Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

As I am writing this it is the last day of the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto.  I was lucky to be able to win a pass to go to the VIP Preview on the first night of the show on thursday night.  I planned on writing this post sooner but as usual other stuff gets in the way sometimes.

I went to the show after a very busy day about town and met up with my Food Partner in crime Mary who has a blog called Mary's Happy Belly.   So together we are Starving Happy Belly Foodie...  I have a feeling you may see this more often in the future.




We only had a couple of hours to whip through the show.  We got there just before 7pm and Mary needed to leave around 9 to catch her train and I was pretty exhausted by then anyway after my long day.   I was driving and don't drink beer or wine so I can whip through a show like that pretty quickly most of the time.  Although I didn't have to pay to get in I had to pay $20 for parking because I had my car because of my many stops during the day.  I recommend taking the TTC if you want to skip that cost and drink more.  I then purchased $20 worth of food and drink tickets.  Each item is between 1 - 6 tickets on average or about $1-$6.  I had a few left in the end because I wasn't sampling the beer or wine.  The only drink I had was the margaritas, lime and strawberry.

I did try some of the food though.  I was at another cocktail event before this show so I only had room for a few things that I wanted to try.

Mary and I shared an order of Butter Chicken Nachos.  Great idea and a great way to scoop up the sauce instead of rice.

I tried goat cheese stuffed marinated sweet peppers that were only 1 ticket and delicious.

I also tried a big hunk of delicious cheese but can't remember what it was called.  I think it was a Gouda maybe.  We missed the cheese tasting session.  Those are always great to try lots of cheese samples.


We tried jams and sauces and I tried a chocolate strawberry preserve and chatted with a woman named Louise who was interested in what we do when Mary mentioned that we were bloggers.  The preserves were delicious and Mary really liked the packaging.    There are a lot of jams and hot sauce vendors that go to many different shows but Louise was new to the shows and was so enthusiastic.

There were a couple of familiar vendors at the show that both Mary and I knew.  The crazy guys from MeNU were there having fun.  Mary had enough room to have one of their amazing Taco creations.  I never seem to have enough room at these shows but I love their food.   Also there was Fancy Franks Hot Dogs.  Probably a good idea to have one of their dogs before you start tearing through your drink tickets since it's one of the most substantial things at the show and will soak up all the alcohol so you can enjoy the show longer.

The only other thing I had was an oyster that was on a tray of samples going out to people watching an oyster demo.  We just happened to be standing at a table when they just came out and we grabbed the first samples.  I can't say it was great because it was just a plain oyster.  I really should have broke out the tabasco sauce I picked up at one of the booths and added a dash.  I was also drinking a strawberry Margarita at the time so it wasn't the best pairing.   Some lemon juice would have been nice too.  I am not a huge oyster fan so I need things to kick it up.

I forgot, I  did have one other drink.. a non alcoholic caesar that was at the Extreme Bean booth.  Now that had a nice warming kick but not too much.


And the only other food I remember trying was a Tuna Pintxos.  It was very good and a nice change from some of the usual things you find at these shows.

There were some other cool items that were non food or alcohol that I really liked.  One booth called Higher Ground had these really cool wine cork stools.  You could even print you logo on them.  What my eye was drawn to that I couldn't resist were little led lighted balls that were on a battery operated string.  I am a sucker for lighted things so I picked up a set of silver Moroccan style ones for $15.  I couldn't resist.  I know.. people don't go to these shows to buy stuff... but I am not an alcoholic I am a shopaholic.  There were also these creative metal wine bottle holders in festive designs like a snowman and Reindeer.  I didn't get one at the show but I happened to see one at the Ashley Warehouse sale and picked one up there.. can't decide if I will keep it for myself or give it as a Christmas gift.. will see on that one..

And besides the food and drinks and shopping there was some photo fun...  Mary and I got our Rockstar on and put on crazy hats and got into the Rockstar photo booth and got goofy.  

So all in all we had a lot of fun and saw some people we knew and ate and drank, shopped and snapped loads of photos.

What I like about the show is that you can try a lot of different wines and food all in one place.  What I didn't like was the cost of the show.  If you drive you have to pay for parking, entrance fee and food and drink tickets.  It adds up really fast.   But I don't think other people feel the same way because the show has been packed all weekend.

Unfortunately because I went on thursday I missed a couple of my favourite Chefs who were there on the weekend.  Chef Lynn Crawford who was there to promote the Culinary Challenge and Chef David Rocco who was there to promote his new line of wines.  I would have loved to see them both.

It's probably too late by the time you read this post to go... I wanted to write it earlier so you would have time to check it out... but maybe you can remember to visit it next year and bring lot's of cash, a designated driver and your appetite.

Well I wish I could tell you about what wines are great and what beers are the best I can't do that because I only cook with them I don't drink them.. so maybe I will get a guest blogger to write that for you one of these days.  You can check out Mary's blog but she didn't drink enough to give you a good review of them either..  But if you can recommend some to me then I will post them.  Check out David Rocco's La Dolce Vita wines at the LCBO now .. That I can recommend.

New Restaurant Opening - The Kathi Roll Express

I had the pleasure of attending a blogger tasting event at the newly opened teeny tiny little space called The Kathi Roll Express on Avenue Road just north of Lawrence Avenue.   This is the second location for the busy but enterprising Delhi, India native,  owner Sumit Kohli.   

After years of working in all sorts of desk jobs and travelling around the U.S. and the World always searching for food that he had when he lived in India and never finding the popular Kathi rolls that are common in Delhi, India so he decided to open his own restaurant in downtown Toronto and gave up his desk jobs for good.  His first location is located on Yonge Street in the middle of downtown Toronto.  It is a 32 seat restaurant that is licensed.  I visited his second and newest location a teeny tiny little take out spot located on Avenue Road in North York.  He said he chose the location because he would come from Milton and get off at Avenue road and drive downtown by taking Avenue Road and he always liked the area.  Although there is one Indian restaurant on Avenue Road it isn't a take out restaurant and isn't in the same style as this one.


When you walk into this location you are met with a lot of creativity on what seems to be a small budget.  The shop is painted a bright orange and there is a Bollywood poster on the wall and the tables are all painted in fun graphic illustrations.   The chandelier is made from colored milk crates.  It's so creative and fun.  

Now to the food we sampled the following:

Appetizers
Chat Papri & Pani Puri
Main Course
Kathi Rolls - Shami Kabab, Butter Chicken Tikka, Paneer Shaslik
Curry's - Paneer Lababdar, Dal Makhani and Lamb Rogan Josh
Sides - Naan
Dessert -  Milk Cake

My favourites among the tastes that we tried were the Butter Chicken Tikka Kathi Rolls, the Panneer Lababdar with the fresh Naan Bread that was so light and delicious.


The appetizers were very interesting and tasty too.   A crispy shell filled appetizer with tamarind and cilantro sauces over chick peas and a Indian Style nacho type of street food dish with potatoes, round crackers, the cilantro sauce and a bunch of other things added to it that I can't remember.

I also tried Goat for the first time and it was amazing.  It was very tender with a milder than expected flavour.


 We are all very full and shared a spoonful of the Milk Cake dessert just to try it.  It's a butterscotch flavoured dense cakey consistency.  Very nice flavour, sweet but not overpowering.

He also imports India soda that is a copy of North American sodas with different names.









And as a cute little added gift he sent us home with some very Indian inspired T-shirts. This is the one I got.

You can get Kathi Rolls, think of it as an Indian Burrito or wrap and an assortment of curries and appetizers but you can also get the raw skewered meat to take home and cook it up on your own BBQ or in your own kitchen and impress your friends with the scent of Delhi in your kitchen.
Now I need to go and check out the larger downtown location and see what that one is like, but I am happy that I am only one highway exit away from the Avenue Road location so when I feel like some Indian street food I can dash in at any time.

For more info you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @tkretoronto or check or
check out their website for their menu and addresses at www.thekathirollexpress.com

Top 10 Cookbooks for Christmas for Foodies

Top 10 Cookbooks for Foodies for Christmas



If you have a Foodie or Cookbook hoarder in your life like me then this list will help you figure out an easy gift to get them for Christmas or just because you love them.   Some of these are ones I have and love and some are ones that I want but they are all my favourite books or cookbook authors.

To make it even easier you can order them on Amazon and you don't even have to go to the mall.  Great for the lazy but thoughtful shopper. I know you are out there.


1.    
Ina Garten is the nice version of Martha Stewart.  She makes beautiful food and is a master of entertaining.  She is what I aspire to be and I want to be one of her friends so she can invite me to one of her dinner parties.


2.    
If you are looking for something different and Oh so Healthy, then this is the book for you.   Original and creative recipes.  This book is super popular for people looking to eat better food.


3.     
This book is the book that Chefs want and he has a huge reputation among insiders of the food world.


4.   
Even though I am a Food Revolution Ambassador I am recommending this book as it's the one that will make you drool while looking at every page and you will want to lick the photos.  Jamie makes it easy for you to make these recipes and home and I am sure it will be a go to cookbook year round.


5.   
Some of the best cooks reside in Toronto.  Get great recipes from them.  Since I live in Toronto I am kind of partial to our great chefs but if you ask any Chef from around the world they will tell you that we have some of the best chefs here.  Even master French Chef Alain Ducasse said that he probably will never open a restaurant here because there is too much competition.


6.    
I picked this one because I learned how to bake using my old Five Roses book.



7.  
I got to meet Tyler Florence at the Delicious Food Show recently and I was lucky to get an advanced copy of this book that he signed a week before it came out in the stores.  Tyler is an amazing Chef that decided to find some great Hacks to make things better and faster.  The one you will use this holiday season is his hack for making better Turkey in half the time.  He created all the recipes in a test kitchen above his restaurant and shot all the photos on an Ipad.  There are diagrams and amazing details in this book on how he got to these cooking hacks.  It's also bound in a cool notebook style book.  The male chefs in your life will love this one.  Tyler Florence is a Chef that women love and men want to hang with.  He is a super cool and smart guy and this book is one to keep in your library.


8.  
This is a beautiful book to buy even if you never get around to making anything from it.  It's from the creator of the Cronut craze.  A French baker with a tiny New York bakery that has people lined up around the block waiting to get a maximum of 2 cronuts per visit.  He trained in Paris and worked for notable chefs like Daniel Boloud.   I got to meet him at the Delicious Food Show on his first trip to Toronto and probably one of his first book signings from his fresh off the press cookbook.  He brought samples for his demo of one of his new creations and I can tell you it was delicious.  He is a sweet and humble man and has a passion for keeping things high quality and always thinking of new ideas to keep things fresh and delicious.  This book is a also a work of art.  The photography in this book is so beautiful that it would make a beautiful coffee table book even.


9.  
Are you planning on doing some baking for Holiday dinners or as food gifts for friends and family?  Then this is the book for you.   There's a recipe for marshmallows in this book that would make great christmas gifts to go along with Hot Chocolate drinks that everyone loves.
This book is by Rosie Daykin the owner of a little bake shop in Vancouver with a cult following.  The cover of this book is very retro with a nod to recipes of the past but still very modern.  It's a beautiful book and the recipes look so good that you want them to jump off the page and into your mouth.


10.    
And the last one was the hardest to choose because there were so many more I wanted to include.   I picked this one mostly because I just love Lynn Crawford.  She is one of the nicest and funniest Toronto Chefs who owns a great restaurant called Ruby Watchco in downtown Toronto.  If there is a charity she is there.  She has the biggest heart of any chef I have ever met.  She is also a regular on the Marilyn Denis show.  She has worked in huge hotels and beyond being the most fun chef she has also competed on those US network cooking competition shows and is also a judge on Chopped Canada.  She is everywhere and you want to be where ever she is and you want to eat her delicious food too.   Now you can make some of her favourite recipes in your own home.    This book was also nominated for a Taste Canada's book awards.

This list was compiled with people you might be familiar with and people you should know and books that are some of my favourites.   Your list might be different but these are some books you should check out if you haven't already.

How many cookbooks do you own?   I don't even know how many I have but all I know is that I don't have room on my bookshelves anymore.

And remember that buying a cookbook for someone is the gift that gives back to you when they share the fruits of their experimenting with these books with you.  Their cooking skills can only be improved from buying any one of these books and even if they cook just one recipe than I am sure it's one you will want to eat.

Happy cookbook shopping...