Recipes

Classic Homemade Tartar Sauce

Classic Homemade Tartar Sauce

Would you believe that I never tasted tartar sauce until I was a young adult? Nope! Contrary to what one might think, tartar sauce was not something I can ever remember being on the table when I was a kid. I grew up in a mainly fishing town in Newfoundland. Fish was everywhere! And, my family was no stranger to it at all. My dad worked in a fish processing plant for many, many years. And, my mom would prepare all types of fish for meals. I’m not going to say that I loved eating all of that fish. In fact, I can remember many times sitting at the table and being yelled at, because I wouldn’t eat what was set before me. Unlike most kids today, we didn’t get options at mealtime. Oftentimes, fresh fish wasn’t on the menu, which was always my preference. My mom would prepare fish that I hated. Any fish that was salted, smoked, or dried was disgusting. There were only two exceptions – dried capelin and dried squid! If fresh fish was being served, I was all in! My mom used to make the absolute best deep fried battered cod. Pan fried salmon with…

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Sweet and Smoky Baked Beans

Sweet and Smoky Baked Beans

There’s one person that comes to mind every time I eat beans. It’s my sister. I have never met anyone in my life that hates beans as much as she does. I don’t even think she will allow her husband to bring them in the house! That’s a serious distaste, Dear Reader. It’s clear that she hasn’t tasted my homemade Sweet and Smoky Baked Beans – right!? I know I have hit the mark with a recipe when both John.e and McKenna tell me how good it tastes. In fact, John.e couldn’t get enough of these beans. I prepared the beans you see in the photographs using my Instant Pot. Yes, I finally broke down and got one. I’m not a huge fan of kitchen appliances. I trust my baking and cooking to my oven and stovetop. I rarely use any other cooking appliance. But Instant Pot recipes are everywhere! They wore me down and now that I’ve used one a few times, I can’t imagine what I did without it. It’s certainly going to make weeknight dinners a whole lot faster. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, don’t worry. You can prepare these baked beans in the oven…

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Oven-Baked Carrot Fries

Oven-Baked Carrot Fries

The strangest thing happened when I was eating these. They are so delicious!  But, there’s a problem with that, Dear Reader. You see, I don’t like sweet potato fries.  Or do I?  Now, I’m left with the task of trying sweet potato fries again to see if I do in fact like them.  It could be, at least this is what I’m trying to convince myself of, that I do like them, but maybe I’m not a fan of that dip they are usually served with.  Either way, the next time the opportunity presents itself, I’ll give them another try. I have cooked with sweet potato before and I’ve liked it. I can’t say that I loved it. To be honest, I think it’s more a mind of matter kind of thing. Sweet. Potatoes. I’m not a fan of sweet things. Give me salty!!!! It could be that I can’t quite get past potatoes being sweet. Who knows!? Why Carrot Fries? Now, back to these Oven Baked Carrot Fries.  There’s just something super satisfying about these fries.  The nutritional content of carrots is much better than potatoes, so there’s certainly less guilt factor when eating these.  But, put all of…

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Parmesan and Pine Nut Couscous

Parmesan and Pine Nut Couscous

I’m adding to my collection of side dishes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen. It was a goal that I set for myself for this year. It’s one of the things I struggle with the most. How many times do I ask myself the same question over and over again: “What can I make to go with this?” Based on feedback from many of you, Dear Readers, it seems to be a very common question among most of us home cooks. It’s easy to prepare chicken, fish, pork, beef, etc. But, what do we serve with it? My goal is to increase my side dishes section in hopes that I’ll make your side dish dilemma less of a challenge and more of a joy. I’ve already published a few couscous recipes, but this particular recipe had to be posted. It’s pretty much as easy as boiling water! My Basic Rule when Cooking with few Ingredients: I live by this rule in the kitchen, and I think you should too. If I’m preparing a recipe that uses very few ingredients, I want those ingredients to be the best I can find and/or afford. And, in this particular recipe, there are two ingredients…

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Kitchen Sink Cookies

Kitchen Sink Cookies

The expression “everything but the kitchen sink” refers to taking or using just about everything you can. For example, if one were going on a short vacation, but over packed, one might say, “they took everything but the kitchen sink.” It basically means not much was left behind. (I’m looking at you, Margaret!) Margaret is one of my best friends and we both work together. I remember one time we both were taking a flight to Vancouver for a conference. She showed up at the airport with an updo, wearing a ball gown, and toting three very large suitcases. We were only going to be in Vancouver for 5 days. She took everything but the kitchen sink! What do these Cookies have to do with a Kitchen Sink? Sometimes, when I bake or cook for my little family, and not with the intention of posting the recipe to the blog, I tend to take some liberties. A kitchen sink cookie recipe is a perfect example of when that happens. People who know me might remember hearing me saying something like, “Tonight we are having a clean out the fridge dinner.” This is when I place dinner on the table which…

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Egg and Sausage Breakfast Rolls

Egg and Sausage Breakfast Rolls

Egg and Sausage Breakfast Rolls are so much fun to make. That could be just me, of course, because I love to bake and cook, and I love to eat even more! Which, of course, is why Egg and Sausage Breakfast Rolls are not only fun to make, but fun to eat as well! These gorgeous rolls are packed with all kinds of delicious ingredients. There’s ground sausage, which is one of my favourite things in the world. It’s worth mentioning that if you want to make these rolls vegetarian, you can easily substitute the ground sausage with vegetarian sausage crumbles. You can easily find vegetarian sausage in the frozen foods section at Walmart. In addition to sausage, there’s also eggs, onion, red bell peppers, and cheese. Doesn’t that sound amazing? At first, I wasn’t going to add the red bell peppers, but I thought the rolls needed a bit more flavour. I think the red pepper and the green onions really added an extra punch and also a brightness in terms of colour. When it comes to the type of bread you use, you do have some options. I choose these elongated crusty bread rolls, because I knew that…

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Roasted Whole Turkey

Roasted Whole Turkey

When it comes to roasting a whole turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas, there are many people who are greatly intimidated by it. But, I assure you, Dear Reader, it’s as easy as pie! Maybe I should have chosen a different simile, because I cannot make pie at all! Well, it’s not that I can’t make a pie, I just really struggle with making a pie crust from scratch. If you search for turkey recipes on the internet, you’ll find a million of them. It seems that they all come with a different list of ingredients, but you really don’t need to fuss with it. Simple, basic, and home style is the best way to go! Nobody likes dry turkey meat! There are two things you must remember when roasting a turkey if you want to keep the meat moist and seasoned, yet not under-cooked! Those two things are tenting and basting. Tenting is the process by which you cover the turkey with aluminum foil. It’s really that simple. It locks in the moisture, preventing it from escaping and evaporating. It also prevents the turkey from getting too browned or even burning. You won’t need to tent the turkey the entire time. I…

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Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop Cookies

Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Scoop Cookies

These adorable mounds of mint and chocolate will fool even the most loyal ice cream lover. I always try my recipes out on John.e and McKenna before posting them to Lord Byron’s Kitchen. The best reaction to this particular cookie was from McKenna. She took a big bite and I watched her face go from super happy to super confused. I asked if she liked them and she said they tasted great, but she was expecting them to be cold and to melt in her mouth just like ice cream. That was exactly what I wanted for these cookies! I prepared these using my favourite shortbread cookie dough, but added a few ingredients to get the texture, look, and taste just right. Let me explain! Cornstarch in a cookie recipe? Yes! In fact, it’s quite common. I have a few dessert type recipes that have cornstarch as one of the main ingredients. It’s important to add cornstarch so that the cookies will hold their shape when baking. We all know that cornstarch is often used as a thickening agent in sauces and gravies, but it has the opposite effect in baking. In cookies, cornstarch will help to lighten up a cookie dough.…

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Tuna Pizza with Lemon and Dill

Tuna Pizza with Lemon and Dill

Tuna Pizza with Lemon and Dill is the ultimate “thinking-outside-the-box” type of recipe. Well, I guess in this case, it’s thinking-outside-the-can! This is a great way to use inexpensive canned tuna and turn it into a great meal that everyone will love! I was inspired to make this pizza when I saw a version of it posted by a fellow food blogger – Beth over at Binky’s Culinary Carnival. It looked so delicious, I just had to try it! This past year or so, John.e has been eating fish, so I’m always trying to think of new ways to cook with fish. If it were up to me, I’d have beer battered fried cod every night! But, at the risk of growing tired of fish, I tend to only prepare it twice a month. We love the ease of canned tuna and canned salmon. It’s so inexpensive, everyone seems to like it, and it can help make a wonderful meal! For a canned salmon idea, check out my Salmon and Asparagus Pasta Salad recipe. Of course I have what I often refer to as real salmon too. Not that canned salmon isn’t real! I could as easily call it fresh salmon, but it…

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Lime Sugar Cookies

Lime Sugar Cookies

I have to confess something, Dear Reader. These cookies came to life out of a need to use up the limes I had on hand before they lost their freshness. I had purchased a bag of limes from Costco to make Limeade. I also needed limes for my guacamole. But, as you know, everything at Costco is always more than you need! When I am trying to think of a new recipe idea, I will often scroll through the recipes I have already published here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen. When you have so many recipes, it’s easy to think you’re creating something new when in fact you’re not! So the scrolling helps to do two things. First, it eliminates recipe repitition. And, secondly, it triggers many “what if” moments. Like, what if I used brown sugar instead of white and added dark cocoa powder and molasses? It’s those moments that I have the most fun with recipe development. That was exactly the case with these. I had a pre-existing cookie recipe that was unlike any other cookie recipe on my blog. I remembered loving the interior texture of the cookie and decided to recreate it with a burst of citrus flavour.…

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Jumbo No-Knead Dinner Rolls

Jumbo No-Knead Dinner Rolls

Sometimes, you need to break out the flour and the yeast and make these Jumbo No Knead Dinner Rolls. Because sometimes the store-bought type just won’t do! My Love of Bread is Ingrained! I grew up in a home where homemade bread and homemade dinner rolls were constant. We were a family of five and like most Newfoundland families, bread was served daily. In fact, on some days, it would have been served with every meal. Back in those days – no, I’m not that old! – store-bought bread wasn’t readily available. If memory serves me correctly, you were able to buy the plain, white Wonder bread, but that was it. My mom bought that bread sometimes, but it was only used to make sandwiches. White Bread Memories She would buy a loaf every Friday morning when she did her grocery shopping. We lived in a small town, so my siblings and I were able to come home from school for lunch. Every Friday’s lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich with a can of Cott Cola or if we were really lucky, a lime Pop Shoppe Soda! Great memories! Anyway, I digress. The point here is that my mom always…

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Dill Pickle Ranch Pasta

Dill Pickle Ranch Pasta

I think there are only two classes of dill pickle people in the world. We have those that love them and then there are those that hate them. There is no middle ground. In our home, dill pickles are treated with the utmost respect. I love them, but both John.e and McKenna LOVE them! If we were asked to name a new Greek God, his name would be something stupid like Pickleonia. I’m not an extremely creative person when it comes to words, so I’ll leave the name-calling to John, since he’s so good at it! I’ll stick to my four C’s – cats, cooking, crocheting, and now cross stitch too! Okay – enough! Back to the Dill Pickle Ranch Pasta. The first time I tried the dill and ranch flavour combination was when I made my Dill Pickle Ranch Chex Mix. That was 4 years ago. Looking at that post now, I realize that I desperately need to update the photos! They’re like bacon and eggs. Or ham and cheese. Chocolate and peanut butter. Toast and jam. Salt and pepper. Tom and Jerry. Ice cream and sprinkles. You get my point! They just work together so well and create an explosion of…

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Toasted Cashew and Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw

Toasted Cashew and Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw

This non-traditional coleslaw consists of uncooked shaved Brussels sprouts that have been tossed with toasted cashews in a homemade tangy and zesty sauce. I know I have said this about some other vegetables too, but I think Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite vegetables. That is clearly evident with the number of times Brussels sprouts have been used in recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen! How about you? Do you love them or do you hate them? In our home, I love them, McKenna hates them, and John.e seems to tolerate them. I don’t mind though, because that just means there’s more for me! I wasn’t always a lover of Brussels sprouts. That was because my first introduction to them was very unpleasant. I’m not sure how it happened, but they were from a packet found in the frozen section at the grocery store. I learned really quickly that fresh was the way to go! Let’s break down this recipe and talk a bit about how to prepare it. Just so you know, you can prepare this recipe in advance. Just be sure to prepare the sauce and add it to the salad just before serving. Otherwise, the sprouts lose their…

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Breakfast Sausage and Egg Taquitos

Breakfast Sausage and Egg Taquitos

Great for guests or a quiet Saturday morning breakfast with your family. All of the prep can be done ahead of time too! This sausage and egg-filled taquitos are perfectly spicy and cheesy! Okay, lets get one thing out of the way before we begin talking about the glorious deliciousness that is this Breakfast Sausage and Egg Taquito. What the H, E, double hockey sticks is a taquito? Truthfully, the first time I heard of a taquito was on one of my trips to the southern states. They’re not too popular here in Canada – or at least not in my neighbourhood – but, I have seen them pop up on a fast food menu once or twice in the past couple of years. I think I was in Texas the first time I saw them. I was traveling with a few other individuals and one of them ordered tacquitos from one of the fast food stands at the mall food court. (I was very young at the time and nervous about trying new food, so I ordered KFC.) Anyway, she comes back to the table with these crispy rolled tortillas filled with beef, cheese, jalapenos, etc. She dipped them…

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Irish Colcannon Soup

Irish Colcannon Soup

Do you go all out for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations? We don’t do the green beer drinking thing, but we do have an Irish meal, that’s for sure! This year, it’s a toss-up between this soup or my traditional colcannon mash. St. Patrick’s Day is one of those days that everyone seems to enjoy, whether they are Irish or not. North American bars and pubs are well stocked with beer. There’s green food on every menu. And, people wear as much green clothing as they can! I’m just all about the food! So, every year, I try to get a new recipe posted that showcases the color green or can fit into Irish cuisine. Last year, I made my Frosted Two-Bite Brownies. And, the year before that, I made my Glazed Lime Donuts with Toasted Coconut. In 2017, it was the Shamrock Nanaimo Squares – they were so addictive and delicious! This year, it’s going to be this Irish Colcannon Soup. Do you have any traditional St. Patrick’s Day food items that you prepare for your family? Even though I am of Irish decent, our main food item is limited to colcannon. But, that’s because we love it so much! Why is colcannon called colcannon?…

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