A friend of mine does fly fishing and every once in a while he calls to see if I am home and then comes to drop off one of the fish he caught. So, a few days ago, I received a call and then 30 minutes later I had a fish to clean.

I do not know much about fish, besides buying them at a fish market or supermarket and cooking them. I don’t fish and therefore I don’t clean them or filet them. This is the third fish he has dropped off and I am starting to get better at preparing them. I feel I need to get a lesson from someone though – I know I could do a far better job.

My friend told me the fish was a steelhead trout. After a bit of research online, I discovered that rainbow trout and steelhead are the same fish. Steelhead are just a larger and mature version of the rainbow trout. This fish is in the same fish family as salmon and does have a similar taste, especially when smoked.

Above is the fish I got to filet! This recipe for smoked fish is great with store bought trout of salmon as well.

I used a dry brine this time and it is so easy to do. Cover the fish with the brown sugar/salt brine and place in the fridge for 8-12 hours (I did it overnight). Rinse the brine off and let the fish dry so a pellicle can form on the skin. The pellicle keeps some of the moisture in the fish and enhances the smokey flavour.

Smoke for 5 hours at a gradually increasing temperature, starting at 100F and increasing it 20F every hour. Look at the finished product!! Man did the fish taste incredible!!

Directions

1. Mix the brown sugar, salt and seasonings together. Rub the dry brine all over the fish. Place the fish in a bowl making sure the fish is totally surrounded and covered in the dry brine. Place in the fridge overnight (8-12 hours).
2. Rinse the fish thoroughly and place in a cool dry place of 2-3 hours to allow a pellicle to form on the outside of the fish. A fan can be used to speed up the process.
3. Smoke for 5 hours at a gradually increasing temperature, starting at 100F and increasing it 20F every hour. The fish needs to have a minimum internal temperature of 140F.
4. Enjoy!

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Home cooked food is always good, right???

Bruschetta bread is quite possibly the dish most requested in our house. Any time that I ask Janna what she wants for dinner, her go to response is bruschetta bread. So, it was quite obvious that when Mothers Day approached, she would be eager to have it as part of the dinner menu. I was happy to make it as bruschetta bread is easy to make, bright and fresh with wonderful flavour.

The sweetness of the tomatoes, the zip of the lemon juice and garlic, the saltiness of the feta and the fresh flavour of the oregano work so well together on a toasted baguette slice.

Directions

1. Make the bruschetta mixture by mixing tomatoes, onion, garlic, oil, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. Marinate the mixture in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
2. Cut the baguette in 1/2 inch slices on a diagonal. Toast them in a 425F oven for about 6-8 minutes. The baguette slices should begin to brown and feel crisp and toasty to the touch.
3. Top each baguette slice with a spoonful of bruschetta mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese and fresh oregano.

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The kids made a banner and coloured hearts with words of love on them. Ben woke up at 5am to put them all over the wall. He wanted to make sure that he was up before Janna and he wanted to do it all himself. He was planning everything and said to me, “Dad, I am taking care of the decorations – the three kids made presents for mom at school…. dad, what we need from you is to cook. You cook the best dinner that you have ever made – make sure it is stuff mom loves. Also, dad, you should make a special breakfast for mom.”

He had it all planned which made Janna feel loved. I have got to say, it was pretty special and I was quite proud of all three of them.

Below are some pics of the hearts that were on the wall and a couple pics of mom and kids.

For breakfast, I made french toast with raspberry sauce and whipped cream. It was a big hit for everyone, especially MOM!

The raspberry cream is like a runny jam that adds a wonderful rich fruity flavour to the french toast.

Directions

1. Mix together the raspberries and sugar in a saucepan on medium low heat. Stir often as the sugar dissolves and the raspberries begin to break up. Bring the sauce to a low boil for about 8 minutes. Separately dissolve the corn starch in the tablespoon of water. Stir the corn starch mixture in the raspberry sauce to thicken it. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Beat the eggs with the half and half cream in a flat bowl.
3. Melt the butter or margarine in a skillet or griddle on medium high heat.
4. One at a time, submerge the bread in the egg mixture. Place the wet bread on the skillet or griddle and cook for a couple minutes on each side. The french toast should be golden brown.
5. Serve with raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

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So cute!

I have got to say that I was highly impressed because he thought of this himself and executed it without my help. This effort by Ben made it all the more special to Janna and I think she felt the love!

Over the next couple days I will post some of the food made for Mother’s Day but today the dish I want to share with you is a dish I made a couple of days before. I look for any excuse to use shrimp and this pomodoro sauce is the perfect example. Chicken, beef and even pork sausage is common in tomato based Italian pasta sauces but seafood goes wonderfully well. I used shrimp in this sauce but it could easily be substituted with calamari, mussels or some other type of seafood.

The pomodoro sauce is made with a can of diced tomatoes. Years ago I would use cans of premade Italian tomato/spaghetti sauce for any tomato based sauce but have since found that diced tomatoes or cans of crushed strained tomatoes can create a fresher sauce and you can add the specific spices to your preference. I far prefer making pomodoro sauce this way.

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to directions on the package. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, celery, pepper and garlic and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the white wine and cook a few minutes or until evaporated.
4. Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, for 15-20 minutes.
5. Stir in the shrimp, cover with a lid, and cook until the shrimp is cooked through. This should take anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp.
6. Stir in the parmesan cheese and cooked rotini pasta. Serve immediately.

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Tonight was the culmination of all the folk dancing practices as they took part in a big jamboree. Approximately ten local schools got together at a nearby outdoor concert venue. There were hundred’s of kids doing the polka, traditional Indian and Filipino dances, Cotton Eye Joe and others. They ended the jamboree with YMCA and had all the parents come in to dance with them. Ben was nervous I wouldn’t know the dance moves to YMCA because I never practiced with him. I told him I was born in ’72 and dancing to YMCA was a way of life for people living in the 70s and 80s. It was a lot of fun!

Today’s salad is bright, fresh and packed with flavour. I love avocados and they, along wit
We used this as a side salad but it could easily be made as a salsa to go with nacho chips or even used to fill a soft taco with Mexican cheese or feta.h tomatoes, make the base of this salad. I diced the shrimp so that there would be more in each bite. Cilantro and lime enhance the salad providing a Mexican kick.

Directions

1. Cut the shrimp into 2 or 3 pieces.
2. Toss all the ingredients together.
3. Let the salad marinate for 10-15 minutes before serving.

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This recipe is simple and it highlights the wonderful buttery flavour of the prawn. If you have never had a king prawn before, they are almost like a cross between shrimp and lobster. They are tender and rich and go so well with the chili and garlic they are sauteed in.

Directions

1. Heat the oil, garlic and Thai chilies in a skillet on low for about 3 minutes.
2. Raise the heat to high.
3. Once you hear the oil begin to sizzle, add the prawns. Make sure that each prawn is able to lie down flat in the skillet. It may be necessary to cook the prawns in two batches.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side.
5. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

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Today’s recipe is a classic. Beef barley soup is one of my favourite kinds of soup and I am not sure why, but I do not actually make it all that often. Whenever I do cook up a big pot of this soup, I vow to make it more frequently. Yes it is spring and you might think of soup as a fall or winter meal, but beef barley works for me any day of the year! This soup has a rich and silky broth and is hearty, packed with beef, carrots, onion, celery and lots of barley!

Directions

1. In a large soup pot, cook onions, celery and carrots with the butter. Once the onions and celery are tender, about 6-8 minutes, stir in the beef.
2. Cook, stirring often, until the beef is cooked. This should take another 6-8 minutes.
3. Add the water, beef broth and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and stir in the remaining ingredients.
4. Let the soup cook at a low rolling boil for30-45 minutes. The barley should be fully cooked and the beef should be tender.

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Really, I do.

I have a serious weakness for the stuff. Scoop some pulled pork on a bun with shredded cabbage and I am one happy man!

Now, pulled pork, done in the smoker with a nice spice rub and homemade BBQ sauce – that is dynamite. Occasionally though, there is the need for something quick and easy. Enter these pulled pork sliders!

The recipe for this pulled pork could not be simpler. From the list of ingredients to the cooking method, this pulled pork is a snap. The pulled pork is cooked in the slow cooker with pop. Yes, that’s it – POP!

You pick the kind- Coke, Pepsi, Root Beer, Dr. Pepper, Vernors!

After 8 hours in the slow cooker, shred the meat and mix it with your favourite BBQ sauce. Another hour or two in the slow cooker and you are rockin’ and ready to put those sliders together.

Many have heard the list of ingredients and were skeptical. Actually, I was, until I tried it. I never expected them to be as good as they are. Every time I make them they are a HUGE hit. Give them a try – you will not regret it!

Pulled pork sliders are great to make for game night. They are perfect party food!

Directions

1. Place pork roast in a slow cooker and fill with pop so that the roast is totally covered in the pop.
2. Cook on low in the slow cooker for 8 hours.
3. Remove the pork roast from the slow cooker and empty the pop out.
4. Shred the pork with two forks.
5. Place the shredded pork back into the slow cooker and mix with the BBQ sauce. There should be enough BBQ sauce so that it is quite ‘saucy’.
6. Cook on low for 1-2 hours.
7. Scoop some pulled pork on a slider bun with shredded cabbage.

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• I still listen to Tears for Fears, Alphaville, Erasure, Duran Duran, Psychedelic Furs and A Flock of Seagulls
• At least once a year I need to watch Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Red Dawn, and Back to the Future
• I can sing the theme song to “Greatest American Hero”
• I did the preppie look (collar flipped up), I used Sun-in to bleach my hair and yes I had a mullet

You may wonder why I am in this 80s mood. Well, it is because of the recipe I get to share with you today. This recipe is one of the first dishes I ever learned how to make. Yes, Trinidad-style curry chicken was something I learned back in the 80s. In high school I was in the band and played alto sax and alto clarinet. I played in the concert band, jazz band, jazz quartet, and more. In the band, I had a close friend whose family was from Trinidad. Rich is a great guy and we hung out all the time. I always loved going to his house to hang out. His mom, who just so happened to work with my mom, made the most amazing food. Grace would make roti stuffed with curried meat and potatoes. It was out of this world and something completely unique to the food I usually ate.

One day I asked Grace to teach me how to make her curry chicken. She shared her recipe with me and, since then, I have made it countless times. I know that my recipe has likely evolved over the years but it is still incredibly delicious and makes me think of those days in the 80s and early 90s when I used to go over to visit.

It is interesting how times change and people move away. Neither Rich nor I live in the city we grew up in. He left Sarnia and lived a number of years in California, whereas I have been living in Toronto. One of the great things about Facebook, is it’s ability to reconnect old friends. Rich and I have connected on Facebook and kept in touch over the years. The crazy thing is, last month he moved just outside Toronto. Tomorrow we are going to connect for lunch. I haven’t seen him in years! It is gonna be great – I mean – Like Totally Awesome!!

Directions are with the photos

Wash the chicken drumsticks and peel the skin up to the knob.

Using a cleaver, or any good solid knife, chop the top part off the drumstick. Check to see if there are any little chipped pieces of bone hanging around. Remove them, if there are, and wash them one more time.

Pulse the onion, garlic, ginger, 1/2 cup cilantro and hot pepper in the food processor until finely chopped. Remove the seeds of the pepper if you do not like it really hot.

Add the curry powder and pulse it again until a curry paste is formed.

Rub the curry paste all over the chicken drumsticks and place in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the marinated chicken. Brown on all sides and then add the water to create a sauce. Let the chicken simmer about 45 minutes longer. Add a little more water if the sauce gets too dry.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro. Serve with rice or roti (if you can get them).Pin It

Do you cook with parsnips much? If not, you should try.

Parsnips are a highly underused root vegetable. They have a sweet and spicy flavour and are wonderful in many different dishes.

• Add some cooked and mashed parsnips to mashed potatoes.
• Add parsnips to chicken noodle soup.
• Roasted carrots and parsnips are an amazing side dish to roast pork or chicken

How about substituting parsnips in carrot cake?

I love carrot cake. The moist cake with the hint of cinnamon and toasted nuts are wonderful and cream cheese frosting is the perfect topping. I swapped the carrots for parsnips and the cake turned out great. I wanted to punch up the flavour of this cake and turned the topping into a chocolate cream cheese frosting. The end result is a cake that is sweet and moist with a hint of spice and a wonderful chocolate kick for any chocoholics out there! This cake is a winner for sure.

Directions

1. Preheat oven for 350F.
2. Grease and flour a 13×9 cake pan.
3. Mix together the oil, milk, sugars, eggs and vanilla until creamy and smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until fully combined and no longer lumpy.
5. Mix in the grated parsnips and pecans.
6. Pour the batter in the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Bake a little longer, if necessary.
7. Cool on a wire rack.
8. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Melt the chocolate squares in a microwave or double boiler and then mix the chocolate with the cream cheese and butter.  Slowly beat in the icing sugar. The frosting should be smooth and spreadable.
9. Once the cake is completely cooled, spread on the frosting.

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