Around the World in 80 Plates: Netherlands

While I totally plan on making Hannah Kaminsky's take on Sugar Lump Bread (Fryske Sûkerbôle) sometime in the very near future, I didn't get it made in time for this blog project. I will have to head to the Dutch grocery here in Ottawa to find some of the amber rock sugar she uses. Kiddo seriously can't wait to try this one as it combines two of his favourite things, bread and sugar (I swear he loves broccoli too so don't judge too harshly please).

What I did make for a Dutch treat wasn't exactly health food either but you could eat broccoli with it...I didn't but you could. It's called Frikandel and according to the almighty Wikipedia it is "a Dutch snack, a sort of minced meat hot dog" and where it takes a turn is how you cook it...you deep fry that sucker! It is sometimes called frikandel speciaal when it is served sliced down the middle and stuffed with raw onion, curry ketchup and mayo. Ummm....yeah! So good! I love hot dogs with raw onion any ways but adding my favourite new condiment, curry ketchup and mayo just made it even better. I decided my hot dog of choice would be a Field Roast frankfurter since they are the bestest. I keep mine in the freezer so I quickly defrosted it in some boiling water and then sliced it down the middle. I then fried it in a deep sided pan so I wouldn't use too much oil, until it was starting to brown a bit on the outside and looked crisp. It really worked well, the outside was crisp and had a nice bite to it but the inside stayed hot doggish. The toppings really work together too and again...I loved the curry ketchup! I tried one on a bun which would be called broodje frikandel and it was tasty too, definitely easier to eat as well. I won't be eating these every day or anything but I will absolutely make these again. Just the same toppings on an unfried frank would be great too but I recommend giving this different cooking method a try even just once!

Around the World in 80 Plates: England

This next one was a request of my husband's. I mentioned England and his eyes lit up as he offered "bangers and mash?" The boy loves his mashed potatoes and any chance to eat them he's in. I had a pack of Field Roast Apple Sage Sausages in the freezer so I quickly defrosted them and got to peeling. Not much of a recipe to share here but it was definitely a taster supper. The mashed potatoes were jazzed up a bit by the addition of some homemade sour cream, using Miyoko Schinner's recipe from Artisan Vegan Cheese (amazing!), and a bit of prepared horseradish. Maybe not traditional but oh so good! I added some steamed broccoli and carrots from the farmer's market for some colour and hey, we like veggies!

Food Network Monthly Cookalong: Super Topped Frankfurters

Just recently one of our local health food stores (Market Organics) started carrying Field Roast sausages and frankfurters. I was over the moon happy and rushed downtown to get some the very evening they announced this. I love Field Roast sausages but will admit I had never tried their frankfurters. Last time I went down there, there was one lone package of frankfurters left in the fridge so I decided to take them home and give them a shot. I searched through all the suggestions of what to top a hot dog with on Food Network US Grilling Central and landed on two different ideas. We tried them out on two different nights and really loved both. The best part is...they are super easy to veganize. Switch out the hot dog for your favourite vegan version (Field Roast Frankfurters recommended!) and you are most of the way there. Of the two we picked only one had cheese, I just used our favourite cheddar-y cheese sauce in place of it but you could use Daiya shreds or wedges as well. (Sidenote: we just got Daiya wedges here yesterday and again being the crazy person that I am for all things vegan, I ran to Rainbow Foods as soon as they tweeted their arrival and got some. Now that I have tasted them all, I wish that I had had them when I made the Nacho Dogs, the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti would be amazing on them!)

The first recipe I went for was from Bobby Flay called Nacho Dogs. It has a spicy roasted tomato salsa, guacamole, pickled jalapenos and crushed corn chips all loaded in there. It calls for grated white cheddar so I went with my favourite cheddary cheese sauce from Hearty Vegan for the Irish Nachos in it's place but like I said above, this would be a great place to use some Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti. The guacamole has more in it than I usually do but I went with it (minus the yucky cilantro) to taste the dog as he intended it. It was tasty but I like mine spiked with garlic so next time I would throw that in. The salsa was a little wet but it was super tasty, smoky and spicy! I like the flavour it got from roasting the tomatoes and it was super quick to do. I just put them straight on the super hot grill and turned them every few minutes and they were quickly blistered and had nice grill marks on them. I grilled the Field Roast frankfurters on the BBQ as well. They were sticking a bit at first so I grabbed a small plate and put a bit of olive oil and S&P on it. I rolled each one in the oil and stuck them back on the grill and it worked much better. I did it a few times while they cooked sort of like basting them since they are not fatty like their meaty counterparts.

All together they were quite stuffed and it was tricky to get it all in one bite but we gave it our best! They were really tasty and Ryan and I both enjoyed them quite a bit. We both said after supper that we would want them again!

The next one we tried was a Chicago Dog from Food Network Magazine. I have heard about Chicago Dogs but have never tried one and I am so happy I finally did! I think it might be my favourite hot dog ever!!! I grilled the hot dog which I know isn't traditional but hey, neither is a wheat gluten franks so go with me here. Put your grilled frank in a bun (they say poppy seed, I say whatever you have since we have established I'm not a purist) and then load it up with relish, mustard, big spears of dill pickles, sliced tomatoes, diced onion then sprinkle the top with celery salt. It is amazingly tasty and fresh. This will definitely be my new hot dog combo of choice! I had two on my plate but only ended up getting through one and a bit before I was stuffed. I passed it over to Ryan who happily finished it off. I will admit to watching him eat it and being a little jealous that he could eat it all up. I served this one with pasta salad and grilled local corn (another reason I was so stuffed). It is so easy to grill corn and you won't regret it, it's delicious cooked this way and you don't have to heat up the kitchen with a big pot of boiling water which is a super plus since this summer here is crazy hot and humid. I used Bobby Flay's recipe for Perfectly Grilled Corn but just for the technique. I think I will have to try out his flavoured butters in the future!

 

Food Network Monthly Cookalong: Sausage and Pepper Skewers w/Grilled Polenta

I did a backwards search on Food Network's website this time because I knew I wanted something with Sausage and Peppers but wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. Turns out I found exactly what I was looking for from a very unexpected source, Sandra Lee. I have never seen any of Sandra Lee's shows and I'm not sure they even air up here in Canada but I have to say her reputation precedes her. From what I've heard she is the queen of convenience products and enjoys mixing and matching to create her recipes. Then I thought...maybe it's not such a bad thing after all to veganize her recipes to show how easy and convenient vegan cooking can be! I've definitely been known to lean on a quality convenience product when cooking because I don't always feel like starting everything from scratch and when it comes to vegan sausages, no one does it like Field Roast! I have a few packages in my freezer for treats when I feel like something yummy and this is one of those times! Sandra's recipe can be found here and all I really had to do was switch out the  sausage for some amazing Italian Field Roast links that are made with eggplant, fennel, red wine, garlic and sweet peppers. I had never barbecued them before but they really are a little bit more delicious when you do! I put some bell peppers and onions on the skewers just like Sandra and added a little mushrooms because we had them and love them grilled. I got to skip the step where you cook the sausages half way before putting them on the skewers so it makes a quick recipe even quicker! I just sliced each sausage link into five or six pieces each and put them on with the veggies.

I was intrigued by the grilled polenta since I had never had it that way before so I wanted to give that a go as well. I didn't have instant polenta on hand but did have just enough of a bag of Bob's Red Mill Organic Polenta/Corn Grits to make them the more labour intensive way. I put three cups of salted water to boil, added my one cup of polenta in while whisking once it was and then kept stirring every minute or so for 30 minutes until it was nice and thick. Once it was cooked I poured it out onto a greased half sheet pan and put it in the fridge for a bit. Once it is chilled you can cut it into little squares. Before heading to the grill, I sprayed it with some spray oil and just like she says, grill it for a few minutes on each side to get those pretty grill marks and you are done! The skewers didn't take long either, I just grilled them at the same time and everything was done at the same time. Ryan and I really enjoyed this one and we would definitely make it again. It was quick, easy and definitely tasty!