Archive for the 'eating out' Category
Because:
a) it’s far too hot to cook
b) I just didn’t want to
3) I have 2 articles to finish tonight, plus a blog post
d) we’ve had a $25 Swiss Chalet gift card since Christmas, and I was determined not to let it expire
5) SC is one of the few places I don’t feel sheepish walking into with a 2 year old
6) they have the best fries in the world, especially if you ditch the Chalet sauce (I never understood the appeal) and ask for gravy and sour cream instead to make this delicious but slightly grotesque Swiss Chalet poutine (with sour cream instead of curds - hey, it works on a baked potato)
But half a dinnerplateful is too many, so I got a spinach salad and we shared Mike’s.
We used to go to Swiss Chalet when I was a kid, and were allowed to order a dessert that was under a dollar. A decade or so later it was the place Mike’s Nana brought the extended family to when she wanted to treat us all to a real special restaurant dinner. (Those were the days when the sundes were a dollar and came in little frosty stainless steel dishes and the waitresses wore those little Swiss blouses with the poufy off-the-shoulder sleeves.)
Besides the uniforms and decor it (thankfully) hasn’t changed much; we usually go once a year, for the Festive Special (I’ll do anything for a free Toblerone) but the air conditioning was extremely motivating. I think we still had at least 30 years on everyone in the place.
But now I have nothing to offer. The spinach salad was quite good though - baby spinach leaves, canned Mandarin orange segments, dried cranberries and slivered purple onion. I’d add toasted sliced almonds, but I’m sure that raises nut allergy issues in a large chain. It had a poppy seed dressing, which you can buy or make by shaking up equal parts canola oil and white wine vinegar, half as much poppy seeds, and a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar or honey.
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June 30 2008 | eating out | 1 Comment »
I did have a salad in between, honest.
I had a lunch meeting today at Paul’s Pizza & Steak House, one of the last true old-school restaurants with VLTs in the corner and a plastic-covered menu featuring Beef Dip, a Western (sandwich), Hamburger Deluxe, and the like. The pizza was quite fantastic, actually, one of the best I’ve had, and I was impressed to see that they have a Valta bison burger on the menu for $8.95.
I still wasn’t feeling great though. I won the leftovers and brought them home for M and W, who were at the zoo. They got home at 4, scarfed down their cold pizza, and fell asleep.
So we kind of slid past dinnertime. But with the sun out I wanted to go sit outside before the rain started up again, and was craving some ice cream. I don’t buy ice cream, because I eat ice cream. It speaks to me wherever I am in the house until I have to finish it off just to shut it up. But I did discover this almost fat-free chocolate sorbet a few years ago, and it’s just the thing for my chocolate and ice cream cravings. I’m not a kitchen gadget kind of person, but I highly recommend an ice cream machine. If you think $40-$90 is too much to pay for one, take a look at ice cream prices these days: $7 for a pint of Häagen-Dazs? Don’t get me wrong, I adore the stuff, and I suppose it’s worth it. (If you want to save some money, ice cream machines are usually on sale during the off season - last year at Williams-Sonoma the Krups ice cream machine was only $42. As if people don’t eat ice cream in the winter?)
Making your own is fun and saves not only money, but fat and calories: all you need for this sorbet is some sugar, cocoa and a small handful of chocolate, which will give it a creamier mouthfeel; more than a pint will probably run you about 50 cents. You could make it with milk, which would make it creamier, but then technically not a sorbet. Soon I’ll let you know how to make fro-yo that might change your mind about ever eating ice cream again.
(Low fat, but you’ll never know it) Chocolate Sorbet
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2-4 oz. chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
Combine the sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan. (I always mix cocoa with the sugar in a recipe to get rid of all the lumps.) Put it over med-high heat and stir in 2 cups water. (Make some of that water coffee if you want, or stir in a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso – it will intensify the chocolate flavor without adding fat.) Bring to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until it melts, or better yet, until it kinda melts but leaves some chunks.
Let the mixture cool, then refrigerate until it’s cold. Pour into the ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. If you want to firm it up, put it in the freezer for a few hours.
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June 12 2008 | dessert and eating out and sweet stuff | 5 Comments »
Tonight Mike had a show and I went off to lead a free food and arts tour for First Thursday, an event that takes place downtown the first Thursday of every month. (First Thursdays always feature art gallery openings, live music, theatre, dance, talks, tours, fitness activities and food & drink specials - all within 3 blocks of Olympic Plaza, most free or discounted.) Tonight 15 of us shared charcuterie platters (assorted meats, olives and pickles with grainy mustard) on the sunny patio at Teatro from 5-6, then after various gallery visits ended the night with small plates - mine held 1 piece of crispy duck confit with boar bacon bean cassoulet - at PiqNiq, before live jazz downstairs at BeatNiq.
W had eggs and toast before going to hang with his cousins. Instead of eggs and toast instructions, I thought I’d share some recipes for homemade dog treats, which Lou has certainly earned.
Peanut Butter Biscotti with Milk & Honey
Peanuts and peanut butter contain protein, fiber and biotin, which is important for the metabolism of nutrients and maintenance of skin, fur and nails.
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat germ or oat bran
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch salt
1 egg
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. dry milk powder
¾ cup water
¾ cup all natural peanut butter
½ cup chopped peanuts or carob chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, combine flours, wheat germ, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together the egg, canola oil, honey, milk powder and water. Add to the flour mixture along with the peanut butter and stir until well blended.
Shape the dough into a log that is about 14” long, place on an ungreased baking sheet and flatten until it’s about 6” wide. If you like, brush the top with a little beaten egg to give it a shiny finish. Bake for about 30 minutes, until firm.
Reduce the oven temperature to 250°F. Cool the log and cut it on a slight diagonal into ½” thick slices using a sharp, serrated knife. Place the biscotti upright on the baking sheet, keeping them spaced about ½” apart, and put them back into the oven for another half an hour. If you want them hard, turn the oven off but leave them inside to harden.
Makes about 1 ½ dozen biscotti. Store in a tightly covered container.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Biscotti ~ replace the wheat germ with oatmeal. Roll the logs in a little dry oatmeal before baking if you like.
Triple Cheese Bliss
½ cup cottage cheese
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. canola oil
2 tbsp. water
1 egg, shell and all
1 clove garlic (optional)
2 cups whole wheat flour
Pinch salt
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine all three cheeses, oil, water, egg and garlic and whiz until well blended. Add flour and salt and pulse until the dough comes together. It may look crumbly, but it will be sticky and easy to shape.
Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and place 1” apart on a cookie sheet. Press them down with the back of a fork, like a peanut butter cookie.
Bake for 15 minutes, until firm. Let them cool on the cookie sheet, or turn the oven off but leave them inside for several hours to harden.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies. Store in a tightly sealed container or freeze.
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June 06 2008 | eating out | 1 Comment »
(Or I could say Rosemary Roasted Chicken Breasts with Yukon Gold Potatoes, if I were writing a fancy schmancy menu.)
And that’s right, I had dessert first. As if I wasn’t still all blissed out from the barbecue extravaganza on Sunday, today I got to attend an ice cream social at Bernard Callebaut (Chocolaterie) to celebrate their new chocolate and white chocolate soft serve and hazelnut and white chocolate ice cream bars. We got to doll up our soft ice cream (talk about my two favorite worlds clashing in the best possible way - BC chocolate and soft ice cream) with bowls of hazelnut sauce (made of equal amounts caramelized sugar and ground toasted hazelnuts, and that’s all) and dark, thicker-than-molasses karamel sauce that’s well worth the hour on an elliptical trainer I’m sure each mouthful costs. (Both can be had at any BC location.) Oh, and also? Summer Fruit Creams. Chocolate cups filled with fresh fruit purees (I tried mango, passionfruit and apple-raspberry) blended with crème fraîche; each flavour (mango, banana, Saskatoon Berry, lemon, Marionberry and passion fruit) is being produced for only two weeks this summer - limited edition chocolates, you might say.
While I’m on the subject of Bernard, I’d like to clarify if I haven’t before that Callebaut chocolate and Bernard Callebaut chocolate are not the same thing. If you see chunks of Callebaut chocolate in the bulk section of the grocery store for a ridiculously low price, it’s because it’s not Bernard Callebaut, it’s Barry Callebaut. Long story; suffice to say if it doesn’t say BC it’s not BC. And it’s well worth seeking out.
This was late afternoon, so when I got home and pondered the dinner dilemma, I was too full to be hungry or creative. So what seemed to me the ultimate cop-out was actually quite satisfying and simple; all I did was throw the chicken pieces in a baking dish and dice a couple Yukon gold potatoes around it, toss the lot with some oil (canola or olive) and salt and pepper, and threw a couple sprigs of rosemary on top only because it was either use them or toss them out tomorrow. About an hour in the oven and dinner was ready, but I still wasn’t hungry.
In other news, I’ve been tagged by Shawna of Daily Deliciousness to share 5 things about me. Who am I to turn down a game of tag?
What was I doing ten years ago?
1998… I had just closed my low-fat bakery, One Smart Cookie, and was trying to convince Subway to sell my cookies in their stores. Whenever someone from Subway would call, I’d answer the phone, “One Smart Cookie!” And when they’d ask for me, I’d say “please hold, I’ll see if she’s in her office.” It was also around that time that I decided if the Best of Bridge and Looneyspoons girls could self-publish a cookbook and make a go of it, I probably could too.
What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Go to the gym (spinning class) - does it count if it was on my to-do list but didn’t get done?
2. Attend an ice cream social at Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut (I feel far too guilty to label free ice cream “work-related”, although technically I suppose it was - this was definitely checked off my list. In spades.)
3. Buy and send cards to two friends who have lost family and friends
4. Plan presentation for Diabetes Expo (does it count as work when I’m a volunteer presenter?)
5. Put up more posters and send out press releases for Ramsay Rocks (if you’re in Calgary on June 22 - come to the party in the park behind Ramsay school!)
Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Bernard Callebaut soft ice cream or white chocolate ice cream bar coated in thick dark chocolate
2. granola with yogurt and berries
3. toasted whole wheat bagel with peanut butter (half)
4. Riceworks Sweet Chili brown rice chips
5. John Cusack
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Get my teeth fixed (this makes me sound like I’m a candidate for Extreme Makeover - just cavities and residual damage/broken molars from a dentist we had as kids who did more work than he needed to, and a shoddy job of it, but my estimate is $10k and since I work out of my spare room, I don’t have dental. Why didn’t I marry a dentist? Maybe I could have an affair with one?)
2. Build some new buildings, buy vehicles and sponsor school for the families of Ubuntu in Rwanda.
3. Launch some new companies with the express purpose that the money they generate support various charities
4. Make sure none of my family and friends need to worry about bills anymore.
5. Buy a car (or two) that isn’t a red Honda Accord, and a Mac, and John Cusack (I could be his Sugar Momma)
It’s of course a given that I’d do some travelling (what the hell, I’m a billionaire)
Places I’ve lived:
1. Calgary
2. Vancouver
3. Toronto (but only until grade 2)
Jobs I’ve had:
1. Mascot (Howdy , one of the mascots for the 1988 Winter Olympics, the ATP Elephant, the Alpha Milk Bear)
2. Cashier at Mmmmmmmarvellous Mmmmmmuffins
3. Photographer for the Bargain Finder
4. Nanny
5. Owned a low fat cookie bakery (One Smart Cookie)
Tag, you’re it!
1. M at Tartelette
2. Dana at Dana McCauley’s Blog
3. Meena at Hooked: on Heat
4. Ellie at Kitchen Wench
5. Jen at fresh cracked pepper
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June 03 2008 | chicken & turkey and eating out | 8 Comments »
It’s on days like this that I’m so thankful to be a carnivore.
I’m going to dole out some advice today: if you are ever invited to a 1st birthday party and the birthday girl’s Dad happens to be a chef, go. If said Dad is Kevin Turner from Brava Bistro (one of my favorite restaurants, and not only because of the lobster poutine), cancel all your other engagements if you need to in order to attend. This was hands-down the best first birthday party I’ve ever been to; after all, when the kid is only 1, there doesn’t tend to be much in the way of entertainment beyond the food. Not that it’s not a ton of fun to stand around policing toddlers while discussing puppies and potty training and who’s pregnant again, and I’ve never been one to turn down a hot dog and a cupcake. But this was serious barbecue, which always trumps everything else. They started smoking the meat yesterday, in one of those smokers that’s so big it arrives on a trailer and requires its own license plate.
This is only half the smoker. The poundage of pork and sausages probably came close to outweighing me (or at least my left thigh - probably not my right one) and I think I counted 6 sides of salmon. The baked beans were dark and sticky, with big chunks of bacon mingling among them. I could have plunked myself in an adirondack chair and eaten a vat of them.
The photos really don’t do justice to this work of art. I could hardly stand photographing my food instead of eating it, and I didn’t want to stand over my plate for too long and allow my tears of joy to water down that mayonnaisey (that’s a word) onion salad. It was just thickly sliced sweet onion liberally coated with either real mayo or crème fraîche (and something else - celery seed? I’ll ask Kevin) - so simple, but a perfect companion to the pulled pork. Had I realized this right away, I would have lobbed more onto my plate.
As we were leaving (they were still trying to get the keg of beer going - why are kegs always so fussy? and whoever heard of a first birthday kegger anyway?) Mike said “I feel like we just walked off a movie set.” Between the idyllic back yard setting with colourful paper lanterns, jumpy castle, spinach dip with shrimp stirred into it and bottomless chafing dishes of actual, real, true barbecue, we were both waiting for Steve Martin to ride in on a horse and give the birthday girl a pink pony. Or to wake up on the couch in a puddle of drool and realize it was time to get up and go to the party.
(Note to self: stay friends with the Turners. There will be more birthday parties coming up. Stay in particularly close contact around the end of May.)
This all raises the inevitable question: what am I going to do for W’s 3rd?
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June 01 2008 | eating out | 4 Comments »
We kind of skimmed past dinner, anticipating eats and drinks at Velvet before a show at the Grand tonight. We tried to make an art opening en route, which along with Vancouver-style rain slowed us down somewhat, leaving us time for tapas (small plates) and shared pasta. It was like the grown-up version of going to Earls and ordering appetizers (cheese sticks and chicken fingers, washed down with virgin strawberry daquiris and chased with mocha Kahlua pie to share - ah, to be 15 again).
The food was truly spectacular. Of particular note the bread, which I forgot to enquire the source of, was medium-dark and nutty, and served with soft sweet butter sprinkled with a little coarse, flaky salt. I love that. I ate my way through half the bread basket before our tapas came: coconut shrimp, olive tapenade, and crackers with brie, pecans and, get this: balsamic caramel (I know!) Then Mike ordered Saffron Conchigliette (read: pasta shells) with shrimp, scallops, mussels, garlic and basil, and I had a warm spinach salad (that means it was gently wilted) with smoked bacon, cashews, brie, and maple balsamic vinaigrette - enough to almost render it a soup; fortunately I love it that way. Both were every bit as good as they sound. I took plenty of photos that don’t do the food justice - it’s tough in a dark space when you have to use flash.
But I have to leave you with something. Before we left, we were snacking on an olive oil loaf cake made with lemon, rosemary and some chopped pears (added as an afterthought in my usual attempt to not waste half-eaten pears, nor have to down yet another one).
Rosemary Lemon Olive Oil Cake
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of a lemon
1/2 cup regular or extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking power
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped off and chopped
1 unpeeled pear, finely chopped or grated (optional)
a couple more sprigs of rosemary to decorate the top (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs for a minute, until frothy. Beat in the sugar and continue to beat for a few minutes, until the mixture is thick and pale. Beat in the lemon zest, juice and olive oil.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add it to the egg mixture and stir by hand until almost combined; add the rosemary and pears (if you’re using them) and stir just until blended.
Pour into an 8″x4″ or 9″x5″ loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Lay a couple sprigs of rosemary on the top. Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.
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May 24 2008 | cake and eating out | No Comments »
Don’t hate me because I’m hungry.
My parents, sisters and (remaining) husbands left the kids with babysitters and went for a real, grown-up dinner at River Café tonight - something we’ve actually not ever done since grandkids started appearing. (Well, we might have at some point since #1 appeared 17 years ago, but not since they started coming in quick succession.)
I really love River Café, especially in summertime when the patio is open and the place is airy and not too hot or bright. Fall is beautiful, too. And spring. And winter, when the island is covered in snow and frost and you get a spot by the stone fireplace and don’t want to leave. Because I’m not independantly wealthy, I’m not a regular visitor; lunch and weekend brunch are good ways to experience the place if you’re the one paying. On Sundays there’s no corkage fee, so that helps. We brought a few bottles, and my pregnant (one of the reasons we were celebrating on Day 100 that I was not yet allowed to tell) sister drove.
It would have been far too wordy to list what I ate for dinner tonight at the head of this post:
An amuse buche of Maple Braised Wild Boar Jowl on Potato Rösti (just because it was jowl; when am I ever going to have the opportunity to eat jowl again? It was similar to the beef cheeks I had in Toronto with E - the texture of flank steak, but extraordinarily tender.)
House Cured Duck Prosciutto / Red Wine Preserved Cherries / Hanninen Farm Hazelnuts (sorry, no photo - I kind of wish I chose the morel mushroom peroghies.)
Olson’s High Country Farm Bison Tenderloin / Bison Pemmican with Anchovy Herb Marinated Cherry Tomatoes, Sunchokes and Grilled Ramps (I always order bison if I have the opportunity at a place like this - I know it will be cooked perfectly! Ramps are like a large green onion - sort of halfway between a green onion and a leek, but more garlicky.)
And a spectacular Lemon Blueberry Tart topped with Earl Grey Ice Cream, sitting in a puddle of orange caramel that actually reminded me more of marmalade than pf caramel; luckily I am a fan of marmalade, but more so on toast. The flourless chocolate cake my dad ordered was also mind-numbingly good.
And of course their fresh rosemary bread with butter as a palate cleanser between courses. (Hey, they didn’t bring out sorbet, what was I supposed to do?)
I was inspired by a few things on the menu - red lentil hummus, big, crunchy Yorkshire puddings stuffed with braised beef rib, and the best mushroom barley risotto I think I’ve ever had - we all picked it off Mike’s plate until he had hardly any left. It was nuttier, chewier and far less starchy (the heavy starchiness is not a selling point for me) than regular rice risotto - and of course far higher in fiber. Stay tuned - I will definitely be giving it a try!
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May 18 2008 | eating out | 1 Comment »
Nik and I did another 2 events today in Red Deer, then drove back to Calgary, picked up W and drove to Banff. Because someone had given her a Starbucks card that was tainting her wallet (she is a tea importer, remember) she insited on pulling over to use it. Probably a good idea; the latte was likely what kept me awake through all that driving.
The Calgary-Banff drive was from 5:45- 7:15, so technically that was dinner, along with the whole wheat tortilla I slathered with peanut butter and wrapped around a banana for W and I to share on the way out the door - my favorite mad dash meal to go. We share one for a snack or he can down the whole thing if it’s lunch or dinnertime; it’s an easy way to get protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates into something you can eat with one hand. (Generally I like to use just-peanut peanut butter, but W has become picky about the mouthfeel, so I gave in to Kraft light, which I personally adore… it’s not a whole lot better than the regular stuff, but slightly sweeter and less lardy-tasting. I’m starting to mix them half and half, in an attempt to wean him back onto the other stuff. Now that I think of it, a sprinkle of ground flaxseed between PB and banana would likely go undetected.)
Not a bad dinner, really, paired with the (Venti) 2% latte, which contains 240 calories, 9 g fat (6 of them saturated) and 16 g protein (much better than the white hot chocolate, which weighs in at 640 calories and 28 g fat).
So I should have quit while I was ahead. When we got to Banff we met her boys (4, 6 and 37) at the St. James Gate for something we could actually chew, anything that wasn’t traditionally served at high tea. I didn’t think it was possible to make bad meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
I stand corrected.
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April 26 2008 | eating out | 1 Comment »
Tonight was the fundraising dinner at the Hotel Arts I was emceeing, so dinner was made for me (and 120 others) by 8 of the city’s best chefs. It was a fantastic evening with spectacular food, and we raised plenty of dineros for the 150 widows and 600 children and youth who are assisted through Ubuntu.
This was the menu, generously donated by each chef and their restaurants:
1st Course – Zuppa di Pesce with halibut, manilla clams and prawns in a spicy tomato broth
Chefs Spencer Wheaton and Steve Smee of Mercato
2nd Course – Fresh Spaetzle Pasta with patty pan squash and grape tomatoes
Chef Peter Swarbrick of Saint Germain
3rd Course – Pan Seared Arctic Char with oven dried roma tomatoes and wilted greens
Chef Xavier Lacaze of Muse
4th Course – Sliced Duck Breast over a house made mushroom ravioli and soya reduction
Chef Duncan Ly of Raw Bar at Hotel Arts
Muscato sorbet
Pastry Chef Karine Moulin of Hotel Arts
5th Course – Slow Braised Beef Ribs with smoked fingerling potatoes
Chef Shaun Desaulniers of Belgo
6th Course – Pavlova with chantilly cream, passion fruit curd and fresh seasonal fruit
Chef Rebekah Pearse of Nectar Desserts
7th Course - Brie de Meau wrapped with house cured Broek Farm’s pork belly, hemp seed biscuit and a wild Alberta bull berry jelly
Chef Scott Pohorelic of River Cafe
Premium loose teas specially imported from Rwanda by Nicole Schon of Tnik Tea
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April 25 2008 | eating out | 4 Comments »
Everyone is cranky and tired tonight, and yet we have tickets to go see The Cult, one of the first shows of Juno weekend. W is overtired from being 2 and I’m overtired from taking over traffic duties on CBC all week; not because it’s an exhausting job, but because it gets me up between 4 and 4:30 am, and I don’t think you ever get used to that. (And if I was a better, more organized person, I might have lessened my workload in other areas this week to compensate.)
The past hour went something like this: Mass cranky panic, frantic scour of the fridge for dinner possibilities, W’s tomato rotini lands upside down on the floor during a meltdown over not getting to go hug the neighbor’s new puppy, Meg. Mike picks up the phone and calls KamHan (something we never do, even though the place is blocks away) and requests an emergency order of fried noodles, the thick kind so W can get a better grip, which we ate on the bed amid a pile of laundry (why not? we have to wash it anyway.)
Then, calm.
(Until we get to the concert, anyway.)
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April 04 2008 | eating out | 2 Comments »
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