Monday Night Dining

Acorn squash soup with button mushroom and herbed croutons

This Monday follows right on the heels of our two performances of Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ. The show was a bit unconventional, but in a good way.  Instead of the traditional stand and deliver oratorio style we are used to, we had more movement, unstructured seating arrangements, dancers and a lighting designer. We also had a dream team of soloists and brilliant orchestra. I know that Steph was concerned whether all the bits would come together. Based on the comments from the audience, I think it hit the mark very well, as we sang to two packed houses.  I have to give kudos to the York Dance Ensemble.  They had a lot of choreography, and moved beautifully. The soloists gave moving performances, Olivier Laquerre, looked quite insane as king Herod. Nathalie Paulin and Matthew Zadow brought people to tears with their touching duet as Mary and Joseph fleeing their home as refugees. The ever solid, and lyrical Sean Clark, as the narrator and Alain Coulombe, welcoming the weary travelers, as the father, rounded out the cast in style. We were also joined by our angelic chorus from Havergal College, singing from the rafters. Unconventional yes, but with Steph there to lead us, it gives us the confidence to branch out. read more

I’m quite proud to say that the Toronto Star is featuring an article about our (Pax Christi Chorale) Christmas show.  Their take on it is linked to the current refugee crisis. The story of L’Enfant du Christ, is about the holy family looking for shelter in a foreign land. People looking for a place to feel safe from persecution. One would think that this piece was programmed specifically for this time. This work may be from 1854, but it is still poignant, and in its way current. Plus we have AMAZING soloists, an amazing orchestra and our chorus….  This will be so good. read more

poached pears with mascarpone, chocolate and caramel sauce

Life has ramped up to a new level. Some days we feel a little out of control, but one thing that grounds us, is gathering with our trio and friends and breaking bread. With all the craziness this week, we didn’t have a chance to invite guests, luckily Sunday was our rehearsal, for our Mahler Symphony #2 concert, for charity.  I used this time to concentrate on the music…. oh yeah and to invite Brian and Andrea. So now that we have some entertaining guests, on to plan the menu. I just want to say, that making pasta is therapeutic. I hope I didn’t give too much away….. read more

Veal tenderloin with brandied peppercorn, cream sauce.

This week, as we work towards our next project with Pax Christi (Mahler’s Symphony #2), and with all of life’s busyness, we still take time to break bread with friends.  This week we have invited our dear friend Brian, to join our trio. And that means an eggless meal. We do love a challenge, so off we go.

The mighty Enzo greeted our guests, and Brian brought us a special gift, his last bottle of Trius 2012 red, with Cab Sauv, Cab franc and Merlot grapes.  This special wine deserved a special meal.  Shawn wanted do a lasagna, but our issue was to find eggless lasagna noodles.  Some did not list eggs, in the ingredients, but none were labelled eggless, so when in doubt, make your own.  Since we were working in our tiny kitchen, hand cranking was not an option (although hand cranking pasta is therapeutic for me). Luckily we have a powered version.  Thanks to Mario Batali, for his eggless saffron pasta recipe. read more

Short RIbs

This past weekend Pax Christi Chorale had our first concert of the season, welcoming the Gloucester Cathedral men and boys, to sing with us.  These guys have been on a whirlwind tour, and many of the boys have been sick, but they are troopers and put on a lovely show. I like to think that we also pulled our weight, as the comments were very positive.  We also released our new CD Winter Nights. The entire CD was composed by Steph, and I have to say I am quite proud to be a part of it.

While I was off rehearsing, Shawn was home prepping for Monday. Since we were serving hearty fare, we immediately thought of Shawn and Ilana, so after the show I extended the invitation.  Unfortunately her sister was in town and Ilana was promised for the evening….. That is until I mentioned the magic word…. lasagna, Ilana’s favorite!!!   Suddenly plans were changed and we had our guests for the evening. I must admit I did feel guilty for a moment there. read more

There’s a sauce for everything, and sometimes it’s all about the sauce…..  I’m sure that’s a quote from something…. Or maybe not.  This week marks our last rehearsal, before Pax Christi Chorale’s fall show with the Gloucester Cathedral Men and boys choir.  Steph had just flown in from Victoria, after the premier of her new piece, based on their beautiful stained glass window, at the cathedral. This was the final piece  in her triptych of pieces written for the cathedral.  I am proud to have sung the first of these pieces, and am looking forward to hearing the final one.  The last few weeks and been a whirlwind, so this week, decided to go back to our original tradition and have just our trio. read more

Fresh tomato soup with garlic crostini and basil

For this week, prep time was at a minimum, and our trio could not all be together, but Monday Night Dining, like “the show” must go on.   For our pre-Thanksgiving MND, we have invited Jennifer and Virginia to join us. The menu this week was partially inspired by the cooler weather and partly because we had a pheasant in the freezer. So maybe the theme is soups and stews, with pheasant….  Or maybe just comfort food.

Our guests arrived with wonderful wines, to go with the meal.  We had a bit of a catch up, while sipping on Astoria – Prosecco Doc, which also paired with our first course, Fresh tomato soup with garlic crostini and basil. read more