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In many ways, the city of Toronto is like New York’s little brother. But when it comes to namesake cocktails, there’s nothing little about The Toronto: it’s all big, bold flavour. The key ingredient here is Fernet Branca, a herbal Italian digestivo that tastes like what Jägermeister wants to be when it grows up. Apparently, [...]

If it’s true of Alex and Aki, it’s even more true of me: Anything I might have had to say today takes a back seat to what Wylie Dufresne, chef of wd~50, has to say in this video. It’s not short, but it’s one of the most interesting videos I’ve seen on avant-garde cuisine in [...]

After I posted on Friday about quick infusion of spirits in a whipped cream siphon, I came across Martin’s excellent post on the subject on his blog, Khymos. I encourage everyone to read it, if you haven’t already. In the post, he mentions a couple of other non-traditional uses for whipped cream siphons. The first [...]

The blogs have been abuzz over the past week with an innovative approach to alcohol infusions suggested by the good people behind the Cooking Issues blog. At its most basic, it involves placing the spirits and aromatics to be infused in a whipped cream siphon, like the iSi Gourmet Whip,  charging it, and waiting for [...]

This is one of my favourite treats to make when I have leftover risotto. I just put the leftovers into a mold (usually a square or rectangular plastic sandwich keeper) and refrigerate them. Once they’re thoroughly chilled, usually by the next day, I unmold, cut to shape, bread, and shallow-fry until golden on the outside [...]

The English muffin may be the most overlooked building block in eggs Benedict. Although there are many options for the base that undergirds the bacon and eggs, the English muffin is, to my mind, the most traditional. Unfortunately, they’re generally considered to be simply a starchy filler and a sponge to soak up extra hollandaise [...]

My local butcher had a special on veal shank slices the other day, so I picked some up to make osso buco, even though I don’t usually associate braising with the dog days of summer. I made it a two-day process, searing, braising and chilling the meat on the first day, then de-fatting and reheating [...]

I’m just back from a week away on Canada’s East Coast, where I picked up a copy of this cookbook, Fresh Canadian Bistro, by Craig Flinn of Chives restaurant in Halifax. I’m looking forward to browsing through it for some new recipe ideas!