My New Favourite Way To Make Meatballs.

J'adore the Food Network. I could watch cooking shows for hours and hours, and in fact do. I am a little sad about how much of the programming time has been taken over by "reality" cooking shows/competitions. I find that there is increasingly less cooking and more drama happening on a regular basis. Honestly if I wanted to watch drama I'd be on a different station.

So please Food Network Gods, if you're out there and you hear me, can the reality shows, nix the constant re-runs of 10 episodes of restaurant make-over and amp up the cooking. Afterall you are called The FOOD Network.

One show I surely can't get enough of is Jamie At Home. So it's no surprise how excited I was when I was given the book for a gift. And for the record it is quite lovely. A little while ago I brought this very book over to my friends house so that we could cook dinner for her parents. We decided on the quick sausage meatballs with tomato and basil sauce spaghetti. I'm not really fond of the name but I definitely like the dish.

I honestly don't know why I never thought to make meatballs out of sausages before. Cut the casing on the sausage and push the meat out in little hunks, form them into meatballs, cook. It's simple yet delicious. And depending on what kind of sausages you buy, the flavour combination is endless.

Since we were making a pasta dish we decided to accompany it with some bruschetta. Nothing like fresh bread piled high with tomatoes, onions, garlic....yum.

Everything about this dish was simple but tasty. I've always liked how Jamie Oliver can jump from basic meals to more lavish dishes, but he always builds a really solid flavour base. As any good chef can do. Even the pasta sauce, not much more than crushed tomatoes, basil, garlic and a couple simple spices was bang on. I do also happen to love a good pasta sauce...and I'm fussy. To be honest I just about never order pasta when I go out for dinner because I am almost always disappointed with it. But I will eat it constantly at home in every way, shape and form.

Okay, so I have a bit of a confession to make now. Despite all the camera action going on in the kitchen that day we somehow, in our excitement to eat, forgot to take a picture of the main dish. I have all the bits and pieces documented but the final thing all put together...not so much. So I've been forced to include the picture from the book as a substitute. I'll try harder to tamp down my overeagerness to eat next time to take a picture.

By some strange fluke, I did somehow manage to take pictures of the super cute bowls that we ate from. I think my priorities got a little mixed up that day. Frankly, I blame the pre, during and post dinner drinks.

A Thanksgiving Dinner Built For Two.

Thanksgiving was this past weekend. Which of course means food, food, more food, cooking, baking, food and...oh yeah food! I ended up with 3 separate dinners. One being the standard family get together, another one with my brother's girlfriends family and the last (even though it was the first to be eaten) one being a dinner for two with The Boy.



Cory's and my family dinners were allotted to happen on the same day so neither of us were going to get to attend the others. However we both wanted to have Thanksgiving dinner (our first one in fact) together. So I decided the only course of action was for me to make a meal on the Friday for just the two of us.

I didn't want to make a whole turkey, but I did want the look of turkey, so I went with a couple of cornish hens. I really like cornish hens because you can serve one per person and they hold the perfect amount of stuffing for one serving. Though those little wings have a tendency to burn really badly if you don't tie them back. So, unfortunately for me, trussing is a must.



Fact: my trussing is not exactly picture perfect. I tend to be a little awkward at it and drop the bird and the string multiple times before I manage to get it all tied up. Cornish hens only make it harder for me since they are even smaller. As the saying goes the smaller they are...the harder they are to truss. Okay so there is no actual saying but you get my point. Keep on trussing. (okay I'll stop now)



I accompanied my birds with a Cranberry Wild Rice Stuffing and Oven Roasted Root Vegetables. Let me state now that I will never make traditional stuffing if I can help it. I have a strong dislike for bread stuffing. No matter how many times I try it I just don't like it. So I was really happy when I found a recipe years ago in a pocket sized Canadian Living magazine (long since lost) for the wild rice stuffing. It is just to die for. At least in my opinion.



Now how about a desert? Low and behold I still had a little bit of pumpkin puree leftover along with some frozen tart shells. So I made mini pumpkin tarts to finish off the meal (and thankfully that huge can of pumpkin!).



And of course I'm never the one to forget a generous dollop of whipped cream! Sometimes too generous..at least when I'm "dolloping" it into my mouth instead of onto the desert. Cory did manage, at the risk of life and limb, to wrestle the bowl of whipped cream away from me and into the freezer. Though I'm sure he snuck a few spoonfuls first!



A wonderful meal for us to share, even if it did end up being eaten at 10:00pm. And Cory even cleaned up all the dishes afterwords.

And, for those of you who don't like traditional stuffing or just want to try something different here is the aforementioned stuffing recipe.

Cranberry Wild Rice Stuffing
Adapted from a Canadian Living recipe

• 3 TBSP each Butter & Oil
• 1 Large Onion; Chopped
• 1 Cup Chopped Carrots
• 1 Cup Craisons
• 3 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 TBSP each Thyme & Sage
• 1 1/4 Cup Uncooked Wild & Long Grain Rice Blend
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1/2 Cup White Cranberry Cocktail
  

In a pot, heat butter & oil until butter had completely melted. Add in the chopped onions, carrots and craisons. Cook until they are tender.

Stir in the balsamic vinegar, thyme, sage and rice. Add the chicken broth and the juice.

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer covered until all liquid is absorbed and rice is fully cooked. (If the liquid is almost gone but rice is not cooked add a little bit more broth or juice and continue to cook)

Stuff into the cavity of a turkey or chicken. It can also be served right out of the pot as a side dish.

Pumpkin Pancakes...Not Just For Breakfast.

I guess I bought a really big can of pureed pumpkin. Even after all those Iced Pumpkin Cookies I still had lots to spare. Needless to say I decided to make some pumpkin pancakes with some of the leftovers. But, being me, I naturally decided to make them for dinner on one cold fall evening last week. They were definitely just what the doctor ordered.


I know what you're thinking now: why are your pancakes triangles? Well, the funny thing about my pancake cooking technique is that I don't particularly like to cook pancakes in a frying pan. The oil/butter is always too hot or too cold or my sad excuse for a stove isn't working right. Plus I hate standing around waiting for them to bubble. So I stand by my tried and true method of cooking them in my handy dandy sandwich maker.

Yes you heard me correctly, I cook my pancakes in my sandwich maker. And they are wonderful! I can pour the batter in, close the lid and walk away knowing they won't end up burnt. The dual heat from both sides at once allows them to rise much thicker then they would in a pan, becoming fluffy morsels of goodness. And the convenient triangular shape is perfect for on the go snacking.


And really? How sad would it be if I only used my sandwich maker for grilled cheese when in fact many things can be made in it? My parents model even came with a recipe for Twinkies!!!! Which for some odd reason I have yet to attempt to make....though I'm sure my curiosity will win out sometime soon. But, in the meantime, pancakes are the name of the game.

Pumpkin Pancakes
Adapted from many assorted pancake recipes the I have accumulated

• 1 Cup Canned Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 - 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice ( or a mixture of cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg)
• 2 TBSP Brown Sugar
  
• 1 Cup Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry and mix until just combined.

Cook using your standard pancake making method....or if you have a sandwich maker pour some batter in and give it a try.

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin: A Little Taste of Fall

October is here! Over the past week I've traded in my sun dresses for leggings, boots and sweaters. My umbrella has become a permanent resident inside my purse and my cravings for pumpkin everything have begun. October is by far my most favourite month. I may flirt with Springtime, and have a serious crush on the Summer but my heart will always lay with Fall.

Since this weekend marked the beginning of October, and baked goods for a car ride trip were requested (*cough* demanded *cough*), I figured now was as good a time as any to crack open that pureed pumpkin and get baking.

As it so happens I used to HATE pumpkin. I loved buying them, scooping out the insides and carving a face into them. But I just didn't like to eat them. I don't know if it was the spices most people used or the pumpkin itself, I was having nothing to do with it! I do, however, have a rule for myself when it comes to food. Every year or two I will force myself to try out a food that I have previously disliked. Weather it is in a dish I have had before or a new preparation I have to try it.

This little experimentation has actually allowed me to learn to enjoy some things that I have previously disliked. I've done it with brussel sprouts, ginger (albeit in very small doses) and even oatmeal. Granted with the oatmeal I simply had to get past the texture by forcing myself to eat it every day for 2 weeks until I loved it. But I digress.

It so happens that last year around this time I volunteered to cook a Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. One thing that my Father demanded was pumpkin pie. Naturally I did not want to make one, but decided to give it a shot anyways. I ended up making a slightly less traditional version of it and made myself try at least one bite. Well turns out that I liked it and it sent me off onto a pumpkin baking spree for the rest of the fall. Thank goodness for changing palettes!

This year I'm kicking off my fall baking with some Iced Pumpkin Cookies. I can't remember where I got the recipe from, but it is a delicious one. They're soft and chewy, even a few days after they are made, and have almost a muffin like consistency. Good thing it makes about 3 dozen cookies because they go fast!


Iced Pumpkin Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt

For The Icing

• 2 cups icing sugar
• 2 TBSP milk
• 1 TBSP melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of your stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg, pumpkin & vanilla.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Pour into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until combined.

Drop the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes then remove and cool on a wire wrack.

Combine together the ingredients for the icing. (I ended up with a lot of icing left over so you may want to halve the amount and make more if you run out). Drizzle, or if your like me spread a generous amount, of icing onto cooled cookies. Store in an air tight container.