Daily Unadventures in Cooking

Pan Roasted Cod with an Orange Butter Sauce

katerina — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:32:48 +0000

A real beurre blanc can seem hard, but it is easy enough to do a “cheat” version of a butter sauce and it goes so nicely with white fish. My cheat version of a butter sauce is just a bit of shallot and a quickly reduced splash of wine finished by whisking in cold butter.

Adding orange and dill make the sauce a bit more interesting, though endless additions are imaginable. Serve it right away as it is fragile and can break – and whatever you do watch the heat when you start adding in the butter. If you want a thicker, creamier sauce double the butter.

Focaccia Bagel Recipe

katerina — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:01:00 +0000

You know, I have been making this bagel recipe for years and so I thought it was time to dig it out of the archives, update the picture and recipe and share it with you lovely folks. Admittedly, the technique of this recipe is inauthentic but don’t worry just because you form them incorrectly, don’t have them rise more than once and use sugar in place of malt syrup you won’t lose out on chew or flavour.

Why do you think I have been making them since 2006?

The focaccia style is just the addition of rosemary and coarse salt, which makes these bagels a real treat when toasted and topped with a bit of butter. You can also use the same recipe to make different kinds of bagels, sesame is also great.

Homemade Iced Tea with Oranges and Rosemary

katerina — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:00:01 +0000

If you are looking for a light and refreshing drink for patio season here it is. Homemade iced tea is really easy to make and you can dress it up with fresh fruit, herbs, juices, or even spike it with some gin if you like.

I like using only a touch of sugar and decaf tea bags so I can drink it all day long. For a more basic recipe skip the oranges and rosemary and add sliced lemon instead.

Smashed Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese

katerina — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:41:06 +0000

Crispy on the outside, gooey and cheesey in the center makes these potatoes an easy crowd pleaser. Plus if you are looking for a recipe to get the kids involved in, what could be better than a food that you smash?

This dish can be partially prepared ahead. Steam the potatoes and smash them and then you can refrigerate for a day or two before baking off later. Makes for an easy side dish at a BBQ or dinner party.

Grilled Mango and Mint Chicken

katerina — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:09:52 +0000

It’s the beginning of fruit season, the citrus and tropical fruit is wonderful right now and any day the berries will begin! Given that mango is currently ripe and affordable I thought I would try and create a new recipe for the grill.

Rather than the usual fresh mango salsa quite often used to top chicken or fish, this mango is mixed with mint, scallions, fresh lime and some heat and is then cooked on the chicken making a light and figure friendly sauce.

Creamy Shrimp with White Wine and Potatoes

katerina — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:04:27 +0000

Our weather is in that strange zone where one day it feels like summer and the next it feels like winter and as such my cooking seems to oscillate between light salads with grilled foods, and starchier heavy dishes.

This creamy shrimp recipe is somewhere in the middle and can work no matter what kind of weather you are having. Serve with crusty bread for the sauce and a light salad to balance it’s richness.

Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts Recipe

katerina — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:09:10 +0000

Healthy this is not, but it is certainly a hearty meal fit for a weeknight as it comes together in less than 30 minutes. Chicken breasts are stuffed with ham and mozzarella cheese, sautéed and then baked with tomato sauce.

I like the recipe served with spaghetti, but potatoes or rice would be good too. For a variation try adding some grainy mustard or swapping out the cheese.

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Salad Dressing

katerina — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:40:46 +0000

Despite it’s moniker buttermilk is actually a great weapon in the kitchen for making low-calorie substitutions. In the original ranch dressing recipe buttermilk was a key ingredient, but over the years it has been taken over by sour cream and mayonaise resulting in more of a dip and less of a dressing.

This recipe is a classic interpretation: heavy on the herbs, light on the mayo and not lacking in flavour. If you don’t have yogourt, sour cream can be substituted, but these swaps make it just a bit more healthy.

Sausage Rotini with a Roasted Garlic Tomato Cream Sauce

katerina — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:55:07 +0000

Although I find garlic can be over-used and over-powering I still think that every once and awhile an excess of garlic can really make a dish. Plus, when you have 3 whole heads of garlic, and you know you won’t use them fast enough – why not roast a whole head and center a recipe around it?

This roasted garlic pasta recipe also includes italian sausage, butternut squash and a creamy tomato sauce. To save time I highly recommend you roast the garlic and the squash the night before when you are prepping dinner, if you do that you can bring this recipe together in less than 45 minutes.

Pear, Ginger and Walnut Scones

katerina — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:23:13 +0000

Scones are something I need to make more of as they aren’t as complicated as they seem and I love that they are appropriate for breakfast, snacking, tea or dessert. Of course they don’t last long when you treat them that way.

These pear, ginger and walnut scones are just one example of the endless flavours you can pack into a batch. Next time I have my heart set on a savoury version with chives, cheddar and apple.