Posts by The Culinary Chase
oysters with caesar granita
A Caesar, a classic Canadian cocktail, is as popular as its American counterpart the Bloody Mary. So what’s the difference, you ask? The ingredients include Clamato juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt (and perhaps celery salt), black pepper and vodka. The addition of clam juice is what gives the Canadian Caesar its umami flavor. Canadian bartenders…
Read Moremonkfish stew – a taste of the med
As a cook, one needs to be flexible. The other day I was cleaning out a cubby hole where a pile of paper with scribbled recipes waited; some were tossed either because the dish was made or it wasn’t something I wanted to make. I cook according to my mood and when I am at…
Read Morestuffed and rolled pork tenderloin
Easter is fast approaching and if you have young children, chances are you have an Easter egg hunt all planned out. It was a ritual in our home as it was when I was a child. The thing is, though, as you grow older you begin to wonder what an egg-laying bunny had to do…
Read Moreportobello mushroom primavera
When one lives in a geographical location with four distinct seasons, Spring is the one I look forward to the most. It signals a time of rebirth and a hint of what lies ahead…warmer weather and longer days equals more time spent outdoors. Spring officially began in Canada on March 20th. The weather in the…
Read Moresicilian doughnuts – light & fluffy!
My paternal grandmother was the queen of doughnuts! Hers was the precursor to what Canadian’s lovingly call timbits. The only part of a doughnut my grandfather liked was the hole left behind from the doughnut cutter. I can’t recall if he felt it was too much to eat a whole doughnut or he just preferred…
Read Moreeight 30-minute weekday meals
Ah, meal planning…it’s a daily necessity and while some don’t have an issue with it, a good portion of us do. The days when a single income family was the norm is all but an anomaly. My generation might have been able to squeak by on one salary but these days that’s not the case.…
Read Morespaghetti and meatballs (my cheater’s version)
After a long day, the last thing you want to think about is what to make for dinner. If you live alone or have a family, cooking a meal most probably isn’t at the top of the to-do list. Compound this with work, perhaps picking up the kids from daycare and arriving home after six…
Read Morediy beeswax wraps
We’re all familiar with the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) and I’d like to think most make a conscious effort to use those three R’s, yours truly included. But, sometimes I fall back into what’s comfortable or easy-to-use. Last week I was at our farmers’ market and I saw a couple of vendors selling beeswax…
Read Morediy kumquat infused vodka
Back in June 2015, my cocktail world as I knew it (virtually nonexistent) made an unexpected, but very pleasant discovery; I liked bourbon! Up until that time, my favorite tipple was vodka and tonic with lime. As a youngster, I recall my mom and dad enjoying a drink from a packet called a whiskey sour…
Read Morebest ever oven baked bbq ribs
Best ever, you ask? Well, in my humble opinion, yes. But let’s be perfectly honest, EVERYONE has said at one point in their cooking life, theirs is the best! And, guess what? They are 100% right! As an avid cook (40 years), I have eaten and baked a ton of bbq ribs; some that were…
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