For many people, June is happy month! School is ending, the days are longer, the sun is warmer, many workplaces have summer hours and people are generally in a happier place! When people are happier, they are more likely to share that happiness with friends and family by hosting parties; be it in the backyard, around the pool or at the cottage. As a caterer, that makes me happy! It’s going to be a busy cooking season with weddings, bon voyage parties, cocktail parties and birthday celebrations booked. Summer menus are bursting with bright colours, simple cooking methods and a focus on fresh flavours. For some hosts, hiring a caterer is the best option for them; no mess, no work and no stress. Others like the thrill of planning a menu, sourcing the best ingredients and making their tables a picture of summer beauty. Regardless of what category you fall into, I have something to make your summer entertaining a breeze. Pour yourself a glass of cool lemonade and browse through my summer catering menu (http://nhughes.homestead.com/hireachef.html) or sip away and start planning your next menu with two of my easy no fuss summer entertaining recipes. Either way, have a wonderful and delicious start to your summer!
Ricotta Fritters with Fresh Ontario Tomato & Mint Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients:
• 500g fresh ricotta
• ¼ cup (20g) finely grated parmesan
• 2 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra, for dusting
• ¼ cup chopped chives
• 1 egg
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 eggwhite
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large tomato, diced
• ¼ cup minced red onion or sweet Vidalia onion
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped mint
• Salt and pepper to serve
1. Place the ricotta, parmesan, flour, chives, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggwhite until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped egg through the ricotta mixture.
3. Using moistened hands, shape ¼-cupfuls of the mixture into fritters and dust each side with the extra flour. DO AHEAD: the fritters can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
4. For the salad, combine the tomato, onion and mint in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook the fritters, in batches, for 2–3 minutes on each side or until browned.
6. Serve with a tomato, mint and onion salad.
Fresh Strawberry Bellini
Serves 8
Ingredients:
• 1 bottle Prosecco or sparkling wine
• 2 cups pureed and strained fresh strawberries
• Fresh mint for garnish
Place 8 Champagne flutes in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Open the prosecco and let it stand in an ice bucket for 5 minutes.
Into a pitcher, pour the 2 cups pureed strawberries.
Gently pour in the bottle of prosecco and stir gently to combine.
Divide among Champagne flutes and serve garnished with a mint sprig.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author. Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
Spring means getting outdoors more with your children; or sending them outside to play while you enjoy the peace and quiet inside. Whatever your preference, you don’t want meal preparation to interrupt play time after school or mommy’s quiet time! Here is a quick afternoon snack for the kids that you can have ready for when they come home from school. Ask them to take it outside while you put the water on to boil for a spring Pasta Primavera. While you’re waiting, flip through a magazine, put your feet up and wave happily at them through the window! Enjoy!
Fresh Fruit Sundae Cones
Makes 4 cones
Ingredients 3/4 cup cut-up strawberries
2 cups cut-up fruit, such as apples, bananas, cherries, seedless red grapes, kiwifruit, plums, and/or peaches
4 large waffle cones
1/4 cup toasted coconut (optional)
Directions 1. Place strawberries in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Spoon cut-up fruit equally into cones. Drizzle with the strawberry puree. If desired, top with coconut.
PASTA PRIMAVERA
Serves 6-8
Preparation Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time 10 minutes
Notes: Pasta Primavera literally translates to “Spring Pasta”.
Ingredients • 500g dried Fettuccine
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) green peas
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped basil (optional)
1. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine, stir and bring back to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes for al dente. Drain but reserve 185ml of the water.
2. While the fettuccine is cooking, heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until just golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in peas, salt and pepper. Immediately cover and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
3. In the same skillet over medium heat, toss the hot, drained pasta with reserved pasta water, cheese and lemon juice.
4. Gently toss mushroom mixture and tomatoes into the pasta. Season to taste, transfer to serving bowl(s), top with basil and serve.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author. Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
“Mom, I’m hungry!” That seems to be the Battle Cry of the Child during March break. For the week that my two boys have off during March, it seems like no matter how much I feed them, they still insist they are hungry. True enough my 9 year old can out eat me right now but it’s probably more to do with the increase in activity they experience during this week than anything else. This is a week where they are not chained to their school desks and are free to run amuck doing what little boys do, leaving a path of destruction in their wake. In order to get them to sit still for 28 seconds while I clear the rubble, I serve them Crispy Chicken Chunks with Honey-Mustard Dip for a snack or with a salad for dinner. This homemade version is a fantastic alternative to the pre-packaged frozen variety as you can control the salt and fat content. Enjoy your time with your kids this March Break, I’m told these years go by fast….yeah, right!
Crispy Chicken Chunks with Honey-Mustard Dip
Makes 8 servings
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes
1. Stir together mayonnaise, mustard and honey in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425F.
3. Cut chicken into 1-1/2-inch pieces. Combine flour, parsley, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. Add chicken pieces, a few at a time, to the flour mixture. Close the bag; shake to coat chicken pieces. Set chicken aside.
4. Combine beaten egg and milk in a bowl. Place crushed crackers in another bowl. Dip flour-coated chicken pieces, one-fourth at a time, into the egg-and-milk mixture. Roll the pieces in crackers. Place in a single layer on a large ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.
5. Serve with dip and your child’s favourite cut up vegetables or salad.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author.Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
They do say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and it seems this old adage holds true for even the youngest of men.My little man who is 5 years old proclaimed, “Mommy you must love me a lot to make this cake because it’s full of yummy!”The cake in question was an old recipe of my aunt’s for Chocolate Cake which for some reason that day, I decided to jazz up with raisins and dried cranberries for a bit of a twist.It’s now known as Yummy Love Cake in our house.What I like about this recipe is that usually I have all of the ingredients on hand so I can bring out the love whenever the occasion calls for it.I’m happy to spread a little chocolate love your way this month!Enjoy!
Yummy Love Cake
Serves 10-12
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:40 minutes
Notes:This cake freezes excellently.To do so, cool cake completely and do not glaze with chocolate ganache.Wrap cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and glaze with chocolate ganache when ready to serve.
Ingredients:
1 cup raisins (or ½ cup raisins and ½ cup dried cranberries)
1 cup sugar
125g (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chopped
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves (or substitute ½ teaspoon allspice)
375ml (1 ½ cups) cold water
50g ( ½ cup) good quality cocoa powder, sifted
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
300g (2 cups) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Chocolate Ganache:
200g dark chocolate, chopped
150ml (2/3 cup) whipping cream
1.Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.Grease a deep bundt pan with soft butter.
2.Combine the raisins, sugar, butter, cinnamon, cloves, water, sifted cocoa and salt in a medium saucepan.Bring to a boil over medium heat and then lightly boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3.Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool.
4.When cool, stir in vanilla and then flour and baking soda.Stir until combined.Spread mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes or until cooked through (a skewer inserted into middle of cake should come out clean).Transfer cake pan to a wire rack and allow to cool slightly.Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.
5.For the Chocolate Ganache: Combine the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure bowl does not touch water).Stir until chocolate is melted.Cool slightly and pour over cake.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author.Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
Rejoice, rejoice the new year is here! A new start to the year can bring a much needed new way of eating; mind you anything would be a new way to eat after how I munched and sipped my way through the last few weeks of 2010! My promise to myself in 2011 is not to necessarily change what I eat but how much of it I eat. It’s all about the portion power! Portion control is a great way to keep your weight down but still maintain the foods you love. Just like the old saying, “everything in moderation”, taking control of what you put on your plate will help to keep your eating habits in check. Here are a few tips to help keep your perspective on portion control in perspective!
1. Find yourself with leftovers? Congratulations first of all that you didn’t eat the whole thing on the first go around! Second, try portioning the leftovers into individual serving sizes instead of one larger container. That way when you chose to either reheat or defrost and reheat, you will more likely only eat the one portion.
2. Portion out the wicked! Whatever your wicked food is; mine are salty snacks like potato chips, take the time to portion our small servings in zippered bags or containers. When you feel like a snack, you’ll be more likely to only eat the single serving rather than the whole bag!
3. Teeny tiny tummy! Have smaller mini meals during the day but more frequently instead of 3 large meals. We can sometimes find ourselves with 8 hours between lunch and dinner which causes overeating when you do finally sit down to eat. Better to eat 5 mini healthy meals per day to help curb hunger and cut down on overzealous eating!
4. Out of sight, out of mind. After you have portioned your serving, don’t keep the remaining leftovers on the table or within sight. Often I find myself reaching for the serving dish after my first helping, just because; just because I can see it, just because it’s there and just because I can. Don’t tempt yourself and keep it out of sight or immediately portion out the leftovers and place in individual serving containers in the freezer.
5. A trick of the mind! Put away the grande dinner plates and use smaller ones. You’re more likely to fill a large plate without thinking about the portion size but use a smaller plate and your portion size will automatically reduce.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author. Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com.
‘Tis the season to be jolly as they say but if you find yourself more than a little humbug at this time of year it’s probably because you’re the one that has to host the big family dinner. The way I see it, you can be one of two people; the super organized one who starts baking in October and making homemade gifts in July or the person who has a good grasp on reality and feels no shame in cheating a little! I fall somewhere in the middle, annoying enough to have my menu ready but realistic to know I need a little help or a cheat sheet at this time of year. And cheating does not mean you love your family any less! In fact by cheating, I give myself more time to spend with a glass of holiday cheer with good friends and family. So embrace your inner cheater and use some of my quick tips to help you get through this holiday season!
1. Delegate, delegate, delegate! Santa does it with the elves so why can’t you? Going on the assumption that those who will share your holiday table are good friends and family, there is nothing wrong with asking them to help out with a dish or two. However make sure you are specific in your ask so your table doesn’t end up looking like an all you can eat cheapo buffet! Easy items for guests to bring are no cook holiday nibbles like a dynamite cheese plate, or a made in advance dessert like frozen lemon mousse or gourmet chocolates and cookies that can be just put on a platter. Even mashed potatoes can be done in advance by a guest and reheated in the oven at your house!
2. Speaking of doing things in advance, try to plan most of your dishes so they can be prepared will in advance of your guests’ arrival. Soup as a first course is an ideal starter because most soups can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and only require a gentle reheat just prior to serving. Or a cold plated first course such as smoked salmon, capers, red onion and a dill vinaigrette can be prepared and plated in the morning. Simply cover each plate with food wrap and stack in refrigerator until ready to serve. Vegetables can be cleaned, prepped and blanched the day before, leaving you less to do prior to dinner – which is the goal.
3. If a big traditional meal like roast turkey and all the fixings has you stressed, then throw caution to the wind and prepare what you feel comfortable doing. The point of getting together during the holidays is just that, getting together and whether you choose to do it around a grilled steak or a seared tuna shouldn’t make a difference to your holiday cheer!
4. Cater to your guests! And by that I mean, if your budget allows for it, hire a local caterer to do some or all of your meal. If you work out the time it takes you to plan, shop, prepare, cook and serve a big meal you might be surprised how affordable having someone else do it for you can be! You can then concentrate your energies on setting a vibrant winter wonderland table and spending more time with your guests!
To get recipes, inspiration and style ideas to help you with any of my cheater tips, visit my website at www.thecookscompanion.ca and make your holiday meals something to celebrate!
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author. Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
This month I give homage to traditional recipes that have sustained families for years. Recipes that many of us can wing without a formal recipe or if we do have one it’s so covered in spills and stains we can’t decipher if it’s ¼ cup or 4 cups anymore! Recipes like Oven Roasted Chicken, Sunday Night Roast Beef and evenly the lowly Meatloaf. Often scorned by food enthusiasts for its “low brow” status, meatloaf is highly underrated in my humble opinion! Dress it up with nouveau mushrooms and lean meat like minced turkey and you’ve got yourself a winner for a great family meal. Easy on the pocketbook, the cook and the dish washer elevate this meal in my eyes! So dig out grandma’s baking pan and get back to basics with this great Turkey Meatloaf with Cremini Mushrooms.
TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH CREMINI MUSHROOMS
Serves 4
Preparation Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 1 1/2 hr
Notes: Feel free to substitute the Cremini mushrooms with another wild mushroom of your choice such as shiitake or brown. Left over meatloaf makes an excellent sandwich the next day.
Ingredients:
• 1 ½ cups finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium carrot, cut into very small dice
• 500g cremini mushrooms, trimmed and very finely chopped in a food processor
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
• 65ml (1/3 cup) milk
• 1 whole large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 625g (1 1/4 lb) ground turkey (mix of dark and light meat)
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cook onion and garlic in oil in a nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes. Add carrot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and they are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and 3 tablespoons ketchup. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl and cool slightly.
3. Stir together bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in egg and egg white, then add to vegetables. Add turkey and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper to vegetable mixture and mix well with your hands. (Mixture will be very moist.)
4. Spoon mixture into a lightly oiled 13×9x2inch metal baking pan and brush meatloaf evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup. Bake in middle of oven until thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170°F, 50 to 55 minutes.
5. Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author. Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
Many of you this month will host a special dinner for family and friends and give thanks for all that you have. And one of those things that you can give thanks for is my crash course in wine! So many people get caught up with what wine to serve with their holiday meal. They’re afraid to experiment with wines, and usually go back to the same wine time and time again, regardless of what they are serving. I prefer to pair wines with each course, not only to provide something for everyone, but also to find that truly thinking about what wine flavours go with what food reaps great rewards. Below are some suggestions, but I encourage you to ask your local wine store what they think. Tell them what dish you are serving, and describe some of the ingredients to give them an idea of flavours. Remember to write down the wines you like and even save the labels as a reminder. Go out on a limb and try something new. Ask your guests what they think of the matching, as each person’s palate is unique. It will spark interesting conversations as well as provide insight into your next great matching. Cheers!
Here’s the fastest crash course in wine you’ll ever read in under 10 minutes…
Red Meat:
Most red meats are best with a red wine. Traditionally a Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, or a red Bordeaux work well with beef. Rioja works particularly well with lamb, as does Merlot and Chianti. For pork – roasted or in a creamy sauce – choose Chardonnay, but strong pork casseroles and sausages fare better with a red with rich, fatty tastes.
White Meat:
Chicken and turkey have a fairly delicate flavour, so white wines tend to be the best bet, although lighter reds can also work well. It depends on the way the meat is cooked: If it’s lightly grilled or in a salad, try an unoaked Chardonnay or light Italian white such as Soave or Pinot Grigio. If you’re doing roast chicken or turkey or serving a strongly flavoured sauce, match it with a lighter red, such as Pinot Noir.
Spicy Foods:
Matching spices with wine can be tricky, especially as you often have several dishes at once, all with competing flavours. If you’re having Chinese food, go for aromatic wines like Gewürztraminer or Riesling. For Thai food, try a crisp white such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, while tomato-based dishes work better with Italian whites like Pinot Grigio. For a traditional Indian curry, a big fruity red like a Californian Zinfandel, or Australian Shiraz is your best bet.
Shellfish:
The delicate flavour of shellfish such as lobster, crab and shrimp is very often complimented by light wines such as Chablis or un-oaked Chardonnays. My absolute favourite shellfish/wine pairing however is a Sparkling Wine such as a Spanish Cava or Italian Prosecco.
Fish:
The more delicate the flavour of the fish, the lighter the wine needs to be. For grilled white fish, use dry, zesty wines like Sauvignon Blanc. Strongly-flavoured fish such as fresh tuna or salmon, especially when accompanied by creamy sauces, tend to pair better with more robust wines such as Chardonnay.
Pasta:
Like the countless regional dishes in Italy, so too are there many wines to match. To keep it simple and tasty you can’t go wrong with light whites for seafood pasta, and fruity reds for meaty pastas. If you’re lucky, find out what region of Italy the pasta dish is from and match it with the same regional wine.
Cheese:
Cheese and wine is a perfect partnership, but you can often go horribly wrong when matching a wine to a specific type of cheese. Hard cheeses like Cheddar can work well with whites such as Chablis or Australian Chardonnay, as well as reds like Chianti or Chilean Merlot. The stronger flavours of cheeses like Stilton and blue cheeses are usually paired with port, but it also tastes delicious with sweet wines like Sauternes. Partner creamy cheeses with rich white rinds, such as Brie, Camembert and goats’ cheese, with Sauvignon Blanc.
Dessert:
When it comes to desserts, there’s just one rule: pick a wine that’s as sweet as, or slightly sweeter than your dessert. Fruity desserts taste great with sweet sparkling Italian wines. Chocolate is notoriously tricky to match, but the traditional pairing of chocolate and orange work well with an Orange Muscat. Creamy desserts like crème brûlée and cheesecake taste great with a Muscat as well.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author. Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
With the holiday season coming up we wanted to let you know that our wonderful Delicious Dishes columnist, Nadine Hughes, now has a 2010 Winter Catering Menu available (see The Cook’s Companion) for Toronto and the GTA.
Specializing in intimate events, Nadine can take the stress out of your next party.
Last month I gave you a few ideas on how to keep your summer entertaining easy with quick and tasty recipes that will have you cooking less and enjoying summer more. Having spent the last few weeks in cottage country doing my fair share of entertaining, these lessons bear repeating! When I invite people up to the cottage, my guests usually insist on preparing one meal during the weekend. Fine with me, however I always feel a wee bit concerned for them that they feel it needs to be a major affair. Don’t know whether it’s because of what I do for a living that intimidates them or my friends truly enjoy spending hours in a hot kitchen preparing a meal for us instead of hours on a hot dock with a cold drink in their hand! I suspect it’s more to do with the common mistake that many inexperienced cooks make when it comes to knowing what to cook, how much to cook and when to cook it. Here are a few tips to help guide you through your summer cooking and entertaining:
• Keep it simple. By choosing the best local and seasonal quality ingredients you can find, the less you’ll actually need to do to them. Tomatoes are coming into season so instead of spending time on an elaborate salad, thickly slice fresh tomatoes, drizzle with a great olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Lay out a big platter of them with fresh bread and a crisp white wine and you have the perfect light lunch.
• Make the BBQ your best friend. Everything you can do on a stove or in the oven, you can do on the BBQ leaving you less mess to deal with in the kitchen and more of that great summer grilled flavour. Chances are there will be someone around that fancies themselves a BBQ King or Queen so you might not even have to do any of the cooking!
• A little goes a long way. Too often we cook far too many dishes for one meal or too much food thinking there will never be enough. In my experience people eat lighter and less in the summer so plan your meal, picture it on the table or plate and chances are you can remove one or two items from the meal reducing your workload.
• When it’s the weekend, spend some time prepping and planning your meals so that you can cook in advance and enjoy for the whole weekend. Many foods that we serve hot in the winter can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature in the summer so it’s easy to prepare in advance. A grilled potato salad is a great to cook the night before but serve the next day cold. Roast a chicken and serve it cold the next day with a classic mango chutney and ciabatta rolls. Or BBQ salmon on a cedar plank, serve with a sliced cucumber salad and serve any remaining salmon the next day for lunch over room temperature orzo pasta.
Nadine Hughes is the creator and owner of, The Cook’s Companion and The Menu Companion, through which she offers kitchen consultations, menu planning services as well as private cooking classes for adults and teens throughout Southern Ontario. She is also an award winning author. Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook “The Groove Mamma Goes Gourmet – Easy Ways To Put The Fun Back Into Entertaining” (awarded Best Canadian Entertaining Cookbook at the 2009 Gourmand Cookbook Awards) for $7.98 at www.groovemamma.com
