Monday, October 21, 2013

Bon Feeds, or How to Pull Off a 10-course Dinner

I recently had the pleasure of taking over my friend Jo's beautiful kitchen for an evening and cook for some fabulous foodie friends of mine. Living in a small apartment with a closet-sized kitchen means I never get to entertain at my place, but I've been itching to host a dinner for some time now. So when Jo so kindly extended an invitation to me to use her kitchen—her big, beautiful, bright, 2-ovens, 6-gas ranges, LOTS of counter space kitchen—I took her up on the offer. How could I turn down this opportunity? It was like offering candy to a kid!

BonFeeds

My favourite part about doing a large-scale, multi-course dinner like this one is the planning stage. It's the time when I can be the most creative and have a lot of fun with the research as I starting pulling together the menu. How do I begin? Often with the season, as it dictates what kind of fresh produce I'll be able to find at the market. And then I'll consider dishes that I really want to make—s'mores cake, homemade ricotta, homemade pasta, etc. I flip through cookbooks. I go through old photographs of memorable meals I've had at restaurants. I dust off old notes I jotted down in haste—on napkins, on scrap paper, on my phone—when sudden inspiration had taken over and I didn't want to forget the idea for future use. The whole process took almost two months, constantly writing and rewriting the menu, an ebb and flow of courses and ingredients, until the tide settled and I had my final menu in place.

BonFeeds Menu

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Wordless Wednesday #117: Dessert Tasting, Richmond Station

Richmond Station

Saffron Kulfi
saffron kulfi, smashed blackberries, pistachios

Frozen Yogurt
frozen yogurt, dulce de leche, chocolate wafer, smashed raspberries, maldon salt

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Wordless Wednesday #116: Agak, Agak, Hawk!

Gushi
The boys from Gushi

Chicken Meatball
Chicken Meatball (Gushi) - chicken, onion, soy sauce, coriander,
egg, black pepper, radish, green onion

Sukhothai

Agak, Agak, Hawk!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Wordless Wednesday #115: Raijin Ramen, Revisited

Tori Pai-tan Ramen
Tori pai-tan ramen

Tsuke-men
Tsuke-men

Japanese-style Cold Ramen
Japanese-style cold ramen

Ramen Raijin
3 Gerrard Street East
Toronto, ON
Tel: 647-748-1500
Twitter: @ramenRAIJIN

Monday, August 5, 2013

Agak, Agak, Hawk! on August 9th

“Sit around a circle and eat elbow-to-elbow with us. Interact through ingredients while rolling out fermented tales and fresh salad rolls, mash-up zingy sauces, and mix among art, song, and dance together.” — The Chop Suzies Collective


I’m so thrilled for my friend (and one of my fellow partners-in-crime in our Ninja Piggies pop-up project), Vanessa Toye, who’s teamed up with a group of her friends to form the Chop Suzies Collective. Descended from a dynasty of dumpling crimping chain gangs, the Chop Suzies Collective see food as something beyond the plate.

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