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Adonis Mississauga opened today and it is every bit as fabulous as the Adonis grocery stores in Montreal. My heart is just a flutterin’! Adonis has pulled out all of the stops for their first Ontario store.  I can’t possibly fit all that olive about Adonis in one post.  And the store was jam packed today so it was difficult to take good photos. Tonight, I will leave you with this.

On your first visit to Adonis, make sure that you buy some Adonis Pita Bread. Adonis Mississauga has an in-store bakery where they bake their own pita bread. Look at it, all puffed up and freshly baked, in the photo below. It is the softest, freshest store-bought pita bread that I have ever tasted. And it’s thin too, so you don’t end up with too much bread in your sandwich. Make sure you look for the Adonis brand because there are several other brands available also.

Next treat yourself to the BBQ Beef Plate. You quite possibly have never tasted Beef Shish Kebab this good. Adonis marinades beef tenderloin and grills it in the store. It is incredibly tender and flavourful. Adonis sells raw, marinated, cubed beef tenderloin (the same beef they use for their BBQ Beef Plate) that you can take home and grill yourself. They also sell raw, wine marinated beef tenderloin. Ooh la la. We will have to try that one.

Sit down in the little bistro seating area and enjoy your dinner. Succulent beef drizzled with tahina sauce, sitting on a bed of rice with vermicelli (Roz bil Shaghria). It comes with delicious sautéed potatoes, which are flecked with fresh coriander, and a choice of salad. I chose a crunchy salad of romaine, fresh peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and fried pita that was dressed with oil, lemon, garlic, parsley, mint, and ground sumac (Fattoush). The plate includes a side of hummus and garlic mayonnaise.

While the focus is on Mediterranean cuisine, Adonis Mississauga also carries products from other cultures. Stay tuned to my blog as I unearth treasure after treasure at Adonis. Mississauga, we are very lucky to have Adonis in our midst.

Ring in 2015 with a fun, progressive feast of foods from around the world. Serve as timed courses on small plates, buffet-style. Start with Russia and end up with Canada at midnight to symbolize the dawn of 2015 as it passes across our wonderful Mother Earth.

Olive’s made it easy with lots of suggestions for countries and ready-made food to pick and choose from. You don’t have to serve it all or run yourself ragged buying exactly what I suggest – let my ideas conjure your own neighborhood favourites.

Call ahead to pre-order wherever possible or stock your freezer well in advance to avoid last-minute disappointment.

If you want to decorate, set out a collection of vintage alarm clocks (from around the house or your local thrift shop) with alarms set for each course. If the clock is not working, set the time on the clock to match the time of the course and place it beside the course. Or make your own paper clocks using a printout.

Photo credit: funinthemaking.net

A vintage globe with a retro peace banner would make a charming centrepiece. Add some sparkle and glitter wherever you can. Click on the photo for a link to this DIY peace banner.

Photo credit: hellolidy.com

6:00 pm Russia

Start the night off on the other side of the planet, in Russia. If you are welcoming your guests with a cocktail, Sable & Rosenfeld has a great line of pickled cocktail garnishes – and you don’t need a cocktail to enjoy them. Available in grocery stores and specialty food markets. Click here for locations. I love the Garlic & Dill Tipsy Cocktail Stirrers.

Garlic & Dill Tipsy Cocktail Stirrers Photo credit: Sable & Rosenfeld

Serve simple but luxurious smoked salmon with slices of buttered black bread. Starsky Fine Foods sells a gorgeous vodka-infused smoked salmon. Click here for locations. 

Vodka-infused smoked salmon.

 7:00 pm Japan

Keep it simple with a bowl of freshly boiled edamame (green soybean pods widely available in the frozen food section of your grocery store). Lightly boil according to package directions, drain well and toss with crunchy sea salt. Serve in a pretty bowl with a side bowl for discarded pods. To eat, place the pod in your mouth while holding the opposite end; use your teeth to gently squeeze the beans into your mouth and then discard the empty pod.

Photo credit: loblaws.ca

Or order a tray of ready-made sushi. My favourite, local take-out sushi is Mac’s Sushi (Erin Mills Town Centre and other locations). I love their Spicy Crunch Vegetable Rolls.

Photo credit: Mac Sushi Spicy Crunch Vegetable Rolls

8:00 pm China

Hot or cold spring rolls make easy finger good. Fresh or frozen options abound in your local grocer. I love the store-made Handmade Vegetarian Spring Rolls at Mississauga’s Michael-Angelo’s (Erin Mills and Folkway). Crispy on the outside and stuffed with a generous filling of shredded cabbage and other veggies – so fresh tasting. Call ahead to pre-order. Pick up in foil tray and reheat gently.

9:00 pm India

Banish boring bbq meatballs from your party and spice up the night with meatballs simmered in an Indian-spiced sauce. Costco sells delicious chicken meatballs in a spicy tikka masala sauce: Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods Masala Meatballs. Call your Costco ahead to make sure they stock them.

Sukhi’s Masala Meatballs

Olive’s taken a shine to Vij’s Delhi-Licious Kettle-cooked Potato Chips made by Neal Brothers Foods Inc. and wonderfully spiced by Vikram Vij, owner of world renowned Vij’s Indian Restaurant in Vancouver, BC. Great balance of spicy, salty, sweet. I found them at Goodness Me (Mavis and Bristol).

Vij’s Delhi-icious Kettle Chips

10:00 pm Middle East

Pick up your favourite Middle Eastern dips like hummus, baba ghanoush, or muhammara and serve with pita triangles for dipping. Adonis sells really good, ready-made versions of all three plus wonderful, fresh pita (baked in-store) to serve with it. If you can’t get to Adonis and have a hard time finding the less common muhammara, you can make my recipe ahead.

Muhammara Dip

11:00 pm Europe

Lots of choices for Europe and United Kingdom. Here are just a few suggestion.

Starsky Fine Foods has lots of delicious, ready-made Polish food including pierogies, delicate crepes stuffed with cheese and spinach, or Victorian Salad (Polish potato salad with peas and carrots that you could serve on endive spears).

For Italy, I have an easy recipe for Tomato Bocconcini Basil Skewers…

Tomato Bocconcini Basil Skewers

…and for Spain, you could switch out the peaches for pears in my Peaches with Serrano Ham, Creamy Blue, & Honey.

Peaches with Serrano Ham, Blue, & Honey

French ideas include pâté. I adore Spirit Tree Estate Cidery’s luxurious Pâté with Ice Cider & Shallots sold in a charming ceramic pot.

Spirit Tree Cidery’s Pâté & Evelyn’s Crackers

Sweet ideas include French macarons (I love the ones from Whole Foods),

Macarons from Whole Foods

or marzipan from Belgium (available at the Cheese Boutique).

Beautiful Neuhaus marzipan squares.

or even Dutch syrup waffles from your local grocer.

Dutch syrup waffles.

Midnight: Canada

You will likely be popping champagne, so a cheeseboard featuring Canadian cheeses that work well with champagne would be your easiest choice. Ask the local experts at Cheese Boutique (Toronto), Mill Street Cheese Market (Georgetown), or Cheese Shoppe on Locke (Hamilton) for advice. My Cheese Market directory lists all of their contact info.

You could also consider serving cold PEI lobster salad in shooter glasses or on individual spoons, crackers, or puff pastry (click photo for recipe suggestion).

Lobster salad on puff pastry. Photo credit: themeaningofpie.com

Finish off on a sweet note with the quintessential Canadian dessert, butter tarts.

Butter tarts from Kate’s Town Talk Bakery.

However you wish to celebrate it, have a healthy and happy 2015!

Here is a simple but exotic little hors d’oeuvre and apéritif duo to spice up your summer dinner party: North African Merguez Sausage Bites and Lebanese Arak.

Merguez sausages are warmly spiced with harissa (a paste made from red chili peppers) and flavoured with fragrant coriander, cumin, fennel, paprika, hints of cinnamon, and garlic. I buy my merguez sausages from Adonis; their version is part lamb, part beef, and really tasty.

A garnish of Torshi Lift looks spectacular on the platter. Torshi Lift is a crunchy pickled turnip served before a meal or with grilled meats. Torshi means sour and lift is the Arabic word for turnip. The bright pink colour comes from adding beets to the pickling process. Second only to the recipe my father-in-law used to make, Adonis sells the best Torshi Lift that I have tasted in our region (ask for them at the olive counter).

Merguez Sausage Bites:

1. Grill whole merguez sausages slowly over indirect heat first and then for a few moments over direct heat, until fully cooked.
2. Let rest, and then slice thickly on the diagonal. Skewer two or three together pieces together on cocktail picks. Garnish the platter with picked turnip.

The perfect apéritif to serve with the merguez is Arak: a Middle Eastern, anise-flavoured, distilled alcohol similar to French Pastis but unsweetened. The anise in the Arak will pair well with the fennel notes in the sausage. But watch out, Arak is 50% alcohol. Click here for a link to the Arak my husband recommends, available at LCBO Vintages.

How to Serve Arak:

1. Take a small, narrow glass (like a Moroccan tea glass), pour in one ounce of Arak and then two ounces of cold water. The combination will turn milky-white. Then add one ice cube (optional). Arak is extremely potent so just have one ounce or they may catch you belly dancing on the table. It is meant to awaken your appetite before the meal; too much Arak will dull it.

I found these vintage Moroccan tea glasses at Curries Music & Antiques in Gravenhurst, Ontario.

I thought I’d share a little inspiration with you – some photos of edible flower ideas that I have collected and pinned to my Olive Edible Flowers board on Pinterest. I haven’t tried the recipes yet but the photos give me an idea of how I can use edible flowers in my own cooking.

They inspired me to add flowers from my garden to a simple tomato mozzarella salad I saw on a Barefoot Contessa episode, prepared by a California chef. I think the yellow pansies look so pretty against the orange and red wedges of heirloom tomatoes. I love the casualness of the torn pieces of fresh mozzarella tucked in between the tomatoes. I didn’t have time to make the basil-infused olive oil they used on the show, so I drizzled the salad with my best extra-virgin olive oil and added whole basil leaves for drama and ease. I thought a jolt of black and a touch of saltiness would be nice, so I scattered on a few sundried black olives (you can find them at Adonis or Longo’s – check my grocery store directory for locations). Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper.

Here is a taste of some of the many pins I have collected on my board. Click on the photo/link and you will be directed to the original site for recipes or instructions. If you try any of them please let me know how they worked out for you.

Spring Bouquet Popsicles by Marla Meridith www.familyfreshcooking.com

I am definitely going to try the recipe for these darling Spring Bouquet Popsicles filled with pretty blossoms and flavoured with orange blossom water (I have the fondest memories of orange blossom water en Provence). What a sweet idea for a birthday party. I just love the messages that are handwritten on the popsicle sticks (click the link to see the full post and recipe). The recipe would make lovely ice cubes too. Thanks to Marla Meridith for permission to share her gorgeous photo and recipe from www.familyfreshcooking.com.

Zucchini Blossom Mini Quiches from www.emmadime.com

How about these adorable Zucchini Blossom Mini Quiches from www.emmadime.com?  Wouldn’t these be perfect for a baby shower? Thanks to Emma Dime for permission to share her stunning photo and recipe.

Zucchini Flowers from Hutchinson Farm

Look at these beautiful zucchini blossoms from Hutchinson Farm in Burlington (thanks for permission to share your photo, David). Find out why they are picked to order at dawn (call a day ahead), plus helpful tips here. Hutchinson Farm suggests using them in cheese quesadillas. I saw a great recipe for Squash Blossom Quesadillas on one of my favourite cooking shows, Pati’s Mexican Table, and have pinned the recipe to my Olive Edible Flowers Pinterest board, along with stuffed zucchini blossom recipes. Zucchini and pumpkin blossoms will be ready at Hutchinson Farm in Burlington near the end of July. In May, Hutchinson Farm also sells nasturtiums which David says are “an awesome edible flower”.  Contact Hutchinson Farm for more information.

Last summer, I found zucchini blossoms at Mississauga Central Farmers` Market. And Longo`s carries zucchini blossoms when in season (soon) and can get edible flowers in pretty much all year round. If you don’t see them in the produce section, speak to the Produce Manager; he may be able to order them in for you.

Your own garden can be a great source for edible flowers; just be sure they are organic and verify they are edible by checking with a reliable source before serving them.

To visit my other Pinterest boards and see all the inspirational photos and recipes I have collected, click here.

The cats are away so this mouse spent a busy afternoon testing recipes. After, I slipped out on to the patio (leaving my kitchen disaster behind me) and treated myself to a simple but sumptuous dinner: a Snow Crab Cake from Michael-Angelo’s grocery store. I like it cold on a bed of mixed greens with herbs, topped with chopped avocado, and squirted with lemon.

A dollop of cocktail sauce adds a classic, tangy bite. Amp up the wow factor even more with a hit of zingy cilantro pesto (Jamie Oliver’s Coriander and Cashew Pesto is brilliant) mixed with crème fraiche (both sold at Michael-Angelo’s) or mixed with creamy labneh (Middle Eastern strained yogurt that you can make yourself or purchase from Adonis).

Michael-Angelo’s Snow Crab Cakes are made in-store. A thin layer of light, crunchy breading embraces a generous mound of delicate, sweet crab flecked with minute pieces of sweet peppers and parsley.

Snow Crab Cakes are available year round in Michael-Angelo’s prepared food counter. The quality has been consistently great. The ladies behind the counter tell me that their Portuguese Cod Cakes are also delicious. Well done ladies!