Yummy Delights

Fireworks by Fontainebleau Palace

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:05:00 +0000

We walked through the palace grounds one sunny afternoon and saw people setting up fireworks for a private convention. We found out that there was to be fireworks around 9:30 pm that night. The palace grounds are closed to the public by late afternoon and we were told that we could watch the fireworks at the park across the palace moat. It was a really cold evening and when we got to the park, we had to walk in pitch blackness. We could hear voices around and that made the trek seem less spooky. The fireworks was spectacular... with the palace in the background and music playing, it was quite the show. The beginning was like it was from a war scene with all the red that covered the palace. The poor swan that was on the water in front of us didn't know what was happening from the booming noise and sparkling fires falling from the sky. It was paddling really quickly and I felt sorry for the bird and a little ashamed at the disturbance the fireworks was causing to the wildlife around. The park wasn't crowded and by the end of the show everyone was clapping with joy.

Braised Veal Cheeks

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:49:00 +0000

Miam Miam (yum yum in French). I had bought some lovely veal cheeks at the market and looked around the internet for a recipe and found one for Braised beef cheeks at epicurious.com. That should work, I thought. Indeed it did! I didn't have cocoa powder so I just left it out and I substituted the recommended wine for lovely Bourgogne Pinot Noir. This dish is incredibly tasty! I made a mashed potato side dish with black truffle paste and butter served with stir fried spinach with garlic. I used the leftover sauce as pasta sauce for another meal.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (12-oz) beef cheeks, trimmed of excess fat
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/2 celery rib, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups red wine (preferably a dry Lambrusco or Chianti)
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole tomatoes including juice, chopped (3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in an ovenproof 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. While oil is heating, pat beef cheeks dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown beef, without crowding, on all sides, about 20 minutes total, and transfer with tongs to a bowl. Pour off fat from pot, then add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and cook onion, carrot, and celery over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Stir cocoa powder into vegetable mixture, then add wine and scrape up any brown bits. Increase heat to high and boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.

Return cheeks (with any juices) to pot and add tomatoes with juice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then braise, covered, in middle of oven until very tender, about 3 hours.

Cooks' note: • Beef cheeks improve in flavor if made up to 2 days ahead. Cool, uncovered, then chill, surface covered with parchment paper or wax paper and pot covered with lid. Remove any solidified fat before reheating.

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:18:00 +0000

Ooh.. I've very excited about this site I came across looking to find out how to cook duck breast. channel4.com has videos on the Gordon Ramsay cookalong live series. I've never watched his Hell's Kitchen or other shows but I've seen briefly how very rude and insulting he can be, so I've never really paid much attention to his shows or to him. But having seen 2 of his cookalong series, I really love it. The videos are fastpaced, edgy and to the point. It shows a different side of Gordon Ramsay, one that I respect and watch with pure pleasure!

Possibly the Best Canned Sardines Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:49:00 +0000

I was shoppping for groceries at the Monoprix and happened to come across these beautiful expensive boxes of packaged tinned fish (a little over 5€). First impression based on the delicate and pastel ornate design without having seen the price was "high quality and expensive". I wondered how these would taste compared to the ones I usually buy back in Toronto which was usually the Brunswick brand. Not that I would have any other to compare to that I could say of these Albert Ménès sardines being absolutly the best. In the moments of my first bite, I was wowed by the flavor and texture of these fabulous sardines. It has a bit of a nuttier flavor, most likely because of the extra virgin olive oil it was submerged in. They were good and chunky and very delicious. I hope I can find these back home.

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:29:00 +0000

I love the sculptured trees in the gardens of the palace of Fontainebleau. Here's a simple sketch that was done quite meditatively. It was the only day I went outside to draw since I've been here for almost 2 weeks, when the weather was warm enough and my hands wouldn't freeze.

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:30:00 +0000

I have to admit, the first time I cooked these scallops, it was missing something. After Foodhogger commented, I realized the missing ingredient. Garlic! Thanks Foodhogger! So this time, I cooked the scallops with a little bit of butter, garlic. Sprinkled some salt and black pepper, drizzled a bit of extra virgin olive oil and topped it up with sage. After tasting it... much improvement. Something else was needed to give it that extra wow factor. Lemon! It was perfect... a squeeze of fresh lemon made the dish so much more complete! It's funny, but sometimes if I haven't cooked a dish in a long time, I forget to add specific ingredients. The extra thin haricots verts were a perfect complement to this dish.

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I promised myself that I would paint and sketch more while I'm here in Fontainbleau. So far it's been a week and I've only done one sketch. I'm a little rusty at it. I haven't sketched for a very very long time... I hope to improve my drawing skills and painting while I'm here. Today I've started painting. The good thing is that I've started and I hope to keep it up. I'll post some of my artwork here as I go.

Fontainebleau :: Market Scallops

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:33:00 +0000

Fresh Sea Scallops with Corals

Seared Sea Scallops and Corals with butter

This is my 6th day in Fontainbleau and I'm loving it. It's sunny today, hooray! I'm so excited that I live just across the market.

This was my first attempt at cooking scallops. I was reading "French women don't get fat" and the author, Mireille, mentioned something about scallops being in season from ... through March. The market in Fontainebleau was bustling today and I picked up two full bags of goodies such as the really thin Haricot Verts, liver, whole chicken, bread and scallops. I saw brain and other funny things on sale and I thought, hmm... I'd like to try to cook that one day! I think I will, so keep posted.

I had no idea that scallops had those orange thingys attached to it. I later googled out that the orange stuff was corals and quite appropriate to eat. I kept the cooking very simple so that I could taste as much of the scallop without any heavy sauces. I seared the scallops with butter for about 1 min - 1.5 min per side, taking care not to over cook it. I dressed it up with a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, cracked black pepper and coarse salt. It was yummy. Though, one of the thicker scallops seemed undercooked so I had to put it back on the pan for another 30 seconds or so.

Mot Na Son - Korean Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:55:00 +0000

Restaurant front

Yummy side dishes

Sizzling aromatic bulgogi

Pretty Korean dolls

Spicy stir fried garlic pork

Hmm... Mackerel oh mackerel! How I loved thee!

Beef stew with clear noodle

Very delicious and nutritious brown rice

Food here is so tasty, we ate up everything!

Mot Na Son Traditional Korean Restaurant
5374 Yonge Street, North York | 416.222.1170

This restaurant along the busy Yonge street full of other Korean restaurants seemed easy to miss. If it wasn't for the recommendation from one of our family members who took us there for dinner we wouldn't have known that it was good. The owner seated us quickly and was quite jovial, welcoming and friendly. Though the restaurant looked quite simple on the outside and inside, the patrons who were seated and eating happily didn't seem to mind. The tantalizing smells and sight of sizzling hot plates and grills made us even hungrier and we were salivating for ours to come. The food here is impressionably tasty and will not disappoint. Though I've only been here once I'm sure to be back for more. The owner also recommended the mixed seafood plate/stew that we briefly saw smoking past us. We ordered 5 dishes between 4 of us and we were full and happy when we left. A true home cooking style restaurant that you will truly want to check out! Have a yummy time!

Memories of a Dutch Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:31:00 +0000

We arrived at city hall for my cousin's ceremony by boat on the Vetch river, the most beautiful river in Holland. It truly was a beautiful river lined with gorgeous mansions with their signature private tea houses. The riverside entrance to the city hall was grand with open iron gates and a well cultured garden. The ceremony was held in Dutch so I couldn't understand any of it. After the ceremony, we headed back on boat to our original dock where there was a small outdoor cafe for tea, sandwiches and wedding cake. The wedding cake was the most delicious wedding cake I've ever had. Composed of 3 tiers, each was filled with a different fruit filling. Hmmm Yum. I even went back for seconds. It was a splendid day for a wedding and it would be one of the most memorable weddings I've ever attended.

Highlights of Southern Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Pixelglitter) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:41:00 +0000

Rustic little town of Spilinga

Beautiful town of Tropea

Scenic drive through the Parco Nazionale dell'Aspromonte to and from Mongiana

Olive grove of Olearia San Giorgio

Rome

Mid-April: Our friend in Sciacca, Sicily offered her apartment for us to stay for a week. With a view of the ocean, a little kitchen and two patios, what more could we ask for. It was the peace and joyful relaxation we needed from our busy lives in Toronto. No schedule and best of all no alarms! We rented a car because it was the best way to get around. The drive from Palermo airport to Sciacca was beautiful! Soft rolling hills composed of farmlands, olive groves and vineyards.

Pictures featured here are from our trip at various towns of Calabria. One of the towns we fell in love with is called Tropea! Clear turquoise sea and white sand beaches. On our second day visiting there, it was their labour day. There was a small spectacle with drummers and two mascots marching along the main strip. We stopped for dinner at La Pentola D'oro and the food was spectacular. It was off the main street and was busy with locals. Go where the locals go, I say!

After Tropea, our next stop was to go to the town of Mongiana to stay at an Agri-turismo called Il Casale. Mongiana is famous for it's fungi (mushrooms - and I'm not talking about the kind that makes you hallucinate but I wouldn't be surprised if they grow that too)! We had to drive up and around the mountains through forests to get to this small but charming place. It was a fun drive and the view from the mountains were breathtaking. The locals were very friendly there (we were also the only tourists there) and it's not really a place that tourists go to for vacation. We were treated to really yummy espressos (I don't think you could get a bad espresso in Italy to think of it) and one of the locals also invited us to his friends house to try his homemade salami with fresh bread. We also had homemade wine and pickled fungi of various kinds! It was delish!

During our stay in Mongiana we took a day out to go to San Giorgio Morgeto. A client and friend of mine in Toronto has a family owned olive grove that produces and sells high quality olive oils internationally. It was actually one of the reasons we decided to visit Calabria and it was worth the experience. Getting a private tour to see their ancient olive groves, the farm and processing plant was great.

Our trip ended with a day and a half in Rome. Since we didn't have a lot of time we took one of those double decker buses that you can hop on and hop off. The highlight for us was doing the walking tour of the Colosseum. Makes me want to watch Gladiator again just to pay more attention to the renderings of what it would have looked like back in it's glorious or not so glorious days.