Ingredient: salt or to taste

Green Onion Cake B(L)T

If you’re not familiar with them, green onion cakes are savory, pan fried flatbreads with a crispy exterior and a chewy interior filled with scallions, much like you’d spread cinnamon-sugar over dough for cinnamon buns, then rolling, twisting and squishing.

The scallion pancake has been around for so long, that like many other foods, its origins have passed into myth, folklore, and guesswork. It’s hard to tell where it was first created, but many of these tales point to Shanghai in northeastern China; at least, this is the most commonly accepted theory behind its creation. Shanghai has a large and diverse population, mainly of people who aren’t Chinese, such as the Indians. The scallion pancake greatly resembles an Indian flatbread known as paratha.

The Edmonton-style green onion cake, a variant of the Chinese scallion pancake, was popularized by chef Siu To, seen as the forefather in our city, of this specialty. When Siu To opened a restaurant in 1979, he had only one ambition. The former construction worker, who immigrated to Edmonton from northern China four years earlier, simply wanted to cook and serve the homestyle Mandarin cuisine he so greatly missed. But Siu To had no idea that they would become the local specialty of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The cakes were initially not seen outside his restaurant because of the labor-intensive process behind them; they must be slowly pan fried to crisp the outside and maintain the chewy interior. Eventually, Siu To found himself being increasingly asked to prepare the cakes at festivals and the popularity skyrocketed. Two variations exist: one with a typical pancake shape, and the other with a hole in the middle.

Today, green onion cakes are synonymous with Edmonton. They’re requisite festival fare and are in dozens of local eateries. The cakes were showcased in a Royal Alberta Museum exhibit on prairie Chinese restaurants in 2013. Bloggers as far away as Halifax acknowledge the green onion cake’s status in Edmonton’s culinary culture. 

It’s peculiar as to how a simple pan-fried dish made from little more than dough and green onions ever received this much attention in the first place.

Today, Brion & I are kicking it up a notch and having our city of Edmonton’s iconic green onion cakes in a ‘BT’ open face sandwich form. Lettuce is not really our favorite veg, so we opted to leave it off.

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 Green Onion Cake BLT
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword green onion cake BLT
Servings
Ingredients
Green Onion Cakes
Aioli
Toppings
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword green onion cake BLT
Servings
Ingredients
Green Onion Cakes
Aioli
Toppings
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Aioli
  1. In a bowl, whisk mayo, chili paste, sesame oil, 5-spice, sriracha, soy sauce & white pepper. Continue whisking until all blended & uniform. Set aside.
Toppings
  1. In a skillet, fry bacon until desired crispness. Remove from skillet & blot on paper towel. Slice tomatoes & Havarti cheese. Wash & prepare lettuce (if using). Set toppings aside until ready to be used.
Green Onion Cakes
  1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Make a well in mixture & add water. Mix until it forms a smooth dough. Knead for 2-3 minutes until dough is very elastic. Coat the dough lightly with a bit of oil & return to bowl. Allow to sit while you prepare onions.
  2. Slice green onions, place in a small bowl & combine well with sesame oil.
  3. Roll out dough into a very thin large circle. Spread green onion/oil mixture over entire surface. At bottom edge start rolling (cinnamon roll style), stretching & rolling until you reach the other side. Cut the cylinder into 8 even pieces. Pinch the ends of each piece together. One at a time, stand each roll on end & flatten into 'cakes'.
  4. Heat a Tbsp of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. (I found that my cakes seemed to be oily enough without adding any oil to the skillet.) When oil shimmers, place onion cakes in skillet. It should sizzle but not burn. Cook for 2 minutes on one side or until golden brown. Flip & cook another 2 minutes or until onion cake is cooked through.
Assembly
  1. Spread about a Tbsp of the aioli on each of the green onion cakes. Divide your toppings between 4 of the green onion cakes. Place remaining cakes on top. Cut each green onion BLT in half & serve or do as we did & have them 'open face'.
Recipe Notes
  • If the aioli sounds too spicy you can always change it out for Ranch dressing.

Chili Cheese Quiche

If you haven’t had quiche lately, it is time to remedy that situation. I could eat quiche for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without ever growing tired of it. This recipe takes the classic chili con carne and turns it into a quiche which makes an ideal winter meal, right?

Cornmeal crust is the perfect foil for meaty and cheesy savory pies. Not only is the rustic texture and flavor of cornmeal pastry a nice change, but it also helps if you have something that is super juicy to avoid soggy bottom pies.

If you like quiche and cornbread, you’ll love this. The cornmeal crust gives a sort of cornbread feel while maintaining the flaky composure that any great crust should have. This is one of my favorite crusts to use for savory pies, tarts and galettes.

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 Chili Cheese Quiche
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword chili con carne quiche
Servings
Ingredients
Cornmeal Pastry
Filling
Eggs/Milk
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword chili con carne quiche
Servings
Ingredients
Cornmeal Pastry
Filling
Eggs/Milk
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Cornmeal Pastry
  1. In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or fingertips, cut in butter until mixture resembles both coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it.
  2. After you have added all the sour cream mixture, dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if not add additional cold water, 1 tsp at a time. DO NOT overwork dough. Press dough into a disk & wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Filling
  1. In a large skillet, sauté beef, onion & garlic until meat is cooked & any liquid has evaporated. Stir in spices, corn, tomato sauce, beans. Remove from heat & allow to cool slightly. Grate cheese.
Eggs/Milk
  1. Whisk together eggs, milk & seasoning.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Roll out pastry to fit a 9-inche quiche pan. Place filling mixture in crust; sprinkle with cheese then pour milk mixture over the cheese.
  3. Bake for about 45 minutes or until set. Top with more grated cheese if you wish.

Beef & Potato Wellington

Today, November 24th, our neighbors to the south in the USA, are celebrating their Thanksgiving Day. It encompasses both religious and secular aspects … being both a harvest festival and a festival of family.

Here in Canada, we have already enjoyed our Thanksgiving in October but I thought it would be nice to acknowledge their holiday with posting a special meal.

While a classic beef wellington makes for a elegant dinner, it is easy to re-create a Wellington into a gourmet, hearty meal but on a more reasonable every day budget & time frame. Rather than using an expensive steak cut, this beef wellington recipe uses inexpensive ground beef and puff pastry sheets. The ground meat can be changed to ground pork, chicken, turkey or sausage. The list of additions to the meat is endless ranging from mushrooms to cheese. Some bacon mixed with the beef gives the dish that nice bacon impact that is very tasty.

This classic beef wellington-revisited is not only delicious but decadent. It is so good with a mushroom gravy.

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 Beef & Potato Wellington
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword beef mushroom wellington
Servings
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
Filling
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword beef mushroom wellington
Servings
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
Filling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Thaw puff pastry overnight in refrigerator. Cook potatoes & mash with grated cheese, salt & garlic powder. On a piece of parchment paper, roll potato/cheese mixture into a log shape. Set aside, keeping warm.
  2. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until browned but not real crisp; drain on paper towel then chop & set aside.
  3. Sauté onions, mushrooms & garlic in bacon drippings; set aside. Add beef to saucepan & scramble fry until browned, stirring to break up & moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat.
  4. Add vegetables back to saucepan along with flour, beef broth powder, beaten egg, bacon & seasonings. Combine well.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  6. On a sheet of parchment paper, roll out puff pastry thin but not so it will break when filled. On one end (which becomes the center underneath the roll) spoon a layer of meat mixture. Next, lay the mashed potato 'log' on top. Spoon the rest of the meat mixture on top & around the sides, lightly patting it into the potato log.
  7. Taking hold of the pastry (that is already tucked underneath), wrap it over top & tuck the edge in underneath to join up with the other pastry edge. Pinch together the open ends, leaving a bit of a gap to allow steam to escape.
  8. Make egg wash & brush liberally over pastry. Lift the 'wellington', using the parchment paper to a baking sheet.
  9. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely browned. Remove from oven, cover lightly with a sheet of foil for about 10 minutes. Slice & serve with a mushroom gravy if you wish.

Couscous & Beef Stuffed Butternut Squash

Israeli Couscous is an invention of the North American culinary mind, just like French and Italian dressing. In Israel, the dish is known as ‘petitim’, which means little crumbles in Hebrew. It was created by the Osem food company in the early 1950’s at the request of Ben Gurion, the prime minister of Israel at the time. Israel was in its early beginnings as a new state and resources were very scarce. At that time the government imposed a period of rationing known as ‘tzena‘. Osem was asked to develop a starch that was more affordable than rice which was very expensive at the time. The company’s response to this request was petitim or small rice shaped pieces of pasta that were toasted. Later, Osem expanded it’s product line to include the little round balls of pasta we know as Israeli couscous.

Couscous has a neutral taste, just like pasta, but infused with broths, stocks, meats, vegetables, and spices will become a satisfying meal. If you are a fan of butternut squash, this dish pairs the lovely sweetness of butternut squash and spicy beef with Israeli couscous.

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 Couscous & Beef Stuffed Butternut Squash
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword couscous & beef stuffed butternut squash
Servings
Ingredients
Squash
Stuffing
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword couscous & beef stuffed butternut squash
Servings
Ingredients
Squash
Stuffing
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a sheet pan with foil & butter.
  2. Cut butternut squash in half. Remove seeds & membrane. Rub oil on cut sides & place cut-side down on roasting pan, season with salt & pepper. Bake for 40 minutes or until tender but not soft.
  3. Place couscous in a mixing bowl. Pour boiling water over couscous & set aside until the couscous has absorbed all of the water. Fluff with a fork.
  4. In a saucepan, scramble fry ground beef in olive oil; add onion, celery & garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until celery softens, about 3 minutes. Stir in seasonings & salt; cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat, add to couscous mixture & pepita seeds; stir gently until mixed. Set aside.
  5. Remove squash from the oven. Flip the squash so that the cut side is up. With a teaspoon, create a tunnel in the middle of the straight end of each squash, scooping out the flesh but leaving a border of flesh on each side. Remove the flesh, chop coarsely and gently mix into the couscous mixture. Divide the couscous between the two squash halves, filling the tunnel and the round hole that held the squash seeds.
  6. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes or until heated through. Cut squash into four to six portions and serve.
Recipe Notes
  • Adjust the amount of ground beef used according to the size of squash you have.

Oyster, Bacon, Tomato & Avocado Po’boys

I have always had a love for sandwiches, not sure why … just do. Submarine, sub, grinder, hero, hoagie … there are many names for a sandwich on a length of Italian bread split horizontally and filled with cold cuts, cheese, veggies and dressing.

The classic oyster po’ boys make the most of briny, salty oysters. If you’re not familiar with this sandwich, it originated in New Orleans in 1929 as a way to feed the striking workers. Credit goes to brothers Clovis & Bennie Martin, streetcar conductors-turned-sandwich-shop owners who made it their duty to help out striking streetcar conductors by giving them free sandwiches. The strikers were called ‘poor boys’ (New Orleans shortens everything, so it got shortened to po’ boy). The brothers’ generosity earned thousands of new fans, and the sandwich with its new name, became of symbol of the city’s heart & soul.

The original po’ boy was filled with breaded, fried oysters or shrimp. Some common variations include crab, catfish, crawfish, spicy sausage, fried chicken and shredded seasoned beef. Seafood and chicken po’ boys are made with breaded and deep fried ingredients, but if deep frying is not your thing, oven baked is the closest technique to achieve the crunchy, deep-fried texture.

Brion & I like this combo because the avocado brings out the sweetness in seafood. Oysters coated in cornmeal make a savory sandwich and a perfect meal. It’s portable, it’s filling and there are endless possibilities.

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 Oyster, Bacon, Tomato & Avocado Po'boys
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Lunch
Cuisine American
Keyword oyster, bacon, tomato & avocado po'boy
Servings
Ingredients
Course Lunch
Cuisine American
Keyword oyster, bacon, tomato & avocado po'boy
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a skillet, fry bacon until crispy but not hard. Drain on paper towel until ready to use.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together cornmeal & spices; set aside.
  3. Gently dredge oysters in flour then in egg whites & lastly in cornmeal/spice mixture. Cover breaded oysters & refrigerate until ready to bake. Prepare tomato, avocados (guacamole) & bread.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  5. Remove oysters from refrigerator, spray a baking sheet with cooking spray & carefully place oysters on it so that they are not touching each other. Bake for 15 minutes until crispy & cooked.
  6. Spread bread 'pieces' with your choice of dressing. Divide oysters between bottom halves, followed by avocado, bacon & tomato. Place top halves of the bread over the fillings & press lightly. Serve immediately.

Beef w/Porcini Risotto en Croute

Italy, often regarded as the home country of pasta, still has a deep love for another popular dish called risotto. Risotto like pasta can be dressed with an endless variety of ingredients.

Mushroom risotto is a delicious variation on this classic dish. The beauty of mushroom risotto is in its earthiness of the mushrooms you choose. Italians make mushroom risotto with fresh porcini mushrooms when they are in season in spring and fall. If you are unable to find some at an Italian store, dried porcini mushrooms make an excellent substitute in this recipe.

The key to preparing items en croute is that however long it takes to cook the pastry until its golden brown, is how long the item will spend in the oven.

Normally, Beef En Croute can be an expensive proposition. By using a well seasoned ground beef instead of ‘Beef Tenderloin‘, it can be transformed into a more economical meal but still have a degree of richness & elegance to it.

Print Recipe
 Beef w/ Porcini Risotto en Croute
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, French
Keyword beef w/ mushroom risotto en croute
Servings
Ingredients
Risotto
Beef
Porcini Mushrooms
Pastry
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, French
Keyword beef w/ mushroom risotto en croute
Servings
Ingredients
Risotto
Beef
Porcini Mushrooms
Pastry
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Risotto
  1. Dice onion & garlic finely. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a saucepan & cook until tender soft. Add risotto mix along with hot chicken broth. The rice should be soft cooked in about 20 minutes. Stir in Parmesan & 1 1/2 tsp butter. Your mixture should not be loose or dry. Set aside to cool.
Beef
  1. In a saucepan, saute ground beef along with diced onions, garlic & spices. Cook ONLY until beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat & allow to cool.
Mushrooms
  1. Brush mushrooms with a clean damp cloth & slice. Heat oil in saucepan & saute mushrooms with thyme to release some of their moisture. Remove from heat & set aside to cool.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Brush one of the puff pastry sheets with egg white. Down the center of the pastry sheet, spread the risotto & top with half of the mushrooms. Next, top with the spiced beef & remaining mushrooms.
  3. Lay the second sheet of pastry on top & either braid the edges or press pastry together with a fork. Beat together egg yolk & remaining white plus a bit of water. Brush pastry evenly with beaten egg. Bake until golden about 20 - 25 minutes.
Recipe Notes
  • When using dried mushrooms for this or any dish, soak them in boiling water for 30 minutes, strain the liquid, & add it to your dish or save for another day. In this preparation, add it to the broth.

Chili Con Carne with Cornbread

At this time of year, this hearty, easy to prepare meal seems to fit in nicely. Here in northern Alberta, Canada we are still in the midst of those cold winter temperatures.

Since the first recorded recipe, chili has been reinvented to include different spices and ingredients changing basic things like beef to chicken, chili peppers to jalapeno peppers and tomato sauce to chicken broth. The fact remains, it’s a great meal no matter what recipe you use or what the weather conditions are. 

Chili con carne, which is Spanish for ‘chili with meat’,  is a spicy ‘stew’ containing meat (usually beef) chili peppers or spice, tomatoes, garlic, onions and beans. Geographic and personal tastes involve different types of meat and ingredients. There has been much discussion and dispute that the word ‘chili’ applies only to the basic dish, without beans and tomatoes.

When Brion and I spent three months in Ecuador, we had rented a furnished apartment. The kitchen was very basic, but I could still enjoy preparing our meals. Being in Ecuador, one would have thought something as common place as ‘chili powder’ would be no problem to buy. After much searching, we finally gave up and I concocted my own version using black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne powder, onion powder, dried oregano and cumin. It actually tasted quite good. Cooking in Ecuador was a real learning curve. Due to the fact that even though you could buy similar ingredients to home, they tasted somewhat different.

Thinking back to my mother’s cooking, I don’t recall much about her chili but the cornbread she served with it was ‘to die for’. Once again, I’m sure so much of it was time and place.

Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and are leavened with baking powder. The quintessential late 20th to early 21st century recipe contains baking powder for convenience, sugar for sweetness and flour and eggs for lightness. Cornbread is an interesting recipe to track through the past few centuries. It is such a prolific crop, grown in America, that it was consumed across class, race and regional lines. Corn lends itself to change very easily, giving way to variations of cornbread recipes. Although traditional cornbread was not sweet at all, regional preferences for sweetness in the recipe have developed.

In order to bake some cornbread in Ecuador, we purchased a package of yellow corn meal. Although it seemed to be very finely ground, I was able to make it work and we really enjoyed it. One day, while we were out walking we came upon a street vendor selling something called ‘Humitas’. We purchased a couple to take back to the apartment to try. Humitas are made of ground young corn, seasoned with egg, butter and possibly cheese wrapped in a corn husk and steamed. These had a bit of anise flavor which gave them a real unique flavor. Humitas are one of the most traditional of Ecuadorian recipes. The ingredients can vary by region, town or even in family recipes and can be sweet or salty. They differ from corn tamales in that they are steamed rather then boiled or baked. The corn used in making them is called ‘choclo’, also known as Peruvian or Cusco corn (named for the capital city of the Incas). This Andean corn has extra large, bulbous kernels almost five times larger than North American corn with a creamy texture. Every so often during our stay in Ecuador, we made a point of treating ourselves to some.

My story has got a little ‘long winded’ today, but I hope you have enjoyed it. I am posting my ‘tried and true’ recipes for Chili & Cornbread.  Hope you give them a try and enjoy!


Print Recipe


Chili Con Carne with Cornbread

One of those 'stick to your ribs', comfort food meals!

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American

Servings


Ingredients
Beef Chili

Cornbread

Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American

Servings


Ingredients
Beef Chili

Cornbread

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!


Instructions
Chili
  1. In a large skillet, brown beef, onions, green pepper & spices until meat is thoroughly cooked & any liquid has evaporated. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans & water. Cook over medium - high heat until bubbly. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cornbread
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper or a mini loaf pan. In a food processor or blender, pulse first 5 ingredients for a few seconds. Place in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together melted margarine, milk & egg. Combine wet & dry ingredients, mixing only until moistened; batter should be lumpy. Pour into baking pan(s) & bake for 20 minutes or until test done. Serves 8