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The "Flag Wave" at the opening of the Canada vs U.S. game at the World Juniors on Dec. 31st! The huge flag started its trek around the arena in the section where we sat. It traveled "overhead" around the arena a couple times.
It was a New Year’s Eve to remember.
Instead of the usual evening of fondue or munchies and a movie, this year I travelled back to Ottawa on Dec. 31st – this time with Murray – to watch the much-anticipated Canada vs US hockey game in the World Junior series.
We were there along with 20,000-plus crazed Canadian fans who screamed and cheered noisily through most of the game. Although things started out shakily with the U.S. quickly racking up three goals in the first period, the Canadian boys worked hard and won the game 7-4.
We were back in our hotel room at the Marriott by 10:30 p.m., the hot dogs we’d eaten at the game a distant memory. (Thankfully, as they weren’t that good!) After Murray took some painkillers to help with a headache he’d been suffering all evening (probably from all those screaming fans), we decided to try the Toulouse Bistro in our hotel for a bite to eat. But we were out of luck. Although the restaurant was scheduled to be open until 1 a.m., when we arrived at 11:15 p.m., the kitchen had just stopped serving food. Something about being really backed up with orders…..
There weren’t too many other restaurants in the immediate vicinity of our hotel. But, there were a couple other options.
We could order pizza from one of the flyers that had been shoved under our hotel room door while we were at the game.
Or, we could head to the Byward Market area where there were lots of restaurants. We weren’t really interested in pizza, and it was so cold out (-20-ishC with a strong wind) that wandering through the Byward Market held no appeal either.
Instead we decided to dress up warmly and dash over to a 24-hour Hasty Market convenience store and deli about a block away on the main floor of the Minto Suites where I often stay when in Ottawa on business.
After a search of the short aisles of the Hasty Market, we chose a small container of tuna pasta salad, a couple of buns and slices of Swiss cheese and cooked turkey, single-serve packets of mayonnaise, a bag of Snack Mix, and a tub of Haagen Dazs Triple Chocolate ice cream! Back in our room by 11:45 p.m., we devoured our late-night New Year’s Eve supper, toasting in 2009 with a diet Coke and orange juice. It may not have been the finest New Year’s Eve food we’d ever eaten, but that night, everything seemed especially tasty.
Although the following Nicoise Pasta Salad does not have the same texture or all the same ingredients as the creamy tuna and pasta salad I enjoyed on New Year’s Eve, it shows another delicious way to enjoy the combination of tuna, pasta and veggies.
Nicoise Pasta Salad
(Makes 4 servings)
3 cups (750 mL) penne or fusilli
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 sweet green or yellow pepper, cut into strips
Half of a red onion, sliced
1 can (7 oz/198 g) chunk tuna, drained and broken into pieces
1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced black olives
3 tablespoons (45 mL) red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 mL) lemon juice
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup (75 mL) olive oil
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped fresh basil
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
Cook penne in a large pot of boiling water until tender but firm, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain well and place in a bowl. Add tomatoes, sweet peppers, onion, tuna and olives.
Whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and garlic. Gradually whisk in oil. Pour over pasta mixture. Add basil. Toss gently to combine. Garnish with egg slices.
It’s December 27th.
I don’t go back to work until January 6th, so I wouldn’t say Christmas vacation is over, but once we get back home to Kitchener from Winnipeg, where we spend Christmas with our families, it always feels as if the holiday part is pretty much over.
We got home late on December 25th. Christmas is officially over.
So, how did I spend this holiday?
It was a pretty typical Christmas except for the start. We were scheduled to fly out of Toronto at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, December 21st. It was supposed to snow the night before our departure, so to avoid a slow drive from Kitchener into Pearson Airport in Toronto if the roads were bad – which could possibly mean missing our flight – we decided to stay overnight at a hotel near the airport.
Chocolate Almond Toffee Bars
After a hectic day of last minute shopping and packing, we got into Toronto Saturday night, enjoyed a late supper at Moxies, then checked into the Toronto Airport Marriott where we snacked on Chocolate Almond Toffee Bars I had tucked into my suitcase at the last minute. We enjoyed a great night’s sleep under a cozy duvet with our heads comfortably resting on feather pillows.
The weather forecasters were on the mark as the next morning we woke to falling snow and slippery roads. We had planned to take the 7 a.m. hotel shuttle to the airport. Since we (unwisely) hadn’t built any extra time into our schedule (assuming that since we were so close to the airport, there couldn’t possibly be any delay getting to it!), when the shuttle hadn’t arrived by 7:10, we decided we’d better grab a cab.
Terminal 1 at Pearson International Airport was a zoo when we arrived. There were long line-ups everywhere and those in line did not look happy. There seemed to be rampant confusion everywhere with frazzled passengers not sure what line they should be in. We already had our boarding passes and just needed to drop off our luggage. When we finally found the end of the line we were to be in, I seriously doubted we would make our flight. I had never seen as long a line – just to drop off luggage.
I collect food-themed Christmas ornaments like this mini tree with ceramic S’mores. (Edible S’mores are a combo of melted marshmallow and chocolate atop a graham wafer or sandwiched between two wafers.)
Twelve inches high, this Christmas tree is adorned with tiny S'mores. It sits on my desk at work.
A close up of the ceramic S'mores (marshmallow snowmen atop a piece of chocolate and graham cracker).
My friends Yvonne and Pat are also food ornament collectors. Yvonne is a food consultant, food stylist, and author of two cookbooks (Prizewinning Preserves and Thyme in the Kitchen). Pat is a baker extraordinaire and a food consultant for Kraft Kitchens. They are both excellent cooks, and two of the most organized women I know!
Since the three of us work in food-related jobs – and we love to cook and eat – for years we have enjoyed the tradition of giving each other food-themed ornaments at Christmas. Every year the hunt is on to find something special to exchange…..something we haven’t already given each other! We’ve been doing this for long enough to amassed quite a collection of food-related ornaments.
Next Friday night we’re getting together for our annual Christmas dinner and gift exchange. I’ll post images of the new food ornaments we exchange but in the meantime, here’s a small “taste” of what’s in my collection. (Photos are courtesy of Yvonne.)
How often do you invite guests over and everyone ends up hanging out in the kitchen?
To be honest, it doesn’t happen too often at our house because our kitchen is soooo small. There’s just not much room for much partying if guests are wedged in between the fridge and the stove!
If your kitchen is a lovely large space, perhaps even open to the family room or great room, kitchen parties may be quite the norm when you’re entertaining, and you may be perfectly fine with this. But, occasionally you might secretly wish the guests would make themselves comfortable in other rooms of the house (logically, the living room or dining room!) – say, when you’re putting the finishing touches on dinner or if the kitchen is a mess from putting the finishing touches on dinner! Interior designer Loreen Epp has posted a few suggestions for getting the party out of the kitchen on her hot new blog – What’s New At Home (www.whatsnewathome.wordpress.com).
If you will be doing some entertaining this Christmas and would prefer that guests gather around the Christmas tree in the living room or the pool table in the family room, or in places beyond just the kitchen, check out Loreen’s suggestions.
Roasted Almonds
One of them is to spread party nibbles throughout the house, or at least in the rooms you want the guests to be in! People tend to congregate where there is food, hence the natural inclination to gather in the kitchen.
Speaking of party nibbles, here’s a great one to serve at your next holiday soiree! Making it shouldn’t create too much mess in your kitchen – just in case you find a few guests still hanging out between the fridge and the stove!
Roasted Almonds
(Makes about 3-1/2 cups (875 mL)
3-1/2 cups (875 mL) blanched or unblanched almonds
1 tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp (10 mL) coarse sea salt
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) smoked milk or hot paprika
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment (baking) paper or foil; set aside.
In a large bowl, toss almonds with oil, salt and paprika. Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast in a preheated 325 F (160 C) oven until fragrant and lightly toasted and unblanched almond skins have just begun to split, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
Tips:
* Sweet or hot paprika, ground cumin or curry powder can be substituted for the smoked paprika.
* Roasted Almonds can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Source: Canadian Living magazine, December 2005
The LCBO's complimentary Food & Drink magazine - 2008 Holiday Issue
If you live in Ontario (Canada) – run, don’t walk, to your nearest Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to pick up the holiday issue of Food & Drink magazine. This glossy magazine is always a knock-out, and the latest issue is no exception. That the magazine is free (yes, FREE!) makes it even more enticing, although I’ll bet many faithful readers would gladly pay to peruse the pages of this prodigious periodical.
Food & Drink is known for its exquisite photography, superb recipes, excellent information on wine and spirits, and inspiring ideas for entertaining and gift giving. It is published six times a year.
I drooled (figuratively, of course!) all over the 300+ pages of the latest issue, packed with holiday food and drink suggestions. The list of recipes I’d like to try is long. This is just a small portion of it!
Profiteroles with Caramel Sauce and Hedgehog Almond Praline (cover photo)…Baked Eggs with Mushroom Sauce…Caribbean Cruise Cocktail…Rich Chocolate Souffle…Individual Brie and Fig Strudels…Pecan and Banana Cake with Buttered Rum Glaze…Sesame Ginger Edamame…Raspberry Truffle Martini…Chinese Roast Turkey with Cranberry Ginger Chutney, Dry Fried Green Beans & Rice Stuffing…Butter Chicken…an Icewine Dinner Menu…Chocolate Mascarpone Cheese Ball with Dried Cherries & Bittersweet Wafers…
If your local LCBO has run out of copies of Food & Drink (they often disappear quickly), jog over to another LCBO (find the locations here). Or, let your fingers do the walking and speed-walk over to the LCBO’s web site for recipe and beverage suggestions for the Christmas season. You might not find the current issue’s contents posted yet, but recipes from past issues are online.
The Winter issue of Food & Drink will be on LCBO store shelves on Jan. 14. You’ll want to keep your running shoes handy.
Happy Hallowe'en
Hallowe’en is the perfect holiday to go over the top with decorations and party food. It’s probably the only time of year when poor taste and “grossness” are preferred, or at least tolerated.
If you’re planning a Hallowe’en menu, you can go all out and spend lots of time, money and energy on creating a “terrorific” atmosphere at the dinner table. Or you can unleash your imagination and stir up little home-brewed ambiance by simply renaming favorite foods.
Need some inspiration?
Why not serve worms and eyeballs and dried bones (spaghetti and meatballs and biscuits) for supper? Or how about witch’s fingers and slime sauce (chicken strips and ranch dressing or plum sauce dyed green) or barbequed bat wings (chicken wings) or witches’ brew and dracula diggers (chili and tortilla chips)?
Wild and whacky side dishes might include grass and weeds with sliced toadstools and witch’s teeth (salad greens with mushrooms and sunflower seeds), maggots (rice), rotting teeth (corn) or lizard tongues (sautéed red pepper strips or carrot sticks).
Pond scum (jello with gummi worms) or bones (meringue cookies) make delicious desserts, and swamp water (frozen lemonade concentrate, lemon-lime pop and lime sherbet) will wash the meal down.
Sounds tasty, doesn’t it?
Here are a couple recipes for dried bones. Bon Appetit!
Breadstick Bones
(Makes 6 breadsticks)
1 can refrigerated breadsticks
Melted butter or margarine
Italian seasoning, Tex Mex seasoning or grated Parmesan cheese
Open can and unroll dough; separate into 6 strips. Carefully stretch each strip until about 12 inches (30 cm) long. Loosely tie a knot in both ends of each breadstick. Place breadsticks on an ungreased baking sheet.
Brush melted butter over breadsticks. Sprinkle seasoning or cheese over top.
Bake in a preheated 375F (190C) oven until golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.
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Meringue Bones
(Makes about 2 dozen cookies)
5 egg whites
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cream of tartar
1-1/4 cups (300 mL) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla, orange or lemon extract
Line 1 or 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a piping bag with a round tip (about 3/8 inch/1 cm diameter).
With an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, a couple tablespoons (about 30 mL) at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until stiff peaks form and meringue is shiny and smooth. Add extract and beat just until combined.
Fill piping bag with meringue. Pipe a log about 3 inches (8 cm) long. Pipe two balls on both sides of the ends of the log. Repeat with remaining meringue. You can smooth any peaks that occur with a wet finger.
Bake in a preheated 220F (105C) oven for 30 minutes. Turn off heat. Leave cookies in oven for 8 hours or overnight. Store in an airtight container.
Tips:
* Let egg whites stand at room temperature for 20 minutes after separating; they will beat to a greater volume if they aren’t cold.
* Stirring a drop or two of yellow food colouring into the meringue mixture before baking will give the bones an aged look.
* If you don’t have a piping bag, use a sturdy ziplock bag. Cut off the tip once you have filled the bag with meringue mixture.
Enroute to London from Kitchener a few weeks ago, I drove the back roads to escape the crush of traffic on the busy Hwy 401, and also (and most truthfully!), to enjoy the fall beauty of Ontario’s rural landscape.
My journey took me past a couple fields of pumpkins. A pumpkin patch is one of my favourite autumnal scenes. All those orange globes of varying shapes and sizes dotting the landscape seem like a vast field of creative dreams and artistic possibilities.
The pumpkins in the fields I saw that day were most probably destined to become Hallowe’en decorations, hollowed out and carved into smiling or scary faces.
Pumpkins best suited for cooking are small to medium pie pumpkins. They should feel heavy for their size and not be bruised or cracked.
Pumpkin can be cooked in a variety of ways.
* To bake, cut pumpkin into large chunks. Remove the seeds and fibre. Place the pieces in a baking dish with a little water, cover and bake at 325°F (160°C) until tender, about 50 minutes. Scoop the pulp from the rind; mash or purée.
* To boil or steam, cut pumpkin into large pieces. Remove the seeds and fibre. Cut pumpkin into cubes. Boil in lightly salted water or steam until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove cubes from the water and let cool slightly. Scoop pulp from rind.
* To microwave, cut pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds and fibre; peel. Cut the flesh into 1-1/2 inch (4 cm) chunks. Place in an 8-cup (2 L) casserole. Cover and microwave on High (100 % power) until tender, about 15 to 18 minutes, stirring several times during cooking.
Once cooked, puree the pumpkin pulp in a food processor, blender or food mill or mash it in a potato masher until smooth. Let the pulp drain in a strainer for 15 minutes; discard the liquid or reserve it to use in soups and stews. Season the pulp to taste with salt and pepper or pack it in airtight containers and either refrigerate for up to three days or freeze for up to six months.
One cup of cooked pumpkin (250 mL) will yield about the same amount of mashed pumpkin.
Cooked pumpkin can be used to make pies, muffins, breads, cakes, cookies, soups and stews or served as a side dish. Of course if you want convenience, canned pumpkin is readily available on grocery store shelves. Just remember to look for pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
Don’t forget about the seeds! An average-sized pumpkin will contain about one cup (250 mL) of seeds. The seeds are edible and contain protein and iron. To prepare them for roasting, first wash them, removing any clinging fibres. Then spread them on a clean baking sheet. Let them dry overnight at room temperature. Toss with 1-1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) vegetable oil. Bake at 250°F (120°C), stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown and crunchy, about 1-1/2 hours.
If you haven’t had your fill of pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving celebrations this past weekend, here’s an easy pumpkin pie recipe worth trying!
Butter Pecan Pumpkin Pie
(Makes one 9-inch/23 cm pie)
1 9-inch (23 cm) graham wafer pie crust (purchased or recipe of your choice)
2 cups (500 mL) slightly softened butter pecan ice cream
1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground ginger
1 cup (250 mL) canned or cooked pumpkin
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
In pie crust, carefully spread ice cream.
In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Stir in pumpkin until blended.
With an electric mixer, whip cream until stiff; fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread over ice cream.
Cover and freeze pie until firm, at least a couple hours.
I first wrote about Canadian gastronomer Anita Stewart and her idea for a giant national barbecue in July, 2003. These are a few paragraphs about the Canadian culinary caper she dreamed up as described in my July 30th, 2003 Creative Cooking column in The Record, Waterloo Region’s newspaper.
BARBECUING FOR A CAUSE; ELORA FOOD MAVEN URGES US TO STAND BY OUR FARMERS
It’s being billed as the World’s Longest Barbecue and you’re invited.
This Saturday, as the clock strikes 6 p.m. from time zone to time zone
across our country, Canadians are encouraged to sit down to enjoy a beef
barbecue in honour of our beef farmers and in support of their industry,
which has suffered dramatically after a single incidence of mad cow disease
was found in Alberta this spring.
Saturday’s national event is the brainchild of Elora cookbook author and
culinary maven Anita Stewart. Her dream is to “link Canada from coast to
coast to coast in one massive, delicious outdoor celebration of support for
Canadian agriculture.”
Fast forward five years and Anita is still passionate about celebrating our national and local cuisine and showing support for those who produce the food we are fortunate to be able to eat and enjoy.
Tomorrow, August 2, at 6 p.m. (your local time), you’re invited to celebrate the 2008 version of the World’s Longest Barbecue – Canada Day 2. There is still time to plan a barbecue, invite friends and family, then visit Anita’s website to post your menu plans. Your menu doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming to prepare. Just visit a local market or grocery store to see what’s fresh and produced close to home and you’ll be able to put together a delicious meal. If you want to find out what others will be grilling up that day, you can read menu ideas from fellow Canadians on her site.
My menu this year? Although we won’t be able to celebrate the WLB exactly on August 2, when we do fire up the barbecue in honour of this event, we’ll be serving some pretty standard summertime fare including devilled eggs, beef burgers with all the fixin’s, grilled portobellos (for my vegetarian friends), barbecued spare ribs, creamy potato salad, broccoli salad, corn on the cob with herbed butter, and bumbleberry crisp made with apples, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb, and served with homemade vanilla ice cream.
The latest book from Canadian culinary activist Anita Stewart
Anita is also a prolific author. You’ll find a list of her cookbooks/books about Canadian foodways on her site. Her latest offering is Anita Stewart’s Canada: the food, the recipes, the stories (Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, 2008). Not only a great read, it will provide inspiration for your WLB menu and other Canadiana-style meals this weekend and beyond.
You can read about Anita’s recent book tour on her blog.
Tomorrow is Canada Day, a celebration of the nation’s 141st birthday. There will be much flag-waving and expressions of patriotic sentiments. The colours de jour will be red and white.
If you want to inject some patriotic zeal into your July 1st menu, consider the colour palate of the foods you plan to serve. It’s not too difficult to include some red and white foods. If you’re a little more adventurous, try creating an entire meal of just red and white foods. Think tomatoes, red peppers, watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, spaghetti and meat sauce, bruschetta, barbecued ribs, strawberry shortcake, whipped cream, sour cream, cream cheese, red potatoes, mozzarella cheese, angel food cake, and on and on.
A simple red and white appetizer or snack can be made quickly by creating tiny kabobs of pesto-marinated mini-mini bocconcini and grape or cherry tomatoes. Mini-mini bocconcini are small balls of buffalo mozzarella. They can be found in tubs in the deli area of most major grocery stores. If you can’t find the mini-mini variety, purchase mini bocconcini and slice them into quarters or cut large balls of bocconcini into small pieces.
To make the kebabs, marinate the bocconcini in a couple spoonfuls of homemade or prepared pesto for at least 15 minutes, then poke a toothpick into a bocconcini and a grape or cherry tomato. If you use halved grape or cherry tomatoes, the kabobs will be able to stand and you can arrange them upright on a plate. These little mouthfuls are colourful, flavourful and make up very quickly, leaving you lots of time to enjoy Canada Day festivities and fireworks.
Ontario strawberries!
I was finally able to get my hands on some good-looking, sweet-smelling, fresh-tasting Ontario strawberries, so they’ll be on the menu in our house tomorrow. We’ll enjoy some berries fresh, then maybe in the strawberry-rhubarb sauce that follows, served over cake or ice cream. I’ve also bought ingredients to make strawberry ice cream, which would be served, of course, with fresh sliced strawberries.
Hmmmm…..since strawberry season is so short, we just might have to have both desserts!
Angel Food Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce
(Makes 12 servings)
Twelve individual mini angel food cake rounds, sponge cake flans or shortcakes can be used instead of the angel food cake slices.
3 cups (750 mL) sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb (cut in 1/2-inch/1 cm slices)
3/4 cup (175 mL) sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) water
2 cups (500 mL) strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 angel food cake (cut into 12 slices)
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
In a medium saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar and water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture just comes to a boil (about 7 or 8 minutes). Reduce heat to low; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is tender (6 to 8 minutes). Let cool.
Just before serving, stir in strawberries. Top each slice of cake with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream and about 1/4 cup (50 mL) strawberry rhubarb sauce.
Although I like to watch Survivor on TV, I could never participate in the game. There are many reasons, not the least of which is that there are always snakes slithering or swimming about in whatever location the show is filmed.
I’m not a fan of snakes. I figure the game of Survivor could probably use Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick. He is said to have rid Ireland of snakes and is commemorated annually on March 17, the date of his death in 460 A. D.
How he actually performed this feat is the stuff of legends. A popular explanation is that one day St. Patrick created a nice cozy box and invited the chief snake to climb in. The snake took a look at the box and deemed it too small. A heated discussion ensued. To prove he was right, the snake crawled into the box. Quick-thinking St. Paddy slammed the lid shut and threw the box into the sea!
To this day, Ireland is said to be snake-free (lucky Irish!), and some insist that the rough waters of the Irish Sea are caused by the boisterous attempts of the snake still trying to free himself from the box.
On March 17, whether you wish to celebrate a snake-free Ireland or the pleasure of swilling green beer, take the opportunity to indulge in some hearty Irish cuisine. Vegetables such as potatoes, onions, leeks, carrots and rutabagas figure prominently in Irish cooking, as do lamb stews, and braised meat and corned beef dishes. Accompany the main dish with potato bread or soda, and finish the meal with a sweet custard or apple cake, and an Irish coffee.
Irish Stew
(Makes 8 servings)
If lamb shanks are not available, thick shoulder chops can be substituted.
8 lamb shanks
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon each (5 mL) dried thyme and rosemary (or 1 tablespoon/15 mL) chopped fresh
2 bottles (341 mL each) stout-based beer
3 cups (750 mL) beef stock or broth
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
3 tablespoons (45 mL) packed brown sugar
3 onions, cut in wedges
3 carrots, cut in 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
3 parsnips, peeled and cut in 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces
Half a rutabaga, peeled and cut in 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh parsley
