Category Gourmet Specialty Food Products

I bought the sweetest his & her hostess gifts while at Toronto’s One of a Kind Christmas Show: small-batch, artisanal candy handmade by Christy’s Gourmet Food in Burlington, Ontario. Christy’s Gourmet Food is a small, family-run business that makes artisanal chocolates and sweets, using old family recipes, fine Belgian chocolate, and pure butter.

For Her: Christy’s Crunch – biscuit pieces spread with delicious pure butter toffee, and then covered in creamy peppermint white Belgian chocolate. Olive it! Also available in Dark Chocolate Peppermint Crunch, White Chocolate Cranberry Crunch, Milk Chocolate Crunch, and Dark Chocolate Crunch. Put Christy’s Crunch in a pretty bowl and serve it after dinner with coffee and tea, as the perfect festive treat to nibble on.

Christy’s Crunch & Craft Spicy Beer Brittle With Almonds – both made by Christy’s Gourmet Food

For Him: Craft Spicy Beer Brittle With Almonds – there is a bit of a spicy cayenne kick in this buttery almond brittle made with local craft beer. Also available in Craft Beer Brittle With Almonds (without the spice). According to Christy, the company strives “to support [different] local craft breweries as we travel across Ontario.” The batch of Craft Spicy Beer Brittle With Almonds made for the Toronto One of a Kind Christmas Show was made with Toronto’s Steam Whistle Premium Pilsner.

Steam Whistle Premium Pilsner is crafted using traditional European brewing techniques and four natural ingredients: spring water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. Steam Whistle’s world class brewery is housed in Toronto’s historic John Street Roundhouse (which just happens to be the roundhouse where my grandfather worked for 49 years, retiring as Assistant Locomotive Foreman in the 1950s). Hey, what a great gift idea for my Dad: a 6-pack of Steam Whistle and a package of Christy’s Gourmet Craft Spicy Beer Brittle With Almonds…and maybe an invitation to take a tour of Steam Whistle together. Since my Dad is hosting the family feast again this year, I think he deserves an extra special gift!

Host(ess) gifts purchased…CHECK!!!

Open: Thursday to Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

www.christysgourmetgifts.com

www.steamwhistle.ca

Show runs from November 28 to December 8, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sunday.

http://www.oneofakindshow.com/toronto/index.php

Here is my holiday line-up of make-ahead, easy-assemble, or store-bought hors d’oeuvres, ranging from comforting to exotic, that are so delicious they will make you the talk of the town.

Paneer Tikka Stuffed Mini Potatoes

Makes 32 halves

My Paneer Tikka Mini Potatoes are stuffed with an exotic combination of Indian spices tamed by rich coconut milk, tomato paste, and soft paneer cheese. Mmm…cheese, potatoes, and a touch of the exotic in a make-ahead, freezer-friendly recipe – everything I am looking for in a special occasion hors d’oeuvres.

It’s well worth seeking out Arvinda’s Tikka Masala spice blend for this recipe. Based in Oakville, Ontario, Arvinda’s makes artisanal, premium Indian spice blends, using Canadian grown spices whenever possible, like mustard seed and coriander. Their Tikka Masala is a lively blend of all natural ingredients, including fresh organic garlic from Stratford, Ontario and fresh ginger.   It’s hot but the tiny amount in this recipe will blanket you in a pleasant (not painful) warmth with layers of flavour. You can find Arvinda’s finely crafted range of Indian spice blends in fine food stores throughout Ontario. Check their website for a store near you.

Paneer cheese is a mild, fresh, farmer white cheese. It is now widely available in many supermarkets or Indian grocery stores.

Ingredients:

Potatoes:
16 mini Yukon Gold potatoes, uniformly medium-sized
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon coarse salt

Stuffing:
1 cup (scant) finely diced paneer cheese
½ teaspoon Arvinda’s Tikka Masala spice mix
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons tomato paste
½ cup canned coconut milk, well-shaken

Garnish:
Finely chopped chives, green onion, or cilantro

Directions:

Potatoes:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut potatoes in half so that each half will sit upright. Dump on parchment-lined baking sheet. Add oil and salt; toss to coat potatoes evenly. Arrange on baking sheet cut side up and evenly spaced so potatoes aren’t touching each other. Roast in a 375°F oven until just tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet.

Stuffing:

1. Using the pointed end of a vegetable peeler or a small spoon, carefully scoop flesh out of potato into a medium bowl, leaving a thin wall of flesh lining the potato skin. Roughly mash the flesh with a potato masher or fork.
2. Add stuffing ingredients to mashed potato; mix well. Mound stuffing in potatoes halves.
3. If serving immediately, arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet; bake at 375°F until hot throughout and cheese is soft, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle garnish of your choice over top of each potato. Serve warm.
4. Or place in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper, cover and store in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature while preheating oven to 375°F degrees. Arrange on parchment lined-baking sheet and bake until hot throughout and cheese is soft, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle garnish of your choice over top of each potato. Serve warm.
5. Or place in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper, cover and freeze up to 2 weeks. Bake from frozen in a 375°F oven, arranged on a parchment-lined baking sheet, until hot throughout and cheese is soft, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle garnish of your choice over top of each potato. Serve warm.

Muhammara: A Seductive Syrian Dip

You’ll find my recipe for a seductively delicious dip, that is festively colourful and healthy. in my post Mississauga Meet Muhammara: A Seductive Syrian Dip. This intriguing little number has layers of flavour and texture: roasted sweet red peppers, crunchy walnuts, acidic tomato paste and lemon juice balanced by sweet and tangy pomegranate molasses, and a warm spicy heat that slowly unveils itself. It’s a breeze to make at the last minute with most items stocked in the pantry, or it can be made ahead and refrigerated for a couple of days. or even frozen for up to 2 weeks. If you would rather purchase ready-made Muhammara, my post tells you where to buy a good one.

Cheddar Cayenne Cookies

Makes 4 logs (about 24 cookies in each log)

Adapted from www.chatelaine.com Cheddar Crisp Appetizers

These savory cookies have a rich, cheddar flavour with a bit of a spicy kick. They are delicious on their own but spoon on Rootham’s Tangy Red Pepper Jelly or Yummies in a Jar Apple Sage Jelly and they become extra special. Make the dough ahead, roll it into logs, and freeze for up to 1 month; then simply take the dough out a few minutes before slicing and baking to serve your guests freshly baked cheddar cookies with pizzazz.

I’ve adapted a Chatelaine recipe by adding a touch of cream for moistness and a cup of grated old cheddar cheese for even more cheddar flavour. I use Stirling Creamery European-Style Churn 84 Salted Butter which has a rich butter flavour from 84% butterfat. Stirling also makes an unsalted version of Churn 84 but it’s hard to find in our region – you might find it in Sobey’s. If you would prefer to use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe to 1 teaspoon.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp table salt
½ tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 (250 g) container MacLaren’s Imperial Cold Pack Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Stirling Creamery European-Style Churn 84 salted butter, cut into small cubes
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons 35% cream
1 cup grated old cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and cayenne; stir with a wire whisk until evenly distributed.
2. Break up MacLaren’s Imperial Sharp Cold Pack Cheddar Cheese with a fork before dumping it into the large bowl of a food processer; pulse a few times to break down to large crumbs. Add butter, mustard, and cream; process until smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides with a rubber spatula as necessary. Add grated cheese and flour mixture; pulse, occasionally stopping machine to scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, just until mixture comes together.
3. Scrape dough on to a large piece of parchment paper. Gently form into a ball by kneading gently once or twice. Divide dough into 4 equal sections. Place 1 section on another large piece of parchment paper. Roll dough section gently to form an evenly shaped log, about 1-1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long. Wrap in parchment paper then twist ends to seal. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Or wrap logs in aluminum foil and seal in a resealable freezer bag, label with baking instructions, and freeze up to 1 month; remove from freezer for a few moments before slicing and baking.
4. When ready to bake, place oven rack on bottom shelf; preheat oven to 400°F. Slice one well-chilled log into 1/4-inch thick rounds; arrange (evenly spaced) on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, on the bottom rack, just until edges are slightly golden brown, about 8 minutes; immediately remove cookies from cookie sheet and place on rack to cool. Repeat with remaining logs, removing 1 log at a time from the fridge.
5. Best eaten the day you bake them but still good within a few days after baking, if placed in a sealed container and refrigerated. Serve at room temperature with apple sage or red pepper jelly. Look for Rootham’s Tangy Red Pepper Jelly or Yummies in a Jar Apple Sage Jelly at gourmet food shops such as The Shop For All Reasons in Streetsville, gourmet grocery stores such as Cousin’s Market in Port Credit, or fine cheese shops such as Mill Street Cheese Market in Georgetown (see my Grocery Store Directory). Or click on the product link to go directly to the product website for store locations.

Sorry about the cheesy photo. I got a little carried away with the deer.

Hot Cheddar Dip

Enough to feed a crowd.

Adapted from Hot Cheese Spread from Best of Bridge

I’ve amped up the Hot Cheese Spread recipe from Best of Bridge to replicate the flavours of a dip I served in the ‘80s and loved, but lost the recipe. Artery-clogging but so delicious, I only serve this decadent dip at Christmas.

Make it ahead and store in the fridge for a few days. It makes enough to feed a crowd, so sometimes I split one batch into two if I have two smaller gatherings to attend. I have even frozen it, which isn’t ideal because the oil separates while baking, but once you have drained off the oil, you are still left with a ton of flavour, a lot less fat, and a bit of a stringier dip.

Ingredients:

1 cup slivered almonds
3 cups grated old cheddar cheese
2/3 cup finely chopped green onions (5 or 6 green onions)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
½ teaspoon curry powder
Dash cayenne powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup mayonnaise

Accompaniment:

Baguette crisps such as Ace Bakery Olive Oil & Sea Salt Mini Crisps

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread almonds out in a single layer on baking sheet and toast lightly, just until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix cheese, onion and garlic together. In a separate bowl, combine curry powder, cayenne powder, and salt. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mayonnaise; blend thoroughly with a whisk. Fold into cheese. Add almonds. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. Pack into an oven-proof serving dish. Bake immediately, or cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for a few days. Bring to room temperature before placing in a 350°F preheated oven. Bake just until hot throughout, about 15 minutes. Wonderful served with Ace Bakery Olive Oil & Sea Salt Mini Crisps.

Tomato Bocconcini Basil Skewers

If you can get your hands on some really good cherry tomatoes and real buffalo mozzarella mini cheese balls, this festively-coloured hors d’oeuvres is easy-assemble and healthy. Click on my post Easy Breezy Summer Apps and scroll down for the recipe and details.

Keep calm and carry on. Love, Olive.

Some simple moments in life call for extra-special celebration, like waking up to a fresh, white blanket of snow on a chilly morning: a new canvas to make footprints across, a harbinger of the season to come. How about building a snow fort with your kids, romping through a snow-covered field with your dog then gasping at the beautiful silence of a snow-covered forest, or the rush of that one thrilling ride down the toboggan hill that YOU took just to remember what it felt like? Winter is upon us. I prefer to embrace it like a true Canadian. Tilt your head back (Charlie Brown-style) and marvel at the beauty of nature as snowflakes dance down from the dark night sky all around you.

An extra special cup of hot chocolate is a wonderful way to celebrate moments like this. But instead of tasteless, overly-processed, overly-sweetened mixes, treat yourself to something very special (and healthier), at least this once:

Amedei Cioccolata in Tazza (Hot Chocolate) has just enough sweetness to balance the deep, rich chocolate flavour. Containing a minimum of 63% cocoa, this gourmet drinking chocolate is made by Amedei, a Tuscan chocolatier that produces what Food & Wine magazine called “the world’s best chocolate”. Just heat a cup of milk until hot and steamy, and then slowly whisk in the small grains of cocoa, stirring until completely dissolved.

I think it’s worth every penny as a thank you for someone special or to send a university student back to school with, just to remind them how much they are loved back home. Available at The Shop For All Reasons in Streetsville, Ontario. Check my Grocery Store Directory for details.

I love to drink mine in my favourite cup, given to me by a special friend as a thank you for picking him up from school every day. He wrote a little message on the cup to thank me. It warms my heart every time I drink from it.

My Apple Fennel Salad is a tribute to a Baby Spinach & Arugula Salad I enjoyed at Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill, while lunching with friends in Toronto’s Distillery District this summer. Pure Spirits’ Baby Spinach & Arugula Salad (on their summer menu) was an elegant composition of compressed watermelon, shaved fennel, salted honey ricotta, and puffed wheat berry on fresh greens, in a well-balanced vinaigrette. I savoured every healthy morsel. Here’s my take on it, replacing the compressed watermelon for seasonal apples.

Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill has switched up the ingredients in their Baby Spinach & Arugula Salad on their fall menu: it now has organic red quinoa, roasted root vegetables, pomegranate, and Roaring Forties Blue – a cheese from Australia’s King Island Dairy that has been well-praised in the press. Mmmm, I think a trip to The Distillery District is in order: lunch at Pure Spirits, a hot chocolate at Soma, and getting into the spirit of the season at the Toronto Christmas Market (details can be found on my Farmers’ Market Directory or on the Toronto Christmas Market website).

A note on the oil: I wandered into the Wandering Locavore, Leslie Edwards, at Centro Farmers’ Market in Burlington this summer, and bought Fennel Infused Olive Oil (made by The Village Press, Hawke’s Bay, New Zeeland), which I have been swooning over since. This luxurious, aniseed-flavoured olive oil is perfect for my Apple Fennel Salad or as a last minute drizzle over roasted fish (see my Grilled Trout with Tahina Sauce recipe and switch out the tahina sauce for fennel infused olive oil). Leslie delivers to Mississauga, with a minimum $25 order. To find out if Leslie will deliver to you, contact her on The Wandering Locavore website. Check out what other goodies the Wandering Locavore has to offer and what events Leslie will be selling her products at this season.

If you can’t get your hands on fennel infused olive oil, you could always try making your own. Click here for a link to a Garlic and Fennel Infused Oil recipe on the Food Network that looks good. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. Or just use your best extra virgin olive oil.

A note on the cheese: Ricotta salata is an Italian firm white cheese made from sheep’s milk that is pressed, salted, and aged, unlike fresh ricotta. You can find it in Italian supermarkets such as Longo’s and also in Whole Foods. It is drier than brined feta but if you can’t find ricotta salata, feta would be a fairly reasonable substitute. Or switch it up and use crumbled chèvre instead.

Apple Fennel Salad

What a wonderful way to celebrate fall: a healthy salad featuring fennel and apples.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Dressing:
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey, or more to taste
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons The Village Press Fennel Infused Olive Oil or plain extra virgin olive oil

Honeyed Cheese:
½ cup ricotta salata, crumbled
Honey

Salad:
4 – 5 large handfuls baby arugula
½ small sweet onion, shaved into thin slices
½ bulb fennel, shaved into thin slices
1 apple
1 small handful natural, shelled walnut pieces
1 small handful natural, shelled pumpkin seeds
Honey for drizzling

Directions:

Dressing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk first 4 ingredients to blend well; slowly pour in oil, whisking constantly until well-blended. Taste and adjust seasonings, if required; set aside.

Honeyed Cheese:

1. Drizzle just enough honey on crumbled cheese to coat lightly; toss to coat evenly; set aside.

Salad:

1. Spread arugula out on a large platter. Layer on shaved onion, and then fennel.
2. Just before serving, core but do not peel the apple; shave into thinly sliced rings; arrange on top of fennel. Top with honeyed cheese. Sprinkle with walnut pieces and pumpkin seeds. Pour dressing evenly over salad. Drizzle with a little more honey, to taste. Serve immediately.

Read More

Mississauga meet Muhammara, a seductively delicious dip originating from Aleppo, Syria but common in Lebanese cuisine. This intriguing little number has layers of flavour and texture: roasted sweet red peppers, crunchy walnuts, acidic tomato paste and lemon juice balanced by sweet and tangy pomegranate molasses, and a warm spicy heat that slowly unveils itself. A breeze to make with most items stocked in my pantry, it’s my favourite appetizer of the moment.

The type of dried, crushed chili peppers you use is important here. The classic recipe uses dried Aleppo chili peppers, originating from Syria. Regular grocery store dried red chili peppers are fiery hot and lack the fruity flavour of Aleppo pepper but Aleppo pepper can be hard to come by. The Spice Trader in Toronto carries Aleppo pepper, available in their store on Queen Street West (in Trinity Bellwoods) or from their website (they just received a new shipment on Friday November 1, 2013 and are in the process of updating their website). I use Armenian pepper, sold at Adonis (under the Cedar brand in plastic packets in the spice aisle). Cedar brand Armenian pepper flakes have a fruity flavour, like raisins, and a gentle heat.

You’ll find pomegranate molasses in Middle Eastern grocery stores or in the international section of some supermarkets. If you live in or close to Mississauga, a drive to Adonis will be worth the trip. You can stock your pantry with Armenian pepper, pomegranate molasses, and small jars of roasted sweet red peppers. Don’t forget to pick up a package of freshly baked Adonis pita bread from the racks under the window of their in-store bakery.

There are many versions (and spellings) of muhammara. Adonis sells a good store-made version, available ready-made in mild or spicy hot (they spell it Mouhamara). My recipe is somewhere in between the Adonis version and Claudia Roden’s version (from her book The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, which is an extensive collection of good, authentic Middle Eastern recipes).

Please visit my Grocery Store Directory for information on The Spice Trader and Adonis.

Olive’s Muhammara

Makes about 2 cups.

Adapted from Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

Perfect for holiday entertaining, this dip is colourful, healthy, and exotic. Make sure you don’t over-process; you want the slight crunch of the walnuts and tiny hits of different flavours coming at your taste buds. Alternatively, if you add a garlic clove and puree to a smooth paste, you’ll have an outstanding and healthy sandwich spread that I like to call Muhammara Mock Mayo.

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled walnuts
4 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste
1 jar (250ml) grilled/roasted sweet red peppers, drained
1 slice whole wheat bread, lightly toasted, crusts removed, torn into small pieces
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (also called “syrup”,“glaze” or “concentrated juice”)
3 teaspoons Armenian pepper or Aleppo pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoon sea salt or coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor; pulse several times, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula when necessary, until mixture is processed into a rough paste; avoid over-processing.
2. Serve immediately with toasted pita points, pita chips, or endive spears. For longer storage, seal in a plastic container and store in fridge for a few days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks; defrost before serving.