Leftover lunch

Last weekend I had an open house, and while I had hopes of a warm and sunny day so that people could lounge in my backyard, it wasn't to be. Last Saturday was pretty miserably cold and rainy, but despite all that, the party was still a lot of fun! Thanks to everyone for coming and helping to warm my new house!

Given that I was running around cleaning and getting prepared right up until the last minute, I neglected to take pictures of the food. But, all modesty aside, I think the spread was pretty good. I had fun thinking about what I would serve and there was a nice selection of choices.

Here's a look at some of the leftovers.


The tooth-picked items are chiorizo sausage stuffed inside a medjool date. A nice combination of the spicy and sweet, and pretty easy as well. All that's required is to pit the dates, and take the casing off the sausage. Tip: much easier to do this before the sausages are sliced into coins.

Also on a toothpick is a red pepper wrapped cube of manchego cheese.

Not pictured is the goat cheese and sun dried tomato bites.

On the cracker is the artichoke/olive bruschetta. I served this on crostini, and then we had the leftovers the next day over pasta with parmesan cheese. Really good!

None of the sweets made it to the plate, but I made these lemon bars on they day of, and they were yummy.

Artichoke-Olive Crostini
Adapted from Mario Batali

1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
1 cup large green pitted olives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a food processor, process the garlic, olives, capers, artichoke hearts and olive oil to a coarse paste.

Do ahead: The olive paste can be refrigerated for 2 days. Let it return to room temperature before using.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Bites
From What Would Brian Boitano Make?

1 (8-ounce) log fresh goat cheese, chilled
1 cup pistachio nuts, finely chopped
20 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
Directions
Special equipment: 20 small skewers or cocktail toothpicks

Fill a pitcher with hot water. Dip a knife into the hot water and slice the goat cheese log in half lengthwise. Slice each half into 10 pieces making sure to dip the knife into the hot water in between slicing to ensure a nice clean cut. Roll each piece of goat cheese into balls approximately 1/2-inch in diameter and put onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.

Add the chopped pistachio nuts to a shallow bowl. Roll a goat cheese ball into the pistachio nuts and coat 1/2 of the ball. Return to the sheet pan and repeat with the remaining goat cheese balls.
Drain the oil from the tomatoes and put onto a plate lined with a paper towel.

Skewer a goat cheese ball onto the skewer. Lay a basil leaf on top a sun-dried tomato. Fold the tomato in half around the basil leaf and add to the skewer with the goat cheese. Repeat with remaining skewers. Arrange on a serving platter, cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Jerusalem artichoke soup

A week ago, I went to the Carp Christmas market on Friday night. It's a lovely spot in the daytime, but at night, it's a different experience altogether to walk around with snow falling softly overhead. There are few outdoor stands at this time of year, but those who brave the cold offer up a feast for the senses: piles of evergreen wreaths decorated with bows and bells, sturdy pine Christmas trees begging for ornaments, sizzling elk sausages plumping on the grill, crispy bacon piled high on squishy buns, spicy chili bubbling away in pots, and cups of sweet, cinnamony apple cider looking to warm both hands and bellies.

There were lots of Christmas crafts for sale, along with jars of jams and preserves, and some very good looking pies and other baked goods. There are also are a few farmers who come out to get rid of the last of their apples, turnips or root veggies. I came across one farmer selling Jerusalem artichokes and I decided to buy some.

If you've never had the pleasure of eating Jerusalem artichokes (sometimes called sunchokes) before, you should seek them out. They're almost a cross between water chesnuts and potatoes, and they have a slight nutty flavour. They're nice to roast, in the same manner you would with potatoes, and they're great in soups too. That's what I decided to do with mine.

Here they are. You can see they look like fingerling potatoes, or giner root. They're a real pain to peel, so I just cleaned them and chopped them up.

Here they are in the pot, browning with a potato.

And here's the final result, all blended and topped with some toasted walnuts. Yum!

Jerusalem artichoke soup

1 lb. (approx.) Jerusalem artichokes, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

1 large yellow-fleshed potato, peeled and chopped

4 large shallots, chopped (or use an onion and garlic, neither of which I happened to have)

4 c. or so of chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. olive oil (approx.)

splash of cream (optional)

1. Start by adding the oil to a large soup pot. Once it shimmers, add the shallot, artichokes and potato and cook for about five minutes until the shallots have softened and become transluscent.

2. Add enough stock to cover the veggies. Cover and simmer until everything is soft -- about 20 minutes or so.

3. Remove soup from pot and place in blender to purify, or use an immersion blender to do the same. I found some of the skins remained and didn't get blended, but I didn't mind that. They tend to lend a grayish colour to the finished soup, but don't affect the taste at all.

4. Add some cream if you like, or leave as is. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with nuts of your choosing.