November 19th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

Food & Wine recently posted a recipe for Daniel Boulud’s Gargantuan Gougères that are served to guests at Bar Boulud, located in Manhattan. They looked absolutely delicious and the recipe seemed relatively simple. I also read that gougères freeze and reheat well and if this recipe worked out, I would have my home-cooked offering to bring to this season’s upcoming holiday parties.

I’d never heard of gougères before but they looked a lot like a soft cheesy puff of dough and to me, that is an irresistible combination. A quick search and I discovered gougères are a baked savoury choux pastry (also called pâte à choux) made of choux dough mixed with cheese. Choux pastry is used for making light, sweet pastries like crullers, beignets, profiteroles and croquembouches which will give you an idea of the texture of these yummy, airy, cheesy puffs. For these savoury gougères, Boulud’s recipe adds a bit of spice with Piment d’Esplette. I didn’t have that on hand so I substituted Nora pepper flakes from Spain.

Noras are the same pepper used to make paprika and are found in the famous Valencian rice dish, paella. I purchased these Nora pepper flakes from Manotas Organics and Fine Foods located on the lower level of the St. Lawrence Market. I love the aroma every time I open this jar and in my mind this mild smoky pepper flake would be a nice substitute for the Piment d’Esplette.

I also didn’t have Gruyère cheese so I used sharp old cheddar. And because Cole doesn’t like strong cheese, I made a few gourgères without any, instead adding some fresh thyme to compensate for the loss of flavour without cheese.

Another important consideration is the size of your eggs. I had very large “large” eggs and used only three eggs versus the four in Boulud’s recipe. You only need to add as many eggs as it takes to make the choux pastry smooth and silky, and likely why part of the recipe says to add them one at a time.

Finally, this recipe takes a lot of arm strength. It calls for hand mixing the dough (shown above “before” the eggs are added) with a wooden spoon to incorporate the eggs into the mixture and I would think to lighten it by adding some air to the final dough. I definitely burned some calories here and got a good arm work out for the few minutes of mixing it asks for in the recipe. Or maybe I’m just a total wimp.

I’m sure there must be a way to do this in the food processor but I need to try a recipe first before I can figure out where I can add a short cut and to be honest I hate cleaning so a wooden spoon is always my first choice.

I also baked a few of these as small pop in your mouth versions dropping teaspoon-sized mounds versus the gargantuan three tablespoon-sized baseballs called for in this recipe.

These tasty treats are definitely going to be my holiday go-to snack this year. They are simply scrumptious and go well with a chilled white burgundy as the recipe suggests and I would think a light, crisp beer like a pilsner. Plus you can make them ahead and look like a pro when you quickly reheat this hors d’oeuvre from frozen for unexpected guests that might pop in. Thanks to Food & Wine for posting this recipe.

November 8th, 2011 by Dawn Becker

While our server’s name wasn’t Lola, I would give odds that on any given night, you can find Tony or Rico in the CopaCabana, a Brazilian-styled steak house, located at 150 Eglinton Avenue East. That might sound racist but I know when you go to a Chinese restaurant you’re just like me. You want to see a good handful of Asian diners and a solidly all yellow cast of servers. Then you can say to yourself that this place can’t be too bad. Seriously, nothing irks me more than going to a Japanese restaurant, for example, and discovering that I’m being served by a poorly trained Chinese sushi chef. I’ll know it before they mouth a word by the size and quality of the California roll. Too much rice and there’s sure to be some Chinese influence, whether it’s the chef, the manager or the owner. And don’t get me wrong. I am fully aware that behind most kitchen doors in this city, there’s a lovely and talented crew of the best Sri Lankan chefs you can find anywhere. I’m all for that.

So when I say that CopaCabana has an expected Latin flavour in it’s clientele, servers, and entertainment, this is a good thing. I’m not generally a fan of in-your-face theme restaurants though I have been caught on camera dancing on tables in a Greek restaurant called Taverna Opa. The dancing was wholly due to the wildly authentic and sincerely delicious food, and oh yeah, a few shots of ouzo.

When you read the reviews about CopaCabana Toronto you’ll see a definitive line of lovers and haters. I happily divulge to you that I am one of the former. I will admit when my friend Brian chose this spot to celebrate his 30th birthday I was skeptical. Would this place be hokey? Would the steak come the way I like it (tender, rare and oh so juicy)? And what’s up with the salad bar? This is Canada, not America.

At first glance, CopaCabana is the kind of spot you think you’ll only go to when you’re looking for entertainment beyond the meal. With the extra loud beats, shiny shimmy shimmy of the Brazilian dancers dressed in barely clad carnival gear and the shirtless capoeira performers, it’s hard not to wonder if this is some kind of attempt to misdirect you from mediocre food? Turns out, it’s absolutely not.

As a diner with some miles on her fork, I entered CopaCabana with a few opinions and hopes that this show would taste as good as it looks. And to my surprise it did. Let’s start with the salad bar consisting largely of a good selection of grilled vegetables, piles of asparagus, mushrooms grilled or lightly marinated, eggplant and zucchini slices slightly charred and covered with a silky coating of olive oil, caprese salad with a very generous portion of baby bocconcini, seafood salad with sweet baby shrimp, two types of rice, pasta, deep fried yuca, and fruit platters settled amongst a few of the less appealing wilty green-type of salad options that I just skipped.

Then when you’re back at your seat, prepare for the real fun. Slow down and take it all in. It’s performance art. Around comes a server offering you the most delicious dough balls filled with cheese, poorly described by me, but absolutely addictive. Then comes a swash buckling assortment of meat on large skewers carried by servers wielding sharp butcher knives. It’s a wonder no one loses an eye but they are careful and even though demand is up-tempo the whole night, they manage to keep serving everyone through till past full.

We tried everything on the list except for the suckling pig and rib eye that I didn’t see come around even though we went on a Saturday – certain items are justifiably available on Fridays and Saturdays only – though it’s possible I blinked and missed it with all the other activity in the restaurant. At the top of the pleasure list, I enjoyed the ultra garlicky sirloin, well-marbled rib eye and strangely a little chicken drumstick they managed to cook to supreme juiciness on the skewer. To finish off, our party dined on roasted pineapple again sliced directly off the skewer at the table. Sadly, I couldn’t partake in the pineapple due to my growing fruit allergy (which, as an aside, I have seen mostly afflicting other Asians – perhaps we’re missing an enzyme like the one that prevents some of my brothers from processing alcohol).

Nowadays, diners seem to have elevated expectations of their restaurant experiences. I think this is partly due to more discussion in the media and online through reviews and blogs like this, and partly due to glamourizing chefs and restaurant experiences on television networks. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing but I think that diners should be aware of what places they are choosing so they know what’s in store. For me, CopaCabana in Toronto is a place you should definitely try at least once but absolutely not on a first date. If it’s a busy night have patience. Take in the whole evening for the spectacle that it is and appraise it accordingly. Oh, and an elastic waist band also helps.