Browsing: Food & Travel

Guest Blogger: Daughter-in-law Jen-Buick Encore Culinary Adventure, Part 2

March7

The next day we met the rest of the participants and the GM team including the lovely Laura Nava – Media Relations Manager of GM Canada. Lunch was served in the hotel by Top Chef Canada star Chef David Chrystian. Chef David designed the menu based on the different aspects of our adventure.

First course up was a Toronto spiced tomato soup with fried sun-chokes, brussel sprouts and cream cheese. Chef David described his hopes that Toronto Spice would one day be a household name similar to Montreal Steak Spice and he included it in all of the dishes (even dessert!).

Next was an Entree entitled “Group of Seven” inspired by the visit we took later that day to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection Gallery where we toured the Group of Seven painting exhibit. This included Chicken Tagine, dried fruits, mint puree, olives, sumac and crackling.

The second entree was called “Ice Fishing in Muskoka”. Although it was too warm to go ice fishing (not complaining!), Muskoka was the final destination of the day where we were to stay 2 nights in the stunning Touchstone Resort. This dish was composed of pan seared white fish with sauerkraut, bacon, pickled asparagus and wild rice.

Last but not least, the meal was concluded with a little “Pick Up” of tiramisu.

While we were finishing up dessert we were ushered out to meet the star guest of the weekend- our Buick Encore. We chose the black, luxury model and one of the very helpful GM representatives walked us through the special features including heated seats, heated steering wheel (my favorite feature!), a built in voice recognition system and the very easy-to-use phone sync program. Then we opened the sun roof, blasted some tunes, picked up our favorite travel snack (Miss Vicki’s Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar chips) and were on our way to the next step in our adventure.

Kath’s quote:  “Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time.”-Erma Bombeck

Love-that is all.

Guest Blogger: Daughter-in-law Jen-Buick Encore Culinary Adventure, Part 1

March6

When we were invited to attend the Buick Encore Culinary Adventure we weren’t sure exactly what to expect. We arrived in Toronto on Sunday evening and were greeted by the very friendly Lisa Calvi and her trusty sidekick Gary.

They escorted us to the Hotel Le Germain and we were invited to dine in the hotel restaurant – Victor Restaurant.

I had a project that I had to finish up, so instead of dining in the restaurant, I ordered some room service and dined on a delicious feast of Linguini with aged goat cheese, fennel, eggplant and olives.

Jeremy took the opportunity to head down to the bar and ordered two items. The first was off of the restaurant’s Toronto Tasting menu which was described as being food designed based on different spots or neighborhoods across the city. He had the “Corktown, King and Parliament” which bore the description simply of ” ‘Fish and Chips’, tartar sauce and malt vinegar”. He chose this based on the recommendation of the bartender. When the food arrived, Jeremy thought there must have been a mistake in the kitchen because he had never seen any “Fish and Chips” like this before. The fish and chips were put together like a small cake with slices of potato being the fluffy cake and the fish acting as a soft icing layer in between. This “cake” was then panko crisped, slightly fried, and then opened up to absorb the amazing house made tartar sauce. Served on a pool of malt vinegar jelly with a classic lemon wedge garnish. Needless to say, it was amazing. The portion was small, by design, so Jeremy went back to the menu to find another tasty treat. There were so many great options, he went back to the bartender for another recommendation.

The next item was a sushi pizza. He was wonderfully surprized a secnd time with this course.  Having never eaten a sushi pizza before, Jeremy was able to enter in with no expectations as to what would appear on his plate. The pizza was a marinated tuna filet wrapped around a crisped rice base, covered in a slew of pickled vegetables. On the plate there was a spicy soy sauce jelly, a miso puree, roe, avacado spread, and a wasabi blend. Each bite was different as the presentation allowed the diner to mix and match particular elements from the plate. After being pleasantly surprised a second time, Jeremy was content to sit back and enjoy snippets of the Academy Awards on TV while sipping on a nice Amsterdam KLB Nut Brown ale.

Victor Restaurant and Bar on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote: “I strongly believe that culinary love is not about having a French Passport, but about what you feel” –Albert Roux

Love-that is all.

Guest Blogger: Sister #3-Gangnam Style, Platea Sushi & Korean

March5

Korean culture is making a splash in North America.  Not only does PSY’s song Gangnam Style flood our radio airwaves, but Korean food is starting to establish itself in our neighbourhoods.

This winter I had the privilege of hosting the most delightful young lady from Korea.  Yujin was as excited to introduce me to Korean food, a I was excited to learn.

We started simply, as she made me authentic Ramen Noodles that she brought with her from Korea. Unlike the over salted, chemical tasting version, we all ate too many of in college, these were hearty noodles in a delicious spicy broth into which an egg is dropped at the end of cooking to add a scrambled texture and further enhance the yumminess.

One night I decided that we should try the Korean restaurant that is on my block of Corydon while I had access to an expert to advise me on menu choices.  Platea at 590 Corydon is a quaint little place in a house much like my own.  Maybe that is what made me fall in love with it the minute we walked through the doors.  I also loved the touches of beautiful pottery that adorned the table and was used to serve our tea and food.  Owner Sun Me, was very attentive and so pleased to meet such a lovely fellow country woman.

We started our dinner with an eggy pancake called Chun.  It was filled with spring onion and shrimp and served with a great sauce for dipping.

Next we ordered our mains: Osam Bulgoki – a combination of pork and squid with a sweet and spicy sauce served with fluffy white rice and Dol Sot Bibimbap – served in a very hot stone bowl, it was a combination of rice, beef and vegetables cooked in gochuchang paste, topped with a raw egg.  As you stir the ingredients together, the heat from the bowl finishes the cooking process and the egg makes the rice a bit crispy the longer it cooks.

Platea Sushi & Korean on Urbanspoon

A few nights later, Yujin would get brave and try her hand at making Chun and Bibimbap at home.  After a quick visit to the Korean market, she was ready to get busy in the kitchen to tackle two dishes she had never actually cooked before. Yujin put kimchi (fermented cabbage) and green onion into her chun and I was amazed that she was able to replicate the texture of the pancake by guessing the amount of egg and flour.  For her Bibimab, she cooked numerous items, one at a time including: pork in soya sauce, carrot, onion, kimchi, mushrooms and eggs.  Placing each item in a section over her large bowl of rice, she added a good sized portion of chopped nori type seaweed and topped it all with a mixture of gochuchang paste and honey and at tableside mixed it all together to serve.  The results were shocking, especially to Yujin – absolute perfection!

Kath’s quote: “One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating.  And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.”-Laurie Colwin

Love-that is all.

Guest Blogger Sister #3: New York City – New Discoveries

February27

I can honestly say that I didn’t have a bad meal the whole time we were in New York.  Here are a couple of highlights of new discoveries made this time around.

Matt’s Grill W55th Street at 8th Avenue

After an early morning to participant in the live audience of the Anderson Cooper show, we were three hungry travelers looking for some sustenance.  We found it just a short jaunt away at Matt’s.  What you would expect from a neighbourhood place, the bar takes up a good chunk of the room and locals greet the waitresses like old friends as they pull up a bar stool for a quick lunch.  We all selected sandwiches and fries.

D had the egg salad which was topped with ham and a slice of cheddar, I had the chicken wrap with bacon, avocado and tomato and

B had the grilled Portobello mushroom topped with fresh mozzarella, tomato and roasted onions.

Now a days there are so many Food Network shows about food trucks, and so many of them happen to be in Manhattan, I knew I had to visit at least one of these roadside vendors on this visit.  B and I took a day to ourselves to shop and found ourselves in Union Square Park at lunch time.

There were plenty of trucks to choose from but we decided on Patty’s Tacos for our lunch.

We skipped the famous cow’s tongue tostados and ordered corn tamales stuffed with chicken mole

and the cheese sincronizada (much like a quesadilla but made with two flour tortilla like a grilled sandwich.  This was served with a refreshing tossed salad.  We found a park bench to enjoy our food and watch the passers by.

Patty's Taco Truck on Urbanspoon

On the night that we were headed to the East Village to see Stomp we decided to go to the Ukranian East Village Restaurant for dinner, as it was located next door to the Orpheum Theatre. It was nice to have something a little different, which at the same time reminded me of home.

I enjoyed the wiener schnitzel that was crisp and tasty, topped with a fried egg and served with mashed potatoes and vegetables,

B tried the varenyky (AKA perogies) and D enjoyed the beef brisket with potato pancakes.  Our entrees came with salad and delicious bread so there was way too much food all around.  But what else would you expect from a Ukrainian kitchen.

Ukrainian East Village Restaurant on Urbanspoon

The last little gem we discovered was Uskudar Turkish restaurant at E 73rd and 2nd.  Unfortunately we were all so tired that night that we cancelled our reservation and I instead ran down to the restaurant and ordered our dinners to go.  When the food arrived I was so hungry that I forgot to take out the camera and snap my photos.  As a result I can’t even remember what exactly we had.  I know there was a Sheppard’s salad, humus, lamb kabob, cheese pie, but the details are blurry.  One thing for sure, it was yummy and one of my favorite meals of the trip. That may have something to do with my affinity for Turkish food. I guess I just have to go back and do a better job of keeping track of this meal next time.

Usküdar on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote: “We are a family who start discussing our next meal before the one in front of us is fully consumed.” -Sister #3

Love-that is all.

Guest Blogger: Sister #3-New York, New York…the place so nice they named it twice

February15

On a recent trip to NYC I just had to revisit a couple of places I fell in love with on my last trip….that’s right, the food so nice, I ate it twice!

Ess-a-bagel 3591st Avenue corner of E 21st Street

What could be more New York City than a bagel with cream cheese!  There are bagel shops everywhere you go in this city.  I picked up a bagel for breakfast from the shop right outside the subway station we frequented on this stay in the upper Eastside.  The bagel was good but I kept thinking about Ess-a-bagel– the perfect bagel!  Then, about five days into my trip I found myself back in the Gramercy Park area exploring vintage shops with my travel companion when it struck me….I was walking down 1st avenue, not far from where I stayed last time…that could only mean one thing, as soon as I saw the corner of 1st and E 21st I was thrilled to see it….the bagel mother load. 

I had to stop, bought two plain bagels with a side of lox cream cheese, which fed me for two breakfasts and a lunch.  So glad I found them again!

Ess-a-Bagel on Urbanspoon

The Redhead 349 E. 13th Street (between 1st and 2nd Ave)

The purpose of this NYC trip was for my friend, whose birthday is the day before mine, and I to celebrate in a very memorable way.  When it came time to pick the location for my birthday dinner I knew automatically that I had to return to the Redhead for the best southern fried chicken I ever ate. This cozy little neighbourhood bistro was such an amazing surprise on our first trip.  It has since been featured on Food Networks – Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, where everyone raved about their shrimp and grits and homemade soft pretzels, but I think they missed the boat by  not featuring the fried chicken.

 

 The first time I had it, it was served with corn bread and a salad and this time came with a waffle and sausage.  While I prefer the first option it was all irrelevant when I tasted that chicken again. Marinated in butter milk and fried in the most amazing batter, nothing can compare. 

Ess-a-Bagel on Urbanspoon

The Stage Door Deli 26 Vesey Street (between Broadway and Park Row)

When we planned our visit to the newly opened 9/11 memorial I knew that we had to seek out the Stage Door Deli. Last trip it was shopping at Century 21 that brought us to the financial district as the World Trade site was still in a state of disarray at the time. Right next to the Stage Door there was a small memorial museum that we visited first time around.  It is always fun to visit an authentic delicatessen and hear shouting and feel the energy of the city. We all had sandwiches;

pastrami Panini,

beef brisket,

BLT

all delicious, served on fresh bread and featuring the best cured meats.

Kath’s quote:  “the first printed mention of bagels…is to be found in the Community Regulations of Kracow, Poland, for the year 1610 which stated that bagels would be given as a gift to any woman in childbirth.” -‘The Joys of Yiddish’ by Leo Rosten

Love-that is all.

 

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