Ham and Shell Salad

 I used the following recipe with alterations to the dressing and no cheese or onions. It turned out OK. Next time I would add a herb of some kind and more salt. I only used miracle whip and the juice from a full lemon as my dressing. The amount of miracle whip was to taste as well as to a thickness I was looking for. I also used a ham steak then rendered the fat and let it cool. I wanted bigger ham chunks than deli meat. Looking back on it, this recipe was more of inspiration/guideline than actually following the directions

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/148470/ham-and-shell-salad/

Easy Meatball Recipe

 My wife recently made sweet and sour meatballs on white rice and I really enjoyed the meatballs.

This was the recipe she used and I wanted to capture it on my site: https://lilluna.com/easy-homemade-meatballs/

She did not however share her sweet and sour recipe. If I get that I will edit this post.

Chilean Colo de Mono

 My grandma recently passed away, which left a huge void in so many ways. One of the Christmas traditions we have is to drink Colo de Mono on Christmas eve. Since my grandma was not going to be able to make this drink for me and my family I took upon myself to make sure that we carry on her traditions. My version is a bit different and will never be as good as my grandmas. However I used the recipe found here (Colo de Mono). It turned out pretty good for my first attempt. 

There are a couple of suggestions that I have now that I have made the recipe. Making the cinnamon and clove extract too me closer to 20 minutes to reduce instead of the 30 minutes the recipe suggests. I may have just had a harder rolling simmer. The recipe also calls for one cup of liquor (I used Pisco), which makes a milder finished product which may not be a bad thing. It is easier to add more/adjust for personal preferences. Next time I would add a cup and a half.

I love and miss you very much Tati and I hope I made you proud 💓

G.G.'s Chocolate Sheet Cake

My wife and I were attending a potluck this weekend and we decided to have a dessert off. She made red velvet cupcakes and I made a chocolate cake. I wanted to win naturally. so even though chocolate cake is not at the top of my desserts that I enjoy I found a recipe with lots of great reviews. You can find the recipe here: GG's Chocolate Sheet Cake

It turned out pretty good. As the comments suggested I added an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder in the cake and icing. The pecans did add a nice texture contrast, but this can be achieved with your favourite nut, doesn't have to be pecans. It was pretty easy to make as well, which was a bonus. It was well received and I will be making this again in the future I am sure.

Enjoy!

Chilean Sopaipillas

Being 50 percent Chilean, we try and celebrate The Fiestas Patrias or Chilean independence day annually. My family makes Sopaipillas all the time, but I have never actually made them myself. This year I decided for the party that I would make Sopaipillas. I will admit I was nervous on two fronts; cooking with oil and meeting my families expectations. I found a recipe that sounded familiar to what my family used here: https://www.enmicocinahoy.cl/chilean-sopaipillas/

It was a bit different then the ones that I am used to but I think in a good way. It was a more fluffy or the dough rose more than I am used to but I enjoyed the change. In fact it was so good that my mom asked for the recipe, that must be a good sign.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

I have not been trying out new recipes of late so I apologize for the lack of content in the last three years. With our annual Christmas party held this pas weekend it gave me an excuse to try something new. I have owned a slow cocker for a while, but for what ever reason it does not get a lot of use. I was looking for a hot meal that I could prepair in the slow cooker and came acroos this recipe

https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/easy-slow-cooker-pulled-pork-30356

I added more BBQ sauce than they recommended and also added in some hot sauce to give it a bit more of a bite. Next time I would also use a bit less cumin as that overpowered the rest of the flavours for my pallet anyways.

Enjoy!

A Gathering of Links and recipes #7

Two more interesting recipe's that Gordon Ramsay recently tweeted out.

Meringues with vanilla and autumn berry cream http://twileshare.com/bapu

Sautéed scallops with sweet corn salsa http://twileshare.com/aytb

My colleague at work today brought in a delicious Mexican Bean and Rice Salad for our team pot luck. She used the following recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?recipeID=188444&origin=detail&servings=10&metric=false

With spring just around the corner, all three of these recipe's would be good out on the patio with a cold beer.

Enjoy!

Super Bowl 48 Recipes

I was hosting a Super Bowl party at my house yesterday and decided to try the following recipes from Brow Eyed Baker. I think they turned out very well and won't hesitate to use them again.

Soft Pretzel Recipe: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/01/07/soft-pretzels/

Guinness Beef Stew Recipe: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/03/13/guinness-beef-stew-recipe/

A Gathering of Links and recipes #6

Gordon Ramsay recently tweeted out two interesting sounding recipes that I thought I would share.

Lemon Meringue Pie http://twl.sh/12GO1ac

Spring Vegetable Risotto http://twitdoc.com/1VOB

Enjoy and if you make either of these please leave a comment and let us know how it went.

Home Made Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake
Ingredients

· 3/4 cups of shortening

· 1 1/2 cups of sugar

· 2 eggs

· 1/2 cup of milk

· 2 cups of flour

· 1/2 cup (6 tablespoons) of cocoa powder

· 2 teaspoons of baking soda

· 1 teaspoons of salt

· 1 teaspoons of vanilla

· 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

· 1 cup of boiling water
Instructions

Blend above ingredients. Next add 1 cup boiling water and mix well. Pour batter into a greased cake
pan (any size or shape including cup cakes). Bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in center of cake
comes out clean (approximately 30 minutes).

Mini Dutch Apple Pies

I recently attended an Around the World party. The concept was quite fun. Every person selects a unique country. You are then responsible for brining a food item and a drink item from your country. On top of that you also have to dress up like that country. Being a quarter Dutch, I selected the Netherlands. I cheated on my costume a bit as I I wore my Dutch #10 SNEIJDER jersey with soccer shorts and socks. I had it pretty easy for my drink as Heineken is from the Netherlands so that was my choice. As for my food item I decided to make Mini Dutch Apple Pies. They were quite tasty and the flavours were a lot different than your traditional North American Apple Pie flavours. Enjoy!

Mini Dutch Apple Pies

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 10 1/2 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 green apples, e.g. Granny Smith
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 3 tbsp sultanas
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 orange, zest and juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Rub the flour, butter and sugar between your thumbs and forefingers until the dough resembles bread crumbs. Add two egg yolks and one whole egg. Set the remaining egg whites aside.

Knead the dough until it forms a ball. If the dough is sticky (it should leave your hands relatively clean) add a little more flour and knead again. Cover in plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Peel and core the apples and dice into small cubes. Add to a saucepan, along with the nuts, sultanas, sugar and ground cinnamon. Stir until mixed and keep stirring until the sugar melts and thickens. Add the orange zest and -juice and allow to heat through. Place a lid on the saucepan, take it off the heat and allow to cool slightly while you get on with the rest.

Preheat the oven to 340 degrees F (170 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin (or use a silicone muffin tray).

Dust your work surface and hands with flour. Make 12 small apricot-sized balls between your hands and press flat on the work surface (about 1/8"/3 mm thick). Cover the rest of the dough with plastic wrap. Line the muffin cups with the dough, working it up the sides.

Drain the apple & sultana mix in a sieve, reserving the cooking liquid for later. Add the fruit to the pastry-lined muffin cups and fill to the top, tamping down the fruit with the back of a teaspoon. With the remaining dough, shape small balls (about half the size of the previous ones) into flat disks to fit the top of the pies.

Beat the egg whites and brush the tops of the pastry sides with egg white before pressing down the 'lids'. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.

A Gathering of Links and recipes #5

Here are some new recipes that I have tried the last two weeks:

White Chocolate Panna Cottoa with Raspberry coulis. This was a sweet but yummy dessert. I would recommend small servings sizes as it is pretty sweet. This recipe is also very easy to make.

Cream Cheese Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos. These are also very easy to make and super addictive. A tip that my wife learned the hard way is to make sure you use rubber gloves when cleaning and touching the Jalapeños :)

Risotto with Asparagus from the Food Network website

Banana Oat muffins from Gordon Ramsay

Enjoy!

A Gathering of Links and recipes #4

Here is a collections of recipes from Food Network

• Key Lime Pie
• Not a recipe per say but here is the list of the 100 best cooking tips
• Grits and Cheese Soufflé
• Maple French Toast and Bacon Cupckaes
• A list of recipes for making in a slow cooker
• Mini Pork Cheeseburgers
• Apple Crisp
• Chilli Corn Casserole
• Whole Pumpkin Pie Soup that is served in hallowed out pumpkin
• Gumbo
• Pumpkin Bars
• Pork Chops with apples and garlic smashed potatoes
• Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
• Pecan Caramel Spiders
• Pecan Pie

Here is a collection of recipes from Gordon Ramsay

• Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry's
• Speedy Beef Bourguignon
• Sheppard's Pie
• Honey Mustard Pork Chops
• Gazpacho with Parmesan Croutons
• French Toast with Caramelized Peaches
• Bruschetta

Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

·         1/2 cup of cream cheese at room temperature

·         3/4 cups of sugar powder

·         1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

INSTRUCTIONS

With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar powder and lemon zest until smooth and creamy

Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

·         3/4 cups of shortening

·         1 1/2 cups of sugar

·         2 eggs

·         1/2 cup of milk

·         2 cups flour

·         1/2 cup (6 tablespoons) of cocoa poweder 

·         2 teaspoons of baking soda

·         1 teaspoon of salt

·         1 teaspoon of vanilla

·         1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

·         1 cup of boiling water

INSTRUCTIONS

Blend above ingredients. Next add 1 cup boiling water and mix well. Pour batter into a greased cake pan (any size or shape including cup cakes). Bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (approximately 30 minutes).

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

·         1 1/2 cups flour

·         1/2 teaspoon of salt

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 cup pumpkin purée

·         1/2 cup olive oil

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         1/4 cup water

·         1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

·         1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1/2 teaspoon allspice

·         1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack. Can easily double the recipe.

Chris's Chocolate Chip and Walnut Banana Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 stick (½ cup) butter
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 medium overripe bananas
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup of chocolate chips
• ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350oF. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in the eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Mix well. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture, stir just to moisten. Pour the batter into meatloaf pan. Bake in preheated oven to 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 20 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack

A Gathering of Links and recipes #3

• Chris Cosentino gives a guide to his favourite spots in San Francisco
• Peach and Strawberry Crumble from Giada De Laurentiis
• Capellini Arrabiata, Orrechiette with asparagus,lemon, shrimp and cream, Cream of sweetcorn and Italian Panzanella salad from Gordon Ramsay
• Southern Baked Beans and Peach Cobbler from Paula Deen
• Bacon-Wrapped Splitters from the Food Network Website
• 9 Pickling Recipes for the Amateur Pickler from the Food 2 Website
• Alton Brown shows you how to brew the perfect cup of coffee
• World's 50 Most Delicious Foods according to CNN
• Bobby Flays Spice-Rubbed Chicken Breast Tacos
• Beer Can Grilled Chicken from Pat Neely

Fiasco Gelato Truck

The Calgary Food Truck revolution has hit the streets! There are currently 8 trucks on the streets and the first one that was on my list was Fiasco Gelato. The best way to find out where they are going to be serving their delicious gelato is to follow them on twitter @fiascogelato To see a list of all the food trucks visit the YYC Food Truck website. The first thing that I noticed was how friendly the staff was. We were the only customer at the time, but I got the feeling that these guys loved their job and their enthusiasm was nice. I had the bourbon french vanilla and mambi mango flavours. The mango was very good but it was also average. The french vanilla however was very good. I could tell by tasting as well as by looking at the gelato that they used fresh vanilla beans. The flavour was really good. The prices are a little bit expensive. I got a small for $4.50 which is pictured above. They also have a large for $6. You can get as many as three different flavours in one bowl which I appreciate because I usually have a hard time picking flavours.

My wife and I both think Amato gelato is better in quality but the service at Fiasco is WAY better. I would prefer Fiasco overall is the gelato is still very good.

Hello Stranger

Hey guys sorry for the lack of post this last month. It has been a busy summer and sadly I have not been cooking anything new lately. Nor have a been to many restaurants. I have been saving a whole bunch of twitter links which will be making an appearance in a blog later on tonight. I am on call this weekend which should give me a chance to do some cooking. I need to start cooking my way through James Beard's book.

In other exciting news I get to go to New York city on a business trip. I am not sure how much free time I will have but I hope to eat at at least one really famous high end restaurant. Right now the front runner is Le Bernardin. There tasting menu is only 140$. Check it out http://www.le-bernardin.com/tasting_menu.php

Hopefully you will see some more activity over on this site the next couple of weeks!