Sticky Toffee Pudding

My boss recently took our department out for lunch at a nearby restaurant where i ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert. I have never tried it before and anything with toffee in it has to be good right?? Well i wasn't wrong...it was heaven. I had to make this. I did some research online and have compiled what i think is an easy delicious recipe! 

Ingredients:

2.5 cups heavy whipping cream

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

2 tbsp of Molasses

8-10 Medjool dates, pits removed and chopped in half

1 cup water

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 cups Pastry Flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup softened unsalted butter

2 eggs at room temperature

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

1 tsp pure Vanilla extract

(Optional Vanilla Bean Ice Cream to serve) 

In a small saucepan take your sliced pitted dates, water and baking soda and bring to a boil. Once boiling remove from heat and set aside.

Next you want to make your toffee. I used a heavy bottomed cast iron pot and combined the whipping cream, brown sugar and molasses over medium heat. Bring to a boil, constantly stirring, then reduce heat and allow to simmer until thickened. You want to always stir the toffee so the cream and sugars do not burn on the bottom. 

 Pour half your prepared toffee into your buttered baking dish. Place this in the freezer to cool while you make the pudding batter. Reserve the rest of the toffee for serving.

Combine your flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside

In your mixer combined the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add your eggs and vanilla. 

Remember those dates your boiled? Run them through a food processor with the water you boiled them in. In the butter, sugar egg mixture start adding your flour mixture and dates mixture...alternating until combined. Do not overmix!! Pour the batter into the baking dish that has been cooling in the freezer over the toffee and bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the pudding to cool. Serve warm with more warmed toffee and a serving of Vanilla bean ice cream!!! A perfect holiday dessert!

I am back!!!

So after a few (read: many) months off blogging a little birdie pointed out to me that people are still coming here and looking for new recipes. Well that got me off my lazy butt and i downloaded the blogger app to my smartphone and am back in action! 

I am coming back with 2 easy recipes and something i have been making for those rushed weeknight dinners lately (and breakfast....and lunch). Its quick and full of healthy fats and features the Avocado!!!!!

Recipe 1: Smashed Avocado with Poached Eggs

First you need to Poach your eggs. Bring water to a light simmer...if its too much of a rolling boil it will break apart the eggs. Using a spoon swirl the simmering water until it forms a slight whirlpool...slowly and gently add your eggs. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from water using a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel for all water to drain. In the meantime mash 1 avocado with a little salt and pepper. Place eggs over avocado and garnish with paprika and a drizzle of good olive oil. Your Welcome ;)

Recipe 2: Smashed Avocado Toasts with Heirloom Tomato's and crumbled Goat Cheese

Toast your bread. Mash your avocado with salt and pepper and spread over toast. Add tomato slices and goat cheese. Drizzle with good olive oil. So Good. 

Butternut Squash "Fettucini Alfredo"

I am not posting as much recently. Life is crazy busy but i promise to post whenever i can or whenever I come up with a new recipe!!! This one is a few weeks old but it was a goodie! Great if you want to stay away from a heavy cream sauce but since want that richness with Fettuccine!

 

Ingredients:

 

1/4 Cup chopped panchetta (I used the cured kind)

1 Whole Butternut Squash, Peeled and cubed.

1 Cooking Onion, Chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

2 Cups chicken Stock

4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme, Leaves only

Fresh Parmesan Cheese (1/2 Cup)

Salt & Pepper

Red Chili Flakes

Cooked Fettuccine

Fresh Sage Leaves

Olive Oil

In a large saucepan cook your panchetta until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside

Using the same pan as the panchetta add about a tablespoon of olive oil and the onion, squash and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat.

Season with Salt, Pepper and your chili flakes. Continue to cook.

Once the onions are cooked through add your chicken stock and fresh thyme leaves. Bring to a boil and lower temperature to low. Allow to simmer until squash is soft and cooked through.

Once squash is cooked use a hand emersion blender to puree the sauce. You want it to be thick enough to coat the pasta. Add more stock if sauce is too thick.

Add your fresh Parmesan and stir until combined. Check for seasoning.

Toss your cooked fettuccine in the sauce.

Add your cooked panchetta

Serve with crispy fried sage leaves and fresh Parmesan

 

Lemon Blueberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

So i haven't updated the blog in a looong time. Life just got in the way...and i got lazy! But i have been cooking and saving up recipes to post!! Here is one from the summer. Not my recipe as i found this on Pinterest...so here is the link to the original blogger who posted this amazing dessert!! 

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/02/09/lemon-blueberry-layer-cake/

It was a great hit and also makes great cupcakes too!! The cake is light but moist and the blueberries bring a great summer sweetness!! I made some slight edits to the recipe...only made 2 layers with my cake and added lemon zest to the cream cheese frosting as well. I promise to start posting my recipes again!!! 

Boneless "Rib" Medallions

Us up here in Ontario have been experiencing one of the worst winters. Snow storm after snow storm, frigid temperatures, long dark days...makes one crave summer and the barbecue. Well I couldn't wait anymore and was really craving some ribs...but with the super cold weather and wind...our smoker just kept on going out. So indoor boneless 'cheat' ribs it is!

 

 

Boneless "Rib" Medallions

 

Ingredients:

 

2 Pork Tenderloins

1/2 Cup of your favourite Rib rub

(Mine includes: Brown Sugar, Paprika, Cayanne, Chili Flakes, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, touch of Cinnamon, White Pepper & Sea Salt)

1 1/2 Cups of BBQ Sauce, Homemade or Store Bought, simmering on the stove top



 



 

Rub the spice rub all over your tenderloins and let rest in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

 

Allow tenderloins to come to room temperature. In a cast iron pan sear the tenderloins on high heat with some vegetable oil until browned on all sides.

 

 

Once browned remove from the pan and place on a foil covered pan in a 325F pre-heated oven

 

In the meantime heat up your BBQ sauce...we like to make our own (secret recipe!) but store bought works fine as well.

Baste the tenderloins every 10 Minutes with your sauce...flipping them each time to get good caramelization.

Once tenderloin has been cooking for about 40 Minutes remove from the oven and slice...they should be pink in the middle still.

Baste with more sauce and throw back into the oven for another 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with your salad and channel some warm summer thoughts!

Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Goat Cheese & Scallions

I don't have much to say in this post except that I miss by Barbecue that is currently buried under a few feet of snow, I miss the sight of green grass, and I miss flip flops. Calling on the spring gods to wake up and give me some warm weather!!! Here is a recipe in the meantime:

 

 

Twice Baked Sweet Potato with Goat Cheese & Scallions

 

Ingredients:

 

4 Sweet Potato

2 Tbsp Sour Cream

1 Tbsp softened butter

Salt & Pepper

Nutmeg

Fresh Goat Cheese

1 Scallion, chopped

 

Roast your sweet potatoes for 1 hour or until soft to the touch in a 350F oven. I wrap mine in tin foil.

Remove the cooked potatoes and allow to cool for about 15 minutes so you can handle them. Slice the potatoes in half and with a spoon gently scoop out the flesh into a bowl.

Add your Sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Mix well!

Scoop the potato mixture back into the skins

Top the potatoes with crumbled goat cheese and scallions and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 325F to warm back up.

 

Shrove Tuesday-Pancake Muffins with Maple Brown Butter & Candied Bacon!

When I decided to run a marathon in the fall everyone that I knew that had run one before warned me of the time commitment. They weren't joking. My life has become run, eat, sleep, repeat it seems. My eats have been pretty boring as well...lots of chicken salads, oatmeal for breakfast 6 days a week and lots and lots of protein shakes and vitamins.

The husband has for sure gotten tired of the repetitive meals, and freezer meals I have been cooking up so this week I decided its time to revive the blog and get myself back in the kitchen! I am a foodie after all and am running enough that I can burn all the calories!!!

Tomorrow is one of my favourite days...Pancake Tuesday!! An excuse to eat pancakes and bacon for dinner...or all day long! Of course we do eat breakfast for dinner at least once a week anyways but there is something  fun about everyone joining in! Unfortunately, I have a group run after work tomorrow that won't get me home until late...so I have a limited time that I am home to change and scarf something down and came up with this rather brilliant way of making pancakes to go...with ALL the fixings!!

Brown Butter & Maple Syrup Pancake Muffins with Candied Bacon!

Ingredients:

5 Strips of Bacon
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
3 Cups sifted unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
2 1/2 Cups Milk
2 Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Butter
Maple Syrup

First you need to make your candied bacon. Lay your bacon flat on a foil lined baking sheet. Rub brown sugar over the side facing up. Bake a 350F for about 20 Minutes or dark brown and crispy.

Perfectly cooked! Allow to cool on paper towels or a cookie rack.

Once cool roughly chop and set aside.

Next is the brown butter. Take your butter and allow to melt over medium heat...swishing around every couple of minutes

Brown butter needs to be watched. Keep on swishing it around...it will start to foam up.

And eventually turn a nice golden brown. Remove from the heat at this point and set aside.

Combine Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, eggs, milk and oil in a mixing bowl with a whisk. Mix together until just combined and all large lumps have disappeared

Grab your muffin tins and with a brush, grease each muffin tin with the brown butter. Make sure to get all the sides and bottom.

ladle the pancake batter into the muffin tins (about 3/4 full). Bake at 425F for 10-12 minutes or until the outer edges turn a light brown.

Remove the cooked pancake muffins from the oven once cooked and immediately baste with maple syrup while still hot (I would pop them out of the tin first...ignore my poor picture showing otherwise)

While the maple syrup is still sticky, top with the crumbled bacon. Serve with more warm maple syrup for dipping!!!

Breakfast is ready!!

Korean Beef with Broccoli

Do you ever go to Costco and buy one of those giant things of ground beef...then you get home and make spaghetti sauce, some burgers then you don't really know what to do with the rest of it? Well make this! Its fast, super yummy and realllllly easy to make for a weeknight meal!

 

(Recipe Source: http://elizabethbryant.blogspot.ca/2010/05/korean-beef.html )

 

Korean Beef with Broccoli

 

Ingredients:

 

1Lbs Lean Ground Beef

3-4 Cloves of Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Sesame Oil

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

1 Tsp crushed red peppers

Lots of Fresh Ground Pepper

1/2 Cup Green Onions

 

Steamed Broccoli

Cooked Jasmine Rice

 

 

 

 

In a large saucepan brown your ground beef with the sesame oil over medium heat

once almost browned add your ginger and garlic.

 

Once all cooked through add the brown sugar, soy sauce and pepper flakes. Allow this to simmer on low for about 10 Minutes. Season with pepper.

Before serving mix in about a half cup of Green Onions.

 

Serve over fresh Jasmin Rice and some steamed broccoli!