Steamed Green Mussels with a Lovely Bisque and French Bread

This is a nice simple dish, prepared in no time at all.
I spent the afternoon enjoying summer out on my balcony, sipping home-made raspberry slushies and catching up on a little reading, emails, facebook, etc.
Here's the YouTube video I found, featuring chef Jean-Pierre demonstrating mussels in white wine.

Happy boyfriend, digging in.

BBQ Chicken Breast, Sweet Potato Salad with Orange-Maple Dressing, Grilled Corn and Pecan Pie

Last week I didn't get a blog up...I was out of the country!

I'm there...the tiny speck of a person under the Sky Needle

This week I had plans to have dinner at my friend Romeo's, but the weather has been funny all day, and considering we were supposed to BBQ and hang around the pool, plans have been postponed for next week possibly. 

So, here you have it, the sweet potato salad and pecan pie I was planning on making for the poolside BBQ. 

The BBQ sauce I have tried before, actually just ran out of. I found it in the July issue of Chatelaine magazine...its so good I wanted to make it again.

I think I'll bring the extra jar to Romeo next week!

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup pureed onion, about 1/2 small onion

1 cup ketchup

1 cup tomato sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

 1/4 tsp hot-red-pepper chilli flakes

Heat a large saucepan over medium. Add oil, then onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 min. Add ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, hoisin, garlic powder, Worcestershire, paprika and pepper flakes. Continue stirring frequently, to keep sauce from splattering, until flavours develop, 5 to 8 min.

Ladle into 2 clean 250-mL Mason jars. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 min. Wipe rims clean, then twist lids on tightly. Keep refrigerated.

Sweet Potato Salad with Orange-Maple Dressing

The salad can remain at room temperature up to two hours before serving.

Makes 6 servings

Dressing:

 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

 2 tablespoons orange juice

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salad:

3 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup chopped green onions

 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

 1/2 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped

 1/4 cup golden raisins

 1/4 cup brown raisins

For dressing:

Whisk all ingredients to blend in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

For salad:

Steam sweet potatoes about 10 minutes. Transfer sweet potatoes to large bowl. Cool to room temperature. Add green onions, parsley, pecans, and all raisins. Pour dressing over; toss gently to blend. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper.

Pecan Pie

Ingredients

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy, and stir in melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar and the flour; mix well. Last add the milk, vanilla and nuts.

Pour into an unbaked 9-in pie shell. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes,  until done

Whip 1/2 cup whipping cream, refrigerate until needed.

Super delicious, and super overindulgent...oh well!