Jalapeno Poppers ready for the freezer

In talking to my brother who is a certified Organic farmer in Northern Manitoba about the bumper crop of Jalapeño peppers and how hot they were, it reminded me to make Jalapeño Popper.  These appetizers freeze well and such a crowd pleaser. 

Thinly slice onions and sauté in olive oil until caramelized.  Adding a splash of vinegar and water to the onions and slowly cooking the onion covered to caramelize the onions quickly. 

Cream 8 oz cream cheese.

add the caramelized onions

Sauté ground meat like pork or chicken

Add to cream cheese mixture

And yes, do wear gloves to slice the half the Jalapeños and remove the seeds. 

I have seen bacon wrapped around the popper, but this is just as delicious.

The appetizers are frozen on a tray and then repacked to freezer longer.  

Sambusak, Zaartar Rolls,

How exciting to visit our new Canadians in their new Apartment and be part of their delicious cuisine! It was great to have an update of their first week in school!  According to the young boys, Canadian schools are must too easy. No daily homework assigned until 9pm!

Today, we sampled Freshly prepared Zaatar rolls and Sambusak along with a beautiful presented pizza and a Salad!

Sambusak are delicious savory Turnover filled with caramelized Onions and strips of beef cooked in Arabic spices! Outstanding!

Zaatar Rolls were popping hot and filled the apartment with a wonderful aromatic smell. Yes,  this is one of my favourite spices that I use for dressings and steak! 

The presentation of the salad was proudly served along with the newly learned English word "flower"! 

Yes, we definitely do eat with our eyes!

Shrimp and Scallop au gratin

While visiting my Aunt in Northern Ontario in 2008, she had made Shrimp au gratin using a recipe that had been given to her by a chef in the area.

Shrimp au Gratin made by my aunt

She used escargot dishes and boxed shrimp ring for this appetizer.   The appetizer is very easy to make and very impressive when served with fresh French Bread, not to mention delicious.

Northern Ontario

 Method

Her recipe suggests to cut up the shrimp into small pieces, but I like the looks of the whole piece of shrimp and she did to.

The escargot dishes were filled with pieces of shrimp

Put tiny pieces of garlic in the each hole
Sprinkle with parsley, dried or fresh chopped parsley.
Pour melted butter on top.  I used a mixture of Olive Oil and melted butter.
Cover with grated Mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400

Aunt Florence enjoying the shrimp with dark rye bread

I decided to do this recipe for my husband's birthday.  I added a fresh scallop to the middle of the dish and baked it at a lower temperature as had other dishes in the oven.   

My table had been set but my grandchild thought it needed candles and that the wine glasses were perfect holders for the candles, all which were color coordinated, the blue in one glass, the white in another!

The littlest one at 7 months, just thought her blue plastic spoon was great!

Macaroni and Cheese Buns

Macaroni buns seem outrageous but are delicious and great for any summer picnic.  Macaroni in a bun were a hit with the young and old!

Again, there are many versions of this. Some just use the mac and cheese mixtures and place it into a muffin tin.  I used my own bread dough that I rolled out thinly and then scooped a heaping teaspoon of the Mac and Cheese.  I also used a wonton wrap with the Mac and Cheese filling. These were lighter and would be awesome for a party, served with Fresh Tomato salsa!

The recipe I used is my favourite Mac and Cheese recipe

I made a roux, added hot milk and whisked until the mixture thickens. I used cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese..  You can stop here and have a fondue! 

The recipe is very much like my Grandmother's, only she would have used cottage cheese for her Baked Macaroni casserole.  As a kid, I loved my grandmother refrying slices of the Mac & Cheese the next day with an easy over egg for breakfast!

Mac and Cheese recipe
Ingredients:

 elbow macaroni
3 T butter
3 T flour
1-1/2 cup milk 
2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated,
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

• Cook the macaroni and drain well
• Made the white sauce. I use my microwave to melt the butter, add the flour, whisk, beep for a few seconds, add  the heated milk, whisk again until the mixture is thick.  This is all done in a couple of minutes.
• Add in the shredded cheeses, stir until melted.
• Add in the beaten eggs, pinch of salt, nutmeg
• Stir in the cooked elbow macaroni

Using mini muffins that have been sprayed, a 2 inch cutter was used to cut the bread dough that had been rolled out.  

I found it easier to place the macaroni filling holding the cut dough. The weight of the filling if placed into the dough while in the tray would pull the dough down in the cup.  This way, you could pull the dough up over the filling and prevent a mess if the cheese bubbled over!

Above is Mac and Cheese in a Wonton Wrapper

Having some dough and Mac and Cheese left over, here is what we had for supper that evening!  Along with Pork patties and veggies cooked in my Cast Iron pan on the BBQ. 

Ladybug Appetizers

An idea that has been floating around the net is cute little lady bugs made from cherry tomatoes, pitted black olives, basil and something for the lady bug to sit on. Some used crostini, others slices of cheese to layer the ladybug on.  I used provolone cheese shaped in a log which was easy to slice.  Some use reduced Balsamic Vinegar for the dots, yes, we did try but the dots ran away!  

Since I had chives, my friend used them to make ladybug antennae. Very Cute!

Zucchini Rose mini Frittata

The challenge was to do bite size and freezable appetizers for the Bridal Shower before the temperature rocketed to the high thirties. 

These Frittata froze well.  And looked lovely on the Platter. 

My recipe for the frittata is very similar to a Quiche recipe

4 eggs

3/4 - 1 c Ricotta or Cottage Cheese  

1/4 c milk or cream

1/2 c parmesan cheese

zucchini, chive blossoms

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease or spray 3 mini muffin trays
Whisk eggs, then add cheese and milk and whisk

Fill the mini muffins 2/3 full 

Cut Zucchini strips very thinly. This is best done with a mandolin cutter.  Cut the zucchini strips in half as too big for the mini muffin tray. Roll each strip into a rose and place into the centre of the mini muffin.  I also used chive flowers which cooked nicely and did not lose their color in baking. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top before baking.

Bake at preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.  

Jamaican Patties

When in Northern Manitoba, I like to cook up a storm and leave my brother's deep freeze filled with homemade goodies.
Up to now I have made a couple of lasagne ready to be baked in the oven, 7 dozen of pyrohy,  Irish Stew and Banana Nut Loaf.

Today, I made Jamaican Patties! What makes these savoury Turnovers Jamaican? I would think that the specific spices in the filling and also in the pastry.

The regular pastry recipe was mixed up, 2 cups of al purpose flour and 2/3cup lard/shortening.  Since there was no pastry blender, I used the method my Mom used to blend her pastry, two knives held together.  You can also do this by hand. Mix the mixture until the lard is the size of oatmeal and all through the flour.  Recipes use to call for 7 tablespoons of icy cold water. Which I used to do very carefully and find the dough did not come together into a soft ball and the pastry was tough as I over worked it.  My Mom laughed the first time she saw me doing pastry.  Her pastry dough rolled out quickly as she was able to lift all of the dough without it breaking to put into the pie plate.

Over the years, I have added more lard to the 2 cups of flour and also more water until the dough comes together into a soft ball.

Since the spices where limited in the kitchen cupboard, I went with what was available.
Curry powder along with cayenne was used in the pastry mix.  Usually Turmeric and curry Powder are used for a gorgeous colored and tasty pastry.   To me, Jamaican cuisine always has allspice in it's food for a very distinct taste.  According to a former student of mine, Jamaican allspice is very different from allspice I can buy here in Canada.

For the meat filling, I used local minced pork and added cumin, chill flakes and curry powder.  My husband finely chopped the onion and celery, which was also added to the mixture.  The freshness of the ground pork was delicious in the patties.  The celery added a lovely crunch to the filling.

These patties where served with curried yogurt. Curry powder to taste was dded to plain yogurt.