A few weeks back I was doing my weekly Kensington Market run when I decided to stop in my favourite butcher, Sanagan’s Meat Locker. Sanagan’s is a tiny butcher shop that stocks all types of responsibly raised, local meats. They do a good job of identifying which farm the meat is from and if you follow them on , or read their blog you’ll have a chance to learn a bit more about their meat and where it comes from. Despite the fact that their meats are all local and healthy, I generally don’t find their prices to be exorbitant. Yes, prices are higher than the supermarket but I find the prices to be less than some of the other fancy butcher-type places in Toronto. AND the meat is fabulous.
I don’t remember what I actually went in to buy but I remember looking over and seeing a sign for beef cheeks. I was intrigued. They looked pretty unappealing. They kind of looked like big, thick beef pancakes with a white fat/membrane. Nonetheless, I was intrigued so I asked one of the butchers what would one do with beef cheeks and she (yes, she. Big ups to female butchers) said to braise them like I would short ribs. Since short ribs are one of my fave meals I was totally sold. Oh, and beef cheeks are super cheap at $3.99/lb whereas short ribs are in the $6+ range. I actually hesitated blogging about the goodness because I don’t want beef cheeks to become super popular and get more expensive. But I also couldn’t NOT blog about them because they are DELICIOUS.
So when you get beef cheeks they look like the photo above. In retrospect I should’ve asked the butcher to trim them down for me because it was quite a bit of work. Think of it like skinning fish. But at least when you skin fish the skin comes away easily, you just have to be delicate. With the beef cheeks the membrane is not at all delicate so you really have to work away at it and you don’t want to lose too much of the meaty goodness.
I was initially going to modify one of my fave short rib recipes and just use beef cheeks but I figured I’d see what the interwebs had to offer. One of my fave magazines, Saveur, had this recipe on their website that I figured I’d adapt it to use what I had on hand. Overall it sounded great but I didn’t feel like using a calf’s foot or serve it with pasta. I had this vision of serving Yorkshire pudding so that was going to be my side.
I cooked my beef cheeks for a bit over 3 hrs until they were super tender. The only thing is that they totally fall apart… kind of looking like pulled beef. That doesn’t matter though because it all gets chewed up in your mouth anyway! So… my thoughts on beef cheeks…
MY NEW FAVE MEAT!
Seriously. They are like short ribs but better. More tender, more flavourful, cheaper and just delicious. It was one of those meals where I couldn’t stop talking about how good the food was. Since making these beef cheeks I’ve used them in other recipes in place of other types of beef and they honestly make every recipe better (more posts to come). After making this recipe I called the butcher to order another 5lbs of cheeks. Yes, 5 lbs. I froze them in packs of 2 cheeks and they are ready to go when I need them.
Braised Beef Cheeks
Adapted from Saveur
4 lbs. beef cheeks, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 750-ml bottle dry red wine
1 bay leaf
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 whole clove
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 oz. bacon, cut into 1⁄4″ cubes
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups beef stock
8 oz. button mushrooms, stemmed, halved, and steamed
20 pearl onions, steamed and peeled
3 carrots, cut into chunks and steamed
2 tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
1. Combine the beef cheeks, garlic, thyme, wine, bay leaf, onion, celery, and clove in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for a day or two. Remove beef cheeks and place on a plate. Reserve the marinade. Pat beef cheeks dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat your dutch oven and then sautee bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and reserve for later use. Melt butter in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat and working in batches, brown the beef cheeks on all sides. Remove and place on a plate.
3. Preheat oven to 325˚. Put the reserved marinade in your dutch oven add the stock. Allow the mixture to come to a boil. Add the beef and cover with a sheet of parchment cut to fit the pot. Cover the pot, and place in the oven. Turn the beef cheeks every hour and cook until tender, about 3-4 hours.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef cheeks to a plate and cover with foil. Skim fat from surface of
cooking liquid and strain the liquid pressing on the solids to extract the goodness. Discard the solids. Boil the mixture and reduce to a simmer until the liquid has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 15 minutes).
5. Return the beef cheeks to the dutch oven and add the sauce, mushrooms, bacon, onions, and carrots. Cover pot and cook (either on the stovetop or in the oven) until everything has heated through. Garnish with parsley.
SERVES 6
As a food lover, I’m always reading about food. Wednesdays are pure gold when the newspapers typically do their food sections but on a day-to-day basis it’s all about blogs. Truth be told, I rarely make things that I see on other blogs. Usually I just get inspired by what I see and either make it my way or find another recipe to riff off of. BUT every once in awhile something will catch my eye and I just HAVE TO MAKE it. Like this Pork Dumpling Soup that I spied over at The Kitchn. The recipe is from Bee at Rasa Malaysia who is a new-to-me blogger but is apparently super popular and has a great site.
During the winter months I’m all about making soup and I have an obsession with dim sum so dumplings are always top of mind with me. So how could I resist dumpling soup?
I had all sorts of grand plans of making the dumplings one night and then making the soup the following evening. But alas laziness kicked in and I was “forced” to make everything in the same evening… for dinner that night. Let’s just say that making 30+ dumplings from scratch on a Tuesday night was not one of my finest moments. It’s not that dumpling making is hard (especially when you buy the wrappers) it just takes time AND you can’t even snack because your hands are covered in raw pork. Needless to say every time I boiled up another batch I snatched one out to eat.
The dumplings themselves were a revelation. I’ve made dumplings before (maybe once or twice) and they turned out well but these dumplings had all sorts of touches that made them extra special. These were pork and shrimp dumplings but then you also add in wood ear mushrooms, water chestnuts, ginger and green onion. As for seasonings you get to add in sherry, chicken bouillon, fish sauce and other goodness. The flavor combination was so good and made the dumplings so official… they literally tasted like dumplings from a Chinese restaurant (and isn’t that the goal?). I’m totally inspired to start making dumplings all the time. Plus on a lazy, snowy (if we ever get snow) Sunday afternoon it’s the perfect activity. And you can make a bunch and freeze them.
The soup itself was super simple. We’re talking chicken broth and water. I had homemade broth in my freezer that I used and was perfect. The broth is almost a bit too simple, next time I’d consider throwing in a piece of ginger or something to give it another note. It wasn’t bad it just could’ve used a lil’ sumthin sumthin.
This soup is high on my list of things to make over and over and over again. It’s inexpensive and really not that hard to make. If you can rope someone into helping you with the dumplings it will go by in a flash.
Pork Dumpling Soup
Makes 12-20 dumplings or serves 4-6 as part of a multicourse meal
20 Siu Kow or wonton wrappers
4 cups (1 liter) water
Filling
1 small wood ear mushroom
6 oz (175 g) ground pork
4 oz (100 g) shelled and deveined raw shrimp, cut into small pieces
2 peeled fresh or canned water chestnuts, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion (scallion)
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
Seasonings
1 1/2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing) or sherry
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 dashes white pepper
Soup
1 3/4 cups (425 ml) Homemade Chicken Stock (page 00) or 1 can (14-oz/400-g) store-bought chicken broth
1 cup (250 ml) water
3 dashes white pepper
Salt, to taste
Garnishing
1 green onion (scallion), trimmed and cut into small rounds
1. Soak the wood ear mushroom in warm water until soft, about 15 minutes, and then cut into thin strips.
2. To make the filling, mix the mushrooms, ground pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, green onion, ginger, and all the Seasonings ingredients. Chill the filling in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. To assemble the dumplings, place a piece of the wrapper on your palm and spoon about 1 tablespoon filling onto the wrapper. Wet your index finger with water and circle around the outer edges of the dumpling wrapper. Fold the dumpling over and seal by pressing the edges with your thumb and index finger.Place the dumplings on a floured surface or baking sheet and cover with a damp towel so that they don’t dry out.
4. Bring a pot of water to a boil and slide the dumplings in. Cook until they float to the top, about 3 minutes. This may take several batches. Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon or spider and set aside.
5. Bring to boil the chicken broth and water in another pot. Add the white pepper and salt to taste.
6. To serve, put a few dumplings (4-5) in a bowl and ladle on some of the soup and garnish with green onions.
Every once in awhile I get these random cravings for things that I rarely eat. Take this jambalaya for instance. I’ve had jambalaya less than a handful of times and really don’t have any particularly memorable jambalaya experiences that I can refer. Honestly, I can’t tell you where exactly I had it or who made it, but I know I’ve eaten it. I have a vague memory of even making it eons ago. But of course, a few weeks ago I got this crazy idea in my head that I had to make jambalaya. Go figure. I honestly think that in a past life I was a Southern grandmother or something.
For the uninitiated, jambalaya is Lousiana creole rice dish. It’s similar to a Spanish paella to a certain degree. It can contain chicken, sausages, seafood and occasionally other types of meat. Sometimes it has tomatoes and sometimes it doesn’t. And it pretty much always has the “holy trinity” in it (celery, onions and peppers). Honestly, what’s not to love? Rice? Good. Sausage? Good. Shrimp? Good. Holy Trinity? Good. See, pure goodness.
The ingredients are pretty straightforward and easy to source. Well unless you live in Toronto and need to find Andouille. Luckily I did some digging and the question of where to find Andouille in Toronto has been asked before. I had to go to St. Lawrence Market which is hardly a chore (even if I did go on a Saturday). And the folks at Sausage King were even nice enough to give me the exact quantity that I needed, meaning they split a pack for me. Now that’s service.
Maybe it’s just me, but I hear the words jambalaya and I think that there’s some sort of involved process coming up. Not at all. There isn’t a ton of intricate chopping required and the cook time is minimal and you end up with a one-pot meal. I made this on a weekday and it didn’t faze me one bit.
The recipe is via Emeril Lagasse. I went with an Emeril recipe because a.) it had been reviewed over a hundred times and b.) Emeril knows Lousiana goodness. I’ve never been a huge Emeril fan and as I’m typing this I realize that I haven’t seen Emeril anywhere in AGES. Anyone know what Emeril is up to these days?
As expected, Emeril did not disappoint. This dish was simple, satisfying and full of flavour. I’m not a big fan of chicken generally so next time I might pass on the chicken in favour of turkey or leaving out poultry altogether. This is definitely a winner.
Cajun Jambalaya
12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
4 ounces chicken, diced
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, recipe follows
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
3/4 cup rice
3 cups chicken stock
5 ounces Andouille sausage, sliced
Salt and pepper
Combine the shrimp, chicken and Creole seasoning together in a bowl and mix.
Heat the oil over high heat and sautée the onion, pepper and celery for about 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces. Slowly stir in the rice and add the broth.
Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, about 15 minutes. When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the meat is fully cooked.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning.
Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Mix all ingredients together and store.
Yield: 2/3 cup
Every year I try to set food-related goals for myself. They can be pretty boring like eat more vegetables or force myself to be more creative (and delicious) like make more charcuterie.
Over the past few years I’ve become increasingly fearless in the kitchen and that it makes it harder to come up with goals because I usually just get an idea in my head and run with it.
So now I present to you my food goals for 2012…
Capture my own food – a few summers ago I did a bit of foraging for mushrooms and had a great time. This year I want to step it up a notch and catch my own food. Luckily my girl Moj has all sorts of goals around hunting and if I have things correct this is the year for fishing, so methinks I’ll be fishing at some point this year.
Find new ways to combine food and travel – when I travel I’m pretty thorough about having a list of fab places to eat. While this is all fine and dandy I’m always up for experiencing food culture in different ways like visiting farmers markets to understand the local food trends. I already have a trip to London and Paris planned and will be taking a pastry class while in Paris so I’ll be fulfilling this goal in short order.
Play with food styling – now that I have my and can take much better photos I want to get better at styling my shots. Throughout the year I’ll acquire more props and fine tune my indoor lighting situation.
Experiment with seafood – I love love seafood but don’t really branch out that much. I often cook salmon, shrimp and various whitefish but rarely cook shellfish. I recently started cooking mussels but this year I want to cook clams, crab and some other goodness.
Can more – this year I had a blast canning all sorts of pickles and I actually find that I’ve been using them. What I really want is a pressure canner so that I can preserve stocks, low acid vegetables and other goodness.
Butcher a thing or two – earlier this year I signed up for a butchery class at George Brown that was an absolute bust. It wasn’t really a butchery class and instead focused on charcuterie. I dropped out after one class so a part of me still needs to find my inner butcher.
What are some of your food goals for 2012??
Check out my food goals for previous years:
It’s officially winter in my neck of the woods but you wouldn’t know it taking a look at the temperatures and the general absence of snow. Trust me, I’m not mad at any of that. I like the idea of the seasons changing and the picturesque quality of freshly fallen snow, but when it comes down to it I’m happy to simply flirt with the idea or perhaps just watch snow on TV. I hate being cold. I hate slush. I hate wet toes. You would think that I wasn’t born and raised in Canada.
This year I decided to embrace winter early on. I bought new winter boots back in September or October and of course haven’t gotten a chance to wear them. I even decided to buy ice skates so that I would have a reason to frolic in winter’s bounty. I haven’t skated yet but I plan on it.
With that said, while we’re in “soup season” it really hasn’t been chilly enough to really relish in the joys of soup season. Sure, I’ve been making soup but I haven’t had to come home from a day out in –15C weather to a steaming bowl of goodness.
So I bring you a soup from the land of where it doesn’t get that cold, Mexico. Soups from warm weather climates always intrigue me. Jamaicans love to cook up a bunch of soup that is of course loaded with pepper. Hot liquid, hot pepper, hot climate… I’ll never quite understand it. Mexico apparently is on the same program.
I think I literally heard someone say the words tortilla soup the other day and I couldn’t get it out of my head and had to make a pot. I’ve never made tortilla soup before and to be honest, I probably haven’t eaten it that many times. Something about a spicy broth loaded with tender chicken, creamy avocado and crunchy tortillas just had me jonesing. Luckily I had this recipe from the NY Times Magazine from Mark Bittman in my arsenal that sounded great.
This soup is definitely on the simple side. You make broth using chicken thighs and legs and beef bones so that you get nice depth in flavour. The chicken that you use to make the stock gets taken off the bone and becomes the chicken in the soup. You also fry up some tortillas to be used as a topping for the soup and also as a thickener in the soup, a technique that I’ve never really used before but totally worked and was great.
I was totally amazed by my soup! You know when you eat something and it totally just hits the spot? That’s totally what happened with this soup. I’m such a fan of spicy, soupy goodness. One thing to note, the recipe calls for two tablespoons of canned chipotles in adobo. It doesn’t say anything about seeding the peppers. This is my gift to you: SEED THE PEPPERS. I like spicy but this was too spicy. Next time I’d probably seed the peppers and use about a tablespoon.
Tortilla Soup
2 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or legs
1 pound beef bones, or a cut of beef with a lot of bone in it (like short ribs), optional
1 medium onion, quartered (leave the skin on)
1 head garlic, halved across the equator (leave the skin on)
1/4 cup vegetable oil, or more as needed
6 corn tortillas
Salt
2 tablespoons canned chipotle chilies in adobo, or to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 avocados, pitted, peeled and cubed
4 to 8 ounces plain melting cheese, like mozzarella (not fresh), Oaxaca or Jack, shredded or cubed
Lime wedges for serving, optional.
1. Put the chicken, the beef bones, 3 of the onion quarters and the garlic in a large pot. Cover with water (about 10 cups) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook skimming the foam off the surface. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes to an hour.
2. While the broth simmers away, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot fry two tortillasuntil crisp and golden, flipping once. Cut the remaining tortillas into thin strips (these will be your garnish) and fry them until crisp and golden (they’ll need to be stirred). Drain all tortillas on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt while still warm.
3. When the chicken is ready, remove from the pot and shred when cool enough to handle, removing the skin and bones. If you used beef, discard it or save it for something else.
4. Strain the stock and discard any solids. Peel the rest of the onion and put it in a blender with the chipotle, 1/4 cup of the cilantro and a sprinkle of salt. Crumble in the two whole fried tortillas and add enough stock to fill the blender a little more than halfway. Purée until the mixture is as smooth as possible.
5. Pour the purée and stock back into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently and allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken and add salt to taste.
6. To serve, divide the avocados, cheese and remaining cilantro between 4 to 6 bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls and top with tortilla strips. Serve with lime wedges. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
Recipe via New York Times Magazine
I recently had the opportunity to attend a session by food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier entitled Eating Words: The Art of Food Blogging, which was held at George Brown College in Toronto. For those unfamiliar with Clotilde she runs the very popular food blog Chocolate & Zucchini which she started back in 2003. I’ve been reading C&Z on off for a large part of that time. I don’t remember when I first found her blog (likely through an article somewhere else) but it is definitely a good one. I mean it blends my love for food and Paris into one well-written blog, what’s not to love? The internet and blogosphere was a very different place back in 2003 and as a result Clotilde was one of few bloggers at the time and has managed to turn her blog into a career.
A former software engineer, Clotilde was able to quit her day job a mere two years after starting her blog and receiving a book deal. Not bad. Clotilde now spends her days as a freelance writer and book author. Pretty cool. The world today is a much tougher place with many more blogs and many more people hoping to forge a path similar to Clotilde’s. Alas her story is the exception and not the rule.
Clotilde lives in Paris but was spending time in Stratford at The Stratford Chefs School as their writer in residence. She also popped into Toronto for an event at Nota Bene.
During the workshop Clotilde gave her top ten rules of food blogs and I thought I’d share them with you.
Clotilde’s Ten Rules of Food Blog
1. Choose your focus – choose your blogging niche and stick to it.
2. Look at what others are doing – get an understanding of the blogging landscape but don’t copy others.
3. Set yourself apart – now that you understand the landscape try to differentiate yourself.
4. Be genuine – have a voice. Have an opinion. Keep it real.
5. Focus on great content – self-explanatory.
6. Keep learning – stay actively learning whether it is about blogging or your area of focus.
7. Give credit where credit is due – if you’ve been inspired by someone else’s work give them credit.
8. Connect – don’t blog in a bubble. Respond to comments. Comment on blogs. Engage in social media.
9. Keep at it – Be consistent and don’t disappear too often.
10. Have fun!
These are some great tips for newbie bloggers, not just food bloggers. I’ve been blogging (in various capacities) for the better part of 12 years (eek!) so much of this wasn’t new news for me but for someone who has just opened up their first WordPress.com account there is some good material here.
Thanks to Sizzling Communications for the invite.
I’m always on the hunt for different things to eat. I go through phases where I’ll eat vegetarian for days on end (unintentionally) and then stretches where I’m basically a carnivore (equally unintentionally). I often find myself looking for balance and often turn to fish. Usually my go-to fish is salmon, pretty much for convenience but I’m trying to get better about buying other types of fish. Oftentimes when I go to Asian restaurants (particularly Thai and Chinese restaurants) they do some really striking whole fish dishes that I always want to order but never do. I decided to play around and try to recreate one of those dishes chez moi.
I started out with a visit to my usual fishmonger in Kensington Market where we’ve been buying fish for years. I opted for Red Snapper because it’s one of my favourite types of whole fish. I also find it to be pretty versatile and the flavour isn’t too obtrusive. Price-wise it’s generally affordable and is usually in the $3-4/lb range.
I did some searching and liked the idea of flavours that I’m used to like ginger, sesame, garlic and soy. I also wanted the preparation to be simple so I wanted to do some sort of steaming in a packet type deal. After some research I decided to do a simple technique where I put the fish in a foil packet and top with a sauce, seal it and cook. Easy to execute and and better yet, easy to clean. Everyone wins!
This fish turned out really well. The sauce was just what I needed with the fragrance of the ginger and garlic, nuttiness from the sesame and a wee bit of heat from the pepper. It also made for a striking presentation. I have traditionally been freaked out by fish heads but I was able to overcome this and even deboned my fish myself. Clearly I’m growing up. For the record I did NOT put the fish head on my plate, that stayed in the kitchen. I could not have those eyes looking at me. My only beef was that I wish the skin was crispy. Obviously you don’t get crispy skin by steaming but I kind of wish you could.
Ginger-Sesame Steamed Fish
2 whole fish fish, cleaned (I used red snapper)
1/2 cup sliced scallions (green part only)
2 tablespoons fresh julienned ginger
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oil (olive, veg, peanut, whatevs)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Preheat oven to 450°.
Combine the scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oil, sesame seeds, sesame oil, chili paste and sugar in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
Get a long piece of foil (enough to turn into a packet for one fish) and put a fish on top of it. Turn up the edges a bit. Season fish with salt and pepper all over. Pour the sauce over the fish and seal edges of foil around fish to form a packet (you want it fairly roomy).
Bake the fish allowing about 10 minutes per inch (of thickness) of fish). Remove from oven, open packets and serve fish on plate with some of the sauce. Sprinkling with scallions and sesame seeds if you’re feeling fancy (you likely are at this point).
Shrimp and grits is likely in my top 20 favourite foods. I make it fairly regularly and if I go out and see it on a menu I must order it. Unfortunately shrimp and grits is a bit of an anomaly on Toronto menus so it makes the dish even more special.
The other day I was craving shrimp and grits but wanted to switch things up a bit. I didn’t want to do a fancy shrimp and grits but I wanted something a bit above just making grits and sauteeing shrimp. I ended up on one of my fave sites, the kitchn and came across this recipe.
First of all the photos on that post make the food look amazing. I love the way the gravy clings to the shrimp! What really sucked me in was the liberal use of bacon (I know, what a surprise). And. That. Gravy. Heaven only knows how I’m not 500lbs!
If you don’t mind the looming threat of 3rd degree grit burns, this recipe is dead easy. I can’t be the only one that has to duck from sputtering spattering grits as they cook? Am I? The shrimp comes together while the grits cook and dinner ends up on the table in less than an hour. Seriously, this dish is a party in my mouth each and every time.
Shrimp and Grits
For the grits
4 cups milk
1 cup stone ground grits
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon butter
For the shrimp
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 lemon, cut in half
For the gravy
6 slices bacon, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
Kosher salt, to taste
Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish (optional)
Bring milk to a slow boil in a pot. Whisk in the grits and reduce the heat to low. Whisk the grits occassionally as they cook. Cook the grits for about 45 minutes until they are thick and creamy. Add salt and butter. Prepare shrimp and gravy.
Put shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with Old Bay and the juice of half a lemon.
To make the gravy heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until just shy of crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and allow to rest. Leave about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan, discarding the rest. Add the shrimp and sautee until cooked through. Remove shrimp and place in bowl with the juice of the other half of the lemon.
Melt the butter in the same frying pan and cook the onions until tender. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Stir in the flour and cook until absorbed. And the wine and allow to reduce until the mixture has thickened. Add the chicken stock and cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt and add the bacon and shrimp into the gravy. Serve over grits.
Recipe from The Kitchn
My birthday was a few months ago and it got me thinking about what to get myself. See, every year for Christmas and my birthday I buy myself a present because frankly, I buy myself THE best presents. I wasn’t going to buy myself anything because I recently took an impromptu trip but then I started thinking. I randomly decided that I wanted a SodaStream! I’ve had my eye on making this recipe for cola for a few months ago and while the recipe says to add seltzer to the syrup to make pop it just didn’t seem authentic. What I needed was a SodaStream.
Nevermind that I never drink pop. Nevermind that this contraption forces you to buy the machine, carbonators, syrups and all sorts of stuff. Nevermind that I don’t have anywhere to store the machine. Nevermind any of that! I just wanted to make pop!
Side note: Yes, I call it pop. Not a soda. When I lived in the U.S. I’d say pop and people would look at me like I had two heads. Except people from Michigan who also say pop. They know what’s up.
After some soul-searching I decided not to buy the SodaStream. Realistically I knew that I’d use it 4 times and then forget about it for years. As a consolation prize to myself I decided to figure out how to make ginger ale or ginger beer. A few years ago I wanted to make myself some and noticed that I didn’t need any fancy equipment. If I couldn’t have a SodaStream at least I could have homemade pop.
When it comes to matters of food that may get a bit science-y I like Alton Brown. Lucky for me I was able to find a recipe by Alton for ginger ale on the Food Network site. Score! And no special equipment was required. Even better.
Surprisingly enough the ginger ale recipe only required 5 ingredients: sugar, ginger, water, yeast and lemon juice. Doesn’t that so much better than the crap on the ingredient list for most ginger ale brands? In terms of equipment I just needed a plastic bottle to put everything in and I was in business.
Truth be told I was a bit skeptical about how this would all work out. I had to make a syrup with the sugar, a bit of water and ginger. Easy enough. Once the syrup was cool I combined it in a bottle with the yeast, lemon juice and remaining water. Then it was a waiting game. The bottle gets left on the counter for two days to allow the mixture to carbonate. One of the indicators that the beverage is ready is the firmness of the bottle. It was so true! The bottle went totally firm and unsquishable after about a day and a half. I then popped it in the fridge to chill.
When I opened the bottle (slowly) it immediately erupted all over the place. Well at least I knew the yeast did its job! When I finally poured a glass I was surprised to see how bubbly it was. The ginger flavour could’ve been stronger, that was probably at least partly due to the age and quality of the ginger that I used. All in all it tasted more like ginger beer than a ginger ale (think Canada Dry) but that was just fine with me. I also found that the homemade ginger ale stayed fizzy far longer than traditional pop. We’re talking 2 weeks of continued fizzy action.
I was so happy with the results that I decided to try making my own cola using the same method. I used the recipe that I mentioned above and went to town. The results were… interesting. Truth be told I haven’t had cola in YEARS so I can’t really comment on how it compared. Sure, it didn’t taste like Coca-Cola but I can’t quite pinpoint whether or not it tasted like a more natural version of it. Would definitely love to do a side-by-side comparison.
Needless to say I’m now obsessed with making homemade pop because it’s so easy and really chances are you have something on hand to make your own cola syrup. I’m already thinking of all sorts of different combinations…
Homemade Ginger Ale
1 1/2 ounces finely grated fresh ginger
6 ounces sugar
7 1/2 cups filtered water
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Put the ginger, sugar and a 1/2 cup of water into a saucepan. Set heat to medium-high and cook stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, cover and let the mixture cool and steep for about an hour… although longer shouldn’t hurt. Strain through a fine strainer (over a bowl) making sure to press the solids down to extract all of the juice. Cool the mixture to at least room temperature.
Pour the syrup into a 2-liter plastic bottle (a funnel will make this easy) and add the yeast, lemon juice and remaining water. Screw the cap onto the bottle and shake the bottle to help dissolve the yeast. Let the bottle sit on the counter at room temperature for 2 days. After 2 days check for desired carbonation by opening the bottle. Once the beverage is sufficiently carbonated put it in the fridge (leaving it out on the counter will further the carbonation process).
(Recipe via the Food Network)
Homemade Cola Syrup
Grated zest of 2 medium oranges
Grated zest of 1 large lime
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1 section of a star anise pod, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 one-and-a-half-inch piece vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon citric acid (available at health food stores, or canning supply stores or kingarthurflour.com)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (packed) light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon caramel color powder, optional (available at kingarthurflour.com).
1. Over medium heat, bring 2 cups water to a simmer with the zests, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, lavender, ginger, vanilla and citric acid in a pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
2. Place sugar in a bowl. If using caramel color, sprinkle it over the sugar.
3. Line a sieve or colander with a double thickness of cheesecloth and place over the bowl. Dump the mixture in the pot into the sieve and squeeze the cheesecloth to extract all of the liquid.
4. Stir the syrup occasionally and allow the mixture to remain at room temperature as the sugar dissolves. Transfer to containers and keep refrigerated. To make a soda pour 1/4 cup of syrup into a class and top with 1 cup of seltzer OR use method above with yeast to carbonate.
Yield: About 3 cups syrup.
(Recipe via New York Times)
I’m not big on doing restaurant review posts despite the fact that I eat out regularly. There are so many outlets that do a good job at reviewing restaurants that I kind of don’t see a point. With that said I always want to share with others when I’ve had good experiences at restaurants. I’m going to try to do mini-roundups of what I’m loving these days a bit more often.
Enjoy!
LUMA
330 King Street West, Toronto, ON
I generally avoid the ‘Licious (Winterlicious and Summerlicious) because the experiences tend to be mediocre at best. This past Summerlicious I decided to check out Luma with a few ladies because the menu sounded delicious and like a good value. It definitely was. After my ‘Licious dinner I couldn’t stop thinking about the Seared Tuna dish with chickpeas and other goodness. So I went back a few weeks later just to have that. I also had the gnudi (fabulous), a bite of the steak frites (delicious) and my current fave cocktail, the Stompin’ Tom Collins (gin, ginger lemonade, candied ginger). Rarely does service make an impression on me but both times that I dined at Luma everyone was super nice and efficient. I need to return to give their brunch a try.
Acadia
50C Clinton St, Toronto, ON
There has been a lot of hype around Acadia since it opened a few months back. Sometimes hype makes me stay far away from places but in this case enough people whose opinions I respected gave it enthusiastic thumbs up so I had to check it out. The space is small so definitely make reservations. This place had me at hello. The cocktail list is long and inventive. I had a great ginger-based drink in a tiki glass. Fun! While waiting for our food we were presented with a board of various pickled goodness including okra, garlic scapes and other goodness. We also were give cornbread. This was a problem… a very good problem. To start I split halibut cheeks and shrimp and grits. I didn’t know what to expect with the halibut cheeks but they were fantastic. Really meaty, breaded and deep fried and served with a sugarcane chowchow. What really had my heart were the fish and grits. I put a bit into my mouth and was in heaven. This was soupier than I was used to as the shrimp and grits were served in a pool of ham hock consomme. Everything about this was creamy, smooth and filled with so much flavour. For my main I had snapper with bacon, chantrelles, sea island red peas and savoury. Amazing. What I loved about this plate is that you didn’t need to have meat to have a good time. They rock their fish dishes.
Khao San Road
326 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, ON
People are pretty ride or die for Khao San Road. I feel like very few people are ever “meh” about it. I checked it out a few months ago at lunchtime and had the Pad Thai. No lie, it was probably the best pad thai I’ve ever had. When it came time to choose a birthday restaurant I decided on dinner at KSR. To start I had the garlic shrimp that were really garlicky and had this really great sweet, tangy sauce. I kind of wanted to lick my plate. For the mains we split the Sam Roas Pad Thai (again) and the Massaman Curry with Beef. The Massaman curry was spot on. Perfectly spiced and great layers of flavours. The beef was perfectly cooked and I loved the variety of textures from the potatoes and crispy shallots. I had a thai iced tea and it was a perfect accompaniment.
Beast
96 Tecumseth St., Toronto, ON
Beast is currently one of my fave picks for brunch. They do a lot of your fave brunch items but with a twist and constantly change things up. I can attest to the fact that their maple bacon doughnuts are great, they do a great grits special and if they have pancakes on the menu, you should probably get them. Oh, and get the tater tots. Just do.
Marben
488 Wellington Street West, Toronto, ON
Marben is fantastic. I checked it out for the first time with my friend Jess who was visiting from NYC and we did shared plates and had a great meal. It was one of those meals that wasn’t fussy at all but really stuck with me. We had fiddleheads, a salad with a poached egg on top, some really good gnocchi and their famous burger. The burger is about as good as you’ve heard. Marben is all about local, seasonal and all that jazz so the menu changes frequently which kind of makes it a new experience every time. The burger is a constant though. As is the ice cream sandwich… which is huge and worth splitting for dessert.
La Société
131 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON
I’ll have to preface my endorsement of La Société by saying it’s kind of obnoxious. It has two huge patios, one located on prime Yorkville “see and be seen” territory. It’s big, it’s loud and is designed for people to be seen. Not really my scene at all. With that said it’s definitely one of the better (and more accessible) dining options in Yorkville and is a really nice space. For brunch they make a really great French Toast and for dinner they have a pretty good prix fixe option if you’re feeling price conscious. I really want to try their Grand Plateau seafood platter but at $145 we might have to wait a bit.
