Lime Chicken Chimichangas with Lime Guacamole

Lime Chicken Chimichangas with Lime Guacamole

Here's a recipe that has been a family favorite at our house for years.

Makes 6

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in strips
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 small red onion, chopped
1 red pepper cut in thin strips
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chilli powder
Zest of one lime, finely grated
Juice of one lime
½ jalapeño pepper, finely minced (optional or adjust to taste)
Salt and pepper to season
8 ounces of Monterey Jack cheese, cut in 6 , four inch strips
6 large 10 inch flour tortillas
Canola oil for deep frying

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Season chicken breast strips with salt and pepper and sauté for about 3 minutes along with the red onion and garlic. Increase the heat to medium high and the lime juice and zest, spices and chopped jalapeño. Sauté this until almost all of the juice has been reduced off , then set aside to cool a little.

Place the cheese strips in the center of the tortillas, add some red pepper strips and then the sautéed chicken mixture. Bring two opposite sides of the tortilla toward the center, they don’t need to meet. Begin rolling from one of the ends, making sure that the seam is on the bottom of the chimichanga.

Heat oil to 325 degrees F in a deep fryer and place the chimichangas seam side down in the basket. Lower into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Serve with salsa, sour cream and Lime Guacamole.

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Inspired by The Cheesecake Factory version of this fabulous dessert which I've never had before but as a lover of cheesecake and carrot cake, I was seriously intrigued by the idea and couldn't wait to try a version using my own favorite carrot cake and cheesecake recipes. It turned out great the first time and those who tried it this past weekend raved about it.

When you think about it, we always have cream cheese frosting on carrot cake, so the combination of cheesecake and carrot cake is a natural. If you like carrot cake and LOVE cheesecake, meet you new best friend!

Carrot Cake Layer

Grease and flour the bottom of a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan. Do NOT grease the sides.

• 1 ½ cups flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup drained crushed pineapple
• ¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, eggs and oil until light and fluffy.
Stir in the grated carrots, pineapple and nuts.
Fold in the dry ingredients by hand.
Stir only until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter. Do not over mix.
Pour into prepared pan.

Cheesecake Layer

Cream together:

• 2 eight ounce packages ounces cream cheese
• 2/3 cup sugar

Add, one at a time

• 2 eggs

beating well after each addition. Add

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Finally blend in:

• ¼ cup whipping cream

Spoon this cheesecake batter slowly and evenly over the cheesecake batter already in the spring form pan. Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes for a 9 inch pan. A 10 inch pan may require a little less baking time. When the cheesecake just begins to turn brown at the edges is a good time to take it out of the oven. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before running a sharp knife all the way around the inside edge of the cake. Leave on the wire rack until completely cooled, then refrigerate, remove from pan and garnish with whipped cream and if desired, candied carrot curls.

To make candied carrot curls use a vegetable peeler to cut long thin strips of carrot. Boil them gently for only a few minutes in a syrup made from 3/4 cup sugar and 2/3 cup water. Let them drain and cool on a wire rack before twisting them loosely into curls and using them to garnish the cheesecake.

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Raspberry White Chocolate Torte

This is a bit of a simplified version of my Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Tuxedo Cake previously featured on this blog. It uses only three of the elements of the more complicated dessert but is still very delicious while being a little easier and faster to prepare.


Chocolate Cake

1 cups sugar
1 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
½ cup soured milk
½ cup black coffee
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.

Pour into a greased and floured 9 inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
When the cake is completely cool, wrap a 4 inch wide, heavy duty aluminum foil collar around the cake to act as a mold, taping the end so that it fits snugly.
White Chocolate Truffle Filling

1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
1 ½ cups whipping cream
Scald ½ cup whipping cream almost to boiling. Pour over white chocolate chips and let stand for 3-4 minutes before stirring until smooth. Cool this mixture almost to room temperature before folding it gently into 1 cup whipping cream that has been beaten to stiff peaks. Pour inside the aluminum foil collar and chill for a couple of hours before adding the raspberry layer.

Raspberry Topping

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in an ounce of cold water

Bring the raspberries and sugar to a very gentle boil for 5 minutes. Keep the stirring to an absolute minimum so as not to break up the raspberries too much. Slowly stir in the dissolved corn starch and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before spooning over the chilled white chocolate layer. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight before serving.

Scallop Bacon and Ricotta Cannelloni with Roasted Tomato Fennel Sauce

This definitely is my very favorite pasta dish! It combines so many of my favorite flavours and ingredients. Scallops are my favorite seafood and this roasted fennel and tomato sauce is a perfect accompaniment to the scallop, ricotta and bacon flavours. This is a great recipe for any special occasion dinner. I sometimes prepare the filling and sauce the day before and can then assemble the cannelloni quite quickly for a workday dinner. Absolutely delicious!

Serves 4
8 large ripe tomatoes diced
1 large fennel bulb diced
4 cloves chopped garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper to season
2 tbsp basil

Toss all ingredients together in a shallow baking dish and bake at 375 degrees F until the fennel pieces are very soft and most of the liquid has cooked off. Puree in a food processor or blender and set the sauce aside.

1 package fresh lasagna pasta sheets, cut in half to make 12 cannelloni rollers

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet
Add 2 cloves minced garlic and cook for one minute
Toss in
1 to 1 ½ pound small scallops

Sauté the scallops in the garlic butter over high heat for only a couple of minutes and remove from the heat and let cool to almost room temperature.

Mix together:

1 sixteen ounce tub ricotta cheese
6 slices bacon, cut in small pieces and cooked crisp
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Add the sautéed scallops and stir well. Spoon a couple of heaping tablespoons of the filling onto each half sheet of pasta roll into a cylinder.

Spoon about 1/3 of the sauce into the bottom of a baking dish and lay the cannelloni in a single layer on top of the sauce. Cover with the remaining sauce and bake for about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees F. Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Cinnamon Apple Sour Cream Custard Flan

I combined a couple of my favorite recipes to come up with this fantastic dessert. This was the first time that I did a sauteed apple topping for my famous sour cream custard flan. I brought it to a house party a couple of weeks ago and it was a huge hit. Just looking at the picture this morning makes me want to bake another one. This one very quickly jumps to my top ten favorite desserts list. Highly recommended!


Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

Mix together until well combined:

2 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup sugar

Press into the bottom and sides of the greased springform pan to about a ½ inch from the top of the pan.

For the custard part of this desert it is important to use full fat sour cream or the filling will not set. I use 18% milk fat sour cream that is sometimes sold as “restaurant style” or “extra thick”.

Whisk together until the sugar is dissolved:

Three, 8 oz tubs of sour cream
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract

Pour into the prepared graham crumb crust and bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes. The custard will still be quite jiggly when done and just beginning to brown slightly at the edges. Allow the flan to cool to room temperature then refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving with the sautéed apples on top.

Sautéed Apples

Peel and cut into thick slices

8 large apples

In a large skillet melt

1/3 cup butter

Add
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup light brown sugar

Cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly. Add the apples and sauté until the apples are just fork tender but not mushy; they should still be semi-firm in texture. Remove from heat. The idea here is to let the residual heat to partly cook the apples. Drain the apples in a colander for about a half hour, collecting the juice and syrup that drains off.

Return the juice and syrup that has drained off the cooked apples to the sauté pan and simmer over medium heat until the sauce gets very thick. In a large bowl, gently toss this sauce with the cooked apples and spoon onto the top of the completely cooled flan.

Chocolate Raspberry Scones

Chocolate and raspberries...mmmm! I made these for Sunday brunch this past weekend. I may have them again this weekend!

I start these in my food processor because it is so fast but they can be made just as easily in a large bowl by cutting the butter in with a pastry blender or even 2 knifes held between the fingers.

In a food processor, combine:
3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Cut in:
¾ cup very cold butter, cubed
Pulse process until this mixture resembles a coarse meal. It is very important that pea sized pieces of butter remain in this mixture. Remove to a large bowl and toss in:

1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
¾ cup chocolate chips
(Frozen raspberries actually work best here as they hold their shape better as the dough is formed.)

Mix together:

2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Pour this over the surface of the dry mixture. Toss all together gently with a fork only enough to form a dough ball. It is important that you work this dough as little as possible or the finished scones will be too dense and heavy. Roll to 1 inch thickness and cut out scones with biscuit cutter or in triangles with a sharp knife and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

If desired you can brush the tops of the scones with an egg wash of 1 egg beaten together with 1 tbsp water. You can sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar if desired but this is, of course, optional.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your biscuit cutter. This recipe makes 12 scones.

Tomato Fennel Braised Chicken Thighs

Tomato Fennel Braised Chicken Thighs

One of my very favorite flavor combinations is tomato and fennel. I love the flavor boost that fennel gives to a great tomato sauce and when you slowly braise chicken thighs in that sauce to tender deliciousness, it just gets even better.  We like to serve this over pasta or rice for one delicious slow cooked comfort food dinner.

• 2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• Salt and pepper to season chicken
• Flour for dredging chicken
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 6 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• ½ large bulb fennel (or one small bulb ), diced
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 large red onion diced
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and then dredge them in plain flour. Brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock, making sure to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

In a covered roasting pan toss together the remaining ingredients. Add the browned chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and pour the chicken stock over everything. Cover and roast at 300 degrees F for about 90 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked off and the chicken is tender and falling apart.

To serve, you can either spoon the vegetables over rice or pasta or, if you prefer, process them slightly in a foods processor to make a sauce.

Five Spice Chicken Fennel Egg Rolls with Orange Ginger Sauce

Five Spice Chicken Fennel Egg Rolls with Orange Ginger Sauce

Several years ago, I came up with this recipe, basically with ingredients that I had on hand at the time. I am not a fan of cabbage based egg rolls as I find them pretty bland but this recipe is full of bright flavors; bland they are not! I've served them many, many times since; most recently as an hor's d'ouevre when friends came for the evening a couple of weeks back and they were once again a big hit. The recipe for the Orange Ginger Sauce, which is a great complement to these eggrolls, follows this post.

1 package egg roll wrappers

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet

Add:

1 large boneless chicken breast, chopped into very small pieces
2 cloves minced garlic
When the chicken is cooked through add
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
½ bulb fennel, shredded
1 large carrot, grated
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ tsp Chinese five spice powder
½ tsp kosher salt
Sauté for an additional minute, then remove from heat and cool for about 20 minutes before tossing with
4 cups fresh bean sprouts

To fill your eggrolls, lay the wrapper flat and lightly brush the edges with water. Spoon some of the filling in the middle of the wrapper. Bring one edge of the wrapper over the filling so that it is about a centimetre from the opposite edge. Fold the remaining centimetre of the wrapper back over the other edge and pinch all the edges together well. Lay on a parchment lined cookie sheet until you have all the eggrolls stuffed and ready for the fryer.

Heat canola oil in a deep fryer to 325 degrees F and fry the eggrolls until golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack.

Serve with Orange Ginger Sauce.

Orange Ginger Sauce

Simmer together for about 20 minutes
2 cups orange juice
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
½ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 clove minced garlic
Zest of one orange

After simmering together for 20 minutes, strain the liquid through a sieve and return the liquid to the pot and the pot to the burner. Thicken the sauce by whisking into the gently boiling liquid, a slurry of 1 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1-2 ounces orange juice. Use enough of the slurry to thicken to a sauce; use more or less as necessary to bring the sauce to the proper consistency.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

Here's a great cool weather dessert, made even better with the addition of a great caramel sauce, the recipe for which follows this post. It is the best recipe for caramel sauce that I have tried and we use it in all sorts of desserts and for the kids especially, on outstanding caramel sundaes.

Peel and cut into thick slices

3 large apples

In a medium skillet melt

¼ cup butter

Add
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup light brown sugar

Cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly. Add the apples and sauté until the apples are just fork tender but not mushy. Remove the apples from the sauce. At this point, depending on the juice content of your apples, you may have to continue to boil the sauce to reduce it to a slightly thickened consistency, then toss in the apples again.

5 cups bread cubes (Use any good quality bread. I’ve used Brioche here but French, Italian or Belgian bread is good too.)

Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish well. Toss in ½ the bread cubes in an even layer. Sprinkle the bread cubes with half the sautéed apples.

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Repeat the layer with the remaining bread cubes and apples.

Whisk together:

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes, pressing down slightly to make sure all the cubes are soaked. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes until the custard is set and no longer liquid in the center. Let the bread pudding stand for about 20 minutes before serving. Serve with Caramel Sauce.

Blueberry Duff

A duff is a type of steamed pudding, which is most often, as shown here, boiled in a cotton bag in the same pot with the vegetables and salt beef in traditional Newfoundland Jigg's Dinner. It goes by several different names; my friend Ellen, from St. Vincent's, for example calls it "Lad 'n da Bag". Traditions vary accross the province with some people who only know this dish as a dessert course, being served with a brown sugar or rum sauce; others know it as a side dish served with the other components of a Jigg's dinner.


Sift together:

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder

Add

1 cup blueberries

Add

1/3 cup melted butter
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all together with a wooden spoon just until a soft dough is formed. Put dough into a pudding steamer or a wet heavy cotton pudding bag, tying the bag with a piece of butcher string but leaving about an inch of slack at the top to allow the pudding to expand. Boil for approximately one and a half hours.

Note: you can substitute the sugar for ½ cup molasses and adjust the milk accordingly to form the proper consistency of the dough. Spices like 1 tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp allspice can also be added as variations

Traditionally served with a roast dinner or Jiggs Dinner but also served as a dessert with a rum butter sauce.

Turkey Parmesan Baked Rotini

Turkey Parmesan Baked Rotini

It's the Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and this recipe looks past the serving of the traditional turkey dinner, to the inevitable leftovers. I always have turkey stock on hand in my kitchen made from boiling the turkey bones and scraps. If I don't have time to do this on the day we have turkey, I freeze the scraps and bones and make it later; often making large batches from the remainders of several turkeys. I freeze the stock in pint sized containers and use it for soups, stews and in this recipe as a base for the sauce. This is a great comfort food recipe and will be a much appreciated supper on a chilly autumn evening.

For over a dozen more great leftover turkey ideas, click here.

In the microwave, scald

• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 ½ cups turkey stock

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook together for 2 minutes

• 1/3 cup butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp sea salt

Whisking constantly, slowly pour in scalded milk and turkey stock. Continue to cook for 2 more minutes stirring constantly. Stir in:

• 2 tbsp dry summer savoury
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

In salted boiling water, cook, just to al dente

• 3 cups uncooked rotini pasta

Drain and set aside.

• 3 cups leftover cooked turkey, cut in chunks
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 3 cups grated low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup chopped button mushrooms (optional)
• 1 large roasted red pepper, chopped (optional)
• 8 slices precooked bacon, cut in small pieces

Grease the bottom and sides of a large casserole dish. Place half of the cooked rotini pasta in the bottom of the dish. Layer the casserole with half the turkey, half the parmesan cheese, half the bacon, and half the sauce. Repeat these layers and top with the grated mozzarella cheese.

Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the casserole is bubbling and the top is golden brown.

Turkey Parmesan Baked Rotini

Brie with Partridgeberries, Pistachios, and Honey in Puff Pastry

Today's recipe is one of my very favorite things to serve to guests as an hors d'oeuvre. Of all the times I have served it, I have never, ever had leftovers of this one. I do several variations on this recipe as well, using hazelnuts or almonds. I sometimes do it with blueberries, bakeapples, raspberries or cranberries and sometimes use maple syrup instead of the honey. I've also found that this recipe can be warmed again in a moderate oven after it has been previously baked, which makes it a great dish to bring along to a party or as a pot luck appetizer . Do not pre-bake it and try to reheat it in the microwave; you will get a soggy crust instead of a crispy one. I generally serve it on water crackers or small slices of French baguette.

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 small wheel brie cheese
¼ cup roasted pistachio nuts
1/3 cup partridgeberries
3 tbsp honey
1 egg + 2 tbsp water, whisked together to make an egg wash

Roll out the pastry sheet and cut it into a circle about twice as wide as the wheel of brie. The pastry must be very cold in order to work with it so, if necessary, return it to the fridge or freezer for a few minutes if it gets too warm.

Place the brie in the center of the pastry circle and cut eight evenly spaced, 1 inch slits in the crust all around the outside edge of the pastry pointing toward the center of the circle.

Top the brie with the pistachios, partridgeberries and honey. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg wash and begin bringing the flaps of pastry over the top of the brie, to the center of the cheese. These flaps will start to overlap so that the brie becomes completely enveloped in the pastry.

At this point, you can decorate the top of the pastry with leaf shaped cut-outs of puff pastry if you desire. Brush the entire pastry with the egg wash and chill for at least an hour before baking on a parchment lined baking sheet in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about half an hour or until the pastry is evenly golden brown.
Serve with crackers or small slices of French baguette.

Toad in the Hole

In honor of Sir Elton's visit to our fair city, we served Toad in the Hole for supper last night. A traditional British favorite, popular with kids and adults alike, I'm told it is a staple comfort food across the pond.
Toad in the Hole is basically sausages baked inside of Yorkshire pudding which, on the face of it sounds rather dull but in fact is a pretty tasty dish, especially when served slobbered in good gravy. It also makes a pretty quick and easy weekday supper. We used some extra lean, spicy turkey sausages here, but you can use practically any favorite sausage. We served it with British style roasted potatoes which are always a big favorite at our house, especially with the kids.

4-6 large sausages
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
½ tsp salt

Whisk together the eggs and milk. Add the flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Set this mixture aside for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown your sausages in a frying pan while heating a 9x9 baking dish in a 375 degree F oven.

Remove the hot pan from the oven and brush the bottom and sides with cooking oil. Place the sausages in the bottom of the pan and pour the batter over the sausages. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Serve with Garlic Thyme Beef Gravy

Garlic Thyme Beef Gravy

Shown served on Toad in the Hole.

4 cups good beef stock
1 clove minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp ground thyme
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Sauté the garlic in the olive oil then add the beef stock, thyme and Worcestershire Sauce and simmer until the volume decreases by about half. Thicken the gravy with a slurry of 1 ½
tbsp flour mixed with 1/3 to 1/2 cup water, then whisked into the simmering stock mixture.

Chopped mushrooms sauted with the garlic make a nice addition to this gravy if you prefer.

Peach Pie with Sour Cream Pastry Crust

Peach Pie with Sour Cream Pastry Crust

I make a couple of different versions of peach pie but I do particularly like this simple one, made with sour cream pastry. This is a must-have dessert at our house at least a couple of times during peach season.

For the pastry:

• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups very cold butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup sour cream

Cut butter into the flour and salt with a food processor or pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible in the mix. Stir in the sour cream to form a dough. Form dough into two rounds, wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out into a 12-14 inch circle and place in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate.
Trim the edges.

For the filling combine:

• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Toss this dry mixture with

• 8-10 cups fresh peaches, peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Pour the filling into the bottom crust and cover with the second round of dough that has been rolled out to one or two inches larger than the ten inch pie plate. Tuck the edges under the bottom crust and pinch together to seal. Egg wash the top crust wrap the outer edges of the pie crust in an aluminum foil collar to prevent it from browning too fast. Cut a half inch circle out of the center of the top crust. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F then reduce the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for about another 20-25 minutes or until the filling starts to bubble at the center.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least a half hour before serving if you prefer to serve it warm.