Poached pears with ginger and port

Poached pears with ginger and port on Flickr by beFOODled.

Squeaky and Calimochi brought an Epicurious recipe, poached pears with ginger and port, to our pairing night. It was a harmonious ending to an unplanned fruity evening of appley appetizers and pear-perfect desserts. The booze they used was Harvey's Orange Apertif from the makers of Harvey's Bristol Cream.

Apple soup

Apple soup on Flickr by beFOODled.

Peanut Butter grew up on this soup. His mom used to make it all the time. He loved it, but his Dad hated it. It's the kind of recipe that you love or you don't. It tastes like applesauce, but the lemon gives it a tangy zing. This soup would be great during the apple season or any time of the year as a nice, light first course before anything hearty or heavy.

PB and J paired it with Oyster Bay's chardonnay. This is a full-bodied white wine and I thought it contrasted well with the refreshing nature of the soup.

By the way, that's Mochi passing by in the background.

Apple soup
Makes six servings, about 380 calories each.

6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 cups water
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup granulated sugar grated
rind of 1 lemon or orange
1 1/2 to 2 cups light cream
1/4 cup Calvados (this is an apple brandy, but Peanut Butter and Jelly substituted cider)
salt to taste
ground cinnamon to garnish

In a saucepan, simmer apples in water, wine, sugar and rind until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Blend the apples and liquid to a puree in a blender or food processor or use a course sieve. Return to heat and add cream, Calvados and salt. Serve in heated bowls with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

This soup may also be served at room temperature.

Venison and apple chutney croûtes with Czech beer

Venison and apple chutney croûtes with Czech beer on Flickr by beFOODled.

Here's a recipe for venison and apple chutney croûtes, one of the appetizers Peanut Butter and Jelly served at the Gastronati's food and drink pairing night. At first, they considered topping it with a sauce, but then Jelly decided on a chutney instead. It was my favourite taste of the evening, all dressed up with a peppery arugula leaf on top and served with a Czech beer.

Venison with Apple Chutney
Serves six

Peanut Butter and Jelly bought the venison at Sasloves, a specialty butcher shop in Ottawa.

Apple Chutney

2-3 tart apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/8 yellow onion, quartered
1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled
2 Tbsp and 1.25 tsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp and 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 Tbsp and 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

In a saucepan, mix the apples, onion, ginger, vinegar, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, white pepper, cardamom and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender. Mix in some water if necessary to keep the ingredients moist. Remove the onion and ginger and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Season the venison with salt and pepper and sear the sides in a frying pan. Remove from the pan, set aside and let the meat rest. Cut the venison into medallions after five to 10 minutes. Serve with the chutney and a piece of arugula on a slice of toasted French baguette.

Food and drink pairings with the Gastronati

Food and drink pairings on Flickr by beFOODled.

The Gastronati, my group of foodie friends, is taking a break from the country-and-its-cuisine theme to experiment with some more creative dinner ideas. This month we did food and drink pairings. Each couple brought a mystery course with a mystery drink pairing. Peanut Butter and Jelly hosted and were responsible for the appetizers. They made a really light and refreshing apple soup and some amazing venison croutes with apple chutney. S and brought the main course, salmon spinach pastry, a great party dish that's only five ingredients and looks way more complicated that it actually is. We paired it with a chardonnay. Calimocho and Squeaky brought dessert, some delicious pears poached in and paired with a fortified wine. Stay tuned for some of the recipes and more deets on the drink pairings in the next few posts.

Irish stew

Irish stew on Flickr by beFOODled.

The morning of our Irish Gastronati, I got up early to make this recipe, which was given to me by my Irish friend at work. I was super-organized and the stew was bubbling away by noon, but then S and I stepped out for an impromptu shopping trip that lasted the whole afternoon. When I came back, the stew had almost dried up and there were pieces of potato stuck on the bottom of the pot. Thankfully all was not lost. I revived it with two full cans of Guinness (thank goodness!) and added fresh carrots and potatoes. The meat completely fell apart as you can see in the photo, but taste-wise it was still delicious and Guinnessy.

Irish stew
(serves six, plus leftovers)

3 pounds of stewing beef cubes
4 slices of bacon, cut into thin strips
5 potatoes, cut into thick slices
3 carrots, chopped on the diagonal
3 onions, thickly sliced
2 cups of stock
2 cans of Guinness
fresh thyme

Fry the bacon in the bottom of a stock pot until crispy. Remove the cooked bacon from the stock pot and set it aside. Pour out most of the bacon fat, leaving about a teaspoon, and add some olive oil. To the same pot, add half of the bacon, potatoes, carrots and onions, and then the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the meat with the remaining vegetables and bacon.

Add the stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Cook for four to six hours at the barest simmer until the meat pulls apart if you want to do it as I did, or simmer for one hour until tender, which is what the recipe recommends ;) Add two cans of Guinness and cook for another hour.

Serve hot with cheese scones and tea biscuits.

Irish Roast Pork with Potato Stuffing

Irish roast pork with potato stuffing on Flickr by beFOODled.

Peanut Butter and Jelly brought this very tasty Irish roast pork with potato stuffing to the Gastronati's Irish night. The recipe is from this website. As with all their dishes, they gave it a nice presentation, this time with apple slices.

PB and J made the following changes: They used shallots as well as white onion, and precooked them with the apples, herbs and butter in a frying pan before adding them to potatoes. They also added a tablespoon of cream cheese to the stuffing, and a little bit of bacon to both the stuffing and the outside of the roast. Lastly, they added more beer than the recipe calls for braising the meat.

The Gastronati turn to auld Irish fare

The Gastronati turn to auld Irish fare by beFOODled on Flickr.

As Ottawa's bus strike entered its sixth week, the members of the Gastronati fortified themselves accordingly with Irish fare, a great cuisine for staving off the cold of a Canadian winter.

I brought a homemade Guinness stew, which I almost messed up but not quite (stay tuned for that story later). S and I also brought a pile of Guinness, some of which Mochi, Squeaky and Calimocho's new chihuahua, developed a liking for (see below). It seems that Guinness is good for you AND your dog, but don't worry, we didn't let her have the whole glass ;)

Peanut Butter and Jelly brought roast pork with potato stuffing, and Squeaky and Calimocho made colcannon, a dish with mashed potatoes and kale, soda bread and cheese scones, and a homemade Irish cream liqueur, which was divine. As the old Irish expression goes to encourage someone to take a second drink, "a bird with one wing can't fly." But with this liqueur, nobody put up much resistance, not even the dogs!

The Gastronati's Lebanese and Syrian night

The Gastronati's Lebanese and Syrian food night, originally uploaded by beFOODled.

After a long time off because of other commitments, the Gastronati, my group of foodie friends, reunited with a Lebanese and Syrian feast. S and I made a sweet and sour lamb stew with saffron rice. PB and J brought sweet, honeyed figs and dolmades. And Calimocho and Squeaky brought a green bean dish and a Lebanese moussaka. Lebanese moussake is made from eggplant and chickpeas and is more like a stew than the Greek version, which resembles a lasagna.

White Asparagus Soup

I made this soup for the Gastronati's German night. It has a very delicate, subtle flavour. Squeaky put me onto the idea, because she has lived in Germany and told me how much the people there are absolutely mad over this ivory-skinned vegetable. The asparagus season is really short, only a couple of weeks, but the Germans make the most of it. There are entire festivals and peeling competitions organized around its growing season. These asparaguses (asparagi?) grow underground. They have a pale complexion because, unlike their above-ground kin, they are never exposed to chlorophyll-producing sunlight.

White Asparagus Soup
serves six (click here to view Jennifer McGavin's recipe on About.com)

The Gastronati in Germany

Last Friday night, the Gastronati gathered again for more great adventures in food. This time we taste-travelled to Germany, where Squeaky and Calimocho lived for four years. This was a really tough Gastronati for S and I to cook for. For a long time, we didn't know what to make. But in the end everyone came through with something unique. Peanut Butter and Calimocho had a male-bonding experience making giant pretzels together in the afternoon. (Jelly wisely ignored the cries of "pull, no wind it, wind it!" emanating from the kitchen during the pretzel-making session.) I brought a soup made of white asparagus, which seems to be the only vegetable the Germans eat besides potatoes, and S made a tasty potato herring salad (bottom right). Peanut Butter and Jelly made the schnitzel on the bottom left, and Squeaky brought the spaetzle (the German answer to pasta) pictured beside it on the plate. Recipes to come soon!

Poll Results: What country's food should the Gastronati make next?

According to beFOODled's latest poll, beFOODies worldwide would like to see the Gastronati sample "other" fare next. German and English tied for second place. A few of you did make suggestions under the Other category for Italy and Japan, which we've done, and Chile and Spain, which we have yet to do. Since this poll, we have done Mexican (our first-ever Gastronati), Russian and most recently, Indian food. We're planning to do German later this month, and possibly a middle-eastern country next, so stay tuned for more flavours of the world coming soon.

Speaking of flavours of the world, don't you think taking a cooking class in another country would be the best holiday ever? Lately, I have been dreaming of going to France with S for a week-long cooking course in Provence, hence my new poll on the right called "Where in the Mediterranean would you most like to take a cooking class?" But I'm also interested in knowing where my readers would like to go. Even if your first choice is not the Mediterranean, you can still tell me where the foods of your dreams are by typing it in the OTHER category. I'll be checking every day to see where everyone would like to go!

In the meantime, the Gastronati bid you Auf Wiedersehen! See you in Germany next!

Quail masala

Quail masala, originally uploaded by beFOODled.

Here is PB and J's recipe for quail masala, which they brought to our last Gastronati evening. It was our most beautiful and photogenic dish. Unfortunately Squeaky was a bit squeamish and couldn't eat these little quails because they reminded her of her chihuahua, Webo :) If you are like Squeaky, feel free to substitute another kind of meat, such as chicken. The garnish of cucumber, mint and mango was also delicious. In larger quantities it would make a refreshing salad.

Quail Masala
serves six

six quails of 150 g (5 1/2 oz) each

Marinade:
2/3 cup blanched almonds
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 cm (1 1/4 inch) piece of ginger, grated
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
2 Tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped
3/4 cup plain youghurt
1 tsp chopped mango

Rice stuffing:
1/4 cup rice
1 tsp amchoor powder
1/3 cup chopped pine nuts
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 young banana leaves or aluminum foil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
cucumber slices
green mango slices
mint leaves

Clean the quails by rinsing them well and wiping them dry. Prick the flesh all over so the marinade will penetrate the meat.

To make the marinade, grind the almonds in a food processor or finely chop them with a knife, then mix them with the remaining marinade ingredients. Coat the quails evenly with the marinade, then cover and marinate for four hours or overnight in the fridge.

To make the rice stuffing, preheat the oven to 200 C or 400 F. Cook the rice in boiling water for 15 minutes or until just tender. Drain well and allow to cool. Combine the rice, chopped mango, pine nuts and lemon juice and season with salt. Just before cooking, fill the quails with the rice stuffing and brush some of marinade on the quails. If you are making the stuffing in advance, make sure you refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.

Cut the banana leaves into neat pieces big enough to wrap a quail. Soften the leaves by dipping them into a pan of hot water. Wipe them dry when they become bendable. (If you cannot use banana leaves, use foil.)

Wrap each quail individually in a piece of banana leaf, drizzling with any excess marinade. Tie firmly with a piece of kitchen string. Place the parcels, with the seam side up on a rack above a baking tray and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Check to see if the quails are cooked by opening one. The meat should be slightly pink but the juices should run clear when pierced. If necessary, cook the quails for another five minutes. Open the packets completely for three minutes at the end of cooking to brown quail slightly. Sprinkle a dash of lemon juice over each quail. Serve in package garnish with sliced mango and cucumber.

Pea and Paneer Curry

Paneer is a special kind of Indian cheese that can be fried without losing its shape. It comes in a brick shape and is available at Indian grocery stores. I served this tasty curry at the Gastronati's Indian night. The recipe's adapted from a British cookbook called Easy Indian by Das Sreedharan.

Pea and Paneer Curry

150 g (5 oz) paneer cheese
vegetable oil for deep-frying
3 small onions or 1 big one, sliced
2.5-cm piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp tomato paste
1 cup of peas
salt

Cut the paneer cheese into 1-centimetre cubes. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the cubes for one or two minutes per side, stirring until golden (about 10 minutes). Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Heat more oil in a large frypan. Add the onions and ginger and fry for about 10 minutes until golden. Add the spices and poppy seeds and cook for two minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another three minutes.

Pour in a cup of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for five minutes and add the peas, fried paneer and salt. Cook for another five minutes and you're done!

Serve hot with chapatis, naan bread or rice.

Raita

If anyone ever decides to award a prize for "simplest Indian dish ever," then it should go to raita. Good thing, too, because it's the best way to cool one's palate after those hot and spicy curries have blazed a trail down your throat. In fact, the yoghurt in raita or even a mango lassi is much more effective than water for this purpose - and somehow it tastes more refreshing, too. I made this for the Gastronati's Indian night. The recipe is from an Indian cooking class at the Real Canadian Superstore that I attended with Squeaky and Calimocho in November of 2006.

Raita

1 large tub of plain yoghurt (I like the red-and-white Astro Balkan Style with the cow picture)
one whole cucumber with skin
salt to taste
roasted and ground cumin seeds
dried mint

Stir the yogurt into a smooth paste in a large bowl. Grate the cucumber into the bowl. Add the salt. Stir well and serve cold. Sprinkle cumin and mint on top before serving, as much as you want!

Coriander Chutney

This coriander chutney is a great recipe! People love the sharp flavour. My mom sent me this recipe when I lived in Montreal and needed ideas for an Indian supper I was making for my housemates.

I made this chutney for the Gastronati's Indian feast last month. The recipe only makes a small amount, about half a cup or so. But the flavours are very concentrated. You only need a tablespoon on the side of your plate as a condiment. It's also a nice garnish in Indian dhals and soups (kind of like India's version of the Italian gremolata).

This is meant to be a mint and coriander chutney, but I didn't have fresh mint so I chopped fresh coriander only and added a teaspoon of dried mint.

Coriander Chutney

1.5 cups firmly packed fresh coriander leaves (or 3/4 cup each of fresh mint and coriander)
1 tsp tamarind (roughly)
1 tsp dried mint if not using fresh
1 green or red fresh chilli, take the seeds out (very hot)
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1.5 tsp sugar
bit of water if needed
1/2 tsp garam masala
lemon juice (optional)

If you are using tamarind concentrate, you are lucky and can save time by skipping this step. If you are using a brick of tamarind, twist off a knob about two inches long, and wash and soak the tamarind in some boiling water to cover and let it sit until it is cool. You can do this ahead of time too.

Wash the coriander (and mint) very thoroughly since it is often full of sand. Discard any tough stems, but tender stems give good flavour. Chop finely and mix with the chopped garlic and onions.

If you presoaked the tamarind, knead it in the water to separate the pulp from the seeds. Rub the pulp through a sieve and add the pulp only to the chutney. Add the tamarind, garam masala, dried mint, salt and sugar to the coriander mixture and stir it all together.

Taste it for seasoning after it has sat for a bit to see if more salt or sugar is needed, or even a bit of lemon juice to sharpen the flavour.

If you have a blender you can put it all (including the tamarind pulp) in and blitz to a paste, but I prefer the texture of the finely chopped greens better.

This is best made on the day that you eat it. It can sit in the fridge a while before you serve it.

The Gastronati Serve the Tastes of India

I know that most of you beFOODies have polled for English and/or German fare, but the Gastronati made an executive decision to do Indian first, and here are the results of our labours. S and I hosted and we got a chance to test out our new $20 tripod (our Valentine's day gift to each other :)

Peanut Butter and Jelly brought the fabulously photogenic quail masala wrapped in banana leaves. You can see before and after photos above. I made cucumber raita, a coriander-and-mint chutney, and a pea-and-paneer curry, pictured in the bottom row. We also whizzed up some mango lassis for dessert. Squeaky and Calimocho brought over dum aloo (a type of potato curry), some luscious curried meatballs and a sweet nutty palao rice. As usual, our taste buds danced for joy! Stay tuned for recipe postings coming soon ...

Infused Vodkas

For the Gastronati's former USSR night, vodka was the drink of choice, naturally. Calimocho brought over a homemade pepper infusion, and PB and J made these delicious blackberry and peach vodkas and served them in glass pitchers. Their recipe also works with other kinds of fruit, so you can try it with strawberries, raspberries, passion fruit, pears or watermelon, too.

Fruit-Infused Vodkas

one 750 mL bottle of good vodka (PB used Stoli)
4 cups of cut fruit
1/2 cup sugar or honey
handful of fresh mint leaves (optional)

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl or jar and seal tightly. Refrigerate for at least five days. Taste periodically to enjoy and see if it's ready! Strain the mixture and discard the solids. Keep the vodka infusion in the fridge or freezer.

Veal Shank With Sour Cherries

Here's PB and J's recipe for the veal shank they cooked for the Gastronati's former USSR evening. They served it with egg noodles, but it would also go well with potatoes or rice.

Veal Shank With Sour Cherries

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp butter
4 slices veal shank
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot
10 green cardamom pods, crushed (you can also use white cardamom)
One 16 or 17 ounce jar of sour cherries with their juice
1 cup veal stock (beef or chicken will work, too)
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Combine oil and butter in skillet at low heat and brown the outside of the veal shank on medium-high heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium and remove the meat. Add the onions and carrots, cook and stir occasionally until the veggies soften. Stir in the cardamom, then the cherries and finally the juice along with the stock.

Return the veal shank to the skillet and cover. Cook until the meat is very tender and pulling away from bone (at least 90 minutes). Stir occasionally and turn the meat.

If the sauce is thin, remove the meat and turn the heat to high to thicken.

Stir in the lemon zest.

Borscht

This is the borscht I brought to the Gastronati's Former USSR dinner. The recipe is courtesy of my Russian friend from French class. It turned out chunky and wonderful and people loved it - thanks Vlada!

I have heard of blended versions, but I chopped my ingredients into relatively large pieces, which gave the soup a great texture.

Borscht
serves six

1 lb beef (I used stewing beef cubes)
about 10 cups water
2 carrots, chopped into a large dice
1 large onion, quartered
1 small onion, chopped
10 small beets (or four large)
1 potato, chopped in large cubes
1 small green cabbage head, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
fresh dillweed
sour cream

In a large stock pot, cook the meat and onion quarters for 2 hours in about six cups of water until very tender. I started with six cups of water, but added about four more during the course of the recipe.

Take the meat out and set aside. It will be very tender. Shred the cubes a bit with your fingers when cooler. Discard the onion quarters, but reserve the cooking liquid.

Sauté the chopped onion and carrots in a skillet. Set them aside with the meat.

Add the beets to the reserved cooking liquid and simmer until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes for small beets. Take them out and quarter when cooled off. If your beets are small, leave the skin on. If they are large, remove the skin before chopping them.

Cut up the raw potatoes and raw cabbage. Put all the ingredients - the sautéed mixture, meat, beets and raw ingredients - back into the pot with the broth. Boil until the potatoes are done, about 30 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of fresh dill!

The Gastronati have an Evening in the Former USSR

Why did the Gastronati choose the former USSR? Well, we were originally going to do a Russian night, but then we extended it geographically speaking, so that Squeaky could make cabbage rolls. From top to bottom in the photos, we ate borscht, cabbage rolls and mushroom casserole, and then veal shank with sour cherries, and washed them down with infused vodkas. J, who is a designer, even made us little place settings with our names in Cyrillic!

This has been S's favourite Gastronati so far and with good reason because it was truly fantastic! We surprised ourselves! S made the mushroom casserole and I made the borscht. I used a recipe belonging to my Russian friend in French class.

I learned that no ingredient is off bounds in cooking from this part of the world - there are fruits in savoury dishes where you wouldn't expect them, and other surprising ingredients. PB and J who hosted this time, made the veal shank with sour cherries, and also blackberry- and peach-infused vodkas. And Squeaky's cabbage rolls had a sauce made from ginger snaps!

Stay tuned for some feature recipes later this week!