I absolutely love mushrooms as a side dish. I usually sauté them in white wine and garlic but now that I've tried them marinated, skewered and grilled I don't think I could ever go back to the old way.
If you're a Canned Soup Mom like me, don't let the marinating and skewering and grilling scare you off because the hardest part of this recipe is not eating all of these mushrooms BEFORE dinner is served.
It also provides an excellent reason to open a bottle of wine before dinner.
If you're looking for ideas on what to serve these with make sure you try my Inside-Out Cheeseburgers (you can substitute the cheddar cheese with blue cheese if you're looking for a more grown-up version) or an ever-juicy steak.
Ingredients:
1 small pkg. whole button mushrooms
1/3 cup white wine
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 Tsp. Sea Salt (or other coarse salt)
4-5 bamboo skewers
In a large bowl whisk together white wine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and salt.
Slice mushrooms in half (from top to bottom) and add to bowl.
Toss well to coat, cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, soak bamboo skewers in water for 10-15 minutes. When mushrooms are done marinating skewer them onto the skewers.
Preheat grill and brush with oil (olive oil tends to burn more easily than canola oil so that's what we use).
Grill skewers 5 minutes per side.
Serve warm and I dare you to try not to eat an entire skewer before you sit down for dinner.
My Dad and Step-Mom moved to Calgary for a few years when I was in University. Every few months I would fly in for a visit and they would take me and my brothers and sister to Banff. Thanks to them, I have loved the Canadian Rockies ever since.
My Dad is an amazing cook. In fact his Two Potato Soup is still one of the top recipes my friends ask me for. He tells me it's because he worked as a short order cook when he was in school but I think like every talented chef, he has an understanding of food and how to make it taste fantastic.
Because of this, instead of piling us all into a booth at a local restaurant, my Dad would head to a provincial park at the foot of a mountain and BBQ something amazing on a small camping charcoal grill.
My favourite side dish was always these potatoes.
Ingredients:
4-5 Baking Potatoes
1 Tbsp. sea salt (or other coarse salt)
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (optional)
Non-Stick spray
Tear off an 18-20 inch piece of tin foil, place on counter dull side down and spray shiny side with non-stick spray.
Wash and thinly slice potatoes (do not peel).
Place single layer of potatoes onto sprayed side of tin foil and top with a third of each: butter, garlic and salt. Repeat with two other layers (three layers in total) of potatoes.
Place second piece of 18-20 inch piece of tin foil with shiny side sprayed with non-stick spray on top of potatoes and fold at seams so that there is no openings for steam to escape.
Grill over high heat for 35-45 minutes.
Remove from grill and slice slit in top of tin foil pack to allow steam to escape before serving.
NOTE: This recipe can also be cooked over a campfire for equally tasty results.
BONUS: Any leftover potatoes (if you should be so lucky) can be heated up in a frying pan with a tbsp. of butter the next morning for breakfast.
TIP: Always put the shiny side of tin foil down against the food you are cooking and the dull side out as the shiny side will deflect the heat (especially in your oven) and your food may cook unevenly and/or cooking time may need to be adjusted - or so says some relatively smart women in my family.
My dad and step-mom moved to Calgary the year I went to University. While they only stayed for a few years, it was my first introduction to flat prairie land, cowboys, rodeos and the mountains. Needless to say I fell in love.
While I have been lucky enough to travel from one end of this country to the other, Calgary will always be one of my favourite Canadian cities especially at this time of year—Stampede time.
The Calgary Stampede—a true Canadian iconic event—is celebrating 100 years. In 1912, four wealthy Alberta cattlemen (fondly referred to as "The Big Four") got together to create a rodeo that would put Buffalo Bill's Wild West Extravaganza to shame.
One of The Big Four was Alfred Ernest Cross who established the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company in 1892. While Mr. Cross' Calgary Beer has been absent from store shelves for decades, Molson Coors has opted to bring it back in honour of the Stampede, Calgary and Canada's long standing brewing excellence.
This inspired me to whip up something beer-ish and what better way to celebrate the prairies this Canada Day than bread that of course would pair perfectly with bison, steak, or beef kabobs.
Not only is this recipe Canned Soup Mom friendly, you can mix the entire thing in one bowl and it is completely company worthy!
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 bottle beer
1 egg (optional)
2 tsp. water (optional)
Preheat oven to 375F.
In large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, rosemary and cheese.
Slowly add beer and stir only until ingredients are well combined (do not over-mix). Note - batter will be very thick.
Pour into greased loaf pan.
Whisk together egg and water, then evenly brush over top of batter.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to continue to cool on rack.
Serve warm with butter.
If you're looking for more Canada Day inspired recipes be sure to check out my Gingerbread Cake and my Butter Tarts and Karen's Nanaimo Bars.
Adapted from Dine and Dish.
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