A byootaful Life

I was craving something fancy for dinner tonight and decided that Iowa Girl Eat’s yummy looking shrimp and asparagus risotto would be perfect. While I had originally dismissed the recipe as too fancy and far too hard, I realised as I was reading the ingredient list that, for once in my life, I actually had everything I needed to make it (except for the asparagus but that’s okay because I had frozen peas and they’re close enough!) so I decided to give it a shot. What the heck, if it failed miserably there’s always emergency pizza in the freezer haha. I scaled the recipe down a little by only using 1/2 cup arborio rice as I was aiming for one meal, but it turns out it’s very filling and I ended up with plenty of left overs for dinner tomorrow. The photo below shows the actual serving size that the entire recipe made (using 1/2 cup rice) and as you can see, it’s a good meal for a hungry person, or a meal plus leftovers for a lighter eater.

Apologies for the quality of the photo… let’s just say that, after half an hour of standing at the stove stirring, I was really really hungry and decided to snap a quick iPhone pic instead of hunting around for my camera, but next time I’ll make the extra effort because the above photo just doesn’t do this bowl of deliciousness justice. It’s not the sexiest looking risotto since I took it off the stove a little too early before the liquid had finished being absorbed and the peas should have gone in much later in order to retain their beautiful green colour, but after I added some parmesan cheese and let it stand for a few minutes, it looked a lot more enticing and “together” so I’m counting this one a success!

And wow, the flavours! The parmesan with the stock and the wine just tastes sooooo good! It is time consuming though so it’s definitely not something I would make every night but I’d like to give it another go to try to get it a bit more perfected. Next time I’m going to do a mushroom risotto mmmmm…. Want the recipe? Click here for the printable version.

So here we are: January 1st, standing at the beginning of a new, exciting year filled with unlimited possibilities and adventures just waiting for us! I like to think that 2013 is going to be my year because 2012 ended on a low note. A very low note, actually. At the end of November, after eight years together, Phill and I ended our relationship. I’m not going to go into details, but it was obviously very sad and disappointing to go our separate ways after spending such a huge chunk of our adult lives together. I moved out and into my own little apartment which has been a whole new adventure for me, but I’m rising to the challenge and taking it as a great opportunity to spend some time concentrating on myself, figuring out who I am and what I want, while learning to enjoy this new chapter in my life.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered so far has been cooking. I love to cook and I love to entertain. Unfortunately my new apartment isn’t quite as glamorous as my old one so while entertaining is not impossible, it is a little more difficult. I’m aware that I can’t fit 20 people in my apartment like I used to  and that I don’t have a BBQ or balcony on which to enjoy numerous beverages and flame-grilled meats, but hey, I’ll make it work. I had also fallen a little bit into the thought pattern of “Why bother cooking? It’s just for me, there’s no point doing anything fancy” but I quickly came to realise that that kind of thinking is depressing and unfair to myself. Am I not worth the effort of cooking a nice meal? Should I only want to cook something tasty if someone else is going to eat it too? So a couple days ago, I went out and bought myself an expensive steak and made a delicious dinner with a mushroom sauce, mashed potato and veggies and it. was. freaking. awesome! I know I’m allowed to be lazy every once in a while and have toast for dinner but if I do, it’ll be because I want that and not because I feel I don’t deserve anything better.

Oh, I almost forgot – meet my new roomie Sushi:

He was a housewarming gift from a couple friends and he has some crazy Halloween colours going on, which is why I picked him. Much more exciting than a plain orange goldfish, amiright? I was bored one night and started wondering if goldfish could learn tricks and was surprised to find that’s actually a thing. Kinda cute, kinda weird, but then again, we teach cats to poop in the toilet so why can’t a fish play soccer or swim through hoops? But, as intrigued as I am at fish olympics, I’m thinking I might let Sushi live a peaceful sports-free life because I found something else to keep me occupied – learning to play the guitar.

I should clarify – learning to play the guitar well. I’ve always been able to play basic chords and do basic strumming patterns but the guitar has been the one instrument that I couldn’t just pick up and play well, and, as a musician, that always frustrated me. While I’d played my guitar on and off, it mostly sat in the corner of the bedroom gathering a fine layer of dust. When I moved apartments, I decided I was going to accept the challenge and learn some tricky, cool guitar stuff and I’ve been working on it daily (sorry neighbours!). My left hand fingers still get cranky when I try to force them into some of the more crazy chord combinations I’ve come across but I’m determined to get it perfected and I seem to be getting a little better. Who knows, maybe this will lead to a successful guitar career? And if that fails, I’ll have a professional fish trainer career to fall back on haha.

Anyway, here’s to 2013! I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a good year!

Okay, so I’ve had a little break from blogging… I didn’t realise it had been so long since my last post, I guess “real life” kept me busy for a while. Anyway, I’m back now and eager to get going, so let’s get on with it!

When I decided to return to blogging, I figured I’d start fresh with 2012 adventures but this recipe I made at Christmas was just so delicious I had to post it. Jamie Oliver’s Turkey Wellington, otherwise known as, a delicious and size-appropriate turkey dinner for two. I love beef wellington (even though it always makes me think of Hell’s Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay screaming “It’s raw!”), so I figured turkey wellington would be just as delicious. Anything wrapped in bacon, rosemary, mushrooms and a crispy flaky puff pastry shell is a winner in my book, especially if the puff pastry is the Canadian kind. It’s so much better than the frozen sheets we get in Australia – the Canadian version just tastes more fresh, more buttery and less manufactured. It’s probably ten times worse for your waistline but it’s so worth it!

The recipe was pretty simple to follow. Turkey breast is rolled up with cranberry jam, then covered in a mushroom duxelle, sprinkled with bacon and rosemary, then finally wrapped in a flaky puff pastry shell. I didn’t make the gravy to go with it and I omitted the porcini mushrooms (I used all fresh button mushrooms instead) and it came out beautifully. The turkey was so moist and the cranberry jam so sweet, it was a tasty contrast to the bacon/rosemary combo. I am a huge rosemary fan and normally I use the dried stuff, but this time round I bough the fresh sprigs and wow, what a difference it makes! The second they started sizzling in the pan with the bacon, the house filled with rosemary aroma and it was all I could do to not faceplant the frypan and eat it all up! But my favourite part of the wellington has to be the flaky, crispy puff pastry that wraps it all up – if it was practical to live on puff pastry alone, I’d be in heaven.

I will definitely make this recipe again (and again and again!) and if you’re looking for a roast dinner alternative, it’s a good place to start. Served with some veggies, potato and gravy, it’s a tasty dinner that will leave you fighting over the last piece.

Want the recipe? It’s here: Jamie Oliver’s Turkey Wellington Recipe. Enjoy!

The Thanksgiving rotisserie turkey was a complete success!

In true Canadian fashion, it rained all day long, but we’d read the forecast so we were prepared! No rain was going to get between us and our rotisserie experiment! We grabbed the outdoor umbrella and positioned it above the motor so it wouldn’t get wet. It served a double purpose, offering the BBQ master (ie. Phill) some protection from the elements when he was outside to check on the turkey (which was often).

I didn’t brine the turkey but I did give it a dry rub using a range of spices (chili, celery salt, onion powder, paprika, pepper) and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours so the flavours could sink in. I also chopped up an onion and some garlic to fill the cavity, but that turned out to be a silly idea because as the turkey spun on the rotisserie, they fell out one at a time. I had trussed it but obviously not tight enough.

When the BBQ was preheated to about 375 degrees, we put the turkey on the rotisserie spit and tried to make sure it was as even as possible. You didn’t want it to be lopsided or it might burn the motor out trying to turn it, or it might cook unevenly. It took us a few tries – and a couple arguments – but we finally got it on there. (Don’t laugh at my trussing job – this was my first time and I didn’t want wings flopping about!)

We raced outside into the rain and quickly fitted the end of the spit into the motor. It was surprising how much heat was lost with the lid open for just a few minutes. This was concerning because that would affect the cooking time and I was sort of relying on using the time as a good indication of whether or not the turkey was done. We’d put it on earlier rather than later, just in case, so if it needed to cook for longer that was okay. I was just paranoid about drying it out!

The turkey cooked at about 375 degrees for about 1hr 20mins and when we pulled it off, it was perfect, which was a relief, especially considering how much we’d babysat it, checking it was still turning and hadn’t caught fire. It wasn’t dry at all and the skin was crispy and the meat juicy – so delicious! Not bad for a first attempt!

And the best part? Leftovers! So on that note, I believe it’s dinner time!

This Thanksgiving is our second Thanksgiving in Canada, but believe it or not, it will mark our first time cooking a turkey! I’ve always been put off by the size of them and also the “dry factor” everyone warns you about, but this year I had a turkey in the freezer that was taking up waaay too much space, so I decided to pull it out and cook it for Thanksgiving. Oh and we’re not just doing any old roast turkey, we’re doing…

…rotisserie turkey!

We’ve never used a rotisserie before, but hey, if we’re taking a first stab at cooking turkey, let’s make it exciting and challenging! Hopefully the weather holds up – we’re expecting rain tomorrow, but since the lid will be down during the cooking it shouldn’t affect our plans. And if the turkey explodes or the motor dies, I’ve got the oven as a back-up.

Wish us luck! Happy Thanksgiving, Canadian friends.