Best Beet Borscht

The Best Beet Borscht In Eastern Europe, where borscht is king, you could eat a different recipe of borscht every week of the year, and each would be authentic. Although borscht is thought of as a beet dish, the word means any soup made with a variety of vegetables. My version is easy to fix, yet retains the qualities found in a more time-consuming preparation. I flavor with kvass, a traditional fermented beet liquid for use in red cabbage found in European delis, but it’s not necessary; substitute lemon juice if you wish. Notice that the vegetables are slow and low...

Thekitchenman’s Leg of lamb

  LEG OF LAMB For the many years that I have resided around Canada I have noticed the huge amount of people who BBQ. Welcome to another season of outdoor entertaining. Whether it’s on your back yard patio, balcony or wilderness camping with a portable hibachi there is no finer way to entertain guests and make a first class meal. There are so many models of barbeques available to fit the budget and the space. Propane or fixed gas are most common and take the least amount of effort to operate and maintain. For the more authentic bbq flavours cooks use a charcoal fired...

Lasagne Bolognese

Lasagna Bolognese. Fresh made pasta is available at many deli’s or markets from the source. Or you can make your own homemade lasagna pasta (sometimes called “lasagna noodles”) with a dough made of flour and eggs, with or without spinach—or using just semolina (durum wheat flour) and water. But today, the dried packaged ready-to-use lasagna noodles available in the grocery store are really excellent. When using regular store-bought lasagna noodles boil them in batches. To avoid the noodles sticking together, place them vertically on the sides of the pot of boiling...

Double Smoked Pork Chop.

Double Smoked Pork Chops. One of the best country butcher grocery shops I found in Floradale Ontario is Earlidale Fine Meats. My trip to into the Mennonite county was with a purpose. I was needing to put some good pork on my fork. Were talking local county grown pigs. The ones where the farmer has a passion about growing the best he can. They all like to win awards at the agricultural fairs, and raising the best animals possible is how they treat the herd. I found everything I need here at this little deli store. Plus other stores in Elmira, Wellesley or St Jacobs because...

Louisiana Jambalaya Creole’

LOUISIANA JAMBALAYA CREOLE’ One of my favourite jobs back in the early eighties was chef for a turn of the century musical called One Mo Time. I took on this position because it gave me a chance to be in New York and it was something I wanted to add to my repertoire. While there I was to be mentored by Sara Waxman and introduced to Chef Paul Prudhomme well known for his avant-garde approach to Creole Cuisine and the art of blackened grilling Louisiana style. The producers of this musical wanted to have an authentic Creole style menu that would compliment this dinner...

Mexican Tortilla Soup

Mexican Tortilla Soup This is one of my favourite of all the authentic Sopa de Tortilla or Mexican tortilla soup. It’s best if you make it with a rich home-made chicken stock made from scratch. I was shown different versions by great Mexican cooks in Monterey and Seattle on how to make this an authentic soup. Using chicken feet and tripe to give the broth more of a gelatinous consommé taste along with adding a small amount of good tequila made each trial a better batch. Cut up a chicken into a big pot of boiling water along with a couple stalks of celery, some carrots,...