Tales of the test kitchen

 
 
I looked at new cookware in this week’s Hot Home Products column, mentioning that I’d done some testing with recipes that I promised to share. Here goes:

Using the rectangular baking dish from Trudeau’s Casa Blanca collection (pictured above), I made, from Sobey’s  Inspired magazine,

Roasted Cod with Capers, Olives and Tomatoes (serves four)

 What you need:

¼ cup brine-cured black olives, drained, pitted and chopped

 1 tbsp (well-drained capers, chopped)

1 lemon, zested and juiced

4  cod fillets, thawed

¼ tsp salt and pepper to taste

1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered

1 tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped.

2 tsp olive oil

What you do:

Preheat oven to 425°F

In a small bowl, combine olives, capers and 1/2 tsp lemon zest (save any left over for a later use).

Pat fish dry with paper towel, place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Top each fillet with a quarter of the olive and caper mixture and grape tomatoes. Sprinkle with oregano, and drizzle with olive oil.

Roast for 8 to 12 min. or until fish is opaque and cooked through.

Serve with rice or potatoes.

I used the a tri-ply stainless steel pan pans both from Ricardo Cuisine (see pic above for a set from the new line) and one of All-Clad’s new d5 pans to  make what I think is a super-easy family meal – a frittata. Following (loosely) directions of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything , I simply:

Whisk 8 eggs together

Heat oil in a large span on medium-high

Cook some mushroom, onions or leeks, along with some peeled and diced tomatoes (you can use canned but do drain them, or in a pinch, you can spread some bottled tomato sauce after you’ve added the eggs) 

Cook on low for about five minutes, stirring once or twice

Add the eggs and sprinkle about ½ cup of cheese on top

Stick it in an oven preheated to about 350˚F for about five minutes or until set

If you have fresh rosemary, oregano or tarragon, stick a spring in the middle  before it goes in the oven.

Serve with a green salad and crusty bread.

 Or try this recipe, which came from Longo’s website:

3 Longo’s fresh Spicy Jerk Chicken Sausages, about 12 oz

3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

8 eggs

1/2 cup cheese

Remove casings from sausages and crumble meat into 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, potatoes and parsley and cook, stirring for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are starting to brown.

Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk eggs with pinch each salt and pepper. Pour over sausage and potato mixture and cook lifting edge with rubber spatula letting runny egg go to the bottom for about 5 minutes or until bottom is light golden and top is set. Sprinkle with cheese and place under broiler for about 3 minutes or until golden.

Speaking of Longo’s, I was sorry to hear that earlier this year, founder Tommy Longo, died.  Born in 1934 in Termini Imerese, Italy, Tommy came to Canada in 1950, and began a career in the fruit and vegetable business. Six years later, he founded Longo’s with his brothers Joe and Gus. The three men grew the business to a highly successful chain of grocery stores — not an easy job in the highly competitive and highly corporate world of grocery retailing.

I’m on record as being a fan of Longo’s. One of my favourite things to do on a Friday night is to grab some wonderful cheese (they offer a stellar selection) and some gorgeous artisanal bread at the bread counter. Sometimes I’ll also grab one of their tapenades or a small bottle of flavoured oil for dipping the bread. Then it’s a quick swing by the LCBO for a bottle of wine before going home and announcing to my husband that “dinner’s ready”. When we do just that this weekend, I’ll be sure to raise a glass to the memory of Tommy Longo.