Tandoori Chicken and a new iPod Playlist

Chicken Tandoori and Basmati Rice

The Dinner: Tandoori Chicken
The Soundtrack: Party Playlist on new iPod
The Drink: Rum and Coke

Well, it appears that my old, broken screen iPod is officially gone.  Fortunately, I was able to make a deal with a retail outlet to give me a new replacement iPod in exchange for money.  So now I have a brand new iPod that is pretty much exactly the same as the old one, except with a clean, unbroken screen.
To celebrate, its party mix time!

New iPod just like this one

Ingredients:
Chicken
Plain yogurt
Tandoori spice
Olive Oil

The Tandoori chicken needs to marinate so I started the process last night.  Rather than put together my own spices, I had already procured a tandoori spice mix from an Indian grocery store from the NE. Makes the process pretty easy.  Mix the yogurt, spice and a little oil in a marinade bag.  Skin the chicken and poke a few holes to help the sauce infuse into the meet and then put it into the bag and let it marinate for 8+ hours (I did it the night before so it was close to 24 hours).

Tandoori Chicken on the BBQ

When its dinner time, toss the chicken on the BBQ and cook it until all the pink is gone on the inside and its nice and red and crispy on the outside. Top with cilantro and serve with basmati rice and whatever else you fancy.

Greek Night

The Meal: Greek Night - Lamb Kabob Pita Wraps and Greek Salad

The Soundtrack: The Tragically Hip - Up to Here

Coming down with a bit of a cold, I decided that I wasn't going very far from the house today so why not put together a mildly time intensive multi-part meal?  Besides being less than 100% healthwise, the evening started off well.  I cut up the lamb roast and put together the marinade while talking to my parents and put together the Tzatziki Sauce and the Pita recipe while chatting on the phone with my buddy.  Then when it came time to put on the music, I realized that I had left my iPod downtown after a rafting excursion and walked off.  In the middle of my Pita cooking, I had to turn off the oven, drive off to the water front and search.  As to be expected; gone.  So I guess its back to CDs and Vinyl for now...

For the final cooking and assembly, I tossed on Up to Here, the first full length album from the Tragically Hip.  Its a classic Canadian album that I can listen to again and again.

The Lamb: I started with the lamb since it needed the most time to marinate. The lamb selection at the local store is somewhat limited so I bought a leg roast and cut it up into cubes and placed them in a ziplock baggie along with the marinade for several hours in the fridge.  After the marinading, I soaked some wooden skewers in water and then put the kabobs on the grill.

Ingredients:

1 Lamb Leg Roast

Lemon Juice

Olive Oil

Fresh Oregano (Chopped)

Garlic Cloves (Minced)

The Pitas: After the marinade, I put together the Pita dough, since it needs to rise for about 2 hours.  Having never made it before, I got the recipe from here.  I pretty much followed that recipe.  It was fairly easy to put together other than rolling out the dough which was still pretty sticky.  It also took a while to run all the pitas through my oven since I had to take a break right in the middle (see iPod note above). But they sat on the counter like champs and still tasted great after I fried them up in the pan.

Ingredients:

4 Cups Flour

1 Tlbs Dry Active Yeast

1 Tlbs Sugar

1 1/2 Cup Warm Water

1 Tlbs Olive Oil

Salt

The Tzatziki Sauce: I got the recipe from another website.  I had never made tzatziki before and I followed this recipe.  It turned out very liquidy which appears to be a common issue according to the comments.  In the future, I'll try this again and see if I can make it less liquidy.  The sauce tasted great on the pita so it was still worth the effort.

The Salad: To go with the Kabob Pita Wrap, I whipped up a Greek salad.  The dressing consisted of the following: Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Oregano, Salt and Pepper. Quantities can be varied to taste.

I put that dressing on top of my salad which consisted of Cucumbers, Feta Cheese, Tomatoes, Red Onion, Kalamata Olives.

Lamb Kabob Pita Wraps: After frying up the pita, I put on the lettuce, tomato, olives, red onions and then the lamb kabob, minus the skewer of course and topped with the Tzatziki sauce. Then I slapped it on the plate with the salad and it was finally chow time.

BBQ Pizza

Grilled Pizza and Beer

The Dish: BBQ Pizza
The Drink: Ice Cold Beer
The Attempt: Beat the Heat

In the middle of a rare heat wave in this city, I looked am always looking for things to cook outside without adding any additional heat to the kitchen.

This Pizza dough cooks right on the BBQ and then you can put just about anything you want on it.

The Dough:
1 Cup Flour
1/4 Tsp Sugar
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Warm Water
1 Tsp Dry Active Yeast

Start by putting the yeast in the warm water.  Mix the flour, sugar, salt and oil and then add the yeast/water. Kneed together into a ball until its a uniform consistency and then let it rest for an hour and a half.

Initial cooking of the dough

Preheat the BBQ while you stretch out the dough.  I obviously didn't do a great job of making it round, but what are you going to do?
Make sure that the grill top is well oiled so that the dough will not stick. 
I found it worked best to cook the dough a little on one side, add the toppings to the cooked side. Add the toppings and then cook fully.  The dough can be cooked over direct medium heat.

Tomato, Bocconcini, Basil

 
Its pizza, so you can out just about anything you want on it.

My Choice of Toppings:
Pesto Sauce
Tomato
Bocconcini
Fresh Basil

And of course, nothing goes better with pizza on a hot day than a cold beer.

Jalepeno Chicken Burgers

Jalapeno Chicken Burger

The Meal: BBQ Chicken Jalepeno Burgers
The Drink: Rum and Diet Coke
The Soundtrack: Party Playlist

With my buddy visiting town for the Stampede, the first couple days have taken us all around the city. Squash, cowboy gear shopping, Sushi lunch, Downtown Tour, Ranchman's Party, Cowboys Casino, Stampede Breakfast, Rodeo, Stampede and Beer Gardens, each coming with their own lineups and over inflated Stampede costs!  The plan for Saturday night was therefore to stay in, BBQ and have a bon fire.
No lineups and no greasy foods at home!

As detailed here, we had lunch at the fair grounds after the Rodeo in the mid afternoon so there was no chance of being hungry at a reasonable hour for dinner.  To start the evening, we fired up a few upbeat tunes and had a few drinks.

The Burgers:
1lb Ground Chicken
1 Egg
Breadcrumbs
2 Jalapenos Diced
1/2 White Onion Diced
1 Clove Garlic
Fresh Cilantro

Sweet Grilling Action

Mix all the ingredients together and form into four patties.  Let them sit for an hour or two in the fridge while you take the time to enjoy a few more drinks.

Fire up the grill and once its good and hot, slap them on.
Since its ground chicken, you'll have to make sure they are cooked all the way through. Butj don't over do them since they will dry out.

Garnish appropriately.

Classic Stampede Food

The Meal: Corn Dogs and Mini Donuts
The Event: The 100th Anniversary Calgary Stampede
The Drink: Expensive Canned beer

Deep Fried Goodness

After watching the Rodeo we decided to grab some deep fried fairground grub. 
The classic of all fair foods is the corndog.  Delicious, on a stick and deep fried, it fits all of the bills.

Greatest Snack Ever

Some of the other foods on offer include poutine, various pizzas, new items served on a stick, and just about anything out of a fryer. Hot Beef Sundaes, Deep Fried Oreos, Tacos in a bag, there are no limit to the options.


We hit the beer tent for a few Buds (they sponsor the event and that's about the only option). Does beer taste better when you have to wait in line 25 minutes in the hot sun to buy it?  It probably wasn't a coincidence.

On the way out we grabbed mini donuts since Sam had never tried them before. 

Not something I've made, but still worth noting.

Blue Marlin and Dookie

Blue Marlin, Mashed Potatoes and Grill Veggies

The Meal: Blue Marlin and Grill Vegetables
The Soundtrack: Green Day - Dookie
The Drink: Rum and Coke

All By Myself - The night had started out as a leisurely evening with a plan for some grilled fish and some tunes.  While at the store procuring my provisions for the evening, I ran into some friends that invited me out for the evening.  Since we were meeting for drinks beforehand I needed to be a lot quicker with my meal than expected.

Classic 90's Album

 
Welcome to Paradise - I still had time to get through the entire album since Dookie is less than 40 minutes long.  This is typical for the alternative rock albums of its day.  There isn't a song even close to 4 minutes long and there are several less than 2.  Create a cool rif, complain about society, end song.  Its an easy formula to sell millions of albums!  So long as the 2.5 minute songs you create are really good I guess... Who was born in the late 70's/early 80's and doesn't know all the lyrics to Basket Case?

When I come Around - I stopped at the fish store to try something new for a change.  I saw they had some fresh Blue Marlin.  'Is that like the Ahi?' I ask? 
"Its more 'steaky' like the swordfish" says the fishmonger, "and you should cook it to a medium at least."  With fish described as 'steaky' how can you not instantly buy a giant slab for your dinner?

Ingredients

Having a Blast - I coated it up with some olive oil, salt and pepper and chucked it on a hot grill with some seasoned vegetables.  I typically use Zucchini and tomatoes.  I happened to have a carrot on hand so I grilled that up too.  Not my favourite, but it worked.  And since I am a man who loves his carbs, I also whipped up a potato. Nothing special.  Just mashed it up with a little butter and then tossed in a sprig of Rosemary to make it look cute in the picture.  No rosemary was harmed in the making of this dinner.

In the End - It was a very enjoyable and delicious experience to try Marlin.  I'll definitely do it again.
Now its off to hit the town and get my groove on to some slightly newer material! Hopefully not a Basket Case tomorrow!

Father's Day French Onion Grilled Cheese

A Fathers Day Treat

The Day: Father's Day
The Meal: French Onion Grilled Cheese
The Drink: Beer
The Soundtrack: Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

Its the third Sunday in June and that means its father's day. Not coincidentally, its also the final round of the US Open. With coverage starting late since the tournament is being held in San Francisco this year, that leaves some time available to make a delicious lunch before it goes on the air.

Now my dad doesn't live in the same city, so this meal is largely symbolic, but assuming I were back home, we'd likely be enjoying our sandwiches and beers together watching the Golf.  He's got the next best thing, a large HD TV and an empty house with no distractions for the following 6+ hours of coverage!

I put on Because of the Times while getting everything ready prior to the Open coverage.  This is an album I was introduced to in 2008 and it has grown on me ever since.  I went to see them in concert last year and they put on a pretty good show.   The album is quite good and isn't filled with the heavily overplayed radio cuts found on Only by the Night.

A tear filled experience

The Ingredients:
Rye Bread
3 Onions
450ml Beef Stock
1 TBLS Oil
Gruyere Cheese
Cooked Bacon

Onions and Stock Simmering

Start by cutting the onions.  Slice them up fairly thin so they will caramelize and then halving them so that they maintain some onion stringiness.
Toss them in the pan on high with the oil and the beef stock.  Cook for about 15 minutes until the mixture thickens. 

Sandwich Prep

While the onions are cooking, cut up the Gruyere, rye bread and bacon in preparation for assembly.
I made the Rye the day before and its a great consistency for this sandwich since its thick enough to hold it all together.  I'll probably make it again and it should make it as a post.

Once the Onions are cooked, add to the Rye, top with Gruyere, bacon and the top slice of rye.  Place the sandwiches in the pan and fry up until the cheese melts and the bread toasts.

Ready for the Frying Pan

It was a delicious sandwich and I got the recipe and idea from Chatelaine.


Happy Father's Day Dad.  See you soon!

Salmon and Feta Omelet Breakfast Wrap

Breakfast Wrap and OJ

The Meal: Salmon and Feta Omelet Breakfast Wrap
The Drink: Pure not from concentrate Orange Juice
The Soundtrack: Good Morning Good Morning

Its breakfast time and I rarely listen to music at breakfast since I am typically hurriedly rushing off to work, only leaving the house at the time I should be arriving at my desk.  So I did a quick mp3 search to find the Beatles' Good Morning Good Morning, a little barnyard ditty John Lennon threw together with the inspiration from my typical breakfast partner, Cornelius Rooster.  Its true, one of the songs from one of the most renowned songwriters on one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time developed from reading a box of Corn Flakes...

Since the idea of eating Corn Flakes for another 42 days straight was little boring, and I had some left over BBQ Salmon from the Pizza the other night, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for an Omelet wrap.

Prep

Ingredients
2 Eggs
1/2 Onion
1/3 Red Pepper
1 Stalk Celery
1 Clove Garlic
Feta
Leftover BBQ Salmon
Herbs
Oil

Cookin

Dice up the Pepper, Onion, Celery and Garlic and saute in the oil until soft and starting to brown.
When almost complete, add the Salmon for a quick reheat without turning it into rubber. Nobody likes overcooked fish. 
Scramble the eggs and cook.  Typically I would do it in the same pan because I hate making more dishes than absolutely necessary, but I like the look of little pan for omelet eggs and washing it is a small price to pay for breakfast art.

Assembling

On the wrap, lay out the cooked eggs and pepper, salmon mix.  Top with crumbled feta cheese and fresh Rosemary.
How you choose to wrap your breakfast omelet is up to you, but I always like to leave a space at the back end and fold it over before wrapping up the sides.  This will keep all the delicious contents of your breakfast, in your wrap as you eat it.  No need to eat over the sink, this dish is mess free!

 

 

 

I'm Cornelius and I approve this breakfast*

* Cornelius does not actually approve this breakfast and strongly suggests you go buy another box of Corn Flakes or any other delicious Kellogg's product.

Strawberry Bruchetta

The Dish: Strawberry Bruchetta

True, this wasn't the most exciting of times in the kitchen.  No drinks on a week night and I didn't even turn on the Stereo.  Would Strawberry Fields Forever have been too cliche for such a dish?  I certainly think so.  That and I don't own Magical Mystery Tour.

I needed to whip up a tasty treat for a work pot luck and that's always the best time to try something new.  If its no good, you don't have to eat the whole thing! If it is good, lots of praise and requests for recipes.  Its win/win.  Upon consulting my pot-luck menu advisor, Robyn suggested this delicious treat.

Ingredients:
Baguette
Strawberries
Mascarpone
Honey
Sugar
Balsamic Vinaigrette

Cut the baguette into slices and toast.  Start with the toasting so that it has an opportunity to cool while the rest of the dish is prepared so that the cheese doesn't melt.
Mix the honey in with the Mascarpone until the desired sweetness is achieved and then spread it on the toast.  Place the sliced strawberries on top of the honey/cheese mixture and sprinkle with a little sugar.
Heat the balsamic and reduce until thicker.
I have since been informed by my enlightened colleague Barb, that you can purchase a balsamic glaze without having to make a reduction out of a vinaigrette.  Should you want to go that route, I assume that would work too.

All in all, the dish was well received and there was none left. Can't complain about that.

As always, there was a ton of great food and we all ate too much.

Spicy Salmon and Tomato Pizza

Spicy Salmon Pizza

The Meal: Spicy Salmon and Tomato Pizza
The Soundtrack: Stanley Cup Finals game 6
The Drink: Milk

Since I had some dough left over from Friday's Bacon Sausage Pizza and it was the final game of the NHL Season, so I figured another pizza would be a good idea.  But in order to change it up, I went for a spicy salmon pizza.
The Jalapeno was really spicy so the milk was a fantastic accompaniment to cool the mouth down. 

Ingredients

Fresh Pizza Dough
Seasoned BBQ Salmon
1 Tomato
1 Jalapeno
Tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese

Roll out the dough to the desired size, spread the tomato sauce and cover with thin tomato slices.  Cover with cheese and then toss on slices of jalapeno.  Top with small pieces of fresh seasoned BBQ salmon.
Cook in the middle rack of the oven for 12-15 minutes at 450F.
Let it cool for a few minutes, slice and enjoy while watching the Kings hoist the cup.