Spring has Sprung-ish

Is it that time of the year already? I couldn't believe my eyes last week at Fiesta Farms. There was a huge pile of gorgeous local heirloom tomatoes. I'm still scratching my head over this. Isn't it still a bit cold for tomatoes? We even had a snow frozen rain storm last night, and the one warm day we had last Monday couln't have harvested fruits of this size. Heirloom tomatoes are a visual stunner, although I find the flavor can be hit or miss. Somehow I managed to pass up on purchasing one, I was on a mission that day, and I promised myself not to veer off course.  I couldn't hold back from taking a few pictures though, they are just so pretty. If any of you have visted Fiesta recently, pick one up and let me know how they taste.

Ravishing red risotto follow up - Arancini

One of my most favorite things about making risotto at home is the chance of  for leftovers at the end of the meal. Risotto the next day isn't too appetizing on it's own, in fact for me once risotto has cooled to room temperature I've lost interest in it completely. The key to a perfect creamy risotto is to serve and enjoy it right away.  Once the satisfying rice dish cools it becomes stiff and cement like loosing all it's luster.  That is until the next day when the pliable rice patty can be formed into balls then stuffed with beautiful cheese, coated with bread  crumbs and fried to perfection. This dish is know as Arancini named for it's appearance and resemblance to an orange (in Italian orange means arancini). The dish  originates in Sicily and can be found filled with meat, nuts, mushrooms or cheese and served with marinara sauce or on it's own. This simple dish is a wonderful appetizer and will definitely wow with or without a surprise filling. 
ARANCINI INGREDIENTS: 
left over risotto - for ravishing red risotto recipe 
fresh buffalo mozzarella
egg - lightly beaten 
panko bread crumbs - any bread crumbs will do, panko fries up extra crunchy and light
fresh grated  pamagiano reggiano - pecorino romano will also do
canola oil for frying 
PREP: cut small (bite size) pieces of mozzarella then take  table spoon of rice and mould around the cheese to form ball. * if rice doesn't stick together you may quickly blend it to make a paste. Once all the rice balls are formed then create a dredging station of egg, and panko each in their own small bowls or plates. First dip the ball in the egg, then roll into the panko... do this for all of the balls. 
COOK: Heat your oil in a medium frying pan with about an inch of oil (the arancini will be shallow fried ie. not completely submerged in the oil which is a deep fry) I don't use a thermometer, but if you are using one to check your temp for frying you'll want it to be at around 350. To test the oil without thermometer just toss in a small amount of panko (or make a small sample arancini) you'll want little bubbles to start forming right away. Be very careful frying the oil can splatter and easily burn you. Only put a few arancini in at a time - do not overwhelm the pan (this will drop the temperature of the oil too quickly and the balls will fry up gross and greasy). Fry in batches and  have a paper towel handy and place the cooked rice balls after removing from oil. The balls will only take a few minutes until they turn golden. If you desire lightly salt and pepper the ball when they come out of the oil - I just grate some of the cheese on at this point since the risotto has already been properly seasoned. 

SERVE: As I said before you can serve with simple marinara, but honestly the beet risotto is excellent in it's own. I served with a simple arugula salad with citrus vinaigrette, we didn't even touch the tomato sauce.
Mangia bene !!

Latin meets Asian - Part 1 Black Sesame Crusted Tuna Tostada

A while back I was competing in the Food Buzz food blogging competition. Right before I was eliminated I hosted a
dinner party that was inspired by my favorite restaurants Asia de Cuba  and Sushi Samba both have multiple locations around the world, and are heavily influenced by Latin and Asian flavors. I wanted to give you a glimps of the dishes I prepared for the evening. One of the appetizers was this delicious Sesame crusted tuna tostada. Clearly this photo was taken a while back, because I can confidently say my skills have gotten better since then. Also in a mad rush to feed my party guests and finish 10 dishes with out a sous chef a realize I forgot one of the components of this crowd pleasing dish.  Aahhhh well there's always next time. 
INGREDIENTS:
Corn and jalapeno round chips - you can find these at most local supermarkets ( I will update whith the brand later, just can't remember now, but they are delicious!)
2 avocados (simple guacamole) - chopped and mashed
1 -2 tomatoes - cubed into small pieces
fresh ahi tuna (sushi grade) nice rectangle filet - trim before cooking
black sesame seeds - enough to cover fish
chives - chop into thinly to form small rings
garlic - 1 clove minced
2 limes - juiced
s&p
hot sauce - I use Franks Red Hot - few drops or to your taste
PREP: Chop tomatoes and chives. 
FOR THE GUAC: Chop and mash a few avocaos (keep one of the pits - i'll explain later)  Finely chop and mince garlic (you can also use a fine microplane for easy mince) add lime juice s&p and a few splashes of hot sauce.  Place the pit in the bottom of the bowl - this will prevent (even better then citrus) the avo from turning brown. Set aside
FOR TUNA: trim your tuna and rub a small amount of oil (any oil thats flavorless)  all over to help the seeds stick to the flesh. On a clean dry plate add sesame seeds a little salt and pepper, then roll tuna so that seeds cover every side. 
COOK: In a non stick pan heat a  very small amount of canola oil, when the oil is hot place the tuna - make sure is sizzles when it first hits the pan, and then turn the heat down slightly. Sear on each side for 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on how thick the fish is. Remove from heat, and let stand for a few minutes or if serving later refrigerate (to stop the tuna from over cooking). When ready to slice use a very sharp knife and care fully cut into thin slices. 
TO SERVE: place a dollop of guac in the middle of the corn chip and smear in a circle, place seared tuna on top. Then sprinkle diced tomatoes and chives over everything if you want a little flaked sea salt is also nice. Enjoy!

Ravishing Red Risotto

Mistura is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Toronto. I was introduced to this fine Italian supper club years ago by a Sommelier I knew. Mistura quickly separated it's self from the rest of the fancy-shmancy restaurants for their excellent service and impeccably executed seasonal Italian menu.  Chef Massimo Capra from Restaurant Makeover on the Food Network is the head chef and owner of this delicious and romantic establishment. This recipe is inspired by his signature Risotto Rosso a delicious red beet risotto. I thought since I had half a bottle of red wine and a bunch of beets left I would give it a try. Risotto INGREDIENTS: Serves 2
serves 4
arborio rice - 1 cup
4 cups stock or water. 
4 beets - roasted then finely chopped
2 shallots - finely chopped
1/2 cooking onion - finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
4 sprigs of thyme - remove leaves discard stems & finely chop
drop of olive oil
1 1/2 cups parmesan or grana padano
s & p
1-2 tbs butter - you can use more if you're not concerned with calories - more makes risotto creamier
good red Italian wine something dry - 1 cup
truffles or truffle oil - optional
PREP: For the beets you can roasted them at 400 for 45 minutes, then place them in a bowl with plastic wrap until the are room temp - to loosen and remove the skin (* wear gloves). You can also boil the beets (peeled) then use the water instead of the stock.  Finely chop all aromatics (onion, shallots and garlic).
Place stock or water in a sauce pan on a medium heat - you will need to slowly incorporate into risotto during the cooking and it won't work unless the broth is warm. 
COOK: Sautee onion, shallot and garlic in a medium hot pan until tender, make sure to season w/ s&p then add rice and thyme - parsley can be substituted but do not add it until the very end of the cooking process as it can not stand up to the heat and will turn brown. Make sure every grain is pretty much glistening before adding the red wine. Then start to slowly incorporate the warm stock 1 ladle at a time - add more stock when the liquid  has incorporated. Continue this process for about 15-20 mins adding the beets with about 5 minutes left to cook  until the rice is al dente then add  extra butter if desired and parmesan cheese which is mandatory. 
SERVE: Drizzle of truffle oil or shaved truffles a squirt of lemon is also nice and obviously extra cheese!

Iron chef Canada - Chuck defeats my boy Bobby

Yes I know this post is coming a few days too late, but damn it i've been busy this week! This doesn't mean I'm not so freaking proud of my fellow Canadian Chuck Hughes. I must admit I was shocked to hear the judges all agreed that he should conquer over heavy hitter Bobby Flay. I must admit this battle was bitter sweet for me since I'm such a Flay fan. I also must say "what the *&^&^% Bobby you lost on a lobster battle?" Either way a HUGE congratulations to Chuck, who started off his lobster menu with one of my favorite snack/coctails the bloody ceasar. Rimmed with the famous Montreal Steak spice and garnished with a juicy lobster claw this classic Canadian beverage did not disappoint.  The following dishes included a lobster roll, risotto, Jerk lobster and Chuck's famous lobster poutine which didn't bode well with the judges. What humored me was knowing this is a  regular dish on the menu at his popular Montreal resto Garde Manger. I remember ordering it a few summers ago thinking it was a pretty darn delicious take on the dish. Chuck attributes the disappointment with his dish to be the wrong type of cheese curds. Anyone who knows proper poutine knows that the cheese curds really do need to be those squeaky rubbery ones you can buy anywhere in Quebec - the aged white cheddar just didn't do the trick. The Montreal chef received very positive feedback on his risotto and Jerk lobster which I'm dying to have the recipe for. My one question is where was the dessert? Lobster is such a delicate sweet crustacean I figured at least one of the chefs would attempt a sweet parting gift for the judges. Maybe next time boys. Félicitations bien mérités Chuck!

Raw beet and sunchoke salad with black walnuts

I stumbled upon this delicious colour and flavor combination. Shopping at local farmers markets and eating local ingredients really forces you to be creative with what's available in what season. I was turned on to black walnuts about a year ago, and I can easily say they are one of the most healthy and deliciously unique tree fruits around. They have this really vibrant aroma - almost like the inside of a kiwi fruit with lovely citrus notes. This salad is best enjoyed raw use a mandolin to shave the beets and sunchokes into super thin slivers.
Raw beet and sunchoke salad with black walnuts INGREDIENTS:
large red beet - peeled & shaved
sunchokes - scrubbed & shaved (leave skin on - its delicious
black walnuts - chopped (you can use regular walnuts as well but it's just not as good - hazelnut would also work)
Lemon - zested and juiced
white truffle oil - or truffles if you've got em
s&p
parsley or mint - to garnish (optional)
PREP: wash and shave beets, zest and juice lemon and chop walnuts. Arrange everything on the plate, sprinkle with lemon zest, flake sea salt and black pepper drizzle with truffle oil and squeeze some lemon juice as well. Sprinkle with parsley or mint... enjoy

A+ easy and super healthy Pizza Crust

The Sha Sha bread co. makes a wonderful line up of products that are organic, rich in protein and made from whole sprouted grains. Today I want to tell you about their AMAZING ready made pizza crust. I always keep a few of these in my freezer for last minute dinner parties. They are great for an easy appetizer or a pizza party. Last month my it was my finacee's birthday who told me for months he didn't want to do anything special, then of course he wakes up the morning of and decides he want to have a bunch of friends over for dinner. GRRREAT - I start to scramble making phone calls inviting people over to celebrate his birthday, thinking what the hell am I going to make thats quick and inexpensive (we are trying to cut back on our spending after a slew of friends birthdays and weddings). I figure a pizza party would be great. I had one of these Spelt crusts in the freezer, and my friend Jenn said she also had some frozen crust and a huge package of mozzarella and goats cheese in her fridge and would love to come and help me.  YAY. I peek in the fridge to see what else we can whip together. I had a mix of wild mushrooms some left over thyme my brain is going into cooking mode and I know they will be great with the goats cheese. I have a few bricks of butter, eggs, sour creme, cocoa, icing sugar and milk plus a can of ducle de leche I made a few weeks back. Light bulb goes off cocoa sour creme cake with dulce de leche icing. Things are really starting to come together quickly. I have a bunch of onions I can caramelize and put with the mushroom and goats cheese pizza. I have ingredients to make a big salad with calipo tuna, now I only need to throw together a tomato sauce. I figure it's ok if I cheat a little this time.  I wanted to pick up some buffalo mozzarella, basil and I decided to just grab a can of Italian pizza sauce - which I obviously doctored up a bit to add extra flavor. I'm not going to get in to the rest of the details or recipes i'll save them for another post. Geeze I really can't stop myself from rolling into a drawn out story. The point is that Jenn's defrosted white flour pizza dough was completely blown out of the water by The Sha Sha crust. It was a huge hit with everyone - there was no competition and nobody couldn't believe it was heathy to boot. It crisped up perfectly much better then the real pizza dough which just ended up chewy and weird (perhaps because it was frozen). So say fair well to your white flour crust and hello to healthy ;) give Sha Sha bread co. a try and let me know what you think.

Red Shrimp salad with red rice, red leaf lettuce and heart of palm

Hi snobs and snobettes sorry i've been MIA the last week I've been completely wiped out by a terrible cold.  It was my first of the season so I consider myself lucky to have made it all the way to March without the sniffles, chills,  and disgusting flew like symptoms.  Well i'm back now with a delicious simple lunch or dinner you can whip up in under 10 minutes (that is if you've already made the rice). 
Red shrimp salad with citrus vinaigrette   
INGREDIENTS: 2 servings

Colusari red rice - 1 cup cooked ahead

6 raw large shrimps - cleaned but left in shell

1/2 can hearts of palm - 1/2 inch sliced 

1 head red leaf lettuce - washed and torn into bite size pieces

1 tomato - chopped 

SPICE BLEND for the shrimps: 

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tbs minced garlic

1/2 lemon zested

pinch s&p

CITRUS VINAIGRETTE: 

1 lemon juiced ( you can use lime or orange instead)

1 1/2tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp honey

3 tbs evoo (olive oil or grape seed oil) 

s&p

FOR RICE: boil 3 cups of water to 1 cup of rice with a tbs of butter or drizzle of olive oil on simmer covered for 30-40 mins. 

FOR SHRIMP: 

PREP:  let shrimps sit in marinate for 30 mins.

COOK: heat oil or butter in pan and sautee shrimps on med high heat until pink and tender about 2-3 mins, perfectly cooked shrimps should be succulent and slightly transparent in the middle, not rubbery and chewy! Cooking them in the shell adds flavor, so second guess yourself before pulling em off. 

SERVE: Toss salad with dressing, place rice on the bottom then salad on top and finally your beautifully cooked shrimps on top. You may want to chop up some parsley or mint to sprinkle over dish for extra freshness. I didn't have any at the time. This was one of those fast and furious i'm starving dinners ;) Enjoy. 

Thanks Bobby - Turkey kofte with pomegranate rita and cous cous

Soooooo delicious... The following recipe is based on Bobby Flays turkey kofte.
INGREDIENTS:
KOFTE:
1 pound ground lean turkey
1 cooking onion - fine chop
2 shallots - fine chop
2 garlic cloves - fine chop
fresh thyme - 5-6 sprigs (mint or parsley can be substituted)
1 lemon - zested
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayanne pepper
RITA:
1 pomegranate - seeded
1stp lemon juice
1 cup yogurt - greek is best or strain regular yogurt through cheese cloth or paper towel to remove moisture
pinch - all spice, cumin,  cinnamon & salt
COUS COUS:
1/4 cup cous cous
few table spoons boiling water or stock - just enough to moisten
spritz of lemon juice
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp sumac
1/4 tsp tumeric
drizzle olive oil
PREP: Fine chop onion, shallots garlic, then sautee until golden. Remove mixture from heat and let cool slightly. In a bowl combine all spices turkey and onion mixture once  cooled. Mix everything together with lemon zest tomato paste and a small drizzle of olive oil in mixture as well rub your hands to help form into long patties.
For rita break down pomegranate disposing of the bitter skins. Add yogurt lemon and spices and mix, breaking through some of the pomegranates to release their juices. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Place cous cous and spices in a bowl, add hot water or stock and cover for 5 mins. Fluff with a fork add a drizzle of olive oil and splash of lemon juice.
COOK: In a hot pan place kofte in rows cook on 1-2 minutes on each side. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until firm. If your not sure cut into one, but remember turkey appears more pink then chicken. Done and done.... enjoy!

Alien Greens - Roman cauliflower

Romanesco Broccoli also known as Roman cauliflower is definitely a sight to see, and a delight to eat. I had never heard of it until a few months ago when I stumbled upon this strange looking brocoflower at my Italian grocery store. Obviously I just had to buy it when it said grown in Ontario. It was really funny to see people looking at it picking it up like it was some strange alien vegetable. I figured it had to be similar to a broccoli or cauliflower and I was right. It's very close to cauliflower however it has these amazing pointed edges and a vibrant florescent green colour. It's also a bit sweeter then cauliflower which has a very pungent smell when cooked - my dad thinks it smells like feet and can't stand the stuff. I just love it but for those cauliflower haters Romanesco broccoli would be a great alternative.  I enjoyed this beautiful bouquet of veg roasted with olive oil s&p and it was amazing. There are so many vegetables that need very little preparation to taste delicious and this is one of them. 
PREP: Pre heat oven 350. Wash and cut veg into bite size florets. Coat every piece with a drizzle of olive oil sea salt and pepper. 
COOK: roast until golden or slightly charred peaks 20 mins or so - i like mine with a bit of bite and lots of char so I roast them under the broiler for about 10 mins.