Barefoot Contessa at home

This seems like an appropriate cookbook for the times we are in, as we all cook more at home!

I like Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa,  and have a couple of her books.  I remember her when she appeared on Martha Stewart Shows, and try to catch her show when it is on tv.  She has a relatable approach to cooking.  I loved her hearing her talk about the shop she owned in East Hamptom.  I think that would have been one of the ultimate foodacations.  Staying around East Hampton for a week and buying all the food from her shop.   Forget about East Hampton I just wanted to go to her shop!

As wonderful as it is to try new restaurants when you are travelling, it is just as much fun to be able to pick up local ingredients and play with them in the kitchen.  One of my favourite days on a trip to Tuscany was the day we want into the local village, purchased a baguette and biscotti from the baker. Sausage meat from the butcher and produce from the green grocer.  We then spent the afternoon creating our meal with our own Nonna who showed us how to make pasta!

Right now it is nice to day dream about the places we will go when we feel safe to travel again; I find it hopeful to think about the trips I might take.  One of those trips will be to Vancouver again but this time I am going to stay somewhere that I have a kitchen.  I have been to Vancouver a number of times and one of my favourite places to go is Granville Island.  But because I am usually staying in a hotel,  I have to restrain myself in my purchases as I have no where to store/prepare many of the wonderful things that are available.

Then again I have a hard time even when I go to the local farmers market.  The Boyce Farmers Market is the oldest farmers market in Fredericton and one of Canada's Top 10 Community Markets.  Even though, usually, I can go to the market every Saturday,  I don't because I always over buy.  There is too much fresh good food that it is hard to stick to the shopping list. 😀  It is a problem I hope to have again soon.

What is your favourite foodacation place that you have been or would like to go to??  I am looking for ideas.

But this post is supposed to be about Ina Garten's book, so let's get back to it.

I  made a couple of the recipes when I joined my cousins to quilt.

The Cranberry Orange Scones and the Peach Bellinis

The scones were a hit,  a great treat for brunch one morning.  Made with dried cranberries they were quick and easy and could be prepared at any time, as we tend to have the ingredients on hand.   The recipe in the book makes a lot, but it is easy to halve without any issues.

I did cheat when I made the Fresh Peach Bellinis, fresh peaches in February is impossible so I used frozen, which made a very tasty drink but I can't wait until fresh peaches are available because I bet the drink will be spectacular.  (Sorry no pictures - too busy quilting at that point to remember to take pictures)

My local grocery store had tuna steaks on special last week, albeit frozen,  but I took advantage of the tuna to make Seared Tuna with Mango Chutney.  I still remember the first time I had fresh Tuna steak, it was at the restaurant at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver many years ago.  Obviously it was a meal that has stayed in my memory,  I have had tuna in restaurants since but have never tried to cook it at home.  Always just a little leary about cooking tuna at home.  The key to a good tuna steak is not to overcook, it should still be pink in the middle and the difference between just cooked and overcooked is small. 

Ina's instructions were clear and easy to follow and the Mango Chutney provided the right amount of sweet to compliment the tuna.  I served with Couscous with Pine Nuts and a little sauted spinach.  

Considering how easy it was, I will certainly try tuna steaks at home again!

For now, I think I will go enjoy the sun and day dream about some foodacations, until next time. Stay Safe.

Comfort Food on a Snow Day in May

When it is a snowy day in May and you are still self-isolating because there is a pandemic going on.  Sometimes you just need comfort food,  no fuss, no muss.  No fancy recipes just old fashion comfort food.

Today,  that was the order of the day.  Now I did start the day making cookies from a new recipe, but I will get to that later.

For lunch it was the quintessential comfort food on a stormy day - Cream of Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

I used canned tomatoes to make the Cream of Tomato Soup and sounding like a very bad dietitian Grilled Cheese Sandwiches have to be made on white bread!  Good white bread, but no multi-grain stuff.  I had a mixture of cheddar and marble to go into my Grilled Cheese - a few minutes in the pan and I had yummy goodness that made the day seem oh so much better.

Add to that a Double Chocolate Cookie and a cup a tea - what better way to spend a snowy afternoon.

The napkin was wishful thinking of what hopefully will be the future 😁

The Double Chocolate Cookies were from Chocopologie by Fritz Knipschlot with Mary Goodbody.

This is a new cookbook in my collection.  A christmas gift, it is actually the first time I made anything out of it.  It offers a wide selection of ways to enjoy chocolate from cookies to cakes, pies to truffles, chocolate drinks and even chocolate covered bacon!  It is a nice addition to my chocolate cookbook collection - a sub section of my cookbook collection.  I will be reaching for it again soon to make something else.

The cookies themselves were nice and fudgy with a dense chocolate flavour without being overlay sweet.  A definite keeper.  I think I will go enjoy another cookie with my tea and watch the snow fall!

Out my front door - May 9

Entertaining in the time of Covid 19

My pick for this week is The Canadian Living Entertaining Cookbook,  at a time when our ability to entertain outside our own household is non-extent it might seem an odd choice; but it was another one of the books I had used when my cousins and I gathered earlier this year.

Canadian Living was my go to source for recipes for years. The magazines and cookbooks always had good reliable recipes.

The Canadian Living Entertaining Cookbook was published in 1990 and for the most part has stood the test of time.  Certainly there are recipe ingredients that at the time seemed exotic but now are run of the mill, and some "popular" ingredients that are now out of vogue.

One afternoon we had the Red Onion and Black Olive Tart.  Red onions simmered to develop their sweet flavours, combined with tomatoes make a wonderful base for the olives.  The recipe called only for black olives but I mixed it up with both black and green olives.  There is so many wonderful oil cured olives out there why limit yourself! With a crisp white wine it was the right combination of sweet and salty to make an satisfying snack.

The Canadian Living Entertaining Cookbook is broken up into menu for all sorts of occasions and no occasions at all.  For supper one evening I referred to the menu for A Seaside Supper which I almost totally followed. Which is unusual I like to create my own menus.  We had:

Mussels and Scallop Stew

Bibb Lettuce and Avocado Salad

Crusty Bread 

The Mussels and Scallop Stew was that simple, quick dish that means you can have something fun and delicious on the table in no time.  Yummy shellfish in a cream base gives something for the crusty bread to sop up. The salad provides a fresh crisp contrast to the richness of the stew.  ( By the way, the dressing would be great on any salad).  Makes me hungry just thinking about the meal. 😊

Our dessert that evening was also from this cookbook, but another selection.  Three-way Cookies is a great recipe to have a nice selection of cookies without having to make 3 batches. 

One dough, divided and flavoured 3 ways and you are ready to impress company that you slaved all day in the kitchen!

Chocolate Cookies, Ginger Drop Cookies and Sugar Cookies

Things will improve and we will once again be able to entertain - friends, family, neighbours we will eat, drink and be merry and wrap our arms around them and hopefully never let go again!

Checking our cookbooks and planning those menus helps us to look forward to the future when things return to some normalcy.  In the meantime, Stay Safe and wash your hands.