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The Quintessential Butter Tart
Gooey, runny, rich, impossibly sinful - and they're Canadian
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St Catharines Standard, March 2, 2005

It was in a grocery store in Lewiston, New York that it was first brought to my attention. I was exploring the store when I saw the sign sitting on the bakery counter. It read, "Butter Tarts from Ontario". Like any Ontarian traveling outside our borders, it sparked my curiosity. How could something as simple as a butter tart command such distinction in another country?

As I stood in front of the sign a woman arrived to pick up her "order" of butter tarts. They were for the Thursday afternoon bridge game she explained and it was a much anticipated weekly treat. "We just love them!" she gushed.

It felt rather strange to be spending American money to purchase an imported Ontario product, but I just had to do it. "Just one?" I was asked.

I was handed a small white pastry box tied with string. When I got out to the parking lot, I opened my package and found it wasn't the traditional cauliflower-rimmed squat butter tart nestled in an aluminum tart tin. It was a rather large butter tart with straight high pastry sides and a little puddle of maple coloured, gooey looking filling inside.

As I bit into it, the insides oozed out down my chin and into the box. The flavour was to die for! None of that gritty sugary sweetness, but a rich, luscious nectar that was like a brush of velvet across my tongue. The pastry was buttery, tender and flaky and I scooped up the fallen filling with the excess pieces of pastry. Now this was a butter tart to beat all butter tarts.

No one in the store could tell me who made them or where exactly in Ontario they came from, but apparently like McIntosh apples and snowmobiles, butter tarts are a truly Canadian treat!

As far as I can tell, butter tarts were introduced by Scottish immigrants in Nova Scotia and the tasty treat spread westward across our country like wildfire with the exception of Quebec. I'm guessing Quebecers were not willing to displace they're traditional sugar pie. All I know is that it's impossible to find a butter tart in that province. (Although family who lives there claims they know where to get them.)

Since my experience in the Lewiston grocery store, I've been on a mission to discover the best home made butter tarts. I've found many with varying degrees of unnecessary thickness, some that hold too many raisons, others with none at all and far too many with walnuts or pecans. While these versions were all good, a purist would certainly deny them as a true Ontario butter tart.

The authentic item is rich, buttery and impossibly sinful. Catharine O'Donnell of Willow Cakes & Pastries in Niagara-on-the-Lake describes the quintessential butter tart as consisting of both flavour, a thick, eggy tart with intense flavour and sweetness and the "essential to the butter tart experience' of sugary liquid oozing down the chin with the first bite.

A friend recently introduced me to one of Catharine's butter tarts and it rekindled my own love affair with this truly Canadian specialty. Catharine remembers the joy of her grandmothers home made butter tarts as a young girl and the tarts she sells in her store are in fact, her grandmother's recipe.

No single food item causes such excitement as home-made butter tarts as any makers of them will tell you. "I have customers who travel great distances for these (butter) tarts", says Linda Ollis of the Queenston Tea Room. "and these people know they're suppose to be runny." Like the tarts at The Pie Plate in Virgil, they're so gooey you can't help but get it down your chin and all over your hands.

It was when I began tasting butter tarts around the region that I realized there is such a thing as butter tart etiquette. You have to tilt the tart down when you bite into it to keep as much of the rich dark shiny filling inside the tart. Then, as O'Donnell explains, "sip the insides like a drink from heaven. I suddenly realized that's why the butter tarts I discovered in Lewiston had such high sides to them! It was to better hold the filling when you tilted it downwards. Or, as I did, use the excess pastry to scoop up the falling nectar. It's all about butter tart etiquette!

Yes, butter tarts are anything but simple. They are, in fact, absolutely luxurious treats that are unique to Ontario. Here are just a few examples of the authentic butter tarts that have earned our country such distinction outside its borders. Now go out, eat and discover your own.

Recipes:
O'Donnell Family Butter Tarts
Pie Plate Butter Tarts
Queenston Village Store Butter Tarts
Butter Tart Shells

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Curry Party
Ten Niagara women brought their best curry recipes recently to a Niagara-on-the-Lake home for tasting and exchanging
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St Catharines Standard, February 23, 2005

Usually during the month of December, someone you know will have a cookie exchange party. They're traditional parties that serve the purpose of lightening the load of holiday baking for anyone who indulges in the delicious art of baking Christmas cookies.

But have you ever heard of a curry exchange party? Well I never have, until I was invited to the home of Glenda Dusome in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Glenda has lived most of her life in countries such as London, Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong and admits that her culinary heart lies in Asia. She's a lover of curries from Sichuan, Chinese and Thai. To spice up things on a dreary January day, Glenda decided to host a curry party.

There were ten women invited and each one brought a different curry dish. Tina Peters of St. Catharines brought a red curry, basil, Thai chicken dish. Deanna Simpson of Niagara-on-the-Lake brought pan fried okra in a mildly spicy cumin sauce called Masala Bindi. Ela Dutt of Ridgeway brought a mustard curry salmon dish, a traditional Bengali Indian dish and a traditional family dish.

Marta Jovanovic of Niagara Falls brought a savoury curry carrot soup with shrimp and Sheryl Rastegar of Jordan brought a luscious lamb curry that was prepared in a slow cooker, an Indian beef and pork dish and a Thai chicken and vegetable dish. Ann Marie Simone of Niagara-on-the-Lake brought an Indian chicken curry (she claims is kid friendly), Heather Foss of St. Catharines brought a red Thai chicken and coconut dish. Glenda herself prepared a green Thai chicken curry and a delicious eggplant dish. I was in charge of dessert and made a complimentary homemade ginger ice cream.

All of the dishes arrived in large pots or huge bowls and were arranged on the dining room table dressed with little cards sporting names of these exotic dishes. On the sideboard were stacks and stacks of plastic food containers just waiting to be filled with different curry dishes, so we began to fill them up. When we had our containers full of the evening's assortment, we picked up a plate and began to taste and savour the leftovers with a glass of local wine. It was a fun evening.

We feasted on spicy eggplant and tender lamb curry. There was a savoury salmon dish and plenty of chicken curry to choose from, each dish with a different flavour and level of spiciness. This was possible because curry is not a spice like cardamom, cumin or cloves. It's a blend of spices, more like herbs d' Provence, poultry seasoning or a pickling mix.

Curry is a mixture of many spices, sometimes ranging up to 20 different spices or more. They're crushed in a mortar and some of these spices would typically contain turmeric, coriander, chili, cumin, mustard, ginger, fenugreek, garlic, cloves and salt. In fact in India, curry means, basically the gravy or sauce that is an inherent part of a saucy dish, not a dry one.

Chinese style curry powder is also a mix of various spices, including turmeric, ginger, cumin, mustard and bay leaf. It was brought to China from India and was adapted to Chinese tastes for use with meat and sauced shrimp dishes. From there it fanned out into the various Asian countries, each one rearranging the blend of spices to the flavour preferences of their local cuisine

Among the components of curry is saffron, a very expensive spice which can be replaced by turmeric to provide the characteristic golden colour. But the blend of spices called "curry" can vary widely, depending on the country and region in which it is prepared and used giving curry more flavour profiles than Italian's have pizza.

Glenda prefers the Thai style of curry and explains it's made with coconut milk where Indian curries traditionally use yogurt. Since coconut milk is very high in fat, Glenda uses a low-fat coconut milk that she can only find at Zehr's stores. She says it's the can with the elephant on it.

Better than a cookie exchange party, it was a gathering of curry lovers and we all left curry contented with plenty of servings to warm us inside for the remainder of the cold winter months. Mine went into the freezer and each week I'll bring out another one and simply serve it over some rice. What a great quick frozen dinner to lighten the load of preparing dinner on a busy evening.

Recipes:
Chicken Curry With Cashews
Quick Thai Chicken Curry with Rice
Mustard Fish from Bengal

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Simply Classic
Omelettes are the perfect answer for a quick evening meal or weekend breakfast.
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St Catharines Standard, February 16, 2005

It was in the Italian district of Montreal when I came across a coffee shop making Eggspresso's.
In my mind I imagined dry coffee crystals in an Omelette - yuk! After all what other concoction could possibly involved espresso and eggs? To my surprise, it wasn't the finished product that gave it its name, it was the cooking method that did it. Eggspresso is a method of cooking eggs that involved the frothing wand of an espresso machine - and no coffee at all.

Because of the way the frothing wand is designed, they used a coffee mug to cook the eggs in. It had enough depth for the wand to reach down into it. They cracked 3 eggs into a large coffee mug and whisked them with a fork. Next, they bled off the excess water that had collected in the steam wand and then immersed the wand down into the stirred eggs and began steaming. The eggs were cooked in no time, topped with desired toppings such as cheese or mushrooms and the customers ate them directly from the cup!

Because the steaming wand adds air and water to the eggs, the end result looked like scrambled eggs but tasted more like an omelette. It was a creative twist on a popular breakfast dish, but there's still nothing like a classic omelette.

Omelette's are the perfect answer to a quick evening meal or a weekend breakfast. With a variety of popular fillings, the omelette will perform as a versatile, nutritious and satisfying attraction on your weekly menu.

You may think that making a good omelette requires the skill of a French chef, but it's just not so. An omelette is merely beaten eggs cooked in a frying pan or an omelette pan (if you're lucky enough to have one) and usually involves a filling. The basic ingredients are simple; eggs, water, butter, and seasonings to taste. Water, not milk is a key ingredient to give an omelette it's lightness. Save the milk for making creamy scrambled eggs. But depending on how you combine and cook these ingredients, you can come up with one of three types of omelettes.

A French omelette consists of 2 or 3 eggs beaten together with 2 or 3 tablespoons (25-50 mL) of water and seasoned with a pinch of salt. This is cooked quickly in a pan frothing with hot butter over direct heat. As it cooks, gently push portions toward the centre while tilting and rotating the pan to allow the uncooked egg to flow into the empty spaces. While the top is still moist and creamy, garnish one half of the omelette with filling. Slip the spatula under the unfilled side, fold the omelette in half and slide onto a plate. You know when it's done well when the omelette is plump, fluffy and light with a glossy top.

For an impressive brunch, prepare several individual French omelettes, rather than one large one. You'll find each will be lighter, fluffier, and easier to handle.

Then there's the puffy omelette (sometimes called the soufflé omelette). The eggs yolks are beaten until thick and lemon coloured and the whites are beaten with an electric beater until stiff but not dry. The mixture is carefully folded together and cooked in a well buttered pan over low heat until it is lightly browned on the bottom. Then it's baked (350F/180C) until completely cooked (approximately 8 minutes)

Lastly, there's the Frittata, an open-faced Italian-style omelette in which the filling ingredients are combined with the beaten eggs before being cooked. The eggs are combined with a bit of broth, salt and pepper, and filling ingredients such as vegetables, cheese, meat, or other ingredients. The egg mixture is poured in a buttered pan and cooked over medium heat until the eggs are almost set. It's them sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and placed under a broiler just until the cheese melts. It's then cut into wedges for serving.

Whichever type of omelette you choose, the egg mixture is merely an envelope for the filling. Fill it with cheese, vegetables, meat or seafood or tuck warmed up leftovers under the fold. For each individual omelette, use about half a cup of filling and of course, don't forget the fresh green herbs.

Recipes:
French Omelette
Mushroom Soufflé Omelette
Frittata

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Prelude d'amour
Take a page from the French this Valentine's and serve up some sensuous seafood
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St Catharines Standard, February 9, 2005

February is the season for love and this year, why not take a lesson from the French. The seventeenth century French restaurant, Very's served a variety of cold seafood on a large platter and in the middle lay a nude woman. (Why can't we get garnishes like that in Niagara, asks my husband!). And in nineteenth century Paris, upscale restaurants fed seafood dishes to lovers who dined together in special "boudoir suites".

Not much has changed since the seventeenth century as I was just invited to a Naked Sushi party. It's a bit of a French twist to the popular Japanese dish where sushi is served on a naked man lying on a table. Of course, there will be a dozen or so women who attend and apparently the perfect garnish has already been identified and the invitation offered. I can't wait!

Prior to the French Revolution you could attend a naked supper at a Paris brothel (brothels were frequented in their time, the way bars are frequented today) or visit a restaurant where naked actors and actresses did a dance called The Tums, which was supposed to help people digest their dinner. I can't verify if this works, but I'd certainly rather try that method instead of the rolled candy-type!

In the restaurant industry, the brothel look is making a big comeback. When I dined at Opera Restaurant in Chicago, patrons sat in small, dimly lit alcoves covered in velvet draperies with heavy silk trim and tassels. There was no nude entertainment (although the chef was a hottie!) and it is far from a brothel, but the romantic ambience and suggestive sensual sensibilities were all there.

I recently toured the restaurant 17 Noir at the new Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and as I walked around I noticed a similar brothel theme with small dark romantic alcoves dressed in velvet draperies. They even have an oyster bar in the middle of the restaurant as extra insurance for a sensual evening.

The French have always had an inclination for all kinds of seafood, from a variety of fish to oysters and snails (they eat 40,000 metric tons of snails each year). Bouillabaisse, the ultimate seafood stew is a famous seafood aphrodisiacal soup that according to the French, will get "chilly beauties to do whatever you wish".

Even Casanova preferred fish over meat for its sensual powers. Rumor has it that Casanova received most of his sexual tips from a good friend when he lived in Paris. This French gentlemen, a great lover himself, died at the age of ninety-two in the arms of his teenage mistress. His advice to Casanova was to never ask a women for her phone number. Instead, the mark of a good lover is the ability to make them offer it. Casanova's friend made a powerful seafood paella and called seafood the food of life that made it possible for his cold, old body to still enjoy the heat of passion.

French history is filled with proof of their passionate abilities. The French mistress Madame de Pompadour was Louis XV's lover. She called seafood the "prelude d'amour" and served Louis sole stuffed with truffles and mushrooms, cooked in champagne. She was a big promoter of seafood but not many people know that her real last name was Poisson (French for fish). It's a good thing she changed it or we'd have a hairstyle called "fish" instead of pompadour.

In fact it is the French who believe that those who live almost entirely on shellfish and fish are more ardent in love than all others. They've obviously taken their affinity for love and seafood from Aphrodite, the Greek god and Cupid's mother. Born from the foamy sea she spent her immortal days perched on her seashell throne. It is from here that she blessed the foods of the sea, casting her powers to stoke lust and bestow pleasure upon all those who ate it. How romantic.

'Tis the season for love of all kinds, even the fun kind. Speaking of which, I'm not sure if the nude sushi party will include seafood, but from what I understand, this French Japanese themed party has been overshadowed by some bashful North American culture resulting in the beautiful garnish wearing a sleek Speedo………….pity.

Recipes:
Citrus Scampi Tails In Bed With Romaine Hearts
Casanova's Linguine with Calamari
Coquilles St. Jacques à la Provençale

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Flash Freeze
This process locks in the nutrition, texture and flavour you'd expect from summer-harvested veggies.
By Lynn Ogryzlo,
The St Catharines Standard, February 2, 2005

How do you get the most vitamins and minerals in a climate that doesn't offer fresh vegetables all year long? A quick walk through the produce section of any grocery store and you can see they do a great job in sourcing foods from around the world. The problem is, that during the winter months, they're not as fresh as they could be, nor do they taste as good as they do in the summertime.

But there is one way to get fresher vegetables into your diet at this time of year that are filled with enough vitamins and minerals to ward off those nasty colds. You'll find bags of flash-frozen vegetables in your grocer's freezer section.

Flash freezing makes all the difference. These are freshly harvested vegetables at their peak of ripeness that are frozen very quickly to lock in the nutrition, texture and flavour you'd expect from a summers harvest. This makes them fresher than most imported fresh vegetables you find in the produce section this time of year.

Besides this, the individual packages of mixed vegetables are really convenient. I like the fact that someone else has pre-washed and pre-cut them so all you have to do is take them out of the freezer and start cooking. What a time saver after a busy day at work, and they can also save you money because many of them now come in a variety of vegetable blends meaning you don't have to buy different vegetables - they're all in one convenient bag.

I browsed the freezer section of the grocery store and found Asian blends and Mexican style packages of frozen foods. There was a Thai assortment and an interesting Orleans blend of beans and carrots. They all looked so delicious they inspired all sorts of dinner ideas.

I could throw a handful of the Thai vegetables into my Thai Noodles with Seafood dish and I would save all the preparation work. Any Thai dish such as Beef Curry or Ginger Chicken would benefit from a handful of frozen Thai vegetables with their whole baby corn, sugar snap peas, mushrooms and red peppers.

You don't even need a recipe to cook them up into a delicious side dish. Just pop them into a hot wok with sizzling oil and garlic. Add about a cup (250 mL) of water and let the water bubble before covering it with a lid so they can cook for just a minute or two. Add some soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and plenty of black pepper. Now quickly add a bit of cornstarch that has been dissolved in water so the liquid will thicken. It's quick, easy and turns frozen vegetables into an exciting side dish.

The Mexican blend conjures up a different sort of dinner. The package includes sweet whole kernel corn, broccoli, carrots, red and green pepper, zucchini and onions. Just brown some ground beef in a skillet with a bit of chili powder for flavour. Add the Mexican stir-fry blend of vegetables and cook for 5 minutes or so. Now add a can of black beans and some mild or hot salsa. When this is ready, sprinkle grated Monterey Jack Cheese and the kids will not only love this dish, but they'll be getting nutritious vegetables as well.

The Orleans style of mixed vegetables lets you add a handful of vegetables to jambalaya, gumbo or Creole style chicken. The Asian style veggies with sugar snap peas and water chestnuts makes any stir-fry or noodle dishes quick and easy. You can make a Malaysian dish of hot and spicy prawns come alive with the addition of frozen vegetables. Just serve with a bowl of rice and it's a complete meal. Vietnamese stir-fried chicken with lemon grass, Chinese spicy spare ribs, there's no end to the different ways to include these frozen vegetable blends in your diet.

In the food business, one of the greatest benefits to the consumer has been the availability of frozen fresh vegetables available year round. Now with the flash freezing process to preserve the flavour and nutrients, this is one food type that the corporate food processors have gotten right.

Recipes:
Chinese Spicy Spare Ribs with Asian Style Veggies
Beer Lime Chicken with Mexican Style Veggies
Jambalaya with Orleans Style Veggies

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Hot Stuff
The best chili starts with your own dried whole chili peppers
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St Catharines Standard, January 26, 2005

It was snowing heavily outside and I felt like cooking a pot of sauce to make spaghetti. The simmering pot on the stove and the aromas that would fill the house would certainly be a welcome respite from the cold weather outside.

So I searched my cupboards and found a jar of tomato sauce in the cold cellar and a container of frozen tomato sauce and meatballs in the freezer. I put them in a pot, closed the lid and turned up the heat. After a few minutes I went to stir the simmering sauce and to my horror I discovered the frozen sauce wasn't sauce at all, but a container of chili I had made just a few weeks earlier.

So there I was with a mess. I had either a diluted tomatoey-pasty chili or spaghetti sauce with ground meat and beans - ugh! Neither seemed very appealing so I did the only thing I could think of and I strained it.

Yes, I strained the meat and beans out of the tomato sauce. I put the meat mixture in the refrigerator and to the sauce I added some fennel laced Italian sausage that I quickly pulled from the freezer, microwaved to thaw and fried up. I simmered it in the sauce.

When we sat down for our spaghetti dinner that evening I didn't dare tell the family what had happened for fear they wouldn't eat it. So we sat down to a meal that was, to my amazement, full of praise for the best spaghetti dinner they'd ever had!

Like many dishes we enjoy today, it came about by accident. No, I'm not comparing this culinary calamity with the likes of bouillabaisse or any other accidental culinary dish, but even I have to admit, it was pretty darn good. The heat and spices of the chili infused into the tomato sauce making it taste richer and more exciting than it normally does.

My family loves spaghetti on a cold winters day, but what they love even more is a good bowl of chili. It's not so much the heat they like from those hot little chili peppers; it's the flavour itself. In a bowl of chili, it's the meat that gives it substance but it's the chili that gives it its soul, its prickly balance of fire and flavor. To make a great chili you'll need a good selection of dried whole chili peppers. This is your secret arsenal to advancing the average bowl of red a giant leap towards perfection.

Like most of you, I buy a generic chili powder off the grocers shelf, but this predetermined mixture of powdered chili's and seasoning often adds an edge, an almost familiar stale flavour.

A friend of mine makes his own chili powder from a blend of different dried chili's. He uses more mild chili's than hot because he knows that while the fiery pods offer chili tradition and heat, it's the sweeter ones that give the depth of flavour.

He wouldn't give me his recipe, but I wrote down what he would divulge. The ideal blend would start with a base of New Mexican chili's, mixed with some dark and wrinkled Ancho chili's (for their deep, earthy flavour), and one or two Pasillas (for their nuttier piquancy). This is the base of flavour that you then add a controlled amount of one of the truly fiery peppers like Habanero or Rocatillo to give the chili its true heat.

Drying your own chili's is quite easy. Just leave a few of them in a basket on the counter until good and dry. The small peppers are easily crushed by putting them in a blender or food processor.

For larger dried chiles, my friend parches them. Just put them in a hot, ungreased skillet and cook them on high heat for a minute or two to make the skin brittle and easily crushed. Shake the pan constantly to keep them from burning and as soon as the skins are crisp, remove them and let them cool. Then crack the peppers open, discard the stem, core, and seeds. Break the remaining flesh into pieces and pulverize these in a blender or food processor to a coarse powder, being careful not to inhale the dust. Seal the result in a jar or plastic bag; this powdered chile will keep indefinitely in a freezer or for months on a cool shelf.

I know some chili enthusiasts who prefer to use only fresh chile peppers (either red or green for their sweeter, fresher taste), although most cooks find that chili without the harsh rasp of dried chiles is not true bowl of red at all.

Getting back to my story, the next night I heated up the chili and added a bit of the leftover spaghetti sauce to the dry meat and bean mixture. All it took was a bit more powdered chili's and it was back tasting like a great bowl of red.

Recipes:
Mexican Mole Chili
Venison Chili
Traditional Southern Chili

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Pizza Pizzazz
By Lynn Ogryzlo
At Home In Niagara, January 25, 2005

It's Saturday night, pizza and movies around a toasty fireplace. What a great way to relax with the family and friends, but wait. Stop dialing and hang up the phone! Instead of ordering you're next pizza, increase the Saturday night fun with a pizza party!

Pizza party's gets everyone involved in the preparation and its loads of fun with all those hands in the kitchen. Even the kids will love it because everyone gets to have their pizza exactly the way they want it and. Mom gets to have thin crust, dad gets hearty, deep dish with mile high toppings and the kids get cheese stuffed pizzas.

No matter what you're preference, at a pizza party you can reproduce your favourite traditional pie of cheese and pepperoni or add a few gourmet items like roasted garlic, prosciutto or artichokes for a more contemporary flair. But what's stopping you from inventing a whole new twist to your favourite food? Wow, what fun it would be to roll out something new and delicious.

For a pizza party, you'll need to take care of the pizza dough ahead of time. You can purchase ready-made pizza crusts or pizza dough from the grocery store. The pizza dough will enable everyone to roll out his or her favourite style of crust. Just flatten it a bit with a rolling pin, then lift it and use the "fist and knuckle" action to stretch the dough around your hands and into the size and thickness you want. Ok, if you're stretching holes in the dough you're probably not an expert so you're best to lay it flat and stretch it out with your fingers until you can graduate to the "fist and knuckle" technique.

The best tasting pizzas are baked in a wood burning stone oven. But if you're like me and you only have a traditional oven, you'll need a few tools to get a really great tasting pizza; a pizza stone, a pizza peel (like a giant wooden spatula) and the courage to turn up the heat. This is as close as you'll get to a stone oven pizza texture and flavour.

Place the baking stone in your oven and preheat it to 500F (250C) half an hour before you plan to bake. Sprinkle the peel generously with cornmeal and flip your dough onto the peel. Working quickly, brush the dough with olive oil or ladle on some sauce, add toppings, but wait to add the cheese, fresh herbs or shellfish.

Open the oven and sprinkle cornmeal on the baking stone. In one quick jerking motion, slide the pizza from the peel onto the baking stone. Just like stretching the pizza dough, practice is all that's needed to get this right. After 10 minutes of baking, add the more delicate toppings, such as shrimp or fresh herbs and spread on the cheese. Bake for 10 more minutes, until the cheese bubbles. Remove the pizza from the stone by sliding it back onto the peel and transfer it to a serving platter. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter and enjoy!

Toppings are easy enough because your supermarket's produce section has an outstanding source to choose from. Many vegetables like mushrooms, onions and peppers only need to be sliced thinly and then strewn on top of the sauce. Others might benefit from slight precooking, grilling eggplant or bacon for example or parboiling asparagus. Look in the canned goods or pickled and preserved sections of your grocery store for even more options. Marinated artichoke hearts, roasted bell peppers, hearts of palm, pesto sauces, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes and olives of every description in many combinations make for a delicious pizza.

While toppings are optional, cheese and pizza are inseparable. Some are prized for their melting quality like mozzarella and Fontina. Some add special flavour or tang like Parmesan, feta and various kinds of blue cheese. Others are prized for there soft, moist texture like ricotta and even more contribute a number of different characteristics, most notable the creamy, tangy, smooth, fresh goat cheese.

There is so little effort involved in orchestrating a great Saturday night pizza party. You'll have loads of fun perfecting the fist and knuckle technique and once you've mastered that, you'll want to try tossing it in the air.

Recipes:
Pizza Topping Combinations
Four Cheese Pizza
Red Pepper and Chevre Pizza
Sicilian Peasant Pizza
Tomato and Basil Pizza
Garlic Clam Pizza
Texas-Style Pizza
Smoked Chicken with Pesto, Red Onions and Provolone Pizza

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The Spice of Our Lives
Pepper is the common ingredient that elevates our meals.
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St. Catharines Standard, January 19, 2005

My husband is a lover of pepper. He'll have pepper on anything from a Caesar salad or grilled steak to pasta or even strawberries in the spring. He buys pepper pate and cheese crusted in peppercorns. He has a few prized pepper grinders and some carefully guarded gourmet mixtures of pink, green, white and black peppercorns and never misses an opportunity to grind it over anything edible.

Chances are, you have what is considered the world's most important spice right there on your dining table and you've probably already sprinkled pepper on something today. What would we do without peppercorns?

Pepper is the extra ingredient that gives zing and pizzazz to savoury foods. Use it on strong flavoured foods, mild ones, sweet ones, on both simple and complicated dishes. Black pepper has a real bite, its hot flavour is prefect for flavouring a wide range of foods. White pepper on the other hand, is subtler in heat and is often used when you don't want unsightly black spots in light coloured dishes like béchamel sauce. Used in combination, black, white and green peppercorns offer a great range of hot and mild tastes.

Black, white and green peppercorns are all products of the same plant. The difference, beyond their colour is that they're harvested and handled differently. For black pepper, the clusters are plucked when not quite ripe then left in piles to ferment. After a few days, the individual berries are spread out and left to dry in the sun for two or three more days or until they are shriveled and nearly black. The finest black peppercorns are said to be Tellicherry from India because they are larger and the most flavorful.

White pepper comes from fully ripened berries that have almost turned red. After harvest the clusters are packed in bags and soaked in water for more than a week. This softens the outer coating so that it can be removed to reveal gray centers. The peppercorns are then spread out to dry in the sun where they are naturally bleached to become white. Sarawak white peppercorns from Malaysia are said to be the finest due to careful handling and processing. A close second are the Indonisian Muntok type.

Green peppercorns are harvested when the berry is immature and then packed in brine. They're a fresher flavor and less pungent than black or white peppercorns. Dried green peppercorns are also available alone or combined in four-pepper mixtures.

The pink peppercorn, usually the fourth component in these blends, is not actually a member of the pepper family although it is often marketed as such. This faintly sweet spice from Reunion Island does enhance the flavor of the other true peppers.

Unlike salt, pepper is not essential for human survival but it does add a spice to life that pepper lovers live for. There isn't a kitchen worth working in that doesn't have at least two kinds of pepper, white and black, in fact, some people use only white pepper at the stove and reserve black pepper for grinding at the table. Always add pepper toward the end of cooking to prevent it from turning harsh and while whole peppercorns will provide a fuller flavour, just be sure to remove them so that no one suffers from biting into one.

Steak au poivre is a classic peppercorn dish, but there's plenty more foods that just wouldn't be the same without it. A simple omelet becomes exciting with a dusting of black pepper and who'd think of a smoky, rich Bloody Mary without the spicy component that black pepper adds. When making quick biscuits for a warming winter's soup, add some grated Gruyere cheese and a generous dusting of black pepper for a burst of flavour. They're the perfect accompaniment with a simple garlic, herb and pepper soup. Simple risotto is elevated to a lighter level with a sprinkling of pepper and a pepper-laced vinaigrette is excellent on a bed of greens and grilled scallops - or try it as a stand alone dipping sauce for a fresh loaf of crusty bread.

A coating of crushed pepper is used as a contrasting flavour for cheeses such as a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano sitting in a puddle of honey. It makes the perfect ending to any meal. Also delicious is a peppered goat cheese; the mild taste of the cheese and the hot taste of the pepper combine deliciously on the tongue.

Pepper can be used in all savoury dishes as well as some sweet ones. But then the Italians have been doing this for years in their classic dessert of ripe strawberries sprinkled with aged balsamic vinegar and freshly ground black pepper.

Pepper is the extra ingredient that gives zing and pizzazz to all sorts of foods from savoury to sweet and although a dish may be perfectly edible without it, pepper lovers have never been able to settle for anything less than a generous grinding.

Recipes:
Clams in a Pepper Broth
Tangerine Sections with Pepper Dipping Sauce
Salt and Pepper Pasta

Here's the Beef
Prime rib roast makes an impressive meal for guests and preparing it is relatively easy
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St. Catharines Standard, January 12, 2005

I'm a purist when it comes to prime rib. I love a juicy, succulent, fork-tender, thick slab of prime rib with a bold beefy flavour and rosy pink middle. I often wonder why restaurants give you a sharp, serrated steak knife to cut your prime rib when this cut of beef is so tender, a butter knife will do the job easily enough.

As much as we all love prime rib, few home cooks have tackled the task of roasting one. Part of the problem is the high price tag for this cut and the other is size. A prime rib roast is an imposing, yet impressive roast that definitely demands to serve 6 or more guests.

If you're planning on company this weekend and you're wanting something classic, you'll be happy to know that preparing a perfect rib roast is completely painless. In fact, once you learn the basics, the only thing left to do is to set the table and get ready for the feast.

Shopping for a rib roast can be confusing but Don Robillard the butcher at Vandenberg Meats explains the term Prime refers to top quality in an American system of grading meat; Prime, Choice and Select. It was once standard in the USA that only the restaurants were sold Prime grade and only the best restaurants bought it; hence the reputation for really great prime rib.

The Canadian equivalent is the "A" system; Canada AAA, Canada AA and Canada A (not to be confused with the other Canadian "eh" system). AAA, or Triple A is the best grade and it's what you want if you're looking for a really good prime rib roast. In fact, Don says if you really want to go all out, Black Angus AAA is actually the champagne of prime rib roasts. You can find this at the many butcher shops around Niagara.

Prime rib roasts come with the ribs or bones attached and a rolled rib roast is the same cut of meat, but the bone has been removed. The meat will be more flavorful if you roast it with the ribs still attached, but a boneless roast is a little easier to carve

Now that you've purchased a good rib roast, you'll be glad to know your work is halfway done. If you wish, you can cover the outside with a mixture of fresh herbs, lemon zest, garlic, pepper and Dijon-style mustard. To infuse even more flavor into the meat, sliver the garlic, make tiny slits in the roast, and insert the garlic bits. But the beauty of prime rib is that if you do absolutely nothing to the roast before putting it into the oven, it will still turn out delicious.

If you like your prime rib pink in the middle, don't bring the meat to room temperature before roasting. You'll want the outside to heat up faster than the inside and don't salt the roast until right before cooking.

Now, there are two ways you can roast a prime rib. First, a low temperature for a long time will result in less shrinkage and a high temperature for a shorter period of time will give you an extremely flavourful, well-browned exterior. It is possible to combine the two methods by starting the roast at a high temperature to sear the outside and then turn down the oven to finish the roasting.

If roasting at 325F (165C), the meat will take about 17 to 20 minutes per pound. If you start the roast at 450F (235C) for the first 30 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325F (165C), allow about 13 to 15 minutes per pound. Let the roast stand for 15 or 20 minutes before carving to let the juices return to the center.

When you're carving, the slices taken from the ends of the roast will be done the most and the middle will be the least done, so you should be able to suit the preferences of everyone around the dinner table.

Serve those succulent slabs of juicy roast with pan drippings and horseradish on the side, and don't be surprised if dinner conversation comes to a standstill when your breathtaking rib roast assumes its rightful place at the center of the table.

Recipes:
Standing Rib Roast with Walnut Horseradish Cream
Slow Roasting Prime Rib
Old English Prime Rib

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The Big Cheese
Made by hand in a designated zone in Italy, parmigiano reggiano is just about perfect.
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St Catharines Standard, January 5, 2005

If you only know it as the grated cheese in the shiny green canister, then this may come as a shock, but Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is the greatest cheese in the world.

Bite-sized pieces of Parmigiano-Reggiano, also known as Parmesan, were offered to travelers around the 1500's. The trademark stamping around the rind of Parmigiano Reggiano, which is still valid today, was designed in the early 1600's because of it's popularity inspiring all sorts of imitations that don't come close to the real thing. But thank goodness, we all know greatness when we taste it.

The secrets of Parmigiano-Reggiano's quality are found in its inconsistencies. In a world of mass-produced sameness, this cheese is made by hand, usually only eight or twelve wheels at a time. And although the cheese can be made only within its legally designated zone in northern Italy, cheeses from the hills and cheeses from the plains are never quite the same.

But Parmigiano also has seasons. In the spring, the butterfat content of the Parmigiano is lower. As a result, the cheese is somewhat drier. But the tender spring grasses, herbs and flowers that cows eat give the milk and the cheese a more complex flavor than cheese from other seasons. Summer cheese is the strongest Parmigiano because cows are stressed by summer heat and they graze primarily on dried grasses, which are more intense than fresh grasses. Summer cheese is best for pasta stuffing and pesto because its flavor won't get lost in the other ingredients and it's also best with big, sturdy red wines.

The peak time for making fall cheese is October and November. The weather is perfect, and grasses are in their second bloom. Consequently, the milk's butterfat content at this time is the highest of the year, giving the cheese a golden color and a rich, sweeter flavor. This is the perfect cheese for eating or grating.

It's a real treat when you can taste the different seasons in Parmigiano-Reggiano. Most likely won't find a seasonally distinguished selection of Parmigiano-Reggiano's on your grocers shelves, but you can find the real thing. It costs more but its superior flavor is worth the extra few dollars you spend.

Parmesan is a delicious cheese on its own. Sometimes chunks of it are served at the end of a meal drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar or honey. It's a beautiful ending to any Italian-style dinner when there is plenty of full, red wine to sip with it.

Fragrant wild mushroom risotto would be lost without a fresh grating of Parmesan. It would simply be a bland dish of mushrooms and rice without the essential finishing touch of grated Parmesan to meld the flavors of the rice dish together and rounded out the earthiness of the mushrooms. Without the accent of this amazing cheese, many rice and pasta dishes fall flat.

Why pesto would just be basil and garlic without the garlic-taming effects of the Parmesan that also work the other flavours of the pesto like a symphony. Today it's trendy to shave Parmesan into paper-thin curls with a vegetable peeler. Scattered over a plate of prosciutto drizzled with fruity olive oil, the Parmesan slivers awaken the flavor of each ingredient and connect them to one another in a memorable way while continuing to project their own subtle personality.

Parmesan contributes its nutty-sweet, gently salty, slightly spicy character to many dishes. Yes, even mashed potatoes and cooked grains are more richly delicious when grated Parmesan is stirred in at the end. A bread stuffing and even meatballs becomes richer and a bit stirred into sautéed cauliflower or broccoli before serving acts as salt can, bringing out the vegetable's flavor without calling attention to itself.

The freshest chunk of Parmigiano will hold the most flavour. Parmigiano-Reggiano must be aged at least 18 months and the longer it ages, it develops a more complex flavor and flinty, grainy texture. But as soon as the cheese is cut from the wheel, it stops its productive aging and if left long enough, will begin to loose flavour.

The best scenario (and usually a rare one) is to buy a piece cut right from the wheel as you wait. Most likely, you'll be buying a prepackaged chunk from the grocers shelves. Choose one that's tightly wrapped, preferably with the rind still attached on one side. Avoid any cheese that has holes or looks oily and pieces that seem almost white are way past their prime and will be closer to rock than cheese. Parmesan will keep up to a month in your refrigerator, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

To tell if you've got the authentic Parmesan, look for the words "Parmigiano Reggiano" stenciled closely and repeatedly around the rind of the entire wheel so that every piece of rind will bear part of these markings. And never, I mean never believe that the grated cheese in the shiny green canister is the real thing.

Recipes:
Stracciatella, or Wedding Soup
Parmesan Pockets
Sausage and Parmesan Stew

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Time to savour the flavour
The Slow Food movement works to protect the pleasures of the table from homogenization of modern fast food and fast life.
By Lynn Ogryzlo
Partners Magazine, Winter 2005

Slow Food began in Italy in 1986 when McDonald's first opened in Rome. The movement's manifesto states, "We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus, the fast life, which disrupts our habits and forces us to eat fast foods. Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavours and savours of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of fast food."

It all began more or less as a joke, an intellectual tweaking of the fast food establishment, but almost two decades later no one is laughing as this international movement has over 60,000 members on all five continents.

The success of the Slow Food movement is no coincidence. Over the past decade, the fast food chains have spread around the world and industrial agriculture itself has increasingly come under attack. Mad cow disease, dioxin chicken, hoof-and-mouth disease, e-coli outbreaks, antibiotic resistance and contaminated water have all been linked to a system that produces cheap food at a tremendous cost.

That, combined with the spread of genetically modified foods, has led many consumers to mistrust the industrial food supply. At the same time, consumers have become more aware of the health costs of fast food and the epidemic of obesity that follows in its wake. There are other groups and protest movements that deal with these issues, but Slow Food offers something new; a unique marriage of knowledge with pleasure and pleasure with action.

The Slow Food movement works to protect the pleasures of the table from homogenization of modern fast food and fast life. Through a variety of initiatives it promotes gastronomic culture, develops taste education, conserves agriculture biodiversity and protects traditional foods at the brink of extinction.

Outside Italy, the United States has the largest number of Slow Food members of any country, about 10,000 of them. In Canada there are approximately 800 members and 12 convivia.

In Europe, Slow Food has a stronghold on agriculture and is making a statement - it is making a difference albeit slowly. Here in Canada, it is still considered a novelty and is neglected by the industry that stands to gain the most from a Slow Food alliance.

To join the Slow Food movement means you stand for all that Slow Food is. The gold snail lapel pin worn on clothing is an icon that represents your right to choose. Members receive the Slow Magazine with fantastic food and wine perspectives from around the world. The stories are meant as "food for thought" that will inspire you to become an enthusiastic eater from both a practical and hedonistic point of view.

Perhaps Slow Foods most important project is The Ark of Taste. The aim of this massive project is to identify, catalogue, describe and publicize products, dishes and animals that are in danger of extinction due to industrial standardization, hygiene laws, the regulations of large-scale distribution and environmental damage.

The Presidia is the working arm of the Ark that undertakes projects to assist groups of artisan producers to save their products. To provide public recognition for all this work, a Slow Food Award has been introduced, the first edition of which was held in Bologna in October 2000.

Along with the Piedmont Regional Authority, Slow Food organizes the Salone del Gusto, one of the most important events in the entire food and wine world held at its traditional venue, the Lingotto Exhibition Center in Turino.

The 5-day event with over 500 exhibitors, more than 130,000 visitors and over 2,000 journalists from all over the world, includes the Market, the Enoteca and Taste Workshops designed to pay homage to the international character of a movement now present in 83 countries.

If Slow Food has grown into a large-scale international movement, it is precisely because the concept of 'pleasure' is a complex one encompassing many meanings and involving many aspects of our existence. Eating is something we do every day and if it's done with a certain ritual and pleasure, it enriches our lives. And if we don't pay attention to the flavours, quality and origin of our food, then the way we feel about ourselves and about the world around us is really quite different. Food is a very powerful medium in this way.

The definition contained in the Slow Food Manifesto conveys a very clear message: a movement for the protection of the right to taste and that is much more complex than mere physical survival.

To know more about the international Slow Food Movement and contact the national associations in the Italy or the USA, contact:

International office:
Tel +39 0172 419 611
Fax +39 0172 421293
international@slowfood.com
Via Mendicità Istruita, 8
12042 Bra (CN) - Italy

TOLL FREE NUMBERS
Canada 1 8662 666 661

USA
Tel +1 718-260-8000
Fax +1 212 226 0672
info@slowfoodusa.org
20 Jay Street #313, Brooklyn, NYC
NY 10013 USA

Have a Magical New Year's Eve
Sushi and Champagne are a great way to ring in 2005
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St. Catharines Standard, December 29, 2004

What would the holidays be without a memorable New Years celebration? Vastly different from the Christmas feasts of Dickens Goose and Bread Pudding, New Years call for more decadence with an air of formality, more opulence with a kiss of sensuality. Regardless of how you celebrate the occasion, the birth of a new year is cause for revelry.

When it comes to New Years drinks, there is unquestionably one drink that reigns supreme. Champagne is an extraordinarily powerful image for New Years celebrations. Its allure is irresistible. When we drink a bubbly we feel elegant and sophisticated, frivolous, chic, light-hearted, carefree, extravagant, reckless, generous, expansive, ready to lay aside for a moment the humdrum demands of everyday life. And it's not just the alcohol that's performing this transformation, for the magic begins to work as soon as the cork pops and the bubbles whoosh into the glass - even before the first sip is taken. Champagne is a magical drink.

When it comes to food, New Years is more about the food magic than it is about magical foods.
Taste, touch, feel, aroma, shape, color and what your senses tell you about certain foods all play a part in food magic.

For example, some foods are more powerful than others. The first thing that comes to mind is lemon in the summer. That's one powerful food for many. Imagine how many hours it spent soaking up the sun's energy over an entire season before turning into brightly colored sour citrus fruit that has the power to make you pucker, salivate and excite. I know it's not the season for lemons, but they can work for New Years with dishes such as Fettuccine with a Lemon Vodka Sauce or how about a grapefruit and lemon vinaigrette drizzled overtop of a cold lobster tail? Both of these dishes are the perfect partners for sparkling wine and a magical evening!

What do our senses tell us about sweet foods? Powerful? These high-calorie foods are defined as "units of energy". After eating them, we certainly feel more energetic and in a better frame of mind. Perhaps it is no accident that high-calorie sweets like cakes, honey - yes even Icewine were often said to be "gifts to the gods". There's no grater gift to yourself this New Years than treating yourself to a bit of decadence in a Apricot Bavarois with Peach-Leaf Sauce or Grand Marnier Crème Brule with Crème Anglaise Drizzle.

Certain finger foods like hors d'oeuvres and sushi not only have flavours that build on one another, the most important is how we experience them. They present an air of elegant, chic and extravagance. Sushi lends an air of mystery and romance with those special utensils (chopsticks) necessary to enjoy it while being true to a foreign tradition. That's why many choose a New Years celebration of sushi and champagne. It's a light meal keeping in line with the frivolous disposition inspired by the bubbly.

The aromas of food are powerful enough to actually radiate their energy throughout the entire room with their seductive smells. Who can argue the power of freshly brewed coffee or just baked bread doesn't put you in a better mood? Then there's chocolate. Just the mere whiff of the dark confection is said to lower a woman's inhibitions. Can you imagine the magic of a Molten Chocolate Bite with Caramelized Sour Cherry Sauce?

Now a story on food magic is not complete without a mention of the aphrodisiac power of food. Yes, it works magic for a different purpose. Someone once told me if you recognize the very basic power in food, perhaps you can channel it anywhere you wish, similar to the way your home's electrical current can run a variety of appliances.

Most foods have an inherent magic about them ready for you to notice. It's the same way that a composer "hears" notes in the concert hall of the mind before anyone plays them on the keyboard. Now let your celebration be a dance of the senses as you ring in the New Year. May it be a healthy, happy and very magical one for all.

Recipes:
Sushi - California Rolls
Fettuccine with Lemon and Vodka Sauce
Salmon with Champagne Beurre Blanc

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Chicago
They call it the city of good people for a good reason
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St. Catharines Standard, December 24, 2004

A long awaited, fun packed weekend in Chicago! Excited and impatient I pushed my way off the train into the busy Chicago terminal only to stop dead in my tracks. In complete shock, I watched the train speed further and further away before it disappeared completely from sight. Hundreds of people rushing around me as I'm frozen to the pavement, the shock of what I've just done - or better yet, what I didn't do - washed over me in slow motion. I left my purse on the train.

I had planned a fun filled weekend with friends to the "windy city". Shopping on the Magnificent Mile (shopping district on North Michigan Avenue), walking and dining along the lakefront, grooving to jazz and blues in intimate clubs. Instead, I've been stripped naked of all my identification, my passport, my cash and I'm trembling with panic.

Don't worry, explains a much calmer Amtrak official, "Chicago is the city of good people, it will be returned", he assured. The man was obviously crazy, so with the help of the Peninsula Chicago Hotel and Canadian Embassy, I set into motion the replacement of all of my documents. But it was late on Friday afternoon and there was only so much that could be done until Monday.

So with the bottle of champagne the Peninsula sent to my room for consolation and fortification, I resolved to make the best of it. Chicago may be the third largest city in the USA, but from what I'd seen so far, it is without a doubt the cleanest, most beautiful and certainly the most exhilarating.

Learning about the city couldn't be easier with the Chicago Greeter Program. It's a complimentary service that matches your interests and/or reasons for visiting the city with a specialized tour guide that takes you around town for 4 hours. Ask your questions, get personalized recommendations, discover the stories behind the names and get an up close and personal introduction to the city. You can easily get some of the information if you were to sift through volumes of travel books, but you'd never get the opinions or personal details as told by these long-time residents.

Being a foodie, I was matched up with the programs Culinary Director (What a great job!). Together we walked through Treasure Island, an artisan food shop. Like a European food store, the small shelves were stocked with unique gourmet items, age-worn wooden floors, little corners housing crocks of olives and end aisles stacked with the latest vitamin waters. Who could resist eating well here?

We went to spice merchants where the aromas of the spices oozed from the dark wooden cabinets and wrapped themselves around you when you walk through the door. We visited Garrett Popcorn, a tiny little institution almost buried on North Michigan's shopping district and since we were so close, we ducked into Vosges Chocolates for a few decadent nibbles. The Cheesecake Factory offered the highest and largest assortment of cheesecakes in a big, bold and brash setting obviously geared to attract a younger crowd or those who really didn't have to worry about ingesting copious amounts of cheesecake (and calories).

Voted the "most exceptional dining destination" in America by the Robb Report, Chicago is home to award-winning restaurants and world-renowned chefs such as Charlie Trotter's in Lincoln Park and John Bubala at Thyme, the Shanghai Terrace at the Fairmont Hotel is exquisite and just try to get a seat at Opera on Wabash, Chef Paul Wildermuth is the hottest commodity in this famous restaurant city.

Chicago and food have a long history, yet it's not always been a serious marriage. It was the deep-dish pizza that first began in Chicago and yes, the salad bar was invented here at a restaurant called "Lettuce Entertain You", and who can resist a mile-high hot dog loaded with all the fixings from one of its eclectic street vendors.

If you can't decide where to eat, you can sign up for Chicago's Neighbourhood Sampling Tour. A luxury bus is stuffed with 45 foodophiles and taken on a taste of 3 of Chicago's delicious restaurants. Interestingly, a high percentage of hungry participants that book this tour are Chicagans themselves. So I signed up!

First stop was Artopolis, a wonderful Greek deli-restaurant. We arrived to be greeted by a wonderful buffet filled with tzaki, spanikopita, dolmadas, fresh feta, Kaseri and lots of wonderful Greek desserts. The wine selection was amazingly Greek and included some of the higher quality wines such as Gaia that rarely leave their Hellenic shores.

Back on the bus, we drove through downtown and over one of the many movable bridges that cross the Chicago River. Seven recreational boats cruised peacefully along the beautiful river lined with cascading flowerboxes, ornate iron railings, and inviting boardwalks. This beautiful river cuts its way through the busy core of the metropolis. Near the mouth of the river stood Navy Pier. Chicago's most visited attraction for adults and kids with a mini amusement park, water activities and children's museum (and the cities public beaches are not far away).

On the North side of Chicago is Uptown. Historically, this area was the centre of the silent film industry and the entertainment district. The Aragon Theatre and Dance Club (still exists) was the destination of the infamous big bands of Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Paul Whitman. What a landmark. But this was a culinary tour so we kept going until we were just outside Uptown at a little Cuban restaurant.

Inside Sabor a Cuba there were long set tables waiting for our group. Once seated, out came the copious platters of delicious Cuban delicacies. Fried plantain's the size of fat French fries, fried yucca with garlic sauce, empana (spiced ground beef in pastry), ham balls (ground ham with mayo and a yummy red sauce), madura (more ripe plantain) and rope (savoury pulled beef). Each dish tasting better than the other, it was easy to see who the serious foodies were and who'd be able to stand up from the table! These are definitely not tasting portions. We partied on!

Third and final stop, Café Iberico, a Spanish eatery that boasts over 50 different tapas on the menu - shirley we weren't going to try them all! After a brief tour of the beautiful gourmet food shop decorated with brightly coloured Spanish tiles and was full of (as well as Spanish delicacies) whimsical imported dishes and water jugs. We settled down to a Spanish feast of Iberian ham (very much like proscuitto), potato salad with tuna, grilled octopus, marinated mushrooms, pork with diced raw onions and cilantro, fried potatoes and red peppers and a never ending supply of delicious Sangria. This was the final stop and on a whirlwind 5-hour Neighbourhood Sampling Tour of Chicago (cost is $25.00US/person).

Obviously, the third largest city in the USA is not without legend. The most alluring part of Chicago's image is it's strong preservation and promotion of the arts. It's the home to Second City, the comedy show that was named when Chicago was actually the second largest city in the USA. (at the time it was in competition with San Francisco for the title). It began in the early 60's by John Belushi and Bill Murray.

With all that Chicago offers, the weekend wasn't long enough. Do I take-in a show in the theatre district or a Cubs game at the historic Wrigley Field, do I bar hop from blues club to jazz bar or shop till I drop along the Magnificent Mile. From the top of the Sears Tower to the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago offers so much to do, it's no wonder most of the visitors come back for more.

It's easy enough to get around this big city. From O'Hara Airport it's a 20 minute train ride to the center of downtown Chicago. One easy connection half way there and you find yourself caught up in the delirium of a metropolitan city. The rush-hour insanity sweeps you off your feet as you push your way off the train into the bright sunshine of the afternoon. Without even realizing it, you're walking, tourist-like with your head up in the air, soaking up all the sights and sounds of an exciting new adventure in a foreign place.

Perhaps this is how I ended up in my predicament. The words of the Amtrak official kept haunting me throughout the weekend. "Don't worry, Chicago is the city of good people, it will be returned". In case you're wondering about my purse - he was right. An early Sunday morning phone call from a woman who lives on the outskirts of Chicago, claimed to have found my purse. Later that day, it was returned with all of its contents intact. Chicago is indeed, an amazing city of good times, but more importantly, great people!

Information on Chicago Neighbourhood Tours www.chgocitytours.com
Information on booking a trip to Chicago 1-877-CHICAGO (877-244-2246) or www.877CHICAGO.COM

Cooking Niagara-style
The stellar cookbooks from local writers make perfect last-minute gifts for your favourite foodie.
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St. Catharines Standard, December 22, 2004

If you're looking for a culinary gift to give this holiday season, then look no further than your own backyard. Niagara has produced some outstanding cookbooks from talented foodies like never before.

Recipes from Wine Country written by Executive Chef of Hillebrand Estates Winery, Tony De Luca (Whitecap Books, $39.95) is the latest one on the market and it's probably the most beautiful one of all. Absolutely fabulous colour photos of seductive dishes, country vineyard shots along with a pictorial of Tony in the kitchen on different occasions. It makes you feel like you're right there with him - and having just as much fun.

The recipes are organized by his recommended wine choice, making the task of matching food with wine a simple one. This beautiful book is not for the novice home cook but for those who consider themselves handy in the kitchen. Tony's cookbook will stretch your culinary prowess to its limits with Duck Prosciutto Salad, Smoked Salmon, Lobster and Crab Terrine and my favourite, the New York Striploin Steak with Cabernet Dried Cherry Butter.

A Year In Niagara by Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh (Whitecap Books $22.95) is a story of Kathleen's journey of discovery in Niagara's homegrown food culture. This prolific food writer moved to Niagara and discovered what many of us take for granted, the delicious treasures in our own backyard.

What fun you'll have fun rediscovering the delicious side of Niagara all year with this book. Buy from these artisan food purveyors and make up some of the delicious dishes she's come up with - inspired no doubt from the produce she's found along her journey.

You'll be tempted with recipes such as Pork Ribs with Niagara Apple Ale & Mustard Glaze, Primavera Soup with Gruyere Toasts, Pickled Peppery Peaches, April's Rhubarb Fool and Chicken and Spinach Crepes.

New this year from Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh is a great cookbook written with husband Ted McIntosh on the New Celtic Cooking (McArthur & Co., $39.95). It's certainly not about Niagara, but Kathleen is local talent and a creative writer. A definite book for a cookbook collector.

I know it's not new, but it's become a classic, Inn on the Twenty Cookbook by Anna and Michael Olson (Whitecap Books, $29.95). This is the cookbook that started it all, the interest in cooking Niagara-style. A great read, this book is filled with wonderful antidotes on how different dishes came to be, either by mistake, luck and yes, sometimes even a carefully calculated production. Great cooking tips on produce, their best uses and even some recipes on putting aside summers flavours for all-weather enjoyment.

Niagara Flavours, updated version by Brenda Matthews and local wine writer, Linda Bramble (Lorimer & Co., $24.95) is a great cookbook filled with recipes from the better restaurants, bistro's and food haunts of the region and beyond. All are complete with a write up on the food establishment describing the 'who's who" of the kitchen and of course a wine match to go along with each dish. A great gift for anyone who's enjoys traveling to great dining destinations.

Any one of these great cookbooks can be found at your local bookstore and make great gifts on their own packaged with some of the finer gourmet products the region boasts. For ideas on where to shop for gourmet gift ideas, you can check out www.NiagaraCooks.ca and look up the December 2004 issue of the newsletter.

It lists some of the hard to find artisan food shops in the Niagara region like De Luca's Cheese Emporium in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Caffé Opera Roastery in St. Catharines, Niagara's Finest Smokehouse in Niagara Falls, there's even a gourmet food kiosk at Casa Mia Ristorante that offers unique items perfect for packaging with one of Niagara's great cookbooks. Of course you could always include a gift certificate from any of the holiday food and wine events listed in the newsletter or how about a gift certificate from the restaurant that boasts its own cookbook - Inn on the Twenty or Hillebrand's Vineyard Cafe.

These thoughtful edible gifts are great last minute ideas that your friends will think you spent many thoughtful weeks putting together.

Recipes:
Quail Braised in Cabernet with Garlic & Rosemary
Shrimp and Scallops in Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce
Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce
Roast Pork Rack with Maple Beer

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Pizzazz In A Jar
Pre-packaged gourmet jams, jellies and sauces can perk up everyday dishes.
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St. Catharines Standard, December 15, 2004

I just returned from my holiday get-together with a friend in Toronto. Two days of food, fun and just plain "hanging out" in the big city. But as I went down stairs for something, sitting on a shelf was a plastic bin filled with small jars of gourmet jams, jellies and chutneys. A layer of dust covered the jars, as they lay there, abandoned.

What a find! I pulled the basket from the shelf and brought it upstairs. As I picked each jar up, it conjured up ideas of what we could do, what dishes we could make. After all, it is the holidays, the perfect time to get out some decadent gourmet condiments and dress-up some everyday dishes.

We started with something the kids would like. We brushed a little Billy's African Hot Sauce on a tortilla shell. Sprinkled grated cheese on it and topped it with another tortilla shell. Oiled the outside and grill them on both sides until the cheese melted. Sliced it into wedges and served it up to the hungry adults and kids who devoured these quick, easy and spicy Quesadillas. Depending on how much hot sauce you add, you may want to serve these with a crock of sour cream for dipping and quenching the fire.

You can find Billy's African Hot Sauce at Niagara Presents. This organization began preserving Niagara's bounty in 1997 by assisting home-based processors to market their products through Christmas gift baskets. It's like a co-op of people armed with spectacular home recipes that work to produce market-ready products. For example, Billy's African Hot Sauce is made by Billy Abdelgader, a native of Tanzania who now lives in St. Catharines. She works in a local hospital and she brought this recipe with her from Tanzania. The commercial version of her recipe was perfected when she graduated from the Niagara Woman's Enterprise Centre's first Recipe For Success Program.

These and other products are packaged together and sold in wonderful gift baskets for anyone wanting to give an authentically delicious Niagara gift for the holidays or you can buy them individually for your holiday entertaining.

For example, I'm not sure why anyone would make their own cranberry sauce for the holidays when there's a homemade cranberry and rum sauce at Niagara Presents that is the best I've ever tasted! When a dessert recipe calls for a fruit sauce, you can easily substitute making your own sauce with a Niagara Presents fruit topping; Cherry Berry Burst Fruit Topping or Spiced Blueberry Fruit Topping. Warm these with a dribble of fruit liqueur to really enhance the flavours.

If you make fussy cookies this time of year, then try this one. Thumbprint cookies are those tiny round morsels covered in chopped walnuts and filled with a spoonful of jam. You can dress them up by removing the walnuts and filling them with Niagara Icewine Jelly. Wrap them up in cellophane and they make a really elegant gift that anyone would love to receive.

But preserves are not only about desserts. Line 5 miniature ramekins with ¼-inch (quarter-inch) of Very Cherry Chutney and top with homemade pate. Refrigerate to firm it up and serve each ramekin on a plate surrounded with toast points for your guests to enjoy as a first course to any holiday meal. You can also use the Inferno Red Pepper Jelly, either way the sweet and savoury think works really well here.

Mix a tablespoon or two of Pear-fectly Apricot Preserves with half a cup or more of Dijon-style mustard and baste chicken pieces. Bake in the oven and when done, remove the chicken and glaze the roasting pan with about half a cup of wine, stirring up any delicious brown bits on the bottom of the dish. Pour this into a small saucepan and cook it down to half its volume. Now add about half a cup of whipping cream and cook until the sauce is thick. This makes a Pear-fectly delicious sauce!

Gourmet food condiments are hot! Ready made sauces, spreads and gourmet foods packaged in tall bottles and squat jars with trendy labels line a good portion of the grocer's shelves waiting for you to pick them up and do them justice. The following recipes are courtesy of Niagara Presents and Anna Olsen host of the TV show "Sugar". Olsen works one on one with all the women who graduate from the Recipe for Success Program offered through Niagara Women's Enterprise Centre. www.niagarapresents.net

Recipes:
Apricot Glazed Pork Chops
Walnut Blue Cheese Tart with Niagara Presents Cabernet Franc Jelly
Sweet & Spicy Stuffed Tomatoes

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'Tis The Season To Indulge…Wisely
By using a few low-fat ingredients in traditional recipes, you can have your cake and eat it too - without guilt.
By Lynn Ogryzlo
The St. Catharines Standard, December 1, 2004

Most people translate low fat desserts into boring, thin, disappointing sweets on a plate, but they don't have to be. The holiday season is a time for indulging in rich, decadent foods of all kinds and the only way to watch your weight during the onslaught is to substitute many of your holiday indulgences with lower in fat choices.

Making low fat desserts means you can enjoy the holiday season without denying yourself the pleasures of the feast. So help yourself to some turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy; eat plenty of vegetables, and by all means cut yourself a slice of luscious (low-fat) dessert.

The American Dietetic Association claims that the average American has a diet that is 37 to 40 percent fat. Many health and nutrition experts suggest we should have a diet that is less than 25 percent fat, especially for people at high risk for cancer or heart disease. So a diet lower in fat just makes sense.

Low fat baking is not about new foods and new recipes. Chances are you can adapt your favourite recipes with a few simple substitutions. The worst culprits in baking are butter, whole dairy products, egg yolks, cooking oils and mayonnaise. Yet many of these ingredients can be substituted for lower in fat alternatives. Since fat intensifies the perception of flavors, you will have to work to "pump up" the flavors that pale when fat is cut. It's best to experiment with fat-free products as substitutes for the regular type products in your recipes.

Many home bakers have been successful with replacing the butter in a recipe with applesauce. Applesauce makes for moister baked goods than butter does which is great for cakes and quick breads, but if you're baking cookies, you may want to add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of oil for each ¼ cup (quarter) (50 mL) of applesauce so your cookies don't turn out mushy.

Besides applesauce, you can use almost any pureed fruit as a fat substitute. Depending on the fruit you choose, you can even enhance the flavours of your dessert. If you don't have or don't want to make pureed fruit, you can always use baby food (not as flavourful as the real thing, but the convenience is there in a pinch.)

It's a good rule of thumb to practice what some people refer to as the step-down program. That is to start buying foods one-step lower in fat than what you currently buy. Instead of whole milk, use low-fat or non-fat buttermilk, (buttermilk adds extra delicious flavours when baking) and if you're using 2% milk, use skim or fat-free instead. Higher in fat sour cream can easily be replaced with low fat or non-fat yogurt.