This Saturday on the Weekend Morning Show - Mushroom Pate

This morning on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host Ismaila Alfa, I presented the following dish for any holiday celebration. It is easy to prepare in advance for stress-free entertaining.

Happy Holidays!

Mushroom Pâté

1 tbs olive oil
2/3 cup green onions, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
5 cups sliced mushrooms (crimini, button, shitake, morel, porcini, chanterelle, etc)
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp dried thyme

1 cup panko bread crumbs or whole wheat bread crumbs
½ cup walnuts, chopped (use pecans if allergies)
¼ cup tahini (available at Halal Meats and Specialty Foods on Maryland)
2 tbs tamari or good soy sauce
1 cake soft tofu, blanched and crumbled
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne (to taste)

Sauté the green onions and celery in the olive oil until the whites are translucent. Add the mushrooms, basil and thyme and continue to cook on low heat until the mushrooms have softened.

Combine the sautéed vegetables with the remaining ingredients and blend in a food processor.

Oil a medium loaf pan and line it with waxed paper, allowing several inches of waxed paper to hang over the sides. Oil the wax paper and spoon in the pâté. Fold the overhanging paper across the top and bake for about 1 ½ hours at 300ºF. The pâté us done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

When the pâté is cool, fold back the wax paper, invert pan onto a plate and carefully peel away the paper.

Serve with greens, breads and crackers.

Enjoy!

Today at d.a.Niels - Chicken Tajine with Prunes and Almonds and Turkish Omlettes

I'm making the chicken tajine with prunes and almonds from the last posting. Loving that recipe by Paula Wolfert's, The Food of Morocco. The omlettes are very simple to prepare but quite yummy. I made them often on the boat in Turkey. Photo coming soon!

Turkish Omlettes

4-5 eggs
splash milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta
pepper
good pinch oregano or "Greek Salad spice mix"
butter

Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Heat skillet and melt butter. Add one ladle-full of egg mixture (depending on ladle size) and turn pan to spread egg mixture out fully. Flip over half and then in quarter size and serve.

Enjoy!

This Saturday on the Weekend Morning Show - Moroccan Chicken Tajine with prunes and almonds

This morning I presented this very easy to prepare Moroccan dish of Chicken with prunes and almonds on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host Rosanna Deerchild. I have to admit, I am rather excited about this recipe.

Chicken Tajine with prunes and almonds

1 chicken – (3 1/2 lbs)
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup prunes
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup whole blanched almonds
vegetable oil for frying

Rub all the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and cumin. Let stand for one hour.

Soak prunes if very dry.

Place onions in a wide shallow casserole with turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 cup water, cover and steam for 15 minutes.

Brown the almonds in 4-5 tbs oil in a large skillet and drain on paper towels. Brown the chicken evenly on all sides in the oil and transfer to the steamed onions. Cover with parchment paper and cook in tajine on the lowest heat for about 1 1/4 hours.

Discard the parchment paper. Add the prunes and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat. Serve with almonds sprinkled on top.

Enjoy.