Beer Can Chicken

Or do you call it "Beer Butt Chicken"?
Either way, I've been meaning to make this for about 15 years and finally got around to it.
15 years is a long time to forget about a recipe and think to do it randomly some Friday night!
Why 15 years?  Well, I once dated a guy named Simon (way back when I was about 15) and his dad told me all about beer butt chicken and I am pretty sure I let out the most ridiculous and not-so-lady-like snort.
I quickly recovered and I never did get to try out that chicken dish and every now and again it floated to my mind and quickly dissolved again.

Anyways, for the sake of something "quick" and not requiring a lot of prep time - I decided to Google search "beer can chicken" and found a variety of recipes!
Whew - it's not some weird dish made by Canadians.

I knew I had a whole chicken that needed to be cooked and I looked online and found that most recipes are for grilling the chicken on a barbecue.
I don't have one and saw some recipes were oven-friendly.
I also don't have one of those fancy wire things to support the chicken upward - I just shimmied the chicken onto the can.

• Pre-heat oven to 200*C.
• Rinse your chicken all over and inside out.
• Pat it dry with paper towel - or else your dry rub won't stick!
• Open a can of beer (I used Carlsberg - since I don't know crap about beers and which is best for inserting into a bird) and pour about 1/4 of it into your baking dish/pan you're going to let the chicken cook in.
• Shimmy that bird onto the can of beer.  (Some people remove the tab - I didn't because nobody told me and I didn't see it online until someone mentioned it after the fact.  I don't know why - but if you want - I guess you could!)
• Rub your spices all over your chicken.
• I used whatever was on my shelf that sounded alright with the word "chicken".  A lot of pre-mixed spices, dried mustard powder, chili powder etc.

• Rub your spices all over your chicken.

• Drizzle some olive oil into your pan if you want.
  Look at "Carl" getting his tan on!

• Let your chicken hang out in the oven for about 1.5 hours or until cooked well based on your meat thermometer. (75*C or 165*F)

• Loosen the chicken from the can and slice it up!
  This is what the can looked like after.

I don't recommend drinking the beer that's left over.

So was it worth a can of beer?  Sure!

I found that it cooked the chicken evenly and because the chicken was propped up - the chicken was nice and crispy and the beer flavour was very subtle.

It was juicy and well received by our guests!

I served this with mashed potatoes, green beans and thyme dinner rolls I made my bread machine whip up for me (I had to bake them) last minute.

Definitely something I'll try again!

:)
D.

Stuffed Brownies

I love Pinterest.  I've had an account for years but only really got into it the past 6 months or so?
I've written before in my other blog that some people do face masks and stuff before bed time - me?  I scroll through Pinterest! :)

So what's something I keep seeing?

Stuffed brownies.

Sometimes known as "Sex in a pan" (I think it depends on how many or what kind of ingredients you put in it) or Oreo-stuffed brownies or as I saw them: "I'm going to go the gym tomorrow - just one more portion" brownies.

I apologize now that my photos aren't so great.

It's fairly straight forward:  You bake brownies and layer something in the middle.
I tried to go for "portion control" and used a cupcake/muffin tin but found they overflowed a bit much and they were baked a tad too long (22 minutes at 175*C) and a bit dry.  Which made me ridiculously sad!
I think in future for cupcake pans - and with a ready to eat center - I'd aim for 15 minutes at 175*C instead.

I went a little gutsy and decided 2 Domino cookies (Finnish version of Oreo's) with peanut butter sandwiched in between was a brilliant idea.

It is but it isn't because it was too tall and there wasn't enough brownie batter encasing it's chocolate/peanut buttery goodness.

But I ate it anyway.  It wasn't easy to cut cleanly that's for sure.

I've since tried this again with a rectangular pan and decided to say "screw you!" to neat and tidy portion controls and this was the result:

Served with left-over homemade Cookie Monster ice-cream - another lovely Pinterest find! :)
AND it's no-churn/no ice-cream machine needed.

It wasn't over baked and I know you can't see the cookies - but they're in there.  And I opted to mix in a couple monster-sized dallops of peanut butter into the brownies batter to save me some time! :) 

Until next time!

D.

Perogies!

Today is Valentine's Day and I thought since we didn't even bother trying to get a sitter - we'll celebrate my birthday, Valentine's Day and our anniversary all in one dinner date at another time.

However, I wanted to do a little something and thought we could spoil ourselves once the kids were asleep tonight (and I'm back with the dogs) with a delicious dinner of steak and shrimps (those would be for me).
I didn't want to have rice with it and I didn't want to have mashed potatoes or baked potatoes either.
Salad is out of the question as my husband has a digestive condition (Crohn's) and for the life of me - I had a hankering for some perogies today!

In Canada (where I'm from) - I used to buy them every couple of months frozen and they would be a nice late night snack during movie night or a different side dish with a meal.
Obviously not the healthiest option of course...I even remember Boston Pizza having a perogy pizza and I was in love!

I can't get frozen ones here - as far as I know - so obviously the next step is to make my own.
I started with a Google search and found this recipe.
Stupid me - I for some reason thought that "20 servings" meant portions for 20 people.  It was a long night last night with the kids and my husband constantly waking me up with his snores or shaking from running in his sleep or something...

Anyways, I downsized that recipe above for "2 servings" and got such odd numbers and the dough didn't work out - so I dumped in more flour and it magically turned into a proper dough! :)

For some reason I can't rotate this photo - but you get the idea.
Top: First attempt aka "I have no idea what I'm doing".
Bottom: Several attempts later...aka "Holy crap it looks like a perogy!"
Words of wisdom: I didn't roll the circles out very thinly in fear of them bursting while cooking.  I did flatten them a bit more and stretched them a little with my hands.  I used about a heaping tea spoon for filling and sealed them with water and once they were all done - used a fork dipped in flour to press down the edges.

There were actually 36 of these puppies ready!  I couldn't freeze them as it was suggested (to prevent bursting during boiling) - so I did the next best thing.  I layered them in a bowl with a light dusting of flour and parchment paper/baking paper then covered with a towel and tossed them onto my frosty balcony for a few hours until we were ready to eat.

I have to say I was annoyed (but perhaps it's obvious) that the recipe just says to boil them in lightly salted water and once they float to the top, remove with a slotted spoon.
I'm annoyed because what the recipe doesn't say - and I'm going to share with you - is that you should put a bit of oil in the boiling water to prevent those perogies from sticking to the bottom - and they're going to anyway.  It's possible that the salting of the water will prevent sticking - I just went with oil to be safe.
I couldn't figure out why some weren't floating and it turns out they were sticking anyway!  Luckily I got it in the nick of time and they floated and nothing burst in the pot!
And there should so be a "step 5" - heat a pan with a generous dab of butter and fry them suckers on both sides until golden and crisp.

Again - probably obvious because of the photo posted on the top of their site, but they certainly didn't look just boiled and removed with a slotted spoon to me. ;)

For the filling I just boiled and mashed a few small potatoes added spices and shredded cheese.
Nothing fancy for the first time - but definitely will go add bacon next time!

Here was the final result:

Perogies, surf and turf with fried onions and mushrooms and a side of caramelized carrots (boiled until tender, cooked in browned butter and a couple spoons of brown sugar).

We had a feast at home and watched Scandal while the kids slept and the dogs stared at us - waiting and drooling.  Yes, I'm a sucker and gave them some fat from the steak.

Happy Valentine's Day.

D.

Princess Cake!

Last weekend I had the joy of celebrating my daughter's 2nd birthday party.
I love prepping for birthday parties - I actually don't find it stressful but find it really fun!

Anyway, the theme was cupcakes...kids decorate their own cupcake and that saves me a bucket load of time! :)

Well, super last minute - like 2 days before the party itself and I'm in the grocery store- I decided I wanted to try making one of those Disney princess Barbie cakes.

You know the kind - maybe you had one as a kid - where you bake a cake, shove a Barbie doll in the top of the cake and frost the heck out of it.
Instead of doing a layered cake and shaving it to a dress-shape - I used my favourite cupcake cake pan from Tiger and figured it looked alright!

I used Martha Stewart's Buttermilk cake recipe from her book "Cakes" (Book Depository Affiliate link) and regular vanilla buttercream frosting with Wilton's colourings.
Got loads of compliments on the flavours and used vinegar mixed in with regular milk as we don't have actual "buttermilk" sold here and the stuff that's the closest - we don't drink.  So it made more sense to just do the vinegar route.

First of all - did you know Ariel is super tall without her fins?

I had to cover up her bottom with some extra frosting...

And if you're wondering about how to pack your Princess Cake - I put her in an Ikea food container with a bottle of maple syrup to support her.  A foil tent on top  - both in front and behind.

Ariel showing off her leg...so scandalous!

Anyway, the birthday girl was pleased as punch about the cake and for my first one - I'm impressed too.

Sure, I could've smoothed the frosting better and used a much lighter green frosting but anyhow, I used this video tutorial and it was a huge help!

I think it may be my daugher's new thing as she got a plushy version of Princess Ariel as well (we already have the movie) and was ecstatic.

That and Barbies are hella expensive!  But anyway, it was fun and I'll practice frosting more :).

D.

Jelly Roll Cake!

One thing I learned in school this past week was how to make jelly roll cakes.
They're so easy - too easy.

So I tried to make my own at home using home-made jam and chocolate sauce (couldn't find my dark chocolate bar for shaving) and I baked it a smidge too long!
So it isn't rolled up as nicely.  But it still tasted lovely!

At home - yeah it was threatening to break so I just flattened it because it wasn't flexible enough to roll properly or tightly.

School version - much more roll-y looking!

I got positive reviews of my piping skills of the whipped cream at school (photo below) until I started to run out of whipped cream and some pieces had too much cream.
"This isn't America D! We use a lot less cream!" she chastised me.
Naturally, having American friends over on Friday called for "American-style" whip cream.

At school all pretty.

So how easy is this?

Pre-heat your oven to 225*C

• 4 eggs
• 2 dl of sugar

Beat these with an electric mixer!  I used just a whisk and it wasn't beat well enough and I found the cake to be a smidge heavy.

Sift:

• 1 dl of potato flour
• 1 dl of all-purpose flour

Fold it into the wet ingredients and mix well (not with mixer with a spatula) and then pour into a baking-paper lined baking tray and bake for 5-8 minutes.

I try to aim for 7 but apparently nearly hit 10 with the one I made on Friday!

Remove from oven and have a second baking paper sheet on your surface sprinkled in sugar, powdered sugar, cocoa powder or whatever you want your cake dusted with on the outside.

Flip cake onto the 2nd sheet and slowly peel off the paper backing.

Spread a thin and even layer of filling all over the cake (but don't go over the edges!) - whether it be:

• jam
• Nutella
• marmalade
• whipped cream etc.

Carefully roll the cake horizontally from one side to the other and tightly as possible without breaking the cake.

Wrap tightly in baking paper and chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve it - then slice it up and enjoy!

This is a fantastic cake for your next handicraft meeting, book club meeting or little tea party!  It's dairy-free (unless you put the whipped cream or chocolate) - which will make your local lactose-intolerant/dairy-allergic friends very happy I'm sure.

D.

Surf & Turf Shish Kebabs

Sorry it's been a bit over a week - I've been secretly planning a pampering baby shower for my friend who was expecting kiddo #3 - and prior to that - another baby shower for another couple of friends!

Anyways, I'm back and I've been trying a few new things!
For the life of me, I couldn't find skewers (metal or wood!) in a shop downtown and didn't have a lot of time to spend - so I asked the cashier and she found me these metal wires with super sharp skewer tips and they were 2 in a pack for 13.95€ and I thought I'd try them out.

I don't know why I never think to even DO skewers - they're so easy and simple!  I suppose not having a barbecue and not being allowed to have one on my balcony has something to do with it too!
But I got motivated from school (where I'm studying cooking) and the student restaurant treated us to a fancier lunch and there was a chicken skewer.

School "fancy" lunch from the student restaurant where I study.

So it turned out last Friday (2 days ago), we had our guests over as usual and I found out through Facebook that my friend's birthday was on Saturday - so I wanted to make something a little more special and opted for those skewers/wires.

I had 5 minutes to marinade the beef and I just tossed them in soya sauce with roasted garlic spice and Chinese 5 Spice and pepper.  

I didn't thaw the shrimp all the way - so there was a bit of water in the pan when I pulled it out of the oven.

I do plan on doing this again as it was easy, a great motivator to eat more vegetables and I felt happy and full (without the need to switch to sweat pants) afterward.
I'd also try to put more thought into the marinade and maybe brush some extra on during half way (but was in a rush making dessert) of the cooking time - but otherwise it was a pleasant treat.

I used (already cut) chunks of beef, frozen shrimp, bell peppers, red onion and whole mushrooms.
I coated my wires with cooking spray before hand (so nothing would stick - just in case) and cooked them for about 30 minutes at 350*F (175*C).

In the bottom two, far-right photos - a filo pastry (puff pastry) covered in sliced pears with brie, crushed walnuts and pecans and dried cranberries with a drizzle of honey and shaved dark chocolate!

Sorry about the hideous filter - it looked better on my phone.

Off to bed for now!  Until next time!

D.

Chocolate Avocado "Pudding"

I tried 3 new recipes today as a spur of the moment but I'll try to spread them out (in case I don't make new things in the next couple of weeks! :) ).

Today I'm going to talk about a failure.

I had made egg-drop soup today and it was okay - there was something missing and I think now, I realize it was some sort of red Chinese vinegar that I normally ate with it and it should've been a tad thicker.  I'm letting it sit overnight with the hopes it thickens on its own some more.
But that wasn't the failure.  that was the could've been better.

I felt like dessert and I was trying to avoid devouring cookies and chips and whatever else - oh yes, chocolates from Christmas - as I'm actually trying to lose my chub buddy.

So I went on Pinterest.  I wanted something:

• Quick
• Quiet to make
• Healthy 
• But yes, also some sort of dessert-classified thing.

I came across this: Chocolate Avocado Pudding on Pinterest.
Perfect!! I actually had some leftover avocados I wanted to use up and they were still ripe and lovely.
I didn't use a blender because I didn't want to wake the kids up so I just used my hand mixer and it didn't do it for me in the end.  It was a bit chunky - despite me mashing it a bit more with a spatula and mixing it again with a mixer.

I tried drowning it in honey and extra coconut/almond milk and a bit more powder to make it darker and I was gagging as I scooped it down and into my throat as fast as I could.
Of course because it contained avocado I couldn't feed it to my dogs.

If I were to do this again I would:

• Use chocolate milk instead of a nut milk to liquidize it.  (Chocolate oat drink or something chocolate-y and vegan - dairy milk's been making me sick lately - even lactose-free!)
• Whipped cream on top - it honestly looks like crap in a glass.
• Add peanut butter or Nutella for more flavour.

Not all recipes will be winners and that's okay.

If I try it again - I'll let you know.
D.