CookThatBook

BBQ is a sacred endeavour in our household.

Originally our love affair with charcoal began years ago in our first apartment. Mr. Spock and I had completely gutted our entire living space and decided to embark upon an ambitious kitchen reno which rendered our cooking space unusable for several months. Finding a little hibachi out on the patio left by the previous owners, we began our foray into the world of charcoal grilling and BBQ. It’s amazing but you actually are able to cook three meals a day on a hibachi! By the time our kitchen was once again in working order we had become quite creative with our BBQ culinary efforts, producing tasty egg dishes for breakfast, various warm salad concoctions and even dessert.

We were hooked. The taste from charcoal is just so much more appealing – the flavour is incredible! In comparison, gas BBQs seem to make everything taste like propane. Now you’ll notice that I keep saying “we” when referring to our BBQ efforts. Let me set the record straight and say that it is the royal “we” I am using! The Spock man is the genius behind the grill in our house and I quickly became relegated to sous chef, a position I am quite happy to fill.  (Hey – I know where my strengths lie!)

Given our love for BBQ we recently jumped at the opportunity to register for a course in order to become certified Pacific Northwest BBQ Judges. In fact, that is how we celebrated our wedding anniversary! (Doesn’t everyone?!)

Over at Well Seasoned in Langley, owner Angie Quuale hosted a BBQ competition judging class on behalf of the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association (PNBA).  Throughout the evening our group of BBQ lovers learnt all about good “Q” and what to look for during a competition. At the end of the course we emerged as certified BBQ judges, able to participate in any PNWBA sanctioned contests.

It was great to hear Angie’s stories of BBQ successes and failures, along with other interesting anecdotes about what it’s like to be on the BBQ competition trail. We also learnt the difference between grilling (cooking directly over flames) and traditional American BBQ (meat cooked over indirect heat within a closed pit, using low heat and smoke from a charcoal or wood fire). It is the method of low and slow that allows the connective tissues of the meat to break down and turn what would have been tough cuts into delicious, tender morsels.

The old school style of BBQ has its roots in the American south, although the popularity of this style of cooking has since expanded across the globe. That being said, each state still tends to have its own style of BBQ. For example in Eastern North Carolina the ‘Q’ traditionally involves pork shoulder (or whole pig) cooked with hickory smoke that is pulled and mixed with a vinegar based BBQ sauce and served on a bun with slaw. In Western North Carolina it is all about the pork butt, seasoned with a tomato based vinegar sauce. Texas prefers beef brisket smoked with mesquite or oak, in Kansas City it is all about the sauce, and in Memphis ribs and shredded pork rule (wet or dry).

Pictured above are the four competitive food categories for BBQ competitions: (left to right) pork ribs, pork butt, chicken, beef brisket

I must admit that it felt a little strange critiquing BBQ that may not have been up to its original grand championship standards, but was still pretty darn tasty and nothing we would ever be ashamed to pull off our grill. Taking the judging course has definitely given me a new appreciation for good BBQ and the amount of energy (and money) that goes into preparing championship worthy dishes. Hopefully my hubby and I will get a chance to flash our new shiny judging badges at an upcoming competition!

For more information on the PNWBA or Well Seasond’s upcoming BBQ on the Bypass event, please visit www.pnwba.com and www.bbqonthebypass.com

Hello! Long time no blog (apologies for my absence). Thought I would bring you up to speed on what’s been happening in my life: We just finished moving to a new house! The combined chaos of packing and unpacking boxes plus a delayed internet connection are the reasons behind my online silence. We didn’t move anywhere exotic or overly exciting. In fact, we are only 15 minutes away from our old house. But we did trade this yard…

…for this yard…

But unfortunately that meant trading this kitchen…

…for this kitchen…

Understandably you can see how the foodie inside me was devastated! But the move has given me an opportunity to reflect on kitchen essentials. In particular, I found myself forced to determine what makes a kitchen functional, what are the vital requirements necessary for me to keep my sanity, what items am I willing to give up and what things would need to be pried from my cold dead arms?  I may laugh now, but trying to answer these questions caused a significant amount of stress at the time and even resulted in a marital spat or two between Mr. Spock and myself. Seriously! Having been pre-warned about the numerous fights and quarrels that would arise during the whole moving process, I was quite proud of how my hubby and I worked together in harmony. We were a team! Mutual agreement wherever we turned, solutions decided unanimously every chance we got. But all of that beautiful togetherness ended the day we started organizing the new kitchen. Watch out! Sparks flew, temps rose, harsh words were spoken. It got ugly…real fast.

Bottom line is that the kitchen is the most important element of a home for both Mr. Spock and me. It’s always been the hub of our family life, the place where we spend the most time together. Whether baking cookies with the kids, entertaining friends and family, or testing a new cookbook, the kitchen clocks the most occupancy hours out of any other room in the house. And because we are both such big foodies, we’ve become a little particular (ahem ‘anal’) over the years as to how and where and what is positioned in this revered space.

In the end I am happy to report that Mr. Spock and I managed to overcome our differences and organize the kitchen. Even if it meant rearranging the glassware six times.

What are some of your kitchen essentials? Are there particular gadgets or appliances you absolutely cannot live without? I’d love to hear your thoughts about what makes a kitchen functional!

Today I feel like the best Mom in the world.

My eldest daughter just turned four, and instead of the usual gong show birthday party madness we packed up the kids and headed to the Okanagan for a few days. It was the first time we celebrated her birthday without dozens of our nearest and dearest, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about her potential disappointment at not having a big party. So in order to circumvent any feelings of regret (hers and mine both) I went nuts on her cake.

Now my daughter has this pair of flower jammies that are her favourite sleepwear item in the world. Despite the fact she has a drawer full of equally lovely nighttime attire, nothing else will do except the ones with the crazy sixties flower print. She wears them every day, and if I dare throw them in the wash they better be ready come bedtime because this kid has no qualms when it comes to wearing them dirty or still damp from the wash.

Knowing her adoration for these jammies, I decided to make her birthday cake a sort of homage to this favoured item of clothing. I made a basic chocolate cake (two round layers), following a recipe from Ina Garten which turned out fabulous. The cake was rich and moist and so full of chocolaty goodness! For the icing I opted for a plain buttercream, whipped till frothy. (Click here for Ina Garten’s cake recipe and click here for my buttercream icing recipe)

Mr. Spock and I divided the icing and played with food colouring until our hands were stained all colours of the rainbow. Our efforts were worth it in the end because boy did we nail the colours of her jammies! It took a few hours to fully decorate the cake, as numerous trips into the fridge were necessary in order to firm up the icing before continuing with the multi-layered design.

At the end of the day I am pleased to say that the cake turned out absolutely amazing, tasted even better than it looked, and the birthday girl was giddy with excitement!

Today I feel like the best Mom in the world.

I used to pride myself on my pie making abilities. My family credited my talent to genes inherited from my grandmother, whose uncanny knack for pastry (which my Mom claims skipped a generation!) delivered many a delicious pie onto our table. Whether or not it was a genetic trait or simply the pastry gods smiling down on my attempts, baking pies came easily to me. In elementary school, I was responsible for all of my friend Annabella’s pastry projects in home economics while she took care of my math homework. Satisfaction with our arrangement was mutual. But it has been years since I’ve made a pie, my later attempts resulting only in tears and lost patience. My garbage became home to numerous batches of broken pastry tossed angrily away.

I decided to take an official sabbatical from pastry.

Then along with kids came a new appreciation for the convenience of ready-made pie crusts, so needless to say my rolling pin has remained dormant for a long time. But in the back of my mind I always knew there was something missing; that special satisfaction achieved only by home baking. So when I discovered the fact that January 23rd is National Pie Day, I decided that this would be an opportune time to dust off my pie making skills and give pastry from scratch another chance. My pastry coming out party? CookThatBook’s inaugrual pie making competition!

I challenged a group of my nearest and dearest to get their rolling pins out, dust off the ol’ apron, and cast aside the new years diet resolutions and come out to compete! The response was fantastic, and I was completely blown away by the number of entries we received as well as the level of competition. We’re talking about people deligently testing and refinning recipes weeks prior to the big day of reckoning. Hours of research online and in libraries and bookstores being dedicated to finding the perfect pie recipe. Sabotage, bribery, copious amounts of trash talk…it all made me come to one conclusion: people take their pie VERY seriously!

Once the votes were tallied the results shook out as follows:

First Prize – Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Now let it be said that my friend Jacqui ran a ruthless campaign during the lead up to the competition, instilling panic and fear into the hearts of the other contestants. She was going to win. There was no question. It just came down to which pie of hers would take home the coveted first prize (“Chocolate Bourbon Pecan” vs. “Ricotta Pine Nut”). So when the votes were tallied and it appeared she was indeed the winner, I was secretly happy (not to mention relieved as she would have definintely taken me outside and beaten me senseless with a pie plate). The amount of effort she put into her entries was almost freakish! She traveled across the Lower Mainland seeking out the best shop in town to purchase the highest quality chocolate she could find, made treks out to local dairy farms in search of fresh, double churrened butter, and because she can’t eat dairy she relied completely on her hubby to be her official taste tester. Jax, I will never forget the image of you holding the first place prize above your head singing “We are the Champions” as you left my house. Priceless. 

Second Prize – Pecan Custard Pie
This pie was one of my favourites and was made by Mr. Spock’s mom (no sucking up to my mother-in-law intended…it truly was one of my favourites!) I should also mention that Laurie was hardcore enough to make not one, not two, but THREE pies the day of the competition. All of them were delicious, including a gorgeous mile high “Lemon Meringue” and classic “Tarte Tatin”. Not only were her pies delicious, they looked fabulous and you could tell she put just as much effort into their presentation as she did into their assemblage. Such a well rounded competitor!   

Third Prize – East Van Vegan and Double Chocolate Pudding Pie
We ended up having a tie for third place, with my mother’s “Double Chocolate Pudding Pie” (couldn’t believe it was low-fat!) sharing honours with the “East Van Vegan Pie” which was my friend Chela’s first attempt at making a raw vegan dessert. Both pies couldn’t have been more different. The chocolaty goodness of my mom’s pie would be delicious on its own as a pudding, and Chela’s combination of banana, avocado, and cocoa captured within a nut crust was…well…interesting! Seriously though, it was my first experience with a raw vegan recipe and it made me curious to test a new raw foods cookbook that I received recently as a gift. (As a side note, Chela and her husband were so inspired by her efforts that they have since committed to 30 days of raw food and Bikram Yoga. Yes, they are my crazy friends).

To view the winning recipe click here

To view photos of some of the entries, click here

Established by the American Pie Council, National Pie Day is meant to celebrate everything about pies. Whether sweet, savoury, lattice style, open or double crust, the Council encourages people to bake and share pies on this day in order to draw attention to the love and enjoyment of pie making and eating. Often considered to be the ultimate comfort food, pies have a fascinating history that dates back to the time of the ancient Egyptians. The first pie recipe is credited to the Romans, and consisted of rye-crusted goat cheese and honey. Meat filling dominated early pies, which are said to have been made with more crust than innards (now that’s my kind of pie!) But google “pie recipes” today and you will find unlimited concoctions, styles and methods.

For more information please visit www.piecouncil.org

I have a confession to make: I’m a Capricorn. A perfectionist Capricorn to boot. This personality trait combined with my love for the holidays results in a significant amount of stress that stems from me having too many (impossibly high) expectations. This desire to have everything absolutely flawless goes beyond Christmas Day…it includes all of December! I want every day in the entire month to be this perfect holiday utopia where my house and family are full of Christmas cheer, peace, love, and happiness. In a nutshell? I want to have the epitome of the holiday spirit coming out of our every pore.

So when my fellow mommy friends and I started planning the month’s festivities waaaaay back in the month of September, I thought this would be the year everything on my list would be achieved in the most stress-free way imaginable. As busy parents with kids all under the age of twelve, experience has taught us that in order to keep our sanity we must be organized in order to be prepared in order to achieve our lofty goals in order to prevent melt-downs, fights with our husbands, last minute trips to grocery stores whose shelves have been previously raped and pillaged by mobs of stressed out shoppers.

We had a plan. I was excited.

But when the emails started circulating and we began booking our calendars with specific times for weekly advent sing-alongs, neighbourhood and work parties, a girls appetizer evening, rides on the Christmas train, carol ship nights, photos with Santa, Christmas cookie sessions with the kids, Christmas shopping and wrapping, u-cut Christmas tree expeditions, gingerbread house decorating, holiday movie nights with popcorn and homemade marshmallows, wreath making sessions…we all began to think we might have bitten off more than any human other than Martha Stewart could possibly chew. (Now believe me when I say that I could have gone on and on with my wish list for the holidays, but I figured by this point Mr. Spock would have garnered enough sympathetic supporters!)

Needless to say, my friends and I didn’t achieve half of what we initially planned. We realized that the biggest mistake we made was forgetting to schedule ‘life’ into the mix. So when the reality of time constraints, bills, back-to-back winter colds, work, and other mundane yet unavoidable responsibilities reared their heads we had to relinquish our lists.

As for Christmas dinner – my big piece de resistance for the holiday season – Mr. Spock will be the first to tell you that historically I have a tendency to get a little stressed over this event. My love of so many different holiday dishes usually means I end up with a menu that is a mile long, and as a result I find myself stuck in the kitchen for the entire day. Although the food turns out delicious, somehow the hour and a half that we sit and overindulge our taste buds doesn’t seem to satisfy all of my efforts. That is why traditionally by the end of the day you will find me dejectedly slouched at the table with the top button of my pants undone and a stack of seemingly never ending dishes, my kitchen completely destroyed. Every year I swear I’ll do things differently the next time around; be more organized, prepare as much as possible ahead of time, delegate more, and ensure there’s room in my day to enjoy the festivities of the 25^th instead of slaving away for hours in the kitchen.

As far as this year’s dinner was concerned, I am pleased to report that all went well! I was not stuck all day in the kitchen, I had lots of help from Mr. Spock and my Mom, as much prep as possible was all done beforehand, and the most important part…it tasted delicious!

Here’s what was served at my table on Christmas Day:

Breakfast
Christmas Morning Wife Saver (click here for the recipe)

Light Lunch
Assortment of appys…including Wrapped Brie with Caramelized Onions (click here for the recipe)

Dinner
Belfast Ham (click here for the recipe)
Smoked Turkey Breast Roll (click here for the recipe)
Mr. Spock’s Sinful Scalloped Potatoes (click here for the recipe)
Nana’s Famous Cranberry Sauce (click here for the recipe)
Stay-At-Home-Chef’s Holiday Cornbread Stuffing (click here for the recipe)
Brussels Sprout Slaw…this is the greatest Brussels Sprouts recipe for people who hate Brussels Sprouts! (click here for the recipe)

Dessert
Mini Mincemeat Pies
Vanilla Ice Cream