le sauce

scene + savoured: anniversaries, reunions, recoveries

scenes of the things i've recently savoured--bites, drinks, places, tables, people.

The saffron sour at barchef, sipped with commendable control during pre-dinner cocktails, had the potential to outshine everything that came after it. (Good thing we headed to Buca afterward.) I doubt you can get a bad drink there but it's the only drink I've allowed myself to reorder from a menu that I'm still trying to exhaust. Yes, that good.

That night we were out for drinks and dinner to celebrate our anniversary. But on our actual anniversary I made James a special tapas dinner at home: a tortilla Espanol, stewed beans, cheeses and a bottle of the same Spanish wine we'd really enjoyed years ago at another anniversary. Awww.

And then, to welcome january... 

Pre-party dinner on New Year's Eve was memorable but so filling you could see on everyone's faves the unspoken fear that we might not actually make it to the party. Hotpot or swish at Swish by Han, plus too many starters and delicious cocktails made for a celebratory meal, plus there's just something about a blue-hot fire roaring on your table, you know? 

My best friend visiting from LA => old friends gathering + lots of wine + as many truffled dishes + pretty blouses + animated conversation = everything good in life.

Weekend breakfast: buckwheat pancakes with molasses (love this combo!), soy sausages, very strong black coffee and apricots. Laid out on the coffee table, enjoyed on the couch!

There were many couch meals so to get us back to the table, we lured ourselves with a simple meal dressed up with small touches. An every-herb and spinach soup with strained yogurt and spiced pumpkin seeds on top, buttery La Sauvagine and the most amazing Farmhouse Stilton cheeses (maybe my new favourite blue and quite different from regular Stilton) with seedy crackers, a creamy white wine we'd been saving and sweet and sour blood oranges for after.

And sometimes, you want an old standby--especially when you've been flat out sick. Two crazy bugs got James and then they came after me. For restoration, ginger tea, etc. To really recover, comfort in a bowl: white rice, stir-fried greens, soft-scrambled eggs (similar to these) and mugs of Jasmine tea.

i love you, danforth pizza house

We bought our house from someone I knew--by sheer coincidence. To make a long story short, James and I were buying in a hot seller's market (has it ever really changed, Toronto?) and I was going out of town when my collague's listing when up. I recognized the house because certain rooms were featured in a magazine we both worked for (I know, I'm lucky) but there was no time to touch base with her and we weren't sure we were making an offer anyway. I saw it once, that night, and 4 days later while I was still away on business, James bought the house from her and her partner--they were as excited to learn I was going to be the one moving in as I was to buy their well-loved home.

She was a food editor (the house was built in 1912 and I often wonder if the kitchen was always inhabited and inherited by eager cooks!) so when they left behind a few takeout menus, I knew they had to be clues to the best little spots in the neighbourhood. The one that stood out, for its simplicity, was a one-sided, one-colour photocopied leaflet to Danforth Pizza House. No website, only a handful of ingredients and certainly nothing but pizza on offer. As you might expect by the sounds of the flyer, Danforth Pizza house has no delivery service and quite frankly, you need to order long before you start to get hungry. Because most nights, the little pizzeria, with its pizza ovens that take up almost as much room as its modest dining area, is run entirely by one slight, white-haired, masterful pizzaiolo--so the pizza tends to take a little time. You'd be happy to wait after your first time. It's not the pizza I crave when I want a thin-crust, "Neopolitan-style" pizza, but it's the kind I often crave: the large white box with a perfect, cheesy pizza inside and a generous ladle of an absolutely delicious, just-slightly-sweet sauce--this is the one I've been talking about. If you have a chance, you really should visit.

tasting

(Click on image to see a larger version.)

A year ago, 7 Toronto chefs (who cook mostly meat, it must be said) from new-ish, acclaimed restaurants got together to cook everything but fish or meat. And they were back at it again this year. This vegetarian tasting included several amuse bouche and other nibbles not noted on the menu, and what you also wouldn't know unless you were there...

weekend

friday, september 9, 2011
friday night lights
king street west, toronto

JK's house-made "nuttella"

I'm never the person that orders pancakes or french toast at brunch. I usually steal a bite from my brunch partner and that's as much syrupy, sweetness as I need. But thank goodness my friends decided we needed to share Jamie Kennedy's french toast with homemade nutella for "dessert". Of course the bread was downright fluffy, slightly crisp at the edges and the syrup and cream were just the right amount of sweet. But it was that hazelnut spread that blew.my.mind. It was as deep and rich as coffee--it had me wondering if there was coffee in it, actually. It was only semi-smooth, with the crunch of real ground nuts there to remind you that it was made in house. And it is a must-have if you ever visit Toronto's Gilead for brunch. And that--a sweet brunch item recommendation from me--is something rare.

a random bit of avli on the danforth

I've lived on the Danforth, a few blocks from Toronto's concentrated stretch of Greek restaurants, for three years and to be honest, I've snubbed them. Mostly because I thought they were snubbing me. Being a non-meat-eater, a glance or two at the menus posted in their windows reinforced what I remembered from the days I did eat meat and occasionally visited their tables--that they're all about the meat and seafood. But when a certain 6-year-old chose one of them as the venue to celebrate her birthday (what can I say, she likes chicken souvlaki), I had to oblige. Well I'll be damned if some of them don't have a selection of beautifully prepared vegetables. In addition to Avli's main menu, the server brought out a tray of a dozen freshly prepared bites for us to choose from, like zucchini fritters, stuffed peppers, olive and bean dips and gratinéed tomatoes. We selected almost everything from the tray, the items were irresistible, and we grazed for hours. Oh and they also brought us a few complimentary glasses of wine. Way to become my best friend new little gem in the 'hood.

meat-free "amatriciana"

I don't always set out to vegetarian-ize everything I used to eat. Quite frankly, it takes a lot of effort to create a respectable, comparable meat-free version of most things, and, quite frankly, most of those original versions are not so hot anyway. I mean that the number of dishes I truly miss from my meat-eating days, that were really about meaty texture, flavour or both, is relatively small. Amatriciana, a classic Italian red tomato sauced pasta that starts with guanciale (cured pig jowl), is all about the salty, richness that comes from that pork. And it's damn good. Good enough that I wanted to make something similar that I could enjoy. 

To be successful I had to replace the saltiness and richness I'd be losing when I omitted the guanciale, and I settled on cured olives and butter, and relied on onions for sweetness and smoked paprika for, well, smokiness that reminds many of cured meat, even though guanciale is not smoked. I added a second, non-smoked paprika, the darkest I had on hand, strictly to saturate the sauce with red. It was important to me to recreate that almost surreal, blood-red sauce. It totally worked and you'll end up with something that threatens to stain anything it touches and I thought it was stunning, even though it gets briefly masked with an avalanche of Parmesan dust. It's also nice to strike the dish with a flash of chili oil right before serving, making it, perhaps, the boldest meat-free pasta you've made, and hopefully, a damn good spin on Amatriciana.  

Amatriciana

2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 med red onion, finely chopped
1-2 large dried red chilies, broken up, to taste
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika powder
1/2 tsp dark paprika powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
3/4 c pitted, chopped Nicoise olives
1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1 tbs tomato paste
2 c canned whole plum tomatoes and liquid (San Marzano preferred)
1 c or more finely grated Parmesan cheese

Add oil and butter to heated pan. When the butter has melted, add onion and chili, stir to separate the onion pieces and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, both paprika powders, and 1/2 tsp of salt, and cook for a minute until the garlic has softened. Add olives, sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and their liquid and the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and purée the sauce using an immersion blender or a food processor until fairly smooth. Return the pot of sauce to a medium-low heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add half-cooked pasta to the sauce and finish cooking the noodles in the sauce. Serve the pasta and top with lots of the grated Parmesan. Serve with chili oil if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

weekend

sunday, september 4, 2011
food on the midway at "the EX"
CNE grounds, toronto

the arthur, toronto

When I left my job at the magazines last year, I left a lot of amazing people. But around that time and since, so many seems to have left to pursue another passion, just like I did. So I was surprised, but also not surprised, to walk into a stylish new shop on College St. in Toronto and find my ex-coworker running things. Liz Ikiriko and I didn't have enough opportunities to work together at the magazines, but whenever our paths crossed, it was always a pleasure. Her creativity was evident in her work there too, but I was so excited to see her new outlet, a vintage housewares and decor store that was perfectly styled and cozy at once. I coveted enough things on my first visit that I had to start snapping pictures to take home and narrow down my picks (there's a stunning silver seltzer bottle that belongs on my bar).

The serving pieces you own need to serve a purpose and I think one of those is to make the experience of cooking, eating and entertaining more pleasurable. I admired Liz's eye for choosing lovely items in so many different styles, and for the beautiful tableaus she created throughout the store to display them. I asked her to share a little about her thoughts on entertaining and how she picks her gorgeous finds.

I hope it inspires you, whether to set a beautiful table for friends or to build a beautiful plate of food for one.

Does what you love to eat or how you eat with friends and family affect the pieces you buy?

Absolutely! I’m not that into formal/delicate/precious dining. I’m happiest when I get to share cooking with friends/family. I gravitate towards foods that are simple, casual, fun and tasty. So I think I approach the kitchen items I source the same way. I look for unique, sometimes quirky items and/or things that feel like they’re meant to become fixtures in your home.

What catches your eye when it comes to pieces for kitchen or table? Does your taste change or is it consistent?

I’d say that I’m not consistently into just one focus of kitchenwares. I definitely think in terms of styles so for instance, I’ll get caught up in 70’s pottery and will spend a month just sourcing organic shaped vintage stoneware pieces and then the next month I’ll focus on blue willow, english granny styles. I like to mix it up.

Do these pieces reflect your personal dining style? Would they appear on your everyday dinner table or if you invited people over?

They do. Unfortunately, I bring the best to the shop so what I have at home is a bit hodge podge. We keep things pretty simple at home. I have a lot of my grandparents kitchenwares that hold a lot of great memories so that keeps me happy in the kitchen. My biggest influence/ideal is this insanely beautiful photography/cookbook – called Breakfast Lunch and Tea at the Rose Bakery. You can pick it up at Good Egg in Kensington. Its my dream inspiration for my home kitchen.

Do you have a favourite piece either in the store or at home? Are there any pieces you've had your eye on for the store or for your home?

I can’t part with the vintage Le Creuset when I find them! I’m always crossing my fingers that I’ll find them in some dusty old thrift shop in the middle of nowhere. And I’ve been collecting Dansk pots as well but I think those might make there way to the shop. I’m really into the farmhouse kitchen feel. I’m also a big nerd about coffee so I always like collecting coffee paraphanalia. I’m always hunting for one of these.

 

You have a great eye for beautiful pieces and the tableaus you set up to display make them even more attractive. Any advice for people setting a table or enhancing their cooking or dining space?

I just like pulling out a lot of items and testing out a few options. My hubby’s the opposite – he has a very visual mind so he’ll plan everything before he does anything. But I need to lay something on the table and then play around with options till it feels right. I tend to try to start with a few anchor pieces and then fill in with hits of colour or pattern. As I said before – I’m always thinking in terms of themes so I’ll aim to put together a little bright summer picnic tableau or a rustic cottage setting or a pretty french country kitchen theme. I’ve kind of set up the shop that way. It was too overwhelming to style the whole place so I just started laying out little pocket size scenes.

The Arthur is located at 550A College St. in Toronto.

All photos by Liz Ikiriko--thanks, Liz!

 

summer + food trucks = i <3 TO

I have eaten well this summer. The picnic spreads seem to take up more tables this year, the BBQs have definitely been longer, almost all-day-and-night affairs, and for the first time, food trucks rolled into a central spot for a huge, inaugural event in Toronto. While we have the odd food truck stationed on busy, downtown corners during the weekday lunch rush, this was the first real push to encourage, support and indulge in food truck eats (the aptly-titled name of this event) in the city. It was the hard work and brainchild of a my friend, Suresh Doss, and he should be so proud of the first in a series of three scheduled rallys this year.* The turnout was wild and the offerings ran from grilled cheese to tacos, tamales, samosas and kulfi.

 

I think I was equally impressed with the very patient crowd of thousands who stood in lineups at least 100-people long, in the hot sun without so much as a grumble, and--oh yeah--the wood-burning pizza oven within a food truck. Click below to check out both, and enjoy your summer weekend!

*P.S. The next event is scheduled for August 20. If you're in Toronto, don't miss it.