Blueberry Streusel Tart

For dessert last night, I made a blueberry streusel tart. The best part was probably the streusel topping, but the combination of the topping, the blueberry mixture, and the shortbread crust made for an unbelievable dessert. We all had second helpings it was so good.


Blueberry Streusel Tart
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 9.5-inch tart pan, 6-8 servings
Print recipe

Shortbread Crust
3/8 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Cream butter and sugar together until light.


3. Mix in flour.


4. Pat into bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.


5. Prick bottom all over with a fork.


6. Bake for 12 minutes. Crust should not be coloured.

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar, or light brown sugar, or a combination
1/3 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

1. Mix all ingredients together with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Blueberry Filling
3 cups blueberries (I used frozen)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp tapioca
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

1. Stir all ingredients together until just combined.


2. Distribute the mixture evenly in the tart crust.


3. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the berries.


4. Bake at 350F for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the streusel has browned and thick juices bubble up near the center.


5. Best served the day the tart is made.

Lamb Popsicles and a Farewell

My parents left this morning to head back to Toronto. We had a lot of fun together these past few weeks, enjoying the Olympic experience, and we managed to fit in some quality time together even though our schedules were all so different. We all attended various men's curling events, the highlight being A and I at Kevin Martin's gold medal win, my dad and A saw the women's 1500m long track speed skating final, my mom was at most of the victory ceremonies, and I was working during the men's gold medal hockey game and got to see Sidney Crosby's goal in the overtime period for the Canadian win. It was sad to see the end of the Olympics, because the energy of the city for those two weeks was amazing, and it was sad to see my parents leave. The apartment is so quiet now.

We cooked and ate many great meals together. Last night, we finally made Vij's famous lamb popsicles. It didn't turn out quite like at the restaurant, but it was very tasty nonetheless. The sauce is thick and creamy and the potatoes add nice colour and texture to the dish.


Lamb Popsicles with Fenugreek Cream Curry
Adapted from Vij's Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
Yield: 4-6 servings
Print recipe

Lamb
1/4 cup sweet white wine
3/4 cup grainy yellow mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4-5 French-cut racks of lamb, in chops, per person

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Combine wine, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.


3. Add lamb and coat well with the marinade.



4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.


5. Fifteen minutes before eating, preheat a stove-top cast iron grill or barbeque to high heat.


6. Place lamb on the grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Curry Sauce
2 cups half and half cream
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tbsp ground fenugreek seeds
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp turmeric

1. In a large bowl, combine cream, salt, paprika, cayenne, fenugreek, and lemon juice.


2. In a medium pot, heat the oil on medium heat.


3. Add the garlic and saute until golden.


4. Stir in turmeric and cook for 1 minute.


5. Stir in the cream mixture and cook on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it is gently boiling.



6. Pour the curry over the cooked lamb or ladle it into a small bowl to use as a dipping sauce for the popsicles.


7. Serve with turmeric new potatoes.

Turmeric Potatoes
3-4 new potatoes per person
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup water
handful baby spinach

1. Wash and scrub potatoes, but do not peel them.


2. Cut each potato into 1/4 inch or slightly thinner rounds.


3. In a heavy frying pan, heat oil on medium heat for 1 minute.


4. Add onions and saute for 5 minutes, or until golden.


5. Add turmeric, salt, and cayenne. Stir well and cook for 1 minute.


6. Add potatoes and water and bring to a light boil. Gently stir.


7. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes.



8. If the potatoes are sticking or burning, add another 1/4 cup of water.


9. Gently stir potatoes again and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.


10. One minute before turning off the heat, gently stir in spinach.


11. Serve warm from the pan.

Valentine's Dessert

I made my first tart last night for dessert. I made a shortbread crust and a lemon filling and topped the tart with fresh raspberries. It looked beautiful and tasted even better.


Lemon Raspberry Tart
Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Yield: 8-inch tart pan, 4-6 servings
Print recipe

Shortbread Crust
1/4 cup butter
1/6 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.


2. Cream butter and sugar together until light.


3. Mix in flour.


4. Pat into bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.



5. Prick bottom all over with a fork.


6. Bake for 10 minutes. Crust should not be coloured.

Lemon Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tbs lemon zest
fresh raspberries

1. Combine sugar and butter in a heatproof bowl.


2. In a small pot, bring 1 inch of water to a bare simmer.


3. Set the bowl over the pot and stir until the butter is melted.


4. Remove from heat. Add and beat in the egg yolks until no yellow streaks remain.


5. Stir in lemon juice.


6. Return the bowl to the heat and, stirring gently, heat the mixture until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of heavy cream (lightly coats a spoon), 6 to 8 minutes.


7. Strain the lemon mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.


8. Stir in the lemon zest.


9. Pour the filling into the tart crust.


10. Bake the tart until the center looks set, but still quivery, like gelatin, when the pan is nudged, 15 to 20 minutes.


11. Let cool completely.


12. Arrange raspberries on top as desired.

Valentine's Dinner

My mom was out volunteering yesterday, so A and I had the afternoon to cook ourselves a Valentine's Day dinner. We made another curry from Vij's cookbook and we also tried making paneer from scratch. Both were really delicious and surprisingly easy to make.

We ate the paneer with some leftover sauce from the beef short ribs we made the other day. I'm not sure I love the combination, so next time we'll try it with a different sauce that better compliments the paneer.

I also made a tart for dessert, but I'll post that separately.

Vij Family's Chicken Curry
Adapted from Vij's Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
Yield: 6 servings
Print recipe


1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 3-inch piece of cinnamon bark
3 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
3 lbs chicken thighs (we used drumsticks)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1. In a large pot, heat oil on medium heat for 1 minute.


2. Add onions and cinnamon and saute for 5 to 8 minutes, until onions are golden.


3. Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.


4. Add ginger, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, and cayenne. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the oil separates from the masala.


5. Remove and discard skin from the chicken thighs. Wash thighs and add them to the masala. Stir well.


6. Cook thighs for 10 minutes, until chicken looks cooked on the outside.


7. Add sour cream and water. Stir well.


8. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring curry to a boil.


9. Reduce heat to medium, and cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked.


10. Peel the chicken meat off the bones and stir the meat back into the curry.


11. Just before serving, bring the curry to a light boil on medium heat.


12. Stir in cilantro.


13. Serve with plain basmati rice.

Paneer
Adapted from Vij's Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
Yield: 1 1/2 lbs
Print recipe

1/4 cup water
4 L whole milk
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
3 squares of cheesecloth, each 2ft x 2ft

1. Place water in a large heavy-bottomed pan.


2. Slowly add milk, then stir in sugar.


3. Turn the heat to medium and bring the milk to a boil. (We scorched the bottom of the pan and were later told that the way to prevent it is to stir, stir, stir!)



4. Just as the milk rises, but before it spills over the side of the pot, add vinegar and turn off the heat. The milk will stop rising, and solids will begin to separate from the liquid. Wait 5 minutes until the liquid is completely separated from the solids.



5. Line a fine-mesh sieve with triple-layered chessecloth and place it in the sink.


6. Strain the milk mixture through the cheesecloth, leaving the paneer in the sieve for about 5 minutes to drain completely.



7. Using your hands, gather the edges of the cheesecloth, bringing them togther above the paneer. Enclose paneer tightly in the cheesecloth by twisting the gathered edges against the paneer to seal out any air. Tie the gathered ends into a double knot.


8. Place wrapped paneer on a large plate with a weight on top to flatten the paneer to about 2 inches thick, pressing out any remaining water. Allow paneer to sit for 1 hour.


9. Unwrap paneer and place on clean plate. With a large sharp knife, cut paneer as desired.



10. Can be used right away or can be kept, uncut and tightly sealed, in plastic wrap or resealable plastic bag, refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Beef Short Ribs in Cinnamon and Red Wine Curry

The second curry recipe we tried from the Vij's cookbook was with beef short ribs. This curry was much spicier and I really enjoyed the tender meat.


Beef Short Ribs in Cinnamon and Red Wine Curry
Adapted from Vij's Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
Yield: 8 servings
Print recipe

2 tbsp ghee or butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 large onions, finely chopped
10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tbsp Mexican chili powder
1 3-inch piece of cinnamon bark
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup red wine
2 1/2 lbs beef short ribs, bone removed and excess fat trimmed (each rib about 7 oz raw)

1. In a large heavy pot, sear the short ribs. Remove from pot.


2. In the same pot, melt ghee or butter on medium high heat.


3. Add oil and cumin seeds. Allow seeds to sizzle for about 30 seconds, then add onions.


4. Saute onions 8 to 10 minutes or until brown.



5. Add garlic and saute until garlic is golden brown, about 3 minutes.


6. Reduce heat to low and add tomatoes, fenugreek, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, chili, and cinnamon bark. Stir well.



7. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring regularly, until ghee/oil separates from the tomatoes, about 10 minutes.


8. Stir in stock and red wine and bring to a boil.


9. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until ghee/oil separates from the stock and rises to the top.


10. Add short ribs and stir well. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally.


11. Serve with plain basmati rice.

Cilantro Mint Chicken Curry, New Camera, and the Olympic Torch

While we were away, my mom was in town house- and dog-sitting for us. She went to an Indian market and bought almost every ingredient listed in the Vij's cookbook, so expect a few posts on some Indian meals as we try out recipes from the book.

We made cilantro mint chicken curry last night for dinner. I don't think it's the best looking dish because it's pretty much just green, but it definitely had a nice taste. Not too spicy, has a good zing, and relatively easy to make.

It was fun taking pictures of the food with my new dSLR camera and very new 50mm lens. I don't really know what I'm doing with the camera yet, so the pictures are only using auto settings so far, but I still think they look way better than the old camera.

We hurriedly ate dinner so we could head out to watch the Olympic torch go by. There is a definite buzz in the city and it was the first time I really felt the magnitude of the Olympics. It's going to be a fun couple of weeks.

Cilantro Mint Chicken Curry
Adapted from Vij's Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
Yield: 6 servings
Print recipe

Cilantro Mint Chutney
2 cups chopped cilantro (use leaves and stem)
2/3 cup chopped mint (leaves only)
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped red onion (about 1 large)
1 tbsp chopped ginger
2/3 cup water

1. Mix cilantro, mint, jalapeno peppers, onion, and ginger in a large bowl.



2. Pour one third of the mixture into a blender with one third of the water. Puree until smooth and then transfer to a clean bowl.



3. Repeat two more times with the remaining cilantro mint mixture and remaining water.


4. Set green chutney aside while preparing the curry.

Curry
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
3 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt (or 3/4 cup buttermilk)
3 lbs chicken thighs (we used drumsticks)

1. Heat oil in a heavy, shallow pot for one minute.


2. Add cumin and coriander seeds and allow them to sizzle for about 30 seconds.


3. Add garlic and saute for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown.


4. Stir in salt, then turn off the heat.


5. After 2 or 3 minutes, stir in yogurt (or buttermilk).


6. Add the chicken thighs and stir well.



7. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring regularly.


8. Remove curry from the heat and cool for about 20 minutes.


9. Peel the chicken meat off the bones and stir the meat back into the curry.


10. Add the cilantro mint chutney and stir.


11. About 15 minutes before serving, bring the curry to a boil on medium heat, then turn down and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.


12. Serve with plain basmati rice.

The Soul of a Chef

While we were in Hawaii, I read The Soul of a Chef - The Journey Toward Perfection, the second book by Michael Ruhlman about the culinary world.

From the back of the book:
In his second in-depth foray into the world of professional cooking, Michael Ruhlman journeys into the heart of the profession. Observing the rigorous Certified Master Chef exam at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America), the most influential cooking school in the country, Ruhlman enters the lives and kitchens of rising star Michael Symon of Lola and renowned Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. This in-depth treatment will satisfy any reader's hunger for knowledge about cooking and food, the secrets of successful chefs, at what point cooking becomes an art form, and more.

I really enjoyed reading about the Certified Master Chef exam, as the 10-day exam sounds fascinating and brutal at the same time. It would be amazing to participate in that one day, whether being an assistant or a judge or perhaps even attempting the exam myself.

Learning more about the lives of successful chefs was interesting as well. The life of a chef is definitely difficult and is something that requires an incredible amount of stamina and passion. I've always dreamed of running my own restaurant, so the book opened my eyes a bit more to what a typical day is like at two very different restaurants.

At this point, all I know for sure is that I am at the very beginning of my journey and I still have so much to learn. Reading books like this inspires me to keep going and see where this path leads. I am also really excited to start school, to which I have now officially been accepted, starting May 25. It can't come soon enough.