A Life, Lived

One Up

Last evening my committee was meeting here in Toronto. We normally meet for a short while in the evening and then go out for a late dinner. There are so many dining options in Toronto that it gets complicated! I needed something close to the office because they would be walking, I needed something close to the hotel they stay in, I couldn't select anything too outrageously expensive, and finally I needed something that would please all palates from timid to adventurous. ARGH! A difficult bill to fill.

I selected a restaurant near the office called One Up. It is in Dundas Street between Bay and University. Centrally located, it is close to both the University and the Yonge subway lines. The web site for the restaurant was modern looking, and the photos looked inviting and hip. I checked out the menus and there seemed an interesting mix of foods there with a nice focus on Italian. Even better the menu was varied enough to appeal to the disparate tastes of the various committee members.

It has modern flare, but encompasses a welcoming atmosphere. The decor was warm and inviting. A number of the group commented on the fact that there were beautiful arrangements of fresh flowers on all of the tables. The tables were large and invited conversation, laughter, and a jovial atmosphere.

The restaurant has a variety of rooms - some for eating and some for drinking. They can accommodate both large and small parties. I read that the chef will create special menus for large groups upon request.

In the center of the main room they have a large table for eight around which they can encircle with a gauzy curtain. This would provide a unique level of privacy but not separate the group totally from the bustle of the restaurant.

We started off with martinis from their list of about 50 cocktails. I know, for the purists, we weren't drinking 'real martinis' but they were excellent!

I ordered a salad to start: the grilled vegetable tower. There were a variety of vegetables carefully grilled, arranged in a tower (duh). The vegetables with interspersed with fresh bococinni. The tower was drizzled with a wonderfully fresh tasting pesto drizzle. It was a great way to start the meal.

For my main course I ordered a wild mushroom risotto. I don't normally order risotto in restaurants because I often get a bowl of 'glump'. This risotto was well prepared; studded with mushrooms and drizzled with white truffle oil. The chef had also added an interesting contrast by mixing in a small quantity of arugula pesto. YUM

Other members of the committee enjoyed steaks which they declared perfectly prepared, or seafood which they enjoyed as well. The portions were large and the food perfectly presented.

All in all, I would return to this restaurant.

The bill for 7 with cocktails, appetizers, mains, and wine was $ 358.

The Oscars

OK

I've recovered enough from my lack of sleep to finally write about the show.

In the interest of full disclosure - I always watch the Oscars. I don't know why but I do. Generally I haven't seen all of the movies nor do I really care about them but I watch the chow.

This year Oscar turned 79. I rate the telecast a 5 out of 10.

I didn't find the telecast to be gripping not all that amusing. However, it is the Oscars, it isn't supposed to be any of those things. If you want wild and crazy you should catch the Golden Globe Awards.

The Oscars are getting predictable. With the exception of the Best Picture nod for the Departed I was able to guess all of the winners - not because I have seen the performance/picture but because I had read and had a sense of how people would vote. (Anyone who thinks the Oscars are a reward for talent should give their head a shake, but I digress.)

Highlights for me - Ellen, the acceptance speeches by Forrest Whittaker and Helen Mirren, Jennifer Hudson winning (were you watching Simon Cowell?), Al Gore laughing at himself, fashion was generally understated and elegant.

The bad spots - not enough Ellen, Clint Eastwood presenting (bring your glasses next time!), the above mentioned predictable nature of the awards, the 'lesser' Oscars being handed out first (by the time they got to Best Picture who on the planet really cared anymore?), the Dreamgirls performance - if you need a screamfest go backstage (although I admit I LOVE seeing Beyonce being so thoroughly upstaged by Jennifer Hudson!).

There, go back to sleep for another year.

Car in the Ditch

Last night mom was coming over for dinner and to watch the Oscars. It was snowing and quite windy. She called to let us know she was on her way but taking it slowly because the conditions were bad.

About thirty minutes later she still hadn't arrived (she lives about 15 minutes away). The phone rang - it was her. Her car had spun out on a dark country road nearby and she was in the ditch. We asked if she was OK - she was. We asked if she wanted us to come and sit with her until a tow truck arrived - she did.

I took dinner out of the oven, put on my winter woollies, and headed out in the truck.

She wasn't far - about five minutes away.

Her car was sticking up out of the ditch on the opposite side from where she had been driving. The back wheels were literally up in the air.

The first thing we did was to put the car's hazard lights on (the car in front of me almost hit her!) We then called the automobile club. Unfortunately mom didn't know her cell phone number to give to the automobile club. We figured that out. Then someone called (we assumed it was the tow truck driver) and left a message. Mom didn't know how to access messages and couldn't remember her pass word.

I saw the lights of a tow truck pull up. Unfortunately it wasn't the one mom had arranged through her service so she sent it away! ARGH By now the weather was bad and we would have to wait for another tow truck.

Then the police showed up. It was becoming quite a scene.

Finally the correct tow truck showed up and quickly pulled her car out of the ditch. There was no real damage to her car so once everything was taken care of she was on her way.

Needless to say Martinis and wine were poured with a free hand over dinner and throughout the Oscars. She decided to spend the night in the spare room to avoid driving again in the bad weather a night - a good choice.

Afterward I cursed myself for not having my camera handy to snap a pic for the blog. Actually, perhaps it was a good thing I didn't have a camera - I'm not sure it would have been appreciated!  *smile*

Risotto Milanese

I had not made risotto until a few years ago because I thought it was complicated. Nothing could be further form the truth. The difficulty with it is that it requires regular attention - it isn't like some dishes where you can dump everything in a pot and ignore it for a few hours. If I am serving it as a side dish I make sure that everything else is close to being done and then I make the risotto.

This is a saffron risotto which goes very well with Osso Buco, which is exactly what we served it with. It was great. the recipe was originally out of Gourmet magazine but we tweaked it a bit.

3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 small onion
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads

In a saucepan bring broth to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.

Add the saffron to the white wine and heat (we just nuked it for a minute in the microwave - this releases the colour and flavour from the saffron).

Finely chop onion and in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan cook in 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add rice, stirring to coat with butter. Add the wine and saffron mixture, stirring constantly and keeping at a simmer, until absorbed. Continue cooking at a simmer and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth mixture left over.) Stir in Parmesan, remaining tablespoon butter, and salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Here Paul is cooking the risotto. Notice he is wearing the apon we got when we took our cooking class with Judy in Florence! if you're in Italy and you love to cook then you should NOT miss this class!

Osso Bucco

Tonight we made Osso Buco following a recipe posted by Jane (a pal from the slow travel) message board. I've always wanted to try it but for one reason or another have not. WOW I can't believe what I have been missing. We served it on a bed of risotto Milanese with a side of rapini with garlic and pecorino.

Remember that this is a stew and it is absolutely imperative to cook this until it is almost falling off the bone. It needs to be super, super tender. This is often the problem in restaurants—not cooked long enough.

VEAL
4 tbls. unsalted butter
2 ounces pancetta, diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 whole veal shanks, cut into 2 inch-thick pieces and tied with string (about 6-8 pieces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbls. vegetable oil
1 cup dry white wine

BROTH
2 cups canned Italian tomatoes, coarsely chopped with juice
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
3 fresh parsley sprigs
2 cups broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

GREMOLADA
1 garlic clove very finely minced
1 tbls. minced lemon rind
2 tbls. chopped fresh parsley
1 or 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Use a heavy broad casserole, 8 – 10 quart, large enough to hold all the veal pieces flat-side down in one layer (or use 2 casseroles, but do not stack shank pieces on top of one another). Heat the butter over moderate heat. When it begins to foam, add the pancetta, onion, carrot, and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes, until carrot and celery begin to soften.

3. Dredge each piece of veal shank with flour, brushing off the excess. Heat the oil until it is very hot in a large skillet over moderate-high heat and place the floured shanks in the pan. Turn the shanks until they are browned on all sides, then place them flat-side down in the casserole with the pancetta and vegetables.

4. Skim all but about 1 tbls. fat from the skillet. Pour in the wine and boil for 2 -3 minutes while scraping the sides and bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Pour the wine and the deglazing over the shanks in the casserole.

5. Add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf and parsley to the casserole with enough meat both so that the liquid just covers the shanks. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat to moderate.

6. When the broth begins to simmer, cover the casserole and place it in the preheated oven. Cook for 2 – 3 hours. Every ½ hour baste the shanks to keep them moist.

6. Just before serving, make the gremolada: Combine the garlic, lemon rind, parsley and anchovy.
7. To serve, remove shanks from the casserole and place on individual plates. Cut the strings. Spoon some of the sauce over each piece and top each serving with a sprinkling of gremolada.
Serves 6

Notes: Each shank piece should be tied with string to prevent the meat from falling away from the bone and into the broth. When the veal shanks have finished cooking, the sauce around them should be rich and thick. If it is thin and watery, remove the pieces of veal and place the uncovered casserole over moderate-high heat on the stove. Cook until the sauce has thickened, stirring frequently so that it doesn’t stick or burn on the bottom.

Osso Buco can be eaten as soon as it is taken from the oven. However, like other stews, it improves with a day’s wait.

Here is dinner - all I can say is YUM!

Diet Update

Short post today - I'm supposed to be on the way to the airport and I'm running late - hold the plane!

When I hopped on the scales this morning I noticed that I am down 20 pounds since the first week of January - woo hoo!

'Scale behaviour' is funny though. I hop on the scales and immediately suck in my gut (no, it isn't so I can see the read out of my weight). It is an automatic response as if I can make myself weight less by holding in my stomach. Weird.

'Cheeky' Dog

A very strange thing happened on the subway today.

Now, I'm not on the subway for long, three stops and then I join the mass of tired folk heading to the train and home. I never take a seat, preferring to leave the seats to those who have a longer subway journey ahead of them.

Anyway, I was on the subway and I felt a strange sensation. Something was nuzzling at my crotch! Oh no. One meets all kinds on the subway. Not knowing what to do I try and ignore it.

It doesn't stop.

I look down. It is a dog. Someone has their flipping dog on the train and he/she/it has its muzzle in my crotch!

ARGH

I like animals, I really do.  . . but I prefer them to stay out of my body space, especially down there!

Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberries

Today is Shrove Tuesday (AKA Pancake Tuesday or Fat Tuesday). No, we're not giving anything up for Lent.

In honour of the day I decided to make Buttermilk Pancakes with wild blueberries and baked sausage patties. We had some maple syrup that my friend makes on her brother's farm so we were good to go.

Now I have a confession - I really know pancakes; more than most people I suspect. For five years I was the 'pancake guy' working in a pancake restaurant. Every Sunday while I was in high school I spent my Sunday's flipping thousands of pancakes.

Give me a shout of you want lessons!

Just before we were going to get things ready the phone rang. It was mom with some questions about something for Paul. It was all mysterious. If I had a significant birthday coming up I would be suspicious of some sort of planning underway. I don't so I let it go. She asked what we were having for dinner and he told her.

Not long later the phone rang again. She was wondering if there might be a pancake or two for her. *smile*

There was and she came over.

I used the recipe below from Martha Stewart. After the cupcake disaster I had following one of her recipes a few weeks back, I wasn't sure I wanted another go but I thought 'what can you do to pancakes?' I'm glad I gave it a go - they were great. Paul ate 12!

To the basic recipe below I added 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries. Other tasty additions - thinly sliced strawberries, thinly sliced banana, raspberries, nuts, chocolate chips (YUM).

Enjoy

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes nine 6-inch pancakes
The key to fluffy pancakes is not to over-mix the batter; it should not be beaten smooth. If serving these pancakes with bacon, reserve half a teaspoon of bacon drippings to grease the griddle instead of butter.

2		cups all-purpose flour
2		teaspoons baking powder
1		teaspoon baking soda
1/2		teaspoon salt
3		tablespoons sugar
2		large eggs, lightly beaten
3		cups buttermilk
4		tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle
		1.  Heat griddle to 375°. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.
		2.  Heat oven to 175°. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess.
		3.  Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
		4.  Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

Orecchiette with Shrimp and Gruyere

Tonight for dinner we made a pasta dish that I had read about on one of my favourite food blogs Culinary in the Desert. I believe that the blogger (Joe) originally adapted the recipe from Cooking Light. We followed his recipe as below, although we did increase the crushed red pepper a bit because we like some heat. This was a wonderful dish - definitely a keeper. Even better because it is low-fat!

Thanks Joe

The orecchiette we used was multi-coloured pasta that we had brought home from Italy.

8 ounces dry orecchiette
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
5 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese, divided
1 tablespoon butter
24 ounces large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 375

In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions - drain well when done.

Gradually whisk together flour, salt and milk. Pour into Dutch oven and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until slightly thick, whisking constantly - about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 ounces of cheese.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and garlic - cook just until the shrimp are beginning to turn opaque - about 1-2 minutes. Mix in wine and pepper - cook until the shrimp are almost done - about 1 minute.

Toss together the pasta, shrimp mixture, and peas into the cheese mixture until well coated.

Scoop mixture into a 9 x 13" baking dish lightly coated with nonstick spray. Scatter the top with the remaining 2 ounces of cheese. Bake until cheese melts and begins to brown - about 20 minutes.

Makes about 6 servings.

Here is the finished product (on our new dishes we brought in a President's Day sale - originally $ 100 but on sale for $35 - how could we resist?):

Bad Hair

Oh my, today was a challenge. There is just so much to write about that I had trouble narrowing it down! Perhaps I was just cranky today but all sorts of things kept happening, I kept thinking: that would be a blog post there! In the end, I have decided to restrain myself and just write about bad hair.

No - I promise that this is not a post about Britney Spears.

Although it could well be. Quick, someone get this girl some help! While you're at it - help her children while they still can be helped.

Today's post is actually inspired by a man Paul and I noticed whilst shopping for groceries on Saturday. He had the worst combover I have ever seen (and that is a tough act to follow once one has seen pics of Donald Trump!)

This unfortunate senior had a comb over that started at the base of his skull. The hair back there must have been close to 16 inches long! Each one of those few remaining hairs was gelled to within an inch of its life and arranged up around his tiny head to the front where he last had a hairline, likely in 1953. It was a real treat to see - I wanted to take a pic for the blog so I could show you what it really looked like but Paul wouldn't let me. SIGH

I too understand the trauma of going bald. (suitable sounds of sympathy are appreciated here) I used to be quite vain about my hair, but when it got to the point that it looked foolish off it came! Now I just buzz it into short spikes.

Always the educator, I researched combovers. Here's what I discovered:

A combover is a hairstyle worn by bald or balding men in which the hair on one side of the head is grown long and then combed over the bald area.

A variation of the combover (whereby baldness is concealed by long hairs combed in three separate directions) has a U.S. Patent 4,022,227 by Donald J. Smith and his father, the late Frank J. Smith, of Orlando, Florida, who were awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in Engineering for their effort.

Such is the interest in this hairstyle that a one-hour documentary –Comb Over -the Movie– has been made about it.

Who knew? Someone should do these sad men a favour and snip off the offending combovers and we can all rest easier, well, I know I could sleep better anyway.

Happy President's Day to my pals south of the border!