Double Chocolate Pavlova

Pavlova is a meringue, cream and fruit dessert that originated in Australia. It’s named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, and was invented when she visited the land down under in 1920.

This recipe is rich and delicious, with sweet, velvety chocolate cream smothering the light chewy disks of chocolate meringue. The tart bite of the berries is just icing on the cake, so to speak. I decided to make individually sized pavlovas rather than one large dessert, but you could easily alter this recipe to make one big one.

The recipe for the meringue comes from the blog What Katie Ate, altered slightly for an American audience.

I decided to switch up the regular pavlova thing, though, and try pastry cream instead of whipped cream, a lighter choice because it’s made with milk rather than 35 percent. And fear not, just because it’s lighter, it doesn't taste any less decadent. Chocolate pastry cream is like chocolate pudding, thick, sweet and delicious. 

Another reason I chose pastry cream over whipping cream was to use up the six egg yolks that were left after making the meringue. The Kitchen Geeks hate waste and this chocolate cream recipe calls for exactly six yolks. Pretty sweet coincidence...pardon the pun.

Click here to read some important meringue-making tips before you begin.

Ingredients
For the Meringue:
6 egg whites
1 1/3 cups white sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
50 g of good-quality chocolate chopped into small pieces

For the Chocolate Cream:
2 ½ cups of milk
2 tsp. vanilla
6 yolks
½ cup sugar
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. corn starch

Fruit, whichever combination you like, cleaned and cut

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Whip the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage, either by hand and whisk or with an electric mixer. Slowly add the sugar, and continue beating until the mixture is stiff and glossy. You’ll know it’s done when you can hold the bowl upside down without spillage.

Step 2

Sift in the cocoa, and fold in the vinegar and chopped chocolate. Mix until just combined.

Step 3

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop even portions of the mixture onto the tray, evenly spaced out. Six or eight per tray, depending on how big you want them. Put a little butter on a small flat spatula and flatten the blobs into disks a little less than an inch thick.

Step 4

Reduce the oven heat to 275 F, and place the baking trays in. Bake them for about 40 minutes, or until they have are crisp around the edges, which will have little cracks. The top will be dry, but the inside will still be soft. Turn off the oven and allow them to cool inside with the door slightly ajar.

Step 5

Heat the milk and vanilla over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble around the edges. While the milk is heating, mix the egg yolks with the sugar. Stir the flour and cornstarch into the yolk mixture to form a paste. Once the milk is hot, pour it slowly into the paste, mixing constantly to avoid curdling.

Step 6

Add the mixture back into the pan and heat it up on medium, stirring constantly until it thickens. It’s done when the consistency is like mayonnaise. Remove the cream from the heat and stir in the chocolate, mixing until smooth.

Step 7

To assemble, place a meringue disk on a plate, add pastry cream, then fruit, top with another disk, more cream and fruit. Decorate with a little icing sugar and shaved chocolate if you like.

Tips:

To store the chocolate pastry cream until you’re ready to assemble, place plastic wrap directly on its surface and put it in the fridge. When you’re ready to assemble, stir it thoroughly.

Meringue Tips

Meringues are foams that combine stiffly beaten egg whites, sugar and an acid. The consistency of a meringue depends on its sugar content and how it’s cooked, and it can range from soft to chewy to brittle. 

It’s typically a topping for pies, as in lemon meringue pie, but it can also be more cakelike and used as a base for a dish like pavlova.

Some important points to keep in mind when making meringue:

• Fat interferes with the formation of a good foam, so keep fat away at all costs. Never use a plastic bowl for whipping egg whites. Fat clings to plastic, and no matter how well you’ve cleaned that bowl, chances are some grease remains. Always use a glass or stainless steel bowl for making meringues.

•  Yolk contains fat, so don’t let even a drop of yolk get in your egg whites. Break your egg whites individually into a separate bowl to ensure each one is clean before you combine them in your larger bowl.

• Leave the egg whites at room temperature for about half an hour before beating them; cold egg whites don’t beat into a foam as easily.

• Whip your egg whites into soft peaks before adding the sugar. Adding it in the beginning can double your whipping time. The sugar molecules get in the way of the egg proteins, and it takes longer for the proteins to find each other and form bonds. Ah, that sounds so sweet, doesn’t it?

•  Why add vinegar? Acid helps avoid lumpiness, loss of water and collapse. Scientifically speaking, by adding acid, you’re adding positively charged particles, or hydrogen ions, that hop onto charged portions of the proteins and leave them uncharged. Electrically neutral proteins are less likely to react with other proteins. In other words, vinegar = good.

Beet Chips

I love beets. They have such an earthy flavour and sweet taste. And beet chips are the bomb.

For this batch, I used red beets, but you can also try candy cane or yellow beets, which are less messy to work with.

My kids even love beet chips. We dip them in tzatziki with some sliced cucumber and sugar peas for a healthy, tasty snack.

If you're using a mandolin to slice the beets, be very, very careful. My neighbour sliced off the tip of her finger with one of those bad boys earlier this year.


Ingredients:
2 large beets
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt to taste

Step 1
Trim the beets, if necessary, and peel using a regular vegetable peeler.

Step 2
Slice the beets into rounds as thinly as possible. You can use a mandolin (but be careful), a regular sharp knife or a vegetable peeler if the beets are on the small side.

Step 3
Toss the slices in olive oil. I also wiped a thin layer of olive oil on the baking sheet to make doubly sure they wouldn't stick. Toss them in a bit of salt and place them in a single layer on a baking tray. They can be close together, but don't overlap; they will shrink quite a bit.

Step 4
Place the tray in a 375 F-degree oven until they're crispy and delicious. Check for doneness after about 15 minutes.

Quick Tip: Cutting Onions Without the Tears

The most annoying part about cooking with onions is the eye irritation and resulting tears. Blech.

Here's why: when the onion is sliced, cells are broken, and a compound called propanethial-s-oxide is released as a vapour. When this vapour comes into contact with your peepers, it's converted into a form of sulphuric acid, which produces that stinging sensation and makes your eyes water.

To minimize tears, chill the onion in ice water for half an hour, or in the fridge for a few hours beforehand. Then, work quickly, cleaning the chopped onion off the board often. Once the onion pieces warm up, the waterworks will begin, so vamoose!

Some sources recommend actually cutting the onions underwater, but that seems awkward. They're slippery little buggers even out of water. But if you feel up to it, by all means, give it a go! Please be careful, though.

Also, using a very sharp knife will limit the cell damage, and there will be less vapour released.

You can also try keeping the root in tact while chopping, as it contains the highest concentration of that annoying tear-inducing compound.

If you're not afraid of looking like a complete dork, there are two other suggestions you can try:

• Wear goggles.
• Place a slice of bread between your teeth, so it's half sticking out of your mouth. This will supposedly catch the fumes.
• Even better, stick the bread in your mouth while wearing goggles (and send pictures!).

9ZSPBN6GSRRZ 

How to Make Awesome Marinara Sauce

Use fresh tomatoes in season, otherwise canned tomatoes work well.

Marinara, aka tomato sauce, is a multi-purpose sauce used for pastas, pizza or other such yummy delicacies as chicken or veal parmesan or, my personal favourite, meatball sandwiches.

I always have some on hand, mainly because I hate the premade jarred varieties, which tend to taste metallic and just plain yucky. I prefer a sweet, tangy tomato sauce, and this recipe fits the bill.

Fresh tomatoes are all well and good when they’re in season. But for convenience, I use either a jar of strained tomatoes with nothing added but a bit of salt and some basil. Or a good quality can of whole tomatoes, which tend to be better quality than their diced or crushed counterparts.

This makes enough for a lightly sauced pasta, with enough left over for pizza. If I’m not planning to make a pizza within a few days, I store the leftovers in the freezer.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 jar of strained tomatoes or a can of whole tomatoes, juices drained
1 tsp. granulated sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil

Step 1

Add oil to a pot over medium meat. Once oil is heated, add the shallot and cook for a few minutes, stirring it to avoid burning. Add the minced garlic, and stir it in, allowing it to heat for 20 seconds or so. 

Step 2

Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper, and bring it to a slow simmer. If you're using the whole tomatoes, crush them with clean hands before adding, or you can use a potato masher once you add it all together if you don't mind a chunky sauce. Allow it to simmer for a half hour or so. Add your finely chopped basil once you’ve removed it from the heat.

Tips
If you decide to go the fresh tomato route, cut them in half and add them with the garlic. Don't remove the jelly, seeds or skin to start, as these components hold the most flavour. Instead, after they've broken down and reduced adequately, strain the sauce through a food mill or sieve to remove the seeds and skin.

Going the fresh tomato route, if you want to reduce cooking time, halve the tomatoes and predry them in a warm oven beforehand. Because tomatoes are watery, if you don't reduce the sauce's water content, it'll separate into thick and thin portions.

Quick Tip: Cutting Soft Cheeses

Soft cheeses like Brie, Camembert or goat’s cheeses are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. They make a great addition to pizzas, grilled cheese sandwiches or as part of a quiche, to name a few applications. But cutting into soft cheeses can be a messy job, and often ends up looking like a clump of soft goo. So what’s a girl to do?

Stick said soft cheese in the freezer for about fifteen minutes before you’re ready to cut it, and presto, you’ve got a harder soft cheese, and great sliceability.

If you’re a cheese purist, however, and are concerned about the short freezing process purging some of its moisture, use a piece of dental floss to slice through. It’s not unlike the wire a cheese monger will use, and will give you a clean cut. Just avoid the mint-flavoured floss...

Quinoa: A Primer

Quinoa means "mother grain."

Quinoa, also referred to as vegetable caviar or Inca rice, is a grain native to the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Chile and Peru. Despite being a relatively new addition to the North American diet, the people of the Andes have consumed it for over 5,000 years.

Quinoa, it seems, is all the rage these days. It’s being touted as a wonder grain all over the media for its high protein and amino acid content. And if that’s not enough, when compared to wheat, barley and corn, its official rivals, quinoa is lower in sodium, and higher in calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, and it’s gluten-free to boot!

Quinoa is used for flour, soups, breakfast cereals and alcohol. Most of the quinoa sold in the US is in grain form that needs to be cooked. Despite its prevalence in the media, however, many of us are stumped as to what to do with it. Its very exoticness (yup, that’s a word) makes it intimidating. Well, fear the grain no more, here’s a basic primer.

To Cook:

Before cooking, you’ll want to rinse it. Cover 1 cup of quinoa in a bowl and add enough water to cover it. Gently rub the grains in your hands to remove the saponin, a bitter outer coating. Drain it into a fine mesh strainer, then repeat if desired. Most quinoa is pre-rinsed, but it doesn’t hurt to do it a few more times.

To cook quinoa, bring two cups of water to a boil. Stir in the rinsed quinoa, reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Let it sit for at least five minutes, then fluff it with a fork.

One cup of cooked quinoa contains 155 calories, 30 g carbs, 3 g fat, 5.5 g protein and 3 g fiber. 
  

Mix it with any combination of veggies, dried fruit and vinaigrette you like to make a salad. Or, like rice, you can pile a delicious stir-fry on top and eat it that way. The possibilities are endless.

To Make Quinoa Flour:

Wash the seeds, then place them in a heated skillet, stirring constantly until they’re dry. Let them cool, then process in a blender until it reaches the desired flour-like consistency. Two-thirds a cup of seeds will yield about 1 cup of flour. Store the flour in an airtight container in the freezer for up to four months. You can use the flour to replace part of regular flour in muffins, quick-breads, pancakes, etc.

Quick Tip: How to Make Buttermilk

The addition of buttermilk in baking contributes to leavening and flavour. But who wants to buy a full container of the stuff when your recipe only calls for a cup?

To make your own buttermilk substitute, take 1 tbsp. of plain vinegar and add enough milk to bring you to a cup. Let it sit for ten minutes or so, and it will start to curdle.

Make sure your recipe calls for baking soda, as well, which is required to achieve the leavening effect.

The Sweet Potato

The sweet potato, often incorrectly referred to as the yam, is a nutritional super food. Not only is it fat free, one cup of sweet potato contains 65 percent of our daily vitamin C requirements. That same single-cup serving provides 26 percent of our required daily fibre, and has more beta carotene than carrots, so suck on that, Bugs Bunny.

This starchy tuber also contains vitamins A, B6, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin, not to mention a whole slew of minerals, including copper, calcium, iron, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, zinc, selenium and manganese.

All that nutritional goodness probably explains why it’s such a popular baby food, but we can’t discount how great it tastes. Babies don’t lie.

The orange-fleshed sweet potato is the most common variety, but there are also yellow- and white-fleshed ones, which tend to be more firm when cooked. These firmer types were considered the crème de la crème by fancy types at one time, but are more difficult to find, unless you’re in the deep South.

Sweet potatoes can be baked, boiled, broiled, fried, microwaved, canned or frozen. My kids like baked sweet potato fries tossed in a little oil, salt and paprika, but beware, they don’t crisp up like their russet cousins. Their flavour, however, is awes-mazing, as my kids would say.

If you really want to bring out their sweetness, bake them slowly at a low temperature. To minimize the sweetness, heat them through quickly by microwaving, boiling or steaming.

Select firm, unbruised potatoes, and store them in a cool, dry location – ideally between 55 and 60 F. Do not refrigerate, which will cause a hard core that can't be corrected through cooking. They won't keep as long as regular potatoes.

Cherry Muffins

If you like cherries, try these babies. They're moist and flavourful with just a hint of tart.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each of baking soda and baking powder
1/2 tsp. each of salt and cinnamon
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup full-fat cherry yogurt (I like Liberte)
2/3 cup sun-dried cherries


Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Step 2
Blend thoroughly the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and yogurt in a separate bowl.

Step 3
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the sun-dried cherries.

Step 4
Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Divide the batter into 12 portions. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back up when touched.

Brussels Sprouts, Friend or Foe?

Well...that depends on how you cook 'em.

Brussels sprouts belong to the cabbage family, and tend to get a bad rap. It's probably the smell, which is not unlike a teenager's feet after hours of basketball in wool socks. But if you use fresh sprouts and don’t overcook them, they’re like little balls of goodness.

First off, try to buy the freshest Brussels sprouts you can find. Avoid the large ones, as they tend to have the strongest flavour. Instead, opt for sprouts with a one- to one-and-a-half-inch diameter. Use them within a couple of days of their purchase.

Select firm, tender heads free of insects—okay, I guess that last bit should go without saying. Pick ones with stems that look freshly cut.

These hardy little cousins of the cabbage are actually high in protein, albeit an incomplete protein, lacking the full spectrum of amino acids. Serve them with some whole grains, and voila, there’s your complete protein.

Now for the cooking part: don’t, I repeat, don’t overcook them, or you’ll be left with the bloated, bitter, mushy mess of your nightmares, and that sulphery smell to boot.

Once they start losing their bright green hue, you’ve cooked them too long. They also lose a lot of their nutritional value at this point, so serve them bright green and beautiful.

If you’re cooking them whole, cut an X in the bottom of the stem for even cooking.

Personally, I like to “disassemble” the sprouts and sauté the leaves. I'm not a huge fan of the consistency of whole sprouts. Simply cut off the edge of the stem and peel away the leaves. Then sauté them in oil or butter with some garlic, salt and pepper, and you’re good to go.

In Keys to Good Cooking, food scientist Harold McGee suggests cutting the sprouts in half or pulling them apart and boiling them to rid them of their bitter flavour. The boiling leaches out the bitter compounds (and some of their nutritional value).

Mushrooms: To Wash or Not to Wash

The age-old question of whether or not to wash these earthy, delectable fungi rages on.

In one camp, there's the conviction that they're little sponges that will absorb water, resulting in bloated, less-flavourful mushrooms. These mushroom purists recommend using a soft brush to wipe them clean so as not to mar their perfect flavour.

Not so, says Team Wash 'Em Real Good. Food scientist Harold McGee investigated the controversy with his characteristic thoroughness in his column for the New York Times a few decades ago. He holds that the amount of water absorbed by a quick rinsing is negligible, and certainly won’t affect flavour.

Members of the mushroom-rinsing camp also point out the health benefits of a little water, in particular that the mushrooms will absorb less oil while cooking.

The Mushroom Council recommends using a soft brush to remove any visible dirt or rinse them quickly and pat them dry. Hmm, well that doesn’t really answer that question.

I suppose when it comes down to it, it’s just a matter of personal preference. But if you do choose to rinse, rest assured that you won’t be ruining your dinner -- McGee found in his experiment that the mushrooms soaked up only about a sixteenth of a tsp. of water each. Mushrooms are 80 to 90 percent water anyway, so what’s an extra sixteenth of a tsp.? The key is a quick rinse, not a soaking.

Personally, I like to peel my mushrooms. Some might object on that grounds that the outer layer is full of nutrients that will be lost using this process. And while that's true, it's a loss I'm willing to accept for a clean, manure-free mushroom. In fact, when cooking with portabella mushrooms, I go so far as to scrape off the gills, which tend to produce a bit of a mess anyway.

For portabellas, remove the stem, then scrape the gills with a spoon prior to peeling. Peel back from the underside up towards the top of the mushroom, section by section, using your hands (as opposed to a peeler).

But if the mushrooms are touch to peel, I’ll wipe them down with a damp paper towel.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

These are my favourite muffins in the universe. They're a beautiful, sweet complement to an afternoon cup of tea, and will bring you piles of compliments. I like to use the Liberte Méditerranée Lemon Yogurt, but beware, it's just as delicious and fattening as ice cream. Also, I prefer wild to cultivated blueberries, because they’re smaller and sweeter, and have more antioxidants to boot.

I'm going to serve these at an upcoming teacher-appreciation event at my kids' school; hopefully they'll earn them some undeserved As.

Enjoy!


Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each of baking powder and baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup lemon yogurt
The zest of one small lemon
1 cup wild blueberries


Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 2
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Step 3
Mix the sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs, yogurt and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.

Step 4
Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just combined. Toss the blueberries in a bit of flour, then fold them into the batter. The batter will be thick.

Step 5
Place paper liners in your muffin tin. Divide the batter into 12 muffin liners. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until done. You can test doneness by pressing down on your largest muffin: if it’s underdone, it won’t spring back up.

The DL on Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a fabulous substitute for regular pasta if you’re on a gluten-free or weight-loss diet, or if you’re just looking to be healthy. It’s got a crunchy texture and pleasant flavour, and while I don’t prefer it to pasta, I don’t like it any less. Just the caloric savings alone has me running to the produce aisle oftentimes when I’m making pasta.

• ·         A one-cup serving of spaghetti squash is 42 calories, versus 190 calories for a cup of cooked whole-wheat pasta and 221 for a cup of cooked regular spaghetti.

• ·         Spaghetti squash is an excellent source of vitamin A, and a good source of folate. It’s also got lots of vitamin C and potassium.

• ·         Choose a firm squash with smooth skin and even colour.

• ·         Its spaghetti-like texture comes only after cooking; it looks like all the rest of its counterparts if you cut through it when raw.

• ·         An average 4-lb. squash yields about 5 cups of cooked squash.

• ·         Store it for one month at room temperature, or even longer in a cool dark location (not your refrigerator). For longer storage, the temperature should be between 50 and 60 F.

• To bake, pierce it several times with a fork or knife to allow the steam to escape. Place it in a baking dish in a 350-F oven for about an hour, or until the skin gives easily under pressure. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes or so, then half it and scoop out its seeds and fibers. Use a fork to scrape out the spaghetti-like strands.

How to Make Your Own Raisins

Are homemade raisins better than store-bought? Absolutely. These guys pictured here are juicy, sweet and fresh-tasting. The darker ones are from red grapes, the lighter from green.

I realize not everyone has a food dehydrator, but if you love experimenting with food, it's a great investment.

Step 1
Choose the freshest grapes you can, and go for seedless variety.

Step 2
Wash the grapes thoroughly, removing any stems.

Step 3
Place the grapes in your food dehydrator anywhere from 10 to 36 hours, depending on their size. It's easy enough to grab one at any time and test it for doneness.

Tips:
If you want to speed up the dehydration process, place the grapes in boiling water for about 90 seconds. This process is called checking, and it removes the natural wax coating and thus speeds up the drying process. If you've blanched the grapes beforehand, leave them in the food dehydrator for six to 10 hours.

Quick Tip: Cooking with Garlic

Garlic can take a recipe from good to great, but bitter or burnt garlic can ruin it.

A common mistake is to overcook garlic. While many recipes suggest throwing it in with the onion, the onion benefits from a much longer cooking time. Garlic needs but a flash of heat as it burns very easily.

Another mistake is in not removing its centre, which is bitter and kind of nasty. Peel the garlic, and crush it underneath the blade of a substantial knife. Remove the root, or centre, and mince the rest. Then cook it at  fairly low heat for a few minutes at most.

If the root is green, the garlic will be pretty bitter anyway. It's still usable, but not as sweet as fresh garlic.

How to Use Flax Seed

Flax seed is the new black — oh, you know what I mean. Its nutritional benefits are touted all over the place, and for good reason.

First of all, flax seed is chock full of alpha linolenic acid – aka Omega-3 fatty acid, which, as you probably know is good for just about everything – from  cardiovascular function to inflammation to immune function, to name a few.

Flax seed also has oodles of dietary fibre (soluble and insoluble), which keeps our plumbing in working order. And that's a beautiful thing.

In other news, flax seed wins the award for the highest concentration of plant lignans of all human foods. Lignans appear to have anti-carcinogenic properties.

And if that’s not enough, flax seed is also high in potassium.

• Flax seed imparts a delicious, nutty flavour to baked goods, like breads, muffins, cookies and pancakes. But why stop there?  Add flax to your cereal, smoothies, dips and salad dressings. Hell, you can stir it into your juice if you’re so inclined. Be creative, and try to use some every day.  

• You can substitute flax for six to eight percent of the dry component of a recipe.

• Don’t forget to grind the flax seed before adding it to your foods. If you don't, it’ll go right through you, and you can bid good-bye to those beautiful Omega-3 fatty acids and that beloved dietary fibre.

• Use a coffee grinder or a good old-fashioned mortar and pestle to break it up.

• Ground flax seed will keep sealed in the refrigerator for many months. Whole flax seed will keep in clean, dry storage for a few years.

Quick Tip: Softening Lumpy Brown Sugar

Despite rumours that brown sugar is a "healthier" option, standard brown sugar is simply refined sugar coated in molasses. The molasses causes the crystals to cling together forming soft chunks, which can dry out and form hard lumps. Not fun.

To soften these hard lumps of sweetness, place them in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, or until soft. Alternatively, you can seal the lumps in a plastic bag with a piece of fresh bread or a slice of apple for several hours.

Lentil-Chick Pea Salad

This awesome salad is fresh, light and all kinds of wonderful. Plus, it's healthy, so you can justify indulging in some of that eggless chocolate mousse for dessert!






Ingredients
1 can lentils
1 can chick peas
2 large tomatoes
3 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Red onion, chopped finely
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1
Drain and rinse the lentils and chick peas in a colander. Cut the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Step 2
Mix the lentils, chick peas, tomatoes, parsley, onion, olive oil and salt and pepper. That's it. Now you've got yourself a healthy, delicious salad. Enjoy!

Eggless Chocolate Mousse

I don't know about you, but I'm not big on raw eggs in my desserts. Sometimes it can't be avoided. For example, I wouldn't turn down a traditional chocolate mousse handed to me by anyone for anything...EVER. But when I make mousse, I prefer to make it simple: chocolate, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and a touch of butter. Use the best quality chocolate you can.





Ingredients:
10 oz. heavy cream (35%)
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp. butter

Step 1
Break up chocolate into small pieces and place it in a double boiler. (Fill a pot with about an inch of water and turn it onto medium heat. Place a stainless steel bowl overtop, and you've got a double boiler). Make sure there is absolutely NO water in the chocolate bowl or nasty things will happen. Water and chocolate do not friends make.

Step 2
Pour the whipping cream in a mixer and set it on high. Whip it until it's nice and stiff (about 2 minutes), adding the vanilla and sugar about halfway through the process.

Step 3
Remove the bowl of chocolate from the double boiler once it's thoroughly melted. Add butter to the chocolate and mix well with a rubber spatula.

Step 4
Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate carefully until just incorporated. Garnish with shaved chocolate and whipped cream if you're so inclined.

Quick Tip: Defrosting Meats in a Hurry

Normally, it's best to thaw meat slowly in the refrigerator. But that can take a long time. Especially if it's a large cut of meat like a roast, which can takes days to defrost.

Another method is to defrost meat in a bowl of ice water, which thaws it much more quickly. Don't use warm or hot water, or leave the meat out at room temperature for extended periods, as those conditions favour microbial growth. And microbes are yucky and dangerous.

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Mmm, pork times two. This is a super simple recipe with delicious results.

Ingredients
Pork tenderloin
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 or 5 slices of bacon
1 tbsp. canola oil

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Season the pork tenderloin generously with salt and pepper. Cover the entire surface of the tenderloin with Dijon mustard. Don't be skimpy here, make it a thick coating.

Step 2
Wrap the tenderloin in bacon, and secure it in place with kitchen twine.

Step 3
Turn the stove onto medium-high, and heat the oil in a frying pan. Once it's good and hot, sear the tenderloin until browned on all sides.

Step 4
Place the tenderloin on a wire rack (use the same one you cool cookies on), and put in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 F. Remove from the oven, and place on a cutting board to cool for ten minutes. Remove twine before carving.

How to Make Homemade Pancakes

Sounds too simple for a whole post, doesn't it? But still, people continue to buy pancake mixes in the store, even though making a flapjack from scratch is just as easy. Five ingredients, that's all. And, of course, you can customize them anyway you like. I personally like blueberry-banana pancakes.

This particular recipe makes a crepe-like pancake; the batter is quite thin, and the end result is flat and delicious.

Step 1
Mix 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp. of sugar until just combined.
Add 1 cup of milk and two eggs and blend completely.

Step 2
Turn the burner on medium, and place the pan on the heat. Allow the pan to heat up for a few minutes, then add 1 tbsp. of butter.

Step 3
Once the butter is melted and spread around, spoon the batter in, the amount depending on the size of pancakes you're going for. Don't flip until the surface is covered in holes.

Tip:
Add 1/2 tsp. of vanilla to the batter for a delicious vanilla flavour.
Mash 1/2 a very ripe banana and blend it into the batter for banana pancakes.

Quick Tip: Folding (Baking)

Folding is the process of mixing one delicate ingredient – beaten egg whites, for example – into other, less-delicate ingredients. The objective is to incorporate the mixture without deflating it. The best tool for folding is a large, flexible rubber spatula, and the bigger the bowl, the better. Here’s how it’s done:

Scoop the delicate egg whites, for example, on top of the other ingredients. Cut the spatula through the centre to the bottom of the bowl. Pull the spatula towards you, scraping along the bottom and up the sides. When you pull it out, rotate the spatula so the mixture falls back into the bowl. Now spin the bowl about 90 degrees and repeat until the batter is just incorporated. Don’t overmix.

Creamy Dip

I must admit, I used light versions of the first three ingredients, much to the chagrin of my chef husband who hates anything light.

Ingredients
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
4 green onions finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 tbsp. of grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp. cheddar cheese
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Step 1
Place all the ingredients together in a bowl and blend thoroughly, preferably with an electric mixer.

That's it. Just one step.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower  (about 2 1/4 lb.) cut into florets
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. of salt
1 tbsp. butter
3 onions (sliced 1-inch thick)
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
4 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Step 1
Preheat oven to 450 F. On a baking sheet, toss cauliflower with oil and
salt. Spread out evenly, and roast until the florets turn brown, about 25
minutes

Step 2
In a medium pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder, roasted cauliflower, water and stock; cover and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, uncover, lower the heat, and simmer for five minutes.

Step 3
Scoop out 3 cups of cauliflower to a bowl, and set aside. Puree the soup using either a hand-held blender or a standing blender. Reheat if necessary. Ladle the soup into the bowls, and top with the reserved florets and
parsley.

Quick Tips: Broccoli

Broccoli, a relative of cabbage, is one of those gas-inducing veggies that contains raffinose, a naturally occuring sugar. Choose firm, tight and dark green heads, avoiding stalks with woody edges. If the skin on the stalk is thick, peel it like you would a carrot. The stalk, a part many discard, is actually a very yummy addition to stir-fries, with a milder but still very broccoli-like taste.

As for the buds (the flowery part we're used to), don't cook them too long or they'll get mushy and more sulfrous. It's best to separate the stalks from the bud shoots for cooking, as the stalks take decidedly longer.

Quick Tip: Bain-Marie

Bain-marie is the French term for water bath, or putting a container of food in a shallow pan of warm water, surrounding it with gentle heat that cooks it gradually. This method is typically used for delicate dishes like custards or mousses so they don't break or curdle.

Egg dishes are often cooked this way, too, as the proteins in eggs become tough and rubbery when cooked at high temperatures.

Use a bain-marie for cheesecakes to prevent the top from cracking in the centre, and custards to prevent a crust from forming before the interior is fully cooked. 

Here's the technique in a nut-shell:
Place your container of food in a shallow pan. Fill the pan with boiling water so it reaches halfway up the dish. (If it hasn't reached a boil, it will take too long for the oven to heat it up.) Place in a moderate oven (like 325 F) and don't cover it.

And that's a bain-marie.

Lemon Pudding

I’m sharing my late mother-in-law’s recipe for the most amazing dessert ever. And I must add I’m an extreme chocolate lover, almost an addict. And this lemon pudding – even with no chocolate – is better than brownies. There, I said it. My husband always makes two batches, so he can nosh on one by himself in the basement while the rest of us are sleeping.

I present this recipe just as she had it written down, thus the unusual baker’s measurements.

Ingredients

Butter, the size of an egg

Scant cup of sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Step 1

Beat the butter and sugar. Once combined, add egg yolks, milk, lemon juice and zest and whip for two to three minutes. Stir in flour.

Step 2

Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl.

Step 3

Fold in the egg whites and scoop into a glass casserole dish. The batter should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep.

Step 4

Bake at 325F in a bain-marie (water bath) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow it to sit for at least five minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Tip:
For best results, don't convection bake this lemon pudding.

How to Make Croutons

Homemade croutons are cheap, easy-to-make and tastier than their store-bought counterparts. They're the perfect solution for that stale baguette or week-old loaf of bread you've got sitting around. Here's how to make 'em:

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Step 2
Cut your bread into uniform squares.

Step 3
Melt 1 tbsp. of butter in a pan and add 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Toss in two minced garlic cloves and some salt and pepper, stirring constantly for a minute or so.

Step 4

Add the bread cubes and mix them around, then season generously with salt and pepper. Place the greased, seasoned cubes on a cookie sheet and bake for about ten minutes, or until golden-brown. Once cooled, store them in a resealable plastic bag; they'll keep for months.

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheesy Biscuits

Use up that leftover chicken in this easy, kid-friendly dish. If you're short on time, you can use store-bought refrigerated biscuits or a pie shell instead.








Ingredients:
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 small onion or shallot, diced
2 large carrots cut in rounds
1 small sweet potato, cubed
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup each of frozen peas and corn
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
Biscuits
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup butter, cold and cubed
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg

3/4 cup of milk

Step 1
Preheat oven to 400 F. Saute the onion, sweet potato and carrots in the canola oil until the carrots are soft. Add the minced garlic, corn, peas and flour and stir for a few minutes.

Step 2
Add the chicken stock and let simmer for ten minutes or so, or until the sauce thickens.

Step 3
Add the chicken and pour it all in a pie dish.

Step 4
Sift flour, baking soda, sugar and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Using a fork, press the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the cheese, and add the milk mixed with the egg. Stir until just combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently for a minute or so. Pat the mixture down to 1/2 inch thickness, and, using a floured biscuit cutter or glass, cut out your biscuits.

Step 5
Place the biscuits on the chicken mixture and bake for 20 minutes or so, or until golden-brown.

Quick Tip: Salting Cabbage

Presalting cabbage for cole slaw reduces its moisture content, creating a less-soggy end product; it also diminishes its bitterness.

Here's what you do: Shred a head of cabbage in your preferred coleslaw shape/size and place it in a colander over a medium bowl, or right in the sink. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. of salt and mix it through with your hands. Leave the cabbage for an hour or so -- don't worry if it looks soggy, that's just the moisture being pulled out. Rinse it in cold water, and dry it thoroughly with a clean dish towel.

Quick Tip: Prevent Clumping Pasta

To prevent your pasta from sticking together, add 1 tbsp. of oil to the boiling water, moving the pasta through the oil as you immerse it. If you don't like the idea of adding oil, wet the pasta before putting it in the water.

Quick Tip: Hard-boiled or Raw Egg?

Can't tell if that egg in your refrigerator is raw or hard-boiled? Here's a simple trick: spin the egg on its side. The hard-boiled egg will spin quickly, like the Tazmanian devil, whereas the raw egg will be sluggish and sad, more like an injured turtle.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla

½ tsp. water

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. each of baking soda and baking powder

½ tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)

2 cups chocolate chips

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Step 2

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and water. Mix thoroughly.

Step 3

Mix the flour, baking soda. baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Now stir in the chocolate chips.

Step 4

On parchment-lined cookie sheets, place evenly sized dollops of cookie batter down, leaving space around each for expansion. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Creamy Cole Slaw

Ingredients

4 cups finely shredded green cabbage

3 green onions thinly sliced

2 large carrots, finely shredded

2 apples, peeled and finely shredded

Dressing

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

1/3 cup light sour cream

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. cidar vinegar

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp. each of salt and pepper

½ tsp. celery seeds

Step 1

Presalt the cabbage to extract moisture and diminish bitterness.

Step 2

Mix the cabbage, onions, carrots and apples in a large bowl.

Step 3

Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk.

Step 4

Combine dressing and salad and chill until you’re ready to eat.

How to Roast the Perfect Chicken

One problem with roasting a whole chicken is that it doesn't cook consistently. Some parts, like those big, luscious breasts, for example, cook faster than other parts -- like those pesky thighs. One solution to this, if you're so inclined, is to ice the breasts to keep them cool while bringing the bird to room temperature.

One other thing before you start: don't stuff the bird. Seriously, make the stuffing on the side. There's good reason: the stuffing needs to reach 160 F to kill any bacteria present, and by the time it does, the rest of the chicken is overcooked and dry. I know you love stuffing. So do I. Make it on the side. Try moistening it with chicken stock (as well as butter) so it gains some of that chicken taste.

Step 1
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator an hour before you're ready to cook and let it come to room temperature.

Step 2
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove any yucky stuff from the cavity (i.e. the giblets). Rinse the bird inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Season the cavity generously with salt and pepper, and add two cloves of crushed garlic and a scored lemon. Stick some fresh herbs in there, too, like thyme or sage.

Step 3
Slice a couple of onions into uniform (about half an inch) pieces and line the bottom of your roasting pan with them. If you're a skin person, cover it with butter or olive oil before seasoning. Otherwise, salt and pepper the skin generously without the added fat.

Step 4
Place the chicken breast side down on the onions, and place it in the oven for about an hour, after which time you're going to turn it over and let it continue cooking. Check for doneness after about 15 minutes. The breast needs to reach an internal temperature of 170 F; the thigh 180 F.

Step 5
Let the succulent bird sit on a cutting board for fifteen minutes or so to let its juices settle.

Tips:
Don't rely on those pop-up indicators: they suck, and your bird will overcook.

Don't truss the legs, which take longer to cook that way, resulting in one dried-out bird.

If you like crispy skin, don't forget the butter/oil part. Also, choose a chicken labelled Halal, kosher or air-chilled.

Quick Tip: Thickening Pureed Soup

If you need to thicken your pureed soup, add a diced up raw potato or some uncooked white rice and let them cook in the soup to release their starches. Puree the soup again to give your soup more body.

Quick Tip: Fixing Burnt Sauces

If you've lightly burnt your sauce -- of course the best thing to do is make a new one -- but if that's impossible, here's a quick fix: add a small amount of acid into it, such as vinegar or lemon juice. The sour will counteract the bitterness of the burnt flavour.

The Ultimate Kid Quesadilla

This quesadilla is pretty healthy, and the kids go crazy for it -- not running-around-the-house-like-rabid-coyotes crazy, mind you, just man-this-dinner-is-good crazy. For the dip, use whatever you like. I usually use an artichoke-asiago dip, but I've also used ranch dressing or a three-cheese dip. Once I even used a spinach dip. Wacky, I know. For a delicious, creamy herb dip recipe, follow this link.

Ingredients
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp. canola oil
1 apple
1 carrot
1/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. creamy dip
6 whole wheat tortillas

Step 1
Cook your chicken and chop it up into small pieces.

Step 2
Peel the apple and shred it. Using paper towel or a clean dish towel, squeeze the shredded apple to rid it of excess liquid.

Step 3
Peel and shred the carrot.

Step 4
Mix the chicken, apple, carrot, cheese and creamy dip in a bowl.

Step 5
Rub a bit of water on one side of each tortilla. Those will be the outsides of the quesadillas. On the dry sides of three, evenly distribute the mixture. Place the dry sides down, and fry each one in a lightly greased frying pan until golden brown.

Cut each quesadilla in four and enjoy dipped in sour cream.

Quick Tips: Getting Rid of Stuck-On Food

Antacid tablets are for more than just relieving heartburn and indigestion. If your pot has baked-on goop, plop six antacid tablets in and fill it with water. Leave it to sit for an hour, then try and scrub it off. It should come off no problemo.

How to Hard-Boil an Egg (Like a Pro)

Hard-boiling an egg isn’t rocket science, and there are myriad methods that will achieve the desired result. But some methods are just plain better. With this method, you should achieve a perfectly boiled egg with its shell in tact that’s easy to peel. It should have no dark edges around the yolk. In other words, the kind of hard-boiled egg that dreams are made of. No more rubbery, misshapen whites with the goo floating around the water.

Step 1

Place your eggs in a pot. Make sure you have a single layer. Add enough cold water to cover the eggs by about an inch.

                      

Step 2

Turn the burner on high heat. As soon as the water begins to simmer, remove it from the heat and place the lid on. You don’t want a rolling boil at any point or you’ll get a rubbery consistency. Leave the eggs covered in the hot water for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on their size. Medium eggs cook in about 12 minutes, extra-large ones in about 18.

Step 3

Drain the hot water and replace it with cold water to stop the eggs from further cooking. Once cool, peel them immediately. Otherwise, store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them. They’ll keep for a few days, but won’t be as easy to peel.

Quick Tip: Garlic in a Hurry

If you're whipping up a quick guacamole or salsa for your Mexican theme night, and don't have the time to peel and mince garlic (or if you're just a bit lazy like me), here's a quick tip:

Peel and cut the ends off of three heads of garlic.  Make sure they're fresh, so they hold their taste and colour.  Chop it up with a knife or garlic press, then soak the garlic in lemon juice or vinegar (the acid will prevent the chance of botulism forming). Transfer the contents to a tupperware container with a good seal. Add extra olive oil to ensure it's completely submerged. Seal the container and put it in the fridge, and you'll have fresh garlic for months.

How to Braise Pork Shoulder (Pulled Pork)

Mmmm...pork. Typically a pork shoulder doesn’t look too appetizing at the supermarket (but then what raw meat does?). It’s huge and fatty but very inexpensive. What’s it good for, you ask? One of my favourites: pulled pork. Ever have pulled pork and creamy cole slaw on a crusty bun? Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

The secret to great pulled pork is long and slow to tenderize the connective tissue that exists in the hardworking muscle. One tip, some ovens turn off automatically after a certain time, so watch it. I put mine in the oven after dinner one day and it turned off sometime in the middle of the night. With a tear in my eye, I had to throw that beautiful piece in the food waste.

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 200 F.

Step 2

Make your braising liquid. Finely dice some onion, carrots and celery and heat it up in the Dutch oven on the stove. Add a few tbsp. of canola oil. Once soft, add some minced garlic and heat briefly. Add your liquid (stock or tomatoes), then your acid (wine or beer). Add salt and pepper generously.

Now have some fun. Flavor it however you’d like. I like Worcestershire sauce and a little Dijon mustard in mine. If my 9-year-old were making it, he’d put in ketchup because that’s his favorite food. And, voila! There’s your braising liquid.

Step 3

Place the pork shoulder in the liquid. It should cover the bottom half only. Place it in the oven. The purpose of the low temperature is to avoid a boil. If it boils, the meat will become tough, so you want a gentle simmer. Leave it cooking for a long time. Like a really long time. The length of time depends, obviously, on the size of the shoulder. But, for example, 12 hours isn’t unheard of for a large one.

Step 4

Test for doneness by pulling a piece off. If it shreds off easily and is super tender, it’s done. The inside will absolutely be done if you’ve cooked it long, so you won’t have to worry about that. But if you’re nervous about that, make sure the internal temperature is about 190 – 200 F.

Step 5

Once it cools, shred it all off with a fork and store it in the braising liquid. You can freeze it in the liquid, too.

Raisin Bran Muffins

Some may argue there is no ultimate bran muffin -- mostly because they think bran muffins taste like cardboard and dirt. But I challenge one of those bran naysayers to try one of these bad boys -- especially if they're having trouble with their plumbing.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of bran

1 cup milk

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 egg

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. each of baking soda, baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup raisins

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Step 2

Pour milk, apple sauce, egg, brown sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Step 3

Stir bran, flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in separate bowl. Pour dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Stir in the raisins.

Step 4
Distribute the mixture into a greased muffin tin (12 count) or paper muffin cups if you prefer not to use grease.

Step 5
Place in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until they're done.

Tip
If you press down on the top and they spring back up, they're done.

Quick Tip: What to Do with Leftover Wine

Leftover wine? Never happens to the Geeks, but if you happen to have some extra, don’t discard it. Pour it into an ice cube tray, freeze and then transfer the wine cubes to a freezer bag. When you need some wine to finish a sauce or add to a stock, there’s no need to open a new bottle.

How to Pan-Roast the Perfect Steak

Step 1

Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30 to 60 minutes before you’re planning to cook it. Bringing it to room temperature will produce more even cooking. Pat the steak dry with paper towel, and season it generously with salt and pepper. Keep going, a little more salt, there you go! Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2 

Turn the stove onto high heat and place a stainless-steel or cast-iron pan on the burner, both of which are oven-safe. Allow the pan to heat up thoroughly, then add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil to the pan. If you try to add the fat  before the pan is hot enough, the oil will gum up. Once the oil is hot, place the steak in the pan and sear each side until a golden-brown crust is formed. This browning step serves a dual purpose: it kills any surface bacteria, while imparting the outside with a flavorful crust.

Step 3

Place the pan with the steak in your preheated oven and allow the internal temperature to come to between 128 and 140, depending on how you like it done. Check for doneness often by pricking the thickest part of the steak with an oven-safe thermometer. Remove the steak at the lower end of the range for rare to medium-rare, or at the higher end of the range for medium-well. The farther it’s cooked, the less tender it will be.

Allow the steak to sit for at least five minutes before serving to allow time for the juices to settle. If you cut it too soon, your steak just won’t be as juicy. Keep in mind the internal temperature of your steak will continue to rise for about five minutes while it sits, which is why you remove it when the temperature is still low.