Tag Archives: pepper

The Wannabe Gourmet’s Special Deviled Eggs

There are as many different deviled egg recipes as there are stars in the sky. Our version uses both horseradish and Old Bay to amp up the flavours. A winner in our neighbourhood Deviled Egg-off…great at any gathering any time of the year!

18 hard-boiled large eggs
1/4 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
2 to 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish (not horseradish sauce)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon dill pickle cubes
2 tablespoons prepared (yellow) mustard
1/4 teaspoon finely ground pepper
Old Bay Seasoning

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a bowl; set whites aside.

Either mash the yolks manually or using a hand mixer on low. Add mayonnaise, horseradish, dill, dill pickle cubes, mustard, and pepper; mix until well combined. Mixture should be thick. Using two spoons, return yolk mixture to reserved egg white halves. Dust eggs with Old Bay Seasoning. Keep chilled until time to serve.

Makes 36 appetizers, which serves about 9.

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Holiday Prime Rib

Sorry for the lateness of this recipe — we celebrated the Christmas Holiday with it, along with stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry congeal, and of course, horseradish.

(Must remember to NOT use the small plates when dishing this up, next time!!!)

5 pounds prime rib roast (see note)
1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
kosher salt

Place rib roast on a plate and allow to come to room temperature, approximately 4-4.5 hours.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Combine butter, pepper, garlic, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture evenly over entire roast (top, bottom, and both sides). Season roast generously with kosher salt. It shouldn’t have a salt crust, but it should have enough for flavour. (As a variation, you can slice your garlic cloves into thin slices and, using the sharp point of a knife, insert them randomly over your roast’s top side — then using the butter, pepper, and Italian seasoning (omitting the minced garlic) to coat the roast.) Place roast in a roasting pan and cover with the lid.
Place the covered roasting pan in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Turn the oven off. Leave the roast in the pan, in the oven with the door closed, let the roast sit in the oven for 2 hours. Remove roast from the oven, slice, and serve.

To calculate the roast’s cooking time, multiply the exact weight of the roast by 5, and then round the resulting number to the nearest whole number.  Roast the prime rib at 500 degrees F for that precise amount of time (i.e., 6.5 pounds would be 6.5×5=32.5, so you’d roast for 33 minutes).  Remember to not open the oven door during the two hour cool down of the oven. In the event you have a convection oven that has a fan to automatically cool down the oven after you turn it off, you’ll either need to disable that function, or unplug your oven so that the cool down occurs naturally, unassisted by the fan.

One further note: Because of the fat content of the roast, and the additional fat provided by the butter coating, it is very important to have proper ventilation in your kitchen. Otherwise, your smoke detectors WILL go off, and you may be visited by your local Fire Department.

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Chicken Picatta with Lemon and Pickled Peppercorns

A little bit of a change from your traditional chicken picatta, using pickled peppercorns instead of capers (find them in your supermarket in the same area — normally next to the olives). They give a great flavour without adding heat. Please don’t be put off by the length of ingredients — it’s really a simple dish to create!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves pounded to 1/4″ thickness
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 egg
1 tbsp water
1 tsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter (separated)
2 lemons (one juiced, one cut into slices)
1 cup dry white wine (if you choose not to use alcohol in your cooking, you may substitute chicken stock)
4 tbsp pickled peppercorns (drained from brine)
cooked brown rice

In a shallow dish, beat egg and water until combined; set aside. In another shallow dish, add flour, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil and 2 tbsp of the butter. Once that has melted and begins to sizzle, dredge chicken first in the beaten egg (allow excess to drain off), then in flour mixture. Place in pan. Cook 4-5 minutes per side, or until brown and slightly springy to the touch. Once chicken has been cooked, remove pieces to a warmed serving platter and cover to keep warm. Take pan off the heat and add the wine. Place back over heat and allow to come to a slight bubble. Add juice of one lemon and the peppercorns. Allow to reduce slightly then remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 tbsp of butter. Swirl until melted.

Serve by placing brown rice on your plate, then a chicken breast cutlet, a slice of lemon, and pour some of the peppercorn pan sauce over top. Add a green salad for a complete meal.

Serves: 4.

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Braised Onions, Potatoes & Spinach

Braised Onions, Potatoes & Spinach

1 tbsp olive oil
4 medium onions, sliced thinly
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp minced, peeled ginger
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 14-ounce diced tomatoes in juice (fire roasted works nicely if you can find them)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 lbs potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 lb fresh spinach, washed, drained, and any tough stems removed
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

In large skillet, add oil over medium heat until light wisps of smoke appear (about 60 seconds). Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned (about 8 minutes). Add garlic, ginger, cumin, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cloves. Cook for and additional minute, stirring to combine. Add tomatoes with juice and vegetable broth, stirring to combine. Increase heat and bring to a boil.

Add potatoes and stir to combine. Place in a baking dish and bake in at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. At this point, turn oven off. The residual heat will complete the cooking process. In 1/4 lb batches, add spinach, stirring well after each addition, until spinach submerged in the liquid. In small bowl, dissolve cayenne in lime juice. Add to baking dish and stir well. Return to oven for another 10 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.

Serves 8 as a side dish, 4 as a main course.

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