Category Neighborhoods

‘Tis the morning after Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.
The wrappings were strewn all about with great flair,
Now Dad snores loudly in his favourite chair.

The dog is nestled all snug in his bed,
While visions of squirrels dance in his head.
And my son in his PJs, cuddled in my lap,
Has just settled his brain for a long winter’s nap.

When in my mind, there arises such a clatter,
I spring from the couch to try to fix the matter…
After turkey and tinsel, we are all tuckered out,
But now there’s New Year’s dinner to fret about!

Keep calm and carry on, Olive has got you covered:

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Drizzle and Thyme Roasted Potatoes

I served this menu one year for my cherished bro and his dear family when we gathered around his cottage dinner table a couple of days before Christmas. The meal was easy, flavourful, and festive. My son thrilled to be surrounded by his cousins; my brother cracking all of us up with his incredible sense of humour; me, happy to be at his side…the evening forever sings in my heart. Consider splurging a little and serving this festive feast to your loved ones to celebrate the New Year. Wishing you a healthy and happy 2014.

A festively-coloured trio of vegetables made this menu extra special. Laura Calder’s Thyme Cream Tomatoes (from her Buckwheat Crêpes with Thyme Cream Tomatoes recipe) are simple yet sublime. I learned from Ricardo how to sauté frozen peas (straight from the freezer) in a few tablespoons of butter or olive oil, and then season with salt (sorry, can’t find his recipe anywhere on his site but that’s all there is to it). And of course, I served my brother’s favourite Sweet-Sour Purple Cabbage with Apples (which I made ahead and froze).

We started out with a recipe for the beef tenderloin but felt it needed tweaking, so Jane winged it from there; it turned out beautifully but of course, we didn’t write it down. Since then, I’ve tested a few recipes, selected what I liked from them, and combined them into this recipe.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Drizzle and Thyme Roasted Potatoes

Serves 4 to 6

This meltingly tender yet flavourful beef tenderloin drizzled with a red wine and beef stock reduction is wonderful served with some crumbled blue cheese on the side and Thyme Roasted Mini Potatoes.

Get the potatoes in the oven first and then prepare the beef; remove the potatoes from the oven when done and let them rest at room temperature. When the beef has finished cooking, return the potatoes to a 250°F oven to warm up while the beef has a good long rest.

Thyme Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 lbs. mini Yukon Gold potatoes
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon coarse salt, divided
3 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, divided

Directions:

1. Place both oven racks in middle of oven, leaving enough room between to fit a tray of potatoes. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cut potatoes in half; divide evenly between two parchment-lined, rimmed baking trays.  Divide oil, salt, and thyme evenly between both trays; toss on potatoes, turning with your hands to coat evenly. Arrange potatoes cut side down and evenly spaced out on trays.
3. Place one tray on each oven rack; bake until tender and cut side is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating trays between both racks after 15 minutes.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Drizzle

Butcher Bob at Burton Meats (Dundas St. location) sold me a superb beef tenderloin. He recommended that I sear the tenderloin first, and then cook it at a lower temperature of 375°F (contrary to many recipes that instruct the beef to be cooked at 450°F). He was right; it was so tender that I actually could cut it with a fork. Be sure to buy the No Salt Added beef broth (even low sodium will be too salty).

Ingredients:

1 whole beef tenderloin 3-lbs
Coarse salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Rub:
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons butter, softened

Drizzle:
1 ⅓ cup good red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
⅔ cup Campbell’s No Salt Added Beef Stock or homemade beef stock
1 tablespoon butter

Accompaniment:
Crumbled mild, creamy blue cheese and/or horseradish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Season beef lightly with coarse salt and generously with freshly ground black pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat; when oil is hot, sear beef on all sides until evenly browned, about 1½ minutes to 2 minutes per side. Place meat on a rack in a roasting pan that can also be used on stove top.
3. In a small bowl, combine Rub ingredients; spread evenly over meat. Insert an oven-proof thermometer in middle of tenderloin; roast until thermometer reads 130°F, about 25 minutes (it will continue to cook as it rests) – the end result will be medium-rare, slightly on the rare side.
4. When beef is cooked as desired, carefully remove roasting rack and beef to a rimmed baking sheet while protecting your hands and any surfaces that come in contact with the hot rack (you want the meat to rest on the rack and not a flat surface); tent loosely with foil to keep warm; let rest for at least 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, drain fat and any clumps from roasting pan. Place roasting pan on stove over medium heat. Add wine to pan; deglaze pan with wine, scraping any brown bits on bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to incorporate into sauce. Simmer rapidly over medium heat, stirring constantly so garlic doesn’t burn until reduced, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste to pan; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add beef stock; simmer rapidly, stirring frequently until reduced by half and thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat; whisk in butter, stirring until fully incorporated.
6. Slice beef thickly and serve immediately with sauce and accompaniments.

My friends and I have gathered together for Christmas brunch every single year since record albums were the coolest Christmas gifts.  This year, I decided to treat them to Christmas in Paris – one of my friends opened up her lovely Georgetown home and I threw together an easy, chic brunch with a French twist. I gathered ready-made gourmet treats from local artisans, made a couple of recipes ahead of time (inspired by a famous Parisian pastry chef and a French cookbook writer), and prepared two showstopper, easy-assemble salads. Throw on a scratchy recording of Edith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose et voilà, it’s Christmas in Paris through rose-coloured glasses.

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Rose Syrup served in Champagne:

When you combine Christmas and cherished friends at the same table, it’s time to pull out all the stops. I served some extra special treats to nibble and sip on as hors d’oeuvres. Rose syrup is the flavour du jour in Paris and this jar of Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Rose Syrup contains 15 handpicked wild hibiscus flowers packed in syrup made from the natural essence of two dozen Bulgarian roses. Place one flower in the bottom of a champagne flute, add some rose syrup, pour in the champagne and watch the bubbles unfurl the flower – it reminds me of the skirts flying at Le Moulin Rouge. Available as a limited edition production from Crafted Décor in Streetsville and Florence Meats in Oakville.

Pierre Hermé’s Olive Sablés served with White Wine or Champagne:

These aren’t just any savoury cookie – they are an utterly surprising savoury French shortbread that will have your guests shocked by the initial sweetness (from the icing sugar), enamoured by the incredible tenderness (from the potato starch and grated egg yolk) and then, when the salty and fruity notes (from the oil-cured black olives and olive oil) hit the stage, you just may hear gasps followed by utterances of ooh la la…as if you were watching the latest Parisian haute couture creation walk down the runway in the city’s top fashion house. In fact, the recipe comes from famous French Pastry Chef Pierre Hermé, who is widely acclaimed as the “Couturier of Haute Pâtisserie”.

I made the dough well in advance and rolled it into logs, then froze them. When ready to bake, I took one log out at a time a few moments before baking, then sliced from frozen and baked. The recipe turned out beautifully – you simply must have it in your repertoire. How does a local gal comme moi get her hands on Pierre Hermé’s recipe? I found it in Dorie Greenspan’s charmingly chic cookbook, Around My French Table, which is available to borrow from the Mississauga Library or to buy from www.chapters.indigo.ca  It’s on my Christmas wish list – I hope my husband is reading my blog posts!

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Pâté with Ice Cider & Shallots and Evelyn’s Currant in the Rye Crackers served with Sparkling Pear Cider:

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Pâté with Ice Cider & Shallots is a superb pâté. Luxuriously smooth and creamy, it’s packed with the flavour of all natural ingredients: chicken livers, clarified butter, shallots, port, brandy, ice cider, Calvados, apple syrup, eggs, and spices. It’s frozen in adorable little 165g ceramic pots. I picked it up from Spirit Tree Estate Cidery a while back and stored it in my freezer, ready for Christmas entertaining. Just defrost overnight in your fridge.

Evelyn’s Currant in the Rye Crackers are the perfect match for this pâté: a hearty yet delicate cracker made with preservative-free, all natural ingredients including dried currants, fennel, anise, and caraway seeds and best of all, 100% heritage organic rye grown and milled by Ontario farmers. Evelyn’s Crackers are made by “cracker heroes” Dawn and Ed – find out what makes them heroes here: www.fiestafarms.ca/heroes.  Available at Whole Foods. For other locations throughout Ontario, click here: http://evelynscrackers.wordpress.com/wheretobuy/.

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Sparkling Pear Cider is a refreshing choice for those who are looking for something non-alcoholic: fresh pear, just a hint of sweetness, bubbly, and light.  It’s perfect for special celebrations.  Also available in Sparkling Sweet Apple Cider. Spirit Tree’s Mulled Apple Cider containing chopped fruit and spices would be another great choice and very festive. If you would like to learn a little bit more about Spirit Tree, read my full post here: Spirit Tree Estate Cidery: Savour the Quality.

For the main meal, I laid out an impressive line-up of store-bought gourmet goodies and two easily prepared dishes I made myself that just needed just some minor last minute preparations.

Prosciutto Wrapped Fresh Figs Stuffed with Cheese on Arugula

Serves 6

This showstopper, palate-pleasing salad is a cinch to assemble à la minute. The sweetness of the figs and vinegar plays against the salty prosciutto, creamy tang of the blue cheese, and peppery punch of the arugula. If you don’t like blue cheese, feel free to use brie or chèvre instead. I used a beautiful combination of Date Crème Vinegar and Hazelnut Oil that I picked up at Crescendo World of Oils Vinegars and Spices in Toronto’s Distillery district – but extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze are also terrific.

Ingredients:

6 fresh figs, sliced in half from stem end to blossom end, keeping stem halves intact
1/3 cup your favourite creamy mild blue such as St. Agur or Devil’s Rock (or chèvre)
6 slices prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise
6 handfuls of baby arugula (or your favourite greens)
Hazelnut oil or extra virgin olive oil
Date Crème Vinegar or balsamic glaze
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Smear cheese on cut side of each fig half. Wrap each half with prosciutto. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator up to 4 hours before serving or bake immediately, according to the following instructions.
2. Arrange cheese side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in 425°F oven until prosciutto is crisp and cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, toss the greens with some salt, pepper, and oil; spread greens out on a pretty platter; place figs on top and drizzle figs and salad with vinegar. Serve warm.

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Quiche:

Make sure you search out the very best handcrafted quiche you can find. Spirit Tree Estate Cidery makes delicious quiche. The Quiche Lorraine is full of hearty flavour from bacon, potato, thyme, and swiss cheese. The Tomato & Spinach quiche has intensely flavoured wood-oven-dried tomatoes, sautéed spinach, thyme, and clumps of soft chèvre, all suspended in a lovely egg custard. I purchased both quiches frozen, stored them in my freezer, and baked them from frozen on the day of the brunch. I haven’t tried their Mushroom & Potato or Cauliflower quiche yet but they sound tempting.

If you can’t make it out to Spirit Tree, good quality quiche can also be found at The Hot Oven in Etobicoke, Cousin’s Gourmet Market in Port Credit, Black Forest Pastry Shop in Oakville, and Kate’s Town Talk Bakery in Streetsville (Kate also sells a really tasty Spinach & Cheese pie – another one of my favourites). Wherever you choose to purchase your quiche, be sure to call ahead to place an order in advance.

Vodka Infused Smoked Salmon:

Drape some luxurious smoked salmon on a pretty platter and garnish with lemon wedges and perhaps, capers, sliced onion, and a drizzle of olive oil. My absolute favourite is a locally produced Vodka Infused Smoked Salmon that I buy from Cousin’s Gourmet Market in Port Credit and have also found it at Domenic’s in the St. Lawrence Market. It is so tender, that it almost melts in your mouth.

Artisanal Croissants:

What would Christmas in Paris be like without really good croissants? I picked up frozen chocolate and butter croissants handcrafted at Patisserie D’Or in Oakville, stashed them in my freezer, took them out to rise overnight, then baked fresh the morning of the brunch –you can’t get easier or more delicious than that. Boy did my kitchen smell heavenly! These croissants have a buttery flavour and a nice mouthfeel.

And now for the grande finale…

French Macarons:

Buy a colourful assortment of the very best French macarons you can find. I picked up these little beauties from Whole Foods, made by La Fournette Bakery: mango, passion fruit, vanilla, raspberry, pumpkin, chocolate, pistachio, and my favourite – hazelnut.

Ispahan Parfait

Serves 6

This showstopper fruit salad was inspired by the beautiful flavour combination of raspberries, lychee and rose, created by famous French Pastry Chef, Pierre Hermé, as a macaron flavour, and now all the rage in Paris. You won’t really notice the rose syrup in this gorgeous and healthy parfait – just a hint of je ne sais quois. Make both the rose syrup and the pistachio dust in advance (you can even freeze them if you need to). Combine the raspberries and lychees with the syrup at the last minute, or earlier on the day of serving, if necessary. Spoon into pretty glasses and top with yogurt, almonds, and pistachio dust just before serving. Feminine, festive, and fusion-French, it’s perfect for my girlfriends’ Christmas brunch.

If you don’t want to make your own rose syrup, you can order an exquisite Wild Rose Petal Syrup from Forbes Wild Foods, a Canadian company that supplies sustainably-harvested wild foods from the Canadian wilderness to restaurants, hotels, stores, and on-line customers. To order on-line click here:  http://store.wildfoods.ca/syrups/.

Oh to be in Pierre Hermé Paris at Christmas time.

Ingredients:

1 can (560mL) whole lychees in light syrup
1 package (6 oz/170g) fresh raspberries
¼ cup reserved lychee syrup from above can
5 teaspoons Rose Syrup (see recipe below)
½ cup vanilla yogurt – such as Sheldon Creek Dairy’s Greek-style Yogurt (see note below)
6 teaspoons raw slivered almonds
3 tablespoons Pistachio Dust (see recipe below)

Directions:

1. Drain lychees into strainer set over a medium bowl to reserve lychees and lychee syrup; slice lychees in half. Place lychees in a second medium size bowl. Add raspberries to lychee fruit.
2. In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup lychee syrup and 5 teaspoons rose syrup; add to lychees and raspberries and toss gently. Divide fruit evenly amongst 6 small pretty cups; spoon in a little syrup.
3. Place 1 spoonful of yogurt on top of each cup. Top each with 1 teaspoon of slivered almonds and then 1/2 tablespoon pistachio dust. Serve immediately.

Rose Syrup:

Makes just over 1/3 cup.

You’ll need rosewater, which you can find in Middle Eastern grocery stores such as Adonis. Store your rosewater and rose syrup in the fridge.

Ingredients:

1 cup water
½ cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon rosewater

Directions:

1. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until mixture has reduced and become syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and rosewater. Let cool completely.
2. Store in a covered container in refrigerator for a few days or freeze in an airtight container for longer storage. Defrost in fridge before using.

Pistachio Dust:

So pretty sprinkled on fruit salad, especially on raspberries or strawberries at Christmas time.

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled raw pistachios

Directions:

1. Using a mini processor, grind pistachios into a fine dust. Store in an airtight container in freezer until ready to use.

A little decadence is called for here, so look for the richest yogurt you can find. Spirit Tree Estate Cidery sells a luxuriously creamy Greek Style Vanilla Yogurt from Sheldon Creek Dairy, made with pasteurized whole milk, light brown cane sugar, vanilla extract, and bacterial culture – and nothing else! Sheldon Creek Dairy’s pasteurized Cream Top Whole Non-Homogenized Milk is nutrient-rich, all natural, and has cream that rises to the top of the bottle and separates (how milk was made before we homogenized it): shake it in the bottle for creamier milk or spoon out to add to your coffee.  Sheldon Creek Dairy is owned and operated by the den Haan family whose herd of cows graze the pastures of the Sheldon Valley, in Loretto, Ontario. Click here for other retail locations: http://sheldoncreekdairy.ca/about.php.

For further details and locations of suppliers featured in this post, check my Grocery Store Directory or Farmers’ Market Directory.

To further enhance the mood, you may wish to play the following music suggestions:

White Christmas Michael Buble & Shy’m https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/white-christmas-duet-shym/id472520445

Noel Blanc Coeur de Pirate https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/c-ur-de-pirate/id290621195

Baby, it’s cold outside…but so warm and inviting inside the newly renovated modern lux interior of Cagneys Mississauga. This well-loved Streetsville restaurant reopened at 5:00 p.m. last night, after extensive renovations. It looks – and tastes – fabulous.

There are two fireplaces, glamorous chandeliers, gorgeous tufted seating, and a sleek and sexy wine bar. They are easing into their reopening so until 2014, Cagneys will only be open for dinner, will not have their full menu up yet, and will not take reservations. In 2014, they will serve from their full menu, take reservations, be open for lunch, and possibly brunch.

I don’t know what the full menu will look like but the menu we dined from last night offered a good variety of new and tempting gourmet choices (with prices to match), including a beet salad that sounded amazing, rack of lamb, and mussels.  I just couldn’t pass up my old favourite: Cagneys’ famous Caesar Salad with the original dressing that tastes every bite as delicious as it has since Cagneys first opened 40 years ago but is now served with an added modern touch – crisp prosciutto chips…olive it! My entrée was the Three Mustard Chicken which was unbelievably tender and juicy, coated in a creamy and flavourful mustard sauce, and served with mini potatoes and a medley of tasty vegetables, including rainbow carrots. My son (the steak lover) devoured his New York Strip Steak with Demi-glace Sauce and truffled hand-cut fries (wow!) and my husband (the health-minded) loved his Bison Burger. Sorry, we dove right in before remembering to take photos of our dinners.

Check out Cagneys on their facebook page, follow them on twitter, or watch for their updated website: www.cagneys.ca

View Larger Map

Not quite into the Christmas spirit yet? No time to bake? Here’s an easy fix: stand outside the Oakville shop of artisanal cookie maker Elm Hill Cookies and breathe in the delicious fragrance wafting out onto the sidewalk. That`s organic unbleached flour, butter, brown sugar, and all natural goodness you are inhaling. Now step inside this tiny Kerr Street shop – brimming with wee gingerbread houses and cookies in all sorts of flavours from traditional to chic – and say hel-lo Christmas (fade in Charlie Brown Christmas music).

Elm Hill`s Double Ginger Bites are my favourite: sized just right and sprinkled with sparkly sugar, they are perfect for a Christmas cookie tray. These little gems are soft and chewy, sweet and warmly spiced, with a double hit of ground ginger and crystallized ginger – just enough to make me exclaim olive it!

I’ll bet this will be Santa’s first stop on Christmas Eve and after that, he’ll only pretend to nibble on all the rest of the cookies left under all the other trees.

Telephone: 905-582-7400

View Larger Map

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