Lock Out is over!

        My Friends!  I apologize for my absence. As one can imagine, Christmas time is a very busy time of year in the bakery business. So much has happened over the last month and a half. I've discovered so many recipes (some that I can share, and some that I cannot) and have even eaten some amazing food.




      As you may know, my brother is a chef at a high end restaurant downtown, and Mr. Pepper and I decided to head over there for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, my brother had the night off, so he communicated to us via text message throughout our meal. We went to Jump with one specific item in mind: The Lock Out burger. Tonight was the last night it was being offered as the NHL and NHLPA had reached an agreement. It is a fantastic burger with an equally fantastic message: as fans, we love meat and even though we love hockey, we can still go out and have a good time without it. This specialty burger was only available as long as the lockout was on, and was offered at half price whenever a Leafs home game was scheduled.




From the Toronto Star,

For $10.75, half off the regular price, fans looking for 10 ounces worth of comfort can try the Lockout Burger - a short rib and beef patty topped with aged 7-year-old cheddar and homemade dill pickle relish. It comes with a side of fries and truffle mayonnaise to dip them in.

       It really was a delicious burger, the homemade dill pickle relish being my favourite part. The bun was super fresh and the lettuce and tomato were crisp. The burger was like a typical homemade burger in that it was juicy and flavourful, not greasy. It was almost round instead of patty shaped, and although this adds to the authenticity of it, it makes it difficult for the bun and toppings to stay where you want.  The truffle mayonnaise was very light and although I added some to my burger, the flavour wasn't strong enough to shine through.  Overall, the meal was delicious, and if it ends up on their regular menu, I highly recommend trying it.




       In Toronto it pays to know people. I am not one to name drop. I've worked with many people over the years who have little difficulty with the "do you know who I am?" and "Oh, I know so-and-so" parts of conversation. I am not like that. I am more likely to hint that I know someone, rather than just come out and say it. (For example, the waitress asked if I wanted regular fries, onion rings, or sweet potato fries with my dinner, and I responded with "He didn't tell me which to get", which obviously got a strange look from the waitress). When I finally got the courage to ask one of the wait assistants if she knew my brother, we had already been served our meal, and I only asked because my brother told me to (did I mention that he's younger than me?). She knew him, of course (he's a pretty cool guy).




        Well, I guess news travels fast because when our waitress returned, she was happy to hear that I was his sister and brought us spoons. Lucky for us, this meant that we got a dessert! The wait assistant was very friendly and although she couldn't remember everything that was on the plate, we got the gist of it. Here we have a chocolate tart with a candied orange peel and lingonberry compote. We aren't sure what the white dollop is, but it was orangey and creamy. The whole dish as a whole was delicious. On it's own, the tart was very rich, but having some of the orange cream stuff, or the lingonberry compote with it definitely softened it out.



           Jump might not be a place you visit on a daily basis (although if you follow my brother on Instagram you would be tempted), but it is definitely worth the time and money for special occasions. Someday I hope they bring back their duck confit poutine, then I would be there weekly!

                                                                                                                               Enjoy!
                                                                                                                                    Mel

Happy Birthday!

      Okay, so Miss Clarke, this is for you, because today is your birthday down in the little land of Kiwi's. I know the cake says "Layne" and "Kris", but you can ignore those. If you were here in TO, I would have made you one too.

         Back in October my brother asked for an ice cream cake for his birthday. We were celebrating it at Thanksgiving because that was the only time everyone would be together. Layne's birthday (my future Mother in Law), was right after Thanksgiving, so she also got her name on the cake. Unfortunately, my brother ended up having to work, so we enjoyed his birthday cake for him.

         Thanks for the back story, right? I know, here is the recipe.

Supplies
Chocolate ice cream
Vanilla ice cream
Smucker's Magic Shell (or equivalent)
Oreo's (or equivalent)
Cool Whip - optional
Hot Fudge
Gel icing (for writing)
Spring-form pan
Parchment paper


Step 1: Make your homemade chocolate ice cream (recipe here)

• Now, before you put the ice cream in a tub to freeze, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a little wider than the bottom of your spring-form pan. Press it into the bottom of your closed pan, and press it against the edge so it kind of covers the small gap between the bottom and the sides (mine leaked a little when I put it in the freezer, and then it stuck to the metal bottom, parchment paper should fix this). 
• Scoop your fresh ice cream into the pan, only going about a third of the way up. Make sure you scoop into the centre, then use an offset spatula to guide it to the edge (this will reduce the amount of ice cream you get on the top 2/3 of the pan).
• Put it into the freezer.

Step 2: Hot fudge layer

• Once your chocolate ice cream is frozen, it's time to start on the next layer.
• Heat the fudge, but don't make it too hot, you don't want to melt the ice cream you pour it onto, just warm enough to make the chocolate fudge easy to pour. 
• Pour it over the chocolate ice cream so you have a good layer.
• Put it back into the freezer.

Step 3: Chocolate crunchies layer

• Put about 2 rows of Oreo's into a plastic bag (I believe most bags have 3 rows). Using a heavy can or a rolling pin crush the cookies. You don't want them to be too fine, or it will become a paste, making cutting your cake near impossible. You want about 2.5 cups, and chunks are good, believe me. Transfer this mixture into a bowl.
• Squirt your Magic Shell chocolate into the bowl of crushed Oreo's, just less than half the bottle (remember, you can add more, but you can't take it out). You want the cookie crumbs to be coated, but not turned into a paste.
• Spread the cookie crumbs evenly over the chilled fudge layer. If you need to make more, make some more.
• Put it back into the freezer.

Step 4: Make your homemade vanilla ice cream (recipe here)

• Scoop your ice cream over the cookie crumb layer and smooth it out even with the top of the pan with an offset spatula.
• Put it back in the freezer.

Step 5: Decorating (Optional)

• Remove your cake from the freezer and from the spring form pan.
• Without letting it thaw too much, spread Cool Whip evenly over the top and sides. For extra detail, you can pipe rosettes, stars, or shells (stay tuned for a post on proper piping and  terminology, once I learn it at work)
• Freeze to solidify again.
• Write your message using a gel icing writer. This should be done just prior to serving.

Step 6: Eating

• Remove the cake from the freezer (and from the spring form pan if you didn't decorate). 
• Let it sit out for about 10 minutes.
• Using a warm knife, cut the cake and serve.
• Eat the cake (it's delicious).

           Whether you make this for your birthday, for someone else's birthday, or just because you want a homemade version of the classic DQ cake (but better), this is the cake for you. Try experimenting with different flavour combinations. I think a homemade cookie would be fantastic in it too.

                                                                                                                                                    Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                                        Mel

Chocolate Ice Cream

         We've already gone through the basics of vanilla ice cream, now, to move on to the more challenging chocolate ice cream. Maybe chocolate ice cream isn't more difficult to make, actually, my chocolate recipe is easier to make than my vanilla. This recipe makes a super smooth and chocolate-y dessert, but without the cloying sweetness found in grocery store ice cream.

          Start by prepping your ice cream maker. My Kitchenaid ice cream maker needs to be frozen solid before you turn the mixture into ice cream, so I just pop it into the freezer the day before I start making the delicious mixture.

           Now that your ice cream bowl is on its way to be frozen, it's time to start the good stuff. Here's what you'll need:

2 cups half & half
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 oz semisweet chocolate squares
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar

Cocoa powder and half & half

Here's what you'll need to do:



1.  Gradually whisk half & half and cocoa powder until it's a smooth paste.

Yolks

Yolks and Sugar

2. In stainless steel bowl whisk yolks and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Set this mixture aside.








3. Over medium-high heat, heat chocolate milk mixture to scalding or 82 °C (milk begins to foam), stirring occasionally and remove.

Melted Chocolate

4. Add chocolate squares to heated chocolate milk mixture and stir until melted and smooth.

Chocolate Mixture

5. Pour the hot chocolate milk mixture into the yolk-sugar mixture whisking constantly.

6. Place bowl over simmering water, stir it constantly until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.







7. Remove from heat and continue stirring. Add vanilla.

Mixing up some ice cream

8. Cover and refrigerate overnight.



9. Make ice cream according to your ice cream maker's instructions








                                                                                                              Enjoy!
                                                                                                                  Mel

Peach Crisp

      Now, for some things, you will notice, I will use a recipe, and sometimes I will not, it really depends on what exactly I am making. Most often I will use a combination of recipes to tailor the dish to the ingredients I have on hand. Today's recipe is one of those just-whipped-it-together types.

     We had some very soft, but delicious, peaches (thanks Matt & Caitlin) in the fridge from the weekend, and so I decided to make a Peach Crisp.

My Le Creuset

        First, I started with my Le Creuset (One of the best kitchen gifts we've ever received). Check out their website here: http://www.lecreuset.ca/. I will have plenty more recipes using this awesome bakeware. You don't really need to grease it, but I like butter so I spread some butter along the bottom and up the walls to ensure that my peaches didn't burn.

Blanched and cut peaches

        Next I blanched the peaches for 30 seconds or so in boiling water to remove the skins. I read, after I finished this task, that if you score the skin with an X it makes it easier to peel. After blanching and peeling I cut each peach into chucks and slices. I just did a rough cutting. I find it nice when you have some thicker, firmer chunks along with soft chunks as it gives it more of a homestyle feel/taste.

        Then I added about 2 tablespoons of sugar and flour, and a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon. You don't need to use much sugar as peaches themselves have a great deal of natural sugars. I mixed that all together and dumped it into the Le Creuset spreading it out so it covered the bottom evenly.

Ready to pop in the oven

     Next, in a separate bowl, I mixed together about 1 cup of quick oats, some sugar, a little more flour and some butter. I used my hands and mixed it so it was a nice crumble, fairly dry. Then, I sprinkled it on top of my peach mixture. Now, my one complaint is that it wasn't enough like my mother's apple crisp topping, which has more butter, sugar and flour, so I wish I would have used that instead. Look around online and find a topping you like, or use one you already have.

       Now that you've got everything assembled, pop it in the oven at 400°F for about 30 minutes. Let it cool a bit before you scoop it out so that the flour can do its job as a binder. Serve with ice cream (recipe to come soon) or whipped cream garnished with fresh peaches and mint.

                                                                                   Enjoy!
                                                                                        Mel