One day I found 2 whole chickens at Longo’s for $11. Eleven Dollars! So I brought that home and cut it all up. Of course I used the carcass to make some chicken stock. So my fridge and freezer was full of chicken and I decided I wanted roast chicken. I didn’t have a whole chicken anymore so I just took all the legs and thighs, put them over a bed of potatoes, mushrooms and carrots, and then seasoned all around.
Farran, Rachel and I went to go watch Alice in Wonderland, but before that, we went to eat at Alice Fazooli’s. I’ve never been to one and I’ve got to say, I was a little impressed with the menu. For a “big-box restaurant”, it had a lot of variety and the dishes seemed well thought-out. We shared an antipasto trio and baked goat cheese appetizers. For entree, I (unknowingly) ordered more goat cheese. But the panini pictured above was indeed yummy. Asparagus, portobello and goat cheese are a deadly combination. We shared mango sorbetto and strawberry and cream tartufo for dessert. A very satisfying meal.
Alice in Wonderland was a great movie. It totally reached all my expectations, in an unexpected way. I was very glad I read the two books shortly before the movie came out. Tim Burton took so many little details from the book and twisted them into the movie in his own way. It was very entertaining.
I might not have mentioned it before, but after (finally) watching the movie ‘Julie & Julia’, I couldn’t help myself but to go out and buy Julia Child’s ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’. Since I got a healthy shipment of cremini mushrooms last week, I decided to try a simple cream of mushroom recipe. It was fun actually using mushrooms to make this soup from scratch (especially the part that told me to squeeze the juices out of the mushroom stems). The result, a hearty yet creamy mushroom soup with plenty of body owing to the copious amounts of sliced mushrooms used.
With all the gourmet burgers I’ve had the gastronomic privilege to sample these days, I decided to try my hand at making my own burgers. Since I have a Kitchenaid stand mixer now, this was fortunately a simple task to undertake. I took ground chicken and added some finely diced mushrooms and onions, tossed in a couple of egg yolks and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce nad mixed it all together before pan-frying them. Picked up a few freshly baked buns at the corner bakery and also sauteed onions with yellow peppers. Threw on a few pieces of romaine lettuce and drizzled on ketchup. Voila! Now I know the presentation is a bit lacking (my cooking never was plated very well…) but the tastes were well layered. I’m definitely going to try this again with other variations.
Went with Bev and Zoe to Milestones for dinner. Well…really they only had dessert/appetizer. On the table : Portobello Mushroom Chicken with Capellini, Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream, some Cheesecake, and Pita with Roasted Goat Cheese, Garlic and assorted salsas. Yummy!
Went with Henny and her friend to a burger bar called “Oh Boy!” on Queen St. last week. For some reason, I felt like getting the veggie burger. Oh Boy was that a good decision! The veggie patty was made of ground veggies (obviously) but the texture was very nice and it didn’t feel like it was meant to “taste like a hamburger patty”. It was just yummy in its own right. It was topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms, the usual burger toppings, and guacamole. I opted for yam fries (always the fan) but they were not as tasteful as I expected. Nonetheless, the burger was a very fresh and interesting take on the vegetarian option.
Toronto has an event similar to Vancouver’s Dine Out, called Winterlicious. On Friday, I went to one of the apparently hardest-to-book restaurants for the prix fixe menu. The restaurant, Canoe, is situated on the 54th floor of the TD tower in downtown Toronto. For $45, the food was good, but not the best I’ve had. I ordered the wine pairings with each dish as well and it was interesting. This offered me a pinot grigio with my cheese souffle appetizer, a merlot with my pasta entree, and a port with my panna cotta dessert. My favourite of the three was the entree (pictured above): Ricotta Ravioli with Winter Root Ratatouille and Mushroom Cinnamon Foam. It was an interesting mix of flavours.
The next night, I ended up going to another Winterlicious restaurant: Fuzion. It’s situated on Church St. and I’ve been there once before. The food was very good, and in comparison, the price was only $35. Of the few restaurants I’ve tried in Toronto, Fuzion has been my favourite. Highly Recommended!
