Last meal

According to the ancient Mayans, the world will be ending this Friday. I don't believe in doomsday prophecies, so I hadn't had any thoughts about how I'd spend my remaining hours alive, or who I would spend those last precious moments with. But it did get me thinking. I got to thinking about what I would like my last meal ever to be. This is something I didn't think I'd ever have to consider unless I did something very very bad, and Canada reinstates the death penalty. And I'm talking bad. Like Timothy McVeigh bad. Before dying by lethal injection, he ate 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's mint chocolate ice cream for his last meal alive. For his final meal, one criminal in Georgia ordered filet mingnon wrapped in bacon; de-veined shrimp sauteed in garlic butter with lemon; a baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives, and real bacon bits; corn on the cob; asparagus with hollandaise sauce; French bread with butter; goat cheese; cantaloupe; apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream and an iced tea. Imagine seeing that on the dinner table for you when it's time to eat. It's not as appetizing when you realize it's someone's last meal. Knowing it's the last thing I'll ever eat, I'm not even sure how much I'd enjoy my meal. I imagine having my life end at the stroke of midnight would do a number on my stomach. But for the sake of this blog entry, let's say I managed to come to grips with the reality of my fate, and I had built up an appetite. I'd love to have a simple Caesar salad, served along with some duck confit and some macaroni and cheese made with the recipe I've been using recently. Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food, which is really what you're looking for if it's the final thing you'll ever eat. I'm not much of a dessert eater, but for this occasion, I'd have a slice of New York cheesecake. And I'd wash everything down with a bottle or two of La Fin du Monde beer, just because.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1.5 cups grated cheddar cheese
1.5 cups grated mozzarella cheese
2 cups elbow macaroni
1/2 cup mushrooms

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir the mixture constantly until it turns a light brown in colour. Pour in the milk, increase the heat to medium-high, and stir until thickened. Add the cheeses and stir until everything is melted.
2. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. When it's ready, strain and mix in the cheese sauce. In a small skillet, melt the remaining butter, add the mushrooms, and sauté them until they are softened and golden brown. Once done, mix them in with the macaroni.
3. Transfer everything to a baking pan, and put it in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 ^oF.

What would your last meal be? Feel free to add your selection in the comments section, or on my Twitter feed.

Worst. TV Cook. Ever.

Meet Steven Reed, host of Weber Cooks, a show that streams on the Weber State University news site. I'm not sure how this guy got this show, but after watching it, it's clear that the students of this Utah institute of higher learning must appreciate its unintentional comedy. This guy makes Guy Fieri look like Tom Colicchio.

Tips for the Ottawa Wine and Food Festival

At the risk of losing whatever foodie cred I have, I won't be going to this year's Ottawa Wine and Food Festival. With a young son and Christmas just around the corner, there's only so much time, money, and energy a guy has to give. But that won't stop me from offering some advice to those of you who plan to check out this annual taste extravaganza.

• Buy your Day Pass online, unless you enjoy waiting in long lines. Hit the ATM beforehand to avoid that lineup as well.
• Go in the early afternoon to avoid the suppertime rush.
• Leave your jacket in the car. It’s hot inside and just another thing to lug around.
• Bring your appetite. Otherwise, what's the point? 
• Forgo dressing up and wear comfortable clothes and shoes. That doesn't mean sweatpants and Snuggies, use your common sense. I know a lot of people use the Festival as a destination for date nights, but putting on your finest duds to sample food, even great food, is silly. There's a reason you don't feel the need to wear a tuxedo or your little black dress when you visit the sample person at the supermarket.
• Budget accordingly, you can only purchase $60 worth of sampling tickets at one time anyways.
• Keep hydrated with water, especially if you only plan to hit the wine and liquor vendors. If your game plan is to only drink, arrange for a ride home afterward.
• Buying some travel-sized stomach remedies beforehand will help in case you overindulge.
• Try not to look greedy.
• Use this as an opportunity to try foods you wouldn't necessarily order at a restaurant, or make for yourself. That being said, remember that you only have so much room in your stomach.
• Bring a big bag to carry anything you buy.
• Remember to take pictures of products or foods you like.

DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte

Maybe it's the cooler weather, maybe it's seeing the leaves change colour, but sometimes you just got to have a pumpkin spice latte to sip and savour. But when that time hits, you may not want to spend $5 for a cup of coffee (I'm looking at you Starbucks...), or you might run the risk of getting disappointed when you ask for one at the counter, and are told that they ran out of the spice blends, or that the promotion ended for the season (I'm looking at you Second Cup, at two different locations...). Luckily, I found this recipe on the interwebs, so I won't get screwed over by Corporate Coffee again.

Ingredients

1/2 cup espresso
1.5 cups milk
1 tsp.vanilla
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp.ginger
1/4 tsp.nutmeg
1/4 tsp.all-spice
1/8 tsp.cloves
1 tbsp.maple syrup

1. Set up stove-top espresso machine over medium heat. It should take about 8 minutes to brew 1/2 cup.
2. In a small saucepan, whisk all spices, vanilla and maple syrup into the milk. Treat this like risotto and don't walk away, always be stirring. Keep heat medium to medium-low to avoid burning the milk or curdling.
3. When steam starts to rise from the milk, turn heat off but continue stirring.
   
   Optional: if you have a frother, now's the time to froth up your milk.
   
   
4. When espresso is brewed, pour milk mixture into mugs, and add espresso overtop.

No Fuss Thanksgiving dinner

For foodies, Thanksgiving is more than a long weekend. It's a time to show off some new recipes for family and friends, or an excuse to head out to their favourite restaurant and sample the Thanksgiving menu offerings. But for people who are already intimidated by cooking, or don't have the time or money to spend on a fancy meal, it's just another day to call for take-out or throw a frozen entree into the microwave. Thanksgiving dinner doesn't have to be an ordeal. Here's a way to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal without driving yourself crazy, or running yourself ragged.

Turkey

If cooking an entire turkey is too much of a hassle, buy individual turkey pieces or a turkey breast roast. Just follow the cooking instructions on the bag, or ask the butcher at your supermarket how long each piece should be cooked. If you want, you can slice the roast before serving it to your guests; as long as everything tastes good, no one will mind not seeing the turkey being carved.

Mashed Potatoes

A package of instant potatoes can be used in a pinch, but be sure to add lots of butter to mask the from-the-package taste (I recommend also adding Farm Boy's Authentic Steakhouse Garlic Dressing. After trying it, you won't be able to eat real or processed potatoes without it).

Gravy / Cranberry Sauce

Some people may turn their noses up at using something out of a can, but unless those people head to the local fish market to get the catch of the day whenever they want a tuna sandwich, they're only fooling themselves. For presentation purposes, the cranberry sauce can be sliced or mashed up a bit to remove the cylindrical shape. Once the gravy is heated and put in grandma's gravy boat, only the most discerning of eaters will notice it wasn't made with pan drippings and meat juices. 

Stuffing

There's a reason why Stove Top is a holiday staple. Take advantage of it.

 

Baked goods

Everyone loves the smell and taste of fresh baked goods. This can be achieved by using either the services of the Pillsbury Dough Boy, or your neighbourhood bakery. Most decent supermarkets have a bakery in-store, but if I may make the suggestion, I recommend a trip to the Murray St. or Bank St. location of  The French Baker (NOTE: the Bank St. location is no more.). While you're there, treat yourself and pick up some dessert.

A bottle of wine or two, your fanciest plates, cutlery and the proper place settings will round out your Turkey Day spread. Remember that even with a few corners cut here and there, the day is about being thankful for what we got. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

This entry was inspired by a feature in Garth Sundem's book "The Geeks' Guide To World Domination".

Mountain Man Stew

As the days grow shorter and colder, the desire to cook and eat comfort foods grows exponentially. A perfect meal for this time of year is a recipe my wife discovered online several years ago, that we have since made a few changes to, Mountain Man Stew. It's good and hearty, and it's a great way to use some of the seasonal vegetables found at your local farmer's market.

Ingredients

1.5 sticks of butter
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 head garlic, chopped
454 g. baby carrots, chopped
454 g. mushrooms, sliced (I suggest the crimini or portobello mushrooms for their earthy flavour)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
454 g. stewing beef
1.35 kg. white potatoes, thickly sliced
900 mL beef broth
5 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled
120 mL beef bouillon concentrate
120 mL red wine
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large deep skillet over medium heat, cook the bell pepper, onion, garlic, carrots, and mushrooms in the butter, until the onion is translucent. Stir in the basil, oregano, Old Bay, salt, pepper and stewing beef. Cover and cook over low heat until the vegetables are softened, and the meat is browned. Stir frequently.
2. Meanwhile, place the potatoes in a saucepan, and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and stir the potatoes into the vegetable/beef mixture.
3. Pour the beef broth, the beef broth concentrate, and the red wine into a saucepan, and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the liquid. Bring to a boil.
4. Carefully combine the liquid component with the vegetable/beef mixture until both are well combined. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Serve hot with a warm baguette and butter.

Hockey and Chicken Wings

I remember the first time I ever made wings. It was a Sunday in February back in 2002, I believe it was the 24th. My roommates were watching a hockey game that afternoon, and I was trying to take a nap to avoid watching the hockey game. It's not that I don't like hockey, but the team I was hoping to win didn't play all that well leading up to this important game, and I didn't want to see them get embarrassed. But the noise from downstairs and my own curiosity made me go down to the living room midway through the first. The score was 2-1 for the good guys. At the end of the first, I decided it was time to add some food to the beer we were drinking and decided that wings would hit the spot. While waiting for the wings to defrost in the microwave, I noticed a package of Shake N Bake in the pantry, and the deep fryer that was on the counter, and had a "Eureka!" moment. After cutting the tips off the wings, I coated the wings with the Shake N Bake, and dropped them into the hot oil. The results were I got some tasty, but gritty chicken wings. In hindsight, it wasn't the Shake N Bake that was the problem, it was the quality of the oil in the deep fryer. When I decided to clean the deep fryer months later, I was disgusted at the dark goopy mess I poured into the garbage. It looked like something people had to cleanup after the Exxon Valdez spilled. The recipe below is the method I use now for chicken wings. As for the game, I later watched Iginlia put the game away for Team Canada as they beat the Americans 5-3. I celebrated with along the rest of the country at 80's Night at Barrymores later that evening with my roommates. A lot of honking, hollering, flag-waving, and beer drinking was seen and done, it was one of the few times I've seen Ottawa enjoying itself. As an NHL lockout is preventing hockey fans from doing some hooting and hollering, I hope my chicken wing recipe brings you some joy - go Sens go.

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 pounds chicken wings, split and tips discarded

3 cups all-purpose flour or cornstarch
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 

enough canola oil for frying

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl. Pour over the chicken wings in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Combine the flour with the poultry seasoning, Old Bay, paprika, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder in a large mixing bowl. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the chicken wings from the egg mixture, coat them in the flour mixture. Cook in batches in the preheated deep-fryer until the wings are golden brown on the outside, and no longer pink at the bone, about 10 minutes per batch. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, and season to taste with salt before serving.

Favorite TV cooking shows

With the new fall season about to begin, I can't think of a better time to talk about some of my favourite cooking shows, listed in alphabetical order.

• Chopped (Food Network Canada)
  Premise: Four chefs must take a mystery basket of ingredients and turn them into a dish that is judged on their creativity, presentation, and taste in a short period of time, anywhere between 20 to 50 minutes. The competitors are given access to a pantry and refrigerator stocked with a wide variety of other ingredients. The show is divided into three rounds, Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert.  After each round, a panel of judges critiques the dishes and decides which chef is eliminated from the competition, or "chopped". The final two chefs are then judged not only on their dessert course, but on the entire meal presented by each chef as a whole. The winner then receives $10 000.
  
  I don't what I would do if was told to make a dessert using avocado, oyster sauce, tofu skins, and star fruit in 30 minutes. Seeing these chefs work under pressure with ingredients they wouldn't normally use, and still managing to make something that tastes and looks good is fascinating. This show is food porn at its best.



• Chuck's Day Off (Food Network Canada)
  Premise: Whether it's roping steers with Mexican cowboys or diving into sinkholes, the viewer gets a look into what the host does in his off hours when he's not at one of the two restaurants he's a part owner of, and sees  the dishes he makes for the people he meets along the way.
  
  I'm not buying the idea that this is what this chef does with his time off from working at Garde Manger, and Le Bremner in Old Montreal, but like any reality show, it needed a hook. I stumbled across this show when I was looking for something to watch during dinner. Host Chuck Hughes believes in  a cooking style that stresses keeping things simple, fresh ingredients and having fun, and it shows with his laid back presence on the show. Don't think though that he's a cooking lightweight though, he's the youngest Canadian chef (only the third to do so) to win "Iron Chef America", defeating Iron Chef Bobby Flay.



• Iron Chef (Food Network)
  Premise: This defunct Japanese cooking show was a cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle built around a specific theme ingredient.
  
  I first saw this show when I was visiting a friend in London, Ontario while we were killing time before hitting the local bars. The over-the-top theatrics and English dubbing were what made the show for me; for that reason, I've never been a fan of Iron Chef America. Bobby Flay and Mario Batali got nothing as interesting as this opening.



• Man v. Food (OLN)
  Premise: Series host Adam Richman visited restaurants that offer big food offerings before facing off against a pre-existing eating challenge.
  
  Any show that celebrates gluttony the way this show does has be entertaining, and with the help of its jovial host, the show manages to walk the fine line between fascinating and disgusting.. The show has since been rebranded as "Man v. Food Nation" as Richman has wisely decided that after three seasons, it's time to treat his body better.



• Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (BBC Canada)
  Premise: Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay visits a failing restaurant and acts as a troubleshooter to help improve the establishment in just one week. He then revisits the restaurant a few months later to see how business has fared in his absence.
  
  I've been a huge fan of Gordon Ramsay ever since I saw a preview clip of his show "Hell's Kitchen" online. His fiery temper and foul mouth may be a turnoff for some, but  you can't deny his passion for culinary perfection. I like the UK version of Kitchen Nightmares better than the American version because there's more of a focus on how a restaurant runs and a kitchen works, and less about the squabbles and personal lives of the people who own and work in the restaurant. Plus, I sometimes can't believe that some of people on the American version actually work in the food industry as they're portrayed so cluelessly. But I guess that's why Ramsey calls them donkeys.
• Top Chef (Reality Channel) / Top Chef Canada (Food Network Canada)
  Premise: Chefs compete against each other in a variety of culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants eliminated in each episode. The winning chef gets acclaim and a boatload of money.
  
  Quickfire challenges; Elimination challenges; Restaurant Wars. There's isn't a foodie alive who hasn't watched at least one episode of this series. With the right amount of focus on the chefs themselves and the dishes they create, this is how a cooking competition is supposed to be filmed. Skilled contestants who know their craft (unlike some of the schlubs on "Hell's Kitchen") and knowledgeable judges who hand out appropriate praise and criticism make this show thoroughly entertaining from start to finish, even without the eye candy in judges Padma Lakshmi  and Lisa Ray.
• You Gotta Eat Here! (Food Network Canada)
  Premise: In this show, the host travels across the country, searching for great comfort food at various diners, greasy spoons, and restaurants. He then interviews the people working at these establishments, and shows how some of their signature recipes are made.
  
  This show is very similar to "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives", but with Canadian content and no sign of annoying douchebag Guy Fieri. I like how it's possible to recreate some of the dishes by watching the demos shown if the restaurant visited isn't in your area  (though you may want to check a cookbook for a similar recipe to get the amounts of the ingredients correct). When they featured the Elgin Street Diner, I learned they are not only known for their poutine, but also for their meatloaf...who knew? I've been to the ESD a bunch of times and have enjoyed their poutine, but I've never seen anyone order or eat their meatloaf. I'll have to try it the next time I'm in the area.

If there something on TV that I should (or shouldn't) be watching, please let me know in the Comments section.

Julia Child Remixed

In honour of the announcement that Kanye West will be collaborating with Skrillex on his upcoming album, here's what legendary chef Julia Child would sound like if her show was produced by T-Pain:

Anniversary dinner / Food Day Canada

As I Twitted Saturday, in honour of both Food Day Canada and my wedding anniversary, I made duck confit for dinner. Food cooked confit-style means it was cooked in fat for a long period of time at a low temperature. Here's the recipe and method I used.

Ingredients: four duck legs; salt; olive oil 

Rub salt into the outside of the duck legs. Put the salted duck legs in a ZipLoc bag and store them in the fridge for several hours.

This will add flavour to the meat and draw out some of the moisture from the legs. After dry-brining the duck legs, wash off the salt. (Or just sprinkle some salt on the legs if you're pressed for time.) 

Place the duck legs in the bowl of your slow cooker and cover them with olive oil. Set the slow cooker to low and leave the meat to cook for anywhere between six to twelve hours.

After cooking, the legs can be eaten with the skin either removed (duck confit shredded on spaghetti, aka duck confit sugo is to die for), or pan seared to crisp the skin up. If you're not going to use the legs immediately, store them in the fridge.

I Scream, You Scream...

...on hot day like this, we all scream for ice cream. If you forgot to pick some up over the long weekend, or if you don't want to chase down the ice cream truck, you may want to try this super-fast way to make a cool treat.

Summertime Sandwich Review

How's your summer been? Mine has been filled with entertaining family and friends. Finally got a chance to bang out a blog post...

Where I work, my lunchtime choices when I'm not brown-bagging it are either the fast-food places around Bronson Ave., or the wallet-taxing restaurants in Little Italy. Luckily I managed to find some alternatives to those places that aren't to far from my office when I want to have a sandwich for lunch, Di Rienzo Grocery and Deli, and Pressed. For what it's worth, here's what I thought of both places:

Atmosphere
Di Rienzo's: A cozy family business. When it's busy, you will be in a lineup that weaves around the grocery aisles until you can place your order. Luckily the lineup moves quickly, which is good as there is no air conditioning in the place.

Pressed: Kitschy, laid back layout, with both table and lunch counter style seating. Performances by musicians are a regular occurrence. A strong commitment to serving organic/fair trade coffee and supporting the use of local ingredients.

Sandwich Chosen
Di Rienzo's: Cold turkey and prosciutto with lettuce, tomato, Havarti, mayo, and spicy eggplant (on request)
Pressed: Warm Chicken Caesar Salad

Sandwich Impressions
Di Rienzo's: The soft crusty bread and the authentic deli meats and cheeses are filling, tasty, and blow anything from Subway or Quinzo's out of the water. Strongly recommend adding the spicy eggplant to any of the 17 different sandwiches available.
Pressed: Fresh crispy lettuce and flavourful seasoned chicken make for one good pressed sandwich.

Time of Sandwich Preparation
Di Rienzo's: About a minute
Pressed: Approximately ten minutes

Cost
Di Rienzo's: $5, all sandwiches, extra for additional meats and/or cheeses.
Pressed: $10; sandwiches range from $7-11

Final Verdict:
If you're in the area, and watch a quick bite, go to Di Rienzo's. If you're looking for a place to impress someone on a lunch date, head to Pressed. You can't go wrong with either taste-wise.

Ottawa ComicCon

The 2012 Ottawa Comiccon opens today, and to honour my love of both cooking and pop culture, I thought I would put the spotlight on something that celebrates both, "The DC Super Heroes Super Healthy Cookbook".

I discovered this book in my school library when I was in grade 8, and while I was more interested in the superheroes than in the recipes, I loved how it made cooking fun for kids like me, and it was a lot more interesting than the lessons being taught in Home Ec class. I was, and still am, a huge Batman fan, so one of the first recipes I tried was one featuring the Dynamic Duo:

(forevergeek.com)

I wasn't much of a salad eater back in the day, but my parents seemed to like the dressing I had made, or maybe they were impressed with me taking an active part in preparing a meal. At any rate, I was encouraged to try making something else. The next thing I made was from the cookbook was another recipe from the Batman family, Commissioner Gordon's Undercover Vegetables. The recipe was basically oven-roasted vegetables with a breadcrumb coating, but the fact that it was superhero approved made it that much more appetizing to me. There were a lot of good recipes in this cookbook, but unfortunately, the book has been out of print for years. I would have thought with superheroes being all the rage these days this would not be the case, forcing me to rely on images found on the Internet. Maybe I can find a copy of it when I head out to ComicCon this weekend. Excelsior!

( http://brandedinthe80s.com )

( http://brandedinthe80s.com )

( http://brandedinthe80s.com )

The Food List Challenge

Hola, amigos. It's been a long time since I've blogged at ya... If you've been on Facebook recently, you may have seen the latest timewaster, the Food List Challenge. For those who haven't, it's an app that allows you to check off items on a list of 100 foods to eat before you die.  I went through the list, and scored an abysmal 24%. While that is a poor score for someone who calls himself a foodie, I am looking forward to trying most of the foods on the list that I haven't eaten in order to raise my score, improve my palette, and boost my foodie cred.

Here's my thoughts on the foods I did try on the list:

• Alligator: Like almost all wild game, alligator has a similar taste to chicken. I liked the Atchafalaya Alligator I had at Fat Tuesday's, but it wouldn't surprise me it was really chicken that I ate.
• Baklava: The first time I tasted it was when someone brought some into the office one day. You can always count on someone bringing baked goods in when you work for the public service.
  
• Barbecue Ribs: Try Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce the next time you decide to cook up some ribs; you're welcome in advance.
• Bellini: Not my first choice for a summertime beverage, but a cool, refreshing drink nonetheless. 
• Calamari: Take my advice, it's better to try calamari at a restaurant that specializes in seafood, otherwise you run the risk of eating something that tastes like fried rubber bands.
• Cheese Fondue: Cheese, meat, bread, skewers, what's not to love?
• Chicken Tikka Masala: I need a find a good recipe for this, I don't go out to eat this often enough.
• Clam Chowder: This runs through my head anytime I eat it:
  
  
• Cognac: I bought a bottle back when Busta Rhymes and P Diddy did the song “Pass the Courvoisier”, I remember it livened up quite a few house parties back in the day.
• Eggs Benedict: For my money, the best Eggs Benedict in the city is at Stoneface Dolly's.
• Frogs’ Legs: My mom denies every eating frogs' legs, despite both me and my father seeing her take one off her plate, pop it in her mouth, and swallow it one time at a Chinese buffet.
• Funnel Cake: A former roommate of mine always used order one with strawberry sauce and vanilla ice cream when we went to a nearby rest-o-bar to watch "Monday Night Football",  I decided to try one to see what the fuss was about. As I'm not a big dessert eater, I'll stick with wings and beer when watching sports.
• Gumbo: I recently made some gumbo using a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food: Great Food Fast cookbook.My wife and I loved it, though I wish I had used better sausages and real crab meat instead of the imitation stuff. I'll make amends next time.
• Jerk Chicken: Even though I don't like really spicy foods, I love a good piece of jerk chicken. I don't get people who insist on having the spiciest food just to show how much heat they can endure, you can't enjoy a meal if your eyes are watering and your tongue is burning.
• Lobster: That next time I have lobster, I want to have the Lobster Wellington, a dish I saw featured on "You Gotta Eat Here!", but it looks like I'll have to go Moncton's Catch 22 Lobster Bar for that meal.
• Octopus: This may be a cheat, but I enjoyed the baby octopus that found its way in a plate of calamari I had.
• Raw Oysters: I developed a taste for oysters back when I worked at a local supermarket, I used to take some of the samples that were prepared for the customers. Not bad eating for a guy making minimum wage at the time.
• S’mores: If you haven't had s'mores on a camping trip, you haven't really been camping.
• Snail: The word "snail" doesn't look appetizing on a menu, but call it escargot, you have yourself a delicacy. With enough garlic butter and cheese, anything can taste good.
• Spam: Depending on who you ask, Spam is either something you put in between two pieces of bread and stick in a lunchbox; something that clogs your inbox; an important staple in Hawaiian cuisine; or the keyword in a Monty Python sketch. I preferred the sketch over the sandwich, and I'm not that big a Python fan.
• Sweet Potato Fries: Tasty, but I prefer boring old regular spuds for my French fries.
• Venison: Back in the day a friend of my father's gave him a piece of deer meat from one of his hunting trips. I don't know if frying it a pan with some onions is the proper way to cook venison, but it tasted pretty good to me.

Cooking with the Wild Ace

In honour of Wrestlemania weekend, I'm going to focus on a local pro wrestler I know, the Wild Ace. He used to wrestle in the now-defunct local promotion PCW, Provincial Championship Wrestling. When he wasn't in the squared circle, he was my personal trainer when I could be bothered to go to GoodLife. He also fancies himself to be quite the chef. This is NOT part of his wrestling gimmick.- Check him out in his Cooking Corner.

Who Wants to Host a "Mad Men" party?

The television phenomena "Mad Men" returns on the 25th, and what better way to celebrate the adventures of Don Draper and the rest of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce than to host a viewing party. It's a great way to get into the spirit of everyone's favorite 1960s period piece, and with all the food being served, you don't have to be a fan of the show in order to take part in the fun. When it comes to the food, you can go one of two ways, prepare some of the dishes seen on the show, or prepare something using a recipe from the swinging sixties. A great starting point for old cookbooks is the public library and the remaining Book Markets in Ottawa. It's not a bad idea to going through an old cookbook anytime, really - where else can you get a good grasp of the basics of what are now classic dishes? Foods such as fillet of beef wellington, potato gratin, creamed spinach¹, leg of lamb², or as an alternative, lamb lollipops and Swedish meatballs were featured on various episodes. The spread can be filled out with era specific dishes such as deviled eggs, gazpacho and rumaki³. For dessert, you could go with either a grasshopper pie, or a lime sherbet to complete the retro touch. And what would a Mad Men be without liquor? Put that drink menu you always get from the LCBO to use, and buy what you need to make some martinis and Old Fashioned's. Break out your fancy chip-and-dip bowl, and pretend it's Pete's wedding gift. All that's needed to complete the evening is the wardrobe. Depending on your budget, your best bets are either Value Village, Ragtime, or the "Mad Men" inspired line at Banana Republic to complete the look.

---

^{1 "}TV Dinners: Mad Men Menu and Party Plan"
² "How to Throw a Mad Men Party: Recipes, Cocktails and More"
³  "The Mad Men Party: the Food"

Lapointe's: Not the Catch of the Day

For someone who calls himself a foodie, I don't go out to restaurants as much as you would think. When I do, it would be to celebrate an event of some kind, or as part of a date night. On one of those date nights a few years ago, my wife and I, after wandering around the Market for a while, decided to try Lapointe's Fish Market Restaurant. We enjoyed the food there that day and we both added Lapointe's to our list of favorite restaurants. Unfortunately, this is not now the case for either of us.

The first time we were there, I ordered the halibut fish and chips, and Dawn had the calamari. I’m not a big fish eater, but I enjoyed my order, the batter was crispy, the fish was nicely cooked, and the tartar sauce was so good, I only used the ketchup for my fries. Dawn liked her plate of calamari, saying it was the best she had ever eaten, neither rubbery, or over-fried, served with a spicy dipping sauce. Even though it was a busy Friday night, we received our orders in a reasonable amount of time. We both looked forward to our next outing at what we thought was our new go-to restaurant for seafood.  When that Friday night come around sometime later, we again went with the fish and chips with some calamari as an appetizer. Our meal was good, but it didn’t blow us away as it did the first time. We both chalked it up to an off night in the kitchen, and we still considered Lapointe's a good place to go for a meal. That all come to an end during our next outing there.

Unlike the previous times, we went on a weekday as we were celebrating my birthday. Even though there were few people in the restaurant, we still had to wait five minutes to be seated. Once we were seated, there was another long wait to get our drink orders placed, and another long wait to get our water glasses filled. Then for whatever reason, despite there being plenty of empty tables throughout the place they seated another patron so close to us you would have thought it was a table for three. The final straw came when a group of people came in, and were seated and got their orders placed before us. We got up and left. Someone who I assumed was the manager asked us in passing if everything was alright, and I told him “No, it isn’t!” as we made our way up to street level. The evening was salvaged when we decided to go across the street to Coasters Seafood Grill. The difference was like night and day. Even though it was busy and we had to wait for a table, we were served drinks from the bar in an area off to the side of the entrance. When we got our table, the wait staff didn’t think it was beneath them to actually do their jobs, and took our order. The experience at Lapointe's turned Dawn off seafood for the evening and she ordered the cheeseburger platter. As I was still in the mood for something from the sea, I went with the all-you-can-eat mussels served in a garlic and white wine sauce. We were both satisfied with our choices, and have gone back to Coasters since then. Fortunately neither the food nor the service declined in our subsequent visits.

I have never had as bad an experience at a restaurant as I did at Lapointe’s before or since that evening. When Dawn called the restaurant to complain the next day, the manager apologized profusely, and mailed us a gift certificate for a complimentary meal. That free meal voucher was included with the gift we gave to a couple we knew who were getting married. Despite learning the restaurant is under new management since our last visit, we have not been back to the York St. location, nor have we gone to any of Lapointe’s other locations. As far as I’m concerned, when a restaurant allows its standards to fall off the charts this badly, they should never be given a second chance. I’m not expecting a perfect time every time I go out to eat at a restaurant, but I shouldn’t leave a place with that bad a taste in my mouth without even getting served one forkful of food. This restaurant is definitely the one that got away.

Cooking with...Coolio?!?

One of the worst cooking shows I've seen, "Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off", ended with Lou Diamond Phillips beating Coolio to win $50 000 for charity. If you're having a hard time wrapping your head around the idea of the guy who sang "Gangsta's Paradise" on a cooking show, this isn't the first time Artis Leon Ivey Jr. has been filmed in the kitchen. He hosted his own cooking show on YouTube back in 2008. I assume he stopped making episodes when he was detained at Los Angeles airport in 2009 for possession of something that he shouldn't have cooked up, crack cocaine. At any rate here's Episode 1 for your Family Day enjoyment:

Valentine's Day cooking

Everyone's favorite Hallmark holiday is around the corner, and a lot of people will be going out for a meal with their special someone. While you can't go wrong with the Valentine's Day menus restaurants trot out this time of year, I would recommend people attempt to make something at home. I can understand why one would balk at doing this, as no one wants to run the risk of ruining a romantic dinner by making a mistake in the kitchen. But with a little planning, that doesn't have to be the case. A good Valentine's dinner doesn't have to be complicated.  In fact, the less complicated the meal is, the more time you'll have for the "dessert" part of the evening. The first time I cooked for my wife, I decided to make a roast chicken. My wife, being the sweetheart that she is, loved the meal, and she really appreciated the effort I put into it. Little things like using the good plates, candles, and a tablecloth, helped. When it comes to cooking, you can't go wrong when you cook with love.

Roasted Lemon Chicken

thyme (fresh if possible)
oregano (fresh if possible)
rosemary (fresh if possible)
chopped garlic
white wine
1 lemon
chopped onion
olive oil
1 chicken (about 2 kg in size)

1. Cut the tips of the wings off the chicken. Separate the skin from the meat by gently working from the front and back of the breasts with your fingers. Separate the skin as far as your fingers can reach. 
2. Rub inside and outside the skin with pinches of the spices, some salt and pepper, garlic, olive oil, and the juice from the lemon.
3. Place the chicken breast-down in a roasting pan and sprinkle with some more spices, olive oil, lemon juice, and onions. Roast at 375 degrees F.
4. After 20 minutes, flip the chicken over, baste, and roast for an hour.
5. To make a gravy, bring 3/4 of a cup of white wine to boil in a pan and add the drippings from the roasting pan. Add 3 tablesppons of flour (or cornstrach) and whisk until smooth over a medium heat.

This meal is best served with a salad and mashed potatoes. Happy Valentine's Day.

Ottawa chefs in Top Chef Canada

A big Franklin on Food shout-out goes out to Jonathan Korecki, the head chef at Sidedoor restaurant, and Curtis Luk, the sous chef at The Courtyard restaurant for making the cut to appear on the second season every Canadian foodie's favourite show, Top Chef Canada. Check out there audition tapes below. Go get them boys!

Jonathan Korecki's Top Chef Canada Audition


Curtis Luk's Top Chef Canada Audition

Superbowl Chili

This week I was watching the episode of "Top Chef" where the elimination challenge involved teams making chili for some rodeo cowboys, and I was surprised to see that one of the recipes was similar to a recipe I've been using for my Superbowl chili. It's adapted from a recipe I found in the January 2003 edition of Maxim magazine, and it's perfect for a party to watch the big game Sunday. Go Giants!

Chop 1 1/4 cups of onions; 1 1/4 cups of celery; 1 1/4 cups of bell peppers, 3 jalapeno peppers; and 3 cloves of garlic, and set them aside. In a large pan, brown 2 1/2 pounds of stewing beef. Once done, place the beef in a large stock pot, along with all the chopped vegetables; the entire contents of a can of whole tomatoes; a can of stout (i.e. Guinness, Alexander Keith's Dark Ale); a can of tomato paste; 1 1/4 cups of your favourite spicy barbecue sauce; 2 tablespoons of chili powder; 1 1/4 teaspoons of oregano; 1 1/4 teaspoons of cumin, and a few shakes of Tabasco sauce.. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a low heat, cover, and let everything simmer for at least 2 hours. Stir every now and then.

The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste, so if possible, have everything in the pot and on the stove at noon so you can dig into a hot steaming bowl of chili at kickoff. You can add a can of kidney beans if you want, but I can deal without a bunch of farting football fans during the halftime show, so I usually don't. For an extra bit of flavour, put a cinnamon stick in the center of the chili during the simmering process.

Recipe for hot chocolate

Here's a recipe for hot chocolate I did from the book "Cooking for Geeks". It is the first time I've posted to YouTube, so let me know what you think of the recipe, and the video. Enjoy!

Commentary on this year's food trends (2012)

During a recent scan of the Internet, I saw what some are saying about what's going to be hot in food this year. Here's my take on what I learned:

• People who like cooking with maple syrup will want to try using birch syrup in their favorite recipes. It's quite popular in the Yukon and Alaska because of its bolder, more savory taste, so for anyone wanting to experiment,  La Bottega in the Byward Market has been carrying this product since 2007.
• This will be the year pasta makes its comeback against the anti-carbs movement. I'm a bit skeptical of this as I didn't think eating pasta ever went out of style, and I haven't heard anyone talking about the Atkins diet in ages.
•  Petite produce, or baby vegetables, will take farmer's markets by storm this year. 
  
  This is not trick photography, these are actual vegetables that were either fully ripe and miniature-size, or cultivated to be small. All the same nutritional value but packed with more flavour and more tender than regular vegetables. I imagine these tiny fruits and vegetables could be put to excellent use in soups, platters, and in baking. I will have to keep an eye out for petite produce the next time I feel like having grilled vegetables this summer.
• Rejoice gluten intolerant, there will be more choices for people who want gluten-free foods.
• You know those single bite servings you see being served to "Top Chef" judges during challenges- they will be coming to everyday restaurants for you to enjoy. The presentation and flavour of the dish aside, I want a bit more than one mouthful of great food when I go out for my fine dining experience.
• As someone who regularly skips either breakfast or lunch, I'm not surprised that the idea of eating three meals a day is starting to be phased out. What with work, family, sleep, Food Channel On Demand, and Playstation3, it goes without saying that something's got to give.
• Whether it's to reduce one's carbon footprint, support local farmers, or a preference for fresh produce, the local food trend shows no sign of slowing down. Check out the Ottawa Farmer's Market website to see where the closest market is to you.
• Korean cuisine, along with high-end Indian food are the new Thai, as Asian food will continue to be popular. I've never tried Korean food before, but I'm sure I can find something to my tastes on a menu largely based upon rice, vegetables, and meats. I'm not sure if it qualifies as "high-end" in terms of Indian food, but I had the food over at Haveli's when a couple my wife and I know invited us out to dinner there a few years ago. It was the first time for me and my wife trying Indian food, so we played it safe and ordered mild versions of the chicken tika masala, and butter chicken respectively. Our friends love Indian food, and raved about their meal choices. My wife found even the mild flavoring too hot for her palette, and I regretted going with the less spicy version. I will have to remember to go big or home in terms of spices the next time I have Indian.
• Taste sensations such as pizza topped with hummus and wasabi peas, and hamburger-filled sushi are projected to be popular. I can see how something garlicky and spicy would go good with pizza, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around hamburger sushi. Not that I'm a sushi connoisseur. The idea of even eating raw fish didn't appeal to me until some friend's of mine made some for me before they went to teach English in Japan. I didn't want to offend them by wussing out of eating the rolls they made, and I'm glad I didn't. The freshness of the fish; the texture of the nori; the stickiness of the rice the saltiness of the soya sauce, the hotness of the wasabi. Very tasty.
• The idea of raising chickens in your backyard continues to gain steam. This seems like more trouble than it's worth for a supply of fresh eggs or meat, but if people are willing to take the necessary precautions to ensure the coops are clean, and that the spread of diseases like salmonella and bird flu are minimized, I say go for it. It's not as if the city would become overrun with chickens overnight. The city would have to change its bylaw to allow residents to keep poultry, and Urban Hen Ottawa is leading the charge to make this happen.
• I'm surprised this hasn't been done already, but wine on tap may be appearing in more bars and restaurants soon. The wine is kept in stainless-steel kegs where pressurized nitrogen is use to push the wine through a draft-beer line system. I'm sure traditionalists will balk at this manner at first, but they say keeping the wine in kegs prevents it from going funky and flat, and the wine actually tastes better on tap than it does in a bottle, as the nose become more intense due to a lack of bottle shock. I'll take their word on that. I still have to read the label on the bottle to know what food goes well with it.
•  "Xue hua bing" (pronounced SHY-A wap-Bing), or "snowflake ice" is a hot new frozen treat coming out of Taiwan. Essentially, it's large flavored blocks of skim milk and fruit placed in a snow machine and shaved into delicate layers of creamy, airy goodness. How great does that sound? Probably as good as it looks.
  

New Asian Supercentre opens

An Asian Supercentre opened in Orleans this week. Having never made the trek to T&T, I was interested enough in this multicultural big-box store to go to the grand opening yesterday. Very impressed with the selection and the opening week sales. I wasn't impressed with the power outrage when I was next in line at the cash with my purchase (a frozen whole duck, and four frozen duck legs). They were only able to take cash, and I planned on using Interac. D'oh. Anyways, here's some cellphone pictures of some of what I saw:

Allow Me To Introduce Myself

Welcome to my blog. My name is Andrew and over the years I’ve discovered that I like to cook. This came as a surprise to me as Home Ec was not one of my favorite classes in elementary school, and I had never thought about food as anything other than something to eat when I’m hungry. Cooking only became something worth knowing about when I moved out of my parent’s house, and I realized that I couldn’t order take-out or run back home for a meal every time my stomach growled. While I don’t possess the culinary skills of a Michelin Star chef, I’m proud to say that I can do more than open a can of soup, and whip up a grilled cheese sandwich as I did in my mid-twenties. Today I can impress my wife and my friends with the meals I can cook, and I hope to pass on my love of cooking to our young son when he gets older. Not bad for someone who thought following a simple recipe just wasn’t worth the effort.

In between visits to the Ottawa Food and Wine Convention and watching my favorite celebrity chefs on TV, I keep hearing the term “foodie” thrown about. Thinking it was just another buzzword, I was surprised to learn that the word has been around since the early 80s, and was coined by Paul Levy and Ann Barr, who used it in the title of their book The Official Foodie Handbook.1 A foodie is someone who loves to learn about food for consumption, study, preparation, and news. They are interested in food fads, food distribution, cooking classes, culinary tourism, restaurant management, knowing about the behind the scenes aspects of the food industry, and learning about the science behind food; they like going to wineries and breweries for wine and beer sampling, and they follow restaurant openings and closings. This description fits me, as I enjoy flipping through cookbooks, and I love watching shows like “Iron Chef” and “Top Chef”, and I’m not sophisticated enough to call myself a gourmet. I’ve been wanting to write a blog for some time now, and I hope I can pass on some of the insights about cooking, restaurants, and food I’ve learned over the years to others. I plan to post something whenever I have a spare moment, so if you liked what you’ve read so far, check back now and then to see what I have to say. Until then, bon appétit!

 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodie