The Joys of being busy and not finding enough time to make a meal - so you break down and order in takeout. Not a bad Idea if you choose a good spot. We always love eating out and I am a big fan of tasting other peoples work.

Last night was a last minute decison around 9:00 pm to decide what to eat. I chose the Noodle House ( which never disappoints). Authentic Chinese cuisine that is tough to beat. We just ordered some rice, garlic spareribs, and one of my favorites spicy schezuan noodles with chicken. This dish is worth talking about for hours.

The quality is amazing and the heat makes your nose run. I didn’t take a picture last night because I was so hungry by the time i realized that I should have - I forgot and it was too late. Next time I visit there I will take a picture and post it on the site.

This was my first crack at a sweet spicy combination for a chutney. The flavor was very well balanced with the combination of sweet and spicy. The sweetness from the cranberries and pears as well as the brown sugar. That combined with the apple cider vinegar and jalapeno really sends your taste buds over the edge.

I added the recipe below… It is somewhat of a simple recipe and is open for opens to try new flavours so feel free to comment on things you have tried in the past or if you attempt this recipe and try a different twist.

Spiced Cranberry-Pear Chutney

3 large ripe pears, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 3 cups.

Tip: Make sure to leave the lid off to ensure your chutney will thicken up to your desired consistency. If you find it too spipcey after you taste it and before you serve it to your guests you can balance the heat with a little more brown sugar. Hope you Enjoy.

Simple Yet Delicious!!  Bone-in Chicken Breasts - with a mollases glaze.  The glaze consists of molasses, dried basil, fresh ginger ( minced) and the juice of one lemon.  The tip for flavourful juicy chicken is to season it well with salt and pepper all over and place it on the top rack of the BBQ skin side up. 

The setting on the BBQ should be placed around medium.  Close the lid on the bbq and thats it!  Do not touch the chicken, do not poke it, do not turn the chicken over - just let the chicken be until it is cooked. 

 It is a guarantee everytime for juciy chicken.  I usually put the glaze on about halfway through the cooking process and baste it 2-3 times after that.

Another good tip when cooking any meat or poultry is to let it rest after you take it off the barbecue.  The tenting technique which means simply tent some tin foil over the top of the meat for 5-10 minutes  once you remove it from the heat.  By letting the meat rest you will allow the juices to go back inside the meat and causing the result to be much more jucier for you and your guests.

Talk about Juicy!!! I slow roasted a blade roast on the BBQ for 4 hours on Saturday with a new rub compliments of Jim Goode.  The flavor from the piece of meat was amazing.

I used the indirect heat method to cook the meat which means having heat on one side of the bbq and placing the meat on the opposite side.

I kept the temperature of the bbq to approximately 250F.

The recipe for the rub is:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon ground bay leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 3/4 teaspoon ground savory
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt to taste

While bbq’ing meat for long periods to ensure the tenderness you have to be careful what type of sauce you place on the meat.  A traditional wet sauce or sugar based sauce would just burn that is why it is best to use a dry rub while cooking meet for extended periods on the grill.

This past weekend I hosted a big family gathering which in my mind means lets try some new recipes and see if they pass inspection.  Lets just say It was a huge success despite that we had a lot of leftovers.  I have been preparing this menu for the past few days before hand to make sure I had enough flovors for eveyone.  The menu included Broadbean Pasta Salad, Roasted Smashed Potatoes with olive oil and garlic, Fresh Yellow beans steamed and topped with butter and cracker black pepper, Molasses Glazed Chicken with Ginger and Lemon and Basil, Slow Roasted Blade Roast on the Barbecue crusted with a special rub ( I will share the rub late rin the Beef post) and a cranberry and pear chutney that accompanied the beef.

The food turned out very well, everyone enjoyed themselves and had a lot of positive comments about the flovours.  The chutney was a big hit as well as the slow roasted beef and the smashed potatoes.  The following posts will have some more detail and pictures.