Will's Best BBQ Burgers for Bree's Birthday

 Having a recipe for the best burger I have tasted in a long time is a real treat. Here is William's recipe....get ready...you may need a paper and a pen for this one.

Ground sirloin/ground beef/ground chuck/tri tip

salt & pepper

It cannot get any simpler. 

Will contends that the less you handle to ground meat the juicer the burgers are in the end and the burgers were so delicious and tasty...melt in your mouth tasty.Generally you would portion 4-5 oz. per person for each burger. Bree size is more like 3 oz. I hope you enjoy! Stay safe out there. .

Bree & Will on her 40th Birthday

Bree's carrot cake for her birthday

please click here to go to my carrot cake recipe with almond milk.

Pickled Asparagus in Hummus???

1 can chick peas (drained and rinsed well)

2 tbsp. tahini

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup veg stock (water will do if you do not have veggie stock/broth on hand)

salt and pepper

3 tbsp. red onion (you can also use any type of onion ... I just happen to have red onion in the house)

3 dashes red hot franks sauce (add more if you want more of a bite)

1/2 cup of pickles asparagus (or just throw in what is left in the jar)

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (vinegar is a good substitute when fresh lemons aren't available)

( I had a jar of pickles asparagus in the back of my fridge forever and I just wanted to be done with keeping it so I decided to add it to my hummus.  Tastes awesome too! The beauty of making your own hummus is that you can add whatever ingredients you have in your fridge...everything seems to work well)

Add all the above ingredients into a food processor and process until the hummus is at the right consistency. Add more liquid if you feel it is too thick.

Hope you enjoy.

Homemade Corn Tortillas by Devon

Yield: 24 Tortillas 

Homemade Corn Tortillas

2 cup of water

2 cup of MASECA 'instant corn masa flour'

Instructions

Combine the MASECA corn flour with the water. Mix thoroughly for 2 minutes until you form a soft dough. If the dough feels dry, add teaspoons of water (one at a time).

Divide the dough into  equal balls of approximately 1 oz. each.  Place the dough balls onto a large plate and cover with a damp cloth to keep the dough soft and moist.

Line your tortilla press with 2 squares of thick plastic.
Place each ball separately between the two plastic squares on the tortilla press and press until each tortilla measures 5 inches in diameter.

Heat a flat skillet on high and cook each tortilla turning 3 times. The first 2 'cooks' are fast and the tortilla actually gets cooked on the 3 turn.

Place tortillas in a tortilla warmer or a casserole dish with a lid and cover the tortillas with a cloth napkin to help keep them soft and warm.

Serve with your favourite fillings.

Some fillings for soft corn Tortillas

guacamole, salsa, sliced peppers, sliced onions, cooked ground beef or chicken, green onions, shredded cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce or anything you have in your pantry

Instant corn masa flour

Rosemary Garlic Marinade for Chicken Kabobs

Yield 10 Kabobs

1 large white onion

1 yellow zucchini

1 green zucchini

16 medium sized mushrooms of choice

10 cauliflower florets (medium size)

3 chicken breasts (marinated for a minimum of 2 hours, please see marinade recipe below).

2 large lemons (reserve the lemon juice for the Kabobs once they come off the BBQ)

Chicken Marinade 

2 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. honey

3 garlic cloves

2 tsp. rosemary fresh, chopped

1/2 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. coarse salt

black pepper

Measure out the above marinade ingredients and add to a large zip lock bag. 

Cut up the chicken breasts into large chunks first and add to the zip lock bag for marinading. Store in the fridge and rotate every time you walk by the fridge. Marinade for a minimum of 2 hours.

Prepare all vegetables first by washing. Then cut up all the vegetables into approximately 1 - 1 1/2 inch cubes.

Once the chicken is marinaded start the process of skewering the vegetables and chicken onto each skewer to make the Kabobs. If using bamboo skewers they must be soaked first in water to prevent them from burning on the BBQ. 
How you arrange the food on the skewers is up to you but we suggest you add a harder vegetable at the end to anchor the food on the skewer. 
Save the left over marinade and once all the food is onto the skewers drizzle the marinade over the kabobs and  BBQ on medium heat for approximately 45 minutes until chicken is fully cooked and at an internal temperature of 170°.

Immediately after cooking, squeeze the juice of 2 lemons over the kabobs and serve.  Enjoy and stay safe out there everyone.

Bruce is a master BBQer

Devon and her older brother Bruce

Pender Harbour for Jenn's 'MARGARITA' bridal shower

The beautiful Bride-to-be

We celebrated Jennifer G's  bridal shower in Pender Harbour yesterday. Thanks to Beau & Victor, Jennifer's best friends and soon-to-be in-laws, who hosted a fantastic shower in their beautiful home in Pender.   

 We are also celebrating being double vaccinated and being able to visit face-to-face with friends and family again.  We have so much to be thankful for! Beau, Shannon, & Julie did such a wonderful job and as soon as they share their Margarita recipe I will post it.  Stay safe out there everyone!

Roddy enjoying the afternoon in Pender

Cody 

Maggie enjoying Cody's ocean front home

BBQ'd Asparagus with lemon drizzle

Here we go to the Farmers Market Grandma!

One of the best things about summer is having the beautiful weather to BBQ your entire meal and you don't ever have to turn on the oven or stove.

Kelsey, my favorite daughter-in-law is a master at the BBQ and she prepared the most delicious halibut burgers with roasted asparagus drizzled with her own lemon zest reduction. Seriously, so delicious on a hot Calgary night.  

Kelsey's Lemon Zest Reduction 

1/4 cup vinegar (we used champagne vinegar) 

Zest and juice of a lemon

Place the above ingredients in a small pan and bring up to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

Reduce until the liquid is a glaze consistency. 

Approximately 15-20 minutes.

Rinse off asparagus and pat dry. Trim asparagus by taking each asparagus spear in your hand and bend near the blunt end. This allows for a perfect break that removes the woody end. Discard the woody end.

Add 1/4 cup of olive oil to a large flat baking pan.

Carefully place washed and trimmed asparagus into the pan and role the asparagus in the oil and sprinkle with salt.

Turn the BBQ to high to burn off the char and then reduce the heat to 3/4's and grill asparagus until tender crisp. 

Remove from the BBQ and place the asparagus on a serving platter.

Drizzle with the lemon zest reduction and serve hot with your chosen protein.

Thanks Kelsey honey!

The perfect charcuterie board compliments of Jessica O'Dwyer & Ashley Oddy

Jessica & Ashley 

Charcuterie board you say?

These two lovely ladies have nailed it and they are not even in the business.

Ashley & Jessica, Lynn's daughters really went into overdrive to ensure their Mama had the best birthday ever. They are very talented chefs and it is too bad that catering is not their business.  Great job ladies!

Lynn Oddy's birthday celebration at O'Rourke's Winery

Sausage Rolls with Puff Pastry

 

500-600 gr. sausage meat (I used a combination of hot Italian pork sausage and mild sausage)

1/4 cup feta cheese (crumbled)

fresh ground pepper to taste (this recipe does not need salt because of the feta cheese)

2 tsp. herb de provence 

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

14 oz. box Puff Pastry - butter puff pastry can be bought in the freezer section of your grocery store 

4-5 tbsp. all purpose flour (for rolling out the pastry)

1 egg + tblsp. water (for egg wash)

Thaw frozen puff pastry in the fridge (not a room temp).

Combine the sausage meat, cheese and dry ingredients in a large bowl.  With clean hands combine all the ingredients until well mixed.

Flour your work counter and then unwrap the puff pastry and place on the floured counter.

With a rolling pin, roll out pastry so that it is thinner but not too thin.

Cut the pastry in half length wise so that you have 2 rectangles to place the sausage meat on. 

Divide the sausage meat in 2 parts.

Flour the counter again and roll out the sausage meat with your hands so it looks like a log. Place the sausage logs onto the puff pastry rectangles. Egg wash the outside edges (as shown below). 

Close up the pastry (see pic below) and pinch the edges. Cut off any excess not needed.

Egg wash the top of the log. 

The easiest way to cut these sausage rolls is to freeze them first as a whole log.

Take out of freezer and semi thaw.  Cut into 1 inch  bite size pieces. With scissors cut a vent in the top of each piece as is demonstrated below.

Place sausage roll pieces onto a parchment lined baking tray.

Bake at 400° for 20 - 30 minutes depending on your oven.  Remove from the parchment so that the sausage rolls do not reabsorb the grease.

Cool down to store in the fridge or serve hot.  This is an awesome appetizer and is a real crowd pleaser.