Ufficio - Coastal Italian Inspired

UFFICIO Toronto - Inspired by Coastal Italy

What:  Dinner with Natalie (Cooking Quidnunc)

When:  December 30, 2016

Where: Ufficio Restaurant

Location: 1214 Dundas St. West

Toronto, ON

Tel. 416.535.8888

Email: Info@ufficiorestaurant.com

Website: http://ufficiorestaurant.com/

Social: @ufficiotoronto

I joined my blogger friend Natalie (Cooking Quidnunc) for a tasting dinner at Ufficio Restaurant translated in Italian to "office",  on Dundas West in Toronto's Little Portugal.  Ufficio has been open for about a year.  With a new Chef in the kitchen,  Francesco Venditti, formerly of Jamie's Italian Kitchen and Bar Buca,  has developed a new menu for Ufficio.

We got there just as they were getting ready to open, we usually like to go early for dinner before crowds of people.  We were greeted by John who directed us to a lovely blue booth next to the bar.

Ufficio is a really beautiful neighbourhood space that is very warm and cozy.  While the lighting isn't as food flattering in the evening it was very people flattering.   Ufficio is a Pescatarian sustainably sourced seafood inspired by the Italian coastal towns.  The recipes are Italian inspired and made with Canadian ingredients it's like an Italian transplanted in Canada missing home.

The first dish we tried was the Tuna Crudo with hazelnuts and celery leaves.  It was the Crudo del Giorno.  It was very light and fresh.

The blow your mind dish was the Gamberi Fritti ($16) a squid ink battered striped prawn over a spicy aioli with a dusting of sweet smoked paprika.  The smell of this dish and the look was incredible.  Hard to photograph because of the squid ink but hopefully you can get the picture.  Crunchy outside but tender shrimp outside with loads of smokey flavour.

The interesting dish of the night was the Arugula fettuccini ($33) with BC striped prawns and crab in a crab reduction.  Nice fresh pasta with a lighter touch than most pastas.

The dish we really wanted to finish but didn't have any more room for were these Brussel Sprouts.
This is one of their seasonal vegetables.  It was oven roasted and caramelized and drizzled with honey and parmesan cheese and hazelnuts.  A really interesting combination.  The honey takes away any bitterness in the Brussel sprouts.

The freshest tasting dish was the Zuppa Di Pesce Allabruzzese ($29)  In a sweet fresh tomato brodo laced with Mussels, Clams, Rainbow Trout and BC striped prawns.  The broth was amazing and light.

 John explained to us that they like to showcase their Digestif (Bitters) for after dinner along with or in place of dessert.  He gave us a sample of one of them.  They have an assortment and have a special deal to sample a selection of them.  This one had cinnamon and a few other things.  Natalie had never tried it before and I tried to explain what they were like but I think you have to try it to see for yourself.  It's not for everyone.  It's a bit like an alcoholic strong cough syrup.  It's very concentrated and you feel the warming through your digestive track after you take a swig.  It's meant to aid in digestion.

And to top if all off even though we were thoroughly stuffed we wanted to try one of the desserts to complete the meal and see what they have on their dessert selection.   We chose the Panna Cotta which was like a take on a Tiramisu.  With an espresso panna cotta topped with cocoa and a Marscapone quenel and biscuits on the side.  It was kind of like a jiggly creamy creme caramel, tiramisu, jello combination.   Close your eyes and taste it and it tastes exactly like Tiramisu.  A really great after dinner dessert if you want to skip the coffees.

The water you drink

Finding the Filter For You

In many homes, there is an unsung hero lurking in your fridge or on your faucet: the mighty water filter. We all assume these filters are doing their jobs and keeping our water clean, but are they? The team at Reviews.com recently spent six weeks analyzing 38 pitcher and faucet water filters to find which are most successful at removing contaminants and enhancing flavor. According to /www.reviews.com/water-filter, the best water filters are certified by a third party to remove most common pollutants, and are designed to make water safe — and satisfying — to drink.

They focused only on carbon pitcher and faucet-mounted filters since they are effective, have low up-front costs, and require little to no installation. In addition, each recommended filter is certified by third-party organizations to ensure that they really do what they claim on the packaging. Most brands have different models of their pitchers and faucet filters. With some brands, like Brita, the filters are exactly the same, but the pitcher is a different size, shape, or color. With other brands, like PUR, fancier products have fancier filters: an extra layer of minerals to add an even crisper taste. The evaluating team picked each brand’s flagship filter so they could compare the best against the best.

Ideally, a great water filter is one with long-lasting parts, that doesn’t leak from its top reservoir, and doesn’t feel flimsy or fragile. For faucet filters, sturdiness and signs of leakage are important, but they also took into account how easy they were to install and if they’d get in the way when washing a stack of dishes.

It’s also important to note that the up-front costs of a pitcher or faucet filter pale in comparison to the long-term costs of replacing those filters over and over and over: While faucet filters can remain effective for 100 to 200 gallons of water, most pitcher filters only last 40 gallons before they need to be replaced — and that’s only if you believe the marketing. If the owner of a typical water pitcher filter drank the recommended 12 cups of water per day and diligently replaced their pitcher filter every 40 gallons, they’d be buying about seven replacement filters per year. That number goes up the more people you have in your household, and up even more if you replace the filters more often than recommended.

Ultimately, the team at Reviews.com chose the Mavea Elemaris as their top pick for pitcher filter. It stood out for its thoughtful design, as well as Mavea’s filter recycling program. This pitcher has a plastic resin filter that works in conjunction with carbon, so it’s effective (without pre-soaking!) but not as eco-friendly. To compensate, you can drop your used filters off at a store, or stock up a sack of six, request a pre-paid shipping label, and mail them off to their second life.

For faucet filters, the PUR Ultimate Horizonal Water Filter was their top design. It has “one-click” installation technology — all you have to do is hold down a couple buttons on the side of the unit, press it up to your faucet, let go, and the faucet mounts nice and tight. It’s definitely bulky, but they offer a metal adapter attachment for customers who have any issues. As well as a 30-day money-back satisfaction guarantee. It’s easy to install and filters out pretty much everything you’d want gone, so it’s worth a shot.

Here’s a fun fact for you: your carbon filter might very well be burnt coconut shells. The carbon material in your filter is oftentimes the burnt charcoal remains of a natural substance, like coconut shells. Carbon under a microscope looks like a big sponge, and that’s exactly how it functions during water filtration: It absorbs organic materials. When water passes through this carbon material — either by gravity (pitcher filters) or through water pressure (faucet filters) — pollutants are bound to the carbon, thereby keeping them away from your water.

At the end of the day, it’s easy to take water for granted — but it’s just as easy to use a filter and make sure your H2O is clean and tasty. Learn what contaminants are in your drinking water, and then find a filter with certifications to make sure it will do the job it claims to do.

***Article provided by Reviews.com

The year in review and the future

NEW YEAR'S EVE LATKES

I thought it might be a good idea to review the past year and look to the future in this post.

I am looking to these Rostii/Latkes as a recipe that can be used for Hannukah, Brunch or for a New Year's appetizer.

The recipe following the post.

As for the review of the year.  It's currently post Christmas but still in the week of Hanukkah when people usually use this time to reflect on the year and look to the coming year.

Since I don't have family to share the Holidays with I had a lot of time to reflect on the past year and think about how I want my future to look.

This past year has been very challenging.  I have struggled with my health a bit to do all the things I wanted to do.  I have had to let things and people go and adjust to what my reality is now.   At the end of November I fell at a subway station and as a result I couldn't lift my arm for about 2 weeks and had neck and hip pains along with it.  It was super busy for cooking demands with potlucks and other blogging opportunities.  I had to pass up one of the opportunities because I just didn't have the physical ability to do it.  I really wanted to do some baking and struggled to do what I could.  I managed to get a bunch of things done and had help with one of my baking assignments.  Now I am feeling a bit better and thinking about what I want 2017 to look like.  I have been so busy working a temp job that is ending in a couple of weeks and trying to keep up with events and now I have to focus on building my blog to generate income and look for more work in 2017.  I want to find work that gives me enough income and still have flexibility to work on my blog.   Going forward I thought it was time for tiny makeover of my blog. I worked on a logo/header redesign and cleaned up a few things.  Hope you like it.   My intention this coming year is to work with more brands and to be more creative in the kitchen and try and experiment a bit more.  I want to have more balance with events and work in the kitchen this year.

I want to spend more time in my kitchen and control what I am eating.  Eating out proves to be difficult for me sometimes with the heavy amount of sodium and processed foods that are presented.

I hope to eat simpler food like these quick rostii/latkes.  They are more rostii than latke but it works.

I hope you join me and try some of the recipes I will now include in the new page I created.   I am also hoping to do some contests this year, something I have only done a few times.

So here's to a bigger and better year with lot's of great food and opportunities.

As for the RECIPE here it is:

NEW YEAR'S EVE Rostii/ Latkes

Ingredients:

Rostii

1 large Russet potato

Canola oil

Butter

Salt Pepper

Garnish

Smoked Salmon

Fresh Dill or chives

Sauce:  

Sour Cream

Horseradish

Dill

Directions:

Peel at least 1 russet potato and grate on a box grater on the large grate side.  Do it quickly.

You can pat it dry with a paper towel but you don't have to add anything else.  Just work quickly before the potatoes turn brown.

In a medium frying pan heat up a tablespoon of oil and add a small amount of butter about a teaspoon for flavour.  When the butter is melted add a spoonful of the grated potato and pat down to a small rounded mound of potatoes.  It's easier to make them small to flip them.

Flip them using a spatula when you see the sides start to get brown.  Continue to cook until both sides are brown and crispy.  Before you flip them you can add salt and pepper.  Remove and place on a paper towel lined tray until they are all done.

If you want to make a lot for a party I would suggest just grating a potato at a time so they don't get brown.  You can only cook them in small batches anyway.  This method skips the straining and adding flour or eggs that you would normally add but you still get nice crispy potatoes.

You can make ahead and keep heated in a low oven.   At the last minute garnish with smoked salmon and a make the sauce using a small container of sour cream and a tablespoon of grated horseradish and add a tsp. of dill or chives.  

Place the smoked salmon on top of the latke and then add a tsp of the sour cream sauce on top and then top with fresh dill or chives.

That's pretty much it.  It just take a bit of time to cook the potatoes but it's pretty easy and few ingredients.

One large russet potato is about 2 servings.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you ALL and may all your food wishes and dreams come true in 2017.