In an effort to protest the limestone Mega-Quarry proposed for the agricultural land of Melancthon Township (100km northwest of Toronto), the Canadian Chef’s congress and the David Suzuki Foundation are organising Soupstock. This major effort will go down on October 21st, 2012 in Woodbine Park (Coxwell and Lakeshore) from 11am until 4pm. If this is … Continue Reading →
Tag Archives: Words Of Wisdom
Gordon Ramsay’s Desserts
“Pastry chefs occupy a very special place in the pecking order of a high flying restaurant kitchen, so…I take my dessert skills as seriously as I do all my cooking” – Gordon Ramsay Desserts by Gordon Ramsay is not a new book by any means, but definitely one that needs to be a part of … Continue Reading →
The County General, Toronto
Located at the corner of Shaw and Queen West, this little venue is something to be reckoned with. Opened by Victor Barry and Carlo Catallo, the owners of Splendido, the County General offers a variety of greasy spoon classics with a new age twist. The food is delicious and is pretty much always available, even … Continue Reading →
A journey around Toronto’s pastry world (2)
So here we go again, more pastry talk from our epic journey around Toronto. Last post I talked about Frangipane Patisserie, Nadege, Patachou and La Bamboche. This post will bring us to the east side of Yonge and all the delicious treats that can be found around that side of town. Rahier Patisserie (Bayview and … Continue Reading →
Sugar, part 3
From a culinary perspective, sugar is a very important ingredient so understanding how it reacts while being heated, melted, dissolved, etc is very crucial. One of the most integral parts of this is an understanding of what happens in a simple sugar and water solution. In this case, the sugar molecules have a tendency to … Continue Reading →
Sugar, part 2
There are several different types of sugars, all with various qualities and sweetness levels. Different sugars give different impressions of sweetness with sucrose being the longest to be detected on the tongue and the most lingering of the bunch. By comparison, fructose registers quickly and strongly but it also fades very quickly. But before we … Continue Reading →
What is a macaron?
So all week I’ve been posting about these wonderful little desserts but I haven’t even answered the most basic of questions: What is a macaron? Before I get into details, I would like to point out that we are talking about French macarons as opposed to the North American coconut counterparts…. those are spelled with … Continue Reading →
History of the macaron
Their name comes from the Italian word “maccherone” which means to beat or crush, used here in reference to the nut (predominantly almond) flour that these desserts are made with. Although the history of the macaron is a little foggy, most sources agree that they date back to the early 1500′s when Caterine de Medici’s … Continue Reading →
MMM (Ma Maison Macarons), Spring 2012
Here’s the new macaron line-up for the 2012 Spring season: Dark Chocolate – Valrhona’s Nyangbo dark chocolate ganache Wild Strawberry – White chocolate and wild strawberry ganache Carrot Cake – Cinnamon cream cheese with a carrot and cinnamon curd Lemon Basil – Lemon and Basil infused white chocolate ganache Salted Caramel – Smooth and silky … Continue Reading →
Macaron Day 2012, Toronto
What is macaron day? It’s very simple: top pastry shops in Toronto team up for a good cause and give out these amazing little pastries to everyone who walks through the door. This year 25% of all the proceeds of macaron day will be donated to the Red Door Family Shelter (http://www.reddoorshelter.ca/). When is it? … Continue Reading →