Recipes from Quebec’s favourite cooking show were featured in Canadian Living’s November issue. Here’s one of Josee’s recipe for Spice Rub for all of you to take away. She recommends using it on salmon fillets. This is enough rub for four pieces.

In a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle grind: 2 Tbsp coriander seeds, 2 Tbsp mustard seeds. Mix the spices with 1 Tbsp granulated or maple sugar, 2 tsp sea salt and 1.2 tsp cracked black pepper.

OK, so there are still six more chances to take home a cookbook. Next week I will be giving away Bonnie Stern Friday Night Diners by Canadian cookbook icon Bonnie Stern. So don’t forget to sign up to have the foodie-file delivered directly to your e-mail inbox to be eligible for a Holiday gift from me!

I have a stack of other cookbooks that have come my way so keep watching for more holiday gifting over the next few weeks!

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I’m having a dinner guest with a gluten allergy. I’d like to made a rustic pear tart for dessert. The recipe calls for AP flour. Can I substitute 1:1 with rice flour? Also, what is the difference between soft and hard flour, what applications are each used in? Thanks

OK, this post is all about flour and since you are about to gear up for your holiday baking, hopefully I can give you some pointers that will lead you to success.About wheat flours, Jaqueline is right. there are soft and hard flours as well as varying degrees in between. The “soft” or “hard” refers to the amount of protein in the grain - also known as gluten when it comes to flour. Hard flour is also sometimes called “strong.” Hard wheat is high in protein/gluten and soft wheat is low in protein/gluten.

Now - why does any of this matter? Well, the success of what you are baking will depend on the gluten content of the flour you are using.

HARD FLOUR:

The “hardest” or highest in gluten flours are bread flours. The structure of bread is created when the gas from the yeast is captured in the strong web like structure created by the strands of gluten. This is why kneading bread is important; kneading strengthens the proteins and turns them into stretchy strands that will expand like bubble gum as the gasses fill them up. These very thin, tough protein strands then set in their risen shape while the bread bakes. The gluten or protein is that stretchy quality in bread or pasta dough that you probably have noticed if you have ever made either.

This strength is great for pasta and bread. but lousy for cake or pastry. It will make them tough.

SOFT FLOUR:

Soft flours are used when you want a tender crust. They are also known as pastry or cake and pastry flour. The shorter gluten strands won’t hold up when making bread but are great when you want a flaky pie dough, shortbread or a finely textured cake.

SO WHAT ABOUT RICE FLOUR?

So, if the lower gluten content is great for pie dough, shouldn’t a flour like rice flour with no gluten be even better? Well no - it’s not.

The flakiness of pastry or pie dough comes about when the layers of dough (flour and liquid) are separated with cold fat. When the cold fat hits the hot oven, the fat melts into the dough leaving an air pocket. It’s the layer of dough over the air pocket that gives the dough a flaky or layered effect. The gluten in the dough gives the structure and strength that allows this to happen. Rice flour isn’t strong enough to hold the air layers open so they will just collapse in on themselves which will end up in a crumbly crust that falls apart. Same thing in cakes, some structure from the flour is desirable for lightness but too much structure will make it tough - so low gluten, soft flour is desirable but no gluten will result in collapse!

WHEN TO USE RICE FLOUR AND GLUTEN FREE ALTERNATIVES

Rice flour does give a very finely textured pastry so for a shortbread cookie, for instance, you will get a melt in your mouth, albeit crumbly, quality from the gluten free flour. If you want to use it to make pie dough, it’s possible by using xanthan gum. This is an additive derived from corn syrup that will give the dough the stretchy quality it need to stay together and not fall apart. You can find it at health food stores, baking supply stores or shop for it online. It’s used in this recipe for Gluten Free Butter Tart Bars.

If you are making a pie with a bottom crust, you can make a cookie crust from gluten free cookies like amaretti or any of your packaged gluten free favourites.

This Chocolate Espresso Torte is a spectacular dessert and is gluten free!

This link to Gluten Free Holiday Entertaining is a compilation of gluten free recipes.

ONE LAST THING… ALL PURPOSE FLOUR.

This is probably the flour you are all most used to using and now your scratching your head going well when the %&^#%# am I suppose to use this stuff?

All purpose flour was designed to be used, just as it is designated, for most purposes. It has some protein but not as much as bread flour and can be used with success in cakes, cookies and pastry. If you want a special refined product - stock more than one flour. If you are a general baker, all purpose will suit most of your needs.

If you are baking a lot over the holidays it might be worth it to pick up a bag of pastry flour, you will probably find that your baked goods have a lighter and finer texture. If you make bread often, I would stock bread flour - you will get a better crust and crumb.

That’s my final word on flour - I hope it clarified and not complicated further!

Don’t forget to sign up to have the foodie-file delivered directly to your e-mail inbox, I have seven more cookbooks to give away!

I love the livestock shows with the 4-H kids showing off their prized calves, hogs, sheep etc. I caught one of them giving a wash down and blow dry to his pretty calf’s rear end right before judging!

The show really has a bit of everything, food pavilions, wine tastings, best of competitions of everything you can imagine (the butter sculptures are always fun!). Last year I judged the jam and pickle competitions.

The real highlight of Royal is the equestrian shows and rodeos. Well worth the ticket, but the popular ones sell out fast.

And, there is a ton of good (and bad) things to eat! Homemade fudge as far as the eye can see, bison burgers, pemeal bacon sandwiches and they also have fine dining restaurants set up right in show grounds.

Here are links to last year’s posts from the Royal:

Jam Judging at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

Peanut Pumpkins! More From The Royal

Enjoy the Royal, let me know if you go and what you find there.

Don’t forget to sign up to have the foodie-file delivered directly to your e-mail inbox, I have seven more cookbooks to give away!

To everyone else, there are still seven more chances to take home a cookbook. Next week I will be giving away a la di stasio by Quebec’s celebrity cook Josee Di Stasio. So don’t forget to sign up to have the foodie-file delivered directly to your e-mail inbox.

I have a stack of other cookbooks that have come my way so keep watching for more holiday gifting over the next few weeks!

Click here to sign up for Christine’s Food for Friends e-newsletter!

There were three categories in which a gold and silver prize was awarded. The categories were: Canadian food culture, which contained books about Canada’s culinary history, ingredients and regional foods; the cookbook category, focused on recipe books; and special interest which included books about both food and beverages.

Here is a line up of the first place winners in each category:

The English language winner of the Canadian food culture category went to Charles Part and Jennifer Warren-Part for “A Year at Les Fougeres” (Chelsea Books).

In the cookbook category Fresh: Seasonal Recipes Made With Local Foods” by Vancouver restaurateur John Bishop and chef Dennis Green (Douglas & McIntyre) took first place in English and Stefano Faita for “Entre cuisine et quincaillerie” (Editions du Trecarre Groupe Librex) was the winner in French.

In the English special interest category Liz Pearson and Mairlyn Smith won for “Ultimate Foods For Ultimate Health … And Don’t Forget the Chocolate” (Whitecap Books) and in the French Christina Blais and Ricardo for “La chimie des desserts: tout comprendre pour mieux les reussir” (Les Editions La Presse) took home the prize.

Canadian Living sponsored the Edna Staebler lifetime achievement award that went to Anita Stewart. The Edna award is given to an individual who contributes to the promotion of regional cuisine through his or her work. Edna Staebler was one of the first writers to praise the virtues of local food, and did so before “eating local” became a political catchphrase. Anita Stewart, with her roots in Waterloo County, follows in Staebler’s famous “Schmecks” Mennonite inspired cookbook footsteps. Stewart has continued to extol the virtues of regional cuisine in Ontario and across Canada.

Don’t forget to sign up to have the foodie-file delivered direct to your email, tomorrow I will be in a gift-giving mood!

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First, a word on crème fraîche for those of you who may not be familiar:

Crème fraîche is cream that has been inoculating with a bacteria that causes fermentation, not unlike yogurt or sour cream. It tastes similar to sour cream, but slightly less acidic. It’s very versatile because, unlike sour cream or yogurt, it can be boiled without curdling. It’s available commercially but sometimes it’s difficult to find. If you are using it in a cold dish, say as a topping for fruit or a dessert, you can usually substitute sour cream.

To answer Dianne’s question, it’s also easy to make. You will find directions in our recipe for Mille Feuille with Double Salmon and Crème Fraîche that uses sour cream and 35 per cent cream, or you can do the same thing with buttermilk and 35 per cent cream.

Thanks for your question Dianne.

Don’t forget to sign up to have the foodie-file delivered direct to your email, two more days until I give away my first holiday cookbook!

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The six brands featured in this new pack include: Robert Simpson Confederation Ale, Mill Street Tankhouse Ale, Trafalgar Elora Irish Ale, Black Oak Nut Brown Ale, Cameron’s Auburn Ale, and Nickel Brook Apple Pilsner.

We tried them out in the test kitchen and we especially liked the Black Oak Nut Brown, Tankhouse and our ever favourite Cameron’s Auburn Ale. The Apple Pilsner is also interesting, I had tried it at the event OCB held at harthouse in the summer and liked it as a summer drink.

I love these mixed beer packs that get released around the holidays, as they’re a great way to try different beers you wouldn’t ordinarily buy. Plus, it’s a great way to have different styles of beer on hand for everyone.

The discovery packs are available at LCBO stores. Does anyone know if other microbreweries across Canada offer mixed packs?

Eight subscribers will be picked at random to receive one new 2008 holiday cookbook. All you have to do is subscribe to my blog by e-mail during the next two months, and once a week for the next eight weeks I will give away a cookbook to eight lucky subscribers. These cookbooks are all brand new and in demand – I was able to source them especially for my foodie community.

These are the cookbooks sitting on my desk just waiting to be on your kitchen bookshelf:

To kick my giveaway off, next week’s lucky subscriber will take home our brand new The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book so you can start to make your holiday baking list!

Good luck and I look forward to meeting you at the Foodie-file!

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Here is the scoop on cooking with honey: go ahead and substitute honey for sugar in a salad dressing or marinade in equal quantities or to taste. You will probably be less successful however, if you substitute honey for sugar in bakery items. Refined sugar is stable and reacts consistently when used in baked goods; honey, on the other hand, varies in its chemical compound depending on where it has been derived from. It is also much more acidic than sugar, so baked goods that contain baking powder or baking soda won’t rise properly if you just swap out the sugar for honey.

If you love the taste of honey, there are many great recipes that are developed specifically using honey as a sweetener. You might want to try Orange Honey Chiffon Cake or Chocolate Fig Honey Cake.

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

We tried four different Balvenie whiskys, two 12 year old and two 17 year old. My favourite was the 17 year old sherry-cask scotch that you probably will not find in your liquor store because it was a limited edition. However, they were all smooth and delicious, each with their own distinct character. The other 17 year old was aged in a rum cask that gave it a bit of a molasses character - it was our food editor Gabi Bright’s favourite.

Here is David, standing with web editor Colleen Tully, giving us a tutorial before we started to knock ‘em back.

Me, Food Editor Gabi Bright, and Senior Editor Donna Paris enjoy the 17 year old sherry cask single malt.

We were also treated to a fondue made with whisky (Grant’s Whisky was used, not the single malts we tasted) and caramelized onions that was a hit with everyone!

Here is the recipe for the fondue. It was served with bread cubes, boiled potatoes, and blanched veggies. We also had Scottish shortbread with our tasting. Shortbread and scotch is a taste sensation, so if you’ve never had it you must try it, yum!

Grant’s Whisky Fondue
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, halved
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup whisky
1/2 lb emmenthal cheese, grated
1/2 lb gruyere, grated
1/2 lb brie, rind removed and cubed
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
fresh ground pepper

Slice onions. Melt butter in a saute pan. Add onions and cook over medium heat, until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Rub garlic inside a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed saucepan. Discard garlic. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

In a bowl combine cheese with cornstarch. Toss to coat.

Add cheese mixture a handful at a time to simmering chicken stock. Stir in a figure 8 motion until cheese is melted, Continue with remaining cheese mixture.

Add whisky and caramelized onions. Stir to combine. Place in fondue pot and serve.

Want to know more about scotch? We have all the basics covered in this expert Q&A with David Mair.

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