Montreal Love

This winter has been unexpected, to say the least. Everything from the weather to what I thought I'd be doing with my life, none of it could have been prescribed. No one guessed we'd have a mild winter; quite the contrary, scientists were expecting a harsh one. In addition, I never expected that I'd be leaving Montreal so soon. Even though I graduated last December, I had anticipated staying in Montreal until going to grad school next fall. But as quickly and often as the weather changes (especially in Montreal), so life plans do the same.

Yet, I did, in fact, anticipate this winter to be my last winter in Montreal. Little to my surprise, it's actually my last couple weeks here in Montreal -- at least for the time being. In two weeks I'll be moving to Paris for a three-month internship. I'm incredibly excited for this adventure, and you'd better believe I'm going to have a field-day with blog posts of all the amazing Parisian food I'll be eating. Yet, there's something achingly bittersweet about leaving behind the city I've come to love the most, my Montreal.

And even though I loathe winter and am quite happy that we've had an unseasonably and snow-less warm winter, I couldn't have been happier when last night's snow arrived. There's something magical about staying in when there's a snowstorm outside, watching fresh snow fall gingerly on the rooftops and tree branches outside.

Especially since I had made plans to make my boyfriend dinner that evening, nothing could be more romantic than just the two of us eating dinner at home, cozied around a candlelight table while the snow bucketed down outside.

So what did I make for dinner, you ask? To start, I made my mother's special thai-style spring rolls, filled with chicken, shrimp and vegetables. I also made skewers of steak and grilled vegetables (I thank God for having a George Forman grill -- simple grilling for when it's too cold to do the real thing outside). For dessert, I made a delicious lattice-top apple pie with McIntosh and Granny Smith apples.

(Side anecdote: You've gotta love the inconsistencies of Montreal weather. Yesterday it was snowing; the day before, it was beautiful, sunny, high of 5 degrees Celsius. Birds were chirping; spring was near. It was a perfect day to take a walk to Jean Talon market, where I picked up some apples to make this pie. Even though its February and the fruits and veggies aren't in season, there's still loads of great produce to be found at Jean Talon!)

Excuse the grease, but these spring rolls are oh-so-worth the extra calories from frying them. They make not look so pretty, but they're delicious on the inside!

Pre-George Foreman

Post-grilling. I marinated the steak in red wine and Montreal steak seasoning. Then I grilled them to perfection along with the peppers and onions. 

Mixed apples: McIntosh and Granny Smith

Apple pie is so easy! Just mix a couple spices and some sugar and then use your favourite pie-dough recipe (everyone has their go-to recipe, don't they?) for a delicious and simple dessert. In addition to cinnamon and nutmeg, I love adding a bit of Cointreau to give the flavour a little kick. 

We ate this baby right out of the oven. We ate it so fast that I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of the pie before it was half gone! Mind you, it was only two of us... But don't judge! It was just really good. 

For me, this low-key evening was the epitome of why I love Montreal: even though it may be miserable outside, you're guaranteed to find good company and good food inside. :)

Until next time, happy eating!

-Talia 

Valentine's Day.. or not

They say Valentine's day is a day for lovers. Lies. This is a baker's holiday. When you're a baker, this day is AMAZING. In reality, it's no different than any other day, except that it gives you an excuse to bake profusely, eat excessively, and adorn your treats with obnoxious pink and red hearts -- something you can't get away with any other time of year.

I know this post is a bit late for Valentine's day, but I wanted to share my experience making Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream frosting with you because it's something you can make all year round, not just on Valentine's day. Nevertheless, since I was making these for a special someone on this special day, I added a few simple touches that gave it some Valentine's flair.

For the chocolate espresso cupcakes, I used Ina Garten's chocolate cake recipe as a base. I love this recipe and use it all the time, including in one of my previous posts. Except this time, in addition to the 1 cup of brewed hot coffee, I also added a table spoon of finely ground espresso. The addition of coffee really brings out the rich chocolate flavour and the coffee grounds give just a hint of dark mocha. 

To make the caramel buttercream, I first made caramel sauce (or you can just buy caramel sauce!):

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
4 tablespoons unsalted buter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine water and sugar in a sauce pan on medium-high heat. If you're wondering if one tablespoon water is enough, trust me, it is! Incorporate the water into the sugar but then leave alone and bring to boil - do not stir! Let the mixture turn a medium-dark brown colour before removing from heat. Then, add the butter, heavy cream, and salt and stir until all is well-incorporated. Let the mixture cool completely before using, or save it for later use.

To make the buttercream, use the cooled caramel sauce mixture and beat it with 1 1/2 sticks room-temperature butter in a standing mixture. Then, add four cups confectioners' sugar one cup at a time until all ingredients come together into a deliciously salted caramel frosting!

To make these cupcakes more Valentine's-y, I wanted to make rice krispy treats in the shape of a heart to put on top of the salted caramel buttercream. Surprisingly, the most difficult part of this whole endeavour was finding heart shaped cookie cutters to use for the treats! I went to multiple grocery stores and even a speciality cooking store to no avail. I finally found what I was looking for at the Dollar Store (the mecca of all things random). I also picked up some heart-shaped sprinkles to make the treats extra sweet :) (feel free to gag here...).

 Rice krispy treats are by far the easiest dessert and really yummy, too! No matter what age you are!

 The cookie cutter worked perfectly; and the best part is you get to eat the scraps while you make them. 

 Here's what they looked like all put together! 

My boyfriend was studying for most of the day on Valentine's day so I thought I'd take these cupcakes over to him in the mid-morning so he can have brain fuel while he studies. Look how happy he is!! Trust me, this type genuine smile doesn't come out very often for men on Valentine's day, where men are supposed to empty out their pockets on dinner, flowers, and candy to make their women happy. So seeing Matt smile like this, you know these cupcakes must have been good! :) 

To all you Valentine's day lovers... or not.. happy eating!! 

-Talia

Icehouse on Fire

On my bucket list of restaurants to go to is a place in the Plateau-Mont-Royal area called Icehouse. I'd had friends who raved about it and I'd also biked by the restaurant many times, intrigued by the unique exterior wood decor. It's a relatively new restaurant, opened only a couple years ago. It's technically classified as a Tex-Mex restaurant but I'd hardly define it as such. Its concept is Tex-Mex but it introduces new ingredients and different styles of food. For example, the pulled pork tacos have pickled watermelon rinds and chicharrones (fried pork rinds). Also on the menu are a wide variety of things: sweet potato tempura tacos, crab nachos, and their famous fried chicken. The variety of dishes and ingredients makes it hard to solely classify the place as a Tex-Mex restaurant.

To start, we ordered a pitcher of their famed bourbon lemonade. Although I was technically born in the south, I have always hated the taste of bourbon -- and whiskey, in general. But this mix was surprisingly delightful. Incredibly sweet with a tart and tangy aftertaste, the drinks were probably my favourite part of the evening (isn't it always?). The drinks were strong but too strong to make me wince at the taste of whiskey.  In fact, I actually think I started to like the flavour!

Our meal was lovely, but nothing to wow our socks off. The portions were a bit small (except the nachos), but the service was friendly and the timing of the delivery was prompt. Unfortunately, a little mishap marred the rest of the evening for me...

 Popcorn Shrimp with lime seasoning

 Nachos with crab (and everything else) 

 Pork tacos 

Shrimp tacos 

I found that my tacos weren't spicy enough, so I asked for hot sauce. They make their own home made Tobasco sauce, except I found that it still wasn't spicy enough. So I asked our waiter for something hotter. To be fair, he did warn me that this sauce was not for the faint-hearted. But I thought that I'd have no problem handling it, as I've grown up eating incredibly spicy food and typically have a high tolerance for spice. False. Just one drop of this sauce was enough to nearly send me into cardiac arrest. I had a couple bites of my taco before the spice really hit me. And then it was like the world was attacking my taste buds; I could hardly breathe, my mouth went numb, and tears were streaming down my face. I certainly couldn't eat the rest of my food and I also didn't feel "normal" again until well into the next day.

Even my roommate, who merely touched the bottle, but never tasted the sauce, can attest to the strength of this hot sauce. After we came home, she touched her face and immediately felt the impact. Her eyes watered and her face went all red. This sauce is truly dangerous!

 Do not try this hot sauce unless you're slightly deranged with quasi-suicidal tendencies! 

Overall, Icehouse was an interesting and fun experience. But if I were just judging the food alone, I'd give it a mediocre rating, at best. In addition, it was also quite overpriced, given the portion size and quality of the food. But the ambiance was fun and its owners successfully achieved concept of a Tex-Mex local joint they were hoping for. 

Until the next (hopefully less spicy) adventure, happy eating everyone! 

-Talia