Ricardo Cuisine | try small things

My step-father had some choice expressions for me when I was growing up: “You make a better door than a window” (when I was in the way); “Go play on the yellow dotted line” (when I was bored); “You’re like a bull in a china shop” (when I walked through the dining room and the dishes in the cabinet rattled); “You want to cry? I’ll give you something to cry about” (when I was upset); “If you want to do something right, you’ve got to do it yourself” (when he wasn’t thrilled with the way I’d done whatever job he’d asked me to do); and “DON’T TOUCH THE BARBECUE!” (‘tho this was more a command than an expression and probably out of concern for my safety). Needless to say, he didn’t exactly inspire confidence. (I haven’t seen him since he and my mother divorced when I was a teenager, so I’m pretty sure he isn’t reading this.) And while a part of me was afraid of my step-father, all of me was scared of the barbecue. So I never touched it.

At least not until a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago Ricardo Cuisine invited me to try a couple of barbecue recipes from their website and I thought maybe it was high time I learned my way around the grill. Turns out it isn’t that scary after all.

With a few pointers and some encouragement from my partner-in-crime, I’ve been feeling my way around and gaining more confidence each time I use it. (Huzzah!) The key is to keep my hubby busy and off doing something else since he can’t resist taking over at the first sniff of smoke (and oh we’ve had smoke!). Tonight he was across town putting in an air conditioner for someone so I had the grill all to myself. And since I don’t like to do things half-assed (always use your full ass!) I tried not one, not two, but three Ricardo recipes.

First up: grilled vegetable and garlic salad.

A bounty of fresh, nutrient-packed veggies brushed with just the tiniest bit of oil and grilled ’til tender, complimented by a light dressing flavoured with garlic, Dijon mustard and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Simple and straightforward for a newbie like me. And totally confidence-building.

Next, these scrumptious grilled pork chops with figs, from grill to plate in 17 minutes (including 5 minutes to rest the meat and oh! plus 2 hours to marinade before hand). But so tender you’d think they’d been slow-roasted all day.

Tell me those don’t make your mouth water. (Unless you’re a vegetarian, in which case I totally understand.)

And for dessert, easy and elegant grilled cherry and pound cake skewers, served with a simple custard sauce.

Here it’s the pound cake that’s grilled. And here’s where I had a bit of a fail. You’re supposed to dip the cake in an egg and milk mixture as you would French toast, then grill for a couple of minutes on each side. I tried it with four pieces of cake on another occasion and I don’t know if I soaked them too long or not enough or my grill just didn’t have enough oil but what cake didn’t stick to the grill fell apart. I salvaged some but it wasn’t near as pretty as I would have liked. So tonight I skipped the custard and grilled them as-is. I’m sure they’d be a heck of a lot tastier Ricardo’s way but these held together and lifted off the grill fairly easily so they did the trick. But I will try the recipe again. Heck, now that I’ve getting more confidence I’ll try just about any recipe!

What about you? Are you adventurous around the grill? If you’re looking for inspiration, you’ll find plenty at Ricardo Cuisine and in the new special barbecue issue, now on stands. If you’re lucky, you might just find the magazine in your mail box! That’s right everybody, it’s time for

A giveaway!

Thanks to Ricardo Cuisine, one lucky try small things reader will win a one-year subscription to Ricardo magazine PLUS a $100 gift card to spend in the Ricardo boutique! If you haven’t checked out the shop, you’ll find all kinds of goodies for cooking, baking and serving and of course a great selection of tools for the barbecue. (As well as a pretty nifty looking portable BBQ.) To enter, submit your name and email here on the Rafflecopter form, then come back here to the blog and tell me your favourite barbecue recipe from Ricardo Cuisine and/or one you’d like to try. You must complete these two steps in order to be eligible. The giveaway is open to Canadian residents aged 18+ and ends June 22, 2015.

Good luck everybody!

Updated June 23: Congratulations to Kelley Moore!

I received a subscription to Ricardo for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

They say there’s only two certainties in life: death and taxes. But in our family, we’ve got a third: ham for Easter. Add mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and dinner rolls and you’ve got a meal you can set your watch by. And hey, it gets eaten, but it’s a little bit boring, no? So when Ricardo Cuisine invited me to try some of their Easter recipes, I was game. And I have to tell you, cooking and baking and photographing them over the past week has made me feel happier and more fulfilled than I’ve felt in months. Whether you enjoy cooking or not, time in the kitchen preparing these recipes is time well spent. Sure they’ll fill your tummies, but more importantly they’ll feed your soul.

I love the vibrant colour and the simplicity of the green beans almondine. Fresh steamed beans tossed in butter and lemon juice and garnished with toasted sliced almonds and salt make a side that could easily be a main for a veggie lover like me.

The roasted fennel and fingerling potatoes (or baby potatoes in this case, since I couldn’t find the finger fellas) was a little more time-consuming but also super easy to prepare, and your kitchen fills with the most heavenly aroma of the fennel sautéeing on the stovetop before you throw it in the oven.

This year wouldn’t be the first time we bought a ham large enough to need its own seat at the table. And as much as we love it, we always end up with a shed-load left over. A brilliant way to use it up: Ricardo’s ham pot pie. Tossed with potatoes, broccoli and sautéed leeks and blanketed under ready-made puff pastry, it’s comfort food for those chilly Easter weekends when Spring hasn’t quite sprung. (It’s looking like we’ll still have snow.)

Mine didn’t look this pretty the first time I made it. I cut the pastry into squares and laid them on top of the filling as directed, only because my casserole dish wasn’t the same size as Ricardo’s, I had a few extra pieces that didn’t fit so I set them aside. (They didn’t get wasted, however: I baked them with egg wash and sugar and my son gobbled them up with a bit of jam.) As a result, I ended up with a kind of pastry archipelago, and the shrunken squares of dough didn’t look nearly as appetizing bobbing on top of the filling. But the second time I got wise: I cut the sheet of pastry to fit the size of my dish, scored it into individual pieces and laid them on top of the filling until the entire surface was covered. This method worked much better, and the finished product looked much more like Ricardo’s.

Since it’s sugaring-off season in Ricardo’s native Quebec, you’ll also find a number of recipes in the Easter section that use maple syrup. But really, who wouldn’t want to eat these maple-glazed drumsticks year-round? My daughter asked for seconds (YES!) so we’ll be making them again soon, only I have to confess a modification to the recipe: I added a 1/2 cup of ketchup. I spooned the marinade over the drumsticks a couple of times while they were baking but it just slid off, so I stirred in the ketchup to thicken it up and make it stick. It probably diluted the spicy flavour of the chili sauce to make them more kid-friendly too (‘tho my four-year-old nephew loves his hot sauce, so maybe I should say kid-friendly for my kids). And look how good they look! Oh my gosh, you have to try them.

Of course Easter wouldn’t be Easter without chocolate, so we also tried a couple of desserts. The batter for the marbled chocolate bundt cake was so tasty I’m surprised so much of it made it into the pan. My daughter (she’s nearly 8) helped with every step and probably could have made it on her own if I’d let her, only she’s a little absent-minded and tends to do things like turn on the mixer without putting the head into the bowl.

The way the ganache drips down the cake? Sheer poetry, friends. It’s the perfectly decadent end to your Easter feast. Unless you’ve got room for something else, in which case might I suggest the chocolate hen’s nest pie? (Only I couldn’t find a hen, so these bunnies will have to do.)

The oreo cookie crust takes some patience pressing it into the sides of the fluted pan, but it looks so pretty that it’s well worth taking the extra couple of minutes to get it all the way up and around. The filling is a creamy chocolate custard lightened up with whip cream and spread generously over the crust, then popped into the fridge for a couple of hours to set. Topped with chocolate shavings, chocolate eggs and the chocolate bunnies, it’s one of those rich desserts that satisfies with just a sliver. Of course if you want to cut yourself a couple of slivers I won’t tell. It’s Easter, after all!

What’s on your Easter menu, friends? Have I convinced you to try any of the Easter recipes from Ricardo Cuisine?

try small things

Tag: Ricardo Cuisine

BBQ confidence with Ricardo Cuisine + A giveaway!

Easter cooking with Ricardo Cuisine