Canadian Beef Brand Ambassador

I have been selected to be a Brand Ambassador for Canadian Beef! As one of 10 Ambassadors from Canadian Beef I will be writing about beef at least once a month from July 2012 to July 2013.

Chef John Placko’s 48-hour bavette with parsley gel mash, seared asparagus and spicy crisp onion strings

Chef John Placko’s 48-hour bavette with parsley gel mash, seared asparagus and spicy crisp onion strings

When Chef John Placko agreed to send in a recipe for Chefs #LoveCDNbeef I was eager to see what fun new food science techniques he would have for me to try.  He didn’t disappoint with this recipe that is wonderful to eat and fun to make without being labour-intensive. I got to do some sous vide (long-slow boil-in-a-bag), gelification (changing liquid into solid, bouncy jiggly solids), as well as doing some mashing  (great for getting frustration out) and deep-frying (just damned tasty). Of course, when I initially read the recipe and saw 48-hour sous vide I couldn’t stop laughing imagining…

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Chef John Placko in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

Chef John Placko in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

The first time I met John he was using a reverse griddle and the second time he let me make ice cream with liquid nitrogen. The way to this girl’s heart is through food, especially if it’s science experiment food! I love this guy! Chef John Placko is one of the first people I think of when discussing  molecular cuisine.  John’s food is all kinds of sciency fun incorporating manyof the techniques you’ve come to expect from an episode of Top Chef and at the same time it’s flavourful, healthy and clean.  Something you don’t get when Chefs are so…

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Chef Carl Heinrich’s Station Burger with Pommes Kennedy

Chef Carl Heinrich’s Station Burger with Pommes Kennedy

I wasn’t quite sure what was coming when Carl said he’d be sharing the recipe for Station Burger and Pommes Kennedy.  We had talked about doing a recipe that would push me, and maybe you, to try something new in the kitchen and on the plate.  But I didn’t expect that making a burger with potatoes would do that.  I could not have been more wrong. The core of this burger is stuffed with braised beef which has been combined with a glaze made from the stock it was cooked in, then formed into a torchon. The torchon solidifies overnight…

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Chef Carl Heinrich in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

Chef Carl Heinrich in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

I am delighted to announce that Chef Carl Heinrich is the next chef in our Chefs #LoveCDNBeef series.  Carl is Chef and co-owner of Richmond Station, winner of Top Chef Canada and co-owner of West Side Beef Co. Before I had tasted his food, before I had met him, even before his win on Top Chef Canada, I had been hearing about Carl.  One thing that kept coming up, especially since I’m working with Canadian Beef, was the quality of the beef Carl uses at Richmond Station and the relationship he has with the  farmers who raise it. Carl’s team…

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My First Torchon

My First Torchon

Rolled my first torchon last night as part of the next Chefs #LoveCDNBeef recipe.  I don’t normally pre-blog about these, but I was so excited to try this technique I couldn’t resist showing off my success. With only 2 hands to work with, and a filling that was less torchon and more just a wet beef filling, I had to work fast as I rolled it up. I found these kitchen clips to be a much much faster solution to “tying up the ends”. I was a little concerned about the wetness of the filling, (though I’ll tell you more…

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West Side Beef Co Pickup

West Side Beef Co Pickup

Today I picked up my first order from West Side Beef Co. The meat looks amazing and there is a great variety in the order that I can’t wait to start cooking with! For a set $150, our order contained: ribeyes filet skirt steak stew beef sausages hamburger inside round roast short ribs top sirloin shank stock and tallow. It was fun talking to Kurt about each cut in the order and how they can be used too. I’ll be back, likely sooner rather than later! West Side Beef Co. also provides locally sourced pork and chicken orders designed for…

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T-fal and the Hot Spot

T-fal and the Hot Spot

You’d think that I knew how to cook with all my posts on recipes and food. Small things like having a professional cook for a father, growing up working in restaurant kitchens and working as a camp cook at 15 would lead you to believe I know my way around cookware.  And yet the T-fal Sensorielle pan  had me completely confuddled. As part of the Canadian Beef Brand Ambassadorship, each of the Ambassadors received a wonderful non-stick T-fal pan with Thermo-spot Technology, and a batch of Hamburger Helpers.  This was to be a part of our Big Batch Beef experimentation…

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Chef Ilona Daniel’s Korean-Style Braised Beef Cheeks with Kim Chi Pancake

Chef Ilona Daniel’s Korean-Style Braised Beef Cheeks with Kim Chi Pancake

As I mentioned when I introduced you to Chef Ilona Daniel, I’ve been eagerly awaiting her dish since August. When it arrived I couldn’t wait to start cooking. The finished dish was fantastic.  A great introduction to the flavours of Korean cuisine and wonderful for those of us who know and love them. While we are very comfortable with the flavours and most of the techniques in Ilona’s dish, I was pretty nervous about making it right.  This was the first time we had a guest, Zach Bussey, coming over for the meal (more on that below), and I wanted…

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Chef Ilona Daniel in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

Chef Ilona Daniel in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

When I started considering chefs for Chefs #LoveCDNBeef I was hoping to including a Chefs from each of the Maritime provinces.  Since there’s only one Canadian Beef Ambassador east of Ontario, I kind of felt it was my duty to represent the Martimes too. So I turned to my buddy Rob Hyndman to ask about Chefs in PEI. Since Rob knows food and often regales me with the quality of PEI beef, I was sure he’d know who I should consider.  Rob immediately responded with an introduction to Chef Ilona Daniel. “Ilona is awesome and is the Lieutenant Governor’s chef,…

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Chef Rossy Earle’s Ropa Vieja

Chef Rossy Earle’s Ropa Vieja

January's recipe in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef is Chef Rossy Earle's Ropa Vieja. Her Panamanian-style Braised Shredded Beef is rich, flavourful, meaty & versatile, Serve with rice for dinner, in tacos, sandwich fillings, or with tortillas & eggs for breakfast.

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Chef Rossy Earle in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

Chef Rossy Earle in Chefs #LoveCDNBeef

Given Chef Rossy Earle’s easy touch with beef, it wasn’t a hard to know she’d make a great addition to the Chefs #LoveCDNBeef series. When she agreed to participate I started to salivate in anticipation of what dish she’s share with us. I met Rossy at the first Food Truck Eats event a couple of summers ago. We have a lot of friends and connections in common, but I was still unprepared for this passionate, gregarious, focused Chef to embrace me and start introducing me to her food. Traditional Panamanian and Latin dishes, flavours and techniques with an easy sophistication.…

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Chef Jonathan Korecki’s Pan-roasted Ribeye w/ Wild Mushrooms, Blistered Kale, Lime-Pickled Shallots #LoveCDNBeef

Chef Jonathan Korecki’s Pan-roasted Ribeye w/ Wild Mushrooms, Blistered Kale, Lime-Pickled Shallots #LoveCDNBeef

December’s Chefs #LoveCDNBeef recipe from Chef Jonny Korecki is perfect for a New Year’s Eve feast. When I prepared it, I actually fussed way more than was necessary.  Turns out it is easy to make, flavourful, and quick to prepare.  On top of that it presents beautifully.  I’m looking forward to making this again soon. A couple of quick notes before you get into the recipe: this was the first recipe with an ingredient I didn’t know and couldn’t find – stalk fresh green peppercorns.  Jonny suggested I could try a Thai-grocery and/or T&T. No luck in either. Luckily it…

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