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.

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.

In Sickness and in Health

Sigh, see how happy I look there.  Little did I know what was to come.

After a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year I was finally getting back to the normal routine. The gals and I went for brunch at the Citizen a week ago Sunday.  The brunch there is fantastic, even heavenly and it's the kind of place where the owner/chef is sitting in the restaurant whooping it up with his friends on a slow Sunday.  It is also the kind of place that, when we mention to the server that it is my cat Leonard Cohen's birthday, will then play Leonard Cohen as a tribute.  

I could wax poetic about the food but just trust me that it is simple yet complex and reasonably priced.  You should go for no reason that it has survived the dreaded "Restaurant Makeover Curse" which speaks volumes.  So get thyself there.

While what happened next did not eclipse the lovely brunch it has certainly put a damper on my ability to write a food blog the last week or so.  What happened was norovirus, and while in person I am more than happy to relate its ugly tale, I feel it might be a little tactless to write about it in published form.

So last week was spent not really eating.  But when I did eat this is what I was treated to courtesy of Mr. Tristan Homer:

  

While there is no recipe, I figure it is the ingredients that count.

Coming up next: recipes reviewed from the book Eat, Shrink and Be Merry, my latest acquisition.