It’s birthday season in our family right now with Jen, her dad, and her mom all having birthdays this week.
A few years ago now I was trying to find a recipe for icing that my mother-in-law could eat. (She’s hypoglycemic and can’t have any extra sugar.) They had a recipe for a fluffy icing that was boxed puddling combined with boxed whipped cream. It worked really well but wasn’t sugar-free. I experimented and came up with this variation:
Fluffy Sugar-Free Icing
Makes enough icing for a 2-layer cake.
1 box of sugar-free jell-o pudding
3 cups of whipping cream
1 TBSP of Splenda white baking sugar
1/8th TSP of flavouring
Combine everything and whip for 3-4 minutes until it’s fluffy.
Hope this helps someone who hasn’t had a cake in a while.
“I’ll get veggies. There’s a shish-ka-bab barbeque vendor beside the meat pie,” Elyse said.
This would also work really well with steak.
Ingredients
Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium shallots, finely chopped
1-inch piece lemongrass
1 cup soup broth
2-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon thyme
1 tsp celery salt
Salt and pepper, to taste
Skewer
Peppers cut in 1.5 inch squares
Button Mushrooms or large mushrooms cut in half
Zucchini cut into cubes
Instructions
In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shallots and lemongrass and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
Add the soup broth, the grated or finely chopped ginger, then turn the heat up to high. Boil off the soup broth by half, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and lemon thyme, one tablespoon of celery salt, and taste for salt—add some table salt if you need it.
Pour the sauce into a food processor and blitz it until it becomes a thick puree; it should look a bit like a light green mayo, as everything will emulsify.
Place on pre-prepared skewers with vegetables with a sauce brush.
Cook skewers on the preheated grill until vegetables are tender and lightly charred, turning and basting vegetables with remaining sauce occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes.
Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available now! Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
“We found a stall selling deep fried balls of meat and peas,” Elyse interrupted them, bringing them each a battered ball on a stick. “It seemed pretty popular at dinnertime.”
“And since it’s dinner again for us, it makes sense,” Carter finished her thought. He took a bite and moaned. “That is delicious. We need this recipe for Jason.”
Although these are vegetarian, you could use shredded chicken or ground meat inside of them.
This article ran in All Lit Up‘s Test Kitchen blog that has since been discontinued and taken down.
Fear not! We’ve rescued it from the bowels of the internet and here it is:
Jen and Éric Desmarais are the husband-and-wife writing team behind the new adult series The Gates of Westmeath and its first book, Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers (Renaissance Press). They’re also dynamos in the kitchen; check out their recipes for two dishes found in the book: stuffed mooseballs and a chocolate and chili brownie. Is it lunchtime yet?
When writing about the restaurant Amontillado in Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers, we wanted a place that was both trendy and had amazing food. The kind of place both Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent would feel comfortable. Somewhere that had the atmosphere of a party, but the sophistication of haute-cuisine.
The food itself needed to be elevated but also diverse. We wanted something that reflected the city of Westmeath, but also our main characters’ personalities and love of food.
Stuffed Mooseballs
A picture of Jen and Eric’s stuffed mooseballs. They shine invitingly on the place, with a bit of wild rice and a sprig of parsley for garnish on the side.
The food was a fusion of Aboriginal, North American Italian, and Creole cuisines. […] Kennedy ordered, with Jason’s guidance, the Stuffed Mooseballs, which were moose meatballs in a primavera sauce stuffed with mushrooms and mozzarella.
‘This is amazing,’ Kennedy said, after trying both dishes.
–p211, Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
Stuffed mooseballs is a variation of an exploding meatball that Éric had developed for an all-day marathon of Good Omens a few years ago. He adapted it to have more of an Aboriginal and creole flavour profile and it turned out pretty well. We’re fairly sure that Alice (the Amontillado executive chef) would be appalled by our presentation, but it was delicious.
Ingredients
Meatball
500g ground moose or venison (extra lean ground beef is okay too)
150g ground pork or bacon
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chives or green onion stems
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika
1 cup mushrooms, chopped finely
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Primavera Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or half and half)
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Smoked salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon mint, chopped
1/8 teaspoon allspice
Instructions
Make the meatballs
Combine ground moose, ground pork, egg, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, chives, cayenne, celery salt, and paprika in a large bowl. Don’t overwork.
Mix mushrooms and mozzarella together.
Take 1 tablespoon of mushroom and mozzarella mix and wrap a quarter cup of meat mixture around it.
Place on a greased baking sheet.
Cook in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
Make the primavera sauce
Add butter, chicken broth, and cream to a pan.
Bring to a simmer and stir in cheese.
Season with salt, pepper, mint, and allspice.
Assemble
Toss meatballs and primavera sauce with pasta or serve with a side of plain wild rice.
Makes 12 balls.
Chocolate Chili Brownie
The chocolate and chili brownie was an idea that came to Éric when he was enjoying some dark chocolate he’d gotten for Christmas. The recipe is a simple brownie with real chocolate, but he added some allspice and chilies to spice things up.
A towering chocolate chilli brownie is pictured. It looks absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 baking dish. Set aside.
In a microwave-safe dish, melt butter and chocolate chips. Microwave 30 seconds and then stir. Repeat until creamy.
Whisk both the sugars into the chocolate and add the eggs, one at a time, whisking constantly, until evenly combined. Next, mix in the vanilla until smooth. Stir in the salt, cayenne, chili flakes, and flour until they’re evenly incorporated. Stir in the mini chips and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side comes out clean.
Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.
This makes me want to make them again.
If you make either of these, let me know how they turn out.
Some of my favourite memories from being a kid were meals that I got to build with my family but were just for me. Tacos, nachos, and pizza were event meals where we each got to make our own.
I’ve been coming up with other options to do with my kids and even guests. It makes them feel more connected to their meal. I guess it’s an IKEA effect for food.
Quiche is great for this, it can handle almost any extra ingredients, it’s filling, and most people like it.
Recipe-ish
What you need to make it is:
Eggs;
Milk, cream, Half and Half;
Muffin tins;
Oil spray; and
Fillings.
The important thing to remember is the ratio:
1 Egg + 1/2 cup of cream = 3 muffins with stuff
One caveat I’d have is if you’re using watery veggies like zucchini or mushrooms, you should lower the cream to 1/3.
Cook at 375 for 20-30 minutes.
As far as filling goes, my family’s favourites are: Shrimp, chicken, ham, bacon, onions, garlic, jalapeno, brie cheese, sharp cheddar, mushrooms, zucchini, and broccoli.
There’s no rule as to what you can put in, but all meats should be pre-cooked and I’d recommend cooking the watery veggies too.
This is a long recipe to make but it’s totally worth it. Change it up with some thyme or chives. Add different veggies. If you have left over rutabaga (never happens in our house), add that too.
The idea is to give a cookie recipe and invite 4 other creative types to do the same.
Peanut Butter, Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Adapted from “Purity Cook Book: The Complete Guide to Canadian Cooking” 1970’s edition. This as the first recipe I ever made one my own.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lightly Grease a Baking Sheet.
Sift together:
1 1/4 Cups Flour
1/2 TSP of Baking Soda
1/8 TSP Salt
Cream Together:
2/3 Cup Peanut Butter (Preferably Crunchy)
1/2 Cup Shortening (I use Margarine or Vegetable shortening)
2/3 Cup of Lightly Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup of Granulated (AKA White) Sugar
1/2 Cup of Butterscotch Chips
Blend in:
1 Egg
Stir in dry ingredients. Shape into small balls, using a tablespoon, and place on greased baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Press 1/2 inch thick with a fork.
Bake in Preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 15 minutes or until nicely browned.
