Valentines Day

February 2012

Love may be in the air, but it’s also in the Red Apron Kitchen this February.  Pre-order your Valentine’s dinner for 2 and pick it up in our retail store on February 14 between 2pm and 6pm.  For a detailed menu, follow the link:

valentines 2012

If you are looking for a special gift, drop into our retail store and select from our assortment of local treats and we will wrap it up for your Sweetheart with a big red ribbon!

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Taste of the Glebe

January 2012

For what we believe is the 5th year, we participated last week in the Taste of the Glebe.  This annual event features food business from the Glebe and surrounding area, local micro breweries, and mostly Ontario wines.  Attendees pay $45 and get to stuff themselves silly with great grub, with proceeds benefiting the Glebe Community Centre.

Billed as a cocktail party, if you don’t leave this event full, then you weren’t trying.

We served our very popular Organic Shitake Mushroom Soup made with locally grown organic shitake mushrooms from Aldergrove Farm.  This is our regular Thursday soup on our lunch menu and has developed a very loyal following.  We accompanied that with our Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Smoked Cheddar, Apples & Caramelized Onion from our Wednesday lunch menu.  This addictive combination is pressed on our panini until the cheese is gooey and the Art-is-In buttermilk multigrain bread is crispy.

There were many other delectable treats to be enjoyed that night, but the highlight for me was the charcuterie display presented by a newcomer to Ottawa’s food scene -Seed to Sausage.  Located in Sharbot Lake, they are producing the most spectacular cured meats that rival anything you can get in Montreal or dare I say Barcelona?  My favourites were the cured duck breast & the copa.

The ever forward thinking supporter of all food local, Glebe Grocery Guru Jim McKeen of Metro has jumped on this product and is selling it out of the deli case.

We hope to be able to feature some of their products as ingredients in our Weekly Dinner Service meals and on future ‘Special Event’ Menus.

Another annual highlight is the food & entertainment trio at the Pelican fishery booth.  Jim, Paul and Noam always put on a good show served up with succulent smoked salmon on pumpernickel with sour cream & dill.

The Second Avenue Sweets display of delicious goodies is always favourite of mine, and this year I particularly enjoyed a nibble of her flourless chocolate cake which has the density of a brownie or torte.

A great event and we look forward to next year!

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Moustache Day!

January 2012

We had been asked by the Winterlude organizers to participate in ‘A Taste of Winterlude’ this year and we had concocted a fun filled day of hearty lumberjack fare for the end of the month.  Unfortunately, with just over a week until the event, Winterlude had not delivered on the booked seats, so with much disappointment we made the decision to cancel the event this week.

So to cheer ourselves up, we dug out the moustaches we had been saving for that event and wore them around the shop for a few hours.  It did the trick.  After much giggling and photo taking, we were back to our joyful selves.

We are taking all that fine food we had ordered up for this event, including the whole organic pig ordered from the Pickle Patch, and turning it into hearty winter meals that will be available in our retail store throughout the two weeks of Winterlude.

Also, each Friday & Saturday through Winterlude (February 3/4, 10/11 & 17/18) we will be serving up hot bowls of Vegetarian Chili between 11am & 2pm in our retail store at 564 Gladstone.

Drop in and warm up, or else I’ll have to send this one after you.

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‘Twas the Day Before Christmas

December 24, 2011

Twas the day before Christmas
and all through the kitchen
all the food was disappearin’
and Jo-Ann was a bitchin’

The customers were coming
from far and away
hoping to buy what they needed
to put on the table Christmas day

Jennifer stood in the retail
and had such a fright
food flying from fridges
this couldn’t be right

Reliable Michael
couldn’t help but chime
the amount of food to prep
felt like doing hard time

Justine and Aiofe
they couldn’t understand
line ups of customers everywhere
just couldn’t have been
planned

Julie R. to the rescue
with her easy disposition
she was ready to talk them
all into submission

Megan stood in her corner
looking rightfully sour
boxes full of tourtière
her hair full of flour

Ivana tended lunch
harried and stressed
soup tureen empty
many sandwiches to be pressed

Julie H. offered to help
“I’ll work extra hours”
She quickly realized
It was no bed of flowers

Jayda worked hard
Always in a good mood
She toiled all day
to fill orders for food

Baby Robin and Sascha
were packaging with delight
if they didn’t hurry up
we would be there all night

Jo and Jen were yelling
‘the fridges are empty
you have to keep cooking
so there will be plenty’

Maria and Big Robin
were cooking full speed
multitasking like maniacs
they both took the lead

In back of the dish-pit
the suds were a flowing
Chris and Steven were at it
there was no sign of slowing

The pans were stacked high
With food coated slime
Ameya and Eric shocked
at the amount of thick grime

Morgan looked on
his face was quite stark
he took this job thinking
it would be a walk in the park

2 O’clock Christmas Eve
there was a wonderful sound
the doors had been locked
no customers around

Crack open the bubbly
lets all have a treat
our Red Apron Team
just Cannot be Beat

Have a wonderful Holiday
we wish you good cheer
lots of rest & relaxation
See you all in the New Year!

Jennifer & Jo-Ann

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Cookie Baking 2011

For the third year in a row at the Red Apron we have revived an age old tradition – the Christmas Cookie Exchange.  The concept is simple:  gather your friends and family, bake your favourite cookie recipe, and everyone takes home a sampling of each.

These events can sometimes be compared to sale day at Filenes Basement, with participants kicking, punching, and elbowing their way to the best goods.  But ours was quite civilized, although it did include mulled wine and spiked apple cider!

Our staff work hard to put great food on the table for our clients and this time of year is especially busy.  It doesn’t always leave us a lot of time to do our own preparations for the holiday season. So a few Sundays ago we gathered to bake.

Many pounds of butter, chocolate and flour later – we went home to stuff our cupboards and freezers with a selection of tasty treats.

Here are some of our favourite recipes!

Chocolate ‘Freezer’ Cookies

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or shredded coconut

Whisk together flour, cocoa and salt.  In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar then add eggs and stir in.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Form dough into a log, roll in crushed candy cane or coconut and freeze until ready to use.  When ready to bake, thaw log slightly and cut into 1/4″ rounds. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, or until edges are set and centres are still a bit soft.

Justine thought these cookies would make the perfect base for an ice cream sandwich using Pascale’s Egg Nog ice cream!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Base
10 regular size chocolate chip cookies (you can make them from scratch)
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling

3 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

Topping

4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup (you could substitute honey or maple syrup)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (we used cocoa camino chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 325.  Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper.  In a food processor turn the chocolate chip cookies into crumbs then add melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are wet.  Pat into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Beat together the butter, peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.  Beat in all the sugar.  The mixture will be stiff.  Pat this mixture on top of the base and place in the fridge.

Combine the chocolate, butter and syrup in a metal bowl over simmering water and stir until melted.  Pour over the top of your pan and smooth. Refrigerate until firm and slice into bars.

Sugar Cookies

2/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
½ tsp orange zest
½ tsp vanilla
1 egg
4 tsp milk
2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar orange zest and vanilla until pale yellow. Add egg and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the milk.  In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter and sugar mixture and mix until well combined.

Divide the dough in two. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in cling-film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Grease a cookie sheet. Remove one disk from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to approx 1/8 inch thick. Cut out desired shapes (I used trees that were around 4-inches.) Place cutouts on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges. Allow to cool, then decorate with Royal Icing (recipe below.)

Royal Icing

1 egg white
2 cups icing sugar
juice of one lemon
1-2 tsp water
food colouring (optional)

In a small pot, bring an inch or so of water to a simmer. Place a small bowl over the pot and add egg white. Beat egg white until stiff but not dry.  Remove from heat and add icing sugar and lemon juice, beating until well combined. The icing should be slightly runny so that when you drop a spoonful back into the bowl it melds with the rest easily with only a slight resistance. If your icing is too thick, add one teaspoon of water at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Add food colouring if desired, mixing well. Fill a pastry bag with icing and pipe on cookies to decorate, starting by outlining the cookie and then filling it in. The icing should run together to fill in the gaps. Use different coloured icings to make patterns.

Allow to dry for 2 hours before storing cookies.

Gingerbread Cake

We served this cake with poached cherries & whipped cream

Bring ¼ lb butter and 1 cup molasses to boil in a small saucepan.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Whisk 1 cup sour cream and 2 teaspoons orange zest together in a small bowl.

Sift the following dry ingredients into a large bowl.

2 ½ cups flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons dry ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon salt

Whisk together the cooled molasses mixture with the sour cream mixture.  Add this to the sifted dry ingredients along with 1/3 cups diced crystallized ginger and ½ cup diced dried figs.  Stir only until all dry ingredients are moistened – do not overmix.

Pour into greased loaf pans and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Truffles

450 grams of good quality dark chocolate, chopped (we used cocoa Camino)
300 ml of whipping cream
100 grams of butter
100 grams of chopped candied ginger
100 grams of grated fresh ginger

Coating

200 grams of the same chocolate, melted in a double boiler

Place chocolate ingredients in a metal bowl.  Melt cream and butter and bring to a simmer and add fresh ginger.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes to infuse.  Re-heat and add to chopped chocolate.  Stir with a spatula, being careful not to mix in any air.  When the mixture is smooth, fold in the candied ginger.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.  Remove from fridge and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter using your hands.  Lay on baking sheet covered in parchment.  Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.  Dip truffles in melted chocolate to coat using a fork and place on clean parchment.  Decorate with a piece of candied ginger.

We made three kinds of truffles – Ginger, Orange and Tia Maria.  It’s pretty simple to change the flavour by replacing the ginger with grated orange peel and reduced orange juice, or some Kahlua.

Ginger Cookie

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces)
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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