Here is a recipe that has appeared before on this blog but it was way back last January. And no list of seasonal canapé recipes would be complete without these wonderful, flavourful, easy-to-do-ahead, straight forward tartlets. Continue reading
Tuna Tartare on Cucumber Rounds with Spicy Mayonnaise and Toasted Black Sesame Seeds – Day 1 of the 12 Days of Canapés – 2010
Welcome to the First Annual 12 Days of Canapés at Kitchen Culinaire!
January 4th will be my one year anniversary hosting this site and so this is my very first holiday season. I have been thinking about something I could do that would be fun and special and seasonal and perhaps even helpful for those of you who are frequent visitors here…
On a number of my favourite sites I have seen “12 days of cookie recipes”, “12 days of Giveaways” or a “12 Day Gift Guide” but what I need is some help with getting through all of the upcoming cocktail parties, pot luck dinners and recipe exchanges. Having a few good hors d’oeuvre recipes up your sleeve can literally save your bacon during this frenzied season. In fact, inviting over some dear friends, opening up a bottle of sparkling wine (or two) and serving a few well chosen canapés may one of most relaxing and enjoyable ways of entertaining regardless of the time of year. Continue reading
Potato and Feta Pancakes with Wild Smoked Salmon, Crème Fraîche and Dill Plus an Invitation
I’m excited to share a great hors d’oeuvre recipe with you today. However, I am even more excited to extend an invitation for my friend Ross’ Eastside Culture Crawl Studio Opening coming up this weekend, November 26th through the 28th.
Anyone who lives in East Van or happens to love art in Vancouver will be quite familiar with the Culture Crawl. Now in its 14th year it’s a free, 3 day visual arts festival that allows the public at large to engage with artists who open their studios and sell their art directly to those who attend. It is a wonderful way to spend an evening (Friday night only) or weekend afternoon (Saturday and Sunday) walking from open studio to open studio, chatting with the artists and seeing where and what they create. It’s also a great way of supporting local artists while getting a bit of a jump on your holiday shopping. Picking up a little work of art for yourself isn’t a bad idea either! The studios are all in East Van and many are within walking distance of one another so there are lots of folks who plan a tour of those studios they want to check out. For a full list of participating artists go to eastsideculturecrawl.com Continue reading
Butternut Squash and Mascarpone Ravioli in Wonton Wrappers with Brown Butter, Crispy Sage Leaves and Shaved Parmesan
I have been feeling some trepidation about posting this recipe. You see, it has to do with the dumpling wrappers for the ravioli. I can imagine there are more than a few people out there (food purists and true Italians among them) who are thinking “A wonton wrapper?! To make ravioli? Ravioli is not made using a wonton wrapper! Ravioli is made with a pasta fresca all’uovo dough using imported doppio zero (00) flour! Is this a gimmick or some sort of crazy fusion thing?”
I assure you it is not. I never even liked that whole food fusion movement. Continue reading
Crispy Sage Leaves
Just a quick post today to share a “recipe” that is the garnish for a butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli (with a twist) that I am hoping to post tomorrow.
I have a bit of an issue when it comes to garnishes. It personally drives me crazy when an absolutely random ingredient is used as the garnish on a plate or, even worse, if that garnish is not even edible. This reminds me of a local restauranteur who used to jab these huge sprigs of rosemary in the middle of an otherwise lovely plate of food. I could never figure out what the heck I was supposed to do with it. Smell it? Tuck it behind my ear? Use it as a toothpick at the end of the meal? He has, thankfully, stopped doing this and his restaurant is thriving. Coincidence? I think not. Continue reading
Dried Cherry Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Baby Potatoes and Bacon and Sherry Vinaigrette
Last night we hosted a very special birthday dinner here at the house. It was a small group of us, only nine people, but the birthday girl was surrounded by her daughter, two granddaughters, a dear friend, a grandson (through marriage), two great grandsons and her boyfriend of 50 years.
It was my Baba’s 97th birthday. Some of you might remember Baba (Ukrainian for Grandma) from an earlier post where she came over to my house and showed my sister and me how to make a couple hundred pierogies. That link is here.
Well, it was wonderful for me to return the cooking favour and host a dinner to celebrate her big day. And with my Baba there really is a lot to celebrate. She is truly one of the most amazing women I have ever known. At 97 she still lives in her own home with Jimmy, her “boyfriend” of 50 years, and she walks every day and shops and cooks, knits and reads and is up on current events and has a well formed and intelligent opinion on almost everything. We keep trying to persuade her to tie the knot with Jimmy, her longtime love, but she continues to put us off, telling us that perhaps when she turns 100 she will indulge us with a winter wedding. Continue reading
Chocolate Chip, Apricot and Hazelnut Cookie Slices
With Halloween being just one week behind us it seems a little bit crazy to be putting up a recipe that features chocolate in any form. Last Sunday and Monday I made a valiant effort to reduce the number of little chocolate bars that were hanging around and Max and Glen joined in to help. I ate mini Kit Kats and Oh Henrys and Aeros and even a Tootsie Roll or two. We still have a massive bowl of treats staring at me from the kitchen counter and yet by Wednesday I was longing for something with some good chocolate in it. Maybe with some nuts and/or dried fruit. Something homemade. Something that would be perfect with an afternoon cup of tea. I like a Kit Kat as much as the next person but it doesn’t really go with a steaming cup of Earl Grey. Continue reading
Roasted Beet Salad with Mâche, Green Beans, Toasted Walnuts and Roquefort
We are right in the thick of gearing up for Halloween night around here. For Glen and Max Halloween is one of the most important holidays of the year, right up there with Christmas and Max’s birthday. They plot and plan possible costumes that Max might wear, they discuss how many fog machines and coloured lights will be needed and where these should be placed. They dig graves and get out the power tools and make head stones and graveyard crosses that they splatter with red paint. They trample every last flower, herb and vegetable in the front garden in their quest to hang fake cobwebs from the trees and fence posts. They meticulously position the mini wind machines that so gracefully blow the gauzy robes of the half dozen ghoulish monsters and demons dangling from the trees. There are cauldrons of dry ice and rolls of “do not cross” police tape and countless skeletons hanging about, vampires and black cats and of course a bunch of carved pumpkins too. Continue reading