Here we are, one year almost to the day after we moved our entire operations across the street from 571 to 564 Gladstone.  And almost 6 years after we launched our concept, we could not be more pleased.

In the last 12 months we have doubled our team (to 20 committed and passionate Foodies), while expanding our retail store revenues beyond our expectations.  While our Fresh Meal Service continues to be enjoyed by hundreds of people every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (275 to be exact tonight), we feed at least as many customers through our front door every day of the week (Monday through Saturday).

So tonight, in celebration, we have created a menu that features all of our ‘favourite things’.

Fitzroy Beef Farmers have been our primary supplier of quality hormone and antibiotic free beef for more than 3 years. Although Flank Steak is tricky for us to serve, we felt that it really represented the best we had to offer when it comes to beef.  Enjoyed rare, and re-heated gently, this flavourful cut is a real treat that we only put on the menu once every 8-10 weeks.

Beau’s Beer has become an Ottawa favourite in the last few years, and aside from enjoying a pint or two, our staff love to cook with it, and it has become a staple ingredient in our Amazing Beer & Caramelized Onion dip – available every week in our retail store.

The potato salad in our celebration dinner is flavoured with a variety of mushrooms from Le Coprin and Aldergrove mushroom farms, both local and organic mushroom suppliers who deliver to us on a weekly basis.  We have also added Blue Ermite Cheese, made at the Abbaye Saint-Benoît-du-Lac cheese factory, part of a Benedictine monastery 150 kilometres southeast of Montreal.  We have been carrying this cheese in our retail store for almost 3 years.

The slaw in tonight’s meal contains the last Apples from the overwintered cellars at Hall’s Orchard, You can buy from this family owned business every weekend at both the Ottawa and Main Street Farmer’s markets.  We also carry their ciders in our retail store (fresh & sparkling).  They also supplied us with pears well into the winter this year.

The  maple syrup used to sweeten the vinaigrette in tonight’s meal, and sold in our retail shoppe comes from La Ferme Älska where Geneviève & Gabriel tap trees in their family owned sugar bush.

The yogurt flatbread comes from Rinag foods, a local business that makes specialty Indian foods for the Ottawa market, and has been a supplier of Naan bread & Samosas to the Red Apron for almost 6 years.

And finally to finish this meal, we are making our extremely popular and somewhat famous Red Apron Nut Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  This recipe came to the Red Apron with Jo-Ann and has been a customer favourite since day 1.

And to top it off, Megan has made 275 hand rolled rose buds out of – you guessed it – Carrot!  A flower for every staff member and customer who is enjoying this special anniversary dinner with us tonight.

Thank you for another fantastic year!

Jennifer & Jo-Ann

A few weeks ago Jo-Ann and I had the pleasure of participating in a unique Ottawa culinary experience.  We had heard that the Fraser Brothers (of Fraser Cafe fame) were opening up their Table 40 space to a Monday night dinner.  The concept is simple – one menu served family style around communal tables.

We are big fans of this style of eating as it is very consistent with the Red Apron philosophy and encourages people to try new things, and meet new people.  We weren’t surprised to walk in and see a number of familiar faces.  Also being big fans of the Fraser Cafe, we had full confidence that the evening would be a memorable success.

Of course, we weren’t disappointed.  The menu is posted on their website.  You can look at the Menus online.  Our meal was an Asian inspired meal that started with a Squash Soup, accompanied by Rillettes on Toast.  The bowls came to the table warmed up, and the soup was presented in a copper pot that we ladled out of ourselves.  Knives, spoons and forks were in a jar on the table and the napkins were paper, from a dispenser.

The soup was smooth, creamy and delicious, and the toasts were generous and flavourful.

Next came a presentation of Duck Breast, Duck Confit, Spiced scallion ‘crepes’, kim chi, lettuce, sprouts, pickled mushrooms and on the side, soba noodles and a slaw of green mango & papaya.

These items were presented beautifully on a variety of platters and boards, allowing guests to scoop and serve themselves.

The portions were very generous and most tables had  left-overs packaged up to take home.   Everything was fresh, hot and flavourful.

One member of our party had a gluten intolerance and this could have been a challenge with a fixed menu, but the servers were able to easily identify which items contained gluten, and the kitchen made minor variations to accommodate our allergy.

The meal was completed by a Banana Cream Pie.  Everyone left stuffed and happy, and the bill was EXTREMELY reasonable.  I would strongly suggest you try it out as soon as you can because I am sure that the prices will be going up after the ‘Brothers’ have had a chance to test out this concept.  The meal was beautifully executed and very warmly received by the 50 plus people we dined with that evening.

Congrats to the Table 40 Team!

Tonight’s fresh meal menu features our very popular Butternut, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Lasagna.

At our first Feast of Fields event we wanted to create a truly local, fall dish. We hand made ravioli, and stuffed it with mushrooms & goat cheese, then served it garnished with a butternut béchamel, drizzled with a pesto of tarragon and sunflower seeds. It was fantastic! However, as we had to make and serve about 800 of them, we figured there had to be a better way to enjoy these flavours without having to hand make each ravioli.

So we re-worked the dish and turned it into a lasagna. It’s become one of our most popular dishes and we create it each Thanksgiving and Christmas, and occasionally in between we enough customers ask us too. It’s a bit of work but well worth the effort.

If you are feeling adventurous, I have included the recipe.

Butternut, Goat Cheese & Mushroom Lasagna

Ingredients

1 / 4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 1 / 2 cups chopped onions
3 cups of local mushrooms, sliced (Note 1)

2 pounds organic, local butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 5 1/2 cups) (you can use other types of squash for this dish, or sweet potato works well to)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup good quality pesto (Note 2)

2 400 ml containers whole-milk ricotta cheese (unless you want to make that yourself too, which is quite simple, but that’s another recipe)
1 log of good quality soft goat cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
4 large eggs

4 cups whole milk
5 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons milk
pinch of nutmeg

Olive oil
9 fresh lasagna noodles (Note 3)

Note 1: We use organic locally grown mushrooms from Christophe at Le Coprin in Farrelton, Quebec. The King Eryngii is a great choice for this dish, although almost any mushroom will work.

Note 2: The first year we made this we used sunflower tarragon pesto, which we made ourselves. Any combination of fresh herb pesto will work well, but tarragon gave it a really lovely flavour.

Note 3: We use fresh lasagna noodles sourced from a local pasta shop.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to high; add mushrooms and cook until tender, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mushroom mixture to bowl; set aside.

Add squash, broth, 3 tablespoons thyme, and 3 tablespoons sage to same skillet.

Cover and simmer over medium heat until squash is just tender, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix ricotta, goat cheese & pesto in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper; mix in eggs.

Make béchamel. Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in flour and mix until combined. Add cold milk and whisk, bringing to a simmer. Stir constantly until thickened and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Brush 13×9 inch glass or ceramic baking dish with oil. Spread one cup of the béchamel on the bottom of the pan. Arrange 3 noodles on top. Spread one half of the ricotta mixture over noodles. Arrange one half of the squash mixture over ricotta. Sprinkle with one half of the mushrooms. Spread remaining half of the béchamel. Top with 3 noodles, then remaining ricotta mixture, remaining squash and remaining mushrooms. Finish with a layer of noodles topped with béchamel and sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan on top. Cover with oiled foil.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bake lasagna, covered, 45 minutes. Uncover; bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Read all about it!

We are also carrying a Red Fife Sticky Toffee Bun with Irish Cream Glaze.  Get em while their hot!

Generally our lunch consists of food that we are making for our retail store.  We always sample everything we cook, and our lunch time gives us an opportunity to really dissect a meal and talk about how things might be improved.  Lunch time is also a great time to bond, and get to know the people we work with better.

Last fall we had a new employee join us to work in the ‘dish pit’.  Ameya is studying in Canada but was raised in India, by a mother who clearly knew how to raise a fine young man.  Not only is he kind, gentle, exceedingly polite, intelligent and a hard worker, but we discovered this week that he had other hidden talents.

In January I asked him if he could cook.  He said, ‘yes, I am a pretty good cook’. Hmmm….I thought that was a bold statement for a young man, so challenged him to cook a meal for the entire staff of 20.  He agreed and the menu planning began!

Since March 8 was the day that Hindus celebrate Holi  - a religious spring festival known as the festival of Colours, we thought it was a good time to enjoy an Indian Feast.

Although a tad nervous about what he had agreed to undertake, Ameya soldiered on, and with a bit of help from Maria presented his co-workers with the most amazing staff lunch EVER!

A rich, flavourful Mutter Paneer (above) was served with a creamy Prawn Curry, basmati rice with cardamom, and a fresh cucumber raita.  There was hand made roti, and a couple of flavourful bites – one filled with mutton and the other with mixed vegetables.  It was all quite spicy, which was nice for us as we always have to be careful not to make our food ‘too hot’ for our customers taste.

We are extremely proud of Ameya, and I believe we have the beginnings of a new Red Apron tradition.

International Women’s day was created to honour the accomplishments of women, while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done.  I  mark this day by acknowledging the amazing women I am privileged to work with.  Of our staff of 20 employees, 14 are women.  In an industry that is traditionally dominated by men, this ratio is un-heard of. All of the owners and managers at the Red Apron are women.  Ranging in age from 18 to 48, these women come from a variety of backgrounds. For most, this industry is their chosen career.  For some, they came to our business ‘on their way to something else’ and never left.  They all have a number of things in common:  they are intelligent beyond words; they are fearless, loyal & incredibly hard working; they are compassionate, caring & supportive of each other; they have formed friendships that I believe will last a lifetime; they inspire me to be a better person & I learn from them every day.  In celebration of International Women’s Day I ask you toast to the incredible women who cook your food. I can assure you that it was made with love.

New to our retail store we have added chocolates from Olivia Chocolatiers.  This Cantley based chocolate maker is dedicated to making only high percentage dark chocolate - a fine and nutritious superfood.  What attracted us to the product, aside from it’s local-ness, is the fact that their chocolate is made bean-to-bar from ethically traded, responsibly grown, certified organic, single-origin cocoa from the Caribbean Islands.  Using only Criollo and Trinitario varieties, which represent less than 10% of the world cocoa production, Olivia chooses to slow roast at lower temperatures to maintain the nutrient value and flavours of the raw bean.

In our retail store we are carrying the small 12 gram chocolates in four flavours:  86% raw, 76% Artisan Maple, 76% artisan and 86% Artisan.

But the really exciting part is that we are using the 76% Artisan Maple in some of our baked goods.  One of the great things about what we do is that by cooking seasonally, and constantly seeking out new suppliers and producers, we encourage our kitchen to experiment with new things all the time.  Our latest creation? The  Maple Chocolate Bun.  Organic flour, 76% Artisan Maple Chocolate, Alska Syrup and some Maple Sugar Flakes to finish it off!

This week we introduced Morelli Organic Pastas from Italy. We have three varieties in our retail store: Whole Wheat Ricciolina, Tacconi Pasta with Wheat Germ & 100% Spelt Tagliatelle. The Organic Corn variety is coming soon.

We had some fun in the store coming up with suggestions for serving this premium pasta:

Pasta Serving Ideas:

• Toss cooked Spelt Tagliatelle with chopped garlic lightly sautéed in Tuyya Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and garnish with Clarmell Goat Cheese & a dollop of Rootham’s Sundried Tomato Jelly

• Serve cooked Tacconi Wheat Germ Pasta with Red Apron’s Organic Shitake Mushroom Soup. Garnish with sliced breast of chicken.

• Serve Whole Wheat Ricciolina with Red Apron’s Roasted Vegetable & Lentil Soup. Garnish with crumbled Ermite Blue Cheese.

• Toss cooked Spelt Tagliatelle with caramelized onions & Maison Orphée Olive Oil, garnish with Finesse Boisée Wild Mushroom Tapenade & drizzle with warm cream.

• Bake cooked Tacconi Wheat Germ Pasta, sliced Les Fermes Valens Sausage & Red Apron’s Vegetarian Chili topped with shredded Ile aux Grues Cheddar.

• Toss cooked Whole Wheat Ricciolina with Huile de Canola Oil, a handful of fresh arugula and garnish with a generous dollop of Red Apron’s Ferme Piscicole des Bobines Smoked Trout Spread.

• Toss cooked Tacconi Wheat Germ with a sauté of onions, garlic & cream finished with Mrs. McGarrigles Classic Whole Grain Mustard. Garnish with grilled chicken or shrimp.

• Toss cooked Spelt Tagliatelle with Tuyya Extra Virgin Thyme & Bay Leaf Olive Oil, sprinkle on Aldergrove Mushroom Shitake Powder, garnish with grated Glengarry Big Brother cheese.

….the possibilities are endless.  Gift wrapped, these items make a lovely Hostess Gift!

To test out our theories, for lunch today Maria boiled up a bag of pasta, tossed it with butter & fresh herbs, and topped it with our daily soup – Roasted Vegetable & Lentil.  We didn’t even add the cheese!  It was lovely.  The pasta was tender & flavourful.  It was a hearty & healthy vegetarian meal.

I returned this weekend from a vacation.  One of the destinations along the way was Old San Juan.  I had been once before, and really enjoyed the Old Town.  The narrow cobblestone streets and old forts remind me so much of Montreal and Quebec City, but with with the added benefit of being in the Caribbean!

A friend of my son once commented that all of my vacation photos were of food.  Not people, not places, not art or architecture, but just food.  I thought her questions strange.  What else is there?

We began our food journey with breakfast.  We had read about this breakfast spot where they served a traditional Puerto Rican breakfast, diner style.  It reminded me of Schwartz’s in Montreal.  The waiters looked like they had worked there forever.  They did a few things, really well, and the equipment they used was ancient.  We were mesmerized by the juicer that transformed whole oranges (in one end ) into freshly squeezed juice (out the other end).  But their specialty was Mallorcas.

This danish like pastry was slit in half, dressed with ham and cheese (yes, cheese slices a la Kraft) and pressed in a panini style grill, then brushed with butter and sprinkled with icing sugar.  The filling options ranged from egg, bacon, ham, jam, you name it, but in every case it was sprinkled with icing sugar.  If someone had described this too me I would have found the thought of it quite revolting given my aversion to all things processed, but I have to admit that it was delicious, comforting, and a perfect accompaniment to my Café con leche.

The other specialty of Old San Juan is Tapas.  This stunning array featured cheeses and cured meats, mostly imported from Spain.

Like most of Spain, Old San Juan is abundant with Tapas bars where you can get ’small plates’ of everything.  Unlike Spain, these small plates tasted best with rum, and not wine.  Every trip I take I become more committed to a belief in the concept of terroir.  Wine in the Caribbean just doesn’t taste right.

We enjoyed some amazing dinners featuring lots of fish, but I have to admit that the best meal of the trip was at a restaurant called Marmalade, owned and operated by an American chef with considerable international experience.  I chose this restaurant because the reviews were outstanding, but I am always quite skeptical when a restaurant is reviewed so favourably.  The need to book a table 1-2 weeks in advance added to my skepticism.

Well I have to admit to being somewhat speechless.  The starter, their signature soup, a puree of white bean sounded quite boring.  It was outstanding.  The flavour was perfect, the garnishes (truffle oil, bacon ‘dust’, and green onions) were…..yum!  I settled in and prepared myself to be impressed.  Next course – house made gnocchi with braised beef short-rib ragu, cream, and crispy beets…..double yum!

The main course of locally caught red snapper crusted with peanut on a bed of basmati rice with a shrimp dumpling and coconut curry foam was like heaven in my mouth.  Each bite was perfect!

I was caught between heaven and hell.  I wanted to eat more but I was so full that I couldn’t eat another bite.  But like a true foodie, I soldiered on and finished the dessert.  Chocolate raspberry beignets with a chocolate-raspberry sauce.

I honestly can’t remember a meal that I have enjoyed more in the last couple of years.  And at $130 for 2 people, including cocktails and a glass of wine, I felt it was incredibly good value.

We had a nice chat with the Chef.  He explained that although his restaurant was incredibly well reviewed and popular, his challenge was that each night he hosted 120 diners, most of whom were first time customers, unlikely to return more than once every few years.  Being located in a high traffic tourist destination means that he does not have a core base of return customers.  This made me very appreciative of the fact that most of our client base are people who enjoy our food weekly.

This is a story that started last fall, when one of our favourite Organic Farmers – Aartje from the Pickle Patch – decided to try raising some Turkeys for Christmas.  As with all of her animals, these turkeys were pasture raised, and fed only organic grains and locally brewed Beau’s Beer by-products (hops and organic beer by-products).  By Christmas they were ready and I was fortunate enough to be able to get my hands on one.

It was the meatiest, tastiest turkey I have ever enjoyed, and we contacted Aartje in the New Year to find out if we could get  more of these big beautiful beasts.  Our vision?  Pies!

This week we have combined the organic turkey, with locally grown vegetables, cranberries from Upper Canada outside of Ottawa, and created a masterpiece!

This week is also important because our talented pastry chef – Megan – has made her 5000th pie since joining the Red Apron last May.  Since each pie is made completely from scratch, that’s a lot of pie dough!