Foodies Across Borders

After 42 years, the folks at Heinz have reinvented the take out squeeze pack that has held everyone’s favorite condiment. We’ve all fumbled with them, squirted ketchup all over ourselves and even left them to rot in our desk. Sometimes we’ve even tried to drizzle our ketchup over our fries and attempt to keep clean while driving. Heinz knew it was an issue and set out to evolve the squeezy pack.

They even went so far as to buy a used minivan that their product people could drive around in while trying to improve the situation.
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Ever since Ikea dropped those funky silicone heart ice cube trays on the market, we’ve been unable to pass by any new funky ice cube trays that might appear on a store shelf in front of us. These Easter Island dudes might just be the coolest ever!

Buy them at Perpetual Kid via Drink of the Week

It has been a while since I’ve made a big pot of chili, so I thought that would be a great project for the return of winter. I looked at a few recipes, but none caught my eye so I just went to the store and grabbed a few things to add to the 2 packages of stewing beef that had taken up long term residence in the freezer.

As TV chef Michael Smith says, a recipe is just a beginning. Close the book, use some creativity and get cooking.

I used our Saint Patties Day Chili as a sort of basis and then had some fun. You can refer to it if you want some actual instructions. I used a couple of pounds of stewing beef, a pound of lean ground beef and a half pound of bacon. Yes, bacon! I figure if Voodoo Donut in Portland can put bacon on donuts, I can use it in chili! Oh, and yes I have had their maple and bacon donuts and they aren’t as gross as you might think!
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For some time now, my favorite beer has been Mill Street Brewery’s Tankhouse Ale. The rich, smooth taste is truly the nectar of the gods. Today though I decided to pick up their seasonal six pack which is a mix of the Toronto micro brewery’s finest. Right now I’m enjoying a Belgian Wit, which is a wheat beer flavoured with orange an coriander. It is bright and cheerful, with a nice citrus aftertaste.

I may not switch from Tankhouse Ale, but I can see myself picking up a case or 5 this summer.

If you are in Toronto, it is great fun to visit the Distillery District and stop by the brewery and enjoy a great meal while you are there.

Our family usually loves anything with a nice clean citrus flavour, so when I made some Greek style potatoes a year or so ago, everyone loved them. I decided it was time to have a go at another Greek style dinner so went looking around for some recipes.

I came across Robert’s Place who had a simple pork chop recipe which I worked with to actually make pork tenderloin medallions. For the taters, I found Toronto based food blogger Peter Minakis at Kalofagas who has a recipe that isn’t really a recipe. Just the way I like it!

No details recipes after the break.
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I asked the lady when Vince would be showing up. She didn’t understand my question.

In case you somehow have missed The Vince in action, you can see him in all his glory after the break.
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This will come as a surprise to no one, but there hasn’t been much action here in Foodies Across Borders for the past year or so. Things were looking a bit stale and I’m sure those steaks we had on the barbie in the header image were more than well done. It was time for a full on kitchen reno!

Welcome to FAB version 2.0

Ok, so it looks kinda plain right now. That is because we’ve got a clean slate, just like that empty room in the FAB NE kitchen prior to the transformation. It may take days, weeks, even months until we get it just right, but FAB is gonna be one of the rockinest joints on the web! We just wanted to show ya what is what when it all begins!

We’re gonna start up with the recipes, kitchen stuff, maybe the odd restaurant review and even the odd product review. We like it when people give us stuff for free!

As you can tell from the luscious photo above, tonight’s dinner consists of a big slab of meat. Not just any meat, beef. A sirloin tip roast, laying upon a bed of assorted root veggies that will get zinged through the processor to make a velvety gravy. Oh yeah, the goodness on the beef is nice store bought mesquite rub. Yummy!

Just a couple of housekeeping notes: For those of you who have been contributing to FAB, your logins and everything still work. Hint, hint! For any on the many who have left comments in the past: well, they are in the past. Gonzo. Nuked!

Keep coming back over the next few weeks to watch us grow!

A couple of day’s before I was due to fly to San Jose, California for the launch of Nissan’s new Z-car we were watching Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. On this episode, he visited a place called the Falafel Drive-In, which has been pumping out the middle eastern chick pea treats since the Sixties. We noticed that it was in San Jose. A quick trip to google showed that it was a scant 1.1 miles from the hotel. Given that my plane would land just after 1 pm, this was a perfect opportunity to fill my tummy and stretch my legs after a long flight.
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I was napping on the couch the other day, half watching Chuck’s Day Off, as food tat guy was making some fish Po Boy sandwiches. I suddenly had a craving for Fish n Chips, so off we went to the Superstore in search of halibut. I nearly crapped myself when I saw the price of halibut, but as Mamma G reminded me, it would cost 50 bucks to buy fish and chips for 5 of us anyway.

Working with a home size deep fryer can be a bit of a challenge when trying to feed a small army, as one needs to plan things well. We cook the fries first and then keep them warm in the oven while the rest of the fries and the fish cook.

To begin with, set up your fryer to bring it up to temperature.

Fries

You can use any type of tater, depending on what you prefer. I grabbed what was left of the bag of white potatoes in the cupboard. I prefer to leave the skins on. Not only are they better for you, but the skin goes nice and crispy. If you have a mandolin, it makes quick work of making fries. Otherwise, use a large knife and start cutting.
I soaked the freshly cut fries in water for a while to remove some of the starch. You want to drain them well so the water doesn’t cause an overflow in the fryer.
With the oil at 375 degrees, our fries took about 5 minutes for each batch. This may vary depending on how thick your fries are.

Once done, put the fries on a baking sheet and stick them in a warm oven. Not too hot, as you don’t want them to cook further, just stay warm.

While all of this is going on, you can prep your beer batter.

Beer batter

Beer batter really is one of the most simple things to make. In a mixing bowl, combine about 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Add a bottle of beer to this and whisk together until smooth.

Fully coat each piece of fish in batter, working right beside the fryer. Quickly, but carefully lower your fish into the hot oil. Following the instructions in the fryer book, we found that just under 6 minutes was the right time for perfect fish.

Our fish was light and flaky on the inside, with a satisfying crispy shell on the outside. While it may have cost more than buying from a fish n chip shop, the batter was so much better!