Cooking Tips & Techniques. Chef Inspiration.
Tip #37 from my grandmother's kitchen - how to soften brown sugar when it's become a hard, unusable mass. The brown sugar is neglected for a little while, we lift the lid and it's hard as a rock. All it needs is a bit of moisture to bring back that soft, scoop-able freshness.
Dragged the chef in my life on a food recognizance mission in Ottawa's Hindonburg neighbourhood. Target: Art is In Bakery's wearhouse kitchen/retail outlet, or as I like to call it Club Bread, where old world bread meets new world hip, the only thing missing is the doorman.
Ashford Castle, located on Ireland's west coast has a history that stretches back as far as 1228, once owned by the Guinness family, it's now one of Ireland's leading Five Star Hotels and gourmet destinations. At the helm of the Castle's kitchens is Head Chef Stefan Matz: widely considered one of Ireland's top chefs, Chef Matz shares with us his thoughts on Irish Cuisine in the 21st century, and his passion for the produce of the Emerald Isle.
Time for a new edition of Food Gypsy CSI (Corinna's Secret Ingredient) and a look at an expensive little addiction: Truffles. Truffles aren't a big secret, they've been enjoyed by lovers of fungus for thousands of years, prized for their earthy flavour and musky scent. Sharing a few secrets from our kitchen that keep us in truffles --- without breaking the bank.
The recently expanded Red Apron, is among my favourite food outlets in Ottawa's downtown core. Selling their own brand of sophisticated comfort food for pick-up or delivery, Jennifer Heagle and business partner Jo-Ann Laverty have created a business model that is at once simple and sophisticated. Good food, reasonably priced and ready to serve.
Known in Ottawa as THE maritime-hillbilly, loud and rowdy, tiny postage-stamp-sized place with the morals of a sailor and the ethics of a librarian; The Whalesbone Oyster House is a downtown haven for seafood lovers, with a heart. All Canadian, sustainably sourced, Ocean Wise, and the venue of choice for a little surprise...
This Valentine's Day instead of posting yet another red velvet cupcake, we decided to let Food Gypsy Technical Adviser Chef B loose in the kitchen with some food science. Using three relativity easy molecular techniques: Gelification, Spherification and Emulsification, he's taken a few simple ingredients to a rather extraordinary result. Our Molecular Valentine.
A little something interesting for Valentine's Day with our Up Your Skirt Dessert; a reconstructed creme brulee, strawberry carpaccio, a dash of chocolate and a pair of edible gams. What? You were expecting cupcakes?!
Chef Lynn Crawford's Pitchin' In, 100 Great Recipes From Simple Ingredients, is a refreshingly, simple take on food that is at once personal, conversational and very well informed. A must have cookbook for the home cook that wants to push their skills in the kitchen.
My version of a perfect Sunday: a hike in the great outdoors followed by a basket of wings at the Chelsea Pub in Old Chelsea, Quebec. This weekend we happened upon a little surprise, seems there are big changes brewing at this little historic landmark in the heart of charming Chelsea.
In our recent conversation I asked Chef Lynn Crawford about the two tattoos in the center of her palms. "Why does everyone want to know about my tattoos!?" she says with an undertone of exasperation, but she is kind and indulges me. Forgive the question Chef but we, your people, want to know more about you - and your hands.
Get ready Ottawa, Chef Lynn Crawford, chef and owner of Ruby Watchco in Toronto, and celebrity chef on the Food Network’s Pitchin’ In and Restaurant Makeover, is cooking for you next Friday night and kicking off Winterlude... From Farm To Table. Part One of our rare conversation with Chef Crawford.