Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

Carrot-Cake-on-a-pedastal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have mentioned things that make me smile throughout my posts but today I thought I would share a list of some of my favourites. These are some things or places that I enjoy. I hope you enjoy some of them too.

Listening to this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2VCwBzGdPM

Wonderful cake props

http://www.allantiqueglass.com/pedestal-cake-stands/

A photographer whose work I admire

http://www.clarebarboza.com/index2.php#/home/

The pot that I cannot live without

http://www.epicureshop.ca/store/pc/Le-Creuset-Brasier-10p421.htm

Toronto’s best little pie shop

http://www.wandaspieinthesky.com/about_wanda.html

Another blog that I enjoy

http://backroadjournal.wordpress.com/

Where to find the best market in Provence

http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/lourmari/lourmari.htm

A great reference book for cooking like a chef

http://books.google.ca/books/about/Complete_Techniques.html?id=HOKJA21UVxIC&redir_esc=y

A great family movie for a long weekend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicentennial_Man_(film)

Algonquin park

Algonquin Park

Wonderful carrot cake

Carrot-Cake-Plated

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large ripe banana, mashed
½ cup low-fat yogurt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 cups grated carrots
2/3 cup raisins
½ cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup light cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp. low-fat milk or water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch Bundt pan with cooking oil.

For the cake, beat the oil and granulated sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating the mixture well (it may look curdled). Add the banana, carrots, raisins, pineapple and yogurt. Stir until everything is well combined.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate bowl, mixing well. Add to the carrot mixture and stir just until everything `is combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack and then invert the cake onto a serving plate.

For the icing, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and milk in a bowl or food processor until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Make Ahead: Keep for up to 3 days well wrapped, or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Serves 16

 

Recipe from The Complete Light Kitchen by Rose Reisman

Posted in Baking, Recipes, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Let Them Eat Quiche-Gerard’s Mustard Tart

Posted on March 18, 2013 by

Bicycle2

I am continuing with my Culinary Arts classes at George Brown College.  Since the beginning of the program we have mastered sauces, stocks, roasting, poaching, and even a little baking.  What at first appeared overwhelming during the first few weeks, has now become routine.

The Chef takes the time each week to demonstrate the correct way to prepare the evening’s menu. He shows us everything from the correct way to chop, julienne, sauté, roast and poach to how to bake.  After we watch him demonstrate he lets us taste the results so we have a baseline on the texture and the flavours. Once we have tasted the meal we return to our workstations to try to replicate the dish ourselves. This comes with success most of the time.

So far my dishes have turned out to be a reasonable imitation of what the chef created with the exception of a crabmeat quiche. The recipe provided for the crust was not at all like the pastry crusts any of us had made at home.  In fact it was so different none of my group had success in getting a tender crust for our quiche. My pastry crust was as hard as a rock and as flavourless as paper. I took one taste and quickly sent it to the garbage bin.

When I think if quiche I think of times that I have spent in France. Some of my favourite memories are of meals where French cooks and chefs have taken simple flavours and fresh ingredients and combined them to create memorable dishes. Somehow my attempt at quiche was memorable, but for the wrong reason.

In order to master this part of the course and learn to make quiche like a French cook I decided to try a different recipe. I found these from one of my favourite authors, Dorie Greenspan who writes recipes that are complete and consistent.  I knew if I followed the pastry crust recipe carefully it would turn out as it should.

Gerard’s Mustard Tart is a carrot and leek quiche with Dijon mustard added for a punch of French flavour. I found the recipe for the pastry crust by Dorie on Epicurious.com and the tart recipe in her cookbook called Around My French Table which is a must have book for anyone who enjoys cooking French cuisine.

This quiche would be a nice entre for a spring brunch or lunch.

Carrot-and-leek-quiche

Gerard’s Mustard Tart

Ingredients:
3 carrots, trimmed and peeled
3 thin leeks, white and light green parts only, cut lengthwise in half and washed
2 rosemary sprigs
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons crème fraîche or 6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 9- to 9 1/2-inch tart shell-(Recipe for pastry crust below)

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Cut the carrots and leeks into slender batons or sticks: First cut the carrots lengthwise in half, then place the halves cut side down on the cutting board and cut crosswise in half or cut into chunks about 3 inches long. Cut the pieces into 1/8- to ¼-inch-thick matchsticks. If your carrots were fat and you think your matchsticks don’t look svelte enough, cut them lengthwise in half. Cut the leeks in the same way.
Fit a steamer basket into a saucepan. Pour in enough water to come almost up to the steamer, cover, and bring to a boil. Drop the carrots, leeks, and 1 rosemary sprig into the basket, cover, and steam until the vegetables are tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables and pat them dry; discard the rosemary sprig.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together with the crème fraîche or heavy cream. Add the mustard, season with salt and white pepper — mustard has a tendency to be salty, so proceed accordingly, and whisk to blend. Taste and see if you want to add a little more of one or the other mustards.
Put the tart pan on the lined baking sheet and pour the filling into the crust. Arrange the vegetables over the filling — they can go in any which way, but they’re attractive arranged in spokes coming out from the center of the tart. Top with the remaining rosemary sprig and give the vegetables a sprinkling of salt and a couple of turns of the peppermill.
Bake the tart for about 30 minutes, or until it is uniformly puffed and lightly browned here and there and a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and let it rest for 5 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.
Recipe from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan

Quiche-Pastry Crust

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1 tsp. cold water
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Directions:
Blend flour, salt, and sugar in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until coarse meal forms. Whisk 1 egg and 1 teaspoon cold water in small bowl; add to flour mixture. Using on/off turns, process just until moist clumps form. Transfer to work surface and knead gently until dough comes together, about 4 turns. Form into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.
Do ahead: Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
Butter 9 1/2-inch round fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to pan, pressing onto bottom and up sides of pan; trim any excess dough. Chill 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter large square of foil and press, butter side down, onto crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights. Using fork, pierce bottom of crust all over (about 10 times). Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Brush lightly with egg white. Cool.
Do ahead: Crust can be baked 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Quiche Crust Recipe by Dorie Greenspan from Epicurious.com

Posted in Baking, Recipes, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spring is Here or Is It?

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

bright-pink-gerbera-signed-for-web
Spring is Teasing Us!

We had the most amazing sneak peek at spring this weekend! Could it be that the long dark days of winter are finally coming to an end or is spring just teasing us with a taste of what is to come?

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” Charles Dickens

Yesterday we took the opportunity to enjoy the unusually warm spring weather. We picked up a gelato from our local ice cream parlour and went for a leisurely stroll along the boardwalk at Toronto’s Kew Beach. While we were walking a flock of Canadian Geese flew overhead as they came in from the lake on their journey north.

red-winged-balckbird-male-signed-for-web

Now that I think of it, I have noticed quite a few birds this past week. Many stop in and around Toronto before heading north while others stay right through until fall. We are a stopping off point in the migration path after crossing Lake Ontario from the warm south.

I find it amazing that two weeks ago we had such a build-up of snow that it made it difficult to get around town and now the snow is gone and the roads are finally clear.

Other signals are telling us that spring is almost here. This week is spring break for school children and the stores are filled with brightly coloured outfits for the days ahead. Next week marks the official start of spring on March 21 and we set our clocks ahead one hour for daylight saving time this past weekend.

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself. “-Ernest Hemingway

I know I am getting ahead of myself but my excitement cannot be contained. Even if we get one last dump of snow before the real start of spring I can look ahead and I can see it coming. I can almost smell the flowers and see the rich green that nature paints over the lawns and trees.

This is the time of year when I start to crave lighter food and less meat in my diet. These wonderful stuffed acorn squash make a terrific vegetarian main course or side dish. They would be great at an Easter Dinner as well.

Stuffed-Acorn-SquashStuffed Acorn Squash

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

3 acorn squash (each 4 inches/ 10 cm in diameter or 2 (each 6 inches/12 cm in diameter)
2 slices of multi-grain bread
½ large red apple such as Honey Crisp, Cortland or Spy
2 tbsp. (30 ml) butter
2 tbsp. (30 ml) olive oil
½ cup (125 ml) onion, diced small
1 large stalk celery, diced small
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp. (15 ml) lemon juice
1 tsp. (5 ml) dried rubbed sage
1 tsp. (5 ml) chopped fresh thyme
¼ to ½ tsp. (1 to 2 ml) salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (125 ml) toasted slivered almonds
¼ cup (60 ml) dark raisins
¼ cup dried cranberries
2 to 3 tbsp. (30- 45 ml) cold water
1 cup (250 ml) grated old cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F   (180° C)

Lightly oil a 10 x 15 inch (25x 38-cm) jelly-roll pan or spray with cooking spray.

Cut squash in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, thoroughly scrape out seeds and all stringy bits. Lay halves cut-side down on sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until tender when pierced.

Meanwhile, cut bread into very small dice, measure out 2 ½ cups (625 ml). Finely dice 1 cup (250 ml) unpeeled apple.

Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, until bubbly. Add onion, celery and garlic. Sauté 2 to 5 minutes or until onions become translucent. Stir in apples, lemon juice, sage, thyme, salt and pepper.

Add almonds, raisins and cranberries to pan; stir well. The add bread cubes; gently toss to mix in well. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. Remove from heat; sprinkle with water. Mixture should feel moist. Sprinkle cheese over stuffing mixture, rapidly stirring to mix in well.

Turn over hot squash halves. Divide stuffing mixture evenly among the squash halves.

If making ahead you can cool the squash, cover and refrigerate for up to one day.

Place pan in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

Serve ½ to 1 squash half person.

Recipe from the LCBO Food and Drink Magazine-Holiday 2012 edition

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Skating on the World’s Longest Skating Rink

Posted on March 3, 2013 by
Photograph by J.S.Swider

Photograph by J.S.Swider

I checked off another box on my bucket last week. I had always wanted to skate the Rideau Canal in our country’s capital city of Ottawa.

With the plan to do this we drove to Ottawa for a long weekend getaway. I had only been to Ottawa in warmer weather so I had never seen the canal frozen and open for skaters. The canal rink is 7.8 km long and is the longest skating rink in the world. Local residents use the canal as a way to commute to work to work on skates while carrying their boots in backpacks.

The canal rink is very well maintained. Every 0.2 km along the route there are signs to tell you where you are and how far you have travelled. Also, every few kilometres there are change huts, washrooms and food concessions where you can buy a hot chocolate or other hot drinks.

The traditional snack along the way are Beaver Tails. Since beavers were declared our national animal in 1975 some clever person decided to make a pastry in the shape of a long flat beaver tail. You can try them with a variety of toppings from sugar and cinnamon to maple and hazelnut. Even though Beaver Tails have become a classic Canadian treat I had never tasted one until this year. I tried one after skating and quickly fell in love. The pastry had a long, thin fried doughnut-like texture that had been topped with cinnamon and sugar. It tasted amazing!

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On our first evening in Ottawa we skated part of the canal to get used to the ice. Afterward we enjoyed a terrific dinner at Maxwell’s Bistro on Elgin St.

The next day we rose early and set out to skate the canal from end to end. I had never skated such a long distance before but the sun was shining, the day was beautiful and I was determined to make it to the end. I was very tired in the last kilometre and had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath but I made it to the end, then we walked all the way back. That afternoon we rested and then ventured out to another local bistro called The Buzz to enjoy a delightful dinner of Steak Frites, Creme Brule and Red wine. I slept like a baby that night.

I hope to go back to Ottawa again soon so I can skate the canal both ways.

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Photograph by J.S. Swider

Photograph by J.S. Swider

After a long day of winter activity I love to enjoy a bowl of hot soup. This Winter Minestrone is from Ina Garten’s new book Foolproof and the recipe is just that.

winter-minestrone

Winter Minestrone

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, ½-inch-diced
1½ cups chopped yellow onions
2 cups (½-inch) diced carrots (3 carrots)
2 cups (½-inch) diced celery (3 stalks)
2½ cups (½-inch) diced peeled butternut squash
1½ tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
26 ounces canned or boxed chopped tomatoes
6 to 8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked small pasta, such as tubetti (see note)
8 to 10 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
½ cup good dry white wine
2 tablespoons store-bought pesto
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of the chicken stock, the bay leaf, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Discard the bay leaf. Add the beans and cooked pasta and heat through. The soup should be quite thick but if it’s too thick, add more chicken stock. Just before serving, reheat the soup, add the spinach, and toss with 2 big spoons (like tossing a salad). Cook just until the leaves are wilted. Stir in the white wine and pesto. Depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock, add another teaspoon or two of salt to taste.

Serve large shallow bowls of soup. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil, and serve hot.

NOTE: To cook the pasta, put 1 cup of pasta into a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook according to the directions on the package, drain, and set aside.

You can make this soup ahead and reheat it before serving. It will need to be re-seasoned.

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten and also published in Canadian House and Home Magazine

Posted in Recipes, Soup, Travel, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Asparagus, Fingerling Potato and Goat Cheese Pizza

Posted on February 17, 2013 by

Asparagus-Pizza

Writing a food blog is about passion. You need to have passion for food, for cooking, for baking or for sharing your love of life. I am passionate about the joy that great food brings to our lives. Many of my fondest memories include times when I have shared meals with my dear old friends, loved ones and new friends. It is amazing how you can bring people together by sharing a meal with them.

I remember times when I was a child and my family was all gathered around a table having a traditional Sunday dinner. When we got older and moved out on our own we started to experiment with different cuisines. We would gather together a my sister’s ski chalet and create amazing dinners with each person taking responsibility for a course. We experimented with fine French cooking and many Italian dishes. Fondues were a popular way to warm up the evening.

In those days we would all return from a day of skiing and gather around the fire with a glass of wine to recant they day’s events. The stories were always entertaining. Some of us were racers; skiing with the best on the mountain. Others were eager to learn and happy to just enjoy the sunshine and the exercise. I was one of the latter. I never really got to be an expert skier but I always enjoyed the day. I looked forward to coming home to a great meal, a glass of wine by the fire and great times with family and friends.

Last week I went back to Blue Mountain for the first time in many years. The mountain has undergone major development and there is an amazing ski village at the foot of the hill. We stayed in a beautiful condo about 100 yards from the lodge the had a fireplace and a full kitchen. It was like being there so many years ago. A glass of wine by the fire, followed by a dinner in a local bistro made all of those wonderful memories come rolling back.

While we were there we were hit with a major snow storm. We woke up to snow-covered trees right outside our door and a winter wonderland that was breathtaking. Everything was covered in a blanket of sparkling white, fluffy snow. Our thoughts were so far from the drive home. All we were thinking about was living in the moment. My skills on the hills are still not the best, but I had a wonderful time.

I still am experimenting with new foods and discovering new cuisines but I still love to cook Italian food. I enjoy discovering new ways to bake a pizza. This recipe offers a sensational combination of fingerling potatoes, goat cheese and asparagus. This vegetarian pizza is a healthy, yet delicious choice.

Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza

Makes 4 -6 servings

Ingredients:

5 ounces fingerling potatoes
Cornmeal or Semolina (for sprinkling)
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Pizza dough (for recipe see below)
1 garlic clove, pressed
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 1/3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
4 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
8 oz. asparagus, trimmed, each spear cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 2 to 3-inch pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Asparagus-Pizza-on-paddle

Directions:

Place potatoes in small saucepan. Cover with salted water to 1 inch above the potatoes. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool. Cut potatoes into thin slices.

Preheat oven to 500°F.

Place pizza stone in bottom 1/3 of the oven to heat. Sprinkle with ¼ cup cornmeal.

Roll and stretch pizza dough to 16 inch round. Transfer to a pizza paddle that has also been sprinkled with cornmeal.

Mix 1 tablespoon olive oil and garlic in small bowl. Brush garlic oil over dough. Sprinkle green onions over dough, then mozzarella, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Top with potato slices and goat cheese. Toss asparagus and 1 tablespoon oil in a medium-sized bowl. Scatter asparagus over pizza. Sprinkle with Parmesan, then lightly with salt and generously with pepper.

Reduce the oven temperature to 450°F.

Slide pizza from pizza paddle to pizza stone carefully.

Bake pizza until crust is browned and asparagus is tender, about 16-18 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into pieces.

Recipe modified from Epicurious.com

For Pizza Dough recipe click here

Posted in Pizza, Recipes, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Piquant Vegetable Soup-My Culinary Education Continues

Posted on February 11, 2013 by

Vegetable-soup-GBC-v3
We had a great snow storm last week. It is not often that Toronto gets dumped on with 28cm of snow. Most of the time we are spared the large snowfalls because we are nestled in a small pocket on the north shore of Lake Ontario. When the areas surrounding the city get snow, we usually do not see any.

Last Friday was an exception bringing us the largest snowfall since 2008. It was really beautiful in many ways. I know people were stuck in traffic or had to shovel their way out, but if you were able to see it there was something else going on.

If you paid close attention you could feel the nostalgia in the air. Those of us who remembered the large snowfalls of our childhood were out in droves tobogganing, skiing, playing and remembering the snow forts that we used to build. It was like we were kids again.

Children were laughing as they caught snowflakes on their tongues and fell to the ground to make snow angels with their arms and legs. What a great day!

Winter can be fun and it can also be beautiful. The view can be breathtaking when you are looking out at freshly fallen snow on a bright sunny day, the sunlight bouncing across the snow and sparkles lighting up the sky.

Most of us try to find interesting ways to pass the time in the winter. I continue to be busy with my culinary education. Every week I pack up after work, change into my chef’s uniform and scurry off to class. We are learning to chop, dice, Julienne and chiffonade our way through the recipes.

I am learning that following a recipe does not make you a cook. Learning the foundational skills will help you to understand why things work together.

Did you know that there are 4 kinds of sauce? They are Brown Sauce, White Sauce, Red Sauce and Butter Sauce. Each of these can be further developed to become a number of different variations. For example a White Sauce can become a Béchamel, a Veal Veloute, a Fish Veloute or a Chicken Veloute. Then each of those variations can become a number of other sauces. A Béchamel is used to make other sauces like Cream, Aurore, Chantilly, Mornay, Nantus and Soubise. Just mastering the art of making sauces can improve your cooking skills, immensely.

This soup recipe that we made in class creates a hearty vegetable soup that is packed with flavour. The lime leaf adds a note of citrus and the red chili flakes add a hint of spice. This one is perfect for a winter day.

Piquant Vegetable Soup

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

1 tsp. vegetable oil
½ cup yellow onion, diced
½ cup carrot, diced
½ cup celery, diced
2/3 cup cabbage diced
¼ cup chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed and chopped, stems removed
2 slices bacon, diced
1 cup canned plum tomatoes, diced with liquid
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh parsley chopped
6 ½ cups chicken stock
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. red chili flakes
2 Kefir lime leaves
White pepper
Salt

Directions:

Dice onions and garlic. Dice all of the rest of the vegetables and set aside in a bowl.

Heat 1 tsp. of the vegetable oil in a large saucepan, add bacon and sweat. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook until onions are they are translucent.

Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and continue to sweat until the vegetables are tender.

Add the plum tomatoes, stock and chili flakes. Bring to a boil and skim. Add the beans and the lime leaf. Simmer 20 minutes on medium heat. Add the herbs and chopped spinach. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Recipe adapted from the George Brown College Culinary Arts 1 Syllabus

Posted in Recipes, Soup, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Meatball Sliders

Posted on February 5, 2013 by

Meatball-Sliders

It has been a little more than 2 years since I launched my blog. During that period I have developed my baking skills, traveled through France, taken you on a tour of Italy through food, carried you along on my fitness program, enrolled in a culinary arts program and cooked more than 80 recipes.

They say that life is a journey and I can confirm that writing this blog has certainly been a journey. I have learned so much and I hope to continue on this path for a long time.

The interesting thing is that I started writing this blog to entrench myself in the world of food and to grow my food photography business. Yes, my passion is photography.

Saying that you well understand my frustration that my new camera is in the repair shop. I bought a Nikon D800 a couple of months ago and have been back to my local camera store a few times because it has gobs of oil on the sensor. Yikes!!!

I kept wondering what kind of dust was causing black blobs on my shots so I tried the self-cleaning function on the camera and blew air on to the sensor to blow the dust away. The gobs only moved and multiplied!!!

I realized I needed to get professional help so I took the camera back to my camera store and got my sensor cleaned. A few weeks later it happened again. Then it was time for the internet search to find out if this is a common problem. Apparently; this happens in new Nikons and Canons but usually corrects itself after 2-3 cleanings.

My camera is now in the hands of Nikon because I have well passed the normal adjustment period and the self correction did not happen. I believe that I have a lemon. Not the kind that you eat or cook with but the kind that brings frustration and loss of productivity. I am waiting for a replacement camera because I believe that Nikon backs its products. In the meantime I have rented a Nikon D3X which is awesome!!!

I shot these meatball sliders with my D800 and removed the blobs in Photoshop.

Sliders are my version of diet food. If you like burgers, pulled pork or meatballs and are watching your weight you can do portion control by eating a slider instead. It may not be perfect science but it makes me feel better.

Meatball Sliders

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. ground pork
3/4 lb. Italian pork sausage, casings removed
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 (20-oz.) can tomato puree
1 (14-oz.) can diced tomatoes
Soft rolls, sliced in half horizontally
Fresh basil leaves
Mozzarella slices

Directions:

Combine the ground pork and pork sausage, red pepper flakes, 2 cloves of the chopped garlic, panko, grated cheese, eggs, parsley, kosher salt and black pepper, to taste, in large bowl. Form into 2-inch meatballs and set aside on a platter.

Heat 2 tbsp. of the olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until brown on all sides. Transfer to plate.

Meanwhile, start the sauce. Add the 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, and the remaining garlic. Sauté until the onion begins to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the tomato puree and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, stir in the meatballs and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for approximately 40 minutes.

To serve, put a meat ball on the bottom of each roll and drizzle lightly with some sauce. Top with a fresh basil leaf and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Cover with the roll tops and transfer to a platter. Serve warm.

Recipe from FoodNetwork.com

Posted in Meat, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments