January 27th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

These days most people seem to be grumbling about the dreaded frigid cold weather. I personally think newcomers to Canada shouldn’t be granted citizenship until they’ve passed a required minimum number of hours complaining about the weather.

Being born and raised in Vancouver, I do remember the beautifully clear summer days spent wasting away leaning against a log on Kitsilano beach with my high school buddies, but I recall many more bone-chilling, rainy, depression-inducing grey days. So my answer to kick the cold, as it almost always is for any problem, is to eat well and drink even more.

This week I was fortunate enough to have some friends over for a simple and luxurious meal of steamed lobster with some ginger fried rice and a refreshing sprout salad lightly dressed with sesame oil and soy sauce. When you’re short on time or don’t like boiling the lobsters yourself, you can stop at Mike’s Fish Market and pick up lobsters that have been cooked for you and just heat (steam them or warm in an oven) and serve.

To accompany this, we tried two wines from Ontario, a Huff Estates South Bay Vineyards Chardonnay (ours was a 2008) and a Generation Seven 2009 Red. This Chardonnay was not overwhelming in “oakiness” which often puts me off this variety. In fact, it was just the right pairing and we all agreed this wine would go well with any seafood dish. And don’t be put off having a chilled Chardonnay on a wintry day. The clarified butter sauce dripping down your elbows will warm you right up.

I really like the Generation Seven story and a few of things you should know about them are here. I’m still looking for the right type of cheese (maybe truffle-infused cheese) to bring out the best of the flavours in the red we tried and will probably need some help from the guys at Chris’ Cheesemongers to make the right fit so another trip to the market this Saturday.

And if you’re looking for a fun escape this weekend, check out the final days of the Niagara Icewine Festival. I can’t think of a better reason to brace the cold than to sip on the sweet benefits that this season provides in our local form of liquid gold.

January 22nd, 2011 by Dawn Becker

Years ago I used to commute to work in Markham. At the time it was mostly an industrial wasteland with pockets of subdivisions faking community. Things have changed now and Markham including Richmond Hill has become a fantastic destination for Asian shopping and dining, among other things. Back then there weren’t a lot of choices for lunch that went beyond the local sandwich shop and the odd all-you-can-eat buffet. Neither of them satisfied me. But around the corner from my work, I discovered George’s Tastee at 600 Denison Street.

Some passersby might have thought of them as just an ordinary bakery but where they succeeded was in the selection of West Indian-style comfort food that you could eat in or take home including frozen pre-baked boxes of patties. Frozen vegetable patties above cost $7.45 for the box of 12.

Our family favourite is the veggie pattie. It’s milder than the beef or chicken options but that works well for daintier palates and I just dip them in plenty of hot sauce (my preference is The Real Jerk Hot Pepper Sauce which I purchase at the Toronto location).

George’s Tastee was my saving grace for the bland and repetitive lunch-time blues in the burbs. You could order Jerk Chicken, Jerk Pork, Curry Chicken, Curry Mutton and Oxtail. But the best thing about walking into George’s Tastee was the service. George’s Tastee is family run and many of the servers were West Indian Asians. They looked like me but talked with a warm and friendly island accent. This was the first time I had ever met Jamaican Chinese people (JC as one referred to himself as). Since then, I’ve had many delicious adventures exploring the variety of migrant cuisine including Indian Chinese food and learning more about other cultures.

Last week George’s Tastee opened a new Richmond Hill location at 9021 Leslie Street, Unit 14. The dining area is large and you can of course get the same takeout patties/meals and catering.

This jogged my memory about when I first learned how to make Jamaican-style curry chicken. My friend Tim, co-owner of Shop Dine Tour Toronto, is Canadian Jamaican. His mom, Jennifer, was visiting about seven or so years ago and I happened to steal 20 minutes with her alone. She had a pot stewing on the stovetop and I couldn’t resist asking her about it. The scent wafting from the pot was mouth-watering.

She explained how easy it was to make a basic curry chicken showing me how she rubbed seasoning salt and Mr. Gouda’s curry powder into the chicken pieces. She gave me a handful of odd black pearls that looked like large peppercorns telling me this was the secret to making sure the stew had an authentic Jamaican taste: Allspice. I’d never seen these before and its scent was unique, a combination of clove, nutmeg and cinnamon.Ever since then I’ve been recreating, changing and expanding on her basic method. The version she showed me didn’t include vegetables but I always try to add as many nutrients as I can when cooking so mine starts with a hearty mirepoix (carrot, celery, onion, and garlic sautee) then add potatoes and chickpeas. I also use ground allspice because I don’t like having to fish out the whole allspice later.  

Jamaican-style Curry Chicken

6 boneless chicken thighs, sliced into 1” strips

3 Tbsp Jamaican-style curry powder (Note: Chinese or Indian curry powder will not give you the right flavour so look for Mr. Gouda’s, Grace or another West Indian brand)

2 tsp seasoning salt (I prefer an all natural seasoning salt to the commercial versions that have added preservatives and colouring)

1 tsp ground allspice

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

2 large carrots, cubed

3 stalks celery, diced

2 tsp dried ground thyme

4 cups of chicken stock

1 – 398 mL can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 large potato, medium dice (Note: I prefer Yukon Golds as russets tend to thicken the gravy too much and new potatoes don’t thicken it enough. If you prefer larger chunks of potatoes, adjust cooking time below.)

Mix together the curry powder, seasoning salt and ground allspice and rub it into the chicken thigh strips. Leave it to marinate at least 30 minutes or as long as overnight in the fridge.

Heat oil in a dutch oven or large pot with a tight fitting lid, on high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, carrots, celery, and thyme to the pot and sauté to soften about 4 to 5 minutes. Push the vegetables to the side of the pot and add the chicken strips to cook on all sides, about 5 minutes. Mix the chicken in with the vegetables and add chicken stock and chickpeas and bring the pot to a boil. Then cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and cook another 15 or 20 minutes until the potatoes soften. Serve with rice and peas or plain steamed rice accompanied by hot pepper sauce for those who like some heat.

January 11th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

This secret is worth millions of minutes of happiness, so get closer to the screen as you read this and I’ll divulge my precious secret to living single successfully: Money. Seriously now, money doesn’t buy happiness but it does buy you a lot of things that make you momentarily happy. And occasionally a few moments of happiness might be just what you need to remind yourself that you’re better off alone than with that emotionally vacant silo you were married to for six years or that deadbeat ex-boyfriend who took you for granted and sucked your wallet dry. Ahem.

Money lets me travel where I feel like, say a solo trip to a leisure-oriented culinary class in the countryside somewhere in Italy. It lets me indulge in truffles, caviar, oysters and as much champagne as I wish to drink. It lets me enjoy a guilt-worthy 3-hour, 12-course tasting menu or a $300 breathtakingly beautiful kaiseki experience. I can pamper myself at a four-star resort or spring for an impromptu massage or a mani/pedi on a whim. But that lifestyle isn’t afforded by everyone (including me) and especially for those fellow single mums out there, where sadly, hard work doesn’t naturally convert into money.

So here’s my second secret to living single successfully. Live like you have money. That’s right. Pretend. And while you’re pretending life is just awesome find ways to make your life luxurious without breaking the bank and maybe you’ll start to find that your life IS actually awesome. Splurge on some fluffy bubbles for a long soak in your tub accompanied by a decent but economical bottle of wine (with the help of a trusty local LCBO Vintages rep for suggestions.)

For me, living luxuriously pretty much involves eating well and with variety. If you can’t afford to indulge in dinner at the latest trend spot, don’t worry, make something absolutely divine yourself. To get you started here is a super simple, highly scrumptious dish that I think will transport you. It feels decadent because it’s not usually on the average home cook’s repertoire but you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make CREPES. And you’ll likely have most, if not all, of the ingredients already in your pantry. Enjoy every soul satisfying bite of these magnificent crepes, knowing that you deserve this and so much more. I certainly would (and often do).

For a basic crepe check out this recipe by Giada De Laurentiis. It’s fast and I find it’s pretty much fool proof. The crepes can be made by throwing everything into a blender (I use a deep mixing bowl and an immersion-style hand-blender because I don’t have space to store a regular blender).

Basic Crepe Shell (slightly adapted from Giada’s recipe)

Simply combine:

4 eggs

1 cup milk (Giada’s recipe calls for whole milk but mine were fine with skim milk, what we normally have in the fridge)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp sugar (Giada uses one whole tablespoon but I find it too sweet as I use the same crepes for a savoury filling; more versatile if you have leftover crepe shells which keep well overnight covered in plastic wrap)

1/8 tsp salt

Whirr with the blender. Batter’s done. Yes, that fast. It should be a very thin consistency like whole cream and nothing like pancake batter.

Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat (Giada’s recipe says medium-low but I don’t like to wait for the pan to heat up). Take care to monitor the heat in case your stove runs hotter than mine. Add butter and melt to coat the pan (I actually used vegetable oil). Ladle in about 1/4 cup of crepe batter and spread by tilting and jiggling the pan. When the edges start to look brittle the crepes are ready to flip over, usually after a minute or so. Cook on the other side for a minute and remove to stack on a warm plate. Don’t worry about them being perfect. It usually takes a few tries to get them exactly the way you want. Oddly-shaped is just fine because you can roll them up like a more traditional crepe or fold them in half and over again to make a pie shape that can hide any imperfections. Continue cooking crepes until all the batter is done. Crepes can be saved for the next day as long as they are covered in plastic wrap and set in the fridge.

For the filling, I really enjoyed Giada’s raspberry jam with the addition of some vanilla extract. A few drops mixed into the jam and it creates another tone of flavour that really makes this delicious. For some extra texture (and vitamins and fibre), I added some thawed blueberries that were in my freezer to the jam mix. Place jam mixture on the crepe and fold. Top with whipped cream.

For a savoury crepe, see below for a chicken and spinach filling (that’s what was in the fridge).

Chicken And Spinach Crepe Filling

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 cups of boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1 inch slices

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 cup stock (chicken or vegetable)

1 cup milk

1 bunch spinach, stems removed, washed well and drained

freshly ground white pepper

Heat a skillet on medium high and add butter. Once butter is melted, add onion and sautee until translucent about 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken and keep stirring to cook through around 5 minutes or so. Mix in the flour, salt and nutmeg and cook stirring for 2 minutes. Add stock slowly and keep stirring. Chicken mixture will turn pasty but keep adding stock blending everything together. Once stock is combined, add milk and allow to come to a slight boil. Add spinach, folding it into the creamy chicken sauce until spinach leaves are wilted. Season to taste by adding a few grindings of white pepper (or black pepper if you don’t have white) and more salt if necessary. Place the filling into the middle of the warm crepe shells that you have standing by, folding over the two sides. Makes enough filling for 6 to 8 depending on the size of the crepe.

Incidentally, Julian and Cole ate three chicken and spinach crepes and two dessert crepes tonight siting it was as good as the 5-spice pork chops I make, one of their perennial favourites (and which have yet to make an appearance on BananaViews).

January 1st, 2011 by Dawn Becker

Happy New Year! I welcome 2011 with an open heart and an empty stomach as Alton Brown says on Iron Chef America. And mostly, I look forward to all the taste experiences ahead. Before I’m off to make my first dinner of this year, I thought I’d write a quick post for my friends who might be dealing with the after effects of too much celebration last night.

When you’re bleary eyed from too much drink, with barely anything in the cupboard other than a slice of bread and a can of tuna (preferably a delicious olive oil packed tonno from Italy), make yourself a restorative open-face tuna salad sandwich. Take a bit of cheddar from the fridge and leftover dregs of Champagne (ha! like that happens), sparkling wine, or some beer, and you can make a quick, velvety topping for your tuna in the style of Welsh Rarebit.

If you’ve never had Welsh Rarebit, it’s essentially a version of fondue from Wales. It’s typically made with cheddar cheese and beer. There are many variations out there including this recipe by Alton Brown – he seems to be lingering on my mind for no particular reason.

And here’s how I made my quick version, especially meant for those who have limited capacities today.

Tuna Melt with Welsh Rarebit-Style Topping

(Open-Face Tuna Salad Sandwich)

2 slices of rye bread, toasted

1 can of tuna (preferably good quality tuna packed in olive oil)

1/2 small onion, minced

1 Tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp hot mustard (or Dijon if that’s what you have)

1/4 tsp celery salt (optional – minced celery works too with 1/2 tsp of salt but that’s a little more work for a groggy day)

(Welsh Rarebit-Style Topping)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup Champagne, sparkling wine or beer (consider the rest of the beer as a hair of the dog tonic)

freshly ground black pepper

To make the tuna salad sandwich, mix the tuna, onion, mayonnaise, mustard and celery salt together. Place a heaping amount on each slice of toasted rye bread. For the cheese topping, heat a small pan on medium-high (for cheesy sauces I like to use a non-stick skillet because the clean up is easier than a stainless steel sauce pot). When the pan is hot, add the Champagne, sparkling wine or beer, or whatever alcohol you’re using, and allow some of the alcohol to burn off, about 30 seconds. Stir in the grated cheddar cheese and lower the heat to medium low to slowly melt the cheese. Once the cheese is fully melted and any excess liquid has cooked off, pour the cheese topping on the assembled open face tuna salad. Grind some fresh pepper on top and eat immediately. Serves 2 or eat them both yourself.