Bacon-Feta Meatloaf

This meatloaf was inspired by our favorite Friday night pizza, the bacon feta. It turned out really well. The oregano adds a hint of the flavour of a pizza as that is the main herb in pizza sauce.

The ingredients below can be swapped out to suit any flavour profile you are craving. Swap out the veggies, herbs, and liquid to change the flavours.

 For the Meatloaf

 

2 lbs of ground beef

1 onion (diced)

2 cloves garlic (fine dice)

1 stalk of celery (diced)

1/3 cup of red wine (if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it)

2 1/2 cups of roughly chopped french bread

1 ½ tsp. dried oregano

1 cup milk

2 eggs (beaten)

1 Jalapeño (fine dice)

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

8-9 strips of bacon

Method:

Take out a large mixing bowl and a sautee pan. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Sautee the onion, garlic, celery, and jalapeno in olive oil until just turning brown. (Approx 6-8 mins)

Pour in the red wine and simmer it until the liquid has fully reduced (approx. 4 mins). This will intensify the flavor of the wine. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cut the french bread into about 1/2 inch chunks and soak it in the milk in a shallow dish. Soak this for about 5 - 10 mins, turning a few times, until the bread has soaked up all of the milk. Once the milk is fully soaked into the bread, transfer the bread to a cutting board and chop the it up into a fine dice. Add the bread to the mixing bowl along with the rest of the ingredients.

Make sure not to over mix the ingredients as this may make it too dense.

Form the meat into a rectangular block on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Take the bacon and wrap it around the meat. Put into the oven for 1 ½ hours or until a thermometer reaches 160 degrees. Let the meatloaf sit for 10 minutes to rest before slicing. Enjoy!

 

Almost Traditional Ukrainian Borscht

10-12 Medium Beets (peeled and diced)
2 Onions (diced)
8 strips of bacon diced
½ can tomato paste
6 carrots (shredded)
½ head of white cabbage (shredded)
2 Russet Potatoes (diced)
8-9 tomatoes (peeled and diced or canned)
1 L beef stock
1-2 L water

First, take your bacon and dice it very small. Then, in a deep soup pot, brown off the bacon. Make sure not to let it get crispy, just brown.  

 

 

TIP: If you put some water (about ½ cup) in with the bacon it will evenly distribute the heat and render of the fat. Once this is done, the water will evaporate off and you will be left with just the oil and the bacon will then brown perfectly. This will make it easier to control and also will leave you with uniformly browned or crisped bacon. This works every time.

Drain off the fat into a small bowl and take the bacon out of the pot. Keep the fat, we will use this later. You will be left with some little brown bits on the bottom of the stock pot now. This is total flavour, so pour the beef stock and water in there and scrape the bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Bring the stock to a simmer while you peel and dice the beets.

Put the beets in the simmering stock and work on the rest of the veg. Once the beets have simmered for a few minutes, add the bacon. This will give a nice subtle smoky undertone to the soup. The bacon is totally untraditional, but hey, bacon is awesome and Ukrainians love the stuff too, so why not!

Once you have simmered the beets for 15 minutes or so, put in the shredded carrot, diced potato, tomatoes, and cabbage. Let this simmer.

Take a skillet out and put some of the bacon fat in it on medium-high.  Dice the onions and sweat them in the pan. Do not brown them; just cook them until they are translucent. Now add the tomato paste to the onions. Stir it around to incorporate it and cook it for a few minutes. This will intensify the flavour. Add about ¼ cup of water to the skillet and dissolve the tomato paste in it and add this to the pot.

 

 

Simmer the entire soup for a couple of hours.

 

Serve with fresh dill and a dollop of sour crème….and a big shot of vodka!

За здоровя!

 

 

 

Ceviche de Camarón

This is a wonderful method of serving any white fish, conch, or shrimp. The lime juice in the dish actually cooks the meat and marinades it.

They serve this dish, in numerous variations, throughout Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Serve this on a tortilla chip with some hot sauce for a refreshing picnic/beach idea that will never spoil in the sun.

The ingredient list on this recipe is very loosly done. There is no set amount of things, just make sure you have roughly equal parts of the veggies (excluding the Serrano and Cilantro) and you will be fine.

Ingredients:

1 Large Field Cucumber
2-3 Carrots
3 Roma Tomatoes (Seeded)
3 Serrano Chilies (Seeded)
1/2 large Red Onion
1 Handful of Cilantro
3 lbs of raw shrimp (deveined and shelled)
10-15 limes (Juiced)
1 tbs Olive Oil
3-5 dashes of Franks Hot Sauce


Wash and cut the limes in half and squeeze the juice into a large bowl. I have a wonderful juicer that I use (see photo) that makes ceviche a breeze. Doing this by hand can prove to be tedious.

Wash the shrimp and cut into small pieces (1/2 or 1/3). Place the shrimp in the lime juice. Make sure that the shrimp are covered by the lime juice. If not, squeeze limes into the bowl until they are all covered. This will cook the shrimp. Let this sit for around 1 hour, until the shrimp appear "cooked". They are not cooked yet but the process has started.

Meanwhile, dice all the veggies into very small pieces. This will be a test of your knife skills.

TIP: For the cucumber, peel and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds with a spoon, as pictured.

TIP: To dice an onion, cut it in half from tip to tip and cut off the end that grows, leaving the small nub on the end. Remove the skin. Make 2-3 cuts, parallel to the cutting board, but don't cut right through. Now cut small slices lengthwise without cutting entirely through. (see photos)


Once your cuts are done, you can proceed to chop the onion moving from the cut end to the back. This will give you a perfect dice every time without mangling the onion. Quick and easy.

 Once the cucumber, carrot, tomato and onion are cut, you can deseed the Serrano chili. Cut the chili in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Remember to wash your hands thoroughly or you will burn your skin, especially your eyes, if you touch them after handling the pepper. Cut the pepper into super small dice.

Wash a large handful of Cilantro, dry it off with a towel and chop it roughly. Once you have all of your veg prepped and the shrimp have sat for a good hour, you can add the rest of the ingredients and stir.

Let this sit overnight in the fridge, covered and you are ready to enjoy!

Serve on a tortilla chip with a dash of hot sauce.

¡buen provecho!

BBQ'd Ancho Rubbed Shrimp with Peach Glaze & Mango Salsa

This is a 20-25 minute recipe that is super easy and equally impressive looking.

For the salsa:
2 ripe mangos (small dice)
1 serrano chilli (deseeded and diced super small)
1/2 red pepper (small dice)
1 handful of fresh cilantro (chopped)
3-4 chives (chopped)
The juice of 1 lime
1 large splash of olive oil
pinch of salt

Cut all ingredients roughly the same size except for the Serrano (you could sub out jalapeño or any other spicy pepper). Combine and let sit in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

For the shrimp:

I used large Pacific Shrimp but anything large enough to sit on the BBQ grate is fine. Devein and shell the shrimp and rinse. Rub with an ancho chili rub. Start your BBQ and get it screaming hot. Let the rub work for 10-15 mins before grilling.

For the rub:



This is my secret rub, so I won't put the proportions, but the ingredients are black pepper, kosher salt, sugar, onion powder, mustard powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and freshly ground dried ancho chilies.






For the Glaze:



This is a super easy trick...take peach jam (or apricot or whatever) and add a splash of orange juice (or apple) and stir. This glaze is awesome on BBQ'd shrimp.

Cooking:


Put the shrimp on wood skewers that have been soaked in water for 10-15 minutes to prevent burning. Place them on the hottest part of the grill and only cook them for about 2 minutes on each side. Brush the shrimp on the cooked sides with the glaze to coat. Once the shrimp change color, they are done. Hopefully you will have a bit of char on them as it enhances the flavour.

Serve the shrimp with the salsa and eat together. This could go with some rice...TIP cook your rice with chicken broth instead of water to enhance the flavour.

Cast Iron Steak

This method of cooking a steak is so good that you won't even miss the BBQ taste...plus, you can enjoy a great steak in the dead of winter. Within this post are some really great tips that transfer to all steak cookery. Use them, and you will have perfect steak every time.

First of all, you need to make sure to purchase the right steak. For any method of cooking, you need to make sure that there is a decent amount of marbling within the steak. Marbling is the little flecks of fat that run through the steak. This fat will keep your steak juicy and tender. Without fat, your steak will be tough and dry everytime. The steaks I used are New York Strips that I purchased at my local butcher. You can see the little specks of fat all through the steak and also the great fat cap around the edge. Don't be afraid to ask for well marbled steak when you buy it.

Make sure to let your meat (of any kind) sit out and warm to room temperature before cooking. This will make for even cooking. Also, when meat is cooked directly out of the fridge, it tends to tighten up. Letting it rest on the counter prior to cooking allows the meat to relax before you cook it and this will improve your tenderness ten fold. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

Next up is seasoning. I am a purist when it comes to my steak. It is my opinion that all you need is salt and pepper. When seasoning your steak, use kosher salt. Kosher salt has a  lighter taste than regular table salt and is larger than normal salt. This makes a nice crust on the steak and also makes it easier to evenly sprinkle on. The key to salting your meat (of any kind) is to take a pinch and sprinkle it from a good two feet above the meat. This will ensure you get an even coat. Liberally salt your beef. It can handle it. Also, use a good amount of pepper...beef and pepper are best friends.

Heat up your skillet to as high as it will go. I love to use my cast iron skillet for this. Open a window and take the batteries out of your smoke alarm because it is going to get incredibly smoky. Once your pan is screaming hot, put your steaks in and press down on them a bit to make sure you have the whole surface in contact with the skillet. Set a timer for 2 minutes and DO NOT TOUCH YOUR STEAK. Turn it over and set your timer for another 2 minutes. I REPEAT, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR STEAK. Flip your steak over once again and put it in the oven. Set your timer for another 3 minutes and take it out.

TIP: Stop playing with your food while it cooks, especially on the BBQ. We have all seen those people who constantly turn and flip and move the meat on the Q. This will release the juices from the meat and dry it out. Also, do not press on your meat! When you do this, you are committing food murder! Resist the temptation to press down and get that impressive flare up that you love so much...your food will thank you for it.

Remove the steak from the pan and transfer it to a plate to rest.

TIP: Add a nub of butter on top and a sprig of rosemary if you have it.  The little nub of butter is a steakhouse trick that really sets your steak apart from the norm. I sometimes make a compound butter with red wine vinegar and shallots that goes on my steak...this will really kick it up. Regular butter is just fine though. (Please don't use margerine..that still is vile)

TIP: I dipped my rosemary in boiling water (that I was using for carrots) prior to using it. This little trick will awaken the essential oils in the rosemary.

Cover the steaks loosely with foil and let them rest for 5 minutes. Use this practice with all of your meats. If you don't let your meat rest, the juices will all come out. When you cook meat, the heat makes the juices "go crazy" inside and allowing your meat to rest lets them relax and disperse back into the muscle.

TIP: Let all steaks, chops, chicken breasts rest for 5-10 minutes and allow a roast to rest for 30 minutes before you carve them. When cooking a turkey, I allow the bird to rest as long as I cooked it. This Christmas, my bird was in the oven for 2 1/2 hours and it rested for that long after as well.

Strawberry Parfait with Balsamic Reduction

This recipe is really all about the balsamic reduction for the parfait. The reduction, or syrup, is incredibly complex and delicious and goes on so many dishes. It is not only great on ice cream or gelato, but would be wicked drizzled on a Filet Mignon with some crumbled goat cheese. It doesn't hurt that it is incredibly easy and impressive at the same time. By the way, there are very few calories and zero fat in Balsamic Vinegar... :) Your welcome.

Balsamic Reduction:

2 cups good quality Balsamic Vinegar
4 tsp white sugar

Combine the ingredients in a small pot and bring to a simmer.

Let the mixture simmer until it has reduced by about 3/4. You can check the readiness of it by dipping a spoon in the pot. If the reduction covers the spoon and does not drip off, it is ready.

Take the reduction off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. This stores in your fridge for weeks. Enjoy the accolades from your friends....and don't tell them how easy it is.

Handmade Pizza

I have just started experimenting with pizza and I have to say, this pizza crust rivals any restaurant that I am able to get pizza at.

The Dough:

1 3/4 cup warm water
1 Tbs Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 tsp Dry Active Yeast
1 1/2 tsp White Sugar
3 1/4 cup White Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

Pour the water into a large bowl and mix in the oil, salt, yeast, and sugar. The mixture won't dissolve completely, don't worry about it.

Add the flour and mix until it forms a consistent dough. The best way to do this is with the handle-end a wooden spoon. This will ensure you don't over mix and also will keep the clumps of dough off the spoon.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap but leave a small opening so that the gas can escape. Let this sit at room temperature for 2 hours to rise.

Put the dough in the fridge for at least 3 hours with the loose plastic wrap on it still.

Now, you can cut the dough into grapefruit-sized balls (feeds about 2-3 people each) and freeze them if you like. Make sure to freeze them individually in zip lock baggies. If you freeze them, put them in the fridge overnight to thaw.

Let the dough rest at room temp for 30 mins - 1 hour to get back up to room temperature.

Take the dough out of the bowl /plastic baggie and stretch it into a ball by folding it into  itself a few times. Don't do this too many times or it will toughen the dough.Let the dough rest for another 15-20 mins.

Now you are ready to stretch or roll out your dough. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and place on a olive oil greesed cookie sheet for thin crust, or use your hands to push it out on the sheet for thicker crust.

Start your oven to as hot as it'll go. (about 550 degrees)

The sauce:

You can use any store bought sauce or make your own by pureeing a can of whole tomatoes and simmering it until it reduces by about half. You can add some chopped basil to this if you like.

Suggested Toppings:

There are so many combinations that you could use. The one pictured here is a half-and-half pizza:

Side 1: Cherry Tomato, Mozzerella & Basil (drizzled with olive oil after cooking)
Side 2: Chorizo Sausage, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper and jalapeno (Yes, it's as good as it sounds)

The taste is really dependent on where and how you place the toppings. Here are some suggestions of my favorites:

Topping Proceedure Placement Caramelized Onion Saute (on low heat) sliced onion for about 30 mins Bottom above sauce Roasted Red Pepper I would just buy the jarred ones but you can throw them on the   Top  BBQ until the skin blackens. Put them into a ziplock bag for This will loosen the skin and you can just peel it off Chorizo Open the sausage casing and sautee in olive oil until crispy Top  Roasted Garlic Cut a head of garlic in half and drizzle olive oil over the cut half.  Top or under cheese Wrap the in tin foil and cook at 375 for 1 hour Prosciutto Proscuitto is basically Italian, dry-cured ham. Just lay it over the  Top top of the pizze, raw and it'll crisp up. Go easy…it's salty Jalapeno or Poblano Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds and white part. This Anywhere  is where all the heat lies. You can then dice them up and sprinkle them on the pizza. Great pepper taste without killing your tounge.  Basil Leaves Just rub a slight bit of olive oil on the leafs and place them on the very top.  Top They will crisp up and taste incredible Arugula This peppery lettuce goes great on top of bold pizzas (like my caramelized  Top onion and chorizo) Put it on AFTER the cooking
Cook your pizza at 550 for 12 minutes, or until the crust bubbles and starts to turn deep brown. Let your pizza rest for 2 or 3 minutes before you cut into it.

Ancho Rubbed BBQ Beef Ribs

I have been playing around in the kitchen with rubs for the past few years and I think the one I made tonight is going to be the stand alone winner. 

My wife is an artist and is going to sell her art at the Brandon Summer market this year. This turned out so well that I have decided to make this rub and sell it at the market as well.

My Ancho Rub is a subtly spicy, fully flavored rub that would go excellently with beef, pork, or chicken. Freshly ground Cayenne and Ancho Chili Peppers add nice kick and a great smoke flavor without having to use a smoker. Ingredients include; black pepper, garlic, fresh Cayenne and Ancho Chilies. 

If you would like a tin of this rub, please email me and I can send them out using PayPal . ($8 + shipping)

Add the ingredients for your rib rub in a bowl and mix well. Take out the ribs and put them in a shallow pan to sit. Put the rib rub mixture onto the ribs and pour a bit of vegetable oil on top. Rub the oil and rub mixture all over the ribs and massage them for a minute. Cover the ribs with foil and place them in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but the longer the better.

Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Take your ribs out of the oven and open them up. Pour ½ cup of red wine and ½ cup of beef stock into the bottom of the pan to keep the ribs moist. Cook the ribs for 3-3.5 hours.

To finish the ribs, take them out of the oven and light your grill with one side on blazing hot and the other side on about medium heat. Put the ribs, meat side down, on the blazing hot side for about 2 minutes and turn them over and do the same to the other side. Move the ribs over to the cooler side of the BBQ and baste them with BBQ sauce. I used Bullseye Kickin Chicken and Rib. Its got a bit of sweet and kick in it.

Close the BBQ and cook for minutes or so and baste once more and cook for another few minutes. Take your ribs off and cover them with foil to rest for 5 or 8 minutes. Enjoy!

Carne Asada

This is one of my death row meals. I miss the carne asada and arricherra from Mexico so much. I have never perfectly replicated the Arricherra Marinada from our "home town", Torreon, but this version is pretty damn good. Usually, the Torreon version has beer added into the marinade. Use a nice large flank steak that is not thicker than 1/4 inch.

For the Marinade:

4 Garlic cloves
1 Jalapeno
1 large handful of cilantro
Kosher salt and pepper
2 limes
1 orange
2 tbs white vinegar
1/2 cup Olive Oil

Crush up the garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper in a mortar and pestle until it forms a paste. Mix the wet ingredients in a bowl and add the ingredients from the mortar. Mix very well

Put your flank steak into a large baking dish and pour the marinade over it. Let the steak marinade in the fridge for 5-8 hours. Do not let this sit for more than 8 hours or the lime juice will start to break down the meat too much and it will give a mushy consistancy.

Grill the meat on the highest heat possible without closing the lid on the BBQ. This needs to cook very quickly to make sure that the meat is as tender as possible. Do not cook a flank past med-rare. Flank is very tough if cooked incorrectly, but amazing if done right.

Let the meat rest for at least 10 minutes to make sure that the juices stay in the steak when you cut it. Cut the steak against the natural grain of the muscle, into strips. This will also help to ensure tenderness.

Add the steak to grilled corn tortillas and add your condiments (my favorites):

Salsa Verde (Tomatillo Salsa)
A squirt of Lime
A small handfull of cilantro
  -- the stocks have great flavour, too! Don't just take the leaves. Also, if you find cilantro with the root on it still, those are great. Try frying them in oil for a minute or so and you will get great scented cooking oil for your curries.)

Hand Made Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

I finally received a pasta roller for Christmas this year and was eager to put it to the test. Here is my version of a pretty classic Italian dish...

Pasta Dough:

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
3 eggs
Pinch of salt

Filling:

1 lb fresh spinach
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbl salt
1 large tub of Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
2 tbl cream
4 Tbl Parmesan Cheese (grated)
¼ tsp fresh nutmeg
Pinch black pepper

Sauce:

1 large can whole tomatoes (San Marzano are best)
1 onion (Small dice)
1 small bunch of basil
2 cloves garlic

For the pasta:

Pile the flour on a clean working surface and make a well in the middle. Crack the eggs into the well, add salt and scramble with a fork. 

 Slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs using a fork and then your hands until all of the flour is into the eggs.

Kneed the dough for 10-12 minutes until the surface becomes shiny. Pat the dough with a few drops of good olive oil and wrap in saran. Rest the dough at room temperature for about an hour before rolling it out.

Cut the pasta into 4 pieces and roll it into sheets according to your pasta machine.

For the filling:

Sautee the spinach, nutmeg, and salt in olive oil until it becomes fully wilted. Set aside to cool. 

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. When the spinach is cooled, squeeze any moisture out and add it to the mixture. Fold in. Put the spinach and ricotta mixture into a ziplock bag and cut off one corner to create a piping bag.

Pipe the spinach and ricotta mixture onto the sheets of pasta leaving room to create ravioli.

Scramble one egg and brush it onto the dough between the piles of mixture. This will act as a glue for the top half of the dough. Place a sheet of dough on top of the ravioli and press out any air. Cut into ravioli shapes and pinch the edges to make sure the seal doesn’t break.


One lesson that I learned was not to stack the ravioli when you make them. They will stick together regardless of the amount of flour you dust them with. Make sure to lay them as a single layer on a pan or large platter. 

For the sauce:

Sautee the whole garlic cloves in olive oil over medium heat and discard them when they have turned brown. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Open the can of tomatoes and blend with a hand blender or food processor. cook the sauce for 4-5 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. Add torn basil leaves right before serving.

To finish:

Boil a pot of heavily salted water and cook the ravioli for 3-4 minutes. Add the ravioli to the sauce and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

My ravioli was a bit too large and perogi-esq. I would make them a bit smaller than this next time...but a good first attempt.