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.

Quantity Vs. Quality A Winterlicious Wrap-Up

Winterlicious 2009 - This year it was eat or be eaten.  

My belly runneth over the waistband of my jeans and for your reading pleasure my intense 4 day jam packed dining out extravaganza.  The good, the bad and the ugly.

We begin one week ago today -

Wednesday February 4 

7:30pm 

Atelier Thuet

Dinner Companion - Mr. Homer

Homer and I had dined at Thuet's other restaurant Bite Me in the fall and enjoyed it.  Since the Atelier is right in Homer's work neighbourhood we decided to try it out.  And despite a rocky start when Homer tried to make a reservation and the host (or whomever answers the phone there) said the word "deuce" to many times to make a normal person comfortable, we had a truly excellent meal.

What I ate:

First Course:  Roaster Butternut Squash Soup Garnished with House Made Ricotta

Perfect for a cold winter night, warm and comforting.  Both Homer and I agreed if this had been the only thing on the menu it would have been worth it.

Main Course:  Hand Rolled Gnocchi with Tripe and Braised Pork Belly

Delicious and soft gnocchi with a light tomato sauce.  The pork belly was melt in the mouth but the tripe was a bit chewy and off putting in the dish.  While I don't regret ordering it, Homer's choice of the Truffled Chicken Pot Pie nearly made me reconsider, it smelled like heaven.

Dessert:  Lemon and Chocolate Verrine

Tasty but not too lemony, a nice light finish to the meal.

Service:  Polite if slightly rushed, but not uncomfortably so.  I only managed 1 glass of unmemorable wine which is usually a sign of how fast they are serving.

Go Back at Full Price:  Yes!

Thursday February 5

5:30pm (the ONLY time we could get)

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

Dinner Companions - Mr. Homer, Ryan Cripps and Michael Lazarovitch

Having never tried Mildred's Kitchen in the previous incarnation I had no idea what to expect.  What I got was a gorgeous white space, with so much room I forgot where I was for while, namely attached to an office/mini mall/tower.  Another Liberty Village hot spot, I had read many reviews about crusty service but our gal was nice as could be.

What I ate:

First Course: Roast Cauliflower Soup with Curry Oil

While not as lush as Thuet's this soup was still a winner.  Velvety and deep the curry oil was a bit over powering at points but not enough from deter me from eating the whole bowl.

Second Course:  Grass Fed Ontario Pork with farro and caramelized onion risotto and veg.

An honest and pure dish this was a great example of something simple done right.  It just felt fresh.

Dessert:  Profiteroles with Lindt milk chocolate ice cream and chocolate drizzle

To be frank, not as delectable as I thought it would be.  The profiteroles were pretty dry though I guess maybe they had to be in order to keep this towering dish upright.  Ice cream was delicious though.

A drinking note about Mildred's:  I ordered the Malivoire Gamay which I had never had before.  The waitress said they can barely keep it in stock.  I see why, I could bath in this wine.  Go get it now.

Service - as mentioned terrific.

Go back at full price - Yes

Friday February 5

8:00pm

Marben

Dining Companion - Ms. Jenn Scott

Ok, so this is not really part of Winterlicious, but they do have the same sort of promotion going on right now so you should get your butt there before Feb 13.

I had the great treat of being able to sit at the Chef's Table at Marben this past Friday.  I wish I could tell you everything we ate, but it is sort of a glutenous haze, because you see my friends we did a BLIND TASTING.

I do however has four words for you:

Fois Gras Creme Brulee - Just as decadent as it sounds.  

A gorgeous space as well suited to dining as it is to drinks with the girls (or guys) this Wellington restaurant is really a sort of hidden gem.  Executive Chef Craig Alley is not only a heck of a nice guy he also knows what he is doing.  If you have a special occasion, I highly recommend hitting up Marben and treating yourself to the Chef's Table.  Or just head down on a Friday for some drinks and a great time.  And say high to my buddy the GM Chuck Howard (see photo below of him and Craig).  They'll take good care of you.

AND FINALLY:

Saturday February 6

8:00pm (or try 8:30pm)

Tappo

Dinner Companions:  Mr. Homer, Dan Misener, Jenna Zuschlag Misener, Amber Rutherford

I didn't mind the wait or the too crowded dining room or the rubbery calamari.  I didn't even mind our servers apathetic service, but when he plunked the cheque down before I could even put dessert spoon to mouth the straw she broka my back.  We had just, about 10 minutes ago ordered another bottle of wine and for all he knew we were moving on to the Veuve, guess he never will.

What I ate:

First Course:  Calamari all Griglia

While it was rubbery the flavour was still there with the tomato and avocado.  Safe to say this was actually the best part of the meal.  Sigh.

Second Course:  Stinco D'agnello (or Lamb)

Stin(K)co is right.  This flavourless giant lamb bit was the source for the title of the post, Quantity vs. Quality.  It felt thrown together and uninspired.  I didn't finish it and after I told Homer this when we got home he said I should have given it to him, he was still hungry since the gnocchi was minuscule.

Dessert:  Tiramisu

Not bad, not good, but not bad.  Light and mild but again nothing you couldn't buy at the grocery store.

Service:  Our server was apathetic and trying to rush us out after having been seated late.  You get a fail my friend.  The host was a greasy haired guy who didn't seem to care that that bar was already full and asking us to wait there crammed us at the end by the door, good thing it was warm out! However one of the auxiliary servers was quite friendly when Jenna found a hard bit in her calamari, turns out it was spine of the calamari which he explained to her. Not good but still at least he was honest about it.

Go back at full price:  Um, no.

Coming soon - I'm in a New York State of Mind. 

Even Sooner - I am back in the Kitchen.

Scoobi Doo Can Do Do but Jimmy Carter is Smarter

I have in fact, fully recovered. And boy did I have plenty to recover from. Aside from my little (ha!) illness it was play reading week last week at work. I lasted 5 readings, the good, the bad and the just plain ugly (and everything in between).

I called it a kind of survivor, I had to work until 5 or 6 then try to rush home for a very quick dinner and then rush back for an 8pm curtain. I did this through some pretty lovely snow storms somehow managing to eat out for only one meal that week (including lunches). But how?

MEAT SAUCE. It warrants capitals, it is a saviour. It is better than Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Hat. It is so much more than that. You need a Sunday to do it, but it is so worth it.

The recipe makes a lot and in truth I froze some for this week when I made the enchiladas you see in the very last picture. Rachael Ray offers 4 prepared recipes and a multitude of suggestions for this sauce, and I tried 3 of them. The Inside-Out Pizza (with homemade dough thank you very much!) fed Homer, me and our friends Michael and Ryan on the Sunday the sauce was made with leftovers for lunch the next day (no photo, the pizza roll though very tasty was not pretty). The pasta recipe I offer below fed Homer and I for 3 lunches and some dinner during last week. And then tonight we ate enchiladas (which fed us for dinner and then some lunches).

Recession I laugh in yo' face. Like Bruce Springsteen laughed in America's face this Sunday.

Meat Sauce

Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray February 2009

Makes 7 Cups

(You need about 3 hours total for this sauce)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped pancetta**

1 onion, finely chopped***

1 carrot, finely chopped***

2 ribs celery, finely chopped***

1 clove garlic, finely chopped****

2 pounds EXTRA LEAN ground beef

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 x 28 ounce can tomato puree

Salt and Pepper

** I used turkey bacon because our lackluster Loblaw's does not sell pancetta (I am sure the flavour would be better with pancetta but this was "healthier")

***Put all in a food processor and chop within an inch of its life.

****Tip, grate it on the smallest setting on a box grater to avoid being at the counter for the rest of your life mincing.

1. In a large, heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes (especially if you used the food processor). Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until the liquid is cooked off, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomato puree and 1 cup of water; season with salt and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for the last 30 minutes, until thickened, about 2 hours. Season with Salt and Pepper.

And here my loves is where the title comes from grab some Scoobi Doo Pasta and make this with your meat sauce. If you want healthier just use light feta and skim milk.