Rasta Pasta Memories

A pasta dish that has recently caught people's attention is a Jamaican take on Italian cuisine. When it was first created, people associated the colours of this meal with the colours of Rastafarianism, and the shapes of the noodles with dreadlocks, earning the dish the name rasta pasta. I will always associate anything calling itself rasta pasta with a conversation I had in the 90s back when 8-ball and Starter jackets were fashionable and you could still smoke in malls. I was on a 95 heading back to Orleans from the Woodroffe campus of Algonquin with my friend who was instrumental in my creating an hors d'oeuvre. She had noticed that pasta was one of the specialties featured in neon on the sign that wrapped around the Dancing Mermaid restaurant near the Kent St bus stop, and said: "Does that say rasta on that sign?". As her boyfriend at the time was a friend of mine of Jamaican persuasion, I laughed and wisecracked "What, you're seeing a Jamaican guy and you're seeing rastas everywhere now?" Her look of shocked embarrassment egged me on to follow up with "Maybe you guys should go there, have some rasta pasta or something." The look soon turned to angry annoyance when another passenger on the bus joined in the fun saying she'd love a bowl of rasta pasta as well. My friend got back at me by telling our circle of friends that it was I who misread the sign and that she and the woman were the ones having a laugh at my expense. At least now with the recipe below they can have all the rasta pasta they want.

Ingredients

500 g boneless chicken breasts or shredded rotisserie chicken (if you have 2 cups of jerk ckicken, even better)
454 g pasta (fettuccine, penne, or rigatoni can be used)
25 g jerk seasoning (you can use a premade version if you want, or the following recipe)

15 g onion powder
15 g garlic powder
10 g teaspoons cayenne pepper
10 g teaspoons salt
10 g teaspoons ground black pepper
10 g teaspoons dried thyme (or use 5g ground thyme)
10 g teaspoons sugar (or use brown sugar)
5 g teaspoon ground allspice
5 g teaspoon dried parsley
5 g teaspoon paprika
2.5 g teaspoon hot pepper flakes
2.5 g teaspoon ground cinnamon
2.5 g teaspoon ground nutmeg
2.5 g teaspoon ground clove
1 g teaspoon ground cumin
Mix everything in a bowl until it is well combined. Store in an air-tight containter afterwards.

120 g green onions, sliced
120 mL coconut milk or heavy cream
80 g parmesan cheese, grated
60 mL chicken or vegetable stock
30 mL tablespoons vegetable oil, split into two equal portions
3 bell peppers preferably red yellow and green, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, take it out when it is “al dente”, and set it aside.
2. If you are using cooked chicken, chop it into pieces, toss it with the jerk season, and set everything aside. If you are using raw chicken breast, chop it into pieces, toss it with the jerk seasoning, and cook the chicken in a heavy-bottomed pot with one of the portions of vegetable oil until it's golden and cooked through. Remove the meat from the pot, and set it aside.
3. Pour the remaining vegetable oil into the pot, and saute the bell peppers with the green onions, and the minced garlic and cook until it’s fragrant. Add the coconut milk, the chicken, and the stock in the pot, and let everything simmer for a few minutes or until the sauce thickens. 
4. Taste to see if more jerk seasoning is required, then mix in the parmesan in the sauce and then mix in the pasta. Garnish with chopped chives, green onions, or parsley and serve.

Superbowl Eats - Kansas City Chiefs edition

Before Patrick Mahomes came to town and started lighting up Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City was known mostly for its BBQ. Kansas City-style barbecue is meat rubbed with spices, slow-smoked, and served with a sweet, tangy, thick tomato-based sauce. With the defending Superbowl champion Chiefs playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Superbowl LV, it's a perfect opportunity to make a batch of  KC-style baby back ribs. For those more interested in the food, the halftime show, and the commercials than in the Big Game, I would still suggest paying close attention to the Chiefs' number 16. The Chiefs have playmakers at running back, at tight end, and at wide receiver, but everything about this team starts with Mahomes. Only four years in the league, he already transcends the game with his passing, his athleticism, and his ability to make big plays when needed - think Michael Jordan if he were playing quarterback. For the past decade, Tom Brady has been the Whole Fucking Show as far as the NFL is concerned. With a win on Sunday against Brady's Bucs, Mahomes will become the New Fucking Show. So sit back, grab a rib, and bear witness to the Next Big Thing in sports.

Ingredients

2 900 g racks of baby back pork ribs
350 g ketchup
90 g yellow mustard
80 g molasses (not blackstrap)
80 g light or dark brown sugar, divided into 35g and 45g portions, packed
80 g chopped onion
40 g sweet paprika
35 g chili powder
15 g tablespoon salt
2.5 g teaspoon cayenne pepper
120 mL cider vinegar
40 mL Worcestershire sauce
30 mL vegetable oil
5 mL liquid smoke (optional)
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
hot sauce, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 162°C. Line a large heavy rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the ribs side by side on it.
2. Whisk together the chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, and the smaller portion of brown sugar in a bowl and rub the mixture onto both sides of the ribs. Let the ribs stand, with the meaty sides up, at room temperature, for an hour. When the oven is ready, cover the baking sheet tightly with foil and bake for 1.5 hours.
3. In a heavy pot, cook the onion in the vegetable oil over medium-low heat, covered, for about 10-15 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for a minute. Add remaining ingredients, including remaining brown sugar, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Let the sauce cool slightly and purée it in a food processor. Once done, set aside a cup of the sauce for serving.
4. Remove the foil cover and turn the rib racks over so the bone ends curve up, then baste ribs with pan juices and spread generously with some of the sauce. Continue to bake, uncovered for 30 minutes. Turn racks over, then baste again with pan juices and top with more sauce. Continue to bake for about 30-45 minutes until the meat is tender when pierced with a small knife.
5. Broil the ribs for 2-3 minutes, meaty sides up, until they're browned. Serve them with reserved sauce.

Superbowl Eats - Tampa Bay Buccaneers edition

Like many a snowbird, Tom Brady came to Tampa Bay looking for some fun in the sun. The six-time Superbowl champion found just that in his move to Florida, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to their second Superbowl appearance with his record-setting tenth appearance in the big game. I don't want to see the Golden Boy win another Superbowl, nor do I care to see his fellow New England Patriot-turned-Tampa Bay Buccaneer Rob Gronkowski win another championship either. And even though they are a much better team than I ever gave them credit for this season, I am completely indifferent about the rest of this Bucs team. But after seeing a profile about their coach Bruce Arians, I would like to see him and his coaching staff win a Superbowl. He seems like a guy I would like to have a pint with after a game as well as play hard for if he were my coach. I got to give credit where it's due, he got more out of a 40+-year quarterback than a certain hoodie-wearing coach could, and that's saying something given he's an automatic Hall of Famer just as his former quarterback will be.  With his forever association with New England, it's fitting to make clam chowder to celebrate Brady's latest (and hopefully last) attempt to make his mark in the NFL history books.

Ingredients

740 g canned chopped clams in their juice
680 g littleneck clams in shells, scrubbed (about 18)
680 g potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
230 g celeriac peeled and diced small
500 mL whole milk
25 mL olive oil
6 parnsnips, peeled and diced small
4 strips of bacon, choped ito small pieces
1 large yellow onion, chopped into small pieces
Kosher salt, to taste
fresh tarragon leaves (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 205C. Toss the parsnips and the celeriac with the olive oil and spread everything in a single layer on a baking pan. Add the littleneck clams to the sheet and roast for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the clams have opened up.
2. Place a deep heavy pot over medium-low heat on the stove. Add the bacon pieces and cook for 8 minutes until most of the fat has rendered out. Remove the bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon, then cook the onions in the bacon fat until they're translucent, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and the milk to the pot, and bring everything to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the potatoes cook for about 10 minutes until they're fork-tender. Use either an immersion blender to blend the base, or mix in batches in a blender until smooth, adding it back into the pot as you go.
4. Add the canned clams with the juice, the whole clams, and the roasted vegetables to the chowder base. Bring everything to a simmer and season with salt to taste; the clams and the bacon will be salty enough on their own, no need to go overboard. Makes enough for six servings.

NOTE: The above recipe was taken from one of my favourite cookbooks "The Laws of Cooking (and how to break them)" by Justin Warner, Flatiron Books.

A Trip to Flavortown

When it comes to Guy Fieri, you either love him to death or despise him on sight. The first time I ever heard of the future Mayor of Flavortown it wasn't even food-related, he was on the cover of a video game version of a game show called Minute to Win It. I later learned that Fieri was more than a game show host, as he owned several restaurants along with appearing on several cooking shows. Soon I was seeing Fieri's blonde spiked hair and flaming shirts everywhere. While the loud bro-tastic goofball persona he created for himself got him television ratings, it also turned Fieri into a bit of punchline in the cooking world, with a New York Times food critic famously savaging Fieri's now-closed restaurant in Times Square in a review. But Fieri took all the Smashmouth jokes in stride, and he has since been commended for his efforts to raise money for unemployed restaurant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for feeding the firemen who put out the forest fires in California. In honour of his birthday, I thought it would be fitting to post a recipe for the condiment that will forever be linked to Fieri's name, Donkey Sauce. As Fieri has pointed out, Donkey Sauce is just an aioli; contrary to popular belief, an aioli is not fancy mayonnaise, as mayo is made with egg yolks and canola oil, while an aioli is made from garlic and olive oil. This sauce can be used on sandwiches, chicken, fish, vegetables, or as a dipping sauce, and can quickly be made for the next marathon of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives". 

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic
115 g mayonnaise
22 mL lemon juice
15 mL Worcestershire sauce
2.5 g yellow mustard
salt
pepper

1. Take the cloves of unpeeled garlic and wrap them in foil. Place it into an oven at 190°C and roast for 30 minutes or until the garlic becomes soft. 
2. Carefully squeeze the softened garlic out, discarding the peels, into a food processor along with the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mustard, a pinch of salt, and lots of cracked pepper. Blend everything until everything is completely mixed together. 
3. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed, then let it chill in your fridge to let all the flavours develop.

2020 - What the Hell Was That

Lockdowns, food shortages, food delivery going from luxury to necessity, restaurant closures, facemasks, outdoor dining - saying the past year was unlike any other is an understatement. In a year where COVID-19 dominated everyone's life, some things in the world of food may have escaped your attention. Now is as good a time as any to comment on those stories as part of the process of putting some closure to the year 2020.

The end of racist food marketing
Aunt Jemina, Uncle Ben, and the Land O Lakes woman all got their walking papers in 2020 after food companies decided that racism was no longer necessary to sell their products. Inspired (or shamed) by the Black Lives Matter protests of George Floyd’s death, PepsiCo decided to change the name and brand image of its Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup, and other food companies soon followed.  The usual suspects bemoaned these changes as cancel culture, which is ironic because whining that you can't enjoy your meals without seeing a racial stereotype on the packaging sounds like the snowflake behaviour they normally don't condone.

Sourdough
Back during the early days of the pandemic when being forced to stay in your home for long periods was still new and unfamiliar,  many people tried their hand at baking. With so much time on their hands, a lot of those bakers channeled their anxiety about not being able to find toilet paper into perfecting the sourdough starter needed for the popular bread. As one of the few food bloggers to have not made or eaten sourdough in 2020, I had no idea it took about seven days to make a starter, and then another two weeks for it to become active. It also explains why this trend died out as people adapted to pandemic living over the year. There's no waiting for three weeks for a loaf of good bread when you have Zoom meetings to attend in between troubleshooting your kid's online schooling issues.

Popeyes' Chicken Sandwich Launched In Canada
A year where restaurants were either temporarily shut down or closed outright for various COVID-related reasons may not be the ideal time to debut a new sandwich but the demand for the Popeyes fried chicken sandwich was just that high. With no reports of the chaos that happened in the United States when the sandwich debuted there, the launch went better than the current COVID vaccine rollout. When I finally got the chance to try the sandwich, I didn't have the religious experience I was promised in the commercials but instead had the pleasure of eating something that lived up to the hype surrounding it. It's a damn good fast-food sandwich, definitely give it a try if don't want to make your own. Popeyes' competitors have a lot of catching up to do.

Dangerous criminal portrayed as friendly sausage maker
Normally when someone drives a truck filled with weaponry through the front gate of Rideau Hall, they are described as a terrorist, or at the very least, a threat to the safety of the people around them. But in July 2020, the media chose to play up the sausage-making abilities of the person who did that very act. Described as a "good community member" known for his friendly demeanour and for the garlic sausage he made for his customers at his meat-producing business in northern Manitoba, the Royal Canadian Artillery veteran is currently facing 22 criminal charges, including uttering threats and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. If found guilty, maybe he will be allowed to work in the prison mess hall so his culinary skills don't go to waste. I won't be crying any tears if they do.

Adamson BBQ
When the yahoos who make up FordNation turned on Premier Dad, it wasn't pretty. Owner Adam Skelly decided that the rules everyone else had to follow didn't apply to him, forcing police to arrest him after he continued to allow indoor dining on the premises of one of his restaurants. What makes this story even more absurd is that Skelly's restaurant never should have been allowed to operate in the first place, as this businessman never bothered to get a business licence for his business. Claiming he defied the law to challenge the government's Reopening Ontario Act, Skelly will have his day in court in March of this year. I'm sure being a cause célèbre and a poster boy for the anti-mask crowd won't help his cause, but Skelly seems to believe any publicity is good publicity. I believe hearing more about a restaurant owner's shenanigans than about his restaurant's food isn't a good sign, so I'll spend my money at some other BBQ joint the next time I'm in Hogtown. I don't know much about the Toronto barbeque scene but this was not a good introduction to it.  

Wu-Tang helps Ottawa Foodbank
It's always good to hear positive stories about hip-hop artists, as the media usually tends to focus on the who-got-shot, who-got-arrested, who-got-who pregnant type of stories; sex and drugs are only cool when it involves rock n roll and white guys playing the guitar. Reminding everybody that they ain't nothing to fuck with, the Wu-Tang Clan helped raise over $170,000 for the Ottawa Food Bank last April. It all started with Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein agreeing to donate $1 to the Ottawa Food Bank for every retweet of one of his tweets, up to $10,000. Adam Miron, an Ottawa entrepreneur and the co-founder and director of HEXO put in for $10K as well and asked others to spread the word on Twitter. One of those others was the American rap group, or at least whoever runs their Twitter account.  They spread the word and sent a donation as well, and soon enough money was raised to provide one week of meals for 24,300 people. The collaboration with the Wu and the Ottawa Food Bank led to the "A Better Tomorrow" campaign in May that raised money for the Ottawa Food Bank, the Ottawa Mission, and CHEO. I probably have as many black T-shirts as George Stroumboulopoulos, so I passed on getting the sold-out OttaWu tee, but I did get a chuckle seeing Mayor Watson wearing one. Even though cash rules everything around him, Jim doesn't look like much of a Wu-Tang fan.

What does 2021 have in store for us? Stay tuned...

The Need To Know Classic That Is: Cacio e Pepe

When people go to Italy, the dish that usually gets the most raves is one of the easiest dishes there is to make. Cacio e pepe, literally cheese and pepper, has been pleasing people since the days of ancient Rome. To get them through a hard day's work, shepherds would bring dried pasta, some hard, salty sheep's milk cheese, and black pepper with them in order to make a filling meal. While not traditional to cacio e pepe, bacon or seafood may be added, and other shapes of pasta may be used. However you serve it, it's simple but sophisticated comfort food at its best. Consider this the dish you deserve for surviving this year of the pandemic in the year Two Thousand and Twenty.  

Ingredients

450 g pasta (spaghetti, tonnarelli traditionally)
225 g pecorino Romano, very finely grated
7 g pepper (coarsely ground)
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil. When the water is at a hard boil, add the pasta, then turn off the heat. Place a lid on the pot and remove it from the burner - in 15 minutes you should have perfect al dente pasta. Save at least two cups of the pasta water after draining the pasta.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large pan over medium heat with enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the pepper, and let it cook for about 20 seconds. Pour 175 mL into the pan and let it boil.
3. Add the drained pasta to the hot pan. Using tongs, toss the pasta to coat it in the peppery liquid, then sprinkle in about 80% of the cheese. Keep tossing the pasta, adding more pasta water as needed to make a creamy sauce that sticks to the pasta, tasting and adding salt as needed.
4. Once done, finish with the remaining cheese and more pepper. Serve immediately.

Bake Yourself Happy - Skuish Cookies

Cookie connaisseurs rejoice - Skuish will change how you think about baking cookies. This Ottawa-Toronto based company sells and delivers (free of charge) raw and frozen cookies. The cookies last up to three months in the freezer and can be baked straight from frozen, allowing you to quickly whip up a batch of cookies better than the ones that come from that chemically enhanced doughboy. 

Skuish cookies don't use eggs, butter, or milk in their cookie dough, which is good news for those allergic to those ingredients, and they have plant-based cookie options as well for vegan and vegetarian tastes. The chocolates used in their signature flavours contain milk, while the plant-based cookie options use chocolate without milk.  Because of their desire to make a positive impact in the communities they sell in, Skuish plans to do their part to end child hunger in Canada by donating five meals for every box sold, so no need to feel guilty for not baking from scratch. 

When the sample I was graciously sent arrived this week, I didn't expect billiard ball-sized cookie dough balls when I opened the box. Weighing in at about a quarter-pound each, I took one from each bag sent, their Classic Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Birthday Cake, and Resse Peanut Butter Crumble flavours.  Then it just a matter of following the instructions on the box, and soon I had three giant cookies fresh from the oven. You may have to adjust how long you keep your baked goods in the oven depending on whether you prefer your cookies soft and gooey, or crisp and crunchy, but it will be worth the wait. My favourite was the Resse Peanut Butter Crumble, which I devoured during a coffee break. If you need a last-minute gift idea for that special cookie monster in your life, or if you want to really impress Santa this year, you can't go wrong with Skuish cookies. Just be sure you have something at the ready to dunk them in.

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