You've likely heard that my friend and colleague, Tamara Taggart is home recovering from surgery. I'm very happy that she's doing well and will be back at work before you know it.

 

We've been in touch since the day she landed in hospital. (Thank goodness for smart phones.) While she was there, I was feeling useless and wanted to do something to help, anything. Since her husband Dave was spending a lot of time at the hospital, and they had family helping out at home, I decided cooking for him and their three small children would be the most practical way to lend a hand.

 

Cooking for others can be risky -- especially for kids who may or may not be picky eaters. So I kept it simple, and I'm happy to say my choice was received with enthusiasm and much appreciation. Tamara even had some of the frozen leftovers when she came home from hospital. She told me, "I loved your stew, and I don't' even like stew!" How could she not like it? Love makes everything tastes better. 

 

 

PS... I sent along lasagna after that, and now have bragging rights that her youngest's first lasagna was mine!

 

 

Beef Stew

 

I don't measure much with this recipe. Use enough beef and vegetables to make six servings. I grew up making this stew. It's a great starter recipe for kids who want to learn.

 

Stewing beef or thick-cut round steak cut into 1" chunks

 3 large baking potatoes

3 large carrots

1/2 large turnip

4 stalks celery

1 large yellow onion

2 tbls flour

2 tbls olive oil

 

salt and pepper

1 bay leaf

1 liter low sodium beef stalk

bunch fresh parsley

 

Heat oil in a large pot.

Place beef chunks in a plastic bag and add flour to coat.

Fry beef at medium hi until browned. Don't cover as you don't want the beef to steam. This should take about 20-30 min. Try not to rush this part as the longer you cook the beef the more tender it will be.

 

Peel and chop all vegetables to similar sized pieces so they will cook evenly.

 

Add onion and cook for 10 minutes or until just softened.

Add all other vegetables, bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste.

Add beef stalk and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Add chopped, fresh parsley just before serving.

 

Enjoy with some crusty, French bread and the company of those you love!

This recipe comes from Jefferson Alvarez, Executive Chef at Fraiche in West Vancouver.  I confess I haven't made it yet, but it looks as tasty as it is simple to make. I have tried many of his other dishes and he never disappoints.  Hope you'll try it.   

 

1 russet potato, scrubbed but not peeled, thinly sliced on a mandoline (about 3 mm/1/8 inch thick)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 1/2 ounces hot-smoked salmon cut in pieces or sliced cold-smoked salmon

1 avocado, cut into small dice

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 pinch sugar

1 tbsp of toasted capers

1/4 cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions
1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, toss the potato slices with the oil. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the chips from the baking sheet. Season with salt. In another bowl, combine the avocado with the lime juice, herbs and sugar. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Top each chip with a piece of salmon and small dollops of salsa and cream cheese. Season with pepper.

 

Local Lounge Smoked ‘outlandish’ oyster chowder with parsnips, squash and brown butter breadcrumbs

1  onion-diced1 rib  celery-diced
1  carrot-diced
1  leek-diced
1 med  potato-diced
2 med  parsnip-diced
8 cloves garlic-sliced
2 cups  butternut squash-diced
½ cup         pancetta-diced
1 tbsp  fresh thyme-minced
1 tbsp  smoked paprika  
½ cup  flour
1 cup  white wine
3 ltr  fish stock
1 ltr  whipping cream
1 ltr outlandish shucked Ocean Wise oysters
chopped/house smoked
To taste sea salt/cracked black pepper
½ loaf  white bread-crust removed
½ cup  butter

 

For the chowder:

• sauté bacon in soup pot till almost crispy then add onions, carrot, celery, leek, garlic and smoked paprika and sweat for 5 minutes
• add potato, parsnips and squash and cook a further 5 minutes
• add flour and cook out 5 minutes then add wine, stock and cream and let simmer for 15 minutes
• add in fresh thyme, bay leaves and outlandish oysters and simmer a further 25 minutes
• season to taste

 

For the brown butter breadcrumbs:

• blend the bread in a food processor till med crumble
• brown the butter in a pan then toss in the crumbs and mix through
• on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper toast the crumbs in a 300 degree oven till crispy

 

 

Too many cookbooks are about showing off the chef's vast knowledge and are thus often too complicated for the lay cook to actually use. I own more than a few of those. That is not the case with Chef Michael Smith new book, Chef Michael Smith's Kitchen: 100 of My Favorite Easy Recipes, by Penguin. Clearly secure with his own abilities and with several Food Network show to showcase them, Smith's new book is for anyone who wants to create a delicious, simple dish.

 

 

 

 

Some of the recipes that caught my eye include Brown Butter Scrambled Eggs, Sausage-Sage Bread Pudding, Split Pea Soup with Smoked Ham Hock, Beer-Braised Beef Short Ribs, Coconut-crusted Chicken with Mango Ginger Mint Salas, Apple-Stuffed Acorn Squash and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. There are also several more exotic and vegetarian recipes -- along with and handy cooking tips. I love it. 

 

 

Slow-Baked Salmon with Honey Mustard Glaze

 

 

2 tablespoons (30 mL) of honey

2 tablespoons 930 mL) of your favorite mustard

1 tablespoon (15 mL) of soy sauce

1 teaspoon (5 mL) of your favorite hot sauce

4 centre-cut salmon fillets (each about 6 ounces/175 g), skinned and patted dry

 

Preheat your oven to the low, low temperature of 225 (110 C).

 

Lightly oil a roasting pan.

 

Whisk together the honey, mustard, soy sauce and hot sauce.

 

Arrange the fillets in the roasting pan skin side down, leaving an inch or two of space in between each one.

 

Spread the glaze evenly over the salmon. Bake until the salmon is cooked through and opaque but still juicy, about 30 minutes.

 

Serve and share.

 

Kitchen Tip

 

The gentle heat of this cooking method gives the salmon and incredibly luscious texture that you may not have enjoyed before. It's a delicate way to show off the fish's natural flavours while revealing a smooth luxurious mouth feel.

 

Here's one for chilly, damp autumn nights. It's is one of my favorite dishes in fall partly because it's so easy and because it reminds me of when my mom would make a version of it when I was a kid. When she'd be at work, we could simply heat it up for ourselves. In fact, it's better the second day. The chicken is juicy, the vegetables are tender and the soy sauce adds depth. Serve it with mashed potatoes or just some good French bread.

 

Autumn Chicken 

 

1 chicken cut up in pieces (or chicken breasts cut in half or thighs, skin removed)

3 celery stalks, chopped in 1" pieces

1 onion, chopped in large pieces

1 fennel bulb, chopped in segments (optional)

2 cups carrots pealed and chopped

2 cups mushrooms chopped in half or quarters

2 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

10 whole black pepper corns

1/4 cup soy sauce

1-2 cups low sodium chicken stalk

flour for dredging the chicken

olive or safflower oil

 

Add enough oil to large frying pan cover the bottom of the thinly. Heat until a piece of celery sizzles when tossed in.

 

Dredge chicken in flower, shaking off the excess. Place chicken pieces in pan so that they are not touching. You may need to cook in two batches. Brown on both sides. Should take about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and place in a large casserole dish.

 

In the same frying pan, sauté all vegetables in separate batches. The goal is not to cook any of the ingredients but to caramelize them to increase flavour.

 

Add vegetables to casserole dish along with bay leaf and pepper corns. Stir vegetables to mix them. Add chicken broth and soy sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve...whenever you like.

We're running a contest on CTV News this week.  The winner will get a private cocktail lesson for two, plus an ocean-wise dinner for two at the Granville Room.  It's a seafood tasting menu by the Donnelly Group Executive Chef Michael Knowlson, complete with cocktail pairings.  To enter go to ctvbc.ca, click on CONTESTS and follow the links.

 

But you don't have to win to taste one of the dishes.  Make it for yourself!

  

Steamed Salt spring Island mussels

Curry butter sauce with cashews & cilantro Curry butter sauce

 

1lb salts spring island mussels

 ½ lt 36% whipping cream

175ml tomato paste

1lt Chicken stock

1 jalapeno minced

1/2 cup madras curry powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 cinnamon stick

6 tbsp pink peppercorns

2 tsp garam masala

2tbsp toasted cashews chopped

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

 

To clean mussels Use a firm brush to brush off any additional sand, barnacles, or other oceanic attachments. Rinse the mussels under cool tap water, and set aside. Dry with a towel before cooking.

 

In a sauce pan toasted off the cumin seed & pink peppercorns till they become fragrant. Allow to cool & grind them in a spice grinder.

 

In another sauce pan add the tomato paste, jalapeno, curry powder, garam masala, cinnamon stick, ground cumin seed & pink peppercorns, chicken stock & cream. Whisk together and bring to boil and simmer over a low heat for 15min, till it thickens slightly.

 

Put the mussels in a large pan add 8oz of then curry sauce, cover and cook the mussels over a high heat shaking the pan every now and then, for 4 – 5 minutes until they have all opened.

 

Add the cilantro, toasted cashews and serve.

 

 

When I bake, I follow recipes.  When I cook, I almost never do. I think I'm just lazy. Case in point: I recently made an Italian-style fish soup. It turned out great.  A hearty, tomato-based mélange of fish and shellfish with just enough spice to warm you on a chilly autumn night. 

 

I was pleased to find my creation was similar to the recipe I stumbled upon for Zuppa di Pesce -- Mediterranean Fish Soup in Mark McEwan's new cookbook, Fabrica:Great Italian Recipes Made Easy for the Home published by Penguin Canada. You'll recall Mark McEwan as the head judge on Top Chef Canada. I like the book.  Good, simple recipes that include substitutions and wine suggestions.

 

Below is Mark's recipe. (my substitutions are in brackets)
 
Zuppa di Pesce
Mediterranean Fish Soup
 
1 quart fish stock (or chicken stock)
1 tbsp minced onion (I used 1/2 a small onion)
1 tbsp minced leek - white part only
1 tbsp minced fennel (I used a full bulb. I like fennel and I like a higher vegetable to protein ratio)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic thinly sliced
16 clams, scrubbed (1/2 can canned clams)
16 mussels, scrubbed and debearded (mine didn't include)
1/4 white wine
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1 1/2 cups crushed San Marzano tomatoes (small, flavourful, ripe tomatoes)
12 basil leaves
4 large scallops, halved crosswise
1/2 lb skinless halibut, quartered
4 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 oz cooked octopus (I say optional)
2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt, pepper

 
Garnish
4 slices ciabatta, sprinkled with olive oil, salt, pepper and toasted
Fine olive oil to finish
 
In a saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer and set aside.  In a large sauté pan on medium heat, sweat the onion, leek, and fennel in the olive oil for 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and seat for 3 minutes longer, but do not brown.
 
Add the clams, mussels, and white win. Raise the heat to medium-high. Remove the mussels as they pop open and set them aside on a platter. Add the chili flakes, tomatoes, basil leaves, and fish stock. Remove the clams as they pop open and set them aside with the mussels. (Discard any mussels or clams that haven't opened.)
 
Lower heat to medium-low. Add the scallops and cook gently for 1 minute.  Add the halibut and shrimp. A minute or two later, when they are almost fully cooked, remove the scallops, halibut, and shrimp to the platter with the clams and mussels.  Add the octopus to the pan just long enough to heat it through.  Then stir in the white balsamic vinegar and return all the other seafood to the pot to reheat. Stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings.
 
Divide seafood among 4 warm bowls. Pour broth over top. Garnish each bowl with a crostino and follow with a generous drizzle of olive oil. 
 
Substitutions: Any firm white fish, such as monkfish, can stand in for and even upstage the halibut.  Shelled lobster or crab will do the same for the shrimp.  Or you can increase the variety and include all of them.  Choose what you will on the basis of what looks good at the fishmonger, follow the general timing outline and adding and removing mollusks, shellfish and fish to the pot and all will turn out well in the end.

 
Tip: After scrubbing the clams, transfer to a large bowl, fill with ice water and stir in 1 tbsp of cornmeal. In order to encourage them to give up their grit, leave the clams to snack on that for 20 minutes.  Then drain and rinse.