Favourite Recipe Sites

I admit that I'm a bit of a recipe fanatic.  I love recipe books and I can spend hours perusing recipe websites looking for new, interesting recipes.  I usually have something in mind and then go searching for it until I find something similar.  I then modify the recipe to suit.

Here are some of my favourite sites:

• www.allrecipes.com/
• www.epicurious.com/
• www.picky-palate.com/
• www.bakerella.com
• www.foodnetwork.com
• www.cookinglight.com

What are some of your favourite recipe websites?  I'd love to hear from you.....

French Onion Soup

This is a classic French Onion Soup recipe.  This is my mother's recipe and she'd been making this recipe ever since I can remember. This is a heart-warming soup that never fails to please. Enjoy it on a cold winter's night, when the wind is howling and the snow is falling.....

Ingredients:
1 can broth or bouillon
2-3 cups sliced onions
few drops of worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
thyme
approx. 1/2 cup sherry
slices of french bread
Swiss or Gruyere Cheese

Brown onions in a stock pot in butter until softened and golden.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer all for 20 minutes or so.

Transfer onions and broth to oven proof bowls.  Place a slice of bread on top of the soup and press lightly to absorb some of the broth.  Place slices of cheese on top of the bread.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Note:  approx. 1 onion per person plus one additional one.  I always use more broth than 1 can.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Prep: 30 minutes Total: 55 minutes

Coffee Cake + Muffins = Yummy!  Enough said.... coffee cake in a muffin - oh yeah!
  

Martha's picture



My picture
Hmmm, not quite the same are they? 
But they taste amazing!



     

 
  

Makes 12 jumbo muffins.
(and I do mean "jumbo"!)

Ingredients:

FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

FOR THE MUFFINS
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature plus more for pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
 
Directions:
Prepare streusel topping: In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, and salt. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles large coarse crumbs; refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffins: Butter and flour a jumbo 12-cup muffin tin (or two 6-cup muffin tins). In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, sour cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. With mixer on low, beat flour mixture into butter mixture.

Divide half the batter among prepared muffin cups. Top with half the streusel mixture, then remaining batter, and top with streusel. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes:  I cut the streusel recipe in half and still had more than enough.  The streusel on top creates almost a caramelized topping - really good.

Source:  Martha Stewart:  http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/coffee-cake-muffins 



Sticky Oven Ribs

This recipe is from the Winter Edition of the LCBO magazine (http://www.lcbo.com/fooddrink/index.shtml).  I love their magazines!  The recipes, ideas, and product information makes for a great read.  And they're free - it doesn't get better than this!

We usually boil our ribs, then grill them on the BBQ, so this recipe was quite a change for us.  I cooked the ribs on a Sunday, then finished cooking them a day later.  The sauce was thick and glossy and the rub added a little bite to them.  Serve with coleslaw and sweet potatoe fries and you have a great weeknight meal.

BRAISE:2 racks meaty pork back ribs, together about
4 to 5 lbs (2 to 2.2 kg)
1 cup (250 mL) chicken broth or stock

RUB:1 tbsp (15 mL) onion powder
2 tsp (10 mL) each of paprika and garlic powder
1 to 2 tsp (5 to 10 mL) cayenne
1 tsp (5 mL) freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp (5 mL) salt

SLATHER:½ cup (125 mL) fancy molasses
½ cup (125 mL) ketchup
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1½ tsp (7 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tbsp (15 mL) cider vinegar

1. Arrange rack to centre; preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Cut racks into sections, usually halves, to fit in a single layer in a 10 x 15-inch (4-L) dish or large roasting pan or oven-broiling pan bottom. Arrange meaty-side down. Pour broth over ribs; snugly cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour.
3. Remove ribs from pan to cool; drain off all pan juices. Ribs can be made ahead to this point, covered and promptly refrigerated for up to 2 days. (Save strained juices, covered in refrigerator or freezer. Use to add excellent flavour to roast pork gravy, spaghetti sauce or lentil soup.)
4. Line a large baking pan (with sides) with foil for easy cleanup. Increase oven temperature to 425°F (220°C).
5. Stir rub ingredients together. Dry ribs with paper towels. Sprinkle and press spices into meaty areas, putting only a slight amount on the bony side. Now turn bony-side up to easily cut into single ribs.
6. Prop meaty-side-up single ribs against each other in foil-lined pan. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes (15 to 20 minutes longer if ribs have been refrigerated) or until sizzling and browned. Drain fat from pan.
7. Meanwhile, stir molasses with ketchup, garlic, mustard and vinegar. Slather meaty tops with a third of sauce. Bake ribs, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Then turn ribs on side and baste again; bake 5 minutes. Finally turn ribs to other side and baste with remaining sauce; bake 5 minutes or until glazed.
8. Pile onto a heated platter. Serve with Smoky Roasted Sweet Potatoes, cooling coleslaw and lots of napkins!

Serves 6

Chocolate Chip Cookies - The best ones got even better!

I honestly didn't think it was possible to improve upon our favourite Nestle Toll-house cookies, which I blogged about back in the Fall, but I think I've done it!  http://www.lombardicooks.com/2010/09/best-chocolate-chip-cookies-ever-this.html

I had leftover chocolate from the holidays and decided to use it up.  I had the large 2" melting chocolate wafers - I cut them up into smaller pieces and used these in the cookies in place of the chocolate chips. 

Wow!  The chunks of chocolate were warm and melty, oozing with chocolately goodness.  I would definitely use these again.  Hmmm, I wonder what white chocolate wafers would taste like......

It pays to go through your cupboard!

Smoky corn chowder with bacon

The blustery, chilling weather makes me want to curl up with a good book in front of a fire.  But if I can't do that, then a good steaming bowl of soup if the next best thing.  This recipe comes come Chatelaine magazine.  We made it this week and it's really good. 

Don't omit the bacon as it adds a deep smokey flavour to the soup.  Creamed corn adds richness to this soup without adding a lot of fat.  I found this soup was better the next day after the flavours had a chance to blend. 
 

Published by Chatelaine on 1/1/2011
Preparation time 15 minutes  Cooking time 30 minutes
Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 leek (white part only), finely chopped
1 russet potato, finely chopped
2 cups frozen or canned corn kernels
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
398 ml can creamed corn
1 sprig of thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf

Heat a large pot over medium. Add bacon and cook just until crisp, 4 min. Discard all but 1 tbsp of bacon fat. Add leek and sauté until tender, 1 min. Then add potato, corn, broth, milk, creamed corn, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to mediumlow. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 20 min. Remove thyme and bay leaf before serving. Season with fresh pepper.

Soup will keep well in refrigerator up to 2 days, or in freezer, in a covered container, up to a month.

Lombardis Notes:
- you could easily substitute pancetta for the bacon for an even richer flavour.
- Al says that the potatoes should be cut bigger to absorb the soup.