Red Bean Taiwan Wheel Cake and a Nordic Ware Eggs Plus Pan Review

I am super excited to be sharing with you these Taiwan Wheel Cakes that I made using the Nordic Ware Eggs Plus Pan. I received this awesome Nordic Ware swag along with their Microwaveable Prep & Serve Bowl Set for the upcoming Food Bloggers of Canada conference in October. 

These are super delicious and you can choose to put whatever filling you want inside. The first time I made these we filled it with fresh blueberries. Wheel Cakes are a street food dish often found in Tawian and other parts of Asia. There are often a variety of different fillings but red bean is the most popular.

Ingredients for the Red Bean Taiwan Wheel Cake with the Nordic Ware
Eggs Plus Pan and the prep bowls.

Red Bean Taiwan Wheel Cake Recipe

Yield: 6 Red Bean Wheel Cakes

Wet Ingredients

• 3 Large Eggs (160g)
• 1.5 Cups of Milk (320ml)
• 3 oz of Melted Butter (80g)
• 1 tsp of Vanilla

Dry Ingredients

• 1.75 Cups of Flour (320g)
• 2 Tbsp of Sugar
• 2 Tsp of Baking Powder
• 1 tsp of Salt

Extra Ingredients

• Oil
• Pack of Red Bean Paste

Directions:

1. Combine the Wet Ingredients and whisk until they are combined. Then combine/sift the dry ingredients. Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until the batter is smooth and transfer to a measuring cup with a spout. Place the Nordic Ware Eggs Plus Pan on the largest burner on your stove and set the temperature to medium heat.
   
   
2. Brush oil into each cup.
   
3. When the pan is warm-hot pour the batter about half way up the cup.
   
4. Wait 90 seconds and put 1 scoop of red bean in the middle of the batter of two of the cups.
   
5. Wait another 1-2 minutes for the non filled batter to cook most of the way through - the top should not be liquid, just slightly runny.
   
6. Flip the non filled half onto the top of the one that is filled.
   
7. Press down lightly so that the two halves join together.
   
8. Wait 1-2 minutes for the wheel cake to continue cooking.
   
9. Flip the entire cake and cook on the other side for another minute.
   
10. Take the wheel cake out of the pan and place it on a cooling rack or serve immediately.
    
    

Overall, the Nordic Ware Eggs Plus Pan demonstrated even heating throughout as can be seen in the picture above. The non-stick surface made it really easy to pop the wheel cakes out, and no additional oil was even needed before putting in more batter. I also did use the pan for making crustless quiches which I'll blog in another post. 

I am so happy to see how amazing these Taiwan Wheel Cakes turned out! Which filling would you put in these Taiwan Wheel Cakes? Share your thoughts below or if you make this recipe let me know in the comments below.

It's Harvest BBQ Time - Corn on the Cob and Grilled Chicken

I recently received a review copy of The Kamado Smoker & Grill Cookbook by Chris Grove. Although I do not have a Kamado Grill, my husband and I thought we could still use some of the recipes from the book on our regular Barbecue.

As it is harvest season and there is now plenty of corn, I thought I would try out one of the corn recipes in the book.

In his book, he describes preparing corn three ways. This is one of the methods. First, using hot tap water soak the ears of corn with the husks on for 45 minutes. 

After 45 minutes, remove the corn from the water, shake off the excess water, and then place it on the grill. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes. Turn the corn every 3-5 minutes.

Once the husks look charred, they are ready to take off the grill! 

Remove the husk and silks and serve the gorgeous corn on the cobs!

The corn tasted pretty good. It was moist and was not dry using this method. It is interesting that Chris Grove suggests soaking the corn for 45 minutes beforehand as this is likely a way to prevent the husks from catching on fire.

To accompany the corn, I grilled some chicken which was inspired by Chris' "Island-Style" marinade. Chris recommends that you butterfly a chicken breast for quicker and more even cooking.

In order to butterfly a chicken breast use a very sharp knife initially making a slow cut along the breast.

Continue cutting and as you cut peel back the half side of the breast until you reach the bone.

The above photo is the final result of a butterflied chicken breast. Chris' marinade involves using orange juice, lime juice, and other spices. The marinade we used had lemon juice, pepper, salt, bay leaf, oregano and garlic.

Let the chicken sit in the marinade for about 30 minutes (Chris suggests a few hours), then remove and patting them dry. We then sprinkled a bit of flour and grilled the chicken with the lid closed.

Flip the chicken after grilling each side for 5-7 minutes. Check that the internal temperature of the chicken is 160F to ensure that it is cooked fully.

The finished chicken breast with a roasted red pepper.

While butterflying a chicken is not a new method, the instructions in the book for preparing the chicken were very clear and easy to follow. The chicken itself was quite moist and tender, and definitely was not dry from over-cooking.

This is the first barbecue recipe book I've read in depth. While the book is targeted towards Kamado Smoker and Grill owners, all the recipes are compatible with a regular barbecue. We were not able to take advantage of the clear setup instructions for starting/lighting a Kamado Smoker nor temperature control; however I think it would be very useful for first time Kamado owners.

It is nice that every recipe is accompanied by pictures for most of the steps so the reader will know what they are trying to achieve. Chris also has lots of great recipe for rubs and various techniques to ensure that enough flavour imparts onto the meat that is being grilled. There are also some creative ideas for baking (e.g. baking fish, baking bread) as most people do not think of using their grill in that way. My husband is also looking forward to trying some of the other techniques in the book such as "reverse searing" and "hot tubbing".

I think that this book is worth checking out if you have a Kamado Smoker & Grill and want more ideas. This is also a good introductory book overall for anyone wanting more ideas on using their barbecue to its fullest.

Green & Gold Community Garden - University of Alberta Farm

When I first became a University of Alberta Farm heritage egg supporter, I would pick up our eggs on Saturday afternoons at the University of Alberta Farm. In the summer and in the Fall, I would often see signs up talking about the "Green & Gold Community Garden".  I never knew what they meant by the "garden" at first, until I went to another Heritage Egg event. One Saturday in August we decided to make a stop by these gardens after we picked up our heritage eggs. The gardens are actually located in the Alberta Farms area (close to the Saville Sports Centre) and down the road from where we pick up our eggs.

The Green & Gold Community Garden is a beautiful place! Gorgeous flowers, luscious produce and the air even seems fresher in this part of Edmonton!

The beets are bright & big!

An assortment of squash & zucchini for purchasing.

The garden grows a variety of squash, lettuce, herbs & kale!

Fresh artichoke! 

There are also flowers that you can purchase as well.

All the prices are reasonable at the Green & Gold Gardens. The gardens are all volunteered run and all the proceeds go towards the Tubahumurize Association in Rwanda.

The colour in the swiss chard is just amazing! Look at those large leaves!

The Green & Gold Community Garden is truly a magical place. It is a great place to consider purchasing fresh farm produce for a good cause, an educational opportunity for the kids or just to walk around on a Tuesday evening or a Saturday morning.

Find out more about the Green & Gold Garden on their website and also to see what produce they have each week. 

Green & Gold Garden

http://www.greengoldgarden.com/

Tuesdays: 6:30-7:30pm

Saturdays: 11am-1pm

Jacek Chocolate Couture -104st Opening!

If you know me or have been following my blog, you know that I love all things sweet (like macarons). So, you can imagine that I was beyond excited when I learned that Jacek Chocolate Couture was opening a downtown 104st location. 

Opening day was the first day of August! At the opening, there was a live mannequin wearing chocolate jewellery! She did an amazing job staying in the various poses for a period of time.

Upon our arrival into the store my friend and I were greeted with trays of beautifully created champagne truffles. They almost looked too pretty to eat (don't worry, we made sure we tasted them all!)

The 104st store is well stocked with chocolate bars as well as all of their seasonal and petite bar truffle collections. 

We couldn't say no to the gin and tonic truffle either! 

Here is Jacqueline Jacek, the owner, busy talking to customers amidst the hustle and bustle in the store. 

More chocolate truffles to sample. 

All the gorgeous truffles waiting for you to purchase!

After much deciding, I came home with a custom designed box of chocolates. 

Most of the chocolates I selected came from Jacek's Summer 2014 collection with the exception of two from the Petite Bar Collection.

 Top to Bottom: Periwinkle (Cassis coulis covered with a smooth blonde ganache), Chartreuse (Pistachio Gianduja & milk chocolate ganache covered in dark chocolate - yum!), Turquoise (Blueberry jasmine tea steeped in milk chocolate and enrobed in dark chocolate - light jasmine tea flavour as you inhale with a finish of dark chocolate) and Magenta (Market beet reduction with red velvet ganache).

The Magenta was super unique given that Jacek uses fresh beets from the market and reduces it in order to create the chocolate. The red velvet ganache worked very well with this chocolate. I would definitely recommend getting the Magenta while it is still available. 

The inside of the Periwinkle pictured on the Right. This one was very tasty as the slight tartness of the cassis coulis was offset by the smooth blonde ganache surrounding it.  

Petite Frank and Petite Stella from the Petite Bar Collection on the Left side. 

You can find these tasty chocolates at either one of the store locations in Sherwood Park or on 104th st. in Edmonton. Jacek chocolates can also be found at many locations near you; all you have to do is check their page to find a location.

Jacek Chocolate Couture

10140 104th St.

Edmonton, AB

(780) 705-9927

Closed Sundays

http://jacekchocolate.com/

Twitter: Jacek104th

Sage Restaurant - Signature Series of a Taste of Europe

Last Thursday, I attended the Media Dinner at the Sage Restaurant (located in the Casino River Cree) for Chef Chartrand's Sage Signature Series. The media dinner was a peek at the upcoming Taste of Europe menu which is a 6 course tasting menu available at Sage from August 26 until August 31 for $49 (drink pairings are an additional cost). 

When each beautiful dish arrived at the table, Chef Chartrand explained the inspiration behind each dish and that each dish paid homage to one of his favourite European chefs. Each dish was essentially Chef Chartrand's interpretation of the dish.

Each drink pairing was explained in detail and how it would pair with the particular dish that we were going to enjoy. 

We started with Spain for the first course with a dish inspired by Chef Jose Andres of a clams and chorizo sausage al ajillo and crispy ensalada. The egg yolk in this dish was perfectly creamy, the clams fresh and the flavours balanced well with the chorizo sausage. 

This dish was paired very nicely with a Cava Baron De Valls Brut from Catlyuna. Cava means double fermented and as such resembles a sparkling wine like champagne and this was a great drink to start the meal. 

The second course took us to Germany with a dish inspired by Sven Elderfeld of a beef goulash, braised cabbage, potato-gherkin cream and spelt bread. 

The wine paired with this dish was a Andreas Bender Pinot Noir 2011 from Pfalz. I must say the beef goulash paired very smoothly with the Pinot Noir. The wine was not too spicy on the palate, as the cream and goulash provided a smoothness that you don't often taste with a Pinot Noir. 

The third course brought us to Italy with a dish inspired by Massimo Bottura consisting of beautiful springy tagliatelle with veal osso bucco, roasted romaine and balsamic foie. A Nero Di Troia from Pugia was paired with this dish. This wine is a single varietal with no sulphites and is made in a stainless steel barrel. Needless to say, it paired very well with the veal osso bucco.

A 1448 Premium Whisky Ale from Perthshire arrived next to be paired with the fourth course of the night. This whisky ale is very unique as it is made in previously used oak barrels. It is naturally light and has a slight flavour of orange peel. 

Our fourth course of the Sage Signature Series was inspired by Marc Pierre White of England with Chef Chartrand's creation of a deconstructed cottage pie. Crispy kale and pecorino sat on top of mashed potatoes, finely diced carrots and lamb.  

Our fifth course of the night took us to France with a dish inspired by Alain Ducasse. Chef Chartrand also explained that this dish's portion size was a little smaller given our previous plates. The coq au vin was amazingly soft with the burgundy emulsion and a gruyère gougères. I loved the gruyère gougères (think golden cheesy puff!) as it was super soft with a nice hint of gruyère.

For our last course of the night, we had a Kirsch Based Cocktail rimmed with spicy cinnamon and brown sugar.

The last course of the night was also a feat in itself as the culinary team managed to bake 50 soufflés and serve them at the same time. This swiss chocolate soufflé was inspired by Chef Peter Goossens of Switzerland and was paired with a Crème anglaise. The decadence of this dessert went very well with the dessert cocktail. 

Chef Chartrand and his team did an amazing job on the Sage Signature Series. It was a great opportunity to visit Sage and to partake in such a great dinner. You can certainly see Chef Chartrand's creativity in the plating and interpretation of classic dishes but his creativity is also evident in the flavours that he puts together. If you have the chance to try this time's Sage Signature Series, go book a table as the Taste of Europe Signature Series is only available this week.

Sage Restaurant

300 E Lapotac Blvd.

Enoch, AB

twitter: @SageRiverCree