Sunday, February 22, 2009

dinner at The Keg..

last night when Jay got back from work, and I was done studying for the day it was time for dinner... neither one of us felt like cooking, but both of us felt like red meat... so we headed to The Keg on York St.... it was a great snowy evening.. we didn't have reservations and the place was packed... so while we waited for a table we sipped on some perfect Manhattans...
and a hostess was passing some snacks to tame our hunger...
45min later we got a table and another drink for jay... a Golden Cosmopolitan... a very tropical girly drink...
we shared a shrimp cocktail...
and some warm bread...
glasses of wine for the main course... an Italian chianti for Jay and an Australian shiraz for me..
in addition to their regular menu The Keg is also promoting a Winter Grill Menu... we ordered from the latter..
I had a top sirloin steak topped with a creamy Cognac brie sauce...
and Jay enjoyed a top sirloin steak finished with large black tiger shrimp tossed in a tomato chipotle sauce...
mmmmm we love it red...
for dessert we shared a 15 year old scotch...
and a sticky toffee pudding...
yum...

Monday, February 16, 2009

more from Gordon Ramsay's "Healthy Appetite"

I made my own accompaniments: steamed brown Basmati rice and broccoli and carrots in Hoisin sauce...
the menu item from the book were Sticky Baked Chicken Drumsticks... they were pretty good (but not the best ever), the baking time was much longer than stated in the book... but that may have been just my oven...
mmmmm I was so hungry... planned to eat at 6... it wasn't ready till 7:30... my timing was way off... it always is

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentine's Day dinner...

Jay is working tonight so I'm all by myself... it's alright we had breakfast, and I have a lot of studying to do. However I did decide to make myself dinner, it was red themed...
a glass of red wine...
mushroom, onion, crostini topped with Parmesan cheese...
and from Gordon Ramsay's new book "Healthy Appetite", Borscht. I wouldn't call this soup a borscht, it was really a beet and red cabbage soup... but it was excellent... very tasty.... topped with yogurt and dill...

Valentine's Day breakfast...

Jason cooked it of course :).... while I sipped an excellent cup of coffee (brewed by Jay)the most heavenly fluffy panckakes, with Jay's blueberry maple syrup/sauce, and whipped cream
we also had a little bit of meat... sweet and spicy Italian breakfast sausages... we were taste tasting... the spicy weren't spicy enough but the sweet ones were pretty good...

perfect lunch

Jay made the wonderful salad that I ate for a week for lunch.... and I flavored and cooked my own salmon fillet..

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

it's a foggy, rainy day today

a perfect day to stay in.... I'm soooo tempted to call in sick... but just can't do it...

here comes Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay was in Toronto this past Sunday to promote his new book "Healthy Appetite". His visit included an interview at the Toronto Reference Library... Jay and I had tickets
Before his appearance he signed some books at The Cookbook Store (which I believe was the organizer of the event). I was on the outside on my way to the library, which is across the street, hence the cloudy picture...
since we had the vip tickets, we enjoyed some of the food from his book (and we also received the book).. I snapped pictures of some...
Minted Chickpea Puree..
Chocolate Mousse
Bruschetta with Cavalo Nero and Prosciutto
Gordon arrived and addressed our little group. He spoke about his book and answered some questions... I just stood there and took picture after picture...
the interviewer was Peter Oliver... a very bad choice in my opinion, it should have been one of our food critics... he asked some pointless questions. For example he wanted to know which of Gordon's ventures (his books, restaurants, or tv shows) make him the most money.... WTF... what kind of stupid question is that... I would rather know which one he enjoys the most, or which one he finds most challenging... not how much money he makes... The interview was centerd a lot around money as if Peter wanted to find out where he should direct his culinary empire... But Gordon was onto him and answered his questions without really answering the questions... smart cheeky monkey :)
He's lovely, and extremely passionate about food... His book looks very good, plenty of tasty pictures... I think I'll have a go at some of his recipies this weekend...

vodka martini

delicious if a bit expensive... this little treat $18.00 at One...

nature is the best artist

her favorite spot

and omg she's fat (her diet didn't change, but she gets a lot less exercise in winter)... on her last vet visit she tipped the scale at 8 lbs... 18 hour daily naps will do that to a chihuahua... warm weather cannot come soon enough... we got to get this chunky butt back in shape...

Sunday, February 1, 2009

our first super bowl (XLIII)

We caught the fever.. the super bowl fever... and we're watching it tonight. We are not football fans... but between the two of us we know enough to follow it. We've also made proper game grub to enjoy the show with...
Sweet and spicy chicken wings with carrot and celery sticks and dill yogurt dipping sauce. This was a combined effort, I marinated the wings yesterday, and Jay finished them off today and made the accompaniments. Jay's delicious chicken gyoza with two sauces...
some Wit beer with orange slices....
the main event was accompanied by mini corn bread muffins made by Jay
so delicious....
and I made Texas chili... my favorite style of cooking low and slow...
this was one heck of a chili (no beans)...we topped ours with Jay's guacamole, yogurt, scallions, and cilantro... and of course the mini cornbread...
.... the game is currently in it's second half. Bruce Springsteen was great during the half-time show. So far the Steelers are winning 17-7... GO CARDINALS!!!