Last Thursday we had David Mair, the The Balvenie’s global brand embassador, come to the test kitchen to lead us in a tutorial about whisky. Single malt whisky must be a good draw, as a number of the editorial staff attended!

At the tasting, we had the pleasure of sampling some of the best whisky Speyside has to offer. (more…)

One of the perks of being a food editor is that I get asked to participate in fun events, like judging cocktail competitions. Last Sunday I was asked to join in naming one of the winners of the 11th International Finlandia Vodka Cup regional contest. They had a great turn out of twelve mixologists from Ontario competing in three different categories. This meant that each judge was presented with 36 cocktails to drink and judge. Normally I would have been happy about this proposition, but being a Sunday night and having an early morning meeting on Monday, I was very careful in my libations and merely sipped my way through. (more…)

I received this comment from Chris in the Pumpkin Pie post,

“On the subject of pumpkins, why is it that in several recent pumpkin recipes I see squash as the ingredient instead of pumpkin? Also, as one who hates to waste, I know that pie pumpkins are more flavourful but does nobody use the flesh of the larger pumpkins anymore? There’s such an abundance of them and the value/cost is great. How about some suggestions for use.” (more…)

So many great whisky cocktail recipes were submitted, so I wanted to share them with everyone else.

We had: (more…)

Thanks to all who submitted cocktail recipes. I tried a lot of them and it was hard to decide who was the winner, but then I had a submission that made me almost split my pants laughing. Obviously, I had to go with that submission, even though I wasn’t actually able to run through the whole recipe. So without further ado, the winner of two VIP tickets to Friday’s Whisky Live Show is (more…)

If you haven’t had a chance to see Tableland, last year’s award winning documentary about local, sustainable small-scale artisanal food producers, those of you in the Toronto area can seize the opportunity now. The film will be screened on Friday October 24 and The Gardiner Museum at 7:00pm. (more…)

This week’s question is from Pam Vallance. Pam asks, “I want to make the prizewinning apple pie. If I make it Friday for Saturday dinner, should I freeze it for the one night to keep it fresh, or just store it at room temperature for approximately 36 hours”. (more…)

I am pre-empting Foodie-finds Fridays because I just received two free tickets to the 3rd annual Whiskey Live show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It takes place next Friday Oct 24th, from 7-10 pm, and I want you all to have the opportunity to take a crack at getting these babies in your hot hands so you can enjoy some excellent imbibing.

The Prize: (more…)

I have one last revolting foodie moment from my stay in Iceland, which I’d like to share with my foodie friends. I visited a small fish shack called the Seabaron to experience some authentic Icelandic food. I had heard of this place before I went and was told I would be getting a real food experience - not a polished, fluffed up touristy version of Icelandic food, but a real of-the-people kind of place. I could not resist and had to check it out, it was a must try on my foodie list. The lobster soup was recommended, which is like a bisque and the lobster (which is pervasive on every menu in Iceland) is really more like a langoustine than what we would recognize as lobster in North America. (more…)

In last week’s post I said that I did not have the best foodie experience in Iceland, but this post is about the best foodie finds of Iceland and the people I met who were passionate and proud of their cuisine.

Icelandic Fish and Chips: Located on the harbour in a stylish retro eatery, Erna Kaaber is reinventing fish and chips with the best the Icelandic fisheries have to offer. We had the haddock and the ocean catfish, both impeccably fresh and battered with an airy light spelt and barley batter. On the side were a mountain of onion rings and a mound of vegetables both ensconced in the same light batter. The pumpkin soup was a definite food highlight of the trip. Everything is served with a selection of colourful “skyronnaise” sauces, made from the creamy Icelandic non-fat cheese called skyr.

Icelandic Butter: When nothing else pleased my palate, brown bread spread thickly with butter was more than enough to satisfy. The butter in Iceland is amazing, as good or better than any French butter I’ve ever had. It is creamy, sweet and always at the perfect texture for spreading!

Lamb: The lamb in Iceland graze freely on the low brush of a sea salt sprinkle landscape, resulting in tender, moist and delicious meat – not unlike the salt marsh lamb of Brittany or Wales. The national dish, meat soup, is a borsht-like broth of lamb meat, cabbage, carrots and potatoes in a lamb broth.

Vox: In a sea of fusion cuisine that epitomizes fine dining in Reykjavik, Gunar Gislason of Vox restaurant in the Hilton Reykjavík Nordica, stands virtually alone in reviving the traditions of Icelandic cuisine. He has embraced the international movement of sourcing locally produced ingredients and promoting indigenous foods and techniques. Vox is part of a group of Nordic kitchens embracing this tradition with a Manifesto committing to freshness, seasonality, local producers and a return to tradition in a contemporary and innovative way. Gislason has direct relationships with his purveyors from the sous chef’s mom who bakes brown bread in volcanic lava fields, to personal friends that hunt for puffin. He has hunters, fisherman and foragers who supply Vox with the best that Iceland has to offer. As proof, my wild goose came with a warning to be careful of any shot that might still be lodged in the breast. The meal I had at Vox was by far the best meal I had in Reykjavik and included ocean perch, birch smoked arctic char, Icelandic langoustines, a delicious and simple dish of potatoes, burnt leeks and barely coddled egg and a milk dessert that showcased the fantastic dairy products of Iceland.

Spring Water: The water in Iceland is delicious. It is naturally filtered through volcanic rock and tastes pure and crisp. Icelanders say that when they leave Iceland they miss the air and the water, and that is why they always return.

Skyr: Icelanders are junkies for this dairy product that is something between yoghurt and quark. It is actually a kind of cheese, but it is mild and creamy. It is usually eaten for breakfast, dessert or as a snack. It is quite yummy, especially with fresh berries.

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