almost a foodie...

well... i should known not to buy chinese pastries from HBC

2008-08-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a rather blah morning - nothing horrendously horrible, but nothing particularly exciting either. Somehow I ended up at the Bay food counter on my daily lunch quest. Food is cheap, it's decent, and I was in the neighbourhood anyway. AND... they carry Dufflet's pastries... which is really cool when you're craving a decent sweet snack that isn't a chocolate bar from the corner convenience store.

Imagine my surprise as I perused today's offering and saw... OMG... CHINESE BUNS! The ULTIMATE lunch food of my childhood (or cold, lumpy mac and cheese). So I had to buy one. BBQ pork the sign said.

One bite in and alas, I should have known better than to buy chinese buns from HBC. T'was not BBQ pork to be had... but rather, some type of curried meat... could be chicken, could be pork. All taste same.

it ain't pretty...

2008-02-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

This is my New Year fish. I have no idea what it is called in English. In Chinese, it is called "lang yu" and I only get to have it once a year - at Chinese New Year. I believe it's imported from China, but since I have no idea what it's called, I can't Google anything about it. My grandmother makes it every year on New Year's eve, but we have to wait until the New Year to eat it - old superstition about how abundance (Chinese word sounds like the word for fish) in the old year will lead into abundance in the new year.

It's an extremely boney little sucker. The bones are extremely sharp and are forked, so swallowing one could be really uncomfortable. It takes a lot of patience (and a lot of silence) to eat one of these properly. Pan fried with just a bit of light soy... yum... my fav.

what do you get when you take two of my favourite things and put them together???

2008-02-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

CADBURY CREME EGG COOKIES!!!!!!

Step one:

Freeze the creme eggs.

Step two:

Chop up the creme eggs. Lick fingers.

Step three:

Mix up batch of your favourite chocolate chip cookies. Stick on a piece of frozen creme egg. Bake until done.

Step four:

Enjoy with a big glass of milk.

After thought... sweet... super sweet cookie. The sticky fondant melted and formed a nice crusty layer on some of the cookies. But the effect was inconsistent (but still tasty). The Cadbury milk chocolate never melted as I thought it would, so some of the creme egg filling was left behind and hardened nicely.

Not sure if I would repeat this recipe, but I did have to "taste test" a whole bunch of them to decide whether or not I liked the cookies. ;)

cooking for one can be fun...

2008-01-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

As much as I love to cook, cooking for one is a really big pain in the ass. There are always leftovers to contend with and sometimes freezing said leftovers isn't a viable option. (I refer you to the infamous freezer incident of 2006.)

My self-restraint at portion control is nonexistant and because I tend to want to use up all my ingredients (i.e. say the WHOLE bulb of fennel instead of HALF the bulb of fennel), I tend to make much, much more than the recipe promises. I have authority issues. Following directions is extremely difficult for me. And I pay for it by having to eat the same thing day after day for about a week. Not an ideal situation in my world.

Last week, I took advantage of having the kitchen to myself (FINALLY!!) and cooked up a storm - mushroom strudel, homemade red wine vinaigrette, bouillabaisse with fresh, crispy (store-bought) baguettes. My friends and I went to town, gorged ourselves silly and in the end, there was still had a ton of leftovers. But the leftovers were so good the next day... and the day after... and the day after that.

bouillabaisse schmassion style

INGREDIENTS

1 small bulb of fennel - diced (reserve fronds)
1 - 1.5 cup chopped onions
couple of cloves minced garlic
1 - 1.5 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 lb or so of small white potatoes - cubed 1"
2 - 3lbs of seafood (cubed salmon, mussels, clams, scallops, etc.)
0.5 cups white wine
stock (chicken or fish or both)
a few good splashes of gin/annisette etc
salt & pepper to taste
2 sprigs of thyme
hot chili pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat up some oil in a large pot. Throw in garlic, onions, fennel and cook until soft. Deglaze with the white wine. Add tomatoes, cook some more. Splash in some gin/annisette etc, cook a couple of minutes and throw in potatoes, fennel fronds, stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender. Throw in thyme and the whole chili pepper (optional, for spicier, cut open and throw in deseeded pepper... pepper seeds can be nasty).

Here's where you have options.

If you don't have perpetually late friends (unlike me), gently slide your seafood into the soup. I kid. Just throw it in according to size and required cooking time. Simmer until seafood is done, remove thyme and chili pepper, season and serve.

If you have perpetually late friends, simmer the soup until they get there. Bitch about it when they get there, and maybe drink the rest of the bottle of white wine while you wait. Depending on how late your friends are, you might want to pour in more stock or wine if your soup base has simmered away. Bring to a boil, throw in seafood as above.

Feeds a party of 6 with 4 days of leftovers for 1.

And for dessert on Day 4 of leftovers... swirly choco chip cookies... YUM!

smushy mushies... on ice...

2008-01-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, my sister has loved mochi balls. Maybe it's a soft texture thing, because she also loves mashed potatoes, baby beef rice, chicken and cream of corn on rice and a whole bunch of things she doesn't really have to chew...

The first time that she had mochi ice cream (have I ever mentioned before that ice cream is a breakfast food in this house?), she went positively ape$hit. No one was allowed to touch any of the mochi ice cream that was in the freezer. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but that was the extent of her love for the cold little treat.

So when I saw the recipe in the Nobu cookbook, I knew it was a must try. I went to J-town, bought some mochi flour (which is really hard considering that A) I don't read Japanese, and B) I didn't realize that mochi flour and rice flour were the same thing) and set out to make this seemingly easy dish.

Yeah right.

Nobu's recipe has a wee misprint, methinks. It calls for 30 sec of microwaving the mochi, sugar, water mix and then vigorous "beating" of the paste with a wooden spoon, upon which the paste was supposed to get thick and elastic-y. Repeat 3x. Well, I microwaved for the requisite 30 seconds, beat the liquid (with the consistency of very, very thin white glue) vigorously for neigh on 10 minutes, and NOTHING HAPPENED. Repeat 5 x.

It wasn't until I googled mochi ice cream that I found out that the microwaving is supposed to cook the mochi flour, sugar, water mixture, so that it really DOES become thick and elastic-y... and instead of microwaving for 30 sec like the book says, I was actually supposed to microwave it for at least 1.5 minutes.

Big difference.

Once I found out, I was no longer splashing around in sweet flour water. I actually had a super sticky dough that I could kinda work with (with the help of A LOT of cornstarch).

At the end of the night, I was covered from head to toe with mochi remnants, but I also had some amateurishly shaped yet pretty darn tasty mochi ice cream. I don't claim the recipe to be a complete success, but it's a start and I'll definitely try it again the next time Sista comes home for a visit.

and then what?

2007-12-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

What sucks most about spending a whole day baking endless batches of cookies, is not having any decent ones left at the end of the day.

Now I'm going to have to spend another day doing it all over again. I hate Christmas.

cross post because this one really rocked

2007-12-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

I had a lot of fun making this cake and I'm pretty damn happy about the way it turned out. Next time, the body will get a little more shaping, but hey, I was hungover from monkeyco Christmas party and didn't even feel like baking.

Now taking orders.

mimolette… a cheese of cannonballic proportions

2007-11-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

Cheese is the food that I crave on a daily basis. Even if it’s just a nanosecond of the day, the desire for the luscious milky goodness of cheese is intense.

My foray into the world of cheese did not begin at an early age. I grew up on Mini Baby Bels and Kraft Singles donuts – a slice of Kraft Singles folded neatly in half, a bite taken out of the middle of the fold, and unfolded to get a toothy hole in the middle of the orange square. It wasn’t until my early teens that I experienced anything other than mozzarella, cheddar and the occasional piece of edam. A small wedge of camembert at a monastery lunch and I’ve been hooked every since.

Mimolette (or “Boule de Lille”) caught my eye during Tuesday’s lunchtime trip to the market. Frankly put, it looks like a cantaloupe. The outside rind is a textured, pockmarked beige-brown while the hard cheese on the inside is a bright carrot orange. I asked for a taste and then… WOW. Blown away.

It is a cheese that crumbles and melts away slowly in your mouth. There is a buttery, salty nuttiness to the flavour but also a hint of something fruity or perfumey; maybe even a touch of caramel if you think about it hard enough. The finish is clean with no lingering cheesy memories on your breath (note to self: good date cheese!).

where: chris’ cheesemongers (st. lawrence market)
caveat: $$ at $63/kg, it's not cheap! yikes!

la maquette

2007-11-21T18:56:00.000-08:00

wild mushroom strudel in a spinach and leek cream sauce

La Maquette is supposedly the city's most romantic restaurant. I can see how one might think that if one was sitting on the patio on a warm summer day watching freshly married people walk out of St. James Cathedral, but the inside decor is heavy and stuffy and feels somewhat like a slightly dated Woodbridge fine dining establishment.

chilean sea bass on basmati rice

The food is french influenced and surprisingly inconsistent for such a highly touted restaurant. The highlight of the meal (and the only thing really worth talking about) is the wild mushroom strudel appetizer. Surprisingly rich in texture and flavour, the strudel pastry was tender, flakey and melted quickly on the tongue. The wild mushrooms were well seasoned (no bland mushrooms here) with a depth that was enhanced by the slight sweetness of the spinach and leek sauce.

While I can't see myself making a special trip to King East for any of the entrees that we ordered(chilean sea bass, duet of organic chicken and foie gras terrine, and duck confit), I look forward to a pre-theater or people watching afternoon with the musroom strudel and a glass of wine (or two).

where: 111 king st. east

rhymes with orange

2007-11-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

2 weeks of tangerine obsession... culminates in... failure...

Some things are better when you dream about them, and not when you try to bring it into reality.

bar burrito... the one that almost did me in

2007-11-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

I suppose I've been lucky thus far. Everyone has had a bad burrito adventure, but I've remained relatively unscathed. Until today - Bar Burrito. On Yonge, just north of Sheppard. It's big, it's clean, it's just not too good.

I should have clued in when I ordered. The fish would take 10 - 15 minutes, the steak and chicken mixes were already ready. The dog was tied up outside, I didn't want to wait, so a chicken and steak mix it would have to be.

My whole wheat tortilla went into the warmer, came out of the warmer, and the girl began slopping on random spoonfuls. My toppings came next - everything no green peppers, jalapenos are ok. Sauces good.

My next clue should have been when she wrapped the tortilla a little too hard and mushy rice and beans started showing through. She looked at it for a split second longer than she should have while deciding whether or not she should start the process over, decided not to, and plopped the monstrosity onto the grill. Great. Nice work ethic there, chick.

But I was feeling a little passive agressive. It was my first time at Bar Burrito, and I kinda knew that there would be a high possibility that I'd be blogging about it, and hey, it's the total experience that matters and not just the food itself. I grabbed my haphazardly wrapped up burrito and left expecting to return home with a pocketful of leaky burrito juice.

Up until that point, I hadn't been particularly impressed. The concept was a ripoff of another well known, established burrito joint downtown. At home, when I unwrapped my burrito, I thought the tides had turned. My meal hadn't leaked, the integrity of the tortilla was still intact, and minimal amounts of rice and beans had fallen out. Good sign.

Two bites in, I changed my mind again. Suddenly, my tongue was going to swell up in my mouth and death was imminently possible. I can take a lot of spice, but this was ridiculous. Maybe I had been slightly over ambitious when I asked her for hot sauce, but then again, who would have expected that they slice their jalapenos into half inch slices. Half inch slices... more than a centimeter of jalapeno in one bite. What the hell was the lazy ass dude with a knife thinking? Maybe I should go after them for attempted murder.

Things never got better beyond that point. The steak and the chicken were virtually indistinguishable from each other. Both were tough and tasted exactly the same to my pepper seared palate. And somehow, when I dissected the burrito to remove the offending jalapenos, I found three random corn kernels that didn't reappear anywhere else in my meal. Scary, but interesting... my Bar Burrito experience ended there.

I had been curious about this place for a while. Some people had raved about it, saying that they were going for twice-weekly burrito fixes. I have absolutely no idea what they were thinking - Burrito Boyz of the north, this is definitely not.

in search of the perfect poutine...

2007-11-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

Poutine is the quintessential Canadian comfort food. French fries topped with cheese curds, covered with hot gravy, it satisfies like nothing else after a long, cold day on snow covered slopes or a happily sloppy night of bar hopping.

For many, the classic version of cheese curds and chicken gravy is holy, and should not be messed with. Bah humbug to the purist. Insisting on only a classic poutine and no other is like insisting on a cheese pizza only, or only sleeping on white cotton sheets. BORING. But for others (myself included), it is the lure of the satin sheets and the temptation of the variations that draws us out to the latest and greatest roadside truck, fry stand or wayside diner.

Everyone these days has a version of poutine - fast food chains and even four star restaurants - but what is it that makes a good poutine? It's a simple combination. Fries. Cheese. Gravy. In that order. Nothing special just an ooey gooey mess. Right? Wrong.

It's like saying that all pizza is the same - that the crust doesn't matter, the acidity and sweetness of the sauce doesn't matter, nor does the quality of the toppings, or even what kind of toppings are used. Fries are not just fries. Cheese is not just cheese and gravy is not just brown sauce that has been reheated in the microwave.

The key to a good poutine is the fries. Fries must be crispy and not soggy, medium cut - not thin like shoestrings, and not thick like homefries - and heaven forbid if there is a coating or flavouring of any kind except for salt. Oh, and they should be twice fried, if possible, so the gravy does not soak through as quickly and render the dish into a soggy mess.

Then bring on everything else - the squeaky fresh cheese curds, foie gras, the horse fat fries, the twice fried fries, the chicken gravy, the pasta sauce (for the Italian version), the Montreal smoked meat, feta cheese, American cheese, etc etc. Combinations are endless, but all worth a try.

personal rave: "dirty fries" - greek fry poutine with meat
where: alexandro at the food of qq & yonge

1 cake, 2 cake, 3 cake... i bake

2007-08-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

I'm always a little trepidatious when it comes to trying new cake recipes. I like using the tried and true, whether it be for taste or texture, and don't tend to vary from the usual vanilla or chocolate. But my repetoire is getting a little narrow. Sure, I can decorate like a fiend, but I'd love for my cakes to taste amazing as well. It's not enough that they LOOK good, but they have to TASTE good, too.

But here's my dirty little secret.

I. DON'T. LIKE. CAKE.

If I can help it, I don't eat cake. I'm not crazy about sweets in particular (some exceptions may apply... i.e. pie), and cake has got to be on the bottom of the list of things I'd willingly put into my mouth.

There's no rhyme or reason behind my dislike. I just don't. I used to like cake. I don't anymore.

So when I bake a cake, I try a piece to check that I didn't inadvertently use salt instead of sugar and baking powder instead of baking soda, that's about it. I rely on everyone else around me to tell me if it tastes good (or bad). But like everyone else, I'm finding that people's opinions vary from night and day. There's the "too sweet" people and the "too rich" people to the "not chocolatey enough" people and the "omg, this is the best damned thing I've ever eaten" people. Thus, it's really hard for me to judge what recipe is worthy of repeating.

Today, I tried a new recipe for chocolate mud cake that I have been eyeing for a few weeks now. At first, I was intrigued by the white chocolate version, but hey, I don't like white chocolate very much, and Wednesday's birthday boy is apparently a chocolate fan. Done.

Only, halfway through the baking process I got distracted by something on television and forgot to add some ingredients. Key ingredients such as SUGAR and COCOA POWDER (oh my!). And me being forgetful me, I didn't double check the recipe and popped the whole thing into the oven at 160 degrees C. Whoops.

An hour and a bit later, the kitchen smelled heavenly. Aroma de chocolat filled the air and everyone else's taste buds were watering. The cake smelled fantastic... and tasted... not bad.

It was more of a dark chocolate souffle. Very light and airy and not sweet at all. It would have been a perfect recipe for a molten lava cake, and amazing if paired with ice cream and a light drizzle of raspberry coulis.

So what am I saying with all this? Nothing really. Only that sometimes accidents are a good thing.

Oh, and btw, I made another cake following the recipe to the "T" that somehow, it doesn't seem quite as good. But we'll let the birthday boy be the judge of that recipe.

a taste of liquid sunshine

2007-08-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

There is nothing close to the experience of sipping Pernod on a patio in the summertime. The pastis is light and incredibly refreshing, tasting faintly of anise and unlike a lot of cocktails, not too sweet. A simple squeeze of lemon enhances the aromas and opens up the flavours of the drink, giving it a depth that others come close to having, but don't.

The happy, sunny yellow colour of the drink is characteristic of this particular spirit. It pours clear out of the bottle, and turns milky-opaque when water (or ice) is added.

Which is very important to know.

Because, if say, one was sitting on the patio at jump and orders a Pernod with water and lemon, and receives something that is more of a milky beige than a sunny yellow, one would know that it is not Pernod and that the bartender is trying to pull the wool over one's eyes by substituting Ricard. Which does, by the way, taste different and has a stronger lingering licorice-like finish with none of the floral notes of Pernod.

(note to bartender... don't do it again)

Finding it in Toronto patios and bars is still a little difficult - demand and supply and the fact that marketing efforts seem to be concentrated in Quebec (aging French ex-pat target market and all that jazz). If you do manage to find it, prices will vary from the amazing value for money $4.55 at jump to a not so wallet friendly $10-something at the middle-management-convention filled louge at the hotel on Front St. across from Lone Star.

(see how far I'll go to avoid mentioning the name of that place...)

Word of caution. Pernod is definitely not the drink for everyone - some people find the anise flavour off-putting. And while I'm usually a card carrying member of the licorice haters party and really truly do think that the flavour of black licorice in anything is just plain icky, the mildness of the Pernod is strangely appealing... especially with that squeeze of lemon.

strawberry experiment #1

2007-08-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I just sit at my desk thinking about food. Usually this happens just before lunch (when I'm hungry), or around 3pm (when I'm sleepy). Yesterday I wanted to make a strawberry white chocolate chip cookie, i.e. take your classic chocolate chip cookie, use white chocolate chips, and instead of raisins (or whatever) use dried strawberries.

Sounds fab, no?

Alas, it wasn't to be. No one at the Bayview Village Loblaws has even heard of dried strawberries, and me being lazy, it being kinda late by the time I got there, I didn't feel like driving all over town looking for something that may be not be readily available. So I improvised instead. Not bad. Next time, though, I might add a little more strawberry puree and perhaps not bake it for so long.

Of course, the wicked strawberry mojito may be why I lost track of time.

strawberry white chocolate chip cookies

INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup mashed strawberries (drained of juice)
mint leaves
1 oz Havana Club
soda water
juice of 1/2 lime
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Mash strawberries and drain out most of the juice.
2. In a tall glass, muddle together strawberry juice, mint leaves, and lime juice. Add Havana Club, and top with soda water. Sugar to taste, garnish with a sprig of mint if you want to get fancy.
3. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
4. Cream together sugar and butter. I like to do white sugar first, and then brown sugar.
5. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
6. Beat in egg and vanilla.
7. Phew... that was hard work... take a long sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
8. Stir in strawberry puree.
9. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
11. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
12. Slowly add dry mix to wet, stir until almost incorporated
13. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
14. Stir in white chocolate chips.
15. Spoon onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
16. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 11-13 minutes, or until cookie looks almost done.
17. Make another wicked strawberry mojito.
18. Remove cookies from oven, and let sit for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

a la eminger... courtesy of foodporn (aka foodtv)

2007-06-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

I saw it on foodporn, and I had to try it. Eminger Berries down south somewhere does an amazingly scrumptious version of a chocolate covered strawberry. Chocolate and strawberries... not new. Strawberries and cheesecake... definitely not new. Throw all three together, and you've got everyone lining up at your door begging for more.

cheesecake stuffed strawberries

INGREDIENTS
Freshly baked cheesecake, mushed into a paste of sorts
Strawberries
Dark chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut the ends off the strawberries.
2. Take a small ball of the cheesecake mush and mold it to the end of a strawberry.
3. Shape cheesecake using the palm of your hand.
4. Dip strawberry in chocolate.

Easy peesy, no?

pearl on the waterfront...

2007-06-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, weekends were always about food. Early morning memories are filled with all the women sitting around the kitchen table making rice dumplings for various festivals, while the younger generation squished out pot sticker wrappers with tortilla presses. Giant pots of congee sat on the stove, simmering away while everyone gossipped and chatted away.

What I always loved most, though, was dim sum. Early morning or late afternoon, dim sum was always an occasion where family would get together. People dropped by when they could, have a few nibbles and a cup of tea, and then depart for the next piano lesson or badminton tournament. Inevitably, there was always an extended family member or friend of the family to bump into, and a lot of catching up to be done.

The wonderful thing about living in Toronto is the abundance and variety of dim sum that can be found. Though only a handful of restaurants can lay claim to being truly authentic, it's that neverending search for that perfect quintessential dish that keeps one coming back for more.

where: pearl, queens quay terminal

personal raves: char sui sow, fung jow, eggtarts

xacutti... always a good thing

2007-06-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

bombay scrambled eggs

egg white frittata

mango and blueberry pancakes

where: xacutti
next time: super cheesy french toast

you heard it here first...

2007-05-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

neopolitan

Equal parts Carolans, Frangelico, Amaretto... and a splash of strawberry juice.

Tastes just like the ice cream.

yum.

it's all about the secret sauce

2007-04-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

schmassion's costa rican version of a mexican black bean and corn salad

INGREDIENTS
corn
black beans, cooked but not mushy
tomatoe, diced
cilantro, shredded
lizano
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Throw everything together.
2. Mix well.
3. Add salt and pepper and lizano to taste.
4. Let it sit for a bit.
5. Serve.

where was my camera when i needed it?!

2007-03-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

Like a bad little almost-foodblogger, I forgot to take pictures of the many, many amazing meals that we had in Hawaii. Our exuberance for the food overtook us, and never was there enough time to snap a quick pix before all the morsels had disappeared. We tried everything from crack seed to poke to seaweed musabi. The only thing I could not bring myself to eat was spam. I hate spam.

I could recap every single meal, but for pure laziness sake, I'll leave you with the top three... none of which I have pictures of. Instead, the pictures you see sprinkled throughout are ahi poke with fresh seaweed (Lahaina), baby green salad with a vanilla vinaigrette (Hana Hotel) and pumpkin soup (Hana Hotel).

1. Mama's Fish House (Pa'ia, Maui)

We went for the Sista's birthday on her last night in Hawaii. The beachfront restaurant with it's tiki torch lined walkways is romantic (too bad for us), but while the ambiance is great, the food is even better. The fish is incredibly fresh with the name of the fisherman and the boat on the menu du jour... opah, ono, mahi-mahi, a'u, ahi... all caught the same day. Can you imagine? I love fish... I was in heaven!

The ahi, mahi-mahi and opah panang curry was one of the best curries I've ever had. Rich, but light (how is that even possible?!), accompanied by a banana and mango salsa, it was an amazing blend of asian and Hawaiian flavours.

If only I could find something like Mama's at home.

2. Blue Shrimp and Seafood Co (Honolulu, Oahu)

Street food at it's best. Actually, more truck food than street food. The Blue Shrimp and Seafood Co. is permanently parked in a parking lot just off Kuhio Ave. We went on recommendation from the limo driver that drove us down from Diamond Head Crater when the maternal one refused to walk back to Waikiki.

The sesame encrusted ahi salad was fabulous...a giant piece of nicely grilled ahi (enough for two people!) on top of a greek salad lightly sprinkled with feta. If I hadn't been so full (of ahi and russian snow crab legs), I would have definitely tried to back for seconds!

Hands down for best street food.

3. Tiki's Grill and Bar (Waikiki, Oahu)

Two words... taro bread. Honestly, that pretty much did it for me. The rolls were warm and fluffy, tinged with the slightly purple hue of taro, and tasted heavenly with the banana butter that accompanied it.

Also good was their version of sangria. Who doesn't love pineapple wine? Especially pineapple wine with mango. Yum.

Go there. Better than Duke's.

sweet seduction

2007-02-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

I’m late to this bandwagon. I’d been hearing about the Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz since the summer, but wanted to muddle through my existing bottles of red before adding to my growing “collection” of alcoholic bevies.

Silly me.

By the time I was ready it was nowhere to be found. LCBO stores across the province were sold out, what few cases that remained (in Sudbury) were on hold. I tried almost everything to get my grubby little hands on a bottle. I tried all of my various hookups… I even tried namedropping.

Nada.

Finally last weekend, I managed to score two bottles. At $17 a pop, it was one of the best wines I’ve had in a very, very long time (the last one being a gold label Ruffino 1999?? I forget…).

Smokey, spicy, a little blackberry, a wisp of vanilla; there is a recognizable depth to it and smoothness like you wouldn’t believe. Ok. I’m exaggerating. I’m not really a wine connoisseur, but I know what I like. This, I like… a lot.

Go forth and hunt, my friends, go forth and hunt.

where: your local LCBO…

when: next shipment reaches land in about 2 weeks… be patient…

sweet nothings

2007-02-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to learn how to blow glass. As children, we'd get dropped off at Harbourfront and left to wander the artist studios for hours upon hours. I loved the burning heat of the glass studio, and was facinated by the way the glassblowers would turn glowing orbs of molten glass into free flowing pieces of suspended whimsy.

Learning how to blow sugar is so much better. Not only does one have a similar ability to create something out of apparently nothing, but it tastes amazing as well.

I came out of the workshop with two scorched thumbs and a whole lot of ambition.

Inspiration has struck, and I know what what I want to do. Now, I only need to go to Home Depot for a blow torch and a heat lamp... and to the grocery store for a whole lotta sugar.

where: Bonnie Gordon sugarworks workshop...

lesson learned

2007-02-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

If you leave cupcakes outside on the balcony, make sure you keep an eye out for squirrels, m'kay?

princess buttercup

2007-01-28T22:31:00.000-08:00

I used to think that it didn't matter what was inside the cake so long as the outside looked good.

I was so wrong... so very, very wrong...

On the other hand, if you use enough buttercream, you can hide practically anything.

chocolate buttermilk, yellow cake and swiss meringue buttercream

hangover sandwich extraordinaire

2007-01-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

If ever in Pittsburgh, definitely make it a point to stop by Primanti Bros for the world's best hangover cure. There's nothing like grilled meat, cheese, fries, coleslaw and a whole lotta goodies slapped between two pieces of soft, chewy Italian bread after a good night of drinking. Washed down with a cold, cold glass of Coke and a couple of Advil's, one almost feels human enough to partake in a marathon Grove City shopping excursion...

My kolbassa and cheese was almost as good as that late night hamburger sandwich from a truck somewhere in Nimes, France - the one we had to go back to the next day and almost missed the train to Paris. And if memory services, I think there were fries in that one, too... trend?

where: market square

chocolate shiraz... part 2...

2007-01-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

I make these only because of the intoxicating smell of chocolate and wine that hits me when I open the oven door. It makes my toes tingle.

The cupcakes taste pretty damn good too, but that's just a bonus.

[This time stuffed with whipped cream (easy peesy thanks to my new apple corer), dipped in chocolate ganache, and topped with more whipped cream and a sprinkle of dried cherries...]

morning mates

2006-11-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Imagine... a bagel and a package of jam all in one handy-dandy package. Hell, don't even bother imagining it. It's a complete waste of your time.

What the heck was Dempster's thinking about when they put out this "innovation"? A bagel can be bought (freshly toasted, might I add) on practically any street corner of the city. Why would I need to buy one that's been sitting on the shelves for a few weeks, packed full of preservatives, and probably stale for that matter?

(Note: no one has dared to open the package as yet.)

It's great and all that they were handing them out at Union Station today, but really, the only people that should be in line for this are the people who can't afford to buy food, and even then, they'll get a better meal at the nearest soup kitchen.

Watch out for these at your neighbourhood grocery store. Watch them flop, and watch Dempster's parent (Maple Leaf foods) take a beating in their next quarter results.

Imagine that.

using up the leftovers

2006-11-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Lemon lime meringue, using up the leftover lime curd and egg whites from the weekend. Not quite as good as the others because I ran out of the lime curd, but devoured really quickly nonetheless.

Conclusion: More lime curd = better cupcakes = more raves

indulgence

2006-11-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

I'm a little hard pressed to say which one of this weekend's cupcake experiments turned out better. Cupcake A is a remake of a blueberry lime curd cake (sans blueberry) that I tried a couple weeks ago and bombed. Cupcake B is a decadent chocolate shiraz that I pulled out of a book and altered slightly.

Cupcake A, according to the cousins and the cousins' beaus, is absolutely fabulous and the best cupcake they've ever had. The cake is airy and light, and the tang of the lime curd filling is perfectly complemented by the whip cream frosting.

Cupcake B, (not yet tested by anyone other than myself at the moment) is smooth and chocolately and absolutely decadent, with the fullest hint of the shiraz that was used. Chocolate AND wine... can there be anything better? I think not. Only downer is the super-sweet water icing. I wanted it to look a certain way, but I think I'm going to have to tweak the icing a bit when I do this again. The taste of the shiraz gets a little lost amongst the flavour of pure sweetness. Still, the cake itself is amazing... and, it's pretty.

what a waste of cuteness!

2006-11-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

So incredibly easy to make, I can't believe people actually charge $0.75 a piece! Nothing more than royal icing and a little colour, piped onto parchment paper and then stuck onto a sugarcube.

I love the effect, and want to make a lot more, only I don't know what to do with them once I've made them. Do people really eat them? Put them into their tea or coffee?

Maybe I should take orders... $0.50 a sugarcube... it's a bargain! Anyone?

cupcake math for the geek in me

2006-11-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

+

=

&

rambutan

2006-11-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's taken me almost 30 years to try a Rambutan. Actually, I'm sure I've tried it sometime in a prior life, but I brushed it aside as a "meh" and then quickly forgot about it.

Rambutan has the texture of a Longan or a Mamoncillo (spanish lime), meaning that the flesh of the fruit is a lot more firm and chewy than a Lichee. It also means that it's a lot more work to eat one. It has a slightly more citrusy flavour and none of the tonguebiting aftertaste of the Longan... bonus.

The spiky spines are somewhat intimidating at first, but they're actually kind of soft and pose no harm when you grasp the fruit and crack it open to reveal the shiny eyeball-looking fruit inside. Eat the flesh, not the seed. I was told the seed was bitter, so I took a bite (spat it out). Found out later that it's poisonous. Whoops.

Still not a rave. More of a "meh." Nothing that I would crave and make a special trip to buy. But then again, I don't really like Longans either. It's a texture thing.

the-bear-that-walks-like-this...

2006-11-01T16:10:00.000-08:00

The meaning behind the name of this Russian confectionary was more entertaining than the candy itself. Actually, the motions of the woman who was trying to tell me how the bear walked was more entertaining than the name of the candy.

It's a cross between a Coffee Crisp and a Bounty with nary a hint of coconut. Slightly creamy with a dark chocolate outside, it's not too bad if you're looking for a chocolate that's not too sweet. Too bad it's got that slightly chewy wafer in it that reminds me of a stale Kit Kat. Otherwise, I'd be all over that Russian teddy bear.

just because it's halloween...

2006-11-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

... doesn't mean you can try to kill us.

Tastes like pumpkin flavoured sugar with a strange stale cookie crunch. Feels like you're biting into a mouthful of plasticine. The orange icing looks a lot like plasticine.

'nuff said.

Hurts me that I bought one when they were giving them away free at the counter.

cafe supreme...at yonge and queen

2006-11-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

Smoked salmon and cream cheese in a whole wheat grilled pita, stuffed with just enough capers, sweet onions and black olives. Accompanied by a side of sun-dried tomatoe couscous, and a spicy asian slaw.

For under $10.

What the heck took me so long to try this place?!

Their sandwiches look amazing and their soups are better than the run-of-the-mill-fresh-out-of-the-can type that everywhere else in the vacinity offers.

Henceforth known as my new go-to place near the office (besides the Victoria St. diner, of course).

where: SW corner of Queen and Victoria, just nestled behind 1 Queen St E.

too much of a good thing

2006-11-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

I love these little roasted crabs. I really do. But after you've played with one for a while, and posed it for pictures, it just doesn't feel right to eat it anymore.

It's just too damn cute.

where: Galleria Supermarket

tastes like crap, but comes with a SPORK

2006-10-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

Ramen. Gotta love it.

Chef Woo^TM. Gotta hate it.

Baked, not fried (chant with me, people...ohm...), the baking process seems to have taken out all the taste and comfort of good ol' fashioned ramen noodles. All that's left is the msg "chicken" (aka salt) flavoured broth, a lot of dehydrated/rehydrated carrots that make it look healthier than it really is, and noodles that never get beyond chewy. Two bites of noodle, and a bit of broth was all I could muster.

At 190 calories for half a bowl, it's a waste of calories. Give me half a pack of Nong Shim^TM Shinramyun instead and I'm much better off. It's a few more calories and probably a lot more grams of fat, but definitely worth the extra 15 minutes on the treadmill.

Someone warned me once about these. Maybe I should have listened.

Only redeeming factor: comes with a spork... and sporks are cool

pom pom madness

2006-10-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Variation on a pom-pom theme

INGREDIENTS
pomegranate seeds
3-4 mint sprigs
1-2 tsp sugar
juice of half a lime
1 oz Stoli Razz
champagne

DIRECTIONS
1. muddle mint, sugar, lime (blah blah... )
2. add Stoli Razz, "juice" from muddled mixture and pomegranate seeds into a champagne flute
3. top with champagne
4. garnish with a mint sprig (if you want to get all fancy schmancy)

Pomegranate seeds will rise and fall with the champagne bubbles. For more pomegranate taste, add in a bit of fresh pom juice.

i'm going to iron chef yo' ass!

2006-10-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's because we have nothing better to do. Most times, it's just a ton of fun to get together and cook up a storm.

Today, IronChefBBQ vs. IronChefPaprika, in a rematch 10 years in the making.

Secret ingredient... pomegranates...

Pomegranate Stew with Chicken (Khoresh Fesenjan)*

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken legs, cut up
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound walnuts, toasted and finely ground in a food processor
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
2 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken and onions in skillet, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in pureed walnuts, salt, pomegranate juice, and cardamom. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (If the sauce becomes too thick, stir in 1/4 cup warm water.) Mix in sugar, adjust seasoning, and simmer 30 minutes more.

"Chicken, onions, finely processed walnuts, and pomegranate juice are simmered to perfection. The sauce should be as thick as a good chili. Serve with saffron steamed basmati rice. Enjoy! If you prefer, substitute angelica powder for cardamom; instead of pomegranate juice, you can substitute 1/2 cup pomegranate paste diluted in 2 cups water."

Original recipe yield: 6 servings

PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 2 Hrs 30 Min
READY IN 2 Hrs 45 Min

*recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

this girl loves her street meat... korean styles...

2006-10-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

Soondae aka Korean Sausage.

Discovered quite accidentally while looking for pork bone soup in North York, this tasty treat has become one of my craving staples! Made with vermicelli, green onion, garlic, rice, minced pork, and a host of other things you probably don't want to know about, soondae is a Korean street vendor favourite.

The sausage is steamed, sliced and typically comes accompanied by steamed lung and liver slices. No such luck here. The soondae I ordered was served on its own with a nice little dipping side of spice and salt. The crunchy salt grains contrast nicely with the tenderness of the sausage while the chili provides a tiny kick to enhance the subtle flavour of the soondae.

And darned it, if I could remember what hole-in-the-wall restaurant served it in the first place, I wouldn't have had to crave it for the past six months. But thankfully, I found out that Galleria makes it's own... fresh! I bought some this morning (still warm), and piglet that I am, it's already been devoured.

congee, you make everything better...

2006-10-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than a hot bowl of congee on a cold fall day. The salty warmth of the thick rice porridge is enough to sooth even the most savage of moods.

Every spoonful brings back memories of a childhood long past and of Sunday lunches filled with family, laughter and happiness.

Ladened with salted pork, conpoy and thousand-year-old-egg, every bite is wonderful and leaves you wanting more. Alas, my stomach can only hold so much...

Best: Mom's homemade
Second Best: Congee Wong

Everyone's interpretation of congee is different and it is very much subject to taste. Meats vary, fillings vary. Some places make the porridge thicker, some a little more soupy with the rice boiled down to almost nothing. Chiu Chow style looks like boiled rice water with nearly whole grain rice and little bits of meat or veggies.

Me, I like mine a little more soupy and salty than the rest of my family, so I find Congee Wong perfect to suit my congee needs... whenever I can't get homemade, that is.

My Flav Raves: salted pork with 1000yr-old-egg, chicken & duck with a raw egg, white fish & pig jello

egad... yet another food blog...

2006-10-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

I love food, and I live to eat good food.

I don’t consider myself a foodie or even a chowhound. I don’t eschew fast food, nor do I let the critics tell me where to eat. I might let them guide me once in a while, but often times, they are wrong.

I let my cravings dictate my meals, and my meals dictate my life.

I don’t profess to be a “normal” eater and love that I have a reputation for delighting in the unusual. I’ve been known to eat pork jerky for breakfast, and snack on nori throughout the afternoon. Growing up, my mother used to give us ice-cream for breakfast.

It’s never been a question of what will I eat, more one of what won’t I eat.

I will try everything twice… even if I hated it the first time...