Beef and Enoki Mushroom Rolls

Beef and Enoki Mushroom Rolls
From: Rasa Malaysia

Substitutions and Comments: It was really tough to find the exact seasonings and saucves this recipe suggests. Mirin seasoning is like a rice wine - some being alocholic and some non. Bonito is a fish, simialar to mackarel or white tuna. After scouring Ocean's for what seemed like 45 mins...we still couldn't find the mirin seasoning, so we replaced it with some flavoured rice vinegar. As for the bonito soup base, we just used a fish soup base from Oceans...it wasn't the Mizkan brand. We found gluten-free ponzu sauce, not Mizkan brand. I think the website the recipe is from is sponsored by them or something. Anyways the rolls still came out very good, although we would love to try them with actual mirin sauce.

Recipe
http://rasamalaysia.com/japanese-beef-rolls-with-ponzu/2/

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Classic Meatloaf and Coleslaw with Turkey Bacon

Today there are two recipes! Both of them are from the Podleski Cookbooks. First up we have:

All You Need is Loaf
From: Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet and Greta Podleski

Comments and Substitutions: Not much to say here. We used gluten-free bread crumbs and for the BBQ sauce we used Bulls-Eye which is also gluten-free but not John's favourite. We made this before Stubbs had appeared in the supermarket. I think we overcooked this slightly, even though we stuck to the recipe time...so maybe cook closer to the 50 minute mark than the 1 hour mark if you are going to try this. We also didn't have a broiler pan with a rack, so we used a regular oven pan, which likely made a difference. It was still decent though, just a bit dry.

Recipe:
1 1/2 lbs (680 g) extra-lean ground beed or ground sirloin
1/2 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup your favourite BBQ sauce, divided in half
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup minced onions
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil, thyme or oregano
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a broiler paan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Combine beef, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, parsley, onions, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, basic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well using your hands. Shape mixture into an oblong loaf, about 8x5 inches in size and place directly on rack of broiler pan. Spread remaining BBQ sauce over meat loaf.

Uncooked Meatloaf in Pan

3. Bake for 50 mins to an hour, or until meat load is nicely browned and meat is cooked through. Let stand 5 mins before slicing.



Broccoli Mountain High

From: Crazy Plates by Janet and Greta Podleski

Comments and Substitutions: We looked EVERYWHERE for broccoli slaw, but no luck :( So we just used regular old cabbage slaw for this. It still came out great though, so no harm done. This was our first time trying turkey bacon, and it was delish. Still not a pure substitute for real bacon in our opinion, but really yummy!!

Recipe:

1/3 cup low-fat mayonnaise

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp celery seed

6 cups broccoli slaw mix

1 large red apple, unpeeled, cored and diced

1 cup grated carrots

4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces

1. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar and celery seed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Sauce for coleslaw

2.In a alrge bowl, toss together slaw mix, apple, carrots and cooked bacon. Add dressing and mix well. Refigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Finished Meatloaf and Coleslaw

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Slow Smoked BBQ Ribs

Slow Smoked Beef Ribs
Grilled to Perfection by Robery Rainford, Chris Knight & Tyler Smith

We weren't sure what recipe to do today, but then Andria's friend Mike came along on Facebook and asked for help on a recipe for ribs...so that solved our problem. Ribs are something everyone has a different way of doing. Some say to boil them, some say to brown them, others swear doing either ruins the ribs completely. Some love them fall off the bone, others will say that is a sign of the mean being overcooked. We've tried a bunch of methods and we've ended up on this recipe as a good basic way of doing really nice ribs on the BBQ. This was our first shot at using woodships and smoking ribs and it was SO WORTH IT. HUGE DIFFERENCE!

Comments and Substitutions
The main change we made was using pork ribs instead of beef. They came out great, so it doesn't really matter. Just make sure you get standard ribs, not spareribs or baby back.We used smoke pellets instead of woodchips cause Canadian Tire was out of hickory woodchips. The pellets are pretty much the exact same thing though - pellets are stronger so we didn't have to use as much. Canadian Tire has a really decent selection of woodchips/pellets. They had at least 6 or 7 different flavours of them: mesquite, applewood, maple etc.  Beacuse our BBQ is super fancy (thanks bridal party!) we have an awesome infrared grill, which means there are no flames in our BBQ. So for our BBQ using packets for the pellets was not necessary. We tried a bunch without a packet and a bunch with and there was no real difference other than choosing to use packets did make the pellets last longer. If you have an ordinary BBQ , you MUST use packets of aluminum unless you have a BBQ smoker.

 We used Stubb's hot and spicy BBQ sauce. We probably wouldn't use it again though, cause we decided that as much as we like spicy food, ribs aren't really meant to be spicy. We will probably stick with Stubb's as it is a gluten-free BBQ sauce that is decent but maybe the use the original BBQ or the hickory bourbon. Other changes included using gluten-free Worcestershire sauce and eliminating the hot sauce since the BBQ sauce was already spicy. And just cause we are gluttons we made a side of KD Mac and Cheese to go along with our meat. For John we used gluten-free pasta and some of the KD cheese powder.


Recipe:

2 racks of beef ribs
9 cups hickory woodchips

Rub:
1 tsp cajun spice
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp dry mustard
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
Sauce:
1 bottle whatever commercial BBQ sauce you like the best
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chili powder
Splash of hot sauce (optional)
1. Combine rub ingredients in a bowl. Rub mixture evenly over ribs. Place ribs in a large, sealable plastic bag and place in fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Ribs with rub in a Ziploc bag

2. Make sauce by mixing sauce ingredients and store in fridge.

3. If you are using the woodchips, soak them for an hour. (Some BBQ diehards say not to do this cause it's pointless, we didn't do it and it worked fine).

4.Remove excess water when woodchips are done soaking. Mix with 1 cup dry woodchips. Create little aluminum foil pouches for woodchips and puncture holes with a fork. Fill with woodchip mixture.

Aluminum packet for woodchips

5. Remove one grate and insert one woodchip pouch.

6. Ribs should be cooked over indirect heat which means only one side of the BBQ will be on. Turn on one burner and heat BBQ up to 400F/200C with the other side of the grill off. Wait until woodchips start smoking and then lower heat to 250F.

7. Once youve lowered the heat put the meat on the side of the BBQ with the burner that is off. This will allow them to be cooked indirectly.

8. Leave them to smoke and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Change the woodchip bag every half hour to 45 mins.

9. During the last 20 minutes of cooking baste them with the BBQ sauce. Don't put it on before as it will burn the natural sugars in the sauce.

10. Serve with remaining sauce and enjoy!

Andria's ribs

John's Ribs

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Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese Burgers

Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese Burgers

From: Burgers by Sally Sampson

Comments and Substitutions: These were pretty tasty burgers. The caramelized onions take a while but they are well worth it. We used sweet onions, but I am sure Spanish onions would also be great. John's burger used gluten-free bread for the bun. The blue cheese inside the burger patty makes a huge difference. It was awesome. We have a hard time finding ground chuck, so we used just regular ground beef. We usually buy 1 1/2 lbs and make 4 burgers with it.

Recipe:

Caramelized Onions:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large red, Spanish or sweet onions, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

1.2 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste

Burgers:

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lbs ground chuck (ground beef)

3 oz blue cheese, crumbled, plus extra for topping

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 to 1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Make the caramelized onions. Place a large skillet over low heat and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring only occasionally, until onions are deeply browned and slightly gooey, about 40 mins. If onions dry out, add water 1 tbsp at a time. 

2. Divide beef into four equal portions - do the same with the blue cheese. Using your thumb make a shallow indent in each portion of the beef and fill it with blue cheese. Shape the burger and carefully seal the opening. Form each patty about 3/4 to 1 inch thick, tossing it back and forth between your hands. To ensure more even cooking, make a 1/2 inch indentation in the centre of the burger. Handle the patties as little as possible.

3.Prepare a grill to medium-high. Clean grate and brush with oil.

4. Sprinkle both sides of the burgers with the salt and pepper. Place the burgers on the grate and grill until well seared on both sides, about 5 mins for medium-rare and 6 mins for medium. Top with more blue cheese and let melt. Toast buns if desired. Transfer burgers to buns and serve immediately.

John's Burger with gluten-free bread

Andria's burger with a tequila sunrise

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Vietnamese Pho

There are few things in the world as cheap, healthy and tasty as Pho. If you have never had it, then you need to try is ASAP. It is also naturally gluten-free. Vietnamese cuisine is very heavily rice based - rice paper, rice noodles etc. - so John naturally loves it.  Although my good friend and partner in crime Julia Tran has promised to one day show me the secret methods of making more authentic pho (in exchange for the secret methods of making authentic tomato sauce) John and I found this decent recipe online to try out. It's not the best pho , but it was we've ever had but it was decent enough for two non-Asians making their first attempt.

Vietnamese Pho
Recipe: LETT101 on Allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/beef-pho/detail.aspx


Comments and Subtitutions: We went to Oceans, which is a specifically Asian centered supermarket in order to buy our ingredients. The advantages of going to an Asian supermarket is that they have the ingredients readily available since a large portion of their clientelle use the common ingredients in the recipe for various ethnic dishes. For example, we found sirloin already sliced into paper thin slices, and they always have fresh daikon radishes.

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 5 pounds beef knuckle, with meat
• 2 pounds beef oxtail
• 1 white (daikon) radish, sliced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 ounces whole star anise pods
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 slice fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 1/2 pounds dried flat rice noodles
• 1/2 pound frozen beef sirloin

TOPPINGS:

• sriracha hot pepper sauce
• hoisin sauce
• thinly sliced onion
• chopped fresh cilantro
• bean sprouts (mung beans)
• sweet Thai basil
• thinly sliced green onion
• limes, quartered

Directions

1. Place the beef knuckle in a very large (9 quart or more) pot. Season with salt, and fill pot with 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 hours.
2. Skim fat from the surface of the soup, and add the oxtail, radish and onions. Tie the anise pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns and ginger in a cheesecloth or place in a spice bag; add to the soup. Stir in sugar, salt and fish sauce. Simmer over medium-low heat for at least 4 more hours (the longer, the better). At the end of cooking, taste, and add salt as needed. Strain broth, and return to the pot to keep at a simmer. Discard spices and bones. Reserve meat from the beef knuckle for other uses if desired.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Soak the rice noodles in water for about 20 minutes, then cook in boiling water until soft, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Slice the frozen beef paper thin. The meat must be thin enough to cook instantly.
4. Place some noodles into each bowl, and top with a few raw beef slices. Ladle boiling broth over the beef and noodles in the bowl. Serve with hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce on the side. Set onion, cilantro, bean sprouts, basil, green onions, and lime out at the table for individuals to add toppings to their liking.

Pho!

Pho - Up close and personal.

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Waldorf Salad with Rotini Pasta

Where's Waldorf
Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Greta and Janey Podleski

Comments and Substiutions: This was a nice light and great tasting Waldorf salad with a bit of a twist. Instead of lettuce the salad is served on pasta. Obviously, we used gluten-free pasta.  Other than that we kept the recipe pretty much intact. Make sure you use very fresh and crisp apples for this recipe. We stuck with the Red Delicious apples, but we would love to retry this using different apples, maybe some Royal Gala's or Granny Smith's.

Recipe:

Dressing:
3/4 cup low-fat, vanilla yogurt
2 tsp honey mustard
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Salad:
4 cups cooked rotini pasta
3 cups chopped, unpeeled Red Delicious apples
1 cup diced celery
1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
1/4 cup minced red onions
2 tbsp fresh. chopped parsley

1. Combine yogurt, honey mustard, lemon zest, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Dressing

2. Toss remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and mix well. Chill for 1 hours before serving.

Salad without dressing.

Salad with dressing..YUM!

See really simple!!

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Ham and Split Pea Soup with Lentils

Back by popular request Dinner Dates! It's been a busy year but with school winding down for Andria this blog will probably be slowly revived during the summer months.

Shanks for the Memories
Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet and Great Podleski


Outta 10: 7.5/10

Comments and Substitutions: Instead of using a boned ham shank we used a boneless ham. It was just easier to cut and less messy. We cubed the ham after removing it from the soup. Still tasted great!

Recipe:

2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup each chopped celery and chopped carrots
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
1.2 tsp dried oregano
7 cups chicken broth
1 whole meaty smoked ham shank or ham hock (About 2 lbs)
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
1 cup dry green split peas, rinsed
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste


1. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook and stir until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6 mins. Add thyme and oregano and cook 1 more minute.

Simmering soup!

2. Add remaining ingredients except parsley, vinegar and salt. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for an hour.

Cubing the ham.

3. Remove ham from soup. Puree hald the soup in a blender or food processor and return to put with remaining soup. Cover to keep hot. Cut meat from ham shank and return meat to pot. Discard bone. Stir in parsley and vinegar. Taste soup and add more pepper and salt if desired.

Finished soup. Yum!

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