Dinner with Friends

My friend Sheri and I have a Saturday tradition of getting up early, having brunch, shopping at the market for ingredients, having coffee, parting ways and then meeting up later in the day to cook together. It is so much fun that when we plan this (almost monthly) activity, I look forward to it all week. Our husbands joined us in tasting the fruits of our labours and each dish was deemed "a keeper".

This time we took inspiration from the current issue of BBC Good Food magazine. We started with an amazing sweet potato and coconut soup with Thai pesto. The pesto recipe alone was worth trying this recipe, it was so good.

The main meal was a Gordon Ramsay recipe for fish. Pan-fried sea bass with citrus-dressed broccoli. The technique for frying the fish was really wonderful, as it resulted in a delicious, crispy-salty skin.

For dessert, we tried a cake version of a favourite English dessert. Bakewell tart is a wonderful marriage of almonds and jam in pie pastry. The cake version was a neat twist that eliminated the pastry and put the ground almonds into a layer cake. Marvelous with a "cuppa tea"!

All recipes are based on recipes in the February 2009 edition of BBC Good Food magazine. Some changes were made due to ingredient preference or availability. The amounts listed here are what we used to make our dinner for four adults.

Sweet Potato Soup with Thai Pesto

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

1 red onion, chopped

1 tablespoon red curry paste

500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock

1 X 400ml tin coconut milk

-------

100 g salted peanuts

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped

1 small bunch fresh corriander

1 large handful fresh mint

1 large handful fresh basil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

* Make the soup - in a large pot, over medium heat, add the oil, sweet potato and onion. Cook partially covered for 15 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Using a stick blender, process soup until it is smooth.

* Make the pesto - put all ingredients into a blender and whiz until you have a chunky green paste.

Serve the soup with a dollop of the pesto on top.

Pan-fried Sea Bass with Citrus-dressed Broccoli

1 wild sea bass fillet (not Chilean sea bass), cut into 4 pieces

1 head broccoli

2 oranges

6 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons small capers

6 anchovies, chopped fine

1 lemon

*Score the fish, skin side up about 6 times, 1 cm deep. Segment the oranges by cutting away the peel and cutting out each segment (over a bowl to catch the juice). Cut the broccoli into small florets and cook in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes. In a hot frying pan, toss in the broccoli to burn off the moisture. Turn off the heat and add the oranges, juice and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Wipe out the pan and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
When hot lay down the fish fillets, skin-side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes (until flesh is cooked 2/3 of the way up). Flip over the fish, cook for 2 minutes and baste with pan liquid.

Plate 1/4 of the broccoli/orange salad and lay the fish skin-side up on top. In the hot frying pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, scatter in the capers and chopped anchovies. Grate lemon zest over top of the sauce and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon. Pour the hot sauce over the fish and vegetables.

Cherry Bakewell Cake

200g (1 cup) butter, soft

200 g sugar

100g ground almonds

100g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 eggs

-----

1/2 (340g) jar morello cherry conserve

175g icing sugar

5 teaspoons water or lemon juice

3 tablespoons flaked almonds

* Make the cake - preheat oven to 350F and grease two 8" cake tins. Using electric beaters, cream butter and sugar together. Add a pinch of salt and the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, extract and eggs until the batter is smooth. Divide evenly between the cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.

*Assemble cake - when the cake layers are cool, put one on a serving plate. Spread top with cherry jam and put the second layer on top. Mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice and drizzle over the top of the cake. Sprinkle top with flaked almonds.

potatoes and swiss chard

This recipe is one that I can confidently say that I created. I first made it many years ago when I used to get a box of organic fruit and vegetables delivered to our home. In those days, organic was fairly "new" and it was the only way I could get organic milk for my children as it wasn't sold in grocery stores.

In the winter months, the vegetables consisted of root vegetables and lots of kale and Swiss chard. So I devised this recipe to use up the chard. Because it has bacon/ham in it, it can be eaten on its own, but last night I made it as a side dish to go with the stuffed pork tenderloin that my mother made for dinner. The cream cheese makes a rich and easy sauce.

Potatoes and Swiss Chard

1 onion, chopped fine

6 slices smoked ham cut up into small bits OR 6 slices of side bacon

2 tablespoons olive oil (if you are using bacon, you made not need this)

1 bunch organic red Swiss chard

4 to 5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

5 tablespoons green onion cream cheese

* Fry the onion and the ham (in oil) or bacon (no oil) in a large frying pan on medium heat. Wash the Swiss chard and then cut the stalks from the leaves. Take the stalks and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces and add them into the fry pan. Add the potatoes and place the lid on top. Leave for about 10 minutes. Remove the cover, give it a stir and recover for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile cut up the chard leaves into 1 inch wide ribbons crosswise. Add the cream cheese to the potato mix and keep stirring until it has "melted" into a sauce. Pile the chard leaf pieces in a layer over the top of the mix and cover for about 10 minutes. When you remove the cover the chard will have wilted and you can mix it in. Season with salt and pepper.

Pecan Toffee Cake

Over the holidays I made this cake twice it was so good. The first one was to give to my Dad for Christmas because he really likes dates. The second was to slice and wrap up and give to my friends as gifts.

One of my secret treats is to buy British food and decorating magazines. This recipe comes from the December edition of BBC Good Food. I initally chose it because I had a container of dates leftover from celebrating the Iranian holiday Shab-e-Yalda with my class.

This cake is tender and absolutely delicious. For the sugar, I used the spiced sugar recipe from Jamie Oliver's website (http://www.jamieoliver.com/ - worth checking out and delicious in tea). I made it the first time with walnuts because I had those in the cupboard. The second time I used pecans (as in the photo). Pecans or walnuts this cake is definitely a keeper!

Pecan Toffee Cake (December 2008 BBC Good Food)

300g pecans or walnuts

140 g dates

200g butter, softened

200g sugar (or use Jamie Oliver's recipe for spiced sugar - see above)

1 tsp mixed spice

4 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

140g self-raising flour (I used all-purpose flour and 1 tsp baking powder)

maple syrup

* Put 100g of the nuts into a processor and whiz up until fine and put into a small bowl. Put the dates in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, discarding the liquid. Let cool and liquify in the processor.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and line with buttered wax paper a 10" springform cake pan. Beat together the butter and sugar then add in the dates, ground nuts, spice, eggs and salt. Then fold in the flour and baking powder. Put the leftover 200g of nuts over the top being careful not to push them down. Bake for 40 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, lightly pour maple syrup over top of the hot cake.

This cake freezes well. I wrap one quarter pieces of the cake in wax paper then in foil.

Famous Hummus

Last night we went out to dinner with our friends Jeff and Donna. We went to the Jerusalem Restaurant that serves the most delicious fried tomatoes and eggplant with lemon and garlic...ever. The taste cannot be duplicated at home and believe me, I have tried. I could eat just that for dinner...

But we did have an assortment of appetizers and kebabs to round out the dinner. Everything was very good.

Jeff claims that his family says his hummus is "the best" and it is as good (or better than) the one we ate at the restaurant. He promptly rattled off the ingredients for the recipe and I quickly wrote it all down. I tried it out at home and it is, indeed, very good. Heat up the pita bread before serving and add some olives before serving.

Jeff's Famous Hummus

1 can chickpeas (19 oz.), drained and rinsed, with 1/2 cup liquid reserved

1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

* Put everything in a blender or food processor and whizz it together. To serve, top the hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and a few drops of hot sauce.

Bouillabaisse

On Saturday, my friend Sheri and I went to the St. Lawrence Market to pick up the ingredients for bouillabaise (fish stew). Lucky for me Sheri is always up for a food stop to fuel up before the shopping so we stopped at Richtree's for rosti, sausage and coffee before we went to the market.

The soup is really a mixed fish stew served over a piece of crispy bread layered with Swiss cheese and served with a dollop of spicy "rouille" on top. This is truly a "special occasion" recipe as the cost of the ingredients do add up and there are a lot of parts to the recipe. However, the results are truly remarkable and even as I write this I am remembering how delicious it was!

I found this recipe in a Time-Life book on the Cooking of Provincial France. I picked this up at a second-hand bookstore many years ago as it is written by one of my favourite authors, M. F. K. Fisher (if you like to read books about food, read anything written by her, she is a wonderful writer). It was a lucky find. The way that Sheri and I prepared this, it was heavily adapted from the recipe, which makes it less authentic to the French original (i.e. no eels) but a little bit easier to do and just as delicious.

Sheri and I cooked up the soup and, keeping with the French theme, we also prepared creme caramel for dessert. Jeff and Jon showed up to enjoy the food (and of course to tell us how good it was!).

Bouillabaisse (based on recipes from The Cooking of Provincial France - 1968)

Soup Base (court bouillon)

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 leeks, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts only

2/3 cup olive oil

4 cups fish stock + 2 cups white wine + 2 cups water (or a mix to make 8 cups)

1 ml can chopped tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 pieces of orange peel, about 7 cm long and 2 cm wide

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

salt and pepper to taste

* In a large stock pot, saute the onions and leeks in the oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.

Fish and Seafood

2 tilapia fillets

1/2 pound bay scallops

1 pound mussels

1 pound small shrimp

* Cut up the fillets into small chunks. Peel and devein the shrimp. Rinse and clean the mussels. Drop the fish, scallops and mussels into the simmering stew. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Croutes

Slices of baguette, toasted (one large or two smalls per person)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesean mixed with 1/2 cup grated Emmenthal (mild Swiss) cheese

Rouille (hot pepper sauce)

2 large roasted sweet red peppers

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 drops Tabasco

1/2 cup water

* Whiz everything together in a blender. Done.

To Serve

In a bowl, place the toasted bread and layer with the cheese mixture. Ladle the fish stew over the bread and cheese. Pass around the rouille to drizzle on top.

A Favourite Cookbook

Today I decided to make an old favourite of mine...refrigerator sugar cookies. They are the perfect treat with a cup of tea, thin and crispy, but not too sweet. The recipe comes from my mom's old Joy of Cooking cookbook. It is well-loved as the spine is split in three places and is currently held together with a red elastic band. You can see from the photo that my dad gave it to my mom, complete with an affectionate message, on Christmas 34 years ago. The "Joan and Bruce Show", as I like to call their marriage, has been going strong for over 53 years!

This book was originally published in 1931 and is an excellent resource when you need a classic recipe. I have used it to learn many classics, from creme caramel (flan) to waffles.
These cookies go together quickly and can be frozen in the "log" state and baked later. I usually decrease the amount of sugar, double the recipe, bake one "log" and freeze the other one for later use.


Butterscotch Refrigerator Cookies
(adapted from the Joy of Cooking - revised 1973)

1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 to 3 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder

*Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, then mix in the salt, baking powder and flour. Start with 2 1/2 cups of flour and if the dough is still sticky add the extra flour.
Tear off a generous piece of plastic wrap and put half of the finished dough in the middle. Gently shape the dough into a log shape with a diameter of about 5 cm. Wrap and chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes, so that it is easier to cut. (You may leave the dough in the freezer at this point.) Cut the dough into thin slices and bake at 400F for 8-10 minutes (watch them as they can burn easily).

Birthday Cupcakes

For my son Max's birthday this year, I decided to make brownie cupcakes instead of the usual birthday cake. I used a recipe I found a few years ago in Woman's Day magazine. After the first attempt 5 years ago, I wrote on the recipe, "very good. Dean gave me a hug they were so good!"

I like this recipe because it uses semi-sweet chocolate. Many brownie recipes use unsweetened baking chocolate. So you can always use semi-sweet chocolate chips if you don't have baking chocolate squares on hand. As you can see in the photo, we indulged in chocolate whipped cream on top...it was a special occasion after all.

Brownie Cupcakes (from Woman's Day, September 1, 2003)

1/2 cup butter

4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

3/4 cup sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 cup)

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

2/3 cup flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

* In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, vanilla and eggs. Add the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and stir until just blended. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups lined with muffin papers. Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes.