Falling into Fall

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Black Tomato and Boccancini tart with balsamic glaze and olive oil vinaigrette

Fall starts officially this week.  This means cooler temperatures, warmer clothes and those heartwarming foods that we all love as the weather, and leaves start to change.  Then again, with the garden still producing fresh and tasty produce, we might need to put off that fall fair just a little longer, while we enjoy the freshness.

Sometimes meals come together, almost effortlessly, sometimes we find a theme, or region, other times it’s research.  This week though, we kind of put things together that we like.   We tested a few ideas and it turned into a meal.  Joining our trio this week is Catharin.  For the appetizer, Shawn was testing out an eggplant cannelloni.  We plated and did a taste test, but it was a bit unbalanced, so he decided to switch for something else.  When I went to snack on some of the leftovers, he had thrown the entire batch out.  So instead we did a Black Tomato and Bononcini tart with balsamic glaze and olive oil vinaigrette.  I think we need a shorter name for this one. The fresh pastry, with our home-grown tomatoes and the crunch of the arugula, was a nice start to the evening, and a pretty good “on the fly” recipe. read more

Once Again into the Fray

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Fall Sunflowers

This week marks another milestone for our Monday Night Dining crowd.  As the days grow inexorably shorter, and the nights become cooler, it is the inevitable cycle, that leads us to….   Pax Christi Chorale rehearsals!!!  Tonight was our first rehearsal, for the 2015 season, which means we need to get back into a more rigorous schedule.  We have had the luxury of adding extra courses at a whim, or stretching out our evenings, with conversation, music, or sparklers.  Now we must buckle down and find the roots of Monday Night Dining. How to serve a dinner in an hour and a half and make it to rehearsals on time…. read more

The curious incident of the chicken dog in the nighttime

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fresh Mexican ingredients

Now gather round my friends and I will regale you with the tale of the mysterious chicken-dog…   One spring evening, while sitting in Steph’s back yard,  I heard a sound…. Part bark and part crow. When I asked what it was, I was regaled with tale of the infamous chicken-dog. Half dog, half chicken. This creature is known to haunt the streets of North York. Many tell the tale, but to this day no one has managed to get solid evidence to prove its existence. We have found a mock-up of what he may look like, from an eyewitness. read more

An Ottoman Feast

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Turkish Table

This time of year is amazing, with all the fresh produce, being pulled, from the gardens.  So often we use this produce as side dishes and add-ons.  Sometimes these side dishes become the stars of the night, due to their vibrancy.  This week we wanted to truly feature what we have grown, and what better cuisine to feature it in than Turkish?

Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Caucasian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of Western Europe. Best of all we found recipes that could truly feature the freshness of the ingredients at hand. read more

On Golden Plank

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Planked Prime Rib

So this past weekend, Steph and her group “Schola Magdalena” performed at a medieval reenactment near Waupoos,  sang Mass at the lovely St. John’s Church, and then ambled back to Toronto after a swim in Lake Ontario, and some wonderful wine tastings.

 Everyone was so friendly, and they traded their CD for some wine glasses with winery logos! They visited 4 Prince Edward County wineries. Hillier, Long Dog, Exultet and LightHall. Some of these wines will be featured with tonight’s menu. read more

Bittersweet anniversaries

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Savory Scallion Pancakes with Hoisin sauce

This week marks 2 special anniversaries. Tonight would have been Steph’s 25th wedding anniversary. So this was a night of warm memories, but also leaves an empty space in our lives.

Later in the week is the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, one of the most lethal events in human history, but ended one of the bloodiest wars ever. You may want to check Steph’s blog, for her insights. In remembrance of this event we decided to try our hand at our first Asian themed Monday Night Dinner. read more

What we do in between Monday night dinners….

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Sunrise on lake Couchiching

 

We have been on vacation, so have not had any formal Monday Night Dining moments.  But we have been asked, what we do on other nights of the week.  I will admit that Friday is take out night, and we usually get food from one of our favorite places.  Tuesday is a big cooking night, to make lunches for the week. Wed and Thurs are rehearsal nights, so mostly we grab a lunch from the fridge, but on weekends and holidays, we try shit out.  We test recipes, that may or may not show up on this blog. So this post is just going to be a sampling of a few things we are working on. read more

Escabeche….. Escabeche Mucho!!!

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Octopus with ginger chipotle and cilantro jus

Due to trips, vacations and family matters, Monday Night Dining had to take a brief sabbatical. But we were very excited to gather together once again, for a double celebration. First our return to Monday Night Dining (even if it is Wednesday) and Canada’s 148th birthday!!!  This was perfect timing, as Craig and Susan are in town, from Montreal.  We also invited our friends Tom and Ann.  The weather is perfect, so we decided to eat al fresco, in Steph’s yard.

This meal has been in planning and taste testing for a while. Mind you half the things we tested, we ended up not making, but that is half the fun.  Tonight’s menu is our little tour of Mexico. read more

Good things come from Ontario

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Rhubarb Granita spoons with Crème Fraiche

Judith is triumphantly behind us.  We sang to an almost sold out house.  After months of rehearsals, we have brought a lost work back to life. Singing at Koerner Hall for 950 people, with the full orchestra, and amazing soloists, under the careful leadership of Steph.  Just WOW!  The comments and reviews have been fantastic, and this week for dinner, we have the pre-eminent Parry scholar coming for dinner.

Joining our trio this week are Jeremy and Alison Dibble, Michael and Ann Trott, Chris and Rosemary, and Brian.  With 2 couples from the UK and one from Vancouver, we decided to try to feature some Ontario ingredients, and wines.  For our pre-appetizer nibbles… No wait I ran out of time to make them, what to do?  With inspired timing, Chris and Rosemary gave us a gift of the carmelized onions we enjoyed in Worcester.  We had a baguette on hand and with ingredients from the fridge, Shawn whipped up a quick little app of baguette with goat cheese and carmelized onion chutney.  Nice save. read more

The tenors of Judith are like to a host of lions!

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Dark Chocolate Soup with Caramel whipped cream

This week Steph has rehearsal, during the afternoon, with soloists and orchestra, so she cannot come to dinner….. So if Steph can’t come to dinner, is it still Monday?

We bravely soldiered on and we even have a guest, our dear friend Brian. With his allergy, that means no eggs tonight, but we like  a challenge.  Brian was delayed slightly, with traffic, but the soup will hold…  both of them.

We toyed with the idea of oysters for the first course, but were worried about timing, so we went with Ribolita, a hearty soup made from ham hock and white beans.  Nice to have with the spring chill in the air. Recently Brian had gifted us with a lovely bottle of Famille Perrin – Chateauneuf-du-Pape. What better accompaniment to our meal? read more