Easy & Delicious Fall Recipes...With Jam!

Where did summer go? Did it even happen? I think many of you are just as confused as I am but like it or not, we need to wake up and smell the roses - it is now officially fall. Hey, don't you get depressed on me now because one thing's for certain: fall always means warm and delicious comfort food! Pumpkin, cinnamon, orange, nutmeg, apricots - they all conjure up such wonderful visions of cool-weather comfort foods. 

In the spirit of a new season, I've included three super-easy pairing recipes using jam and various fall ingredients. Each recipe takes only 15 minutes to create and has 5 ingredients or less. I think they all taste great and are worth a try if you want to embrace the cool weather as we head into autumn.

ORANGE GLAZED SWEET AND SPICY PORK

September has arrived and with it, hints of autumn, leaves turning orange and red, and kids everywhere going back to school. With orange already a natural choice for flavouring pork in fall, the addition of chili flakes in this pairing recipe serves as an additional fall dimension to the dish. The pork loin, which is sliced thin, makes this dish perfect as a canapé or as an hors d'oeuvre at dinner parties.

Ingredients

2 boneless pork loin chops, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

Salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste

Directions

In a shallow dish, mix together salt, pepper and chili flakes. Add pork slices and turn to coat evenly with mixture. Preheat grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Cook on grill for 15 minutes, or until meat is cooked through. Remove from grill. On a plate, brush on orange marmalade before serving.

SKINNY PUMPKIN SPICE GRANOLA PARFAIT

Since pumpkin and cinnamon are so popular this time of year, I thought it would be a great idea to add the two ingredients to granola, which is super tasty as a snack, with milk, or in this case, over yogurt. As a food blogger who dines out way too much, I often have granola and yogurt for lunch. It is quick, healthy yet tasty and filling. This particular parfait uses non-fat yogurt and Smucker's Sugar-Free Wildberry Jam, making this a really nutritious, low fat, high-energy lunch. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup non-fat yogurt 

2 tablespoons of Smucker’s Sugar-Free Wildberry Jam

2 tablespoons granola

1 teaspoon pumpkin spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

Directions

Mix granola, pumpkin spice and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Layer mason jar with yogurt and jam, then top with spiced granola.

VANILLA SPICE APRICOT OATMEAL

Brrrrr! There's a chill in the air. You know summer is long gone when 1) It's still dark outside when you open your eyes, 2) You find yourself huddled under the covers, contemplating whether you need to start turning the heat on, and finally 3) You crave a hot breakfast. With the temperature creeping lower and lower these days, the one thing that motivates me to get out of the bed is the promise of a bowl of hot spiced oatmeal. This hearty breakfast is so fast and easy to make that it almost seems wrong to just have it for yourself. So, in honour of chilly mornings, I cooked up a batch on Sunday so that everybody in the house could have some to eat all week.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups water

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon apricot jam

Pinch of nutmeg

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in oats. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, uncovered, for 5 minutes. When the oats are cooked, remove pan from the flame and stir in the vanilla extract and nutmeg. Place the oatmeal in serving bowls, add jam, stir and serve. 

Smucker’s Pairings for Fall Entertaining are a simple, easy way to create delicious food combinations with jam and other ingredients, designed help you discover how Fall flavours mingle together for mouthwatering results. Each pairing has 5 ingredients or less, and is ready in less than 15 minutes. Because with a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good. For specific information on our jam flavours and varieties, please visit www.smuckers.ca

Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Smucker’s Foods of Canada via Mode Media Canada. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Smucker’s Foods of Canada.

Dufflet® Launches Gluten-Free Desserts

Dufflet Pastries, the Canadian bakery founded by Dufflet Rosenberg, is set to launch an expanded product line of gluten-free treats coming this fall (#DuffletGF). 

The brand's gluten-free desserts are certified by the Canadian Celiac Association and are hand-crafted with premium gluten-free ingredients. Each dessert stems entirely from natural sources and contain no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, no hydrogenated fats or oils, and no mono-diglycerides. 

Dufflet® (Twitter: @dufflet, Facebook: Dufflet Pastries) will launch their gluten-free line in stores across Ontario and Quebec in the fall, which will consist of the following items:

CAKELET® GLUTEN-FREE SELECTIONS ($16.99 each)

Carrot Cakelet® – Moist carrot cake with cream cheese icing.

Chocolate Cakelet® – Devil’s Food chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and dark 

chocolate glaze.

Pink Velvet Cakelet® – A new twist on a classic favourite, Dufflet’s cocoa and spice 

cake with natural pink cream cheese icing. 

TART GLUTEN-FREE SELECTIONS ($4.99 / 2pk):

Lemon Tarts – French tart with lemon curd baked in a sweet butter crust.

Fudge Tarts – Dark chocolate filling in a dark chocolate crust, topped with bittersweet 

ganache and white chocolate shavings.

CUPCAKE GLUTEN-FREE SELECTIONS ($8.99 / 4pk):

Devil’s Food Cupcakes & Heavenly Vanilla Cupcakes – Classic cupcakes without the 

gluten and packed with sweet flavour. 

BROWNIE & MACARON GLUTEN-FREE SELECTIONS ($2.99 each):

Chocolate Chunk Brownie – Chewy fudge brownie with dark chocolate chunks.

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroon – Chewy, moist, and sweet coconut dipped in 

delicious dark chocolate.

(Photos from Dufflet)

So does going gluten-free mean eliminating taste? Let's find out! I received a pack of Dufflet®'s Gluten-Free Chocolate Fudge Tarts yesterday.

Each pack comes with two 3" tarts.

Love Food Fest & The Hungry Artisan

What did you crave as a kid? Hot dogs, mac ‘n cheese, PB&J sandwiches? Whatever it may be, sit tight and get ready for a night of childhood food nostalgia, with a twist!

On October 7, Action Against Hunger Canada (Twitter: @ACF_Canada, Facebook: Action Against Hunger) is putting on Love Food Fest. This once-a-year event combines some of Toronto's best chefs where they will compete for top honour by re-imagining our childhood favourites.

"Love Food Fest is an ode to the food you loved as a kid. It is a love letter to the people who fed you as a child, who made you realize how good food could be. And it is a fundraiser for those who lack even the most essential benefits of food: its nutrients, its fuel, its life."

Love Food Fest invites you to re-imagine, re-discover, and fall back in love with the foods you enjoyed as a kid. The fun event is about the heart of eating but its cause is serious: Action Against Hunger is raising money to help put an end to child deaths from hunger. 

Founded in France in 1979, Action Against Hunger / Action contre la Faim ("ACF") is a leading international humanitarian organization devoted to treating and preventing malnutrition around the world. Working in over 45 countries, its network of 5,000+ staff and volunteers reach more than 7 million people annually. Their programs save lives and provide communities with long-term solutions to hunger and its underlying causes. They focus on feeding the world’s most vulnerable – especially children. Their efforts restore health dignity, and self-sufficiency to those suffering from lack of essential nutrients so they can live full, happy lives. 

LOVE FOOD FEST

Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Time: 6:00 – 9:30 p.m.

Venue: Artscape Wychwood Barns. 601 Christie St, Toronto

Cost: $125 (a portion is tax receiptable). Included in your ticket, you’ll receive unlimited access to the event, sampling items from over 20 chefs plus 20 boutique wine, beer and food vendors

At Love Food Fest some of Toronto’s best and brightest chefs will be competing in the Nostalgia Challenge, cooking up their interpretations of childhood favourites. Participating chefs include:

Ayse Aydemir (Anatolia)

Matt Basile (Fidel Gastro / Lisa Marie)

Matt Blondin (Junk Bar)

Rodney Bowers (Hey Meatball on College)

Howard Dubrovsky (Fonda Lola)

Alexandra Feswick (The Drake Hotel)

Claudia Gaviria (Cruda Café)

Trish Gill (The Dock Ellis)

Brook Kavangh (La Palette)

Sang Kim (Sushi Making for the Soul)

Yumiko Kobayashi (Wind up Bird Cafe)

Shahir Massoud (Levetto Restaurant)

Josh Molot

Jacob Sharkey Pearce (Ursa)

Tyson Porcellato (Rasa)

Ivan Tarazona (Celestin)

Eric Wood (Port)

Shinji Yamaguchi (Gushi)

Vanessa Yeung (Aphrodite Cooks)

The grand prize: an all-expenses-paid trip to Peru! A distinguished panel of judges, with the help of guests, will choose a winner at the end of the evening. The night will also include local wines, craft beer, fine spirits, and a top-notch foodie silent auction with fine treats you can’t get anywhere else (click here for a list of restaurants, sponsors and food & beverage vendors).

I'm proud announce that The Hungry Artisan will be a food vendor at Love Food Fest! 

My friend and business partner, Nicholas Wong, and I founded The Hungry Artisan Inc. (Twitter: @HungryArtisan, Facebook: The Hungry Artisan) earlier this year. We specialize in importing the most delicious and unique artisanal foods from around to the world and distributing to retailers and restaurants across Canada.

We'll be showcasing one of our products, 'Nduja, at Love Food Fest. 'Nduja (pronounced "en-doo-ya") is a traditional spicy spreadable Calabrian salami. Manufactured by Nduja Artisans, our 'Nduja is guaranteed to be the best quality 'Nduja you'll find on the market. Our delicious spreadable salami is made with only four ingredients: Berkshire pork, salt, dry pepper and lactic acid culture (a natural preservative) with no antibiotics, nitrates nor chemical preservatives. This incredibly versatile salami can be used as a spread, incorporated in your pasta (it melts once you cook it,) as a pizza topping, in burgers and sausages, and even as mayo-based dip! The possibilities are endless. We look forward to seeing you at Love Food Fest!

More on 'Nduja:

The New York Times: A Dollop of Salami, Spreading from Calabria

Jamie Oliver's Nduja Aioli Recipe

Panoram Italia's Crostini with 'Nduja Recipe 

Foxley: Three Years Later

It has been three years since my first and only visit to Foxley. I've tried to go again a couple of times since then - the most recent attempt being a few months ago in June. I remember the visit clearly too. It was a Saturday evening around 7pm and the neighbourhood was bustling. A beautiful summer night, one would be crazy to stay indoors. Anyway, the moment I stepped inside Foxley I knew I was in trouble... the restaurant was jam packed. There wasn't a single empty seat in sight, not even at the bar. There was absolutely no way I'll get a table any time soon. My suspicion was promptly confirmed - I had to wait two hours for a table of four (as you may have guessed Foxley does not take reservations.) I was outta there in a flash; I cannot justify waiting that long for food. Ever. We ended up going to Café Boulud and as always, they never disappoint.

So, lesson learned and I was smarter this time around. Instead of going on a Saturday I went to Foxley on a Wednesday evening at 7pm, and oh my, the difference was astounding. I also thank the crazy downpour and thunderstorm that started at 6:30pm :)

Chef Tom Thai is still busting out some really great food in his small kitchen. The bistro's South Asian inspired menu has been updated from my last visit but a lot has stayed the same (especially his signature dishes.) I should mention that some things never change at Foxley. First, its food menu is still presented on plain white paper. Also, there remains to be a staggering 30+ dishes but no desserts. Secondly, decor hasn't changed one bit either.

Finally, after seven years in business Foxley still doesn't have a website, Facebook page or Twitter account. I guess their mantra is: "Why change something that works?"

SEA BREAM CEVICHE WITH YUZU AND SHISO ($16)

KALE SALAD WITH PECORINO TOSCANO AND LEMON DRESSING ($10)

Paying with Tab at Cafe Bar Pasta

Imagine never having to wait for the bill again. Just eat and leave. Kinda like "dine and dash" without breaking the law. Trust me, it does feel weird at first - just getting up and leaving without physically taking your out wallet and paying.

 What I'm talking about is Tab (Twitter: @tabpayments, Facebook: Tab), a mobile payments app for dining. Whenever you're ready to leave after your meal, you essentially do just that: Leave. You will never have to hunt down your server, wait for him / her to bring you the bill, then wait again for the wireless terminal. The Tab app also lets you split bills with friends, which means you will never have to wait for each person to pay (this is extremely tedious when you're dining out with 4+ people and everybody is paying separately) Again, the key point is no more waiting. Time is precious, folks.

To get started with Tab, all you have to do is download the app on iTunes or Google Play, create a profile, and register your credit card information (Tab uses AES-256 encryption). You can even set your default tip % amount in the app. Once you arrive at the restaurant, check-in and input whether you're splitting the bill with other diners or plan on covering the entire bill.

When your server comes over remember to tell him / her that you'll be paying with Tab - and once that's done you are all set. Tab will email you a receipt after your meal. 

I was invited by the Tab payments team to try their app at Cafe Bar Pasta (Twitter: @CAFEBARPASTA, Facebook: Cafe Bar Pasta). I was offered a $30 Tab credit for this dinner.

Once I sat down, I opened Tab on my phone to check-in and create a new tab.

After I placed my order I informed my server that I'll be paying with Tab.

OCTOPUS & BONE MARROW ($15)

Chilled & marinated with balsamic, mint, basil, garlic, chili, served with chicken liver marrow stuffed bone

The velvety texture of blended chicken liver and bone marrow was superb. I also love how this creamy offal concoction was piped back into the bone. I wasn't a fan of the chilled octopus; it lacked flavour and was somewhat rubbery.

DaiLo: Restaurant & Dim Sum Bar in Little Italy

After what seemed like an eternity awfully long time, chef Nick Liu, formerly of The Niagara Street Café, finally opened DaiLo last month. Located on 502 College Street beside Mexican taco spot La Carnita, the Asian Brasserie - which was to be called "GwaiLo" initially - encountered some tough times when it was supposed to open two years ago. With potential locations falling through, investors pulling out and business partner Christina Kuypers departing the venture, Liu's aspiration to open his own place seemed increasingly uncertain. Regardless, even without a kitchen, Liu still generated a ton of buzz for GwaiLo with his creative pop-ups and dinners (write-ups on those dinners can be found at the end of this post). He successfully captivated local foodies' palettes with his modern twists on traditional Asian cuisine. The dish that made a lasting impression on me two years ago was undoubtedly Liu's Whole Fried Trout and I'm thrilled that this stunning dish has finally found a permanent home on DaiLo's menu...but more on that later.

It has been quite a journey for Liu and thankfully, all that is now in the past. With co-owners Anton Potvin (who owned The Niagara Street Café), Jen Grant and David Dattel, Liu's much anticipated Asian fine dining restaurant is once and for all, a reality.

DaiLo (Twitter: @DaiLoTO, Facebook: DaiLo) is open for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday, 5:30 PM to 2:00 AM. DaiLo is the 80-seat, main floor restaurant while LoPan is the casual, 55-seat cocktail and dim-sum snack bar on the second floor (and it's certainly not your everyday dim sum like "har gow" and "siu mai"...think Big Mac Bao). My four friends and I had dinner at DaiLo a few Fridays ago so all the photos here are of DaiLo, not LoPan.

The room is distinctively Chinoiserie with a mixture of European and Chinese artistic styles and design.

The Winner of the 2014 Delicious Food Show Tickets Giveaway is...

@nicoleroannef

Congratulations Nicole! You have just won a pair of tickets to this year's Delicious Food Show! Please email me at foodjunkiechronicles@gmail.com with your first and last name and your address so I can mail you the tickets :)

I also want to say a big THANKS to the 72 contestants who participated in the contest. 

Here's a snapshot of the Excel spreadsheet where I tracked the #fjcdfs hashtag from day one of the contest (if you don't see your tweet in the hashtag stream, it means there is no entry from you. Sorry. Read this to find out the possible reasons why your tweets are not showing up.) The tracking was done using chronological order, as in, #1 was the first person to enter the contest. To enter, the person had to tweet "Hey @foodieyu I want to win a pair of tickets to the @deliciousshow! http://bit.ly/1ruZCnE #fjcdfs #dfs14". Each person could tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Once the contest was over and everybody's entries were accounted for I checked to see if they follow me (@foodieyu) on Twitter. Below is a list of people who qualified for the contest:

.

I used "True Random Number Generator" from random.org to pick the a winner for me.

Langdon Hall - Tranquil Grounds & Luxurious Amenities

It has been three months since my birthday weekend at Langdon Hall (Twitter: @Langdon_Hall, Facebook: Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa). I've already posted about my fabulous meals there (chef's tasting menu and Sunday brunch) so under normal circumstances that would be it from me. However, I felt it would be wrong to not share these photos with you. Even though this post is not food-related I guarantee it is worth your time. I also believe that everybody deserves to know how beautiful Langdon Hall is.

For three years in a row, Langdon Hall - a Relais & Châteaux (Twitter: @RelaisChateaux, Facebook: Relais & Chateaux) property - has been voted best hotel in Canada 3rd year in a row by the Condé Nast Traveller Readers Choice Awards for 2013. The property was also placed 63rd on its World Top 100 List in a 7-way tie with luxury properties from St. Lucia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Turkey, and Georgia.

There are four walking trails throughout the Hotel's property. Trail maps can be found in each of the guest rooms or at the reception desk.

Open from May until late September, the pool is great for swimming and lounging. The property also has a tennis court and croquet lawn.

The 2014 Delicious Food Show Tickets Giveaway - CLOSED

I'm giving away a PAIR of tickets worth $40 to this year's Delicious Food Show!

Brought to you from the creators of One of a Kind Show, Interior Design Show and Art Toronto, "The Delicious Food Show is a 3 day food-lovers event designed to engage the consumer in a delicious, all food, lifestyle and entertaining experience featuring hundreds of exhibitors, cooking demos, tastings, hands-on workshops, book signings, and appearances by Food Network and international celebrity chefs."

 DELICIOUS FOOD SHOW 2014 HIGHLIGHTS

- Chefs Mario Batali, Tyler Florence, Chuck Hughes, Roger Mooking, Nadia G, and Cronut inventor Dominique Ansel will be taking to the stages for demos, talks, book signings and workshops throughout the three-day event

- Over 100 purveyors of premium products and fine foods will be on display, showcasing their absurdly delicious eats and treats

- Taste Canada Cooks the Books will pair one famed Canadian cookbook author with groups of students who will have to prepare one recipe from the author's book to vie for the title of Canada's Best New Student Chef

- Naturally Delicious will see a host of vendors with foods and products that are all-natural, organic, raw, gluten-free, free of additives and preservatives, and overall promote a healthy lifestyle

- A very special edition of Abbey's Kitchen Stadium will pit eight of Toronto's top chefs against each other in an all-out maniacal melee

- #DeliciousHotspot will highlight some of Toronto's top restaurants and pop-ups, with show attendees able to purchase samples to taste their edible excellence

The Delicious Food Show will be held at the Direct Energy Centre, Hall A:

Friday, October 17, 2014 (10AM – 9PM)

Saturday, October 18, 2014 (10AM – 8PM)

Sunday, October 19, 2014 (10AM – 6PM)

HOW TO ENTER

1) You MUST be following me (@foodieyu) on Twitter

AND

2) Tweet the following sentence, exactly as shown, nothing before or after it: 

Hey @foodieyu I want to win a pair of tickets to the @deliciousshow! http://bit.ly/1ruZCnE #fjcdfs #dfs14

1. For your entry to be valid, you need to tweet the above sentence exactly as shown.

2. You may tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Re-tweeting others do NOT count as a valid entry.

3. Contest is tracked by the #fjcdfs hashtag. If you don't see your tweet in the hashtag stream it means there is no entry from you. Read this to find out the possible reasons why your tweets are not showing up.
4. Winning tickets can be used on either one of the 3-day event.

CONTEST DURATION

Contest starts on Monday, September 8 and ends on Monday, September 15 at 12PM. One lucky winner will be chosen randomly from www.random.org and I will announce the winner on Monday, September 15. 

GOOD LUCK!!! ^_^

Raw Bar Mondays at Buonanotte

Got a case of the Mondays? You're not alone. Unless it's a long weekend I start dreading about Monday the moment I wake up on Sunday (I'm not even kidding.) Nevertheless, instead of getting all depressed about the damn day we can start by thinking positive thoughts, more specifically thoughts about tasty food like oysters, ceviches, tartares, and drinks like wine, cocktails and beer. Thanks to Raw Bar Mondays at Buonanotte, Mondays will never be the same again.

Every Monday starting at 5pm till close, Buonanotte (Twitter: @BuonanotteTO, Facebook: Ristorante Buonanotte Toronto) will make your Mondays exponentially better. What you can expect are the following: $1 oysters, half price wine, $5 Negroni, $5 Aperol Spritz, $5 Peroni and Moretti, and a special raw bar menu featuring tartares and ceviches by executive chef Davide Iannaci. See what I mean? You're stomach will thank you.

I visited Buonanotte specifically for their Raw Bar Mondays promotion three weeks ago, and because I'm such a keener I arrived right at 5pm (this explains why the place is empty). Who goes to a restaurant at 5pm? This girl. But meh it's how I get awesome room shots like these.

After 21 years in Montreal, Buonanotte finally opened its second location in January of 2013, taking over the former AME space on 19 Mercer Street. The supper club serves contemporary Italian cuisine with modern twists and seats an impressive 160. The decor features a stunning copper lattice ceiling installation along with wood paneling, white leather banquettes, and a massive black and white vintage photo of an Italian street that spans the entire wall. 

Hmmm I see a wood fired oven tucked away in the corner of the pizza station...but more on that later.

Poutineville

"Wait. Lemme get this straight. You are telling me that I can now sit comfortably at a table with my friends while being served poutine? And my poutine can be paired with wine, beer or cocktail? Just like if I was at a ... *gasp* ... restaurant?!"

Yep, it's time you pay Poutineville (Twitter: @PoutineVille, Facebook: Poutineville) a visit. Unlike most (if not all) poutine places in Toronto, Poutineville is a fully licensed restaurant. The option of having poutine with alcohol in a restaurant setting really elevates this Canadian dish from a casual snack or a fast food item to something much more: 

Poutineville offers poutine as a main, as part of an entire meal. 

Poutineville's selection of appetizers (i.e. Goat cheese bruchetta, chicken tenders, chicken wings) and salads (i.e. House salad, Poutineville salad, tossed Greek salad) reinforces the notion that customers can now have a starter before their poutine entrée. If diners want just a few bites of poutine, Poutineville has got that covered too. With four burgers and four sandwiches on the menu all served with a side of fries / salad, you can easily substitute your side with a classic poutine for $2. Don't get me wrong, there's always a time for grab-and-go, standing room only and cash only poutine joints*ahem* *cough* *Poutini's* *cough* but c'mon, you can't deny that Poutineville is pretty awesome, and I haven't even talked about their poutines yet! Oh and another reason why I'm so drawn to Poutineville is that they take reservations. As an individual who likes to plan everything (and I mean everything) and detests waiting or lining up for food, this is a huge plus for me. HUGE.

Contrary to what you may think, Poutineville is not new to the poutine scene. The first Poutineville opened in April 2011 on Beaubien Street in Montreal. After only 10 months, Poutineville opened their second location in downtown Montreal. Since then, the restaurant expanded in Montreal, Quebec City and Toronto. I visited their first Toronto location at 296 Brunswick Ave. a few weeks ago. Thcan seat over 100 guests and is equipped with a full-service bar, a lounge area, banquettes and a cozy patio. “With the popularity of our three Montreal locations, we wanted to bring the Poutineville experience to Toronto” say co-owners Kosta Kariotakis and Camillo Fresco. 

Poutineville offers a wine list that features local wines and beers. Their cocktail menuis curated by mixologist Nishan Nepulangoda (Nishan is the gentleman at the back).

If you're still not impressed then check this out: You can create your own poutine at Poutineville. You can choose from a list of over 27 ingredients, 10 different cheeses, a choice of four kinds of potatoes and five kinds of sauces!