the work ladies and i went to Pizza Antica last week for an impromptu dinner... i've had pizza there, and yes it is italian style of thin-crust pizzas, i've never felt they deserve to charge the crazy price they do.
However the items that were really outstanding was the ceasar salad (which i think they chill in the freezer prior to serving - they serve the whole romain leaf with the dressing lightly coated), the gnocchi (which is twice the size of most gnocchi and i think they pan fried it for a crispy, toasty, golden outside), the warm brussels sprouts salad, and the

here are the pictures of my recreation of the warm brussels sprouts salad:

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad by Chef Gordon Drysdale at Pizza Antica

INGREDIENTS

Vinaigrette
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
• 1/2 slab bacon (approximately 9 slices of pre-cut bacon)
• 2 Tbsp canola oil, plus 3 Tbsp for salad
• 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
• 6 slices country-style bread, crusts removed and cut into 1/2" squares
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 large eggs
• 2-3 brussels sprouts (should have about 40 sprouts)
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste


DIRECTIONS

1. To make the vinaigrette, soak the garlic, shallots, and thyme in vinegar for roughly 45 minutes. After soaking, slowly whisk in the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and reserve covered.

2. Cut bacon into 1/2" squares and cook over low heat until almost crisp; drain off the fat and set aside.

3. Heat 2 Tbsp canola oil until just smoking and cook sliced onions over medium-high heat until golden brown; drain and set aside.

4. Toss cubed bread with extra-virgin olive oil and toast in a 300-degree oven until golden brown and crispy (approximately 20-25 minutes); allow to cool to room temperature and set aside.

5. Cover the eggs with cold water, bring to scald, and let sit in scalding water for 8-9 minutes (be sure the yolk is firm); run cold water over eggs to stop cooking.

6. Peel eggs and cut into 1/8ths; when cut, reserve covered in the refrigerator.

7. Clean the sprouts by removing the first few dark leaves and discarding. Cut off the stem, and separate the leaves one by one. When you get to the light green center and can't pull off the leaves, either slice the heart very thin or reserve for other uses.

8. In a large sauté pan, heat remaining canola oil until almost smoking and add sprouts leaves; toss until wilted (about 3 minutes), season with salt and pepper.

9. Add reserved onions and bacon and warm until hot; when hot, add vinaigrette and toss to distribute.

10. Add croutons and chopped eggs, toss to incorporate, and serve!

I've also added their dessert to the repertoire of my stolen recipes
"Espresso Affogato" - which roughly is espresso over a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Think espresso-milkshake. yuuuummmmy. love it with hagen daze vanilla bean ice cream. if the espresso shot is still hot, you have 'drowned vanilla ice cream' which is yummy. if you want the ice cream to stay more ice cream temperature, let the espresso shot cool first.

a version here but basically, just scoop the ice cream, and pour espresso shot over it. http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1646372

posted at 2009/01/12 1:09 PM by Amy   0 comments

Amy's Balsamic Honey Chicken Wings

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
chicken wings (1lb or more)
italian seasoning
salt & pepper

Wash the chicken wings and pat them dry. Preheat oven at 350 degrees

Mix the vinegar, honey and soy sauce in a small sauce pan. Bring to a soft boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, until thick and coat the back of a spoon. This is the glaze.

Lay wings on a baking sheet. Season wings with Italian seasoning and salt & pepper. Place wings in oven and bake for about 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and
glaze both sides of the wings and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven again and glaze the wings, return to oven for another 10 minutes. Glaze the wings one last time and increase the oven temperature to 350 for 15 more minutes. Total cooking time should be 45-50minutes


so i've decided to revive the food blog... maybe single-handedly if i have to. i've been turning the facebook photos into food journal/blog, so this is the right thing to do...

this is my favorite chicken wings recipe ever... basically i looked up a bunch online, and took the best, mish-mashed them according to what looks good.

Note: be careful waiting for the sauce to simmer, i've boiled over twice and now am stuck with burned electric oven tops.

I've subbed redwine vinegar for balsamic and maple syrup for honey... good in theory but doesn't have the same kick - balsamic is more sour, and the honey makes the sauces a nice consistency to stick to the chicken wings.

posted at 12:58 PM by Amy   1 comments

Ever since I moved across the street from the grocery store, Japanese food store and numerous bakeries and cheese shops, I've lost the ability to purchase food in advance.

Anyway, as many mornings begin, I had no idea what to make for lunch. Yesterday I cheated and used the italian tuna for pasta (it has veggies mixed in) with my spaghetti, but I didn't have any more. Not being in the mood to make dumplings, I decided to just stuff a tupperware with rice and grabbed this clover leaf flavoured tuna and a V8.

Suffice to say, I just had it and its delicious! I have no idea how long it had been sitting in my pantry (I rarely buy canned stuff except for the pasta tuna) but I think I'll be buying it more :)
Definitely more my taste than the Spicy Thai Chili - but that's a pretty close 2nd too. Any other grab-and-run quick lunch tips?

I usually stock meat patties, V8, yogurt, granola bars so I can grab them and go...

posted at 2007/03/23 9:30 AM by feistydaichi   0 comments

Here's a food blog, written by someone named Amy who lives in San Francisco.
http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/

posted at 2007/03/06 5:00 PM by chaos   1 comments

i've heard of this in news articles but have yet to see a picture or in real life but apparently this is on the menu of the Google campus cafeterias in NYC

Bacon Krispy Kreme Burger

posted at 2007/02/16 2:08 PM by Amy   0 comments

so i never buy cookbooks anymore unless it's got big glossy pictures of what would happen should i have the dexterity/skills/mastery on par with Iron Chef (ok, at least the AMERICAN Iron Chef). but i have perused numerous books while drooling & hungry and the pictures look good enough to make Pinocchio a Real Boy...

Anyways here's an interesting article on How to Photograph Food. I've seen a special on TV about this, which is rather interesting. i still drool though.

posted at 2007/01/05 3:34 PM by Amy   0 comments

What (if any) baking are you doing this holiday season? So far in the past week, I've gone through nearly 2 pounds of butter, 3 lbs of butter, 1.5 lbs of chocolate chips, and 4 cups of pecans.

I've baked so far:
- chewy cranberry pecan chocolate oatmeal cookies
- double chocolate espresso (thanks for your help, Karen!)
- cranberry pecan biscotti (no butter at all in this recipe but the dough is very sticky and hard to shape)
- white and dark chocolate pecan cookies

My cookie jars are filling up!

posted at 2006/12/13 9:24 PM by Deviline   0 comments

A few weeks ago, M and I went to Les Fougeres (http://www.shopdaddy.com/hws/fougeres.php?lang=en&pn=fougeres_welcome) , a wonderful restaurant nestled in the woods of Gatineau Park. We were suddenly back in Quebec and back to a place where food is understood to be a passion and not just a fuel to keep us going.

We had brunch there, and what a heavenly meal it was! The restaurant is cozy and elegant at the same time. There is exposed wood floors and the windows look out into the woods. The service is excellent. I was so happy to hear and speak French again!

I ordered the duck, orange, and maple syrup tourtiere. The crust was perfectly done - melt in your mouth pastry without too much of a greasy after-feel on the tongue and palate. The meat was seasoned to perfection with enough hints of sweetness and tartness not to overpower the duck.

M ordered the confit of duck served with rosti potato, poached pear, spinach and Québec chèvre. He exclaimed that it was the best confit de canard he's ever tasted (and believe me, we've tasted many in different restaurants literally around the world). The meat was falling off the bone tender, the skin expertly prepared so that it was slightly crispy. The chevre is more of an acquired taste though which he did not appreciate as much.

After the meal, I was the only one brave enough to order dessert which consisted of a homemade lemon sorbet with a cassis compote. It was just what was needed to refresh the palate and help with digesting all the fats I just ingested. What I really wanted to order was the warm chocolate pudding topped with a dark chocolate ice cream bon bon, kumquat confit, and served with Chantilly pouring cream but I just ran out of room in my stomach. Oh well, next time...

The restaurant is attached to a little shop where you can buy refrigerated homemade soups, confit de canard, and tourtiere from the restaurant. There is also a myriad other fine foods imported from all over the world for your epicurean enjoyment.

posted at 8:56 PM by Deviline   0 comments

Triple Bypass Burger served by waitresses dressed as nurses at the Heart Attack Grill in Tempe, Arizona

posted at 2:11 PM by Amy   0 comments

A few weeks ago, my friend made reservations to this new restaurant in downtown Montreal called Onoir (1631 RUE SAINTE-CATHERINE OUEST (514) 937-9727). I was a little skeptical about going there because I'm clumsy enough eating with the lights on. Can you imagine eating in pitch darkness? Onoir only has two service hours per night. We went for the 5:30pm one. At our arrival, we have to store pretty much everything in a locker. The menu is pretty small, no soup...bummer. After picking our dishes, we are introduced to our waitress, Giselda. She is visually impaired. Gripping each other's shoulders, we are led to our table. Our very big table. I was sitting accross from my friend and we had to really reach to be able to touch each other's fingertips. I think it's safe to say it's probably not the best place to take a date. lol Instead of a basket of bread, we get our own. Buttering the bun wasn't easy. I kept jabbing myself with the butter knife or just sticking my finger in the butter. Since we can't see, our other senses are supposed to be enhanced. I noticed my bread was burnt. I wasn't too pleased with that. Do people talk louder when they can't see? Because everyone seemed to be yelling at each other. And it seemed like everyone in the entire restaurant had their birthday that night. My balsamic vinegar portebello mushroom apetizer arrived and it smelled really good. I tried eating it with my fork but all I got was lettuce. I finally decided to use my fingers to eat. It was delicious. Apparently, I was the only one at our table to close my eyes during the majority of the dinner. I figured, there's nothing to see...might as well keep the contact lenses moist. I had no idea what I was going to have as a main course, because I took the "surprise dish", which was recommended. It ended up being filet mignon with pepper sauce, asparagus, carrots, and mashed potatoes. Everything was bite sized and scrumptious. However, I wasn't too happy about sticking asparagus up my nose or poking it on my cheek every 2 minutes. The carrots were difficult to eat with a fork because they were balled. Needless to say, I had to use my hands. Since I couldn't see how much was on my plate, it seemed like it was the never ending plate. Going to the washroom was a bit embarassing because we had to call out our waitress...GISELDA!!! restrooms are dimly lit. It's also unsettling knowing someone escorted you to the restroom and is waiting for you to finish so they can bring you back.

All in all, it was a good experience. I'm not sure if I would go back, I found it difficult to have actual conversations in the dark. However, i'd recommend everyone to go at least once.

posted at 2006/11/29 8:32 AM by Joey   1 comments

'December 2006'