Thursday, December 20, 2012

Fudgy wheat-free brownie cupcakes with eggnog glaze


 Fudgy wheat-free brownie cupcakes with eggnog glaze


1 package chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark)
1 cup butter
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ cup almond meal
¼ cup chopped nuts

Melt butter and chocolate in a pot on low. Stir in sugars and set aside to cool. Beat eggs in a separate bowl, add vanilla to eggs. Add eggs to chocolate mix, stirring slowly, add almond meal and nuts. Pour into 12 cupcake cups (parchment cups work best). Bake for 30 minutes or until inerted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and place on cooling rack.

For glaze, mix 1 T butter with 2T hot eggnog, stir to melt butter (microwave if needed). Stir in a heaping cup of icing sugar and whip to taste and thickness. Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Nutty bacon bark

This gourmet salty, sweet and decadent dish made a debut tonight along with delicious red wine at our friends the Duncanson's house. What an easy recipe for an outstanding showstopper of a chocolate treat! Wheat free too.

Nutty Bacon Bark

1 pacakge dark chocolate chips
1 tsp bacon fat or coconut oil
4 strips of bacon, cooked crispy and broken into bits
1/4 cup roasted chopped hazel nuts
1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

Melt chocolate chips with bacon fat in microwave at 10-25 sec increments (so as to not burn the chocolate). Spreak the melted chocolate in a layer on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Let set until chocolate starts to harden (but still sticky). Sprinkle bacon, hazelnuts and salt on top of chocolate. Press down lightly to ensure the bits stick into the chocolate. Chill until hard. Chop roughly and serve. So good.
Recipe from Practical Paleo

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Jumbo Splenda!

And the Wheat Belly weight loss regime continues!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Friday, December 7, 2012

Fresh shrimp

Root veggie chips

Ok, so these are a lot of work. Root veggie chips (beets, carrots, parsnips). Large slices baked with olive oil and s&p. party mix style seasoned with Spice Merchant Sharples barbecue mix.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Whoavember (wheat-free November) breakfast

Egg fried in yellow pepper ring, sweet potato hash, avocado and tomato. All wheat free!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Mercato!!!!

A&J at Mercato with our trencher of food. Voted the best steak in Calgary we enjoyed Mercato's double cut 40 oz bistek with fungi and charred leeks and onions. It was amazing!!!

Adele tries out Naaco Truck

On Saturday we stopped by the Kingsland Farmers Market for their annual corn festival. A few of the city's food trucks were there, including the Naaco Truck - Calgary's neo-retro Indian cuisine truck. Corn specials were on every menu and Adele tried Naaco's corn and coconut curry with rice and naan.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Yummy dessert

Whipped up some chocolate dipped strawberries tonight fir dessert. Boy did they hit the spot!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Love BBQ pizza....

That's what I'm talking about! Roasted red pepper (that I roasted myself!), and caramelized onion pizza on the barbecue.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Garden fresh!

Penne with fresh cherry tomatoes from our patio and fresh basil. Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper. Delicious Friday night feast!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Garden fresh

Dad planted a garden this year and it wouldn't be a Green garden without fresh radishes!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Perfect light dinner

Rod is out tonight and I decided to crack open a can of smoked wild Pacific sockeye salmon. (Rod's very allergic to swimming fish.) This delectable little cracker has a smear of dill garlic cream cheese (fresh dill), a thin slice of cucumber and flaked smoked salmon (that I mixed a bit of maple syrup into while flaking). Paired with some Stump Jump white blend.... Mmmmmmmm.....

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Summer sauces

Summertime has arrived and Chez Plouffe is back!
Today's post is dedicated to sauces. Not for the lazy chef, summer sauces usually require a bit of planning, fresh ingredients and prep time, but they are so worth it! The following two sauces made their debut at our dinner party last night and were a big hit :)

Creamy lemon-dill seafood sauce
This sauce is quick and easy. I served this sauce with home made crab cakes and it was delicious! It would go well with any white fish.

1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (grainy or smooth)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon seasoning (Old Bay, lime-chili, any mixed seafood seasoning)
Fresh ground black pepper

 Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well, chill, and serve.

Apple stout barbecue sauce
This sauce goes well with anything on the barbecue, particularly chicken. It takes a bit of time but beats Kraft Original or Bull's Eye any day! For drumsticks or whole bone-in, skin-on breasts or legs, season chicken with salt and pepper and cook on low. Baste with barbecue sauce during the last 10 minutes of cooking - you don't want to burn the sugars in the sauce. This recipe makes a lot so you can refrigerate the remainder for up to one month.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups of stout beer
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat; saute onion and garlic until softened. Add stout, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, vinegar, tomato past and salt. Turn heat down, stir and simmer five minutes. With an immersion blender (or food processor or blender), puree until smooth. Some chefs like to press through a fine sieve into a clean pot at this point, I don't mind a thicker textured sauce so I don't. Bring sauce to a simmer over low-medium heat, cook until thickened and reduced to about three cups, about 15-20 minutes.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Marea, Central Park south, NYC

My appetizer of raw snapper with mandarin orange and carrot vinegrette.

Marea, Central Park south, NYC

Rod's appetizer of grilled octopus

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Diane's sweet and sour meatball sauce

My cousin Steven recently sent me a message asking about the meatballs in sauce that used to appear at family functions when we were younger. My mom used to make home made meatballs in this delicious sweet and sour sauce. It's now one of my favourite recipes! I always try and take the time to make homemade meatballs but you could use frozen pre-made as well. Double this recipe for a big group (4+) or a crock pot of meatballs.

Diane's sweet and sour meatball sauce 

1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 T cornstarch
1 can (13 oz) pineapple chunks
1/3 C vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 small green pepper, chopped

Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in a pot or deep skillet. Stir in pineapple (with juice), vinegar and soy sauce. Heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Add cooked meatballs. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in green pepper. Cover and simmer until crisp and tender, 5 minutes. Makes 4 servings.


Saturday, February 11, 2012

Baked ham dinner

Boneless organic maple mustard glazed ham roast from Spragg Pork at the Kingsland Farmers' Market. Served with an asiago chive twice baked potato and whiskey sautéed Brussels sprouts.

Served with Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)

Monday, January 2, 2012

BC spot prawns

In 2011 Rod and I discovered that BC spot prawns are abundant on Vancouver Island. We made some when we visited in July 2011 and decided then that when we returned to Nanoose for Christmas with Rod's family that we'd have to enjoy them again.

Spot prawns are the largest of the seven commercial species of shrimp found in Canada's west coast waters. The prawns body colour is usually reddish brown or orange with white horizontal bars on the carapace (shell) and distinctive white spots on the first and fifth abdominal segments. While large females can exceed 23 cm (9 inches) in total length, the restricted carapace (shell) size limit for harvest is 33 mm (1 1/3 inch) long. The spot prawn is known for its sweet, delicate flavour and firm texture.


Rod and Byron peeling four dozen spot prawns for our Christmas Eve dinner

All ready for the chef! These prawns are red when raw.