One Very Sexy Salad

                Over the years working as a chef for high profile socialites you get a lot of requests to be inventive and perform outside the box when it comes to pleasing clients who have tried it all. Back in 1984 I was working for a hospitality agency that found small projects for maverick chefs that were between jobs. A lot of projects that I was involved in were being designed and built to specs and would fall behind schedule for whatever reason. This gave me lots of slack time to take on other short term cooking positions. I...

Vanilla Orange Cream Cheese Carrot Cake

Vanilla Orange Cream Cheese Carrot Cake. My Mom made an excellent carrot cake. I don’t remember the amount of times that I sat waiting to lick the icing spatula. This recipe makes a delicious cake and is simple to construct. If you can let the food do the talking and use fresh ground spices and the better the ingredients the better the results. Set the oven temperature and get out all the ingredients in one area. This makes a quick recipe quicker and easy cleanup after. Now get your mixer and bowl and shortly you’ll be enjoying the rewards of good home baking....

Happy Fathers Day Lobster and Steak

Nothing tells dad that you love him more, than lobster and steak! This Father’s Day, pour dad a cool one and bring out his favourite chair and make him comfortable close to the back yard BBQ. Now if you did the right shopping and you play your cards right, all you have to do is fill the grill with these premium good eats. Dad will not be able to resist getting this party a rockin! Dad like’s his steak and lobster too much to let anyone interfere, being the king of his backyard BBQ! Lobster East Coast tail or a whole, a fresh from the tank one pounder at...

Serious Rhubarb Jam

    Serious Rhubarb Jam Rhubarb was a plant my grandmother tended with gusto. She would cover the early spring plants with a wooden ash bushel basket.                By doing this the leaves would be smaller and the energy and sugars would collect in the stalks. I found that the stalks are more reddish and do taste better. She made this no nonsense rhubarb jam that she used for pancakes, squares, chutney and crumbles. She used it for a marinade and for braising a shoulder pork roast.  She also insisted that it was used as a natural laxative which I also concur...

Deluxe Seafood Crispy Birds Nest

Deluxe Seafood Crispy Birds Nest.   Cooking in Downtown Toronto in the 80’s One of the cooks also worked at Kwong Chows near Kensington Market. This was where I was taught this dish by executive chef Kingsley Chung. I tried to master this dish over my career and I must say I now do a fine job. The all-important gravy that comes from perfect timing using a super-hot wok is the key.  All the seafood and ingredients I used are premium quality. Fresh peeled shrimp, nice plump scallops, some ultra-tenderized squid, and perfect slices of ling cod. This done to order...