          
Archive for the ‘Ethnic’ Category
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
Whoa! I’ve really neglected the blog recently… sorry about that! Racing to get the main areas of the house organized and cleaned up. No small task, considering that the dining room was still being used as temporary storage for everything that belonged in the kitchen. As we have enough of the shelves done to move forward, I’m re-populating them with everything that’s been in the dining room. It may not sound like much, but it’s a lot of fussy decision making, as much as anything. The new cabinetry layout is completely different from the old one, so I need to figure out where I want everything to be.
Anyway, the big cleaning rush is on account of our “St Pi-trick’s Day” party this weekend. Just finished the menu up last night – it’s going to be GOOD! For the uninitiated: My husband’s favorite “holiday” is Pi Day (He’s a major math nerd), while my favorite is St Patrick’s Day (Irish Canadian, here!). Usually, we celebrate the two together, ON Pi day. Loads of pi trivia, round foods, etc… with a heavy Irish theme running on top of it. Just finished our menu last night – it’ll be awesome!
| If you’re looking for something unique to serve for your own celebrations this time of year – I’ve got the recipe for you! Behold: St Patrick’s Day Pizza!
I created this recipe for our pi day celebrations a few years ago, and it’s been a March staple for us ever since. It’s basically the result of wondering “What’s the best way to combine the two themes, in one epic main dish?”. Well… now you know!
This recipe starts with a flavorful, tender beer based rye crust, and continues with (Canadian style) colcannon, one of our favorite things ever. Top with some corned beef, cabbage, and Irish cheddar… there you have it. St Pi-trick’s Day perfection!
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Enjoy! (more…)
Posted in Ethnic, Guy Food, Irish, Main Dishes, Recipes | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
| Remember last week, when I got my kitchen back and went a little nuts over it – making a Gluten Free Tourtiere, amoung other things? Well, the time has come to blog another of those “other things”.
One of the things I’d been looking forward to making was a theoretical gluten free butter tart. In fact, I facebooked a plea to ” the god/godess in charge of kitchen renovations” that I would make a tasty gluten free butter tart HAPPEN, if the remaining kitchen repairs-to-useable went quickly and easily.
I keep my promises 
The crust on these is not bad at all for being gluten free… and – given how snobby I am about gluten free stuff – that’s actually high praise! |
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As is, this recipe is quick and easy to make. Of course, Murphy’s Law kicked in while I was getting prepared, and things got a little … depraved. See the very end of this blog post for details!
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Posted in Canadian, Desserts, Ethnic, Gluten Free, Kid Favorites, Recipes | No Comments »
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
So… I have a functional kitchen now! The cabinets are built, the countertops installed, backsplash set, everything grouted, and the sink, dishwasher, and stove are all hooked up! *CANNOT* tell you how god it feels to have some culinary autonomy back.
We haven’t had the use of the dishwasher since May’s tornado – it’s been used to store the glassware ever since! We’ve been living off takeout. While my access to the kitchen has been sporadic at best, my brain hasn’t taken a break, so I’ve had this LONG list of ideas and theoretical recipes brewing, with no ability to do anything about it, short of write them down. I tell you, working through those ideas on paper, while being stuck with months crappy fast food? Torture.
One of the things I wanted to make this whole time was a proper tourtiere (“tortiere”, for some). It’s a French Canadian meat pie, and it’s soooo good when made properly. Also, as part of the planning process, I worked on a gluten free pastry crust that wouldn’t make me grieve for my inability to eat wheat.
| I did it!
Yesterday was my first day with the new kitchen, so I rolled out of bed and almost immediately went to buy groceries. With 3 items I wanted to make, Tourtiere was to be made in the afternoon, closer to suppertime. Couldn’t handle it, dug in to the preparation right away!
I tell ya, the filling, as it’s cooking, smells amazing on the best of days. All those fresh veggies, herbs… yum. To someone who’s eaten more Wendy’s takeout in the past few months than anyone should have to in a lifetime? Absolutely amazing. |
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The crust also turned out extremely well – you’d never peg it as being a gluten free crust. Very rich and flaky! Oh, so good. I just had some leftovers for breakfast – this recipe is definitely a winner!
Oh, and if you want to make a regular, non-gluten free version? Just swap out the crust for your favorite double-crust recipe, or premade dough.
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Posted in Canadian, Ethnic, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Pies, Recipes | 1 Comment »
Saturday, January 28th, 2012
This weekend – and the past few weeks – is/has been a big push to get out post-tornado kitchen reconstruction DONE. Well, not quite done-done … we won’t have the lumber for the cabinet faces and doors for a while, and those will take some serious time to make … but functional.
I haven’t had a functional kitchen since we bought this house, a year ago. The kitchen, as we bought it, was only barely functional – you may have seen the “before” pictures and description on twitter. Don’t worry, I’ll be posting the awful “befores” when I can finally post the “afters”!
This weekend is all about building the cabinetry to surround the slide-in oven, which has been free-standing since we moved in. By Monday, I should not only have the base cabinets, but tiled counter AND backsplash there, also. *CANNOT WAIT*. I’m not being facetious there, either. We’ve been discussing all of the great foods I haven’t been able to make in a long time, as well as the recipes I’ve been mentally designing ever since losing my kitchen. All of this takeout food… ugh.
| So, we went to the store to pick up groceries for the first couple of meals I’ll be able to make, and I used one of my new counters – and my freshly-installed sink area! – to make Cod au Gratin on Friday night. Aw yeah.
Cod au Gratin is a traditional Newfoundland dish, and one of my all time favorites. Generally speaking, it consists of cod, Béchamel sauce, and cheese / bread crumbs on top… but – of course – I started bastardizing it the first time I made it. Béchamel because a hearty cheese sauce, filled with tons of sharp cheddar. I’ve made this with dill, with asparagus, with bacon, and with other seafood involved. It’s just one of those recipes that I make by “feel”, and I’ve never written down measurements or anything as I’ve gone. Til now.
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Posted in Canadian, Ethnic, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Recipes, Seafood | No Comments »
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