Friday, August 17, 2018

Grilled Bourbin marinated steak

This rib eye steak is as delicious as it looks.  The recipe come from Cook's Country with a little history on Bourbon.  The steak needs to be 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.  Some of those small rib roast cuts would be perfect to use for this marinade.  The results are best if marinaded overnight in the refrigerator.

Marinade
  • 1 c  bourbon
  • 1 c Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 chopped shallot
  • 2 -3 garlic cloves
  • 1 -2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp black pepper 

Grill for 6 -8 minutes on each side on a Med Heat grill or until internal temperature 125 degrees
rest for 10 minutes, cover with foil.


Sicilain Cannoli



My husband found cannoli tubes at the Italian store and decided he would make cannoli for Sunday dinner! 

Looking at three different recipes, two from cookbooks, the "Friends of Don Orione Cookbook" and the other from "Good Housekeeping Around the world cookbook" along with a youtube video found that the recipes are very similar. Today, I saw this recipe on Facebook

Sicilian Cannoli 
Pastry
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups 
  • 4 T lard
  • 1 tsp icing sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cocoa
  • pinch of salt
  • 30 ml vinegar 
  • 30 ml marsala 
  • 1 egg 


Filling
  • Creamy Ricotta 
  • sugar to taste
  • garnish; chocolate chips, pistachio, glazed oranges, maraschino cherries etc


Method
  • Sift dry ingredients
  • Add the lard
  • Mix in beaten egg
  • Add vinegar and Marsala gradually to form a soft dough, did need another oz of marsala  for a soft dough
  • Wrap and chill for an hour or overnight
The process is very much like making pasta dough.
  • For the filling, drain the ricotta overnight
  • then add your chosen garnish
  • Roll out small pieces using a rolling pan
  • Cut out circles using a cookie cutter or a glass
  • Wrap the circles around the cannoli tubes
  • Seal the ends with beaten egg
  • Heat the oil to 325 to 350 degrees F 
  •  Cook for about 2 minutes 
Fill the shells just before serving to keep the shells crisp!




Family style serving is the best!  Roasted garden fresh Potato Salad, Beet Rolls simmered in a creamy dill sauce, Bourdin marinated Rib Steak.  For the girls; mozzarella, bing cherry, apple and pork tenderloin Stuffed Buns.  




Bourdin marinated rib steak!




The cannoli were delicious but the ricotta needed to be drained first or whipped cream could have corrected those ends!




The grandkids enjoyed the cannoli.  Yes, finger licking good!


Thursday, August 16, 2018

Dark Fruitcake, 1846


This is a recipe that has been handed down many generation in my hubby's family.  According to my husband 's Aunt Kay, the recipe was brought to Canada from Ireland in 1846.   Not sure how many modification there would have been over the years as not sure how available the spices would have been or the vanilla extract.  The mixed peel would have been made as I did this year.  

My husband and I both spent an enjoyable time putting this cake together that had so many memories for both of us! 












These were my notes that I made the first time I made this recipe with great success.  I love this cake as my Grandmother also made a similar cake for Christmas and covered it in Marzipan, decorating with almond half to form a flower.  As a young child, I loved the look of this cake, the dark cake covered in the white marzipan.  I made a similar cake for my daughter's wedding dessert table. 




The fruit and peel were marinated in Appleton Estate Rum for 3 days, something that Aunt Kay would not have done.  




Setting out all the ingredients in the recipe makes it easier and quicker to make the cake.



The richness in colour is due to the very dark raisins, seedless and regular and the dark molasses.  The seedless raisins were very plump and twice the size of the Thompson Raisins 








A step that must always be done in making a fruitcake is to dust completely the raisins or fruit in some of  the flour before mixing up the cake  This prevents the fruit from settling and stay mixed in the batter.



I did use the 4 pounds of raisins but only 1/4 pound of mixed peel.  Since I used two small Wilton springform pans, I was not sure how many other pans I needed to prepare.  The pans were greased and lined with parchment before stating the cake.


The cakes, wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, were all steamed in pots over a rack at a medium boil.  Keep an eye on the water level. 
The cakes were then baked at a low temperature- 325F





Brandy was poured over the hot cakes that had been first poked with a fork and left to cool before taking out of the pans, then left to completely cool before wrapping.



When the cakes are fully cool, wrap in muslin or wax paper and then in aluminum foil. The cakes were stored in tin cans and refrigerator to age. The cakes will be checked as they age.