Saturday 21 December 2013

Seafood with Vanilla Sauce

Have you ever come across a recipe and thought, "What. The. Heck?"

Vanilla.  Cream.  Sauce.

Hunh.

But since I love so many of the ingredients,  my reservations were somewhat tampered.

But since I DID have reservations, I decided the best thing to do would be to test is on myself and not subject some poor un-witting soul to this if it was horrible.

 
First, melt some butter.
 
As with the start of all things wonderful and awesome.

 
Then add the onions. 
 
 
Then add the white wine vinegar.


 
Then add the white wine.

 
And cornstarch and chicken broth.

 
Then the pepper and chives.  Or - if you live somewhere you can't get chives, green onions will work in a pinch.

 
Bring that to a boil and reduce by half.
 
Then add the cream.

 
And the vanilla extract.

 
Yep.  That just happened.
 
Then add the crab.

 
Then add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is no longer pink.

 
And serve.  Over rice.
 
But pasta would be just fine too.



Frankly.  I was surprised. 

The sauce itself wasn't overly rich, and the vanilla added a really unusual touch.

I don't know if it would be something I would make to impress.  But to make it for myself to shake things up a little - it was a fun change.

Plus is doesn't hurt that now I have an open bottle of wine to drown my chills in.

Until next time - the Cane girl.

Friday 13 December 2013

Pudding Dinner Buns

Here in Canada, the cold shows no signs of letting us go.

I think that means we need comfort food in a big way. 

Because highs of minus 18 degrees Celsius makes me - and everyone else I know - crave things that make us happy.

So how about carb overloading.  With buns.

That's sounds happy.

 
And I had the most delightful little helper to make these.  Those are her fingers.
 
She's the best.

 
Dissolve the pudding in the milk.

 
Then add the butter.  I've got to be honest here when I say that although the recipe called for softened butter, I feel like it needed to be melted.

 
You can see in the picture below that my helper was just fine stirring the butter in.  Along with salt.

 
But when it came to the flour, things got a little complicated.

 
Maybe it's because I should have stirred in the yeast mixture first.  But I kind of forgot.

 
Four year olds are so needy.
 
Anyway, the chunks of butter were hard to combine with the rest of the ingredients.  And maybe that was the point?  I have no idea.
 
But after everything is stirred together, knead the dough for a couple of minutes, then place into a bowl and let rise.  Then portion into 15 pieces, place into a 9 x 13 pan, cover and let rise again.  Then bake.




The buns came out soft, chewy, and dense.  We think they're actually a very old-fashioned dinner roll. 


I know that the pudding seems weird - but it actually adds just a little sweetness.  Which is totally up
my alley when it's cold and crummy.

I think they would be a perfect compliment to a chili or a stew.  Something along those lines.

You should try it and let me know.

I gotta go curl up in a blankie. 

Winter is such a jerk.

xoxo - the Cane girl.

Tuesday 10 December 2013

Limeade Pie

I realize it's still the freaking Arctic Circle outside, but I think you need something reminiscent of summer.

Something light and fluffy.

Something like this pie.

Remember a little while ago when I made this Lemon Pie?  It's actually pretty similar....  Just different.

But kind of the same.

The only thing I can really recommend here is time.  I would say that you definitely need to refrigerate this for at least 8 hours to set up properly.  Overnight would be better.

 
In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk,

 
the limeade concentrate,

 
and three cups of Cool Whip.

 
Pour into a graham cracker crust and refrigerate.
 
Overnight is so best.

 
As a citrus lover, I really loved the tang of the filling.  I loved that it was so light and fluffy. 
 

Honestly, I know it's the dead of winter.  I know that it's going to be a gazillion years until Spring comes.

But if you're suffering from the Winter blues, I totally think that a light, fluffy, citrusy pie is the way to go.

And if you accidentally eat the entire thing - I won't judge you.

Dealing with the Winter blues - the Cane girl.

Friday 6 December 2013

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Er. Mah. Gerd. 

I made this soup a few weeks ago, and I didn't think it actually was a soup - it turned out more to be a pasta dish.

Which is not really what I wanted.

I wanted SOUP.

Rich and hearty and decadent.  SOUP.

So I made it again - but with changes that I thought would be great.

And since it's minus twenty gazillion degrees outside - I feel like you would love this soup too.

 
First - melt some butter.

 
Add some minced garlic.
 
 
Then add a little flour.

 
Add salt and pepper.


Then add chicken broth.


 
And red wine.

 
A can of crushed tomatoes.

 
Then a package of dry onion soup mix.

 
And stir it all together and cook for about 10 (to 15) minutes.

 
Then toss in basil.  You could use fresh - if you remember to buy it.  Otherwise, dried is a perfectly acceptable substitute.

 
Simmer for 45 minutes then add the tortellini.

 
Simmer for about 15 minutes (until the pasta is tender).  Then stir in the milk and the two remaining cups of broth.  I gave it another 10 minutes on the stove to pull together.

 
And serve.


And serve......


Oh my this is so good.

It actually gets better the next day too. 

So if you're looking for a rich, hearty soup to warm up your bones over the most recent cold snap - this would definitely be a wise decision.

And, if you're so inclined, you could likely fry up some group beef at the beginning of the recipe.  You could also use beef tortellini if you want.

Enjoy!  And keep those fingers and toes bundled up!

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Cilantro Lime Rice

I always find that the hardest thing about Tex Mex is the sides.
 
And although I didn't make this for a technically "Tex Mex" meal, I think it would work perfectly if you're in need of something.
 
And - surprise, surprise - it's super easy.
 
Although I will admit that cooking rice on the stove top scares me senseless.
 


In a medium pot on the stove, combine the rice, water, salt, and 1 teaspoon of oil.

 
And cook it up.
 
Then, in a medium bowl, combine the chopped cilantro (oh my yum), lime juice (deelish!), and the remaining oil.
 
 
Then stir in the cooked rice.

 
And serve!

 
I have to admit - at first bite I was somewhat hesitant.  The flavours were big and bold.  I was unsure about the combination.
 
But I wanted to give it a shot.  So I kept shovelling it in my pie hole.
 
And then it was - all of a sudden - delicious. 
 
(Although I didn't like the way the rice came out....  It was kind of chewy - I don't know.  I'm sure I did something wrong.  Remember?  Scared senseless.)
 
That Tracey - she knows things.
 
Thanks for visiting!  The Cane girl