Cannoli Pound Cake – Ricotta / Pistachios

Who doesn’t love the tastes of traditional Cannoli & now we can enjoy all of its glory in a Pound cake! It’s perfectly moist and slightly dense but still light and packed pull of flavors !

Ingredients

• 1 Orange
• 3 Large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of All Purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of Baking powder
• 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (plus a little more for topping just before you bake)
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of fresh or dried nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of organic sugar
• 1/2 cup of pistachios lightly chopped
• 3/4 cup salted good quality & softened butter
• Approx 15 oz of Ricotta cheese

What to do:

• First preheat your oven to 350 & grease your 9 x 5” loaf pan. Then line the on with parchment paper (perfect for lifting out this heavier pound cake) you can also use a Bundt pan if you’d rather but make note of the reduced baking time.
• In a large bowl add your softened butter and sugar (I used a stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer if you don’t have one) and mix on high to cream the mixture. Approx 3-4 mins
• Now add in the ricotta and mix until it looks light and fluffy about 5 mins!
• now add in the the eggs 1 at a time and beat until incorporated
• in a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients and whisk together. (Flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg) now add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and beat on med slow just until it’s incorporated, don’t over mix.
• Now fold in the chocolate chips & pistachios and orange rind lightly just until mixed through.
• Now transfer into your loaf pan (or Bundt pan) and smooth out then a tap or 3 on the counter to even out. Put in the oven for between 1 hr and 5 mins to 1 1/4 hours depending on your oven (or 40 to 50 mins if you are using a Bundt pan) then teste for doneness by inserting a tooth pick into the center and if it comes out clean your set to take out (remember it still continues to bake a little after taken out.
• Cool in the lot pan for approx 15 mins & then gently lift out of the pan my the parchment paper & cool completely on a cooling rack.

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Now find a perfect plate once cooled and here is where you can add your final touch to enhance that cannoli experience. Simple touch of dusting with inching sugar is just perfect but up next for me is a simple ricotta, orange & icing sugar drizzle which I will add photos of when I try it!

Prep time: approx 10 mins

Bake time: approx 1.05 to 110 mins

Calories: approx 385 and approx 24 servings depending on your slice size

Fondant Potatoes – melt in your mouth

Good morning and happy Monday good foodie friends. It has been far to long since my last post but here I am !

Ever wonder how to spice up your side dishes ? Try these potatoes and Wonderment is now on its way to your table !

Here we go –

What you need:

*4 russet potatoes

*Sea salt & pepper

*2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or your favorite cooing oil works too)

*10 tablespoons of butter

*1 cup of Low sodium chicken stock

*1 1/2 to two sprigs of fresh rosemary (really to your taste)

*2 cloves of fresh freshly minced garlic

*the rind and juice of 1 lemon (optional but worth it for sure)

*Maldon sea salt to garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (I use convection convert which ends up being 375 degrees

Peel the potatoes and slice off the ends & cut pieces into approx 1” thick rounds – then generously sea salt and pepper both sides.

Heat your cast iron skillet or really any other oven proof heavy pan with medium high heat. Now add the 2 tablespoons of oil and 4 tablespoons of butter and now sear one side of the potatoes to a golden brown (approx 4 mins) now turnoff the heat and flip the potatoes. Now add the garlic, the 6 tablespoons of butter, the rind and juice of the lemon and top with the rosemary. Now put the pan into the oven for approx 30 mins and let the magical flavors infuse those delectable flavorful potatoes

Now when they come out of the oven transfer to a serving dish, bathe with the sauce in the pan and now sprinkle with Maldon sea salt or your favorite flaky sea salt and be prepared for the happy faces.

Braised short rib “beef dip”

via Braised short rib “beef dip”

Chez Christophe – 5 year Anniversary

Happy Monday great foodie friends!

I just wanted to share a great read put out by Chef Christophe Bonzon’s PR team. Thank you Sophia Cheng PR. For sharing!

I consider Christophe a friend and and thrilled and amazed at watching his journey of success all well deserved and due to his undying passion for his true art!

A brilliant yet humble chef on the rise to a new higher star!

HIGH FIVE! Chez Christophe celebrates five years in Burnaby Heights

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HIGH FIVE!

Chez Christophe celebrates five years in Burnaby Heights

High-resolution images available via DropBox

Burnaby, B.C., July 9, 2018 – When Christophe and Jess Bonzon first stepped foot in Burnaby Heights five years ago, they knew it was the right neighbourhood to grow their new Canadian roots and build their new business. Since then, Chez Christophe Chocolaterie Patisserie (4717 Hastings Street) has grown to be a destination for award-winning artisanal chocolates and creative viennoiseries. To celebrate half a decade, Christophe travelled to France to create his own custom chocolate, launching in the form of chocolate bars this month.

“The support we have received in the past five years has been incredible,” says Christophe, who first arrived in Vancouver more than seven years ago from Switzerland. “We have moved from a tiny shop to our current much larger space with a patio. We have been able to expand our offerings to include soups and sandwiches and develop our coffee program, but at the same time, keeping up with the creativity and ingenuity our customers have come to know. And, many of our customers we know by name. We love this tight knit community.”

This past winter, Christophe visited the headquarters of Cacao Barry in Paris to participate in the custom chocolate program, Or Noir. Only a handful of Vancouver chefs have done this in the past and Christophe is the first in Burnaby. Christophe tasted a variety of chocolate and tried a dozen combinations before coming up with two blends, “Yverdon” after his hometown, and “Montreux” where he learned his craft. He launches the exclusive new chocolate in the form of chocolate bars this month.

“Chocolate will always be my biggest and number one canvas,” adds Christophe, who in 2015 won four out of five categories at the World Chocolate Masters Canadian Final. “When I invent with chocolate, I feel the options are limitless. Anything is possible if you put your heart and soul into it. And, creating my own chocolate is definitely a highlight of my career as a chocolatier.”

The limited edition anniversary bars are now available. The 63.6% Montreux is a balanced dark chocolate with a hint of smokiness, originating from Madagascar, Ecuador and Papuasie.  The 70.4% Yverdon has a bold cocoa flavour with fruity notes, originating from Santo Domingo, and Peru.

Chez Christophe has also launched five other new chocolate bars – 34% Blanc, 35% Blanc Caramel, 42% Pure Lait, 60% Noir Brut, and 70% Noir Intense. All chocolate bars are priced at $7.95.

Chez Christophe has also undergone a brand refresh, courtesy of local agency Arithmetic Creative, as well as an updated website with online shopping capabilities.

For more information, please visit www.chez-christophe.ca.

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About Chez Christophe

In 2013, award-winning pastry chef, chocolatier, and Cacao Barry Ambassador Christophe Bonzon opened Chez Christophe Chocolaterie and Patisserie with his wife Jess Bonzon in the bustling Burnaby Heights neighbourhood. Bringing a bit of Swiss flair to Canada, their collection of fine handmade chocolates ranges from artistic chocolate sculptures, creative truffle flavours to signature chocolate bars, and seasonal favourites. Customers can also find an array of macarons, viennoiserie, desserts, and cakes at Chez Christophe. Due to overwhelming support, the pair moved to a larger location in 2016 with more seating, an outdoor patio, and an expanded menu with sandwiches.

Chez Christophe is located at 4717 Hastings Street, Burnaby, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.chez-christophe.ca.

Chez Christophe 4717 Hastings Street, Burnaby, BC | Twitter: @Chez_Christophe | Instagram: @ChezChristophe | Facebook: /chezchristophepatisserie | Web: www.chez-christophe.ca.

Media Contact:

Sophia Cheng

sophia@sophiachengpr.com

c: 604-828-3102

Instagram + Twitter: @chengsophia

Copyright © 2018 Sophia Cheng PR, All rights reserved.

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Our mailing address is:

Sophia Cheng PR

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You gotta try this!

Congrats Chef Christophe !

Pasta for Italians only!

Happy Monday great foodie friends!

It has been far too long since my last blog post!

This dish is a classic and tasty flavor pow for all who like a little kick of spice.

This dish is one that I have loved for years from a favorite restaurant of mine. Quattro’s or Gusto Di Quattro now.

The dish is known as Spaghetti for Italians only. I used fresh linguine but either Will work.

What you need:

1/2 cup of good olive oil

1 lb Ground Chicken (I like dark meat- so much more flavor!)

2 minced garlic cloves

2 tsp of chili peppers

Salt to taste

4 oz Black beans or black turtle beans

1 tsp of Italian parsley funky chopped

1 cup of tomato sauce – ours was chicken based.

Parmigiano cheese to serve with

What you will do:

Heat up the oil on medium high heat & then add the chicken and start to brown.

At the same time heat up your pasta water and make sure to salt the water! The fresh pasta cools quickly, approx 6-8 mins.

Add in the salt, garlic, parsley and chili flakes and stir to incorporate

Then add in the tomato sauce & stir. Cook for another 5 mins on medium low to blend all the flavors.

Now top with your fresh grated parmigiano cheese (to love cheese is to love life for me!)

This pasta is also great to make your own- you can adjust your spice level or garlic to your liking.

You gotta try this!

Dutch oven No Knead bread. Staub

No Knead Dutch oven Italian 00 Flour bread!

Happy Sunday great long lost foodie friends! It’s been far too long since my last post!

Ever since we got our new Staub Cocotte I have been literally been dreaming about making bread.

I did have some criteria that were a must and 00 flour from Italy was the “Must Have” in the recipe!

I have loved everything we have used this Cocotte pot for and expect it to perform equally in every way making perfecto italiano no knead bread.

I used Molino Favero 00

Why 00 flour? I’m looking for a similar feel to the bread that any Italian would have grown up eating and expect. Typically 00 is best for pasta and cakes.

To better explain:

The names 00 and 0 Flour refer to specifically Italian milled flour that is used for pasta making. You will find that this is also called Doppio Zero just meaning double zero. The grading system is 2, 1, 0 or 00 and indicates to how finely ground the flour is and how much of the bran and germ has been removed.  2 for instance is a wholemeal flour while 00 is the most refined of the three and has the lowest level of bran. It is similar to unbleached all purpose/plain flour, which is a mix of hard and soft wheat, and though while finer, it creates a dough that is silkier and maintains a chewiness when the pasta is cooked.

If you are looking for pasta, bread flour or baking flour, 00 will work for all and you can substitute 00 flour if you run out mid way through pasta making with just plain old high-grade flour. Again this has been refined more so than standard flour making it higher in protein. Pizza dough is perfect with single 0 flour but again it is interchangeable.

Grading systems for flour are used elsewhere in the world as well so the Italian system is not unique. The French have a grading system that is similar but it seems most recipes will call for the Italian 0’s.

To make life more confusing the terms hard and soft get used to also explain flours so to try and put it simply:

Low Protein + Low Starch + Low Gluten = soft flour – 00 flour or high grade flour – use this for pasta, pizza and cakes as you would any high grade flour

High Protein +High Starch + High Gluten = hard flour – semolina flour or standard flour – perfect for bread doughs and most other uses.

In basic the 00 will likely make my loaf not quite as tall and a little more silky and chewier.

I have no doubt that the taste and texture will be good but I may experiment with a few different Italian flours until we find that “just right bite”

What you will need:

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 tsp organic sugar

1/4 to 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast

1 to 1 1/4 tsp of sea salt

3 cups 00 (Doppio zero) Italian flour or 01 or 02 semolina flour

1 cup warm water

What you will do:

Stir yeast and sugar into the 1/2 cup warm water & let sit 5-10 mins or so or until you see a foamy cream start to form.

In your favorite mixing bowl add the flour and salt and stir to mix up.

Add the yeast mixture and the cup of warm water and mix well to ensure that all of the ingredients are mixed together – this is “no knead” so we want to make sure all of the ingredients are well integrated.

When you have finished mixing ensure all of the dough is together in the bottom of the bowl. No cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and place somewhere that is draft free.

When the dough has approx doubled in volume it should be ready to bake. I have learned that this is not the time to rush but instead patience is in order. It could take approx 5-6 hours BUT here’s a bonus, if your not ready to bake it then you can leave it proofing over night and bake the next day, the dreamy bread will be the same either way!

Place your Staub or le Creuset Dutch oven into the oven and pre-heat the oven to 450 F

Now place some parchment paper on your work surface, flour it AND your hands and gently work the dough into a large round ball, tuck in the sides if needed.

When the oven has come to 450, carefully remove the Staub from the oven and equally carefully take off the lid (Hot is an understatement)

Now carefully lift the parchment and place the loaf into the Staub pot and put the lid back on.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 mins.

After 30 minutes, take off the lid and bake for another 15 mins or so until the bread gets a nice golden brown.

Now remove the pot from the oven and the bread from the Cocotte Dutch oven and place your Golden magical loaf on a cooling rack.

Allow the loaf to cool (at least a little) now cut and enjoy anyway that you desire!

I like to cut fresh and dip in olive oil and balsamico or toast and have with butter and jam.

Feel the accomplishment of making something with so few ingredients and so tasty! You might never go back to store bought! Come to think of it, that’s why I love all things Italian… they make magic out of only a few perfect ingredients not to mention real food!

The Italian flour was truly a game changer! Use different Italian flours to receive different textures like more crisp or more chewy (00 makes it nice and chewy with). That said I am sure to try Italian Semolina flour next time to test out the difference.

The Staub Cocotte performed just as expected, Perfecto.

“You Gott Try This”

Bourbon Maple Bacon Jam

I’ve been dreaming about this and think I’ll whip up a batch this weekend! Try it, you will Love it!

bcfoodieblogger

Bourbon Maple Bacon Jam

I first tried bacon jam this summer from a favorite spot of mine on Granville Island. It was an instant thought of “I can’t believe I haven’t tried this delectable flavor medley before!”

The smoky, sweet, salty combination with an ancho chili kick to finish of the flavor depth along with the main star attraction Bacon is truly a flavor explosion in your mouth.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: approx 1hr. 15-30 mins
Total time: approx 2 hours
Yields: approx 1 1/2 cups

What you will need:

1 large sweet onion sliced
2 cloves garlic minced (more if you wish)
1 pound (good quality bacon) chopped into “bacon bit” size
1/3 cup bourbon
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup Guinness beer
1/3 cup maple syrup (use 100% pure)
1/3 cup brown sugar
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Ancho chili powder…

View original post 416 more words

BC & Garden contest –

Happy Sunday great foodie friends, 

Just around the corner is the BC Home & Gardn show! Feb 22-26th at BC Place.

This years show is set to to show case a mountain of ideas, savings and great new products to improve, update or add some wow factor to your home. 

I wanted to write just a quick posting about the show to encourage you to check out the website and be sure to buy your tickets and set the date aside! 

Click here to go to the show website
You can either buy tickets by clicking on this link OR comment on this blog posting by answering any of these trivia questions and retweet or reshare the twitter posting tagging @bcfoodieblogger for a extra entries for a chance to win 1 of 2 sets of two ticket to attend the show. BC home and Garden has been kind enough to team up with me to offer this give away. 

Click here to buy tickets
Trivia questions to have a chance to win 1 of 2 sets of two tickets to the show:

1- What chefs will be on the cooking stage ? And what restaurant are they from? 

2-Name 3 of the key sponsors to the show

3-What is the value of the prize for the Lifespace Gardens Sweepstakes ? 

4-Name 3 of the key HGTV speakers 

Answer these questions by commenting on this posting and or on twitter and retweet the blogpost on twitter for extra entries. 

Winners will be announced via twitter and my blog on Feb 20, 2017 

The show will feature well known HGTV celebrity experts as well as many booths showcasing new products as well as cooking stages to showcase local fare from some great local chefs:

BRYAN BAEUMLER will be sure to please the crowd along with some of his co-stars on the HGTV  with a list of who’s on stage here 

MAIN STAGE SPEAKERS

BRYAN BAEUMLER

HGTV host & Owner

Baeumler Quality Construction

@Bryan_Baeumler
Bryan doesn’t believe he’s put in an honest day’s work unless he gets his hands dirty. A natural-born teacher, the Gemini-award winning host has been educating and entertaining viewers across Canada and the US since 2007 on the hit shows Disaster DIY, Canada’s Handyman Challenge, Leave it to Bryan and House of Bryan. Bryan’s quick wit and easy-going personality have made him a huge hit with viewers on all of his home renovation shows. 
Learning valuable tricks of the trade from his father, a meticulous aircraft engineer, Bryan spent his childhood summers building his family’s cottage from the ground up. After earning a dual degree in Political Science and Business, Bryan was headed towards a career of practicing law. Realizing he’d rather be renovating than being chained to a desk, his innate passion for building took over and he traded in his tie for a tool belt and founded Baeumler Quality Construction.
A few kids and number of hit TV shows later, Bryan continues to tackle home renovation projects, be the spokesperson for numerous products and expand his growing businesses to include Baeumler Approved and Baeumler Custom Cabinetry. Currently filming Bryan Inc. with wife Sarah, viewers will follow the couple on their journey as they flip two investment properties while balancing their busy home lives together. For more information about Bryan, visit bryanbaeumler.com.  

List of HGTV speakers here
Exciting for myself and our foodie friends will be an exciting line up at the cooking stage featuring some fantastic local talent cooing up some signature dishes. 

Check out the list of chefs and dishes here! 

Chefs stage schedule Click here 
Keys sponsors and supporters:

Good luck and the more you retweet the more entries you get! 

See you at the show! 

Top 3 Food Trends of 2017

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-3-food-trends-2017-andrea-holwegner-bsc-rd
Think of food in terms of the standard terms that we have always heard, “you are what you eat”
It isn’t hard to ask ourselves why are we as a society getting to heavy, why are we all of the sudden getting allergies when I’ve never had them before?
It’s no secret that if we make things from scratch vs. processed foods or foods from a can or a box, make sure we read what is in it. For example if you buy corn or peas or orange juice, shouldn’t there be only 1 or 2 ingredients? (And the 2nd ingredient should likely be water ?) no guilt honestly, just get back to the basics at the same time as looking out for the chefs that can teach you how to make magic with good natural ingredients! You would be amazed and the benefits of making this one change, for you and your family. Then do the second best thing, teach your kids how to cook with real ingredients and then we can evoke change back to a simpler time.
Happy anew years to all of my followers!
Please know that I realize that sometimes we need to have fun and enjoy something yummy and maybe even not in the “nice” list health wise but that is the or should be the exception, not the rule.
Have a great year of culinary fun, just try and make it a wonderfully happy and healthy culinary journey!
“You Gotta Try This”

Everything we love about Italy !

Happy Sunday great foodie friends, 

This is a great short piece but long enough to make your mouth water and remind you how Italians influence (and beautifully by the way) the culinary world! 

Enjoy!