When life gives you smoked turkey...

Last night we had fantastic turkey, smoked with wood from Maker's Mark bourbon barrels. I am making a concerted effort to use what we have on hand, so we are not accumulating more food, or worse still, wasting it. This led me to come up with a plan for the leftover turkey.

What could be better than smoked turkey clubs, with a side salad. Must have been a good idea, because Neil went along with it, and made awesome sandwiches.

Fresh sourdough bread, lightly toasted. 3 slices per sandwich.

Smoked turkey, in bite size pieces

Crisply cooked bacon

Roma Tomatoes, Lettuce

Mayo

Medium cheddar, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Build your sandwich, and enjoy!!!

Pondering about pizza

I spotted pizza dough in the freezer this morning, and dropped a BIG hint about having it for dinner. Was thrilled to get home to a house that smelled like a pizzeria! Slightly prebaked dough, and simmering homemade tomato sauce were in the air.

Since I have already shared our Cajun pizza recipe, I decided to talk about some interesting pizza facts today.

The earliest form of pizza was a crude bread, dating back to the Stone Age. After cooking, the bread was seasoned with a number of toppings.

Throughout history there are regular references to these round breads with toppings. Tomatoes were added in the 1500's when they were brought to Europe from Peru.

Pizza came to North America in the latter half of the 19th century, but didn't really become popular in the mainstream until the 1950's. In 1957, frozen pizza was introduced and became the most popular frozen food.

Chicken Pillars - formerly called Upright Chicken Wraps

So these Chicken Wraps need a better name. I haven't got it yet, but I am open to suggestions. They look fantastic, and taste fantastic. 

We were introduced to this presentation at a shop just around the corner from Neil's office. They put together fantastic wraps, that stand upright on your plate. I wanted to call them towers, but the originating restaurant uses that term for theirs, so Neil did not want to use it.

UPDATE: Decided to call them pillars. My chef says that's okay. 

RECIPE

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 bunch rapini

1 red pepper

1 cooking onion

8-10 asparagus stalks

3 large flour tortillas

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

garlic powder

salt 

fresh ground black pepper

Butterfly the chicken breasts and marinate in balsamic vinegar for 30 minutes. Remove chicken breasts from marinade, and cover them with a generous shake of garlic powder. 

Slice the onion in half lengthwise and then slice one half into thirds lengthwise. Separate the layers for grilling. Slice the red pepper lengthwise and then slice into strips. Put a small amount of balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a medium size mixing bowl. Toss the onion and red pepper in it. 

Grill the chicken breasts  on searing hot barbecue. Grill until cooked, taking care not to overcook or to burn edges. The chicken should have grill marks but not be blackened. Remove from grill and allow to sit for a few minute, then cut chicken into strips. 

Grill the onion and red pepper on the barbecue. Run 7 or 8 rapini stalks under water and then grill. (The water keeps it from burning, creating a steaming type effect.) Brush rapini with olive oil while grilling. Grill asparagus stalks using the same method as the rapini. When cooked, remove all vegetables from the barbecue and cut into 2 inch pieces. Toss all of the vegetables with the chicken and add salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into 3 equal portions and then roll each portion tightly into a flour tortilla. 

Put the rolls onto the hot grill and turn as required to crisp the roll, leaving dark grill marks.  Remove rolls from the grill and cut across the middle. Stand 3 pieces upright on the cut end on 2 plates and serve with a side salad on the same plate. Fresh baby greens with a balsamic or raspberry vinaigrette is a great choice! Serves 2.

Excellent Enchiladas

We have been enjoying homemade Mexican food for years, but this particular combination is new, and works so well together, it has quickly become a favourite.

I found out this was on the menu earlier today, and was so distracted thinking about it I could hardly pay attention at yoga. I convinced myself I was STARVING because I was looking forward to this meal.

The salad is head lettuce chopped into 3/4 to 1 inch chunks, shredded carrot, diced green pepper, diced tomato (we use Roma tomatoes) and diced red onion. This is topped with a Ranch dressing, with salt and ground black pepper.

The rice is wild grain rice, with salsa. (Mild, medium or hot, depending on how you like it.) Diced tomato, a touch of diced green pepper. Put one cup of rice, two cups of water, and the other ingredients in a bowl in the microwave on high for 18-20 minutes.

And the best of all is the Excellent Enchilada.

Recipe

2 lb medium ground beef
2 packets of taco seasoning
diced jalapeno
large flour tortillas
Monterey Jack cheese
medium cheddar
salsa (your choice of brand, and heat level, we use hot)
green salsa (tomatillo)
sour cream



Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Cook beef until pink is gone, and then drain. Add 2 packets of Taco Seasoning following directions. (We use El Paso). Simmer until most of liquid has evaporated, leaving a rich sauce. If desired, add a bit of finely diced jalapeno for extra heat.

Use large flour tortillas. Grate a mixture of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese (about 1-1/2 cups overall). Place a row of sprinkled cheese along the centre of the taco shell. On top the cheese spoon a light amount of salsa. Place the ground beef on top of the salsa. Fold both sides of the taco over the ends of the row of meat mixture. Fold one side of the taco in, and roll the taco to close. This can be tricky first time you try it.

Put the taco on a serving plate that can go in the oven,  and top with shredded cheese mixture. Spoon a moderate amount of red salsa over the cheese and place the plate in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and spoon green salsa (tomatillo) over the top of the enchilada. Put rice on the plate, serve the salad, and you are ready to eat! Serve with a ramekin of sour cream for the enchilada, if desired.

Veal Parmigiana

The Cajun burgers last week were so good, we were going to have them again this week. Today was a glorious spring day, at least during the couple of minutes I was outside during the workday. We were looking forward to hanging out in the sunshine, and barbecuing.

Mother Nature had other plans. Torrential rain, with no sign of slowing down for a couple of days....

Time to switch it up and have veal. Veal Parmigiana is actually a dish I used to make way back when I cooked. Pretty straightforward to prepare, and good success rate.

Ingredients:

2 slices of milk fed veal
1 egg
1 cup  Italian breadcrumbs (have extra available, if needed)
vegetable oil
1 jar (750 ml - 1 litre) tomato sauce, homemade or store bought 
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
grated parmesan cheese (1/4 cup for veal, 1/4 cup for pasta, or to taste)
2 servings of good quality Italian pasta


Recipe

To begin, pound veal with a tenderizer. Whisk an egg, you can remove the yolk first, but we don't. Take the veal, and run it through the egg while it is still in the bowl, and then through Italian bread crumbs which have been poured onto a plate. 

Put a splash of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Let oil get hot, then add veal, with stove set medium high. Fry until breadcrumbs on veal become golden.

Put a thin layer of tomato sauce in a casserole dish. The dish should be big enough to accommodate placing the pieces of veal in it side by side. Place the veal on top of the tomato sauce.

Put a layer of sliced or shredded mozzarella on top of the veal. Spoon more tomato sauce over cheese. Sprinkle a generous helping of grated parmesan over top.  Cover, and place in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to bake for another 15 minutes.

Prep tomato sauce for side of pasta. Today we are prepping a homemade tomato sauce by adding fresh basil. Simmer over medium heat.

Boil water and cook pasta al dente. Drain pasta and let sit for a couple of minutes. Put a little oil in frying pan. Heat to medium high temperature. Toss pasta in hot pan for a couple of minutes. Add pasta sauce and continue to toss.

To serve, place veal parmigiana on plate, with pasta on the side.  

Bourbon St. Burger

Neil got his idea for these Cajun burgers from a restaurant on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. We had some awesome meals in Louisiana! We didn't actually try the burgers at the restaurant because there were too many other fantastic choices, but the description of the burger inspired this creation. 

You may be surprised to see toast in the photo. WHAT??? Neil is serving burgers on plain old white toast? This is an idea from another restaurant, Marilyn's Lounge.  Marilyn's was one of Neil's favourites back in the 80's in Pointe Claire, Quebec. Try it. You  might be surprised. The benefit to using the toast is that the burger patty is the real star.

I have also suggested that we try it out on a gourmet onion bun next time for a different taste. I'll let you know....

Recipe

1 lb. medium ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 pkg onion soup mix
2 tsp garlic
1-1/2 tbsp. Cajun spice
1 tsp Creole seasoning
1 medium cooking onion

Mix the ground beef and ground pork thoroughly. Add the seasonings and knead them in thoroughly. Form into burger patties and barbecue.

Cut the onion into medium thick slices and fry.

Serve the burgers topped with the fried onions and other condiments of your choice. Serve with a side of homemade fries.

New option: Instead of usual condiments, top with fried onions and Bourbon BBQ sauce. We found a fantastic one called Bourbon Q's. Seems we got this sauce in Louisville, Kentucky at the Liquor Barn. It is an awesome place to get interesting sauces!  And now that we have found how terrific this sauce is on the burgers, we are going to make a trip to Louisville for some more. One of our favourite restaurants is in Louisville, so there will be more to follow on that in a couple of months.

I had started off calling this the Cajun burger, but now I have renamed it the Bourbon St. burger, as that is how it will be served here.

I know everyone is not going to head off to Louisville to pick up this sauce, but it is available online. www.bourbonq.com








 

Ground Beef Shepherd's Pie

Neil will be the first to tell you that real Shepherd's Pie is not made with beef. He will ask if you have ever seen shepherds herding cattle? But Lamb Shepherd's Pie is harder to find these days. We had a fabulous version at Baker St. Station in Guelph last summer. It was so good we went back 2 weeks in a row and ordered the same thing. But alas, it is no longer on the menu. They tell us it may show up as a special now and then.

Still have some good things on the menu, a little out there with some of the choices, but there should be something for everyone.  http://bakerstreetstation.ca/

But back to our Ground Beef Shepherd's Pie. One of those great comfort food meals that is easy to enjoy.

RECIPE

Serves 4. Oven temp. 375 degrees

Dice one medium carrot, and very finely dice 1/2 an onion. Brown 2 lbs. ground beef in fry pan. Add about 3 tablespoons of garlic powder (lots), or to suit your taste. While beef is still slightly pink, drain it and set it aside. Dissolve 2 beef Bovril cubes in 1-1/2 cups of water. Put the ground beef back in, add diced onions and carrots, and 1/4 cup of frozen peas. Simmer until liquid is nearly gone.

Cut 5 large white potatoes into cubes, and boil. After potatoes are cooked, and drained add 1/4 cup of milk, and salt, pepper and mash until medium texture.

Put the beef mixture into 1 large shallow casserole dish (10-12") and top with the potatoes.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, uncovered, until potatoes are golden.

I recommend making this dish for 2, and then you have great leftovers for lunch!