Superbowl snacks on CBC's Weekend Morning Show!

 This morning I had the pleasure of presenting the following dishes for CBC's Weekend Morning Show, on the theme of tomorrow's Superbowl.  Host Terry MacLeod also makes chowder with mussels but PEI is not in the Superbowl.  :)

Seattle Seahawks Coffee wings
2 lbs chicken wings & drumettes, frenched*
1 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled
1 cup of water
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon espresso grounds
1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
2¼ tsp spanish paprika
1½ tsp garlic powder
1½ tsp dried thyme
1½ tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp ground sage
½ tsp. cayenne
2 Tablespoon maple syrup*  Optional:  Trim chicken wings & drumettes of excess fat. I prefer them "Frenched" which just means removing the excess cartilage & skin from the 'handle' of the drumette. It is easy to do with a small sharp nice, but not necessary.
Optional:  Trim chicken wings & drumettes of excess fat. Frenched which just means removing the excess cartilage & skin from the 'handle' of the drumette. It is easy to do with a small sharp nice, but not necessary.
Place wings in a bowl and add brewed coffee, water, 2 tablespoons of salt and bay leaf. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 6 hours to overnight.
Mix remaining ingredients, except maple syrup, in a small bowl. Adjust seasonings as preferred (i.e. more or less heat)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drain and rinse wings. Pat dry with paper towel. Toss lightly in spice mixture ensuring wings are evenly coated.
Arrange wings on baking rack (with lined drip pan underneath) and cook for 15 minutes.
Baste lightly with maple syrup and then cook an additional 10 minutes.
Baste a second time lightly with maple syrup and then broil for an additional 3 -5 minutes to caramelize sugars.

New England Clam Chowder (Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, 2001)

Ingredients

8 pounds small quahogs or large cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed, opened clams discarded
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups finely chopped yellow onions
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
3 cups 1/2-inch cubed, peeled potatoes, about 1 1/4 pounds
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-teaspoon pieces
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped chives or green onions

Directions

In a large stockpot bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add clams, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, quickly stir clams with a wooden spoon. Cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes longer (this will depend on the type and size of clams you are using), or until most of the clams are opened.
OR
Use clam juice from bottles, your own stock (fish or chicken) and drain tins of whole clams for broth.

Transfer the clams to a large bowl or baking dish and strain the broth twice through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, being careful to strain out the sand. (You should have about 6 cups of clam broth. If not, add enough water to bring the volume up to 6 cups.) When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Set clams and broth aside.

In a large heavy pot cook the bacon until crisp and the fat is rendered. Pour off all bacon fat except 2 tablespoons. Add the butter, onions and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves, and cook until the vegetables are thoroughly wilted, about 3 minutes, being careful not to brown. Add the potatoes and reserved clam broth, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the broth thickens slightly and the potatoes are very tender. (If you like a thicker broth, mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.) Remove from the heat, stir in clams and heavy cream and season with pepper and salt, if necessary.

Set aside for 1 hour, covered, to allow the flavors to marry. Place the pot over low heat, and slowly reheat, being careful not to bring to the boil. Serve hot, garnished with 1 or 2 pats of butter, parsley and chives.

Turkish Beef and Bean comfort stew on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Tomorrow on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with Host Terry MacLeod I will be presenting this Turkish Beef and Bean dish, Etli Kuru Fasülye.

Turkish Beef with Beans (Etli Kuru Fasülye)

2-4 lbs beef (inside or outside round, chuck, etc.), cubed

2 cups cooked pinto beans (can also use white navy beans or black eyed beans)

1 globe eggplant, cubed and roasted

1 tin unsalted chopped tomatoes (use fresh in season!)

1-1/2 cups dry red wine

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

2-4 tbs olive oil

1 tbs black pepper

1 tbs dried oregano

2 tbs Turkish Baharat (optional but fuller flavour if used)*

½ tsp smoked paprika (hot or sweet optional)

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ - 1 tsp dried chili flakes (to taste)

Salt, to taste

*Available at Pollock's Hardware Coop.

Sauté onion on medium heat in a large pot with the olive oil until translucent and starting to caramelize.  Turn up heat to medium high and add cubed beef with minced garlic to brown.  At this point, I like to add the cinnamon and oregano as well as other spices to put flavour into the meat and remove the smell of blood.

When the meat has browned, add the roasted, cubed eggplant.  This will add a rich and smoky flavour to the dish.  Add remaining spices, tomatoes and cooked beans.  In Turkey, the ratio of beans to beef is much higher than Canadian expectations so you may use a lot more beans to this dish as well. 

Add red wine and season with salt.  Let simmer for up to an hour or a few hours in a slow cooker.

Serve as a main dish or as you would serve chili. 

Afiyet olsun  (Enjoy your meal!)

Warming Soups on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Yesterday on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host Laurie Hoogstraten, I presented the following two warming, rich and healthy soups for winter.  The first, Dhal, is a traditional lentil soup that you can make thick or thin, according to taste.  The second, made with my Ras el Hanout spice blend, is also up to your tastes.

Soup is something from which you should demand great flavours.  It is so easy to prepare stocks or broths from what you have on hand already in most kitchens and then you control the salt and fat.  Both of these soups freeze well to have on hand or for lunches (regarding some New Year's Resolutions to bring your own healthy lunches to work).  Depending on the quantities and ingredients, each lunch can cost between $0.10 - $0.50.  Compare to buying lunch every day ($10 - $20!)

Dhal

2 cups red lentils
1 medium onion, diced
1 inch ginger, grated
3-4 cloves garlic, grated
2 tbs curry spice blend
2-3 tbs olive or vegetable oil
2-3 tomatoes, diced
1 cup spinach leaves
~ 4-6 cups water
~ 1 cup yoghurt
salt, to taste
optional, 1 tbs brown sugar to round out taste and cut acid

In a larger pot, bring lentils and water to a boil. In a separate pan, heat oil and sauté onion until translucent. Add spice blend and cook until softened. Add ginger and garlic and be careful not to burn. When the water in the lentil pot is boiling, add hot onions and spices to the pot and stir. Simmer and add vegetables. Bring to a gentle boil. Stir in yoghurt and test for salt.

Enjoy!

Kitchen offerings soup (aka, what do you have on hand?)

 I made a vegan soup with my Moroccan spice blend, Ras el Hanout.  It is spicy and has red cabbage, parsnips, tomatoes, carrots, porcini mushrooms, and squash.

1-2 onions, sliced

1-2 tbs olive oil

2-4 tbs Ras el Hanout

1 Kabocha squash, in large dice (depending on the squash, you can leave the skin on!)

3 parsnips, in coin slice

1/2 red cabbage, cored and fine slice (use green if you don't wish a dark red colour of soup)

3-4 carrots, in coin slice

a few cauliflower flowerets, rough chop

small amount dried porcinis, crumbled

stock or water, to cover for a thick broth

salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté onions in olive oil in large stock pot.  When translucent or caramelized, add ras el hanout and cook until soft over medium heat.  Add vegetables and stir to incorporate.  Add stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft.  Season to taste.

Enjoy!