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. 

Reggae Reggae Jerk Chicken

So, if you've never heard of this Reggae Reggae sauce before..I don't blame you! I didn't either, until visiting a friend in London, UK who happened to have a bottle in the fridge. Let's just say that I couldn't help myself from smuggling about 6 bottles back to Canada. Click here to read about the history of this yummy sauce..which is quite interesting as it is a product of Dragon's Den! 

So far I've used in in stir fries, rice dishes, salmon, salads, bbq, and my favourite: CHICKEN! 

So here is a super simple recipe for which you will need: 

Approx. 6 pcs chicken drumsticks/wings/breast

Half a jar of Reggae Reggae Sauce

3-4 cloves of garlic

Side: Veggies

Bok Choy

Red/Yellow Peppers

Fresh Figs

Start by tossing the chicken in the sauce. For more intense flavours, you can marinate it for a few hours. This sauce is pretty spicy, so I just do it this way and then add more if I want more spice. 

Continue by browning the chicken on medium-high heat. Be careful not to burn it but I like it crispy so it might look a bit overdone in the photos. 

Once they are all browned, throw them on an baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or a rack lined pan like I did, and bake in the oven for 30-40 mins on 400F. 

Then quickly sautee the veggies with some olive oil and 3-4 tbsp or Reggae Reggae sauce. 

Enjoy!!

Gusto 101

Situated at 101 Portland St. just off King West, Gusto 101 is definitely my new favorite spot in the area. I was planning where to go out for drinks and dinner before heading for a night out with friends, and stumbled on a tweet about this newly opened restaurant. I decided to search for it on Google street view and this is what I found: an old garage for sale. I did not give up however.

I called to make reservations ahead as it was Sunday night, and Monday was a holiday, but they do not take reservations.

We headed over around 9 pm and the restaurant was completely full, with a 15 minute wait for a table of 4. I heard great things about their Vini di Gusto (Malbec and a Sauvignon Blanc) which are made on site in their basement winery, so I headed over to the bar right away. Unfortunately they sold out of it just a week after their opening, so we opted for a bottle of Megalomaniac’s 2009 Narcissist Riesling which is always a great choice!

The décor is very rustic with gorgeous brick and wood accents contrasted by more modern light fixtures and furniture. My favourite was the open concept kitchen with a huge Tuscan wood-fire grill.

I was eager to try everything on the menu, but we decided to just share 3 different dishes followed by dessert and another bottle of wine.

I had the Moroccan “brick chicken,” which is cooked sous-vide then finished on the grill and served with Swiss chard and garlic smashed potatoes ($17)

. My friends shared the Beef tartare, topped with figs, ricotta, arugula and truffle oil ($14.50 )

and Mozzarelola di Bufala- roasted tomatoes, basil oil, parmigiano crisp, smoked paprika ($15)

which were all amazing dishes!

The portions aren’t very big so don’t count on a big filling dinner, but I personally prefer tapas bars so these portions were perfect for sharing along with some drinks.

The service was fantastic and despite the crowded restaurant and Gusto being open for only 2 weeks, the server was very attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. He recommended we try the dessert trio and I am glad we did!

Desserts come in mini-portions and include mascarpone tiramisu, dark chocolate mousse with caramel, olive oil and sea salt, and wild lemon air, which was my personal favourite: aerated limoncello with fizzy candy, candied celery and a sprinkle of ground coffee ($3 each or $8.50 for a combo of all three).

We also got a little home made biscotti to go with it

There is nothing negative that I could say about Gusto 101, the staff are friendly and attentive, food was amazing, wine selection was great and the atmosphere is very warm and inviting. Will definitely come back to try that malbec!