Cheese Soufflé

Although this is another fabulous Laura Calder recipe I've removed and changed a few things. Instead of putting in herbs, I just depend on using fabulous, flavorful cheeses - this is an excellent recipe, by the way, to use up the little left-over heels from your cheese board or just what's in your cheese box. The key to a light, flavorful cheese soufflé is to remember that the quantity of cheese is important - you need just enough cheese for flavour, because too much will make for a heavy soufflé that won't rise properly. I also tend to be judicious with my use of salt, depending on the types of cheese I'm using - the saltier the cheese, the less salt I'll add.

1 cup milk

1 bay leaf

half of a small onion, peeled

pinch of paprika

Parmesan, grated, for dusting the dish (optional)

1 1⁄2 Tbsps (23gr) butter 

1 1⁄2 Tbsps flour

3 eggs, separated + 1 egg white

3 oz cheese, grated or mashed

1 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (optional)

1 pinch Salt and pepper

1. Put the milk with the bay leaf, onion, and pinch of paprika in a saucepan and bring just to the boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside to infuse 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 400°F. Butter 8 1⁄2 cup/125 ml ramekins or a 4 cup/1 litre soufflé dish, and dust with the grated Parmesan.
2. In a clean saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook one minute. Gradually whisk over the milk, and cook, stirring, until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat in the yolks. Stir through the cheese and herbs. Season with salt (remember, the saltier the cheese, less salt here) and pepper.
3. Beat the whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. Stir a spoonful into the yolk mixture, then pour the yolk mixture onto the remaining whites and gently fold together. Pour into the soufflé dish and run your finger through the mix in a circle about a half inch from the edge. This creates the lovely top-hat appearance of the soufflé. Bake until risen and set, but still slightly creamy in the centre, about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the soufflé dishes. Serve immediately before it slumps.

Curried Red Lentil Soup

So simple, and yet so good. This is a staple in our home, and is good as a soup or, with a little less broth, makes an excellent dahl by subtracting 3 cups of water.

Serves 6

About 190cals

2 Tbsps. mild vegetable oil
1 large onion (10oz/285gr), chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed (or more)
2 tsps. grated fresh ginger
2 tsps. curry powder of your choice
2 cups red lentils
8 cups water or stock
3 carrots, sliced (9oz/255g)
Juice from 1 lemon (2 to 3 Tbsps)
2 tsps. salt

1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot (8 quart). Add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and curry powder and sauté a minute more.
2. Add the red lentils and water or stock. Set the timer for 30 minutes.
3. Bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer.
4. After 30 minutes, add the carrots, cover the pot, and simmer for another 15 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are completely soft.
5. Turn off the heat, add lemon and salt, and serve.

Poached Chicken Breast With Goat Cheese

This is a wonderfully easy recipe from Chavignol, France. The recipe recommends Herbes de Provence, but other herb blends work just as well. This is a recipe for 2 people, but it can easily be multiplied. Enjoy!

2 chicken breasts, skinned and boned

2 medium tomatoes

1 zucchini

16 oz. goat cheese

herbes de provence

olive oil

salt

pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 450F.
2. Cut the chichen breasts cross-wise so that each breast becomes 2 sheets of meat. I guess that would be cutting the meat lengthwise.
3. Wash and cut the zucchini and tomatoes and slice into thin rounds.
4. Cut two pieces of aluminum foil big enough to fold over and seal each breast. Place one half breast on each piece of foil. On top of this, layer the zucchini, tomatoes and cheese (which has been equally distributed between the two servings). Once the filling is all used, place the remaining half of chicken breast on top, sprinkle with the Herbes de Provence, drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper.
5. Seal the aluminum foil completely, place side-by-side in a glass baking dish and cook about 40 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through (internal temperature of 165F) and the zucchini still have a bit of crunch to it.

Beef and Mushroom Stew in Red Wine

Size matters when it comes to your pan and properly browning your stewing meat. I use a large 12 inch stew pot. If the cubed beef is too crowded it won't brown properly and steam instead. It's the browning that gives you that rich stew flavour. I usually buy a cheap cut of meat and cut it up in my kitchen. This way I can trim off as much fat as I like and have the size of cubes I like.

4 slices bacon
2 lbs. beef chuck

4 Tbsps. flour (I use rice flour)

1 tsp. ground rosemary

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. salt
Black pepper, to taste

2 garlic cloves

1 1/2 cups red wine

1 cup chicken broth

2 -3 carrots

1 lb. button mushroom

1. Start by creating the oil you will brown the beef in, and the best for a really rich, smoky flavor is bacon fat. Dice the bacon and cook in your stew pot over medium-high heat. Once the bacon bits are crispy and have rendered all their fat, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Then pour out all but a tablespoon of the fat and keep the rest handy.
2. Combine the flour, rosemary, thyme and salt with black pepper to powder the beef cubes until covered.
3. Brown half of the beef in the fat, browning on both sides - add fat if it isn't browning properly. Remove the first batch of beef and brown the second, including any left over flour mixture. Add fat as needed, then remove from the pot and set aside.
4. Reduce the heat to medium, mince garlic and add to pan, adding a little fat if needed. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add the quartered mushrooms and cook until they sweat.
5. Add the red wine, stir to deglaze the pan, pour in the broth and throw in the cubed carrots and crispy bacon bits. Bring this all to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
6. Cover and cook on the stove-top until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Potato-crusted Chicken Breast Pie

There are as many kinds of this pie as there are cheeses. You can substitute whichever kind of cheese you like for the "1 cup grated cheese"; blue or gruyere or cheddar etc.

2 potatoes, sliced 1⁄4 inch thick
4 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 Tbsp flour (wheat or rice)
1⁄8 tsp black pepper
1⁄2 tsp hot sauce
1 cup grated cheese
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 green onions, chopped

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
2. Bring a bot of water to boil, and blanch the potatoes; about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool.
3. Whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, flour, pepper, and hot sauce. Stir in the cheese, the chicken, and the green onions.
4. Butter a pie dish and arrange the slices in a single layer to cover the bottom and the sides of the dish.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the potato bowl.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Allow it to cool at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving, otherwise it'll be too hot!

Isabelle's soupe - Wild Mushroom and Hazelnut Soup

My niece has asked me to show her how to cook. What an incredible honor and compliment to have been asked by her! Although I haven't been such a great teacher, 'cause I want to do everything. Last week I decided I'd find a recipe for her to try on her own (mostly on her own... at least partly on her own... ok, she did a lot under my guidance and with lots of help from me!) and I think she was really proud of the results, and with reason; bien fait, Isabelle! Thanks to my colleague Carole from giving me the recipe. (omit butter to make is suitable for vegans)

2 Tbsps (28gr) butter

2 Tbsps mild vegetable oil

1/2 lb button mushrooms, sliced

1/4 lb assorted wild mushrooms

1 leek (6oz/170gr) diced 

3/4 cup diced parsnip

1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed

1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced

2 garlic cloves

4 cups chicken broth (veg for vegetarian)

3/4 tsp salt, to taste

Pepper

optional 1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

1. Melt 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp oil in a large pot over high heat (a large pot to have the surface for the liquid from the mushrooms to evaporate quickly and leave the earthy richness of the mushroom behind). Stir mushroom occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Return pot to heat and melt remaining butter and oil. Add leek, parsnip, hazelnuts, thyme and cook a few minutes before adding garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until veg are tender, another couple of minutes, then add mushrooms and stock. Bring to a boil reduce heat, and simmer about 10 minutes, covered.
3. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Bread Pudding Recipe

This is a very simple recipe, but I'm so fascinated by how the ingredients I used reacted. I had the great fortune of living close to the only authentic French bakery in Vancouver at the time (that I know of). One of the baguettes they produced they called 'buche', which appears to be a flat baguette with a very dense crust. This is what I used to make this recipe. I did not remove the crust and to my delight it not only absorbed all of the custard, but it expanded, crust and sponge, into a beautiful soufflé that kept its rounded shape in the pot for at least a minute before slowly deflating, the bread pieces forming oval honeycomb-ish shapes. Beautiful, and simple, two of my favourite things. Nowadays, since I bake my own bread, the pudding is heartier with my more dense Commons Bread, usually, and it continues to be delicious. The best way to make sure you have the right amount of bread is to use the weight. I'll save the ends in the freezer as the material for this recipe; it creates variation in the texture, which is quite nice. A great breakfast pudding, and elevated by serving it with some Crème Anglaise.

Yield: one 8" round glass baking dish

1 Tbsp (1/2oz/14gr) butter

6 oz (170g) of diced day-old bread

4 large eggs

3/4 (150g) cups sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

A few pinches cinnamon

A smidgeon of nutmeg

2 tsp vanilla extract (or to taste, I likely use more, love the stuff)

2 cups light cream (or combine 1 cup heavy cream with 1 cup milk)

(optional) heavy cream

1. Grease a 4quart glass baking dish with butter to coat the bottom and sides. There will be leftover butter from this process, save it for the last step.
2. If the bread is still too soft, you can toast the slices, butter if you wish. Layer the bread into the buttered baking dish.
3. Whisk the eggs, add the sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, pour in the dairy, whisking until uniform. Strain the mixture directly over the bread to completely soak the slices, cover and let sit as long as you like, even overnight, especially if the bread is very dry. The goal of course is to have maximum soaking and minimum dry bread.
4. Bake, covered, at 325°F for 45 minutes. Rotate the pan if needed for even baking, and continue to bake covered until the custard puffs up. Uncover, and continue to bake until firm at the edges, soft but set in the center. The internal temperature in the center should be 170°F for complete doneness.
5. (Optional) you can serve with a drizzle of cream or Crème Anglaise or some such.