December 22, 2008

Gourmet Emporium - Windsor, ON


If you are in Windsor and are looking for a cozy place to warm up with a drink and a bite to eat, Gourmet Emporium in Olde Walkerville is a great choice. Read my article on the Food Network Canada for more details about this resto/cafe/store.

Cooking Club II - Winter Theme

The membership of our second cooking club has been revamped. Lisa and Jordana had to bail due to work and school. We were sad to see them go, but quite happy to welcome our new member Amarjot!

Jillian hosted our latest meeting and the theme was Winter. It could have been squash with the number of dishes we had that included this lovely veg. Yum.


ridiculously strong, would recommend adding more champs and less vodka
beautifully aromatic
a nice twist on the original, would work well at parties
Suzanne - Butternut Squash Latkes
I love latkes in all their forms.
Yum, this would make a great side dish at any meal
Christine - Zucchini Quiche
A light version that tastes decadent
Mine were a bit heavy because the oil wasn't hot enough. I will make again - molasses was fab!

December 20, 2008

Ugly Sweater Party








Our friends are always looking for a reason to celebrate - read: if there's a party, they will come.
With winter on its way, and Mother Nature once again showing us who's boss with her blows of snow and cold, my husband and I decided that an Ugly Sweater Party would be the theme.
This menu was one of the easiest ones I have ever had to prepare. I spent probably 2 hours in total in the kitchen before and during the party. I wasn't interested in putting in a ridiculous amount of time when we had many other things going on.








The food and drink included:


Spiced Nuts (see recipe below)


A platter of charcuterie, cheeses, toasted breads, crackers and toppings
(More specifically: aged gouda, local chevre, Mexican salami, spiced pork loin, prosciutto, grainy mustard, Polish dill pickles, tapenade and fig jam)






A fruit tray with grapes and pineapple

















*Faces have been cut out to protect the innocent.









Spiced Nuts
4 c of assorted nuts
1/2 c roasted pumpkin seeds
3 T butter
4T brown sugar
6 dashes Worcestershire
1 t ground black pepper
1 t sea salt
1 t cayenne


Melt the butter and sugar in a pan on the stove and stir until bubbling. Add the nuts and the rest of the ingredients. Stir to coat the nuts and then place on a baking sheet covered in wax paper. Bake in the oven at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes.

December 14, 2008

Canadian Blog Awards 2008 - The Results

Maple Syrup and Poutine had a great showing at the Canadian Blog Awards this year. Once again I placed 4th in the Activities Blog section. Thank you so much to all that voted. Yarn Harlot won by a landslide (She had 91% of the total votes), mind you I wasn't to far behind the 2nd and 3rd place winners (only 1% separated me from second place). Congrats to the only other food blog in the running, WindsorEats.

I am very proud of this blog and thank all of my supporters!

~ Danielle

Help for the Holidays



Hannukah, Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and the coming of the New Year - December is filled with reasons to celebrate! Here are some helpful articles for entertaining.

Now there is Festivus (for the rest of us) - CHOW

What food can one make with the givings of a food bank? - CBC

Snowmen treats for all - Hostess with the Mostest

Sweet Potato Kugel Recipe - National Post

Maple Eggnog - this one's for you Nicole! - Seasonal Ontario Food


The Bests...

With 2008 almost wrapped up the "best of" and "top 10" lists are aplenty. Here are some that I find quite interesting:


Best Wines Under $10 - Toronto Life

Top 10 Wines for the Holidays - Toronto Life

Best Cookbooks of 2008 - Epicurious

Dave Lebovitz's Cookbook & Recipe Favourites - Dave Lebovitz

Food in the News


How to make off-season tomatoes edible - CHOW

Why buying halal meat may be the most ethical choice - Toronto Life

The European Commission does not want ugly food - National Post

Some of the cutest aprons ever - Etsy

Foie without the guilt - Globe and Mail
What would you choose for your last meal? - Slashfood