Steak and Kale Salad

This is one of my favourite summer dishes to make. To me, a salad is not a meal, unless there is a steak on the side.

As usual, I improvise with what I have at home.

Here is what I came up with today: 

Salad

1 bunch Kale (shredded)

1/2 cup dried cranberries. 

1 red pepper (diced)

1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)

2 carrots (grated)

1 onion

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic

I sauteed the onion, pepper and garlic with some balsamic vinegar and paprika seasoning. and then added it to the fresh ingredients. This is optional but adds more flavour to the salad. 

Dressing

Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 lemon (juice)

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp honey

salt and pepper to taste

Steak 

Seasoned with Montreal steak spice.

Let sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. 

Grill on the BBQ for 5 minutes on each side. (Med-Rare)

Slice and plate.

Toronto Restaurant Wishlist - Summer 2014 Edition

Hey everyone!

I apologize for the sudden transition back to this format of the blog, the website was just not working out for me and I prefer a more interactive approach with comments and followers.

I will try to transfer my posts from the past year on here, but for now I will continue on with more current posts.

As the first month of official Toronto summer comes to an end, I am looking down at my list my must-visit summer restaurants which still has some unexplored territory.

So I would like to share the remainder of my list and hopefully get some feedback on where to go first- Starting tomorrow!

1. Rock Lobster (538 Queen St. W., 416-203-6623)

2. Osteria dei Ganzi (504 Jarvis St, 647-348-6520)

3. Electric Mud BBQ (5 Brock Avenue, Queen St. West, 416-516-8286)

4. Lisa Marie (638 Queen St. W.,647-748-6822)

5. Bar Isabel (797 College St, 416-532-2222)

Gourmet Food & Wine Expo in Toronto



 

Finally, the time has come for my favourite event of the year! The Gourmet Food & Wine Expo is an annual event that attracts a unique crowd of food and wine enthusiasts every year in Toronto. It offers an interactive and educational approach to the field of gastronomy. My favourite part of the experience is sampling award winning wines by the glass and being able to interact with the ambassadors at each booth. Last year there were several Canadian wineries as well as international brands and even port makers from Porto in Portugal, which I happen to be a huge fan of.

 

The atmosphere is very busy and the experience is very hands on, so come prepared.

Here are some tips if this is your first time attending the expo:

 

1. Bring a pen so you can write down the wines you enjoyed or restaurants you sampled. You may think you will remember everything, but after a few glasses of wine...you won't.

 

2. If you work in the industry, it is a great networking event as well so bring business cards.

 

3. Eat before you come. The samples are, well, samples. And you will be able to handle more drinks on a full stomach.

 

4. Look at the list of exhibitors before you go. Once you have established the must-visit booths, it will be easier to navigate across the crowded show floor.

 

5. Get out of your comfort zone. Don't go for the usual Riesling that you buy every weekend. Instead, try a vintage blend that you've never had before (or never purchased because of the price). If you had ever contemplated the risks of buying a $80 bottle of wine, worried that you won't enjoy the taste, this is the time to try that $3 sample and make a note of what you liked and disliked.

 

5. Finally, bring FRIENDS! It is always more fun in a group- make sure you coordinate a meeting point if you split up. Last year my phone battery died from taking too many pictures and I spent a long time trying to find my group in the end.



Food, Art, Wine and Friends





Live Chef Demo



 



Wine Tastings



Niagara and International Wineries





Maritime Lobster

 

 

For more information and tickets click HERE.

 

I will be attending the event, so if you would like to see pictures and updates, follow me on Twitter : @katiakhaddadine

 



Berries and Cream with a twist.

 

One of my favourite summer deserts. Simple to make, just like every recipe I post, and not too bad on the calories.

 

 

 

Please forgive my presentation- I do need to work on my piping skills.

 

All you need is:

 

Strawberries

Chocolate sauce

Creme Cheese

Whipped Cream

 

Wash the berries and cut out the stem

 

 

Cut the base so that they stay up straight

 

 

 

 

 

Fill a piping bag with a mixture of cream cheese and whipping cream. I usUally add more cream cheese than whipped but if you want a fluffier consistency do the opposite.

 

 

Make an X cut in the top of the strawberry and pipe the filling in slowly.

 

 

 

Repeat with all the berries and after arranging them on a platter, drizzle chocolate sauce and cool in the fridge over night or for a few hours.

Takes about 30 minutes to make and can be served in an hour of chilling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cloudy with a chance of...Meatballs

Finally, I have tasted the savoury cheesy meatballs that have been popping up in every NYC food bloggers' Instagram posts.

 Located in Greenwich Village, NYC: 510 Sixth Ave. nr. 13th and 14th

This magical take out window is less than a year old, but already has a large fan following...and now I am one too- OBSESSED. 

The homemade sauce is simple but delicious, the cheese melts beautifully and the foccaccia bread is so fresh that I ended up getting 2 pieces. 

So, if you are ever starving in NYC: pick up a double meatball in a cup ($7) with extra cheese and you won't regret it!

St. Jacob's Farmers' Market

Firstly, I would like to apologize for not posting any deliciousness in a few weeks: I have been away travelling.. but that will be a whole new post coming up! 

 One of my favourite things to do around this time of year ( Late summer/early fall) is visit local farms and markets. The fresh, organic and locally grown ingredients really make a difference in any meal. My family has always been very aware of this and we've always grown vegetables in our garden in the summer and enjoyed home made jams and other preserves in the winter. But, for those of you less garden savvy cooks, there's always the farmers market!
The largest market in the GTA, and all-year round, is the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market which is located around the city of Waterloo.

They are open 3 days a week in the summer: 

Thursday and Saturday 7 am - 3:30 pm all year
Tuesdays 8 am- 3 pm for the summer only

Here is a snapshot of some of the yummy items I picked up on my last trip: 
Mini sweet red peppers, baby potatoes, fresh cucumbers, eggplants, pell peppers, pork and beef summer sausage, strawberries and my all time favourites: cinammon and hazlenut butters. I LOVE these home made butters on french toast and crepes! So delicious...

The indoor market space is two storeys high: the upstairs shops mainly sell clothes, gifts and other crafts and antiques and the lower level sells specialty foods, meats, baked goods and have a couple of cafes and food kiosks. 

Outside you will find a picnic area with tables and chairs for those having lunch from one of the kiosks. May I suggest Apple fritters?












Around the main building you will also find all the produce vendors selling fresh fruits and veggies straight from the farm.  If you go towards the end of the day (2pm-3pm) you will notice that the vendors start to lower their prices to sell off the remaining goods. 


Of course, that's when I stock up on everything! although, you have to be quick. 
I managed to grab 6 boxes of strawberries for $5 and a bushel of peppers for $3. 

After you grabbed some lunch and had enough bargaining for the day- you can visit the petting zoo on site or take a tour of the nearby Mennonite Farm by horse and carriage. It's a fully narrated hour-long tour and is very informative.

For those of you who don't know this, most of the surrounding farmers and vendors in the St. Jacob's county are Old Order Mennonites. There is a community of about 4,000 of them and the above mentioned tour is a great way to learn more about their way of life, their beliefs and just ask any questions you may have. 

Toronto's Best Hot Chocolate

I don't usually crave sweets and chocolate, but when I do... I go to SOMA- an artisan chocolate-maker located in Toronto's Distillery District. 

One rainy winter day all I wanted was a cup of hot chocolate, so I Googled "Best Hot Chocolate in Toronto" and this is where it took me. I keep going back for more and more.

They make everything: from truffles to chocolate drinks to plain chocolate bars and even chocolate covered fruits.

 During my last visit, I tried their Mayan Spicy Hot Chocolate and fell in love.. it was smooth and velvety, had a nice spice without burning your throat and making you drink 5 glasses of water after. They make it three ways: a concentrated shot, the conventional way with milk, and I think the other way is with water. They also top it off with this amazing cream that's really thick and balances out the bitter spicy taste of the drink. 

A regular hot chocolate, a spicy mayan hot chocolate and more chocolate... that was quite a breakfast.

As I was sipping on my drink, a group of 20 or so German tourists showed up and bought heaps of chocolate.. that should tell you something, since German chocolate is probably one of the best in the world. 

Learn more about SOMA here.

You can see behind me there is a micro factory going on. Guests can sit in the shop and watch the whole process of chocolate making. Wish I could drink that big bowl of chocolate mixing in the background.

If you have never been to the Distillery Dirtrict, you're missing out! It's probably one of my favourite spots to spend a Sunday afternoon. There are lots of different shops, restaurants, oyster bars, and Mill St. Brewery is located there as well.