Food Musings

A Winnipeg blog about the joy of preparing food for loved ones and the shared joy that travel & dining brings to life.

Little Maria’s Porcetta & Meatballs

October15

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You may be familiar with the term “a labour of love”. This is how I would describe Joe Pellegrino’s newest restaurant-Little Maria’s Porchetta & Meatballs at 77 Edmonton St.  My eldest daughter and I arrived early for dinner one evening and Joe was taking orders both at the counter and the tables all by himself.  Then he headed back to the kitchen, washed his hands and tied on his apron.  He delivered our steaming hot dishes himself but then was way too busy to emerge from the kitchen for us to tell him how delectable his authentic recipes tasted.

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Signature sauces are simmered a full eight hours and the porchetta (the “ch” is a hard sound like a “k”) is slow roasted in a variety of herbs. His patient culinary efforts pay off as the thinly sliced pork is dripping in its own juices and the slowly-simmered sauces are complex and robust in spite of their few ingredients.  There are less time-consuming methods that Joe could have chosen for his restaurant rendition of an Italian food/sandwich cart but patience is an important ingredient in these recipes.

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The “naked” porchetta (so stated on the menu) was garnished with garlic sautéed spinach alongside a casserolette of roasted vegetables in one of the above mentioned sauces and topped with a gooey mozzarella. My daughter tucked in with delight.

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I was undecided between the gnocchi special and an order of meatballs, so Joe suggested that I go with the gnocchi and he would place a sample meatball on top for me to taste.  Oh my, both were scrumptious.  The aromatic meatball was bursting with the taste of earthy herbs and the potato gnocchi were as light and fluffy as cumulus clouds on a fair summer day.

I asked Joe where he had honed his culinary skills. He sheepishly said “Oh, Naples, Montreal and a number of restaurants here in Winnipeg”.  The only one he named specifically was Mamma Mia’s which was my favourite Italian Restaurant on Corydon back when the area was Winnipeg’s version of Little Italy.

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The dining room is decorated in a funky, fun style with floor to ceiling windows along the west side. There are a few patio tables on the sidewalk for el fresco dining.  I recognized some of the tables and chairs from Pop Soda’s (another venture of this fine cook and restaurateur).

Little Maria's Porchetta & Meatballs on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote: “The trouble with eating Italian food is that 5 or 6 days later you’re hungry again.”-George Miller

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Love-that is all.

 

Summertime at Promenade Cafe and Wine

October8

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The perfect way to start dinner at a St. Boniface restaurant is with a walk through The Forks,

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past the magnificent Canadian Human Rights Museum

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and over the Esplanade Riel Pedestrian Bridge.  Not only do you work up your appetite but you walk by some of the best views that Winnipeg has to offer.

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The view from our table.

This is how we started the evening of our visit to The Promenade Café & Wine.

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A toast with a fabulous Gewürztraminer.

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We were celebrating our eldest daughter’s birthday and she had never dined at the bistro before.

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D selected the French Canadian dish of Bison Tortiere which is so named because of the pan that it is made in. Tortiere is typically served as a festive Christmas dish and many Winnipeggers enjoy their own families’ version.  The healthy ground bison had a firm texture and the seasonings were deeply satisfying.  In contrast, the pie crust was light and flaky and the ladle of gravy that blanketed it, was a glistening enhancement.

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I chose the classic French Beef Bourguignon which I have never attempted the making of at home.  I do know though that the authentic recipe includes pearl onions and button mushrooms and this recipe was true to form.  The beef was tender and the gravy, luscious.  Both dishes were accompanied by simply steamed and buttered carrots and broccoli and the creamiest potatoes I have indulged in for a while.  The birthday girl chose one of the few un-French dishes on the menu: Gnocchi which was equally tantalizing.

The good news about walking out for dinner is that you have no vehicle and are forced to also stroll home.  This aids digestion and offsets the calorie indulgence.

Promenade Cafe and Wine on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote:

“Boeuf a la Bourguignonne (Beef in the Burgundy style): This is the stew of stews, an apotheosis of stew, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the watery, stringy mixture served up in British institutions. It’s a rich, carefully cooked recipe which is served up on special occasions in French homes, and which appears without shame on the menus of high-class restaurants.”-Jane Grigson

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Love-that is all.

Prairie 360 for Lunch

October6

Being in the media procurement business means that I receive invitations to wonderful places for previews and grand openings.  CBWT was launching their upcoming schedule, so they assemble a group of clients and my fellow media buyers for lunch at Prairie 360.  I have had the pleasure of dining at the unique revolving restaurant on a previous occiassion but it was for dinner in the winter and because so much of what the restaurant is, is actually outside the windows of the restaurant, it was like a whole new location.

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Check out this view.

Because we were a large group and time was limited, we ordered from a limited menu.

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Next to me a friend choose the smoked salmon sandwich and across from me,

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a bison burger arrived.  Since I was with business acquaintances and I already felt sheepish about asking if I could take photos of their meals, I didn’t ask them for a taste.  Suffice it to say, that they were well pleased.

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Bowls of hand cut potato chips were served family style.  Holy moly, I could have devour the entire bowl…….

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I selected the rotini and since so much time has past since I enjoyed this meal, I can’t for the life of me, remember what it contained.  I can tell you this:  I have heard concerns that with Prairie 360’s kitchen on a separate floor than the dining room, the food does not always arrive  hot. On this day, the pasta was piping hot, in fact, I had to let it cool off for a bit, before I could tuck in.

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We moved to another floor for the official presentation of the day and coffee and dessert was set out for us to help ourselves.  The chocolate pate was dense, creamy and so amazing.

Prairie 360 on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote: “A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view.”-Wilma Askinas

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Love -that is all.

 

 

 

 

Fall Entertaining with Smucker’s

September30

With the arrival of autumn, our routine changes. Our travelling is done for another season and we no longer head out to the beach house every weekend. We re-establish our routine of Sunday dinners together as a family and we get caught on up the movie watching that we have missed since the previous Academy Awards. The guys are avid NFL fans so we also try to accommodate as much football viewing as possible. Sometimes when a Sunday afternoon game goes late, I have to whip up a quick nibble to hold us over until our designated supper time (they typically PVR the second game to watch after we are finished at the supper table). This is when having a variety of Smucker’s jams in the pantry comes in handy.

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Both these savoury little bites are perched upon a leaf, reminiscent of the change of season. The first is a green romaine leaf. A generous dollop of Smucker’s Blueberry Jam is smeared on the leaf and then a glorious whole clove of roasted garlic is rested on the jam. Toasted pine nuts and a sprig of earthy sage follow and the entire little boat is a potpourri of lusty flavours.

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A red leaf of radicchio is employed with the second bite. Complementing the claret colour of the leaf is a matching one from a smear of Smucker’s Raspberry Jam.  Creamy chèvre follows and then the surprising combination of dark chocolate chips and freshly ground black pepper. I first tasted raspberry, chocolate and pepper together at a now defunct Winnipeg restaurant called Victor’s where the young chef was not afraid to stretch our taste buds with exciting flavour combinations.

These are placed in front of my appreciative guys who have spent the afternoon in front of the big screen in the basement family room and need just a little something to tide them over until dinner time. I don’t join them as I am anxious to get back upstairs to visit with my girls but especially our granddaughter who has made the visit too.

Kath’s quote: “And the Quangle Wangle said to himself on the Crumpetty Tree,–‘Jam; and Jelly; and bread; Are the best of food for me!”-Edward Lear

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Love-that is all.

Smucker’s Pairings for Fall Entertaining are a simple, easy way to create delicious food combinations with jam and other ingredients, designed to help you discover how fall flavours mingle together for mouth-watering results. Each pairing has 5 ingredients or less, and is ready in less than 15 minutes. Because with a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good.  For specific information on our jam flavours and varieties, please visit www.smuckers.ca.

Smuckers Logo

Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Smucker’s foods of Canada via Mode Media Canada.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Smucker’s Foods of Canada

Isla Mujeres 2014 Trip Report-Day 11, Part 2

September29

Autumn is officially upon us and although beautiful, I know what is on its way to the Canadian prairies.  To warm me up, I remembered that I still had a couple of Trip Reports to finish off.  

So, meanwhile back to my recounting of Day 11 on Isla…… If you recall, the gorgeous, clear day suddenly was interrupted with torrents of rain.  Since this was our last full day on Isla, we were undaunted and kept our plans for our progressive dinner in Centro.  This is often how we spend our last full day.  Not only were we trying to make every minute count but we were still trying to check every taste and locale off of our “must try” list.  So we donned our ponchos and headed out into the torrential rain.  The dollar store ponchos that we had packed from home worked well but not our leather shoes in the flooded streets. There was some intriguing action going on in Centro that day.  We walked by Hemingway’s which had closed messages taped all over it.  There were sniffer dogs and big burly guys with guns under their ponchos, helmets and masks.  It was like a scene from a movie, the likes of which we have never encountered back home in the centre of Canada.  But I was comforted that crime is appropriately dealt with on the island and that as long as we kept our own proverbial noses clean, we should never have to encounter such a scene. It was too early for dinner or even appetizers, so we made the rounds where our other family members were staying to say our good-byes.  Our first stop was my brother’s hotel Los Arcos right on Hidalgo.  They too have been coming to Isla for years and he and my beloved sister-in-law love being right in the heart of the action.  He pours an amazing rum and coke to which D gleefully accepted.  I imbibed in a glass of vino tinto and some chips and salsa (trying to be polite but knowing that I had hours of eating ahead).  Our second stop was on the south perimeter of the zocolo at Sister #3’s at Casa el Pio.  She too has her favourite spot where she has stayed, year after year.  More glasses of vino tinto were poured along with the island’s delicious potato chips and onion dip.

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After we departed, our progressive dinner began in earnest with a stop at our favourite spot at Bally Hoo (I was the only one in our entourage who hadn’t been) for fish and chips and mango margaritas.

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At our next stop at Roca Mar we sat on the covered balcony for shrimp ceviche and Sols.

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J2’s Mom agreed to babysit the Wee One so that J2 could join us for the entrée course.

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We loved everything about Abuelo’s including the brightly covered napkins that wrapped around the cervezas-a little touch that added some colour to the grey night.

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J2 loved the pina coolada with fresh juices.

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The place is teeny but welcoming and cozy.

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We were amazed by the quality of the food that came out of the equally teeny kitchen.

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D chose the whole red snapper and was blown away.

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 J2 decided upon the seafood kabobs and was delighted that the fish was skewered with fresh whole strawberries.

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Abuelo means grandfather and the restaurant is aptly run by three generations.  We had heard not only how fabulous the food was but that it was lovingly presented.  Everything we heard was absolutely right.   Complimentary chocolate flan was delivered to us all for dessert -even me who hadn’t ordered an entrée.  We can’t wait to go back to Abuelo’s. We carried on with more vino tinto at Don Cheapo’s.

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We strolled up and down Hidalgo to help digest our supper and make room for another dessert!

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Our niece had been to the island in the New Year and her favourite spot was Café Hidalgo.

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Gorgeous crepes were lovingly created by a hippie lad who considered each plate a work of art.  J2 selected nutella, banana and real shredded coconut .  I chose the sugar and lime with strawberries and just whipped, cream.  We were so impressed with how homey the café was with books and games to help you pass a rainy day or if you were dining on your own.  Another spot that we will definitely go back to. By this time it was late, and if you recall, we had started the day hours ago in part one of this recounting.  J2 invited us to their balcony at Roca Mar to sip a Kahlua but in spite of our intent to fit extra minutes into our last full day, we had to admit that it was time to make the stroll home one last time.

Kath’s quote: “I am not a glutton — I am an explorer of food.”-Erma Bombeck

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Love-that is all.

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