It is hard to know where to start after being away for so long. People who read this blog sort of know where I have been and what I have been up to. For the most part it was work, but really just the last month and half or so.

During that time the cooking momentum stopped and I was basically eating things that could be defrosted or thrown together very quickly.

There were a few successes over the last few months. Notably in the area of croissant making and pizza dough making (I do love my carbs).

I also baked up some tasty gingerbread cookies, roasted a whole chicken so as you can see it wasn't all work and no play (as evidence by the photo below) but it felt like it sometimes.

The coming months are going to be even more interesting both personally and professionally as I head off to Whistler for about 2 months starting February 2. I am going to work on the Olympics taking a sort of leave from my normal job. I hope to keep up the blog during that time as well, though it will have decidedly different tone.

Instead of posting a recipe I thought I might just point you in the direction of a good book I picked up at the library called The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger.

Krieger has a show on the food network that I have enjoyed, which focuses on healthy revisioning of comfort food and classic dishes. I found her book really great with nice photos, easy recipes and full nutritional information on each one (something I find is missing in the GI diet books I have)

I don't have any photos yet of recipes I have made (the Bittman calzones above while tasty are not exactly figure friendly), they have all turned out quite well and I look forward to trying a few more before it has to go back.

An Uninformed Insider's Guide to St. John's

Part of really knowing someone is in fact, knowing where they come from, what their history is (or at least I think so). In Homer's case the majority of his history was spent in Newfoundland, primarily in Salmon Cove, but some of the more formative year (i.e. University) in St. John's. Having never been further east than Montreal, it was time to make the trek to land of the puffin (among other things).

While the majority of our time was spent in Salmon Cove visiting Homer's family it was St. John's where we did the most exploring. Since I seem to have a number of friends headed there over the next few months I thought I would mention some of my favourite places, though this is by no means a complete guide (so don't throw out those Lonely Planet guides just yet). But by the by, if you want a really great guide on where to eat in St. John's I highly recommend my friends Sarah's blog, she went in April 2008.
But while we are on the subject let's start with food. Our first dinner out in St. John's was at Ches's, Tristan's favourite fish and chips place (very popular with most locals actually). It was there that I tried a Newfoundland tradition, Cod Tongues (pictured above). Basically it tasted like any regular battered and fried fish, but when in Rome....

Another nice place was the Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House, what Mill Street Brew Pub should be, but really isn't anymore. Good food, decent brew and a really nice atmosphere. We ended up going twice because we saw the brunch menu when we were there for dinner and couldn't resist. Homer proclaims it has the best crab cake he has ever eaten.

If you want a fancy night out please go to Bianca's. It was one of the places that Sarah recommended and it really is fantastic, but I have no idea how they stay in business since we hardly saw anyone eating there. It is sort of like Canoe without the view (which is kind of ironic since St. John's has some pretty amazing vistas). The duck terrine pictured below is from there (and hilariously, without realizing it until I just re-read her blog, I ordered the same main as Sarah when I went!).

Oh, and if you are travelling with a vegetarian or just want to try something different from the other offerings in the city, try The Sprout (sorry couldn't find a website, damn hippies). Good food, but slooow service (however since they are licensed I am sure you can find a way to pass the time) Be prepared when we went they played the entire Bob Marley Legend Album (again, damn hippies).
Since my two favourite pastimes are eating and shopping, I found my way to few funky places. If you like independent designers (and perhaps need a new cool dress to wear to Bianca's) try Twisted Sisters Boutik. They have plenty of great labels, and Think! shoes which I love but cannot afford. Nice place for a special treat.

Perhaps you need to get a souvenir for your friends back home? Forget about those places with tacky tourist crap, and head to Living Planet. With local artists providing the designs you are guaranteed a unique find. I bought the Godzilla Vs. Puffin print for my home for $15. T-shirts run $20-$30.

On our second weekend in St. John's I stumbled upon Model Citizens, and dang I wish I had found it the first weekend. Wonderfully selected vintage/secondhand items at a great price. I tried on a cute casual Vera Wang Dress and a cool breezy Ben Sherman dress, both under $50. Seriously a great find and since stock is rotating constantly you best go often.

Not bad eh? Now if I could just get the hang of updating this thing more often.....

Summer BBQ

The last (nearly two) months have been a bit of a whirlwind. The spring is prime fundraising time and we had two major events which kept my brain occupied. And while there have been some good dishes there hasn't really been much time to write about them.

But today, with Homer away at band practice and summer breathing down my neck I figured a little post was in order. I had a really awesome meal on Saturday, pot luck meals can be a real crap shoot but this one came together like no one's business. Smoked turkey and asparagus (courtesy of Ian), Coleslaw (courtesy of Jenny and Kinnon) and Gnocchi Not-Potato Salad (courtesy of me).

The not-potato salad is from your favourite and mine ol'Rachael Ray and is versatile since it can be served warm, or room temp. It keeps well in transport, and is a real snap to make. The perfect antidote to a sort of less than perfect month.

Gnot - Potato Salad

From Rachael Ray

Ingredients

2 Packages gnocchi

3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper

4 ribs celery finely chopped (from the heart)

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 roasted red peppers, chopped

1 small jar marinated mushrooms (4oz), though I just used regular old canned mushrooms

Preparation

1. Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil the gnocchi

2. Once the water is boiling, drop the gnocchi into the pot and cook the

m for 3 minutes or until they float.

3. While the gnocchi are cooking, grab a large mixing bowl and whist together the Dijon, vinegar, and olive oil into the bowl and whisk to combine. Then season with salt and pepper. Add the veggies to the mixing bowl. (Here is the thing, really just do this step first and then get on with gnocchi, cause seriously, who has all this crap prepped and can do it in 2 minutes, not I).

4. Drain the gnocchi and toss them, still hot, into the mixing bowl. Serve the salad now or let it chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours (more flavour).

5. Everybody get happy.

I think it is a sort of sick person who is sitting in a spinning class thinking about recipes.  Trying desperately to burn off some calories all while thinking about how to use up the variety of meats in your fridge and freezer is sort of like going to synagogue and fantasizing about a ham and cheese sandwich.  

But this is exactly what I was doing tonight, frankly thinking about food consumes probably a solid 60% of my day, even if I am not writing about it here with much frequency.

I had a good, albeit slightly gluttonous weekend.  Friday night was filled with oysters and delicious wine (though note to self oysters by themselves are NOT a substantial enough meal to drink the better half of France) and Saturday was good old fashioned sleep over with the gals you see above.   I have known them for the better part of 10 years, and Saturday was a comforting reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  

Originally the party was supposed to be at my friend Amber's house but due to a flood we had to relocate and my house was available so I offered it up.  As is my way I made and purchased way more food than was needed, and put probably a little too much brain power into exactly what to make, but out of this quest for a good slumber party snack came this little dandy below.

Behold the chicken potpie popover.

I made them a bit too large to really function as appetizers, and you probably could make them smaller for a little cocktail function.  If you do opt for the size the recipe recommends they freeze amazingly well and can be taken in for a quick lunch, perhaps with a green salad or soup.

Unfortunately there is no photo due to *cough* a slightly higher than normal wine consumption.  Just imagine a puff pastry triangle and you are there.

Chicken Pot Pie Popover 

Adapted from Individual Chicken Potpie Pockets in The Big Orange Book by Rachael Ray

*This is really easier if you have some baking mats (thanks mom!), that way you don't have to muck around with butter in your pan.

1 cup ground chicken

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all purpose flour *plus more for dusting

1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup skim milk

Salt and Pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

2 scallions finely chopped

1/4 cup frozen peas

1 small carrot, grated and finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped

2 sheets prepared puff pastry defrosted

1 egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water.

Preheat over to 400.

Cook ground chicken in a non-stick skillet until lightly browned and cooked through.  Set aside.

Heat the 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  When it melts, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the stock and milk.  Season with salt and pepper, cook for a couple of minutes until thickened, then stir in the mustard.  Remove from the heat.

Combine the chicken, scallions, peas, carrots, and dill in a mixing bowl.  Pour the sauce over the mixture and stir to combine.

Dust your work surface lightly with flour and roll out one sheet of dough to the thickness of a nickel, and cut into squares.  Cut each quarter into 2 triangles.  Transfer the triangles to the baking sheet and make 8 more triangles with the second sheet of dough.  Divide the filling among the triangles on the baking sheet, leaving a little room at the edges to seal the pockets.  Brush with edges with the egg wash and place a second triangle on top; press the edges to seal or crimp with the tines of a fork.   Brush the tops of the pockets with more egg wash and cut a small x in the top of each to vent.  Bake for 20 minutes or until deeply golden and crisp.  Serve hot.

I Wanna Wake Up In the City

The first time I went to New York in 2005 I felt under the weather and only had one full day in the City to really explore. I spent that day walking all the way from the State Island Ferry all the way up to Central Park, it was November and the weather was exceptional.  I was wearing a spring coat (ok, it was a velvet man style blazer, but don't judge, it was 2005!) and I remember being very proud of myself to being able to navigate a city by myself.

I knew that I would go back and weeks ago when an email regarding a flight sale from Porter landed in my inbox, I had the perfect excuse to go back so we decided to go for Homer's birthday.

Essentially it was a eating tour of New York.

The big birthday dinner was at Maze, the less snooty Gordon Ramsey property in the London.  We had the tasting menu and I think my favourite part was the veal carpaccio and foie gras combo pictured below.
Of course the service was great, it a little fraught with a sort of superficial politeness.  And despite hearing that it was near impossible to get in at either restaurant in the London, when Homer emailed to book he was given a choice of about 10 times on a Saturday night.

What recession?

Moving on, we also ate at the Little Owl, a restaurant I had heard about through the food blog world.  A very cute little place in the East Village, known for their meatball sliders, which Homer had for our Saturday brunch (they lived up to the hype), but the eggs you see below were just great too (poached eggs with sausage buns, fontina, greens and hollandaise).

Totally worth a try.
While I hadn't planned this when I booked the hotel (Hotel 17, great cheap spot), we were dangerously close to the Union Square green market.  We happened to find ourselves there on Saturday morning, where the spread was incredible.  Homer bought one of the whoopie pies you see below.
Our other big (and sort of unexpected) dinner was at Babbo.  I had heard that reservations were tough and that it almost makes more sense just to show up (preferably early in the evening) and take your chances as they nearly always have cancellations.  

We swung by on Sunday night at around 5pm (just shortly after the opened) to find the place hopping but we managed to get a deuce right away (albeit in a corner squished against another couple but still).  Babbo is dark and cozy and hard to take a decent picture in.  But suffice it to say we had a pasta tasting menu, which is about the most full I have ever been.  Good thing since it provided me with fuel to stand outside for two hours waiting to get in to an Upright Citizen's Brigade free show.

Some smaller places we checked out include Artichoke Basille (the rumoured best pizza in NYC aside from Di Fara), and the Stand (hamburger place with the infamous Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake).  At Artichoke I had the Sicilian and Homer had the artichoke and spinach, he was the clear winner.  Mine was totally burnt on the bottom (should have headed NY Mag's warning) but it was still pretty tasty, and Homer's was creamy delicious and just right.

The Stand (see first photo) was another gem, but we got there on Monday, the last day of our trip.  While I won't post the photo of me eating there, I will tell you that it is not one of my most attractive.  Big dark circles, sitting like a lump behind what was actually a delicious turkey burger.  Homer had the marshmallow milkshake and my few sips truly were heavenly.

And finally we had to try Magnolia Bakery, and all I can say is that I understand what Samberg and Parnell were talking about.

The Start of Something

What a month.

Insanely busy but I have been making a pant-load of good food and now have a back log of photos and recipes to share. So while I am supposed to be writing a technology project grand (read: boring), I am here instead. Besides I figured writing here might help me wax more poetic about why we need new phone lines. It could, right?

This little recipe has been sitting my desk in our newly designed and furnished office for a couple of weeks. It is on the back of a stuff on my cat desk calendar page and has a few tea rings from when it was used as a coaster. I haven't been treating it very well and that is shame, because dear reader, this is the first recipe I crafted by myself.

I am, in general, a ruler follower to a fault. I am often heard in the grocery store lamenting when the ingredients called for in the recipe I am making cannot be found. I wander aimlessly hoping that somehow they will magically appear at the end of my aisle on the fourth pass by, only to concede with an alternate ingredient.

In the interest of full disclosure this is a recipe adapted from two books, The GI Diet and Eat, Shrink and Be Merry and in fact there are some rules in baking that were the same in both recipes and I imagine are the same in all recipes of the same ilk.

Regardless, here is my recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. I had three tasters and all of them liked it. I hope you make it soon.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Makes 1 Loaf

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milled flax seed
1 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar
3/4 cup of buttermilk (or soured milk see below)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and milled flax seed together in a large bowl.
3. Whisk banana, Splenda, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla together in a medium bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry mixing until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
5. Pour bread dough into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes.
6. Test bread to make sure a tooth pick comes out clean, remove from loaf pan and let cool on a wire rack.

*Can be stored in plastic wrap for 3 days at room temperature.

Note: If you don't have buttermilk, you can make soured milk by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of skim milk. After combining let sit for about 10 minutes and then use.

When in Doubt...Blog

Somehow I managed to get sick again.  Came down with a high fever late Sunday and spent Family Day Monday curled up on the couch with an achy body after the fever broke.  Now I am in the midst of sort of head/chest cold, the kind that does not allow you to sleep and the kind that I am pretty sure Breathe Right was invented for.  The NyQuil knocked me out only for so long and now I am sitting in our office with a box of Kleenex trying not to wake up Homer with my nose blowing, which sounds like a ship coming in.

But enough complaining.  A while back I mentioned that I bought the Eat Shrink and Be Merry cookbook in order to see what they had to offer in the way of healthy foods.  I like that every recipe offers the nutritional analysis and since they are Canadian all the ingredients can be found at your local Loblaws.  

While it is not culinary adventure at its finest, it does offer some good nutritional tips for beginners and the recipes are easy to follow.  While the corniness of the titles might drive some bonkers, I can overlook them, and simply admire the number of puns.

I made the following cookies from the book on Sunday and since this blog is sort of lacking in sweets I offer the recipe to you below.

Transgender Cookies (called Girl-Guy Cookies in the book, get it?)

*A quick note that the gals who wrote this book are "undecided" on how healthy artificial sweeteners are, since it is all we have in the house I cooked with them here.  Still tasty.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp each ground allspice and salt

2 tbsp Splenda (or granulated sugar)

1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar (or 1 cup brown sugar)

1/3 cup light peanut butter

3 tbsp butter, softened

2 tbsp molasses

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt.  Set aside.  Combine Splenda and 1 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3.  In another medium bowl (preferably one fitted to your stand mixer), beat together Splenda Brown Sugar, peanut butter, and butter on medium speed of mixer for about 1 minute.  Add molasses, egg, and vanilla.  Beat again until smooth.

4.  Using a wooden spoon, stir flour mixture into peanut butter mixture.  You will be making a stiff dough.  Using your hands, shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Roll balls in reserved cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart (they spread while baking).  Flatten cookies using a fork.

5.  Bake cookies for 7 minutes.  They may appear undercooked, but that's okay.  You want them chewy in the middle.  Remove cookies from oven and immediately transfer from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe says they make 20, I made 18.