Weeze Cake

It's Miss C's birthday today and, as is tradition, I made a cheesecake (now named the Weeze cake in her honour). This year's version is strawberry.

Strawberry Shake Cheesecake

2 250-g bricks of cream cheese, softened.
1 envelope gelatin
1 c whipping cream
1 cup sugar plus 2 tbs
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed and divided
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

In small pot, sprinkle gelatin powder over 1/2 cup cold water. Place pot over low heat and leave until gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat.

In microwave-safe bowl, melt the 1/2 cup butter. Stir in 1/3 cup packed of brown sugar and 2 c. graham crumbs. Mix well and then press into bottom of greased springform pan. Bake at 350 F for 10 min. Remove pan and cool on rack.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and remaining brown sugar. In separate bowl, combine chopped berries and 2 tbs sugar and mash. Add strawberries, vanilla, almond extract, and gelatin  to cheese mixture and stir well. In yet another bowl, whip the cream. Fold the cream into the cheese/berry mixture. Pour into pan over crust. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving. Can drizzle chocolate or caramel sauce over before serving.

Rain, followed by showers

It's dank and dismal today - I need warming up. Inspiration struck - too many mushrooms leftover from a salad recipe and lots of fresh asparagus in the garden. Pan-fried asparagus, mushrooms and garlic in butter with lemon pepper and sea salt. Mmmm, mmmmm. To round out the meal, spicy pork medallions and oven roasted potatoes, onions, cauliflower and orange pepper.

Getting My Samosa Fix

Samosas are a big deal here in Fredericton - we even had a "samosa war" at our local market once upon a time. The product was so popular that customers lining up to buy them blocked the aisles and prevented other vendors from doing business. The market management team told the samosa vendors they'd have to take their wares outside. People were outraged. Protests ensued. Eventually, they compromised and bought a couple of trailers, parked them on the market grounds, and told the samosa vendors to set up business there.  In the end, the original purveyor of samosas, Mr. Patel, decided to retire, and with him went the best samosas I'd ever tasted. The remaining vendors at the market continue to do a thriving business, but the product in my opinion is inferior. All this to say that, today, I had a hankering for the Patel samosas, so I went hunting online in search of a reasonable facsimile. What I found far exceeded my expectations. Although they took considerably longer to make than I anticipated (and although my pastry skills are sadly lacking!), the results were imho *damn* good!

So, here's the link: http://www.samosa-recipe.com./ I strongly recommend this site. I made the vegetable filling in phyllo and the beef in puff pastry (seriously, I'm severely challenged when it comes to working with pastry!) and they were delicious!

Sunny Sunday Morning in Spring

Contemplating the sun shining outside, the grass growing and greening, and all the plants starting to spring to life, and relishing the relatively unfamiliar sensation of a clean kitchen....I was inspired to create this zesty soup to welcome home the churchgoers.

Cream of Carrot Ginger Soup

2 tbs butter

2 large shallots, coarsely chopped

1/2 yellow pepper, coarsely chopped

900 ml chicken broth, unsalted

1/2 tsp crushed rosemary

2 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 c cream (use milk if you want a lighter version)

In large pot, saute shallots and pepper in butter until transparent. Add chicken broth, carrots, and seasonings. Bring to low boil and simmer until carrots are tender, about 1/2 hour. Use immersion handblender to puree vegetables. Stir in cream and serve. Garnish with fresh chives and wedge of lemon.

A whole lotta cooking goin' on

Yep, that's the truth. First came Christmas and various pot lucks, then we hosted a baby shower for Iris on New Year's eve, and today, the annual family Yankee Swap. So far, I've made fudge (thank you Trish for a fabulously easy recipe), spicy pecans, seafood chowder, a rosemary/cranberry bread wreath, cherry fruit bread, and Dear Abby's "St. James Baked Beans" (if you haven't tried this recipe yet, google it and make it immediately - it's a real crowd pleaser!). I'm absolutely loving my new Kitchenaid Artisan mixer - it sure eliminates a lot of shoulder and wrist pain when making bread dough. This was a Christmas gift from Ralph and, I've got to say, one of the best. I resisted for many years, saying why would I need one when my hand mixer does just fine, but old age is taking its toll and it's nice to let the machine do the work for a change. However, given that its permanent home is going to be on my counter, I have to get busy and make a cover for it to keep it clean. Anyway, better to get sewing than to get baking as 2012 is definitely going to be the year to lose some weight...starting tomorrow! After all, you can't go on a diet when you're heading to one of the major potluck events of the year!!!

Today's recipe....and a last hurrah for sugar and fat...is Trish's easy, delicious chocolate fudge.

Chocolate Skor Fudge

1 pkg chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
1 pkg skor bar bits (or Heath bar if you're in the U.S.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chips and condensed milk. Mike on high for 2 minutes. Stir. Mike for 2 more minutes. Stir, Mike one last time for 2 minutes and then stir in pkg of Skor bits. Scrape into a greased 8 x8 inch pyrex pan. Chill in fridge for 2+ hours. Cut into 1 inch squares and enjoy. I'll have to take a pic some other time because there are none left from my last batch!

Oh yeah - Happy New Year!

Tourtiere on steroids...

I try to pump out a few tourtieres every fall and freeze them for future use. Tourtieres are a traditional French-Canadian dish - basically a seasoned meat pie. I've always found them a little too dry and meaty for my tastes...so I made a few adjustments to the basic recipe. This is my version of tourtiere, not to be confused with the real thing, which does not contain potatoes or gravy.

Pie pastry - enough for two covered pies
1 lb ground pork
2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1 large onion
1 bay leaf
1 tbs chopped garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs chopped celery leaves
1/4 tsp mace, cayenne, cloves
1 sachet beef oxo + 1/4 cup water
4 medium potatoes diced finely
1 1/2 cups gravy (2 tbs butter, 2 tbs flour, 1 1/2 c beef bouillon, salt and pepper)

In very large frypan, saute bacon till crisp. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, bayleaf, spices & herbs, pork, beef, and stir to combine. Sprinkle beef oxo over meat mixture and then add the water. Stir to combine. Meanwhile, microwave the potatoes for about 5-7 minutes and prepare gravy. Add potatoes and gravy to meat mixture. Stir to combine. Simmer over medium low for 45 minutes. Line 2 pie plates with pastry and prick over whole surface with fork. Spoon meat mixture into pie plates. Top with upper crusts. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for a further 30 minutes. Bake one pie now, and freeze the other for later use - or bake both now and freeze one of the cooked ones - your choice.

Curried beef - just the thing for a miserable cold fall day

Had ground beef in the fridge; wanted something warming. Found this on the net: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1882/mince-with-black-eyed-beans.aspx . It was great - served with rice and asparagus, as well as tzatziki (no raita to be had) and pitas.