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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Winefest 2013!

Doesn't the title say it all?  And isn't a picture worth 1000 words?

We went to Winefest on Saturday night for a date night, and it was delicious, filled with all my favourite things...fine wine, delectable cheese plates and mini yummy appies and desserts.  Springbank Cheese supplied the cheese for the evening, and I had a plate from each of the THREE locations in the Big Four Building.  Maybe this seems excessive...but each station had different types of cheese, so it only seemed right to try each and every one!  And no evening would be complete without port....and not just one kind....at least 5 kinds...but by that part of the night, my mind was fuzzy... so it could have been more, but I cannot remember.


Delicious appies and desserts!


Cheese Plate number 3.....I could have gone for a fourth




Are these wines the same?
No..they were different...right?
Either way...same...different....delicious!


And to finish the night...my three favourite port wines...
I am sure I tried two more, but can't remember.

Apparently I fell asleep on the floor with my puppy.  What a great night!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Panko Crusted Salmon

This may not look incredible...but it was phenomenal.  Parent and kid approved!


Truly the picture does not do this justice.   I received this recipe from Allrecipes.com and had to try it.  I modified it of course to suit the ingredients that I had and the result was incredible.


Ingredients:  

1 large fillet of salmon from Costco, no skin, no bones (but would work with any salmon)
4 - 5 TBSP of butter
4 - 5 TBSP grainy mustard
4 - 5 TBSP honey 
Panko Bread Crumbs

Combine butter, mustard and honey together in a bowl...and you know me...amounts are never exact.  It's fly by the seat of your pants, and just add what you think feels right!   I may have added more mustard and honey than butter.  But I honestly cannot remember.  Coat the top of salmon with this mixture.  Sprinkle salmon with Panko Bread Crumbs (don'be be shy with those bread crumbs!).  For an aesthetically pleasing look, you can place some  round lemon slices right on top (about 3 - 4).    

Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (easy clean up!).    Bake at 375 for about 25 - 25 minutes. Check after 20 minutes.    If baking smaller sized fillets, you will need to reduce baking time.  

Accompaniments:  Serve with steamed green beans and Rice.  

The link for the original recipe is below!  Enjoy!


Thursday, February 14, 2013

Favourite things...Valentine's Day Edition

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes!  Happy Valentine's Day!
1.  Kids made us iced- cupcakes AND worked together!  
Came home from work today to find that the kids (who were off school today) had made chocolate mini cupcakes WITH icing.  It was not from a mix!  They did the cupcake and the icing from scratch, and even put red sprinkles on top.    They worked together and created something tres-yummy!  

2.  We made a super delicious supper.  The recipe was inspired by a chef I saw at a presentation.  We had a vegetable dish made with fresh garlic, fennel (the bulb part), tomatoes, mushrooms and red pepper.  Add a splash of white wine and red chili flakes, simmer...a flavourful side dish for our brown butter gnocchi and oven broiled garlic shrimp.  Many great moments here...all quick and easy and delicious (would I have it any other way?)   Not to mention that we downed a bottle of Deadly Zins!



3.  Tickets to see Billy Elliot!  Hubby surprised my daughter and I with tickets!  Hurrah!  

4.  Chocolate.  I bought truffles and cupcakes from a store in Inglewood where everything is high quality and hand made.  It is the type of chocolate that is goose-bumping and mouth-watering at the same time.

5.  Choklat, the store in Inglewood.  Best truffles I have ever had, so "chocolate" deserves 2 spots in my favourite things!

6.  Having a bit of mommy-daddy time.   No kids, no puppy.  And time is a precious commodity around here, we usually don't have it!  

7.  Ending our night by relaxing and watching a Valentine's Day episode of Modern Family and the latest episode of Glee.   Even the boys stayed and watched this with us!  Our bellies were full, we had cupcakes galore, and we sat on the couch together with our puppy watching some LOL moments in Modern Family,  as well as some OMG moments in Glee.

Happy Valentine's Day!




Monday, February 11, 2013

The Halifax Donair

 The history of the donair depends on what source you are reading.  Wikipedia claims that it dates back to the 18th century in Eastern Turkey, while other sources state that the donar kebab was made in a Turkish Kebab house in Berlin in the 1950's.  I do not claim to be an expert of the history, but I find it interesting as to how it evolved, and how donair can take on many different forms and is seen in different cultures.  The Greeks have the gyro which has a yogurt based sauce (tatziki) and then there is the Arab Shawarma, a similar concept of meat roasted on a vertical spit, served on flatbread.

Fast forward to Eastern Canada, where the Greek gyro was introduced in the 1960's in Bedford, Nova Scotia.  It was the traditional lamb / yogurt-based sauce, which did not become popular until some changes were made to the recipe.  Lamb was changed to beef, and the yogurt / tatziki was changed to a sweet sauce.  It was the beginning of a beautiful and delicious creation, and depending on what or who you believe, it was debuted at the King of Donairs, in Halifax in the 1970's.   (I believe this, but I am a biased and proud Haligonian!)

King of Donairs.  The name says it all.  Sweet sauce, savoury meat roasted on a spit, fresh pita, tomatoes, onions, all wrapped up, and ready to devour.  When I moved out west in the early 1990's, it was hard to find this type of donair (which is now more vastly popular), so I learned to make them (or tried to make them).  Then, last summer, camping with my in laws and cousin-in-laws, they had made the traditional Halifax Donair for supper one night, sweet sauce and all.  O. M. G. Amazing.  Tasted like home at 2 am on a Saturday night.  

Tonight, I took on making them for dinner, and what a hit, AND super easy...AND....yes!  Leftovers in the freezer for another meal. 


Ground Beef "Loaves" as I have no vertical spit.  Looks....
unappetizing...but wait...there are more pics....

Slice it up once cool, and pan-sear a bit to crisp it up


Serve with raw veggies on the side...cucumbers, lettuce,
tomatoes , red onions and jalapenos are amazing!

Voila!  And yes, this is actually my picture from my plate.
A masterpiece to be savoured and enjoyed (twice)

For tonight's dinner, I googled "Recipe Halifax Donair" and found a lot of ways to make the meat and the sauce.  I settled on a couple different ones, and of course just modified it based on what I had in the kitchen. 

Donair Meat

2 packages of ground beef (I think they are ~ 2 - 3 lb each).  I did a lot so we could have leftovers
4 - 6 cloves of chopped garlic
6 teaspoons of flour
A few dashes of a Greek spice mix that I have
Salt and Pepper.

Mix all of the meat up, and as you are mixing it in a nice big steel bowl, pick it all up, and throw it into the bowl with lotsa force (yep....that's what I said).  Throw it about 20 - 30 times.  This gives the meat a consistency similar to the meat on the vertical spit.  I made 6 " loaves" and baked them on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper for about an hour and a bit on 375 convection.  


Sweet Donair Sauce

 2/3 cup evaporated milk (NOT the non-fat one)
2/3 cup sugar
1 - 2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup of vinegar.

Mix all together except the vinegar.  Once the sugar is dissolved, you can add the vinegar.  The trick with this is....the faster you add the vinegar and the less you mix it up, the thicker the sauce will be.  Trust me.  It works.  

End Result today?  Delicious, kid and adult approved (i.e., was yummy with leftovers for another day).  

Done like dinner....or should I say....donair!



Monday, February 4, 2013

Steak Salad Supreme

We barbecued steak on the weekend, and as luck would have it, there were enough leftovers to make a jazzy salad. I am not typically a "salad" person unless it is a really interesting salad.  I don't go for iceberg lettuce and cucumber salad.  I need some substance and depth to my salad.   One of my favourite things to do is to use our leftover meat, whatever it may be, and throw it on top of interesting and flavourful greens.   Add in some pecans, craisins and a few crumbled slices of fresh aged parmesan cheese and it's like your meal has been prepared by a famous chef.  Drizzle with yummy balamic reduction and...well, let's just that I'm glad I had some alone time with my salad today.


Arugula Steak Salad
Balsamic Reduction
from a friend of mine!


Here's what I did:

  • Sliced up the leftover steak and heated it up (not too much)
  • Washed some arugula (yum!)
  • Added some fresh mango and strawberry slices
  • Added some raw pecans, craisins and crumbled aged parmesan
  • Drizzled the balsamic reduction
 It was quick, easy, delicious and nutritious!  Let's here it for Steak Salad!




Saturday, February 2, 2013

Sit Happens!

You sniff mine....

I sniff yours...

Puppy class.  It's "Junior Kindergarten", just done doggie-style.   After talking with friends who have dogs, it seemed like a good idea not only to train Miss Lulu, but to "train" us as well.  We have been to three classes so far, and I have learned so much....

1.  Wear clothes that you don't really care about (i.e., if coming from work, make the time to change into sweats!).  Puppies don't care what you look like, they only care that you care.

2.  Be okay that there will be other dogs...bigger dogs....at puppy school.  And the bigger the dog...the bigger the.....poop.   Lulu's poops are like kitty poops...not all dogs poop like kitties!

3.  Expect other puppies to jump on you.  It's not okay that they do this, but you have to expect it, and then just get up / walk away.

4.  Have really special and stinky treats ready for your puppy.

5.  Don't take your purse.  You need all hands to manage puppy treats, the clicker, the leash and poop bags.  Use a fanny pack (yes...straight out of the 1980's) to hold all the puppy things, and then you can put your keys, debit card and driver's license in there too.  An all-in-one solution.  It's not pretty..but remember..puppies don't care what you look like!


6.  Learn the other doggies names.   It's just a nice habit to get into.


Who can resist this face???


A special thank you to the staff at "Sit Happens"...they are organized, knowledgeable and have your puppies best interest at heart!  I am by no means an expert, but am amazed at how much I learned so far, and equally amazed that I want to learn and do right by my puppy.

http://www.sithappens.org/