The open-face smoked meat sandwich for breakfast

Have you ever had one of those days when you just don't know what to eat? I've been having a lot of those days lately.

I stared at my fridge for 5 minutes thinking about what I could make for brunch. And after a long halloween night (yay, Montreal Canadiens won!), I was famished.


Thankfully, I had some left over smoked meat from Schwartz's so I made an open-face breakfast sandwich with some pan roasted cherry tomatoes. Topped with a lot of pepper, a sprinkle of salt and it was just scrumptious! I know, it's perhaps not the most healthiest of breakfast but I wanted some greasy grub, yo. Ok, it wasn't that greasy but I shoulda added some home fries to the mix, drizzled with some maple syrup for a little more kick!

Sorry for the lack of food postings, there's been lots of eating but not much of them are blog-worthy. I seriously need to cook up a storm.

enRoute's Food Issue 2009

And here we have it:

Canada's 10 Best New Restaurant 2009

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This might come as a little surprise to some of you. I have never blogged about this before but it's such a pity that not many people know about this because it's really an homage to food and good eating. I'm talking about enRoute Magazine's Food Issue that comes out every November. It's in its 8th installment this year and this year, it's our sexiest food issue yet. Okay, okay...every year is sexier than the other but I digress.

With pictures like these - how can you resist not wanting to feast your eyes on them?

Taken from CBNR 2008 No.1 restaurant: Nota Bene

Taken from CBNR 2008 No.2 restaurant: Le Local

Taken from CBNR 2008 No.10 restaurant: Stage

I feel that all of you should know about this magazine's food issue because it used to be a magazine that was made for a certain select group, a certain group that flies with a certain airline. But that is all changing now that the monthly content of enRoute Mag is published in http://enroute.aircanada.com - everyone can have access to their monthly publication online.

So on November 1st, enRoute's 2009 Food Issue will be published online for all to see. And because I work with the magazine; you will have to take my word for it that this issue is going to be a very yummy one! It's more than just a Canadian centered magazine, it's a magazine that is true to its travel and lifestyle stories, it's international.

For all you who are interested in the restaurant scene in North America, Canada's 10 Best New Restaurants 2009 will be announced tomorrow at Canada AM at 9am. The list will be made available online then as well.

Check out the previous years' #CBNR list (click on the magazine covers):

Bing Cherry Jam for Binging

Bing Cherries has to be my favorite fruit during summer, after watermelons and grapes. There was an abundance of cherries in my home too, at one point, I didn't know what to do with them after I made that lovely Apple Cherry Pie and Cherry Cake. Then, I decided to make jam with them for the winter months by canning them.

Yeah, right... the jam didn't even make it till Autumn!



We binged on the jam like there was no tomorrow because ..well, it's delicious. These succulent fruits made an excellent preserve. The Bing Cherry recipe is the simplest you'll ever see and there might be more pictures than words for this post.



Bing Cherry Jam recipe:

1500 grams of pitted Bing Cherries, this is the weight of the cherries without their pits.
150 grams of granulated sugar
1 Tahitian vanilla bean, halved
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a pinch of salt


Method:



1. Pit the cherries and put them in a large heavy pot. Add the rest of the ingredients in, stir to combine and turn on heat.



2. Let the cherries come to a boil and then lower heat to a low. Skim off any scum that will appear on the top. This an important step so that your jam do not turn cloudy.



3. Cook the jam down to about half, it should be thick and be able to coat the back of your wooden spoon. And don't forget to toss the vanilla bean out after you're done. It took me about 45mins - 1 hr of cooking with the occasional stirring.



Can your jam using the traditional canning process and it will last for up to a year. Honestly, I don't think it will last that long.

This recipe makes approximately 4 cups of jam. This Bing Cherry jam is great on toasts, making pastries and sauces. I think it would be a great replacement for cranberry sauce on Christmas too!



I am also enrolling this jam recipe to Aimee's UtHC Virtual Jam Swap!: http://www.underthehighchair.com/2009/06/announcinguthc-jam-swap-09.html

Kneading to Make Brioche Bread

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

I personally do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so no turkey for me! But I know a lot of you do. I would like to dedicate a post about a certain kind of bread I like for this day, the Brioche.



I've always been fascinated by Brioche, unfortunately, I have yet to find that rich, yellow loaf sold in any bakeries here. Even the formidable varieties in Premier Maison failed to include fluffy brioche loaves as part of their offerings - their brioche are slathered with sugar and looked a lot like monkey bread.

I want a lovely loaf of brioche baked into the shape of the proverbial bread, and when sliced is beautifully fluffy, rich and sponge-marked. A slight steam of freshness permeates the loaf with buttery goodness and when spread with a bit of jam sends you to heaven with a bite. This can only be realize, and I realized, if I made my own brioche bread.

Admittedly, it wasn't how I had envisioned it but it's close - delicious smelling, rich and buttery to the taste. It just wasn't fluffy enough but only because I did not let it settle overnight in the fridge to rest and rise. I believe it would have developed a better brioche in terms of texture and flavor if you do that so follow Laura's recipe.

Who's Laura?

I found this recipe after scanning through a series of recipes, I decided to settle for Laura Calder's brioche recipe from the Food Network; from French Food at Home.



Brioche recipe:

2 envelopes dry active yeast (about 16 g)
6 tbsp warm water or milk
1-1/2 tsps salt
2 tbsp sugar
4 cups flour
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup butter
1 x egg yolk
Milk for wash


Method:
1. Stir the yeast into the warm water (or milk), with the salt and sugar. Set aside for five minutes to dissolve. Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in it. Put the eggs and the yeast mixture in the well. Mix it, drawing in the flour, to make a soft, sticky dough.



2. Work the dough, lifting and slapping, until it becomes soft and very smooth and elastic (this process is a long and difficult job by hand. A mixer with hook attachment is great if you have one). Knead the butter to soften it to the same texture as the dough. Now, work in the butter a piece at a time, again to create smooth, sticky dough (again, the mixer will make that easy). Let the dough rise at room temperature in a covered bowl for two hours.



3. Punch down the risen dough. Put it back in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight to double. Shape the bread; let it rise 1 1/2 hours in the pan. Glaze with yolk and milk wash. Bake the loaves at 425ºF/220°C for 40 to 45 minutes.



The brioche was made at my old apartment. And I ate a warm slice of brioche with my homemade Bing cherry jam (recipe will come in one of the next few posts!).




P.S. On the 10th of October, I had the pleasure to meet with a few Montreal food bloggers at one of our local Korean eateries. It was delightful to eat on a table with like-minded people. I'll be writing a sort-of review of Atti Korean restaurant on Rue University in Montreal, QC and the experience of sitting on a long table full of foodies eating mediocre Korean fare in my next post!