The Perfect Soft Boiled Egg

Guest post from Jar Head:

We here at Fondue Voodoo are always in a quest for the perfect egg. Previously we have given you what we consider the perfect poached egg and today we aim to bring you the perfect soft boiled egg.

This method comes from Cooks Illustrated. It is simple and has become our go to egg method (even surpassing our once pedestal poached method).

All you do is bring about 1 cm (1/2 inch) of water to a boil. Once you have a rolling boil gently add in cold eggs and continue to maintain a rolling boil for exactly 6 minutes. As soon as the 6 minutes have elapsed remove the eggs and transfer to a cold water bath for about 1 minute. You can then peel the eggs and immediately serve.

The trick to the success is the half boil half steam method which reduces the temperature variability allowing this recipe work every time regardless of whether you are using 1 or 6 eggs. We can confirm that it has worked perfectly in different kitchens, different stoves and pots as well as any number of eggs.

Squash Coconut Curry Soup

Spoiler Alert: I keep my favourite potion in sinner/dinner sized servings in the freezer in suspended animation ready to come to the rescue when this sweet poor maiden hasn't the time to slave over a hot meal.  Make ahead meals are the soup de jour in order to make it through the week with our sanity intact. To stay sane you'll need:

• 1 cup (heaping) diced celery - 2 ribs   
• 1 cup(heaping) diced carrots - 1 large carrot
• 1 cup (heaping) diced onion - 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic - chopped
• 1.5 Kg. roasted squash - butternut is my preferred choice 
• 1 liter broth - veggies, or chicken
• 1 liter water



Soup de jour

• 1 can (400 ml) coconut milk   

Seasoning

• 2 TBSP Red curry paste
• 1 stick lemongrass, swacked and chopped fine
• 2 TBSP fish sauce
• 2TBSP brown sugar
• 1 TBSP + 1 tsp fresh ground ginger
• 1 dried thai chili 
• couple of dry or fresh lime leaves
• Grated - rind of one lime  + juice 
• cilantro - chopped

HOW TO: In a giant soup pot

• Sweat the onions, the add the carrots, celery & garlic to sweat
• Push all the veggies to the sides and fry the curry paste until fragrant
• add the broth and water and drink to a boil
• add the squash, coconut milk & ground lemongrass  & lime leaves
• bring up to a simmer
• add sugar, fish sauce & dried chili 
• allow to simmer until flavours come together
• remove from the heat and remove the limes leaves, 
• using an emersion blender, blend the entire soup 
• add the grated lime rind & juice and serve with a topping of cilantro. 

Squash Coconut Curry Soup Beer pairing - consider a hop forward brew - the spicy thai flavours and hop profiles are BFF's, try Russell's Hop Therapy for a sure hit. 

Marvel at your capacity to freeze your own miracles, you'll be happy and your belly will thank you. 

Cheese Cornbread,Now with EXTRA Cheesy Goodness

Allow me to introduce you to the magic cheese cornbread. Your wife will be satisfied. Your friends will be satisfied, you will be satisfied and you will be grateful for the ritual that lies within this sacred text that will elevate, motivate and precipitate the love you share through cornbread.
Get your self ready with

Cheesy Crusted Cornbread 

1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c plain nonfat yogurt or buttermilk
1  egg, beaten (or 1 egg substitute)
2 TBSP oil

1/3 c milk 

1/2 c whole kernel corn (optional)
2 - 3 medium jalapeño peppers (1 red, 1 green looks great)
1/2 c shredded sharp cheese 

Need: mixing bowl for drys

mixing bowl for wets

1 loaf pan lightly greased

assorted mixing and scraping tools

400 degrees oven

1  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2  In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
3  in wet bowl stir in yogurt, milk, egg, corn & jalapeño

4  mix wets into dry with minimal folds
5  pour into a greased loaf pan, or use cast iron skillet like a pro

6  spread cheese over the top evenly, use a knife to cut the cheese into the batter
7  bake for approximately 30 minutes.
8  marvel at your delight

Jalapeño peppers make the batter looks so pretty

Remember the sacred rite of cutting the cheese (pffft!) is the key to the delicious crust.

Merry Christmas & Happy New 2013

Merry Christmas to all.

Mayne Christmas Bonfire 2012

We hope you are up to some serious good fun today, 

enjoying some well earned rest, and being spoiled with terrific surprises. 

Fondue Voodoo and the gang are held up in a cabin in the woods, getting drunk on fresh air, high on hard work and living large and eating well. Just as expected. 

We have discovered some valuable life lessons over the course of 2012, 

1. No matter how much he promises, our canine 

companion BentleyBeans cannot guard food without sampling. 

"This beer is tasty, I will guard it for you"
With Indy photo bomb

2. My furry feline companions are no better at guarding the food than the canine, I sniff a conspiracy.

3. Falling in a ditch (I'm looking at you Damon) and turtling is an art, a hilarious hilarious art

Bentley, Opal, Indy
 & photo bomb Damon (with ears) 

4. Photo bombing holds it's own as comedy gold.

5. Do not make fun of the Dooms Day people at the gun show. 

6. That Mayan apocalypse was like a giant Acme Fireworks pile that fizzed like a day old soda. Shouldn't have bought that underground bunker in Alberta. 

7. Only drink good, preferable local, craft beer. Just one and savour the taste, getting drunk is so 2011. 

8. If your gonna blog, tell people about it, so they can participate...it's a public blog not a private diary.

Our guard dog taking care of the cupcakes

9. Yep still true,

Sonja & Damon. Mayne Island, Dec.  2012

the canine BentleyBeans really can't guard the food without sampling, he prefers the good stuff best, fresh baked bread & cheese.

10. The Beatle's were right all along, all we need is love.

Hope you all have a terrific restful holiday, and best wishes in 2013.

Cauliflower Blue Cheese Soup

Winter is here and in my neck of the woods that means rain, rain and more rain. By the end of winter Fondue Voodoo has sprouted webbed toes, a feathery rain coat and has a relentless urge for paddling around the local duck pond. Before that metamorphosis happens, I try to comfort myself with a giant bowl of soup. This blue cheese spiked soup is an excellent example of how to improve on cauliflower - the veg that hasn't the decencey to produce chlorophyll, seriously, it's basically a failed cabbage, time for redemption through blue cheesy goodness.

A Fondue Voodoo duck after months of rain.

You'll need:
1 head of cauliflower
1 onion
2 stalks of celery
2 extra large cloves of garlic
1 litre of veggie broth
500 mls water
seasoning - thyme, pepper, bay leaf, salt if necessary
1/3 cup or more blue cheese
Topping: Sour cream for decedents and toasty croutons floated on top.

Step 1. Cut one head of cauliflower
into 2 x 2 chunks. Toss with a little oil and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet & roast at 475 degrees. Roast until golden brown and cooked through. The cauliflower can burn quickly at this high temp, so keep your eyes's on it.

Step 2. Sweat the veggies
In a big heavy bottom pot sweat the following in a little oilve oil:
1 onion
2 stalks of celery
2 large cloves of garlic

Step 3. make soup
Add in the roasted cauliflower to the onions, celery and garlic
add 1 litre of veggie broth
1/2 litre water
season as desired - thyme, pepper, bay leaf, salt if necessary.

Step 4. Blend
Using an immersion blender to blend the soup throughly. The goal is a thick velvety soup that grips the spoon.

Step 5. Assemble
Crumble a table spoon, or more of blue cheese in your bowl and pour the pipping hot soup on top. Give it all a swirl as the cheese melts to incorporate the cheese. You can consider a spoonful of sour cream on top to add a rich creaminess, your preference.
Top with a float of croutons.

Something transcendent happens when the blue cheese melts, it's magic, it's a miracle, it's a mystery and it's fabulous.

Salad dressing for adults: Warning mature content

Fondue Voodoo enjoys adults content, in my salad dressing. Strong intense flavours can take a side dish from a wimpy pale nerd to a sophisticated man of mystery. Patum Peperium Gentleman's Relish is the key here, it's an anchovy based paste deep in umami flavour and not for the faith of heart. If you loose all self control and start rolling around your dinning room floor licking your plate, please, take photos and send them to Fondue Voodoo.

Warning: Adult Content

1 tsp Patum Peperium Gentleman's Relish
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp dill vinegar
    any herb vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp drilled dill
1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 cup Olive Oil

Whisk Patum Peperium Gentleman's Relish in the lemon and dill vinegar. 

Add the herbs and garlic

While whisking, slowly drizzle in the oliver oil - don't slow down, you don't want to have it break apart.
Dress salad lightly and garnish with good olives, tomatoes, and grate parma cheese on top. 

Salsa Roja - Red Hot Sauce

Guest post from Jar Head:

This past spring I posted Fondue Voodoo's take on Picante Verde. Today we reach out to the red devil with Salsa Roja.


It's a bonafied certified herbal tonic, proven to expectorate, exonerate and pontificate. It works on fleas, bees, peas, on your scabby knees and your sure to be pleased.

What you will need:

• 6 red peppers - we used thai red chilli's and cayenne that we grew
• 4-6 dryed mild fruitier peppers (we used gaujillo, pasilla and mulato) re-hydrated in hot water
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2-4 tsp salt
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup sugar
• 1.5 cups vinegar (used 50-50 mixture of white and rice)

Take all of the above ingredients and place in a blender and blend on high until you get a good smooth consistency. Depending on the heat level you may need to thin with more vinegar. Once satisfied with the result pour into bottles.  Dash on eggs, potatoes, on grilled cheese sammies, or between your toes to kill off any unwanted foot fungus. (note one of these statements may not be true.)