Friday, March 30, 2012

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.






Monday, March 12, 2012

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 wellingtonpotato 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 eggsgazpacho 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 VillageRagtime, 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"

      Random Thoughts About The I Heart Beer + Taco Festival Tour

      The second edition of the two-day  I❤︎ Beer & Taco Festival rolled into Ottawa last weekend. I went to the second of three sessions, the...