Tag Archives: Events

Serving up at-home food and flicks

Dinner and a movie. It’s as perfect a pairing as salt and pepper, Ben and Jerry, peanut butter and jelly, Milo and Otis, chocolate and caramel, sour cream and onion, oil and vinegar, milk and cookies, M and M’s……..

Dinner and a movie is also a perfect way to spend an entertaining evening out – or in.

When you choose to enjoy dinner and a movie at home, forget what you’ve heard about the perils of eating in front of the TV. Let the movie you plan to watch inspire some creative menu planning. Or, if you’re short on ideas, look for any of the following books at your local library or bookstore. They are all great sources of inspiration for recipes and menus to pair with a wide range of movies. (If you want to watch a foodie flick, check my March 31st post for lists of movies about food or with food scenes.)

1. Dinner and a Movie by G & R Publishing, 2006

2. Movie Menus: Recipes for Perfect Meals with Your Favourite Films by Francine Segan, Villard, 2004

3. Claud Mann’s Dinner & A Movie Cookbook by Claud Mann, Andrews McNeil Publishing, 2003

4. More Than Just Dinner and a Movie by Gordana Mosher, Spice of Life Books, 2001

5. Generation Eats: Great Recipes for a Fast Forward Culture by Amy Rosen, Warwick Publishing Inc., 1997

6. Dinner & A Movie Cookbook by Kimberlee Carlson, Andrews McNeil Publishing, 1993

7. From Group’s Dinner and a Movie: Friendship, Faith, and Fun Series:

– Adrenaline Rush: Flix for Guys by Brian Diede, Mikal Keefer, Tony Nappa and Michael Van Schooneveld, Group Publishing, 2007
– Friendship, Faith and Fun for Small Groups by Cheri R. Gillard, Group Publishing, 2005
– G-Rated: Friendship, Faith, and Fun for all Ages by Linda Crawford, Heather Dunn and Gina Leuthausen, Group Publishing, 2007
– Chick Flicks, Group Publishing, 2006
– Chick Flicks 2, Group Publishing (available June 2008)

A St. Patrick’s Day menu – snake free!

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

Continue reading →

Chew Over These Birthday Cards!

Yesterday was Murray’s birthday. Although no longer the handsome young man I met 28 years ago, like fine wine or cheese, he has aged well and is now the handsome somewhat older man I am proud to call my husband! With him around, life is certainly never dull!

A few days ago, a cool birthday card came in the mail for him from my sister-in-law, brother and niece.

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Inside the card: So on your birthday, Eat, Drink and BE MURRAY
(Created by DCI Studios)

The card elicited an extra smile from both of us since Murray is not a cat lover, although he does seem to have a special bond with Sam, the black Burmese-ish cat who lives next door and occasionally stays with us when his family is away.

Murray’s birthday was a low-key celebration, as our birthdays tend to be. Just him and me, out for supper as is our usual birthday tradition. He picked Charbries restaurant in Waterloo as his destination of choice. I reserved the table by the fish tank. Again, his choice.

“If our conversation becomes dull or we run out of things to talk about, we can always look at the fish,” he reasoned.

As it turned out, we were able to find something to talk about all the way from pre-dinner drinks through dessert! We also watched the marine life swimming in the wall tank beside us. It included tiny fish with flourescent blue stripes on their sides and a little shark that stayed motionless on the bottom of the tank nearly all through dinner. Our server told us she once saw the shark lying on his back with his mouth open and presumed the worst, but the next day he was swimming around again!

Dinner started with a four cheese soup for Murray and curried cauliflower soup for me. A Jonagold apple and cardamom sorbet cleansed our palates before the entrees were served – chicken in a wine sauce and roasted vegetables for him, and portabello-wrapped pork with chunky applesauce and roasted vegetables for me. We shared dessert – apple bread pudding with caramel sauce and whipped cream.

Yes, we managed to eat, drink and be “merry”…..in Murray’s honour!

Speaking of honour, I was also able to find an appropriate card for Murray.

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Inside the card: Actually, I honored you more than once.
(Created by Carlton Cards)

My Near ‘Death by Chocolate’ Experience

chuck-and-hot-chocolate.jpg

Chuck Siegel of Charles Chocolates prepares hot chocolate at COPIA's Death by Chocolate event in Napa, California

It was late afternoon last Saturday……I was struggling valiantly to down another sip of rich, thick, sweet, intensely chocolate hot chocolate. I was attending the Death by Chocolate event at COPIA (the Center for Wine, Food and the Arts) in Napa, California.

I had been sampling chocolate of all kinds, flavours and cocoa contents since 10 a.m. It was about 4 p.m. and I was sitting in COPIA’s beautiful tiered kitchen theatre, watching the final Master Class of the day. Chuck Siegel of Charles Chocolates had just passed around samples of the third of three hot chocolates he had made. Each was made with Guittard chocolate and tasted rather like drinking chocolate syrup (not that I will attest to knowing what drinking chocolate syrup tastes like!).

In terms of chocolate tasting, I was clearly done for the day. Continue reading →

Perfect Date for a Chocolate Class

Made plans yet for February 14th?

If not, plan to join me and home economist and cookbook author Donna-Marie Pye at Household China & Gifts in Waterloo that evening for a chocolate tasting and cooking demonstration.

Here’s the class description:

For The Love of Chocolate

Calling all chocolate lovers. Join Home Economist and chocolate expert Wendi Hiebert as we embark on a chocolate tasting. Learn first hand how chocolate is grown and harvested as well as the differences in types of chocolate. Then Donna-Marie will prepare some out of the ordinary chocolate recipes such as Chicken Mole, Mache Salad with White Chocolate Vinaigrette, and Molton Chocolate Cakes with Raspberry Coulis.

Date: Thursday, February 14th
Time: 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Cost: $70.00

Sign up for this class or any of the following classes at the store (300 King Street, Waterloo) or by calling the store (519-884-2792).

You’ll find more information about Household China’s Kitchen Loft cooking seminars on their website. Upcoming classes include:

  • Spoons for Grooms (a class just for men) taught by Donna-Marie, Kitchen Loft cooking school coordinator
  • an evening on Italian cooking with Emily Richards, author of Italian Express, and Canadian Living Cooks television show host
  • favourite recipes from the The Record’s 30 Minute Miracle columnists Luisa D’Amato and Liz Monteiro
  • a wine tasting and food pairing class with Chef Derek Hines from Artbar Restaurant