Savour Chef

You are indeed very correct. Not sure what I was thinking when I wrote to keep it in fridge! Must have been somewhere else... Bondgirl, you don't mention if you used ice water. The ice water is important for crispy tempura because it prevents the batter from absorbing too much oil, thus a less soggy end product. Good tips so far.

Any fellow Greeks on here will know "horta" (as they are known) is a staple at every meal. The Greeks, usually just boil them until they are very tender, drain well, then pour olive oil, salt, and sometimes fresh lemon juice.

It's actually not as difficult as it sounds. I don't think I can give you any huge insights, but just a few tips to keep in mind: 1/Make sure the blossoms are very fresh - if they're limp and a little dated, your results will be lacklustre. Truthfully, I only make this if I have garden fresh blossoms, otherwise you'll never really get a fresh enough product (unless it's summer). 2/Make sure you carefully wash the blossoms, but dry them carefully. You don't want any water on them, but you also don't want to bruise/crush them either. 3/Just make your favorite tempura batter beforehand and refrigerate for at least an hour, so it's nice and cold. You can add some seltzer to lighten if you wish. As mentioned, the batter should be very cold and loose, you just want an ever so delicate coating of the already delicate blossom. 4/I don't think it's necessary to have exactly 6 inches of oil, but it does need to be at the right temp. A few inches of oil should suffice. I usually do 375F. Type of pot for this doesn't really matter. 5/You need to work quickly once you have them battered and in the oil, but other than that, give them a quick drain on a paper towel or brown paper bag, sprinkle with some salt and eat immediately!

Feh. Even "kimono?" Why yes, even "kimono". Winter in Greek is hee-mon-a. Winter is cold. You wrap yourself up from the cold. There you go. (Please rent My Big Fat Greek Wedding for further word explanations.....)

Putana. Extremely close, I'd say. But then again, all words have their origin in the Greek language..... If you can ever get your hands on the La Nicchia brand, you'll be amazed at the extra caper flavor. Your version sounds fantastic. You've now inspired me to make it tonight.

Yes, I pick it up whenever I see it, but I don't have a subscription. It's pretty good for what it is, I quite enjoy it. You'll never find anything revolutionary about wine in there, but you'll get good in-depth profiles on Canadian wines and Canadian wine personalities, if you like that sort of thing. And yes, they are pretty Niagara-centric, which is to be expected. As per the article you're talking about, I think that's Jim Hedges who's experimenting with the barrels, which I'm sure the Niagara producers are quite happy about trying since on average, their French oak barrels run them around $1,000 each and the U.S. oak about $500. It might provide the smaller wineries a good opportunity to experiment without breaking the bank.

Lest anyone think that the quintessential Quebecer junk-food Poutine (pronounced Poo-TEEN.......which says alot....), can be eaten with just any ordinary "cottage cheese", I'd like to set the record straight. Poutine is made with a particular type of cheese curd called "fromage en grain" -- mild, stringy and white, but not mozzarella -- similar perhaps to Monterey Jack, but shaped in many small lumps. Then this cheese is dumped on top of the fries, and then the entire melting mass is covered with preferably a homemade and extremely hot brown beef gravy. There are some purists who still want to eat Poutine, but who request the gravy on the side, so that the fries don't get soggy - leaving just crispy fries with melted cheese on them. Just a gooey, hot, sometimes crispy, mess of fried potatoes and hearty gravy. There's really not much to "get" here. It just IS.

I caught Mario's new show last night. Thought it was pretty well shot (could have been better lighting in some places....), but overall well done. Last night he focused on pizzas....New York style, Chicago style, California style etc. What was EXTREMELY refreshing was the fact that at the end, he surmized that there was no better or worse, no right or wrong.....just what tasted great using the best ingredients. A good lesson for some of the cowboys and cowgirls (myself included) out there who like to claim otherwise.

Is it really? Other than hearing that he's opening that restaurant, I don't really hear any anticipation around it. I love Felice's cooking, his personality, and his ambitions, but if we're honest about it, perfectly grilling a fish and putting some lemon and olive oil on it doesn't really mean that he's an amazing chef. (I've actually kidded him about this before). But then again, he's got the celebrity buzz around Sotto and most likely this new place (too bad he wasn't open for Film Fest!) so as long as things are fresh and discreet, it's all good.

That's just what I was trying to illustrate. There ARE no new, exciting up and comers that you haven't heard about......they are the same old names you've already heard about. My entire post was illustrative of that point, and how not only do we not have any real exciting, innovative up and comers with any buzz around them, but we also have a very unexciting, un-buzzworthy restaurant scene going on here in Toronto. Having said that, I could name several guys/girls who work in kitchens around town that do some kick-ass work behind-the-scenes that you'll a) never ever hear about and b) never see open their own restaurant because of the cost of doing so. Either way, we're in a lose-lose situation. Everyone on here who's commented thus far has a pretty good grasp of what's going on. Rents are high, those few exciting chefs that we do have usually jump ship and go onto some new venture, and then eventually come back and do the restaurant thing again. It's a crazy cycle, but we are the ones accepting it. P.S. As per your post, are Japanese and Italian food a bad thing?

So many threads, so little time..... Explorer, although as Leslie C pointed out, your examples are of Vancouver chefs, I think the rest of your points are right on. Here's the thing about Canada, and, Toronto in particular: There is no star system. Period. Just as there is no star system for our music, tv, or film stars here, there is no star chef system either. You might have heard the on-going truth about the Canadian music business, where it's widely known that you have to leave Canada to get recognized or to ever make a living. But I digress.... Although we like to fashion ourselves as a cleaner, smaller, more polite version of New York, we certainly are lacking in both the restaurant and chef departments. I think the point that we just settle for average cuisine speaks volumes. I think if you did an informal survey you'd find that 9 times out of 10 Toronto restaurant patrons will bitch silently if they're not happy with their meal; they'll bitch to their friends and family etc. But they won't bitch where it counts: in the restaurant! Where's our Babbo? Where's our Le Bernadin? Where's our Daniel? Jesus, we don't even have a Rocco's here!! We've got NO buzz here whatsoever! When was the last time there was a frenzy about a Toronto restaurant opening? That there was so much buzz that you couldn't get a reservation until months down the line? Anyone? And Explorer also touched on a very, very interesting point: There's been a trend in the last few years for some of Toronto's top chefs to 'pack it all in' for something else. Michael Standtlander, Didier Leroy, Michael Potters, Jamie Kennedy. To do what? Private catering? Do they know something the others don't? I know that we have shifted a little more to eating in, entertaining a bit more, and with people's love of cooking in more recent years - staying home to cook. There are many reasons for this: after Sept. 11th, there's a renewed interest for families and friends to get together more, people are increasingly spending more money on their homes/condos and they want to show it off and/or make good use of their cooking/dining areas, the cost of living is too much to enjoy a meal out with wine, tip, and tax being what it is these days. But as for the up and comers? That is a hard one since the same names keep coming up - but I think the list below lists some people who do some wonderful things with food and in no particular order: Chris McDonald Avalon Massimo Capra Mistura J.P. Challet Bouchon Gabriele Paganelli Romagna Mia Albino Silva/Manny Villela Chiado/Adega Mark McEwan North 44/Bymark Owen Steinberg JOV Lynn Crawford Truffles Marc Thuet The Fifth Claudio Aprile Sen5es Hiro Yoshida Hiro Sushi Lino Collevecchio Via Allegro G.Q. Pan Edo Hiro Yoshida Hiro Sushi But then when our most famous/powerful restauranteurs are Michael Bonacini and Peter Oliver.....I think we've got a problem. Not to take anything away from those two fine gentlemen, but really, they could be doing so much more for the Toronto restaurant scene.

1/Exactly! There IS no comparison. Not in ambiance, not in service, and certainly not in that level of final product. 2/Perhaps that's their veiled hippy attitude. But then I have to ask why in the early days did they employ such heavy PR tactics if all they wanted was a happy-fuzzy "homey" restaurant experience? Also, with the prices they are charging....how exactly can they justify NOT being a 3 star dining experience? 3/OK. This is just laughable. He's good, but he's not THAT good. Don't take this the wrong way, but have you ever EATEN Ferran Adria's food? I enjoy comparisons just as much as the next person, but I'd really hate to think you're just throwing around uneducated comparisons. Please take away my doubting thoughts. You can argue it. But what are your facts to back it up? HOW has he been "groundbreaking" and "influential"? Are you talking on the Canadian culinary scene, and if yes, then what are the back up examples of that? WHICH chefs has he directly influenced, or are you trying to make believe he's been influential in the international culinary level? 4/To this I only have one question for you: Are you one of those people who picks up food after it's fallen on the ground/floor and still eats it? But seriously, saying "it's Ontario after all" like it's the backwoods is kinda silly, no? Are we not a civilized province? Do we not have a common set of beliefs on what constitutes good, normal hygiene in a restaurant setting? Can we not agree that if you're paying hundreds of dollars for your meal that the least someone could do is clean up their front "entrance", invest in a few screens for the windows, and allow the dog to rest in his room until the diners have gone home? Is that too much to ask? Or does the foie gras taste BETTER that way?

I wasn't really going to respond to this thread, but I just can't go on listening to people say this is a better experience than French Laundry or Taillevant!! Here's the thing. He's a brilliant chef. He knows how to execute flavours, textures, mesh cuisines into something special. Even exquisite. Let me preface the followng comments with the fact that I am neither a food snob, nor do I need 5 star ambiance to dine out....I've done it down and dirty and loved it. But, we really have to figure out what we're basing all this praise on. Is it the food alone? The setting and the food? I have to say that last time I went, I was disillusioned with it all. You know the "restaurant" is on his farm - so you kinda expect certain things when going to a farm. But, you don't really expect to be walking through chicken and duck droppings to get to the front door. When I went there with a party of 5 a few years ago, there was NO air-conditioning. Take the smell of a lovely farm, no air-conditioning, and a hot summer day.....mmmmm. His dog walked throughout the dining area for the entire meal. That's just wrong in my book. But nobody seemed to really care. There were various flying things throughout our meal, flies, mosquitos etc. Truly disgusting. Anyway, the food was great. It even edged to earth-shattering. He used his fresh vegetables, foie gras, and did some great things with his venison and roasted rabbit. Maybe it's because I've eaten all over the world and have some really mind-blowing examples to compare it to. But, not quite the same calibre as Kellers et al. The atmosphere was truly horrid. So overall, what to do? Do you put yourself through this type of discomfort to enjoy the food? Or, are you like me, where there could be the best food of your life sitting in front of you, but if you have to shew away the flies, it really isn't worth it? Stadtlander's food in the right setting.......yes, that could rival those restaurants mentioned. But not until then. I guess you should go if you've got to get it out of your system, but otherwise, I'd wait to go to an event where he's cooking to enjoy the bliss.

Excellent preparation. Love it. I love to cook it at home many different ways, the already mentioned saute, and then sometimes in the summer, marinating in a rosemary-sherry-shallot mixture and grilling. Gives it a different flavour. My mommy used to always tell us as kids that we should eat our liver cause it's full of iron! Anyway, the link below tells you everything you ever wanted to know about liver! http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=f...dspice&dbid=129

assorted marinated BBQ'd skewers (beef, pork, swordfish, veg, etc.) chili jumbalaya shrimp/seafood boil assorted fajitas homemade pizzas cheesesteaks grilled sausage/Kielbasa with peppers & onions lobster/avocado/grapefruit salad ribs kobe burgers marinated boconccini crab cakes stuffed peppers (can stuff with sausage, shrimp, cheese, ground meat etc.) clam chowder asian noodle salad grilled flank steak wraps coleslaw roast potato salad with dill brisket marinated vegetables with pasta...pasta salad That's it for now.....

You're right, Fresco. Rarely will you ever find a nice, simple, authentic Greek salad in restaurants. What I consider a 'real' Greek salad is: garden-fresh/vine-ripened tomatoes white onion cucumber oregano barrel-aged feta kalamata olives dressing: (as per above post) red wine vinegar olive oil salt and pepper Even the Greeks in Greece experiment though and if they happen to have red onion then they'll use that, if they have some fresh garden peppers, then they'll also toss a few of those in there too. It's just the iceburg lettuce variety of salads we're used to seeing at Greek restaurants is really a misnomer. Then again, there is a Greek 'countryside' salad that you never see in restaurants here either - mostly because you can't find the type of greens found in Greece. That salad consists of: Various greens (can use mustard, dandelion, escarole, baby spinach etc.) fresh chopped dill fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley freshly chopped scallions (optional) For this particular salad, it is common to use a lemon-based dressing with the olive oil. And the trick to this one here is to forget everything you know about taking a knife blade to fresh greens - and thinly slice the greens in strips. If you dress it properly, both salads should have about a half cup of leftover dressing left in the bowl, where the lucky diners get to sop up with freshly baked bread!

Definitely red wine vinegar. A few pinches of fresh (more) or dried (less) oregano. A good few gulps of olive oil. Salt and pepper. That's it.

Really?! That's not been my observation. Rather quite the opposite. i agree. having grown up in europe, i always ate what was offered, without substitutions. also, although children may havwe eaten at a separate table (yes, kids' table), we were served the same food as adults, not kiddie food (e.g. pasta with butter and/or parmigiano). no kids' menus at restaurants either. also, as children, we were taught how to use proper utensils and how to use them properly. and how to eat certain dishes (e.g. unfiletted fish). none of the "cut up all your food on a plate and eat it with your fist wrapped around the fork." i think that's the most surprising thing for me in terms of eating out in the US, even at 4-star restaurants I see ppl eating in a way only children under 3 would be allowed. as children, my brother and i were offered champagne when we asked to partake in new year's celebrations. we hated it, added sugar and poured it into the toilet. must have been around 12. for the record, my mother was a single mother of 2 and a teacher, we were relatively poor; hardly a snooty background. I hope I don't confuse the issue any further, but what I was trying to explain was not that the Europeans make chicken fingers as a substitue for their children when they won't eat the food that's been cooked - but that Europeans, and I am one, accommodate their children's and guests food demands in a much more matter of fact manner. As in, it never occurs to them to NOT give their guests what they want - even if it means whipping up something not originally planned. If an Italian made spaghetti carbonara and their guest didn't want/enjoy it, the Italian would most likely make either a plain pasta with, as you suggested, just parmigiano on it, ie. making it a "tamer" version of their original meal. As a whole, it actually PLEASES the Europeans to accommodate requests as it makes them feel like they are giving their guests the best possible experience. The issue of European kids drinking at a young age or eating "adult" food, is not really the issue here.

I would think. I guess you could loosley define a guest as someone who is not physically part of your home. Cause God knows "family" have many of these "imposed food conditions". A little off topic, but in the same region, I've observed that whatever style you grew up with is how you feel about accommodating food requests. I see it alot with my non-European friends where they tell their children/guests that they'll eat what's on the table, or not at all. Whereas Europeans tend to bend over backwards to make whatever their kids/guests wants to eat -- even if it's not the menu.

Wow. You guys are HARDCORE. I know you're just venting here and all.....BUT.....maybe it's the hospitable Greek in me, but my golden rule has always been to cook whatever my GUEST enjoys - not necessarily what *I* enjoy. I've done this even when I've been totally grossed out by what I was cooking (okra!). I mean, isn't the basic premise of inviting guests into your home, family or not, to make them feel comfortable? And wouldn't that mean serving them what they *like*. Would you force those non-alcoholics to drink alcohol because it's the only thing you're serving tonight, or would you offer some different choices? Same thing in my book. Plus, life's too short to let these little food things get in the way of family - I mean who are we to impose our food beliefs/likes/dislikes or say what's "right" or "wrong" with a meal?

Yes, *I* cooked this today with a non-stick, to make things easier, but I've seen it cooked otherwise. Actually, it's more tasty when not using a non-stick, since the tomato gets caramelized onto the pan, and once you put in the onions and olive oil, it "deglazes" the yummy bits. But Smarmotron is correct. In the old days, they didn't care how much work had to be put into the cleaning up......they just did it.

Kayiania. AKA Greek omelet. Peeled, seeded and chopped fresh very ripe tomatoes from the garden. Saute in pan -- just tomatoes NO oil yet -- until juices are slightly evaporated and tomatoes start breaking down. Then add a good few slcherps of olive oil, chop up some sweet onion, cook until onion broken down. Chop and add some fresh oregano (or dry) and add to tomato mixture. Beat up a few eggs in a bowl, add some feta into the egg mixture and then pour the egg mixture into the tomato/onion mixture. There you go. P.S. It IS technically brunch time, so if you really wanted to, you could have a little shot of ouzo to wash it down with.....

Are you serious? OK........ Main Entry: 3camp Function: noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: circa 1909 1 : exaggerated effeminate mannerisms exhibited especially by homosexuals 2 : a homosexual displaying camp 3 : something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or out-of-date as to be considered amusing 4 : something self-consciously exaggerated or theatrical P.S. ....J.P. Challet is cooking at the Beard House this Monday I think.

Although I'm by far a real opera fan, my current obsession when cooking is Mario Frangoulis. What a voice on that guy. (Plus, he's from the homeland, so I like supporting my peeps....) www.mariofrangoulis.com

Here's mine: Olives Smoked mennonite bacon A chunk of feta Fresh and dried oregano Onion Garlic