Category: Entertaining

Buzz Off!

Last night friends of our came over with their kids for dinner. We were going to eat inside, but the kids decided to run around in the garden before the pizza arrived and the weather was actually perfect for dining al fresco. While the waning days of summer are ideal for outdoor dining, they are also rife with ornery bees just looking for their next fix. And let’s face it: no one enjoys having a yellow jacket hover over their food. They may be harmless, but they’ve got a bad rap for hanging around where and when they are least wanted. So we moved all the necessary acoutrements to the table on the deck but before a single crumb of food left the house I insisted on rigging up our bee catchers. My mother-in-law hangs these out on her deck and I’ve seen them at several restaurants. I finally snagged a couple at the Superstore in late winter in the clearance aisle for some silly price (in our house we call these a “deal of the ‘centch'”–as in century) and by gosh, they work! You simply fill it up with a bit of juice (we used orange) and the bees fly up the centre, the cork at the top prevents them from flying out and within seconds they start doing the backstroke in the juice! They are worth the investment–a whopping $1.79 I think it was–if you enjoy taking your meals outside.

Glass bee catcher
Glass bee catcher

Sippin’ in Style

My husband never fails to continually surprise me, hence why I love him so much. And he did this the other morning when he asked me if we had any orange juice. An innocent enough question, but the answer was no. He then asked “do we have any fizzy bubelach?” to which I also answered no. For the uninitiated, fizzy bubelach, is a fictitious drink referred to by Adam Sandler’s character in the movie Zohan. You have to see it to appreciate the reference, but I digress. Dave clearly wanted something to drink so I said there was some lemonade in the freezer. I offered to make it, but Dave was on the job. I couldn’t quite figure out why he wanted lemonade until I saw him pull out our white ceramic pitcher and these two beautiful crystal glasses that belonged to my grandfather. All of a sudden the kids’ pink lemonade was transformed into this dainty summer bevy. I asked Dave what prompted the early morning indulgence and apparently he was inspired by a bit article in one of my design mags that he happened to be flipping through (I won’t tell you where–you can guess). Needless to say, it put a smile on my face and really, truly don’t you think it’s a great way to start the day? (hint: next time make it a mimosa)

Virgin Lemonade Cocktails
Virgin Lemonade Cocktails

Lunching With The Ladies

Meet Arlene. A lady of many talents. DIY’er, graphic artist, designer, mother, gourmand and baker. In this particular category we are kindred spirits. For the last nine months or so, I had the pleasure of working with Arlene on a television show–she as a stylist, me as a producer. Over the course of the nine months we exchanged recipes, discussed cooking and baking methods and even had the odd “bake off.” For this, the rest of the staff was grateful. Since production of the show has wrapped, we have all been scattered like seeds to the wind, keeping in touch primarily through Facebook.  But today Arlene and I, along with Lindsay, an equally talented and fellow show stylist, joined us for a bite of lunch at my place. I provided most of the nibbles, but the topper were the perfectly tangy, sweet and just gooey enough lemon squares Arlene baked. I could have inhaled the entire pan, but that would have been unladylike of me. So I restricted myself to just one, but kept a plateful to eat after my guests had departed. Lemon squares can be finnicky. The shortbread base needs to be baked for a brief period of time before the lemon filling is poured over top. And the filling needs to be baked long enough to set, but not too long. If you overbake the squares, you’ll end up with a burnt base and hard, chewy lemon filling. And if underbaked, the filling just oozes everywhere, making an awful mess. Not the least bit enjoyable to sink your teeth into. Thankfully this was not the case as I gingerly removed the squares from the pan, which came out perfectly, well, square.

 

The lovely & talented Arlene
The lovely & talented Arlene

 

Arlene's lemon square
Arlene's lemon square
 

 

Lindsay, stylist extraordinnaire
Lindsay, stylist extraordinnaire

A Mother Of A Day

I try not to set any expectations when it comes to Mother’s Day. Yes, it’s a holiday that recognizes the hard work, effort and love that knows no bounds of a mother, but it is hardly a holiday from mothering. But I’ve got to hand it to my husband–today was a great day. It started with a “sleep in” until 7:40. Yes, believe it or not, that is sleeping in around these parts. I was woken by a soft kiss on the cheek from my 5-year-old and a beautiful tray full of yummy breakfast; a perfectly cooked 2-egg omelet with a fanned strawberry atop, two slices of cinnamon raisin toast with blueberry jam, fresh mixed berries, a mug of tea and some juice. The presentation was impeccable, as evidenced in the picture below.

Breakfast In Bed
Breakfast In Bed

 

Then came the gifts. Both my boys had made me gifts at daycare. The elder made me a lovely jewelery box and necklace, and the younger, what appears to be a hanging mail holder. These are by far the best gifts a mom could ever receive because there is no monetary value attached to these, just pure sentiment and that’s exactly what every mother covets from her children.

Jewellery Box
Jewellery Box
Mail Holder
Mail Holder

The rest of the day was spent with family celebrating mothers and grandmothers and even one great grandmother. I even had an opportunity to share some one-on-one time with my Mom. I decided to take her to the nursery to pick out flowers for her planter, which I offered to buy and plant for her as a combined Mother’s Day and birthday gift (her birthday is a few short days away). While it may not sound like a glamorous outing, it was what I like to call “time well spent.” I consider my Mom to be my close friend, and any time spent together is a good time. I think it’s safe to say that mothers and daughters tend to have a special bond that’s different from the bond shared by mothers and sons. However I do hope that I remain close with my boys as they get older.

The day concluded with a barbeque right at home. My contribution, other than the venue, was my 1-2-3-4 lemon cake, which was a big hit and looked spectacular (if I do say so myself). In some ways I wish every day was Mother’s Day, but if I really think about it, every day IS Mother’s Day. Not a day goes by that my boys don’t need the comfort or care of their mom, and while there are moments where it gets to be too much I think I’ll take it while I can get it. I already know how fleeting childhood is and while I will always be their mother, I imagine a day when my boys will no longer wish to cuddle in my arms or be tickled. But I do hope they will always seek me out for advice or simply be a shoulder to lean on. Happy Mother’s Day.

On The Menu: Stir Fry

Stir fry is a crowd pleaser on any given weeknight in our home and tonight was no exception. It’s an especially rewarding meal when the parts of the sum are  ingredients left over from other recipes; not enough to make something great on their own, but united, they make an outstanding entreé. No stir fry can exist without its vegetable component so with half a head of green cabbage I added some celery, carrots, beans and mushrooms. To this I added my protein in the form of a few pieces of chicken and a few pre-cooked shrimp that were both kicking around in the freezer. In my pantry I found a package of green bean thread, otherwise described as vermicelli glass noodles. These are fantastic because they give you that substantial carb kick without the starchiness. According to the Gourmet Traveller they are made from the mung bean and tapioca and virtually flavourless, making them ideal for taking on the flavour of the dish you are cooking. I simply soaked them in warm water and once soft enough, cut them with scissors (they are quite long, like hair). I fried up some garlic and onion, added the protein, followed by the veggies. Pour in some soya sauce for that salty flavour, then add some chicken soup stock, cook until the veggies soften up a bit and toss in the noodles. The kids devoured dinner and there was so much we have enough for lunches tomorrow.

Normally I don’t serve dessert. Rather, I don’t call dessert  “dessert.” I don’t believe meals should always be followed by something sweet, so there are no expectations in my house that after dinner comes something sugary and sinful. Why? Those of you who have children already know the answer, but for the uninitiated it goes something like this: if a young child is aware that something “better” is on the menu, they will eat as little as possible, if anything at all, in anticipation of the sugary treat that awaits. So I set the expectation pretty low–no dessert. Tonight was an exception. As part of my Spring cleaning, I delved into the freezer drawer and discovered a few precious bananas. I immediately knew those pathetic looking brown fruit would soon turn into the most moist and scrumptious cake ever. So I baked a banana bundt cake. Normally I throw in a cup of chocolate chips, but in my haste I forgot. To make up for this oversight I iced the cake in a lovely mocha chocolate glaze. I wish you could taste it through the screen, but alas, the developers at Apple have yet to incorporate all five senses into the online world. For now you will simply have to enjoy the view from your side of the monitor….and if you’re lucky, I’ll post the recipe and you can try baking it yourself. I consider this cake one of my tried and true stand-bys. My mom gave me the recipe years ago and it came to her from a good friend. It never fails to please, and I’m pleased it never fails.

Banana Bundt Cake with mocha icing
Banana Bundt Cake with mocha icing
Banana Cake slice
Banana Cake slice

Bridal Shower Baking: Devilishly Sweet

There are few things in life I find more rewarding than baking a wonderful dessert for a special occasion. For some, that might seem a bit provincial. How could baking a cake possibly bring one the satisfaction that others derive from much loftier activities like running a marathon or building a freestanding structure for all to admire? Yes, it’s true, I get off on the small things in life. It’s not that I bake to impress or gloat. I bake for the sheer pleasure of it and simply because I enjoy seeing others enjoy my “bakery.” Today was no exception when I baked two delectable desserts I served at a bridal shower for my colleague, Angela. Angela is getting married in just under a month and I wanted to make something appropriate to the occasion, so why not bake something sweet and pretty and something sinfully and naughty? The “angel” dessert was a lovely layered lemon cake I discovered on Martha Stewart’s website. It’s called a 1-2-3-4 Lemon Cake. This cake is very finnicky to assemble; first I made a lemon curd filling the night before. Then I had to split the batter into two pans for baking. Once cooled I sliced both cakes in half with a serrated knife and then reassembled them with the lemon curd in the middle of each layer. The cake is topped with a whipped cream sweetened with vanilla extract and icing sugar, followed by fresh berries and a light dusting of icing sugar. It looked magazine worthy in presentation and the flavour was spot on; not too tart, not too sweet with a nice, light texture. If the remaining wedge on the plate was any indication of the cake’s success, I would hazard to guess people liked it. A lot.

For the “devil” dessert I made Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten’s brownie pudding. Just as the name suggests, this is a gigantic, rich chocolate brownie baked in a water bath (or as the French like to call it, “au bain marie”) for EXACTLY one hour. If baked correctly, the brownie has a cake-like perimeter and a pudding-like centre. I think the secret to the success of this dessert is not only in the texture, which truly is heavenly, but also in the vanilla bean scraped into the batter….and the chocolate….and the butter. Did I mention the chocolate?

Both were a hit with the crowd. I did sample each of the desserts and even I would pay money to serve them at my next soirée. As I have mentioned in past posts, if anyone were willing to pay good money for my baking talents, I’d hang my shingle outside my door. But I’m not sure anyone would be willing to pay, say, $500 for a lemon cake or, say, $250 for an oversized brownie. Ah, sweet dreams. Truly sweet dreams.

1-2-3-4 Lemon Cake
1-2-3-4 Lemon Cake
Sinful Brownie Pudding
Sinful Brownie Pudding

Sunday Brunch

There are no rules when it comes to brunch. The in-between nature of the gathering essentially gives me license to serve anything I want to my guests. The very melding of the words breakfast and lunch suggests the meal can and should be a combination of cold and hot dishes both heavy and light in nature. I love hosting brunch because it really allows me the freedom to get creative in the kitchen. I like to take my inspiration from Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. In the past I have hosted brunches, both elaborate and simple in menus, for birthdays and showers or just as an excuse to get family and friends together. The latter was the reason for today’s brunch and the menu was relatively simple: fresh Gryfe’s bagels, cream cheese, lox, an assortment of hard cheeses, my favourite Beit Yitzak wild blueberry jam, spinach salad with cucumber, avocado and blood orange in a vinegrette, freshly baked peach raspberry crisp and fresh strawberries and blueberries.

Our guests included Dave’s parents, his uncle Ted and Aunt Dru in for a visit from New Jersey, as well as my parents who decided to crash the party for a short time. Oh yes, and the kidlets. Who can forget the kidlets???

There will be many more brunches to write about in the future. And I do hope people share their favourite brunch menus with me.

bagels
Fresh Gryfe's bagels
lox-cream-cheese
Lox & Cream Cheese
spinach-salad
Spinach salad with avocado, cucumber & blood orange
peach-crisp-fruit
Peach raspberry crisp & fresh fruit