Turkey Cranberry Meatloaf

Here is an alternative for a turkey dinner that is easy and works well for large and small groups. It is perfect for holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. It uses the same flavors as a turkey dinner, and tastes great with the traditional mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing.

Ingredients:

500 g minced turkey or chicken
1 egg
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 apple, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 tablespoons dried sage leaves
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Dried cranberries or cranberry sauce

- mix onion, apple, garlic, sage, parsley and breadcrumbs.
- add the minced meat, and mix by hand.
- add egg and mix until the meat is well mixed.
- place meat evenly in the pan.

*optional: place a carrot cut into a heart shape in the middle of the loaf so that, when sliced, a heart can be seen in the middle. Consider precooking the carrot, either by boiling or steaming, to ensure that it is fully cooked. As a bonus, less baking time is required. This is especially good for those who often worry whether the middle of the loaf is cooked. And it is cute!*

- press the dried cranberries onto the top of the loaf. Alternatively, coat with a layer of cranberry sauce.
- cover with foil and bake for about 1-1.5 hours at 180 degrees Celsius.

- remove from the oven and allow to sit for 15-30 minutes.

- slice and serve hot.

This dish is notoriously finiky to make, and the goal is a beef wellington where all the components are perfectly cooked (meat medium-rare, pate heated through but not soggy, and pastry perfectly browned). Luckily, even not-too-perfect beef wellington tastes great – which is awesome for someone practicing for repeated consistency in beef wellington roasting

This year, I opted to try making individual beef wellington servings. This method makes it easier to suit everyone’s taste for beef roast, from very well-done to very rare. It also makes serving and plating much easier. And who would ever complain about the additional pastry to filling ratio?

Ingredients:

- 1 lb of beef tenderloin, cut into 4 medalions about 1 inch thick (AKA 4 slices of filet mignon)

- chunky pork pate

- 4-5 white mushrooms, sliced

- 1/4 onion, diced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 tbsp butter

- thyme, salt, and pepper

- 1 egg (to make an egg wash)

- cooking oil.

- puff pastry (store- bought or home made. I like to use a rough puff pastry recipe, which can be found online)

Season the beef on all sides with salt and pepper. Then sear on all sides in a pan on high heat (only sear about 1/3 way to desired done-ness. For medium-rare, no more than 30 seconds per side. For well-done, about 1 minute per side). Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, saute mushrooms, onions, butter, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, until everything is cooked through. I like to cook this slowly until the onions caramelize. Set aside to cool.

Lay out sheets of puff pastry, and cut to size (approximately 4 inches x 6 inches). For each beef wellington, place the beef in the center of the pastry, top with a slice of pate, and then a spoonful of the mushroom mixture. Carefully wrap the pastry around the filling, pinching to seal all sides (I usually do a seam a long the top, and then on both sides). Poke 2-3 holes at the top using a toothpick or fork. Then brush eggwash on top.

Bake at 425 F for 20-25 mins (or until the pastry is golden brown on top).

Pictures above and below: individual beef wellingtons served with roasted root vegetables, brussel sprouts, and a red wine gravy.

This versatile 2-layer green box has a snap seal and chopstick compartment.  The long narrow shape is easy to carry (fits in my purse), bit slightly more difficult to pack. It’s about 2.25 inches x 7 inches, and has a 600 ml capacity. The see-through lid is great for showing off tempting lunches!

In the bento below: rice, chicken and veg stirfry, carrot and cucumber sticks with arugula and dip, and mixed berries.

In the bento below: Korean red rice, bulgogi, broccoli, carrot and cucumber sticks, mango cubes, and cheese and crackers.

Bento 1

Early Summer Theme: roast chicken, sauteed rapini, grilled vegetables (red pepper, zuchinni, muchrooms), chinese egg tart, and fruit (grapes and peaches)

Bento 2

The “it’s-too-hot-to-cook” bento: sandwiches,  pickled gherkin, sponge cake, veggies and hummus, grapes and strawberries.

Bento 3

Summer BBQ leftovers: Rice, steak, broccoli, marinated tofu, samosa, bean salad, blueberries and peaches.

You read it right. This post is for spam rice balls. Spam, as in the processed meat, which is popular in the heavily american-influenced southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Incorporating the American canned meat into their Japanese food, spam onigiri is an interesting fusion food that is simple to make, and is handy for bentos.

Ingredients:
Spam
Cooked rice
Nori
Salted water
Cheese (optional)
Ketchup (optional)
BBQ sauce (optional)
Teriyaki sauce (optional)
Omelet (optional)

-cook white rice as usual
- slice spam horizontally into ~3/4cm thick slices

- fry spam on both sides in a pan

- lay out the spam and place optional ingredients onto the middle of the spam slice

- prepare rice by using hands wetted in salt water to form rice balls about the shape as the spam slices.
- place rice on top of the spam

- lightly press the meat and the rice together
- wrap a strip of nori around the rice ball

Eat hot or cold. These are great for bentos, or simply wrapped in plastic wrap, they are easily portable.

Ingredients:
1 cup diced cheese
1 cup diced ham
1 tbsp dried basil leaves
1 tbsp dried parsley leaves
1 diced tomato
1 diced onion
3 Eggs
2 tbsp cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 uncooked 9″ pie crust (pate brisee crust recipe found here)

- lightly fry onion and ham
- add in tomato
- allow to cool
- combine milk and eggs
- mix in basil, parsley, ham and onion mix
- sprinkle cheese onto the bottom on the pie crust
- pour the egg mixture into the pie, leaving about 1 cm from the top of the pie
- bake at 350F for about 40-50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the filling has set and browned
- serve hot or cold

Za’atar is a middle eastern mixture of spices including thyme, oregano, majoram, savory, sesame seeds, and salt. It can be used in a variety of middle eastern dishes, including manakish bread, and za’atar chicken.

Here is a simple recipe for the za’atar spice mix.

2/3 cup oregano
1/3 cup marjoram
1 cup thyme
1/3 cup savory
1/2 cup sumac
2 cups sesame seeds
About 4-8 teaspoon salt

Buri, or Japanese amberjack/yellowtail is a fish that is known for its high fat content, and is widely used in foods like sushi (hamachi), and in hot pots. This recipe describes a recipe for teriyaki buri.

Teriyaki is a sweet sauce basically made of sugar, soy sauce, and mirin.

Ingredients:

Buri fillets
Salt (a little)
Sake (a little)
Flour (a little)
Vegetable oil
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs mirin

Marinate fillets in sake with a little salt for about 5-10 minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan.

Fry fish until sides are lightly browned.

Remove oil from pan.

Mix mirin, sugar and soy sauce, add to the fish in the pan and allow to simmer at low heat for about 10 minutes.

Remove fish from pan, and spoon a few tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce over the fish before serving.

Chicken pot pie is a pie baked in a pie plate with only a top crust and no bottom crust. It is filled with a creamy chicken filling.

Ingredients:
1 pound cubed chicken meat
1 chopped onion
2 diced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
2 diced celery stalk
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
1 3/4 cups water or chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

The crust is made with pate brisee. The crust recipe can be found here.

To make the filling:
- lightly fry chicken with butter in a pot
- add in onions and fry lightly
- stir in the vegetables
- add water and milk and bring to a boil
- simmer for 15-20 minutes
- mix in flour until soup is thick
- add salt and pepper to taste

- spoon the chicken mix into the bottom of the pie pan
- roll crust and cut into the appropriate size to cover the pie pan
- seal the crust with the fingers by moulding the pie crust edge around the plate. You can use a fork to press down the crust and make stripes around the edge of the pie.
- slit a few holes on the top of the crust to allow steam to escape during cooking.

- bake at 425F for 35-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and bubbly.
- serve hot

I’ve heard many people say that Belgian food plays second fiddle to it’s neighbour, France. After all, French food is seen to be a gastronomical standard throughout the world. But this simple reasoning also explains why I sometimes find French food boring, and by comparison, Belgian food seemed unique and new, unpretentious, and comfortingly satisfying. 

Lunch time on the day that we arrived in Brussels, we sought a corner cafe in the busy tourist crawling center of the Grand Palace. The French-Flemish-German menu was expansive, and we settled on the daily chicken special (in a mushroom cream sauce and with mashed potatos) and a salad nicoise, accompanied with a light Brugs beer. After days in Paris, the portions seemed humoungous, and the meal came with yummy dense Belgian bread.  

After lunch, it was time to pick up some souveniers. At the chocolatiers, here were boxes and boxes of handmade truffles, bars of chocolate, and specialty sweets. Since it was around easter time, there were chocolate eggs galore (truffle style of course), and chocolates shaped like cute baby animals. We also had fun browsing the beer store and selecting some of the most interesting looking bottles to bring home.

A friend brought us to Le Guignol for dinner, and it was one of the best meals we had all trip! Of course, we had to sample the local specialities. We started with fresh young asparagus, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with a crumbled egg mixture. We also had crispy-on-the-outside-gooey-in-the-inside seafood croquettes. Then, we tried the waterzooi (chicken and potato stew) and meatloaf with Belgian endive (this was the first time I had cooked endive – absolutely amazing).

Mussels and fries! For some reason, I thought that moules et frites was a French thing. Turns out they’re Belgian. Go figure.

And of course, waffles! Warm and crispy, liberally sprinked with icing sugar, and topped with strawberries and whipped cream… decadent!