One of my favourite meals for a large gang at the cabin is homemade pizza. While chopping up all the ingredients is very labour intensive, the kids, as well as the adults love making their own pizza. The trick is remembering which is which.

I usually cheat and buy a package of the mini crusts, along with assorted grated cheeses. If I have more time I like to make the crust from scratch. Below is Emiril’s homemade crust - delicious, thick and chewy. The perfect crust. While my kids prefer ham and pineapple, my favourite toppings include: goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, some caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts and prosciutto.

Basic Pizza Dough:
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon saltIn a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 1 tablespoon oil, stirring to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but still slightly sticky. You may not need all of the flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.

Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place, free from drafts until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 15-inch circle.

Yield: dough for 1 (15-inch) pizza

If you’re feeling brave, you may want to try Emiril’s Pulled Pork BBQ Pizza - this recipe looks awesome.

What’s your favourite pizza topping?

Cheers,

Julie

How do you like your apples? I like my apples - crisp, that is with butter, brown sugar, oatmeal and a hint of cinnamon.

If there’s ever a dessert that is truly Canadian I think apple crisp would be it. My mom often made this recipe for us during the wintertime. My favourite part is the crumbly topping. It’s easy to make, and adding things like cranberries or pecans only adds to the flavour.

I love it with ice cream, but you can top it off with butterscotch sauce or fresh whip cream. I think a tart apple like a Granny Smith or McIntosh is the best way to go.

Apple Crisp

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Vanilla ice cream on the side

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350degrees Farenheit. Butter an 8 square baking dish

For topping, combine the butter, sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon in a bowl. Work together with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Toss in nuts; set aside.

Toss the apples with lemon juice and spoon into the baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over the apples. Bake in center of the oven for 1 hour or until bubbly and the apples are tender. Let cool slightly. Serve warm, topped with ice cream or cream, if desired.

Cheers,

Julie

There’s only one thing better than hot buttered popcorn - sweet caramelized maple popcorn. Taken from The Sapsucker, the local Vancouver Island maple syrup producers bi-annual newsletter, this sticky crunchy treat is a winner.

I must admit, I don’t eat sugar, but a lone kernel found it’s way into my mouth - and was it ever good. This is a fun snack to make with the kids.

Caramelized Maple Popcorn

• 1/2 cup popping corn
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup bigleaf maple syrup ( I used Canada No.1 medium maple syrup - store grade)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pop enough corn to make 10 - 12 cups. Place in a large roasting pan and set aside. In a small saucepan melt butter then mix in syrup, brown sugar and salt. Boil for five minutes without stirring. Don’t let it get to hot, I burned my first batch. Remove from heat then stir in baking soda and vanilla extract. Pour mixture over popcorn and mix well. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Looking for a good all-round barbecue sauce? The Ontario Maple Syrup Producers have a terrific website loaded with maple based recipes. Maple Syrup Barbecue Sauce is one that I have had great success with. It works well in a slow cooker with 3 lbs of ribs cut into 2 inch length pieces.

Maple Syrup Barbecue Sauce

• 3/4 cup (175 ml) pure maple syrup
• 1 cup (250 ml) ketchup
• 2 tsp (10 ml) grated lemon rind, optional
• 1 cup (250 ml) onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) water
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 1/2 tsp (2 ml) coriander, optional

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered, in refrigerator for up to 1 month. Yield: about 4 cups (1 L).

Cheers,

Julie

The gray plastic spigot is placed in the newly drilled angled hole, just inside the thick greyish-brown tree bark. A plastic pail is hung to catch the sap that will slowly pour from the trunk. Over the next 36 hours, 100 litres of sap will be collected from this tree and boiled down to make 1.5 litres of maple syrup. Remarkable considering an average sugar maple tree in eastern Canada only produces 35 to 50 litres of sap, and that’s over six weeks.

These are no ordinary maple trees. The Big Leaf Maple is the largest maple tree grown in Canada. Indigenous to B.C’s coastal forests, its sap has less sugar content the traditional Sugar Maple or the Hard Maple, but what it lacks in sweetness, it makes up for in volume.

Tapping for Gold

Locals on Vancouver Island have been making maple syrup for their own use for years. Commercial production began in 2005. It’s estimated there are over 600 tappers throughout the Island. Last year over 60,000 litres of sap was collected or the equivalent of 1,000 litres of syrup.

While the industry is small, the demand for the liquid gold is great. According to Gary Backlund, owner of a small managed forest on the north side of Ladysmith harbour, the syrup sells for up to $100 a litre. “We can’t keep it in stock. It sells out,” he explains. Most people are not putting it on their pancakes, but treating it as a specialty cooking product like saffron.

More Flavourful Taste

The Big Leaf Maple syrup is constantly being compared to its eastern cousins, and while some samplers say it tastes the same, others find it less sweet, more aromatic. Backlund states there is a huge difference between the Island syrup and what you buy at Costco, “It has lots of flavour: maple, coffee, vanilla, licorice, carmel blended with butterscotch.”

Unfortunately this year’s season which starts in November is coming to an end. Next year I will be making a trip over to Vancouver Island to attend the Maple Syrup Festival held in Duncan’s B.C. Forest Discover Centre. Judging by this year’s crowds, I had better get there early. For highlights of the Festival visit Don Genova’s Blog and download the audio file.

Tomorrow a treat for the kids - Caramelized Maple Popcorn

Cheers,

Julie

Yes for those lucky folks in Eastern Canada, the arrival of spring heralds the start of the maple syrup festivals. From Warkworth to Sunderland, the sap is running and the golden fluffy pancakes are dripping in the sweet amber liquid.

Canada produces about 85% of the world’s maple syrup, selling more than 32,500 tonnes to over 45 different countries. As a child I would go with my parents to the sugar bush and wait while the hot syrup was poured onto the snow then carefully wrapped around a popsicle stick. The golden toffee literally melted in my mouth.

The festivals taking place throughout southern Ontario during the month of March are a great opportunity to see and hear all about the production process. For example, an average tree will yield between 35 to 50 litres of sap to produce 1 to 1.5 litres of syrup. All maple syrup is graded by colour and number. Canada #1 Extra Light is the creme de la creme and is made from the first run of the season. It’s also the most expensive. Canada No.2 is an amber syrup and arrives near the end of the cycle. Canada No.3 is dark. A 50 ml serving of maple syrup contains 167 calories, 43 grams of sugar, 117 mg of potassium and 7 mg of sodium.

To find a festival in your area, click on Ontario Maple Syrup Festivals 2008 for more information. If you don’t happen to live in Ontario, you can join our online celebration at CottageDaily.com where all this week we will be featuring maple syrup recipes like Maple Syrup Barbecue and how the folks on Vancouver Island are producing a maple syrup that sells for over $100 a litre.

Cheers,

Julie

While the guys are fine with chowing down on nachos and cold pizza, the girls are a little more particular about what they eat. The key to a good weekend is not to fuss, but still manage to provide good food. Nobody wants to be stuck in the kitchen and miss the opportunity to pour through the latest editions of People or In Style magazines.

As hostess, I have the challenge of providing a menu that can accommodate a wide range of tastes, diets and allergies. When in doubt keep it simple. So here are some breakfast and snack ideas for keeping my guests well fed this weekend.

Breakfast - Buffet Style

• Liberte Yogurt - lemon is my favourite, but I buy their small containers in a variety of flavours
• Home made granola - see Horne Lake Granola -not to sweet, but lots of crunch
• Fresh Squeezed orange juice (available at my grocery store)
• Strawberries and bananas
• Coffee - Starbucks (Vancouverites love their “buckers”)

Apres Ski

• French loaf (pre-baked - just heat for 10 minutes)
• Double Cream Pepper Brie
• Sliced granny smith apples & green grapes
• Smoked almonds
• Gray Monk’s Pinot Gris or Niersteiner Kabinett (light fruity inexpensive German wine)

I must admit this is the first time I’ve done an all girls ski weekend. I’m not sure how much enthusiasm there will be for late night partying. I As an alternative to the crowded bars and 20 somethings, I’ve decided to pack our poker kit complete with cheat sheets. After all, if it works for the guys…

Cheers,

Julie

I have always believed the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. When it comes to love, I have used every trick in the book. I passed my mom’s apple pie off as my own and tricked my husband into marrying me. And then there was the time I backed his car into a tree, we had shepherd’s pie that night for dinner.

While some people rely on aphrodisiacs like oysters, chocolate and caviar (high in zinc, stimulates formation of testosterone), I’ve found comfort food works the best. This year I’m going with a traditional recipe, Beef Stroganoff. You can never go wrong with beef, noodles and cream. And for dessert? Mom’s apple pie.
Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

1 2 1/2-pound piece beef tenderloin, well trimmed, meat cut into 2×1x1/2 inch strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 pound small button mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 10oz cans beef broth
2 tablespoons Cognac
1 1/2 - 2 cups sour cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

12 ounces wide egg noodles
1 tablespoon paprika

Directions

Pat meat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat until very hot. Working in batches, add meat in single layer and cook just until brown on outside, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped shallots and sauté until tender, scraping up browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add button mushrooms. Sprinkle with pepper and sauté until liquid evaporates, about 12 minutes. Add beef broth, then Cognac. Simmer until liquid thickens and just coats mushrooms, about 14 minutes. Stir in sour cream and Dijon mustard. Add meat and any accumulated juices from baking sheet. Simmer over medium-low heat until meat is heated through but still medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Stir in chopped dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide noodles among plates. Top with beef and sauce. Sprinkle generously with paprika.

Happy Valentines Day.

Julie

Before heading out to the cottage or up to Whistler, I make sure I’ve packed a bag of road snacks and something to drink. Prechildren the bag consisted of:

• Bag of red Twizzlers
• Big bag of potato chips
• Pop
• Chocolate macaroons

It’s little wonder Bill and I often didn’t feel well by the time we got to where we were going, but eating junk food was just part of our adventure. Now that we have two small children we try not to eat like that, at least not in front of them.

These days I try to pack some strawberries, grapes and apples washed and cut up in plastic containers, granola bars and popcorn. If I have time, I like to make my own road snacks: Spicy Almonds and Nuts & Bolts. These are also great appetizers to serve during happy hour at the cottage.

Sweet & Spicy Nuts (Cottage Life’s Summer Weekend Cookbook)

• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 cups blanched whole almonds (or pecans)
• 2 tsp table sugar
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne or hot sauce

Directions:

Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add almonds, sprinkle with sugar and toss over medium-heat until nuts are a light, even brown. Turn out into a bowl and toss with cumin, cayenne and salt. Spread nuts on a paper towel to cool. Store in an airtight tin. Makes 2 cups (500 ml).

Nuts & Bolts

• 1/2 box cheerios
• 2 pkg pretzels ( 1 bag round and 1 bag sticks)
• 1 box shreddies
• 3 cups peanuts

Combine the top ingredients together. In a separate bowl combine:

• 1 cup of melted salted butter
• 3/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp onion salt
• 2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Using a large roasting pan, combine the dry ingredients with the butter mixture and stir well. Cook uncovered 1.5 hours at 225 degrees F stirring occasionally.

Here’s to a crunchin munchin road trip.

Cheers,

Julie

And the winners of The Great Frozen Dinner Entre are…..

1. Costco’s Kettle Creek Ribs - These gooey barbecued ribs are still my number one favourite - just heat and serve. One rack with feed two adults.They retail for $13.00 a slab.
2. M&M Cabbage Rolls - Sweet - comes in two serving sizes, heat and serve. Small portion contains 6 rolls, and retails for $8.99.
3. Costco’s Zinetti’s Chicken Florentine - at first I balked, but the cream sauce is yummy, and the noodles are firm. I would even consider serving this one to company. Great with a salad (note it takes 70 minutes to cook in the oven), and retails for $13.00. One package contains two trays and would likely feed 10 people in total.
4. Costco’s Mrs. Paterson’s Aussie Pie - 9 individual chicken pot pies. These buttery flavoured pastries make a great lunch served on their own, or add a salad and have them for dinner. Everyone liked the flavour and texture of these frozen pies.
5. President’s Choice Smokin Stampede Sliced Beef Brisket - sent to us by Chris McNeil, they are described as being, “thinly sliced dripping with thick spicy Chipotle BBQ sauce.” Chris suggests serving them on rolls with a salad or french fry wedges. They feed four people.

My search is by no means over. I will continue to shop the frozen food isles in search of the perfect pre-fab dinner. In the meantime if you come across something you love, or a website that has great recipes, please feel free to share them with the rest of us.

Cheers,

Julie

I came across this recipe in my latest edition of Ski Canada magazine. Looking at the ingredients: nuts, dark chocolate, dried fruit and butter, I’m thinking these certainly sound a whole lot better than the Nature Valley granola bars I snack on.

This has to be as close to healthy as delicious gets. The recipe hails from the Chic-Chocs Mountain Lodge in Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula. I’m going to try these out on the kids as a substitute for breakfast on the mornings we’re scrambling to get to the hill for ski lessons, that is, if we don’t eat them all first.

Chic-Chocs Moutain Lodge Granola Bars

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup dried fruits
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 300 ml (1 can) condensed milk

Butter a pan (not sure what size - I’m guessing 9 x 13). Mix all dry ingredients. Add the condensed milk along with the butter and mix well with a wooden spoon. Pour mixture in the pan and press lightly to even out. Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 325F. Let cool in pan, cut in portions and wrap in plastic wrap. Keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator.

Cheers,

Julie