Evergreen Brickworks Cooking Workshops.

seafood!... Every second Thursday until May 12, 2012, there are cooking workshops held at Evergreen Brick Works, an environmental community centre in Toronto.  I had never been here before, but had seen this place countless of times during drives along the DVP/ Bayview extension to and from down town. I had the opportunity to take part in the Winter Shellfish workshop run by Kristin Donovan and her husband Dan, which featured an awesome menu of oysters, clams, lobsters and mussels! Jess and I arrived just in time to grab the last 2 aprons, and before we could dig in, there was lots of shucking, cracking and cooking first. The class was led by Kristin and Dan, who are both the owners of Hooked Inc., a super cool sustainable seafood store on Queen East.  They both introduced us to how seafood is farmed and the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources- it truly is their passion!

The workshop was at full capacity with about 12 participants in total and we each stood at our stations where a cutting board, a towel, and an oyster shucker were ready for use. They were very generous that we could grab as many oysters as we could shuck and eat, but although my stomach is bottomless, shucking was the limiting factor.  Kristin and Dan taught us how to crack these oysters open, but I struggled the entire time (I almost cut my hand and Kristin even makes fun of me for it later- see video below).  I did get a couple open at the end and enjoyed some tasty fresh raw oysters, along with lemon and some random sauces. Pictures of my successful shucking are featured below. lol
My favourite part of the workshop was definitely the lobsters! They showed us how to de shell the tail and the claw separately, then we could each pick a tail or a claw to de shell ourselves.  According to Dan, the gold standard of de-shelling lobsters is being able to get the meat out of the claw as one piece...did it like a pro! The lobster was pre cooked and after the meat was taken out, it was butter poached.  Throughout the workshop, Kristin stressed the importance of using quality ingredients and knowing where your food comes from, whether its lobster or the butter you use.  The lobster tasted awesome in the buttery sauce, which I soaked up with a few helpings of french bread. I know they own a seafood store, but damnnn, they need to branch into dining, especially with both Kristin and Dan being trained chefs.

Post lobster, we moved into groups and cooked Mussels in Coconut Green Curry broth + Clams with Kale and Chorizo.  Everyone was split into 2 main groups and worked as a team to get these tasty dishes completed on time.  You have to know your strengths when working in a team, and my strengths are definitely more of the eating variety! lol seriously though, everyone pitched in and with easy to follow recipes, both the Mussels and Clams were cooked and ready to eat within the workshop's 2 hour time limit. The clams matched perfectly with the chorizo sausage and Kristin even stated that it was the only non seafood item they carry at Hooked Inc..  I also learned that you can flick raw mussels with your finger to check if they are alive- they should slowly close after you flick them if they are alive!
I had an awesome time learning, preparing, cooking and eating at the workshop and I'd definitely consider coming back to check out another class.  Kristin and Dan were passionate about the food, and their enthusiasm for seafood was shared amongst everyone who attended.  Evergreen Brick Works itself is a really cool place too, with a very modern industrial look, while still looking rustic (heard the resto there serves duck egg omelettes too!)! The walls were covered with repurposed items like electrical boxes as art.  

If you are passionate about cooking or food in general, these workshops are a great place to learn both the techniques and the background education about the food being featured. This is definitely a cool date idea as well, especially for those of you not used to cooking at home much. Price wise, these classes are really affordable at $55/ person (5 classes/ $225, 10 classes/ $450) especially when you compare it to other cooking workshops that run up to $200 each in Toronto.  The classes may not be led by a super famous chef, but they bring in local "experts" in the field and use quality ingredients! From this experience, Kristin and Dan probably knew more about seafood than anyone in this city.  Each class runs from 7-9 pm every second Thursday until May 17, 2012. Check out the full schedule and menus here.

Evergreen Brick Works Green Bites Cooking Workshops 550 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON  M4W 3X8

Panera Bread Workshop with Tom Gumpel.

bread!...About a month ago, I had the chance to take part in a Bread workshop at George Brown College.  This was an event run by Panera Bread to celebrate the opening of their new down town Toronto Bakery/ Cafe @ Yonge and Edward that opened on January 24, 2012.  I received an invitation to come to this workshop to try their food and also to learn about bread/ baking from Culinary chef Tom Gumpel.  I had honestly never heard of him before, but he has a loaded culinary resume- Captain of the World Cup of Baking winning 1999 U.S. Baking Team and named America's Top Ten Bread Bakers by Dessert Professional Magazine.  This was the first time I had heard of these accomplishments, but the most impressive title to me was that he referred to himself as Panera's Chief of Bread (his official title is Panera's Vice President of Bakery Development)!

I was super excited to check out the workshop, especially with promises of great lunch and a chance to sample some of Tom's bread recipes, while learning about bread from a true pro. I headed to George Brown on the day of, and there were about 10 other bloggers/ food writers attending the events. We all helped ourselves to a prepared lunch of sandwiches, breads, cake, salad- all of which were menu items at Panera Bread stores.  I had a chance to try their BRAVO sandwich, which consisted of smoked turkey breast, bacon, smoked gouda cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, some sauce on tomato basil bread.  I was told this was one of their most popular items and it was definitely tasty! The bread was really fresh as expected and once I heard smoked gouda cheese, I had to grab this sandwich.  I also tried their Fuji Apple Chicken salad, which had little apple chips in it!

After stuffing my face with the the lunch provided, Panera Chief of Bread, Tom Gumpel began his workshop, where he talked about the history and many uses of bread in today's society.  To start the workshop off, we each ripped off a giant piece of french bread, just to touch, smell and feel. I learned some pretty cool stuff about bread.. did you know that french bread is shaped after a walking stick and ciabatta after a slipper?!! There were 2 recipes he also showed us, and more importantly let us taste! haha.  The first was an Asiago Strata, a savoury bread pudding, that although not a Panera menu item, pretty much anybody could make at home. People often use stale/ left over bread for bread puddings, but Tom advised that fresh is the best! He had thinly sliced pieces of Asiago bread and basically layered it along with Asiago Cheese in a pan.  This was followed by pouring a creamy mixture of eggs, cream and pepper and finally baking the whole thing.  This was delicious, with no real overpowering flavours and hints of cheese throughout.
The recipe is below if you want to try making it yourself at home (taken from Toronto Star Food Editor Jennifer Bain, who also attended the event):

Panera Bread/ Tom Gumpel's Asiago Strata

Ingredients:

• Softened butter, at room temperature
• 2-1/2 cups (675 mL) half and half cream
• 2 large eggs
• Pinch cracked black pepper
• About 1-lb (450-g) loaf asiago bread, cut in 1/4-inch (1/2 cm) slices
• 1 cup (250 mL) shredded asiago or other hard cheese

Generously rub sides and bottom of 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish with butter.

In large mixing bowl, whisk cream, eggs and pepper.

To assemble, place layer of bread in prepared pan, cutting pieces as needed. Sprinkle with cheese. After 3 layers, pour about 1/3 of cream mixture. Repeat, leaving 1/4-inch (1 mL) space at top of dish and finishing with remaining cream mixture. (Reserve any remaining bread for another use.) Let stand 15 minutes.

Place dish on baking sheet. Bake in centre of preheated 425F (220C) oven 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F (180C) and bake until richly dark and slightly puffed, about 30 minutes. (It will settle back after being removed from the oven.) Run knife around edges. Let stand 15 minutes.

Place large plate over top of pan, in one slow motion, flip plate and pan together. Place on counter. Let strata fall from pan onto plate. Cut into 2-inch (5-cm) squares, or as desired.

Serve hot or warm.

Makes 16 small servings.

In addition to the bread pudding, Tom also made an Autumn Harvest Panzanella recipe.  This was a cooked bread salad made with fresh vegetables that he picked out at nearby St. Lawrence Market that morning.  It was quite interesting as I've never had a cooked salad before, let alone with bread! The new down town Panera Bread is the 4th location in the GTA.  If you're like me and had heard of Panera, but never tasted their breads, it's probably because they have over 1000 locations across the US. I had a great time learning the ins and outs of the bread industry in north america and would like to thank Tom Gumpel, Panera Bread and Diana Conconi, for organizing and running this tasty event!  They even gave me a some free swag to take home!

Panera Bread (Downtown Toronto)

322 Yonge Street

Toronto, Ontario

M5B 1R8

(416) 205-9371

McDonald's Oreo Cookie N' Cream Pie.

oreo pie!... The newest set of McDonald's coupons floating around Toronto mailboxes had picture of the new Oreo Cookies N' Cream Pie from McDonald's.  Since Jan 3, 2011, these Oreo Pies (2/ $1.39 + tax, or $0.99 each) have been available in McDonald's around the GTA.  The pie crust is like the normal apple pie one with chocolate in it and it is filled with some Oreo cream that has melted marshmellow like texture.  I actually like this new creation by McDs as the not so sweet crust goes nicely with the sweet gooey cream inside. These have replaced the Mixed Berry pies and will probably be available for a limited time along with the available-all-year-round Apple Pies. They're still selling the Creme Brulee Mcflurry atm too. McDonald's, please make the Peach and Banana Chocolate pies available all year!!! Throw in all day Sausage Egg McMuffins too!

Fickle Viet Chinese Cuisine.

pho in the downtown core!... Fickle is a Viet/Chinese restaurant downtown Toronto that has been open for about a year.  I was quite ecstatic when I heard about a pho place opening up around Yonge and College, where fast food joints are a dime a dozen. If you walk or drive by, their crazy interior lighting/ decor will really draw your attention.  The restaurant looks kind of like a club with colour changing walls and ceiling.  The entire place slowly changes colours while you are eating, which is kinda trippy (reminded me a bit of the mood lighting they use in planes during a long flight to HK).

When I first tried this restaurant, they definitely had their share of problems, especially slow/ inadequate service (waited 45 mins for food, clearly understaffed, no water refills, missing orders), but I recently went again and things have definitely improved.  Fickle has an extensive menu of chinese, viet and asian fusion type items, but I was here strictly to eat some Beef Noodle Soup aka Pho close to where I live.  The Pho comes in 2 sizes, Regular ($7.99 + tax/tip) and Large ($8.99 + tax/tip).  It is served with slices of lean beef and 2 out of the following items: Brisket, Soft Tendon, Beef Balls, Tripe. There isn't much variety in the pho- especially with the absence of chicken, seafood and curry pho choices! Aside from the inflated prices (the Regular and Large sizes are more like Small and Medium bowls at other places), the Pho is decent and comes with the usual tray of beansprouts/ lime.  For $9.99 + tax/tip, you can have the Fickle Special pho, which comes with a mix of all the meats listed above (kinda like #101 at Pho 88).  I also tried their viet Spring Rolls, which they call Fickle Spring Rolls ($4.99 + tax/tip).  These were good deep fried viet spring rolls that came with 2 rolls cut up. 

In terms of pho, there are definitely better places across the city (and cheaper), but the convenient location just north of College TTC station will keep my coming back when I don't want to travel far to get my fix of Pho.  They have lots of items I haven't tried and any feedback would be great if you have been to this place. The service at Fickle recently was pretty good and it seems that things are running much smoother than half a year ago.  Alcohol is served here, so you can get wasted and jam out to the colour changing walls! haha.

Fickle Viet Chinese Cuisine

507 Yonge St

Toronto, ON 

M4Y 1Y3

(647) 351-3529