Happy New Food Year!

I returned to my parents' house last month with the lingering memories of their teeny tiny 1950's kitchen and all the family members we crammed in it while rendering dish after dish of soul-soothing food.

What I found on arrival was a brand new kitchen, replete with six-burner professional grade gas range, granite counter tops, self-closing drawers, and a huge a-symmetrical island with a second prep sink built-in.

I wasn't exactly surprised. In fact, I'd dragged my sorry self out of bed many a Saturday morning to meet with their designer to get my ideas into the mix.

I'm so proud of them for finishing this. Kudos to my mother who, god love her, is the most notorious pack rat that ever was.
It took a lot for her to throw and give away so much of the past. But in the end, everyone will benefit. And what a workspace...

What you see here are the peels of 15 pounds of potatoes. My mom, my sister, and I fried latkahs for two hours one morning while I was back in preparation for the big family Chanukah party.


Normally when my mom makes latkahs, the smell of fried potatoes and onions is detectable at the end of the street and the scent lingers in our hair and on our clothes for a week. But I have to hand it to them, my mom and dad went all in on their renovation and the overhead fan they installed left nary a trace even twenty minutes after we finished frying.

Using a food processor, shred 5 pounds of russet potatoes and a bag of regular yellow onions.

Transfer to a large bowl, add a couple of eggs, about a half a cup of flour and about 2 tablespoons of baking powder. The baking powder helps them crisp.

Form into palm-sized flat cakes, squeezing out all excess liquid. Fry in hot vegetable oil. Use a lot, but don't cover them completely. Remember to tap down the centre of the patty so that the thickness is dispersed and the latkahs cook evenly.

Turn with caution. Use a spatula and a long fork. When cooked to golden brown on both sides, remove from frying pan and transfer to paper towel covered plate.














I returned to Montreal just in time for Christmas. J's family was extremely generous with me as this was our first Christmas together here. We had a wonderful meal with his mom and the whole day was very merry. The gift giving, of course, was just wonderful. I didn't even get to see my nieces and nephew open the gifts we gave them on account of being so busy opening presents of my own. Two of the highlights were the popcorn hot air popper for J's sister Melissa and the bread making machine from J's grandmother, Nanny. I've only ever made bread the old fashioned way. It takes forever, which is why I hardly ever do it. But fresh bread is just about the most enticing smell ever to be emitted from any kitchen, and so I'm so happy to now be able to just toss the ingredients in, push a few buttons, and let it do its thing. Hurray for robot kitchen helpers! J's mom got me my first food processor. I can't wait to make spanikopita with that thing. Stay tuned...

What I love about the end of the year is all the marvelous best-of lists that come out. So you can imagine my glee when I came across "The Best of America's Test Kitchen: Best Recipes and Reviews 2012"

First to be made was their "Ultimate Banana Bread" recipe. So simple. The tricky part was that it calls for a microwaving step. I've never had a microwave in any of my kitchens, so I had to use the stove instead. In the end I don't think it made that much of a difference.

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 large, over-ripe bananas (I freeze mine when they get to this stage, if you do too, only use 5 from the freezer and use one fresher one)
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/5 C walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse (I skipped this)
2 tsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Spray a 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl.
Place 5 peeled bananas in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, poking vents in the top for steam. Microwave until bananas are soft with liquid released in the bowl, about 5 minutes. I mashed the bananas and let them simmer on the stove for 5 minutes instead.
Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium size bowl and transfer hot bananas to the strainer to drain out the liquid into the bowl, stirring occasionally. Let it drain for 15 minutes. At the end you should have about 3.4 C of liquid. Transfer banana solids to a bowl.
Pour liquid into a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Liquid should be reduced to 1/4 C at this time. Now pour the reduced liquid back in with the bananas and mash together. I know this sounds silly, but what you've just done is extracted a lot of intense banana flavour, caramelized and intensified the flavour, and returned it to the mix.
Add butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla to the banana mixture. Stir to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just a little white is visible. Transfer to prepared loaf pan. Top with final banana, making two lines of banana slices, 1/4 inch think, arranged in a shingle pattern, one slice layered slightly on top of the one before.
Make sure to leave the middle clear to allow steam to evaporate as the batter bakes and ensure an even rise. Sprinkle the whole top with granulated sugar.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about one hour. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Cool in pan.

I also plan on using my slow cooker a lot more this winter. The spaghetti and slow cooked meatballs I made recently were so good and the convenience of having food for another two days after is very reassuring as school gets more demanding. And they were so juicy... even David couldn't resist climbing down off the bookshelf to get a closer look.

There are so many things to try. I would really like to expand my repertoire to include some new things on my list of go-to meals. That's what trying new things is all about, after all.

restaurant quality pan seared scallops at home

It all began this afternoon. Actually, it all began about two weeks ago when midterm projects and exams began. That was around the same time that J came down with a wicked cold. I remember because it started the day after Yom Kippur and the day before Thanksgiving. The Jewish holy days always come with lots of traditional foods. Yom Kippur is different because it comes with the denial of food for 25 hours followed by a huge binge. I think this was a bit of a shock to poor J's system. This was his first fast and I was very proud of him for making Yom Kippur meaningful in his own way and in his own time. Le sigh.

Anyway, J started to come down with something the day of his mom's family Thanksgiving and spent half of the day trying to sleep in his old bedroom, avoiding his nieces and nephew. Since then, I've eaten more soup than any span of time in recent memory. I took very good care of J making soups from turkey bones, beans, and squash. My dad always told me, a good soup always starts with a mirepoix and a frying pan.

As you might expect, I eventually caught J's cold and had to continue the soup cycle for another week. J made a weird soup that kind of didn't work. I think he just make the mistake of putting too many things in it. One night I tried the Chinese take-out counter down the street, Mirama. Great chicken noodle soup. Cheap and cheerful soy sauce chow mein. Got a couple spring rolls for J and the three things came out to $11. Visit their website by clicking on the link for a take out menu and the number to call. Free delivery over $10! Cash only...

Today was a special day. It was the first day in two weeks that neither of us had an exam or paper and both of us were feeling on the better side of this cold. We walked down to Monkland Village. I am thrilled to say that the bad days are over and the coffee maker that I broke has been replaced with a lovely french press, a grinder, and some freshly roasted Kenyan beans. The coffee came from Le Maitre Boucher, 5652 Ave. Monkland (between Harvard and Oxford), (514) 487-1437. As did a most surprising assortment of goodies.

The shop was very crowded and there were all kinds of treasures inside. I spotted them out of the corner of my eye. In a little, see-thru plastic container, nestled in an open refrigerated case, there sat protected from the world, ten beautiful scallops from Nova Scotia. I should have taken a photo of them all cozy in the package together, each one a beautiful, clean tasting morsel of the sea.

I had to think of a plan fast so I went for some strong, crumbly, sweet blue cheese and a large, firm pear. They will end up in some sort of bruleed masterpiece when I figure out how to use my new blow torch. We quickly dropped off the precious ingredients at home and I leafed through old copies of Cook's Illustrated. I remembered a sweet pea puree that I had seen used under some halibut recently. I know I've read articles about how to complete perfect pan-seared scallops at home, if only I could find the issue.

Out the door again, this time to the supermarket for frozen peas and a couple other key ingredients. Cream for our new coffee. The baby bok choi also looked fresh so we picked some up and figured we'd find a way to cook it later.

The pea puree was very easy to make and left one huge but simple component complete and at the ready. The scallops needed little more than salt, pepper, vegetable oil, and unsalted butter. I wasn't sure of the exact order of what to do when, but I was sure I had read an article about it this summer. I kept looking through the magazines and couldn't find it. That's when I remembered my online membership. I was on the recipe faster than a flash in the pan.

Inside of a minute I had found a cross-referenced article about sauces for scallops and settled on a lemon-herb brown butter sauce. J came into the kitchen when things started to smell good and made himself useful as photographer, sous-chef, and dish boy. The penne aglio olio never would have happened without him.

Next time I make this (which will be at a dinner party near you) I would do a couple of things differently. Rather than boiling them in a high walled frying pan I would blanche and then stir fry the bok choi in ginger and green onion.

I would also add more liquid to the pea puree when I blended it.

We have enough leftovers to turn this into an appetizer for us tomorrow night. If they don't get eaten cold from the fridge as an afternoon snack during the day.


Pistachio ice cream for dessert.

end of summer means peach cake

First, let me just repeat, Cook's Illustrated is the most reliable source of fool proof seasonal recipes and useful tricks.


This recipe comes from their August, 2011 issue number 111.

Let me begin by explaining that I many of the people closest to me suffer from food allergies. I have developed an allergy to sesame seeds. Over the years I thought it was a bizarre thing to be allergic to. My dad and some of my sisters, though, also suffer from what some would consider strange allergies. Growing up we often had to eat certain fruits and vegetables cooked so that everyone could eat them and my mom would only have to prepare food one way.

My dad and sisters have allergic reactions when they eat apples, carrots, peas, pears, peaches, cherries and other things raw rather than cooked. My dad's fruit allergy basically meant that my mom became a master pie-maker. Pie dough is something that challenges me to this day. Over time my sisters seem to have grown out of certain allergies, but J has only begun to develop them in the past year or so.

So when I saw the bushels of peaches for sale at the grocery store shortly after moving in, I jumped at the chance to bake with them so that J could taste them. Though I may have difficulty manipulating pie dough, cake batter is something that I have no problem with.


A tip for juicing lemons:
Slice the lemon in half. The lemon should have its ends pointing to the left and right, not up and down.

Put the cutting board and knife aside and get a small bowl

Insert a fork into the middle of the lemon.

Over the bowl, hold the outside of the lemon firmly in your left hand and the fork in your right and give it a good quarter turn.


Keep rotating the lemon around the fork (or the fork inside the lemon) until all the juice is extracted and it looks like this.


Using the fork, fish out any seeds or large bits of pulp that may have fallen into the bowl.


The juice can then be measured from the bowl as needed. Any extra juice can be put in an airtight container and used in salad dressings, smoothies, tea, dips, or marinades.



Who needs a stand mixer? I have a sweet whisk, two strong arms, and someone to take over when they get tired.


Mmmmm, creamed butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs.




There were two key elements that made of the Cook's Illustrated recipe so perfect and they came in the first and final steps.

First, the peaches were prepared in two different ways. About 30 slices of peach were sliced and reserved in a separate bowl to macerate with sugar, peach schnapps (the store didn't have any so I used Grand Marnier) and lemon juice.

The rest of the peaches were chopped roughly and then roasted (that's right!) to caramelize, and more importantly concentrate excess juice.

The cake batter was poured out in two stages too.
the first layer went in and then the roasted peaches were added and spread over the batter. After pouring in the remaining batter and spreading that carefully over the peach layer, the reserved peach slices were arranged on top, the smaller ones going in the smaller ring in the centre.

The other trick was to prepare a sprinkle of sugar and almond extract to go over the cake before putting it into the oven.

When the cake came out the fragrance filled the kitchen and then the apartment. I forgot about the dinner on my plate and ran to my camera. There was no way to capture that aroma. I felt like a cartoon levitating towards a visibly wafting sent pulling me to a pie cooling on a window sill.

The cake was a total surprise to J. He's been out in the country working all day. We ate half the cake that night.
It was perfect.

Big morsels of summer sweet peaches, rich and crumbly crumb, and the gooey, crispy sugar and peach coating on the top.

Once again, a tip of the cap to Cook's Illustrated.

Remember when I posted about the things I want to try this blustery winter season... well, the Roving Taster is a woman of her word. I've started making my way through the list. Some wonderful meals, deals, and steals I've been reading, eating, and writing about.

lavender/rosemary/candied ginger shortbread -

I got this recipe from a site called allrecipes.com. For years I have known them as a great reference library slash jumping off point slash inspiration board, especially of baking recipes. So I was not surprised to find this among one of the most highly used and reviewed off all the shortbread recipes I poured over.

I changed the rosemary it called for to some dried lavender I bought at Planet Organic when I was stocking up on spices the other day. I also used the lavender in a honey infusion that I basted a roast chicken with the other day. More to follow on that meal, my god...

molasses -

I use this in my sisters' sort of thrown together version

of ginger cookies. It changes pretty much every time I make them, but the same basic ingredients are there - molasses, butter, eggs, flour, powdered ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Then I elaborate from there - usually Cognac, or vanilla, or other spices.

consommés -

As it turned out, a slow cooker I put on last Friday called for beef stock, and I had a trusty can of Campbell's Beef Consommé in the pantry so I used that in my Provencal Beef Stew. So good. Made a total bonehead mistake though. I grabbed cilantro instead of Italian flat leaf parsley so the stew was missing a little bit of something fresh to

pep it up at the end before serving. Might try to make my own consommé still.

Oh yes, and the slow cooker beef stew also called for a sliced bulb of fennel.

mulled fruit - I have yet to figure a way to include this into my cooking in the coming days. But I have a hunch it will likely involve mulled wine... Maybe, dear readers, if you're lucky, you'll be able to share some with me.

brulée-ing things -

I saw a kitchen blow torch for brulée-ing in the Lee Valley catalogue. A pilgrimage may be in order.

parsnip soup - was on the menu as the soup of the day at The Highlevel Diner today. I should have had it instead of the quiche of the day which was sadly uninspired but lacked any real flavour or texture. Boo quiche. Yay parsnip soup. I must make it myself to keep the cream and butter under control. I will try to keep it healthy yet delicious for the health-conscious among me with whom I plan to share this dish.

stuffed roast chicken -

I already mentioned that this bird was possibly the most delectable creature I've ever cooked. Seriously. And I cook with meat fairly often. For now, it must suffice to say that there was a lot of butter and honey involved. Oh yes, and it was lavender infused honey.

osso bucco -

I had this at another restaurant who's fault I don't think it was. But I was unhappy with it. It wasn't actually what I wanted. They were out of what I wanted (which was mussels...) so I ordered the braised lamb shank which was the osso bucco. But it just wasn't what I wanted. It wasn't what I felt like that night and it was a bad impulse. Don't you hate that? When you run out of time or have to change your order just before your turn because someone else at the table already ordered it... Maybe that's just me. I think if I try this then I will attempt a tomato base to cook the meat in after browning and then add olives as a feature flavour in the sauce. I think their saltiness will hold up to the robust flavour of the lamb.

Note to self: keep an eye out for osso bucco cuts at the market in the coming weeks. My hours have changed so now I can try to grocery shop for the week at the Saturday market.

homemade cannelloni -

I have a recipe in a copy of Cook's Illustrated I've got tucked away in a folder somewhere. I have discovered that I own more cookbooks that I have room to store them. New Year's resolution number 7: buy more shelves. Resolution number 8: learn to build IKEA shelves once ad for all.

chocolate and cheese soufflé (though not necessarily together) -

This one definitely should be photographed. Those who have expressed interest in photographing my cooking at home, this would be a very fun one to capture. Anyone interested?

lentils - I must learn my sister's recipe. She'll show me over the holiday, I'm sure.

flambé -

I should probably buy a fire extinguisher first. And know where it is in relation to my flambéing at all times.

something that when assembled spells my name -

I don't rightly know what made me put this in. Do-over. I don't really care if I eat or make something that required assembly in order to be a megalomaniac statement. If I suggested something with my name written on it, I think that would be just as interesting...

layer cake - maybe an apple crumb cake with caramel in between... or rootbeer icing... will commence my recipe research.

the joy of recipe swapping

I believe you already know how amazing Cook's Illustrated Magazine is. I believe you do because I told you so. If you do not, flip back and check out my other ravings about them. The April 2010 edition is, of course, my latest literary treat in culinary publications. The cover of this magazine is always so scintillating and inspiring. This month features some steamy, sexy broccoli. I suggest you pick it up and salivate over the delicious contents within its pages some time very soon.

One particular recipe that I've been meaning to try since I first read about it is their Better Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts. As always, the author goes through several trials to perfect the dish and make it easy for readers and home cooks to replicate with flawless results. I'm telling you, this magazine rocks. No recipe from it has ever failed me. The dish was simple to prepare. It required few ingredients, many of which I already had on hand like flour, butter, and fresh lemons. The things I had to go out for, like boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and shallots, were easy enough to find at any supermarket or grocery store.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breats (6-8 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat
2 Tbsp kosher salt or 1 tsp table salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 recipe pan sauce ( recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Using fork, poke thickest half of each breast 5 or 6 times; evenly sprinkle each breast with 1/2 tsp salt or 1/4 table salt. Place chicken, skinned side down, in 13 by 9 inch baking dish and cover tightly with goil. Bake until thickest part of breast registers 145 to 150 degrees - 30 to 40 minutes

2. Remove chicken from oven and transfer, skinned side up, to paper towel-lined plate and pat dry with paper towels. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. While pan is heating, whisk butter, flour, cornstarch, and pepper together in small bowl. Lightly brush top side of chicken with half of butter mixture. Place chicken in skillet, coated side down, and cook until browned, 3-4 minutes. While chicken browns, brush with the remaining butter mixture. Using tongs, flip chicken, reduce heat to medium, and cook until second side is browned and thickest part of breast reads 160 degrees on thermometer, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate and let rest while preparing pan sauce.

Lemon and Chive Pan sauce
1 medium shallot, minced, about 3 Tbsp
1 tsp all-purpose flour
1 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp fresh chives
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
salt and pepper to taste

Add shallot to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Add broth, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Simmer rapidly until reduced to 3/4 C, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in any accumulated chicken juices; return to simmer and cook 30 seconds. Off heat, whisk in lemon juice, chives, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over chicken and serve immediately.

Et voila!

Just as the author had promised, the meat came out juicy and flavourful, with a fantastic crust from the quick pan-sear. What's even better, I did not have to fool around with it as it pre-cooked in a sealed roasting pan in the oven. As that happened, I prepared the ingredients for the sauce, helped my sister make an amazing shredded beet and mint salad, and sipped wine and hung out with my visiting family.

One or two people have already tried this recipe, based on my recommendation, and I suggest you do the same. But truly, do yourself a favour, and pick up the whole magazine. There are plenty of other wonderful recipes and tips that I can't wait to try out. Best Chewy Brownies, anyone?

One friend who made this recipe for her boyfriend tonight has offered to trade me for a tuna tartar recipe. It involves infusing olive oil with ginger. I'm very excited.
Say, I have an idea. Pick a friend (this friend could certainly be me if you choose) and arrange to swap recipes. Use something tried and tested; your go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies, or lasagne, or apple muffins, or whatever. Let's help each other be better, healthier, more adventurous cooks!

Bravissimo!

I did it! I won! Though some of you might have predicted the results, as far as I was concerned, the winner of the Italian Throwdown Showdown was totally up for grabs. As expected, my dad made his Veal Marsala and linguine with olive oil and garlic. As promised, I made Cook's Illustrated's favourite Eggplant Parmesan and my oft-tried tiramisu. Just as we had negotiated, we worked together. I gave him my list of ingredients and dad picked everything up for me - one less carbon emission, let's say. But because he was only able to get the shopping after work, I didn't begin to start cooking until after 5 pm. So it was a European-style late supper that the family enjoyed. My sister tied everyone over with an antipasto platter of cheeses, meat, and olives, and there was plenty of Chianti Classico to go around.
I began by preparing the dessert, as the tiramisu gains much from spending an extra hour or two in the refrigerator. The recipe explains that it should be made at least 12 hours in advance, preferably a whole day before. Given our time constraints and the busy lives we lead, it only got a couple of hours in the fridge, but that didn't seem to matter much. In fact, when I served it to my mom at the end of the meal she said it was the best thing she had ever tasted. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The eggplant recipe was more complicated than I anticipated, due to the extra half hour that the salted slices have to sit and drain before they can be breaded, baked, and assembled. Do not forgo this salting step, though, as it is crucial for removing the excess moisture from the eggplant and also giving it that extra salting before adding the sauce and cheese. I loved that the sauce recipe provided by Cook's Illustrated was so simple. Everything but the fresh basil was already on hand, or could easily have been if I was the one stocking the pantry:
3 14 oz cans of diced Italian tomatoes - 2 of them pureed
4 minced cloves of garlic sautéed in 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- all boiled and then simmered together until slightly reduced
salt and pepper to taste, a handful of chopped fresh basil
And, even though it's not in the recipe, a pinch of sugar to balance out the acidity from the tomatoes
Even my sister's boyfriend, Ed was able to enjoy the eggplant, or as I redubbed it for him (allergic to eggs) Edplant Parmesan. I created a personal sized portion, where I slightly altered the preparation of the eggplant. Just like the recipe called for, I dredged the eggplant slices in flour. But, rather than coating in egg as instructed, I substituted in some skim milk, before coating the eggplant in my mixture of bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. I tasted both. There was nary a difference. Both Ed's and our dish was spectacular.
My dad's veal wasn't bad either. Though, and I agree with her, my mom quietly mentioned at the table that she'd had better veal from my dad in the past. I wonder if he sabotaged himself for my own pride and self-esteem. If he didn't fine, I'm just a better cook. If he did, then he's a darling old soul who deserves the best meals Italy has on offer.
Special thanks to Cook's Illustrated and Camille le Foll's Modern French Classics for the recipes. Both are stalwart publications that I return to again and again.
The wine we enjoyed with our Italian Spectacular Spectacular was:
Contessa Di Radda Chianti Classico, 2005 Riserva, DOC Gaiole, 13%, crisp, herbaceous, red fruit and berry notes on the nose carry over to the flavours. Medium body with raspberry and red cherry fruit finish. Made from Sangiovese. Well balanced. Easy to drink now.
Clos Mont-Blanc, Masia Les Comes Reserva 2005, DOC Conca de Barbera, 13.5%, powerful stone fruit and berry aromas, pepper and leather notes on the palate. Slightly tannic finish. A beautifully crafted Spanish wine that pairs quite nicely with acidic tomato dishes and hearty meat courses. Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Could be put down for 2 or 3 years to soften.