Country Greek from “The Last Schmaltz” is a Salad Comprised of
the Usual Ingredients Plus the Welcome Addition of Chickpeas
What is a nice Jewish boy from North York doing with a mini-empire of quirky restaurants in a gritty neighbourhood of downtown Toronto? Doing pretty well is the short answer.
This kale caesar salad, garnished with goat cheese, croutons and chunks of bacon, is delicious
“I wouldn’t trade my worst day sober for my best day drunk.” — Jonathan Gushue
He was a celebrity chef with a handsome face, successful career and a young family but, one night in 2012, he disappeared without a trace for two weeks. Now he’s back with a hot new restaurant and a cautionary tale.
My creamy old-fashioned potato salad uses pickle juice
This feature appeared in the Toronto Star in 1996. My favourite version is the first one.
“Potato salad: A cold or hot side dish made with potatoes, mayonnaise and seasonings. It became very popular in the second half of the nineteenth century and is a staple of both home and food-store kitchens.” — John Mariani: The Dictionary of American Food and Drink
I recently spent four glorious days in midtown Manhattan.
For two of those, I was pretty much closeted in the Roger Smith Hotel attending back-to-back seminars at a cookbook conference.
And apart from a few heart-wrenching hours spent watching the stunning but tragically haunting photos and videos of the holocaust at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, there was no other agenda.
I know the name Ruby Watchco keeps popping up in this blog – and it’s for good reason.
The meal Ross and I enjoyed there one Saturday night a couple of months ago was simply stellar, “simply” being the operative word. The uncomplicated, vibrant flavour and texture combos of each and every dish from the sensational salad with still warm buttermilk biscuits to a wondrous baked apple bathed in silky sabayon were all that good food should be.
MELTON MOWBRAY – It’s tough keeping up with Dr. Matthew O’Callaghan as he strides purposefully across the cobbled square in the centre of this lovely historic town, population about 24,000, located in the heart of Britain’s East Midlands.
Wearing a jaunty beige mini-version of a cowboy hat he bought in New Zealand, my guide for the day has been a town councillor here for 12 years and is a man with a mission.
“The food production chain is really simple. We plant it, we grow it, we gather it, we cook it, and then we eat it. When this process occurs with a certain immediacy and a minimum of interference and, if it is nurtured by people who are truly passionate about what they are doing, the results can be glorious.” – John Ash.
When I was growing up, my job at dinnertime was to set the table and make the vinaigrette for a salad my nutrition-conscious mother served with each meal. It was your basic version: 2 to 3 parts olive oil to lemon juice or vinegar sometimes with a little mustard whisked in, salt, pepper and, mum always insisted, a good pinch of sugar.
