Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Do you remember the first thing you and your significant other ate together?

Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Think back - in any of your relationships, current or past, do you remember the first thing you and your significant other ate together?

Mark and I are coming up to six years this August since we began dating. We were set to meet each other in-person (we had chatted online, but never met) by the fountain at the Eaton's Centre and from there we were planning to go to the Chinese Lantern Festival. It was actually me who asked him on our first date because I didn't have any family or friends who were interested in coming to the festival and he seemed nice and we really enjoyed chatting to each other online, so what the heck - why not! Must say it was the best decision I've ever made! Upon meeting at the fountain, Mark surprised me with a lovely little bag of Monsieur Felix and Mr. Norton cookies which we munched on together while we rode the streetcar. I have a fond memory of that day, and also of those cookies - I had never had them before.


So when we heard from the folks at Monsieur Felix and Mr. Norton a couple weeks ago, we were thrilled because we hadn't really seen any of their storefronts in downtown Toronto anymore and we missed their soft, chewy cookies. We tried out their frozen cookie dough, available at Sobeys (check out this product locator to see exactly where you can get them). Actually, since you bake them yourselves, they work out to be cheaper than buying them from the storefront. There's also the convenience involved with having them on hand anytime, and you could tell the quality of the ingredients was good. They tasted exactly like the ones we remember (just make sure you don't overbake them).



I prefer the container packaging to the ubiquitous cookie dough tube packaging because the cookies are already pre-cut so there is no need to fuss with it.

The funniest part was all I wanted to do was eat the cookie dough, while Mark demanded continually that we bake cookies like normal human beings do :) I know eating cookie dough is not really considered safe and, as I recently learned, it's not necessarily the raw egg that can be an issue but it can also be the flour that poses a concern. As people in the comments of that article say, there are much riskier things we do everyday and the sheer joy we get from eating raw cookie dough is just something most of us are not willing to give up!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Specialty cheeses, local produce, and more: Longo's Taste Ontario, Taste the World event

Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Ever been to a grocery store where it's more of an experience than a chore to shop at? Longo's at 15 York St. is one of those. Highlights: the cozy seating area (and fireplace!) where you can eat food from the freshly prepared section (which I did recently when I had lunch with a friend), and Corks Wine Bar right inside the Longo's (yes, there's a wine bar inside where you can have a drink and a bite to eat). They have a great cheese section (believe they will order cheese in for you if they don't have what you want on hand) and carry some really interesting salts.

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We also visited the Longo's Loft for their Taste Ontario, Taste the World event, and with Chef Matt Kantor at the helm and Alexa Clark as our host, I knew the food and company would be good. I was not disappointed!

Matt's red curry with Ontario butternut squash was by far my favourite dish, and we also liked the Niagara Gold cheese that was served so much that we went back and bought a wedge (even though there was a free one in our media kit - we ate that in two seconds flat and needed MOAAAAAR! Ahem. More, I mean). Seriously good cheese, thank you Upper Canada Cheese Company! It was also a hit with friends who tried some when they came over later that week.

I have to give them major kudos on the wine and beer pairings with Matt's food - they were done by a very knowledgeable lady from Corks Wine Bar. A beer that I didn't really love on its own (Duggan's #9 India Pale Ale - not terrible by any means, and I think it's pretty cool that it's brewed over on Victoria St., but a bit bitter for my liking) was TRANSFORMED when I had it with the spicy red curry. We also had a killer late harvest Riesling (Cave Spring's Indian Summer Late Harvest Riesling 2009) which was, of course, not quite at icewine stage yet but was niiiiice and sweet. Yum!



Check it out if you're in the area - just wander the aisles and gawk at everything in complete wonderment like I tend to do whilst grocery shopping in a place like that! It's fun, and we all need to slow the hell down once in a while and smell the curry, so to speak. Try it, and look for Ontario meats and produce while you're at it!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Brassaii holiday menu

Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Recently we were able to preview Brassaii's holiday menu. The 7-course (or 9 if you count the seafood tower and soup) spread demonstrated the wide gastronomic repertoire of Chef Chris Kalisperas, complemented with tableside cocktails by resident mixologist Jordan Stacey and desserts by Pastry Chef, Mark Cheese.



Our table started off with a seafood tower featuring Nova Scotia lobster, Alaskan king crab, shrimp, and oysters

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The Amuse was Potato Leek Soup + whipped creme fraiche + caviar.
Keep in mind that some of the serving sizes in the photos below are smaller than individual portions you might order so that we could go through more items to sample.

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Course 1: Burrata
Roasted beets + endive + walnut vinaigrette + basil

The mozzarella was so moist, with a dreamy, creamy centre; it's softness texturally complemented by the beets.

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Course 2: Steak Tartare
housecut beef tenderloin + foie gras torchon + quail egg + pickled chanterelles + crostini

Some people are quite squeamish with the thought of eating raw meat, but this version of steak and egg was quite a treat. Oh and I love chanterelles!

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Course 3: Gnocchi
housemade pasta + lamb ragu + ricotta salata + mint

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Course 4: Scallops
Qualicom bay scallops + beluga lentils + Iberico chorizo + roasted pistachio vinaigrette

I'd have the crispy chorizo topped scallops over the bacon wrapped kind anytime.

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Course 5: Duck
roasted breast + confit leg + braised cabbage + leek puree + chestnuts + grape mostarda

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Course 6: Venison
peal barley + pomegranate + sweet potato

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Course 7: Black Forest
crunchy black forest gift box + cherry red wine sauce + pistachio ice cream

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Brassaii
461 King Street West Toronto, ON M5V 1K4
(416) 598-4730


Posted by: Mark Rodas

Monday, December 5, 2011

Gourmet Food and Wine Expo 2011

Monday, December 5, 2011
A couple of weeks ago we made our way down to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre South Building for the annual Gourmet Food & Wine Expo.

There we sampled delicious food and drink from all over the world including some paella, venison ribs and yummy desserts!
Our favourites were macarons from Ruelo Patisserie and petit fours from the Windsor Arms Hotel.

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A "Ruelo" (chocolate praline) and a "Fleur de Sel Caramel" macaron from Ruelo Patisserie


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petit fours from the Windsor Arms Hotel







Posted by: Mark Rodas

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Eat to the Beat - Celebrating female chefs and lending support for a good cause

Sunday, November 20, 2011
Eat to the Beat is a fabulous fundraiser for Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada - this was our second time attending. Over 60 female chefs hand out tasting samples from their restaurants while you listen to live music, participate in the silent auction, and enjoy the "corset art" being worn by women at the event (check the pictures, you'll see what we mean).

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First time we went to this, we had to sit in the park beside Roy Thomson Hall until we felt less full before we could get into a moving vehicle to get home! It was THAT good and we were THAT full! I'll never forget it. Mark and I just sat there laughing at how indulgent the evening was, and we had so enjoyed ourselves. One of my favourite memories for sure!

Food-wise, it was incredible again this year. These ladies know what they're doing, and we'll list a few standout chefs/items at the end of this post. Only thing I'd say is that the layout keeps you bouncing from sweet to savoury if you do what we did to cover the most ground, which is taste table after table in a straight line rather than perusing each table and picking and choosing appetizers, then soups, then hearty dishes, then dessert. The latter method, for us anyway, takes too much time (there is no way you'll get around to tasting everything anyway - time nor stomache room will allow it!). Might've been more sensible to the palate to organize them by savoury, sweet, and maybe even have the beverage vendors separate so it's more intuitive as to where you can go to get what. All those suggestions are just that - suggestions - the set-up still worked for us and we got around to most of the chefs.

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Some standouts:
  • Squash cheesecake from George
  • Woodbine Entertainment Group blew me away - I wasn't sure what I was expecting with their sweetbread and Berkshire pork stew with sundried cranberries and blueberries simmered in Colio Estates wine and served in a puff pastry voulovant, but I was BLOWN. AWAY. So delicious. Messy to eat, but a complete joy for my tastebuds!
  • Queen B Pastry's flourless/butterless chocolate walnut cookie served atop a little mini "shot glass" of milk - so clever and the cookie was delicious
  • East & Main Bistro's (Prince Edward County) braised Highland Beef and mushroom ravioli - The ravioli was good but the smoky tomato cream was the standout - it was unlike anything I'd tasted before and I had to say I liked the contrast of trying to make something as opposite as "cream" and "smoke" go together - it was cool and refreshing but very savoury and rich all at once
  • Khao San Road's Mae Hong Son Loong (Northern-style Thai meatballs served in a refreshingly-bright pomelo nest)
  • Our friend Vanessa Yeung did a "Chexican" (yes, Chinese Mexican!) take on little mini taco from Aphrodite Cooks
  • Our friend Preena Chauhan from Arvinda's did a healthier take on Indian street food Pav Bhaji



Also gotta love the array of crazy and amazing corsets on display! This is one of the best food fundraisers there is in Toronto, hands down. Always a good time for a good cause. I urge you guys to check it out one year.

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Chef Matt Kantor's Argentina

Thursday, September 22, 2011
Chef Matt Kantor's Little Kitchen hits the road. For 12 nights in 4 neighbourhoods, 12 people will enjoy 1 special menu. On the night we picked last week, Matt served up an Argentinian menu at La Merceria. Yummy photos below:

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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

La Soirée One Drop

Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Last Wednesday (September 7), Guy Laliberté's ONE DROP Project India hosted a dazzling benefit event at Cirque du Soleil's Tapis Rouge to create awareness of water issues in the poorest areas of India.

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RBC's president and CEO Gordon Nixon (left), and Guy Laliberté, chair of ONE DROP and Cirque du Soleil founder.

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Food and Beverage partners for the event included:

Banjara Indian Cuisine, Chocola Chocola, L’Auberge sur la route, Blowfish Restaurant, King West Kitchen, Spectrum, Ernest & Julio Gallo, Stella Artois, Nespresso and Aqua OvO




Posted by: Mark Rodas