Slow Roasted Beef Ribs

We love beef ribs, they are great in stew, but definitely awesome slow roasted.  This is a very simple recipe for nice tender beef ribs.  :-)  Have a happy and safe long weekend everyone!  Cheers!

SLOW ROASTED BEEF RIBS

Serves: 3

approx prep time: 15min

approx cook time: 5 hours

INGREDIENTS: 

- 1 rack of beef ribs
- 1 bottle BBQ sauce of choice

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Preheat oven to 400F
- Fill the lower portion of the oven broiler pan with about 1/4 inch of water. If you're not using an oven broiler pan, any baking pan, with a wire rack for the ribs to rest on will work.
- Cut rack of ribs into 3 large pieces, evenly spaced between the bones. Each piece should be 3 or 4 bones wide.
- Brush BBQ sauce on all sides and place ribs on broiler pan.
- Using tinfoil, create a tent over the ribs. What you're doing here basically is creating a mini steamer out of the broiler pan. To keep the ribs moist and render, we're partly going to steam them while they cook.
- Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, add more sauce and re-cover with tented tinfoil.
- Cook at 200F for 4 hours.
- Remove from oven, add more sauce, and return to oven uncovered.
- Cook at 400F again for 10-15 minutes to crisp up some of the sauce on the outside. Keep an eye on the ribs during this stage to make sure you don't burn them!
- When the sauce on the outside starts to crisp at the edges, remove from oven and serve!

Roasted Root Vegetables

This is a nice spin on roasted root vegetables, the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, and Italian seasoning gives the roasted veggies an extra kick in flavor.  We like to use large carrots rather then small carrots as they are much sweeter and more flavorful.  This is a great side to any dish. 

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES

Serves: 4-5

approx prep time: 15min

approx cook time: 45min

INGREDIENTS: 

- 1lbs Mini red skin potatoes
- 1 Large Sweet Potato
- 1 Large carrot
- 1/2 large white onion
- breadcrumbs
- fresh/hard Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
- olive oil

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Preheat oven to 400F
- Peel sweet potato and chop into 1 inch cubes.
- Chop carrot and onion into 1 inch cubes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine red skin potatoes, and chopped sweet potato, onion and carrot.
- Sprinkle the vegetables lightly with olive oil, tossing a few times, until well coated. Add more oil if needed.
- Generously dust the vegetables with Italian seasoning, and breadcrumbs. Finely grate a light dusting of Parmesan cheese on as well.
- Toss/Mix vegetables until well coated in seasoning and crumbs, add more breadcrumbs, cheese and seasoning if desired.
- Dump the mixture onto a non-stick baking sheet, spread out evenly, and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a casserole dish, and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes, uncovered.
- Transfer mixture back to a baking sheet, and broil on high for 3-5 minutes until the edges of the onions start to crisp.

Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya

This would be the quickie version of jambalaya.  Not fussy, quick, easy, healthy, tasty and on the table with relative ease.  :-)  You can basically substitute with any vegetables or meats in the fridge.  Last time, we had roast beef jambalaya (recipe HERE) which was basically a bacon and beef version.  :-) A great alternative to pasta.  Try it sometime.

CHICKEN AND SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

Serves: 6-8

approx prep time: 20min

approx cook time: 45min

INGREDIENTS: 

- 1 large Red, Yellow or Orange bell pepper

- 1 zucchini

- 1 large white onion

- 1 large carrot

- 2 stalks of celery

- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice

- 1 large chicken breast

- 1 cup of large shrimps, peeled, with tail removed

- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

- 1/2 bottle of Tomato Sauce or Pasta Sauce

- 1tbsp Vegetable Seasoning

- salt/pepper to taste

- 2 cloves garlic

- 2tbsp olive oil

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Cook the rice according to the directions on it's packaging.

- Dice vegetables (Onion, Zucchini, pepper, carrot, celery) into medium size pieces and set aside.

- Dice chicken, and set aside.

- very finely chop garlic.

- When the rice is almost ready, heat two large non-stick fry pans over medium heat.

- In the first pan, add 1tbsp of oil, all the vegetables, garlic and vegetable seasoning, stirring often.

- In the second pan, add 1tbsp oil, and all of the chicken. Stir frequently.

- Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper while cooking.

- When the chicken is cooked add it to the vegetable mix and using the same pan cook the shrimp, along with a little more pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice.

- Add rice, pasta/tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and if desired additional seasoning to the vegetables.

- Add cooked shrimp to the vegetables.

- Mix well, and cook for 1-2 minutes on low.

- Serve hot!

BBQ Rotisserie Chicken

Nothing is better then rotisserie chicken.  No...not the Swiss chalet kind or the ones they sell in supermarkets, I'm talking about a fresh off the rotisserie dripping in BBQ sauce and that wonderfully crunchy skin.  It's definitely a treat and my favorite thing to do to a whole chicken.  Also, it's incredulously easy to do. Not a lot of recipe consist of 2 ingredients and come out tasting like perfection.  Try it out sometime.

 

BBQ ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

Serves: 4

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS: 

- 1 whole chicken

- 1 bottle of BBQ sauce

- 1 rotisserie grill or rotisserie attachment for your BBQ

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- If your chicken didn't come cleaned and tied, do that now.

- Place chicken on rotisserie spit, and season lightly with salt and pepper (if desired).

- Rotisserie for approx. 45 minutes (likely a bit less if using a BBQ)

- Brush with BBQ sauce, and continue to cook for another 10-15minutes.

- Brush lightly one last time with BBQ sauce, cook for 2-3 minutes.

- Cut into quarters and serve HOT with extra sauce on the side for dipping.

Asian Legends Toronto

Location: 3636 Steeles Avenue East #152, Markham, ON, (905) 947-0370

One of my favorite Taiwanese restaurants is Asian Legends.  They food they serve is consistently delicious, they have lots of appetizers to choose from as well as mains.  My favorite things to get is appetizers (as I miss Taiwanese street food dearly)...and that's we did this time. 

First up:  deep fried tofu with garlic and hot soya sauce oil ($4.95).  The tofu was perfect, crispy on the outside, tender and fresh on the inside, the minced garlic added the necessary kick.  :-)  I love fried tofu.

This dish is called "Fan Tuan" in Mandarin ($3.95).  This is one of my favorite dish to get a Asian Legends, it's the best here.  Glutinous rice filled with a crispy dough fritter and dried shredded pork floss.   This is a very common lunch item to get in Taiwan, and it's oh so tasty.  This one is wrapped in plastic because glutinous rice is very sticky.  Chewy on the outside, crunchy on the inside, and the wonderful flavour of the dried shredded pork floss inside.  I can eat these all day long.  :-)

Hot and sour soup with chicken ($4.95).  Get this if you like it with a lot of white pepper because I think they overloaded on the white pepper a bit.  It was still very good and had a great kick though. 

The best "shao long bao" (steamed soup filled juicy pork dumplings) in Toronto ($5.50 for 6).  Thin dough skin wrapper, delicious seasoned pork juices that pour out once the skin is broken, and a juicy ground pork and spices nugget inside.  Amazing dipped in some red vinegar with thin ginger spears.

This is just "Har Gow" or steamed shrimp dumplings ($6.50 for 5).  I wouldn't recommend getting thisd at Asian legends, but my coworker really loved this dish and Asian legends is the only place that would serve Har Gow at all times of the day. 

This is a treo of cold taiwanese appetizer dishes. ($5.95 to $7.95 for each selection)  My coworker wanted to try things he never had before, so I picked the following:
Top left:  Jelly fish in a bit of seseme oil.  I LOVE jellyfish.  I just love the crunchy but chewy texture and I usually only get to have it when there is a Chinese ten course banquet dinner.
To Right: Marinated duck tongue.  Odd to most western cultures, common in asian cultures, just slightly salty and in a bit of seseme oil, it's delicious!  :-) 
Bottom center:  Smoked fish.  It's marinated in a sweet sauce, and it's been cooked for so long that you can eat ALL of the parts of the fish, including the fins and bones.  I enjoyed this dish...the marinated fish is kind of like eating a candied salmon (and I love candied salmon). 

Last dish that is also one of my favorites, is rolled onion pancake with sliced beef ($5.95).  I think they wrap it in foil so that the entire pancake doesn't fall apart as easily.  But this is so tasty, and slight greasy, that I have to order this every time. 

I highly recommend this restaurant.  There are other great Taiwanese restaurants in Toronto, but this chain of restaurants (with 6 location in Toronto) is one of my favorites and easily satisfies.  :-)

The Home Made Double Down

KFC has a pseudo sandwich called "The Double Down", a bread-less sandwich described as "bacon, two different kinds of melted cheese, the Colonel’s 'secret' sauce... pinched in between two pieces of Original Recipe chicken fillets."  They brought it to Canada on October 18, 2010, but just a short month later, took the product off Canadian markets.  The Double Down's 540 calories, 30 grams of fat, 1,740 milligrams of sodium left most Canadians (well, at least my friends that have tried it), with intense headaches from overdosing on salt. 

Since neither Nick nor I had the chance to try the double down in Canada for the short time it was here, the thought of 2 crispy chicken fillets with cheese and good bacon sounded so good and bad for us that we had to try to make it for ourselves.  Here is our homemade Double Down, with a heck of a lot less salt, and a heck of a lot more flavor.  :-)

THE HOMEMADE DOUBLE DOWN

Serves: 1

approx prep time: 15min

approx cook time: 10min

INGREDIENTS: 

- 2 fried chicken breasts. Using the recipe here.

- 2 or 3 strips of bacon

- 1/4 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Before making the fried chicken (Recipe Here), fry up 2 or 3 strips of bacon and set aside

- Shred 1/4 cup of Mozzarella cheese, and set aside.

- Make the two pieces of Fried Chicken. When finished let them rest on paper towel for 30-40 seconds before making the sandwich.

- Using the fried chicken pieces as bread, stuff with bacon and Cheese.

- Enjoy!

Double Dipped Raspberries

Well, it's about time for another chocolate dipped thing.  To me, white and dark chocolate dipped raspberries are the ultimate king of chocolate dipped fruits.  Raspberry is just such a great compliment to both a creamy white chocolate, and a good dark chocolate.  When it comes to this kind of dessert, you really get what you put into it.  Pick fresh firm raspberries and really good dark and white chocolate.  I recommend Godiva white chocolate, and a Lindt or Valrhona dark chocolate for dipping.  What is the key to making these look pretty and presentable?  Having chopstick skills!  :-P  Yes, without chopstick skills you can still use your hands, but it may be a bit messier.

Double Dipped Raspberries

approx prep time: 10min

approx chill time: 20min

INGREDIENTS: 

70g of Lindt Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Bar (approx 8-10 pieces)

1.5 bars of 43g mini bar (6 pieces) of Godiva white chocolate

1 quarter pint of raspberries

1 pair of chopsticks (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1) Line a large plate or baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper

2) Break dark chocolate bar into chunks and crumble into a small bowl.  Microwave dark chocolate 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each 30 second interval, until chocolate is just melted and smooth (do not overheat, chocolate can burn).

3) Dip one side of the raspberry into chocolate and place on wax paper.  Using chopsticks makes the least mess or you can use your hands, but they won't turn out as clean or pretty.

4) Put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or until the dark chocolate has hardened.

5) Peel off the dark chocolate dipped raspberries and repeat steps 2-4 to dip the other side of the strawberry with white chocolate, shake off excess chocolate (or don't, if you like more chocolate).  :-)

5) Serve cold, don't let the dipped fruit come to room temperature.

6) Store leftovers (if there are any), in sealed containers in the refrigerator. 

Canadian Burgers

Known as Canadian bacon in the US, in Canada, it is known as peameal bacon or back bacon.  It's delicious when made right, and like salted rubber jerky when made incorrectly.  To the rest of the world, they think back bacon is ham.  IT IS NOT HAM!  Back bacon refers to either smoked or unsmoked bacon cut from the boneless eye of pork loin.  Peameal bacon is back bacon, brined and coated in fine cornmeal.  I especially like my peameal bacon on a bun with a fried egg and cheese....however, paired with Nick's burger, it's adds a whole new dimension.

CANADIAN BURGERS

Serves: 2

approx prep time: 15min

approx cook time: 15min

INGREDIENTS (Makes 2 burgers): 

- 1lbs Lean ground beef

- 2 slices of Peameal Bacon

- 1 small white onion (or 1/2 of a large white onion)

- 1/4 cup Bacon Bits (Simulated, or small pieces of crumbled bacon)

- 3tbsp Montreal Steak Spice

- 2/3 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

- Toppings of choice (Pickles, Tomato, etc..)

- 2 large kaiser rolls

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Pan fry peameal bacon and set aside.
- Finely dice onion
- Mix ground beef, diced onion, bacon bits, and steak spice thoroughly
- Shape beef mixture into 2 patties, roughly 1" thick.
- Cook patties to desired doneness in a frying pan, on an indoor grill or BBQ.
- Serve patty with bacon, shredded cheese and desired toppings on fresh Kaiser roll.