Toronto tagged posts

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

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.

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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.

Hot off the Olive Press! Paramount Fine Foods restaurant is opening up a second Mississauga location at Erin Mills Town Centre (Erin Mills Parkway and Eglinton Avenue), hopefully sometime in the fall of 2013. Paramount Fine Foods serves Middle Eastern cuisine.

Our first experience with Paramount Fine Foods was at their 1290 Crestlawn Drive, Mississauga location. My husband had just returned from a family visit to Montreal, which always includes fabulous Middle Eastern food. He wanted to find out if Paramount’s food could compete with Montreal standards. We weren’t disappointed.

Compared to the surrounding industrial neighborhood, the elegant interior decor of the Paramount Crestlawn Drive location is a pleasant surprise. The parameter of the room boasts a charcoal grill and bakery counters. Warm woodwork and beautiful chandeliers create an inviting ambiance in the seating area.

Even more pleasant than the decor is the service. Though you order at the cash, the food is delivered to the table quickly and our waitress was friendly and knowledgeable about the restaurant.

The first thing that strutted to our table, warm and puffed up like proud roosters, was a basket of freshly baked pita bread straight from the wood burning oven. Promise me that at least once in your life you will treat yourself to freshly baked Middle Eastern pita, which is thinner and tastier than other pitas.

I had to treat myself to a fresh mango juice because olive mangoes! The fattoush salad is fresh and crisp with romaine lettuce, parsley, red and yellow pepper, tomato slices, and deep fried pita bits in an authentically acidic dressing. We also ordered a bowl of tahina sauce to drizzle on our rice and meat. Olive tahina sauce (try my Grilled Trout with Tahina Sauce and Grilled Lemons).

I ordered the BBQ Beef: two skewers of charcoal grilled striploin beef. My husband ordered the Mixed Grill: skewers of shish taouk (marinated chicken breast), kofta (spiced ground beef), and bbq beef. All of the meat is so tender and flavourful that it is mouthwatering just to recollect. Paramount serves charcoal barbequed, sodium-nitrate-free, grass-fed, Ontario Halal meats prepared in the Paramount Butcher Shop.

Our plates included a small container of hummus or garlic mayonnaise, picked turnip, and picked celery. The fries are good but the rice is even better – nicely seasoned and fluffy.

The Arabic pastries are handmade and baked fresh daily in Paramount’s full bakery. They display them on huge, impressive trays behind the counter.  You can enjoy them in the restaurant or take them home.

My husband was in heaven. He selected a sampling of a few different kinds to share. Delicate layers of crisp pastry, sticky sweet with crunchy nuts.

These little babies, filled with beautiful pistachios nuts, have always been my favourite and they are exquisite.  Don’t they look like hungry baby birds?

The menu is extensive: appetizers, salads, sandwiches, grilled meats and chicken, shawarmas, falafels, Arabic style pizzas made to order and baked in a wood burning oven, fresh fruit juices, and fine pastries. We both agreed that Paramount Fine Foods restaurant is among the best Middle Eastern food we have tasted outside of Montreal. Reasonable prices, pleasant atmosphere, friendly efficient service, and good food. Olive Paramount Fine Foods!

Paramount Fine Foods plans to open in the fall of 2013 at Eglinton Avenue West and Erin Mills Parkway, in Mississauga.

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Check out their website for photos, videos, and other Paramount locations and hours in Mississauga, Hamilton, Toronto, Thornhill, and London: www.paramountfinefoods.com

Look at what the Easter Bunny brought me! A heavenly Orange Chiffon Cake from the Hot Oven Bakery at Cloverdale Mall (for the very reasonable price of $10).

The soft-as-a-cloud cake is drenched in a delicious sugar glaze that is punctuated with bits of chewy orange zest.  The orange flavour is bright and real and balanced nicely by the sugar.

The cake stands pretty on its own but can be dressed up in a couple of ways. It would look lovely with edible flowers or candied violets.  Longo’s carries edible flowers (in the herb section) but were all out of them the day I went.  I picked some pansies from my pot to give you an idea of how pretty the cake would look. The pot however is looking a little bleak.

Imagine it wrapped up in cellophane, tied with colourful ribbon and given as a hostess gift! I think I will bring one, decorated with candied violets (if I can find them), to my church ladies’ spring potluck. Wouldn’t I just be the cat’s meow? A tip of the old Easter bonnet to me for sure.

The cake is so flavourful that it can go easily from plate to mouth without anything accompanying it. My guests served it with orange sherbert which was yummy, especially for kids.  They say that Orange Creamsicle ice cream is good too .

It is oh so delightful served with a dollop of whipped cream and segmented orange chunks that have been dusted with cinnamon. Cara Cara oranges are really sweet and juicy right now and are on sale at Longo’s for 99¢/lb or $2.18/kg.

I have to thank my friend for introducing me to this cake. She has been buying it now for at least 10 years. She is wonderful at putting in the effort to make homemade desserts. But when she doesn’t have time, the Hot Oven’s Orange Chiffon Cake is her go-to-cake because it tastes homemade and yummy. It’s gotten her through many a pinch on her way home from work. There’s nothing else like it that brings her back time and time again.

I am sure that the ladies in the know in south Mississauga have been relying on the Hot Oven Bakery at Cloverdale Mall for years for bridge group, ladies’ luncheons, showers and potlucks. But no matter where you live, it’s worth the drive. The Hot Oven offers a wide range of quality baked goods, including delicious Sunflower Seed Bread ($3.85),

quiches both large ($13.25) and small ($3.25) such as this one, chocked full of broccoli and cheddar in a flaky, buttery crust,

and fudgy brownies with intense chocolate flavour and real butter icing. It’s calling you.

Tempting, isn’t it? It was so hard to wrap up the rest of the brownies from the Family Brownie Tray ($5.50) and store them in the freezer.

The mac & cheese, lasagna and perogies all looked delicious but I had to stop somewhere!

The Hot Oven Bakery, located right beside Winners at the south end of Cloverdale Mall, has been in its original location since 1957.  My friend and I have been BFFs for almost as long (not quite). On the morning I went, the bakery was almost empty when I walked in but a line started to form quickly. My friend went on the Thursday before Easter weekend and there was a huge line. You see that sign in the photo to take a number as soon as you arrive? Good advice that you must heed.  But whatever the length of the line, it is definitely worth the wait. The ladies that I spoke to, who have been loyal customers for decades, told me that everything was good.

There are three other Toronto locations that have opened up which are all owned by the same owner. These locations appear on the company website but even though the Cloverdale location has the same owner, it isn’t listed on the website. But don’t worry about that. Just go, take a number and line up the old fashioned way and go home with an armful of delicious home-baked goods made from high quality ingredients and sold at reasonable prices.