Gilding the French Onion Soup

December 8, 2021 By

At our home, we LOVE French onion soup. When we moved into our new home recently, we unpacked everything we owned, no more bins in the attic, no more boxes in the garage, we literally unpacked the equivalent of two full kitchens! In the process, I realized that we have 10 French onion soup bowls, so I decided we need to make it more often!

Cheesy Garlic Toast
Garlic Toast French Onion Soup

While I typically use my Traditional French Onion Soup recipe, I like to tweak it now and then. This past weekend, I replaced the regular toasted French bread I normally use with toasted cheesy garlic bread and it was fabulous. Yes, I know adding cheesy bread under the cheesy topping is gilding the lily, but, why not! 

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Cheese, French, Soups, Vegetables Tagged With:
7 December 2021 World’s Best Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

World’s Best Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

December 7, 2021 By

You’re at a party and appetizers are served. Every single time, the humble spinach and artichoke dip will be king. It’s warm, comforting, gooey and so….so delicious.

This version of the popular dip features fresh spinach, which makes a huge difference in taste and texture. Serve this with either toasted French bread or with scoop chips (my favorite).

Be sure the cream cheese is at room temperature BEFORE you assemble this dish.

Ingredients:

  • 5 ounces fresh spinach
  • 1 cup sour cream (don’t use low fat), room temperature
  • One 8-ounce package cream cheese (don’t use low fat), room temperature
  • One 15-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 12 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 5 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Two big pinches each of salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. To a large bowl, add the spinach, the sour cream, the cream cheese, the artichokes, the garlic, half the Mozzarella, the Parmesan and the salt/pepper. Mix until combined.
  3. Coat a 9×9 baking dish with cooking spray (of butter well) – could also use a cast iron skillet. Spread the spinach mixture in an even layer and top with the rest of the Mozzarella.
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Then tun the broiler to high and broil for 1-2 minutes or until the top of the dip is golden brown.

8-10 servings (unless you’re my gang, then it’s 4-6 servings).

Inspired by this recipe.

Filed Under: American, Appetizers, Cheese, Snacks, Starters, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: ,
20 July 2021 Easy Zucchini Orzo

Easy Zucchini Orzo

July 20, 2021 By

This orzo was in last week’s Blue Apron box and it was delicious so I thought I’d share the easy recipe with you. This side dish was served with grilled chicken but it would be great with seafood and fish also.

Zucchini Orzo with Grilled Chicken

This zucchini orzo is a breeze to prepare and a great way to use up garden zucchini which can be plentiful this time of year. This recipe makes enough for two servings, but is easy to double or triple if you have guests.

Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces orzo
  • 2 scallions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 4 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. verjus blanc (or white wine vinegar)
  • 2 Tbsp. Mascarpone cheese
  • 1½ Tbsp. golden raisins
  • 1 Tbsp Weeknight Hero Spice Blend (Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Smoked Paprika & Whole Dried Parsley)
  • ¼ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1 Tbsp. Capers

Directions:

  1. Over high heat, place a medium pot ¾ of the way full with salted water and bring to a boil.
  2. Small dice the zucchini. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Thinly slice the scallions, separating the white bottoms and hollow green tops.
  3. Add the orzo to the pot of boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 7 to 9 minutes, or until tender. Turn off the heat. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.
  4. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the diced zucchini in an even layer. Cook, without stirring, 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the chopped garlic and sliced white bottoms of the scallions and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the verjus (or the white wine vinegar) and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Transfer to the pot of cooked orzo, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and stir to combine.
  5. To the pot of cooked pasta and zucchini, add the mascarpone, raisins, and capers and stir to combine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper if needed.

Makes 2 side servings.

Filed Under: American, Greek, Pasta, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,
3 June 2021 Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

June 3, 2021 By

This isn’t really a recipe, more of a reminder to make this Mediterranean pasta salad more often. All the ingredients can be prepped in advance. I even cook the pasta, cool it and add to a zip top bag so I don’t have to boil water the day of my BBQ. The dressing I typically use is my Easy Greek Vinaigrette which is tangy and delicious and can be made and stored in a canning jar (or other small jar).

This image of my salad is just one version. I sometimes add artichocke hearts, garbanzo beans or skip the pasta – it’s just pretty and a salad everyone enjoys.

A pound of dry pasta with the various fixings will feed eight diners.

Enjoy!

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Cheese, Greek, Pasta, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,
2 April 2021 Maple Blondies with Maple Icing

Maple Blondies with Maple Icing

April 2, 2021 By

I’ve never been much of a Blondies girl – there, I’ve said it. I love chocolate and it seems senseless to make brownies without chocolate. Well, that WAS my mindset until I baked these MAPLE blondies. As a Canadian, maple is queen and tops even chocolate in baked goods, in my humble opinion. I then took this dessert over the top by adding MAPLE icing which gets a bit crackly when it cools and is fabulous – maple2 if you will.

This recipe comes together very easily and I used THIS RECIPE for the Blondies that I found on Pinterest (are we friends there yet?) and created a quick maple icing that I drizzled on while the Blondies were still warm. I’ve frosted cookies with this icing in the past, but on MAPLE Blondies, it’s amazing.

In terms of baking time for the Blondies, less is more. It indicates to bake 30-35 minutes in the recipe, and I went 32 minutes and next time, I’d go 29-30 minutes to get an even chewier texture. I know my oven runs a bit hot too, so test with a toothpick after 29-30 to see how you’re doing with doneness.

Blondies right out of the oven
Making the icing
The finished icing – smells incredible!

Blondies Recipe

Maple Icing Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, ideally from Quebec!
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ tsp. sea salt

Maple Icing Directions:

  1. Allow Blondies to cool for 10 minutes while making the icing.
  2. Over medium-low heat in a small saucepan, melt the butter, add the maple syrup, and stir to combine. Turn the heat off.
  3. Add the powdered sugar and the salt and stir until fully incorporated with no lumps remaining.
  4. Drizzle over the blondies (I placed the hot icing in a zip top bag and cut a small corner and used the bag as a pastry bag – this is optional!) and allow to set for 15 minutes.

Yields 12 Blondies.

Filed Under: American, Desserts, Maple Syrup Tagged With: , , ,
1 April 2021 Mom’s Strawberry Muffins

Mom’s Strawberry Muffins

April 1, 2021 By

My mom, who lives in Quebec, Canada, is so cute. Over the years, she’s learned that I need to see photos of the food she cooks. No photos…it didn’t happen!

Today, she baked strawberry muffins that she made using fresh strawberries she’d frozen last summer for such a recipe. I had her take three different photos of the muffins and she complied and now I can share the recipe and her images with you.

This easy muffin recipe can also be made using raspberries, blackberries or blueberries.

Fresh out of the oven!

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
  • 1 cup strawberries, either fresh or frozen then thawed, diced into small pieces
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Just want to cut into it!
Look at the juicy strawberries!

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Either coat in cooking spray a 12-muffin tin or add paper liners.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugars and the baking powder. Carefully add the strawberry pieces and set aside.
  4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, yogurt, egg and vanilla extract.
  5. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and carefully incorporate with a spatula or wooden spoon – don’t overmix!
  6. Fill the muffin cups until about 2/3 full and bake until the muffin tops are golden brown and no longer wet on the inside when a wooden toothpick is inserted, about 20 minutes.
  7. Allow to cool 10 minutes before unmolding (if not using the paper liners).

Yields 12 muffins.

Filed Under: American, Breakfast, Desserts, Fruits Tagged With: ,
24 March 2021 Old York Cellars Cod with Vegetable Sauce

Old York Cellars Cod with Vegetable Sauce

March 24, 2021 By

As families prepare for another socially distanced Easter and Passover meal, some may be looking for ways to make their holiday a bit more special this year.

Old York Cellars Chef Jose Diaz has prepared this easy, DIY recipe for cod for two that offers the perfect touch for an Easter or Passover meal to be remembered.

You’ll see that the recipe calls for Old York Cellars dry white wine and that’s available for purchase at the winery’s website. The recipe also features a Old York Cellars Malbec Marinara, a sauce hand-made by Dogwood Farms in Hillsborough NJ using Old York Cellars Malbec – yum!

Photo by Old York Cellars

Ingredients

  • 1 russet potato – peeled
  • 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
  • 1 celery stalk – chopped
  • 1 carrot – chopped
  • 1 leek – sliced
  • 1 onion – chopped
  • 1 tomato – chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves – minced
  • 1 red bell pepper – chopped
  • 1 ½ tsp. each salt and freshly group black pepper, divided
  • 1 Tbsp. paprika
  • ½ cup Old York Cellars dry white wine
  • ½ cup Old York Cellars Malbec Marinara
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
  • 6-ounce filet with skin on

Directions:

  1. In a pot of boiling water, cook the potato for 35-45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the water and let stand 3 minutes then slice.
  2. Set a medium-large pot over medium-high heat and once warmed, add one tablespoon of olive oil. After 30 seconds, add the celery, the carrots, the leeks, the onion, the tomato, the garlic and the red pepper. Stir for a minute then add two more tablespoons of olive oil over vegetables along with one teaspoon each of the salt/pepper, and the paprika. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the wine and marinara sauce. Decrease heat to low, cover the pot and allow the sauce to simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Once the saucy vegetables are cooked, purée the mixture until smooth using either an immersion blender or a food processor.
  4. Put the pureed sauce through fine mesh strainer using a rubber spatula (optional if you want).
  5. Return pureed and strained (if straining) vegetables to the pot and simmer over low heat while the fish is being sauteed.
  6. Season the cod with the remaining salt and pepper.
  7. Place frying pan on stove over high heat. Add remaining two tablespoons olive oil to the pan and warm up. Once oil begins to shimmer, add the cod, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes until cod begins to firm up and turns slightly white.
  8. Remove cod from pan and place skin side up into the vegetable purée and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
  9. To serve, spoon two tablespoons of vegetable purée onto a plate and swirl around the plate with the back of the spoon.
  10. Add cooked potatoes over the vegetable purée then place the cod skin side down on potatoes and add more sauce to plate.
  11. Garnish with fresh parsley and drizzle with olive oil.

Serves 2.

About Old York Cellars

Set amidst some of the oldest vineyards in the Garden State, Old York Cellars is a working farm that offers a full selection of award-winning wines and an extraordinary experience both inside and outside of the tasting room. The winery plays host to a variety of special events and exciting programs including seasonal Wine Festivals, Music Under the Stars, Comedy Nights, Specialty Tasting Experiences, and the exclusive Vintner’s Club.

Winery in Ringoes Open Daily 12 – 5 PM  (Starting April 3rd the winery will be open until 7 PM)

Old York Cellars Winery & Vineyards, 80 Old York Road, Ringoes, New Jersey 08551, Phone:  908-284-9463

Old York Cellars Tasting Room & Restaurant, Quaker Bridge Mall, Route 1, Lawrenceville, NJ, Phone:  609-799-2707

Old York Cellars Wine Shop, Bridgewater Commons Mall, 400 Commons Way, Bridgewater, NJ, Phone:  908-722-2222

Filed Under: American, Fish, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,
8 January 2021 Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

January 8, 2021 By

At our home, we love soup. If we’re connected on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll see lots of soup pics, especially in the winter. I’m Canadian and my guy is Dutch, two countries big on soups, and while we each have favorites, this Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup is one we both love.

Every so often when I have a few hours of downtime in the house, I’ll simmer or roast a whole chicken and then take the meat off the bones and bag individual portions and freeze for quick weeknight meals and for soup. For this soup, I do a double bag, about two cups. I’ll then simmer down the chicken carcass and make broth that I also freeze for future use, like this soup.

In this soup, you could use leftover rice or pasta for a great way to clear up the fridge with no waste. I often use linguine or fettucine. If you don’t have a blender/stick blender, simply skip that step and you’ll have a lovely soup that’s a bit chunkier. The soup gets its lovely coral color from the cooked carrots.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 3 medium carrots, diced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 4 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp. each dried thyme, salt and pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream combined with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 cups diced/shredded roasted chicken
  • ¼ pound linguine, broken into 2” pieces

Directions:

  1. In a large stockpot warm the oil over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion and celery and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute.
  2. Add chicken broth, thyme, salt, pepper and cook for 10 more minutes.
  3. Add half the soup to a blender (or use a stick blender) and purée for about a minute. Return the puréed soup to a clean saucepan and purée the second half of the soup and add to the 1st batch of puréed soup.
  4. Turn the heat to medium and add the cream/cornstarch mixture to the soup. Bring to a simmer and cook/stir for 3-4 minutes until the soup has thickened.
  5. Add the pasta, lower heat to medium-low and cook 10-15 more minutes, until the pasta is cooked through. If using cooked pasta or cooked rice, reduce the cooking time to 2 minutes instead of 10-15 minutes just to reheat the cold pasta/rice.

Serves 6 generously.

Filed Under: American, Chicken, Pasta, Soups Tagged With: , ,
7 January 2021 Quebec Meat Pies (Pâtés a la Viande or Tourtières)

Quebec Meat Pies (Pâtés a la Viande or Tourtières)

January 7, 2021 By

Meat pie, pâté a la viande, tourtière….there are so many names for the popular Quebec dish! The idea is a mixture of cooked ground meats baked between two flaky pastries.

Where I’m from in Quebec, the holidays simply wouldn’t be joyous without a meat pie on our Christmas tables. There are a gazillion versions, typically passed down from generation to generation, and every family claims theirs is the best and THE recipe.

My one criticism of the meat pie is that depending on how fatty the meats are, the pie can be dry. In my family, we use a mixture of pork and beef and it’s still what I prefer. Once in a while, I add small cubes of potatoes and that’s tasty too. This year, I saw someone on one of my Canadian Facebook pages that said her family uses mashed potatoes in their meat pies. What!!?? Then I thought…mmmm….wouldn’t that make the meat mixture creamy and not crumbly/dry? The answer is 100% YES!! These were the best meat pies I’ve ever had and I’ll always make them with mashed potatoes going forward.

My Snack of Leftover Mixture

For this Quebec Tourtière recipe, I make a double batch of my buttery Fail Proof Pie Crust recipe and for the two, double-crusted meat pies. Simply omit the sugar in the crust recipe as this is a savory pie.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large or 3 medium Russet potatoes, cut into chunks
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ pounds ground beef (80%/20% fat)
  • 1 ½ pounds ground pork
  • 2 small onions, diced
  • 1 cup brewed medium roast coffee
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp. ground clove
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • 4 9” pie crusts
  • 1 egg + 1 Tbsp. water stirred well
Mashed Potatoes and Meat Pot
Meat with the Mashed Potatoes Combined
Eggy Crust for Sealing
Meat Pie Ready for Baking

Directions:

  1. Place the potato pieces in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil then turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain very well and return the potatoes to the pan to dry for a few minutes then mash well with a potato masher. Set aside.
  2. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the oil then add the ground beef and the ground pork and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Add the onion and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes until the onion has softened. Add the coffee, broth and all the spices and stir well. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until some of the liquid has evaporated. Add the mashed potatoes to the meat mixture and still until well-distributed and the potatoes have absorbed the liquid.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Place a pie crust in each of two 9” pie plates. Add enough of the meat mixture to the two pies so that the meat is a bit above the height of the pie plate (you may have some leftover meat which is delish eaten out of a bowl as a side treat). With wet fingers from dipping in water, wet the crust on the lip of each pie to create the ‘glue’ that will adhere to the top crust. Cover with the remaining two crusts and crimp the bottom and top crusts together to ensure they’re sealed. Cut some slits in the top crusts to create a way for extra moisture to escape. Brush the egg mixture over the pies. Place the pies in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until the pies crusts are golden brown.
  5. Enjoy the pies right away or cool completely and place in zip top bags then in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. To reheat, bring the pies to room them and bake in a 325-degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Makes two 9” meat pies serving 6-8 each.

Filed Under: Beef, Canadian, Entrees, Pork Tagged With: , , , ,
8 December 2020 Easy Potato Latkes for Beginners

Easy Potato Latkes for Beginners

December 8, 2020 By

A couple of weeks ago, I was “challenged” by the team at Yarden Wines to make latkes that could be paired with some of their fantastic wines. If you’re not yet familiar with Yarden Wines, it encompasses Golan Heights Winery and Galil Mountain Winery, located in the Golan Heights and Galilee regions of Israel. Keep an eye out for more posts about wines from Israel.

What are latkes? According to Chabad.org Latke is Yiddish for “pancake.” On Chanukah, it is traditional to serve potato latkes fried in oil to celebrate the Chanukah miracle.

While I’ve made latkes once many years ago, I’m certainly no pro at making them so I turned to Pinterest for a good recipe and easy directions. The recipe I selected is by Sue from The View from Great Island (great blog by the way and amazing photography). Sue’s recipe, HOW TO MAKE PERFECT LATKES, was so easy to follow and featured lots of photos to help me along the way.

The results, if I may say so myself, were some of the best latkes I’ve ever eaten. Crunchy, crisp on the outside, moist and tender on the inside.

Here’s a link to the recipe and below are modifications I made:

  • Used two large Russet potatoes
  • Added a pinch of nutmeg
  • Used a ¼ cup scoop to measure out the latke ‘batter’ for each portion in my cast iron pan. I like the latkes a bit bigger and a little rounder in the middle to ensure a moist inside.
  • Replace the more typical chives with green onion.
  • Skipped the apple sauce since I’m not a fan and served the latkes with sour cream.
  • Grated the potatoes and onion by hand on a box grater. While more work, I actually like doing that step by hand.
  • Gave the lakes a nice sprinkling of salt after frying when I placed them on the paper towel.

I paired the latkes with the 2019 Gilgal Chardonnay by Yarden Wines and it was terrific match. This wine retails for around $15 a bottle and a great addition to your collection.

Don’t hesitate to try this latkes recipe, it’s super great and it’ll wow your friends and family.

Happy cooking,

Veronique

Filed Under: Appetizers, Israeli, Sides, Snacks, Starters, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,
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