Chef's Secrets

Your Weekend Delicious Idea for March 25

2011-03-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

What do Mitch and Cameron have to do with this weekend's Delicious Idea?

Well, if you saw the Modern Family episode 'Two Monkeys and a Panda' a few weeks ago you might be able to guess what this week's recipe is about. It went something like this:

Mitch: "You'll never believe what the new broccoli is. Kale!"

Cam: "Kale? Kale's a garnish. It's not ready to anchor a meal!!"

Mitch: "I kno-o-o-w....!"

Cam: "Well, I guess we need to ADOPT (clap clap) a new attitude toward kale!"

(It's funnier in person .... seriously, watch it).

But back to Kale. A fantastic food that doesn't make chefs like me have to choose between healthy and tasty. As it's a bit tougher than other leaves, it's usually used in soups and stir fries rather than salads, but here's a great way to serve this nutrient-packed vegetable as a snack.

Roasted Kale

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Trim your kale (try folding in half first, and get rid of stalk)

Toss with a really good extra virgin olive oil and sea salt

Lay out on a cookie sheet and bake for about 7-10 minutes each side.

You'll know you're done when it goes a little brown and crispy.

GREAT alternative to chips and your body will love you for it.

Now back to Modern Family ......

Your weekend Delicious Idea from Food Fusions

2011-03-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite weekend pasttimes at the moment is visiting the Winter Farmer's Market on the Plaza of Nat Bailey Stadium (Ontario and 30th).

Open every Saturday from 10am until 2pm until April 30th, the Market is full of friendly vendors selling fantastic fare - to indulge in on-site or take home.

A few of my favourites are Bean Boys for their tangy humouses, the Wild Jam man with lovely jams from Williams Lake, B.C., Creperie La Boheme for delicious crepes - sweet or savory, and the Thai Princess. There are also a number of vendors who sell a huge variety of wild mushrooms. Following is an easy way to use wild mushrooms to jazz up your weekend brunching. For more on the Farmer's Market visit http://www.eatlocal.org/

Scrambled Eggs and Wild Mushrooms

Here's an easy way to Michelin-star your Sunday scramble.

Beat your (organic, free range) eggs with a little bit of whipping cream. Pour into a small non-stick pot over a teaspoon or so of butter, and stir occasionally (but not so much they break into little pieces) on a low heat.

At the same time, fry off your wild mushrooms with rock salt or sea salt and organic olive oil.

Get yourself a stainless steel chef's circle and put it in the middle of your plate. When the eggs are cooked, press them firmly into the chef's circle, and gently remove. Lay your mushrooms around the outside of the eggs, and dribble Louisiana hot sauce over eggs and shrooms.

Add your favourite toast (mine is currently whole wheat sourdough) and there you have it - a cheffed-up scramble to start your Sunday.

And don't worry too much about the butter and cream - there's still plenty of time to jog the seawall before the weekend's over.

Enjoy!

Cooking with Halloumi

2011-02-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

After a long hiatus, a wintry comfort recipe to make it through this rainy week.

Nothing better to beat the winter blues than grilled cheese. And no cheese better to grill than Halloumi. Grilled (or even pan fried) and served with a lemon dressing and steamed asparagus, it's a delicious, substantial cheese.

Another great way to serve Halloumi is as a stuffing for grilled peppers.

Ingredients:

4 large peppers - I prefer red or orange

250 g halloumi, cut into cubes

50g cous cous

300g chopped marinated olives, mushrooms, or artichoke hearts (or a combination of all)

100 ml veggie stock

Directions:

I rarely measure ingredients exactly, but these measurements will be a good starting point and should let you stuff four large peppers. But get stuck in there, and adjust to suit your own tastebuds!

Cut the peppers in halves through the stocks. Scoop out seeds and discard. Lay the peppers on a baking sheet and drizzle with a good virgin olive oil, then bake for 20 minutes or so on 250 degrees C until tender.

To make your cous cous, you can either cover (in a bowl) with the warm vegetable stock, or cold fruit juice. Let stand for 15-20 minutes (covered tightly with saran wrap), and fluff up.

Stuff peppers with your halloumi and olive mixture, and put them back in the oven for 15 minutes or until the halloumi has begun to melt. Delicious!

Makes a great main course for your vegetarian friends, but also delicious enough that everyone will love them.

Enjoy!

Get your tastebuds ready for Christmas!

2009-11-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

"Silver and Gold, Silver and Gold."

Think back - wayyyy back for some of us - and you can almost hear the snowman narrator in Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer singing.

The words, of course, mean more than just the object of Yukon Cornelius' desire (yes, we watch a lot of Christmas specials at our house). They also refer to dear friends both new (silver) and old (gold).

My Christmas catering menu this year features many silver and gold dishes. Traditional favourites, classics with a twist, and more modern yuletide treats. For example:

Star-shaped parmesan shortbread with goat's cheese and sweet onion chutney

Baked brie en croute with cranberries

Devil's on horseback (bacon wrapped figs with stilton)

Crab and celery remoulade

Pumpkin, red onion and spinach salad

Orange, pistachio and sage turkey breast

Old fashioned pecan pie

In the Christmas spirit yet? Just book Food Fusions for your Christmas party, meeting or event (big or small, corporate or personal) - and all this could be finding its way to your plate and palate very soon!

A harvest of pumpkins and apples

2009-10-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

From the Pumpkin Patch to the Apple Festival on a crisp October day in Vancouver - what a great way to spend a Sunday.

Although I adore summer with its farmers' markets full of wonderful local fruit, I can't help looking forward to this fantastic time of year, and all the delicious dishes I can make from our personal harvest of pumpkins and apples.

If you're off to the pumpkin patch too this year (even if it's the 'patch' at your local grocer's) pick up an extra pumpkin or two and try making some simple but fabulous Roasted Pumpkin Salad.

De-shell and de-seed your pumpkin. Chop it into thick pieces. Roast your pumpkin pieces off with olive oil and a little salt & pepper for about 20 minutes, and then allow them to cool. Next, just bind your pumpkin chunks gently with fresh spinach, balsamic, olive oil and a bit of sugar. Top off with some crumbled goats' cheese and lemon zest - and presto! You have a healthy but wonderful dish to enjoy on its own, or alongside grilled chicken. And it's so simple - you can carve a few Jack O'Lanterns while you're at it!

Now that you've had such a healthy main dish, you deserve a little indulgence. And this recipe from Epicurious for a Pumpkin Creme Brulee will certainly provide that! (But don't panic about the 20 egg yolks - this recipe makes creme brulee for 14 people so you can always cut it back).

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Creme-Brulee-15534

Enjoy your pumpkins and maybe your visit to the Patch. But don't forget your boots!

Richard

Save the Great English Pie

2009-09-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

Waitrose Food Illustrated is launching a campaign to save the culinary favourite of Englishmen around the world - the Pie.

See http://www.waitrose.com/food/celebritiesandarticles/cookingandrecipeideas/2009/October/pies.aspx

Misguided health experts are worried about the amount of pastry and fat the average person consumes. Too true, but not on my watch! As WFI guest-writer Tamisin Day-Lewis points out, there's as much fat in a slice of buttered toast as in a modest slice of delicious savory pie.

So let's get on board, folks. Turn up your oven, grab some fantastic fresh veggies, herbs - or Sunday roast leftovers (ah, Sunday roast ....), grab a rolling pin, and get pie-ing. It is nowhere NEAR as difficult as you think.

From savory to sweet, from Bramley Apple with Blackberries, to Steak and Mushroom. You'll find 15 fantastic recipes here courtesy of Waitrose. Enjoy!

Culinary delights from the Winter Farmers' Market

2009-02-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

I love buying local and organic, especially when it's delicious, and sold by folks as passionate about smart, tasty food as those at the Vancouver Winter Farmer's Market (http://www.eatlocal.org/).

We came home on Saturday with all the fixings for a gourmet Valentine's dinner centred around a delicious sablefish (black cod) which you couldn't spoil if you tried your hardest. We added a delicious cheese & garlic loaf, some delightful cheeses from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks (http://www.cheeseworks.ca/), a chocolate creme brulee, and a bottle of sparkling wine - and enjoyed a gorgeous Valentine's dinner for under $50. Add a dash of smugness about escaping taxi fares, and the night was priceless.

I heartily recommend the next Winter Farmer's Market being held on February 28th at Wise Hall (Victoria and Adanac). Here are a few of the other vendors we loved: Pacific Rim Mushrooms (http://www.pacrimmushrooms.com/), Ridgecrest Dairy (http://www.ridgecrestdairies.com/), TwoBie Creek Herb Farm (http://www.twobiecreek.com/) and Bean Boy Creations (amazing chipotle humous).

Enjoy, and help save the planet while you do!

Take me skiing!

2009-01-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but last time I ordered take out at Whistler I was seriously disappointed.

It took us an hour to find a place that was delivering, and we had to settle for our third choice.

When it came, it was horrible. I kid you not, the chow mein was Ichiban noodles. A nice reminder of college, perhaps, but not exactly what we and our guests were looking for.

At the other end of the spectrum, it's great that Rik's and the other fancy Whistler restaurants deliver. But when you're up there for a week, you don't always want to spend that much money every single night. But - neither do you always want to cook.

That experience is why I've launched my Apres Ski Meals service this year. For the past two years, I've been kitting friends out with a collection of fresh and frozen meals for their ski retreats. Fresh to eat the first night they arrive, and frozen to serve the rest of the week.

They've loved the meals because they can dine in with restaurant style, while not spending extra money on a babysitter as they head out to the expensive, ski-resort restaurants.

So this year, I have a range of items on the menu - just check out http://www.foodfusions.biz/, and get in touch if you're interested!

Happy - and safe - skiing this year!

Richard

A Taste of Christmas

2008-11-10T22:10:00.000-08:00

Join Food Fusions as we celebrate the Season with a tasting of our 2008 Christmas menus.

We'll be co-hosting a Tasting party with Vancouver's loveliest online boutique, Lavish and Lime (http://www.lavishandlime.com/).

As well as gorgeous Food Fusions treats, Lavish will showcase their Christmas collection, and we'll splash out with a special selection of this year's favourite wines.

If you're interested in raising a glass to celebrate the start of the Merry season - and joining us for a taste of Christmas' best dining and shopping - just get in touch (richard@foodfusions.biz or 604.767.1580.)

In the meantime, check out my new Christmas menus on www.foodfusions.biz - and of course, don't hesitate to call or email to book your own Christmas party.

Here's to a great winter and a very merry holiday season to everyone!

Entertaining in earth-friendly style

2008-11-10T21:58:00.000-08:00

In another example that we don't have to choose between the economy and the environment, here's an idea to make your Christmas catering (and all entertaining) more earth-friendly.

Forget about those toxic, plastic disposable dishes. Just shop Frog File, a Vancouver-based recycled office-supply company I've become a recent fan of.

Frog File carries 100% biodegradable dishes and cutlery, with fantastic prices. Dishes start from just $3.19 for packages of 50. They're made from natural, post-harvested non-GMO farming plant discard called Bagasse. They take both hot and cold food, and are oven friendly. They won't poison you with toxins, unlike petroleum-based plastic plates. And most importantly of all - my food will look great on them!

Visit http://www.frogfile.ca/ for your dishes, and http://www.foodfusions.biz/ to load them up.

Happy Christmas planning - don't forget to book your caterer today!

Chef Richard Ford

Food Fusions Catering
http://www.foodfusions.biz/

Apple Season is here

2008-10-02T21:42:00.001-07:00

It's Apple Season in B.C., and we can all make the most of this delicious bounty with some fantastic appeal treats.

My favourites?

Apple chips - just apples and a bit of sugar, popped in the oven for 2 hours, and delicious!

A glass of hot apple cider on a crisp October day.

Apple, raisin and orange chutney, slathered on a strong blue cheese.

Celebrate apple season at UBC's 18th Annual Apple Festival. We had a fabulous time last year sampling from the 50 varieties of apple, watching the Longest Peel contest, sipping said cider, and munching on the world's best candied apples (hint: skor bar!)

See http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/ for detail.

The humble, oft-forgotten apple. Delicious. Fantastic for our health, and our teeth. An apple a day keeps the doctor AND the dentist away.

Enjoy! And of course, get in touch if you need private or corporate catering of any kind.

Richard

Beautiful B.C. Blueberries

2008-09-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

It's time to fill your freezer with gorgeous British Columbia blueberries! The local Farmers' Markets are full of them, and I've just ordered enough to keep my family (and clients!) in blueberries all winter long.

In an effort to reduce the amount of fruit that has to travel thousands of miles to get here, we can all enjoy local B.C. produce twelve months a year. And blueberries are one of the best fruits for freezing. Here's how:

Many people don't realize how easy blueberries are to freeze. I buy them by the 10-pound box, and put them straight in the freezer still in the box. The trick to freezing is not to wash them before you freeze - wash when you defrost.

Here are 8 ideas to brighten your mid-winter days with some blueberry treats:

1. Thaw, wash and serve with a simple dollop of yoghurt (or ice cream) - blueberries are healthy, delicious, and there are plenty of organic ones on offer around Vancouver right now.

2. Add them to granola and yoghurt for a fantastic breakfast.

3. Throw them into your blender with bananas to make a fantastic smoothie.

4. Pour them into - or on top of - Saturday morning pancakes.

5. Make pots of blueberry jam for some great winter comfort food.

6. On a healthier note, use blueberries to lighten up a spinach or lettuce salad.

7. Add to muffins along with carrots, bran and cinnamon.

8. Drop a small handful of blueberries into your glass of bubbly and toast Christmas, the new year, or simply a special Friday night.

I hope you enjoy these "blue" ideas right through the year. And I hope I can work with you to make your events, parties, or corporate functions a success right the way through the year, too!

Cheers,