Tag: Recipe

The Cheesiest Mac and Cheese

The Cheesiest Mac and Cheese

It’s comfort food season! After a decade of blogging, I finally put up a recipe of my fave dish: mac and cheese.

Shakshuka Spaghetti Bake

Shakshuka Spaghetti Bake

Who doesn’t love Shakshuka and spaghetti? This mash-up egg dish is great for dinner or brunch by adding pasta to the Middle Eastern favourite.

The Great Shellfish Cookbook Review + Game Day Fried Mussels Recipe

The Great Shellfish Cookbook Review + Game Day Fried Mussels Recipe

I think many people shy away from shellfish because they are nervous about cooking it at home, seeing it as a luxury item, or something relegated to summer boil ups on the coast. But The Great Shellfish Cookbook by Matt Dean Petit puts all those worries to rest by outlining all the things you need to know about cooking shellfish. I was delighted when this cookbook showed up in my mailbox, and even though it’s the end of summer, it’s certainly not the end of shellfish season  — in fact oysters don’t have a season, and lobster is harvested year round on the East Coast. Here’s what I thought of it. Continue reading The Great Shellfish Cookbook Review + Game Day Fried Mussels Recipe

Around the World in 12 Plates: Sweden

Around the World in 12 Plates: Sweden

After my first taste of the Princess Cake at IKEA I wondered how Swedish this cake was, and turns out it’s very loyal. Around the World in 12 Plates heads to Sweden!

Rustic Veggie Chili Recipe | Dairy Farmers of Canada 2018 Milk Calendar

Rustic Veggie Chili Recipe | Dairy Farmers of Canada 2018 Milk Calendar

This year marks the 41st edition of the Milk Calendar from the Dairy Farmers of Canada we’re featuring March’s Rustic Veggie Chili.

Around the World in 12 Plates: Peru

Around the World in 12 Plates: Peru

Well, last month I didn’t cook one bite of food but boy did I make up for it! Since we moved home I hadn’t had the opportunity to cook with all my besties here in St. John’s, so for August’s Around the World in 12 Plates challenge I was determined to get the gang together!

We spent an overcast Sunday afternoon cooking up a Peruvian feast. From ceviche to dulce de leche, we devoured it all in half the time it took us to make it, but we spent hours talking and laughing around my dinner table. This is the reason Adam and I moved home: to spend time cooking and laughing with our lifelong friends.

Continue reading Around the World in 12 Plates: Peru

Recipe: Halloumi Hummus Bites with Blueberry and Mint

Recipe: Halloumi Hummus Bites with Blueberry and Mint

This post is sponsored by Summer Fresh. Who needs bread when you have halloumi and hummus? These are words I never thought would come out of my mouth, but here I am. I love bread and cheese, and it has always been a go-to for 

Around the World in 12 Plates: Vietnam

Around the World in 12 Plates: Vietnam

The tight timeline for our recent trip Thailand didn’t allow for a trip to Vietnam, which I’m super sad about. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit, but I surprised myself while doing research for this challenge: I actually know very little about the cuisine! 

Recipe: Cucumber Apple Salad with Artichoke & Asiago Dressing

Recipe: Cucumber Apple Salad with Artichoke & Asiago Dressing

This post is sponsored by Summer Fresh

Summer Fresh Salad with Cucumber and Apple

I love entertaining at home, but in the summertime I get lazy. Super lazy. When the weather is nice here in St. John’s (which is seldom), the absolute last thing I want to do is cook for a bunch of people when they come over for a BBQ. Who doesn’t want to be sitting in the backyard with a chilled glass of rose, gabbing with friends? Luckily, this Cucumber Apple Salad with Artichoke & Asiago dressing takes less than 10 minutes to whip up, and you don’t have to go near the stove or oven (you’re welcome to the rest of Canada who actually deal with hot kitchens in the summer).

Summer Fresh Salad Bowl Closeup

Summer Fresh Salad Overhead

Let’s be real here, the Summer Fresh Artichoke & Asiago dip is freaking delicious. Whatever vessel I use to eat it — be it pita or nacho — more often or not it’s lost in a sea of delicious dip dripping down my hands as I stuff my face. It’s one of Canada’s favourite Summer Fresh products and it’s been kicking it in my fridge for years. Last week, I thought to myself — how good would this be as a dressing? Chopped cucumber, apple and almonds smothered in this creamy cheesy dip is basically the best idea I’ve ever had.

There are only four ingredients, but this rich creamy side salad is the perfect pairing for any BBQ with friends and family, especially with the long weekend coming up. The garlic notes in the Artichoke & Asiago dip-posing-as-dressing match well with kebabs or any BBQ meat from burgers to sausages. And don’t forget that chilled glass of rose, okay?

For more ideas and recipes for easy-breezy summer entertaining, check out the Summer Fresh’s Perfect Pairings Guide.

Summer Fresh Salad Bowl Closeup

Summer Fresh Salad Full shot with product

Summer Fresh Salad Plate Closeup

Cucumber Apple Salad with Artichoke & Asiago Dressing

This easy summer salad is the perfect pairing with any BBQ fare using rich and creamy Summer Fresh Artichoke & Asiago Dip as the dressing.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine BBQ, Canadian
Keyword BBQ, Summer BBQ
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4
Author Gabby Peyton

Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 apples I like Gala apples best
  • 1 227 g Summer Fresh Artichoke and Asiago Dip
  • 1/2 cup almonds + some to garnish

Instructions

  1. Chop cucumber and apples into in 1-inch cubes
  2. Combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/2 cup of almonds
  3. Stir in full 227g container of Summer Fresh Artichoke & Asiago Dip
  4. Serve with your favourite BBQ fair!

THANK YOU TO SUMMER FRESH WHO SPONSORED THIS RECIPE POST. BOTH DIPS AND COMPENSATION WERE PROVIDED TO THE FOOD GIRL IN TOWN IN EXCHANGE FOR THIS POST. AS ALWAYS, ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE MY OWN.

Georgian Khachapuri Recipe

Georgian Khachapuri Recipe

This month I went rogue. With the move to Newfoundland and getting settled in a new home, I decided to complete Around the World in 12 Plates: Israel on my own. I wanted to get acquainted with my new kitchen, and while this challenge started 

Around the World in 12 Plates: GREECE

Around the World in 12 Plates: GREECE

Greece is where I fell in love with food. When I was 22, I travelled abroad for the first time as part of a travel-study program in university. We spent six weeks travelling through Greece with two professors and ten students to study ancient art and 

Fried Mortadella Sandwich Recipe

Fried Mortadella Sandwich Recipe

When I was a little kid, visiting my nanny and poppy’s house in Botwood, Newfoundland, meant two things: I would spend time outside playing in the garden, and I would get to eat some thick slices of bologna. My parents never, I mean never, had the thick-cut stuff around the house. They felt it was bad for you, opting to go for the healthier (and perhaps trendier) thin sliced sandwich meats. For me, a thick-cut bologna sandwich was special, especially because of the white bread. It always had to be with white bread. Big fat slices of white fluffy carbs. Growing up, Ben’s classic white and wheat sandwich breads were a staple in Atlantic Canada, found in my lunchbox and many others (with or without thick-cut bologna), and this year Ben’s Bakery is celebrating their 110th anniversary in a big way. Or in a bigger way, if you will.

Ben's Bread 110th Anniversary

For a short time, Ben’s is offering their Holsum Fresh White and Wheat breads with four extra slices at no extra cost. The loaves that are usually 500g are now 630g with wider, shorter slices; a perfect vessel for my thick-cut bologna. Extra slices means extra sammies for the whole family. You can learn more about the Ben’s 110th anniversary, as well as the rest of their baked goods on the Ben’s Bakery website.

updated fried bologna sandwich

To commemorate Ben’s big anniversary, I created an updated (and upgraded) bologna sandwich. A more grown up version of the special treat I loved (still love). Did I mention the only condiment I liked as a kid was cheese whiz? While I still have no shame in frying up a thick slice, my tastes have changed a little over the years. One thing that hasn’t changed is my love for soft white bread.

Gone is the cheese whiz, replaced by gruyere cheese, honey mustard and mayonnaise. Where once there was bologna now is mortadella. But rest assured, there’s still no lettuce to be found (and forget about kale). Mortadella is basically the Italian version of bologna — it actually comes from Bologna — but has small cubes of pork fat in it, making it a deliciously fatty upgrade. Along with a rich Gruyere and fancy French honey mustard, this is a sandwich for my developed taste buds. And remember, the key is not to toast the bread; the warmth of the fried mortadella almost melts the fresh Ben’s and makes for an even more delicious sammie.

Fried mortadella sandwich recipe with Ben’s bread

Fried bologna Sandwich stack

Fried mortadella sandwich with Ben's bread

To commemorate Ben's Bakery's 110th anniversary, I updated and upgraded the bologna sandwich. A more grown up version of the special treat I loved as a kid.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Lunch, Sandwich
Keyword Comfort Food, Sandwich
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 1 sandwich
Author Gabby Peyton

Ingredients

  • 2 slices Ben's Holsum Fresh White or Wheat bread
  • 1 slice of thick-cut mortadella ask your local butcher to slice it
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • Gruyere Cheese
  • 1 slather of Honey Mustard
  • 1 slather of Mayonnaise

Instructions

  1. Heat a frying pan to medium heat. Add butter.
  2. Fry bologna until the edges are nice and crispy.
  3. Slather one side of bread with honey mustard, the other with mayonnaise.
  4. Add as much gruyere cheese to the slice with the mayonnaise — I put 2-3 thick slices.
  5. Add bologna to sandwich.
  6. Inhale fried bologna sandwich.

*Thank you to Ben’s Bread who sponsored this recipe post. Both the bread and compensation were provided to The Food Girl in Town in exchange for this post. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.