the urban element

city bites goes live at urban element

2011-11-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

urban element is thrilled to be the host venue to a new series loosely described as "live food blogging" by Ottawa Magazine Food Editor Shawna Wagman. This is the concept behind her three-part series of interactive dining experiences, where, acting as the honorary emcee, she brings interesting culinary guests to the table in a Q&A format. We'll be re-capping Shawna's entries from the Ottawa Magazine site - welcome Francisco Alejandri of Agave y Aguacate as our first special guest.

Last week, as part of Ottawa Magazine’s City Bites Live series, I hosted a special evening at Urban Element designed to introduce an enthusiastic group of home cooks, from armchair to serious, to the pleasures of genuine Mexican soul food. Expectations soared when Chef Francisco Alejandri started the class by saying: “I am 100 percent sure you will never see food like this in a restaurant.”

Alejandri is the owner of what can only be described as a gourmet Mexican food stall, Agave y Aguacate, tucked away in Toronto’s Kensington Market. During the three-hour class, he introduced us to six simple, but spectacular Mexican dishes featuring beautiful fresh tomatoes, tomatillos, and cilantro from Castlegarth Restaurant’s farm in White Lake, Ontario. Alejandri was the guest chef at Castlegarth the night before — he and the owner, Matthew Brearley, happen to be good friends from their Stratford Chefs School days. (Here’s a secret: we can expect to see Alejandri assisting Brearley at Gold Medal Plates in Ottawa this year).

As our evening unfolded, small courses were served along with wine and beer and everyone joined in with questions for the chef. Slowly you could feel the energy in the room intensifying as everyone fed off the quiet passion of the chef. The food was indescribably fragrant and delicious. The evening was truly memorable and inspiring.

Ten Inspiring Ideas About Mexican Cooking

1. Mexican cuisine is no more about sizzling fajitas, cheesy nachos, and salt-rimmed margaritas than pineapple chicken balls are a reflection of authentic Chinese cooking.

2. Mexican cuisine is perhaps one of the world’s earliest fusion cuisines. It was and remains a cuisine based on the staples of corn, beans, and chilies. With the arrival of Spanish in the 1500s, new meats, nuts, spices, fruits, and cheese were integrated into indigenous cooking. Over the course of the last 500 years or so, Mexican gastronomy has drawn from French, African, and even Asian influences.

3. In 2010, traditional Mexican cuisine was named on the representative list of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.

4. Avocados were known by the Aztecs as “the fertility fruit.” The word “avocado” comes from the Spanish aguacate, which comes from the word for testicle.

5. Part of the reason Mexican cuisine is gaining in popularity lately is that many dishes are naturally gluten-free.

6. Mole means thick sauce and guacamole means thick avocado sauce. The key to great guacamole is in the paste that you start with before adding avocado. Many people make the mistake of using jalapeño peppers, but it should be serrano.

7. Francisco’s trick for making homemade tortilla chips is to spray the hot chips with saltwater solution. The water quickly evaporates leaving the salt clinging evenly to the chips. Much more effective than sprinkling with salt afterwards.

8. According to Francisco, tomatillos contain naturally complex flavours ranging from peanut butter to gooseberries to green apple.

9. The secret to delicious and perfectly balanced dishes is to taste, taste, taste as you cook.

10. In the kitchen, there is no substitute for patience, passion, and really good quality olive oil.

(Next up, a recap of the umami event.. and in January, the third installation in this series, we're holding out for some special guests from Montreal...so stay tuned! We'll post the exciting news on our blog!)

Credit where credit is due!

2011-08-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

in rushing to get my last two posts up, I completely missed crediting the photographer responsible for the beautiful photos that have accompanied my words. the massively-talented and dapper orion zuyderhoff-gray is responsible for any of the pro-looking images you see. (the others are simply me on my blackberry or barb on her point-and-shoot)!

thank you orion, you make us look gooood!

payton

change is in the air

2011-08-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

as an event planner, i’m always working in the future ... and yet i can't quite believe how fast september is coming at us! we are madly booking in the ‘back-to-work’ corporate events, the private celebrations and holiday parties that keep all of us at the urban element on our toes in the peak season months.

our fall class calendar is now up on the ue website. we have some new faces coming to play in our kitchen: ottawa magazine food editor shawn wagman hosts a city bites event with toronto chef francisco alejandri in september; more interactive dinners like the ‘mix and match’ series - black cat bistro and mariposa farms in october; and the tried-and-true (four - count ‘em four!) holiday baking classes with resident chef candice butler in november and december. yes, i may scream in horror when I see that first fallen leaf on the ground in the next month or so ... but i admit, i love the change from lazy summer days to the hustle and bustle of fall.

while summer is typically a quieter time here at the kitchen, i have to say – we’ve done some fun stuff!

as i write this, we are in our final week of our kids culinary camps. running for 4 weeks this summer, chef stephen pollock (with his two energetic assists julia and maurcio) hosted over 55 kids, who busied themselves in our kitchen creating delectable plates from a different menu each day. i’ve arrived daily at the kitchen to the smells of spicy saffron paella ... fresh baked baguette ... local, grilled beef burgers with caramelized onion relish ... and cinnamon churros with goats milk caramel. these are just a few of the dishes these kids have created from scratch (and i’ve been lucky enough to enjoy for lunch)!

both the tweens and teens truly enjoyed their time with us, and we are thrilled to discover so many young, burgeoning chefs out there. kids really do care about food! it’s inspiring to know that we are helping to foster a love and respect for beautiful, wholesome food, as well as providing knowledge, skills and experience in the kitchen. i hope the parents reap the benefits at home as well!

speaking of kids, our resident chef candice butler’s son cameron got to show off his skills on the a-channel morning show on July 19th. we were invited to the studio to talk about the urban element summer offerings, and to demo a green gazpacho (a fun and healthy kids camp recipe) as well as a no-bake raspberry cake from chef candice’s summer desserts class. it was quick (we were in and out by 10am) and fun (cameron got to eat lots of 'green room' doughnuts). live television is awesome!

another memorable event in july was our beautiful, bountiful b.c. dinner with chef anna march of mariposa farms, and sommelier andrew rastapkevicius of lifford wines. we offered up a six-course meal inspired by chef anna’s time spent cooking on the west coast, paired with some of the okanagan’s best wines. chef anna and assist candice worked together seamlessly to create some seriously beautiful plates including a sockeye salmon tartar with yuzu, and a soy-lacquered true cod with baby bok choy and scallions. wine pairings featured two amazing wineries - joie farms and blue mountain (which produces my new favourite chardonnay, by the way). andrew poured, educated and charmed all of the guests, and with all that food and wine, everyone literally rolled out of here at the end of the night!

and so, it’s been another summer chock-full of gorgeous food. now that i’ve completed my wine tasting course at algonquin college, i can also say it's one that involved experiencing many new wines along with that food. I look forward to the fresh flavours the new season will bring, the Indian summer we’ll get (hopefully), and yes, even to the sight of that first fallen leaf.

payton

happy summer!

2011-07-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

we are halfway into july with some great classes and events behind us ... and many more to come! thought i’d share a few.

the urban element kicked off the season on june 18th with local chef richard nigro’s beer, bourbon and grilling class. it was a gorgeous day ... warm and sunny with a light breeze. the bbq’s were rolled out to the back door, fired up and made ready for action.

the sold out class of grilling enthusiasts gathered at 10am in the kitchen, hosted by the charming barbara (famous for remembering everyone’s name within five minutes). we had some new folks and some ue regulars with us ... everyone enjoyed this informative and engaging class. there was meat - a lot of meat!! pork, chicken, and beef, all done up with an amazing variety of rubs and marinades that chef richard has created from scratch. (in fact, he is selling his products locally at sasloves on wellington, and the red apron on gladstone avenue). the kitchen was busy with participants creating yummy sides such as red cabbage slaw, grilled naan, plantain fritters, and tomato-avocado salsa, to mention a few. and everyone took turns on the grill with chef richard at their side offering up his secrets of great grilling and bbq.

our next grilling intensive was led by chef charlotte langley of the whalesbone. grilling fundamentals: the heat is on (the first of three this summer) was an introduction to chef langley’s unique approach on grilling techniques and accompaniments. with recipes for such sauces as ‘southern funk’ and the ‘mediterranean invasion’ lovingly slathered over chicken wings, lamb chops and some of the biggest scallops i’ve yet to see, the participants had plenty to do and plenty to eat. it was another perfect summer day to be outside around the grills. in fact, we’ve had to add a bottle of sunscreen to our first aid supply!

on a side note and in closing, my favourite event this time of year is now a distant memory ... but still worth a mention. oysterfest, the annual event hosted by josh, kate, charlotte and the rest of the whalesbone crew just gets better and better. we arrived to the outdoor site on kent street about an hour before shucking began. as an ‘oyster-girl’, running shucked oysters from the shuckers onstage ... to the judges backstage ... and finally to delighted onlookers for sampling, i was in the thick of it and enjoyed every minute. top local and visiting shuckers and chefs from ontario and quebec competed against each other. the contest closed with chef mike poliquin from metropolitain brassiere (the winner of the chef contest) beating the rodney of rodney’s oyster house ... very exciting! i saw many good friends, ate a lot of oysters, drank beau’s beer, danced to the devillaires and the soul jazz orchestra ... and didn’t even get rained on. perfection!

again ... wishing everyone the happiest of summer days. till next time!

payton

time flies...

2011-06-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

time flies when you're having fun!

wow, where has the last 3 months gone? well, i suppose we've been having so much fun here we lost track of time altogether. i thought i'd recap a few of the highlights we've been up to since our last post....

in march, Massimo Capra, Jason Parsons and Michael Bonacini made a trip to Ottawa to promote their new cookbook, Three Chefs. i got a behind the scenes peek into how these three collaborated to produce a cookbook that precisely reflects a true sense of passion, fun and adventure that makes them a great threesome. the cookbook reflects a variety of creative ideas - the recipes are representative of truly down to earth cooking and highlight the best of each season. i've included one of Michael's recipes below - a great one to enjoy once peach season arrives.

Watermelon, Peach and Ginger Salad with Shrimp & Wasabi

In a bowl, combine the lime zest and juice,
ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, hydrated wasabi, and soy sauce.
Whisk together.

Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking to emulsify the dressing.
Check and adjust the seasoning.
Preheat a stovetop grill pan on medium-high heat.

Brush the peaches on both sides with oil and grill them,
cut side down, until golden brown and caramelized, 3 to 4
minutes. Turn over and grill 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer
to a plate.

Mix the shrimp with the olive oil and season with salt and
pepper.

Reheat the grill pan on medium-high heat. Cook the
shrimp for 2 minutes on each side until just cooked
through, then transfer them to a bowl.

Toss half the dressing with the shrimp until the shrimp
are evenly coated, and set aside. On each plate, arrange
two watermelon wedges, several onion rings, and a grilled
peach half. Place the shrimp around the fruit. Drizzle with
the remaining dressing and sprinkle the mint over top.

Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp/15 mL rice vinegar
1 tbsp/15 mL wasabi powder (mixed
with 2 tbsp/25 mL warm water)
1 tsp/5 mL soy sauce
¼ cup/50 mL olive oil

2 peaches, halved
1 lb/500 g large shrimp, peeled
and deveined
1 tbsp/15 mL olive oil
Salt and pepper
8 2-inch/5 cm wedges of watermelon,
seeds and rind removed
1 small red onion, sliced thinly in rings
1 tbsp/15 mL ﬁnely sliced mint

This is the quintessential summer salad. Very fresh, with a hint of sweetness and a surprising but welcome wasabi bite, it’s perfect at lunch or for backyard entertaining. Just be sure the watermelon and peaches are ripe—you want to be able to taste the sunshine! —Michael

then in late march we had a special visit from alex talbot of the alex and aki >ideas in food blog and literary phenomenon. ideas in food has been toted as the essential reference book that belongs "on the shelf of every fan of contemporary cooking". inspired by atelier's marc lepine, alex ventured to ottawa one grey march day to enlighten chefs and ottawans alike with his intelligent approach on techniques and recipes.after sitting in on his demo, i realized that this book works for everyday culinary enthusiasts - and has been written in a way that gives applications on recipes for even a home cook like me! great read, great guy.

alex in action in the UE kitchen

and finally, a true highlight of early spring, a few of our staff got together and visited the martin picard's acclaimed cabane a sucre. we starved ourselves all day to make room for the spectacular 12 course meal! truly, a culinary adventure. candice was over the moon to meet martin in person - what a truly hospitable man and a hospitable place - and wow, were we in food heaven! even five ravenous adults with healthy appetites couldn't finish off every morsel of the feast that just seemed to flow non-stop from the kitchen. just give us a blanket and we could have curled up outside on the porch and awoke to do it all over again! (well, maybe after we found a way to curtail the "food hangover" that inflicted us all the next day...)

an ecstatic candice and a very jolly happy-go-lucky martin

seat with a view

my personal favourite, smoked sturgeon with creme fraiche, pickled onions and herbs on an acadian-style "pancake" (by far, the tastiest "taco" i've ever had)

the famous PDC tourtiere. believe us, this is the real deal.

and here we are in june! stay tuned... more edible adventures to come, with contributions by the urban element team and beyond.

-carley

a match made in heaven

2011-03-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

there are few things in life that qualify as a "match made in heaven" but in my humble opinion, when food and wine marry - when its carefully selected and hand-crafted by those who take their passion to heart - it has the potential to create one of the most divine, sublime and memorable impressions.

take for example the marriage of stratus wine and chef ryan crawford's cuisine.

recently we held an exceptional food and wine event that celebrated both the nature of stratus' philosophy - the art of assemblage - and the fine craftsmanship of in-house food production of artisanal products by chef ryan crawford of stone roade grille in niagara. stratus considers assemblage to be "the quintessence of winemaking"- referring to "the crafting of several grape varieties to create layered wines of complexity, wines that are a true expression of the vineyard's terroir" (not to mention, these wines are absolutely delicious!).

charles baker led the group in a lively interactive wine tasting throughout the evening and the wines absolutely sung with the food. this group was even lucky enough to savour his own Charles Baker Piccone Vineyard Riesling - which has, since its debut, sustained quite a cult following of its own. (if you want to pick a bottle up for yourself, you are in luck - the CB Riesling 2008 will be released in limited quantities in Vintages this weekend)

stone road grille is self-described as niagara's first "gastro-bistro" where on any given day you will find chef ryan crawford and his team producing a variety of house cured meats, salamis and pates - amongst other delicacies. for their signature charcuterie plate, artisanal home baked sourdough breads and house made preserves are delectable accompaniments. although taking such care and consideration to procure specialized products and use of local ingredients has become a bit of a standard in many modern day kitchens, the magic is truly felt when ryan's flavours meet on the plate.

stratus and stone road grille have shared a history of fine wine and food pairing and enjoyment over the years and here, in photo documentary, is the mouthwatering story of what unfolded at urban element that night....

Preserved White Asparagus /House Smoked Salmon Salad
Ice Syrup/Citrus Vinaigrette
2009 Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard

Sustainably Caught Wild BC Tuna
Clams “Casino” Sauce
2006 Stratus White

“Shepherd’s Pie”
Braised Lamb Shank Ragu/Roasted Root Vegetable/Potato Puree
2007 Stratus Red

Monforte Goat Cheesecake
Strawberries Preserved in Balsamic/White Peppercorn Sauce
2008 Stratus Icewine Red

guest blogger: mix & match dinner

2011-02-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty excited.

The Urban Element has started hosting a pretty cool event. It's this take on an Iron Chef evening - two chefs, one theme, and 4 courses... each. Marc Lepine had mentioned he was participating in the event when I interviewed him for the Celebrity Chef Event. As soon as he said the magic words: Urban Element + Trish Larkin + Marc Lepine = I just knew I had to be there.

It was sold out.

Of course it was! Who wouldn't want to attend a dinner cooked by two of Ottawa's most notable Chefs?

So I called Carley and asked if I could come and just take pictures. I promised to stay out of the way. I never even dreamed of tasting the food. She agreed and invited me to arrive while the Chefs were setting up. Perfect.

I arrived and was met with probably the calmest kitchen environment ever. Trish and Marc were calm and cool as they organized their prep and set out their plates. Both were laughing and smiling as they directed their assistants (A.J., Trish's sous-Chef at the Black Cat bistro and Luis, one of Marc's cooks at Atelier). Super laid back, lots of fun, incredibly professional and talented - that's what I would take away from my evening.

Carley greeted the 20 Urban Element guests and introduced the Chefs - who then explained the menu.

The theme was Underwater.

Trish had thought it up at about 4 am one morning (sleepless nights result in inspiration), called Marc up and he agreed. They then figured out their ingredients for each course: oysters, caviar, tuna, and cranberries.

Once those ingredients had been selected both Chefs went off on their merry way ... the next time they would discuss their plates would be that night, at the Urban Element.

One might think that might not work. It might be a disaster. That each two dishes per course wouldn't work together.

One couldn't be more wrong. Both of their menus were successes.

Every single plate was DELICIOUS. Simple. Beautiful. Flavourful. Exciting. It was everything you hope one of these events will be: mouth-watering food that leaves your pallet eagerly anticipating the next course.

And the Chefs ... well ... they were just plain super nice to hang out with. No drama, no tense moments - everything was lighthearted and fun - even when a 1/4 full tray of tuna fell on the ground - nothing. Just pick it up, toss it out and grab some uncut seared tuna from another tray. Done and Done. Even when a dessert wasn't being plated as quickly as the Chef had hoped - no big deal - work as fast and as efficiently as is possible ... and then do a demo so that everyone could see exactly what was required to get that plate to the table (let me tell you - no one minded either ... it was a pretty cool demo).

My task in all of this was simple: take pictures, chat with the chefs and taste the food (yes there was enough to allow me to sample). I anticipated liking either Trish or Marc's food better - I wasn't sure who's - but I was certain there was going to be a stand-out.

It didn't happen.

Each course was an adventure - and I think everyone would agree it was a fun one: where one Chef would serve us something delicate and mild in flavour; the other would then shock us with a spicy kick, or something more complex. But neither one seemed wrong - they both worked. It was AWESOME.

While the guests were enjoying their meal, I got to hang out with Trish and Marc in the kitchen - where they would both talk me through their dishes.

Marc used some liquid nitrogen (too cool for words ... especially when he used it on dessert), he also excitedly told me about his microwave cake (batter to cooked in 40 seconds!!!) that was then dehydrated and became this addictive crispy ginger thing (it almost resembled the texture of a crouton ... but way better and looked more like coral).

Trish was able to use the event to make dishes she wouldn't make at the restaurant - lots of little details, lots of flavour, all the components adding to the whole effect. She pulled out this pancetta that still makes my mouth water just thinking about it. It was probably the best pig product I've ever tasted. Oh yeah - and then she served a rich, creamy panna cotta that would make a person swoon.

I'm glad I wasn't asked to pick my favourites. But if I had ... well it would have been a close draw ...

oysters

Trish: sea angel oyster, preserved lemon & horseradish-foam

vs.

Marc: raw oyster with bacon, apple, and jalapeno

caviar

Trish: whitefish & salmon caviar, creme fraiche, smoked potato & cranberries
vs.
Marc: potato and dill salad with black olives and whitefish caviar

tuna

Trish: albacore tuna, BCB pancetta, charred tomato and olives
vs.

Marc: thai curry dish with tuna (lime, coconut, cilantro)

cranberries

Trish: sour cream panna cotta, cranberry jelly, white chocolate ice cream & almond biscotti (apologies ... I didn't take a picture of the plate with the ice cream on it ... it was melting at I just wanted to eat it)
vs.

Marc: chocolate, cranberry, tonka bean

this is what happens to Marc's dessert when he allows it to melt ... :0)

The evening was a brilliant success. If the Urban Element wants to host another evening with Trish and Marc - count me in. Seriously.

I took rather more pictures that what you see here (almost 500 pictures prior to editing ... but I still have a large amount ... so I'll link up my flickr album to my own blog the twisted chef - feel free to check those pictures out as well)

and a way we go...

2011-02-03T07:20:00.001-08:00

wow! its already february! can anyone tell me where january went?!

we've started 2011 with a bang and already have had lots of exciting events and classes since we re-opened after a short break between the holidays. pies, breads and duck has been a major component of january.

february means winterlude for ottawa. now that winter has officially arrived, and the canal has finally frozen over, thousands of people will take to the festivities and culinary events happening over the next few weeks. as part of taste of winterlude we're thrilled to be hosting stratus wines and stone road grille from niagara-on-the-lake for a spectacular wine dinner next week.

stay tuned for a few new faces on the blog this year. i'd like to provide a bit more visual perspective from the kitchen with the camera - and we have some foodie friends who will be sharing their up close and personal urban element experiences with us.

in the meantime i'll be hibernating with a hot mug of chocolate (my ode to valentines day) fingers crossed that my reservation for the CABANE À SUCRE comes through this year.

already dreaming of maple.....

-carley

have a very merry and delicious holiday!

2010-12-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

'tis the season to eat drink and be merry! we wish all our clients, friends and family a most delicious time of year...thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and inspiration with us; its been a fabulous year of food, cooking and collaboration.

we're winding down on the last few events of the season - i love the energy in the studio this time of year, spirits are high, people are festive and there is an outpouring of kindness and generosity to be shared....yes, its a crazy time of year for us in the food industry, but we are all well adjusted to it by now and bring a good dose of humour to the kitchen to help offset the frenzy!

we just completed another successful round of holiday baking classes with chef candice - this year the palmiers, drunken fruit cookies and coconut chocolate fingers were a big hit! be sure to watch for our newsletter this week if you missed the workshop as the palmiers recipe is included.

no matter what is on your agenda this weekend, we hope it is merry and bright...

see you in 2011!

carley & the urban element team

mix and match

2010-11-12T14:23:00.001-08:00

sometimes its nice to mix things up a bit.

so we did.

this week we ran the first of a new series of exciting dinners featuring two talented ottawa chefs. chef steve mitton of murray street and chef charlotte langley of whalesbone (who, might i add, are both off to work their magic at gold medal plates next week) joined us for a night of mixing, matching and well, quite frankly, a bit more collaboration than competition!

the premise of these events are that the chef's duel it out on the plates - each interpreting their version of one common ingredient per course. our sommelier team groovy grapes then finds two interesting and out of the box wines to pair with each dish.

this particular challenge featured four starring ingredients: beets, arctic char, pork, and pumpkin. chef mitton and chef langley came up with a theme they called "in and out" - each using the featured ingredient from either its "inside" or its outer layer.

here were the results....

plating roasted beets, soft chevre, Ontario-sourced walnuts and local honey

heads and tails.... local arctic char from thistle springs

plating the main course - smoked confit shoulder of pork, mustard spaetzle, trotter broth....

the final plate... on the side: pork liver pate with calvados and peach preserves garnished with home-baked crackers (speckled with pork fat)

pumpkin "pie" with graham cracker crust and fresh marshmallow topped with brown butter pumpkin seed brittle

thanks steve & charlotte!

(watch for two more mix and match dinners to appear on our 2011 calendar)

“in and out”

Pickled beets/ walnuts vs.

Roast beets/ walnut shells/chevre

BABICH BLACK LABEL SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009

Marlborough, New Zealand

CLOS DU BOIS ROSÉ 2008, California,

United States

Arctic Char Roe vs. Whole Arctic Char

TERRA SERENA PROSECCO,

Congeliano, Italy

FELICITÉ PINOT NOIR 2009,

South Africa

Pork Liver Pate/ Calvados/ peach preserves vs.

Smoked confit shoulder/ mustard spaetzle/ trotter broth

DR. PAULY-BERGWEILER RIESLING KABINETT 2008

Mosel, Germany

HERENCIA REMONDO LA MONTESA 2007

Rioja, Spain

Brown butter Pumpkin seed brittle vs.

Pumpkin pie/ graham/ marshmallow

GHIONE PICCOLE GIOIE MOSCATO D'ASTI 2009

Piedmont, Italy

GONZALEZ BYASS SOLERA 1847 OLOROSO DULCE

Jerez, Spain

missing in action.....

2010-11-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

you may have been asking, "where have we been"? well.... lets just say that we have noticed that summer quickly faded into fall... and now as we see the flurries begin, we realize just how fast time flies when you are having fun! being super busy also made us fall behind on capturing these past few weeks of activity and we're sorry we've been missing in action..... actually, at this very time it is the calm before the storm as we are just on the cusp of holiday festivities starting in about 2 weeks!

so, what have we been up to?

well, lets see...

september:

shortly after our tomato tasting with matthew brearly (ahem, our last post) it was labour day long weekend and i was off to niagara on the lake to visit some family and tour some wineries. its a glorious time of year to be amongst the vines and breath-taking scenery in southern ontario. some highlight wineries included organized crime and thirteenth street winery (where the cuvee 13 rose is a definite must purchase!).

the good earth cooking school is a very good place to visit indeed. nicolette novak, owner and consummate hostess, has been friend and a mentor of mine for years. she opened both an indoor and al fresco cooking school in 1998 and has never looked back since. recent addition to the property is the 'good wine' aspect - which it certainly is! we sipped on some delightful riesling, chardonnay and my personal favourite, rose, over a little nosh of charcuterie and cheese. it was a bit too chilly to dine on their new covered patio but the warmth and charm of the dining area gave splendid views to the vineyards and offered the perfect place to relax. the school is located on a working fruit farm and so after lunch we wandered through pear and peach orchards and were invited to sample some of the goods - i can still taste those sweet, succulent peaches....you can't get any fresher than this.

i got a little help from my nephew for this shot - now, isn't this perfection?

before we knew it, it was october.

october for urban element meant beau's oktoberfest in vankleek hill. boy, does this family know how to put on a festival or what! a fantastic weekend revolving around the delicious locally brewed beau's beer - you can feel good about buying a ticket as it all helps raise funds for an array of local charities. we were thrilled to take part in this year's two-day festival and together with 18 other ottawa and area restuaranteurs were there to dish up beer friendly foods to all attendees. on our menu was yummy pulled pork sammies topped with hall's apple and red cabbage slaw. i have to say, the combination of the music, the beer, the food and the amazing hosts kept smiles on our faces all weekend long. thanks beau's for a great event -until next year!

and we ended october with a truly intriguing class. rene rodriguez of navarra rolled out a special series he has coined "the secrets series". limited to 16 guests, this is your chance to get up close and personal with chef rodriguez and ask all your burning questions about food and the culinary world. for this first class, we were an intimate group of 12 and we started in the kitchen (bubbly in hand), reviewing a decadent yet rustic menu of butternut squash soup with braised octopus, papardalle with lamb ragu, and deliciously rich caramel bread pudding. half of the group started in the kitchen with sous chef brian, cooking and assembling the first course while the other group got to "grill" rene at the communal dining table with all their burning food (and non-food related) questions. after enjoying the first course, the group switched places. by the end of the night, guests reconvened around the kitchen counter, bellies full, swapping stories and sipping dessert wine. the premise is of this series is that in a short period of time you get access to a wide variety of culinary topics - that the questions and answers will be compiled (over 65 in all) and shared with all attendees though an email after the course. its a great way to rub shoulders with a professional over the course of three hours and learn something you maybe were curious about but too shy to ask.... come and share some secrets with us next time.

next class is scheduled for monday november 22nd.

hope to see you soon - and i promise -sooner than later on the blog!
carley

Castlegarth Heirloom Tomato Tasting

2010-08-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

It simply got busy here. Weddings. Summer shing-dings. Kids camps. Classes.

I promise to keep you all updated from now on. Promise.

We spent a beautiful evening in the company of Chef Matthew Brearley of Castlegarth restaurant. I have to admit that one of the perks of working here is meeting some extraordinary people, getting to see all the behind the scenes, the preparation and the satisfaction of watching an evening unfold. The misshaps. The surprises. The oh-so-perfect moments and the very memorable ones.

The tomato tasting fell into the last category. The colors. The taste. The beauty.

Chef Brearley took the time to present each course, talk about the specific variety of tomato and guided the tasting. Melon. Earth. Berry. Red wine. Pepper.

All these beauties (more than 80 varietals now!) are grown on a farm land next to the restaurant. From seed. Vulnerable to our weather, sometimes imperfect, sometimes overflowing and gorgeous. Feeling the weight of them in your hands, seeing how the flesh is perfect, not grainy, and so full of flavor.

Chef Brearley admitted to not loving tomatoes as he was younger - he simplyhad not yet tasted good ones. John Taylor was apparently the one that made him change his views on the fruit some years ago...

Delicious cod cheeks floating in a golden tomato dream.

Peach & scallop carpaccio, tomatoes and local hemp oil.

THE tomato tasting plate. Matthew stayed with our guests until they all finished their plates, asking what they thought they were tasting, talking about how they grow, knowing each of them by name.

I missed the last two courses in pictures... but we had wonderful homemade sausage as well as melting pork belly. And dessert? Cannoli with tiny bit of tomato in a creamy luscious disguise.

Our First Crew

2010-07-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

It is week one of kids camp.

Jenna is all smiles.

Our first bunch is full of keeners. They butchered a whole box of chicken, different parts for differents meals - they now fully know how to do this at home properly. Can most of you say this with assurance?

Today, they were all making pasta for tomorrow's lunch. Get those arm muscles out!

28 recipes down (at least). 41 to go (or more!).

a match made in heaven

2010-06-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

when fine food marries fine wine, how can it get any better?

well, that is exactly what happened here last week when urban element played host to the always popular cave spring wine dinner series. this year, we were lucky to convince Executive Chef Kevin Maniaci of the Inn on the Twenty, home restaurant to Cave Spring Cellars, to join along in the fun and help re-create the passion behind their farm-to-table dining experiences.

allow me to walk you through a few of the exquisite dishes....
chef kevin maniaci places fiddleheads, morels and creamy C'est bon chevre in the shallow bowls, ready to be filled with creamy asparagus soup... how much more "spring" can you get?

Frankie Phelan asparagus soup; fresh fiddleheads, morel mushroom and C'est Bon chevre
Paired with 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Estate

yum! fish and chips!

Cave Spring Brut-battered yellow perch, potato terrine, coleslaw and green goddess sauce
Paired with 2007 Chardonnay Estate

Ontario lamb duo: roast sirloin with sweet pea tendrils and oven cured kumato and 'shepherd’s pie' of braised shank, wild leek and parsnip with porcini gravy
Paired with 2007 Pinot Noir Dolomite

communal dining at its best...the group is captivated by winery principle, Tom Pennachetti

with an early strawberry season upon us, the answer for dessert is simple.....
Whitty Farm strawberry trio: parfait, sorbet and soufflé, paired with 2007 Riesling Indian Summer - absolutely delightful

if you have not visited the Inn, you must! plan a trip this summer, see the vineyards, taste the wines, dine in style. Cave Spring wine and food is simply stated, a match made in heaven.

(stay tuned for the next installation and our take on unique culinary road trips - niagara is our next destination!)

-carley

sheep as lawnmowers

2010-06-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Did you know that this is the latest fad in Italy and France? I just heard this on the radio.

This type of sheep is not ideal for meat, and apparently are very picky eaters. They love grass, they don't hop into your garden... A company in Lyon now "rents" them to mow your lawn. It has been such a success that their 220 sheep are fully booked until the end of August. Italy now has over 700 registered sheep-mowers. If you are a bit concerned about them getting adventurous and gastronome, you can also "rent" a shepherd.

I would *maybe* trade in my Gardena push mower for a little woolly friend...

-marysol

prince edward county adventures

2010-06-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

i love roadtrips and weekend getaways.

as a young child i think i was bribed into road trips by my parents with the lure that we would stop somewhere fun for lunch (yes, i was predisposed for this industry)

i look forward to-recapping a few of my most favourite food getaways over the last few months. first on the list: prince edward county - a wine haven in ottawa's backyard - and its no longer a well-kept secret!

put these places on your must visit list if you find yourself in "the county" this summer....

fifth town artisan cheese - if you have time, arrange a tour in advance and plan to spend a couple hours onsite canada's only LEED certified dairy. the cheese caves are just amazing. prepare for a sensory overload. (the dairy is now serving ottawa's own pascale's ice cream, too! we devoured her honey lavender combo made with fifth town goat milk).

the wine route offers endless possibilities for long leisurely drives through the county down winding country roads which open up a sea of blue to the bay of quinte. on our way back to picton, we drove through the region waupoos. i've been told that the county cider company (which specializes in hard ciders made from fermented apples) offers one of the most spectacular views from their farm and tasting site. indeed, on this clear and sunny day, we could see for miles!

the shop offers tutored tastings of all apple ciders including their award winning prince edward county ice cider (my chosen summer sipper is the peach cider - pressed with ontario niagara peaches, yum!) and a sunny outdoor patio offers a great spot to linger with friends over lunch.

we were delighted to come across some new wineries this year - hinterland wines (horray for sparkling rose!), and the old third winery, strictly concentrating on pinot noir. it just so happened that the day we visited, it was their first day open to the public and recently had a favorable review from respected wine journalist and educator, david lawrason. bruno and jens were gracious hosts and let us into their cellar for a few sneak peaks (and tastes!) of future vintages. as pinot noir fans, and from what we tasted, we'll definitely be watching the old third evolve... (here is bruno below, extracting a sampling from their next vintage of pinot)

and finally, after much anticipation, we finally made it to norm hardie winery during this trip. norm truly has to be producing some of the best chardonnay and pinot noir in this region. as gracious and hospitable as always, norm walked us around his grounds, excitedly sharing his future vision for a fully integrated and sustainable farm (think heirloom vegetable gardens that provide product for wood-fire pizzas - soon to come - and pigs that will one day provide proscuitto, amongst other efforts). in addition to sampling his spectacular chardonnay and pinot noir, norm uncorked some of his 2009 Melon de Bourgogne for tasting. this wine delivers lime and citrus notes with loads of minerality - a perfect summer wine served as an apéritif or with light summer fare. on this hot day, it definitely hit the spot!

this is simply a taste of what prince edward county offers, but they are some of our highlights from a recent spring road trip. feel free to email me if you wish for suggestions on where to stay and eat if you end up taking a roadtrip to the county of your own this summer - i sure hope you do!

-carley

Beef Fundamentals

2010-05-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Beef, beef, beef.

I think we pretty much did it all. Beef overload.

Shortribs two ways, tartare, tenderloin, striploin, tongue, liver, oxtail, bones for stock, kabobs, skewers, brisket, prime rib, hanger steak, bones for stock, tasting marrow, stews, shin beef... the list goes on.

Kyle from Aubrey's and Piggy Market really charmed us all and will be back for other classes. Here he is with Candice showing off the beautiful roast.

Lovely tartare.

Yorkshire puddings!!!

The roast, cooked to perfection.

A surprise for the evening, tongue!

...and last but not least, asparagus. We need at least one veggie portion right?

-marysol

Sustainable Seafood

2010-05-14T12:00:00.001-07:00

Whalesbone Oyster House definitely has changed the fish and seafood scene in Ottawa. Before their arrival, it was possible to make a smart and sustainable choice, but you had to ask a bit more questions to your fishmonger (given that there was one and that you were not speaking to a frozen package...)

Whalesbone has taken all the guess work out of the equation. All sustainable, all the time.

Chef Jenna Durling came over last Tuesday. The catch of the day? Many.

To start, fresh oysters. East Coast please.

Pacific cod for fish tacos.

4 lovely mackerel to be maple smoked.
Arctic char gets a crispy coating to eat with a Celery Root Remoulade.
Tuna melts anyone?

How else would you eat your lobster than butter poached?

Clams and mussels for a bouillabaisse.

And we had more. Halibut. Striped bass. Scallops.

Learning about many spices...

...and reconnecting, finally, with spring vegetables.

-marysol

Life Without Plastic

2010-05-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last evening was a wonderful class about portable summer meals. I don't know about you, but picnics are a must for me in summer!

Chef Tanya Skeates from Soupcon restaurant in Wakefield gave tricks and tips on creating lovely lunches to go with Thai and Vietnamese flair. One thing I noticed as soon as she stepped in the Kitchen Studio was a little lunchbox - stainless steel, stackable, easy to wash... I have to get my hands on some!!!

You can purchase these lovelies at Life Without Plastic.

If you cannot drive up to Wakefield to buy some, you can always order online, yay!

-marysol

Taste For Life

2010-04-19T18:21:00.001-07:00

What are you doing next Wednesday? Maybe you should eat out!!

April 28th is Taste for Life.
Selected restaurants donate 25% of the bill to support the HIV/AIDS organization in your community - well worth eating out with friends! What a great opportunity to try out new restaurants...

We had the great pleasure of hosting the media launch yesterday, look at these beautiful bites from participating venues:

Lovely vegan bites from Zen Kitchen, the first being a crispy lotus root chip with sauteed mushroom, carrot and pineapple glaze (Opening picture for this blog post) and a very precious edamame bite, so pretty!

Lapointe obviously showcased what they do best, fish! A gigantic piece of tuna was coated in sesame seeds and served with a spicy mayo and roe.

And last but not least, delicious fluffy marsmallows. These had me dreaming. Go to Thyme and Again and buy some, buy a ton, they are perfect little host gifts. Or a caring thought to brighten up a day!

-marysol

The Mediterranean Diet

2010-04-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Like a little mouse, I stayed hidden behind the class and listened to what Chef Larissa Beznaczuk-Smyrnew had to say about the powers of the mediterranean diet.

She started by declaring her love of wine and cheese, but... all in moderation. This is one of the secrets behind the Mediterranean Diet. Not holding back from all that seems forbidden, but rather eating small portions of it.

Slowly, we should all shift our mindsets to the Europeen way of eating, smaller portions, quality ingredients in their most natural form. Raw vegetables and fruit more often. Natural fats. Incorporating more nuts and grains into our meals.

By now, we should all know to stay away from processed foods and be aware of what processed foods are! Some say that all your food items your grandparents and great grandparents should be able to identify, so they should be wholesome, in their most basic form.

This class has been such a success that we will run a 4th quite soon, we'll keep you posted!

...wishing you all a food-filled weekend!

-marysol

byow dinner: chef michael moffat, beckta

2010-04-13T04:20:00.000-07:00

mike moffat, executive chef at beckta with chef de cuisine, dirk mccabe, put on a spectacular dinner of all things "wild and raw" - this was our first ever bring your own wine dinner and it proved to be a huge hit with all 18 guests. we started in the kitchen and spent some time oohing and ahhing over the bison amuse: the dish was served "new style sashimi" with pickled shallots, fresh wasabi and the showstopper - fingerlime - which gave the dish an incredible lift.

i snapped a few shots from the event and have included the ostrich tartare (above) accompanied by a sous-vide poached egg, Parmesan wafer and root cellar chips. this dish, as chef moffat explained, starts off arranged in typical tartare style on the plate, but he encouraged diners to break it down with their fork and mix all the flavours together to incorporate the egg and the chips so that a variety of taste and textures collide in the mouth - very effective for this dish.a gamay or chianti was the wine of choice for this course.

not included in the photos was a magret duck breast course: house cured duck ham with fig mostarda, bitter greens and cranberry cumberland sauce. most guests chose an off-dry riesling or a sparkling wine with this dish and from what we heard, it was a perfect match.

the entree was wild turkey - sourced from mirabel, quebec. it was cooked sous-vide for 24 hours and served with a "stuffing" rosti (reminiscent of thanksgiving dinner), with caramelized brussel sprouts and bourbon jus. in the photo above, chef moffat managed to sneak in a bit of wild turkey confit which was so sumptuous! most of the table enjoyed pinot noir with this dish.

of course, this early spring dinner would not be complete without maple. and the chef's outdid themselves with "maple 5 ways": coffee cake, toffee, gelato, cotton candy and preserved strawberry maple jam. this dish got two thumbs up and no crumbs were left on the plate.

chef moffat joins us again in august for his next "byow" dinner. reservations are limited to 18 guests so if you are interested, please call in early to reserve your spot.

Dreaming of Spices

2010-03-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

I hope our lucky giveaway winners enjoyed Cooking With Stella!

I have been thinking about spice a lot lately and will definitely test out butter chicken recipes quite soon - that was the #1 request from our readers. Can I honestly say that I have not eaten this more than twice? So far, I have preferred nicely done Tandoori chicken, but I may change my mind!

Some of you also asked for restaurant recommendations... When I crave juicy, tender tandoori chicken, I go to Ceylonta. Every single time, it has lived up to my expectations.

I read just yesterday some wonderful suggestions from Ottawa Food Blogger Shari of Whisk - she also writes for Metro, read her Indian Lunch suggestions!

Spices, spices, spices. I suggest that you buy the best possible... Read Rachelle Eats Food and her wonderful discovery of Epices de Cru. Philippe de Vienne and Ethnee have been to the urban element some years ago and had the most impressive selection and quality - it is worth every penny.

No ham, lamb or turkey for me this Easter - I'm trying out Indian at home!

-marysol

gnocchi dearest

2010-03-26T09:30:00.001-07:00

i have always loved gnocchi.
making gnocchi is a labour of love, its an involved, dedicated process.
but the results are worth it! after roasting potatoes, scooping out flesh and pushing the potato through a ricer, mix together with one egg, flour & salt.shape into a ball and cut in four (as above).

roll into strips .... its up to you the size you like

...i like to cut on the diagonal into diamond shape pillows. then toss
the dumplings on a baking sheet coated with flour

boil the gnocchi in salted boiling water until each floats to the top.
remove with a slotted spoon. toss with quality olive oil and let sit until use.
in my opinion, the sauce is the most important (and delicious) part of gnocchi, so put some love into it! this gnocchi was savoured with a porcini and pork ragu, torn fresh basil and a ridiculous amount of parmesan!

-carley

Cooking with Stella ticket giveaway!!!

2010-03-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

I recently received 10 double passes to the premiere screening of Cooking with Stella (thank you Mongrel Media!!!) and thought of sharing them with you... but there is a catch.

We would like to hear about your favourite Indian dish.
Is it something that you make at home? Do you have a recipe? Then please share it!
Do you have a favourite Indian restaurant? What are the must haves on the menu?
Maybe would you like to learn to prepare a certain dish that you have tasted? We can test it out for you and post the results!

View the Cooking with Stella trailer and get more info here.
The tickets that we have are for Thursday, March 25th at 7pm for the Coliseum Cinema.

Please reply to marysol@theurbanelement.ca

fun bite

2010-03-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

Kerr Farm Beef & Butterfly Sky Farms Microgreens with an Herb Aïoli on Bleu Bénédictine Gougères. Num. Nummmm.

a perfect match

2010-02-23T19:22:00.000-08:00

in this month's newsletter, we featured Chef Candice Butler's succulent beef brisket recipe from last week's Fundamentals of Beef class, so kudos to those who followed the link and found us here - you will be rewarded with a wine that will sure to become a dinner party favourite! urban element Resident Sommelier, Stacey Metulynsky, discovered this divine Malbec to pair with our delectable mid-winter dish.

we hope you enjoy this "perfect match" as much as we did.....

Groovy Grapes Wine Pairing: KAIKEN ULTRA MALBEC 2007 VINTAGES 50849 | $ 19.95 | Uco Valley, Argentina The 2007 Malbec Ultra saw 80% of the wine aged in French oak for 12 months. A saturated purple color, it offers up a perfume of cigar box, violets, mineral, and black cherry. It has a ripe core of spicy fruit, excellent concentration, succulent flavours, and a lengthy finish.

About the Grape: MALBEC
By: Stacey Metulynsky, Resident Sommelier, the urban element & groovy grapes co-founder

Malbec is like Merlot's quiet but quirky pal. Like Merlot, Malbec is a red grape from Bordeaux, France and produces medium to full bodied wines with dark fruit flavours and velvety tannins. But compared to Merlot, people are just starting to get to know Malbec, and it distinguishes itself from it's hometown friend with its dark, inky colour and distinctive anise and smoke characters.

Though Malbec hails from France (where it now plays a very minor role in Bordeaux) it really has come into its own in Argentina, where it has become the country's signature grape. Argentine Malbec is made in a softer, lusher New World style when compared to its French counterparts, and the warm climate there makes the grape stand out from the crowd. It has ripe blackberry, cherry, and licorice aromas and flavours, a touch of earthiness, and an approachable texture that is best described as velvety - there are some tannins but they're soft and pleasant, not harsh as they sometimes are in French Malbec. And it has dark, rich notes of black licorice, chocolate, and coffee.

Because of Argentina, Malbec's popularity has caused winemakers in other New World countries like Chile, Australia, and the United States to plant the grape as well, though you'll mostly only see it blended with other grapes.

Back in France, you can find intense and distinctive Malbec from Cahors, a town near Bordeaux where the wines are required by law to contain at least 70% Malbec (sometimes referred to there as "Cot"). These wines are deep and dark in colour, and tend to be harsh when they're young. If you let them mellow a few years in the bottle, however, these wines are intense and delicious, especially when paired with local cuisine such as cassoulet or duck confit.

Aromas & Flavours
. Rich fruit flavours of blackberry, plum, and cherry
. Spicy, chocolaty, and black licorice notes
. Full bodied, and can range from low to very strong tannins

Food Ideas
. Hearty red meats such as beef, lamb, and game
. Braised beef short ribs
. Burgers and other grilled meats
. Mushrooms, beans, and other earthy flavours

My recommended regions for Malbec are:
. Argentina
. Cahors, France,
(courtesy of Groovy Grapes, This Food That Wine Cookbook and Wine Pairing Guide)

Wines of Ontario

2010-02-18T13:13:00.000-08:00

We had the great privilege of possibly sampling dozens of Ontario wines yesterday through the Winter Wine Fest.

Although we were quite familiar with a majority of them, there were some exciting discoveries! I have to admit that I am a big fan of white wine and so was my partner in crime - the reds will be for another day.

Here were some of our favourites:

The ultimate Sauvignon Blanc for the day, Southbrook Triomphe. You stole my heart.

My favourite Rosé, Serendipity, from Cattail Creek Estate. You would imagine too fruity from the color, but it was refreshing and crisp.

My sidekick's favourite Rosé, Echos from Tawse Winery. Summer, please be here.

We didn't get to picture all that we wanted, some booths were so popular...

A few things for sure : I will have Cave Spring Chardonnay Musqué in my refridgerator always. I will splurge on Cuvée Catharine Brut more often. I definitely long for a bottle of Stratus Red and a Rusty Shed Chardonnay from Flat Rock Cellars.

-marysol

Anti-bottled water movement

2010-02-11T12:37:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a trip to New York City. In many many restaurants and all over our hotel were signs encouraging people not to purchase or drink bottled water.

They are having a major issue with trash disposal, and in an effort to limit waste, they encourage people to consume a bit more wisely. One funny example were napkins in a dispenser that said: use your sleeves and save some trees.

I was surprised at how crisp the tap water was in New York, and how even in upscale restaurants, they did not offer mineral or sparkling water. On almost every table, there were beautiful glass bottles, all shapes and sizes, with plain old tap water. Some tables had stickers stating that they proudly served NYC water.

At ue, we have stopped using bottled water about 3 years ago. We used to set them out for corporate meetings and even though we encouraged people to refill them, we saw that once emptied, they drank in glasses. (So we are using water and energy cleaning those on top of the waste of the plastic bottle that was just used...)

How long will it be for Ottawa to catch on?
Some restaurants are still selling them, some even bottle and label their own. I have to admit that I am quite skeptical about that - what is wrong with our tap water? Why are we paying to bottle and market it? Imagine all the plastic that we could save if strictly serving tap water in restaurants...

-marysol

Ottawa Food Bloggers Unite!

2010-02-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

Oh what a fun evening last night was!

Ottawa food bloggers all gathered to hear Ron Eade, the Master of breaking news for the food scene in Ottawa, enjoy delicious food bites and see our resident chef Candice Butler prepare a chicken liver pâté.

It was a delightful opportunity for all of them to meet. I compared it to pen pals, finally putting a face (and personality!) to what we read.

I don't know about you, but I take time every evening to read blogs: more than just recipes, this is about people with a passion for food, and these are people taking the time to share.

You enter their world and get inspired. Learn new tricks. Take on healthier habits. Discover new restaurants. These are real people opening up their world: unlike magazines and tv shows, they have no hidden agenda, no brand to push. Their recipes actually turn out - and if they don't, they will share a laugh with you.

You can read up on the evening and see the food on
rachelle eats food's blog for now. Maybe some more blogs entries will pop up about this in the days following... I have never seen so many people taking pictures of food in one place!!

Get the official scoop on the Chicken Farmers of Canada's blog!

On behalf of the host, the Chicken Farmers of Canada, thanks to all that braved the cold!

whiskblog
after the harvest
eva's food world
ottawa food
foodie prints
nourish
the bacon bible
all things edible
simply fresh
a peek inside the fishbowl
sorry, i'm weird
urban hippy
sticky fingers
daily dinner
eaten up

...and if I forgot some of you, please pipe up!

Thanks to Ryan Anderson for the event planning and great pictures!

-marysol

mmmmm ...mac and cheese

2010-01-26T10:31:00.001-08:00

we're half way through the winter season and these dark dreary days definitely speak to our mood with warming, savoury comfort foods. i definitely feel a shift in my own food cravings - as if its nature's way of saying "time to hibernate"... its no doubt than that our attention shifts to soul-satisfying dishes such as mac n'cheese, fried chicken, and roasts. ooey gooey desserts like rich chocolate cake and caramel sauce... not always the best foods to eat in quantity but they definitely have their place this time of year! chef jenna durling from whalesbone was up to the task of re-creating some of the classics this month and has put a modern day twist on the favourites. i stopped in to see how things were progressing and peeked in the oven- check out this cast-iron skillet bubbling away with all its cheesy goodness... don't you wish you came home to a sight like this after a long day at work?

(for those comfort food die-hard's who missed out on the first class last week, we still have two seats left in tomorrow's comfort food class part 2 - on the menu....lemon thyme roasted chicken with pan-gravy, gnocchi with mushroom and gorgonzola sauce, classic beef bolognese on homemade pasta, irish lamb stew with fluffy dumplings) mmmm!

-carley

Mast Brothers Chocolate

2010-01-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

Mast Brothers Chocolate: beautiful photographs of chocolate bars in the making.

I am soon off to New York and will try to get some of these treats.
Being the little girl at heart that I am, I will most probably stare at the precious packaging for a few minutes and be filled with remorse at the mere thought of tearing it apart. In fact, it may take me months to open it - I better give some as gifts so that other people may tell me how scrumptious it is...

Check out The Selby: it is a fun website to peek into people's homes and businesses, have a look at Il Buco, an cozy restaurant in NYC. (part 2, part 3)

-marysol

Bistro Fare

2010-01-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

Scott Adams from Benny's Bistro dropped in yesterday to teach a thing or two about Bistro Fare...

As always, it was a delightful evening. It started off with a duck tartare prepared with uber fresh magret from Mariposa Farm, c'est bon goat cheese and a touch of truffle oil (and tons of other delicious ingredients, but that's a secret!)

Then followed the appetizer:

A braised pork belly, topped with a gorgeous scallop + white bean & bacon puree + kale.

The pièce de résistance were delicious, boneless, shortribs.

These were served on silky polenta, with a ratatouille topping.

The evening ended on a sweet note... Some crispy bannock, with a mascarpone cream and stewed plums. No photograph for that one, we were all busy eating.

-marysol (and Scott, and Olivier, and...)

pork fundamentals

2010-01-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

This Tuesday was the first part of our Pork Fundamentals with Chef Candice Butler.
Stepping into the kitchen, you were surrounded by rosy cuts of pork: pork belly, more pork belly ready to be bacon-ized, shoulder of pork, pork tenderloin, pork ribs, pork hocks...

Many tests were done in the past week too (Candice does not want to eat pork for awhile):
Pressure cooker vs slow cooking in the oven, brining liquid, brining times, spices rubs for ribs, basting liquids, baking and frying cracklings... This was just like Saveur magazine's test kitchen.

Candice's original recipe for Asian meatballs was turned into a dumpling to show the class another option for entertaining.

Click on the pictures for extra yumminess!
A delicious mix of shitake mushroom, water chestnuts, ginger, 5 spice, coriander roots, chili...are you salivating yet?

This is what caught my attention:

Pork belly!!! One belly was done in a pressure cooker, the other in the oven, pan roasted, oven roasted, brined, not brined. Endless possibilities, always yummy.

This was such a fun class and the second part is coming soon. Making bacon from scratch, I'm up for it!

-marysol

bistro fare to warm your belly

2010-01-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

following in the footsteps of marysol's book list the other week, i wanted to share a little gem i happened upon over the holidays - "fresh canadian bistro" by craig flinn is a collection of bistro recipes from canadian chefs coast to coast. what intrigued me most was that there were significant contributions from some of our well-known and well-loved ottawa chefs - steve mitton of murrray street, the fraser brothers from fraser cafe, john taylor of domus, charles part of les fougeres, steve vardy of the black cat and michael moffat of beckta. i love to support canadian content and so this book was right up my alley. and, as i have a mild obsession with collecting cookbooks, this one needed to make it to my own bookshelf. believe me, although the recipes are categorized into spring, summer, fall and winter (as it follows a local and seasonal theme), this book is definitely going to be dog-eared before the winter is over!

foodie reads

2009-12-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

I love to eat.
I love to prepare food.
I love to read about people who are surrounded by food.

We used to do a Book of the Month feature for our scheduled classes and I have lately been considering bringing this back... Maybe on this blog? These are a few books I have read in the past month and some that were given to me for Christmas.

Making time for a book is such a treat.

Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper
-My absolute favourite read of the year. If you love Chinese food, the real thing, you must read this. I want to be Fushia, I want to buy rabbits and skin them myself, I want to scale fish as they are still alive, I want to fill my mouth with heat packed peppers and remember that special food-related moment.

Don't Try This at Home
- A great book for bedtime reading. Each chapter is a culinary anecdote from chefs around the world...

Julia Child, a Life
-I did not truly know Julia Child and had not yet seen 'The Movie' - this was an entertaining and quick read. Is it all accurate? I do not know, but it seems like a good intro for a larger than life personality.

A Year In My Kitchen
-Skye loves eating and it shows. Stunning pictures, lovely recipes that you want to try, now. If only the market was still open...

Jamie at Home
- I did not know Jamie Oliver, in fact, I avoided him as I thought he was just another of those good-looking-let's-brand-name-him chefs... This is a truly yummy book that made me want to get lost in the woods for a couple of days, catch deer, cook it with whatever I found in the surroundings.

My Year of Meat
-My current read. A Japanese television show meant to encourage beef consumption using American housewives as 'role models'. It gives me the giggles every page...

-marysol

Tis' the season to be busy...

2009-12-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

We often feel like Santa's elves in the office at this time of year.
Packaging gifts certificates, more, more, more!

This was our pile at around 2pm yesterday. It kept growing and growing. This morning, we start over.

Kitchen is rocking, day events, evening events. Every day a new menu, another group to welcome - never the same. It is a fascinating journey each time: the initial contact, the excitement, how we all want this to be the best party ever for friends, family and colleagues. Making every detail count.

Are you chef worthy?

2009-11-30T12:10:00.000-08:00

I get a few emails here and there about reality tv shows and competitions, and I usually send them out directly to the people that I think could apply... But today, I am putting it out there for all of you to read and consider!

Are you an extraordinary home chef? Do you watch Top Chef and think that you could be solid competition? This call for entries is aimed towards the 'every day person' who rocks in the kitchen!!! I know a few, eh Ryan???

You can email Aimee at Aimee@bigcoatproductions.com to get more details.

Go for it! What have you got to lose?

-Marysol

Putting Culinary Rivalry to the Ultimate Test!

Chef Worthy is a competitive new docudrama that puts amateur cooking rivals to the ultimate test; the chance to prove their salt in a top restaurant kitchen. By day these amateur chefs are bankers, teachers, lawyers, government workers and homemakers; but at night they're locked into a culinary rivalry, out to prove themselves the best cook in their social circle. In each episode two cocky cooks go head to head under the watchful eye of a Master Chef who will pull no punches in telling them how things are really done. When given the opportunity to perform in a top kitchen, which one will prove their worth and be crowned Chef Worthy!?

from hockey sticks to spatulas...

2009-11-17T20:17:00.001-08:00

this weekend, senators hockey defenceman chris phillips and his lovely wife, erin, traded hockey sticks for spatulas as we played host to a special private dinner with 10 lucky guests in the ue kitchen. first a bit of mixing and mingling with the group and then it was time to get down to business and whip up a fabulous tuscan-inspired dinner led by resident chef candice butler. erin was soooo impressed that her husband actually managed to whip up dessert on his own! chris, we're glad to see you managed to score some points off the ice!

thanks everyone for a great night!

-carley

we love bel fiore

2009-11-15T18:18:00.000-08:00

barista challenge!

2009-11-12T06:36:00.001-08:00

It seems like a lot of people love coffee!! We have had so many inquiries about the Bridgehead Barista challenge that we could have filled this class three times... stay tuned for the upcoming calendar, we will have a few more.

12 lucky people got the chance to smell, taste, touch, feel, observe, replicate, critique and chat about coffee. By the end of the night, they could do perfect espressos and lattes AND do beautiful latte art.

Our tiny coffee maker looked so wimpy next to Bridgehead's monster machine, at least it has only brewed Bridgehead coffee in its life so far!

sauces

2009-10-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Stocks, Jus, Béarnaise, Demi-Glace, Béchamel... no mysteries here!

Everyone tonight had the chance to work on classic vinaigrettes, make their own aïoli (for a steak frites, heaven!!!) and work on basic sauces for savoury dishes (a delicious Bleu Bénédictine Mac'n'Cheese anyone? How about fresh vegetable ribbons with a tomato and herb sauce then?) and some delightful desserts (Pampushky with a cranberry sauce, homemade pumpkin ice cream with a caramel sauce, strawberries and hot fudge!!!)

I send out emails to staff before each event and I have to admit that I hadn't been this excited in quite a long time...give me some more bread to finish that sauce please!

If you missed the class, keep your eyes opened for our upcoming Fundamentals, we will include a sauce workshop for you to stay away from the packaged stuff.

Some highlights...

Stock, beautiful and rich. Always roast the bones first!!

Mirepoix and bouquet garni?

Béchamel, whisk it slowly and constantly.

Garlic peeling and chopping contest!!

The vinaigrette station! So many ingredients to pick from and experiment with! We told the guests to go wild and try combinations that they had not tried before or go for ingredients that they did not have at home...

The pampushky before being smothered in sugar, spices and dipped in caramel sauce... yummy salted caramel sauce.

-marysol

artisanal bread

2009-10-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from last night's class...
Yummy bread from Aux Deux Frères Bakery in Aylmer.

This is Etienne chatting about bread. He spoke with such passion, I loved how he said: Bread is living. Makes you think right?

The blob. It kept growing in our fridge and I saw it through the glass door, gave me the giggles!

The guests shaping their dough

...and the finished product!

You can go up to Aylmer to sample their wonderful breads... or wait until Etienne comes back!

-marysol

anything and everything can be done on the grill...

2009-10-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

We had a very special visit from Ted Reader on Monday night, it was one very lively evening!!!
We took no pictures as we had enough paparazzi that night - we know when to leave it to the pros!

The Omnivore blog resumes it quite well, enjoy the pictures!

Big Teddy blows into town (don't overdo the Jack Daniel's and no one will get hurt)

how do we feed a city?

2009-10-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

I am not one to watch television much, in fact, mine is hidden, but I do love little web capsules... I few months ago I discovered Ted Talks, talks on all subjects, always very interesting, always has you thinking some more.

Last night I listened to a talk by Carolyn Steele about how food can shape our cities, how it used to be a center and how, in the last decades, we don't even value food anymore, we throw so much away.

She was saying that 5 big corporations control the food situation nowadays - very unsustainable. 5 corporations for the whole world.

Food used to be social, we gathered to buy it, we traded, exchanged knowledge - now many people stare at the freezer section... and sometimes go to stores only selling frozen food. It makes you wonder if people going there even question where each ingredient comes from.

To quote Carolyn Steele:
We used to cook, now we just add water, maybe an egg if we bake a cake.
We don't smell food anymore, we just check the expiration date.
How sad.

Then she spoke about a certain minority, and I was quite pleased that I fit in:
You think ahead, you plan, you can actually recognize what vegetables are.

Take 20 minutes to watch and listen to this. Embrace food. Embrace sustainable.
Ted Talk by Carolyn Steele: How food shapes our cities.

-Marysol

mini venison pot pie

2009-10-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

the absolute cutest and most desirable hors-d'oeuvre ever.
introducing the mini venison pot pie

what else would you want to snack on on a chilly fall evening?

4 hockey players, 2 pumpkins pie, no recipes!

2009-10-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

we had the great pleasure of hosting a pumpkin pie bake-off for 4 players from the Ottawa 67's team.

these guys were actually really good!
they came in the kitchen and had access to different ingredients, no recipes and just a bit of direction: canned and fresh pumpkin, eggs, chocolate, orange, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, allspice, brown sugar, cream, milk, ganache, pecans, crushed ginger cookies + 2 different pie doughs.

after getting over the initial shock of not even having access to measuring spoons or cups, they really got into it - carefully adding ingredients a little at a time, tasting, adjusting. It was nothing like the tv show 'Just Like Mom', do you remember that???

Their mini pies came out lovely.

We had the tough job of tasting and judging, it was a close call!
We won't tell you who won, tune in next Monday on Rogers TV.
The Ottawa 67's show.

wine tastings and wine dinners and mmmmmm, wine.

2009-10-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

obviously, wine is a an important part of what we do.

i truly hope that people attending our wine classes are less intimidated by the time they end an evening with us... there was a time when people were somewhat scared of the great big world of wines and stuck to one kind, it went in waves: merlot, chardonnay, chianti, pinot - it seemed like a trend to drink a certain type of grape, regardless of the quality of it and sadly, regardless of the meal to come.

nowadays, we tend to search for the best in each region and pair accordingly with the meals - thank goodness for both the food and wine!!! this week, we discovered a few treasures from California...

Pooch Pucilowski is a certified wine educator from Sacramento, California... he is an absolutely stellar speaker, very charismatic, and certainly very knowledgeable. we had the great honor of hosting two events on Wednesday with him: one for trade, one for public.

for the trade event, Candice brought out her preserves

she has been working hard in the past weeks to can her own special chutneys for cocktails and wine tastings. no sad storebought pickled veggies! no lackluster olives!

along with these preserves, our lucky day guests sampled some delicious Niagara Food Specialties prosciutto, bresaola and salami. obviously, i had to sample too and can certify that they are the best.

as for the evening, i could not have described it any better than Rachelle, a lady who has now attended a few of our classes, take a peak at her blog entry.

-marysol

what chefs cook at home

2009-09-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

we often wonder what busy professional chefs cook on their downtime for friends and family.
well, last night we got a little insight! after a brief summer hiatus, we welcomed back chef steve vardy of black cat bistro into the urban element kitchen. we peered into his mind to find out what he likes to eat and serve his guests and so and this is what we got...

we started off with a comforting bowl of roasted squash soup topped with a seared scallop & fresh sage - the soup was dotted with flavours of cardamom, star anise and cinnamon...mmm!

next, perfect roast chicken (fabulous fall sides: roasted Bryson Farm heirloom carrots, Christophe's mushrooms, farmstand parsnips & baby red potatoes, roasted garlic and onions)

...and ended the night off on the right note - decadent dark chocolate tart - so simple but oh so rich and wickedly delicious

thanks chef vardy -we'll come over for dinner any time!

cherry pie event

2009-09-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

cherry pie is an all-women networking event - imagine the giggles, and the chatting and the "'oh, i need this!!!"

lots of great booths... i was hoping to have more time to stop by Hush, Workshop (a lovely clothing and jewelry boutique for women by women that i need to go to more often!) and discovered cork flooring by The Healthiest Home that was to die for.

this was our second time being invited. this year, we thought it would be fun to have the ladies work for their loot, and i think they all got a kick out of it! instead of just handing out food, we had a 'pipe your own cupcake' station - some were really intimidated, some were experts, one thing for sure, we all made them smile.

Carley was kind enough to pile on the icing for me. i am very "gourmande". i love eating. no rules. never hold back.

here we go.

one bite of pure buttery-fudgey heaven.

oh i hope no one saw that.

thanks Candice, that was delicious!!!

-marysol

Mexican Fiesta!

2009-09-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

last night's class was Celebrate Mexican with Chef Maria Amalia Garza.
i love Maria's classes.
she is so calm, attentive... and so full of knowledge.

the class was one of the quietest that i had seen in ages, Maria definitely has a calming vibe, reassuring. Everyone looked so confident in the kitchen as Maria was floating around.

i decided to take pictures of raw ingredients that were explained to the class as it started.
there is a definite depth of flavour in Mexican food - everything is roasted, toasted and let to ripen to its fullest potential. mole sauces cook for hours, and that doesn't even take into account the pampering that goes into smoking and drying the chilies...

here is the cascabel chile

the name means "rattle" and refers to the shape of the chile as well as the sound the seeds make when a dried chile is shaken. it is usually deep red to brownish in color and is grown in Mexico. you can purchase them through Chilly Chiles.

the platanos, or plantain

Maria was saying that it is always best to buy these at the desired stage of ripeness as the ripening process is quite long... if you buy a green plantain and need it for dessert, you might need to wait a month! don't be scared to buy the black plantain, that is how they should be for sweets, as long as the skin is still intact, you are good to go!

and last but not least: tomatillos

i was surprised at how many people had never cooked with these. they have always been so attractive to me in their protective little husks... if you are curious about cooking with them, now is the time to try: they are in abundance in the markets.

-marysol

prince edward county wines and... deliciousness.

2009-09-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

last night we hosted a private wine tasting for 38 lovely women.
again, chef Candice Butler amazed us all.

they had:

roasted tomato and basil strata with creamy C'est Bon goat cheese topped with roasted Bryson Farms heirloom tomatoes and arugula.

so so very tasty pear, Bénédictine and caramelized onion tarts.

these were served with more Bleu Bénédictine and some candied/spiced nuts.
they are addictive.

a beautiful mix of frisée, Hall's apples and celeriac slaw & La Boucanerie's smoked trout.
That trout was so perfect, not too smokey, a delightful texture.

They finished the evening with some crispy polenta topped with a mushroom stew (of course from Le Coprin!). Sorry, no picture, I was listening to the sommelier and taking notes!

Mesdames, ce fut un plaisir!

-marysol

things we love...

2009-09-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

do you remember the opening segment in 'Amélie' when you get to know the characters, their likes and dislikes?

i totally related to that (especially the raspberry fingers!!!)

we like:

opening a box of Christophe's mushrooms.

sage. velvety, soft, fragrant.

hope your weekend is filled with food moments.

-marysol

rustic italian class

2009-09-11T04:37:00.000-07:00

it started out with one class.
then two.
and now three.

for the first time, we have sold three classes of the same.
that is a total of 48 people being intrigued by the menu, the subject, the techniques being thought.

last night was the first of the rustic italian classes.
i just had to be there and see for myself, well, smell... in less that 10 minutes of cooking it smelled so heavenly.

the group worked hard as there were about 12 stations. so much to do!!!
i really loved watching the people take turns at the pasta station

they were preparing butternut squash stuffed ravioli to be served with a brown butter and sage sauce. (i am very much hoping that there are leftovers waiting for me this morning...)

they started their meal with a fun trio of crostini, my favorite was the chunky tapenade:
cooked black and green olives, roasted pines nuts, garlic, rosemary...

the creamy tuscan white bean spread

bryson farms heirloom tomatoes went into the bruschetta, such color.

our worker bees then went on to have some minestrone soup, very rich and comforting... can you feel the love? the last minute addition of watercress was genius.

after the pasta, they enjoyed a venison stew. that. looked. incredible.

chef candice started a stew in the afternoon so that the group could see and taste the difference between melt-in-your-mouth-ready and a hurried stew... it needs time.

they got the most of all worlds, preparing the stew from scratch, and tasting the result of hours of slow cooking. We put in delicate mushrooms from Le Coprin, i forgot to picture them!!!

the evening ended on a sweet note with some chocolate almond cake, not to make you jealous, but that will most probably be my breakfast!

-marysol

feast of fields

2009-09-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

yesterday, we had the pleasure of hosting the press conference for feast of fields.
the press who showed up really didn't regret it... the food was unbelievable!

it's a really simple principle: if you have top quality ingredients to start with, the end result will be fantastic.

it was fabulous to have some farmers onsite to talk about their produce. the sense of community was tremendous and heartwarming. you can't help but smile when you hear about lambs that eat Beau's Beer's grains and Pascale's ice cream with pickles (yes, pickles, and it will be called Preggers!!! She is paired with The Pickle Patch.)

two teams were invited to cook: last year's winning team, The Red Apron (sadly their farmer was not there!) and our own resident chef Candice Butler and Greta, from Greta's organic seeds.

the red apron served up some local corn polenta, with slow braised lamb, a white bean ragoût, heirloom tomatoes...simply heaven. melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

see the beautiful garlic they had to work with?!! It smelled like fresh earth, the colors so inspiring.

Candice served a very modest-looking quesadilla... but the first bite had everyone talking about how tasty is was and wondering about the special ingredients! there was an ancho chili sauce with it as well as some red pepper jam.

oh, the dramatic picture!!!

you still have a bit of time to purchase your tickets for feast of fields, do it quickly before they sell out!

-marysol

the gourmet series

2009-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

yesterday was the last class in the gourmet series that we ran this summer.
Chef Candice Butler dug through magazines from the 40's up to the 70's to find some recipes that could still reflect the way we cook today...

the main attraction last night was a rolled and stuffed chicken. my guess is that Candice chose this dish as she was still dreaming of an incredible lamb dish that we had at Castlegarth last year - yes, truly unforgettable.

but let's start from the beginning.

the amuse

so lovely. i would eat a whole bowl of these as i am playing croquet.
delicate radishes with whipped butter and maldon salt.

and i just couldn't resist picturing these vegetables

the small courgettes, i believe, were poached in chicken stock before roasting. something apparently all housewives did!! Gourmet said so.

et la pièce de résistance...

rolled chicken with ham, salami, olives, hard boiled egg... and probably so much more! i love the jelly cubes...

-marysol

Toronto, part 2. Food and Wine Classic.

2009-08-24T08:12:00.001-07:00

The main reason for our trip to Toronto was the Food and Wine Classic.

It was held in the historical Distillery District, each restaurant hosting a different Ontario region: of course, we represented Ottawa.

This was the first Canadian event of it's size to be so eco-friendly: each guest was handed a wine glass to save and reuse during the evening, all 'disposables' were sustainable. No garbage cans that evening, only special bins that held all used biodegradable dishes and flatware.

Recipes and food items to be showcased (Le Coprin Mushrooms, Alpenblick Farm, Suntech tomatoes) were first chosen by our resident chef, Candice Butler.

The supplier info and detailed recipes were sent to chef Eric Pless (executive chef of The Boiler House, Archeo & Pure Spirits), his team then prepared all the food and we just had to come in, taste, adjust seasonings and enjoy the evening!

I have to admit that I was immensely impressed by the whole organisation...
Here are a group of people who have never done such 'events' and pull it off with ease and grace. It was huge, thousands of invites, hundreds of people walking in and out of restaurants, staff out of their comfort zones and interacting with a very hungry and thirsty crowd!

Chef Eric Pless handing out lamb skewers with salsa verde & polenta with wild mushroom ragoût

This is something we do on a weekly basis. Interact, answer questions, smile, customize. But for restaurant staff, who all have their routine, this is different.

Here is chef Kyle MacNeil (one of ours!) with a Pure Spirits sous-chef-master-oyster-shucker!

Kyle was totally in his element, interacting with all the passers-by, working his maritimer charm!! From this station, they served chilled gazpacho with a lime and cilantro cream & some crunchy corn + smoked chicken fritters with ancho chili sauce.

It was a great opportunity for us to discover new products:

maple sugar on a stick, yippee!

...and to reconnect with old friends:

devilishly tempting cheese plates that Gurth Pretty was serving

We had to have a glass of wine to end the evening and found the most beautiful spot. The architecture and design of The Boiler House left us speechless...

...well, it didn't end there. No real kitchen people would end the evening without late night snacks!!! Chef Eric joined us for Moo Shoo pork, spare ribs, lemon chicken...

Toronto, part 1. Other people's food!

2009-08-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

We recently were invited to the Food and Wine Classic in Toronto.
Being the foodies that we are, we took pictures of our food highlight.

Gilead Café

This was my second venture into a Jamie Kennedy location. I had the immense pleasure to share a communal table (and drinks, stories, laughs!) with friends and strangers during our last stop in Toronto for Terroir.

Just a few steps from the Distillery District, this café is dedicated to sourcing local food ingredients (as are all Jamie Kennedy locations), has beautiful light and friendly service.

And this was a heavenly lunch.

We started off by sharing a heirloom tomato plate

The tomatoes, we were told, came from Jamie's garden.
so. full. of. flavor.
The arugula was crunchy and peppery, the light buttermilk dressing just perfect.
We all looked at one another as we savoured our first bites, the best of summer.

We absolutely had to indulge: fries with fried thyme.

Golden delicious! No need for the mayo, the cup was still full when we finished!

Kyle had a roast beef sandwich, not one crumb left.

Carley had a smoked trout salad (and we all tasted! The trout was fabulous... just smokey enough.)

And I had a chicken and rosemary tartine. Skipped the picture on that one, sorry. Ate too quickly. Well seasoned organic chicken, green olives and home pickles all mixed in with a garlicky red pepper vinaigrette.

If you ever are in the area, this is one place to stop for lunch. Some menu items change daily, all are reasonably priced and the portions were just right. If you are lucky enough to stay somewhere that has a fridge, you can buy some extra treats to bring home and enjoy later. That day they had smoked fish, beet salad, meat pies, potato gratin - all was so appetizing and conveniently 'cryovacked' for easy transport.

-marysol

how to prepare a smoke pouch

2009-08-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

We had great fun on Tuesday night for the Grill Cuts class!!!

It is always a treat to have chef Jenna Durling in the Studio, the proof is that she has quite a following! Guests did a bee-line to thank her after the class, I found that pretty sweet.

Jenna taught everyone how to do a smoke pouch.

First you need to soak your wood chips for about 1 hour.
You may stick to one type of wood or pick two that complement one another.

Take out the grills from one section of your BBQ. This is where you will drop your pouch (or pouches). Preheat the BBQ. Light only one side for indirect grilling.

To prepare the pouch:
You will need two layers of tin foil.
Lay them out on a flat surface.
In the middle of the foil, put two handfulls of soaked chips.

Then add some dry ones.

Fold over the pouch.

Poke some holes.

Open the BBQ and drop your pouches directly on the fire source on high heat. Close the BBQ and let it fill with smoke. Then simply smoke your meat on the opposite side.

Take into consideration that it is indirect cooking, so your cuts will need to cook longer... This is ideal for tougher cuts of meat or brined meats.

We had delicious Slow Smoked Turkey Legs (and marinated flank steak, and pork belly, and bison, and elk, and wild boar and...). Needless to say that we had full tummies, but still enough room for a chocolate ricotta cheesecake!

-marysol

pasta making, but mostly eating.

2009-08-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

week three of kids camp.

making pasta is fun
...tasting the difference is quite the discovery!

why are our kid's camps so popular you ask?

2009-07-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

this is our first week of kid's camp of the summer...
it has been sold out for awhile, even though I don't handle registration, I know this for sure - they always sell out.

I was working at my desk this afternoon and had the giggles.
this pile was staring at me:

58 recipes. I found it long to correct, revise and format...but then had a thought for the chef who wrote them from the start.

all these recipes in next week's camp, this is why we sell out!!! Preparing more than 10 'dishes' a day, with real chefs (yes, they are the same who teach our adult classes), and eating it too!

the young ones are kept busy recreating dishes that some think can only come out of a box, a can, a tube, all pre-made... discovering the difference between regular veggies and yummy-tasty organic ones. learning why to buy local. shopping on the market and discovering Chinatown. gaining confidence in the kitchen and teaching their parents a trick or two.

tomorrow is an outing to Castlegarth Farms to truly understand where all this wonderful food comes from, let's hope it doesn't rain!

-marysol

the pleasures of summer...

2009-06-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

this past saturday, oliver and i joined 16 other guests at chez eric in our hometown of wakefield for a delightful "wine by mood" tasting with billy and his partner, kato.

amongst having their hands in many other culinary outlets, the duo spends alot of their time hosting what they refer to as 'alternative wine education' experiences for both the public and trades in the industry.

billy & kato were up visiting from toronto to host a tasting at the local bookshop (solstice), and a wine dinner at chez eric here in the village. i know billy from his jaunts in and around toronto and ensure i always keep a copy of "billy's best bottles" on hand with each annual release - it's a tremendously resourceful guide to lcbo wine selection.

billy & kato's approach to wine tasting is a laid-back, casual and most of all, fun. his philosophy is that you should always drink wine in tandem to how you are feeling, and plan parties accordingly, using your mood as your inspiration. this philosophy makes sense to me - shouldn't we always sip on what we are in the mood for? his practices illustrate how to take a party from start to finish with wines that vary in texture, feel, taste, and ultimately, mood. just like you set the tone with music, you also set the tone with wine. easy concept.

although it would appear that at any time the skies would open up and we'd have to scatter inside the cozy cafe at some point in the evening (which would not be a bad idea as i absolutely love the cafe's charming interior), the weather held out and allowed us to sit beneath the trees and enjoy the early summer breeze.

we sipped, savoured, chatted and laughed for about 90 minutes over the tasting (and of course, learned a thing or two, thanks to billy's Q&A in "wine school") and then were treated to three-course dinner by the talented team at chez eric.

as daylight slowly turned to twilight, it was on to kaffe 1870 for some local music, continued socializing and oh yes, to carry on the sipping under the stars....summer is here at long last.

here's hoping your weekend was full of wonderful wine!
-carley

I think we like tomatoes...

2009-06-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

2nd post in a row about tomato-goodness!

Lovely little tartlets that Candice baked for Monday's big event...
A delightful late afternoon snack.

Also, some fabulous baguette that we served from a bakery right next to my house, Aux Deux Frères. It is clearly worth the detour to Aylmer...

They have different treats on different days.
I have to admit to morning laziness since we moved to Aylmer - I just drag my feet to the bakery and get croissants & coffee for breakfast. They are the best I have tasted, hands down.

I sampled some heavenly 'pizza' with cranberries, red onion, walnuts & spinach (they also had classic pissaladière) and gummy-yummy-good fruit & nut breads (they even have some with sexy icing on Fridays and Saturdays). Always available are savoury breads (again, they switch up the kinds...), multi-grain, rye, sourdough, muffins, sweet treats...

-Let it be noted that I bike to work to make up for the guilt, sometimes!-

marysol

Combining Two Wonderful Things...

2009-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

Art and food. Two of my favourite things.

Last Thursday was the annual Art Auction at the Ottawa Art Gallery.
Always a great event - so much to look at and taste!

We served some tomato-basil strata, arugula and mascarpone cream, roasted cherry tomato and Bryson Farm's pak choi micro greens.

It is hard to resist temptation to steal a few bites from other restaurants or caterers, thank goodness my hands were busy... I would have easily snacked on Essence Catering's lovely shrimp skewers, or stolen some tiny pieces of fish from the Whalesbone.

...and if I had had the time (or budget!), I would have bid on a piece from Alexandre Castonguay... maybe next year!

Marysol

a taste of modern latin cuisine...

2009-06-07T19:01:00.001-07:00

back from a weekend full of gastronomical delights in the fabulous city of montreal - a city that oliver and i are convinced, never sleeps!

with our bellies full to our heart's content, we already dream of the next visit. montreal is never boring and there is always a new foodie adventure around every corner and within every neighbourhood.

one of the highlight's of the past weekend was spending an afternoon with mario navarette jr., chef-owner-operator of raza restaurant (www.restaurantraza.com). raza strives to allow the history and culture of latin cuisine shine on its plates to express his interpretation of "modern latin cuisine". mario also runs a quaint bistro, called madre , which dishes ups a divine brunch/dinner menu that reflects a throwback to his younger years and his mother's cooking. (we couldn't help but scoot into madre for brunch before we left the city... the highlight dish was pork cakes -a crispy fried shell with braised pork nestled inside - sunny side up eggs, patatas bravas and fresh tomato salsa - i loved the delicious purple corn lemonade - so unique and refreshing).

as oliver and i are game to get our hands dirty at cooking experiences of all sorts, we eagerly enrolled for the carpaccio class. mario teaches these workshops out of his tiny kitchen, which he runs weekdays and weekends on off-hours, before the restaurant opens for service. what a better way to get a sneak peak and a behind the scenes look at one of the top restaurants in the city?

the website cites a group maximum of 16 for its "el taller" (spanish for "workshop"), however it turned out we were the only two students that day. i was impressed that he chose to still run the workshop even though it had turned into a private one-on-one session. lucky us!
in this class we would tackle a more interesting variation on the traditional beef dish- fish carpaccio - and that was right up our alley.

the kitchen was neat, extremely small (but perfect for a 28 seat restaurant) and clean as a whistle. for an hour and a half cooking workshop, we would each produce one dish (our own plate) from preparation to plating. for this dish, we each started with a firm-fleshed 4 ounce piece of whitefish, similar to grouper. we chose our knives and under the direction of mario, sliced ever so thinly sashimi-style pieces of fish. our knife skills definitely need work and more practice perfecting this technique, but all in all, not bad, and mario was extremely encouraging. the thin slices of fish were fanned decoratively out over a plate, dressed with a splash of oil, saran-wrapped and refrigerated, chilled until we were ready to plate.

next came the vinaigrette. minced garlic, fresh lime, salt and pepper - a small dollop of yellow pepper "paste" to add a bit of punch and flair, one egg yolk, and oil we whisked in to emulsify the mixture. taking the cold plate of carpaccio out of the fridge, we spread a thin layer of this vinaigrette over the fish - just enough to cover the top. next we used a mandolin to slice tender spears of local Quebec asparagus into thin slices and tossed these strips in the bowl with remaining vinaigrette and added a colourful medley of pickled baby carrots, red onions, jicama, some blanched and peeled brussel sprout leaves (so pretty) which were already prepped and ready from mario's mise-in-place counter. one final ingredient before we went to plate. mario brought out a container filled with a simple puree of parsnip - nothing added - pure as pure.
for some creaminess and texture, mario added a few strokes of parsnip puree atop the fish which i thought was a unique combo. using the parsnip "streaks" as height to which he ever so methodically dressed the rest of his spring salad atop - the baby carrots, pickled red onion, crunchy jicama and tender raw asparagus ribbons. the final touch was some micro greens (these were mustard greens, my favourite). et, voila! the creation, you can see, shown above.

mario gestured to us to the dining room, and opened beautiful bottle of chardonnay that complimented the buttery nature of the dish so well (sure enough, that parsnip puree worked its magic with the wine pairing - exquisite). over this delicious lunch, the three of us waxed poetic about the food scene in montreal, and i found myself boasting about ottawa's own culinary landscape - which although doesn't quite have the same vastness as montreal's - surely has its remarkable stand-outs and equally passionate chefs.

el taller is a wonderful way to experience accessible, hands-on cooking methods with one of montreal's top chefs - an experience that can be that more magical if you luck out with a private tutorial. in the end, it was not so much as what was on the plate as what we will remember most, but the conversation that flowed between the three of us and the stories exchanged. not only is mario a masterful chef, he is a gracious host - opening up his kitchen and restaurant to students, making his guests feel quite at home. we'll be back - definitely for the ceviche class which is just weeks away.

the next time you are planning a trip to montreal - check out el taller at restaurant raza for an insider's look and taste of modern latin cuisine - i guarantee you will not be disappointed!

until next time....
carley

blogs we read...

2009-06-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, blogs we read delightfully surprise us... with a blog entry on us!

Rachelle Eats Food is a great read. I have to admit that I went back and read older and older entries... I was so totally hooked on her honesty and, of course, enticing food pictures. I love the Tip Jar!

Funny how we connect with certain people just by reading tidbits of their lives... I feel right at home with her husband's food. It seems like they are taking pictures of dinners at my house!

Below is the entry about the Raw class this past Monday.
I wanted so very much to attend this class, luckily Rachelle took a lot of pictures! I indulged in tartare quite a bit where I used to work, it was my péché mignon (along with rillettes tartines!!!).

The Raw class was also an excuse to taste the food of one of the best chefs in the region, Scott Adams. (to me, he shares the crown with Matthew Brearly of Castlegarth...) For a few years now (hmmm, 4 years I believe!), Benny's Bistro has been my absolute favorite spot for brunch and lunch. I have been many many times, brought friends and family and never have been let down once, a sure sign of a great kitchen, best quality ingredients and passion.

So... two things. Read Rachelle Eats Food, and go to Benny's Bistro!

Santé!
Marysol

http://rachelleeatsfood.blogspot.com/2009/06/raw-cooking-at-urban-element.html

vintage delights

2009-05-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

I am a self-admitted magazine addict and my penchant for food mags definitely rank high on the addiction list. I am also a bit of a pack rat and am partial to keeping years upon years of back-issues of foodie magazines of all types, size, shape and form to thumb through for seasonal inspiration. They are great reference and good quality recipes never seem to go out of style. When Gourmet and its sister magazine, bon appetit, recently underwent a slick new makeover which modernized the content and food imagery, it was a move in the right direction. Now I am positively hooked.

So when we were approached to inherit a vintage collection of Gourmet magazines, there was no question of what we would do. It was one thing to now be the proud owner of this fabulous collection, but another to know the right thing to do with them. Clearly these magazines were not given to sit idle on the shelf (likely what they were doing in their former years), so we decided to put them to practical use - as such, we are rolling out a 4-part series of classes aimed at revealing each fabulous decade of edible trends. Chef Candice poured over the editions (mildly irritated that the earlier editions were published with no photos) and came up with a sophisticated series of 4 classes that will touch on each the roaring 40's, nifty 50's, swingin' 60's, freedom 70's and classic 80's from late May through August. Aspic, jellies, fish balls... oh, such delicious sounding delicacies! (I promise, we won't be that cruel - although Candice assures me she will throw in an aspic or two.. they are, after all, making a comeback). She has come up with a truly genuine menu reflecting each decade - and these are recipes that you really and truly will serve to your close family and friends. Believe me, I was there for taste test day and have been swearing by the fish balls (aka salt cod fritters in modern day language) ever since. Deelish!

I'll leave you with a recipe from the above photographed May issue, 1960.
This was taken from a curious article entitled "Rabelaisian Salads" - a topic I shall not expand on here so you'll just have to borrow our copy to read more about what that means exactly!
I saw the first signs of Ontario asparagus in the markets this past weekend, so the recipe below is quite timely. Definitely substitute the capon for poached chicken if you are in a pinch. I am envisioning this dish served al fresco on a warm spring day... maybe you'll try it this long May weekend?
Let me know if you do!

Capon and Asparagus Salad
Gourmet Magazine, May 1960

Cut the white meat of a poached capon in thin slices and marinate it in French dressing with 1 chopped shallot.
Snap the tough ends from a large bunch of asparagus and trim the stalks to the same size. Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water until it is just tender but still crisp. Cool it under running water and marinate it in French dressing (recipe to follow).
Combine 3/4 cup diced cucumber with 1 cup cold cooked rice and bind the mixture with a little mayonnaise.
Marinate 6 cold cooked artichoke bottoms in French dressing for 1 hour. Drain them well and stuff them with the rice mixture. Sprinkle the artichokes with 2 finely chopped truffles. In the center of a large serving platter, arrange the chicken in overlapping slices. Arrange the artichokes alternately with little bundles of asparagus around the chicken.
Serve mayonnaise seasoned with lemon juice separately.

French Dressing
Gourmet Magazine, May 1960

"A salad without dressing is like a spring without a shower, or a bird without song. Only rabbits and other meadow dwellers can happily feast on undressed greens".

To 1/2 cup vinegar - wine, cider, tarragon, or malt - add 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper. Stir the mixture well, add 1 1/2 cups olive oil, and beat with a fork until the dressing thickens.
For a creamier, thicker dressing, put an ice cube in the mixing bowl and stir the dressing for a minute or so longer. Or set the mixing bowl into another bowl filled with ice, while the dressing is being stirred. The dressing may be mixed and shaken in a bottle.
If a garlic flavour is desired, hang a clove of garlic by a thread in the bottle containing the vinegar for a least 3 or 4 days before making the dressing.

I Would Like One Long Weekend Please!

2009-05-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Even if we do love our jobs, we are always looking forward to long weekends...
I know I have a lot of gardening to do and some new recipes to test out!
What will you be doing?

The markets are officially opening this weekend (luscious hanging flower baskets just in time for mother's day!), and should be in full swing next weekend. If you make it down to the Ottawa Farmer's Market at Lansdowne Park, be sure to stop by Pascale's All Natural Ice Cream, a new addition this year. Yum!

Entertaining next weekend and want some idea? We still have a few spots left for Candice's class, Long Weekend Entertaining... Easy ideas for that first weekend at the cottage or picnic!! Learn to incorporate the mysterious quinoa into your meals...

Sustainable Seafood on Tuesday!

2009-05-08T04:38:00.000-07:00

A lot of restaurants in the region are now trying to promote sustainable fish and seafood, how can you be part of this at home?

Next Tuesday, the nice folks from The Whalesbone Sustainable Fish and Oyster House will be dropping by, along with chef Susan Jessup, to talk about sensible choices for fish and seafood and why people are changing their habits (or should be!).

The lucky group will sample some delicacies from La Boucanerie in Old Chelsea, learn to clean, cut and cook their own fish, and then, most importantly, sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy!

a taste for life

2009-04-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

Any plans for Wednesday?
How about good food and a good cause...

We had the pleasure of hosting the media launch for A Taste for Life a few weeks ago... It was a great opportunity for us to reconnect with the lovely people from Bruce House and the Snowy Owl Foundation. It is always touching and inspiring to watch and hear individuals with such passion.

To know which restaurants are participating and for more information:
http://www.atasteforlife.org/_cms/index.php?ottawa

2009-04-22T05:37:00.001-07:00

Dreaming in Green

Long gone (for us) are the cold cellar roots that fulfilled our comfort food desires and kept our braised meat dishes company on the plate over the past few months. Now my palate is awakening with the new season ahead and I am noticing a direct correlation between the weather and my current desire for crunchy, fresh green veggies. And I don't think I am alone. We are a culture that likes to talk - almost obsess - about the weather, and I find Ottawans are equally obsessed. Not a day goes by that I don't hear people commenting about too much rain, too much sun, too cold, too hot...are there ever perfect conditions? We are at the mercy of Mother Nature herself and we all know that she likes to play tricks as the seasons turn. And for the food-obsessed this time of year, this is simply torture. Just when we think we've turned the corner on that first warm and sunny day, straining to see the first wild leek poking out from under the soil- surprise! - we're hit with an out-of-the-blue freak snowstorm. Ah, the joys of Canadian living. Although we can't officially predict when we will be enjoying our first plate of spring asparagus, it's the lead-up of anticipation that makes the first bite all that more sweet.

In the kitchen at urban element, Chef Candice has composed her spring/summer menus and we are beginning to test and sample our new seasonal recipes. Its a time of transition - having to gradually phase in the first spring ingredients as they become available from the farmers serves as a reminder that we have waited patiently all winter and will soon be rewarded with finer and more delicate flavours to come. Of course, this depends on how quickly our growing season sets into motion, contingent on Mother Nature herself. Ramps, asparagus, fiddleheads, lovage, dandelion... anything green makes me absolutely giddy this time of year.

Speaking of green, as yesterday was Earth Day, I can't imagine a better time to reflect on and be thankful for where we live, what we do (we eat for a living!) and how lucky we are to have access all the incredible producers in the region who provide us with the variety and goodness of fresh locally grown produce. This summer Oliver and I will be receiving another bountiful CSA (community supported agriculture) share from Juniper Farm and if it is anything like what we received and enjoyed last year, my taste buds are in for a treat yet again. I love the surprise and thrill of what each produce basket brings weekly. The long winter wait will have surely paid off.

(I'd be happy to point you in the right direction to locate a farm in the Ottawa region that offers CSA shares, although be forewarned: most farmers solidify their contracts months before so they know quantities to plant and supply. You can always contact them directly to see if they are offering any additional shares for this season)