FOOD PORN

Maple Bacon Doughnut lovenly brought back from Portland Or. by my very lovely best girlfriend Shelly. Disgusting as it may appear if you look at it as a big pancake with bacon it makes sense.....especially if you're from Canada.

The McMini ....mmmmm from Montreal McDonalads. Basically their version of a chicken baguette sandwich with pesto. Very Yummy!!!!!! When in Rome ya know. 

Beautiful Cupcake from Itsi Bitsi in Montreal. I think mine was Lemonaide.

Heavy like a cake ...very dense. But very YUMMMY!!!

The Bijou Dragon

The Bijou Dragon

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Polenta is good for you so SHUT THE F UP!

Stop rolling your eyes.
What is wrong with polenta? Or do you not even know what it is.
In a nutshell it is Italian for grits....cornmeal if you please because that is what it is. But the difference is that Polenta is damn GOOD.(grits are too if you slap them with a lot of butter and bits of herbs ...but then it becomes polenta..but i digress)

Polenta is probably one of my favorite things to eat.......... creamy with fresh herbs and goat cheese with plenty of butter of course and cheese. But stiff and fried is pretty yummy with say , rabbit with a sauce chassuer ( yes, i can toss out french words and know what they mean just like Joel Robuchon( great chef btw...but thats for another post all together.)
But this has little to do with what I am about to suggest you not only eat but try to make yourself ( you will be so proud of yourself when you do)


LEMON POLENTA CAKE......



now now....stop your bitchin and listen for a minute. I thought the same thing...ewwwwwww.
BUT this is a wonderful dessert that is lemony without being puckerie and overly sweet.
The coconut gives it a slightly chewy texture that surprised even me.
I gave this recipe to my pastry chefs for one of our more important functions and it shocked even us how good it was and  how well it was received .

So suck it up and try something new !

Lemon Polenta Cake:


For the cake:

130 g ground almonds (or almond flour)= 4.5 oz

130 g shredded coconut= 4.5oz

130 g fine polenta (or yellow cornmeal) 4.5oz

1 teaspoon baking powder

grated rind of 3 lemons

270 g soft butter= 9.5 oz

270 g caster sugar 9.5oz

4 eggs

juice of 2 lemons


For the lemon glaze:

juice of 2 lemons

sugar to taste


For the lemon icing:

250 g icing sugar =9oz

juice of ½ lemon, approximately

-Combine ground almonds, coconut, polenta, baking powder and lemon rind, and set aside. Using electric mixer beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.


-Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in dry ingredients and lemon juice until just combined. Pour mix into greased and lined 9-inch/24-centimeter round cake tin***** (not springform) and bake at 325°F/160°C for one hour or until golden and just coming away from the side of the tin.



-Meanwhile, make the lemon glaze by heating the lemon juice and sugar gently, until the sugar is just dissolved.

-Remove from the oven and cool in the tin. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen. Pour on lemon glaze while cake is still warm.

-Allow to cool completely in tin before turning on to a plate, as the cake falls apart easily while warm.

-Spread the lemon icing over the cake when cooled completely. (You can make the icing more like a loose glaze by slightly reducing the amount of icing sugar.)


**** we did these in large muffin tins for individual cakes
This is not my original recipe .....just so ya know.

Menu For High Holidays

For the non Jewish kiddies out there....in a week there is one of many important holidays for the Jewish People.

The first is Rosh Hashanh....the Jewish New Year/Day of Repentance

And I ,being a good little chef, get the pleasure of serving dinner next friday to a small but wonderful group of students and other people who join us for dinner.

Here is our menu:

Cranberry and Peach Glazed Turkey Breast(Kosher)


Sweet Potato Tzimmes

Sliced Apples with Honey and Fruit Platters with Mint (Pre Set)

Toss Salad with Balsamic, French and Italian dressings

Herb Roasted Tri Color Potatoes

Lemon Orange Honey Cake

Round Challah




The Next High Holiday is Yom Kippur ........Day of Atonement
There is two menus . One for the dinner  and the following day for the Break Fast....not breakfast but BREAK FAST...the meal taken after the breaking of the fast...

The Dinner menu :

Chicken Schnitzel with Apricot Confit


Mash Root Vegetables

Steamed Haricot Verts with Balsamic Vinegar

Caramelized Onion Kugel

Green Salad (Sliced Onions and Tomatoes with three dressings)

Gelfilte Fish Warm (carrots and onions) Preset

Kosher Chocolate Cake



Break Fast:

Plain and Sesame Bagels


Whipped Cream Cheese

Lox w/ Capers

Sliced Tomatoes, Onions and Lettuce

Tuna Salad with Celery

Deviled Eggs with Olives

Applesauce

Relish Tray with Carrots and Celery

Kugal Apple Cake

 
 
 
now i know your problem going,"how cool, you have a kosher kitchen." Well, I don't. But i do what i can and respect jewish laws in regards to my menus. All my meats,breads etc are kosher. The vegetables and fruits because that is not an issue, at least not to my knowledge.
It does make for some insteresting menus that is for sure.

Human Soul of Dispair Longs for Substance

Cravings:



Food is what we all need and at times want. But what drives a craving and what drives us to fixate on it and at time obsesses over something of substance.
Pregnant women are allowed to give into what is called hormonal cravings. It is believed that their bodies crave something it is missing. Though i doubt that when the body is in need of more calcium, that triple fudge chocolate ice cream is what it had in mind.The same is to be said about young children. That they lean towards foods their body instinctively needs to grown and function better during the day. And it is only a learned habit of parents in the "be good and get a cookie" that we have evolved into not listening to the normal balance of our bodies.
But does anyone really say (on a normal daily basis) say,"gee i love a big peach"....(actually , i did on Friday and thank god we had just received our local produce order of peaches..mmmm mmmm good)
Most of us presume that the milkshake we think we want is what we need when really it is the body screaming for calcium.



I wonder if we paid more attention to the natural flow of "cravings" and body cues that we be a slimmer society rather than obese one.