Valentine's Round-up: Something for everyone (specifically men & vegetarians!)

Men tend to get left out of the Valentine's equation.

And oftentimes, as vegetarian friends have told me, finding a good veg prix fixe for Valentine's Day dinner is tough.

Here come some potential solutions to both issues!

For men, giving a good Scotch or other alcoholic beverage is a nice idea. But try taking it a step further and finding something truly unique: For example, for Valentine's Day, The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky came out with a small batch of chocolates infused with their 14-Year-Old Caribbean Cask - this will be the *perfect* thing for Mark, I think he'll love them - me, well, I'll give them a try, and not to sound sexist or ridiculous or anything but doesn't it even just sound like a really manly gift? Anyways they are going to be perfect for Mark, can't wait to try them out - we'll update this post with photos when they arrive.

As for our vegetarian friends, Toronto Vegetarian Association has partnered up with Toronto restaurant L.A.B. (Live and Breathe) to offer Toronto's very first Veggie Valentine in support of Meatless Mondays - and if you check out the site and enter their contest, you could win Valentine's Day dinner for two at L.A.B.! From what I've heard about L.A.B. they are nothing short of amazing when it comes to treating vegetables as the star ingredients of their dishes so even if you're not veg, this place sounds like a true culinary experience not to be missed.

Hope everyone has an amazing Valentine's Day!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

Trend question: Restaurants focusing on a “specialty ingredient” that drives their entire menu + brand identity?

Wanted to pose a question to the community here just to gather some of your thoughts:

Do you think restaurants focusing on a “specialty ingredient” that drives their entire menu and brand identity will catch on in Toronto? (Think Obika Mozzarella Bar which is coming here.) Will they be profitable? Will people love them or hate them? Just a trend? Does it have staying power? Is it too risky/difficult a concept for chefs to want to take on? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Give yourself the gift of an end-of-the-week treat: A Friday Night Roast!

Most people wait until Sunday to make a roast or some other type of more elaborate home-cooked meal. Also, most people who don't have a family don't really bother with roasts at all. But Mark and I think there's something almost sacred about taking the time to make yourselves such a grand treat - and even better, we made it on a FRIDAY NIGHT! Screw waiting til Sunday. It was so much more rewarding to get home from a week at our full-time jobs and feed ourselves something hearty.

The slide show of delicious pictures speaks for themselves but, in short, Yorkshire Valley Farms helped us out by giving us two delicious organic grain-fed free-range chickens - they are air-chilled, rather than water-chilled (which tends to add more water and salt to the finished product and in turn it may block the true taste of the chicken from coming all the way through).

We rubbed the chicken with some salt (from Spain, brought back by our two good friends!), freshly-ground black pepper and a bit of olive oil/canola oil (our olive oil we have now, while extra virgin, is not really the tastiest, I find it a bit too grassy so we neutralized the flavour with canola). Softest, juiciest, and most flavourful chicken we've ever had by far, no joke.

We put the other chicken in the freezer and we'll probably use different seasonings on it - something more elaborate. We just wanted to get the true, unadulterated taste of the chicken first time around.

We paired it with a wine Inniskillin gave us to try - they have an East West Series of blended wines that use grapes both from their winery in British Columbia and their winery in Ontario. Certainly an interesting concept. We had the Riesling / Gewurtztraminer blend. While I'm generally a fan of sweet German Gewurtztraminer's, it was probably a good thing this one wasn't too sweet because the flavour of the chicken was so simple that it needed something that would complement it, but not outshine it. It did pair very well with our simple roast chicken, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

For dessert I whipped up a Dutch Chocolate Icecream Mix my Mom was given for free by a lady at a craft sale. I know, sounds sketchy. Trust me, I was scared. It was actually pretty tasty - we had to add two cups of whipping cream and 1/2 a cup water to it and beat it like crazy, being careful to not let the cream separate.

Mark was telling me they treat Dutch Chocolate with alkali or something to take the bitterness out of it, which is why it tastes different, but the process also kills the antioxidants naturally found in chocolate so that sucks but it was tasty nonetheless.

Later this week we're planning on making a soup broth with the carcass and all the bones we've saved, potato peelings, and asparagus stems - then we'll add fresh celery, carrots and potatoes to it - yum!

Update (Jan 29): Soup has been made, and I also forgot to tell you guys where you can buy Yorkshire Valley organic products: Loblaws, Zehrs and Superstore locations across Ontario, and in the GTA at Big Carrot, Bloor Meat Market, Organic Garage, McEwans, and Dufferin Meats.

Yours in food,
-Stacey

P.S. please note the AMAZING custom aprons Mark and I got for Christmas from my sister and brother-in-law! Love you guys - thanks for supporting us!

Post-holiday food desires and a possible cure!

The holidays are amazing, and I think I might possibly love them more than anyone else on this earth, but I also feel a specific feeling after the holidays pass - maybe it's just because I've been buying for everyone but myself since October (no complaints, I love shopping period whether it's for me or others, just sayin' that I think that's where this January desire to buy for oneself stems from! And yes, I started my Christmas shopping in October!) - but I find it extra-nice to treat myself to something special just for myself, from myself, after the holidays pass.

I usually only want something small - sometimes I'm jonesing for a new planner, or a new pair of jeans. The past few holidays it's been food - for some reason I'd been hoping someone would give me some red pepper jelly over the holidays as a gift and, despite my silently-sent mental messages to all my friends and relatives, alas, I did not come out the other side of the holidays with any red pepper jelly! ;) Must... get... some... red... pepper... jelly...

And thus, now is probably a good time to introduce you to a site that I think could very well cure you if you have the same post-holiday food desires...

Back in November I had a conversation with Jonathan Chiu, founder of Savouries.ca (a Toronto-based online artisan food marketplace). Of course, with my red pepper jelly desires and general post-holiday "want to treat myself" feelings, that site popped back into my head today.

In discussing the site with him, I learned he has a goal to bring on as many local Canadian producers as possible who offer unique products that are hard to find elsewhere (locavores rejoice!) but most of our conversation was around what his most delicious and unique products are. Here are a few he gave me some interesting insights into:

• "Personally, I think the idea of combining fruits and flowers in jams and salsas that Krista from 'From these roots’ came up with is really unique. A few of the ones I like: Pears and Pansies, Raspberry and Rosemary and strawberry basil salsa. But the most unique one I find is the Mango Peach Passionflower Salsa. That one is really different and is definitely my favourite."
• "The eggplant antipasto by La Natura Fine Foods is amazing. The owner Vik uses a family recipe to make it. It turned me from an eggplant hater to an eggplant lover."
• "The smoked salmon by Medallion Smoked Salmon is the best in PEI and one of the best in Canada. Readers Digest talked about them a couple years back, and people line up for their salmon bagels every weekend at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market."
• "Everything by Form V Artisan is very much homemade, which is definitely a change from most things you get out there. I haven’t actually tried her truffles, but her salted caramel and the gingerbread spice caramels (Stacey's note: pictured above) are amazing."
  
• "Vida Grains is a pretty interesting concept in itself, it’s made up of a mix of 6 organic seeds and 6 sources of bran. It was also a family recipe that they decided to bring to the market. Not only is it healthy, it actually tastes very good."

I think my red pepper jelly craving was just replaced by a desire to try eggplant antipasto...

Happy new year everyone, let's make 2011 a delicious one!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

We have a winner! And the Inniskillin prize pack goes to...

Today's the day we give away an Inniskillin prize pack to a lucky winner!

We've done the draw and we have a winner - and the winner is...

ERIN!

Erin told us that her favourite treat is "a dark chocolate truffle, with a glass of ice wine at the end of a long day." Mmm, now THAT'S the kind of indulgence we could all use at the end of a long day, especially during the holiday time! Thanks for sharing, Erin!

We'll be emailing you, Erin, at the address you left us to arrange delivery of your prize pack.

Happy new year to you all, thank you all for entering the contest and sharing your favourite holiday treat with us!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

CONTEST ALERT: Happy Holidays from Inniskillin and Tasting Toronto!

Inniskillin and Tasting Toronto want to wish you a happy holiday!

We're giving away an Inniskillin prize pack to one lucky Tasting Toronto reader - You have a chance to win an Inniskillin VIP Tasting Card for their Niagara-on-the-Lake winery, an awesome book all about icewine, Kozlik's triple-crunch mustard (YUM!), and a nice thick winter scarf - all great things to make your winter that much warmer!

To enter, either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is! If leaving a comment, please make sure you leave a way for us to get in touch with you!

Best of luck!
Yours in food,
-Stacey

Contest closes December 31, 2010. Open to residents of Ontario 19 years or older. Entry: Either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is (and if commenting on the blog, please be sure to leave us a way to get in touch with you!). Prizes to win: An Inniskillin prize pack valued at approximately $85. One entry per person. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Mathematical skill-testing question to be correctly answered to win. No purchase necessary. Full rules below.

Tasting Toronto / Inniskillin “Favourite Holiday Treat” Contest

The Tasting Toronto / Inniskillin “Favourite Holiday Treat” Contest (the “Contest”) is open to residents of Ontario who are 19 years or older. The Contest Period starts on December 22, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. and ends December 31, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. No purchase necessary. All times are Eastern Times.

HOW TO ENTER – Either comment on this post or tweet to us @TastingToronto telling us what your favourite holiday treat is. If commenting on the blog, please be sure to leave us a way to get in touch with you.

PRIZE – Entrants are eligible to win one (1) Inniskillin prize pack valued at approximately $85.

FINAL DRAW – The names of all eligible entrants will be entered into a random draw. The random draw by a representative of Tasting Toronto will be made December 31, 2010. The name of the winner will be posted December 31, 2010 via a Tasting Toronto blog post and via @TastingToronto on Twitter. The winning entrant is responsible to verify if he/she has been selected. Selected entrants must make themselves known by 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2010 by either tweeting to us or contacting tastingtoronto@hotmail.com.

If a selected entrant fails to make him/herself known by 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2010 or to claim the prize as instructed, incorrectly answers the skill-testing question, declines the prize, fails to sign a Release of Liability as may be specified by Tasting Toronto or fails to present valid ID, entrant will have forfeited the opportunity to claim the prize and Tasting Toronto reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to select another entrant or to cancel the prize.

Prize must be accepted as awarded and is not transferable, redeemable, refundable or exchangeable for cash. Tasting Toronto reserves the right to substitute a prize of at least equal value in the event of the unavailability, for whatever reason, of the advertised prize.

To be declared a winner, selected entrants must first correctly answer, unaided, a time-limited, mathematical skill-testing question at the time of claiming the prize and may need to sign a Release. Contest judges' rulings are final and without appeal in all matters related to the promotion and the awarding of prizes.

By entering this Contest and/or accepting a prize, entrants consent to the use of their entry and name for publicity, advertising or informational purposes carried out by Tasting Toronto in any medium or format without further notice or compensation.

The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations.

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries. All entries that are incomplete, illegible, damaged, irregular, do contain offensive material or inappropriate content, have been submitted through illicit means, using any robotic, automatic programmed method that artificially increases the odds of winning or do not conform to or satisfy any condition of the rules may be disqualified by Tasting Toronto. Tasting Toronto takes no responsibility for lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, misdirected, late or destroyed entries, or for typographical or other production errors. Tasting Toronto is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this Contest. All entries become the property of Tasting Toronto.

Tasting Toronto is collecting personal data about entrants for the purpose of administering this Contest. No further informational or marketing communications will be received by entrants.

By entering this Contest, entrants release and hold harmless the Contest Sponsor (the “Releasee”) from any liability in connection with this Contest or, if declared a finalist or a winner, the prize.

This Contest will be run in accordance with these rules, subject to amendment by Tasting Toronto. Entrants must comply with these rules, and will be deemed to have received and understood the rules by participating in the Contest.

Gourmet Food & Wine Expo: quick highlights and pics

Hi folks - We wanted to share some quick highlights from the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo with you.



As a bit of an intro for those who haven't been before, the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo is held in November each year at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It has over 1,500 wines, spirits and beers from around the world to sample. You basically buy your entry pass, then are handed a wine sampling glass (don't break it or misplace it, or else be prepared to pay $3 for an extra - but they are so darn cute I almost wanted to buy an extra!). Then once inside, you buy a block of tickets you can use toward food and drink and you get little "sample sizes" to try for a few tickets each from whichever booths you deem interesting. We bought 20 tickets this year.

We hadn't been to GFWE in a couple years, but noticed there was a lot more wine than last time so if you're a wine lover, you'll really be enjoying yourself there!

Speaking of wine, we tried a Georgian red wine that was extremely spicy (when you smelled it, it was like black pepper up your nostrils, but I'm kind of a pepper lover - Mark liked it less than I did). It was certainly interesting, and I think it was the most memorable wine I've ever had for its sheer uniqueness.



In terms of ticketed food items, there were some options, but it seemed like less than last time we were there. Everything we did eat was good - we had a yummy vegetarian samosa from Magic Oven with a delicious spicy chutney drizzled over it. But of course I got drawn to DESSERT almost immediately! There was fudge on a stick dipped in chocolate from Northern Confections - what an awesome idea! It was delicious. I was sold at first glance. We also geeked out over the extensive variety of macarons from Ruelo Patisserie. Such unique flavour combinations - wasabi grapefruit, black truffle (no seriously - it was made with real black truffles! It cost more tickets than the others!) Very creative and very delicious.

It's a great night out, if you live in the GTA and haven't yet been to GFWE I'd say be sure to catch it next year because it really is a fun night out, we really enjoyed ourselves.

Yours in food,
-Stacey