Truffle Mutt

Say Cheese!

Every morning on my way to work the bus takes me past Janice Beaton’s Fine Cheese, a charming little shop located along 17th Avenue.  I’ve seen it a million times and I am constantly reminding myself that I need to go in sometime.  Well, sometime turned out to be the other weekend.  It was cold and blowing outside and my friend and I were trying to decide what to do with our Saturday.  It was the perfect time to put an end to my bus-window shopping.

What a great little shop! There was a huge selection of cheese, although after several apologies, we were informed that the supply was actually low!  At first we wandered through the store looking curiously at the various cheese related thingamajigs.  Then, when it was our turn to be helped, we were cheerfully invited to sample our way through the display case.  We tried soft cheeses from France right through to the other side where the British cheddar resided.  It was quite the workout for my taste buds and my brain learned some stuff too. I love cheese and I thought I’d sampled some good ones in the past, but these tinctures where a taste experience unlike any I’d had before.  And if the cheeses were amazing, the staff at the store was that much more.  Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly, pointing out subtle differences in texture and flavor to our inexperienced palates.  It was much more than just buying cheese, it was like an all-enclusive cheese adventure. 

And if you're really a cheese buff, they have classes too!  For anyone that is a little uncomfortable about cheese and wine pairings, they offer services to help you find the perfect match for that bottle of wine that you have sitting at home. 

When we left I had a little bag bulging with cheese.  A slice of Amsterdam Reserve Gouda, with a rich, creamy texture and a delightful caramel aftertaste, accompanied by a sliver of Cave aged Gruyere with a sharp flavor with the odd crystal for a unique feel.  I know it's nice to share, but I think I'm going to keep these little treasures to myself.

A Late Entry

I missed it!  The first IMBB event that I could have entered and I wasn't there.  I'm not sure how I managed to let that happen.  Fortunatly, I made a batch of black bean soup last week, so I'll just have to post it now.  Better late than never so they say. 

Last week, when -30 Celsius was the daily high temperature, I was happy to embark on making a huge batch of Black Bean Soup.  I was looking for any excuse to turn the stove on really.  I wanted to make something easy and really hot to help me feel better about the wintry weather.  This soup is one of my favorites, not just because it's really easy but because of it's warming combination of mexican spices and flavor.  I should explain, so I don't lead you astray, that even though I call it a soup it ends up having a consistency more like chili.  The recipe does call to puree about half of the finished mixture, which really thickens it.  If you'd prefer it to be more soupy then I would leave that step out.   

This is a great choice for a weeknight dinner.  It doesn't have an extensive list of ingredients, so it's quick to put together and you'll likely have all the items on hand.  So, when you get home tonight just put everything in the pot on the stove, then go open your mail, change into your comfy clothes and by the time your done, dinner's ready.  At least that's how I do it.

Coconut Curry

I was rummaging around in the cupboard the other day when I came across the Thai Green Curry paste that Santa had given me last year.  I personally wasn't aware that elves made anything except toys, but as it turns out they can make a pretty good curry paste when they set their minds to it!  My search had also uncovered a can of coconut milk, complete with a green curry recipe on the label.  So, it was decided.  Dinner was meant to be coconut and chicken green curry.

I almost followed the recipe, however I modified the ingredients somewhat to better suit the contents of my fridge.  Instead of the called for peas and bamboo shoots my curry had water chestnuts, red and green bell pepper, carrot and onion.  The colors of all the different veggies made for a really attractive dish and it tasted good too.  I like curry to be spicy though, so I added quite a bit of red chili sauce.

Christmas Cake: Part 2

What's the reason for a part two to the Christmas cake saga?  Well, there ended up being 17 people at Christmas dinner, and that meant 2 cakes.  In truth, I probably would have made two for half that many people, I just like to bake.  I decided on a Chocolate Chestnut Torte with Cognac Mousse, a recipe that I found on epicurious.  It looked quite impressive and I thought the combination of ingredients sounded, well, yummy.  However, after several failed attempts to find chestnuts before Christmas, I made the switch to hazelnuts.  I already had a bunch of those lying around.

Making the cake proved to be quite an adventure.  I used a lot of dishes and it was time consuming, but overall it wasn't that difficult.  I listened to the advice of several cooks and added a bit more sour cream to the cake batter in an effort to remedy the dryness (I apologize for the lack of a measurement on the extra sour cream, too many things were going on).  I also brushed the cake with simple syrup after I trimmed the tops off. 

There was quite a lot of cake that had to be trimmed.  Not that I'm complaining. It provided the perfect snack while I was making the mousse!  I loved this cake.  It had a very strong nutty flavor and I would describe it as dense, rather than dry. 

The mousse and ganache went according to plan as well.  I found that the mousse firmed up nicely, supporting the third cake layer without squishing out of the cake.  It was rich and smooth, but the alcohol was strong.  But how would I know that?!  It's not like I'd just poke my finger into the mousse and then lick it off! 

The ganache was easy to prepare, but I had never used ganache icing on a cake before this one.  The resulting icing job was far from perfect, but for a first attempt I was impressed.  The amount of ganache was certainly enough, I even had some left over.

A New Kind of Christmas Cake

I don't like real Christmas cake and I'm sure there are many people who share my opinion.  A non-edible dark, solid mass of candied fruit, raisins and nuts.  So, when I set out to make a cake for Christmas dinner, it was not among the candidates.  I instead decided to try a chocolate cheesecake. 

I found the recipe for this Chocolate Mascarpone cheesecake in the RSVP section of Bon Appetit.  Since I love Mascarpone cheese I thought this would be a good choice.  Although the picture wasn't my greatest attempt, I assure you that the cake itself turned out much better.  Even after the pan slipped out of my hand, fell onto the counter and the cake partially fell out of the pan.  I quickly put everything back into its place and it set up quite well.  Although I did need to sprinkle it with icing sugar before I served it.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe in an effort to create a more festive dessert.  I added cinnamon, cardamom, white pepper and cloves to the melted chocolate.  The spice mixture complimented the chocolate perfectly and it added a distinct warmness to every bite.  The texture of the cake was also worth mention.  It was silky smooth as promised by the mascarpone. 

It was a successful dessert and I would make it again possibly using coffee for flavouring.  I might also add chocolate coffee beans to the cheese mixture.

A Moment Of Silence

The beauty of the crisp white snow, happy family gatherings and wonderful food, the picture of a perfect Christmas and New Year.  Except it wasn't perfect, was it?  For so many people it was very much the opposite.  It will most certainly be a New Years to be remembered, but not for the usual joyful reasons.  It will instead be symbolized by feelings of profound sadness, loss and devastation.  Words can't sufficiently explain it and the aid we give, although immensely important, hardly seems to be enough.  The degree of suffering caused by this crisis is so vast that it is difficult to even comprehend.  I take this moment to pray for the people across the world that were affected by the Tsunami that hit Asia last weekend.  May the aid provided by the global community help you to rebuild your homes and cities, and may God provide you the strength needed to heal your lives and families.

Please be generous and give all you can to those far less fortunate.  Let us make an attempt to brighten the shadow that has been cast on the beginning of 2005 with a previously unheard-of demonstration of global humanitarianism.