Olive Oil

I will be trying out a new olive oil over the weekend. Not sure what I am going to cook with it. I might just use it in a salad dressing or maybe just simply make a great dipping oil with herbs and balsamic. The website for this olive oil is mostly in French so here are the basics. I will post with comments and hopefully some photos.

To visit their website go here: http://www.tuyya.com/epicerie-fine-2/huile-olive-extra-vierge/

 

 

2011 Vintage - Organic Single Estate Moroccan Extra Virgin Picholine Ollve Oil.

- From olive trees over 100 years old in Fkih Ben Saleh, Morocco.
- It is unfiltered, first cold pressed on a granite mill and bottled within 7 hours after manual picking and sorting.
-Available in Natural and Thyme and Bay Leaf
-Thyme and Bay Leaf - 80 kg of each per 10000 kg of olives.

-The picholine olive is very high in polyphenols which means a longer shelf life and has a proven antioxidant effect.  (US National Library of Medicine - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20209466)

In addition to the effects of the mono-unsaturated fatty acid oleic acid, olive oil and olive extracts contain polyphenols with remarkable health benefits. Of these, extracts concentrated for oleuropein have been shown to lower blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol levels. Michael T. Murray MD 2013-03-18 http://www.naturalfactors.com/caen/blog/2013/03/18/Olive-Polyphenols-Promote-Heart-Health-by-Affecting-Gene-Expression

Pork Chops with Balsamic Sauce

Tried out this new recipe Pork Chops with Balsamic Sauce. It was very good. Oh and just thought I would throw in a photo of my duck fat fries. This batch was particularly good. Recipe  from cbc.ca Best Recipes Ever.

2 tbsp (25 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp (10 mL) dried italian herb seasoning
Pinch salt
4 pork loin centre chops
2 tbsp (25 mL) balsamic vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch
3/4 cup (175 mL) sodium-reduced chicken stock

In small bowl, mix together oil, Italian seasoning and salt ; brush over chops. In a cast iron skillet, fry chops over medium-high heat until browned and just a hint of pink remains inside, about 4 minutes per side.

Transfer to plate; keep warm. Drain off any fat in pan.

Add balsamic vinegar to pan; simmer over medium heat for 30 seconds. Whisk cornstarch into stock; add to pan and bring to boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Return chops and any juices to pan; heat through, turning to coat.

 

 

 

Cast Iron Pan Pizza

 

This was my first attempt at pizza in a cast iron pan. Looks pretty good but the bottom was burned. Started it on the stove top and then transferred to the oven. The crust that was not burned was great. I am going to work on this in the future. The toppings: Prosciutto, hot Genoa salami, onions, green pepper, mushrooms and mozzarella. Once I get it right I will post the process and dough recipe that I use.

Slow Cooker Ribs

 

Had a friend send me this recipe for slow cooker ribs. They turned out super tender and quite tasty. I know it may not appeal to rib purists, but this was easy to make and had great taste. Served duck fat fries on the side. Great game day meal. Oh and of course goes great with your favourite beverage.

Game Day Ribs

Ingredients for the BBQ sauce

 1 cup ketchup or less, add more water for a thinner sauce, (could also try Diane’s Original BBQ sauce instead of the ketchup

5 tablespoons of water
1/4 stick of butter
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed.
1-2 or more tablespoons of Frank’s hot sauce
1/4 cup honey or less
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon of crushed ginger
1 teaspoon of molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch ground white pepper
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch of onion power

In a large saucepan over medium low heat, mix together all the ingredients and get them well incorporated, and bring to a slight boil and simmer. You could make this ahead of time

 

In the Slow Cooker

1 onion sliced to lay on the bed of the cooker

Put that right in the cooker

It's Chili Time

Well it is just a coincidence that I was making Chili when Tupper decided to make Chili this weeks challenge on the Cooler Page. This one was hot. Very hot. Probably not a Texas original recipe, so I am gonna call it the Cornwall Hot Chili recipe. A Cornwall Original. (Adapted from Boilermaker Tailgate Chili by MIGHTYPURDUE22 ) This goes great with some Italian bread and a cold beer.

2 pounds ground beef chuck

1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage

1 (15 ounce) kidney beans

2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

4 cubes beef bouillon

1/2 chicken broth

1/4 cup chili powder or more to taste

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoons ground cumin

4 tablespoons Frank’s hot pepper sauce or more to taste

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®

1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese



Directions

1.. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into a hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease and transfer to large slow cooker.

2.Into a large slow cooker pour in the kidney beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, bouillon cubes, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and cook on low heat for at least 5 hours, stirring occasionally.

3.After 3 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.

4.To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese

The Arrogant Chef's Can-Am Feast

Made some dogs. Not quite Michigan's, not quite Texas Chili dogs, rather The Arrogant Chef's Can-Am feast. A mixture of Michigan recipe, chili dog recipe, added some Slap Ya Mama seasoning to the sauce. Onions are buried under the dog, topped with the sauce, some extra Slap Ya Mama seasoning, and a touch of mustard on a super fresh bun. The Canadian poutine is made with local St. Albert's Cheese curds, gravy, and hand cut fries cooked in duck fat. Missing from the photo is the ice cold beer.

The Arrogant Chef Onion Ring Pizza

Well I could not come up with a more inventive name for this pizza. Basically, it is a veggie pizza, onions, green pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, and a four cheese mixture I picked up at the grocery store topped with my gourmet onion rings. The crust was the latest experiment. The crust is not really all that thick but you get a nice puffiness on the edge. This is the crust recipe.

Pizza Dough
Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1.In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2.Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3.Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

4.Preheat oven to 500F. I use a two step method. First I put the pizza in the oven on a perforated pizza pan on the lower rack with the sauce only and bake for about 5 minutes. I then take it out top it with the rest of the ingredients and bake it on the middle rack for about 10 minutes or until the crust is a nice deep golden brown.

This is the recipe for the onion rings. These are not battered. They are coated in a flour mixture with spices.


Gourmet Onion Rings
Ingredients:

3 vidalia or sweet onion
1 pint of buttermilk
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup plain flour
1tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
oil for frying

Method:

Cut the peeled onion and seperate into rings. Soak the rings in the buttermilk mixed with the cayenne pepper. In another bowl mix together the flour, celery salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Drain the onion rings and drop them in the seasoned flour. Remove and deep fry a few rings at a time. Do not crowd the deep fryer or they will really stick together. Deep-fry until golden and crisp. Season and serve immediately.