Sweet Potato Bread

I have an odd obsession with trying to use everything in my fridge, that's probably where my love for soups come from!  I had some sweet potatoes just sitting in my fridge and I just knew I had to use them!



I googled recipes with sweet potatoes and fell upon La Petit Broiche's sweet potato bread recipe. I changed and added somethings and it still turned out great.


Ingredients:

2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 1/4 Cups Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
2 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes
*1 Ripe Banana, mashed (I only added it cause it was super brown and I had to use it somehow)
1/2 Cup Pecan pieces
1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries (optional)


Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.


3. Stir in eggs, vanilla, milk and mashed sweet potatoes until well blended. Stir sweet potato mixture into flour mixture ; stir just to moisten.
* At this point I would fold in the pecan pieces.


I wish I folded the pecan bits into the batter to give it another texture but next time I will.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.


The bread came out moist and flavourful.

Niwatei Japanese Restaurant

I have a soft spot for J-town, I love getting sushi from their fish market and the Cafe Green tea has the best Japanese curry with bread chicken ever! So I thought I would give Niwatei a try since my sister was raving about their ramen, also because they had a Groupon for $20 worth of food for only $10.

It's a tiny restaurant with about 10 or so tables and an open kitchen.

It got kind of busy while we were eating even on a Tuesday night.

I came here with my mom and we got one ramen set, one ramen and a appetizer.
This is my Miso Ramen for $7.80; I thought the soup base was too salty and there wasn't enough chashu in my bowl, only two small slices.   The upside to my meal was that the ramen noodles were really good, they were perfectly cooked with a nice chewy texture.

My mom got the Tonkotsu Shio Ramen set for $12.80 which comes with an appetizer of your choice and dessert. My mom also made a comment about the temperature of the broth, it just wasn't as hot as we wanted it.
*Note the ramen set is only available for dinner and weekends, also J-town in closed on Mondays.


This is the karaange chicken which is basically fried chicken. It was nicely fried with a light crust and a hint of spice.


My mom got the Mini seasoned Beef with rice as her appetizer. I had one bite and needless to say I ate the whole thing, the beef was tender, the onions were nicely caramelized and the sauce was sweet and savoury at the same time. It was so good, I stopped eating my ramen just so I could eat this.


Chocolate Chiffon Cake was the dessert of the day, it was dry and lacked chocolate flavour. My mom said it was probably day old from the grocery store which is probably true...sadly.

Honestly I don't think I will be going back Niwatei anytime soon, I would rather pay a little more at Ippai and get hotter broth and more chashu or pay less and go to Cafe Green Tea for basically the same thing I would get at Niwatei.

Bobbette & Belle

Bobbette & Belle
1121 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON
http://www.bobbetteandbelle.com/

Bobbette & Belle has the cutest bakery I've ever seen, bright, elegant and very Victorian! Everything about Bobbette & Belle is so well put together, from their retail store to their website and blog. Groupon had a coupon for $20 worth of goods for only $10.


The wall of goodies! From cookies, brittle, meringues to marshmallows!


The selection of french macarons! From left to right: chocolate, pistachio, vanilla, chocolate hazelnut, raspberry, cassis, salted caramel and passion fruit.


Wall of display wedding cakes, so gorgeous! So much detail put into their cakes.


Top going clockwise: Red velvet, strawberry and vanilla. The cupcakes were extremely moist and dense. The butter creams were soft, light and fluffy; just perfect. For the vanilla cupcakes you could actually see the little specks of vanilla bean throughout the cake.


I also got some cupcakes to go, salted caramel and mango passion fruit. Along with the cupcakes I got a pack of chocolate marshmallows and a sticky toffee pudding!

New England Clam Chowder

I've been itching to make clam chowder for quite some time now but never really found the time to.  If you've been following my blog you know the three things I blog most about are Japanese restaurants, cupcakes and soups!

This recipe is simple, delicious, rich and creamy; perfect for a chilly night!




























(I only have lactose free milk at home so I just used that and it turned out fine!)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter
2 medium Onion, cut into ½-inch dice
3 Celery stalks, cut into ½-inch dice
2 medium Carrots, cut into ½-inch dice
1 Cup Corn, frozen (optional)
1/4 Cup Flour
2 baking potatoes, peeled, cut into ½-inch dice
3 Cups 1% Milk


2 (6-ounce) cans Clams, strained & juice reserved
1/4 Cup Parsley, minced
1/2 Cup 10% cream
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper


Directions:


1.  Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook over medium low heat until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2.  Add flour and whisk to mix well, about 1 ½ minutes. Add potatoes, milk, reserved clam juice, half of parsley and whisk thoroughly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 20 minutes.
*be careful of you don't scorch the bottom of your pot. Milk burns quite easily.

3.  Add clams, corn and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add the 10% cream, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes longer.

5. Save about 2 tablespoons of the remaining minced parsley in a small bowl for garnish, and add the rest to the chowder. Stir well.

6. Serve in warm bowls and garnish with reserved minced parsley, eat with any kind of crusty bread.

Hank's

Hank's
9 Church Street
Toronto, ON
http://www.hanks9church.com/

Spent a lovely chilly Saturday going around downtown satisfying my food cravings with the family, our first stop was at Hank's for brunch.  I've been dying to come to Hank's after reading pretty good reviews for their brunch menu.

Before heading over to Hank's we stopped by St. Lawrence Market to grab some coffee to keep us warm for our trek. I love the atmosphere at Hank's, it was warm and modern at the same time. Dark brown worn out wooden floors, bright white walls, ceilings and some stools and the pops of colour from the art created by local artists.


We got seated right away but the waitress was really rude, she instantly grabbed my cousin and boyfriend's coffees out of their hands and said no outside drinks (I used to work at a restaurant so I know the rules but she didn't even give them the option of finishing it outside).  I mean if the food wasn't as good as it was I would have been so pissed and she would have ruined Hank's for me.



Jessica and I got the Pacific Eggs, $13, Two poached eggs, English muffin, Wild smoked salmon, sautéed spinach, hollandaise &  home fries. We both absolutely loved our dish, the eggs were perfectly cooked, the smoked salmon was delicious and not fishy at all. Probably the best smoked salmon eggs benedict I've ever had. Oh and the home fries were super crispy which I loved!



Satya got the Breakfast Poutine, $9, the poutine contained sausage, a poached egg, cheddar cheese, tomato, fries and hollandaise sauce.  Needless to say Satya loved it and so did everyone else who tried his poutine. Only compliant was there wasn't enough sausages.


If you know Chris you know he loves cinnamon buns and he loves french toast so what better option then the Cinnamon Bun French Toast, $10, it was served with Quebec maple syrup and fruit salad.  I had a bite and it was more like raisin bread french toast than cinnamon bun.



My mom got Hank’s Benny for $13,  two poached eggs with fresh tomato salsa, avocado, toasted english muffin & hollandaise sauce served with crispy home fries


My sister just got the Eggs Any Style for $8  and you got a choice between bacon, sausage or peameal bacon.


Even though our waitress was incredibly rude the food made up for it, Hank's will definitely be one of my go to places for brunch when I'm downtown.
Oh, and the prices are really reasonable for the portions and taste!


 

Winterlicious 2012!

WHO'S EXCITED FOR WINTERLICIOUS?!
THIS GIRL!


LIST OF PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS!

Scones

You thought I was giving out my scone recipe didn't you! Haha, sorry! I just wanted to tempt you with some photos!


Best eaten with jam or preserves, freshly whipped cream and tea!

I'm not giving out my recipe but  you can come over and have some when I do make them!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

As you can see I finally got an ice cream maker for Christmas. I was googling recipes online and I was hesitant to make a flavoured ice cream seeing as it was my first time, I was going to stick to good ol' vanilla ice cream until i read the words salted caramel. I was so excited I even made my boyfriend go out to the grocery store with me at 11:30 at night just so I could get all the ingredients.


AH! It was so-absolutely-amazingly-delicious!


Ingredients:

2 Cups 35% cream
1 Cup Half-and-Half
1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise, scraped, and seeds reserved
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Water
6 Large Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Salt

Directions:

1.  Prepare an ice water bath by filling a bowl halfway with ice and water; set aside.

2.  Combine cream, half-and-half, and vanilla seeds in a large bowl and set aside.

3.  Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan and stir until mixture resembles wet sand. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil until mixture turns dark amber in color and smells toasted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and slowly add cream mixture, whisking until evenly incorporated. Return the saucepan to the stove and place over medium-low heat to keep warm.
** Be careful when pouring in your cream, the sugar will spit up and hot sugar hurts a lot!  

4.  Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks in a large bowl until pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1 cup of the caramel sauce into the eggs. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining caramel sauce, stir in salt, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until it is as viscous as melted ice cream and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. (When you draw your finger across the spoon, it should make a mark through the custard, which should not run back in on itself.)

5. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the ice water bath to chill, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6.  Once the ice cream base is cold, cover and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least 3 hours or overnight. Once it’s chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream will keep in the freezer for 1 week.


Look at those beautiful vanilla bean specks!

Needless to say, it was a hit, super creamy and packed full of caramel flavour. I will definitely be making it again!

I'm debating between two flavours for my next project; caramelized banana with dulce de leche or toasted coconut! Any thoughts or suggestions?

Smoke's Poutinerie

Smoke's Poutinerie
578 Queen St. West
Toronto, ON
http://www.smokespoutinerie.com/


What's not to love about poutine? Fries, melty cheese curds and hot steamy gravy poured all over.
Smoke's is the place to go to get great poutine, seriously!

I had to take my Ohio friends to Smoke's before leaving they went home, I mean what's more Canadian than poutine?!


Whaddup Ohio!! (look at them exchange American money for Canadian! Oh silly Americans)


The menu, simple but done right!


This was my first time heading to the Queen Street location, it's a fair bit smaller compared to the one on Adelaide Street. Also there wasn't much seating, just some bar stools.
Anyway, let's get to the point!


Satya and I shared a regular sized Double Pork Poutine, $7.99. This was probably the BEST poutine I've ever had. The pulled pork was absolutely delicious, it was sweet and savoury at the same time and not overly salty. The bacon gave the whole poutine an extra salty, crispy element and the peppercorn gravy was perfect. When you would get a piece of peppercorn, it was a nice surprise of heat.
Perfect ratio of toppings, cheese curds, gravy and fries.


This is the Pulled Pork Poutine, $6.99.


The  Montreal Poutine contains shaved Montreal smoked meat, kosher dill pickle and mustard.

Nothing but rave reviews by the Ohioians!
I'm already planning my next trip to Smoke's this weekend!

A must try if you live or if you're just visiting Toronto!

S'mores Cupcakes

Graham cracker base, melted chocolate, chocolate cupcake & marshmallow frosting. Need I as more?
I didn't post the chocolate cupcake recipe because I always make chocolate cupcakes but here is the recipe I used.

Graham Crust:

1½ Cups Graham cracker crumbs
¼ Cup Sugar
5 Tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted
8 Oz. Bittersweet chocolate, finely

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

2.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork.

3.  Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. (I used the bottom of a shot glass to press down the crumbs.)

4.  Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.




Chocolate sprinkles.

Marshmallow Frosting:

4 Large egg whites
1 Cups sugar
1 Pinch Cream of tartar
1/2 Teaspoon Meringue Powder
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions:

1.  Combine the egg whites, sugar, meringue power, cream of tartar and vanilla extract in the top of a double boiler. (Note: I just set my clean, dry mixer bowl over simmering water, to avoid dirtying two bowls.)

2.  Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer.

3.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

4.  Garnish with chocolate (optional).


S'more cupcake tower!

Vic Hong Vietnamese Cuisine

Vic Hong Vietnamese Cuisine
1070 Major Mackenzie Drive East
Unit# H5 Richmondhill, ON



I come to Vic Hong when I'm usually craving Vietnamese food or just want a quick bite. It's a small restaurant where you have to write down your order number on a scrap piece. The food is good but in my opinion not as Kim Po (but I do think Kim Po uses a lot of MSG).


The decor is kind of gaudy in my opinion.


Satya got the B.B.Q pork chop with rice, $6.95. He loved how the pork chops had a limited amount of fat and bone on them. Flavourful, nicely grilled and tender, needless to say he ate his dinner pretty fast.


I got what I thought was something else so don't judge me on how big my meal was. On my plate there is B.B.Q beef, shrimp on sugar cane, 2 spring rolls and vietnamese noodles. I could barely finish half this dish but it was really tasty and beef was seasoned well. My favourite part of the dish was the shrimp on sugar cane, I love how after eating the shrimp part I could just chew on the super sweet & juicy sugar cane. Oh yea, everything on my plate was $11.95.


My mom got fried pork on rice for $6.95. She wasn't impressed, the pork was too greasy and said she should have gotten the B.B.Q pork chop on rice instead.

A La Kitchen

A La Kitchen
21 Fairburn Dr Unit #18
Markham, ON

After much deliberation on where to go for my father's birthday, we settled for A la Kitchen. This is my second coming here and after being quite impressed with the first time, why not come again? A La Kitchen has been open for quite a few years (5-6?) now but it wasn't till recently have I tried it and they serve up some good Shanghainese food.


We started off with some appetizers, from top left going clockwise: pan-fried shrimp, cold bean curd with mushrooms, drunken chicken, more bean curd and jelly fish. (Sorry, I don't know the exact names of each dish.)


This is so good! It's basically fish pieces that are deep fried in a batter with seaweed pieces served with ketchup. The fish is perfectly cooked, the batter isn't too thick and I love the hint of seaweed which isn't over powering at all; it's just perfect and I could probably eat the whole dish myself. Highly recommend.


I think this is called something like salted pork belly soup with bean curd & bamboo shoots.


I don't really know what this is called in english or chinese but it's egg whites cooked with crab meat served with a raw egg yolk. You usually mix the yolk in with the whites so the residual heat will actually cook the yolk and also eaten with black vinegar. Yum!


This is a popular Shanghai dish called Dong Po Pork which is made by slow braising pork belly in soy sauce with bok choy. The pork belly was tender but it wasn't melt in your mouth nor as moist as I expected, it was just okay.


How could you go to a Shanghainese restaurant without trying their xiao long biao (soup filled pork dumplings)? These weren't the best I've had but one of the best I've had in Toronto, the skin wasn't too thick and the filling was moist and flavourful.


On the top is a piece of lion's head, don't worry it's not actually lion. It's a giant pork meatball braised in some sort of sauce, this was definitely probably the yummiest thing I ate that night. The dish came with two giant meatballs and I probably ate one all by myself.
The bottom is crispy duck served with a little white bun, I didn't like it as much so I just gave it to my mom to finish.

We ordered a bunch of other dishes too but these were my favourites of the night.