After a brief hiatus, I am once again joining Cook the Book Fridays group through cooking through Dorie Greenspan’s Every Day Dorie. This time it is a fresh corn off the cob chowder. Over the past few months I have increasingly loved going to Farm Boy for all of our groceries; especially fresh vegetables!

Dan and I prepped the recipe this morning and by noon we were able to have it for lunch (taking us roughly one hour to prep and cook). Dorie’s recipe involves splitting the corn kernels, garlic and onions into two separate bowls to start. One bowl will eventually be the start of the corn chowder, while the other bowl is for the toppings (corn, onion, garlic along with the bacon).

To maximize time, while the soup was cooking on the stove (potatoes, corn, chicken stock and some sprigs of thyme), we also cooked the bacon in the cast iron. In Dorie’s recipe she describes cooking the soup first, and then after blending up the soup (with cobs & stringy herbs discarded) to start on the toppings.

While the rest of the soup simmered away, we multi-tasked! Cooked the bacon, and then the remaining garlic, onion and corn on the cast iron in the remaining bacon fat.

For serving, I scooped the blended soup into bowls then added in some cubed cooked potatoes, the corn topping followed by the bacon.  For this bowl, I added in some kale for extra colour and flavour as we had a kale caesar salad to accompany the soup.  

I would definitely make this recipe again. Though, I am sure that only fresh corn cobs will do. However, I am sure that in a pinch canned corn kernels will work too.  I do love cooking the cobs in the soup to add further flavour. The corn also stayed nicely crisp and sweet. I should also note that I ended up using mostly chicken stock with 1 cup of water mixed in for my soup as I didn’t have any chicken cubes.  As for the bacon (though not always necessary for soups), it gave this corn chowder soup the additional salt flavour it needed. Also, how could we say no to bacon?

Plus, it is a real treat to be able to cook this recipe with fresh corn from Ontario. I’ll have to try again when we are back in Alberta to compare.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe and will make it yourself. It’s found in page 72 of Dorie Greenspan’s Everday Dorie! Even better, I found the recipe on Dorie Greenspan’s site. 

Also do check out how everyone else from Cook the Book Fridays did on this recipe!

I prepped all the ingredients according to Dorie’s instructions. After the prep, I realized that I didn’t have a big enough stove top pot, so I used my instant pot on saute mode for most of the recipe. The recipe is fairly straightforward. First, you start cooking shallot and garlic in hot butter and oil. Then sliced and cut leeks are added in and cooked until softened but not browned.

Next, 5 cups of chicken stock followed by sliced zucchini, asparagus and two sprigs of basil. I also added in a few pinches of salt at this point as the chicken stock I used was an organic no sodium one.

Once all the veggies have softened up and the chicken stock has started to bubble, carefully spoon the soup into a blender or food processor. Then blend away! Dorie says to keep blending until you think you are done and then blend a little bit more for a smooth green soup.

When serving, scoop a dollop of greek yogurt into the middle of each bowl, followed by a squirt of lime juice and some basil!

I loved how fresh this soup tasted. Plus it was rather hearty! Dan and I both had a bowl of soup and still had enough for soup the next day. The colour does change in vibrancy, but otherwise the taste is the same. Since I had made it in the instant pot to begin with, I could easily pour the blended soup back into the Instant Pot and set it on slow cooker mode until Dan came home from work. The soup (without the yogurt topping) would also be a great soup to serve for guests that are gluten or dairy free.

Dan also had his soup the next day with some sliced smoked cheddar. That was also super delicious. Overall, a great soup to have in the recipe banks. Plus, it really is a breeze to pull together. Go see how everyone else from Cook the Book Fridays thought about the soup here.

So now that you have some “leftover” risotto, the best dish to make is some crispy arancini! Arancini is essentially crispy fried balls of rice with some oozy cheese inside. Not only is it incredibly delicious but it smells great too. It probably is best to make risotto the day before and then turn the risotto into arancini; otherwise it would take a long time to prep and eat dinner. You could also make everything in one go, but you would have to ensure that the risotto is cooled completely (lay it flat on a pan) before using.

Ingredients

• 2 cups risotto
• 2 large eggs (beaten)
• 1/2 cup pecorino romano (grated)
• 1 cup panko crumbs (more for rolling)
• Cubes of Provolone, mozzarella (or similar) 

Directions

1. Combine the cooled risotto in a bowl along with the pecorino romano and panko.
   
2. Add the beaten eggs all at once and mix well.
   
3. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, spoon 1 tablespoon balls of the mixture into your hand. Gently flatten out the ball into the palm of one hand and using the index finger of your other press the cheese into the middle of the ball. Using both hands cover up the cheese and roll into a ball.
   
4. Place more panko crumbs into a bowl and roll the risotto ball in the panko crumbs.
   
5. Set the rolled ball onto a lined baking tray. Roll the rest of the risotto mixture.
   
6. To cook the arancini, work in batches (about 3 or 4 at a time) and fry the arancini in the deep fryer for 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. If you don’t have a deep fryer, fry the arancini in heated oil for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked, remove the arancini from the oil and drain on a paper towel. Top with more shaved pecorino romano before serving!
   

That’s all you need to have some crispy fried arancini at home! Feel free to try using different types of cheeses for various arancini flavours! You can also make a different type of risotto at first and then make them into arancini. Most of all, have fun and enjoy the food! 

Aren’t these mushroom shaped potatoes the cutest? A few weeks ago, EarthFresh Foods sent me some of their potatoes to try. I received their organic yellow baby potatoes in the mail (yes! potatoes by mail!). For a little over a week, I couldn’t quite figure out what to do with them. Then one Saturday morning, inspiration hit! Admittedly I was also craving brunch food items and was starting to get hungry. 

These mushroom looking potatoes can be created from any type of baby potatoes and would be perfect for a quick breakfast or as a side dish for dinner. 

Carving the Potato Mushrooms

1. Wash and dry the baby potatoes. You can leave the skin on for these potatoes. First make a small cut down one side of the potato. Turn the potato and make another parallel cut (2nd cut). Next, turn the potato again and make a 3rd cut (this will be perpendicular to the first cuts). Make another cut slightly away for the 4th cut but parallel to the 3rd cut.
   
2. Then, gently run your knife around the base of the cuts to create the stem of your potato mushroom.
   
3. Here is the final result!
   
4. We also made a quick video to help demonstrate the creation of these potato mushrooms. This might be easier to visualize. 

Cooking the Potato Mushrooms

1. Place the cut potato mushrooms including the square bits (your potato hash) into a bowl. I poured a tablespoon or two of some rosemary olive oil that I had made this summer and mixed it into the potatoes along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
   
2. Cook the seasoned potato mushrooms in a cast iron pan or bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
   
3. Serve your potato mushrooms along with your choice of breakfast or brunch food items or as a side dish for dinner.

   

I have found that EarthFresh foods is also sponsoring a pretty cool giveaway until May 31, 2016 at this link. In the meantime, I am hoping that you have a chance to try making these potato mushrooms yourself!

Now that it is a new year, many of you, like me, may still be hosting or attending the occasional party. Arla Dofino Havarti contacted me to try out some of their havarti cheeses and to create a recipe. I’m not sure about you but I love appetizers and for some reason I am in love with spinach dip! So in creating a recipe to use the havarti cheeses I decided combine my love of spinach dip and appetizers together. Add in some smoked havarti to the mix and your appetizers will truly be the hit of the party! 

The Arla Dofino Havarti line has 5 different flavours – Jalapeño, Creamy, Dill, Herbs & Spices and Smoked.  You can find it at most stores here in Canada and they come in various sizes. Smaller blocks for a cheese board or big cylinder ones to use for lunches and other recipes.

Smoked Havarti Phyllo Spinach Bundles 

You only need a few ingredients to make this recipe, some patience with those slightly finicky phyllo pastry sheets and the Smoked Havarti from the Arla Dofino line.

Ingredients

• 1 block (250g) Cream Cheese
• 150g Frozen Spinach 
• 120g Smoked Havarti
• 1/2 cup Melted butter (more might be needed)

The end result:

I am super happy with how these turned out. As you bite into the bundle you get a hit of creaminess from the cream cheese and spinach mixture ending with smoky cheese. Then add in some crisp from the phyllo pastry and it is so good! We actually brought these with us to visit our friends who just had a baby (also a great way to move food we test and create out of our place) and they loved them! One thought that we had used bacon in them!

Now, the exciting part of the post is that Arla Dofino wants you to try these cheeses for yourself! Using the rafflecopter, enter the giveaway for $25 in cheese vouchers, a gorgeous bamboo cheese board, and six porcelain cheese markers with an erasable pen.

Mandatory Entry (+3): To enter, leave me a comment below about what is your favourite way to eat havarti! Please leave a valid email address in the Rafflecopter widget as this is how I will be contacting you regarding details of the prize. You must leave a comment (in the disqus widget) matching your rafflecopter name or your entry will be disqualified. Winner must answer a skill testing question before receiving the prize. Sorry, this contest is only for Canadian residents. Use the Rafflecopter widget to help track your mandatory entry and to also get additional entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Looking for more cheese recipes?

Try these delicious Raspberry Balsamic Blue Cheese Hand Pies! The pastry in these hand pies make them so good and are perfect for hand held desserts.

Hasselback Potatoes – Looking for another way to make potatoes? Then jazz up your potatoes and try making these hasselback potatoes!

Also, if you missed my 2016 Food Resolutions take a peek about what I plan on creating and making in 2016.

In the theme of my last post, here is another post featuring potatoes. Dan had a hankering for fries and as we have no deep fryer, he had to resort to finding another way. Of course, oven baked fries were the answer. Using a bunch of different techniques including Kenji from Serious Eat’s vinegar water solution for boiling the potatoes, here is what we did. 


Ingredients

• 2 pounds of potatoes
• 8L (2 quarts) water 
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• extra salt and pepper for flavouring

Directions
As with any recipe for fries, first wash your potatoes. We left the skin on our potatoes as it gives a different flavour to the resulting fries. 

Next, slice the potatoes lengthwise and into fries. Of course, please be careful at this step if you do choose to use a mandolin (What you don’t see in these photos is Dan cutting his finger on our mandolin! Don’t worry, he is better now but I did come home to quite a sight that night). 


Once the fries are cut (about 1/4 inch thick), boil them in a vinegar water solution (2 tablespoons of vinegar in a large pot of water with 1 tsp of salt). 

Boil the potatoes in the vinegar water solution for 10 minutes or until the fries are slightly floppy. Do a test if needed by taking one fry out and waving it back and forth to test for floppiness.

Drain the fries in a colander. Then, dry them with a paper towel. During this step, the fries are still hot so be careful. 

While the fries are cooling and drying, preheat the oven to 450F. Evenly pour the 1/4 cup of canola oil into a large metal baking tray and carefully place the tray into the oven. If possible, find a baking tray with sides. 

Once the pan has been pre-heated to 450F, gently place one batch of fries on the hot pan (you will be cooking the fries in batches). The fries will begin to sizzle in the oil immediately. Try to spread the fries out to avoid crowding (otherwise your fries will be steamed and be limpy instead of crispy). Let the fries bake for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the fries over using a metal spatula or tongs.

Bake the fries for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully take the batch of fries out of the oven and sprinkle with salt. Replace the pan into the oven to preheat and repeat the directions for the next batch of fries.

This recipe is easy to follow and is slightly different from others as you first boil the potatoes in a vinegar solution. This helps remove some of the starch allowing the fries to crisp! One thing to remember is that you do want to dry the fries as much as possible before you bake them. That way, there will be less water contacting the oil on the pan which will cause splattering. 


I would definitely make these again. However, I would like to try different kinds of potatoes to see how well they will bake as fries. Also, Dan wants to try drying the boiled fries in the fridge overnight to see if they will result in even crispier fries. He also admits that would take more planning and may not be worth the wait. 

This post is part of a recipe that we created and submitted for the Melt Magazine Bloggers Challenge Four! Please help me out by voting for my recipe (Raspberry Balsamic Castello Blue Cheese Hand Pies) and tell your friends to vote by following this link. By voting, there’s an added incentive to win 1 of 2 $50 grocery vouchers from Castello!


I’ve had plenty of pies and I’ve begun to get more acquainted with making and working with pie doughs and pie making. Lately, Dan has been talking about hand pies and I thought that this recipe would be a great way to try my “hand” at this.

I think the beauty of this hand pie is especially highlighted in the handmade pie dough with a crunchy sugary crust. Making your own pie dough allows you to control the flakiness and (more importantly) the amount of dough you use. The step-by-step recipe with pictures for making your own homemade pie dough is in this link.


This post will focus on the filling and the assembly of the pies.


This recipe makes 14-15 hand pies.

Ingredients

Pie Dough

• 1 kg of Homemade Pie Dough

Filling

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups frozen raspberries or fresh (1 bag of frozen raspberries)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoon balsamic glaze
• 60g (half a wedge) of Castello^® Danish blue cheese crumbled

Topping

• 1 egg white
• ½ tablespoon of cream
• ½ cup granulated sugar for sprinkling

• Balsamic glaze with aceto balsamico di modena was used
  

Instructions

Filling

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a sturdy heavy saucepan until melted.
   

   
2. Heat raspberries and ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan and reduce by half. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
   
   
3. Remove from heat. Stir in the balsamic glaze and allow to cool.
   

Assembly

1. Take the dough out of fridge and allow it to come to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
   

   

   
   
   
2. Working quickly roll the dough out on a well floured surface to a size of 21 inches by 17 inches and a thickness of approximately 1 cm. Cut dough into 3×3 inch squares.
   

   

   
   
3. Using a tablespoon, spoon the raspberry balsamic filling into the centre of every other square.
   

   
4. Sprinkle ¼ tsp of crumbled blue cheese on top of the raspberry filling.
   

   
5. Wet sides of square with water. Lay matching square on top and crimp sides with a fork.
   

   
6. Transfer hand pies to a lined baking sheet. Cut Steam holes with a knife. Brush egg wash over the hand pies.
   

   
7. Liberally sprinkle sugar over the hand pies. Trust me, you will want lots of sugar on these pies for maximum deliciousness.
   

   
8. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
   

   

   
   

These hand pies turned out great! The raspberry paired perfectly with the blue cheese and the buttery, flakey crust. In a future post, I’ll write about our brainstorming process and also the pie dough. Again, please remember to vote for the Raspberry Balsamic Castello Blue Cheese Hand Pie in the Melt Magazine Recipe Challenge, I always appreciate your support!


Let me know what you think about this recipe or how the pies turn out in the comments below. Enjoy the beautiful crispy flaky layers! 

In addition to the fresh herbs, the recipe calls for rice, chopped walnuts, seedless grapes, honey and shredded gouda for the topping. 

You have probably been reading about how cauliflower is the “new” vegetable to cook with. Or, maybe it is what all the food websites that Dan and I have been reading are telling us. So, of course we needed to try out a recipe to test this theory of how cauliflower is the ‘it’ vegetable. 


This recipe is inspired by a recipe from the Thug Kitchen Cookbook. There is no frying of any kind which makes this cauliflower dish truly healthy! By adding in the kimchi, it reminds me of a dish from an exciting restaurant in Edmonton called Tavern 1903 (which recently closed) called KFC – Cauliflower Fried Chicken.

Feel free to adjust the spice level to your preference. The kimchi we used in this recipe was one that we had made with friends about a month ago. 1 head of cauliflower is good for 3 to 4 people.

Ingredients

• 1 Head of Cauliflower
• 1/2 cup of Flour
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 4 tablespoons of kimchi

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Cut up the cauliflower into finger-length chunks.
   
2. Start making the batter by mixing flour into the water as this helps to avoid clumps. Once flour is mixed in, add in the baking powder and salt.
   
3. Coat the cauliflower pieces with the batter.
   
4. Pour the coated cauliflower onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
   
5. Bake for 15 minutes at 375F.  Then, set the oven to broil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until you have your preferred level of browning.
   
6. Take the tray out of the oven and gather the hot cauliflower into a pile. Then, slowly mix and fold the kimchi into the cauliflower pile.
   
7. Serve immediately.