Valentine's Day Menu

Many people go out to fancy dinners for Valentine's Day. To me there is nothing better than staying at home and cooking a delicious meal together. Here is a sample menu for Valentine's Day including a starter, main course, dessert and cocktail. Happy Valentine's Day.

Starter

Pan Seared Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Main Course

Moroccan Scallops with Eggplant Confit

Dessert

Chocolate Coconut Tart

Cocktail

Pomegranate Champagne

Happy Halloween

Friday night we picked up some pumpkins and carved them for Halloween. While carving the pumpkins we watched Halloween by Rob Zombie and sipped a seasonal Pumpkin beer.

This autumn ale is brewed by Great lakes Brewery. The ale has an assortment of specialty malts and hops, with generous amounts of pumpkin added into the brew. You can taste a hint of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and allspice.

A perfect Halloween sky.

Pomegranate & Champagne = Pamosas

If cottage life has taught me anything it is that mamosas are a good way to start the day off right. They help get the cobwebs out from the night before and let you ease back into the day of lying on the dock. My good friends have been kind enough to invite us to their cottage over the summer and we are always impressed when we seem to polish off a few magnums of champagne and oj.

Over the December holidays I decided to try a lighter version of the traditional mamosa (oj and champagne). Using pomegranate juice was so much lighter and had a great flavor. This is a nice elegant drink to serve, much more than say cottage pint glasses of champagne and oj.

Add a few pomegranate seeds to a flute of champagne
add 1/2 champagne
add splash of more of pomegranate juice (as desired)

Enjoy!

Cranberry Martini or Crantini

Here is a delicious and festive cocktail to enjoy with company.

2 oz vodka
juice of 1 lime (I used 1/2 as they were large limes)
1 oz cointreau
splash of cranberry juice

Mix all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice and pour into glasses.

Cranberry or lime for garnish.

Mojitos

You do not have to be in Cuba or Mexico to enjoy this nice tropical beverage (although I wouldn't mind relaxing by sitting on a beach anytime soon). In fact after a long day working around the house or hiking/biking, or just after a long hard week at work it is nice to retire to the deck and sip on this refreshing drink. I am not one to try many drinks, I like wine and beer and love to try endless types of both, but when it comes to alcohol I do not really drink it with the odd exceptions - like this again refreshing mojitos.

Unfortunately this past weekend was the last of my holidays before going back to work. However, on the bright side it is now Friday and I can now enjoy another one of these delicioius drinks as I relax on my now leaf infested patio. As much as I love fall it is nice to have a reminder of summer once and a while and with the temp at 20C I think this drink can be resurrected before the real frost sets in.

Beau's All Natural Beer Lug Tread

While at the LCBO the other day, I noticed a large ceramic bottle of beer. What caught my eye other than the unique bottle was the tag which stated certified organic beer from a local family owned brewery, Beau's Natural Brewing, Vankleek Hill. In my obligation to the environment to be more green I decided to buy this local organic beer.

Beau’s All Natural's first beer is Lug Tread Lagered Ale. It has been described as a golden-hued, crisp, and finely balanced, being compared to Kölsch. Although I like the beer and would purchase it again, I think Kölsch has a more full flavor. Lug Tread is top fermented (like an ale) and then cold aged, or “lagered,” for a lengthy period—hence the term “lagered ale.” But the fact that Lug Tread it is made with certified organic malts and with Eastern Ontario spring water is alone a good enough reason to buy it.

The LCBO employee noted that the company cannot keep up with supply and demand, and that the beer is usually gone within the first day of stocking the shelf. So if you desire to try this and cannot find it you can also get it on tap at some local pubs/restaurants:

Clocktower Brew Pub
Ottawa Bourgetel
BourgetNational Press Club of Canada
The Black Tomato
Shannon's Pub, Hawkesbury
Windsor Tavern, Vankleek Hill
St. Eugene Tavern, St. Eugene
I also think the Manx serves it.

Attached to their website I found this interesting page of recipes: Cooking with Beer. I might have to give some of these a try this summer.

Wynn's Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

A great idea of a bridal shower particularly for those bride and groom's that already have a home or a well accessorized apartment is a wine and cheese. When I did this for my sister's bridal shower, I requested that guests bring no gift, just a bottle of wine to contribute to a wine cellar for the to be newly weds and I served as you can guess wine and cheese to the guests. I was amazed at how many great wines she received and how fun it was to try these wines.

So when my bridal shower came around, my sister, knowing how much I enjoyed inviting myself over to try her wines, did the same for me. I received about 15-20 bottles of wine, some of which were recommended to drink immediately and others to age in a wine cellar anywhere from 1-5 years.

One particular wine which I stored for 1 year was the Wynn's Coonawarra Estate 2002. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra, Australia. This wine is known as 'Black Label.' Although I have recently discovered that this wine's should be properly stored in a cellar from 3-5 years, after 1 year it still had great flavor.

This wine has a very strong deep red colour. Aromas consist of blackcurrant & blackberry, it was very earthy with some vanilla. I found it to be full bodied with a nice dryness on the palate. Flavours consisted of blackcurrant, cherry and mocha flavours. I would recommend decanting this wine as it has a lot of sediments.

International Wine magazine notes that this wine "is richly flavored and finely structured with sweet fruit flavors and vanilla oak in the background. Deep red. Pungent, floral, spicy nose exudes strong aromas of blackberry, bitter cherry, beef jerky and musky underbrush. Sweet oak spice and floral pastilles accent intense redcurrant and cherry flavors, with suggestions of earthy tobacco and succulent herbs. Finishes with deeper, darker blackcurrant and plum flavors and well-managed, silky tannins."

Its a perfect match with steak, rack of lamb and bold tasting cheeses.

Goats do Roam

For the past 2 years I have been trying to keep a decent wine cellar. The past months have certainly put a dent into not only quantity but quality of my wine selection. With fall and winter coming I am anticipating many hearty dishes like soups, stews, pastas & roasts that would be complimented by the perfect pairing wine.

A new addition to the cellar is a wine I have tasted before and immediately enjoyed the both the aroma and taste.

This South African shiraz has a vibrant red brick color with plum fruit, olive, licorice, and dried herb aromas. To the palate it offers a medium to full bodied, warm and peppery taste that offers a spicy and smooth finish. It goes perfectly with light meat dishes, and my favorite - spicy foods.

Mojitos

It is a blistering 40 C outside with the humidity and I have the joy of living in the third floor apartment with air conditionning limited to the bedroom. That means that the hot sun hitting the black shingles, the lack of breeze through the windows and the humidity seeping it is literally an oven in my living room and kitchen. Needless to say cooking over a hot stove or turning on the oven right now is not really appealing. Although I am of the opinion that it is warm enough in here for things to cook on their own - something tells me it is not a good idea. I could grill but the downtown air is thick with smog and there is no shade to protect me from the ball of fire in the sky. Therefore I have decided to enjoy a few cold drinks.... liquid dinner I guess. I was going to grab a refreshing cold Corona with lime or a Smirnoff Ice. But then I was reminded of those relaxing days in Mexico when all I had to worry about was what bar I should sit at or should I swim in the pool or the ocean. My favourite drink from my favourite and bartender was a delicious and absolutely refreshing Mojitos. There are many ways to make them, and some are sweet, some bitter, but the one that I enjoyed seemed to have the right blend.

Mojitos

1 part Rum (Bacardi is good)
3 parts Club Soda
Mint Leaves
1/2 Lime
1/2 part sugar

Place a bunch of mint leaves, the sugar and lime slices in a glass and crush with at the bottom of your glass. Add rum, then club soda and stuff or top with mint leaves.