Aside from the rain, summer is making me happy. This is no surprise as summer has rarely failed at making me happy but still something about the warm mornings and the sunny afternoons make me sing. (Not literally because that would be very painful.) The only thing that I miss about summer—at least summer back home—is meeting up with friends for drinks at bar patio. Always a classic time-waster and one whose absence I lament. And now that my honey has bought me an online subscription to NYT crossword puzzle (squee!!), I expect my mornings to be pleasurable. I could still go for beer on a patio, though. Anyone?

This also means that my summer recipes are coming fast and furious (sorry). I think last night I made quite possibly the best pasta salad I have ever made and considering I’ve made my fair share, that says a lot. I most definitely detected a note of joy when the LSC had his first bite of it last night. I think this one is preferred over the dill-chickpea one a couple of weeks ago.

Paired with chicken burgers—actual ground chicken burgers because if you order anything sounds like “chicken burger” at a restaurant expecting something similiar to a turkey burger around these parts, you are rudely shocked when said burger is actually a chicken breast—this meal made for a very filling, yet light dinner. They were going to be grilled but the weather didn’t cooperate with us yesterday. Maybe tonight it will. I can’t wait to see how this pasta salad holds up after getting tastier and tastier overnight in the fridge. I think the only way it could more delicious if you added cheese to it, but then I am of the opinion that most things taste better with cheese anyway.

*sigh* I almost lost my deviled egg mojo today.

Yes, yes, we will get to the recipes shortly, but I feel as though I should share about the near-miss of my deviled egg skills. As per the advice of some of my favorite chefs, I bring a small pot of water to boil, add eggs, clamp on the lid, remove from heat and then let sit for about 12 minutes. Today I did it twice and the initial test egg was, shall we say, underdone.

I adjusted the time of the eggs in the water and it worked. Just a couple more minutes, not enough time for the nasty ashy outside to the yolk. These are pretty good and they will lovely for snacking for tomorrow when the LSC has the day off.

Corn, Orzo and Basil Salad

from “The Herbal Kitchen”, Jerry Traunfeld (William Morrow)

1/2 medium red onion, finely diced

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

3 tbl. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes or 1 really juicy sucker)

2 tsp. kosher salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

4 ears sweet corn, shucked

8 oz. orzo pasta

1/4 cup plus 2 tbl. extra-virgin olive oil

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 1/2 cups torn leaves of sweet basil or lemon basil

Stir onion, vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl. Let it sit while you continue with the recipe, allowing the acidic ingredients to mellow the raw bite of the onion.

Use knife to remove kernels of corn off the cob. You should get about 5 cups. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the orzo and cook 3 minutes. Add corn kernels to pot. Cook until the water boils again, or no more than 3 minutes. Drain in colander immediately and rinse with cold water.

Stir the olive oil into the bowl with the dressed onion. Toss in the pasta, corn, red bell pepper and basil until evenly combined. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. The orzo will absorb the excess vinaigrette.

Stuffed Eggs with Capers

6 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

2 tbl. or more mayonnaise

1 tbl. softened butter

1 tsp. chopped fresh chives, parsley or both

2 tsp. capers, chopped if large

2 tsp. fresh lime juice

dash of dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

paprika, optional

small sprigs of parsely, optional

Cut eggs in half, reserving whites. Place yolks in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, butter, chives, capers and juice and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Combine thoroughly and spoon or pipe into whites. Garnish with paprika or small sprigs of fresh parsley. Chill.

There is just something nice about summer Saturdays. It isn’t just the sleeping in—which I really didn’t get to do because of a wounded cat—or the snuggling/sleepytalk as you and your significiant other banter back and forth about whether you should get up. And it isn’t also the contemplative morning cup of coffee, the possibility of a brand new day unfolding ahead of you.

Well, I mean, yes, it is all these things, but there’s also so much more. Some Saturdays are just awesome for no apparent reason. Having your husband find you tiny wild strawberries in your yard could be added to the list.

We seem to have gotten our fridge back (fingers crossed) and to celebrate, I made the classic French tea cookie, madelines. Madeline batter requires at least three hours of chilling time in the fridge in order to gain that characterstic “hump” the distinct fluted cookies have. Not having access to refrigeration for a couple of days delayed my making them. I was going to make them on Wednesday for our get-together but Fate had other plans that day.

When I went yard-sale shopping with Leah a few weeks back, she and I chanced upon a pair of nonstick madeline pans (yes, these cookies require their own singular pan). She bought one and I bought the other and I don’t think either of us have had a chance to make them. I used the basic recipe I found on Smitten Kitchen, but I subbed lots of orange zest instead of lemon. Good choice, too, as they were incredibly fragrant.

While these cookies are a slight undertaking, they are perfectly sized and perfectly delicious. They’re the best cookie for impressing the in-laws, dinner guests, ladies’ luncheons and cocktail parties.

Friday nights and weekend mornings are the LSC’s time to shine in the kitchen. Friday night he made us a feast of falafels, hummus, pita and some excellent creamy yogurty tuna spread that we picked up from the Lebanese grocery store near our house.

We eat a lot of chicken. Hmm, let me rephrase that: chicken is most likely to be eaten in this household.

Now I like fish but the LSC is iffy. I wanted to do something fun and summery with fish yesterday and one of the best ways to do it is with a fruit salsa. (I can already hear Shazzer nodding “no” vigorously.)

Usually I am on board with that, but when you want to try something new…

Minding the LSC’s reluctance towards fish, I chose to use tilapia for dinner because it’s very mild. I dredged the fillets in a bit of seasoned flour then sauteed them a few minutes on each side. My only regrets about the fruit salsa is the mild heat. The recipe calls for a jalapeno but the flavor is so muted, I’d go so far as to recommend as to add as many as you like if you want heat. Also, I had to sub dried mint for fresh but I couldn’t find any. This meal is really lovely for a warm summer day; as I said, it’s the little things.

Melon Salsa

adapted from “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver (HarperCollins)

1 medium cantaloupe, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small jalapeno pepper, diced

1/2 medium red onion, minced

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, minced or 2 tbl. dried mint

2 tbl. honey

2 tsp. white vinegar

Combine cantaloupe, red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, onion and mint leaves. Stir to mix. Add honey and vinegar, stir thoroughly and let sit 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Serve over grilled fish, chicken or meat.

I quite like holidays, regardless of when and what.

Wednesday was Fete Nationale du Quebec and since the LSC and everyone we know had the day off, we decided to have people over for cocktails and nibbles. Point of fact: I freakin’ LOVE cocktails and nibbles, especially the nibbles part. Appetizers, hors’d'oeuvres, canapes, whatever…if you make ‘em, I will eat the heck of ‘em. And of course, I love any excuse for making nibbles. It even goes one better when you have friends that like making them as well. Add booze, good conversation and a warm sunny day to the mix and you’ve got an excellent recipe for a summer holiday.

This means that this entry has a plethora of recipes for you. They all contain dairy and/or egg but if  you find a way to make them vegan, let me know. (I suspect the dip shown above could be made with silken tofu and vegan cream cheese or sour cream.) I am always on the lookout for good vegan recipes as it gives me a chance to flex those culinary muscles of mine. The dip featured above was made with cream cheese, dill and a special secret ingredient that I will save for below. The dip itself was creamy, slightly chunky and tangy in all the right bits. We used spears of celery and carrot to scoop it up with; the LSC used potato chips too but that is his way. I was originally to make a spinach dip but since I had all the ingredients for this one, I opted not to trot out that tried cocktail party trope.

Our friend Leah brought over a savory cheesecake. Yes, I know you may be startled at the very idea of a cheesecake that is NOT dense and creamy and sweet, but get over it. This was sublime. It was perfect with crackers and it would be perfect as a light summer supper with a nice salad.

I didn’t forget the deviled eggs either. I know it’s been a couple of entries since I posted a recipe for one but be reassured I haven’t forgotten about the Deviled Egg Experiment. The batch that I put out on Wednesday had vodka in them. Delicious vodka. You let them chill in the fridge for a couple of hours and oh my!

I almost forgot…you lucky kids get a cocktail recipe too!!

My Kind of Summer Cooler

1 can ginger beer (you can sub ginger ale but it won’t have the same bite)

2 lemon slices

1 jigger vodka (light rum would be good too)

1 tbl. sugar

Rub the rim of a Tom Collins glass with the edge of a lemon slice. Pour the sugar on a saucer; upturn the Tom Collins glass onto the sugar, making sure to coat the rim. Squeeze rest of lemon slice into glass. Fill glass with ice. Add vodka. Fill the rest of glass with ginger beer; muddle with butter knife or muddler. Garnish with lemon juice. Enjoy!

Savory Vegetable Cheesecake

from Mollie Katzen’s “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest”
3 cups grated zucchini
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup minced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated carrot
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup freshly minced parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (please use fresh)
4 large eggs
fresh ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, sliced into rounds,then sliced in half so the slices look like the letter d
3-4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Butter a 10″ springform pan and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, set aside. Put the grated zucchini into a colander. Salt lightly, and let is sit about 15 minutes, then squeeze out any excess moisture. Saute the onions in butter with 1/2 t salt. When they start to turn translucent, add the carrots, garlic, zucchini, flour, basil and oregano. Keep stirring and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and lemon. Beat the cheeses and eggs together until well blended. (Hello, Kitchenaid mixer!) When the cheese and egg mixture is nice and fluffy, fold in the veggies.
Season to taste with black pepper. Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes– then pull it out for a minute. Remember those tomatoes? Dredge them in the breadcrumbs and decorate the top of the cheesecake with them in a pretty spiral pattern. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees, and bake another 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and just let the cheesecake sit in there for another 15 minutes. Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool about 10 more minutes before cutting and serving.

Creamy Horseradish-Dill Dip

from Real Simple magazine

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup prepared horseradish

2 tbl. whole milk

2 tbl. chopped fresh dill

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Dippers (such as celery sticks, cucumber rounds and potato chips)

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, horseradish, milk and salt until fluffy. Stir in the dill. Serve with the dippers.

Dirty Martinis

from “Deviled Eggs: 50 Recipes from Simple to Sassy” by Debbie Moose (Harvard Common Press)

6 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

5 tbl. mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsp. vodka

1 1/2 tbl. juice from a jar of green olives

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I used hot Hungarian paprika)

1 1/2 tsp. finely chopped Italian parsley

salt and pepper to taste

olive slices to garnish

Cut eggs in half, reserving whites. In a bowl, place yolks in bowl and mash them, then whisk with mayonnaise, vodka, olive juice, cayenne and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon or pipe into reserved whites. Garnish with olive slices. Chill for 3 to 4 hours in refrigerator.

I assure you that there is a perfectly good reason for referencing the theme song from The Facts of Life. Today it refers to the fact (heh) that I found a way I may actually really like mushrooms and also the fact that our refrigerator needs to be taken out back Office Space-style and beaten to death. Seriously, I am sick of our defroster going on the fritz every few days and losing food, which means losing money. *sigh* I am just sick of never getting ahead financially, but that’s neither here nor there.

In my continual attempts to make peace with the mushroom world, the LSC and I picked up four gigantic portobello caps at the Atwater Market on Sunday. I had heard that an excellent way to eat them was grilling them as though they were a burger and dressing them like one.

Taking a cue from Cook’s Illustrated, I cross-hatched the tops of the mushrooms so that they would get nice and tender inside. I have erred on the side of mushrooms by thinking that roasting them would simply be enough; nay, you end up with crisp-tender outsides and weirdly slick insides.

We basted the grilling caps with balsamic vinaigrette for an extra bit of tang. Once they were off the grill and placed onto toasted buns—yes, we put slices of cheese on them—I looked at them with anticipation…they looked good…

First bite: hesitation…it tasted good, meaty, almost like a veggie burger. Second, third bites: I was sold. I remarked to the LSC that if I could have mushrooms like this, then I could definitely like mushrooms.

Grilled Portobello Burgers

adapted from Good Housekeeping magazine

4 large portobello mushrooms

3 tbl. balsamic vinaigrette

1/3 cup mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip because that’s what the LSC and I like)

1/4 cup drained jarred roasted red peppers

4 split hamburger buns

sliced cherry tomatoes

Boston lettuce leaves

Heat oven to 425 degrees, or alternatively, heat grill. If using oven, heat ridged grill pan or skillet on medium-high until hot. If using grill, lightly brush the caps with olive oil so as to ensure they won’t stick. Place mushrooms, stem side down, in pan or on grill. Brush with half of the vinaigrette and grill 5 minutes. Turn; brush with remaining vinaigrette and grill 5 minutes or until very tender. Meanwhile, in blender, blend mayonnaise and red peppers; toast hamburger buns. To serve, spread red pepper mayonnaise on cut sides of bottom buns. Place mushrooms on top. Add tomatoes, lettuce and bun tops and serve.

I deeply apologize for not having a blog entry for Saturday; it nagged me all day but I had a good excuse, I swear! The LSC and I were in Montreal as part of our monthly big city-trip.

It wasn’t like you were missing anything huge anyway. Just some roasted zucchini for lunch. Yup, some nicely roasted zucchini that paired well with some Thai tuna…

I have figured out that if there’s something you want me to eat, especially a vegetable, all you gotta do is roast that sucker.

Before we left for Montreal, I had done some research as to places I’d like to eat at. One of these places was a vegetarian restaurant called Cafe Santropol, a sort of funky fun bohemian place from what I could understand. It wasn’t entirely walkable from our hotel so we decided to drive there instead, figuring on a quick jaunt over and back. Oh how very wrong we were. I am married to a man who is NOT a driver nor a fan of it and he was behind the wheel. He turned into Mr. Hyde as he spent nearly a half-hour motoring down confusing one-way streets, closed-off streets and various other obstacles.

After the white-knuckle ride through the streets of Montreal, we finally arrived at the restaurant. It was a very interesting space; lots of wood, vaguely hippie-ish upholstery and wall hangings, the sort of thing I feel would not have been out of place at the height of Haight-Asbury. We asked to be seated at the patio but they did us one better! Past the tables and off to the side of this disturbing fountain, there was a tiny two-seater. The LSC and I were very hungry, having eaten in the morning, so after perusing the menu, I chose the Killer Tomato sandwich (which got rave reviews on Yelp). On some very nice whole wheat bread, it consisted of a tomato-ey cream cheese, sundried tomatos and topped with fresh tomatoes and lettuce. I actually just found the whole thing merely okay, sadly. My beef was mostly with the sundried tomatoes, which can be overpowering in excess.

When my husband and I go out to eat, it’s usually agreed that I end up ordering something that he likes better than his own dish. Not so this time out. He ordered the Pepper Island sandwich which featured that same bread but with pesto cream cheese and red pepper jelly; he also asked for ham on it because he felt like he deserved a treat from the stress of driving. All in all, we felt that our experience at Cafe Santropol was adequate and even though it wasn’t great, if we were in the neighborhood, it might warrant another visit.

I apologize for the dearth of photos from this trip. I ended up forgetting the camera in the room most of the time. And though I don’t have photographic evidence, here’s a quick rundown of the weekend:

* A visit to the Contemporary Art Museum which included an exhibit that was a giant room of nothing but old and empty iron-wrought baby cribs. Of course, they lit it spookily and of course, I found it unnerving.

* an afternoon viewing of the Sam Raimi film, Drag Me to Hell, which I was onboard with until there was a cat sacrifice. Then I just wanted the film to end.

* some light shopping, which included my trip to Lush.

* a dinner at buffet in Chinatown that I quite enjoyed but the LSC less so.

* drinks at the Saint Bock, where we were able to observe the Montreal nightlife of St-Denis in near full-swing.

The LSC woke up a bit hungover on Sunday so that sort of tarnished the morning.  When we checked out of the hotel, we headed to Atwater Market, where a long-standing food dream of mine was realized…

…a warm almond croissant from the patisserie.

It was lovely and just the thing. On the left is the palmier that the LSC ordered. He was pleased with it—though I suspect he was more pleased it stayed down.

But of course, there is no place like home. We took our sweet time getting back (much to the chagrin of the cats) so I made dinner a little later than we are used to. My original idea for dinner—which I will feature on Wednesday—was vetoed but this was my back-up and it passed muster.

I don’t know if I have bought this up before, but I have discovered that here in Sherbrooke, there is no decent Mexican food. Hell, there isn’t even any decent Tex-Mex food, which will do in a pinch. So I make my own. Even though this version has meat in it, you can handily sub in any veggies you like, but I would probably saute them a bit first.

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups cooked chopped chicken

8 oz. frozen corn, thawed and at room temperature

8 oz. sour cream

1  1/2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese, divided

2 tbl. chopped fresh cilantro, divided

10 6-inch corn or flour tortillas

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce

1 cup salsa

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine chicken, corn, sour cream, half of cheese and half of cilantro. Wrap 5 tortillas in a damp paper towel; microwave them for about 30 seconds to soften. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Place about 1/3 cup mixture on each tortilla and roll tightly. Arrange in baking dish, seam side down. In a bowl, combine enchilada sauce with salsa; pour over tortillas. Top with remaining cheese and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese melts and enchiladas are heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Wow, look at what my ingenious honey has done. He has made this here blog look more like a real blog, not My Very First Blog. No wonder he gets spoiled with food.

Last night was one of our “Fun Meals”; the kind of meal that seems almost guilty, like eating an entire pan of macaroni & cheese. Not that I’ve done that…*ahem.* There really isn’t a recipe for this one; I essentially made chicken nachos, except for using tortilla chips, I just used a large tortilla apiece. I found a can of refried beans at the store and all I can say this: I really need to make my own refried beans.

Let’s move on to the main event, shall we? Sweet roll dough formed with some sugar, yeast, milk and made into a pair of coffee cakes. The LSC got to take one into work this morning; I shall expect a raise given to him by his employers. Yes, I am that proud of it.

I was a bit shy about using anything yeast-based after my bread debacle but the following recipe allayed such fears. Aside from an oven I fear runs a bit high, these cakes turned out exquisitely.

You may or may not notice I attempted a basic glaze on the cake we kept here at the house. Unfortunately, that was not successful but in no way detrimental towards its deliciousness.

Sweet Roll Coffee Cake

sweet roll dough adapted from “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook—New and Revised Edition” (Golden Press)

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

1/2 cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)

2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided

1  1/2 sticks margarine or butter, softened, divided

1 egg

4 cups AP-flour (approximately), divided

1 tsp. salt

butter or oil for greasing bowl and baking sheet

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins (which I totally didn’t use)

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup margarine or butter, egg, 2 cups flour and salt. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down dough, divide into 2 pieces and turn onto a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll each into a flat rectangular shape about 9 by 13 inches and about a 1/2-inch thick. Carefully lift each loaf and place on a greased baking sheet. Use remaining margarine or butter to liberally coat each rectangle. In a small bowl, mix remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar mixture over dough, followed by raisins and nuts.

Starting lengthwise with the first rectangle, fold dough over slightly. Using both hands, roll dough over to form a fairly tight tube. With a wet knife, make diagonal slashes about two-thirds of the way through the roll, spaced about 1 inch apart. Grasp the piece nearest the end and twist gently to the right so it forms a flat roll. Take the next piece and twist to the left. Repeat, alternating right- and left-hand twists until you reach the end of the roll (use knife to slash deeper if you need more twisting room to work with). Repeat the process with second rectangle of dough. Cover with a clean cloth or towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. To prevent raisins and nuts on top from burning, you may want to cover the loaves with aluminum foil the last few minutes and continue cooking.

The weather is finally turning around here and I am very happy. Even when it rains, it’s still warm enough. Of course, this part of Quebec rarely sees the temperatures I have grown up with most of my life, but that’s okay with me. Part of me misses the red swelter of a Southern summer and another part of me can’t say “thank God” fast enough.

Warmer weather means I will slowly start to be reluctant to spend time in a hot kitchen. It means I will continue to experiment with baking so long as I can have as many windows and doors open as I can. (To answer a possible question floating about in your heads: yes, we do have A/C but I just can’t see it getting hot enough here to warrant us turning it on.) And it also means various types of salad. Especially pasta salad.

I find that small pasta like orzo is perfect for side pasta salads; I’d use larger shapes like macaroni, rotini and ziti for heartier pasta salads.

You could probably also add any leftover veggies you have lying around. Errant tomatoes, nearly forgotten zucchini, stray mushrooms. You could probably also switch out herbs too: parsley, tarragon (which I would use more sparingly), marjoram, thyme.

Orzo Salad with Chickpeas, Dill and Lemon

adapted from “Cooking Light Pasta”, Terri Laschober, Oxmoor House

1 cup orzo pasta

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/3 cup chopped dill

1 (19-oz.) can rinsed chickpeas

3 tbl. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tbl. extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbl. cold water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

Cook orzo according to directions. Drain, rinse in cold water and drain again. In a large bowl, combine orzo, onions, feta, dill and chickpeas; toss gently to combine. Whisk together lemon juice, oil, water, salt and garlic. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat.

I can’t believe this is my 100th post. I also can’t believe it’s taken nearly two freakin’ years to get to it.

I don’t doubt that I should be more prolific but often times laziness or sheer apathy gets in the way, even when I have the Most Awesome Man Ever championing me from the sidelines. Heck, he’s the one who encourages this passion of mine, as well as the one who bought and hosts the domain’s name. Don’t get me wrong: I am one appreciative and lucky girl.

But I should probably get back to the food, yeah?

Yesterday the LSC and I had our friend John and his wife Carolyn over dinner; as I stated before, I love having people over for dinner even though about a half-hour before they arrive, I start to have a meltdown. Summer seems to have settled here in Quebec so we opted to keep it simple. On the hibachi, we grilled rosemary-lemon chicken breasts, roasted potatoes, a super easy veggie salad and a fresh sourdough baguette. For appetizers, I made yet another deviled egg recipe that challenged me again. This one required me to make homemade mayonnaise. For all you mayo-haters out there (and I must know, like, five of you!), homemade mayo is nowhere near the same beast as what you see in jars at the grocery.

Unctuous: that is the word that I would use to describe homemade mayo. Delicate yet silky, slightly tangy and creamy, homemade mayo is a revelation. Unfortunately, it’s also very very tricky and fleeting. I know you can make it in your food processor, even the blender too, I hear, but I did it the old-fashioned way: with a whisk, stainless bowl and an excruciatingly slow drizzle of oil. People, making homemade mayo by hand requires you to whisk that mofo CONSTANTLY…and it can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes before it thickens and doesn’t break. Doing it by hand is not for wussies, folks. In fact, I think I may have carpal tunnel syndrome now. But spooned over poached chicken breast or salmon, or over steamed veggies, you really gotta try it.

Virginia Willis’ Deviled Eggs

adapted from “Bon Appetit, Y’all”, Virginia Willis (Ten Speed Press)

12 eggs

1/3 cup homemade mayonnaise (recipe below)

2 tbl. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tbl. Dijon mustard

pinch cayenne pepper

coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper

2 tbl. finely chopped tarragon, chives or chervil

Place eggs in saucepan; add water so that 1 inch is above eggs. Bring to a boil uncovered over high heat, immediately remove from heat, cover pan and let stand 12 minutes. Drain, rinse under cool water and set aside until completely cool.

Cut eggs in half, reserving whites. Place yolks in a food processor. Blend yolks, mayonnaise, butter, mustard and cayenne until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped herbs of choice.

Place egg mixture in a piping bag with a star tip or in a plastic bag with one corner tip snipped off. Pipe mixture into whites. Garnish with herbs and serve immediately.

Homemade Mayonnaise

It goes without saying that this is made with raw eggs so if you’re concerned about that sort of thing, use pasteurized eggs.

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 cup olive or canola oil, room temperature

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a bowl, whisk together yolks, mustard and lemon juice. In a very slow, steady stream, whisk in oil, drop by drop, until mixture begins to thicken. As it thickens, add oil slightly more quickly, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Store in refrigerator up to 2 days.

Perhaps it’s the itch of unemployment—involuntary at the moment due to foreign paperwork—or it’s the passion to do something with my hands, but I have to have a Food Project. Hence, the applesauce cake from Tuesday. Hence, the repeated variations on deviled eggs. And yesterday, savory scones.

It would have been easy to make sweet scones but seeing as how there was already something sweet in the form of cake in the house, I saw no point in making more waist-expanding goodies. I mean, I know scones aren’t health food but at least there wasn’t chocolate or dried fruit involved. Maybe next time though. And even though I didn’t make sweet scones, you can find excellent reliable recipes here and here.

One thing I totally didn’t count on was how shaggy scone dough is. I mean, it’s fairly wet and doesn’t really firm up until you give it a good kneading…and even then….sheesh.

Regardless, I am pleased with their turnout. Now: onward to my next deviled egg recipe!

Golden Cheddar Cheese Scones

adapted from Recipezaar

4 cups AP flour (I handily subbed whole wheat with no problems)

2 tbl. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 large eggs

8 oz. sour cream (I used low-fat plain yogurt)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup milk

Combine the first 5 ingredients and then fold in the shredded cheese. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, sour cream, milk and oil.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just moistened. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 10 to 12 times and then pat it out to a 3/4-inch thickness.

Cut dough with a 3″ round cutter, or simply cut into 3″ squares or triangles. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

After my disappointment earlier in the week—and I’m looking at you, mushroom-thyme chicken—I desperately wanted to make up for it with something I knew I would enjoy. Sifting through my Hobo Recipes, I discovered a vegetarian dinner dish that was easy, delicious and also performed one of my favorite things. Namely, Cleaning Out My Fridge. Recipes like this are sort of the reason why I always keep odds and ends of pasta around. If I can use it up before it goes bad, then I am all smiles. I am more conscious than ever of waste now that I’m married. The LSC is a champion reuse-recycler and I am doing my best to follow in his footsteps. Or alternatively, carefully keeping an eye on things I would normally just toss out.

I totally cop to being lazy at times. And it’s been this same laziness that has prevented me from hustling my butt over the Jacques-Cartier Bridge and going to Le Vegetarian and picking up proper Parmesan cheese. The kind I’m finding at Provigo is Parmesan in name only and after scolding the LSC in his pre-married days for paying money for bad cheese, here I am doing the same. It’s not that it’s a long walk; it’s more that I will end up buying expensive foodstuffs we don’t immediately need.

I am essentially telling you to not do what I did and use crappy Parmesan. Don’t be lazy like me; go get the real deal. Also I subbed some Port-Salut cheese for the cheddar because we had bought it for a steal nearly a month ago in Montreal and it had to be used. I like Port-Salut a good deal. It’s semisoft, like fontina, which makes it a bitch to grate, but the taste is well worth it.

Couscous with Tomatoes, Spinach and Two Cheeses

1 1/4 cups uncooked couscous

2 1/2 cups water

1 (14.5 oz.) can drained diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 tbl. minced garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

1 (10 oz.) package fresh spinach

1 tbl. water

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 tbl. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare couscous with water according to directions. In a small pan, heat tomatoes. In a large nonstick skillet, combine onions, garlic and oil; cook on medium 5 minutes or until onions are softened. Add spinach and water; cook 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted and tender, but still bright green. On a large platter or decorative bowl, layer couscous first, then spinach and top with tomatoes. Sprinkle with both cheeses.

Oh, rainy cool days, you kill me.

One food website I am finding very handy is Recipe Puppy; you type in what ingredients you have on hand and it culls from all over the Internet the dozens of possibilities of what you can make. And yesterday I felt like baking but wanted to use some leftover unsweetened applesauce and half a bag of confectioner’s sugar. Recipe Puppy gave me a cake.

This cake makes a perfect quick dessert. Aside from the thirty minute baking time, it’s easy to put together on the fly. Covered in icing sugar, or without, it might also make for a slightly naughty satisfying morning snack.