Cooking Group Recipes!

I hosted my first Toronto Branch Cooking group tonight. It was a lot of fun. I had an excess amount of flowers due to a funny little episode at the market today!!

(For the full story please see

http://www.pfrdesign-inspiredliving.blogspot.com/

My company's website)

More on that later. For now, here are the recipes.

Mushroom Soup
(approximate estimations)
Soup:
1 head of cauliflower
1 large potato
1 onion chopped
10 oyster mushrooms
15 white cremini mushrooms
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 litres of home made chicken broth
drizzle of black truffle olive oil

Lightly suatee onions in olive oil until yellow.
Add thyme Stem removed
add potato
add cauliflower
add broth bring to a boil
reduce heat
add mushrooms cook for about 10 minutes until mushrooms are soft and tender.

When ready let cool.
Puree.
Heat through and when ready to serve add a drizzle of black truffle oil.

For garnish...

Buy your favorite cheese sticks.
Place in a ziploc Bag and pound until crumbs have been created.

Salad:
Arugula
leafy lettuce
toasted almonds
cherry tomatoes
thinly sliced vidalia onion
burrata cheese (at room temperature)
Home made dressing
Assemble all ingredients.

Toss with salad dressing.
Serve.

Orzo

6 plum tomatoes
2 large garlic cloves
dried basil
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
balsamic glaze
lemon zest from half a lemon

Cut plum tomatoes in half.
Arrange flat side up on a baking dish.
Combine olive oil, dry basil, pressed garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic glaze.
With a spoon apply vinaigrette to each tomato.
Roast in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours or until reduced by half.
Transfer tomatoes along with their juices to a bowl.
Add lemon zest.
Allow to sit at room temp.

Cook orzo as late as possible it is meant to be served at room temperature.

Add the roasted tomatoes, season and serve.

I often add pine nuts. Delicious!


Fish

8 halibut fillets

The Rub:

1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
The Dressing:

2 medium lemons
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:

To make the dressing, cut a 1/2″ slice off both ends of each lemon. Cut each lemon in half lengthwise. Lightly brush the cut sides of the lemons with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Grill the lemons over direct high heat until nicely browned, 4-6 minutes, turning once. Remove the lemons from the grill and allow to cool. Squeeze the lemons through a sieve into a small bowl. Discard the rinds and seeds. You should have about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add the capers, then whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons oil to form a dressing. Whisk in the rest of the dressing ingredients and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
To make the rub, mix the rub ingredients in a small bowl.
Generously brush or spray the halibut on both sides with oil and season with the rub. Grill over direct high heat until the halibut just begins to flake when you poke it with the tip of a knife, 6-8 minutes, turning once. Whisk the dressing one last time. Serve the fish warm with the dressing poured on top.

Introducing Fennel

This year's favorite vegetable at the McE house

I like fennel that has a smaller bulb as opposed to a larger one. It makes for less core and more yummy stuff!

For a fresh salad

1. wash the fennel bulb and chop with a sharp knife where the root and fronds begin.

cut the fennel bulb vertically first. Place the flat part of the fennel down on your cutting board. with a sharp pairing knife slice the fennel as thinly

as possible.

place in a salad bowl.

2. Clean a cucumber (preferably a small portuguese cucumber) and peel. Slice vertically and take out the seeds with a small spoon. You don't want to end up with a wet salad!

3. Slice a vidalia or sweet onion the same way you sliced the fennel bulb.

4. Toss together in a bowl add lemon juice, fruity olive oil, fleur de sel, pepper.

On a plate arrange baby arugula, add mixture of fennel, cucumber and vidalia onion.

peel a grapefruit and tear into wedges. Place the wedges on top of salad. Driizle more olive oil and serve.

To add texture add shaved parmesan or pecorino cheese. They are both sharp and delicious!

enjoy.

For a Pasta sauce

Or... a sauce for fish or sauce for grilled chicken...or simply as a vegetarian ragu on cous cous or rice.

1 fennel bulb diced

1 onion diced

4 garlic sliced

home made pasta sauce (see here or your favorite store bought one!)

white whine

dill

capers

olive oil

salt

pepper

fresh tarragon

sauté onion, fennel and garlic with olive oil until golden ( season with salt)

add white wine, about half a cup or a little more!

simmer for about 2 minutes

add pasta sauce, about 1 litre

add capers ( season)

add fresh tarragon chopped

grill your salmon and pour sauce on top. simply delicious!

Roasted Fennel and Cauliflower Soup

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER, FENNEL, AND GARLIC SOUP

1 head cauliflower, remove core, break into florets
1 fennel bulb, white part only, trimmed and cut into chunks
6 unpeeled cloves of garlic
olive oil
unsalted butter
6 cups of water or broth

2 Rosemary sprigs

chilli flakes(for heat)

For Garnish

Real bacon

dried cranberries and or toasted almonds

Garlic Croutons.

2 waxy potatoes scrubbed and chunked (I never peel them for soup)

heavy cream, milk, half n half or unsweetened soy milk (about a cup)
salt and pepper

Place cauliflower, fennel, and garlic in roasting pan. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 375º for about 45 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned.

Peel garlic and then transfer squeezed garlic and veggies to soup pot and saute in olive oil and a little butter for about 10 minutes.

Add water or broth and potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft skimming any foam as needed. Puree then add cream or more broth, or water, to taste until soup is silky. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.4