Archives for October 2017

Mustard-herb crusted rack of lamb

October 24, 2017 By Caroline 4 Comments

Rack of lamb can be intimidating—an expensive cut of meat that many enjoy at a restaurant but would never think to make at home. In fact, this is one elegant dish that does not require a lot of prep time, nor is it complex. So go out and buy a rack of lamb, grab a bottle of your favourite red wine, prepare some candles and get ready to enjoy an elegant, fancy dinner for two in less than an hour of active cooking time.

The ingredients are quite simple: Dijon mustard, herbs, breadcrumbs, baby potatoes and olive oil. To keep this recipe quick and easy, I recommend having your butcher prepare the meat for you, trimming away to the chine bone and cleaning the rib bones. However if that isn’t possible, or you want to do this yourself, there is a great how-to video over at Martha Stewart here. We always have fun selecting which red to pair with lamb—we love a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape which tends to be fruity, luscious and a bit spicy.

The breadcrumb mixture is quick to put together, and it really compliments the lamb flavours to make this roast extra-special.

It’s important to get a good sear on the fat, to ensure it’s nice and crispy and not overly fatty once you roast it. Use tongs to turn the meat to sear it on all sides.

I take the pan drippings and spoon them over the potatoes giving them great flavour. The potatoes roast together with the lamb so the roast even comes with its own built-in side dish!

Next you add the lamb to the dish, coat it with mustard and then the breadcrumbs. Insert a thermometer if you have one (my oven comes with one that plugs into the oven, the timer beeps when the preset temperature is reached which is super handy). The ideal temperature to remove the rack from the oven is 130°F for medium rare—it will climb another 5 or so degrees while it rests.

Golden and glorious, the rack emerges from the oven. Resist the temptation to cut into it right away and cover it with foil to rest for 10 minutes.

So elegant when plated, rack of lamb is a special treat that you don’t have to save for going out—you can make it at home and it’s easier than you would ever think!

An elegant plate with rack of lamb with a breadcrumb herb crust

5 from 2 votes

Mustard-herb crusted rack of lamb

An elegant dish that looks like a lot of work but is actually pleasantly simple to make for a special weekend dinner.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

For Herb Crust

3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

For Lamb

1 rack of lamb, frenched
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups baby potatoes

Instructions

Remove the rack of lamb from the fridge about 1 hour before cooking, to allow the meat to come to room temperature. (This allows for more even roasting). Trim excess fat from the lamb so that an even, thin layer of fat is remaining. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat oven to 400°. Prepare a baking dish or roast pan just large enough to hold the rack of lamb. Add potatoes to the dish, pilling them to one of the long sides of the pan, and set aside.
In a small bowl combine all of the Herb Crust ingredients. Set aside.
Heat olive oil over high heat in a large sauté pan. Add lamb rack, fatty side down, and brown until fat is rendered in the pan, and the fat on the lamb is golden and crisp. Use tongs to position the rack to evenly brown all sides of the meat. All together the browning should take about 5 minutes.
Transfer lamb to a plate. Spoon pan drippings into prepared baking dish over the potatoes; stir to coat. Add salt to taste over the potatoes. Position the rack of lamb into the dish fatty side up, with the meaty part of the rack touching the bottom of the dish, and the bone tips arching over the potatoes. Spread Dijon mustard over the fatty side of the rack, and also the sides where the meat is exposed. Pat the reserved breadcrumb mixture onto the mustard to form a crust. Insert an oven thermometer if you have one.
Add the lamb to the oven and roast until the meat is medium rare (130°). This should take approximately 20–25 minutes. Remove roast from oven, place onto a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into chops and serving with the potatoes.

Test-Kitchen: Martha Stewart Apple-Cider Doughnut Bundt Cake

October 17, 2017 By Caroline 5 Comments

Martha Stewart came out with a new book last May, called A New Way to Bake. Touted as “the next-generation home-baking bible,” the book claims to offer healthy alternatives to your favourite baked goods with ingredients including whole-grain flours, quinoa, chia and coconut oil. The bundt cake on the cover caught my eye so I decided to give it a try.

This recipe takes advantage of fresh apple cider, whole wheat flour, olive oil and unsweetened applesauce.

I found the final result was a cake with a lovely texture, moist but not too dense. It sort of reminded me of a cake doughnut/coffee cake hybrid.

For me, the one fail was the natural cane sugar coating on the outside of the cake. It just wouldn’t stick to the cake, the texture of the sugar is too coarse so I could not achieve the lovely look of Martha’s cover cake. I finally gave up and simply sifted some icing sugar with cinnamon on top instead.

Overall this is a solid cake recipe that tastes great. You feel a bit less guilty eating it because of the whole wheat flour and other healthy substitutions. It still has quite a bit of sugar, so I’m not sure you could exactly call it healthy, but replacing some refined sugar with the applesauce and apple cider seem like healthier substitutes. I found it was nice to take to the office for a mid-afternoon snack the next day, too. Get the recipe here.

Bacon Cheddar Green Onion Scones

October 11, 2017 By Caroline 2 Comments

Savoury, crisp, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth—this is an excellent scone I love to serve with my fav butternut squash soup. These really hit the spot served warm with a little extra butter served on the side, because you can really never have too much butter! The green onions round out the bacon and cheddar and add something a little unexpected to these scones that really takes them over the top.

Based on Emeril’s Bacon Cheddar Cheese Scone recipe, I follow the original pretty closely except I typically use half-and-half cream rather than heavy (whipping) cream. I also prefer to cut in the butter first, as I find when trying to do this with the cheese and the onions at the same you aren’t able to blend the butter with the flour as well as I would like for optimal dough cohesion.

Above you can see the cheddar and green onions going in to the dry ingredients—you can see how the butter has already been cut in. Once the cheddar and green onions are well integrated, I add the bacon which will break up a bit more as you mix it in, which is just fine.

Once you’ve added the bacon, the cream is added and you can lightly work this into a dough. You need to knead the dough enough that you can’t see any more areas of flour and it’s just holding together. You don’t to overwork it. Then you divide the dough into two even halves. Either on a floured countertop, or directly on the prepared parchment, press each half into a flattened disc about 7″ wide. The disks need to be placed onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cut each disc of dough into eight wedges, making 16 scones. Brush on some additional cream to create a lovely golden colour on the baked scones.

Warm out of the oven, the scones are crisp, buttery and flakey. At the same time they aren’t too heavy and I find the texture to be somewhat light for a scone. This recipe is a real keeper, I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know how it turned out!

Bacon Cheddar Green Onion Scones

Savoury, crisp, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth—an excellent scone I love to serve with my fav butternut squash soup.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes

Total Time 52 minutes

Servings 16 scones

Ingredients

4 slices bacon
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 cup half-and-half cream plus 2 tbsp

Instructions

Prepare a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400°.
Cook bacon strips until they are crisp (I like to place bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 400° for 15 minutes, flipping half-way through). Drain on paper towel dabbing off excess grease. Roughly chop and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until the texture consists of fine lumps. Add cheese and green onions, cutting the cheese into the flour mixture. Add bacon and combine. Add 1 cup of cream and work with your hands to mix into a sticky dough. Combine just until flour isn't visible and the dough holds together, don't overwork it.
Split dough into 2 equal halves. Flatten each half into a circle on the parchment lined baking sheet, about 7" in diameter. Cut each circular disk into 8 wedges. Spread out the pieces to leave a 1/2" space between them. Brush the tops lightly with the remaining cream.
Bake until golden brown, 20–22 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Butternut Ginger Soup with Parsnip Chips

October 3, 2017 By Caroline 5 Comments

Nothing says autumn like a crisp chill in the air, the distant smell of wood burning from someone’s chimney, and the warming comfort of a bowl of butternut squash soup. With its brilliant orange colour, warm gingery notes and earthy parsnip, this soup was made for fall. A simple recipe that comes together quickly, I make this often during the cooler months, in part by taking advantage of a time-saving tip: buying the squash pre-peeled and cut at the grocery store. Then again if you have the time, there is something really satisfying when you select a perfect, smooth and plump butternut squash like the one pictured below, and take the time to peel and and chop it yourself. This particular squash was so large, just the top half provided enough for this soup recipe. If you do cut your own, set the seeds aside and toast them with some salt at about 375° for 15–20 minutes until deep golden, they are such a tasty snack!

Once you’ve prepped all your veggies, start by gently cooking the leeks and garlic over low heat.

Next add the ginger, turning up the heat to medium high and stirring that ginger around to draw out the flavour. Add the butternut and parsnip. Sauté in the pot until a slight brown crust develops on the bottom of the pan—these brown bits add a lovely depth of flavour to your soup when you add the chicken stock and scrape them up (for a vegetarian option you can go with vegetable broth instead).

Bring to a boil and simmer gently with the stock and some water for about 20 minutes (covered). When the squash and parsnip are soft, its ready to be puréed. I like to use an immersion blender as it saves the mess of having to transfer the hot soup into a blender (and avoids having to clean all those extra dishes!)

How gorgeous does that incredible orange soup look in that red enamelware pot?!

Now you could stop here and serve the soup with some thin strips of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and enjoy. However, if you want to really turn this into a show-stopper, fry up some parsnip chips to use as garnish. I use a vegetable peeler to slice a parsnip into ultra thin strips, heat a small frying pan with oil and fry until golden and crisp. Toss with a bit of Malden Salt and they are divine earthy treasures that really lift the parsnip notes from the soup to elevate the dish.

The colourful soup takes on a lovely modern style with the addition of the parsnip chips. The perfect bowl to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season!

5 from 3 votes

Butternut Ginger Soup with Parsnip Chips

A rich soup with the warming heat of ginger and a hint of earthy sweetness from parsnips. With no added cream, there is no guilt in treating yourself to this autumn favourite! The parsnip chips make for great presentation and add to the flavour, but If you don't have time, it is still a great dish without them.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

8 cups Butternut squash, cut into 1/2" pieces (2.5 lbs)
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 cups Medium leeks, white and green parts, cut into 1/4" pieces (approx 2 leeks, 7 oz)
3 cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp Fresh ginger, finely grated
1 cup Parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 parsnip, sliced into thin strips using a vegetable peeler
1 cup canola oil
2 oz Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, thinly sliced

Instructions

Cut and prep all of the ingredients. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add garlic and leeks and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes until the leeks have wilted and softened. Add ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring well.
Increase heat to medium high and add squash, parsnip, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until a golden crust forms on the bottom of the pot. This will help develop a rich flavour for your soup. Add the chicken stock and water, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Bring stock to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Test the squash and parsnips to ensure they are soft and cooked through. Once ready, blend the vegetables and stock into a puree using an immersion blender. Do a taste check to ensure the salt levels are good, and keep on low heat while you make the parsnip chips.
In a small sauté pan, heat the canola oil on medium high. Test the oil to see if it's hot enough by placing a single piece of parsnip in the oil—if it sizzles you can add enough to loosely fill the pan as shown, two batches worked well for my 6" pan. Don't overfill or the oil temperature will get too low. Fry the chips until they are a nice golden brown, then transfer to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt to taste (Malden works nicely if you have it).
Once all the chips are ready, serve the soup into bowls, add slices of Parmigiano Reggiano and top with a bundle of parsnip chips.