httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc0fX_E1wI0

“Nemesis ” – An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome. Well, I found such a beast in this book that I just could not master, so I demanded a rematch! More on that later.

I love Fettuccine Alfredo , so I had been dying to try this “Loaded Alfredo” recipe out! Of course, I had not found a recipe that gave me anything close to what I’d previously enjoyed at the Olive Garden (okay, so it’s not real Italian food but, in my early twenties, that was all I could afford and I fell in love with this dish, so I’m being sentimental). Most if not all Olive Garden restaurants are gone from Canada now, though I discovered that there is one in the US county where I happen to travel to fairly frequently for work. I get my fix then – just don’t ask for the nutritional facts as it’s a killer dish. 😉

Want to know just how much of an obsession I have for this place: well, let me tell you a story…. [Evil editor is paying rapt attention.]

Once upon a time, my friend Peter and I attended Chicon2000 (the 58th World Science Fiction Convention ) with Lynda, another friend of ours. Upon arriving at the hotel, Peter and I agreed that we just missed our favorite Italian restaurant and those wonderful breadsticks (which have changed over the years and are not quite the same … sigh), so we just had to get to the nearest one there. I, being crafty, had brought printed Mapquest directions from home directing the way to this eatery. According to the map, it was only a mere 10 minutes away from the hotel, so I thought PERFECT … well, NOT! As it turned out, it was not a mere 10 minutes thataway, but one hour later and a not-so-little US$45 cab ride (the Canadian dollar was much lower in value at the time, so we probably spent something close to a million – yeah … slight exaggeration). By the time we found the place, we were committed so we ate and, yes, I did have my Fettuccine Alfredo (which was great). Seeing as this was our first night (with at least seven more days to go) and we’d spent that much money on cab fare, we decided that perhaps taking the subway would be better. It was but not without its own fun; I’ll save that story for another time.

Getting back to this episode. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was talking about making mistakes. Well, this one was full of them (though looking at the show you cannot tell – but WE know!).

1/ Whole wheat pasta, at least the kind I bought, did not seem to fit this recipe (plus I used a wee bit more than the recipe called for which added to the issue).
2/ Juggling preparing the vegetables with making the sauce and then cooking the pasta all within a certain time frame worked against me (i.e., burned veggies, undercooked pasta). Okay, so I guess I won’t be a short order cook anytime soon (no matter how smooth the finished YouTube version looks, according to Helenka).
3/ I used 1% milk though the recipe called for 2%. Not really sure if that contributed to it or not, but I’m putting it in there.

Everything smelled wonderful (of course, cooking with garlic helped)! In fact, at the time, other than the veggies, I didn’t expect the outcome; however, when we sat down to eat, our hearts were just not into finishing our plates (as the combined flavours were off). The taste was just not there, so I decided to have a rematch off-camera. Nemesis or not, this alfredo sauce was not going to get the better of me (I’m stubborn – you see lol). So I did do the rematch later on. To find out how THAT worked out, you’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, do check out our latest creation. Perhaps you can learn from it, too. We certainly did.

Enjoy!
B&H =:)

Please note: We try and review the recipes in the cookbook; however, in an effort to respect copyright, we are not able to reproduce the actual printed recipes here. If you do have the book, please follow along with us!

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j_YHAjBS4k

I love crock pot cooking and, every chance I can, I haul it out and try something new.
Over the years, I’ve made the following (listed along with my verdicts):
Ribs:
Didn’t like how they turned out: more like boiled meat (which some may like – hint, hint, the evil editor probably does [Evil editor confirms that “boiled” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if done with a delicate touch and patience]).
Chicken wings:
Also didn’t like how they turned out: more like boiled chicken in sauce (I like my wings saucy but crispy).
Baked beans:
Liked them in the crock pot. They turned out really well (hmm, must do this again sometime and have the evil editor give her opinion [Evil editor loves it when Brian cooks things on the spur of the moment that I then get to sample!]).
Chili:
Oh, this one is terrific in a crock pot, so I’ve made a few batches with great results (will have to also do this one and have Her Evilness try it – though I think I did that already [Her Evilness counters that I wasn’t applying my current exacting judging processes; besides I love these little treats.]).
Heated meatballs in Diana sauce:
Oi, do I have a story about this one. [Her Evilness is all ears.] I put some Swedish meatballs along with my favorite Diana sauce in the crock pot, set it for 8 hours and left for work. So … guess what I returned to once I got home??? A blackened mess (yuck). I ruined the whole thing by not having enough sauce (plus I don’t think you should be leaving them in the pot all day, so that’ll learn me). The worst of it was – and I am VERY ashamed to admit this – that, instead of throwing them out, I tried flushing them down the toilet (don’t ask me why; to this day, I cannot remember why I would do this). Of course, the stupid things got stuck, so I bought a plunger which did not work. Then I bought this contraption that shoots air down the toilet (that also didn’t work), bought an auger, also to no avail, as I made these attempts over several weeks. [Evil editor’s silly though practical observation: Brian can always lend out his plumbing implements!] So, finally, I talked to the superintendent who came and fixed it (I didn’t tell him what I’d done, but I am admitting this now – plus it was YEARS ago). I’d like to think I’m a wee bit smarter now … (perhaps not, but I sure hope so). [Her Evilness is cackling away with tears in my eyes, because Brian’s true confession just broke me up! Oh, Brian.]

From the results, I believe the best kinds of dishes for crock pot cooking would be stew-type recipes (unless someone has a great recipe they’d like me to try to prove me wrong).

Anyhoo, there is a crock pot recipe in the book, namely a variation on French Pot Roast (ahh, see, another stew-type dish). But, knowing that I could not possibly do this during our regular time period (even though I did reduce it down to 10 minutes – so how’s that for compression), I decided to cook it on a weekend and have Helenka try it out and give me her thoughts.

I did have difficulty finding frozen pearl onions, so I bought some in a bottle, drained and then froze them. I also added cipollini onions which were great. One thing I slipped on was adding the peas a wee bit too soon, though the results were still great, so really not a problem.

Well, as you can see, good cooking takes time both in years of practice and patience, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Sometimes you discover something new, other times you learn the hard way what not to do again. I still make mistakes but that’s all part of learning.

Till next week,
Enjoy!
B&H =:)

Please note: We try and review the recipes in the cookbook; however, in an effort to respect copyright, we are not able to reproduce the actual printed recipes here. If you do have the book, please follow along with us!

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZ6cZ2eG2s

I love seafood! Of course, now you know I grew up on the “Rock” (most scenes shown are from there), you’d probably think that we ate seafood a lot, but that would be far from the truth!! I remember when my Aunt and Uncle from New Brunswick would come to visit during the summer and then my Dad and my Uncle would head off to Harry’s Harbour to pick up some lobsters and mussels. Oh, and occasionally COD TONGUES (yes, I did try them once and thought they were good, but I was a silly kid, lol). It was quite the feast, to say the least!!!

Then, my Grandfather took up salmon fishing as a hobby. When I got older, he and I used to wake up at 4:00 am (okay, so what kid do you know who likes to get up at that ungodly hour [Evil editor’s remark: I did, when my Daddy drove us up to Muskoka every summer in the middle of the night]) and we would head off to Big Falls to cast away and try to catch a salmon (though I never did). He, on the other hand, was quite the fisherman and would catch his quota during the summer. Of course, living next to his house meant that we got the fish anyway (yay!) or he froze it for later consumption. My Mom is a fantastic cook and she would bbq the salmon (stuffed) to perfection. [Note to self: I’ll have to get the recipe from her sometime.] The skin would fall right off, it was very easy to de-bone, plus the stuffing she used was yummy. [Helenka’s plaintive note: Oh, Brian. ::sighs with longing:: You just made me remember our bbqs at Hanlan’s Point where, after we’d finished making our meal, we’d bbq extra food (such as my salmon steaks) to take home and store in the freezer; so, in the middle of the winter, I could remove a portion and be reminded instantly of the incredible tastes of summer.]

Enough memories for now. Back to the show. [Helenka rolls her eyes … finally.] I was quite eager – you can now understand why – to try this salmon recipe though, as usual, I did deviate from the instructions because I did not buy salmon with the skin on. I think it turned out great just the same, but you do have to take extra care and adjust the cooking time.

We had asparagus again, and I used real, freshly grated Parmesan. It’s definitely worth buying a hunk of this cheese and grating it yourself. That ol’ powdered stuff is crap and I threw all mine out after this episode. Here’s a handy tip: remember to put the block of cheese in the freezer, so it will last longer. I find it easier to grate, too, from the frozen state. [Helenka thanks Brian for the tip, because my Parmigiano-Reggiano ends up going mouldy in the fridge when I don’t use it quickly enough. And that’s a lot of money to throw away these days.]

This episode is also when we started drinking on camera (or I should say when “I” started drinking…. I’m implying nothing, of course <evil grin>). [Helenka yells, “Arrgghh. It’s just water, people. Otherwise, I would fall off my perch – and there is no way that is ever going to happen on camera.”] It was a very nice meal to top off with a fine glass of wine, if I do say so myself.

Sit back, relax and …

Enjoy!

B&H =:)

Please note: We try and review the recipes in the cookbook; however, in an effort to respect copyright, we are not able to reproduce the actual printed recipes here. If you do have the book, please follow along with us!

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJcRcUU2QE

Ahh … by this point and, after we made a few things from the “Cook this Not That” cookbook, we decided to do something out of the ordinary (as if that’s anything new for either of us, lol), so we had breakfast for dinner!

I’m thinking back to other moments where I’ve made something brekkie for dindins, such as when I get home from work, and all I want is my favorite comfort food now (well, nowadays it is). It’s two pieces of toast with margarine (on my favorite bread, only whole grain, please) with two perfect sliced boiled eggs. [To boil the perfect egg – soft in the middle – you need a small pot, two eggs and cold water. Heat eggs in water until it boils. Remove from heat and let stand about 5 minutes. I learned this trick a long time ago!]. I then use my handy dandy egg slicer and carefully (almost artfully, if I do say so myself [Evil editor’s interjection: and he did, he really did]) place each egg slice on the toast, laying them out and overlapping if necessary.

Now, this is the extra tasty part. Take habanero pepper powder and sprinkle sparingly (as it’s one of the hottest peppers) over the eggs. I also sprinkle a bit of salt and sometimes cracked black pepper (if I want to add more heat). DEVOUR! Mission accomplished.

Well, getting back to the episode, The Book had its version of French Toast. Now, not to boast, but making French Toast has been a passion of mine for quite some time and I think I do pretty well with my own take on it!

I’ve made it many times testing variations out (albeit on willing family – or sometimes not so willing). My typical version includes eggs, milk and vanilla, though I have been known to throw in some cinnamon; and I make my own vanilla (I mention how to within the video). The kinds of breads vary, so it’s best to try out a few good ones to see which produce the yummiest results. I have seen egg bread or Italian panettone recommended, though I have not tried them myself. The version we tested had cinnamon, eggs, and milk but the topper was a yummy banana walnut concoction (with RUM! instead of bourbon) that was divine.

So what about you? Would you like to share what is your favourite breakfast comfort food?

Thanks for watching and …
Enjoy!
B&H =:)

Please note: We try and review the recipes in the cookbook; however, in an effort to respect copyright, we are not able to reproduce the actual printed recipes here. If you do have the book, please follow along with us!

My version of “Eggs on Toast”