Peameal Pileups

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and since she is vacationing overseas, I only get to send her well wishes over the Internet today. And this year, instead of coming coming up with a dish that I think my mom would love, I decided to share one of her dishes with you.

My mom loves peameal bacon and she loves to BBQ, so it only makes sense that this sandwich is one of her favourites. It has grilled peameal or turkey bacon, fried zucchini, melty cheese, sweet peppers, and a really flavourful tomato marmalade. I have a feeling that you're going to want to eat one of these sandwiches as soon as you see the photo.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe!

Hot Stuff

I've said it a few times, but I'll say it again - I love lasagna. That being said, today's post isn't lasagna. It looks a little like lasagna, but there isn't any pasta and there are only three layers. I need lots of layers and pasta for something to be called lasagna. 

Today's post is delicious though. And although my recipe is a vegetarian dish, I've come up with a great alternative for my meat loving friends. Read on to find out the recipes for both!

Cherry Cola Pulled Pork

As I am patiently waiting for the audition dates to be released for the third season of Recipe to Riches, I am getting busy with taste testing some past season's winning recipes. I'm not making everything exactly as shown, but I am keeping the recipes similar so I can learn exactly what the judges are looking for. 

Today's recipe is based on Robert Luft's winning Pulled Pork. I didn't use much of the dry rub from the original recipe, I used my slow cooker, and because I love cherry cola, I added my own twist to incorporate cherries. Hopefully after all my taste testing is done, I will have come up with a winning idea of my own for when the audition dates are released!

Oodles of Noodles

Today marks the year of the snake as the Chinese New Year begins. And since long noodles symbolize long life in Chinese culture, it seems only fitting to revisit my delicious post on BBQ Pork Buns.

Except today will be a little different. Today I'm making dinner, not dim sum. And as much as I love dim sum, I don't want to eat it for dinner. So instead of making the whole BBQ Pork Bun recipe, I'm going to double the amount of marinade and stop after slicing the meat.

After you get that far into my recipe, read on to find out how to make this long life inspiring dish. Or you could buy some Char Sui in your China Town after watching the Lion Dance and save yourself a little time!

Pork Wrapped Pork

Today's post may not be one for the side of me that is trying to eat more vegetarian, but even the phrase "cold turkey" has meat in it and I think that means you can't stop eating meat in on a whim. Sometimes have to cheat. 

And if I have to cheat, I'd cheat with this delicious Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. There's something decadent with eating a crispy piece of bacon on top on a succulent piece of pork tenderloin. And when the bacon is maple bacon, it's even more decadent. I love maple bacon. 

Want the recipe? Keep on reading...

Confetti Sprouts

I think that my Christmas brussel sprout dish is so reminiscent of confetti that it could be served on New Year's Eve. It's just that pretty with little strips of sprouts fluttering all over your plate, just waiting to be gobbled up. 

I loved the lightness brought on by slicing my sprouts thinly, I think it was a great change in pace for one of my favourite veggies. But Luke actually preferred having a big chunk of brussel sprout to stick his fork in, he missed the brussel sprout texture and flavour. For these reasons I think that this dish could be especially good to serve to non-brussel sprout lovers, plus there's bacon in them. Who doesn't like bacon?

Spiced Up Thanksgiving

Earlier this week I said I would be sharing new side dishes that would be great choices for my American friends' holiday this week, but I had to include one new main dish too. After just one bite of this pork tenderloin dish, I knew I had discovered a winner and I knew that it could be a perfect main dish to use instead of a turkey for a holiday meal. 

I saw a version of this recipe in a magazine and thought that my dinner could never look as pretty, but I wanted to try to make it anyway. As I prepared the meal I was shocked at how easily everything came together and how much it resembled what I had looked at in the magazine. 

If I can make it look this good, you can too. Read on for my version of the recipe.

Hallo-Weenies

Some holidays are all about fun and smiling and Halloween is definitely one of them for me. Halloween is for dressing up silly, overindulging on junk food, and having a great time.

To make the holiday extra special, I try and make meals really creative. Sometimes they're on the creepy side, sometimes they're orange and black, and sometimes they're just cute. I'll let you decide what today's post falls into yourself.

Today I am sharing a recipe from Life Made Delicious, Crescent Mummy Dogs. I didn't have any cheese slices on hand, so my version is slightly different, but both version are easy to make and taste delicious!

The Sweet Smell of Maple Bacon

The sweet smell of something other than turkey leftovers is fantastic a week after Thanksgiving, at least in my house where buying a turkey that weighs more than you can lift is a factor in choosing just the right one. 

And since I think that the sweet smell of maple bacon is always fantastic, I think you can guess how I'm feeling right about now. 

I do love peameal bacon, especially the peameal bacon sandwiches from the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, but I truly believe that maple bacon is a little more Canadian than its cornmeal rolled counterpart. 

Even if you don't agree with me, I think I might be able to persuade you in thinking that maple bacon is great and you need to try this Maple Bacon Macaroni. 

Weekend Project

I have wanted to learn to make Char Siu Bau or BBQ Pork Buns for quite some time, but knowing that there were a lot of steps to the recipe and knowing I could buy them in the freezer section of my Asian market deterred me.

But since I've thought about making them for about five years, I figured it was finally time. And now having made them, I've figured out that they weren't so hard after all. 

And I've accomplished something I put my mind to! Maybe more than just accomplished it too, because they tasted spot on!

Find out my weekend project below, I used an article from the February 2011 issue of Fine Cooking to help me along the way. 

Island Lunch

I love to pamper myself and dream I am in Hawaii with a little island meal, but most of Hawaiian lunches feel a little dull. There's Hawaiian pizza of course, but I've made that hundreds of times and it doesn't feel special anymore. There's a fruit salad... I'm not going to even try to make a point with that. And, since I am not going to make a pig underground, what else is there? 

Welcome to my BBQ Hawaiian Pizza Sandwich. This is a fresh take on island food and will make you happy. It's fun, made on the BBQ, the tomatoes turn into jam, and the ham turns into bacon. 

That's right, bacon ham. Read on to find out more!

Breakfast for Lunch

I love an egg salad sandwich for lunch. It's comforting and makes me think of Easter holidays because growing up with a pile of siblings made my house full of hardboiled coloured eggs at Easter, and there are only so many things you can make out of hardboiled eggs. 

This recipe is a slightly unique version of the old standby and while I didn't make it with dyed eggs, it still has a little special surprise...

Bacon makes everything better and bacon and eggs go so well together, so why not try pairing them together for lunch? Try my Bacon and Egger and you will never look back!

Waste Not, Want Not

I love Asian food. I love cooking with leftovers to make something new. I love easy cooking. And I love not wasting anything. 

Today's post is a winner with my above rules / loves. And the best part of it is that you can make this dish all in one large pan or wok. I know you're going to love it. 

Olympic Dinner

When I am watching the Olympics I don't want to be bothered to cook up a storm and make complicated meals. I want to pay attention to the games and cheer on my fellow Canadians. 

A win can be missed in a moment and I don't like watching the recaps as much as the live show.  You don't have as much adrenaline, you already know what's going to happen, and it's just not as much fun. Watching the recaps without having already seen the live show is almost like reading the last chapter of an exciting book first. 

Today's recipe is a really easy and delicious Pulled Pork Sammie. There's so little work involved that you barely have a chance of missing any of the action in the Olympics and I think it tastes like a gold medal sandwich too. :)

Stick to Your Ribs

As much as I try to eat healthy, everyone needs a splurge once and awhile. And I think it's ok to splurge as long as I keep my portion sizes on the smaller side.

So on nights like tonight where I make BBQ ribs, I make sure I fill my plate with lots of fresh salad and take only a small portion of ribs. I eat my ribs slowly to enjoy every bite and I'm just as happy as could be.

Sometimes I do go back for seconds, but I've heard that it's a great compliment to the chef to do that. And every chef needs compliments, even when the chef I am complimenting is me!

Think Pink

Heirloom veggies are some of my favourite veggies. They're unique and beautiful in their own special way and the flavours they bring to the table are often more vibrant than any of the more standard varieties.

Yes, heirloom veggies sometimes look a little less perfect and a little more weird, but I think that's part of the charm about them. They're special and you're not going to find them at just any grocery store.

Typically when I think of heirloom veggies, I think of tomatoes. But that's only because heirloom tomatoes have been creeping their way into the spotlight in grocery stores and magazine articles over the last few years. When I discovered how amazing heirloom tomatoes were, I knew that there had to be more heirloom veggies to discover.

One of my favourite (and newly discovered) heirloom veggies is the Warba potato. This is special find and not just because of the beautiful pink eyes and white skin found on the Warba.

I love Warbas because these delicate beauties show me that it's the start of the local BC produce season and that means that more good things are to come. And this makes me very happy because I love cooking with local produce.

Today's recipe features Warba potatoes in a bright pink potato salad. I think you're sure to have a happy outlook on your day after taking one bite.

The New BLT

Bacon should be it's own food group and really a serving of it should be eaten everyday. Maybe not according to doctors or nutritionists, but according to taste buds it should be!

At least my taste buds think crispy bacon should be eaten everyday. Who else do you that loves bacon and jam sandwiches more than anything else?

But sometimes when I cook with crispy bacon I am disappointed because the crispiness of the food group disappears and all that I am left with is a small piece of soggy pork. It's still a yummy piece of soggy pork, but the best of the bacon is gone. 

If you're like me and crave crispy bacon in your dishes, worry no more because I had a moment of brilliance and came up with an easy way to make sure that my bacon will stay crispy in a quiche. 

Keep reading my recipe for BLT Quiche and you'll be eating crispy bacon filled quiche from now on. 

Big Soup

While this soup does make a nice big pot of soup, my post's title really refers to the exact translation of minestrone - "big soup". 

There is no standard recipe for minestrone, the soup used to made with leftover veggies and was very thick. Today it is also made with a thin broth, seasonal veggies, and whatever else you want to add in. 

But I have heard that minestrone isn't called minestrone by Italians unless it contains romano beans and has a bean broth. 

My soup has a ham bone base, mostly because I had a ham bone in my freezer I wanted to use up, but it does have romano beans in it. I think it still counts! It was yummy! And even better, it was easy!

It's That Time of Year Again...

Do you remember when I first started posting here? Well if you don't remember, and apparently I forgot my own blog-aversary too, it was with a post for a contest with the Real Women of Philadelphia. 

The cookbook that I'll be in with the Real Women of Philadelphia is almost out and now there's another contest! This time the prize is for a dream vacation and entries must be inspired by the destination you wish to visit. 

My Dream Destination is French Polynesia. I'd love to visit Tahiti and see the beaches, the culture, and taste the food. The food is something I've only researched because it's not really something you can get in Canada, but by getting a little creative, I think I've managed to make a fun recipe that says French Polynesia. 

My French Polynesia Mushroom Caps incorporate a stuffing of bacon, spinach, and Philly as a Canadian take on Polynesian suckling pig, fafa (taro leaves), and coconut milk, are surrounded with crescent roll dough as a Canadian take on French croissants, and topped with a sprinkle of French parsley and Parmesan cheese. 

The crescent roll dough makes the appetizer easy to pick up so that the mushrooms don't slip from your fingers and everything about them is delicious. You have to try them!

The Best Leftovers Ever

Sometimes an idea just hits me and I wish I had come up with it years ago because it’s just that good. Usually those great ideas don’t have the word “leftover” in them, but this one not only has the word “leftover” in it, but it also may top the list of savoury treats I’ve come created.

This leftover ham recipe is a riff off something that you may have already seen on my blog. In fact, I actually won 4 litres of milk for a year from Island Farms with the original recipe!

So since I have already won a prize with a variation of this recipe, I know it’s off to a good start. And by adding ham and cheese into the mix, I had a good feeling that the recipe would be a winner.

I think I was right and this snack really is a winner, what do you think?