As it often happens in blogland, people’s life’s and situtations change and the blog stops or pauses. It’s Your Turn to Cook was filmed in my home kitchen when the Zephyr office was run from the front of my house.
Since April, we moved the offices in the heart of the Plateau Mont-Royal in Montreal. We have been very busy with the moving, and although we are very happy with our new location, the kitchen is much less glorious.
We could get creative and do a version of “It’s Your Turn to Cook” using a mini-fridge, a micro-wave oven and a water-cooler - office cooking styles! But we think we’re gonna take the show in another direction.
The guest-style show where we go to friend/family’s kitchen, and they show us their favorite recipe they can do with their eyes closed. Everybody has a couple of recipes they are really good at and want to shares with others.
Then it will really be your turn to cook! All we need is a little free time to film the shows!
This is an awesome dessert that is easy to make and is sure to make your guests fall in love with you!
Caramel:
1 cup sugar
Water (enough to soak the sugar)
Cook in a pot at high heat for 5-10 minutes. Once the mix is darkening, pour in a large oven-safe bowl and spread around the bottom about an inch up the rim until it hardens.
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix the 6 whole eggs,5 yolks and sugar with a whisk until it lightens in color. In a pot, warm the milk with the vanilla until hot and take off the stove. Gradually incorporate the milk with the eggs as to not create lumps in the mixture. This process is called “tempering”. Once all the milk is mixed with the eggs, pour in the bowl that has the caramel in the bottom and put in the oven in a “bain marie” for an hour.
Cool and store in fridge for at least 3 to 4 hours (overnight is preferable).
Flip over in a serving plate and serve.
10 cups thinly sliced apples
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (if substitute granola, reduce sugar)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
nuts to taste
bit of honey
1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9×13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tbsp.
flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water
evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, nuts, wheat germ, baking
powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the
apple mixture. Drizzle honey on top before putting in oven.
Easy to make truffles, a delicious treat to complement that mid-afternoon coffee break!
- 250 grams (9oz) Sweet Dark Chocolate
- 3 Eggs (yolks only)
- 1 Tablespoon of Rum (more is OK too!)
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) Butter
- 20 grams or more of Coco Powder
Break chocolate into small pieces and melt using bain marie (bowl floating in hot water)
Mix butter, egg yolks and rum together, until smooth.
Pour melted chocolate into the butter/egg mixture and mix until completely smooth.
Put mixture in fridge for more than one hour.
Preshape little balls of hardened mixture using a teaspoon, roll on surface covered in coco powder to form desired truffle shape. Place on plate and return to fridge for final hardening.
An easy and delicious version of Naan Bread anyone can make at home.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
¼ cup water at 110 degrees farenheit with a pinch of sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
½ plain yogurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
pinch of salt
Directions:
In a glass, mix the lukewarm water with the sugar and active dry yeast and wait 5 minutes for the mix to become active. In a large bowl, add the active yeast mix, the flour, yogurt, oil, salt and mix. Add water or flour to get the right consistency. Cover the bowl with clear plastic film and let sit for 6 hours.
Warm a pan (or steel plate) to high heat. Using flour to coat the mix, make small balls and flatten them to about the size of your palm. Cook in the pan for 1-2 minutes on each side while keeping an eye so not to burn them. Add butter or Clarified butter to taste (ghee)
This is a great way to cook tasty and tender chicken breasts. Basically, fry chicken breast, deglaze in pan, steam in sauce and serve. You can use this technique and alter the ingredients to your liking. It even works with orange juice and ginger!
Approximate quantities:
1 tablespoon butter and/or oil
2 chicken breasts
1/3 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup 35% cream
1 teaspoon savory (or thyme, bay leafs or other spices)
Heat oil and/or butter in deep pan on high heat. Place chicken breast in hot oil and sear until surface is golden brown on both sides. Pour white wine on chicken to deglaze the pan (deglazing recovers caramelized meat flavors from the bottom of the pan and is the base of this tasty sauce.)
Let wine reduce. Add chicken broth. Cover for 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat. Uncover and add cream and savory spices and let reduce sauce on medium heat for 5 minutes.
