What are we eating ? | Cooking ahead for Christmas

Just before the weekend, all the readers who cook ask themselves this endless question: what are we going to eat? In order to inspire you, Press suggests some suggestions for seasonal recipes that will make your mouth water.

Health ! : daiquiri served in a cocktail glass

Why not whip up a cocktail to enjoy while you cook? Just follow the recipe … and have the right glass to serve it!

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz liquid cane sugar
• 1 1/2 oz white rum
• 1 oz white cranberry juice
• 2 basil leaves, torn
• Green tabasco

Preperation

• Stir all the ingredients together, except the tabasco, with ice.
• Filter with the colander.
• Pour into the cocktail glass.
• Add two dashes of green tabasco.
• Add a sprig of basil to make it pretty.

Source: Every day his cocktail, Fanny Gauthier

Posted on lapresse.ca on December 3, 2017.

Small hollow: marinated turnips

“I love homemade gourmet gifts,” says Nancy Bordeleau, of the Cinq fourchettes site. These turnips are a change from the traditional jars of homemade jam, fudge and caramel. »Lebanese-inspired, these marinated turnips work wonders as an aperitif or in a sandwich. This is a very simple recipe for beginners.

Ingredients

For 1 jar

• 3 cups (750 mL) water
• 1/3 cup (75 mL) sea salt
• 1 cup (250 mL) white vinegar
• 1 turnip, peeled and cut into sticks (one yellow turnip [rutabaga] or three small white turnips [rabioles])
• 1 small beet, peeled and cut into sticks
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

Preperation

• 1. In a small saucepan, heat the water and salt, until the salt is completely dissolved.
• 2. When the salted water mixture has cooled, add the vinegar.
• 3. Stir well.
• 4. Place the turnip and beetroot sticks in a large airtight pot.
• 5. Add the pieces of garlic.
• 6. Pour in the liquid to cover everything.
• 7. Leave to marinate in the fridge for a few days.

Source: Five Forks site

Posted on lapresse.ca on December 20, 2019.

Quickly done well: the best homemade ketchup

Making your own homemade meat pies is good. Serve them with commercial ketchup? It’s less tempting. So for Christmas, we take the time to prepare our fruit ketchup at home with the last fruits and vegetables of the season, as our grandmothers and their mothers did before them.

For ten 250 ml jars

Ingredients

• 10 medium tomatoes, peeled
• 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper
• 4 apples
• 4 stalks of celery
• 4 blue plums
• 1 cup of green grapes, halved
• 4 peaches, peeled
• 15 ml of coarse salt
• 2 cups of white vinegar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 2 1/2 cups white sugar
• 125 g cranberries
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 C. 1 tablespoon of marinating spices
• 7-8 whole cloves

Preperation

• A fruit ketchup, or chutney, is essentially a tangy fruit and vegetable jam, spiced up with spices. The recipes are probably as varied as there are cooks: ours varies depending on the year, the harvests in the garden and the arrivals that day at the Jean-Talon market. There are sometimes pears or diced butternut squash instead of peaches, green tomatoes that have not had time to ripen in the garden instead of red ones, raisins could replace cranberries even if we prefer to use this Quebec product. The variations and the appreciations are noted each year. This recipe is the most “classic”, success guaranteed.
• Dice all fruits and vegetables of similar size to ensure even cooking. Place the marinating spices and cloves in cheesecloth or a clean, fine piece of cloth; close with a cotton string. Place all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan: vinegar, salt, sugar, spices, and fruits and vegetables. The enameled cast iron dish is ideal.
• Heat the ketchup over medium heat until it boils, stirring regularly. Warning ! The mixture sticks quickly. Simmer at a low simmer for about an hour, until the fruits and vegetables are translucent. The syrup will not thicken as much as for a traditional jam.
• Place the ketchup in sterilized, still hot jars. The jars will need to be sterilized if you want to store the ketchup at room temperature. Otherwise, the ketchup will keep for at least 15 days in the refrigerator. Enjoy with a tourtière, pâté, cheeses such as cheddar or stilton.

Posted on lapresse.ca on November 30, 2017.

Call me chef! : shredded beef

Two or three meals cooked now and frozen can make life easier during the holiday season, when you sometimes lack energy or ideas. Or both. Here is a versatile recipe by Donna Hay and some tips to make them totally festive dishes!

For 4 to 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. tablespoon olive oil
• 1.5 kg pot roast, trimmed and cut into four pieces
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 250 ml of red wine
• 500 ml of beef broth
• 500 ml of water
• 750 ml tomato puree
• 6 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Preperation

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C (350 ° F).
• 2. Heat half the oil over medium heat in a large casserole dish. Add the beef and sauté 4 to 5 minutes per side until golden brown. Take the pieces of meat out of the casserole dish and set aside.
• 3. Pour in the rest of the oil and brown the onion and garlic, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes so that they are tender. Add the wine and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes to reduce by half. Add the broth, water, tomato puree, bay leaves, salt and pepper, and mix well.
• 4. Return the beef to the casserole dish with the juice and bring to a low boil. Put the lid on and put in the oven.
• 5. Cook for 3 hours until the beef is tender, turning it halfway through cooking. Take the beef out and place it in a dish. Shred the flesh with a fork, then return it to the casserole dish to mix it with the sauce. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Good to know

We have made this recipe twice. On our second attempt, we closed the oven after three hours of cooking, but left the casserole dish in the closed, hot oven for an additional hour while we ran errands. The result was spectacular: the meat had caramelized more and had absorbed the liquid. It was tasty.

Some advice

Donna Hay recommends making a small tart by simply putting the shredded meat in a mini-casserole dish that is covered with a small round of puff pastry. Adorable as a starter or even as a main course, if you serve the casserole dish with a dish of vegetables. The meat is also perfect as a sandwich for lunch and it makes an absolutely decadent Bolognese sauce (we tested it!) Simply by mixing the meat and its sauce with a simple tomato sauce.

We put a small bunch of sage, a chopped hot pepper and a few Sichuan peppercorns in the pan. Simply because we had it on hand. Don’t hesitate to give a basic recipe a little personality, as long as it doesn’t distort it.

Freeze in a bag, once the meat has cooled. Do not hesitate to make this recipe even if you live alone or in a couple and prepare two bags, or even three. They will keep for two good months in the freezer.

We worked with a good ol ‘paddle roast. The wine and the aromatics make the dish very chic. Truly an economical option that gives great results.

Source: From the simple to the sublime, Donna Hay

Posted on lapresse.ca on December 2, 2017.

Guilty pleasure: baked maple donuts

We can indulge in a few excesses during the holiday season, but sometimes we need to know how to balance our enthusiasm. This makes baked donuts a delicious alternative to fried treats.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 7 minutes

Servings: 15 donuts (freeze)

Ingredients

• 105 g (1/2 cup) maple sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon
• 150 g (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt
• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) Unsalted butter, softened
• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) Vegetable oil
• 80 g (6 tbsp.) Lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) plain yogurt

Preperation

• 1. Place the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 220 ° C (425 ° F). Generously butter a 12-cavity donut pan.
• 2. In a bowl, combine the maple sugar with the cinnamon. To book.
• 3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. To book.
• 4. In a third bowl, cream the butter with the oil and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Add the egg and whisk until the mixture is smooth. At low speed or with a wooden spoon, incorporate the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt and mix until the dough is smooth and homogeneous.
• 5. Transfer the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Distribute the preparation in the cavities of the mold.
• 6. Bake for 7 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a donut comes out clean. Unmould by inverting the donuts on parchment paper placed on a wire rack. While the donuts are still hot, coat them with the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Put back on the paper and let cool.

Serving suggestion: pear butter with spices

Ingredients

• 10 pears
• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) Lemon juice
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 small piece of fresh ginger
• 2 star anise

Preperation

• 1. Peel, seed and dice the pears and put the spices in cheesecloth (cheesecloth) or a coffee filter.
• 2. In a saucepan, bring the pears to a boil with the sugar, vanilla and spices. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Pass the preparation in a food processor. Let cool and refrigerate until completely chilled. Can be frozen.

Posted on lapresse.ca on December 7, 2017.