I have  connected with an old business acquaintance recently.  She and I have emailed and chatted on the phone for years and known of each each other for eons before that, but only met in person for the first time last week.  Isn’t life strange/wonderful that way?  We are now FB friends and I am getting to know another side of her life a bit better.  She recently sent me this recipe and although I have not yet made it, I know that it will be a hit.  The inclusion of salted cashews and beer, is why I am convinced.  Thank you Carolyn.

“Here’s a receipe that I love, and don’t pull out as often as I should.  Just made it tonight to take into the teacher’s tomorrow for Student Lead Conferences, and am glad that I made a little extra for myself!!

 2 Tbs olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 1/2 cups chooped green pepper

1 cup chopped onoin

3 cloves garlic, minced

Two 28 oz cans diced tomatoes (can use fresh)

One 19 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

One 19 oz can mixed beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

One 12 oz can of beer

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon basil

1 1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon tabasco

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup cashews (unsalted)

1 cup shredded swiss, mozzarella, or cheddar cheese

Heat oil. Add celery, green pepper, onion, and garlic.  Cook until tender.  Stir in undrained tomatoes, beans, raisins, vinegar, chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, cumin, allspice, pepper, tabaco, and bay leaf.  Bring to boil.  Simmer, covered 1 1/2 hours.

Stir in beer and cashews.  Return to boil.  Simmer uncovered 30 miutes or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaf.  Sprinkle cheese on top of each serving. Enjoy!”

Kath’s quote: “You can’t possibly ask me to go without having some dinner. It’s absurd. I never go without my dinner. No one ever does, except vegetarians and people like that.”-Oscar Wilde

Almost three weeks have past since our sojourn to Toronto.  One of our favourite meals was at Over Easy in the Entertainment District.  As the name implies, they serve breakfast all day long.  So why has it it taken me so long to write about it?  Because I would have to admit to y’all that I had poutine for breakfast and loved it!

Now in my defense, it wasn’t really poutine (even though they called it such on the menu).  It was more like a hearty breakfast casserole with the inclusion of authentic cheese curds instead of grated cheese.  Specifically, there was a layer of hash browns topped with bacon and smoked ham, cheese curds, and two poached eggs.  That was smothered with a lemony hollandaise.  The meal was loaded with carbs, fat and calories and my oh my, was it delicious.

D very sensibly chose eggs Florentine which included fresh spinach.  This great place also serves home made brown toast and an excellent glass of oj.

Unfortunately, the coffee was horrible or I could have sat there all day.  The decor was cheerful and cozy and I loved the fresh colours.

Kath’s quote: “It was a nice breakfast – two hard boiled eggs, a piece of Danish, and a Coca-Cola spiked with gin.”-John Cheever

Our evening at Sydney’s was near perfection, right down to the soft fluffy snowflakes that were falling on the courtyard of the Forks, when we were the last satisfied patrons to leave that night.

When I say “near” perfection,  Laura had done her utmost to reserve a round table six weeks prior to this special evening and when she was escorted to a rectangular table which is not as conducive to inclusive conversation, she was told that someone would come to speak to her.  Well, that someone never materialized and the request was ignored or forgotten.

But no matter, I anticipated that the evening would be stellar as I had recently followed the Gold Medal Plate competition and knew that Chef Michael Schafer had taken the bronze.  So we were in for an award winning evening.

We started the merriment off with the Ceasar that the server suggested.  We detected the addition of horseradish and I noticed as we raised our glasses for a festive toast, that my glass was reducing in contents more quickly than the others.

You may already know that Sydney’s provides a seasonal menu for one price of $55. per diner (with the option of a couple of more expensive choices), which capitalizes on the fruits of the local harvest.  The offerings are a fusion of Asian, French and Italian influences.  Since these are my personal favourites (with the exception perhaps of Mexican), I knew that I would well pleased with everything that came my way.      

Some started with split pea soup which tempted me as I spotted the inclusion of truffle and house-made ham.  But I opted for something lighter to start and was satisfied with my gorgonzola and walnut topped, beet salad.  Statisfied until I tasted D’s prawn and veggie kakiage……

Kakiage is a tempura of mixed vegetables and often includes shrimp or prawns as this one did.  The was a pocket of wasabi powder in the mix which was well balanced by the citrus ponzu sauce.  I was coveting D’s choice.

The next course included a gorgeous beef liver pate sampled by some and a pumpkin risotto that caught my eye.  The pistachio crumble, sage oil and parmesan crisp were delightful and I was content.  That was… until I tasted D’s savory bread pudding. 

The choice, which I thought was unusual at first, was the perfect blend of seasoned bread and a savoury sausage.  It might have been the surprize hit of the evening.

The courses were divided by a cleansing sorbet and then the “mains” began to arrive.  This double lamb shank, pictured above was enhanced by a rosemary, dijon crust.

Laura and Sue opted for the spicy garlic rock lobster tail and tiger shrimp.  I had a nibble and was duly impressed.  D enjoyed his salmon with warm olive salad and I, my bone-in pork chop with an apple stuffing.  Perfectly cooked to a medium rare with juices still flowing, it was gorgeous.

By the time dessert arrived, we should have been linking arms for a stroll in the snow but picked up our spoons once again.  D let me taste his satisfying chocolate crepes with a marscarpone fig cream.

I was over the moon for my apple tart with blue cheese ice cream and a brandy snap.

What could enhance this circle of friends, celebrating Christmas?  Well did I mention that Santa is one of my friends?  Here he is making his selections of the evening’s fare. 

And again, just before we departed for the evening.

I truly hope that your festive season, gets off to as good a start as mine.

“What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.”-Phyllis Diller

This morning brings preparations for another fund-raising bake sale.  Lucky for Daughter #2, she has a baking beau.  The Frenchman made these tasty morsels for her to sell this morning.

 ¼ cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups flour

½ cup cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup margarine, softened

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon nondairy creamer or soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup powdered sugar

½ cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda. Cream together the margarine, sugar, brown sugar and ½ cup peanut butter until fluffy. Beat in egg, soy milk and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture. Batter will be thick. Form the dough into 32 balls and set aside.

For filling, stir together powdered sugar and ½ cup peanut butter. Shape this mixture into 32 balls also.

Slightly flatten each chocolate ball and top with peanut butter ball. Pull chocolate dough over peanut butter to cover completely and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake for 8 minutes or until just set. Cool on pan 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.

Kath’s quote: “Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.”-Charles M. Schulz

I was searching for recipes to fix for Sunday’s Grey Cup Game and my own blog entry came up!  I wrote this when the Olympics were on and we were all eating suppers in front of the TV.  I recommend making some crunchy bread from scratch for the dipping.

Pizza Fondu

This is a very simple and delicious comfort food to enjoy while watching a movie.  Serve with a side salad and a nice bottle of red wine.  Totally to die for.

 1 lb. Lean ground beef and/or Italian sausage

1 small onion

10 oz cheddar cheese (shredded/cubed)

1 ½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp. oregano

1 ½ tsp fennel seed or Italian seasoning

Fresh cracked pepper

20 oz can of Meat or Spaghetti sauce

10 oz. mozzarella cheese (shredded/grated)

1 French baguette cut into 1” bite-size pieces.

Sauté the beef/sausage and onion until cooked and drain.  Now transfer to an electric fondue pot.  Add all seasonings, cheddar and sauce and stir well.  Turn onto medium to heat everything up and melt the cheddar cheese.  Once it’s all nicely warm and blended, add the mozza cheese and continue stirring occasionally until all bubbly and melty.  Stick your bread cubes onto fondue fork, dip, twirl and enjoy.

Kath’s quote:  “Do not move back and forth on your chair. Doing so gives the impression of constantly breaking, or trying to break, wind.”-Desiderius Erasmus (1466? – 1536)

Thanks again Wal.