This was our first time making a prime roast and the meal turned out beautiful. A few hours in the oven with some careful tending and dinner was served along with roasted brussels sprouts and yorkshire pudding. This recipe is perfect for the holidays and easily serves 4-6 people. I was surprised with how straight forward the recipe was and not intimidating.

Cooking for guests is stressful, even more so as a new cook. The fiance and I have only just begun having guests over for dinner and I can’t wait to serve this roast to friends and family. Until then, while we continue to try out family size meals, I get a delicious lunch for the work week.

Prime Rib Roast

2014-12-21 23:38:37

Serves 6

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 15 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 15 min

Ingredients

1. 4lbs prime rib roast
2. sea salt
3. crushed black pepper
4. vegetable oil
5. meat thermometer

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees
2. Place the rib roast in a baking pan just bigger than the roast, rub with oil until fully coated
3. Generously rub each side of the roast with sea salt and then crush black pepper
4. Insert the meat thermometer as per its instructions and place the pan in the oven
5. Roast, uncovered until the desired internal temperature is reached (this will take ~ 4 hours: ~140 degrees for rare, ~160 degrees for medium) - see note
6. Take the roast out of the oven, tent with aluminium foil and turn the oven up to 500 degrees
7. Wait until the internal temperature drops back down to 130 degrees and place roast back into the oven
8. Bake for another 10-15 minutes to form a crust as desired
9. Keep the roast covered until ready to serve

Note

1. The roast will continue to cook once removed from the oven and the internal temperature can climb anywhere from 5 - 20 degrees. To ensure the roast isn't overcooked, it can be taken out of the oven before it reaches 140 or 160 degrees.
2. The drippings can be used for any gravy recipe and served alongside

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Prep ingredients

Rub roast with oil, salt and crushed black pepper. Insert meat thermometer and bake at 225 degrees

Once desired internal temperature is reached, remove from oven, tent and wait until internal temperature drops to 130 degrees before baking at 500 degrees to form a crust

Serve with sides and gravy

I love to eat duck at restaurants, but my mom never cooked it at home and therefore it was a foreign and intimidating ingredient. This recipe from The Fiance’s mom changed all of that. With a few easy steps and some TLC, the duck comes out tender, with authentic Chinese flavours (sweet and sour) and renders a delicious stock that can be re-used.

Chinese Plum Duck

2014-11-30 21:34:16

Yields 1

Easy oven roasted Chinese Plum Duck

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

3 hr

Total Time

3 hr 15 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

3 hr

Total Time

3 hr 15 min

Ingredients

1. 1 whole duck ~4 lbs
2. 6 cloves of garlic
3. 2 tbsp of rock sugar (cane sugar)
4. 5-6 pickled plums (per preference)
5. 2 tbsp of dark soy sauce
6. 2 tbsp of cooking wine
7. 2 cups of water

Instructions

1. Rinse off the duck and pat dry with a clean tea towel or paper towel
2. In a roasting pan, bake the duck at 350 degrees for one hour
3. Remove duck from oven and drain liquid
4. Mince the garlic, smash pickled plums, break apart rock sugar and mix all together (Tip: Use some of the pickled plum juice to help dissolve the rock sugar)
5. Place half the garlic mixture in the pan, stuff the other half in the body cavity of the duck
6. Place duck back into the pan breast side up and brush with dark soy sauce
7. Add water and cooking wine to the roasting pan
8. Bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees, flipping every 30 minutes and brushing again with dark soy

Notes

1. Tip: If the duck is frozen, be sure to thaw in the fridge overnight
2. Optional: Add corn starch to thicken the sauce and serve alongside or save and use as sauce for noodles later

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Prep ingredients, bake duck at 350 degrees for one hour

Mince garlic, smash plums and break apart rock sugar

Put half the garlic mixture into the pan and stuff the other half into the duck cavity

Brush the duck with dark soy sauce

Bake for 2 hours, flipping every 30 minutes and brushing with dark soy sauce

When I was little, I did not like zucchini. My mom would only stir fry them or use them in soup and the mushy texture did not appeal to me. Fast forward to university when the Fiance and I were roommates sharing groceries. He would only stock zucchinis, so being the cheap university student I was, I learned to appreciate them. Now, I actually crave them sometimes and they’re a staple for BBQs. This recipe is another format that would make a zucchini lover out of anyone.

Zucchini Fritters

2014-10-16 20:05:50

Yields 7

Quick, easy and delicious - these zucchini fritters will make a zucchini fan out of most everyone

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

40 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

40 min

Ingredients

1. 4 medium zucchinis
2. 1 tsp Kosher salt
3. 1/2 cup sliced green onions
4. 1 egg
5. 1/2 cup all purpose flour
6. 1/2 tsp baking powder
7. salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Using a coarse grater, grate all of the the zucchini into a large bowl. Add in the coarse salt and let sit for 10 minutes. This will cause the zucchini to "sweat" out some of the water.
3. Using a clean, thin tea towel or a strong paper towel, wring the water out of the shredded zucchini a fistful at a time. The volume of the zucchini should shrink by half
4. Add in the chopped green onions, egg, pepper and mix.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder before adding to the zucchini. mix everything together.
6. Liberally oil a pan. Once the pan is heated, spoon ~1/2 cup of the batter for each fritter. Gently press the mixture into a pancake shape, about 1/4 inch thick.
7. Cook until the bottom browns, ~2-3 mins, flip the fitter and repeat.
8. Using a flat roasting rack, finish the fritters in the oven for 10 mins, letting them crisp up.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble Ingredients

Grate Zucchini, add salt, let sit and wring out

Chop green onions

Add egg, pepper and green onions to batter, along with flour and baking powder

Pan fry fritters until golden

Finish in the oven for 10 mins at 200 degrees F

Scallion pancakes is a traditional Chinese dish that’s easy to make with 5 simple ingredients. All you need are green onions, oil, flour, water and salt. With the unique folding technique to roll-out the dough, the pancakes turn out flakey, crispy and perfect for breakfast with a bowl of congee. I fry these up in batches and freeze to eat throughout the week, although they are tastiest right out of the pan.

Scallion Pancake

2014-08-25 15:52:13

Serves 4

Quick and easy dish with only 5 ingredients

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Ingredients

1. 2 1/2 cups white flour
2. 1 cup warm water
3. vegetable oil
4. salt
5. 1 cup of chopped green onions

Instructions

1. Mix the warm water and flour to create a dough. Knead until the dough is smooth. Brush the dough ball with oil and set aside.
2. Finely chop the green onions
3. Divide the dough into 4.
4. On a clean, oiled surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Generously sprinkle the dough with salt and green onions. Along the long edge, roll the dough into a tight log.
5. Cut the rolled dough log in half. Coil each half into a ball.
6. With a rolling pin, roll the coiled ball flat again.
7. Place the rolled out pancake in a lightly oiled pan, on medium heat and fry until golden brown (~2-3 mins). Flip the pancake and cook the other side for another 2-3 mins.
8. Serve hot with optional dipping sauce of Chinese vinegar, sesame oil, light soy sauce and chili oil.

Tip

1. Save the green onion heads (stop chopping when the stalk turns white), put them into a glass of water and they will quickly regrow.

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Ingredients

Mix dough, brush with oil and set aside

Chop green onions

Roll out quarter dough ball

Sprinkle with salt and green onions

Roll up dough

Coil rolled dough into ball

Roll out dough ball again

Pancake, ready to be fried

This recipe is one filling variation but you can stuff the dumplings with pretty much anything. Some variations include:

• Ground beef
• Vermicelli, egg and dried shitake mushrooms
• Ground lamb
• Ground pork and parsley
• Ground pork and napa cabbage

Potstickers

2014-06-26 19:44:36

Yields 40

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Prep Time

45 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

1 hr

Prep Time

45 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

1 hr

Ingredients

1. 1 lb of ground pork (a fattier cut makes for a juicier filling)
2. 1/2 shrimp, peeled and deveined
3. salt and white pepper to season
4. 1 egg
5. 3 gloves of garlic minced
6. a chunk of ginger minced
7. 1 cup of minced garlic chive
8. 1 tbsp soy sauce
9. 1 tsp sesame oil
10. 1 tbsp cooking wine
11. 1 tsp salt
12. 2 cups of all purpose flour
13. 3/4 cup of water
14. French rolling pin

Instructions

1. Mince the shrimp, garlic, ginger and garlic chive. Add all of the minced ingredients along with the ground pork into a large mixing bowl. Also add in the sesame oil, egg, soy sauce, cooking wine and white pepper. Mix the filling well until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
2. Into a mixing bowl, add the flour and water. Stir together with a fork until the dough starts to come together. Add more water or flour as needed. The dough should have a soft consistency but not wet. Once the dough is able to form into a ball, take it out of the bowl and knead for 5 minutes until smooth.
3. Make a hole in the middle of the dough ball with your thumb and work the dough into a ring with an even thickness of about one and a half inches. The dough is ready to be cut.
4. Cut the ring into half inch discs
5. Tip: As the discs are being cut, make sure you flour them to keep them from sticking. You want to move to the next step quickly. Make sure the flour is only on one side of the discs. If both sides get floured, it's hard to close the dumplings when you're wrapping them.
6. Using your fingers, try to make each disc as round as possible and flatten with the palm of your hand.
7. Tip: If you have a helper, this step is great to be done at the same time as the discs are being cut.
8. With a French rolling pin, roll out the discs. After each roll, rotate the wrapper 90 degrees. Repeat until the wrapper is 3-4 inches in diameter.
9. Tip: Change the pressure as you roll, you want the outside of the wrapper to be thinner than the middle. The middle needs to support the filling and can't break. This is one of the main reasons I prefer hand rolled wrappers to store bought ones, the difference in thickness throughout.
10. As the wrappers are rolled out, start wrapping. At the start, don't over fill your dumpling. If you can't close the dumpling, they will open up as they're being cooked. Each dumpling should be able to hold a full tbsp of filling.
11. [Video to come of how to wrap a dumpling] In the meantime, I'll try my best to describe it. Hold the wrapper and filling in the palm of your hand, bring the side closest to you up to meet the side opposite and pinch. Now you have a semi circle with the flat side towards you. Fold in the corner at your fingers and pinch together. Start pleating the wrapper from the corner until you reach the middle. Repeat on the other side.
12. Heat up a pan on medium-high and add 1 tbsp of oil. Once the oil just begins to smoke, lay out the dumplings in a tight ring, just touching each other. Add 1/2 of cup of water and immediately cover with a lid.
13. Steam for ~5 minutes and uncover. Once all the water evaporates, the bottoms will begin to crisp up. Watch the dumplings carefully at this point because it's easy to go from crispy to burnt. Check on the bottoms and once they're nice and crisp (~2 minutes), serve immediately.
14. Optional: I like to eat my dumplings with a dipping sauce of minced garlic, Chinese vinegar, hot sauce and soy sauce.

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Mince the shrimp, garlic and ginger

Add the chives

All the filling ingredients, to be mixed

Ring of dough, ready to be cut

Cutting the dough into discs

From dough disc, to wrapper, to dumpling

As they’re being wrapped, keep the dumplings well floured and seperate to prevent them from sticking

Fry the dumplings

I’ve tried to include tips we’ve learned from all the mistakes we’ve made but really, you need to just get your hands dirty and start kneading. My favourite way to serve the pasta is with roasted tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and tossed in olive oil.

Fresh Pasta

2014-06-26 18:57:06

Serves 4

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

35 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

5 min

Total Time

35 min

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of flour
2. 3 large eggsat room temperature
3. salt and pepper to season
4. olive oil
5. 2 cups grape tomatoes
6. 1 head of garlic
7. 1 stalk of fresh basil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Toss the tomatoes in olive oil and place on baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut off the top of the whole head of garlic, wrap in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 mins.
3. Measure out the flour on a clean flat surface and pile into a mound. Create a well in the center of the flour for the eggs.
4. Mix the eggs in the well and slowly start incorporating the flour from the sides. Be careful with letting egg escape or getting onto your hands. The dough is fairly stiff so even a small amount of escaped liquid can make a big difference.Tip: Choose the three largest eggs in your carton
5. Once the dough starts to come together, knead for 8-10 minutes until it becomes smooth. Cover the dough with plastic and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
6. Divide into 4 pieces and start to roll with a pasta roller at the thickest setting until you're able to feed the dough through at the thinnest setting.
7. Once the pasta sheet is thin enough, feed through the cutter, shake out the strands, and boil immediately for 1-3 minutes

Tips

1. As you work with the dough, be sure to keep the rest wrapped, if it starts to dry out, it's painful to roll out.
2. As the dough comes out, keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't fold over on itself.

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Make your mound of flour and crack the eggs into the well

Knead until smooth, for ~8-10 minutes

Divide your dough and start rolling

Once the pasta dough has gone through the thinnest rolling session, it’s ready to be cut

From dough to linguine

Fresh linguine ready to be boiled

Roasted tomatoes and garlic ready to go

Blackened Chicken Breast

2014-06-26 18:52:20

Serves 2

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

15 min

Ingredients

1. 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2. 1/2 tsp paprika
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
5. 1/4 tsp ground cumin
6. 1/4 tsp dried thyme
7. 1/8 tsp of ground white pepper
8. 1/8 tsp onion powder
9. 1/2 tbsp cooking wine

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat your cast iron pan on the stove top over medium heat until oil just begins to smoke.
2. Mix together the spices and set aside. Prep your chicken by pounding the breasts into thin flat pieces and soak with cooking wine. Coat each piece evenly with the spice mixture and place into the hot pan.
3. Sear each side of the chicken for 1 minute and then transfer the cast iron pan into the oven.
4. Bake for another 5-10 mins depending on the thickness of the breast.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Adapted from allrecipes.com

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble spices for rub

Mix the spices and pound out the chicken

Sear the chicken before finishing them in the oven

Cooking goat or lamb has always been daunting for me. While I love the eat the gamey protein, it is still a foreign ingredient in my kitchen. This stew recipe, adapted for a slow cooker from allrecipes was a great first step into cooking goat with minimal risk of screwing it up. Also, it’s delicious.

Irish Goat Stew

2014-06-26 18:50:06

Serves 8

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Total Time

4 hr 30 min

Ingredients

1. 1 pack of bacon (~1lb)
2. 3lbs of goat belly (shoulder cut will also work, belly makes the stew very fatty)
3. 4 medium potatoes, diced
4. 2 onions, cubed
5. 1 onion, minced
6. 3 carrots, diced
7. 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
8. 3 gloves of garlic, minced
9. 1/2 tsp salt
10. 1/2 tsp black pepper
11. 1 tsp thyme
12. 2 bay leaves
13. 2 tsp white sugar
14. 4 cups of beef broth
15. 1 cup of white wine
16. 1/2 cup of water (if needed)

Instructions

1. Cut up the bacon and cook in a pan until crispy, set the bacon aside and leave the oil in the pan.
2. Place your goat pieces in a large bowl, add in the flour, salt and pepper and coat each piece evenly. Once coated, brown the goat in the bacon oil until the outside is crispy and set aside.
3. In the same pan, sautee the minced garlic and onions until the onions soften. Deglaze the pan with water and transfer all the drippings to your slow cooker.
4. Add the browned goat pieces, cooked bacon and beef stock to the slow cooker and set on high for 2 hours.
5. After the 2 hours, add in the wine, thyme, bay leaves, diced onions, carrots and potatoes and set to high for another 2 hours.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Adapted from allrecipes.com

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Bacon and goat pieces cut into pieces by the butcher

Chop up the bacon

Cook the bacon and set aside, saving the fat

Bacon, diced potatoes and onions

Flour the goat

Brown each goat piece

And set aside

Saute the minced garlic and onions, add the bacon, goat and broth to the slow cooker, cook on high for 2 hours before adding the remaining ingredients

Adding the final ingredients, cook on high for another 2 hours

Secret ingredient, a can of cream of chicken.

Bison Shepherd's Pie

2014-06-21 15:19:02

Serves 8

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Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

1 hr 5 min

Prep Time

40 min

Cook Time

25 min

Total Time

1 hr 5 min

Filling

1. 1 lb ground bison
2. 1 medium carrot diced
3. 1 small onion diced
4. 1/2 cup of frozen peas
5. 1 tbsp butter
6. 1 tbsp olive oil
7. 1 tsp dried thyme
8. 3 cloves of garlic
9. 4 tsp tomato paste
10. 1 can of cream of chicken
11. salt and pepper

Potato Topping

1. 4 medium potatoes
2. 1 green onion
3. 2 cloves of garlic
4. 2 tbsp butter
5. 1/3 cup of milk
6. 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
7. salt and pepper

Filling

1. Dice the vegetables, add salt and pepper to the ground bison and mix.
2. Heat up pan with half the butter and brown the bison until cooked then set aside. At this point you can drain the meat, I didn't because our bison was very lean.
3. With the remaining butter and olive oil, cook the carrots and onions for about 10 minutes. Add in the thyme and garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Add the cooked ground bison back into the pan along with the can of cream of chicken. At this point the filling will be very thick, add in up to 1/2 can of water as needed.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and frozen peas.
6. Pour the filling into your baking pan and set aside.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Potato Topping

1. Cut the potatoes into smaller cubes or slices and boil until soft.
2. Start mashing and add in the chopped garlic, parmesan cheese, butter and milk as you continue to mash. Once the potatoes are creamy, stir in the green onions.
3. Gently place scoops of the mashed potatoes onto the filling and spread into an even layer.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.

Adapted from Slice of Feist

Adapted from Slice of Feist

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos – Filling

Assemble the ingredients

Dice carrots

Dice onions

Mix the salt and pepper into the ground bison

Brown the bison with 1/2 the butter and set aside

With the rest of the butter and olive oil, cook the carrots and onions until translucent, add the bison back in, stir in the rest of your filling ingredients and add water as needed

Pour filling into a baking pan and set aside

Assemble the potato topping ingredients

Cut the potatoes into smaller pieces

Chop the garlic and green onions

Once the potatoes are soft, begin to mash

Add garlic, grated parmesan and green onions to the potatoes and continue to mash

Add in milk and mash until creamy

Gently scoop the potatoes onto the filling and spread

Cover the entire surface with an even layer of potatoes

Bake in oven at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes

Somehow, I always have bananas in my freezer. This recipe from Allrecipes.com, with the addition of cinnamon, is a perfect use for them and makes a dozen moist and fluffy pancakes, perfect for soaking up maple syrup. A dozen pancakes is a lot for one or two people. I like to make them on a Sunday morning, eat my fill and store the rest for the week. They keep well and make for an easy breakfast heated up in a toaster.

Banana Pancakes

2014-06-21 15:13:19

Yields 12

Fluffy banana pancakes, great to make ahead and freeze for a week's worth of breakfast.

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

25 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

25 min

Ingredients

1. 1 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1 tbsp white sugar
3. 2 tsp baking powder
4. 1/4 tsp salt
5. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
6. 1 egg
7. 1 cup milk (we used lactose free milk for the BF who's lactose sensitive)
8. 2 tbsps vegetable oil
9. 2 bananas
10. 1 tbsp butter to cook with

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
2. In separate bowl or plate, mash the bananas.
3. In another bowl whisk the egg and add in the milk, oil and mashed bananas.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix them all together into a wet batter.
5. Keep your pan at medium heat, adding a small pat of butter between each set of pancakes.
6. Ladle the batter into the pan, ~1/4 of a cup for each scoop and cook until bubbles start forming. Flip the pancake and cook until the pancake rises and both sides are golden.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Adapted from allrecipes.com

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog https://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble your ingredients

Combine the dry ingredients

Mash the bananas and whisk the egg

Add oil to the whisked egg

Add the milk

Add mashed bananas and whisk together

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and whip together into a batter

Heat the pan on medium, add butter and ladle the batter into the pan