Exploring the Kitchens of the World at Culture.licious

I've always wished I could be a fly on the wall in other people's kitchens. There is something neat about seeing other people make their favourite dishes in their own home.



Living in a city like Toronto, I'm always curious what people are cooking up in their kitchens on any given night. So when we were invited to visit Culture.licious, I was excited because I saw that the premise was various Master Cooks, home cooks like you and I, sharing their favourite dishes from their own culture. Currently they have representation from Panama, Vietnam, Kenya, Korea, Bosnia and India.

On a normal night, there will be one Master Chef cooking an appetizer, dinner and dessert with the class. We were lucky enough on our night to get three Master Chefs: Minh (Vietnam), Lizka (Panama) and Aleksandra (Bosnia). The cooking classes are run by Wendy Chung, world traveller and food lover who left the corporate world to pursue her dreams (her most recent job was as a CMA at Pepsi). You go girl!


The kitchen feels homey, warm and inviting. The food was tasty, healthy and simple - that, to me anyways, is what home cooking is all about. Our appetizer was double-fried plantains with chicken and peppers and a ketchup/mayo/mustard/Tabasco dipping sauce (the dish is called Patacones Fritos en Salsa). Main course was Lemongrass pork and beef skewers with vermicelli and traditional green onion sauce.

Dessert was apple and walnut strudel and, let me tell you, the way to roll a strudel is pretty incredible and involves a big-ass table cloth - watch our video below or click here to see how it's done!


We got to assist with certain tasks and we walked away with all the recipes. I'm all for learning more about the kitchens of the world and we're fortunate enough in Toronto to have venues like Culture.licious to help us do exactly that.

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Kitchen Fails: Pâte Brisée

Oh, kitchen fails... I'm not a fan of making mistakes in general and, while it's nice that we learn from 'em & all, I don't think anyone REALLY ENJOYS making mistakes. Especially one that took a few hours off your New Year's Day. I was all excited to start a new tradition that would bring me and Mark into the New Year with extra luck (I don't know where I made the association between what I was about to do and having a lucky year, but my brain decided to make that connection somehow)...

Every New Year's Day I would make some type of celebratory pie. It would bring us luck and fortune in the coming year. Yes. Apparently a pie is responsible for all those things. And it's delicious to eat. One cannot lose, no?!

Well the tradition was set to start with my first homemade pâte brisée pie crust (Stirling Creamery was kind enough to let me sample some of their Churn 84 Butter for the recipe - it is delicious and is higher in fat content than other butters you can buy in Ontario so it helps pastries and pies and other treats be much flakier than if you use normal butter). This was an ambitious first attempt to say the least.

Long kitchen fail story short, here's what NOT to do when following a  pâte brisée recipe:

• Forget to chill the blade! Damn it! My butter was freezing cold but I. Forgot. To. Chill. The. Food. Processor. Blade.
• Add too much ice water! Even if the f*#*(*g dough won't stick together, DON'T ADD TOO MUCH BLOODY ICE WATER. Don't!
• Overknead it! It makes your pie crust extremely tough. I had a crumbly texture like the recipe picture showed, but when it came time to form it just a bit, enough to get it into ball form for chilling, I couldn't get the dough to stick together. And if I couldn't get it into a decent ball, I knew it wouldn't roll out. So I had to sort of knead a bit to get it into a ball form... you're not really supposed to knead it at all but what's a girl to do?! LOL I couldn't even get enough to roll out properly to make a good size crust, let alone a double crust as I had planned. It was edible, and eat it we did, but it was pretty tough.
• Use a food processor from the 1970s! Mine was my grandma's and, while I love it for sentimental value, I think its motor is a bit weak...

Pâte brisée, I will conquer you eventually! But I think for Jan. 1, 2014 I will master my mother's pie crust for sweet pies. :) Can't wait!

So what were you up to New Year's Day? Did you have any kitchen wins or fails? Tell me about 'em in the comments!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

One night, twelve chowders: 2012 Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown

Mmm. Chowder! Creamy, hearty comfort food. I crave it now more than ever as the weather turns chilly. Perfect timing for the 2012 Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown that the Vancouver Aquarium held in Toronto recently.

 

Twelve chefs shared their take on sustainable seafood / fish chowders in a friendly competition. Our favourite chowder was from Hapa Izakaya - Chef Takayuki Sato made his with halibut and also boiled down the halibut bones to help thicken the chowder. It had a decidedly Asian flavour with a squirt of Shiso-based sauce to top it off, but was still traditional enough to really hit the spot. Chef Amira Becarevic's Leek and Potato Chowder with Salmon and Mussels was a close second for us; she was there representing Epic, the restaurant in The Royal York Hotel.

The winner of the 2012 Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown People's Choice prize was awarded to Chef Richard Baksh of Earl's Kitchen and Bar (King St. W. location) for his Manilla Clam & Seafood Chowder. And the winner of the competition as determined by a panel of culinary judges was Chef Albert Ponzo from Le Select Bistro, who made a chowder with squash, seafood and sausage.

As Ocean Wise's goal is to educate Canadians about sustainable seafood options, here are ocean-friendly options for Ontarians:


Yours in food,
-Stacey

Smith Bros. Steakhouse & Tavern

Smith Bros. Steakhouse & Tavern is a meat lover's destination with affordable prices. The steaks are wet aged for a minimum of 28 days, and come with a choice of sauces: Peppercorn Cream, Mushroom Cabernet, Teriyaki, and Crumbled Bacon & Bourbon.



Though wine is available, Smith Bros. advocates enjoying your steak with beer. They serve their own brand of $5 all-natural premium draughts in association with Great Lakes Brewery. They also have “The Tavern Sampler,” allowing you to try any 4 taps for $7.



I particularly liked how the sampler came on a numbered board so you could easily keep track of what brew you were sampling with every bite. Granted, 4 beers shouldn’t tax your memory that much, but it’s a nice touch as someone is bound to forget what’s what while engaged in lively conversation and delicious food.



Even if they do specialize in steak, a great draw at this steakhouse is the all you can eat Mussels and Fries for $17. It features PEI mussels steamed with Smith Bros. Premium Natural Lager, shallots and parsley. The matchstick fries tasted great. Their narrowness made them a little harder to handle (i.e. shove into your mouth), but gave you more surface area for flavour and added crunch. We also tried their hearty Steak and Potato Chowder, loaded with lots of meat.





For mains, we tried 10 oz. New York Strip ($24) with Garlic and Cream Mashed Potatoes, and the 12 oz. Roasted Rib Eye ($25) with Sea Salt Rubbed Russet Baked Potato. We also tried the Atlantic Salmon.



The steaks were moist, tender, and flavourful. The sides were also yummy. We especially loved the baked potato. The sea salt rub made the potato skins crusty and salty, an awesome contrast with the soft and moist potato and the cool cream.



For dessert we had a Triple Chocolate Brownie and a Crème Brûlée. The Crème Brûlée came in a generous serving and was perfectly torched. The Brownie was to die for. It was dark and delicious with different textures to it and came à la mode.



While Smith Bros. isn’t Jacob’s or or Hy’s, neither are its prices. It certainly makes enjoying a good steak a more regular possibility than for those super special occasions. It stretches casual dining without stretching your budget, allowing you to include more friends or family perhaps. And at the end of you’re meal, you’re more likely to have a smile on your face as you enjoyed great company, food and drink, in a a smartly decorated environment, after shopping perhaps or before a movie right across the street , at the corner of Warden and Eglinton.




Smith Bros. Steakhouse & Tavern
880 Warden Ave Toronto, ON
Phone: (416) 751-3100


Posted by: Mark Rodas

Horse betting & wine drinking: Hot to Trot wine tasting at Turf Lounge

Mid-October we checked out a wine launch at Turf Lounge, one of the much more upscale off-track betting places one can visit. We really enjoyed ourselves - Mark and I were each given $2 bet cards and I took both of them and placed bets with no knowledge of how to even read the screen (let alone having any prior understanding of how to bet on horses). Would you believe we won?! I bet both for horse #3 on Indiana Downs because that was the horse on the screen when I happened to look up - lo and behold, that horse placed first!

But the real reason we were there was to taste two wines available now at the LCBO from a US winery in Washington State called 14 Hands Vineyards. The Hot to Trot – Red Blend we sipped is mainly a Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon blend, but also has hints of Mourvedre and other red varieties. It has notes of berries, cherries and currants; the tannins were soft, but I didn't really catch the baking spice and mocha on the finish as per the description. Regardless, the warmer red/dark fruits were definitely present, and I found it to be fairly easy drinking. I'm more of a white drinker though, so I was looking forward to trying the Hot to Trot – White Blend. It is predominantly a Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Semillon blend with flavours of pear, melon and lemon zest. I got a whole lot of pear and a bit of melon, and found it to be crisp and not too too sweet. I wouldn't mind having another bottle on hand at home, as I think I could see it pairing well with many different types of foods, from fish to creamy pastas.

Yours in food, and sometimes wine!
-Stacey

Country Style Hungarian Restaurant

We’ve heard a lot about Country Style over the years, (no not the donut chain, the Hungarian restaurant) so we finally decided to check it out last weekend.  We weren’t expecting to be wowed since it was on the list of comfort food spots for many people. I’m writing about it anyway not because it’s trendy or a particularly excellent dining establishment, but because like many mom and pop shops that cater to niche markets or stay low-cost and under the radar, places like this have staying power and are an integral part of their community.

Though my first instinct was to try the Chicken Paprikash with Perogies for an app and perhaps some Goulash on the side, we had limited stomach room and opted for their signature Country Style Wooden Plate for two.

The plate was a combination of a Cabbage Roll, Wiener Schnitzel, Parisian Schnitzel, Fried Sausage, Beets, Rice, and Home Fries. The schnitzels were thinly pounded and incredibly large. We liked the Wiener (sounds like a sausage, but it's not) Schnitzel's breaded crust better than the Parisian's egg coating. We loved the firm and well seasoned fried sausage. The cabbage roll was a complete meal unto itself, not just because it was a huge, but also because you pretty much have your carbs in the form of rice, as well as meat and vegetable in it all together. We also had a side of dumplings, which in this context are plain doughy little things and not the stuffed Asian kind.

That was certainly more than enough food for the two of us, and we ended up taking the rest home.  Because I'm Filipino, I had the leftover schnitzels with steamed rice and a little ketchup, like a Filipino-Spanish torta. It is comfort food after all.




Click here for more photos on Flickr


450 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON M5S 1X8
(416) 536-5966


Posted by: Mark Rodas

Eat to the Beat 2012

Last Tuesday we were at Roy Thomson Hall for this year's Eat to the Beat, benefitting Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada.

Eat to the Beat is Canada's only fundraising event that brings together top female chefs who donate their time, talent, and materials to raise funds in support of women living with breast cancer. Sixty of Canada's top female chefs participated this year in a cornucopia of sweet and savoury food, wines, and premium beers and spirits. The event also included live music, a silent auction and a raffle draw.

This is one amazing food event. If you haven't been, check out their website next year and support this worthy cause.




More photos on Flickr:




Posted by: Mark Rodas