Like Strawberry Wine...

First and foremost, it’s time to applaud the 100^th post on my blog!  Whoot whoot!  To celebrate, I went to Canada and ate a lot.  Ha.  Not really, but the timing matches up….  Anyway, thanks to all 1, 2 or come on, perhaps maybe 3?? of you avid readers.  I truly appreciate every single second you spend reading, or even just taking a gander, at my little corner of the internet.  Over the past few years, when I’ve gone out to a new restaurant, or I’ve cooked after work to blow off steam,  when I’ve been off traveling (and therefore eating a ton), or just have taken to the kitchen on a lazy Sunday, sitting down and writing my posts has brought me such gratification.  It’s therapeutic for me and I hope there’s a least one person who has enjoyed each entry.  A couple stats before diving into my latest Canadian adventure…not too shabby:

Total pageviews:  8,865

Most popular recipe post:  Ma! The Meatloaf! – 11/21/11

Least popular recipe post:  Homemade Falafel & Yogurt Sauce – 6/7/11

Most popular restaurant review:  Thai X-ing – 10/23/12

Least popular restaurant review:  Dinner with Spike – 6/22/10

Top 10 countries reached in the last month:
United States, Russia, China, Germany, India, Canada, Australia, France, Ukraine, Netherlands

Ok – where to begin on Montreal…  From bagels to poutine to an amazing steak – I definitely ate very well.  But first, have you ever been there?  I hadn’t, though I’d been talking about it with friends for years.  It’s so easy to get to – a quick 1.5 hour flight from DCA and you’re in a mini-Paris.  Paris without the attitude (seriously, everyone can agree that Canadians are some of the nicest, right?).  Quebec is a French-speaking state, though 99% of the people we encountered all spoke nearly perfect English as well.  I highly recommend a trip North, but wait until summer…our 22 degree day with steady snow was the warmest, by about 30 degrees!

Despite the cold, we still managed to pack a lot into a long weekend.  We ate at a fancy restaurant, went to a museum, checked out some of the hot new bars, ate the famous smoked meat, ate both of the famous bagels (Montreal Bagels), shopped in the underground city, and of course, took in a hockey game.  In between all of that we had café au laits and drank wine, wine and more wine.  It was a blast and I can’t wait to go back.  I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

This is a must try - great ambiance, amazing food! Joe Beef

Famous Bagels - Part 1

Famous Bagels - Part 2 (try the pesto cream cheese!)

Adorable cafe where we warmed up with a couple bottles of wine!

French Onion Soup - always hits the spot

Cheese and Fruit Plate - to go with the wine, of course!

Famous Smoked Meat and home of Montreal Steak Seasoning!

Mmmm, beefy.

Live well, love well and eat well, my friends.  Skål! Santé! L’chaim! Salud! Prost! CHEERS!

The red pepper in the fridge is starting to wrinkle.  The celery is starting to wilt.  You have one lone potato left on the counter.  What do you do when it’s cold outside so you don’t want a salad, and these sad vegetables aren’t even worthy of one anyway?  It’s soup time!

That is exactly how this concoction came about, and it turned out really well.  There’s no real recipe for this, I literally threw everything soup-worthy from my fridge, freezer, counter and cabinets into a giant pot and let it simmer on low for an hour.  Here’s what I ended up with:

Ingredients

1 russet potato, peeled and diced in ½” cubes

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

3-4 stalks celery, sliced

3 large carrots, sliced

½ - 1 cup frozen sweet corn

1 package frozen chopped spinach (break up as it defrosts into the soup)

1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes with juice, crushed with spoon when added to pot

1 32oz container of Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbsp dried parsley

Garlic powder

Salt & Pepper

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Olive Oil

Instructions

Sauté onion, carrots, celery and potato with some olive oil, salt & pepper for a few minutes, just to soften slightly.  Add red pepper and tomatoes.  Cook for a few minutes more.  Add all remaining ingredients, stir to combine then let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Taste soup and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Continue to let simmer for another 30-45 minutes, stirring on occasion.

Dole out a big bowl, top with a little grated parmesan (optional but tasty), then let it soothe your soul…..and don’t forget the wine.

I know, biscotti??  Believe me, this isn’t the super dry, crack-your-teeth hard, tasteless piece of kindling you get in lots of coffee shops.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t even give that stuff a second glance.  Yes, this is still a dry crunchy cookie, but there is so much flavor from the vanilla, and the texture is still tender enough to bite regularly….none of that hold it off to the side and cock your head type of biting.  Of course I had to make this festive for the season.  White, red and green sparkling sugars did the trick.  So pretty!

Go ahead, pour yourself some coffee or tea, settle in with a good book or movie, grab a slice (or 2 – trust me) and get ready to enjoy.  Dunking is optional.

Ingredients

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour (www.kingarthurflour.com)

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

⅔ cup granulated sugar

½ tsp salt

2-3 tsp vanilla extract (I used 3)

¼ tsp almond extract (I omitted)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

2 cups AP Flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat/1 cup AP)

1 cup mini cinnamon chips (my addition)

Coarse sparkling sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350º.  In a medium mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and baking powder.  Beat on low speed just until combined and smooth.  Add the eggs and beat at low/medium speed until well mixed.  The mixture may look slightly curdled – that’s ok, I just beat for another few seconds until it looked smooth again. 

Add the flour one cup at a time, as well as whatever add-ins you want – in this case I added ½ cup of the cinnamon chips.  Mix on low until just combined.  Add the remaining flour and chips and again mix just until combined, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the flour.

I happen to have a biscotti pan (about an 11½”x 5½” loaf pan) – if you have one of these, just scrape the dough into the greased pan and spread evenly.  If you don’t have a pan about this size, form a loaf on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  The loaf should be about 11x5 and about 1” thick.  Sprinkle the top with sugar and bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and lower oven temp to 325º.  Let biscotti rest in loaf shape for 5 minutes.  Slice loaf in ½”-¾” wide slices and lay cut side down on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake for about 12 minutes, then flip each slice and bake for about 12-14 minutes more until dried out and nicely browned.  Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.  

*This recipe suggests up to 2 cups of add-ins such as chips, nuts or dried fruits.  I recommend starting with 1 cup and seeing how it looks – 1 cup of chips was plenty for me.

What’s your oldest memory of eggnog?  Is it something you had with your family during the holidays?  Or still do?  I remember early on in elementary school, our class made a cookbook and one of my classmates submitted a recipe for homemade eggnog.  I’d probably had it at some point before this, but making it from that recipe is the first experience that comes to mind.  I loved it right from the start.  Of course that wasn’t the adult version, which I also am a big fan of!

So, the big question with eggnog in baked goods is, will the flavor actually come through?  I’ve made eggnog scones before and I remember them being good, but not really having a strong eggnog flavor.  Maybe I used a light variety or needed to add more, who knows – but after making these cookies, I’ll be playing around with those scones again as there was no shortage of flavor here!

This recipe actually called for the addition of dark chocolate chunks.  I’m sure that is also delicious, but eggnog to me just screams nutmeg, so I omitted the chocolate and added some nutmeg and cinnamon chips instead.  To me, they are absolutely perfect like this, but if you prefer chocolate, just sub out the same amount that I used for the cinnamon chips.

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker (www.browneyedbaker.com) 

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 Tbsp AP flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp ground nutmeg

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

¼ cup Eggnog (light not recommended)

1 egg yolk

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup mini cinnamon chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300º.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; set aside.

Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggnog, egg yolk, and vanilla.  Continue to beat at medium speed until completely mixed, about 2 minutes.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in two batches, mix until just combined.  Using a rubber scraper, fold in the cinnamon chips and make sure all flour is incorporated.

Using a small or medium cookie scoop, drop dough onto the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are set and just starting to turn a golden brown and the centers spring back when touched lightly.

Remove from oven and let rest on the cookie sheets for 1 minute then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  Store in an air-tight container.

**Note 1** I used a medium cookie scoop and this recipe made about 18 cookies – therefore you may want to double it!

**Note 2**  Order a batch and let me do the work - check out Bakeri and let me know what I can make for you!