Sliders and Rosemary Mayonnaise

I’m not going to lie….a slider is just a burger only pint size.  That doesn’t change the fact that they are  hot, hot, hot right now!  You’ll see them on menus all over town and their tiny stature makes them perfect for those of us who struggle with commitment.  You see when you have a regular sized burger, well…you’re kind of stuck with only the one set of toppings.  With sliders you can top one with some caramelized onions and hot mustard and another with garlic aioli and balsamic soaked cherry tomatoes and just because my mother raised me right, a good old fashioned ketchup, mustard and relish one for good measure.  When sliders first became popular there was a bit of a glitch…sure restaurants and probably Bobby Flay had access to microscopic burger buns but for the rest of us???  Not so much.  Many of us found ourselves trying to construct small buns out of larger buns or using bread and cutting out smaller shapes.  It was a tragic time in the burgers evolution but the bun makers have righted this terrible wrong and now wee burger buns are available to the masses! 



My father was going to be eating these sliders which meant the burgers were to be ‘au natural’.  Translation….salt and pepper.  Pretty boring in my books but he’s a bit of a purist when it comes to beef and considering his role in the whole, you know…contributing to giving me life thing, I figure the least I can do is throw him a bone every once in a while.  Even if it is served on a wee bun.

In light of my culinary shortcomings with this meal, I figured the only redeeming thing to do was to at least make some homemade rosemary mayo. The possibilities really are endless with sliders and you can fully expect to see a post or two throughout the summer featuring these little darlings, only next time Dad's not invited. Kidding Daddio...love you!

Rosemary Mayonnaise

You can use an immersion blender, food processor or standard blender to make mayo but I find the results vary each time.  The only tried and true method for me is a bowl, whisk and good old fashioned arm action.  I like to use olive oil for the health benefits but you can certainly use another good quality oil like grapeseed.

1 egg yolk at room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 cup olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary finely chopped

Using any of the methods mentioned above, add the egg yolk, very slowly drizzle in oil whisking vigorously until the egg yolk and oil emulsify (should take 2-3 minutes). Whisk in salt, pepper, lemon juice and rosemary. Remaining mayo can be refrigerated for 2-3 days.

Sunday Supper: Roasted 'Beer' Chicken, Smashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Almonds and Rhubarb Upside-Down Mini Cakes

For Sunday Supper this week, six of us gathered around the table and enjoyed some really great food and even better company. I was particularly happy to have my grandmother join us. She has recently been put on an oxygen tank full time and feels rather confined to her home as a result of “being tied to a leash”. Her words, not mine. It was lovely to have her at our table. My grandfather recently passed away and although I have always been very close to my grandparents and have always cherished my time with them, I find the visits with Nanny particularly sweet these days. For dinner this week we sat down to enjoy some Roasted ‘Beer’ Chicken, Smashed Fingerling Potatoes, Green Beans with Almonds and Upside-down Rhubarb Mini-Cakes. Deeelish!



We’ve made ‘Beer Can’ chicken several times and always loved it, but one day while I was admiring our little bird perched on that can sizzling away it occurred to me 'what kind of chemicals are in that beer can that I have shoved up our dinner??'  First of all I know that the paint on the can cannot be good for you and to make matters worse I was using a can of Guinness and for any of you that have ever opened a can of Guinness you’ll know that they have a widget inside which is essentially a plastic ball.  The light bulb had just gone off.  This was one of those moments in ones life when things get quiet…time stands still….you find yourself panic stricken and all you can think about is 'what the he** were you thinking!?!'  I had been using paint and plastic to cook our dinner!  I use glass food storage containers to limit the contact our food has with plastic, I use stainless steele or ceramic beverage containers so the plastic doesn’t leach into our drinks, but cooking with plastic and paint…yeah, that one slipped by me.  So that was the end of Beer Can Chicken for us.   Or so I thought.  I had seen several other ‘roaster’ type contraptions for doing a vertical chicken on the grill but none of them offered a container to hold liquid and really, without that what was the point?  The best part of Beer Can Chicken is how moist the meat ends up as a result of the liquid evaporating into the chicken.  Then one day during one of my regular visits to Williams-Sonoma I found this ingenious product!  A Single Vertical Chicken Roaster (with cup for liquid).  Happy day!  I am able to add the beer (minus the carcinogenic can) as well as herbs, garlic or whatever else your little heart desires into the cup in the center of the pan, slip the chicken over and viola!  A perfectly moist, chemical free bird!  I’m not big on having a million kitchen gadgets or 101 pots and pans but this roaster is a must have for me.

Roasted ‘Beer’ Chicken

1 Roasting Chicken (preferably free range)
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme, plus 1 small bunch
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, plus 1 sprig
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup of beer or wine
2 garlic cloves, gently crushed

Directions

Preheat your grill to medium-high.

Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and herbs. Set aside.

Pour the beer in the roaster cup along with the garlic, bunch of thyme and rosemary sprig. Transfer the bird to your grill and place in the center of the grate. Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird), with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.




The herbs in our garden are in full bloom!  Our chives are already adorned with their fuzzy purple tops and seem to be making their way into almost every meal!

Smashed Fingerling Potatoes

2 lbs fingerling potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped chives
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup warm milk
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 heaping tablespoon of garlic puree, * recipe below

Directions

Place potatoes in pot. Cover with cold water. Add pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes and transfer back to pot. Smash with potato masher. Add butter, sour cream and milk.  Stir in chives and season with salt and pepper.



* Garlic Oil & Garlic Puree

This is a great recipe two fold!  One you get some outstanding garlic oil which is incredible over just about anything and you get the softest, creamiest, juiciest garlic which you can whiz into a puree.   Below is a recipe for a really small batch, however if you’re like me and like to slather the garlic puree on everything then you can do a large batch like I did.  Simply take as much garlic as you like, place the garlic in a saucepan, cover  with grapeseed oil (olive oil with burn) and simmer it on low for 45 minutes.  Once done, remove the garlic from the oil and whiz it about in a food processor.  The puree will last several weeks in the fridge.  Reserve the oil.

1 head garlic, peeled
½ cup grapeseed oil



Place garlic and olive oil in pot on the stove and bring to a simmer.  Once done, remove the garlic from the oil and puree.  Pour the oil into a container for storage.

There was good news and bad news when shopping for this meal.  The good news was that we were able to get our hands on some of the areas first green beans!  Bridget absolutely loves green beans prepared this way so she was thrilled to see her old friends back again.  The bad news however is that although we are welcoming the first green beans of the season we are now saying goodbye to rhubarb for the year.  I had my heart set on a rhubarb dessert and I actually had to go to three different markets to find the last bit of rhubarb to be found.  Bitter sweet I suppose.

Green Beans with Almonds

1 lb. green beans, trimmed
½ cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons butter
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Fill a large pot three-fourths full of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process (The beans can be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance, covered tightly and refrigerated until ready to use.)

In a large fry pan over medium heat, toast the almonds, stirring continuously, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. You really can’t take your eyes off them, they’ll start to burn before you know it.  Once slightly toasted set aside.

In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the beans, stirring continuously, until heated through about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the almonds. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.



This is a wonderful recipe that really allows the rhubarb to be the star of the show.  It’s super simple and was such a lovely way to end the rhubarb season.

Rhubarb Mini-Cakes
By: Dee Gibson, Gibson & Lyle, Caterer, LCBO



These cute cakes are baked in a muffin tin to create individual desserts for your guests. You may substitute the rhubarb for peach or apple with the same great results.

½ cup (125 mL) unsalted butter
¾ cup (175 mL) white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 cups (500 mL) chopped rhubarb
1¼ cups (300 mL) brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F

Beat butter and sugar until creamed (pale white color), about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time until well blended, add vanilla. Beat in flour, baking powder and salt and beat until combined.

Butter a 12-cup muffin tin.

In each muffin tin distribute evenly the chopped rhubarb and 1½ tbsp (22 mL) brown sugar. Place 1 heaping tbsp (15 mL) of the batter in each tin. Place in oven and bake about 40 minutes, or until light golden on top. Cool and turn out.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

Ok guys, it doesn’t get any easier than this.  This past Sunday I made Roasted Fingerling, Carrot and Green Beans as part of our Sunday supper and I deliberately made extra so I would have leftovers to make this killer salad for lunch this week.  All you need to do is take these leftovers……

Cut them into bite size pieces, half some cherry tomatoes and mix together 2 tablespoons of whatever vinegar you like (I used red wine vinegar) with 7 tablespoons of good quality olive oil, 1 teaspoon good French mustard and combine everything.  The roasted veg are already incredibly seasoned so you literally just add the tomatoes and vinaigrette and you turn those leftovers into this….

YUM!

Sunday Suppers

Ok, so I’ve decided that since the tradition of having Sunday suppers with my family was such a huge part of my upbringing and since it was said upbringing that shaped me into the super fantastic individual (pipe down little brother, no one asked you) that I turned out to be and since I’m making Sunday supper every week anyway…well, I said to myself “self, me thinks we need to do a weekly ‘Sunday Supper’ post”.  Sunday suppers bring together family, friends and good food and those things combined are pretty much the holy trinity in my books. So here it is, my first Sunday Supper post.  Enjoy!

Herb & Garlic Grilled Lamb Chops with Roasted Fingerlings, Carrots & Green Beans and for dessert Rhubarb Cupcakes with Whipped Cream

The weather has been pretty spectacular here these days and although we grill all year round, come this time of year we really start looking for grilled meals more often than not. One, because there’s nothing quite like a BBQ and two because quite frankly it’s nice not to have to crank the oven on when it’s blazing hot outside.

So for dinner this week we enjoyed some incredible garlic herbed lamb chops and some roasted (on the grill) veg. We finished the evening off with an outstanding recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cupcake book, rhubarb and whipped cream cupcakes. * swoon*

I prepared the lamb first thing in the morning so it had lots of time to sit in the marinade. I roasted the veg on the grill and during the last 10 minutes I added the green beans and slid the tray off to the side when it was time to put the chops on. If your grill doesn’t have enough space to hold the veg and the chops at the same time just do the veg in your oven and save the grill for the chops.

Roasted Fingerlings, Carrots & Green Beans

1 ½ lb fingerling potatoes, halved (I used both red and white)

1 bunch young carrots, peeled but with tops left on

½ pound French green beans, trimmed

⅛ cup good quality olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

4 cloves of garlic, minced

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the grill to high or 400ºF.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Line a baking sheet with foil

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and place in a bowl with the olive oil, carrots, salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary and thyme; toss until everything is well coated. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Place baking sheet on the grill and close the lid and roast, stirring and turning occasionally. After 35 minutes add the green beans* and toss to ensure they are coated with the oil. Roast for 10 minutes more or until green beans are cooked but firm.

Note, this recipe makes quite a bit of veg but I wanted extra so that I could make a Roasted Veggie Salad this week.  Stay tuned for that recipe.

* At this point, move your baking sheet off to the side and add your lamb chops to the grill.

Herb & Garlic Grilled Lamb Chops

4 lamb chops, preferably grass fed organic and/or free range

¼ cup good quality olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dry white wine

liberally season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Season lamb chops with salt & pepper. Combine olive oil, wine, thyme, rosemary, and garlic and coat the chops in the marinade. Place the chops in a tight fitting dish and pour remaining marinade on the chops. Cover and refrigerate for at minimum of 30 minutes (several hours or overnight preferred). Preheat grill. Place lamb chops on grill over a medium high heat. Grill about 5 minutes per side for medium chops.

Rhubarb Cupcakes with Whipped Cream

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon coarse salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup sour cream, room temperature

¾ pound rhubarb, stalks trimmed and cut into ¼ - inch dice (3 cups)

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

1 cup water

Directions

Preheat over to 350ºF. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream and beating until combined after each. Stir in 2 cups diced rhubarb.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers; remove liners before topping.

To make rhubarb topping, use the tip of a pairing knife to scrape vanilla bean seeds into a saucepan, reserving pod for another use (such as vanilla sugar). Add the water and remaining 1 cup sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 1 cup rhubarb. Let cool completely. Remove rhubarb with a slotted spoon and reserve. Return liquid to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool slightly, then return rhubarb to syrup. Once cool, rhubarb can be refrigerated in syrup up to 1 week in an airtight container; bring to room temperature before using.

To finish, dollop a generous amount of whipped cream onto each cupcake and top with rhubarb and some syrup. Serve immediately.

Makes 16

Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions

Whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add confectioners’ sugar and whisk until combined. If not using immediately, whipped cream can be refrigerated, covered tightly, up to 3 hours in an airtight container.