Sunset Peach Ribs

On Friday night it was such a pleasure to arrive at the cottage and to be treated to a beautiful dinner prepared for us by Teddy!  In his signature whirlwind style he had 5 different dishes roasting, grilling, and simmering, all of them full of bright and delicious flavours.  We were so overwhelmed, happy and hungry, we forgot to take any photographs, but trust us, everything was as beautiful as it was scrumptious!

We originally listed a "splash" of each of scotch and hard cider as ingredients for the sauce, but Teddy corrected  us saying there was at least 1/4 cup of each.  Noted.

Sunset Peach Ribs

4 racks back ribs, membranes removed

for the rub:

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ cup kosher salt

1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1 tablespoon oregano

for the sauce:

3 or 4 peaches, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon bacon fat

1 shallot, minced

1 red hot chili, seeded and minced

1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard

1/4 cup scotch

1/4 cup hard cider

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Light the smoker and set it to 275°F.  To make the rub, toast the fennel, cumin and coriander seeds along with the peppercorns in a small pan until just beginning to smoke.  Whirl them in a blender until finely ground, then combine with the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.  Rub it all over both sides of the ribs, saving any remaining rub in a small mason jar with a tight fitting lid.    Wrap the ribs tightly in pairs in heavy aluminum foil.  Cook in this way for 4 hours, until very tender.

To prepare the sauce, heat the bacon fat (or olive oil) in a small saucepan, and add the minced shallot and hot chili.   Sauté gently until the shallots are very soft.  Add the prepared peaches, mustard, scotch, and cider, and simmer until the peaches are very tender and juicy, about 25 minutes.  Add the rice vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes.  Puree in a blender and return to the saucepan to keep warm, tasting to adjust seasonings.

Unwrap the ribs, and lay them on the smoker.  Baste them generously with the peach sauce, reapplying twice more, every 5 minutes.  Serve hot.

Curry Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons curry powder, or more, to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven or barbecue to 400°F.  In a large bowl, toss the prepared cauliflower with olive oil and spices.  Lay it in a single layer on baking sheets and place in the oven or barbecue for 20-25 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. 

Peanutty Sweet Potatoes

This vegan dish is surprisingly tasty and satisfying.

3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1”cubes

3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon chili flakes

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Preheat oven or barbecue to 400°F. 

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, olive oil, oregano, chili flakes and salt and pepper.  Add the prepared sweet potatoes, and toss well to coat.  Spread the mixture evenly in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Roast for 30 minutes, turning every ten minutes, until evenly browned and tender.  

Wedding Cake Sugar Cookies

The highlight of our weekend was Norah and Andrew’s beautiful Camp Muskoka  wedding.  It was so nice to be asked to bring cookies for the dessert table, and we had a lot of fun baking and decorating these for the occasion.

14 oz. butter, softened

1 ½ tsp. finely chopped lemon zest

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoons salt

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

 4  2/3 cups all-purpose flour

for the decoration:

white rolled fondant (store bought)

1 recipe royal icing (store bought mix)

1 small container piping jelly

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the softened butter, zest, sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat it in well. In three additions, stir in the flour until blended. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm.

When ready to roll, heat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment. Allow the dough to soften slightly. Generously flour your work surface. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Dust off excess flour with a clean, dry pastry brush. Cut out the shapes you want, rerolling the scraps to make more cookies. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake until the edges turn golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet on a rack before transferring or decorating.

Roll out the fondant with a rolling pin, a section of pvc tubing, or with a pasta maker (I used the latter).  Using the same shape that you used to make the cookies, cut the fondant.  Brush a small amount of piping jelly over the cookie to act as the “glue”, and drape the fondant overtop.  Using a piping bag and # 2 pastry tip, decorate the cookies as desired. 

Valentine's Beef Oxtails on the Smoker

 

This Valentine’s Day Mark and Ted were distracted by hockey games and business trips, so the celebrations had to be postponed.  Fortunately, Pluto remembered and sent long-stemmed roses to some of his favourite girls.  He is a bit of a hopeless romantic.

However, the next day we lovingly created and produced a special menu using the Broil King Keg.  Little did we know that the grand conclusion of the evening was going to be watching UFC......!

Valentines Boxing Day Menu

Smoked Oxtails and Mushrooms with Demi-Glace

Risotto Hearts stuffed with Blue Cheese

French Green Beans with Oven Dried Cherry Tomatoes

Heart-shaped Braised Carrots

Chocolate Soufflés with Raspberry Sauce

Smoked Beef Oxtails

Note:  apply rub one night before cooking

4 beef oxtails, about 3” thick

For the rub:

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sugar

4 thick slices onion

Handful fresh thyme sprigs

8 ounces cremini mushrooms

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup veal or beef demi-glace

The night before serving, mix all the rub ingredients and coat the oxtails generously.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

The next day, around noon, light the Broil King Keg following the instructions in the techniques section.  Sprinkle glowing coals with soaked maple wood chips. Fill the diffuser with warm water.

Place the oxtails on the grids and smoke for 3-4 hours, maintaining a temperature of 200° F. 

Prepare 4 sheets of heavy aluminum foil large enough to surround the oxtails.  Place one slice of onion and a few sprigs of thyme in the centre of the foil.  Top with oxtail, wrap tightly, and place on the outside edge of the smoker.  Toss the mushrooms with oil, vinegar, herbs and spices, and place on the grids in the centre of the smoker.  Continue to cook for 2-3 hours at 200 F.

Serve with heated veal or beef demi-glace

Risotto Hearts stuffed with Blue Cheese

1 ½ cups leftover beet risotto (see future posts for beet risotto, but any leftover risotto can be substituted)

 2 ounces Blue d’Auverne cheese

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

Using a sheet of parchment paper, shape risotto into 4 heart shaped-mounds.  Hollow slightly, and sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese.  Cover with another layer of risotto.  Sprinkle with panko bread crumbs.  Using a flat spatula, turn carefully and sprinkle with more panko.  Place on a flat platter and refrigerate until ready to cook.

In a large non-stick skillet, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat.  Place the prepared risotto hearts in the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. 

 

Braised Heart-Shaped Carrots

3 large carrots, sliced into desired shape

(If you wish to make them heart-shaped, use a vegetable peeler to create the pointed edge along the whole carrot and a knife to cut the impression at the top.  Use the peeler again to round the shape, then cut into thick slices)

½ cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 375°.  Spread the prepared carrots in a single layer in an 8” x 10” pan.  In a small bowl whisk together the rest of the ingredients.  Pour over carrots, and cover with foil.  Place in oven for 45 minutes, then remove cover and cook for another 15 minutes, until golden brown and tender.

Chocolate Soufflés

4 individual soufflés

2 teaspoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar, divided

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

4 large eggwhites, at room temperature

3 large yolks

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Using the butter, grease 4 large individual ramekins and sprinkle them with about 1 teaspoon sugar per ramekin.

In a large metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring it with a whisk from time to time. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the heat and let cool slightly.

In another bowl beat the egg whites with 1/4 cup of the sugar until stiff and glossy.

Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate one at a time, add the orange liqueur, and whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Fold in the egg whites and whisk until thoroughly blended.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared ramekins, place on a baking sheet, and bake until they're puffed and somewhat firm, for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Raspberry Sauce:

1 pint raspberries

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Place a food mill over a small bowl.  Pour in raspberries, and churn until all the juice is extracted.  Discard the seeds, and add sugar to the raspberry pulp.  Spoon over chocolate soufflés and garnish with fresh raspberries.

      

We all show our love to different people in different ways, but one of the very sweetest expressions is taking the time to bake with little ones.  Hayley and Brooklyn discovered their inner-bakers this week and produced some spectacular and delicious Valentine’s sugar cookies for Brooklyn’s school party.  

Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Fondant, kneaded with your choice of paste colour

Piping gel, to “glue” the fondant to the cookies

 In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.   Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Dust countertop with icing sugar or corn starch and roll the fondant fairly thinly, about 1/8”.   Using the same shape cutter as you used for your cookies, cut fondant shapes.

Lightly brush cookies with piping gel.  Apply the corresponding fondant shapes onto the cookies.