Contents Bonnie's Book Clubs Corporate Services News and Events Restaurant Recommendations+ Bonnie's Cookbooks Featured Recipes Contact Bonnie Stern Phone: 416 484 4810 Email: bonnie@bonniestern.com Follow Bonnie: www.twitter.com/bonniestern www.facebook.com/ bonnie.stern.96 Website: www.bonniestern.com About Bonnie When Bonnie Stern started her cooking school in 1973 she wanted people to have more fun in the kitchen, eat more healthfully and nourish their families and friends with delicious food. That goal has never changed. Bonnie is still sharing her love of cooking in everything she does. Bonnie is an award winning author of twelve best-selling cookbooks and writes weekly in the National Post. As well as offering a wide variety of corporate services, cooking classes and unique book clubs where authors actually attend and dinner is included. She is the recipient of the 2007 Premier’s Award. May 2013 My spring weekend in New York was delicious but it was freezing! Luckily the food at Mission Chinese was so hot and spicy it kept me warm for days. Also lucky they sell scarves and gloves on every street corner. For whatever reason you go to New York there is always lots to do and when it comes to food it is impossible to do it all. But I tried. I know many people who visit New York in the spring so I ate lots and ran around endlessly just to be able to recommend some of the hot new places. Be sure to check the restaurant section below for my picks. Thanks to Mitchell Davis (James Beard Foundation) and Gabriella Gershenson (Saveur Magazine) for all their guidance. Some of you already know about the unique literary project - Project Bookmark Canada - started by Miranda Hill, one of the authors we featured at our book club last year. It puts Canadian stories and poems in the exact, physical locations where literary scenes are set. For example, the first bookmark was a passage from Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion at the Bloor Street Viaduct in Toronto. I was proud to be part of their Page Turner campaign in April helping to raise money (just a $20 donation makes you a page turner!), spread the word and tell the story of a Trans-Canada literary trail. Our book clubs are now waitlist only until July when we are presenting an outstanding event and dinner at The Stop, in honour of the book The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement by Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis. I am so proud to do an event with The Stop and their Community Food Centre which is changing the lives of people one meal at a time. And I just finished reading our August book, A Marker to Measure Drift by Alexander Maksik. It will take your breath away. Check our book club section below for more information and how to register. Delicious Wishes, Bonnie Bonnie's Book Club Bonnie's Book Club is a labour of love. Nothing pleases Bonnie more than to have the opportunity to bring readers and writers together in a truly unique way that offers the rare opportunity to meet some of the country's leading authors, discuss their work and enjoy a delicious meal inspired by the book. Drawing on her degree in English and her passion for food and cooking, Bonnie Stern invites you to a literary feast you won't soon forget - Oprah's book club never tasted this good! *Small print: All registrations must be paid in full when registering. Please check your schedule carefully before registering. Cancellations can be accepted only up to 14 days before event date, a $50 charge (plus HST) applies to cover the administration fee and cost of the book. At any time you may send someone in your place for no additional charge. It is the attendee’s responsibility to mark their calendar with the date, time and location of the event. MAY LINDA SPALDING: THE PURCHASE Over the years, the Book Club has welcomed a number of great literary award winners and May continues that tradition. Bonnie is pleased to confirm a special event with Governor General's Award-winner Linda Spalding to discuss her brilliant new novel The Purchase. Set in Virginia in the early 1800s, The Purchase is a novel of great scope and power that explores a family of conscience caught up in the history of the time, and a fateful decision that will haunt them forever. Imbued with moral complexity, The Purchase is a remarkable work, darkly beautiful and as hard-edged as the realities of pioneer life. This is a resonant and timeless work that places Linda Spalding at the forefront of Canadian fiction writers.   Date: Monday, May 6, 2013 (Wait list only) or Monday, May 13, 2013 (Wait list only) Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm Place: Rose and Sons 176 Dupont Street, Toronto Fee: $150 plus HST* (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of The Purchase sent out as soon as possible after registration) Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810 CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE: AMERICANAH While the Book Club has a great reputation of bringing readers together with the very best Canadian writers, there are also opportunities to highlight some of the finest international writers working today. Bonnie is absolutely thrilled to welcome back Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as she launches her new novel, Americanah. The Booker Prize-longlisted, Orange Prize-winning writer is a Book Club favourite, having visited in 2007 to talk about her brilliant bestselling novel Half of A Yellow Sun. Americanah is a searing novel, at once sweeping and intimate, that explores love and expectation set against the backdrop of today’s globalized world. As teenagers in Nigeria, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America. There she suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze had hoped to join her, but post 9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. This is a story of love and race centered around a man and woman from Nigeria who seemed destined to be together - until the choices they are forced to make tear them apart. This promises to be a great evening of food and discussion.   Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013 (Wait list only) Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm Place: Pangaea Restaurant 1221 Bay Street, Toronto Fee: $150 plus HST* (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of Americanah sent out as soon as possible after registration) Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810 JUNE SHYAM SELVADURAI: THE HUNGRY GHOSTS The current Book Club season wraps up with one of Canada’s leading writers presenting his eagerly-awaited new novel. After fourteen years, the great Shyam Selvadurai returns with the beautiful and haunting The Hungry Ghosts. A novel about love, family and the burden of memory, The Hungry Ghosts tells the story of Shivan, a young man trying to make a place for himself in the world as he struggles to come to terms with tragic incidents of his youth. He must also confront the complicated relationship that he has with his iron-willed grandmother who is determined to chart Shivan’s course in life, even though they are separated by geography and enduring grievances. Fans of Shyam’s Giller Prize- shortlisted Funny Boy and national bestselling Cinnamon Gardens will not be disappointed. Date: Monday, June 10, 2013 (Wait list only) Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm Place: Amaya the Indian Room 1701 Bayview Avenue, Toronto Fee: $150 plus HST* (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of The Hungry Ghosts sent out as soon as possible after registration) Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810 JULY NICK SAUL, ANDREA CURTIS: THE STOP How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement. Bonnie has been following the incredible work that Nick Saul has been doing with The Stop for years and she is so happy to announce that there is now a really remarkable new book that documents this important organization. In 1998, when Nick Saul became executive director of The Stop, the little urban food bank was like thousands of other cramped, dreary, makeshift spaces, a last-hope refuge where desperate people could stave off hunger for one more day with a hamper full of canned salt, sugar and fat. For users of the food bank, knowing that this was their best bet for a meal was a humiliating experience. Since that time, The Stop has undergone a radical reinvention. Participation has overcome embarrassment, and the isolation of poverty has been replaced with a vibrant community that uses food to build hope and skills, and to reach out to those who need a meal, a hand and a voice. It is now a thriving, internationally respected Community Food Centre with gardens, kitchens, a greenhouse, farmers’ markets and a mission to revolutionize our food system. And it has inspired the creation of similar centres across the country through a project of a new national organization called Community Food Centre Canada. In telling the remarkable story of The Stop’s transformation, Saul and co-author Curtis argue that we need a new politics of food, one in which everyone has a dignified, healthy place at the table. By turns funny, sad and raw, The Stop is a timely story about overcoming obstacles, challenging sacred cows and creating lasting change. Jamie Oliver says “The Stop is an inspiring true story about how a low-income neighbourhood used good food to take charge of its community—it’s a great lesson for all of us.” Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm Place: The Stop's Green Barn 601 Christie Street, Barn 4 (in the Wychwood Barns) Fee: $150 plus HST* (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of The Stop sent out as soon as possible after registration) Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810 AUGUST ALEXANDER MAKSIK: A MARKER TO MEASURE DRIFT Bonnie always enjoys bringing some of the best international writers to the Book Club and in August she has confirmed one of the most exciting new writers on the literary landscape. Join us as Alexader Maksik makes a very rare visit to Toronto to discuss his new novel A Marker to Measure Drift. With the publication of his debut novel, You Deserve Nothing, Alexander Maksik established himself as one of the most exciting new writers working today and received rave reviews around the world. The Christian Science Monitor called Maksik a “virtuoso”, while The Independent (UK) said You Deserve Nothing reminds the reader how powerful ideas and literature can be. One of the book’s great champions was Alice Sebold (The Lovely Bones) who called Maksik’s debut “One of the most engaged reads I’ve had in years.” Alexander Maksik will visit Toronto and the Book Club to discuss his new novel, A Marker to Measure Drift. On an island somewhere in the Aegean, Jacqueline, a young Liberian woman, veers between starvation and satiety, between the brutality of her past and the precarious uncertainty of her present in the aftermath of experiences so unspeakable that she prefers homeless numbness to the psychological confrontation she knows is inevitable. Hypnotic, highly sensual, exquisitely written, and extraordinary in its depiction of both pleasure and pain, of excruciating physical and spiritual hungers. The excitement for this novel is already building. Writer Ben Fountain calls A Marker to Measure Drift "a haunting, haunted novel. Things get stripped down to essentials - food, water, where to sleep for the night, a state of solitary desperation brought on by the most profound kind of loss… This is one of those books that leaves you staring into space when you finish, dazed from the sheer power of what’s been said." Don’t miss what promises to be a truly memorable evening. Date: Monday, August 12, 2013 Time: 6:30pm to 9:30pm Place: To be announced Fee: $150 plus HST* (includes dinner, beverages, gratuity and a copy of A Marker to Measure Drift sent out as soon as possible after registration) Advance registration only: Bonnie Stern 416 484 4810 Book Club Locations   Rose and Sons It isn’t just me that loves Rose and Sons. The line-ups have become legendary at Rose’s cozy hip diner. Toronto Life said “The eatery has an undeniably buzzy energy, with a bustling bar operating beside a semi-enclosed kitchen, which turns out the kind of elevated comfort food that Rose has become known for.” 176 Dupont Street Toronto 647 748 3287 www.roseandsons.ca Pangaea Restaurant Chef Martin Kroupie has always championed local, seasonal food and many of the ingredients he uses are only available to Pangaea. He is the author of Pangaea, Why It Tastes So Good, where he reveals the secrets of some of his most celebrated dishes. 1221 Bay Street Toronto 416 920 2323 www.pangaearestaurant.com Amaya the Indian Room "The Indian food Toronto has been waiting for..." Joanne Kates, the Globe and Mail. "Sophisticated without boundaries..." Amy Pataki, Toronto Star. 1701 Bayview Avenue Toronto 416 322 3270 www.amayarestaurant.com The Stop Community Food Centre www.thestop.org Corporate Services Corporate culinary events are a great way to host a corporate function. Great food always brings co-workers and staff together. People have fun, learn a lot and take home delicious memories. Events are customized to meet your location, schedule, objectives and food preferences. Bonnie works with nutritionists, food producers, restaurants, etiquette experts and authors to create exciting programs. All events will be planned and hosted by Bonnie personally. Bonnie Stern has worked with various food manufacturers, grocery chains, restaurants, chefs, health professionals as well as cookware manufacturers, etc., offering a wide variety of corporate services, such as: Corporate culinary events Recipe development Private cooking classes Personal chef training Product consultation Menu consulting for parties Fundraising events  and more... For detailed information, please call: 416 484 4810 Bonnie's Cookbooks   Friday Night Dinners Bonnie's newest cookbook with her favourite menus, recipes, photos and stories. Over 170 delicious recipes for every occasion - holidays, barbecues, fast suppers and fabulous feasts - and Bonnie makes sure you can make fantastic meals and still enjoy the food and fun with everyone else. You'll want to use this book every day of the week. Published by Random House of Canada, 2010, 320 pages, paperback $29.95 Bonnie Stern's Essentials of Home Cooking Winner of the 2004 International Association of Culinary Professionals Award. A beautiful cookbook filled with Bonnie’s personal favourites - dishes that reflect the way we are cooking today. Published by Random House of Canada, 2003, 208 pages, paperback $34.95 HeartSmart This wonderful compendium is a must for every kitchen featuring over 300 favourite recipes from the bestselling Simply HeartSmart Cooking, More HeartSmart Cooking and HeartSmart Cooking for Family and Friends, as well as 75 brand-new recipes to add to your HeartSmart repertoire. Many of the classic recipes have been fully updated to incorporate current food trends and new nutritional information. Published by Random House of Canada, 2006, 480 pages, paperback. $34.95 Cuisiner au gout du coeur Published by Trecarre, 2006, 512 pages $18.98  Appetizers A very special collection of over 150 mouth-watering recipes including soups, spreads, salads, hors d'oeuvre, pastas and much more. Complete with presentation, entertaining, menu planning tips and over 50 detailed illustrations. Published by Random House of Canada, 1990, 176 pages, paperback $22.95 Desserts Over 120 recipes for decadent cakes, pies and pastries, scrumptious cookies, creamy mousses and ice creams – A collection of recipes from a master that stand the test, and tastes, of time. Also provided are elegant decorating tips, helpful information on equipment and ingredients, and black-and-white illustrations throughout demonstrating basic techniques that will make these recipes absolutely no-fail. Published by Random House Canada, 1998, 214 pages, paperback $21 HeartSmart Cooking for Family and Friends Featuring nine entertaining menus (over 200 recipes) with complete work plans, presentation ideas and wine suggestions, as well as complete nutritional analysis for each recipe, plus the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Food Choice Values. Colour photos and black and white instructional illustrations throughout. Published by Random House of Canada, 2000, 320 pages, paperback $28.95 Recevoir au gout du coeur: recettes, menus et conseils pour des réunions de famille et d’amis Published by Trecarre, 2000, 320 pages, paperback $29.95 News And Events MICHAEL POLLAN: COOKED Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation Michael Pollan in conversation with Matt Galloway, host of CBC's Metro Morning. The Cookbook Store is pleased to announce Michael Pollan will be in Toronto to promote his new book Cooked. There will be an onstage interview followed by Q & A and of course a book signing. Date: Thursday, June 6, 2013 Time: 7pm Place: Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street West, Toronto Tickets: $34, includes the book Cooked Available only through The Cookbook Store 416 920 2665 TORONTO TASTE 2013 Join Toronto’s most discerning connoisseurs for Second Harvest’s Toronto Taste. For one exquisite evening, 65 of the city’s finest chefs and 35 celebrated beverage purveyors will unite for tastings, live and silent auctions and entertainment in support of hunger relief in our community. Date: Sunday, June 9, 2013 Time: 6:30pm to 10pm Place: Royal Ontario Museum Tickets: $250 (tax receipt issued for $125) For more information, visit www.torontotaste.ca LANGDON HALL'S "FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER SERIES" Every Friday night during the summer, Langdon Hall presents a casual barbecue event as a dinner option. Each week executive chef Jonathan Gushue hosts a guest chef, food producer or cookbook author. These events will be held outdoors at communal tables. Guests can attend just the barbecue or stay overnight for a special rate. Join Bonnie and Mitchell Davis, the James Beard Foundation’s VP and celebrity judge on "Best in Smoke", for their sizzling dinner on Friday, August 2, 2013. For more information and/or reservations call 1 800 268 1898 Restaurant Recommendations and More TORONTO Cafe Boulud 60 Yorkville Avenue Toronto 416 964 0411 The perfect number of courses, perfect portion size and perfectly delicious food made this special dinner for international guests still in Toronto after Toronto’s Terroir Symposium – perfect. It's a great place to have special occasion meals as well as breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. Do not miss – Grapefruit Givre for dessert – seriously one of my favourite desserts ever. Expensive Richmond Station 1 Richmond Street West Toronto 647 748 1444 A quick lunch turned into a delicious meal at Richmond Station at Yonge and Richmond. Their lobster tacos, beet and candied hazelnut salad and tender grilled chicken sandwich were delicious and the caramel-sticky-cake-thing for dessert was a great send-off. Moderate Rose and Sons 176 Dupont Street Toronto 647 748 3287 Rose and Sons was the place to go after Toronto’s Terroir Symposium for Anthony Rose’s delicious comfort food. Chefs, food writers, international guests – all there! Don’t miss the patty melt, fried rice, cornbread and soft serve sundae. Reasonable Samuel J. Moore 1087 Queen Street West Toronto 416 897 8348 Named after the man who built the Great Hall on Queen West, this lovely space is open almost 24/7 (about 20/7) making it a great place for late night snacks, breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. At a recent brunch the food all sounded great but would have tasted better if everything had arrived hot like my eggs Benedict with homemade biscuits, kale and mushrooms. Moderate Volos 133 Richmond Street West Toronto 416 861 1211 For upscale, sophisticated Greek food and great service Volos is the place. We had an outstanding meal there for our book + dinner club featuring Annabel Lyon and her new book The Sweet Girl.  We loved the stuffed vine leaves, shaved fennel salad, flaming cheese, braised lamb in phyllo, black sesame crusted wild salmon and the Ouzo chocolate Mousse. Moderate to Expensive NEW YORK, NEW YORK Carbone 181 Thompson Street New York 212 254 3000 This seemingly old-school Italian restaurant with huge menus and tableside Caesar salads tasted new-school delicious. How could it be so delicious we asked as we went into an eating frenzy. Don’t miss the linguine vongole, tortellini with veal ragu, baked clams, veal parmesan. Even the garlic bread and bread sticks were not to be missed. From the team behind Torrisi and Parm. Moderate to Expensive Lafayette 380 Lafayette Street New York 212 533 3000 Andrew Carmellini’s newest restaurant, Lafayette, only four days old when we were there, was already the hottest place in town. That was confirmed when we saw Sophia Vergara sitting a few tables away. The restaurant is gorgeous in the style of a grand French cafe complete with a pastry shop. Don’t miss the crab tartine, Moroccan lamb chops, duck breast with kumquats, any of the pastas, apple tart and the fantastic cocktail Rive Gouche. Expensive Maialino 2 Lexington Avenue New York 212 777 2410 Brunch with Madhur Jaffrey was a real treat at Maialino, Danny Meyer’s version of a Roman trattoria in the Granmercy Park Hotel. Madhur’s poached eggs with fresh chick peas were so delicious as were my scrambled eggs with pecorino and black pepper (see recipe section). It’s open for break, brunch, lunch and dinner and always busy. Moderate Mission Chinese Food 154 Orchard Street New York 212 529 8800 This crazy delicious restaurant, which started in San Francisco (inside another Chinese restaurant), is a big hit in New York too and so over the top. My mouth was on fire the whole weekend from the chicken wings which was a good thing as it was so cold out. I think we had just about every dish - don't miss the hot dog ramen – so delicious. Just order what they tell you to and you won’t go wrong. Moderate Roberta's 261 Moore Street Brooklyn New York 718 417 1118 Roberta's started as a pizza place in 2008 but has become the centre of Brooklyn's food revolution. The restaurant itself may seem rough and ready, but the food is amazingly delicious as they use a lot of home grown produce, make their own bread and other specialties. It is also the home of Heritage Radio Network and Mitchell Davis’ weekly show “Taste Matters”. Our pizza, beet salad, kale salad and sweetbreads in lime mayo were so yummy. Moderate Breads Bakery 18 East 16th Street New York 212 633 2253 This is the New York outpost of my favourite Tel Aviv bakery - Lehamim. I love the babkas, cheese sticks, chocolate rugalahs, jam cookies with marzipan, almond croissants and the amazing Danish rye bread with seeds. The cafe in the back serves breakfast and lunch. Yum. Moderate The Shop in the Andaz Hotel 485 5th Avenue New York 212 601 1234 This beautiful new cafe is a great place for breakfast or a casual lunch. Delicious coffee, cookies and muffins. Moderate PDT (Please don't tell) 113 St. Marks Place (between 1st Avenue & Avenue A) New York 212 614 0386 Everyone wants to go to PDT. They take reservations the same day after 3pm and you often have to call multiple times to get through. It is located in the back of a hot dog shop and you go through a phone booth to let them know you are there and to get in. Very cool. The drinks are great and they only take as many people as can be seated so it is pretty calm when you get in no matter how many people are waiting outside or in the hot dog place. There’s a little attitude but nothing you can’t handle. Moderate Pegu Club 77 West Houston 2nd Floor New York 212 473 PEGU Named after a British Colonial Officer’s club near the Gulf of Martaban in Burma in the 1800’s the goal here is to bring back the true art of cocktail culture. I love this bar! Moderate Smorgasburg The Brooklyn Flea Market Saturdays in Williamsburg and Sundays in Dumbo www.smorgasburg.com Definitely a different kind of flea market. Picture over 100 vendors all serving food and thousands of foodies lining up for that food. Great flavours, great ideas and lots of fun. It’s a chefaround gone wild. Reasonable to Moderate The Plaza Food Hall The Plaza Hotel Fifth Avenue (at Central Park South) New York 212 759 3000 Who knew that under the Plaza Hotel there was an exciting collection of restaurant outposts great for lunch and take-away dinners. There are bakeries, a Movenpick-like restaurant from Todd English, sandwiches and sushi. Some of the vendors are: Pain D’Avignon, La Maison du Chocolate, Sushi of Gari (don’t miss the avocado and tuna sushi ‘sandwich’ with mango salsa), Billy’s Bakery and Lady M (don’t miss the at least 20 layer crepe cake – we counted 24 layers) and lots more. Reasonable to Expensive Featured Recipes GRILLED CHEESE WITH BACON, CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND DILL PICKLES 8 slices bread (like multigrain or rosemary), 1/2" thick 4 slices bacon, cooked and diced 8 oz combination of your favourite cheese or a combination of grated cheddar, Swiss and a little crumbled blue cheese 16 thin slices of dill pickles Smorgasburg, the Brooklyn Flea Food Market has hundreds of vendors and thousands of foodies all in one place. It’s all there from Mighty Quinn’s brisket sandwiches to People’s Pops to Milk Truck Grilled Cheese. Here's my take on one of the markets’ favourite grilled cheese from Milk Truck. Caramelized Onions: Cook 2 chopped onions in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat about 10 until browned, add 1 tsp each brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and continue cooking until tender about 10 to 15 minutes. Method: 1. Arrange 4 slices bread on work surface. Combine bacon with onions and spread on one side of bread. Top each slice with 2 oz cheese and then 4 slices of the pickles. Cover with remaining bread and gently press together. 2. Heat a panini maker or heavy skillet. Brush outside slices of sandwiches with olive oil or butter. Cook sandwiches (in batches if necessary) 3 to 5 minutes until brown (turn if using a skillet) and cheese is melted and oozing out. Yum. makes 4 sandwiches TORN APART BEET SALAD WITH WATERCRESS AND RICOTTA 2 lbs large beets, red and yellow (without greens) 1 bunch watercress, trimmed 6 oz ricotta cheese, drained if necessary and broken into chunks 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1 tbsp sherry vinegar 2 tbsp orange juice 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil A few strips of orange peel Just when you think you’ve seen every kind of beet salad, you go to ‘Roberta's’ in Brooklyn and see these big roasted beets, peeled and torn apart roughly. Even though I may never make this exact salad, I will always tear my beets apart for that rough rustic, earthy look. In my ‘torn apart’ beet salad I used my favourite Quality Cheese Ricotta which was just named the Grand Champion at the 2013 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix. Method: 1. Wrap beets in aluminum foil in a single layer. Roast in a preheated 400F oven 2 hours or until very tender. Cool, rub off skins and break beets into large-ish chunks with your hands. 2. Whisk vinegar with orange juice and olive oil. 3. Place watercress on a platter with beets, cheese and orange peel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with dressing. makes 4 to 6 servings CREAMY SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH CHEESE AND BLACK PEPPER 6 eggs 1 tbsp butter or extra virgin olive oil 1/4 tsp kosher salt 3 tbsp milk 1/3 cup grated hard cheese like pecorino 1 to 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper Brunch anywhere with Madhur Jaffrey is fun but it was especially fun at Danny Meyer’s Maialino. The scrambled eggs with pecorino and lots of freshly ground black pepper were so creamy and delicious I made them as soon as I got home. Method: 1. Whisk eggs together in a medium sized mixing bowl with salt and milk. 2. Melt butter in a 9” non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add eggs, and using a whisk or heat resistant spatula, stir eggs for 2 to 3 minutes until they are starting to form curds and become creamy. 3. Stir in cheese and pepper and another tablespoon of butter if you like. Cook a minute longer but do not allow eggs to set completely. Add more salt and pepper to taste. makes 2 to 3 servings MEXICAN MEATBALLS WITH MINT AND CHIPOTLE 1/3 cup long-grain rice 5 cups canned tomato puree or pureed canned tomatoes (about two 28oz tins, drained) 1/4 cup coarsely chopped white onion 1 pureed chipotle chile with sauce, or more to taste 4 garlic cloves 8 fresh mint leaves (or 2 tablespoons of cilantro or a combination) plus more for garnish 1 1/2 lbs ground chicken or turkey 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 tsp kosher salt - divided 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 cup chicken stock When I interviewed Mexican cooking expert, Pati Jinich, for my National Post column, she was so friendly and enthusiastic it was easy to become fast friends. Her new cookbook, Pati’s Mexican Table is full of recipes that are much more approachable than our usual idea of Mexican cooking. And even in Canada where Mexican ingredients cannot yet be found in every supermarket, Pati gives lots of substitutions that will still give your food a Mexican flare. These delicious main course meatballs would also make wonderful appetizers in a mini size. Method: 1. Cook rice in a pot of boiling salted water for 6 minutes until al dente (barely tender). Drain and reserve. 2. Place tomatoes, onions, chipotles and 2 cloves of garlic in blender or food processor and puree. Reserve. 3. Mince 2 remaining garlic cloves and mint leaves. Combine chicken, egg, rice, minced herbs, half the salt and pepper. 4. Heat oil in a Dutch oven. Add tomato puree and simmer 8 to 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and remaining salt. 5. Dip your hands in cold water, shape chicken mixture into 1" to 2" meatballs and gently place into simmering sauce. Cover pot and simmer gently 20 to 25 minutes. Remove lid and cook 10 minutes longer to thicken sauce slightly. Sprinkle with chopped mint. makes 6 servings PATI'S FAVOURITE MEXICAN GREEN RICE 2 cups long grain rice (jasmine or basmati) 2 poblano chilies, halved, seeded and cut into chunks (see intro) 1/2 cup water (plus 2 tbsp if necessary) 2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves 2 cloves garlic 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or more stock or water 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1/3 cup coarsely chopped white onion 1 tbsp fresh lime juice or more 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or mild feta If you can't find poblano chilies, Pati says to use one large, light-skinned jalapeno, double the amount of cilantro and add a cup of fresh parsley or spinach leaves. Leftovers are yummy with a fried egg on top. Method: 1. Soak rice in hot water to cover for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until water runs clear. Drain well. 2. Meanwhile, puree chiles, water, cilantro, garlic and salt until smooth. Strain into a measuring cup and note how much you have. Keep this separate but place enough chicken stock (and water) in another measuring cup so that the total amount of liquid is 4 cups. 3. Heat oil in a large saucepan and add rice. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until rice turns opaque and milky white. Add onion and saute one to two minutes. Stir in chile puree and cook 2 to 3 minutes until absorbed by rice. Stir in stock and lime juice, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes. If rice is not tender yet, add remaining 2 tbsp water and cook, covered a few more minutes. Let rice rest, covered 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and sprinkle with cheese. makes 6 servings BLONDIES 1/2 cup salted butter 1 cup brown sugar 2 tsp instant espresso powder 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or paste 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1 egg 1 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten free flour) 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans 3/4 cup chopped white chocolate topping: 2 oz white chocolate, chopped 25 pecan halves, toasted Blondies were everywhere on my recent trip to New York. Blondies are white-ish brownies, kind of caramel-y and are very delicious. If you bake them until they are set they will be cake-like instead of chewy - but good either way. I also made these gluten free substituting ‘Cup4Cup’ gluten free flour and it worked perfectly! Method: 1. Beat butter with sugar until light. Beat in espresso powder, vanilla and salt. Beat in egg. 2. Stir in flour, pecans and chocolate. Spoon into a buttered 8” or 9” square baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper. 3. Bake in a preheated 350F oven 25 to 30 minutes - centre should be slightly undercooked. Do not over bake. Chill. 4. Remove from pan in one piece for easier cutting. Cut into squares. 5. Drizzle white chocolate and top each with a pecan. Make 25 squares © Copyright 2013, Bonnie Stern Cooking Schools Ltd. To unsubscribe from this newsletter please visit foodnews.bonniestern.com/unsubscribe Please Note: Bonnie Stern does not sell, trade or share her email list.