I love cheese.
The kind that is edible mind you, and not the kind you see in bad movies.
I find delight in all kinds of cheese–blue, soft, hard, creamy, old, new–you name it and I bet I’d love it to.
As a fromage aficionado, aside from setting up an amazing cheese board, I have a certain weakness for cheese dips and in particular, ones that are warm and involve beer too.
I mean, how can anyone possibly resist the allure of a pot of simmering gooey melted cheese?
I know I can’t.
To wit, a chef recently sent me a recipe for one such cheese dip that would be perfect for an upcoming St. Patricks day party.
It’s fairly simple, and after making it (and sampling of course), I give this recipe five stars.
It comes from Chef Niels Kjeldsen, Executive Chef of Prime Pubs, a family of authentic Irish pubs.
Give this one a go and let me know if you think it’s worth five stars too!

Cashel & Kilkenny Cheese Dip

Makes 4 portions

Ingredients
Butter 1/2 cup or 125 ml
All purpose flour 1/4 cup or 60 ml
2% Milk 2 cups or 500 ml
Cashel blue cheese, crumbled 3/4 cup or 180 ml
Aged white cheddar, grated 3/4 cup or 180 ml
Mashed potato 3/4 cup or 180 ml
Cream cheese, softened 1 cup or 250ml
Kilkenny beer 1 1/4 cup or 310 ml
Dijon mustard 1/2 tbsp or 7 ml
Panko, breadcrumbs 6 tbsp or 90 ml
Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp or 5 ml
Tabasco 1/4 tsp or 1 ml
Salt and pepper 1/2 tsp or 2 ml

Garnish
Baguette cut into coin shape 48 pcs
Olive oil 1/2 cup or 125 ml
Bacon, cooked, chopped 1/2 cup or 125 ml
Red peppers, diced 1/4 cup or 60 ml
Cashel blue cheese, crumbled 1/4 cup or 60 ml
Green onions, chopped 1/4 cup or 60 ml

DIRECTIONS:
Place butter in pot and melt (medium heat).
Add flour and mix well. Cook for 2 min.
Add all the milk at once and bring to a simmer, whisking continuously for 5 min.
Remove from stove and transfer to stainless steel bowl.
Add remaining ingredients, mix well.
Portion into 4 oven proof dishes and reserve.

Toss baguette coins with olive oil. Olace on hot grill for 15 seconds per side.
Top cheese dip with bacon, red peppers and Cashel cheese.
Place under broiler until melted. Garnish with green onions.
Arrange baguette coins around dish and enjoy!

Last year I was invited to a football game with a couple of wine reps and our distribution partner in Manitoba to hang out and have some fun.
A nice meal and a chance to watch the Bombers play?
Sure, sign me up.
As we walked up to our seats, one of the reps and I starting talking about food and meal-making in general.
He was telling me how hard it was to come up with a different meal every night and wanted some suggestions on how to break out of a cooking rut.
I told him, at least from my perspective, it would be much easier than he might think.
In short, I told him to look at the things he makes most frequently and to change one thing.
He looked at me like I was kidding but I was being genuine.
It really is as simple as that.
He still looked at me like I was talking crazy, but I explained that one dish can change drastically in flavour but changing one thing, be it one of the ingredients, one of the steps in the recipe or even the way the meal is cooked.
For instance, I said, look at tomato sauce, a pretty easy thing to make and have on hand.
I suggested loading up his next batch with fresh basil and no oregano or vice versa. I suggested omitting onions and going with sautéed leeks instead.
Go with diced tomatoes instead of crushed or even cherry tomatoes; toss in ricotta cheese or baby spinach; give it a healthy shot of balsamic vinegar.
As I was rattling off these variations, I could see in his eyes he never thought such a small change could make such a big impact on the end result.
And that my friends, is just changing one ingredient, we haven’t even talked about what would happen if we changed the prep of one of the items.
Say, roasting the onions in the oven first to deepen their flavour; simmering garlic slowly in olive oil and then adding at the end; using a immersion blender to turn the whole shebang into a silky sauce.
It’s so easy to add variation to a staple dish.
One of the things I make most frequently is brownies and it drives my wife bananas because I just like to make them, not eat them.
But the same “change one thing” applies to baking ruts too.
Normally, I make a batch that combines chocolate (in some form), sugar, eggs, and flour that is usually gently mixed together then baked.
One variation can lead to enormous change.
This time, I beat the eggs and sugar until they filled with so much volume, they nearly doubled in size.
Then, and only then, did I add the chocolate and flour.
Man, what a difference.
While my usual recipe produced some delicious brownies, altering the method resulted in a batch that had both a light and airy top and crust, almost meringue-like, while the centre remained nicely fudgy.
Just one change made a huge difference.
So my friends, if you find yourself about to make the same chicken, the same pasta, the same rice, remember, a small change can make a huge difference.

For me, as it is with many other cooks, making food from scratch is a way to show others we care about them.
Sure, we need to eat too, but putting something together in the kitchen that my friends and family will find delicious makes me feel great.
While many TV commercials will suggest that it’s a diamond or a box of chocolates that are the real ways to show your affection, I think cooking is the sincerest way to show it.
My wife and I have been married for close to a decade and during that time, she has yet to cook a meal for herself or our children.
It’s not like she hasn’t tried though–it’s just that I’m always there in front of the stove first.
So as we approach another V-day together, I’ve asked her what she’d like to eat on the 14th.
She hasn’t told me yet but I already know the answer–I make it for her every year.
Still, leading up to the big night, I’ve been preparing dishes that cater to more of my favourite flavours with one in particular popping up–Fettucine Alfredo.
I know, I know, an artery killer for sure, but everything in moderation friends–don’t worry, I’ll eat a salad the next evening.
I find Alfredo to be simply divine and a cinch to make too.
All you need are three ingredients–butter, cream and cheese.
While the shopping list is quite small, what I’ve found to be absolutely critical to the success of this dish is the quality of ingredients used.
Organic butter, fresh cream and grated-just-before-making-the-meal Parmesan Reggiano.
To make myself feel a little less guilty about eating it, I add several huge handfuls of baby spinach that I sauté first.
I also toss in large shrimp, a few spoonfuls of roasted garlic and whole wheat fettucine too.
Simply amazing.
While decadent and sitting on the sinful side of the scale, I think it would be perfect as a dish to serve your love on V-day.
Brandon’s Fettucine Alfredo with Roasted Garlic & Baby Spinach
8 oz whole wheat fettucine
8 oz baby spinach, stemmed
1 package of 31-40 sized shelled and uncooked shrimp, thawed
1 head of roasted garlic (or more), cloves squeezed out and pureed
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of butter in a sauté pan set over medium high heat; add spinach and cook until starting to wilt.
Lower heat to a simmer and add remaining butter. When melted, add shrimp and cook until pink, stirring often.
Add roasted garlic, stirring to mix, and cream to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Add Parm, stirring until melted; season with salt and pepper.
Add fettucine to the pan and toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water if sauce is too thick. Serve immediately.
Serves 4

I’m not sure how it happened, but in one day, we went from a family of four (and a half) healthy people to a family with only one healthy member–me.
As if by magic, the rest of my clan transformed into a bunch of runny-nosed, coughing germ carriers and luckily, at least at this writing, I still remain immune.
I’m not sure how long that will remain the case, but at least for now, I’m still smiling.
As the primary cook, when my lovies befall such conditions, I prepare my elixir of healing, more commonly known as chicken noodle soup.
I don’t want to brag, but as soon as I make and serve it, at least to my wife, the next day there is a huge improvement in her condition.
My daughters will have it for dinner tonight so hopefully, it’ll work its charms on them too.
As I started to create my version, I was curious to see what others have done in terms of ingredients used or steps taken to make said soup.
And honestly, most of the recipes out there are down-right boring.
I mean, I wasn’t looking for the most unique concoction out there but one that at least went beyond the very basic.
So, to help others who might be looking for a soothing remedy to their ills brought on by a cold, here is the recipe I make to rid my loves of their symptoms.
Enjoy!

Brandon’s Cold-Destroying Chicken Noodle Soup
3, 900 mL tetra-packs of chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
2 shallots, minced
3 carrots, cut in half (if thick), then sliced or in rounds (if the carrot is thin)
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
4 chicken breasts
2 stalks of lemongrass, white part only, cut in half and slightly smashed with a mallet
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
Juice from 1 Meyer lemon
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a large stockpot set over medium-low heat. Add shallots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add carrots and celery to pot and increase heat to medium-high. Cook vegetables, stirring often, until starting to lightly brown. Add all remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove chicken breasts from soup, let cool slightly, then dice and return to soup. Simmer soup for 45 minutes to 1 hour. While soup simmers, bring a separate pot filled with water to a boil. Season with salt and cook desired pasta until al dente. Since I have little girls, I usually go with alphabet shapes or miniature star pasta, but whatever floats your boat will do. When soup is done simmering, remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. Then fill a bowl with a serving of prepared pasta and spoon in several scoops of hot soup. I tend to serve this with either wholegrain baguette that has been smeared with butter and broiled until brown, or topped with aged cheese and broiled as well.
Let me know if this soup works on your cold or simply tastes like it could

Apparently, there’s some kind of game happening this weekend that has a few folks pretty darn excited.
Truth be told, if the event wasn’t splattered all over every newspaper, I honestly wouldn’t have had the faintest idea it was happening.
I even had to Google “Superbowl” to find out when it was going to be played.
As you can see, I’m not much of a sports fan.
Most of the competitions I watch usually involve cupcakes or are held in the kitchen stadium.
That said, I am a huge fan of the type of food served at the various parties being held in homes to watch said game.
See–while I will watch a show called cupcake wars, I redeem my manliness but taking part in all manners of guy food.
It’s very hard to choose just one type of guy food to consume when there are just so many worthy options for noshing on while in the midst of men.
Wings are awesome and so are nachos.
Sliders are pretty darn tasty too.
But what I really like are tacos.
And if you think I’m talking about those dinner kits that come crammed in those yellow cardboard boxes, think again.
When I do tacos, I do them up proper.
My two favourite proteins to go inside are chicken and beef (strip-loin to be precise).
I take a whole roasting chicken and spread a silly amount of compound butter under it’s skin (a combination of green onions, diced chipotles, lime zest, ground coriander and fresh oregano) and roast the sucker in the oven until golden brown.
The butter under the skin infuses the chicken with oodles of flavour while keeping the white meat nice and moist.
I add a few quartered onions and a handful or two, yes handfuls, of whole garlic cloves and some chicken stock to the roasting pan as well.
In under two hours, I have a beautiful brown-skinned bird that bursts with flavour.
I let it cool and then shred the meat that then is added to crispy shells and other ingredients.
My other favourite is grilled steak tacos.
If you’re looking to feed a fairly big crowd, tacos are also an excellent way to stretch out your protein as well.
Since most shells can only hold a few pieces plus toppings, a single steak can sever up to eight people.
Yeah, eight.
I’ll be giving you my best steak recipe for tacos in just a second, but before that, let’s talk about what should go on top of it (or under, depending on your stacking preference).
I go with 8 year old shredded white cheddar for starters. Then baby romaine lettuce leaves. They can be found pre-washed and ready to go plus the tiny leaves are perfect to pack a taco with without needing cut up (and browning after a while).
They come in two colours as well adding a nice visual touch too.
Then slices of avocado.
A few shots of Tabasco and then lime juice and lime-spiked sour cream.
I like to finish with a salsa verde but fresh chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes sliced in rounds works great too.
And that’s it folks–pack that all in with the steak and you’ve just scored a culinary touchdown.
Now, without further ado, the steak marinade:
Chipotle, Lime & Garlic Marinated Steak
1, 1″ thick (or thicker) 8 oz strip-loin steak
6 peeled garlic cloves
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3 tbsp canola oil
Juice from 1 lime
Sea salt

DIRECTIONS:
In a food processor, combine garlic and chipotle peppers. Process until finely chopped, add oil and juice and process until emulsified. Season with sea salt. Pour marinade into a glass dish. Place steak on top of marinade and then flip over to completely coat the steak in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes in the fridge. Remove from fridge; flip steak and marinade another 45 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat a gas grill over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; rub cooking grates with canola oil. Place steak on the grill and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the steak a 1/4 turn and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Flip steak and repeat. Remove from heat and tent with foil for 5 minutes. Cut into thin strips and serve immediately.
Touchdown!

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but when I watch shows such as Survivor, I get a little jealous.
Not in the, I’d-love-to-be-on-a-tropical-island-in-the-middle-of-winter kinds of thing, but more when the cameras zooms in on the fish they’re grilling over the open fire.
Drool.
Yes friends, that is the source of my envy.
Well, a shot at a million bucks would also be nice but still, every time they show a fish being pulled out of the water and then grilled over the flames, I wish I could be there to taste it.
Or one of the chickens they won in a challenge. How good would that be freshly butchered then cooked over an open flame?
I mean, does it get any fresher than that?
Plus, the fire’s flames and smoke would make that taste so good, I’m having a tough time typing and wiping away the drool forming at both sides of my mouth as I think about it.
Same thing for The Game of Thrones tv show.
I’m reading the books along with watching the show on HBO and again, the feasts they show on TV and the detail they go into as I read the books, makes me hunger for what they’re having.
There are entire pages devoted to listing the extravagant ingredients and meals being served at these events.
It makes me wish a restaurant in the city existed that catered to the old recipes and drinks.
How cool would it be to hoist a tankard sloshing with delicious mead as you tear into a roasted goose with chestnut and apple stuffing?
Oh yeah–sign me up. Heck, I’d invest in the darn thing!
But alas–none exist and that type of cooking, apparently, can’t make it in this day and age.
That makes me a little sad.
Few people these days realize or care that the chicken they pick up at the store was once a living, breathing animal.
And as we lose sight of that connection, we’re also losing access to an entire world of cooking too.
To keep it alive just a little longer, make something tonight, this week or this month, that uses the same principles cooks from 100′s of years ago took to heart.
Find an ingredient as fresh as possible and cook it over a fire.
Serve it to friends along with a few mugs of beer while music plays in the background.
And that my friends, I promise, is a meal worth remembering.

When we bought our current house, one of the features about it we liked the most was the expansive dining room.
The kitchen was pretty good (still small by my standards though) but with the adjoining great room that would become the dining room, that sold us.
Now that I think about it, going this route may have been a bad idea.
You see, with enough space in there to sit 10 people and a few kids comfortably, our home has become the de facto place for all manners of birthday parties, celebrations and holiday gatherings.
I, as you know, love to cook, so with all of my pots and pans at my fingertips, it also makes it a great deal easier to kick out a meal for large groups of people.
Which brings me back to the whole ‘bad idea’ thing.
With the space and the cooking skills, we always host.
Always.
Seriously though, I don’t mind it that much as I’d rather have these meals here instead of being squished into a much smaller space where you don’t get to sit and enjoy the meal with all participants.
So, if given the choice, I pick our house too (plus, I get to raid my red wine cellar while I’m at it too.)
We recently held one of these big meals just the other day.
My lovely wife’s older sister was in town with her six, yes, count ‘em, six kids and we wanted to have them over for dinner.
Once you throw in the hubby, other siblings and parents, the head count gives pretty big, pretty fast.
As I thought about all the things I could make that would be both delicious and appealing to a wide range of ages, I settled on a favourite family standby–spaghetti marinara and meatballs.
The homemade kind of course.
That would be rounded out with sautéed garlic and Monterey Jack baked cheese bread, Caesar salad with (eggless) dressing over baby romaine and honey & balsamic macerated strawberries with Angel food cake.
Kids would like it–so would Mom and Dad.
That, my friends, is the ticket too–when preparing anything for a large group, the key is going with what you know.
Don’t even think about trying a brand new recipe for a ton of people–if you’re running though the steps for the first time, you won’t know how scalable the recipe really is.
You see, most are for 4 to 6 people–not 14 like my group.
Sure, if it calls for 2 garlic cloves, doubling to 4 sounds easy enough, but what about when you get to 8 or even 16?
You may get not enough of the flavour or way too much.
Knowing how to prepare a dish and what its supposed to look and taste like at the end will save you all kinds of headaches.
Also look at your timing
How do you plan on keeping the meatballs warm if the oven is tied up with the cake.
How many pots will you need on the stove at once to make the marinara and cook the pasta.
Timing, almost every chef will tell you, is crucial.
So before you dive in to start working on your meal, make a quick game plan of what needs done at what time.
Having several pots and pans needing the same real estate space at the same time is not good for your mental health, so avoid it at all costs.
That my friends, are a couple of tips for succeeding at preparing large meals.
I’ll leave you with a recipe too–here’s the strawberry topping I used on the Angel food cake
2 lbs ripe, red strawberries
2 tbsp (30 mL) honey
2 tbsp (30 mL) superfine or berry sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) white balsamic vinegar
Pinch of kosher salt

DIRECTIONS:
Wash, hull and half the strawberries. Place in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Place strawberries in a bowl and combine with remaining ingredients, stirring to mix. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Stir before scooping onto your dessert of choice.
Yum!

In less than two days, I’ll be with my family enjoying the beaches of Mexico.
I know, I lead quite the rough life.
We don’t do this every year mind you, and are fortunate to be able to do it this year, especially now with two daughters under the age of four and one more on the way.
As I was telling a friend of mine about the upcoming trip, he asked how it was possible for someone like me to be talked into dining buffet-style for a week.
Good question.
I think in the spirit of the holiday, I let go of what I normally prefer to eat and instead go with the flow.
I won’t lie, buffet-style food is not my first choice of eats, but when travelling with little ones, being able to offer them a variety of options at meal time is awesome.
So, Daddy takes one for the team.
That said, not all food served in this manner is horrible.
The last time we stayed in Mexico, I had to begrundgingly accept that several times it as actually pretty darn good.
That of course, all depends on the place you’re staying and again, we’ve been lucky to find places where they take pride in the food served.
Hopefully, the place we’re headed will do the same.
If not though, I’ve picked a room at the resort that comes with a full sized kitchen.
And, I’ve already plotted out how to get to the fresh fish market just outside of the resort.
Oh yeah.
To get in the mood for the upcoming trip, I made a batch of quick and easy enchiladas.
To wit, here is the recipe for you to enjoy no matter if you’re getting set to fly off somewhere warm or staying put.

Adobo Chicken & Black Bean Whole-Wheat Enchiladas
6 whole wheat and flax tortillas
1 store-bought rotisserie chicken
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large white onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 cup chicken stock
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (or more to taste).
1 tbsp adobo sauce
3 tbsp taco seasoning
3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jar of tomatillo salsa or your favourite salsa verde
1 cup grated aged white cheddar
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Remove skin from chicken and discard, Remove meat from chicken and shred. Heat oil in a skillet set over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, chipotle, adobo and seasoning; bring to a boil then simmer, stirring often, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and add beans to mixture, stirring to incorporate. Let cool to room temperature. Spray an ovenproof 10″ x 10″ baking dish with nonstick spray. Place roughly 1/2 cup of mixture (or more) into each tortilla and roll up tightly into a cigar shape. We want to evenly divide the chicken mixture between the six tortillas so you may need to add more or less to each one depending on how much meat you got from the chicken. Place filled tortillas seam side down into prepared baking dish. Cover with salsa and cheese. Bake in a preheated 425 F oven for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is brown and bubbly. Serve immediately with sour cream and additional salsa.
Serves 6 (or 4 depending on how hungry you are)

As a foodie living in Winnipeg, 2011 was a very, very good year.
New restaurants opened and existing ones either relocated or improved their already stellar list of goodies.
So where was I filling my belly the most last year?
Well, without further ado, here’s my favourite top 3 places to eat in the city.
For starters, I have to admit the first place on my list has remained one of my favourite establishments since it opened in south Osborne.
Not only was its opening a godsend to local folks, but the food was an inspired take on french food in a comfortable and approachable manner.
Sure, you could find rilettes, pate and other typical French dishes on the menu, but mussels et frites, pork chops and salmon made choosing a dish for the less than French-food familiar an easy exercise.
If you haven’t guessed, it’s Bistro 7 1/4.
Chef Alex Svenne continues to rock it out, and now, with even more square feet to play in, continues to be one of the best in the city.
As for the movers and shakers, our good friends at Deseo Bistro have settled in nicely to their digs (or should I say, figs?) in south Osborne too.
Nicely decorated with birch wood and muted colour, the space is as inviting as the menu.
I’ve always been one who prefers to make a meal out of smaller bites and if you’re like me, you’ll find the task nearly impossible here.
Impossible in a good way as the choices seem almost endless with each one sounding as good as the previous one.
Be it the spicy sweet chorizo and figs, the unctuous Iberico croquette or the simple yet amazing duck fat fingerling potatoes, you don’t need to look past the first part of the menu to find an amazing dinner.
Alejandro, Scott & staff–you do great work.
Lastly, but certainly not the least, is Elements.
The man behind this massive project is none other than Ben Kramer, a genuine nice guy and champion of local, sustainable and quality food.
I’m not sure what makes me more proud about the opening of Elements–the foodie in me who loves great food or as a Winnipegger seeing someone produce meals for students and the public that don’t arrive in trucks from Sysco.
The menu is ethnically diverse to appeal to all who visit, but since I am an aficionado of smoked pork belly, the first stop is always the spicy bacon caramel popcorn. That salty sweet epiphany is closely followed by the smoked tomato Caesar salad and a toss up between the juniper brined chicken or the sablefish with marinated wakame and warm carrot salad.
So there you have it folks–my top 3 places to eat in 2011 (and soon to be 2012).
There are many other joints I could have named as well, but let’s leave that for another post.
Happy 2012 everyone!

Ingredients

• 6 sheets dark green nori
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) mayonnaise
• 1 tsp (5 mL) wasabi paste
• 4 cups (1 L) prepared and seasoned sushi rice
• 8 oz (250 g) thinly sliced smoked salmon
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) thinly sliced pickled ginger

Directions

Oil and line a 9″ x 9″ (23 cm x 23 cm) pan with plastic wrap. Lay a piece of nori, shiny side down, on top of plastic wrap, trimming the sheet to fit neatly in a single layer.

Mix mayonnaise and wasabi; reserve. Pat half the rice over the nori layer, spreading it evenly to the edges. Smear rice layer with wasabi-mayo (lightly or more for increased spice). Lay the salmon over the rice, trimming to fit (save any scraps for ‘testing’). Top with a second layer of nori. Pat down. Top with the remaining rice. Sprinkle evenly with toasted sesame seeds. Distribute pickled ginger evenly over the entire surface. Cover with nori, shiny side up, pushing down lightly. Cover with plastic wrap, laying it directly on the nori. Place something heavy on top–a second cake pan weighted with a couple of 28 oz tins will do it. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.

To Assemble:
Using a sharp knife, dip the tip in water; let water drip down edge before cutting. Slice sushi into desired pattern. Wipe blade with a damp cloth and dip tip of knife into water after each cut.

Serves 4 – 6