Wednesday night at The Chef's House

Last year my father took me to The Chef's House on King East (Toronto) and it was an incredible meal and a great night. Not wanting to be left out, mom asked to be treated to The Chef's House to celebrate their 30th anniversary. And I, never wanting to miss a delicious meal, got to tag along!

The Chef's House is a restaurant owned and run by the George Brown Culinary and Hospitality programs. Students are able to learn and practice working in an urban restaurant. Learn more here.

It is a fun dining experience with an open kitchen, TV screens in handy spots so you can glimpse some back-of-house action, and communal dining. The first time I went I was lucky enough to be seated next to an expert Fromager, Scott McKenzie - I've never talked so much about cheese in my life and I loved it!

The Chef's House has regular lunch and dinner service but once a month a Wednesday is special. The dinner is a set menu, accompanied by wine, and are based on a theme. These nights are called "Rising Star Dinners" and last night ours featured HOOKED Inc.

HOOKED is a different fish store, supplying Toronto with fish directly from the source (and sometimes directly from the boat!) - all sustainable or responsibly grown. This place is on my to-go-to list - especially since it sounds like they offer tasty fish tacos! You can find them in Leslieville and Kensington, open Tuesday - Sunday.

I've rambled long enough - to the meal.

Upon sitting we were offered champagne, oysters topped with horse radish and apple, and a delicious tuna bite. The champagne or Prosecco was delicious, soft and sweet - I'll be on the look out for it the next time I'm in need of bubbly.

The bread basket - always a must for my Dad and something I try to resist - was too good to pass up.

A large, plump seared Weathervane scallop resting on a sweet corn sauce, with dried cherry tomatoes.

Butter poached lobster frisee salad.

Lake Erie Pickerel, baby leeks, and crispy bacon.

Ending on a sweet note - lemon tart with orange sorbet. Lemon tart is not my most favourite but this was quite nice. I loved the orange sorbet though.

I highly recommend experiencing a Rising Star Dinner at The Chef's House. You can see the upcoming ones on their website - I'm looking forward to December when Fromager Scott McKenzie is hosting a cheese dinner!

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Peach s'mores and more

Blink. Summer over.

Hard to believe yesterday was the first day of school for little kiddies all over - I feel like summer just started!
Some folks say time goes by faster as you grow older but I like to think that the past three months have flown by because I have been busy with plans every weekend (and I mean every, single weekend).

But with summer's end comes the start of harvest season which is always something to look forward to. Peach season has hit Ontario and I can't seem to get enough of them. Peach pie is a classic but this summer I'm loving these new peach recipes.

A friend suggested I add peaches to my Labour Day weekend s'mores. They were delightful and a bright twist on a classic cottage snack.

Peach S'mores or S'meachUms

What you need:
Favourite graham crackers
Giant puffy marshmallows
Favourite form of chocolate - I used Lindt 70% Dark and Cadbury Caramilk
Fresh peaches, cut into slices
Bon fire or candle if you're desperate to try these (which you should be)
A trust roasting stick
Napkins for your sticky face
Friends to share with

What you do:
Roast marshmallow and peach over open flame until your desired doneness.
Assemble in this order - graham cracker, chocolate piece, marshmallow, peach slice, graham cracker.
Squish together.
Eat. Enjoy.
Repeat.

I also came across this little recipe from The Kitchy Kitchen that added peaches to a sandwich. I made a few of my own tweaks and voila!

Peach & Prosciutto Sammy

What you need for one Sammy:
2 slices of your favourite bread - I used marble rye but would suggest a sturdier bread.
2 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp Siracha
2 pieces Prosciutto - crispy
Half avocado - sliced
Half a fresh peach - sliced
Few slices of red onion

 What you do:
Throw your oven on to 350-375F. Put your prosciutto on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.
Toast your bread.
Slather the bread with mayo and siracha.
Top bread with one slice of prosciutto, avocado, peaches, onion, second piece of prosciutto, and close the sammy with your second piece of bread.
Slice. Eat. Enjoy

I'm making this into a salad version for lunch, sans bread (obviously) with a new honey mustard salad dress I'm trying out. Just can't get enough of the fresh peaches! And basically anything with that sweet & salty combo.

P.S. Did I mention I sometime break into hives and my throat gets itchy from peaches? That's how into them I am right now. I don't care and just pop my allergy pills and savour that end of summer flavour.

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When life gives you spotty bananas...

Make banana bread!

This is a super easy recipe. So easy that, up until recently, this was the only thing my younger sister could make. (It is safe to say that now that she has been living in Nunavut since August she has learned to make many more delicious things.)

This has been my family's go-to banana bread recipe since my childhood and it is foolproof. Plus you will almost always have all the ingredients in your pantry already.

100 points to Gryffindor if you can guess what ingredient I forgot to write down...

Kindly add 3 over-ripe bananas to the ingredient list.

The basic recipe just says to combine all the ingredients, toss into a pan and bake which is perfect if you're in a time crunch but I like to do it in a few steps. I feel like you can a smoother consistency and a more blended flavour.

Mash your 3 bananas - I just used a fork.

Drop in your butter or margarine (I use salted butter) and eggs.
Mix together with a spoon or electric beater.

Add in your sugar, flour and baking soda.

Mix/beat until your batter is smooth and creamy

Now is the time to add a little extra flavour. I like to add in 1 tsp of cinnamon and a handful of chocolate chips.
Chocolate chip banana bread reminds me of my childhood - I refused to eat any banana bread or muffins without the chips.There's my little wave of nostalgia for the day.

Combine and add to a loaf pan or a 12 piece muffin pan.

Bake at 325F for one hour - so says the trusted family recipe.

I always set my timer for one hour, test the done-ness with a tooth pick and it never comes out clean. *If you insert a clean toothpick into your bread, muffins, cakes, etc. and it comes out clean it means it is done. If it comes out with gooey batter attached - leave it in the oven a bit longer.

It depends on your oven but I generally keep my banana bread in the oven for about 15-20 minutes past the hour.

After the first hour, just keep an eye on your bread.

It's not like you aren't lingering around the kitchen, inhaling the intoxicating smell, waiting for the bread to be popped out of the pan anyways...

Once it is done, let it cool for as long as you can and then slice with a serrated knife. 

I usually just go all out and slather my slice with butter.

It is so simple and  comforting that I actually can't have it in the apartment.

Seriously - I ate half the loaf myself, remembered bikini season is around the corner and ended up giving it to friends.

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Garde-Manger - ft. Lobster & Halibut

I'm a big fan of Chef Chuck Hughes and his cookbook, Garde Manger, is a thing of beauty - full, glossy pages of the food he cooks at his flagship restaurant (of the same name) in Montreal that will leave you craving lobster, lobster, lobster. I bet you can guess where this is going...

A lobster dish seemed to be the obvious choice so Phil and I settled on a classic lobster roll - something relatively easy since I have never cooked live lobster before. The lobster rolls would be our appetizer and we chose pan-roasted halibut with roasted veggies as the main.

Who knew making homemade mayo would be so easy and tasty! I'd like to think that I will only use homemade mayo in the future now (once my jar of Kraft Miracle Whip is done...) but the downside is that it only stays good in the frig for about a week and I don't use mayo that often. But the taste is surprisingly light (despite the full cup of canola oil in there) and you can really tell the difference between gloopy store-bought mayo and the fresh stuff.

Phil had no trouble making friends with Mr. Lobster. Me on the other hand... well it took three different pictures to get one where I didn't look like a squeamish little girl. They remind me of spiders with all those legs - gross. They just taste so damn good though.

A cocktail seemed appropriate to help us (me) relax before it was time for Mr. Lobster's hot bath.

A delicious bourbon mint julep.

The fruits of our labour. And I really mean it when I say labour.

Unfortunately, in the chaos, I forgot to snap pictures but I have none of the necessary tools needed for cracking a lobster. Phil used a cutting board, some tin foil, a frying pan and my kitchen floor. I won't go into too much detail but you can imagine the mess.

While not ideal, it still worked and we were able to extract the deliciously moist meat.

I really wish I had taken a pictures of the process though...

The freshly made mayo, cooked lobster, some green onion and salt and pepper made up the filling.

And with a few toasted buns, the lobster rolls were assembled!

Next up was the halibut and veggies. The veg was super easy - cherry tomatoes and sliced zucchini tossed in some olive oil with salt and pepper - roasted in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

The halibut was even easier to cook. Season the fish with salt and pepper, heat some olive oil in your pan and cook, skin side down,  for about 5 minutes. When it is golden and crispy turn the fish over and continue cooking for about another 5 minutes. You'll know the fish is done when it becomes flaky.

Serve the halibut on a bed of the veggies and sprinkle with some fresh dill.

That's it.

And it is SO GOOD.

I love it when delicious things are easy as pie.

I think this halibut dish would be the perfect entree for any dinner party. You can use you're favourite seasonal vegetables and it takes very little prep and cook time.

I highly recommend Chef Chuck's cookbook. I found it a little intimidating at first - there are definitely some recipes that require unique ingredients and more patience and skill - but it was super fun to make two dishes that I've never made before. Plus it is always less intimidating when you have a sous-chef that will cook and crack your lobster with a frying pan for you.

To round out this incredible meal, I made double chocolate brownies with a rich ganache served with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean ice cream. 

YUM.

Recipe for these almost-better-than-sex brownies coming soon.

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A night out with Mark McEwan

I’d like to say that spending an evening at North 44 in the company of Mark McEwan is just a standard Tuesday for me but that would be a bit of a stretch.

Thanks to the magic of Twitter I scooped up one of 30 invitations to the chef’s first tweetup, McEwan All Access.

 As any budding foodie would do, I reread the menu a dozen times, tried on eight different dresses and watched all the most recent episodes of Top Chef Canada to prepare for the night.

As excited as I was, I ended up being about 10 minutes late (not really a surprise) and ended up running down Yonge Street in flats, heels stuffed in my purse to throw on when I was a block away, hoping that my broken umbrella was keeping my hair from getting frizzy. I bet not many diners make their way to North 44 in such a classy way.

The tweetup was upstairs in a dimly-lit private dining area. Glasses of red and white were offered and all the foodies were following the waiter with their favourite bite around. After scanning the room, my first thought before seeing Mark McEwan was “Oh darn, I think I missed the Waygu dumplings.” *The only dish I missed was the Ahi Tuna which I was a bit disappointed about.

The Chef said a few words to officially start the night and then I was able to start eating.

Oven-roasted foie gras on brioche with spiced blackberry.

Vegetarian cold rolls drizzled with spice sauce.

Braised beef short ribs with mascarpone polenta, pepper caponata and natural jus.

My favourite bite of the night - the polenta was heaven!

Foodies and their phones.

Pan seared miso glazed cod with water chestnut pot sticker, baby bok choy and citrus butter.

Second favourite dish. The fish was cooked to perfection and the pot sticker was something unexpected.

Sauteed garlic prawns with beurre blanc.

A big bite of a little burger!

Jonathan Goodyear (Top Chef Canada), myself and Mark McEwan.

Slider's fancier cousin: Spanish pressed burgers with Manchego, Serrano ham and tempura onion rings.

Hand rolled gnocchi with white reggiano cream sauce and saute of honey mushrooms.

Excited for my first bite - I had been chasing the waiter with the gnocchi around all night.

Pure bliss in a bite.

Pan seared Waygu dumplings with crispy ginger crisp and chimi churri.

An added bonus
 - a chocolate torte with caramelized bananas and creme fraiche. I would never have guessed it was flour-less!

Chef Mark McEwan and I.

Overall the night was great. The food was incredible and Chef McEwan made time for everyone. A few things I noticed - the ambiance could have used a little boost with some background music, and some high, cocktail tables would have made it easier to mingle and eat simultaneously.

The highlight of the night for me was the braised short rib with mascarpone polenta. New goal in life: find and/or make a polenta that good.

Second highlight was my chat with Chef McEwan during the last few minutes of the night. While he was signing my new cookbook Great Food at Home, he shared how he made head cheese for his friends at their cottage. I've never had head cheese but listening to the chef talk about it really made me want to try it.

After watching him on the Food Network and Top Chef Canada I had thought him a little scary - a Gordon Ramsay-type character. After chatting with him my opinion has done a 360. He is totally approachable and down-to-earth which is always a win when you remember the man has an food empire.

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