Testing and Reporting - A Little Late

Last fall Chatelaine had me acting as a recipe tester again.  Of course I couldn't tell you what I was testing at the time, and I meant to do it when the issue containing those recipes came out.  I always get behind in magazines during the holiday season and have so much to catch up on afterwards that I'm afraid I'm a little late with this but I'll link you to the recipes as they appeared in the January issue.

One was called Maple-Walnut Quinoa Chicken when I tested it, but now they have changed the name to Maple-Cider Chicken and Nutty Quinoa.  Either way I thought it was good. I had never had quinoa before.  I don't know if I'll be making this recipe again, as the man of the house didn't care for the flavour.  In the past, if a recipe listed quinoa as an ingredient, I turned the page, but I wouldn't be so quick to do that now. I'm glad I tried this recipe.

The dessert I made was the Bushberry Pudding Cake.  The sauce for this one has whiskey in it, but the cake alone is still very good.  If you want to feed it to children without the sauce, or just make it that way, go right ahead.  I know I'll make this one again, and may try it with different combinations of fruit as well. Peaches and blueberries, or apples and blackberries would also be great, I'm sure.
If you do make this cake, and want to use the sauce, pour the hot sauce over the cut pieces, not the whole cake. The cake is fine cold, but the sauce needs to be heated.  If you pour the sauce over the entire cake, and there are left overs, the butter in the sauce congeals and that spoils the flavour as all you end up tasting is butter.  Without the sauce, it's a great picnic cake and is about to become a family favourite.

I didn't have time during the testing period to make the Bannock, though I had intended to. I have, however, made it since then.  This is extremely easy and well worth the extra effort if you are having something like chili, soup or stew.  I don't know that it even needs the cheese. 

New Family Favorite

While this might not be the most appetizing photo, Chipotle Shrimp with Couscous has definitely become a new family favorite. 

I tested this recipe on November 14th for Chatelaine magazine, and it appears in the latest issue (Feb 2012).  The picture there makes it look a lot better, especially since I forgot to put the basil on it before taking the picture. Honestly, I think I was far more interested in eating than taking any pictures that night!

This is, without a doubt, the fastest, easiest dish I have ever made and perfect for when we have been out all day and come home hungry. It can be on the table and ready to eat in about 10 minutes.

I always have shrimp in the house, and now I plan to keep a jar of roasted red peppers handy too.  We had never had couscous before, so the first time I made this dish (a home tester has to follow the recipe and directions to the letter) I also made some rice, just in case.  The couscous was fine.  Apparently toasting it first gives it more flavour.  Of course, you could use rice instead, if you prefer.

The name of this dish would normally have had me skip right by it, but I was feeling adventurous when they asked me to try this one, and I'm certainly glad I accepted the challenge.  It's spicy, of course, with the roasted red peppers and the Tabasco sauce but that certainly makes my man happy.  I like that :)

Back on the Job

I'm an official recipe tester for Chatelaine magazine. (see Working in an Official Capacity and  Kitchen Experience ). 

I turned down the last assignment because it was for gluten free recipes, and I didn't want to have to buy strange flours I'd never use again.  I told them that and also told them I hoped that wouldn't knock me off the list for future assignments. The recipes I didn't want to test can be found in the September issue.

Now they are lining up testers to do some baking, I can only assume is for the Christmas season.  I was contacted and I jumped at the chance.  I was sent 10 recipes and I have to bake at least 2 of them. I didn't have too much trouble narrowing down which recipes I'm going to try. I may do as many as 4, but I've only got a couple of weeks, so we'll see.  I can't tell you any more than that.  You will have to wait patiently until the issue comes out to know specifically what recipes I tested. 

Let's just hope I don't gain too much weight taste testing along the way.

Chatelaine Test Recipes

For those of you who read my previous posts about testing recipes for Chatelaine, I will now pass along the links to the recipes I tested.  (while reading the link above, follow a link there back to a previous one too)
Upside-down Shepherd's Pie
Chicken and Dumplings
Classic Lemon Tart

Enjoy.  And do tell me if you make any of these, and what you thought of them.

In Case You Didn't Know

One day, many years ago, my youngest son came home from school and basically gave me the blast.

"Why didn’t you ever tell me that," he said.

I don’t remember what it was I had neglected to tell him, but I do know that it was something I probably expected him to know without me telling him. That was a mistake I set about rectifying from that point on. I have been a wealth of information and advise ever since. I no longer assume anyone knows what I know, and I’m more than willing to share. Of course, that’s not always appreciated by those of the receiving end.

I’ll soon be collecting my old age pensions and I’m still finding out things I probably should have known years ago. For instance, I always had problems with left and right. As a child I remember one classroom had signs that said Left and Right in the upper corners at the front of the room. Since then my Mom often teased me about how I had to "face north" to know my left from my right, as I have often had to turn my body a certain way before uttering those words. As an adult, I taught a tai chi class, and would tell the students that if I turned the opposite way to what I was telling them, they should do what I do, instead of what I say. I often told them left when I meant right, and vice versa. One smart lady came up to me one night and had me hold my hands out in front of me, palms away. She pointed out that the thumb and index finger on the left hand formed an L. I was close to 50 years old by that time, and like my son, wondered why nobody had ever told me that before.

Recently I had to debone some chicken thighs for a Chatelaine recipe testing session, and had to go online to learn how. That’s another thing my Mother never taught me. Sure, I’ve tried to do that on my own in the past, but always gave up as it seemed more trouble than it was worth. With the internet, we can learn all kinds of handy tricks. Recently I learned how to make the kitchen sink so shiny I was actually afraid to do the dishes for fear of messing it back up. (If you want to try that look here.) And last night I came across information about my street that I didn’t know. Apparently it was named after Sir John Colborne, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1828 to 1836. And, in fact, there were plans to name this village Colborne in 1828 but the application was put in too slowly and two other places got that name first, so they just decided to name the street after him instead. I admit I’m no history buff, but I’ve lived in this village for 37 years, and on this street for 35 years, and I never knew that before.

So, if I should happen to tell you something you already knew, or something you feel you could find out on your own, if you wanted to know, without my help, please understand. I’m not being bossy, or a know it all, and I'm certainly not telling you what to do.  I’m simply being helpful and generous with what ever knowledge or wisdom I may have acquired over the years. I don’t want you to wonder why nobody ever told you about something that might have made life easier for you. In some cultures I would be considered an Elder, and respected as such.

So listen up!
　
　
　
　
　

Kitchen Experience

Some of you are waiting for a report on how the test recipes turned out.  I mentioned the first one in Working in an Official Capacity and you heard about my troubles getting my hands on the proper pan for the tart. As I was afraid I might not get that pan before the deadline,  I purchased ingredients for another recipe as well.  Chatelaine requires me to report on two of the nine recipes they send, but I could do more if I wanted to.  The third one was Chicken and Dumplings.

I couldn't get the skinless, boneless chicken thighs called for in the recipe and you are not allowed to make substitutions.  I went online and watched a video on how to debone a chicken thigh, as any previous attempts at this procedure didn't work for me at all.  I already knew how to remove the skin. 

Now, deboning requires a very sharp knife and I'm a known klutz in the kitchen when it comes to anything sharp or hot.  I enlisted my hubby to help. But after seeing the video, it looked so easy, I wanted to try it myself.  It wasn't nearly as easy as the video made it look.  But then, my hubby pointed out, the guy in the video probably did it all the time, and practice makes perfect.  Anyway, between the two of us, we got the job done. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again either, even though The deboning process turn out to be the most difficult part of the recipe. 

I also purchased fresh dill for this dish.  I've never had that in the house before either.  The meal was excellent and I'll definitely make it again.

The tart, on the other hand, proved not to be good enough to entice me to buy a special pan so I could repeat the recipe.  It was easier to make than a traditional lemon pie, even a packaged one, but it didn't have as much flavour or wow factor. Maybe I just like meringue too much. 

I do hope my reports to Chatelaine were good enough for them to keep me on as I really did enjoy the experience of making these recipes. I learned a few things along the way, like how to debone a chicken thigh, and how to get a tart out of a bottomless pan, and onto a plate all in one piece.  It's definitely a worthwhile experience, and I'm glad I volunteered for the job.

Working in An Official Capacity

I recently took on the volunteer position of Official Recipe Tester for Chatelaine magazine. I applied, told them why I thought I'd be good at it, and was surprised when I heard I'd been accepted.  They sent me nine recipes and I must make and review at least two of them. I must also follow the recipe exactly, making no substitutions unless one is suggested.

The first one on the list captured my attention immediately. But once I read it through, I discovered a problem. It required a 9 inch tart pan, with a removable bottom.  I not only didn't have one of those, I didn't even know they existed.

I read through the rest of the recipes, most of which called for some exotic ingredient. It is up to me to buy whatever is needed to make the recipe I chose to review.  One of the reasons I told them I'd be right for this job was that I raised my family on recipes from Chatelaine.  It used to be you could make anything in the magazine by simply opening your cupboard and finding all the ingredients already there. But, for some reason, magazines have all yuppified their recipes.  They are fancier than need be, and always call for something many of my generation likely never heard of. No wonder so many families now eat so much fast food  and convenience foods.  Working women don't have time for this kind of cooking.  For that matter, neither do I.

I did find one nice hamburger based dish that I made last weekend.  I'll make it again too, but I'll use fresh vegetables, instead of the frozen ones the recipe calls for.  I've picked out a chicken dish too try also, if I have time, but I will have to scrounge up some herb I don't have on hand. It only requires a tablespoon full and I don't expect to ever use it again, so I'd rather not buy it if I don't have to.

In the meantime I asked everyone I knew, and used Facebook, to locate someone with one of those special tart pans.  A dear friend with an inn out west said she has three, but she lives too far away. That gave me an idea though, and I approached a local tearoom operator.  I think the idea that I was doing this officially for a magazine swayed her a little as she is lending me the pan for one day, and one day only, to get the job done. I'm so glad as I did go out and purchase all the ingredients shortly after I saw the recipe.  Now, if I can just get it out of that pan in one piece, I'll be thrilled.  I wouldn't count on that though.  Stand by.  I'm making it on Sunday.