Search Results for: cheese

happy heart day! celebrating with chocolates, cookies and treats

February 14, 2014 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope you all have a fabulous day spending time with the ones you love…or take the time to spoil yourselves rotten!

Hubby and Q woke up to a bouquet of chocolate dipped strawberries and some homemade chocolate turtles. Cocoa spiced pecans were also packed into jars for my two loves.

Every year, I make hubby a chocolate treat. In the past there have been truffles, home made Ferrero and even Almond Joy. This year, I decided on Turtles! They were super easy to make, although a little less time cooking the caramel would have been ideal.

In case you overcook your caramel like I did, just chop the chocolates up and use them to top chocolate covered strawberries! It adds the perfect crunch to the juicy berries.

Shortbread cookies for work and cupcakes from yesterday’s kindergarten party rounded out our Valentine’s table. I had a box of President’s Choice Red Velvet mix from the holidays so made up the batter for that as well as the batter for sour cream cake. A scoop of each created the perfect red and white cupcake for Q to decorate with cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate Turtles

1 cup whole pecan pieces
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TB water
1 cup chocolate

Toast the pecans and place them in pairs on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Combine the cream, butter, brown sugar and water. Stir over medium heat until combined and smooth. Let the mixture come up to a boil and cook without stirring until 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Watch the caramel mixture carefully. Let the caramel sit for a minute and then pour a spoonful on each pair of pecans. Let the caramel set for at least an hour.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave, stirring after every 30 second interval. Pour a spoonful on each caramel pecan bite. Let the chocolates set in the fridge.

cauliflower alfredo sauce

February 3, 2014 By Fareen 2 Comments

The other day, on Facebook, I noticed a recipe for cauliflower alfredo sauce. I was intrigued and knew I had to try it. Cauliflower seems to be the “it” vegetable lately, transforming into a variety of things like “bread” sticks and pizza crusts.

This sauce is super easy to make. In a blender, just whiz together the cauliflower, the water that it was cooked in, some garlic that’s been cooked in butter and a little bit of milk and you have a creamy, delicious sauce. I used a lactose-free milk so that the sauce could be enjoyed by everyone.

Top the pasta and sauce with some cheese and elevate the dish even further with a drizzle of truffle oil. So divine! It’s a perfect dish for Meatless Monday or with some chicken or shrimp.

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

1/2 head cauliflower
4 cloves garlic, or 2 tsp minced
butter
salt
pepper
1/4 cup milk

Saute the minced garlic in butter over low heat. Cook for several minutes until garlic is soft and fragrant.

Bring water to a boil in a large pot.Add the cauliflower and cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cauliflower to the blender. Add 1 cup of the cooking liquid, the garlic and butter, salt, pepper and milk and puree until smooth.

cruising on the disney wonder – palo restaurant

We had a fabulous brunch at Palo. Recommended by veteran cruisers, it was a definite must-do and we discovered for ourselves why. Located on the 10th deck, the restaurant has a great view of the ocean while you dine. Your brunch, now $25 per person (an increase of $5 from when we booked) includes a glass of sparkling wine or a mimosa.

There are a few tables full of delicious food as well as a selection of entrees that you can order. My favourite table was the seafood one. Crab, jumbo shrimp cocktail, salmon mousse, cajun ahi tuna, scallops and caviar. It was amazing and I would have been happy with just this one table.

There was a huge table filled with cheese and crackers and another with Mediterranean dishes like hummus and sundried tomatoes and a really lovely tuna nicoise salad made with ahi tuna.

There were two tables filled with sweet treats. One with pastries like croissants and cinnamon buns, the other with items like panna cotta and cakes. It took a lot of restraint to not try it all but the couple that I did try definitely satisfied my sweet tooth.

We had a fantastic server from Croatia, Tony. He was helpful and attentive and provided amazing curstomer service, like we experience through out the ship.

If you have a little bit of time, I would definitely recommend Palo for brunch.

cruising on the disney wonder – room service

Room service was mostly complimentary on the ship. We only ordered room service a couple of times. Based on recommendations, there were a couple of items that were a must have.

The “All Hands on Deck” platter definitely fell into the must have category and was the perfect afternoon snack. It was a plate of delicious cheeses – brie, babybel, Swiss, cheddar and blue – with crackers and grapes.

The next must have would have to be the Mickey bar. Vanilla ice cream coated in chocolate and shaped like Mickey. These are readily available in the dining rooms on the kids menus but they are delicious for all ages. You can’t leave the ship without having one!

smoked salmon crepes

January 17, 2014 By Fareen Leave a Comment

I love a good crepe. Whether it be savoury for lunch or dinner or sweet for a perfect dessert, they are so versatile.

When deciding what to have for dinner the other night, I noticed some smoked salmon in the freezer. With spinach and cheese in the fridge, crepes just seemed like the way to go.

I decided to go with a recipe from Alton Brown. As intimidating as he seems, he really knows his stuff! This recipe comes together really quickly in a blender. Brown suggests placing the batter in the fridge for an hour, allowing the bubbles to subside thereby making it less likely for the crepes to tear.

Usually with crepes, they say one for the pan. That was true in this case, but the following crepes turned out great! They cooked quite quickly and dinner was on the table in less than half an hour. Smeared with Boursin and topped with the salmon, spinach and green onions, these were delish!

This recipe made quite a few crepes, meaning we had some for dessert as well! Dulce de leche was poured down the middle, and rolled into the perfect sweet ending.

Crepes
From Alton Brown, Good Eats

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons melted butter

Butter, for coating the pan

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10
seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour, allowing the bubbles to subside.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of
batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for
30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the
cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all
batter is gone.

chocolate coconut cupcakes

November 19, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

I am truly lucky to be surrounded by family. Life gets busy, but every month, we have a family lunch for all of us to share a meal and spend some quality time together.

There are many birthdays to be celebrated in November so of course, cake was in order. I tried out these chocolate coconut cupcakes from So, How’s it Taste?

The cupcakes were really easy to make and were baked in less than 30 minutes. I decided to go with a classic cream cheese frosting, which paired really well with the coconut and the chocolate. To top it all off, I toasted some coconut in the oven while the cupcakes were baking, which provided the perfect crunch with every bite.

These were great and perfect to celebrate both the young and the young at heart.

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes
From, So, How’s it Taste?

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and coconut extract; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Gently fold in shredded coconut.

Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Fill cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes.

turkey chili

October 8, 2013 By Fareen 1 Comment

When given a choice, Q would rather have a home cooked meal over eating out. He doesn’t like the usual things you can find on a kids menu. Chicken strips and mac and cheese, forget about it. A bowl full of chili though, and he’s a happy camper.

I tweaked my original chili recipe, omitting chili powder all together and adding more of everything else to ensure a flavourful bowl of goodness. With everything thrown into the slow cooker the night before, we have a hearty lunch ready in the morning with hardly any effort.

You know its a great recipe when my picky little guy asks for seconds. Q likes his topped with cheese, lots of it. It’s also great with some sour cream and green onions or over a baked potato.

Turkey Chili

2 pounds ground turkey, browned and drained
2, 19 oz cans of mixed beans, drained
1, 28oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 TB olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and mix thoroughly.
Cook on low for 8 hours. Top with cheese, onions or sour cream.

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and mix thoroughly.
Cook on low for 8 hours. – See more at: http://www.foodmamma.com/2010/09/comforting-slow-cooker-chili.html#sthash.Xk50XJIz.dpuf

beef ribs with blueberry bbq sauce

September 23, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

Fall is here! You can feel the chill in the air and see the leaves changing colour. It really is a beautiful time of year.

I’m still holding on to summer though, and thinking about how we took advantage of all the summer fruits in our meals. We tried to use them in as many things as possible. Blueberries were used in one of my favourite recipes this summer – blueberry bbq sauce!

I think it was all the yummy BBQ I smelled but it was at the Stampede that I thought I wanted to incorporate blueberries into a bbq sauce. Hubby indulged me and we went right away to stock up on blueberries so that I could play in the kitchen. We also stocked up on ribs, thinking it may be a good vehicle for the sauce.

A little mix of sweet and savoury, this bbq sauce turned out better than I had imagined. It tasted really great in an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich. It went amazingly with the big beefy ribs that were cooked in the slow cooker until they were tender and then finished off on the grill.

I froze some blueberries just so that I could enjoy this sauce later in the year.

Bluberry BBQ Sauce

1/2 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 TB coriander
1 TB cumin
1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Heat olive oil in a pan
over medium heat. Cook the onions and garlic until softened.Add blueberries, sugar, vinegar, ketchup and spices and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced. Let cool slightly and and then puree in a blender.

Slow Cooker Beef Ribs

Cut a rack of beef ribs into pieces. Smother each rib with the bbq sauce and place in a slow cooker. Add enough water to cover the ribs and let them cook on low for eight hours until the meat is almost falling off the bones. Glaze each rib with more bbq sauce and cook on the grill until they are nicely charred and the sauce is caramelized.

cousins night out: brava bistro

September 4, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

I’m so lucky that I have a wonderful bunch of cousins that I can actually call my friends. Since life can get busy, we have started a monthly dinner for those of us in town – cousins night out. It’s a great chance to spend time with the ones we love while having a dinner out.

Since my cousin’s wedding was last month, everyone was in town! With nine cousins and seven spouses, our group of sixteen took over a long table at Brava Bistro for an amazing dinner.

Brava was very accommodating, fulfilling our desire to eat family style. It was perfect – by sharing, we were able to try many dishes and weren’t limited to just one – the best way to avoid food envy.

The appetizers and salads we sampled were delicious! The Prawn and Avocado salad was light and tasty while the Burrata and Tomato Salad was a great showcase for the creamy cheese.

Lobster was the star in both the Lobster Gnocchi and the Lobster Poutine. The poutine was my favourite of the night and I will definitely be going back for more.

Our mains were just as delicious and I was happy to be able to sample a little of everything. I really enjoyed the pasta dish, the Orecchiette Alfredo, which was creamy and garlicky.

Everyone loved the Beef Short Rib which was soft and tender. This was served with Mac and Cheese and Broccoflower.

The Atlantic Salmon was perfectly cooked and Crispy Cracklin Chicken was surprisingly juicy.

The night ended with sweet treats of Creme Brulee, Warm Gingerbread Cake and a Brownie Sundae. Delish!

It was a wonderful night with family. Can’t wait to go back!

state and main

August 7, 2013 By Fareen Leave a Comment

When a restaurant is able to provide me with many choices for appetizers that I can fill myself with a meal of them, I am a happy girl. That is exactly what happened last week when I checked out the new State and Main with some media friends. State and Main is the new kid on the block, opening its doors in Calgary at Chinook Centre. From the same people that brought us Original Joe’s, State and Main offers classic comfort food with character.

All the appetizers we enjoyed were delicious! These included the Chicken Gyoza, Spicy Tuna Tartare, Dragon Boat Lettuce Wraps, Mama’s Meatballs, Calamari and Butter Chicken Poutine. My favourite were the Bang Bang Shrimp. I could probably have eaten these all by myself.

The mains were also tasty and the ones we tried included the Long Beach Fish Tacos, Red Thai Shrimp Curry and the Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak. The fish tacos were a fave amongst our whole group.

Definintely looking forward to going back to try out the dessert menu and for some more Bang Bang Shrimp!