Things to do: Meet Chef Michael Smith. CHECK!

I have so many food creations that I did over the last month that I want to blog about, but that is going to be put aside for the moment so that I can instead tell you about one of the most exciting days of my life!

I have been working with a food specialist/stylist for the last few weeks and in addition to working on recipes I got to see the media side to her job. We arrived at the A Channel for 6:30am and I helped set up for two segments, both for Dairy Farmers Canada. I set up a cheese plate and helped with last minute prep things. I had to sit in the audience during the filming, but if you happened to catch it you do see me lurking in the background! Anyway, that was loads of fun. I decided then that I love tv.

Our next journey was to Rogers TV, where Chef Michael Smith of Chef At Home Food Network fame was doing a segment on seafood and talking about the P.E.I appreciation that is happening in a lot of Ottawa restaurants. I didn't do any of the set up for that, but I did get to meet him! And I got to meet the hosts of Rogers TV, Derick and Terrilynn (I'm so sure that I'm spelling her name wrong...). I watched the taping and got to take pictures during it. Michael Smith is the most down to earth man ever. So calm, so gracious - a fantastic and inspiring man. I wish I could have had the chance to talk to him, but everything was happening so fast that I blinked and it was over!

I lovelovelove tv studios. I love cameras, I love film crews. Perhaps someday I'll pursue a career in tv or film, but for now this food styling thing is really quite neat. The woman who did the set up has such an eye for elegant simplicity.

Michael Smith and I. To give you an indication of his tallness I am 5'6, and he is slouching down a bit.

P.E.I. potato vodka. Smelled divine but unfortunately I didn't get to try any.

Oyster dressing - pickled red onions and dill. So simple and delicious.

The shucker was made specially for him.

A very VERY large oyster was unveiled here.

I got to eat this oyster after ;). They're my favourite.

I have so many more photos from this day so these are just the highlights. I was on such a high for the rest of the day. Even though I ended up passing out at 9pm (I had been up since 5am) it was such an overwhelming but fantastic day.

The coming months are going to be very transitional for me, job wise, and I'm doing my best to just go along for the ride and not continually second guess myself. I know that by not having to bake every single day I will begin to appreciate it again. Hopefully I'll also be able to get more sleep and rid myself of these awful sugar cravings and skin problems that I've been having. I'm also hoping that I will have more time to pursue my other interests and develop those more - music, art, and sewing. I'd really like to have an Etsy shop set up by the end of the summer, and I also need to produce another piece of music. I'm aiming for another string quartet, just to get the ball rolling again. I also need to practice more art so that I push forward and finally get to painting, but charcoal is hard!

Anyway, I'm digressing! Next post will have raw cheesecakes (yes, I did it!), lots of chocolate cakes, and new recipe lemons that get turned into lemonade!

Restaurant Review: Le Saint O

Photo Credit: Le Saint-O website

Ottawa is full of fantastic restaurants. Granted, we do not have as many as Toronto or Montreal, we still do really well in our medium-sized city. There are names that are automatically associated with Ottawa - Beckta, Fraser, Play, Stella, Murray Street... the list goes on. One restaurant that stands out amongst these is not located downtown, nor is it located in an area that you would think it would do well in - the corner of St. Laurent and Hemlock near Manor Park (right opposite the Dairy Queen... yes you Ottawa people know which one I'm talking about!).

Specifying in traditional French cuisine, Le Saint-O has been around since 1990, and I've been going there with my family since around 2002. It has never failed to disappoint me and is one of the main reasons I am so interested in food and went to cooking school in the first place. It is run by Natasha and Phillipe, a husband and wife team - Natasha is the host and Phillipe the chef. Natasha always welcomes you with a smile and such genuine pleasure to have you at the restaurant that you know you will be treated well that evening.

The whole dining experience is as if I was transported to France for a fraction of the cost! The music, the ambiance, the French staff, the food, it's all perfectly put together. The decor isn't modern but it's cozy and intimate. As for the food? Don't expect any modern adaptations here. There are no fusions, no molecular gastronomy experiments, just straight forward, honest French cuisine. It's heightened versions of dishes I learned about in school, which of course involves cream cream cream, butter, more cream, reduced stocks and foie gras.

The last time I ate at Le Saint-O was for my 3rd anniversary with my honey, Ryan, on March 18. Before I go on, if you read the New Edinburgh News at all there is usually a coupon for 15% your meal on Tuesdays to Thursdays (I believe, check out the coupon to be sure). We both got the Table-D'Hote which, for between $34-40, you get either a soup or salad, main course, and dessert with tea or coffee. Pretty fantastic deal!

For the main course, while the salads are delicious, you must, and I say MUST go for the soup. It is their signature dish because it is two soups placed side-by-side. I wish I had a photo to share but alas at the time I didn't want to interrupt the other patron's meal with an obnoxious flash. I've had great combinations in the past, one in particular that stands out was the onion and raspberry soup. You would think that these two ingredients would not be a good pair, but my mind was changed as soon as I tried it! The soups that I had that evening were beet...... Mind blowing, as usual.

Ryan and I bought an extra appetizer of escargot with blue cheese, chardonnay, fig and honey crostini and chive oil bruschetta. Despite all the rich ingredients it did not leave us feeling heavy and regretting the meal to come. The blue cheese was subtle, and it gave the escargots a break from their typical garlic butter sauce. I could have use more of the fig and honey crostini, but I can be greedy! The chive oil bruschetta was light and fresh. The whole plate was devoured in 5 minutes.

Four our main course Ryan had their surf and turf which is a half leg of Mariposa Farm Duck Confit and Jumbo Black Tiger Prawn, with a Juniper Berry, Maple and Veal Stock sauce. We have both had duck confit in the past and are huge fans of this, but people, get thee to Saint-O immediately should you have a confit craving. It was the perfect level of both crispy outside, but juicy, fall of the bone meat on the inside. The shrimp was enormous and rich. Every dish comes accompanied with a veggie patty that seems to be mainly comprised of root vegetables, and it was just the right size so as not to be overwhelmed.

My dish (one of the specials) was cornish hen stuffed with veal and filled with... oh goodness, my memory is failing me! I remember it being scented with rosemary and thyme. This sounds rich, and it was, but there was just enough to feel comfortably full, not overwhelmingly so. The herbs were so fragant and didn't overpower the wonderful meat at all.

If you're going for the first time I highly recommend the sweetbreads. It is a signature appetizer and main course. Just make sure you don't load up on equally rich appetizers/mains as these little guys are very filling! I had to take some home in a doggy bag and instead of the regular styrofoam box I was presented with a tinfoil swan that contained the remainders of my meal.

For dessert I had their trio of creme brulees, again another signature of theirs. If I can remember correctly this time I had lychee, mango, and rum raisin. In past I have had basil and that one was fantastic. Never too sweet, perfect silky texture, and always a wonderfully thick burnt sugar topping that gives me great glee when I crack it with a spoon. Ryan had their house made ice cream, which had pistachio in it. There is nothing like home made ice cream!

This is a long and fan-girl like review, I realize. So let me break it down what you should have if you go to Le Saint-O for the first time:

Appetizer: The Soup Duo and, if you're a hungry hungry hippo, the sweetbreads as well
Main: Sweetbreads (if you haven't had them already as an appetizer), Surf 'n' Turf, or one of the Specials
Dessert: Trio of Creme Brulees

This is definitely a special occasion restaurant, even the lunches are indulgent with mains ranging from $11-$26. The wine selection is vast and if you have trouble picking just one, Natasha is full of knowledge and will point you in the right direction. Also, the bread basket is filled with warm rolls and to die for garlic bread - try not to eat the whole basket! As I've mentioned before, you need your hunger about you. I usually eat a very light lunch, or none at all, so that I can walk out without the feeling of having a food baby in my stomach.

The wait for food is well timed, the atmosphere cozy and unpretentious, and the service is consistently welcoming and knowledgeable. This is one of my favourite restaurants in Ottawa and I hope it could become one of your favourites as well.

Raw food and a special birthday!

Well, Easter is finally over, phew! And one would think that things would calm down at work, wrong! We've been fairly busy still, especially since we took on an event that Jane Goodall is hosting! That was a pretty exciting event to prep for.

This week's schedule has been a little weird for me - I have a three day weekend, work Wednesday-Friday, get Saturday off, and then work Sunday. Not sure how next week's schedule will, but I'm getting a little frustrated at the lack of consistency. Slip ups and egos are also littering the work environment, and I hope that will subside soon.

Anyway, here is a little raw concoction that I whipped up one day! Raw spaghetti, which I found here. I wish I had a spiral cutter, as that would have made life so much easier! I tried cutting the zucchini in my pasta cutter... no dice. So I had to do each individual one. A bore, but worth it! I also didn't make the meat balls, so I made more of a "meat sauce". It was delicious! Even my boyfriend, who usually scoffs at my raw adventures, enjoyed it! I felt very satisfied and "clean" after eating this. You know how some food can make you feel bogged down and gross? I just felt really good.

This past Saturday was my boyfriend's birthday! I made him carrot cake with cream cheese icing, but I wanted to decorate it in a way that would make it really personal and awesome for him. So I found this cake and used it as my inspiration. Joy Division is his favourite band, so how could I not do it? I really wanted to make a bagpipe cake (that's his instrument), but maybe next year.

Happy Birthday, Ryan! <3

We stayed in and had a few friends over, and let's just say we had a bit too much fun! We felt a little under the weather the next day, so we wanted something comforting and light. We ended up making a glorious clean-out-the-fridge soup that had chicken, spinach, onion, carrot, peppers, mushrooms, and a little red curry paste and lime to give it some kick. Perfect!

Here is a tart that I made for my old work - they wanted something with strawberries, but that was light. I made a white chocolate mousse tart with strawberries as the garnish, which were brushed with a strawberry and lemon glaze.

I made a post a few weeks ago about the tragic death of the fiance of the girl who's bridal shower cake I was making. Here is the cake in its almost finished state. I only needed to draw on the Metallica logo on the shirt and paint the face.

I really would have loved to have finished the cake and given it to Jaimen. I'm still so saddened by what happened. I'm sure her loved ones are really looking out for her.

Anyway, stayed tune because next time I'm going to make Raw Orange Chocolate "Cheesecake"!

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend, and for you Ottawa dwellers the uncharacteristically warm weather! The fact that I already have tan lines and freckles fills me with great joy. This past week has been hellish and although I love Easter, I'll be glad to see the back of it! Long, LONG days and little sleep does not a happy Jenn make. I'm hoping for a bit more normalcy this coming week. I get a day off on Wednesday to make up for the fact that I had to work on Friday, yay!

I've made tons of goodies, both at home and at work, so I'd like to share them with you!

First off we have my easter cupcakes - chocolate with vanilla buttercream. The nests were made out of kataifi dough and we had jelly bean eggs to go on top.

The cookie section at the front

Macarons with white chocolate ganache

Me (looking sweaty and tired, please ignore) with the cookies that I sold to one of my best customers!

My Easter dinner - lamb leg with lemon and rosemary, potatoes roasted in the lamb pan, baked cauliflowers with raisins, and breaded parmesan asparagus. So good!

I unfortunately didn't get to do the Easter egg hunt this year - my uncle claimed he is "too old" for it! :( However, when my family came by to see the apartment my mum sneakily hid little chocolate eggs all over the place! I've found 4/10 so far! Today I took the shortest trip to Kingston in history to have dinner with my boyfriend's family, where we had more traditional fare such as ham, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing and... turkey!? It smelled like Christmas but felt like Summer - what a juxtaposition. Tasty nonetheless!

I'm excited to be getting new business cards soon! I have a very talented friend who has done up one prototype so far and it's fantastic! Hopefully I can sway her into doing my website and blog layout, but one step at a time ;)!

Want to impress at a dinner party? Make this Lemon Meringue Tart!

I don't know what the weather is doing outside of Eastern Ontario, but it's sure a confusing time over here! We have summer weather before it's officially spring, and then when March 21st rolls around the temperatures drop to Winter ones and before you know it we're trading in our dresses and sandals for scarves and gloves! However, the weather is supposed to improve this coming week in Ottawa, and it's about time the weather apologized to us!

I love Spring. It marks the end of yet another winter, flowers start popping up, the weather improves by a few degrees each week, and people emerge from their cocoons and take advantage of the outdoors again. Spring baking is also loads of fun - the flavours are fresher, brighter and lighter in taste. Soon we won't have to deal with chemically pumped berries but ones that are in season and therefore at their natural best. Fruit filled desserts are a treat for the eye as well as the taste buds.

What I'm going to divulge today is my go-to recipe for Lemon Meringue Tart. Although delicious all year round, it just has a proper place in Spring and Summer. It's pretty easy to do, and to die for! You'll never want to buy it from the grocery store again!

Here are the various components that are in it:

- Lemon infused sweet dough

- Almond Cream

- Lemon curd

- Italian Meringue

Sweet Dough

200g flour

100g butter (at room temperature)

70g icing sugar

3 egg yolks

4ml milk

1 lemon, for zest

Pinch of salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F. Grease pie shell generously. Use one that is preferably with a removable bottom.

2. Sift icing sugar and add lemon zest and salt to it.

3. Sift flour, set aside.

4. Separate eggs - save the white for the meringue.

5. In stand-up mixer or with hand mixer cream butter until fluffy, scraping the bowl from time to time. Add icing sugar mix and beat until all is well incorporated.

6. Add yolks one at a time making sure each has been mixed in well before adding the next.

7. Add flour and beat only until everything is mixed well - don't over mix!

8. Flatten into a round and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for 20-30 minutes, or until a little stiffer but not so hard that it can't be rolled out.

9. When dough is ready, flour your work surface and roll around dough, rotating it constantly so that all sides are of equal thickness. Dough should be no thinner than 1/4" thick. It's the right size when you place tart shell in the middle of it and you can fit 2-3 fingers on each side on the remaining dough.

10. Roll on to pin and lay into tart shell going backwards. Push dough into bottom, roll over the top with the rolling pin to remove excess dough. Pull the edges up slightly at a 90 degree angle and remove the excess with the back of a small knife. Place in fridge for 10 minutes.

Mis-en-placing (as my pastry supervisor calls it)! Clockwise, from top: Almond cream, butter, yolks, flour, naked lemon, and zesty icing sugar. Sorry there is no picture from the rolling out of the dough, that probably would have been a little helpful. D:

Almond Cream

60g icing sugar

60g butter

60g almond powder

6g flour

1 egg

1. Melt butter. Add all the dry ingredients, mix well and then add the egg. Pour into tart shell, spreading all around with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

2. Place tart shell on baking tray and put in oven. Rotate after 10 minutes. Tart and almond cream are ready when the crust and cream are slightly golden and the cream looks slightly spongey. It will firm up when it cools.

Lemon Curd

2 lemons, juiced

1 lemon, for zesting

100g sugar

100g butter

2 eggs

1. Zest lemon into sugar. Juice the lemons and strain to remove any pulp and seeds.

2. In a medium saucepan add the zesty sugar, lemon juice and the eggs.

3. Over medium heat continuously whisk until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly.

4. Remove pan from heat and add butter, whisking to dissolve it. Pour into another bowl and set aside.

5. Once cool, add to tart shell. Chill in fridge until solid.

Italian Meringue

(This can get a little tricky, so I'll do my best to explain it)

120g egg whites (about 4, and at room temperature... cold whites seem to not want to whip as well)

240g sugar

80g water

Slivered almonds

This recipe has been doubled because I always find that I'm out of meringue before I cover the whole tart, and I also can't get enough of its marshmallowey texture!

1. In mixer add whites and beat gently so that it foams, about at 2-5 setting.

2. In a small sauce pan add the sugar and water. On high heat get the sugar and water boiling. When it starts to boil run a wet pastry brush above where the sugary water is to prevent crystallization. Up the speed on the whites. You may have to lift the bowl up so the whisk touches the bottom and thus whips all the whites, not just the top.

3. Get a bowl of cold ice water (I'll get into this in a minute), or a candy thermometre. The temperature we are looking for is at 120C/240F. This is 'soft ball stage'. The sugary water will boil furiously for a bit, but it gets close when the bubbles aren't as fast.

4. If you are brave and want to get up and close with the sugar, here is what you do - when you start to see the bubbles slow down, with one hand tip the pot towards you, and dip the fingers of the other hand into the ice water. Quickly dip your cold fingers into the sugar, pulling some out and dunking your fingers and the sugar immediately into the water. When the sugar firms up and you can roll a ball and squish it, it's ready. Or you can use a thermometre, but I don't trust those things!

5. The whites should be almost at firm peaks at this point. With the mixer still running, slowly pour the sugar down the side of the bowl. If sugar strands get caught on the sides, that's ok!

6. Put the mixer on the highest setting and let it go for about 5 minutes. It will double in volume and it will be ready when you feel the bottom of the bowl and it's at body temperature. It will also stand up on its own and look like a bird beak (see photo below!).

7. With a funky pastry tip (I use the St. Honoree one from school) pipe the meringue and sprinkle some slivered almonds on top.

8. With the oven at 450F, put the tart on a baking tray and leave it in there just until the meringue and almonds have browned a little bit. No one wants burned meringue, but having it just slightly caramelized is divine!

Foamy whites!

This step looks silly but hell hath no fury like sugar crystallizing! It's like a domino effect!

The bubbles are starting to slow down. They become larger and fewer as a result.

Soft ball - it's not that scary to play with sugar!

Pour the sugar flush to the side of the bowl is ideal (I was taking this action shot so I was a little off balance), because when it's at this high speed the air from the whisking will shoot the sugar everywhere!

The meringue doubles in volume as it cools.

This is the 'big bird', as one of my school chefs would call it.

Piped meringue, pre-toasted.

You'll be worshipped for this tart, I kid you not. It's lovely for any occasion and the almond cream adds a wonderfully indulgent quality to it.

Happy baking! I'm having a unusually (but wonderful) bake-free weekend. I love what I do but sometimes taking a break helps me recharge my batteries and not become burnt out from too much baking. This upcoming week at work will be very insane as we are preparing for Easter and we have a million catering events. So far my only personal commission has been for cookies, which I love. Decorating cookies is very zen for me right now and I love figuring out what designs I'm going to do!