Archives for July 2012

DOUBLE DUTY RECIPES

Roasted Potato Salad with Crispy Bacon and Chives

Double Duty Recipes Series

It is a busy time of year and no one really wants to spend time in the kitchen. Social schedules are full with block party events, casual get-togethers and gatherings of every kind. Then, there is always the dilemma of what do I bring? What better time of year to consider a recipe that can be used for two events – “Double Duty Recipes” such as dinner the first night with a grilled steak or chicken breast, then planned leftovers for salad the next day? The recipe that follows for Roasted Potato Salad with Crispy Bacon and Chives is a re-creation of the Lemon Potato recipe featured in this post – a favourite of my lemon-loving daughter. This is one of UrbnSpice’s Double Duty Recipes that you will enjoy making again and again.

Double Duty Recipes: Roasted Potato, Crispy Bacon & Chive Salad

You may want to consider doubling this recipe. The Lemon Potatoes are delicious and addictive and you will probably find that you don’t have enough left over for the double duty recipe. This happens often!…

Roasted Tomato Compote

By Denise Pare-Watson

You may recall a post about “thinking outside of the box……or, rings”, and at the time mentioned that perhaps knowing the technique pertaining to how to make Roasted Tomato Compote is a very good thing to know. (Besides, tomatoes are readily available at this time of year).

To tell you the truth, ketchup in our household has considerably lost status in the fridge and on the kitchen table since we started making this condiment.

If you have an abundance of tomatoes, make a point of trying this. You may find yourself making an unexpected trip to the market or grocer to buy tomatoes just for the pure purpose of making this compote.

Arancini served with Roasted Tomato Compote| urbnspice.com

ROASTED TOMATO COMPOTE

CHEF TALK: Any variety of tomato will work, although some varieties, like Roma, are a little drier and roast beautifully. Cherry tomatoes are also wonderful in this compote.

Poached Eggs with Roasted Tomato Compote

ROASTED TOMATO COMPOTE

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ripe tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
Olive oil or vegetable oil
A drizzle of balsamic (optional)
Seasoning (salt and pepper) to taste

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350°F
Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper
Halve the tomatoes, dice the onion and peel the garlic cloves. Place in a stainless steel bowl.
Drizzle the tomatoes, garlic and onion with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place on the baking sheet (place the tomatoes cut side down).
Roast for 15 – 30 minutes, depending on the size of your tomatoes (or until the tomatoes have shrivelled and turned a darker shade of red. The onions will be golden around the edges.
Cool slightly. You should be able to remove the skins from the tomatoes easily by lifting them off of the tomatoes. (Leave the skins on, if you want).
Crush the tomatoes, if you feel it is necessary, however, I tend not to. Just drizzle them with a little balsamic vinegar, if you want, and place the whole lot in a container without handling them too much. Fresh basil or oregano is nice if you have them readily available.
Serve it alongside a poached egg or meat for a simple condiment, or a small plate appetizer such as arancini.

Enjoy!

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THIS RECIPE?

If you make a little extra Roasted Tomato Compote, serve it as an appetizer on top of crostini and a bit of crumbled goat cheese with a sprinkling of fresh chives. Voila – a beautiful appetizer.

You Might Also Enjoy:

Arancini – Italian Rice Balls

Poached Eggs and Compote

Caramelized Onion Dip

If you give this recipe for Roasted Tomato Compote a try, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

And you can find me on social media – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

Follow me on Social Media:

Urbnspice Facebook Page: If you like what you see here, kindly LIKE my page

Urbnspice is on Twitter

You will find lots of fun boards on Pinterest

I am also on Instagram

Panko Parmesan Chicken Breasts

By Denise Pare-Watson

This recipe for Panko Parmesan Chicken Breasts is a lovely quick dinner item using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It is one of our go-to recipes which you can make in a non-stick pan or baking sheet lined with parchment. Do give it a try. We serve it sliced on top of a bed of baby greens or a simple salad for a healthy dinner.

Caesar Salad and Parmesan Chicken Breasts | urbnspice.com

Multi-use for Roasted Garlic Dressing: Caesar Salad and Parmesan Chicken Breasts

Panko Parmesan Chicken Breasts

YIELD: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

4 Chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
1 cup panko crumbs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking spray

METHOD:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Spray the chicken breasts lightly with pan spray.
Season lightly with salt and pepper on both sides.
Combine the dry ingredients: panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, paprika, and seasoning.
Dredge the chicken breasts in this mixture, pressing lightly so that the crumbs adhere.
Place the coated chicken breasts on the baking sheet.
Bake at 350°F until the breasts are golden brown. (this takes approximately 8 – 10 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breasts).

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Parchment Paper
__________

You Might Also Like:

Make It Your Own Burger

Potlatch Salmon

Roasted Turkey Thighs with Honey Dijon Glaze

How to Make Roasted Garlic Dressing

Enjoy this quick easy-to-make dinner ready in under 30 minutes with 5 ingredients or less. We love slicing it the next day and serving it in a panini.

As always, if you give this recipe for Panko Parmesan Chicken Breasts a try, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

Follow me on Social Media:

Urbnspice Facebook Page: Please LIKE my page

Urbnspice is on Twitter

You will find lots of fun boards on Pinterest

I am also on Instagram

Crumb Truffles! A Journey in Gluten Free Recipe Development

By Denise Pare-Watson

What are Crumb Truffles? I have a little story and words of encouragement for you if you have ever tried to develop or follow a recipe and it did not go exactly as planned. Follow me as I tell you about my journey in Gluten Free Recipe Development.

Truffles as part of a Mignardise plate

CRUMB TRUFFLES!

A Word of Encouragement

In every journey, there a few tumbles.

Recently, the Urb’n’Spice kitchen is a hive of activity testing for a new cookbook in the series,

“Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious”.

This book is a little different in that all of the recipes are gluten-free

– and all chocolate.

In gluten-free baking, we can expect

that there is the possibility of, shall we say, “interesting” results.

I have had more than my share of fiascos during the research,

testing and tasting for this book.

My words of advice:

Do not let disappointing results discourage you!

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!

In other words, if your gluten-free baking experiments

Inadvertently provide you with more crumbs

than you can think of ways to use them,

Make CRUMB TRUFFLES!

Crumb Truffles!

That is exactly what I did!

And, they were a hit!

The Formula:

Place the crumbs in a mixer with a paddle attachment

Add any chocolate ganache (roughly 4 to 1 ratio)

(this is why it is great to make a little extra ganache)

If it is a little too sticky, add more crumbs. A little dry? Add a bit more ganache.

Mix until it becomes friendly – a nice moldable dough of sorts.

Use a small cookie scoop. Roll into balls. Chill until firm.

Roll the chilled balls into Chocolate Dip

(or tempered chocolate for my pastry chef colleagues)

Decorate the truffles, if you want with a little chopped chocolate,

chocolate jimmies,

or, as in the photo, a little chocolate caviar!

A medley of Crumb Truffles

Crumb Truffles! Share! Enjoy!

“Nobody knows the truffles I’ve seen”

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Cream
Ganache
Perseverance
Vanilla Extract
__________

More like this:

Dark Chocolate Truffles by Urb’n’Spice

A Unique Cheesecake: Double Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake with Chocolate Pecan Crust

How to Make Decadent Dark Chocolate Tart

Chocolate Almond Torte

Want More Chocolate?

Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious – Gluten-Free Chocolate Desserts

A Cake – Revisited

By Denise Pare-Watson

Wedding Cake Memories

A good friend thanked me again today for her wedding cake. They are celebrating their 5th anniversary already!

I loved making this cake for her – each layer was different so that everyone at the wedding had their favourite kind. I thought I would share with you.

You will see a few things in this photograph that I typically do for the bride and groom:

A miniature cake for the newlywed couple to save for their first anniversary.
A box with treats because often the bride and groom are absolutely starving after their wedding. (see below for details)

Beautiful lily adorned wedding cake | urbnspice.com

Beautiful lily adorned the wedding cake

The Cake:

Bottom Layer: Lemon Pound Cake with lemon curd and vanilla bean buttercream
Middle Layer: Famous Carrot Cake
Top Layer: Chocolate Fudge Brownie layers with raspberry and dark chocolate ganache

…

Cherry Rhubarb Compote

By Denise Pare-Watson

Inspiration comes in so many ways when surrounded by beautiful Okanagan produce just begging to be made into something wonderful. Cherry Rhubarb Compote seemed to be the perfect accompaniment to many desserts, including a topping for simple Creme Brulee, Baked Rice Pudding, Earl Grey Chiffon Mini Cakes, or simply served with creamy Greek yogurt.

I made the compote from cherries and rhubarb from my daughter’s own yard. Look at how spectacular this gorgeous produce is!

I also hide my packages of prepared rhubarb away under the boring things in the freezer so that no one will find them.

…

Thinking Outside of the Ring

By Denise Pare-Watson

Do you know about Stainless Steel Rings? A Stainless Steel Ring is a type of baking small ware equipment. They are available in every size and depth and are used for everything from tarts to cakes to stacking ingredients for appetizers. In my pastry equipment collection alone, there are 2-inch, 3-inch, 4-inch, 5-inch, and larger rings starting from 6-inch to 16-inch. There are many other sizes, depending on the needs of the bakery. But first, I must tell you about my unusual use for these Stainless Steel Rings.

Anyone who knows me is aware that I am a very adaptable person. I think it all started when I was a young bride. Transfers were always imminent in my husband’s work in the banking industry. On the average of every 19 months, we were on the move to a new location, new town, new friends and boxes – lots and lots of boxes!

One thing that all these adventures taught me was to be very adaptable, flexible and ingenious if the situation required me to be. Often, I found that using what I had on hand was much easier than trying to figure out where to find things in new towns with no car and two toddlers.

A Stainless Steel ring has many uses in the kitchen| urbnspice.com

Stainless Steel rings have many uses

…

A Bake Off! Earl Grey Chiffon Mini Cake

By Denise Pare-Watson

It is always fun trying new recipes and new methods of making things that I have made in the past. Recently, an opportunity to experiment with a recipe for chiffon cake that came from a famous celebrity chef came my way and I was all over it! The recipe is called Earl Grey Chiffon Mini Cake.

This recipe is from Anna Olson, Food Network Star and it is called: Earl Grey Chiffon Cake with Maple Meringue. As part of the inaugural launch of Anna’s newest book called, “Back to Baking”, the Food Network gave everyone the opportunity to try to make Anna’s recipe and send in a photo of their version. This is mine. I had fun with it.

I have had the pleasure of having this lovely chiffon cake once before made by The London Chef in Victoria, B.C. when Anna Olson spent an intimate evening with 18 lucky people. My husband and I were part of this lucky group.
…

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