show’s final season). This drama about life in a small Texas town (I have to constantly tell people that the show ISN’T ABOUT FOOTBALL) finally got some deserved Emmy love this year with nominations for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, the most realistic married couple on TV (neither of them won though). The changing cast of high school kids and lo-fi camera work add to the realism of the show.

8. Fringe
Another show that has really hit its’ stride with the Season 3 premiere last fall. The ’two worlds’ scenario revved up the drama, kept the story arc constantly moving forward and allowed Anna Torv a wide range of scenarios to act in. John Noble’s Walter is still the highlight of the show for me, with his odd humour and haunted past. Here’s hoping the move to Fridays in a couple weeks does not signal its death knell.

7. Dexter
Please no spoilers as I’m behind on this show (I haven’t seen any of the season that just ended), but I have to admit that watching this on DVD works just fine for me: I don’t have to wait a whole week to watch the next episode. Michael C. Hall continues to make me root for a serial killer, there are enough laughs to keep the show not too dark and the new supporting players they bring in every season just keep getting stronger and stronger.

6. Walking Dead
All of AMC’s 4 series made this list (if you include Honourable Mention section), showing why I have faith in almost anything that channel brings to television right now. I was never a huge ‘zombie’ fan but had heard great buzz on this one, so I decided to take the plunge (also convincing my wife, who doesn’t like scary stuff at all, to watch). Well, we’ve both really been loving this show - the way it mixes thrills, gore, human drama and even some dark humour. The ratings for the show were through the roof (for a cable series), so we look forward to many more seasons.

5. 30 Rock
This show continues to bring the laughs – so many that I often need to rewind and watch scenes twice to ensure I didn’t miss all the jokes that were unleashed. Alec Baldwin has found the role of a lifetime, as his growing stack of Emmys proves (although she didn’t get the Emmy this year, Tina Fey did deservedly win the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour). It’s become the most enjoyable workplace comedy on television….unlike another office based show I could call out. As I prepare for my own ‘Kabletown’ merger, this is my Thursday night highlight….


4. Modern Family
Last year’s best new show continued to remain exceptionally strong, ending 2010 as the funniest show on television. From the humour-heart mix to the way the show uses the child actors as more than just props to the ability to use the ‘mockumentary’ set-up (and not seem stale), this show is firing on all cylinders creatively. With a ton of Emmy love and solid ratings, this has the popular appeal to stick around for awhile (unlike other shows this funny….ahem…..Arrested Development).

3. Lost
One of the most ambitious shows of all time finally called it quits in May. It had a very divisive finale, which I personally thought was a solid (if not great) wrap up – probably proving I cared more about the characters than the mythology. Regardless of your thoughts on that one episode, we can all agree that strong writing, great performances, and beautiful imagery solidified this as a series that won’t be matched in its ambition for a while. No other show inspired the amount of discussion/research, both online and in conversations with friends, that this one did for me.

2. Mad Men
As the seasons rolls along in this show and time marches forward in the 1960’s, we continue to excitedly anticipate what our anti-hero, Don Draper, will do next. And that’s the best part: you never really can guess where this show will take you. There was lots of change this past season, with many new opportunities, changing relationships, deaths and other surprises all rolled out last summer. A uniformly strong cast, an immaculately designed world and a distinct creative voice guiding the series always ensures I am counting the days until the show returns.

1. Breaking Bad
There was no show I looked forward to this year more than this one. What had already been an amazing show somehow kicked into a higher gear. The performances were top notch (although only the two leads won Emmys, the entire cast in uniformly strong), the pace thrilling (the parking lot scene may have been my favourite single scene of the entire year, having me holding my breath for what felt like forever) and the look of the show stunning (the cinematography reminds me of watching a film). And, just to show how strong the show is, it can have a slow paced episode take place entirely in one room (one that revolves around two people trying to catch a fly) and it will still stick with you.

So, what did you love this year in TV? What did you feel let down by? Which show did you not watch but still feel they should execute the whole cast, gangland-style : The Bachelor or Jersey Shore ?

P.S. A quick aside, a couple people asked for my top five CDs for the year as well, so here they are:

Arcade Fire “The Suburbs”
Band of Horses “Infinite Arms”
Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs “God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise”
The National “High Violet”
Cee-Lo Green “The Lady Killer”


Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Lessons Learned from Cheesecake


Happy New Year! Welcome to 2011, and to another (exciting?) year with BusyBeeBets. I’ve already been cooking and baking and knitting up a storm; now to find the time to write about it!

For New Year’s Eve this year, we gathered with friends for a night in to enjoy some good food and drinks. None of this dressing-up-and-spending-lots-of-money-and-fighting-the-crowds nonsense! No, instead, we laughed and ate and drank and played board games, all in the comfort of home, and all for the reasonable price of a GO train ticket (we have since learned that the GO is FREE after 7pm on Dec. 31st). And when the clock struck midnight, we welcomed 2011 with a glass of champagne, a kiss, and flush of the toilet. Yes, you read right. One of our friends likes to be the first one to flush a toilet in our time zone. Strange, yes, but true.

My item to bring for the potluck meal was dessert (our friends read my blog, you see), and for the occasion, I browsed my collection of dessert recipes (both online and in print) and came across one for Candy Cane Cheesecake – prefect for the holidays. But this dessert came with a few struggles (seems everything I do these days has a few roadblocks).

While gathering our ingredients, we searched high and low for candy canes, and wouldn’t you know, we couldn’t find them any where. We thought for sure grocery stores would have them marked down, but turns out we thought wrong. Luckily, earlier that day, we had a massage appointment, and in their waiting room they had a bowl of small candy canes. We nabbed three, just enough for the topping. First hurdle – cleared!

Lesson One: Bake something you know you’ll be able to find all the ingredients for, or be willing to change your recipe.

And then came the baking. I read the recipe the night before, and with baking and cooling time, it took about 4 hours; I thought we’d have enough time to bake it the same day as the party. What a lack in judgement! I greatly underestimated how long it would take to cool, and by the time we had to leave for the train, my cake was still warm and hadn’t yet set. Carefully carrying it to the train station was a feat in itself; trying to keep it level proved to be challenging. When we had found our seats on the train, I checked to see what condition the cake was in, and found that the top had slid a bit, creating an uneven surface, but luckily, that was all. 

Lesson Two: Make sure you plan ahead and leave enough time. I would even recommend baking the day before, if possible.

When we arrived at our friend’s, I was able to put the cake in the fridge, and by the time we were ready for dessert, the cake had set and everything turned out just fine. The ironic thing is, after we ate so much at dinner, we hardly put a dent in the cheesecake! Our friends, whether they wanted to or not, kept the leftovers.

Lesson Three: Bake small or individual size desserts from now on. Easy to carry and easy to serve. Plus, leftovers, if any, are easy to store.

The cheesecake was tasty enough, but I've definitely seen other recipes that take less time and include less ingredients, but I'm glad I gave this one a try.


By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

INGREDIENTS
2 pkg cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 cups (500 mL) sour cream
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1 tsp (5 mL) peppermint extract

Crust:
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup (250 mL) sour cream
2 tbsp (25 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
2 tbsp (25 mL) coarsely crushed candy canes

DIRECTIONS
Grease bottom of 9-inch (2.5 L) springform pan; line side with parchment paper. Set pan on large square of heavy-duty foil; press up side of pan. Set aside.

CRUST: In bowl, stir crumbs with butter until moistened; press into prepared pan. Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until firm, 10 minutes. Let cool on rack.

In large bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Beat in sugar until smooth; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream, lemon juice and peppermint extract. Pour over crust.

Set springform pan in larger pan; pour enough hot water into larger pan to come 1 inch (2.5 cm) up sides. Bake cheesecake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven until shine disappears and edge is set yet centre still jiggles slightly, about 1 hour.

TOPPING: Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla; spread over cheesecake. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn off oven. Let stand in oven for 1 hour.

Remove cheesecake from water and transfer to rack; remove foil and let cool. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.) To serve, sift candy to remove powder; sprinkle pieces around edge.

Monday, January 03, 2011

A Special Christmas Knitting Project

Where last year I hand-made many of the gifts for our family and friends, this year was quite different. It was probably mostly due to a lack of time on my part, but we also tried to scale back Christmas this year. Instead of exchanging gifts with friends, we enjoyed a good meal and good laughs together. We’re all at a point in our lives were we really just don’t need any more “stuff," and getting together for a potluck dinner is almost preferred.

But there was one gift that I did knit, and it was at the request of one of Matt’s uncles. His daughter has posted a couple times on her own blog (http://littleloghousechronicles.blogspot.com/) of a knitted shawl that she really quite admired, and Ken, knowing that I was a knitter, had asked if I would like to make it for her. Of course I was delighted and said yes immediately. I know Melissa reads my blog, so I was sworn to secrecy until after Christmas.

But this project wasn’t without a few hiccups, let me say. I had to track down the yarn, of which no suppliers in Canada had any in store. So off to search the web I went, and even when I found a place in the US that carried it, she, too, was out of stock. She ordered some in for me and then sent it along, but the ironic thing is that the yarn is actually hand-dyed here in Canada! It took a bit longer than I had anticipated, and with my mailing deadline looming (it had to go all the way to BC), I was really quite anxious for it to arrive so I could get started. Thankfully it arrived about two weeks before I needed to put the parcel in the mail, and my full attention was turned to knitting this shawl up.

I was trying to be creative with my photo...
The project went rather quickly, and I had almost completed the body of the shawl in about two days…until I realized I had made a small error and would need to rip the whole thing out. Sure, the error wasn’t that noticeable, but I couldn’t very well send it out knowing that it was not perfect. So, take two. I completed it correctly this time in the next two days, and now it was on to the leaf detail. This wasn’t all that difficult, but it sure did take some time. At last, it was completed, and after blocking it to make sure the leaves were flat, I was so happy with the finished shawl. I wrapped and shipped it off to BC, and I heard that she was really happy with the gift (Melissa, I’m sure you’ll comment yourself…).

It was a really neat thing to do for both Ken and Melissa, and as this was my first commissioned project, I guess BusyBeeBets is officially in business! This might be a venture I pursue more in the future, but I couldn't resist doing up some labels to attach with the gift. At least she knows where it came from...


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