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Beef Stroganoff with Ale

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery November 14, 2011 Tags: ale, beef stew, beer, egg noodles, family meal, hearty, recipe, stroganoff 1 Comment

Remember the 70’s? Stroganoff and egg noodles, baby! Prepare this one while listening to disco, and make sure you explain 70’s fashion to your kids. (With the intention of them never wanting to wear bell bottoms or anything orange and brown.) Don’t worry. We won’t ever share recipes involving sweet potatoes and marshmallows.

Sear the stewing steak (brown it in a pan). Remove from pan. Sautee chopped onion and sliced green and red peppers (and mushrooms if you like). Once onions transluscent, return beef to pot. Add 1 T. paprika, 1 T. mustard (dijon), 2 pints (cans) of ale (best are cream ales like Kilkenny, Caffreys, Boddingtons) and 1 pint beef stock. Bring to boil. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce to very low heat. Add in sliced mushrooms, and optional: tomato puree (1 can). Simmer 2 hours (until it tastes sweet), remove lid to reduce sauce to desired consistency. Just before serving, you may optionally add 1 cup whipping cream. Serve over tagliatelle or rice.

Ale Cottage Pie

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery November 14, 2011 Tags: ale shepherds pie, beer, comfort food, cottage pie, family meal, potatoes, recipes, sheep, shepherds pie No Comments

Apparently since 1885 in England, when the first mention of this dish hit literature, Ale Cottage Pie has been used to describe a beef dish covered in potato, whereas Shepherd’s Pie would contain lamb instead. (Shepherds care for sheep, not cattle). The addition of a dark ale enhances the flavours and adds depth to this simple, kid-friendly dish.

Sautee a diced onion and garlic until translucent. Add ground beef. Add salt and pepper to taste. Brown the meat. Drain fat off. Return to pan. Continue to brown. Add mustard ( 2T) and dashes of worstershire sauce.. Put in 2 pints of beer, 1 pint water (beef stock), bring to boil. REduce heat. Simmer, uncovered. Allow to reduce down at least an hour at a simmer. Transfer to Shephard’s Pie dish. Allow to cool. Add mashed potato. While boiling, put whole garlic cloves in the water – garlic will turn sweet when you boil. Add Salt, pepper, grated parmesan, butter and cream. Sprinkle salt on top. Score with fork. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 mins until golden brown. Rest 10 minutes.

Mushroom Risotto

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery November 13, 2011 Tags: arborio, comfort food, fall, family meal, mushrooms, rice, risotto No Comments

What are the cooler months without comfort food? Mushroom Risotto is amazing for families and needn’t be as intimidating as it often seems. Kids can help ladle, and you and even form their meals into balls – or make a shape with a cookie cutter on their plate.

Heat 4 cups of stock in a separate pan. Make sure the stock is hot or it won’t absorb quickly enough. Chop 2 onions and 2 cups mushrooms. Melt 2 oz. butter in risotto pot. Grate 4 oz. parmesan cheese. Add diced onions and cook until translucent. Add 2 cups of risotto to the pot and coat grains with melted butter. Add stock one ladle (cup) at a time. Make sure it is absorbed each time before adding more. Add 1 cup white wine early in the liquid process. Stir constantly. (We like flat bamboo or wooden spatulas.) Taste the risotto and wait until al dente (a bit tough in the middle). Add mushrooms. (or asparagus, peas, mint). Melt 4 knobs of butter, and or 1 cup of cream, along with the grated parmesan at the end just before serving. Total cooking time: 25-30 minutes. A risotto pan makes it a tad quicker.

How to Roast the Perfect Chicken at Home

EAT, family meals By Guest November 1, 2011 Tags: chicken, family meal, perfect roast chicken at home, recipes, roast chicken No Comments

Don’t feel like you have to have attended Cordon Bleu to be able to produce a beautiful meal for your family. Cooking is a lot easier than you think, if you approach it intuitively. There are, of course, a lot of complex things involved in many disciplines (making sauces, baking, etc.), but most moms at home can make absolutely fabulous meals without too much effort. This meal, roasted chicken and veggies, is one of my favorites with the family, plus it’s super-easy to make. Seriously, there are three basic steps to the entire meal. Check our tips for How to Roast the Perfect Chicken at Home. Let’s get started!

Fall Quinoa

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery October 30, 2011 Tags: fall quinoa, family meal, grains, quinoa, quinoa recipe 2 Comments

*1 tbsp olive oil
*Sea salt & pepper to taste
*1 cup quinoa
* 1/2 yellow onion
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (any variety)
* 1/2 cup chickpeas
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
*1/3 cup raisins
*1/3 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds)
* A few splashes of tamari (wheat-free soy sauce)
* A sprinkle of cayenne
* A sprinkling of sage on top

Directions:
Cook quinoa. Add onions, mushrooms, garlic and chickpeas to a pan with either a tiny bit of oil or just a little water and a few splashes of tamari, and a sprinkling of cayenne. Cook until onions are translucent & all ingredients are starting to brown up a bit.

Add cooked quinoa to onion mixture in pan and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and put into a large bowl. Add raisins, basil and seeds.

Recipe: Alyssa Schottland-Bauman, Nourished.ca

Down Home Potato Scallop

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery September 26, 2011 Tags: baked gratin, cape breton, east coast, family meal, fredericton, gratin, halifax, potato scallop No Comments

When you’re out east, potato scallop is a diet staple. With ham, turkey or on it’s own, there is no denying the comfort factor. It can be prepared in kid-friendly individual ramekins for the little ones.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling
(We also like to puree cauliflour and ‘hide’ it in the centre to get a few extra veggies into the kids.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.

While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

Waldorf Bulgur Salad Recipe

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery June 20, 2011 Tags: bulgur wheat, dressing, family meal, newmans own, salad, waldorf salad No Comments

Stick to your healthy eating resolutions with this main course waldorf bulgur salad recipe that’s full of whole grain goodness. It’s a great use for any leftover roasted turkey you have, and packs easily for work lunches. Makes 6 main course servings.

Aunt Elsie’s “Passatelli” Soup

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery December 28, 2010 Tags: "Passatelli" Soup, ancestry.ca, family meal, soup recipe No Comments

Soup is so full of nutrition and goodness. It’s inexpensive and easy to make, and can be frozen. What more could a Mom want? Here’s a truly Canadian, easy soup recipe.

Aunt Elsie’s “Passatelli” soup
Submitted by Paul Lepri, Quebec

Mother Dorothy’s Pork Tenderloin

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery December 20, 2010 Tags: family meal, pork tenderloin No Comments

What’s a traditional Canadian Christmas meal? Recipes, like family heirlooms, are often passed down through generations and Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website, turned to its customers to find out some of Canada’s favourite ancestral concoctions. Here is Mother Dorothy’s Pork Tenderloin.

With hundreds, if not thousands, of customs making up the Canadian cultural identity, what Ancestry.ca discovered was a true mosaic of meals.

Great-Great-Aunt Eliza’s Scottish Shortbread

EAT, snacks By Jill Amery December 20, 2010 Tags: cookies, family meal, Holiday, scottish, shortbread 2 Comments

Ok, so there might not be any thing “light” about these Christmas delights, but the way these cookies melt in your mouth you’ll think they are! They are so easy to make and will be a Christmas tradition if they aren’t already. Canada is made up of so many cultures and we are very lucky to sample the world in our cuisine. Thank you, Scotland, (and Aunt Eliza) for these gems.

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