Monte Cristo Sandwich

This sandwich is perhaps one of the oddest I have ever had the privilege of eating. I mean, its lunch and dessert all combined into one sandwich!

I love sandwiches. They can be complicated or simple, hot or cold, big or small. They are served for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. All held together in a simple package that requires (usually) no utensils. There are so many different alternatives of a sandwich, that you can almost never get bored. 

Almost never. There was a time when I said that once, and I ate processed meat sandwiches the whole way across Canada. At first they taste delicious, but as time goes on, you start to get very tired of eating the same thing. The only shining difference was the Smoked Meat sandwich from Shwartz's in Montreal. 

AH! Food distraction. I got totally sidetracked and started dreaming of all the various sandwiches I have had... this post is all about the Monte Cristo Sandwich! 

This sandwich has some of the weirdest combinations ever. Jam in a sandwich? In an egg wash? Craziness! However, once I tried it, I fell in love. Probably one of my new sandwich favourites. Now I didn't have the traditional Swiss cheese, or even some traditional bread. I ended up using marble cheese (A huge cheese faux pas) and some leftover hamburger buns (a huge sandwich faux pas). 

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Bread - 2 slices

Swiss Cheese 

Ham

Dijon Mustard

Eggs - 1

Milk - 1/4 cup

Strawberry Jam

Powdered Sugar

Assemble the sandwich. Basically it goes bread slice, mustard, swiss cheese, ham, bread slice. Pretty simple stuff. Start heating a frying pan over medium high heat and melt a tbsp of butter. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the sandwich into the egg wash and hold for a few seconds, then flip and do to the other side of the sandwich. Place in the frying pan and wait until the bread is golden brown and cheese melted, flip and do the same to the other side of the sandwich. 

Serve with Strawberry Jam (either on the side, or in the sandwich itself) and give a dusting of powdered sugar. 

Easter Break Shinanigans

This Easter holiday has been a hectic one. I didn't get the chance to stay home and cook delicious Easter meals like hotcross buns, a big turkey or ham, or some sort of chocolate delight. Instead, I have been running around to try to visit family left right and center.

Day One - Drive from Lethbridge to Calgary. Go to girlfriend's favourite Vietnamese restaurant. Had Chicken Sate soup and a Banh Mi bun. Went bowling with friend's, finished last both times! Drove to firehall for a short visit with my dad. Left for Cochrane to visit girlfriend's sister. Crashed their family baby birthday. Eat pulled pork sandwiches Helped tidy up. Hottubed it up! Sleep.

Day Two - Remain in Cochrane. Help tidy up after the baby birthday for the housewarming party. Grocery Shop. Help cut potatoes and onions. Cry after cutting too many onions. Start eating snacks. Mini Cheesecakes, bean dip, sundried tomato garlic dip (to die for!), homemade sushi, hummus, antojitos. Start eating dinner. Burgers and roasted potatoes. Watch the Montreal/Boston hockey game. Sleep.

Day Three - Leave from Cochrane to Bearspaw. Hunt for the Easter Baskets and Eggs. Have an Easter Buffet Breakfast. Homemade sausage, fresh fruit, cinnamon buns, hard-boiled and pickled eggs. Travel to Calgary for dinner at my mom's. Eat Guacamole and watch Buffalo/Philadelphia hockey game. Visit with family. Eat Ham, Schwarties Hashbrowns and salads for dinner. Leave to watch Vancouver/Chicago game at the bar with friends. Go sleep at Dad's house.

Day Four - Play with Dad's new dogs. Go for Breakfast at Cora's with Dad and Sister. Get Crepeomelot. Curse myself for not getting Eggs Benedict. Leave for Sundre. Sit and tan on back deck. Play game of crib. Have homemade pirogies and roasted chicken for dinner. Watch Due Date movie. Sleep.

Day Five. Leave from Sundre to Carstairs. Enjoy the weather outside. Leave from Carstairs to Calgary for dinner at Dad's. Eat BBQ salmon, bean salad, corn and potatoes. Leave Calgary to head home to Lethbridge. Sing music uproariously on the way home. Get home, unpack. Watch the end of the Anne of Green Gables movie. Sleep.


In short, I ate a lot. But I also had some great times with family and friends. Next year however, I think we are going to try to host everyone all at once. All the family, all in one place. It will either be legendary, or disastrous. But at least it is a year away!

Pirogi Pizza - Pirogi Pro's Only

For those that read my previous post, I said I was unwilling to share the recipe on how to make homemade pirogies. It isn't the recipe that is the only consideration, but also the effort and technique that goes into making them.

So this recipe unfortunately is for those that have made pirogies, and have always looked for something to do with the remaining ingredients. To all those reading and hoping for the recipe, my heartiest apologies. However, as I have mentioned before, finding your own pirogi recipe online should not be difficult, and developing it into a pizza isn't too bad either!

When finishing our pirogi batch, we had a little bit of dough left over, and some of the stuffing that would be placed inside. There is a recipe for a lazy man's pirogi lasagna around, and while I was feeling the laziness part, I wasn't quite in the lasagna mood. I had the dough, I had stuff to put on top, the easiest answer that came to mind would be to create a pirogi pizza.

It's basically the leftover dough used as the pizza crust, and the stuffing used as the topping. Some additional ingredients go a long way to making this recipe a delicious one!


Pirogi Pizza

Pirogi Dough
Pirogi Stuffing
Grated Cheese - about 1/2 cup
Green Onion - 1 stalk diced
Ham - shredded into small pieces
Sour Cream - a few small dollops

Pre-heat the oven to about 375 and place the pizza stone in to warm up. Once heated, remove the stone and lightly dust the surface with some cornmeal.

Roll your dough into a rounded shape and lay flat on the stone. Spoon the pirogi stuffing onto the dough and smooth out with a spoon. Add the remaining ingredients except for the sour cream and place in the oven on a lower rack for about 20-40 minutes, or until the dough is browned and crunchy and the cheese melted.

Add the sour cream and serve!

Homemade Pirogies - Recipe not included!

Before any of you get excited about getting a recipe for homemade pirogies, I am very sorry. I am unable to share this particular recipe with you, due to the fact that it is not really mine to give.

This recipe has been locked down by my girlfriends grandmother, and I have promised that I will not share this recipe. Somethings are meant to stay close to the heart, and this recipe would be one of them. However, there are plenty of homemade pirogi recipes online, and I am sure that anyone interested could find one that is amazingly delicious.

However, because the making of pirogies is such a major undertaking, it would be unfair to not chronicle this moment. That being said, here are some of the pictures that were documented during out pirogi making day. A day... which took over four hours of slaving away. I salute the ancient ladies that used to gather and spend days just making these tiny dumplings!

We had to freeze place them on the cookie sheets to head down to the deep freezer. We filled four of these suckers!! I hope I never tire of eating pirogi's...

And then the final product... Ah bliss... Nothing seems to beat pirogi's, sausages, sour cream and sauted onions. Maybe one day i'll be able to share the recipe with you!

Carrot Lemongrass Soup - My official 101st post!

This is officially... my 101st food blog post.

I can't believe where the time has gone! It has taken just over a year to make this mark, which is actually pretty amazing when you think about it. How longs do food blogs last? Some i assume have lasted for years and years, and the writer/chef just keeps coming out with more and more exciting things. Others I suppose have died off due to disinterest or writers block. Perhaps the most common reason has to do with life getting in the way, as it always seems to, and the food blog becomes sometimes less important in your life.

I have gone from writing entries a couple of times a month, to writing them a couple of times a week. My pictures have adapted from ones lacking in colour, imagination and interest. My recipes have changed form the ones that suited my university days to ones that suit me more now. I started cooking more inventively, and trying out my own ideas in the kitchen, not simply from my own past.

101 posts... yowza! I'm getting OLD!

I would have planned a cool recipe for the moment, but I'm afraid that I didn't even have an idea how many posts I have written until I sat at my computer tonight.

Luckily enough, I have this tasty recipe to share. While it might not give the same amazing 101st year presentation that a cake would have made, it still is delicious enough that I have no shame in writing about it!
This recipe was given to me by a wonderful lady at work, and I owe her so much for it!

This soup is the perfect - Cold Winter Day, Wet Outside, I'm Feeling Sick, Get Better Soon, Feel Good Inside, Please Your Mouth, Wish I Had More, Healthy, Hearty soup. This will be a favourite for years to come.

Hopefully I'll still be writing then too!


Carrot Lemongrass Soup

Stock (Vegetable or Chicken) - 4 cups

Lime Juice - 1/4 cup

Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsps
Onion - 1, diced
Salt
Lemongrass - 3 stalks minced
Garlic Cloves, minced
Ginger, minced
Thai Red Curry Paste - 2 tsps
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp ground
Carrots - I used the small bite sized carrots, which I figured translated into about two handfuls) roughly chopped

Coconut Milk - 1 tin (400ml)

Lemon Zest - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - From the lemon
Green Onions - small handful
Plain Yogurt - A healthy dollop

Begin by placing the stock in a large pot and heating while you prepare the soup ingredients. Add the lime juice to the stock and cover.

Prepare the lemongrass stocks.

Preparing lemongrass stalks is actually fairly easy. They are easily found in the produce section of the grocery store, but you can also purchase a paste which works just as well. Because the paste is concentrated, use a little less of it.
Cut the lemongrass stalks 4" from the root end. Discard the top and peel the outer layer. Use a large, flat knife and place on top of the stalk, edge away from you. Smash it with your fist to flatten the stalk. Mince and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and a tsp of salt. Saute until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, curry paste and coriander and saute for about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped carrots and a pinch of salt. Saute for another 5 minutes.

Pour this mixture into the hot stock. Bring to a boil and simmer with the lid on until the carrots are soft.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender or move it in batches to a blender. Puree until smooth. Whisk in the coconut milk and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Just before serving, add the lemon zest, juice and season with salt. Garnish with green onions and a spoonful of yogurt if you desire.

Maritime Seafood Pie

I have a dilemma on staffroom etiquette.

I made this delicious tasting Maritime Seafood Pie, but it does have some strong fish smells coming from it. When my girlfriend got home from a late work shift, the first words out of her mouth had something to do with the rather strong odour. Its hard to cook any time of seafood and not have some sort of fish smell emanating from the kitchen...

Now home alone and cooking a smellier meal is perfectly fine, but what about taking that same smell to work? I had the leftovers, it was a colder day perfect for a hot pie, and it was downright tasty... so what to do? I don't want other staff members to complain about me ruining the atmosphere of the shared space, and I would be mortified if the smell was to linger too long.

So really, it came down to having a delicious meal for lunch and ignoring the possible complaints, or having a simple smell-free lunch and just munching on my fantastic fish pie at home.

Delicious lunch won over! I couldn't resist! And I'm glad that I did it. I tend to eat lunch alone before the rest of the team arrives, so there was no immediate complaint. And then the smell wasn't even noticed by others later! I definitely enjoyed the hearty healthiness of this meal, so definitely no regrets. And for those wondering
about proper staffroom etiquette... one day with a smellier dish wont kill anyone, so enjoy!



Maritime Seafood Pie

Basa Fillet - 1
Tuna Fillet - 1-2
Flour - 2 tbsps
Shrimp - handful

Onion - 1/2, diced
Bell Pepper - 1/2, diced
Celery - 1 stalk, diced
Large Carrot - 1, Diced
Cream Corn - 1 tin (7oz)

Milk - 2/3 Cup
Cream Cheese - 2/3 cup
Rosemary
Salt and Pepper

Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup
Cheddar Cheese - 1/2 cup, grated
Lemon Zest - 1 lemon
Cornmeal - 1/4 cup

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the fish fillets into bite sized pieces and place in a small bowl. Add the flour and give it a toss until well coated. Peel your shrimp.

In a large pot or pie plate, add the fish, shrimp, and vegetables into a bowl.

In a small separate bowl, add the milk, cream cheese and seasonings. Beat together, then pour over the fish and veggies.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, cheese, lemon zest and cornmeal. Sprinkle gently over the top.

Bake in the oven for about 45-60 minutes, or until the fish is fully cooked through, its bubbling hot, and the top is golden brown.


Pretty simple recipe to make, just needs a few small bowls which clutter the kitchen a small bit! Its so delicious when hot straight from the oven. And it makes one heck of a good leftover!

Potato Nachos

I'm afraid I haven't been on the ball lately with food blogging. A week without writing! It's almost becoming an addiction. You know when you start working out and it's a giant pain at the beginning... but when you stop, you suddenly want to start exercising?

Not that I find the writing a pain, but I do find myself missing it when I've been busy. This is just a quick post as I'm excited to get to bed tonight. Because I have big plans to get to bed.


Early.

And sleep.

A lot.


I hate those sleeps when you just close your eyes and suddenly the alarm clock is going the next morning. Or in my case... not going off anymore. For some reason, my alarm has decided to malfunction. It works for the 6:15 riser... but not for the 7am... It makes for a very short sleep and a very long day.

Anyway, here is just a quick appetizer recipe that is great for movie nights, hockey games or a side with a hamburger. I came across this delicious looking recipe on the blog Pip and Ebby, which is totally worth taking a look at PS. I hope you enjoy.


Potato Nachos

Russet Potato - 1
Olive Oil

BBQ Sauce
Cheddar Cheese - Grated
Jalapeños, a small handful
Olives - small slices.
Green Onions - 1 stalk, diced
Bell Pepper - 1/2, diced

Salsa and Sour Cream - A healthy dollop of each.

Cut the potatoes into thin slices, drizzle with olive oil on both sides, and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Brush on the BBQ sauce(a nice surprise!) thinly on the potatoes.  Add the grated cheese and other assorted veggies. Place back in the oven until the cheese is nicely melted on top. Remove from the oven (final time) and add the salsa and sour cream. Careful, this one is a toasty recipe, so don't go munching straight away.

As Pip and Ebby mention, this recipe has endless possibilities. The potatoes add a nice change from the usual tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie with a Biscuit Topping

Chicken pot pie is one of my all time favourite dinners. Hearty, healthy, full of flavour and texture... it never seems like a fancy meal to serve or cook, but its one of my favourites.

This recipe perked my interest as soon as I laid eyes upon it. Instead of using the normal pie crust, use homemade biscuits on top to lock in all that deliciousness! And who doesn't love biscuits that have soaked up flavour packed gravy? It was too good to a recipe to pass up!

With spring around the corner, it seemed as if my days would be numbered to get this recipe onto the table. And while I'm always open to cooking this recipe year round, it definitely is better suited on a cold day when you want a hot meal and the oven roasting. So when I woke up a few days back and the ground was covered in a couple inches of snow, I started thinking about the pot pie baking process!


As the day went on however, the weather began to change.

And that's how some good Albertan weather will change your whole day! The sun just came pouring in and the snow just started to vanish. Perhaps the photos don't do the best job of showing the change, but you could honestly see the water shooting off the side of the house as the snow melted. It was too nice out to be mad, and I was much to excited about chicken pot pie to scrap the recipe. So here it is folks, I hope you enjoy it!



Chicken Pot Pie - Biscuit Topping

Celery - 2 stalks
Carrot - 2 large carrots
Red Pepper - 1/2
Mushrooms - 5

Garlic - 2 cloves

Onion - 1/2

Flour - 1/2 cup
Chicken Broth - 4 cups

Chicken - 2 cups
Tarragon - 1 tbsp
Marjoram - 1 tbsp
Sage - 1 tbsp
Salt and Pepper - healthy pinch

Flour - 2 cups
Baking Powder - 3 tbsp
Salt - pinch
Milk - 3/4 cup

Grease a large frying pan or pot and place on the stove over medium high heat. Add the celery, carrots, red pepper and mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and onion and cook until they are translucent.

Add the flour and stir. This is your pot pie's gravy, so make sure all the veggies are well coated. Add the chicken broth and stir. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.

If your chicken is not pre-cooked, heat a small frying pan on another burner and add the bite sized chicken. Cook, flipping occasionally, until the chicken has cooked through. Add to the stock mixture. Add your spices and give a stir. Keep covered on simmer as the biscuits bake.

For the biscuits, in a large cowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir together. Create a well in the middle of the mixture and add the milk and mix well. Turn over onto a well floured surface and roll out until the thickness is about a half inch. Take a normal drinking cup and place downwards on the dough, cutting out circle shapes and placing to the side.

In a large greased pie plate, add the chicken mixture. Remember to leave some space on the top for the biscuits will push out the meal and it will overflow into your oven. Place the biscuits on  top and brush on some milk. Put into the oven for about 25 minutes or until the biscuits have browned on the top.

The Death of a Food Blog

There are food blogs that we all visit. Reading up on stories and experiences, you get kind of attached to them. Especially the ones that seem to always turn up something original and delicious! And even if the food isn't something that necessarily appeals to me, you can still enjoy the hard work that went into both the cooking and writing about it.

And then, all of the sudden, the writing stops.

You find yourself staring at the exact same recipe every time you log on.

It gets very depressing, very fast.

And as the months tick by, you start to skip checking it out. At first it starts off with not checking every couple of days, then weeks, and finally months. Gradually, they simply slip into nothingness.

And while the odds are that they simply got too busy to write anymore, my mind can't help but wonder what else may have caused them to stop writing. A tragic accident? Sent to prison? Off exploring a jungle? Alien abduction?

Whatever the reason, I know that I'm a little sad to be losing a source of such great amusement and happiness. I hope that wherever these great writers and cooks have gone, they are still doing well.

Saying this, I would like to direct everyone's attention to the new "These Are The Blogs" tab at the top of my website. These are the remaining blogs that I still read and treasure, and will continue to do so as long as they keep writing! Feel free to give them a look! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Leftover French Fry Fritatta

French fries are great when they are served alongside something, burgers and hotdogs would be the most common. However, what do you do when you have leftovers? Of course leftover burgers are no problem. They just disappear into my belly with tomorrow's lunch. 

Fries are a different story. They get soggy and gross when leftover and often make a quick trip to the garbage once the doggy bag gets home. However, as foodie, wasting food is pretty much a  big no-no. So the questions arises on what to do with them. 

Probably the easy solution is to simply place them on a baking sheet and re-bake them. Nothing fancy about it, but they never taste as good as when they come straight out of the fryer. You're also stuck trying to figure out what you can serve with these new fries. 

I basically used them as an excuse to clear our the fridge, and made a decently tasty dinner out of them. Don't expect it to be incredibly healthy or anything though, remember that this recipe did start from french fries. So I did the best I could. I figure the healthy veggies combat the greasy fries... but who really knows.  You may want to serve something alongside it, like a salad, or some veggies. But its a good way to use up some leftovers! Enjoy! 

Leftover French Fry Fritatta

French Fries - A handful or two

Onion - 1/2 diced

Celery - 1 stalk, chopped

Carrot - 1 large carrot, chopped

Red Pepper - 1/2, chopped

Jalapenos - 1 tbsp diced 

Ham - thin small slices

Eggs - 2

Cheese - 1/2 cup

Put a greased medium frying pan (oven safe) over medium high heat on the stove. Add the onion, celery, carrots and red peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, flipping occasionally. Add the french fries, ham and jalapenos and cook for another five, until the french fries are cooked through. 

In a small bowl, stir together the eggs and cheese. Add them to the fries and let sit until the eggs start to become solid on the edges. At this point, start the broiler in the oven. Place the frying pan in the oven until the top has become solid. 

Remove from the oven and flip the fritatta onto a plate. Serve with ketchup.