Here we go again...

So. 

It's been a little while.

But. But. BUT! 

Walt will be back in town this week, and he's promised me a hot fudge sundae from Tasty Treat. That's enough to get me blogging again. We're probably going to eat lots of other things. There are places I've visited and I haven't written about them yet. The picture above is from Doktor Luke's, one of my favourite places in Sydney. I am going to take new pictures next week and do a proper post. 

I'm hungry. Let's eat. 

dinner ditty ~ Head Over Heels - Blue Rodeo 

I'm back! Back in the blogging groove!

It's been a long time. 

I've been eating and cooking and cooking and eating. I just haven't been blogging about it. In the past few months, my passion for ALL THE FOOD has been reignited. I figured it was time to start writing about it.

There is a new Asian market around the corner from my apartment. The signs went up on Friday and it was open on Saturday. They are still waiting for stock to arrive, but I was very happy to see chili in oil with peanuts. They carry ingredients I haven't seen since I left Asia, so I am excited to make some new dishes for my brave/foolish friends. I have a few new partners-in-crime who are fearless and have incredible palates. 

The wheels are gonna come off, folks. 

The Taste BROS. are a local company who have a tasty line of hot sauces, spice mixes, jellies, and marmalade. We're going to be working together to showcase their products. I made some salt with their Hellfire sauce, mixed it with a bit of their Greek spice, and used it on a pork tenderloin. I was really happy with the results, and it tasted great with the Apple Jalapeno Jam. I can't wait to play with more of their creations. You should check them out at the CB Farmers' Market on Saturdays.

I am putting together a list of eating establishments I hope to hit this summer. If you have any suggestions, let me know. If you want to join me, even better! I promise I will behave myself and wait until we get menus before I swear. You know, all ladylike and shit.

dinner ditty ~ Baby, Come Back - The Equals

A new summer of eats!

I was in Iona yesterday! I love this place.

Over the weekend, I received a message from Walt, telling me we need to pick up where we left off in our quest to Eat All of Sydney. He's right! It'll be great to have a partner-in-crime again, especially one who doesn't seem to be horribly put-off by my incredible awkwardness.

So, keep an eye on this spot. I have three or four restaurants I need to write about, and, well, I miss this blog. It's been a rough few months, but this is the summer to get things sorted. Sorted with deliciousness!

dinner ditty ~ In This Life - The Strumbellas

Ribbbbbbit

I'm a huge fan of ribs. I make some pretty tasty ribs. Here's my rib formula! Give it a try, and let me know about what exciting combinations you come up with. 

Chef Janice’s No-Fail Pork Back Ribs ~ (You’ll be a star!)

2 racks pork back ribs – I usually get the meat boys to cut them into smaller pieces for me

Club House Roasted Garlic and Peppers and Club House Coarse Ground Black Pepper

Two bottles VH Korean BBQ Sauce  

Sensations Italian Soda – Pink Grapefruit, one bottle, (or 2 cups of Fresca or another grapefruit-flavoured pop)

How it’s done ~

Preheat your oven 375 °F. Line sheet pans with aluminum foil, spray foil with cooking spray. Place ribs on foil, season well with spices. Bake, uncovered, in oven for one hour.

Remove ribs from oven, and place in a deeper dish. Cover with VH sauce, and bottle of Italian soda. Cover dish with aluminum foil, bake in oven for another hour. Enjoy!

You can adjust the sauce… add more pop to make a thinner sauce. It’ll cook down in the oven.

This recipe is versatile… the combinations of seasonings, sauces, and pops are endless! 

Delicious!

dinner ditty ~ Who's That Girl? - Eurythmics

Slow Cooker Bread!

So, I've been playing around with a slow cooker bread recipe. Right now, I have a red onion, chive, and Parmesan loaf in my slow cooker. 

The recipe is quick, easy, and versatile. Play around with it! The loaf it produces isn't very big, but if you do have leftovers, toast the slices or use them in stuffing. Delicious!

Here you go!

Slow Cooker Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour, or, play around with different multigrain and whole wheat flour

1 tsp each dried rosemary and dehydrated garlic flakes

2 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ cup buttermilk

2 tbsp olive oil

In a large bowl, mix together flour, rosemary, garlic, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the centre.

In measuring cup, mix together buttermilk and olive oil. Pour into well and mix just until blended.

Knead to make dough fit the shape of your greased loaf pan/bowl and place in said bowl or pan.

Tightly cover pan/bowl with aluminum foil. Place in slow cooker and pour in enough boiling water to come 1 inch up the sides of the pan or bowl. Cover and cook on high for 2 ½ to 3 hours, Unmold and serve warm.

dinner ditty ~ Code Monkey - Jonathan Coulton

I haven't forgotten you!

It's been a busy few months. That said, I have no real excuse for not posting. Hopefully, I'll be going out for dinner tomorrow with Lily. I'll take heaps of pictures!

See you tomorrow!

Christmas cookie countdown?

I'm thinking about doing a Christmas and/or holiday cookie a day at the store during December. Do you have a favourite holiday baked good? I want to make London Fog Icebox Cookies! 

dinner ditty ~ Headache - Frank Black

This will only end in tears

I saw these in the local bargain store. I laughed, snapped the picture, posted it online, and forgot about them.

Silly me. I got helpful suggestions like, 'Jam that mutha in with a fork!' and 'Don the flame-retardant gear, keep a fire extinguisher and phone handy, and give them a try!'.

Well, since I always listen to what people tell me to do online, I AM going to give these a try. I may rethink 'jamming that mutha in with a fork', but you only live onceish, right? I'll pick up the bags this week, and see what I come up with... after I get apartment insurance, of course.

Any suggestions?

dinner ditty ~ The Night The Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band (the version from The Last Waltz... almost makes me cry)

Perks of the job

Tomorrow, I'm making a guest appearance at a local high school. I'll be showing them how to make a quick, tasty chilli. It has chocolate in it! I love teaching children and teens how to cook. I'm hoping I'll get to do this on a regular basis. I'll post tomorrow on how it went!

dinner ditty ~ Just Like Heaven - The Cure

Pork belly-isma

Pork belly, before cooking.

Holy feckinshitcookies, this is just too much fabulousness. My friend, Charlotte, let me know that I should try pork belly marinated in soy sauce, maple syrup, Chinese five-spice, and vegetable oil. Seeing as I had all those on hand at work, I decided to try it with my lovely meat boys* and coworkers.

I didn't measure anything, I just threw it all together, lined a hotel pan with tinfoil and a rack (it gets messy), placed the pork belly on the rack, and left in the oven (400°F-ish) until it got crispyish. 

Lord Scandinavian Jesus, it's good. Delicious. Possibly one of the best thing I've eaten all year. You should try it. You won't be disappointed. Really. 

I'm going to play around with this recipe to make it even more awesome. Any suggestions?

dinner ditty ~ Me in Honey - R.E.M.

*meat boys is a general term for my lovely meat coworkers... there are two women included in the meat boy crew. 

Street Meat Friday

Street Meat Friday is the best day of the food week! Every Friday, I make a different meat dish from around the world. Today's dish was picadillo. It was very well received. Here's the recipe!

Picadillo

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

500 g lean ground beef

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ ground cumin

1 can Aylmer Accents Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1/3 cup raisins

¼ cup blanched almonds, toasted and chopped

¼ cup tomato paste

½ cup dry red wine

1½ tablespoons honey

1 bag Cavendish Farms Rustic Red Potatoes, cooked according to package directions.

1. On medium-high heat, heat oil in pan; add onions and garlic, cook, stirring, until onions are soft. Add ground beer, cook, stirring until changed in colour.

2. Stir in spices, tomato, raisins, and the almonds, cook, uncovered, three minutes. Add tomato paste, wine, and honey, simmer five minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated.

3. Add the cooked red potatoes to the beef mixture; stir to evenly incorporate ingredients, for about three minutes until evenly heated through. Enjoy!

dinner ditty ~ Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin

For the love of scallops

Oh my. I don't think I've talked about how much I love scallops. People ask me all the time what my favourite food is, and I have to be honest, it's a toss-up between scallops and apple pie. They would be part of my favourite meal. I like them raw! I like them sauteed in butter! I like them wrapped in bacon! I like them in chowder! I would probably like them in apple pie.

Last week, I went to Tempo with my loves. We had the tapas and tinis. I went with the kataifi (pictured above) and the fried dough (pictured below).

Along with some lovely colourful drinks... here is the Key ~

So. Lovely! The staff is friendly, the food is fabulous and reasonably priced, and the drinks are girly and delicious. It was a great night, and it made me miss Halifax even more than I already do.

dinner ditty ~ These Days - Nico

Visiting friends and far too much food...

Agnes came down to Sydney for a visit! Okay, she was here for work, but I am choosing to believe that it was just to see me. 

We ate at The Crown and Moose and Governor's Pub. Both were very, very good, but the lighting wasn't bright enough to take pictures. I will go back to both places to get pictures and write a proper post.

I think it was the first time I've eaten the large sundae, but it was delicious and worth it and in celebration of Agnes' big birthday coming up this week. 

dinner ditty ~ Get the Party Started - Shirley Bassey

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas baking...

Candy cane brownies! How could you not love these? I used the recipe from the Inspired magazine. It is possibly the best batch of brownies I've ever made. You should make them, too! The batter is really thick, and it bakes beautifully. Should you find yourself in a brownie bake-off (yes, it happens!) you should use this recipe. 

dinner ditty ~ Fearless Heart - Steve Earle

Computer issues...

Whew! I'm in the process of getting a new computer. I'll be posting more this week!

dinner ditty ~ So Lonely - The Police

My other brother...

It's been a fabulous weekend! Food! Drinks! Friends! Loveliness!

I'll post one at a time.

On Saturday, my old friend (old as in I've known her a long time, not old as in decrepit), Agnes, and I went to the NSDCC Designer Craft Show Christmas 2012. So much amazing talent! I can't even begin to imagine. We picked up some lovely things. We hopped on over to the Farmers' Market for more lovely things. Plum berliners for the win! 

After the market, we went up to Darrell's. Darrell's has been around for twenty years and it's pretty amazing. It's best known for its peanut butter burger. I knew right away that's what I was gong to order. 

The menu board.

The infamous peanut butter burger. 

Yup. There's the peanut butter. So. Good.

Agnes' order, the Hen Den Burger with a fabulous salad.

I love the food action shots. Agnes is a great sport! She really enjoyed her meal.

Yup, that's me stuffing my piehole.

I've noticed that most my X-ring is very prominent in all my facestuffing pictures. I'm going to start telling people I majored in Stuffngmyfaceology.

The mess after the first bite. 

Darrell's is an institution here in Halifax, and deservedly so. The service is fabulous (Becca was lovely!), the food is delicious, and the atmosphere hasn't really changed much since the place opened. I was stuffed afterwards... stuffed full of awesome! 

dinner ditty ~ Barely Legal - The Strokes. 

Another late night and computer troubles...

I got home late tonight after another fabulous day of food and hanging out with lovely loves. When I switched on my computer, I found the power cord was no longer powering. I am able to write this post because I dug an old extension cord from my father's entertainment unit and it luckily fit in my netbook.

I'll write more tomorrow! With pictures and hopefully a proper cord!

dinner ditty ~ It's My Own Fault - Johnny Winters. I laughed so hard I almost choked at this tonight. Best friends are awesome.

Home a bit late, double post tomorrow!

Whew! I got home a bit late after a great night out. I have pictures and reviews I will post tomorrow!

dinner ditty ~ Rivers of Babylon - Steve Earle

More food on the road!

Wild mushroom risotto. 

I had a pretty important chef meeting today. I'm pretty excited about the future of my job. After the meeting, we went out for dinner at Ryan Duffy's in Truro. We had some appetizers which weren't on the proper menu. Prime rib crostinis! Calamari! Shrimp! Fabulousness!

The risotto was very tasty, too... I'm hoping it tastes even better for breakfast. I took half of it home. 

I'm looking forward to some eating adventures this weekend. Stay toooooooooned!

dinner ditty ~ Going Back to Cali - LL Cool J

On the road again...

Yum! I'm away on business. I'm staying at the Holiday Inn in Truro. My old partner-in-crime, TD, and I tore up the mainland today, fueled on coffee and not much else. 

I haven't been eating much because it still takes me forever to get through a meal. I figured salad would be easy. This was fabulous... it had proscuitto, arugula, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, and blood orange aioli. Always a win! I love blood oranges. I have to buy new cutting boards every winter because I stain the hell out of them with blood orange juice. 

Can't wait to hit Halifax. Soon!

dinner ditty ~ Hero - Family of the Year