Pakaha Street Skewers from Winging It

“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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Place on pre-prepared skewers with vegetables with a sauce brush.
  5. 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
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Pakaha Balls (Vegetarian) from Winging It

“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.

Filling

  • 4 medium (500 grams) potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon oil or ghee
  • 1 tablespoon ginger minced or paste
  • 1 to 2 green chilies chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 cup green peas (boiled or frozen)
  • 1 teaspoon Pakaha Frienze (Substitute Garam Masala)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)

Breading

  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
  • 2 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Peel, halve and boil potatoes in a pot of water, until fork tender (not mushy). 
  2. Heat a pan with oil or ghee, add ginger & green chilies. Fry until ginger smells aromatic, for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  3. Stir in the green peas and saute for 2 mins.
  4. Add garam masala, cumin powder, celery salt, and paprika. Saute for 30 seconds.
  5. Stir in the potatoes and sprinkle salt. Mix and saute for 2 to 3 mins. 
  6. Set aside to cool.
  7. Mush mixture to be chunky (not mash).
  8. Taste and add more salt if needed. 
  9. Scoop mixture with tablespoons to make balls (Cool or freeze)
  10. Prepare breading by adding breadcrumbs, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl
  11. Beat eggs in separate bowl
  12. In third put the flour with some salt and pepper.
  13. Roll balls in flour, egg wash, then roll in the breading mixture. 
  14. Deep fry at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 2 minutes or until golden.
Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available now!
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
49th Shelf Crushing It
Indigo Books Crushing It
Archambault Crushing It
Amazon Crushing It
Rakuten Kobo Crushing It
Apple Books Crushing It

Test Kitchen: Mooseballs, Brownies, and Assassins (oh, my!)

Back in 2022, we created a few recipes based on Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers. We posted about it and linked to an article.

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

  1. Combine ground moose, ground pork, egg, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, chives, cayenne, celery salt, and paprika in a large bowl. Don’t overwork.
  2. Mix mushrooms and mozzarella together.
  3. Take 1 tablespoon of mushroom and mozzarella mix and wrap a quarter cup of meat mixture around it.
  4. Place on a greased baking sheet.
  5. Cook in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

Make the primavera sauce

  1. Add butter, chicken broth, and cream to a pan.
  2. Bring to a simmer and stir in cheese.
  3. Season with salt, pepper, mint, and allspice.

Assemble

  1. 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

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×9 baking dish. Set aside.
  2. In a microwave-safe dish, melt butter and chocolate chips. Microwave 30 seconds and then stir. Repeat until creamy.
  3. 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.
  4. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side comes out clean.
  5. 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.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers – Recipes

Hello Readers,

As a special treat, we wrote up a few recipes from our latest book Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers. They were published on the All Lit Up Blog,

The recipes are Moose Balls in Primavera sauce and Chocolate and Chilli Brownies.

Go check it out and enjoy.

Thank you, and if you make the recipes, let us know.

Jen and Éric

Build your own crustless quiche

Hello Food loving people,

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.

The rest is up to you.

Enjoy,

Éric

Turkey Pot Pie – Leftover Recipe

Hello Food Lovers,

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.

Turkey Pot Pie

Course Main Course
Cuisine English
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 2 Large Pies

Ingredients

Crust

  • 5 ½ Cups Flour
  • 1 ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 lbs Lard or Margarine
  • 1 Egg

Filling

  • 6-8 slices Bacon, chopped into cubes
  • 3-6 cloves Garlic mushed or chopped
  • 4 cups Turkey, cooked and cut up in cubes
  • 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
  • 1-2 tbsp Jalapeno, chopped and de-seeded
  • 1 cup Carrots, sliced or chopped
  • 2 stems Broccoli, sliced or chopped
  • 1 cup Zucchini, sliced or chopped
  • 1 cup Peas
  • 2 cups Mushrooms
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1 cup Gravy
  • 3-4 tbsp Flour
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Crust

  1. Combine first 4 ingredients and mix with Lard until the consistency of large meal.

  2. Mix Egg and vinegar mixture together and add to the rest and work with a fork until it's the right consistency.

  3. Chill if wanted.

Filling

  1. In large pan or wok, Cook Bacon and put to the side with chopped turkey and peas.

  2. In bacon grease fry the garlic, once slightly brown add the onions and jalapenos.

  3. Once the onions are translucent add carrots and broccoli. Cook on medium for 5-10 minutes.

  4. Once the carrots and broccoli are a little soft, add the rest of the veggies. Cook another 5 minutes.

  5. Add bacon, turkey, peas, salt, and pepper.

  6. Add milk and gravy, stir thoroughly.

  7. Add flour and stir until there are no lumps and sauce has thickened.

  8. Let cool for 10-20 minutes.

Putting it together

  1. Roll out dough into a large square and put it in an 8×8 square pan. Fill with half the cooled filling and cut a cover.

    Repeat for second pie. There should be just enough dough for 2.

  2. Use 1 egg yolk with a little milk as a wash for golden brown top.

  3. Cook for 30 minutes at 425°F.

  4. You can freeze the pie for up to a month. Defrost it in the fridge the day before and cook for 30 minutes at 350°F.

Enjoy,

Éric

Beer Battered Fish Recipe

Hello My Imaginary Friends,

This recipe is inspired by Alton Brown but I made some modifications in the proportions and spices.

I recommend 1855 Kichesippi Beer it’s really smooth and goes well with the Rainbow Trout.

Beer Battered Fish

Extra Crispy and flavourful battered fish.

Course Main Course
Cuisine English
Keyword Battered, beer, Fish, fried, pub
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Batter

  • 3/4 Cup Flour
  • 1/2 TBSP Baking powder
  • 1 TSP Dill
  • 1 TSP Pepper
  • 1/2 Bottle Dark or Amber Beer

Other

  • 3 Medium Fillets Rainbow Trout
  • 2 Litres Oil (Vegetable or Canola)
  • 1/4 Cup Cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Combine batter ingredients and mix until there are no lumps.

  2. Place in fridge and rest of 10-15 minutes

  3. Heat oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 Celsius) in skillet, wok, or deep fryer

  4. Remove skin of fish and cut into 4-6 inch squares

  5. Dry fish on paper towels and dredge in cornstarch  

  6. Drop fish into bowl of batter and make sure it’s well covered. Using a fork to lift the fish, place it into the oil.

  7. Cook until batter has solidified a little and flip. Once everything is golden brown (2-4 minutes) take out and drain on paper towel.

Do you have a favourite fish recipe?

Éric

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Spice Soup

Hello My Fall Friends,

I love everything pumpkin and decided to have some fun and make a new soup.

It turned out wonderfully and is Toddler Dragon approved.

Quick and Easy Pumpkin Spice Soup

All the yummyness of squash soup with a hint of pumpkin pie.

Course Soup
Keyword fall, gourd, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, spice, squash
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Liquid Ingredients

  • 4 cups soup broth vegetable or chicken
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 4 cups pumpkin puree Fresh roasted is best
  • 1 diced pear

Spices

  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp Allspice
  • 1/8 tsp Ginger
  • 1/8 tsp Ground cloves
  • 1 tbsp Brown sugar
  • 1/8 tsp Garlic powder
  • Salt & Pepper To Taste
  • 1/8 tsp Chipotle Optional

Instructions

  1. Add the liquid ingredients and the Spices into a large pot and bring to a simmer.

  2. Once the pear is soft blend the whole thing with a hand blender.

  3. Bring to a slow boil and take off heat. 
    Stir constantly to avoid burning.

  4. Serve hot with roasted pumpkin seeds and bread.

If you make the soup, let me know what you think.

Later Days,

Éric

Peanut Butter, Butterscotch Chip Cookies – Recipe

Hello My Imaginary Friends,

I’ve been challenged invited to take part in a Virtual Cookie Exchange, hosted by the wonderful Linda Poitevin.

VirtualCookie-Exchange-Blog-Hop-1

I was invited by the great, and powerful, S.M. Carrière. Find her recipe here.

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.

Makes 2 Dozen cookies

Enjoy!

Victims

I tag the following People:

Jen Desmarais

Jaime Coley-Wesner

April Laramey

Christine Armstrong

All are extremely talented in what they do and you should totally go check out their blogs.

 

What’s your favourite kind of cookie?

Eric

Chicken Noodle Soup – Recipe

My Wife (AKA. the Weditor) isn’t feeling well today. Whenever she’s feeling particularly bad I make her Chicken Noodle soup. I should save the bones from our turkeys but whenever I do they tend to freezerburn.

If like me you want to make fresh homemade soup once a year. Here’s a recipe for you.

Emergency, Day of, Chicken Noodle Soup

Makes 10 cups of soup.

You can buy soup stock but it’s 90% salt and if you truly want to show you care, make it yourself.

Part 1 – Soup Stock

  • 1 Grocery Store Rotisserie Chicken
  • 4 Stalks of celery
  • 1 large Yellow onion (Spanish or Sweet work too.)
  • 4 medium Carrots
  • Something Leafy (I like Artic Chard or Bok Choi but spinach or kale would do.)
  • 1 TBSP Diced Ginger
  • 1 Diced Clove Garlic.
  • 12 cups cold water

Debone the chicken and separate into three piles; Meat, Bones, and fat/Skin. The skin adds way to much grease.

Clean and Cut but DO NOT PEEL the onion, carrot and ginger. (The skin will the soup the nice yellow colour and add lots of flavour)

Cut the rest into chunks (You don’t have to be precise here I usualy just rip the stuff apart with my hands) and throw into a large pot. (Something that can hold 14 cups)

Bring to a boil. Stir and lower the heat to a simmer.

Cover and let simmer for 3 Hours.

After the simmering pass the soup through a colander to remove the soggy veggies and chicken bones.

You can now make soup or cool and freeze the stock for later.

Part 2 – The Soup

  • 10-12 Cups of soup stock
  • 4 Stalks of celery
  • 4 medium Carrots
  • Something Leafy (I like Artic Chard or Bok Choi but spinach or kale would do.)
  • Chicken meat (leftover from before.)
  • 1/2 TSPThyme
  • 1/4 TSP Pepper
  • 4-6 Cups Noodles
  • 2 Packets of soup base

Slice your celery and carrots, chop your leafy stuff, and place into the soup stock. Add chicken, thyme, pepper, and Noodles.

Bring soup to a boil, stir and then let simmer for half an hour.

Taste the soup. If it tastes great then put the Soup Base packets away, if it tastes a little watery (It probably will. Chicken isn’t the best kind of bone for flavour) add a packet of chicken base stir and taste again.

Add salt if necessary but you probably won’t need it.

Part 3 – Enjoy

You can eat the soup for the next few days or you can freeze it for up to 6 months.

 

Hope this helps you, or someone you love, feel better.

Éric