Lemon Rosemary Beer Granita

Dan    Recipes, Something Sweet     awesome, beer, chilled, Dan Clapson, desserts, iced, lemon, Mill St Brewery, recipes, rosemary, summer

When the sun hits, it’s time for something refreshing. I fell in love with granitas a while back. They are stupid easy to make and always impress people. From wine and vodka, to prosecco and beer, there is a whole mix of things you can throw into a granita. Since I am in love with cold beer on a hot summer day, I decided to turn on into a dessert.

The fresh rosemary and lemon zest add a nice brightness to this chilly dessert, tasting somewhat like a boozy iced tea…not to be confused with a Long Island Iced Tea…I think only 18 year olds drink those things, right?

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Apple, Cranberry and Walnut Baklava

Dan    Recipes, Something Sweet     apples, baking, baklava, Dan Clapson, honey, phyllo pastry, quick and easy, recipes, Start From Scratch

If there’s one dessert I can’t have just one piece of, it’s definitely baklava. Typically, I only indulge in this honey-soaked goodness of a pastry while I’m picking up some late night eats at a shawarma place after the bar. I mean, clearly, six pieces of baklava is definitely the correct thing to eat at 3 a.m. right? Right!

My Start From Scratch program wrapped up for the spring a couple weeks ago and our final class is always, always desserts! After ten weeks of learning in the kitchen, it’s only appropriate to end on a sweet note. Aside from making some chocolate souffles, which kicked ass, I decided to make baklava with my class.

This rendition is by no means traditional, but was a hit with the entire group.

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Mussels with Spicy Vodka Tomato Sauce

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes     cooking, mussels, quick and easy, recipes, seafood, tomato sauce

I always forget how ridiculously easy mussels are to make. They cook in hardly any time at all. They’re great in pastas, sans-shell in soups, even chilled with some seafood sauce, but, best of all? They’re cheap! A couple Sundays ago, I wanted a quick and easy dinner, so thought mussels would be the way to go. This vodka tomato sauce would also be pretty stellar on some spaghetti with some homemade meatballs. Just saying…

If you’re not a booze hound like me, feel free to leave the vodka out. It just adds a nice little kick to the sauce.

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Seared Scallops with Sweet Pea and Jalapeno Purée

Dan    Mains, Recipes     Dan Clapson, delicious, dinner, peas, quick and easy, radishes, recipes, scallops, seafood

Alright, so not the best photo…but, what’s a guy to do when he’s cooking dinner at a friend’s house and doesn’t really feel like lugging his big camera over to snap a picture? I have to remind myself that it’s ok to resort to some iPhoetography once and awhile. I mean, after all, it’s the taste that matters, not the picture that I spend ten minutes taking while dinner gets cold! Ha, ha, ha.

After getting back into town from my worldly adventures, I had a lot of catching up to do with my friends. This past weekend, I made dinner with my friend Trina. Neither of us have had scallops for quite some time, so we decided to cook some up. The pea and jalapeño purée has a nice bit of heat, which I topped with some sautéed scallions and radishes, scallops and finished it all with a couple dollops of olive tapenade to cut the richness.

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Chimichurri Couscous Salad

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan/Vegetarian     chimichurri, couscous, grilling, quick and easy, recipes, salads, spring, vegetarian

I travel a lot, but I’ve never away from home for over five weeks before. Traveling is always a fantastic experience, but after awhile, I think most of us start to miss home. The unpacking, repacking and moving around can get a little tiresome. Sometimes, I just want to be able to wear my sweatpants and whip up something in my kitchen.

Luckily, this past week, we spent the last few days of our adventure down under were in Rotorua, an inland town in New Zealand that’s fairly low key. Here, we were lucky enough to stay with a friend and although it was not my house, we did treat her kitchen like it was mine! Ha, ha, ha.

Amoung the different dishes we cooked up, one of them was this tasty riff on a tabouli salad. Since spring is almost here, this salad with grilled vegetables and the tangy chimichurri sauce (which you could also use to put on any grilled meat, so awesome!) is bright and light. Totally appropriate for a warm, sunny day.

I have gained a few pounds while eating traveling too, so this may just become a staple in my diet for the next couple months! Anyway…

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Australia Thus Far and a Recipe For Lamb Curry with Sweet Coconut Rice

Dan    Mains, Recipes     Australia, Brisbane, Byron Bay, curry, lamb, New South Wales, Newcastle, recipes, slowcooked, stew, traveling, Tukka

I’ve been in Australia for about a week and a half now. So far, our trip has been amazing, aside from the mostly rainy weather. The rain has cut in significantly to our beach time, which is a bit sad, but, that being said, rain and grey sky lend themselves well to the enjoyment of stews and curries.

So, even though I am escaping – geographically – the last few weeks of Canadian winter, I still find myself whipping up something I would happily it on a snowy winter’s evening. My travel companion, Chez, and I cooked this dinner for some of her family friends while we were spending the past weekend on the Sunshine Coast.

We were tight on spices in the vacation rental apartment, hence the odd addition of ketchup to the curry, but, trust me, it was awesome! Here’s the recipe…

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