Violet’s Butter Tarts for Canada Day

½ C brown sugar

½ C corn syrup

½ C maple syrup

½ C butter

Preheat oven to 425º 

Mix in a small pot and melt together. Violet says, “Taste: if it’s too sweet it doesn’t need all the corn syrup.” (So I guess you take some of it out?) Never mind, too sweet is the whole point.

Boil the mixture to the soft ball stage. (I never have the patience to get quite that far, but at least to the rolling amorphous mass stage.) Let cool a little.

When lukewarm, stir a couple of spoons of the sugar mixture into one beaten egg, and beat well. Then pour all that into the pot and beat well. Again, Violet says, “If it’s too sweet, add another egg white…” 

Pour into tart shells (your own, if you like, but decent frozen shells work very well) into each of which you have popped a few raisins. Or, God knows, pecans. Then you'd have pecan tarts.* But would that be so bad? You'll probably have some filling left over. You can bake it in a little buttered metal dish, if you hate to waste anything. 

Bake at 425º for 15-20 minutes. They’ll puff up but then subside. Wait till they cool a little!



Note: For two or three people, I often halve this recipe. Beat the egg and divide it in half before mixing, though.

*You can use this same mixture over pecans in a pie shell for a very good pecan pie.

Boueueuf Bourguinnongne

(Okay, Boeuf Bourguignon: adapted from eighteen other ways, but this is the way I like it best.)

1/2 lb good bacon, small dice or lardons 

1 large onion, small dice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 carrots, chopped fine

1.5 kg blade steak (lean stewing beef), cut in 2" cubes

flour

2 cups dry red wine, a beaujolais or Cotes du Rhone 

  (buy two bottles so you can serve the same wine with dinner)

2 cups beef stock (your own if you are crazy, or made from Better Than Bouillon paste in a jar)

1 large can crushed tomatoes 

2 long strips orange peel (just the orange part, no white)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch thyme sprig, tied up, + extra sprig

12-24 small/pearl onions

18 mushrooms, in thick slices

Set aside enough time for all this, the day before the party. Any rush will lead to burned bits and the tender beauty of the browning will be lost.  

In a Le Creuset or cast iron dutch oven, cook bacon, onion, garlic and carrots slowly till onion is caramelized. With a slotted spoon, remove all these to a dish and add 2 T olive oil to the pot. Turn heat to medium high. 

Dry the beef cubes, shake with flour in a brown paper bag, and add to pot a few at a time; cook on high to seal. Put each batch aside and do the next. Go slowly! Brown properly! When all the meat is browned, pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the dark goodness. Put the beef cubes back and stir to thicken. Add 1 cup beef stock, bacon, tomatoes and onions, orange zest, garlic and thyme bundle. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Put the lid on the Le Creuset and pop it in the oven for 3 hours at 300F. Every hour, check: stir and keep topping up with the remaining cup of stock so that the beef remains in liquid.

You can do this the day before you serve—if so, let the bourguignon cool to room temp with the lid off, then cover and refrigerate over night. Remove visible fat from the surface before heating the dish in the oven slowly, as you do the onions and mushrooms.

So meanwhile, or the next day, do the mushrooms and onions: heat a knob of butter and a glog of olive oil in a sauté pan (one with a lid) until foaming. Add the 24 pearl onions and sauté over medium heat for ten minutes or so to brown, rolling from time to time. Add 1/2 C beef stock, a sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf; cover and simmer very slowly for about forty-five minutes, until onions are tender but still hold their shape. Remove bay leaf and thyme, set onions aside. Wipe out the sauté pan and heat another knob of butter, and when foam subsides, sauté the mushrooms.

Back to the beef: when the meat is tender, tidy up the casserole and skim the surface fat. If liquid is too thin, pour the whole shebang into a sieve set over a large saucepan/saucier and return the beef etc. to the casserole. Skim the fat from the sauce in the saucepan, stirring and skimming more fat as it rises. Reduce till the liquid is thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thick, add a few T stock. Taste for seasoning, it may need salt. Add the cooked onions and mushrooms and stir to coat them in the lovely sauce.

Serve with lots of yukon gold mashed potatoes and the same red wine you used in cooking. 

Preserved Lemons with Honey a la Greg Malouf

Enough preserved lemons. Almost enough.

Making preserved lemons sounds like a lot of bother but it’s not: it takes about ten minutes to put together a jar or two. Like crème fraîche, they are much cheaper to make than to buy; unlike crème fraîche, which is always perfection, they are much much better home-made. And organic, of course.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Greg Malouf and many others—Greg’s great advantage is that freezing and thawing the lemons before you begin cuts off about two months of ageing time, so you can eat them sooner.

I tried a batch in a pretty non-mason jar, which did not make a proper seal, and to my sorrow they went mouldy. So bite the bullet and get a four-pack of ½ litre mason jars and a few lids, for under $10, and you’ll be all set. Sterilize the jar before you pack it, and keep them refrigerated once you open them. They won’t last nearly long enough to spoil. If halving, use the same amount of the spices.

Use only the rind of preserved lemons, discard the flesh. Add finely chopped skin of ½ a preserved lemon and a minced clove of garlic (or a small shallot) to 4 T butter and smoosh it under the skin of a chicken before roasting (that is AMAZING), or add to mayonnaise, hollandaise or guacamole—glorious in risotto. I even put it in mashed potatoes.

2-3 pounds organic lemons, since the peel is the whole point
   (enough to fill two ½ litre jars plus 4-5 more to squeeze for juice)
1–1 ½ cups salt
1 T coriander seeds, lightly crushed
2 cinnamon sticks
2 lemon leaves or bay leaves
¼ cup honey
1 cup lemon juice
3 cups warm water

Wash and dry the lemons. Cut lengthways into quarters from the point of the lemon to 1/4” from the stem, leaving joined at the base. Put in a plastic bag in the freezer for 24 hours. Remove from freezer and allow to defrost. 


Stuff the centre of each lemon with a heaped teaspoon of salt. Arrange neatly in a ½ litre jar, sprinkling each layer of lemons with more salt and crushed coriander seeds, using 1/2-3/4 cup salt in each jar. Place the sticks of cinnamon down the sides of the jar, along with the lemon leaves or bay leaves. Stir the honey and lemon juice with the warm water until the honey dissolves. Pour the mixture into the jar, covering the lemons entirely (add more lemon juice if it is not enough to cover them), and screw the lid on tight. 

Many sources say you can just leave it in a cool dark place for a month. But I advise processing the lemons. Use a fresh mason lid. Place a piece of cardboard on the bottom of a large pot and sit the jar on top. This stops it from vibrating. Add warm water to cover the jar completely and slowly bring it to the boil. Boil for 6 minutes, then remove from heat. Gently and carefully lift the jar from the pot.
Store in a cool, dark place for a month before opening. Once opened, keep refrigerated. If the lemons are not frozen first, the maturation process will take at least 3 months. As I open one jar, I make another, because I use them up in about a month. And I usually make two at a time, to have one to give away.
 

Using preserved lemons

To use: Remove a piece of lemon from the liquid (some people say to use a wooden spoon to pull one out, I suppose to avoid some taint to the brine?) and rinse. Scrape out and discard the pulp (you can press the pulp through a sieve to obtain the juice for extra flavour). Slice the lemon peel into thin strips or small dice.

The peel acts like salt, because it’s so saturated, so be careful when salting a dish that you’re adding the peel to. Fabulous for scenting/salting rice or couscous, or baked chicken dishes. You can bake chicken or fish in a foil packet with a few strips of peel mmmm. I added some to my tuna sandwich today. It’s a subtle surprise every now and then. Extremely good in mashed potatoes.

We most often use preserved lemon in risotto (nice with asparagus or salmon added with the last ladle of liquid) or in a quinoa salad with orange peppers, cucumbers, and white onion. Put the diced preserved lemon peel in with the quinoa as it cooks, to let the grain soak in the salt and the very mysterious ancient lemon flavour.


Crab or shrimp spaghettini with preserved lemons

1/2 pound spaghettini or capelli di angeli
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons sambal oelek
1/2 pound shelled cooked crabmeat, cut into 1-inch pieces, or peeled raw shrimp
1/4 preserved lemon rind, rinsed and finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons salted butter

Cook spaghettini al dente. Meanwhile, sauté onion in oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in sambal oelek and cook 1 minute, then add crabmeat. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, just until crabmeat is heated through (or shrimp are pink). Stir parsley, lemon and butter. Drain pasta, then add to skillet and toss to coat well.


Israeli Couscous with Preserved Lemon and Butternut squash

1 preserved lemon
1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 3/4 cups Israeli couscous, about 1 pound (this is very good with quinoa too)
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (chopped almonds are fine, or just leave out)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 475°F. Toss squash with 1 tablespoon oil and salt to taste (not much! those lemons are salty!) in a large shallow baking pan and spread in 1 layer. Roast 15 minutes, until squash is just tender, and transfer to a large bowl.
Cook couscous with the cinnamon stick in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, until just tender.
Meanwhile, halve lemons and scoop out flesh, pressing through a sieve to extract juice for extra zing. Cut peel into 1/4-inch dice to measure ¼ cup (or more if you are addicted).
Sauté onion in 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to turn golden. Add to squash. Stir in the lemon peel and juice, 2 T olive oil, parsley, nuts, raisins, and ground cinnamon and let sit. Drain the couscous and toss with onion/squash melange.

Shrimp on the Ken

It’s not quite hot enough yet, but I am dreaming of bbqed shrimp. Two very good ways, here, and a fresh coriander chutney that becomes a fresh cilantro chutney if you’re serving it with the chipotle version. And a little guacamole on the side is perfect.  


Chipotle Marinated Shrimp

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached

In a mixing bowl, mix together olive oil, cilantro, lime juice, chipotles, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Pour marinade into a large resealable plastic bag with shrimp. Seal, and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to 24 hours. If you want to marinate longer, leave out the lime juice, adding it 2 hours before you’ll cook the shrimp. Preheat grill for medium-low heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. (Or don’t bother with skewers, just grill them on a foil-lined cookie sheet under a high broiler for 2-3 minutes, or pan-fry them.)
 

Curry Marinated Shrimp

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons medium curry paste
1/2 t turmeric
3 cloves garlic, minced
1” ginger, grated
2 teaspoons celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached
juice of 2 lemons or limes

In a mixing bowl, mix together oil, cilantro, curry, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Pour marinade into a large resealable plastic bag with shrimp. Seal, and marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. 2 hours before you’ll cook the shrimp, add the lemon juice. Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Grill over direct heat, about two minutes. (Or just throw them onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and broil them, for two to three minutes.)
 

Fresh Coriander Chutney

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
2 limes, peel grated and juiced
1 jalapeño, halved and deseeded
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 T Greek yoghurt
1/2 t golden caster sugar
salt and freshly milled black pepper
 
Whirl all ingredients in a blender, adding a little water if you like it a bit thinner, and let sit for two hours to develop flavours.
 

Sara's ginger ice-cream

Looking at 123oleary's blog on writers' sheds today reminded me of what you should eat in them: her beautiful ginger ice cream. Reproduced here in her own words.

"It's hardly a recipe:  a pint of whipping cream, 2 eggs, some sugar (around 1/4 cup, I think) and a couple of big spoonfuls of ginger in syrup in the blender or processor.  Zoom like hell, put in a metal bowl and stuff in freezer.  Bugger off for six hours, buy things you shouldn't, come home and enjoy."

Follow to the letter, you will be happy and won't even need a shed.
(and here's the lovely Little Houses post...)
123oleary.blogspot.com/2011/05/little-houses.html?spref=tw

Chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates

Left these off the Tapas recipes, and they might be the best thing of all: a miracle occurs during the grilling to marry three strange bedfellows. Serve straight from the grill with romanesco sauce, below, or just by their mysteriously beautiful selves.

8 ounces fresh Spanish chorizo sausage,

     uncased and crumbled

1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

24 large Medjool dates

12 slices bacon, cut crosswise in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

Early in the day: Cook chorizo in heavy small skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through, stirring frequently and breaking up lumps with spoon, about 5 minutes. Drain off fat; transfer sausage to small bowl. Add parsley; stir to combine. Cool. Working with one date at a time, cut slit along top of date. Gently pry open date and remove pit, leaving pocket. Stuff pocket with 1 scant tablespoon chorizo mixture. Wrap 1 bacon piece around each date, overlapping ends slightly; fasten ends with toothpick. Refrigerate till party.

Half hour before party: Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add dates, toothpick-side down, and cook without moving until bacon browns, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook until bacon is brown on all sides, turning dates occasionally, about 6 minutes longer. Transfer to paper towels to drain. EVEN BETTER: preheat bbq to 500º and grill on the top rack as if it was an oven. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm, with romanesco or tomato sauce or on their own. 

Croquembouche

Photo taken at the last second when I realized I'd completely forgotten to document this Mount Everest of boucheness. Then I forgot to take another when it was all caramelled up and had a beautiful pale blue ribbon around the bottom to compliment Lynn Coady's wedding dress. Dang. 

Tapas Night

Tapas recipes from the night before Lynn Coady's wedding

White Wine Sangria
1 bottle Spanish dry white wine (Pirramimma Chardonnay or a nice Vinho Verde)
1 lemon, peeled in a continuous thin spiral, flesh thinly-sliced crosswise
1 orange, peeled in a continuous spiral, thinly-sliced
3 oz brandy or to taste
2 oz Triple Sec or Cointreau (I used Patron Citronge tequila liqueur)
2 T simple syrup (bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil to dissolve the sugar; cool)
1 ripe peach, pitted and sliced
½ C sliced strawberries or plums
½ C green grapes
1 C cold club soda, or 2 C Prosecco if you have some open

In a large pitcher, combine wine, lemon and orange peels, sliced fruit, brandy, triple sec and syrup. Stir and taste, adjust with sugar or brandy or triple sec, remembering that it will be diluted further with soda and ice. Cover the pitcher and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Add peach and strawberries and grapes, re-cover and return to fridge for 2 hours, but no longer. Just before serving, add soda and ice cubes and stir. For a larger crowd, use two bottles of wine and adjust the brandy and Cointreau/Citronge to taste.



Best Gazpacho
4 ripe tomatoes
1 English cucumber, roughly chopped
1 1/4 C finely diced onion
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, grated into blender
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 C good-quality canned tomato juice
1/4 C sherry vinegar, or as needed
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or as needed
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 C tiny croutons (fry small cubes of bread in olive oil with 2 smashed cloves garlic, add salt)

Puree first six ingredients in blender, then stir in juice, vinegar, seasonings. Chill overnight. Serve in small glasses, with tiny garlic croutons.



Garlic chicken 
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1” pieces
Sweet paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 C olive oil
8 cloves garlic, smashed, plus 2 cloves, minced
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
¾ C fino or manzanilla sherry
¾ C chicken broth
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Rub chicken with paprika, salt, and pepper and refrigerate overnight. In an ovenproof casserole, heat oil over medium heat. Add crushed garlic and cook, stirring, until softened but not colored, 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces and fry, turning as needed, until golden on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes: colored on the outside but not cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, remove smashed garlic from the oil and discard. Return the pan to low heat. Add minced garlic and cook briefly. Add thyme, bay leaves, sherry, and broth, raise heat to high, and bring to a boil. Bake at 400º til cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves and thyme. Cool, refrigerate till ½ hour before serving time, reheat in oven.



Spanish potato tortilla
1 C olive oil
5 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 eggs
Salt

Heat the olive oil in a 9-inch sauté pan and add the potato slices. Cook, turning occasionally and shifting so slices don't stick together, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and cook until potatoes are tender. Drain into a colander set over a bowl, saving the oil. Return 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan. (Remaining oil can be refrigerated and used for frying within a couple of days.)

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt. Add the potatoes, and stir gently to coat with the egg without breaking up slices. Add the egg-coated potatoes to the very hot oil in the skillet, spreading them evenly to completely cover the base of the skillet. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook, shaking the pan frequently, until mixture is half-set.

Use a plate to cover the skillet and invert the omelette carefully. Swab out the sauté pan with paper towel, add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and slide the omelette back into the skillet on its uncooked side. Cook until completely set. Allow the omelette to cool, then cut into wedges or squares. Refrigerate if necessary but serve at room temperature.




Gambas al Pil Pil (garlic shrimp)
2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
½ t salt

4 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed
6 T olive oil

8 cloves garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 t red pepper flakes or 1 mild dried chile, broken
1 t sweet paprika
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 T sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Mix the 2 cloves of minced garlic with the shrimp, 2 T olive oil, and salt in a medium bowl. Marinate at room temperature 30 minutes. Smash 4 cloves garlic with the flat side of a knife, then heat with 6 T olive oil in the castiron skillet over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is light golden brown, 4-7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and allow the oil to cool to room temperature. Remove smashed garlic and discard.

Thinly slice remaining 8 cloves garlic. Return skillet to low heat and add sliced garlic, bayleaf and chile. Cook, stirring occasionally, til the garlic is tender but not browned, 4-7 minutes. (If the garlic has not begun to sizzle after 3 minutes, increase heat slightly.)

Increase heat to medium and add shrimp and marinade to the skillet, spreading shrimp into a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, until the oil starts to gently bubble, about 2 minutes. Flip shrimp and continue til almost cooked through, about 2 minutes longer. Increase heat to high and stir in sherry vinegar and parsley. Cook, stirring constantly, til shrimp are cooked through and oil is bubbling vigorously, about 15 seconds. Serve immediately.



Grilled Asparagus with Serrano Ham
Wrap asparagus spears in slices of Serrano, then grill until ham crisps and asparagus is bright green.



Serrano ham-stuffed mushrooms
30 crimini mushrooms (2”), brushed clean
2 T fresh bread crumbs
2 T chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 t minced fresh sage
1 large clove garlic, minced
90 g serrano ham, finely chopped
3 T crème fraiche (sour cream in a pinch, but it's not as fantastic)
salt and pepper
2 T vermouth or sherry
2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Lightly oil a heavy baking pan large enough to hold the mushrooms in a single layer. Remove stems, trim, and chop finely. In a large bowl, combine chopped stems, bread crumbs, parsley, sage, garlic, ham, 3 T crème fraiche, ¼ t salt and fresh-ground pepper. Mix thoroughly: the mixture should hold together in clumps. If it seems dry, add another teaspoon or two of crème fraiche.

Preheat oven to 400º Spoon a generous dollop of ham mixture into each mushroom cap and smooth into an even round. Place mushrooms in the baking dish. Drizzle sherry around the edges of the dish, and sprinkle each cap with a little Parmesan. Bake uncovered til golden, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.



Crab cakes
3 T butter
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
½ white onion, minced, or 2 shallots, minced
1 T water, if needed
½-¾ C whipping cream
1 T Dijon mustard
1½ T finely chopped bottled pimiento
salt and fresh-ground pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb lump crabmeat (frozen, not canned)
1 C fine dried breadcrumbs, homemade or bought
2 T peanut oil
½ lemon
saffron aioli, lemon mayo, or salsa for serving

In a small sauté pan over low heat, melt 1 T of the butter. Add the celery and onion, cover, and cook gently until tender, about 10 minutes. Add cream, raise heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and cool.

Add mustard, pimiento, ½ t salt and ½ t pepper to the cooled cream mixture and mix well, Whisk in the egg, then add crabmeat, breaking it up a little but leaving lumps intact. Toss gently until evenly mixed. Mixture can be refrigerated at this point for up to 2 hours.

Spread breadcrumbs on a plate in an even layer. Take a golf-ball sized lump of crab mixture, gently squeeze out any excess liquid. Shape into a small patty—the mixture is quite wet and loose. Place the patty on the crumbs, and scoop more crumbs on top. Carefully turn the cake over onto your palm, letting excess crumbs fall back onto the plate. Turn cake back onto the spatula and slide it onto a platter. Repeat to make 12-14 crab cakes. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, up to 3 hours.

In a large frying pan over medium low heat, melt 1 T remaining butter with 1 T peanut oil. When the foam subsides, slide half the crab cakes into the pan. Cook on the first side til golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Turn and brown on second side, 4-5 minutes longer. Keep first batch of cakes warm in a low oven. Wipe out the pan with paper towel and repeat to make second batch of cakes. Squeeze lemon over all the crab cakes and serve with aioli to accompany.



Saffron Aioli
1 T fresh lemon juice
pinch of saffron, about 12 threads
1 egg, at room temperature
1½ t dijon mustard
salt
¾ C canola or corn oil
¼ C extra virgin olive oil

Put lemon juice in a small saucer and warm for several seconds in a microwave (or on the stove). Add saffron threads, making sure they are all submerged. Set aside. In a blender, combine the egg, mustard and ¾ t salt. Process to blend. Combine the oils in a measuring cup with a lip. With the motor running, start pouring the oil into the mixture in a very thin, slow stream. Continue adding the oil patiently and slowing until about half has been blended in, then add the remaining oil a little more quickly. Add saffron lemon juice to the mixture, using a small spatula to scrape out all the coloured liquid from the saucer. Pulse to distribute the saffron in the aioli, and taste to check both salt and lemon, adding more if necessary. Make a day ahead, to expand the saffron flavour, and keep refrigerated. Doubles well.



Romanesco Sauce
4 large tomatoes, cored
½ onion, peeled
4 garlic cloves
1 dried ancho chile
¾ C extra-virgin olive oil
4 T blanched almonds
1 slice firm white bread, cut into strips
1/4 t dried hot red pepper flakes
½ t smoked paprika (or more, to taste)
½ C bottled piquillo peppers (roasted red peppers)
½ cup hazelnut butter 
4 T red wine
1 T red-wine or sherry vinegar
1 t salt, or to taste

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a small baking pan with foil. Roast tomatoes until tender and browned, about 30 minutes. While tomato is roasting, slit ancho chile open lengthwise and discard stem and seeds, then tear chile into small pieces.
Heat oil in an 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then add chile and cook, stirring, until fragrant and chile turns a brighter red, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Transfer chile with a slotted spoon to a heatproof bowl. Add to skillet hazelnuts, almonds, bread, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until bread and garlic are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mixture (including oil) to chile in bowl and cool slightly.
Transfer roasted tomatoes to a food processor and buzz. Add bread-nut-chile mixture, piquillos, wine and vinegar and purée until smooth. Thin with water or tomato juice if too thick, and season to taste with salt.



Patatas Bravas
3 lb. small red potatoes, unpeeled
olive oil

Place a rimmed baking sheet on the highest rack shelf in the oven and preheat to 450°F. Quarter the potatoes (or cut in eighths, if large) and toss with 1 T cornstarch, ¼ t garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Remove preheated pan from oven, add oil, and tilt to coat evenly. Place potatoes cut side down in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast until browned around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and, using a metal spatula, turn potatoes skin side down. Roast 10 minutes more, till crisp and deep golden brown. To serve, place the potatoes on a serving platter and pour half the aioli over the top. Serve immediately with aioli and romanesco sauce.

For garlic potatoes, another time:
1 T butter, softened
1 t fresh parsley, minced
½ t grated lemon zest
1 garlic clove, grated
Mix butter, garlic, parsley and zest together in the bottom of a large bowl. When roasted, transfer potatoes to the bowl with the butter mixture and toss til evenly coated.



I always end up cutting something at the last minute, which gives me the illusion that I've got plenty of time now... We didn't make these for the party, but I made them the next night and they were fantastic. 

Pinchitos Moruños

Little Moorish kebabs (made defiantly with pork once the Spaniards kicked the Moors out)

1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into small cubes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 t Patak's mild curry paste 

½ t fennel seeds, ground in mortar
½ t caraway, ground in mortar
½ t nutmeg, fresh ground
¼ t ground cloves
½ t ground cumin

½ t ground coriander

1 t Spanish sweet paprika (or smoked if you like)

½ t dried thyme

Freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic gloves, grated or minced

½ t salt

1/3 C white wine

½ lemon, juiced

Cube meat, then in a non-reactive bowl mix marinade ingredients: olive oil, curry powder/pinchito, cumin, coriander, paprika, saffron, thyme, oregano, salt and black pepper, garlic, wine, and lemon juice. Rub into cubes. Skewer the meat on bamboo sticks, 3-4 cubes to a small stick, and marinate them in a shallow dish, turning so they are well coated. Leave overnight or all day, refrigerated. Spread the pinchitos out on the barbecue (or on foil under a grill) and grill over high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Here are a few more recipes that didn't make the cut, but might next time:

Prawns with Chorizo

3 T olive oil

1/2 lb cured mild smoked or unsmoked chorizo sausage, cut into small cubes

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 t smoked paprika

24-30 large uncooked peeled prawns, tail on

3 T dry sherry (fino)

Warm the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chorizo and sauté a few minutes until crisp. Add the garlic and smoked paprika. Sauté 1 or 2 minutes until the garlic is softened. Add the prawns and sherry, sauté until opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with plenty of rustic bread to soak up the juices.

Red Onion Salad

4 ripe medium oranges, peel and pith cut off

1 small red onion, sliced fine

2 T sherry vinegar

6 T extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 T golden raisins, covered for 20 minutes in hot water, then drained

20 kalamata or dried black olives, pitted

4 T slivered almonds, toasted

Springs of fresh mint, to garnish

Cut oranges crosswise into ¼” slices. Arrange on a serving platter and scatter sliced red onion over them. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spoon this dressing over the onion and oranges. Sprinkle with the raisins, olives, and almonds. Garnish with mint springs and serve chilled.

Potatoes with Saffron and Tuna Ventresca
1 lb cooking potatoes, peeled
9 threads of good saffron
750 ml milk or cream
Salt and fresh-ground pepper
Fine Ventresca tuna from the tin

Boil potatoes till soft. Mash with saffron when still hot, then mash in salt, pepper, milk or cream and salt. Serve topped with drained tuna.


Garbanzos al ajillo con chorizo y aceite de perejil
Chickpeas with garlic, red sausage and parsley 
¼ C olive oil
200 gm chorizo sausage, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 t cumin
½ t cayenne
1 t paprika
large can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
parsley

Add garlic cloves to cold oil (to prevent the garlic cloves browning) in a sauté pan. When oil starts to heat, add the cumin, cayenne, paprika and sausage. Before the paprika turns brown add the chickpeas, stir until warm, and serve, garnished with parsley.


Pintxo de pisto ibéricos con queso
Iberian ratatouille with cheese toast
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
50 g each smoked ham & chorizo, cubed
rustic or ciabatta bread
manchego cheese

Saute garlic, chopped onion, pepper and zucchini and lightly fry for another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt (if needed). Finally add ham and sausage, and leave long enough to release in their flavour.
Grill slices of bread. Spread ratatouille on each toast. Place a couple of manchego slices on top, and put in a preheated oven until cheese melts.


Albóndigas de atún
Tuna Balls, Rafael Lechuga Butron
100 g canned tuna
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 eggs
¼ C parsley, chopped
flour to coat the balls

Crumble the tuna fish and then mix with the onions, parsley, and garlic. Add the eggs, and mix. Form the mixture into ball shapes, coat with flour and fry.



I didn't really like the cake from the Tapas party. This is a better one:

Chocolate Orange Flourless Cake Nigella
2 small organic thin-skinned oranges, about 375g total weight
6 eggs
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
8 oz ground almonds
9 oz extra-fine granulated sugar (regular will do)
2 oz cocoa

Put the whole orange or oranges in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil, then cook at a rolling simmer for 2 hours or until soft. Drain, and cool.
Preheat oven to 350º and butter a 9” springform cakepan.
Cut oranges in half, remove any big seeds, and whirl in a food processor till pulped. Add eggs, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa to the orange in the food processor. Run until nearly smooth, but still flecked with orange peel. Pour into the springform pan and bake until a tester comes out clean—probably an hour, but check after 45 minutes. Cool in the tin, on a rack. Sieve icing sugar over, or serve as it is. Good with whipped cream, chocolate sauce or Haagendazs Mexican chocolate ice cream.

Les Macarons

Here is the adapted/fiddled Cantina version of the recipe for macarons, which is an amalgam of every piece of good advice I found on the web and a few lessons learned. No need to wait for that skin to form, for example: I left one pan to wait, baked the other, and they were indistinguishable. So patience is not necessary. If I find any improvements I'll edit this after Thursday's Guerre des Macarons at the Literary Saloon. Measuring by weight is VITAL, and make sure your scale is accurate.

Macarons Caramel Fleur de Sel

125g ground almond
(or grind almonds with icing sugar in a blender, very fine)
225g icing sugar

3 egg whites (leave at room temp overnight for greater volume)
30g sugar

Sieve ground almond and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk together til evenly distributed. In a separate, metal, very clean bowl, beat the egg whites using an electric mixer at high speed until you can see the ruffles made by the beaters going round. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to make a stiff meringue. Dump the whole of the sieved almond/icing sugar mixture into the meringue and fold, then beat lightly in a swirling motion (called macaronage, which will deflate the meringue somewhat), until the batter flows like magma.

Transfer batter to a large plastic freezer bag. Cut 1/2" off one corner and pipe the mixture onto a silpat in 1" mounds (The cookies will spread to approximately 1½"). If the mixture is too thick, you’ll see a tip sticking up from the piping even after you finish the last row. If this happens, give the tray a sharp rap on the counter to get a nice smooth surface; if that doesn’t do it, smooth the tops with a wet finger.

Leave the piped macaron cookies out for an hour to form a skin, or bake them at once, what the heck, in a 325ºF in a convection oven for 14 minutes. If you do not have a convection oven, open the door twice, briefly, during the baking time. Remove and let cool, then sandwich together (bottom sides in) with ganache, buttercream, or the caramel filling.

Leave in fridge 24 hours to temper, but bring to room temperature before serving. This recipe would have made 24 finished macarons, except that I dropped the third pan taking them out of the oven. D’oh.

Caramel fleur de sel


200g sugar

vanilla pod, or 1 teaspoon good vanilla

200g cream

½ teaspoon fleur de sel

140g butter, cold

In a 1 litre heavy-based pot, cook the sugar, stirring all the time to get an even caramel. Then scrape in the vanilla seeds (if using vanilla flavouring, add after cooling). Add the warm cream, very gradually, as it will boil up and spit at you. Stir in the fleur de sel. Stir to make sure all the caramel has dissolved. Cool the mixture to approximately 40 degrees Celsius. Add the cold butter, cut into cubes. Using a hand mixer on low speed, beat in the butter till you achieve a smooth glossy paste. Taste and adjust seasoning: you may want more salt. Line the surface of the caramel with plastic wrap or greaseproof paper to prevent a skin forming. Keep in the fridge. Makes enough for four dozen macarons and a bunch left over to dribble on ice cream.

Brownies Marina’s Cantina

These brownies cause people to love you. They take about six minutes to make once you get the recipe in your head, and there’s no mess! Ideal for carrying to parties, they never never fail. Here is the recipe doctored for the UK, for an 8" square pan. Below it, the original 13" take-to-literary-readings recipe.

Preheat oven to 350º (gas mark 4)

Melt in a medium saucepan:

120 gm Becel (or any non-hydrogenated margarine – better than butter in this recipe unless all brownies will be eaten warm, within about two hours of baking. Then butter is better.)
1/3 cup cocoa

Stir till smooth. Take off the heat and add:

200 gm sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Beat vigorously until all the egg is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stir in, just until there are no streaks of flour remaining,

1/2 teaspoon baking powder (or use self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and salt)
1/2 teaspoon salt
60 gm flour (80 gm if you like a more cake-like brownie)

If you like nuts, you can add 75 gm chopped walnuts or pecans in the last stir.

Pour into a buttered 8” pan. Bake 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from the side of the pan.

Cool, then ice with fudge icing.


Fudge Icing

Put the kettle to boil first of all, you need boiling water to make the icing glossy. This makes a very thick icing for the 8" pan, you might have to ask someone to lick the pot, like the cat in the fable.

Melt 160 gm butter (NOT becel) in a small pot
Add 75 gm cocoa and stir till smooth.
Stir in 300 gm icing/confectioners/powdered sugar and beat till smooth as possible, making a thick paste. You might need a little more icing sugar, it should be getting towards stiff.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, then dribble in boiling water: first 1 tablespoon, then 1 teaspoon at a time, beating till it’s glossy and the consistency of fudge. If it seems oily, try adding a little more boiling water. Spread on brownie immediately, it hardens pretty fast.


Canadian/US recipe, 13" pan

Brownies Supremo

Preheat oven to 350º

Melt in a medium saucepan:

1 cup becel
2/3 cup cocoa

Stir till smooth. Take off the heat and add:

2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs

Beat vigorously until all the egg is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stir in, just until there are no streaks of flour remaining,

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour, dipped not sifted, or 1 1/4 c if you want them more cake-like

If you like, you can add 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans in the last stir.

Pour into a buttered 13 x 9 pan. Bake 30 minutes or until brownies pull away from the side of the pan. Cool, then ice with fudge icing.


Fudge Icing

Put the kettle to boil first of all, you need boiling water.

Melt 2/3 cup butter in a small pot
Add 1/2 cup cocoa and stir till smooth.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups icing sugar and beat till smooth as possible. You might need a little more icing sugar.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, then dribble in boiling water 1 teaspoon at a time, beating till it’s the right consistency and glossy like fudge. If it seems oily, try adding a little more boiling water. Spread on brownie immediately, it hardens pretty fast.

Green Island Gingerbread

Because I have the Cantina open, and because this is really too good to be lost, here is the famous Green Island Gingerbread. The gingerbread itself is very dark and deep, richly — almost excessively — ginger. Good three days later, the kind of thing old travellers would have taken on a journey. But the sauce, which would not travel well even if there was ever any left over, is completely stunning.

Gingerbread Green Island

Preheat oven to 325º
mix in small bowl:
4 t ground ginger
4 t ground cinnamon
2 t baking soda
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground pepper
1/2 t salt

Beat till fluffy, with electric mixer, in a large mixing bowl:
1 C butter
1 C brown sugar

Beat in:
2 C fancy unsulphured (or try blackstrap) molasses
2 eggs

Beat in the spice mixture, then with a wooden spoon, stir in:
3 1/4 C flour

When that's incorporated, stir in:
1 C boiling water
and if you like, either:
1 C finely chopped candied ginger OR
1 C California raisins, plumped in 1/2 C boiling water for 20 minutes, then drained

Turn into a 9” x 13” greased cake pan, bake for 60-65 minutes.

If making ahead, cover pan with foil and store at room temperature for two days. Or turn out and wrap cake in plastic, then foil, and freeze for up to one month.


MAPLE SAUCE:

3/4 C butter
2 eggs
2 C icing sugar
1/2 C maple syrup
2 T rum or 1 t vanilla

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. While constantly whisking, slowly drizzle melted butter into eggs, then whisk in icing sugar till smooth, then maple syrup and rum or vanilla. Pour back into the saucepan and stir over medium heat just until mixture starts to bubble. Immediately pour into small pitcher and serve over squares of gingerbread. Sauce will keep, covered in the fridge, for 3 days. (But there won’t be any to keep.) Microwave low heat till warm.

Joy of Cookeryingery

For Tom Kelly, who asked "Why is cooking such pleasure?"

Doing something simple and useful, with an immediate and gratifying purpose: making things delicious for the ones you love. Putting order to a small chaos of disparate ingredients, making something new out of this and this and this separate thing, synthesizing.

Because my father did all the cooking when I was young, and he loved it. My mother baked but really did not enjoy the trudge of every night dinner. My father taught me how to mince an onion efficiently, how to experiment, not to be afraid of trying some wild new idea from the newspaper. (The Saturday Globe and Mail recipes by Lucy Waverman are always worth a try.)

Pleasure of the kitchen: the smell of coriander and cumin, the brisk crunch of slicing celery, the brilliant colours of red pepper and orange peel and the tenderest green of the interior leaves of Brussels sprouts. Cocoa, bitter and beautiful, the oily talcum feel of Fry's between your fingers. The elastic beauty of bread dough properly kneaded, properly risen, properly punched down. Fiddleheads and squid and pickled beets and butterscotch sauce, how can those things co-exist? But better not to use them in one single recipe, I think.

Making breakfast: poaching eggs to exactly the degree of doneness that pleases you most, drying them slightly before placing them on perfectly-buttered perfectly-browned toast, grinding a fresh dust of pepper over them, and serving them on a good plate with a shiny substantial knife and fork, and a cloth napkin. This is ACHIEVABLE! and it is PERFECT! What else in life can you be so certain of perfecting? And for about 27 cents. Well, 40 if you use organic eggs, which I highly recommend.

When you are finished your work people are nourished and happy, and with any luck the kitchen is not too big a nightmare. And if you are still not convinced about the glory of cooking, make a cake. Here is the best chocolate cake recipe in the world, and I'll follow it with the best carrot cake. Some people are connoisseurs of wine or whiskey or cigars: my area of expertise is cake.


Chocolate Birthday Cake

1 2/3 c flour
1 1/2 t soda
1 t salt
1/2 c becel
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
2/3 c cocoa
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c buttermilk

Oven 350º Grease and flour two round baking pans, 8” or 9”, or one oblong 9"x13".
Stir dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Beat butter, sugar and eggs together in a large mixing bowl for three minutes. Beat in cocoa and vanilla, then add a third of the dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk (half each time), ending with the last of the dry ingredients. Don't worry if the mixture curdles, it will bake out fine.
Bake 30 minutes for layers, 35-40 for oblong.


You can serve that as it is, with ice cream, or with a shiny fudge icing made by melting 1/2 cup butter in a medium saucepan, stirring in 4 T cocoa until perfectly smooth, then adding 2 cups icing sugar, beating till smooth-ish, and adding 1 teaspoon vanilla and enough boiling water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to stir up a shiny smooth spreadable icing. Water must be boiling to get that gloss.


Or you can make a really fancy, really sweet dressed up cake à la Betty Crocker from the 50s:

Buttermallow Cake

Bake chocolate cake in 9" x 13" pan, let cool. Spread butterscotch filling over the cake, then frost with marshmallow frosting. Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips or 1 square chocolate, pop into a plastic bag, snip a tiny corner off the bag and draw straight lines lengthwise down the cake. Then draw a clean knife through the lines width-wise to create napoleon markings. Don’t draw the knife down too deeply – you don’t want to mix the butterscotch filling in with the icing.

Butterscotch filling:

1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C cornstarch
pinch of salt
1/2 C water
1 T butter

Stir sugar, cornstarch and salt together in small saucepan. Add water and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil gently and stir one minute. Blend in butter. Cool.

Marshmallow frosting

2 egg whites
11/2 C sugar
1/4 t cream of tartar
1 T light corn syrup
1/3 C water
16 large marshmallows, quartered

Combine egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, syrup and water in top of a double boiler. Place over boiling water. Beat with electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form, scraping pan occasionally (about seven minutes). Remove from heat. Add marshmallows quickly and continue beating until of spreading consistency.


But maybe you don't like chocolate cake?

Here's the Uber Carrot Cake, best I've ever made, after years of trying.

Best Carrot Cake

3 eggs
3/4 c buttermilk
3/4 c oil
2 c dark brown sugar
2 c unbleached flour
2 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t fresh-ground nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1 c crushed pineapple, drained
2 c grated carrots
1 c good dark raisins
1 c coarsely ground chopped walnuts
3/4 c shredded unsweetened coconut

With electric mixer, beat eggs, buttermilk, oil and sugar till blended. Add flour, soda, spices and salt, and blend. Stir in pineapple, carrots, walnuts and coconut. Pour into two greased 8” square pans or one 9x13” pan and bake at 350º for 55 minutes.

Ice with orange cream cheese icing: beat one cup soft butter and 2 cups cold cream cheese until creamed. Add the grated rind of one orange, 1 t vanilla, and enough icing sugar (about 1 cup) to make a light icing.

Or make JoY of Cooking’s

Cream Cheese icing
(have the cream cheese cold, straight from the fridge, but the butter at room temperature)
Beat with a mixer until just blended:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

Add one cup at a time and beat just until smooth:
2 - 2 1/2 cups icing sugar

You can stir in some grated orange rind or cinnamon, if you like.

Refrigerate the cake.

Salmon Chanted Evening

Salmon again, just can't get enough.

This is a new way: heat oven to 425º and place salmon fillets skin side down in an oven dish. I use a smallish 8" one, which I completely fill with salmon pieces. Salt and fresh-ground pepper the fish. Slice a lemon paper-thin, and arrange the lemon slices, overlapping slightly, over the fish. When the oven is hot, pop the dish in the oven and bake for 12 minutes per inch of thickness. There's just enough time to roast some potatoes if you have a convection oven, as I suddenly do: before you start the fish, slice two or three potatoes lengthwise into eighths, toss with a little olive oil and lay them out on a foil-covered cookie sheet (unless you are against foil, in which case just use the cookie sheet but be prepared to work at the cleaning later), salt and fresh-ground pepper generously, and slide the sheet onto the top shelf of the oven to cook while you get the salmon ready. If your oven is non-convection, or as we call it, Ordinary, then the potatoes will need about 40 minutes. You can turn them half way through but you don't really need to.

The salmon comes out tender and gently lemon-spiked. The potatoes are crisp and slightly wicked. You could steam some green beans or broccoli while the salmon and potatoes are cooking, or just make a big green salad. Equal parts lemon juice and olive oil shaken together in a jar (with a bit of salt and a very small smidge of sugar) make a good dressing.

We feel healthy and holy after this dinner, but it is as good as fish and chips.

Stewing

Reading a review of Patricia Pearson's new book A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours & Mine), which sounds like a short tour through my own mind, I realize that my anxieties don't follow me into the kitchen, and that's probably why I like to cook. Food is also an excellent depression and anxiety medication, although over-dosing one's self is a danger.

Here's one of the best anti-anxiety kitchen remedies: winter stew. Frankly, it's much better than pot roast, described below. My mother's stew was thrown together the minute she slammed home from work, while she stood at the stove in her coat trying to get her five fractious children fed fast, but it's a good one:

First, put the butter in the freezer. Trust me. Next, set a big pot of lightly-salted water on high to boil. Quickly scrub four potatoes, cut into 1 inch dice, and pop into the water, even if it's not yet boiling. Peel and slice 6 carrots (and a couple of parsnips, if you like them) and add them to the water too. Peel and eighth (as opposed to quarter) lengthwise two white onions and toss them into the stewpot.

There are the veg cooking, now the meat: cube and brown, in a large frying pan, one pound of round steak, and toss a couple of tablespoons of flour into the frying pan as the meat approaches browning, so that the flour has time to brown and cook a little too. Add enough flour to absorb the fat released by the meat, making a kind of roux around and among the meat cubes. Salt and ground pepper in now, but go easy on the salt. Open a large can of diced tomatoes and use the can lid to help drain the juice into the frying pan, stirring well to smooth out all the flour/roux lumps. Add vegetable water from the stewpot to make a gravy, and add the diced tomatoes to the vegetables in the stewpot. When the gravy is smooth, check the vegetables in the stewpot: there should only be about the same amount of water in the pot as volume of gravy in the frying pan. If necessary, remove (and reserve, because you might want to add it back later) some of the water in the stewpot. Then pour the frying-pan-full of meat and gravy into the stewpot, turn down the heat to medium, and let it all bubble away melding while you throw some biscuits in the oven.

Cheese Biscuits made FAST
(Also known as Current Biscuits, after Azana)

Heat the oven to 450º

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 t salt
3 t baking powder
Fluff all that with a fork. Grate 1/3 cup of freezing cold butter into the flour, using the medium grater, not the lemon zest size. Stir lightly, so that the butter gets coated with flour. Dice enough cheddar cheese to make about half a cup, and toss that into the bowl, turning to coat as well. You can add half a cup of washed currants, too, if those please you; or some chopped parsley and green onions, if you want to go mad. Once all the dry ingredients are stirred together, pour in 3/4 cup of cold milk—maybe as much as a cup, depending on the humidity and the flour—and mix very gently just until all the dough is damp. Drop the batter from the mixing spoon onto a cookie sheet lined with a silpat mat, and bake for 10-15 minutes on the top rack until the biscuits are risen and browned.

When the biscuits are done, toss a cup of frozen green peas into the stew, and call those children to the table.

Rot Post

Making pot roast this morning I had rot-post running through my head. Probably because of a rotten tooth which has been cleaned out — "Have you got all the necrotic tissue, doctor?" the dental assistant politely inquired — and while simultaneously thinking about rot and helping Will tune his guitar with a web tuner, I burned the oil in the beautiful Le Creuset pot, which is all you need to make pot roast.

There's the crux: the pot makes the roast. Winners/Homesense sells Le Creuset seconds from time to time (how I got mine, of course) which are pretty prime for seconds.

Bring a little peanut oil to swirling hot but not smoking, and brown a good piece of chuck roast on all sides, sitting the roast down and not moving it for a good three minutes to create that worthy brown crust, then shifting to another face for more. Don't walk away and tune a guitar while you're doing this. Once it's browned, set it down again flat on the pan bottom, and pour in a large can of crushed tomatoes and the last half of the bottle of red wine from the other night, and about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. You might like more of that, but I go easy on it at first. Depending on the tomatoes, you might also wish to salt the sauce. Certainly add a good grinding of pepper. Toss in a big onion, roughly chopped, and a carrot and a piece of celery, both chopped, if you have room. You can also add those later when things have cooked down a bit.

Put the lid on, and either leave it on top of the stove to simmer or pop it into the oven at 275º for most of the afternoon. This is stew, really. But it's good, when the wind blows down the chimney flue.

Meringue/Meringo

Sarah is making meringue at her house: Nigella Lawson's chocolate pavlova. Very clever, she uses balsamic vinegar and cocoa powder and grated chocolate, bakes it at 180º (down to 150º once you've put it in the oven) and says serve it with raspberries.

But I was wondering if whipping cream and berries are really the best thing to top it.

Creme fraiche and dark cherries?

Maybe a spoon of coffee ice cream with espresso drizzled over the top?

Haven't hit the right thing yet. I will have to think.

In the meantime, I dance the meringo, marengo, fandango, ola!

Soul

Forgot about sole: try it again.

Fresh sole fillets should not fall apart when you lift them from the package.

About 3 T flour, lots of salt and pepper, mix in a shallow dish. Then—and only then—heat a knob of butter and a dollop of olive oil in a good sauté pan. Dredge each side of each fillet lightly and brush off excess, and once the flurry of the butter has subsided, fry on each side for a little longer than you think, until the flour goes golden. Once cooked, remove them to a serving dish and fry the next few fillets. Don't over-crowd the frying pan or the fish will steam instead of frying. Wipe out the pan with paper towel in between batches if you don't like that browned-butter taste.

When the fillets are all done, sprinkle them with a squirt of lemon and serve them quickly. We made potato boats beforehand (the innards of the potato mashed with light cream cheese, a beaten egg and a little green onion, then put back under a low grill to get toasted) and threw together a salad while the sole was cooking.

It was delightful.

chowdah

Nothing but fish will do for the last few days. Baked fish at Bonnie's house, halibut chowder last night. Tuna on rosemary-pecan crackers for lunch. Fish and chips for the children tonight. The fish chowder is very good in a changeable climate, quick to make, and tastes fresh but soothing on a suddenly snowy evening.

Sauté one minced white onion, with a finely-minced stalk of celery and a little of the greens, in about 2 T oil (I use half olive oil, half butter, because you'll see a bit of it later on the surface). As soon as they're sautéeing away, roughly chop 2 or 3 unpeeled yukon gold potatoes and add, stirring them around for a while. Because it's been a long winter, a little fine-dice red pepper won't do it any harm.

Stir all these in the soup pot until everything's gently glowing, then pour in half a litre of organic chicken broth from a tetra pack and half a bunch of parsley, tied with a little linen string, and let it all simmer for ten minutes. Take out the old parsley, stir in three or four halibut or haddock fillets, chopped about the same size as the potatoes (and frozen is delightful in this case), about half a cup of cream, and half of the remaining parsley, finely minced. When the fish looks done, it's done. Don't let the potatoes get too mushy—they and the fish should be about the same consistency. You might like to add more cream, or use whole milk—don't try this with skim though. No no no.

crummy

In England we made key lime pie, and it turns out to be very easy for a travelling dish. And reminded us, too, of sweetened condensed milk. I seem to remember that there was often an open can in our Nova Scotia fridge, with a teaspoon stuck in it. Maybe it's sovereign for a rainy climate.

Key Lime Pie

In a plastic bag, bash 20 graham crackers, or about as many digestive cookies as you think looks right, into crumbs. Stir in 1/3 or maybe 1/2 cup melted butter, whatever the crumbs demand, and 2 T white sugar and mix well, then press into the bottom and a little up the sides of a 9" springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350º

While the crust bakes, mix 4 egg yoks, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (just called condensed milk in Britain) and the juice of three limes. You can use as much zest as you like, but just stir this together, don't let it get bubbly. It will thicken a little. Pour the filling into the crust hot from the oven and put it back in for 12 minutes, just long enough to set the eggs. Stick in the fridge for at least 8 hours, and there you are. Not much mess in somebody else's kitchen, either.

These are those old bars made with Bordens. The ingredients list is more of a guideline than a rule—use whatever you happen to have on hand for toppings.

Marvel Bars

3 cups finely ground graham crackers or chocolate wafers, or a combination
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly splash a 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking sheet evenly with water, then line with parchment paper. Do not neglect this step or you will be sorry. In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until combined. Evenly press onto bottom and up sides of prepared baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle cooled crust evenly with pecans and chocolate. Pour condensed milk over the top, spreading to cover completely (do not let it drip over the edges). Sprinkle with coconut. Bake until coconut is toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Trim edges, if desired, and cut into equal-size bars.

But only eat one. Your teeth will ache.

Solace

Sometimes (perhaps after a hard week around grant app time) you just need chocolate sauce. This makes a thick, glossy sauce, with very deep flavour. Like a sundae from the Harris Quick & Tasty, only not the actual sundae, the one in a dream ten years later.

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

2/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of chocolate to a boil in a 1 to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted. Reduce heat and cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool sauce to warm before serving.
Makes about 2 cups.

You can make it a week ahead, cool completely, then chill in an airtight container or jar. Reheat before using.

(But don't do what we did: at Ian and Kanchan's house I handed the jar to their daughter Nisha and Rachel, saying 'pop this into a bowl of warm water to heat it up,' and then by some graceful accident happened to wander into the kitchen as they were pouring the thick chocolate sauce out of the jar into the warm water. It worked out all right, we just poured the water off into the sink and the sauce was hardly any thinner, and still gorgeous.)

Bright

Because it's almost spring we made fresh salsa, we love that:

Chop three or four good tomatoes: on-the-vine or Roma
Add 1 or 2 minced jalapenos (we take out the seeds, because we want the salsa generally-acceptable, no choking guests, tears pouring down their faces, begging for water)
1/2 a large white onion, minced
2 finely-chopped green onions
1/2 an English cucumber, finely chopped
(last night we used an organic garden cucumber, but peeled it)
a big red pepper, chopped fairly fine

Stir all that up and see what you've got. If it's pale add another tomato; if it looks like the right mix, add the juice of two limes, a bunch of cilantro (use scissors to chop it in, if you like), a dollop of good olive oil and enough salt to fix it all.

Our friend Greg serves the best corn-chips for salsa: they're Lays, but organic stone-ground Lays.

If you have a couple of good avocados, mash them in a bowl with the juice of a lemon and some salt, and sit the small bowl of guacamole with the large bowl of salsa.

Perhaps we need a mojito...

Cookies

Seems like a long time since we've made cookies, and now three times in the last week. It's because we're hosting school sessions and they've got to be fed, and none of these people are allergic to wheat.

Oatmeal cookies made with 1/3 white sugar, 2/3s brown; add sweetened flaked coconut and don't forget to use some ghastly soft (but at least non-hydrogenated) margarine instead of butter if you want the cookies to stay soft for a few days. That's shelf-life for you: requires the compromise of all one's principles.

Fresh grated nutmeg in the coconut/oatmeal cookies was perfect, too. Not so much that you could identify it, just a mysterious scent of acerbic reality. A damp measuring-cup bottom to flatten the cookies slightly made them look strangely professional.

Better than anything you could buy, let's face it.

hors d'oeueueuevre

We wandered through the Williams-Sonoma appetizer/hors d'oeuvre/starter cookbook the other day, thinking we might have to buy it—but were happy to discover that we already make everything in it, and do it very well, we think; except for the scallops. We have yet to find scallops in mid-continent that seem acquainted with the sea.

One reliable pre-dinner treat is Artichoke Dish, which we will make again tomorrow afternoon to take to a reading. Well-made, it's surprisingly good for how simple it is. The ingredients are reliably available and it takes eight minutes from start to shoving it into the oven.

ARTICHOKE DISH
Pre-heat oven to 375º
Drain one 8-oz jar of artichoke hearts in oil and chop into small dippable bits. In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup decent mayonnaise (low-fat does not work) with 1 cup very good freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. The better the cheese, the better the end result. When the cheese and mayonnaise are well-blended, stir in the chopped artichoke and turn the whole thing into a 3-cup baking dish. Don't bother flattening out the top, it will melt down during baking. Bake 20 minutes or so till the whole dish is bubbling and golden brown. Serve warm with sturdy crackers or other strong handles: celery and carrot sticks work, but not cucumbers. Bread is too soft.

Salty and complex, this is an adult dish.

Brownies

Preheat oven to 350º and generously butter a 9" x 13" baking pan.

In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cup of non-hydrogenated margarine, like Becel or Olivina. As it melts, add 6 tablespoons Fry's cocoa and 2 C white sugar. Take off the heat and mix till smooth. Beat in, all at once, 4 eggs. When fairly smooth, add 1 1/4 C unbleached flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt. Stir just to combine, till there's no white showing. Pour into prepared sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Do not overbake. When cool, or nearly cool, ice with Fudge Icing.


Fudge Icing:

Put the kettle on to boil with a small amount of water. In a small saucepan, melt 3/4 C butter. Stir in 6 T Fry's cocoa until smooth. Take off the heat, and stir in 2 C icing sugar till smooth but stiff. Add 1 teaspoon good-quality vanilla and 2 tablespoons boiling water, stir till smooth and glossy. Add water 1 teaspoon at a time until the icing reaches the right consistency. If it's not glossing up, add a little more boiling water. Spread icing on brownie quickly, because it sets up. Like fudge.

What's for supper?

Baked salmon, spinach with lemon, mashed sweet potatoes

Simple, delicious, good for you, and beautiful on the plate.

Forty-five minutes before dinner, turn the oven on to 425º

While the oven heats, spike a sweet potato with a long nail or a skewer: cuts the cooking time in half. Put the sweet potato on the bottom oven rack. One large sweet potato will do for two—spike more if you need them.

Fifteen minutes before supper, place a fillet of fresh wild salmon skin-side-down on a piece of foil. Turn up the sides of the foil and squeeze about half of a lemon-half on the salmon. Fold the foil tightly, leaving a little air-room inside there, and place the package directly on the oven rack. Let bake/steam/roast for 12 minutes per inch of thickness in the salmon fillet.

Grate the lemon zest from the other half of the lemon, put it in a medium bowl and squeeze the remaining juice into it.

Steam two packages of spinach until bright green and soft, drain. Squeeze the other half of the lemon into the spinach and add a dollop of olive oil, some celtic sea salt and ground pepper. Stir to combine and warm the oil.

Take the sweet potato out of the oven, slice open, scoop out the flesh into the lemon-zest bowl, and mash to combine. Salt lightly with celtic sea salt.

Open the salmon package—the salmon should be opaque pale pink and steaming with lemon.

Serve the salmon leaning on a bed of spinach, with the darker orange potato beside it.