Juicy Roast Chicken

Sometimes you see a recipe that's hardly a recipe; just a few basic ingredients and you think, ""who would even go to the effort to even share that?" This was just one of those instances, but here I am -- sharing this delicious and easy recipe for a whole roasted chicken and telling you that you need to make this immediately. 

I don't know what it is about this combination of ingredients, but it made a juicy and moist chicken underneath a layer of perfectly crispy skin. I think we might need to break up with Swiss Chalet. 

And what's great about roast chicken is that it is extremely economical. I bought this one on sale for a mere $6 and not only did I get an amazing full dinner out of it, I also made four cups of stock, saving myself an additional $5 for my weekly soup. Something that tastes great and is inexpensive? This one is a no-brainer.

Juicy Roast Chicken

Printable Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 3 pound whole chicken, giblets removed
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1 stalk celery, leaves removed
• salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place chicken in a roasting pan and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper and onion powder.
• Place 3 tbsp butter inside chicken cavity and arrange dollops of remaining butter on the chicken skin.
• Cut the celery into three or four pieces and place in chicken cavity.
• Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in preheated oven to a minimum temperature of 180 degrees. 
• Remove from heat and baste with melted butter and drippings. 
• Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Juicy-Roasted-Chicken/Detail.aspx 

Shrimp and Mushroom Linguini in an Herbed Cheese Sauce

Another rich and decadent pasta dish, fitting for a Sunday night meal but easy enough for a weeknight. The main ingredients are of course the shrimp and mushrooms, but once they were tossed with the cheese sauce, I felt the need to add some colour back in, so I added some cooked broccoli in. Just another example of how adaptable these dishes are to your personal taste. 


Shrimp and Mushroom Linguini in an Herbed Cheese Sauce
Serves 4


Printable Recipe


Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz) package linguini pasta (or fresh pasta)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (3 oz) package cream cheese
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 3/4 tsp dried basil
• 2/3 cup milk, warmed
• 1/2 pound shrimp, cooked (preferably in white wine and garlic)

Directions

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguini and cook until tender. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, cook and stir until tender. Transfer to a plate.
• In the same pan, melt 1/4 cup butter with minced garlic. Stir in the cream cheese, breaking it up with a spoon as it melts. Stir in the parsley and basil. Simmer for five minutes. Mix in milk until sauce is smooth. 
• Stir in cooked shrimp and mushrooms and heat through.
• Toss linguini with sauce and serve.

Pecan Pie Bars

A dessert has never disappeared so quickly in my house -- and there's just two of us. After the success of the pecan pie, which I left at our host's house, I wanted to make something T and I could enjoy. And boy, did we enjoy it.


The shortbread crust on these bars is light and crumbly. The centre is dense enough not ooze out yet is still gooey. And the pecans add the perfect amount of crunch and by mixing them in with the filling, they are fully coated with sweetness.


These lasted a full four days in our house, and I believe they got better each day. Try them and see how long they last in your house!


Pecan Pie Bars
Printable Recipe


Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Cut in one cup of butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a 10x15 pan and press in firmly.
• Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, corn syrup, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tbsp butter and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the chopped pecans. 
• Spread the filling over the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven.
• Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into bars.

** I made these in a 9x13 pan and easily divided each ingredient into 2/3 (with the exception of the eggs where I still used 3)

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

Salmon Poached in White Wine

We recently got a massive piece of salmon from Costco that I cut into fillets. I was looking for an easy way to cook some of this so we could enjoy it as an easy weeknight meal. Poaching immediately stood out as a simple technique that made the salmon moist and delicious. And the best part is that it took about 20 minutes to make from start to finish so we could enjoy a healthy and delicious meal in the same time it would have taken to make a frozen pizza. 

Ingredients

• 4 fillets salmon
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Heat wine and water over medium-high heat until simmering.
• Place salmon in poaching liquid and dot with butter. Sprinkle with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10-15 minutes, until salmon is easily flaked with a fork.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Savoury Stuffed Acorn Squash

As soon as I saw this featured in a holiday spread in House and Home magazine, I knew I wanted to make it. I had never cooked with acorn squash before but I do love squash, and the "stuffing" sounded delicious with the apple and pecans. But mostly, I loved the presentation. Imagine serving this as a first course to your dinner guests? So unexpected.

Another great thing is that this is a make ahead -- always a must for me when entertaining. There is some last minute assembly and broiling of the cheese, but overall an easy and impressive dish that will certainly grace the table of my next get together.

Savoury Stuffed Acorn Squash

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 6 small acorn squash
• 1/4 cup butter, plus two tbsp 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 6 shallots, chopped
• 3 McIntosh apples, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tsp crumbled dried sage
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with foil. Cut squash in half lengthwise, from stem to tip, and scoop out seeds. Pat with 1/4 cup of butter and sprinkle brown sugar over the inside of each. Roast, flat side up, for 40-50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Saute shallots, apple, celery, pecans and sage until apples and celery are soft. Stir in bread crumbs and salt and pepper.
• Remove cooked squash from oven. Stuff with apple mixture. Top with mozzarella and put back in oven and broil until cheese browns. (these can be made ahead, but top with cheese prior to serving)

Recipe adapted from November 2010 issues of House and Home magazine

Roasted Eggplant Soup

I recently enjoyed the most delicious roasted eggplant in a restaurant, so when I saw this recipe I knew it was going to be on my Sunday rotation. 

Roasting the vegetables adds a whole new level of flavour. It's deep and rich and gave the eggplant -- usually a fairly bland flavour -- seem like a decadent treat. A lot of the commenters on www.allrecipes.com also suggested adding roasted red peppers to this recipe. I didn't have any on hand, but am confident it would be good. The flavours are really balanced out with the goat cheese, too.

The only thing about this soup is that it's thin. Because there are no potatoes in it, which are the thickening agent of many of my pureed soups, but on the other hand, it makes it a great carb free meal.

Ingredients

• 3 tomatoes, halved
• 1 eggplant, halved lengthwise
• 1 small onion, halved
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• goat cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatoes, eggplant, onion and garlic on baking sheet and brush with oil. Roast in oven until very tender and brown in spots, about 45 minutes.
• Scoop out eggplant pulp and discard skin. Place eggplant pulp, tomatoes, onion and garlic in large pot with thyme and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce and simmer until onion is very tender, about 45 minutes.
• Puree with an immersion blender, or in a regular blender in batches. Return to low heat and stir in cream. Season with salt and pepper.
• Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with goat cheese.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Chef Gordon Ramsay vs. Aunt Lisa

{me, Chef Gordon Ramsay, Aunt Lisa}

Last night, I had the hottest ticket in town. 


I was invited to the Chef's Challenge: The Ultimate Battle for a Cure, featuring Gordon Ramsay and in support of women's cancers at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.


More than $1 million was raised, in part by more than 100 self-proclaimed foodies, all vying to be one of the top 50 fundraisers and earning the right to cook with Chef Ramsay himself.


My Aunt Lisa was one of those lucky individuals by raising a whopping $9,316! 


These 50 fundraiser chefs were divided into five groups of 10 each led by a celebrity Canadian chef, including Lynn Crawford, Mark McEwan, Massimo Capra, David Rocco and Jamie Kennedy. They spent the day with the chefs, learning, preparing and cooking. 

{Go Team Crawford!}

Under the pressure -- or maybe just the stage lights -- Lisa ran into some trouble when the olive oil she was heating ignited causing a huge fire in her pan. Chef Ramsay stepped in, grabbed the pan and heroically threw it in a plastic garbage can (which of course, melted). She immediately earned the nickname Smokey and made it into the highlight reel that was played for guests like me once they arrived.


Later, Lisa was being interviewed by Toronto Star Food Editor Jennifer Bain and she proudly told her about her fire, Jennifer incredulously replied, "you were the one?!" Word travels fast in the cooking community!

{Lisa smartly beside the fire hose}