Halloween is officially over and that means it's time for winter holidays!! Show us what your winter holiday of choice means to you! 

​Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice...whatever it is, whatever food or meal (or other, more esoteric interpretation) represents that holiday to you...reinterpret, represent, and/or reimagine in your assigned dish. 
​
When:  Saturday November 16th, 6pm
Where: Chez MC Christine

Hors D'oeurve: sous chef Dallas
Appetizer 1: sous chef Dean
Appetizer 2: sous chef Vanessa
Soup/Salad: sous chef Leah
Main: Master Chef Christine
Dessert: sous chef Amy

On the night of the first US Open win by a Canadian (yahoo!),  we came together to celebrate the cool and groovy 1960s! 

Guest Chef Abe started the evening with 'The trip begins',  a selection of intense tastes presented in capsules... including dehydrated tomato sauce,   powdered green smoothy,  and dusty mix cheese.  The 'pills' were accompanied by a line of dehydrated feta (served with a straw) and a rolled filo (joint) filled with basil pesto,  all washed down with a purple haze cocktail with cassis and cranberry.  Bold start to the evening. 

Pulling ideas from the White Album,  Sous Chef Vanessa provided us with three tiers of tasty cheese balls (blue, herbed, and spicy), incrusted with nuts and pretzels and presented on beet blinis (oh so U.S.S.R.).  Her cocktail was inspired by Ambrosia salad, with custom ice cubes of fruit salad and marshmallows.   Very fun!   The chefs also spent some time working on their own tie-dyed napkin designs,  to enjoy later on in the meal.  

Next we moved to the table for some suburban dip,  a cheese fondue presented in Sous Chef Christine's MIL vintage fondue set #legit .  The chefs dipped bread, broccoli, apples, olives, tomatoes, sliced meats, and (vegetarian) meatballs into the delicious boozy cheesy dip.  To compliment the fondue,  SC Christine create a cocktail based on the same white wine and kirsch, with a few dried cherries to pull it all together.

Always a flexible group,  we adjusted the menu so we could enjoy Sous Chef Deans tie-dyed soup without delay.   Composed of three soup purees (potato leek,  butternut squash, and spinach),  the beautiful dish was garnished with cubes of lemony apples. Everyone cleaned their bowls!  To carry on the colourful theme,  SC Dean made us beautiful Groovy (tequila) sunrises.

Next up,  the always inventive Sous Chef Amy presented us with Flower Power,  a dish full of floral elements with custom cheeses and jellies.  The chefs were free to experiment with their own flavour combinations,  selecting a cheese (rose, chive and sichuan pepper labneth; honey goat cheese with lavender jelly, and sharp cheddar half moons  in thyme chamomile jelly) and a cracker (homemade cheese crackers, butter saltines, and gluten free chia crackers). Continuing with floral flavours,  we sipped some 'Make love not war' jasmine martini,  a combination of jasmine tea, orange blossom, and gin.

For the main dish,  Master Chef Leah looked to the Beatles, hippy cuisine, and the art of french cooking for ideas.   Oat flour crepes were stuffed with a collection of local vegetables,  served with an old cheddar sauce and tomato peach salsa.  In honour of the fab four's favourite sandwich,  the crepes were topped with fried quail eggs.  To start the bra burner drink,  chopped peaches were flambéed in brandy and then mixed with white wine and elderflower soda.

Last but not least, Sous Chef Dallas went back to the USSR and created blueberry stuffed pirogies with a blueberry sour cream sauce. If that wasn't enough, SC Dallas also made homemade dulce de leche (so good!) to fill wafer sandwiches - a deliciously light way to end the meal.   We sipped on her cold boozy coffee,  as the meal wrapped up and we started to plan our next event. 

Next up Master Chef Christine!   
Theme and date to be decided. 

​Until then!        

Let’s party like it’s the 1960s!

From the rise of casual clothes and the genius of the Beatles, to women’s liberation, there is so much to celebrate and inspire!
 
Pick a song, a dish, a civil movement and start cooking! 

Amuse Bouche: Guest Chef Abe
Hors D: Sous Chef Vanessa
Appetizer 1: Sous Chef Christine
Appetizer 2: Sous Chef Amy
Soup/Salad: Sous Chef Dean
Main: Master Chef Leah
Dessert: Sous Chef Dallas
​

Master Chef Dean lead us through an evening of mystery, starting with a seemingly blank menu... We'll never know how the chefs interpreted the themes in clusters, as half the dishes themselves were a mystery and the other half of the dishes were inspired by a mystery.

The evening started with a murder!  The chefs had to eat their guesses in the gourmet version of the game of clue, and wash it all down with a (Mrs.) White Russian.   Sous Chef Leah tickled taste buds with some Professor Plum breadsticks,  Mr. Green Goddess dressing, Mrs. Blue thai chicken and a smear of Col. (Dijon) mustard. 

The first appetizer by Sous Chef Dallas was an act of deception.....of empanadas.  Would you or would you not get one stuffed with cheese..... only one way to find out.  How she made the homemade horchata, we'll never know, but so delicious.  Next up,  Sous Chef Christine surprised the crowd with a secret variety of Cornish pasties, with a mystery of fillings and flavours and washed down with a random selection of beer. 

Sous Chef Amy went all in, and produced a salad murder scene, in honour of Sherlock Homes.  The scene included marinated beet cubes,  goat cheese tahini evidence trail,  spicy candied walnut brains and a balsamic dressing heroin-needle dose.   The murder scene was complimented by the cocktail Pipe Dream, with smoky 12 year old scotch , lapsang-tea infused vodka and ginger syrup. 

The chefs were delighted by Master Chef Dean's ravioli misteriosi, homemade fresh pasta with four different surprise fillings, including triple cheese, butternut squash, spinach with dill, and mushrooms and caramelized onions. The drink was a true mystery, as we expected a darkness potion but instead enjoyed Kotsifali wine recently brought back from Crete. : )

The evening of mystery was solved with a suite of sweet poisons.  The sous chefs enjoyed sipping some sparkling cyanid,  while indulging in a bitter almond homemade macaroon,  and deliciously rich white chocolate almond cheesecake. Sous chef Vanessa made posion taste so good! 

Next up, Master Chef Leah....

Uncover the clues to reveal deliciousness with the theme of MYSTERY! 

206 Queen Elizabeth Drive, apt. 1
May 25th at 6pm 

Send your mysterious menu item to Master Chef Dean by May 23.  

Dish Assignment
Hors D: SC Leah
Appetizer: SC Dallas
Appetizer: SC Christine
Soup/Salad: SC Amy
Main: MC Dean
Dessert: SC Vanessa​

What a cosy evening! Chub Chub!  Thank heavens for stretchy pants.  

Master chef Vanessa (and her roommate Vanessa) made such  cosy spot for our supper,  with a lots of leggings,  blankets, and a lovely fireplace running in the background. 

The evening began with Guest Chef Vanessa, and her amuse bouche of spinach pakoras with homemade mint sauce and mango chutney.  So tasty, in particular the two sauces.  We washed it all down with a dark and stormy (my personal favourite cocktail). 

Next was Sous Chef Amy,  who feels perhaps a bit constrainted by the hors d'oeuvres course,  serve up pigs in a blanket four ways with three different sauces. There was a classic piggy (sausage wrapped in biscuit),   crack-of-dawn piggy (breakfast version of sausage wrapped in french toast), and caliente piggy (a jalapeños version).  The most surprising of the four was the vegetarian option carotene piggy (carrot in a blanket, which was made to taste like a hot dog.  and it did!).   The refreshing glass of model beer with lime  helped balance the richness. 

The appetizer by Sous Chef Leah was centred around individual cheese fondues, a classic meal to end a long ski or winter hike.   The baked fondues were served with a variety of dipping options, including roasted mini potatoes,  sliced apples,  baguette and thyme roasted pork.      A riesling sparkling cider spritzer was served along side. 

Sous Chef Dallas lighten the meal with a touch of summer - a cold soup of fennel and leek, with a variety of chopped fresh herbs and fried haloumi croutons.  Truly delish,  might be one of SC Dallas best dishes to date.   The chilled soup was served with a dry white wine.  

For the main meal,  Master Chef Vanessa blew our cosy socks off with taco's filled with super flavourful barbacoa beef (!) and a vegetarian option of roasted cauliflower.  The handmade corn tortillas and fillings brought it all together.  The taco's were served with a cocktail inspired by mexican hot chocolate, with a hint of cinnamon. 

To wrap up the meal,  Sous Chef Christine served a delicious upside down pineapple cake with an almond meal cake and coconut milk ice cream.   The cocktail was based on the Bushwacker,  with a lovely creamy chocolate flavour.  I would have had seconds, had i any room left in my stomach. 

What a delicious cosy meal from start to finish.   Take that winter!!

​And we have now had 20 delicious gourmet club gatherings.
​Onto our next culinary adventure.   

Under direction of Master Chef Vanessa,  the theme for our upcoming feast is very clear. 

Fuck Winter:  Slow Down, Chub Up!

Amuse Bouche: Sous Chef Vanessa* 
Hors D: Sous Chef Amy
Appetizer 1: Sous Chef Leah
Appetizer 2:  Sous Chef Dean
Soup/Salad:  Sous Chef Dallas
Main:  Master Chef Vanessa
Dessert:  Sous Chef Christine

When: Feb 23 6pm
Where: Chez Master Chef Vanessa

*special guest appearance by master chef's roommate! 

Space. The final frontier. 

Or more accurately put, our next frontier. Put on your space helmets, shine up your rocket boosters, dust off your telescopes and get ready for a gourmet event with UNIVERSAL appeal!  

NEBULA before has our club had such a CONSTELLATION of options to respond to this theme of space. 

Think astronomy and the stars, think aliens, think dark matter, think worm holes, think galaxies, think moon dust, think red dwarfs, think milky way, think black holes, think comets.... The options are literally INFINITE. 

Will this theme ECLIPSE previous efforts, or will our gastro-warriors prevail and ring in a new era of GALACTIC and METEORIC achievement?  Only TIME WARP will tell...

So strap in, because our next theme promises to go SUPERNOVA!

Dish Assignment
Hors D: Christine
Appetizer 1:Dean
Appetizer 2:Dallas
Soup/Salad:Vanessa
Main:Amy
Dessert:Leah

Location: Chez Master Chef Amy
Date:  TBD

 Big thanks to Master Chef Dallas for hosting a lovely meal.

A big welcome to our new chef, Dean!  Thanks for joining the club! and what a grand entrance you made with that amazing dessert!

And a big thanks to baby Elio for sleeping through it all!  :)

The meal started with some baby meals, aka miniature full steak/mushroom dinners, with a dark cherry gin cocktail to wash it down.   Next up was a collection of roasted vegetable slices and pear (common baby food ingredients!) served with herbed ricotta cheese and crostini, along side a refreshing cider brought all the way to Ottawa from Nova Scotia!  We  were encouraged to play with our food with the early childhood collection of unicorn shaped cheese,  various jellies (blueberry rose,  mango),  mushy pea pate and home made arrowroot crackers.  The lentil soup hid a selection of pureed vegetables (so the babies would eat it), served with baby crackers and white grape juice.   

For the main meal,  there was a balance of very adult scallops and fried tofu and baby-friendly purees of roasted parsnip, beet and corn.  The meal was enjoyed with a glass of the 'last wine pre baby' and also 'first wine post baby'.   We finished off the evening with a freshly baked gender-reveal molten chocolate cake (mine was a boy! with a blue chocolate centre) and a glass of port brought all the way from Portugal.  

Lovely food, lovely time.  Thanks babies. 

Next up: Master Chef Amy
Date and theme to be determined! ​