Wines of Ontario

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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