Friday, April 16th, 2010

The Cooking Chronicles: Dinners by Giada

I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a Food Network baby. Not in the sense that I was raised in front of the channel, but coddled and comforted by their flashy, entertaining programming until I was ready to cook myself. I also admit that I’m not one of those people has been experimenting in the kitchen [...]

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

The Cooking Chronicles: Udon with Tofu and Spinach

The second recipe I had my eye on that employed the tofu and spinach leftover from our salad the night previous can be found in the June/July issue of Food Network Magazine. Having never cooked with udon noodles before, the dish of udon with tofu and Asian greens caught my eye. I wanted a broth [...]

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

The Cooking Chronicles: Spanish Paella

Or perhaps more accurate – non-paella paella. I caught an episode of Michael Smith’s Chef At Home recently where he prepared a paella recipe that even I would eat, free of many ingredients that are unappealing to me, but what I thought were central to paella as a dish. The proteins consisted of chicken, sausage [...]

Friday, April 10th, 2009

The Cooking Chronicles: Olive Oil Popcorn

To accompany a viewing of Slumdog Millionaire (good movie; I liked the flashback motif), Mack and I decided to make stove-top popcorn. My coworkers had been telling me about some of the ills of microwave popcorn, and after seeing Michael Smith whip up a pan full fairly easily, it didn’t seem difficult at all. We [...]

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

“Family Restaurant” Disappointment

The third season of Food Network Canada’s Family Restaurant concluded tonight. Featuring the Quons, the family behind The Lingnan and Chicken for Lunch, the series documented the day-to-day challenges of running a restaurant, and some special milestones in the family’s life over the six month filming period. I had the opportunity to sit down with [...]

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

The Cooking Chronicles: Banana Chocolate Pancakes

I had no idea the Food Network show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives had an accompanying publication until I stumbled upon it while on Amazon one day. As Mack and I love the show (and have to make sure we’ve already had a meal prior to watching an episode), we ordered up the book right [...]

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

The Cooking Chronicles: Coconut Crusted Salmon

Salmon seems to be my default weekend meal – somewhat fancier than a stir-fry I would typically make on a weekday, but still an easy and no-fuss meal. We decided to walk to get the needed groceries for Michael Smith’s Coconut Crusted Salmon last weekend, which meant a short trek to Safeway. We usually get [...]

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

The Cooking Chronicles: Coffee Creme Brulee

There are some kitchen gadgets, that while extraneous to day-to-day cooking, are justifiable. A food processor, for example, has so many uses that the expense incurred (and precious cupboard/counter space needed) could be rationalized – sauces, dips, bread crumbs, dough…the list goes on. Others, such as a mini kitchen blowtorch, are less reasonable. Though being [...]

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

The Cooking Chronicles: Roasted Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes

I had my eye on Dave Lieberman’s recipe for Roasted Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes for some time, but forgot about it after a bout with a bad cold. I was finally organized enough to buy the ingredients needed earlier this week, and pulled it together in no time at all. The salmon was flavoured with [...]

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008

The Cooking Chronicles: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

On Doug’s request (I’m always up for a “secret ingredient” challenge!), I looked for an interesting recipe that contained peanut butter. While a stew thickened with peanut butter qualified as the most intriguing, Miss Hilda’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie caught my immediate attention as something I actually wanted to eat (I’ve been wanting to give [...]