The birthday dinner continued!

Yes, you're right, the party is over and the dinner was tasty (according to Kyler and Jorja though, it didn't stack up to "Bob's" burgers)!

There was some more advance prep that took place before the dinner that I'll share with you.

I prepared the potato baskets earlier in the day...

On a box grater, grate 1 new potato for each basket. Assemble the shredded potato in the bottom of a 5 inch sieve that has been dipped in canola oil. Place another oil dipped sieve the same size on top of the potato and deep fry in canola oil until golen brown. I just used a small pot for the oil. They were reheated in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes.

I sauteed fresh green beans from the market in a skillet with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Make sure they are quite crispy! I made a sauce with 2 tbsp butter, 1 minced shallot and 1/2 a squeezed lemon. I reheated the beans in the microwave then added the shallot butted just before serving.

The meat was removed from the marinate and left on the counter so it could be room temperature when cooked.
The salads were prepared and covered with plastic wrap. This is when you appreciate having a basement refrigerator! The dressing was added just before serving. I forgot to take a picture... oops!

We were all ready to go now...

Hor's doeurvres served and the courses began. I turned on the oven right after the soup was served.

The tenderloin was cooked for 35 minutes in a 325 degree oven. While the tenderloin rested covered with foil, I added the potato baskets to the oven, reheated the beans, the shallot sauce and the cream sauce for the tenderloin in the microwave. I sliced the meat quickly and plated the dinner on hot plates garnished with minced parsley and small pieces of seeded tomato. The whiskied cream sauce was the final addition to the plate and the main course was served. Whew! It was hot so I couldn't stop to take a picture!

Stay tuned!

Dinner party Thursday, prep time today!

The process begins. I do as much in advance as possible so I'm not tired the day of entertaining and I'm not stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is having a good time! The dinner Thursday evening is is very special. We are celebrating my very close and longest friend Barbara's birthday! She liked the menu, house shrimp is one of her favourites... good thing because I serve it often enough!!

Here is the menu!

Onion cheese wafers
Puffy crab bites
Smoked salmon stuffed cherry tomatoes

Roasted butternut squash soup

Mescalin salad with garlic dressing

The house shrimp!

Lime sherbet

Sliced beef tenderloin in a potato basket with creamy sauce and green beans with lemon

Angel food cake with strawberries and lemon cream


The butternut squash soup was made a couple of days ago and frozen. The recipe is from Fine Cooking magazine and it goes something like this. You fry a few slices of 1/2 inch cut bacon, remove it with a slotted spoon and then add the squash and stir for ~10 minutes. Add a little chopped fresh sage, chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Add 1/2 the bacon to the pot and swizzle with an imersion blender. The reaining bacon is for garnish. Freeze for future use!

Today I made the hor d'oeuvres, cheese wafers, crab puffs and smoked salmon filling for some cherry tomatoes.

Onion Cheese Wafers

This recipe was given to me many years ago by my friend Margot. It makes a lot and it freezes well so you have something on hand for unexpected company.

-1/2 cup butter
-1/2 lb. grated old chedder cheese (2 1/2 cups)
Mix in food processor until thoroughly blended
-Add 1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup flour
-1/2 pack onion soup mix
Blend thoroughly. Shape into 2-3 rolls 1 inch in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, slice roll into 1/4 inch slices (must be cold to slice not frozen)and bake on an ungreased pan at 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. I doubled the recipe and have 6 rolls in the freezer for the future!

Puffy Crab Bites

-1 small packet of finely chopped imitation crab meat
-4 chopped green onions
-1 tbsp. chopped parsley
-1/2 cup shredded monterey jack or old chedder cheese
-1 tsp dry mustard
-- a few good shakes of worcestershire sauce
Mix together and set aside.
Now make a choux paste...
-1/2 cup buttter
-1 cup flour
-a pinch of salt
Bring to a boil, add flour all at once. stir together quickly to form a smooth ball. Remove from heat and let cool for 1/2 an hour.
In a food processor, add 4 eggs, 1 at a time until mixture is shiny.
Add the crab mixture and pulse until it is combined.
Drop by tablespoon onto parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

I froze these too. They will reheat quickly in a 350 degree oven.

Filling for Cherry Tomatoes

-1/2 container of softened low fat spreadable cream cheese (4 oz)
-2 Tbsp horesradish mayonaise
-1 tbsp. minced capers
-zest of 1/2 a lemon
-1 tbsp. lemon juice
-5 finely chopped slices of smoked salmon
Refrigerate until ready to stuff tomatoes
When these are prepared the day of the party, the cherry tomatoes will be cut in half and seeds removed. I hope to have some pictures when it's all ready to serve.


I also made an angel food cake for the freezer. I never realized it was so simple and it freezes well! The recipe is in last months Canadian Living magazine. You can search on their website for the recipe "angel food cake with strawberries with lemon cream".

The beef tenderloin is trimmed and marinating in red wine with garlic, ginger and peppercorns-4 cloves minced garlic, 1 inch chopped ginger and 2 tsp cracked peppercorns. Rub the beef with this mixture, place in a zip lock bag and add 1/2 bottle of red wine (I used a shiraz).

Tomorrow is another day!

A little different Turkey Cutlet...

I recently read a recipe for babecued turkey cutlets...not sure where but I remembered some of the ingredients and what I forgot, I just made up! After all, isn't that what cooking everyday is all about?!
I know the recipe called for a full skin on, bone in breast. I had 3 skinned, deboned "cutlets" from Costco.... sounded good to me.

I served this with left over rosemary baby potatoes heated on the barbecue, barbecued asparagus with lemon, balsamic barbecued mushrooms and a tossed salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.

The Tossed Salad

If you have mescalin mix that's fine... I didn't! I used a romaine heart. As usual I look to see what is available for "add ins". I usually can count on some tomatoes and cucumber, the rest depends on the fridge crisper. This time it's baby carrots and some radishes. The vinaigrette is simple... Use a 2 cup measuring cup, add ~1/3 cup olive oil and half as much balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. dijon mustard, 1 small clove of minced garlic 1 tsp. of honey and salt and pepper. Use an imersion blender to swizzle until the dressing is nice and thick. Season the salad just before the food comes inside. Don't use all of it... leftovers are always good!

And, now the rest..

-prick the 3 turkey breast cutlets with a fork
-in plastic resealable bag, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, a good shake of worcetershire sauce and a tsp. of dijon mustard...let that marinate for 15 minutes

Make a dry rub

-1 1/2 Tbsp celery salt
-1/2 tsp. cinamon
-1 1/2tbsp. brown sugar
-1/2 tsp ground cloves
-1/2 tsp dry mustard

Remove breasts from baggie and coat with rub. Place breasts in a foil lined pie plate (you know I like easy clean up)! Barbecue at 350 degrees F for ~1/2 and hour.
before the turkey is finished. Remove the turkey breasts from the pie plate and put them directly on the gril to "crisp" them a touch.

Leftovers

While the turkey is cooking, wrap the leftover baby potatoes in tin foil and add them to the barbecue 20 minutes before the breasts are cooked.

Mushrooms

In the mean time, clean 10 button mushrooms (medium to small) and season with oil, salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar. Use enough oil to moisten and enough balsamic to flavour...This too can go into a foil lined pie plate, mix well. It needs about 10minutes on direct heat on the barbecue. Put them on just before you put the breast directly on the grill.

Asparagus

Clean enough asparagus to serve 2 people; dry and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add directly to the grill as you are "crisping" the turkey cutlets. It takes aboout 6-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the asparagus... Dinner should finish at the same time. Sqeeze some fresh lemon juice over the asparagus before serving.

That's dinner... ehjoy. The good thing is, there is 1 cutlet leftover. Slice it into thin strips and it will make a great sandwich or topping for a caesar salad!

Salmon Dinner for 2

The King Salmon Tyler and Aiden caught July 11th in Lake Ontario (26 pounds)
-Multigrain Rice
-Barbecued Asparagus
-Taragon seasoned baby carrots

Pour 3/4 cup multigrain rice, 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock, 1 Tbsp. butter and a few sprinkles of salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil the reduce the temperature to low for ~50 min. When finished, add the juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon. Keep covered and it will stay hot if the rest of the meal is not quite ready.

Salmon Filets

Place 2 filets in a pie plate lined with foil sprayed with cooking spray
Sprinkle ~1/2 tsp. cumin on the filets, salt and freshly ground pepper
Mince 2 cloves of garlic and 2 tsp. freshly grated ginger... rub into the filets
Drizzle with sesame seed oil
Top with 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

Heat barbecue to 400 degrees F and cook for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the filets.

In the meantime, clean enough asparagus for 2, dry the spears.
Use a ziplock freezer bag... add a few Tbsp of olive oil and the same amount of balsamic vinegar. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the asparagus to the ziplock and season with the oil and vinegar.
5 minutes before the salmon is finished, barbecue the asparagus till crisp tender.

Just before the asparagus hits the barbecue, boil the baby carrots for 5 minutes... make that trip to the herb garden and chop some of the "wild" taragon, salt and pepper and add a drizzle of lemon juice.

Wonderful, tasty and simple everyday dinner... Enjoy!

For dessert we enjoyed Cristina's mother's lemon and coconut squares.

The Herb Garden...

I've referred to my herb garden... I need to tell you that it only a tiny spot of built up land near our fire pit. We are primarily on rock here so when I requested an herb garden and there was no good place to plant, Frank built a 4 by 6 rectangle from 6 by 6 timber and we filled it with topsoil. I grow lemon balm, rosemary, oregano, thyme, chives, parsley(flat and curly leaf), basil and the taragon has taken over as you can see! The herb garden is off to the side of the property but I have a large oregano patch that is actually ground cover in the rocks "lakeside". I make daily trips to both spots to enhance the flavour of our food.

The Kitchen

This is where it all happens... good and bad! We retired to the rebuilt cottage 5 years ago...This beautiful kitchen is where all the fun happens! O.K. it's not exactly country looking ,but after all, we are in the country!! Let me tell you, 2 ovens are very helpful when you're entertaining a crowd....

Sunday Morning Breakfast...

So now it’s Sunday morning, Tyler and Cristina are leaving early in the day and they can’t drive on an empty stomach.

I prepared a quick baked French toast that cooked itself while everyone showered and got ready for the day.

Simply slice a baguette or French bread in ½ inch slices, place them layered in a 9 by 13 buttered Pyrex dish.

Whisk 5 eggs plus 2 yolks with 2 cups table cream, a couple of tablespoons of Gran Marnier 2 tsp. vanilla and zest of half a lemon (I only had half left in my fridge)!

Pour over the bread and sop up the liquid patting the bread with the back of an egg flipper. Let it sit for 15 minutes. It won’t all absorb. Now sprinkle some raisins between and around the bread slices and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

You’re not done yet!

Topping for the French toast
-1/3 cup chopped pecans
-1/3 cup butter
-2 Tbsp. corn syrup
-2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Combine all ingredients and heat in microwave just until spread able. 15 minutes before finishing in the oven, add the topping.

Serve hot with maple syrup, “Frank’s” bacon, a fruit salad, coffee and orange juice.

Frank’s bacon is cooked on a 300 degree F skillet and turned often until golden brown. It’s an art!

Now that will fill you up until you get to your next destination!