Mussels Florentine

Ok, I will admit to you all now, that this is my very first time cooking mussels.  Or for that matter anything that started out alive before I cooked it.  I'm not sure how this will turn out, but I am sharing my experience with you, and hopefully this is a really good recipe, and I will continue making it past today.

STEP ONE:
Check that mussels are still alive.
I've read, watched Youtube videos, and watched TV chefs explain how to check if the mussels are alive.  If they are closed, they are alive.  If they are slightly open or open all the way prior to cooking, try to get them to close the shell by pressing down, or tapping them on the counter.  Done.

This pile appear to be alive and kicking.

And this pile may have kicked the bucket prior to me boiling them in liquid.

Problem was, some of the alive ones, by the time I finished sorting them opened up again, and so I had to re-check if they were still alive.

STEP TWO:

I think this part scared me more than checking if they were alive and cooking them.

Basically they have little "beards" that are used for sticking to rocks in the ocean.  They don't all have beards apparently, so any that I could find I pulled off.  You grab hold of it, and yank until it comes off. (Sounds painful, but supposedly isn't.) 

STEP THREE:

Scrub them clean and keep in fridge until ready to cook.  Scrubbing them is easy.  I was also told by the butcher where I bought them to put in water in the fridge before cooking.  However, when I watched a video of how to de-beard them, the chef said NOT to put them in water because fresh water doesn't have enough oxygen for them, and just to cover them with a damp cloth. 

STEP FOUR:

Follow the recipe below to make Mussels Florentine.

Mussels Florentine

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh mussels
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter

Cooking Directions

1. In large pot or skillet (big enough to hold all the mussels) heat oil and cook onion and garlic until soft.
2. Add chicken stock and white wine to pan and heat to boiling.
   
3. Add spinach until heated through about 1 minute. 
4. Add mussels, cover pot, and cook.  After 3 minutes, stir mussels and continue cooking until all are open, about another 2 minutes.
   

5.  Add butter until melted.

6.  Serve immediately

By the way.  This experiment - this novice's cooking of mussels - turned out really well.  I served with a side of Fettuccine Alfredo and the mussels were really good.

I'm making them again this week for a dinner with my girlfriends.  This time adding a bit of cream to the sauce. 

Turkey Shepherd's Pie (or Cottage Pie)

Traditional Shepherd's Pie is supposed to be made with lamb, hence the name Shepherd's pie.  However, when I was growing up, lamb isn't something we could afford, and so my mother used to make a pie with ground beef, which I later would learn is called Cottage Pie.

No matter what you call it, it's a great winter dinner that can be prepared ahead of time and just heated up when you are ready for dinner.  The basic pie is made with any kind of ground meat or a combination of different ground meet, with your choice of vegetables*, topped with mashed potatoes.

Today I decided to use ground turkey as my base, for a lower fat version.  When you use ground turkey, you will have to add a little more liquid than you would using ground beef, lamb or pork or it will be too dry.  The recipe below is for using turkey.

*I always add corn to my Shepherd's Pie, but peas or shredded carrots (my mother's version) can be added or exchanged, depending on personal taste.

Turkey Shepherd's or Cottage Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 tbsp canola or lower fat oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp powdered beef bouillon
• 1 tsp powdered chicken or veg bouillon
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup frozen corn or peas or grated carrot
• 3 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp thyme

Cooking Directions

1. Prepare mashed potatoes first. Cut & peel potatoes and boil in salted water until cooked (about 20 minutes), mash and set aside.
   
   
   
   
2. Heat oil in large skillet and cook onion and garlic until tender.
3. Add ground meat and spices to skillet and cook until thoroughly cooked, about 5-10 minutes.
   
4. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture until covered.
   
5. Add bouillon to boiling water, and pour over meat mixture.
   
6. Continue cooking and stirring often, until a gravy has formed.
7. Add vegetables to skillet and stir until well combined.
   
8. Pour meat-vegetable mixture into baking dish and press down until smooth.
   
9. Spoon mashed potatoes onto top of meat until completely covered.
10. If you want you can spoon 2 tbsp butter over top of potatoes (can be omitted if you wanted.)
11. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until heated through.

Meringue Fail aka how to fix a burned pie topping

Today is affectionately called Superbowl Sunday.  Well affectionately by sports fans in particular, and reluctantly by those who love sports fans and the eating that is associated with Superbowl Sunday.

Our group has two different parties.  One at one house for the "boys" and one at another for the "girls".  We girls call our event the "Sportsingbowl".  We basically use it as an excuse to drink wine, eat excessive amounts of food, and enjoy the halftime show.

Besides all the typical Superbowl or Sportsingbowl foods, I usually offer pie as my contribution, because well, who doesn't like pie, and it's the best thing I make.

Since we women have a more discerning pallet, for us it's coconut cream and chocolate cream pie.  For the men it's basic lemon meringue - both lemon meringue and coconut cream have been featured in my blog previously.

Everything was going really well until I wasn't paying attention to my meringue under the broil and this is what it looked like after I peeled it off the pie.

Yes even experienced bakers make goofs sometimes.  But just because you've burned your meringue on top of your pie, it doesn't mean you have to throw it out or start the whole pie again.

Just peel off the burned parts, whip up another couple of egg whites, and try again.  And this is what you get.

A perfectly lovely lemon meringue pie, that unless you're reading this blog, you had no idea that the original meringue was a black mess.

I will share my recipe for easy chocolate cream pie on another blog.  But for now GO SPORTSING PEOPLE who ever you are!

Bacon Wrapped Pork with Mustard Cream Sauce

I'm always looking for new and interesting ways of cooking the everyday ordinary pork chop.  Having some leftover uncooked bacon from Christmas morning inspired me to create this gem tonight for dinner.  Along with some amazing sauce encouraged by my daughter to invent, this was a nice hardy cold winter supper.

As a side, adding some nice herb roasted potatoes to accompany pork chops is always a hit, so I've included that easy recipe as well. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Pork Chops with Mustard Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 thick cut boneless pork chops
• 8 pieces uncooked bacon
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp reserved bacon/pork fat
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup white wine or white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp flour

Cooking Directions

1. Sprinkle salt & pepper on both sides of pork chops.
2. Wrap each chop in 2 pieces of bacon.
3. Heat olive oil in heavy skillet.
4. Cook chops (all 4 sides) for about 10 minutes until browned, and bacon almost cooked.
   
5. Place in baking pan and continue cooking for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. Reserve 2 tbsp of fat cooked from pork and bacon.
7. Combine flour, chicken stock, garlic, honey, and mustard, and cook in the same pan as pork was originally cooking in.
   
8. As some of the liquid starts to reduce and thicken, add cream and heat through.
9. Add white wine and continue cooking until a nice sauce forms.
10. Plate cooked chops, and pour some of the sauce on chops. Keeping any extra for "gravy" or if more sauce is required.

Herbed Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 white potatoes cubed
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1/4 tsp dried dill weed
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 1 tbsp Olive oil

Cooking Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Leaving skin on the potatoes, cut into bite sized cubes and put in baking dish.
3. Pour olive oil over potatoes and mix until well-coated.
4. Add all herbs & spices, and mix until well-coated.
5. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until edges start to brown and crisp.

How to Host a Christmas Master-Chef-Chopped Party - Part One

I love the TV shows Masterchef and have recently started enjoying Chopped.  I have done previous cooking challenges with my friends similar to the challenges on the show Masterchef.   There's been one mystery box with normal ingredients, and an hour to cook a surprise main entree for my friends.  

I love doing these challenges because it gives me an opportunity to experiment.  My girlfriends, however, have recently decided I needed a bigger challenge. They suggested that I try to cook a 3 course meal with some "weird" ingredients like the professional chefs do on Chopped.  I am not a professional chef, but nevertheless - I accepted this challenge.

Since they brought me 3 different "mystery boxes" - one for an app, one for a main, and one for dessert.  I had 30 minutes to create and serve the app.  For the main, I had 60 minutes, and for dessert only 30 minutes again.  There was also an additional challenge - each of the boxes contained at least one "festive" item since it's the Christmas season. I could use anything else found in my personal kitchen pantry.

I'm going to blog on this in three different posts - so stay tuned.

Challenge #1 - The appetizer.

Ingredients I was given:

• Sesame Rice Crisps crackers
• Chicken cutlets - thinly sliced chicken breasts
• Fresh cranberries *FESTIVE ITEM
• After Eight chocolate mints *FESTIVE ITEM

Ingredients I used from my pantry:

• Goat cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Dried oregano
• Honey
• Orange juice
• Olive Oil
• Freshly grated Parmasean cheese
• Egg slightly beaten

This is what I did:

- in a food processor crushed the crackers and added parm. cheese, salt & pepper

- placed crumbs in a large plastic bag

- coated chicken in egg, then placed in plastic bag to coat with cracker mix

- took small piece of goat cheese, and placed in centre of chicken pieces.

- rolled up chicken over goat cheese

- heated oil in iron skillet, then placed rolled chicken in skillet and cooked, turning now & then until golden brown and cooked right through - about 20 minutes.

- while chicken was cooking, I put cranberries, honey, orange juice and about 8 After Eight chocolates in a medium sauce pan and heated until cranberries were soft and cooked

- placed cranberry sauce on plate, and placed cooked chicken on top. 

*RESULTS: This was a tasty appetizer.  I thought the chocolate might ruin the taste of the cranberries, but it enhanced them.  You could only barely taste the chocolate and mint, but it made the cranberry sauce have a richer flavour.  This challenge was a success. 

Served with a dry white wine - Peller Estates Dry White

Coming next....the main. 

Whipped Shortbread

Nothing invokes the onset of Christmas more than shortbread in our family.   I got this recipe from a work colleague when I was 18, and I've been baking shaped shortbread cookies every Christmas since then.

There are very few ingredients, but it creates and light creamy shortbread that soon becomes a favourite.

This year I decided to cut out half the calories and fat - by making the cookies mini size instead of full size cookies.

They can be easily frozen and kept that way until an hour before serving.

The ones I made this year are plain, but I've often sprinkled Christmas coloured sprinkles or coloured sugar.  Another twist is to place half of a maraschino cherry on top prior to baking.

Whipped Shortbread

Recipe by Fluudbloggler

Ingredients

• 1 pound butter (salted)
• 2 tbsp shortening
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 4 cups white flour
• 1 pinch salt

Cooking Directions

1. Cream butter and shortening together with an electric mixer.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Add a quarter of the flour, a quarter of the icing sugar, and salt, then continue whipping until well incorporated.
   
   
   
   
3. Continue alternating the flour, and sugar, whipping until completely mixed.
   
4. The dough will be very thick and hard to mix.
   
5. Place dough on waxed paper, and mix with hands until very smooth.
6. Roll the dough into 4 ball.  Roll out the dough between two pieces of waxed paper, to about about 1/2" thick.
7. Use cookie cutters and cut shapes and place on ungreased baking sheet. 
   
8. Bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
9. Cookies will be still very pale in colour.
   
10. 
    
    
11. (If you prefer a crisper, golden cookie, bake at 350 for 15 minutes.)

Warm Chicken Stew (Slow Cooker)

Baby it's cold outside!  Today seemed like a perfect day to make a stew.  I didn't have any stewing beef on hand, so decided to make a chicken stew instead.  By adding a few apple pieces, apple cider, and curry, it becomes a little like Mulligatawny soup.  If you don't like the apple or curry go ahead and leave these out and you still have a great cold day meal.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stew (Mulligatawny Style)

Recipe by Fluudbloggler

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3/4 cup frozen peas*
• 3/4 cup frozen corn*
• 3/4 cup uncooked or frozen carrots*
• 3 tsp Chicken instant stock mix
• 1/2 cup white flour or cornstarch
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups water
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 apple (optional)
• 1/4 cup apple cider (optional)
• 1 tsp curry (optional)
• salt & pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Cut potatoes and chicken into bite sides cubes and set aside. 
   
   
   
2. Turn the slow cooker to low, then add water, chicken stock mix (can be substituted for 3 cups chicken stock) and flour.
   
3. Whisk until well-blended.
4. Heat olive oil in a pan/frying pan.
5. Add onions and garlic, and pan fry until softened.
6. Put onion mix in slower cooker.
7. In the same pan, pan fry chicken pieces, until golden, but not fully cooked. About 2 minutes.
   
8. Place chicken in slow cooker.
9. Add remaining ingredients.
10. Stir until well mixed.
    
11. Cook on low at least 4 hours.
12. *If you have a package of mixed vegetables, you can substitute this for the individual veggies. You can also add additional vegetables that you like such as green beans or edamame.