"Easter" menu

I often use major holidays as an excuse to cook for many. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving - it's all the same to me. My family invites people over and I take over the kitchen. Tomorrow is no different - there are 16 in total, and in true A-type personality fashion, I'm going to slave in the kitchen for 2 days straight.  This is what I'm attempting - wish me luck:

Appetizers: 
- Smoked salmon eggs
- Fried artichokes w/lemon garlic aioli

Mains:
- Prime rib roast w/glazed carrots & roasted garlic bulbs
- Salmon fillet on a bed of rapini in rose sauce

Sides:
- Roasted beets
- Quinoa salad w/herbs
- Spring peas w/onions & mushrooms
- Mashed potatoes w/grated parmesan

Dessert:
- Blueberry cheesecake
- Coconut cookies
- Chocolate chip cookies

Budyń o smaku (raspberry pudding)

I heart trying new things. And being a food-hearter (apparently the word "foodie" is taboo now), I especially heart trying new foods. It always amazes me when I discover foods that are a simple (and perhaps common?) pleasure from one culture and how that food can be completely unknown to everyone else.

This weekend, I was lucky enough to try budyń o smaku (which I think, roughly translates from Polish to English as raspberry pudding...apologies if I got the translation wrong). The pudding mixture comes prepackaged (the one I tried was made by Nestlé) and starts in powder form.

I watched my friend make this dessert, and from what I gather, the cooking process goes like this: heat up milk, add powder to milk (mixing constantly), stir, wait for the mixture to thicken, pour into bowl, serve hot or cold (the instructions I've found online are in Polish, so I'm strictly pulling this from my memory).

The process reminded me of making Jello - except it was faster and dare I say it? Yummier.

The pudding tasted milky/creamy and the consistency was nice and thick (in many ways, it reminded me of steamed Chinese egg custard). There was a subtle taste of raspberries (though I'm told it comes in many different flavours) and the best part of it? It was just the right amount of sweet.

I ate the bowl of pudding with wonder, savouring every spoonful and marveling at the wonderful consistency. It was warm and soothing - good for when the nights are cold. And the best part of it all?  I got a doggy bag (bowl?), which is now sitting in the fridge. It's supposed to be even yummier when it's cold...I can't wait until tomorrow...is it okay to have dessert immediately after breakfast?

Izba Restaurant

Definitely worth a visit.

Izba Restaurant, located at 648 The Queensway in Toronto/Etobicoke claims to have "the BEST schnitzel in town". And in my humble opinion, it's very possibly true.

I'm a fan of schnitzel and have had many different versions of it. I've also been disappointed many, many times. Too often, schnitzel is oily and flaky - the breadcrumbs falling off and the meat (pork and veal) waaaaaay too tough. But this....THIS was amazing.

Not oily, perfectly crisp, amazingly tender and awesomely spiced (yes, I know I'm using a lot of positive adjectives, but you would too if you'd tried it).  The funny thing? I didn't even order the schnitzel (that's right, I mooched off my friend's plate).

Instead, I ordered the pork tenderloin with pierogi (I've been DYING for pierogi, but that's a story for another day). The pierogi were served with sour cream and boiled (which, I'm told by my pierogi-connoisseur friend would've tasted much better had they been pan-fried), but to my Canadian Chinese palate, tasted great. Potatoes and cheddar wrapped inside a dumpling...mmmm...but I digress...

The pork tenderloin was tender - as in fall-off-the-other-parts-of-the-meat-tender, served with a sprinkle of dried parsley (hey, it works here) and a gravy I couldn't identify. There were also roasted potatoes (which this potato-connoisseur LOVED), braised cabbage (forever ruined because of the cabbage soup diet...thank you parents...) and boiled carrots (which I didn't touch).

It was by far one of the best comfort food meals I've had in a very long time, and definitely a belly-filling one.

The portions are generous, so be sure to go on an empty stomach.

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.

(Apologies for the lack of food pictures, but it was too dark for decent pics).

Duff's Famous Wings

Mmmm...wings...

I heart chicken wings.  Truly I do.  Spicy and sour. Crispy and crunchy.  Mmmm...and while everybody knows this already, I still have to say it: Duff's Famous Wings has the best chicken wings in Toronto.

I went to Duff's back in December with my Big Brother and had a blast. Over fun conversation, we shared wings, beers and the obligatory veggie sticks.

The atmosphere is friendly and was crowded for a Tuesday night. The staff was great and well...it was a wing place. Enough said.

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.

Ketchup and what?!

I believe ketchup is one of human kind's greatest culinary inventions. Its flavours are simple (sweet, sour and salty), but it's versatile enough to stand up to many different foods. I myself am a fan of ketchup on eggs, but am also partial to ketchup on fries (really, a no-brainer), ketchup on bread (it used to be a favourite after school snack) and ketchup on chicken. And a friend recently introduced me to ketchup on pizza (which, may seem redundant, somehow works.)

As I was enjoying my pizza and ketchup, I started to think about the origin of ketchup. It was then I decided to take a trip to Wikipedia.  Some of the more interesting things I learned:
- Ketchup was categorized by the U.S.' FDA as a SMOOTHIE (EW)
- Ketchup is good for you: it contains the anti-oxidant lycopene, which has been proven to prevent prostate and colon cancers (yay!)
- Ketchup is bad for you: one teaspoon is roughly 10 per cent of an adults recommended sodium intake (*sigh*)

On my trip, I made a detour to Heinz's web site and found a recipe for ketchup peanut butter cookies. Hmm...ketchup and peanut butter, eh?  Could be the next rage...or maybe ketchup cake (stay-tuned for how these culinary experiments turn out).