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Barrie’s The Farmhouse puts a fresh, hip spin on family dining with a focus on farm-to-table, locally sourced food. Here’s a quick glimpse of a great night we enjoyed while dining there with family this fall.

Good variety of starters to choose from, like freshly-shucked PEI oysters or french onion soup brimming with cheese.

French onion soup and freshly shucked PEI oysters.

Entrées come with two sides from a choice of eleven, including: roast garlic mash, baked potato with three cheese bacon butter, mac’n’cheese, daily soup, daily grain, three types of salads, and baked beans.

Roasted chicken with garden herb pesto, farmhouse greens salad, and baked beans.

Side salads, like romaine salad with house-smoked bacon and parmesan vinaigrette, are served in charming mason jars.

Romaine salad with parmesan vinaigrette.

Feltis Farm fries are served in mini deep fryer baskets.

Flaxseed-crusted seared tuna with Feltis Farm fries and daily salad.

The side daily vegetable that night was a delicious combo of pretty beets and fresh kale sautéed in thyme butter. The daily salad had beets in it too. A healthy dose of fresh vegetables – olive it!

Crispy trout with maple lemon butter, daily salad, and daily vegetable.

The crispy trout with maple lemon butter was so darn good: crisp exterior with a touch of sweetness; rich and moist inside. Others at our table enjoyed the garlic rosemary braised lamb shank, the farmhouse signature roast beef with thyme peppercorn goodness, and the flaxseed-crusted seared tuna with wasabi mayo.

Flaxseed-crusted seared tuna with wasabi mayo and daily salad.

Lots of other creative, farm-to-table-fresh dishes on the menu, including weekend breakfast. Located in a historical building with outdoor patios overlooking the waterfront. A great reason to hop off the 400 on your way up north.

Fêting the holidays at Montreal’s iconic L’Express. Bustling, Parisian-style bistro. Elbow-to-elbow with casual French chic. Service attentive and gracious.

Thoughtful gestures like extra virgin olive oil, dijon, and big jars of petits cornichons on every table. You’d be a fool not to indulge in the baguette.

Classic French bistro food done beautifully, with a wine list to match. Raw oysters. Chèvre chaud – warm goat cheese with mixed greens and endive.

Ile flottante au caramel – an island of soft meringue in a hard caramel shell, floating in a pool of crème anglaise. Garnished with an almond biscuit. Ooh là là.

As vibrant today as it has been since it opened in 1980 and ushered in the revival of rue St. Denis. Still my favourite Montreal hangout.

Restaurant L’Express
3927 rue Saint-Denis
Montréal, QC

Telephone: 514-845-5333

Website: http://restaurantlexpress.com/en/

Left your Christmas shopping to the last minute and stumped for gift ideas for the foodies on your list? Here are a few of my favourites.

In his cracking new book, Jamie’s Comfort Food, Jamie Oliver turns one-hundred classics from around the world into mind-blowing recipes, perfecting the method, and layering on flavour in each step. Brilliant. Ultimate Black Daal is fragrant and sumptuous. My son cooked an awesome No. 1 Toasted Cheese Sandwich with a crispy cheese crown. We aim to set up a little charcoal grill in our garden this summer and try the Chicken Tikka Masala. I’m eying the Hummingbird Cake for my birthday and Ossobuco alla Milanese for my husband’s. When you are going to indulge, this is your book.  Nutritional info is included. A fantastic gift for the passionate cook.

Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: by Ina Garten. I don’t have this book yet (my BFF and I are exchanging copies this Christmas) but often rely on the Barefoot’s recipes for entertaining (I always start with half the salt). She has finally published a book focusing on make-ahead recipes. Recipes include Ginger Shortbread, Cauliflower & Celery Root Soup, Make-Ahead Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes...”how gorgeous is that?”. Great for someone who loves to entertain.

I haven’t tried the recipes yet but this book is so splendid, I have to tell you about it. À la Mère de Famille is filled with recipes from a well-loved Parisian confectioner (founded in 1761). French cakes, jams, caramels, chocolates, cookies, ice creams, candies, and drop-dead-gorgeous candied fruit (whole pineapples, kumquats, and pears – oh là là!). Total eye candy. Hope I have time to make the Candied Orange & Lemon Slices before Christmas. A real treat for the serious, francophile foodie who loves pretty sweets.

A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse: by Mimi Thorisson. Though I follow Mimi’s swoon-provoking food blog, Manger, I’d love to own her cookbook too.  In her blog, Mimi’s storytelling and her husband’s stunning photography give us a glimpse of a dreamy, romantic life in charming rural France with classic, seasonal recipes to bring home to your own kitchen. Judging by the reviews, her recently released cookbook does not disappoint.

Fitbit One

I have been using a Fitbit One wireless activity and sleep tracker since September 2014 to log my food and track my steps, stairs climbed, and calories burned…and I love it. It took some work setting up my favourite foods and meals; I prefer to cook from scratch and the database is flooded with prepared foods. But now that I have my own favourites set up, Fitbit’s online journal is an easy way to log my food and track my caloric, protein, fibre, carb, fat, and sodium intake. It syncs wirelessly with my devices (compatible with select smartphones). I chose the tiny One clip rather than the bracelets; it’s easy to slip into my pocket.

One stop at Cheese Boutique and all stocked up with gourmet treats for the holidays!

Christmas is the perfect time to indulge in fine cheese. So easy for entertaining, so luxurious. I asked the experts at Cheese Boutique to describe three cheeses they might like to serve on their own cheeseboard this Christmas.

Brebiou

Brebiou: a sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region of France. Very ripe due to its 4 months of wet aging. Quite mild with a nice finish.

Glengarry Celtic Blue

Glengarry Celtic Blue: a soft, creamy cow’s milk blue with a mild, buttery flavour. Produced in Glengarry, Ontario by award-winning Glengarry Fine Cheese.

Majestic Henry

Majestic Henry: A pasteurized cow’s milk cheese, aged in barley and Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Developed by Cheese Boutique co-owner Afrim Pristine in conglomeration with Samuel Adams. Made in Quebec exclusively for Cheese Boutique. Aged 6 months in-house. Named after Afrim Pristine’s dog (the rind resembles his coat).

Go for the glorious cheeses and come back with so much more. Cheese Boutique is brimming with gourmet goodies from around the world. Cole’s Great British Christmas Pudding from England, Kirriemuir Gingerbread with Candied Orange from Scotland, JCQ Almond Filled Pastry Ring from Holland, and DiGennaro Marrons Glacés from Italy are just some of the special Christmas treats.

Cheese Boutique has the widest variety of marzipan I have ever seen. There are marzipan chocolates, fruits and ladybugs…

Marzipan ladybugs and fruit.

and adorable, little marzipan pigs.

Traditional marzipan pigs.

I am smitten with these beautiful marzipan squares from luxury Belgian chocolatier Neuhaus. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Beautiful Neuhaus marzipan squares.

You’ll find great gourmet stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, and special delicacies to make your Christmas extraordinary.

Merry Christmas!

Whether your loved ones are travelling from across the pond or across the province, here is a sweet way to welcome them home for the holidays: a mini gingerbread house from Elm Hill Cookies.

Aromatically spiced and artisanally crafted using the finest ingredients. These absolutely adorable, wee cottages are decorated with charming fondant pieces.

Very reasonably priced. Perfect for homecomings or hostess gifts.

There’s No Place like Home for the Holidays (music by Robert Allen, lyrics by Al Stillman, artist Perry Como)