This is a second blog on the Georgain Cheese bread, also known as Khachapuri or Hachapuri, because I guess my pictures looked so good that people have been asking me for the recipe. Well I don’t blame them, it is delicious and well worth and easy to make.

This is the recipe for the dough:

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There are many recipes for this bread. I love to make it as as an appetizer and bake it right before my guests come and serve it hot from the oven. Sometimes it is made with a yeast dough but the recipe I use is really simple: flour, salt, baking soda, butter, yoghurt and egg. This bread usually has a mild cheese filling in it but I felt like getting creative with the filing this time so I made something up. I sauted some spinach with garlic and anchovies and then mixed in some ricotta cheese and a bit of mozzarella. It turned out great, there wasn’t a speck left. Next time I make it I think I’ll put some chopped up prosciutto inside.

Here is the step by step method for shaping the bread. (more…)

Here are some pictures of a cake I made on the weekend for my niece’s birthday. It is an over the top gushy four year old girly princess cake. I actually had this bubble gum coloured fondant at home for some reason so I put it to good use. The hearts were from the super market bulk candy section and the silver dragees I had . The inside is a four layer banana cake with cream cheese filling and sliced bananas.

Here are some close up shots as well. (more…)

“Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin’-race!”

Today is Robbie Burns Day. Admittedly not the biggest foodie event on the calendar but I could not resist a nod to the fair Haggis especially after stumbling on this site for Crawford’s Scottish Butchers. You have to go and see the excellent pictures of generations of Scotsmen parading the treasured haggis.

Rather than choking down a chunk of Haggis (apologies to haggis lovers out there), a better tribute to old Robbie Burns would be toast the bard with a fine glass of scotch. (more…)

Mochi is a Japanese confection made from a sweet glutinous rice. Traditionally, mochi is made by pounding steamed glutinous rice in a large wooden mortar, called the usu, with a wooden mallet called the kine. Mochi-tsuki is the Japanese name for the traditional ceremony of pounding the steamed glutinous rice. It turns into a dense sticky mound that is shaped and steamed, fried or grilled. The mochi is shaped into a small, round cakes and eaten with roasted soy bean flour, sweet red bean paste, soy sauce dip, or seaweed. Sometimes the mochi is made into ice cream.

Mochi is a traditionally eaten for New Year’s food in Japan. I came across this great video of the ceremony, thought it was cool and decided to share. (more…)

At the gala Friday night the dairy board was sampling cheese to go along with the wine selections. Everything I had was good but the Bleubry was fantastic, I had to refill my glass of Cabernet to savour with this cheese. It is made in Quebec by Saputo. It is a soft cows milk cheese, a bit like a cambozola and very flavourful. It is a blue-veined cheese but it is not overly strong tasting and has a beautiful creamy texture.

Pick it up if you see it – it is delicious. Just don’t forget to pick up your favourite red to go along! (more…)

I recently have had two run-ins with Peking Duck; out for dim sum last weekend and at the Ice Wine Gala Friday night. Peking Duck is one of those things that when it is just ok you think what is all of the fuss about, but when it is good it is absolutely sublime. That was the case Friday night. They had the best peking Duck I have ever had. The skin was crispy, the duck juicy and the pancakes slightly chewy and made by hand. If you have never had Peking Duck, it is a whole dusk that has been marinated and barbequed Chinese style to have succulent juicy meat and crispy skin. It is served thinly sliced with fresh cucumber, finely sliced green onions and hoisin sauce rolled up in very thin, crepe like pancakes that have been steamed. (more…)

Here are some pictures from the gala event in Niagara Friday night; the kick off for the Niagara Ice Wine Festival. We had some good wine and fantastic food. We were greeted with an ice wine martini that packed a real punch. The Niagara wineries were out en masse with more than just ice wine selections. Highlights included Reif Estate’s excellent 2004 Meritage, Flat Rock’s delicious 2004 Pinot Noir and an interesting Shiraz ice wine by Konzelmann.

Here are more yummy food shots from the event. (more…)

January’s frigid temperatures have sparked the grape harvest for 2007 grapes. The harvesting takes place throughout January depending on the temperature and location of the vines. The thinner skinned Cabernet Franc and Riesling are hand picked first and the thicker skinned varieties like Vidal follow. Grapes are left on the vine well into the winter. The freezing and thawing of the grapes dehydrates the fruit, concentrates the sugars, and intensifies the flavour. The juice from the frozen grapes is about one-fifth the amount you would normally get from the grapes. (more…)

According to the International Cocoa Organization, adverse weather conditions and poor crop yields are going to result in a 242,000-ton deficit in global cocoa production this year. So you chocoholics out there had better stock up while the getting is good and the prices are low!

Make the most of your chocolate with my ultimate hot chocolate. Do not skimp, use the best chocolate you can find. (more…)