Tamarind Lime Tenderloin with Black Wild Rice

Last weekend we were on our way out to Fergus Ontario Canada to visit some friends when we spotted this local antique store with a bulk supply store next to it. While the girls went into the antique side, I went into the bulk store and found this amazing looking Black Wild Rice. I have never had black wild rice so I picked some up; but I needed something to pair with it... That's when I found Beef Tenderloin on sale and I picked it up! Because the kids don't always like "new" things I ended up cooking up some Uncle Ben's Spanish Style Rice and Green beans (as shown in the phone below).

Ingredients:

12 - oz of Tenderloin (or Steak)

1 - Tbsp Tamarind Sauce

1 - Tsp Soya Sauce

1 - Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 - Tsp Lime Juice

1 - Tbsp Sesame Seeds

1 - Cup of wild rice

Directions:

Cut the Tenderloin (Steak) into small pieces and place into a large plastic bag.

Add the sauces and sesame seeds into the bag and squish everything around. At this point you can refrigerate it for a couple of hours if you aren't planning on cooking right away.

The rice will take a lot longer than the meat so put the rices on 35 - 40 minutes before putting the meat on.

Cook the rice for 40 - 45 minutes.

Skewer and cook the meat on the BBQ until done. 6 - 8 minutes.

Let the meat sit for a couple of minutes.

Plate and Serve!

Parmesean Sage Turkey Burgers

This is another variation from a LCBO magazine recipe, Parmesan Sage Pork Burgers! Only I used Turkey instead of Pork. It was pretty easy to make but I still perfect my Beef Burgers over Turkey Burgers ;)

(I'm pretty happy with this photo, I just needed a nicer looking bun)

Ingredients:
1 - lbs (500g) Minced Turkey
1/2 - Cup (125 ml) Milk
1/4 - Cup Breadcrumbs
3 - Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 - Tbsp of Sage
3 - Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 - Tsp of Black Pepper
1 - Tsp of Salt

Directions:
Add the Bread Crumbs, Cheese, Sage, Garlic, Salt, pepper and combined.

Mix in the Milk.

Add in the Turkey and mix / fold together until everything is mixed together nicely. I did notice that this mixture was a lot sticker then when making normal beef burgers.

Split out into patties separated by parchment or wax paper. I normally get 4 - 5 depending on how thick I want to make them.

Freeze for later or cook right away on the BBQ.

When they are almost done, you can top with cheese.

Then top with your favorite topping.

Italian Rice Balls

This recipes comes to us from the May / June 2016 Canadian Running Magazine. I suggest picking up the magazine to make the dipping sauces that are suppose to accompany it. I didn't have any red peppers so I ended up making these as the starch to go with my BBQ Chicken and Zucchini Boats for dinner.

Ingredients (Rice and Mixture):
1 - Cup Rice (Recipe called for Short but I used Long and it was fine)
1/2 - Cup Ricotta
3/4 - Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
1 - Egg
1/8 - Cup Chopped Italian Herbs (Basil, Tarragon, thyme, Parsley)
1 - Tsp Salt
Zest from half a lemon

Ingredients (Rice Ball Coating):
1 - Egg
1 - Tbsp of Water
1 - Cup of Bread Crumbs

Directions:
Boil 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice and then reduce to a simmer. It will take about 25 - 30 minutes. Once cooked, let the rice cool a little bit. In the mean time you can work on the other part of the mixture.

In a large bowl, lightly beat an egg. Add in the Ricotta, Italian Herbs, Salt and Parmesan.

Mix everything together.

Once the rice has cooled to a point that you can handle it, add it to the bowl and mix everything together.

Form the rice mixtures into golf ball sized balls.

In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg and Tbsp of water together. Using a brush, brush the egg wash on a ball, then coat it in bread crumbs.

It a pan or wok, heat olive oil to Medium High and then add the rice balls. Turn them every 1 - 2 minutes, cooking for 5 - 8 minutes in total.

Remove the rice balls from the oil and place them on a paper towel. To keep them warm, you can pre-heat an oven to 250 degrees and put the rice balls inside.

Plate the rice balls and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top!

I struggled with making this look nice on a plate but I think the bottom photo looks a lot better.

Turmeric Slow Cooker Chicken

A big staple at my house is BBQ Chicken. The only downside with it is that the sauce is high in sugar. This recipe uses a bunch of other spices, the slow cooker and makes for a flavor-fully tender chicken! The picture shows it on top of Brown Basmati rice but I ended up adding mixing in Sour Cream and Peas to almost a Casserole type dish!




Ingredients:
1 - Tbsp Ground Turmeric
1 - Tbsp Ground Cumin
1 - Tbsp Ground Paprika
1 1/2 - Tsp Chile powder
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Tsp Sale
3 - Cloves Garlic
6 - Tbsp of Lemon Juice
2 - Large Chicken Breasts
1 - Cup of Water

(Note: Garam Masala isn't used in this recipe)

Directions:
Add all the spices to a mixing bowl.

Mix together.

Add in the Lemon juice and mix again.

Put the chicken in the bowl making sure to complete coat. At this point you can cover and put it in the fridge for an hour or overnight to let the flavors absorb into the Chicken.

Lightly oil the slow cooker, add the Chicken and then pour in the remaining sauce. Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours. I often do these things on low because I prepare them in the morning and have them cook all day for dinner that night.

Since I was home all day I checked on it a couple times and I ended up adding about 1/4 cup of water every hour (to about a full cup) or so as I felt like it was getting a little dry in there. After about 5 hours in the slow cooker it will look something like this.

(Bad lighting but it smelt really good)

Scoop over top of rice and serve or as I mentioned above, add sour cream and peas to make that Casserole type dish!

White and Sweet Potatoes Anna, BBQ Chicken with Shallot Red Wine Reduction

I saw this picture in the LCBO magazine and I wanted to make this dish. I love the way the the tops of the potatoes are browned, the sweet potato layer in the middle and the way it's cut and spaced so nicely.

(Image taken from Autumn 2014 - LCBO Food and Drink Magazine)

But.... not all my recipes end up looking as good as in the magazines. As I mentioned before, I really wanted to make this dish but because the potatoes would take a good 50 minutes to cook, I had to wait for a weekend to make this one. The other thing I was repeatedly asked / told in the days leading up to making it was "What's so special about this dish? It's just potatoes." Now granted it is pretty much just potatoes but for whatever reason I kind of took offense to that comment but that's when I realized that it was just a side dish and I needed to make something with it. I went with the classic BBQ chicken but decided to make a sauce out of some Red Wine and extra Shallots.

Note: My directions differ a little bit from the original LCBO magazine do to lack of cookware.

Ingredients (Potatoes):
4 - Medium Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 - Medium Sweet Potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 - Cup Butter, melted
Salt and Pepper
4 - Cloves of Garlic, chopped
1/4 - Cup of chopped sage



Ingredients (Chicken Sauce):
4 - Small Shallots. peeled and sliced
2 - Cloves of Garlic, chopped
1 - Tsp of Rosemary
5 - Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 - Cups Red Wine
1 1/2 - Cups Beef or Chicken Stock
1 - Tbsp Butter

(I really like how this photo turned out)

Directions:
Since the potatoes are going to take the longest to cook, lets start with those. Using three or four medium potatoes, skin and then thinly slice them.

In the original recipe you are supposed to brush butter in an ovenproof skillet or cast iron pan with but I don't have one (Christmas present Idea!!!) so I used this "Stoneware" container thing but I think not having the cast iron pan ultimately lead to my my final product not looking as good as the magazine.

Back to the recipe. Brush butter all around your oven proof pan. Tightly later potatoes (do a better job than I did).

(Layer 1) 

After each layer, brush with melted butter.

(Layer 2)

(Layer 3)

After laying the third layer sprinkle with half the garlic and half the sage. Now lay the three sweet potato layers brushing butter after each layer.

After laying the three layers of sweet potatoes (only two layers shown in the pictures) sprinkle the remaining garlic and sage on top. Lay two more layers of white potato brushing butter after each layer. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

If you are using the cast iron pan, place the potatoes on the stove over medium heat until the butter begins to sizzle. Cover the top with a round of parchment paper roughly the same size as the pan (it should just loosely over the potatoes). Put into the oven at 425 for 45 - 50 minutes or until potatoes are soft and the bottom and edges are golden.

After the potatoes have been baking for about 30 minutes we can start on the sauce. Put the Shallots into a frying pan with some butter. Saute over medium heat for 6 - 8 minutes or until the start to turn translucent. Add in Garlic and Rosemary and cook for another minute.

Add in 5 Tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar. At this point you should probably start the Chicken.

The Balsamic will bubble and start to reduce.

Let it reduce until almost completely gone.

Add in Red Wine and Stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium heat. The Sauce should reduce by about half at which point you can mix in some butter.

(I didn't let mine reduce enough)

Pull the Potatoes out of the oven and uncover.

Invert plate over pan and flip both pan and plate to turn out. Cut into Wedges (not as easy as it sounds...)

(As you can see, not exactly as the LCBO Magazine picture)

Plate the Potatoes with BBQ Chicken, top with the Wine Sauce.

As you can see, the potatoes didn't turn out as nicely as they did in the magazine and they were pretty much just potatoes.... If you think my sauce looks a little runny then you are right. I didn't let it thicken long enough or I should have added in some corn starch to help with the thickening. On a positive note the sauce tasted really good and went well with the chicken.