Last night I made Chace (my three-year-old) a special little treat.

That’s right. I made him a sweet (ha, get it) ice cream clown – in honour of him running away to join the circus… might have been kidding about that last part.

And as you can most likely tell, it was very easy to make.

First I simply melted some chocolate (I used Aero bars) in a homemade double boiler. If you don’t own a double boiler you can acheive the same effect by filling a pot about 1/4 full of water and resting a stainless steel bowl over the opening (like a lid). Once the water in the pot begins to boil, your chocolate will melt nice and evenly. Stir the chocolate though so it does not scorch.

Once melted, I twirled the open end of my cone in the chocolate.

And then twirled it once more in a bowl of sprinkles.

With my ‘hat’ made I moved on to Mr. Clown’s ice cream face.

To stop it from melting all over the plate I scooped a small scoop into a little condiment bowl and then stacked another small scoop on top of that. Then I topped it off with my waffle cone hat and made a face with Runts candy. I love how the hat hangs over the back as seen above.

What a ‘sweet’ (stop me now) little face.

I quickly snapped a bunch of photos as my time was limited. For obvious reasons – melting ice cream, yes. But someone something much more pressing was waiting in the wings.

Mr. Clown lived a short life but he was well loved.

It was a perfect way to ‘cap off’ (okay, done with those now) a warm summer evening.

I love doing little crafts like this with Chace and marvel at the excitement he gets from such simple things. It’s amazingly beautiful, and innocent, and ‘sweet’ (sorry – had to).

What about you? Any easy to make toddler faves that you want to share? Made any special treats recently? Run away to join a circus as of late? Please share 🙂

PSST – I’ve updated my Facebook page with a new seasonal cover photo highlighting some summery projects. Head on over and let me know what you think – and don’t forget to ‘like’ the page if so inclined. Thanks 🙂

Chef Kev was back in the kitchen last night and I found myself walking aroung quoting lines from Forest Gump. Bubba would have been so proud of the shrimp spectacular that Chef Kev made.

So let’s dive in shall we?

This salad was amazing and had just the right amount of heat. ‘A box of chocolate’ had nothing on this bad boy – although Chace did convince us to give him some for dessert. I guess life really is like a box of chocolates – when you’re a three year-old. Anyway….

Shrimp Noodle Salad

This recipe serves four. Here is what you need:

20-25 prawns – frozen tail-on
tequila lime marinade (Chef Kev used this one)

1 pack (8 oz/227 g) bean sprouts
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 pack noodles – (Chef Kev used the “Mr. Noodles Chinese Style Fresh Pack Noodles” found in the chilled area of your produce section)

peanut sauce (Chef Kev used the one from this line)

to assemble:

A few hours ahead of time, remove the tails from prawns and marinate in a bowl of the tequila lime sauce.

In a small bowl, dice all three peppers, mince the shallot and your jalepeno. Set aside.

In a big bowl, add the bean sprouts. Then, chop up a good handful of the fresh cilantro and add it to the bowl.

Cook the noodles as per package directions. Make sure to seperate and cut your noodles as cooking so that they don’t end up as one big clump! Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again. Drizzle with sesame, peanut or olive oil. Toss to coat. Add to large bowl containing the bean sprouts and cilantro.

Cut corn off the cobs (or open your canned corn).

In a sauté pan, heat up some olive oil on medium heat. Grate in some fresh ginger and press in 4-5 cloves of garlic. Stir around and then add the corn and shrimp from your marinade bowl. Sauté on medium heat, stirring until the shrimp is just cooked. Scrape all into the large bowl.

In the same pan, drizzle in a bit more olive oil. Heat to medium. Add in your bowl of peppers, jalepeno and shallots. Heat for a few minutes just enough to sweat the ingredients (but so they still stay crisp). Remove from heat, add to the large bowl and mix.

Drizzle salad with tequila lime vinaigrette and finish with peanut dressing. Toss.

Squeeze the juice from your two fresh limes into the salad and season with salt and pepper

Continue seasoning to taste.

If desired, finish with dry roasted peanuts on top.

Serve and ENJOY!

Like what the chef is serving? See all of Chef Kev’s creations here.

It’s been awhile since I did a Chef Kev post (do you like his new banner?) but after last night’s dinner, I just have to share.

For those of you who don’t know, my husband is a 6′ 5″ soccer goalie who is in the finance industry by day – and a master chef (in my humble opinion) by night!

Don’t believe me? Check out what was on my dinner table yesterday…

First up, Saute some black beans and corn in a pan with some olive oil, a bit of jalepeno and ancho chili powder. Set aside.

Make your crispy shallots (as seen on the top) by thinly slicing some shallots (Chef Kev used a mandolin slicer to get thin and uniform pieces).

Next, dust your shallot pieces with flour, tossing lighty and seperating (think teeny tiny onion rings).

Then, fry your shallots by first warming some canola oil on medium heat – don’t toss the shallots in until the oil is hot enough (test it by flicking in a drop or two of water. It should sizzle and pop).

Stir the shallots in the oil until they are golden brown.

Scoop out and place into a sieve so that the oil drains out and your shallots stay nice and crispy (placing your sieve onto a paper towel is a great trick to draw out some of the extra oil). Set aside.

Then, toss together arugula, red pepper, fresh basil (or cilantro) and your black bean and corn mixture. On top of that add some shaved parmesan cheese and layer on your crispy shallots.

Finish by drizzling on a dressing. Chef Kev suggests an ancho chile one or a chipotle ranch option (my fave). To make the latter, simply stir in a bit of chipotle powder to a fine quality ranch dressing. We like the Litehouse Homestyle Ranch (found in the produce section versus the salad dressing aisle).

And there you have it – another fantastic Chef Kev dinner! Enjoy!

Enjoying what comes out of the Chef Kev kitchen? Check out all his tasty creations here!

Chef Kev outdid himself with this one. I loved this wrap. The spice was perfect and the secret seemed to be in marrying the flavours. Nothing over powered yet you could still taste each individual ingredient. Wonferfully balanced. Perfection!

Here is how he did it…

Chipotle Chicken Wrap

Ingredients:
crushed or canned tomatoes (half of a large can)
1 1/2 chipotle peppers

low sodium chicken stock (about 1/4 cup)

fresh cilantro
1-2 shallots (minced)

to season:
salt
meat seasoning (Chef Kev uses Rufus Teague Meat Rub)

to assemble:
tortilla wrap
grated cheese blend – cheddar, monterey jack and colby
lettuce (Chef Kev used a Spring Mix)
sour cream
avocado

To begin, combine your tomatoes, chipotle peppers, a scoop of adobo sauce (the sauce your chipotle peppers come in) and olive oil in a food processer. Puree.

Add your pureed mixture to a sauce pan on low heat. Add your chicken breast, a little chicken stock and your cream. Let simmer for 25 minutes or so. Stir often. Season to taste along the way and add corn starch to thicken if needed. Remove from heat once cooked.

Add the black beans, corn and orange pepper along with some some chopped cilantro and the minced shallot. Stir. Let sit.

To assemble add a scoop of your mixture to a tortilla round and sprinkle with cheese as desired. Microwave for 20 seconds. Add some lettuce, some avocado and some sour cream.

Roll and Serve.

ENJOY!

As I type this post, Masterchef is playing on the TV in the background. Perhaps that, combined with Chef Kev’s close proximity and the fact that I am typing up these instructions will make me a better cook. Maybe… Perhaps. And perhaps my flank steak will grow wings and fly.

Looky what Chef Kev made for dinner!

Flank Steak and Basil Butter Corn Sandwich

The tip to making this sandwich sexy (yup, I said it – who doesn’t like a sexy beast beef) is to marinate the steak overnight if possible (or at least for few hours).

Marinate the flank steak in a grilling sauce that has a nice combination of ‘heat’ (chilies, chipotle etc.) and ‘sweet’ (brown sugar, molasses, honey etc.). Ours was from winery I visited this past weekend – More on that trip later!

Next you’ll want to start preparing your corn on the cob. Time this dish so that your steak and corn are ready at the same time. To get your corn on the cob ready, peel back the husk of the corn but leave it attached. Remove the corn silk inside and close ‘er back up! Go make curtains out of your new silk (ha ha, who went looking for their loom? Bigger question, who HAS a loom?… anyhoo… ) Cook on medium heat on the barbeque (the corn, not your new curtains) for about 10-15 minutes turning as you go. The ears will burn but that is okay as you will be removing the husks. In essence you are steaming corn – keeping the sugars and moisture inside.

Cook your (now) marinated flank steaks on medium high heat on the barbeque for about 2-3 minutes per side. Your steak should be medium rare to medium. (Chef Kev note: Flank steak should not be cooked more than medium as it will become chewy).

Remove your corn and steak from the barbeque. Let your steak rest for about 5 minutes on a plate covered with foil. Yes, give your sexy steak a rest. In a saute pan, chiffonade fresh basil and let it melt with some butter on low heat. (Elaine: “What is chiffonade?” Chef Kev: “Google it.” Elaine: type, type, type. Elaine {to you}: chiffonade is basically where you roll up your fresh herb and slice it thinly. Once unrolled you are left with long thin strips). Add salt and pepper and a bit of garlic powder. (Chef Kev note: do not use fresh garlic as it will over power). Melt together. The basil will infuse into your butter.

Cut the corn from its cob. Add to saute pan. Simmer on low heat for few minutes. Stir.

Lightly toast some open face Portuguese Buns on the barbeque.

Cut the (well) rested steak (slacker) against the grain in to thin strips. Doing so ensures it is not chewy as flank steak is very tough. Add some more of your marinade (obviously some that has not touched raw meat) so that your sexy steak is nice and sassy saucy.

Slice some jalapeno monterey jack cheese.

To assemble lay your steak on the bun and top with cheese and your basil butter corn. And you’re (in the words of Chef Kev) “good to go”!

Lovin’ the Chef? Check out all his tasty creations here.