barry has a suggestion for what to make for dinner tomorrow.

pizza. but not just any pizza: pear and cambozola cheese pizza. inspired by the original recipe from the chefs at the best of bridge, i updated this delight with a new crust and a few additions of my own. i've been looking for some super simple, quick and easy dishes to prepare for guests coming over, and this recipe definitely fits the bill. of course, i did have to try it out for myself first - to make sure it's edible and all that. right....

enjoy !

the dough

1 c. warm water
1 pkg yeast

sugar

1. combine and let activate - ~10 minutes.

2 1/2 - 3 c. flour
2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

chopped fresh or ground dry rosemary (optional)

2. add to yeast. knead into dough and continue to add flour until dough doesn't stick to bowl or hands. cover and let stand for 10 - 30 minutes to rise.

3. stretch dough onto pizza pan.

the toppings

olive oil
4. brush crust with olive oil.

cambozola or, if like me you can't get your hands on it, brie/camembert and blue cheeses
1 can pears, drained and sliced
toasted pine nuts
pomegranate seeds
more rosemary
5. top with pears, pine nuts, pomegranate, rosemary and cheeses.
6. throw into the oven at 375Fish for 10 - 30 minutes, or until cheese melts and crust browns.

black pepper
7. top with fresh black pepper.

barry shares some inspiration.

with the leaves gone, and snow coming, i thought i'd share a few dishes i've had over the past little bit to inspire some delicious and warming fall creations of your own.

start the night (or day - i don't judge) off right with a ginger saketini, complete with pickled ginger garnish. spicy, slightly sweet and a wee bit salty, it's a fantastic balance to whip up when the temperature drops.

i made this! i'm so proud of this fresh fig salad. lots of prosciutto, goat cheese, aged balsamic and fleur de sel, this stuff was ridiculously good. head over asap to the italian centre to get the last of the fresh figs.

i had this beet risotto this past summer at dine kalyna in vegreville. not only does it look beautiful, but add some onions and maybe a hint of dill, and it is absolutely delicious.

barry brings you today's blog thanks to the letter "p" and the number "4".

p is for perogies!! and 4 is for how many kinds we had at our perogy party. picture it: people bring their own fillings, we prep the dough and stuff them, and then....wait for it....WE EAT THEM.

bliss. heaven. happiness. there should be a book about how perogies feed your soul, and how world peace could be accomplished if everyone just ate a few of these everyday.

brie, garlic, pumpkin:
my fillings ingredients.

mellowed with some sage.

the flatness persists.
how to salvage the flavour?
cranberry jewel.

flavour unrefined:

jalapeno, cheddar, corn.

party in my mouth!

beets and boursin cheese?

for wild flavours, yes please!

made with love...and crack.

divine decadence:
did someone say s'morogies?!?!
beyond the campfire.

barry has one word for you: EMPANADAS!!!!!!!!!

say it with me now: "EMPANADAS!" this is not a food that comes out quiet and demure, waiting to be noticed. this is a party food, ready for a fiesta (or a fight), and ready to take centre stage at your next shindig.

one of my buds, carolina, took the time last weekend to show me how to make this south american treat. as it is with most food items, empanadas vary from region to region, so she showed me a popular choice from her home town of buenos aires. as you can imagine, there was a lot of beef, a lot of spice, and a lot of delicioso argentinian wine (which we thought would be way better to drink on the side then cook into the meat).

your first step is to caramelize an onion in olive oil. your onion to meat ratio should be 2:1, so remember: LOTS of onion.

once it begins to caramelize, add half each of a green and red pepper, finely diced.

keep stirring.....

when it starts to brown, add salt to draw out the moisture.

next add the beef. lean beef is fine, but don't do extra lean - you want the flavour! we did about a 1/2 kilo.

stir it to break up the meat, but then stop stirring - you don't want to toughen the beef.

once browned, it's time to season it. we did this all to taste, but you're going to add oregano, a bit of paprika, a bit more cumin, a lot of pepper and salt, and garlic salt. at this point, you can also add diced black olive and boiled egg, but we didn't.

cool off the meat outside or in the fridge until you can handle it. for exceptional tasting filling, leave it overnight to mellow.

take your empanada shell (we found ours at the italian centre) and wet the outside edges with some water. fill with about 1 tablespoon of filling (not TOO much or they'll explode).

pinch the edges closed starting from the corners, and working towards the middle. REALLY make sure that it's closed.

using two fingers, fold the edges over each other to "braid" them.

brush with an egg yolk (or two).

bake at 350F for ~45 minutes. this made 24 EMPANADAS! with some filling left over.

barry bakes beer bread.

and clearly loves alliteration.

so, i bought another plane ticket. this means three things to you. 1 - for about a month this summer you will not hear from me (i know, you're absolutely devasted). 2 - when you do hear from me again, i will be sharing stories of wild sangria concoctions, pretzels that melt in your mouth and hot chocolate thicker than pudding. pudding! and finally, 3 - currently, i am poor.


it's this third point that led me to my latest recipe trial. see, without money i can't go out to restaurants OR grocery stores, and so must make do with what's in my cupboards.

i'm going to be honest - it's pretty limited.

enter judy schultz and her AMAZING recipe for cheddar beer bread. i had beer (German white beer), i had cheese, and yes, i had flour. the result was a redonkulously easy recipe, and a moist and super tasty bread. highly recommend trying this guys - the hardest part is trying not to drink the beer first.

judy schultz's cheddar beer bread

1 3/4 c. flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp sugar

(i added a pinch of chipolte chili powder)

1 medium onion minced and browned in 2 tbsp. butter

1 c. cheddar cheese grated

1. mix above ingredients. make a well in the middle.

355 ml. beer (any kind, but darker has more flavour) at room temperature

2. pour beer into the well, and mix until JUST combined.

3. spoon into a well greased loaf pan. top with an additional 3/4 c. grated cheddar.

4. bake in pre-heated oven at 350f for 45 - 50 minutes.

5. cool 10 minutes on wire rack. serve hot.

barry IS ridiculousness.

so you know those people who can't make up their mind? everything sounds just dandy to them, and if they choose one option, that means forgoing the other, which is truly catastrophic and can't be imagined, so when you ask them "chicken or beef?" they just say "yes please". you know, those people??

well, clearly i'm one of them.

case in point: sunday. lovely day, sunday was. the sun was shining, it wasn't too cold; it was a day for grocery shopping at superstore on 51 avenue, without a care in the world...except for the fact that i forgot to eat before i went there.

damn.

shopping hungry is truly a massive mistake. what isn't a massive mistake are frozen kiwi mussels for $2.98. delicious, cheap, and uber tasty in a white wine sauce, served with garlic toast for dipping. nice? try frickin' amazing! who can pass that up? clearly, not i, which is what i started off the day with thanks to a super simple recipe from the reluctant gourmet.

what a delightful meal, yes? one that should have satisfied me, but was it enough? of course not! not when i could also be eating triple chocolate haagen-dazs smothered in brandied cherries. it wasn't as if i was even hungry, but the very thought of going another minute without tasting this delightful pairing was unimaginable.

dear god - i'm like a hobbit. soon i'll be eating second breakfast, followed by elevensies, lunch and first tea. why should i choose between one decadent dish, when i could have two?

...or three...

there was no stopping me.

you would think that, stuffed with mussels, cherries and ice-cream, the madness would end, but no: i needed vegetables. and steak. and why would i have a simple, boring steak salad with just a few key ingredients when i could have them all combined together in one "holy hell!" dish?

first, i started with garlic mashed potatoes, that were no ordinary garlic mashed potatoes...

there were potatoes. there was garlic. and there was cauliflower, celeraic and dill.

then there were roasted beets and grilled onions.

there was steak.

there were tomatoes and corn, spinach and shredded red cabbage.

there weren't croutons made out of sliced cheese bagels, smothered in garlic butter and toasted, but that's only because i forgot.

there was brie; there was blueberry-cinnamon rolled goat cheese.

there were apples and guacamole.
finally, there was a dusting of cinnamon and a drizzle of mustard vinaigrette.

and yes, i ate it all. and yes, it tasted damn good. and yes, i am ridiculousness - hear my stomach roar.

barry thinks you should make this dessert. now.

strawberries are on sale, it's +30 degrees out today, and who doesn't love a dash of tequila in their lives?

i made this quick, delightful dessert last weekend for sunday dinner, and had rave reviews for it. it also helped that the hardest thing to do was slice the strawberries (i'm feeling particularly lazy of late if you haven't noticed with the lack of writing). go pick up some strawberries, an angel food cake, whipping cream, a lemon and some white chocolate. slice up the strawberries, splash them with some tequila that i'm assuming you have on hand, and set aside. now whip up the cream with an electric mixer (or whatever) and fold into it some lemon zest and chopped up white chocolate. oh yes, i know. now just pile high all ingredients on each plate and enjoy the decadence.

scrumptulescent.

barry hops on the band wagon and thinks pink.

i feel like a lemming right now. with v-day fast approaching, and everyone dreaming in reddish tones, i’ve decided to do the same and follow the masses over the cliff into a sea of pink froth. ugh. no, i’m normally not the kind of person who enjoys pink in any form, but in anticipation of the season i thought i’d help out anyone planning a menu for the weekend in the theme of red and pink. throughout the week i’ll be posting recipes that incorporate these colours in some form – all of them are easy to make, delicious, and inexpensive.

today i’ll start off with a few appetizers from our latest food fest. they’re great starters for a party or an intimate get-together…just as long as you like leftovers.

watermelon and feta appetizers.

1 small watermelon, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch cubes

8 oz. feta, cubed

balsamic vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

basil (fresh and chopped up if you got it, dried is fine otherwise)

toothpicks.

1. skewer watermelon and feta on toothpicks (watermelon on the bottom)

2. in a bowl, combine vinegar, oil and basil.

3. drizzle dressing on watermelon; serve.

note: this makes a great salad, just get rid of the toothpicks, add some greens and some crushed chilli flakes and presto:
you’re a gourmand.

surprise spread.
one of my all-time favourite recipes.

combine 8 oz. softened cream cheese, ½ cup sour cream and ¼ cup mayonnaise. mix until smooth. spread cream cheese mixture in a platter. sprinkle on a couple cans of drained cocktail shrimp. top with 250 ml (1 cup) cocktail sauce. shred 2 cups of mozzarella cheese; sprinkle on top then add 3 sliced green onions, 1 diced tomato and 2 diced green peppers.
serve with crackers.

barry's buds bid farewell to the year of the potato.

and now we bring you the first installment of "barry's buds" – a guest column of barry’s many comrades who share a love of all things food-related. today you get not one, but two of barry’s main associates sharing with you the various potato
(mis)adventures we’ve had with barry over the past year.

it would be a huge understatement to point out that we have a thing for potatoes.

we’re obsessed. this past year was particularly gratifying, as our appreciation of this sacrosanct little spud was made to seem slightly less crazy by the u.n.’s decision to dub 2008 the international year of the potato. yes, really.

as we settle into 2009, we look back quite fondly at the multitude of ways we’ve enjoyed potatoes in ’08 (cue indulgent dream sequence music)....

in the familiar, fluffy pabulum of betty crocker, thinly sliced and meticulously arranged on a pizza at famoso’s, piped atop a moist meatloaf cupcake in a beetroot-tinted pink swirl, shredded in pancakes, roasted with sea salt and dill, diced in hash brown casseroles, cubed in coconut milk curries, mashed with cream cheese and herbs, encased in perogie dough, swimming in dill cream...and that's not even mentioning all the french fries.

as part of our bidding a proper farewell, here are two simple recipes that we each enjoyed this year.

recipe one: mini baked potatoes with blue cheese.

*note from barry’s bud #1: this potato recipe has been extracted from me under great duress. because i cannot bear the threat of the wire whisk any longer, i offer you this to appease barry.

ingredients:

around 20 small baby potatoes (try and pick ones that are the same size - barry likes potato uniformity)

enough olive oil to lightly coat your potatoes

sea salt

around 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat is better)

around one ounce of crumbled blue cheese

chopped fresh chives for garnish

1. preheat your oven to 350F.

2. wash and dry your potatoes.
3. toss you potatoes with just enough oil to coat.
4. lightly coat you potatoes in sea salt.
5. spread your potatoes out on a baking sheet.

6. bake potatoes for 45-50 minutes.

7. while potatoes are baking, combine sour cream and blue cheese in a small bowl - measurements are just a guideline.
8. take potatoes out of oven and let cool for a few minutes.
9. cut an 'x' in the top of each potato - gently squeeze the cross with your fingers to open the potatoes.
10. top each potato with a spoon of the blue/cheese sour scream mixture.
11. garnish with chopped chives.
12. MANGE.

adapted from: forster, felicity, ed. "mini baked potatoes with blue cheese" in soups. (london: hermes house, 2004: p. 240).

recipe two: balsamic caramelized potatoes.

*note from bud #2: i made up this pretty simple recipe after a visit to the old strathcona farmer’s market where i picked up a bottle of maple balsamic vinegar. parboiling the potatoes before roasting is a bit indulgent, but i feel they warrant this attention.

serves 4-5 people.

ingredients:

a 2lb bag of baby potatoes

about 1 tablespoon of olive oil

2-3 tablespoons of maple balsamic vinegar (or substitute with regular balsamic)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

about 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, coarsely chopped

about 1/2 tablespoon butter (optional)

salt and pepper

1. combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic power and thyme in a bowl. set aside.

2. wash and dry your potatoes.

3. add potatoes to a pot of rapidly boiling salted water.

4. boil potatoes just until they're soft and you can easily stick a fork through (about 5-7 minutes).

5. remove from water immediately and add to a foil-lined roasting tray. (you can cut some of the not so baby potatoes in half if you wish before roasting.)

6. pour oil and balsamic mixture over potatoes and shake the tray around so that the potatoes are well coated. add the butter if you feel like it (just do it.)

7. bake at 400F for 30min or until potatoes are browned.

8. salt and pepper to taste.

barry makes some bread.

and by some, i mean a lot. yes, last week was ukrainian christmas, so a shindig was in order to celebrate the occasion, and, of course, a proper shindig requires food. deciding to do a traditional ukrainian christmas eve dinner, i set out to think of which twelve dishes to have. i made it to eleven before getting stuck. i thought that i could attempt fish jello or pickled herring, but the jello boat has sailed for the next month or so since new year’s was jello-filled, and i just refused to have pickled herring in my apartment. then it hit me: kolach! yes, traditional christmas bread would be perfect and meaningful in getting my guests in the true meatless/dairy-less spirit of things. i’ve never even thought of attempting such a feat before, so i found a recipe, looked up online how to braid the stuff, and set to work. i started at 6:30 pm after a quick bite to eat, knowing that i’d probably be up until midnight baking, but no worries because one of barry’s buds came by to visit and photograph THE EVENT. so i left the yeast to do it’s thing, then added the first of many, many cups of flour, and then let it continue to do its thing.
9:00 pm.
okay, first step complete (finally). the camembert my bud brought is now gone, and the smell of yeast has begun to overwhelm us. we now mix the rest of the many, many cups of flour with the mixture along with some eggs and oil. my arm began to go numb around 9:30, but it’s okay, this is an art! soon after i throw the spoon away and start going at the mixture with my hands. i make sure everything is mixed and then try to nurse my arm back to health with a drink or two. 11:00 pm.
okay, no problem, it’s time for the inaugural punching down of the dough. i feel that this is payback for my arm during the mixing portion of this misadventure and take great delight in doing a little damage to my dough. we’re feeling a little light-headed from the yeast. part of that might have been from the vino, but really, it was from the yeast. let it rise again.
12:30 am.
okay, so we’re past my midnight deadline. no problem. we take the frustration out on the bread. i feel that our punches are a bit weaker than they once were. we may have finally been overwhelmed. we retreat to the living room to recover from the yeast.

1:30 am.
we’re not waiting any longer. this is go-time. we pull out pieces of dough to roll out and make three braids and layer them one atop another. once again, patience is a virtue as we let it rise. *sigh*
2:00 am.
“the blob” has risen. as i try to make it look less blobby with the help of a steak knife, my cohort brushes the thing with a nice egg wash. into my tiny, apartment-sized oven with it. we now start to work on the rest of the dough and braid breadsticks for each of my dinner guests. while the blob bakes, the breadsticks rise.

2:45 am.
oh god – it’s 2:45 in the morning… the blob emerges, and has been transformed from a beast into a thing of beauty that smells delicious. we tap the bottom, which makes a hollow sound. it’s ready. tray one of breadsticks goes in after being brushed with whisked egg.
3:10 am.
tray one comes out, and tray two goes in. barry’s bud bails. they made a valiant effort, but we have been baking since 6:30 pm.

3:30 am.
tray two is out, and so am i. my eyeballs hurt, and i’m drunk with the smell of fresh bread (and again, possibly wine).

so was this craziness worth it? hell yes. fantastic bread, hilarious conversation, camembert, and a group of admiring dinner guests the next night – it was so worth it. the bread was actually easy to make, just time consuming as you waited for things to rise. this is the perfect thing to make to impress company if you’re hanging around home working on other projects. or maybe i’m just a masochist. either way, fun times with carbs are always something to write about.

kolach recipe courtesy the holy trinity ukrainian catholic parish
1907 – 2007 centennial cookbook

2 pkg. yeast
1 c. water
4 c. water
1 tsp. sugar
4 c. flour
4 eggs
¼ c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cooking oil
7 – 8 c. flour
1 egg, beaten

1. dissolve 1 tsp. sugar in 1 c. lukewarm water and sprinkle yeast over it. let stand for 15 minutes.

2. combine yeast with 4 c. lukewarm water. add 4 c. flour and beat hard until smooth. cover and set aside in a warm place for 1 to 1 ½ hours until sponge is light and bubbly.

3. in a separate bowl beat eggs, add sugar and salt and beat slightly. add oil and beaten eggs to sponge mixture.

4. work in flour 1 c. at a time to make a fairly stiff dough. knead well. cover and put in warm place to rise until double in bulk.

5. punch down and let rise again.

6. divide dough in proportion and braid.

7. let braided dough rise then brush with 1 egg beaten.

8. place a rack in the lower third of the oven. preheat the oven to 350 F.

9. put dough in oven for approximately 45 minutes. bread will be done if when the bottom is tapped it makes a hollow sound.

for braiding techniques, visit http://foodgeeks.com/recipes/recipe/20030,ukrainian_christmas_bread_kolach.phtml