Lemon Meringue Pie - week 29 of 52

Lemon meringue pie is one of my favourite desserts – I love sweet tartness of the lemon curd and the light fluffy meringue. I don’t have time to make these so the supermarket version is a substitute for homemade. However, the supermarket pies always seem to have some sort of artificial “gluiness” about the curd and the meringue not quite fluffy enough and a little tough.

This week’s recipe is courtesy of Anna Olsen and definitely one of my favourite from the foodie experiment so far! The lemon curd was fresh and tart, the pie crust a little crunchy & flakey and the meringue light as air that melts in your mouth! This recipe takes a little time so if you’re planning on serving for dessert after dinner, I would suggest starting to make it in the morning – there are many steps so patience is definitely required!


A couple of tips:
- Although Anna suggests using two knives to cut butter into the flour for the crust, I suggest getting a pastry blender, otherwise you will be at it for a while
- Keep an eye on the lemon filling while it is cooking, because it goes from thin and watery to thick very quickly! You don’t want the filling to stick to the pot
- I decreased the amount of sugar to 1 cup as I like my filling a little more tart than sweet
- When making the meringue use room temperature egg whites to get a lot of volume (cold egg whites don’t beat as well)
- I left out cornstarch from the meringue – I wasn’t sure how it was going to blend into the meringue (was it going to get lumpy?)
- I used superfine sugar vs regular granulated for the meringue - it will dissolve much more easily

I will definitely be making this pie again – this one’s a keeper!

Bon appétit!



Lemon Meringue Pie – courtesy of Anna Olsen

$

Rating (out of 5 stars) *****

Makes 1 x 9-inch pie

For crust
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, diced and chilled
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

For filling
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 5 Tbsp cornstarch
• 5 large egg yolks
• dash salt
• 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• ½ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

For meringue
• 5 large egg whites
• ½ tsp cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

1. For crust, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in chilled butter until a rough crumbly texture and little bits of butter are still visible. In a small bowl, whisk egg and lemon juice. Pour all at once into flour mixture and combine just until dough comes together. Shape dough into a disc and chill for at least one hour.

2. Preheat oven to 400 °F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to just less than ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle a 9-inch pie shell with flour and line with dough. Tuck in rough edges and crimp (pinch) with your fingers. Put pie shell in freezer just for 10 minutes to rest and firm up. Once chilled, line pastry with aluminum foil (and have foil hang over crust edges to protect it) and weigh down with pie weights, dried beans or raw rice. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375 °F and bake 15 minutes more. Remove aluminum foil and weights and bake 10 minutes more, to dry out center of the shell. Cool completely before filling.

3. For filling, whisk sugar, water, and cornstarch in a heavy-bottomed saucepot. Whisk in egg yolks and salt and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Increase heat to medium and, still whisking, cook until filling becomes glossy and thick, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice and butter until butter dissolves. Pour immediately into cooled pie shell and let cool 15 minutes. Chill completely before finishing with meringue, about 4 hours.

4. For meringue, preheat oven to 350 °F. Whip egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. While whipping, gradually pour in sugar and whip on one speed less than highest until whites hold a stiff peak (the meringue stands upright when whisk is lifted). Whisk in cornstarch and dollop over chilled lemon filling. Use sweeping motions with your spatula to create swirls and peaks that look so enticing once browned. Bake pie for 10 minutes, just until meringue browns lightly. Let pie cool or chill until ready to slice

Blueberry Clafouti - week 28 of 52

Clafouti is a baked French dessert which is like a flan, often made with cherries. As wild blueberries are in season right now, I decided to make a blueberry clafouti. Wild blueberries from the market are sweeter and more flavourful than the blueberries from the supermarket – definitely worth the couple of extra dollars.

Although the recipe was very easy, the end result was not really great. The texture was a little tough and clafouti not very flavourful. It was little like day old pancakes.

This is one of the few recipes will I will not make it again, but will try to find a better version.

Bonne appétit!


Blueberry Clafouti

$

Rating (out of 5) *

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pints blueberries, washed and drained
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch fine salt
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place blueberries in the bottom of a small rectangular glass pan (about 8 by 10 inches).
In a medium bowl, crack eggs and whisk lightly. Add sugar and continue whisking until mixture thickens and is pale yellow. Add milk and vanilla; whisk to combine. Add flour and whisk to combine. Add a pinch of fine salt and whisk to incorporate. Pour mixture over berries.

Bake on the center rack of the oven until the clafouti has puffed and the center bounces back when lightly pressed, about 45 minutes, rotating once.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly before cutting. Slice into 8 equal pieces and gently remove from pan with a spatula or cake server. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

The Ultimate Sangria - week 27 of 52

The Ultimate Sangria

Happy Canada Day everyone! Nothing is more Canadian than celebrating July 1st with a BBQ and friends.

This weekend I went to a couple of BBQs and brought a sangria. The quest for a good sangria came shortly after my birthday weekend. The sangria we had were terrible and watered-down – nothing more than chilled wine with some fruit dropped in as an afterthought. I knew I could make something better! I found this one online and it had excellent reviews and decided to try it.

This was a hit at both parties! This is really the ultimate red wine sangria! The thing that makes this sangria better than most is the fact that you have to let it set overnight with the citrus, the let the flavours blend. This is the big difference versus most restaurant sangria where they just drop the fruit in right before serving. Don’t worry about spending lots on the wine – a $10 bottle of red will do since you’ll be adding to it and changing the flavours.

A couple of things:
- Serve with skewers of fruit or skewers so people can get the wine-soaked fruit at the bottom of their glasses
- I left out gin & triple sec & sugar and the sangria was great
- 1/2 of can of pineapples was enough (1 full can may be too much)
- This is best served ice-cold – LOTS of ice

This Sangria recipe is perfect for big summer parties – bon appétit!




The Ultimate Sangria

$$

Rating (out of 5) *****

Ingredients:
• 1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
• 1 Lemon cut into wedges
• 1 Orange cut into wedges
• 1 Lime cut into wedges
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Splash of orange juice or lemonade
• 2 Shots of gin or triple sec (optional)
• 1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
• 1 Small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
• 4 Cups ginger ale

Preparation:

Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries and ice just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. However, remember that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the fridge, allowing the flavors to really marinate into each other.

Cheers!

Scallop and Shrimp Citrus Ceviche - week 26 of 52

Last week of “surfing” in June! About a month ago I had the pleasure of visiting NY & Connecticut for work and co-workers took us out to dinner at a fabulous Spanish tapas restaurant in Norwalk, Connecticut called Barcelona. The meal and company was great and the dish that really caught my attention was the Citrus ceviche, made of cod, citrus, peppers, tomato and cilantro. The flavour was excellent and as I am a huge fan of sushi, the texture of the fish was silky, reminiscent to sashimi, but firmer.

Ceviche is a Spanish dish where seafood is marinated in citrus juice. It is technically not “cooked” as cooking refers to adding heat to food. The citrus acids denature the seafood proteins, making it firm and opaque.

I found this recipe from Emeril and purchased some fresh bay scallops from St Lawrence market. As the scallops are not cooked, best to buy the best scallops you can afford (this is not the recipe where you want to get the best deal on scallops at the supermarket). The recipe turned out really well – refreshing and tasty! Nice and fresh - perfect for the summer. I would give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars!

I made some changes to Emeril’s original recipe below:
- I decreased the amount of cilantro to ½ tablespoon (I’m not a big fan)
- Added 3 green onions thinly sliced
- Increased marinating time to overnight, the hour that the recipe suggests was barely enough time to make the fish opaque.
- Garnished with lemon zest
- Halving the recipe will still make enough for 6 appetizer sized servings

This would be a great appetizer served in a martini glass or in tiny glasses.

Bonne appétit!


Shrimp and scallop ceviche – courtesy of Emeril Legasse

Rating (out of 5) ****

Cost $$

Ingredients
• 1/4 cup kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 pound bay scallops
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 oranges, juiced
• 1 cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 cup seeded and diced tomatoes
• 1 Hass avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus leaves for garnish
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Put a 4-quart stockpot over high heat and fill with 2 quarts of water. Season the water with 1/4 cup kosher salt and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, add the shrimp to the pot and immediately turn off the heat. Let the shrimp sit until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the water and spread out on a sheet pan to cool.

Once the shrimp are completely cooled, chop into 1/2-inch pieces and put in a medium-sized nonreactive bowl. Add the scallops, lemon, lime and orange juices and stir in the cucumber, red onion and chiles. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Stir the tomatoes, avocado, chopped cilantro, and olive oil into the shrimp and scallop mixture. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then season to taste with kosher salt.

To serve, divide the ceviche between 6 chilled martini glasses, garnish with cilantro leaves.

Smoked Salmon in a Tomato Cream Sauce - week 25 of 52

Smoked Salmon in a Tomato Cream Sauce Pasta

One of my favourite meals is the Odessa at Grazie restaurant in Toronto – a smoked salmon in a creamy tomato sauce served over fettuccine. This recipe is inspired by my Grazie favourite. I’ve had little luck finding a great rosé sauce online so have decided to adapt something from Emeril.

The tomato cream sauce was a little bland, not as flavourful as the Grazie and could use a little spice. Once the smoked salmon was added to the cream, it added a little more flavour and made the sauce a little tastier.

The results this week were fine but will definitely need to tweak the recipe for Grazie perfection!

Bon appétit!


Smoked Salmon in a Tomato Cream Sauce – Serves 4

Ingredients

$$

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse recipe

Tomato Cream Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 1/2 cups seeded, chopped tomatoes(I used a 28oz can of diced tomatoes)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chicken plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 slices of smoked salmon, diced
• Your favourite pasta

Directions

For the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and cook until the tomatoes give up their liquid, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the stock and tomato paste. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream and cook until reduced by half again, about 6 minutes.

Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the butter. Remove the thyme sprigs. With an immersion blender, or food processor, puree the sauce. Strain sauce through a fine-meshed sieve, if desired, to remove the tomato skins. Keep the sauce warm until ready to serve

Dice the smoked salmon into small pieces and stir into the warm pasta sauce. Cook for 4-5 minutes until salmon is cooked. Serve over your favourite pasta and garnish with parsley.

Good eats!

There is nothing better in the world than good friends and good food! This weekend I celebrated my birthday with both! We went to a little restaurant, Politica, around the corner from my house. It was a beautiful evening and we sat outside on the patio for dinner. I had a delicious wild mushroom & truffle pasta - great flavour with a hint of truffle oil. After dinner we celebrated with cupcakes from For the Love of Cake. The cupcakes were incredible - moist, rich & flavourful! They have some really unique (and tasty flavours) like Guinness Chocolate, Chocolate Covered Banana and Salted Caramel - I am adding to my go-to list of great dessert places!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and here's to another year with friends & food!

Toronto Foodie Girl

Pan Seared Scallops with Leek and Tarragon Creme - week 24 of 52

Week 2 of "Surf"ing in June brings scallops! This week I made scallops with leek and tarragon creme. I got this recipe from "Dish Entertains" by Trish Magwood.

This was an incredibly easy recipe and would make a great app! One thing I would change - the greens didn't add to the dish. The scallops were perfect on their own. Next time I would serve in little chinese soup spoons for bite sized apps. Make sure you don't cook the scallops too long otherwise they become tough and chewy (like most other seafood). The time that the recipe recommends is perfect.


Pan Seared Scallops with Leek and Tarragon Creme

$$

Ingredients

Scallops
• 3 large or 5 small scallops per person
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (25mL)
• Salt and pepper
Leek and Tarragon Creme
• 1 tablespoon butter(15 mL)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil(15mL)
• 4 shallots, sliced
• 2 leeks, white part only, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine (250 mL)
• 1/2 cup 35% cream (125mL)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (25mL)
• 1 bunch fresh tarragon
• Frisée greens for garnish
• 1 baguette
• 1/4 cup olive oil (50mL)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Scallops
1. In a large heavy skillet, heat vegetable oil until almost smoking. Season scallops with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Pan sear on each side for 3 minutes or until golden. Remove scallops.

Leek and Tarragon Creme
1. In a large heavy skillet, heat vegetable oil until almost smoking. Season scallops with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Pan sear on each side for 3 minutes or until golden. Remove scallops.
2. To the pan, add butter and a dash of olive oil. Sauté shallots and leeks until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add white wine, scraping up any stuck bits. Add cream and cook, reducing liquid to about half. Finish with parmesan and freshly chopped tarragon leaves. Season again with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly toss frisée with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
5. Place greens in center of plate, top with cooked scallops. Drizzle with tarragon crème and garnish with 2 crostini per person.