Balsamic Dijon Chicken Marinade

Now that the days are getting longer, it is the perfect time to have a couple of friends over for a barbecue.  Tonight we had a great time with some friends and their kids.  I hope we can have many more nights like tonight this summer.  The kids were great, the company was great and the food turned out well.
I wanted a simple marinade to use on some chicken that would work well with grilled vegetables.  After looking at a couple of recipes I borrowed a couple of ideas and came up with a hybrid of a few. I marinated the chicken overnight and the flavours turned out wonderful.

2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Apple Mustard Vinaigrette

I love making different vinaigrettes for salads and I have decided it is time I share some of my favourites.  I must confess usually eyeball the ingredients so these may not be the exact amounts but I will taste and adjust accordingly before using it.
I find this vinaigrette goes well with a green salad with some candied nuts and blue cheese.

Apple Mustard Vinaigrette

2 tbsp cider vinegar or green apple balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp dijon or whole grain mustard 

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk the ingredients together and adjust accordingly before using on your salad.

White Wine Pasta Sauce

This is one of those trying to use up ingredients in the fridge type of recipes.  I was looking through a cook book of mine and found a recipe for a mushroom stroganoff and it looked tasty so I decided to make it.  When I looked at the recipe closer it called for a white wine sauce but did not have one anywhere in the book.  I searched online and this is what I came up with.  The sauce on its own is very nice but it is also great when you add some mushrooms and onions to it.
If you would like a thicker sauce you can add some flour or cornstarch.

White Wine Pasta Sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

5 tbsp butter

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped flat leafed parsley

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Add garlic and sauté until golden.
3. Add the butter, black pepper and white wine. stirring to combine.
4. Remove from heat, adding the parsley and cheese before using on pasta.

White Sauce

I like using this white sauce as a base for many things and it is very easy to add extra flavours into.  I wanted to make a casserole to use up extra turkey and I don't like using canned soups because of all the 'extras' found in the commercial varieties.  

The milk will blend more readily if it is pre warmed.

White Sauce

5 tbsp butter

4 tbsp four

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups milk

1. Melt the butter in an heavy saucepan over a low heat.
2. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until well blended.
3. Remove from heat and add the milk.  Stirring it constantly to blend.
4. Return to heat and cook, stirring until the sauce has thickened and is smooth.

Apple Sage Sauce

In the past I have gotten a Sage and Apple Stuffing mix and one evening when having some ravioli I decided to use it with some butter on the pasta.  Normally I like to use a pesto on ravioli but the stuff I was planning to use turned out to be mouldy.  The stuffing mix really complemented the flavours of the ravioli.
This year our sage plants have done very well and so I decided I would try to make my own sauce to use with pasta.  This was a simple sauce that did not take very long to make and would complement many dishes.

Apple Sage Sauce

2 apples, cored and chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped

butter, as needed

sugar, as needed

1. Fry the apple and onion in butter until the onion is translucent.
2. Add a little water, enough so half of the apple is covered. Simmer to soften the apple for about 15 minutes.
3. Add the sage and mix well.
4. Continue to heat as necessary to remove excess water.  Serve immediately.

Mustard Glaze

It is always nice to liven up your meal with a glaze when cooking plainer food.  I found this glaze to be very versatile and easy to prep for in advance.  I am sure it would taste great with just about any type of mustard you can get your hands on, however I am not sure that I would bother if you have a rather plain hotdog variety.

Mustard Glaze

1 tbsp mustard of your choice

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp sugar

1. Whisk together the ingredients and pour over your choice of vegetables or meats.

Red Current Compote

I love currents and at the farm we have about 15 red current bushes.  This year we have collected quite the harvest.  This year we decided to pick the sprays off the bushed and because of the heat we would remove the individual currents in the cool of our home.  We had 12 litres of sprays to process so we enlisted the help of my in-laws to help us with the task.  They were awesome and we had a lovely couple of hours talking while working.  Before we started I thought it would be nice to bribe them with some baked brie cheese and a red current compote.  It was such a hit some individuals (not mentioning any names) mopped up their plates and the serving bowl in order to make sure there was not any wasted.
This recipe is simple and very enjoyable.  Depending on how many people you are planning to feed with it, you may want to double the recipe.  It goes well with meats as well as cheese and can be used as a spread for bread.

Red Current Compote

1 1/2 cups red currents

6 tbsp red wine

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp corn starch

1. Combine the ingredients into a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir it while it comes to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat and continue stirring until it reaches the desired consistancy. 

Raspberry Montreal Marinade

I know it may be a little early for some people to think of barbecuing but in our house it is more of a year round thing.  I love being able to cook meats easily with not much fuss for clean up.
This great tasting marinade makes a big batch so you can keep it in the fridge or freeze it in smaller portions for later use.  You can use a home made steak spice mix or go for the easier store bought variety.  It goes well with many different types of meats and taste nice on potatoes too.

Raspberry Montreal Marinade

2 cups olive oil

1/2 Montreal steak spice

1/3 cup honey mustard

1/3 cup raspberry vinegar

1. Whisk the ingredients together.
2. Marinate the meat for at least two hours before grilling.

Garlic Aioli

I am a big fan of yam fries and since they are an easy, no fuss meal I make them fairly regularly.  I will often make a balsamic reduction to put over them but I was in the mood for an garlic aioli the other night so I found this recipe and gave it a try.  It turned out wonderful, my husband even made sure that every last drop was used up so there was none that went to waste.

Garlic Aioli

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 cloves minced garlic

2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Mix together all of the ingredients.  Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

So like many nights in the past I was standing in the kitchen unsure of what to make for dinner.  I hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while and I was trying to use up the last bit of produce in the fridge before going to the market to restock the fridge.  This time of the year we eat out so much at parties that home cooked meals don't happen to frequently do we don't keep much in the fridge.  When I opened the fridge I found some mushrooms that needed to be enjoyed soon so I thought I would hit up google to find a basic recipe (remember I am having a little case of the old mother hub bard problem) to use them up in.
I was very happy to come across this recipe and I will definitely use it in the future.  With only a few ingredients it made a delicious pasta sauce that did not require too much effort.  I love the fact that I could use my food processor to chop up the onion and garlic.

Creamy Mushroom Sauce

5 or 6 mushrooms

garlic (use your judgement as to how garlicky you like it)

small bunch of parsley

1 cup of cream or 3% milk

1/4 cup butter or olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a food processor place the mushrooms, garlic and parsley. Process until everything is in small pieces.
2. Cook this mixture with the butter/olive oil in a frying pan until the moisture has absorbed.
3. Add the cream, salt and pepper.  Reduce until it is at your desired consistency.
4. Serve over fresh pasta with so parmesan.

Adapted from here.

Sweet and Spicy Brine

I have brined turkeys before but this was the first time I had tried brining chicken.  It is a simple way to add extra flavour to meat in a relatively short amount of time.  I like that when you go to grill the meat that it doesn't go and leave a sticky mess to scrub off afterwards.

Sweet and Spicy Brined Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pork will work as well)

1/4 cup coarse salt

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

12 whole black pepper corns

1 chili pepper thinly sliced (leave the seeds in if you want a spicier brine)

2 whole bay leaves

1 cup hot water

3 cups cold water

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1. Place the salt, brown sugar, pepper corns, chill and bay leaves in a bowl and add the hot water.  Whisk together until the salt and sugar have dissolved; add the cold water and allow to sit to reach room temperature.
2. Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry. In a non-reactive baking dish arrange the meat so it lays flat.
3. Arrange the garlic, onion and lemon slices over the meat.
4. Pour the brine over the meat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for 2 hours, turning the meat once or twice.
5. Preheat the barbecue and when you are ready to cook brush the grill with some oil.
6. Cook the chicken on the grill, about 5-7 minutes a side.

Blueberry Thyme Compote

This recipe is one of my mother-in-laws summer specialties!  It is one she had adapted from a recipe she found in a magazine years ago and she now wings it so each time it may be a little different but it tastes great.  She usually serves it with brie cheese that has been heated on the barbecue on top of a cedar plank.  The paring goes so well and is a wonderful appetizer on a hot summers day.
This is the basic recipe but feel free to experiment by adding different herbs and spices to the mix.

Blueberry Thyme Compote

4 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar

1 orange, zested and juiced

3 sprigs thyme

1. Combine the ingredients in a pot and boil together until it reachers the desired consistency.
2. Serve warm with your choice of cheeses and a bagette.

***You can always add extra blueberries in while you warm it up to serve.

Blueberry Syrup

There were an abundance of blueberries that needed to be used up at our house over the weekend and I did not mind in the slightest because I love blueberries and I have many recipes that I enjoy making with blueberries.  I ended up making four different types of blueberry preserves: Blueberry Thyme Compote, Blueberry Cherry Jam, Blueberry Lemon Lavender Jam and Blueberry Syrup.  Plus a couple of other recipes to help use up all the other produce I had.
On weekends my husband and I try to have a nice breakfast of pancakes or waffles as a special treat for working hard all week and to give us enough energy for while we are out at the farm.  It is always nice to have a berry syrup to put on top of them instead of regular old syrup.  This is a simple recipe that
does not take much time and makes a delicious syrup that you can use in many ways.

Blueberry Syrup

4 cups blueberries

2 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tbsp cinnamon (optional)

2 cups water

1. Simmer 3 cups of the blueberries with the other ingredients until they reach the desired consistency.
2. Add the remaining blueberries into the pot and warm them briefly.
3. Can what you want and enjoy the rest on some fresh pancakes.

Thimbleberry Rosemary Syrup

Now as the salmon berry comes to an end, the thimbleberry season begins.  I must admit this year is the first year I have tried a thimble berry and I am sorry it took me so long to work up the courage to try them.  I actually prefer them to salmon berries and I am looking forward to experimenting with more recipes this summer while they are in season.
I tried this recipe first simply because it is just the beginning of the season and we do not have many bushes at the farm so I couldn't collect very many.  If you are going to be picking these berries to use in a recipe for the first time you should be aware that they do not keep very well so it is best to pick them the day you plan on using them.  As a heads up I should let you know that they will temporarily stain your fingers a bit too.
This syrup tastes wonderful and I look forward to using it in salad dressings and in marinades.

Thimbleberry Rosemary Syrup

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup water

1 cup thimble berries

1 lime, juiced

3 sprigs rosemary

1. In a small sauce pan bring the honey and water to a boil. Once it boils, add the berries and remove from the heat.
2. Add the lime juice and rosemary and let step for three to four hours (the longer you steep, the richer the flavour).
3. Strain.  If necessary push the berry mash against the strainer to release the liquid
4. Chill and serve.

***If you plan on canning this syrup, please follow safe canning guidelines.

*** I made this again last night but I didn't have enough thimble berries so I combined it with raspberries.  It tasted great!  I am sure it would be great with just raspberries as well.

Hoisin Sauce

I found a recipe that looked great today and I really wanted to try it, unfortunately I did not have any hoisin sauce on hand so I thought I would be out of luck.  Then I decided I might as well see if I could find a recipe to make my own hoisin sauce online and I was fortunate because not only did I find a recipe for homemade hoisin sauce I also happened to have all the ingredients I needed on hand in my pantry.
It was so easy to put together and had an amazing flavour I don't think I will buy the store bought variety anymore.  I really like that I had the ability to pick the amount of spice I wanted to put in.

Hoisin Sauce

4 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp molases or honey

2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

1 garlic clove finely chopped

2 tsp sesame seed oil

1 tsp Chinese hot sauce (or to taste)

1/8 tsp cracked black pepper

1. Combine ingredients into a small bowl.
2. Whisk the ingredients until they are well blended.
   ***You may need to heat it up to really blend in the peanut butter.  I microwaved mine for a minute and then it blended really well.

You can view the original recipe here.