Sauce

“Drive Thru” Rye & Ginger Lamb

Posted on: March 15th, 2014 by Carla Johnson No Comments

“Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whiskey makes it go round twice as fast.” ~ Compton Mackenzie

Note to my non-Canadian visitors: In the Great White North here, we call our whisky “rye” because it has rye grain added to the mash and a “Rye & Ginger” is a popular drink. My hubby keeps his rye in the freezer. See the video at the end of the post.

Abandonned car wash drive thru lamb cooking with sin Chef Janet Craig

Written by Chef Janet Craig of The Satisfied Soul

It was as mild, sunny afternoon, after cooking at a client’s house, when I passed a “drive thru” car wash and thought I should go in. After chatting to the cash wash guy about cooking – he noticed the uniform – I drove in. Relaxing and reading my notes, I was suddenly jolted alert. Coming right through the water was the wash guy! He jumped out of the curtains in the actual car wash and banged on my truck, shrieking, “You are in “Drive,” Lady!!!” (instead of Neutral)

“Jeez! It said Drive Thru,” I thought.

Now I know why I was going through so fast!! I just thought I was being very efficient! He probably was worried about the Beemer in front of me!

😮

It’s been a long chilly winter, but the maple syrup will be running soon. Here is a great Canadian recipe.

Abandonned car wash drive thru lamb cooking with sin sm

Rye and Ginger Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Lamb

2 tablespoon (25 ml) Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon (25 ml) Maple syrup
¼ cup (50 ml) rye
½ cup ginger ale
2 teaspoon (10 ml) grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoon (10 ml) ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) cayenne
3 lb (1.5 kg) butter flied lamb leg
Freshly ground pepper to taste
 

Sauce

1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup (50 ml) ginger ale
¼ cup (50 ml) rye
2 tablespoon (25 ml) maple syrup
2 tablespoon (25 ml) Dijon Mustard
1 cup (250 ml) chicken or beef stock
 

1. Combine mustard, maple syrup, rye, ginger ale, ginger, cumin and cayenne in a small bowl. Brush over lamb leg. Season with pepper. Marinate in zip lock bag overnight in refrigerator.

2. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

3. Place lamb, fat side up, on rack in a roasting pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, basting occasionally or until juices runs slightly pink.

4. Place lamb on a carving board and tent with foil, letting it rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile make sauce.

5. Discard all fat from roasting pan but 1 tablespoon. Stir in flour, then deglaze the pan with the rye, scraping up meat bits. Stir in ginger ale, maple syrup, mustard and stock. Bring to boil, boil 3 to 5 minutes or until reduced by half. Sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

6. To serve, carve into thin slices and drizzle sauce over lamb.

How to Make a Rye & Ginger

Carla Johnson Cooking With Sin

Carla Johnson Cooking With Sin

Bourbon Sauces

Posted on: March 9th, 2014 by Carla Johnson No Comments

After sharing her Vermouth Pork Blade recipe on the last post, Connie found these recipes in a Jim Beam Bourbon Culinary Collection cookbook she had. I have to say they look wonderful.

Enjoy!

Cooking With Sin Bourbon Sauces Jim Beam Connie Campell

Carla Johnson Cooking With Sin

Carla Johnson Cooking With Sin

“Bring Joy” Drambuie Cream Sauce

Posted on: February 17th, 2013 by Carla Johnson No Comments

“Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.” – Craig Claiborne

What exactly is a “foodie?” The word gets used a lot and was even spoofed in a recent TV ad for Boston Pizza. So, I googled it and found this:

“Noun 1. foodie – a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink)”

That’s pretty much what Diane Smith Stewart said too. Recently I met Diane through mutual friends and when I asked her about food and cooking she said, “I love to bring joy to others using food!” She loves everything about food. She loves trying new pairings, new cooking techniques and presentations and she is always looking for a new food or recipe from a part of the world she hasn’t yet experienced.

I like Diane because she also really enjoys *sin.* She loves great wine and the finest of spirits. Her favourite drink is the Rusty Nail, a mix of Drambuie and Scotch. It’s possible the name Drambuie came from the Gaelic phrase dram buidheach which means “the drink that satisfies” and I think that suits Diane perfectly.

Carla Johnson Cooking with Sin

Diane & Dwayne - photo credit Diane Smith Stewart

Diane has been married to Dwayne for 20 years and they are not looking back. They are busy parents supporting all the activities of their two teenagers, 18 year old Sarah and 15 year old Cam. They do all that while running two Vancouver businesses, one of which provided the official snow removal services for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.  Yes, their lives and full and gratifying.

Diane and her daughter. Photo by photoart by Simpson

When she celebrated Robbie Burns Day with friends a couple weeks ago, she whipped up a Drambuie cream sauce for the haggis. Diane is an organic food person. She grows some of her own vegetables and supports local producers, so she made sure she served her sauce with the most delicious, savoury haggis she could find.

Diane also said her sauce is wonderful on ice cream and you might want to eat it straight from a spoon. “But,” she says, “try not to drink it all before supper!!”

“Bring Joy” Drambuie Cream Sauce

 
½ cup Drambuie
¾ cup heavy cream
 

1. Place Drambuie in saucepan, bring to boil and reduce by half (about 10 minutes).

2. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Heat to warm, do not boil. Serve.

Yum!!!!

How to Make a Rusty Nail

Slange Var!

Carla Johnson Cooking With Sin

One of the Diane's gorgeous cakes

You might enjoy more Cooking With Sin recipes for Robbie Burns Day on “Ode to the Haggis” Burns Nicht.

“IPM 2012” Brandy Cream Sauce

Posted on: September 23rd, 2012 by Carla Johnson No Comments

“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”
– Daniel Webster

If your September has been like mine, it has been really, really full. Two weeks ago we held our wonderful Best Bites, Taste of the Region fundraiser and this weekend I was invited to present at the International Plowing Match 2012 (IPM) here in Waterloo Region.

Thank you to all the IPM volunteers who pulled off this magnificent event. Hundreds of vendors and thousands of volunteers worked tirelessly for 2 years preparing for approximately 100,000 visitors. Astounding!

Bird's eye view of the IPM tent city in Roseville.

Sandwiched nicely between Anna Olson & Rose Murray. So great to be around the best!

Wonderful to meet Anna Olson in person!

Ontario Gleaners was one of the IPM vendors and my dear friend Shelley Stone, who shared her recipe and story “Special Delivery” Black Forest Cake here, is the manager of the of the Ontario operations. So, it was a perfect fit to share Shelley’s recipe and story at IPM.

Challenges often lead to new and more wonderful things. Shelley’s recipe has brandy sprinkled on cooked layer cake, but for the IPM presentation, I was asked not to serve anything with uncooked alcohol. Getting a little creative, I made a brandy cream sauce instead and it is deelish! Think creamy toffee spiked with brandy! Hello!

Brandy Cream Sauce

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons brandy
  

1. Fold the sugar into the butter until it is mixed well.

2. Put the mix in a sauce pan and add the cream and brandy.

3. Stir and heat over medium heat until the sugar crystals melt and the mixture becomes a smooth liquid toffee.

4. Can be poured between the layers of the cake or served over the cake slices. When pouring between the layers try trimming off the top of the bottom layer so the cake soaks up the sauce.

Tip! Shelley’s recipe uses simple boxed cake and I made it *sin*ful by replace most of the water with red wine. 🙂

Carla Johnson "Cooking With Sin"

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How to Make a McD Big Mac at Home

Posted on: July 13th, 2012 by Carla Johnson No Comments

Carla Johnson "Cooking With Sin"

I am from the Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions – all on a sesame seed bun! generation. Recently MacDonald’s decided to turn an customer inquiry into a how-to video. The ingredients are shared, and they are all very simple, but the amounts are not given.

First, a blast from the 1970’s past.

The customer’s inquiry was about how to make the sauce and the chef shares not only the sauce, but the construction of the whole burger. I know the 2 patties are small, 45.4 g/1.6 oz. each. I always thought the sauce was Thousand Islands dressing!

What is the Sauce that is in a Big Mac?

Curious about the nutritional information? Here is the Canadian site for all McDonald’s menu items.

Here is just the Big Mac info.

Big Mac nutritional information

Okay, so there was no *sin* in this one, but some would say the whole fast-food industry is sinful in its own way. 🙂

 Carla Johnson "Cooking With Sin"

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