There's a reason why Bobby Flay always wins...

I'm the first to admit that I am NOT a Bobby Flay fan. I remember watching an episode of the original Iron Chef - Bobby Flay was competing against Morimoto. Flay won, but he was a total jerk about it. Since then, I've not been a fan.

However, only a fool would ignore his amazing talent. And since I'm not (usually) a fool, I tried his fried artichoke with lemon aioli recipe. The result was amazing...

Artichokes are great, but they are a LOT of work...from the prep work to the storage (artichokes are kind of like apples - they go brown when exposed to air, so they need to be soaked in lemon water). But the end result is totally worth it.

Restaurant review: Ferraro 502

This past weekend, a friend took me to Ferraro 502, a cute, family-run Italian restaurant at 502 Eglinton West in Toronto. I've never been, and when it comes to Italian restaurants, my favourite has been Grazie for the last 10 years.

However, Ferraro gives Grazie a run for its money - the food is just as good, if not better, and in terms of a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, I prefer Ferraro. (Grazie is great if you're looking for a busy night out...but it's definitely not what I would call relaxed or intimate).

Foods sampled:
- Carpaccio: I love beef carpaccio, but so few places do it well. Ferraro does it well. The lemon juice balances out the salt, and the olive oil and parmigiano reggiano went well with the roasted red peppers. Mmmm...carpaccio...

- Pizza portobello: The mushrooms were cooked perfectly - normally, I find pizza on mushrooms too dry. I'm not a fan of gorgonzola cheese, but it seemed to work here. Definitely yummy.

- Pizza calabrese: Sausage, mozzarella, onions and hot peppers on a thin crust. What's not to love?

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

Restaurant review rating system

Since I love eating as much as I love cooking, I thought it might make sense to start providing feedback and (dare I say) reviews of restaurants I eat at.

What makes me qualified to provide restaurant reviews? I haven't received professional training, but I do recognize good food when I eat it.

For the most part, the places I'll try will range between $25-$100 for two people, though I will specify if the restaurant goes beyond that price range.

Restaurant / Food Rating System:
- Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.
- Would go back occasionally.
- Meh. Would go back if everything else was closed.
- Run fast and run far / may cause stomach ulcers.

Who knew brownies could be so difficult?

I don't think I have enough readers to call this short posting "long-awaited" - definitely a delayed one though.

Life has been busy the last month - with a family wedding and my professional life taking up much of my time, I haven't had a chance until this week to actually try new recipes...

This past Thursday, I decided to try making one of the hundreds of brownie recipes squirreled away in my recipe box.

Using this recipe, I attempted my first batch of brownies. Being me, of course, I had to substitute and mess with the recipe (1 cup less sugar, dark chocolate, etc). The result? I thought I had screwed up (but I actually hadn't!). I did learn the difference between cake brownies and fudge brownies...one is supposed to be light(ish) and fluffy. The other, thick and gooey.

I started with the fudge brownie and thought the end result too dense, so I tried making a cake brownie. The result? It was too dry (which, at 10:30 p.m., was NOT amusing).

But after reflecting (and getting some awesome feedback from a friend who's an amazing chef), the solution seemed simple: mixing the two recipes together to make the perfect brownie.

Have I tried to? Not yet...but I will soon.

But if I did...this is what the recipe would look like:

Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup pecans/walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 345 degrees F.
- Spray a 13 by 9-inch pan with vegetable oil spray.
- Beat the eggs together and set aside.
- Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together
- Melt the butter in a deep pot / pan on the stove (this will be where you actually mix all the ingredients together)
- Whisk in the sugar, eggs, cocoa, and vanilla.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt mixture.
- Add chopped chocolate and nuts.
- Spread the batter in prepared pan.
- Bake about 25 minutes, just until brownies test moist but not wet.
- Cool completely before cutting.

Messing with Martha Stewart

I love changing recipes and making them my own once I'm familiar with them - especially cookie recipes. It's rare that I'll add or take away from a cookie recipe on the first try though - especially if it's by MARTHA STEWART (insert echo here). After all, she's the grand dame of cooking. Who am I to question the greatness of her words?(And to be honest, if I ever met her in an alley, I'd run the other way).

But I did...and I'm lucky. I've been meaning to try her Outrageous Chocolate Cookies recipe for awhile now...it looked relatively easy-to-make, plus there are quite a few people in my life who are, quite frankly, chocolate freaks.

To be honest, I find working with oodles of chocolate quite overwhelming. It gets everywhere, plus I find melting chocolate quite a tedious process (this particular recipe calls for using the microwave to melt the chocolate and butter together...let's just say butter EXPLODES).

But this particular recipe was...interesting. This recipe calls for very little flour, which had me questioning whether or not the cookie would ever solidify, or if I'm just making a very expensive chocolate pudding (luckily I wasn't). I also didn't like using semisweet chocolate chunks twice, so I substituted with bitter sweet chocolate. Plus, I added walnuts, changed cooking times and temperatures (my oven tends to run a little hotter).

All I can say is that it turned out really well. I'd love to say it was because I'm an amazing cookie chef, but to be honest, I think it was just dumb luck.

The full recipe can be found below. I placed asterisks where I made changes. Happy baking.

Ingredients

Makes 2 dozen (I actually made 30)
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar (*I only used 1/3 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks (*substitute with bitter sweet chocolate)
- 700 grams chopped walnuts

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat.
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate.
- Mix in flour mixture until just combined.
- Stir in chocolate chunks * and walnuts.
- Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets.
- Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Cool on sheets 10 minutes (*20 minutes)
- With a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.