Friday, September 27, 2013

Brunch

After a long unforgettably forgotten night, my roommates and I woke up ready for a big hearty brunch to get ourselves up and start the day. Instead of going out for brunch, which is one of our favourite things to do after a night out, I attempted something new. Usually we will have either a plate of bacon and eggs or a breakfast sandwhich but I decided to do something inbetween. It is similar to Eggs Benedict - I would even go so far as to say better - and most importantly, simpler. The nice thing about this recipe is that it is your whole breakfast platter but presented in a pretty, tall stack.

The Leaning Tower of Brunch




1 English muffin (toasted)
2 Eggs
1 tomato
4 Slices of bacon
1/4 cup of Extra old cheddar, grated

Start by putting the English muffin in the toaster and throwing some bacon in the frying pan.Once the bacon is partly done bring a pot of water to boil. When the bacon is done set it aside and start the eggs. Lightly poach the eggs (if you don't know how - start by cracking the egg into a small bowl, make sure the water is simmering, not boiling too vigorously, make a little whirlpool and then drop the egg in, let it boil for a couple minutes then scoop it out and put it in a small bowl). Now take the pan you cooked the bacon in and dump the majority of the bacon grease leaving behind a light layer. Put the pan on med-high heat and cut the top off the tomato and put it on the pan, face down. Let it sear until it is brown then take it off. Cut it into a nice big thick slice then repeat. Now that everything is ready you can stack it! take the english muffin, put a sprinkle of cheese, then the bacon, the tomato, the egg and then top it off with some more cheese and voila! An awesome, elegant, delicious breakfast!

Hope you like it,
Try it out and let me know what you think!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Best. Chicken. Ever.

You know those recipes where you are in the kitchen all day stressing out over tiny little things that don't seem to matter until the end where you taste your dish and it all becomes worth it? Well this isn't one of those dishes! This dish is pretty simple to make and it tastes like you've been slaving away all day! The awesome thing about this dish is that it's delicious and it's also unique. Fruit is not often thought to be used with meat but start using it because it is a revolution! They key ingredient in this dish is apples. Yes, apples.

Best Roast Chicken Ever




First things first, you have to brine the chicken. Get a big bucket that will fit the chicken with a little extra room and then add salt water - 1/4 cup pickling salt to 1 litre of water. Depending on the size of the chicken you will likely need more than one litre of water. Brine for about 4 hours.

7/8 lb Chicken
2 Apples
2 Onions
2 Cloves of garlic
1 Tall can (473 ml) of hard apple cider (cheap substitute - beer and apple juice)
A couple leaves of sage

After the chicken has brined put it in a roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then cut the apples and onions in quarters or sixths depending on the size. Take 4 apple and 4 onion chunks and set them in the pan then stuff the rest in the chicken. Now slice the garlic lengthwise and cut 3 slits in the chicken going down the breast and one slit in each leg and stuff the garlic slivers into the slits. Then stuff some of the remaining garlic in the pan and some in the chicken. Next pour the can of cider onto the chicken (If you want a cheap alternative pour some cheap beer and apple juice on instead) and then chop up the sage and sprinkle it all over. You can also crack some pepper on top but don't bother with salt because the chicken was already soaked in salt!















Put the chicken in the oven and let it roast for about an hour and a half or until it is tender but not pink - the way chicken should be cooked, obviously you don't want undercooked chicken. Once it has cooked through let it sit out for 5-10 minutes. Carve it up, serve, and enjoy!



or if you want just attack it with your bare hands - caveman style!


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Angies Kitchen Review

This weekend after a long, but fun, night out, my friends and I decided to go for brunch. We went to Angie's Kitchen in downtown Waterloo. It is a cute little restaurant and bakery and although the restaurant is not anything exceptional the bakery is pretty great, specifically their cinnamon buns!



 Cinnabon has a reputation for making the best cinnamon buns however the cinnamon buns at Angies were amazing. They are fresh baked - warm and soft - and they have the perfect balance of cinnamon, sugar, and icing! Not too rich, not too bland. Angies is a humble little bakery that has a few very nice pastries and baked goods, the restaurant side provides brunch, although the brunch was not exceptional it is good quality for your money. They have a wide range of breakfast options that are within the student price range. It has become a favourite for my group of friends after a night out. The atmosphere is pleasant, the food is good and the price is reasonable. My suggestion is to definitely get a cinnamon bun and I can guarantee I will be back to try some other items from the bakery!



Angie's Country Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Monday, September 9, 2013

It Doesn't 'Gotta Be KD'

My name is Anna and I am a 20 year old university student with an interest in food, and therefore an interest in cooking! Apparently today no one has time to actually make their dinner, everyone just buys something pre-made and throws it in the oven (like my brother). Everyone thinks students live off of frozen pizzas and Kraft Dinner.. while some do, they don't have to! I do the cooking for myself and two of my other room mates and we always joke that we're probably the best fed university students. Unfortunately, I don't think we were too far off in saying that. All of these pre-made dinners are now so readily available no one needs to be able to cook but what a lot of people don't know or realize is how easy it is to make these dinners themselves - without all the added salt and chemicals! For example I looooooove pasta and I make it all the time, but I refuse to use a bottled or jarred sauce because it's too easy to make my own and it's simple but delicious! So having said that, today's recipe is linguine with tomato olives and spinach


Linguine with Tomato, Olives, and Spinach


This is one of my favourite pastas which is why I chose to make it for lunch today. Its a nice light pasta and the spinach makes you feel healthy!

olive oil
a handful of linguine
1 clove of garlic, chopped
4 basil leaves, chopped
1 large tomato (or two small tomatoes). diced
4 capers, finely chopped
a handful of olives, pitted and sliced
red wine

 Start by putting some water to boil to make the linguine. While you are waiting for the water to boil prep everything for the sauce. Pour about 2-3 tbsp of olive oil into a medium hot pan. First add the garlic, once it is slightly darker add the basil, olives, and capers.















Give it a quick toss then add the tomatoes. Add a splash of red wine then leave it to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes soften to a sauce-like consistency. Once the water is boiling add some salt and a little olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking together then throw the linguine in. Once the noodles are basically cooked, throw a big ass handful of spinach into the tomatoes. When the pasta is cooked drain it and throw it into the pan with the tomato.
















Mix everything together and serve! You can opt to grate a little parmesan cheese on top or serve it with a garlic crostini but I often just eat a nice big heaping plate of pasta for lunch! Hope you like it!