Recipes

With all the recipes I write about here I am trying to keep them as easy as possible so that even novice cooks can make them, and yet have something they can be proud of.  When I started cooking over 40 years ago it was not something us men usually did, but that has changed for the better.  Smart men learn early that women are suckers for a guy that knows his way around a kitchen.  Even a lazy guy can get major browny points by having Kraft Dinner ready when the wife gets home from a hard day at work.  The dishes below will get her purring.
You women can use these recipes to keep your guy in line.
Let me know what you think after trying the recipes and also pass on any hints that make them better.

Tortilla Soup

Added - May 2010

This comes from Richard at Aguave Buoa, and since he has left town and us craving more, this needs to be passed on. It is simple to make and delicious.

Boil chicken breasts (1 or 2) in chicken stock (to cover), garlic and salt and pepper for 10 to 15 minutes until they shred easily.
Saute 1 onion (sliced)and one chopped glove of garlic in a tblsp of olive oil until golden (caramelized). Add 1/4 tsp sugar and finish sauteing until golden brown. (some bits may burn a little)
Add one tsp tomato paste and 1/2 cup tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Cook until dark red or almost brown.
Add 1 cup chicken stock and puree until smooth. Add more chicken stock to get desired consistency. It should be more chicken flavour than tomato.
Fry the corn tortillas in olive oil until they are crunchy and then slice them into strips.
Add the tortilla strips, chunks of avocado, pieces of cheese (mozzarella or Oaxaca) and shredded chicken. Top off with sour cream.
Note: add 1/2 Serrano pepper for spice.

Herb & Orange Glazed Game Hens

Added - September 2009

This recipe comes from Savory Flavours With Wood, one of two cookbooks that we carry, as they are for people cooking with the wooden oven planks or barbecue planks.  Between the two books, there are about 175 recipes and all of them are easy, especially for us caveman types that like to cook Brontosaurus on the Barbie.

Rock Cornish game hens are small chickens about a pound in size.  They are very meaty and easy to prepare.  Plank roasted with savory herbs and an orange marmalade glaze, the golden, crisp-skinned birds will be moist and tender with a slight smokey flavour

GLAZE
1/2 cup orange marmalade
3 tbls orange juice
2 teaspoons fennel seeds crushed.  (Easy way is buy another pepper mill.  Easier then using a mortar and crushing it)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage leaves, crumbled.

2 (16 to 24 ounce) game hens

Now anyone that knows me, knows that I have to play with a recipe.  So here goes.  Double the glaze ingredients, but replace the orange juice with Cointreau or any orange based liqueur.  If you are in Mexico, pick up Country.  It is a good knock off and a better price. 
Now take an extra 5 shots of Cointreau.  Pour four over the birds and let marinate for a couple of hours.  Drink the other shot.

Heat oven and plank to 350 F
Mix glaze ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
To cut hens in half, place back side down on a cutting board.  Use a knife, kitchen shears or poultry shears and cut along the breastbone to split the bird in half.
Place game hen halfs with the cut side down in center of the heated plank.
Roast for 30 minutes, then brush generously with glaze mixture, roast for 30 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink when cut near the bone and juice runs clear.
Heat any remaining glaze to boiling and serve drizzled over game hens.

Pollo ala Crema (Chicken in sour cream)

Added -December 2008

This is going to be my last recipe for a while. This has been a lot of fun, but I need a break.  It took me two years to get this recipe to where I wanted it and the journey has opened up a whole new area of cooking for me, and released some of the secrets of Mexican cooking.  I am not talking about heat, but rather the  rich flavours of mole sauces.

Most of us have experienced mole in our lives, like avocado mole with chips.  But there are some other classics out there like mole verde, mole rojo and pipin, and they all impart different flavours to Mexican dishes.  Without them, all you are doing is making Taco Time food at home.  Read the label carefully, as one has cocoa in it, which isn't to everyone's taste.

The nice thing about it is you change the mole in the recipe and you have a whole new taste.  You can go on the Internet to get mole recipes but you can also buy them at the grocery store if you travel out side of Chilliwack.  Que Pasa on # 5 Road in Steveston has a great selection or if you are in Billingham or Burlington go to Cost Cutters. Donna Maria is the best product.  Also stock up when you are in Mexico this winter.

The only problem with these products is they don't tell gringos how to use the stuff, which is a very dry paste in a jar.  I want to thank the great Latino ladies at Que Pasa for the secret. Mix it into some heated chicken broth.  Not to much or it becomes very runny.  Also thanks to my friend Cal for setting me in the right direction. 

Here goes with the recipe, which is enough for two hungry people.

6 chicken thighs or equivalent amount of chicken meat, cut bite size
12 mushrooms chopped
small green bell pepper chopped
medium onion chopped
3 tbls of pipin or  green mole sauce (red is harder to find, but worth the search.  Think cocoa)
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup tomato sauce or spicy tomato pasta sauce
1/2 to 1 cup sour cream to taste
1/2 cup of oaxaca or mozza cheese
pinch of cumin powder
garlic powder to taste
pinch of Chile & Lemon Salt (same place you buy mole sauces)
tortillas wraps
olive oil

Fry onions in oil until soft and translucent
Add chicken and cook with the spices
While doing this, bring chicken stock to a boil in a sauce pan.  Add pipin and blend with a whisk.  Set aside.
Add mushrooms and green pepper to frying pan and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add mole sauce, and tomato sauce and cook for 15 minutes
Add sour cream and cheese and blend in for a minute or two.
Spoon on wraps and serve with Mexi rice and re fried beans.  Or stir fry some veggies in salsa.

For wine I would try something spicy like Gewurztraminer or Gruner Veltliner.

Thai Barbecued Pork

Added - September 2008

This is a 3 in 1 recipe that with a little shifting of ingredients will also give you Chinese Barbecued Pork or for those wanting something with a little heat, Szechwan Barbecued Pork.  Nancy and I really love Thai food, so that is the main recipe.  I have changed the recipe slightly, by doubling the sauce ingredients and only using half the pork tenderloin and I use the left over sauce to baste the meat while it is cooking.  It takes about 15 minutes to prepare the sauce and 24 hours to marinate the meat and half an hour to barbecue it.

1 pork tenderloin 350 to 400 grams...fat removed

Sauce
4 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp black bean sauce
2 tbs grated ginger
3 tsp packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)

Chinese Barbecued Pork

Substitute soya sauce for fish sauce, sherry for the lime juice, decrease the ginger to 3 tsp and replace the cilantro with a pinch of 5 spice powder.

Szechwan Barbecued Pork

Use the Chinese recipe, but substitute 2 tsp of Chinese chili paste for the five spice powder and add 2 green onions, chopped.

Pour all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together.  Put the tenderloin in a shallow glass dish so that it lies flat and pour the sauce over it and turn the meat over to coat.  Let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours for best results, but at least 2 hours if you are in a hurry. (Like you have some trunk aged wine that needs something to go with it)
Heat the barbecue (24 hours after you start the marinating) on medium (375F)  Grill the tenderloin for 30 to 35 minutes or when the meat thermometer reads 160F and the meat still has a hint of pink.  Baste it generously 4 times while it is cooking.
Remove the meat to a cutting board and tent it with aluminum for 10 minutes.  (Because heat forces juices to the center of the meat, by letting it stand allows the juices to redistribute evenly)
Slice the pork into thin slices and serve.

I would serve this meal with a Cellar Craft Showcase Zweigelt or Syrah.  If you only drink white wines, you need something spicy to overcome the sauce.  Try our Showcase Gewurztraminer, Gewurztraminer Riesling or Gruner Veltliner.
 

Barbecue Sauce

Added - August 2008

We just ran this recipe in the Chilliwack Times, but some of you may have missed it.  I am not one that likes barbecue sauces like Bullseye that are heavy on smoke which tends to hide all other flavours.  The sauce is easy to make and is great on chicken, pork or steak.  I have recently added Chipotle peppers in Adobe sauce to give it a bit of smokey flavour with just a bit of heat to go along  with the slight sweetness.  You can play with the amount of peppers you use to fit your palate.  The more peppers you use the more the smoke, but also the hotter the sauce.  You can always added more peppers as you simmer the sauce, but it is really hard to pick out the little bits of minced peppers if you get it wrong.  I love cooking with Chipotle peppers, but a little can go a long way.

1/2 cup ketchup
2tbsp worchestershire sauce
1tsp prepared mustard
1tsp salt
3tbsp brown sugar
2tsp butter
2tbsp lemon juice
4 drops Tabasco sauce.
1 or 2 Chipotle peppers minced

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 1/2 hour or so.  Taste as you go and add more ingredients if needed.
Put it on what ever meat you are using and cook.  Baste the meat with the sauce as you turn it over.  If you are cooking spareribs or chicken and don't have one of those really fancy barbecues, partly cook the ribs or chicken in the oven so that the meat will be cooked all the way through without burning the outside on the barbecue.

This will go great with spicy or slightly sweet wines.  For red I would go with our Cellar Craft Zweigelt, Cabernet Shiraz or Shiraz/Syrah, and  for white wine I would go with Jo'berg Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Gewurztraminer or Gewurztraminer Riesling.

Sausage Burrito Casserole

Added - July 2008

I was going to do a great chicken recipe this month that Nancy found, but some customers made it clear that they want red meat for a change.  My mother picked this up somewhere and it is real easy to make.  Guys trying this will get extra browny points.  We guys need all we can get.  20 minutes to prepare, another 20 to cook.

1 lb hot or mild Italian sausage...I would change this to Chorrizo sausage and I would recommend the stuff from Johnston's Meats.
1  small onion chopped
1 sweet green pepper chopped
2 gloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp each marjoram & oregano
I can red kidney beans drained and rinsed...Mexican refried beans would work as well and they come mashed
2 cups salsa or more  to taste..you choose the heat level
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
8 large flour tortillas
2 cups shredded mozzarella  cheese...Oaxaca (wha-hawk aw) cheese would be better...go to any Cost Cutters in Bellingham.  Let me know if you find it in the lower mainland.
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Remove meat from sausage casings.  (Johnston's sometimes has bulk Chorrizo sausage  without casings) 
In large skillet cook meat over medium heat for 5 minutes or until no longer pink.  Break it up as you are cooking.  Pour off fat.
Add onion, green pepper, garlic marjoram & oregano and cook for 3 minutes or until onions have softened.
Mix in beans and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally
Stir in 1 cup salsa and parmesan cheese.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed
Spoon 1/2 cup of cooked mixture onto the lower third of tortilla and roll up the tortilla and fold over sides to enclose.
Place seam side down in 9 by 13 inch pan,  Roll up more and place in pan until all the mixture is gone.
Sprinkle with mozza or Oaxaca cheese.
Bake in oven at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through
Spoon remaining salsa over top...this is where I would add more.
Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

A nice spicy Shiraz/Syrah or our award winning Zweigelt would go great with this dish.

Peachy Chicken

Added - June 2008

Discovered this recipe sitting in a restaurant on the May long weekend in Friday Harbor while eating greasy, deep fried seafood and drowning my sorrows in great Margaritas.  The meal was so bad I had to find something to do that would take my mind off it.  (other than order more Margaritas) and so I started to read the label on the malt vinegar bottle, and there it was; Peachy Chicken.
Well I went home and tried the recipe and it was OK, but no wow.  Nancy and I talked it over and agreed that there was a possibility of a good meal here, but it would take a little work.  The flavour was good, but not enough of it.  Some ingredients would have to be increased, while the whole sauce would have to simmer until it thickened rather than doing it with starch.
1 can of peaches 14 to 16 oz. chopped course (reserve liquid)
2 to 2 1/2 lbs of chicken, skinned and cut into pieces. (or taken a whole chicken breast and cut it into 3/4 inch pieces, which is my favorite as it goes better over rice.  Brown the chicken in a skillet with a little olive oil and set aside.
combine and mix in a bowl a 1/2 of a I'm can of frozen orange juice, 1/2 cup of malt vinegar, 1 tbs of brown sugar, 1 tbs of soya sauce, 1/4 tsp of ground cloves, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of ground  basil, 1/8 tsp of black pepper, 4 or 5 (or more) drops of Tabasco sauce.
put sauce in skillet and simmer until it is reduced by half.
add chicken and reheat it in the sauce.
add peaches and 1 cup of dried cranberries and heat for about 5 minutes more.
serve over rice
The sauce has a nice tartness to it that reminds me a little bit of the Athenian Chicken dish I had at the Sapphire Grill in Sardis.  It goes well with a Shiraz and especially the White Shiraz that we have on sale in June.  The White Shiraz is also great just sipping while sitting around the backyard on a hot day.

Pork chops in Rich Mushroom Gravy Sauce

Added - May 2008

This is a great recipe for this time of the year, as you can get some of those fabulous new baby potatoes to go with them.  Nancy loves it when she comes home from work, and finds that no only have I been working on the computer doing things like the news letter plus doing a couple of loads of laundry, but that I have also cooked up this dinner for her.  Usually I double the recipe and we have leftovers later in the week.  I go for all the browny points I can.

4 pork chops with most of the fat trimmed off
2 gloves of garlic chopped fine
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste.
HP Sauce to taste
2 10 oz cans of Campbells mushroom soup
4-6 medium mushrooms sliced
1 cup of a good white wine.  Have the rest with dinner or indulge while cooking.
2-3 table spoons olive oil

Put oil in frying pan and heat
lightly fry the garlic
add pork chops and put salt and pepper, and garlic powder on one side and  put a tablespoon or two of HP sauce on top.
Flip over meat and repeat on the other side.
Grill the pork chops on both sides, but don't overcook
In a large pot pour the soup mix in and heat gently, while mixing in the wine and 2-3 tbls more of HP Sauce.
If you want to remove the last of the mushroom soup from the can, us a bit of the wine.  Don't use water.
Once the soup is no longer thick and is well mixed, add in mushrooms.
Add pork chops plus the drippings from the frying pan and stir in and simmer for a couple of hours, turning pork chops occasionally.

Hopefully and guys making this recipe know how to cook baby potatoes and make a salad.
Because of the richness of the gravy, you may want to serve a slightly off dry white wine with lots of flavour. 
Showcase Traminer Riesling or Gruner Veltliner might be good match
Or a lighter fruity red such as Showcase Zweigelt or Pinotage.

Guys, for extra browny points put a lid or screen over the top of the pot while it simmers.
For even more browny points, this is a good time to clean up your mess and wash the frying pan.

 

Chicken Fried Rice

Added - April 2008

This is a recipe that my mother started making many years ago.  When I was batching it, this became a staple for my diet.  Over the years I have changed a few things and made it even more of a complete meal and with a little more zip, or it can be served with a vegetable dish.  It can also be adapted by vegetarians.  Just use tofu instead of chicken.
This fried rice recipe has more vegetables and chicken than you would find in a Chinese restaurant.

2 cups uncooked Uncle Bens Rice.  (I use Uncle Bens because I don't like brown rice in this recipe and Uncle Bens replaces a lot of the nutrients that have been removed from white rice.  Use what ever rice you want.)
1 1/2 or 2 chicken breasts  cut into small pieces
1 package of firm Tofu (optional)  cut into 1/2" squares
8 green onions  chopped
3 celery stocks chopped
10 to 12 medium size mushrooms chopped
1 large bell pepper chopped
1 cup bean sprouts (optional)
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste.
Soya sauce to taste
curry powder to taste (optional)  It does not make it hot.
peanut oil for frying

Cook rice following directions on the package.  Don't overcook it as it will go mushy.  Leave the rice to cool with lid off as it will dry the rice out a bit.
If you are using raw chicken, fry it with some salt, pepper and garlic powder.  If it is left over cooked chicken just add it to the recipe later.
If you are using the Tofu, fry it in some oil with a little garlic powder until it is slightly brown on the outside.
Place some oil in the wok or frying pan and start heating up the rice.  Add some garlic powder and salt and pepper.  Stir it occasionally while cooking.  When it starts getting crispy on the bottom, add the chicken, tofu and vegetables and about 4 tbls of soya sauce.  This is also the time to add the curry powder if you are planning to use it.
Cook it slowly for about 1/2 and hour and taste it.  This is the time to add more soya sauce, garlic powder and curry to suit your taste.  You will find this meal is even tastier the next night.

If you want to make it an even more complete meal make a Thai sweet chili sauce stir fry with your favorite vegetables.  Fry up a cup of chopped onions and two or three gloves of minced garlic.  When it is starting to brown, add a cup each of chopped mushrooms, green peppers and okra or any other vegetables you may like. (Even try pineapple) When they are cooked add a half cup of Thai sweet Chile sauce (more if you like spice).  When the sauce is heated serve the meal.

I would serve this meal with a Cellar Craft wine like Gewurztraminer, Traminer Riesling or Gruner Veltliner.  You want a wine with lots of spice and a bit of sweetness so that it matches the flavours of the food.

Hot & Sour Soup

Added - March 2008

I borrowed this recipe from Save Ons  Healthy Recipes cook book, but with some additions.  You can make the meal as a vegetarian dish or add chicken or seafood.  Which ever way you make it, serve it with a small salad or tasty buns with cheese melted over them and you have a full meal.  Nancy and I make enough for two meals.

2 900ml Cambells chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 454 g pkgs firm tofu drained.  (if you are adding seafood or chicken just use 1 pack)
6-8 dried Chinese mushrooms
125 ml tin shredded bamboo shoots drained
125 ml tin water chestnuts  (if large, cut in 1/2)
284 ml tin baby corn cut in half
1/2 small package fresh enoki mushrooms, stems trimmed.  (if you can't find any, use white mushrooms)
1 medium carrot, shredded
3 tbls corn starch or tapioca starch
90ml cool  water
3 tbls light soya sauce  (add more to taste later)
3 tbls rice vinegar   (add more to taste later)
1/4 cup finely sliced green onions
1/2 cup snow peas cut in sections
2tbls fresh minced ginger  (add more later to taste if needed)
1tsp chili oil  (add more later if more heat is needed)
1 1/2 tsp of sesame oil  (add more later to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 large egg, beaten  (optional but go for it)  (the egg is optional, not the beating of it)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro (optional)
 OPTIONAL
cup of uncooked shrimp
cup of uncooked scallops
OR
2 cups of diced chicken
(there is enough salt in the broth and soya sauce so don't add any.  Taste it later to see if it is all right.
Cover the dried mushrooms in hot water in a bowl for 30 minutes to soften.  Drain and remove the tough stems and slice the caps into matchstick-sized shreds. 
Cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.
Bring broth to boil over high heat in a large pot.  Add the tofu, shredded mushrooms, bamboo shoots, corn, water chestnuts, enoki mushrooms, snow peas and shredded carrot.  If you are adding seafood or chicken, do it now.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the water and slowly mix into the soup, stirring well.
When the soup returns to a boil and has slightly thickened, add soya sauce, rice vinegar, green onion, ginger, cilantro, chili oil, sesame oil and white pepper.
Now is the time to add more chili oil, sesame oil, ginger, vinegar and soya sauce if needed.
Remove from heat and slowly drizzle in beaten egg, stirring constantly to make it go stringy.
Serve immediately.
If you make the soup mild, enjoy it with a nice Cellar Craft Sauvignon Blanc, but if you go hot and spicy, try it with a Cellar Craft Gewerztraminer or some other lively wine.

Spaghetti Sauce

Added - February 2008

This is for those of you that like a good meat sauce, that is thick, spicy and lots of tomato flavour.  There are a couple of secrets here that come from an old Italian family that lived in the Cranbrook area.  The first is to grate up carrots for the sauce and the second is to use 3 to 1 or better yet 4 to 1 Oregano to Basil.  For those that are vegetarians, you can leave the meat out.  Try it with tofu and let me know how it went.

1/2 kg lean hamburger
1 medium onion chopped
2 gloves garlic chopped
 
Fry the onion and garlic until they start to brown and add the hamburger, breaking it up into small pieces as you add it to the frying pan and brown it. 

Add the rest of the ingredients.
2x 680 ml cans of tomato sauce
28 oz can of plum tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper, chopped up
about a dozen medium mushrooms chopped up
2 carrots grated
1 cup of cheese (use some type of Italian cheese, but Kraft has 4 cheese Italiano that works real well.  It is made up of Provolone, Mozzarella, Parmesan and Emmental

Flavour to taste with pepper, garlic powder, Oregano and Basil.  Remember the rule with the last two.  I put in some of the spices at the start and taste after an hour of simmering and add more if needed.  I don't usually add salt, as there is lots in the ingredients.  Simmer for a couple of hours and add a 5.5 oz can of tomato paste to thicken and simmer for another 1/2 hour.

To make it hotter use Spicy Italian or Chorizo sausage instead of hamburg or a medium or hot Salsa instead of the plum tomatoes.

Serve it with your favourite pasta.  You may want to try Catelli Bistro Spinach Fettuccine.  Make you favourite salad to go with it.  A spicy wine like Cellar Crafts Show Case Syrah or Zweigelt would be great.

Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Added - January 2008

Too often chicken wings are done either very bland or so hot you can't taste anything.  This recipe solves both those problems and Nancy loves it when I find time to make them.  For those who are good around a kitchen, this is a recipe you can play with.
When I wrote this I meant adding more ingredients to make it hotter, but when I finished this I went downstairs and redid the recipe.  Check at the bottom of the recipe for another version.

Cut up a dozen chicken wings.  You can use the tips if you want.
2 tblsps butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup of ketchup
2 tblsps chilli sauce
4 tblsps teriyaki sauce
1 tsp Worcester sauce
1 tblsp horse radish
3 squirts of Tabasco
Cointreau or triple sec

First pour some Cointreau in a glass for sipping while working on this dish.
Brown chicken on high heat in butter, and sprinkling the wings with two cap fulls of Cointreau.
Drain off fat and set wings aside to keep warm.
Pour yourself another shot of Cointreau.
Mix together remaining ingredients including another two caps of Cointreau in frying pan and boil over high heat, stirring until reduced by one half, and till thick and has a caramel consistency.  If it tastes too sweet add some lime or lemon juice until it reaches the right sweetness for your taste.
Pour over chicken wings and serve.
You could have these with beer or if you want to have them with wine try a Gewurztraminer type wine or blend.  The wine needs to be spicy and slightly off dry to counteract the spiciness and sweetness of the wings.

Alternate recipe
Cut up four pork chops into pieces.
Cut up 1/2 onion and chop up two garlic gloves and fry until the onion is cooked.
Add pork and cook until done.  10 minutes or so.
Make sauce as above and add to pork.
Mix in one cup of dried cranberries and simmer for half hour.
About two minutes before serving add some mandarin orange pieces. 
I used four of the little guys (honey mandarin), but one big one cut in pieces would do.
Pour over rice and serve along with some stirred fried vegetables done with an oriental sauce of your choice.
It actually worked well with a big red wine.

Beef Stew

Added - December 2007

This is not your usual beef stew.  It is easy to make and wonderful to serve at this time of year.  You could likely try it with lamb. 
If you want the beef to be even more tender, marinate it in some red wine overnight.  Nancy and I got this tip years ago from the winemakers at St Hubertus winery in Kelowna.  They do it with their grape fed venison  If you are colorblind, leave the marinating wine on the beef when you cook it. The rest of us need to pat the beef dry after marinating it.  The taste is great, but purple stew is a bit much.

Cut ingredients in about one inch squares for maximum flavour.  Double the recipe if their are more than two people or if you want leftovers.
1lb of stewing beef
1 cup of carrots
1 cup of celery
1 cup of potatoes  The younger the better.
1 cup onions
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup V-8 juice (freeze it first to make it easier to cut in 1 inch squares)  ( I now, but some smart ass will ask)Case in point Allen H wrote and said to freeze the V-8 juice in ice cube trays so you don't have to cut them)
1 tsp salt
1 tbls sugar
3 tbls minute tapioca
1 beef oxo cube dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water

Mix ingredients in a roasting pan, cover and bake at 250 F for 4 hours

Serve this with a good, heavy bread for wiping up all the delicious juice on your plate, or serve it with dumplings.
For those that don't have a dumpling recipe, Nancy just uses the one out of the Five Roses cookbook.

2 cups Five Roses All-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbls shortening - Becel will do in a pinch
1 cup milk  ( I have started to replace milk in recipes with Jersey Farms 2% plain yogurt for a whole new taste.  It makes really interesting Kraft Dinner)  Nancy and I experimented and now use 1 cup of yogurt mixed with 3/4 cup of water in the stew recipe.

Stir flour, baking powder and salt together.  Work in shortening with tips of fingers or pastry blender.  Add milk or yogurt gradually and mix with a fork to a soft dough.  Drop spoonfuls of the soft dough onto the hot stew mixture, allowing space for dumplings to rise.  Cover pot with a tight fitting lid.  Boil hard for 12 to 14 minutes.  Do not lift cover during cooking.  Serve hot.

Coleslaw is a nice addition to this meal.  For a real taste sensation add about 1/4 quarter of a pomegranate.  It is absolutely sinful.

For wines, Nancy and I used a Cellar Craft Rosso Fortissimo the first night and a Cellar Craft Old Vine Zinfandel the next night.  Both worked well.

Let me know what you think

Tomato Chicken Pasta

Added - November 2007

Chop & stir fry one large onion in olive oil along with 3 to 4 chopped garlic gloves.
After 3 to 5 minutes add two chicken breast cut in cubes or small pieces and season with Greek seasoning, salt oregano and basil to taste.
When chicken is browned add 2-14oz tins of Italian stewed tomatoes.
You may also add mushrooms and peppers.  If you want it spicy, add hot salsa or jalapeno peppers.
Adjust seasoning and simmer for 1 hour.  Serve over pasta and sprinkle with asiago cheese.  For something different, try spinach pasta. I goes great with a 2005 Sangiovese for Sorensen Cellars in Port Townsend, WA.  We think it would go great with our Rosso Fortissimo, including the 2008 Limited Edition version or the new Sangiovese we should have in stock in early December.

October 2007
Seared Ahi Tuna
Chilliwack is not a town where it is easy to get fresh seafood, especially tuna. Sometimes you have to improvise.  You can get frozen Orca Bay Yellow Fin tuna at Costco and it works.  Yes fresh is better, but the Costco stuff is better than no tuna.  The recipe comes from Simply Recipes, Elise Bauer, elise,com

Ingredients
2 (6-8 ounce) ahi tuna steaks (3/4 of an inch thick)

Marinade ingredients
2Tbsp dark sesame oil
2Tbsp soy sauce (or 2 teaspoons of wheat-free tamari for gluten-free option)
1Tbsp of grated fresh ginger
I garlic clove, minced
1 green onion ( scallion) thinly sliced ( a few slices reserved for garnish)
1 teaspoon lime juice

Method
1/ Mix the marinade ingredients together and coat the tuna steaks with the marinade, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2/Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high to high heat.  When the pan is hot, remove the tuna steaks from the marinade and sear them for a minute to a minute and a half on each side.  (Do it longer if you don't want it rare)
3/Remove from pan and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Sprinkle with a few green onions.

Serve with plain rice, or over lettuce or thinly sliced cabbage or fennel.

We had the tuna with a 2004 Township 7 Chardonnay.  The wine was fermented and aged on oak, but the oak is not overpowering.  Lots of great flavours of vanilla, butterscotch and tropical fruit, while the nose picks up aromas of apple, peaches and tropical fruit.  Until we tried Township 7 Chardonnay four or five years ago, we couldn't figure out why people drank this type of wine.  It is great.  Also try it with our Show Case Chardonnay.