Oscar Night Cabbage Rolls

Happy Oscars!
Tonight's dinner was a house collaboration, starting with potato and leek soup garnished with dill oil and toasted almonds made by my good friend who loves the Oscars as much as me.

The main course was cabbage rolls with a twist. Inspired by Chuck's Day Off's lamb stuffed cabbage rolls I decided to go with this easy to pull together, totally appropriate for a snowy Sunday night belly warmer. I used the same seasonings as his recipe: garlic, onion, ginger, red chili, fresh cilantro, s&p, but instead of lamb I used half pork, half extra lean beef and a couple slices of finely diced bacon.

I blanched the cabbage leaves and stuffed them with the meat mixture and rolled.

The sauce is from sauteed onion and cabbage, with diced tomato, beef stock and a can of V8 reduced then poured over the cabbage rolls and baked for about 45 minutes.

Topped with crumbled feta cheese and that lovely sauce, and served with fresh bakery bread....

Bacon-Pea Arancini

Last night's dinner was a traditional Italian favourite: Arancini. Arancini is essentially a risotto croquette, usually stuffed with something in the middle and served with a tomato sauce. The results are a crispy shell surrounding a gooey, cheesy, melty core, with a lovely surprise at the centre... in short, heaven.

It all begins with the risotto, I decided to garnish mine with sweet peas and of course, bacon. I let the risotto cool as long as I could bear, (which incidentally wasn't long enough, more on that later).

Then I made the rice balls with chunks of mozzarella in the centre and baked in a 375 oven for about half an hour.

Pre-oven, drizzled with a little olive oil to promote browning...

and post-oven...

As you can see, they melted more than I had anticipated in the oven. I think this has to do with the fact that it wasn't leftover risotto, but fresh and therefore hadn't had time to set as well in the fridge, so the balls were looser and essentially collapsed...doesn't hurt the flavour though!

Once they were done, I served them over a very simple tomato sauce with lots of fresh parsley, bacon and parm on top, and Caesar salad on the side.

Leftovers tonight!

A Bacon Valentine

 

I got to celebrate Valentine's Day today with a double dose of bacon-y goodness.

In the morning, I had a Maple Bacon Cupcake from For the Love of Cake in Liberty Village, courtesy of my bosses. They were interesting, soft and moist, with a blueberry filling that made the whole thing taste like breakfast and topped with what I think was a buttercream frosting. Behind them are Chocolate-Banana, we also had Rocky Road, Pumpkin, Salted Caramel (voted the best) and Cookies & Cream.

And for dinner, his and hers bacon cheeseburgers with oven baked sweet potato fries and spicy garlic mayo dip.

His was stuffed and topped with Stilton plus spicy garlic mayo, Dijon, lettuce, onion and bacon.
Mine was topped with double smoked Balderson cheddar plus spicy garlic mayo, Dijon, lettuce, onion and bacon.

Cubano

Sorry for the drag in posts this week, having some computer issues at home. Nevertheless it doesn't stop me cooking. Thursday night we decided to bring back a little latin flavour with Cubano sandwiches. The inspiration stemmed from a lazy Sunday watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and seeing an authentic Cubano sandwich made somewhere in Florida.

A specific layering of sliced ham, pulled pork, pickles and cheese topped with grainy mustard and a creamy garlicky lime-cilantro sauce is what makes a Cubano a Cubano. Delicious, tangy, filling and oh-so cheesy, this totally hit the spot on a cold cold Toronto winter evening.

Since I wasn't going to roast a whole big pork shoulder to get the pulled pork, I decided to approximate it with a cheap little pork loin glazed in grainy mustard, maple syrup and minced garlic. 40 minutes in a 375 oven and it was perfectly done, still juicy, with little caramelized bits.

While the loin was roasting, I made the sauce: mayo, fresh lime juice, cilantro, minced garlic clove and lots of salt and pepper. Spread that on one side of the buns, and grainy mustard on the other. On top of that went the sliced ham and some pre-sliced canadian havarti (love the way it melts on a sandwich).

Once the loin was cool enough I roughly cut and shredded it and layered the sliced dill pickle on as well. With a little butter on the outside I popped them into my handy sandwich press and let them sizzle.

Bacon fresh breath...

In the world of crazy, wacky bacon-related products, some genius has come up with bacon toothpaste. How's that for a breath freshener.

Thanks for the link Adam!

Classic BLT

I can't believe it's taken me as long as it has to post a BLT considering they're a go-to breakfast, lunch or dinner for me. I've usually got all the ingredients on hand and its a quick and delicious pull together, with endless variations.

Today's lunch totally hit the spot and was an easy way to use up extra tomato and some iceberg that's been kicking around the crisper. To the usual bacon, lettuce and tomato I added some slices of Haloumi cheese for a little extra texture (kind of a cross between a salty briny feta and a squeaky firm mozzarella), topped with lots of freshly ground black pepper and some creamy mayonnaise.

Lasagna with Pancetta, Veal and Turkey meat sauce

To help us warm up and acclimate to the vicious February weather we came home to I decided there was no better way to spend a snow day than to leisurely put together a lasagna.

Beginning with the sauce to give the ingredients ample time to get to know one another and get extra tasty, I started with some leftover diced pancetta. Next I sauteed onion, garlic (lots!) and diced creminis in the rendered fat from the pancetta and deglazed with the end of a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Then I browned the meat; ground turkey and lean veal. Once browned I added in diced and crushed plum tomatoes and a bit of water to loosen it up. To finish I added a whole wack of chopped up fresh herbs: parsley, thyme, sage and basil, as well as a bit of dried oregano. Brought to a simmer, popped a lid on and let it work for a couple of hours on low.

While the sauce was working I mixed together a container of fresh ricotta with some more chopped parsley, some freshly grated parmesan cheese and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Set on the fridge until layering time.

Layering time!

Layer 1: a bit of sauce, and a sheet of no boil pasta (trimmed for my square dish)

Layer 2: a generous amount of the ricotta mixture

Layer 3: a healthy helping of meat sauce

Layer 4: fresh fiore di latte slices 

Repeat until done and top with extra cheese!

350 oven for 30 minutes... et voila!

Yummy, hearty and cozy, we ate until our stomachs hurt...

Tacos, Fried Cheese, Cactus!

Hola amigos!

Back from a relaxing beach getaway and wanted to share some of the wonders of Mexico with you: Powder white sandy beaches; fried queso with a cactus sauce served in a hot stone bowl; diving pelicans searching for fish; assortments of tapas enjoyed on outdoor couches under a canopy of trees; tangles of driftwood; stunning jungle pathways through our resort; beef tacos with pico de gallo; beautiful flora everywhere the eye lands; refreshing cervezas on a sweltering Mexican afternoon...