Who Needs Chocolate When You Can Have Mashed Potatoes

A valentine weekend of mashed potatoes at somerville kitchen. Calorie counts are not allowed until tomorrow. Happy Valentine everyone.

Saturday - Braised Chicken with Mashed Potatoes

A tasty braised chicken recipe from the January issue of Bon Appetit. Chicken simmering in a mixture of tomatoes, wine, port, dijon mustard, red peppers, onions, garlic, and bay leaves produced a delicious thick tomato gravy to go over the potatoes.

Served with steamed-then-butter-glazed carrots and fried chard with garlic and lemon.

Sunday - Meat Loaf with Mashed Potatoes

Somerville meat loaf (click for recipe) with mashed potatoes, Knorr Swiss roast gravy enhanced with mushrooms and wilted spinach with onions and lemon.

And a Sunday dinner is not complete without Janice Wong's Chow popovers (more on those at Sunday Dinner Accompaniments entry).



Monday - Popovers with Mashed Potatoes

Those popovers yesterday were so good that I made them again (and more of them) today. 

They were then split in half, stuffed with mashed potatoes and covered with what would typically be the filling of chicken pot pie (chicken, vegetables and dill in a creamy sauce).

Ginger Crunch for Valentine

I bet you did not know that ginger is a natural aphrodisiac. In fact French legend Madam du Barry used to serve ginger to her lovers which drove them, including Louis XV, to a state of complete and utter submission. So what is a better recipe for Valentine than this ginger crunch.

 

I received this recipe from someone in New Zealand as part of an email recipe exchange (I love those, add me to the list anytime). It is very easy to make, so try it tomorrow as a special treat for your loved one.

The Base

Cream 125g of butter with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffly. Separately, mix 1.5 cups flour with 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp ground ginger. Add to the butter mix, knead well and press dough into a greased baking dish. Bake in 375 oven for 20 - 25 minutes, until light brown.

The Icing

In a small saucepan, combine 50 grams butter, 1/2 cup icing sugar, 1 Tbsp golden syrup and 2 tsp ground ginger. Heat until butter is melted, stirring constantly. Spread over hot biscuit base. Once cool, cut into squares and serve.

Happy Valentine 

Thank you Meredith!

Locally Made Chocolates for Valentine

If you are looking for special chocolates for Valentine, look no further than Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France on East 21st Street off Main Street.

Walking into this cozy spot and seeing the chocolate makers working in the kitchen behind the counter brings back memories of the movie Chocolat. 

You can design your own combinations of six deliciously hand-made truffles (including a favourite of mine - orange blossom truffle) and/or twelve chocolate squares flavoured with exotic spices and herbs such as chili, lavender, cardamon, sea salt - to name a few.

They also sell (which I am yet to try) three flavours of caramel - next trip.

Beautiful Packaging

Exceptional Service

Open 12 - 6 daily

Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France

198 E. 21st Avenue

Vancouver, BC

www.chocolaterienouvellefrance.ca 

Tres Leches Cake

I was having a chat with Jackie, Shaktea's talented bakeress, about condensed milk and she brought up the Tres Leches Cake. Up till then I have not even heard of this Mexican cake. Given that I just love sweetened condensed milk and can eat a full can with a spoon in one sitting, I could not resist trying it.


The experiment started with finding a reliable recipe. Versions of it are abundant on the net - they all include the three milks - regular milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. However, each version was different. So Martha Stewart, with her strong brand equity, won my trust (her recipe available at www.marthastewart.com/tres leches cake).

Not the easiest cake to make - bake,  poke,  add the three milk combo, chill. 

The cake was heavier than I expected (must be all the eggs), the milk mixture did not go into the cake enough. All-in-all it was not the most successful baking adventure at somerville kitchen.


At the end of the day, anything with sweetened condensed milk is tasty, at least in my books. But I am sure any of my featured bakeresses will make a way better version of this, so I am not going to attempt it again and leave it to the experts to make it for me.

Lebanese Stews Series - Bamieh (Okra)

In early December, I started a series on Lebanese stews (see Lebanese Stews Series) and promised to feature many of them over the next few months. I started with Loubieh (Green Beans) stew in December. A new one is long past due.

Tonight's stew is Bamieh (Okra). Lebanese Okra is smaller than many of the Chinese or East Indian Okra we find in Vancouver. I typically bring them frozen from Lebanon or buy frozen packages from middle eastern stores in Vancouver. 

As discussed in previous posts, these stews are made in steps.

1. Use the tiniest Okras you can find. Deep fry them in vegetable oil until they change colour. Set aside.

2. Cook beef cubes in a pot with no oil, on very low heat, until all meat liquid is evaporated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
 
3. Add cooked Okras to the meat, sprinkle with dried coriander, 1 tsp of Alleyeh (see Lebanese Stews Series for recipe), juice of one lemon, and 1/4 cup water.

4. Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Lebanese stews are served with one of two types of rice: plain white long grain rice (not Basmati rice) or white long grain rice with vermicelli. Bamieh stew (Okra) is served with plain rice. Okra lovers - try it and enjoy.

Neighbourly Plate Exchange

I am so lucky to have the nicest and sweetest neighbours right next to my house. We are both into cooking and baking and, as a result, keep on exchanging plates of goodies - no plate returns empty. Here is a sequence of the latest neigbourly plate exchanges, finishing off with the most colourful Chinese new year goodies plate few days ago.

For The Love Of Bread - By Guest Correspondent Yum!

"I love bread. It's my classic carb of choice. Rice and potatoes are poor cousins to bread which is heavenly - especially still warm from the oven with a simple smear of melting butter or a triple cream brie and a paper-thin slice of dry salted ham."

Guest Correspondent - Yum!

I first saw Peter Reihnart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice at Boudin's flagship shop in San Francisco. I skirted around every other part of the store before picking it up, but eventually I left the store without the book. I have too many under-used cookbooks already and I think I am developing a cookbook problem.

But I couldn't help myself: soon after I arrived home, it was added to my preferred online book seller wish list. After just six months, my favourite Santa delivered it to me on Christmas day (quiet possibly to stop me talking about it, though that has definitely backfired).

My main interest in the book was the rustic hearth loaves - dense, deeply flavoured with a lovely crisp crust and a chewy center that melts in your mouth. I quickly learned that all loaves I wanted to make require a wild yeast starter. Making a yeast starter and the barm that follows (sour dough starter) is not for the feint of heart.

After three weeks of trial and error, I finally had enough wild yeast in my seed starter to move on to making the barm. From what I gather, barm is just a name for the flour and water environment the wild yeast lives in. Because it is made up of live organisms, it has to be fed regularly, or it dies - kinda like having a new pet.

There are way too many steps to this process to outline here and keep anyone but the diehard awake.Next time will be much faster because I now have the starter.


 

But if you love to make bread and eating it warm from the oven you might want to give this a try. Not only will you have a home filled with the fantastic aroma of baking bread and a delicious loaf, but making the starter is rewarding in and of itself.



If you want a better home loaf, but wild yeast is more than you want to commit to, pick up a copy of Kneadlessly Simple. The breads in this book have fantastic flavours and require little from the baker. You just have to manage the stages and your time to bake the loaf a few hours before you want it. Recipes here take 2 - 4 days, but mostly in developing flavour and in extra long rising times.

Happy Baking!

Thank you Guest Correspondent Yum!