Vanilla Panna Cotta with Port-Balsamic Glazed Cherries

This is one of those recipes I neglected to read from top to bottom before preparing it hours before consumption. I tried one an hour after having made the panna cotta and it hadn't set. I guess they weren't kidding when they tell you to refrigerate overnight. Anywho, this bad boy up top is a day-old sampler and it was ready to be eaten. 

Puddings make the top of my list for all-time favorite desserts. They are also the poster boys for comfort food, so I'm sure there's a connection there. This monologue is making me hungry for rice pudding. Better check the cookbooks.

Adapted from: http://www.redshallotkitchen.com

Serves 6

Panna Cotta

• 1 cup of milk 
• 1 packet of unflavored gelatin
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• oil

Cherries

• 1 lb frozen cherries
• 3/4 cup of port
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 T balsamic vinegar

Method

Brush six, 3/4 cups with the oil. If you are serving the panna cotta in the same dishes you are setting them in, skip this step. Pour milk into a medium bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk, letting it sit for five minutes until it softens.

Heat the whipping cream and sugar in a heavy saucepan, mixing until the sugar dissolves. Bring the cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add it to the milk mixture. Add the vanilla and mix well. Working in two batches, pour the mix in a blender and pulse three times for a few seconds each. Pour the mix into the cups, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to two days.

Stir cherries, sugar, vinegar and port in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium and let simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool down to room temperature. 

Spoon the cherries and sauce onto the panna cotta and serve.

Thai Beef Salad & Spring Green Soup

I have never used herbs in place of lettuce before, but that's essentially what this recipe does. Basil, mint and cilantro are the leafy greens here and they're delicious. I was tempted to put this on a bed of rice noodles, because I had trouble getting over the lack of salad-ness in this dish, but it was tasty as is. It was even better with the spring green soup I made with it. A crusty loaf of French bread would go quite nicely with this ensemble. 

Thai Beef Salad

Adapted from: http://biscuitsoftoday.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb of chuck or beef shoulder
• salt and pepper to season beef
• 2 T vegetable oil
• juice of 4 limes
• 2 T fish sauce
• 1 T brown sugar
• handful of cilantro leaves
• handful of basil leaves
• handful of mint leaves
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2 red chilis chopped
• one small, red onion, sliced thinly

Method

Season beef well with salt and pepper and let it sit out of the fridge for 30 minutes. Place oil in a frying pan on medium heat and add the beef. Cook the beef for about 5 minutes on each side and remove from pan. Let it sit for about 20 minutes to allow to cool.

Combine the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar in a bowl, mixing until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and add the lime juice mixture, mixing well. Slice the beef thinly and add it to the salad, tossing it well. Serve immediately.

Spring Green Soup

Adapted From: http://www.wholeliving.com

Serves 6

Ingredients

• bunch of asparagus (preferably thin stalks), roughly chopped
• bunch of spinach with the stem removed
• 4 green onions, chopped roughly
• 1 cucumber
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1 t salt
• 2 cups of water
• dollops of sour cream for serving
• Freshly ground pepper

Method

Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Cut half of the cucumber in quartered slices and the remaining cucumber in eighths. Set aside the slices for garnishing your soup.

Place the asparagus in a blender with a 1/2 cup of cold water and blend until smooth. Add the cucumber eighths, green onions, spinach and another 1/2 cup of cold water and purée.  Throw in the avocado, lemon juice and mint leaves, the remaining water and.....blend until smooth!  Season with salt, pepper and serve with the cucumber slices and spoonfuls of sour cream. 

This Week's Snack Stash

With the exception of my father's peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches, our house was a nut free one while I was growing up. Both my sister and mother suffered from severe nut allergies, and avoided all contact and consumption of them. I didn't miss them. Seeds and other substitutes were used in dishes that called for nuts and my mother's love of great food made for great meals. As I learned to cook, my assimilation with the nut world grew gradually. Nuts were a cheaper protein and incredibly versatile. Today I throw them into virtually any type of dish. I can't help but wonder though, what would make a useful substitute when I am cooking with nuts. In the back of my head, I'm always attempting to adjust the recipe in the event I end up serving the dish to someone with allergies.


The next time I make these no-bake energy bites, I'll be using tahini instead of peanut butter. I can bet that the combination of honey with the crushed sesame seeds will make a terrific combination. I'll also be able to share these with my nut-sensitive hiking buddies, which I'm sure they'll get a kick out of. 

No-Bake Energy Bites

Adapted from: http://gimmesomeoven.com

Makes about 16 balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I'm using the kind without sugar, so if you're thinking of using sweetened stuff...don't)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of wheat germ or ground flax
• 2 T honey
• 1 t vanilla

Method

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Throw the mixture into the fridge for at least a half hour, giving the mixture time to bind. Once chilled, form the mixture into balls the size of your choosing and refrigerate until ready to eat. These snacks should keep for a week.

Spring Panzanella & Lemon Pork Tenderloin

I forget that pork chops and tenderloin typically need a juicy marinade or a sauce to serve with it. Might be me overcooking the meat or a poor quality pork at work, but I can't recall ever having pork of this kind without an accompaniment. Luckily a little kitchen fairy sent us a crabapple rosehip jelly and we pulled it out of our emergency jelly stash for this occasion. Dinner was saved. 

Truthfully, the pork was an afterthought. I was looking for something to accompany this bread salad and pork seemed like the right thing to do. Yes, the panzanella stole the show. It's really a crouton salad and if you like garlic-riddled bread, you'll dig panzanella. While my version looks like a K-Mart variety of Heidi Swanson's, I don't believe it tasted like one (check out her pic via the 101 cookbooks link below). 

Spring Panzanella

From: http://www.101cookbooks.com

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 lb loaf of day-old whole wheat bread, cut up into 1 inch chunks
• 1 shallot diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T thyme leaves, pulled from stem
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cup of peas, fresh or frozen
• 4 handfuls of spinach
• 1/4 cup small basil leaves
• Salt as required

Method

Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large bowl, toss the bread chunks well with the shallot, garlic, thyme leaves, oil and salt. Spread the mixture evenly over a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. When ready, the bread crumbs should be browned and crunchy.

In a cold skillet, add a splash of olive oil and a splash of water and a few pinches of salt. Turn the burner  on high heat. Once the water starts to bubble, add the asparagus and cover for 30 seconds. Add the peas and cover for another 30 seconds. Finally, add the spinach and cover for a few seconds until the spinach starts to wilt.

Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl and toss in the asparagus mixture including the juices. Add the basil leaves and mix well.

Lemon Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
• 1 T rosemary leaves, chopped
• 1 T thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 t salt
• 1 t pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients with the exception of the pork into a bag and mix well. Add the pork and ensure it gets completely coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour, but overnight is best. Barbecue on medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and tent the loin for 10 minutes. Serve with a citrus chutney or other sauce/jelly.

Food, Glorious Food

I have been eating out. I have been eating out A LOT. Just as Superman must fight evil, I must eat!! Each new restaurant offers a challenge I must embrace. 

That might have been a little over the top. It's just that there a number of new haunts in town that beg to be visited. Although I don't have pics of all the food I've eaten, here's the low down on what's been sampled recently:

Corso 32: Thought the hype was an overstatement, but I was wrong. This contemporary Italian bistro serves wonderfully simple dishes focusing on fresh ingredients and less common cuts of meat. I say simple, because I remember a time not so long ago when a menu had so many adjectives, it sounded like a Harlequin romance. Today's era of eating is bringing back simplicity. 

I tried the pear carpaccio salad and chicken liver tortellini, while Ruedi ate a pork cheek terrine and an ox tail pappardelle. What stuck with me was the use of rich meats countered with very simple sauces to bring out the flavours and balance the richness. My tortellini for example, was drizzled with balsamic vinegar among a few other fresh, but basic ingredients. I savoured each bite: something I find I don't do enough of.

I also splurged on a chocolate torta with large, salty hazelnuts flooding the surface. Oh wow. I never get tired of that salty-sweet waltz. This was such a lovely combination of textures and flavours, I just couldn't help but keep eating it.

Cibo: Pasta dishes were the name of the game at this...well, contemporary Italian bistro. My friend Theresa and I ate there before a wonderful, but food-filled wine tasting. We didn't realize this at the time. Pan fried ricotta cakes were the instigator (see first pic), while a squid ink pasta with calamari and a hedgehog mushroom tortellini with a leek sauce followed suit. Sound good? It was!

The Common: Lamb hot dogs with cheese-braised cabbage, crispy onions and other goodies fill a homemade bun. Actually, all bread at The Common is made in-house which thrilled Ruedi our in-house bread maker. The Ruedster ordered a Umami burger filled with minced, flank steak, roasted tomatoes and the restaurant's take on thousand-island dressing. Funky fries with an optional Sriracha mayo make this place one of my new faves. Don't forget to order the lemongrass panna cotta before you jet. The dish is served in a jam jar with a roasted Asian pear on the side. I was sorry I had to share this one.

Tres Carnales Taqueria: Oh just get the fish taco and be done with it! Breaded red snapper is the fish of choice and it's served with a simple cole slaw and subtle sauce. I couldn't have made it better myself. Trust me, check my old posts. I tried and I did not make a better fish taco. Tres Carnales nailed it.

Bring on the Salads!

Warm Shrimp & Edamame Bean Salad

Chatelaine was always my mom's magazine. I remember seeing it in the kitchen on many occasions with the pages folded in several directions to bookmark articles and recipes. This year, I received a gift subscription and have been pleasantly surprised with it. Local fashion content means I can get to the clothes on display and the recipes are varied and delicious. I found a month's worth of salad recipes via Chatelaine online and immediately perked up. I love, love, love bringing salads for lunch, so this in essence became a lunch guide for Liv. Only tried two so far, but if you get a chance to sample others, let me know how they turn out!

Warm Shrimp & Edamame Bean Salad

Adapted from: http://food.chatelaine.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g frozen, shelled edamame beans (Superstore and T&T Supermarket had these in stock)
• 340g or 1lb or frozen, peeled, uncooked shrimp
• 2 large lemons
• 2 t honey
• 3 T olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh, chopped dill
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Mix honey, dill, onion, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and several generous pinches of salt and ground pepper in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the edamame beans and a little salt and let boil for 4-5 minutes. The beans should be tender, but not disintegrating when done.

Lightly coat a frying pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the shrimp, chopped pepper and garlic and let simmer for approximately 3 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink. Add the shrimp mix and beans to the vinaigrette bowl and toss well. Serve warm.

Super-Fast Antipasto Salad

Super-Fast Antipasto Salad

Serves 4

From: http://food.chatelaine.com

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 1/2 t dried oregano
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 8 slices of salami, chopped (about 56 g)
• 1, 540 ml tin of chick peas
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives sliced in halves
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped or two roasted red peppers chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or mint
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

To make the vinaigrette, combine the juice of a lemon with the olive oil and oregano. Add generous pinches of salt and pepper and mix well. Toss chick peas into dressing and mix well. Combine remaining ingredients into bowl and serve. If making ahead, combine all ingredients except the spinach and add spinach when ready to serve.