A quiet return with Creamed Spinach

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Not Crocker

Well, as you might have inferred from my lack of posting over the last (oh my) two months, I have been crazy busy. I think I have also been crazy tired, meaning that coming home meant schlumping around rather than whipping up tasty treats and posting them here! I have been feverishly working on finishing my Masters, as well as scrambling at work getting a couple big projects underway. All to say, sorry for the unbelievably long absence. I wanted to come back with something INSANE and PUNCHY, but this is a subdued, yet delicious recipe. I have some punchier things in the wings, so no fear. But let’s ease back into this.

I’ve missed NotCrocker, and I felt so terrible about my terribleness that I haven’t even been to the blog myself much in the last month or so. Avoidance is a bizarre strategy for coping, so here I am, posting and coming back, and making whatever promises I can that I will not run away again! Work is going to keep going like mad through the next two months, and my paper is top-priority in my off time, but NotCrocker will not fall by the wayside again. I love posting great dishes, and will continue to do so. Who needs to sleep?! Not this lady!

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Shrimp & Artichoke Dip

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Not Crocker

Wow. Well, sorry for my incredibly long absence. I know I was JUST apologizing for being away from Not Crocker for a long time and here I am again after an epic stall. This time of year is bringing up a lot of sadness and I’ve been somewhat sapped of motivation. The funny thing is, it isn’t that I haven’t been baking and cooking, I just have been having a tough time getting to the computer to write up the recipes and prepare the photos. Sigh. I am going to try my best to get back on track, I promise.

I had a beautiful visit at home with my mom. I was only home for a whirlwind weekend and would have loved to have spent the summer lounging on the deck, taking in the sun, but it was not possible this year. We had a wonderful dinner party with all our friends, and things felt close to normal. Dad’s absence was/is startlingly noticeable and the times that I sit there and feel him not being here (if that makes any sense) are overwhelming. It’s almost been a year since his passing. The shocking thing is that it feels like there is no way this is real, even today, a year later I often feel like I can just call him up for a chat or advice or sass, but I am also achingly aware of how long it has been since I’ve heard his voice. I love my dad and am so thankful to have had him.

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Artichoke & Spinach Dip

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Not Crocker

Summer is my favourite. Honestly, even being sick last weekend didn’t kill my love of sunshine, fresh air, and breezy clothes! Our apartment is northwest facing so we don’t get direct sunlight until the afternoon, but we have so many big windows that the entire apartment is bright and breezy all day long. Our balcony gets some incredible direct sunlight around dinnertime and I’ve been enjoying sitting out with a good book and some tunes. AND there are no bugs! Huzzah!

I am really looking forward to visiting mom in the Yukon in the first week of August, it will have been a year since I’ve been home, and I really need that recharge. It’s going to be hard to be in our home without dad, in fact this whole summer has been hard for everyone as summer was the time our family was at our best, spending so much time outdoors and together. I told mom that I fear going fishing without dad because I definitely depended on his line-tying skills. He definitely tried to teach me, but it was always so convenient to have him around. I will also have to retrieve my own stuck lures, kill my own fish, clean my own fish!, and determine the best spots to cast. He taught me so much, but I still have a lot to learn, I miss him every day.

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Beer Bread Revisited

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Not Crocker

I’ve corrected the error on the original cover page. Get Beer Breading!

As I sit here sipping on a glass of wine (thanks Uncle Jim and Auntie Karen!) I begin to think about all the things I appreciate in my life. It was my parents’ 30th anniversary yesterday. I thought about it all day, as I sat on the plane from Toronto and when I got home late at night, getting ready for bed. I am glad my parents had almost thirty years together, but know that them and their love deserved another thirty. I appreciate the time I had with my dad, though I too would’ve appreciated at least another thirty. This last week has been both wonderful and very sad in this way. I received the Kenneth Le M. Carter graduate award at a board of directors dinner in Toronto on Monday night. As I took to the stage to accept my award, I thought of how important my parents were in my success, but also how proud my father would’ve been. Similarly, whenever I get a new job or internship, or at a new university, my dad was always the first person I sent an email to with my new address. These little moments that I would like to share with my dad have been whisked away. Now I stop and think of him, bringing both joy in memory and utter sadness in realization of the fact that he is gone.

I muscled through Father’s Day without much trouble as I was busy tooling around Toronto with two wonderful friends. The next day was my awards dinner, and then my parents’ anniversary on the following day. All moments of happiness and sadness rolled up into the neat little package that is my life. Speaking to my mom the day after their anniversary, it was clear that she felt the same roller coaster of emotions. I am so happy that my sister and nieces can be there with her through this first summer without dad. Yesterday, they left for the first camping trip of the season. An event that my dad eagerly awaited, I know that this first trip would be hard and was thankful that it would be made easier for all by the presence of my sweet and funny nieces and my sister.

Anyway, I had an absolutely incredible time in Toronto with my beautiful friends Heidi and Lauren. The R.Kelly sing-a-long was magical (a fairytale some may say… I may or may not have lost a shoe for part of the show). The girls took me around town, we drank great beer, enjoyed the sun, and I really loved getting to know their city. Another highlight, on my last day Heidi toured me around the Coach House coach house and Lauren gave me a thorough tour of her beloved Trinity campus, I certainly better understand the magic.

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Cheese and Walnut Stuffed Chicken

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Not Crocker

Oh sweet goodness, this is amazing. The stuffing adds texture and flavour that can’t be beat. I served the stuffed chicken breasts with some roasted broccoli that is similarly out of this world. I am going to throw some words out there to describe this dish: succulent, tender, scrumptious, flarghingyum. That’s right, I lost my ability to articulate at the end. The chicken breasts I had were really large, so you can easily stuff three or four regular-sized breasts and have a little less in each. OR double the stuffing and don’t fool around.

Cheese & Walnut Stuffed Chicken

INGREDIENTS

2 large chicken breasts
1 cup of dry curd cottage cheese (or use regular cottage cheese and omit the crème fraîche)
1 tbsp crème fraîche
2 1/2 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves, crumbled (heat oven to 350°F, lay walnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted and fragrant, 5-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes)
1/4 cup of yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp crushed red chili flakes (optional, we like spice)

salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp butter

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl cream together the crème fraîche and cream cheese.
Mix in the dry curds, walnuts, onion, and spices.
Slice the chicken breasts length-wise through the centre, from the side. You are looking to create a pouch of sorts that is the length of the breast.
Stuff the breasts with as much stuffing as you can manage. Sprinkle both sides of the breasts with salt, pepper, and paprika. Mine stayed together without assistance, but feel free to secure with a toothpick.
Melt the butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Place the breasts in the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes per side until browned and cooked through.
Serve with roasted broccoli.

Chicken breasts are stuffed and ready for the pan.

Nestled in, browning nicely.