Fondue Parmesan

This is a recipe that our nanny, Chantal would make us for a special treat.  

Eating "Fondue Parmesan" made us smile and made us feel special.  She would say 

"Bon appetit!"  

Merci Chantal.

1/4 cup  plus 1 tbsp. butter 

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups milk

1 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

10 pieces of Gruyere Cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Melt butter in microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Add flour, salt and cornstarch, blend into a paste and microwave on 

high for 40 to 45 seconds.  

Add milk and egg, whisk until smooth.  

Cook on medium for 2 minutes.

Add gruyere cheese (cut in little pieces) and parmesan cheese.  

Blend until smooth and firm.

Put it into an 8" x 8" greased and floured pan.

Refrigerate around 8 hours.

Cut into squares.  Coat the squares in flour, beaten egg and milk and then bread crumbs.

To Serve

 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven, pan fry or heat in microwave.

Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Can be frozen for later use.

Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

Grandmaman and the Calgary Crew did some serious baking on Friday.  We tried out a gluten free sugar cookie recipe.  It was a successful undertaking based on the complete mess in the kitchen, the delicious, sweet cookies and the smiles while mixing, rolling, cutting, icing and tasting.

1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose baking flour 

   (use your favorite mix or 

1/2 cup rice flour, 

1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour, 

1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch,

 note that this makes 2 cups.  I used 1/2 cups in the recipe 

and the other 1/4 cup for rolling)

1/2 cup tapioca flour or potato starch

1 cup gluten-free powdered sugar

1 teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup cold butter, cut in small pieces

1 egg

about 1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or lemon extract

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment or lightly grease.

Put all dry cookie ingredients in a food processor and pulse about 3 times  or whisk together to thoroughly blend.  Add pieces of butter and pulse about 10 times.  If using an electric mixing beat on high for about 1 minute.  Add egg, milk and vanilla and pulse about 5 times.  The mixture should form a sticky, stiff dough.  I used the kitchen aid mixer for these steps instead of a food processor. 

 If the dough is too dry, gradually drizzle in more milk.  Wrap the dough in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight before rolling and cutting out cookies.

 Lightly flour a large sheet of waxed paper with gluten-free flour mix and roll the dough to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut into shapes with cookie cutters dipped in gluten-free flour.  Bake in a preheated oven for about 12 minutes or just until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown.

Icing Ingredients

4 cups gluten-free powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon corn syrup

Food coloring (optional)

While cookies are baking prepare sugar cookie icing by whisking icing ingredients until smooth.  Cool cookies completely before decorating with prepared icing.  Store in an air-tight container or wrap tightly and freeze.

Minestrone

olive oil

4 ounces pancetta, 1/2 inch diced 

1 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

2 cups carrots (3 carrots 1/2 inch diced)

2 cups celerry (3 stalks 1/2 inch diced)

2  1/2 cups peeled butternut squash (1/2 inch diced)

1 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic (4 cloves)

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 (26 ounce) can diced tomatoes

6 to 8 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked small pasta

8 to 10 ounces fresh baby spinach 

1/2 cup good dry white wine

2 tbsp. pesto

Serve with Garlic Bruschetta

Freshly grated parmesan

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot or dutch oven.  Add the pancetta and cook over medium-low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.  Add the tomatoes, 6 cups of the chicken stock, the bay leaf, 1 tbsp salt, and 1 1/2 teapoons pepper.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  Discard the bay leaf.  Add the beans and cooked pasta and heat through.  The soup should be quite thick but if it's too thick, I add more chicken stock.

  Just before serving, reheat the soup, add the spinach, and toss with 2 big spoons (like tossing a salad).  Cook just until the leaves are wilted.  Stir in the white wine and pesto. Depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock, add another teaspoon or two of salt to taste.  Serve large shallow bowls of soup with a bruschetta on top.  Sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, drizzle with olive oil and serve hot.

Grandmaman and Papa enjoyed Jenny's minestrone while visiting this winter.  

In place of bruschetta Jenny served Papa's favorite homemade bread. 

Short Rib Bourguignonne

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

3 to 4 pounds beef short ribs, cut into thirds
3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup bacon lardoons, diced
2 large white onions, sliced
4 shallots, quartered
1 pound mushrooms
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
2 cups red wine
4 cups beef stock or to cover

Preheat oven to 350 or 375.

Combine flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and black pepper.  

Add the short ribs, coating them lightly in the flour mixture.

In a large Dutch oven or deep oven-proof pot melt butter over medium heat until golden.  Add the ribs, shaking off any excess flour.  Sear the meat until brown, moving the ribs around covering them with the butter.  

In the same pot, saute the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the onions, shallots, mushrooms, celery and carrots and saute until golden.  Deglaze the pan with the red wine, adding a little at a time.  Let reduce over high heat for 1 minute.  Add the rest of the wine and beef stocik, and bring to a simmer.

  Once the liquid has come to a simmer, cover and cook in the oven for 2 to 3 hours.  Season to taste.

Caramel Popcorn

Coat a large roaster with non-stick spray and 

fill it with popped popcorn.  

Coat a pot with non-stick spray and add 1/2 cup corn syrup, 1 cup butter and 2 cups brown sugar. Melt together, stirring with a large spoon coated with non-stick spray.  Boil while stirring for 5 minutes.  Take off heat and stir in 1/2 tsp. baking soda, a pinch of salt and a pinch of cream of tartar.  

Pour over popcorn, mixing well.  Put roaster in oven for 2 hours, stirring every half hour.

Peach Pie Salad

This recipe is super easy and inspired by Oma who traditionally serves a jellylike salad on special occasions.  

19 oz peach pie filling (540 ml)

14 oz pineapple tidbits, drained (398 ml)

14 oz fruit cocktail, drained (398 ml)

2 sliced bananas

1 cup seedless green grapes

1 cup small marshmallows

Put pie filling into bowl.  Stir in drained pineapple and fruit cocktail.  Add sliced bananas. Add grapes and marshmallows.  Stir together.  Turn into a serving bowl and chill for several hours before serving.  Serves 15.

This year we enjoyed the salad on Christmas Eve with a spiral ham and Amy's hash brown potato casserole.

Other ingredients that could be added or substituted are  red maraschino cherries, canned mandarin oranges, diced apple or nuts.

-other canned mandarin oranges

If you are unable to find peach pie filling try apple pie filling along with a can of sliced peaches.

Gazpacho

This delicious cold soup was a perfect meal for this hot August day.  Grandmaman and Papa enjoyed the soup and "dinner on the deck".

1/2 red onion diced

 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large cucumber, diced

5 roma tomatoes, diced

1 zucchini, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 dash salt to taste

3.8 liters tomato juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. white sugar

6 dashes tabasco

1 dash black pepper to taste

In a food processor combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, tabasco and salt. Pulse until well blended.

Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini and celery.  The rest of the diced vegetables will be used for a garnish.

Stir the mixture together and check the seasonings, adding more salt if needed.  Chill the soup for at least a couple of hours.
Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours; soup needs to be very cold!
Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check the seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado, sour cream, and cilantro. Finally, place a grilled shrimp on the top and serve with slices of bread grilled with olive oil.

These are the shrimp before we grilled them.  We grilled them for 2 minutes on one side, then turned them and grilled them for another 2 minutes.