appetizer – Page 7 – Trust in Kim: an ad-free recipe blog!

Skillet Cornbread

I haven’t made cornbread in almost 20 years. I’m not sure why. Maybe I just had too many dry, boring corn breads back then – who can remember?

Last night I was making soup and I wanted something to go with it, so I found this recipe in the same cookbook as the soup, Share by Adriennede Francesco, and whipped up a batch in my cast-iron frying pan. To tell the truth, it was really the idea of baking something in my frying pan, handed down to me from my Oma, that got me onto this. Fry the onion, bake, and then serve it in the same dish, and it stays hot for a long time. Triple win! Plus it’s got corn kernels in it, so it’s got a nice bite to it.

Serve it up with a little butter – magical!

What you need:

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 & 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon liquid honey
1 cup canned corn (or frozen, but I prefer canned – the kernels pop in your mouth when you eat them!)
1/4 cup fresh chives or green onions

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 425F.
Heat a 10-inch cast-iron over medium-high heat and add the oil, then the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions are soft.
While the onions are cooking stir the cornmeal, flour, baking power and salt together in a bowl.
Stir the buttermilk, eggs, butter and honey together in another bowl. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and sti until it is just mixed.. Stir in the corn and chives.
Pour the batter into the hot frying pan on top of the onions, which you have previously dispersed evenly over the surface of the pan.
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the top its golden brown. My convection oven cooked it very quickly, and I had to rotate the pan half way through baking
Cut into wedges and serve with butter.

Homemade French Onion Dip

I try to avoid bringing a veggie platter to a party – not because I don’t love my veggies. I Love my veggies! But I also love to bake, and a party is usually a great excuse for me to bake something. When I recently ended up agreeing to bring a veggie platter to a party, I began looking for something to make it special. Then I came across this recipe . . . This dip is a great low-fat alternative to the usual sour-cream based dip. It is a homemade version of the standard from my childhood, French onion soup mix and sour cream. It’s a bit of work to chop and then caramelize the onions, but the flavour is so worth it.

I found the recipe on crumbblog.

What you need:

1 tbsp olive oil
1&½ cups finely diced red onion
1&½ cups finely diced yellow onion
1&½ cups finely diced sweet onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1½ cups plain yogurt (see homemade yogurt recipe here)
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice or more to taste
dash of Worcestershire sauce

What you do:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan (my cast-iron one worked great for this) at medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are just starting to colour.
Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking for 20-25 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. If the onions get too dry at any point add a tablespoon or two of water to avoid burning, and continue cooking). Stir in the garlic, salt and pepper and cook another minute or two. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, then whisk in the yogurt, lemon and Worcestershire until smooth. Stir in the cooled onions, salt and pepper to taste.
Put the dip into a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to two days to allow the flavours to mingle.
Serve with veggies or chips.

Tip: Peel and cut your own carrots for your veggie tray. They will taste so much more like… carrots.

Tomato Soup

(Revised January 2021: This is a great soup recipe, however, my favourite is closer to the actual Burgoo recipe. And it has red wine in it! Click here to find the recipe.)

Burgoo is a great comfort food restaurant in Vancouver. They don’t have a lot of dairy-free options, so I tend to eat the tomato soup – which is the best tomato soup I’ve ever had! I found this tomato soup recipe recently and omitted the milk to make it a dairy-free tomato soup. I think it may be as good as the one I had at Burgoo; it is flavourful, and full of healthy ingredients. It is also really easy to make, and freezes well.

What you need:

1 tablespoon olive oil

about 1 cup diced carrots

about 1/2 cup diced celery

about 2 cups diced zucchini (skin on)

1 large yellow onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, rubbed off the stems

2 bay leaves

salt and red pepper flakes to taste

about 4 cups (2 28-ounce cans) crushed Italian tomatoes

4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

What you do:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the carrots, celery, zucchini and onion. Saute for 10-12 minutes, until the onion is very soft and the zucchini has cooked through. Add the garlic and stir for one minute.
Add the thyme, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until the carrots are very soft.
Remove from the heat, and take the bay leaves out. Blend the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy it hot! And I can imagine it is awesome with a grilled cheese sandwich, but this theory is yet untested.

Greek Meatballs

These tasty meatballs were served up recentlyas an appetizer at a birthday party. I served them with some pita and homemade tzatziki. They are really delicious, and really easy to make. I mixed them up a few hours before the party, then fried and served them hot. These would also be great in pita sandwiches for lunch with a Greek salad on the side.

I got the recipe here.

You need to plan ahead if you’re going to make your own tzatziki, as the yogurt needs to be drained for a few hours. The garlic flavour also improves after sitting for a while.

What you need for the meatballs:

1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
2 to 3 pieces bread, crusts cut off, soaked in milk and then squeezed
2 eggs, beaten
2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoon fresh mint
2 to 3 green onions, finely chopped
Tiny pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Olive oil, as needed

What you do for the meatballs:

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl by mixing with your hands.
Heat a frying pan or well-oiled grill on high heat.
Form the mixture into about 24 balls, then flatten them slightly. Reduce the heat and fry each one for about 12 minutes, flipping once.
Serve them hot with the pita and tzatziki sauce.

What you need for the tzatziki:

2 cups yogurt, (I use whole milk yogurt)

cheesecloth for straining

1 clove garlic, minced (or more if you like it really garlicky)

1/2 english cucumber, grated

salt and pepper to taste

fresh mint, optional

What you do for the tzatziki:

1. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place the yogurt into the cheesecloth. Refrigerate for a few hours or over night to and allow it to drain. Pour off the liquid that is drained.

2. Grate the cucumber and squeeze it so you get as much liquid out of it as you can. Add this to the thickened yogurt.

3. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and optional mint. Mix it all up. I like to remove it from the fridge at least an hour before serving.

Now I just need to learn to make pita bread…

Lemon Chicken Scaloppine in Pine Nut-Parmesan Crust

This is comfort food at its best. It is a beautiful breaded chicken, but with much more complex flavours than most recipes I’ve seen. I’ve made this for company a few times, and it always gets rave reviews. In the past I’ve served it with a risotto or another rice dish, but this time it was with a spinach salad and tomato-pesto-topped buckwheat noodles. Gotta say, I think this is the best pairing yet.

The recipe comes from The Oprah Magazine Cookbook; I just cut down on the amount of the flour and bread crumb mixtures because there is always way too much left over, and I cut the fat in half.

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

2 lemons (or one if you don’t mind serving the meal with zest-less lemons)

zest of 1 lemon (about 2 teaspoons)

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (go for a good quality one, not the pre-shredded stuff)

1/3 cup coarsely chopped pine nuts

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon butter (or one extra of olive oil of you’re aiming to be more heart-healthy)

1 tablespoon olive oil

What you do:

1. To prepare the coatings you will need 3 large plates. In one combine the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper.

2. Onto the next crack the eggs and beat lightly with a fork.

3. One the third plate combine the lemon zest, bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, Parmesan, pine nuts and basil.

4. Place the chicken breasts between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper and pound with the dull side of a meat mallet (or a rolling-pin, or even an empty wine bottle might work) until they are 1/4 inch thick. Aim for an even thickness throughout the breasts so they cook evenly.

5. The cooking goes quite quickly, so make sure the rest of your meal is pretty much ready to go. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the last 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Coat both side of one chicken breast in flour, then egg, then the bread crumb mixture. In the last plate you can press the chicken breast so it is sufficiently coated. Repeat this process with the rest of the chicken breasts.

6. Heat a large frying pan to medium and add 1.5 teaspoons butter and 1.5 teaspoons of olive oil. When the pan is hot add 2 chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until they are golden brown and cooked through. Add the rest of the butter and olive oil to the pan and cook the remaining breasts.

7. Squeeze a wedge or two of lemon over the chicken, then serve with a wedge of lemon on the side.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Burnt Eggplant and Pomegranate Molasses

Fall is here, so here’s a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe that is delicious and comfort-foody. It isn’t the simplest recipe, as you have to bake the squash, burn the eggplant (doesn’t sound yummy but it is) and make it into a sauce, plus toast some nuts and seeds. But if you love to cook you’ll probably enjoy making and eating this one. The recipe is from Ottolenghi the Cookbook. (Thank you John for this fabulous surprise birthday gift – he saw me oohing and awing over it, and went back and bought it for me.)

I found it wasn’t necessary to add all the oil that the recipe called for, so I cut the oil content from 6 tablespoons to 3. Feel free to add more oil if you wish. The cookbook says to let the squash cool before serving, but I changed the order of the preparation so I could take the squash out of the oven last and serve it hot.

What you need for the squash recipe:

1 large butternut squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon black or white sesame seeds

1 teaspoon nigella seeds (if you can’t find them it is still so delicious without)

3 tablespoons sliced almonds

1/2 cup basil leaves (I forgot to buy these! but it was good without them too)

salt and pepper

What you need for the burnt eggplant recipe:

1 medium eggplant

2/3 cup Greek yogurt (I used my regular yogurt)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.5 teaspoons pomegranate molasses

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 clove garlic, crushed

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Set the oven temperature to 350F. Sprinkle the seeds and nuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes or until slightly browned.

2. To make the sauce begin by placing the eggplant over a flame – on your stove-top if you have gas, on a barbecue if you don’t, and in the oven if you have neither of those. Burn the eggplant for 12-15 minutes, turning with tongs from time to time. The skin should be dry and cracked, and you should smell a smoky aroma. If you do this in the oven it will need a much longer cooking time.

3. Make a long cut through the eggplant and scoop out the flesh, doing your best to avoid the burnt skin. Drain in a colander for 10 minutes, then chop coarsely. (you could get the eggplant into the oven now if you want-see step 5 )

4. Stir together the eggplant, yogurt, oil, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, parsley and garlic. Mix together and add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Raise the oven to 425F. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut into wedges that are about 2cm thick. Arrange the squash on a baking dish preferably with the skin side down and brush with a tablespoon of olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the wedges are tender and slightly browned.

6. Arrange the squash slices on a serving platter and drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle the nuts and seeds on top, then garnish with the basil. Serve with the sauce on the side.

Enjoy!

Bubbat – Mennonite Raisin and Farmer Sausage Bread

My Oma always made this bread for holiday feasts, so I’m giving it a try for Thanksgiving dinner. While delicious, this version doesn’t seem a lot like hers, but she never used a recipe, so the secret is lost. I think she probably added a whole bunch of chicken fat.

I found several recipes in the Mennonite Treasury, that great cookbook that holds so many of the traditional recipes. I used a combination of two recipes, choosing to use a yeast-raised version. I mainly used the recipe for ‘Bubbat (with sausage)’ submitted by Mrs. Herman Neufeld. Poor dear, with no first name of her own! To her recipe I added the raisins and prunes, some butter, and used much less sausage than the 1&1/2 pounds the recipe called for. I set aside a bit of batter to make a small vegetarian loaf before mixing in the sausage.

What you need:

1 tablespoon sugar

1 package (2 & 1/4 teaspoons) yeast

1 egg

1 &1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

3 & 1/2 – 4 cups flour

2 cups raisins and chopped prunes

2 cups chopped farmer sausage (if you’re in the Fraser Valley near Vancouver, the best is from Rempel Meats)

What you do:

1. Heat the milk until it just boils, then let it cool.

2. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of sugar into some lukewarm water then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let this sit for about 10 minutes, until it gets foamy. If it doesn’t do anything that means your yeast is dead.

3. Once the milk has cooled, add the yeast, a beaten egg, melted butter and salt to it. Stir in the flour to make “a soft dough that can barely be stirred with a spoon.” I think this means it is soft but firm… do what feels right! Add the raisins, prunes and farmer sausage.

4. Grease a large loaf pan very well with butter and pour the dough into it. The cookbook asks for lengths of sausage to be pressed into the top, so you can do this if you want more meat in there.

5. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour. The cookbook does not specify, but I think it’s a good idea to put a clean tea towel on top of it.

6. Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 375F and bake for 45 minutes.

One recipe says to serve it hot, but I don’t remember having it that way, so you can remove it from the tin to let it cool if you want, or serve it right away with some butter.

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

Aside from wanting to make something delicious for dinner, I created this dish in an attempt to use some of the many squash I had growing in my garden. I found some delicious sweet corn at the produce store, so I knew I wanted to include that too. They turned out great!

What you need:

a few patty pan squash

2 teaspoons coconut oil (or butter or olive oil)

1/2 sweet onion, finely diced

1/2 sweet red or orange pepper, finely diced

2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1 cob of corn (or a small can of peaches and cream corn)

1 teaspoon finely chopped dried guajillo chili (or 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes)

salt and pepper

1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan (substitute non-dairy if you need to)

What you do:

1. Boil a large pot of water and then immerse the squash for about 5 minutes to soften them up a little. Remove and let them cool until you can handle them. Cut the tops off, like you would if you were carving a pumpkin. You may also need to shave a little off the bottom so they sit upright. Scoop the insides out with a spoon, throwing away the seedy bits if there are any.

2. Finely dice the onions, then add it to a pan that you have heated to medium with the coconut oil. After about a minute, add the finely diced pepper, and after about 3 minutes add the garlic.

3. When the onions have slightly browned add the chopped oregano and bread crumbs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Take the pan off the heat and add the corn and 1/4 cup of the parmesan, and mix it all together.

4. Fill each of the squash, pressing the filling into it, and place them on a baking tray. Top with the remaining parmesan.

5. Bake for 40 minutes,then insert a sharp knife into the flesh of one squash to make sure it’s cooked through.

Enjoy!

Chorizo Pistachio Savoury Cake

This is a repeat recipe from a few summers ago. I’ve never repeated a recipe posting before, but I chose to share this again because:

A) It’s a great picnic food that you and your friends will adore

B) It’s super easy to make

C) I just made it and looked so delicious that I was inspired to share it

D) I have a new camera and would like to have a better image that fits the amazing quality of this recipe

What you need:

room temperature butter for greasing the pan

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, for the bottom of the pan

1 & 1/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

3 eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup plain yogurt

85 grams or so of cured chorizo sausage, preferably one with a bit of spice to it

8 sun-dried tomato halves, finely diced

3/4 cup unsalted pistachios

1/4 cup parsley, chopped (optional)-you could substitute some onion or basil

What you do:

1. Spread the butter into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch loaf pan. Toss the sesame seeds around in the pan until there is a layer of them over the bottom and sides. Preheat your oven to 350F.

2. Mix the egg and yogurt together in a bowl. Add flour, baking powder, salt and chili powder and stir it in, being careful to mix only until just incorporated.

3. Fold in the chorizo, tomatoes, nuts and parsley. Spread the batter into the loaf pan.

4. Bake for 40-50 minutes and test with a toothpick to see if it is done. Let the loaf sit in the pan for about 15 minutes after you’ve taken it out of the oven before removing it to cool on a rack.

When it’s cool you can cut it into thin slices to serve. Apparently it keeps for a few days on the counter, but if I have leftovers I prefer to wrap them in plastic wrap and either store in the fridge, or freeze for later use. It tastes best at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge with enough time in advance of eating to allow it to some to room temperature.

I got this recipe from David Lebovitz’s website, and he adapted it from Clotilde Dusoulier’s Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook.

Grilled Pattypan Squash

These adorable sunny squash are great on the grill. I planted two pattypan squash plants in my garden this year because they are the kind of thing I can often only find at a Farmer’s Market. They are taking over my little garden now and every day I’m finding more squash that are ready to pick, so I’m thinking of ways to cook ’em up. I pick them while they are still pretty small and tender, so they will be thin enough to heat through on the grill. This is a super simple recipe that enhances the flavour of the squash.

What you need:

pattypan squash

a few sprigs of thyme

olive oil

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Heat the grill to medium-high. Cut the squash in half along the frilly edge. Rub the cut side with olive oil.

2. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and thyme onto the cut side.

3. When the grill is hot, place the squash cut-side down on the grill and leave in that position for the whole cooking process so you get one nice set of grill lines. Grill for 8-10 minutes with the lid down. Check it in the last few 4-5 minutes, as everybody’s grill works a little differently.

4. I decided mine were done when I could see a bit of browning around the edge, and when I touched the outside of the squash it had a little bit of give to it.

Serve it hot!

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