We have been making this warm Taleggio quite often over the last year. It seems the perfect way to start off the mid-week, low key “Supper in the Kitchen” classes that we host twice a month. I love the way it brings people together too, crackers in hand, poised over the warm bowl of cheese waiting to scoop up a bit of cheese and sweet/salty relish, pulling the strands of cheese. It is a bit like a fondue without the pesky, sharp forks…
You can have all of the ingredients prepared ahead of time and then just melt the cheese when your guests arrive and top with the peppers, currants, pine nut mixture. Some chopped oregano adds a bit of herbal earthiness.
Served with some herb flatbread (that recipe is coming up next!) or some toasted slices of baguette, perhaps rubbed with a bit of garlic, and you have a cozy, satisfying appetizer for a small crowd.
Warm Taleggio with Roasted Red Peppers, Currants, Pine nuts and Niçoise Olives
1/2 cup chopped homemade or store-bought roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons pitted and chopped Niçoise olives
2 tablespoon dried currants that have been soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and then drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces Taleggio cheese, rind removed and cut into cubes
Mix together peppers, pine nuts, olives, currants oregano and oil. Let stand for 30 minutes or so to allow the flavours to melt. Remove cheese from the fridge and allow to stand at come up to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 375 degree F (190 C). Place cubed cheese in an ovenproof serving dish and bake until it has melted. Top with the relish and garnish with oregano.
Serve immediately with herbed flatbread or toasted baguette slices.
Cheese can be reheated in the oven for a minute or two if it begins to set.
Generally when I am making a recipe for the first time I tend to try it out on my family or a close friend or two so I can get some honest feedback and not feel the pressure of unknown. I always try to follow the recipe pretty much exactly as written before deciding on substitutions or changes that I might make the second or third time around.
Sometimes though, I might read through a recipe and pretty much know it is going to be a winner and will throw caution to the wind and cook it for a crowd (some of whom are complete strangers!). That was the case last Saturday night when we made these spicy, buttery, garlicky, herbal shrimp for the crowd of 80 people who came out for our fundraiser. My intuition was spot on with these little bites, they were gone in the first 20 minutes! I spied a few folks using pieces of bread to mop up the leftover sauce!
This recipe is dead simple to make (especially if you can convince a couple of your friends that peeling and deveining 3 lbs of prawns is fun!) and take all of three minutes to cook.
Great as an easy hors d’oeuvres, I have since made this recipe for a family dinner with the prawns served over rice and I didn’t/wouldn’t change a thing…
Sriracha Buttered Prawns with Garlic, Mint and Basil
2 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoon Sriracha
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lb (454 g) medium prawns (20 to 30 count per pound) peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons chopped freshly mint
2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
In a medium sauce pan add the butter and the Srirach and melt together over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for a minute or two until soft but not brown. Add in the prawns and up the heat to medium high. Sauté the prawns until they are just cooked through about 2 to 3 minutes.
When the prawns are done remove the pan from the heat and add in the lemon zest and mint and basil. Stir to combine, transfer to a warmed serving platter or bowl. Serve with skewers and lots of napkins.
So many hors d’oeuvres tend to be last minute affairs. Assembling a tray of canapés moments before your guests arrive, no matter how small the group, can be a bit stressful. When planning your party menu it is always a good idea to have at least of couple items that can be made ahead without a lot of last minute fussing.
Here is where this brandade de morue au gratin comes in. Morue is the french word for salt cod (the Spanish call it bacalao) and brandade refers to an emulsion of salt cod and olive oil. This is a dish eaten, generally in winter, in the South of France and all over the Mediterranean with bread or potatoes.
There are plenty of variations to this dish, some regions add boiled potatoes in with the salt cod and oil, others add garlic and/or artichokes or chestnuts and/or milk. Generally the salt cod is first soaked, (for 24 to 48 hours to remove the excess salt) then cooked and then simply mashed into the other ingredients.
This recipe, by venerable chef Jacques Pépin, calls for processing the ingredients in a food processor until they are silky smooth, topping the brandade with a bit of Parmesan and then baking in the oven until golden brown. It can be assembled and refrigerated for up to 3 days ahead! Once baked, the result is a luxurious gratin, made from very modest ingredients, that is perfect for holiday entertaining…
Brandade de Morue au Gratin (Whipped Salt Cod Gratin)
The assembled brandade can be refrigerated of up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before baking.
1 lb (454 g) skinless salt cod
1 lb (454 g) large red-skinned potatoes
1 1/2 cups of whole milk
8 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 baguettes, thinly sliced and toasted and rubbed with half of a garlic clove
Place the salt cod in a bowl and cover with 1 inch of cold water. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, changing the water 4 times.
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and peel them once they are cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile, drain the cod and transfer to a medium saucepan. Add 8 cups of water and bring just to a boil. Drain and rinse out the pan. REturn the cod to the pan, add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Drain the cod again and return it to the pan. Add the milk and the garlic, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
When the cod is cooked remove it from the pot (reserving the milk and garlic cloves) and using two forks flake the fish ensuring that there are no bones. In the large bowl of a food processor place the fish, reserved milk and garlic cloves along with the lemon zest, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Break the potatoes into chunks and add in to the processor as well.
With the machine on, slowly pour in the 3/4 cup of oil until incorporated. Season with black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 C) and lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) baking dish. Spread the brandade in the dish and sprinkle the cheese on top.
Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with the garlic toasts.
This is a recipe that we made the other night at our fundraiser and I was so pleased as to how well it was received.
Sometimes when we think of canapés we tend to envision fancy little morsels that are finicky to make and filled with expensive ingredients.
These little bruschetta are rustic, inexpensive to make, pack a flavourful punch and are a breeze to pull together.
If you are not up to making your own ricotta (no judgement here) then just stop by your local deli and pick up a good quality, fresh ricotta.
If you do want to give ricotta making a whirl I promise that it is worth the minimal effort involved. For just a tiny time investment and a few grocery store staples you end up with fluffy, creamy curds that have a slight tang and great depth of flavour. Combined with the spicy bitter greens (in this case arugula) and topped with a thin shaving of Parmigiano Reggiano, you have a little a perfect cocktail party canapé.
Bruschetta of Spicy Wilted Bitter Greens and Homemade Ricotta
For the ricotta:
4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
For the bruschetta:
24 baguette slices, cut 1/2 inch thick, toasted
12 cups tightly packed bitter greens (such as arugula, watercress, radicchio or a combination)
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
Zest of 1 unsprayed lemon
1 1/2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Shavings of Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
For the ricotta:
Place the milk, cream, buttermilk and sea salt in a large pot and gently stir to combine. Bring to boil over medium heat and boil gently for 2 minutes. At this stage you should be able to see the curds begin to separate from the whey. Remove from heat and stir in the squeeze of lemon juice.
Allow the pot to sit off the heat for 30 minutes or so to help further develop the curds.
Meanwhile line a sieve or fine mesh strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth and place over a deep bowl.
Gently ladle the curds into the cheesecloth lined strainer. Once you have ladled out all of the curds allow the curds to drain in the strainer for 10 minutes for a very moist ricotta (which is what we are looking for for this recipe) or longer to produce a drier ricotta. Set aside.
For the bruschetta:
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add in 1/3 cup of the oil and the sliced garlic and chilli flakes. Sauté the garlic until it is fragrant and softened but not brown. Add in the greens in thirds wilting them down before adding the next batch. Add more olive oil if needed and season with salt and pepper and add more chilli flakes if desired. Once the greens have been wilted and removed from the heat add the lemon zest. Drain off any excess liquid.
To assemble:
Spread a scant tablespoon of fresh ricotta over each toast. Top with some of the wilted greens and a shaving of Parmesan cheese. Season with a bit of freshly ground pepper and salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Repeat with the remaining toasts and arrange on a serving platter. Serve.
Welcome to the third annual “Twelve Days of Canapés” here at Kitchen Culinaire.
The holiday season is officially upon us and with all of the parties and potlucks and recipe exchanges there is no better time to roll out a brand new batch of festive hors d’oeuvre recipes. Before the month is through I will post a dozen carefully curated and personally tested canapés that will pair perfectly with a group of your dear friends, family or colleagues and a glass of champagne or your favourite cocktail.
This first recipe is one that I was hoping to make during our Food Bank Fundraiser last Saturday but somehow we ran out of time. I’ve been feeling a bit bad about it as I know that all the folks that gathered around the kitchen island for the cooking demos would surely have enjoyed this and I’m sure many would have gone on to make it for their own holiday parties. So the least I can do is feature it now and give it pride of place as our very first recipe for our 2012 version of the “12 Days”.
I love that these mussels can be made ahead of time and then broiled at the last minute. They are pretty simple to make yet they have some great flavours and an amazing spicy crunch from the paprika bread crumbs. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon…
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s recipe and I would also love to hear from anyone who has their own tried and true favourite canapé recipe that they would like to share.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 lbs (1 kilo) mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot paprika
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1 large garlic clove, minced
Lemon slices to serve
In a large pot add the white wine and bring to a boil. Add the cleaned mussed and cover with a lid. Cook over high heat, shaking the pot until the mussels open, about 4 minutes. Using a skimmer, transfer the mussels to a rimmed baking sheet (discarding any mussels that have not opened) and allow to cool.
Pour the mussel cooking liquid into a bowl. Loosen the mussels in their shells and discard the empty half of each shell. Spoon the cooking liquid over the mussels to keep them moist.
Place the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and melt the butter and oil together. Add the garlic and paprika and cook until fragrant but do not allow the garlic to brown or it will impart a bitter taste to the crumbs. Scrape the contents of the skillet over the crumbs and add the theye and lemon zest to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss well.
Preheat the broiler. Top the mussels with some of the bread crumbs. Broil 6 inches from the heat for about 2 minutes, rotating the pan as necessary until the bread crumbs are browned and crisp. Serve hot with a slice of lemon.
Last night we hosted our third annual Food Bank Fundraiser and I am thrilled to report that we raised $2400! There were eighty people who came out to show their support and eat, drink, talk, laugh and watch a cooking demonstration or two.
So much goes into the planning and executing of such an evening and, as always, I am humbled by the support and love I get from all of my friends and family to pull these crazy events off. Thank you to Sarolta and Leigh-Anne, Howard and Steve, Max and my dear, sweet husband who handled the post party clean up.
Today was mellow with some tidying up and a walk with the dog and then some lunch at home that was cobbled together from leftover ingredients from last night’s party.
Mussels with garlic and shallots and white wine and parsley and some rosemary focaccia with sea salt. Glen opened up a bottle of wine and we talked about the highlights from the party and our plans for the week. So perfect…
Starting tomorrow I will be posting new recipes for the third annual “12 Days of Canapés” here at Kitchen Culinaire! Twelve (non-consecutive) posts featuring recipes that are perfect for holiday season entertaining. Stay tuned! xo J
P.S. I can’t believe it but in just 1.5 short weeks we managed to sell out our Culinary Tour to Paris! Thanks to everyone who talked about this and tweeted it and sent their friends to sign up and to the 10 sweet women that are going on this adventure with us. I am thrilled and excited and Sarolta and I have some very, very good things planned for us…
Exciting news to share! Kitchen Culinaire is going to Paris and you are invited.
At a recent dinner party/cooking class we got talking about the joys of the movable feast that is Paris and as it happens, one of the guests organizes guided tours to fabulous far-flung locales. Faster than you can say Ladurée we were planning a culinary tasting tour of Paris for May 2013.
The trip will include walking tours of local markets where the freshest local, seasonal food is enticingly displayed, trips to the shops of artisan bakers, butchers, cheese-mongers and confectioners, stops at classic cafés and our favourite off-the-beaten-track bistros, and of course plenty of cooking classes to make the most of all of our delicious daily discoveries.
We have managed to secure a great apartment that is located in the heart of Montmartre with a fabulous open kitchen and dining room (no small feat in Paris). Close to many of our favourite food and flower shops this will be our home base for the cooking classes, wine, cheese and macaron tastings. Guests will stay at the nearby Mercure hotel which is within easy walking distance to the apartment.
A few weeks ago we celebrated a very special birthday at one of our dinner classes. I have been meaning to tell you about it for some time now but haven’t had a quiet moment to sit and write until this rainy holiday Monday.
Lately we have been hosting a lot of birthday parties here at Kitchen Culinaire headquarters. All are special, of course, but for this particular class we were celebrating a milestone birthday of someone rather dear to us. My business partner/fellow cook and best friend Sarolta has a sister named Beth and Beth was celebrating her 50th birthday!
Sarolta wanted to do something special in honour of her sweet sister so she got together with her Mum to come up with something that would be meaningful for Beth on such a momentous occasion. Sarolta knew that Beth had always wanted her 50th year to be filled with things that she had never done before. Sarolta’s Mum knew that Beth had always expressed an interest in getting a group together to take one of our cooking classes but had never managed to find the time.
Perfect! We would host an intimate group of 10 for a mulit-course cooking class and birthday dinner party.
Next we worked out the logistics. Sarolta and her Mum put their heads together and figured out the guest list and discussed the menu options and wine pairings. We printed the recipe cards, bought the groceries, wine and flowers. Sarolta’s Mum insisted on paying for the entire evening which was so very generous (thanks Bess!). We put together take-home gifts and recipe packets and then lined up Sarolta’s husband Ross, who is a professional photographer, to do double duty as party guest and event photographer. All the photographs in this post (except for the first one) are courtesy of Pink Monkey Studios (thanks Ross!).
It didn’t take us long to come up with a menu that we thought would please the birthday girl and tried to include what we knew to be many of her favourite foods. We started with a trio of hors d’oeuvres and Prosecco and then moved on to an onion tart with tomato confit and goat cheese. Next up was an arugula salad with pears, hazelnuts and a pomegranate vinaigrette. The main course was sablefish with risotto bianco, a citrus beurre blanc and topped with truffled pea shoots. We rounded out the savoury courses with a cheese plate featuring a lovely local camembert served with some fruit and nut bread.
Beth loves chocolate and so for dessert we pulled out the best, grown-up, red-wine-spiked, chocolate cake recipe that we know.
This cake is so chocolately, rich and rather sophisticated to boot. The red wine in the batter adds a spice and earthiness that is further complimented by a bit of cinnamon. We often serve this just with a dusting of icing sugar or a dollop of mascarpone cream, but for this special occasion we decided to gild the lily and enrobe the cake in an espresso scented ganache. You can garnish this with seasonal berries or pomegranate seeds or even candied violets.
So what was happening in between all of the cooking and eating and drinking? Well, there were some heartfelt speeches and toasts, a video montage showing Beth on some of her adventures near and far, surrounded by her family and friends. And there were a whole lot of laughs as well. Beth spent much of the evening grinning from ear to ear.
When the party guests had departed and we were doing the clean-up in the kitchen Sarolta and I talked about what a lovely, sweet and special evening it had been. Very much like the birthday girl herself…
With its faint red colour and hint of red wine flavour this may be the best “red velvet” cake ever.
For the cake:
1/3 cup (85 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup red wine
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (133 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (41g) Dutch process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces (225 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons finely ground espresso
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 C). Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 inch round (23 cm) cake pan and then line the base with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter over medium speed until smooth. Add in the two sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and the yolk and beat well and then add the red wine and the vanilla. Beat until well combined. Don’t worry if the batter splits or looks a little uneven at this point.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and the salt together. Add this mixture into the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until 3/4 combined. Remove from the mixer and using a spatula fold the ingredients until they come together and no visible streaks of flour remain.Take care to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated but do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top using an offset spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then flip the cake out onto a rack to continue to cool.
For the ganache:
Place the heavy cream, chocolate chips and espresso in the top of a double-boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.
Place the cake upside down on a wire rack and pour the ganache evenly over the top, making sure to cover the entire cake and sides. You can tilt the rack to smooth the chocolate ganache or use an offset spatula.
Garnish with fresh raspberries, pomegranate seeds or candied violets.
