Recipe Zest

Ingredients 1 cup chicken stock 1 pkg unflavoured powdered gelatin 1 tbsp paprika 1/2 lb beef tenderloin steak 150g button mushrroms 120g pearl onions 2 tbsp butter 2 sprigs thyme 1 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp fish sauce 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 white wine 1/2 cup sour cream 140g dried egg noodles Fresh parsley Method Add gelatin powder to chicken stock and let sit Season steaks with salt, pepper and paprika.  Pan fry using vegetable oil on medium heat, searing the outside, until the temperature reaches 125F.  Remove from pan and let sit Add button mushrooms to pan on medium heat and cook until they have released some liquid and just starting to brown, about 8 minutes Add pearl onions & butter and continue cooking, until the mushrooms are browned, about 7 minutes Add thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, and mustard and cook, stirring, until mostly evaporated, about 30 seconds. Turn off heat Add juices from st

   French Onion Soup Ingredients 8 - 12 onions Tbsp vegetable oil 1/4 cup flour 4 - 6 cups beef broth (vegetable broth works) salt pepper 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 200 g of Gruyere cheese Toasts 1/2 day old baguette pepper olive oil Method Caramelize the onions with the oil (in a pot big enough for whole soup) Add flour and cook 2 minutes Add broth, thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste While the soup cooks, slice and sprinkle the bread with pepper and olive oil Toast the sprinkled breads Assemble the soup in oven-safe ramekins (assembly order from bottom to top is: soup, cheese, toasts, cheese) Broil until the top cheese is bubbly and coloured Notes I always make extra toasts with cheese on them that don't go into the broiled soups. I serve these on the side and dip them into the soup.

Ingredients 2 branzino, filleted Za'atar Cucumber, diced Cherry tomatoes, halved Red pepper, diced Onion, thinly sliced Parsley Lemon juice Olive oil 2 yellow potatoes, sliced thinly Method Preheat oven to 400F.  Arrange branzino fillets in baking sheet and sprinkle with za'atar Bring pot of water to boil.  Add sliced potatoes and cook until done, about 10 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook as the potatoes will fall apart Drain water.  Spread potato slices on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in oven until the thinnest ones start to brown.  Remove from oven and let sit Bake branzino to 150F, about 10 minutes In the meantime, toss the cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, onion and parsley.  Dress with olive oil and lemon juice to taste Notes The salad is lebanese-inspired.  We've also had with pitas instead of potatoes; however potatoes and branzino are a classic pairing that we really like

Ingredients 2 chicken legs and thighs 1 onion, thinly sliced 2 fresh chorizo sausages 1 cup basmati rice 1 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 red pepper, thinly sliced 10 green olives, preferably Spanish, preferably unpitted 1/4 cup sliced almonds Method Remove sausage from casing and fry until cooked.  Remove from pan Fry the onion until caramelized.  Add back the sausage and rice, and stir for a minute or two Add onion / sausage / rice mixture to rice cooker Use the chicken broth to deglaze the pan, and add to rice cooker Add olives (pushing into the rice mixture) and then red peppers on top Cook rice Toast the almonds, either frying with butter or in the oven Grill chicken and serve on top of rice. Sprinkle with toasted almonds Notes Loosely based on a LCBO recipe , although they have far too many ingredients for my liking.  There's enough flavour in the chorizo, there's no need to add more paprika and garlic Usually when cooking rice I use a 1:1 ratio water:rice plus a little more wat

Ingredients Trout 1/4 cup almonds, slivered 1/2 lemon juice Small bunch parsley, chopped Unsalted butter Method Salt trout and place skin-side down on heated grill. Grill to 130F Fry almonds in butter until golden.  Stir in parsley and turn off heat.  Add lemon juice Serve over grilled trout Notes Serve with sides of fresh corn and green beans and boiled potatoes with butter and parsley Supposed also works with brussel sprouts and balsamic Salt the trout at least two hours ahead and dry out in the fridge for best results.  This is a Serious Eats trick

Ingredients Peach filling 2 peaches, skin on, cut into cubes 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tbsp bourbon 1 pinch kosher salt 1 pinch grated nutmeg 1 drop almond extract (optional) Biscuit topping 1/4 cup flour 1 tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp kosher salt 18g unsalted butter 2 tbsp milk Method Preheat oven to 400F Combine peaches, lemon juice, bourbon, salt, nutmeg and almond extract.  Scrape into two ramekins.  Bake for 10 minutes  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut butter into dry ingredients.  Stir in milk until mixture comes together; do not over-mix Drop flour mixture on top of peach filling Return to oven and bake until topping reaches 206F.  The duration will vary -- it's taken between 12 - 20 minutes Let cool for 30 minutes before serving Notes Use parchment paper under the ramekin in case the filling overflows Based on a recipe from Serious Eats Use a glass cutting board (or at least a cutting board that you don't cut garlic or onions on)