Are there meals that you dream about from before the days of social distancing? I often dream of one in particular. I was sitting into a beautiful new restaurant in NDG in Montreal two years ago with a platter of duck legs, breast, wings, sausage and duck-fat-cooked potatoes in … [Read more...] about Slow-Roasted Duck Legs in Wine: Raspberries and Food Memories
Montreal Coronavirus Diary: Part 2
The highlight of my evening the other day was not making these failed amaretti cookies. It was jumping on a cardboard box. It was the box that food samples for my last television segment had come in and I had to to break it down for my recycling bin. I'd tried to tear it, but … [Read more...] about Montreal Coronavirus Diary: Part 2
Online Food Shopping: Brunette Helps You Support Local Restaurants and Qualifirst Delivers Your Fancy Cooking Ingredients
Lots of people have been asking where to shop online for delivery right now. Local grocery stores are overwhelmed with delivery orders while local farmers, artisans, producers and other food manufacturers are struggling. So in addition to places like La Mer and Odessa Seafood, … [Read more...] about Online Food Shopping: Brunette Helps You Support Local Restaurants and Qualifirst Delivers Your Fancy Cooking Ingredients
The Recipes that Didn’t Make it Into “Quarantine Cooking”
Sometimes you need to know when to stop. Once Quarantine Cooking hit 50 recipes, my designer friend very gently told me it was time to reign it in. Which I did. But that meant that a chapter on tacos got cut, along with a braised Mediterranean chicken recipe, mussels and one … [Read more...] about The Recipes that Didn’t Make it Into “Quarantine Cooking”
Download the “Quarantine Cooking” E-Book
It's launched! My pay-what-you-can e-cookbook Quarantine Cooking features more than 50 recipes with a focus on ingredients found in your pantry, fridge or freezer. Proceeds will go to the Montreal Restaurant Workers Relief Fund, which is supporting workers who've lost their … [Read more...] about Download the “Quarantine Cooking” E-Book
SHUK Cookbook Review: Masabacha, Harissa Fish, Quinoa-Stuffed Beets and Orange Blossom Roasted Chicken
It's a great time to be cooking at home, and while I'm working on my own Self-Isolation Cookbook, I've also been reviewing other cookbooks. The latest is SHUK: From Market to Table, the Heart of Israeli Home Cooking by Eimat Admony and Janna Gur. Long before all this COVID-19 … [Read more...] about SHUK Cookbook Review: Masabacha, Harissa Fish, Quinoa-Stuffed Beets and Orange Blossom Roasted Chicken
Coronavirus in Montreal: A Diary, Part 1
A week ago I was making dinner with my friend. Slow-roasted salmon with citrus and avocado from Samrin Nosrat's Salt Fat Acid Heat. We broke out a bottle of gorgeous rosé from Tuscany that made me think of raspberries and summer sunshine. That was a week ago. Now, I've been … [Read more...] about Coronavirus in Montreal: A Diary, Part 1
How to Support Local Food Businesses: Shop Local as the Expo Manger Santé Goes Online Mar. 20 – May 3, 2020
Not just restaurants have taken a hit recently because of COVID-19 and social distancing. Local food product companies are suffering, too. That's why this morning on Global Montreal I talked about how a lot of them who'd planned to be at the cancelled Expo Manger Santé et Vivre … [Read more...] about How to Support Local Food Businesses: Shop Local as the Expo Manger Santé Goes Online Mar. 20 – May 3, 2020
Quarantine Cooking: Plant-Based and Non-Plant Based Pantry Staples from Beans to Quinoa to Sustainable Tuna
Even in self-isolation or for anyone practicing social distancing not feeling like heading to the grocery store, you're never exactly totally isolated or stuck with nothing but that bag of rice you bought ages ago. But if you don't feel like going out, don't have time for a … [Read more...] about Quarantine Cooking: Plant-Based and Non-Plant Based Pantry Staples from Beans to Quinoa to Sustainable Tuna
Okunomatsu Sparkling Japanese Sake
What do I love about sake? I've been thinking about this a lot, and I think it's the fact that it's relatively low acid compared to wine. That comes across beautifully in sparkling sake. But just like sparkling wine, sparkling sake can be fermented junk drenched in sugar to mask … [Read more...] about Okunomatsu Sparkling Japanese Sake