Recipe for Success – or Failure

July 8, 2020

The Stuffed Carrot Cake I baked was obviously a failure but it was extremely tasty as a pudding

First, a little first-person backstory.

I quit my job as food editor and columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper, after 18 years in 2007. It was arguably the best job for a food journalist in Canada. Four years later, I re-invented myself as a freelance Food Sleuth. Meanwhile, I did a couple of community cookbooks with residents of Toronto public housing and for an advocacy non-profit group called FoodShare. Read more…

Sweet! Two Delectable Chocolate Creations That Take the Cake

March 10, 2017

Click on this – my podcast chat with domestic goddess Nigella Lawson recorded in Toronto in late 2015 – and you’ll hear her say that we are “kitchen cousins”: http://www.marionkane.com/podcast/chat-nigella-kitchen-cousin

She’s referring to several important things we have in common: A willingness to freely improvise when cooking; an acceptance of failure in the kitchen as a necessary path to learning, and a penchant for eating her dish of Squid and Orzo Pasta cold for breakfast.

Nigella and I have another important bond: a love of chocolate cakes. In her book “Feast,” published in 2004, there is an entire chapter – beloved my me – called “Chocolate Hall of Fame.” This collection of nine recipes includes her famous Chocolate Guinness Cake – delicious but tends to sink in the middle – Chocolate Gingerbread, also good, and Chocolate Malteser Cake that I haven’t yet made. Read more…

Getting Ready to Celebrate the 100th birthday of Cuisine Queen Julia Child

July 23, 2012

julia-child-with-chicken-and-meryl-streep — Left: The real Julia Child hams it up with a chicken. Right: Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia.

“I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.” — Julia Child Read more…

Masala to Almond Cake: Restaurant-Hopping in Toronto’s East End

January 29, 2012

It’s been a rough few weeks.

In mid-December, my wise therapist, inspired spiritual teacher and beloved friend Terry Flynn died. It was sudden and unexpected. Although he had been diagnosed with the dreaded disease called ALS (Lou Gehrig’s), Terry assumed he had months, maybe more, to live. I miss him with all my heart.

Hot on the heels of this came two work-related setbacks. In both cases, I didn’t see them coming. Both triggered strong emotions. Both made me doubt my judgment, something that’s been shaken up since I quit the corporate world in 2007 after 18 years as food editor/columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper, and embarked on my intrepid, often lonely, frequently bumpy path as a fledgling freelance food sleuth. Read more…

The Tale of my Missing Cookbooks and How I Made Lemonade from Lemons

December 5, 2011

It all began about a year ago when I gave two people I had no reason to distrust full access to my large, fully-furnished house while I was away.

All went well for several months during which time I would visit the place occasionally to pick up mail and move items to my new place – mostly clothes, work-related stuff and some important papers.

The pride and joy of my former abode was its cookbook library: a room I had specifically designed to hold the 1,200 or so cookbooks I had accumulated during my almost 40 years as a member of Canada’s food media. Many of those – 18, to be exact – were spent as food editor/columnist for this country’s largest newspaper the Toronto Star where I received review copies of cookbooks on a regular basis. Read more…

Venetian Friday Night Pasta is Delicioso!

April 30, 2008

Here is a dish I made the other night to rave reviews. It’s easy, delectable and makes a great casual meal to serve friends, especially for an unplanned meal. As usual with Nigella’s recipes, I had to tweak hers. It’s a winner.

Pasta with Chicken, Raisins and Pine Nuts

Lawson found the original recipe – a Friday night dish from Italy called Tagliatelle Frisinsal – in The Book of Jewish Food (Knopf; $32.99) by Claudia Roden. Great on on a buffet, this makes a lot but leftovers reheat well. Use a sturdy pasta, not your angel hair. Tagliatelle work well; I like caserecce which look like twisted rope. Instead of lemon juice, you could brush chicken with a balsamic-based salad dressing. Toast pine nuts in dry skillet, shaking, over medium-low heat until golden brown, about 5 min. I used a fresh free-range President’s Choice chicken from Zehrs – the taste is incomparable. Read more…