Homemade Herbes de Provence

I've always dreamed of visiting the southeastern region of France, specifically Provence, and love the cuisine of the area.  When I cook Provencal inspired cuisine I feel like I'm getting a tiny piece of Provence in my own little kitchen.  As well, there's something so quaint and cosy to me about having a little jar of Herbes de Provence and sprinkling some on a chicken to be roasted in the oven, on a steak to be grilled or to roll a log of goat cheese in

This year I decided to dry bunches of Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage and Lavender and make my own homemade blend of Herbes de Provence.  Since I have a decent sized perennial herb garden and toward the end of summer and early fall, I end up with more herbs than I know what to do with, this was a perfect solution!  Also, it makes a wonderful gift with a really special homemade touch.

Air drying herbs is a lot more simple than people assume, all you need is some string, a few twist ties and a dry place to hang them.  I decided to hang my herbs out in my detached garage since it's a very dry, clean area without dust and out of the way.  I left my herbs out there for a few weeks to make sure they were really good and dried.  Once fully dried, remove all the leaves from the stems, combine and chop up in a food processor to make a fine ground mixture.

Herbes de Provence is really just a mixture of herbs that are readily available in the south of France. Different families and areas add different types of herbs to their own blends, but it typically contains Savory, Marjoram. Rosemary, Thyme and Oregano.  However, I don't have Savory or Marjoram in my garden so I used what I have at hand.  As well, contrary to popular opinion. Lavender is not traditionally included to the blend, but has become very common since Herbes de Provence has been commercially produced by spice wholesalers.  However, I have Lavender in my garden and while it doesn't add much in the way of additional flavour (that I notice at least), it really contributes a lovely aroma to the blend of herbs.

Here's the specifics/recipe:

Large bunches of fresh Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage and Lavender (or any combination of herbs you like or have available)
String for hanging herbs
Twist ties

Cut the fresh herbs from the plant when the weather is dry, since this will kick start the drying process (as opposed to cutting them when it's raining or dewy) and discard any brown leaves or stalks.  There's no need to wash the herbs if they're grown in your own garden, unless you use some form of chemical pesticide.  Secure the end which was closest to the roots with a twist tie.  This will allow you to easily tighten things up as the herbs dry and shrink, preventing wastage of loose herbs falling.  Loop the string around the bundle of herbs and attach to a wall or anything which you can hang the herbs from with good air circulation.  Leave to air dry for a few weeks to ensure the herbs are fully dried out.

After a few weeks when the herbs have completely dried out, remove the leaves from the stalks and combine together.  At this points you could jar the leaves just as they are or further chop them up to a fine grind in a food processor.  If you choose to process the leaves further, it's very important the leaves are completely dry, otherwise the leaves could start turning into a paste as they are chopped in the food processor.

Once processed to your liking, store in airtight spice jars or plastic food storage bags.  The dried herbs will keep for a year, maybe even longer since they're quite potent when homemade.

Bon appetit!

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark

As a part of my usual Christmas baking routine, I always make White Chocolate Peppermint Bark and send it to my best friend.  We both love the combination of peppermint and white chocolate and it's become one of my favourite parts of the Christmas season.

Since my friend lives far away in another province, I send my Christmas presents for her and her family through the mail.  Therefore, it can be difficult to find recipes that transport well - not an issue with my chocolate bark recipe.

As with most recipes that call for white chocolate, I find using better quality chocolate really makes a huge difference to the end result of the bark.  I like to use Lindt white chocolate in my baking because the quality and flavour is very good.  I find lesser quality white chocolate doesn't melt very well and tends to have a strange aftertaste that is un-pleasant on the palette.  I also do not recommend using white chocolate chips as they usually contain vegetable oil and soy lecithin to help the chips keep their shape when baked in cookies.  However, these additives cause the chocolate not to set very firm after melting which isn't ideal for chocolate bark.

The peppermint component of the bark comes in the form of peppermint candy canes.  I use regular peppermint candy canes for this recipe, but avoid the small individually wrapped brands.  I find over time, they lose crunch and become soft and sticky, which doesn't work well for this recipe.

Once the chocolate bark is made and broken apart, it stores very well in a Christmas cookie tin or any food storage container.  I love using decorative cookie tins this time of year since they look lovely and festive.  As well, when I sent my bark to my best friend, I shipped it to her in a decorative tin which works really well.

Here's the recipe:

5 Lindt white chocolate bars (broken into pieces)
Few drops of vanilla bean paste
6 standard sized peppermint candy canes

Cover a baking tray with aluminium foil and set aside.

Put the candy canes into a large Ziploc bag or food storage bag and using a rolling pin, bash the candy canes in the bag until nicely ground up - some larger bits and some powdery.  Separate the larger pieces of candy cane from the powdery stuff and set aside.

In a heat proof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water, add all but a handful of the white chocolate setting aside the excess.  Let the chocolate sit in the bowl gently melting until almost fully melted.  Then using a rubber spatula, stir the chocolate a little to aid in fully melting.  Once the chocolate is completely melted, add the remaining white chocolate stirring to melt.  This tempers the chocolate helping to stabilise the chocolate and preventing it from seizing.  Not to mention, tempering the chocolate this way provides an ultra smooth texture to the finished bark.  Add the vanilla bean paste and the candy cane powder to the melted chocolate and stir to combine.

Pour the chocolate onto the prepared baking tray and spread out evenly with a spatula.  Sprinkle the larger pieces of candy cane evenly over the chocolate and set the baking tray in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours to set up.  Once set, break the bark into pieces and store in the container of your choice.

Merry Christmas and bon appetit!

Holiday Crispy Treats

Let me just say that while I don't consider myself a food snob, I don't normally go for the type of holiday treat that involves using sweetened condensed milk, Rice Krispies and marshmallows. However, these festive treats are so seductively delicious that I simply can't resist.

My good friend Michelle made these for me a number of years ago and I was instantly hooked.  Her recipe involved melting sweetened condensed milk and McIntosh toffee bars together to make a caramel.  Then you dip a marshmallow into the caramel and roll the whole thing in the holiday Rice Krispies.  In the years since I was first introduced to this recipe, it's become very hard to find McIntosh toffee bars, so I've adapted the recipe a little.  Instead, I caramelize brown sugar and butter together and then add a can of sweetened condensed milk.

I find these treats don't have a long shelf life (not that they need it since they get eaten up quickly) because the Rice Krispies tend to go stale if they sit out at room temperature.  Thus, I recommend making them and freezing immediately.  When you're ready to eat them, take out only what you'll need preventing wastage.  Not to mention, the treats taste extra delicious when they're nice and cold.

Here's the recipe:

1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
Few drops of vanilla extract
Bag of large marshmallows
Holiday Rice Kripies

Preparation:
Pour about 5 cups of Rice Krispies into a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside  Cover two jelly roll tins or small baking trays with aluminium foil.  Finally, have a few toothpicks or bamboo skewers ready to go (to use for dipping the marshmallows into the caramel).

In a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar on medium low heat. Add the can of sweetened condensed milk and stir (the mixture will most likely start to bubble up a bit, but stirring constantly will help settle things down).  Continue to stir the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula (on medium low heat) until it's a nice golden caramel colour.  Add a pinch of salt and a few drops of vanilla and stir to incorporate.

Bring the pot of caramel over to your bowl of Rice Krispies and prepared baking sheets.  Using a tooth pick or bamboo skewer, stab a marshmallow on one end so that you can dip the whole thing into the hot caramel.  Once dipped in caramel, roll it in the Rice Krispies and then place on the baking tray, spacing the treats apart from one another.  Keep doing this with the marshmallows until you've used up all your caramel sauce. You may need to periodically heat up the caramel sauce if it starts to harden (making it difficult to dip the marshmallows).

Once you've finished dipping and rolling, place your trays in the freezer.  Once all the treats are frozen through, you can place them all together in a freezer storage bag.  Freezing them first on the trays prevents them from all clumping and sticking together.

Happy Holidays!

Butternut Squash Coconut Curry Soup

Many experienced chefs will tell you the true test of a good chef is how well they make soup. Personally I find a lot of soup recipes a little low on flavour, not great texture and kind of boring. However, this is not a problem with my Butternut Squash Coconut Curry soup.  I use a variety of herbs and spices making the soup bold in flavour, while the butternut squash adds a smooth texture.

While I wouldn't claim to be an expert on Indian cuisine, I really love experimenting with the spices and flavour profiles.  I'm not sure how traditional Butternut Squash is to Indian cooking, but as with most squash, it's mild flavour compliments many different cuisines.  The spices I've chosen are common in a lot of curry recipes and work well in this soup, but you could use any spices you like. Alternatively, you could substitute a couple tablespoons of curry powder which usually contains a lot of the same spices I've used.

I start out by sauteing the onion and garlic with all the spices, this toasts all the spices and develops a lot of flavour in a short amount of time.  Something I first learnt to do when I was in culinary school and we cooked a large Indian buffet.  However, I've since learnt this is a very traditional way to cook spices in Indian cooking.  This technique translates to other types of cuisine and dishes too, for example I toast my spices when making chili or a Bolognese sauce.

I like to puree the soup with an immersion blender which gives the finished soup a velvety smooth texture.  However, to add a little bite, I add some cooked Basmati or Jasmine rice just before serving. I wouldn't recommend adding raw rice to cook in the soup, it tends to absorb too much liquid and cause the soup to over thicken.  If you didn't want to add rice to the soup, some vegetables or lentils would work great.  Of course, the soup served on it's own is really nice too.

Here's the recipe:

1 medium yellow onion chopped
2 large garlic cloves crushed or chopped
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of  oregano
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
Seeds from 2 pods of cardamom (discard the shells) or a 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper, or to taste
1 butternut squash, peeled de-seeded and chopped
Chicken stock - enough to just submerge the squash
1 can of coconut milk
1/2 cup of cooked Jasmine or Basmati rice (optional)

Add chopped onion and garlic to a dutch oven or pot and saute on medium heat for a minute or two until starting to soften.  Add a pinch of salt and then start adding all the herbs and spices stirring often.  Let the spices cook and toast in the pan with the onions for about five minutes (continuing to stir) or until the mixture is fragrant and the onions and garlic are softened.

Add the chopped butternut squash and toss in the onion, garlic, spice mixture cooking until slightly softened.  Then add chicken stock to the pan; enough to cover the butternut squash.  Give the whole mixture a stir and then cover with a tight fitting lid and turn the heat down to low and let gently simmer away for 20 to 30 minutes or until the butternut squash is cooked through.

Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture until smooth ensuring there are no large chunks of butternut squash left.

Then stir in the whole can of coconut milk, which should be just enough additional liquid to give the soup the perfect texture.

However, if after adding the coconut milk your soup is still too thick, add some more chicken stock or water.  Taste to see if the soup needs salt or pepper and then add vegetables or lentils as desired.  If using rice, add a little bit of cooked rice to the middle of your soup bowl and then pour soup around the rice to make an attractive presentation.

Rice Recipe

1/2 cup of Jasmine or Basmati rice
1 cup of water or chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Add rice and liquid in a small saucepan and place on medium high heat.  Bring the mixture to a simmer while stirring often.  Cover with a tight fitting lid and turn heat down to lowest setting and leave for 15 minutes until rice is cooked through.  Season with salt and pepper and stir rice with a fork to make fluffy.

Bon Appetit!

Raspberry Pecan Linzer Cookies

I love holiday baking at Christmas time and enjoy getting into the festive spirit.  Although, during the month of December it can be hard to find the time and energy to get much baking done.  However, my Raspberry Pecan Linzer cookies are worth making as they're truly delicious and look impressive on a holiday cookie platter. While they take a little effort to make and assemble (rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters to shape each cookie), I have some time saving tips to make the process easier.

If you aren't familiar with Linzer cookies, they're cookies sandwiched with jam or preserves and the cookie dough always contains nuts, usually ground almonds (I use pecans).  I like to toast the pecans before grinding them up to ensure the pecan flavour really comes through in the finished cookie.  Not to mention, they add a subtle savoury element which offsets the sweetness of the raspberry jam.

To simplify things a little, I find that making the cookie dough ahead of time and storing it in the fridge is a good idea.  Since the dough takes all of 10 minutes to make, I do this a few days before I want to actually bake the cookies, that way the dough is all ready to go and makes things seem and feel easier on the day of baking.  Additionally, once you've rolled out the dough and shaped all the cookies, you could store your cookie trays in the fridge or freezer for a day or two before baking.  At which time, all you'd need to do is pop the trays in the oven and assemble the cookies.

While I love to make and can my own jam in the summer time, using a store bought jam to sandwich between the cookies makes life a lot easier.  I recommend using raspberry jam, but blackberry, blueberry, currant, strawberry or any other flavour of jam would work just fine too.  If you want to try making your own preserves, I've included my recipe for cardamom raspberry jam below. However, I'd recommend using frozen raspberries this time of year because the imported fresh berries can be a little pricey and less flavourful.

Here's the cookie dough recipe:

1/2 cup of pecans, toasted in the oven and crushed
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
zest of 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of all purpose flour sifted
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Icing sugar to dust on the tops of each cookie
Raspberry jam for sandwiching between the cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.  On one of the cookies sheets add the pecans and toast in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes while making the cookie dough.  Let the toasted pecans sit for a few minutes to cool before crushing.  Using a mortar and pestle, grind the pecans into a coarse meal.  Alternatively, you could grind the toasted pecans in a food processor or place the nuts in a large Ziploc bag and bash with a rolling pin until nicely ground up.  However, if you use a food processor, you may need to add a teaspoon of icing sugar to prevent the nuts from grinding up into a paste.

In a medium or large mixing bowl, add the butter, lemon zest, sugar and beat until incorporated. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix again.  Sift the flour cinnamon and salt into the butter mixture and mix until the dough comes together.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or to use at a later time.

Un-wrap the cookie dough and cut in half.  On a heavily floured work surface, roll out the first half of dough to a 1/4 inch thickness.  Using a round cookie cutter, shape out each bottom of sandwich cookies and place on the baking tray (I use a thin metal spatula for transferring to the tray to prevent breaking or tearing the un-baked cookies).  Then do the same with the other half of dough, with the exception of using a smaller cookie cutter to cut out a star shape from the top cookie.  This gives the cookies a nice decorative finish and allows the jam to be visible.  All in all, I usually get about 10 finished cookies out the the dough, but as long as you have matching pairs of tops and bottoms it doesn't really matter how many cookies you end up with.  Place the cookie trays in the fridge for a hour before baking (or the freezer for 30 minutes) to ensure the cookies keep their shape while baking in the oven.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Let the cookies cool on the tray before assembling.  Dust the cooled top cookies with some icing sugar while still on the tray.  Then smother raspberry jam on the bottom of each cookie before placing the top cookie onto it.

Cardamom Raspberry Jam recipe:

1.2 kg or 2 pounds of fresh or frozen raspberries
4 cups of granulate sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup of fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons of ground cardamon
pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and let simmer away for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Once the mixture has darkened, reduced and thickened a little, decant to sterilised jam jars or freezer jam jars.  The jam can be directly stored in the fridge for about 1 month or process the jam jars in a boiling water canner if you want to store in your pantry for a later use.  However, I recommend checking out a site such as the one I've attached below for more information about safely processing and canning jam.  http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/step_by_step___your_guide_to_home_canning/32.php  

Happy Holidays & Bon appetit!

Colourful white chocolate shortbread cookies.

On my list of Christmas baking; shortbread cookies are one of my absolute favourite.  I cannot imagine Christmas without the buttery richness and slightly sandy texture shortbread offers.  When I was growing up, my mom would make lovely whipped shortbread cookies always topped with a candied red or green cherry.  I remember nibbling away at the outside of the cookie until I had nothing left but the cherry which I refused to eat!

My version of shortbread is very different - slightly denser in texture and no cherries in sight.  Instead, I like to dip each cookie in colourful sanding sugar and fill with a small square of white chocolate before baking in the oven.  Using sanding sugar in a variety of festive colours make the cookies look irresistibly beautiful and impressive.  The addition of white chocolate is pleasantly surprising and adds a nice boost of vanilla flavour without being over-powering.  I recommend buying a good quality white chocolate for this recipe, and would not advise using white chocolate chips.  I love white chocolate, but lesser quality varieties have a strange after taste that I just can't get past.  If you don't like white chocolate, you could certainly leave it out or substitute with another type of chocolate.  However, I've tried making this recipe with dark or milk chocolate and found it completely over-powered the shortbread flavour.

Here's my recipe:

1 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 bars of good quality white chocolate, broken or cut into squares.  I use Lindt chocolate http://www.lindt.ca/swf/eng/products/bars/white-chocolate/.

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the butter and stir a bit before incorporating the icing sugar (this helps prevent the icing sugar from going everywhere when you start stirring it with the butter.  Then sift the icing sugar over the butter and mix to combine.  Sift in the corn starch, all purpose flour and mix slightly.  Then add the salt and vanilla and continue to stir until the dough comes together with no bits of flour left at the bottom of the bowl.  The dough should be pliable and have the consistency of very soft pie crust dough.

Pull off a generous tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball,  Press one square of white chocolate into the ball of cookie dough and roll again between your palms to ensure the chocolate is encapsulated in the dough.  Dip the ball into decorative sanding sugar (whatever colour(s) you like).  Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough spacing each cookie about 2 inches apart, ending up with about 2 dozen.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges.  Let cool on the cookie sheet before moving the cookies to a tin or container.  They are quite delicate and will fall apart if handled when still warm.

Merry Christmas!