Category Archives: The Cooking Blog

Grilled Steak With Blue Cheese Potatoes Recipe

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Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1 3/4 pounds skirt steak
  • 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
  • Coarse salt
  • 3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Directions
  1. Stir garlic, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, and oil in a nonreactive dish; season with pepper. Place steak in dish, cutting to fit if necessary; coat both sides with marinade. Marinate, turning once, 15 minutes, or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. Cover potatoes with cold water in a medium saucepan; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; let cool slightly. Slice potatoes in half, and brush lightly with oil; season with salt and pepper.
  3. Preheat grill to high.
  4. Grill steak, turning once, to desired doneness, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Set aside. Meanwhile, grill potatoes, turning once, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with cheese. Thinly slice steak against grain. Divide steak and potatoes among 4 plates. Serve, garnished with rosemary sprigs.

Grilled Pizza Bread Recipe

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons ground Mediterranean oregano
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely ground red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • Flour
  • 3 one-pound balls of pizza dough
  • Chopped tomatoes, optional
  • Chopped onions, optional
  • Chopped fresh basil, optional
Directions
  1. In a small saucepan, combine the seasoning ingredients. Whisk over low heat just until the oil becomes fragrant and the mixture is warm. Remove from the heat and let rest for 2 hours at room temperature.
  2. Lightly flour one of the pizza dough balls and the back of a 15 x 10-inch baking sheet. Stretch out the dough to the size of the baking sheet and place it on the back of the floured baking sheet.
  3. Whisk the oil mixture and then generously oil the top side of the dough.
  4. Turn the baking sheet (like a big spatula!) with the dough directly onto the cooking grate. Remove the baking sheet and brush the top side of the dough with the seasoned oil. Grill over direct medium heat (350°F to 450°F), with the lid closed, until the underside of the dough is marked, 2 to 3 minutes. Don’t worry if the crust bubbles; it will deflate when turned over. Slide the dough onto the baking sheet and flip the uncooked side onto the cooking grate. Brush the top with more oil and continue to grill, with the lid closed, for 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Transfer to a cooling rack. Top with chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, and fresh basil, if desired. Cut into individual pieces. Repeat grilling procedure for the 2 remaining balls of dough. Serve warm.

Mother’s Day at the Cabin

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Mother's Day Gift

Well the boys surprised me with a new patio table set for the cabin.  It’s small but we only have a 8×8 deck and of course we are a small family.  We also have a picnic (or picinic if you are Yogi Bear) table and some other chairs if more friends drop by so we will be okay.  We already had a base for the umbrella so we are good to go.  We have a matching side table which complements it nicely.  I can’t wait for the weather to be consistently nice enough to use it.  Of course Jordon, Mark, and Oliver already ran the deck box up to the lake so we have a head start on outdoor living.

They also gave me a stacked drink dispenser which we will keep at the cabin.

Contemporary serveware

Jordon picked me up a cookbook called Complete Comfort Food by Bridget Jones.  

We tried this Whiskey RIbeye Marinade Recipe and didn’t like it.  Tender steak but whiskey taste.  Not a good combination if you are not a whiskey drinker.  While we were there, we were able to stop by Dennis and Wilda Camplin’s place where I was all inspired by their painting (I need to do more of it this year). 

I resolve | 2013 Edition

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Here are my resolutions for 2012, I didn’t do that bad on them except for the losing weight and being more active.

  • I do need and want to lose more weight and get into shape.  I am going to double down on last year’s goal of biking a total of 750 km’s a year.  I need to use Run Keeper more but I will definitely start hitting the bike trails around Saskatoon, no matter how unfriendly the city is to cyclists.
  • I need to get more organized.  I have some tools and plans and I want to both implement but document the process.  Last year I underwent a massive decluttering exercise (which I should start again today to get rid of the 2012 stuff that has accumulated).
  • I will write and blog more.  Last year I wanted to write daily but that isn’t going to happen.  Expect 3 posts a week here.  Not quite Kottke-esque but not really slouching either.
  • Read 12 books this year.
  • Paint three paintings this year.
  • Listen to more current music.  I love my jazz and blues but it’s time to discover new music.
  • Plan a date with Jordon every two weeks.  I am terrible at this but 2013 is the year it will change.
  • Play tennis weekly this summer.  I know the City of Saskatoon has let it’s (west side) tennis courts deteriorate (like our roads, snow removal, and a lot of other things) but I do want to develop a decent tennis game this summer.
  • Pick up a winter sport.  I don’t know what this will be but I need to be more active starting tomorrow.
  • Spend more time with friends in 2013.  I am horrible at keeping up with friends and it is a part of me that I want to change.
  • The Cooking Blog was either feast or famine in 2012.  I want to be more consistent with it including shooting some video and a lot more photography.  It should be fun.

So those are mine.  What are your resolutions in 2013?

Christmas Day

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Jordon did a writeup of what went down for Christmas so I won’t replicate that here but it has been a nice day.  For tonight we are making a traditional Christmas dinner with Rosemary Roasted Turkey, twice baked potatoes, salads, dressing, and even some turnips.  

Tomorrow the plan is to avoid the malls, go for a walk along the Meewasin Valley Trail and enjoy some of the teas that I got for my birthday.  Hopefully the weather cooperates but it’s Saskatchewan so you know it won’t.

I was spoiled this Christmas.  Jordon gave me some iPod speakers & some perfume.  Mark gave me a griddle and electric skillet.  Maggi gave me a kitchen scale.  Santa brought me a new a knife set and the famous Edge of Glory knife sharpener to help rehabilitate some of my knives that aren’t getting used.  Mark also gave me a pink Zepco fishing rod and tackle kit.  Luckily for me fishing isn’t that great near our cabin but I am looking forward to sitting down in the north beach of Arlington over some coffee and snacks with the boys.

Lee and Brittany gave me a Dutch Growers gift card which I can’t wait to use.

A couple of holiday recipes that I have been enjoying

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I thought I would post a couple of holiday recipes that I have been enjoying making this season.

Enjoy!

Deep Fried

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ABlack & Decker Deep Fryerfter talking about it for years, we went to XS Cargo and decided to purchase a deep fryer.  I wanted to try a couple of recipes that needed one, including how the Rook & Raven does chicken wings.  I have found a great recipe for their blue cheese dip but I want to do chicken wings the same way they do.

After looking around at a couple, we found this one for $20.  We took it home and fried up some chicken wings, fries, and some Vietnamese Spring Rolls.  It’s been fun so far and while I don’t think it will be used that often, it’s cool to break out for the ideal recipe.  I’ll be posting more deep fried recipes at The Cooking Blog as I try them.

The Holiday Season

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Oliver's Pogo StickWe are pretty well done for Christmas.  The last remaining gift to arrive is a kid’s pogo stick from Amazon.com and that should be here on Monday.

Oliver has been fixated on a pogo stick since the fall.  He has big plans for it and wants to pogo to the cabin, down the stairs, and even around town.  The problem is that he isn’t heavy enough to bounced a pogo stick and is actually quite terrified of one when Jordon showed him one at Toys R Us.  We thought that would the end of it but on the way out of the parking lot, he expressed confidence that Santa and his elves would find a way to work things out.

I was willing to let it go and just let Oliver’s hopes and dreams be crushed this Christmas but Jordon was surfing Amazon one night, he saw this one and ordered it.  It’s cheaper than a real pogo stick and yet fulfills Oliver’s need to pogo all over the place (we hope).  If not, we will just toss Santa under the bus.

In the past I was overwhelmed at Christmas but a combination of medication that seems to be working and Jordon’s organizational help, Christmas has been quite easy this year.  We started planning and shopping back in September so we were able to get what we needed early and since then have just been picking up some small stuff.  

We do plan to have a Christmas party just before Christmas.  I am working on recipes as I write this which should be fun.  As for Christmas itself, we are heading out to Lee & Brittany’s Christmas Eve to have a traditional Christmas meal of lasagna before exchanging gifts.  On Christmas Day we will be alone but plan to have a big breakfast and an actual Christmas meal with ham, turkey, and the trimmings.  In between the eating we will spend a lot of time hanging out with the boys.  Jordon bought Mark a Magic Igloo Maker so I assume we will spending part of Christmas day hanging out in an igloo.  Mark is out making it now.  We also plan to get some skating in, take some winter photographs, and watch some movies over the holiday week.

There isn’t that much to do between now and then.  My work doesn’t have a Christmas party as most of the long term staff are long gone.  Jordon’s Christmas party is on the 21st but other than that, we don’t have a lot going on which is a big change from when Jordon worked at the Salvation Army.  

Well however it works out, I am looking forward to the holidays this season.  It should be a nice one.