Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Missing Blogger

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Many of you might have noticed that I have been missing lately.  I have been simply posting blogs for my Daring Baker’s but not really taking the time to post anything else.  I am having one of those times where I am just not inspired to blog.  I am not sure if it is that I have other things going on that take my attention or whether I was just tired of it all for a bit.

I am happy to say that I am back at it and looking forward to updating everyone on the happenings in my kitchen over the last few months.  I have been improving my picture taking skills with each new picture taken and trying new and different things in the kitchen.

I hope you all forgive me for being absent and continue to follow the adventures of The Reluctant Chef.

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Dinner Party

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

For a couple years now I have wanted to have a dinner party, but I usually lack the space where I am living to pull something like that off.  I am happy to say that last friday I hosted my first dinner party and it was a success!!

Aftermath

Sean and I have lived in our apartment for close to a year we have finally had guests over for a meal.  I was very nervous leading up to the big event and wanted everything to be perfect.  Even though I was cooking for family it still didn’t lessen the nerves.  Our guests were my mother in law Linda, her partner Pedro and my brother and sister in law Kevin and Laurie.

Other than cooking for Sean and the occasional dish for my mom and sisters I haven’t cooked for people so this was my first test.  I thought I would go for something I knew I could make that would work for everyone, as it needed to be a vegetarian dish.  I decided to make an Orange Balsamic Roasted Salmon on a shaved fennel, asparagus and orange salad; a dish I learned at the Dirty Apron Cooking School.  I was confident that I could pull off the relatively easy dish for 6 people yet still impress them.

While I cooked the meal every one enjoyed a little Rock Band on our Wii, thankfully the kitchen is open to the living room so I was able to enjoy it while I cooked.  Everyone seemed to be having a good time which helped calm my nerves.

When it came time to take the salmon out of the oven I was a bit unsure, I don’t have a thermometer that works very well and I always seem to either undercook or over cook meat.  Thankfully Linda was on hand to help me with the timing and we ended up with wonderfully cooked fish.  As we all sat down to dinner I was finally able to relax and enjoy the meal with everyone.

After dinner it was time for a quick game and some dessert as Kevin and Laurie had to catch a ferry back to Bowen Island.  The night before I made vanilla bean panna cotta with dragonfruit pieces inside in a wine glass.  It was nice to have the dessert all ready with just a strawberry garnish added before serving.

Dragon FruitDragonfruit is not an ingredient I have really worked with.  While traveling in Asia Sean and I had dragonfruit for the first time and we weren’t very impressed.  There are two types of dragonfruit, one that has a good taste and the other that is not so good.  When buying the dragonfruit for my panna cotta I wasn’t sure which one I was getting I just figured it would be an interesting ingredient and texture for the panna cotta.  Thankfully I got the one that tastes good and it was a great conversation piece when explaining what was inside.

As everyone was gathering their things to head home I was so happy at the end result of our first dinner party.  I am happy to say that I finally used the beautiful china I got from Linda at our wedding.  We had good food, good wine, and a wonderful time.  I look forward to holding more dinner parties in the future.

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Cooking Class

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

The Dirty Apron Cooking School

Cooking School

For my birthday my wonderful husband took me out to dinner at a great Belgium restaurant downtown, Chambar.  As soon as we got out of the car I noticed the Dirty Apron Cooking School.  I was instantly excited to have found somewhere that I could take a cooking class, something I had been toying with for awhile.

As we were enjoy our dinner my husband gave me my present, a gift certificate for a cooking class at the Dirty Apron, what an absolutely perfect present.  I couldn’t wait to take the Contemporary West Coast class which was schedule for a couple weeks later.

Although I was very excited for my class I was also very nervous because that this point I am not completely confident in my skills in the kitchen, I didn’t want to be the one holding the class back.  I also didn’t know what to expect, all I knew about the school I had found on their website.  All of my worries were put to rest upon getting to the school.  I met a very nice couple who had taken a class at the school before and seemed relaxed about the whole thing.

The class started with our teacher, David Robertson, giving us a quick intro to what was in store for us that night.  He then got right into cooking.  David is really a great teacher and you can tell he is doing something he really enjoys.  His enthusiasm makes you want to get in there and make something amazing.

One of the elements to the Dirty Apron that I absolutely loved was the format for the evening.  After David’s brief intro he began demonstrating the first dish.  Once he had gone through all of the steps it was our turn to get to our stations and make the dish.  We then took our completed dishes to the large table where we had a chance to visit with the other people in the class over a wonderful dish and a glass of wine.  For each dish we followed this order and it was truly a wonderful way to appreciated what you created within the larger group of your fellow students.

We created dishes that I would never think to tackle in my own kitchen.  And through this class I learned that they are definitely things that I can do on my own.  In fact I have already made two of the dishes again since taking the class.  I never realized what confidence taking a cooking class could do for you.

I would recommend this cooking school to anyone who is at all interested in food.  This is a place where you can be a beginner and still feel completely comfortable.  David and the rest of the staff have created an comforting and welcoming environment the encourages the chef in all of us.  I look forward to more classes at the Dirty Apron Cooking School.

First Dish

Unfortunately there are a lack of pictures because the battery on my camera died during the making of the first dish.  I guess that means I will just have to go back and take another class.

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Holiday

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Relaxing on the BeachMy wonderful husband and I are headed off on a 2 week holiday which means there will be no Reluctant Chef Blogs until after Labour Day.  Although the blog will be on hold I am planning on taking lots of pictures of the amazing food I am having while in Jamaica.  Make sure to check back September 8th for the full post of pictures.

Have a wonderful two weeks and I look forward to blogging up a storm when I get back.

Happy Cooking,

The Reluctant Chef

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Citrus Pistachio Biscotti

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Citrus Pistachio Biscotti

One of my favorite shows here in Vancouver is “The Shopping Bags” where they try out a hand full of recipes from a cookbook and then have a professional chef come critique them and the recipes.  The two hosts, Anna and Kristina, are funny and fun to watch but also give you the impression that they are just like the rest of us in the kitchen, not professional chefs.

After watching one of their shows a few months ago, I rushed out and bought The Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis and proceeded to spend the next weekend making loads of italian food, some turned out and others need a bit of refining on my part.

My husband seemed to really want biscotti this weekend and so for all things italian I looked to Giada.  I am not sure about everyone else, but biscotti’s have always been this elusive recipes that both terrifies and excites me.  Little did I know it was something I could have made years ago, it was just that easy.

My husband could see on my face just how excited I was when I had a tray full of biscotti that looked and tasted great.  That is the real joy for me when I have a recipe turn out so much better than I expected.

Citrus Pistachio Biscotti

Adapted from The Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon grated orange zest and lemon zest

1/2 cup coarsely chopped shelled pistachios

1/2 cup coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the four, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.  In another large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs in an electric mixer until pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Mix in the orange and lemon zest, then the flour mixture, and beat just until blended; the dough will be soft and sticky.  Stir in the pistachios and coconut.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, forming two equal mounds spaced evenly apart.  Moisten your hands with water and shape the dough into two equal logs.  Bake until the logs are lightly browned, about 35 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes.  Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices.  Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the same baking sheet.  Bake the cookies until they are pale golden about 25 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

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Foodbuzz and Twitter

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Food Buzz

After seeing many other bloggers talking about foodbuzz I finally decided to check it out.  Little did I know how obsessed I would become with this website.  I joined on the spot and started adding blog posts and pictures.  I love looking through other peoples sites to see their recipes and experiences cooking.  I also enjoy the fact that I can communicate with people in my area.

Check me out:

http://www.foodbuzz.com/foodies/ca/canada/vancouver/profile/thereluctantchef

TwitterBut that’s not all, I am not a part of twitter, although I am still not sure how it all works.  I do like that I can update my twitter right from foodbuzz.

Check me out: http://twitter.com/areluctantchef

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Tastespotting.com

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Cambodia

Thanks to my little sister who is just as obsessed with food blogs as I am, maybe more, I have recently started looking at tastespotting.com  I love the variety of recipes you find on there and the great way that it links to all these amazing blogs.  I find inspiration in the recipes and have always wondered how you manage to get your recipes on there.

Well I took the plunge a week or so ago and submitted my first recipes to the site.  It makes me want to create new and exciting things so that I have more recipes to submit, no one likes to read a blog where someone just used a recipes and didn’t try and make it their own.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find out that my recipe was rejected.  Not because of the recipe or the picture but because they thought that it was too negative.  I can understand that it wasn’t positive through out, but I didn’t feel it was negative.  I think it was realistic, not every recipe turns out.  That doesn’t mean that it is a bad recipe or that I am a bad cook it just means it might go better next time.  I would rather someone read my blog and see that you don’t have to be perfect to enjoy cooking.

Long story short, I think I deserved to be on the website.  There are no other wasabi ice cream recipes and I thought the picture was pretty good as well.

But just wait, I will get one of my recipes on the website one day.

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The Gourmet Warehouse

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Shopping Bag

How is it that you can drive down a street dozens of times over a few year period and completely miss the most amazing cooking store.  What a wonderful surprise it was to find The Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings.

I stumbled across this store when trying to find a place to buy some lavender for my green tea ice cream.  With only an hour before the store closed I raced there from Burnaby to get my lavender and knew I was in trouble the minute I walked in the door. 

With limited time to browse I had to walk a little faster than I would have liked, just getting a taste of all the amazing things for sale in this store.  It took everything I had not to start buying all the fun tools and serving dishes, sprices and sauces, and all sizes and shapes of baking pans.  I limited my purchases to lavender, a butter dish we have desperately been needing, cupcake wrappers, and a zester. 

I can’t wait to return to this store with all the time in the world to browse and pick up fun new ingredients for dishes I have yet to create.

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Library Books

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Library Gold

Cookbooks have recently become an obsession.  The only problem I find with them is that they are expensive to buy and if you really only want a couple recipes out of them then you are stuck with a whole book you won’t use.  I like the idea of checking the books out because if I don’t end up liking them then it hasn’t cost me anything.

Recently Sean and I have started walking to our local library, mostly for the walk but also to browse.  Having never really used the library in the past I was surprised to find the cookbook section on a recent trip.  Although this might not be anything new to most people I was overjoyed at the sight of a huge row of every kind of cookbook I could imagine.

I started looking through the sections trying to narrow down which ones to take home with me that day.  Do I take a baking one since those are the recipes I have most recently been working on?  Or do I try and find the mexican cookbook some friends talked about that has a great mole recipe?  I am left with the plan to just start looking through the ones that catch my eye.

After a few minutes I have amassed a pile of books, probably too many to be taking home with me that day.  Sean finds me engrossed with the cookbooks and decides to set a limit on the number to take home that day, 3, one of which has to be the book he picked.  How in the world am I going to pick just two books to take home with me?

My first pick was The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz which I had just seen on a blog earlier that day and was going to go buy next time I was in the states.  Since I am not only trying to perfect my wasabi ice cream but also expand my collection of ice cream recipes I knew this one would get used.

The other book I had to take home with me that day was Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen.  I have been obsessed with mole sauce for quite a few years, trying any recipe I can find, but they never seem to be just what I am looking for.  I am hoping this book can finally give me a recipe to add to my permanant file.

Sean’s pick from the library was The British Columbia Seasonal Cookbook which looks like a fun cookbook of ideas for more seasonal cooking here in Vancouver.

I couldn’t resist getting more cookbooks and have already gone back to get Baking Illustrated which was recommended by my older sister.  I am excited to start working my way through that huge book.

I have yet to use all of them but hope to start trying out the recipes very soon.  I look forward to more trips to the library and all the fun recipes to be created.

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The Reluctant Chef

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Eating Good Food

I believe cooking is something that everyone can enjoy.  I am the first to say that it is possibly something you have to learn to love but if you spend the time to learn things in the kitchen it helps to show you it isn’t quite as scary as you thought.

Many people in my life, especially my mom and sisters have seen over the years that cooking and baking just weren’t for me.  It has always been something I wished I enjoyed but just never could get into.  Something changed within the last couple years and I began to cook, and actually enjoy it.

My husband has been the one here for both the disasters and the masterpieces.  He knows when to be supportive and when it is okay to just laugh at the dish that just didn’t turn out.  He always tries to find the good in all the meals.  Thankfully I am getting better and there is more and more time between the disasters.

My experience writing blogs has always been from a travel point of view.  Now that my new passion/obsession is cooking I thought I would take a leap of faith and start a food blog.

I hope this is a place for those who, like me, thought they couldn’t cook.  A place for people to see that the whole experience of cooking is meant to be fun.

Regards,

Kimberly Payne

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