Category: cookbook review

PUB DATE: May 2009
TITLE: Ricardo: Meals for Every Occasion

Thank You to Sarah at MDG for sending me this fantastic cookbook.

I love Ricardo. (Isn’t he a cutie?) I try to watch his show when its on the Food Network.

This is a great cookbook filled with over 100 recipes, great pictures on almost every single page and hints and tips. Another great thing about this cookbook apart from Ricardo being from Quebec is that all the recipes are easy, nothing complicated about them and all the ingredients are easy to find. I love a cookbook that has pictures to go with the recipes.

I have made several recipes from this book already. Such as: Chicken Legs w/Honey & Rosemary, Macaroni & Cheese, Perfect Vanilla Cake, Montreal Steak Spice, and a few others including the recipe below.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A household name in Quebec, Ricardo Larrivée has also become quite well known throughout the rest of Canada with his hit show Ricardo & Friends on Food Network Canada and his book Weekend Cooking. In his home province, Ricardo’s daily cooking show has the highest ratings of all morning programs on Radio-Canada and is now in its 7th season. Often called “Quebec’s answer to Jamie Oliver.”

THE RECIPE:
Breakfast Club Sandwiches

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 20 minutes

Serves: 6
-Ricardo’s tip: “There’s no mess quite like the one you make frying bacon in a skillet. To avoid splattering grease all over the kitchen, my trick is to place strips of bacon on a cookie sheet and bake them. They don’t need as much attention and will stay nice and straight. Plus, you’ll look like a food-styling genius.”

18 slices bacon (about one 1 lb/454 g package)
12 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (180 mL) mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
18 slices square white bread
18 slices tomato
12 leaves Boston lettuce
Toothpicks

1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Line a 10- x 15-inch (25 x 38 cm) casserole dish with parchment paper, leaving paper hanging over 2 sides. Oil the paper and sides of the dish.
2. Lay the slices of bacon on the baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp, 12 to 14 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, mix the eggs and 1/4 cup (60 mL) of the mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the baking dish and bake until set but still moist, 10 to 12 minutes. Cut the omelet into 6 portions. Set aside. Turn off the oven and return the bacon to the oven to reheat it.
5. Assembly: Toast 3 slices of bread and spread with mayonnaise. Top 1 slice of bread with the egg and 3 slices of bacon. Cover with a second slice of bread. Top with 3 tomato slices and 2 lettuce leaves. Top with a third slice of bread. Insert toothpicks into the centre of the 4 corners of the sandwich and cut the sandwich into triangles. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

PUB DATE: March 2009

Thanks to Sarah at MDG Associates for sending me this cookbook to review and also for the images and recipes that I am able to post. This makes a great gift to give to the person who loves to barbecue. In the summer we barbecue almost every weekend. So being able to review this was great cause I am always looking for new recipes to try on the barbecue.

This is a great cookbook because there was a ton of pictures to accompany the recipes. Just a warning not to look at this on an empty stomache. Its also filled with great stories, helpful hints and tips through out the book.

Here are just a few of the recipes that I have tried but there has been many more I have used this season so far. I hope you will enjoy them just as much as we have.

Really Easy Chicken

Makes 6–8 servings

“One of the biggest challenges of championship barbecue is finding a way to cook chicken so the skin doesn’t turn out rubbery. This simple recipe is based on a technique some barbecue competitors use to get chicken skin that melts in the judges’ mouths. The secret is the acid in the dressing, which softens the skin while the chicken is marinating.” (page 203)

2 chickens, cut into pieces, or 12 chicken thighs
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
one 16 oz [475 mL] bottle store-bought zesty Italian salad dressing (I have also used Golden Italian Salad dressing)

Reserve ½ cup (125 mL) of the Italian dressing. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place them in an extra-large freezer bag. Add the rest of the dressing, making sure all the pieces are coated, and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator overnight.

Prepare your grill for indirect medium cooking. For propane grills, this means preheating the grill on high, turning off the burner underneath where you’re going to place your meat, and then turning the other burner or burners to medium.

Place the chicken pieces on the cooking grate, skin side up, leaving at least a little space between them to ensure good air circulation. Cook the chicken, turning and basting it periodically with the reserved salad dressing, for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the breast reads 160°F (71°C). Transfer the chicken from the grill to a serving platter and tent it with foil to rest for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve it with your favorite accompaniments.

Alternative method: This recipe also works really well cooked on a hardwood plank, like maple or hickory. You just need to be careful to watch for flare-ups.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Makes about 12 brownies

“This recipe, plus an icing, won a brownie contest about 20 years ago. When these brownies were first served to me and Kate by my fellow barbecue team member Kathy Richardier without the icing that was called for in the original recipe, we all agreed that frosting these babies would be overkill—even to us, which is really saying something. Triple Chocolate Brownies have been served at least 100 times in my house, and they never fail to provoke ecstatic approval. They freeze superbly, too, although the fact that they are frozen doesn’t always keep eager fingers away. Note: Use the big, good-quality European-style chocolate bars. You can probably mess around with the chocolate combination, using chocolate bars with nuts or fruit, but this basic recipe is so outrageously good you ought to try it as is at least once.” (page 351)

½ cup [125 mL] butter
3 oz [90 g] unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 eggs, at room temperature
pinch kosher salt
1 cup [250 mL] sugar
2 tsp [10 mL] vanilla extract
one 3 oz [90 g] bar white chocolate
one 3 oz [90 g] bar milk chocolate
one 3 oz [90 g] bar bittersweet or dark chocolate
½ cup [125 mL] all-purpose flour
vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or fruit (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).

Line an 8-inch (2 L or 1.2 L) square or round cake pan with foil; grease the inside of the foil generously. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the unsweetened chocolate.

Allow the chocolate to melt completely.

Beat the eggs and salt together at high speed for 30 seconds in a large bowl. Gradually add the sugar and keep beating until the batter is very thick and pale. Mix in the butter-chocolate mixture and the vanilla. Chop the chocolate bars into pieces and toss them in the flour. Add them to the mixture in the bowl and mix well by hand.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake it for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the brownies are firm to the touch. Serve them warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, fruit, or nuthin’ at all.