I try very hard to eat food for the “right” reasons, that is to supply my body with the appropriate fuel that it requires for optimum health BUT I am human and sometimes slip into old habits. I’ll be frank, I  eat when I am stressed or to reward myself for (what I perceive is) a job well done.  Case in point, I have recently had a long stretch of teaching and speaking engagements along with a couple of food styling gigs.  I am such a  “pleaser” that I put myself under a lot of pressure to think of every single little detail for the chef and publicists that I am contracted to.  When the time comes that I am able to pack up and head home, I am relieved and looking for a way to celebrate.

My last commitment today was at the not yet opened Paterson GlobalFoods Institute at the Exchange campus of Red River College.  Lo and behold, I was parked right in front of Smoke’s Poutinerie and I hadn’t indulge with a treat from there since the summer that they opened.   Even though the menu was intriguing with chicken, pork, beef and vegetarian offerings, I am a purist and ordered the Traditional.  I enjoyed my first couple of piping hot bites but I had to get on with the rest of my day and so packed the majority up to finish at home.  By the time I unloaded all of the gear from my car, the dish had cooled off and I found that I enjoyed the tastes even more!  The gravy was rich and not overly salty and the authentic cheese curds had firmed up and retained their squeakiness once more. 

I have just finished a work entitled “My Canada includes Foie Gras” where the author Jacob Richler, Maclean’s food columnist, proclaims that “Poutine” maybe Canada’s only authentic food: “Our culinary identity abroad is more often rooted in unexciting single ingredients than actual dishes- things like maple syrup and “Canadian bacon” ( a minor stylistic rethink of a very common food).  And with the exception of poutine, a genuine Quebec original, most of our Canadian cuisine has far too much in common with its European antecedents to appear to others as something new.”

So there you have it-I rewarded myself and substantiated culinary research all at the same time (as if I needed a second excuse)!

Kath’s quote:  “The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite.”-A. J. Liebling

Love-that is all.

When you are able to reacquaint with good friends that you have not had the occasion to visit with in a while, it really doesn’t matter where you go or what you eat, does it?  The company was the most important thing and yet here we were tucked into a cozy corner table in the back dining room at 529 Wellington.  Because I have been acquainted with the WOW! Hospitality folks for many years, it was like coming home with lots of embraces and hugs.  I even was able to meet a twitter follower IRL (in real life).  She recognized me from my thumbnail photo and I was so glad that she introduced herself.

The room is warm and beautifully appointed and you can easily imagine the grand dinners that must have been common place in the restored mansion.  Our waiter was impeccable and did his best not to intrude upon our intimate conversations.  We all chose beef specials as they were relayed by our server:

 the calf’s liver with onions on mashed potatoes,

a Caesar salad topped with grilled tenderloin and enormous shards of Parmesan cheese

and an open-faced rib eye steak sandwich with sauteed mushrooms.  The flavours of the steak were rich and deep and even though the beef was extremely well trimmed, my taste buds found a nugget of fat the was silky smooth and absolutely sublime.  My lunch reminded me of the way in which my Dad would enjoy his steak-nothing fussy or complicated: just the finest cut with lots of age and a little bit of seasoning.  I have never seen the kitchen of 529 so I do not know how their steaks are prepared but I imagined that it would have been seared in a hot pan or over a hot flame to seal in the juices and then carefully watched until the perfect doneness was achieved.  I tasted salty butter on the accompanying mushrooms and if I am not mistaken on the steak as well.  Unadorned and divine. And don’t worry about me, I did get my quota of veggies later in the day.

I may try the beef carpaccio next time, remembering back to when Doug Stephen, one of the owners of the restaurant first opened a bistro in the basement of the Travellers Building, named Cibo’s. I remember their carpaccio from our first wedding anniversary dinner.  Fine dining and fine beef have always been a part of our lives. 

The menu states that less than 1% of all Canadian beef available is graded Canada Prime and that all the beef at 529 is as such.  No wonder our lunch was so very good.

Kath’s quote: “The quality of food is in inverse proportion to the altitude of the dining room, with airplanes the extreme example.”-Bryan Miller

Love-that is all.

There are so many reasons why I decided to make this Pot Roast recipe last evening.

1) My slow cooker was sitting right there on the counter.  I go through cooking spurts with certain appliances.  Right now I am in immersion blender mode: turnips and mashed potatoes last evening.  And anything that I can think of cooking in my brand new slow-cooker.

2) As we move closer to Christmas when we get a bit “turkeyed” out, beef provides a welcome change of tastes.

3) Speaking of turkey though, we already had one roasting in the oven for Sister #3 who puts on a dinner every year for the volunteers of  Winnipeg Havest.  Because the oven was occupied for the day, a slow-cooker recipe was the perfect choice.

4 ) Last night was Mandatory Sunday Supper at our house and I always try to prepare something particularly economical so that I can afford to package up the left overs and send a couple of meals home with our kids to help out with their busy lives (and their grocery bills).

5) D and I had tried a coffee rubbed steak at a tappas restaurant in the states this summer and I have been searching for a coffee/beef recipe that would equally satisfy.

6) There were roast tweets all afternoon on my twitter feed Friday and I could not stop thinking about the aroma of roasting beef filling my house.

7) I wanted to give my new talking digital meat thermometer a test drive.  Wow-this device takes all of the guess work out of roasting meat.  The gadget was absolutely precise when the beef was at our desired doneness and even spoke to me in a polite voice!

8) I seared the roast early in the morning, threw it into the slow-cooker and then was free to focus on my family and other tasks for the rest of the day (like trimming the Christmas tree).  I didn’t even have to make gravy, as this recipe makes its own!

9) I had the pleasure of working with Sally Vaughan Johnston this week when she was in Winnipeg and wanted to try another recipe from her “Best of Bridge Slowcooker Cookbook”.  So far she is 5 for 5, everything has worked out delicious and effortless.

10) We are going to need the energy that beef provides to get us through the week ahead: another major food-styling job for me and an annual Christmas dinner for a charity that we support that D caters each year.

Kath’s Tips: 1) The oven was already pre-heating for our turkey so I browned the roast in the oven instead of as the recipe suggests. Why waste electricity? 2) A meat thermometer means that your meat will cook to exactly the desired temperature. Mine is a Brookstone brand Grill Alert. A little pricier than the grocery store variety but so worth it! It even has a remote feature so that we could take the receiver downstairs with us and hear the signal over top of the sound of the Viking’s game on the big screen.  3) There are so many good recipes and cooking suggestions on the Beef Info site.

Kath’s quote: “In the childhood memories of every good cook, there’s a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom.” -Barbara Costikyan

Love-that is all.

I had the pleasure this week of working with Sally Vaughan Johnston while she was in Winnipeg promoting the Best of Bridge Slowcooker Cookbook.  As a food stylist I prepared the recipe in advance and then assembled the ingredients to take to CITY TV and CTV to be included in Sally’s on camera appearances.  The recipe itself is a breeze and comes out beautifully.

The batter is spread into the bottom of the slow cooker, then the fruit goes on top with melted butter pored over all.  The lid goes on and you just forget about it. While baking, the aromas of apples, cranberry,  brown sugar and cinammon are as pleasurable as a tri-wicked ented candle from Bed and Bath.

The tartness of the cranberries and orange peel in the marmalade beautifully offset the slight sweetness of the hearty cake.

Kath’s tip: I let the cake cool completely in the crock and then pulled the cake away from the crock with a spatula.  When the time came to plate it, I used a large serving spoon that I had purchased at an Asian food store for serving rice.  Sally indicated that it had come out more neatly than she had seen it previously.

Kath’s quote: Cranberries-“The Indians and English use them much, boyling them with Sugar for Sauce to eat with their Meat, and it is a delicious sauce.” –John Josselyn, 1663

Love-that is all.

Most of my readers know that I grew up in a large family and that we all live together in the same city (very rare now a days).  We absolutely love the excuse to celebrate milestones as a family.  We invite extended family members and friends that we have known and loved so long, that they feel like family.  This was the case this past Sunday, when the women of our clan assembled for a bridal shower to celebrate the upcoming marriage of our precious niece.

Kelsey is such an angel that her halo is often visible.

We divided the task list up amongst the three sisters and were ably assisted by a 4th Auntie who made a breath-taking fruit tray and lead us in a blessing (the 5th Auntie is vacationing in Hawaii but still contributed Chocolate Cranberry Squares and the 6th Auntie is the Mother of the Bride and provided the wine).

Other desserts were contributed by cousins and friends, Sister #2 made the quiche, decorated and gave the toast; Sister #3 made the salads and was the MC.  There were requests for the Marinated Zucchini Artichoke Salad recipe by Kelsey’s co-workers, so here it is:

I made the punch and in writing this, it seems like I got away task-free.  That is the beauty of coming from a large family.  I am particularly busy with my work right now and so my efforts were limited, but my time is coming!  Set up was accomplished by the Maid of Honour and Sister of the Bride and everyone pitched in when it was time for dishes (even one of the cousins who is eight months pregnant).  We are a well-oiled machine!

Kath’s Tip: Sister #3 always brings a fancy pen and place cards to events like this to label each dish.  This way food is not wasted because you are aware of all of the ingredients (some might upset a tummy and there are allergies in our family).

Kath’s quote: “My face looks like a wedding cake left out in the rain.”-W.H. Auden

Love-that is all.