Locally-inspired Recipes

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss the diced sweet potatoes and halved Brussels sprouts with olive oil, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper until they are evenly coated.
3. Spread the sweet potato and Brussels sprout mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until they are tender and slightly caramelized. Be sure to stir or shake the pan occasionally for even cooking.
4. While the vegetables are roasting, cook the chopped bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it becomes crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess grease.
5. In the same skillet with the bacon drippings, add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Sauté over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Once the sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts are done roasting, transfer them to the skillet with the sautéed onions and garlic. Add the cooked bacon as well.
7. Toss everything together in the skillet and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to meld the flavors.
8. Taste the hash and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Instructions for the Hollandaise::

1. Start by preparing the brown butter. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Allow it to cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until it turns a deep golden brown color and has a nutty aroma. This should take about 5-7 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn. Remove it from the heat and set it aside to cool slightly.
2. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon juice, pure maple syrup, salt, and cayenne pepper (if using).
3. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water (double boiler) but ensure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk continuously to combine the ingredients.
4. Slowly drizzle the browned butter into the egg yolk mixture while whisking vigorously. Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens and becomes smooth. This should take about 5-7 minutes.
5. Once the Maple Brown Butter Hollandaise sauce has thickened to your desired consistency, remove it from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or lemon juice if needed.

In a small saucepan with simmering water, poach two large eggs until desired doneness.

To assemble, place your sauteed brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and bacon on the plate. Top with two poached eggs, drizzle your maple hollandaise on top and finish with fresh chopped parsley and paprika.

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat then stir in garlic and bell pepper stirring constantly for 2 minutes
3. Add Majanna’s Mediterranean Hot Peppers and Butcher of Kingsville Italian Sausage
4. Stir for two minutes
5. Add white wine, salt, pepper and Majanna’s Tomato Basil Sauce and bring to a boil
6. Remove from heat.
7. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add to the tomato mixture stirring to coat.
8. Serve topped with grated parmesan

Serves 4

Directions:

TENDERLOIN

• Preheat oven to 425
• Place in oven safe baking dish, cover with loose foil or lid & into preheated oven (hint place a peel whole onion in with tenderloin to release necessary moisture and flavour)
• Bake at 425 for 30 minutes then remove cover, turn roasting pan to be certain cooking evenly and reduce oven to 375 for another 20-30 (medium – 15 less for med-rare and 15 more for med-well)
• Once desired readiness is achieved remove and let sit for at least 15 minutes before cutting into 6-8 oz medallions for service.
• (Hint if readiness becomes too rare as you reach the middle of your tenderloin for guests liking, simply sear individual medallion on hot skillet or sauté pan for 3-4 minutes)

Pears

• 6-8 of favourite pears (we prefer Bosc)
• Clean and place in baking terrine (a loaf pan works best)
• Place 1 inch water in bottom
• Place in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes
• Remove and lace with maple syrup and place a knob of butter at the base of each pear & return to oven for another 15-20
• Remove from oven, carefully cut in half and spoon the caramelized maple butter jus over pears when plating.

Blue Cheese & Sage Butter

• 1/2 lb salted butter
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 4-6 fresh sage leaves finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 1 tsp crack black pepper
• Melt butter just enough to be able to incorporate other ingredients
• Mix to combine and then place into refrigerator to harden

Squash

• Cut Butternut Squash lengthwise in half (need 1 medium sized squash per 4 servings)
• Preheat oven to 350
• Rub flesh side with olive oil and season with S/P
• Place squash flesh side down in baking sheet into oven for 30  minutes.
• Turn Squash over and roast for another 15 minutes or until just fork tender (it is going back in the oven to finish baking) and then remove from oven to cool
• Once cool enough to handle portion into approximately 4inch pieces and then smash – flatten squash – with a heavy plate or a sauté pan
• Place back on skillet & place some of the blue cheese & sage butter on each piece & return to 350 oven for 10 minutes before service (if make day ahead bring squash up to temp before adding butter and placing back in oven)

Service

Place Roasted Smashed Butternut Squash with Blue Cheese & Sage Butter onto middle of plate, sprinkle with crumble of blue cheese. Set 2 Beef Medallions onto Smashed Squash.  Set 3-4 halved Roasted Pears with Brown Sugar Butter spooned over . . . & enjoy!

(Note:  if not doing this in stages the Beef can be timed to coordinate last roasting time at 350 to have all items in the oven.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12- cup bundt pan {or spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray} and sprinkle bottom of pan with ¼ cup of chopped pecans.
2. In a medium bowl, beat sugar, oil and honey until combined. {Note: This batter is going to be thick so a hand mixer or stand mixer is the best bet here.}
3. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated after each addition.
4. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gradually add to wet mixture until just incorporated. Like I said, it’s a super-thick batter, so make sure there are no pockets of flour hiding, but also try not to overmix.
5. Fold in vanilla, remaining ¾ cup chopped pecans and chopped apples — this part can be done by hand, but it’ll take some muscle!
6. Spoon mixture evenly over pecans in pan. Bake at 350° for 65-75 minutes. Note: This cake browns very quickly due to the high sugar content. If you notice that it’s looking like it might burn, loosely place a piece of foil on top to prevent over-browning.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 20-30 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to remove from pan. When the cake is slightly cooled, pour ½ cup honey sauce over top.
8. Serve the remaining honey sauce with each slice of cake.

For sauce:

1. Bring sugar, butter and honey to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for about 3-4 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and carefully add cream {it will bubble quite a bit}, and stir until the mixture looks uniform and is slightly thickened. {For a thicker sauce, allow to cool before drizzling.}
3. Place the cooled cake on a cooling rack on top of a baking pan. Drizzle some of the sauce over bundt cake. Allow to set slightly before transferring cake to a serving dish or cake plate.

Variations:

• Swap pecans for walnuts.
• Try different types of apples such as Granny Smith, Fuji or Golden Delicious.
• Switch up the spices! Try adding a bit of ground cloves, allspice or cardamom for a different flavor.
• Don’t feel like making caramel? Try serving the cake with a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead.
• For Gluten Free Version: Try using cup-for-cup gluten free flour blend for a gluten-free version. (Note: I have not tried this specifically for this recipe, but I imagine it should work fairly well.)
• For Dairy-Free Version: This recipe is naturally dairy-free when served without the caramel sauce. You can also try making the caramel sauce with dairy-free creamer, coconut milk or serve with store-bought dairy free caramel.
• For Nut-free Version: Omit the pecans for a completely nut-free version.

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Beat butter and salt on medium speed until the butter is whipped and looks fluffy and bright white, it takes about two minutes.
• Add icing sugar and vanilla and beat another two to four minutes, scaping down the sides of the bowl if needed. It should look like fluffy white frosting.
• Add flour and lavender. Mix on low until all of the flour is incorporated.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop dough into balls and place on baking sheet. Roll cookies with your hands into a smooth ball then flatten slightly with the palms of your hand or use a cookie stamp. Place cookies a couple inches apart on the baking sheet to ensure they don’t bump into each other in the oven.
• Bake 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should be a light brown colour along the edges and cooked in the centre, but still quite soft.
• While you’re waiting for the cookies to cool, make your glaze. In a small bowl whisk together the icing sugar, water and vanilla. If the glaze is too runny, add a little more sugar. If it’s too thick, add more water.
• Be sure the cookies have cooled a bit (about 10-15 minutes) then brush the tops of the cookies with vanilla glaze and sprinkle a little dried lavender on top. Let the glaze harden completely before stacking.
• These cookies are also delicious with some fresh lemon zest added to the dough as well as the glaze for a lavender lemon shortbread!

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix canola oil, white sugar, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and strawberry extract.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all purpose flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Pour approximately 1/3 pureed strawberries into the large bowl and mix until combined.
4. Pour approximately 1/3 of flour mix into the large bowl and mix until combined.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all combined into a thick batter
6. Pour 1/2 (approx. 785g) into each cake pan. Place pans on rack, bake 20 minutes, rotate, bake for another 20 minutes. Use a toothpick to test – if crumbs stick, bake for another 3 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and cool on racks – after approximately 20 minutes, remove from pans, continue cooling.
8. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed to whip butter and strawberry until butter is soft.
9. Add approximately 1/2 of the sugar, whip on low until mixed. Add the rest and combine. Mix on low until combined and then gradually increase speed until icing is fluffy.
10. Add vanilla and mix on low until combined.
11. Split icing into 2 bowls (approximately 370g each), use a flat knife or offset spatula to ice layers.
12. Chill in fridge until ready to serve. Keep in fridge for up to 7 days and in freezer 3 months.