I love entertaining…the menu planning, the cooking and even setting the table. But I won’t include the “cleaning up” part! (we can save that for another blog post.)

Most of the menu I had made before but there were 2 new recipes (*) that I was checking out and guess what? They were a hit.

-A Deconstructed Salad.

–Spinach Pesto Tilapia

-Roasted Brussel Sprouts (recipe: Barefoot Contesssa)*

-Tomato/Bocacini/Roasted Garlic/Basil Skewers

-Quinoa salad with Apples and a Curry Dressing* (recipe: Martha Stewart)

Dessert: Meringue Nests with Fresh Raspberries

These photos might help you visualize the menu!

-Dessert: Meringue Nests with Whipped Cream and Fresh Raspberries.

As for the table: I thought it would be a great time to buy white tulips, white roses and babies breath. (source: any of the flower stores at Avenue/Davenport)

Hope this blog post inspires you to host a dinner party one day soon as well!

Note: Stay tuned for another blog post as I had more company over last night and made lasagna cups for my first time!

I went to check out the Delicious Food Show on Friday. I thought my visit would be brief but I ended up staying for hours. There were many more vendors than I had anticipated and no shortage of foodie friends for me to bump into!!

The show is taking place Oct 25-27th at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place and is a well layed out, and a beautiful looking show.

I’m in love with this display that is at the front and would really like two smaller versions for my apartment!!

I walked thru the aisles and discovered new product – like this Organic Chocolate with Mustard Seeds fromKozlik’s. How unique. Don’t you think?

I also bumped into some restaurant owners that I hadn’t seen in many years who are just to open a new restaurant (Pai Toronto). While talking to Nuit and Jeff, we discovered that we have known each other since 2008, when I visited their first restaurant (Sudkho Thai) on Parliament.

My food adventures continued and I must say that I had a lot of fun at the View the Vibe booth. They had a great set up – including a Lounge.

The highlight of the day was really Martha Stewart! She attracted a HUGE crowd. Please note that the Delicious Show has a variety of  high profile chefs appearing throughout the weekend. Take a peek at the schedule here.

Hope you get a chance to visit this DELICIOUS show over the weekend. You won’t be disappointed.

Show Hours: Oct 25-27

Friday: 11am-10pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm

Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto

Who else is excited that tomatoes are in season? All I want to do is make tomato sauce, tomato soup and tomato ricotta tarts!! This recipe is from Martha Stewart and I’ve been using it since 2005. (I have proof). It’s a winner cause it’s simple and it’s pretty. Serve this along with a few side salads and you’ve got yourself a pretty nice meal.

TOMATO RICOTTA TART  (from  Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

2 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs (I  make my own and you should too..it takes 5 seconds and it’s worth it)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup whole milk ricotta

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 large egggs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or dried)

salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced beefsteak tomatoes (I use a pint of cherry tomatoes – orange and red for the added “prettiness” factor”)

Directions:

1. Preheat overn to 450 degrees. In a 9 inch springform pan, toss breadcrumbs with olive oil. Press evenly into bottom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. In a bowl, whisk ricotta with Parmesan, eggs and basil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Spread over crust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Arrange tomatoes on top. Brush with olive oil. (I always forget this step).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Bake until tomatoes are almost dry for about 35-  45 minutes. Let cool. Unmold. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As mentioned, serve this tart with some side salads and you have got yourself a pretty nice meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Cooking. What is your favorite dish to make with tomatoes? Do share.

As you know I love to entertain. I enjoy all aspects: the menu planning, setting the table, selecting the flowers as well as the napkins etc etc. As you might also know…I’m NOT MARTHA STEWART. Infact I have blogged several times about my FAILED projects…cake pops, and floating fish….are two projects that come to mind.

However this project even I CAN DO. Basically it’s edible napkin rings made out of frozen challah dough. WHAT A GENIUS IDEA, non?

I discovered this project, years ago, while sifting thru the cookbook: Kosher By Design, by Susie Fishbein and knew that I had to try it.

CHALLAH NAPKIN RINGS

Ingredients:

1 frozen challah, defrosted (Lenchners or Montreal Kosher)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

sesame seeds or poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover one large baking sheet with parchment paper

2. Take 2 empty paper towel rolls and cover them with a double layer of tinfoil. Then cover the tinfoil with parchment paper. ***Tape wont stick to parchment paper so use a thin strip of tin foil to act as a rubber band.

3. Cut the dough into 6 sections. Divide each section into 3 equal pieces.

 

4. Roll each piece into a piece of rope. Place the ropes side by side on the parchment paper . Pinch the open ends together. Start to braid the dough and then pinch the ends at the bottom

5. Place the braid over the prepared wrapped tube. Wrap it around so the top and bottom ends meet.

6. Pinch the ends together to make a complete circle. (really pinch as you don’t want them to open up)

7. Repeat this process, placing up to 4 rings per tube.

8. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds or popyseeds or both.

9. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

PS if your guests dont eat them…I freeze them and put them out for the next time I entertain.

Happy Entertaining!!

 

 

 

I have succumbed to yet another social media obsession called Pinterest. You will notice a little gizmo on the side of my home page that says “follow me on Pinterest”. Some of you are probably asking “What is Pinterest”, so let me explain.

It’s basically a board that enables you to “PIN” things you like. Naturally I have a ‘food board”and a “design board” but you could have a “things that are funny board” or a board that is about “fashion” or a board for “planning an event”  etc. It’s very visual – it’s very easy to use -and it’s VERY ADDICTIVE.

One day I was skimming thru Pinterest and came across this photo:

I said to myself “that is SO cool” and later that day found myself buying a fish bowl from the dollar store and then bought blue jello and swedish fish. I guess I was in a “Martha Stewart” kind of mood.

I also showed the above photo to a friend, who said ‘how are you going to get the fish to float?”. I replied “Im sure there’s instructions somewhere on the internet”. Guess what? Did not find ANY instructions and indeed my fish sank quicker than I could say “please don’t sink”.

I then morphed into Macguivre and started to pull together a few items that might help my fish from sinking: plastic forks, elastic bands, chopsticks and tape. DON”T ASK.

I stuck the fish bowl into the fridge and when I pulled out the fish from the forks – it was not pretty.

Lesson to be learned: I am clearly not fit to try Martha Stewart projects and I’m not Macguivre. My final product did not come out anything remotely looking like the photo that I saw on Pinterest. But I must admit – I had a good laugh.

By all means, if anyone wants to try this project and let me know how they prevented the fish from sinking – please let me know.