Food Revolution Ambassador October Monthly Challenge - Chowder & Grilled Cheese

As a Food Revolution Ambassador we are given monthly challenges by the Jamie Oliver Team but I haven't been very good at keeping up with them as there were a few that didn't really fit into what I do but  am going to try get better at keeping up with the monthly Food Revolution Ambassador monthly Challenges and for October I was able to do 2 of them and this is the result of them.

The Challenges were to make Jamie's Corn Chowder and to make something from leftovers so I made a Grilled Cheese with all the little bits of leftover stuff I had in the fridge.

First off the Corn Chowder, I used Jamie's Comfort Food Cookbook Recipe to start with, You can find it here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/corn-chowder/.


I then added a few of my own things to it like a bit of Smoked Paprika, some Garlic Croutons I had on hand and some chives and green onion for garnish.   I probably would have added a bit of bacon if I had some on hand.



Today I tackled the leftover challenge by accident I was watching someone make grilled cheese on television and I thought I should use up the dried bread I had on hand and I knew I had lots of cheese in the fridge and a few other things so it seemed like a good way to make breakfast and use up what I had before it got wasted... so the leftover challenge and no waste challenge in one.

I sliced up a very stale loaf of Sourdough bread and used the rest of the loaf to make bread crumbs so that I didn't have to waste the rest of it.

I went to an event the other night where there were two full tables of cheese.  I couldn't finish all the cheese I had on my plate so I took the rest home.  It was an assortment of little bits of very high quality cheeses.   I also had some red onion that I had finely sliced on a mandolin that was left over in the fridge and a bit of leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving.  I put it all together in a sandwich and even added a bit of fig jam to cut the cranberry tartness.   I did the typical thing of buttering the outside of the bread and fried it up.  I got a beautiful melding of a bunch of great cheeses like goat cheese, Morbier, and hard cheese.  It turned out to be a great combination that worked with the sweetness of the jam and cranberry sauce and the sweet red onion.   Voila,  kicked up gourmet leftover GRILLED CHEESE.   It's not a fancy dish but it does taste gourmet.

These two recipes together would probably make the perfect Fall/Winter lunch.   You might not be able to see the cheese oozing but it was melty in there and all you need to know is that the combination of a mix of cheeses plus leftover jam and onion mixed up makes a great grilled cheese sandwich.  

So GO FOR IT...  make some Grilled Cheese and Chowder and "Tuck In" as Jamie Oliver says.

9th Annual Chocolate Ball Gala a chocoholic's heaven

The 9th Annual Chocolate Ball was held at the Eglinton Grande Event Hall this past week on a night that saw a crazy rain storm that flooded the streets of Toronto again.  The timing of the start of the event  happened at the same time as the storm decided to go crazy leaving attendees of the gala to run like crazy to get into the event or to find a creative way of getting there around the flooded streets that were close to the venue.  But there were quiet a few including myself that made it out to the event for a night of Chocolate.  The theme of the event was TROPIC COCOA: A salute to movies, music and dance of the Tropics.

The Chocolate Ball is a Charity Event that benefits Prostate and Breast Cancer Initiatives.
The organizer is also responsible for the upcoming Luxury Chocolate Show at Roy Thompson Hall.

The Chocolate Ball is more of a Celebration of Chocolate and an over the top party complete with Hula  girls, photo booth, casino tables, caricatures and a silent auction.   Lots to see and be entertained by at this Gala and then there is the Chocolate.  Imagine tables around the room covered in all things chocolate.  I would have liked to see a few more savoury chocolate dishes but there were a couple of different kinds of tacos, some chocolate Ribs and a couscous salad I think.  I didn't try that one but I tried the Tacos and the Ribs which were delicious.   And then there was the rest of the room full of cakes, crepes, tarts, chocolates, candies, and anything that you could think of that was made of chocolate.  I tried as much as I could but you can only eat so much chocolate at one time before you go into a chocolate coma.   Some of the vendors that were there were Earl's Kitchen and Bar, Penthouse Catering, Crepe a Go Go, Personal Chef Solutions and Rasool's Charbroiled on the Savoury side and La Rocca Creative Cakes, Giddy Yoyo, Chocostyle, Xocai, M Thompson Chocolates to name a few.

The organizers did a great job of making the event fun and interactive and people were encouraged to hop on the dance floor and learn how to shake their hips with the Hula dancers.   A couple of the chefs got into the act even.

Here are a few photos I took at the event.  The lighting wasn't great for food pics but it was designed to make the room sparkle.

WIN a Grill Pro BBQ Smoker from Ontario Gas BBQ!

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED

BBQ SMOKER GIVEAWAY!

Are you a Grill Master?  

 Here's your chance to WIN this Amazing BBQ Smoker!

Ontario Gas BBQ (OGB) is giving away 5 Grill Pro Traditional Horizontal Offset Smokers! 

On Friday, October 10^th, 2014 to Saturday October 25^th, 2014

Join Duff & Ted's Up In Smoke Extravaganza 

Print out a ballot found on Ontario Gas Barbeque’s website Click here.

Fill it out and bring it to the store between 12:00PM and 12:30PM on Saturday, October 25^th, 2014.

Prize Details 

There are 5 Grill Pro Traditional Horizontal Offset Smokers (MSRP $199.99) up for grabs.

Draw Details

Date:  Saturday, October 25th, 2014

Time:  10:00AM-3:00PM

Location: Ontario Gas BBQ, 3310 Langstaff Road, Vaughan, ON L4K 4Z8

The 5 lucky winners will be drawn at the Ontario Gas BBQ Store. Ted Reader will draw names five times. The first draw will be at 12:30PM and the last at 2:30PM.

The draw will happen in the parking lot of Ontario Gas BBQ. 

Ted Reader’s Hoptimus Prime Fire truck will be there giving away FREE pulled pork sandwiches to the first 200 people who attend the event and donate a minimum of $5 to Camp Bucko – a camp for children who are burn survivors.

**Winners do not need to be present at the time of draw**

Ontario Gas Barbeque is a privately owned Canadian company and is currently the World’s Largest Barbecue Store. 2012 marked the 30th year Ontario Gas Barbeque has been serving the Canadian barbecue enthusiast. A large portion of the business is the distribution of original equipment parts for many major manufacturers across Canada, so they like to say "We know barbecues from the inside out."

They are not just "Gas". Ontario Gas BBQ displays and stocks well over 150 different barbecues... propane, natural gas, charcoal, electric, smokers, pits etc, etc.

 Ontario Gas BBQ is also the home of the great Charcoal Room, which is now larger than most of their competitors’ stores! This room features Charcoals of the World. They now stock over 10 brands of premium hardwood charcoal. No additives, no chemicals, no softwoods. On any given day they have charcoal from, Canada, United States, Mexico, South America, Africa and Indonesia.

Website: Ontario Gas BBQ

Twitter: @OntarioGasBBQ

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